November 23

Ezekiel 45:13-46:24, 1 Peter 1:13-2:10, Psalm 119:33-48, Proverbs 28:11

Pray: Father, help me today to lean into Your understanding. I ask for Your wisdom today to see beyond the darkness that the world offers. Help me to love the light and be drawn into the life it brings. Help me to take Your light and shine it wherever I go today to be a light for You in a dark world. 

Read: (Psalm 119:33-40) "Teach me your decrees, O Lord; I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart. Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. Reassure me of your promise, made to those who fear you. Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good. I long to obey your commandments! Renew my life with your goodness." 

Edify: When I read these verses, I cannot help but think about repentance. Sure, you could read these verses and see "rules and commands." There is always a negative association with rules and commands in the Bible. Why is that? Is it because our hearts are always leaning towards doing the wrong thing? Or is it because we worship things over the creator? Every one of us has a sin problem. We don't solve that problem by saying - "well everyone sins." We solve the problem by repenting. Repentance is turning away from your evil ways and going towards God. There is no one too far from God and taking one step of repentance will start a party in heaven (see Luke 15:10). When we repent we see those same rules and commands a lot differently. We see them as healthy boundaries and maybe more importantly we see them as acts of pleasing our glorious God. "Renew my life with your goodness." When God has rescued you from the evil of this world, we should be more than happy to follow His rules and commands. Or as the Psalmist says, "Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found."

Practice: What is it that you need to repent of? The act of repentance is an everyday thing for every Christ follower. Find a quiet place to pray. Thank God for His goodness and repent today. Take a step away from anything that is keeping you from God. 

November 22

Ezekiel 44:1-45:12, 1 Peter 1:1-12, Psalm 119:17-32, Proverbs 28:8-10 

Pray: Heavenly Father, I come to You today seeking peace. Peace through the chaos that life can sometimes bring. Guide me with Your Holy Spirit today and every day. Give me encouraging words to share with others and help me see others who are struggling too. 

Read: (1 Peter 1:8-11) "You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls. This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you."

Edify: Peter understands suffering. He has seen it and has lived it. He has seen his Christian brothers, sisters and even Christ Himself suffer. Peter is sharing encouragement with God's people in Asia Minor. He knows they will be targeted for their faith. He points them to the Good News that has been proclaimed long before their suffering. In the Old Testament we see prophets proclaiming of the coming Messiah. They were extremely faithful without seeing Christ first hand. These prophets prepared the way by proclaiming "The Way." Now these Christians, as well as us today, experience the Good News of Jesus by the faithfulness of others. 

Practice: Proclaim the Good News. Use words and use actions. Be thankful and grateful, not just today, but every day. God has blessed us immensely with the saving grace found in Jesus. It is a truth that needs to be shared. We share our faith through the good and bad in life. No matter the circumstances God has provided a way above our daily trials and suffering. There may be a friend, family member, or coworker you spend a lot of time with. Do they know this God of the Bible? May God use us today to be a light in a dark world. 

November 21

Ezekiel 42:1-43:27, James 5:1-20, Psalm 119:1-16, Proverbs 28:6-7



Pray: Father when I thought there was no way through You made a path for me. I thank You today for the saving grace I've found in Jesus. 

Read: (James 5:10-11) "For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy."

Edify: James points us to the Old Testament for guidance on how to endure sufferings. Suffering is a very real part of being a Christian. Job had it all, lost it all, and was still restored with blessings. Sounds a lot like Jesus doesn't it? Jesus had it all with eternal praise in heaven but laid all that honor and praise down to come suffer on our behalf so we can receive the blessing of God. We can all relate to Job. We can see sufferings around us. We see brokenness, tragedy and sickness. But as Christians there is a unique sense of peace even through sufferings. We know that the story doesn't end with sufferings. Job may be known for his sufferings but God is known for His eternal blessings. 

Practice: Count your sufferings as blessings. This can be very difficult but try and see the current sufferings around you as blessings. There may be an opportunity God has placed before you to share His story of redemption, restoration, and peace with someone. Pray that God would be with you during any struggles you may have right now and thank Him for His goodness. 

November 20

Ezekiel 40:28-41:26, , James 4:1-17,, Psalm 118:19-29, , Proverbs 28:3-5 

Pray: Father, I come to You today thankful. Thankful that Your word and Your promises are enduring and that You are faithful. Even though I may not feel faithful at times, You are steadfast in Your love and grace for me. Let Your Holy Spirit guide me today and move in my life to share that same love and grace with others. 

Read: (Psalm 118:19-24) "Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord. These gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there. I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory! The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing, and it is wonderful to see. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it."

