November 16 -- Evening

Fellowcitizens with the saints.

Ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living

God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of

angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn,

which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to

the spirits of just men made perfect.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises,

but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of [them], and

embraced [them], and confessed that they were strangers and

pilgrims on the earth.--Our conversation is in heaven; from

whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who

shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto

his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able

even to subdue all things unto himself.--The Father . . . hath

delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated

[us] into the kingdom of his dear Son.

As strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which

war against the soul.

Eph 2:19 Heb 12:22,23 Heb 11:13 Php 3:20,21 Col 1:12,13

1Pe 2:11


Samuel Bagster
Robert Bagster
Jonathan Bagster Jr.
James Bagster

November 17 -- Morning

Thy thoughts are very deep.

We . . . do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye

might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and

spiritual understanding.--That Christ may dwell in your hearts

by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be

able to comprehend with all saints what [is] the breadth, and

length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ,

which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the

fulness of God.

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of

God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past

finding out!--For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither

[are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For [as] the heavens

are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.--Many, O LORD my God, [are]

thy wonderful works [which] thou hast done, and thy thoughts

[which are] to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto

thee: [if] I would declare and speak [of them], they are more

than can be numbered.

Ps 92:5 Col 1:9 Eph 3:17-19 Ro 11:33 Isa 55:8,9 Ps 40:5


November 17 -- Evening

Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

They that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.--

They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.--He

that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.

To him that soweth righteousness [shall be] a sure reward.--

He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life

everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due

season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore

opportunity, let us do good unto all [men], especially unto them

who are of the household of faith.

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and [there is]

that withholdeth more than is meet, but [it tendeth] to poverty.

The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall

be watered also himself.--He which soweth sparingly shall reap

also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also

bountifully.

Ga 6:7 Job 4:8 Ho 8:7 Ga 6:8 Pr 11:18 Ga 6:8-10 Pr 11:24,25

2Co 9:6


November 18 -- Morning

He stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.

Let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies

[are] great.--I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave

thee altogether unpunished.--He will not always chide: neither

will he keep [his anger] for ever. He hath not dealt with us

after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.--

For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we [are] dust.--I

will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted

above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a

way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].--Satan hath

desired [to have] you, that he may sift [you] as wheat: but I

have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.

Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the

needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from

the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones [is] as a storm

[against] the wall.

Isa 27:8 2Sa 24:14 Jer 30:11 Ps 103:9,10,14 Mal 3:17 1Co 10:13

Lu 22:31,32 Isa 25:4


November 18 -- Evening

I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes

had seen [it]: and, behold, the half was not told me.

The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with

this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the

uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and,

behold, a greater than Solomon [is] here.--We beheld his glory,

the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace

and truth.

My speech and my preaching [was] . . . in demonstration of

the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the

wisdom of men, but in the power of God.--But as it is written,

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the

heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that

love him. But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit:

for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of

God.

Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty.--We shall see

him as he is.--In my flesh shall I see God.--I shall be

satisfied.

1Ki 10:7 Mt 12:42 Joh 1:14 1Co 2:4,5,9,10 Isa 33:17 1Jo 3:2

Job 19:26 Ps 17:15


November 19 -- Morning

By their fruits ye shall know them.

Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth

righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.--Doth a

fountain send forth at the same place sweet [water] and bitter?

Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a

vine, figs? so [can] no fountain both yield salt water and

fresh. Who [is] a wise man and endued with knowledge among you?

let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness

of wisdom.--Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles:

that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by

[your] good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the

day of visitation.

Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make

the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known

by [his] fruit.--A good man out of the good treasure of the

heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the

evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have

not done in it?

Mt 7:20 1Jo 3:7 Jas 3:11-13 1Pe 2:12 Mt 12:33,35 Isa 5:4


November 19 -- Evening

I will make the place of my feet glorious.

Thus saith the LORD, The heaven [is] my throne, and the earth

[is] my footstool.

Will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold,

heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much

less this house which I have built!

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it [is] a little

while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea,

and the dry [land]; and I will shake all nations, and the desire

of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with

glory, saith the LORD of hosts. . . . The glory of this latter

house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of

hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of

hosts.

I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and

the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

. . . And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold,

the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with

them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be

with them, [and be] their God.

Isa 60:13 66:1 2Ch 6:18 Hag 2:6,7,9 Re 21:1,3


November 20 -- Morning

When I sit in darkness,

the LORD [shall be] a light unto me.

When thou passest through the waters, I [will be] with thee;

and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou

walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither

shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I [am] the LORD thy God,

the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour.--I will bring the blind by

a way [that] they knew not; I will lead them in paths [that]

they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and

crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and

not forsake them.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy

staff they comfort me.--What time I am afraid, I will trust in

thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust;

I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.--The LORD [is] my

light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD [is] the

strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Mic 7:8 Isa 43:2,3 42:16 Ps 23:4 56:3,4 27:1


November 20 -- Evening

One God, and one mediator between God and men,

the man Christ Jesus.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD.--Now a

mediator is not [a mediator] of one, but God is one.

We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity,

we have done wickedly. Our fathers understood not thy wonders in

Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies. . . .

Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his

chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath,

lest he should destroy [them].

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,

consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ

Jesus; who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses

[was faithful] in all his house.

He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was

established upon better promises.--I will be merciful to their

unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I

remember no more.

1Ti 2:5 De 6:4 Ga 3:20 Ps 106:6,7,23 Heb 3:1-3 8:6,12


November 21 -- Morning

Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

It shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will

hear; for I [am] gracious.--I will not cast them away, neither

will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my

covenant with them: for I [am] the LORD their God.--I will

remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I

will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though

your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though

they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.--Let the wicked

forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let

him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and

to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.--Lord, remember me

when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him,

Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in

paradise.

A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall

he not quench.

Joh 6:37 Ex 22:27 Le 26:44 Eze 16:60 Isa 1:18 55:7

Lu 23:42,43 Isa 42:3


November 21 -- Evening

His dear Son.

Lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in

whom I am well pleased.--Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine

elect, [in whom] my soul delighteth.--The only begotten Son,

which is in the bosom of the Father.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because

that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we

might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God,

but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation

for our sins.--And we have known and believed the love that God

hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth

in God, and God in him.

The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they

may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that

they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know

that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved

me.--Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon

us, that we should be called the sons of God.

Col 1:13 Mt 3:17 Isa 42:1 Joh 1:18 1Jo 4:9,10,16 Joh 17:22-24

1Jo 3:1


November 22 -- Morning

Praying in the Holy Ghost.

God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship

[him] in spirit and in truth.--We . . . have access by one

Spirit unto the Father.

