Dawn 2 Dusk A Homeland You Can’t LosePaul lifts our eyes from what feels urgent to what is ultimate: your deepest belonging isn’t decided by where you live, what’s trending, or what’s going on around you. You have a higher home, and your heart is meant to lean forward with expectation for the One who will make all things right. Citizenship That Steadies You When life gets loud, identity gets tested. But this is where your feet find solid ground: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” (Philippians 3:20). You’re not scrambling to earn a place—you’re living from a place already granted by grace in Christ. That heavenly citizenship doesn’t make you less engaged; it makes you less shaken. “For here we do not have a permanent city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14). So when earthly “cities” disappoint—systems, leaders, even your own plans—you don’t collapse. You remember where you’re headed. Ambassadors in a Foreign Land If heaven is home, then today is assignment. You’re not just passing time; you’re representing a King. “Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Your words, choices, and tone become part of God’s invitation to a watching world. That’s why holiness matters—not to prove you belong, but because you do. “Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” (1 Peter 2:11). Sin always tries to make exile feel like home. But you’re free to live differently: with integrity, gentleness, courage, and a love that doesn’t need applause. Eager Waiting That Changes Today Waiting for Jesus is not spiritual procrastination; it’s fuel. “as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13). The future pulls on the present—making you brave in suffering, patient in delay, and stubbornly joyful when circumstances beg you to quit. And this hope gets practical fast. “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.” (1 John 3:3). If you really expect to see the Savior, you start clearing space for Him now—turning from compromise, forgiving faster, praying with more hunger, and investing in what will still matter when He appears. Lord Jesus, thank You that my true citizenship is in heaven and my hope is secure in You. Strengthen me to live today like Your faithful ambassador—holy, loving, and ready. Amen. Evening with A.W. Tozer Which Cross Do We Carry?One of the strange things under the sun is a crossless Christianity. The cross of Christendom is a no-cross, an ecclesiastical symbol. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is a place of death! Let each one be careful which cross he carries! Thousands turn away from Jesus Christ because they will not meet His conditions. He watches them as they go, for He loves them, but He will make no concessions. Admit one soul into the kingdom by compromise and that kingdom is no longer secure. Christ will be Lord, or He will be Judge. Every man must decide whether he will take Him as Lord now, or face Him as Judge then! If any man will . . . let him follow me. Some will rise and go after Him, but others give no heed to His voice. So the gulf opens between man and man, between those who will and those who will not. The Man, the kindly Stranger who walked this earth, is His own proof. He will not put Himself again on trial; He will not argue. But the morning of the judgment will confirm what men in the twilight have decided! Music For the Soul Life’s IsolationsI have trodden the wine-press alone. - Isaiah 63:3 The very things that made the solitude of Christ made its agony. The same characteristics in Jesus Christ which separated Him from men made Him feel, as no other man ever felt, the pain and bitterness of being so separated. Other men wear an armour of selfishness and, alas! of proclivity to evil which makes it less of a torture to be brought close to it. But He stood with bared breast, and every blow struck full home. Christ was lonely in the midst of crowds. It would have been so much easier for Him to have come neither eating nor drinking; or like John the Baptist, to have gone into the desert and lived an ascetic life of outward solitude there. But that could not be. He must be kindly with His kind. He had to live the life which was to be every man’s pattern and inspiration. So He must enter into all common relationships, and hallow ordinary duties and scenes by Himself passing through them. Therefore He came eating and drinking, and sat at feasts where there was no love and scant courtesy, and kept company with men, the very association with whom was a deeper solitude than He would have found in the dreariest wilderness. Christ’s loneliness deepened as the end drew near. The disciples understood Him even less when He spoke about His death than in the rest of His teaching. He had, in a very special sense, to go down into the valley alone. Death is ever a solitude, and, perhaps, is most terrible because it is. The fondest love can only go with us to the gate. We must part outside the barrier, and all alone pass in and take our journey. But His death, compassed by treachery, and preceded by the flight of His friends and the denial of His chief apostle, was, in a very special sense, a solitary death. The little faith which had feebly been building itself up in some hearts was shattered. The love seemed to have gone. No man in all the world believed in Him now. "We trusted" was the most they would say. And so, wrapped in darkness. He dies, as He had lived, alone! How profoundly must our Lord have felt the pain of His solitude! The thought of His loneliness is made more bitter to Him by its contrast with the companionship which His faithless followers so easily secured. " Ye shall be scattered, each one to his own." They had all congenial surroundings and friends to return to, and, fleeing to that shelter, they leave Him solitary, like a traveller, on a waste unsheltered heath, to meet the whole fury of the storm. ’’His own," to whom He had come with hands outstretched craving a welcome, had turned from Him, and the isolation aggravated even the solemn pains of His test passion. The piteous petition that came from His lips in Gethsemane reveals this: " My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Tarry ye here and watch with Me." Even the company of these three, who understood so little, and the imperfection of whose love He saw so plainly, was a kind of solace. And when even that poor staff broke as he leaned upon it, pain as well as wonder spoke in the gentle remonstrance, " Could ye not watch with Me one hour? " Lonely and hungering for human companionship. He entered into the agony and fought His last fight for us all that we might not fight it alone. Spurgeon: Morning and Evening Hebrews 9:20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. There is a strange power about the very name of blood, and the sight of it is always affecting. A kind heart cannot bear to see a sparrow bleed, and unless familiarized by use, turns away with horror at the slaughter of a beast. As to the blood of men, it is a consecrated thing: it is murder to shed it in wrath; it is a dreadful crime to squander it in war. Is this solemnity occasioned by the fact that the blood is the life, and the pouring of it forth the token of death? We think so. When we rise to contemplate the blood of the Son of God, our awe is yet more increased, and we shudder as we think of the guilt of sin, and the terrible penalty which the Sin-bearer endured. Blood, always precious, is priceless when it streams from Immanuel's side. The blood of Jesus seals the covenant of grace, and makes it forever sure. Covenants of old were made by sacrifice, and the everlasting covenant was ratified in the same manner. Oh, the delight of being saved upon the sure foundation of divine engagements which cannot be dishonored! Salvation by the works of the law is a frail and broken vessel whose shipwreck is sure; but the covenant vessel fears no storms, for the blood ensures the whole. The blood of Jesus made his testament valid. Wills are of no power unless the testators die. In this light the soldier's spear is a blessed aid to faith, since it proved our Lord to be really dead. Doubts upon that matter there can be none, and we may boldly appropriate the legacies which he has left for his people. Happy they who see their title to heavenly blessings assured to them by a dying Saviour. But has this blood no voice to us? Does it not bid us sanctify ourselves unto him by whom we have been redeemed? Does it not call us to newness of life, and incite us to entire consecration to the Lord? O that the power of the blood might be known, and felt in us this night! Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook Delight and DesiresDelight in God has a transforming power and lifts a man above the gross desire of our fallen nature. Delight in Jehovah is not only sweet in itself, but it sweetens the whole soul, till the longings of the heart become such that the LORD can safely promise to fulfill them. Is not that a grand delight which molds our desires till they are like the desires of God? Our foolish way is to desire and then set to work to compass what we desire. We do not go to work in God’s way, which is to seek Him first and then expect all things to be added unto us. If we will let our heart be filled with God till it runs over with delight, then the LORD Himself will take care that we shall not want any good thing. Instead of going abroad for joys let us stay at home with God and drink waters out of our own fountain. He can do for us far more than all our friends. It is better to be content with God alone than to go about fretting and pining for the paltry trifles of time and sense. For a while we may have disappointments; but if these bring us nearer to the LORD, they are things to be prized exceedingly, for they will in the end secure to us the fulfillment of all our right desires. The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer Go ForwardBeloved, there is no standing still in religion; we are either going forward or going back. Our Captain’s command is, "Go forward." This is our direction. "Go forward" in the Lord’s way, in the Lord’s work; to the Lord’s kingdom. The command contains great encouragement. Go forward, remembering the Lord’s wisdom, trusting in the Lord’s power; and believing in the Lord’s love. Go forward in union with the Lord’s people, with zeal for His glory, until summoned into your Master’s presence. Go forward, notwithstanding difficulties, fears, and discouragements. Go forward, because God has bidden you; He has promised to go with you; He will crown your journey’s end. Let us imitate ardent and holy Paul, who said, "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which I am also apprehended of Christ Jesus." Let us look for, and hasten to the coming of the day of God. There is nothing behind us worth a thought, if compared with what is set before us by the gospel. Much is sorrow, oft in woe, Onward, Christian, onward go; Shrink not, fear not, dare not yield, Never quit the battle field: Forward press and win the prize, Then to endless glory rise. Bible League: Living His Word "My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me."