Key Verse: "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him."
- Psalm 103:13 KJV
"Abba, Father!" is a Gospel word. A father bending
over the sick bed of his weak or dying child; a mother pressing, in
tender solitude, an infant sufferer to her bosom. These are the earthly
pictures of Almighty God. "As a father pities his children." "As
one whom his mother comforts — so will I comfort you!"
Key Verse: "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:"
- Psalm 66:18 KJV
Iniquity is more than just sin. It speaks of deep moral corruption, a bending or twisting of what is right. While sin can describe a wrong act, iniquity points to a condition of the heart, an inward inclination away from God’s holiness. The word often carries the idea of premeditated or habitual wrongdoing, revealing how far the human heart can drift when it turns from the Lord.
Key Verse: "Pure
religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the
fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted
from the world."
- James 1:27 KJV
The world may say as it will of the Christian religion—but it is only by it that the human mind is exalted, and men rise into eternal glory. The pleasures of piety sweeten my acid griefs, and blunt my acute pains. In this I triumph over my troubles, defy my enemies; and outrun my woes. Here I relish unseen realities, taste spiritual joys, and eat of the hidden manna.
Key Verse: "But ye are not in the
flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his"
- Romans 8:9 KJV
Our possession of the Holy Spirit is the very essence of what it means to be a Christian. As noted in our Key Verse above, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Those who belong to Christ have the Holy Spirit living within them. Moreover, if you have Him indwelling you, you will live like Him (vv. 10-13).
Key Verse: "But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid."
- John 6:20 KJV
Imagine yourself threading your way along a most
difficult and perilous path, every step of which is attended with pain and
jeopardy, and is taken with hesitancy and doubt. Unknown to you and unseen,
there is one hovering each moment around you, checking each false step, and
guiding each doubtful one; soothing each sorrow, and supplying each need.
All is calm and silent. Not a sound is heard, not a movement is seen; and
yet, to your amazement, just at the critical moment the needed support
comes- you know not from where, you know not from whom. This is no picture
of fancy.
Key Verse: "And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah."
- 1 Kings 17:16 KJV
See the faithfulness of divine love. You observe
that this woman had daily necessities. She had herself and her son to
feed in a time of famine; and now, in addition, the prophet Elijah was to be
fed too. But though the need was threefold—yet the supply of flour was not
used up, for she had a constant supply. Each day she made calls upon the
barrel—but yet each day it remained the same.
Key Verse: "The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple."
- Psalm 119:130 KJV
The word "simple" means literally something which is not
folded or twisted together. But owing to the treacherous and desperately
deceitful heart of man, all, without exception, in a state of nature are the
reverse of this. All their plots and contrivances for worldly profit or
fleshly pleasure are tangled and complicated; and they are continually
twisting together some thread or other of carnal policy.
Bible Reading: Psalm 103:10-17 KJV Key Verse: " Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him...
