August 9

Ezra 8:21-9:15, 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, Psalm 31:1-8, Proverbs 21:1-2 

Pray: An incredible promise in the Psalm today is that “the Lord cares about the anguish of my soul.” What is it that grieves your soul today? Begin by sharing your anguish with the Lord and rejoicing in His unfailing love.

Read: See how sin grieves the heart of God and the heart of spiritual leaders. Take note of how serious sin is and unrepentant sin in particular. Finally, as you read today, take note of how sin is ultimately a heart and worship issue.

Edify: It’s clear that the apostles understand the Church to be the New Israel promised throughout the Old Testament. And Israel, God’s people, are to be holy and set apart. This is why the intermarriage that has Ezra pleading with God for mercy is a faith and holiness issue, rather than primarily a racial issue. To belong to God’s people isn’t to be sinless, however it is to be growing in grace through repentance and faith. Paul warns about the “wolf” in the “sheepfold” that is unrepentant and drawing the entire community into sexual sin. Paul’s words are no doubt harsh about casting them out of the community, because there is so much at stake with sin. It cannot be contained, but instead infects everything. Christians cannot honor Jesus or even fully rejoice in our salvation without an accurate view of how sin separates and destroys fellowship with one another and with God.

Practice: How are you coddling your own sin or sin within the community that is nurturing your faith? How can you firmly and lovingly confront it through receiving or providing accountability in the immediate future?

August 8

Ezra 7:1-8:20, 1 Corinthians 4:1-21, Psalm 30:1-12, Proverbs 20:28-30 



Pray: Paul asks a tremendous question in today’s reading, “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?” Take time to consider all the gifts that God has given you, including that breath you just took. Enter today’s reading with humility and a hunger to know the giver of those gifts. 

Read: The New Testament, Old Testament, and Psalm readings are all in the shadow of trials, difficulty, and suffering. Whether it’s picking up the pieces from exile, conflict resolution, or health issues, what do you learn about the Lord through the brutally honest situations you encounter in today’s reading?

Edify: Ezra lived in a difficult time with a people who had forgotten who they are after 70 years of exile in Babylon. Despite a difficult life, he was quite aware that “the gracious hand of his God was on him” (Ezra 7:9) and that his purpose was to “study and obey the Law of the Lord and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel” (Ezra 7:10). It’s one thing for the Israelites that returned to build the temple, but quite another for someone like Ezra to rebuild their faith in God.  Much like David in the Psalm, although people disappointed him repeatedly, he praises God for His “unfailing love” demonstrated towards him.  Similarly, Paul observes that “we apostles have been put on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die” (1 Corinthians 4:9). Paul lived a difficult life, became a spiritual father, and was often disappointed by the way he was treated. However, he persisted in the sharing of the Good News despite how it was received or the obstacles in the way. Despite having the gracious hand of the Lord upon them, these great and fruitful leaders displayed grit and perseverance within their clear calling.

Practice: What is that God-honoring, but difficult, action that you have been putting off? Who do you need to have a crucial conversation with or need to apologize to? Show grit by leaning into the difficult, but God-honoring path while remembering that God’s gracious hand is upon you. 

August 7

Ezra 4:24-6:22, 1 Corinthians 3:5-23, Psalm 29:1-11, Proverbs 20:26-27



Pray: Look back and ask God to reveal times when you’ve been used to spread seeds of the Good News of Jesus and times when you’ve been able to water or tend the growth spiritually in someone. Thank God for His grace to allow you to participate in His work and ask God for more opportunities to spread seeds and water, and ask God for the chance to see Him make the seed grow.

Read: Look for the ongoing revelation from Old Testament to New Testament reading of what a temple is, what the foundation for that temple is, and the implications of the location of the dwelling house of God.

Edify: Is Jesus the foundation from which all of your life, decisions, interactions, and desires are built upon? As if that question isn’t big enough, take a moment to evaluate it by your interactions. Paul says that he purposefully invested time and attention as an expert builder to build a foundation in the Corinthian believers. But he did not take credit for it, because the most important thing is that foundation IS Christ. The challenge from Paul in our interactions with others is to not lean on our own wisdom, and as the NIV version puts it in verse 19, our craftiness; but to rely on the wisdom that is found in Christ. When you are close enough to speak into someone’s life foundationally, it is only the foundation of Christ that will allow that person to withstand any storm, situation, or suffering in this life. Speak Christ, for the wisdom of this world is foolishness!

