Two Minutes Daily for June 2025

​Scriptures/Devotions/Inspiration

6/30/2025
Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 1Co 15:33
Leave Them Behind

There is no difficulty in this saying; he who frequents the company of bad or corrupt men will soon be as they are. He may be sound in the faith, and have the life and power of godliness, and at first frequent their company only for the sake of their pleasing conversation, or their literary accomplishments: and he may think his faith proof against their infidelity; but he will soon find, by means of their deceitful  speeches, his faith weakened; and when once he gets under the empire of doubt, unbelief will soon prevail; his bad company will corrupt his morals; and the two dry logs will soon burn up the green one.
(Adam Clarke)

Bad communications is dangerous to our characters. To have the same attachments and dislikes, the same pursuits and aversions, has always been esteemed the foundation of friendship; similarity of disposition, of sentiments, of manners, is the usual bond which unites companions together. The world forms its judgments by general rules; when it sees a man a frequent spectator of the excesses of the vicious, it takes for granted that he is a partaker also, and an approver of them. ​(Biblical Illustrator)

The Practices of evil communications: Lying, foolish profane talk, swearing, fornication, adultery, corrupt in business, provoking and intimidation in the community, harassment of the innocent, drunkenness and drug abuse. These are the trouble makers of a community, who will gather likeminded spirits to join in their mischief. However, if they are caught in serious crimes, they will not stand for one another, they, like all evil communications-will scatter, and leave each to their own plight. There is only solidarity, when they are getting away with their rioting and chaos. ​​(Biblical Illustrator)

6/29/2025
It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 
If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. 2Ti 2:11-13
Approved Unto God​

​Three things are impossible with God-to die, to lie, and to fail the soul that trusts Him. Even when we cannot muster faith enough, His word of promise cannot be frustrated in the case of those whose faith is weak and trembling as the smoking flax.

​The workman, 2Ti_2:14-18 : The one anxiety with us all should be to stand approved before God.  We must hold a straight course in the word of truth. Our testimony should resemble an undeviating furrow. Let us construct in our life something which will be a permanent addition to the well-being of the world, so that at the last the Master may say that He is satisfied.
(F.B. Meyer)

6/28/2025
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part;
but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1Co 13:12
Five Minutes After Death

​At our entrance on another state of existence we shall know what it is to exist under entirely new conditions. What will it be to find ourselves with the old self—divested of that body which has clothed it since its first moment of existence—able to achieve, it may be, so much,—it may be, so little; living on, but under conditions which are so entirely new. This experience alone will add no little to our existing knowledge, and the addition will have been made during the first five minutes after death.

And the entrance on the next world must bring with it a knowledge of God such as is quite impossible in this life. His vast, His illimitable life, will present itself to the apprehension of our spirits as a clearly consistent whole—not as a complex problem to be painfully mastered by the efforts of our understandings, but as a present, living, encompassing Being who is inflecting Himself upon the very sight, whether they will it or not, of His adoring creatures. "Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty"—they were words of warning as well as words of promise.
At our entrance on another world we shall know ourselves as never before. The past will be spread out before it, and we shall take a comprehensive survey of it. One Being there is who knows us now, who knows each of us perfectly, who has always known us. Then, for the first time, we shall know ourselves even as also we are known. We shall not have to await the Judge’s sentence; we shall read it at a glance, whatever it be, in this new apprehension of what we are.  (H. P. Liddon, Penny Pulpit, No. 1098)

​Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 
Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

6/27/2024
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough
and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven,
and before thee, 
And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him,
and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 
And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and
am no more worthy to be called thy son. 
But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring
on his hand, and shoes on his feet: Luk 15:7-22
Going Home

His underlying aim is to look out for himself. He wanted his father’s goods, but not his presence. This is the germ of sin—an independent, proud, unloving spirit toward God.
He chose the company that fitted his spirit. He sought others for what he could get out of them; they sought him for what they could get out of him. He had plenty of company as long as he had substance to waste on them. What he spent on them was wasted. What they gave him was wasted. The whole traffic was utter loss on both sides. They had not only outward possessions, but a wealth of intellect, affection, beauty, genius. They wasted it all. This the seeker for self and not God always does. He uses his talents to cover up his real aims and passions.
The world is a desert to a sinner who has run through the gifts of God, and he is absolutely certain to run them through in a little while. The friends he had chosen; and they have cast him off as soon as his goods are gone. He became the servant of a foreigner, whom the Jew despised. He tended swine, which were hateful to the Jew. He was hungry for the food which the swine fed on, and couldn’t get it. Yet even this degradation was his own choice.
Then, he comes to himself. ​He sees now where he is, that he has brought himself into this poverty. Many call God cruel after they have wasted the abundance of gifts from him. They have received all they ask for, have made no acknowledgment, have wasted all, and then, finding themselves wretched, they say that God has done it. But not so this prodigal. He said, “ Father, I have sinned.”
Ragged and worn, with the stench of the swine pits on him, he rises and trudges home, not knowing if his father would receive him, or would reject him.  (Biblical Illustrator)

But, still from a far distance, the father ran. No hesitation, no slowing of pace-he ran. 
When the sinner starts for God, God starts for the sinner. God does not come out with a slow and hesitating pace; the infinite spaces slip beneath His feet, and He takes worlds at a bound.
​The father is silent, and that silence is Godlike. He receives the confession, for it is true, it is necessary; nothing can excuse the deeds, nothing can change the character of that awful past; but he does not dwell upon the painful subject, he does not open up the wound afresh. 

