GENESIS
Lord,
help us to get our priorities right - Your priorities. May our lives be
more centred on You - less centred on ourselves. Help us to listen for
Your Word - not to jump straight in with our own words. Help us to open
our hearts to Your Holy Spirit. May He move among us - in power, in
love, in holiness, in victory. Transform our life, O Lord - May we live
as a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). May we know the great blessing of knowing that Jesus, our Saviour, is always "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).
Genesis 1:4-13
‘Let it be to me according to Your Word’ (Luke 1:38) - This was Mary’s prayer. May it also be our prayer. By ourselves, we are helpless and hopeless - Without Your help, we have no hope of doing Your will and pleasing You. We need Your Holy Spirit - May the Spirit’s ‘living water’ flow in us (John 7:37-39). Thank You, Lord, for the gift of Your Holy Spirit - He gives us the power to ‘walk in the light’ (1 John 1:7) with You. Lead us in the way of fruitfulness - the way of “love, joy, peace ... “(Galatians 5:22-23).
Lord,
You have made us - to praise You. You call us to live for Your glory.
Praise to God, glory to God - Where does this come from? We look into
our hearts - and it is not there. We look at our lives - and we say,
"Where is this praise to God?, Where is this glory to God?" Lord, we can
only praise You when You give to us the song of praise. You alone can
fill our hearts with praise to You. You alone can fill our lives with
Your glory. Without You, Lord, our life is a spiritual wasteland. Come, O
Lord, to this spiritual wasteland. Come - and make our life a song of
praise to You. Come - and make our life a hymn that says, "Glory to
God."
Lord,
You are our Creator. We have been created by You. We have been created
for You. What have we done with this great blessing? We have turned away
from You. We have gone our own way. We have done our own thing. Have
You lost patience with us? Have You given up on us? We often feel like
we are a waste of Your time - then we remember Jesus. That's when
everything changes - We remember Jesus. He came from where You are. He
came to where we are. From where we are to where You are - This is what
Jesus does for us.
Lord,
we look at ourselves, and we say, “This is my life. This is the way
I’ve always been. I’ll never change. I’ll never be any different.” Is
this all that we can say about ourselves? Is this what You’re saying
about us? We’re always thinking about what we are. You’re always saying
to us, “This is what you can become. This is what I am going to make
you.” Help us to listen to what You’re saying to us. Help us to make a
new “beginning” with You - as we believe and receive “the Good News of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1).
Lord,
You are God. Who are we to tell You what to do? Who are we to say,
“We’ll do what we like” - when You’re saying to us, “I know what’s best
for you.” Help us to choose Your way - and stop insisting on getting our
own way. How are we to do this? Jesus tells us, “If the Son sets you
free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). How, we wonder, does Jesus make us free?
He shows us “the truth” - the truth about ourselves, the truth about Jesus.
We are sinners. Jesus is our Saviour. This is the truth. It’s “the truth that sets us free” (John 8:32).
We are sinners. Jesus is our Saviour. This is the truth that brings us
out of the prison cell of our own making. This, Lord, is the truth which
brings us on to the pathway of Your blessing, the pathway of true and
lasting joy, the pathway to Your eternal glory.
Lord, we thank You that You have a place in Your heart for us. Why? What have we done that You should keep on loving us? Is there something good about us - something that makes us worthy of Your love? Whatever way we look at it - the answer’s always “No.” No! No! No!
There’s no way back to You, Lord, that begins with ourselves. We cannot begin with ourselves - but “Is there another starting-point?”
Lord, there is only one place. We begin with Your love - “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son ... “ (John 3:16). We hear these words, and we ask, “Why, Lord, have You loved us like this?”
From our side, there’s no answer to this question. We can only say, “We’re sinners.” There’s nothing else we can say about ourselves.
What do You, Lord, say to sinners? “God shows His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Lord, we are often tempted - tempted to forget all about You. The pull towards self-centred living is so strong.We think that we can go it alone. We think that we don’t need You. We think that we can manage all right without You. Where does this kind of thinking come from? Does it come from You? - To ask the question is to give the answer. You would never make us think like that! This kind of thinking must come from somewhere else - from someone else. It can only come from Satan - the devil. He’s the one who wants us to forget all about You. Lord, You are “our Father” (Matthew 6:9). Satan is very different. He’s “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Lord, help us to stop listening to Satan - and to start listening to You.
Lord, we have wandered far from You. There seems to be no way back. We feel like we’re ready to give up in despair. Is
this all that there is - wandering around in the wilderness of life,
always travelling but never arriving at our destination? We’re groping around in the darkness - then something happens, something wonderful. Lord, You come to us. You come to us in our darkness. You come to us with Your light. It’s the light of Christ. It’s the light of love. It’s the light of salvation. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15).
Lord, we have failed You over and over again. It never seems to stop - failure, failure, failure ..! This is the story of our life - from beginning to end. Can we escape from this - failure, failure, failure ...? This is nothing new - It goes back to the Garden of Eden. It started off so well - but it turned out so badly. Is there a way out of this - failure, failure, failure ...? Lord, we thank You that there is! Jesus has succeeded - where everyone else failed. “There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin, He only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.”
Lord, we feel like we're making a right mess of things. Everything's going wrong. This is the story of today's world. It's not just everybody else's story. It's our story. None of us can escape the truth - we're sinners.
Thank You, Lord - That's only part of the truth concerning us. We are loved by You. We hear this, Lord - but still we wonder, "Can You do anything with us?" Has this world reached the end of the road? Is our situation hopeless? Is there any hope for any of us? We
feel ourselves being dragged into a black hole - then we hear Your Word
speaking to us: ‘the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord’ (Romans 6:23). Gift? - It's not earned by us. It's given to us. Hope? Where does it come from? - From Jesus Christ our Lord!
Lord,
when we come to You, we come with our sin. We can’t do anything else.
Sin is a part of what we are. It’s the heart of what we are.
Lord,
our life is a journey. We can be travelling with You – or we can be
running away from You. Day-by day, we are further down the road – closer
to You or further away from You. Day-by-day, we must choose: Will we
travel with You, Lord? or Will we go our own way?
Often,
we make bad choices. We take a wrong turning. Things go from bad to
worse. We lose sight of You. We get lost. We wonder, “Is there a way
back home? Is there a way back to the Lord?” We thank You, Lord, that
You are waiting for us. In love, You are waiting for us to turn around –
to make our way back to You. You are waiting for us to stop wandering –
and start returning. Lead us, Lord. Lead us to Yourself. Lead us out of
the wilderness of our sin. Lead us into the promised land of Your
salvation.
Lord,
You are always with us - but we are not always with You. There is never
a time when You are not there at our side – but there are many times
when we don’t realize that You are right there, beside us at every stage
in our journey through life. Life isn’t easy! Bad things happen to us –
and we take our eyes off You. Before we know it, we’re going round in
circles – getting nowhere quickly. What are we to make of all this? Are
we to say, “Why have You left me, Lord?” Our difficult circumstances are
shouting at us, “God has left you. You’re on your own. Make the most of
it – without Him.” Lord, help us, when we feel like this, to keep on
listening for Your “still, small voice.” Help us to hear the “gentle
whisper” of Your love (1 Kings 19:11-12).
When our emotions are pulling us this way, pulling us that way, pulling
us all over the place, help us to hear and believe Your precious
promise: “I will be with you always” (Matthew 28:20).
Lord,
where have all the years gone? Five years becomes ten years. Ten years
becomes twenty years. Twenty years becomes forty years …. Is there
something more than this? - We thank You that You are the eternal God.
In all the changing circumstances of our life, help us to remember this:
“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting
arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27).
You are the eternal God. Your love is unchanged, unchanging and
unchangeable. This is our encouragement – when everything around us is
changing. We are encouraged. Lord, may we also be challenged: How much
of our life is bringing glory to You?
Lord,
help us to walk with You. Sometimes, we wonder, “Where is our life
leading us?” That depends, Lord, on who’s doing the leading. Are we
being “led by the Spirit of God” (Romans 8:14)?
or Have we allowed the devil to slip into the place where You alone
should be? Lord, lead us to the place of blessing. Lead us by Your
grace. Give us the faith which says, “Jesus is stronger than Satan and
sin. Satan to Jesus must bow” (A.C.D.). When Satan – the intruder -
tries to take Your place in our hearts, help us to give the answer of
faith, “Satan has no authority here in this place. He has no authority
here” (Debbye Graafsma). Help us to “leave no unguarded place, no
weakness of the soul.” Help us “to keep our armour bright.” Help us to
“attend with constant care, still walking in our Captain’s sight and
watching unto prayer” (Charles Wesley).
Lord,
we thank You for Your “amazing grace” – “I once was lost but now am
found” (John Newton). We think about our life. Did we find our way back
to You? -
No! You found us! You came looking for us – and You found us. We think
about this – and we say, “Hallelujah!” We say, “Praise the Lord!” Do we
say, “Hallelujah! We have found Him”? We do say this – but there is
something more than this: “Hallelujah! He has saved me.” Thank You,
Lord, for Your amazing grace.
Lord,
we thank You for Your great love. There is no love like Your love. We
think of Your Son giving Himself, in death, for us. We think of His
suffering for us and we say, “Saviour of the world, what have You done
to deserve this?” We look at the Cross, and we see more than suffering.
We see love, and we say, “Saviour of the world … what have we done to
deserve You?” Beyond “the mystery of undeserved suffering”, we catch a
glimpse of something else – something very, very wonderful: “the deeper
mystery of unmerited love” (Common Order, Prayer for Good Friday).
Lord,
we thank You for Jesus - There is no-one like Him. What a great Saviour
He is! He does for us something that we could never – ever – do for
ourselves. He forgives our sins – and He forgets them!
The
forgiveness of all our sins - What a great blessing this is! We read
the words, “I will remember their sins no more” – and we think to
ourselves, “How wonderful is this?” We think of Jesus. We think of all
that He has done for us. He was crucified for us. He has risen for us.
Our
sins have been forgiven – and forgotten. Can we even begin to
understand this? Do we need to understand all of this? We do not
understand it all. How can we possibly understand all that You have done
for us? “Jesus Christ, we greet You! … risen from the grave … You have come: not to answer our questions, but to show us Your face” (Common Order,
Prayer for Easter). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus – Your Son, our Saviour.
Thank You for His love – Love is shining from His face. In His face, we
see His smile. It is the smile of His love (“Still the night, holy the
night!”)
Lord,
we thank You for Jesus – He is the Rock of our salvation. Often, in our
journey through life, we’re walking on shifting sand. As we walk along,
we discover that it’s more than shifting sand – It’s quicksand! It’s
sucking us in – and it’s dragging us down. Is there any hope for us? Is
there any solid ground? Yes! There is! Jesus is “the Solid Rock” (“My
hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness … On
Christ, the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”)
Lord, we thank You that You’ve not left us to fall down in our own
weakness. You’ve given us Jesus, our Saviour – We stand in His strength.
When we feel like we’re sinking, help us, Lord, to look to You, to find
new strength in You. When we’re almost overwhelmed by the flood of
unbelief that seems to be coming at us all the time, help us to come to
You and receive Your strength: “Be strong in the Lord and in the
strength of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).
Lord, we thank You for the rainbow – It tells us that You love us!
Sometimes,
we see a rainbow. Do we wonder about it? Does it have a message for us?
We look at the rainbow. Help us to look beyond the rainbow – to the
Cross. There’s a great children’s song about the rainbow (it’s sung to
the tune, “Early one morning just as the sun was rising … ). Lord, it’s a song
about Your love. “When you see a rainbow, remember God is love. When
you see a rainbow, remember God is love. Yes, God is love. Yes, God is
love. When you see a rainbow, remember God is love.” When the sun is
rising … when the rainbow is in the sky … at all times of the day, help
us to remember that You love us. Help us to look beyond the rising sun
to the risen Son. Help us to look beyond the rainbow to the Cross: “upon
the Cross we see, in shining letters, ‘God is love.’” Help us, when
there’s no rainbow and there’s no sunshine, to keep on “singing the
praise of Him who died, of Him who died upon the Cross” (Thomas Kelly).
Lord, we need Your strength.
Without Your strength, we fall. Without Your strength, we fail.
With Your strength, everything changes.
You lead us from our defeat into Your victory.
Help us, Lord, to trust You.
In ourselves, we are weak. In You, we are strong.
Where does this strength come from? – It comes from this: Jesus has risen – and He lives in us!
“Resurrect in our lives faith, hope, and love, as surely as You raised Jesus Christ from the grave” (Common Order, Prayer for Easter).
Lord, Your love makes us feel very special.
There are plenty of times when we’re down in the dumps – and we need some encouragement from You.
When we feel like this, help us to remember that Your love makes us very special: “I’m special because God loves me.”
How do we know that You love us? – You gave Your Son, Jesus, to be our Saviour.
What are we to say when we think of Jesus – crucified for us?
“Thank You Jesus, thank You Lord, for loving me so much.”
We look at ourselves – and we know that we’re nothing special.
We look at Jesus. We think of His love for us – and something happens. We begin to feel that we are very special – to You!
“Help me feel Your love right now, to know deep in my heart that I’m Your special friend” (Graham Kendrick).
Lord, help us not to get too big for our boots.
Sometimes, we get down in the dumps. When this happens, we need to get lifted up - by You!
Sometimes, we have a very different problem. We get too big for our boots – and we need to be brought back down to earth!
Brought down with a bump: How often this has happened to us – and it was just what we needed!
Bringing us down – We thank You, Lord, that this is only the beginning of Your work in us.
You never bring us down – to leave us there. You bring us down to build us up again!
Building us up – That’s what You do for us.
We’re broken down – and You put us together again!
Lord, this is so encouraging.
When we forget You, You never forget us.
When
we feel like giving up, You say to us, “I haven’t finished with you
yet. I’ll never be finished with You: What I have planned for you is
nothing less than this - eternal life.”
Lord, sometimes, the things that happen to us don’t seem to make sense – to us!
We try to tell the story of our life. We try to make sense of it all. We try – but we fail.
Why? – We don’t know the full story.
Sometimes, we feel like we’re living on Dead End Street!
You say to us, “You’re missing the point! You don’t need to understand what it’s all about. You can leave that to Me.”
Help
us, Lord, to know that we’re not alone – trying to make sense of our
life. Help us to know that You’re with us. Help us to think of Jesus. He
is “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).
When everything seems to be so confusing, help us to remember that
Jesus understands us. He knows what we’re like – and He hasn’t stopped loving us. He never will!
He
loves us – and He’s praying for us: ”We praise You, our glorious Lord
and Saviour, and are for ever glad that now there is in heaven One who
understands and intercedes for us” (Common Order, Prayer for Ascension).
Lord, sometimes, we feel like we’re stuck in a rut.
When we feel like this, help us to see that You’ve moved on ahead of us. You’re calling us on – into Your future!
Do we need to see exactly where You’re leading us? – No! We don’t! We just need to keep on following You.
The future may be unknown to us – but it’s never unknown to You!
“Face
the sun and the shadows will fall behind you. Look to the One who can
put your past behind you. Be the one you were born to be – Don’t you
want to be free? … There ‘ll be brighter days ahead” (Garry
Brotherston).
Lord,
let there be no more fear of an unknown future. Help us to look to the
Son. Help us to know that, with Him, we can never be stuck in a rut!
Help us to move forward with Him and for Him.
Lord, help us to make good choices.
When we’re at the crossroads of life, we can so easily head off in the wrong direction.
“Without the Way, there is no going. Without the Truth, there is no knowing. Without the Life, there is no living.”
Help us to choose well. Help us to choose Jesus.
Lord, give us this great testimony: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
Lord, help us to keep on praying this prayer: “May there be less of self and more of Christ in me” (John 3:30).
Lord, what are we to do when we can’t find any peace of mind?
Where
are we to look? Are we to look inside of ourselves? Is that where we’ll
find peace? Is there an inner peace – if we look deep enough, we’ll
find it?
Peace
is His gift to us. It’s not something that’s already there in our
hearts – if we look deep enough we’ll find it. It’s something that has
to be given to us. We have to receive it from Jesus.
Inner peace, peace of mind – All of this seems to be so much about ourselves: if you look deep enough, you’ll find it!
What does all this have to do with You, Lord? – Nothing at all! It’s all to do with ourselves. It’s all about self-discovery.
Lord,
teach us Your way of peace. Show us that real peace is peace with You.
Show us that this peace comes to us “through faith in our Lord Jesus
Christ” (Romans 5:1).
We can’t escape from our sin. It follows us everywhere we go.
Lord,
when we come to You, You speak to us wonderful words of love, wonderful
words of forgiveness, wonderful words of cleansing.
You say to us, “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
We worship You. We bring our praise to You. We sing to You, “Ransomed,
healed, restored, forgiven, who like me His praise should sing?” Lord,
lead us to the Cross. Lead us to Jesus - and may He lead us out of the
emptiness of our life without Him and into His fullness: “a life made up
of praise in every part.”
Lord, we thank You that You are always with us – even when bad things are happening to us.
Lord, living for You isn’t easy – Satan makes sure of that!
We try to escape his evil clutches – but he’s always there, and he’s up to no good!
Satan is such a determined enemy. Help us to remind him that he’s a defeated enemy.
We’re often tempted – and we feel so weak.
Help us to tell Satan that Jesus is Lord – and we belong to Jesus!
Satan wins some battles with us. He gives us a hard time. Often, he gets the better of us.
Help us to remind him that the final triumph belongs to Jesus.
Beyond
our present conflict, there is His final triumph; “This day the noise
of battle, the next the victor’s song” (from “Stand up, stand up for
Jesus”).
Lord, everything seems so hopeless - when we take our eyes off You!
Help us to keep our eyes on You. Fill us with fresh hope.
Sometimes, we can be optimists. Often, we’re pessimists.
You’re always “the God of hope” (Romans 15:13). You’re always saying to us, “There is hope” (Jeremiah 31:17).
Lord, real hope comes from You. It’s more than human optimism. It’s Your gift to us. It’s Your “gift of eternal life” (Romans 6:23).
Lord,
real hope comes from You. It’s more than just “hoping for the best.”
It’s being lifted up by You, Lord – the God who raised Jesus from the
dead (Acts 2::24).
You
lift us out of our hopelessness. You give us strength to face the
future with confidence – the strength which comes from knowing that You
are the God of hope.
Lord, Your love is greater than our sin.
You have a great purpose for every one of us – but our sin gets in the way!
You want to make us more like Jesus – but there’s so much of self in us!
You want to lead us in the pathway of victory – but Satan’s always trying to trip us up!
What are we to make of all this? Are we to give up in despair?
No! We must not give up – because You, Lord, never give up on us.
Your
love is greater than our sin. You will fulfil Your great purpose in us.
You will make us more like Jesus. You will lead us in the pathway of
victory.
Our sin shall not triumph over Your love. Satan will be defeated. Your “love has the victory for ever!” (Mission Praise, 86).
To You, Lord, be all the glory – You have done so many great things for us.
So many blessings – and they all come from You, Lord.
Our sins have been forgiven. You’ve come to live in us.
Such great blessing – but this is just the beginning!
You’re leading us on to eternal life.
Lord, when our heads go down, help us to lift up our eyes.
Help
us to “come and see the shining hope.” Help us to look through heaven’s
“open door.” Help us to catch a glimpse of “the mighty multitudes of
heaven … singing, ‘Alleluia!’ … Love has the victory for ever!” (Mission Praise, 86).
Lord, the world seems so strong – but You are stronger!
“The world is ever near … my foes are ever near me … but, Jesus, draw still nearer, and shield my soul from sin” (CH4, 644).
Sometimes, the battle seems to be too much for us. Sometimes, we feel like giving up.
Come
to us, Lord. Show us Your love. Without Your love, we are helpless. Our
situation is hopeless. Your love brings us help. Your love gives us
hope. It’s Your love that makes us “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37).
Lord, help us to walk with You.
We
can be so good at talking the talk – but we’re not so good at walking
the walk: “I can say, ‘I love you’, but do I show it by the way I live? …
Talk is cheap. Lip-service is no service at all” (“Talk Is Cheap” –
Garry Brotherston).
Lord, help us not to be content with saying the right things. Help us to live the right way.
We need Your grace every day – if we’re to walk the walk as well as talking the talk.
Lord, help us to walk with You.
Lord, what You have done for us – we could never have done for ourselves!
It’s so amazing what You have done for us.
We were making plans for ourselves - but our plans didn’t include You!
You came to us. You said to us, “I have a wonderful plan for your life.”
We
look at the plans we had for ourselves, we look at the plan You have
for us – and we say, ‘Your way is so much better than our own way.’
Your way is the way of blessing. It’s the way of giving glory to You.
Lord,
where would be – if You had not come to us, if You had not led us into
Your way, if You had not brought us into Your blessing?
You did not wait for us to start looking for You – You came looking for us.
You did not wait for us to start saying, ‘Bless us, Lord’ – You came to us with Your blessing.
You did not wait for us to lift ourselves up – You lifted us up.
Thank You, Lord.
Lord, You are with us – even when we feel that You are far away from us.
We think about what’s going on in our life – and we get it all wrong!
We look at what’s happening – and we think that You’ve gone away and left us.
When will we learn? – It’s us who’ve gone away and left you!
We start thinking, ‘You need to come back to me, Lord.’
You’re saying to us, ‘No! You’ve got it all wrong. It’s you that needs to come back to Me.’
Even in our darkest days, You’ve never gone away and left us.
You’ve always been there – all the time.
You’ve always been there – for us.
Thank You, Lord.
Lord, help us to remember that You are the everlasting God.
We are so changeable. Your love for us is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable.
Our feelings take us here, there and everywhere. Your love brings us back to the place where our love for You grows strong.
How does our love for You grow strong? Is this something that we do for ourselves? – No! It’s something that You do for us.
You show us how much You love for us. You take us to the Cross of Christ.
You show us that Your love for us remains strong even when our love for You has become very weak.
This
is the way in which our love for You grows strong. We are strengthened
by a stronger love, a love that never becomes weak, a love that is
always strong - everlasting love.
These
are things we must never forget – Lord, help us to remember that You
are the everlasting God. Help us to remember that Your love is
everlasting love.
Lord, we thank You that Jesus came to earth for us – and we thank You that He died for us.
He ‘came to seek and to save the lost’ (Luke 19:10).
He came to bring us back from our wandering about in the shadows of our
life. He came to bring us into the light of Your love.
Lord, we give You thanks for Jesus.
Lord, we thank You that You guide us – You keep us in the right way. You lead us in the way that brings glory to You.
You
show us Your love. You teach us to trust in Your faithfulness. You fill
our hearts with praise. You fill our lives with Your ‘overflowing
blessing’ (Malachi 3:10).
For all of these things, we give You our thanks.
Teach us, Lord, to count our blessings.
We try to think of all the good things You have done for us, all the great gifts You have given to us.
We cannot keep up with You, Lord. There is so much to count, so much for which we can only say, ‘Thank You, Lord.’
Lord, help us to prepare for the future – Your future.
Life without a future is no life at all. Often, we feel like we are stuck in the prison of the present.
You lift up our eyes. You show us Your future. You fill our pathway with Your light.
It is Your light that makes our future very bright – brighter than we can put into words, brighter than we can even imagine.
Lead us, Lord, into Your future. Help us to walk with You on Your pathway to glory – Your eternal glory.
Lord,
give us Your wisdom. Help us to see that walking in Your way is better
than getting our own way. When we are being drawn away from Your way,
bring us back again - back to the way of obedience, back to the way of
blessing.
Lord,
when our hold on You is weak, help us to remember that Your hold on us
is strong. Often, we get bogged down in our sin. Lift us up by Your
grace. Give us strength to rise above our sin - strength to become all
that You want us to be.
Lord,
we thank You that You want to bless us - more than we want to be
blessed by You. We don't deserve to be blessed - but You keep on
blessing us. Help us never to forget to say, "Thank You, Lord." Help us
always to treasure Your blessing - and to keep on praying that it will
grow and grow and ...
Lord,
we thank You that we're not left to go it alone. You've given us Your
Spirit - the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love, the Spirit of truth, the
Spirit who leads us to Jesus, the Spirit who makes us more like Jesus.
Thank You, Lord - with Your Spirit, we can go from strength to strength.
Help us to walk in Your Spirit.
Lord,
we thank You that You are so determined to keep on blessing us. There
are times when we're not expecting very much - and then You come to us
with Your blessing, and everything changes. Everything becomes so much
brighter. You are with us. You are leading us forward. You are leading
us on into more and more of Your blessing. Thank You, Lord.
Lord,
Your way is the best way. We, often, wander off on our own. We forget
that we are called to follow You, to walk in Your footsteps. Again and
again, we need to be reminded that Your way is the best way. Help us to
see that Your way is a wonderful way - even when it turns out to be very
different from what we had expected.
Lord,
we can, so often, get preoccupied with the things that matter most to
us - and we forget about the things that matter most to You. We start to
get comfortable, sorting things out to suit ourselves - and then You
come to us with a very challenging question, "What matters most to you?"
Help us, Lord, to see that pleasing You is more important than pleasing
ourselves.
Guide us, Lord, by Your light and Your truth (Psalm 48:14; Psalm 43:3).
Let Your light shine into our darkness. Let Your truth lift us out of
the way that leads away from You and into the way that leads to You.
Lead us to Jesus - He is "the Way, the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6).
Lord,
so often we forget the things that matter most. So often, we forget
You. The more we forget You, the more we miss out on the blessing which
comes from knowing that You are the Lord our God. You are the God who is
with us - even when we feel that You are far away.
Lord,
help us to stand upon Your Word. You have given us a firm foundation
for our faith. You have given us Your salvation. When everything around
is shaking, we can stand firm because we know that You are our God. You
are the God who has saved us through the death of Your Son. You are the
God who gives us new power for living - the power of the Holy Spirit.
You are the God who will lead us into the glory of Your eternal Kingdom -
Your Kingdom of everlasting love, everlasting life and everlasting
light.
We
thank You, Lord, that we have the victory in Christ. This is not our
own victory. It's His victory. On the Cross, He won the victory over
Satan. How do we know that He has won the victory? - You raised Him from
the dead. We thank You, Lord, that Jesus didn't win the victory for
Himself. He won the victory for us. He gives His victory to us. Help us,
Lord, to walk with You in victory. When we stumble and fall - as we so
often do, pick us up and set us on our feet again. Help us to take our
stand against Satan. help us to take our stand in Christ. Lead us on,
Lord, from victory to victory.
Lord,
You call us to love You - and to love our neighbour. Help us never to
think that we can grow in our love for You if we are not also learning
to love our neighbour with the love that You give to us. Help us never
to forget You. Help us always to rejoice in the love that You have for
us - and to let Your love shine out through us to others. May our love
for our neighbour never become a substitute for loving You.
Lord,
we thank You that You don't give up on us - even when we don't pay much
attention to You. We can become so self-centred. Everything revolves
around ourselves. You keep on coming to us. You come to us in love.
You're calling us back to Yourself. You're calling us to bring You back
into the centre of our lives. Lord, may it be less of self and more of
You.
Again
and again, Lord, Your blessing comes to us. In Your blessing, we see
Your love. Time and time again, we have failed You. When did You ever
fail us? - Never! You are completely faithful, entirely trustworthy and
absolutely reliable. You keep on loving us. Help us to keep on loving
You.
Lord,
there are two ways of looking at every situation. There's the way of
faith - and there's the way of unbelief. We can look up to You - and be
lifted up by You. We can look at our circumstances and fail to see that
You are there, waiting to lift us up, to raise us above our
circumstances and make us "more than conquerors through Him who loved
us" (Romans 8:37).
Lord,
our situation seems hopeless - but it's not! You are there with us,
every step of the way. This is what gives us hope: knowing that You're
always there - even when the going gets tough!
Lord,
help us to put You first in our lives. No-one is more important than
You. Why do we forget this - again and again. When we forget You, Lord,
bring us back to the Cross of Christ. Show us - all over again - that
You have not forgotten us, that You never will forget us.
Lord,
we make everything so complicated. We go our own way - and everything
gets very messy. Everything would be so much simpler - if we kept our
eyes on You. When we are tempted to turn away from You, help us, Lord,
to keep on looking to You - and to know that we are "loved with
everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3).
Lord,
Your Word challenges us, "What do you want to get out of life?" Help us
to look carefully at what is important to us. Are we 'looking after No.
1'? Lord, give us ambitions that do not centre on ourselves. Give us a
deep persistent desire to glorify You in all that we do - and to find
that this is the way of true and lasting joy!
Lord,
we thank You that You are in control of the things that are happening
to us. We do not always understand what's going on - but you do!
Sometimes,
Lord, we wonder what it's all about! When we feel like this, help us to
know that You love us. Help us to see that You are working in us - to
teach us to love You.
Lord, we thank You that Your love is "an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3).
Human love can be strong. It can be weak. Human love can come to an
end. Your love is always strong. Your love never comes to an end. Your
love is "everlasting love" - the only "everlasting love"!
Genesis 44:1-34
So
many things are changing, Lord. How are we to live in a changing world?
We trust in Your unchanging love. In our changing world, Your love
remains the same - unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable. You are also
the changing God - the God who changes us. Your love is a changing
love. Your love changes us. Help us, in our ever-changing world, to keep
on praying for the best kind of change - being changed by You - changed
by Your love. Help us to become less self-centred and more
Christ-centred.
Lord,
You're leading us on to glory. You're taking us to a better place - a
place where there will be no more weakness, a place where we will be
surrounded by the strength of Your love.
Lord,
we thank You that we do not need to live in fear. Your love is greater
than our fear. Where does fear come from? It comes from the devil. Who
is he? He's our enemy. He's a determined enemy. He's also a defeated
enemy. Lord, we rejoice in Your word of victory: "Thanks be to God who
gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57).
Lord,
we give all the glory to You. We think of Jesus, crucified for us - and
we say, "Thank You, Lord - You have done for us what we could never
have done for ourselves." You have brought us out of the darkness of of
our sin and into the light of Your salvation - out of sadness and into
gladness. Help us never to forget that You have saved us. Help us to
live, each day, as Your faithful servants.
Lord,
help us to have faith in You - faith that is humble, and faith that is
confident. Lord, give us a humble faith. Give us the humility that comes
from knowing that You are God - and we're not God! Lord, give us the
confidence which is confidence in You - and not self-confidence!
Lord, we thank You for Jesus, our Saviour. In Him, You have given us "every spiritual blessing" (Ephesians 1:3). What blessings You have given to us - the forgiveness of sins, the Holy Spirit living in us, eternal life with You (Ephesians 1:7,13-14). Help us to praise You today. Help us to praise You every day.
Lord,
when hard times come our way, help us to remember that "Your steadfast
love never ceases" (Lamentations 3:22). When bad things are happening to
us, help us to keep on remembering that You are still the good God. Who
are we to say that You are no longer with us – just because we’re going
through a hard time? You’re with us in our bad days as well as our good
days. You’ve promised to be with us every step of the way. Who are we
to suggest that You’ve gone away and left us to go it alone? Help us to
trust Your promises – and not to get dragged away from You by our
feelings which can go up and down like a yoyo. Sometimes, we’re up.
Sometimes, we’re down. With You, there are no ups and down – You’re
always the faithful God. You’re always near to us – even when we feel
that You’re far away from us. We’ve wandered far away from You – but
You’re always near to us. Thank You, Lord, that You are always with us.
_____________________
EXODUS
Exodus 1:1-2:10
Lord,
what are we to do when we're going through a hard time? Hard times can
be the breaking of us - or the making of us. We can blame You - or we
can trust You. Help us to trust You - to know that You are near, even
when it feels like You are far away.
Exodus 2:11-3:22
We
thank You, Lord, that You have blessed us. We have come to You with our
sin - and You have forgiven us. We thank You, Lord, that You call us to
bring Your blessing to others. We have received Your blessing. Help us
to share it with others.
Exodus 4:1-31
Often,
Lord, we fail You - and we wonder why You bother with us. We thank You,
Lord,that You never fail us. When we let You down, You lift us up. Help
us, Lord, not to be shaped by our failure. Help us to be transformed by
Your love and power. Help us to respond to Your call to "attempt great
things for You and expect great things from You" (William Carey).
Exodus 5:1-6:13
Lord,
what are we to do when we face determined opposition from people who
refuse to listen to what Your Word is saying to them? Lord, teach us to
pray. Teach us to take our problems to You - and help us to leave them
with You. When troubles come our way, help us to "wait upon You and
renew our strength" (Isaiah 40:31).
Exodus 6:14-7:24
Lord,
we come to You in our weakness. We receive Your strength. In our
weakness, we fail. Through Your strength, we shall triumph. When we're
stumbling along in weakness, help us to say, with ever-increasing faith,
"Our God is marching on to glorious victory."
Exodus 7:25-8:32
Lord,
show us our pride - and teach us to humble ourselves before You. Show
us Your power and teach us to trust You to do great things in and
through us.
Exodus 9:1-32
Lord,
help us not to rest content with going through the motions of religion.
Beyond religion, there is redemption. Beyond ritual, there is reality.
May our faith in Jesus, our Saviour, be a real faith, a living faith, a
faith that changes us, a faith that brings glory to You.
Exodus 10:1-29
Touch
our hearts, Lord, with Your love. So often, our hearts are hard. How
can this hardness be broken down? You must do it. We can't do this for
ourselves. We can't do this by ourselves. It's Your love that changes
us. It's Your love that makes us new. Open our hearts to Your love. Fill
our hearts with Your love.
Exodus 11:1-12:28
Help
us, Lord, to receive Your forgiveness - and to respond to Your call to
holy living. You give to us Your peace. It comes to us with Your gift of
forgiveness. You give to us Your power - the power to live for Your
glory. May Your peace and Your power equip us for living as Your people.
Exodus 12:29-13:16
Often,
Lord, we feel trapped - trapped by our sin. We try to break free - but
we can't make it happen. Our sin has such a strong hold on us. We
wonder, "Is there a way to freedom?" Jesus says, "Yes. There is." He
says to us, "I am the Way to freedom." Set us free, Lord, from our
self-centredness. May there be less of self and more of You in our
lives.
Exodus 13:17-14:31
Lord,
we are surrounded by so many temptations. We cannot avoid this. There's
no getting away from it. It's part-and-parcel of our life in this
world. What are we to do when temptation comes our way? What are we to
do when we feel the powerful pull of the world, drawing us away from
You? Lord, help us to turn to You. Help us to renew our strength - in
You.
Exodus 15:1-21
We
think, Lord, of Your redemption, and our hearts are filled with
thanksgiving - and hope. We think - and we thank. we look back on all
that You have done for us, and we say, "Thank You, Lord." Give us the
spirit of thanksgiving, the attitude of gratitude - and, with it, give
us the confidence to face the future, knowing that it is more than our
future. It is Your future for us.
Exodus 15:22-16:36
Lord,
You love us so much. Help us never to forget this. Help us to remember
Jesus - to remember that His body was broken for us, and His blood was
shed for us. Help us to feed on Jesus, and to be strong in Him. Lord,
when the going gets tough, help us to remember that Your love keeps
going and going and going ... It is a love that never comes to an end.
It's everlasting love - the only everlasting love.
Exodus 17:1-18:27
Lord,
we come to You with questions. You give us victory. Sometimes, our
questions are not answered. Always, You give us the strength that we
need to keep on walking with You. Lord, when our life gets busy, help us
to take time to pray. When we have so many things to do, help us to
find time for listening to what Your Word has to say to us. If we're too
busy to pray, we're too busy! Help us, Lord, not to be "worried and
upset about many things." Help us not to forget this: "only one thing is
needed" - "listening to what Jesus is saying" to us (Luke 10:38-42).
Exodus 19:1-25
Lord,
You have done so much for us. What are we doing for You? You tell us
about Your redemption. You call for our response. Our response is
inspired by Your redemption. Thank You for the grace of Your redemption -
"By grace you have been saved." Give us the grace to make our response
- "Saved through faith for good works" (Ephesians 2:8-10). Lord, help us
to have less self-confidence and more confidence in You.
Self-confidence is all about us. It has nothing to do with You.
Confidence in You is so different. It comes from faith - not from pride.
Help us to find our true strength. It's not our strength. It's Your
strength.
Exodus 20:1-20
Less of our sin,
more of Your love - Lord, this is our prayer. Our sin does us nothing
but harm. Your love always does us good - nothing but good. We're
sinners, Lord. Why do You keep on loving us? We don't know why - but
we're glad that You do! We rejoice in this: "Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15).
Exodus 20:21-21:32
Your
redemption, Lord, is more than rules and regulations. It's not about
the things that we do for You. It's about all that You have done for us.
Jesus died for us - This is what inspires us to live for Him. What a
great thing Jesus has done for us! Help us, Lord, to do great things for
Him. Help us, Lord, to receive Your great salvation - and to give all
the glory to You.
Exodus 21:33-22:31
Lord,
we're on a journey. We're travelling from grace. We're travelling to
glory. Everything comes to us from Your grace. Everything is leading us
to Your glory. You have given us all that we need - all that we need to
bring us into Your salvation, all that we need to take us on into Your
glory. This is not our journey. It's Your journey. You're our Travel
Guide. You're with us every step of the way. Thank You, Lord.
Exodus 23:1-33
We
rejoice in Your love. Help us, Lord, not to forget Your holiness. You
fill us with Your love. You call us to be holy. Lead us, O Lord, in Your
way of love. Lead us in Your way of holiness. It won't be easy -
walking with You on Your pathway of holiness. When the going gets tough,
help us to remember that we're not on our own. You are with us every
day. You are with us - all the way.
Exodus 24:1-18
Lord,
You call us to speak Your Word - but, first, You call us to listen to
Your Word. How can we speak for You if we're not listening to You? Help
us to come to the Cross of Christ. Help us to hear the voice of Your
love. Send us from that holy place - the place of His crucifixion,
the place of our salvation - back into the world. May we return to the
world as people who've been changed - changed by the love of Christ.
Exodus 25:1-40
Lord,
we thank You for Your Son, Jesus. What a wonderful Saviour He is. There
is no-one like Him. None can compare with Jesus. He is greater than all
the prophets. He is greater than all the apostles. The prophets cannot
save us. The apostles cannot save us. They can only point away from
themselves. They point us to Jesus. They are only servants. Jesus is the
Saviour. We thank You that He was able to do what the prophets and
apostles could never do for us - He "came into the world to save
sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15).
Exodus 26:1-37
Open
our eyes, Lord. Help us to see Jesus - to see Him in His holiness and
confess our sin, to see Him in His love and receive His forgiveness, to
see Him in His power and be changed by Him, to see Him in His glory and
worship Him.
Exodus 27:1-19
Sometimes,
Lord, we don't feel like the sun is shining upon us. When we feel like
this, help us to know that the light and love of Your Son is always
shining upon us. When we're feeling down, help us to remember that You
raised Jesus up - "Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph o'er
His foes." This is what we need to hear. This is what lifts us up: up -
into Your presence, up - out of our sin, up - into Your salvation'
upwards and onwards - to Your eternal glory.
Exodus 27:20-29:9
Sometimes,
Lord, our lights are switched off. Sometimes, they're switched on. The
light of Your love is never switched off. It's always switched on. Your
love is 'all the time' love. There is no love like Your love for us.
It's the only 'always and forever' love. Thank You, Lord, for the light
that never stops shining - the light of Your undying love. This is the
only light that is always shining.
Exodus 29:10-46
Often,
Lord, we come to Your House with so little expectation of Your
blessing. Where does this attitude come from? - It doesn't come from
You. You are the great God. You fill our hearts with 'great
expectations.' When Satan comes to us, filling our hearts with apathy -
the 'couldn't-care-less' attitude, help us to tell him that You are the
great God (Psalm 135:5) - great in holiness, power and love, the
faithful God who comes to us with great promises of blessing. When,
Lord, we are blessed by You, help us to give all the glory to You.
Exodus 30:1-38
So
often, Lord, we get preoccupied with ourselves. Our words say that You
are more important than anyone else. Often, our lives tell a very
different story - 'It's all about us. It's all about what pleases us.'
How can we be changed? Lead us to the Cross of Your Son, Jesus. Show us
Jesus - dying for us. Teach us to live for Him. Lift us out of our
weakness and failure into Your strength and victory - and help us to
praise You with hearts that are becoming more God-centred and less
self-centred.
Exodus 31:1-32:14
Lord,
You call us to serve You. How are we to serve You? How can we serve
You? - Our sin keeps on getting in the way. We start off well - and
then, we take our eyes off Jesus, and things start to go badly. Lord, we
need Your Spirit. He is the Holy Spirit. How can we possibly serve You -
if we are not learning to walk with You in the way of holiness. Before
we pray, "Help us to serve You better", help us to pray, "Lead us in the
way of holiness."
Exodus 32:15-33:23
Lord, You are the God of holiness. You are the God of love. Your holiness is loving holiness.
Your love is holy love. Help us to see that Your holiness and Your love
belong together. It's not one without the other. It's not holiness
without love. It's not love without holiness. We need both - Your
holiness and Your love. Your holiness shows us our sin. Your love
forgives our sin. You love us. Help us to love You - and be changed by
Your holy love.
Exodus 34:1-35
Lord, You
are the faithful God. You give us Your promises. You keep Your promises.
You never go back on Your Word. You always stand by the Word that You
have spoken. Your promises come to us from the past. They lead us on
into Your future. What a wonderful future You are planning for us. We
thank You for Jesus' great promise: "I go to prepare a place for you"
(John 14:2). Help us to receive His Word, to rejoice in His promise, to
be renewed by His love.
Exodus 35:1-36:7
Help
us, Lord, never to think that we have nothing to offer to You. We can
never save ourselves. That is something that You must do for us. We have
been saved by Your grace. Now, we must serve You in Your strength. You
gave Your Son for us. Help us to give ourselves to You. May we never be
half-hearted in our devotion to You. Help us to be whole-hearted in all
that we do for You.
Exodus 36:8-38
Teach
us, Lord, that it's not all about us. It's not about getting ourselves
noticed. It's all about You. It's about giving all the glory to You.
Exodus 37:1-29
We
thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, is "pure gold." There's nothing
better than Jesus. there's no-one better than Him. He's the very best.
What Jesus has done for us - this is "pure gold." He died for us. He was
raised to life for us. This is Good News. It's the best news we could
ever hear. Lord, help us not to get bogged down in the bad news of our
sin. Lord, lift us up with the Good News of our Saviour.
Exodus 38:1-31
Lord,
there is work to be done. It's Your work. Help us all to play our part.
