Dawn 2 Dusk When Grace Steadies Your StepsSome days you don’t need more information—you need steadier footing. Paul points our eyes to the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ as the source of lasting comfort and a hope that doesn’t flicker, and he prays that this inner strengthening would spill out into how we speak and how we live. Loved First, Not Last Before you do one more thing, God’s love has already moved toward you. 2 Thessalonians 2:16 ties comfort and hope to grace, not to your performance. That means you’re not trying to earn God’s help today—you’re learning to receive it. “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) And when grace is the starting point, shame loses its leverage. Your failures don’t get the final word, and your strengths don’t become your savior. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) The One who loves you is not waiting to see if you’re worth it; He has already acted in Christ to make you His. Comfort That Outlasts the Noise God doesn’t offer a temporary distraction; He gives comfort with an eternal horizon. The kind of comfort Paul describes isn’t denial—it’s a steady presence in the middle of real trouble. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles…” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4) And this comfort carries a particular flavor: peace that doesn’t match the circumstances. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you… Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) When the world shouts urgency, the Lord speaks assurance—reminding you that your life is held, your future is secure, and your suffering is not wasted. Strength for Every Word and Deed God’s encouragement is not meant to stop at your feelings; it is meant to shape your faithfulness. The prayer in 2 Thessalonians 2:16 aims at strengthened hearts that produce steady mouths and obedient hands. “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…” (Colossians 3:17) So ask a practical question today: what would strengthened speech sound like in that conversation you’re avoiding? What would strengthened obedience look like in that choice you keep delaying? God doesn’t just command good works—He supplies power and preparation for them: “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.” (Ephesians 2:10) Father, thank You for loving us and giving us comfort and hope by grace. Strengthen my heart today—help me speak what is true and do what is right in Jesus’ name. Amen. Evening with A.W. Tozer Costly DiscipleshipIn our eagerness to make converts I am afraid we have lately been guilty of using the technique of modern salesmanship, which is of course to present only the desirable qualities in a product and ignore the rest. We go to men and offer them a cozy home on the sunny side of the brae. If they will but accept Christ He will give them peace of mind, solve their problems, prosper their business, protect their families and keep them happy all day long. They believe us and come, and the first cold wind sends them shivering to some counselor to find out what has gone wrong; and that is the last we hear of many of them. The teachings of Christ reveal Him to be a realist in the finest meaning of that word. Nowhere in the Gospels do we find anything visionary or overoptimistic. He told His hearers the whole truth and let them make up their minds. He might grieve over the retreating form of an inquirer who could not face up to the truth, but He never ran after him to try to win him with rosy promises. He would have men follow Him, knowing the cost, or He would let them go their ways. All this is but to say that Christ is honest. We can trust Him. He knows that He will never be popular among the sons of Adam and He knows that His followers need not expect to be. The wind that blows in His face will be felt by all who travel with Him, and we are not intellectually honest when we try to hide that fact from them. Music For the Soul The Voice Which Softens the Grimness of DeathAll were weeping and bewailing her; but He said. Weep not: for she is not dead, but sleepeth. - Luke 8:52 OUR Lord reaches the house of affliction, and finds it a house of hubbub and noise. The hired mourners, with their shrill shrieks, were there already, bewailing her. The tumult jarred upon His calmness, and He says, "Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth." One wonders that some people have read those words as if they declared that the apparent physical death was only a swoon or a faint, or some kind of coma, and that so there was no miracle at all in the case. " They laughed Him to scorn, knowing that she was dead." You can measure the hollowness of their grief by its change into scornful laughter when a promise of consolation began to open before them. And you can measure their worth as witnesses to the child’s resurrection by their absolute certainty of her death. But notice that our Lord never forbids weeping unless He takes away its cause. " Weep not " is another of the futile forms of words with which men try to encourage and comfort one another. There is nothing more cruel than to forbid tears to the sad heart. Jesus Christ never did that except when He was able to bring that which took away occasion for weeping. He lets grief have its way. He means us to run rivers of waters down our cheeks when He sends us sorrows. We shall never get the blessing of them till we have felt the bitterness of them. We shall never profit by them if we stoically choke back the manifestations of our grief, and think that it is submissive to be dumb. Let sorrow have way. Tears purge the heart from which their streams come. But Jesus Christ says to us all, "Weep not," because He comes to us all with that which, if I may so say, puts a rainbow into the tear-drops, and makes it possible that the great paradox should be fulfilled in our hearts, "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." Weep not; or, if you weep, let the tears have thankfulness as well as grief in them. It is a difficult commandment, but it is possible when His lips tells us not to weep, and we have obeyed the central exhortation, " Only believe." How He smooths away the grimness of death! I do not claim for Him anything like a monopoly of that