Daily Light for June 30
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010Morning
“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline.”
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”—As a father the son in whom he delights.—He wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal.—Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.—“I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.”
He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.—He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
Rev. 3:19; Heb. 12:5, 6; Prov. 3:12; Job 5:18; 1 Pet. 5:6; Isa. 48:10; Lam. 3:33; Ps. 103:10-14
Evening
God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
They . . . called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!”
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.’ . . . But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.”
“Lord, teach us to pray.”
Eccl. 5:2; Matt. 6:7, 8; 1 Kings 18:26; Luke 18:10, 11, 13, 14; Luke 11:1
Excerpted from Daily
Light on the Daily Path ©2002 Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good
News Publishers.