December 25, 2020

Isaiah 65:17-18

17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.

Most of my Christmases have been a strange mix of fun and trying not to think about Christmas being over. Christmas is supposed to be more than the sum of its parts. Yes, Christmas gives you a relief from work with good food, presents, and family time, but it’s also supposed to be “the most wonderful time of the year”. I have faced an annual fight with dissatisfaction in the most wonderful time and with looming darkness of whatever comes after Christmas.

That’s why I have to put my eyes on Jesus. Christmas is absolutely fantastic because Jesus’ birth was the true beginning of the new heavens and new earth God has promised us. Jesus is the Way to that blissful place where our wickedness and the wickedness that has happened to us will happen no more, not even to be remembered. He has come and Christmas can now be a preview rather than a pinnacle. Feel that thrill of Hope as we rejoice in Jesus! Merry Christmas!

Prayer prompt: Lord, thank You for the way Christmas can show me how to hope in Your Kingdom.

Daily Reading: Revelation 5 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of the first part of Revelation. 

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December 24, 2020

Matthew 1:12

12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

Matthew divides his genealogy into 3 parts: Abraham to David, David to the Deportation, and the Deportation to Jesus. That breakdown points a trembling finger at the whole of Israel. Israel didn’t just have crazy Judah or fallen David, Israel was a fallen people. So why would God choose to use Israel as the people Jesus would come from?

When I was a boy, our pastor took a huge bin of legos and threw them up in the air. I still remember the cloud of primary colors as the thousands of legos hung for a moment before crashing down everywhere. He then stooped down and picked up a single yellow brick. God choose Abraham out of all the people because of His sovereign will. If Abraham, the Kings, and all the people fall, God can redeem and has redeemed them. What sin disqualifies you from God’s love? He knows not any.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I repent of my sin and call on Jesus to redeem me like You redeemed Israel.

Daily Reading: Revelation 4 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of the first part of Revelation. 

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December 22, 2020

Matthew 1:6

6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah

I’m not sure there is a bigger *hint *hint in scripture than this verse. Name follows name in this list of Jesus’ ancestors with only slight commentary, then you see David the King. If you know the Old Testament, you know there is almost nobody bigger than David the giant-slayer and deliverer of Israel. Yes, David is the king and he is the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.

Lest we forget, David killed a loyal soldier after taking the man’s wife; adultery then murder in the palace of the King of Israel. Not only does this reinforce the idea that there are no perfect people, God is clearly telling us that even the great ones can’t be depended upon. If we want to look somewhere for strength and virtue, we can’t look at even the super-stars of history. Only Jesus can reign perfectly. Celebrate the True King this Christmas.

Prayer prompt: Lord, thank You for sending the King we need, not the King we deserve.

Daily Reading: Revelation 3 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of the first part of Revelation. 

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December 21, 2020

Matthew 1:5a

and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab,

Let’s look again at Jesus’ ancestors. Rahab wasn’t an Israelite but a sinner from Jericho. She was part of the mess in Canaan who practiced all kinds of horrible stuff. She was also a prostitute. How could she be a fitting ancestor for our Lord? Of so many ancestors from Abraham to Joseph, why was she listed in this genealogy?

Rahab, like you and me, started life far from God and stayed far from God. But when she heard about the God who with grand love delivered a slave nation out of Egypt heard about how He lead that nation across a wilderness for 40 years to discipline them blessing them at every turn with His presence, she wanted Him. Her repentance was her example to us. God doesn’t take great people and show them off. God takes willing people and makes them His.

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to see the mercy You show so that my heart will always be Yours.

Daily Reading: Revelation 1 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of the first part of Revelation. 

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December 18, 2020

Matthew 1:1-3

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,

Christmas time, and maybe the first of the year, are about the only times we give much attention to the genealogy in Matthew. If you read it though, it’s a trip. From now till Christmas, we are going to look at people from this list and think about the absolute madness that they were Jesus’ family.