We leave it to someone else - and it never gets done. Change us, Lord.
Spectators can become workers. Help us not to hang back - on the
sidelines. You're calling us to come into the centre of Your will and
Your work. When we're tempted to stand back and watch, help us to come
forward and work. Help us to remember this: "There's a work of Jesus
none but we can do."
Exodus 39:1-43
Lord,
we want blessing - but we're not so keen on obedience. Help us to learn
from Jesus. For Him, obedience was everything. He was fully obedient.
For Him, it meant the Cross (Philippians 2:8). Lord, help us not to be
thinking, "What are we going to get out of this?" Help us to be praying,
"How can we do Your will? How can we bring glory to You?"
Exodus 40:1-38
Lord,
help us to listen to Your Word, walk in Your way and "worship You in
Spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). These are the things that matter most.
Are they our priorities? We know, Lord, that they should be our
priorities - but we are often distracted. We lose our focus. Other
things become more important to us. "Restore our souls and lead us in
the paths of righteousness for Your Name's sake" (Psalm 23:3).
______________________________
LEVITICUS
Leviticus 1:1-2:16
We
thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, is "the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). In His death for us, we see Your
love for us. Help us to come to the Cross of Christ. Help us to worship
You in the beauty of holiness. Help us to celebrate Your love in the
spirit of thanksgiving.
Leviticus 3:1-4:35
We
thank You, Lord, that "we have peace with You through our Lord Jesus
Christ" (Romans 5:1). We thank You that "Jesus is our peace" (Ephesians
2:14). This peace is not something that comes from within ourselves. It
comes to us from outside of ourselves. It comes from above. It comes to
us from You. It's given to us. It's Your gift. We cannot give this gift
to ourselves. We can only receive it by faith - faith in Jesus, our
Saviour.
Leviticus 5:1-6:30
We
thank You, Lord, that Your salvation is greater than our sin. We look
at Christ's sacrifice - He gave Himself in death for us. We are glad
that He is our Saviour. He has taken our sin upon Himself. He gives Your
salvation to us. Thank You, Lord.
Leviticus 7:1-38
When, Lord, we think of Jesus, crucified for us, may our hearts be filled with joyful praise and heartfelt thanksgiving.
Leviticus 8:1-36
Lord,
You love us. You call us to love You. Help us, Lord, to grow in our
love for You - to obey Your Word, to do Your will, to walk in Your way.
Leviticus 9:1-10:20
Lord,
You are holy. We are sinners. You see our sin - and You keep on loving
us. We see Jesus - and we know that You will never stop loving us. Help
us, Lord, to confess our sin and to receive Your forgiveness. Lead us
out of our sin and into Your holiness - and help us to give all the
glory to You.
Leviticus 11:1-47
Lord,
we thank You that Your call to holiness begins with Your call to
salvation. We're not left to go it alone. You come to us. You come as
our Saviour. You take us as we are - but You don't leave us the way You
found us. You start changing us. You have great plans for us. You're
making us more like Your Son, Jesus. We trust Jesus. We receive His
salvation. Help us to follow Him, to be changed by Him, to become more
like Him.
Leviticus 12:1-13:46
Lord,
we thank You that the blood of Your Son, Jesus, cleanses us from all
sin (1 John 1:7). We come to the Cross of Christ in our failure. At the
Cross of Christ, we receive Your forgiveness. We bring our sin to the
Saviour. He gives to us His salvation. Bring us, Lord, out of the
darkness of our sin and into the light of Your salvation.
Leviticus 13:47-14:32
We
thank You, Lord, that "the vilest offender, who truly believes, that
moment, from Jesus, a pardon receives." By faith, we receive Your
forgiveness - but we never earn Your forgiveness. Forgiveness is always
Your gift. It's never a reward. By faith, we look away from ourselves.
We look to Jesus, our Saviour. We do not say, "How great is my faith."
We say, "How great is my Saviour."
Leviticus 14:33-15:33
Lord,
what are we to do about our sin? What can we do about it? It keeps on
spreading. We can't do anything about this. It just gets worse and
worse. What can be done about this? We can do nothing - but Jesus can do
something about it. He's our Saviour. He comes to us in love. He comes
to us in power. He forgives our sin. He gives us a new beginning. The
past is put behind us. Jesus leads us on to Your eternal glory.
Hallelujah! - "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our
eyes" (Psalm 118:23).
Leviticus 16:1-34
Lord,
we sing of Jesus, Your Son. He is "the man of sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3) -
but this does not make us sad. We look beyond His suffering. We see our
salvation. We sing of Your salvation. With joy, we sing to You -
"Hallelujah! What a Saviour!" We look at Jesus - and we ask the
question, "Full atonement - can it be?" We rejoice in Your answer -
"Full atonement - Yes it is!" What a perfect Saviour we have! What a
great salvation He has given to us! Help us, Lord, to say, in our
hearts, "God forbid that I should ever boast except in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14).
Leviticus 17:1-18:23
We
thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, died - so that we might live. He
was forsaken by You - so that we might live with You. We think of
Jesus, suffering for us - "In my place, condemned, He stood." We think
of the blessing that He brings to us: "Sealed my pardon with His
blood." Here-and-now, there's a song of praise, arising in our hearts
- but there's more than that: We look forward to the full glory of Your
heavenly and eternal glory: "When He comes, our glorious King, all His
ransomed home to bring, then anew this song we'll sing: Alleluia! What a
Saviour!"
Leviticus 18:24-19:37
Lord,
You are the God of perfect holiness. You are the God of perfect
love. You call us to a life of holiness. You call us to a life of love.
How are to live this life of holiness and love? We need the Holy Spirit -
the Spirit of love. Without Him, we cannot even begin to live this new
life - the life of holiness and love. We thank You, Lord, that You have
not left us to live this life in our own strength - "the Holy Spirit ...
lives in us" (2 Timothy 1:14).
Leviticus 20:1-27
Lord,
if we are to become holy, it must be Your doing - not our own
achievement. We come to our Saviour with our sin. We receive from Him
Your forgiveness - and the Spirit of holiness. Our past is put behind
us. Our sins are forgiven - and forgotten. You call us on into Your
future. We are being changed by Your love and Your holiness. We look
back at all that You have done for us - and we say, "To God be the
glory! Great things He has done." We look forward to all that You
will do for us - and we say, 'To God be the glory! There is more to
come - "much more" (Romans 5:10). The best is yet to be! (1 Corinthians
2:9).
Leviticus 21:1-22:16
Teach
us, Lord, that "every virtue we possess ... every victory won ... every
thought of holiness are Yours alone." Virtue, victory, holiness - Where
do these things come from? They come from You, Lord. "In ourselves,
there is no good thing" (Romans 7:18) - Our lives have been spoiled by
our sin. We thank You, Lord, that You haven't given up on us. You
haven't dismissed us as a lost cause. You keep on working in us,
changing us, making us more like Jesus.
Leviticus 22:17-23:44
Lord,
You call us to "worship You in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). Where
does true worship come from? - It comes from You. It comes from
Your Spirit. It comes from Your Truth. We read the Holy Scriptures - and
we begin to worship You. We open our hearts to the Holy Spirit - and
the spirit of praise grows stronger in us. We listen to the voice of our
Holy Saviour - and He leads in the pathway of true worship. True
worship comes from You: "Fill Thou our life, O Lord our God, in every
part with praise."
Leviticus 24:1-25:24
Lord,
we hear the questions, "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?" and
"Who shall stand in His holy place?" - and we say, 'This is too much for
us." We thank You, Lord, that there is Good News for us. There is One
who has ascended the hill of the Lord. There is One who stand in Your
holy place. Jesus has ascended the hill of the Lord. Jesus stands
in Your holy place. He has ascended Your holy hill - for us. He stands
in Your holy place - for us. He has "received blessing from You" - for
us (Psalm 24:3-5). When , Lord, we come to worship You, help us to come
in the Name of Jesus: Just as I am, without one plea but that Thy blood
was shed for me ... "
Leviticus 25:25-55
Teach
us, Lord, that what You have done for us is always so much greater than
anything we could ever do for You. You gave Your Son, Jesus, to be our
Saviour. Your Holy Spirit has come to live in our hearts. He's changing
us. He's making us more like Jesus. You give us the privilege of serving
You - sharing, with others, the wonderful love of Jesus. You've done so
much for us. You've given so much to us. What have we done to deserve
all of this? - Nothing! It's Your gift. We can only say, "Thank You,
Lord."
Leviticus 26:1-46
Lord,
help us never to think, "We are blessed because we are obedient." Help
us always to say, "We are blessed because You love us and Jesus died for
us." Your love for us, Jesus' death for us: This is where the blessing
comes from - and it's where our obedience comes from! We think of Your
great love for us. We think of Jesus, crucified for us. We say, "Lord,
You love me. Help me to love You." We say, "Jesus, You died for me. Help
me to live for You." This is how Your blessing comes to us - You show
us how much You love us, You put Your love into our hearts, the
obedience grows stronger - and so does the blessing!
Leviticus 27:1-34
What
great love, Lord, You have for us. There is no love like Your love for
us. It's the best love! What joy You give to us - the joy that comes
from knowing that we are loved with "everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3).
Help us, Lord, to rejoice in Your love, to be changed by Your love, to
share Your love. Your love: It's the best thing we could ever receive
from You - and it's the best thing we can pass on to other people!
____________________________
NUMBERS
Numbers 1:1-54
Living for You, Lord, is not easy. We
face determined opposition from Satan. He keeps coming back at us, again
and again. We thank You, Lord, that we do not stand against him in our
own strength. We stand in Your strength, in the victory of our risen
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Numbers 2:1-34
Lord,
we thank You for Your Word. You have spoken to us. You are still
speaking to us. It's Your Word that leads us on into Your future. Help
us to listen to what You are saying to us, to build our lives on Your
Word, to let Your Word flow out from us, to bring blessing to many.
Numbers 3:1-51
Before
we began to serve You, Lord, You were calling us to be Your servants.
Before we can serve You, we must be saved by You. We're saved to serve.
Help us, Lord, to receive Your salvation and to give ourselves in Your
service. Your salvation always comes first - never our service! Your
salvation never stands on its own - it leads to our service!
Numbers 4:1-49
Lord,
You're calling us to grow in Christ. You're calling us to be changed -
changed in our way of thinking, changed in our way of living. You're
calling us to be less self-centred - and more centred on You. May there
be less doing our own thing - and more following Jesus, less living in
the weakness of the flesh - and more living in the power of the Spirit.
Numbers 5:1-31
We
thank You, Lord, that Jesus, Your Son, has taken our sin upon Himself.
We thank You that He brings Your salvation to us. With Jesus as our
Saviour, we cannot remain the same as we were before we met Him. Jesus
changes us. He makes us new. Help us, Lord, to live in the power of this
new life which Jesus gives to us. Help us to live in His power - the
power of His love.
Numbers 6:1-27
Lord,
You call us to "be filled with Your Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18) - the
Spirit of holiness, the Spirit of love. You are the holy God, the loving
God - our holy Father, our loving Father. May there be, in us, the
family likeness. Help us to become more like You - more holy, more
loving.
Numbers 7:1-47
Lord,
You gave Your Son, Jesus - to be our Saviour. Help us to give ourselves
to You - to be Your servants. Jesus died for us. Help us to live for
Him. Help us never to forget His sacrifice - "Love so amazing, so
divine." May we be challenged by His sacrifice - "Love so amazing, so
divine, demands my soul, my life, my all." Help us to respond to His
sacrifice - "Love so amazing, so divine, shall have my soul, my life, my
all."
Numbers 7:48-89
Lord,
You speak to us. Help us to speak to You. You're speaking. Are we
listening? You're listening to us. Are we speaking to You? Your Word to
us is the call of love. You tell us that You love us. You're calling us
to love You. May our words (and our life) be our response to Your love -
"loving Him who first loved me."
Numbers 8:1-26
We
thank You, Lord, for Your Word. It's " a lamp to our feet and a light
to our path" (Psalm 119:105). As we read Your written Word, we hear the
voice of Jesus, Your living Word. Jesus speaks to us. He calls us out of
our darkness. He calls us into Your light. It's the light of Your
salvation. It's the light that changes everything. It's the light of
Your love.
Numbers 9:1-23
We
look back, Lord, to what You have done for us. We look forward to all
that You will do for us. We remember our Saviour, crucified for us. We
await our Saviour, coming for us. Fill our hearts, Lord, with
thanksgiving for all that You have done for us. In Your great love for
us, You have given to us Your great salvation. Fill our hearts with the
faith that faces the future with the confidence that Your love will
never fail us - You will lead us safely on to Your heavenly and eternal
glory.
Numbers 10:1-36
We
thank You, Lord, for Your Holy Spirit. He works in us to bring blessing
to us. He works through us to bring blessing to others. Without the
working of Your Spirit, there can be no blessing. May the "living
waters" of Your Spirit flow in our hearts and out from our hearts to
others to bring blessing to many (John 7:37-39).
Numbers 11:1-35
Lord,
we have begun to follow Jesus. Help us to keep on following Him. Again
and again, we are tempted to turn back, to return to the ways of this
world. Help us to keep on saying, "I have decided to follow Jesus - No
turning back. The world behind me, the Cross before me - No turning
back. If no-one joins me, still I will follow - No turning back."
Numbers 12:1-13:33
Lord,
we need Your Word of encouragement. Sometimes, our problems seem to be
so big. Help us to see that Your power is always greater than our
problems. When everything in us seems to be saying, "I can't", help us
to hear - and speak - the Word of faith, " I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
Numbers 14:1-45
Sometimes,
Lord, we wonder, "Is there any light at the end of the tunnel?" Help us
to hear Your answer - Yes. There is: "I will be with you. I will never
leave you" (Joshua 1:5). Strengthened by Your wonderful promises, help
us to rise up and face the future with the confidence that comes from
knowing that You are leading us on into Your glorious future: "eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
Numbers 15:1-41
We
thank You, Lord, that You are our God - the God of our salvation. You
have called us to be Your people. we have been saved by Your grace. Help
us to live for Your glory. May we always be learning to walk with You.
May we never forget to say of Jesus, Your Son: "Hallelujah! What a
Saviour!"
Numbers 16:1-50
Lord,
we are, so often, dragged down to the world's way of living. Again and
again, we fail to respond to "the upward call of God in Christ Jesus"
(Philippians 3:14). We fail to rise to the challenge of walking with You
on "the high way of holiness" (Isaiah 35:8). When we rejoice in Your
gift of forgiveness, help us, also, to choose the way of holiness.
Far
too often, Lord, we keep our distance from You. You're calling us into a
closer walk with You - but we draw back from You. You're seeking to
change us - but we're quite content to stay the way we are. Forgive us,
Lord, and deliver us from our self-centredness. Make us the kind of
people that You want us to become.
Numbers 17:1-18:32
We
look at ourselves, Lord - and our heads go down. Again and again, Lord,
we let You down - but You, Lord, never let us down. You lift us up.
When we fail You, help us to remember Your faithful love - and to be
lifted up into a life that is more faithful to You and more fruitful for
You.
Numbers 19:1-22
We
thank You, Lord, for Jesus - Your perfect Son, our perfect Saviour. In
ourselves, there is sin. In Jesus, there is salvation: forgiveness for
our guilty past, power for the challenges of our present - and glory,
with You, forevermore.
Numbers 20:1-29
We
thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus is "the same yesterday and today
and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). When everything around us seems to be
changing, help us to remember that Jesus, our Saviour, is unchanged,
unchanging and unchangeable in the great love that He has for us and the
amazing grace that He shows to us.
Numbers 21:1-35
We
thank You, Lord, for Your great salvation. Nothing comes from
ourselves: nothing but our sin - our need of Your salvation. Everything
comes from Jesus, our wonderful Saviour. Salvation is never our
achievement. It's always Your gift. Help us, Lord, to say with all our
heart, "To God be the glory!" Help us to thank You for Jesus, our
Saviour - He "opened the life-gate that all may go in." Help us to say,
"Praise the Lord."
Numbers 22:1-41
Help
us, Lord, to look, listen and learn. We look into Your Word. We listen
to what Your Word is saying to us.We look and we listen - so that we
might learn to love You more. Love for You - This, Lord, is what our
looking and listening are all about. What, Lord, have we learned if
we're not learning to love You more? Teach us, Lord, to love You - more
truly and more fully.
Numbers 23:1-30
Help
us, Lord, to listen to Your Word - and speak Your Word. Help us to
receive blessing from You - and to share Your blessing with others. You
don't speak Your Word to us - so that we can keep it to ourselves. Speak
to us, Lord - and speak through us.
Numbers 24:1-25
Lord,
we thank You for Your Holy Spirit. He leads us to Jesus, our Saviour
(John 15:26). Help us, Lord, to "hear what the Spirit is saying" to
us (Revelation 3:22). He calls us to hear the voice of Jesus - "Behold, I
stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the
door, I will come in to him ... "(Revelation 3:20). He calls us to
receive us the new life which begins, for each one of us, when we say,
"Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today. Come in to stay. Come
into my heart, Lord Jesus."
Numbers 25:1-26:22
Lord,
Your Word gives us a much-needed warning: "Don't let the world squeeze
you into its mould" (Romans 12:2). You're challenging us. You're asking
us a very disturbing question - "Are you becoming more like the world or
more like the Lord?" This is not only a disturbing question. It's a
life-changing question. Answering this question honestly - This is the
beginning of a better life, a life that brings more glory to You and
more blessing to us, a life more fully in line with the "good and
acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).
Numbers 26:23-65
Lord,
You call us to embrace good change - change that comes from You. You're
teaching us to say, with the Apostle Paul, "It's no longer I who live,
but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). Help us to say, with John
the Baptist, "I must decrease. Christ in me must increase" (John 3:30).
Numbers 27:1-23
Lord,
help us to put first things first. Giving glory to You is more
important than anything else. You must come first in our life. Help us
to "seek first Your Kingdom and Your righteousness" (Matthew 6:33).
Numbers 28:1-31
We
thank You, Lord, that Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, "died for our
sins" and was "raised" from death for us (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Help us
to rejoice in "the Good News" (1 Corinthians 15:1) of our Saviour. Help
us to hear Your great declaration concerning Jesus - "This is My
beloved Son with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). Help each of us
to say of Jesus - "This is my beloved Saviour with whom I am well
pleased."
Numbers 29:1-40
What
blessing comes to us when the Holy Spirit comes to us! We thank You,
Lord, for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Before the Holy Spirit can work
through us - to bring others to Christ, He must work in us - to make us
more like Christ. When, Lord, we pray for blessing, help us to pray for
"the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).
Numbers 30:1-31:20
If,
Lord, we are to live for You, we must learn to die to self: "Put to
death what is earthly in you ... put off the old nature .... put on the
new nature" (Colossians 3:5-11).When there is less of self in us and
more of Christ in us, there will be more blessing for others: "death is
at work in us, but life in you" (2 Corinthians 4:12).
Numbers 31:21-54
Lord,
You call us to be "soldiers of Christ" - to "fight the good fight of
faith" (2 Timothy 2:3-4; 1 Timothy 6:12). When "the battle is fierce",
help us to remember that "the victory is secure. The victory is secure -
What a great encouragement this is to us! It encourages us to keep
on going when we feel like giving up. When we feel like we're falling
down in the weakness of the flesh, Your victory encourages us to keep on
standing in Your strength (Ephesians 6:10-11).
Numbers 32:1-42
We
say, "We want to be happy." You, Lord, say to us, "What about being
holy?" Happiness is like 'the elusive butterfly." We try to catch it -
and it keeps on evading our grasp." Lord, how can we find true
happiness? Happiness comes to us when we are blessed by You, when we're
learning to take delight in Your Word: "Blessed is the person who ...
delights in the teachings of the Lord" How are we to enjoy the blessing
of true happiness? We find true happiness when we're learning to
rejoice in You, the God of our salvation, the God who leads us on
the Highway of Holiness" (Psalm 1:1-2; Isaiah 35:8). Help us, Lord, to
keep on taking the High Road - God-centred holiness. Help us never to be
content with the low road - self-centred happiness.
Numbers 33:1-49
Help
us, Lord, to put the past behind us. Help us to press on into Your
future. We learn from the past. Help us not live in the past. Help us,
Lord, to let the past be the past. Help us to make a new beginning with
You. Help us to move forward with You and for You (Philippians 3:13-14).
Numbers 33:50-34:29
We
thank You, Lord, that our determined enemy - Satan - is Your defeated
enemy. To us, the devil seems so powerful. In Your eyes, He is defeated -
defeated by Jesus, our crucified Saviour and risen Lord. Jesus has
triumphed over Satan. He has won the victory for us (1 John 3:8; Hebrews
2:14-15). Lord, Your Word says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from
you" (James 5:7). Will he really flee from us? He flees from Jesus -
but, surely, not from us? Have we not forgotten something? - Jesus won
the victory for us. He gives His victory to us. Help us to resist the
devil - in the victorious Name of Jesus. He will flee from us. Why?
Because Jesus is Lord over Satan. It's not us he's fleeing from. It's
Jesus. When the devil comes 'knocking on our door', help us to send
Jesus to the door - and send him packing!
Numbers 35:1-36:13
We
thank You, Lord, that the devil flees from us when we flee to Jesus.
What a precious promise is given to us in Your Word: "The Name of the
Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe"
(Proverbs 18:10). Who are "the righteous" - Surely, not us? We've failed
You so often. How can we be "the righteous"? Jesus Christ
is "righteous" - and He has died for our sins (1 John 2:1-2). This
changes everything - "There is therefore no condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). What a Saviour! What a victory over
Satan! Thank You, Jesus.
____________________________
DEUTERONOMY
Deuteronomy 1:1-46
Lord,
You call us with Your challenge. You call us to make our choice. We are
to put the past behind us. We are to press on into the future - with
You and for You. We hesitate - and we end up doing nothing. Help us,
Lord, to turn from our self-centred ways. Help us to walk with You in
Your way - the way of faith, the way of obedience.
Deuteronomy 2:1-37
We
thank You, Lord, that You are greater than all our problems. As we look
back on the way You've led us, help us to say, "Grace brought me safe
this far." As we look to You to lead us into the future, help us to say,
"Grace will lead me home." Thank You, Lord for Your "amazing grace."
Deuteronomy 3:1-29
Sometimes,
Lord, Your blessing seems to be "so near and yet so far." Help us,
Lord, as we seek Your blessing, to remember that it is never our own
achievement. It is always Your gift to us. We do not achieve victory in
our own strength. You give to us Your victory. When, Lord, we feel like
we are in a barren wilderness, help us to remember that the place of
testing can become the place of triumph - when we put our trust in You.
Deuteronomy 4:1-43
Lord,
You have saved us. Help us to serve You. In all our service, may we
never forget Your salvation. May we always serve You with "the attitude
of gratitude."
Deuteronomy 4:44-5:33
We
thank You, Lord, for the Scriptures. They lead us to our Saviour -
Jesus. The Scriptures speak to us of His suffering and our salvation.
When we think of all that Jesus has done for us, may we receive, from
You, the spirit of thanksgiving - joyful thanksgiving, heartfelt
thanksgiving.
Deuteronomy 6:1-25
Lord, we
are called to fear You - and to love You. We tend to think that fear
and love are opposites. You teach us something else, something very
different. Fear and love belong together. You are the holy God, the God
who cannot look upon our sin (Habakkuk 1:13). We fear You. You show us
our sin so that we might be brought to Jesus, our Saviour. We come to
Jesus. We learn how much You love us - and we begin to love You.
Deuteronomy 7:1-26
Lord,
living for You is not easy. We have a fight on our hands. Satan is a
determined enemy. Help us to remember that He's also a defeated enemy.
When the battle seems to be getting too much for us, help us to remember
that we are "kept by the power of God" (1 Peter 1:3-5).
Deuteronomy 8:1-9:21
We
thank You, Lord, that "we do not live by bread alone" (Deuteronomy
8:3). We need bread for the body. We also need Jesus, the Bread of Life
(John 6:35). Help us, Lord, not to become too easily satisfied by the
things of this world. Help us never to forget that we need Jesus.
Without Him, there will always be something missing. With Him, there
will be a new - eternal - sense of meaning, purpose and direction.
Deuteronomy 9:22-10:22
Help
us, Lord, to listen to You and live for You, to speak to You and speak
for You. Help us to receive from You and respond to You. Help us not to
get caught up in the "What do I get out of it?" way of thinking. Help us
to ask the more important question: "How can I give myself more fully
to You, Lord?"
Deuteronomy 11:1-32
Lord,
You give us Your promises and Your warnings. You show us the better way -
and You say to us, "Make sure that You don't go back to the old way of
living, back to the world's way of living, back to the way of life that
will never satisfy."
Deuteronomy 12:1-32
Who
chooses what is important to us? Is it You, Lord? or Are we the ones
who are in control? Help us, Lord, not to pay lip-service to You -
without really opening our hearts to You and giving You first place in
our lives.
Deuteronomy 13:1-14:21
Lord,
You are the God of love. You are also the God of holiness. We like to
hear about Your love. It makes us feel good. We're not so keen on
hearing about Your holiness. You are the holy God. You are the God who
calls us to be holy. Help us, Lord, not to be content with the
half-truth, contained in the words, "All you need is love." We do need
love - but we also need holiness. Help us to "strive ... for the
holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
Deuteronomy 14:22-15:23
Lord,
You call us to belong to You. This is wonderful. It makes our hearts
glad. You also call us to serve You. We're not to remain what we were
before we became Your redeemed people. We're to be renewed - "beholding
the glory of the Lord, we are being changed into His likeness from one
degree of glory to another" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Deuteronomy 16:1-17:13
Lord,
we celebrate Your love. We rejoice in Your salvation. Your love is a
dying love. We see Your love in the death of Jesus, our Saviour. It's
also an undying love. It's the only love that never dies. It never comes
to an end. It's eternal love, shown to us in the sacrificial death of
"the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
Deuteronomy 17:14-18:22
Help
us, Lord, to be obedient to Your Word. Help us, in our obedience, to
remain humble. How can we possibly bring glory to You if we're thinking
about how obedient we are when we should be rejoicing in the great love
by which You have saved us and the great power by which You keep us
walking in the way of faith? Even when we're pressing on to a closer
walk with You, help us never to forget this: "Who is a God like You,
forgiving sin ... " (Micah 7:18-20).
Deuteronomy 19:1-20:9
By
Your grace, Lord, You call us to be Your soldiers and servants. Help us
not to be "fearful and fainthearted" (Deuteronomy 19:19). Help us to be
"good soldiers of Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:3). When we hear your
challenging question: "Who is on the Lord's side?", may we give our
committed answer: "By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divine, we are on
the Lord's side; Saviour, we are Thine."
Deuteronomy 20:10-21:23
We
thank You, Lord, for Your amazing love - "while we were Your enemies we
were reconciled to You by the death of Your Son" (Romans 5:10); "Once
we were no people but now we are Your people; once we had not received
mercy but now we have received mercy" (1 Peter 2:10).
Deuteronomy 22:1-30
Help
us, Lord, to be caring people. Where does this love for one another
come from? It comes from Your love for us. Where there is a growing
appreciation of Your love for us, there will be an increasing commitment
to sharing Your love with others. Help us to love people without loving
the ways of those who "live as enemies of the Cross of Christ"
(Philippians 3:18). May our love for them be a true expression of Your
love for them. May it call them to return to You, to be forgiven by You,
to make a new beginning with You.
Deuteronomy 23:1-25
Show
us, Lord, what we really are - without You. Make us, more truly and
more fully, what You want us to become - by Your saving grace. Fill us
with Your holiness - and fill us with Your love. You've lifted us out of
our sin and into Your salvation. This is Your doing. It's not our own
achievement. we're called to be Your holy people - but we dare not
imagine that we're better than everyone else. We're set apart for You -
but we must never forget that we'll never be anything more than sinners,
saved by Your grace. Your love has reached. Your love changes us. Make
us more like Jesus - walking with You on the pathway of holiness and
reaching out, in love, to others, inviting them to receive the Saviour's
love and respond to His call: "Follow Me" (Matthew 4:19).
Deuteronomy 24:1-25:29
We
thank You, Lord, that You love us. We thank You that You have done
great things for us. We think of Your great love. We think of all that
You have done for us - and we say, "To God be the glory."
Deuteronomy 26:1-27:10
Lord,
You have saved us. You call us, now, to live in obedience to Your Word.
Teach us Your way, Lord, and help us to walk in it. May the light of
Your love shine upon us. May Your love for us fill us with more love for
You.
Deuteronomy 27:11-28:24
Lord,
You speak to us Your Word of warning - and Your promise of blessing.
You call us back from the way of disobedience - and on to the pathway of
obedience and blessing. Where does the blessing come from? Does it come
from our obedience? No! It comes from Your love. It comes from Your
promise. Your love reaches us in our sin. Your blessing increases in us
as we learn to turn from our sin and give You first place in our lives.
Deuteronomy 28:25-68
Why,
Lord, do You speak to us the Word of warning and the promise of
blessing? There is a good way to which we must turn - and there's also a
bad way from which we turn. How can we really appreciate and embrace
the good way if we do not see the clear contrast between the good way
and the bad way? Help us, Lord, to choose the good way - to choose
Jesus, who is "the Way, the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6).
Deuteronomy 29:1-29
Lord,
Your Word speaks to us about the "secret things" and "the things that
are revealed" (Deuteronomy 29:29). There are some "things" that we will
never understand. These "things" belong to You, Lord. Help us to focus
our attention on "the things that are revealed", the teaching that comes
to us from "the holy Scriptures", the Gospel which brings us to Jesus,
our Saviour - calling us to put our faith in Him and live in obedience
to Him (2 Timothy 3:14-17).
Deuteronomy 30:1-31:13
Lord,
You are not a god who keeps his distance from us. You are not a god who
keeps his silence.You come near to us. You speak Your Word to us
(Deuteronomy 30:11-14). How do we know that You are near to us? How do
we know that You speak Your Word to us? Jesus is "God with us" (Matthew
1:23). He is "the Word made flesh" (John 1:14). Thank You for Jesus - He
comes near to us and He speaks to us. Help us, Lord, to treasure His
presence and to respond to His Word.
Deuteronomy 31:14-32:18
We
sing to You, Lord. We sing our song of praise. It's the song of Your
salvation. It's the song that gives glory to You. May our song of praise
be more than words. May it be the song that arises from our hearts. May
it be the song that comes from lives that are being transformed by Your
grace.
Deuteronomy 32:19-33:17
Lord,
You speak to us the Word of condemnation. You tell us that we are "a
perverse generation" You tell us that "You will hide Your face from us"
(Deuteronomy 32:20). You also speak to us the Word of compassion - "The
Lord will ... have compassion on His servants, when He sees their power
is gone" (Deuteronomy 32:26). Help us, Lord, to hear the Word of
condemnation - to know that "our power has gone", so that we can hear
the Word of compassion, the Word that comes to us in our weakness, the
Word that brings us into Your strength - "a new creation in Jesus
Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Deuteronomy 33:18-34:12
We
thank You, Lord, that You are "the eternal God." You are "our Refuge."
You hold us in Your "everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27). This doesn't
mean that life will be easy for us - but it does mean that You will be
with us - whatever happens, and You'll never let us down. You'll always
be there for us. You are "for us" - whatever problems we may have to
face, may we learn to say, with triumphant faith, "If God is for us, who
can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).
__________________________
JOSHUA
Joshua 1:1-18
We
thank You, Lord, that we have Your wonderful promise - "The Lord your
God is with you" - as well as Your clear command - "Be strong" (Joshua
1:9). Without Your promise, the command is no use. Again and again, we
fail to keep Your commands. Again and again, we need to be reassured.
You are still with us. This is what we need to hear. This is where our
strength comes from. It comes from Your promise. It comes from knowing
that You never fail us. You have never failed us. You never will fail
us.
Joshua 2:1-24
Help
us, Lord, to "give a friendly welcome" (Hebrews 11:31). What a
difference the friendly welcome makes! It's the word of encouragement
that makes us feel loved. It's the act of kindness that lets us know
that love is more than words. Lord, You are our Father. Help us to be
like You - "when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (Luke
15:20). What amazing grace! Before the confession of sin - "Father, I
have sinned... " (Luke 15:21), there is the friendly welcome. It's Your
grace that inspires our confession of sin. It's Your grace that leads us
into the joy of Your forgiveness. It's not only joy for us. It's joy
for You - "my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is
found. And they began to celebrate" (Luke 15:24).
Joshua 3:1-17
Help
us, Lord, to be active for You - "the people who know their God will be
strong and take action" (Daniel 11:32) - and to wait upon You - "those
who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31). We
need both - prayer and action, seeking Your will and doing Your will.
Give us wisdom to know Your will, and courage to do Your will.
Joshua 4:1-24
Lord,
You have blessed us so much. Help us never to forget this. We look at
the world You have made for us - and we say, "Thank You, Lord." We look
at the Saviour You have sent to us - and we say, "Thank You, Lord." Why
must we keep on remembering You? - We "remember" so that we might learn
to fear You (Joshua 4:23-24). We remember so that we may have hope for
the future - "times of refreshing" (Acts 3:19).
Joshua 5:1-15
Lord,
we thank You that Your Son, Jesus, comes to us as more than our
personal Saviour. He comes to us as the "commander of the army of the
Lord" (Joshua 5:14). We thank You that "Christ, the Royal Master, leads
against the foe." We thank You that He leads us "on to victory." Help us
to be His faithful followers on His pathway of victory.
Joshua 6:1-27
We
thank You, Lord, that victory comes from You - "I have handed Jericho
over to you" (Joshua 6:2). Help us to receive Your victory by faith -
"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down" (Hebrews 11:30). We don't
achieve this victory in our own strength. You give us Your promise of
victory. Help us to believe Your promise - to receive the victory as
Your gift, to stand upon Your promise and claim the victory that You
give to us.
Joshua 7:1-26
Help
us, Lord, to take sin seriously. The world tells us that it doesn't
matter how we live. Your Word tells us that it does matter how we live.
Help us to think about our way of living. Help us to be honest with
ourselves - to be honest with You: Are we living to please ourselves -
or to bring glory to You?
Joshua 8:1-35
Help
us, Lord, to do Your work in Your way - believing Your promise and
obeying Your command (Joshua 8:7-8). How are we to do Your work in Your
way? We must read "all that is written in Your book" - the strong
warnings that call us back from the way of sin, and the precious
promises that lead us on in the way of holiness.
Joshua 9:1-10:15
When
we're following You, Lord, Satan is never very far away. He's always
looking for ways of tripping us up and leading us away from You. Help
us, Lord, to remember that You are stronger than Satan. Here-and-now,
Satan has his successes - but he will not win the final victory. He will
be defeated (Revelation 20:10) - and it will be clear to all that You
are "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Revelation 19:16).
Joshua 10:16-11:15
We
thank You, Lord, that we do not fight against Satan in our own
strength. You fight for us (Joshua 10:42). Victory is never our own
achievement. It is always Your gift: "Thanks be to God who gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57).
Joshua 11:16-12:24
Where
does victory come from? Does it come from ourselves? No! It comes from
You, Lord. You give us the victory. We give You the glory: "To God be
the glory! Great things He has done. So loved He the world that He gave
us His Son ... Praise the Lord!"
Joshua 13:1-14:25
You
call us, Lord, to "lead a life worthy of Your calling" (Ephesians 4:1).
We say, 'I can't.' You say to us, "I have blessed you, in Christ, with
every spiritual blessing" (Ephesians 1:3). Why we do allow our lives to
be controlled by our own weakness when we can be transformed by Your
strength? Help us, Lord, to think of all that You have given to us, in
Christ, and to rise up, with new strength - Your strength - to live for
You day-by-day.
Joshua 15:1-63
We
thank You, Lord, for Your gift of the Holy Spirit. In Him, You give to
us "rivers of living water" (John 7:37-39). How are these "rivers of
living water" to flow in us and through us? - We need less of this world
- "Do not be conformed to this world" - and more of Your Word - "Be
transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Romans 12:2).
Joshua 16:1-17:18
When,
Lord, we settle for anything less than Your very best, we miss out on
Your blessing - and we have no blessing to pass on to other people. Help
us, Lord, to move out of complacency and into commitment, out of the
'No' attitude - 'no time for You, Lord' - and into the 'Yes' actions -
"Yes, Lord, I will follow You, I will serve You."
Joshua 18:1-19:51
Lord,
we like to take it easy. We like to have a comfortable life. We don't
want to be too committed. We've become half-hearted. Where does this
apathy come from? Does it come from You? Are You not calling us to be
whole-hearted? Lord, lift us out of a life pf paying lip-service to You
and into a life of being changed by Your love and Your power.
Joshua 20:1-21:45
We
thank You, Lord, that Your love goes on and on. We may stop loving You -
but You will never stop loving us. What a wonderful love You have for
us. There is no love like Your love. Thank You, Lord, for Your love.
Joshua 22:1-34
Help
us, Lord, to hear Your Word, to speak Your Word, and to live Your Word.
You speak to us. Are we listening? There are people who need to hear
Your Word. Do we fail them? Do we keep Your Word to ourselves? the world
is watching us. Are we living for You? In our hearing, speaking and
living, help us, Lord, to be, more truly and more fully, all that You
want us to be.
Joshua 23:1-16
Lord,
You have done great things for us. You are still doing great things for
us. You will continue to do great things for us. When we say, "Thank
You, Lord, for Your many blessings", help us never to take Your blessing
for granted. Help us to keep on living in obedience to Your Word. Help
us to see, more clearly, the vital connection between obedience and
blessing: Keep the obedience going, and the blessing will keep on
coming.
Joshua 24:1-33
Help
us, Lord, to mean what we say, and say what we mean. May our words of
faith by backed up by a life of faith. In our life of faith, may we be
unashamed to say, "I'm living this way because I love Jesus. It's not
about me. It's about Jesus. He's changing me - "It is no longer I who
live but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).
____________________________
JUDGES
Judges 1:1-2:5
When things are going well, help us, Lord, to thank You. When things are going badly, help us to trust You.
Judges 2:6-3:11
Sometimes,
Lord, You say to us, "This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21).
Sometimes, You say to us, "This is not the way. Do not walk in it." Help
us, Lord, to walk in Your way - and not in the way of the world.
Judges 4:1-5:11
Lord, may there be less trying to get our own way - and more walking in Your way.
Judges 6:11-7:14
We are weak. You are strong. Teach us, Lord, to look beyond our weakness to Your strength.
Judges 7:15-8:35
We
find it so easy, Lord, to forget You and all that You have done for us.
We feel the pull of the world - drawing us back to what we were before
we met You, drawing us away from all that You are calling us to become.
Give us grace, Lord, to remember You, to rejoice in You, and to be
renewed by You.
Judges 9:1-49
Lord, there
are two ways of living - the self-centred way and the God-centred way.
Show us, Lord, that Your way is always the best way.
Judges 9:50-11:11
You
call us, Lord, to get real with You, to mean what we say. We're not to
say one thing, and do something else. We say, I will follow You, Lord."
Help us to remember what we have said - and help us to remember what
Jesus said, "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20).
Judges 11:12-12:15
Lord,
we don't go out looking for problems - but, sometimes, we can't avoid
them. Help us, Lord, to turn obstacles into opportunities. When we're on
the verge of collapse, may Your grace lead us on to spiritual growth.
Judges 13:1-14:9
Lord,
may our lives be an echo of the words of Jesus: "The Spirit of the Lord
God is upon Me ... " (Luke 4:18-19). We look at what we are, and we
ask, "How can we become more like Jesus?" It begins with the death of
Jesus - "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
It continues with the gift of the Holy Spirit - "the Holy Spirit has
been given to us" (Romans 5:5). we look at Jesus, our Saviour. We look
at the Holy Spirit. What do we see? we see Your love(Romans 5:8 and
Romans 5:5). It's Your love that changes us. It's Your love that makes
us more like Jesus.
Judges 14:10-16:3
Lord, we
thank You that our lives are not controlled by what we are. They are
transformed by what You are. We are sinners. You are the God of grace,
Shall our sin triumph over Your grace? - "God forbid!" (Romans 6:1-2).
"Sin shall not have dominion over us" (Romans 6:14). Your grace has
brought us forgiveness. May it also bring us renewal: "The fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).
Judges 16:4-31
Lord,
we find ourselves somewhere between tragedy and triumph. We look at
ourselves - and we see our potential for tragedy. When we forget about
You, we're like a runaway train - out of control and heading for a big
crash. When, Lord, You take control, everything changes. You turn things
around. You set us on the road to triumph: "Thanks be to God who always
leads us to triumph in Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Judges 17:1-18:13
Lord,
it's not easy to keep on praying, "Your will be done." Our will gets in
the way. We start thinking about what we want - and we forget about
what You want. We try to get the best of both worlds - pleasing You and
pleasing ourselves. We become "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of
God" (2 Timothy 3:4). Help us to become more like Jesus; "I seek not My
own will but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 5:30).
Judges 18:14-19:30
Help
us, Lord, to "be still, and know that You are God" (Psalm 46:10) - but
help us not to remain silent when we should be speaking up for You: "If
you confess with your mouth , 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).
Judges 20:1-28
Even
when we get ourselves into a right mess, You're still in control. You
are Lord. Nothing changes that. we wonder, "Can things be turned
around?" You say to us, "Yes. They can." You say to us, "It's not all
about you. I am there with you. I have never left you. I'm not going to
leave you now. Trust Me. Let My love give you the strength that you need
to keep on going, when the going gets tough."
Judges 20:29-21:25
Lord,
we read, in Your Word, that "every man did what was right in his own
eyes" (Judges 21:25) - and it seems like we are reading a description of
today's world. We look around us, and we see so little love for You.
Your Son is "despised and rejected by men" (Isaiah 53:3). Our Saviour is
"ignored" (Hebrews 2:3). We seem to hear nothing but bad news. Is there
any good news? Do You have something to say to us - something to lift
us out of our darkness and into Your light? we thank You, Lord, that
there is Good News - Jesus is "the Light of the world" (John 8:12). Help
us, Lord, to pray that the light of Jesus will shine more brightly
in our world. Help us to pray for revival - and help us to begin with
ourselves: "O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee. Send a revival. Start
the work in me" (J. Edwin Orr, "Search me, O God").
_____________________________
RUTH
Ruth 1:1-2:23
Sometimes,
Lord, it seems to us that some things just happen by chance. You're
saying to us, "No. It's more than that." You are working in us. You are
showing us Your love. Day-by-day, You are showing us that You are the
faithful God. You are the God of "amazing grace." Help us to say more
than "These things just happened." Help us to say, "God has blessed us.
