Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings - Hardcover

Cowman, L. B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0310285895 ISBN 13: 9780310285892

Publisher: Zondervan, 2008

Synopsis

Streams in the Desert (R) is a powerful collection of meditations, Christian writings, and Scripture, and remains one of the most beloved devotionals of all time. This updated edition, however, offers even more, including Scripture, Subject, and Contributors Indexes. Author L. B. Cowman thoughtfully and prayerfully chose the Scripture and penned or selected the meditations she knew would provide a river of wisdom, encouragement, and inspiration to weary desert travelers. Those words are still clearly relevant in today's world, where people thirst more than ever for reassurance and guidance. In this updated edition, however, editor Jim Reimann lovingly combines contemporary wording and precise NIV text to help introduce a whole new generation of believers to the timeless messages of God's faithfulness. Easy-to-read yet true to the essence of the original, this Streams in the Desert offers a refreshing daily dip into God's purpose, plan, and enduring promise. And now this classic content takes on a classic look. The deluxe edition is bound in stunning Italian Duo-Tone (TM)-the perfect accent for the beautiful and ageless messages of hope found inside.

About this title

About the Author:

L. B. Cowman worked as a pioneer missionary with her husband in Japan and China from 1901 to 1917, during which time they helped found the Oriental Missionary Society. When Mr. Cowman's poor health forced the couple to return to the United States, Mrs. Cowman turned her attention to caring for her husband until his death six years later. Out of Mrs. Cowman's experiences and heartbreak came her first book, Streams in the Desert, followed by its companion Springs in the Valley. During the next twenty-five years, Mrs. Cowman inspired several nationwide Scripture distribution campaigns and wrote seven more books. Finally, on Easter Sunday in 1960, at the age of ninety, Mrs. Cowman met face-to-face the God she had served so faithfully for nearly a century. Jim Reimann has more than five million books in print in twelve languages, including the updated editions of Streams in the Desert and My Utmost for His Highest. He was a former retail executive and past chairman of the Christian Booksellers Association. As an ordained minister, Bible teacher, author, and expert on Israel, he hosted teaching tours of Israel and other Bible lands, which he offered through his website. www.JimReimann.com

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

January 1
The land whither ye go to possess it is a land of hills and valleys and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: a land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year (Deut. 11:11–12).

Today, dear friends, we stand upon the verge of the unknown. There lies before us the new year and we are going forth to possess it. Who can tell what we shall find? What new experiences, what changes shall come, what new needs shall arise? But here is the cheering, comforting, gladdening message from our heavenly Father, "The Lord thy God careth for it." "His eyes are upon it away to the ending of the year."

All our supply is to come from the Lord. Here are springs that shall never dry; here are fountains and streams that shall never be cut off. Here, anxious one, is the gracious pledge of the heavenly Father. If He be the source of our mercies they can never fail us. No heat, no drought can parch that river, "the streams whereof make glad the city of God."

The land is a land of hills and valleys. It is not all smooth nor all downhill. If life were all one dead level of dull sameness it would oppress us; we want the hills and the valleys. The hills collect the rain for a hundred fruitful valleys. Ah, so it is with us! It is the hill difficulty that drives us to the throne of grace and brings down the shower of blessing; the hills, the bleak hills of life that we wonder at and perhaps grumble at, bring down the showers. How many have perished in the wilderness, buried under its golden sands, who would have lived and thriven in the hill country; how many would have been killed by the frost, blighted with winds, swept desolate of tree and fruit but for the hill—stern, hard, rugged, so steep to climb. God’s hills are a gracious protection for His people against their foes!

We cannot tell what loss and sorrow and trial are doing. Trust only. The Father comes near to take our hand and lead us on our way today. It shall be a good, a blessed new year!
He leads us on by paths we did not know;
Upward He leads us, though our steps be slow,
Though oft we faint and falter on the way,
Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day;
Yet when the clouds are gone,
We know He leads us on.
He leads us on through all the unquiet years;
Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts and fears,
He guides our steps, through all the tangled maze
Of losses, sorrows, and o’er clouded days;
We know His will is done;
And still He leads us on.
N. L. ZINZENDORF
January 2
And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst (Ezek. 41:7).
Still upward be thine onward course:
For this I pray today;
Still upward as the years go by,
And seasons pass away.
Still upward in this coming year,
Thy path is all untried;
Still upward may’st thou journey on,
Close by thy Savior’s side.
Still upward e’en though sorrow come,
And trials crush thine heart;
Still upward may they draw thy soul,
With Christ to walk apart.
Still upward till the day shall break,
And shadows all have flown;
Still upward till in Heaven you wake,
And stand before the throne.

We ought not to rest content in the mists of the valley when the summit of Tabor awaits us. How pure are the dews of the hills, how fresh is the mountain air, how rich the fare of the dwellers aloft, whose windows look into the New Jerusalem! Many saints are content to live like men in coal mines, who see not the sun. Tears mar their faces when they might anoint them with celestial oil. Satisfied I am that many a believer pines in a dungeon when he might walk on the palace roof, and view the goodly land and Lebanon. Rouse thee, O believer, from thy low condition! Cast away thy sloth, thy lethargy, thy coldness, or whatever interferes with thy chaste and pure love to Christ. Make Him the source, the center, and the circumference of all thy soul’s range of delight. Rest no longer satisfied with thy dwarfish attainments. Aspire to a higher, a nobler, a fuller life. Upward to heaven! Nearer to God! H. SPURGEON
I want to scale the utmost height,
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray, till heaven I’ve found,
Lord, lead me on to higher ground!
Not many of us are living at our best. We linger in the lowlands because we are afraid to climb the mountains. The steepness and ruggedness dismay us, and so we stay in the misty valleys and do not learn the mystery of the hills. We do not know what we lose in our self-indulgence, what glory awaits us if only we had courage for the mountain climb, what blessing we should find if only we would move to the uplands of God.
Too low they build who build beneath the stars.

About this edition

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0310285895
• ISBN 13: 9780310285892
• Binding: Imitation Leather
• Number of pages: 512