Daily Devotionals

Spiritual Treasury For The Children of God

Devotional: December 31st

Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, from the foundation of the world.- Matthew 25:34.

This is a joyful word to our hearts now, "COME, let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow: though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."- Isaiah 1:18. This is another precious word from Jesus to our souls, "COME unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." O, but this last COME, from the lips of our KING, will be the most joyful crowning word of all! The best wine is reserved for the last. Every soul who hath tasted of the first on earth, shall assuredly drink his fill at the fountain-head, in a blissful, never-ending eternity of glory. "Ye blessed of my Father;" beloved from eternity, and blessed to eternity. Chosen in me, blessed in me with all spiritual blessings, I was given to, I sought you, and gathered you to myself in time; now come live and reign with me for ever in my kingdom. O, is not the thoughts of this enough to make one wish to break through the walls of our prison, the body! Praise, O soul! Call together all thy faculties! Rather, O divine Spirit, realize the view, bring near the solemn, joyful day to our minds! Give us even now to dwell on it with rapture of affections and ardor of love. "Inherit the kingdom prepared for you;" not bought by your good works, not purchased by your well-doings, not obtained by your faithfulness, but the free-gift of my Father’s love and good pleasure, richly prepared by his free-grace and bounty, purposely reserved for you. Come ye; all of ye. Not one of my little flock shall be wanting; there is a mansion for each of you ere you had a being, or time commenced; the kingdom was established, the heirs chosen, places prepared. I visited you on earth, so that you loved me though you saw me not: I invisibly worked upon your hearts, and, drew them out in love to myself, my cause, and my brethren, so you approved yourselves my disciples by following my example. Come ye, enter, possess, and enjoy what you were born for, born again, to be meet for. O, methinks it strikes one’s heart with heavenly, joy, to conceive of the loud hosannas and shoutings, (O that we may catch the heavenly flame!) "Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb, unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."- Revelation 1:5-6.

Now to the Lord that makes us know

The wonder of his dying love,

Be humble honors paid below,

And strains of nobler praise above.

Please credit and express your

appreciation for this work to:

Kathy Andariese

kandariese@optonline.net

He who endureth to the end shall be saved. Matthew 10:22.

We have now arrived to the end of another year. Look back with humility. Look up with hope. Look forward with joy. For consider what great things God hath done for us. “Now is our salvation nearer, than when we first believed,” (Romans 13:11.) Salvation, O the joyful sound! But, before the Sun of righteousness arose upon us, and displayed the glory of his finished salvation to our hearts, alas! what dark, proud, ignorant notions of salvation, did we entertain? Instead of seeing righteousness as a gift by Jesus Christ, and justification of life coming by free gift, and eternal life the gift of God, through Jesus Christ, (Romans 5:17-18. chap. Romans 6:23.) we vainly thought that salvation was to be obtained by our fulfilling certain terms and conditions. In our natural state of blindness, before we saw Jesus, we thought, enduring to the end, was the condition of being saved. Now we see we are “saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation,” (Isaiah 45:17.) Yet some, who do not clearly see the glory of Christ’s salvation, are puzzling themselves and others, with the notion of a conditional salvation. If salvation is put upon our conditions, it behooves us to consider what conditions we are to perform, in order to be saved. Every command may be considered as a condition. If we multiply them by four times forty-five, we shall come vastly short of their number. And we may be sure we shall never get to the end, so as to be saved by fulfilling them. O the arrogance of bankrupt sinners, whose case is desperate, and yet think of standing upon terms and conditions, with the most high God! But say some, though of ourselves we can do nothing, yet God enables us by His grace, to perform the conditions of salvation. This is just like a creditor, demanding a large sum of an insolvent debtor, who replies, I cannot pity you-I am not worth one farthing. But, says the creditor, I will come to terms with you. If you will pay me one shilling in the pound, on that condition, I will forgive you the whole debt. Says the penniless debtor, If you will assist me with the money, I will fulfil your condition. Strange compact! If we must have conditions of salvation, they are all to be reduced to this one, If you will save yourselves to the end, you shall be saved in the end. Consider the evil of this proud, unscriptural notion, and reject it. (1st.) While we are taken up with finding these conditions, striving to fulfil them, and looking for salvation by them, we sadly overlook precious Jesus, his blood and righteousness, and awfully depreciate and set at nought his finished salvation. And (2d.) We shall walk on very unhappily, and in the end, shall be very uncomfortable. What! If we strive to fulfil God’s law? Yes, if we reject his counsel of salvation, by free gift, of free grace, through the one atonement and righteousness of his beloved Son, to make way for our terms and conditions of salvation. So, (3d.) we shall bring ourselves into bondage. Says St. Paul, “I testify to every man who is circumcised (does any work as a condition, to be justified and saved) that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of none effect to him.” As he seeks to be justified by the law, he is fallen from grace. (Galatians 5:3-4.)

O brethren! beware, instead of enduring to the end by faith, that you do not stumble and fall at the very beginning through pride. But we began the year, seeing Jesus. We set out on our race with this free-grace truth, “When we had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave us all.” (Luke 7:42.) O in this blessed sight, and with this precious faith, let us endure to the end. In, and under all, that we have to endure, from a corrupt nature, a wicked world, and a subtle, malicious devil, nothing can bring relief to our consciences, patience to our minds, hope to our hearts, peace to our souls, and joy to our spirits, but looking unto Jesus. In him we see salvation-work for ever done for us. We hear and believe his cry from the cross, “It is finished.” We hear him proclaim from his throne in glory, “It is done,” I am Alpha and Omega, “the beginning and end of salvation.” (Revelation 21:6.) “We are chosen in him to salvation.” We know this. How? “Through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13.) “Christ, of God, is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30.) In the faith of this we persevere. “By faith we endure (every fight of affliction) seeing him who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:27.) We “run with patience the race set before us”-How? Looking to terms and conditions of salvation fulfilled by us? O no! But “looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2.) Consider that precious word, you who are ready to think your faith will not hold out to the end: the same Jesus who is the author, will be the finisher of your faith. While legal hearts work for life and salvation, it is the glory of gospel faith to live upon Jesus, to derive every grace and blessing from him, and to enjoy life and salvation in him, every step we take in the way to endless life and glory. Therefore in spite of all the deceitfulness of sin, and the art and malice of Satan, we shall “receive the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls.” 1 Peter 1:9.

Look up for persevering grace

To Jesus your best friend,

And hope to see his smiling face,

Enduring to the end.

Fear to turn back or slight the ways

Of truth and holiness;

For Jesus’ lavish of his grace,

And will with glory bless.

Please credit and express your

appreciation for this work to:

Kathy Andariese

kandariese@optonline.net