Thank You, Lord."
Ruth 3:1-4:22
Thank
You, Lord, that Jesus has become one of us. He's come down to this
earth for us - and He's gone to the Cross for us. He came from heaven -
and He's taking us to heaven. He has taken our sin - and He's given us
His forgiveness. When we think of Jesus - all that He has done for us,
all that He is doing for us, all that He will do for us, may our hearts
be filled with praise to You, the God of our salvation.
________________________
1 SAMUEL
1 Samuel 1:1-28
We
come to You, Lord, with sadness. You give us gladness. How does this
gladness come to us? It comes to us when we stand upon Your Word, when
we believe Your promises. Our life is not controlled by our feelings -
the feelings that drag us down, the feelings that pull us away from You.
Your promises lift us out of these feelings. They lift us into Your
presence. They assure us of Your love. They lead us into Your blessing.
Thank You, Lord, for Your promises and Your presence, Your love and Your
blessing.
1 Samuel 2:1-36
Lord,
there are two ways of living. There's the way of holiness and joy, the
way of living in the strength of Your Spirit. There's the way of living
to please ourselves, living without the joy that comes from You, living
in the weakness of the flesh. Help us, Lord, to keep on choosing Your
way, and not to persist in going our own way and doing our own thing.
1 Samuel 3:1-4:22
"Here
I am, Lord ... I have heard You calling in the night. I will go, Lord
... I will hold Your people in my heart" (Daniel L. Schutte). Lord, You
come to us. You come with Your Word. It is a Word for ourselves. It is a
Word for others. We receive Your Word. We share Your Word. Glorify Your
Name, Lord - in us and through us.
1 Samuel 5:1-6:16
Lord,
You are the true God, the living God, the everlasting God (Jeremiah
10:10). You are our Saviour (Isaiah 43:11). Speak to us Your truth.
Breathe into us Your life. As Jesus draws near to us, help us to trust
Him and be led by Him on the pathway to Your eternal glory.
1 Samuel 6:17-7:17
"Holiness,
holiness, the only life that the Lord will bless" (Don Francisco).
Lord, You are the holy God. You call us to be holy. The way of holiness
is the way of blessing. Help us, Lord, to walk with You in Your way -
the way of holiness, the way of blessing.
1 Samuel 8:1-9:10
Lord,
You are the King. There is no king like You. No human king can even
begin to compare with You - the divine King, the "King of kings"
(Revelation 19:16). We lift to You our song of praise: "O worship the
King, all glorious above. O gratefully sing, His power and His love."
1 Samuel 9:11-10:16
"Praise
to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation! O my soul, praise Him,
for He is thy health and salvation!" When, Lord, we say that You are
the great King, may we not think only of the greatness of Your power.
May we think also of the greatness of Your love.
1 Samuel 10:17-11:15
"Praise,
my soul, the King of heaven; To His feet thy tribute bring. Ransomed,
healed, restored, forgiven, who like thee His praise should sing?" No
earthly king could ever bless us the way You, Lord, have blessed us.
What a great Saviour You have given to us! Jesus is greater than any
earthly king. He does for us what no earthly king could ever do for us.
He brings us into Your everlasting Kingdom.
1 Samuel 12:1-13:15a
We
thank You, Lord, that You speak to us the right Word at the right time.
Sometimes, we need to hear Your Word of promise. Sometimes, we need to
hear Your Word of warning. Assure us, Lord, that, in all life's changing
circumstances, "Your grace is always sufficient for us" (2 Corinthians
12:9).
1 Samuel 13:15b-14:23
Is
there any hope for us, Lord? Sometimes, we wonder. It seems like we're
in a dark hole - and we can't get out! Then, Lord, You come to us. You
say to us, "I am the God of hope, I will fill you with hope (Romans
15:13). In ourselves, there is no hope. With You, there is real hope.
Our future is in safe hands - "The eternal God is your refuge, and
underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27).
1 Samuel 14:24-52
"We
all make mistakes. If any one makes no mistakes ... he is a perfect
man" (James 3:2). Lord, there is only one perfect Man - Jesus. When we
get it wrong, help us to look to Him - to put it right, to make us
right. Our difficulties may not disappear, but, with Jesus on our side,
we will rise above them.
1 Samuel 15:1-35
Again
and again, Lord, we take the easy way out. We avoid conflict. We side
with evil, when we should be choosing good. Why are we like this? -
We've always been like this. It's the story of our life. It's
everybody's story. Can we be changed? We'll never be perfect, but we can
begin to triumph over evil. Help us, Lord, to begin with You, to
receive Your strength - strength to do good rather than evil.
1 Samuel 16:1-23
"Spirit
of the living God, fall afresh on me. Break me, melt me, mould me, fill
me" (Daniel Iverson). Lord, it's Your Spirit who makes the difference.
He changes us. We lose heart. He gives us new strength. We feel like
giving up. He keeps us going on. Thank You, Lord, for Your Holy Spirit.
Lead us out of our emptiness and into Your fullness.
1 Samuel 17:1-58
Often,
Lord, we feel like David - facing Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Everything
seems too much for us. Was Goliath too much for David? He wasn't too
much for You - and You were on David's side. We're not alone. Help us to
remember this. When we feel weak, help us to remember that You are
strong - and Your strength has been given to us. Thank You, Lord.
1 Samuel 18:1-20
What
a difference there is between the love of power and the power of love.
The world is all about the love of power. You, Lord, are all about the
power of love. Your power is never power without love. Your love is
powerful love. Fill us with Your power - and help us to give glory to
You, the God of loving power and powerful love.
1 Samuel 19:1-24
What
are the most important things in our lives? Why are they so important
to us? Everything revolves around ourselves, Lord. We forget about You.
Call us back, Lord - back from the brink, back from "the broad way that
leads to destruction" (Matthew 7:13). Call us into "safety, certainty
and enjoyment" (George Cutting) - saved by You, assured of Your
salvation, enjoying Your salvation.
1 Samuel 20:1-42
Where
does true love come from? It comes from You, Lord. It comes from Your
love. Give us real love. Give us Your love. When we know that we are
loved by You, our love will grow strong - our love for You, our love for
one another, our love for people who need You.
1 Samuel 21:1-22:23
Deliver
us, O Lord, from religion without compassion. We don't want to be
Pharisees. We want to be followers of Jesus. Give us compassion - but
may it always be compassion without compromise. Help us not to sacrifice
truth and righteousness for the sake of relevance. Help us "to be the
best that we can be for truth and righteousness and Thee." Help us to
see what relevance really is. Help us to see where relevance really
comes from. It doesn't just emerge out of our own minds, our own
creativity. It's based on truth. We didn't create truth - and we don't
create relevance. "Your Word is truth" (John 17:17). Your Word is
relevant - because it is truth: truth unchanged, unchanging and
unchangeable. Lord, help us to be faithful to Your truth - and help us
to care for people who need to be set free by Your truth, set free by
Your Son (John 8:32,36).
1 Samuel 23:1-29
Help
us, Lord, to be honest with You. Do we want to get our own way or to
do Your will? Set us free from the self-centred illusion that You will
always support us in everything that we decide to do. Help us to see
that there's a great difference between 'what I want' and 'what You
want.' Teach us to choose Your will rather than our own will.
1 Samuel 24:1-22
Help
us, Lord, never to imagine that we can ever hope to be fruitful for You
if we are not committed to being faithful to You. Help us, Lord, to be
more than people who serve You. Help us to be people who love You. May
we serve You because we love You. May we love You because "You first
loved us" (1 John 4:19).
1 Samuel 25:1-44
Life
is full of surprises. Sometimes, Lord, these surprises come from You -
blessings that fill our hearts with your joy. Sometimes, the surprises
come from Satan. He's trying to catch us off guard. He's trying to trip
us up. He's trying to lead us away from You. Help us to turn Satan's
surprises into Your surprises. When Satan comes to tempt us, to draw us
away from You, help us to face him in Your strength. Help us to tell him
that You were there before he arrived on the scene. - You are the
eternal God. Help us to tell Satan that You are still here - the God who
is with us to bless us, the God who is living in us to give us Your
victory over Satan.
1 Samuel 26:1-25
Lead
us, Lord, in the way of true wisdom - "the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10). How foolish we are when we choose
to go our own way rather than walking in Your way. Help us, Lord, to
choose Christ every day - "O happy day, that fixed my choice on Thee, my
Saviour and my God ... That vow renewed shall daily hear."
1 Samuel 27:1-28:2
What
a difference there is between fear - "I shall now perish one day by the
hand of Saul" - and faith - "The Lord will deliver me from the hand of
the Philistine" (1 Samuel 27:1; 1 Samuel 17:37). Sometimes, fear,
sometimes faith - this was the story of David's life. It's the story of
our life. How, Lord, are we to overcome fear? How are we to grow strong
in faith? It's Your "perfect love that casts out fear." It's Your love
that makes us strong in faith and gives us the victory (1 John 4:18-19; 1
John 5:4-5). Lord, fill our hearts with Your love. May there be, in us,
more faith and less fear.
1 Samuel 28:3-25
Help
us, Lord, to take sin seriously - "Be sure your sin will find you out"
(Numbers 32:23). Help us to take Your salvation even more seriously.
Help us to believe that the story of our life is more than the story of
our sin. It's also the story of Your salvation. When we are deeply aware
of our sin, may we become even more deeply appreciative of Your promise
of salvation: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts
16:31).
1 Samuel 29:1-30:15
When, Lord,
things are going badly, we start feeling sorry for ourselves - when we
should be getting strengthened by You. You are "our strength and our
shield." You give us Your "strength" and Your "peace" (Psalm 28:7-8;
Psalm 29:10-11). Give to us the peace that comes to us from knowing that
we are not alone. May we not fall down in our weakness. May we stand up
in Your victory.
1 Samuel 30:16-31:13
Far
too easily, Lord, we accept defeat - when You're leading us on into
Your victory. What's wrong with us? It's sin. That's our problem. It
never goes away, this problem of ours - but we don't have to fight
against it in our own strength. Our sin may seem to be inevitable -
"That's the way I am. That's the way I've always been. That's the way
I'll always be." Our sin isn't invincible. Jesus triumphed over sin.
That's what He did when He died for us and rose again. Jesus won the
victory for us. He gives His victory to us. Help us, Lord, to receive
His strength, to walk in His victory, and to say. "This is the Lord's
doing; it is marvellous in our eyes" (Psalm 118:23).
______________________
2 SAMUEL
2 Samuel 1:1-27
So
often, Lord, we start out well - and then something goes wrong. Our
heads go down. We lose our way. We fall away from You. Where does this
spirit of defeat, this spirit of giving up, come from? - It comes from
Satan. He sweeps in. He sweeps us off our feet. He sweeps us away from
You. When Satan attacks us, help us, Lord, to remember Your promise: You
are "able to keep us from falling" (Jude 24-25). Help us to hear Your
Word: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in
weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
2 Samuel 2:1-32
There
are times, Lord, when we need to start all over again. We need to make a
new beginning with You. We've wandered away from You - and we wonder if
You'll have us back again. Help us, Lord, to know, in our hearts, that
You never lose patience with us. Your love for us remains constant, even
when we're "in the far country" of our sin (Luke 15:13). You're always
waiting for us to return to You. Our returning to You is not
insignificant. It is important. How can we enter into Your blessing if
we refuse to return to You? When we think about our returning to You,
help us never to forget that it is never any more than a response to
Your coming to us - "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10).
2 Samuel 3:1-39
Our
sin is sad. Our sin is shameful. Can anything be done about our sin?
When, Lord, we think about our sin, help us to remember this: You have
done something about our sin. Our sin threatens to overwhelm us. we feel
like we're going down. We don't have a chance. we can't do anything
about it. We can't - but You can! You can - because You have! When Jesus
died and rose again, He triumphed over sin. He won the victory for us.
That was a long time ago - but it's still the reason we believe that
Your triumph can become real in us and through us. What You did then,
You can still do now. You raised Jesus from the dead. Give us Your
strength to "walk with You in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).
2 Samuel 4:1-5:25
Lord,
there are bad things happening to us, things that we wish weren't
happening. Sometimes, all of this gets us down. We wonder, "Who really
cares about us? Is there anybody out there - anybody who's really
interested?" We thank You, Lord, that there is an answer to our
question. It's not an answer that comes from the human side. It's an
answer that comes from above, an answer that comes from You. It's the
answer of Your love. You love us in the good times. You love us in the
bad times. Thank You, Lord.
2 Samuel 6:1-23
Give
to us, Lord, Your joy - "The joy of the Lord is our strength" (Nehemiah
8:10). When the devil tries to tear away our joy from us, help us to
remind him that Jesus died and rose again so that we might have true and
lasting joy. Help us to remind him of Jesus' words: "In the world
you'll have trouble. But cheer up! I have overcome the world" (John
16:33).
2 Samuel 7:1-29
Life
isn't easy. Sometimes, it seems like there are nothing but hard times.
There doesn't seem to be alight at the end of the tunnel. That's the way
it feels - but it's not the way it is! Our feelings will lead us away
from You - if we let them! Our feelings can run riot over us. They can
wreck our lives. Help us, Lord, to look beyond the chaos. Help us to
look to You. Sometimes, it feels like You're far away. That's the way it
seems to us - but it's not the way it really is! You are with us - now
and always (Matthew 1:23; Matthew 28:20).
2 Samuel 8:1-9:13
"The
Lord gave victory to David wherever he went" (2 Samuel 8:6,14). Help
us, Lord, never to forget where the victory comes from. It comes from
You. It's Your victory - and You give it to us. You direct our attention
away from ourselves. You direct our attention to Jesus. He says to us,
"Without Me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5). This is a warning to us.
We must not try to live in our own strength. Help us to look to Jesus -
and to say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
(Philippians 4:13).
2 Samuel 10:1-11:27
"May
the Lord do what seems good to Him" (2 Samuel 10:12). Lord, this is the
way it should be. We should be saying, "Not my will but Yours be done"
(Matthew 26:39). It's the way things should be - but it's not the way
things are. Often, we make wrong choices. we choose our own way rather
than Your way. Help us, Lord, to sop trying to get our own way. Help us
to start walking in Your way. Help us to say, "As for God, His way is
perfect" (2 Samuel 22:31; Psalm 18:30).
2 Samuel 12:1-31
You,
Lord, convict us of our sin - "You are the man" (2 Samuel 12:7). We
confess our sin to You - "I have sinned against the Lord" (2 Samuel
12:13). Conviction of sin always comes before confession of sin. How
could we confess that we are sinners if You do not show us that we are
sinners? You forgive our sin - "the Lord has taken away your sin" (2
Samuel 12:13). You lead us in the way of Your salvation - "washed ...
anointed .... changed he went into the house of the Lord and worshipped"
(2 Samuel 12:20). What blessing comes to those who confess their sin.
You lead us to confess our sin. From there, You lead us into Your
forgiveness. You lead us into the fullness of Your salvation. Thank You,
Lord.
2 Samuel 13:1-39
Sometimes,
Lord, it seems like You have left us. We feel like we're looking for
You, but we're not finding You. We ask, "Where have You gone?" - then we
start thinking, "Have you really left us?" or "Are we the ones who have
wandered away from You?" Call us back to Yourself, Lord. Show us where
we've gone wrong. Lift us above our changeable feelings into Your
unchangeable love. Show us that You're beside us every step of the way -
especially when we find it difficult to feel that You're really with
us.
2 Samuel 14:1-33
We
thank You, Lord, that You love us - and You forgive us. What a
difference that makes! There are times when we feel unloved. We wonder,
"How could You possibly forgive us?" When we feel like this, help us to
remember that Jesus died for us. When we see ourselves in the light of
the cross of Christ, our great Saviour, how can we keep on feeling
unloved and unforgiven? Take us, Lord, to the cross. Show us Your love.
Show us our Saviour, suffering for us. Show us our Saviour, praying for
us: "Father, forgive them ..." (Luke 23:34).
2 Samuel 15:1-37
Who
are we trying to please? Are we trying to please You, Lord? or Are we
trying to please other people? Are we more interested in getting what we
want or doing what You want? These, Lord, are searching questions. They
call us to be honest with ourselves, to be honest with You. Help us,
Lord, to see ourselves the way we really are. Help us to pray for
change, real change, change in our hearts, change in our lives, change
that brings blessing to us, change that brings glory to You.
2 Samuel 16:1-23
'He's
a great guy.' We like it when people say this kind of thing about us.
It makes us feel good about ourselves. What do You think of us, Lord?
Yours is the one opinion that really matters. What does it mean to be
truly 'great'? Do we want to be called 'great'? or Do we want to give
all the glory to You? We know, Lord, that we'll never love You with a
perfect love. Your love is the only perfect love. Help us, Lord, not to
get discouraged, when we let You down. Lift us up, Lord. Make our love
for You more real and more true, more life-changing and more pleasing to
You.
2 Samuel 17:1-29
What
do we do when everything seems to go wrong? Do we start complaining,
blaming You for everything that's happening to us? or Do we start asking
the question, 'Where is the Lord in all of this?' Help us to challenge
our negative thinking - "Why are you discouraged, my soul?" (Psalm
43:5). Help us to rise above our negative thinking. Raise us up, Lord,
for You alone can lift us out of our defeatism and into that special
place with You where we know that we are truly blessed - because You
love us, and will never stop loving us, even when our love for You is
very weak.
2 Samuel 18:1-33
Often,
we wish we could look into the future, and see what's going to happen
to us. We can't. the future belongs to You, Lord - not to us. Help us to
wait on You, Lord - to wait patiently for the time when Your future
becomes our present. Our 'tomorrow' can never become our 'today' - until
our 'today' becomes our 'yesterday.' Help us, Lord, to forget about
gazing into some kind of 'crystal ball.' Give us the grace to walk with
You in faith - one day at a time.
2 Samuel 19:1-39
The
closer we get to Your servants, the smaller they become. Jesus is
different - very different. The closer we get to Him, the bigger He
becomes. Help us, Lord, to make less of Your servants and more of our
Saviour. We speak about this one, and that one. Sometimes, we say good
things. Often, we say bad things. Help us to speak more of our Saviour.
Help us to say nothing but good things about Him.
2 Samuel 19:40-20:26
Our
words can do a lot of good - and they can do a lot of harm! Lord, help
us to watch what we say. May our words be words that heal - not words
that hurt. May they be helpful words, words that will help others to
love You more - not words that will lead them away from You.
2 Samuel 21:1-22:7
What
are we to do when our whole life seems to be one problem after another?
We're to pray - and, when we pray, we're to believe that You will hear
and answer our prayers (2 Samuel 21:14; 2 Samuel 24:25). What are we
to do when the going gets tough? We turn to You, Lord. It's not about
how tough we are. It's about how trustworthy You are. You are absolutely
trustworthy, completely dependable, utterly reliable. You are the
faithful God. Those who trust You fully find You wholly true. Help us,
Lord, to trust You - to know that You are faithful.
2 Samuel 22:8-51
Some
things are worth repeating! Help us, Lord, never to tire of praising
You, We can never praise You enough. You are greater than all of our
praise. Help us, in our worship, to lift up our hearts to You. Help us
to think of how great You are. Help us to rejoice in the greatness of
Your love for us. Help us to remember all that You have done for us.
2 Samuel 23:1-39
Lord,
we thank You for Your amazing grace. What we are, in ourselves, is
nothing compared with what we can become through the power of Your love.
Your love reaches us. It lifts us up - out of our sin, which drags us
down, and into Your salvation, which renews our strength and makes us
new men and women.
2 Samuel 24:1-25
Less
pride and more praise - That's what we need, Lord. Less taking glory
for ourselves and more giving glory to You - May that be the story of
our life. Less living in our own weakness and more living in Your power -
Lead us, Lord, into a life that is becoming less centred on ourselves
and more centred on You.
________________________
1 KINGS
1 Kings 1:1-53
No-one
goes on forever. We read about David’s reign coming to an end, about
David being replaced by Solomon (1 Kings 1:30). Help us, Lord, to pray
that the future will be “greater” than the past (1 Kings 1:37,47). In
all of life’s changes, help us to remember this: You are the living God
(1 Kings 1:29) – the God who remains constant when everything else is
changing, the God whose love is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable.
1 Kings 2:1-46
We
thank You, Lord, that You are the God of new beginnings. Your purpose
doesn’t stand still. It moves forward. Will we move forward with You? –
That, Lord, is the question that each of us must ask answer. We cannot
stand still. There are two ways we can go. We can move forward with You.
We can go back to the past, back to what we were before Christ saved
us, before He took hold of our lives, before He began to make us new
people. Dare we even think of going back to the old life? That life
can’t even begin to compare with our new life in Christ. Help us, Lord,
to press on into the future, Your future, the new life in Christ,
eternal life.
1 Kings 3:1-28
Which
is most important to us – “building our own house” or “building the
House of the Lord” (1 Kings 3:1-3)? How often, Lord, do we think about
the things that matter most to You? Are we too busy thinking about the
things that matter most to ourselves? These are not questions to be
‘brushed under the carpet’. They are questions that demand our
attention. They are questions that You, Lord, are asking us. You’re
calling us to “consider our ways” (Haggai 1:5,7). Are we walking in Your
way? or Are we going our own way? Call us back to Yourself, Lord. Call
us back from a way ill lead us far from You. Call us into a way that
will bring us close to You. Lead us to Jesus – He is “the way, the true
and living way” (John 14:6).
1 Kings 4:1-34
Lord,
give us wisdom (1 Kings 4:29). Help us to share this wisdom with others
(1 Kings 4:32-34). What, Lord, is wisdom? Is it knowing a lot about
history, geography and science? No, Lord, true wisdom is knowing Jesus,
knowing that He is our Saviour, knowing that He shows us what life is
all about, knowing that His love is the greatest love of all, the love
that changes everything, the love that changes us. Help us to share His
love with others. This is wisdom – knowing Jesus, knowing that He loves
us, being changed by His love. Christ is “our Wisdom” (1 Corinthians
1:30). Help us to rejoice in Him – and to share His love with the people
that we meet.
1 Kings 5:1-6:13
Lord,
You want to “establish Your Word” among us (1 Kings 6:120. Do we
“rejoice greatly” when we hear Your Word (1 Kings 5:7)? Help us to
welcome Jesus Christ, “the Word made flesh”, the living Word who “dwells
among us, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Help us to welcome Him
as “Emmanuel – God with us” (Matthew 1:23). May we rejoice greatly when
Jesus stands among us as our loving Saviour, when He comes to us as the
risen Lord, when He speaks to us as Your living Word.
1 Kings 6:14-7:12
We
read about Solomon – he built “his own house”, and he built “the House
of the Lord” (1 Kings 6:37-7:1). Which was the most important to him?
Which is most important to us – pleasing ourselves or serving You? Help
us, Lord, not to be “lovers of self, lovers of money, lovers of
pleasure”. “Lovers of God” – this is what You call us to be (2 Timothy
3:1-5). Help us, Lord, to keep on making our choice – to become the kind
of people that You want us to be.
1 Kings 7:13-8:13
Lord,
You’re calling us to choose the life of fruitful service – “gold,
silver, precious stones”. You’re calling us to leave behind the
unfruitful life – “wood, hay, straw” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). Help us to
hear and answer Your call: “Rise up, O Church of God. Have done with
lesser things. Give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the
King of kings.”
1 Kings 8:14-53
What,
Lord, is most important to us – the person who leads us in worship, the
place where we worship, or the God whom we worship? We know what our
answer should be – but, often, our lives tell a very different story.
Help us, when we worship, to learn that nothing and no-one can ever be
more important than You. May our lives start catching up with the
lessons that we learn when we are reading Your Word.
1 Kings 8:54-9:28
What
is happening, Lord, when we are gathered together for worship? Is this
merely a human thing, something that we do? – No! there is something
more than this. Before we even thought of coming to Your House, You were
there waiting for us. You welcome us. You speak Your Word to us: “Let
your heart be wholly true to the Lord your God” (1 Kings 8:61). You’re
calling us into a life of “joy and gladness” – a life of “walking before
You with integrity of heart” (1 Kings 8:66; 1 Kings 9:4). This is true
worship. It’s not just something that we do on a Sunday morning. It’s
learning to walk with You all the days of our life. Lord, help us to
worship You today – and every day.
1 Kings 10:1-11:13
We
look, Lord, at “King Solomon” – and we see ourselves! “He was greater
in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth” (1 Kings
10:23). We like to think that we’re ‘getting on in the world.’ There was
something seriously wrong with Solomon – “His heart was not fully
devoted to the Lord his God …he did not follow the Lord completely” (1
Kings 11:4,6). This is our problem. There’s too much of the world in our
way of life – and not enough of You, Lord! How much do the things of
this world really matter – if we don’t have Jesus as our Saviour (Mark
8:36)?
1 Kings 11:14-12:24
“Do
not go up to fight against your brothers” (1 Kings 12:24). Lord, Your
Word seems so simple – but we don’t always listen to what You’re saying
to us! Less ‘This is what I think’ and more ‘What is the Lord saying to
me?” – that’s what we need. Help us, Lord, to listen to You – and to be
changed by Your Word.
1 Kings 12:25-13:34
“A
son shall be born” (1 Kings 13:2). There would be a new king and a
better future. Where, Lord, does our hope for the future come from? Does
it come from earthly kings? No! It comes from Jesus, our Saviour. He’s
the “King of kings.” He’s the “Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16). We
read the words of prophecy: “to us a child is born … a son.” We read
what Your Word says about Him. He is “Wonderful.” From Him, we receive
wonderful blessings (Isaiah 9:6-7). Thank You, Lord, for Your Son,
Jesus.
1 Kings 14:1-15:8
What
are we to do when everything seems to be hopeless? – We turn to You,
Lord. You are the God of hope. Our hope is in You. You can turn things
around. Your love changes everything. Your love changes us. Thank You,
Lord, for Your love. It’s Your love that gives us hope for the future.
We look to the future – and we look to You. We say, “I know not what the
future holds, but I know who holds the future.”
1 Kings 15:9-16:28
“Asa
did what was right in the eyes of the Lord … The heart of Asa was
wholly true to the Lord all his days” (1 Kings 15:11,14). Lord, help us
to be more like Asa – to put You first in our lives. You want to take
control of our attitudes and our actions. Change us, Lord. Change the
way we think. Change the way we live. May pleasing You be our top
priority – the thing that matters most to us.
1 Kings 16:29-18:16
We
read about Elijah: “The Word of the Lord came to Elijah”; “You are a
man of God and the Word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth” (1 Kings
18:1; 1 Kings 17:24). You’re challenging us to be all that You’re
calling us to be – people who love You, people who are listening to You
and speaking for You, people who are living for You. Lord, help us to
rise to the challenge: to live as Your people, people who know You, love
You and serve You.
1 Kings 18:17-19:21
Life
is full of ups and downs. There are high-points – “The fire of the Lord
fell” and “all the people said, ‘The Lord, He is God’” ( 1 Kings
18:37-39), and there are low-points – ”O Lord, take away my life” (1
Kings 19:4). Lord, we are so changeable. Sometimes, we’re full of joy.
At other times, we’re at the point of despair. We find ourselves in a
turmoil of confused and confusing emotions. What are we to do? What can
we do? Can we pull ourselves together? We try – but we fail. Lord, help
us to look beyond our own efforts. Help us to look to You, to believe
that You can change us, You can come to us in our weakness, You can give
us Your strength – the strength that we need to love You more and bring
more glory to Your Name, the Name of our salvation.
1 Kings 20:1-43
Sometimes,
Lord, we say, “I can’t”, when we really mean, “I won’t.” We decide
what’s important to us. You look at our chosen way of life, and You say,
“You yourself have decided it.” You see our self-centred life, and You
say, “So shall your judgment be” (1 Kings 20:40). Can we change? Yes!
You say to us, “Come, strengthen yourself, and consider well what You
have to do” (1 Kings 20:12). You say to us, “Be strong in the Lord”
(Ephesians 6:10). Help us to “wait on You and renew our strength”
(Isaiah 40:31).
1 Kings 21:1-22:14
Lord, we
rejoice in Your Word of forgiveness and eternal life (1 John 1:9; 1
John 5:11-12). When our hearts grow cold and we start taking Your love
and Your blessing for granted, help us to pay careful attention to the
Gospel warning: “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great
salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3). Help us, Lord, when we hear Your Word, not to
keep it to ourselves: “What the Lord says to me, that I will speak” (1
Kings 22:14).
1 Kings 22:15-53
We
read, Lord, about Ahaziah – “He …provoked the Lord, the God of Israel,
to anger in every way that his father (Ahab) had done” (1 Kings
22:51-53). We read about Jesus– “I do as the Father commanded Me” (John
14:31). Help us, Lord, not to be like Ahaziah – he walked in the ways of
his father … the ways of sin” (1 Kings 22:52). Help us to be like Jesus
– walking in the ways of our Heavenly Father.
_________________________
2 KINGS
2 Kings 1:1-2:13
Lord,
there is always something more to be done for You. Help us never to
say, “I’ll leave it to someone else” or “I’ll leave it until tomorrow.”
The things that are left to someone else or left until tomorrow often
end up becoming the things that never get done. Help us, Lord, to be
less casual and more committed in our attitude to Your work.
2 Kings 2:14-3:27
We
think, Lord, about the future, and all we can say is this, “We don’t
know what the future holds.” We turn to You. We ask You, “What does the
future hold for us?” You give us Your answer to our question. It may not
be the answer that we were looking for – but it is always the true
answer, the best answer, the only answer. You say to us, “I know what
the future holds.” Help us, Lord, to trust You. Help us to say more
than, I know not what the future holds.” Help us to say something else –
“I know who holds the future.”
2 Kings 4:1-44
What
are we to do when our situation seems hopeless? Help us, Lord, to do
what Elisha did – He “prayed to the Lord” (2 Kings 4:33). Our prayer may
not be eloquent – but it must come from the heart. Lord, look beyond
our inadequate words. Look into our hearts. Hear the cry of our heart –
and bring us out of hopelessness and into a new beginning with You, a
new beginning filled with Your blessing.
2 Kings 5:1-27
How,
Lord, are we to receive Your blessing? Are we to “do some great thing”?
Are we to prove ourselves worthy of Your blessing? No! Your Word says
this: “Wash and be clean” (2 Kings 5:130. Our salvation isn’t something
that we’ve paid for. It isn’t something that we’ve earned. We don’t come
to You, saying, “Look at me. Look at my religion. Look at my morality.”
We look away from ourselves to Jesus – and we hear Your Word of
salvation: “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all
sin” (1 John 1:7).
2 Kings 6:1-23
Loving
You, Lord, is more important than anything else – but it’s not always
the most important thing in our lives. Sometimes, other things get in
the way of our love for You. Help us to love You more truly and more
fully – and help us to show our love for You by sharing Your love with
our neighbour.
2 Kings 6:24-7:20
We
read, Lord, about “windows in heaven” – and we read about “a day of
good news” (2 Kings 7:2,9). What a wonderful day of good news it was
when You opened the windows of heaven and sent Your Son, Jesus, to this
earth (Luke 2:10-11). Help us, Lord. to give ourselves, whole-heartedly, to You –
as Jesus gave Himself, completely for us. May we see You at work among
us, “opening the windows of heaven and pouring down an overflowing
blessing” (Malachi 3:10).
2 Kings 8:1-29
Lord, help us to be faithful in hearing Your Word, reading Your Word, obeying Your Word and sharing Your Word.
2 Kings 9:1-37
Sometimes,
Lord, it seems like You are far away from us. Why do we feel like this?
It’s because we have wandered away from You. We’ve allowed something
else to come between ourselves and You. Call us back to Yourself, back
from the brink, back to a new beginning, back to the blessing that will
grow stronger and stronger as we learn to trust You and say, from the
heart, “The Lord is God. He is our God. He has blessed us, and we are
glad.”
2 Kings 10:1-36
When,
Lord, we turn aside from Your Word, we start to think that we’re quite
all right – without You. This is what we think – and we’re wrong! We
need to be reminded of what we really are: sinners who need to be saved –
saved by You, saved for You. Lift us, Lord, out of what we are in
ourselves – and into what You are making us by Your saving grace.
2 Kings 11:1-12:21
Help
us, Lord, to give ourselves to You. May there be less Grudge-Giving – “I
have to”, less Duty-Giving – “I ought to”, and more Thanksgiving – “I
want to.”
2 Kings 13:1-14:16
We
compare ourselves to other people. We like to think that we’re doing
pretty well. What, Lord, do You think about all of this? Are You
impressed? You’re saying to us, “What about Jesus? How do you compare to
Him? Help us, Lord, to look at Jesus – and see where we need to be
changed. Help us to look to Him – and be changed by Him.
2 Kings 14:17-15:22
Lord,
we’re always making choices. Sometimes, we make good choices.
Sometimes, we make bad choices. Life can be very confusing. We wonder,
“What’s for the best? What are we to do?” Show us Your way. Lead us in
Your way. Give us the strength that we need to walk in Your way.
2 Kings 15:23-16:20
Lord,
we’re being pulled in two different directions. You’re drawing us to
Yourself. The world is pulling us away from You. Help us to confess our
sin – we need to be better than we are. Help us to trust in Your power –
You’re the only One who can make us better than we are.
2 Kings 17:1-41
What
happens to us, Lord, when we turn away from You? Everything starts
falling apart. It may seem like we’re getting on well – but there’s an
“emptiness” (2 Kings 17:14) at the heart of everything that we do.
Having Jesus as our Saviour – this is all that really matters. there’s
nothing more important than this. Help us to keep on coming to Jesus, to
keep on enjoying “the fullness of life” that He gives to us (John
10:10),
2 Kings 18:1-37
Lord,
we give up so easily. We start well – then, we lose our way. we don’t
stick at it. How are we to keep on going – when the going gets tough?
You keep on going – when we feel like giving up. Keep us by Your power
(1 Peter 1:5). Keep us from falling (Jude 24). Keep us – looking to
Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2).
2 Kings 19:1-37
“Do
not be afraid because of the words you have heard” (2 Kings 19:6). Help
us, Lord, to listen to Your Word. When the world’s voice seems to be so
loud, help us to hear Your voice. Help us to hear Your Word of
encouragement: !The zeal of the Lord will do this” (2 Kings 19:31). When
fear threatens to overwhelm us, help us to remember that You are “able”
(Daniel 3:17) – “able to help those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18),
“able to provide us with every blessing in abundance” (2 Corinthians
9:8), “able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think”
(Ephesians 3:20).
2 Kings 20:1-21:18
“Carried
off to Babylon” (2 Kings 20:17); “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!”
(Revelation 14:18 & 18:2). Everything seems to be falling round
about us. We hear so much bad news. We wonder, “What, Lord, do You think
of all this?” Even “in Babylon” there were “the chosen” – people who
belonged to You (1 Peter 5:13). Help us to be Your people – “in the
world” but “not of the world” (John 17:11,16).
2 Kings 21:19-23:3
A
book was found – “the book of the law” (2 Kings 21:8). Everything
changed. When, Lord, we listen to Your Word and act upon what it says,
nothing remains the same. When, Lord, we stop listening to Your Word, we
get dragged down into the ways of the world. When this happens, help us
to “return to the ancient paths”, to “the good way” – You way, the way
of salvation, the way of holiness (Jeremiah 6:16).
2 Kings 23:4-30
“Hezekiah
trusted in the Lord” (2 Kings 18:5). Josiah did “according to the law
of Moses” (2 Kings 23:25). Help us, Lord, to trust and obey. Give us
faith – faith that changes the way we live, faith that leads to
obedience.
2 Kings 23:31-24:17
“The
king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valour … all
of them strong and fit for war” (2 Kings 24:16) – A prisoner war is
taken out of the battle. What a sad state of affairs it is, Lord, when
Satan sweeps in and takes control of our lives. Help us to resist Satan –
in Your strength. You are stronger than Satan. Help us to remind him of
this: “Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world” (1
John 4:4).
2 Kings 24:18-25:30
“Finally,
in the end, it came to the point that He cast them out of His presence”
(2 Kings 24:20). Help us, Lord, to hear and heed Your Word of warning.
We thank You, Lord, that You are “patient … not wanting anyone to
perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Help us never
to presume upon Your patience – “Shall we go on sinning, so that grace
may increase? God forbid!” (Romans 6:1-2).
__________________________
1 CHRONICLES
1 Chronicles 1:1-54
Sometimes,
Lord, we read, in your Word, things that make us wonder, "What's this
all about?" What are You saying to us in the parts of the Bible that
don't jump out at us? We ask, "Do we really need to read a long list of
names?" You say to us, "All of these people were important to Me. I
loved every one of them. You are important to me. I love you," Thank
You, Lord, for Your love. You know each one of us by name. You never
forget us. You always remember us. You remember us - because You love
us.
1 Chronicles 2:1-55
Thank
You, Lord, for giving us our own name. It makes us feel special - "I'm
me. I'm not somebody else." We thank You, even more, giving us the Name
of Jesus. His Name is the Name of our salvation. Among all the many
names of people, from all over the world, there's one Name that stands
out. It's the Name of Jesus. Why is Jesus so special? It's because He's
Your Son - and He's our Saviour.
1 Chronicles 3:1-4:23
"Jabez
called upon the God of Israel, 'Oh that You would bless me ...' And God
granted his request" (1 Chronicles 4:10). Help us, Lord, when we ask
for Your blessing, to pray for your mercy - "Have mercy on me, O God, a
sinner" (Luke 18:13). Help us to make Your blessing the most important
thing in our life. What's the point of having plenty of friends, if we
fall out with You? "Oh that you would bless me" - May this be our
heartfelt prayer.
1 Chronicles 4:24-5:26
Lord,
You want to lead us in the way of victory (1 Chronicles 5:22). You
don't want us to be disobedient and defeated. You want us to be obedient
and victorious. Why do we draw back from the kind of commitment that
will bring blessing into our lives? Do we think You're going to 'lead us
up the garden path?' Do we think You're 'taking us on a wild goose
chase?' Do we think that You're going to take us so far along Your way,
and, then, leave us to go it alone? Teach us, Lord, that Your way is
better than the world's way. Show us that you're always with us,
supporting us and giving us the strength that we need to keep on walking
in Your way.
1 Chronicles 6:1-60
Lord,
we often forget names. You never forget our names. You forget our sins -
but you never forget us. You forget our sins - how great Your
forgiveness is! You never forget us - How great Your love is! What can
we say about Your love and Your forgiveness? All we can say is this:
"Thank You, Lord."
1 Chronicles 6:61-7:40
In
Your Word, Lord, we read about "a city of refuge" (1 Chronicles 6:67).
We take refuge in You, Lord. You are "our refuge and our strength, a
very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). Refuge, strength and help -
What great blessings You give to us! Where do we find these blessings? -
we find them all in Christ. When "evil" threatens to overwhelm us (1
Chronicles 7:23), we run to Jesus, we are strengthened by Him, and we
receive help from Him. what are we to do when You bless us so much? - we
are to give all the glory to You. Without You, lord, we "can do
nothing" (John 15:5). With You, we can "do all things" - because you
give us the strength that we need.
1 Chronicles 8:1-40
Lord,
some of the names, in Your Word, make us think about ourselves: What
kind of people are we? What kind of people are we becoming? "Esh-Baal"
(1 Chronicles 8:33) means "man of Baal" or "man of shame." "Merib-Baal"
started off as "opponent of Baal", then it became "loved by Baal" or "my
Lord is Baal." We wonder, Lord, how does Baal, the god worshipped by
the Canaanites, get among Your people? The answer is not hard to find.
We let him in. We give him the chance to wreck our lives. Forgive us,
Lord. We have taken our eyes off Jesus. Help us not to be
"double-minded" )James 1:8) - trying to listen to both You and Satan at
the same time. Help us to be single-minded in our devotion to Jesus
(Matthew 6:22).
1 Chronicles 9:1-44
Lord,
You speak to us about "very able men", who were called to do "the work
of the service of the house of God" (1 Chronicles 9:13). Some have been
called to preach Your Gospel and teach Your Word. All of us have been
called to serve You. We may not preach or teach - but there will be
something for us to do. Some were "chosen to be gatekeepers." Some were
"assigned to take care of the furnishings ..." Some were "entrusted with
the responsibility for baking." Some were "singers or musicians" (1
Chronicles 9:22,29,31,33). Lord, You have something for all of us. As we
do Your work, help us to hear Your Spirit saying to us, "'Tis a task
the Master just for you has planned ... There's a work for Jesus none
but you can do."
1 Chronicles 10:1-11:19
Saul
"was unfaithful to the Lord." Help us, Lord, not to become like Saul
who "did not keep the command of the Lord ... and did not seek guidance
from the Lord" (1 Chronicles 10:13-14). Saul had started well. At the
beginning, everything had looked so promising. What went wrong? Lord, we
think about Saul - and we think about ourselves. It happened to Saul.
It can happen to us. Drifting away from You happens when we start to
lose interest in worshipping You, reading Your Word and speaking to You.
Everything falls apart. We become like Saul - a shadow of what we once
were. we wonder, "Can things be turned around?" Yes! Your Word is alive.
Your Spirit is alive. Renew in us the life that comes from Your Word
and Your Spirit.
1 Chronicles 11:20-12:7
We
read, Lord, of "the mighty men of the armies", "the mighty men who
helped ... in war" (1 Chronicles 11:26; 1 Chronicles 12:1). Lord, You're
teaching us about spiritual warfare - "We are not carrying on a worldly
war ... the weapons of our warfare are not worldly ... the weapons of
our warfare ... have divine power to destroy strongholds." You're
calling us to "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians
10:3-6). Lord, help us to become "mighty" for You - "mighty" in Your
strength, "mighty" in Your victory.
1 Chronicles 12:8-13:14
"The
kingdom of Saul was turned over to David according to the Word of the
Lord" (1 Chronicles 12:23). Lord, You're calling us to be spiritual
leaders - "let us bring again the ark of our God" (1 Chronicles 13:7).
We're to call the people to return to You and rejoice in You (1
Chronicles 13:4,8). We're to warn the people that failure to do Your
will leads to the withdrawal of Your blessing (1 Chronicles 13:9-10).
Where Your Word is honoured and given its rightful place, there will be
blessing among Your people (1 Chronicles 13:14). Help us, Lord, to be
faithful in hearing Your Word and doing Your Word. This is the way of
obedience and blessing (James 1:22,25).