​As he cannot say a word in excuse, he will not speak at all. His silence is condemnation. Thus God deals with man, maintaining a silence which is merciful. He casts the sins behind His back. “He giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not.”
Then, he is given the best robe- representing the “garment of salvation,” or the “robe of righteousness,” which God puts upon every one who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. And a ring a beautiful emblem of the new heart and tender conscience which God’s grace brings to the penitent and believing soul. These tokens depict the gifts and graces bestowed to all who receive Christ and salvation.
​(Lorna Couillard)

6/26/2025
​For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. Rom 7:18
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O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 
 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God;
​but with the flesh the law of sin. Rom 7:24-25
Examining Ourselves

A disheartening discovery—Some of us, when we find others failing just at the point where we should think them particularly strong, can hardly be surprised if we find that we too are failing. Paul, is a pattern of Christian living; yet he laments the discovery of his shortcomings. And as for ourselves, we constantly regret the discovery of our weakness in face of temptation. We are not all tempted alike, but temptation of some sort is inevitable. Think of the various resolutions for good living by different men, and how they fail—the thief, drunkard. The text lets in light on one of the saddest chapters in the world’s experiences. Somewhere or somehow we see the fruits of our weakness; we get daily evidence that there is “none righteous.” The whole thing is a matter of experience, and by no means a theological principle merely.

Why are we so powerless? Because our temptations assail us at our weakest points. The man who has no love of money would never be tempted to miserliness. “Every man is tempted by his own lust”— by his own particular evil bent or propensity. Many examples in Bible: Solomon, drawn away by love of women; Lot, by love of strong drink; Balaam, by love of money.
(Preacher's Homiletical)

Who Shall Deliver Us From the Body of this Death? Souls groaning under the body of sin and death can find no relief but through Jesus Christ. None but an almighty Savior is suited to the case of a poor sinner. This doctrine reproves the Church of Rome, and others, for directing men, not to Christ, but to themselves; to their vows, alms, penances, and pilgrimages; or, to their greater watchfulness and strictness in life. But as Luther observes, “How many have tried this way for many years, and yet could get no peace.” Now, what is there in Christ that can relieve a soul?
1.The blood of Christ, which was shed as an atoning sacrifice for sin.
2.A perfect and everlasting righteousness. This our apostle, doubtless, had in view: for he immediately adds (Rom_8:1). “Christ is made unto us of God, wisdom and righteousness.”
The Spirit of Christ which is given to all true believers, as an abiding principle, teaching them to fight and war with sin.
3.That souls thus exercised, finding relief only in Christ, will actually receive and embrace Him. None will receive Christ, but they only who are taught to see their need of Him.
They, who see this relief in Christ, who receive and embrace it, must and will give thanks to God for it. The angels, heavens spirits, bringing the joyful news to our apostate world, sang, “Glory to God in the highest, for peace on earth, and good will towards men.” And surely, if we who are redeemed to God by His blood, should hold our peace on so joyful an occasion, “the stones would immediately cry out.”
All those who have received Christ, and have given thanks to God for Him, will look upon Him as their Lord and their God. (J. Stafford)

6/25/2025
And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come,
he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 
Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh
at an hour when ye think not. Luk 12:39-40
​Remaining Prepared

A Serious Crisis for Some.—The Parousia, that event so glorious and so welcome to the faithful servants of Jesus, is for the world a serious and dread crisis. He who returns is not only a Master well-beloved, who gives to each that which he has sacrificed for Him, but also a thief, who will then take away all that they have not been able to guard.
The Prepared and the Unprepared.—Those ready find Him a friend: only those not ready find His coming as uncomfortable as that of a thief. (Godet)

God has wisely hidden from us the day of death, that we may be always ready and watching for His coming.
There is never but a step, a breath, a heart-throb, between any man and death - While the citadel is guarded, and the walls and gates are watched day and night with sleepless vigilance, an unseen foe lurks within, and with noiseless tread, at the midnight hour, enters the chamber of the sleeper, and life is extinct. Be ready, O man - The Son of Man may come at any hour, in any place, by any agency, along any one of a thousand unseen avenues. (Homiletic Review)

6/24/2025
For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me,
saith the LORD. 
They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us;
neither shall we see sword nor famine: 
And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them:
thus shall it be done unto them. Jer 5:11-13
The Consequences of the Fool

Though Judah and Israel were at variance with each other, they agreed in wronging the Lord, who had given them all the national blessings, victories and honors they ever knew. Israel had reaped the bitter fruits: O that Judah would be forewarned! Otherwise, they would be united in misery. Alike faithless, a like fate.
“They have belied the Lord,” denied Him, Either: 1. Denied that God was such as Jeremiah described,—a punisher of evildoers; or, 2. Denied that the coming disasters were in any sense God’s doing,—He has nothing to do with it, they come apart from Him; or, 3. Denied the existence of Jehovah as God, as their God,—repudiated Him, wanted to hear nothing of or from Him.
Sin deadens the sensibility, excludes God from thought, until practical indifference and defiance of Him rule the life. Easy and natural, when we dislike God, to ignore Him and revolt from His claims.
Their conscience seared, past feeling, desiring not the knowledge of God’s ways, till “the fool says in his heart, There is no God.” And “the god of this world blinds the minds of them that believe not.”

