Dawn 2 Dusk Come, Let’s Raise the Roof with PraiseThere are days when our hearts feel quiet or crowded, and we forget how simple it can be to turn back to God with joy. Psalm 95:1 calls us to come near—not with hesitation, but with holy eagerness—to sing and shout to the One who is steady when everything else shifts. Bold Invitation, Not Background Music Psalm 95:1 isn’t asking for a polite hum; it’s calling for a willing heart that steps forward. Worship is not the “warm-up” to real life—it’s the realignment of life. When we choose praise, we’re not denying what hurts; we’re declaring who rules. “The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.” (Exodus 15:2) Praise doesn’t wait until the battle is over; it plants a flag in the middle of it. And notice the word “come.” God is not distant, and worship is not a solo performance. We gather because we need each other’s faith—especially on days ours feels thin. “Let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24) Your voice might be the very thing that helps someone else remember God is still the Rock. Joy That Comes from Who He Is Psalm 95:1 points us to the “Rock of our salvation,” and that changes the tone of everything. Our joy isn’t based on favorable conditions; it’s rooted in a faithful Savior. “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.” (Psalm 18:2) When your footing feels unsure—when plans wobble, when emotions surge—God remains unmovable. This kind of joy is also deeply personal. We are not praising a concept; we are responding to a Redeemer. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:7) If salvation is real, then gratitude has a voice. Sometimes the most honest worship sounds like, “Lord, I don’t have it all together—but You have held me, and You are enough.” A Shout That Becomes Obedience Psalm 95:1 pushes us toward expression—singing, shouting, making a joyful noise—because what’s in the heart eventually reaches the mouth. “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34) Praise is not about personality type; it’s about priority. When God is highest, worship finds a way—quiet or loud, polished or cracked, but real. And real praise never ends at the lips; it moves into the day. “Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1) Today, let your song become your choices: forgive, serve, speak truth gently, resist temptation, show courage. The Rock of your salvation is worth more than a moment—He’s worthy of your Monday-through-Sunday life. Father, thank You for being the Rock of our salvation. Put a new song in my mouth today, and help me live my praise with bold obedience, for Your glory. Amen. Evening with A.W. Tozer The Ark AnalogyThird, the church is depicted as an ark on the flood waters. As the ark of Noah floated on the waters and contained all who would be salvaged, so the church of Jesus Christ is an ark on the flood waters and contains all who will be salvaged. Remember that! All in the ark are saved, and all outside the ark perish. All around us is a perishing world, and we float on top of it in a little ark called the church. All that are not in the church--the ark--will perish. You say, Now hold on a minute. Do you mean to say that if you don't join the Avenue Road Church, you will be lost? No, but what I do say is that the church is the ark containing the ransomed, and inside the ark is life. Outside the living church of Christ are the lost. Inside are the saved. You are not saved by joining a church, which is a mistake local churches make. The animals all came into Noah's ark by the door. Christ is the door to the church, and whoever will be saved must come in by the door. There is no other ark on the flood. Suppose someone said, Well, hold on a minute. Don't be so narrow-minded. Let's be tolerant. We do not want to get in Noah's ark; we want an ark of our own. Well, there weren't any other arks on the flood. It was either get into Noah's ark or perish. A few got into Noah's ark, and God preserved the race. In the church of Christ, God is salvaging a small number from the flood. A fatal error is the independent life--to say that you are a Christian, but you don't associate with any churches. You are a Christian, but you don't feel the necessity to join a church. It is true that there are hypocrites in the church--not in the true church, but in the local assembly. Even Jesus had His Judas. The local assembly and the true church of Christ are sometimes not synonymous. Music For the Soul God’s Promise of GraceHis favour is as dew upon the grass. - Proverbs 19:12 The prose of this sweet old promise, that God will be as the dew unto His people, is, " If I depart I will send Him unto you." If we are Christian people, we have the perpetual dew of that Divine Spirit, which falls on our leaves and penetrates to our roots, and communicates life, freshness, and power, and makes growth possible - more than possible, certain - for us. " I" - Myself through My Son, and in My Spirit - "I will be" - an unconditional assurance - "as the dew unto Israel." Yes! That promise is in its depth and fulness applicable only to the Christian Israel, and it remains true to-day and for ever. Do we see it fulfilled? One looks round upon our congregations, and into one’s own heart, and we behold the parable of Gideon’s fleece acted over again - some places soaked with the refreshing moisture, and some as hard as a rock and as dry as tinder, and ready to catch fire from any spark from the devil’s forge and be consumed in the everlasting burnings some day. It will do us good to ask ourselves why it is that, with a promise like this for every Christian soil to build upon, there are so few Christian souls that have anything like realized its fulness and its depth. Let us be quite sure of this- God has nothing to do with the failure of His promise. And let us take all the blame to ourselves. "I will be as the dew unto Israel." Who was Israel? The man that wrestled all night in prayer with God, and took hold of the Angel, and prevailed, and wept, and made supplication to Him. So Hosea tells us, and, as he says in the passage where he describes the Angel’s wrestling with