1 Chronicles 14:1-15:15
It
was You, Lord, who "established David king over Israel" (1 Chronicles
14:2). Help us to be like David. He "inquired of You" (1 Chronicles
14:10,14). He "did as You commanded him" (1 Chronicles 14:16). He gave
all the glory to You (1 Chronicles 14:11,17). Help us, Lord, to seek
Your will, to do Your will, and to give all the glory to You.
1 Chronicles 15:16-16:6
Lord,
You're calling us to worship You - to "raise sounds of joy," to praise
You with "loud music," to worship You "continually (1 Chronicles 15:16; 1
Chronicles 16:6). May we bring to You true "spiritual worship" - the
dedication of our lives to You (Romans 12:1).
1 Chronicles 16:7-36
Our
whole life is to be a song of praise to You, Lord - "O give thanks to
the Lord ... Sing praises to Him ... Glory in His holy Name ... Seek His
presence continually" (1 Chronicles 16:8-11). "Continually" - Lord,
this is more than gathering together with others for worship. "Fill Thou
our life, O Lord our God, in every part with praise ... "
1 Chronicles 16:37-17:27
Sometimes,
Lord, Your "No" - "You shall not build Me a House to dwell in" (1
Chronicles 17:1-4) - means "Not now - later" - "one of your sons ...
shall build a House for Me" (1 Chronicles 17:11-12). What are we to say
about the 'delay'? We call it a delay. You, Lord, give us Your promise -
"the Lord will build you a House" (1 Chronicles 17:10). You say to us,
"Still the vision awaits its time ... If it seems slow, wait for it; it
will surely come, it will not delay" (Habakkuk 2:3).
1 Chronicles 18:1-20:8
Lord,
there are no "giants" able to stand in Your presence (1 Chronicles
20:8). We face the "giants" of unbelief, disobedience, spiritual pride
and self-righteousness. By Your "divine power", these "giants" will be
brought to nothing (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Let the "giants" come
tumbling down. Let us "grow in grace." Let us give all the "glory" to
You, Lord (2 Peter 3:18).
1 Chronicles 21:1-22:1
"Satan
stood up against Israel ... " (1 Chronicles 21:1). Satan is much more
powerful than we are. He's not more powerful than You, Lord. Satan
prevails against us. He does not prevail against You. Help us, Lord, to
come to You - and receive Your prevailing power. In our own strength, we
cannot stand against Satan. In Your strength, we shall stand against
him - and we shall triumph over him.
1 Chronicles 22:2-23:32
In
Your work, Lord, we need visionaries, managers and workers. David was a
visionary. He had the original idea of building the Temple. Solomon was
a manager. Under his leadership, the vision became a reality. The
people were important. They built the Temple. Help us, Lord, to find our
place. Help us to play our part. Help us to "do the work for the
service of the House of the Lord" (1 Chronicles 23:24) - and help us
never to forget this: "thanking and praising the Lord" (1 Chronicles
23:30). Help us to remember that You're more important than all of us -
the visionaries, the managers and the workers.
1 Chronicles 24:1-25:31
Lord,
You are our Commander-in-Chief. Your work is to be done in your way -
"as the Lord God of Israel had commanded" (1 Chronicles 24:19). Help us
never to 'get too big for our boots.' Help us never to imagine that
we're more important than we really are. You're the One that's
important. You're the One that's at the centre of everything. Help us,
Lord, to exalt You - and not ourselves.
1 Chronicles 26:1-27:34
Lord,
You're calling us to serve You. We're to serve You in the world. Before
we can serve You in the world, there must be this: "ministering in the
House of the Lord" (1 Chronicles 26:12). Part of our worship involves
the dedication of "gifts for the maintenance of the House of the Lord"
(1 Chronicles 26:12). When we're worshipping You in Your House, when
we're supporting the work that is centred on Your House, help us to
remember this: When our service of worship ends, our service in the
world begins. Help us, Lord, to offer our whole life to You - not just
the 'religious' part of it. Help us to serve You every day of the week.
1 Chronicles 28:1-29:5
"It
is Solomon your son who shall build My House (1 Chronicles 28:6). Lord,
this was the Word that You spoke to Your servant, David. what a Word of
hope this was! David had heard the words, "You are not to build a House
for My Name" (1 Chronicles 28:3). His heart sank - but You lifted him
up again. It wasn't all about David - and it isn't all about us. It's
all about You. You do things Your way - not our way. May we learn to
say, "Not My will, Lord. Your will be done."
1 Chronicles 29:6-30
Joyful,
generous and wholehearted giving (1 Chronicles 29:9) - Where, Lord,
does this kind of giving come from? It comes from You, Lord. It comes to
us when we're learning to worship You, when we're learning to say, from
deep in our hearts, "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power,
and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty" (1 Chronicles 29:10).
It's this kind of worship that inspires our giving. When we're learning
to worship like this, our giving will become a joyful privilege rather
than a legalistic burden. Our giving will become thanksgiving - "Our
God, we thank You ... Everything comes from You. We give only what has
come from Your hands" (1 Chronicles 29:13-14).
__________________________
2 CHRONICLES
2 Chronicles 1:1-2:18
Lord,
we need Your wisdom (2 Chronicles 1:10). We need Jesus – He is Your
wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). Without Jesus, we’re fools. We may think
that we’re wise – but we’re not. Jesus makes us wise. True wisdom comes
from Him. When we build our lives on Jesus, we are truly wise (Matthew
7:24-27). Lord, give us Your wisdom – the wisdom that knows the most
important thing: Jesus is our Saviour.
2 Chronicles 3:1-5:1
Lord,
You call us to work for You, to “work in the Temple of the Lord” (2
Chronicles 4:11; 2 Chronicles 5:1). This is no ordinary work. It’s
spiritual work. It is “most holy” (2 Chronicles 3:8,10; 2 Chronicles
4:22). Real work come for You emerges from true worship of You. Before
we can be Your workers, we must be your worshippers. Teach us, Lord, to
worship You. As we worship You, may we receive from You the strength
that we need to work for You.
2 Chronicles 5:2-6:42
Without
Your blessing, Lord, our worship is empty. We need Your blessing. We
pray for Your blessing. May “the glory of the Lord fill the House of
God” (2 Chronicles 5:14). This is our prayer. We pray for the preachers.
We pray for the people. May each and every one of us be blessed by You.
May we be “clothed with Your salvation.” May we “rejoice in Your
goodness” (2 Chronicles 6:41).
2 Chronicles 7:1-22
Lord,
You’re calling us to pray – and You’re giving us Your promise of
blessing (2 Chronicles 7:14). We ask, “Where is the blessing?” You turn
our question around. You say to us, “Where is the prayer?” This is
challenging, Lord. Help us to keep on praying – and to keep on believing
that there will be blessing, Your blessing – the forgiveness of our sin
and the healing of our land (2 Chronicles 7:14).
2 Chronicles 8:1-9:31
Lord,
we look at Solomon – and we see ourselves. There is strength (2
Chronicles 8:16) – and there is weakness (2 Chronicles 8:11; 2
Chronicles 9:12). We want to love You more, but the world keeps on
pulling us back – away from you and into sin. We come to You, Lord. We
come in our weakness. We ask for Your strength. May our comfort and
convenience never become more important to us than our consecration and
commitment to You.
2 Chronicles 10:1-11:23
Lord,
we see division among Your people: "Israel has been in rebellion
against the house of David to this day" (2 Chronicles 10:19). You are
not pleased. You say, "Do not go up to fight against your brothers" (2
Chronicles 11:4). This is not just ancient history. It's our problem.
It's a big problem. We still need to hear the words of Jesus - "a house
... divided against itself cannot stand" (Mark
3:25). There are to be "no divisions" among us (1 Corinthians 1:10). We
are "all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). Lord, help us, in our
praying and our living, to echo the prayer of Jesus: "May they be
brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and
have loved them even as You have loved Me" (John 17:21,23).
2 Chronicles 12:1-13:22
Lord,
You're calling us to make our choice - What kind of life will we live?
Will it be "He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the
Lord" (2 Chronicles 12:14)? or Will it be "As for us, the Lord is our
God and we have not forsaken Him" (2 Chronicles 13:10)? When, Lord,
unbelief and disobedience are threatening to take over our lives, help
us to hear Your Word of warning: "Do not fight against the Lord ... you
will not succeed" - and help us to speak the words of faith: "God is
with us; He is our Leader" (2 Chronicles 13:12).
2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14
Lord,
we see so much of ourselves in Asa. He started well - "Asa did what was
good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God" (2 Chronicles 14:2). He
ended badly - "He did not rely on the Lord his God ... even in his
disease he did not seek the Lord" (2 Chronicles 16:7-9,12). Help us,
Lord, to hear and heed the words of Jesus: "No-one who puts his hand to
the plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62);
"He who endures to the end will be saved" (Mark 13:13). Help us to "go
on" with You and for You (Hebrews 6:1).
2 Chronicles 17:1-18:34
Lord,
we read of “the first ways of … David” (2 Chronicles 17:3). He had
started off so well – “the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power”
(1 Samuel 16:13). Sadly, he took his eyes off You – and he fell away
from You (2 Samuel 11:2-5). What about us, Lord? Have we “lost our first
love” (Revelation 2:4)? You’re calling us back to Yourself. Help us to
return to You – “Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Break me,
melt me, mould me, fill me.”
2 Chronicles 19:1-20:37
Lord,
we see two sides of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 19:2-3) – two sides of
ourselves! There is the godly side – “O Lord … our eyes are upon You” (2
Chronicles 20:12). There is the sinful side – “Jehoshaphat … made an
alliance with Ahaziah … who was guilty of wickedness” (2 Chronicles
20:35). Lord, You know our weakness. Help us to come to You, in our
weakness. Help us to receive new strength, Your strength, the strength
that we need to live a more godly life, a life that brings glory to You
and blessing to us.
2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21
Lord,
we're living in difficult times. Many are choosing to do what is “evil in
the sight of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 21:6). Help us to make another
choice, a better choice. Help us to choose to “be the Lord’s people” (2
Chronicles 23:16) – “O happy day! that fixed my choice on Thee, my
Saviour and my God … ‘Tis done, the great transaction’s done! I am my
Lord’s, and He is mine! … High heaven that heard the solemn vow, that
vow renewed shall daily hear… “
2 Chronicles 24:1-25:28
Lord,
we read the words – “He turned away from the Lord” (2 Chronicles
25:27), and our hearts are sad. Is this only the story of other people?
Is it not also our own story? You’re calling us to stop turning away
from You. You’re calling us to start turning to You. Help us to walk
with You in the light of Your Word – “Be watchful, stand firm in your
faith, be courageous, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13).
2 Chronicles 26:1-28:27
Help
us, Lord, to learn from the failure of King Uzziah. He began well – “He
did what was right in the eyes of the Lord … He set himself to seek
God” (2 Chronicles 26:4-5). He lost his way – “When he was strong, he
grew proud, and he was false to the Lord his God” ( 2 Chronicles 26:16).
Help us, Lord, to become better people – not bitter people!
2 Chronicles 29:1-36
Lord,
You're calling us to be holy (2 Chronicles 29:5) - and You're calling
us to be joyful (2 Chronicles 29:30). It's not to be holiness without
joy. It's not to be joy without holiness. It's to be holiness and joy.
Lord, make us holy - and make us joyful.
2 Chronicles 30:1-31:10
You
call us, Lord, to return to You. You promise to welcome us (2
Chronicles 30:9). Where does our returning come from? Where does our
rejoicing come from? They both come from You. You put it into our hearts
- to return to You (2 Chronicles 30:12). What joy there is for us when
we return to You - "The good Lord pardons every one who sets his heart
to seek God" (2 Chronicles 30:18-19).
2 Chronicles 31:11-32:33
You
call us, Lord, to seek You - and You also call us to serve You (2
Chronicles 31:20-21). Where does our seeking and serving come from? It
comes from Your salvation. We read the words, "The Lord saved Hezekiah" (
2 Chronicles 32::22) - and we think of our salvation. We rejoice in
Your precious promise - "All the ends of the earth, turn to Me and be
saved" (Isaiah 45:22). We rejoice in our gracious Saviour - Jesus
Christ, "the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42).
2 Chronicles 33:1-34:13
Very
quickly, Lord, good work can be undone (2 Chronicles 33:1-3). Bad work
can be undone - if we will make a new beginning with You (2 Chronicles
34:1-4). Help us, Lord, to make a new beginning with You - and a new
beginning for You.
2 Chronicles 34:14-35:19
We
read, Lord, about the reign of King Josiah. There was spiritual revival
(2 Chronicles 34:33). Where did this spiritual revival come from? - It
came from You. It came from the rediscovery of Your Word. Where was Your
Word found? - It was found "in the House of the Lord" (2 Chronicles
34:15). Beyond the written Word, there is Jesus Christ, the living Word
of God. When Your Word is preached to us, help us to listen for the
voice of Jesus Christ, the true and living Word of God. Open up our
hearts to Your Word. Open up our hearts to Your Spirit. Let "rivers of
living water" flow out from our hearts to others (John 7:37-39).
2 Chronicles 35:20-36:23
Lord,
we've read good things about King Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:15,33) - but
it wasn't all good: "He did not listen to the words of Neco from the
mouth of God ... " (2 Chronicles 35:22-24). After Josiah's time, there
was terrible spiritual decline (2 Chronicles 36:1-2 / 2 Kings 23:31-32; 2
Chronicles 36:,5,9,11-12). We think of today's world. We wonder, "Is
there any hope for the future?" Help us to
draw encouragement from this: "The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus,
king of Persia ... to build Him a house at Jerusalem" (2 Chronicles
36:22-23). - and help us to say to our neighbours, "Let us go to the
House of the Lord" (Psalm 122:1). Help us, Lord, to keep on believing
that the time of Your blessing may not be far away.
___________________________
EZRA
Ezra 1:1-2:35
"Rebuild
the House of the Lord" (Ezra 1:3). This, Lord, is what You're calling
us to do. Who are You calling? Is it just a few 'special' people? - No!
It's "all those whose spirits God had moved" (Ezra 1:5). Help us, Lord,
never to say, "There's nothing for me to do." There's always something
we can do. Help us to open our hearts to You, to lay our lives before
You, and to do the work that You give us to do for You.
Ezra 2:36-3:13
At
the heart of Your work, Lord, there is worship - "praising and giving
thanks to the Lord" (Ezra 3:11). Help us to see the importance of
worship. Nothing can take the place of worship. Where would we be
without worship? Could we even begin to serve You? Help us, Lord, to
come to You, with this heartfelt prayer: "I will worship You with all of
my heart ... with all of my mind ... with all of my strength" (Jude Del
Hierro).
Ezra 4:1-5:17
Sometimes,
Lord, we're so busy, looking at the opposition that we fail to see the
opportunity. Sometimes, the opposition can have some success - "the work
on the House of God came to a standstill" (Ezra 4:24). Whenever Satan
attacks Your work, You raise up Your servants to keep the work going:
"Zerubbabel ... arose and began to rebuild the House of God in Jerusalem
(Ezra 5:2). When our heads go down, You will lift them up - and Your
work will go on.
Ezra 6:1-7:28
Lord,
Your work makes good progress when Your people receive strength from
Your Word. It's Your Word that inspires us to keep on working for You.
Your House is rebuilt, and Your people rejoice (Ezra 6:14-16). Help us,
Lord, to turn, often - again and again - to Your Word. May Your Word
lead us in the pathway of joyful obedience.
Ezra 8:1-36
Lord,
the return of Your people to Jerusalem was more than a geographical
return. It was a spiritual return. Help us to return to You - and to
seek Your blessing (Ezra 8:21). Without Your blessing, we are nothing.
Help us to hold on to Your promise: "The hand of our God is for good
upon all that seek Him" (Ezra 8:22).
Ezra 9:1-10:44
Lord,
the return of Your blessing comes with a real confession of our sin -
"Our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the
heavens" (Ezra 9:6), You don't bless us because we deserve to be
blessed. You bless us because You love us. This is where Your blessing
comes from. It comes from Your love. Despite all of our sin, You
encourage us to believe that You may yet "grant us some reviving to set
up the House of our God" (Ezra 9:8-9).
____________________
NEHEMIAH
Nehemiah 1:1-2:18
When we have big problems, help
us to remember that You are bigger than all of our problems. Where do
our problems come from? They come from our sin. That’s our biggest
problem. That’s no problem to You, Lord – “Christ has put away sin by
the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus.
What a great Saviour He is!
Nehemiah 2:19-4:9
What are we to do when we encounter opposition? We’re seeking to serve
You – and the enemies of Christ and His Gospel are making life difficult
for us. Help us, Lord, to look to You. May we know, in our hearts and
lives, the truth of Your Word: “The people who know their God will be
strong” (Daniel 11:32).
Nehemiah 4:10-5:13
“Our
God will fight for us” (Nehemiah 4:20). What tremendous encouragement
there is in these wonderful words! We are not alone in our battle
against Satan. You are with us – and You are stronger than Satan! When
Satan attacks us, teach us, Lord, to take our stand on Your Word: “The
Lord your God will go with you, to fight for you against your enemies,
to give you the victory” (Deuteronomy 20:4).
Nehemiah 5:14:6:19
What are we to do when we face those who are “scheming to harm” Your
servants and Your work? We are to devote ourselves to Your work – and we
are to pray for your strength (Nehemiah 6:2; Nehemiah 5:16; Nehemiah
6:9). When Satan, our great enemy, tries to pick an argument with
us, help us to give him this answer: “I am doing a great work and I
cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come
down to you” (Nehemiah 6:3). Help us, Lord, to keep on working for You –
and to pray that “many will see and fear, and put their trust in the
Lord” (Psalm 40:3).
Nehemiah 7:1-73
What kind
of people are we? Are we “faithful and God-fearing” people? Lord, it is
so easy to lose our way. We forget You – and we wander away from You.
Draw us back to Yourself. Speak to us in love. Assure us that You
haven’t given up on us. Let us know that “There’s a way back to God from
the dark paths of sin.” Bring us to “Calvary’s Cross” – and let us
begin again with You.
Nehemiah 8:1-9:5
What
happens when Your people “gather together” (Nehemiah 8:1)? We hear Your
Word (Nehemiah 8:2-3,8). We thank You for Your Son (Nehemiah 8:13-18; 1
Corinthians 11:23-26). We dedicate our lives to You (Nehemiah 9:2). We
worship You (Nehemiah 9:5). Lord, help us to enter in, with all our
hearts, to all that You promise to bring into our lives when we respond
to Your gracious call: “Let us worship God.”
Nehemiah 9:6-38
What a great God You are – “You are a God ready to forgive, gracious
and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Nehemiah
9:17). Your love is greater than our sin. We look at ourselves – and
everything seems to be hopeless. We look to You - and everything
changes. We see Your grace and Your mercy. Your love fills us with
hope. When everything seems to be getting too much for us, we remember
that Jesus died for us – and we rejoice: “His blood cleanses us from all
sin” (1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 John 1:7).
Nehemiah 10:1-39
Lord, You’re calling us to commit our lives to You. At the heart of
this commitment, there must be worship: “We will not neglect the House
of our God” (Nehemiah 10:39). Help us to worship You. This is our reason
for coming to Your House. We come to worship You. May our worship be
more than words. Help us, Lord, to give ourselves to You.
Nehemiah 11:1-12:30
Our lives lay in ruins until You put us together again. You call us to
build our lives on Christ (Matthew 7:24-27). Help us, Lord, to come to
You, again and again – confessing our sin, receiving Your forgiveness,
building on Christ, our Saviour. When we feel ourselves being pulled
away from You, help us to choose Christ. May we choose to be holy. May
we choose the way of blessing, the way that brings glory to You.
Nehemiah 12:31-13:31
“Songs of praise and thanksgiving to God” (Nehemiah 12:46) – Where does
the song of praise come from? It comes from You: “God had given them
great joy” (Nehemiah 12:43). You look at the way we are living – and
what do You see? “Why is the House of God forsaken?” (Nehemiah 13:11).
Does it have to be this way? Is there not a better way? Can we stop
forgetting You – and start remembering You? Can we rise above our
failure – and be lifted up into Your victory? Help us to keep on
believing that You have not abandoned us. You have not turned Your back
on us. You still love us. Let Your love come to us – and fill us with
Your joy.
___________________________
ESTHER
Esther 1:1-2:18
Our story is a human story.
It's more than that. You, Lord, are in our story - even when we don't
realize it. We find it difficult to put this into words - but we believe
it's true. You are there with us, every step of the way.
Esther 2:19-4:17
"If
I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16). Esther was ready to put her life on
the line. We thank You, Lord, that Jesus did lay down His life. He died
for us. Now, because He died in our place, we will live forevermore.
Thank You, Lord, for sacrificial love and everlasting life.
Esther 5:1-6:14
We
read about Mordecai. He nearly lost his life (Esther 5:14). Then, he
was honoured by the king (Esther 6:10-11). We look beyond Mordecai to
Jesus. We see Jesus, crucified for us. We see Him, risen from the dead
(Acts 2:23-24). We thank You, our Father, for Jesus, Your Son. He is our
Saviour. He is "both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).
Esther 7:1-8:17
We
read about "a foe and enemy! The wicked Haman!" (Esther 7:6). There's a
more powerful enemy than Haman - Satan! "Haman was hanged on the
gallows he had prepared for Mordecai" (Esther 7:10). Satan tried to get
rid of Jesus - but Jesus turned the tables on him. We thank You, Lord,
for the defeat of Satan - and the victory of Jesus, our Saviour and
Lord.
Esther 9:1-10:3
Lord, You turn our
sorrow into joy and our mourning into celebration (Esther 9:22). Our joy
comes from Jesus. Our celebration is centred on Him. What joy we have
in Jesus! It's a joy while the world can neither give to us nor take
away from us. What a celebration there is when we gather together at the
Lord's Table! We celebrate the greatest love of all the love of Christ,
our Saviour. We have been "redeemed with the blood of Christ" (1 Peter
1:18-19).
____________________________
JOB
Job 1:1-2:13
Lord, Your power is greater than
the power of Satan. Help us never to forget this. Satan is “roaming
through the earth”, “prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking for
someone to devour” (Job 1:7; 1 Peter 5:8) – but he can only do what You
allow him to do (Job 1:12; Job 2:6). When Satan seems to be getting the
upper hand, remind us that You’re the One who’s in control – not him!
Job 3:1-4:11
What
are we to do when, like Job, we find ourselves sinking into a state of
deep depression? Help us, Lord, to remember Jesus. Help us to remember
His suffering. He suffered for us. He suffers with us. We thank You that
Jesus knows how we feel. He’s been there. He went to the Cross – for
us. Behind His suffering, we see His love. In our suffering, we need
Jesus. We need His love. Without His love, things will only get
worse. Thank You for Jesus – for His love and His help.
Job 4:12-6:7
Lord,
we read about Eliphaz. We see so much pride. We don’t see much
love. Satan is speaking through Eliphaz. Help us not to listen to
Satan. He’s trying to put us down. He’s trying to keep us down. Help us
to listen to the voice of Your love. Your Word lifts us up. Help us to
look to You, to be lifted by You, and to give all the glory to You.
Job 6:8-7:21
We
read about Job, going through hard times. We remember Jesus, suffering
for us - ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? At the Cross, there
is no Voice from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am
well pleased’ (Mark 15:34; Matthew 3:17). Job is suffering. Jesus is
suffering. What are we to make of this? Where are You, Lord, while all
this is happening? What are You doing about it? We remember the words,
spoken by Jesus to His enemies, shortly before His crucifixion: ‘This is
your hour, and the power of darkness’ (Luke 22:53). You allow Satan to
have his ‘hour’. ‘The power of darkness’ appears to have the upper hand.
This is not the end of the story. There is ‘a happy ending’. Job is
raised from his depression (42:10,12). Jesus is ‘raised’ from the dead
(Acts 2:23-24). Help us, Lord, to look beyond what’s happening to us
right now. Help us to catch a glimpse of the glorious future for which
You are preparing us.
Job 8:1-9:19
We read
the words of Bildad. He speaks as a ‘know-it-all’. He sees what has
happened to Job, and he thinks, ‘Job must have forgotten God’. He fails
to see that Job has not forgotten God. Help us, Lord, to see that bad things
can and do happen to people who love You as well as people who don’t
love You. When things are going badly, help us, Lord, to remember
Your long-term purpose. You’re preparing us for ‘eternal life’ (Matthew
19:29). Help us to look beyond our sufferings. They are ‘slight and
short-lived’. Help us to look ahead to the ‘eternal glory that is
greater than anything we can imagine’ (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Job 9:20-10:22
What
are we to do, Lord, when, like Job, we think that You are “against” us
(Job 10:2)? Where do such negative thoughts come from? Do they come from
You? No! They come from Satan, the “accuser ” of Your people
(Revelation 12:10). When Satan attacks us, help us to remember that You
love us, that Jesus died for us, that “there is no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus”, and that “we are more than conquerors
through Him who loved us” (Romans 5:8; Romans 8:1; Romans 8:37).
Job 11:1-12:25
We
read, Lord, about Job – “a righteous and blameless man! (Job 12:4). He
was suffering, and he was confused. Was He being punished by You? That’s
what Zophar was telling him - Job must have done something pretty
awful to deserve this. You, Lord, were saying something very different –
“My servant Job” (Job 1:8). When Satan is hurling his accusations at
us, help us, Lord, to keep on listening to what You’re saying to us. May
the voice of Your love lift us out of the pit of our despair.
Job 13:1-14:22
Sometimes,
Lord, we need to say, “The less said, the better.” We read what Job
said about his ‘friends’ – “Oh that you would keep silent, and it would
be your wisdom!” (Job 13:5). We feel for Job. From his ‘friends’, there
was nothing but one accusation after another. What was he to do? What
are we to do? We turn to You, Lord. Can we look beyond our suffering? Is
there something better? – “If a man dies, shall he live again?” (Job
14:14). We thank You, Lord, for the answer of faith: “I know that my
Redeemer lives … Even after my skin has been stripped off my body, I
will see God … ” (Job 19:25). Help us, Lord, to look to Jesus, the risen
Lord, to hear His Word of triumph: “Death is swallowed up in victory”,
and to offer to You our joyful praise – “Thanks be to God who gives us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:20,54,57).
Job 15:1-16:5
Lord,
we feel the pain of Job. He’s been listening to Eliphaz. Now, Job says,
“how often have I heard all this before! What sorry comforters you
are!” (Job 16:1). Job needed “words of encouragement” (Job 16:5) – but
he didn’t get them from Eliphaz. Where, Lord, does true comfort come
from? It comes from the Holy Spirit – “the comforter” (John 14:26). Help
us, Lord, to listen to the voice of the Spirit – and to speak with His
voice, the voice of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Job 16:6-17:16
“There
is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure” (Job 16:17). We
wonder, Lord, ‘Is this no more than Job’s own opinion of himself?” Your
Word tells us that it’s also Your view of Job: “My witness is in heaven,
and He that vouches for me is on high” (Job 16:19). As we read about
Job and his suffering, Help us to think about ourselves. How do we react
when suffering comes our way? Do we become bitter – blaming You and
turning away from You? Or, do we become better – “the righteous holds to
his way, and he that has clean hands grows stronger and stronger” (Job
17:9)? How, Lord, can we become better – and not bitter? It’s Your love
that changes us (Romans 5:3-5). It’s Your love that lifts us when we
feel like we’re falling down. Lead us, Lord, out of the bitter way and
into the better way.
Job 18:1-19:7
“How
long will you torment me, and break me in pieces with words?” (Job
19:2). Lord, we read Job’s reply to the harsh words, spoken by Bildad,
and we ask, “What about us? What effect do our words have on other
people? Lord, You speak to us about our use of words “The tongue is a
fire … set on fire by hell …With it we bless the Lord and Father, and
with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same
mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not happen!”
(James 3:6,9-10). As we think about what You are saying to us, help us
to pray that “our conversation will be always full of grace” (Colossians
4:6). Lord, may our words “bring a blessing to those who hear” them
(Ephesians 4:29).
Job 19:8-29
“I know that
my Redeemer lives … In the end He will stand upon the earth” (Job
19:25-26). Lord, we read these great words of faith, spoken by Job, and
our thoughts turn to Jesus. We think of His resurrection – He “has
risen” from the dead” (Matthew 28:6). We think of His return – He will
return “with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30). We think of “our
redemption” – “When He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see
Him as He is”; “We shall always be with the Lord” (Luke 21:27-28); 1
John 3:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:17). We think of all of these things –
Christ’s resurrection, His return, our redemption, and we give to You,
Lord, our thanks, our praise, our hearts and our lives. To You, Lord, be
all the glory!
Job 20:1-29
Lord, we read
Zophar’s detailed description of “the wicked man’s portion from God, the
heritage decreed for him by God” (Job 20:29). We wonder if Zophar has
ever thought of asking the question:’ Help us, Lord, to learn from
Zophar ‘Does all of this apply to Job? Is Job a wicked man? Is Job being
punished by God? Help us, Lord, to learn from Zophar’s mistakes. Help
us to listen to what You’re saying to us before we start telling other
people what we think You should be saying to them. May our words be
Gospel words – words of love, words of encouragement, words of hope. May
our words bring glory to Your Name, the Name of love, the Name of Your
salvation.
Job 21:1-34
Lord, we sense Job’s
deep disappointment, as he says to his ‘comforters’, “How then will you
comfort me with empty nothings? There is nothing left of your answers
but falsehood” (Job 21:34). We thank You, Lord, that Job was looking
beyond his ‘comforters’. He was looking to You: “He knows the way that I
take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).
When life is hard, and it’s difficult to understand what’s going on,
help us to hold on to Your promise: “Those who wait on the Lord shall
renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles … ”
(Isaiah 40:31).
Job 22:1-23:7
Lord, we read
Job’s question: “Would He contend with me in the greatness of His
power?” We also read his answer: “No; He would give heed to me” (Job
23:6). We thank You that You are not only the God of great power. You
are also the God of great love. If You, Lord, were nothing but power, we
would have good reason to be terrified of You. At the Cross of Jesus,
we see how much You love us. In Jesus’ resurrection, we see Your power.
It’s not just the power to do strange and mysterious miracles. It’s the
power of Your love – the love that lifts us when we’re down, the love
that leads us on to a life, in which there will be “no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4).
Job 23:8-24:5
Lord,
life can be so confusing. We see Job, trusting in You – “He knows the
way that I take … ” (Job 23:10). We also hear him saying, ” … the
Almighty has terrified me … ” (Job 23:16-17). Where, Lord, do these
negative thoughts come from? Do they come from You? No! They come from
Satan! This is not “the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of
wisdom” (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7). This is the fear that comes from
Satan What are we to do when fear threatens to overwhelm us? What are we
to do when fear threatens to destroy our trust in You? We look to You,
Lord. You “have not given us a spirit of fear.” You’ve given us Your
“Spirit of power and love.” You give us “a sound mind.” Help us, Lord,
to keep on looking to You. May Your “perfect love cast out our fear” (2
Timothy 1:7; 1 John 4:18).
Job 25:1-27:6
Lord,
we hear biting sarcasm in Job’s response to his ‘comforters’: “How you
have helped him who has no power! How you have saved the arm that has no
strength!” (Job 26:2). We hear Job’s searching question: “With whose
help have you uttered words, and whose spirit has me forth from you?”
(Job 26:4), and we pray, “Lord, help us to listen for the voice of Your
love – and not to be deceived, discouraged, and distressed by words that
come to us from Satan.”
Job 27:7-28:28
“The
fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding”
(Job 28:28). Give to us, Lord, the wisdom that is centred on Christ, the
wisdom that receives “salvation through faith in Christ Jesus”, the
wisdom that leads us to become “mature in Christ”, the wisdom that is
Christlike, the wisdom that gives glory to Christ (1 Corinthians
1:30-31; 2 Timothy 3:15; Colossians 1:28; James 3:17).
Job 29:1-30:31
When,
Lord, we start wondering, ‘Why are these bad things happening to us?’,
help us to start thin king something else: “Why have You blessed us with
so many good things?” (Job 30:27,31; Job 29:4-5). Help us, Lord, to
thank You for Your good days, and to trust You in our bad days.
Job 31:1-40
“Job
… was blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from
evil” (Job 1:1). Again and again, Lord, we fall far short of this ideal
(Romans 3:23). How can our sins be forgiven? How can our guilt be
removed? We thank You that “the blood of Jesus, Your Son, cleanses us
from all sin” (1 John 1:7). This is more than having our sins forgiven.
You, Lord, are leading us n the paths of righteousness. Create in us a
deeper longing to become more like Jesus, our Saviour – and help us to
give all the glory to You (Psalm 23:3; Psalm 51:10).
Job 32:1-33:18
“Understanding”
comes from “the breath of the Almighty” (Job 32:8). “God does speak –
now, one way, now another – though man may not perceive it” (Job 33:14).
We thank You, Lord, that You have spoken to us through Your Word. You
still speak to us through Your Word. It’s Your Spirit who brings Your
Word to us. We do not always understand what You are saying to us. There
is always more than we can take in. When, Lord, we feel that we’re out
of our depth, help us to keep on listening, to keep on believing – and
to pray for “understanding” that will lead to new life; a life that is
grounded in the Scriptures, a life that is centred on the Saviour, a
life that is filled with the Spirit, a life that brings glory to You.
Job 33:19-34:20
When
things are going well, help us to remember to say, “Thank You, Lord.”
When things start going badly, help us to remember that You are still
with us – and You haven’t stopped loving us. You haven’t left us on our
own. You’re there beside us, every step of the way. In all of life – our
times of suffering as well as our times of blessing, draw us, Lord,
closer to Yourself and give us this powerful testimony; “He redeemed my
soul from going down to the pit, and I shall love to enjoy the light”
(Job 33:28-30).
Job 34:21-35:16
“If you
have sinned” (Job 35:6). Help us, Lord, to think about Job, about Jesus,
and about ourselves. “Job feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). Job
wasn’t being singled out for special punishment, because he was much
more sinful than anyone else – but this doesn’t mean that he had never
sinned (Job 7:21; Job 13:26). Help us, Lord, to look beyond Job to
Jesus. He did not sin (Hebrews 4:14-16) – but He did suffer: “He
suffered for us … He bore our sins … He died for us … He died for our
sins” (1 Peter 2:21-24; Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3). Thank You,
Lord, for Jesus, our Saviour. When we sin, help us to come to Jesus. He
is our “Redeemer” (Job 19:25). He gives us “quietness” and “songs in the
night” (Job 34:29; Job 35:10). Help us, Lord, to “be still and know
that You are our God.” Help us to “shout for joy to You” (Psalm 46:10;
Psalm 98:4).
Job 36:1-33
“God is mighty,
and does not despise any” (Job 36:5). Lord, You are great in power. You
are great in love. How sad it would be if You had great love for us, but
did not have the power to save us. How terrifying it would be if You
had great power, but had no love, in Your heart, for us. What a joy it is
to know that You are both the God of great power and the God of great
love. You are “abundant in power.” You “heal the broken-hearted and …
lift up the downtrodden.” We think, Lord, about Your great power and
Your great love, and we say, “Praise the Lord!” We “sing to You with
thanksgiving.” We “make melody to You.” We “sing praises to You” (Psalm
147:1-7).
Job 37:1-24
“The Almighty is
great in power and … He does not oppress” (Job 37:23). Lord, Your power
is loving power. Your love is powerful love. We see Your power in Jesus –
“He is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God through Him”
(Hebrews 7:25). We see Your love in Jesus – “I will never turn away any
one who comes to Me” (John 6:37). In the world, we see the love of
power. It’s a very destructive thing. In Jesus, we see the power of
love. He uses His power to show us His love. He shows us His love when,
through His mighty power, He saves us. Thank You, Lord, for Jesus. What
a great Saviour He is!
Job 38:1-38
Lord,
we do an awful lot of talking about ourselves, and not very much
listening to You. When it seems to us that our problems are bigger than
Your power, help us to start listening to what Your Word is saying to
us. There are many questions for which we have no answers – Why has this
happened to us? Why did it turn out this way? Why this? Why that? When,
Lord, it seems to be all questions and no answers, help us to remember
this: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My
help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm
121:1-2).
Job 38:39-40:14
"I am unworthy - how
can I reply to You? I put my hand over my mouth ... I have no answer
... I will say no more" (Job 40:3-5). When, Lord, You speak to us about
sin - "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God", we have
nothing to say in our own defence: "every mouth is silenced" (Romans
3:23,19). We thank You, Lord, that, when You speak to us about our sin,
You also speak to us of Your love, the death of Christ for our sins, the
forgiveness of our sins and the cleansing of our hearts and lives
(Romans 5:8; 1 John 1:7-10).
Job 40:15-41:34
"Who can stand before Me?" (Job 41:10). Lord, You put this question to
every one of us. There are two answers to this question. The first
speaks to us of our sin. The second speaks to us of our Saviour. When,
Lord, You speak to us of our sin, it's bad news: "There is no-one
righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10). When You speak to us of our
Saviour, it's Good News. Jesus is "without sin." He is "Your beloved Son
with whom You are well pleased." He has "died for our sins" (Hebrews
4:14-16; Matthew 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:3). Thank You, Lord, for
Jesus - Your beloved Son, our wonderful Saviour.
Job 42:1-17
We read, Lord, about Job being brought close to You, his 'friends'
being forgiven by You and everyone being happy about the way things
turned out for Job (Job 42:5-11). We wonder, "Is there always a happy
ending?" In this earthly life, we will never reach a stage where there
will be no more problems, and everything will be just fine. Help us,
Lord, to look beyond this earthly life. Help us to catch a glimpse of
the "salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." Our suffering
will be for "a little while." We thank You, Lord, that Your salvation will be forever (1 Peter 1:5-7).
____________________________
PSALMS
Lord,
we thank You that Your way is the best way. It’s ‘make up your mind’
time. Every day, we must make up our mind – Will it be the way of the
world? Will it be the way of the Word? It cannot be both. It must be one
or the other.
Lord, help us to choose Your way. Help us to keep
on choosing Your way. May we always know, in our hearts, that Your way
is the best way.
We
thank You, Lord, for Jesus Christ – Your Son, our Saviour. What a great
Saviour He is! When we think of Jesus, may our hearts be filled with
true and lasting joy. We search for happiness – but we don’t find it.
Why? – Because we look in the wrong place. We look within ourselves.
What do we find? – An emptiness which keeps on gnawing away at us,
‘There must be more than this.’ There is. There’s Jesus. He changes our
focus. We start looking less at ourselves and more at Him. We see that
real happiness – true and lasting joy – doesn’t come from within
ourselves. It comes from Jesus – “Hallelujah! I have found Him … Through
His blood I now am saved.”
Lord,
we are surrounded by so many enemies. They are Your enemies, enemies of
Your Gospel, enemies of Your truth, What are we to do? What can we do?
Left to ourselves, we are helpless. Our situation is hopeless – until
You come to us with Your love and Your power. You assure us that You
love us. You are with us and You lead us in the pathway of holiness and
victory. You lead us on the pathway that brings glory to You.
Lord,
we thank You that You answer the sinner’s prayer. Jesus is Your Answer.
He is our Saviour. He is the Gospel Answer. He is the Good News that we
need to hear. He is the Good News of Your amazing love. He is the Good
News of Your saving power. Lord, we thank You for Jesus – our wonderful
Saviour.
Lord,
without Your help, we are nothing and we can do nothing. We need You,
Lord. We can never be what You call us to be if we don’t come to You and
receive strength from You. We come to You in our weakness. It is the
weakness of our sin. We come to receive Your strength. It is the
strength of Your salvation.
Lord,
help us not to get bogged down in what’s happening to us right now.
Help us to lift up our eyes and see Jesus. Help us not only to see Him
as a figure from the past – a man who lived a long time ago. Help us to
see Him as the Lord who is coming to us from the future, coming to us
from the glory coming to us from heaven. coming with His salvation,
coming to establish Your eternal Kingdom.
Psalm 7:1-17
Sometimes,
Lord, we feel like we’re in a deep, dark hole. We don’t want to be in
this place – but we are! Help us to know that You’re there with us.
You’re not there to blame us for getting into this mess. You’re there to
assure us that there is hope.
Psalm 8:1-9
Lord,
we thank You that You don’t keep Your distance from us. You come near
to us. You show us Your love. You give us Your peace. You fill our
hearts with Your joy. You lead us forward with hope. Thank You, Lord.
Psalm 9:1-20
“I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart …My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you .… The Lord reigns forever … The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble” (Psalm 9:1,3,7,9).
We
give thanks to You, Lord. Where does our thanksgiving begin? It begins
with thinking. We think – and we thank. We think about what You have
done for us. We thank You for what You have done for us.
We
thank You, Lord, that we have the victory in Christ. When Satan attacks
us, help us to remind him that Jesus is Lord. Help us to tell him,
“Jesus is our Saviour – and He’s a lot stronger than you are!” We thank
You, Lord, that Satan – our determined enemy – is also our defeated
enemy. He’s been defeated by Jesus – and Jesus gives His victory to us!
When Satan to us, “I’m stronger than you are”, help us to answer him
with Your Word: “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
Psalm 10:1-18
Lord,
when it feels like You’ve forgotten us, help us to see the truth as it
really is. We have forgotten You. We’ve taken our eyes off You – and now
everything’s out of focus. There’s a blurring of our vision. Lord, take
us to the Cross of Jesus. Show us that we’re not forgotten. We’re
remembered.
Psalms 11:1-13:6
We
thank You, Lord, that You have opened up for us a great future. What
glory awaits us in Your eternal Kingdom. What encouragement this gives
to us when we’re going through a hard time! Help us, Lord, to lift up
our eyes, to catch a glimpse of Your glory, to be changed by Your glory
(2 Corinthians 3:18). Help us to “turn our eyes upon Jesus”, to “look
full in His wonderful face.” As we look upon Jesus, may “the things of
earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
Psalms 14:1-15:5
When
our faith is being sorely tested, help us, Lord, to turn to You. Help
us to know that, through it all, You are there with us – suffering with
us, leading us into Your joy. Teach us, in our suffering, to wait for
the day when You will “restore our fortunes”, when You will answer our
prayer: “O that salvation … would come”, when we will, again, “rejoice”
and be “glad” in You (Psalm 14:7).
Psalm 16:1-11
True
and lasting joy comes from You, Lord. This joy doesn’t depend on good
things happening to us. Even when bad things are happening to us, this
joy, Your joy, is still there – because You are still there. You’re with
us – and You’re for us. The world cannot give this joy to us. Joy is
Your gift. The world cannot take this joy away from us. Whatever happens
to us, there’s one thing that never changes – You are our God. This is
where our joy comes from. It comes from Your faithfulness. Help us to
remember this – especially when everything seems to be pulling us away
from You.