— John 10:27 ERV In our verse for today, Jesus likens His disciples to sheep. To a certain kind of person, this does not sound very inviting. To a certain kind of person, this is the last thing they want to be. Why? Because they want to decide things for themselves. It's because they want to be independent about what they do in life and where they go. Sheep don't do that. Sheep belong to a shepherd, and they follow him. Their well—being is dependent upon the quality of the shepherd that leads them, not on themselves. The sheep in Jesus' flock understand this and are fine with it. Although they may stray at times, although they may force Jesus to find them (Matthew 18:10—14), they are willing to follow Him. They trust Him and believe that He is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). People who don't belong to Jesus' flock, people who don't want to be His sheep, on the other hand, are still sheep. They may not want to be sheep, they may not want to be followers, but they still are. Instead of following the Good Shepherd they follow a bad shepherd. They follow Satan and his minions. He fires up their desire to decide things for themselves, their desire to decide what they do in life and where they go, in order to trap them. Instead of self—determination, therefore, what they actually get is captivity. They become captives of Satan: "The devil has trapped them and now makes them do what he wants" (2 Timothy 2:26a). They become captives of a shepherd who deceived them into thinking they could go their own way. Consider all this when you hear the voices that beckon you to listen, that beckon you to follow. The voice of Jesus is beckoning you to follow Him to green pastures and to still waters (Psalm 23:2). The voice of Satan is beckoning you to go your own way – even though it is actually his way. Consider all this when you have to decide which voice to follow. Don't miss out on the green pastures and the still waters, because you want to be your own shepherd. Don't let Satan trap you by deceiving you into thinking you can be something more than a sheep in a flock of sheep. Instead, be satisfied to be in the chosen flock, following the voice of the Good Shepherd. Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 25:5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 2 Timothy 3:16,17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; • so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Matthew 6:22 "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. John 7:17 "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. Isaiah 35:8 A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. 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 Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.Insight Paul writes against any philosophy of life based only on human ideas and experiences. Paul himself was a gifted philosopher, so he is not condemning philosophy. He is condemning teaching that credits humanity, not Christ, with being the answer to life's problems. That approach becomes a false religion. There are many man-made approaches to life's problems that totally disregard God. Challenge To resist heresy you must use your mind, keep your eyes on Christ, and study God's Word. Devotional Hours Within the Bible The Heavenly Inheritance“To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered. .. who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” It is a sweet pleasure to be chosen to be a friend even by a true and noble man, to have a pure and loving heart turn to us and choose us from among many for regard, affection and interest. But it is far more precious to know that God has chosen us to be His friends. His children. Jesus said of His disciples, “You did not choose me but I chose you.” We are told also that we love God because He first loved us. Instead of puzzling our brains over the doctrine of “election,” let us accept the sweet thought which such words as these bring to our hearts. How sacred it makes our life seem to think of it in this way! “Through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood.” When God chooses us to be His children, He also provides for making us holy and fit to be partakers of the heavenly inheritance. The word “sanctification” has two senses. It means a setting apart. The Father chooses us and the Holy Spirit sets us apart as God’s. We belong to Him and are sacred to His uses. Then the word means also the actual cleansing of the nature making it holy. The Spirit enters into our heart and makes His home there, purifying the fountains of life and overcoming and driving out the evils of the flesh. The blood of Christ also has a part in the making holy of those whom the Father has chosen. We are redeemed by His blood. The blood cleanses from all sin. Thus the three persons of the Trinity are active in the saving of everyone who is saved: The Father chose, the Son made atonement, and the Holy Spirit purifies and sanctifies . We enter God’s spiritual family by a new birth. “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope.” In our natural state we are not ready for life in God’s household. A wicked man, with an unholy heart, could never be happy in heaven. He cannot even be happy in a prayer meeting on earth. We must have holy feelings, desires and affections, before we are prepared for living in a holy atmosphere. The kingdom of heaven must come into our heart before we can enter into the kingdom. So God provides that when we receive Christ, the Holy Spirit renews and changes our nature, giving us the child - heart. We see here also that it is not for anything in ourselves that God has chosen us, changed our heart, and taken us into His family but “according to his great mercy.” Mercy always implies unworthiness. We are saved through the grace and love of God. There is a glimpse here, too, of the blessedness of the Christian’s hope. It is a “living” hope. We are born again to an inheritance of life, eternal life. Our hope itself is living and eternal. Earth’s best things are uncertain, and at their best are only for a time. But the hope of the Christian is immortal. It is guaranteed by Christ’s resurrection. He conquered death, and all who rest upon Him live with Him for evermore. “An incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance reserved in heaven for you.” Here we see what our living hope is. It is an inheritance, a free gift to us, something which comes to us from our Father. It is not like earthly inheritances, however, for they are liable to waste or to be lost. This inheritance is “incorruptible,” that is, it is not subject to decay but is eternal. It is “undefiled.” Some earthly inheritances pass down to children stained in the getting. An honest old man, dying, said to his sons, “I do not leave you very much but there is not a dirty shilling in it all.” He meant that every penny of it had been honestly earned. This is not always true of this