Tag Archives: daily walk

July 30

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Jeremiah 22:1-17; 2 Kings 23:31-37; 2 Chronicles 36:2-5; Habakkuk 1:1-3:19

Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.

Recently I have had conversations with Christians who have expressed concern over the future of our world. We have seen freedoms chipped away in the US. There is war over water in over-populated countries. Food shortages. Poverty. The acceptance of sin in society which Christians know can only bring God’s wrath.

I don’t know what the future holds for us who live on planet Earth. I look at my sister’s grandchildren and could go crazy worrying about what’s ahead for them should the Lord not return. The Bible tells us things will continue to erode until that day.

But then I read things like Habakkuk 3:2 and I remember Who it is that holds the future. There is so much evidence of God’s love, his care and protection not only in the pages of the Bible but in history books and in the lives of people I know.

God is still on the throne. He is so much greater than Satan. And, although life will undoubtedly get more difficult, God promises to go with his children every step of the way.

May God’s deeds be made known to our world in 2013. May he renew them in our day.

Remember mercy, dear God. We’re depending on You.

July 28

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Nahum 1:1-3:19; 2 Kings 23:1-28; 2 Chronicles 35:1-19

I’m not young. I’m not quite ready for the home yet but the calendar (and that darned mirror) tell me the days of my youth are long past. 

As I read about King Josiah’s reign I find myself evaluating my own life. What we read today occurred when Josiah was 26 years young. He had been king for eighteen years by that time. This young man worked tirelessly to bring the Jewish nation back to its former glory as the people chosen by God. 

He accomplished more – so much more- in his young life than I who have lived more than twice as many years as he.

I am convicted this morning. I may not have the stamina Josiah had or the power he enjoyed but God has things for me to do that are just as important to the kingdom. 

As I look at my life I realize there were so many missed opportunities, so many things I could have done but didn’t. 

I’m not saying my life has been futile exactly. I am saying however, I’m sad I didn’t do more. When I think about how much God has done for me, what Jesus did for me, I am ashamed of what I have given back.

But wait! My heart is still beating and my limbs still move (more slowly maybe but they get the job done). God still wants to use me. There are still souls who need the Savior.

So I can continue to think about what might have been or I can begin today to do the work God has called me to do. While I still have breath I want to serve Him, I want to be his voice, his arms to reach out to the lost. Lord, use me today.

Father, I pray for all of us today who know you as our Savior. Your Word makes it plain that age makes no difference in your kingdom. All of us have jobs to do to spread the good news of the gospel. Give us strength. Help us to recognize opportunities. And may you find us faithful. May our lives be lived in gratitude for what you have done for each of us.

July 26

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Jeremiah 5, 6, 13

When I worked with middle school kids it was a challenge to keep belts on the boys. Do you know the song, “Pants on the Ground”? I can’t think that wearing your jeans so low you have to hold on to them with one hand is comfortable. Kids!

After reading Jeremiah 13 today I got to thinking about belts. There is security in that strip of leather as it’s wrapped around a person. But a belt in belt loops, tightly fastened can’t hold up a pair of pants unless it is resting against the body of a person.

God compared his people to a belt. There is nothing special about that belt in and of itself but God wrapped it around himself to bring himself “renown and praise and honor”. And if his people – if that belt- can’t do that it is ruined, completely useless.

What do you do with a useless belt? Most of us probably throw it out. Some might repurpose or recycle it. But if it’s not doing what it was intended to do you find another that will.

I want to be God’s belt. I want to be wrapped tightly around him. I want to fulfill the purpose I was created to do… to bring him renown and praise and honor. I want to hold up that which he’s entrusted to me, the salvation bought by his dear Son.

Lord, I want to be as close to you today as a belt. I want to rest on you, be fastened to you so that I can do what you have for me to do. Let me bring you renown, praise, and honor as others observe my life. I want to be used by you today.

July 25

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Jeremiah 2-4

Jeremiah is expressing God’s longing for his people to love him. God remembers the early days when Abraham and Sarah had Isaac. He remembers Joseph and Moses and David. And God longs for people who love him like they did.

The other day I shared with you a loved one’s concern for her newly redeemed dad. I told you her dad doesn’t want to go to church because he thinks it’s full of hypocrites. What would this man see in you or me if we attended his church?

