Category: Daily Bible Reading

Genesis 16:1-18:15; Matthew 6:1-24; Psalm 7:1-17; Proverbs 2:1-5

Have you ever resisted a miracle that God wanted to perform? Most of us would say, “No!” But, if we were to delve deeper into how we react to the big promises that God gives us, we may have a different response.

Abram and Sarai (later known as Abraham and Sarah) were told by God that they would have their own child– even though they were old. This was a big promise. Abram and Sarai had many encounters with God where He proved that He was awesome and had no limitations. When Lot was taken, Abram and a small band of men rescued him from 5 kings. When they were in a famine, God provided for them. When Lot needed to be delivered from Sodom, God sent a personal, angelic escort. God had a great track record of keeping His Word!

Yet, when God reminds them of His promise to give them a child of their own, they can’t believe it. So, they tried to help God out by creating a substitute. Sarai gives her servant, Hagar, to her husband and she gets pregnant. But, this substitute is not what God promised. Then, God changes their names to reflect their new status. Abram becomes Abraham — which means father of many. Sarai becomes Sarah, which means princess. Even with their name change, they were reluctant to believe God could keep his promise to them.

Later, God sent an angel to give them the specific season when the child would be born. Sarah in disbelief, laughs! We know how their story ends. God keeps His Word and they give birth to their own son.

What miracle have you resisted? Is there a promise you have cherished in your heart that you thought was impossible because it was beyond your abilities?  If God made you a promise, He can and will perform it. Dust the promise off. Get it off the back shelf. Let God show you His power as He keeps His promise to you against all the odds. Don’t resist God’s promises this year. Rely upon them because they will surely come to pass!

Tomorrow’s Reading: Genesis 18:16-19:38; Matthew 6:25-7:14; Psalm 8:1-9; Proverbs 2:6-15

Genesis 13:5-15:21; Matthew 5:27-48; Psalm 6:1-10; Proverbs 1:29-33

The grass is not always greener on the other side!! Lot learned this the hard way! Abram’s men and Lot’s servants were not getting along. They needed to separate. Abram graciously let Lot choose which land he wanted. Lot, after seeing how green and plush the land of Jordan looked,  chose the best for himself.

Abram stayed where he was in the land of Canaan. Even though it appeared that Abram had been taken advantage of, the opposite was true. Abram ended up being in the land that flourished and Lot ended up in a place called Sodom! You see the truth here is that when there is a blessing on you, it really does not matter where you are. The blessing will manifest where you are.

Most people would have criticized Abram because as the elder person, he should have chosen first. He deferred to Lot and seemingly got the “short end of the stick.” In actuality, when you defer to others and esteem others more than yourself, you position yourself for God to bless you even more. Isn’t that what Jesus was teaching in Matthew 5? We should demonstrate our love to neighbors and enemies because we cannot lose. People may feel because you let them have their way that they have gotten the best of you but they can’t. The green grass that they chose may end up being Sodom.

Years ago, I noticed a patch of grass in our yard was greener than all the rest of the grass. Week after week, it grew greener and greener than the rest of the lawn. After weeks of wondering, I went to examine why. You know what I found? We had a problem with our septic system! Everything that looks green may not be better!

Tomorrow’s Reading: Genesis 16:1-18:15; Matthew 6:1-24; Psalm 7:1-17; Proverbs 2:1-5

Genesis 8:1-10:32; Matthew 4:12-25; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 1:20-23

How do you know when it’s time to make your next move? Noah had been in the ark for more than 150 days. He saw that the rain stopped so he sent out a raven and a dove to “test” if it was time to leave the ark. Days and weeks passed and he tried to “discern” when to leave the ark.

Noah opened up the window and removed the covering of the ark in an attempt to see if it was okay to get out of the boat. With all of his “testing”, “discerning”, and “looking”, Noah did not leave the ark until one significant thing happened: God told him to. After all, who was the One who told Noah to enter the ark in the first place? It was God! So, shouldn’t God have the right to tell Noah when it’s time to get off of it?

