Dawn 2 Dusk The Door That Opens Into LifeProverbs 8 pictures wisdom as something you can actually find—like discovering a doorway you didn’t know was there. And on the other side isn’t just better decision-making; it’s life that feels truly alive, along with the steady, unmistakable favor of the Lord. Finding Wisdom Is Finding Life We tend to treat wisdom like a tool: useful when life gets complicated, optional when things feel easy. But Scripture treats wisdom like a path you walk and a voice you learn to recognize. When you find it, you don’t just collect tips—you step into life as God designed it. Jesus echoed that kind of life when He said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness” (John 10:10). And this is where it gets thrilling: God’s wisdom isn’t merely an abstract concept; it ultimately centers on a Person. “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). So seeking wisdom is not just self-improvement—it’s drawing near to Christ, letting His mind reshape your instincts, your reactions, your priorities, and your sense of what matters most. Favor Is the Lord’s Smile, Not a Lucky Break “Favor from the LORD” isn’t a vague spiritual bonus; it’s the kindness of God resting on a life turned toward Him. It doesn’t mean you never face hardship, but it does mean you’re not abandoned to your own devices. You start to see His hand steadying you, correcting you, and opening the right doors at the right time—sometimes by saying “no” first, because He loves you too much to let you settle for less than His best. That kind of favor changes how you work, how you parent, how you date, how you plan, how you endure. You can pray with the psalmist, “May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish for us the work of our hands—establish the work of our hands!” (Psalm 90:17). God’s favor doesn’t make life shallow; it makes it meaningful—because He establishes what you do when you’re walking in His ways. How to Find Wisdom Today The beautiful part is that God doesn’t hide wisdom to tease you; He invites you to ask. “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). Start right there: simple, honest prayer. Then keep your heart soft enough to obey what He shows you, even when it’s not what you hoped to hear. And as you seek wisdom, you’ll notice it often looks like trust and surrender in everyday choices: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5–6). Today, choose the straight path over the clever shortcut, the obedient “yes” over the delayed “later,” the fear-of-God over the fear-of-man—and you’ll find that life and favor meet you there. Lord, thank You for giving wisdom and life through Christ. Please grant me wisdom today, and help me obey quickly and gladly in whatever You show me. Amen. Evening with A.W. Tozer The Exegete of the FatherElsewhere I have said that we cannot know God by thinking, but that we must do a lot of thinking if we would know Him well. This sounds self-contradictory, but I am sure that the two statements are in full accord with each other. The inability of the human mind to know God in a true and final sense is taken for granted throughout the Bible and even taught in plain words in such passages as these: No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. The world by wisdom knew not God. The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. God's nature is of another kind from anything with which the mind is acquainted; hence when the mind attempts to find out God it is confronted by obscurity. It is surrounded with mystery and blinded by the light no man can approach unto. A consideration of this truth led some thinkers of the past to conclude that since it is impossible for man to discover God by means of any faculties he possesses, God must therefore remain not only unknown but unknowable. What these men overlooked was that when God desires He can and does reveal Himself to men. The Spirit of God is able to make the spirit of man know and experience the awful mystery of God's essential being. It should be noted that the Spirit reveals God to the spirit of man, not to his intellect merely. The intellect can know God's attributes because these constitute that body of truth that can be known about God. The knowledge of God is for the spirit alone. Such knowledge comes not by intellection but by intuition . Music For the Soul Persecution for Christ’s SakeIf they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. - John 15:20 We may fairly infer that in the reception a disciple of Christ may expect from the world, we have one of the points in which, very specially, the likeness of a true disciple to the Master will be brought out. If they have called Him Beelzebub, they will not grace us with the fine names of approbation and flattery. " If they have not received My sayings," they will turn a deaf ear to yours. " If ye were of the world, the world would love its own." Now, let me say a plain word about this matter. That law is in a fashion abrogated now. Nineteen centuries have not passed in vain. The "world" - meaning thereby the aggregate of godless men, " society," to use a modern phrase- has been largely leavened by Christian principles and sentiment. An atmosphere has been created, else all these centuries would have passed in vain. But whilst that is quite true, and I suppose in lands like ours we do not need to be afraid of the