The state of Judah and Israel was one of obstinate unbelief. Today, it has remained the same-to this day they do not as a nation, recognize their Messiah-Jesus Christ.
Christ has been preached by those who know the truth, and they've consistently rejected Him, as most of the world has. They remain as they were in Jeremiah's day, and have stubbornly continued to look to the traditions of the former laws and traditions of their fathers; and have not believed they would ever suffer the consequences of their sin. They've had 2000 years to turn and repent-and receive their risen Messiah-but still to this day refuse. God's doing what He said He would do, and the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse are riding, and God's word will unfold, as the prophet John saw on the Isle of Patmos.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 

6/23/2025
 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Joh 8:12
I Am the Light of the World

​How did He accomplish this? By the manifestation of His person even more than by His doctrine, since He said, not “I bring the light and the truth,” but “I am the light, and I am the truth.” He is the light of the world, because in Him is the glory of God. His words are madness, and something very like blasphemy, unless they are vindicated by the visible indwelling in Him of the present God. The cloud of the humanity, “the veil, that is to say, his flesh,” enfolds and tempers; and through its transparent folds it reveals, even while it swathes, the Godhead.

Like some fleecy vapor flitting across the sun, and irradiated by its light, it enables our weak eyes to see light, and not darkness, in the else intolerable blaze. Yes! Thou art the light of the world, because in Thee dwelleth “the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Thy servant hath taught us the meaning of Thy words, when he said: “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us; and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
(Note: J. G. Greenhough, The Cross in Modern Life, 90)

"He that followeth me shall in nowise walk in darkness - In ignorance, wickedness, misery: but shall have the light of life - He that closely, humbly, steadily follows me, shall have the Divine light continually shining upon him, diffusing over his soul knowledge, holiness, joy, till he is guided by it to life everlasting."  (John Wesley)

6/22/2025
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap. Gal 6:7
​Reaping What is Sown

​Long before we gather into our arms the final harvest, we are receiving according to what we have done, whether it be good or evil. In the end we shall still be as we have been, only in more perfect measure. “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” Let us not imagine that the principles of moral order will be different in the end from what they were at the beginning—God is always judging us as He will judge us at the last. The end is not yet. The harvest still tarries. The cornstalk is not matured, nor the full grain shown in the ear. But we are making our future every hour, and with many of us the crop is fast ripening into the eternal day.
​​Every evil thought or deed has sentence against it speedily executed in the character. One cannot do a mean thing or think a base thought without becoming like the thing he thinks or does. The worm takes on the color of the leaf upon which it feeds.

Every vile thought leaves its trail of slime behind, leaves the mind filthier for even its momentary presence. Every bad act of a man’s life makes it easier for him evermore to do the bad. A miser not only scrapes his fingers to the bone in raking together his money, he hardens his heart to the core. “What is put into the strong box,” it is truly said, “is taken out of the man.” He who cheats, is cheating himself worse than all others. The thief steals from himself; the liar turns himself into a living lie; the profligate is his own victim. The man who attempts to injure his neighbor, only succeeds in injuring himself. The wrong that he does his own soul is ten times more severe and lasting than any evil he can inflict on others. “No man,” says Burke, “ever had a point of pride that was not injurious to him”; and St. Bernard wrote: “Nothing can work me damage except myself; the harm that I sustain I carry about with me, and never am a real sufferer but by my own fault.”
(Note: Carlyle, Past and Present, bk. i. ch. ii.)

1Co 6:9  Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 
1Co 6:10  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 
​​1Co 15:33  Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 

6/21/2025
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might
by his Spirit in the inner man; 
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 
 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length,
and depth, and height; 
 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the
fulness of God. 
​​Prayer for Spiritual Strength

For this cause I bow my knees - That you may not faint, but persevere, I frequently pray to God, who is our God and the Father of our Lord Jesus. Some very ancient and excellent MSS. and versions omit the words του Κυριου ἡμων Ιησου Χριστου, of our Lord Jesus Christ. And in them the passage reads: I bow my knees unto the Father.
​The apostle prays to God the Father, that they may not faint; and he bows his knees in this praying. What can any man think of himself, who, in his addresses to God, can either sit on his seat or stand in the presence of the Maker and Judge of all men? Would they sit while addressing any person of ordinary respectability? If they did so they would be reckoned very rude indeed. Would they sit in the presence of the king of their own land? They would not be permitted so to do. Is God then to be treated with less respect than a fellow mortal? Paul kneeled in praying, Act_20:36; Act_21:5. Stephen kneeled when he was stoned, Act_7:60. And Peter kneeled when he raised Tabitha, Act_9:40.

Many parts of this prayer bear a strict resemblance to that offered up by Solomon, 2Ch_6:1, when dedicating the temple:
2Ch 6:1  Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. 

​He kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven; 2Ch_6:13.
2Ch 6:13  For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven,

​The apostle was now dedicating the Christian Church, that then was and that ever should be, to God; and praying for those blessings which should ever rest on and distinguish it; and he kneels down after the example of Solomon, and invokes him to whom the first temple was dedicated, and who had made it a type of the Gospel Church.  (Adam Clarke)

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. 
1Co 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 
1Co 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. 
​2Co_6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 

6/20/2025
​Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain:
and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 
Jas 5:18  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain,
and the earth brought forth her fruit. Jas 5:17-18
EFFECTUAL PRAYER

​In view of the judgment-seat, at which we shall have to give an account of our words, we shall do well to employ the simplest, plainest speech, Mat_5:34; Mat_12:36-37.
​How shall we act in any given situation? The Apostle says in effect, be perfectly natural. The suffering should pray, the glad sing, the sick confess his sins and call for believing prayer. The oil is the symbol of the Holy Spirit.