world’s inheritances. Too often there is many a stained shilling in them. But the heavenly inheritance is absolutely without stain. It is purchased for us at the price of Christ’s blood, and comes to us from our Father’s hands, white with heaven’s own purity. Another thing about it, is that it fades not away. Earthly inheritances often fade away, leaving the inheritor in poverty. This inheritance is beyond the reach of robber and money panic and all shrinking in values. It never can be taken from us. It is not in any banks or investments of earth but is laid up for us in heaven, reserved there in security until we get home. “Who are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” Not only is the inheritance kept in secure reserve for us but we are guarded on the way to receive the inheritance. This is very important. The world is full of dangers through which we must pass to get to heaven. On every hand there are enemies. We could never get safely to the blessedness laid up for us if we had no protection along the way. But we are guarded by the divine power. God Himself is with us always, sheltering us with His wings of love, keeping us. Our part is faith resting in the divine keeping, simply going forward in the way of duty, leaving to God the guarding of our lives. “You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to be distressed by various trials.” For a little while the Christian is to be tried. “Weeping may tarry for the night but joy comes in the morning.” We can surely bear trial a little while. Then, there is a “need be” in the trial. There is a blessing which God has to give us that we cannot get in any other way. The purifying of the gold never can be gotten without fire. Not to be cast into the hot furnace is to keep the dross. God never chastens unless there is a “need be.” “These have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” Again, the grief is caused by “trials” which are testings of faith, so that it may shine at length in glory at the appearing of Christ. So we ought not to be troubled by our trials. There is a blessing in them. As the rough, unsightly ore, by passing through the fire, yields at last bright, shining gold so our weak faith, with its admixture of self-will and pride and evil is purified by the fires of trial, so that at last it appears before God to receive praise, honor and glory. “Though you have not seen Him you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him.” The love of Christ will keep us in temptation and trial. The secret of a faithful, true and beautiful life is this love of the unseen Friend. Drummond tells of a young girl who became wondrously beautiful in her life and character, growing into a rare Christlikeness. Her friends wondered what the secret could be. She wore upon her breast a little locket, which she always kept closed, refusing to allow anyone to see within it. Once, however, when she was very ill, a friend was permitted to open it and found there only a little piece of paper, bearing the words, “Whom not having seen I love.” This told the whole story. Her love for the unseen Christ was the secret of that beautiful spiritual life which had so impressed itself upon her friends. The secret of the life of Moses is given in one phrase, “He endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” Faith is better than sight. If we believe and love the unseen Friend, our life will be firm and steadfast in all trial, and will be transformed little by little into the beauty of Christ. “Though you have not seen Him you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” We find here two blessings resulting from the love for the unseen Savior. One is unspeakable joy, even in a life of sore trial. The other is “salvation.” We need but to continue faithful unto the end, to receive the full and glorious inheritance. “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care.” Both earth and heaven are intensely interested in this great redeeming work of Christ. There are smart men who are so busy in their researches into little earthly matters that they cannot get time to study the things of the spiritual kingdom of God. Here, however, we see that in heaven’s sight, nothing in this world so merits the thought, study and research of the wisest beings in the universe, as Christ’s work of redemption. The interest of the angels in Christ’s sufferings as the Redeemer is very beautiful. There is a picture by Domenichino which represents the scene on Calvary, on the evening after the Savior’s body had been taken down and laid in the grave. The cross is empty. An angel stands beside the crown of thorns which lies there, feeling with the point of his finger one of the sharp points. His face wears a look of mystery and wonder. He is trying to find out the meaning of suffering. Angels in heaven know nothing of pain by personal experience. The artist’s thought is that to this angel, the sufferings of Christ were a great mystery which he was trying to understand. The same thought is suggested in the words, “Which things angels desire to look into.” Surely it is worth while to give thought and attention to the great and wonderful things of Christ, since even the highest angels find in them mystery worthy of their deepest study. Nothing else in all the ranks of knowledge, is so worthy of our deepest study and most diligent research and investigation, as is the glorious gospel of the blessed God! Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJeremiah 43, 44, 45 Jeremiah 43 -- Johanan Disregards Prophecy, Takes People to Egypt; Jeremiah Warns NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jeremiah 44 -- Jeremiah Predicts Conquest of Egypt, Disaster in Judah NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jeremiah 45 -- Jeremiah Instructs and Comforts Baruch NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Hebrews 3 Hebrews 3 -- Jesus Our High Priest; Danger in Unbelief NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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