Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

(2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV)

Christianity is not devotion to work, or to a cause, or a doctrine, but devotion to a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul refused to take anything or anyone seriously but Jesus Christ.

Oswald Chamber

Daily Meditations by Pat Nordman ©

July 10

Greediness is a terrible affliction. Noiseless and secret giving of those tangibles and intangibles we so covet can be a cure for our intense wants that we translate into needs. We have heard the expression that today's luxuries become tomorrow's necessities. For those who live in the tropical zone, air conditioning has become an essential to healthand yet, how did our ancestors do without it?

Sacrifice? Say that today, and it could mean giving up our television programs for one night. We have not resisted to the point of shedding blood or tears in our striving against our inclinations (Hebrews 12:4). Priorities, friends!

Pat Nordman ©

Excerpts from today's Spurgeon's Devotions
Spurgeon's Morning for July 10	Spurgeon's Evening for July 10
"Fellow citizens with the saints." - Ephesians 2:19	"And the evening and the morning were the first day." - Genesis 1:5
What is meant by our being citizens in heaven? It means that we are under heaven's government. Christ the king of heaven reigns in our hearts; our daily prayer is, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."	The evening was "darkness" and the morning was "light," and yet the two together are called by the name that is given to the light alone! This is somewhat remarkable, but it has an exact analogy in spiritual experience. In every believer there is darkness and light, and yet he is not to be named a sinner because there is sin in him, but he is to be named a saint because he possesses some degree of holiness.

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July 10 Job 5:1 - 8:22

365 days of Bible Readings Linked to Bible Gaitway TM

Current Bible Question

How old was Noah when God sent the flood?

Previous question and Answer:

Abram was brought out of what land?

Ur of the Chaldees (Genesis 15:7)

Today's Devotion

But my mouth would encourage you;
comfort from my lips would bring you relief.
Job 16:5 (NIV)

Private Conversations

by Cathy Vinson

" Be on your guard against the yeast...which is hypocrisy"

(Luke 12:1)

What does yeast do? It leavens. What does leavening affect? It leavens the whole.

Hypocrisy means wearing a mask. Before we quickly dismiss ourselves from donning the mask of hypocrisy so easily worn by others, we should look closely at the Lord's explanation of it (Lk 12:1-3). The same person we are smiling towards WILL one day hear loudly proclaimed what we have said about them in the dark. "Nothing will be concealed..." (vs 2) How devastating when people learn how we really felt about them! That alone should be a deterrent to our hypocrisy.

Then who should we vent to? Even here nothing is exempted. Listen..."What you have said in the dark WILL be heard in the daytime; and what you have whispered In the ear IN the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetop" (vs 3). Even the most intimate setting in our house is "bugged."

Shouldn't we have a confidante? at least one? If we were honest, we have abused such relationships. Knowing there is a listening ear can diffuse our burden to pray. It also puts the listener in the precarious position of hearing what only God should hear.

Hypocrisy leavens. Our hypocrisy infects and can harm our listener (Proverbs 18:8, 26:22). The Ear who hears what we speak to another will broadcast it over the air waves some day.

May we walk in repentance regarding this. David wisely said, "I have resolved that my mouth will not sin. I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth" (Ps 39:1).

Send a note to Cathy Vinson , the writer of this devotion.

Hypocrisy means wearing a mask. Before we quickly dismiss ourselves from donning the mask of hypocrisy so easily worn by others, we should look closely at the Lord's explanation of it.

More Whispers from the Wilderness