Dawn 2 Dusk The Crossroads of “After Me”Jesus doesn’t whisper His invitation to a spiritual elite—He calls the crowd close and makes discipleship plain: coming after Him will collide with our instincts for comfort, control, and self-protection. Mark 8:34 presses a question into everyday life: Who gets to be in charge of me—myself, or my Savior? Denying Yourself Without Losing Yourself Jesus says, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself…” (Mark 8:34). That isn’t a command to despise your humanity; it’s a command to refuse self as king. Denying yourself is the daily decision to stop treating your preferences as ultimate, your feelings as final, and your plans as untouchable—because Jesus is better, wiser, and more trustworthy than the version of you that always has to win. This is where freedom begins. When Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20), he’s describing the strange joy of a dethroned ego. You don’t become less alive; you become rightly alive—finally able to want what is good, choose what is true, and love without needing to be the center. Taking Up the Cross When It’s Heavy Jesus continues: “…and take up his cross…” (Mark 8:34). A cross isn’t a vague inconvenience; it’s the place where our will dies. Sometimes it’s costly obedience no one applauds. Sometimes it’s saying no to sin that used to feel like home. Sometimes it’s enduring suffering with faith when shortcuts are available, trusting that God is not wasting your pain. And Jesus doesn’t pretend it will feel light in the moment. But He promises it will not be meaningless. “For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). The cross you carry in fellowship with Christ is never just loss—it is God’s strange, holy pathway to deeper life, steadier hope, and lasting joy. Following Jesus into Ordinary Hours Finally: “…and follow Me” (Mark 8:34). Following isn’t merely admiring Jesus; it’s obeying Him close-up—step by step—when the next step isn’t glamorous. It’s choosing His words over the world’s noise, His ways over your impulses, His mission over your comfort. It’s letting Him set the direction when you would rather negotiate terms. And Jesus ties following to serving: “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him” (John 12:26). Today’s follow might look like confession instead of hiding, generosity instead of grasping, courage instead of avoidance, forgiveness instead of replaying the injury. The path is narrow, but you are not walking behind a theory—you are walking behind a living King. Father, thank You for Jesus and for calling me to real life. Give me grace today to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Him in practical obedience. Amen. Evening with A.W. Tozer Striving for NumbersIn Christian circles today, the church that can show an impressive quantitative growth is frankly envied and imitated by other ambitious churches. Numbers, size and amounts seem to be very nearly all that matter-with a corresponding lack of emphasis on quality! This is the age of the Laodiceans. The great goddess, Numbers, is worshiped with fervent devotion and all things religious are brought before her for examination. Her Old Testament is the financial report and her New Testament is the membership roll. To these she appeals as the test of spiritual growth and the proof of success or failure in most Christian endeavors. A little acquaintance with the Bible should show this up for the heresy it is. To judge anything spiritual by statistics is to judge by another than scriptural judgment. Yet this is being done every day by ministers, church boards and denominational leaders. And hardly anyone seems to notice the deep and dangerous error! Music For the Soul Rest and ConsciousnessAs for me, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness. - Psalm 17:15 The "sleeper in Christ" is not unconscious. He is parted from the outer world; he is unaware of externals. When Stephen knelt below the old wall, and was surrounded by howling fanatics that slew him, one moment he was gashed with stones and tortured, and the next " he fell on sleep." They might howl, and the stones fly as they would, and he was all unaware of it. Like Jonah sleeping in the hold, what mattered the howling of the storm to him? But separation from externals does not mean suspense of life or of consciousness; and the slumberer often dreams, and is aware of himself persistently throughout his slumber. Nay! some of his faculties are set at liberty to work more energetically because his connection with the outer world is for the time suspended. Scripture, as it seems to me, distinctly carries this limitation of the emblem. For what does it mean when the Apostle says, "to depart . . . to be with Christ is far better "? Surely he that thus spoke conceived that these two things were contemporaneous, " the departing and the being with Him." And surely he who thus spoke could not have conceived that a millennium-long parenthesis of slumberous unconsciousness was to intervene between the moment of his decease and the moment of his fellowship with Jesus. How could a man prefer that dormant state to the state here, of working for and living with the Lord? Surely, being with