October 17

Jeremiah 30:1-31:26, 1 Timothy 2:1-15, Psalm 87:1-7, Proverbs 25:18-19



Pray: Lord God, You are my strength. Hold my hand in my weakness and teach my heart to fly. With You, there’s nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. Hold me tight in Your embrace, so that I can be stronger than the challenges in my life. Amen.

Read: Jeremiah 30 gives us God’s promises to His chosen people as they live in captivity. We read yesterday that God told the Israelites to not live as though they were in captivity, but to make the most of their time in a foreign land… build houses, have children, pray for their captors…Today He continues these instructions and God tells the Israelites not to stand around in misery because in the end, they will be saved! Verse 8 says, “For in that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will break the yoke from their necks and snap their chains.” God wins! This is a truth that is relived over and over throughout Scripture.  Why do we live as though we are slaves when the reality is that God is ultimately in control and that He is triumphant? 

Edify: I wonder if the Israelites would have lived the same way if they knew what was going to happen in the New Testament with God coming to earth and ultimately dying and resurrecting? I wonder if they would have lived the same way if they knew that there was victory in Jesus? (You started singing that song didn’t you… be honest… you did.) The Israelites, once again, found themselves as slaves in a foreign land and are faced with wondering what they were to do with themselves while there. Scripture tells us that the men stood around looking miserable… like they were about to give birth, but God reminds them through the prophet Jeremiah that God will deliver them in time. I think we often live the same way… so caught up in our own captivity that we forget that God has already delivered us and that we have victory in Him. Don’t live as a slave, live today as a victor in Christ!

Practice: Reflect on what is keeping you from living into the victory that Christ offers… maybe it's finances, maybe it’s a broken relationship, maybe it's unhappiness in a job situation. Whatever it is, commit today to taking steps toward being able to live into the victory that Christ has for you by taking the necessary steps to overcome those circumstances that have you in bondage. Today may mean establishing a budget, making a phone call of reconciliation or having a conversation with your boss. Whatever it is for you, commit to it today and begin to move toward victory.

October 16

Jeremiah 28:1-29:32, 1 Timothy 1:1-20, Psalm 86:1-17, Proverbs 25:17

Pray: Heavenly Father… You have given me another day to live into Your vision for my life and for that I am thankful. Give me the courage to live for You in light of the crazy world that is going on around us. Lord, bless this day and all of the lives that I will interact with in it. In Your powerful name, Amen.

Read: 1 Timothy 1:19 tells us, “Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.” Paul is sharing a powerful truth to Timothy here that there are many who have chosen to the follow their will for their lives rather than God’s will for their lives and have ended up in a very different place than they had ever intended. There are many today, maybe this includes you, that have intentionally gone their own way rather than doing what they knew was right. Maybe it was because “everyone else was doing it” or possibly because it was more fun, but whatever the reason, you found yourself with a “shipwrecked faith”.

Edify:1 Timothy is one of my favorite books in the Bible because it's almost a play-by-play look into the mentor relationship between Paul and Timothy. This was a critical read for me as I discerned my own call into ministry. In these beginning verses I am reminded of the role of teacher and leader… it can be heard in verse 5 where it reads, ‘The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith." To be filled with the love of God will help us to accomplish a clear conscience and a sincere faith. As followers of Jesus, we must be diligent in our study of the Scriptures, in prayer, and in worship so that we may, as Wesley said, to have “the love of God shed abroad in our hearts.”

Practice: Take the time today to consider your legacy. How will you be remembered? Who are you investing in? Who are you spending time mentoring so that they (and you) may have “the love of God shed abroad in your heart”?

October 15

Jeremiah 26:1-27:22, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18, Psalm 85:1-13, Proverbs 25:16 

Pray: Father thank You for today. You are worthy of our praise and we thank You for providing for us each day. We ask for peace and grace today to deal with the struggles we have. Bless us with joy today and open our eyes and hearts to the community around us. 

Read: (Psalm 85:10-11) "Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed! Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven."

Edify: These verses are telling us what is to come. Israel is still in rebellion but these verses are showing what God's grace and mercy will look like. These verses also portray a relationship between God and His people. God is steadfast and faithful in His love of Israel and He asks the same faithfulness to be returned to Him. We must never look at God's commands as merely rules - we should look at His direction for us in the context of a covenant relationship. 

Practice: What is God asking you to be faithful with? God has blessed us all with gifts and talents to be used for His glory. The Psalm here is showing us what peace looks like when God's people live in truth and faithfulness to God. God has been faithful to His people. He has done His part. Now it's our turn to take steps of faith in becoming devoted followers. Maybe it's attending worship each week or beginning the steps of tithing and trusting God with our finances. Obedience will bring joy and peace to our daily lives. We build a relationship by learning, loving and growing in that relationship. God is ready to bless our lives when we are faithful to Him. 

October 14

Jeremiah 23:21-25:38, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17, Psalm 84:1-12, Proverbs 25:15

Pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace and mercy. I receive the gift of Your grace today. Help me to be thankful for how You have moved in my life and shown me the path of peace. 

