February 24

Leviticus 15:1-16:28, Mark 7:1-23, Psalm 40:11-17, Proverbs 10:13-14



Pray: Acknowledge before God that His ways are higher than our ways. He is great and His law is perfect and not to be discarded by our own reasoning or experience or traditions. Pray a prayer of submission to God’s ways.

Read: Make a point to compare and contrast Moses and Aaron’s reverence before God, David’s honesty and joy before God, and the Pharisees’ haughty attitudes toward God’s law and instruction. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever so there is much to learn by seeing how those in His Word approach Him and His instruction.

Edify: There is much to learn from Jesus’ rebuke against the Pharisees. It’s the height of spiritual arrogance to elevate our own man-made traditions above God’s Word. When someone comes arrogantly before God in the way they speak and live, the prophecy from Isaiah that Jesus quotes in Mark 7:6-7 always follows. Our hearts will be far from Him because there is no room for pride when we’re truly in the presence of God. Worship will become a farce or a show. It’s so powerful to contrast this with the reverence that Moses and Aaron have towards God. God has shown His power when Aaron’s two sons didn’t follow God’s instruction for worship and were immediately struck dead. God is serious about His instruction and law and the wages of breaking them is death. David brings in such warmth by acknowledging his struggles and sins, but then pleading with God to rescue him. In the end, David acknowledges that he is “poor and needy” in humility, and it is with that posture that he can find joy in any circumstance.

Practice: Choose joy today. As David shows us we don’t drift into joy. As the Pharisees show us, joy isn’t found in our rituals. We choose joy by proclaiming, “The Lord is great!” as we celebrate in the joy of our salvation.

February 23

Leviticus 14:1-57, Mark 6:30-56, Psalm 40:1-10, Proverbs 10:11-12



Pray: Lift up your eyes to the One who can lift us up out of the pit of despair. 

Lift up your eyes to the One who can lift us up from drowning in the middle of a storm.

Lift up your cry to the One who hears your cries and takes action.

Lift up your hands to the One who wants to give the bread of eternal life.

Read: As you read, ask God to write His instructions on your heart like David. For it is out of the wellsprings of the heart that the mouth speaks. And it is a good tree that produces good fruit. As you begin with reading Leviticus, ask God to search out and heal or take out any disease or contamination in your heart.

Edify: “The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain...” (Proverbs 10:11a). Are your words giving life to you and to others? We see in the reading today that David is eager to speak out about the good news of God’s justice. David wants to share with anyone who will listen about the faithfulness, power, and unfailing love of God. Are your words pointing to the one who gives life? There is so much power when we actually speak or pray the life-giving words of Scripture to our hearts and to others. Solomon points out that the key motivator of love guides our words towards reconciliation and 1 Peter reaffirms that love covers a multitude of sins. This is demonstrated most clearly in the New Testament reading as Jesus had compassion on the crowds and fed them. He had compassion on those in the boat, so He came to them and used His words to save their lives by calming the storm. Jesus’ words gave life and demonstrated the power of God.

Practice: Ask God to bring a Scripture to mind to share with someone that points to God’s faithfulness, power, and unfailing love. Consider Psalm 40:1-3 as a model to weave in Scripture with your testimony of God demonstrating these qualities in your life.

February 22

Leviticus 13:1-59, Mark 6:1-29, Psalm 39:1-13, Proverbs 10:10



Pray: Begin today by reading aloud David’s plea: “Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest – a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me” (Psalm 39:12 NLT). 

Read: How often have you had conversations with yourself secretly? How often does your mind have to give your emotions a pep talk? If you’re like David, sometimes your emotions win as you just get hotter with anger making it harder to keep it all in. The Psalms are great as they give us incredible wisdom and teach us how to pray. But it’s even better to help us realize that we’re not alone and we’re not crazy with our inner thought life! David talks to himself too!

Edify: The brevity of life is the beginning of wisdom for day to day living. As David is fuming inwardly over his current situation, he shifts from self-talk to God-talk. “Lord,” he says, “remind me how brief my time on earth is” in Psalm 39:4. Our “days are numbered,” “fleeting,” “a moment,” “like a breath,” and “like moving shadows.” When our self-talk transitions to prayer, we end up with an eternal perspective to our daily circumstances. If we place our hope in our circumstances, then our hope is as temporary as they are. But if we place our hope in God, He can provide peace, joy, and love that surpasses any circumstance we’re faced with.

Practice: What situation, relationship, circumstance, or uncertainty gets you caught up in the abyss of negative self-talk? What is it that gets you running hot inwardly so much that your words come out like fire? Let today be a day where you snatch those thoughts and take them captive. Take every opportunity to practice turning negative self-talk into God-talk. Turn the conversation of the heart upward in prayer.