​The body is the Holy Spirit’s temple, and He is asked to bring it to the level of that spiritual wholeness which is His ideal. Where He gives the prayer that can affirm and claim, there is no doubt that perfect health will result. But there is all the difference between human telepathy and divine healing, which is God’s gift to faith.
Elijah became what he was by faith and prayer. Naturally he was subject to the same fears and failings as ourselves. There are two reasons why we should endeavor to convert men: (1) for their salvation, (2) for the arrest of their baleful influence.  (F.B. Meyer)

6/19/2025
​And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 
And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word of God.  Luk 4:3-4
​Tempted by the Devil

​As the waters of Jordan bisect the Holy Land, so does our Lord’s baptism bisect His holy life. In that act He had identified Himself with the world’s sin; and now, as the High Priest who was to deal with sin and sinners, He must be “in all points” tempted and tested “like as we are.”

​He took into the wilderness a perfect humanity of flesh and blood, made in all points like His brethren, though without sin. He elected to fight His great fight, not by the use of the divine attributes, but as Son of man. Where the first Adam fell, the second must stand.
First, He could not use His native power for His own gratification. Second, He would abide strictly within the limitations of the world He had entered, Heb_2:16-17. Third, He would win His kingdom by the Cross.  (F.B. Meyer)

​Heb 2:16  For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. 
Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. 

6/18/2025
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 
Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 
And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God,
​nor regard man; 
Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 
And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 
And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he
bear long with them? 
I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Luk 1-8
THE LESSON FOR DARK DAYS​

​“Shall He find faith?”—Our Lord spoke these words to show that when faith fails, prayer dies. In order to pray, then, we must have faith; and that our faith fail not, we must pray. Faith pours forth prayer; and the pouring forth of the heart in prayer gives steadfastness to faith.—Augustine.
“Find faith.”—Cf. Mat_24:12 : “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”

​There are three phases in our Lord’s teaching about prayer-that of Mat_6:1-34, Luk_18:1-43, and the words of Joh_14:1-31; Joh_15:1-27. In Luk_18:1-8 He exhorts to uniformity and urgency. There is an aspect of prayer that we are in danger of overlooking when the skies are blue and the sun is shining, and that is, the need of holy violence.
This lesson is taught, in the parable of this paragraph, by a striking contrast which may be stated thus: If an unjust and ungodly judge will finally grant a just petition, out of base and selfish motives and merely to save himself from being worried by a defenseless and oppressed woman, how much more shall the just and merciful God hear the cry and avenge the cause of those whom He loves. If answers to certain prayers, which we have offered in an agony of tears, are slow in coming, we may be sure, either that the time is not ripe, or that He is going to do something better.  (F.B. Meyer)

In the parables Jesus spoke there are always layers of meaning, that we have to be willing to search out, and find them. In the literal sense, in the last verse Jesus asks a question-and I believe a very prophetic one. He knows the beginning and the end, has the ability to see down the corridors of time to the days we are living in now. What would He have seen. Cold selfishness, constant ambition and competition for money, fame, and power. Corruption in every institution, but cleverly covered with a veneer of integrity. In Noah's day, every thought and intent was evil continually-that is the way it is today. Jesus saw our day, and we who are His, see it, just as He did. 
Today, those who truly desire a walk with God, and voice their faith, and practice it are mocked, ridiculed and persecuted. If you preach the true gospel of Christ without compromise, you will not be popular, you will be a target; just as the first disciples were. You will have to be willing to stand alone, or fall into the cotton candy gospel preached by many false preacher's out there today. 
Prayerlessness, and biblical illiteracy is rampant among Christians in America-even though you can get a bible today free for the asking in many ministries. Many Christians have more than one bible, but when asked what the 10 commandments are, or basic doctrines of the New Testament, they can't tell you. Most church goers do not take a bible with them to church-they rely solely on what is fed to them from the pulpit-and today, homosexuals, and transgenders are preaching from pulpits in many churches, that are totally apostate. This, is what Jesus meant by that question-long ago, as he stood and gave this parable. He also saw the soon coming escalation of wars we are seeing on the news, and the catastrophic conditions that are coming to the world-and many are still in their stupor, and remain in rebellion and unbelief-they are not ready to meet the Christ, that they reject. I shudder thinking of this. 
Even so, come soon Lord Jesus
​Lorna Couillard

6/17/2025
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 
 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 
 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. Gen1:1-4
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Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Jas 1:17
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Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Heb 13:8​
The Father of Lights

God, is the Creator of every light of the material world, and the source of all moral light. God is unchangeable, always the same, nor does he cast a shadow of turning like the sun.

​God is the fountain of all goodness, the giver of all good gifts, the author of all good things in men, He works whatsoever is good in the whole world. Here, Peter calls Him the God of all grace (1Pe_5:10), because all grace and all good gifts come only from Him, as from a well-head and fountain. All the effects of God’s will are only good, and whatsoever virtue, grace, Food gifts, it is from God.

No evil, but every good gift - Whatever tends to holiness. And every perfect gift - Whatever tends to glory. Descendeth from the Father of lights - The appellation of Father is here used with peculiar propriety. It follows, "he begat us." He is the Father of all light, material or spiritual, in the kingdom of grace and of glory. With whom is no variableness - No change in his understanding. Or shadow of turning - in his will. He infallibly discerns all good and evil; and invariably loves one, and hates the other. There is, in both the Greek words, a metaphor taken from the stars, particularly proper where the Father of lights is mentioned. Both are applicable to any celestial body, which has a daily vicissitude of day and night, and sometimes longer days, sometimes longer nights. In God is nothing of this kind. He is mere light. If there Is any such vicissitude, it is in ourselves, not in him. (John Wesley)

Cross references: ​from the: Gen_1:2-5, Gen_1:14-15; Deu_4:19; Psa_19:1-8, Psa_84:11; Isa_45:7, Isa_60:19; Joh_1:9; Joh_8:12; 2Co_4:6; Eph_1:18; 1Jn_1:5; Rev_21:23, Rev_22:5
no variableness: Num_23:19; 1Sa_15:29; Psa_122:6; Isa_46:10; Mal_3:6; Rom_11:29; Heb_1:11-12, Heb_13:8

6/16/2025
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 
For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Mat 13:14-15
Sown Among Rocks

​Heart is waxed gross - Επαχυνθη, is become fat - inattentive stupid, insensible. They hear heavily with their ears - are half asleep while the salvation of God is preached unto them.

