Dawn 2 Dusk Turn, Look, LiveIn one short sentence, Isaiah 45:22 gives both a command and a promise: God calls every person, from every direction and background, to turn toward Him so that they might be rescued. It is a global invitation with a deeply personal edge. He declares Himself to be the only true God, and ties our salvation to how we respond to that claim. This is not a vague spiritual suggestion; it is a clear, urgent call from the Lord of heaven and earth to your heart today. A Simple Turn, a Total Rescue God says, “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22). Notice how simple the action is: turn. Not “climb,” not “perform,” not “impress”—just turn. The picture is of someone going the wrong way, suddenly realizing the danger, and swiveling around to face the only One who can help. That is what Scripture calls repentance and faith: turning from sin and self, and looking to the Lord who saves. “Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces shall never be ashamed” (Psalm 34:5). This “look” is not a lazy glance; it is a desperate, hope-filled gaze. Jesus connected this verse to Himself when He said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14–15). The Israelites in the desert were healed simply by looking at the bronze serpent in faith. In the same way, we are saved by looking to the crucified and risen Christ. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). One look of true faith at Jesus is enough for God to begin a total rescue in your life. The Only God, the Only Way The second half of Isaiah 45:22 is intensely countercultural: “for I am God, and there is no other”. The Lord does not present Himself as one option among many, but as the only living God. If there were many true gods, you could pick and choose; but if the God of Scripture is the only God, then ignoring Him is not just unwise—it is rebellion. This is why the first commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). Our hearts are always worshiping something; the question is whether we are worshiping the One who truly is. The New Testament presses this even more specifically in the person of Jesus Christ. Peter boldly declared, “Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Jesus Himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). That is not arrogance—it is mercy. If there is truly only one bridge across the canyon, love demands that we say so plainly. The exclusivity of Christ is not a barrier to God’s heart; it is the wide-open door He Himself built at the cost of His own blood. From Every Corner of the Earth to Your Heart Today God’s invitation stretches “to the ends of the earth.” That means no ethnicity, no country, no past, and no sin-pattern puts you beyond the reach of this call. The future scene in heaven proves that God’s call will succeed: “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9). If you have turned to Christ, you are already part of that vast, blood-bought family. If you have not, Isaiah 45:22 is God’s personal summons to you today. How do you respond? Scripture says, “that if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). There is urgency here: “Behold, now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Turning to the Lord is not just a one-time event, but a daily posture—again and again lifting your eyes off yourself, off your fears, off your idols, and fixing them on Christ. Let today be a fresh “turn”: to trust Him more deeply, obey Him more fully, and invite others to join you in looking to the only God who saves. Lord, thank You that when I turn to You, You freely save and never turn me away. Help me today to fix my eyes on Christ and to call others, with courage and love, to turn and be saved. Morning with A.W. Tozer A Believing RemnantWhat is God trying to do with His believing people?-the Bible calls us a remnant according to grace, believers taken out of the great, teeming swarm of so-called religious people in today's world. I am inclined to join others in wondering if the Lord is postponing His coming because He is trying to get His Bride ready? For years it has been the popular idea in evangelical Christianity that the whole body of believers in Christ would rise like a flock of frightened birds when the Lord comes. But A.B. Simpson and William MacArthur and others in the past generation said, "Oh no! The Lord will take with Him those who are prepared and ready for His coming!" I do not presume to give an answer satisfying to everyone in our churches. But I know that many Christians are too smug about this, saying in effect: "I am converted to Christ through grace, so I can live as I please!" Of some things we cannot be dogmatic; but we know this for sure-God has no halfway house between heaven and hell where He takes us to fumigate us! Music For the Soul God Guides His People into WorkHe guideth me in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake. - Psalm 23:3 The quiet mercies of the preceding verse are not in themselves the end of our Shepherd’s guidance; they are means to an end, and that is - work. Life is not a fold for His sheep to he down in, but a road for them to walk on. All our blessings of every sort are indeed given us for our delight. They will never fit us for the duties for which they are intended to prepare us, unless they first be thoroughly enjoyed. The highest good they yield is only reached through the lower one. But, then, when joy fills the heart, and life is bounding in the veins, we have to learn that these are granted, not for pleasure only, but for pleasure in order to power. We get them, not to let them pass away like waste steam puffed into empty air, but that we may use them to drive the wheels of life. The waters of happiness are not for a luxurious bath where a man may lie, till, like flax steeped too long, the very fiber be rotted out of him; a quick plunge will brace him, and he will come out refreshed for work. Rest is to fit for work; work is to sweeten rest. All this is emphatically true