Dawn 2 Dusk The Doorway Called ReverencePsalm 111:10 reminds us that wisdom doesn’t begin with more information—it begins with a heart posture. When we treat God as weighty, worthy, and wonderfully above us, our thinking gets recalibrated. Reverence isn’t fear that pushes you away; it’s awe that pulls you closer and teaches you how to live. Reverence That Wakes You Up Reverence is the moment you realize you’re not the center—and strangely, that’s a relief. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10) means wisdom starts when God is no longer an accessory to your plans but the foundation under your feet. It’s not about being jittery around God; it’s about being deeply awake to who He is. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and exalted, he didn’t leave the same man: “Woe is me… For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). Holy awe exposes what’s false in us, but it also opens the door to cleansing and calling. So ask yourself: what tone does your soul take with God lately—casual, rushed, bargaining, or worshipful? Reverence shows up in small decisions: what you watch, how you speak, what you excuse, what you delay. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” (Proverbs 1:7). Reverence doesn’t shrink your life; it steadies it. It keeps your heart from drifting into a thousand tiny compromises that slowly dull your spiritual senses. Understanding That Grows Legs Psalm 111:10 ties understanding to obedience—real insight isn’t just what you know; it’s what you do. “All who follow His precepts gain rich understanding” (Psalm 111:10). There’s a kind of clarity God only gives on the road of obedience. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God” (John 7:17). Some answers don’t arrive in a study session; they arrive after you take the next faithful step. That means obedience isn’t the payment you give God to earn wisdom; it’s the pathway where wisdom meets you. You can pray for direction and still resist the plain instruction God has already given—honor your parents, forgive, flee sexual immorality, speak truth, be generous, gather with the saints. “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). If you want “rich understanding,” don’t wait for perfect feelings. Do the next right thing because God is trustworthy. Praise That Doesn’t Run Out Psalm 111:10 ends with worship: “His praise endures forever!”. That’s not a closing line; it’s the destination of wisdom. The wiser you become, the more you see how worthy God is—and praise becomes less of a performance and more of a reflex. “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips” (Psalm 34:1). Praise anchors you when life is confusing, because it reminds you God is steady even when circumstances aren’t. And praise doesn’t just reflect faith—it strengthens it. “Rejoice always… give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 18). When you worship, you’re not denying hard realities; you’re declaring a greater one: God reigns, God sees, God provides, God saves. Praise trains your heart to interpret your day through God’s character, not your emotions. It’s hard to keep sin looking glamorous when your mouth is full of gratitude. Father, thank You that You are holy and worthy of reverent fear; teach me wisdom today—help me obey what You’ve already shown me and let my life become enduring praise to You. Amen. Evening with A.W. Tozer Embracing God’s ThoughtsWhenever and wherever there is a controversy between God and a man, God is always right and the man always wrong. So that you may be proved right in your words and prevail in your judging (Psalm 51:4). The only way any man can be right is to come over onto God's side. Whoever sticks to his own side is forever wrong.
The points at which God's way and man's intersect are likely to be four (though there may be others), and we will usually find our differences with God to occur somewhere in these four areas.
First, our thoughts. Divine inspiration has declared that the thoughts of man are vain, and in the prophecy of Isaiah, God sets His case before us so plainly that comment is hardly necessary: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Music For the Soul Fatherhood and SonshipBeloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if He shall be manifested we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him even as He is. - 1 John 3:2 THE doctrine of the New Testament about the Fatherhood of God and the sonship of man does not in the slightest degree interfere with these three great truths, that all men, though the features of the common humanity may be almost battered out of recognition in them, are all children of God because He made them; that they are children of God because still there lies in them something of the likeness of the creative Father; and, blessed be His name! that they are all children of God because He loves and provides and cares for every one of them. All that is blessedly and eternally true; but it is also true that there is a higher relation than that to which the name " Children of God " is more accurately given, and to which in the New Testament that name is confined; and if you ask what it is, let me quote to you three passages in this Epistle which will answer the question: "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God," that is the first; ’ Every one that doeth righteousness is born of God," that is the second; " Every one that loveth is born of God," that is the third. Or, to put them all into one expression, which holds them all, in the first chapter of John’s Gospel you find this, in the great words of his prologue: "To as many as received Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God." Believing in Christ with loving trust produces, and as the result of that belief, doing righteousness and loving the brethren prove, the fact of sonship, in its highest and its truest sense. What is implied in that great name by which the Almighty gives us a name and a place as of sons and daughters? Clearly, first, a communicated life; therefore, second, a kindred nature which shall be "pure as He is pure "; and, third, growth to full maturity. This sonship, which is no mere empty name, is the aim