You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit.
John 15:16a (NIV)
Child of God, the Lord chose you . . . only because he wanted you not because of your
strength, scholarship, or skill. We can take no credit or merit in being chosen.
— Neva Coyle
Daily Meditations by Pat Nordman ©
August 9
"...I beg you to listen to me patiently" (Acts 26:3c).
How many times we have wished someone would listen. What a gift to give to others: to bear
and endure with them.
Elderly people especially need another's ear and heart. "Nature has given to men one
tongue, but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak."
Epictetus. "Let the wise listen and add to their learning" (Proverbs 1:5). We
say again, how practical the Bible is. The less we say, the less trouble we will
accumulate. Every person can teach us something, if only a lesson in what we should or
shouldn't be or do.
Pat Nordman ©
Excerpts from today's Spurgeon's Devotions |
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Spurgeon's Morning for August 9 |
Spurgeon's Evening for August 9 |
| "The city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it." – Revelation 21:23 |
"He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils." - Mark 16:9 |
Here we lean upon the friendly arm, but there they lean upon their Beloved and upon him alone. Here we must have the help of our companions, but there they find all they want in Christ Jesus. |
Mary of Magdala became a trophy of the healing power of Jesus. All the seven demons left her, left her never to return, forcibly ejected by the Lord of all. What a blessed deliverance! What a happy change! From delirium to delight, from despair to peace, from hell to heaven! |
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August 9 Isa 43:1 - 46:13 |
Current Bible Question |
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Previous question and Answer:
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But my mouth would encourage you;
comfort from my lips would bring you relief.
Job 16:5 (NIV)
How Can I ? by Cathy Vinson
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Out of life's necessities we erect artificial boundaries. I can only go this far, we think, and there stands our limit...until One mercifully comes along beckoning us to open up at that point to Him. In Scripture this sentiment seems respectfully bestowed upon the female. As her lover comes to her door, Solomon's maiden says "HOW CAN I put on my coat?" She has spent her day. The putting off of her coat means a cessation of weary duties and errands. "HOW CAN I" dirty my feet now that I have bathed? The evening has brought the washing away of the day's sweat and grime. Please leave her shortlived cleanness untouched. Even Martha can be heard to be saying "HOW CAN I"...sit in repose when much is to be done. I even wonder if we can hear it in the heart of Lot's wife: "HOW CAN I leave my life here? This is the home my children were raised in, filled with cherished memories and decorated in due time. This is the town I have prayed for...these are the relationships cultivated, growing deeper roots as each season turned." "How can I?" There will be a softening going on at the edges of these long-guarded limits. And it will happen by the One who draws near out of the evening with his "head filled with dew, his locks with the drops of the night" (vs 2). He leaves some of His fragrance by the handles of the door, and I begin to repent. Will I still refrain because of my well-developed excuses? Or will I soften? If I shall not, won't I too learn the lesson of such starvation for His fellowship, that I will roam through the streets and find the true worth of the things I held at bay. I will be "sick of love" (vs 8). Cathy Vinson©
Send a note to Cathy Vinson , the writer of this devotion. |
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All the Rest for August 9 |
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