Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Evening Reading
Who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?—I COR. 4:7.
By the grace of God I am what I am.—Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth.—It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.—Where is boasting then? It is excluded.—Christ Jesus, . . . is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: . . . He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord.
You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.—Ye are washed, . . . ye are sanctified, . . . ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
I Cor. 15:10. -Jas. 1:18. -Rom. 9:16. -Rom. 3:27. -I Cor. 1:30,31.Eph. 2:1-3. -I Cor. 6:11.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“A man greatly beloved.”
Daniel 10:11
Child of God, do you hesitate to appropriate this title? Ah! has your unbelief made you forget that you are greatly beloved too? Must you not have been greatly beloved, to have been bought with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot? When God smote his only begotten Son for you, what was this but being greatly beloved? You lived in sin, and rioted in it, must you not have been greatly beloved for God to have borne so patiently with you? You were called by grace and led to a Saviour, and made a child of God and an heir of heaven. All this proves, does it not, a very great and superabounding love? Since that time, whether your path has been rough with troubles, or smooth with mercies, it has been full of proofs that you are a man greatly beloved. If the Lord has chastened you, yet not in anger; if he has made you poor, yet in grace you have been rich. The more unworthy you feel yourself to be, the more evidence have you that nothing but unspeakable love could have led the Lord Jesus to save such a soul as yours. The more demerit you feel, the clearer is the display of the abounding love of God in having chosen you, and called you, and made you an heir of bliss. Now, if there be such love between God and us let us live in the influence and sweetness of it, and use the privilege of our position. Do not let us approach our Lord as though we were strangers, or as though he were unwilling to hear us—for we are greatly beloved by our loving Father. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Come boldly, O believer, for despite the whisperings of Satan and the doubtings of thine own heart, thou art greatly beloved. Meditate on the exceeding greatness and faithfulness of divine love this evening, and so go to thy bed in peace.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - 1 Samuel 4
4. Death of Eli
1And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.
The Ark of God Captured
In those days the Philistines mustered for war against Israel, and Israel went out to battle against them; they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.2The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle was joined, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle.3When the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, so that he may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”4So the people sent to Shiloh, and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.6When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp,7the Philistines were afraid; for they said, “Gods have come into the camp.” They also said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before.8Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness.9Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, in order not to become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”
10 So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated, and they fled, everyone to his home. There was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.11The ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
Death of Eli
12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with earth upon his head.13When he arrived, Eli was sitting upon his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out.14When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man came quickly and told Eli.15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set, so that he could not see.16The man said to Eli, “I have just come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” He said, “How did it go, my son?”17The messenger replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the troops; your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”18When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth; for her labor pains overwhelmed her.20As she was about to die, the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or give heed.21She named the child Ichabod, meaning, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.22She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”
New Testament in Four Years - Ephesians 3:1-6
3. Prayer for the Ephesians
Paul’s Ministry to the Gentiles
3
This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—2for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you,3and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words,4a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ.5In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:6that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 69:1-18
69. Psalm 69
Psalm 69
Prayer for Deliverance from Persecution
To the leader: according to Lilies. Of David.
1
Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
2
I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood sweeps over me.
3
I am weary with my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
with waiting for my God.
4
More in number than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause;
many are those who would destroy me,
my enemies who accuse me falsely.
What I did not steal
must I now restore?
5
O God, you know my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
6
Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me,
O Lord God of hosts;
do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me,
O God of Israel.
7
It is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
that shame has covered my face.
8
I have become a stranger to my kindred,
an alien to my mother’s children.
9
It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;
the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
10
When I humbled my soul with fasting,
they insulted me for doing so.
11
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
12
I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
13
But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me.
With your faithful help14rescue me
from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
15
Do not let the flood sweep over me,
or the deep swallow me up,
or the Pit close its mouth over me.
16
Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17
Do not hide your face from your servant,
for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.
18
Draw near to me, redeem me,
set me free because of my enemies.