Dawn 2 Dusk When the Gavel Falls on GraceGalatians 2:16 brings us to the crossroads of every spiritual journey: will I try to prove myself, or will I trust what God has already provided? Paul speaks like someone who has finally stopped bargaining with heaven and started living from a settled verdict. Justified: God’s “Not Guilty” Over Your Life Justification isn’t God grading your effort; it’s God declaring your standing. The stunning news is that the verdict doesn’t rise and fall with your performance, your consistency, or your spiritual “resume.” As Paul says, “a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). When God justifies, He isn’t ignoring sin—He is placing it where it belongs: on Jesus. That’s why the cross is not a motivational poster; it’s a legal transaction. “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). If you’re in Christ, you don’t wake up trying to become accepted—you wake up accepted, and you live from that gift. The Trap of Trying Harder—and the Relief of Believing Deeper There’s a religious reflex in us that whispers, Surely God will love me more if I get this together. But grace dismantles that whole system. “For by grace you have been saved through faith…not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). When you start “earning,” you quietly start “boasting”—even if it’s just in your heart. Faith, on the other hand, is not spiritual laziness; it’s spiritual honesty. It says, I cannot rescue myself, but Christ has rescued me. Paul’s heartbeat is clear: “a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28). Today, trade the exhausting treadmill of self-salvation for the steady ground of Christ-salvation. Freedom That Bears Fruit (Without Fear) Grace doesn’t produce complacency; it produces freedom—and freedom produces fruit. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). Slavery isn’t only obvious sin; it can also be the subtle bondage of measuring your worth by your spiritual output. When you remain close to Jesus, obedience stops being a desperate attempt to be enough and becomes a joyful response to love. “I am the vine; you are the branches…For apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). And what He grows in you is real: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…” (Galatians 5:22). You don’t manufacture that fruit; you abide, and God brings the harvest. Father, thank You for justifying me through Jesus. Help me stop striving to earn what You freely give, and walk today in faith-filled obedience that points others to Christ. Amen. Evening with A.W. Tozer The Happy MornWhen we sing, The Light of the world is Jesus, there should be a glow on our faces that would make the world believe indeed that we really mean it! The Incarnation meant something vast and beautiful for John Milton-and he celebrated the coming of Jesus into the world with one of the most beautiful and moving expressions ever written by a man: This is the month, and this the happy morn, Wherein the Son of Heaven's eternal King, Of wedded maid, and Virgin mother born, Our great redemption from above did bring. That glorious form, that Light insufferable, And that far-beaming blaze of majesty, He laid aside, and here with us to be, Forsook the courts of everlasting Day, And chose with us a darksome house of mortal clay. Oh! run; prevent them with thy humble ode, And lay it lowly at His blessed feet, Have thou the honor first thy Lord to greet And join thy voices with the Angel quire, From out His secret altar touched with hallowed fire! Music For the Soul Service and CommunionWhoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth Me; and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God. - Psalm 50:23 It is not enough to patrol the temple courts unless we " lift up our hands to the Sanctuary," and with our hearts "bless the Lord." And all we who in any degree and any department are officially or semi-officially connected with the work of the Christian Church have very earnestly and especially to lay this to heart. We ministers, deacons, Sunday-school teachers, tract distributors, have much need to take care that we do not confound watching in the courts of the temple with lifting up our own hands and hearts to our Father that is in Heaven, and remember that the more outward work we do the more inward life we ought to have. The higher the stem of the tree grows, and the broader its branches spread, the deeper must strike and the wider must extend its underground roots, if it is not to be blown over and become a withered ruin. And so will you take the plain lesson that is here: all ye that stand ready for service, and doing service, all " ye that stand in the House of the Lord, behold" - your peril and your duty - and "bless ye the Lord." And remember that the more work the more prayer to keep it from rotting; the more effort the more communion; and that at the end we shall discover with alarm, and with shame confess, " I kept others’ vineyards, and my own vineyards have I not kept "; unless, like our Master, we prepare for a day of work and toil in the temple by a night of quiet communion with our Father on the mountain-side. And then there is another lesson, and that is that all times are times for blessing God. " Ye who by night stand in the House of the Lord, bless the Lord." So, though no sacrifice was smoking on the altar, and no choral songs went up from the company of praising priests in the ritual service, and although the nightfall had silenced the worship and scattered the worshipers, yet some low murmur of praise would be echoing through the empty halls all the night long, and the voice of thanksgiving and of blessing would blend with the clank of the priests’ feet on the marble pavements as they went their patrolling rounds; and their torches would