Bairnsdale Conservative: Daily Devotional Sunday 2nd January

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” - 2 Corinthians 5:17
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

January 1: Morning

"They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." -Joshua 5:12

Israel's weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained. No more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: they came to the land which flowed with milk and honey, and they ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this may be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be with Jesus in the rest which remaineth for the people of God, is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon is a double bliss. Unbelief shudders at the Jordan which still rolls between us and the goodly land, but let us rest assured that we have already experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause us. Let us banish every fearful thought, and rejoice with exceeding great joy, in the prospect that this year we shall begin to be "forever with the Lord."

A part of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do service for their Lord. If this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why the New Year's text should not still be true. "We who have believed do enter into rest." The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance; he gives us "glory begun below." In heaven they are secure, and so are we preserved in Christ Jesus; there they triumph over their enemies, and we have victories too. Celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and this is not denied to us; they rest in his love, and we have perfect peace in him: they hymn his praise, and it is our privilege to bless him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground, where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man did eat angels' food of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year!

Evening

"We will be glad and rejoice in thee." - Song of Solomon 1:4

We will be glad and rejoice in thee. We will not open the gates of the year to the dolorous notes of the sackbut, but to the sweet strains of the harp of joy, and the high sounding cymbals of gladness. "O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise unto the rock of our salvation." We, the called and faithful and chosen, we will drive away our griefs, and set up our banners of confidence in the name of God. Let others lament over their troubles, we who have the sweetening tree to cast into Marah's bitter pool, with joy will magnify the Lord. Eternal Spirit, our effectual Comforter, we who are the temples in which thou dwellest, will never cease from adoring and blessing the name of Jesus. We will, we are resolved about it, Jesus must have the crown of our heart's delight; we will not dishonour our Bridegroom by mourning in his presence. We are ordained to be the minstrels of the skies, let us rehearse our everlasting anthem before we sing it in the halls of the New Jerusalem. We will be glad and rejoice: two words with one sense, double joy, blessedness upon blessedness. Need there be any limit to our rejoicing in the Lord even now? Do not men of grace find their Lord to be camphire and spikenard, calamus and cinnamon even now, and what better fragrance have they in heaven itself? We will be glad and rejoice in Thee. That last word is the meat in the dish, the kernel of the nut, the soul of the text. What heavens are laid up in Jesus! What rivers of infinite bliss have their source, aye, and every drop of their fulness in him! Since, O sweet Lord Jesus, thou art the present portion of thy people, favour us this year with such a sense of thy preciousness, that from its first to its last day we may be glad and rejoice in thee. Let January open with joy in the Lord, and December close with gladness in Jesus.

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Today's reading: Genesis 1-3, Matthew 1 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Genesis 1-3

The Beginning

¹In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ²Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³ And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. ⁴God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.

...read the rest on Bible Gateway

Today's New Testament reading: Matthew 1

The Genealogy of Jesus

¹ A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:

² Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
³Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram....

...read the rest on Bible Gateway

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Reading 20: Let All God's Angels Worship Him

The author of the book of Hebrews, who did not identify himself, wrote this letter to Jewish Christians to encourage them in their faith. He reminded them that Jesus Christ came to the earth to fulfill the Old Testament Scriptures, that he is God, and that he is greater than even the angels.

Hebrews 1:1-14

The Son Superior to Angels

¹ In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say,

"You are my Son;
today I have become your Father"?

Or again,

"I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son"?

⁶ And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

"Let all God's angels worship him."

⁷ In speaking of the angels he says,

"He makes his angels winds,
his servants flames of fire."

⁸ But about the Son he says,

"Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy."

¹⁰ He also says,

"In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
¹¹ They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
¹² You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end."

¹³ To which of the angels did God ever say,

"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet"?

¹⁴ Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Further Study

JUST THE FACTS

How did God speak to "our forefathers"? How does God speak "in these last days"? (vv. 1 - 2)
Where does the Son now sit? (v. 3)
What tasks has God given the angels? (vv. 6 - 7,14)

LET'S TALK

What words and phrases show how Christ is greater than the angels?
How does this reading help you understand the "big picture" of Jesus' coming?

WHY THIS MATTERS

The Messiah's coming was foretold by the prophets. Jesus was born and lived and died as a human being. Now Jesus Christ holds a position of honor in heaven at the right hand of God.

POINTS OF INTEREST

1:5 The author of this letter quoted two Old Testament texts that his original readers would have been familiar with--Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14--to prove that Jesus Christ is God's Son.