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DAILY?READINGS: 1 Chronicles 1; Ezekiel 2 to 3:15; 2 Timothy 3

 

 

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? Psalm 11:3

 

One morning there was a crash outside the house. I rushed to the window as my dog raced past. For months she had been digging beneath the roots of a large tree and it had finally toppled to the ground. As Christians we need to know God’s Word and make sure that we are sinking our roots deep into its truths. We also need to take care that nothing undermines our faith in God and His promises. This will strengthen us for the day and fortify us against error. —J. Fleming

Spend time in God’s Word; search out what it says,
Ask God to direct you, in all of your ways,
You’ll know your foundations will stand any shock,
If you take time each day, to build on the Rock! —J. Fleming

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Kings 25; Ezekiel 1; 2 Timothy 2

 

 

Prepare to meet your God, O Israel. Amos 4:12

 

It is a solemn thought to remember that one day we must all face God. There is a moral God in heaven above and we will face Him and give an accounting for our lives. It is wise to prepare for that meeting before death. The sinner needs to repent and receive Christ as his Lord and Saviour. He died to pay for your sin. But the Christian too should prepare to meet God. Whether we die or Christ returns first, each of us shall give an accounting for his life to the Lord. Live then today for Him. Be ready to meet God. —Donald L. Norbie

Must I go and empty handed, thus my dear Redeemer meet,
Not one day of service give Him, lay no trophy at His feet?—Charles C. Luther

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Kings 24; Lamentations 4-5; 2 Timothy 1

 

When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden. John 18:1

In the place where He was crucified there was a garden. John 19:41

 

Our first parents sinned in a garden, and all its beauty was lost to them and to their posterity; but the Redeemer came. In a garden Jesus wept in agony as He anticipated Calvary with all its sorrow, but He went on. At Golgotha He suffered at the hands of wicked men and at the hands of a sin-hating God, but then, His work finished, He rested—in a garden. One day we shall be with Him in a Paradise which will never be disturbed. —Jim Flanigan

 

With Him shall my rest be on high, when in holiness bright I sit down,
In the joy of His love ever nigh, in the peace that His presence shall crown.—J. N. Darby

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Kings 23; Lamentations 3; 1 Timothy 6

 

Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven. Acts 1:11

 

We might wonder why this message wasn’t, “Keep looking up because He is coming back just like He went.” But the disciples were told to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Spirit because the world needed the Gospel. The task was enormous but the time span to get it done was left undefined. So they couldn’t stand around if He was coming back at a time known only to the Father (vs. 7). If the message 2,000 years ago was, “Don’t stand around,” how much more so today! There is much still to do and the time is short. —Ken Gross

 

Work for the night is coming, under the sunset skies;
While their bright tints are glowing, work for daylight flies.—A. L. Coghill

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Kings 21:19 to 22:20; Lamentations 2; 1 Timothy 5

 

 

Give therefore Thy servant an understanding heart. 1 Kings 3:9

His wives turned away his heart. 1 Kings 11:3

 

A great start but a poor finish, sadly can summarize too many lives. Solomon started off so well, not asking God for the usual things: many years, much money, and the death of his enemies (see 3:11). God was so pleased with this spirit, that He gave it to him anyway! However, the guided heart soon became a misguided heart (700 wives would have a tendency to do that), and Solomon embraced the false gods of these women. Perhaps he should have taken his own advice from a more innocent stage of his life. “Keep thy heart with all diligence” (Proverbs 4:23). So should we. —Norman Craig Funston

 

Saviour, while my heart is tender, I would give Thee ev’ry part.
All my talents I surrender; I am Thine, here’s my heart. —R. Hamilton

 

 

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Kings 20 to 21:18; Lamentations 1; 1 Timothy 4

 

Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Psalm 97:11

 

Whenever an opportunity is afforded I love to sit and gaze at Canada’s many tranquil lakes—their shorelines often so clearly lit up by the rising and setting sun. We who journey in this life know that there are those who have gone before us, who have now stepped into a greater light, and stand on a better shore. What a privilege for us to know that this lies ahead for us too. Our hope in Christ encompasses our experience here on earth and also one day in heaven! Let us then keep our gaze looking up! —Mark Fenn

 

O fix our earnest gaze, so wholly Lord, on Thee,
That with Thy beauty occupied we elsewhere none may see! —C. Bernstein

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Kings 19; Jeremiah 52; 1 Timothy 3

 

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3

 

Indwelling all Christians, the Holy Spirit does what others cannot. He unifies people from different racial, national, economic, and social backgrounds. Global leaders strive for such unity by educational and social programs, or sometimes impose it by force. Yet the Spirit teaches saints to love one another through forbearance and encouragement. In the Church, all of God’s people enjoy unity through their common trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. —Keith Keyser

We praise Thee for those ties divine that bind Thy saints to Thee,
As members of Thy body one—the Spirit’s unity. —Arthur Cutting

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Kings 18; Jeremiah 51:25-64; 1 Timothy 2

 

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. John 10:28

 

A rod in my hands may drive away a dog, but a rod in Moses’ hands parted the Red Sea. A sling shot in my hands is a toy, but a sling shot in David’s hands was a mighty weapon. A pot of oil and a bit of meal in my hands may make a meal, but in Elijah’s hands it became a consistent source of food in a famine. When we give our hands over to His hands, wonderful things happen. And in His hands we are eternally secure. —Milton Haack

 

Not what these hands have done, can save this guilty soul;
Not what this toiling flesh has done, can make my spirit whole.
Thy work alone my Saviour, can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me peace within. —H. Bonar

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Kings 17; Jeremiah 51:1-24; 1 Timothy 1

 

And his (Uzziah’s) name spread abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong. But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction. 2 Chronicles 26:15, 16

 

We have never “reached it” in the Christian life. As soon as we attribute spiritual gift and advancement to ourselves, we become impotent and counter-productive in the things of God. God hates pride. The psalmist could say, “I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” (Psalm 84:10). —Brian Russell

O to grace how great a debtor,
Daily I’m constrained to be;
Let that grace Lord, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee. —Robert Robinson

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Kings 15:32 to 16:20; Jer. 50:21-46; Titus 2:9 to 3:15

 

I will extol Thee, Oh Lord. Psalm 30:1

 

No being in the universe is more deserving of exaltation and glorification than God our Father. Only true Christians are suited, and privileged to extol Him. Angels are noted for their service. Creation brings Him glory; but silently. Sinners cannot extol Him. But sinners saved by His grace are uniquely privileged to bring honour to God. May we do so today. —Doug Kazen

Great are the offices He bears,
And bright His character appears,
Exalted on the throne.
In songs of sweet untiring praise.
We would to everlasting days,
Make all His glories known. —Samuel Medley