Dawn 2 Dusk When the Noise Fades, One Thing RemainsWe spend so much energy trying to make life add up—stacking achievements, collecting experiences, chasing answers that never quite settle the heart. Ecclesiastes ends by pulling all the scattered pieces into a single, steady conclusion: life finds its center when God is treated as God and His ways are taken seriously. Fear God: Awe That Steadies the Soul Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, “When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.” That kind of fear isn’t panic; it’s reverence—the soul finally standing upright in the presence of the Holy One. It’s the moment you stop negotiating with God and start listening. And notice what happens when that awe takes root: it becomes wisdom, not misery. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10). When you fear God, you’re no longer ruled by people’s opinions, your mood, or the pressure to prove yourself—you’re anchored to reality. Keep His Commandments: Love with Backbone God’s commands aren’t a cold checklist; they’re the shape of love in real life. Jesus tied obedience directly to affection: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Obedience is how love grows legs—how it moves from good intentions to faithful choices when no one is applauding. And if you’ve ever felt like God’s will is just too heavy, Scripture meets you there: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). Not because they’re always easy, but because they’re good—protective, clarifying, and life-giving. They train our loves so we actually become the kind of people who can enjoy God. The Whole Duty: Living Like the End Is True Ecclesiastes refuses to let life stay vague. There’s an end, and it matters—because God sees, God remembers, and God will judge with perfect justice: “For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14). That doesn’t have to crush you; it can cleanse you. It means your quiet faithfulness is not wasted, and your secret compromises are not harmless. So today becomes wonderfully practical: don’t just admire truth—act on it. “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). Fear God by taking Him seriously. Keep His commands by choosing obedience in the next decision, the next conversation, the next private moment. That’s not small; that’s the point. Father, thank You for being holy, wise, and good. Give me a reverent heart and willing hands today—help me to obey You gladly and live like Your truth is real. Amen. Evening with A.W. Tozer God-Centered and Other-Centered LivingHuman society is built upon a balance of personal interests. People are so used to seeing everyone serving his own ends that no other kind of conduct is expected. Only the eccentric dreamer would expect that unregenerate men could be persuaded to surrender their personal rights and devote themselves wholly to the interests of others. Occasionally small groups of persons have come together to try to form a selfless society, but in every instance they have lived to see their little utopia tear itself apart by the centrifugal force generated by the very selfishness they were trying so nobly to escape. The human heart is essentially selfish and it cannot be cured by external organization. With the advent of Jesus Christ a new and radically different motive for human conduct was introduced into the world and its symbol is the cross. By His words Christ exposed the evil of self-interest and by His cross He demonstrated pure selfless love in its fullest perfection. He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. Christ pleased not Himself, but lived in total devotion to the honor of God and the welfare of mankind, and when He died He set a crown of beauty upon a God-centered and an others-centered life. Music For the Soul Joy: The Result of Faith"Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My Name: ask, and ye shall receive that your joy may be fulfilled,’’ - John 16:24 The act of faith is the condition of joy. Joy springs from the contemplation or experience of something calculated to excite it; and the more real and permanent and all-sufficient that object, the fuller and surer the joy. But where can we find such an object as Him with whom we are brought into union by our faith? Jesus Christ is all-sufficient, full of pity, full of beauty and righteousness, all that we can desire, - and all this for ever. Union with Him provides an object on which all the fervor of the heart may pour itself out. In Him our faith grasps the absolutely good and perfect. Confidence is joy. But when confidence fastens on such a Christ, it is joy heightened and glorified. If we have the certain knowledge that the dear Lord died for us, and live realizing His power and sanctifying Spirit, His constant tenderness and more than womanly sympathy and affection, then nothing can come to us that will deprive us of our gladness as long as our hearts are anchored upon Him only. Our gladness will be accurately co-temporaneous with our trust. As long as we are exercising faith, so long shall we experience joy; not one instant longer. It is like a piano, whose note ceases the moment you lift your finger from the key; not like an organ, in which the sound persists for a time after. The moment you turn away your eye from Jesus Christ, that moment does the light fade from your eye. It is like a landscape lying bathed in the sunshine; a little white cloud creeps across the face of the sun, and all the brightness is gone from leagues of country in an instant. As long as, and not a hair’s breadth longer than, our faith in Christ is exercised, so long have we gladness. You cannot live upon yesterday’s faith, nor furbish up again old experience to produce new joy. Ever and ever you must draw afresh from the fountain, and secure constant joy by continuance of renewed confidence in Him. There is a sufficient reason for the failure of most Christian lives to attain this perfection of joy as their habitual possession, in the interrupted and fragmentary character of their faith. If