O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:

nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt].

The Spirit . . . helpeth our infirmities: for we know not

what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit maketh

intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And

he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what [is] the mind of the

Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according

to [the will of] God.--This is the confidence that we have in

him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth

us. When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide

you into all truth.

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the

Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and

supplication.

Jude 1:20 Joh 4:24 Eph 2:18 Mt 26:39 Ro 8:26,27 1Jo 5:14

Joh 16:13 Eph 6:18


November 22 -- Evening

There is hope of a tree, if it be cut down,

that it will sprout again,

and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.

A bruised reed shall he not break.--He restoreth my soul.

Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be

repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.--No

chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous:

nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of

righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy

word.--After all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and

for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished

us less than our iniquities [deserve], and hast given us [such]

deliverance as this.

Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall

arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD [shall be] a light unto

me. . . . He will bring me forth to the light, [and] I shall

behold his righteousness.

Job 14:7 Isa 42:3 Ps 23:3 2Co 7:10 Heb 12:11 Ps 119:67

Ezr 9:13 Mic 7:8,9


November 23 -- Morning

Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely,

and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.--

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall

abide under the shadow of the Almighty.--His truth [shall be

thy] shield and buckler.

Your life is hid with Christ in God.--He that toucheth you

toucheth the apple of his eye.--Fear ye not, stand still, and

see the salvation of the LORD. . . . The LORD shall fight for

you, and ye shall hold your peace.--God [is] our refuge and

strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we

fear.

Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be

not afraid.--Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in

your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself:

handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye

see me have.--I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that

he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against

that day.

Pr 1:33 Ps 90:1 91:1,4 Col 3:3 Zec 2:8 Ex 14:13,14 Ps 46:1,2

Mt 14:27 Lu 24:38,39 2Ti 1:12


November 23 -- Evening

My kingdom is not of this world.

This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for

ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth

expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.--Hereafter

shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power,

and coming in the clouds of heaven.

He must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

Thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our

Lord Jesus Christ.--H he raised him from the dead, and set [him]

at his own right hand in the heavenly [places], far above all

principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name

that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is

to come: and hath put all [things] under his feet, and gave him

[to be] the head over all [things] to the church, which is his

body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.--He shall

shew, [who is] the blessed and only Potentate, the King of

kings, and Lord of lords.

Joh 18:36 Heb 10:12,13 Mt 26:64 1Co 15:25,57 Eph 1:20-23

1Ti 6:15


November 24 -- Morning

My mother and my brethren are these

which hear the word of God, and do it.

Both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified [are]

all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them

brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in

the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.--In Jesus

Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor

uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.--Ye are my

friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.--Blessed [are] they

that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter

into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my

Father which is in heaven.--My meat is to do the will of him

that sent me, and to finish his work.

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in

darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.--Whoso keepeth his word,

in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that

we are in him.

Lu 8:21 Heb 2:11,12 Ga 5:6 Joh 15:14 Lu 11:28 Mt 7:21 Joh 4:34

1Jo 1:6 2:5


November 24 -- Evening

What doest thou here, Elijah?

He knoweth the way that I take.--O LORD, thou hast searched

me, and known [me]. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine

uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou

compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted [with]

all my ways.--Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither

shall I flee from thy presence?--[If] I take the wings of the

morning, [and] dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even

there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are.--The fear

of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD

shall be safe.--Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast

down: for the LORD upholdeth [him with] his hand.--A just [man]

falleth seven times, and riseth up again.

Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall

reap, if we faint not.--The spirit indeed [is] willing, but the

flesh [is] weak.--Like as a father pitieth [his] children, [so]

the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

1Ki 19:9 Job 23:10 Ps 139:1-3,7,9,10 Jas 5:17 Pr 29:25

Ps 37:24 Pr 24:16 Ga 6:9 Mt 26:41 Ps 103:13


November 25 -- Morning

Being then made free from sin,

ye became the servants of righteousness.

Ye cannot serve God and mammon.--When ye were the servants of

sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in

those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those

things [is] death. But now being made free from sin, and become

servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end

everlasting life.

Christ [is] the end of the law for righteousness to every one

that believeth.

If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there

shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will [my]

Father honour.--Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am

meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light.

O LORD our God, [other] lords beside thee have had dominion

over us: [but] by thee only will we make mention of thy name.--I

will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my

heart.

Ro 6:18 Mt 6:24 Ro 6:20-22 Ro 10:4 Joh 12:26 Mt 11:29,30

Isa 26:13 Ps 119:32


November 25 -- Evening

Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord

shall be saved.

Manasseh . . . did [that which was] evil in the sight of the

LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, . . . and he reared

up altars for Baal. . . . And he built altars for all the host

of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.--And he

made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used

enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he

wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke

[him] to anger.--And when he was in affliction, he besought the

LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his

fathers, and prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and

heard his supplication.

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though

your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though

they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.--The Lord is

. . . longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should

perish.

Ac 2:21 2Ki 21:1,2,3,5,6 2Ch 33:12,13 Isa 1:18 2Pe 3:9


November 26 -- Morning

The LORD delighteth in thee.

Thus saith the LORD that created thee, . . . Fear not: for I

have redeemed thee, I have called [thee] by thy name; thou [art]

mine.--Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not

have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget,

yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the

palms of [my] hands; thy walls [are] continually before me.

The steps of a [good] man are ordered by the LORD: and he

delighteth in his way.--My delights [were] with the sons of men.

--The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that

hope in his mercy.--They shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts,

in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as

a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind

by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his

flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and

unreproveable in his sight.

Isa 62:4 43:1 49:15,16 Ps 37:23 Pr 8:31 Ps 147:11 Mal 3:17

Col 1:21,22


November 26 -- Evening

The sorrow of the world worketh death.

When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he

saddled [his] ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to

his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself,

and died.--A wounded spirit who can bear?

[Is there] no balm in Gilead; [is there] no physician there?

why then is not the health of the daughter of my people

recovered?--The LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings

unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

. . . to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn

in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for

mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.--

Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I

will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for

I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your

souls. For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light.

Philip . . . preached unto him Jesus.--He healeth the broken

in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

2Co 7:10 2Sa 17:23 Pr 18:14 Jer 8:22 Isa 61:1-3 Mt 11:28-30

Ac 8:35 Ps 147:3


November 27 -- Morning

The glory which thou gavest me I have given them.

I saw . . . the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted

up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the

seraphims. . . . And one cried unto another, and said, Holy,

holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of

his glory.--These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and

spake of him.--Upon the likeness of the throne [was] the

likeness . . . of a man above upon it. . . . As the appearance

of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [was] the

appearance of the brightness round about. This [was] the

appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.