I’ll tell you what God says about hypocrites. In 3:6-11 God is upset with Israel for their faithlessness. That nation openly rejected God and served gods made of stone and wood. Judah on the other hand, gave lip service to God. They did not worship him with all their hearts, “but only in pretense.”

Look at verse 11. “…Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah”.

God certainly isn’t saying either nation is righteous. He’s mad at all of them for their disobedience. But God holds a little more contempt for those who profess to be his children, yet live lives that say otherwise.

I’m challenged to check my heart this morning. Am I loving God the way he longs to be loved? Am I serving him 24/7 or just on Sunday mornings? I don’t want to be accused by God or man of worshiping him only in pretense. 

Father, you deserve to be loved. May I show you how much you mean to me today by the things I do and the words I speak and the thoughts I think. May others recognize my love for you by the life I live.

July 21

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Isaiah 56-60

If you’ve ever been involved in the running of a church you know how complicated it can be. Sometimes a pastor displays unyielding power or an elder refuses to back down. Sometimes gossip causes ill will or opposition over worship causes division.

Hopefully, a worship service doesn’t end in a fist fight like Isaiah’s day of fasting in 58:3&4. But any time people try to work together there usually is a difference in opinion somewhere.

The other day I talked to a dear one whose father recently gave his heart to the Lord. The man wants to be a Christian but he doesn’t want to go to church because of the hypocrites there.

The thing is, Christians aren’t perfect even though we might want others to believe we are. If we’re honest we’d have to admit we sometimes stumble in our walk with the Lord.

What does God want to say to us through Isaiah today? God doesn’t want us just going through the motions. He wants us to humble ourselves, then get out there and make a difference. Feed the hungry. Clothe the poor. Be that light in a dark world.

As you worship today in that fellowship of believers, I pray you will lay aside the conflict and turn your eyes on Jesus. That’s where our focus should be anyway. Then get out there and live like you mean it so no one can point a finger and call you a hypocrite.

July 20

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Isaiah 51-55

The 53rd chapter of Isaiah paints a picture of Jesus. Read it. Meditate on it. This is the One who loves you more than you can imagine. This is the One who lived and died to give you eternal life. It was God’s will to make Jesus the blood sacrifice for your sin – for mine.

What is our response to all that Jesus did on the cross? We can reject it, ignore it, or we can allow it to change our lives. 

You can accept Jesus and allow his blood to wash away your sin so that you can stand before our holy God clothed in righteousness not your own. You can be clean.

God wants us to come to him. He wants us to experience forgiveness and enjoy a relationship with him. Trust him.

Isaiah tells us God’s thoughts are not like our thoughts and his ways aren’t like our ways. God provides nourishment for hungry souls. And there is joy in following Him.

Dear Jesus, thank you for your willingness to go to the cross for me. You did what I could not. You paid for my sin. May I live today remembering what it cost you. May all that  do and say bring glory to you. Use me today. I trust you.

July 19

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Isaiah 47-50

When you read these chapters today did you hear God tell you how much he loves you? His words to the flesh and blood Old Testament nation of Israel are also said to God’s spiritual kingdom here in 2013. That’s you if you know Jesus as your Savior.

So when Isaiah pens, “I am The Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go,” God is talking to each of us. And when he promises to never forget us because he has “engraved you on the palms of my hands”, he is speaking directly to you. To me. It’s my name tattooed to his palm. It’s your name there.

Isaiah spoke of Jesus’ suffering in those days before the cross in chapter 50. It’s amazingly accurate considering that it was written hundreds of years before. Including the fact that Jesus set his face like flint. He was determined to pay the penalty for my sin. And he knew he had to die.

God wants us to love him, to accept him and live for him. We are his priority. He wants to be our priority, too. He wants us to be a light to a world in darkness “that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

That’s why we are here. May God find us faithful.

July 15

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Isaiah 37:14-38:22, 39:1-8; 2 Kings 20:1-19; 2 Chronicles 32:27-31

Sometimes it’s hard for me to read things in the Bible like Hezekiah’s miracle. When Hezekiah prayed while on his deathbed, God gave him fifteen more years to live. He even gave Hezekiah a miraculous sign (as if healing wasn’t sign enough) and time went backward.