of the spiritual life; its seasons of communion, its hours on the mount, are to prepare for the sore sad work in the plain. And he is not the wisest disciple who tries to make the Mount of Transfiguration the abiding place for himself and his Lord. It is not well that our chief object should be to enjoy the consolations of religion; it is better to seek first to do the duties enjoined by religion. Our first question should be, not " How may I enjoy God?" but "How may I glorify Him?" " A single eye to His glory " means that even our comfort and joy in religious exercises shall be subordinated, and, if need were, postponed, to the doing of His will. While, on the one hand, there is no more certain means of enjoying Him than that of humbly seeking to walk in the ways of His commandments, on the other hand, there is nothing more evanescent in its nature than a mere emotion, even though it be that of joy in God, unless it be turned into a spring of action for God. Such emotions, like photographs, vanish from the heart unless they be fixed. Work for God is the way to fix them. Joy in God is the strength of work for God, but work for God is the perpetuation of joy in God. Here is the figurative expression of the great evangelical principle, that works of righteousness must follow, not precede, the restoration of the soul. We are justified, not by works, but for works; or, as the Apostle puts it, which sounds like an echo of this psalm, we are " created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." The basis of obedience is the sense of salvation. We work, not for the assurance of acceptance and forgiveness, but from it. First the restored soul; then the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake who has restored me, and restored me that I may be like Him. Spurgeon: Morning and Evening Psalm 65:11 Thy paths drop fatness. Many are "the paths of the Lord" which "drop fatness," but an especial one is the path of prayer. No believer, who is much in the closet, will have need to cry, "My leanness, my leanness; woe unto me." Starving souls live at a distance from the mercy- seat, and become like the parched fields in times of drought. Prevalence with God in wrestling prayer is sure to make the believer strong--if not happy. The nearest place to the gate of heaven is the throne of the heavenly grace. Much alone, and you will have much assurance; little alone with Jesus, your religion will be shallow, polluted with many doubts and fears, and not sparkling with the joy of the Lord. Since the soul-enriching path of prayer is open to the very weakest saint; since no high attainments are required; since you are not bidden to come because you are an advanced saint, but freely invited if you be a saint at all; see to it, dear reader, that you are often in the way of private devotion. Be much on your knees, for so Elijah drew the rain upon famished Israel's fields. There is another especial path dropping with fatness to those who walk therein, it is the secret walk of communion. Oh! the delights of fellowship with Jesus! Earth hath no words which can set forth the holy calm of a soul leaning on Jesus' bosom. Few Christians understand it, they live in the lowlands and seldom climb to the top of Nebo: they live in the outer court, they enter not the holy place, they take not up the privilege of priesthood. At a distance they see the sacrifice, but they sit not down with the priest to eat thereof, and to enjoy the fat of the burnt offering. But, reader, sit thou ever under the shadow of Jesus; come up to that palm tree, and take hold of the branches thereof; let thy beloved be unto thee as the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, and thou shalt be satisfied as with marrow and fatness. O Jesus, visit us with thy salvation! Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook Tears, Then Joyful HarvestWeeping times are suitable for sowing: we do not want the ground to be too dry. Seed steeped in the tears of earnest anxiety will come up all the sooner. The salt of prayerful tears will give the good seed a flavor which will preserve it from the worm: truth spoken in awful earnestness has a double life about it. Instead of stopping our sowing because of our weeping, let us redouble our efforts because the season is so propitious. Our heavenly seed could not fitly be sown laughing. Deep sorrow and concern for the souls of others are a far more fit accompaniment of godly teaching than anything like levity. We have heard of men who went to war with a light heart, but they were beaten; and it is mostly so with those who sow in the same style. Come, then, my heart, sow on in thy weeping, for thou has the promise of a joyful harvest. Thou shalt reap. Thou, thyself, shalt see some results of thy labor. This shall come to thee in so large a measure as to give thee joy, which a poor, withered, and scanty harvest would not do. When thine eyes are dim with silver tears, think of the golden corn. Bear cheerfully the present toil and disappointment; for the harvest day will fully recompense thee. The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer I Will Call Upon Thee, for Thou Wilt Answer Me.Such was David’s purpose, and such his assurance; and we have the same warrant for confidence as he had. Our God will answer prayer. Let us inquire what is necessary, in order to the assurance that our God will answer us. We must really mean what we say when we pray. We must pray for a definite object. We must pray in accordance with the will of God, as revealed in His promises and precepts. We must pray in submission to the will of God, as to the time when, and the means by which He will answer us. We must heartily desire what we pray for. Our motives must be pure, as that God may be glorified, sin subdued, and Jesus exalted. We must pray with importunity and perseverance. We must offer all our prayers in the name of Jesus, and expect them to be accepted and honoured only for His sake. There must be no sin indulged; for if we indulge iniquity in our hearts, God will not hear our prayer. We must pray in faith, believing that God is, and that He is the rewarder of all them who diligently seek Him. Lord, on me Thy Spirit pour, Turn the stony heart to flesh: And begin from this good hour, To revive Thy work afresh: Lord, revive me! All my help must come from Thee. Bible League: Living His Word Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD."— Jeremiah 17:5 NKJV Who do you trust — the Lord, or people? The question pertains to the kind of trust mentioned in our verse for today. That is, it pertains to religious trust. Religious trust is the kind of trust you put into practice in the final analysis, when all is said and done, and at the end of the matter. It's the kind of trust you give on an unqualified and ultimate basis to that which you take to be worthy of such trust. Religious trust is something more than the kind of trust we ordinarily place in created things. Everyone places trust in created things — more or less, from time to time, and on a limited and qualified basis. Indeed, you have to do it. For example, you have to trust the person you hire to fix your car. You have to trust your spouse to be faithful. You have to trust the alarm clock to wake you up at the right time. You have to trust all sorts of things. Our question, however, is not about ordinary trust, but religious trust. Who do you trust over and above everything else and in an unqualified way: created things, like people, or the Lord? When it is put in this way it is difficult to believe that anyone would ever place religious trust in created things. Created things, people in particular, are just too untrustworthy. You have to trust them on occasion and from time to time, but not on an unqualified and ultimate basis, not without checks and balances. Nevertheless, that's what our verse for today accuses some people of doing. Some people put religious trust in people. It's pathetic, really. But what else can they do? If you reject the Lord, if you depart from Him, the only focus left for your religious trust is something created. The only focus left is something not worthy of religious trust. You're forced to elevate something created to a God-like status it doesn't deserve. Actually, it's worse than pathetic. It's downright sinful. It's the sinful focus of religious trust on something not worthy of it. Moreover, it's the failure to glorify and honor the One who actually is worthy of religious trust. (Romans 1:21). It's the failure to glorify and honor the Lord. That's why there are curses for doing it. You can't disrespect the Lord God of heaven and earth and expect to get away with it. Daily Light on the Daily Path John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.Exodus 24:8 So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." Leviticus 17:11 'For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.' Hebrews 10:4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Mark 14:24 And He said to them, "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Hebrews 9:12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. Colossians 1:20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. 1 Peter 1:18-20 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, • but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. • For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you Ezekiel 36:25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 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 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!Insight The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by-products of Christ's control—we can't obtain them by trying to get them without his help. Challenge If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our lives to his. We must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him. As a result, we will fulfill the intended purpose of the law—to love God and our neighbors. Which of these qualities do you want the Spirit to produce in you? Devotional Hours Within the Bible Abstaining for the Sake of Others“Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up but love builds up.” When Paul said to the Corinthians that “knowledge puffs up,” he did not mean to depreciate knowledge, nor was he glorifying ignorance. Knowledge builds up, too. He who is content to be ignorant in this world while the stores of knowledge are accessible, fails to grasp the meaning of life. Knowledge makes one’s life broader and deeper and adds to one’s power of usefulness. But there is a knowledge, which makes a man cold, haughty and proud. He stalks through the world, thinking only of himself, without regard to others. He knows his Christian liberty and he thinks no further about it. He says it is no business of his, if any weaker Christians are hurt. They ought not to be so weak. It is all nonsense for them to keep their old superstitions. They cannot expect him to limit his privileges by their narrow scruples. He is going to exercise his liberty without regard to any such childish whims. We may apply the principle to the matter of temperance. A man claims his right to take a glass of wine at dinner. He has always done it, and it has never hurt him. All around him are those who are not so strong as he is. His example may lead them into a course, which will be ruinous in the end. But he knows he has a right to his wine, and that it will do him no harm; so he refuses to think of others. They have no right to be “weak” in this intellectual age. Thus mere “knowledge” puffs up, makes one haughty, vain, coldly selfish. But while, “knowledge puffs up,” “love builds up.” Love may know just as much as knowledge does. The man who has Christian love, knows that there is no harm in eating theses meats. But he knows also that there are Christians only recently converted, who think differently. If he asserts his privilege, he knows it will grieve them, and also may lead them to violate their conscience and thus start on a course of