rougher forms of the world’s enmity, it does not seem to me that in substance this law has ceased to operate, nor will it, until either the Church has become wholly worldly - which, thank God! it never will do - or until the world has become wholly Christ’s. There are plenty of evidences round us that it still remains true that an out-and-out consistency of Christian conduct shall be unwelcome to the mass of society. You have only to look at the bitter antagonism to aggressive Christianity which is manifested in much of our popular literature to see that. They used to burn us; they only sneer at us nowadays; but the sentiment is pretty much the same. In your Christian activity, touch the social sins of this generation, and you will see the claws come out fast enough, and scratch deep enough, for all the velvet skin and the purring that sometimes is heard. Let a man live the life, and shape himself after Christ’s pattern, and he will not miss having to bear his share of the treatment given to his Master. If we take Him for our pattern, and try to be like Him, we have to make up our minds to "go forth unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach," and to live a godly life amidst ungodly people; and that will never be done without some experience of the deep-seated antagonism between the true disciple and the world. Spurgeon: Morning and Evening John 11:4 This sickness is not unto death. From our Lord's words we learn that there is a limit to sickness. Here is an "unto" within which its ultimate end is restrained, and beyond which it cannot go. Lazarus might pass through death, but death was not to be the ultimatum of his sickness. In all sickness, the Lord saith to the waves of pain, "Hitherto shall ye go, but no further." His fixed purpose is not the destruction, but the instruction of his people. Wisdom hangs up the thermometer at the furnace mouth, and regulates the heat. 1. The limit is encouragingly comprehensive. The God of providence has limited the time, manner, intensity, repetition, and effects of all our sicknesses; each throb is decreed, each sleepless hour predestinated, each relapse ordained, each depression of spirit foreknown, and each sanctifying result eternally purposed. Nothing great or small escapes the ordaining hand of him who numbers the hairs of our head. 2. This limit is wisely adjusted to our strength, to the end designed, and to the grace apportioned. Affliction comes not at haphazard--the weight of every stroke of the rod is accurately measured. He who made no mistakes in balancing the clouds and meting out the heavens, commits no errors in measuring out the ingredients which compose the medicine of souls. We cannot suffer too much nor be relieved too late. 3. The limit is tenderly appointed. The knife of the heavenly Surgeon never cuts deeper than is absolutely necessary. "He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." A mother's heart cries, "Spare my child;" but no mother is more compassionate than our gracious God. When we consider how hard-mouthed we are, it is a wonder that we are not driven with a sharper bit. The thought is full of consolation, that he who has fixed the bounds of our habitation, has also fixed the bounds of our tribulation. Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook Who Has the Majority?Horses and chariots and a great host shut up the prophet in Dothan. His young servant was alarmed. How could they escape from such a body of armed men? But the prophet had eyes which his servant had not, and he could see a greater host with far superior weapons guarding him from all harm. Horses of fire are mightier than horses of flesh, and chariots of fire are far preferable to chariots of iron. Even so is it at this hour. The adversaries of truth are many, influential, learned, and crafty; and truth fares ill at their hands; and yet the man of God has no cause for trepidation. Agencies, seen and unseen, of the most potent kind, are on the side of righteousness. God has armies in ambush which will reveal themselves in the hour of need. The forces which are on the side of the good and the true far outweigh the powers of evil. Therefore, let us keep our spirits up, and walk with the gait of men who possess a cheering secret, which has lifted them above all fear. We are on the winning side. The battle may be sharp, but we know how it will end. Faith, having God with her, is in a clear majority: "They that be with us are more than they that be with them." The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer In Quietness and in Confidence Shall Be Your StrengthQUIETNESS is expressive of submission to the holy will of God, and supposes a waiting upon Him as directed by His word. It is the believer’s duty to be silent before God while He is working, being assured that his best interests are secured by the promises, and that all things will be made plain by-and-bye. He should confide in the Lord’s word, and rely on the Lord’s wisdom, love, and ability. Our confidence must arise from God’s word, a review of His dealings with His people, and the relation in which He stands to us. We may be confident, for God, who has spoken is true, and hath confirmed His word in every generation. Quietly confiding in God will give us strength; we then put His love and faithfulness to the trial; we honour Him by our confidence, and He will honour us by appearing for us. Let us endeavour to be still, to be silent before Him, when He is raised up out of His holy habitation. Let us wait for Him, for it is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Beware of complaining or replying against God. When, my Saviour, shall I be Totally resign’d to Thee? Poor and vile in my own eyes, Only in Thy wisdom wise, Only guided in Thy light, Only mighty in Thy might! Bible League: Living His Word "... If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here."