February 10, 2021

Genesis 3:1

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

The Lord spoke to Adam and Eve the perfect truth. He told them exactly what would happen if they ate of the tree He commanded them not to. If that’s true, why was it so hard to obey? Why is it so hard for us to obey any of the hundreds of true words God has spoken since? He’s not just in charge, He is right: eating the fruit lead to death.

Temptation creates a false world that has all the look of a paradise. The serpent asked Eve to imagine all the blessing of the garden with the addition of the wisdom of God Himself. The thought so gripped Eve that she reached out for greater life and ate death. The lies of temptation always look incredibly appealing and always end in death. How amazing that in Jesus we get the possibility of forgiveness and a love so beautiful we can be enticed back to the delights of the Lord.

Prayer prompt: Lord, please forgive me and show me a love more lovely than what temptations promise.

Daily Reading: Genesis 32, Psalm 32, Judges 8 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)

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February 9, 2021

Genesis 2:16-17
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

It’s really important to understand what’s going on here. God isn’t making a careless or cruel punishment for a small, understandable blunder. Adam and Eve have been given everything needed for a perfect life if they will depend on God, but will they?

The option is there for our first parents to leave God’s way and head out on their own. That crime ends up with death because a flower can’t pluck itself from the dirt and expect to go on living. We need God for life and joy so walking away from Him must lead to death. It’s like trying to breathe without air or eat anything but food. Go to God today to see His face and find what you need for life.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I come to You today to learn to find joy in the only place joy can really be found. Teach me to go to You for life!

Daily Reading: Genesis 31, Psalm 31, Judges 7 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)

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February 5, 2021

Luke 15:11-12

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.

Below is an excerpt from Tim Keller’s Prodigal God. Join Hope Church’s Community Groups to explore this excellent work on God’s truly awesome gospel!

“This younger brother…is asking his father to tear his life apart. And the father does so, for the love of his son. Most of Jesus’ listeners would have never seen a Middle Eastern patriarch respond like this. The father patiently endures a tremendous loss of honor as well as the pain of rejected love. Ordinarily when our love is rejected we get angry, retaliate, and do what we can to diminish our affection for the rejecting person, so we won’t hurt so much. But this father maintains his affection for his son and bears the agony.”

Prodigal God, page 23

Prayer prompt: Lord, You continued to love us when we did all we could to leave You. Help us to really see and understand Your amazing love.

Daily Reading: Genesis 27, Psalm 27, Judges 3 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)

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February 4, 2021

Job 2:11-13

11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

Part of the reason we drop the ball with grieving individuals is that we flat don’t know what to say. Whether you have suffered like that person or not, their suffering is still intense and intensely personal. Coming up with something to say feels like letting your kids help with cooking; you just hope they don’t mess it up too much. Here we have some good news: your presence is your best ministry.

Kay Warren, wife of Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren, lost her son to suicide. She said these friends of Job did such a good job until they started speaking. While Jesus has come to undo death, at the tomb of Lazarus He wept with the family. If you know someone who is in a grief, big or small, take it upon yourself not to fix them, but to weep with those who weep. And do so knowing you serve a God who wept with you.

Prayer prompt: Lord, thank You for healing me by suffering with me. Teach me to be willing to suffer for others.

Daily Reading: Genesis 26, Psalm 26, Judges 2 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)

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February 3, 2021

Matthew 18:21-22

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

It is nearly impossible to forgive well, if we ever even attempt it. Forgiveness requires me to see the offense in all its grizzly detail, choose to accept the pain of the offense, trust God with the justice, and love the offender again. Apart from a lack of love, we also suffer from a lack of confidence in God to bring about justice. If God may not give me justice, I’ll have to settle my own accounts.

Comparing Jesus’ words in Matthew 18 with Lamech’s words from yesterday in Genesis 4, we see the heart of the matter. Lamech promised to make his own justice because he didn’t trust God. Jesus, who trusted God infinitely, gave His followers the example of infinite forgiveness. Let’s practice everyday with the small offenses so that when the big offense comes we’re ready.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I trust You to give justice and mercy according to Your infinite wisdom. Teach me to forgive others as I rely on You.

Daily Reading: Genesis 25, Psalm 25, Joshua 25 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)

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February 2, 2021

Genesis 4:23-24

23 Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. 24 If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold.”

