Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, March 28th, 2024
Maundy Thursday
There are 3 days til Easter!
Attention!
We are taking food to Ukrainians still living near the front lines. You can help by getting your church involved.
Click to donate today!

Daily Devotionals
The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions
Devotional: May 16th

Resource Toolbox

May 16—Morning—Mark 5:18-19

"And he that had been possessed with the devil, prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit, Jesus suffered him not; but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee."—Mark 5:18-19.

Mark this, my soul, and especially when at any time thy Jesus is so graciously revealing himself to thee, in a way of love, that thou art longing to be absent from the body, that thou mayest be "present with the Lord:" think then, of what Jesus said to this poor man. The thought of being made instrumental in the hand of the Lord in calling sinners to Jesus, made holy Paul willing to wait in a sinful world, and put off his own happiness. Precious frame of mind! Paul knew also, that if the Lord housed his children from the lion’s den, and from the mountains of leopards, as soon as he had brought them to the knowledge of himself, then, in this case, Jesus would have no church in the wilderness. The holy seed would not be found amidst the tares of the earth. Blessed Lord! give grace to every exercised child of thine to think of this; that when, under the various trials with which thy wisdom and love see fit to try their graces, they long to be home with thee, and are sending forth the. cry of the soul for dismission, they may hear thy voice speaking, as to this poor man, "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee." But pause, my soul—is this thy case? Hath Jesus done great things for thee, and art thou proclaiming it abroad to call others to partake? Suppose one from the throng was to ask thee, "What is thy Beloved, more than another beloved?" what would be thy answer? Wouldest thou say, how he hath blest thee in health, or wealth, or worldly success, or prosperity; in friends, and relations, and the like? And are these all the things, or the chief of them, that thou couldest speak of? If so, what are these more than carnal men can, and do speak of? The infidel, the Turk, the pagan, can boast as much! But if thou canst say, ’Oh! "come hither and hearken, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul!" I was once darkness, and am now light in the Lord. I was once in Satan’s chains, and Jesus hath set me free. I was once, like this poor man, under the possession of sin and Satan; but now I sit down at the feet of Jesus, to hear the gracious words which proceed out of his mouth. Here, my soul, this is indeed to tell thy friends how great things the Lord hath done for thee. Oh! for grace thus to proclaim his adorable name while on earth, until Jesus comes to take me home to himself, there to sound his praise before the whole redeemed church of God for ever!

May 16—Evening—Esther 4:16

"So will I go unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish."—Esther 4:16.

What a noble act of the soul is faith! Who, indeed, but the Lord Jesus, can be the author or giver of it? Ponder it well, my soul, and see if thou canst discover the smallest possible degree of it in thee. To have the least portion of it is an evidence of an interest in Christ; for it is said, that "as many as were ordained to eternal life believed," Acts 13:48. And Oh! what an honour is it to give credit to God the Father’s testimony of his dear Son!—Sit down, my soul, this evening, and pause over the subject. There are more difficulties to the exercise of it than are generally considered. The case of Esther, in the court of the Persian king, will serve, in some measure, to explain it. By the law of Persia, every individual, whether man or woman, who ventured into the inner court of the king’s presence uncalled, was condemned to death; neither was there any remission of the punishment, unless the king held out to the offender the golden sceptre. The case, however, for which Esther was constrained to go in, was of that nature, that there remained no alternative, but to go or die. Contrary to the known law of the realm, she therefore ventured, crying out as she went, "If I perish, I perish." Now this is quite the state of the poor sinner. The law of God for ever separates between a holy God and an unholy sinner. "Thou canst not see my face and live." Nothing that is "unholy, can stand in God’s sight." These are the solemn declarations of the law of heaven. God hath indeed reserved the grace of pardon, to whom he will hold out the golden sceptre. But even this grace doth not reign but through righteousness. The law admits of nothing by way of pardon, but upon the ground of satisfaction. A righteousness every sinner must have in himself, or in a Redeemer, or he will perish everlastingly. Hast thou then, my soul, that faith, that trust, that sure dependence, upon the Lord Jesus Christ, as to go in unto the King, which is not according to law, but wholly on the blessed authority of the gospel, determined, like Esther, to be saved by this grace of thy King and Saviour, or not at all? Yes, Lord! I come. Precious Emanuel! wilt thou not hold forth the golden sceptre of thy grace, and say to my soul, as thou didst to the poor woman in the gospel, "Great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt?"

Subscribe …
Get the latest devotional delivered straight to your inbox every week by signing up for the "The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions" subscription list. Simply provide your email address below, click on "Subscribe!", and you'll receive a confirmation email from us. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your subscription to this list.
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile