Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Evening Reading
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.—MATT. 26:41.
In the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early.
I know that in me, (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.—The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.—Our sufficiency is of God.—My grace is sufficient for thee.
Isa. 26:8,9.Rom. 7:18,22,23. -Gal. 5:17.Phi. 4:13. -II Cor. 3:5. -II Cor. 12:9.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“Girt about the paps with a golden girdle.”
Revelation 1:13
“One like unto the Son of Man” appeared to John in Patmos, and the beloved disciple marked that he wore a girdle of gold. A girdle, for Jesus never was ungirt while upon earth, but stood always ready for service, and now before the eternal throne he stays not His holy ministry, but as a priest is girt about with “the curious girdle of the ephod.” Well it is for us that he has not ceased to fulfil his offices of love for us, since this is one of our choicest safeguards that he ever liveth to make intercession for us. Jesus is never an idler; his garments are never loose as though his offices were ended; he diligently carries on the cause of his people. A golden girdle, to manifest the superiority of his service, the royalty of his person, the dignity of his state, the glory of his reward. No longer does he cry out of the dust, but he pleads with authority, a King as well as a Priest. Safe enough is our cause in the hands of our enthroned Melchizedek.
Our Lord presents all his people with an example. We must never unbind our girdles. This is not the time for lying down at ease, it is the season of service and warfare. We need to bind the girdle of truth more and more tightly around our loins. It is a golden girdle, and so will be our richest ornament, and we greatly need it, for a heart that is not well braced up with the truth as it is in Jesus, and with the fidelity which is wrought of the Spirit, will be easily entangled with the things of this life, and tripped up by the snares of temptation. It is in vain that we possess the Scriptures unless we bind them around us like a girdle, surrounding our entire nature, keeping each part of our character in order, and giving compactness to our whole man. If in heaven Jesus unbinds not the girdle, much less may we upon earth. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Ezekiel 17
17. Two Eagles and a Vine
The Two Eagles and the Vine
17
The word of the Lord came to me:2O mortal, propound a riddle, and speak an allegory to the house of Israel.3Say: Thus says the Lord God:
A great eagle, with great wings and long pinions,
rich in plumage of many colors,
came to the Lebanon.
He took the top of the cedar,
4
broke off its topmost shoot;
he carried it to a land of trade,
set it in a city of merchants.
5
Then he took a seed from the land,
placed it in fertile soil;
a plant by abundant waters,
he set it like a willow twig.
6
It sprouted and became a vine
spreading out, but low;
its branches turned toward him,
its roots remained where it stood.
So it became a vine;
it brought forth branches,
put forth foliage.
7
There was another great eagle,
with great wings and much plumage.
And see! This vine stretched out
its roots toward him;
it shot out its branches toward him,
so that he might water it.
From the bed where it was planted
8
it was transplanted
to good soil by abundant waters,
so that it might produce branches
and bear fruit
and become a noble vine.
9 Say: Thus says the Lord God:
Will it prosper?
Will he not pull up its roots,
cause its fruit to rot and wither,
its fresh sprouting leaves to fade?
No strong arm or mighty army will be needed
to pull it from its roots.
10
When it is transplanted, will it thrive?
When the east wind strikes it,
will it not utterly wither,
wither on the bed where it grew?
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me:12Say now to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and its officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.13He took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (he had taken away the chief men of the land),14so that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and that by keeping his covenant it might stand.15But he rebelled against him by sending ambassadors to Egypt, in order that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape?16As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king resides who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke—in Babylon he shall die.17Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when ramps are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives.18Because he despised the oath and broke the covenant, because he gave his hand and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.19Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, I will surely return upon his head my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke.20I will spread my net over him, and he shall be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treason he has committed against me.21All the pick of his troops shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.
Israel Exalted at Last
22 Thus says the Lord God:
I myself will take a sprig
from the lofty top of a cedar;
I will set it out.
I will break off a tender one
from the topmost of its young twigs;
I myself will plant it
on a high and lofty mountain.
23
On the mountain height of Israel
I will plant it,
in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit,
and become a noble cedar.
Under it every kind of bird will live;
in the shade of its branches will nest
winged creatures of every kind.
24
All the trees of the field shall know
that I am the Lord.
I bring low the high tree,
I make high the low tree;
I dry up the green tree
and make the dry tree flourish.
I the Lord have spoken;
I will accomplish it.
New Testament in Four Years - Matthew 13:33-35
13. Parables of Jesus
The Parable of the Yeast
33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
The Use of Parables
34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing.35This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”
Psalm a Day - Psalm 117
117. Psalm 117
Psalm 117
Universal Call to Worship
1
Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!
2
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!