Noah could have saved himself a lot of time and energy if he had just trusted that the same God who led him to enter the ark would also tell him when to exit. Often we try to help God out because we think maybe He forgot about us in all of His busyness. As we make our feeble efforts to help God, it only adds to our frustrations. I suspect Noah thought things like: “When can I get off this ark?” “The dove didn’t come back surely I can go now.” “I can see that the land is almost dry it has to be time to leave.”

When we give our lives to God and truly trust Him to lead us and guide us, we have to even remain at peace when it feels like we are staying in the ark too long. If we get ahead of God, it can cause real troubles for us. Trying to help God out usually complicates things. Let’s practice trusting God’s leading today. Just sit back and enjoy the experience until God says it’s time to make the next move. This will alleviate your frustration and cause you great peace because God knows when we should make our next move.

Tomorrow’s Reading: Genesis 11:1-13:4; Matthew 5:1-26; Psalm 5:1-12; Proverbs 1:24-28

Genesis 5:1-7:24; Matthew 3:7-4:11; Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 1:10-19

What does it mean to be favored by God? Noah and his family lived in perilous times. There was immorality and blatant defiance against the will of God. People had become so accustomed to sin that “everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.” Now that’s a sad state of affairs. It was so bad that the Bible says that God was “sorry He had ever made them.” (Genesis 6:5-6)

In the middle of this evil living, God took notice of Noah and his family. God evaluated Noah and his family and saw they had something different than the rest. “Noah found favor with the Lord.” Favor can be defined as supernatural advantage. Favor (or Grace) occurs when doors open for you and not for others. Scripture never says that Noah was perfect. But, he did have a covenant with God. When God could not count on others to live for Him, God could count on Noah.

Can God trust you to be faithful when others are faithless? Can God trust you to share His love with those who do not know him? Can God trust you to live for Him even when it’s not popular? Can God trust you to place Him first in your life? If so, then you should expect supernatural advantage to follow you wherever you go. That favor will provide for you. It will protect you. It will preserve your purpose. It will accelerate the answers to your prayers. That’s why David said, “I cried out to the Lord and he answered me from His holy mountain.” (Psalm 3:4)

You don’t have to wonder IF God will favor you. Time and time again He proves that favor is given to those who will obey Him. Let this year be one of accelerated favor because God sees your consistent obedience. His favor will cause you to rise to the top when others are sinking.

Tomorrow’s Reading: Genesis 8:1-10:32; Matthew 4:12-25; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 1:20-23

Genesis 3:1-4:26; Matthew 2:13-3:6; Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 1:7-9

Sin can have devastating effects on our lives. Sin is anything that displeases God. Where we end up after sin is always worse than when we began. All sin begins with a temptation! We are tempted to listen to someone else’s voice above God’s voice. We are tempted to follow a path different from the path God has laid out for us. We are tempted to think that we know more than God.

The good news today is that sin will not have the final word! Even though Adam and Eve sinned against God, their sin was not the end of the story. God put in place a plan to bring all of us back to Him. Jesus is the way back to God! If you are struggling with sin in an area of your life, you do not have to fight it alone. You have Jesus who is willing to help you get out of it.

Ask for Jesus’ help!  Surrender your life to Him. Receive His forgiveness and strength to keep moving forward. Jesus knows how to lead you out of sin! You may have to do it moment by moment or day by day. It’s okay. Because as long as you are pursuing a relationship with Jesus, you will move further and further away from sin until you are free. “So, if the Son sets you free, you are truly free!” (John 8:36) This is true wisdom. Act on it today and receive God’s amazing grace!

Tomorrow’s Reading:  Genesis 5:1-7:24; Matthew 3:7-4:11; Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 1:10-19

Genesis 1-2:25; Matthew 1:1-2:12; Psalm 1:1-6; Proverbs 1:1-6

Today is all about beginnings. While beginnings are new to us, they are not new to God. Look at the precision with which He constructs the world. Each day, He accomplished another aspect of His creation. Can you hear Him speaking, “Let there be Light?” He started His creation with intentionality. The same is even true with our lives. Would God put so much care into designing the world without putting the same amount of care into our lives? Of course not!