Read: (Psalm 84:1-4) "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven's Armies. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven's Armies, my King and my God! What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises."

Edify: Identity. We all identify with something and we get a measure of joy out of things that we feel included with. Whether it's your favorite sports team, where you work, or maybe where you went to college. There are lots of things we can feel connected to and feel like we "belong." In this Psalm we see the joy of experiencing and belonging to the dwelling place of the Lord. God has woven "worship" into our human experience because we were made to worship. Ultimately we are made to worship God. That is where true joy, peace, and strength are found. 

Practice: Make a list of the things you value. It can be people, possessions, sports, or anything you count as fulfilling. Now pray to God in a spirit of thankfulness, thanking Him for those blessings. We must also seek not to lift these things up as "ultimate" things. Today's obedience will be tomorrow's worship. What will you be obedient to today? Let us focus our daily efforts on God, be thankful for His blessings, and give Him our praise and worship that He is due.  

October 13

 Jeremiah 22:1-23:20, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, Psalm 83:1-18, Proverbs 25:11-14 

Pray: Heavenly Father, renew our minds, hearts, and spirits so that we may serve You and worship You daily. Bless us with discernment to see Your ways and dismiss and reject anything that gets in the way of a relationship with You. 

Read:(Jeremiah 23:16-18) "This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says to his people: "Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you, filling you with futile hopes. They are making up everything they say. They do not speak for the Lord! They keep saying to those who despise my word, 'Don't worry! The Lord says you will have peace!' And to those who stubbornly follow their own desires, they say, 'No harm will come your way!' Have any of these prophets been in the Lord's presence to hear what he is really saying? Has even one of them cared enough to listen?" 

Edify: Listening to God and His ways and promises bring life. Listening to any other voice will bring darkness and death. These verses sound so much like those we find in Genesis 3:1-7 where the serpent is deceiving Eve (with Adam by her side). When most people think of the Old Testament they think of an angry and harsh God. We fail to see the truth though that the people of Israel have rebelled, they had stopped listening to God's word. They had turned their ears to the voices of false prophets and "....They encourage those who are doing evil so that no one turns away from their sins." (Jeremiah 23:14) God loves His children and is determined to pursue them with a lavish and truth filled love. That's the God we see in the Old Testament. 

Practice: Don't spend time thinking about how good you are and how angry and harsh God is, we get this backwards every time. Think about how good God is and how rebellious we are. Learn and apply the Gospel to your life. In the beginning there was Good News, God created us in His image and we had a perfect relationship with Him. Then there was bad news, in the Garden of Eden we rebelled and sinned - breaking that relationship with God. God in His divine wisdom knew we could not work our way back to Him. So He sent Jesus to live a perfect life, die for our sins, and on the third day Jesus rose from the dead so that we may once again regain a right relationship with God. Good News, bad news, and Good News. That is the Gospel, and the Gospel is a person - Jesus Christ.  

October 12

Jeremiah 19:1-21:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:4-28, Psalm 82:1-8, Proverbs 25:9-10 

Pray: Heavenly Father speak to me through Your word today. Lord You are the Good Shepherd, and You love us unconditionally. I pray for our leaders in our church and in our community. Bless them with Your wisdom as they seek to shape and move our culture for Your glory.

Read: (1 Thessalonians 5:11-13) "So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other."

Edify: Leadership is vital to growth. Every organization needs leadership and if that organization wants to thrive it must have healthy leadership. Even in our homes, healthy leadership can set up generation after generation to be leaders in our community. Christian leadership is "servant leadership." Leaders like Paul, Peter, Moses, Nehemiah, and even Jesus modeled biblical leadership by being humble and ready to serve those they led. 

Practice: Pray for your leaders. Pray for their families and their areas of influence. Avoid conversations that lead to gossip, instead build up our leaders with edifying words. Write a thank you card to someone who leads you or has invested in you. Be thankful for those who place a servant's towel on their arm ready to serve. 

October 11

Jeremiah 16:16-18:23, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3, Psalm 81:1-16, Proverbs 25:6-8

Pray: God, You are perfect in every way. Your spirit is perfect. Your Son is perfect. God bless us today in the midst of our imperfect lives. Let the cravings of our souls be satisfied by You and You alone. 

Read: (Jeremiah 17:7-8) "But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." 

Edify: We wake up each day with a new set of "needs." We want our jobs, finances, relationships, and health to all get better. God does want us to experience peace in our daily lives. However, we neglect to ask the most important question daily - "how is it with my soul?" The material world around us changes every day. God never changes and our souls are made for an eternity with Him, where the perfection we seek daily will become a reality. 

Practice: Take time today to reflect on your life. Think about the good experiences you've had and also think about the struggles life has brought. Now think about a forever where joy and love exist without interruption. Focus on the creator and sustainer of your soul. Give God praise today simply for who He is and what He has already done through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.