Dawn 2 Dusk Woven Before the First BreathLong before Jeremiah ever spoke a prophetic word, God spoke over him—naming him, knowing him, and setting him apart. Jeremiah 1:5 pulls back the curtain on a God who is not reacting to our lives, but lovingly initiating them with purpose, presence, and a calling that reaches deeper than our doubts. Boldly Known, Not Vaguely Noticed God’s knowledge of you is not general; it is personal and intentional. Scripture says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving devotion.” (Jeremiah 31:3) That means your story isn’t an accident, and your existence isn’t random. Even the parts you wish you could edit are not beyond the Author’s ability to redeem and repurpose. And God’s knowing isn’t cold information—it’s covenant care. Jesus echoes this intimacy: “Even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matthew 10:30) If He numbers hairs, He certainly sees wounds, questions, and hidden fears. You can stop performing for God’s attention; you already have it. What He calls you to begins with the security of being fully seen and still loved. Set Apart in Ordinary Days Jeremiah’s calling wasn’t launched from a stage; it was planted in the unseen places—before birth, before skill, before credentials. That same God still sets people apart in ways that may look unimpressive at first. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.” (Ephesians 2:10) Prepared in advance means your obedience today is never wasted—it’s connected to a plan older than your timeline. This also means your “small” faithfulness matters. A quiet apology, a courageous no, a faithful yes, a prayer when you’d rather scroll—these are not insignificant. Jesus said, “Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much.” (Luke 16:10) God often trains His servants in the hidden places, where character is formed and motives are purified. Called to Speak, Even When You Feel Unready Jeremiah felt the weight of inadequacy, and many of us do too. But God doesn’t call the ready; He readies the called. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7) The fear that says, “Not you,” is often the very place where God intends to display His strength. Your calling may not look like Jeremiah’s, but it will include witness—words and deeds that point to God. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) You don’t have to manufacture a dramatic platform; you just have to be faithful where you are, speaking truth with love, living with integrity, and trusting God to multiply what you offer. Father, thank You for knowing and calling me with loving purpose; help me obey Your voice today—make my life shine for Your glory. Amen. Evening with A.W. Tozer The Wonder of GodMoses took us back to the beginning of all that we see, all that we call the universe. He took us back before the stars and moon were, before space was and before time was, and said, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). So Moses said that the One who calls us to Himself has a right to do so because He antedates time, He transcends space, He fills His universe and He is God. . . . David, in Psalm 103, showed that this God is not only a God who makes mountains, hills, rivers and streams, who rides upon the wings of the clouds, but He loves His people. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him (v. 11). But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children--with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts (vv. 17-18). David tried to impart the incommunicable, tried to tell what cannot be told of the wonder of God. Music For the Soul Peter’s Love: A Type of OursHe saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, Lovest thou Me? Peter was grieved because He said unto him the third time, Lovest thou Me? And he said unto Him, Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee. - John 21:17 NOTICE how we have here, not only that figure of Christ fresh from the Cross, with all the appeal that His sufferings for us ought to make to our hearts, smiting upon those hearts a deeper consciousness of our transgression, but we have also the figure, full of encouragement and of teaching for us, of the penitent rejoicingly acknowledging, notwithstanding his sin, his fervent love to the Master. Do not let any sense of unworthiness make you hesitate in saying, "I love Thee! " Do not try to find out whether you love Christ or not by inferences from your conduct. You do not do that about your love to one another. You do not say, I do so-and-so for my wife, or my husband, therefore I conclude that I love him, or her." You start with the feeling, with the consciousness of the feeling, with the glad avowal of it; and then, to the best of your power, you shape your conduct accordingly. It is beginning at the wrong end to begin with conduct, and to look to it for the answer to the questions, " Do I love the Lord or no?" "Am I His, or am I not?" All of us have to bewail inconsistencies, but any Christian man or woman who seeks to answer the question whether they love Jesus Christ by inferences drawn from conduct is condemning himself or herself to a lifelong burden