Dawn 2 Dusk Blessing on the Narrow RoadPsalm 128:1 paints a surprisingly simple picture of a truly good life: a heart that reveres the Lord and feet that actually move in His direction. It’s not a mystery reserved for spiritual elites—it’s an invitation to ordinary people who want their days to matter and their homes to be warmed by God’s favor. The Fear That Steadies Your Soul “Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in His ways!” (Psalm 128:1). This kind of fear isn’t panic that makes you hide; it’s awe that makes you pay attention. It’s the settled decision that God is God—and I’m not. That shift changes everything: what you entertain, what you excuse, what you pursue, what you repent of. And it’s not cold or gloomy; it’s the beginning of wisdom. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10). When you fear the Lord, you stop negotiating with sin and start listening for His voice. You don’t have to be loud to be strong—reverence quietly makes you unshakeable. Walking Means Obedience With Your Whole Life Psalm 128 doesn’t describe blessing for people who merely admire God’s ways, but for those who walk in them. Walking is slow, daily, practical—decisions made when nobody applauds. Jesus put it plainly: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15). Love is not just a feeling you confess; it’s a direction you choose. This is where faith stops being a slogan and becomes a life. “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22). Today’s “walk” might look like speaking truth without cruelty, refusing a hidden compromise, forgiving when you’d rather win, or opening your Bible before your phone. Small steps, taken with God, become a path. Blessing That Reaches Your Table and Your Testimony God loves to bring His goodness into real places—work, marriage, parenting, friendships, the quiet parts of your schedule. Psalm 128 connects reverence and obedience with a life that bears fruit, not just for you but for those around you. And that fruit isn’t manufactured by grit; it grows where the Spirit is leading: “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16). This blessing also turns outward. When your life is ordered under God, people notice peace, patience, and conviction that can’t be explained by personality alone. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14). The goal isn’t to look impressive—it’s to live so faithfully that your everyday becomes a steady witness that God’s ways are good. Father, thank You for the blessing of knowing You; give me a holy fear and willing feet today—help me walk in Your ways and obey Your Word for Your glory. Amen. Evening with A.W. Tozer God's Faithful VoiceIn a day when judgments are soon to come upon the earth, we are often warned by doctors that we eat too much-and that we worry too much. More of us suffer from mental illness than suffer from major physical illnesses. In our self-centered lives, even those who are professing believers are prone to think they will hear the trumpets of woe in time to do something about all this. But at that time, it will be too late! The voice of God is a quiet voice. The voice of God's love and grace is constant-never strident, never compulsive. God has sent His messengers to every generation. He has spoken urgently and faithfully through His prophets; through the concerns of preachers and evangelists; even through the sweet voices of the gospel singers. Further, God has spoken through witnessing men and women: plain, sincere, loving men and women transformed by a spiritual birth which is from above. This is the voice of God we hear in this day of grace-the voice of the Savior calling wandering sinners home. Music For the Soul Ye Are My WitnessesAnd for their sakes I sanctify Myself that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. - John 17:19 The glorifying of men in Christ, which is the goal and highest end of Christ’s Cross and Passion and of all God’s dealings, is accomplished only because Christ dwells in the men whom He glorifies. And as is the Son with the Father, participant of mutual and reciprocal glorification, so is the Christian with Christ, glorified in Him and therefore glorifying Him. What may be involved therein of perfect moral purity, of enlarged faculties and powers, of a bodily frame capable of manifesting all the finest issues of a perfect spirit, it is not for us to say. These things are great, being hidden; and are hidden because they are great. But whatever may be the lofty heights of Christ-likeness to which we shall attain, all shall come from the indwelling Lord who fills us with His own Spirit. And then, according to this great teaching, this glorified humanity, perfected and separated from all imperfection, and helped into all symmetrical unfolding of dormant possibilities, shall be the highest glory of Christ even in that day when He comes in His glory and sits upon the throne of His glory with His holy angels with Him. One would have thought that if the Apostle wanted to speak of the glorifying of Jesus Christ, he would have pointed to the Great White Throne, His majestic Divinity, the solemnities of His judicial office; but he passes by all these, and says, " Nay! the highest glory of the Christ lies here, in the men whom He has made to share His own nature." The artist is known by his work. You stand in front of some great picture, or you listen to some great symphony, or you read some great book, and you say, " This is the glory of Raffaelle, Beethoven, Shakespeare." Christ points to His saints, and He says, " Behold My handiwork! Ye are My witnesses. This is what I can do." But the relation between Christ and His saints is far deeper and more intimate than simply the relation between the artist and his work; for all the flashing light of moral beauty, of intellectual perfectness which the Christian man can hope to receive in the future is but the light of the Christ that dwells in them, "and of whose fulness all they have received." Like some poor vapour, in itself white and colourless, which lies in the eastern sky