Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

December 25– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“Job rose early in the morning and offered burnt offerings on behalf of his children.”

—Job 1:5

What the patriarch did early in the morning after the family festivities is good for the believer to do for himself before he falls asleep tonight. Among the cheerfulness of household gatherings, it is easy to slide into sinful frivolities and forget our avowed character as Christians. This should not be so, but the fact is that days of feasting are seldom days of sanctified enjoyment; too frequently they degenerate into unholy jesting and merriment. There is a way for joy to be pure and sanctifying, cleansing us as though we bathed in the rivers of Eden; holy gratitude should be just as purifying going through time of grief. But, sadly for our poor hearts, it has been proved time and time again that the house of mourning is better than the house of feasting.

Dear believer, in what ways have you sinned today? Have you been forgetful of your high calling? Have you been living like others who engage in worthless and aimless conversations? If so, then confess your sin and fly to the sacrifice. The sacrifice cleanses and sets you apart once again to the ways and purposes of God. The precious blood of the Lamb that was slain removes the guilt and purges away the defilement of our sins of ignorance and carelessness.

This is a fitting ending for a Christmas Day— to be washed anew in the cleansing fountain of Lord Jesus, who came to be our Savior from sin. Dear believer, come to this sacrifice continually; it is good to do so tonight and every night. To live at the altar is the privilege of the royal priesthood. To them, sin, as great as it is, is no cause for despair, since they draw near yet again to the sin-atoning victim, and their conscience is purged from dead works.

Gladly I close this festive day, grasping the altar’s holy horn;
My slips and faults are washed away; my sins the Lamb has borne. [M&E]