When you read through Genesis, the wonder of the words mixes with confusion and a strong sense of curiosity about what’s not there. God speaks all things into existence like a Father telling a lovely story. But why does He choose to rest? And the passage about the nephilim seems like such a tease. What He has given us must be all the more important for being chosen over all the other things He could have told us. This poem, sung by the descendent of Cain, is as dense with meaning as any other passage in Genesis.

In just a line or two, we have the crystal clear picture of the curse of pride. Like Cain who became murderous by God’s criticism of his sacrifice or the men of Babel who desired to make a name for themselves that God could never wipe away, Lamech declares his own glory. We can either drink the humility of being God’s creation, which we are, or choke on our own fake glory. Ask God to show you today the places you follow Lamech instead of Christ.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to see myself as You see me, that I may be humbled and blessed.

Daily Reading: Genesis 24, Psalm 24, Joshua 24 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)

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February 1, 2021

Psalm 23:6

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

In just 6 verses we have about the most beautiful and visual description of God’s care for us ever expressed. Imagine the ancient worship of a god like Moloch who demanded your infants be cast into his terrible mouth, or the South American gods who demanded priests kill young women to appease their wrath. Then look on this God, who sees our sin, dies for it Himself, then continues to care for us with the knowing, loving, and gentle hands of a Shepherd.

Even in horribly difficult times in a dark and dangerous world, the psalmist can say that goodness and mercy are right behind him, chasing him forward to the presence of the Lord forever. God’s love and mercy, seen as grand as the ocean in the cross and as small as a kiss in the thousand daily blessings He bestows, lead us on. And one day, we will sit at His feet, perfectly whole and His forever.

Prayer prompt: Lord, there is no command to follow after thinking through such a blessing. Help me to rest in and wonder at Your love.

Daily Reading: Genesis 23, Psalm 23, Joshua 23 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)

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January 29, 2021

Jeremiah 31:12

12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.

We don’t really know what it’s like to have the grain, oil, and wine truly be seasonal. Our grocery stores are full and our products are year round, and we’ve never had our year’s worth of food stolen by raiding tribes. We do resonate with that word languish though. We know what it is to have bread, strong drink, and medicine yet not be satisfied.

God’s presence brings to this people not merely the stuff needed for a good life, but the power to enjoy it. The verse starts with a song and ends with this picture of the people like a watered garden. They are singing with joy like the trumpet bell of a lily, or the shy grace of a rose. Spend today seeking the Lord and walking in His paths with your eyes firmly on this good reward.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I trust You to bring me Home. How can I bring others to You today?

Daily Reading: Genesis 20, Psalm 20, Joshua 20 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)

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January 27, 2021

Genesis12:14

13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”

Abraham asked his wife to pretend to be his sister so he could give her to the Egyptians rather than have to fight to protect her. This is the very next story we get after Abraham’s grand display of faith in God’s promise to watch out for him. We do some strange things when we’re scared. How does Abraham go from such amazing faith to such pitiful cowardice?

Generally, we won’t be tempted to sell our wives as siblings to avoid getting murdered. But we are tempted, everyday, to trust our solutions, even horrible ones rather than God and His ways. When you’re scared God won’t be good you seek sin for pleasure. When you’re scared God won’t be true, you trust the world for wisdom. Remember God’s faithfulness so you can trust Him, especially when you’re scared.

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to remember Your goodness all the time.

Daily Reading: Genesis 18, Psalm 18, Joshua 18 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)

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January 26, 2021

Genesis 12:1

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.

It is one thing to agree with the statement, “I depend on God for everything in my life.” It is an entirely different thing to actually step out in obedience, without the extra assurances we rely on like bank accounts and family ties. Even men and women who take the gospel to foreign nations have sending organizations, language schools, and detailed maps before they go. What would it take to actually pick up and leave, without even a destination in mind?

Once we recognize that every breath comes from the Lord, every sunrise, every heartbeat, trust comes more easily. Abraham had for evidence of God’s faithfulness 20,000 breaths per day for 75 years. Each of those days had a sunrise and a sunset as God continued to guide the earth around the sun. Sin breeds fear in us. We don’t trust because we’re not trustworthy, so we have a hard time believing God will be. When we open our eyes to His faithfulness, our obedience can begin to flow.

Prayer prompt: Lord, You have taught me to trust You from my first breath. Help me to step out in trust today.