there, and as the sun rises is flushed up into a miracle of rosy beauty, because it has caught the light amongst its flaming threads and vaporous substance, so we, in ourselves pale, ghostly, colourless as the mountains when the Alpine snow passes oft them, being recipient of an indwelling Christ, shall blush and flame in beauty. "Then shall the righteous blaze forth like the sun in My Father’s Kingdom." Or, rather, they are not suns shining by their own light, but moons reflecting the light of Christ, who is their Light. And perchance some eyes, incapable of beholding the sun, may be able to look undazzled upon the sunshine in the cloud, and some eyes that could not discern the glory of Christ as it shines in His face, as the sun shineth in its strength, may not be too weak to behold and delight in the light as it is reflected from the face of His servants. At all events, He shall come to be glorified in the saints whom He has made glorious. Spurgeon: Morning and Evening Mark 16:9 He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. Mary of Magdala was the victim of a fearful evil. She was possessed by not one devil only, but seven. These dreadful inmates caused much pain and pollution to the poor frame in which they had found a lodging. Hers was a hopeless, horrible case. She could not help herself, neither could any human succor avail. But Jesus passed that way, and unsought, and probably even resisted by the poor demoniac, he uttered the word of power, and Mary of Magdala became a trophy of the healing power of Jesus. All the seven demons left her, left her never to return, forcibly ejected by the Lord of all. What a blessed deliverance! What a happy change! From delirium to delight, from despair to peace, from hell to heaven! Straightway she became a constant follower of Jesus, catching his every word, following his devious steps, sharing his toilsome life; and withal she became his generous helper, first among that band of healed and grateful women who ministered unto him of their substance. When Jesus was lifted up in crucifixion, Mary remained the sharer of his shame: we find her first beholding from afar, and then drawing near to the foot of the cross. She could not die on the cross with Jesus, but she stood as near it as she could, and when his blessed body was taken down, she watched to see how and where it was laid. She was the faithful and watchful believer, last at the sepulchre where Jesus slept, first at the grave whence he arose. Her holy fidelity made her a favored beholder of her beloved Rabboni, who deigned to call her by her name, and to make her his messenger of good news to the trembling disciples and Peter. Thus grace found her a maniac and made her a minister, cast out devils and gave her to behold angels, delivered her from Satan, and united her forever to the Lord Jesus. May I also be such a miracle of grace! Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook Pruning for Fruit-BearingThis is a precious promise to one who lives for fruitfulness. At first it seems to wear a sharp aspect. Must the fruitful bough be pruned? Must the knife cut even the best and most useful? No doubt it is so, for very much of our LORD’s purging work is done by means of afflictions of one kind or another. It is not the evil but the good who have the promise of tribulation in this life. But, then, the end makes more than full amends for the painful nature of the means. If we may bring forth more fruit for our LORD, we will not mind the pruning and the loss. Still, purging is sometimes wrought by the Word apart from trial, and this takes away whatever appeared rough in the flavor of the promise. We shall by the Word be made more gracious and more useful. The LORD who has made us, in a measure, fruit-bearing, will operate upon us till we reach a far higher degree of fertility. Is not this a great joy? Truly there is more comfort in a promise of fruitfulness than if we had been warranted riches, or health, or honor. LORD Jesus, speedily fulfill Thy gracious word to me and cause me to abound in fruit to Thy praise! The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer That He Might Deliver Us from the Present Evil WorldTHE whole world lieth in the wicked one, as the devoted child in the arms of Moloch; or as the putrid corpse in the grave, over which is written, "HERE LIETH." We were once dead in sin, and buried in corruption, but Jesus Christ interfered for us. "He gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from the present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." The world is evil, therefore we are delivered from it. Jesus died to deliver us from its spirit, by which we are influenced in a state of nature; from the love of the world, which is enmity with God; from seeking satisfaction in the world, which is idolatry; from its fearful doom, which is eternal destruction. He intended to raise us above it, in our desires and pursuits; to lead us through it, and glorify us beyond it. Let us inquire this morning, Are we of the world, or are we delivered from it? Have we another spirit in us? Are we become dead to the world by fellowship with Christ in His death? Is Jesus loved, praised, and obeyed, out of gratitude for delivering us? Jesus, I my cross have taken, All to leave and follow Thee: Naked, poor, despised, forsaken, Thou from hence my all shall be: Thou hast my Deliverer been, I have Thy salvation seen. Bible League: Living His Word Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.