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Daily Light's Evening Reading
The Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is.—EXO. 20:11.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.—By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.—Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“He did it with all his heart and prospered.”
2 Chronicles 31:21
This is no unusual occurrence; it is the general rule of the moral universe that those men prosper who do their work with all their hearts, while those are almost certain to fail who go to their labour leaving half their hearts behind them. God does not give harvests to idle men except harvests of thistles, nor is he pleased to send wealth to those who will not dig in the field to find its hid treasure. It is universally confessed that if a man would prosper, he must be diligent in business. It is the same in religion as it is in other things. If you would prosper in your work for Jesus, let it be heart work, and let it be done with all your heart. Put as much force, energy, heartiness, and earnestness into religion as ever you do into business, for it deserves far more. The Holy Spirit helps our infirmities, but he does not encourage our idleness; he loves active believers. Who are the most useful men in the Christian church? The men who do what they undertake for God with all their hearts. Who are the most successful Sabbath-school teachers? The most talented? No; the most zealous; the men whose hearts are on fire, those are the men who see their Lord riding forth prosperously in the majesty of his salvation. Whole-heartedness shows itself in perseverance; there may be failure at first, but the earnest worker will say, “It is the Lord’s work, and it must be done; my Lord has bidden me do it, and in his strength I will accomplish it.” Christian, art thou thus “with all thine heart” serving thy Master? Remember the earnestness of Jesus! Think what heart-work was his! He could say, “The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” When he sweat great drops of blood, it was no light burden he had to carry upon those blessed shoulders; and when he poured out his heart, it was no weak effort he was making for the salvation of his people. Was Jesus in earnest, and are we lukewarm?
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Genesis 40
40. The Cupbearer and the Baker
The Dreams of Two Prisoners
40
Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt.2Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,3and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined.4The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he waited on them; and they continued for some time in custody.5One night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own meaning.6When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled.7So he asked Pharaoh’s officers, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?”8They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me,10and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out and the clusters ripened into grapes.11Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”12Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days;13within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.14But remember me when it is well with you; please do me the kindness to make mention of me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this place.15For in fact I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.”
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head,17and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.”18And Joseph answered, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;19within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a pole; and the birds will eat the flesh from you.”
20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants, and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.21He restored the chief cupbearer to his cupbearing, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand;22but the chief baker he hanged, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.23Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
New Testament in Four Years - Romans 9:10-15
9. God's Sovereign Choice
10Nor is that all; something similar happened to Rebecca when she had conceived children by one husband, our ancestor Isaac.11Even before they had been born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose of election might continue,12not by works but by his call) she was told, “The elder shall serve the younger.”13As it is written,“I have loved Jacob,
but I have hated Esau.”
14 What then are we to say? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!15For he says to Moses,
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
Psalm a Day - Psalm 52
52. Psalm 52
Psalm 52
Judgment on the Deceitful
To the leader. A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
1
Why do you boast, O mighty one,
of mischief done against the godly?
All day long2you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
you worker of treachery.
3
You love evil more than good,
and lying more than speaking the truth.Selah
4
You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.
5
But God will break you down forever;
he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.Selah
6
The righteous will see, and fear,
and will laugh at the evildoer, saying,
7
“See the one who would not take
refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
and sought refuge in wealth!”
8
But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.
9
I will thank you forever,
because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
I will proclaim your name, for it is good.