— Exodus 33:15 NKJV The Lord made a promise to Moses. He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest" (Exodus 33:14). What does it mean? It means that the Lord would go with Moses and the people of Israel on their journey through life. In particular, it means that He would go with them when they left the wilderness and fought their way into the promised land, the place where they would ultimately find rest. He would not leave them nor forsake them. He would go with them and help them all along the way. The promise the Lord made to Moses is a promise that He makes to all of His people of every age. He promises to go with us on our individual and collective journeys through life. He has said, for example, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye" (Psalm 32:8). He has said, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10), and He has said many similar things in many other places in the Bible. So important was the presence of the Lord to Moses that, as our verse for today makes clear, he did not want to leave the wilderness without it. From his point of view, it's better to stay right where you are with the Lord's presence, even if it's in a harsh wilderness, than to move forward without it, even if it's into a lush promised land. After all, if the people of Israel had to move forward on their own they would not have God's help to take on all the enemies that occupied the land. The same goes for us. It's better to stay right where we are with the presence of the Lord than to move to a new place without it. Indeed, we shouldn't move anywhere on the journey of life without the Lord's guidance, showing the way, clearing the path, and helping us to make it safely. Our prayer then should always be, "Lord, I don't want to go anywhere without you." Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 103:15,16 As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. • When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer.Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom. Mark 8:36 "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? Isaiah 40:7,8 The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. • The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. 1 John 2:17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. 2 Corinthians 6:2 for He says, "AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU." Behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION "-- 1 Corinthians 7:31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away. Hebrews 10:24,25 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, • not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. 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 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!”Insight This is one of the most powerful statements uttered by Jesus. When he said that he existed before Abraham was born, he undeniably proclaimed his divinity. Not only did Jesus say that he existed before Abraham, he also applied God's holy name to himself. This claim demands a response. It cannot be ignored. The Jewish leaders tried to stone Jesus for blasphemy because he claimed equality with God. But Jesus is God. Challenge How have you responded to Jesus, the Son of God? Devotional Hours Within the Bible The CrucifixionThe story of the crucifixion has the most sacred and tender interest for everyone who loves Jesus Christ. It is not merely an account of the tragic death of a good man He who was crucified was the world’s Redeemer, our Redeemer, suffering for us! Some of the old preachers used to say that our sins drove the nails in the hands and feet of Jesus. He died for us. Paul speaks also of being crucified with Christ (see Galatians 2:20). He means that Christ’s death was instead of his death. No other death in all history, means to the world what the dying of Jesus means. They led Jesus out of Golgotha. There He was met by those who offered Him “vinegar to drink mingled with gall.” It is supposed that the act was one of kindness, that the mixture was intended to stupefy Him so as to deaden in some measure, the awful suffering of crucifixion. But Jesus refused the drink. He would not have His senses dulled, as He entered upon His great work of death for the world, nor would He have His sufferings as Redeemer lessened in any degree. The garments of men who were crucified were by custom the perquisites of the soldiers in charge of the crucifixion. They “divided His garments, casting lots.” We love to think of the garments which Jesus had worn. Perhaps they had been made by His mother’s hands or else by the hands of some of the other women who followed Him and ministered unto Him of their substance. They were the garments the sick woman and other sufferers had touched with reverent faith, receiving instant healing. What desecration it seems when these heartless Roman soldiers take