As you start out in this New Year, be as intentional as God. Let your words create the reality that you want to see. Design your life day by day. Review each day with a sense of how the next one can be better. And, when tomorrow comes, make it better by accomplishing exactly what God tells you. He knows how to make all things good!

Each day you enjoy on earth is a good day because God created it. Prepare to be amazed by God’s goodness and overwhelmed by His love. He gave you this new year to give you an opportunity to experience more of Him.

Tomorrow’s Reading:  Genesis 3:1-4:26; Matthew 2:13-3:6; Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 1:7-9

Zechariah 2:1-3:10; Revelation 13:1-18; Psalm 141:1-10; Proverbs 30:18-20

God is so consistent in His desire to be in relationship with us.  Throughout the Old Testament, we see a picture emerge of how God will restore His people to Him. In the manner that God restores the priest, Jeshua, God also restores us to our rightful place as His modern day priests.

The accuser was faithfully on his post tearing down God’s priest, Jeshua. God strongly rejects every accusation of the devil against His priest. Without any rebuttal, satan stops his accusations. God then goes through the process of restoring the priest. He removed his old soiled clothes and replaced them with clean ones.

The devil tries to accuse us and convince God to reject us. But God won’t do that! God wants to do the same thing in our lives that He did for that priest. God believes in restoration!

Regardless of how far we have fallen, God silences the accusations of satan and restores us to our rightful place with Him. God leads this process until completion. Let God continue His cleansing process so that we can faithfully serve Him.

Tomorrow’s Reading:  Zechariah 4:1-5:11; Revelation 14:1-20; Psalm 142:1-7; Proverbs 30:21-23

1 Samuel 10:1-11:15; John 6:43-71; Psalm 107:1-43; Proverbs 15:1-3

The power behind the throne is a man of God! Samuel, though he was getting old, was still the King’s connection to God and God’s plan. Though Saul was now the King, Samuel told him step by step what was to happen and how he was to go about being king.

The first thing Saul received was a new heart! Prior to his elevation to the throne, he was focused on his personal agenda. God gave him a heart to lead His people and to care for God’s sheep. Saul was positioned to succeed as King over God’s people. As long as Saul followed God’s mandates and directions, he prospered. When he departed from God’s ways, trouble arose.

God’s plan is the same for each of us as we rule as kings and queens on the earth. He has given you a man (or woman) of God to speak His Word into your life so that you stay on course with His purposes. Each believer needs a prophet to speak into his or her life. Respect this gift in your life because it will help guide you as you pursue God’s purposes for your life!

Tomorrow’s Reading: 1 Samuel 12:1-13:23; John 7:1-30; Psalm 108:1-13; Proverbs 15:4

1 Samuel 8:1-9:27; John 6:22-42; Psalm 106:32-48; Proverbs 14:34-35

Freewill is what sets us apart from all of creation. Every other living thing in creation has instinctual behaviors that they cannot override (even trained animals revert back to their inherent behaviors over time.) With all that God had done for Israel, they made the big mistake to choose a human king over The Eternal King.

If ever there was a time for God to override human will, it would have been at this point. Yet, God allowed them to do something that He was against. He sent Samuel to warn them and give them a realistic picture about what having a king would mean. They still chose an earthly king.

Are there times when you choose incorrectly and want your life to be like other people’s? Have you looked at the green grass of someone else’s life and rejected God’s path for yours? Have you subtly substituted God’s place in your life with someone else’s? If so, it will never end well.

The throne of our lives is reserved for only One: The Lord Jesus Christ! If an unworthy person sits on the Throne, they will lead us astray and cause us to fall. Renounce any false God or fraudulent king and let God be your God! He has earned that place in your life.

Tomorrow’s Reading: 1 Samuel 10:1-11:15; John 6:43-71; Psalm 107:1-43; Proverbs 15:1-3