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.

August 24

Job 12:1-15:35, 1 Corinthians 15:29-58, Psalm 39:1-13, Proverbs 21:30-31 



Pray: Father, lay a solid foundation in me concerning the resurrection. Teach me why Jesus was the firstborn of the dead. Why did Jesus say He was the resurrection and the life? Show me why He descended into the lower parts of the earth before He ascended on high. Why were there dead men walking in Jerusalem after the resurrection? Show me the power of the resurrected Christ.

Read: (I Cor.15:32b-34 ) "...if there is no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, 'Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!' Don’t be fooled by those that say such things, for 'bad company corrupts good character.' Think carefully about what is right and stop sinning. For to your shame I say some of you don’t know God at all!" These verses demand some critical thinking. The center piece of Christianity is the fact that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. In other words, the resurrection was real and was bodily. There is life after death. Jesus proved it. But if it wasn’t really true then why get eaten by lions or get stoned to death for something that never really happened? Paul goes on to say that once you are convinced of the resurrection you should invest your time and energy with those who believe as you believe.

Edify: Ever hear someone say, “Birds of a feather flock together?” This passage is the Greek version of that expression. (Evil communications corrupt good manners.) Yes, God is love. But God is also holy! Holy means set apart. Too many young Christians return to old friendships thinking they will “win their friends”. All too often, they don’t, and because they are young in the faith they often return to old ways and old beliefs. Pursue holiness. When the time is right and the spiritual life is strong, you will be able to stand without yielding.

Practice: Learn why you believe what you believe. Practice sharing your faith with your friends.

August 23

Job 8:1-11:20, 1 Corinthians 15:1-28, Psalm 38:1-22, Proverbs 21:28-29



Pray: Father, sometimes I pray for things that I have no idea how much they cost Jesus and how much they will cost me. I need Your assurance that at the end I’ll say, “Wow, it was worth it!”

Read: "But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me."

(I Cor. 15:10) God GIVES grace to the humble. Need grace? Choose humility. Seek to be last, least, servant of all. Be ready to love on your enemies, walk the second mile, and turn the other cheek. Be the first to grab a towel and wash feet. Be the last in line at the covered dish dinner. God exalts those who choose humility. And by the way, choosing humility is choosing to be broken. Choosing humility exposes pride and pride being broken is painful. Humility doesn’t come easily but it does come.

Edify: "My groans come from an anguished heart." (Psalm 38:8) Kind David is aging and very sick. But what he finds unbearable is unresolved guilt, grief over his decisions, and anguish. David feels he can’t go on but then he utters, “But I will confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done.” (Psalm 38:18) Health can be hard to hang onto as we age. But physical health is not the real issue as we approach the end of our lives. The real issues are issues of right relationship with God and seeking forgiveness from those we have hurt, but healing and peace begin with confessing our sins.

Practice: Practice being least, last, and servant of all. The opportunities are all around you.