Daily Reading: Genesis 17, Psalm 17, Joshua 17 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)

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January 25, 2021

2 Corinthians 4:16
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

Saturday, we had a memorial service for Ellen McKinney. If you met Ellen, you may remember her cane and chair after her strokes. You definitely remember her smile. She lit up every room she was in with a genuine smile that spoke of deeper truths than suffering.

Ellen knew a Savior who takes the curse of sin and turns it to our benefit. In Him, the curse of death becomes the last suffering as He makes us steadfast, renewed, tested for an inheritance beyond all hope. Ellen now knows that reward, she’s felt His hug, seen His smile, and confirmed that love is deeper than suffering. Remember Ellen today and embrace the Lord, her Lord, and His salvation through faith in Jesus. Do not lose heart.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me not to lose heart as I look up to You, even in my suffering.

Daily Reading: Genesis 16, Psalm 16, Joshua 16 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)

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January 21, 2021

Romans 11:34

34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”

I don’t understand why. The scriptures tell us not to exasperate our children, and I assume telling them a reason for every command I give them somehow helps with that. It’s a good policy, until you can’t explain why and they still have to obey. That’s when you just need them to trust that you know more than they do.

When Paul praises God as so wise that no one can be His counselor, he does it looking at something he can’t understand. Paul starts Romans 9 with a wish that he could trade his salvation for that of his people, the Jews. He ends with this exquisite statement of praise for a God so much higher than the thoughts of men. Without understanding, and even through tears, Paul can trust the wisdom of God. Ask yourself seriously if you trust God even when it doesn’t make sense.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to look at the good You brought from the scandal of the cross that I might trust You with my much smaller worries.

Daily Reading: Genesis 12, Psalm 12, Joshua 12 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)

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January 20, 2021

Ephesians 1:11

11 In him, we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will

I come from neither a large nor a wealthy family. I’m not expecting to quit my job and live off of millions in inheritance whenever that time comes. I am certain though of my standing as a son of the most high God, and the lavish riches He has poured out on me.

There are layers of depth to this verse. It begins so simply as a reminder that all of this is in, is from, and is because of, Jesus. Due to no merit of your own, you’ve been granted an inheritance from God. Did you catch that? It was his plan and for his purpose. That is grace.

Written by Dan Jenkins

Prayer prompt: Lord, thank You for knowing and loving me. What a joy to have both life now and eternity with You. Please, remind me of that daily.

Daily Reading: Genesis 11, Psalm 11, Joshua 11 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

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January 19, 2021

Romans 11:33

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

There’s a question in the political world about the way a candidate should be presented. Should he or she be a man of the people, just like the average Joe, or above the people, truly the best candidate for the job? Many folks seem to want a God who is just like them, judging others the way we judge and forgiving us the way we want to be forgiven. While we want a God who knows what it is like to be us, we need a God who can handle the incredible task of running the Universe.

In Jesus, we have both. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” He knows what it’s like to be you. Yet, as Paul declares in Romans 11:33, He is beyond our understanding in every way. God has the wisdom to bring about His good ends no matter what comes. Trust in His unsearchable wisdom.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I trust Your inscrutable ways, no matter what it seems like from here.

Daily Reading: Genesis 10, Psalm 10, Joshua 10 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

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January 18, 2021

Matthew 5:9

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, take a moment to look at the impact Jesus had on our nation. In the beginning of the Birmingham Bus Boycott, a bomb went off on the porch of Dr. King’s house. His wife and child weren’t harmed, but if they had been in the front of the house, they would have been killed. Standing over the crater, big crowds of black supporters began to get angry over the attack, but Dr. King kept the peace by speaking the words of Jesus:

“​Don’t do anything panicky,” he shouted to the crowd. “Don’t get your weapons. He who lives by the sword shall perish by the sword.” The crowd grew still. “We must love our white brothers, no matter what they do to us,” King said. “We must make them know that we love them. Jesus still cries out in words that echo across the centuries: ‘Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; pray for them that despitefully use you.’ ​”

Charles Duhigg, ​The Power of Habit​ (p. 240)

Let’s look at our Lord and commit to being peace makers.

Prayer prompt: Lord, please fix my eyes on Christ so I will follow His ways of peace.