Psalm 17:1-15
Lord,
we long for a closer walk with You. Sometimes, Lord, we take our eyes
off Jesus, our Saviour – and we wander far away from You. Always, You
are calling us back to Yourself. In love, You wait for us to return to
You. You call us to make a new beginning with You.
Psalm 18:1-24
Lord,
You are “our strength, our rock, our fortress, our deliverer, our
shield and the horn of our salvation, our stronghold (Psalm 18:1-2).
What more can we ask for? You are all that we need – and more! Help us,
Lord, not to stagger along in our own strength when You’re calling us to
stand in Your strength and march on with You to victory (Ephesians
6:13). Our own strength isn’t strength. It’s weakness. Your strength is
the only true strength. We are strong when we stand upon Your gracious
promise – “My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is mad e perfect
in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Psalm 18:25-50
We thank You, Lord, for Your salvation and Your victory. Help us to walk with You in salvation and victory, obeying Your command – “Clothe yourselves in humility”, heeding Your warning – “God opposes the proud”, and trusting Your promise – He “gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).
Psalm 19:1-14
Lord,
You’re always speaking to us. Every day and every night,You speak to us
through Your created world. You prepare us for hearing the voice of
Jesus, Your living Word. He speaks to us through the Scriptures, Your
written Word. Help us, Lord, to become aware of Your presence, to listen
to the voice of Jesus – calling us to come to You, and to receive new
life, as we put our trust in Jesus, our Saviour.
Psalms 20:1-21:13
“We
trust in the Name of the Lord our God…Through the unfailing love of the
Most High’ we ‘shall not be moved” (Psalms 20:7; 21:7). Lord, we
thank You that You are a solid rock for our faith. You are the only
solid rock for our faith. Without You, Lord, the foundations
are shaking. We’re about to collapse. You pick us up. We’re broken in
pieces. You put us together again. Our life is going nowhere. You give
us a new sense of direction. Without this input from You, our lives are
empty. Everything we do is futile. When You are there with us,
everything changes. It’s Your love that makes the difference. It’s Your
love that changes us. Thank You, Lord, for Your love.
When
our future seems so uncertain, help us, Lord, to put our trust in You.
Help us to remember Your Son, Jesus. Help us to remember that He is our
Saviour. When we fear the worst, may we always remember that our Saviour
is absolutely trustworthy and completely dependable. When our love for
Him seems so weak, may we remember that His love is never weak. It’s
always strong. When we fail Him, may we remember that He will never fail
us. His love is an unfailing love. When we’re feeling down, may the
love of Jesus lift us up. When we don’t feel like singing, may we look
to You to fill our hearts with praise to You.
Psalm 22:1-18
“My
God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1). This was the
Psalmist’s prayer. Often, it’s our prayer - it’s the way we feel, even
if we don’t actually speak the words! More than that, it was our
Saviour’s prayer (Matthew 27:46|). On the Cross, “our sin was laid on
Him” (Isaiah 53:6). When we’re suffering, help us to see Jesus –
suffering for us. Help us to see Him – risen, exalted and returning for
us. Help us to say, “Thank You, Lord. I am not forsaken. I am forgiven.”
Psalms 22:19-23:4
We
thank You, Lord, for Jesus Christ, our great Saviour. He died for us.
He was raised from the dead for us. He is coming again for us. We think
of all that He has done for us, and we say, “Hallelujah! What a
Saviour!”
Psalm 23:1-6
Sometimes, we
nibble at our food. We don’t feel like eating. We’re off-colour. Often,
Lord, we’re like that with Your Word. We could be enjoying a feast –
but we’re not! We’re too easily satisfied. There’s no real hungering and
thirsting for Your life-giving Word. Lord, give us more hunger for You.
Fill us with a deeper desire for Your presence and Your blessing. Help
us to feast on Your Word – the Word of life, the Word which we need so
much, the Word which leads us into all the blessing that You want so
much to give to us.
Psalms 23:5-24:10
Lord,
we thank You that You are preparing a wonderful future for us. It’s
glory with You. It’s eternal life: “I shall dwell in the House of the
Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6). Fill our hearts, O Lord, with resurrection
hope – the true and living hope, the sure and steadfast hope that comes
from knowing You, the God who has raised Your Son, the God who raises us
up, with Jesus, to everlasting life.
Psalm 25:1-22
Knowing
You, Lord, is more important than knowing a lot about this, that and
the other subject. Where does the best education come from? It comes from
You. You teach us about the things that really matter. you teach us
about eternal things. You teach us what life is really all about. You
are “the God of our salvation.” You “lead us in Your truth” – the truth
that changes us, the truth which inspires us to become all that You want
us to be (Psalm 25:5).
Psalm 26:1-27:12
“Your
love is ever before me, and I will walk continually in Your truth”
(Psalm 26:3). Lord, it’s Your love for us that inspires our loyalty to
You. You love us. This is what makes us want to walk with You. In Your
love, You lead us in the way of Your salvation. We don’t begin with
walking with You. We begin with worshipping You. We celebrate Your love
for us, and we receive Your strength – strength for living the new life,
the life that brings glory to You.
Psalms 28:1-29:11
Lord,
You are “the strength of Your people.” May each of us say, “You are my
strength” (Psalm 28:7-8). Your strength comes to us through fellowship.
We receive strength from others, and we give strength to them. Your
strength is more than human strength – the strength that comes to us
through fellowship. It is the strength which comes to us through faith –
faith in You, our Lord and our God.
Psalm 30:1-12
“I
will exalt You, O Lord” (Psalm 30;1). Lord, You are not exalted because
we exalt You. We exalt You because You are exalted. How do we come to
the point where we exalt You? We realize our need of You – “when You hid
Your face, I was dismayed” (Psalm 30:7). We look to You for mercy – “To
You, O Lord, I called; to the Lord, I cried for mercy” (Psalm 30:8).
You hear and answer our prayer – “You turned my wailing into dancing.
You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy” (Psalm 30:11). You
call us to worship You – “Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints,
and give thanks to His holy Name” (Psalm 30:4). Help us, Lord, to
worship You: “O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever” (Psalm
30:12).
Psalm 31:1-24
“Into
Thy hand, I commit my spirit” (Psalm 31:5). As we read these words,
Lord, our thoughts turn to Jesus Christ, crucified for us. In death, He
gave Himself for our sins (Luke 23:46). Beyond His “affliction and the
anguish of His soul”, there was the “spacious place” of His resurrection
– and there was, for us, “eternal salvation” (Psalm 31:7-8; Hebrews
5:7-9). Lord, we look to Jesus, our crucified Saviour, and we say,
“Praise be to the Lord, for He showed His wonderful love to us” (Psalm
31:21). We thank You for Jesus, our risen Lord. In Him, we are “strong
and our hearts take courage” (Psalm 31:24).
Psalm 32:1-11
We
come to You, Lord, with our sin. You come to us with Your forgiveness.
What a tremendous blessing this is – the forgiveness of our sins (Psalm
32:1-2). You give Your promise to us: “If we confess our sins, God is
faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). We bring our prayer to You: “I make my
sins known to You, and I did not cover up my guilt. I decided to confess
them to You, O Lord. Then You forgave all my sins” (Psalm 32:5).
Psalm 33:1-22
“Rejoice
in the Lord, O you righteous” (Psalm 33:1). Lord, we have so many
reasons for rejoicing in You. You have opened Your heart to us (Psalm
33:11). You have shown Your love to us (Psalm 33:5). Help us to trust in
Your Word, and rest in Your faithfulness (Psalm 33:4). We rejoice in
“Your unfailing love” (Psalm 33:20,22).
Psalm 34:1-22
Lord,
we rejoice in Your salvation (Psalm 34:4-6). We say, “I will bless the
Lord at all times” (Psalm 34:1). Help us to bring others with us,
calling on them to worship You, with joy (Psalm 34:3,8). Help us to
share Your Word with them (Psalm 34:11), and to lead them on to
spiritual maturity (Psalm 34:14; Hebrews 5:14).
Psalm 35:1-28
“Contend,
O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight
against me!” (Psalm 35:1). When, Lord, we feel that we are under
pressure from the unbelieving world, help us to remember the words of
Jesus: “In the world, you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world” (John 16:33). Help us to rejoice in Your victory
(Romans 8:31; 1 Corinthians 15:57). Help us to say, from our hearts, “I
will thank Thee … I will praise Thee … all day long” (Psalm 35:18,2,8).
Psalm 36:1-12
We
thank You, Lord, for “Your steadfast love” (Psalm 36:5,7,10). Your love
is the best love. It’s the greatest love of all. Your love is very
wonderful. We rejoice in Your love. We are amazed at Your love. We look
at Jesus, Your Son, crucified for us, and we say, “Amazing love, how can
it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?” Jesus died for us. Now,
He lives in us. In love, You are leading us on into Your future – on to
“fullness of joy in Your presence” (Psalm 16:11).
Psalm 37:1-40
Lord,
You tell us that “those who trust in You … will dwell in the land”, and
those who turn from You will “perish” (Psalm 37:3,20). You’re calling
us on to “a heavenly country” (Hebrews 1:16). It will be better than
anything we’ve ever known here on earth. You’ve shown us the way to this
heavenly country. Jesus is the Way. He opens the door for us – and He
will welcome us. Help us, Lord, to trust in Jesus, our Saviour, now –
and to look forward to being welcomed by Him into Your eternal Kingdom.
Psalm 38:1-22
“My
guilt has overwhelmed me. Like a heavy load, it is more than I can
bear” (Psalm 38:4). What, Lord, are we to do when things seem to be
going from bad to worse? What are we to do when everything seems to be
falling apart? When, Lord, we are “completely devastated” and our “heart
is in turmoil” (Psalm 38:8), help us to join with the Psalmist in
saying, “I wait with hope for You, O Lord” (Psalm 38:15).
Psalm 39:1-13
Some
live to a ripe old age. Others die young. What are we to make of this?
What, Lord, are You saying to us about this? We read what the Psalmist
says, “My life span is nothing compared with Yours” (Psalm 39:5). Help
us, Lord, to think about the quality of our living – “How am I
living?” as well as the quantity of our years. “How long have I
lived?” Teach us that life is not only about survival – living for a
long time. It’s also about revival – living in the light of eternity.
Help us to put “our hope in You” (Psalm 39:7), and to live as “citizens
of heaven,” who are looking forward to the return of our Saviour, the
Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).
Psalm 40:1-17
Lord,
we thank You for Your gifts – salvation, security, singing and sharing.
You have saved us – “He drew me up from the desolate pit … ” (Psalm
40:1). You give us security – You “set my feet on a rock, making my feet
secure” (Psalm 40:1). You give to us “a new song … a song of praise to
our God” (Psalm 40:3). You give us something wonderful to share with
other people – “I have not hidden Thy saving help within my heart, I
have spoken of Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation … ” (Psalm 40:10).
Thank You, Lord.
Psalm 41:1-13
When
everything seems to be going wrong, help us, Lord, not to forget about
You. Things will only get worse, if we turn away from You. Help us to
turn to You, and receive help from You. Give us the strength that we
need to say, with confident faith, “My enemy has not triumphed over me”
(Psalm 41:1). Help us to rejoice in You, Lord, and to say, from our
hearts, “Blessed is the Lord .. ” (Psalm 41:13).
Lord,
help us to move beyond the shallow waters – to move, with You, into the
deeper waters of Your love and Your blessing. We think of deep water –
and we think of danger. Yes! There is danger – but there is also
something else. You are with us – and You assure us that, though the
dangers are great, You are greater than they are! Lord, lead us into the
deeper waters – not with fear of the dangers, but with expectation of
Your blessing!
We
ask the question – “Why are you downcast, O my soul?” You give us Your
answer: “Put your hope in God” (Psalm 42:5,11; Psalm 43:5). Often, Lord,
our minds are so full of our questions that we fail to hear Your
answers. Help us to stop talking and start listening – “Speak, for Your
servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:8-10). It’s Your Word that brings us
out of our darkness, and into Your light. – “Send forth Your light and
Your truth, let them guide me … ” (Psalm 43:5).
Psalm 44:1-26
Victory
comes from You, Lord. In ourselves, we are defeated. In You, there is
victory. It’s so easy to forget this. We take our eyes off You, and we
get despondent – “You have rejected and humbled us …You have made us
retreat before the enemy … You gave us up to be devoured like sheep … My
disgrace is before me all day long … ” (Psalm 44:9-16). What are we to
do when such negative thoughts fill our minds? Lord, help us to pray,
“Awake, O Lord! … Rise up and help us; redeem us because of Your
unfailing love” (Psalm 44:23,26).
Psalm 45:1-17
We
thank You, Lord, that Jesus is “the most excellent of men” (Psalm
45:2). He is much more than that. We look at Jesus Christ, the risen
Lord (Acts 2:24, 36), and we say, “Your throne, O God, will last for
ever and ever” (Psalm 45:6; Hebrews 1:8). Help us to approach our Lord
Jesus Christ with “reverence”, “honouring” Him, “bowing down” before
Him, “worshipping” Him, and “obeying” Him (Psalm 45:11).
Psalms 46:1-47:9
You
call us, Lord, to “be still and know that You are God” (Psalm 46:10).
You call us to “shout to You with songs of joy” (Psalm 47:2). Your Word
brings peace to our hearts – “In quietness and in confidence shall be
your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). Your blessing is not to be kept to
ourselves – “Sing to the Lord … Let them shout from the top of the
mountains. Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare His praise in
the coastlands” (Isaiah 42:10-12). Help us, Lord, to rejoice in Your
love for us, and to share Your love with others.
Psalm 48:1-14
Lord,
we worship You in the place of worship – “Within Your Temple, we
meditate on Your unfailing love.” Help us to go out from there, and play
our part in seeing that Your praise “reaches to the ends of the
earth” (Psalm 48:: 9-11). How will other people know of Your love, if we
don’t tell them? How will they find their way to Your House, if we
don’t invite them? When we share Your Word with others, help us to
remember Your promise: “My Word … will not return to Me empty, but will …
achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
Psalm 49:1-20
How
can I be saved? Is there a more important question than this? In Your
Word, Lord, You speak to us about our need of salvation and Your
provision of salvation. You call us to receive Your salvation. We cannot
save ourselves – “No man can ransom himself, or give to God the price
of his life. The price to be paid for his soul is too costly” (Psalm
49:7-8). We thank You that Your Son,Jesus, came to earth “to give His
life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Help us, Lord, to believe Your
promise – “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts
16:31), and to enter into the blessing that is promised – “He who
believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36).
Psalm 50:1-23
“Our
God comes, He does not keep silence … God the Lord speaks” (Psalm
50:3,1). We thank You, Lord, that You do not keep Your distance from us.
You come near to us. We thank You that You do not keep Your silence.
You speak to us. How do You come near to us? How do You speak to us? You
come near to us in Jesus. He is “the Word made flesh” (John 1:14). You
speak to us through Jesus, Your living “Word” (John 1:1).
Psalm 51:1-19
“Create
in me, a clean heart, O God … Cast me not away from Thy presence …
Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation” (Psalm 51:10-12). Lord, these
words come to us from the ancient past. They can become words that
change our future – words for making a new beginning with You. We
have sinned. We need to be forgiven. May Your love reach us. May Your
power change us. May we know the truth and power of Jesus’ gracious and
precious promise: “I will never turn away anyone who comes to Me” (John
6:37).
Psalms 52:1-53:6
“I
am like a green olive tree in the House of God” (Psalm 52:9). Here,
Lord, we have a picture of growth and fruitfulness. In Your House, we
can grow spiritually. In Your House, we can become spiritually fruitful.
When, Lord, we pray for Your blessing, help us not to think only of
ourselves. Help us to pray for all of Your people – “Oh, that salvation
for Israel would come from Zion.” “Restore the fortunes of Your people.”
May all of Your people “rejoice and be glad” (Psalm 53:6).
Psalms 54:1-55:23
Sometimes,
Lord, we face opposition from people who are outside of Your Church:
“Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life – men with no
regard for God” (Psalm 54:3). Sometimes, the opposition comes from
people we know very well: “my close friend, with whom I enjoyed sweet
fellowship, as we worshipped together at the House of God” (Psalm
55:13-14). What are we to do? Are we to run away from it all – “I would
flee far away … far from the tempest and storm” (Psalm 55:6-8)? Would it
not be better to remember this: “God is my Helper” (Psalm 54:4). Help
us, Lord, to remember Your promise: “Cast your burden on the Lord, and
He will sustain you.” Help us to say, “I will call upon God, and the
Lord will save me” (Psalm 55:16,22).
Psalms 56:1-57:11
“Be
gracious to me, O God … Be merciful to us, O God” (Psalm 56:1;
Psalm 57:1). In mercy, Lord, You don’t send to us the judgment we
deserve. In grace, You give to us the salvation we don’t deserve.
How
do You do this for us? You make Your grace and mercy available to us
through Your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. How do we receive Your
grace and mercy? We look to the Cross of Christ. There, we see Your
“steadfast love and faithfulness” (Psalm 57:3,10). Your love is eternal
love. It’s love unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable – “I will give
thanks to You, O Lord … I will sing praises to You … Be exalted, O God”
(Psalm 57:9-11).
Psalms 58:1-59:17
“Surely
there is a God who judges the earth … Deliver me from my enemies, O my
God” (Psalm 58:11; Psalm 59:1). May these words send us to the Cross of
Christ. We come in our need. Lord, we need Your forgiveness and Your
victory. What do we find at the Cross of our Saviour? – “My God in His
steadfast love will meet me … My God will let me look in triumph over my
enemies” (Psalm 59:10). What a great Saviour we have! We think of His
love and His power, and our hearts are filled with praise to You – “I
will sing of Your strength … I will sing of Your love … O my Strength, I
sing praises to You; You, O God, are my Fortress, my loving God” (Psalm
59:16-17).
Psalms 60:1-61:8
“With
God we shall gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies”
(Psalm 60:12). When, Lord, we’re feeling defeated, Your Word gives us
great encouragement. The battle isn’t ours. It’s Yours. The victory
isn’t ours. It’s Yours. In the heat of the battle, You are our “strong
tower against the enemy” (Psalm 61:3). When we’re feeling the ferocity
of Satan’s hostility towards the truth of Your Word and the Gospel of
Your grace, help us to remember that You, Lord, are “enthroned for ever”
(Psalm 61:7).
Psalms 62:1-63:11
You,
Lord, are “our rock and our salvation” (Psalm 62:2,6). We think of Your
Son, Jesus Christ – the “Rock of our salvation” (1 Corinthians
10:1-4,16), and we say, “Your steadfast love is better than life … I
will praise You as long as I live” (Psalm 63:3-4). We look at Jesus, our
great Saviour, and we say, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable
gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).
Psalms 64:1-65:13
“Let
the righteous rejoice in the Lord” (Psalm 64:10). Lord, You give us joy
– true joy, lasting joy. This is Your joy. It’s not just a passing
emotion. It’s more than a feeling that doesn’t last very long. Your joy
changes us. It gives us the strength to live as “a new creation” (2
Corinthians 5:17).
Psalm 66:1-67:7
“Come
and see what God has done …Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I
will tell you what He has done for me” (Psalm 66:5,16). Lord, You invite
us to read the story of all that You have done for us. You invite us to
let the story of Your salvation become real in our lives. Help us,
Lord, to come to You with this prayer – “May God be gracious to us and
bless us … ” Help us to receive Your answer – “God has blessed us”, to
“be glad and sing for joy,” and to call “all the ends of the earth” to
“worship You” (Psalm 67:1,4,6-7).
Psalm 68:1-35
Lord,
You are “the God of salvation.” You are “our salvation” (Psalm
68:19-20). Your salvation covers our past, present and future. You
have saved us – You have forgiven our sins (Romans 5:1). You are saving
us – You are making us the kind of people that You want us to be (Romans
5:3-5). You will save us – You’re leading us on to Your eternal glory
(Romans 5:9-10). From beginning to end, salvation is Your work. It is
such a great salvation. Help us to rejoice in You – and to give all the
glory to You (Psalm 68:13,35).
Psalm 69:1-36
When,
Lord, we are going through “the deep waters” of suffering, help us to
pray to You for deliverance (Psalm 69:16). We have sinned against You.
We do not try to hide this – "the wrongs that I have done are not hidden
from You, my guilt is not hidden from You” (Psalm 69:5). You are the God
of “steadfast love” and “abundant mercy” (Psalm 69:16). We remember
that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” You don’t send
the judgment we deserve – This is Your mercy. You send the blessing we
don't deserve – This is Your grace. Help us to come to You and receive
Your “mercy” and Your “grace” (1 Timothy 1:13-16; Hebrews 4:14-16).
Psalms 70:1-71:24
“May
all, who seek You, rejoice and be glad in You! May those who love your
salvation continually say, ‘God is great!’” (Psalm 70:4). When, Lord,
we’re going through “many terrible troubles”, help us to look beyond our
problems, to look to You, to know that You are our “rock of refuge” and
our “strong fortress” (Psalm 71:3), and to say, from our hearts, “You
have done great things, O God … You will revive us again” (Psalm
71:19-20).
Psalm 72:1-20
Lord,
we read the words – “His Name shall endure for ever” (Psalm 72:17),
and we think of Your Son, Jesus. His Name is “the Name above all other
names.” He is “the King of kings and Lord of lords” (Philippians 2:9-11;
Revelation 19:16). We read the words – “all nations shall call Him
blessed” (Psalm 72:17), and, again, our thoughts turn to Jesus, our
Saviour. “From every tribe and language and people and nation, “Your
people have been redeemed by His precious blood” (Revelation 5:9). We
read the words – “May His glory fill the whole earth!” (Psalm 72:19),
and we rejoice in Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin
of the world” (John 1:29). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus. What a wonderful
Saviour He is!
Psalm 73:1-28
Lord,
it’s so easy for us to lose our way – “my feet had almost stumbled.” We
look at “the prosperity of the wicked”, and we become “envious of the
arrogant” (Psalm 73:2-3). When others are forgetting about You, help us
to keep on saying, “For me, it is good to be near God! – in “the
sanctuary of God” (Psalm 73:28). When we leave the place of worship,
help us to tell others what You “have done” for us. Help us to say to
others, “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His Name together”
(Psalm 34:3).
Psalm 74:1-23
Lord,
You have “redeemed” us. You have brought “salvation” to us (Psalm
74:2,12). We rejoice in the Old Testament story of redemption
(Deuteronomy 7:8). We have much greater joy when we think of Jesus: “In
Him we have redemption through His blood.” This is “the Gospel of our
salvation.” It is “good news of a great joy.” Through faith in Him, we
“rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy.” We look forward to “the
salvation of our souls.” We say “Hallelujah! Salvation ans glory and
power belong to our God” (Ephesians 1:7,13; Luke 2:10; 1 Peter 1:5,8-9;
Revelation 19:1).
Psalms 75:1-76:12
“We give
thanks to You, O God … I will rejoice for ever, I will sing praises to
the God of Jacob. Make your vows to the Lord your God, and perform them”
(Psalm 785:1,9; Psalm 76:11). Teach us, Lord, that true rejoicing in
You is more than singing praise to You. Teach us to live what we sing.
“Fill Thou our life, O Lord our God, in every part with praise.” “Take
my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.” Such words are not
to be forgotten as soon as we leave the place of worship. They’re more
than words for singing. They’re words for living. How, Lord, can we live
a life of praise and consecration? – “I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
Psalm 77:1-20
Sometimes,
Lord, we have more questions than answers (Psalm 77:7-9). The questions
keep flooding into our minds. We wonder where the answers are going to
come from. What, Lord, are we to do when this happens? We remember what
You have done for us (Psalm 77:11-12). Help us, Lord, to look back over
the “years” – and remember that Your “hand” has been upon us (Psalm
77:5,10). May the memories of Your many blessings fill us with strength –
to face the future with confidence in You. Help us, Lord. to trust in
You – and be truly happy.
Psalm 78:1-39
When,
Lord, we’re asking the question, “Can God spread a table in the
wilderness?” (Psalm 78:19), help us to hear Your answer: “You prepare a
table before me in the presence of my enemies.” At Your “table”, You
bless us – “You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5).
Help us to come to Jesus, Your Son. He is our Saviour. Help us to come
to His “table”, to drink from “the cup of salvation” and to be “anointed
with the oil of gladness” (Psalm 116:7; Psalm 45:7).
Psalm 78:40-72
Lord,
You led Your people out of Egypt, through the desert and into Your
“holy land” (Psalm 78:52, 42-43,51,54-55). You did great things for
Israel. You do great things for us – “You restore our soul. You lead us
in the paths of righteousness for Your Name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). We
thank You, Lord, for Your many blessings – “peace with God”, standing in
Your “grace”, “our hope of sharing the glory of God”, “Your love poured
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:1-5).
Psalm 79:1-13
So
many people are turning away from You, Lord. They no longer worship
You. We wonder, “Can things be turned around?” It would be so easy to
give up and go the way of the world. “Help us, O God of our salvation”
(Psalm 79:9) – to keep on praising You: “We, Your people, the flock which
You shepherd, will give thanks to You forever. We will praise You
throughout every generation” (Psalm 79:13).
Psalm 80:1-19
“Restore
us, O God, make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved” (Psalm
80:3). When, Lord, we come to You with the question of salvation – “What
must I do to be saved?”, You come to us with Your answer – “Believe in the
Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:30-31). In Christ, You have
“blessed us with every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3). Thank You,
Lord.
Psalm 81:1-16
“Sing aloud to
God; shout for joy to the God of Jacob” (Psalm 81:1). Teach us, Lord, to
worship You with joy. You have blessed us in the past: “I am the Lord
your God, who brings you out of the land of Egypt.” You will bless us in
the future: “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Psalm 81:10).
Help us, Lord, to thank You for Your past blessings, and to trust You
for Your future blessings.
Psalms 82:1-83:18
“A
friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17). Help us, Lord, to look
beyond human love and human friendship. Help us to see Jesus. His love
is the greatest love. He is our greatest Friend. Thank You, Lord, for
Jesus. Thank You for His love. He’s our Forever Friend. May we know, in
our hearts, that His love is ‘always and forever’ love.
Psalm 84:1-12
‘How
I love Your Temple, Almighty Lord! How I want to be there! I long to be
in the Lord’s Temple. With my whole being I sing for joy to the living
God’(Psalm 84:1-2). Lord, we read this words, and we know that this is
much more than paying lip-service to You. This is real. ‘I long for You,
O God. I thirst for You, the living God; when can I go and worship in
Your presence’(Psalm 42:1-2). ‘Let Your light and Your truth guide me…
to the place where You dwell. Then will I go to the altar of God, to
God, my joy and my delight…’(Psalm 43:4). Here, Lord, we meet a man who
found great joy in worshipping You.‘O God, You are my God, and I long
for You. My whole being desires You… my soul is thirsty for You’(Psalm
63:1). Here, Lord, we meet a man who worshipped You with his whole
heart. This is real worship, joyful worship, heartfelt worship. Lord,
help us to worship You like that!
Psalm 85:1-13
Help
us, Lord, to pray for revival – ‘Restore us again, O God our Saviour…
Will You not revive us again that Your people may rejoice in You?’(Psalm
85:4,6). Help us to pray that You will ‘grant us Your salvation.’ Help
us to pray that ‘Your saving presence will remain in our land’, that
‘Your glory may dwell in our land’(Psalm 85:7,9). Help us to pray for
real listening – ‘I will listen to what God the Lord will say’- , a real
turning to You – ‘turning to You in our hearts’- , and a real sense of
Your blessing – ‘You will speak peace to Your people’(Psalm 85:8). Teach
us, Lord, that prayer for revival does not begin as a prayer for
others. It begins with ourselves: ‘O Holy Ghost, revival comes from
Thee; send a revival – start the work in me’. It begins with this prayer: “Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine; fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine.’
Psalm 86:1-17
‘You
are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to
you… Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth… I will
praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart… For great is Your love
towards me’(Psalm 86:5,11-13). Lord, You love us. You forgive our sins.
We receive Your love. We want to love You more. Your love inspires our
praise – ‘I will praise You…’. Your love inspires our prayer – ‘Teach me
Your way…’. Our whole life is to be a celebration of Your love – ‘Great
is Your love towards me’. We are to celebrate Your love with ‘joy’(Psalm
86:4). We rejoice in You because of who You are- ‘You, O Lord, are a
compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and
faithfulness’- and what You have done for us – ‘You, O Lord, have helped
me and comforted me’(Psalm 86:15,17).
Psalm 87:1-7
‘Glorious
things are said of you, O city of God… The Lord will write in the
register of the peoples: “This one was born in Zion”. As they make music
they will sing, “All my fountains are in You”’(Psalm 87:3,6-7). We
thank You, Lord, that the ‘city of God’ is our glorious destination –
‘we are looking for the city that is to come’, ‘the Holy City’(Hebrews
13:14; Revelation 21:2). It is also the place of our heavenly birth –
‘This one was born in Zion’. The heavenly birth – This is where our
journey to the ‘city of God’ begins: ‘No one can see the Kingdom of God
without being born from above’(John 3:3). Between our heavenly birth and
our glorious destination, there is life in the Spirit: As we journey
with You, in this life in the Spirit, may we thank You for the words of
the Psalmist - ‘All my fountains are in You’ – and the promise of
Jesus: ‘Rivers of living water shall flow from the heart of anyone who
believes in Me’(John 7:38).
Psalm 88:1-18
Lord,
we see the Psalmist ‘down in the dumps.’ He feels like he is ‘in the
depths of the Pit.” He feels like he is ‘in the darkest depths’(Psalm
88:6). This is the way he feels, but he has not stopped praying – ‘O
Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before You… I call
to You, O Lord, every day… I cry to You for help, O Lord; in the morning
my prayer comes before You’(Psalm 88:1,9,13). Lord, we read his prayer –
and it doesn’t make pleasant reading: ‘My soul is full of trouble… I am
like a man without strength… Your wrath lies heavily upon me… the
darkness is my closest friend’(Psalm 88:3-4,7,18). How can we be helped
when we feel like this? We thank You, Lord, that we can be helped by
Jesus. He knows what it feels like. For us, He has entered the ‘darkness’- ‘My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?’. For us, He has triumphed – ‘risen from the dead’(Matthew 27:45-46; 28:5-7). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus, our great Saviour.
Psalm 89:1-37
‘I
will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever; with my mouth I will make
known Your faithfulness through all generations’(Psalm 89:1). Lord, we
read these words from so long ago. Many generations have come and gone
since these words were written. The years come and go. The centuries run
their course. One generation gives way to another generation. Time
moves on relentlessly. None of us can halt the march of time. Many
changes have taken place over the course of time. We thank You, Lord,
that there is something that has never changed – Your great love for us.
As we think of Your great love, may we say, in our hearts – The Lord is
to be praised ‘for ever.’ He is to be praised ‘through all
generations.’ Help us to look back and remember that Jesus Christ was
crucified for us, that He has risen for us. We thank You, Lord, for the
Good News which inspires our praise: ‘I will sing of the Lord’s great
love for ever…’
Psalms 89:38-90:17
‘Lord,
You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations… From
everlasting to everlasting, You are God’(Psalm 90:1-2). Lord, we read
the words, ‘In the beginning, God…’, and we know, in our hearts, that
You are ‘the eternal God’. You are ‘the high and exalted One’. You
are the God ‘who inhabits eternity’. You are the God ‘who lives for
ever’. You have no beginning. You have no end. You are ‘the beginning
and the end’. Our life on earth has a beginning. It has an end. We trust
in You, ‘the eternal God.’ We rejoice in Your precious promises – ‘The
eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms’; ‘I
have loved you with an everlasting love’; ‘The free gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord’(Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy
33:27; Isaiah 57:15; Revelation 21:6; Jeremiah 31:3; Romans 6:23).
Psalm 91:1-16
‘Surely
He will save you from the traps of the hunter’(Psalm 91:3). Lord, You
have given us Your warning. We must ‘be alert’- ‘Your enemy the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’. You
have also given us Your promise – ‘Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you’. How are we to resist the devil? – We are to ‘resist him,
standing firm in the faith’(1 Peter 5:8-9; James 4:7). Help us not to
try to resist the devil in our own strength. We will be defeated. He is
much more powerful than we are. Help us to resist him in the strength of
our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, we have the victory – ‘Thanks be to
God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’(1
Corinthians 15:57). Help us never to forget that Satan is out to get us.
He’s trying to trap us. Help us never to forget this: Jesus is able to
‘deliver us from the evil one’(Matthew 6:13).
Psalms 92:1-93:5
‘You,
O Lord, are exalted for ever… The Lord reigns, He is robed in
majesty…’(Psalm 92:8; Psalm 93:1-2). You, Lord, are ‘exalted’. Help
us to exalt You in our worship. You are not exalted because we exalt
You. We exalt You because You are exalted. You are ‘exalted far above
all gods’. That is why we sing, ‘I exalt Thee, O Lord’. ‘He is exalted,
the King is exalted on high’- This is the truth concerning You, Lord. ‘I
will praise Him’- This is our response to Your truth. We sing, ‘Jesus,
we enthrone You, we proclaim You our King’. This is our response to the
eternal truth concerning our Saviour: ‘The Lord is enthroned as King for
ever’. ‘From all eternity’ the Lord is ‘robed in majesty’. Help us,
Lord, to respond to His majesty. Help us to ‘magnify’ You, Lord – ‘O
Lord our God, how majestic is Thy Name’(Psalm 97:9; Psalm 29:10; Mission Praise, 158,217,388,507).
Psalm 94:1-23
‘When
I said, “My foot is slipping”, Your love, O Lord, supported me’(Psalm
94:18). You, Lord, are ‘able to keep us from falling’. We are ‘kept by
Your power’. Help us to put our trust in You. May we be confident of
this: ‘God, who began His good work in us, will carry it through to
completion on the Day of Christ Jesus’. Help us to ‘press on towards the
goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenwards in Christ
Jesus’. As we ‘press on’, may we never forget this: ‘It is God who
works in us to will and to work according to His good purpose’. Help us
to ‘fix our eyes on Jesus’, trusting in His promise: ‘My sheep listen to
My voice… I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one
can snatch them out of My hand…’(Jude 24-25; 1 Peter 1:3-5; Philippians
1:6; 3:14; 2:13; Hebrews 12:2; John 10:27-30).
Psalm 95:1-11
‘Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord… Let us come before Him with thanksgiving… Come, let us bow down in worship…’(Psalm
95:1-2,6). Lord, You’re calling us to worship You with joyful
thanksgiving. We rejoice in You. We give thanks for Your love. You
are ‘the great God’. You are ‘our God’. You are the God of creation –
‘In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong
to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry
land’. You are the God of salvation – ‘We are the people of His pasture,
the flock under His care’(Psalm 95:3-5,7). When, Lord, we hear You
calling us to worship You with joyful thanksgiving, help us to open our
hearts to You: ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your
hearts’(7-8). When we hear Your call to worship, may we open our hearts
to the Spirit of worship.
Psalms 96:1-97:12
‘The
Lord reigns’(Psalm 96:10; Psalm 97:1). Lord, You are the King. You are
not only ‘the King all-glorious above’. You are ‘the King of love’. You
are ‘our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend!’ You are not only ‘the
King of heaven’. You are ‘the God of grace’. You are ‘the King of
mercy.’ Your reign is not to be restricted to some faraway heaven. It is
not to be a reign that is far removed from the practicalities of our
everyday life. You want to reign in our hearts. You want to reign in every part of our life. May Your reign of love begin. May Your grace and mercy control all that we do.
Psalms 98:1-100:5
‘Exalt
the Lord our God... Make a joyful noise to the Lord’(Psalm 99:5,9;
Psalm 98:4,6; Psalm 100:1). Lord, You're calling us to worship You with
joy. You're calling us to glorify You. You want us to enjoy You. In our
worship, may we never forget Your holiness: ‘He is holy!... The Lord our God is holy!’(99:5,9). In our worship, may we rejoice in Your love:
‘His steadfast love endures for ever... He has done marvellous
things!’(Psalm 100:5; Psalm 98:1). You are the God of ‘awesome purity’ -
and You love us with the most perfect love of all: ‘No earthly father
loves like Thee...’. Help us to worship You with holy fear and heartfelt
love.
Psalms 101:1-102:28
‘I
will sing of Your love... I will walk with integrity of heart...’(Psalm
101:1-2). Lord, we read these words, from many centuries ago, and, too
quickly, we say, ‘Things are very different now.’ Are they really so
different? Are worshipping You and walking with You out-of-date now? Are
they to be forgotten? So many people have no time for You, Lord. They
feel that they can do without You. They refuse to worship You. They do
not walk with You. In our ever-changing world, You keep on speaking to
us about something we must never forget: You, Lord, are ‘enthroned for ever’. Your ‘Name endures to all generations’.
In all the changes of life, You, Lord, ‘remain the same’. Your ‘years
go on through all generations’. Your ‘years will never end’(Psalm
102:12,24,27). Lord, we read Your Word, and we say, "These words were
‘written for a future generation’". They were written for us. Help us
never to forget to ‘praise You’(Psalm 102:18)!
Psalm 103:1-22
‘Praise
the Lord’(Psalm 103:1-2,20-22). Lord, You're calling us to praise You
for His ‘steadfast love’. You are ‘abounding in steadfast love’(Psalm
103:8). How are we to respond to Your ‘steadfast love’? Are we to say,
‘God loves me. I can do what I like’? No! We must not think like this.
We’re not to say, ‘I’ll keep on sinning. God will keep on
forgiving’(Romans 6:1-2). Your Word tells us something very different.
You love us. Teach us to love You. When Your ‘steadfast love’ has really
touched our hearts, it changes our lives: ‘As the heavens are high
above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him... The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him’(Psalm 103:11,17). We thank You, Lord, for Your love. Help us to live to please You!
Psalm 104:1-35
‘I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live’(Psalm
104:33). Sometimes, Lord, we feel like giving up. Other things become
more important to us. Worshipping You gets pushed out to the edge of
your life. Wrong attitudes creep in. It starts with the idea, ‘Worship’s
just an hour on a Sunday’. Then, it becomes, ‘I’ll worship the Lord
when I feel like it’. It soon becomes, ‘I’ll worship the Lord when I’ve
nothing better to do’. Before long, all desire for worshipping You Lord
has gone! Little-by-little, we drift away from the Lord. It’s time, for
us, to start thinking about what’s happening. It’s time for a new
beginning. It’s time for an ‘all my life’ commitment to worshipping You,
Lord - not just on a Sunday, not only when I feel like it, not only
‘when there’s nothing better to do’!
Psalm 105:1-22
‘Look to the Lord and His strength;
seek His face always. Remember the wonderful works that He has
done...’(Psalm 105:4-5). Lord, You give strength to those who put their
trust in You. Trusting in Christ, we have this great testimony: ‘I can
do all things through Christ who strengthens me’(Philippians 4:13). How,
Lord, do we receive Your strength? We must '‘seek Your face always'. We
must not think we can face difficult circumstances in our strength.
Without Your strength, we will be defeated. You have helped us in the
past. Help us never to forget this. Help us to give thanks to You for
every victory won. As we face temptation, help us to remember Your
promise of victory: ‘God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted
beyond your strength. With the temptation, He will also provide the way
of escape...’(1 Corinthians 10:13).
Psalm 105:23-45
‘He brought His people out with joy’(Psalm
105:43). When things are going badly and we feel like giving up, help
us, Lord, to remember Your Word: ‘The joy of the Lord is your
strength’(Nehemiah 8:10). You're calling us to ‘rejoice in You always’.
You do not leave us on our own when our time of testing comes. You are
there for us in our time of need: ‘My God will supply every need of
yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus’(Philippians
4:4,19). When we are deeply conscious of our own weakness, You come to
us with Your Word of strength: ‘My grace is sufficient for you. My power
is made perfect in weakness’(2 Corinthians 12:9). Through Your Word, we
receive strength. Your Word brings joy to us. May we sing ‘glad songs
of victory’: ‘The Lord is my Strength, my Song, my Saviour’(Psalm
118:14-15).
Psalm106:1-48
Lord,
we read about Israel’s sin - ‘They soon forgot what He had done and did
not wait for His counsel... They despised the pleasant land; they did
not believe His promise... They grumbled in their tents and did not obey
the Lord... They rebelled against the Spirit of God’(Psalm
106:13,24-25,33). This is not only ancient history. It’s the story of our
life! We read this, and we must join in Israel’s confession of sin: ‘We
have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted
wickedly’(Psalm 106:6). We thank You, Lord, that the history of Israel
is not only a history of sin. It's also a history of salvation: ‘He
saved them...’(Psalm 106:8,10). When, Lord, we read of Your salvation,
may we echo the prayer of Your people - ‘Save us, O Lord our God...’ May
we join with them in praising You - ‘Praise be to the Lord...’(Psalm
106:47-48).
Psalm 107:1-43
Lord,
there are some things that are worth repeating! The story of Your
amazing grace is worth repeating over and over again - ‘Then they cried
out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their
distress’(Psalm 107:6,13,19,28). The call to praise You is also
something we need to hear again and again - ‘Let them give thanks to the
Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men’(Psalm
107:8,15,21,31). Help us, Lord, 'consider Your great love.' Help us to
‘give thanks to You’(Psalm 107:43,1).
Psalm 108:1-13
‘With
God we shall gain the victory. He will trample down our enemies’(Psalm
108:13). In ourselves, Lord, there is only defeat. We are no match for
‘our enemies’- the world, the flesh and the devil.
We are surrounded by the world - ‘The world is ever near. I see the
sights that dazzle. The tempting sounds I hear’. We live with the
constant problem of the flesh - ‘the storms of passion, the murmurs of
self-will.’ Behind the world and the flesh, there is an even stronger
enemy - the devil: ‘Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but
against... the spiritual forces of evil...’(Ephesians 6:12). Lord, our
situation seems to be utterly hopeless. How can we possibly win the
victory? The simple truth is: We cannot. There is, however, a deeper truth: You, Lord, are with us - and ‘with God we shall win the victory’!
