Morning, April 20
Jump to: BLTyndaleSpurgeonDaily LightRdg plan

Click for Video Devotionals
Bible League: Living His Word
"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Our verse for today is part of what Jesus said to Simon Peter and the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before He was to be crucified. Jesus knew what was going to happen later in the evening. He knew that Peter and the disciples would be tempted by fear to abandon Him and to deny Him. In order to help them, Jesus told them what they should do. They should "Watch and pray."

Jesus knew that the spirits of the disciples were willing. He knew that in their heart of hearts they were willing to stay with Him and pray with Him in His time of need. However, He also knew that the flesh of the disciples was weak. He knew that as bodily beings they were given to sleep and drowsiness at that late hour. There would be a struggle between the sincere intentions of the spirit and the weakness of the flesh.

It is interesting to note that Jesus himself won the battle between spirit and flesh. He had stayed awake and He had prayed. And when the temptation came later that night and the next day to abandon His mission on earth, He succeeded in pressing through to the end. The disciples, on the other hand, lost the battle between spirit and flesh. They fell asleep and did not pray. And when the temptation came to abandon Jesus, they did abandon Him. And Peter even denied Him three times.

What does it mean to watch and pray? The word translated as "watch" refers to the alertness required of a guard at night. Jesus was telling the disciples to watch for any attacks of the enemy. If the disciples did not remain spiritually alert and if they did not pray for help just as Jesus prayed, then they would be vulnerable to the temptations the enemy was about to attack them with.

Jesus' admonition to watch and pray is a word for all Christians for all time. The enemy is still out there attacking us with every weapon he has at his disposal.

Watch and pray, like Jesus said. Stay alert, stand guard, and keep watch for the attacks of the enemy. And pray for the help of the Lord to withstand them and to overcome them.

Bible in a Year
Old Testament Reading
1 Samuel 30, 31


1 Samuel 30 -- David Destroys the Amalekites and Divides the Spoils

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


1 Samuel 31 -- Saul and His Sons Killed

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


New Testament Reading
Luke 17:20-37


Luke 17 -- Forgiveness and Faith; Cleansing of the Ten Lepers; Second Coming Foretold

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library.
Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion
People may be right in their own eyes,
        but the LORD examines their heart.
Insight
People can find an excuse for doing almost anything, but God looks behind the excuses to the motives of the heart.
Challenge
We often have to make choices in areas where the right action is difficult to discern. We can help ourselves make such decisions by trying to identify our motives first and then asking, “Would God be pleased with my real reasons for doing this?” God is not pleased when we do good deeds only to receive something in return.
Morning and Evening by Spurgeon
Hebrews 2:14  That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death.

O child of God, death hath lost its sting, because the devil's power over it is destroyed. Then cease to fear dying. Ask grace from God the Holy Ghost, that by an intimate knowledge and a firm belief of thy Redeemer's death, thou mayst be strengthened for that dread hour. Living near the cross of Calvary thou mayst think of death with pleasure, and welcome it when it comes with intense delight. It is sweet to die in the Lord: it is a covenant-blessing to sleep in Jesus. Death is no longer banishment, it is a return from exile, a going home to the many mansions where the loved ones already dwell. The distance between glorified spirits in heaven and militant saints on earth seems great; but it is not so. We are not far from home--a moment will bring us there. The sail is spread; the soul is launched upon the deep. How long will be its voyage? How many wearying winds must beat upon the sail ere it shall be reefed in the port of peace? How long shall that soul be tossed upon the waves before it comes to that sea which knows no storm? Listen to the answer, "Absent from the body, present with the Lord." Yon ship has just departed, but it is already at its haven. It did but spread its sail and it was there. Like that ship of old, upon the Lake of Galilee, a storm had tossed it, but Jesus said, "Peace, be still," and immediately it came to land. Think not that a long period intervenes between the instant of death and the eternity of glory. When the eyes close on earth they open in heaven. The horses of fire are not an instant on the road. Then, O child of God, what is there for thee to fear in death, seeing that through the death of thy Lord its curse and sting are destroyed? and now it is but a Jacob's ladder whose foot is in the dark grave, but its top reaches to glory everlasting.

Daily Light on the Daily Path
Deuteronomy 13:1,7  "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, • of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end),

2 Corinthians 6:17  "Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.

1 Peter 2:11  Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.

Jude 1:23  save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

1 John 3:2,3  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. • And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Titus 2:11-14  For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, • instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, • looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, • who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

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.

Evening April 19
Top of Page
Top of Page