Jacob at Peniel, "there He spake with us" - when He spake He spake with him who first bore the name. Be you Israel, and God will surely be your dew, and life and growth will be possible. The dew, formed in the silence of the darkness, while men sleep, falling as willingly on a bit of dead wood as anywhere, hanging its pearls on every poor spike of grass, and dressing everything on which it lies with strange beauty, each separate globule tiny and evanescent, but each flashing back the light, and each a perfect sphere, feeble one by one, but united mighty to make the pastures of the wilderness rejoice - so, created in silence by an unseen influence, feeble when taken in detail, but strong in their myriads, glad to occupy the lowliest place, and each "bright with something of celestial light," Christian men and women are to be "in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord." Spurgeon: Morning and Evening Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man. Doubtless the reader has been tried with the temptation to rely upon the things which are seen, instead of resting alone upon the invisible God. Christians often look to man for help and counsel, and mar the noble simplicity of their reliance upon their God. Does this evening's portion meet the eye of a child of God anxious about temporals, then would we reason with him awhile. You trust in Jesus, and only in Jesus, for your salvation, then why are you troubled? "Because of my great care." Is it not written, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord"? "Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication make known your wants unto God." Cannot you trust God for temporals? "Ah! I wish I could." If you cannot trust God for temporals, how dare you trust him for spirituals? Can you trust him for your soul's redemption, and not rely upon him for a few lesser mercies? Is not God enough for thy need, or is his all-sufficiency too narrow for thy wants? Dost thou want another eye beside that of him who sees every secret thing? Is his heart faint? Is his arm weary? If so, seek another God; but if he be infinite, omnipotent, faithful, true, and all-wise, why gaddest thou abroad so much to seek another confidence? Why dost thou rake the earth to find another foundation, when this is strong enough to bear all the weight which thou canst ever build thereon? Christian, mix not only thy wine with water, do not alloy thy gold of faith with the dross of human confidence. Wait thou only upon God, and let thine expectation be from him. Covet not Jonah's gourd, but rest in Jonah's God. Let the sandy foundations of terrestrial trust be the choice of fools, but do thou, like one who foresees the storm, build for thyself an abiding place upon the Rock of Ages. Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook From Fetters FreeHe has done it. Remember Joseph, Israel in Egypt, Manasseh, Jeremiah, Peter, and many others. He can do it still. He breaks the bars of brass with a word and snaps the fetters of iron with a look. He is doing it. In a thousand places troubled ones are coming forth to light and enlargement. Jesus still proclaims the opening of the prison to them that are bound. At this moment doors are flying back and fetters are dropping to the ground. He will delight to set you free, dear friend, if at this time you are mourning because of sorrow, doubt, and fear. It will be joy to Jesus to give you liberty. It will give Him as great a pleasure to loose you as it will be a pleasure to you to be loosed. No, you have not to snap the iron hand: the LORD Himself will do it. Only trust Him, and He will be your Emancipator. Believe in Him in spite of the stone walls or the manacles of iron. Satan cannot hold you, sin cannot enchain you, even despair cannot bind you if you will now believe in the LORD Jesus, in the freeness of His grace, and the fullness of His power to save. Defy the enemy, and let the word now before you be your song of deliverance; "Jehovah looseth the prisoners." The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer Ephraim My Dear SonPOOR, fickle, backsliding Ephraim, is thus called by our infinitely gracious God. Adopted by grace into the heavenly family, taught by the Spirit, and united to Jesus, God views us through Him; and having predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son, He views things which are but purposed as accomplished, and we are comely through the comeliness He has put upon us. His love to us is wonderful; He says, "He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of His eye." He rejoices to do us good, and gives His angels charge over us. He will not suffer any one really to hurt us; but lest this should be the case, He will keep us night and day. Let us then abide in Jesus; let us cultivate communion with this gracious God; let us follow on to know the Lord; trust in Him at all times; wait upon Him continually; and rejoice in this delightful fact, God calls us "HIS DEAR SONS, HIS PLEASANT CHILDREN." He not only calls us so, but treats us as such; and addresses us as such in His holy word; Let us call Him our Father, and look to Him for all we need; so shall we honour Him, conquer Satan, and enjoy peace. Our Father is God: our God is our Father. If I’ve the honour, Lord, to be One of Thy numerous family, On me the gracious gift bestow, To call Thee, ABBA, FATHER! too. Bible League: Living His Word He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.