We’ll begin with Judah, the son of Israel who would be father of the royalty of Israel, and wasn’t a great father-in-law. The story highlighted in the genealogy by the mention of Tamar isn’t a nice one. Judah should have given his next son off to Tamar to raise up children as part of a tradition called levirate marriage. Instead, he planned to marry that next son off to someone else. Tamar tempted Judah by pretending to be a prostitute and became pregnant with the twins Perez and Zerah.

And that is who God chose to make Jesus’ ancestors. It would be outrageous if we weren’t sure that everyone else He could have picked would also never be worthy of the honor. Christmas reminds us of God’s goodness, not our own. He chose to give us this Son not because we deserve Him, but specifically because we don’t.

Prayer prompt: Lord, it is beyond merciful that You would be so near to sinners like us.

Daily Reading: 2 John (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of 1, 2, and 3 John. 

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December 17, 2020

James 3:2a

2 For we all stumble in many ways.

Have you ever been caught in the terrible cycle of pride and misery? If you think you’re doing well before God, you swell with pride and look down from your exalted height on all the miserable sinners around you. If you sin in one of the ways you consider really sinful, you fall to the gutter. Misery replaces all that self-congratulations as you try to hide from God and man.

It’s time to be free. God knows you sin. He remembers that you are made of dust and that you, along with all humanity, stumble in many ways. His salvation is for the sinner and He sees you in your up and down of pride and despair. Get off that hell-bound roller coaster and stand before the Father who knows you and, even though He really knows you, loves you.

Prayer prompt: Lord, remind me that You know my stumbling and still love me.

Daily Reading: 1 John 5 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of 1, 2, and 3 John. 

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December 16, 2020

Hebrews 11:17-19

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

I’m not sure that I could get into metal detectors, but I think I see the appeal. Purchasing a metal detector allows you to unlock the possible treasures you miss everyday. What if you walked right past a discarded watch, a pioneer artifact, or even a whole lump of gold every day? If only you had eyes to see the riches around you!

Actual metal detectors never find much, but we walk right past incredible riches in the faith daily. Abraham displayed colossal faith in God when he took Isaac to sacrifice, but it wasn’t a faith from nowhere. Abraham had walked with God for 100 years and thought long and hard about the miracle of Isaac’s birth for years and years. He knew God could raise the dead back to life because, in a way, God had done exactly that when He brought Isaac from old Sarah. God has likewise worked in your life. Do you daily consider those riches?

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to look for the ways You have served me so I will grow in my trust of You.

Daily Reading: 1 John 4 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of 1, 2, and 3 John. 

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December 15, 2020

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I will never cease to be amazed by this sentence in Scripture. In my sin, I really don’t want to totally forgive people, at least not all the way. If the offense is pretty small, I can forgive. If the offense is a little more intense, I can forgive but try to guilt the person into better behavior. If the offense is huge, I hurt them in the worst way a proud person can: I banish them from my company. By God’s grace, that hasn’t always been the case, but it is my temptation.

Our sin against God isn’t just big, it’s gigantic. Not only does He offer to forgive us, He will cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. He doesn’t forgive only to condemn us to earning back His favor. He doesn’t forgive then walk away to distance Himself as far from us as possible. He forgives the repentant sinner and then gets to work cleaning us up. This Advent season, take the time to be amazed by Your God’s forgiveness.

Prayer prompt: Lord, Your forgiveness is crowned with an overwhelming love I could never deserve. Thank You!

Daily Reading: 1 John 3 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of 1, 2, and 3 John. 

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December 14, 2020

Isaiah 54:13-14

13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. 14 In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.

Most people haven’t tried to lead a church. If you ever do though, be ready for some difficulty in finding Children’s workers. Kids are darling, and it can be one of the most rewarding places to serve. However, it is an intimidating place to go. It is a heavy responsibility to lead the next generation.

For those who do take the plunge, Isaiah puts them in exalted company. In Isaiah’s prophecy of Heaven, the Lord teaches the children. The scene we imagine of the almighty Lord of Hosts taking the children through lessons should be meditated upon. If anyone wants to lead, let him serve. In Christ, and even one day in the Father, we have our example.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I look to You for my example of love and service.

Daily Reading: 1 John 2 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of 1, 2, and 3 John. 