we are only exercising it by fits and starts, we shall have only short and far-between visits of gladness in our lives. The measure of our faith is the measure of our joy. He that soweth sparingly of the former shall reap sparingly of the latter. And the duration of our joy depends on the duration of our faith. What wonder, then, that instead of its continual sunshine, we should have but occasional glimpses of its brightness, and that our skies should mostly be weeping or grey with clouds? The reason for such imperfect and interrupted joy is simply our imperfect and interrupted faith. Spurgeon: Morning and Evening John 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am. O death! why dost thou touch the tree beneath whose spreading branches weariness hath rest? Why dost thou snatch away the excellent of the earth, in whom is all our delight? If thou must use thine axe, use it upon the trees which yield no fruit; thou mightest be thanked then. But why wilt thou fell the goodly cedars of Lebanon? O stay thine axe, and spare the righteous. But no, it must not be; death smites the goodliest of our friends; the most generous, the most prayerful, the most holy, the most devoted must die. And why? It is through Jesus' prevailing prayer--"Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am." It is that which bears them on eagle's wings to heaven. Every time a believer mounts from this earth to paradise, it is an answer to Christ's prayer. A good old divine remarks, "Many times Jesus and his people pull against one another in prayer. You bend your knee in prayer and say Father, I will that thy saints be with me where I am;' Christ says, Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.'" Thus the disciple is at cross-purposes with his Lord. The soul cannot be in both places: the beloved one cannot be with Christ and with you too. Now, which pleader shall win the day? If you had your choice; if the King should step from his throne, and say, "Here are two supplicants praying in opposition to one another, which shall be answered?" Oh! I am sure, though it were agony, you would start from your feet, and say, "Jesus, not my will, but thine be done." You would give up your prayer for your loved one's life, if you could realize the thoughts that Christ is praying in the opposite direction--"Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am." Lord, thou shalt have them. By faith we let them go. Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook Grace for the HumbleHumble hearts seek grace, and therefore they get it. Humble hearts yield to the sweet influences of grace, and so it is bestowed on them more and more largely. Humble hearts lie in the valleys where streams of grace are flowing, and hence they drink of them, Humble hearts are grateful for grace and give the LORD the glory of it, and hence it is consistent with His honor to give it to them. Come, dear reader, take a lowly place. Be little in thine own esteem, that the LORD may make much of thee. Perhaps the sigh breaks out, "I fear I am not humble." It may be that this is the language of true humility. Some are proud of being humble, and this is one of the very worst sorts of pride. We are needy, helpless, undeserving, hell-deserving creatures, and if we are not humble we ought to be. Let us humble ourselves because of our sins against humility, and then the LORD will give us to taste of His favor. It is grace which makes us humble, and grace which finds in this humility an opportunity for pouring in more grace. Let us go down that we may rise. Let us be poor in spirit that God may make us rich. Let us be humble that we may not need to be humbled but may be exalted by the grace of God. The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer Precious PromisesTHE promises of Scriptures are the promises of the great God; they are all of free grace; they are confirmed by the blood of Jesus; and are exceeding great and very precious. They are so plain that a child can understand them; and so great that no angel could fulfil them. There is such a variety that they meet every case; and such a fulness that they include every want. They are breasts of consolation for the poor, tried, and distressed believer; and are the strength and support of every child of God. They are our plea at the throne of grace, our confidence in the hour of trail, and our rejoicing in prospect of death. Beloved, God’s promises are to be your daily comfort: it is for you to search them out, store them up, believe them, trust in them, plead them, and be assured of their fulfilment, because "He is faithful who promised." The promises are more precious than gold or silver; sweeter than honey or the honey-comb; more lasting than the earth; and more stable than the pillars of heaven. Let us think of them, plead them, and expect their fulfilment today; our God is a faithful God, keeping covenant and mercy unto a thousand generations. Praise to the goodness of the Lord, Who rules His people by His word; And there as strong as His decrees, He sets His kindest promises. Bible League: Living His Word "I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"— Luke 18:8 ESV Luke chapter 8 narrates what Jesus did to impact his followers. He firstly taught them to persevere in prayer day and night (v.7) with patience to trust God. Jesus also wants us to know that prayer works through persistence like the widow who did not allow her social status to deprive her of her right to present her case. The unfair judge initially disregarded her case, but eventually, he granted her justice! Beloved, we need to have hope and faith whenever we call unto our Living God! Jesus shows us that prayer is not easy, but we can pursue what is rightfully due to us, and within the will of God, it will be granted speedily as the verse of today indicates. Jesus taught his disciples about prayer so that it would keep their relationships alive with God, whom they call and petition with faith. The parable also teaches us that prayer is not a magic potion, as if what we