February 21

Leviticus 11:1-12:8, Mark 5:21-43, Psalm 38:1-22, Proverbs 10:8-9



Pray: Set the tone for today as a day where you have a hand extended towards Jesus. What’s your most intense pain? What’s your most desperate prayer for a loved one? Literally extend a hand out in front of you as you share these with a God who is able and willing.

Read: Christianity is a “word-shaped” faith and Christians a “word-shaped” people. We lean towards and extend a hand towards the Word of God which is sufficient to equip us for anything this life throws at us. John’s Gospel introduces Jesus as the living Word of God, the logos and the very mind and power of God. Let’s have the posture of the woman in the crowd and of Jairus who leaned into the Word made flesh, because they knew that’s where the healing power is found.

Edify: As a father, I get Jairus’ desperation with his dying daughter. It’s so humbling to allow myself to think about how very little I’m in control when it comes to my children. Seeing the endless possibilities of accidents or terrible diagnoses and the reality of these in the lives of so many in our communities; it’s easy to fall into fear and anxiety. Jesus our restorer and rescuer looks at us calmly in the face of calamity and says, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” (Mark 6:36b) Jesus sees us riddled with anxiety and desires that we would become amazed by His restoring work on our behalf. Jesus sees our desperation and fear and calls us to replace it with faith in Him. Press in through the crowd to reach out and touch His garment. Purposefully travel whatever distance it takes to fall at His feet. Because when Jesus, the Word made flesh, speaks: your situations, trials, and entirety cannot help but listen. When Jesus says, “your suffering is over,” then it is over. When Jesus tells what seems dead in you to “get up!”, then it cannot help but rise. Come to Jesus today and ask Him to speak into your life.

Practice: I want to share an ancient Christian practice of “breath prayers”. This is a practice of taking a phrase or verse from your Scripture reading and making it your often repeated prayer for the day. It must be short as it can be repeated throughout the day in only ONE breath. Let’s all have the same practice today as we teach our hearts Jesus’ words as we go throughout our day. 

With a heart pursuing Jesus, pray often…Inhale “Don’t be afraid” and Exhale “Just have faith.”

February 20

Leviticus 9:7-10:20 , Mark 4:26-5:20, Psalm 37:30-40, Proverbs 10:6-7



Pray: Leviticus brings into full view the awesome honor it is to worship God. In His presence Aaron brought meticulous obedience, and he brought blood. Take a moment to praise God for taking action through the obedience and the blood of the sacrifice of Jesus so that you may come into His presence uninhibited today.

Read: Let the nature of Leviticus set the tone for the nature of your reading today. Pay attention to the details and read slowly. Ask God to reveal Himself in the small things as you get into His Word.

Edify: It quite honestly seems so barbaric entering into the sacrificial act of worship with Aaron. It’s so easy to begin getting bogged down in the Old Testament reading about this time of year. However, can you see the beauty amidst all the blood slinging? Can you see how purposeful each action is and what it reveals about the nature of worshiping our God? For instance, the peace offering is not the blood of a sweet, innocent lamb. For Moses and Aaron to call upon God for supernatural peace for his people from heaven, they had to sacrifice two large animals infamous for fighting. Imagine the size and strength of the bull for a moment. Imagine the horns, the look in his eyes as he charges in for a kill, the bucking that comes from a refusal to be tamed. Now, imagine the bull slain. Imagine the core strength of the bull in his breast and his thighs being lifted up and then annihilated by burning.

Practice: The nature of finding peace in our lives as we worship our holy God still looks the same now thousands of years later. What are the bulls and rams in your life and spirit? What is it in you that bucks against the people closest to you refusing to be tamed? What are the strongholds in your life causing quarrels that need to be slain and burned into nothing before the Lord? Today in your prayer time, ask the Spirit of God to help you analyze your last 3 fights (could be verbal or simply fuming with anger inwardly) with a spouse, friend, or coworker and reveal to you a pattern. Then, offer this character defect before the Lord. Lift it high instead of refusing to acknowledge the problem. Ask His all-consuming fire to burn it and take it from you. Your practice is to do the soul searching and bull-sacrificing work that leads to peace in your life.

February 19

Leviticus 7:28-9:6, Mark 3:31-4:25, Psalm 37:12-29, Proverbs 10:5 



Pray: Whom have you excluded? Most people have a tendency to reject or even demonize any who are different. You don't have to search far to see evidence of this in our world today. Where you placed the check mark in the ballot box (perceived or real) either means we are friends or we are enemies. My, how far we’ve strayed from God’s plan for humanity. Jesus says, “Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:34). Even if we don’t agree with someone, we can still be civil and offer respect. Whom have you excluded? Ask the Lord to help you see past the differences (while not compromising the truth) and treat others as Jesus has treated you.

Read: In the Old Testament we read of Aaron and his sons being ordained as priests. It was quite the ceremony! It set them apart for the work of a priest. Then, Jesus speaks one of the most widely known parables: the farmer scattering the seed. A popular children's song is written about His next parable. You may know it as “This Little Light of Mine.” The psalmist, once again, speaks of the wicked and the evil in our world and how God will always care for His children. He also reminds us of some practices in which those who honor God should be engaged. Proverbs gets us away from the television and smartphone to work much more productively.

Edify: I preached a message once entitled, "The Spiritual Heartbeat.” Imagine the line going across a heart monitor and how it goes up and down with each beat of the heart. A healthy heart has a continual rhythm to it. What I’ve found in many new Christians and more seasoned followers who have recently had a mountaintop experience is their “spiritual heartbeat” looks normal for a couple of weeks. Then, the peaks and valleys get more shallow. Some even spiritually flatline. Sadly, many churches seem to be filled with spiritual flatliners. I think Jesus knew something like this would happen. That's why He explained part of a parable this way: “The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word” (Mark 4:16-17). How deep are your spiritual roots? It's not how long you've been a follower. Those are vastly different questions! Are you going deeper into God’s Word, deeper into Christian community, deeper into service, deeper into generosity, deeper into Christ?

Practice: If you’ve ever tried to sell a house, you understand the importance of lighting. You need to have all bulbs working. If there is a showing, all lights should be turned on and all blinds/curtains open. You don’t want dark rooms. Even if a room seems bright enough and a lamp doesn’t seem to add anything at all, you still turn on the light. It may make real estate sense to do this. It does not make spiritual sense to do this. Yet, far too many Christians keep the light of Christ burning, but only among other light-bearers and only in already-brightened places. Dark places exist in our lives, our homes, our communities, and our world. Jesus asks, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine” (Mark 4:21). The light of Christ in you is not meant to be contained to bright places or hidden from the world. It is meant to shine so bright it brings all that is hidden into view. Where and how is God leading you to shine brighter for Him?

February 18

Leviticus 6:1-7:27, Mark 3:7-30, Psalm 37:1-11, Proverbs 10:3-4 



Pray: Read or watch the news for very long and you can’t help but be filled with anxiety. Our world is filled with evil people doing evil things. To make matters worse, those things seem to be getting closer to home. Yet, in the midst of all that we decide if it is worth worrying over. We read from David, “Don't worry about the wicked…they soon fade away…they soon wither. Trust in the Lord and do good" (Psalm 37:1-3). Give the Lord your anxieties, your worries, your concerns. He’s ready to listen and ease your heavy burdens. Pray.

Read: We continue reading the very important instructions given to the people regarding sacrificial offerings made to the Lord. These sacrifices, remember, were essential for the salvation of the people. The blood of the animals covered the sins of the people. When we move to the Gospel of Mark, we find crowds of people flocking to Jesus. Perhaps if pastors spoke more of Jesus, and spoke of Him accurately, we would have the same thing today. Jesus also chooses the 12 apostles and makes a case against accusers who say He is possessed by Satan. The Psalm addresses, head-on, a multitude of human emotions. It speaks of worry, delight, stillness, patience, anger, rage, and peace. The way through them all? Trust. Then, Proverbs gives us a word of encouragement followed by a word of challenge.

Edify: Accusations. Jesus faced many of them during His time on earth. He still endures them today. In Mark 3, Jesus, the Son of God, is accused of being possessed by Satan because He casts out demons! Jesus responds, “A kingdom divided...will collapse. Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart” (v. 24-25). Who is your enemy? If you're married, remember the words of Scripture: “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one” (Ephesians 5:31). When you fight with your spouse, you fight with yourself...if we take the Word of God seriously. Your spouse is NOT your enemy. Satan may be trying to destroy your family by creating issues, causing arguments, and working division. Don't allow it! Even if you’re single, you have relationships that Satan will absolutely try to destroy by any means possible. He came after Jesus by way of the religious leaders! He won't grant you an exemption. How do we work through our issues, deal with conflict, and come out of it better? The answer is found in Mark’s words from verse 27, “Only someone even stronger” than our troubles and our conflicts has the power to heal all wounds and mend our relationships. His name is Jesus!

Practice: Do you feel restless? Never content? Most have felt this at some point. Some, however, live with it as a constant companion. What misery that would bring. I am reminded here of the addict who can't seem to wait for the next and better high. It’s the alcoholic who doesn’t really know how to function without the drink in his/her hand. To be sure, it doesn’t stop there. It's the sexual addiction that drives the person from a loving, intimate relationship with their spouse to searching web pages, then personals, and even affairs and beyond! Why? The Lord, “refuses to satisfy the craving of the wicked” (Proverbs 10:3). If what you crave does not honor the Lord, you will never be satisfied. Further, if you crave anything other than the Lord, you will not be satisfied. It is only He who can meet the deepest needs of your soul and mine. Your restlessness, your discontent…they are warning signs along the road to destruction. Turn! Now! Turn to Him.