these garments and divide them among themselves! Then what sacrilege it is when the soldiers throw dice and gamble for His seamless robe under the very cross where the Savior is dying! “They sat and watched Him there.” Roman soldiers kept guard but they were not the only watchers. There was the careless, heartless watch of the soldiers. They knew nothing about Jesus. They saw three poor Jews on three crosses, and had no conception of the character of Him who hung on the middle cross. It is possible yet to always to look at Christ on the cross and see nothing more than these soldiers saw. We all need to pray to have our eyes opened when we look at Christ crucified, that we may see in the lowly sufferer the Son of God, bearing the sin of the world. There were also jealous watchers, the enemies of Jesus, so full of hatred that they even hurled scoffs at Him who hung in silences upon that central cross. Then there were loving watchers the women and John, Christ’s friends, with hearts broken as they looked at their Lord dying in shame and anguish. Then there were wondering watchers angels, who hovered unseen above the cross and looked in amazement upon the suffering Son of God, eagerly desiring to know what this mystery meant. All the words that Jesus spoke on the cross were full of meaning. One, the very first, was a prayer for His murderers, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). The words seem to have come from His lips just as the nails were being driven through His hands and feet. The torture was excruciating but there was no cry of pain, no execration of those who were causing Him such bitter anguish; only an intercession. The answer to the world’s daring defiance of God was the hands of Christ stretched out to be pierced with nails for the world’s redemption! It was the custom to fasten on the cross, a board bearing the name and crimes of the sufferer. “They set up over His head his accusation written, this Is Jesus the King of the Jews .” It was only in mockery that Pilate wrote this superscription. He did it to vex the Jews. Yet never were truer words written. Jesus was indeed the King of the Jews. They had looked forward to the coming of their Messiah with expectations of great blessings from Him. “He came unto His own and His own received Him not” (John 1:11). This was the way they were treating their King. But He is our King, too. The crown He wore that day was a crown of thorns. Thorns were part of the curse of sin, and the crown of Jesus was woven of sin’s curse. We have the promise of crowns of glory in heaven, because on Christ’s brow rested that day the crown of shame . “He saved others; He cannot save Himself.” Unwittingly in their mockery they spoke a deep truth. Jesus had saved others, and even now He was saving others in the most wonderful way of all by dying for them. He could have saved Himself, however, from the cross if He had desired. His offering was voluntary. He said, “I lay down my life for My sheep. No man takes away from Me” (John 10:15-18). He said He could have summoned twelve legions of angels to deliver Him. He could have saved Himself but then He would not have saved others. The soldier cannot save himself and save his country. Jesus could not save Himself and redeem His sheep. So He gave His own life a willing sacrifice to redeem lost men. It was a strange scene that came on at noonday. “From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.” A yet deeper darkness hung around the Redeemer’s soul those hours. It was so dark that He even thought Himself forsaken of God. We never can understand the mystery of it, and we can know only that He wrapped the gloom of death about Himself that we might be clothed in garments of light. He died in darkness that when we walk in the valley of the shadow of death, that the light of glory may shine about us. His head wore a matted crown of thorns that under our heads may be the pillow of peace. He drank the cup of woe that we may drink the cup of blessing. “Jesus when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the Spirit.” His loud cry, “It is finished!” which John records (19:30), was a shout of victory. His work was completed. The atonement was made. Then followed the word, given by Luke, “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit” (23:46). The shadows were lifted. There was no longer any feeling of forsakenness. Again we hear the sweet name, “Father,” showing that the joy had been restored. We see also in this word, that death was to Jesus only the breathing out of His spirit into His Father’s hands. We cannot see into the life beyond but revelation assures us of the Divine presence close beside us. Dying is but fleeing from the body into the arms of the Father. All this is ours because Jesus tasted death for us. Because He had the darkness we have the light. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 107, 108 Psalm 107 -- BOOK 5: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his loving kindness endures forever. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 108 -- David's Psalm of Steadfastness (2Sa 23) NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Romans 15:21-33 Romans 15 -- We who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak; Paul Plans to Visit Rome NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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