“I Am Jesus"

Acts 9

 “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

 

 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 

 

 ² and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

³ As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 

 ⁴ Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

⁵ And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

⁶ So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”


⁷ And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 

 ⁸ Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 

 ⁹ And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Listen for the Signal

And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines. (2 Samuel 5:24)

There are signs of the Lord's moving which should move us. The Spirit of God blows where He listeth, and we hear the sound thereof. Then is the time for us to be more than ever astir. We must seize the golden opportunity and make the most we can of it. It is ours to fight the Philistines at all times; but when the Lord Himself goes out before us, then we should be specially valiant in the war.
The breeze stirred the tops of the trees, and David and his men took this for the signal for an onslaught, and at their advance the Lord Himself smote the Philistines. Oh, that this day the Lord may give us an opening to speak for Him with many of our friends!

Let us be on the watch to avail ourselves of the hopeful opening when it comes. Who knows but this may be a day of good tidings; a season of soul-winning.

 Let us keep our ear open to hear the rustle of the wind and our minds ready to obey the signal.

Is not this promise, "Then shall the Lord go out before thee," a sufficient encouragement to play the man? Since the Lord goes before us, we dare not hold back.

"Prepare Yourself Like A Man"

"God is looking for a few good man, are you one of them?"

 

The Lord Reveals His Omnipotence to Job    Job 38

 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

 

² “Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?

³ Now prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

 

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.

⁵ Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?

⁶ To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,

⁷ When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

"Overtake This Chariot !"

"What chariot is the Spirit of God asking you to overtake ?"

Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian                        Acts 8

 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 

 ²⁷ So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 

 ²⁸ was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 

 ²⁹ Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”


³⁰ So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”


³¹ And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 

 ³² The place in the Scripture which he read was this:

 

“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.

 

³³ In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”

 

 

³⁴ So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 

 

 

³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 

 

 ³⁶ Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”

^3
7 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”


³⁸ So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 

 ³⁹ Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. 

 ⁴⁰ But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.

May 2

Spiritual Sowing

He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (Galatians 6:8)

Sowing looks like a losing business, for we put good corn into the ground never to see it anymore. Sowing to the Spirit seems a very fanciful, dreamy business; for we deny ourselves and apparently get nothing for it.  Yet if we sow to the Spirit by studying to live unto God, seeking to obey the will of God, and laying ourselves out to promote His honor, we shall not sow in vain. Life shall be our reward, even everlasting life. This we enjoy here as we enter into the knowledge of God, communion with God, and enjoyment of God. This life flows on like an ever-deepening, ever-widening river till it bears us to the ocean of infinite felicity, where the life of God is ours forever and ever.
Let us not this day sow to our flesh, for the harvest will be corruption, since flesh always tends that way; but with holy self-conquest let us live for the highest, purest, and most spiritual ends, seeking to honor our most holy Lord by obeying His most gracious Spirit.

What a harvest will that be when we reap life everlasting! What sheaves of endless bliss will be reaped! What a festival will that harvest be! Lord, make us such reapers, for thy Son's sake.

"A Man Called Simon"

 “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 

“Give me this power"

    Acts 8

 But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, 

 ¹⁰ to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” 

 ¹¹ And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. 

 ¹² But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 

 ¹³ Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

The Sorcerer’s Sin

¹⁴ Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 

 ¹⁵ who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 

 ¹⁶ For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 

 ¹⁷ Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”


²⁰ But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 


²¹ You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 

 ²² Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 

 ²³ For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”


²⁴ Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”


²⁵ So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

May 1

Full of Song

The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)

When sin is pardoned, our greatest sorrow is ended, and our truest pleasure begins. Such is the joy which the Lord bestows upon His reconciled ones, that it overflows and fills all nature with delight.  The material world has latent music in it, and a renewed heart knows how to bring it out and make it vocal. Creation is the organ, and a gracious man finds out its keys, lays his hand thereon, and wakes the whole system of the universe to the harmony of praise.  Mountains and hills, and other great objects, are, as it were, the bass of the chorus; while the trees of the wood, and all things that have life, take up the air of the melodious song.
When God's Word is made to prosper among us and souls are saved, then everything seems full of song. When we hear the confessions of young believers and the testimonies of well-instructed saints, we are made so happy that we must praise the Lord, and then it seems as if rocks and hills and woods and fields echo our joy-notes and turn the world into an orchestra.

Lord, on this happy May Day, lead me out into thy tuneful world as rich in praise as a lark in full song.