Edify: Jesus came to live a perfect life so that we might take upon ourselves His righteousness. The word "righteous" can be a little intimidating. But we must remember that Scripture is primarily about pointing us to God. God had to come to be rejected so that we can live in the house of the Lord forever. Jesus is the cornerstone upon which eternity with God is built. 

Practice: "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever." (Psalm 118:29) Be thankful today for all that God has done in your life. Talk to your friends and family about how God has changed you. Also, think of one person that has made an impact on your life. Give them a call or send them a thank you note and thank them for investing in your life. 

November 19

Ezekiel 39:1-40:27, James 2:18-3:18, Psalm 118:1-18, Proverbs 28:2



Pray: Father, faith is far more than what I believe. True faith is always coupled to what I do. Help me Lord to measure my faith by obedience to Your commands rather than thinking I have faith because I agree with them.

Read: Proverbs 28:2 tells us that where there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. Have you ever thought something like this, “he can cheat on his wife but it is none of my business.” Immorality is everyone’s business. True, dragging someone out of their home and stoning them for immorality may not be the best idea you ever had. Still immorality isn’t just a matter between two consenting adults. It rots a nation.

Edify: People living immorally won’t want to hear from you until they know you care about them and want God’s best for them. They won’t care about what you know until they know that you care. Jesus was not afraid of immoral people. It is why He came to earth. We need to remind ourselves that we owe them love and compassion. 

Practice: Practice asking people how you can serve them. There is nothing wrong with telling people you care about them and want to see them blessed. Sow your time, sow your resources, and sow your presence into hurting people. Understand going in that hurting people hurt people. Don’t expect too much at first but give far more than they could have ever expected. History is changed one life at a time. Practice changing the future of those caught in their own poor choices.

November 18

Ezekiel 37:1-38:23, James 1:19-2:17, Psalm 117:1-2, Proverbs 28:1



Pray: Father, there are times when I wish I could sew my mouth shut! Remind me to listen before I speak. Help me to think things through in light of Your WORD before getting angry and saying things I will regret and that will damage rather than help others. And may I bite my tongue first and foremost when I’m listening to my spouse and my children. Help me to understand that well chosen words must be followed by deliberate actions in order for my faith to have real impact in my family and in this world.

Read: Read James’ exhortation about the relationship to hearing and doing. “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” Is your “knowing” greater than your “doing”? When we don’t walk in what we know we become foolish or deceived. You can know about tithing but not be a tither. You will end up deceived. You can know about forgiveness but not show love to the person you have forgiven. Once again, you end up deceived. Knowing without doing is the height of foolishness.

Edify: Doers not hearers are right before God. Don’t let your knowledge of God and His ways become a stumbling block where you “run your mouth” but fail to do what you are talking about. We might like one political candidate over another. We might even espouse their record and virtues. But if we don’t go vote what good are we?

Practice: Practice doing what God says. Keep a journal. When God tells you to do something, write down what you are to do. Then write down when you have done it. And repeat what you did over and over again until it becomes a habit. Character, real Christian character, are good habits strung together that change how we think and what we do.

November 17

Ezekiel 35:1-36:38, James 1:1-18, Psalm 116:1-19, Proverbs 27:23-27

Pray: Lord, how often I have prayed, “Let me be all that I can be in Christ?” Help me to understand that trials and testing are the very events that allow me to grow into a man or woman of God. Change the way I think about them. Help me to see them as opportunities to grow. May I look into my bathroom mirror when my whole world is coming apart and smile!

Read: James, Jesus’s brother, tells us that we can ask God for wisdom. God will not refuse to give spiritual understanding of His will and His ways to us. But James also cautions us at the same time, “But when you ask Him, be sure your faith is in God alone.” When the scriptures jump off the pages of our Bibles we know God is speaking to us. Sometimes from the pulpit we hear a message and the Spirit of God within us witnesses that the word preached is for us. All of this is God answering our heart’s cry for wisdom. But we must obey and hold on to what He says lest we receive nothing. We cannot look to both God and to the world and think we will receive anything. The fruit of doing so is that we receive nothing, nada, zero!

Edify: Have you ever prayed for trials to come into your life? I can assure you whether you pray for them to come or pray for them not to come…they are coming! My point is simply this. Trials are a good thing. Refuse to think of them as bad things. Trials are opportunities. Don’t treat them like a curse. Embrace them as a blessing!

Practice: Keep a journal. When you ask God to speak to you, He will. Write down your question. Over time write down what He says to you. His wisdom may come from your daily devotion, it may come from a sermon at church, it may come from a trusted friend, or God may speak to your heart directly. But know this. You are accountable!

Our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit depends on our obedience to the Holy Spirit. Will we always get things right? No! But it is far better to try and fail than to turn to the world for answers. God will never rebuke you for trying to obey. A righteous man or woman can fall repeatedly but the scriptures say he or she will rise over and over again.