Dawn 2 Dusk The Crown That Came Through a CrossHebrews 2:9 invites us to look straight at Jesus: the One who willingly stepped down into our weakness, entered real suffering, and walked all the way into death—then emerged crowned with glory and honor. This is not distant theology; it’s God’s love made touchable, and it changes how we face today. See Jesus, Not Just the Scene There’s a difference between noticing Jesus and truly seeing Him. Some days, the loudest thing in front of you is pressure, regret, or uncertainty. Yet faith keeps choosing a better focal point—not denial, but devotion. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). When your eyes lock onto Him, your day doesn’t become easy; it becomes steadier. And notice how personal this is: we don’t merely study an event—we behold a Person. The Gospel keeps pulling us from vague spirituality into actual relationship. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). If He is the Shepherd, then you are not navigating this day alone; you’re following Someone who has already proven His heart. Lowered for Love Hebrews 2:9 reminds us that Jesus didn’t “visit” humanity; He entered it. He accepted limits, misunderstanding, fatigue, tears—and then the unthinkable weight of death. “He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). This is humility with muscle in it: love that doesn’t just feel compassion, but pays the cost. And He didn’t suffer as an example only, but as a substitute. You will never get to the bottom of your sin by self-improvement, because your deepest need wasn’t motivation—it was rescue. “But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). When Jesus tasted death, He put Himself in the place you could not survive, so you could receive a life you could never earn. Crowned for Our Hope The same verse that takes us to His suffering also takes us to His honor. The cross was not His collapse; it was His conquest. Heaven sings not because we are impressive, but because He is triumphant: “Worthy are You…because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). His crown is the public announcement that the sacrifice worked. That means today is lived from victory, not for it. Your failures don’t get the final word, your pain isn’t pointless, and your obedience isn’t wasted. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). If He suffered to bring you near, then draw near—especially when you feel least worthy—because His glory includes your welcome. Lord Jesus, thank You for suffering death for me and now reigning in glory. Fix my eyes on You today, and help me live boldly in obedience and love. Amen. Evening with A.W. Tozer God Moves in Mysterious WaysTo the child of God, there is no such thing as accident. He travels an appointed way. The path he treads was chosen for him when as yet he was not, when as yet he had existence only in the mind of God.
Accidents may indeed appear to befall him and misfortune stalk his way; but these evils will be so in appearance only and will seem evils only because we cannot read the secret script of God's hidden providence and so cannot discover the ends at which He aims.
When true faith enters, chance and mischance go out for good. They have no jurisdiction over them that are born of the Spirit, for such as these are sons of the new creation and special charges of the Most High God.
While sojourning here below, these children of the eternal covenant may pay token tribute to nature; sickness, old age and death may levy upon them, and to the undiscerning eye, they may seem to be as other men. Here, as in all its other judgments upon Christianity, the world is completely fooled by appearances, for it cannot see that these believing ones are hid with Christ in God.
Music For the Soul Repentance and FaithRepentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. - Acts 20:21 Very near the close of his missionary career the Apostle Paul summed up his preaching as being all directed to two points, " Repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." These two, repentance and faith, ought never to be separated in thought, as they are inseparable in fact. Genuine repentance is impossible without faith; true faith cannot exist without repentance. And yet the two are separated very often, in this day especially, even by earnest Christian teachers who have a great deal to say about faith, and not nearly enough in proportion about repentance; and the effect is to obscure the very idea of faith, and not seldom to preach, " Peace! peace! where there is no peace." A Gospel which is always talking about faith, and scarcely ever talking about repentance, is denuded indeed of some of its most unwelcome characteristics, but is also deprived of most of its power, and it may very easily become an ally of all righteousness and an indulgence to sin. Some of the most formidable objections to the Christian doctrine of forgiveness - viz., that it is immoral in its substance - arise chiefly from forgetting that "repentance" towards "God" is as real a condition of salvation as is "faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." We have here the Apostle’s deliverance about one of these twin thoughts. We have three stages - the root, the stem, the fruit; sorrow, repentance, salvation. But there is a right and a wrong kind of sorrow for sin. The right kind breeds repentance, and thence reaches salvation; the wrong kind breeds nothing, and so ends in death. Look at this ladder, which the Apostle sets up "from the horrible pit and the miry clay" of evil, up to the sunny heights of salvation, and trace its stages; not forgetting that it is not a complete statement of the case, and needs to be supplemented, in the spirit of the words already quoted, by the other part of the inseparable whole, "faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ." It would be an interesting study to examine the two letters of the Apostle Peter, in order to construct from them a picture of what he became, and to contrast it with his own earlier self, when full of self-confidence, rashness, and instability. It took a lifetime for Simon, the son of Jonas, to grow into Peter; but it was done. And the very faults of the character became strength. What he had proved possible in his own case he