DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR TUESDAY JUNE 14:
WORD OF WISDOM
In the midst of darkness there is light. When there is light, there is hope.
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DAILY DEVOTION
The Testimony of Blood
"Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and
apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of
all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be
required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of
Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say
unto you, It shall be required of this generation."
Luke 11:49-51
The early church father Tertullian wrote, "The blood of martyrs is the seed
of the church." Throughout the history of God's work, there have been men
and women who have been willing to take a stand for the truth even at the
cost of their own lives. They would not deny the Lord even in the face of
death, but remained faithful. In fact, the English word for martyr comes
from the Greek word for witness-signifying those who were willing to give
everything for the sake of the truth.
Though America has long enjoyed great religious freedom, and most of us have
never faced any serious consequences for our faith, that is not true in much
of the rest of the world, and it may not remain true in our nation forever.
Thousands of Christians are dying for their faith around the world, choosing
to join the line of heroes who have stood for the ages instead of denying
the Lord.
It is easy for us to be confident that we would stand firm when we have not
been put to the test. Peter certainly had no doubt what he would do. "Peter
answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of
thee, yet will I never be offended" (Matthew 26:33). Yet that very night
Peter denied even knowing who Jesus was. We need to be firm in our
commitment to Christ regardless of what consequences may come as a result.
Our faith must be built and strengthened before the challenge comes so that
we can stand the ultimate test.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Psalm 51-56Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
To the director: A song of David written when Nathan the prophet came to him
after David's sin with Bathsheba.
51 God, be merciful to me
because of your faithful love.
Because of your great compassion,
erase all the wrongs I have done.
2
Scrub away my guilt.
Wash me clean from my sin.
3
I know I have done wrong.
I remember that sin all the time.
4
I did what you said is wrong.
You are the one I have sinned against.
I say this so that people will know
that I am wrong and you are right.
What you decided is fair.
5
I was born to do wrong,
a sinner before I left my mother's womb.
6
You want me to be completely loyal,
so put true wisdom deep inside of me.
7
Remove my sin and make me pure.[a]
Wash me until I am whiter than snow!
8
Let me hear sounds of joy and happiness again.
Let the bones you crushed be happy again.
9
Don't look at my sins.
Erase them all.
10
God, create a pure heart in me,
and make my spirit strong again.
11
Don't push me away
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12
Your help made me so happy.
Give me that joy again.
Make my spirit strong and ready to obey you.
13
I will teach the guilty how you want them to live,
and the sinners will come back to you.
14
God, spare me from the punishment of death.[b]
My God, you are the one who saves me!
Let me sing about all the good things you do for me!
15
My Lord, I will open my mouth and sing your praises!
16
You don't really want sacrifices,
or I would give them to you.
17
The sacrifice that God wants is a humble spirit.
God, you will not turn away someone who comes with a humble heart and is
willing to obey you.[c]
18
God, please be good to Zion.
Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19
Then you can enjoy the kind of sacrifices you want.[d]
You will receive whole burnt offerings,
and people will again offer bulls on your altar.
To the director: A maskil of David written when Doeg the Edomite went to
Saul and told him, "David is in Ahimelech's house."
52 Great warrior, why are you bragging about the evil you did?
You are a disgrace to God.
2
You are nothing but a hired killer,[e]
making plans to hurt people and making up lies!
3
You love evil more than goodness.
You love lies more than truth. Selah
4
You and your lying tongue love to hurt people.
5
So God will ruin you forever!
He will grab you and pull you from your home,[f] like someone pulling up
a plant by the roots![g] Selah
6
Good people will see this
and learn to fear and respect God.
They will laugh at you and say,
7
"Look what happened to the warrior who did not depend on God.
That fool thought his wealth and lies would protect him."
8
But I am like a green olive tree growing in God's Temple.
I will trust God's faithful love forever and ever.
9
God, I praise you forever for what you have done.
I will speak your name[h] before your followers because it is so good!
To the director: Use the mahalath.[i] A maskil of David.
53 Only fools think there is no God.
People like that are evil and do terrible things.
They never do what is right.
2
God looks down from heaven to see
if there is anyone who is wise,
anyone who looks to him for help.
3
But everyone has turned away from him.
Everyone has become evil.
No one does anything good.
No, not one person!
4
Those who are evil treat my people like bread to be eaten.
And they never ask for God's help.
Don't they understand what they are doing?
5
They will be filled with fear-
a fear like they have never felt before!
People of Israel, you will defeat those who attacked you,
because God has rejected them.
And he will scatter their bones.
6
I wish the one who lives on Mount Zion
would bring victory to Israel!
When God makes Israel successful again,
the people of Jacob will be very happy;
the people of Israel will be glad.
To the director: With instruments. A maskil of David written when the
Ziphites went to Saul and told him, "We think David is hiding among our
people."
