Christian, be joyful! For you are a people saved by the Lord!

Israel was God’s first “chosen people,” and those saved in Israel, who descended from Jacob, like us, were those of faith. For those who were not of the faith of Abraham were broken off, and you were grafted in (Rom. 11:17). This should be reason for fear (Rom. 11:20), humility (Rom. 11:18), and joy. We have not replaced Israel, but been joined to the true Israel, that God’s Israel might be complete.

It is not those born of the flesh who are Israel, but those born of the promise (Rom. 9:8). This is how Paul is able to say, “For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel” (Rom. 9:6). For Abraham is “the father of all who believe,” of those who “follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham” (Rom. 4:11-12).

The promise is by faith, so that it might be in accordance with grace, both of which come from God (Rom. 4:16; Eph. 2:8-9).

Let us therefore be joyful, as Jesus spoke, that we should have His joy, and that our “joy may be made full” (Jn. 15:11). Rejoice brethren, that you are a people saved by the Lord!


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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, September 27

"Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord!" Deuteronomy 33:29

He who affirms that Christianity makes men miserable, is himself an utter stranger to it. It were strange indeed, if it made us wretched, for see to what a position it exalts us! It makes us sons of God. Suppose you that God will give all the happiness to His enemies, and reserve all the mourning for His own family? Shall His foes have mirth and joy, and shall His home-born children inherit sorrow and wretchedness? Shall the sinner, who has no part in Christ, call himself rich in happiness, and shall we go mourning as if we were penniless beggars? No, we will rejoice in the Lord always, and glory in our inheritance, for we "have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but we have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." The rod of chastisement must rest upon us in our measure, but it worketh for us the comfortable fruits of righteousness; and therefore by the aid of the divine Comforter, we, the "people saved of the Lord," will joy in the God of our salvation. We are married unto Christ; and shall our great Bridegroom permit His spouse to linger in constant grief? Our hearts are knit unto Him: we are His members, and though for awhile we may suffer as our Head once suffered, yet we are even now blessed with heavenly blessings in Him. We have the earnest of our inheritance in the comforts of the Spirit, which are neither few nor small. Heritors of joy for ever, we have foretastes of our portion. There are streaks of the light of joy to herald our eternal sunrising. Our riches are beyond the sea; our city with firm foundations lies on the other side the river; gleams of glory from the spirit-world cheer our hearts, and urge us onward. Truly is it said of us, "Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord?"

““And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭10‬:‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Christian, are you an encourager? Do you encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ? Or do you tend to discourage? Never forget, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Pr. 18:21). As followers of Christ, our words should impart life, they should edify, not tear down.

Believer, it is to this we are called. The author of Hebrews tells us, “let is consider how to inspire one another to love and good works…encouraging one another” (Heb. 10:24-25). Will we then curse our brother? How can we do so, when like us, he is made in the image of God (Jas. 3:9-10)?

No, let us instead “encourage one another and build up one another” (1 Thes. 5:11), as we are exhorted by Scripture. This is part and parcel of our calling, that we “encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13).

Who can you encourage today?

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Evening, September 17

"Encourage him." Deuteronomy 1:38

God employs His people to encourage one another. He did not say to an angel, "Gabriel, my servant Joshua is about to lead my people into Canaan- go, encourage him." God never works needless miracles; if His purposes can be accomplished by ordinary means, He will not use miraculous agency. Gabriel would not have been half so well fitted for the work as Moses. A brother's sympathy is more precious than an angel's embassy. The angel, swift of wing, had better known the Master's bidding than the people's temper. An angel had never experienced the hardness of the road, nor seen the fiery serpents, nor had he led the stiff-necked multitude in the wilderness as Moses had done. We should be glad that God usually works for man by man. It forms a bond of brotherhood, and being mutually dependent on one another, we are fused more completely into one family. Brethren, take the text as God's message to you. Labour to help others, and especially strive to encourage them. Talk cheerily to the young and anxious enquirer, lovingly try to remove stumblingblocks out of his way. When you find a spark of grace in the heart, kneel down and blow it into a flame. Leave the young believer to discover the roughness of the road by degrees, but tell him of the strength which dwells in God, of the sureness of the promise, and of the charms of communion with Christ. Aim to comfort the sorrowful, and to animate the desponding. Speak a word in season to him that is weary, and encourage those who are fearful to go on their way with gladness. God encourages you by His promises; Christ encourages you as He points to the heaven He has won for you, and the spirit encourages you as He works in you to will and to do of His own will and pleasure. Imitate divine wisdom, and encourage others, according to the word of this evening.

Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, July 19

"The Lord our God hath shewed us His glory." Deuteronomy 5:24

God's great design in all His works is the manifestation of His own glory. Any aim less than this were unworthy of Himself. But how shall the glory of God be manifested to such fallen creatures as we are? Man's eye is not single, he has ever a side glance towards his own honour, has too high an estimate of his own powers, and so is not qualified to behold the glory of the Lord. It is clear, then, that self must stand out of the way, that there may be room for God to be exalted; and this is the reason why He bringeth His people ofttimes into straits and difficulties, that, being made conscious of their own folly and weakness, they may be fitted to behold the majesty of God when He comes forth to work their deliverance. He whose life is one even and smooth path, will see but little of the glory of the Lord, for he has few occasions of self-emptying, and hence, but little fitness for being filled with the revelation of God. They who navigate little streams and shallow creeks, know but little of the God of tempests; but they who "do business in great waters," these see His "wonders in the deep." Among the huge Atlantic-waves of bereavement, poverty, temptation, and reproach, we learn the power of Jehovah, because we feel the littleness of man. Thank God, then, if you have been led by a rough road: it is this which has given you your experience of God's greatness and lovingkindness. Your troubles have enriched you with a wealth of knowledge to be gained by no other means: your trials have been the cleft of the rock in which Jehovah has set you, as He did His servant Moses, that you might behold His glory as it passed by. Praise God that you have not been left to the darkness and ignorance which continued prosperity might have involved, but that in the great fight of affliction, you have been capacitated for the outshinings of His glory in His wonderful dealings with you.

Deuteronomy Chapter 25
https://substack.com/home/post/p-159125222

Deuteronomy
Chapter 14
https://substack.com/home/post/p-158701808

Deuteronomy
Chapter 12
https://substack.com/home/post/p-158647214

Deuteronomy
Chapter 8
https://substack.com/home/post/p-158515372

Deuteronomy
Chapter 6
https://substack.com/home/post/p-158439622

Deuteronomy
Chapter 4
https://substack.com/home/post/p-158366237

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2028&version=NIV

Pastor James Coates
GraceLife Church, Edmonton
Deuteronomy 30
https://youtu.be/SLjSSKwq_uM

“Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭4‬:‭39‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/114/deu.4.39.NKJV

Memorizing Scripture is beneficial because it:
Helps to renew your mind and change your thought life, establishing permanent change in your entire manner of life and conduct (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2-3).
Follows the example of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 4:1-10).
Equips you to use Scripture in everyday situations (for example: Acts 2:16-21, 25-28; 3:22-23; 13:40-41, 47).
Allows God’s Word to be the foundation of your life (Deuteronomy 6:6-8).
Provides guidance (Psalm 119:24, 105).
Develops confidence in witnessing (Isaiah 55:11).
Establishes a fountain to conquer temptation (for example: Matthew 4:1-10) and to gain victory over sin (Psalm 119:9-11).
Becomes an integral part of your prayer life (for example: Acts 4:24-31).
Enables you to teach, counsel, encourage, and build up others in the Body of Christ (Colossians 3:16).
Provides a basis for meditation On God’s Word (Psalm 119:15-16, 97).
Makes the Word of God readily available for comfort (Psalm 119:52).
Keeps God’s Word ready to refresh or revive (Psalm 119:93).
Provides stability in your spiritual life (Psalm 37:31; 40:8).
Gives you the truth so that, at times of need, you are ready to answer others concerning your source of hope (Proverbs 22:17-21; 1 Peter 3:15).
~John Broger