Category: Devotion of the Day

Deovtion of the Day

Wine or Vinegar?

Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.
Jeremiah 15:16

McLaren speaks of the “perverse ingenuity…of that state of mind in which some manage to distil for themselves a bitter vinegar of self-accusation out of grand words in the Bible that were meant to afford them but the wine of gladness and of consolation.”

The Spirit does indeed use the Word to convict the guilty and uneasy conscience, but, on the other hand, the Accuser may so beset us that Scriptures meant to give us assurance may but make us miserable. The devil is the author of a false confidence but he also generates a false diffidence, so that we get vinegar out of what should be wine to our souls.

If you have definitely committed all you are and have to God, do not be afraid to enjoy the wine of the Word. Do not cultivate a perverted taste that distils vinegar instead.

The daily devotions are from Day by Day by Vance Havner. Fleming H. Revell Company, 1953.

Devotion of the Day

What Kind of Faith?

According to your faith be it unto you.
Matthew 9:29

“Do I have the right kind of faith?” Dr. Biederwolf used to say, “If you have any faith at all, you may be sure it is the right kind.” Do not waste time taking your faith apart and putting it back together. Do not expect saving faith to be some strange, different kind. You believe in Christ with faith like the faith you use when you trust someone or something else. It is the object that makes the difference.

If you have any uncertainty about the matter, come to a definite decision. Trust Christ now. It may help you to put down the time and place. You must have confidence in the decision and consider it settled. But do not confuse faith in your faith with faith in the Saviour. Faith has no value of its own, it has value only as it connects us with Him.

It is a trick of Satan to get us occupied with examining our faith instead of resting in the Faithful One. Go to Him just as you are as best you know. Him that cometh He will not cast out.

The daily devotions are from Day by Day by Vance Havner. Fleming H. Revell Company, 1953.