54 God, use your power and save me.
Use your great power to set me free.[j]
2
God, listen to my prayer.
Listen to what I say.
3
Strangers who don't even think about God have turned against me.
Those powerful men are trying to kill me. Selah
4
Look, my God will help me.
My Lord will support me.
5
He will punish the people who turned against me.
God, be faithful to me and destroy them.
6
Lord, I will give freewill offerings to you.
I will praise your good name.
7
You saved me from all my troubles.
I saw my enemies defeated.
To the director: With instruments. A maskil of David.
55 God, hear my prayer.
Don't ignore my cry for help.
2
Please listen and answer me.
Let me speak to you and tell you what upsets me.
3
My enemies shout at me and threaten me.
In their anger they attack me.
They bring troubles crashing down on me.
4
My heart is pounding inside me.
I am afraid to die.
5
I am trembling with fear.
I am terrified!
6
Oh, I wish I had wings like a dove.
I would fly away and find a place to rest.
7
I would go far into the desert and stay there. Selah
8
I would run away.
I would escape from this storm of trouble.
9
My Lord, confuse their words and stop their plans.
I see so much cruelty and fighting in this city.
10
Day and night, in every neighborhood,
the city is filled with evil and trouble.
11
There is so much crime in the streets.
People who hurt and cheat others are everywhere.
12
If it were an enemy insulting me,
I could bear it.
If it were my enemies attacking me,
I could hide.
13
But it is you, the one so close to me,
my companion, my good friend, who does this.
14
We used to share our secrets with one another,
as we walked through the crowds together in God's Temple.
15
I wish death would take my enemies by surprise!
I wish the earth would open up and swallow them alive,[k]
because they plan such terrible things together.
16
I will call to God for help,
and the Lord will save me.
17
I speak to God morning, noon, and night.
I tell him what upsets me, and he listens to me!
18
I have fought in many battles,
but he has always rescued me and brought me back safely.
19
God, who has always ruled as king,
will hear me and punish my enemies. Selah
But they will never change.
They don't fear and respect God.
20
This one who was once my friend now attacks his friends.
He is breaking every promise he made.
21
His words about peace are as smooth as butter,
but he has only war on his mind.
His words are as slick as oil,
but they cut like a knife.
22
Give your worries to the Lord,
and he will care for you.
He will never let those who are good be defeated.
23
But, God, you will send those liars and murderers to the grave.
They will die before their life is half finished!
As for me, I will put my trust in you.
To the director: To the tune "The Dove in the Distant Oak." A miktam of
David written when the Philistines captured him in Gath.
56 God, people have attacked me, so be merciful to me.
They have been chasing me all day, closing in to attack me.
2
My enemies come at me constantly.
There are too many fighters to count.[l]
3
When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4
I trust God, so I am not afraid of what people can do to me!
I praise God for his promise to me.
5
My enemies are always twisting my words.
They are always making plans against me.
6
They hide together and watch every move I make,
hoping for some way to kill me.
7
God, send them away because of the bad things they did.
Show your anger and defeat those people.
8
You know I am very upset.
You know how much I have cried.
Surely you have kept an account of all my tears.
9
I know that when l call for help, my enemies will turn and run.
I know that because God is with me!
10
I praise God for his promise.
I praise the Lord for his promise to me.
11
I trust God, so I am not afraid
of what people can do to me!
12
God, I will keep the special promises I made to you.
I will give you my thank offering.
13
You saved me from death.
You kept me from being defeated.
So I will serve you in the light
that only the living can see.
Footnotes:
a.Psalm 51:7 Remove . pure Literally, "Cleanse me with hyssop." See "hyssop"
in the Word List.
b.Psalm 51:14 spare . death Or "don't consider me guilty of murder."
c.Psalm 51:17 someone . obey you Literally, "a broken and crushed heart."
d.Psalm 51:19 the kind . you want Or "the offering of righteousness."
e.Psalm 52:2 hired killer Literally, "sharpened razor."
f.Psalm 52:5 home This means the body. This is a poetic way of saying, "God
will end your life here on earth."
g.Psalm 52:5 like someone . roots Literally, "He will root you up from the
land of the living." This also means "He will kill you and your
descendants."
h.Psalm 52:9 speak your name Or "I will trust your name."
i.Psalm 53:1 Psalm 53 mahalath Probably a musical term. It might be the name
of an instrument or a tune, or it might mean a certain musical style.
j.Psalm 54:1 Literally, "God, save me with your name, judge me with your
might."
k.Psalm 55:15 I wish . alive Literally, "I wish they would go down into
Sheol alive." See Num. 16:31-33.
l.Psalm 56:2 There are . count Or "There are many attacking me from above."
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright C 2006 by Bible League International
