Dawn 2 Dusk When All Creation Leans ForwardPaul paints an astonishing picture in Romans 8:19: the whole created order is on tiptoe, waiting in eager anticipation for something God is about to do with His people. Our world feels the weight of brokenness—disease, decay, disaster—but Scripture says this ache is not the last word. Creation itself is longing for the moment when God’s children are fully revealed in glory, because that unveiling will mean its freedom too. A Groaning World and a Sure Hope The Bible does not ignore the pain of this world. It tells us that “the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” (Romans 8:22). From earthquakes to empty chairs at dinner tables, the world groans under the curse that began in Genesis 3. Yet those groans are not the sighs of despair—they are the cries of labor, pointing toward a birth that is coming. This is why Romans 8:21 says that creation “will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God”. God is not planning to throw His world away; He is planning to redeem it. Revelation 21 shows a new heaven and a new earth where “the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Every crack in the present world is a reminder that a better one is on the way. The Revelation of the Sons of God “The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19). Right now, our true identity is often hidden under weakness, failure, and ordinary life. God has already adopted us as His children through Christ, but the full glory of that adoption has not yet been seen. We walk by faith, but one day the world will see with its own eyes what God has done in His people. 1 John 3:2 tells us, “Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is”. That is the unveiling creation is waiting for—the moment when Christ returns, and His people are transformed, body and soul, into His likeness. On that day, the spotlight of history will not be on human achievement, but on what God’s grace has made of His sons and daughters. Living Today Like Tomorrow Is Already True If the future of the world is tied to the revealing of God’s children, then your life in Christ matters more than you think. In Christ, you are already a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17), even if that newness is still unfolding. Your obedience, your repentance, your love, your worship—they are all previews of the world that is coming. When you forgive, serve, and stand for truth, creation gets a small glimpse of its future freedom. This means we do not drift through our days; we live as people who know how the story ends. We care for this world because God plans to redeem it. We fight sin because we are destined for glory. We abound in the work of the Lord, knowing that “your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Every step of faith today is a quiet announcement: the sons of God are on their way to being revealed. Lord, thank You for the sure hope that creation—and my own life—will be set free in Your glory. Help me live today as a true child of God, so that my words and actions point others toward the day when You make all things new. Morning with A.W. Tozer Lord, Give Me YourselfAbsalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem and saw not the king's face, though the king was his own father. Are there not many in the kingdom of God who have no awareness of God, who seem not to know that they have the right to sit at the King's table and commune with the King? This is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is a hard and grievous burden. To know God, this is eternal life; this is the purpose for which we are and were created. The destruction of our God-awareness was the master blow struck by Satan in the dark day of our transgression.
To give God back to us was the chief work of Christ in redemption. To impart Himself to us in personal experience is the first purpose of God in salvation. To bring acute God-awareness is the best help the Spirit brings in sanctification. All other steps in grace lead up to this.
Were we allowed but one request, we might gain at a stroke all things else by praying one all-embracing prayer: Thyself, Lord! Give me Thyself and I can want no more.