Their eyes they have closed - Totally and obstinately resisted the truth of God, and shut their eyes against the light.

Lest - they should see- Lest they should see their lost estate, and be obliged to turn unto God, and seek his salvation. His state is truly deplorable who is sick unto death, and yet is afraid of being cured. The fault is here totally in the people, and not at all in that God whose name is Mercy and whose nature is love.
(Adam Clarke)

6/15/2025
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 
 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are
 wrought in God. Joh 3:20-21
Repelled by the Light

Doers of truth love the light. They are neither ashamed nor fearful. Let the light shine, and it will justify them, and reveal the glory of God in their truth doing. The sentiment of a man towards the truth is an index to his character.

A wicked man’s conscience tells him that he must have some religion, and therefore so long as the minister calls only for some hearing, he responds. The vilest drunkard will be content to hear of calling on the Lord Jesus at his death; otherwise their consciences would not be quiet.

That which scares the wicked from, draws the godly unto the Word. The owl flies from the morning light, which other birds welcome.
​(J. Dyke.)

6/14/2025
And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. Dan 11:32
Strength in God

​They that know their God, know his will, and are disposed to do it. And this is one article of the revealed will of God, that we should be ready, when we are called by providence, to defend our king and country, our liberties, and our religion. “Honor the king.” “Be subject to every ordinance of man, for the Lord’s sake.” The difference between those who know their God and other men, is, that most other men will do some things that God requires, but they are not ready for every good work. Where their life, their interest, their credit, may suffer by obeying the will of God, they must be excused; but the lovers of God delight to show their obedience, where self-denial must be practiced.
​They that know their God are strengthened to do exploits, by their confidence in God as their God. “They that know his name will put their trust in him”; and “through him they will do valiantly.” Our confidence in God is founded on the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ. “He is the way: no man cometh to the Father but by him.” Now, when we believe in Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and life everlasting, what have we to fear? God. We may die, but we cannot be hurt. It is a consciousness of guilt that disqualifies us for dangerous duties.

​The people that do know God, have learned patiently to do his will. None can hope to do exploits that is unqualified to bear those things that are unpleasant to the flesh. Hardness must be endured by every good soldier of Jesus Christ. “If we faint in the day of adversity, our strength is but small.”
The people that do know their God, are prepared for extraordinary services, by the ordinary course of their service to God. When men are daily adding sin to sin by obstinate impenitence, they prepare thorns and briars to tear their consciences, when an evil day comes. If you say that you know God, and keep not his commandments, you are liars. Great exploits were done by the heroes of God’s people. All that know their God, have learned to keep up an intercourse with him by prayer; and in the time of distress and danger, they pray more earnestly. Great are the victories which prayer and faith hath obtained.​ ​(Biblical Illustrator)

6/13/2925
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Joh 14:27
​Peace in God

​The Earl of Dundonald fought with his solitary ship a line of formidable forts in South America, whose fire proved so raking that his men could not be got to stand to their guns.
Calling his wife, he asked her to fire one of the guns, and show these men how to do their duty. She did so. Instantly they returned, burning with shame, to their posts, and soon the victory was theirs. ​The lady, in rehearsing the circumstance, said that the thing that was felt by her to be the most terrible, was not the din of battle, not the raking fire, but the awful calmness that sat fixed on her husband’s countenance, as it seemed to carry in itself the sure presage of victory. This we can all understand. Every moral nature feels that settled calmness in the face of dangers and deaths is the loftiest example of the sublime.

Of this we have one peerless example in the man Christ Jesus, who, on the eve of His agony, utters these words. We have here a word of farewell; "Peace be with you." ​But what are such legacies compared with that which Jesus here bequeaths to the humblest of His disciples. If we have Christ’s peace, no matter for anyone’s curse, no matter what wrath may surround our head. Peace is here used twice, and occurs first in its general sense. Peace within, in the calm serenity of a pardoned and reconciled soul; peace without, in every needed temporal blessing; peace in storms and afflictions, in the precious gift of a “heart established, trusting in the Lord”; peace in persecution; yea, “perfect peace,” blessing them that curse us, doing good to them that hate us; peace in death; for “mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace”; peace in the grave, for there the body is stretched out in repose, “where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest”; and the consummation of all peace in heaven.
​(T. Guthrie, D. D.)

My Peace--Maranatha Music
https://youtu.be/tlA13M33jcU?si=wRUL6za_EY6bkvTc

6/12/2025
​For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom 6:23
​Wages - Or the Gift

​The wages of sin is death. “Wages” here means “the rations” supplied as pay to a soldier. If sin is your commander, you will have “death” to eat as your pay. “Sin” is treated as a person, even as “God” is, and the more we treat it as a living enemy, the more we are likely to fight against it manfully. “Death” may be defined as separation. Spiritual death is a present separation from God. Physical death is a separation of body and soul, and the separation of both from this world. Eternal death is final, total separation of body and soul from heaven, and from God forever.
What is sin-read the ten commandments. Do you lie, steal, covet something that belongs to somebody else, do you worship a false god, practice idolatry with vain images and statues, do you swear-and take the Name of God in vain, do you bear false witness against people, and falsely accuse people, are you practicing adultery, fornication-sex outside of marriage? 