Him must mean that we know where we are and who is our companion. And what does that text mean, " Ye are come unto the spirits of just men made perfect,"’ unless it means that of these two classes of persons who are thus regarded as brought into living fellowship, each is aware of the other? Does perfecting of the spirit mean the smiting of the spirit into unconsciousness? Surely not, and surely in the face of such words as these we must recognize the fact that, however limited and imperfect may be the present connection with the disembodied dead, who sleep in Christ, with external things - they know themselves, they know their home and their companions, and they know the blessedness in which they are lapped. We have also the idea of awaking. The pagans said, as indeed one of their poets has it, "Suns can sink and return, but for us, when our brief light sinks, there is but one perpetual night of slumber." The Christian idea of death is that it is transitory as a sleep in the morning, and sure to end. As St. Augustine says somewhere, "Wherefore are they called sleepers but because in the day of the Lord they will be re-awakened." Spurgeon: Morning and Evening Acts 27:23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God. Tempest and long darkness, coupled with imminent risk of shipwreck, had brought the crew of the vessel into a sad case; one man alone among them remained perfectly calm, and by his word the rest were reassured. Paul was the only man who had heart enough to say, "Sirs, be of good cheer." There were veteran Roman legionaries on board, and brave old mariners, and yet their poor Jewish prisoner had more spirit than they all. He had a secret Friend who kept his courage up. The Lord Jesus despatched a heavenly messenger to whisper words of consolation in the ear of his faithful servant; therefore he wore a shining countenance, and spake like a man at ease. If we fear the Lord, we may look for timely interpositions when our case is at its worst. Angels are not kept from us by storms, or hindered by darkness. Seraphs think it no humiliation to visit the poorest of the heavenly family. If angel's visits are few and far between at ordinary times, they shall be frequent in our nights of tempest and tossing. Friends may drop from us when we are under pressure, but our intercourse with the inhabitants of the angelic world shall be more abundant; and in the strength of love-words, brought to us from the throne by the way of Jacob's ladder, we shall be strong to do exploits. Dear reader, is this an hour of distress with you? then ask for peculiar help. Jesus is the angel of the covenant, and if his presence be now earnestly sought, it will not be denied. What that presence brings in heart-cheer those remember who, like Paul, have had the angel of God standing by them in a night of storm, when anchors would no longer hold, and rocks were nigh. "O angel of my God, be near, Amid the darkness hush my fear; Loud roars the wild tempestuous sea, Thy presence, Lord, shall comfort me." Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook Look and LiveThis is a glorious gospel type. Jesus, numbered with the transgressors, hangs before us on the cross. A look to Him will heal us of the serpent-bite of sin; will heal us at once -- "When he looketh upon it, he shall live." Let the reader who is mourning his sinfulness note the words -- "Everyone that looketh upon it shall live." Every looker will find this true. I have found it so. I looked to Jesus and lived at once, I know I did. Reader, if you look to Jesus you will live, too. True, you are swelling with the venom, and you see no hope, True, also there is no hope but this one. But this is no doubtful cure -- "Everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live." The brazen serpent was not lifted up as a curiosity to be gazed upon by the healthy; but its special purpose was for those who were "bitten." Jesus died as a real Savior for real sinners. Whether the bite has made you a drunkard, or a thief, or an unchaste or a profane person, a look at the great Savior will heal you of these diseases and make you live in holiness and communion with God. Look and live. The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer He Shall Glorify MeIF Jesus is to be glorified, our pride must be mortified, and our spirits humbled. It is the Spirit’s office and work to glorify Jesus; this He does, by discovering to us our wretched and ruined state, and leading us to Him to crave salvation as a favour at His hands. By daily emptying us and leading us to Him for all we need. By giving us to see, that all God has created cannot satisfy an immortal spirit for one moment of time, but that there is enough in Jesus to satisfy it throughout eternity. Jesus is glorified when we mourn over sin, and wash in the fountain of His blood; when we renounce our own doings and feelings, and desire to be found in His righteousness alone; when we refuse to look to any other quarter for help, relief, or comfort, but to Him; when His dear name fills all our songs; and when we long to have a crown to cast at His feet, and a harp that will worthily sound forth His praise. "He shall glorify Me." This decrees the death of pride, self, and creature excellence. Beloved, whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all to the glory of Jesus. He is the Lord of all. Lord, draw my heart from earth away And make it only know Thy call; Speak to my inmost soul, and say, "I am thy Saviour, God, thine All!" O dwell in me, and fill my soul, And all my powers by Thine control. Bible League: Living His Word In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.