Psalm 109:1-31
Lord,
we come to You, recognizing that, without You, our situation is
hopeless - ‘I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. I
fade away like an evening shadow’(Psalm 109:22). When our enemies are on
the attack, we are no match for them. What are we to do when the world,
the flesh and the devil are threatening to overwhelm us? We must come
to You, Lord, praying for Your help, asking You to save us - ‘Help me, O
Lord my God; save me in accordance with Your love’(Psalm 109:26). Help
us, Lord, to look away from ourselves and our own weakness. Help us to
put our trust in You and Your strength. You will not fail us. You ‘stand
beside’ us in our time of testing. You ‘save’ us from our enemies. Help
us to keep on praising You: ‘I will greatly praise the Lord with my
mouth. I will praise Him among many people...’(Psalm 109:30-31).
Psalm 110:1-7
‘The
Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand...’(Psalm 110:1). Lord, we
read these words, and we think of our Lord Jesus Christ: When ‘He was
taken up into heaven, He sat at the right hand of God’(Mark 16:19). When
Jesus ascended to Your Father’s right hand, the Holy Spirit was sent
down from heaven to fill our lives with Your blessing (John 7:37-39).
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, our lives are changed: ‘In the Day
of Your power, Your people will come to You willingly...’. We come to
You, Lord, in our weakness, and You ‘renew our strength’. We come to You
in our weariness, and we are ‘refreshed’ by Your ‘streams of living
water’(Psalm 110,7). ‘Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart
to sing Thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing call for songs of
loudest praise.’
Psalms 111:1-112:10
'Praise
the Lord... To Him belong eternal praise... Blessed is the man who
fears the Lord... His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end
he will look in triumph on his foes...'(Psalm 111:1,10; Psalm 112:1,8).
Those who 'fear' You, Lord, have no need to live in fear of man. Those
who know that ‘eternal praise’ belongs to You, Lord, can face their
enemies with confidence. Our confidence is not in ourselves. Our
confidence is You. We know how good You have been to us - ‘He provided
redemption for His people’. We thank You that we have heard and believed
the Good News of Christ. We need not ‘fear’ any ‘bad news’ which the
devil sends our way. We 'trust' in You, Lord, confident that the ‘light
‘will triumph over the ‘darkness’. We thank You that the Good News of
Christ will triumph over the devil’s bad news (Psalm 111:9; Psalm
112:4,7).
Psalms 113:1-114:8
‘The
Lord is high above all nations... Who is like the Lord our God, who is
seated on high?... Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, who
turns the hard rock into springs of water’(Psalm 113:4-5; Psalm
114:7-8). Lord, You are greater than we could ever imagine. There is no
greatness like Your greatness. All human greatness cannot even begin to
compare with Your greatness. Your greatness is not only the greatness of
Your power. It is also the greatness of Your love. When we sing,
‘How great Thou art’, we sing not only of Your power - ‘Thy power
throughout the universe displayed’. We sing also of Your love - ‘And
when I think that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die - I scarce
can take it in, that on the Cross my burden gladly bearing, He bled and
died to take away my sin...’
Psalm 115:1-18
‘Not
to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your Name be the glory because of Your
love and faithfulness’(Psalm 115:1). We thank You, Lord, that You love
us. You love us with a faithful love, ‘an everlasting love’, a ‘love
that will not let us go’. Your love ‘never comes to an end’. Nothing can
separate us from Your love (Jeremiah 31:3; Lamentations 3:22-23; Romans
8:38-39). What have we done to deserve such love? Absolutely nothing!
We are ‘sinners’. We do not deserve to be loved by You. We have done
nothing to earn Your love. Love begins with You, Lord. It comes from
You. How do we know that You love us? Have we proved ourselves worthy of
Your love? No! - ‘God shows His love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us’(Romans 5:8). ‘To God be the glory!’
Psalms 116:1-117:2
‘I
love the Lord... I will call on Him as long as I live’(Psalm 116:1-2).
Our love for God is to be a lifelong life. It is to be the love of our
life. What are we to do when our love for God grows weak? We must
remember His love for us - ‘Great is His love towards us. The
faithfulness of the Lord endures forever’(117:2). When we find it
difficult to keep on loving God, we must remember how much He loves us.
When we feel like giving up on loving God, we must remember that He
never gives up on loving us. He loves us when our love for Him is
strong. He loves us when our love for Him is weak. In love, He reaches
out to us. He brings us out of our weakness and into His strength. Let
His strong love reach you in your weakness and give you His strength:
‘Loving Him who first loved me.’
Psalm 118:1-29
‘The
Lord is my Strength and my Song. He is my Saviour’(Psalm 118:14). We
thank You, Lord, that Jesus Christ is our Saviour. We thank You that He
gives us a song to sing: ‘Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine... This is my
story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long’. Help us,
Lord, to grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. May we
sing His song with strength, committing ourselves to His service,
earnestly seeking to win others for Him.
Psalm 119:1-24
Lord,
You show us the way of blessing. It is the way of obedience (Psalm
119:1,9,11,17). Many will choose the way of disobedience - ‘influential
people sit together and slander me’. Help us to choose the way of
obedience - ‘Your servant will meditate on Your teachings’ (Psalm
119:23). We know, Lord, that following Jesus Christ will not be easy. We
see many people turning back from following Him. We are tempted to join
them. We feel the pull of the world. We must not return to the world’s way of living. Help
us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Help us to remember all that Jesus
has done for us - ‘He loved us and gave Himself for us’ (Galatians
2:20) - and recommit ourselves to following Him: ‘I have decided to
follow Jesus... The world behind me, the Cross before me... Though none
go with me, I still will follow... No turning back, no turning back’ (Mission Praise, 272).
Psalm 119:25-48
‘Revive
me according to Your Word’ (Psalm 119:25). How, Lord, do You revive us
according to Your Word? You give us Your salvation: ‘Let Your unfailing
love come to me, O Lord - Your salvation according to Your Word’ (Psalm
119:41). You give us Your strength: ‘My soul is weary with sorrow.
Strengthen me according to Your Word’ (28). You give us a change of
heart: ‘I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on Your
laws... I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart
free... Give me understanding, and I will keep Your law and obey it with
my whole heart... Turn my heart to Your testimonies...’ (Psalm
119:30,32,34,36). You give us ‘new life’: ‘When someone becomes a
Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same
anymore. A new life has begun!’ (Psalm 119:40; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
Psalm 119:49-72
Lord,
Your Word makes such a difference! When everything seems so hopeless,
we turn to Your Word, and we find that there is ‘hope’ (Psalm 119:49).
When we are going through a time of terrible ‘suffering’, we turn to
Your Word, and we find ‘comfort’ (Psalm 119:50,52). When everything
seems to be going so badly, help us, Lord, to keep on reading Your Word:
‘The wicked have laid a trap for me, but I do not forget Your law’
(Psalm 119:61). Through Your Word, You are teaching us to see Your
purpose in our sufferings: ‘The punishment You gave me was the best
thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention
to Your laws’ (Psalm 119:71). You, Lord, are showing us what is really
important: ‘The law that You gave means more to me than all the money in
the world’ (Psalm 119:72). Teach us to see Your ‘love’ in every part of
our life (Psalm 119:64).
Psalm 119:73-96
Lord,
we rejoice in Your ‘constant love’. This is our ‘comfort’ - You keep on
loving us, no matter what’s going on in our lives. We may be going
through really hard times - ‘Men persecute me with lies... They have
almost succeeded in killing me’. There’s one thing that never changes -
Your ‘constant love’. You love us in the hard times as well as in the
happy times. Your love inspires us to keep on loving You when we feel
like giving up in despair (Psalm 11976,86-88). We see many changes
taking place in our world. Sometimes, we wonder, ‘Where are You, Lord,
in all of this? Have You abandoned us? Can we keep on trusting You and
rejoicing in Your Word?’. When our minds are full of negative thoughts,
help us, Lord, to remember Your Word - ‘Your Word, O Lord, will last for
ever... Your faithfulness endures through all the ages’ (Psalm
119:89-90).
Lord,
You have so much to teach us – and we have so much to learn. How do we
learn from You? – You open up Your Word to us. You speak to us words of
life. You shine Your light upon us. You show us how much You love us.
Every day You have something to say to us. Every day, You have something
to share with us. Every day, You show us more of Your love for us. Help
us, each and every day, to take time to learn from You.
Throughout
life, Lord, we have to make choices. Some choices are relatively
straightforward. Others are very much more difficult. Some choices don’t
affect the rest of our life very much. There are, however, choices
which affect the whole of our life. Help us, Lord, to make the one
choice which is more important than any other – Choosing the Lord Jesus
Christ as your Saviour. Those who refuse to choose are
‘double-minded’(Psalm 119:113). They can’t make up their mind. They know
that they should be following Christ – but they are still ‘in love with
the world’. They are ‘lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God’ (I
John 2:15; 2 Timothy 3:4). Lord, give us the strength to keep on
choosing Christ. Help us to say to the world, ‘Away from me, you
evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God’. Help us to say to
You, ‘I have decided to obey Your laws until the day I die’ (Psalm
119:115,112).
Psalm 119:121-144
‘The
entrance of Your words gives light’ (Psalm 119:130). Lord,
Your Word brings light into our lives. Sadly, many people ‘love darkness
rather than light’. They refuse to ‘come to the light’. They prefer to
remain in the darkness. They refuse to listen to what You are saying to
them through Your Word. Then, when things are not going so well for
them, they blame You. They say, ‘It’s all Your fault’! Things could have
been so different. They could have learned to spend time with God. They
could have learned the lessons of faith which are found in Your Word.
They could have learned to cope with life’s difficulties. They could
have been filled with Your strength. They would not be complaining
against Him. They would be rejoicing in You. What about us, Lord? How
much are we moulded by the world’s way of thinking? Have we pushed You
out to the edges of our life? Lord. Lord, You have “called us out of
darkness into Your marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:10). Help us to walk
with You in the light of Your Word.
Psalm 119:145-176
‘With
my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord!’ (Psalm 119:145). Lord,
You’re calling us to pray. There is nothing more important than this. If
other things have become more important in our lives, we need to think
about the way we are living. You want to send Your blessing into our
lives: ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you’ (Matthew 7:7). Your blessing will
come to those who seek him with their whole heart: ‘You will seek Me and
find Me when you seek me with all your heart’ (Jeremiah 29:13). If we
do not ask, we will not receive: ‘You do not have, because you do not
ask’ (James 4:2). Your blessing is not given to those who are
half-hearted. You’re calling us to love You with our whole heart: ‘I
long for Your salvation, O Lord, and Your law is my delight’ (Psalm
119:174).
Psalms 120:1-121:8
‘Deliver
me, O Lord, from lying lips’ (Psalm 120:2). Lord, You’re calling us to
‘believe the truth’, ‘love the truth’ and ‘follow the truth’. We are to
be people who ‘do what is true’ (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11; 3 John 3-4;
John 3:21). How can we be such people? Help us to keep our eyes fixed on
Jesus. He is ‘the Truth’ (Hebrews 12:2; John 14:6). When we’re tempted
to turn away from the pathway of truth, help us to remember this: ‘My
help comes from the Lord’. Help us to remember Your promise: ‘The Lord
is your Keeper…The Lord will keep you from all evil’. Your promise is
not only for ‘this time’. It’s ‘for evermore’ (Psalm 121:2,5,7-8). Give
to us the glorious hope that fills our hearts as we keep on looking to
Christ,‘eagerly awaiting’ His Return ( Hebrews 9:28).
Psalms 122:1-124:8
‘I
was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the House of the Lord”’
(Psalm 122:2). Why, Lord, do we go to Your House? We go ‘to give thanks
to the Name of the Lord’ (Psalm 122:4). We seek Your mercy for our past
sins: ‘Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!’ (Psalm 123:3). We
seek Your help for our future temptations: ‘Our help is in the Name of
the Lord…’ (Psalm 124:8). We receive mercy and help from You, Lord. Help
us to worship You: ‘Blessed be the Lord’ (Psalm 124:6). In our worship,
we ‘look to You, the Lord our God. We draw encouragement from Your
Word: ‘The Lord is on our side’ – In Him we have the victory (Psalm
123:2; Psalm 124:1-5). Help us, Lord, to rejoice in Your blessing and
to pray for others: ‘May they prosper who love You’ (Psalm 122:6).
Psalms 125:1-127:5
‘Those
who trust in the Lord… cannot be moved…’. When, Lord, we put our trust
in You, we are like the ‘wise man who built his house on the rock’. His
house ‘did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock’. When we
don’t put our trust in You, we are like the’ foolish man who built his
house on sand’. His house ‘fell with a great crash’. Help us never to
forget that ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in
vain’ (Psalm 125:1; Psalm 127:1; Matthew 7:24-27). Help us to remember
that ‘Jesus Christ’ is the ‘sure Foundation’ upon which our faith is
built. He is ‘the solid Rock’, our ‘mighty Rock of spiritual
refreshment’ (1 Corinthians 3:11; 10:3-4). We thank You, Lord, that
‘Christ died for our sins… He was raised on the third day’. Help us to
keep on rejoicing in Him: ‘The Lord has done great things for us, and we
are filled with joy’(Psalm 126:3; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Psalms 128:1-129:8
‘Blessed
are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways’ (Psalm 128:1). If,
Lord, we are to enjoy Your blessing, we must fear You and walk in Your
ways. Many people despise the place of worship. They ‘pass by’. They
have no desire to know ‘the blessing of the Lord’. Lord, You’re warning
us that we must not allow this attitude to grow in us: ‘May all who hate
Zion be put to shame’. We must take care that our love for You doesn’t
‘wither’ away. Help us to keep on praying that our love for You will
‘grow’. If we place no value on Your blessing, our lives will be empty.
May we come to You, our Lord, with this prayer: ‘The greatest thing in
all my life is knowing You, loving You, serving You. I want to know You
more, love You more, serve You more’. He will ‘fill’ your life with His
blessing (Psalm 129:5-8; Mission Praise, 646).
Psalms 130:1-131:3
Lord,
we’re not to pray to You with superficial words that don’t mean very
much to us. Our prayer is to be a real cry from the heart: ‘Out of the
depths I cry to You, O Lord’ (Psalm 130:1). We are to ‘cry for mercy’
with a deep awareness of how sinful we really are: ‘If You, O Lord, kept
a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?’ (Psalm 130:3). Help us
to come to You with deep humility – ‘My heart is not proud, O Lord’
(Psalm 131:1). When we truly confess our sin, we receive Your ‘unfailing
love’ and ‘forgiveness’ Psalm 130:(4). ‘In You, Lord’ we have ‘full
redemption’ (Psalm 130:7). It is for ‘now’ – ‘The vilest offender who
truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives’. It is ‘for
evermore’ – ‘But purer and higher and greater will be our wonder, our
transport, when Jesus we see!’. ‘Praise the Lord!… Give Him the glory!’
(Psalm 131:3).
Psalm 132:1-18
‘Let
us go to the Lord’s House; let us worship before His throne’ (Psalm
132:7). Lord, You're calling us to worship You. We are to gather
together as Your worshipping people. As we gather for worship, may we
remember that You, Lord, are ‘King’. May we give You more than the
praise of our lips. May we give You the praise of our lives. We do not
only sing to You. We live for You. We come ‘before Your throne’ with
this prayer, ‘Take my heart - it is Thine own; It shall be Thy royal
throne’. You hear and answer our prayer. You give us Your strength. We
rise to Your challenge: ‘Rise up, O Church of God! Have done with lesser
things; Give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the King of
kings.’ Lord, when the service of worship comes to an end, may our
service of living begin - and never end!
Psalms 133:1-134:3
Lord, You send ‘Your blessing’ when Your people gather together for worship: ‘How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!’
(Psalm 133:1,3). Many people like to think of themselves as
‘believers’, yet they show no interest in worshipping together with Your
people. What does Your Word say about this? - ‘Let us not give up
meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us
encourage one another...’ (Hebrews 10:25). ‘Praise the Lord, all you
servants of the Lord who minister by night in the House of the
Lord’ (Psalm 133:1; Psalm134:1). Lord, there are some people never miss a
Sunday morning service - but they always miss the Sunday evening
services! They are missing out on so much of Your blessing. Lord, help
us to seek Your blessing on Sunday evenings as well as Sunday mornings (Psalm 134:2)!
Psalm 135:1-21
‘Praise
the Lord’ (Psalm 1-3,19-21). ‘The Lord is good... The Lord is great’
(Psalm 135:3,5). In our worship, Lord, we focus on both Your greatness
and Your goodness. You are great in power: ‘Great is our Lord and mighty
in power’ (Psalm 147:5). You are also great in love: ‘How great is the
love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of
God!’ (1 John 3:1). When we praise You, Lord, may we sing of Your
greatness and Your goodness. May we think of the greatness of Your power
- ‘I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, Thy power throughout the
universe displayed’ - and the greatness of His love - ‘And when I think
that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die - I scarce can take it
in, that on the Cross my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take
away my sin’ (Mission Praise, 506).
Psalm 136:1-26
We
thank You, Lord, that ‘Your love endures for ever’. What a great
message this is! It's a message worth repeating - over and over again!
Your love is an everlasting love - ‘I have loved you with an everlasting
love’ (Jeremiah 31:3). Your love is an unfailing love - ‘My unfailing
love for you will not be shaken’ (Isaiah 54:10). We ‘give thanks’ to You
for Your love (Psalm 136:1-3,26). In Your love, You have provided for
us ‘an everlasting salvation’. Your ‘salvation will last for ever’
(Isaiah 45:17; 51:6). Lord, Your Word tells us about those who refuse to
love You - ‘Pharaoh... great kings... mighty kings ...’ (Psalm
136:15,17-20). Your Word tells us that those who reject Your love will
not receive ‘eternal life’. Their future will be very different - the
‘raging fire that will consume the enemies of God’ (John 3:16-18;
Hebrews 10:26-27). Why, Lord, do You speak to us about Your righteous
judgment? You're speaking to us Your strong Word of warning. You're
leading us away from the way of unbelief and into the way of faith.
You're leading us to embrace Your precious promises, the promises which
speak to us of Your eternal salvation. Help us, Lord, to listen and
learn - as we hear Your Word, with its stern warnings and its wonderful
promises. Help us to see our sin. Help us to bring it to our Saviour.
Help us to receive His forgiveness.
Psalms 137:1-138:8
‘How
can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?’ (Psalm
137:4). Lord, it is not easy to keep on worshipping You when so many
show no interest in worshipping You. What are we to do when our faith
seems so weak and we are on the verge of giving up? ‘Ask the Saviour to
help you, comfort, strengthen and keep you’. What will we find when we
come You, Lord, looking to You for strength? ‘He is willing to aid you.
He will carry you through’. You give us strength - ‘You answered me when
I called to You. With Your strength, You strengthened me’ (Psalm
138:3). ‘To him that o’ercometh, God giveth a crown. Through faith we
shall conquer, though often cast down. He who is our Saviour, our
strength will renew. Look ever to Jesus. He will carry you through.’
Psalm 139:1-24
We
thank You, Lord that, through Christ our Saviour, You lead us ‘in the
way everlasting’: ‘God has given us eternal life, and this life is in
His Son’ (Psalm 139:24; 1 John 5:11). Your great purpose of eternal
salvation seems ‘too wonderful’ - ‘too good to be true’! ‘It is a thing
most wonderful, almost too wonderful to be, that God’s own Son should
come from heaven and die to save a child like me, and yet I know that it
is true...’ (Psalm 139:6). You have a glorious future planned for us.
We can hardly even begin to take it in: ‘Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me, too lofty for me to attain’. We know that ‘no mind has
conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him’ yet we rejoice
in this: ‘God has revealed it to us by His Spirit’ (6; 1 Corinthians
2:9-10). ‘Lead me in the way everlasting!’(24). Thank You, Lord.
Psalm 140:1-13
When
we are threatened by ‘men of violence’, teach us, Lord, to put our
trust You, our ‘strong Deliverer’. We pray that the ‘men of violence’
will not succeed in their ‘evil plans’: ‘Do not let their plans
succeed... May disaster hunt down the men of violence’ (Psalm
140:1-2,7-8,11). The ‘men of violence’ may seem to be getting things all
their own way. Help us, Lord, not to allow them to pull us down to
their level. Help us, Lord, in our battle against the ‘men of violence’,
to use Your ‘weapons’: ‘truth... righteousness... peace... faith...
salvation... prayer’. These ‘weapons’ have ‘divine power to demolish the
strongholds’ of Satan (Ephesians 6:13-18; 2 Corinthians 10:4). Help us
never to forget this: ‘“Vengeance is mine, I will repay”, says the Lord’
(Romans 12:19).
Psalms 141:1-142:7
Help
us, Lord, to see the importance of ‘prayer’ in our battle against
‘evildoers’: ‘My prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers’ (Psalm
141:5). We pray that their ‘wicked deeds’ will not succeed. We pray that
they will see ‘the error of their way’, returning to You and being ‘led
in the paths of righteousness for Your Name’s sake’ (Psalm 141:5; Psalm
23:3; James 5:19-20). We may feel that our ‘persecutors’ are ‘too
strong’ for us. Help us never to think that ‘no one cares’. Help us,
Lord, to bring our fear to You, praying, ‘Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise Your Name’. When we are faced with powerful enemies,
help us to remember this: The Lord is our ‘portion in the land of the
living’. In the face of fierce opposition, may we learn to say, ‘Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall
dwell in the House of the Lord for ever’ (Psalm 142:4-7; Psalm 23:6).
Psalm 143:1-12
‘Rescue
me from my enemies, O Lord’ (Psalm 143:9). When we pray this kind of
prayer, may we be concerned about more than our own welfare. May we be
concerned about Your glory: ‘For Your Name’s sake, O Lord,
preserve my life’ (Psalm 143:11). How, Lord, do You lead us in victory?
How are You glorified in our lives? You bring to us the teaching of His Word - ‘Let the morning bring me Word of Your unfailing love’ (Psalm 143:8). You give to us the strength of Your Spirit
- ‘May Your good Spirit lead me in good paths’ (Psalm 143:10). Through
Your Word and Your Spirit, You show us Your ‘unfailing love’. You enable
us to say, ‘You are my God’, ‘I have put my trust in You’ and ‘I am
Your servant’. You ‘show us the way we should go’. You ‘teach us to do
Yours will’. You give us victory over our ‘enemies’ (Psalm 143:8,10,12).
Thank You, Lord.
Psalm 144:1-15
‘Praise
be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for
battle’(Psalm 144:1). Lord, You are ‘the One who gives victory’ to Your
people (Psalm 144:10). What a great God You are! You are ‘our loving
God, our Fortress, our Stronghold, our Deliverer, our Shield’ (Psalm
144:2). What great blessing You send into our lives! You fight for us
(Exodus 14:14; Deuteronomy 1:30; 3: 22; Nehemiah 4:20). You are ‘our
Strength’ (Psalm 28:7-8; Psalm 59:17). ‘With God we shall gain the
victory’ (Psalm 60:12). We pray You will pour out Your blessing upon us:
‘Part Your heavens, O Lord, and come down... Reach down Your hand from
on high...’ (Psalm 144:5,7). Lord, we think of how much You have blessed
us. Help us to sing our song of praise to You: ‘I will sing a new song
to You, O God’ (Psalm 144:9).
Psalm 145:1-21
‘Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. His greatness is beyond understanding’. We worship You, Lord - our great God:
‘I will exalt You, my God the King. I will praise Your Name for ever
and ever. Every day I will praise You and extol Your Name for ever and
ever’ (Psalm 145:1-3). You, Lord, are the God whom we worship. You are
so much greater than the worship we bring to You. Our worship is to be a
‘joyful celebration’. We celebrate Your great love: ‘The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love’. We rejoice in Your great faithfulness:
‘The Lord is faithful to all His promises’. Here on earth, we have only
begun to worship You, our great God. Our worship will continue in Your
‘everlasting Kingdom’. There, we will ‘praise Your Name for ever and
ever’ (Psalm 145:7-8,13,21).
Psalm 146:1-10
‘I
will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long
as I live’ (Psalm 146:2). Praising You, the Lord our God: This is a lifelong commitment. We cannot maintain this lifelong commitment in our own strength. We need Your help.
Help us never to forget this: ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, those
who build it labour in vain’ (Psalm 127:1). We thank You, Lord, that we
are not expected to maintain this lifelong commitment in our own
strength. We have Your help. May we always remember this: ‘Our
help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth’ (Psalm
124:8). ‘Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in
the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in
them, the Lord who remains faithful for ever’ (Psalm 146:5-6).
Psalm 147:1-20
‘The
Lord builds up Jerusalem. He gathers the exiles of Israel. he heals the
broken-hearted and binds up their wounds’ (Psalm 147:2-3). Help us,
Lord, to look beyond the building of the city of Jerusalem with bricks
and mortar. May we see clearly that
this is You blessing Your people as they gather together to worship You.
In Christ, we are ‘being built together to become a dwelling in which
God lives by His Spirit’ (Ephesians 2:22). You, Lord, are drawing us to
Yourself. You're bringing us into fellowship with Your people. You're calling
us to worship You: ‘Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving’. You ‘bless’ us
through ‘Your Word’. You ‘bless’ us in ‘the Spirit’: ‘You send Your
Word... and the waters flow’ (Psalm 147:7,12-13,18; John 7:37-39).
Psalms 148:1-150:6
‘Praise
the Lord.’ We bring to You, Lord, our personal song of praise to God -
‘Praise be to the Lord my Rock... I will sing a new song to You, O
God... I will exalt You, my God the King; I will praise Your Name for
ever and ever; Every day I will praise You... My mouth will speak in
praise of the Lord... I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing
praise to my God as long as I live’ (Psalms 144:1,9; 145:1-2,21; 146:2).
Our personal worship is just a small part of something so much richer
and fuller - ‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord’ (Psalm
150:6). As we read these great Psalms of praise, may we be inspired to
praise You more truly and more fully.
____________________
PROVERBS
Proverbs 1:1-7
Lord,
help us to be doers of Your Word. Hearing Your Word is easier than
doing Your Word. We hear what You’re saying to us – but do we do what
You’re telling us to do? This is the great question we must always ask
ourselves. It’s the great question that You’re always putting to us.
It’s a question that calls for an answer – ‘Not my will but Yours be
done’ (Matthew 26:39).
Proverbs 1:8-19
Lord,
when Satan comes, we are very weak. We need a strength which is not our
own. We need Your strength. Your strength – this is the strength
against which Satan cannot stand. Lord, help us to take our stand
against Satan. Help us to stand in Your strength.
Proverbs 1:20-33
Lord,
help us to win others for You. You’ve called us to be Your witnesses.
How can we be Your witnesses – when there is so much about us that is
unworthy of You, so much that speaks so loudly of ourselves, so little
that proclaims the amazing grace of Jesus? Lord, we thank You that,
along with this high calling – “you shall be My witnesses”, you give to
us Your wonderful promise: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you” (Acts 1:8).
Proverbs 2:1-15
Lord,
help us to grow in Christ. Help us to go often to Your Word. There, we
will find strong warnings and precious promises. Help us to heed the
warnings and trust the promises - to grow in Christ.
Proverbs 2:16-34
Lord,
we love to hear Your promises of love. Sometimes, we need to hear Your
words of warning. In Your warnings, we hear the voice of Your love. In
Your love, You’re calling us back from a way that will do us great harm.
You call us into a better way – the way of Your great salvation. Lord,
when we are being pulled away from You, bring us back to Yourself. Speak
to us with Your Word of warning, the Word that calls us back so that we
can move forward with You and for You. When we don’t want to hear it –
That’s when we most need to hear it. Speak to us, O Lord, and help us to
listen. “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”
(Hebrews 2:3).
Proverbs 3:1-18
Proverbs 3:19-35
Lord,
our faith is often put to the test. Soon, we become aware that our
faith is very weak. When we start to feel that our faith is so weak,
help us to remember something – Our God is always strong. With You, as
our God, we go from strength to strength. It’s not our own strength.
It’s Your strength.
Proverbs 4:1-9
Thank
You, Lord, that You do not keep Your distance from us. In Your Son,
Jesus, our Saviour, You have come to us. This is more than “From a
distance, God is watching us.” From a distance, You have come to us.
Help us to come to You. Help us to know that you are near to us.
Proverbs 4:10-19
There
are times, Lord, when it seems like the light has gone out, and we can
see nothing – nothing but darkness. When this happens to us, help us to
catch a glimpse of the brightest light of all – the light of Your love.
This is the light which will never go out. It is not our faith that
lifts us out of the darkness. It’s Your love – the love that we see in
Jesus, in His dying for us, His rising for us and His returning for us.
Proverbs 4:20-27
When
we feel like giving up, Lord, help us to keep our eyes fixed on Your
Son, Jesus. He is our Saviour. He’ll give us the strength that we need
to keep on walking with You in the way of faith. He’ll give us the
strength that we need to keep on living in obedience to Your Word. We
are often weak. He is always strong. When we feel like we can’t go on,
when all of our love has gone, help us to remember the love of Jesus:
“Jesus loves me! He will stay, close beside me all the way; He will
always be my Friend, and His love will never end.”
Proverbs 5:1-14
Lord,
we are so easily entangled in the ways of the world. We try to
disentangle ourselves – but we can’t do this by ourselves. we need Your
power. We need Your love. It’s Your love that changes everything. It’s
Your power that makes us new. Show us Your love. Show us Your power. May
Your love lift us out of our sin. May Your power lead us in the way of
Your salvation.
Proverbs 5:15-23
We
thank You, Lord, for the love of Jesus. There is no love like the love
He has for each and every one of us. Before we ever thought of loving
Him, He loved us. Before we were even born, He gave Himself, in death,
for us. What a wonderful love! It’s the greatest love of all.
Proverbs 6:1-15
What
is our opinion of ourselves? Is it the same, Lord, as Your opinion of
us? You see as we really are – sinners. That’s not all that You see. You
see something else, something that fills us with hope for the future.
You don’t write us off as hopeless cases. You see us as sinners, saved
by grace. It’s Your grace that makes the difference. It’s Your grace
that changes us.
Proverbs 6:16-35
Lord,
Your Word is our “lamp” and “light” (Proverbs 6:23; Psalm 119:105).
Your Word shows us the ways we are to avoid – and it shows us the way we
are to follow: Your way, the way of obedience and blessing. Help us,
Lord, to watch how we live, to take care that we do not drift away from
You, to keep on choosing Your way, the way that brings glory to You.
Proverbs 7:1-27
You
teach us, Lord, “to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:14). Show us
the wrong way so that we can avoid it. Show us the right way so that we
can choose it. Often, Lord, we know what is right but we don’t do
what’s right. We need the power that comes from You. Without the power
of the Holy Spirit, we fail, over and over again. With the Holy Spirit,
living in us, we are learning to choose the good way of living, the way
that pleases You and brings glory to You.
Proverbs 8:1-36
We
seek, Lord, for the way of wisdom – and we find that it is also the way
of happiness (Proverbs 8:32-34). The world seeks happiness in wealth.
Your Word teaches us that wisdom is better than “silver, gold and
jewels” (Proverbs 8:10-11). How are we to find wisdom? We find wisdom
when we find Jesus. He is our Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). He is also
our Joy. When this world is getting us down, He says to us, “Be of good
cheer. I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Proverbs 9:1-18
Lord,
You come to us with bread and wine. You come to us in Jesus, our
Saviour. You come to us in love. You show us how much You love us. There
is no love like Your love for us. It’s the best love. It’s the greatest
love. It’s love “so amazing.” It’s love “so divine.” Thank You, Lord,
for Your wonderful love.
Proverbs 10:1-22
There
is a wise way of living – and there is a foolish way. We’re always
being pulled away from the wise way. We’re always being dragged into the
way of foolishness. Sometimes, Lord, we don’t need much persuasion to
turn away from following You. Our hearts are already drifting away from
You – before Satan comes with his subtle – yet strong – temptations.
Help us, Lord, to choose the “way that leads to life” – and not the “way
that leads to destruction” (Matthew 7:13-14). Help us to choose Jesus,
our Saviour. Help us to know that, in Him, we have the forgiveness of
sins, given to us as Your gift of grace; the power of the Holy Spirit,
enabling us to live for You; and eternal life, being prepared for us in
Your heavenly glory.
Proverbs 10:23-11:11
“With
his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbour” (Proverbs 11:9).
Lord, this is straight talking – from Your holy Word. We need to hear
this kind of thing. It keeps us on the right track. It keeps us from
going off the rails. When, Lord, we’re tempted to speak words that will
hurt other people, help us remember Your Word to us: “The tongue is a
fire … With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men …
this ought not to be so” (James 3:6-10). Help us, Lord, to keep quiet –
or end up saying, I wish I had never said that – It’s better to ‘put a
zip on it’ than to ‘put our foot in it’. When we have nothing good to
say, help us to say nothing at all.
Proverbs 11:12-31
Lord,
You’re calling us to win others for You. You’re calling us to share
Your love with them. You’re calling us to bring Jesus to them. Help us,
Lord, not to keep Your Good News to ourselves. Help us to pray, “Here I
am, wholly available – as for me, I will serve the Lord” (Chris
Bowater).
Proverbs 12:1-14
Lord,
show us the way we are to go: “The root of the righteous stands firm”
(Proverbs 12:12). – and the way we are not to go: “He who follows
worthless pursuits has no sense” (Proverbs 12:11). Does it make any
sense to follow “worthless pursuits” when we can be “filled with all the
fullness of God”? You show us the most sensible way to live “Let Christ
dwell on your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:17-21).
Proverbs 12:15-28
What
harm can be done by “reckless words” (Proverbs 12:18)! Lord, teach us
to take care how we speak. Help us to remember that we are Your
witnesses. We have a testimony to maintain. Teach us that there is a
better way than the way of “lying lips” (Proverbs 12:22). Help us, Lord,
to bring “glory” to You, as we keep on confessing our faith: “Jesus
Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:11).
Proverbs 13:1-11
“The
light of the righteous rejoices” (Proverbs 13:9). We thank You, Lord,
that Jesus is our Light. He’s “the Light of the world” (John 8:12). In
Him, we rejoice (Romans 5:11 – “the blood Of Jesus, Your Son, cleanses
us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). We thank You that, through Jesus, You
have “called us out of darkness into Your marvellous light” (1 Peter
2:9). When, Lord, we’re going through hard times, help us to see the
light at the end of the tunnel – “the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter
1:6-9).
Proverbs 13:12-25
What,
Lord, do we do with Your Word? How do we respond to Your Word? Do we
respect Your Word? Do we despise Your Word? There’s a right way and a
wrong way of hearing Your Word (Proverbs 13:13). Teach us, Lord, to turn
from the wrong way, and to turn to the right way (Proverbs 29:1; Psalm
19:7-14).
Proverbs 14:1-19
“A
perverse man will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man
with the fruit of his deeds” (Psalm 14:14). Lord, You speak to us about
two kinds of fruit – good fruit and bad fruit. How are we to have good
fruit in our lives? We need Your Word (Psalm 1:1-3). We need Your Spirit
(Ephesians 5:18). Help us, Lord, to throw away our bad fruit – “strife,
jealousy, anger, selfishness … ” – and enjoy Your good fruit – “love,
joy, peace … ” (Galatians 5:19-24).
Proverbs 14:20-35
“Righteousness
lifts up a nation, but sin is a disgrace in any society” (Proverbs
14:34). Lord, we wonder about the future. Can times of blessing come
again to our nation? Yes! They can – but there needs to be a big change
in our way of thinking and our way of living. There needs to be less
“This is what we think”, and more, “What is the Lord saying to us?”
There needs to be less, “Look at what I’ve done”, and more “This is what
the Lord has done for us.” Lord, we pray for a revival – a revival of
looking to You, listening to you, learning from You and living for You.
Proverbs 15:1-33
“The
path of life leads upward for the wise” (Proverbs 15:24). Where, Lord,
does wisdom come from? It comes from Jesus. We look to Him, and we are
led in the way that leads to the “Father’s House” (John 14:2-3,6).
“Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and
trouble with it” (Proverbs 15:17). We thank You, Lord, that Jesus
teaches us the way to live wisely: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven” (Matthew 6:20). “The lips of the wise spread knowledge”
(Proverbs 15:7). We thank You, Lord, that Jesus is our Wisdom” (1
Corinthians 1:30). Help us to “confess with our lips that Jesus is Lord”
(Romans 10:9).
Proverbs 16:1-17
“Wisdom
is better than gold” (Proverbs 16:16). Where, Lord, will we find
wisdom? Your Word tells us that Jesus Christ is “our Wisdom” (1
Corinthians 1:30). When we find Him, we find wisdom. Jesus says to us,
“Seek, and you will find” (Matthew 7:7). Set us free from the idea that
we already know what wisdom is before we start looking for it. Help us
to look for Jesus – and to find that He was already looking for
us before we started looking for Him. We thank You, Lord, that, when
Jesus finds us, we find the “wisdom” which “is better than gold.”
Proverbs 16:18-33
Help
us, Lord, to think about the way we’re living. Is it a self-centred
life? – “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the
way of death” (Proverbs 16:25). Is it a God-centred life? – “He who
gives heed to the Word will prosper, and happy is he who trusts in the
Lord” (Proverbs 16:20). Help us, Lord, to turn from the world’s way of
living – “the wages of sin is death.” Help us to choose Your way, the
way that leads to eternal life – “the free gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Proverbs 17:1-12
What
kind of people are we to be? What kind of life are we to live? Lord,
You’re calling us to live a life of “love” (Proverbs 17:9). How, Lord,
do we learn what love is? – We learn from You. You show us what love is –
“God so loved the world that He gave His only Son … ” (John 3:16). In
Jesus, we see perfect love – “The Son of God loved me and gave Himself
for me” (Galatians 2:20). The Holy Spirit fills our lives with Your love
– “The fruit of the Spirit is love” (Galatians 5:22). Help us, Lord, to
live a Godly, Christlike, Spirit-filled life – a life of love.
Proverbs 17:13-28
“A friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17). Help us, Lord, to look
beyond human love and human friendship. Help us to see Jesus. His love
is the greatest love. He is our greatest Friend. Thank You, Lord, for
Jesus. Thank You for His love. He’s our Forever Friend. May we know, in
our hearts, that His love is ‘always and forever’ love.
Proverbs 18:1-24
Lord,
we thank You that ‘the fountain of wisdom is an overflowing stream’
(Proverbs 18:4). We read the joyful testimony of Paul: ‘The grace of our
Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ
Jesus’ (1 Timothy 1:14), and we say, in our hearts, ‘This is the
“wisdom” we must seek – the wisdom which receives “salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). True wisdom finds its
overflowing joy in the Saviour: ‘The Name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe’ (Proverbs 18:10). We rejoice in
Jesus. He is Your Son – ‘You shall call His Name Jesus. He will be
great, and will be called the Son of the Most High’ (Luke 1:31-32). He
is our Saviour – ‘You shall call His Name Jesus, because He will save
His people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21). He is ‘the Friend who sticks
closer than a brother’ (Proverbs 18:24). Help us, Lord, to be wise.
Help us to invite Jesus, Your Son, to be our Saviour and our Friend.
Proverbs 19:1-29
‘The
fear of the Lord leads to life’ (Proverbs 19:23). ‘The friendship of
the Lord is for those who fear Him’ (Psalm 25:14). Lord, we read these
words, and we think, ‘What a strange combination – friendship and fear!’ We ask, ‘How can there be friendship where there is fear?’ Here, we have a special kind of friendship – ‘the friendship of the Lord’ – and a special kind of fear – ‘the fear of the Lord’.
Why is this friendship and fear so special? It’s because You, Lord,
are special! You are the God of perfect holiness – ‘Holy, holy, holy is
the Lord Almighty.’ Help us to come before You in ‘the fear of the Lord’
– ‘Woe is me! I am undone; I am a man of unclean lips…’. You are the
God of perfect love. You He call us into friendship with Yourself –
‘Your guilt is taken away and your sin forgiven’ (Isaiah 6:3,5,7). We
rejoice in ‘the friendship of the Lord’. Help us to respect You with
‘the fear of the Lord’.
Proverbs 20:1-30
‘Wine
is a mocker, strong drink a brawler; whoever is led astray by it is not
wise’ (Proverbs 20:1). Lord, teach us the truth of these words – before
it’s too late! Teach us that there is a better way than the way of
drunkenness. It is the way of being filled with the Holy Spirit: ‘Don’t
get drunk on wine, which leads to wild living. Instead, be filled with
the Spirit’ (Ephesians 5:18). Help us not to ‘live according to the
flesh.’ You’re calling us to ‘live according to the Spirit.’ You warn us
against making the wrong choice: ‘To set the mind on the flesh is
death.’ You show us the way of blessing: ‘To set the mind on the Spirit
is life and peace.’ You say to us, ‘Set your minds on things that are
above, not on things that are on earth.’ Help us, Lord, to turn from
‘the works of the flesh’ and seek ‘the fruit of the Spirit’ (Romans
8:5-6; Colossians 3:2; Galatians 5:19-23).
Proverbs 21:1-31
‘The
victory belongs to the Lord’ (Proverbs 21:31). Lord, when defeat seems
inevitable, You come to us with Your Word of encouragement: ‘The Lord
your God is with you. He is mighty to save, a Warrior who gives victory.
He will take great delight in you. He will renew you in His love. He
will rejoice over you with singing’ (Zephaniah 3:17). Your Word shows us
the way of victory. You lead us into the way of faith in our Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ: ‘This is the victory that overcomes the world,
our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that
Jesus is the Son of God?’ (1 John 5:4). You, Lord, ‘give victory’ to us.
Help us to receive Your victory by ‘faith’. Living for Christ is never
easy – ‘In this world you will have trouble’. Help us not to let this
get us down. Help us to remember Jesus’ words: ‘Be of good cheer. I have
overcome the world’ (John 16:33).
Proverbs 22:1-29
‘So
that your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even you’
(Proverbs 22:19). Lord, there are many people who say, ‘It’s not for
me’. They know that others have been greatly blessed through reading
God’s Word. Still, they do not take the trouble to read Your Word for
themselves. They can’t be bothered. Receiving God’s blessing doesn’t
really matter that much to them. Help us, Lord, not to miss out on Your
blessing. Your Word is for every one of us. It’s not just for somebody
else. To each one of us, You say, ‘It’s for you – ‘even you’.
Some people say, ‘I’ll read God’s Word tomorrow’. When ‘tomorrow’ comes
around, they’re still saying the same thing – ‘I’ll read God’s Word
tomorrow’! Sadly, their ‘tomorrow’ never comes. They never get round to
reading God’s Word. They’re missing out on so much. Help us not to
say, ‘I’ll leave it till tomorrow’. Help us to read Your Word ‘today’.
