December 29 Daily Devotional

Bible Readings:

Deuteronomy 6:10-15, 17-18, King James Version:
¹⁰And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
¹¹And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
¹²Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
¹³Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
¹⁴Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
¹⁵(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth....
¹⁷Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
¹⁸And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers.

Luke 12:16-21, KJV:
¹⁶And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
¹⁷And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
¹⁸And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
²⁰But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
²¹So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Hebrews, 12:6-7, 9-11, KJV:
⁶For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
⁷If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?...
⁹Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
¹⁰For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
¹¹Now 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.

James 1:2-4, KJV:
²My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
³Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
⁴But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting [lacking] nothing.

1 Peter 1:3-9, KJV:
³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
⁴To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
⁵Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
⁶Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
⁷That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
⁸Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
⁹Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Devotional:

God tries His people. He tests their faith in His power and willingness to provide for their needs. Sometimes the testing is in the form of chastening. The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us, "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." Does affliction in the form of sickness, disappointment, or the death of a loved one bring forth bitterness in us, or does it drive us closer to God and the comfort of His Word? Our growth in grace may be measured by our attitude toward adversity. Can we stand the test and say

"My Jesus, as Thou wilt,
   O may my will be Thine,
Into Thy hand of love
   I would my all resign.
Through sorrow or through joy
   I travel calmly on
And sing in life or death,
   My Lord, thy will be done."

But submission alone is not proof of successful passing of the test. If one is to prove his faith, he must lift his bowed head and face again the responsibilities of the Christian life.

Dwelling upon one's troubles will render the believer ineffectual as a witness to Christ. But there is also the test of success. And perhaps this is even more difficult to pass. It takes the grace of God in abundance to enable a Christian to stand prosperity. On the one hand the chastened Christian is tempted to forsake God for a more visible means of support in his hour of need, and on the other hand the prosperous man feels no need of Divine aid. Like the rich man we would say, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry."

In the latter case God's children need grace to keep them humbly dependent on Him. They need to realize their stewardship of God's gifts. Material prosperity is no indisputable evidence of spiritual life, nor is constant trouble and affliction. Each is to be received as God's providential means of purifying the soul. In life or in death, in plenty or in want, we are the Lord's.

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.