July 20

2 Chronicles 1:1-3:17, Romans 6:1-23, Psalm 16:1-11,Proverbs 19:20-21

Pray: The prayer today from David has a very humble tone to it that I think we can learn from, he says in verse two “ I say to the Lord, You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” This prayer reminds me of what James says later in the New Testament when he says, “every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” I pray Lord that we can remember today that every good thing in our life comes from You and You alone.

Read: The reading today in 2 Chronicles is a famous passage that shows us the value of wisdom. God appears to Solomon and says, “Ask what I shall give you.” If God were to appear to you and ask you for anything what would be your response? Solomon doesn’t ask for wealth or status, or the life of another or even his own life to be longer, he asks for wisdom. What is interesting is that when Solomon asks for wisdom from God all of the other things were added to him as well. This is a reminder to us that our first priority should be to know the Lord and He will sustain us and give us all that we need.

Edify: Paul encourages us to remember the reality of our fight with sin in Romans. Paul refers to our sin nature as “our old self” and he goes on to say that when Jesus was crucified it was as if our old self was also nailed to the cross. Putting our sin nature to death is a daily process and if we are like Christ in crucifying our old nature then we are also like Jesus in His resurrection. We don’t have to live like slaves to sin because Jesus set us free; He broke the chains of our sin. Imagine a slave wanting to run back into slavery and put his shackles back on once he has been set free! This is the imagery that Paul wants us to see as we consider falling into sin once we have been made a new creation with Christ.

Practice: Let us consider the ways today that we can gain wisdom. It is foolish to continue to do the same old things expecting different results. It may be that God is calling us to try something new in regards to our relationship with Him. Maybe it’s a new book, a new way to serve or a different attitude towards someone in your life. Try something new for Jesus today that takes you outside of your comfort zone.

July 19

1 Chronicles 28:1-29:30, Romans 5:6-21, Psalm 15:1-5, Proverbs 19:18-19



Pray: David pours out his heart in today’s Psalm about who it is that truly fellowships with the Lord. He prays “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.” May this be our prayer today Lord to walk blamelessly and speak truth so that we may truly find intimacy with You.

Read: In our reading in Chronicles today there seems to be a theme of “the heart” that develops as you read of David. First, there is the disappointed heart that hears that because of his great bloodshed David will not be able to build the temple himself. Then we read of Solomon and his loyal heart and willingness to follow through with his father’s preparations and God’s plan for the building of the temple. Lastly, we see the devoted heart as it says in verses 17 and 18 “Fix their heart toward You” in other words, give us a devoted heart to seek after You. Unfortunately, Solomon himself did not keep a devoted heart to the Lord and turned away. This shows us that anyone can be susceptible to this so we must heed His word.

Edify: There is a beautiful truth revealed in our reading in Romans this morning. Jesus died while we were still sinners. This is our hope in the gospel knowing that we don’t have to clean ourselves up and look a certain way when we first come to Christ. We simply come “just as we are” because Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. Our sin debt and God’s wrath were placed on the sinless Jesus. 

Practice: There is a somewhat comical proverb today especially if you have a young son as it reads, “Discipline your son, for there is hope, do not set your heart on putting him to death.” We may not think of putting our kids to death but we do get some practical advice to continue in disciplining our children knowing there is a fruitful outcome.

July 18

1 Chronicles 26:12-27:34, Romans 4:13-5:5, Psalm 14:1-7, Proverbs 19:17 



Pray: The contrast is between the generation of the wicked and the generation of the righteous. The latter group is expressed in our Psalm today of those who seek the Lord and pray for His will to be done. For the former, God is not in their hearts and they have no desire or inclination to pray.

Read: As we read yesterday, each of us have a calling as a part of the body. This is God’s design for building His church and we must give God our best. David himself was a musician, David was probably especially concerned that the music in the temple be the finest available and God gave him skilled musicians. Let us praise Him today with the gift He has given us.

Edify: It is greatly encouraging that Paul reminds us that the result of our being justified by faith is that we have peace with God through Jesus. But then Paul takes it a step further and reminds us that even our tribulations become steps on our journey of faith to become more like Jesus so we ought to rejoice in those too! Much like it says in James “consider it a pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds because the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” It is most often the difficult things of life that draw us ever closer to God. Let us thank God in the valley as well as the hilltop because He is ever at work to draw us closer to Him no matter what the circumstance.

Practice: It is better to be rich in character and poor in wealth, especially when that wealth is earned by deception. Today’s proverb reminds us how important it is that we are careful how we treat the poor because God is concerned about them.

July 17

1 Chronicles 24:1-26:11, Romans 4:1-12, Psalm 13:1-6, Proverbs 19:15-16 



Pray: Four times David asked, “How long?” He had prayed, but God had hidden Himself and not answered. David had examined his heart and knew of no reason why God should abandon him. The longer God waited, the more the enemy would succeed. When you have this same feeling, do what David did and talk to God with an honest and humble heart.