Proverbs 23:1-18
‘Continue
in the fear of the Lord all day long. Let reverence for the Lord be the
concern of your life’. When, Lord, we put You first in our lives,
You give Your great promise of blessing, ‘There is surely a future hope
for you. You have a bright future. Surely you have a wonderful future
ahead of you’ (Proverbs 23:17-18). What a glorious future lies ahead of
those who love You: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has
conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him’ (1 Corinthians
2:9)! Keep us, Lord, from becoming ‘short-sighted’. Help us to keep
on looking ahead to ‘the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ’. You, Lord, have given us ‘His very great and precious
promises’. Help us to press on in ‘faith’, becoming more and more
‘active and effective in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (2
Peter 1:3-11).
Proverbs 23:19-35
‘Keep
your heart on the right path’ (Proverbs 23:19). Lord, we read these
words, and we wonder, ‘How are we to do this?’ Help us to seek ‘truth,
wisdom, instruction and understanding’ (Proverbs 23:23). Help us to give
our hearts to Christ. He is ‘the Truth’ (John 14:6). Help us to open
our hearts to Christ. He is ‘our Wisdom’ (1 Corinthians 1:30). Opening
our hearts will mean opening our Bibles. Giving our hearts to Christ
will mean giving time to reading Your Word. As we read ‘the Scriptures’,
we will receive ‘instruction’. We will learn about ‘salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus’. We will receive ‘instruction for right living’
(2 Timothy 3:14-17). Help us, Lord, as we read Your Word, to pray that
the Holy Spirit will give us ‘understanding’ (1 Corinthians 2:9-13). May
we ‘be filled with the Spirit’ and may ‘the Word of Christ dwell in us
richly’ (Ephesians 5:18; Colossians 3:16).
Proverbs 24:1-14
‘Wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, there is a future
hope for you’ (Proverbs 24:14). Lord, we read what Your Word says to us
about wisdom, and wonder, ” How do we find wisdom?” You tell us to read
Your written Word and to seek Your promised blessing: ‘The law of the
Lord is perfect and revives the soul. The Lord’s instruction never
fails. and makes the simple wise’. As we read Your written Word, keeping
our eyes fixed on Christ, the living ‘Word’ of God’, we discover that
He is the ‘Wisdom’ which is ‘sweeter than honey’and we rejoice in Him,
our ‘Hope of glory’ – ‘You believe in Him and are filled with an
inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your
faith, the salvation of your souls’ (John 1:1-2,14; 1 Corinthians 1:30;
Psalm 19:7,10; Colossians 1:27; 1 Peter 1:8). When, Lord, we ‘ask You’
God’ for ‘wisdom’, help us to remember Your promise: ‘Seek and you will
find’ (James 1:5-8; Matthew 7:7).
Proverbs 24:15-34
‘Though
a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again’ (Proverbs 24:15).
Lord, You ‘keep us by Your power.’ We do not raise ourselves. You, Lord,
are ‘able to keep us from falling’. You ‘know how to deliver the godly
out of temptations’ (1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24; 2 Peter 2:9). When our
‘faith’ is ‘tested by fire’, help us to pray that You will give us His
victory: ‘Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning
fiery furnace’ (1 Peter 1:6-7;Daniel 3:17). When our strength is almost
gone, You come, with Your Word: ‘My grace is sufficient for you. My
power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9). Thank You,
Lord.
Proverbs 25:1-28
‘The
Lord will reward you’ (Proverbs 25:22). Lord, the work, done by Your
servants, is tested by fire: ‘the fire will test what sort of work each
one has done’. There is work of real ‘quality’ – ‘gold, silver, precious
stones’. There is work which has no real value – ‘wood, hay, straw’.
Lord, You want us to think about the work we do in Your Name. We are to
‘remove the dross from the silver’ (Proverbs 25:4). Help us not to be
content with superficial work which does not lead to changed lives. Our
words are to be ‘apples of gold in a setting of silver’. They are to be
words of wisdom, words which are ‘better than fine gold’, words which
‘surpass choice silver’ (Proverbs 25:11;Proverbs 8:19). Help us to
bring Your Word – ‘good news’ – and Your Spirit -‘rivers of living
water’ – to our hearers (25; 1 Peter 1:12,23-25; John 7:37-39).
Proverbs 26:1-28
‘There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!’ (Proverbs 26:13). This, Lord, is the voice of fear speaking. Give to us the voice of faith
– ‘I believed, and so I spoke’ (2 Corinthians 4:13). When ‘the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour’,
he can fill us with fear. Help us not to not let him do this. Help us
to face him with faith – ‘Resist him, standing firm in the faith’ (1
Peter 5:8-9). When we ‘resist the devil’, standing firm in the faith,
‘he will flee from us’ (James 4:7). Help us, Lord, Let us face the
‘roaring lion’ with faith in an even more powerful ‘Lion’. Jesus Christ –
‘the Lion of Judah’ – ‘has conquered’ Satan. He ‘has triumphed’ over
him (Revelation 5:5). May Christ’s ‘perfect love drive out our fear’ (1
John 4:18).
Proverbs 27:1-27
‘Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring’ (Proverbs 27:1). Lord, You speak to us about today.
You say to us, ‘Now is the day of salvation’. Today, we are in ‘the
valley of decision’. We must make up our mind about Jesus Christ. Today
may be our last opportunity to act on Your precious promise: ‘Everyone
who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved’ (Joel 3:14; 2:32; Acts
2:21). Tomorrow may be too late. Our life may be over before tomorrow
comes. Tomorrow, we may hear Yours Word of judgment: ‘I never knew you.
Depart from Me, you evildoers!’. Tomorrow, we may face ‘eternal
punishment’ (Matthew 7:23; 25:46). Tomorrow need not be a day of
judgment. Help us, Lord, to choose Christ today – to let today be our ‘day of salvation’.
Proverbs 28:1-28
‘Blessed
is the one who always fears the Lord. If you harden your heart, you
will be ruined’ (Proverbs 28:14). Lord, Your blessing comes to us
through the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Saviour: ‘The Gospel is the power
of God for the salvation of everyone who believes’. To those who refuse
to come to Christ and receive His salvation, You speak solemn words
of warning: ‘Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart,
you are storing up wrath against yourself for the Day of God’s wrath,
when His righteous judgment will be revealed’ (Romans 1:16; Romans 2:5).
You call us to receive ‘salvation’ through faith in Christ, ‘the Lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world’. May we not be among those
who reject Christ and His salvation, those who must face ‘the wrath of
the Lamb’ (John 1:29; Revelation 7:10; 6:16).
Proverbs 29:1-27
‘The
righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such
concern’. Lord, there are so many people who have a ‘couldn’t care less’
attitude. They have stopped listening to Your Word and they have lost
interest in living Your way – ‘Where there is no revelation, the people
cast off restraint’. For those who are ignoring You, refusing to listen
to Your Word and turning away from the pathway of obedience, You have a
stern Word of warning: ‘If you get more stubborn every time you are
corrected, one day you will be crushed and never recover’. You, Lord,
are calling us to leave the pathway of disobedience and disaster and to
walk in the way of obedience and blessing: ‘Blessed is he who keeps the
law’ (Proverbs 29:7,1,18). Help us to hear what You’re saying to us and
to do what You tell us to do.
Proverbs 30:1-33
In
Proverbs 30:5, we learn about Your Word. Your Word is ‘true’. Your Word
is ‘pure’. Your Word is full of blessing for those who ‘put their trust
in You’. When, Lord, we trust in You, we learn that ‘Your Word is
truth’. Your Word is full of blessing for those who ‘live according to
Your Word’. When, Lord, we live in obedience to Your Word, we find that
Your Word makes us ‘pure’. Through Your Word of truth, You lead us in
the pathway of holiness. Help us never to forget that Jesus is praying
for us: ‘Make them pure and holy through teaching them Your Words of
truth’. Lord, Your Word is ‘more precious than gold’. Help us to ‘hide
Your Word in our hearts that we might not sin against You’ (John 17:17;
Psalms 19:10; 119:9,11).
Proverbs 31:1-31
‘A
wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than
rubies… Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who
fears the Lord is to be praised’ (Proverbs 31:10,30). Lord, You’re
calling us to seek ‘treasures in heaven’ rather than ‘treasures on
earth’ (Matthew 6:19-21). You’re showing us that the riches of this
world will not last for ever: ‘All your riches and splendour have
vanished, never to be recovered… “Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in
fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious
stones and pearls! In one hour such great wealth has been brought to
ruin!”’ Help us to remember that there is one treasure which lasts
forever – the treasure of salvation. As we think of the eternal treasure
of Your salvation, may we grow stronger, may our hearts be filled
with praise for our Saviour: ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and power and glory
belong to our God’ (Revelation 18:14-17; 19:1).
_________________________
ECCLESIASTES
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2:26
Life is empty
without You, Lord. You fill our lives with Your blessing. You give to us
new life, abundant life, eternal life (2 Corinthians 5:17; John 10:10; 1
John 5:11-12). All of these blessings come to us through Jesus, Your
Son. He brings us out of emptiness. He brings us into a life that has
meaning, purpose and direction. We thank You, Lord, for Jesus, our Saviour.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4:16
We look, Lord, for happiness, but we cannot find it. Why do we keep
missing happiness? We’re looking in the wrong place. We try to find
happiness in ourselves. You’re saying to us, “You’ll only find happiness
when you come to Jesus. Only Jesus can fill the God-shaped blank in
your heart.” Teach us, Lord, to listen to Your voice, speaking to us of
Jesus, calling us to come to Him and receive from Him Your gift of
salvation. Help us to rejoice in Jesus, to be glad that He is our great
Saviour.
Ecclesiastes 5:1-6:12
Lord, there’s something hollow at the heart of the world’s way of
thinking and living: “The man who loves money can never have enough”
(Ecclesiastes 5:10). You call us away from the world’s way of thinking
and living: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.” You show
us a different way, a better way: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven” (Matthew 6:19-20). When the world is pulling us down, help us,
Lord, to keep on looking to You – to lift us up to a greater love for
You, a stronger faith in You and a closer walk with You.
Ecclesiastes 7:1-29
“Do not be over-righteous and do not be over-wise” (Ecclesiastes 7:16).
Help us, Lord, not to take pride in our own righteousness or our own
wisdom. Help us to trust in Christ – “our Righteousness and our “Wisdom”
(1 Corinthians 1:30). “Through faith in Him, we are made righteous” and
we become “wise for salvation” (Romans 3:21-26; 2 Timothy 3:14-17).
Ecclesiastes 8:1-9:10
Lord, what a great difference there is between life “under the sun”
(Ecclesiastes 9:9) and Life in the Son. The world tells us that there is
nothing beyond “the grave” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Our Saviour promises us
“an inheritance from the Lord as a reward” (Colossians 3:24). Help us,
Lord, never to lose sight of the eternal dimension. This is what gives
our life real depth, true meaning and a strong sense of purpose.
Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20
“Wisdom
is better than weapons of war” (Ecclesiastes 9:18). We ask, Lord, about
wisdom – “Where does wisdom come from? How will wisdom change our way
of thinking and living?” You tell us that real “wisdom comes from
heaven.” You show us that true wisdom will make us more “peace-loving”
(James 3:18).
Ecclesiastes 11:1-12:14
“Fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Lord, we
read these words, and we wonder, “How can we even begin to fear You and
keep Your commandments when our hearts are full of sin?” We ask, “How
can our hearts be cleansed from sin?” We cannot do this for ourselves.
Only You can do this for us. Through Your Son, Jesus Christ, You give us
such great blessings: “I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart
and put a new Spirit in you” (Ezekiel 36:24). Thank You, Lord.
_____________________
SONG OF SOLOMON
Song of Solomon 1:1-17
Lord, You've called us to be the Bride of Christ: "a pure Bride", a
Bride beautifully dressed" for our Saviour - "the Bride, the wife of the
Lamb" (Ephesians 5:25-33; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 21:2,9). May
we hear the voice of Jesus, saying to us, "You are beautiful, my love."
May we worship Him: "You are beautiful, my Beloved, truly lovely" (Song
of Solomon 1:15-16).
Song of Solomon 2:1-17
We thank You, Lord, that Jesus comes to us in love: "the voice of my
Beloved! Look! Here He comes" (Song of Solomon 2:8). We thank You that
He calls us to come to Him: "Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come
away" (Song of Solomon 2:10). He calls us to belong to Him - to have the
assurance of salvation, which has this joyful testimony: "My Beloved is
mine, and I am His" (Song of Solomon 2:16). Help us, Lord, to receive
the love of Jesus, and to rejoice in His love.
Song of Solomon 3:1-4:8
We thank You, Lord, that Jesus says to us, "Seek and you will find"
(Matthew 7:7). When we have found Him, may we say, with joy, "I found
Him whom my soul loves - my true love" (Song of Solomon 3:4). What,
Lord, does it mean to find Jesus? It means that He found us. Before we
ever thought of seeking for Him, He came seeking for us. Before we ever
thought of loving Him, He loved us: "I have loved you with an
everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Before we can say, "Hallelujah! I
have found Him", He finds us: "I once was lost, but now am found."
Song of Solomon 4:9-5:16
There are times, Lord, when You come very near to us. We pray, "Let my
Beloved come to His garden" (Song of Solomon 4:16). You answer, "I come
to My garden ... My Bride" (Song of Solomon 5:1). There are times when
You seem to be far away from us: "I opened to my Beloved, but my Beloved
had turned and gone" (Song of Solomon 5:6). What, Lord, we are
to do when Your presence does not seem so real to us? Help us to
remember the great promise that comes to us from the risen Christ: "I am
with you always" (Matthew 28:20). Help us to hold on to this promise,
believing that the times of blessing will return: "His speech is sweet;
He is altogether lovely ... my Beloved ... my Friend" (Song of Solomon
5:16).
Song of Solomon 6:1-7:9
"You are beautiful ... How beautiful you are" (Song of Solomon 6:4;
7:6). We wonder, Lord, how You can possibly see any beauty in us? We are
sinners - "We have all strayed like sheep. Each one of us has turned to
his own way." We thank You, Lord, that Christ died for sinners: "the
Lord laid all our sins on Him" (Isaiah 53:6). When You look upon us, You
do not see our sin. You see our Saviour, Your Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. When You look at us, this is what You see: "The blood of Jesus,
Your Son, cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). This, Lord, is the
beauty You see - the beauty of Jesus, our Saviour.
Song of Solomon 7:10-8:14
"Love is as strong as death ... It burns like a blazing fire, like a
mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown
it" (Song of Solomon 7:6-7). We thank You, Lord, that Your love is the
greatest love of all: "Nothing can separate us from the love of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). We can never earn Your love:
"If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, it would be
utterly scorned" (Song of Solomon 8:7). Your love is always Your gift to
us. May Your love burn, in our hearts, "like a blazing fire, like a
mighty flame" - a fire that burns up our dross, a refining fire that
purifies us, a flame that burns for Your glory.
_______________________
ISAIAH
Isaiah 1:1-31
We
thank You, Lord, that You invite us to “come” to You and receive
salvation – “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white
as snow.” Along with Your promise, there is also Your warning: “if you
refuse and rebel … ” (Isaiah 1:18-20). You call us to believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. With the Gospel promise, there is also
the Gospel warning: “Whoever does not
believe is condemned already because he does not believe in the Name of
the only Son of God” (John 3:17-18). Help us, Lord, to receive Your
“great salvation” – and to remember the Gospel warning: “How shall we
escape if we neglect or ignore such a great salvation.” (Hebrews 2:3).
Isaiah 2:1-22
Lord,
You’re calling us to worship You – “Come, let us go up to the mountain
of the Lord.” You’re calling us to walk in Your ways – “Come, let us
walk in the light of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:3,5). We’re moving towards the
Day when “the pride of men shall be humbled and brought low”, the Day
when “the Lord alone will be exalted” (Isaiah 2:11-12,17). How, Lord,
are we to get ready for the Return of our Lord Jesus Christ? You’re
calling us to keep on worshipping You and walking with You. As we
worship You and walk with You, may our pride be humbled, and may our
Saviour be exalted.
Isaiah 3:1-26
Lord,
You call us to make our choice. Will we follow the way of “the
righteous” or the way of “the wicked” (Isaiah 3:10-11)? We recall the
words of Jesus: “Enter by the narrow gate … only a few find the narrow
gate, the hard way that leads to life. His words are not popular. Many
don’t like it when Jesus says, “the gate to hell is wide and the road
that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it” (Matthew
7:13-14). Help us, Lord, to listen to all that Jesus is saying to us –
and not only the ‘nice’ things that we like to hear.
Isaiah 4:1-5:17
“Those
who are left … will be called holy” (Isaiah 4:3). Lord, we hear worldly
people speaking of ‘the holy people who need to learn to live in the
real world.’ They speak with contempt. When You, Lord, call Your people
“holy”, You speak with affection. You look upon us in love. You tell us
that we are special to You. You tell us that we are precious in Your
eyes. Lord, You’re calling us to be holy. Help us to look beyond this
world, to catch a glimpse of “the things that are unseen and eternal”,
and to “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in
Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:18; Philippians 3:14).
Isaiah 5:18-6:13
Lord,
You reveal Your holiness: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” In
Your holiness, we see our own sinfulness: “I am a man of unclean lips”
(Isaiah 6:3,5). Lord, You are perfectly holy: “Your eyes are too pure to
look on evil” (Habakkuk 1:13). When we look at ourselves in the light
of Your perfect holiness, we see ourselves as we really are: “All
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Help us,
Lord, to confess our sin and pray for your forgiveness: “God, be
merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). Help us to hear Your Word of
forgiveness – “your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” Help us
to speak our words of commitment – “Here am I! Send me” (Isaiah 6:7-8).
Isaiah 7:1-25
We
thank You, Lord, that Jesus, Your Son, is “Immanuel” – “God with us”
(Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). We look forward to the Second Coming of
Immanuel: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with
them” (Revelation 21:3). When our thoughts turn to the Return of Christ,
may we think of His urgent call to faith: “When the Son of man comes,
will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8). Lord, give us strength to
“stand firm in our faith”, to “believe and be saved” (Isaiah 7:9;
Hebrews 10:37-39).
Isaiah 8:1-22
“Immanuel
… God is with us” (Isaiah 8:8,10). Lord, we read these words – and we
thank You that Jesus has come to be with us so that we may go to be with
Him. He has come from heaven to earth so that we might go from earth to
heaven. He died for us so that we might live with Him. Thank You, Lord,
for Jesus, our great Saviour.
Isaiah 9:1-10:4
Lord,
we read the words of prophecy – “To us a Child is born, to us a Son is
given … ” – and we rejoice in the fulfilment of prophecy – “Today in the
town of David, a Saviour has been born to you.” What a great Saviour
Jesus is – He is our “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6; Luke 2:11). Lord, this is “Good
News of great joy” – for “all the people” and for “all generations”
(Luke 2:10; Luke 1:46-50). Thank You, Lord.
Isaiah 10:5-34
“A
few, the remaining few of Jacob, will return to the mighty God” (Isaiah
10:21). So few people make time for worshipping You, Lord. Are we to
become discouraged? No! We must take encouragement for Your Word: “The
Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame” (Isaiah
10:17). Lord, give us grace to “truly rely on” You, “the Lord, the Holy
One of Israel” (Isaiah 10:20), to keep on believing that You will,
again, send Your blessing – even in the difficult times when
disappointment and discouragement threaten to engulf and overwhelm us.
Isaiah 11:1-12:6
We
thank You, Lord, for Jesus Christ – ” a Banner for the nations”, “the
Saviour of the world” (Isaiah 11:12′ John 4:42). We thank You that He
has “died for the sins of the whole world.” This is “Good News” for “all
the world.” It’s a call to receive the “forgiveness of sins.” It’s a
call to become His “disciples” (1 John 2:2; Mark 16:15; Luke 24;27;
Matthew 28:19). As we look to Jesus, our Saviour, may our personal faith
– “I will praise You, O Lord … God is my Salvation … The Lord is my
Strength and my Song …” – become our public testimony – making Christ
“known among the nations,” telling “all the world! what the Lord has
done for us (Isaiah 12:1-2,4-5).
Isaiah 13:1-22
“The
Day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the
Almighty … The Day of the Lord is coming – a cruel Day with fierce anger
… “; “When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven … He will punish
those who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.
They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the
presence of the Lord … ” Lord, we read these words, and we wonder, “Is
this what lies ahead of us?” We thank You, Lord, that You speak to us of
something else, something very much more wonderful – the Day of
Christ’s Return, the Day of our salvation: “the Day He comes to be
glorified in His holy people and to be marvelled at among all those who
have believed” (Isaiah 13:6,9; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). Why, Lord, do You
speak to us about judgment? Does this have anything at all to do with
the Good News of our salvation? You show us, Lord, what we have been
saved from – so that we might appreciate more deeply, more truly and
more fully, the wonder of Your great salvation. You speak to us Your
warning, ‘Don’t let the Day of the Lord “surprise you like a thief” – to
bring us to “Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath,” and to lead
us on to the Day of “salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1
Thessalonians 5:1-4,9; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).
Isaiah 14:1-23
We
read, Lord, about “the king of Babylon” (Isaiah 14:4) – and we see
Satan. He is full of pride – “I will climb to the highest heaven and be
like the Most High.” He is fallen – “How you are fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer.” He will be brought to nothing – “you will be brought down to
the pit f hell … ” (Isaiah 14:12-15). We look at the king of Tyre – and,
again, we see Satan – “you were on the holy mountain of God … you
sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God … your
heart was proud … you have come to a dreadful end … ” (Ezekiel
28:12-19). We look beyond Satan (the devil) – and we see Jesus, our
great Saviour. By “the authority of Christ,” Satan “has been thrown
down.” In Christ, we have the victory over Satan: “they have conquered
him by the blood of the Lamb … “(Revelation 12:7-12). Thank You, Lord,
for Your Son, Jesus – and the great victory over Satan that He has won
for us.
Isaiah 14:24-15:9
“My
heart cries out for Moab” (Isaiah 15:5). Lord, we read these words –
and we catch a glimpse of Your loving heart. You take “no pleasure in
the death of the wicked.” You do “not want anyone to perish.” You long
for “everyone to come to repentance” (Ezekiel 33:11; 2 Peter 3:9). When,
Lord, we look at Your Son, Jesus – our Saviour, we see your loving
heart: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those
who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children
together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!”
(Matthew 23:27). When we look at Paul, the Apostle, we see Your loving
heart. Paul saw the nation of Israel, turning away from You – and he was
filled with compassion: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in
my heart” (Romans 9:2). Help us, Lord, to feel for the lost, to look
upon them with Your love, and to long for them to be saved.
Isaiah 16:1-17:3
‘In
love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a Man will sit on it
– One from the house of David…’ (Isaiah 16:5). Lord, we read these
words, and we look beyond David – to Jesus, ‘the Son of God’ (Romans
1:4). David was the king of Israel. Jesus is the King of kings. In
Jesus, Your Perfect Son, we see Your love and Your faithfulness. Thank
You, Lord.
Isaiah 17:4-18:7
‘You
have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the
Rock of your refuge’ (Isaiah 17:10). Lord, we find it so easy to forget –
and so hard to remember. You have loved us so much. We should remember
to say, ‘Thank You, Lord’. Very often, we forget. When Jesus healed ten
lepers, only ‘one of them came back’ to say ‘Thank You’. Far too often,
we are like ‘the other nine’ (Luke 17:11-19). We forget to thank You for
Your love. We take Your love for granted. We should be celebrating. We
should be letting You know how much we love You. We forget ‘our first
love’ (Revelation 2:4). Help us to let Jesus be our first love, our only
love – for the whole of our life.
Isaiah 19:1-20:6
‘The
Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt My people,
Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel my heritage”’ (Isaiah 19:25).
‘There is neither Jew nor Greek… you are all one in Christ Jesus’
(Galatians 3:28). How, Lord, can people who seem to be opposites be
brought together? Jesus Christ brings them together. He breaks down ‘the
barrier’. He removes ‘the dividing wall of hostility’. We are brought
‘near’ to one another through ‘the blood of Christ’. Help us, Lord,
to come to ‘the Cross’ of Christ. There, at ‘the Cross’, we will find
each other. We will discover what it means to be ‘one body’ in Christ
(Ephesians 2:13-16). When Satan comes, creating misunderstanding,
filling our minds with suspicion and undermining our hopes of peace,
help us to remind him of Your Word, ‘You are all one in Christ Jesus’.
Isaiah 21:1-17
Lord,
we live in a situation of conflict. We are at war with the enemy. Satan
is Your enemy. Satan is our enemy. Satan is a very determined enemy.
Satan is a defeated enemy. ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon…’ (Isaiah 21:9).
We read these words, repeated again in Revelation 14:8; 18:2. You,
Lord, are assuring that Satan will not prevail over You and Your people.
The victory is Yours, Lord. You give Your victory to us. When the going
gets tough, when Satan seems to have the upper hand, Help us
to remember this: ‘Fierce may be the conflict, strong may be the foe,
but the King’s own army none can overthrow. Round His standard ranging,
victory is secure, for His truth unchanging makes the triumph sure’. May
we never hesitate to commit ourselves to Christ: ‘Joyfully enlisting,
by Thy grace divine, we are on the Lord’s side; Saviour, we are Thine.’
Isaiah 22:1-25
We read,
Lord, about ‘the Valley of Vision’ (Isaiah 22:1,5). You are to be our
Vision: ‘Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to
me, save that Thou art, Thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking
or sleeping Thy presence my light.’ When we’re down in the valley, the
mountain-top experience seems a long way off. What are we to do when
everything seems to be hard-going? When there seems to be no way out of
the valley, no way back to the mountain-top, help us to keep on ‘looking
to Jesus’ (Hebrews 12:1-2). When we’re in the ‘valley’, help us to
say, ‘My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace, nor even blessing, but
Himself, my God’. May our ‘valley’ become Your ‘valley of vision’, the
place where we are learning to ‘turn our eyes upon Jesus.’
Isaiah 23:1-18
‘Look
at the land of the Babylonians, this people that is now of no account!’
(13). We read these words, Lord, and we wonder, “What about our nation?
Is there any hope for our nation?” To the nation which turns to
You, Lord, You speak Your promise of blessing – ‘Blessed is the nation
whose God is the Lord …’ (Psalm 33:12). To the nation which turns away
from You, You speak Your warning of judgment – ‘For lack of guidance a
nation falls’ (Proverbs 11:14). We must choose. Help us, Lord, to choose
to listen to You, to submit our lives to You,, to follow the guidance
You have given to us in Your Word. Your way leads to blessing –
‘Righteousness exalts a nation.’ The way of self leads to judgment –
‘sin is a disgrace to any people’ (Proverbs 14:34). Raise us, Lord,
above the way of “the Babylonians” – to the better way, the way that
brings glory to You: ‘They will see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5:16).
Isaiah 24:1-23
‘They
raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the
Lord’s majesty. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord, exalt the
Name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. From the
ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One”’
(Isaiah 24:14-16). Lord, this is such a beautiful picture of a land that
is enjoying Your blessing, praising You and giving glory to You.
Looking around us, we see a very different picture – ‘The earth is
defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws… therefore a curse
consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt’ (Isaiah 24:5-6).
Can the dark picture of sin and guilt be turned into the brighter
picture of salvation and rejoicing? Lord, You are ‘able to do so much
more than we can ask for, or even imagine’ (Ephesians 3:20). Help us,
Lord, to be bold – and keep on praying that You will send revival in our
time.
Isaiah 25:1-26:9
‘O
Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your Name… You have
done marvellous things’ (Isaiah 25:1). We remember what You, Lord, have
done for us. You sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour. We
rejoice in Jesus. He died for us. We rejoice in Jesus. He rose again for
us. We look forward to His Return. We look forward to the Day when You,
Lord, ‘will swallow up death for ever.’ On that Day, ‘the Lord God will
wipe away the tears from all faces.’ On that Day, we will look back and
say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us.’ On
that Day, we will ‘rejoice and be glad in Your salvation’ (Isaiah
25:8-9). Here and now, help us to ‘trust in’ You. May we know that we
can trust in You ‘for ever.’ You are ‘the everlasting Rock’ – ‘the Rock
of our salvation’ (Isaiah 26:4; Psalm 95:1).
“This is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us …Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation” (Isaiah 25:9).
Lord,
we remember what You have done for us. We remember Your Son, Jesus
Christ. We rejoice in Him. He died for us. He rose again for us. We look
forward to His Return – the Day when ‘He will swallow up death for
ever.’ On that Day, Lord, You ‘will wipe away the tears from all faces.’
On that Day, we will say, ‘Lord, You are our God; we have trusted in
You, and You have saved us.’ On that Day, we will ‘rejoice and be glad
in Your salvation.’ Here and now, may we learn to trust in You. May we
know that You are ‘the everlasting Rock’ – ‘the Rock of our salvation.
Isaiah 26:10-27:13
We thank You, Lord, that Jesus is our Saviour
– ‘Lord, You establish peace for us’; ‘We have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ’. We cannot save ourselves. We can only look away
from ourselves to Jesus – and be saved by Him: ‘all that we have
accomplished You have done for us’; ‘By grace you have been saved
through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God’
(Isaiah 26:12; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8). We thank You that Jesus is
our Lord – ‘Lord, our
God… You alone are our Lord’. How are we to live once we have received
salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? – ‘Just as you received Christ
Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him’. Help us not to ‘keep on sinning
so that You, Lord, can keep on showing us more and more kindness and
forgiveness.’ Help us to live a life of ‘good works’ (Isaiah 26:13;
Colossians 2:6; Romans 6:1; Ephesians 2:10).
Isaiah 28:1-22
We
thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus Christ, is ‘the precious
Cornerstone’. He is ‘the sure Foundation’ (Isaiah 28:16). Jesus is the
Name of our salvation – ‘Salvation is found in no-one else… there is no
other name… by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:10-12). There is only one
‘Foundation’ for our faith – ‘Jesus Christ’ (1 Corinthians 3:11). He is
the ‘chosen and precious Cornerstone’ – ‘to you who believe, this Stone
is precious’ (1 Peter 2:6-7). Help us, Lord, to build our life on
Christ, ‘the solid Rock’ - ‘My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’
blood and righteousness; no merit of my own I claim, but wholly trust
in Jesus’ Name. When weary in this earthly race, I rest on His
unchanging grace… When earthly hopes are swept away, He will uphold me
on that Day. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand. All other ground is
sinking sand’ (Matthew 7:24-27).
Isaiah 28:23-29:16
‘The
wisdom of the wise will perish’ (Isaiah 29:14). As, Lord, we read these
words, may we know that there is another ‘wisdom’, a ‘wisdom’ which
shall not perish, a ‘wisdom’ which is ‘wiser than man’s wisdom’. Christ
is ‘the Wisdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:24-25). May we know that, with
Christ as our Saviour, we ‘shall not perish.’ Through faith in Him, we
receive the ‘wisdom’ which brings ‘salvation’ (John 3:16; 2 Timothy
3:15). He is ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life’ (John 14:6). He is the
Way to true wisdom. He is the Truth upon which true wisdom is based. He
is the Life which is based on true wisdom. He is
true Wisdom. Help us, Lord, not to seek wisdom apart from faith in
Jesus Christ – ‘the world did not know God through wisdom.’ May we know
that there is one true wisdom which does ‘not rest in the wisdom of men
but in the power of God’ – faith in ‘Christ crucified’ (1 Corinthians
1:21-23; 2:1-5).
Isaiah 29:17-30:17
‘In
returning and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your
strength, but you would have none of it. You said, “No!”’ (Isaiah
30:15-16). Lord, You want to bless us. You want to be our ‘salvation.’
You want to be our ‘strength.’ How do You bless us? How do You become
our ‘salvation’? How do You become our ‘strength’? We must want Your
blessing. We must want Your ‘salvation.’ We must want Your ‘strength.’
We must return to You and rest in You. We must quietly listen to Your
Word, putting our trust in You. There is no ‘salvation’ without
‘returning and rest.’ There is no ‘strength’ without ‘quietness and
trust.’ You, Lord, do not force Yourself upon us. We can say, ‘No! I
will have none of it’. You want to bless you. Help us, Lord, to say,
‘Yes, Lord! I want You to be my “salvation.” I want You to be my
“strength.”’
Isaiah 30:18-31:19
‘Woe
to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in
chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!’ (Isaiah
31:1). Lord, we can so easily forget You. We try to go it alone, and we
forget to look to You for help. Even when we forget You, You do not
forget us. When we turn our back on You, You call us to ‘return to You’
(Isaiah 31:6). You remind us that our true help is found in You: ‘Our
help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth’ (Psalm
124:8). We need not look around here, there and everywhere for an answer
to the question, ‘Where does my help come from?’ There is only one true
answer to this question: ‘My help comes from You, Lord, the Maker of
heaven and earth’ (Psalm 121:1-2). Thank You, Lord, that You are our God
– our Maker and our Helper.
Isaiah 32:1-20
‘Abandoned…
deserted… a wasteland…’ (Isaiah 32:14). Lord, we read these words, and
we wonder,”Can such a desperate situation be turned around?” Your answer
is “Yes!” - When ‘the Spirit is poured upon us from on high… the
wilderness becomes a fruitful field’ (Isaiah 32:15). Help us not to lose
heart. May we keep on calling on You. Help us to keep on believing
that You, Lord, are able to turn things around. When the situation seems
hopeless, help us to put our trust in You, ‘the God of hope.’ Help us
to keep on praying that You will send Your blessing: ‘May the God of
hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power
of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope’ (Romans 15:13).
Isaiah 33:1-24
‘O Lord…Be our strength every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble’
(Isaiah 33:2). Help us, Lord, not only to pray to You ‘in the time of
trouble.’ Help us to pray to You ‘every morning.’ May we not keep You at
a distance, calling on You only when things are going badly. When we
keep You at a distance, our life tells its own sad story – ‘O what peace
we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear – all because we do not
carry everything to God in prayer.’ When we draw near to You, Lord,
You draw near to us, and everything becomes very different – ‘What a
Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a
privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!’ (James 4:8). Lord, let
Your ‘love’ come to us ‘new every morning’ – ‘fresh as the morning , as
sure as the sunrise’ (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Isaiah 34:1-17
Lord,
You call us to ‘draw near’ to You. You want us to ‘pay attention’ to
You. Help us to ‘listen’ to His Word (Isaiah 34:1). Your Word is not
always what we want to hear. It will always be what we need
to hear. ‘The Lord is angry with all nations’ (Isaiah 34:2). We don’t
like to hear about Your anger. We prefer to be told ‘You’re doing fine.’
We need to hear about God’s anger. We need to hear about how far we
have wandered away from God – ‘We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us turned to his own way.’ We are sinners. We have turned away
from You, Lord. We have chosen our own way rather than Your way. We must
hear this ‘bad news’ before we can really appreciate the ‘Good News’ –
‘the Lord has laid all our sins on Jesus’, ‘Christ died for us while we
were still sinners’, ‘Christ died for our sins’ (Isaiah 53:6; Romans
5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3).
Isaiah 35:1-10
What
blessings are given to those who draw near to You, Lord - ‘Your God…
will come and save you’ (Isaiah 35:4). The Good News of Christ comes to
us as a call to faith – ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be
saved’ (Acts 16:31). We have been saved through faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. We cannot remain the same. You have called us to live a new
life. You call us to travel on the Your ‘highway’ – ‘the Way of
Holiness’ (Isaiah 35:8). This is ‘the Way’ which leads to ‘everlasting
joy’ (Isaiah 35:10). This ‘Way’ is so different from the world’s way.
The world has no time for those who seek to live a holy life. Help us to
remember what Jesus says about the world’s way of life: ‘the gate is
wide and the way is wide that leads to destruction’ (Matthew 7:13).
Whatever the world may say, may we never forget this: ‘Without holiness,
no-one will see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14).
Isaiah 36:1-37:20
We
read, Lord, about Hezekiah, facing a very powerful enemy –
‘Sennacherib, king of Assyria’ (Isaiah 36:1). We read his prayer for
deliverance – ‘O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand’. He prays for
salvation – ‘O Lord our God, save us…’ (Isaiah 37:20). We face an even
more powerful enemy – Satan, ‘the ruler of this world’, ‘the god of this
world.’ We pray for deliverance. We look to You, Lord, for salvation.
Help us to pray with faith in Jesus Christ. Satan ‘has no power over’
Jesus. When Jesus was ‘lifted up from the earth’ (crucified), He won a
mighty victory over Satan. Jesus died for us so that Satan, ‘the ruler
of this world’ might be ‘cast out.’ We thank You, Lord, that Satan’s
power is broken when ‘the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ’
shines ‘in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ We pray for
deliverance. We look to You, Lord, for salvation. Help us to pray with
faith in Jesus Christ. Satan ‘has no power over’ Jesus. When Jesus was
‘lifted up from the earth’ (crucified), He won a mighty victory over
Satan. Jesus died for us so that Satan, ‘the ruler of this world’ might
be ‘cast out.’ We thank You, Lord, that Satan’s power is broken when
‘the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ’ shines ‘in our hearts
to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Christ’ (John 14:30;12:31-33; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6).
Isaiah 37:21-38:8
“Sennacherib,
the king of Assyria, will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here…
By the way that he came he will return… I will defend this city to save
it” (Isaiah 37:33-35). This, Lord, was Your answer to Hezekiah’s prayer
for salvation. What a great God You are! You are the God of our
salvation. You will answer our prayer for salvation. You love us: ‘God
so loved the world that He gave His only Son…’. Your Son, Jesus, died
for us: ‘God made Him who knew no sin (Christ) to be sin for us, so that
in Him we might become the righteousness of God’. Jesus promises to
receive all who come to Him for salvation: ‘I will never turn away
anyone who comes to Me’ (John 3:16; 6:37; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Thank
You, Lord.
Isaiah 38:9-39:8
‘The
Lord will save me, and we will sing with stringed instruments all the
days of our life in the House of the Lord’ (Isaiah 38:20). Lord, we hear
many people saying, ‘I can be a Christian without going to Church.’
You’re teaching us something very different. You’re showing us that
believing in You leads to worshipping You.. It doesn’t make sense. for
us, to say, ‘I believe in You, Lord’ but I’m not interested in
worshipping You.’ We believe in Jesus. He has saved by us. We Have
received a new Spirit of worship: ‘God has sent the Spirit of His Son
into our hearts, crying, “Father, my Father!”’ (Galatians 4:4). Help us,
Lord, never to rest content with being believers without also being
worshippers.
Isaiah 40:1-31
‘The
Lord is the everlasting God… He gives strength to the weary and
increases the power of the weak… those who wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength…’ (Isaiah 40:28-31). Far too often, Lord, we say,
‘I can’t’ when we really mean ‘I won’t’. ‘I can’t’ – This, Lord, is an
insult to Your power of God. You call us to do something special for
Him. We say, ‘I can’t’. What are we really saying? We’re saying – ‘Lord,
I don’t believe Your promise – “Those who wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength”’. Help us, Lord, to stop saying, ‘I can’t’. Help
us not to get so busy with other things that we fail to wait upon
You, Lord, and renew your strength. When You call us to serve Him, help
us to say, ‘Yes, Lord, I will wait upon You. I will renew my strength. I
will do Your will’.
Isaiah 41:1-29
‘Do
not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God, I
will strengthen you and help you… I am the Lord your God who… says to
you, Do not fear; I will help you… I Myself will help you, declares the
Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel’ (Isaiah 41:10-14). When,
Lord, we have something important to say, we repeat ourselves. We want
to make sure that our message gets across. We say, ‘Do you get the
point? Do you see what I mean?’ This, Lord, is what You are doing. Three
times, You say, ‘I will help you’.
You want us to get the point. You want to leave us in no doubt.
You want us to be sure of this: ‘I will help you’. You don’t want us to
go around thinking, ‘I wonder if God will help me?’ You really do want
to help us. You say it once. You say it twice. You say it three times:
‘I will help you’. Thank You, Lord.
Isaiah 42:1-25
‘Here
is My Servant, whom I uphold, my Chosen One in whom I delight; I will
put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations’ (Isaiah
42:1). Lord, these words turn our thoughts towards Your Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ. At His baptism, we hear Your voice – ‘This is My Son, whom
I love; with Him I am well pleased’. At His baptism, we see ‘the Spirit
of God coming down like a dove and resting on Him’. Jesus is the
fulfilment of Your Word of prophecy: ‘All mankind shall see the Saviour
sent from God’. After His resurrection, we hear Jesus Himself speaking.
He says, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…’ (Matthew 12:15-21;
3:16-17; 28:18-20; Luke 3:6). Help us, Lord, to bring Christ to the
nations. Help us to serve You in the power of the Spirit.
Isaiah 43:1-28
‘I
am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour… I am the
Lord, apart from Me there is no saviour’ (Isaiah 43:3,11). Lord,
these words turn our thoughts towards Jesus, our Saviour. The Name of
Jesus is the Name of our salvation: ‘Salvation is found in no-one else,
for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be
saved.’
Isaiah 44:1-28
‘I
will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I
will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your
descendants’ (Isaiah 44:3). Lord, we hear You speaking to us of the
mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost – ‘They
were all filled with the Holy Spirit…’ (Acts 2:4). We thank You for the
Spirit. He brings ‘streams of living water’ into our lives. We thank You
for the Spirit. He sends ‘streams of living water’, flowing out from us
to others (John 7:37-39). Help us, Lord, to ‘be filled with the
Spirit’. ‘Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to
God the Father for everything in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ’ –
May our lives be full of praise to You: ‘filled with the Spirit’
(Ephesians 5:18-20).
Isaiah 45:1-25
‘I am the
Lord... I will strengthen you’ (Isaiah 45:5). How, Lord, do You strengthen us? You
strengthen us with Your salvation. You come to us as our ‘God and
Saviour’. You call us to come to You and receive salvation: ‘Turn to Me
and be saved...’. Through faith in Christ, we are ‘saved by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation’ (Isaiah 45:15,17,21-22). We are strengthened with
‘everlasting salvation’. We look ahead to Christ’s Return ‘in power and
great glory’ (Matthew 24:30). We thank You, Lord, that, on that Day, the glory of Jesus, our Saviour, will
be fully revealed: ‘At the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven
and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father’. Jesus is our
Saviour. His ‘Name is above every name’. We thank You that our ‘strength’ comes from Him
(Isaiah 45:23-24; Philippians 2:10-11).