ask is done instantly. The parable might have made them feel what we perhaps feel, that repeated petitions are demoralizing and a cause to despair. However, Jesus said "And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (v.7-8). We are to keep faith amid hopelessness. Even if the wicked may seem to have an advantage over us, we know that our battle is won in the spiritual realm of prayer. Beloved, God will speed up your prayer request, He is always on time! Remember to please Him with faith (Hebrews 11:6). Our world operates with faith to link with the supernatural world of prayer. Now, Jesus is asking you if you would still have faith when He comes back to take His church, the followers who have trusted Him in all situations and called unto him day and night. The widow got her justice because of her faith. The judge had not much choice otherwise he'd have no peace due to persistent widow's plea. We ought to know where to go when healing is needed, peace is needed, and restoration of human dignity is needed! We have God Almighty who will speed up your plea! Don't give up your moral conviction in Christ, He is coming soon! By Christopher Thetswe, Bible League International, South Africa Daily Light on the Daily Path Joshua 14:12 "Now then, give me this hill country about which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the LORD will be with me, and I will drive them out as the LORD has spoken."Hebrews 13:5,6 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," • so that we confidently say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?" Psalm 71:16 I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone. Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. Ephesians 6:14,12,13 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, • For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. • Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Judges 6:12,14 The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior." • The LORD looked at him and said, "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?" 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 Help me understand the meaning of your commandments,and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds. I weep with sorrow; encourage me by your word. Insight Our lives are cluttered with rule books, but the authors never come with us to help us follow the rules. But God does. That is the uniqueness of our Bible. God not only provides the rules and guidelines, but comes with us personally each day to strengthen us so that we can live according to those rules. Challenge All we must do is invite him and respond to his direction. Devotional Hours Within the Bible Delight in God’s House“How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God!” “You must have the bird in your eye before you can find it in the bush.” One who has no love for flowers, will walk through fields and gardens filled with flowers and never see one of them. One who has no music in his own soul may live and move continually amid gentle harmonies, and never be touched or thrilled by even the sweetest melodies. On the other hand, one who loves beauty will find it everywhere. One who has a singing angel in his own heart hears every sweet note that breathes in the air about him. Our own heart makes our world for us. Here is a man whose heart is full of longing for God. There are thousands in all ages who have the same craving. There are always people who are prevented from attending worship services which they love those who are sick, those who must care for the sick, or those who by other duties, are compelled to miss the hours of devotion which they greatly love. Love for the worship of God, should be found in every child of God. “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God!” Loss is a wonderful revealer of value. Blessings brighten, as they take their flight. Many good things that we fail to appreciate when we possess them come to have to us an incalculable worth when we have lost them. An empty chair is ofttimes the first revealer of the true worth of a friend, whom we but inadequately prized when we had him. No doubt the writer of this Psalm loved God’s house when he enjoyed its privileges, when he could go to it freely but now when he was shut away from it he realized as he had not done before what it had been to him. There are many people who now attend church services, without finding any especial enjoyment in them, who, if deprived for a time of the privilege, would experience a great sense of loss. We all need God. Many people treat Him very indifferently. But when the hour of need comes, and they cannot find Him they are in great darkness. “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.” Everybody ought to have a church home. There are people who now and then attend church services on special occasions but who have no fixed church-going habits. They stay at home four or five Sundays; and then go some bright morning to hear the music or the sermon, or to see the people. These are not the people the Psalm describes. To “dwell” in the house of God is to love the church and be deeply interested in its worship and work, always present at its services. The church has become to them the home of their soul. These are “blessed.” They feed continually at its table. They sit in its shadows with delight. They come to it at the close of days of toil and care and struggle and renew their strength. They find comfort there in their sorrows; light in their darkness. The blessings of those who dwell in God’s house, are very rich. Then the result as here described is very beautiful. “They are ever praising you.” This is the outcome of such a life of devotion continual praise. The fire burns away upon the golden altar, and the incense rises without ceasing in sweet fragrance. The life that dwells in constant communion with God is always a rejoicing life. Even in sorrow its song is not hushed. It is ideal spiritual life which is described in these words, “They will are ever praising you.” Always it