Music For the Soul A Call to Faith and ObedienceIf any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be. - John 12:26 From the beginning Christ’s disciples did not look upon Him as a Rabbi’s disciples did, as being simply a teacher, but recognised Him as the Messias, the Son of God, the King of Israel. So that they were called upon by His commands to accept His teaching in a very special way, not merely as Rittel or Gamaliel asked their disciples to accept theirs. Do you do that? Do you take Him as your illumination about all matters of theoretical truth and of practical wisdom? Is His declaration of God your theology? Is His declaration of His own Person your creed? Do you think about His Cross as He did when He elected to be remembered in all the world by the broken body and the shed blood, which were the symbols of His reconciling death? Is His teaching, that the Son of Man comes to give His life a ransom for many, the ground of your hope? Do you follow Him in your belief, and following Him in your belief, do you accept Him as the Saviour of your soul, by His death and passion? That is the first step, to follow Him, to trust Him wholly for what He is, the Incarnate Son of God, the Sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, and therefore for yours and for mine. This is a call to faith. It is also a call to obedience. "Follow Me! " certainly means, " Do as I bid you "; but that is harsh. Sedulously plant your little feet in His firm footsteps; where you see His track going across the bog, be not afraid to walk after Him, though it may seem to lead you into the deepest and the blackest of it. Follow Him, and you will be right; follow Him, and you will be blessed. Do as Christ did, or as according to the best of your judgment it seems to you that Christ would have done if He had been in your circumstances; and you will not go far wrong. "The Imitation of Christ," which the old anonymous monk wrote his book about, is the sum of all practical Christianity. "Follow Me!" makes discipleship to be something better than intellectual acceptance of His teaching, something more than even reliance for my salvation upon His work. It makes discipleship to be, springing out of these two, the acceptance of His teaching and the consequent reliance, by faith, upon His word - to be a practical reproduction of His character and conduct in mine. It is a call to communion. If a man follows Christ he will walk close behind Him, and near enough to Him to hear Him speak, to be "guided by His eye." He will be separated from other people and from other things. In these four things, then - Faith, Obedience, Imitation, Communion - lies the essence of discipleship. No man is a Christian who has not in some measure all four. Have you got them? Spurgeon: Morning and Evening Jeremiah 3:14 I am married unto you. Christ Jesus is joined unto his people in marriage-union. In love he espoused his Church as a chaste virgin, long before she fell under the yoke of bondage. Full of burning affection he toiled, like Jacob for Rachel, until the whole of her purchase-money had been paid, and now, having sought her by his Spirit, and brought her to know and love him, he awaits the glorious hour when their mutual bliss shall be consummated at the marriage-supper of the Lamb. Not yet hath the glorious Bridegroom presented his betrothed, perfected and complete, before the Majesty of heaven; not yet hath she actually entered upon the enjoyment of her dignities as his wife and queen: she is as yet a wanderer in a world of woe, a dweller in the tents of Kedar; but she is even now the bride, the spouse of Jesus, dear to his heart, precious in his sight, written on his hands, and united with his person. On earth he exercises towards her all the affectionate offices of Husband. He makes rich provision for her wants, pays all her debts, allows her to assume his name, and to share in all his wealth. Nor will he ever act otherwise to her. The word divorce he will never mention, for "He hateth putting away." Death must sever the conjugal tie between the most loving mortals, but it cannot divide the links of this immortal marriage. In heaven they marry not, but are as the angels of God; yet there is this one marvellous exception to the rule, for in Heaven Christ and his Church shall celebrate their joyous nuptials. This affinity as it is more lasting, so is it more near than earthly wedlock. Let the love of husband be never so pure and fervent, it is but a faint picture of the flame which burns in the heart of Jesus. Passing all human union is that mystical cleaving unto the Church, for which Christ left his Father, and became one flesh with her. Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook An Eternal PledgeBetrothment unto the LORD! What an honor and a joy! My soul, is Jesus indeed thine by His own condescending betrothal? Then, mark it is forever. He will never break His engagement, much less sue out a divorce against a soul joined to Himself in marriage bonds. Three times the LORD says, "I will betroth thee." What words He heaps together to set forth the betrothal! Righteousness comes in to make the covenant legal; none can forbid these lawful bans. Judgment sanctions the alliance with its decree: none can see folly or error in the match. Lovingkindness warrants that this is a love union, for without love betrothal is bondage and not blessedness. Meanwhile, mercy smiles and even sings; yea, she multiplies herself into "mercies" because of the abounding grace of this holy union. Faithfulness is the registrar and records the marriage, and the Holy Spirit says "Amen" to it as He promises to teach the betrothal heart all the sacred knowledge needful for its high destiny, What a promise! The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer A Just God and a SaviourGOD cannot part with His justice even to gratify His love; and His justice shines equally with His grace in the present and eternal salvation of our soul. He gave His son for a Substitute, He appointed Him to our Surety, and punished Him in our stead. He justly condemned Him to die, though guiltless, because our sins were imputed to Him; and He justly raised Him from the dead, because our sins had been expiated by Him. His work was perfect, therefore His deliverance was just. He is a just God, and therefore never will exact the same debt of the sinner, which was paid by His surety; nor condemn Him for that for which His Substitute atoned. His justice will shine in our eternal acquittal, and be eternally honoured in our endless salvation. He drew the plan of salvation, sent His Son to execute it, gives His Spirit to put us in possession of the blessing, and at last receives us to Himself, of purest grace. "He saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Mystery of redemption this- All my sins on Christ were laid; Mine offence was reckon’d His; He the great atonement made! Here His justice He displays, While He saves my soul by grace. Bible League: Living His Word His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.— Psalm 105:18-19 ESV Joseph was seventeen when he had dreams that his family would one day bow down to him. (Genesis 37:8). Enraged, Joseph's brothers lied to their father Jacob, saying that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal when they'd really sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:18-20). Jacob believed the lie and insisted that he would not be comforted, lamenting: "No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning" (Genesis 37:35). Fast forward 13 years. Joseph had been tested in Egypt, going through many trials which cultivated patience, then was made second-in-command to Pharoah. He'd actually been "made fruitful in the land of his affliction" (Genesis 41:52). When Jacob's other sons went to Egypt during the famine, and brought back the report that Joseph was truly alive, Jacob was assured of God's grace. The Lord even comforted Jacob in a dream (Genesis 46:2-4). When Jacob finally died, his sons feared that Joseph would now be harsh to them. However, Joseph, having been honed into a patient man, responded, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?" (Genesis 50:19). Joseph was able to glorify God as the only One who erases transgression. One must go directly to God, through the shed blood of Christ, to receive forgiveness of sins once and for all. Eternal life is secure in Christ alone. When Joseph's brothers did bow to him as he dreamed earlier in his life, it was when Joseph was finally prepared to receive them as God would: in mercy. And after all he went through, how could he do so without a God-given portion of patience? Love is patient. When God is preparing to use you in a particular way in the future, He will work to cultivate His character in you, so that you can properly exemplify the attributes of His love. By Jenny Laux, Bible League International contributor, Wisconsin USA Daily Light on the Daily Path Romans 6:10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.Isaiah 53:12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors. Hebrews 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. 1 Peter 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Hebrews 7:24,25 but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. • Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Romans 5:8,9 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. • Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 1 Peter 4:1,2 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, • so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 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 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.Insight Our true value is God's estimate of our worth, not our peers'. Other people evaluate and categorize us according to how we perform, what we achieve, and how we look. Challenge But God cares for us, as he does for all of his creatures, because we belong to him. So we can face life without fear. Devotional Hours Within the Bible The Parable of the SowerMatthew 13:1-9 ; 18-23 Jesus was always teaching. On this particular day His pulpit was a fishing boat, from which He spoke to the multitudes standing on the shore. Perhaps there was a sower somewhere in sight, walking on his field, carrying his bag of grain and slinging his seed broadcast. The sight may have suggested the parable. “Behold, a sower went forth to sow.” Christ Himself is the great Sower but we all are sowers sowers of something. Not all who sow, scatter good seed; there are sowers of evil as well as of good. We should take heed what we sow, for we shall gather the harvest into our own bosom at the last. “ Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap” that, and not something else (Galatians 6:7). In the parable the seed is good it is the Word of God. The soil likewise is good it is all alike, in the same field. The difference is in the condition of the soil . The first thing that strikes us in reading the parable, is the great amount of waste of good there seems to be in the world. On three parts of the soil nothing came to harvest. We think of the enormous waste there is in the Lord’s work, in the precious seed of Divine truth which is scattered in the world. What comes of all the sermons, of all good teaching, of the wholesome words spoken in people’s ears in conversation, of wise sayings in books? What waste of effort there is whenever ever men and women try to do good! Yet we must not be discouraged or hindered in our sowing. We