and purpose of God’s dealings, of all the revelation of His love, and most especially the great gift of His love in Christ. Has that purpose been accomplished in you? Have you ever looked at that great gift of love that God has given you on purpose to make you His child? If you have, why has it not made you one? Are you trusting to Jesus Christ, whom God has sent forth that we might receive the standing of sons in Him? Are you a child of God because a brother of that Saviour? Have you received the gift of a Divine life through Him? My friend! remember the grim alternative: a child of God or a child of the devil! Bitter words, narrow words, uncharitable words - as people call them! And I believe, and therefore I am bound to say it, true words, which it concerns you to lay to heart. Spurgeon: Morning and Evening John 14:16 He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever. The Great Father revealed himself to believers of old before the coming of his Son, and was known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the God Almighty. Then Jesus came, and the ever-blessed Son in his own proper person, was the delight of his people's eyes. At the time of the Redeemer's ascension, the Holy Spirit became the head of the present dispensation, and his power was gloriously manifested in and after Pentecost. He remains at this hour the present Immanuel--God with us, dwelling in and with his people, quickening, guiding, and ruling in their midst. Is his presence recognized as it ought to be? We cannot control his working; he is most sovereign in all his operations, but are we sufficiently anxious to obtain his help, or sufficiently watchful lest we provoke him to withdraw his aid? Without him we can do nothing, but by his almighty energy the most extraordinary results can be produced: everything depends upon his manifesting or concealing his power. Do we always look up to him both for our inner life and our outward service with the respectful dependence which is fitting? Do we not too often run before his call and act independently of his aid? Let us humble ourselves this evening for past neglects, and now entreat the heavenly dew to rest upon us, the sacred oil to anoint us, the celestial flame to burn within us. The Holy Ghost is no temporary gift, he abides with the saints. We have but to seek him aright, and he will be found of us. He is jealous, but he is pitiful; if he leaves in anger, he returns in mercy. Condescending and tender, he does not weary of us, but awaits to be gracious still. Sin has been hammering my heart Unto a hardness, void of love, Let supplying grace to cross his art Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook God Delights to GiveA special blessing for a memorable occasion. Abram had settled a family dispute. He had said, "Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between thee and me, for we be brethren"; and hence he received the blessing which belongs to peacemakers. The LORD and giver of peace delights to manifest His grace to those who seek peace and pursue it. If we desire closer communion with God, we must keep closer to the ways of peace. Abram had behaved very generously to his kinsman, giving him his choice of the land. If we deny ourselves for peace’s sake, the LORD will more than make it up to us. As far as the patriarch can see, he can claim, and we may do the like by faith. Abram had to wait for the actual possession, but the LORD entailed the land upon him and his posterity. Boundless blessings belong to us by covenant gift. All things are ours. When we please the LORD, He makes us to look everywhere and see all things our own, whether things present or things to come, all are ours, and we are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer Hope Thou in GodHowever gloomy the day, however strange the trials, however distressing the visitation, hope thou in God. He is with you, He is your God, He hath promised to befriend you, He is the faithful God. He will turn darkness into light, make crooked things straight, and make all grace abound towards you, so that you, having all sufficiency, may abound to every good work. The changes that affect you, cannot affect Him. You cannot rely too simply upon Him, or expect too much from Him. If all, within and without, seem to conspire to distress you, still say, "I will hope in God." Expect Him to be to you all a gracious and powerful God can be: expect Him to do all a loving Father and infinite God can do. Hope for light in darkness, for relief in distress, for strength in weakness, for joy in sorrow, for deliverance when sinking beneath the wave, and for life in death. Hope for all you need, and for all God has promised. Hope thou in God, and in God alone. Hope because God has spoken, because He is true and faithful, and you cannot hope in vain. The foundation of your hope is laid in the blood of Jesus and the oath of God. Hope in the Lord, whose mighty hand Can all thy woes remove; For thou shalt yet before Him stand, And sing restoring love. Bible League: Living His Word There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. — 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 NKJV There are many different ways that Christians can serve God and our fellow human beings. As our verse for today says, there are many different gifts, ministries, and activities. The Lord God of heaven and earth rules and reigns over every area of life. He calls us to certain areas, and sees to it that we have the gifts we need to serve there, no matter what ministry or activity it may be. Although all of us may serve in a number of different areas, no one serves in all of them. One of the most important things we can do in life is to find out where God has called us to serve. If finding out what God wants us to do is one of the most important things we can do, it follows that a failure in this regard is one of the worst things we can do. All too often, Christians do what they want instead of what God wants. All too often, we give in to our selfish desires and refuse to follow the lead of God. Needless to say, this results in less effective service on our part. From one point of view, it doesn’t really matter what God