send up a smoke not less acceptable than the wreathing columns of the incense that had filled the day. And so, as in some convents you will find a monk kneeling on the steps of the altar at each hour of the four-and-twenty, adoring the Sacrament exposed upon it, so (but in inmost reality and not in a mere vulgar outside form that means nothing) in the Christian heart there should be a perpetual adoration and a continual praise - a prayer without ceasing. What is it that comes first of all into your minds when you wake in the middle of the night? Yesterday’s business, to-morrow’s vanities, or God’s present love and your dependence upon Him? In the night of sorrow, too, do our songs go up, and do we hear and obey the charge which commands not only perpetual adoration, but bids us fill the night with music and with praise? Well for us if it be, anticipating the time when "they rest not day nor night saying. Holy! Holy! Holy!" Spurgeon: Morning and Evening Songs 8:13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it. My sweet Lord Jesus remembers well the garden of Gethsemane, and although he has left that garden, he now dwells in the garden of his church: there he unbosoms himself to those who keep his blessed company. That voice of love with which he speaks to his beloved is more musical than the harps of heaven. There is a depth of melodious love within it which leaves all human music far behind. Ten of thousands on earth, and millions above, are indulged with its harmonious accents. Some whom I well know, and whom I greatly envy, are at this moment hearkening to the beloved voice. O that I were a partaker of their joys! It is true some of these are poor, others bedridden, and some near the gates of death, but O my Lord, I would cheerfully starve with them, pine with them, or die with them, if I might but hear thy voice. Once I did hear it often, but I have grieved thy Spirit. Return unto me in compassion, and once again say unto me, "I am thy salvation." No other voice can content me; I know thy voice, and cannot be deceived by another, let me hear it, I pray thee. I know not what thou wilt say, neither do I make any condition, O my Beloved, do but let me hear thee speak, and if it be a rebuke I will bless thee for it. Perhaps to cleanse my dull ear may need an operation very grievous to the flesh, but let it cost what it may I turn not from the one consuming desire, cause me to hear thy voice. Bore my ear afresh; pierce my ear with thy harshest notes, only do not permit me to continue deaf to thy calls. Tonight, Lord, grant thine unworthy one his desire, for I am thine, and thou hast bought me with thy blood. Thou hast opened mine eye to see thee, and the sight has saved me. Lord, open thou mine ear. I have read thy heart, now let me hear thy lips. Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook Thorough CleansingWhat an exceeding joy is this! He who has purified us with the blood of Jesus will also cleanse us by the water of the Holy Spirit. God hath said it, and so it must be, "Ye shall be clean." LORD, we feel and mourn our uncleanness, and it is cheering to be assured by Thine own mouth that we shall be clean. Oh, that Thou wouldst make a speedy work of it! He will deliver us from our worst sins. The uprisings of unbelief and the deceitful lusts which war against the soul, the vile thoughts of pride, and the suggestions of Satan to blaspheme the sacred name-all these shall be so purged away as never to return. He will also cleanse us from all our idols, whether of gold or of clay: our impure loves and our excessive love of that which in itself is pure. That which we have idolized shall either be broken from us or we shall be broken off from it. It is God who speaks of what He Himself will do. Therefore is this word established and sure, and we may boldly look for that which it guarantees to us. Cleansing is a covenant blessing, and the covenant is ordered in all things and sure. The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer Call Upon Me in the Day of TroubleKeep the straight path of duty, and if troubles come, or difficulties arise, thy God invites thee to call upon Him. He will come to thy help and bring all His boundless resources with Him. He is always within call. His ear is never heavy, that it cannot hear; His arm is not shortened, that it cannot reach or save. He can make thy greatest troubles prove thy choicest blessings; He can give thee cause to bless Him through eternity, for thy sorest trials. Oh, trust Him, and fear not! Run not to creatures; but, "Arise and call upon thy God." Look not to others, until thou hast proved that He cannot, or will not help; and that will never be. His heart is too kind, His word is too faithful. Art thou in trouble this morning? If so, you have a special invitation from thy God to pay Him a visit, and lay thy whole case before Him; expecting His sympathy, interference, and blessing; He says, "Call upon me in the time of trouble. I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." He is faithful who hath promised. Oh, trust Him, for so you honour Him; expect from Him, and you cannot be disappointed. Wait for Him, and you shall not be ashamed. Dear refuge of my weary soul On Thee, when sorrows rise, On Thee, when waves of trouble roll, My fainting hope relies. Bible League: Living His Word Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. — Colossians 4:5-6 ESV Time is valuable. Time is valuable because we have a limited amount of it at our disposal. If you act as if you have all the time in the world, you will find out soon enough that you're wrong. It's important that we make the best use of the time we have. Christians should understand this better than anyone else. This is because we know that the quality of the life to come depends upon what we do with the time we have now. For Christians, making the best use of the time is more than a pragmatic principle for a decent life. It is the key to the life to come. So, what should Christians do with their time? No doubt, there are many things. The Apostle Paul, however, singles out two of the most important ones in our verses for today. First, he gives us a general principle. We should "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders." Outsiders, of course, are those outside the church, those outside the fellowship of believers. Before His ascension to heaven, Jesus said that His disciples should be witnesses to outsiders (Acts 1:8). It is important that we walk in wisdom toward them so that we don't compromise our witness. Our walk should be a witness to the redemptive and transformative power of the Gospel. Second, Paul gives us a more specific example of the general principle. We should walk in wisdom toward outsiders by making sure that our speech is always "gracious, seasoned with salt." It should be gracious in the sense that it should reflect the fact that we are Christians, that we are under the influence of the Spirit of Christ Jesus. It should be seasoned with salt in the sense that it should make things better. Just as salt is beneficial for food, so our speech should be beneficial for those around us. It should be helpful and not hurtful. If you walk in wisdom and if your speech is gracious and seasoned with salt, then you will "know how you ought to answer each person." Your life and your words will be a witness that leads outsiders to become insiders. Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 19:12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; Galatians 5:7 You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? Philippians 1:6,27 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. • Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; James 3:5,6 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! • And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. 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 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.Insight When Paul spoke of “these things,” he was referring to his credentials, credits, and successes. After showing that he could beat the Judaizers at their own game—being proud of who they were and what they had done—Paul showed that it was the wrong game. Challenge Be careful of considering past achievements so important that they get in the way of your relationship with Christ. Devotional Hours Within the Bible Paul’s Counsel to the ThessaloniansThe Bible touches life at every point. While its great principles cover all moral acts in a general way, it descends to particulars in many cases, giving special instructions of great value. The passage noted above contains golden counsels for the common days, and for the common experiences of life. “We urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14. There is a duty of warning others. We may not always speak words of commendation and approval. When Christian people are living in a sinful way, that is, not living in harmony with the divine laws, they are to be admonished. We must make sure, however, that we do this in the spirit of Christ in love, in order to help and save those we admonish. No duty requires more wisdom and more grace than that of telling others of their faults. “Encourage the timid.” Then, we should always be encouragers, for there are many timid, faint-hearted people who continually need to be lifted up and helped onward. We should never be discouragers. There are those, too, who are weak and need the strength and support which we can give them. The strong should help the weak. We should bear each other’s burdens. “Be patient with everyone.” We are also to be patient towards all, no matter how they may treat us. This is one of the great lessons which Jesus taught in His own life to bear sweetly and patiently with those who are unkind and injurious. It is not easy but we are not Christians if we are not trying to live after this law of love. “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong.” The teaching of Christ also requires us to render always good for evil; never evil for evil. This is a very practical counsel, and it is never easy to follow it. Yet it is an inseparable part of all Christian life. If one strives for the heroic in Christian character, nothing could be more heroic than this! To return love for hate, kindness for injury is far braver than to be angry and resentful, demanding satisfaction. “Always pursue what is good for one another.” We should always strive after that which is for the good of others, and in all things make this our aim. Anything that would injure or harm another, is absolutely unchristian. “Rejoice always!” Joy is never to be left out of any scheme of Christian life. We are to rejoice, not now and then only but always. Even our sorrows should not hush the songs in our hearts. This element of joy, can be only in the life in which Christ lives and rules. There is a difference in people in the matter of joyousness but true Christian joy is not that which the world gives, nor that which nature inspires but the joy which conies from the heart of God and which nothing ever can overcome or destroy. “Pray without ceasing.” Prayer is another essential element in every true Christian life. Not to pray is not to live at all as a Christian, for prayer is “the Christian’s vital breath.” The exhortation to pray without ceasing may seem a strange one. It means, however, that our communion with God never need be broken, never should be broken. We cannot always be on our knees; for we have work to do, duties to perform, which we may not neglect, and which are just as sacred as praying. But we