of weariness, and to a religion in which, because there will be little joy, there will be little power and freedom. Let us not be afraid, after the example of this man, howsoever dark and numerous may have been our faults, let us not be afraid to profess our love to Him. The consciousness of our treachery and of His pardon should deepen our love to Christ. So out of our very falls we may rise to a closer and more blessed experience, and come to understand for ourselves how the publicans and harlots my go into the Kingdom before the Pharisees. The only source from which a true love to Jesus Christ, warm enough to melt the ice of our hearts, and flowing with a powerful enough stream to sweep the corruption out of our natures, can ever flow is the sense of our pardon from Him. That sense will deepen as the consciousness of our manifold transgressions deepens. So the more we feel our evil and our guilt, the more let us cleave to that great Lord that has given Himself for us. It was but a shallow conviction of sin that moved in Peter’s breast at the other miraculous draught of fishes, when he said, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man! " He has learned here a deeper knowledge of his own fault; he knows better how bad he has been and how weak he still is; and, therefore, instead of saying "Depart!" he says, "Let me cleave to Thee: Thou knowest that I love Thee." Spurgeon: Morning and Evening John 1:41 He first findeth his own brother Simon. This case is an excellent pattern of all cases where spiritual life is vigorous. As soon as a man has found Christ, he begins to find others. I will not believe that thou hast tasted of the honey of the gospel if thou canst eat it all thyself. True grace puts an end to all spiritual monopoly. Andrew first found his own brother Simon, and then others. Relationship has a very strong demand upon our first individual efforts. Andrew, thou didst well to begin with Simon. I doubt whether there are not some Christians giving away tracts at other people's houses who would do well to give away a tract at their own--whether there are not some engaged in works of usefulness abroad who are neglecting their special sphere of usefulness at home. Thou mayst or thou mayst not be called to evangelize the people in any particular locality, but certainly thou art called to see after thine own servants, thine own kinsfolk and acquaintance. Let thy religion begin at home. Many tradesmen export their best commodities--the Christian should not. He should have all his conversation everywhere of the best savour; but let him have a care to put forth the sweetest fruit of spiritual life and testimony in his own family. When Andrew went to find his brother, he little imagined how eminent Simon would become. Simon Peter was worth ten Andrews so far as we can gather from sacred history, and yet Andrew was instrumental in bringing him to Jesus. You may be very deficient in talent yourself, and yet you may be the means of drawing to Christ one who shall become eminent in grace and service. Ah! dear friend, you little know the possibilities which are in you. You may but speak a word to a child, and in that child there may be slumbering a noble heart which shall stir the Christian church in years to come. Andrew has only two talents, but he finds Peter. Go thou and do likewise. Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook Better Farther OnThere is a limit to affliction. God sends it, and God removes it. Do you sigh and say, "When will the end be?" Remember that our griefs will surely and finally end when this poor earthly life is over, Let us quietly wait and patiently endure the will of the LORD till He cometh. Meanwhile, our Father in heaven takes away the rod when His design in using it is fully served. When He has whipped away our folly, there will be no more strokes. Or, if the affliction is sent for testing us, that our graces may glorify God, it will end when the LORD has made us bear witness to His praise. We would not wish the affliction to depart till God has gotten out of us all the honor which we can possibly yield Him. There may today be "a great calm." Who knows how soon those raging billows will give place to a sea of glass, and the sea birds sit on the gentle waves? After long tribulation the Rail is hung up, and the wheat rests in the garner. We may, before many hours are past, be just as happy as now we are sorrowful. It is not hard for the LORD to turn night into day. He that sends the clouds can as easily clear the skies. Let us be of good cheer. It is better on before. Let us sing hallelujah by anticipation. The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer He Careth for YouThe Lord knows all His people, their persons, wants, and trials; He thinketh upon them to benefit, deliver, and supply them. He keeps His eye upon them in all places, at all times, and under all circumstances. He has them in His hand, and will not loose His hold. He looks upon them always as His own; the objects of His love, the purchase of His Son’s blood, the temples of the Holy Spirit. They are precious in His sight. He knows they are weak, fearful, and have many enemies. He teaches them to cast themselves and all their cares into His hands; and He has given them His word, that He will care for them. It is a Father’s care which He exercises. It is wise, holy, tender, and constant; therefore all will be well, only trust. Believe that He cares for you this day; carry all your concerns to Him in the faith of this; leave all with Him, persuaded that He will manage all by His infinite wisdom, and bring all to a good issue by His omnipotent power. Cast all your cares upon Him as fast as they come in; be anxious for nothing. "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee; He will never suffer the righteous to be moved." "Cast," He says, "on Me thy care, ‘Tis enough that I am nigh; I will all thy burdens bear, I will all thy wants supply." Bible League: Living His Word The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.— Zephaniah 3:17 ESV King Josiah (640-609 B.C.) had no greater fan in all of Judah than the prophet Zephaniah. Following the reign of his righteous great-grandfather Hezekiah, Josiah’s grandfather Manasseh and his father Amon made an utter mess of the nation; not only allowing, but inviting the debaucherous idolatry of the surrounding nations to be practiced throughout the land. As Josiah strove to bring about righteous reform among the people, Zephaniah (though clearly proclaiming that pending judgment would soon arrive in Judah as it had in Israel) spoke wonderful words of encouragement to sustain the people once judgment was complete. As the prophet begins to conclude this short prophetic utterance on an encouraging note (vs 3:14), one can almost sense a growing crescendo of joy immersed in the national reformation that will take place! He invites the people to “sing aloud” with him, as he foretells the wonderful ways in which the Lord will dispel fear, build faith, and restore fortunes for all of eternity. Indeed, the transformation of the nation that is described in verses 18-20 is truly something to sing about! But what makes the people respond positively to all the transforming benefits God wishes to bestow upon them, is knowing that despite previous sinful downfalls, God is “in their midst!” God is the “mighty one who will deliver them,” who will “rejoice over them with gladness” who will “quiet them by his love.” Indeed, as the people are singing (vs 14), God is also singing aloud with them in a mutual exaltation! (vs 17). Imagine that: God singing along with His people! Surely, this is an expression of His love for them. And what God did for His children and will do in the future, He does for us who belong to Him today. We too have experienced His wondrous love through being rescued from our sins. We rejoice with Him, knowing He has quieted our restlessness in life with an assured confidence of His presence and love; and then we hear Him sing aloud with gladness over us, encouraging increasing advancement in our loving relationship with Him! It is in how God loves us that we are positioned to respond positively to the transforming work He wants to do in us daily. London businessman Samuel Trevor Francis (1824-1925), who traveled across the Atlantic Ocean more times than he could count would often ponder the vastness of God’s love for him as he gazed upon the rolling waves of the ocean. At one time, he took pen to paper and jotted this verse he would sing: “O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free! Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me, underneath me, all around me, is the current of thy love; leading onward, leading homeward to my glorious rest above.” As we walk (or sail) through the days of our lives, may we have a song we can sing, highlighting the love God has for us, knowing that He sings along with us all along the way! By Bill Niblette, Ph.D., Bible League International staff, Pennsylvania U.S. Daily Light on the Daily Path Isaiah 63:4 "For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come.Leviticus 25:10 'You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. Isaiah 26:19 Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits. 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. • Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Hosea 13:14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion will be hidden from My sight. Jeremiah 50:34 "Their Redeemer is strong, the LORD of hosts is His name; He will vigorously plead their case So that He may bring rest to the earth, But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon. 