Dawn 2 Dusk The Joy on the Other Side of Open HandsPaul’s closing words to the Ephesian elders pull back the curtain on what real spiritual strength looks like: working with integrity, watching for the vulnerable, and living with a generosity that doesn’t wait to be asked. He ties it all to something Jesus said—an upside-down kind of blessedness that can only be discovered by practicing it. Helping the Weak Is Not Optional Paul didn’t present generosity as a “nice extra” for people with a certain personality or income. He connected it to the calling of believers to notice the weak and move toward them with practical help. That echoes the heart of God throughout Scripture: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). If our faith stays theoretical while someone near us is buckling under a burden, something is off. This also reframes our interruptions. The “weak” might be the exhausted coworker, the friend who can’t stop spiraling, the single parent, the elderly neighbor, the struggling student, the believer battling quiet temptation. “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4). Love becomes visible when we rearrange our day for someone else’s need. The Blessing Jesus Promised Is Real Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). That isn’t sentimental; it’s a spiritual reality. Receiving can be a relief, but giving reaches deeper—it aligns us with God’s own heart. “Give, and it will be given to you… For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38). The Lord is not asking you to lose; He’s inviting you into His economy. And the blessing isn’t always money coming back. Often it’s freedom: freedom from greed, from the tight fist of fear, from the constant itch to be noticed and repaid. “Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender” (Proverbs 19:17). When God becomes the One you’re trusting to settle accounts, generosity stops feeling risky and starts feeling right. Cheerful Giving Grows Out of Grace Paul wasn’t trying to produce pressured donors; he was shaping joyful disciples. “Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Cheerfulness doesn’t come from ignoring the cost—it comes from remembering you’ve already been given everything in Christ. We give because we’re secure, not because we’re trying to earn. So make it concrete today. Ask the Lord: Who is weak around me, and what would love look like in real life—time, attention, a meal, a ride, a message, an anonymous gift, a quiet act of service? And remember what Jesus said about the hidden holiness of ordinary compassion: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me” (Matthew 25:40). Father, thank You for Your generous heart toward me. Make my hands open and my eyes alert to the weak; help me give gladly today in Jesus’ name. Amen. Evening with A.W. Tozer Beautiful Simplicity and Radiant LoveI am afraid of a new wave of religion that has come. It started in the United States, and it is spreading. It is a sort of esoteric affair of the soul or the mind, and there are strange phenomena that attend it. I am afraid of anything that does not require purity of heart on the part of individuals and righteousness of conduct in life. I also long in the tender mercies of Christ that among us there may be the following: 1. A beautiful simplicity. I am wary of the artificialness and complexities of religion. I would like to see simplicity. Our Lord Jesus was one of the simplest men who ever lived. You could not involve Him in anything formal. He said what He had to say as beautifully and as naturally as a bird sings on the bough in the morning. That is what I would like to see restored to the churches. The opposite of that is artificiality and complexity. 2. A radiant Christian love. I want to see a restoration of a radiant Christian love so it will be impossible to find anyone who will speak unkindly or uncharitably about another or to another. This is carefully thought out and carefully prayed through. The devil would have a spasm. He would be so chagrined that he would sulk in his self-made hell for years. There should be a group of Christians with radiant love in this last worn-out dying period of the Christian dispensation, a people so loving that you could not get them to speak unkindly and you could not get them to speak uncharitably. Music For the Soul Divine WisdomIf any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not. - James 1:5 What does James mean by "wisdom"? He means the sum of practical religion. With him, as with the Psalmist, sin and foil are two names for the same thing, and so are religion and wisdom. He, and only he, has wisdom who knows God with a living heart-knowledge which gives a just insight into the facts of life and the bounds of right and wrong, and which regulates conduct and shapes the whole man with power far beyond that of knowledge, however wide and deep, illuminating intellect, however powerful. "Knowledge" is poor and superficial in comparison with this wisdom, which may roughly be said to be equivalent to practical religion. The use of this expression to indicate the greatest deficiency in the average Christian character just suggests this thought, that if we had a clear, constant, certain God-regarding insight into things as they are, we should lack little. Because, if a man habitually kept vividly before him the thought of God, and with it the true nature and obligation and blessedness of righteous-loving obedience, and the true foulness and fatalness of sin - if he saw these with the clearness and the continuity with which we may all see the things that are unseen and eternal; if he " saw life steadily, and saw it whole "; if he saw the rottenness and the shallowness of earthly things and temptations, and if he saw the blessed issue of every God-pleasing act - why! the perfecting of conduct would be secured. It would be an impossibility for him, with all that illumination blazing in upon him, not to walk in the paths of righteousness with a glad and serene heart. I do not believe that all sin is a consequence of ignorance, but I do believe that our