I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. . . . And he said, Thou

canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

--No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which

is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him].--God, who

commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our

hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God

in the face of Jesus Christ.

Joh 17:22 Isa 6:1-3 Joh 12:41 Eze 1:26,28 Ex 33:18,20 Joh 1:18

2Co 4:6


November 27 -- Evening

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also

unto her husband with her; and he did eat.--Did not Achan the

son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath

fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished

not alone in his iniquity.

Thou shalt not follow a multitude to [do] evil.

Wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to

destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.

None of us liveth to himself.--Brethren, ye have been called

unto liberty; only [use] not liberty for an occasion to the

flesh, but by love serve one another.--Take heed lest by any

means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that

are weak.--When ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their

weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one

to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us

all.

Pr 1:10 Ge 3:6 Jos 22:20 Ex 23:2 Mt 7:13 Ro 14:7 Ga 5:13

1Co 8:9,12 Isa 53:6


November 28 -- Morning

As the body without the spirit is dead,

so faith without works is dead also.

Not every one that saith, . . . Lord, Lord, shall enter into

the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father

which is in heaven.--Holiness, without which no man shall see

the Lord.--Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to

patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to

brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and

abound, they make [you that ye shall] neither [be] barren nor

unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he

that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and

hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore

the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and

election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.

By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of

yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: not of works, lest any man

should boast.

Jas 2:26 Mt 7:21 Heb 12:14 2Pe 1:5-10 Eph 2:8-9


November 28 -- Evening

As the children are partakers of flesh and blood,

he also himself likewise took part of the same;

that [he might] deliver them who through fear

of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave, where [is] thy

victory?--Thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ.--For which cause we faint not;

but though our outward man perish, yet the inward [man] is

renewed day by day.

We know that if our earthly house of [this] tabernacle were

dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with

hands, eternal in the heavens.--Therefore [we are] always

confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we

are absent from the Lord. . . . We are . . . willing rather to

be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe

also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were]

not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for

you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come

again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye

may be also.

Heb 2:14,15 1Co 15:55,57 2Co 4:16 5:1,6-8 Joh 14:1-2


November 29 -- Morning

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house.

One [thing] have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek

after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of

my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his

temple.

Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after

righteousness: for they shall be filled.--He hath filled the

hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul

with goodness.--I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me

shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never

thirst.

How excellent [is] thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the

children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy

house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy

pleasures. For with thee [is] the fountain of life: in thy light

shall we see light.

Ps 65:4 27:4 Mt 5:6 Lu 1:53 Ps 107:9 Joh 6:35 Ps 36:7-9


November 29 -- Evening

Do ye now believe?

What [doth it] profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath

faith, and have not works? can faith save him?--Even so faith,

if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he

that had received the promises offered up his only begotten

[son], of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be

called: accounting that God [was] able to raise [him] up, even

from the dead.--Was not Abraham our father justified by works,

when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?--Ye see then

how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth

[therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the

work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

By their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith

unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but

he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.--If ye

know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Joh 16:31 Jas 2:14,17 Heb 11:17-19 Jas 2:21,24 1:25 Mt 7:20,21

Joh 13:17


November 30 -- Morning

Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always

by all means. The Lord [be] with you all.

Peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to

come.--The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall

keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto

them, Peace [be] unto you.--Peace I leave with you, my peace I

give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not

your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The Comforter . . . [even] the Spirit of truth.--The fruit of

the Spirit is love, joy, peace.-- The Spirit itself beareth

witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

My presence shall go [with thee], and I will give thee rest.

And he said unto him, If thy presence go not [with me], carry us

not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy

people have found grace in thy sight? [is it] not in that thou

goest with us?

2Th 3:16 Re 1:4 Php 4:7 Lu 24:36 Joh 14:27 15:26 Ga 5:22

Ro 8:16 Ex 33:14-16


November 30 -- Evening

We glory in tribulations.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all

men most miserable.

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial

which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto

you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's

sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be

glad also with exceeding joy.--Sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing.

Rejoice in the Lord alway: [and] again I say, Rejoice.--They

departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they

were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither [shall]

fruit [be] in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and

the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from

the fold, and [there shall be] no herd in the stalls: yet I will

rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Ro 5:3 1Co 15:19 1Pe 4:12,13 2Co 6:10 Php 4:4 Ac 5:41 Ro 15:13

Hab 3:17,18


December 1 -- Morning

A man shall be as an hiding place from the wind,

and a covert from the tempest.

Forasmuch . . . as the children are partakers of flesh and

blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same.--The man

[that is] my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts.--I and [my] Father

are one.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall

abide under the shadow of the Almighty.--There shall be a

tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a

place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.--The

LORD [is] thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite

thee by day, nor the moon by night.

When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock [that] is

higher than I.--Thou [art] my hiding place; thou shalt preserve

me from trouble.--Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a

strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm,

a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones [is]

as a storm [against] the wall.

Isa 32:2 Heb 2:14 Zec 13:7 Joh 10:30 Ps 91:1 Isa 4:6

Ps 121:5,6 61:2 32:7 Isa 25:4


December 1 -- Evening

Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth.

The new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall

remain before me, . . . so shall your seed and your name remain.

We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new

earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and

the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And

I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God

out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And

I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the

tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them,

and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with

them, [and be] their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from

their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,

nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former

things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said,

Behold, I make all things new.

Isa 65:17 66:22 2Pe 3:13 Re 21:1-5


December 2 -- Morning

Ye have an unction from the Holy One,

and ye know all things.

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with

power.--It pleased [the Father] that in him should all fulness

dwell.--Of his fulness have all we received, and grace for

grace.

Thou anointest my head with oil.--The anointing which ye have

received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man

teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things,

and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye

shall abide in him.

The Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father

will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring

all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what

we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh

intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

1Jo 2:20 Ac 10:38 Col 1:19 Joh 1:16 Ps 23:5 1Jo 2:27 Joh 14:26

Ro 8:26


December 2 -- Evening

Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.

If the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an

heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of

the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through

the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge

your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?--The

blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of]

Abel.

We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of

sins, according to the riches of his grace;

When Moses had spoken every precept to all the people

according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats,

with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the

book, and all the people. . . . Moreover he sprinkled with blood

both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And

almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without

shedding of blood is no remission.

Heb 10:22 9:13,14 12:24 Eph 1:7 Heb 9:19,21,22


December 3 -- Morning

I would seek unto God,

and unto God would I commit my cause.

Is any thing too hard for the LORD?--Commit thy way unto the

LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring [it] to pass.--Be

careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and

supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known

unto God.--Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for

you.

Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers,

and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD,

and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed unto the

LORD.

It shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer;

and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.--The effectual

fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice [and] my

supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me,

therefore will I call upon [him] as long as I live.

Job 5:8 Ge 18:14 Ps 37:5 Php 4:6 1Pe 5:7 Isa 37:14,15 65:24

Jas 5:16 Ps 116:1,2


December 3 -- Evening

Our bodies washed with pure water.

Thou shalt . . . make a laver [of] brass, . . . and thou

shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the

altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons

shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: when they go into

the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water,

that they die not; . . . they shall wash their hands and their

feet, that they die not.--Your body is the temple of the Holy

Ghost [which is] in you.--If any man defile the temple of God,

him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which

[temple] ye are.

In my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and

mine eyes shall behold, and not another.--There shall in no wise

enter into it any thing that defileth.--[Thou art] of purer eyes

than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.--I beseech

you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present

your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,

[which is] your reasonable service.

Heb 10:22 Ex 30:18-21 1Co 6:19 3:17 Job 19:26,27 Re 21:27

Hab 1:13 Ro 12:1


December 4 -- Morning

Where shall wisdom be found?

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to

all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given

him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that

wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and

tossed.--Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not

unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct thy paths.--The only wise God.--Be not wise

in thine own eyes.

Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I [am] a child. But

the LORD said unto me, Say not, I [am] a child: for thou shalt

go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee

thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I [am] with

thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.

Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give

[it] you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye

shall receive, that your joy may be full.--All things,

whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Job 28:12 Jas 1:5,6 Pr 3:5,6 1Ti 1:17 Pr 3:7 Jer 1:6-8

Joh 16:23,24 Mt 21:22


December 4 -- Evening

I would not live alway.

And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! [for then] would

I fly away, and be at rest. . . . I would hasten my escape from

the windy storm [and] tempest.

In this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with

our house which is from heaven. . . . For we that are in [this]

tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be

unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed

up of life.--Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ;

which is far better.

Let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who

for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising

the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of

God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners

against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Job 7:16 Ps 55:6,8 2Co 5:2,4 Php 1:23 Heb 12:1-3 Joh 14:27


December 5 -- Morning

[It is] good for me that I have been afflicted;

that I might learn thy statutes.

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things

which he suffered.--We suffer with [him], that we may be also

glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this

present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory

which shall be revealed in us.

He knoweth the way that I take: [when] he hath tried me, I

shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way

have I kept, and not declined.

Thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led

thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, [and]

to prove thee, to know what [was] in thine heart, whether thou

wouldest keep his commandments, or no.--Thou shalt also consider

in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, [so] the LORD

thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the

commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to

fear him.

Ps 119:71 Heb 5:8 Ro 8:17,18 Job 23:10,11 De 8:2,5,6


December 5 -- Evening

By strength shall no man prevail.

Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a

sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee

in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of

Israel, whom thou hast defied.--And David put his hand in his

bag, and took thence a stone, and slang [it], and smote the

Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his

forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David

prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone.

There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty

man is not delivered by much strength. . . . Behold, the eye of

the LORD [is] upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in

his mercy.--Both riches and honour [come] of thee, and thou

reignest over all; and in thine hand [is] power and might; and

in thine hand [it is] to make great, and to give strength unto

all.

I . . . glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may

rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in

reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for

Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

1Sa 2:9 17:45,49,50 Ps 33:16,18 1Ch 29:12 2Co 12:9,10


December 6 -- Morning

It is God which worketh in you.

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as

of ourselves; but our sufficiency [is] of God.--A man can

receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.--No man can

come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I

will raise him up at the last day.--And I will give them one

heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever.

Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every

perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of

lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we

should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good

works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in

them.

LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast

wrought all our works in us.

Php 2:13 2Co 3:5 Joh 3:27 6:44 Jer 32:39 Jas 1:16-18 Eph 2:10

Isa 26:12


December 6 -- Evening

The spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.

In the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee;

the desire of [our] soul [is] to thy name, and to the

remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the

night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early.

I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good

thing: for to will is present with me; but [how] to perform that

which is good I find not.--For I delight in the law of God after

the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring

against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to

the law of sin which is in my members.--The flesh lusteth

against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these

are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the

things that ye would.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.--

Our sufficiency [is] of God.--My grace is sufficient for thee.

Mt 26:41 Isa 26:8,9 Ro 7:18,22,23 Ga 5:17 Php 4:13

2Co 3:5 12:9


December 7 -- Morning

He hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin;

that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.--Who his

own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we,

being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose

stripes ye were healed.--As by one man's disobedience many were

made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made

righteous.

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour

toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have

done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of

regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on

us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being

justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the

hope of eternal life.--[There is] therefore now no condemnation

to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,

but after the Spirit.

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

2Co 5:21 Isa 53:6 1Pe 2:24 Ro 5:19 Tit 3:4-7 Ro 8:1 Jer 23:6


December 7 -- Evening

I will be as the dew unto Israel.

The meekness and gentleness of Christ.

A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall

he not quench.

The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed

me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the

brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and

recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that

are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. . . .

And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture

fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered

at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.

And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter

remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him,

Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went

out, and wept bitterly.

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the

lambs with his arm, and carry [them] in his bosom, [and] shall

gently lead those that are with young.

Ho 14:5 2Co 10:1 Isa 42:3 Lu 4:18,19,21,22 Lu 22:61,62

Isa 40:11


December 8 -- Morning

By love serve one another.

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are

spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;

considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one

another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one

convert him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner

from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and

shall hide a multitude of sins.--Seeing ye have purified your

souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned

love of the brethren, [see that ye] love one another with a pure

heart fervently.--Owe no man any thing, but to love one another:

for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.--[Be] kindly

affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour

preferring one another.--Yea, all [of you] be subject one to

another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the

proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

We . . . that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the

weak, and not to please ourselves.

Ga 5:13 6:1,2 Jas 5:19,20 1Pe 1:22 Ro 13:8 12:10 1Pe 5:5

Ro 15:1


December 8 -- Evening

The dust return to the earth as it was.

It is sown in corruption; . . . it is sown in dishonour;

. . . it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown

a natural body.--The first man [is] of the earth, earthy.

Dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.--One dieth

in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. . . . And

another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth

with pleasure. They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the

worms shall cover them.

My flesh . . . shall rest in hope.--[Though] after my skin

[worms] destroy this [body], yet in my flesh shall I see God.--

The Lord Jesus Christ . . . shall change our vile body, that it

may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the

working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto

himself.

LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days,

what it [is; that] I may know how frail I [am].--So teach [us]

to number our days, that we may apply [our] hearts unto wisdom.

Ec 12:7 1Co 15:42-44,47 Ge 3:19 Job 21:23,25,26 Ps 16:9

Job 19:26 Php 3:20,21 Ps 39:4 90:12


December 9 -- Morning

To do justice and judgment [is] more acceptable

to the LORD than sacrifice.

He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the

LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and

to walk humbly with thy God?--Hath the LORD [as great] delight

in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of

the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to

hearken than the fat of rams.--To love him with all the heart,

and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with

all the strength, and to love [his] neighbour as himself, is

more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and

wait on thy God continually.--Mary . . . sat at Jesus' feet, and

heard his word.--One thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that

good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of

[his] good pleasure.

Pr 21:3 Mic 6:8 1Sa 15:22 Mr 12:33 Ho 12:6 Lu 10:39,42

Php 2:13


December 9 -- Evening

The spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

The LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and

breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a

living soul.--[There is] a spirit in man: and the inspiration of

the Almighty giveth them understanding.--The first man Adam was

made a living soul.--The spirit of man that goeth upward.

Whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the

Lord. . . . We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be

absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.--With

Christ; which is far better.--I would not have you to be

ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye

sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe

that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in

Jesus will God bring with him.

I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a

place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;

that where I am, [there] ye may be also.

Ec 12:7 Ge 2:7 Job 32:8 1Co 15:45 Ec 3:21 2Co 5:6,8 Php 1:23

1Th 4:13,14 Joh 14:2,3


December 10 -- Morning

No [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand.

I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able

to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.--

The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will

preserve [me] unto his heavenly kingdom.--We are more than

conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that

neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor

powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor

depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from

the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.--Your life

is hid with Christ in God.

Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and

heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love

him?

Our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father,

which hath loved us, and hath given [us] everlasting consolation

and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish

you in every good word and work.

Joh 10:29 2Ti 1:12 4:18 Ro 8:37-39 Col 3:3 Jas 2:5 2Th 2:16,17


December 10 -- Evening

The perfect law of liberty.

Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

. . . Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin

is the servant of sin. . . . If the Son therefore shall make you

free, ye shall be free indeed.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath

made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of

bondage.--For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only

[use] not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love

serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word,

[even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.--Being

then made free from sin, ye became the servants of

righteousness.--For the woman which hath an husband is bound by

the law to [her] husband so long as he liveth; but if the

husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of [her] husband.

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me

free from the law of sin and death.--I will walk at liberty: for

I seek thy precepts.

Jas 1:25 Joh 8:32-34,36 Ga 5:1,13,14 Ro 6:18 7:2 8:2 Ps 119:45


December 11 -- Morning

Let not then your good be evil spoken of.

Abstain from all appearance of evil.--Providing for honest

things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight

of men.--For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may

put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or [as] a thief, or

[as] an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet

if [any man suffer] as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but

let him glorify God on this behalf.

Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only [use] not

liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one

another.--Take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours

become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.--Whoso shall

offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were

better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and

[that] he were drowned in the depth of the sea.--Inasmuch as ye

have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye

have done [it] unto me.

Ro 14:16 1Th 5:22 2Co 8:21 1Pe 2:15 4:15,16 Ga 5:13 1Co 8:9

Mt 18:6 25:40


December 11 -- Evening

Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,

and Christ shall give thee light.

[It is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our

salvation nearer than when we believed.--Therefore let us not

sleep, as [do] others; but let us watch and be sober. For they

that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are

drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober,

putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet,

the hope of salvation.

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the

LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover

the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall

arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope

to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the

revelation of Jesus Christ.--Let your loins be girded about, and

[your] lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that

wait for their lord.

Eph 5:14 Ro 13:11 1Th 5:6-8 Isa 60:1,2 1Pe 1:13 Lu 12:35,36


December 12 -- Morning

The LORD, [is] in the midst of thee.

Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I

[am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;

yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

--Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Say to them [that are] of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not:

behold, your God will come [with] vengeance, [even] God [with] a

recompence; he will come and save you.--The LORD thy God in the

midst of thee [is] mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over

thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee

with singing.--Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he

shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the

tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them,

and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with

them, [and be] their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from

their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,

nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former

things are passed away.

Zep 3:15 Isa 41:10 35:3,4 Zep 3:17 Ps 27:14 Re 21:3,4


December 12 -- Evening

Wherefore criest thou unto me?

speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.

Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for

our people, and for the cities of our God: and let the LORD do

[that which is] good in his sight.--We made our prayer unto our

God, and set a watch against them day and night.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter

into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my

Father which is in heaven.--If any man will do his will, he

shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God.--Then shall we

know, [if] we follow on to know the LORD.

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.--Watch ye,

stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.--Not

slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.

Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Say to them [that are] of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not.

Ex 14:15 1Ch 19:13 Ne 4:9 Mt 7:21 Joh 7:17 Ho 6:3 Mt 26:41

1Co 16:13 Ro 12:11 Isa 35:3,4


December 13 -- Morning

Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power.

--As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk

ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the

faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with

thanksgiving.--Trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD,

that he might be glorified.--Built upon the foundation of the

apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief

corner [stone]; in whom all the building fitly framed together

groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are

builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is

able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all

them which are sanctified.--Being filled with the fruits of

righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and

praise of God.

Fight the good fight of faith.--In nothing terrified by your

adversaries.

2Ti 2:1 Col 1:11 2:6,7 Isa 61:3 Eph 2:20-22 Ac 20:32 Php 1:11

1Ti 6:12 Php 1:28


December 13 -- Evening

Thou renderest to every man according to his work.

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which

is Jesus Christ.--If any man's work abide which he hath built

thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be

burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet

so as by fire.--We must all appear before the judgment seat of

Christ; that every one may receive the things [done] in [his]

body, according to that he hath done, whether [it be] good or

bad.

When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy

right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy

Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.--

After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and

reckoneth with them.

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as

of ourselves; but our sufficiency [is] of God.--LORD, thou wilt

ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in

us.

Ps 62:12 1Co 3:11,14,15 2Co 5:10 Mt 6:3,4 25:19 2Co 3:5

Isa 26:12


December 14 -- Morning

Make his praise glorious.

This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth

my praise.--I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby

they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their

iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have

transgressed against me. And it shall be to me a name of joy, a

praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth.--By

him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God

continually, that is, the fruit of [our] lips giving thanks to

his name.

I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I

will glorify thy name for evermore. For great [is] thy mercy

toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

--Who [is] like unto thee, O LORD, . . . glorious in holiness,

fearful [in] praises, doing wonders?--I will praise the name of

God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.--They

sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the

Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous [are] thy works, Lord God

Almighty.