calls us to do. What matters is that He calls us. The important thing for us, then, is that we respond to the call. Although some are greater than others, all of them are important. All of them have a place in the great scheme of things. They are all Spirit-led and Spirit-empowered ways of life. Life in the Kingdom of God is like an orchestra. Every instrument is important and needed. Any missing instrument, great or small, is a loss for the whole. May we respond to the Lord’s calling with expectation and eagerness to serve in His Kingdom! Daily Light on the Daily Path Exodus 33:18 Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!"2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. John 1:14,18 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. • No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. Psalm 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God? Psalm 27:8 When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, O LORD, I shall seek." 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. John 17:24 "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation 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 Guard me as you would guard your own eyes.Hide me in the shadow of your wings. Insight Just as we protect the pupils (literally, “apples”) of our eyes, so God will protect us. Challenge We must not conclude, however, that we have somehow missed God's protection if we experience troubles. God's protection has far greater purposes than helping us avoid pain; it is to make us better servants for him. God also protects us by guiding us through painful circumstances, not only by helping us escape them. Devotional Hours Within the Bible Joshua’s Parting AdviceIt is a good thing to get safely to the end of one’s life, to have done its work well, to have been victorious in its battles, and to have kept one’s self unspotted from the world. The true time to judge of a life is at its close, when the work has all been done. We cannot be sure of the final outcome, until the very end. The very last step may be a false one. The last day may mar all. Joshua’s career was one of great strength and usefulness. His parting words to the people were full of wisdom. He saw that they were in danger of drifting back into the old life, through the influences that were about them and he calls them very earnestly to make a new start and to continue to be faithful to God. Joshua’s words, spoken when he was about to leave this world, must have made a deep impression upon the people. He calls them first to a renewal of their devotion to God. Evidently they were not blameless in their loyalty, since he calls them to put away the gods which their fathers served and to begin again to serve the Lord. They could not do the latter until they had done the former. They had been enamored of the sensuous worship of the heathen people about them, and Joshua tells them that they must break away absolutely from all that they have been adopting from this worship. This lesson is for all worshipers of God. It is not likely that there are images hidden away in any of our homes, as there probably were in the houses of some of the Israelites when Joshua spoke to them. Yet there may be idols, nevertheless. Anything which we keep in our hearts in the place which God ought to have is an idol, whether it is an image of wood or stone or gold, or whether it is money, or a desire for fame, or love of pleasure, or some secret sin which we will not give up. If God does not really occupy the highest place in our hearts, controlling all, something else does and that something else is an idol. Joshua put the case very plainly before the people, telling them that they must make their choice. He did not mean that it makes no difference whether we choose to worship the true God or a false god. It does make an infinite difference. To leave God out of our life is to lose all. To be a true worshiper, is to be in the family of God, one of His children, and to inherit all the blessings of Divine love. What Joshua meant was, that this is a matter which must be settled by us for ourselves. God does not compel anyone to love Him and obey Him. Joshua required the people to make their choice of the God they would serve. If it seemed evil to them to serve the Lord, they were told they must choose for themselves the god who would be a better friend to them, than the Lord would. There are some people who think that serving the Lord is not the best thing. They look upon the Christian life, as the turning away from all that is bright, beautiful, joyous and inspiring, and the burying of one’s self away in a life of gloom and shadow. They think it would be a great mistake to make a choice of such a life in preference to the happy, unrestrained life of this world. But is this true? Think a little of the blessings which the service of God brings pardon, peace, the sense of God’s favor, Divine help at every point, precious promises for every experience, victory over every enemy, the Divine love and companionship. Set over against this inventory, that which this world has to offer a few pleasures, with thorns for a pillow afterwards; a few cups of indulgence, with bitter dregs at the bottom; a few victories which yield no permanent result; a few gains which leave the hands empty at the last; a life of unrestraint and license which in the end binds the soul in chains; a dark death-hour, and a hopeless hell hereafter. Of these two pictures, which is the evil one? It surely does matter whether we choose God or not, whether we believe or doubt, whether we go in sin’s ways or God’s. We must settle the question for ourselves each one for himself the question of how we shall live, and what we shall do with God. No one can choose for us, not even God Himself. Joshua called the people to make choice then and there, whether they would serve God or idols. Of course, we owe allegiance to God as our only rightful Lord and Sovereign, and we never can throw off this allegiance. We may refuse to recognize it; we may live on as if there were no God anywhere in the universe, giving Him no love, no obedience, no worship ; but we do not thereby get clear of Him or of His claims