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December 11, 2020

Exodus 2:10

10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

Anxiety wrecks so many lives. Fear can lead to panic as we worry over what tomorrow will bring. When we read Scripture, God commands us not to worry, but how? We get lots of advice that will never work. Closing our eyes and breathing or pumping ourselves up with positivity won’t hold up for the long haul.

We need to see the God who has all things under His absolute control. Moses was called Moses because it means “to draw out”. As Moses was pulled out of the water of the Nile, so God would use Moses to draw His people Israel out of the misery and death of slavery in Egypt. God proved His sovereign control by using Moses’ salvation as a baby to show what God would do for the whole nation of Israel. God knew exactly what He was doing when the salvation of Israel showed in miniature what He would do for the whole world through Jesus. Look to your Father and let your worry go.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to remember the way you saved me so I will trust that you still love me.

Daily Reading: 2 Peter 2 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

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December 10, 2020

Psalm 127:2

2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

What’s more American than hard work? The stats that compare our vacationing with Europe make me so proud. Is all that extra effort just the happy consequence of the storied Protestant Work Ethic or is there something else there? WIth greater wealth than our parents and grandparents, do we also have greater contentment and less anxiety? Are we just busy like the diligent ant described in the Proverbs or anxious like, well like most modern Americans?

The verse lays out our only way forward. We can and should work hard, as to the Lord even. But we have to work as those who see the Lord as Lord. We can’t work as though our effort will keep calamity away or guarantee our bread. Beloved, trust your Father to provide.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I trust You to care for me.

Daily Reading: 2 Peter 1 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

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December 9th, 2020

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭20:5

“The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.”

Disobedience to God is never healthy or safe. We have to repent immediately when we see sin in our lives. But don’t stop at the stuff you can see from the outside. We must go deeper in to understand more about our rebellion. I sin with my anger, but I also sin with my pride. There is more to clean out than just the surface.

Like the ice fisherman who cuts a hole, then with tremendous skill brings things up from the deep, we need to look deeper at our actions. Jesus saw murder in our anger and adultery in our hidden lust. He would often address the heart attitudes of the pharisees in the room even when they hadn’t voiced their objections. Things like judgmentalism, pride, resentment, and lust swim beneath the surface of your heart. Look more deeply and let Jesus clean you all the way down.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to go deeper in my pursuit of holiness for Your glory.

Daily Reading: 1 Peter 5 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

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December 8, 2020

James 1:19-20

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Thinking of the gift of anger this time of year begs for comparisons to A Christmas Story. God has given us something awesome and dangerous. If we’re not careful, we’ll shoot our eye out. Anger is given for focusing a person, mind and body, on protecting something. Threaten my child and watch me hulk up! By God’s grace, that doesn’t happen much. I’m usually angry for much stupider and much more sinful reasons.

It is a helpful exercise for the day today. Take a moment to notice each time you get angry. Then write a sentence or two in a note app or on a piece of paper about why you’re mad. Sit down at the end of the day and ask the question, “What was I protecting with that anger?” If you’re like me, you can then start repenting for all the times your anger flares over pride, selfish pursuits, or unrealistic expectations.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to see my anger and repent of it.

Daily Reading: 1 Peter 4 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of 1 Peter. 

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December 7, 2020

James 1:22-25

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

What do you see in the mirror? It if is a true mirror, you see yourself with an unvarnished truth. You may have known people like that, who aren’t cruel but brutal in their honesty. God’s law uncovers us in exactly that way. His perfect standard shows us not only how we are to act around others but even how a truly righteous person thinks and loves. It shows us just how much we’ve twisted away from that lovely perfection into perversion and ruin.

What do you do with that truth? If you are a hearer of God’s word and not someone actively seeking to put it into practice you are like the man who has forgotten. You can pretend that the pimples and ingrown hairs and briar patches for eyebrows aren’t there, but everyone else sees them! How much worse when a blemish really describes sin which leads to death. Take God’s dire warnings to heart and pursue change today.

Prayer prompt: Lord, show me a specific sin to work on today and guide me to a brother or sister who can help.

