September 24—Morning—Luke 16:5
"How much do you owe my master?" — Luke 16:5

My soul, if this question, which the unjust steward put to his master’s debtors, were put to you concerning that immense debt that has made you eternally insolvent, what would your answer be? Never could you fathom the extent of it, much less think of paying the vast amount. A debtor to free grace for your very being; a debtor to free grace for your well-being; even ten thousand talents, like the man in the parable owed his master, wouldn’t be enough to measure what you truly owe your Lord, even for the common gifts of nature and providence.

But when the calculation moves on to grace, what archangel could ever write down the total sum? To the broken law of God, you stand as a bankrupt exposed to God's justice; subject to the dreadful penalty of everlasting death; tormented by the fears and alarms of a guilty conscience; facing the worm that never dies; and under the accusations of Satan, unable to answer even one in a thousand! My soul, how much do you owe your Lord?

Are there any other outstanding debts? Oh yes, infinitely more than these! What do you think, my soul, of Jesus? How much do you owe to the Father’s love in giving; to the Redeemer’s love in coming; and to the Holy Spirit in making the whole effective to your soul’s joy? Jesus has paid all your debts, canceled all the demands of God's righteous law, silenced Satan, satisfied justice, and not only redeemed you from everlasting bondage, misery, and eternal death, but has also brought you into His everlasting kingdom of freedom, joy, and glory!

Tell me, my soul, how much do you owe your Lord? Oh, what a precious debt—ever increasing, yet everlastingly making you happy in owing. Lord Jesus! I am Yours, and Your servant forever; You have loosed my bonds.
 

September 24—Evening—Isaiah 8:19
"Should not a people seek their God?" — Isaiah 8:19

Indeed, they should. My soul, what would become of you in your trials if you didn’t have a God in Christ to turn to, a God in Christ to depend upon? Where would you find a heart to pour all your griefs into if Jesus didn’t say to you, as He did to the sorrowful father concerning his child, "Bring him here to Me"?

You know, dearest Lord, that there are circumstances into which I am cast where only You can help; and even if help could come from others, who is there to turn to with a guarantee of success? "My friends," said Job, "have dealt deceitfully like a brook," like a stream dried up by the summer heat, disappointing the traveler when he most needs water to quench his thirst.

Oh, for grace to center all my desires in You, and to bring all my concerns to You! Blessed Lord, let the devout spirit of David in the wilderness be the spirit of my soul in every wilderness experience until I pass through the whole valley of Baca and reach the everlasting joy of being with You in heaven! "O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water" (Psalm 63:1).