— Colossians 3:23 NIV Last year I was faced with the task of finding a new job after 32 years with the same employer. The company had decided to move further away from the city we lived, and I decided that an extra 50 miles a day was too much to add to the 90 I was already driving. After the New Year of 2022, I decided to start looking for a new job, sending out applications to various places closer to home. Over the course of the year, I had several interviews, some to the second step, but nothing ever came out of it. I was being overlooked regardless of the stellar manager record I had over the years. During that same year, I made it part of my daily prayers to the Lord that He place me in the position that would be best for me, even if it meant staying in my high-stress managerial job and driving the extra 50 miles a day. I knew that this certainly could be His will! This carried on for months until I saw an opening with Bible League and applied for it. I thought, what a wonderful opportunity to not only work for a great organization, but also be able to help with the great commission by distributing Biblical materials from a warehouse—doing my part in spreading the Word of God! The day came when the position was offered to me, and I quickly accepted and put in my two weeks' notice. After 32 years, the majority of my adult life, this was a very difficult decision to make indeed. But I trusted in the Lord that He had answered my prayers and placed me into this new chapter of my life. The two weeks passed quickly, and that Monday morning I got up and prepared to begin my new position. On my phone, I have a widget for "Verse of the Day," and as I glanced at my phone, I read the one that was chosen for that day. It was Colossians 3:23; "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." What a wonderful affirmation that I had followed the Lord's will, and that my prayer had been heard and answered! I knew that I had made the right decision, regardless of my apprehension to do so. The Lord wants us to do everything we do, with the care, love, and an attitude of servitude, as if we were working directly for him, as we all will someday in the Kingdom! By Brian Ayers, Bible League International staff, Illinois USA Daily Light on the Daily Path Jeremiah 2:13 "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.Genesis 4:1 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD." Genesis 11:4,8 They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." • So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Genesis 13:11,10,13 So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. • Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere-- this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah-- like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. • Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the LORD. Ecclesiastes 1:17,18 And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. • Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain. Ecclesiastes 2:4,8,11 I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; • Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men-- many concubines. • Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun. John 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Psalm 107:9 For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good. Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 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 replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”Insight People eat bread to satisfy physical hunger and to sustain physical life. We can satisfy spiritual hunger and sustain spiritual life only by a right relationship with Jesus Christ. No wonder he called himself the Bread of Life. Challenge But bread must be eaten to sustain life, and Christ must be invited into our daily walk to sustain spiritual life. Devotional Hours Within the Bible The Wise and Foolish VirginsThe three parables in this chapter teach great lessons. They are based on the promise of Christ’s return. He is surely coming again, but when no one can know. But we should live always so as to be ready for His most sudden coming any moment. The ten virgins were alike in some ways. An onlooker in the early evening could not have told which were the wise, and which the foolish. Each had her lamp. In any Christian congregation the members may all seem alike true friends of Christ, as they sit in their pews in common worship or at the Lord’s Table. The testing comes in other ways. All the virgins slept while the bridegroom tarried. There was nothing wrong in this. We all have to sleep some time. We should be sure that we are safe against any surprise while we are asleep, that no duty has been omitted before we slept, which is essential to a complete life. The wise virgins were ready for the coming of the wedding party at any hour, however long the delay might be. We are not required to wake and watch every moment for the coming of Christ; we are to be ready for the event so that we cannot be surprised. For example, we are not to think every moment of death but we are so to live always that whenever death may come, however suddenly, it will not find us unprepared. “Not what death finds us doing but how death finds us furnished, is the important question.” The lamps of the foolish virgins did not hold much oil and would soon burn out, and these maidens had no oil in reserve to refill their lamps when they became empty. This was their folly. The difference in the other virgins, was that besides having their lamps filled, they had oil in reserve with which they could quickly refill them when they had burned out. This is plain enough as regards these virgins. Applied to human lives, the teaching is also clear. The wise Christian is the one who is not content with a mere profession or with external marks of godliness. These may seem to be satisfactory in the easy days when there is no stress but in the hour of trial, they will not stand the test. The essential thing is the grace of God in the heart, or real union with Christ. This is represented in the parable by the supply of oil by which the wise virgins were made ready for the need which the midnight brought. If we have only the little lamp of our own life, we may get along while there is not great stress but in the hour of trial, we shall fail. But if we have Christ with His Divine fullness we can draw from Him for any sorrow, struggle or hard duty. Midnight came and brought great commotion. The virgins were all sleeping, waiting until they should be summoned out to meet the bridegroom. Life is full of emergencies which come so