most obvious and natural symbolism which regards death as a sleep. It must have occurred to all who ever looked upon a corpse. But I do claim that when He used the metaphor, and by His use of it modified the whole conception of death in the thoughts of His disciples, He put altogether different ideas into it from that which it contained on the lips of others. He meant to suggest the idea of repose: - " Sleep, full of rest from head to foot." The calm immobility of the body, so lately racked with pain, or restless in feverish tossings, is but a symbol of the deeper stillness of truer repose which remaineth for the people of God. He meant to suggest the idea of separation from this material world. He did not mean to suggest the idea of unconsciousness. A man is not unconscious when he is asleep, as dreams testify. He meant, above all, if a sleep, then waking. So the grim fact is smoothed down, not by blinking any of its aspects, but by looking deeper into them. They who, only believing, have lived a life of courage and of hope, and have fronted sorrows, and felt the benediction of tears, pass into the great darkness, and know that they there are rocked to sleep on a loving breast, and, sleeping in Jesus, shall wake with the earliest morning light. Spurgeon: Morning and Evening Luke 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. If ever one of woman born might have lived without prayer, it was our spotless, perfect a Lord, and yet none was ever so much in supplication as he! Such was his love to his Father, that he loved much to be in communion with him: such his love for his people, that he desired to be much in intercession for them. The fact of this eminent prayerfulness of Jesus is a lesson for us--he hath given us an example that we may follow in his steps. The time he chose was admirable, it was the hour of silence, when the crowd would not disturb him; the time of inaction, when all but himself had ceased to labor; and the season when slumber made men forget their woes, and cease their applications to him for relief. While others found rest in sleep, he refreshed himself with prayer. The place was also well selected. He was alone where none would intrude, where none could observe: thus was he free from Pharisaic ostentation and vulgar interruption. Those dark and silent hills were a fit oratory for the Son of God. Heaven and earth in midnight stillness heard the groans and sighs of the mysterious Being in whom both worlds were blended. The continuance of his pleadings is remarkable; the long watches were not too long; the cold wind did not chill his devotions; the grim darkness did not darken his faith, or loneliness check his importunity. We cannot watch with him one hour, but he watched for us whole nights. The occasion for this prayer is notable; it was after his enemies had been enraged--prayer was his refuge and solace; it was before he sent forth the twelve apostles--prayer was the gate of his enterprise, the herald of his new work. Should we not learn from Jesus to resort to special prayer when we are under peculiar trial, or contemplate fresh endeavours for the Master's glory? Lord Jesus, teach us to pray. Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook Sanctified Souls Are SatisfiedThe kind of people who are satisfied with God are marked out as God’s own. He is pleased with them, for they are pleased with Him. They call Him their God, and He calls them His people; He is satisfied to take them for a portion, and they are satisfied with Him for their portion. There is a mutual communion of delight between God’s Israel and Israel’s God. These people are satisfied. This is a grand thing. Very few of the sons of men are ever satisfied, let their lot be what it may; they have swallowed the horse-leech, and it continually cries, "Give! give!" Only sanctified souls are satisfied souls. God Himself must both convert us and content us. It is no wonder that the LORD’s people should be satisfied with the goodness of their LORD. Here is goodness without mixture, bounty without stint, mercy without chiding, love without change, favor without reserve. If God’s goodness does not satisfy us, what will? What! are we still groaning? Surely there is a wrong desire within if it be one which God’s goodness does not satisfy. LORD, I am satisfied. Blessed be Thy name. The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer Speak Evil of No ManSpeak of no man from an unholy motive, or with a design to injure him; this is decidedly wrong. We are commanded by our beloved Saviour, to love our enemies; to do good to them that hate us and despitefully use us; to pray for them and seek their salvation. If we speak evil of them we dishonour God, bring guilt upon our consciences, grieve the Spirit, and spoil our peace of mind. If we can indulge in detraction without feeling guilty and distressed, our consciences must be blinded, and our hearts hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Our tongues are not our own, they are bought with a price, and should be employed in the service of their proper owner. Never indulge yourselves in thinking evil of another; or in feelings of jealousy, envy, revenge, bitterness, anger, or malice; for these are earthly, sensual, and devilish. How unlovely it is to hear one professor speaking evil of another; the hearer speaking evil of the minister; the rich speaking contemptuously of the poor, the mistress of servants; much more ministers of ministers. Speak not evil one of another, brethren. Whene’er the angry passions rise, And tempt our thoughts and tongues to strife; To Jesus let us turn our eyes, Bright pattern of the Christian life! How mild! How ready to forgive! Be these the rules by which we live! Bible League: Living His Word Who is like the LORD our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?