— John 14:2 NKJV Jesus was about to leave His disciples by dying on the cross. Although He was about to leave them, He was not about to forget them. In fact, it was just the opposite. He was about to leave them so He could go and prepare a special place for them. He was about to do this so that "where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:3). Jesus, in other words, kept His disciples in mind, cared for them, and made sure they would always have a place with Him in the coming ages. Where is this place that Jesus had in mind? It is, of course, in heaven. Jesus was going to return to heaven from whence He came. This place is referred to as the "New Jerusalem" in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 21). Since Jesus was going there to prepare a place for His disciples, one might say that the New Jerusalem was under construction. The many mansions referred to in our verse for today would be built for the disciples in preparation for when they died and went to heaven themselves. Although the place Jesus was preparing for His disciples is in heaven, it will not stay in heaven. One day it will come down to earth. How do we know this? We know because the Apostle John saw it come down in a prophetic vision. He described it in this way: "Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:2). There will be heaven, with all its mansions, on earth. What was true for the disciples of Jesus back then is true for His disciples throughout the ages. He's still preparing places. He's still preparing places for all of us. The New Jerusalem is still under construction. As the gospel message spreads and new converts are brought in, there is a need for more mansions. The construction won't end until the full number is brought in. If you're a Christian, then you need a place in heaven too. Like He did for his first disciples, Jesus is in the process of fulfilling that need. He's preparing a mansion for you -- that where He is you may be also. Daily Light on the Daily Path 2 Timothy 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.Matthew 10:35,36 "For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; • and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. James 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 1 John 2:15,16 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. • For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. John 15:18-20 "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. • "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. • "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. John 17:14 "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion A gentle answer deflects anger,but harsh words make tempers flare. Insight Have you ever tried to argue in a whisper? It is equally hard to argue with someone who insists on answering gently. On the other hand, a rising voice and harsh words almost always trigger an angry response. Challenge To turn away wrath and seek peace, choose gentle words. Devotional Hours Within the Bible God’s Blessing upon SolomonThere is a measure of moral safety in work. While Solomon was busy with all his great plans, he was in less danger of being led away from God. At length, however, his magnificent projects were all completed and he was ready to enjoy the ease and the fame which he had earned in his twenty-four years of wonderful activity. Instead, however, of being a time of security this was Solomon’s time of danger. There is peril in popularity. It brings adulation, which ofttimes becomes almost adoration. This is apt to turn one’s head. One who is honored so by the world does not always remain humble and lowly. Then Solomon’s greater leisure since his buildings were finished, also brought danger. We are more open to temptations when we are idle than when we are busy. Work is always a means of grace and idleness brings peril. Luxury also has its dangers, and often saps the spiritual life of its vitality. In all these ways, Solomon found himself now in danger. He was unconscious, however, of his peril, and this made it all the worse! We think that seasons of trouble, sorrow, and hardship are the times when people need sympathy and help; but really they need the grace of God most when they are in the midst of worldly favor and prosperity! A saintly man said to his friend, “If you ever see me beginning to get rich pray for my soul.” The Lord appeared to Solomon when he was beginning his reign, when he was making his choice of objects in life. Then all was bright. He appeared to him the second time because he was in danger. He saw that the world was throwing about the king, its glittering charm, and He came with earnest warning. Warnings are always blessings, or are meant to be blessings; if we heed them God will save