Ps 66:2 Isa 43:21 Jer 33:8,9 Heb 13:15 Ps 86:12,13 Ex 15:11

Ps 69:30 Re 15:3


December 14 -- Evening

By nature the children of wrath, even as others.

We ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient,

deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice

and envy, hateful, [and] hating one another.--Marvel not that I

said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Job answered the LORD, and said, Behold, I am vile; what

shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.--The

LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that

[there is] none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright

man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother

conceive me.--David . . . to whom also he gave testimony, and

said, I have found David the [son] of Jesse, a man after mine

own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

I obtained mercy . . . who was before a blasphemer, and a

persecutor, and injurious.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is

born of the Spirit is spirit.

Eph 2:3 Tit 3:3 Joh 3:7 Job 40:3,4 1:8 Ps 51:5 Ac 13:22

1Ti 1:13 Joh 3:6


December 15 -- Morning

Bear ye one another's burdens,

and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on

the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in

Christ Jesus: [who] took upon him the form of a servant.--Even

the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,

and to give his life a ransom for many.--He died for all, that

they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but

unto him which died for them, and rose again.

When Jesus . . . saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping

which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.

. . . Jesus wept.--Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep

with them that weep.

[Be ye] all of one mind, having compassion one of another,

love as brethren, [be] pitiful, [be] courteous: not rendering

evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise

blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should

inherit a blessing.

Ga 6:2 Php 2:4,5,7 Mr 10:45 2Co 5:15 Joh 11:33,35 Ro 12:15

1Pe 3:8,9


December 15 -- Evening

Son, go work to day in my vineyard.

Thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an

heir of God through Christ.

Reckon ye . . . yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but

alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin

therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in

the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members [as]

instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves

unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your

members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God.--As obedient

children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former

lusts in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is

holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is

written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.--Sanctified, and meet for

the master's use, [and] prepared unto every good work.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know

that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Mt 21:28 Ga 4:7 Ro 6:11-13 1Pe 1:14-16 2Ti 2:21 1Co 15:58


December 16 -- Morning

Having loved his own which were in the world,

he loved them unto the end.

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which

thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine,

and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.--I pray not that

thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou

shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world,

even as I am not of the world.

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye

in my love.--Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay

down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do

whatsoever I command you.--A new commandment I give unto you,

That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love

one another.

He which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it]

until the day of Jesus Christ.--Christ . . . loved the church,

and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it

with the washing of water by the word.

Joh 13:1 17:9,10,15,16 15:9,13,14 13:34 Php 1:6 Eph 5:25,26


December 16 -- Evening

The deep things of God.

Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth

not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all

things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto

you.--It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom

of heaven.

We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit

which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely

given to us of God.

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord

Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is

named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his

glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner

man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye,

being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend

with all saints what [is] the breadth, and length, and depth,

and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth

knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

1Co 2:10 Joh 15:15 Mt 13:11 1Co 2:12 Eph 3:14-19


December 17 -- Morning

Quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.

It is the spirit that quickeneth.--The Spirit also helpeth

our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we

ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with

groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the

hearts knoweth what [is] the mind of the Spirit, because he

maketh intercession for the saints according to [the will of]

God.--Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the

Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance.

I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast

quickened me.--The words that I speak unto you, [they] are

spirit, and [they] are life.--The letter killeth, but the spirit

giveth life.--If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye

shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.--This

is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing

according to his will, he heareth us.

No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Ps 80:18 Joh 6:63 Ro 8:26,27 Eph 6:18 Ps 119:93 Joh 6:63

2Co 3:6 Joh 15:7 1Jo 5:14 1Co 12:3


December 17 -- Evening

Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,

but rather reprove [them].

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

Purge out therefore the old leaven. . . . I wrote unto you in an

epistle not to company with fornicators: yet not altogether with

the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or

extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out

of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep

company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or

covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an

extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.--That ye may be

blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the

midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as

lights in the world.

In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of

silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and

some to dishonour.

Eph 5:11 1Co 15:33 5:6,7,9-11 Php 2:15 2Ti 2:20


December 18 -- Morning

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,

that we may obtain mercy,

and find grace to help in time of need.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and

supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known

unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,

shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.--Ye have

not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have

received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain.--

Having therefore, . . . boldness to enter into the holiest by

the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath

consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

snd [having] an high priest over the house of God. Let us draw

near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our

hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed

with pure water.--We may boldly say, The Lord [is] my helper,

and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Heb 4:16 Php 4:6,7 Ro 8:15 Isa 45:19 Heb 10:19,22 13:6


December 18 -- Evening

Ye shall know the truth,

and the truth shall make you free.

Where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty.--The

law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from

the law of sin and death.--If the Son . . . shall make you free,

ye shall be free indeed.

Brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the

free.--Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the

law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in

Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ,

and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law

shall no flesh be justified.

Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth

[therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the

work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.--Stand fast

therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and

be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Joh 8:32 2Co 3:17 Ro 8:2 Joh 8:36 Ga 4:31 2:16 Jas 1:25 Ga 5:1


December 19 -- Morning

Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.

Who [is] among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the

voice of his servant, that walketh [in] darkness, and hath no

light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his

God.--Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the

LORD upholdeth [him with] his hand.--The commandment [is] a

lamp; and the law [is] light.

Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall

arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD [shall be] a light unto

me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have

sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute

judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, [and] I

shall behold his righteousness.

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be

single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye

be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore

the light that is in thee be darkness, how great [is] that

darkness!

Ps 112:4 Isa 50:10 Ps 37:24 Pr 6:23 Mic 7:8,9 Mt 6:22,23


December 19 -- Evening

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather

the lambs with his arm, and carry [them] in his bosom,

[and] shall gently lead those that are with young.

I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue

with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: . . . I will

not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.--We have

not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of

our infirmities.

They brought young children to him, . . . and he took them up

in his arms, put [his] hands upon them, and blessed them.

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant.--The

Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.--Ye

were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the

Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure

to give you the kingdom.--I will feed my flock, and I will cause

them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

Isa 40:11 Mt 15:32 Heb 4:15 Mr 10:13,16 Ps 119:176 Lu 19:10

1Pe 2:25 Lu 12:32 Eze 34:15


December 20 -- Morning

He hath chosen us in him

before the foundation of the world.

That we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through

sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto

he called you, . . . to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord

Jesus Christ.--Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate

[to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the

firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did

predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he

also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.--

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through

sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of

the blood of Jesus Christ.