— Psalm 113:5—6 NKJV The Lord God, one might say, is outside the box. If, metaphorically, the creation is a box, then the Lord is outside the box. The earth, and all it contains, is inside the box. The physical heavens and all they contain are inside the box. And, although our verse for today has only the physical heavens in view, the spiritual heaven (the "third heaven" of 2 Corinthians 12:2) is inside the box as well. How so? It's because the Lord God created it too, including all the angels. Hence, there isn't anything like the Lord God. Everything else is a mere inside—the—box creature. He alone is the outside—the—box Creator. The Lord God dwells on high. Psalm 8:1 says, "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, who have set your glory above the heavens!" He dwells above the earth and above the physical heavens in the spiritual heaven. There was a time when the Lord God also dwelt on the earth. He used to walk in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8). And there will come a time when He will once again dwell on the earth. His presence will come down to earth with the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1—3). For now, however, the Lord God's manifest presence dwells in the spiritual heaven. The Lord God is so high and lifted up that He must stoop just to observe the creatures below. Indeed, our verse for today says that He must humble Himself in order to behold His creatures in the earth and the physical heavens. It's not just because of our sin that He must humble Himself. It's also because He is so far above everything He has made. The Creator of all things must lower Himself in order to interact with them. Why does He do it? Why bother with that which is so far beneath Him? Isn't it obvious? He does it because He cares about what He has made (see Psalm 104). How should we respond to all this revelation? We should respond in the way the psalmist responded earlier in the chapter. We should praise Him. We should praise and bless His name "from this time forth and forevermore"! Praise the Lord! Daily Light on the Daily Path 2 Kings 4:26 "Please run now to meet her and say to her, 'Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?'" And she answered, "It is well."2 Corinthians 4:13 But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I BELIEVED, THEREFORE I SPOKE," we also believe, therefore we also speak, 2 Corinthians 6:9,10 as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, • as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things. 2 Corinthians 4:8,9,10,16,18 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; • persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; • always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. • Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. • while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 John 1:2 for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever: 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 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.Insight Have you ever grown tired of praying for something or someone? Paul says we should “devote” ourselves to prayer and be “alert” in prayer. Our persistence is an expression of our faith that God answers our prayers. Faith shouldn't die if the answers come slowly, for the delay may be God's way of working his will in our lives. Challenge When you feel tired of praying, know that God is present, always listening, always answering—maybe not in ways you had hoped, but in ways that he knows are best. Devotional Hours Within the Bible The Saints in Heaven“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” Some people have the impression that very few will be saved, that the lost will far outnumber the redeemed. The Bible, however, gives no such impression. On the other hand, its representations are that immense numbers of the race will be saved. There are no lamentations in Scripture about empty mansions, or small choruses, or thin ranks in the final gathering in heaven. There is no intimation that the Father’s house will not be filled, that the prepared places will not have occupants. Christ’s redemption will not prove a failure; there are repeated indications that it will be a glorious success. In every generation there are millions who have confessed Christ, and doubtless there are always great numbers of true disciples on the earth of whom none know but God. As Christianity spreads over the world we may confidently hope that the number of the saved will be increased every year. There is no doubt, therefore, that the company of the redeemed at last will incalculably surpass the number of the lost. John’s picture, therefore, is suggestive. The multitude was one that no man could number. Then it was gathered out of all nations and tribes and tongues; this shows that the gospel is to reach all the world, and that every land shall have its quota in the great host of the redeemed at the last. The posture of this vast company was one of high honor, as well as of great privilege. Whatever heaven may be, it seems clear that the redeemed shall be near to God and to Jesus. Elsewhere in the Scriptures we learn the same thing. The redeemed shall see Christ as He is; His servants shall serve Him and they shall see His face. The Bible everywhere represents the redeemed as dwelling in the very presence of God in heaven. They shall live always where they can have constant communion with Him, and where they can enjoy forever the blessedness of His love. Another thought, suggested in this picture, is in the attitude of the redeemed. They stand before the Lamb. This probably indicates readiness for service. Heaven is not to be a place of idle rest but the saved will have work to do. These powers of ours are not being trained so carefully here, to be folded up and laid away in idleness through all eternity! We are to be as the angels in heaven, and they are engaged perpetually in service before God’s throne. What our work will be we, cannot tell but we may be sure it will be suited to our enlarged capacities and powers in the heavenly life. Probably we have a hint of the work of the redeemed, in the coming to earth of Moses and Elijah at the time of Christ’s transfiguration, to minister to Him and cheer Him in His way of sorrow. May it not be that in the eternal ages, all the redeemed shall be similarly employed in carrying blessings to other spheres’? “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands! And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb !” Revelation 7:9-10. Here we have a glimpse of the redeemed in heaven. For one thing, their white robes indicate purity. There will be no sin in heaven. Before