should go on scattering the good seek everywhere, whether it all grows to ripeness or not. Even the seed that seems to fail may do good in some way other than we intended and thus not be altogether lost. The wayside is too hard to take in the seed that falls upon it. There are many lives that are rendered incapable of fruitfulness in the same way. They are trodden down by passing feet. Too many people let their hearts become like an open common. They have no fence about them. They shut nothing out. They read all sorts of books, have all kinds of companions, and allow all manner of vagrant thoughts to troop over the fields. The result is that the hearts, once tender and sensitive to every good influence, become impervious to spiritual impressions. They feel nothing. They sit in church, and the hymns, the Scripture Word and exhortations, the appeals and the prayers fall upon their ears but are not even heard! Or, of they are heard, they are not taken into the mind or heart but lie on the surface. “The birds came.” The birds always follow the sower, and when a seed lies within sight they pick it up. The wicked one “snatches away that which has been sown.” So nothing comes of the seed which falls on the trodden wayside. The lesson at this point is very practical. It teaches our responsibility for the receiving of the truth which touches our life, in whatever way it is brought to us. When we read or listen we should let the word into our heart. We should give attention to it. We should see that it is fixed in our memory. “Your word have I hid in my heart,” said an old psalm writer (Psalm 119:11). The next kind of soil on which the seed fell was stony only a thin layer of soil over a hard rock. There is none of the fault of the trodden wayside here. The seed is readily received and at once begins to grow. But it never comes to anything. The soil is too shallow. The roots get no chance to strike down. The grain starts finely but the hot sun burns up the tender growths because they lack depth of rooting . There are many shallow lives. They are very impressionable. They attend a revival service and straightway they are moved emotionally and begin with great earnestness. But in a few days the effect is all worn off. Life is full of this impulsive zeal or piety which starts off with great glow but soon tires. Many people begin a holy book, read a few chapters, and then drop it and turn to another. They are quick friends, loving at first but it is soon over. One of the pictures of the crucifixion represents the scene of Calvary after the body of Jesus had been taken down and laid away in the grave. The crowd is gone. Only the ghastly memorials of the terrible day remain. Off to one side of the picture is a donkey nibbling at some withered palm branches. Thus the artist pictures the fickleness of human fame. Only five days before, palms were waved in wild exultation as Jesus rode into the city. The goodness of too many people lacks root. The resolves of too many lack purpose. The intentions of too many lack life and energy. There are many shallow lives in which nothing good grows to ripeness. What this soil needs is the breaking up of the rock. What these shallow lives need is a thorough work of penitence, heart-searching and heart-breaking, the deepening of the spiritual life. The third piece of soil in which the seed fell was preoccupied by thorns whose roots never had been altogether extirpated. The soil was neither hard nor shallow but it was too full. The seed began to grow but other things were growing alongside of it, and these, being more rank than the wheat and growing faster, choked it out. Jesus tells us what these thorns of the parable stand for. They are the cares, riches and pleasures of this world. CARES are worries, frets, and distractions. Many people seem almost to enjoy worrying. But worries are among the thorns which crowd out the good. Martha is an illustration of the danger of care (see Luke 10:40, Luke 10:41). There are plenty of modern examples, however, and we scarcely need to recall such an ancient case as hers. RICHES, too, are thorns which often choke out the good in people’s lives. One may be rich and his heart yet remain tender and full of the sweetest and best things. But when the love of money gets into a heart it crowds out the love of God, and the love of man, and all beautiful things. Judas is a fearful example. The story of Demas also illustrates the same danger. A godly man said to a friend: “If you ever see me beginning to get rich, pray for my soul.” The PLEASURES of the world are also thorns which crowd out the good. It is well to have amusements but we must guard lest they come to possess our heart. We are not to live to have pleasures; we are to have pleasures, only to help us to live. The fourth piece of soil was altogether good. It was neither trodden down, nor shallow, nor thorny; it was deep plowed and clean. Into it the seed fell and sank and grew without hindrance. By and by a great harvest waved on the field. This is the ideal for all good farming. The farmer must have his field in condition to receive the seed and to give it a chance to grow. That is all the good seed needs. This is the ideal, too, for all hearing of the Word of God. If only we give it a fair chance in our life it will yield rich blessing. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 36, 37 Psalm 36 -- There is no fear of God before his eyes. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 37 -- David's Psalm of Salvation (1Ki 2) NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 23:1-11 Acts 23 -- Paul before the Sanhedrin; Warned of Plot; Transferred to Caesarea NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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