Tag Archives: the Bible

September 20

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Psalms 111, 112, 117, 119:1-72

The psalmists knew how important it is for us to be in the Word, to know what is there and to live by it. These authors loved God’s Word and trusted it completely. Do I? Really?

I have to say I am a woman who looks forward to reading God’s Word each day and finding out what he would reveal to me through it’s pages. But I also have to admit it is much easier to be faithful to that since I retired from teaching. If I look back at the journals I kept during my working years I would see an irregular pattern. And sometimes days and weeks would go by when I wouldn’t even open the Bible.

I think back then I thought of my daily Bible reading as just one more thing on my already busy “to-do” list. It has turned into thinking about it as a privilege these days, though.

I encourage you to read these psalms today and catch the love of Scripture these men had. Do you realize the words recorded here are God’s words to you, personally? Every time I open these precious pages I can envision a letter addressed, “Dear Connie” and signed, “Love, God”. It’s that personal.

What would God say to you today? Open his Word and find out. Catch the excitement of a child opening gifts on Christmas morning. In these pages is something amazing just for you. I pray you won’t miss it.

August 12

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Ezekiel 10-13

God had a lot to say about false prophets in Ezekiel’s vision. He calls them foolish and liars and says very plainly that he is against them. They may claim to have had a word from God, they may “whitewash” their message but the reality is they’re dressing up a flimsy wall that will come crashing down in the wind. Their lies just can’t stand up to the truth of Scripture.

Once again God is challenging me to identify what it is that I believe. Maybe it would do us all some good to sit down and define where we stand on the subjects of sin, of Jesus, of the accuracy of Scripture, of creation, of other religions, salvation, grace. 

There are false prophets yet today. There are luke-warm theologies. There is a politically correct version of the Bible. We need to know what we believe and why we believe it so that we don’t fall for Christian-sounding words straight from the mouths of Satan’s servants. 

My heart’s desire is that each of us would spend time in God’s Word, reading it for ourselves, praying over it and meditating on it, memorizing it, and talking about it. May we hold on to the truth as revealed in its pages so that we can recognize and reject Satan’s attempt to deceive us.

Please remember God is against false prophets and, in turn, those who follow them. Don’t let that be you.

August 2

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2 Kings 24:1-4; 2 Chronicles 36:6-7; Daniel 1:1-2; Jeremiah 36:1-32, 25:1-38, 45:1-5

Did you shake your head at King Jehoiakim’s audacity? As Baruch read God’s Word, the king cut off a portion of the scroll and threw it into the fire until the entire scroll was destroyed. Baruch was reading God’s warning to the people of the devastation that was to come because of disobedience. 

What was Jehoiakim’s reaction? Get rid of the warning. Jehoiakim could not, however, stop God. God just gave Jeremiah the same message to rewrite (and added a couple more words for good measure).

There have been powers in the past that have tried to get rid of the Scriptures. But in every case God has preserved his written Word. I have multiple copies myself and several translations in my home.

However, as I read today God impressed on me another attempt to destroy his Word. And it’s coming from our pulpits. We are just as guilty as Jehoiakim when we don’t hold the entire Bible up as God’s inspired, unquestionable authority. We cut out a verse here and there if it makes us uncomfortable or doesn’t fit in with our politically correct agenda.

I know why Jehoiakim wanted that scroll destroyed. The words pointed out his sin and warned of God’s wrath. Let’s face it… the Bible doesn’t always make us feel good about ourselves. It isn’t intended to. 

In fact, the Bible is intended to show us how vile, how guilty, how dirty we are. It’s intended to show us our need of a Savior. And then it introduces us to that very One who can… who wants to… clean us up.

Do you believe the Bible is God’s inspired Word to us? All of it? Even the parts that end up revealing our deepest sin? Let’s not pick and choose which verses we like and throw out the ones we don’t. 

Because in the end, God’s Word will remain. And it doesn’t change with the times or with the desires of men. 

Dear God, I want to thank you for inspiring men to write your words down so that we in 2013 can know your heart. I pray for pastors and teachers. May they present your Word as Truth and not skip over or try to re-write verses that are hard for us to hear. Preserve your Scriptures in our time, Lord as you did in the days of Jeremiah. Give us ears to hear and hearts willing to be broken. Thank you for Jesus and his work on the cross that writes a happy ending to this story! May reading the Bible drive us to our knees and into his arms when we repent of the sin you reveal through the precious pages of your Word.