average Christian life would be revolutionized if we each carried clear before us, and continually subjected our lives to the influence of, the certain verities of God’s Word. The thing that we want most is clearer and more vivid conceptions of the realities of the Christian revelation and of the facts of human life. These will act as tests, and up will start in his own shape the fiend that is whispering at our ears, when touched by the spear of this Divine wisdom. So here is our root deficiency; therefore, instead of confining ourselves to trying to cure isolated and specific faults, or to attain isolated and specific virtues, let us go deeper down, and realise that the more our whole natures are submitted to the power of God’s truth, and of the realities of the future and of the present, of Time and Eternity, the nearer shall we come to being " perfect and entire," lacking nothing. Spurgeon: Morning and Evening Job 14:14 All the days of my appointed time will I wait. A little stay on earth will make heaven more heavenly. Nothing makes rest so sweet as toil; nothing renders security so pleasant as exposure to alarms. The bitter quassia cups of earth will give a relish to the new wine which sparkles in the golden bowls of glory. Our battered armour and scarred countenances will render more illustrious our victory above, when we are welcomed to the seats of those who have overcome the world. We should not have full fellowship with Christ if we did not for awhile sojourn below, for he was baptized with a baptism of suffering among men, and we must be baptized with the same if we would share his kingdom. Fellowship with Christ is so honorable that the sorest sorrow is a light price by which to procure it. Another reason for our lingering here is for the good of others. We would not wish to enter heaven till our work is done, and it may be that we are yet ordained to minister light to souls benighted in the wilderness of sin. Our prolonged stay here is doubtless for God's glory. A tried saint, like a well-cut diamond, glitters much in the King's crown. Nothing reflects so much honor on a workman as a protracted and severe trial of his work, and its triumphant endurance of the ordeal without giving way in any part. We are God's workmanship, in whom he will be glorified by our afflictions. It is for the honor of Jesus that we endure the trial of our faith with sacred joy. Let each man surrender his own longings to the glory of Jesus, and feel, "If my lying in the dust would elevate my Lord by so much as an inch, let me still lie among the pots of earth. If to live on earth forever would make my Lord more glorious, it should be my heaven to be shut out of heaven." Our time is fixed and settled by eternal decree. Let us not be anxious about it, but wait with patience till the gates of pearl shall open. Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook Cure for EnvyWhen we see the wicked prosper we are apt to envy them. When we hear the noise of their mirth and our own spirit is heavy, we half think that they have the best of it. This is foolish and sinful. If we knew them better, and specially if we remembered their end, we should pity them. The cure for envy lies in living under a constant sense of the divine presence, worshiping God and communing with Him all the day long, however long the day may seem. True religion lifts the soul into a higher region, where the judgment becomes more clear and the desires are more elevated. The more of heaven there is in our lives, the less of earth we shall covet. The fear of God casts out envy of men. The deathblow of envy is a calm consideration of the future. The wealth and glory of the ungodly are a vain show. This pompous appearance flashes out for an hour and then is extinguished. What is the prosperous sinner the better for his prosperity when judgment overtakes him? As for the godly man, his end is peace and blessedness, and none can rob him of his joy; wherefore, let him forgo envy and be filled with sweet content. The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer Pray Without CeasingIN prayer we must approach God as a Father, ask of Him what we really need, and expect to receive according to His wisdom and word. Our wants are constantly returning, therefore our prayers should be constantly ascending. The ear of God is always open. He is ever ready to listen to us. He invites, exhorts, and commands us to pray always, in everything. Every object that meets the eye, every circumstance that occurs, every employment in which we engage, would afford matter for prayer if properly viewed. The believer should acquire the HABIT of prayer. He should look up to his God for all he needs, through all he sees, whenever he has a moment to spare. The prayers of a Christian are pleasant to his God; He says, “Let me hear thy voice, let me see thy countenance; for sweet is thy voice and thy countenance is comely.” The believer should pray as naturally and as constantly as he breathes; for prayer is the breath of the soul. Beloved, if prayer dwindle into a mere duty, is but occasionally offered, or become burdensome, it is clear that you are in a most unhealthy state. Through the skies when the thunder is hurl’d, The child to its parent will flee; Thus, amid the rebukes of the world, I turn, O my Father, to Thee; The spirit of prayer in Thy mercy impart, And take up Thy constant abode in my heart. Bible League: Living His Word I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.