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put

within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your

flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.--God hath not

called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

Eph 1:4 2Th 2:13,14 Ro 8:29,30 1Pe 1:2 Eze 36:26 1Th 4:7


December 20 -- Evening

[If] the LORD would make windows in heaven,

might this thing be?

Have faith in God.--Without faith [it is] impossible to

please [God].--With God all things are possible.

Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I

no power to deliver?

My thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways

my ways, saith the LORD. For [as] the heavens are higher than

the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts

than your thoughts.--Prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of

hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour

you out a blessing, that [there shall] not [be room] enough [to

receive it].

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot

save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear.--LORD, [it is]

nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that

have no power.

We should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth

the dead.

2Ki 7:2 Mr 11:22 Heb 11:6 Mt 19:26 Isa 50:2 55:8,9 Mal 3:10

Isa 59:1 2Ch 14:11 2Co 1:9


December 21 -- Morning

The days of thy mourning shall be ended.

In the world ye shall have tribulation.--The whole creation

groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only

[they], but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the

Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for

the adoption, [to wit], the redemption of our body.--We that are

in [this] tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we

would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be

swallowed up of life.

These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have

washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the

Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him

day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne

shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither

thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any

heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall

feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters:

and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Isa 60:20 Joh 16:33 Ro 8:22,23 2Co 5:4 Re 7:14-17


December 21 -- Evening

Master, carest thou not that we perish?

The LORD [is] good to all: and his tender mercies [are] over

all his works.

Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as

the green herb have I given you all things.--While the earth

remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer

and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

The LORD [is] good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and

he knoweth them that trust in him.--God heard the voice of the

lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and

said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath

heard the voice of the lad where he [is]. . . . And God opened

her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled

the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we

drink? . . . for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need

of all these things.--Trust . . . in the living God, who giveth

us richly all things to enjoy.

Mr 4:38 Ps 145:9 Ge 9:3 Ge 8:22 Na 1:7 Ge 21:17,19 Mt 6:31,32

1Ti 6:17


December 22 -- Morning

Your work of faith.

This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath

sent.

Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.--Faith

which worketh by love.--He that soweth to his flesh shall of the

flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of

the Spirit reap life everlasting.--We are his workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before

ordained that we should walk in them.--Who gave himself for us,

that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto

himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is

meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the

charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth.--

Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count

you worthy of [this] calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure

of [his] goodness, and the work of faith with power.--It is God

which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good

pleasure.

1Th 1:3 Joh 6:29 Jas 2:17 Ga 5:6 6:8 Eph 2:10 Tit 2:14

2Th 1:3,11 Php 2:13


December 22 -- Evening

Where is the promise of his coming?

Enoch, . . . the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these,

saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his

saints, to execute judgment upon all.--Behold, he cometh with

clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which

pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of

him.

The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with

the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the

dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive [and]

remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to

meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all

men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we

should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present

world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing

of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.

2Pe 3:4 Jude 1:14-15 Re 1:7 1Th 4:16,17 Tit 2:11-13


December 23 -- Morning

Let him take hold of my strength, [that] he may make

peace with me; [and] he shall make peace with me.

I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD,

thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

--[There is] no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

In Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh

by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace.

It pleased [the Father] that in him should all fulness dwell;

and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to

reconcile all things unto himself.--Christ Jesus: whom God hath

set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to

declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are

past, . . . that he might be just, and the justifier of him

which believeth in Jesus.--If we confess our sins, he is

faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us

from all unrighteousness.

Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH [is]

everlasting strength.

Isa 27:5 Jer 29:11 Isa 48:22 Eph 2:13,14 Col 1:19,20

Ro 3:24-26 1Jo 1:9 Isa 26:4


December 23 -- Evening

God hath given to us eternal life,

and this life is in his Son.

As the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the

Son to have life in himself.--For as the Father raiseth up the

dead, and quickeneth [them]; even so the Son quickeneth whom he

will.

I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me,

though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and

believeth in me shall never die.--I am the good shepherd: the

good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.--I lay down my

life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but

I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have

power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my

Father.--No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.--He that hath

the Son hath life; [and] he that hath not the Son of God hath

not life.--For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in

God. When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye

also appear with him in glory.

1Jo 5:11 Joh 5:26,21 11:25,26 10:11,17,18 Joh 14:6 1Jo 5:12

Col 3:3,4


December 24 -- Morning

If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die:

but if ye through the Spirit do mortify

the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these];

Adultery, fornication, . . . and such like: of the which I tell

you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they

which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But

the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,

gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such

there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the

flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit,

let us also walk in the Spirit.

The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all

men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we

should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present

world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing

of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself

for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify

unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Ro 8:13 Ga 5:19,21-25 Tit 2:11-14


December 24 -- Evening

Then said the princes of the Philistines,

What [do] these Hebrews [here]?

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy [are ye];

for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their

part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But

let none of you suffer as a murderer, or [as] a thief, . . . or

as a busybody in other men's matters.

Let not . . . your good be evil spoken of.--Having your

conversation honest among the Gentiles.

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what

fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what

communion hath light with darkness? . . . Ye are the temple of

the living God. . . . wherefore come out from among them, and be

ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing].

Ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy

nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises

of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous

light.

1Sa 29:3 1Pe 4:14,15 Ro 14:16 1Pe 2:12 2Co 6:14,16,17 1Pe 2:9


December 25 -- Morning

The kindness and love of God our Saviour

toward man appeared.

I have loved thee with an everlasting love.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because

that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we

might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God,

but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation

for our sins.

When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his

Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that

were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

--The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld

his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)

full of grace and truth.--Great is the mystery of godliness: God

was manifest in the flesh,

As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also

himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he

might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the

devil.

Tit 3:4 Jer 31:3 1Jo 4:9,10 Ga 4:4,5 Joh 1:14 1Ti 3:16

Heb 2:14


December 25 -- Evening

Thanks [be] unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the

LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. . . .

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, [and] into his courts

with praise: be thankful unto him, [and] bless his name.--For

unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the

government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be

called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting

Father, The Prince of Peace.

He . . . spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us

all.--Having yet . . . one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him.

Oh that [men] would praise the LORD [for] his goodness, and

[for] his wonderful works to the children of men!--Bless the

LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, [bless] his holy

name.

My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in

God my Saviour.

2Co 9:15 Ps 100:1,2,4 Isa 9:6 Ro 8:32 Mr 12:6 Ps 107:21 103:1

Lu 1:46,47


December 26 -- Morning

Be ye stedfast, unmoveable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord.

Ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.--As ye

have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk ye in

him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as

ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.--He

that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.--That

on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart,

having heard the word, keep [it], and bring forth fruit with

patience.

By faith ye stand.

I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day:

the night cometh, when no man can work.

He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap

corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit

reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing:

for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have

therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all [men], especially

unto them who are of the household of faith.

1Co 15:58 Col 2:6,7 Mt 24:13 Lu 8:15 2Co 1:24 Joh 9:4

Ga 6:8-10


December 26 -- Evening

He is able . . . to save them to the uttermost

that come unto God by him.

I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the

Father, but by me.--Neither is there salvation in any other: for

there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby

we must be saved.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,

neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.--He which

hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of

Jesus Christ.--Is any thing too hard for the LORD?

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to

present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with

exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, [be] glory and

majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Heb 7:25 Joh 14:6 Ac 4:12 Joh 10:27,28 Php 1:6 Ge 18:14

Jude 1:24,25


December 27 -- Morning

We look not at the things which are seen,but at the things

which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are]

temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal.

Here have we no continuing city.--Ye have in heaven a better

and an enduring substance.

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure

to give you the kingdom.

Now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through

manifold temptations.--There the wicked cease [from] troubling;

and there the weary be at rest.

We that are in [this] tabernacle do groan, being burdened.--

God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall

be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall

there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

The sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be

compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.--Our

light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a

far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory.

2Co 4:18 Heb 13:14 10:34 Lu 12:32 1Pe 1:6 Job 3:17 2Co 5:4

Re 21:4 Ro 8:18 2Co 4:17


December 27 -- Evening

He is our peace.

God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not

imputing their trespasses unto them; . . . for he hath made him

[to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the

righteousness of God in him.--Having made peace through the

blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself;

by him, [I say], whether [they be] things in earth, or things in

heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in

[your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the

body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and

unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.--Blotting out the

handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was

contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his

cross.--Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law

of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in

himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the

world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,

neither let it be afraid.

Eph 2:14 2Co 5:19,21 Col 1:20-22 2:14 Eph 2:15 Joh 14:27


December 28 -- Morning

Thy sins be forgiven thee.

I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin

no more.--Who can forgive sins but God only?

I, [even] I, [am] he that blotteth out thy transgressions for

mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.--Blessed [is he

whose] transgression [is] forgiven, [whose] sin [is] covered.

Blessed [is] the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity.--

Who [is] a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity.

God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.--The blood of Jesus

Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have

no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we

confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our]

sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

As far as the east is from the west, [so] far hath he removed

our transgressions from us.--Sin shall not have dominion over

you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.--Being then

made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Mr 2:5 Jer 31:34 Mr 2:7 Isa 43:25 Ps 32:1,2 Mic 7:18 Eph 4:32

1Jo 1:7-9 Ps 103:12 Ro 6:14,18


December 28 -- Evening

We would see Jesus.

O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of [our] soul

[is] to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.

The LORD [is] nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all

that call upon him in truth.

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am

I in the midst of them.--I will not leave you comfortless: I

will come to you.--Lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end

of the world.

Let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith.

Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.--

Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far

better.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet

appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear,

we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every

man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is

pure.

Joh 12:21 Isa 26:8 Ps 145:18 Mt 18:20 Joh 14:18 Mt 28:20

Heb 12:1,2 1Co 13:12 Php 1:23 1Jo 3:2,3


December 29 -- Morning

Understanding what the will of the Lord [is].

This is the will of God, [even] your sanctification.--

Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good

shall come unto thee.--This is life eternal, that they might

know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast

sent.--We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an

understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in

him that is true, [even] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the

true God, and eternal life.

We . . . do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye

might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and

spiritual understanding.--The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the

Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and

revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your

understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the

hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his

inheritance in the saints, and what [is] the exceeding greatness

of his power to us-ward who believe.

Eph 5:17 1Th 4:3 Job 22:21 Joh 17:3 1Jo 5:20 Col 1:9

Eph 1:17-19


December 29 -- Evening

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.

Enoch walked with God.--Can two walk together, except they be

agreed?--[It is] good for me to draw near to God.

The LORD [is] with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek

him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will

forsake you. . . . But when they in their trouble did turn unto

the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the

LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an

expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and

pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me,

and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the

holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, . . .

and [having] an high priest over the house of God; let us draw

near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.

Jas 4:8 Ge 5:24 Am 3:3 Ps 73:28 2Ch 15:2,4 Jer 29:11-13

Heb 10:19-22


December 30 -- Morning

Blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind

by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his

flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and

unreproveable in his sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded

and settled, and [be] not moved away from the hope of the

gospel.--That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God,

without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation,

among whom ye shine as lights in the world.

Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be

diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and

blameless.--Sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to

present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with

exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, [be] glory and

majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.

1Co 1:8 Col 1:21-23 Php 2:15 2Pe 3:14 Php 1:10 Jude 1:24,25


December 30 -- Evening

He will keep the feet of his saints.

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in

darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the

light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with

another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from

all sin.--He that is washed needeth not save to wash [his] feet,

but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in

right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened;

and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. . . . Enter not

into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil

[men]. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.--

Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look

straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all

thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the

left: remove thy foot from evil.

The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will

preserve [me] unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom [be] glory for

ever and ever. Amen.

1Sa 2:9 1Jo 1:6,7 Joh 13:10 Pr 4:11,12,14,15,25-27 2Ti 4:18


December 31 -- Morning

The LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in

all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.

I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.--In

his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and

carried them all the days of old.--As an eagle stirreth up her

nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings,

taketh them, beareth them on her wings: [so] the LORD alone did

lead him.

[Even] to [your] old age I [am] he; and [even] to hoar hairs

will I carry [you]: I have made, and I will bear; even I will

carry, and will deliver [you].--This God [is] our God for ever

and ever: he will be our guide [even] unto death.

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he

shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.--Take no thought

for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor

yet for your body, what ye shall put on.--For your heavenly

Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.

De 1:31 Ex 19:4 Isa 63:9 De 32:11,12 Isa 46:4 Ps 48:14 55:22

Mt 6:25,32 1Sa 7:12


December 31 -- Evening

There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.

Not as though I had already attained, either were already

perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for

which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Be ye therefore perfect.--Giving all diligence, add to your

faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge

temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience

godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly

kindness charity.

I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in

knowledge and [in] all judgment.

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into

the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them

that love him. But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his

Spirit.

There remaineth . . . a rest to the people of God.--Thine

eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the

land that is very far off.

Jos 13:1 Php 3:12 Mt 5:48 2Pe 1:5-7 Php 1:9 1Co 2:9,10 Heb 4:9

Isa 33:17