Author: Gospel Folio Press

2 Kings 19:1-37; Jeremiah 52:1-34; 1 Timothy 3:1-16

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? Matthew 5:13a NKJV

What makes salt lose its savour? Natural salt, as long as it stays pure, will never lose its saltiness. However, when impurities seep into the salt, they can cause it to lose its flavour and render it useless. What a solemn reminder for us! If we desire to maintain our effectiveness, it is crucial to recognize and repent from sin. — Lynn Shatford

Purify my heart.
Cleanse me from within,
And make me holy.
Purify my heart.
Cleanse me from my sin,
Deep within. —Brian Doerksen

2 Kings 18:1-37; Jeremiah 51:25-64; 1 Timothy 2:1-15

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:1

Is not this passage a beautiful example of our Saviour’s love for us? He is “Jehovah Rohi”, our Shepherd. Dear friend, in Christ we lack nothing. He provides everything we need. He restores and refreshes our souls! —Bronwyn Hagey

All the way my Saviour leads me;
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell;
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.  —Fanny Crosby

2 Kings 17:1-41; Jeremiah 51:1-24; 1 Timothy 1:1-20

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld… John 1:14 NKJV

Our Lord didn’t live in a protective bubble where each appearance was sheltered and staged. Domestically, He experienced infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood within a family that was divided about Him. Socially, He attended the events of life—weddings, funerals and banquets. He knew what it was to do piecework in a carpentry shop and sail in fishing boats. Physically, He experienced storms, sleepless nights, exhaustion, hunger and thirst. Emotionally, He felt the wounds of rejection, betrayal and scorn. And, spiritually, when “he…made him to be sin for us” (2 Cor. 5:21) He was left unsheltered at the Cross. —Peter Ramsay

Jesus! All perfections, rise and end in Thee;
Brightness of God’s glory, Thou, eternally. —D. A. McGregor

2 Kings 15:32-16:20; Jeremiah 50:21-46; Titus 2:9-3:15

Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death. Matthew 26:59

The Pharisees took a fatal risk in bringing false witnesses against the Lord. The law regarding this (Deut. 19:16-19) would have seen all of them put to death, if Pilate had been aware of it. The Jews may have considered this, but jealousy always makes people act irrationally. They were on a quest to have the Lord Jesus executed. Yet in those moments, we know He would have forgiven any one of them, if they would have repented and believed. —Rick Morse

There is forgiveness, God doth say,
Through the blood, through the blood;
Both sin and guilt are put away,
Through the blood, through the blood.  —John H. Burridge

2 Kings 14:23-15:31; Jeremiah 50:1-20; Titus 1:1-2:8

They drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites…they brought Joseph into Egypt…the Lord was with Joseph…he served [Potiphar] and he made him overseer over his house…[Potiphar’s wife] said, Lie with me…how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? Gen. 37:28; 39:2, 4, 7, 9

Joseph gives us a worthy example for when trials and troubles beset us. Having been separated from his family, he faithfully served his new master in Egypt. He did not complain of his new circumstances. Furthermore, he remained faithful to the Lord when tempted by his master’s wife. Serve the Lord and in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will guide you and bless you. —Bob Cretney

Our times are in Thy hand: whatever they may be;
Pleasing or painful, dark or bright, as best may seem to Thee.  —W. F. Lloyd

2 Kings 13-14:22; Jeremiah 49:1-39; Hebrews 13:7-25

Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 150:6

The whole gamut of human emotions and conditions are addressed in the psalms. Sighs of anxiety, grief and tears come from deep within the writers. Heights of optimism, enthusiasm and joy are also a part of the spectrum. Wherever saints of God are found, and whatever their state, the refrain, “Praise ye the Lord”, resonates in their souls. We rejoice, teach, edify and admonish each other when we sing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. —Gaius C. Goff

Rejoice! Rejoice! Ye saints rejoice! Rejoice with one accord;
Rejoice with all your heart and voice, in Christ the exalted Lord.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Lift up your head and praise the living God,
That for your souls the Saviour shed His own most precious blood.  —C. Russell Hurditch

2 Kings 11:1-12:21; Jeremiah 48:1-47; Hebrews 12:18-13:6

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter… Hebrews 11:24, 26

Moses was brought up as the grandson of the Pharaoh of Egypt, and could have inherited the greatest throne in the world. But instead of the treasures of Egypt, he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. We too, must daily make a choice between God’s plans for us and fame or riches, all of which will soon pass away, and only Christ and eternity will remain. —David Croudace

Only one life, yes only one; soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in “that day” my Lord to meet, and stand before His Judgment Seat.
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.  —C. T. Studd

2 Kings 10:1-36; Jeremiah 45:1-47:7; Hebrews 12:1-17

Receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Romans 15:7

We might define “reception” as the welcoming of Christians into full fellowship, including both privileges and  responsibilities within the local assembly. The Bible never uses the word “join” in referring to entrance into the universal or local church. This fellowship was never considered by New Testament writers to be “partial” or “Sunday morning only,” on the part of believers, but rather “steadfast” and “continual”. May all believers take up this New Testament pattern, striving to set forth reception as a hallmark of their position in Christ and their love for Christ and each other! —David A. Dunlap

Those who have received Christ by faith must receive all Christians by brotherly love…As Christ also received us, to the glory of God. —M. Henry

2 Kings 9:1-37; Jeremiah 44:1-30; Hebrews 11:17-40

He shall send from heaven and save me; He reproaches the one who would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth His mercy and His truth. Psalm 57:3 NKJV

David describes God’s heavenly salvation as being centered on His mercy and truth. While David only saw the Saviour, sent from heaven, from afar off, what a wonderful thought to consider—that for us, mercy and truth come not as ideas but as God’s Son Himself, tabernacling among us. He did this so that He might “give his life a ransom
for many” (Mark 10:45). On this day when we reflect on God’s great goodness to us, our hearts swell with thankfulness and we say with David, “I will praise you, O Lord, among the peoples.” —J. D. Fraser

Because the Lord our God is good, His mercy is forever sure.
His faithfulness at all times stood and shall from age to age endure. —W. Kethe

2 Kings 8:1-29; Jeremiah 42:7-43:13; Hebrews 11:1-16

And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Deuteronomy 5:15 NKJV

“I am the Lord, I do not change” (Mal. 3:6 NKJV). The same God who brought the Israelites out from slavery in Egypt with an outstretched arm, brought us out from the slavery of sin when our Lord Jesus Christ stretched His arms out on the cross. May we worship Him and thank Him for His indescribable gift (2 Cor. 9:15)! —Annette Baal

Lord, Thy love has sought and found us
Wand’ring in this desert wide,
Thou has thrown Thine arms around us,
For us suffered, bled, and died. —J. J. Hopkins