— 3 John 4 NKJV This verse came to my mind this weekend because my newest grandson is being baptized on Sunday. He will be among the fourth generation to wear a baptismal gown hand-made by my great aunt in the 1940s. Some who see such a display (it is a long, fancy, lacy thing) comment that it is a very nice family tradition. To me, it means much more than tradition. To me, it is a symbol, a little bit like that of baptism itself, of the covenant faithfulness of God to generations of my biological family. God intended for fathers to pass down the knowledge of God to their children (Deuteronomy 6:7). We have the examples of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah; and when our children take up the faith of their parents as their own, we praise the Lord. I rejoice and thank the Lord that my biological family has a history of faith. I treasure it. John, the beloved disciple and gospel writer, was not speaking of his biological children when he penned this verse in a letter to Gaius. John also references children in his other two letters (1 John 2:1, 2 John 1). Whose children is he talking about? Just as Paul called Titus "a true son in our common faith," I believe John is referring to his spiritual children. He is using this endearing term for the members of the Church. He has taught them and discipled them as a father would, and now he rejoices more than anything else that they have taken up the faith as their own and walk in the truth. But are they really John's children, and then whose child is John? All believers are heirs together with Christ, the Son of God. That means we are all God's children. And we know He rejoices to see His children walk in truth. "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels and of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10). We are adopted sons of God, not begotten like Jesus, but that did not make us less in God's sight. In fact, He gave His only begotten Son up to death on a cross so that the adopted sons could join the family. And Jesus did not scorn this task either. He did not resent that He had to suffer for a motley crew of adopted sinners. No, but "Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross..." (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus saw it as joy that His Father was adopting all of these children at His expense. Those of us who are parents (or have been children raised by parents) know that raising children in the Lord is a high calling and difficult task, and at the end of it, true faith is not guaranteed. However, when by the grace of God it comes through, it's brilliant! By Grace Barnes, Bible League International volunteer, Michigan U.S. Daily Light on the Daily Path 1 Corinthians 15:35 But someone will say, "How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?"1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 1 Corinthians 15:49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. Philippians 3:20,21 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; • who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. Luke 24:36,37 While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be to you." • But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:5,6 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. • After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in 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 But for those who are righteous,the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them. LORD, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart's desire is to glorify your name. Insight At times the path of the righteous doesn't seem smooth and it isn't easy to do God's will, but we are never alone when we face tough times. God is there to help us through difficulties, to comfort us, and to lead us. God does this by giving us a purpose and giving us provisions as we travel. God provides us with relationships of family, friends, and mentors. God gives us wisdom to make decisions and faith to trust him. Challenge Don't despair; stay on God's path. Devotional Hours Within the Bible Ezra’s Journey to JerusalemEZRA is an interesting character. He was a priest and scribe who was commissioned to return from Persia to Jerusalem, and so took an active part in the civil and religious affairs of the Jews at Jerusalem. He led a fresh company of exiles back with him. A royal edict had been issued by Artaxerxes, clothing Ezra with authority. He was the bearer of offerings for the temple made by the king and by the Jews. He led a caravan. He was influential in enforcing the Mosaic law among the people, who had become indifferent to many features of it. Before setting out, he gathered his company together and spent three days in making preparation for the journey. The first thing he did was to seek God’s guidance. He says, “I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.” We should begin every new journey, every new undertaking, every new piece of work by asking God to show us the way. The Bible very significantly begins with the words, “In the beginning God.” At the beginning of everything, God should be recognized and honored. No friendship ever reaches its best unless God is in it and God’s blessing is on it. No business ever can have the fullest success unless the hand of God is in it and God’s guidance be sought. The things we cannot ask God’s blessing upon we would better not do. The place into which we cannot ask God to guide us we never should enter. Ezra asked the Lord to show him a safe journey to Jerusalem. We need always to seek guidance of God, for only He can show us the right way. Ezra is very frank in giving the reason why he cast himself so completely upon God. He was seeking the honor of God, and wished therefore, as far as possible, to be independent of human help. “For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way.” He had told the king that the hand of God would be upon all them that sought Him for good, and he wished to give the king proof of this in his own experience. It was a dangerous journey upon which he and his company were about to set out. No doubt the king, with his kindly interest in the expedition, would have furnished an escort if Ezra had asked for it. But Ezra felt that this would be dishonoring God. A life of faith is a life of dependence upon God. Part of our witnessing for God before the world is showing that our trust is not in human strength but in God Himself. We say, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not be in want.” Do we prove our faith in this confession? When need is upon us, do we show ourselves trustful because the Lord is our Shepherd! We say, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” We