August 31

Job 37:1-39:30, 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10, Psalm 44:9-26, Proverbs 22:13

Pray: Lord, You know better than I do. Keep me from being too talkative and thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Keep me from trying to straighten out everyone else’s issues. Teach me the beautiful lesson that occasionally it is possible that I am wrong. Make me thoughtful and not moody or bossy. Amen.

Read: The storm finally broke on the five men seated on the ash heap, and God spoke to Job out of the storm. We do not enjoy it when the storm comes, but if we listen to His voice, the storm will accomplish good things in our lives. When the storm was over, Job was ready to meet God and help his friends. God’s word is light but too often our words bring darkness.

Edify: Jesus suffered and turned that suffering into glory; by faith, we can do the same thing. It is not wrong to care for the outward person, so long as you recognize that it is perishing. Concentrate on the inner person. It is the invisible that is imperishable. The best is yet to come!

Practice: It seems that our Proverb today is reminding us not to make excuses for the work we must accomplish. The sluggard says “There is a lion outside I shall be killed in the streets.” Whatever excuse you might be making for what needs to be done today, put it aside and remember how important it is that we do what we are called to do.

August 30

Job 34:1-36:33, 2 Corinthians 4:1-12, Psalm 44:1-8, Proverbs 22:10-12



Pray: Oh Lord, it is Your right hand and Your arm, and the light of Your face that You save us, for You delight in us. You are our King. May we speak of Your name today to others of Your glorious works in all the earth! Amen.

Read: Elihu must have been a good listener because he was able to quote Job’s words. However, Elihu listened with ears and not with his heart, which made his speeches harsh and unkind. He was too sure of himself and kept reminding Job and his friends to listen to him. It was the same old argument: God is just and therefore cannot be accused of sin or partiality. God sees all we do and judges sin righteously. How important do you think you are before God? Job was important to God, so much so that God and Satan had a discussion in heaven about him! The greatness of God does not mean that He is far from us, I have to remind myself of this truth. He is great in love and mercy!

Edify: Unlike the legalist who had invaded the church in Corinth, Paul had nothing to hide. The Jewish religious system veiled the Gospel, but Paul sought to reveal the Gospel. There is a similar image in Genesis 1 when God brings light into the darkness. Paul paid a great price for his ministry and the legalists were about collecting honors. We are vessels, the treasure of the Gospel life within is important. As vessels we must be clean and available for His use.

Practice: We see today in Proverbs how important our words can be. It says “He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king as his friend.” May we be careful that our words are gracious today.

August 29

Job 31:1-33:33, 2 Corinthians 3:1-18, Psalm 43:1-5, Proverbs 22:8-9 

Pray: Lord, You are the God in whom I take refuge, send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy. May we not be downcast today Lord, may we hope in You, our salvation and God.

Read: The first verse of our Old Testament reading today is a verse that I was told to memorize when I was younger to help me fight the battle of purity. I would encourage all men to memorize Job 31:1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes that I will not look upon a woman to lust after her.” In times of temptation reminding yourself of this verse can be a lifesaver. The youngest and wisest of Job’s friends speaks truth to him from God and reminds Job that “He redeems my soul from going down to the pit, and my life shall look upon the light.” God breaks so that He may restore.

Edify: In the second letter to the Corinthians today we are reminded of the difference between the law and the spirit. The law brings death, meaning we are reminded by God’s law that we are law breakers and unable to be perfectly right before God. But God’s perfect spirit makes us right as we read earlier in chapter 1 that the Spirit is our guarantee!

Practice:  Proverbs reminds us today that a man who is generous will be blessed. Think of one act of generosity that you can do today to bless someone else and then wait to see how God blesses you in time.

August 28

Job 28:1-30:31, 2 Corinthians 2:12-17, Psalm 42:1-11, Proverbs 22:7 



Pray: Lord, may we have today the fervency of the Psalmist in seeking You out. May our souls thirst for You, may we pour out our soul to You earnestly seeking to be found by You. In Jesus' name we ask it, Amen. 

Read: In Job we see him asking an important question “From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?” The Bible seems to be abundantly clear that wisdom comes from God. James says, “If anyone wants wisdom he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him.” Job answers his own question in verse 23 of chapter 28 “God understands the way to it, and he knows its place.” I have always heard that wisdom is the living application of God’s word. Let us seek to live what we read today.

Edify: Have you ever been around someone who stinks? Maybe it was just after a workout or sporting event or even worse around something that has died? It is evident by the smell that something has died. We have the opportunity today to be the fragrance of Christ unto God. To be a sweet smelling aroma in the nostrils of God with how we live and love others. Let us not be a stench because of sin, but let us be a beautiful fragrance for our Lord. 

Practice: Proverbs tells us today “the borrower is slave to the lender.” If there is a practical way today that you can pay down a debt or repay someone for something that you owe them do not hold off on it any longer.

August 27

Job 23:1-27:23, 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:11, Psalm 41:1-13, Proverbs 22:5-6 



Pray: Lord, help me to do the hard things and take the painful actions that address sin. And help me to have complete restoration as my motive and goal when I discipline.

Read: In I Cor. 5 Paul addresses sin that is taking place in the church at Corinth. “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from amongst you. ….deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved." Paul’s first letter to the church rebuked them severely for allowing a man to have sexual relations with his mother while doing nothing about it. Paul had pointed out that allowing this not only defiled the man but also the whole church.

Edify: How do you handle correction? How does your church handle correction? Paul had corrected the church at Corinth. Correction is never easy. There certainly must have been a lot of hurt. But the church did take action. They removed the man, who was living in sin with his mother and wouldn’t repent, from the church. Paul writes II Cor. 2:5 and says, “I am not overstating it when I say that the man, who caused all the trouble, hurt all of you more than he hurt me. Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him. I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions."

Practice: Discipline should be meted out with the goal being complete restoration. The attitude of the church concerning the man sleeping with his mother prior to Paul’s severe rebuke was “this too shall pass”. Paul corrected the church. The sin had to be confronted and since the man would not repent, he had to be removed from church life. Time passed. The man repented. Paul once again took action. Even though the man had caused much pain, he had to be restored and loved on. Restoration is God’s plan. When you discipline is restoration your plan?

August 26

Job 20:1-22:30, 2 Corinthians 1:1-11, Psalm 40:11-17, Proverbs 22:2-4



Pray: Heavenly Father, perfect love casts out fears. Help me to keep my heart stayed on You. Remind me that You have not given me the spirit of fear. Rather, You have given me a sound mind and power. Thank You for the Holy Spirit. Thank You for Christ living in me. Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. In my weaknesses Your strength is made perfect. Comfort me and may I voice my trust in You.

Read: In Psalm 40:12 the psalmist writes, “For troubles surround me---too many to count!" In II Cor. 1:8 the apostle Paul writes, “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die."

Edify: Sickness, hardship, suffering, and persecution teach us to stop relying on ourselves and to learn to rely only on God. The more we suffer for Christ the more God will shower us with comfort through Christ. Our struggles and the comfort we receive during them become a well spring of comfort for others. Some even come to Christ and are saved as a result of seeing us both suffer and be comforted. The Holy Spirit has another name…The Comforter!

Practice: There is no such thing as trusting God too much. Practice turning each and every fear over to the Lord. Choose to rely only on Him. There is great torment in being afraid. There is great comfort in trust. Give voice to your trust.

August 25

Job 16:1-19:29, 1 Corinthians 16:1-24, Psalm 40:1-10, Proverbs 22:1 



Pray: Father, help me to hang my hat on what You say and not cave in to what I feel. Help me to understand that You open doors but walking through the doors You open may not be easy.

Read: (I Cor. 16:9) There is a wide open door for a great work here, although many oppose me. The biggest opportunities are always coupled with the greatest opposition. Paul was at Ephesus and writing the Corinthian Church about his desire to spend extended time over the winter months with them. Paul was a seasoned soldier for Christ. He had learned that persecution and trials went hand in hand with taking spiritual ground.

Edify: I love the expression that proclaims loudly that “Winners never quit and quitters never win!” Opposition and resistance to what God is speaking for His church to do is to be expected. But far too many of us quit when the first winds of resistance start blowing. We say we “don’t want to offend” so we quit. We say the price is more than we thought “so we back off.” We say that “folks are suffering” so we stop. The children of Israel upon hearing the reports from the spies they sent into the promised land found themselves weighing the reports of giants in the land of walled cities to the reports of grapes the size of grapefruits. The opportunity was great but so was the opposition. Rather than say, God we are scared, they told God that their children would be killed so they couldn’t enter the land.

The children of Israel had been eyewitnesses of the greatest deliverance of a people in human history yet resistance caused them to shake in their boots. So, all those over 20 died in the wilderness while 40 years later their children took the land. And yes, there was resistance. Resistance and opposition increase our faith and strengthen our resolve.

Practice: The Word declares that if we are to reign with Him we must first suffer with Him. Just as a great athlete must train and get in shape, so must we face trials and adversity to grow in faith. Practice thanksgiving rather than complaining when life hurts. You will find yourself stronger than you ever thought possible.