sin, which will end in the loss of their souls. This man, with love as well as knowledge, thinks of other people, and denies himself his liberty rather than harm them by his example. In the case of wine, this same man may feel just as confident as the other of the harmlessness to himself of his glass of drink; but he knows that not all are fortified as he is against the dangers of the wine cup, and he believes Christian love requires him to deny himself rather than put the least danger before any weaker person. He does not talk haughtily about his “rights” and “liberty.” He believes that it is his business to limit his privileges for the sake of his weaker brethren. Even knowledge depends upon love, “if any man loves God the same is known by Him.” We cannot know any person truly, unless we love the person. Mere knowledge sees people critically, sees their faults, the blemishes in them, the mistakes they make, the evil things they do but sees not the good. It takes love, mingled with knowledge to see people as they really are. We should have patience with all men. We should be charitable to all, and charity covers a multitude of sins. Our Lord’s own teaching is, “Judge not that you be not judged.” If only we would see people through eyes of love we would ofttimes find beauty, where now we find only spot and stain. One of the old legends of Jesus, says that as He and the disciples walked one day they saw a dead dog lying by the wayside. The disciples turned with loathing from the dead creature but Jesus remarked, “What beautiful teeth this animal has!” He saw beauty even amid the ruin and loathsomeness of death. An eye for the good and beautiful in others is a mark of a fine, loving character. We never can be of much use in the world until we learn this lesson. Charity should make us mindful of others, who have not the same advantages as we have. Certain things may do us no harm but those very things may do harm to others. The harm is in the influence of example on those whose “conscience being weak, is defiled.” Being influenced by the example of the strong Christian, they do that which they regard as wrong. Thus they sin against God. This meat sacrificed to idols question, which disturbed the Corinthians, will not come up in our modern church life but there are other applications of the same principle. It touches all personal liberty in matters involving no moral wrong. May a man drink wine? How richly may a Christian woman dress at church? How fine a residence may a Christian man build and live in? What games and amusements may Christian people enjoy? There are some things which we must never yield. We must never violate a moral principle, even to please some other one. We have no right to break any commandment of God, for anybody’s sake. It is only in matters involving no moral principle that we are to be ready to yield our liberty. It is no recommendation of us in God’s sight that we do or do not eat certain kinds of food. The laws of diet are not moral laws. We must be ready, therefore, to deny ourselves things that we like if the using of them will do harm to others. The example of the strong, emboldens the weak to do that which he himself thinks to be wrong; and when a man once violates his conscience, he has broken down the fence and started on a course the end of which may be destruction. It is a terrible thing to do even the slightest wrong. Jesus said to those who cause others to stumble, “Whoever shall cause one of these little ones who believe on me to stumble, it would be better for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea!” Such startling words from the Master’s own lips, should make us tremble at the very thought of causing another to stumble. He may stumble into hell and it will be our fault! We must see to it that never through our knowledge, that is through our selfishness in determining not to give up a privilege, does “he who is weak” perish, “the brother for whose sake Christ died.” It does not mean that we tempt the other to some great sin but that we forget that he may be influenced by our example. Thus we see the importance of example. We dare not strut through this world, doing just as we please, as if it mattered not, as if it were no one else’s affair. We must walk softly, ever asking ourselves what the effect of our walk will be upon others. Paul laid down a principle for all time when he said, “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.” Elsewhere he says, “It is good not to eat flesh, not to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby your brother stumbles.” This was Paul’s application of the law of love. He would rather, as long as he lived, forego the exercise of a personal right, the indulgence of a personal taste than run the risk of causing another to sin. It is good not to drink wine, however harmless one may think it to be if it may make another stumble. Here we have a good temperance motive. Suppose that a man is satisfied that he has a right to drink moderately, and that he can do so with perfect safety to himself and without sinning; but suppose also that his example may cause others who are weaker to drink, and that they will drink to the destruction of their souls. What does this principle of Paul’s say to this man? Very clearly, that he should forego his liberty forever rather than cause his brother to do wrong. The application is very wide, referring to every possible cause: “It is good not to do anything whereby your brother stumbles.” Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingIsaiah 65, 66 Isaiah 65 -- Judgment; Salvation; New heavens and a New earth NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Isaiah 66 -- Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; Rejoice with Jerusalem NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 2 Thessalonians 1 2 Thessalonians 1 -- Thanksgiving for Faith, Love, and Patience NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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