Every time you do what you know to be wrong, every time you surrender yourselves to a thought which you know to be evil, you are earning the wages of sin which are death—death to all peace of mind, to all noble feeling, to all nobility of character, to all solid success in life.
The wages of sin are seen in shattered lives, destroyed bodies by self-inflicted diseases, destroyed homes, and marriages, and nations.
By the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ unworthy sinners may have eternal life in Christ, and that as a gift from God, and not as something which is to be had in another world, but something which may be had in this. Turning to Christ, and receiving His mercy and grace, brings life and life everlasting. We know we belong to Him, and when this life is over, we will join Him and the saints in heaven. Choose this day-who you will serve. (Biblical Illustrator)

6/11/2025
​​​ For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods. Psa 97:9
The Lord Reigns

​The keynote here is the reign of God. To the wicked, it spells misery; to the believer, it is the inauguration of harmony and joy. It is as though herald-angels step from isle to isle, from mountain peak to mountain peak, with the glad tidings of great joy. It is not always easy to trace its advent. Clouds and darkness are around him. The eye of sense cannot penetrate the black enclosing pall, but faith is ever certain that righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne.

​Sometimes God comes in fire, Psa_97:3, as at Sinai, or on the day of Pentecost, which took place on the anniversary of the giving of the Law. Days come like that on which Jerusalem fell, or when the Turks took Constantinople, or when Napoleon was shattered at Waterloo-then hills melt like wax. But through all dark and terrible dispensations the Kingdom is secretly growing, the Lord is being exalted, and light is being sown for His people, Psa_97:11. So, believer, your tears and fightings, as they pass, are absorbing heaven’s love and power, which they will hold in reserve though buried for long in the dark. Days are at hand of unspeakable gladness. Be of good cheer.  (F.B. Meyer)

6/10/2025
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 
Jesus Christ the Creator

​Who is the image of the invisible God. He came in order to reveal the Father in his own person. See Joh_14:10, and Heb_1:3. The love of God is revealed in Christ. He was the visible representative of the invisible God.
The first-born of every creature. The thought is that he existed before creation began; born of God instead of being created by the divine fiat; born before any creature was called into existence. The passage does not say that he was the first created, but the first-born. He was before creation.

​By him were all things created. Hence he must have existed before any creation. Compare Joh_1:3, and Heb_1:2. As God manifested himself by means of the Son in the gospel, so in creation he manifested himself through the Son. The visible universe is a manifestation of God through the Son. THE WORD is the power that gives all things existence that exist.
Thrones, dominions, principalities. The angelic hierarchy; different ranks of angels, according to the teachings of some of the Jewish doctors. A heresy had already been proposed that divided these into ranks, assigned them an undue prominence, and held that Christ was only an angel. Paul does not pause to say whether these divisions are correct, but declares that Christ is above them all, created them, and that they were created for him. One of these heresies he wished to counteract was the doctrine of angel worship.
And he is before all things. He was before them all in time, and through him they came into existence.  (B.W. Johnson)

6/9/2025​
O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psa 136:26
God's Eternal Goodness

​“O give thanks unto the God of heaven.” The title is full of honour. The Lord is God in the highest realms, and among celestial beings. His throne is set in glory, above all, out of reach of foes, in the place of universal oversight. He who feeds ravens and sparrows is yet the glorious God of the highest realms. ​Angels count it their glory to proclaim his glory in every heavenly street.

See herein the greatness of his nature, the depth of his condescension, and the range of his love. Mark the one sole cause of his bounty - “For his mercy endureth for ever.” He hath done all things from this motive; and because his mercy never ceases, he will continue to multiply deeds of love world without end. Let us with all our powers of heart and tongue give thanks unto the holy name of Jehovah for ever and ever.
Change and decay in all around I see,
O thou who changest not, abide with me.
​(Charles Spurgeon-Treasury of David)

6/8/2025
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. Heb 10:35
Spiritual Confidence

​Spiritual confidence is centered on Christ-His inherent goodness, His power to save and in the riches Christ will give to his people. For the better understanding of this, it is well to bear in mind the difference there is between confidence and faith. They are much the same in their exercise; still they are different. Confidence is the outcome of faith. Confidence is stronger than faith, and leads the soul onward to be bold and daring. Faith is as the root; confidence the branch springing out of the root. Confidence grows on faith, and cannot live without it; but faith may exist without confidence, though there can be no doubt that the one is affected by the other, and that as the one strengthens the other strengthens, or that as the one wanes the other also wanes. 

We see, therefore, that we may cast away our confidence by unbelief. Once begin to doubt the power and will of Christ to bless us, and our confidence is gone. 
​​The faith may not altogether have departed, but confidence is thrown away. In fact, it seems to be possible for one to have all the evidences of Christ’s character and goodness set before him, so that he cannot doubt, but must believe in Christ’s divinity and salvation; and yet to have no real confidence in Him, no confidence which leads one to trust Him fully, and to go forth in His name in all boldness and with Christian courage. If, then, you are a possessor of this confidence, hold it fast. It is a step in advance of the ordinary Christian plan. It leads to something more, something higher, bolder, and grinder, for Christ and for His cause. Hold it fast, and exercise it. The more it is cultivated and exercised, the more it will grow and the stronger it will become.
(Biblical Illustrator)

6/7/2025
​Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. Psa 34:14
​Pursuing Peace

“Depart from evil.” Go away from it. Not merely take your hands off, but yourself off. Live not near the pest-house. Avoid the lion's lair, leave the viper's nest. Set a distance between yourself and temptation. ​

