January 31
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).
God will not rest till He has received from us that for which He has been waiting from eternity.
The mighty and Holy God offers to you His own righteousness in which there is no flaw or
fault. God wants to present us spotless in His own presence before the angels of heaven. The
righteousness of God in you is of such a nature that if you possess it, even the angels cannot
point a finger at you in condemnation. Have you received such a righteousness or are you
still trusting in something else?
“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts
thereof” (Rom. 13:14). “And thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the
Lord shall name” (Isa. 62:2).
God seeks a dwelling place in us – a rest such as He cannot get even from Heaven without
us. He is gathering out of this earth a church, a company of chosen people to give Him
pleasure and rest and satisfaction. It is this joy which is your strength, and it is this joy and
great love which we offer you in the in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
daily devotional
Covenant of the Lord | January 22
January 22
“Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with sound
of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and
harps…. So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had
pitched for it: and they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God” (1 Chron.
15:28; 16:1).
When the land had been purchased by David, he longed to bring the ark of God there, but
once again he failed the Lord. He wanted to do so by a worldly plan, with worldly means, and
in a worldly way.
In the book of Numbers, the Lord had given His heavenly pattern for the transport of the ark.
No man has any power or authority to change the divine order. God brought David to his
senses and in 1 Chronicles 15, he gathered the Levites to carry up the ark of God to that
same spot purchased from the Jebusite. What a happy day it was for David!
With great joy and gladness they brought up the ark after many years of wondering – “with
instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals sounding by lifting up the voice with
joy”. It was a time of great joy, — with singers singing right from the heart on that day of
gladness and David himself joining in the celebration (verse 27).
Recent Devotions
Is Joy of Lord your strength? | January 23
January 23
“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Heb. 10:22).
When we eventually see the ark of God coming into its place, we shall be filled with great joy.
The Ark is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He must be given His rightful place in your heart,
in your home, and in your church order. When that is so, there is great joy. David won many
battles but none gave him the same joy of heart as that which he had in seeing, the Ark of
God coming to rest in this very spot that he had purchased from Araunah. This is our joy and
strength, when we see the Lord Jesus Christ enthroned in believer’s hearts as king of kings,
in their families as Head, and in the Assembly as Lord.
There always are three things to be observed: Firstly, the Lord Jesus is to be your personal
Head; secondly, He is to be the Head of your family; thirdly, He is to be the Head of the
assembly of which you are a member. Only when this is true have you brought the Ark of God
into its proper resting place. That is our Joy, but again it is only the beginning.
Can you truthfully say that the Joy of Lord is your strength? Because you are entering more
and more fully into the heart of God, is your joy increasing?
Recent Devotions
Meditate on God’s word | January 24
January 24
“I delight to do thy will, O my God” (Psalm 40:8).
The joy of Lord which is our real strength in all our circumstances and experiences and
responsibilities, is the secret of true spiritual growth.
It is quite possible to remain a spiritual babe for many years instead of for only a few months
and, sad to say, many do. But God wants every one of His children to come to full growth and
responsibility. God’s intention is that you should grow daily. As you read and meditate on
God’s word you get to know Him, and so you have a growing hunger to be in His presence. It
is by spending time with God that you grow in the knowledge of Him.
As we begin to delight in the Lord, we begin to have a real pleasure in doing His will. “I delight
to do thy will, O my God!” (Psalm 40:8). Sometimes the Lord keeps us waiting months or
years to know His will, and as we wait we learn valuable lessons. We learn how to exercise
the authority of His name; we learn to understand the hidden mysteries of His word; and from
this we pass on to the place where we are willing to suffer shame for him. As we go through
all these experiences we grow into spiritual manhood, and that means that we are ready to
bear the spiritual responsibility that God has for us and is waiting to share with us.
Recent Devotions
The purpose of God | January 25
January 25
“To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known
by the church the manifold wisdom of God” (Eph. 3:10).
The most wonderful day for David was when God committed to him in detail the whole pattern
for the temple (1 Chron. 28:19). God could not have revealed this to him at the beginning of
his life. God had to wait for David to grow spiritually before He could give him this revelation.
Many people today speak of ‘the church’ or ‘the Body of Christ’ very freely, but very few really
understand the meaning of these words. Very few understand God’s true thought for the
church. In spite of their ‘spiritual’ talk many show by the strife and jealousy in their lives that
they do not really know that which they profess to know. The purpose of God is to reveal His
power and wisdom to principalities and powers in heavenly places as it is expressed in the
fellowship of the church.