— Isaiah 40:11 NKJV Have you wandered back out into the wilderness, away from the Lord? Have you experienced the discipline of the Lord? Are you ready to submit to Him once again? If so, He is ready to take you in. The time of your heartache and trouble is over. The time of your constant striving and struggle is over as well. Whatever sins you have committed have been forgiven. The discipline has been enough. It's the time of comfort, not torment. It's the time of restoration, not destruction. The Lord will feed you like a shepherd. He will provide for you just like a shepherd provides for his flock. The days of want and emptiness are over. You wandered from the fold, and you paid the price. Now, however, is the time of abundance, now is the time of fullness. In peace you will feed from the hand of the Lord. You will forget the times of lack. Then He will gather you with His arm and bring you back into the fold. If you've lost your way, He'll show you the way, the only way. It's the way you could never have found on your own. He will carry you in His bosom. He'll lift you up and make it easy on you. Finally, He will gently lead you, even if you need extra help for a time. The Lord is patient, and He's ready to help you where you are. He's ready to supply the things that you need to be successful once again. Look up, then, and not down! The Lord is coming with His blessings. Look up to the Good Shepherd, and receive what He has to give you! Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 31:15 My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.Deuteronomy 33:3 "Indeed, He loves the people; All Your holy ones are in Your hand, And they followed in Your steps; Everyone receives of Your words. 1 Kings 17:2-4,8,9 The word of the LORD came to him, saying, • "Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. • "It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there." • Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, • "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." Matthew 6:25,32 "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? • "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. • In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 1 Peter 5:7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for 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 Teach us to realize the brevity of life,so that we may grow in wisdom. Insight Realizing that life is short helps us use the little time we have more wisely and for eternal good. Challenge Take time to number your days by asking, “What do I want to see happen in my life before I die? What small step could I take toward that purpose today?” Devotional Hours Within the Bible God’s Works and Word“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.” “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” We have two Bibles. One is written on the pages of nature and the other on the pages of the inspired Word. In this Psalm, we have the summaries of the teaching of both. In the earlier portion, the poet tells us about the teachings of the heavens : “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.” And if in David’s days God’s glory was declared in the heavens, how much more now, since the telescope has revealed such marvelous things about the extent of the starry world that were not known then! Only remember that nearly all the stars we see are suns, probably centers of systems of planets; and that those we see, are but the merest fraction of the actual number only those that our telescopes can bring into view. The truth is, that there are millions of suns in the heavens, some of them so far from us that it takes thousands of years for light to come from them to us. Anyone who has given even a little attention to the study of astronomy is prepared to appreciate the thought of this verse. The heavens declare the glory of God. Think what glories of the night there are which the day hides! If our sun never set we would never see the splendors of the heavens. A poet imagines our first parent watching the sun nearing the horizon the evening of his first day. He was in great terror as he thought of the sun sinking away and leaving the world in darkness! But when the orb of day disappeared quietly, lo! a new universe had burst upon his vision. Night revealed far more than it hid! Think of the power that called into being, such a multitude of worlds, and that sustains them age after age. Think of the wisdom that made such a universe of flying suns, planets, and comets, so perfectly adjusting their orbits and their motions that they never clash in their orbits, that they move age after age, so that perfect harmony prevails among the spheres. Science, instead of being an enemy of religion, is its best friend. The more we learn of the marvelous things of God’s world, the more do we see, for which to praise and adore the divine Maker and Sustainer. This is true of all things in nature. There is more beauty in a single little flower than in the finest work of art ever fashioned by human hand! From the minutest insects to the vast stars, every department of the universe declares the wisdom, the power, the goodness, the faithfulness of God. We ought to study nature more; it is one of God’s books . “Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.” Evermore, nature speaks of God. DAY has its glories, when in the sunshine we see the beauties of field, garden, mountain, valley, forest, river, flower, and plant. Then NIGHT comes, and instead of making desolation in the darkness, it unveils to us its marvelous splendor of sky and stars. Creation widens then, in man’s view, and to a devout mind everything speaks of God! There are spiritual revealings in all nature’s pages to him who has eyes. Then the Psalm passes from the teachings in nature to the revealings of the divine Word. The works of God declare His glory but not His will. For this we turn to His Word. We never could learn by study the stars, the flowers, or the rocks how we ought to live; what is right and what is wrong, what will please God or displease Him. We never could learn what God Himself is, what His attributes are, how He feels toward us. We may learn from His works that He is great, powerful, wise, unchanging, good; but we could not learn from the stars that He loves us with a tender, personal affection, that He is merciful and gracious. We never could find a gospel of salvation for lost sinners in the works of God. How thankful we should be for His Word, which tells us all these things! “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” Here we have His law, revealed by His own Spirit. It teaches us how to live. It is a perfect law; not only perfect in that it is without flaw but also in that it is complete as a revelation, containing all we need to know to be saved