Isaiah 46:1-47:15
‘I
am
God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me... I am
bringing My righteousness near, it is not far away; and my salvation
will not be delayed’ (Isaiah 46:9,13). We thank You, Lord, that You
don't keep Your distance from us. You come near to us - ‘The Word is
near you, on your lips and in your
heart (that is, the Word of faith which we preach). You do not delay
Your salvation. You come to us with Your promise: ‘If you confess with
your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised
Him from the dead, you will be saved’ (Romans 10:8-9). Jesus is the Word
of God. He is our Saviour. He is our Lord (John 1:1,14; 20:28,31). Help
us, Lord to worship Jesus. He is ‘the Holy One of Israel’. He is ‘our
Redeemer’.
‘The Lord Almighty is His Name’ (Isaiah 47:4). ‘O come, let us adore
Him,
Christ the Lord.’
Isaiah 48:1-22
‘I am the
Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in
the way you should go’ (Isaiah 48:17). Lord, You know what's best for us. You help us
to say, ‘As for God, His way is perfect’ (Job 23:10; 2 Samuel
22:31). How do You help us to see that Your way is best? You invite us
to consider Your love. We are to think about all that You have done for us -
‘the mercies of God’. You call us to dedicate our lives to You -
‘present your bodies, as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to
God’. Dedicating our lives You, Lord - This is ‘our ‘spiritual
worship’. We are not to live for this world - ‘Do not be conformed to
this world’. We are to live for the Lord - ‘be transformed by the
renewal of your mind’. ‘God’s will is good, pleasing and perfect’. May we learn
this for ourselves as we learn to dedicate our lives to You (Romans 12:1-2).
Isaiah 49:1-26
‘I,
the
Lord, am your Saviour, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob’. Help us,
Lord, not to keep this to ourselves. You want ‘all mankind’ to ‘know’
(Isaiah 49:26).
‘Jesus, the Name to sinners dear, the Name to sinners given, it scatters
all their guilty fear, it turns their hell to heaven’ - This is not
something to keep to ourselves. We must make Christ known to others -
‘Oh, that the world might taste and see the riches of His grace! The
arms of love that compass me, would all mankind embrace. His only
righteousness I show, His saving truth proclaim: ‘tis all my business
here below to cry: “Behold the Lamb!”. Happy, if with my latest breath I
may but gasp His Name: preach Him to all, and cry in death: “Behold,
behold the Lamb!”’ (Mission Praise, 385). Help us, Lord, to be obedient to Your call to ‘go into all the world and preach the Good News’ (Mark 16:15).
Isaiah 50:1-51:8
‘The
Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may
know how to sustain with a word him that is weary. He wakens me morning
by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught’ (Isaiah
50:4). Help us, Lord, to listen to You. Help us to speak for You. Teach
us that we cannot speak for You unless we are listening to You. Before
we can speak for You, we must speak to
You. We must pray, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening’ (1
Samuel 3:9-10). Listening to You, Lord, comes before speaking for God. First,
we wait on You - ‘I waited patiently for the Lord’. Then, we witness
for You - ‘He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our
God’. Waiting on You, Lord, and witnessing for You, we will win others for You - ‘Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord’ (Psalm 40:1-3).
Isaiah 51:9-23
‘Awake,
awake!... O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days gone by... The ransomed
of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting
joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them... I am
the Lord your God... I have put My words in your mouth...’ (Isaiah 51:9,11,15-16).
Teach us, Lord, to pray for revival in this generation. Help us to pray for a revival of
joyful worship and a revival of powerful preaching. Where will
revival come from? It comes from You, Lord. You hear the prayers of His
people - ‘Awake, awake!... O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days gone
by’. You answer the prayers of His people - ‘The ransomed of the Lord
will return... Gladness and joy will overtake them’. Revival comes when
You send Your Word of power - ‘I am the Lord your God... I have put My
words in your mouth.’
Isaiah 52:1-12
We
thank You, Lord, for Your ‘Good
News’ - Help us to ‘shout for joy’. As we receive ‘Good News’ from You,
may we sing ‘songs of
joy.’ We thank You for the Good News of Your reign - ‘Your God reigns’
and the Good News of our redemption - ‘The Lord has redeemed’ us. Help
us not to keep the Good News to ourselves. This ‘news of happiness’ is
to
be shared with everyone. May we let ‘all the ends of the earth see the
salvation of our God’. ‘Christ died for our sins’ - This is Good News.
Christ was ‘raised on the third day’ - This is Good News. ‘Jesus is
Lord’ - This is Good News. This is the Good News we must ‘pass on’ to
others. In our world, Lord, there is so much bad news. Help us not to
let the
Good News be drowned out by the bad news. Help us to make sure that the
people hear the Good News - loud and clear (Isaiah 52:7-10; 1
Corinthians 15:3-4; Mission Praise, 249).
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
We
thank You, Lord, that You have given to us words of prophecy, wonderful
words that point us to Jesus Christ, crucified for us - ‘the
Lord has laid all our sins on Him’ - and risen from the dead - ‘After
the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life’ (Isaiah
53:6,11). ‘Were
you there when they crucified my Lord?’ (Mission Praise,
745). We might put this question to Isaiah. In one sense, he wasn’t
there. He lived long before the time of Christ. In another sense, he was
there. You, Lord, opened his eyes. You gave him a glimpse of what was going to
happen in the future. ‘Were you there when they crucified my Lord?’ In
one sense, we weren’t there. These things happened long before we were
even born. In another sense, we were there. It was our sins which Christ took with Him to the Cross. It was our
sins which He left behind Him when He rose from the dead (Romans 4:25).
Thank You, Lord, for Jesus, our Saviour. Thank You for all that He has
done for us.
Isaiah 54:1-17
Lord, You are not only ‘the Holy One of Israel’. You are ‘the God of the whole
earth’ (Isaiah 54:5). We thank You that the Gospel is for ‘all nations’. The ministry of Christ’s
apostles began in ‘Jerusalem’. We thank You that it did not end there. The Gospel was
to be taken ‘to the ends of the earth’ (Luke 24:46-47; Acts 1:8). Taking
the Gospel out from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth was not easy.
The apostles faced much opposition. We thank You that they stood upon Your promise: ‘No
weapon formed against you shall prosper’ (Isaiah 54:17). When, Lord, we face opposition,
help us to take our stand on Your Word: ‘If God is for us, who can be
against us?’ (Romans 8:31). Even when our words seem to fall on stony
ground, give us the strength that we need to keep on speaking the Word of Your love: ‘With
everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your
Redeemer’ (Isaiah 54:8).
Isaiah 55:1-13
Lord,
You call us to return to You: ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found...’
(Isaiah 55:6-7). No
one seems to be listening. What are we to do? Help us to remember Your
promise: ‘My Word will not return to Me empty’ (Isaiah 55:11). We do not
see all
that You are doing. You are doing much more than we realize - ‘My
thoughts
are not your thoughts...’ (Isaiah 55:8-9). We may be feeling very
despondent -
‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything’ (Luke
5:5). You still come to us with His Word of encouragement: ‘You
shall go out with joy...’ (Isaiah 55:12). Before there is joy, there may
be many
tears. When there seems to be nothing but disappointments, help us to
remember Your promise: ‘Those who sow in tears will reap with
songs of joy...’ (Psalm 126:5-6). When we feel discouraged, help us not
to ‘judge before the time...’
(1 Corinthians 4:5).
Isaiah 56:1-57:10
‘My
House will be called a House of prayer for all nations’ (Isaiah 56:7). Lord, You are
gathering Your people together ‘from every tribe and language and people
and nation’ (Revelation 5:9). ‘Salvation comes from the Jews’. We thank You, Lord, that it
doesn’t end there - ‘The Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of
everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (the
rest of the world)’ (John 4:22; Romans 1:16). We were ‘foreigners’. Now,
we are ‘no longer foreigners...’(Isaiah 56:6; Ephesians 2:19). We thank You that Christ has
‘broken down the dividing wall of hostility’. ‘We are no longer Jews or
Gentiles’. ‘We are one in Christ Jesus’. Christ has ‘made the two one’.
We thank You that we ‘have been brought near through the blood of Christ’. We are ‘one
body’ - Jews and Gentiles brought together ‘through the Cross’ of Christ
(Ephesians 2:13-16; Galatians 3:28). Thank You, Lord, for our great Saviour - Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 57:11-58:14
‘To the far and to the near’, Lord, You speak Your Word of ‘peace’
(Isaiah 57:19). Christ is Your Word of ‘peace’ (Ephesians 2:13-14).
Christ is
for ‘the Jews’. He is for ‘the Gentiles’. There is one way of
salvation. Jesus Christ is our Saviour. Help us to put our ‘faith’ in
Him. It's through Him, Lord, that we have ‘peace with You’ (Romans
3:29-30; Romans 5:1). Your Word
invites us to ‘call upon Your Name and be saved’ (Isaiah 58:9; Acts
2:21). We thank You that, in Christ, there is true ‘joy’ - ‘I delight greatly in the
Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments
of salvation...’ (Isaiah 58:14; Isaiah 61:10). We rejoice in Jesus Christ. He is ‘the
High and Exalted One.’ He has come from His ‘high and holy place.’ He
has become ‘Emmanuel’, ‘God with us.’ He is our peace and joy, our
Saviour and our God’ (Isaiah 57:15; Matthew 1:21, 23; John 20:28). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus. He's such a great Saviour.
Isaiah 59:1-21
Lord,
what are
we to do ‘when the enemy comes in like a flood’? Help us to look away
from
ourselves to Jesus Christ. He has ‘come’ as our ‘Redeemer’. Trusting in
Him, we pray that ‘the Spirit of the the Lord will come
like a rushing stream’. We pray that ‘the wind of the Lord’ will
come sweeping through us with much blessing (Isaiah 59:19-20). In
ourselves, there
is no blessing - ‘salvation... is far from us’. ‘Our sins have
separated us from God’. We need to receive ‘salvation’ from You, Lord
(Isaiah 59:11,2,17). May we not delude ourselves. Satan is stronger than
we are.
We have no hope of victory over Satan - until we put our trust in Jesus
Christ. Without Christ, we are helpless and hopeless. With Him, we shall
be victorious. He is ‘the Rock of our salvation’ (Matthew 7:24-27; 2
Samuel 22:47; 1 Corinthians 10:4). We thank You, Lord, that, in our
battle against Satan, we are not alone. Jesus is with us - every step of
the way.
Isaiah 60:1-22
‘Arise,
shine; for your Light has come... the Lord will be your everlasting
Light’ (Isaiah 60:1,19-20). We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus
Christ is ‘the Light of the world’. When we
‘follow Him’, we ‘will not walk in darkness’. We ‘will have the light of
life’ (John 8:12). We are living in difficult times. We are surrounded
by much darkness. Help us, Lord, not to become discouraged - ‘the lamp
of God has not
yet gone out’ (1 Samuel 3:3). When the darkness threatens to overcome
the Light, may we take encouragement from Your Word - ‘The Light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it’ (John
1:5). When the darkness seems to be everywhere, help us to put our trust
in the
Lord - 'The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?' May
‘Your Word’ be ‘a lamp to our feet and a light to our path’
(Psalms 27:1; 119:105).
Isaiah 61:1-11
‘The
Spirit of the Lord God is upon me... to proclaim the year of the Lord’s
favour’ (Isaiah 61:1-2). We thank You, Lord, that Jesus has fulfilled these words (Luke 4:18-21). Jesus has
come, ‘proclaiming the Good News of God.’ He tells us that ‘the time
has come.’ This is the time of opportunity, the time for making our
response to Jesus Christ. He calls for our response - ‘Repent and
believe the Good News!’ Help us, Lord, to make our response now -
‘now is the acceptable time... now is the day of salvation’ (Mark
1:14-15; 2 Corinthians 6:2). There will come a time when the time of
opportunity comes to an end. When Christ returns ‘with power and great
glory’, it will be ‘the Day of vengeance of our God’. We do not know
when Christ will return. He calls us to get ‘ready’ for His Return. Help us to put our ‘faith’ in
Him (Isaiah 61:2; Matthew 24:30,36,44; 25:13; Luke 18:8).
Isaiah 62:1-12
Lord, You have
given us ‘a new Name.’ It is ‘the Name which is above every name’, the
Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ (2; Philippians 2:9-11).
Christ loves us. He has given Himself for us. He calls us His ‘Bride’
(Ephesians 5:25-27; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 21:2,9). We thank You that, through
faith in Christ, we have become ‘the Holy People’. Through Him, we are
‘the Redeemed of the Lord.' In
Him, we are ‘the City No Longer Deserted.’ We have been ‘Sought After’ by the Lord (Isaiah 62:12; 1 Peter 2:9-9-10;
1:18-19; Luke 19:10; John 14:18).
Isaiah 63:1-19
We thank You, Lord, for Your power. You
are ‘mighty to save’. We thank You for Your love. You have shown Your
‘steadfast love’ to us. You have become our ‘Saviour’. ‘In Your love’,
You have ‘redeemed’ us (Isaiah 63:1,7-9). What love You have
for us - ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only Son...’ (John
3:16)! What power there is in Your Gospel of love - ‘The Gospel is the
power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes’ (Romans 1:16)!
What a ‘Saviour’ we have - Our Lord Jesus Christ is ‘able to save to the
uttermost all who come to God through Him’ (Hebrews 7:25)! We think of
Jesus Christ. We think of His love, His power, His salvation. We thank
You, Lord, for all that Jesus has done for us - ‘Alleluia! What a
Saviour!’
Isaiah 64:1-65:12
We
confess our sins to You, Lord - ‘We sinned... All of us have become like one
who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags’. We
look to You for forgiveness - ‘Do not remember our sins for ever’
(Isaiah 64:5-6,9). We know that You hear and answer our prayer. Jesus Christ
is Your Answer to our prayer. He has ‘come down’ from heaven to earth.
‘The Son of the Most High’ has been ‘born’ into our world. Jesus Christ
is Your way of saying ‘Here am I! Here am I!’. He is ‘God with us’
(64:1; 65:1; Luke 1:32,35; Matthew 1:23). ‘The blood of Jesus, God’s
Son, cleanses us from all sin.’ Help us, Lord, to ‘confess our sins.’ ‘The blood of
Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin’ - Help us to come to You with
faith, believing that You ‘will forgive our sins’. (1 John 1:7,9). May we rejoice in Jesus, our Saviour!
Isaiah 65:13-66:4
Help us, Lord, to see clearly the great contrast between those who belong to Christ - ‘My servants
will sing out of the joy of their hearts’ - and those who have refused
to come to Christ for salvation - ‘You will cry out from anguish of
heart and wail in brokenness of spirit’ (Isaiah 65:14). You are preparing a great
future ‘for those who love Him’ - ‘I will create a new heaven and a new
earth’. You are calling us away from our sins - ‘Past things will not be
remembered. They will not come to mind’. You are calling us to Your ‘holy
mountain’. How can we enter into our full enjoyment of God’s eternal
salvation? Your Word tells us: ‘I will pay attention to those who are
humble and sorry for their sins and who tremble at My Word’ (Isaiah 65:17,25;
Isaiah 66:2; 1 Corinthians 2:9). Help us to make sure that we belong to Christ. May we put our
faith in Him (John 3:18,36).
Isaiah 66:5-24
‘Hear the
Word of the Lord.’ How, Lord, are we to listen to Your Word? We are to
‘tremble at Your Word.’ We are to ‘drink deeply with delight’ (Isaiah 66:5,10-11).
There is to be the fear of the Lord. There is to be joy in the Lord.
These are not opposites. They belong together - ‘Work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling... Rejoice in the Lord’ (Philippians
2:12; 3:1). May we hear Your warning, and ‘tremble’. To those who ‘sin
deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth’, You say this:
‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God’
(Hebrews 10:26,31). We hear Your promise, and we ‘rejoice’: ‘The
eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting
arms’ (Deuteronomy 33:27). Help us to ‘hear the Word of the Lord’ - the
warning as well as the promise!
_____________________
JEREMIAH
Jeremiah 1:1-19
Serving You, Lord, doesn’t begin with our
choice. It begins with Your call. The initiative is Yours – not
ours. Thank You, Lord, that You love us so much. Thank You for saving us
– and calling us to be Your servants.
Jeremiah 2:1-19
They
had turned away from the Lord. They had chosen to go their own way
(Jeremiah 2:13). When, Lord, our message isn’t popular, help us to
remember that it’s Your message – not ours. You have not called us to
preach a superficial message. You’ve called us to preach a searching
message. We are to invite our hearers to think about what their wrong
choices were doing to them: ‘Have you not brought this on yourselves by
forsaking the Lord your God when He led you in the way?’ (Jeremiah
2:17). We are to leave them in no doubt about where their wrong choices
are leading them – ‘“Your own evil will punish you, and your turning
from Me will condemn you. You will learn how bitter and wrong it is to
abandon Me, the Lord your God, and no longer to remain faithful to Me”,
I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, have spoken’ (Jeremiah 2:19). This
isn’t what people want to hear. It’s what they need to hear. Help us to
be faithful to You – even when it’s difficult and discouragement is
never very far away from us.
Jeremiah 2:20-37
‘Where then
are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you
when you are in trouble!’ (Jeremiah 2:28). Teach us, Lord,
that man-made ‘gods’ cannot ‘save.’ They cannot even begin to compare
with You – ‘the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth’
(Isaiah 40:28). There is no comparison between You, Lord, and the gods –
‘I am God, and there is no other’. For ‘all the makers of idols’, the
future holds nothing but ‘shame’ and ‘disgrace’. You’re calling us on to
a much better and brighter future. ‘Saved by the Lord with an
everlasting salvation.’ We thank You, Lord, that this is the great and
glorious future which awaits all who obey Your call to salvation: ‘Turn
to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth’ (Isaiah 45:15-17,22).
Jeremiah 3:1-25
Lord,
You call us to ‘return’ to You (Jeremiah 3:14,22). You call us to make
our response to You. You invite us to say, ‘Yes, we will come to You,
for You are the Lord our God’ (Jeremiah 3:22). How are we to come to
You? We are to come to You, confessing our sins – ‘We have sinned
against the Lord our God’ (Jeremiah 3:25). We are to come to You,
trusting You to save us – ‘Surely in the Lord our God is the salvation
of Israel’ (Jeremiah 3:23). We thank You, Lord, for all the blessings
that You give to those who return to You. You are ‘merciful’ to us.
You do ‘not treat us as our sins deserve’ (Jeremiah 3:12, Psalm
103:10). We become Your children. We call You, ‘Father’ (Jeremiah 3:19;
Galatians 4:6). You ‘cure us of our backsliding.’ ‘In Christ’, we become
‘a new creation’ (Jeremiah 3:22; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Thank You, Lord.
Jeremiah 4:1-18
‘If
you will return, O Israel,… then the nations will be blessed…’
(Jeremiah 4:1-2). Help us, Lord, not only to seek blessing for
ourselves. Teach us to pray that others will be blessed also.
Your blessing is not to be kept to ourselves. It is to be shared. We are
not to be small-minded people – ‘What will I get out of it?’. Help us
to remember what Jesus said to His first disciples, ‘Go and make
disciples of all nations’. This is still Your Word to us today. May we
never rest content with being an inward-looking Church. Christ has given
us a worldwide mission: ‘You will be My witnesses… to the ends of the
earth’. We are not left to face this great task on our own. Christ says,
‘I am with you always’. We thank You, Lord, that we do not take up this
great challenge in our own strength. Christ says to us, ‘You will
receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you’ (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts
1:8).
Jeremiah 4:19-5:9
‘One disaster follows another. The
whole land is ruined… My people are fools. They don’t know Me… They are
experts in doing wrong, and they don’t know how to do good’ (Jeremiah
4:20,22). Lord, we read the daily news. We wonder, ‘What’s going to
happen next?’ We ask, ‘Where will it all end?’ Are we to give up hope?
No! Teach us, Lord, to look beyond the things that are happening in our
world today. Help us to keep on looking to You, Lord – ‘the God of
hope.’ You say to us, ‘There is hope for your future.’ Sometimes, we
feel like things are just going from bad to worse. When we feel like
this, help us to remember Your Word: ‘I know the plans I have for you…
to give you a future and a hope’. ‘May the God of hope fill you with all
joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit’ (Jeremiah 29:11; Jeremiah 31:17; Romans
15:13).
Jeremiah 5:10-6:8
‘A horrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule
by their own authority, and My people love it this way’ (Jeremiah 5:31)!
Sometimes, Lord, people are happy to listen to ‘prophets’ – so long as
their preaching isn’t too challenging. They’re happy to attend the
services conducted by ‘priests’ – so long as nobody expects them to
change their way of life. They don’t want ‘prophets’ and ‘priests’ who
take Your Word seriously. Help us, Lord,, to be serious about preaching
Your Word. Help us to be serious about living in obedience to
Your Word. This won’t be popular. We won’t be didn’t give people what
they want – but we’ll be giving them what they what they need. We’ll
be challenging them to ‘get real’ with You, Lord. Help us, Lord to do
what You want us to do – not what other people want us to do.
Jeremiah 6:9-30
‘Their
ears are closed… The Word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find
no pleasure in it’ (Jeremiah 6:10). Sometimes, Lord, we feel like
we’re ‘hitting our head off a brick wall’. So few people show any real
interest in hearing and obeying Your Word. It seems like Your Word is
‘going in one ear and out the other.’ It would be so easy for us just to
‘settle down’, to start ‘taking it easy.’ This is what so many people
do: ‘They dress the wound of My people as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace”, they say, when there is no peace’ (Jeremiah 6:13-14).
Help us, Lord, to be faithful to You – not to settle for being popular
with those whom ‘the Lord has rejected’ (Jeremiah 6:30).
Jeremiah 7:1-8:3
‘Stop
believing these deceitful words, “We are safe! This is the temple of
the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”’ (Jeremiah
4:4). Help us, Lord, never to allow the place of worship to become more
important than the Person we worship. We worship You, Lord. May we
not talk a lot about ‘the Church’ – and never speak of Christ! May we
not become more concerned about ‘the Church’ looking good than we are
about what You, Lord, see when You ‘look at the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7)!
Deliver us, Lord, from self-centred talk – ‘I love my Church. I never
miss my Church. I always support my Church’. Help us to see that
there’s a great deal of ‘I’ in this kind of talk – but Christ is
conspicuous by His absence! May there be less ‘Look at what I have done
for my Church’ and more ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who
lives in me’ (Galatians 2:20).
Jeremiah 8:4-22
‘Wise people
are put to shame, confused, trapped. They have rejected the Word of the
Lord. They don’t really have any wisdom’ (Jeremiah 8:9). Deliver us,
Lord, from thinking that we’re smart. Keep us from becoming wise in
their own eyes. Deliver us from the ‘know it all’ attitude. May we not
have an answer for everything – except the most important question, the
question of salvation: ‘What must I do to be saved?’ Deliver us from
knowing know so much – yet knowing so little about what really matters!
‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved’
(Jeremiah 8:20). Keep us, Lord, from becoming so obsessed with getting
on in the world that we make no time for You. When, Lord, we’re
getting too busy enjoying all the pleasures of this world, help us to
remember Jesus’ words: ‘What good will it do you if you gain the whole
world – and lose eternal life?’ (Matthew 16:22).
Jeremiah 9:1-26
We
read, Lord, about those who are ‘circumcised only in the flesh.’ They
remain ‘uncircumcised in the heart’ (Jeremiah 9:25-26). Teach us, Lord,
that salvation is not a matter of outward conformity to religious
rituals. What we need is ‘circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit’
(Romans 2:28-29). Help us to remember Jesus’ words: ‘You must be born
again’ (John 3:7). Help us to see clearly that, even when we’ve
been ‘brought up in the Church’, we still need to open our hearts to
Christ. Even when we’ve heard Your Word preached many times, we still
need to be born again through the power of ‘the Spirit of the living
God’ (2 Corinthians 3:3). Teach us, Lord, that our religious rituals
mean nothing if, in our hearts, we remain unconverted: ‘Neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new
creation’ (Galatians 6:15).
Jeremiah 10:1-25
‘The Lord is
the true God; He is the living God, the eternal King’ (Jeremiah 10:10).
Can there ever be anything more important than worshipping You, Lord? We
know the answer as soon as we ask the question! Very often, our lives
gives a very different answer. We have taken our eyes off You, Lord. We
have forgotten that You are the true and living God. We sing the words,
‘O Lord, Thou art my God and King… Each day I rise, I will Thee bless…’ –
but they have a hollow ring about them! Help us, Lord, to make a real
commitment of our life to You: ‘Teach me to live, day by day, in Your
presence, Lord… Teach me to praise, day by day, in Your Spirit, Lord…
Teach me to love, day by day, in Your power, Lord… Teach me to give, day
by day, from my wealth, O Lord…’ (Mission Praise, 627).
Jeremiah 11:1-23
Lord,
You speak Your Word to us. You call us to obedience. You say to us,
‘Obey My voice.’ Often, Lord, the story of our life is summed up in the
words: ‘They did not listen or pay attention. They did not obey’
(Jeremiah 11:7-8). Your Word is not just ‘something to think about.’
When You call us to obedience, we’re not to say, ‘I’ll think about that
later.’ ‘Now’ is the time for obedience to Your Word: ‘Obey now the
voice of the Lord’ (Jeremiah 38:20). Help us, Lord, not to put this off
until tomorrow. You’re looking for our obedience today: ‘Today, when you
hear His voice, do not harden your hearts’ (Hebrews 4:7). When, Lord,
we’re deeply involved in religious ritual – ‘burnt offerings and
sacrifices’ – , You say to us, ‘To obey is better than sacrifice’ (1
Samuel 15:22). Help us, Lord, to see that obedience involves our whole
life – not just ‘never missing a service’!
Jeremiah 12:1-17
‘“If
any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it”,
declares the Lord’ (Jeremiah 12:17). When, Lord, we are challenged by
Your Word, help us not to look out to the world and say, ‘That’s what’s
happening “out there.”’ Teach us to look into our own hearts. Help us
to ask, ‘What’s happening “in here”?’ Teach us to pray, ‘Search me, O
God, and know my heart’ (Psalm 139:23). When the searchlight of
Your Word begins to shine on our lives, it becomes clear that ‘all is
not as it seems’: ‘They speak well of You with their lips, but their
hearts are far from You’ (Jeremiah 12:2). Our situation seems hopeless.
We cannot change ourselves: ‘Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the
leopard his spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing
evil’ (Jeremiah 13:23). We thank You, Lord, that You speak to us Your
Word of hope. We can be changed. You can change us: ‘I will give you a
new heart’ (Ezekiel 36:26).
Jeremiah 13:1-27
‘These wicked
people, who refuse to listen to My words, who follow the stubbornness of
their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them will be…
completely useless’ (Jeremiah 13:10). Lord, Your Word challenges us to
think seriously about ourselves: Am I on the way to becoming ‘completely
useless’? Each of us must think about what’s been happening in our
lives – ‘Where is the blessedness I knew when first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul-refreshing view of Jesus and His Word? What peaceful
hours I once enjoyed! How sweet their memory still! But they have left
an aching void the world can never fill.’ Teach us, Lord, for real
change – for ‘a closer walk’ with You: ‘Return, O Holy Dove!… The
dearest idol I have known… Help me to tear it from Thy throne, and
worship only Thee. So shall my walk be close with God…’
Jeremiah 14:1-22
In
ourselves, Lord, there is sin – ‘O Lord… we have sinned against You’.
In You, Lord, there is salvation – ‘O Lord our God… our hope is in You’
(Jeremiah 14:20,22). In You, Lord, there is no sin – ‘You are too pure
to look on evil’ (Habakkuk 1:13). In ourselves , there is no salvation.
We are ‘spiritually dead because of our disobedience and sins.’ We need
to be ‘made alive’. How can this happen? It is not something we can do
for ourselves. The new birth can only be received as Your gift. Help us
to stop trying to save ourselves. It cannot be done. Salvation cannot be
earned. It is Your gift. It must be received by ‘faith’. Teach us
to look away from ourselves to Christ. In Christ, we see Your ‘great
love for us.’ Through receiving Christ as Saviour, we are ‘born of God’
(Ephesians 2:1,4-5,8; John 1:12-13). Thank You, Lord, for such a great
Saviour and such a great salvation.
Jeremiah 15:1-21
Lord,
some of our problems come from outside of ourselves. Other people cause
problems for us – ‘This people will fight against you’ (Jeremiah 15:20).
Some of our problems come from within our own hearts. Our own sins
cause problems for us. There are ‘fightings and fears within’. We are
‘tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt.’ Help us to tell
You all about it – how it really is. ‘Just as I am’ – This is how we
must come to You, Lord. Our ‘fightings and fears’ do not simply
disappear the moment we pray, ‘O Lamb of God, I come.’ We do, however,
have Your promise: ‘They will fight against you, but they will not
overcome you’ (Jeremiah 15:20). We thank You, Lord, that You will lead
us in the way of victory (Colossians 2:8-10).
Jeremiah 16:1-21
‘O
Lord, my Strength and my Stronghold, my Refuge in the day of trouble,
to You the nations will come from the ends of the earth… They will know
that My Name is the Lord’ (Jeremiah 16:19,21). Give us, Lord, a faith
that is personal – The Lord is my Strength, my Stronghold, my Refuge.
Teach us that our faith must not be private. It is not to be kept to
ourselves. There is to be no ‘us and them’ attitude. We are not to have a
‘we are the people’ attitude. The Gospel is for the nations. Help
us not to say, ‘I’m okay. That’s all that matters.’ The Gospel is to be
taken to the ends of the earth. Help us to reach out to others –
to share the Gospel with the people we meet. Help us, Lord, to
tell people what You have done for us. Help us to tell them what You can
do for them. May we let them know how much You love them. May they come
to know that You, Lord - our God, can be their God too.
Jeremiah 17:1-27
‘The
Lord’ is ‘the Fountain of living water’ (Jeremiah 17:13). You say to
us, ‘With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation’ (Isaiah
12:3). We can be ‘like a tree planted by water’, a tree that ‘does not
cease to bear fruit’ (Jeremiah 17:8; Psalm 1:3). You speak Your Word to
us: ‘“Where is the Word of the Lord?” Let it come!’ (Jeremiah 17:15;
Psalm 1:2) You bring Your salvation to us: ‘Save me, and I will
saved’(Jeremiah 17:14; Psalm 1:6). You give Your blessing to us:
‘Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord’ (Jeremiah 17:7: Psalm 1:1).
We rejoice in Your ‘eternal love. We drink from ‘the streams of living
waters’ – and we discover that ‘grace,… like the Lord the Giver, never
fails from age to age.’ Help us, Lord, to press on to Your heavenly and
eternal glory: ‘In Your presence is fullness of joy. At Your right hand
are pleasures for evermore’ (Psalm 16:11).
Jeremiah 18:1-23
‘The
pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands, so the potter
formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him’ (Jeremiah
18:4). Lord, this is what You're doing in our lives. You are ‘the
Potter’. We are no more than ‘jars of clay’ (Jeremiah 18:6; Isaiah 64:8;
2 Corinthians 4:7). Our lives are ‘marred’ by sin. Often, we feel like
giving up on ourselves. We thank You, Lord, that You never give up on
us. You look beyond what we are now. You see what we will become. You
are preparing us for ‘eternal glory’. ‘We are being renewed day by day’.
‘We are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory’
(2 Corinthians 4:16-17; 2 Corinthians 3:18). ‘Jesus, You are changing
me. By Your Spirit, You’re making me like You... You are the Potter and I
am the clay. Help me to be willing to let You have Your way...’
(Mission Praise, 389).
Jeremiah 19:1-20:6
‘Listen! I am
going to bring on this city and the villages around it every disaster I
pronounced against them, because they were stubborn and would not listen
to My Word’ (Jeremiah 19:15). Lord, You're warning Your people. You're
calling us back from the way of sin and disobedience. You're calling us
to return to You. You're looking for people who will take You seriously.
You're calling us to live in obedience to Your Word. You're calling us
to worship You with the dedication of our lives and not only the words
of our lips. Sometimes, we wonder, ‘Will Your blessing be lost forever?
Is there a way of rediscovering Your blessing in our lives?’ ‘There’s a
way back to God from the dark paths of sin. There’s a door that is open
and you may go in. At Calvary’s Cross is where you begin, when you come
as a sinner to Jesus’ (Mission Praise. 682).
Jeremiah 20:7-18
‘Cursed
be the day I was born!... Why did I ever come out of the womb to see
trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?’ (Jeremiah 20:14-18).
Lord, we read about Jeremiah. We see that he is deeply depressed. He has
been preaching Your Word. He’s getting nothing but abuse in return:
‘The Word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long’
(Jeremiah 20:8). We thank You, Lord, that he didn't stop preaching. He
kept on going. He felt like giving up: ‘If I say, “I will not mention
Him or speak any more in His Name”’. We thank You, that he was driven on
by a greater Power - ‘His Word is in my heart like a fire’. No matter
how much he tried to keep silent, he could not do it (Jeremiah 20:9). We
thank You, Lord, that he moved forward in triumphant faith: ‘The Lord
is with me like a mighty warrior’ (Jeremiah 20:11). We thank You that he
called upon Your people to worship You: ‘Sing to the Lord! Give praise
to the Lord!’ (Jeremiah 20:13). Help us, Lord, to keep on worshipping
You and witnessing for You - especially when the going gets tough.
Jeremiah 21:1-14
‘Perhaps
the Lord will perform wonders for us as in times past...’ (Jeremiah
21:2). Lord, we read about "times past" - and we say, "That was then.
What about now?" Help us never to assume that You will always bless us.
May we never forget that yesterday’s blessing belong to the past. Teach
us not to live in the past. Keep us from saying, ‘He has blessed us in
the past. He will keep on blessing us.’ Help us to ask ourselves the
searching question, "Do we really want to keep on enjoying Yours
blessing?" Help us to keep on seeking Your blessing. If, Lord, we do not
seek You, there will be no promise of blessing. We will hear a very
different Word from You: ‘I have determined to do this city harm and not
good... I will punish as your deeds deserve’ (Jeremiah 21:10,14). May
we never take Your blessing for granted. May we never forget that we
could be ‘in for a rude awakening’ - if we do not start seeking You,
Lord. Help us to start seeking You today: ‘You will seek Me and find Me
when you seek Me with all your heart’ (Jeremiah 29:13).
Jeremiah 22:1-30
We
thank You, Lord, that Jeremiah kept on speaking to people who had given
up on worshipping You (Jeremiah 22:9). His message was clear: ‘O land,
land, land, hear the Word of the Lord?’ (Jeremiah 22:29). Lord, You're
speaking Your Word to us. Are we listening? You're looking for people
who will listen to You. You want us to pay attention to Your Word. Your
Word is like ‘the sound of a trumpet.’ It demands our attention. Many
people say, ‘We will not listen.’ Your Word shows us ‘the good way’ and
calls us to ‘walk in it.’ Many people say, ‘We will not walk in it.'
What about us, Lord? What do we say to You? What is our response to Your
Word? We thank You, Lord, for Your Word of warning: ‘I am bringing
disaster on this people... because they have not listened to My Word.’
May we not bring this judgment on ourselves. Help us to listen to Your
Word and walk in Your way (Jeremiah 6:16-19).
Jeremiah 23:1-20
‘Woe
to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my
pasture!’ (Jeremiah 23:1). Help us, Lord, not to be like the false
‘prophets’: ‘They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth
of the Lord.’ What were these false ‘prophets’ saying? - ‘They keep
saying to those who despise Me, “The Lord says: You will have peace.” To
all those who follow the stubbornness of their hearts, they were
saying, “No harm will come to you”’ (Jeremiah 23:16-17). Lord, You're
calling us to be faithful. It will not be easy. Often, we will be
tempted to ‘take the easy way out.’ We will feel the pull of the world:
‘Just be the same as everybody else.’ When we feel that we are being
pulled towards the ‘easy’ option, show us, Lord, that there is something
else we must never forget: The 'easy' option is also ‘the broad road
that leads to destruction.’ Help us to keep on following Christ on ‘the
narrow road which leads to life’ (Matthew 7:13-14).
Jeremiah 23:21-40
‘I
did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I
did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied’ (Jeremiah 23:21).
Before we can speak for You, Lord, we must take time to listen to You.
Teach us that we dare not attempt to speak for You if we are not
prepared to spend time listening to You. Everything could have been so
different - if ‘these prophets’ had taken time to listen to You: ‘If
they had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My words to My
people and would have turned them from their evil ways’ (Jeremiah
23:22). Lord, You don't force us to listen to Your Word. You invite us
to listen. The choice is ours. We can allow other things to become more
important than spending time with You. Help us, Lord, never to become
‘too busy’ for the ‘one thing’ that is more important than anything else
- listening to Your Word (Luke 10:41-42).
Jeremiah 24:1-25:14
Lord,
we wonder, "Can our lives be changed?" You say to us, " Yes! They can
be changed. I can change them: ‘I will give them a heart to know that I
am the Lord.’ This, Lord, is no superficial change. This is real change,
change which makes a difference. It's a change of heart: ‘they shall
return to Me with their whole heart’ (Jeremiah 24:7). Lord, we wonder,
"How are we changed?" You tell us, 'I will change you': ‘I will put My
Spirit within you, and you shall live’ (Ezekiel 37:14). We become new
people - ‘alive to God in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 6:11). This is the great
change, the change that makes all the difference. It’s not just a
little change here and there. It’s everywhere. No part of our life
remains the same. Every part of life is changed. When there’s a real
change of heart, everything changes - ‘all things have become new’ (2
Corinthians 5:17). ‘Change my heart, O God...’ (Mission Praise, 69).
Jeremiah 25:15-38
‘I
am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name’
(Jeremiah 25:29). We thank You, Lord, for the privilege of being Your
people. With this great privilege, there is also the great
responsibility of living as Your people. We are not to be Your people in
name only. We are to live the life of Your people. Help us, Lord, never
to think that we can enjoy the privilege of being Your people, if we
are not prepared to bear the responsibility of living as Your people.
Teach us that privilege and responsibility belong together: ‘You only
have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish
you for all your sins’ (Amos 3:2). We cannot say, ‘I belong to You,
Lord’ and then live whatever way we like. We have been ‘raised with
Christ.’ We have received new life through faith in Him. Help us to keep
on living this new life: ‘Set your hearts and minds on things above,
not on earthly things’ (Colossians 3:1-2).
Jeremiah 26:1-24
‘He
has spoken to us in the Name of the Lord our God’ (Jeremiah 26:16). We
thank You, Lord, that Jeremiah was Your true servant. We need people
like him today. He was faithful. He was unashamed of You. He was
unafraid to speak up for You. We see this same faithfulness in Christ’s
apostles: ‘Day after day, in the temple and from house to house, they
never stopped teaching and preaching the Good News that Jesus is the
Christ’ (Acts 5:42). We could do with people like that today, people who
are enthusiastic about sharing the Gospel, people who are eager to win
others for Christ. We, Lord, can become people like that. You can make
us like that - if we let You! As we hear Your Word in Church, as we read
Your Word in our own homes, may we pray that You will give us the
strength to share, with others, the Word You have given to us.
Jeremiah 27:1-22
‘They
will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the day I
come for them. Then I will bring them and restore them to this place’
(Jeremiah 27:22). Lord, You had a great purpose for Your people - but
they had to wait for Your time. You have a great purpose for us. Christ
is preparing a great ‘place’ for us: ‘In My Father’s House are many
mansions... I am going there to prepare a place place’: ‘I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also’ (John 14:2-3). We rejoice in this: Christ is coming. Help us to wait patiently for Him. Teach us to wait for His time, the time of His Coming, the Day when He comes for us. We thank You, Lord, that You have not forgotten Your promise. He will come ‘to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him’ (Hebrews 9:28).for you’. We thank You
that Christ has promised that He will return to take us to that great
‘
Jeremiah 28:1-17
‘Listen,
Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people
trust in a lie’ (Jeremiah 28:15). Lord, there is such a difference
between those who wait on You for Your strength and those who rush ahead
in their own strength! Your Word warns us against trying to serve You
in our own strength: ‘Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young
men shall fall exhausted’. If we are to be true servants of the Lord, we
must learn to wait upon the Lord and receive His strength: ‘Those who
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength’. What a difference the
strength of the Lord makes - ‘They shall mount up with wings like
eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint’
(Isaiah 40:30-31)! Teach us to exchange our weakness for Your strength -
then we will truly be ‘sent’ by You and will speak Your truth.
Jeremiah 29:1-32
‘I
know the plans I have for you... to give you a future and a hope.’
Lord, this was Your long-term purpose for Your people. It was important
that they did not lose sight of this. There would be ‘seventy years’ of
captivity in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:10-11). At times, they must have
wondered, ‘Will this ever end? Is there really something better still to
come?’ Our life on earth may sometimes seem like the ‘seventy years’ in
Babylon: ‘The length of our days is seventy years... yet all they bring
us is trouble and sorrow’! We wonder, Lord, ‘Is there a glorious future
still to come?’ In our times of ‘suffering’ and ‘sorrow’, teach us to
draw our ‘strength’ from Your Word. May we look forward to ‘the Day’
when Christ ‘comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be admired
in all who believe’ (Psalms 90:10; 119:28; 2 Thessalonians 1:4-5,10).
Jeremiah 30:1-24
‘I am with you to save you’. This, Lord, was Your Word to Your people.
You assured Your people that their ‘captivity’ in Babylon would not last
forever. You gave Your promise to them: ‘I will restore the fortunes of
My people... I will bring them back to the land which I gave to their
fathers’ (Jeremiah 30:10-11,3). ‘I am with you to save you.’ This is
still Your Word to us. You tell us that our ‘captivity’ will not last
forever. Christ has died to ‘free those who all their lives were held in
slavery by their fear of death’. Help us, Lord, to look beyond our
earthly life. Give us a life-changing glimpse of our glorious future -
‘Death’ will be ‘swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Thanks be to God, who gives
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’. Let us ‘be steadfast,
unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in
the Lord, our labour is not in vain’ (Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 Corinthians
15:54,57-58).
Jeremiah 31:1-20
‘I have loved you
with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness’
(Jeremiah 31:3). So often, Lord, we have been like ‘the prodigal son’
(Luke 15:11-24). We have walked away from Your House. We have wandered
off into ‘the far country’. We feel that we are far from You, yet still
You draw near to us. You, Lord, are at work in our hearts. You are
bringing us ‘to our senses’. You are reminding us of Your love. You are
drawing us back to Yourself. In love, You are calling us home again. You
are speaking to our hearts. You are saying to us, ‘I have loved you
with an everlasting love’. As Your love reaches our hearts, ‘the
prodigal son’ becomes ‘the returning son’: ‘Father, I have sinned
against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your
son’. ