Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Morning Reading
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.—HEB. 13:5.
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.—Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me.—When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.
Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.—I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.—I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.—My peace I give unto you.
Heb. 13:6.Gen. 28:15. -Deut. 31:6.II Tim. 4:10,16,17. -Psa. 27:10.Matt. 28:20. -Rev. 1:18. -John 14:18. -John 14:27.
Spurgeon's Morning Reading
“Betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Luke 22:48
“The kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Let me be on my guard when the world puts on a loving face, for it will, if possible, betray me as it did my Master, with a kiss. Whenever a man is about to stab religion, he usually professes very great reverence for it. Let me beware of the sleek-faced hypocrisy which is armour-bearer to heresy and infidelity. Knowing the deceivableness of unrighteousness, let me be wise as a serpent to detect and avoid the designs of the enemy. The young man, void of understanding, was led astray by the kiss of the strange woman: may my soul be so graciously instructed all this day, that “the much fair speech” of the world may have no effect upon me. Holy Spirit, let me not, a poor frail son of man, be betrayed with a kiss!
But what if I should be guilty of the same accursed sin as Judas, that son of perdition? I have been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus; I am a member of his visible Church; I sit at the communion table: all these are so many kisses of my lips. Am I sincere in them? If not, I am a base traitor. Do I live in the world as carelessly as others do, and yet make a profession of being a follower of Jesus? Then I must expose religion to ridicule, and lead men to speak evil of the holy name by which I am called. Surely if I act thus inconsistently I am a Judas, and it were better for me that I had never been born. Dare I hope that I am clear in this matter? Then, O Lord, keep me so. O Lord, make me sincere and true. Preserve me from every false way. Never let me betray my Saviour. I do love thee, Jesus, and though I often grieve thee, yet I would desire to abide faithful even unto death. O God, forbid that I should be a high-soaring professor, and then fall at last into the lake of fire, because I betrayed my Master with a kiss.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Genesis 50
50. Death of Jacob and Joseph
50
Then Joseph threw himself on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him.2Joseph commanded the physicians in his service to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel;3they spent forty days in doing this, for that is the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.
4 When the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph addressed the household of Pharaoh, “If now I have found favor with you, please speak to Pharaoh as follows:5My father made me swear an oath; he said, ‘I am about to die. In the tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.’ Now therefore let me go up, so that I may bury my father; then I will return.”6Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,8as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen.9Both chariots and charioteers went up with him. It was a very great company.10When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they held there a very great and sorrowful lamentation; and he observed a time of mourning for his father seven days.11When the Canaanite inhabitants of the land saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning on the part of the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim; it is beyond the Jordan.12Thus his sons did for him as he had instructed them.13They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, the field near Mamre, which Abraham bought as a burial site from Ephron the Hittite.14After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
Joseph Forgives His Brothers
15 Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?”16So they approached Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this instruction before he died,17‘Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.’ Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him.18Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, “We are here as your slaves.”19But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God?20Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.21So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.” In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.
Joseph’s Last Days and Death
22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father’s household; and Joseph lived one hundred ten years.23Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation; the children of Machir son of Manasseh were also born on Joseph’s knees.
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die; but God will surely come to you, and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”25So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying, “When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here.”26And Joseph died, being one hundred ten years old; he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.
New Testament in Four Years - Romans 11:7-10
11. The Remnant of Israel
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,8as it is written,
“God gave them a sluggish spirit,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10
let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and keep their backs forever bent.”
Psalm a Day - Psalm 62
62. Psalm 62
Psalm 62
Song of Trust in God Alone
To the leader: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
3
How long will you assail a person,
will you batter your victim, all of you,
as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4
Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
They take pleasure in falsehood;
they bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse.Selah
5
For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7
On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.Selah
9
Those of low estate are but a breath,
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
10
Put no confidence in extortion,
and set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11
Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12
and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all
according to their work.