sing the words with a measure of triumph in our voices. But do we live as if God were indeed our refuge, as if He were indeed a very present help in all trouble? Many of us are too easily frightened in time of danger or trouble. With such a God as ours we ought to be ashamed to be afraid of anything. We ought not to turn to the world’s help after we have declared so strongly that God is our defense and our refuge. We should show by the way we meet difficulties, dangers, losses, sorrows, that there is a divine reality on which we are leaning. Ezra was taking up with him a great quantity of silver and gold and the sacred vessels for the house of God. He took special care for the safety of these treasures. He set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests. .. and weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels.” First, these were godly men, honest and trustworthy, whom Ezra selected. This was important. Sometimes sufficient care is not taken in choosing those who are to be the custodians of money belonging to others. In this case, the money and the treasures were all carefully weighed and the amount set down. Again, at the end of the journey, the men were required to account for everything they had received. Some people are very careless about money matters. Young people should learn that it is part of their religion to be strictly honest. If others put money into their hands for any purpose it should be accounted for to the last cent. In societies of different kinds, there is money to be handled, and certain people have to act as treasurers. Those who accept this position should realize their responsibility. No matter if only a few cents a month are to be handled, there should be the same careful putting down of the amount and the same accuracy in accounting for it at the end as if the sum were thousands of dollars. The charge of Ezra to these men who were entrusted with the treasures, is worthy of careful study. He said unto them, “You as well as these articles are holy to the LORD. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem before the leading priests and the Levites and the family heads of Israel.” The men themselves were holy; that is, they had been set apart to a holy service. The treasures entrusted to them were holy. The money and the vessels did not belong to any man but to God. The men were now to carry them safely through all the dangers of the thousand-mile journey. They would be held responsible for their safe-keeping, until they deposited them in the house of God in Jerusalem. Then the treasures would be weighed again, to see that they had been carefully guarded and that nothing, not even a fraction of an ounce, had been lost. This was a very solemn trust. But every one is continually receiving trusts which he is to guard amid the world’s dangers, and deliver at last at God’s feet. A Christian convert in a missionary country said of something he was guarding with special care, “It is God’s but I am in charge of it.” This is a true statement of our position regarding many of our responsibilities. It is true not only of the religious funds entrusted to our custody but just as really of money of any society or institution or corporation or business that may be entrusted to us. It is true of anything for which we may be responsible. Our own life is a sacred trust committed to us, for which we must give account. There are many applications of this principle. Other people are continually putting into our hands the gold and silver of their love, their confidence, their friendship, trusting us with things which we are to guard and keep for them. Do you ever think, for example, of the responsibility of being a friend ? One confides in you and comes under your influence. How careful must you be lest you harm the life that thus entrusts itself to you. We accept friendships and confidences eagerly, and sometimes perhaps thoughtlessly, not asking ourselves if we can care for them, guard them, keep them. We forget that we must answer to God for every touch and teaching and for every impression we put upon any other life. Our own good name also is a trust committed to us to be kept unspotted. We must guard it and live so every day that no stain may ever fasten upon it through any act or conduct of ours, or any association with evil. So the good names of others are in our keeping. We must be careful never to tarnish another’s name by any careless word we may speak concerning the person. Ezra testifies to the faithfulness of God in caring for him and his company on the way. “Then we departed. .. and the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy.” At the beginning of his journey Ezra committed the care of himself and other pilgrims, to the good hand of God. He was glad to say that without any help from the king, without escort of soldiers to guard them, they had come to the end of the long journey, through manifold dangers yet without harm. We never know how much good we owe every day and every night to the good hand of God that guards us amid life’s dangers. We think we are keeping ourselves by our own tact or shrewdness, or that we owe our safety in our journeys to the perfection of the railways and vessels on which we travel, or to some sort of chance that favors us. We leave God out too often when we are thinking of our safety, our protection, our comfort, the countless favors of our lives. Always the eye of God is upon us and the good hand of God is over us. This is our Father’s world, and we have children’s care in it. Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading1 Kings 12, 13 1 Kings 12 -- Israelites Rebel against Rehoboam; Kingdom Divided; Jeroboam begins Idol Worship NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Kings 13 -- Jeroboam's Hand Withered and Restored; Prophet Reproved NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 24:36-53 Luke 24 -- The Resurrection; Road to Emmaus; Appearances to disciples, Ascension NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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