Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Evening Reading
The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup.—PSA. 16:5.
Heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.—All things are yours.—My beloved is mine.—The Son of God . . . loved me, and gave himself for me.
The Lord spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thy inheritance among the children of Israel.
Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.—I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land.
Rom. 8:17. -I Cor. 3:21. -Song 2:16. -Gal. 2:20.Num. 18:20.Psa. 73:25,26.Psa. 23:4. -II Tim. 1:12.Psa. 63:1.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“Good Master.”
Matthew 19:16
If the young man in the gospel used this title in speaking to our Lord, how much more fitly may I thus address him! He is indeed my Master in both senses, a ruling Master and a teaching Master. I delight to run upon his errands, and to sit at his feet. I am both his servant and his disciple, and count it my highest honour to own the double character. If he should ask me why I call him “good,” I should have a ready answer. It is true that “there is none good but one, that is, God,” but then he is God, and all the goodness of Deity shines forth in him. In my experience, I have found him good, so good, indeed, that all the good I have has come to me through him. He was good to me when I was dead in sin, for he raised me by his Spirit’s power; he has been good to me in all my needs, trials, struggles, and sorrows. Never could there be a better Master, for his service is freedom, his rule is love: I wish I were one thousandth part as good a servant. When he teaches me as my Rabbi, he is unspeakably good, his doctrine is divine, his manner is condescending, his spirit is gentleness itself. No error mingles with his instruction—pure is the golden truth which he brings forth, and all his teachings lead to goodness, sanctifying as well as edifying the disciple. Angels find him a good Master and delight to pay their homage at his footstool. The ancient saints proved him to be a good Master, and each of them rejoiced to sing, “I am thy servant, O Lord!” My own humble testimony must certainly be to the same effect. I will bear this witness before my friends and neighbours, for possibly they may be led by my testimony to seek my Lord Jesus as their Master. O that they would do so! They would never repent so wise a deed. If they would but take his easy yoke, they would find themselves in so royal a service that they would enlist in it forever.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Numbers 1
1. The Census
The First Census of Israel
1
The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying:2Take a census of the whole congregation of Israelites, in their clans, by ancestral houses, according to the number of names, every male individually;3from twenty years old and upward, everyone in Israel able to go to war. You and Aaron shall enroll them, company by company.4A man from each tribe shall be with you, each man the head of his ancestral house.5These are the names of the men who shall assist you:
From Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur.
6
From Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.
7
From Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab.
8
From Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar.
9
From Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon.
10
From the sons of Joseph:
from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud;
from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.
11
From Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni.
12
From Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.
13
From Asher, Pagiel son of Ochran.
14
From Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel.
15
From Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.
16 These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the divisions of Israel.
17 Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name,18and on the first day of the second month they assembled the whole congregation together. They registered themselves in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, individually,19as the Lord commanded Moses. So he enrolled them in the wilderness of Sinai.
20 The descendants of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, individually, every male from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war:21those enrolled of the tribe of Reuben were forty-six thousand five hundred.
22 The descendants of Simeon, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, those of them that were numbered, according to the number of names, individually, every male from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war:23those enrolled of the tribe of Simeon were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.
24 The descendants of Gad, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war:25those enrolled of the tribe of Gad were forty-five thousand six hundred fifty.
26 The descendants of Judah, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war:27those enrolled of the tribe of Judah were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
28 The descendants of Issachar, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war:29those enrolled of the tribe of Issachar were fifty-four thousand four hundred.
30 The descendants of Zebulun, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war:31those enrolled of the tribe of Zebulun were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.
32 The descendants of Joseph, namely, the descendants of Ephraim, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war:33those enrolled of the tribe of Ephraim were forty thousand five hundred.
34 The descendants of Manasseh, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war:35those enrolled of the tribe of Manasseh were thirty-two thousand two hundred.
36 The descendants of Benjamin, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war:37those enrolled of the tribe of Benjamin were thirty-five thousand four hundred.
38 The descendants of Dan, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war:39those enrolled of the tribe of Dan were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.
40 The descendants of Asher, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war:41those enrolled of the tribe of Asher were forty-one thousand five hundred.
42 The descendants of Naphtali, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war:43those enrolled of the tribe of Naphtali were fifty-three thousand four hundred.
44 These are those who were enrolled, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled with the help of the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each representing his ancestral house.45So the whole number of the Israelites, by their ancestral houses, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war in Israel—46their whole number was six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty.47The Levites, however, were not numbered by their ancestral tribe along with them.
48 The Lord had said to Moses:49Only the tribe of Levi you shall not enroll, and you shall not take a census of them with the other Israelites.50Rather you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the covenant, and over all its equipment, and over all that belongs to it; they are to carry the tabernacle and all its equipment, and they shall tend it, and shall camp around the tabernacle.51When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.52The other Israelites shall camp in their respective regimental camps, by companies;53but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the covenant, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the Israelites; and the Levites shall perform the guard duty of the tabernacle of the covenant.54The Israelites did so; they did just as the Lord commanded Moses.
New Testament in Four Years - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
9. Rights of an Apostle
24 Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.25Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.26So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air;27but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 115
115. Psalm 115
Psalm 115
The Impotence of Idols and the Greatness of God
1
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.
2
Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3
Our God is in the heavens;
he does whatever he pleases.
4
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
they make no sound in their throats.
8
Those who make them are like them;
so are all who trust in them.
9
O Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
10
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
11
You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
12
The Lord has been mindful of us; he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
13
he will bless those who fear the Lord,
both small and great.
14
May the Lord give you increase,
both you and your children.
15
May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
16
The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to human beings.
17
The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any that go down into silence.
18
But we will bless the Lord
from this time on and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!