“And do good.” Be practical, active, energetic, persevering in good. Positive virtue promotes negative virtue; he who does good is sure to avoid evil. “Seek peace.” Not merely prefer it, but with zeal and care endeavor to promote it. Peace with God, with thine own heart, with thy fellow man, search after this as the merchantman after a precious pearl. Nothing can more effectually promote our own happiness than peace; strife awakens passions which eat into the heart with corroding power. Anger is murder to one's own self, as well as to its objects. “And pursue it.” Hunt after it, chase it with eager desire. It may soon be lost, indeed, nothing is harder to retain, but do your best, and if enmity should arise let it be no fault of yours. Follow after peace when it shuns you; be resolved not to be of a contentious spirit. The peace which you thus promote will be returned into your own bosom, and be a perennial spring of comfort to you.
​(Charles Spurgeon-Treasury of David)

6/6/2025
​Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.  Pro 20:5
​+++++++
​For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 1Co 2:11
God's Wisdom Spiritually Revealed

Wisdom may lie deep within a man or woman, and not be immediately apparent. It may be a hidden reservoir, ready in the season of need.
“The metaphor is of a well whose waters are far beneath the surface of the ground so that one must use a bucket with a long rope to draw water to the surface. Thus a person’s real motives are ‘deep’ in that they are difficult to extract; one must be wary of the pretenses of others.” (Garrett)

​A man of understanding will draw it out: Wisdom not only knows how to get and have wisdom; it also knows how to use it. The wise man – the man of understanding – knows how to draw wisdom out for practical and ready use.
Will draw it out: “By prudent questions and discourses, and a diligent observation of his words and actions.” (Poole)

“Those who are wise can discern the motives of the heart.” (Ross)

For what man knoweth the things of a man - All the inmost recesses of his mind; although men are all of one nature, and so may the more easily know one another. So the things of God knoweth no one but the Spirit - Who, consequently, is God.
​(John Wesley)

The spirit of a man knows the things of a man: that is, a man is conscious of all the schemes, plans, and purposes, that pass in his own mind; and no man can know these things but himself. So, the Spirit of God, He whom we call the Third Person of the glorious Trinity, knows all the counsels and determinations of the Supreme Being. As the Spirit is here represented to live in God as the soul lives in the body of a man, and as this Spirit knows all the things of God, and had revealed those to the apostles which concern the salvation of the world, therefore what they spoke and preached was true, and men may implicitly depend upon it. The miracles which they did, in the name of Christ, were the proof that they had that Spirit, and spoke the truth of God.  (Adam Clarke)

​Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Mat 7:16
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Mat 7:20
Testing the Fruit​

"​This common figure is wonderfully expressive. Not leaves (professions), or appearance, are the proper tests of the life that is in the tree, but the fruit it bears. We are to test men and every institution by this principle.
​​Two of the most highly valued fruits of Israel  grapes and figs. Nothing is more common than thorns and thistles. Geike says that it is the land of thorns and thorny plants. Good fruit cannot be expected on such evil stocks."

​"We may be self-deceived for threescore years and ten, but the deception ceases on the other side. There we shall know even as we are known. Know what? Among other things, ourselves. There will be no delusions concerning our possessions when our eyes open on that eternal dawn. I bid you remember there will be no seeming to have, before the great white throne and Him who sits on it. All that is accidental and imaginary will be revealed in the light of that great day. If we have never let action do its work, and never seen ourselves amid life's changes, we have not escaped the judgment of the Christ."
(Selected excerpts-e-Sword devotions)

6/4/2025
​I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Psa 91:2
​The Souls Refuge in God

In times of suffering and trial they find safety and comfort in Him. He is also a “fortress.” The idea of this word is different from that of a refuge. The refuge was a quiet and secure hiding-place; the fortress is a place of defense against foes, which is strong to resist the attacks of opposing forces. In life’s warfare God is the stronghold of His people; He is their shield. “O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.” Having His protection we are invulnerable. In life’s storms He is the safe and quiet shelter of His people. “My soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.” The Psalmist speaks of the Lord as his “God” the object of His worship; One who is worthy of all obedience and affection, all reverence and confidence, all praise and glory. Jehovah was to the Psalmist all that a man expects in his God.

​Our safety is in God alone. Having Him for our God we are beyond the reach of any real harm. We secure His protection by trusting in Him. By faith we dwell in the secret place of the Most High, and are ever secure under His shadow. Do not fear or hesitate to trust God fully and for ever. Commit yourself with confidence into His hands, and you shall dwell safely by Him for ever.
​(Preacher's Homiletical)

6/3/2025
​My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. Jas 1:2-3
+++++++
​These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work. 1Ch 4:23
In The Potter's Hands

"​Potters were the very highest grade of workers, but "the king" needed potters, and therefore they were in royal service, although the material upon which they worked was nothing but clay. We, too, may be engaged in the most menial part of the Lord's work, but it is a great privilege to do anything for "the king"; and therefore we will abide in our calling, hoping that, "although we have lien among the pots, yet shall we be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold." The text tells us of those who dwelt among plants and hedges, having rough, rustic, hedging and ditching work to do. They may have desired to live in the city, amid its life, society, and refinement, but they kept their appointed places, for they also were doing the king's work. The place of our habitation is fixed, and we are not to remove from it out of whim and caprice, but seek to serve the Lord in it, by being a blessing to those among whom we reside. ​These potters and gardeners had royal company, for they dwelt "with the king" and although among hedges and plants, they dwelt with the king there. No lawful place, or gracious occupation, however mean, can debar us from communion with our divine Lord. In visiting hovels, swarming lodging-houses, workhouses, or jails, we may go with the king.

