[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR MONDAY JUNE 13

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR MONDAY JUNE 13

MEMORY SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK

NOTE: I refer to this verse as "The saddest verse in the Bible".

Jeremiah 8:20
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. 

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WORD OF WISDOM

Live every day like it's going to be your last, because one day you're going
to be right.

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DAILY DEVOTION

Grow Up


For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach
you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are
become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that
useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But
strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason
of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Hebrews 5:12-14

We all celebrate when our children or grandchildren get their first teeth.
It's an important step in their growth and development. But we don't start
serving them steak that day. They still need baby food that has already been
processed and made easy for them. They aren't ready to eat "strong meat"
until they grow more and get more teeth. We expect that change to take place
as part of the natural process of growing up. If a child still couldn't eat
solid food by the time they started school, we would know that something had
gone wrong. The same thing is true in our Christian growth.
The Lord does not save us with the idea that we will stay baby Christians.
He expects us to grow up. But the responsibility for that growth rests with
us. We are called to do the work of spiritual growth. "But grow in grace,
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory
both now and for ever. Amen" (2 Peter 3:18).
J. C. Ryle wrote, "One thing essential to growth in grace is diligence in
the use of private means of grace. By these I understand such means as a man
must use by himself alone, and no one can use for him. I include under this
head private prayer, private reading of the Scriptures, and private
meditation and self-examination. The man who does not take pains about these
three things must never expect to grow."
Trying times require strong faith for us to remain consistent in our
Christian growth.

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DAILY BIBLE READING

Psalm 46-50 New King James Version
God the Refuge of His People and Conqueror of the Nations
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song for Alamoth.
46 God is our refuge and strength,
A[a] very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the [b]midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the [c]tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be [d]moved;
God shall help her, just [e]at the break of dawn.
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Praise to God, the Ruler of the Earth
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
47 Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
3 He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.
4 He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah

5 God has gone up with a shout,
The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with understanding.

8 God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.
9 The princes of the people have gathered together,
The people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted.

The Glory of God in Zion
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the city of our God,
In His holy mountain.
2 Beautiful in [f]elevation,
The joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.
3 God is in her palaces;
He is known as her refuge.

4 For behold, the kings assembled,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, and so they marveled;
They were troubled, they hastened away.
6 Fear took hold of them there,
And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,
7 As when You break the ships of Tarshish
With an east wind.

8 As we have heard,
So we have seen
In the city of the Lord of hosts,
In the city of our God:
God will establish it forever. Selah

9 We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 According to Your name, O God,
So is Your praise to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let Mount Zion rejoice,
Let the daughters of Judah be glad,
Because of Your judgments.

12 Walk about Zion,
And go all around her.
Count her towers;
13 Mark well her bulwarks;
Consider her palaces;
That you may tell it to the generation following.
14 For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide
[g]Even to death.

The Confidence of the Foolish
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will disclose my [h]dark saying on the harp.

5 Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
6 Those who trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,
7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him-
8 For the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever-
9 That he should continue to live eternally,
And not [i]see the Pit.

10 For he sees wise men die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.
11 [j]Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They call their lands after their own names.
12 Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not [k]remain;
He is like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the way of those who are foolish,
And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah
14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
And their beauty shall be consumed in [l]the grave, far from their dwelling.
15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of [m]the grave,
For He shall receive me. Selah

16 Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives he blesses himself
(For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),
19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see light.[n]
20 A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
Is like the beasts that perish.

God the Righteous Judge
A Psalm of Asaph.
50 The Mighty One, God the Lord,
Has spoken and called the earth
>From the rising of the sun to its going down.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.
3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.

4 He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
5 "Gather My saints together to Me,
Those who have [o]made a covenant with Me by sacrifice."
6 Let the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is Judge. Selah

7 "Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you;
I am God, your God!
8 I will not [p]rebuke you for your sacrifices
Or your burnt offerings,
Which are continually before Me.
9 I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.

12 "If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God thanksgiving,
And pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me."

16 But to the wicked God says:
"What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
17 Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
18 When you saw a thief, you consented[q] with him,
And have been a partaker with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth to evil,
And your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother's son.
21 These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.

22 "Now consider this, you who forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God."

Footnotes
Psalm 46:1 An abundantly available help
Psalm 46:2 Lit. heart
Psalm 46:4 dwelling places
Psalm 46:5 shaken
Psalm 46:5 Lit. at the turning of the morning
Psalm 48:2 height
Psalm 48:14 So with MT, Syr.; LXX, Vg. Forever
Psalm 49:4 riddle
Psalm 49:9 experience corruption
Psalm 49:11 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Their graves shall be their houses forever
Psalm 49:12 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. understand (cf. v. 20)
Psalm 49:14 Or Sheol
Psalm 49:15 Or Sheol
Psalm 49:19 The light of life
Psalm 50:5 Lit. cut
Psalm 50:8 reprove
Psalm 50:18 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. ran