[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE 15

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE 15

WORD OF WISDOM

I went to an archaeologist's party where we were excavating a lower leg
bone. It was quite a shindig.'

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DAILY DEVOTION

Don't Quit


Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall
he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap
corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life
everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we
shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do
good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
Galatians 6:7-10

In the late 1700s, a new Sunday school class was formed in a small church in
Scotland. The superintendent promised he would furnish a new set of clothes
to every boy who would attend. The teacher was pleased to see a group of
well-dressed boys on the first Sunday. After a few weeks, a little boy named
Bob disappeared from class. When she went to visit, she found he had ruined
his clothes. The superintendent provided a new set, and Bob came again for a
few weeks before dropping out again. When the teacher discovered he had
ruined yet another set of clothes, she despaired, but the superintendent
gave Bob a third set of clothes, and this time he became faithful to the
church.
Bob grew up to be Robert Morrison, one of the pioneers of Chinese missions
and a translator of the Bible into the Chinese language. When he arrived on
the mission field in China, someone asked Morrison if he expected to make a
spiritual impact on that vast country. He replied, "No sir, but I expect God
will!" If his teacher and Sunday school superintendent had given up on him,
Morrison might not have ever been saved or become a missionary. The work of
God in people's lives is usually not observable immediately; it requires
repeated and continued investment. Rather than being discouraged and giving
up, we need to remain faithful to work and pray until the fruit of the
harvest is realized.
If we give up too soon, we will miss the certain harvest that God has
promised.

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DAILY BIBLE READING

Psalm 56-60 New King James Version
Prayer for Relief from Tormentors
To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]"The Silent Dove in Distant Lands." A
Michtam of David when the Philistines captured him in Gath.
56 Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up;
Fighting all day he oppresses me.
2 My enemies would hound me all day,
For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

3 Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
4 In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?

5 All day they twist my words;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They gather together,
They hide, they mark my steps,
When they lie in wait for my life.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God!

8 You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?
9 When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because God is for me.
10 In God (I will praise His word),
In the Lord (I will praise His word),
11 In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

12 Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;
I will render praises to You,
13 For You have delivered my soul from death.
Have You not kept my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God
In the light of the living?

Prayer for Safety from Enemies
To the Chief Musician. Set to [b]"Do Not Destroy." A Michtam of David when
he fled from Saul into the cave.
57 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
Until these calamities have passed by.

2 I will cry out to God Most High,
To God who performs all things for me.
3 He shall send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches the one who [c]would swallow me up. Selah
God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.

4 My soul is among lions;
I lie among the sons of men
Who are set on fire,
Whose teeth are spears and arrows,
And their tongue a sharp sword.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.

6 They have prepared a net for my steps;
My soul is bowed down;
They have dug a pit before me;
Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah

7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake, my glory!
Awake, lute and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.

9 I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the [d]nations.
10 For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens,
And Your truth unto the clouds.

11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.

The Just Judgment of the Wicked
To the Chief Musician. Set to [e]"Do Not Destroy." A Michtam of David.
58 Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones?
Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
2 No, in heart you work wickedness;
You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.

3 The wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent;
They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear,
5 Which will not heed the voice of charmers,
Charming ever so skillfully.

6 Break[f] their teeth in their mouth, O God!
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7 Let them flow away as waters which run continually;
When he bends his bow,
Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
8 Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes,
Like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun.

9 Before your pots can feel the burning thorns,
He shall take them away as with a whirlwind,
As in His living and burning wrath.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
11 So that men will say,
"Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely He is God who judges in the earth."

The Assured Judgment of the Wicked
To the Chief Musician. Set to [g]"Do Not Destroy." A Michtam of David when
Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him.
59 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
[h]Defend me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,
And save me from bloodthirsty men.

3 For look, they lie in wait for my life;
The mighty gather against me,
Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord.
4 They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine.

Awake to help me, and behold!
5 You therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to punish all the [i]nations;
Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah

6 At evening they return,
They growl like a dog,
And go all around the city.
7 Indeed, they belch with their mouth;
Swords are in their lips;
For they say, "Who hears?"

8 But You, O Lord, shall laugh at them;
You shall have all the [j]nations in derision.
9 I will wait for You, O You [k]his Strength;
For God is my [l]defense.
10 [m]My God of mercy shall come to meet me;
God shall let me see my desire on my enemies.

11 Do not slay them, lest my people forget;
Scatter them by Your power,
And bring them down,
O Lord our shield.
12 For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
Let them even be taken in their pride,
And for the cursing and lying which they speak.
13 Consume them in wrath, consume them,
That they may not be;
And let them know that God rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth. Selah

14 And at evening they return,
They growl like a dog,
And go all around the city.
15 They wander up and down for food,
And [n]howl if they are not satisfied.

16 But I will sing of Your power;
Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning;
For You have been my defense
And refuge in the day of my trouble.
17 To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises;
For God is my defense,
My God of mercy.

Urgent Prayer for the Restored Favor of God
To the Chief Musician. Set to [o]"Lily of the Testimony." A Michtam of
David. For teaching. When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah,
and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
60 O God, You have cast us off;
You have broken us down;
You have been displeased;
Oh, restore us again!
2 You have made the earth tremble;
You have broken it;
Heal its breaches, for it is shaking.
3 You have shown Your people hard things;
You have made us drink the wine of [p]confusion.

4 You have given a banner to those who fear You,
That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah
5 That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and hear me.

6 God has spoken in His holiness:
"I will rejoice;
I will divide Shechem
And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the [q]helmet for My head;
Judah is My lawgiver.
8 Moab is My washpot;
Over Edom I will cast My shoe;
Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me."

9 Who will bring me to the strong city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Is it not You, O God, who cast us off?
And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies?
11 Give us help from trouble,
For the help of man is useless.
12 Through God we will do valiantly,
For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.

Footnotes
Psalm 56:1 Heb. Jonath Elem Rechokim
Psalm 57:1 Heb. Al Tashcheth
Psalm 57:3 snaps at or hounds me, or crushes me
Psalm 57:9 Gentiles
Psalm 58:1 Heb. Al Tashcheth
Psalm 58:6 Break away
Psalm 59:1 Heb. Al Tashcheth
Psalm 59:1 Lit. Set me on high
Psalm 59:5 Gentiles
Psalm 59:8 Gentiles
Psalm 59:9 So with MT, Syr.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Tg., Vg. my Strength
Psalm 59:9 Lit. fortress
Psalm 59:10 So with Qr.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Vg. My God, His mercy; Kt.,
some Heb. mss., Tg. O God, my mercy; Syr. O God, Your mercy
Psalm 59:15 So with LXX, Vg.; MT, Syr., Tg. spend the night
Psalm 60:1 Heb. Shushan Eduth
Psalm 60:3 staggering
Psalm 60:7 Lit. protection