will be a life of song. They live unbrokenly with God. Life flows from Him into their hearts continually, and the life they now live is the divine life pulsing in them. They live with God in constant communion with Him and are ever at peace, with no fear, no sense of danger or loneliness, for in all experiences they have God. So it is that their life is a constant song, always joy, always praise. “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage .” To be truly blessed, one must have a trust, a joy, a resource of strength, which never can be touched by any accident, by any calamity, and which never shall fail. This cannot be said of those whose confidence is in any earthly refuge, for on the brightest day, the ground of this trust may be swept away. But when our strength is in God, we know that though all things else may be torn out of our hands our happiness shall remain undisturbed and secure. Someone gives this little parable: Two birds went out one spring morning to build their nests. One found a tree by the river’s edge and made her nest among its branches. The river murmured below, the sunshine played among the leaves, and the little birds were very happy. But one night there was a storm and a flood, and the tree was torn out and carried away in the waters nest and nestlings and all. The other bird found a crag in the mountain and built its nest in a cleft of the rock. The storm swept over it and the floods rushed through the valley but the nest with its nestlings was safe in the rock. The little parable needs no interpretation. The man whose strength is in God, is further described very beautifully in the Revised Version : “In whose heart are the highways to Zion .” There are highways in every heart but they are not always highways to heaven. Sometimes they are paths made by sinful thoughts and imaginations; but in the godly man they are highways of prayer and love and obedience roads that lead to heaven and God. The picture in the mind of the poet, was the pouring of the people along all roads and highways toward Jerusalem to attend the feasts. Those who thronged these highways to Zion had in their hearts love for God’s house and God’s worship, and these are blessed. Every heart has its highway running through it. Our thoughts beat their own roads in our life. If they are clean thoughts, pure, white, loving they make paths that lead to Zion, to God. But if our thoughts are unworthy, if they are unclean and unholy they beat paths that run toward darkness, unworthiness and destruction. “As they pass through the Valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs ,” the Revised Version has it. Probably there was somewhere in the land a gloomy gorge well known to travelers, called the Valley of Weeping. Some tragedy in the past may have given it its name, or it may have been called so, because of its fright some depth and darkness. This dreary place is made into a place of springs a valley of beauty and luxuriance by the rains. The meaning is very clear. The sad things in our lives are turned into joys, through the love of God in our hearts. Many of heaven’s richest blessings, come through earth’s tears, sorrows changed into joys, transfigured. Tears are dear to God. He gathers them in His bottle. Someone has been photographing a tear and describes the marvelous beauty that the photo reveals in it. Here floods of tears become showers of blessing. So it is in life, through God’s love and grace. “I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” Says Mr. Spurgeon, “God’s doorstep is a happier rest than downy couches within the pavilions of royal sinners.” The humblest employment in the service of God is better than to be a prince in the service of sin. The most menial work with Christ and for Him is more honorable than the most conspicuous work in the world, unblessed by Christ’s smile and favor. Young men, in choosing their calling or profession, should weigh well this truth. The glamour of fame is pitiful reward for the degradation of one’s life. It all comes to this that the life of trust in God, is the only blessed life. It is better to have God, to live with God than to have all this world’s honors and riches, and not have God. “No good thing will he withhold, from those who walk uprightly.” This may seem to be a surprising statement at first glance. Does God withhold no good thing from His people? We must focus on the word “good.” It is not merely the things which we want that God always gives. Nor is it not the things which we think are good that God gives. Perhaps they are not really ‘good things’ as God sees them. We must always leave to Him to decide whether they are good or not. He is wiser than we are and knows just what effect on us, the things we crave would have. We must submit all our requests to Him for final revision and approval, when we make them. This is the teaching about prayer, so prominent in the New Testament, which bids us to add to all our most earnest pleadings: “Nevertheless not my will but may Your will be done.” If the thing we ask for does not come we must therefore conclude that in God’s sight, it is not a “good thing” for us. Thus it is that God’s withholdings are as great blessings to us as His bestowings! There is another phrase here, which we must study. It is “from those who walk uprightly” that God will withhold no good thing. It is only when we are walking obediently, in God’s ways that we have a right to claim this promise. For, “if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me!” Psalms 66:18 Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJoshua 7, 8 Joshua 7 -- Israelites Defeated at Ai; Achan Sins NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Joshua 8 -- Joshua Conquers Ai; Covenant Renewed NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 2:25-52 Luke 2 -- Jesus' Birth; Announcement by Angels; Presentation at the Temple; Return to Nazareth; The Boy Jesus Visits the Temple NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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