Dawn 2 Dusk A Guarded Spring in a Thirsty WorldThe wisdom of Proverbs tells us that the inner life is not a side issue; it is the source from which everything else in our lives flows. The verse for today calls us to pay careful, intentional attention to the state of our hearts because our words, choices, habits, and even our worship rise out of what is happening there. We live in a world that constantly reaches for our affections and our focus, but God calls us to something more watchful, more purposeful, and far more life-giving. The True Condition of the Heart Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life”. In Scripture, the heart is not just your emotions; it is the control center of your thinking, desiring, and choosing. What you love, what you fear, what you hope in, what you daydream about—that is your heart. This is why the verse doesn’t say, “Glance at your heart once in a while,” but “Guard your heart with all diligence.” There is to be an alertness, a seriousness, as if you were protecting something priceless from an enemy who wants to steal it. But the Bible is also honest about the problem. By nature, our hearts are not neutral. Jeremiah 17:9–10 exposes us: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart; I test the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve”. On our own, we cannot trust our hearts; we need God to remake them. That is exactly what He promises: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). Guarding your heart begins with receiving from God a new heart through faith in Christ. Building Holy Walls Around the Spring If your heart is the spring, then what you allow to flow into it will color everything that comes out. Guarding your heart is not about cold rule-keeping; it is about protecting your deepest loves. It means paying attention to what you watch, what you scroll through, the voices you let shape your opinions, and the people you allow to speak most into your life. Philippians 4:7–8 says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things”. God’s peace guards our hearts even as we actively direct our minds toward what pleases Him. This kind of guarding is deeply practical. It might mean limiting influences that constantly stir up envy, lust, anger, or cynicism. It will certainly mean filling your heart with God’s truth. “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). It also involves your thought life: “We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Guarding your heart is not retreat from the world; it is being transformed in the middle of it: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Letting Living Water Flow Out God does not want your heart to be a sealed tank, but a clean, overflowing spring. When your heart is guarded and filled with His Word and His Spirit, life doesn’t just stay inside you—it spills out. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him’” (John 7:38). That means your reactions, your tone, your decisions, your private moments and public words all become channels for His life to touch others. You are either refreshing the people around you or draining them, and it all traces back to what is going on in your heart. Jesus also said, “The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). So ask: What does my speech reveal about my heart? My social media? My conversations at home? Guarding your heart is not about pretending to be better than you are; it is about inviting God to do honest, searching work within you. Make Psalm 139:23–24 your daily posture: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting”. As He purifies the spring, the waters that flow from your life will begin to look more like Jesus. Lord, thank You for giving me a new heart in Christ; today, by Your Spirit, help me to guard what enters my heart and to let Your life and truth flow out to everyone around me. Morning with A.W. Tozer Distorting Word MeaningThe constant use of biblical terms to express non-biblical concepts is now common. Yet not everyone who misuses religious words is guilty of wrong intent. For two full generations the habit of emptying words of one meaning and refilling them with another has been taking place among the churches; so it is quite natural that many sincere ministers should engage in theological double-talk without knowing it.
Certain biblical words along with certain theological terms embody what God has given to be intellectually grasped by man. It is critically important that the same word should mean the same thing to everyone in a given language group. To permit a change in meaning is to invite disaster. To preserve life the physician and the druggist use words of fixed meaning common to both. How much more should the pulpit and the pew have a clear understanding about the words of eternal life.
The modern effort to popularize the Christian faith has been extremely damaging to that faith. The purpose has been to simplify truth for the masses by using the language of the masses instead of the language of the church. It has not succeeded, but has added to rather than diminished religious confusion. Music For the Soul All Strength in ChristAs therefore ye received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him rooted and builded up in Him, and stablished in your faith. - Colossians 2:6. Speak we of strength? Christ is the type of strength. Of beauty? He is the perfection of beauty. And it is only as we keep close to Him that our lives will be all fair with the reflected loveliness of His, and strong with the communicated power of His grace - " strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." If we are to set forth anything,in our daily lives, of this strength, remember our lives must be rooted in, as well as bedewed by, God. Hosea’s emblems, beautiful and instructive as they are, do not reach to the deep truth set forth in