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Daily Light's Morning Reading
Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness.—II PET. 3:8,9.
My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, . . . so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall acomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Spurgeon's Morning Reading
“They took Jesus, and led him away.”
John 19:16
He had been all night in agony, he had spent the early morning at the hall of Caiaphas, he had been hurried from Caiaphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod back again to Pilate; he had, therefore, but little strength left, and yet neither refreshment nor rest were permitted him. They were eager for his blood, and therefore led him out to die, loaded with the cross. O dolorous procession! Well may Salem’s daughters weep. My soul, do thou weep also.
What learn we here as we see our blessed Lord led forth? Do we not perceive that truth which was set forth in shadow by the scapegoat? Did not the high-priest bring the scapegoat, and put both his hands upon its head, confessing the sins of the people, that thus those sins might be laid upon the goat, and cease from the people? Then the goat was led away by a fit man into the wilderness, and it carried away the sins of the people, so that if they were sought for they could not be found. Now we see Jesus brought before the priests and rulers, who pronounce him guilty; God himself imputes our sins to him, “the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all;” “He was made sin for us;” and, as the substitute for our guilt, bearing our sin upon his shoulders, represented by the cross; we see the great Scapegoat led away by the appointed officers of justice. Beloved, can you feel assured that he carried your sin? As you look at the cross upon his shoulders, does it represent your sin? There is one way by which you can tell whether he carried your sin or not. Have you laid your hand upon his head, confessed your sin, and trusted in him? Then your sin lies not on you; it has all been transferred by blessed imputation to Christ, and he bears it on his shoulder as a load heavier than the cross.
Let not the picture vanish till you have rejoiced in your own deliverance, and adored the loving Redeemer upon whom your iniquities were laid.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Exodus 9
9. Plague on Livestock, Boils, and Hail
The Fifth Plague: Livestock Diseased
9
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.2For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them,3the hand of the Lord will strike with a deadly pestilence your livestock in the field: the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks.4But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing shall die of all that belongs to the Israelites.’ ”5The Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”6And on the next day the Lord did so; all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but of the livestock of the Israelites not one died.7Pharaoh inquired and found that not one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he would not let the people go.
The Sixth Plague: Boils
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw it in the air in the sight of Pharaoh.9It shall become fine dust all over the land of Egypt, and shall cause festering boils on humans and animals throughout the whole land of Egypt.”10So they took soot from the kiln, and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses threw it in the air, and it caused festering boils on humans and animals.11The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils afflicted the magicians as well as all the Egyptians.12But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
The Seventh Plague: Thunder and Hail
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.14For this time I will send all my plagues upon you yourself, and upon your officials, and upon your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.15For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.16But this is why I have let you live: to show you my power, and to make my name resound through all the earth.17You are still exalting yourself against my people, and will not let them go.18Tomorrow at this time I will cause the heaviest hail to fall that has ever fallen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.19Send, therefore, and have your livestock and everything that you have in the open field brought to a secure place; every human or animal that is in the open field and is not brought under shelter will die when the hail comes down upon them.’ ”20Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried their slaves and livestock off to a secure place.21Those who did not regard the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the open field.
22 The Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven so that hail may fall on the whole land of Egypt, on humans and animals and all the plants of the field in the land of Egypt.”23Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire came down on the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt;24there was hail with fire flashing continually in the midst of it, such heavy hail as had never fallen in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.25The hail struck down everything that was in the open field throughout all the land of Egypt, both human and animal; the hail also struck down all the plants of the field, and shattered every tree in the field.26Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, there was no hail.
27 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.28Pray to the Lord! Enough of God’s thunder and hail! I will let you go; you need stay no longer.”29Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.30But as for you and your officials, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.”31(Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud.32But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they are late in coming up.)33So Moses left Pharaoh, went out of the city, and stretched out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down on the earth.34But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned once more and hardened his heart, he and his officials.35So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.
New Testament in Four Years - Romans 12:6-8
12. Living Sacrifices
6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith;7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching;8the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.Psalm a Day - Psalm 69:19-36
69. Psalm 69
19
You know the insults I receive,
and my shame and dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
20
Insults have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none;
and for comforters, but I found none.
21
They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22
Let their table be a trap for them,
a snare for their allies.
23
Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and make their loins tremble continually.
24
Pour out your indignation upon them,
and let your burning anger overtake them.
25
May their camp be a desolation;
let no one live in their tents.
26
For they persecute those whom you have struck down,
and those whom you have wounded, they attack still more.
27
Add guilt to their guilt;
may they have no acquittal from you.
28
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
29
But I am lowly and in pain;
let your salvation, O God, protect me.
30
I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31
This will please the Lord more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32
Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33
For the Lord hears the needy,
and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
34
Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
35
For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah;
and his servants shall live there and possess it;
36
the children of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall live in it.