entering the gate, every stain will be washed away in the blood of the Lamb, and the saved will be made perfectly whole. We groan here on earth, under the humiliation of our faults and blemishes, our many infirmities and imperfections, and our corrupt hearts, which keep our lives always blotched and stained. We never can get clear of this burden of sin, in our present life. The holiest saint can never have a perfectly white robe on this earth. But here we have a glimpse of a day coming, in which all who reach heaven shall be entirely free, and free forever, from every stain of sin! The garments of the redeemed shall be white, without one spot! Our hearts shall be thoroughly cleansed. They shall leave behind them all corruption, and shall never again have a sinful thought or feeling or desire but seeing Christ as He is they shall be like Him forever! The white robes indicate not only purity but glory! On the transfiguration mount, we see two heavenly inhabitants on a mission to earth, and we are told that they appeared in glory in glorified forms. They were saints in their everyday heavenly dress. Here on earth, our bodies are dull, and their beauty is marred by sin; but the spiritual body will be glorious, like Christ’s. The palm branches in the hands of the redeemed, probably indicate joy and rejoicing. Heaven will be a place of great happiness and of blessed triumph. There will be no tears there, and no defeat, no failure. Those who have been always sick here will be well there; and those who have failed here in all their earthly life will be among the victors there. The occupation of the redeemed in heaven will be praise. Their praise will be for salvation. They will never forget in their blessedness, that they owe it all to God’s mercy, and Christ’s atoning sacrifice on their behalf. They will always remember what they were by nature, and how they were redeemed and lifted up to glory at a great cost. “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect!” 1 Peter 1:18-19 We should notice here, also, that Jesus is worshiped along with the Father in heaven. Some people tell us that Jesus was only a good man; but would all the redeemed in heaven worship a mere man? We have a glimpse of the redeemed in heaven. “All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God.” Throngs of angels mingled with them. The angels were not redeemed by Christ, as men have been, for they never sinned nor fell, and therefore they needed no redemption. Yet they are deeply interested in the salvation of sinners, and help God’s saints in their earthly struggles and dangers. They are ministering spirits, who on earth minister to the heirs of salvation. They are bright, holy creatures, and it will be great joy to meet in glory, these friends that we have never seen but who have seen us, and have done so many beautiful things for us. Note well the question and answer of the thirteenth and fourteenth verses: “These in white robes who are they, and where did they come from?” “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb!” They are not those who have lived in palaces, and have never known pain or trial. Heaven’s people are those who have had much suffering on the earth. Some of them had to pass through martyr fires; some of them had to endure sore persecutions; some suffered poverty and sickness; some were wronged and oppressed; some had trial and mocking and imprisonment and cruel scourging. The way to heaven is not always an easy way! ”Through many tribulations, we must enter into He kingdom.” But here we see how the saints passed through all this tribulation and are not ruined by it. It does not leave them crushed and broken. They stand beyond it all glorious! There is an antidote to all these tribulations: washing in the blood of the Lamb removes all the scars and marks of pain and sorrow! There will not be a want of any kind in heaven, that is unsupplied. The ills of earth are past forever, when we reach that glorious country. In this present world, life at the best is one of hunger and thirst. Even if the bodily needs are all met, there are mental and spiritual cravings that never can be supplied here. But in heaven all these desires shall be fully satisfied. Our minds shall hunger no more, because we shall know even as we are known. Our soul’s cravings shall all be met, for in God we shall have all that we need. “The One seated on the throne will shelter them: no longer will they hunger; no longer will they thirst; no longer will the sun strike them, or any heat. Because the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them; He will guide them to springs of living waters, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes!” Revelation 7:15-17 Jesus will be our Shepherd in heaven, just as He was on earth. He called Himself the Good Shepherd, and we know that He is a faithful shepherd to His sheep in this world. He seeks the wandering and the lost, and bears them back to the fold. He feeds and leads and shelters and defends all His flock with loving care. He gave His life for the sheep dying to save them! Here we see Him continuing the same tender care in the heavenly life! He will never have to give His life again for the sheep in that new home. He will never have to defend them from danger, for there will be neither enemy nor danger there. He will never have to bring back any wandering or lost ones, for there none will wander away, nor be lost. He will be with them as their continual companion and friend. He will be their guide, leading them from joy to joy, from blessing to blessing to the trees where heavenly fruits grow, and to the fountains of the waters of life! Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingEzekiel 1, 2, 3 Ezekiel 1 -- Ezekiel's Prophecy at Kebar; The Visions of Four Figures and Divine Glory NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ezekiel 2 -- Ezekiel's Calling and Instruction NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ezekiel 3 -- Ezekiel Eats the Scroll; Warning to Israel NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Hebrews 9 Hebrews 9 -- Christ has Entered into the Holy Place Once for All NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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