Morning
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you in due time.
Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces, none will go unpunished.
O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand. Do not be furious, O Lord, nor remember iniquity forever; indeed, please look—we all are Your people! § You have chastised me, and I was chastised, like an untrained bull; restore me, and I will return, for You are the Lord my God. Surely, after my turning, I repented; and after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, because I bore the reproach of my youth. § It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth.
Affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble spring from the ground; yet man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
1 Peter 5:6; Prov. 16:5; Isa. 64:8–9; Jer. 31:18–19; Lam. 3:27; Job 5:6–7
Evening
Has God indeed said . . . ?
When the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God …” He answered and said, “It is written … It is written … It is written … ” Then the devil left Him.
“I cannot return with you. For I have been told by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water there … ’” He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (He was lying to him.) So he went back with him … The man of God … was disobedient to the word of the Lord. Therefore the Lord has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the Lord. § If we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. § Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
Gen. 3:1; Matt. 4:3–4, 7, 10–11;
1 Kings 13:16–19, 26; Gal. 1:8; Ps. 119:11