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 Finally, I confessed all my sins to youand stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Insight What is confession? To confess our sin is to agree with God, acknowledging that he is right to declare what we have done as sinful, and that we are wrong to desire or to do it. Challenge It is to affirm our intention of abandoning that sin in order to follow him more faithfully. Devotional Hours Within the Bible Samuel’s Farewell AddressIn all the narrative of Saul’s election and coronation as king, the character of Samuel shines out brightly. Though himself set aside by the election of a king to rule in his place he yet made the great renunciation cheerfully, manfully, leading the people in each step in their new departure and guiding them with his clear vision and his steady hand. He did not sulk in his tent, as too many men do in such experiences. He did not withdraw from public life because Saul was made chief ruler but continued to serve the people as Prophet and Counselor, giving them still the benefit of the wisdom he had learned in his long and rich experience. The time came, however, when he must lay down the office of judge, delivering the authority into the hand of the newly-chosen king. The farewell address of Samuel is worthy of careful study. He reminded the people again of the way in which the king had been given to them, that they themselves were responsible for the change in government. He had listened to their request and had not resisted their desire, nor stood in the way of their wish. He had keenly felt the reflection upon himself in their urgent demand but he had set that aside in his wish to have that done which would be the best for the nation. He had felt the ingratitude and injustice to God in their wish but God had overlooked their course and given His consent and sanction. Samuel then referred to his own career as ruler, claiming that it had been honorable, and challenging them to show that even in the smallest matter he had defrauded or oppressed anyone. It is a great thing to be able to say at the close of a long or a short life what Samuel said at the opening of his farewell address. It is the ending of a life that tests it. How does it appear when it is looked back upon amid the gathering shadows of the grave? What kind of a dying pillow do its memories make? Samuel was able to stand up before all the nation and before God and say these words because his life, from beginning to end, had been upright, true and pure. There were no skeletons hidden away in any secret transaction of his life which could come up in after days to shame him. His words have a noble ring in them: “Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right.” “You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand.” Who does not want just such a life-ending as Samuel’s? It is possible to have it, too but possible only in one way. Only a noble and faithful life can give such comfort and satisfaction. Old age is the harvest of all the years that have gone before. What you sow in your youth and prime you gather when your hair is white and your steps are feeble. Samuel reviewed the history of the people from the time of Moses, and then pointed to the king they had chosen and whom the Lord had set over them. He assured them that if they would be faithful to God He would show them favor. “Now if you will fear and worship the LORD and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the LORD’s commands, and if you and your king follow the LORD your God then all will be well.” This standing “if” precedes all God’s promises of blessing, and conditions them. Everything of Divine blessing and good depends upon our obedience. If we will not walk in God’s ways we cannot expect God to walk with us. There is a distinct indication of mercy here also God is always willing to give us a second chance. We may rebel against Him and take our own way instead of His, tearing ourselves by our willfulness out of His perfect plan; yet He comes to us again and tells us that He will still be our Father and will help us to succeed in the new course we have insisted upon taking if we will be obedient and faithful. The people of Israel had refused God’s way for them, demanding a king. He gave them their demand and then gave them another chance with it. That is what God is always doing. What could any of us do if God never gave us a second chance, and a third, and a hundredth? But while the people were assured of blessing if they would be obedient, Samuel assured them just as positively that disobedience would bring punishment. “But if you rebel against the LORD’s commands and refuse to listen to him then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.” This is very plain. There can be no mistake about the meaning of the words. It is impossible to have God’s favor and blessing if we are not faithful to Him. What an absurdity it is, therefore, to pray for favor and help when we know that we are living in disobedience and are willfully disregarding God’s law! Samuel sought to make such an impression on the people that day that the lesson would never be forgotten. So he bade them stand still and see the great thing that the Lord would do before their eyes. The harvest-time was not the season for thunderstorms but thunder and rain came, and the storm frightened the people. It gave them a glimpse of God’s awesome power, which could destroy them in a moment. There are many people who are waked up from their indifference by some severe judgment but who are not touched nor impressed by the Lord’s ordinary workings. Yet really the everyday Providences are far more wonderful, than the extraordinary things now and then that God does. A shower