November – Day 6

The idea of eternity lives in all of us. We thirst to live in a belief which raises our small personality to a higher coherence – a coherence which is human and yet superhuman, absolute and yet steadily growing and developing, ideal and yet real. • Christian Lous Lange

New Testament

• John 8:31-47
• 2 Peter 3:1-9

Old Testament

• Job 6
• Ezekiel 17-19

It is virtually impossible to keep track of an ongoing lie. Conversely, it is no problem keeping track of the truth. Truth sets a person free. Nothing to keep track of, it is what it is. When Jesus, the truth sets us free, we are free indeed.

People who are of God, hear what God has to say. They listen to Jesus. People willfully forget what God has to say and do their own thing. Tragically, there is an end that is coming and while we may think that is not the case, it is because God does not look at time in the same way as we do.

One of the irrefutable truths of God, is that the soul who sins will die. We also know that all have sinned and there is not one who does good. However, we also know, that if a man turns from his sins, keeps the Lord’s statutes (all directed towards Jesus) he will live!

Let us praise God that through Jesus we live!

Oh Lord, we love how clearly your word speaks of truth. We find great comfort in the truth because Jesus is the truth. Help us this day to walk in the truth and to exude a gratitude for our salvation that others might ask us about it. In Jesus’ name…Amen! 

November – Day 5

Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add but when there is no longer anything to take away, when a body has been stripped down to its nakedness. • Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

New Testament

• John 8:21-30
• 2 Peter 2:17-22

Old Testament

• Job 5
• Ezekiel 16

When Jesus said, “Where I go you cannot come,” he was talking about the present. Thanks be to God that this no longer applies, for in the latter part of John he tells us that he has gone to prepare a place for us and will come for us. Thanking him this morning for that glorious truth!

False teaching is so attractive because it appeals to the lusts of the flesh. I like how Peter describes such words, “great swelling words of emptiness.” Thank God for the fulness of his word that strengthens our hearts. The reminder that we must guard ourselves from the possibility of turning away is sobering and makes me want to cling to Jesus all the more.

So much of what Job’s friends speak has elements of truth. It was not so much what they said about God, but rather that they were seeking to find “blame” for why the travails had come upon Job. Certain things, we are not to question, but simply to accept as part of God’s divine plan.

It is when we come face to face with our abominations that the Lord is able to spread his wings over us and cover our sin, our nakedness. I pray I never forget how wonderful it feels to have been cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus.

Heavenly Father, thank you for another day. We pray that we might live it most fully for you. Thank you that we can look forward to your return. We know that it draws near. Help us to cling to you while you tarry, and be about those things that you have called us to do. In Jesus’ name…Amen! 

 

November – Day 4

It’s a brilliant surface in that sunlight. The horizon seems quite close to you because the curvature is so much more pronounced than here on earth. It’s an interesting place to be. I recommend it. • Neil Armstrong

New Testament

• John 8:12-20
• 2 Peter 2:10-16

Old Testament

• Job 4
• Ezekiel 13-15

When I was little, as most children, I was quite afraid of the dark. Darkness is scary because it is the absence of light, the thing that helps us see. When we embrace Jesus as the light, darkness is dispelled and we are able to walk, even through dark times, in the “light of life.”

It is only Jesus who can and will ultimately judge. All judgement has been given to him by the father. Even the angels don’t presume to be able to judge. Instead we must seek to learn to walk and minister in a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit as the number of “unsteady souls” is too numerous to count.

Friends can be invaluable when we are going through difficult times. However, as we will see, they are only valuable if they are speaking what the Lord would have them speak.

There are so many teachers in the world today who speak things, in the name of God, who are unfortunately not hearing from God, but following their own spirits, speaking falsely. Our hearts should be greatly burdened by this and led to pray accordingly.

Oh Lord, thank you for saving us, for removing the darkness that once plagued us, that once scared us, and for replacing it with Jesus, the light of the world. Help us Lord to be so focused on you, that we truly are the light of the world to others. Give us great wisdom in this we pray. Help us to walk in the confidence that you shine even in the darkest of times. In Jesus’ name…Amen! 

November – Day 3

How easy it is to judge rightly after one sees what evil comes from judging wrongly! • Elizabeth Gaskell

New Testament

• John 8:1-11
• 2 Peter 2:1-9

Old Testament

• Job 3
• Ezekiel 9-12

We are quick to throw stones at other people. This ought not be. Instead we must be quick to bring our hearts before the Lord in an attitude of repentance, so that we can more effectively minister God’s love to others.

One of the reasons that false teachers are so successful in bringing in destructive heresies is because people are so ignorant of God’s word. I am more convinced of this than ever. We must learn to read the Bible from the perspective of asking, “Lord what do you want to say to ‘me’ today? He wants to speak to us in our reading.

There is no doubt that we have all had times of feeling like Job, feelings like “I wish I was never born.” It is important in those times that we don’t stop with what Job is saying in the moment, but that we reflect on God’s faithfulness in the end.

The Lord is quite aware of those who are grieved over abominable things, things that grieve the Lord. When I think of the licentious in our world today, much of which people regard as entertainment, I cringe. I pray that it always breaks out hearts and leads us to individual and corporate repentance.

Oh Lord, we pray that you would teach us this day to keep our rocks in our pockets and seek to have you show us the changes we need to make in our own lives so that we might be a blessing to others. Help us to never be afraid to speak correction into people’s lives, but only after discerning that you in fact have told us to do so. In Jesus’ name…Amen! 

November – Day 2

 

Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart. – Martin Luther King Jr.

New Testament

• John 7:45-53
• 2 Peter 1:12-21

Old Testament

• Job 2
• Ezekiel 4-8

The teaching of Jesus must have been incredible. It left people awestruck. One of the reasons I love reading through the Gospel of John is because of how much of what is recorded is what Jesus said. Truly, “No one ever spoke like this man!” This was true then, and it is still true today. If people would only listen.

It would behoove us to trust the eye witnesses (Peter, John, Matthew) and others, to take heed to the things they have written. Like Peter, we must make every effort to speak the truth, so that people might recall spiritual truth when we are no longer around.

It is the Holy Spirit who recorded prophecy, for it is from God and not something man has made up.

The character of a man is proven in times of adversity. In the midst of great trial and tribulation, Job held fast to his integrity. Oh what an example to us! How narrow minded it is to think that we should only praise God when things are going well.

The best thing we can do for others when they are hurting and going through great difficulty, is to sit with them and say nothing.

It is easy to get distracted by the unusual things that God had the prophets, in this case Ezekiel, do. In our puzzlement, we mustn’t miss the picture of their obedience. God wants to do amazing things through men and women who are obedient to his call.

Oh Lord, help us to be obedient this day, to all that you are telling us to do. Give us a boldness to speak your truth to those who are around us, and to take the time from what we perceive to be important to invest in the spiritual things that are eternal and far more important. Holy Spirit, direct us this day. In Jesus’ name…Amen! 

 

November – Day 1

 

Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. – Anonymous (Hebrews 12:1-2)

New Testament

• John 7:37-44
• 2 Peter 1:1-11

Old Testament

• Job 1
• Ezekiel 1-3

The Scripture tells us to believe in Jesus. Whenever we do, living water flows out of our hearts. Living! The Holy Spirit would be given on the day of Pentecost.

When we come to faith, we all have an equal standing with Christ and with one another. Jesus is the answer to all of the unrest and racial tension in the world today.

We are to make every effort to supplement our faith with virtue. The only way to practice biblical qualities, faithfully, is by fixing our eyes on Jesus and never taking them off.

God has places a hedge of protection around his people. Nothing can hurt us, but that God allows. This is both encouraging and sobering. We must guard our hearts from sinning when things don’t go our way.

Oh that we would learn to go only where the Holy Spirit leads. God’s word is honey to our lips.

Father God, how we thank you for loving us and protecting us the way that you do. Help us to be like Job, and trust you even when we don’t understand or like the things that are happening in our lives. Help us Lord to keep our eyes ever fixed on Jesus our Savior and our Lord. In His name we pray…Amen!