may pray at our work, by keeping always close to Christ, so that anywhere, any moment, we can look up into His face and speak to Him and get an answer. “Give thanks in everything.” Thanksgiving should never be lacking in a Christian life. It is not enough to observe one day in the year for ‘Thanksgiving’, although it is a very beautiful thing to do. Nor is it enough to put a sentence of thanksgiving into our daily prayers, although this also is proper. It is the grateful heart that pleases God, the heart that is always full of praise. There should be a note of thanksgiving running through all our life. Too many of us go to God only with requests, with our burdens, our worries, our troubles; while we but rarely go to Him with any word of thanks. We are not to be thankful only for our prosperities and for the pleasant and agreeable things that come into our days we are to be thankful, too, for the things that appear to us as adversities. “Give thanks in everything.” That means in the sad days as well as in the glad days, when clouds are in the sky, as well as when the sunshine is pouring everywhere. It is specially said here that this is the will of God for us. This is the way God wants us to live always giving thanks. A rabbinical teaching says that the highest angel in heaven is the angel of praise. The Christliest note is one that is always keyed to the note of praise and thanksgiving. “Do not quench the Spirit.” It is the glory of our Christian life, that God lives in it. Paul said, “Christ lives in me!” A fire burns in our hearts which is fed from heaven. We live at our best, only when we let this flame burn brightly in us. We are exhorted here, not to quench the Spirit. Fire is quenched by pouring water upon it, or by covering it up so as to exclude the air. The Spirit may be quenched in us by sin, by worldliness, by evil thoughts, by bad passions, by resistance. To quench this heavenly flame, is to put out the light of life, leaving the darkness of death within us. “Do not quench the Spirit.” We are also exhorted not to “despise prophesyings.” Prophesyings, in a general way, are divine teachings, the message of God to us. The Bible is a book of prophesyings. All heavenly instructions, counsels, warnings, from whatever source, may in a sense, be called prophesyings. We should keep our minds and hearts always wide open to receive the Words of God, and to welcome all divine influences and impressions and inspirations, whether they are spoken by the Spirit of God or by a human friend. “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening,” is the true attitude of every believing heart toward the truth, however it is spoken. “Test all things.” Not all voices, however, that speak in this world, are divine voices. Not all words that fall upon our ears, are words from heaven. We should test all things to see whether they are of God or not. Then we should “Hold fast to what is good.” We should judge carefully between genuine and counterfeit coins. Put to the test of truth all counsels that are given to you. Not all such counsels are from God. It is said by our Master of His sheep, that “they will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” We should make sure that the voice which we hear is our Master’s own voice; that it is the voice of one who counsels us wisely, and not the voice of a stranger speaking to us in unheavenly words, to draw us away from the truth. “Abstain from every form of evil.” We are accustomed to think of some violations of God’s Word as only slightly evil; while we imagine that other transgressions are very black in their sinfulness. Some people appear to think that if we keep ourselves from the worst kinds of evil that we need not be so watchful against the minor forms of misconduct. They will not lie, nor steal, nor swear, nor do other things which would brand them in the eyes of the community as ‘wicked’. But meanwhile they are ungentle, unkind, selfish, bad tempered, and loving the world. But Paul’s exhortation is, “Abstain from every form of evil.” We are not to pick out certain sins and condemn these alone as evil, abstaining from them; meanwhile indulging in pet vices and sinful habits of our own. Whatever is wrong in even the slightest way is to be abstained from. There really are no little sins, no ‘little white lies’, no slight deviations from right and purity. Even evil thoughts, our Master says, break His commandments! “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This prayer for consecration is very comprehensive. It is that we may be sanctified, that is, set apart wholly for God and God’s use. We belong to God, for He has bought us with a price, and we should make ourselves altogether God’s by keeping ourselves separate from sin, and from the world. It is a prayer that our whole being, spirit, soul and body shall be kept pure and holy, amid all the world’s evil; preserved entire, without blame, until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It may seem impossible for anyone to realize this high ideal of living. It is impossible for us thus to keep ourselves. But the words which follow tell us how it becomes possible. “The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.” We are safe in this world, therefore, when God keeps us when His sheltering, protecting love enfolds us! Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJeremiah 27, 28 Jeremiah 27 -- Judah Will Submit to Nebuchadnezzar NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jeremiah 28 -- Hananiah Falsely Prophesies the Return of the Vessels NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 2 Timothy 4 2 Timothy 4 -- Timothy Encouraged to Preach the Word; Final Remarks NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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