October 13

Jeremiah 22:1-23:20, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, Psalm 83:1-18, Proverbs 25:11-14 



Pray: Heavenly Father, renew our minds, hearts, and spirits so that we may serve You and worship You daily. Bless us with discernment to see Your ways and dismiss and reject anything that gets in the way of a relationship with You. 

Read:(Jeremiah 23:16-18) "This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says to his people: "Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you, filling you with futile hopes. They are making up everything they say. They do not speak for the Lord! They keep saying to those who despise my word, 'Don't worry! The Lord says you will have peace!' And to those who stubbornly follow their own desires, they say, 'No harm will come your way!' Have any of these prophets been in the Lord's presence to hear what he is really saying? Has even one of them cared enough to listen?" 

Edify: Listening to God and His ways and promises bring life. Listening to any other voice will bring darkness and death. These verses sound so much like those we find in Genesis 3:1-7 where the serpent is deceiving Eve (with Adam by her side). When most people think of the Old Testament they think of an angry and harsh God. We fail to see the truth though that the people of Israel have rebelled, they had stopped listening to God's word. They had turned their ears to the voices of false prophets and "....They encourage those who are doing evil so that no one turns away from their sins." (Jeremiah 23:14) God loves His children and is determined to pursue them with a lavish and truth filled love. That's the God we see in the Old Testament. 

Practice: Don't spend time thinking about how good you are and how angry and harsh God is, we get this backwards every time. Think about how good God is and how rebellious we are. Learn and apply the Gospel to your life. In the beginning there was Good News, God created us in His image and we had a perfect relationship with Him. Then there was bad news, in the Garden of Eden we rebelled and sinned - breaking that relationship with God. God in His divine wisdom knew we could not work our way back to Him. So He sent Jesus to live a perfect life, die for our sins, and on the third day Jesus rose from the dead so that we may once again regain a right relationship with God. Good News, bad news, and Good News. That is the Gospel, and the Gospel is a person - Jesus Christ.  

October 12

Jeremiah 19:1-21:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:4-28, Psalm 82:1-8, Proverbs 25:9-10 



Pray: Heavenly Father speak to me through Your word today. Lord You are the Good Shepherd, and You love us unconditionally. I pray for our leaders in our church and in our community. Bless them with Your wisdom as they seek to shape and move our culture for Your glory.

Read: (1 Thessalonians 5:11-13) "So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other."

Edify: Leadership is vital to growth. Every organization needs leadership and if that organization wants to thrive it must have healthy leadership. Even in our homes, healthy leadership can set up generation after generation to be leaders in our community. Christian leadership is "servant leadership." Leaders like Paul, Peter, Moses, Nehemiah, and even Jesus modeled biblical leadership by being humble and ready to serve those they led. 

Practice: Pray for your leaders. Pray for their families and their areas of influence. Avoid conversations that lead to gossip, instead build up our leaders with edifying words. Write a thank you card to someone who leads you or has invested in you. Be thankful for those who place a servant's towel on their arm ready to serve. 

October 11

Jeremiah 16:16-18:23, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3, Psalm 81:1-16, Proverbs 25:6-8



Pray: God, You are perfect in every way. Your spirit is perfect. Your Son is perfect. God bless us today in the midst of our imperfect lives. Let the cravings of our souls be satisfied by You and You alone. 

Read: (Jeremiah 17:7-8) "But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." 

Edify: We wake up each day with a new set of "needs." We want our jobs, finances, relationships, and health to all get better. God does want us to experience peace in our daily lives. However, we neglect to ask the most important question daily - "how is it with my soul?" The material world around us changes every day. God never changes and our souls are made for an eternity with Him, where the perfection we seek daily will become a reality. 

Practice: Take time today to reflect on your life. Think about the good experiences you've had and also think about the struggles life has brought. Now think about a forever where joy and love exist without interruption. Focus on the creator and sustainer of your soul. Give God praise today simply for who He is and what He has already done through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. 

October 10

Jeremiah 14:11-16:15, 1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13, Psalm 80:1-19, Proverbs 25:1-5



Pray: Father give me new eyes and new ears today. Help me to see value in people and help me to love people enough to be truthful with them. Help me to submit and trust those in spiritual authority. Bring Your order out of the chaos in this world and let Your will always prevail.

Read: (Jeremiah 15:19) This is how the Lord responds: "If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman. You must influence them; do not let them influence you!"

