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DAILY READINGS: 1 Sam. 9:15 to 10:27; Isa. 50 to 51:8; 2 Cor. 11

The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He
will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in his love, He will joy
over thee with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord has always wanted to be in the midst of His people, surrounded
by them, even to pitching His tent in the middle of their
camp. What a picture of security for us! We see His eagerness to be
with His people again in the New Testament as the two talked about
Him en route to Emmaus. He couldn’t seem to resist joining them.
And now He dwells in us in the person of His Holy Spirit. He is still
mighty. He still saves. May we pray today, “O my God, may my life
bring Thee not pain, but joy; not tears, but a song.” —M. MacMullen

Jesus, we Thy promise claim, as we call on Thy great name;
In the midst do Thou appear, manifest Thy presence here! —C. Wesley

DAILY READINGS: 1 Sam. 8 to 9:14; Isa. 49; 2 Cor. 10

Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi. Genesis 25:11b
These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their
towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.
Genesis 25:16

Abraham’s life was characterized by his tent and his altar. His son
Isaac was also a tent dweller, and lived by a special well. Every son
of promise should similarly be characterized by this pilgrim character,
dwelling close to the wells of the Spirit and the Word. Ishmael
had the same father and the same upbringing, but did not follow his
father’s character. Rather, his clan sett led in the towns and castles of
the world. Spiritually, where do you dwell? —Doug Kazen

I have renounced all sinful pleasure,
Jesus is mine; there’s nothing between. —Charles A. Tindley

DAILY READINGS: 1 Samuel 6-7; Isaiah 48; 2 Corinthians 9

In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel
shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah,
and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them. Jer 50:20

Our Bibles record the many, many off enses that Israel and Judah
committ ed. Human history also records our rebellious ways, in catastrophic
detail. Oh how far man has fallen short of the glory of God!
But man’s great failures simply magnify Calvary. In those three dark
hours of the Saviour’s suff ering, all of Israel’s sins, all of Judah’s sins,
all of humanity’s sins, even all of my sins were completely washed
away forever. They can be looked for, but they will not be found.
Hallelujah. Our Saviour has done all things well. —Rick Morse

Let men remember and foes accuse, my sins are remembered no more.
My Saviour has died and paid the price, they are gone, yea forevermore.
—Anon.

DAILY READINGS: 1 Samuel 4-5; Isaiah 47; 2 Corinthians 8

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the fi rmament sheweth
His handiwork. Psalms 19:1

“Hollow spheres found in a primordial meteorite could yield clues
to mystery origin of life on Earth,” the newspaper article read. There
is no mystery. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth.” A person doesn’t have to go very far to fi nd
the answer to the question many scientists spend their lives investigating.
God has revealed to us that He is the Creator. It is no mystery.
A deeper mystery is why God sent His Son to this sin-cursed planet,
to give His life to redeem us from our sins. There is an answer to this
question too. It is His deep abiding love. —Jerry Proctor

Great God of wonders! All Thy ways display thine att ributes divine;
But the bright glories of Thy Grace above Thine other wonders shine.—S. D.

DAILY READINGS: 1 Samuel 3; Isaiah 46; 2 Corinthians 6:11 to 7:16

They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou
shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou
shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to
dwell in. Isaiah 58:12

A wall protects and secures those who dwell within it. Sadly the walls
surrounding God’s people today are in need of repair and rebuilding.
The adversary is making inroads into our families and church fellowships
in ways never dreamed of a generation ago. With the Lord’s
help we can raise up a standard against his advances—we can rebuild
the walls, for that’s what “repairer” implies. Brethren, let us rise up
and build to His honour and glory. — W. H. Gustafson

Revive us again; fi ll each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled with fi re from above. —Wm. P. Mackay

DAILY READINGS: 1 Sam. 2; Isa. 44:24 to 45:25; 2 Cor. 5:11 to 6:10

Be [anxious] for nothing. Philippians 4:6a

Let’s admit it, to one degree or another, we all worry. Why do we do
it? It just distresses us and contributes nothing toward supplying our
needs. One reason we worry is because we fail to take God at His
word. Failing to trust God for our daily needs expresses a lack of faith
and this unbelief is probably the most prevalent sin among believers.
God has made Himself responsible to meet the needs of His people in
a way that He is not responsible for meeting the needs of unbelievers.
He has promised to take care of and provide for His own (Mt. 6:33).
Let go of your worries and trust Him. —W. Ross Rainey

Faith is a living power from heaven, that grasps the promise God hath given,
A trust that cannot be o’erthrown, fi xed heartily on Christ alone. —P. H.

DAILY READINGS: 1 Sam. 1; Isa. 44:6-23; 2 Cor. 4:7 to 5:10

His master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD
made all that he did to prosper in his hand. Genesis 39:3

No doubt Potiphar was intrigued with this foreigner, a Hebrew servant
(v.17) who succeeded in all that he did. He was watching and
observing his every move. Joseph must have talked to some degree,
but his testimony appeared to be more eff ective through his behaviour—
his works, stronger than his words. Whatever Potiphar saw
in Joseph was a refl ection of God Himself. Potiphar’s wife was looking
also (v. 7), but she had a completely diff erent set of eyes. We may
think no one is watching us at work, at home, at play. Think again!
—Craig Funston

Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory!
O glorious victory that overcomes the world! —John Yates

DAILY READINGS: Ruth 3-4; Isaiah 43 to 44:5; 2 Corinthians 3 to 4:6

David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage,
and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my
God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until
thou hast fi nished all the work for the service of the house of the
LORD. 1 Chronicles 28:20

When young Solomon was called upon to build the magnifi cent temple
he was given God’s promise, “I will not forsake you until the work
is fi nished.” We, however, have received an eternal promise, “I will
never leave thee nor forsake thee”—now and on into eternity! What
wonderful security we have in our Saviour! —David Croudace

His forever, only His; who the Lord and me shall part?
Ah! with what a rest of bliss, Christ can fi ll the loving heart. —W. Robinson

DAILY READINGS: Ruth 2; Isaiah 42; 2 Corinthians 2

All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing
made that was made. John 1:3

There is nothing more awesome than gazing up into the night sky.
The Milky Way, has an estimated 200 billion stars, and a diameter of
100,000 light years, meaning that if we were able to travel at 300,000
kilometres per second, it would take 100,000 years to cross our galaxy
alone! We are looking at a universe with the imprint of the infi –
nite, eternal God upon it. Yet wonder of wonders, the Creator came
among us in lowly guise. He visited this small, insignifi cant planet
and gave His life to save those who had dared to rebel against the
God of the universe. What mercy! What grace! —W. H. Burnett

Thou Lord of all transcendent, Thou life-creating Sun;
Great worlds on Thee dependent, yet bruised and spit upon. —Anon.

DAILY READINGS: Ruth 1; Isaiah 41; 2 Corinthians 1

The Word was made fl esh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld
His glory, the glory as of the only begott en of the Father,) full of
grace and truth. John 1:14

Today we remember One who is co-eternal with God. Throughout
the countless ages of eternity He enjoyed sweet unbroken fellowship
and communion with the Father. Yet He left the glory and
splendour of heaven and came to this earth marked by sin and corruption.
The Word was made fl esh! By coming to the earth He glorifi
ed His Father God, and dwelling with men His own creatures,
He went all the way to Calvary to save us. Well might we unite and
exclaim today, hallelujah what a Saviour! —John M. Clegg

In Thee most perfectly expressed, the Father’s glories shine;
Of the full deity possessed, eternally divine. —J. Condor