April 23

Judges 1:1-2:9, Luke 21:29-22:13, Psalm 90:1-91:16, Proverbs 13:24-25



Pray: Lord, I want to love my children. Part of loving them is disciplining them. Help me to get over anger before I get into discipline. Help me to pray through before saying or doing something I regret. Help me to communicate to my children just how much I care!

Read: Proverbs 13:24 says those that spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them. Sometimes our children seem out of control. We must be extra careful though when disciplining them that we are not out of control.

Edify: There is a lot of debate in Christian circles about “spanking children” as a form of discipline. But regardless of how we discipline our children we know that if we love them we discipline them and if we hate them we don’t. But before disciplining our children we must deal with anger within ourselves. We must not discipline when we are angry! One more time…we must not discipline when we are angry! My dad used to say to me, “This hurts me more than it hurts you.” I didn’t believe him for even a minute until one time I saw tears rolling down his cheek as he disciplined me.

Practice: When a child acts up we react…sometimes badly and sometimes quickly. Find your easy chair and pray or hide yourself away in your bedroom and pray. Cool off before you speak to your child or discipline him. Be sure your heart is right. Be sure you are filled with compassion and concern and not filled with rage and anger.

 

April 22

Joshua 24:1-33, Luke 21:1-28, Psalm 89:38-52, Proverbs 13:20-23



Pray: Heavenly Father, may I so live before my children that they choose You. May they not choose my church or even my ways. But may they choose You. May they experience the living God and not just watch my faith.

Read: Have you ever made a commitment and failed to keep it? In Joshua 24 the children of Israel make a commitment to serve the Lord knowing full well that God would destroy them if they strayed from their promise. The people then destroyed their idols and turned their hearts toward God. As a reminder of the covenant between God and Israel, Joshua took a huge stone and rolled it beneath the terebinth tree next to the place of meeting. The people of Israel served the Lord throughout his lifetime and the lifetimes of the elders who outlived him---those who had PERSONALLY EXPERIENCED all that the Lord had done for Israel.

Edify: The key thought here is EXPERIENCE. Our children can watch us. They can be challenged by us. But they must experience the living God themselves. The second and third generations that followed Joshua’s death began to drift. The God of Israel became a historical figure to them and not the living God. This happens today as well. My children must experience God for themselves. I need to be careful to point that out to them as they grow.

Practice: Share your faith with your children and then ask them what they believe and why. Be sure in your conversations to inquire about their faith journey. Sometimes you will not like their answers. Searching for God can test both parents and children. Hold them up in prayer. Pray that your God will become their God by experience.

April 21

Joshua 22:21-23:16, Luke 20:27-4, Psalm 89:14-37, Proverbs 13:17-19



Pray: God, sometimes I want to be honored. Sometimes I want to be recognized. All too often I think I’m a big deal. I want to win. I want to be first. Lord, help me to understand that in being least and last I can tap into your grace and really find myself complete and satisfied. Exalting myself is not the way to happiness. Exalting You while serving others is the way to fullness of joy.

Read: In Luke chapter 20 Jesus turned to the disciples and said, “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet, they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this they will be severely punished!”

Edify: Being religious is very different from being spiritual. Everything about the religious leaders of Jesus’ day shouted “Look at me, am I not something to behold?” Whereas Jesus was meek and lowly of heart. Jesus washed His disciples' feet….not the other way around. Religious people step up and love to be recognized. Spiritual people step down and choose to serve. Surround yourself with those who wash feet. And be absolutely sure that you are washing feet.

Practice: Step down. Choose to be least. Choose to be last. Choose to serve. Take the worst seat. Don’t tell people your title. Choose to operate from a meek and quiet spirit.

April 20

Joshua 21:1-22:20, Luke 20:1-26, Psalm 89:1-13, Proverbs 13:15-16



Pray: Lord, help me to be as wise as a serpent but as harmless as a dove. Some of the people I talk to today will genuinely want to know Jesus. Others will be looking to take advantage of me and twist what I share. Help me to speak the very wisdom of God. May my words come from Your throne. May I be a vessel meant for Your use.

Read: In Luke 20:23, Jesus sees through the trickery of the religious leaders who wanted Him arrested and killed. Rather than answering their questions He posed questions to them. The WORD declares we are not to cast our pearls before swine. Rather, we are to discern the hearts of those we speak with. Sometimes the best answer to a question is a question. We have heard that expression, “Give him enough rope and he’ll hang himself.” The scriptures declare we are to be quick to hear but slow to speak. Discern before telling and sharing everything you know.

Edify: Listening is much harder than talking. There is just something in us that wants to blurt out all that we know. Rather than become a babbling brook when someone asks a question just smile and say, “Why do you ask?” We discover more about someone listening to them than when we speak to them. Resist the temptation to tell people just how much you know. Rather, be quiet.

Practice: Practice discerning where someone is in their journey. To do so you must become a good listener. It also helps to be a good observer. People want to reveal themselves to you. Just be sure you give them that chance. See how little you can say while discovering someone’s life story.

April 19

Joshua 19:1-20:9, Luke 19:28-48, Psalm 88:1-18, Proverbs 13:12-14



Pray: Father, help me to examine why I do what I do in light of Your WORD. Help me to be sensitive to the times I’m living in and to correctly discern the hearts of men.

Read: Luke 19 starting with verse 38 declares: “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!" This is the story of what we call Palm Sunday where the people of Israel were calling Jesus their king. One week later these same crowds would be crying out, “Crucify Him!” How does one go from being called “the King” to being called a “traitor” in just one week? In this passage Jesus didn’t speak of His kingship. Nor did He speak of His impending crucifixion. Jesus spoke about the destruction that would come upon Jerusalem and the crushing death toll of men, women, and children that would soon follow. Jesus went on to say, “You don’t understand the way of peace and now it is too late.”

Edify: What or who is the way of peace? Israel had repeatedly rejected Jesus while He walked the earth. Only a select few had said yes. What Israel had chosen instead of Jesus was religious law, custom, and tradition. It is not going to church that saves us. It is the God of the church who saves us! It is not where we go but who we know. Jesus is the King of Peace. Law, custom, and traditions lead only to war. We need to let the peace that passes understanding rule our hearts rather than the ups (Palm Sunday) and downs (Good Friday) of life.

Practice: Are there some laws, traditions, or customs that are getting in the way of you following peace? Have you really thought through Christmas? Have you considered Easter? What should a church service look like?

April 18

Joshua 16:1-18:28, Luke 19:1-27, Psalm 87:1-7, Proverbs 13:11



Pray: Father, I see all kinds of people and many of them are broken. Help me to see past their brokenness and see possibilities. Help me not to judge a book by its cover. Remind me to honor and to serve them.

Read: The story of a short-statured tax collector named Zacchaeus is a familiar one. He had climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus. And Jesus saw him. Note that Jesus did not rebuke Zacchaeus for cheating people and treating them badly. Rather, Jesus said, I must be a guest in your home today. Tax collectors were not well thought of in that day. They had the reputation and mannerisms that we would attribute to a used car dealer who sells bad cars today. Jesus honored rather than rebuked Zacchaeus. Everyone knew Zacchaeus was a scoundrel. But Jesus saw what he could be, rather than who he was. Zacchaeus gave half of what he owned to the poor and paid back overcharged taxes times four. When someone’s inner most need to be valued and honored is met, big things, eternal things, happen.

Edify: The rich young ruler was told by Jesus to sell all that he had and give to the poor. Zacchaeus freely sold all that he had and gave half to the poor while paying those who he had cheated four times what he had taken unfairly from them. Zacchaeus was quick to repent. The rich young ruler would not repent. Zacchaeus knew he was a sinner in need of grace. The rich young ruler was self-righteous and full of himself. Jesus called Zacchaeus a true son of Abraham while he described the rich young ruler as far away from the kingdom.

Practice: Before telling someone what is wrong with them and what needs to change, please consider meeting their heartfelt need to be valued and honored. See past their brokenness. See what “might be”.

April 17

 Joshua 15:1-63, Luke 18:18-43, Psalm 86:1-17, Proverbs 13:9-10 



Pray: There are many things that I have surrendered to You Lord. But the things that I haven’t released to You rise up over and over again to defeat me. Lord, I need to let go. Help me to do just that! Help me to store my time, energy, and treasure in heaven. Help me to do what You say even when what You say is hard for me.

Read: In Luke 18 we read the story of “the rich young leader”. The young ruler was a religious guy. You might say he was the type of person who was in church every Sunday. In many ways he was “picture perfect”. But he didn’t trust God. His trust lay in his possessions. Jesus pinpointed his issue by asking him to sell all that he had and give to the poor. This he could not do. Wealth was his savior, not Jesus.

Edify: Could you do it? Could I do it? If Jesus spoke to me and told me to sell everything and give it to the poor, would I? Would you? This much I know. Money has a stronghold on many of us. We are commanded to tithe. We are told to give 10% of our income to the Lord. Giving everything starts with giving the first 10%. God’s blessing on the remaining 90% soon changes us. Giving whatever God asks becomes doable. Why? We experience a simple but profound truth. We cannot out give God and God can be trusted.

Practice: Don’t wait to experience God until you stand before Him facing eternity. Start today to take Him at His WORD. Simply put into practice what He says to do.