Month: December 2024

Nehemiah 8:1-18; Zechariah 4:1-14; Revelation 13:1-18

He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:26

At this time of year our thoughts begin to turn towards the coming to earth of God the Son. Our verse tells us He appeared for the express purpose of “putting away” our sin by the sacrifice of Himself. But the wonderful truth continues; “For Christ…now [appears] in the presence of God for us” (Heb. 9:24). He is in the presence of His Father as an advocate for all who have trusted Him. But it gets even better! “To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Heb. 9:28). —Ray Jones

May be morning, may be noon,
May be evening and may be soon!
O what a wonderful day it will be—
Jesus is coming again! —John W. Peterson

Nehemiah 7:1-73; Zechariah 2:1-3:10; Revelation 12:1-17

Which of you convicts Me of sin? John 8:46 NKJV

The Apostle Paul called himself the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). King David confessed “I have sinned greatly” (2 Sam. 24:10). Only One has walked upon the earth truly sinless, spotless, pure and undefiled. In the midst of His enemies He could ask this question “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” How we praise and thank God for the sinless One today. —John M Clegg

O spotless Lamb of God, in Thee,
The Father’s holiness we see;
And with delight Thy children trace,
In Thee, His wondrous love and grace. —Mary Walker

Nehemiah 6:1-19; Zechariah 1:1-21; Revelation 11:1-19

I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. Psalm 77:11-12

The Psalmist’s eyes had been fixed on himself and his miseries. When he turned his eyes on the Lord, his troubles diminished! While we are wrapped up in our troubles, we can never rise above them.  Thinking about God’s goodness will fill our hearts with joy and thankfulness as we remember all He has done for us. —Gwenyth Frear

I cried aloud to God on High,
He heard my call and every sigh,
I felt that things were most unfair,
I was bowed down with all my care,
But as I thought, on what God had done,
I remembered all His vict’ries won. —G. F

Nehemiah 5:1-19; Haggai 2:1-23; Revelation 10:1-11

He blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled. Matthew 14:19-20

After the people ate the Lord’s provisions they were filled. This was not a “polite” filled, what you might say if you don’t care for the food or if there’s not enough. The Greek word is more along the lines of “stuffed full”, or “fattened up”. The people were completely satisfied with what the Lord provided. What a lovely picture of what is in store for us when we look to Him to satisfy us! Don’t be duped into looking to the world to fill you up—only Jesus can satisfy. —Lynn Shatford

O Christ, in Thee my soul has found, and found in Thee alone,
The peace, the joy I sought so long, the bliss till now unknown;
Now none but Christ can satisfy! —Emma F. Bevan

Nehemiah 4:1-23; Haggai 1:1-15; Revelation 9:1-21

And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth. Acts 17:26

When Charles Darwin was born 200 years ago it was considered that all men were brothers, as the biblical view was accepted that we all descended from Adam. By the time of his death he had arranged humankind into 15 separate species with the publication of his book, “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life”. To give it the full title. The Bible says there is one race, the human race.
Evolution teaches many races and thus becomes the rationale for racism. Thankfully in Christ we are all one and need to love each other deeply no matter our ethnic origin. —Paul Young

In Christ there is no east or west, in Him no south or north,
But one great fellowship of love, throughout the whole wide earth.—J. Oxenham

Nehemiah 3:1-32; Daniel 12; Revelation 8:1-13

Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” John 18:37 NKJV

Though it led to the cross, the Lord Jesus always testified to the truth. He testified to His acquired humanity (He was born), His eternal deity (He came into the world), and His royalty (He is a king). He manifested His Father’s holy name, exposed sinful humanity, and declared He was the only Saviour. Let us then faithfully proclaim Christ as the sole source of truth to a deceived world, regardless of the consequences. —George Ferrier

Jesus Christ Himself is the final exegesis
(explanation and interpretation) of all truth. —Major Ian Thomas

Nehemiah 1:1-2:20; Daniel 11:21-45; Revelation 7:1-17

With all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. Leviticus 2:13

The “all” in this verse does not relate to every kind of offering, but to every occasion on which a meal offering, beautifully illustrating Christ in His life, was presented to God. What, then, does the salt signify? It is a preservative (Matt. 5:13), and draws out flavour (Job 6:6), but those provisions were never needed by the sinless Saviour. In Ezra 4:14, the marginal reading says, “We are salted with the salt of the king’s palace” or, in other words, “we are
dependent on you, O king”. Ah! This picture of salt fits perfectly into the meal offering: Christ, wholly and constantly dependent on His Father. —Phil Coulson

Thy holy Son in lowly guise, supremely precious in Thine eyes.
Most fair to us apparelled thus, and fair to us, most fair to us.  —Isaac Ewan

Ezra 10:1-44; Daniel 11:1-20; Revelation 6:1-17

And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Acts 13:39

“I am a good person. I try to keep the law, so I hope I’ll make it to heaven one day.” Sorry, my friend! Even if you succeed in keeping the Law, which no one, apart from the Lord has ever done, you still could not be justified for “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). However Jesus died in your place, so He can not only forgive you but justify you as well. If you turn from your sin in repentance and place your trust in Him as your sin-bearer, He will save you. —David Croudace

Working will not save me.
Jesus wept and died for me.
Jesus suffered on the tree;
He alone can save me. —Robert Lowry

Ezra 9:1-15; Daniel 10:1-21; Revelation 5:1-14

When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Job 23:10

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:7

We don’t like trials! But dear believer, God tells us that the trial of our faith is more precious than gold. We put a high value on gold, but do we realize what is precious in God’s sight? That impossible situation you are in, the loss of health or a loved one, seems too hard, but as we trust our Saviour through it, it becomes immensely precious before Him. —Mary Robins

Ask the Saviour to help you,
Comfort, strengthen, and keep you;
He is willing to aid you,
He will carry you through. —Horatio Palmer

Ezra 8:1-36; Daniel 9:1-27; Revelation 4:1-11

And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. Amos 8:12

Of all God’s fearsome judgments, a famine for His Word is the worst. The Bible is His revelation to mankind, providing saving access to Christ for those who believe it (John 1:12-14; Rom. 10:17). When the Almighty no longer speaks with someone, it is a severe situation, as King Saul’s experience shows (1 Sam. 28:6). Over the past four centuries, the western world has enjoyed almost unlimited access to the Bible, but do we believe it? —Keith R. Keyser

But still Thy Law and Gospel, Lord,
Have lessons more divine:
Not earth stands firmer than Thy Word,
Nor stars so nobly shine. —Isaac Watts