MORNING:
1 Chronicles 29 (family); Micah 6 (secret)
EVENING:
2 Peter 3 (family); Luke 15 (secret)
C. H. Spurgeon’s A PURITAN CATECHISM:
Q1. What is the chief end of man?
A1. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever. 1 Corinthians 10:31; Psalm 73:25, 26
Q2. What rule has God given to direct us how we may glorify Him?
A2. The Word of God, which is contained in the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify God and enjoy Him. Ephesians 2:20; 2 Timothy 3:16; 1 John 1:3
Q3. What do the Scriptures principally teach?
A3. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. 2 Timothy 1:3; Ecclesiastes 12:13
CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST DEVOTION:
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me” (John 15:4).
Whereas cleaving, fleeing, rejoicing, thanksgiving, buffeting, &etc., are responses to the reality of the Redemption truth in us and the free grace of God upon us, abiding is not a response to that truth; it is truth.
Branches of the fruit tree do not have to grunt, sweat, or strain in order to produce fruit. As long as the branch is attached to the trunk of the tree, and as long as the tree’s roots are sunk into the soil, then vital sap sent to the branch from the tree will cause the branch to produce fruit. As in nature, so it is in the spiritual reality.
You and I cannot do anything to produce the fruit of the Spirit; nor can we do anything to abide, or abide more. We either abide or we do not. Gentile branches have been grafted into the Redemption promise. Jewish branches have been broken off because of unbelief. But whether grafted in or broken off, it is done by the free and sovereign grace of God. It is God’s work, first and last.
Abiding in Christ is the supernatural reality of Redemption: “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Romans 8:9).
So, if we have nothing to do to attain it, why did the Master say it? He tells us, “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11).
This truth brings the believer the steadfast assurance of God’s infinite love; like a woman secure in her trust toward her faithful husband; or the nursing child that is comforted in the arms of his mother. Yet, this abiding truth, being heavenly and supernatural, far exceeds the trust and comfort that comes from any earthly relationships.
Sadly, we are often not comforted by this truth or trusting in its heavenly reality because we are ignorant of it. We are ignorant of His abiding joy because we are not in His Word with watchful prayer; and if we are reading His Word, we have not endeavored to become disciplined to see His Cross in the Word, feeding on the Redemption for nourishment, meditating upon it for hope and endurance.
When we have apprehended the revelation of that abiding truth, however, our response is cleaving, fleeing, rejoicing, thanksgiving, buffeting, and any other response and discipline that matures us to continue in submissive obedience to the One who has lovingly purchased our souls for Himself.
Oh, hallelujah! He abides! and because He abides in me, I must, therefore, be abiding in Him, according to His unfailing Word. Hallelujah, He abides in me!
I’m rejoicing night and day
As I walk the pilgrim way,
For the hand of God in all my life I see;
And the reason of my bliss,
Yes, the secret all is this:
That the Comforter abides with me.
Refrain:
He abides, He abides,
Hallelujah, He abides with me!
I’m rejoicing night and day,
As I walk the narrow way,
For the Comforter abides with me.
Once my heart was full of sin,
Once I had no peace within,
Till I heard how Jesus died upon the tree;
Then I fell down at His feet,
And there came a peace so sweet;
Now the Comforter abides with me.
He is with me ev’rywhere,
And He knows my ev’ry care,
I’m as happy as a bird and just as free;
For the Spirit has control,
Jesus satisfies my soul,
Since the Comforter abides with me.
There’s no thirsting for the things
Of the world— they’ve taken wings;
Long ago I gave them up, and instantly
All my night was turned to day,
All my burdens rolled away,
Now the Comforter abides with me.
“He Abides”
by Hubert Buffum
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