Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Morning Reading
Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.—COL. 3:1.
Get wisdom, get understanding.—The wisdom that is from above.—The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.—We are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.
Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.—God . . . hath quickened us together with Christ, . . . and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
They that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.—Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness.
Prov. 4:5. -Jas. 3:17. -Job 28:14. -Rom. 6:4,5.Heb. 12:1. -Eph. 2:4-6.Heb. 11:14. -Zeph. 2:3.
Spurgeon's Morning Reading
“And when he thought thereon, he wept.”
Mark 14:72
It has been thought by some that as long as Peter lived, the fountain of his tears began to flow whenever he remembered his denying his Lord. It is not unlikely that it was so, for his sin was very great, and grace in him had afterwards a perfect work. This same experience is common to all the redeemed family according to the degree in which the Spirit of God has removed the natural heart of stone. We, like Peter, remember our boastful promise: “Though all men shall forsake thee, yet will not I.” We eat our own words with the bitter herbs of repentance. When we think of what we vowed we would be, and of what we have been, we may weep whole showers of grief. He thought on his denying his Lord. The place in which he did it, the little cause which led him into such heinous sin, the oaths and blasphemies with which he sought to confirm his falsehood, and the dreadful hardness of heart which drove him to do so again and yet again. Can we, when we are reminded of our sins, and their exceeding sinfulness, remain stolid and stubborn? Will we not make our house a Bochim, and cry unto the Lord for renewed assurances of pardoning love? May we never take a dry-eyed look at sin, lest ere long we have a tongue parched in the flames of hell. Peter also thought upon his Master's look of love. The Lord followed up the cock’s warning voice with an admonitory look of sorrow, pity, and love. That glance was never out of Peter’s mind so long as he lived. It was far more effectual than ten thousand sermons would have been without the Spirit. The penitent apostle would be sure to weep when he recollected the Saviour’s full forgiveness, which restored him to his former place. To think that we have offended so kind and good a Lord is more than sufficient reason for being constant weepers. Lord, smite our rocky hearts, and make the waters flow.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Deuteronomy 23
23. Miscellaneous Laws
Those Excluded from the Assembly
23
No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
2 Those born of an illicit union shall not be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
3 No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord,4because they did not meet you with food and water on your journey out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam son of Beor, from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.5(Yet the Lord your God refused to heed Balaam; the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you.)6You shall never promote their welfare or their prosperity as long as you live.
7 You shall not abhor any of the Edomites, for they are your kin. You shall not abhor any of the Egyptians, because you were an alien residing in their land.8The children of the third generation that are born to them may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
Sanitary, Ritual, and Humanitarian Precepts
9 When you are encamped against your enemies you shall guard against any impropriety.
10 If one of you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp; he must not come within the camp.11When evening comes, he shall wash himself with water, and when the sun has set, he may come back into the camp.
12 You shall have a designated area outside the camp to which you shall go.13With your utensils you shall have a trowel; when you relieve yourself outside, you shall dig a hole with it and then cover up your excrement.14Because the Lord your God travels along with your camp, to save you and to hand over your enemies to you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.
15 Slaves who have escaped to you from their owners shall not be given back to them.16They shall reside with you, in your midst, in any place they choose in any one of your towns, wherever they please; you shall not oppress them.
17 None of the daughters of Israel shall be a temple prostitute; none of the sons of Israel shall be a temple prostitute.18You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a male prostitute into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.
19 You shall not charge interest on loans to another Israelite, interest on money, interest on provisions, interest on anything that is lent.20On loans to a foreigner you may charge interest, but on loans to another Israelite you may not charge interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings in the land that you are about to enter and possess.
21 If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not postpone fulfilling it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you would incur guilt.22But if you refrain from vowing, you will not incur guilt.23Whatever your lips utter you must diligently perform, just as you have freely vowed to the Lord your God with your own mouth.
24 If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in a container.
25 If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.
New Testament in Four Years - 2 Corinthians 7:2-7
7. Paul's Hardships and Joys
Paul’s Joy at the Church’s Repentance
2 Make room in your hearts for us; we have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one.3I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together.4I often boast about you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with consolation; I am overjoyed in all our affliction.
5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted in every way—disputes without and fears within.6But God, who consoles the downcast, consoled us by the arrival of Titus,7and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was consoled about you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 12
12. Psalm 12
Psalm 12
Plea for Help in Evil Times
To the leader: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1
Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
the faithful have disappeared from humankind.
2
They utter lies to each other;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
4
those who say, “With our tongues we will prevail;
our lips are our own—who is our master?”
5
“Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord;
“I will place them in the safety for which they long.”
6
The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
7
You, O Lord, will protect us;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
8
On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among humankind.