Our Inheritance Through Christ  –   In Him we have obtained an inheritance.

Ephesians 1:11

When Jesus gave Himself for us, He gave us all the rights and privileges that went with Himself; so now, although as eternal God He has essential rights to which no creature may venture to pretend, yet as Jesus, the Mediator, the federal Head of the covenant of grace, He has no heritage apart from us. All the glorious consequences of His obedience unto death are the joint riches of all who are in Him, and on whose behalf He accomplished the divine will.

See, He enters into glory, but not for Himself alone, for it is written, “Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf.”1 Does He stand in the presence of God? Christ appears “in the presence of God on our behalf.”2 Consider this, believer: You have no right to heaven in yourself; your right lies in Christ.

If you are pardoned, it is through His blood; if you are justified, it is through His righteousness; if you are sanctified, it is because He is made of God unto you sanctification; if you shall be kept from falling, it will be because you are preserved in Christ Jesus; and if you are perfected at the last, it will be because you are complete in Him. Thus Jesus is magnified–for all is in Him and by Him; thus the inheritance is made certain to us–for it is obtained in Him; thus each blessing is the sweeter, and even heaven itself the brighter, because it is Jesus our Beloved in whom we have obtained all.

Where is the man who shall estimate our divine portion? Weigh the riches of Christ in scales and His treasure in balances, and then think to count the treasures that belong to the saints. Reach the bottom of Christ’s sea of joy, and then hope to understand the bliss that God has prepared for them that love Him. Overleap the boundaries of Christ’s possessions, and then dream of a limit to the fair inheritance of the elect. “All are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”3

1Hebrews 6:20

2Hebrews 9:24

31 Corinthians 3:22-23

The family reading plan for January 30, 2012

Esther 7 | Romans 2

Glorify and Praise God  –  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Luke 2:20

What was the subject of their praise? They praised God for what they had heard–for the good tidings of great joy that a Savior was born unto them. Let us copy them; let us also raise a song of thanksgiving that we have heard of Jesus and His salvation.

They also praised God for what they had seen. There is the sweetest music–what we have experienced, what we have felt within, what we have made our own. It is not enough to hear about Jesus: Mere hearing may tune the harp, but the fingers of living faith must create the music. If you have seen Jesus with the God-giving sight of faith, suffer no cobwebs to linger among the harp-strings, but loud with the praise of sovereign grace, awake your psaltery and harp.

One point for which they praised God was the agreement between what they had heard and what they had seen. Observe the last sentence–“as it had been told them.” Have you not found the Gospel to be in yourselves just what the Bible said it would be? Jesus said He would give you rest–have you not enjoyed the sweetest peace in Him?

He said you would have joy and comfort and life through believing in Him–have you not received all these? Are not His ways ways of pleasantness, and His paths paths of peace? Surely you can say with the queen of Sheba, “The half was not told me.”1

I have found Christ more sweet than His servants ever said He was. I looked upon His likeness as they painted it, but it was a mere daub compared with Himself; for the King in His beauty outshines all imaginable loveliness. Surely what we have “seen” keeps pace with, no, far exceeds what we have “heard.” Let us, then, glorify and praise God for a Savior so precious and so satisfying.

11 Kings 10:7

The family reading plan for January 28, 2012

Esther 5 | Acts 28

Wholly Available
Matthew 5:13-16 

Ask yourself this question: What kind of light am I? Is your glow perhaps a little dull–a flicker that others can see only if they’re really looking? Or are you the kind that brightens everything up when you walk into a room? As Christians, we ought to “shine” brilliantly, no matter where we are. When even a small flame is strong, it brings light to the whole room.

Shortsightedness may be what dims our radiance, and it can cause us to miss out on blessings. Before agreeing to cooperate with the Lord, we may think we have to see exactly what He plans to do. But we are called just to be faithful ambassadors who trust His Spirit to do the rest of the work in people’s hearts. God tells us, Don’t give Me a schedule–just trust Me. Watch Me do it My way in My time, and see what happens.

As a believer, you are someone special. And as a member of God’s family, you are indwelt by His Spirit; His light is the radiance within you. In terms of benefit to the kingdom, your life has potential beyond imagination. You have no idea what amazing things He can do–whether in the workplace, at school, or with family, neighbors, or friends–through your willingness simply to shine the light of His powerful love.

If you’ll just get on your knees and pray, “Lord, I’m available–do whatever You want with my life, and show me what to do,” you can be sure that He’ll reveal the next step. God is willing and ready to move in the life of anyone who chooses to be available for Him

The Exercise of Three Powers  –   But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.

Luke 2:19

There was an exercise, on the part of this blessed woman, of three powers of her being: her memory–she kept all these things; her affections–she kept them in her heart; her intellect–she pondered them; so memory, affection, and understanding were all exercised about the things that she had heard.

Beloved, remember what you have heard of your Lord Jesus and what He has done for you; make your heart the golden pot of manna to preserve the memorial of the heavenly bread whereon you have fed in days gone by. Let your memory treasure up everything about Christ that you have either felt or known or believed, and then let your fond affections hold Him fast forevermore.

Love the person of your Lord! Bring forth the alabaster box of your heart, even though it be broken, and let all the precious ointment of your affection come streaming onto His pierced feet. Let your intellect be exercised concerning the Lord Jesus. Meditate upon what you read. Stop not at the surface; dive into the depths. Be not as the swallow, which touches the brook with her wing, but as the fish, which penetrates the lowest wave.

Abide with your Lord: Let Him not be to you as a wayfaring man who tarries for a night, but constrain Him, saying, “Stay with us . . . the day is now far spent.”1 Hold Him, and do not let Him go. The word ponder means to weigh. Make ready the balances of judgment. Oh, but where are the scales that can weigh the Lord Christ? “He takes up the coastlands like fine dust”–who shall take Him up? He weighs “the mountains in scales”–in what scales shall we weigh Him?2 If your understanding cannot comprehend, let your affections apprehend; and if your spirit cannot compass the Lord Jesus in the grasp of understanding, let it embrace Him in the arms of affection.

1Luke 24:29

2Isaiah 40:15, 12

The family reading plan for January 27, 2012

Esther 4 | Acts 27