​In all works of faith we may count upon Jesus' fellowship. It is when we are in his work that we may reckon upon his smile. Ye unknown workers who are occupied for your Lord amid the dirt and wretchedness of the lowest of the low, be of good cheer, for jewels have been found upon dunghills ere now, earthen pots have been filled with heavenly treasure, and ill weeds have been transformed into precious flowers. Dwell ye with the King for his work, and when he writes his chronicles your name shall be recorded."
(Charles Spurgeon-Morning Devotion)

Note: There is misunderstanding by some, who believe these devotions are a reflection of my life personally, and are giving this message. No, when I choose a devotion it's after some prayer, and realizing from the years I worked in various jobs, that there are people all around you who are carrying burdens and heartaches they would never tell anyone. Something they may see here, May speak right to their heart. God knows this, and it's God who prompts me to choose each day's devotion, for this reason. They have nothing to do with me-it's a connection between God and the untold numbers of people who God may direct here, and minister to them by the message they read here. This is one of the many ways the Lord works, to reveal Himself, and draw people to Himself.  

6/2/2025
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself for me. Gal 2:20
Christ-The Center of Our Life​

We have first the great central fact, named last, but round which all the Christian life is gathered. “The Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.” To none of the Apostles did the appeal of the cross come with greater force than to Paul. He not only made Jesus Christ the center of all his preaching, but he placed the cross at the very heart of the gospel. The burden of his message was Christ crucified, as he knew well that the world’s hope centered in Him. The necessary preliminary to the spiritual life is to grasp in some measure the great facts of the Incarnation and the Atonement, which form the foundation of our salvation and sonship. We must see God in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. “He gave himself up for me”! He endued Himself with the robe of flesh, He entered the house of bondage, He took upon Him the form of a bondslave that He might set the bondslave free. He walked the pilgrim path of limitation, the path of sorrow and temptation; face to face He met the devil, face to face He met “the terror feared of man,” becoming “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” “He gave himself up for me”! And in that holy sacrifice of love, the holy law of God received perfect obedience, the violated law of God received a holy satisfaction, the sovereignty of the devil was smitten and overthrown, boastful death lost its sting, and the omnivorous grave its victory.

No doctrine, no conception of the Atonement can explain to us the cross of Christ. We stand before that cross that we may gather its meaning for ourselves, that we may feel its import, that we may see its entire and absolute unlikeness to anything else, and so feel that its significance could be explained only by some conception of what we call the Atonement. This cannot exist to us as a logical statement. It exists as a vital truth. As we gaze upon the cross of Christ, and see the sacrifice that He there made, we see and feel that the perfectness of His suffering, the entire self-control that He possessed, and all the great drama of the Crucifixion, showed a beauty, a completeness of His manhood, which indeed bore our sins. Great was the power of sin, terrible was the exhibition of its power at the foot of the cross; but above all human vileness and corruption, above all human selfishness and self-seeking, above all temporary scheming and plotting there rose the perfect form of Him who was the Eternal Truth. 

​Who by His death and suffering testified against all the false seeming of the world and its power, who by His perfect patience and love overcame the pangs of death, who showed that there was something which was above and beyond the world, something which raises our hearts to Him, something which lifts us above those powers and forces under the influence of which our ordinary life is lived, something which gives us a sense of redemption. (Note: Mandell Creighton, Counsels for Churchpeople, 119)

6/1/2025
​And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning
​were the first day. Gen 1:5
​A New Beginning

All beginnings must begin with God. Always put God first. The first stone in every building, our first thought every morning, the first aim and purpose of all activity. Begin the book of the year with God, and you will end it with the glory of the New Jerusalem. At first, as in the physical creation, your heart and life may seem to be “without form and void.” Do not be discouraged, the Spirit of God is within you, brooding amid the darkness, and presently His Light will shine through. It is the blessed presence of the Lord Jesus that stirs in your heart and will presently rule your life, Joh_1:4. His Presence divides between the good and evil. You must distinguish between Christ and self. Follow the gleam, and you shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. God’s days begin in evenings, and always end in mornings. (F.B. Meyer)

​We have here a farther account of the first day's work. In which observe, 1. That the first of all visible beings which God created was light, the great beauty and blessing of the universe: like the first - born, it doth, of all visible beings, most resemble its great parent in purity and power, brightness and beneficence. 2. That the light was made by the word of God's power; He said, Let there be light - He willed it, and it was done; there was light - Such a copy as exactly answered the original idea in the eternal mind. 3. That the light which God willed, he approved of. God saw the light, that it was good - 'Twas exactly as he designed it; and it was fit to answer the end for which he designed it. 4. That God divided the light from the darkness - So put them asunder as they could never be joined together: and yet he divided time between them, the day for light, and the night for darkness, in a constant succession. 

​Tho' the darkness was now scattered by the light, yet it has its place, because it has its use; for as the light of the morning befriends the business of the day, so the shadows of the evening befriend the repose of the night. God has thus divided between light and darkness, because he would daily mind us that this is a world of mixtures and changes. In heaven there is perpetual light, and no darkness; in hell utter darkness, and no light: but in this world they are counter - changed, and we pass daily from one to another; that we may learn to expect the like vicissitudes in the providence of God. 5. That God divided them from each other by distinguishing names. He called the light Day, and the darkness he called night - He gave them names as Lord of both. He is the Lord of time, and will be so 'till day and night shall come to an end, and the stream of time be swallowed up in the ocean of eternity. 6. That this was the first day's work, The evening and the morning were the first day - The darkness of the evening was before the light of the morning, that it might set it off, and make it shine the brighter. (John Wesley)