us. Not many people are afraid of prosperity. They do not think of it as dangerous. They do not pray to be kept from harm in it. Yet our Lord gave no warnings more solemn and earnest, than those which He gave against the perils of riches and prosperity. It is sad to remember that even after this divine warning, Solomon did turn away from God. Even God’s appearing to him in person, and speaking to him did not save him from going after the gods of the heathen! Warnings, too, make the sin of our failing, all the greater. Forewarning ought always to be followed by forearming . God had accepted Solomon’s work and had blessed it, accepting at his hand, the house he had built. No privilege that could be granted to anyone in this world is so great as that of being used of God of having God accept something of ours. For example, one writes a hymn, like the Twenty-third Psalm, or “Rock of Ages,” and God accepts it and uses it. Thousands sing it, putting their hearts into it, and are lifted by it nearer to God. Or one writes a book and dedicates it to Christ; Christ accepts it and allows it to carry blessing to many of His people, giving comfort in their sorrow, strength in their weakness, light in their darkness, guidance in their perplexity. To be thus honored by God puts upon one new responsibility for living worthily. Instead of making one proud to be thus honored and used it should make one humble. Especially should he walk softly and carefully now, for God’s seal is on him. He is Christ’s, and dares not turn back to the world. That is what God meant, when He said to Solomon that He had heard his prayer and had accepted the temple which he had built, putting His name there, and taking it into His heart. He meant that the acceptance of this, Solomon’s work, put the king under new obligations to be faithful, made his life sacred thenceforth forever. The Lord promised Solomon, that if he would be faithful, his kingdom would stand. God will build true prosperity only upon one foundation: righteousness and truth. This is true of the individual, and is true also of nations. The Bible is full of promises of goodness and mercy but every one of them, rests upon a condition of faithfulness on the part of those who claim them. We have an example of this in Joshua, where the Lord gave His servant a clear explanation of the foundation of all true success. “Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses My servant commanded you: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” Success can be reached only in the doing of God’s will. Anything else that men may call success, will only be a failure. It is built upon the sand, and the floods will sweep it away by and by. “But if you shall turn away from following Me then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them.” Here is another “if”. The first told of blessing if they would obey God’s commandments. This second showed a dark picture of those who will not go in God’s way. The end of this path is destruction. Think of the human hopes which have been lost, the innocence, the purity, the holy aspirations and desires, all the possibilities of noble spiritual life; think of the wrecks of all these precious things which lie at the bottom of the great sea of life . When we think of the temptations, the sorrows, the trials through which we must pass in living it is enough to alarm us. People talk much about the terrors of death but life has far more and far greater terrors, than dying! In the poem a child asks, “What is life, father?” and gets the answer that life is a sore battle, where many fail and yield; and then asks, “What is death, father?” We are not surprised that when she hears that death is the rest which comes at the end of the strife, she says, “Let me die, father; I fear to live!” But the wise answer is, “You must live first and win your crown on the battlefields of life.” Life is indeed full of perils but they need not affright us. If we pass through them safely, we are sure of the crown; and those who fight the hardest battles and get the noblest victories, are those who shall receive the highest reward. Paul gives to us the assurance that even life, with all its dangers, cannot separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. We know that if we trust in Christ and rest in His hands nothing can snatch us out of His clasp! We see here very plainly, how we may go safely over life’s wild and tempestuous sea. If we keep the commandments of God we shall get the blessings of victory and honor. But if we disobey God and break away from His commandments, we shall wreck all our hopes upon life’s ocean ! Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading1 Samuel 4, 5, 6 1 Samuel 4 -- Philistines Take the Ark; Death of Eli NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Samuel 5 -- Philistines Smitten while Possessing the Ark NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Samuel 6 -- Philistines Return the Ark to Israel NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 12:35-59 Luke 12 -- God Knows All; Parable of the Rich Fool; Anxiety; Watchfulness NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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