still holier and sweeter words. " I am the Vine, ye are branches." The union of Christ and His people is closer than that between dew and plant. Our growth results from the communication of His own life to us. Therefore is the command stringent and obedience to it blessed, "Abide in Me - for apart from Me, ye can do" - and are - " nothing." Let us remember that the loftier the top of the tree the wider the spread of its sheaves of dark foliage; if it is steadfastly to stand, immovable by the loud winds when they call, the deeper must its roots strike into the firm earth. If your life is to be a fair temple-palace, worthy of God’s dwelling in, if it is to be impregnable to assault, there must be quite as much masonry underground as above, as is the case in great old buildings and palaces. And such a life must be a life "hid with Christ in God." Then it will be strong. When we strike our roots deep into Him, our branch also shall not wither, and our leaf shall be green, and all that we do shall prosper. The wicked are not so. They are like chaff- rootless, fruitless, lifeless, which the wind driveth away. "Apart from Me ye can do nothing." There is the condemnation of all the busy life of men which is not lived in union with Jesus Christ. It is a long row of figures which, like some other long rows of figures added up, amount just to zero. "Without Me- nothing." All your busy life, when you come to sum it up, is made up of plus and minus quantities, which precisely balance each other; and the net result, unless you are in Christ, is just nothing; and on your gravestones the only right epitaph is a great round cypher - " He did not do anything. There is nothing left of his toil; the whole thing has evaporated and disappeared." That is life apart from Jesus Christ. Separate from Christ the individual shrivels, and the possibilities of fair buds wither and set into no fruit. And no man is the man he might have been unless he holds by Jesus Christ and lets His life come into him. Spurgeon: Morning and Evening 2 Corinthians 12:9 My grace is sufficient for thee. If none of God's saints were poor and tried, we should not know half so well the consolations of divine grace. When we find the wanderer who has not where to lay his head, who yet can say, "Still will I trust in the Lord;" when we see the pauper starving on bread and water, who still glories in Jesus; when we see the bereaved widow overwhelmed in affliction, and yet having faith in Christ, oh! what honor it reflects on the gospel. God's grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers. Saints bear up under every discouragement, believing that all things work together for their good, and that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring--that their God will either work a deliverance for them speedily, or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as long as he is pleased to keep them in it. This patience of the saints proves the power of divine grace. There is a lighthouse out at sea: it is a calm night--I cannot tell whether the edifice is firm; the tempest must rage about it, and then I shall know whether it will stand. So with the Spirit's work: if it were not on many occasions surrounded with tempestuous waters, we should not know that it was true and strong; if the winds did not blow upon it, we should not know how firm and secure it was. The master-works of God are those men who stand in the midst of difficulties, stedfast, unmoveable,-- "Calm mid the bewildering cry, Confident of victory." He who would glorify his God must set his account upon meeting with many trials. No man can be illustrious before the Lord unless his conflicts be many. If then, yours be a much-tried path, rejoice in it, because you will the better show forth the all-sufficient grace of God. As for his failing you, never dream of it--hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end. Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook Honor GodDo I make the honor of God the great object of my life and the rule of my conduct? If so, He will honor me. I may for a while receive no honor from man, but God will Himself put honor upon me in the most effectual manner. In the end it will be found the surest way to honor to be willing to be put to shame for conscience’ sake. Eli had not honored the LORD by ruling his household well, and his sons had not honored the LORD by behavior worthy of their sacred office, and therefore the LORD did not honor them but took the high priesthood out of their family and made young Samuel to be ruler in the land instead of any of their tine. If I would have my family ennobled, I must honor the LORD in all things. God may allow the wicked to win worldly honors; but the dignity which He Himself gives, even glory, honor, and immortality, He reserves for those who by holy obedience take care to honor Him. What can I do this day to honor the LORD? I will promote His glory by my spoken testimony and by my practical obedience, I will also honor Him with my substance and by offering to Him some special service. Let me sit down and think how I can honor Him, since He will honor me. The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer Only BelieveTHAT is take God at His word. Give Him credit for meaning what He says, for being faithful to His own word; and then what will become of your fears? God speaks to you in language which you can understand; He promises all you can possibly need; He bids you put Him in remembrance, and plead with Him; and He pledges His character for the comfort of your heart. If you believe not, you make God a liar; you bring darkness on your own soul; you give Satan an occasion against you; and a thousand fears, doubts, and suspicions distress you. Is it any wonder? Can you offer a greater insult to God than deliberately to disbelieve His word? But you ask, Are the promises