Morning, January 7
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For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  — Philippians 1:21
Bible League: Living His Word
Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: "My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God"?
— Isaiah 40:27 NKJV

Are you near-sighted? Does it seem that too often you focus on the problem, not the solution? You always seem to speak about the problem, not the solution. Is your focus downward, not upward? Like the people in our verse for today, you may whine and complain. With them you say, "My way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God." Some might find it difficult to be around you, because you're not satisfied taking yourself down to the depths, but must take everyone around you down there too. Do your words cast a pall wherever you go?

It would be strange, really, to act like that, because you know the Lord—who He is, and what He can do. He's the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He can do anything. Nothing is impossible for Him. Moreover, you know that He cares for His people. "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" (2 Chronicles 16:9). Yet, when you are discouraged, you may say things that seem to imply He doesn't care at all. You might be speaking like the Israelites in the wilderness, saying things that will keep you where you are.

Be patient, my friend. Wait a little and speak words of hope, and you would begin to see the solution to your problem. The Lord will begin to renew your strength and ability. Instead of wallowing down in the dust, you will begin to mount up like an eagle. Life can be hard; even young people can get tired of the whole thing. Even they can fall down to the depths (Isaiah 40:30).

That's why we all need the Lord. You're your eye is full of the problem, wait for what He can do for the solution.
Bible in a Year
Old Testament Reading
Genesis 18, 19


Genesis 18 -- God Promises the birth of Isaac; Abram Pleads for Sodom

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Genesis 19 -- The Destruction of Sodom; Lot's daughters give birth

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New Testament Reading
Matthew 6


Matthew 6 -- Giving to the Poor; Lord's Prayer; Fasting; Treasure in Heaven; Do Not Worry

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library.
Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion
Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.
Insight
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” The obvious answer is, “Of course not!” This question reveals much about God.
Challenge
Make it a habit to insert your specific needs into the question. Asking the question this way reminds you that God is personally involved in your life and nudges you to ask for his power to help you.
Morning and Evening by Spurgeon
Philippians 1:21  For me to live is Christ.

The believer did not always live to Christ; he began to do so when God the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see the dying Saviour making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the new and celestial birth the man begins to live to Christ. Jesus is to believers the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so completely won our love, that it beats alone for Him; to His glory we would live, and in defence of His gospel we would die; He is the pattern of our life, and the model after which we would sculpture our character. Paul's words mean more than most men think; they imply that the aim and end of his life was Christ--nay, his life itself was Jesus. In the words of an ancient saint, he did eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this idea? Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Your business--are you doing it for Christ? Is it not done for self-aggrandizement and for family advantage? Do you ask, "Is that a mean reason?" For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ; how can he live for another object without committing a spiritual adultery? Many there are who carry out this principle in some measure; but who is there that dare say that he hath lived wholly for Christ as the apostle did? Yet, this alone is the true life of a Christian--its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end, all gathered up in one word--Christ Jesus. Lord, accept me; I here present myself, praying to live only in thee and to thee. Let me be as the bullock which stands between the plough and the altar, to work or to be sacrificed; and let my motto be, "Ready for either."

Daily Light on the Daily Path
Nehemiah 5:19  Remember me, O my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

Jeremiah 2:2  "Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD, "I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, The love of your betrothals, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown.

Ezekiel 16:60  "Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

Jeremiah 29:10  "For thus says the LORD, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

Jeremiah 29:11  'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Isaiah 55:9  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Job 5:8,9  "But as for me, I would seek God, And I would place my cause before God; • Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number.

Psalm 40:5  Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.

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 January 6
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