December 14 Daily Devotional

Bible Readings:

Matthew 5:11-12, King James Version:
¹¹Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
¹²Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 6:25-33, KJV:
²⁵Therefore I say unto you, 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. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
²⁶Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
²⁷Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
²⁸And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
²⁹And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
³⁰Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
³¹Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
³²(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
³³But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 10:29-32, KJV:
²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
³⁰But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
³¹Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
³²Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

Romans 8:1-2, KJV:
¹There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Devotional:

Though William E. Henley boasted of his strength asserting that he is the master of his fate and captain of his soul we suspect a fear lurking in the background of these words. What strong man must boast of his strength? He who whistles in the dark to keep up his morale reveals a hidden need. It can well be said of all men that they are a fearful lot. From childhood to old age fear expresses itself in our lives, and no man can assure us that we shall be free from it altogether. Since that episode in the Garden of Eden when man fell from his perfect estate, the fear and awe of God has given place in the lives of men to timidity and fear of men and things. Both Christians and non-Christians have fears, and all of this anxiety and timidity results from a lack of faith in the power and love of God. The unbeliever need always fear. And among those nations where the gospel has not been preached or where Christianity has not been presented in its fullness there is superstition and dread of the supernatural. Magic is resorted to instead of the Word of the living God when evil and pain enter the lives of the men of those nations. It has been rightly said by that great Presbyterian divine, Witherspoon, "It is only the fear of God that can deliver us from the fear of men." But what is the fear of God? It is surely not torment of spirit at the contemplation of God. The devils have such fear, and all those whose sins are not covered by the blood of Christ will have that fear when they are confronted with their guilt in the day of judgment. But the fear of God is not that. It is reverence and awe for the holy God. It is a recognition of His majesty and power. It is a trust in His mercy and love. To use the words of Pascal, "There is a virtuous fear which is the effect of faith, and a vicious fear which is the product of doubt and distrust. The former leads to hope as relying on God, in whom we believe; the latter inclines to despair, as not relying upon God, in whom we do not believe.—Persons of the one character fear to lose God; those of the other character fear to find Him."

As Christians develop in the life of faith they drop off those dead scales of fears. They continually pray

"Lord, I believe; but gloomy fears
   sometimes bedim my sight;
I look to thee with prayers and tears,
   And cry for strength and light."

And in no other way but in humble reliance upon God's grace shall we ever be delivered from the yoke of fear. Do we fear for the future? That is in the hand of Him who knows the end from the beginning. Do we fear for our livelihood? Does He not care for sparrows? Do we fear the reproach of men? Has not our Lord told us to rejoice when men revile and persecute us, for our reward awaits us in heaven? Do we fear physical death? Is not that but the upward step to heaven's glories? Do we fear the judgment day? Hear the word of God! "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." Well might we fear when we sin against God. But for the Christian that fear can be a means of sanctification, for that very solicitude for our conduct is evidence that God's Spirit is working in our hearts to produce holiness. Hesitation to commit sin is a healthy state of mind when combined with the trust in Christ to deliver us from that temptation to commit sin.

But to no one else can we look for deliverance from all fear but the Lord who said to the waves of the sea, "Peace, be still."

The hymn writer puts it thus:

I look not round me; then would fears assail me,
   So wild the tumult of earth's restless seas,
So dark the world, so filled with woe and evil,
   So vain the hope of comfort and of ease.

But I look up into the face of Jesus,
   For there my heart can rest, my fears are stilled;
And there is joy, and love, and light for darkness,
   And perfect peace, and every hope fulfilled.

We are very happy to make available to you this month these devotionals by the late Rev. LeRoy B. Oliver. They originally appeared in The Presbyerian Guardian during the late 1940's.

The description of his "Your Family Altar" page in The Presbyterian Guardian also fits this Web page: "The page is designed for both private and family use, whichever is most convenient in your case. If you do not have family worship in your home, we hope you will begin, and suggest using these readings. They should not, however, take the place of reading books of the Bible, or the Bible itself, through in regular course." It is those who abide (continue) in the Word who are truly Christ's disciples, who know the truth, and who experience freedom in Him (John 8:31-32). May these devotionals be used for the building up of God's people and to the glory of God.