made to me? Yes, to every one that believeth, and to you if you believe. And the Spirit is promised to work faith in your heart; complain not then of the difficulty of believing, or of the power of unbelief; but go to thy God, and plead with Him, crying, "Lord, increase my faith:" and go to His word, as to the word of a gracious Father, and endeavour to believe it. O that closer I could cleave To Thy bleeding, dying breast! Give me firmly to believe, And to enter into rest: Lord, increase, increase my faith; Make me faithful unto death. Bible League: Living His Word "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." — Luke 10:20 NKJV In Luke 10, the Lord Jesus sends out 70 of His followers to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God to them. Jesus motivates their mission with the well-known words, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few" (v. 2). Although 70 people stand ready to fulfill the commission, Jesus says more workers are needed. Today, this reminder is as relevant as it was in the days of the New Testament. Therefore, pause a while now and "pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Matthew 9:38). While re-reading this chapter, it struck me that Luke writes that Jesus sent the disciples "before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go" (Luke 10:1). I think that is an essential reminder for us as we put ourselves at His disposal. We go where He is about to go. We don't plan out our missionary activities, He does! It's a lesson in dependence, too, but not without a promise: they go "before His face." He sees them when they go out. He follows them with His eyes. We can trust that the LORD will make His face shine upon us (Numbers 6:25) as we go out in His service. The 70 heal the sick, preach the kingdom, and when they return, they are full of joy. "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name," they say in verse 17. Jesus' response is surprising. "Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you." What? They can't rejoice? They are so excited about the great things they have done in His name, but Jesus doesn't want them to rejoice. Why? Could it be that the danger of boasting lurked? The Apostle Paul warns a lot about boasting, so that's definitely something we need to be cautious about. Or maybe the 70 focused too much on the spectacular things that happened, losing sight of what really mattered? That certainly is a pitfall, even today. Our hearts are prone to excitement about miracles, signs, and wonders. Yes, these occur in the work of God's kingdom, but they are not objectives in themselves. Jesus teaches us what really matters. He says, "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." What really matters is that Jesus has brought us salvation through His death and resurrection. Jesus has opened the entrance to heaven for us. Through Him, our names are in the Book of Life. That is our paramount source of joy! Anything else, however exciting, is subordinate to the unfathomable miracle of eternal salvation. Let us rejoice that our names are written in heaven, and may we be instruments in the Lord's hands to add more names to the Book of Life so that His house may be filled (Luke 14:23)! By Anton de Vreugd, Bible League International staff, the Netherlands Daily Light on the Daily Path Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.1 John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. • "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; • for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 2 Corinthians 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight-- 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. • For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, • while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 1 Peter 1:4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 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 For he issued his laws to Jacob;he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, Insight God commanded that the stories of his mighty acts in Israel's history—and his laws—be passed on from parents to children. This shows the purpose and importance of religious education: to help each generation obey God and set its hope on him. It is important to keep children from repeating the same mistakes as their ancestors. Challenge What are you doing to pass on the history of God's work to the next generation? Devotional Hours Within the Bible The King in Zion“Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. “Let us break their chains,” they say, “and throw off their fetters.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed.” Men have always been ready to conspire against God. They think of Him as like themselves, as one they can oppose, one whose authority they can reject. To us, with our thought of God as the glorious King of all the world, opposition to Him is the worst folly. What can puny man do to resist God’s power, or to interfere with His sway? Yet evermore does heaven behold the spectacle described in the opening of this Psalm: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” There are two possible meanings in this “Why?” It may suggest the folly of such opposition. Or it may indicate the enormity of it. It does seem strange that the world so hates God. What has He ever done to hurt anyone? If He were a cruel despot, like many of earth’s own kings it would not be strange if men hated Him. If He were a Nero, or a Caligula, or a Diocletian, or a Napoleon, it would not be surprising if the nations dreaded Him and if His name aroused rage. But never was there any other king so gentle, so loving. The prophet foretold the reign of the Messiah as most kindly and gracious. He would not break a bruised reed. He would not lift up His voice in the street. He would not strive nor cry out. He comes