commands and commends to us; and from the height to which he has reached he looks upwards to the infinite ascent which he knows he will attain when he puts off this tabernacle, and then downwards to his brethren, bidding them, too, climb and aspire. His last word is like that of the great Roman Catholic apostle to the East Indies: "Forward!" He is like some trumpeter on the battlefield who spends his last breath in sounding an advance. Immortal hope animates his dying injunction: " Grow! grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour." Spurgeon: Morning and Evening 2 Timothy 2:19 The foundation of God standeth sure. The foundation upon which our faith rests is this, that "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." The great fact on which genuine faith relies is, that "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us," and that "Christ also hath suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God;" "Who himself bare our sins in his own body on the tree;" "For the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed." In one word, the great pillar of the Christian's hope is substitution. The vicarious sacrifice of Christ for the guilty, Christ being made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, Christ offering up a true and proper expiatory and substitutionary sacrifice in the room, place, and stead of as many as the Father gave him, who are known to God by name, and are recognized in their own hearts by their trusting in Jesus--this is the cardinal fact of the gospel. If this foundation were removed, what could we do? But it standeth firm as the throne of God. We know it; we rest on it; we rejoice in it; and our delight is to hold it, to meditate upon it, and to proclaim it, while we desire to be actuated and moved by gratitude for it in every part of our life and conversation. In these days a direct attack is made upon the doctrine of the atonement. Men cannot bear substitution. They gnash their teeth at the thought of the Lamb of God bearing the sin of man. But we, who know by experience the preciousness of this truth, will proclaim it in defiance of them confidently and unceasingly. We will neither dilute it nor change it, nor fritter it away in any shape or fashion. It shall still be Christ, a positive substitute, bearing human guilt and suffering in the stead of men. We cannot, dare not, give it up, for it is our life, and despite every controversy we feel that "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure." Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook A Woman’s WarRather an unusual text, but there may be souls in the world that may have faith enough to grasp it. Barak, the man, though called to the war, had little stomach for the fight unless Deborah would go with him, and so the LORD determined to make it a woman’s war. By this means He rebuked the slackness of the man, gained for Himself the more renown, and cast the more shame upon the enemies of His people. The LORD can still use feeble instrumentalities. Why not me? He may use persons who are not commonly called to great public engagements. Why not you? The woman who slew the enemy of Israel was no Amazon but a wife who tarried in her tent. She was no orator but a woman who milked the cows and made butter. May not the LORD use any one of us to accomplish His purpose? Somebody may come to the house today, even as Sisera came to Jael’s tent. Be it ours not to slay him, but to save him. Let us receive him with great kindness and then bring forth the blessed truth of salvation by the LORD Jesus, our great Substitute, and press home the command "Believe and live." Who knoweth but some stout-hearted sinner may be slain by the gospel today! The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer How Is It That Ye Have No Faith?Why should my soul indulge complaints, And yield to dark despair? The meanest of my Father’s saints, Are safe beneath His care. Dear Lord, increase my faith in Thee Till I Thy full salvation see. Bible League: Living His Word We are still alive because the LORD’s faithful love never ends. Every morning he shows it in new ways! You are so very true and loyal!— Lamentations 3:22-23 ERV We’re still alive. We don’t deserve to be alive, but we still are. Like every human being that has ever lived, we deserve death and destruction for the sins we commit every day. Although we live in God’s world, depending upon His providential sustenance, we often act as if it was our world. Instead of submitting ourselves to the will and ways of the Lord, all too often we submit ourselves to the will and ways of Satan – the fallen angel and the ultimate rebel against the Lord. We’re still alive, but it’s not because of anything we’ve done. It’s because the Lord never gave up on His creation. In particular, and especially, He never gave up on us. We were the crown of His creation, made in His image. But we listened to Satan and fell from grace. Nevertheless, our great God made a way for us to get back into a proper relationship to Him. That’s why scripture says that His faithful love never ends. We’re still alive. If you take the time to look, you’ll see God’s faithfulness every day. Even in the morning, before the day gets started, God’s faithful love is evident. He kept us alive through the night, giving safety and rest. As the day moves along, He shows us even more that He has an eye on us at all times. How many times has He kept us from harm? How many times has He kept us from the accident that would sweep us away? The forces of Satan are always looking for ways to bring us down to the grave, but God keeps that from happening before its time. We’re still alive. Lord, it’s because you’re so very true and loyal! What would it be like if you weren’t that way? I don’t want to go there. I shudder even to think about it. Praise the Lord for His great faithfulness! Daily Light on the Daily Path Joshua 7:8,10,11 "O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? • So the LORD said to Joshua, "Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? • "Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things.Isaiah 59:1,2 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. • But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. Psalm 66:18 If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear; 1 John 3:21,22 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; • and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. 