of rain sent out of season in answer to a prayer brings a whole nation down on its knees in trembling awe; while years and years of seasonable showers of rain, refreshing the earth and making it fruitful, produce no impression upon the same people. Yet this is infinitely more wonderful than that. It is neither superstition nor fanaticism that sees God in the unusual; but it is atheism that does not see Him as well in the usual. Every shower of rain, every morning’s miracle of sunrise, every day’s bread, should inspire in us loving adoration! The people were alarmed and they said to Samuel: “Pray for your servants unto the Lord your God, that we die not.” It is a great thing to have a friend who lives near to God and is on familiar terms with Him, and has influence at the throne of grace. It is a great thing to have someone to whom we can turn with confidence, asking him to pray for us. Of course, we all can pray for ourselves but many of us live too far from God to have the greatest power with Him. Samuel was a man of prayer and the people were sure that if he would pray for them, God would spare their lives. At the last supper Peter wanted to ask a question of the Master but he was down towards the foot of the table. John, however, was close to Jesus, his head leaning upon the Master’s bosom. So Peter beckoned to him to ask the question because he was so near and could whisper it into Christ’s ear. Those who live nearest to God have easiest access in prayer, and if you are in sore trouble you are quite sure to want one of these to speak to God on your behalf. When you are dying you will not send for a companion with whom you have trifled and sinned but for one who knows how to pray. Samuel did not try to lessen the people’s alarm and anxiety because of their sins. We are always in danger of this weakness when our friends confess to us wrong things they have done. The other day a man of the world made sport of the remorse and penitence of one who was under deep conviction, saying: “You are only frightened and morbid. Cheer up and come out with me for a drive, and your bad feeling will soon be gone.” That was not the way Samuel talked to his people when they were distressed because of their sins. He told them frankly that they had surely done the wickedness which they confessed. He would deepen in them the sense of unworthiness and the feeling of penitence. Then he told them also of the mercy of God. Though they had sinned, they need not despair. They must not give up trying to serve God, because they had made such a failure of it. They must not turn away from Him altogether, because they had turned away once. They must get back again to God and start anew. When a Christian has been overtaken in temptation and has fallen into sin, one of his dangers is despair, giving up. Many who fall once never rise again, never try again to serve God. They do not know God’s mercy. Judas went out in despair after betraying his Master. Peter went out after denying Christ, weeping in bitter sorrow but he turned to God in his grief and found mercy. There is something very noble and beautiful in the way Samuel answers the people’s pleading that he would pray for them. “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.” The people had been most ungrateful to Samuel and had rejected him as their ruler; yet he would not on this account cease to intercede for them. He told them that it would be a sin in him, a sin against the Lord for him to cease to pray for them! Love triumphed over the sense of injury and wrong. Samuel’s case may often be paralleled in common experience. Those for whom we have done much, who owe us honor and love, may turn away from us in ingratitude; but we must not on this account cease to love them and to do all in our power for them. This may become our temptation. We may feel that they do not deserve our prayers, that they are not worthy of our intercession. But we must remember that on His cross our Lord prayed even for His murderers. This word of Samuel’s shows us what an important duty of friendship, intercession is so important that it is a sin against God to cease to pray for others. We should always pray for our friends. That friendship does not reach its best which lacks intercession. No matter how much we may do for our friends in other ways, if we do not speak to God for them we are wronging them. Then we should pray for those who have hurt us or wronged us. The feeling of resentment, if there is such in our heart, should take the form of interceding. The Master’s command is specific and definite, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.” Luke 6:27-29 Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingNumbers 1, 2 Numbers 1 -- The Census of Israel Totals 603,550, Exempting Levites NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Numbers 2 -- Arrangement of the Tribal Camps NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Mark 3:1-21 Mark 3 -- Jesus Heals on the Sabbath, Chooses the Twelve, discusses Beelzebub, Mother and Brothers NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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