not to destroy men’s lives but to save them. His reign is one of love. A glance over the pages of the Gospels will show us how He fulfilled the Messianic prediction. He went about doing good, healing all manner of sickness, comforting sorrow. The “program of Christianity,” the work of Christ in this world, is mapped out in these words of the prophet Isaiah: “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Does it not seem strange, therefore, that the mention of the name of Christ causes such rage among the nations and peoples of the world? Why do the people not love Him? Why does the gentleness of His reign not win men to loyalty and affection? What is there in Him that makes the world dislike Him? Yet from the day He came into the world unto the present He has been rejected and despised. When Herod heard of the birth of the King he trembled with anger and slew all the infants of the town in which He was said to be, in hope of destroying the hated One . All through His life it was the same. He did nothing but good, and yet the rulers ceased not to plot against Him, until at last they nailed Him to the cross! It is not otherwise today. The gospel breathes only love, and yet it is met by many with hate, scorn, and rage. Why is it? Why do the nations rage? “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” The words tell of revolt. They will defy His rule and cut themselves off from obedience to Him. They treat Him as if His rule were cruel and inhuman. “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh! The Lord shall have them in derision.” The picture of God sitting on His throne in heaven, laughing at man’s puny efforts to frustrate His plans is a very striking one. It suggests to us the calm quiet of God in the face of men’s opposition. Can a man put up his hand and arrest the lightning bolt as it flies athwart the sky? Can he stand beside the sea and with his puny arm hurl back the waves that come rolling from the great deep? And can man resist omnipotence or defeat the divine purpose? Look at the outcome of Herod’s plot to kill the infant Jesus. What came of the rage of the Jewish rulers who finally nailed Jesus on the cross? It only carried out God’s counsel and exalted Him to be a Prince and a Savior. So always, persecution has but advanced Christianity, not destroying it, not hindering its progress. The rage of infidels has resulted in strengthening what they sought to destroy. We need not be afraid, when the enemies of Christ seem to triumph. God is not disturbed on His throne. His plans go on in unbroken fulfillment. He laughs at men’s plots and schemes against Him. “Ask of me, and I shall give you the heathen for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.” It is a suggestive thought that even this Son of God, exalted on His throne, must ask for the inheritance that was promised to Him. We get the lesson that no blessing comes to us but through our own prayer. The clearest, plainest promises must be taken up and claimed. They are checks which must be presented at the bank, before payment will be made. Promises do not mean anything to us until they are believed and then pleaded before God. We know that Christ claimed the Father’s promise. Before He ascended He said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Paul tells us that having humbled Himself to death on the cross, God has also exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord. So all nations are Christ’s. He is the rightful King of all lands. This ought to be an encouraging truth for all missionaries, and in all missionary work. India and China and Africa and the islands of the sea belong to Christ. They have been given to Him by His Father. In going into those lands and preaching the gospel, the missionary is but claiming Christ’s own for Him. So in offering Christ to any man and asking him to accept Him as Savior and Lord, we are only asking one of Christ’s rightful subjects to own his allegiance, to receive his true King. This word has also its glorious assurance of the success of Christ’s kingdom on the earth. God will surely give Him the nations for His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession, because He has promised to do so. Not a Word of God can ever be broken. Heaven and earth may pass away but not the smallest of God’s Words shall ever pass away. “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in him.” The only true and wise thing to do is to submit in love and reverence to this glorious King. Those who will not yield to Him, shall be broken with a rod of iron. Gentle as He is, He is also just. Defiance of Christ can have only one outcome. It can end only in the utter destruction of those who lift up their hands in rebellion. Easily as a potter’s vessel is dashed in pieces when hurled against the rock shall the proudest human strength be crushed and destroyed by the power of Christ! Submission, therefore, to this heaven-ordained King is the only wise course for anyone. Submission brings life and great gladness. “Blessed are all those who put their trust in him.” He makes them joint-heirs with Him. They sit with Him on His throne. They enjoy all the privileges of sonship. “All are yours; and you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.” We should all therefore submit to Christ, the Son of God, and become His subjects. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingNumbers 32, 33 Numbers 32 -- Reubenites and Gadites Settle in Gilead NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Numbers 33 -- Summary of Israel's Journey NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Mark 10:1-31 Mark 10 -- Divorce; Let the little children; Rich Young Ruler; Jesus Predicts His Death; James and John's Request; Blind Bart NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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