Edify: Results. We all want results. We want to put an effort in and see progress or success come out of those efforts. Jeremiah is often referred to as the "weeping prophet" because he saw no fruit from his efforts. But rather than give up and move on, he remained faithful. While false prophets were promising peace, Jeremiah remained faithful to share the destruction that was to come. No matter how harsh, Jeremiah remained a truth-teller. 

Practice: What's your favorite news source? Most often we gravitate to words or news that we agree with or want to hear. Our culture has created spaces that allow us to only hear what we want to hear. As Christ followers we have to be "set apart." Practice today sharing truthful words with those around you. Sharing the truth in love with people will build relationships far beyond today's troubles. Choose people in your household, workplace or community and practice "truth-telling." In sharing the truth, people will see your genuine care for them. Fight the passive nature of telling people what they want to hear. Rather, share what they may need to hear. 

October 9

Jeremiah 12:1-14:10, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8, Psalm 79:1-13, Proverbs 24:30-34 

Pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your goodness and mercy. God help me to trust in Your goodness and trust in Your path for my life. Give me a vision of tomorrow but discipline me for today to be obedient to Your call in my life. Let Your Holy Spirit guide me today and give me words when I need words and silence when I need silence. 

Read: (1 Thessalonians 1:4-7) "We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you. So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece-throughout both Macedonia and Achaia."

Edify: The Holy Spirit is the very power of God. It empowers us as believers to live a life that is pleasing to God. We often spend much of our time trying to please other people. How is that working for you? It's exhausting to try and please those around us. Paul ends chapter 2 in 1 Thessalonians by saying "We loved you so much that we share with you not only God's Good News but our own lives, too." 

Practice: Instead of trying to please others, share God's Good News with them. Everyone is looking for hope, literally every person you or I come in contact with today will be seeking hope. Whatever season of life we find ourselves in, we all need to be reminded that God moved heaven and earth to rescue and save us. Let our focus today be on the saving grace that we find in Jesus Christ. 

October 8

Jeremiah 10:1-11:23, Colossians 3:18-4:18, Psalm 78:56-72, Proverbs 24:28-29

Pray: Lord, help me to be gracious when I feel anything but gracious. Remind me that I am Your witness to those that don’t know You. My words matter. My actions matter. And the people I interact with matter!

Read:(Colossians 4:2, 5-6) "Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone." Have you ever witnessed someone acting up in traffic and then notice a Christian symbol or sticker on the rear window of their vehicle? As Christians we prepare ourselves for the day ahead by giving ourselves to prayer, keeping alert minds throughout the day, and by being thankful. Our actions throughout the day are a living testimony of what we believe. They say far more about our faith than the fact that our car is in a church parking lot on Sundays.

Edify: Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly. When I was in Israel a number of years ago I saw a Palestinian family walking along the road. The man was riding a donkey in front. His wife followed carrying a young child. And two young children walked a few steps behind her. Such was the plight of Arab women at that time. Few were educated. Paul would have had the women on the donkey with the man leading the animal. But here is the thing, Paul was talking to the church and not to an Arab audience. Even in the church, men are failing to love their wives and treat them with respect. Do you want God’s blessing men? Then honor your wives!

Practice: Practice serving your wives. Treat them in such a way that the world marvels at your care and concern. Remember that prayers offered by men that do not honor their wives are hindered. (I Peter 3:7)

October 7

Jeremiah 8:8-9:26, Colossians 3:1-17, Psalm 78:32-55, Proverbs 24:27



Pray: Father, help me to always be thinking “eternity”. Help me to examine what I say and what I do in light of “eternity”. Remind me that I have an eternal purpose to fulfill in a temporal world. Show me what it means to be heavenly minded.

Read: (Colossians 3:1-4) "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in his glory." All of us are looking for the “why are we here” answer. The answer is hidden in Christ. As we get to know and experience Christ, the mystery unfolds and God’s plan and purpose for us is revealed. Meaning and fulfillment are linked to our relationship with God.

Edify: Proverbs 24:27 speaks to priorities. In this country young couples get married and all too often their first major investment is buying a home. Establishing a business (preparing your fields) is far more important. A financial plan followed by careful preparation and then disciplined execution is the key to financial freedom. So, it is not a new home and a new car that young marrieds need. Rather, it is a financial plan and execution of the same that allows them to be successful….and generous.

Practice: Dave Ramsey says if we are one day to live like no one else, we must be willing to live like no one else TODAY. Practice tithing. Practice saving. Practice setting aside emergency funds and reserves. Practice paying in full for the things you buy. Financial discipline paves the way for spiritual discipline and vice versa.