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Daily Light's Evening Reading
Let us not be desirous of vain glory.—GAL. 5:26.
Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not.—Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh.
Let nothing be done, through strife or vain glory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.—Charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not pufied up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me.
Judg. 8:24,25,27.Jer. 45:5. -II Cor. 12:7.Phi. 2:3. -I Cor. 13:4,5.Matt. 11:29.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“Afterward.”
Hebrews 12:11
How happy are tried Christians, afterwards. No calm more deep than that which succeeds a storm. Who has not rejoiced in clear shinings after rain? Victorious banquets are for well-exercised soldiers. After killing the lion we eat the honey; after climbing the Hill Difficulty, we sit down in the arbour to rest; after traversing the Valley of Humiliation, after fighting with Apollyon, the shining one appears, with the healing branch from the tree of life. Our sorrows, like the passing keels of the vessels upon the sea, leave a silver line of holy light behind them “afterwards.” It is peace, sweet, deep peace, which follows the horrible turmoil which once reigned in our tormented, guilty souls. See, then, the happy estate of a Christian! He has his best things last, and he therefore in this world receives his worst things first. But even his worst things are “afterward” good things, harsh ploughings yielding joyful harvests. Even now he grows rich by his losses, he rises by his falls, he lives by dying, and becomes full by being emptied; if, then, his grievous afflictions yield him so much peaceable fruit in this life, what shall be the full vintage of joy “afterwards” in heaven? If his dark nights are as bright as the world’s days, what shall his days be? If even his starlight is more splendid than the sun, what must his sunlight be? If he can sing in a dungeon, how sweetly will he sing in heaven! If he can praise the Lord in the fires, how will he extol him before the eternal throne! If evil be good to him now, what will the overflowing goodness of God be to him then? Oh, blessed “afterward!” Who would not be a Christian? Who would not bear the present cross for the crown which cometh afterwards? But herein is work for patience, for the rest is not for today, nor the triumph for the present, but “afterward.” Wait, O soul, and let patience have her perfect work.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Leviticus 14
14. Cleansing from Diseases
Purification of Lepers and Leprous Houses
14
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:2This shall be the ritual for the leprous person at the time of his cleansing:
He shall be brought to the priest;3the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall make an examination. If the disease is healed in the leprous person,4the priest shall command that two living clean birds and cedarwood and crimson yarn and hyssop be brought for the one who is to be cleansed.5The priest shall command that one of the birds be slaughtered over fresh water in an earthen vessel.6He shall take the living bird with the cedarwood and the crimson yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water.7He shall sprinkle it seven times upon the one who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease; then he shall pronounce him clean, and he shall let the living bird go into the open field.8The one who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall live outside his tent seven days.9On the seventh day he shall shave all his hair: of head, beard, eyebrows; he shall shave all his hair. Then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean.
10 On the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish, and a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil, and one log of oil.11The priest who cleanses shall set the person to be cleansed, along with these things, before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting.12The priest shall take one of the lambs, and offer it as a guilt offering, along with the log of oil, and raise them as an elevation offering before the Lord.13He shall slaughter the lamb in the place where the sin offering and the burnt offering are slaughtered in the holy place; for the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest: it is most holy.14The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot.15The priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand,16and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the Lord.17Some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering.18The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the Lord:19the priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Afterward he shall slaughter the burnt offering;20and the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement on his behalf and he shall be clean.
21 But if he is poor and cannot afford so much, he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be elevated, to make atonement on his behalf, and one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil for a grain offering and a log of oil;22also two turtledoves or two pigeons, such as he can afford, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.23On the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, before the Lord;24and the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall raise them as an elevation offering before the Lord.25The priest shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering and shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot.26The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand,27and shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord.28The priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot, where the blood of the guilt offering was placed.29The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement on his behalf before the Lord.30And he shall offer, of the turtledoves or pigeons such as he can afford,31one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, along with a grain offering; and the priest shall make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one being cleansed.32This is the ritual for the one who has a leprous disease, who cannot afford the offerings for his cleansing.
33 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
34 When you come into the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a leprous disease in a house in the land of your possession,35the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, “There seems to me to be some sort of disease in my house.”36The priest shall command that they empty the house before the priest goes to examine the disease, or all that is in the house will become unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to inspect the house.37He shall examine the disease; if the disease is in the walls of the house with greenish or reddish spots, and if it appears to be deeper than the surface,38the priest shall go outside to the door of the house and shut up the house seven days.39The priest shall come again on the seventh day and make an inspection; if the disease has spread in the walls of the house,40the priest shall command that the stones in which the disease appears be taken out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city.41He shall have the inside of the house scraped thoroughly, and the plaster that is scraped off shall be dumped in an unclean place outside the city.42They shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and take other plaster and plaster the house.
43 If the disease breaks out again in the house, after he has taken out the stones and scraped the house and plastered it,44the priest shall go and make inspection; if the disease has spread in the house, it is a spreading leprous disease in the house; it is unclean.45He shall have the house torn down, its stones and timber and all the plaster of the house, and taken outside the city to an unclean place.46All who enter the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening;47and all who sleep in the house shall wash their clothes; and all who eat in the house shall wash their clothes.
48 If the priest comes and makes an inspection, and the disease has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, the priest shall pronounce the house clean; the disease is healed.49For the cleansing of the house he shall take two birds, with cedarwood and crimson yarn and hyssop,50and shall slaughter one of the birds over fresh water in an earthen vessel,51and shall take the cedarwood and the hyssop and the crimson yarn, along with the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times.52Thus he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the fresh water, and with the living bird, and with the cedarwood and hyssop and crimson yarn;53and he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the open field; so he shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.
54 This is the ritual for any leprous disease: for an itch,55for leprous diseases in clothing and houses,56and for a swelling or an eruption or a spot,57to determine when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the ritual for leprous diseases.
New Testament in Four Years - 1 Corinthians 6:12-17
6. Lawsuits Among Believers
Glorify God in Body and Spirit
12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.13“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food,” and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.14And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!16Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall be one flesh.”17But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 105:31-45
105. Psalm 105
31
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
32
He gave them hail for rain,
and lightning that flashed through their land.
33
He struck their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
34
He spoke, and the locusts came,
and young locusts without number;
35
they devoured all the vegetation in their land,
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36
He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the first issue of all their strength.
37
Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
38
Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.
39
He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40
They asked, and he brought quails,
and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
41
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
42
For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.
43
So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44
He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
45
that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!