Read: A beautiful and costly temple is a waste of money unless ministry is going on for the good of God’s people and the glory of God. So, before he died, David organized the temple workers and put them under proper leadership. The work of the Lord called for dedicated service from many kinds of people: priests, Levites, musicians, treasurers, gatekeepers, soldiers, etc. This is exciting for me and should be for those of us apart of Christ Church because it means that everyone, and I mean everyone, can find a way to serve in the kingdom.

Edify: Our reading from Romans teaches us about faith. How was Abraham saved? Not by works, but by faith as it also states in Genesis 15. Salvation is not like wages that you earn or works that you can boast about. Abraham was not saved by keeping the law, because the law had not even been given yet. He also wasn’t saved by rituals, his salvation was all by God’s grace. Let us be encouraged today that our salvation does not rely upon us, but by the beautiful grace that He lavishes on us.

Practice: Let us look for those ways that God has uniquely designed us to serve Him today. It is a beautiful thought to think that God has intricately woven us together with different personalities and spiritual gifts that help to build up and further the kingdom of God. What unique way might you help the bride of Christ look more beautiful today?

July 16

1 Chronicles 22:1-23:32, Romans 3:9-31, Psalm 12:1-8, Proverbs 19:13-14



Pray: Jesus, help me see my heart. And help me to see that I cannot and will not obey all the rules. Help me to trust Christ completely and to put my faith in His righteousness and not law keeping.

Read: (Romans 3:19) “Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep the people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God.

Edify: Put up a section of wooden fencing by the entrance to your church. Drill a hole in it, head high, about 2 inches in circumference. Watch people enter your church for the Sunday morning service. No one will look through the hole. The following Sunday put a law above the hole. Let the law say, “Do not look through this hole”, Sign your name under the law. Wait and see what happens. Many will look through the hole! Why? The law exposes our nature. At heart we are law breakers. The commandments and rules throughout the O.T. shined a light on the condition of the hearts of God’s people.

Practice: The law reveals our nature. We need to understand that it reveals our need for heart change. We have no excuse. The “hole in the wall” was ignored until the law came. And when the law came the heart was exposed. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

July 15

1 Chronicles 19:1-21:30, Romans 2:25-3:8, Psalm 11:1-7, Proverbs 19:10-12



Pray: God, I don’t even begin to know how to please You. Help me to love You unconditionally but also to fear You greatly.

Read: In 1 Chronicles 19 through 21 we see David and his men winning battle after battle “trusting the Lord”. But while Joab, David’s general, was out waging war David had an experience described in scripture this way, “Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. David was tempted to “trust in numbers” rather than “trust the Lord”. Joab urged David not to take a census. But David would not listen. As a result of David trusting in numbers rather than trusting the Lord, God punished Israel.

Edify: When confronted by his seer David acknowledged his sin. God declared that David could choose one of three punishments. David decided that he would trust God to choose the punishment. So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel and 70,000 died as a result. The higher we go up in authority the greater the consequences when we mess up. But just as one of God’s angels was about to destroy Jerusalem David and his men dawned sackcloth and ashes and began to repent. There before David and his men was the altar of Araunah. David promptly purchased the altar and offered up sacrifices and the plague was stopped. At that time the tabernacle was at Gibeon but David was afraid to go worship God because he feared God’s presence. So, even David, a man after God’s own heart, had to grow and mature in his relationship with God.

Practice: We should listen to good counsel. David did not. We should fully understand that not every leading, not every voice, is from God. God had said many times, “Don’t count Israel but rather trust me.” David messed up. He ignored counsel and he didn’t seek the Lord. He paid a price. All Israel paid a price. Practice searching the scriptures before making a decision. Let the WORD direct you and not your feelings.

July 14

1 Chronicles 16:37-18:17, Romans 2:1-24, Psalm 10:16-18, Proverbs 19:8-9



Pray: Father, help me to see past the sins of others, to love on them, and to be honest about the hidden sins I wrestle in the darkness over.

Read: "You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. And we know that God in His justice will punish anyone who does such things." (Rom. 2:1-2)

Edify: This chapter in Romans has a theme. It is simply this, “But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness.” (Rom. 2:8) Who are you living for? And how do you live? I’m not talking about how you live in front of folks but how you live when no one is watching. An alcoholic bound with the chains of addiction may well be known as the town drunk for all to see. But what about the husband, father, and pastor bound by late night porn on television that no one sees?

Practice: Practice truth telling. We seem to hate in others what behind the veil we are guilty of ourselves. We might be on a soap box telling of the degradation of homosexuality while having a secret affair. Again, God sees and God wants us free. But it starts with acknowledging our sin, getting our lives into the light, and entering into worship and thanksgiving. Worship empowers. It puts God back in the place He should be in our lives.