Daily Reading: 1 Peter 3 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

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December 4, 2020

Psalm 46:4-7

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

How do some Christians keep giving to everyone and maintain such patience? They seem to push out into the world and the world conforms to them while they maintain a humble look and joyful disposition. You may be blessed enough to know one in real life, but many of us see flashes or only read about them in books. These verses hold out the key to being just such a conqueror.

These people are just like this city of God. The Lord is in the midst of them. He has made His home in them providing them with that water that makes them glad and that foundation that makes them immovable. All around us may rage, but at His voice the earth melts. The only way the enemy can take you down is to hide this unbelievable truth from you. Trust in the Lord!

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to look to Your strength so I will have confidence to fight in Your Name.

Daily Reading: James 5 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of James. 

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December 3, 2020

Ephesians 1:9

9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ

There are certainly things about God that we don’t know. There is indeed some beautiful mystery to how God works, how he created, and how that fish and bread fed all those people.

While there is mystery to how, the Bible makes clear God’s character and his love for us. Rest in maybe the most well known verse in the Bible, “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. That is God purposefully pursuing us. Glorious!

Written by Dan Jenkins

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to seek to understand you like a child watching his Father.

Daily Reading: James 4 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of James. 

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December 2, 2020

Matthew 16:18

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

This incredibly interesting verse brings together some of the most bold and solid imagery in Scripture. Jesus has declared His followers to be rocks that will become a like a living building. His Church will be a growing, living, stronghold of God’s presence on Earth, but it won’t be a building like we often use the word church to mean. No, His believers become these living stones.

Then we can see the mighty way He will fulfill the second part of the verse. It seems like a mixed metaphor to describe a building attacking a city gate. But Jesus means us, His people like living rocks, will expand to cover this world. When the enemy’s strong hold stands in the way of our advance even the most secure point, the gate, will crumble before God’s magnificent new creation. Put your eyes on God’s victorious march and stand firm today!

Prayer prompt: Lord, when my sin or circumstances keep me from fighting for Your Kingdom, remind me of the victory Christ promised.

Daily Reading: James 3 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of James. 

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December 1, 2020

James 1:18

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

James says here that God is bringing us forth as a kind of firstfruits. If that means what it seems to mean, God is creating us again. There are already creatures, we are already creatures, and yet we are being brought forth by the word of truth. Brought forth brings you back to Genesis when God commands the earth to bring forth the animals and out they come. Imagine elephants poking their heads out of the ground like groundhogs!

In the same way, God is bringing out a new life, a new creation, through this word of truth in us. That means we were dead and by His will He has made us alive. I’m astounded by the promise of resurrection, but I’ve not paid close enough attention to the wild miracle of regeneration. Spend time today giving thanks for new life!

Prayer prompt: Lord, thank You for making me new.

Daily Reading: James 1 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of James. 

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November 27, 2020

Ephesians 1:9

9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ

There are certainly things about God that we don’t know. There is indeed some beautiful mystery to how God works, how he created, and how that fish and bread fed all those people.

While there is mystery to how, the Bible makes clear God’s character and his love for us. Rest in maybe the most well known verse in the Bible, “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. That is God purposefully pursuing us. Glorious!

Written by Dan Jenkins

Prayer prompt: God, help me to seek to understand you like a kid watching dad fix something around the house.

Daily Reading: Hebrews 11 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of Hebrews. 

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November 26, 2020

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:18‬

“give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Thankfulness is way more powerful than we think. It is not just the clearest road to actually feeling satisfaction, it is a road that leads all the way to God. G K Chesterton in Orthodoxy, his famous book on his own journey to Christ, said, “We thank people for birthday presents of cigars and slippers. Can I thank no one for the birthday present of birth?”

If I say “thank you”, there must be a You to thank. If you give me a present, compliment, or grant me forgiveness for a wrong, it’s just right to say thank you. To whom can we go when the whole of our life, our body and senses, and everything those senses have ever sensed is like a gift? Fill your life with thankfulness to God and you also fill it with worship, satisfaction, and with God Himself.

Prayer Prompt: Father, thank You. Please fill my day with thankfulness as I see all the gifts you’ve given.

Daily Reading: Hebrews 11 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

Click or tap here to watch a brief video overview of Hebrews. 

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