suddenly that there is not time to prepare for them. If we are not ready at the moment of need we cannot become ready. Now it was that the watchfulness of all the virgins was tested. The delay had been so long, that all the lamps were burning low. Now appeared the wisdom of the five who had oil in reserve. Their lamps were quickly filled, and they were ready to go with the bridegroom. Now was brought out also the folly of the other virgins. Their lamps were going out, and they had no oil to refill them. It is such occasions as these that test character. They show what is in us. No one is ready for life’s sudden emergencies unless he has made preparation in advance for anything that may happen. One who has missed his lessons and trifled in school days will by and by find the doors of opportunity shut to him, because he is not ready to go in. Many a man fails in life, because through early neglect he has not the training for his place or business, the reason being that he wasted the time when it was his duty to make the preparation. Many a woman fails in her homemaking and wrecks her own happiness and that of her family, because at the right time she did not learn the simple household arts which fit a girl for being a good wife. The foolish virgins missed the wedding joy and were shut out in the darkness, because earlier they had not laid up a reserve of oil. Many people’s religion fails them in times of need, because they have not really the Word of God laid up in their hearts. “A man has only as much religion, as he can command in trial.” It was a natural request that these distressed virgins made: “‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out!” At first thought, too, we would say that the wise virgins should have granted this pathetic request of their sisters. If you were very hungry and I had even a crust of bread, it would not be right for me to eat all of my crust myself. We are taught that we should bear one another’s burdens and that the strong should help the weak. Yet the refusal of the wise is reasonable and right when we look at it thoughtfully. If you and your neighbor have each signed a note for a certain sum, to fall due on a certain date, and you by dint of economy and perseverance have been able to lay by just enough to meet your obligation, while your neighbor, wasting his hours on trifles, has made no provision for the day of settlement; and if on the morning when the note falls due, he should come beseeching you to give him some of your money to help him pay his debt would you give it to him? Does the law of love require that you should? There is also an important spiritual lesson which the parable is meant to teach that the gifts and blessings of grace are not transferable. No matter how eagerly one may wish to impart them, he cannot do it. If one woman has improved her opportunities and grown into refined and disciplined character, while her sister has missed her chance and has grown up into weak and uncultured womanhood; the first sister cannot give of her strength, self-control, and noble spirit to the other, to help her through some special emergency. If one man has studied diligently and learned every lesson, at last reaching a position of eminence and power -he cannot give of his trained ability to his brother, who has trifled through years, to help to make his life a success. A brave soldier in the battle cannot share his discipline and courage with trembling comrade by his side. In temptation, one who is victorious cannot give part of his strength to a friend by his side who is about to fall. We cannot share our forgiveness of sin with our dearest friend. Each one must live his own life, bear his own burden, and have the grace of the Holy Spirit for himself. No one can give another these gifts. It was a tragic moment when the foolish virgins got back to the house and found themselves too late: “The door was shut!” It had stood open long enough for all who were ready to enter. Then it was closed and could not be opened again. This teaches us the meaning of opportunity. We may apply it to the matter of personal salvation. There is a time to be saved, and when that time is past, the door is shut! Life is full of opportunities. There is a time when we can enter God’s family, receiving all blessing. Then there is a time when the door is closed, and all the powers of the universe could not open it again. To the young people every door stands open. They can get an education and a training to fit them for noble, beautiful and worthy life. They can make good friends, friends whose companionship and help would enrich their whole life. They can form good habits which would build up fine character in them and make them respected and influential in the community. They can read good books which will fill their minds and hearts with noble thoughts and upward inspirations. They can win victory over their own lives and become self - controlled and kingly among men. But the doors stand open only a reasonable time there is not a moment to lose. By and by they will be shut. Then no imploring cry will open them again. The lesson for all is, “Watch therefore!” We know not the day nor the hour. That is true of our Lord’s coming. It is true of death. But it is true also of nearly every other experience of life. We go on, not knowing. The future is closed to our eyes. We know not what awaits us at any turning of a street corner, or what we shall have to meet any moment as we go. The only way to be ready for the unknown events of tomorrow, is to improve every opportunity of today. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 85, 86, 87 Psalm 85 -- O Lord, you have been favorable to your land. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 86 -- Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 87 -- His foundation is in the holy mountains. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Romans 9 Romans 9 -- Paul's Sorrow for Israel's Unbelief NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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