Daily Reading: Genesis 9, Psalm 9, Joshua 9 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

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January 15, 2021

1 John 4:19

19 We love because he first loved us.

Where does love come from? It’s a good question if you’re the Grinch, or like me, and your heart is too small. Looking at your kids and having to clean the same messes, or at your spouse and having to bear up under the same pains takes love. If we don’t have it we get ground down, easily angered, and confused by the pain. So where does it come from?

All love comes back to one source. The fruit all comes back to a single tree. If we are to know love that doesn’t end, love that grows and deepens, it all comes from Him. From God we learn that love never fails, that love is self-less, that love can make something ugly into something lovely. Maybe it’s better to think of it the other way, from love we learn that God is good. Go to God today to experience true love.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me love by showing me Your love.

Daily Reading: Genesis 6, Psalm 6, Joshua 6 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

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January 14, 2021

Song of Solomon 8:6

6 Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave.

In Viktor E. Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, he retells his experiences as a prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps. As a psychologist, he analyzed the inner life that made it possible for some physically weaker men out live physically stronger ones. He shared his own experience of looking up from his torture to remember the love of his wife. In that moment, love transcended the living hell he was enduring, and he saw something heavenly, leading him to quote the verse above.

Knowing God is not about being a more pleasant person. We aren’t playing with children’s concepts or small niceties. When you know love, and come to know the Source of all Love, you find something infinitely stronger than death. Set that love above everything else in your heart and on your life for all to see.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I choose to make Your love, stronger than death, my life’s joy and purpose.

Daily Reading: Genesis 5, Psalm 5, Joshua 5 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

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January 13, 2021

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭86:11-13‬ ‭

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

Look at the way the Psalm writer prays. He asks God to teach him, then to unite his heart. Do you understand the feeling of both wanting and not wanting God? It’s a cruel place to be because you’re never happy with any decision you make; part of you is always disappointed. How do we get a united heart?

Gratitude unites the heart. Whatever else is corrupting his affections, this guy feels a whole-hearted thankfulness to the God who delivered him from death. God’s steadfast love blazes with enough heat to weld your heart to His forever. Spend time this morning giving thanks for this God and His love.

Prayer prompt: Lord, thank You for loving me even when you can see my wayward heart.

Daily Reading: Genesis 4, Psalm 4, Joshua 4 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

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January 12, 2021

Ephesians 1:10

as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Our country is experiencing massive levels of division. We see it in relation to Covid and masks, to gather or not to gather, and in the recent political upheaval. Division is dangerous. The Allies being able to divide the Axis and fight a two-front war was instrumental in victory and peace in WW2. How is the Church different?

In this verse, Paul tells us that there is one source of unity. This source of unity has been and is the plan from ages past to eternity. This source of unity will also be sufficient for all things in heaven and on earth. That pretty much covers everything and for all time. So yes, believer, and yes, church, we must be united in Christ. Buckle down, lock arms with us, and let’s plant churches and make disciples.

Written by Dan Jenkins

Prayer prompt: Awesome God, your plan is eternal and perfect. Let me rest in that and rejoice in that. Thank you that you unify brothers and sisters near in Utah and far in Uzbekistan for the advance of your kingdom.

Daily Reading: Genesis 3, Psalm 3, Joshua 3 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

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January 11, 2021

Psalm 119:54

54 Your statutes have been my songs

in the house of my sojourning.

Hear the words of Origen, a pastor born in 186AD and know that our Lord has been faithful to suffering Saints from Christ’s time to today:

“Understand, then, if you can, what the pilgrimages [sojourning] of the soul are, especially when it laments with groaning and grief that it has been on pilgrimage so long. We understand these pilgrimages only dully and darkly so long as the pilgrimage still lasts. But when the soul has returned to its rest, that is, to the homeland of paradise, it will be taught more truly and will understand more truly the meaning of what the pilgrimage was. He is right. On this side of heaven we walk by faith and don’t have all the answers we would like. But there is reason to believe that you will find certain hopes fulfilled even on this side of paradise.”

Origen, Homily XXVII on Numbers, sec. 4, CWS, 250; cited in Thomas Oden, Classical Pastoral Care, Crisis Ministries, vol. 4 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994), 6.

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to trust You even in the sojourning You allow until you bring me home.

Daily Reading: Genesis 2, Psalm 2, Joshua 2 (Click or tap the Verses to read them on your device)  

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