and to reach the full stature of Christian men and women. We may turn to the Word of the Lord with every question of duty and we shall always find the right answer! Then, it is a beautiful statement also, of the ministry of the Word which we have. It revives the soul. Every human soul needs to be revived. It is ruined by sin; its beauty is tarnished, its grandeur is destroyed. The Word of God is able to build it up, to transform it, to revive the lost splendor, to bring back again the defaced image of God. We know the power the Word of God has over human lives. It first shows men that they are condemned and lost as it holds up before them the requirements of the divine law. Next, it shows them the cross with its salvation for the guilty. Then it declares to them the will of God by which they are to learn to fashion their lives. As they begin to obey this holy will, it leads them on higher and higher, until they enter heaven’s gates and wear the likeness of Christ! Thus The Word revives the soul, transforming it into the likeness of God, which sin had defaced. “The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.” Many people think that a godly life is gloomy. They suppose that Christians have no joy. They have to deny themselves many pleasures. They cannot have the ‘good times’ worldly people have. They have to live strictly. They have to follow conscience in all things. It must be very hard. Life must be dreary and joyless to them. So the people talk, who boast of being free from the restraints of God’s Word, and who imagine that they themselves have the happiest times possible. But, as a matter of fact, the happiest people in this world are those who are keeping God’s commandments. Who ever heard of sin giving true joy to the heart? Disobedience never made anyone happy; but obedience always gives peace. There are fresh - water springs in the sea, which always pour out sweet water beneath the brackish tides. So in the obedient heart, under all self-denials, there is a spring of joy ever flowing. The Christian has sorrows but he has comforts which turn his sorrows into joy. He practices self-denials, and lives under the restraints of holiness but he has rewards which far more than compensate for the cost of his service to Christ. “Moreover by them is your servant warned .” The Bible flames with ’ red lights ‘. Every point of danger is marked. Every perilous path has its lamp hung up, warning us not to enter it. We are warned against the Devil and his helpers. We are warned against bad companions, against false teachers, against all wrong courses. “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.” There are different kinds of hidden faults. There are those which we try to hide ourselves, which are done in secret. Then there are those which have not been wrought out in act sins of thought or imagination, which from lack of opportunity, have never been actually committed. But the reference here, is to faults or sins which are hidden from ourselves, of which we are not conscious. We all have faults of which we ourselves are not aware. Perhaps other people see them, although we do not. Certainly God sees them. We may be sure at least that there are faults enough in the best of us. Our aim in Christian life should be so high that we shall desire to be cleansed even from all these hidden faults and sins. No fault is so small as to be a trifle, or not to be a blemish in our character. Small faults grow. We have a beautiful prayer at the close of Psalms 19: “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” There could be no higher standard of life, than is set for us in this prayer. The conduct may be blameless while the thoughts are stained with sin. It is easier to keep our acts without fault than our feelings, our desires, and our affections pure. We may do no outward act of cruelty or unkindness; while our hearts may be full of jealousies, envies, and all selfishness. We are to seek that our thoughts be so white and clean that they will be acceptable in God’s sight. The prayer covers our words, our thoughts, and our meditations; each a closer test than the one before. It is a great thing to be faultless in speech. But perfect grammar is not enough. Our words may be beautiful and graceful and yet our thoughts may be full of hypocrisy, of deceit, of all evil! The prayer here is that our thoughts may please God. This is a higher spiritual attainment, than merely faultless words. Then, a still higher test of life is our meditation. Meditations are our deepest thoughts, the quiet ponderings of our hearts. Meditation is almost an obsolete word in these times of hustle and bustle. The word belongs rather to the days when men had much time to think and think deeply. We meditate when we are alone, when we are shut away from others. Our minds then follow the drift of our own desires, dispositions, and imaginations. If our hearts are clean and good our meditations are pure and holy. But if our hearts are evil and unclean our meditations are of the same moral quality. Thus, our meditations are an infallible test of our real self. “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” Proverbs 23:6 This prayer is, therefore, for a life of the highest character one acceptable to God, not only in words and thoughts but also in meditations. Such a life everyone who loves God and would be like God should seek to live! This prayer is, therefore, for a life of the highest character one acceptable to God, not only in words and thoughts but also in meditations. Such a life everyone who loves God and would be like God should seek to live! Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingDeuteronomy 3, 4 Deuteronomy 3 -- Defeat and Division of Og; Moses Forbidden from Crossing the Jordan NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Deuteronomy 4 -- Israel Urged to Obey; Idolatry Forbidden NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Mark 11:20-33 Mark 11 -- The Triumphal Entry; the Money Changers; the Withered Fig Tree; Jesus' Authority NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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