But as I read on it seems Hezekiah wasn’t all that grateful. When God revealed to him that his children would suffer for Hezekiah’s sin, Hezekiah thought, Oh good. At least there will be peace in my lifetime. Nice.

It’s hard for me to read this because I find myself asking why did Hezekiah get fifteen more years and our Geoff didn’t? Why did my mom die in 1996 when we prayed for a miracle believing God would heal her?

Maybe you’ve been disappointed as well, when a loved one died too soon. Maybe you’ve prayed believing for a healing for yourself or a loved one and the miracle never happened.

I want to encourage all of us today that God is love. As his children his goal is for us to join him in heaven. For the Christian, death is not a punishment but a reward. Their absence hurts those of us who miss them on this earth. But their deaths are not about us. It’s about them in the presence of Jesus. It’s about them free from pain and the worries of this life.

May God encourage each of us who mourn today. May we trust him even when we don’t see the why’s of what happens. And may we be able to rejoice with those who get their miracles when we don’t.

Father, forgive me when I question you. I know that you are trustworthy, that you love me and those I love more than I can imagine. But I hurt sometimes, Lord. I miss those who have joined you before me. Would you give me a sense of your Presence, your Peace, your Comfort. Give me Jesus, Father, as I mourn. I pray the same for all of us who didn’t get our miracle.

July 11

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Psalms 87, 125; Isaiah 1:1-4:6

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

This beautiful verse has been an encouragement to me more than once over the years. But I didn’t realize until today that the verse actually begins with, “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord”.

Let’s think about this, God says. The first 17 verses of this chapter talk about God’s frustrations – his loathing – for religion. He’s sick of their sacrifices and hates their religious festivals. They follow God’s instructions for these things to the letter but their hearts are full of sin.

They put on a good show. But God is not fooled.

Verses 19&20 remind us that if we are willing (which involves a conscious choice) and obedient (which involves more than just going to church), then we will be blessed. It goes on to remind us that if we resist (which also involves a choice) and rebel (which comes from the heart), we will suffer the consequences.

So yes, God promises to forgive sin and wipe the slate clean with Jesus’ blood.

IF

Once again God makes it plain that he’s got conditions. Good people, religious people will go to hell unless they accept Jesus as their Savior. There is no other way to the Father.

Let’s be reasonable about our beliefs. Let’s make a conscious, informed choice to follow God today, to repent of sin and accept forgiveness through his Son. God hates it when we just go through the motions.

Dear God, I pray that your children will come to you in Spirit and Truth, that we will choose Jesus and accept his work on the cross in a purposeful, meaningful way. Help us not to follow you blindly, but reasonably and honestly. May our actions reflect our heart’s relationship with you. Bless us and make us a blessing to someone who needs you today.

July 10

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Psalms 75, 76, 77, 80

Have you ever had a bad day? I mean a really, really bad day – or week – or year when nothing goes right, when your heart is broken, when you lose hope?

The writer of the 77th Psalm was in distress. His soul refused to be comforted. He cried out to God in anguish. He groaned. He was too troubled to speak.

But he didn’t allow himself to stay there. Look at 77:5:

“I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night.”

Then in 11&12 he says:

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.”

Then he goes on to do just that.

Satan would have us live defeated. Let’s not give him even one minute. I think the psalmist had the right idea. Instead of dwelling on all the reasons you have to be distressed, try thinking about all the ways you are blessed. Starting with Jesus’ work on the cross on your behalf. Consider the ways you have seen God work in your life instead of continuing to agonize over whatever is troubling you.

I’m not saying it’s wrong to hurt when bad things happen. Jesus wept when his friend Lazarus died. I’m just suggesting with the psalmist that counting your blessings goes a long way to defeating Satan’s attempt to steal your joy.

Father in Heaven, some of us are hurting. Some of us have reason to be distressed and downhearted. We give you our grief, our fears, our anguish. Help us to praise you, to remember how blessed we are in spite of what is troubling us. Help us not to dwell on the problems we face, but to look upon you our Savior, our Healer, our Shepherd, our King, our Friend, Almighty God who has the power to help us through the darkest days and who promises to go with us every step of the way. May we who go to you with broken hearts, know the strength that comes from you and the joy that comes from praising you.