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 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.Insight Jesus took time to pray. Challenge Finding time to pray is not easy, but prayer is the vital link between us and God. Like Jesus, we must break away from others to talk with God, even if we have to get up very early in the morning to do it! Devotional Hours Within the Bible The Child in the MidstJesus’ interest in children appears throughout all the Gospels. It was a strange question which the disciples brought to Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” These men, although occupying so sacred a place in their Lord’s family, were still very human, and had their natural human ambitions. They even seem not to have been free from the passion for official or political positions which afflicts so many people, sometimes even very good people. They had only the earthly idea of the kingdom which Christ was to set up. They probably had been discussing the question as to which of them would occupy the highest place in this kingdom. One remarkable feature of biography writing in the Bible, is that it takes no pains to hide the faults of the saints. There is encouragement in this for us; it shows that even the holiest people have their faults and often do foolish things. Of course, this makes no excuse for us, however, for we ought to be very much better than even the apostles were, since we have more light, greater privileges, and better opportunities than they had; and so we should understand better the teachings of Christ. There is one proper way, however, of wishing to be great in Christ’s kingdom. It is right that we should long to be great Christians. It was said of a certain Christian man, that his daily prayer was, “Lord, make me an uncommon Christian.” That was a good prayer. There are plenty of common Christians. It is right to pray always, and to strive to meet the level of our praying, “ Nearer, my God, to You.” The answer of Jesus to the disciples’ question, was beautiful and very suggestive. “He called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them.” He answered their question by an illustration. “This is greatness,” His act said to them. A little child in the midst is often used to teach great lessons to older people. When a new baby comes into a home, God sets it in the midst of a family as a teacher. Parents suppose they are training their child, and so they are, if they are faithful; but the child also teaches and trains them. Thoughtful and reverent parents learn more of the meaning of fatherhood of God, and the way God feels toward His children, in one week after their first baby comes than they had learned from teachers and books, perhaps even from the Bible, in all the preceding years of their lives. Every child’s life is a book, a new page of which is turned every day. Children are not angels, and yet they bring from heaven to earth, many fragments of loveliness. Their influence in a home is a constant blessing. They change the center of life in their parents it is no more self ; they begin now to live for their child. They train their parents in patience, in gentleness, in thoughtfulness, in love. While a young child is in a home a school of heaven is set up there. After Jesus had set the child in the midst, He spoke to the disciples, putting His lesson into words, rebuking their ambition and startling them with most serious words. He said to them, “Except you be converted, and become as little children you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” His words implied that they were not now as little children, that their grasping after high places was anything but beautiful. They must be changed in spirit before they could even enter into the kingdom of heaven. But the lesson was not for the first disciples only it is for us also. What do these words say to us? What is it to become a little child? There is a legend of a man whom the angels loved and wished to have honored. They asked God that some remarkable gift might be bestowed upon him. But he would make no choice. Urged to name something which should be given to him, he said he would like to do a great deal of good in the world without even knowing it. So it came about that whenever his shadow fell behind him, where he could not see it, it had healing power; but when it fell before his face it had not this power. That is childlikeness goodness, humility, power to do good, helpfulness; without being conscious of the possession of these qualities. Ambition to win distinction, craving for human praise, consciousness of being good or smart or useful or great all are marks of a worldly spirit which is neither childlike nor Christ like. Moses knew not, that his face shone. Jesus went on to speak other words about the children, while the little child still stood in the midst. He said, “Whoever shall receive one such little child in My name, receives Me.” Many wrongs are done to children. Very grave, therefore, is our Lord’s word to those who hurt a little one. “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea!” There are many ways of causing little ones to sin. He does it who sets a child a wrong example, thus influencing him to go in the wrong way. He does it who tempts a child to do anything that is not right. It is a fearful thing to offer a boy the first glass of alcohol; or to whisper in a child’s ear a doubt or a sneer at sacred things; or to put a bad book or paper in the hands of a young person. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingEsther 1, 2, 3 Esther 1 -- The Banquets of Xerxes; Queen Vashti Deposed NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Esther 2 -- Esther Becomes Queen; Mordecai Thwarts a Conspiracy NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Esther 3 -- Haman Seeks Revenge on the Jews NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 5:1-16 Acts 5 -- Deaths of Ananias and Sapphira; Apostles Imprisoned, Released by an Angel; Gamaliel Speaks NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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