upon us. We may disregard His laws but we shall find ourselves at last fast bound in their penalties . In this sense there is no liberty of choice between God and Baal. Still we must make a choice. God never compels allegiance. He tells us what our duty is, what His claims are, what He desires of us, and shows us the blessings of obedience and the cost of disobedience. But we are free to decide for ourselves whether we will serve Him or serve the world. We cannot serve both. It must be the one or the other. It is only the life devoted to God that can go safely through this world’s ways of temptation. The heart that is fixed with absorbing love upon God will not be attracted by the fascinations of the world. It was Christ who said: “If your eye is single, your whole body shall be full of light.” If with all our heart and with intense earnestness we follow Christ, we shall not be greatly troubled by the evil things about us. Example is always most effective in leadership. There is little use in our telling people to go where we ourselves are not willing to go; or to do what we are not ready to do. But Joshua asked no decision from the Israelites which he himself was not ready to make. He said: “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord!” What he would do, was not dependent upon the people’s decision. If they all went in the wrong path he was going in the right path. It is a noble thing to be able to stand up in the face of all the world and dare to do right, though all the world does wrong. This is a courage that every person needs in these days. “No matter what the crowd does I will do my duty. All the boys smoke but I am not going to smoke. All the others go to evil places but I am not going. All the others swear but I will keep my speech reverent. The crowd is running after sin but I am going to cleave to Christ, though I am the only follower Christ has.” It requires unusual moral courage to be true when all others are false; to be honest when all others are dishonest; to keep one’s life pure and clean when everybody else is drifting away into impurity; to be alone in our faithfulness. The true thing to do in all circumstances, is not to ask what anyone else is going to do but to ask what God wants us to do, and then fearlessly do that! We do not know, either, what our choice means to others. There is always somebody waiting and wavering in making his decision, who will decide as you do. Then you do not know the influence of your true, beautiful life in the world, in the midst of the evil and the blackness that are everywhere. It gives hope when hope is nearly dead. One was speaking of being almost driven to the belief that no one is true, that everyone is false, and then there came under observation, one plain, lowly life which in varied and most trying experiences proved sweet, lovely, true, keeping itself unspotted and never failing in any testing. This life saved the person from utter doubt. There was one who was faithful, and this one life restored faith in the power of Christ to save unto the uttermost. We do not know what it will mean to the world for us to be faithful and true. It is not easy to serve God. We cannot serve Him at all unless we come out and break with the world. Joshua said to the people that day: “You cannot serve the Lord; for he is a holy God.” He meant to say, that they could not serve God without giving up the idols which so many of them were secretly worshiping. We cannot serve God and keep our sins. We cannot serve God and the world. Turning away from God always brings trouble. “If you forsake the Lord,” Joshua said, “He will turn and do you evil.” We cannot keep our sins and enjoy the favor of God. He is always a God of love but He is also a God of justice, and His attitude towards men is either that of mercy or of judgment, according to their attitude towards Him. If we are true to the Lord and do His will we will find in Him mercy and grace. But if we rebel against Him and serve other gods we shall find in Him wrath and severity. If we want the Divine favor and blessing we must do God’s will. The people were deeply impressed that day by Joshua’s strong words and renewed their covenant with God. Then Joshua reminded them that they themselves were the witnesses of their own covenant. “You are witnesses against yourselves, that you have chosen you the Lord.” We all are witnesses against ourselves, if we do not faithfully follow God. There will be no necessity of calling other people to stand at the bar of judgment, to bear testimony against those who have not obeyed nor served God, or those who have promised to obey Him and then have broken covenant with Him. Every man’s conscience will witness against him if he has been unfaithful. It will testify that he knew his duty and did it not; that God called him again and again and he heeded Him not; that he sinned against his own soul, resisting and crushing under his feet the sense of right that was in him. No one in a Christian land who is now living in sin needs any outside witness to condemn him. He remembers a mother’s prayers and teachings, and all the gentle influences of a loving home. He remembers the family altar, where in childhood he daily bowed before God. He remembers his own promises, made in life’s solemn moments, that he would yield his heart to Christ and follow Him. Such memories are witnesses against everyone now living in sin, whose youth was passed amid holy scenes and Divine impressions. The outcome of this teaching should be the making or renewing of the covenant with God by everyone who studies the words. That is, we should choose at once, finally and irrevocably, whom we will serve whether God, the God of love and grace and truth or evil, with all its darkness and bitterness. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingLeviticus 14 Leviticus 14 -- Cleansing from Skin Diseases and Mildew NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Matthew 26:55-75 Matthew 26 -- Plot to Kill Jesus; Jesus Anointed at Bethany; Last Supper; Judas' Betrayal; Jesus before Caiaphas; Peter Disowns Jesus NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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