Practice: Thank a leader in your life that has foundationally spoken Christ into your life. Do it today with a simple text or phone call. Then begin making plans to situate yourself where you can speak Christ into the life of others through a life group or regularly scheduled coffee with a friend. 

August 6

Ezra 3:1-4:23, 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4, Psalm 28:1-9, Proverbs 20:24-25 



Pray: David finds his strength in the Lord. It’s a wrestling match for many today. If we’ve accomplished much or had success in life, it is very easy to become prideful. We begin to think we are the source of our blessings and success. David was king and he knew that it was God who had given him everything. Is God your source of strength? Do you trust Him with all you are and all you have? As you pray, acknowledge Him and see if He will reveal to you anything of pride that you need to turn over.

Read: There will always be naysayers and gossipers. I think this is especially true when the people of God are doing the will of God. In fact, I think the closer we move to God’s good and perfect will, the more opposition from the enemy (and the people whom he chooses) we will experience. As the Jews were rebuilding the Temple, rumors were spread and letters full of lies were written to the King of Persia. This halted the rebuilding efforts of God’s people. We should not be surprised when we encounter resistance. In fact, it is in those moments that we should give praise to the Lord, because we may just be closer to His will than ever before.

Edify: The foundation was completed and the people celebrated. They gathered around, the priests blew trumpets, the Levites clashed cymbals, and the people “sang this song to the Lord: ‘He is so good! His faithful love for Israel endures forever!’” (Ezra 3:11) The Temple was not complete, but the people knew that God deserved praise and thanks for what He had accomplished and what He would bring to completion. We would do well to give thanks to God for the foundations He is laying in our lives, our marriages, our homes, our careers, etc., and to praise Him for what He is preparing to build in us!

Practice: If you’ve ever been around a baby, you know their diet consists of milk. That’s it! As an adult, it’s hard to understand how that alone can satisfy hunger. Yet, it’s true for 100% of babies…that’s all they need. As they grow up, more is added to the diet, providing more nourishment, more things needed for development and maturity. Christian living is paralleled with growing up from a baby to an adult, at least according to the Apostle Paul. When we first come to Christ, we can only take in milk, but as we grow in the Lord (IF we grow in the Lord), we need more. What prevents us from going deeper with our faith and growing in the Lord? Paul says it is being controlled by our sinful nature (jealousy, quarreling, living like the world lives, following anyone other than Jesus, etc.). It’s time to change our diets. Purge the sinful nature and receive the solid foods of faith.

August 5

Ezra 1:1-2:70, 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5, Psalm 27:7-14, Proverbs 20:22-23 



Pray: The Psalmist hears God saying, “Come and talk with me.” So, he goes and talks with (prays to) the Lord. I believe the Lord beckons you and I the same way. He desires for us to come and talk with Him…and not just around the dinner table, but so much more often. Will you respond to His invitation?

Read: “This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25). We know that not everyone believes as we do, nor is everyone a Christian. Those in “the world” find the message of the cross to be “foolish” according to Paul. He is reminding the church at Corinth that no matter what “the world” says, God’s plan of salvation is wiser than anything they come up with and God is stronger than anything else in all of creation. It’s good to be reminded of such things!

Edify: Do you ever get confused and overwhelmed? It’s easy to do, even in conversations of faith. There are so many denominations and divisions in the body of Jesus that it is sometimes hard to distinguish one group from another. We would be wise to consider the words of Paul when he says, “I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Perhaps if we were to do this more often, our divisions would be much less important.

Practice: I don’t like when people try to cheat me or do harm to me. It really doesn’t happen all that often, but it does happen to many people on occasion. When it occurs, I want immediate justice, don’t you? I’ll go to great lengths to get that justice in an attempt to get even. Proverbs 20:22 offers a different way: “Don’t say, ‘I will get even for this wrong.’ Wait for the Lord to handle the matter.” It’s a convicting word, but a wise word! Have you been wronged and you are thinking about (or actively working toward) getting even? Step back and wait upon the Lord to handle things. After all, doesn’t He know more than you or me?

August 4

 2 Chronicles 35:1-36:23, 1 Corinthians 1:1-17, Psalm 27:1-6, Proverbs 20:20-21

Pray: David did not lack confidence in the Lord. You find it throughout the Psalms, and certainly here in Psalm 27. He actually prays to live in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. You get a sense of just how much he loves and trusts God. When you pray today, pray with confidence to the Lord telling Him just how much you love and trust Him. If you struggle with those areas or the words to say, ask Him for help. Remember, when we don’t even know what to pray, the Holy Spirit prays for us with sighs and groanings too deep for our words.

Read: My mother used to say, “I’ve had it up to here” and she would use her hand to her face to show that she was simply not going to allow us, her children to disobey any longer. We knew she meant business. Sometimes we corrected ourselves and received grace. Other times, we chose to continue our disobedience. When Zedekiah was king, God “repeatedly sent His prophets to warn them [regarding their rebellion] for He had compassion on His people and His Temple. But the people mocked these messengers of God…until the Lord’s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done” (2 Chronicles 36:15-16). God is a patient and loving God, but when we choose to live in rebellion to His ways and to not listen when He sends others to correct us, we choose to have His favor removed from our lives. What needs to change in your life right now so that the Lord’s anger turns away from you?

Edify: Paul is always so thankful, isn’t he? He provides strong words of correction at times but I always read of his thankfulness. He writes in 1 Corinthians 1:4, “I always thank my God for you…” For whom are you thankful? Nobody is perfect, but God has brought people into your life, perhaps for a season/purpose…perhaps for the rest of your life. Give thanks to God for those persons. I believe our entire attitude and life would improve quite dramatically if you and I chose to live more thankful lives. 

Practice: We want things to happen yesterday. Nobody likes to wait. Some are better at delaying pleasure than others, but most people today are impatient. We can blame it on YouTube, Google, or any other modern day thing which delivers instant information. The truth is, it’s quite convenient to have things quickly, but it’s not always good to have things quickly. Proverbs 20:21 tells us “An inheritance obtained too early in life is not a blessing in the end” (read Luke 15 to hear a story of a son who got an early inheritance for further proof of this truth). If God is saying to you, “not yet,” trust Him. God has amazing things in store for His people. It may be that He is preparing you for something so much better than you think. Practice some patience as you seek the Lord and allow Him to move in your life.

August 3

2 Chronicles 33:14-34:33, Romans 16:10-27, Psalm 26:1-12, Proverbs 20:19



Pray: It’s so easy to gossip, isn’t it? We join in without even realizing it. It somehow makes us feel important if we have information about another person. We do it, yet it is clear in Scripture just how wrong it is. Proverbs 20:19 tells us “A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don’t hang around with chatterers.” If you are easily drawn into gossip, repent during your prayer time and ask the Lord to help you stay away from other “chatterers.” If you don’t join in gossip, ask the Lord in your prayer time to help you be bold enough to squash it! There’s no place for it in the church of Jesus Christ, nor is there a place for it in the life of those who follow Christ!

Read: David challenges me in Psalm 26 when he writes, “Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart” (v.2). Even when my actions are good (they’re not always), there are many times my heart may be in the wrong place or my motives impure. What about you? Could you pray such a prayer and be confident that if God were to honor that prayer your heart and motives would be found pleasing to the Lord? 

Edify: Age is never an issue when it comes to effectiveness in the Kingdom of God. I find this over and over again throughout Scripture. Josiah was 8 years old when he became king of Israel. He returned the people to the Lord. Many Christians will say they are too old or too young to do certain things. It simply is just not Scriptural to say such things. God can use people of all ages, as long as they are seeking Him.

Practice: We must be careful of things that are contrary to Scripture and against the Christian faith. Paul, as he closes out Romans makes one final appeal to “watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them” (16:17). What is in your life that is contrary to what the Bible teaches? Is it a tv show, images/video on your phone/tablet/computer, pride, greed, etc.? Rid yourself of such things and honor the Lord so that everyone will know “that you are obedient to the Lord” (Romans 16:19).