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.

August 22

Job 4:1-7:21, I Cor. 14:18-40, Psalm 37:30-40, Proverbs 21:27



Pray: Father, I don’t want to say no to something You want me to experience. So help me to study the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Then grow within me a hunger to say “yes” to whatever gifts might help me serve You and the body of Christ.

Read: (I Cor. 14:26) Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.

Edify: The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to strengthen the body of Christ and also to convince those yet to belong of the real workings of the Holy Spirit. But these gifts are given to unite and strengthen. Order must be observed. All that takes place is subject to evaluation by those present.

Practice: The unknown and unexperienced gifts of the Holy Spirit tend to frighten. For this reason many “just say no”. But God has placed order and unity as boundaries to surround the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are real. God wants you to have those gifts that will enhance your service and ministry. Go slowly if you like, but I urge you not to say “no.”

August 21

Job 1:1-3:26, I Cor. 14:1-17, Psalm 37:12-29, Proverbs 21:25-26



Pray: God, help me to accept any gift from the Holy Spirit that You might want to give me. Cause me to learn and then prepare my heart to receive. Whatever gifts You choose to give me please remind me that it is given to honor You and serve others.

Read: "I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will sing in words I understand." (I Cor. 14:15) Have you ever felt yearnings to talk to God or worship God but just couldn’t find the words? One of the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives believers is the gift of speaking in tongues. The gift of speaking or singing in an unknown language should be done privately unless the gift of interpretation also is present to reveal to others what is being said or sung. The gift of speaking in tongues is real. But it is also often misunderstood. It is called the least of the gifts but any gift from God has purpose and may be used to edify.

Edify: Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give! (Proverbs 21:26) No one wants to think of themselves as greedy, but greed has a distinctive voice. Greed says, if I had enough I would give but I don’t. Greed has a distinctive lifestyle. Greed is willing to give once its own needs are met. Only greed’s needs are never met. Every dollar gets spent and greed says, “If only I had more.” The godly love to give. They give their best. They give their first. They never say they can’t afford to give. They choose to do without so that they may give.

Practice: Practice giving the first 10% to God. Give it the minute you receive it. Ask God to bless the remaining 90%.

August 20

Esther 8:1-10:3, 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13, Psalm 37:1-11, Proverbs 21:23-24 



Pray: We often pray with little conviction. We ask God to bless, heal or intervene but our requests are weak for our faith is weak. What if we believed that God did have our absolute best at heart? What if we believed that God is powerful and could bring about a supernatural work in our life or the persons we are praying for? Why don’t we pray like this now. Be bold, ask God for the miraculous to take place, ask God for His perfect will to be done. 

Read: Today’s text from Esther is about restoration and victory for the Jewish people. The king once again finds favor in Esther and allows Mordecai to send out an order, which the king's previous order cannot be revoked, which states that the Jews have a right to defend themselves against anyone who would kill them and to take any property from would be enemies. People now had to think twice before trying to kill the Jews for they could lose not only their lives, but if they lived all their property and net worth. God gave them victory and turned around a would be tragedy. What does God want to turn around today in your life?

Edify: Paul’s letter to the church of Corinth is famous as it is often read at weddings and other celebratory occasions. Yet, 1 Corinthians 13 is explicitly a letter of discipleship. For if we receive Christ, and ask the Holy Spirit to abide in us, then we have access to a supernatural love which enables us to live differently. We don’t have to live by the flesh, because we have access to love differently.

Practice: Now I want to challenge you for an entire month to practice this one exercise. Take the word Love out and place your name there in its place. So you would pray this pray, “4 Love(name) is patient and kind. Love(name) is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It(name) does not demand its own way. It(name) is not irritable, and it(name) keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It(name) does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love(name) never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”  What would happen if we not only prayed that way but lived that way? Your home would be different, your relationships would be different and your life would be different. Let’s start today.