October 20

Jeremiah 35:1-36:32, 1 Timothy 5:1-25, Psalm 89:14-37, Proverbs 25:25-27



Pray: Father, clear my sleepy head and fill my mind with expectation. Awake my slow body and energize my heart with love in action. Ignite my spirit and set this day on fire with promise. Make the ordinary extraordinary. Engage me; show me Your kingdom alive. Help me to see that every waking moment is full of promise because of You. Amen.

Read: In Jeremiah we see what total dedication looks like.  (Notes from the Life Application Study Bible) “The Recabites’ code of conduct resembles that of the Nazirites, who took a special vow of dedication to God (Numbers 6). For 200 years they had obeyed their ancestor’s vow to abstain from wine. While the rest of the nation was breaking its covenant with God, these people were steadfast in their commitment. God wanted the rest of His people to remain as committed to their covenant with Him as the Recabites were to their vow. God had Jeremiah tempt the Recabites with wine to demonstrate their commitment and dedication.  God knew they wouldn’t break their vow.” Would you be able to stand up against such temptation? In the face of everyone else around you doing the very things you knew were not pleasing to God, could/would you stand up and not give in?

Edify: According to a publication on peer pressure by Parent Further, only 10 percent of teenagers surveyed said that they had not been influenced by peer pressure. In that same group, 28 percent of teenagers agreed that giving in to peer pressure improved their social standing and nearly half of those surveyed admitted to picking on someone only after a friend picked on that person.

Peer pressure is not only a problem for children and adolescents, but it is also a major issue for adults. We may not want to call it peer pressure but the reality is that adults are just as susceptible to being pressured into doing things they know are not appropriate. It is critical to be able to be so strong in your beliefs and your confidence in who you are that you can stand up against the pressure from outside forces to do something that is not in line with God’s will. Just as the Recabites stood strong on their vow to abstain from wine for over 200 years, we too must stand strong to live for those things that are pleasing to God even in the face of opposition.

Practice: Spend time today in service to your fellow man. Find one way that you can make someone else’s day a little brighter. 

October 19

Jeremiah 33:1-34:22, 1 Timothy 4:1-16, Psalm 89:1-13, Proverbs 25:23-24



Pray: Lord, I trust in Your unfailing love, in Your promises. I give this day and all that it holds to You. May I walk in Your goodness, knowing Your gentle hand will guide me, and keep me.

Read: Jeremiah gives us yet another example of God’s redemptive plan for His people. Even in the face of their despair, Jerusalem will be restored because it is part of God’s ultimate plan. What a beautiful example of how God’s justice is often tempered by His mercy. God’s chosen people were in the throes of their despair yet God reveals His majesty and His grace by assuring them that while Jerusalem will certainly be destroyed that He will rebuild the city after their 70 years in exile. Those kinds of promises are true for you and me today as well. While we may be in the midst of some form of despair now, God’s plan is one of ultimate victory and redemption. We only need to wait on God’s timing and be faithful in our own exile.

Edify: Have you ever been to a church or heard on television someone preaching a word that is contrary to your understanding of Scripture and God’s very nature? Unfortunately, there are lots of examples of this that happen every weekend around the world. These are whom Timothy warns us against today when he speaks of false teachers saying, “They pretend to be religious, but their consciences are dead.”. As followers of Christ, it is important to be well informed as to the types of things that are and are not found in Scripture. Just as we are faced with what has been termed “fake news”, we are also faced with some who are preaching and teaching a fake Gospel and we must therefore be diligent in our “spiritual exercise” as it “promises a reward in both this life and the next”.

Practice: Spend some extra time in spiritual exercise. That may be a little extra time in prayer… some more time in Scripture. Maybe today is the day to fast and focus on God and the spiritual sustenance that He fills us with each day. 

October 18

Jeremiah 31:27-32:44, 1 Timothy 3:1-16, Psalm 88:1-18, Proverbs 25:20-22 



Pray: Father, may we be grateful for our lot, and compassionate toward all those who are suffering every kind of distress at this time. May we hold nothing back, and hasten to be ministers of prayer and mercy, like the Disciples of Christ… who went about doing good works in times of need.

Read: The Psalm today is a cry out to God for help in the writer’s time of need. When reading this psalm you get the sense of the deep and ongoing anguish that is being felt and the deepest desire for God to intervene and take the pain away. I am astounded each day that even in the darkest of times and the direst of situations that I know that God understands even my deepest of pain and misery. Even when we hurt, God is able to say “Me too”. God sent His own Son to earth to live and eventually die so that we may be able to live. God knows our hurt, our pain, our needs, and our desires. God needs those who believe in Him to have faith that our circumstances are temporary and that God is right there in the pain with us.  When we hurt, God hurts. When we are filled with joy, God is filled with joy. Whatever emotion you feel, God is right there with you… saying “Me too”.

Edify: Paul gives us the characteristics of a leader in the church today. A mighty task it is to be a leader because to lead in the church is to lead the bride of Christ. In mentoring Timothy, Paul wants him to understand that it is a high calling to be a leader within the body of Christ. There are many who want a position or a title and don’t really care about the weight that leadership carries. A spirit of discernment is critical when it comes to choosing a leader. The heart and motives of any potential new leader must be examined. It is of utmost importance for a leader to lead well and only those whose hearts are in the right place will be able to do that. 

Practice: Consider your leadership. Why do you lead? Where do you lead? Leadership doesn’t have to be out in front of a large group of people, you could lead your children. Are you leading them well? You could lead at work. Are you leading in such a way that you are demonstrating the love of Christ? Examine your own heart and discern your motives… are they pure and holy or are they self-serving?

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.