Scripture to read today:
Matthew 11; Matthew 12; Matthew 13
Scripture that spoke to me:
Matthew 11:18-19
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.” ‘ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”
Matthew 23:34
For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
Observation:
Both John and Jesus came to the people with some things that they didn’t want to hear. No one wants to be told they’re wrong- especially if they thing they’re right! So the answer must be “they have a demon.” But look past their words to their actions. That’s where you see the goodness and rightness. The words were right too, but the actions is where you got to see that fact.
Application:
I talk a lot. I enjoy a good conversation- and I know how to listen as well. I’m sure my mouth says many things, and I hope they are all true. But I’m even more hopeful that my actions back up my words. It is hard to always do the right thing, and I know there are times that I fail miserably. But I have other people watching me for the right way to live. If I want my kids to be good people, I have to set an example. I can’t just tell them how to live and then go live some other way.
Prayer:
Lord, let my words and my actions be a reflection of You to others. Help me not be proud that I am right but pleased that I am not wrong. Let me resist the temptations of this world. Amen.
Scripture to read today:
Psalm 149; 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Corinthians 16
Scripture that spoke to me:
1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Observation:
Paul says this to the people of Corinth to have them take notice of their actions. Many felt that, since Jesus forgives, they could do whatever they wanted as long as they asked forgiveness for it.
Application:
It isn’t enough just to run to Jesus for forgiveness. If He is truly in your heart, you’ll live each day for Him- at least with an effort to be the best you can be. That doesn’t mean that you’ll never sin, but you’ll not plan to sin just to ask forgiveness for it later. That includes letting people into your life who may help you stray off the path. It is so tempting to think that you’ll change them into someone good, but more often that not, one small thing will lead to something larger.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to know who I need in my life. I do want to help others, lead them to You. But let me be strong enough to withstand coming across someone who may try to lead me away from You. Amen.
Scripture to read today:
Job 26; Job 27; Mark 15; Mark 16
Scripture that spoke to me:
Mark 16:15
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.
Observation:
This is the Great Commission. Go and make disciples. This is what we are called to do even today. Spread the Good News!
Application:
I get complacent at times. I pray to God and wait for an answer. What am I to do with my life? Where does He want me? I forget that He has already told us to GO! I may need to wait on going to a new place, but that shouldn’t mean that I can’t go right here. Speak about Him- spread the Good News.
Prayer:
Lord, forgive me when I forget that You already gave me my orders- to go. Help me to know when, where, and how, but never let me forget that I am to go. Amen.
Scripture to read today:
Job 15; Acts 19; Acts 20
Scripture that spoke to me:
Acts 20:9-10
As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below. Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!”
Observation:
I love this story! Maybe because I can picture it in my mind- the dim room, flickering candles,and Paul droning on and on. I imagine Eutychus wasn’t the only one who fell asleep- just the only one to suffer for it!
Application:
What happens when we fall asleep? Jesus cautioned the disciples several times to stay awake and pray, not to fall asleep. I don’t know if he was talking literally or spiritually. It was because the disciples were awake at the transfiguration that they were able to see Jesus with Moses and Elijah. Jesus cautioned the disciples to not fall asleep in their faith, and we should be mindful to always be awake, not slumber in our faith.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to always be awake and open to You and Your teachings around me. Do not let me slumber and fall to my death. Amen.
Scripture to read today:
Zechariah 4; Zechariah 5; Zechariah 6; Luke 12
Scripture that spoke to me:
Luke 12:51-52
Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.
Observation:
This is so different from most of the teachings of Jesus- acceptance, love, brotherhood…. but what he is saying is that some will believe in Him and others won’t. That’s just the way it is. He came to separate the “wheat from the chaff” and that’s not dividing by family, race, economic status, popularity, but dividing by those who believe and those who don’t. This was a very different method of division for the Jews and it is still for us today.
Application:
We’re taught to bind our families together- the only way to do that is to have a family where everyone believes in Jesus. I still believe that is the basis for the failure of my marriage- I grew in my love for the Lord and he didn’t. Maybe it isn’t as simple as that, but as my walk got closer to God, he got more resentful of the time I put into it, and pulled back even further. My brother, the athiest, doesn’t join us on some family events. We invite him but don’t push him to- by not accepting the Lord he has alienated himself from certain parts of our lives. It is a shame, but that’s where the division comes.
Prayer:
Lord, teach me how to either accept division or correct it. I want to show people Your way and how to get to You. Amen.
Scripture to read today:
Ezekiel 12; Ezekiel 13; Ezekiel 14; Revelation 5
Scripture that spoke to me:
Ezekiel 14:13-14
“Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals, even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD.
Observation:
We are responsible for our own salvation. We can’t get it from our parents, our church, our friends- we have to do it for ourselves. We can’t save someone else, no matter how hard we try. But we can give them the tools, the lessons, the knowledge to help themselves.
Application:
I’m going through this right now with my daughter. We’re talking about why SHE believes, why SHE goes to church- if it means anything or if it is just something she does- and how she can take ownership of her own beliefs. She is almost 13 years old, and it is my responsibility to help her see these things. But I can’t do it for her. She won’t be saved because I am saved, but because she develops a relationship with her Savior.
Prayer:
Lord, help my daughter, and help those I love, to come to know You better. Amen.
Scripture to read today:
Jeremiah 45; Jeremiah 46; Jeremiah 47; Psalm 105; John 21
Scripture that spoke to me:
John 21:16
Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
Observation:
Peter loved Jesus. No matter if he denied Him three times, Peter was a devoted disciple. Jesus asks Peter three times if Peter loves Him (maybe as a way for Peter to make up for the denial) and commands Peter to take care of His sheep. If Peter loves Jesus, he will care for those around him, not as proof that he loves, but because he loves.
Application:
Love is a verb- it cannot sit still. Love requires action. If you love someone, you want to do things for them. You want to make their life easier. So because we love Jesus, we should want to care for those around us, too. Sometimes that is hard- I know I want to pick and choose who I think is worthy of help- but Jesus asked that we take care of His sheep. Feed my lambs- take care of my sheep.
Prayer:
Lord, let me do a better job at taking care of Your sheep. Help my love have action. Amen.
Scripture to read today:
2 Kings 4; 2 Kings 5; Psalm 83; 1 Timothy 2
Scripture that spoke to me:
2 Kings 5:10-12
Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
Observation:
Naaman has been sent to Elisha to find a cure for his leprosy. But the remedy that Elisha has for him is not what he expected. He wanted fireworks- a big show- instead of being sent to the nastiest river around to wash. Luckily for Naaman, he ends up listening to Elisha and is cured.
Application:
Oh boy, can I be like Naaman sometimes! I want some big, showy thing from God. I expect him to tell me to go to Zimbabwe and be a speaker at a large gathering when instead, he wants me to talk to one overlooked person right here. Or I expect him to bless me with a huge miracle when in fact, he has already blessed me with several hundred small ones. We all have an easier time seeing God in the big things- when He is most often found in the smaller, less desirable things.
Prayer:
Lord, help me remember that this life isn’t what it is all about- that Your kingdom cannot be judged by the ways of man. Help me to see you in the everyday, ordinary things in life. Amen.
***it occurred to me later that Naaman’s other issue was that he was called to be active in his own healing. We often want to do nothing and receive God’s gift- when in fact we are called to be an active participant in our own blessings.
Scripture to read today:
1 Kings 15; 2 Chronicles 13; 2 Chronicles 14; Philippians 4
Scripture that spoke to me:
Philippians 4: 12
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Observation:
Paul went through a lot in his life. He was rich, a Pharisee who condemned Christians until he met Christ himself; then he gave everything up to further the kingdom. He lost it all to gain it all. In prison, his possessions were meager. He knew hunger, he knew bounty, and he learned the secret to being happy in everything- Christ.
Application:
I’d make a horrible divorce counselor. I have had the opportunity on occasion to talk to newly separated women about their situation. But I can’t get to the places they are, in many cases, because I was never there. I was never in that pit of despair. Oh, I was plenty sad and scared and worried, but Christ was there beside me telling me that everything was ok. I want to give that to these women, who look at me like I have two heads or something. I don’t think you can just tell others about Christ, you have to show Him to them. And most often, they see Him in you.
Prayer:
Lord, let me be a reflection of Christ to others. Amen.
Scripture to read today:
1 Kings 1; 1 Chronicles 28; Psalm 91; 1 Thessalonians 5
Scripture that spoke to me:
1 Thessalonians 5:2,5-7
for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.
Observation:
Paul is reminding the Macedonians that they serve a God of light- of daytime. Although the thief comes in the night, they do not live in the night, but sleep through the night to arrive at the next day. This metaphor can be taken both literally and figuratively.
Application:
My daddy always told me to come home early- you get in more trouble after dark than you do in the light of day. He was right. Doing things in the light, out in the open, keeps you more honest. It seems that the later I stay up, the more tired I am and the more likely to make a wrong decision or be influenced by temptation. Following the figurative side of the metaphor, the more I am with God, living in Jesus, the more I want to do the right things and focus on the light of God.
Prayer:
Lord, let me be a daytime person- one who lives in the light- and one who reflects that light on to others. Amen.
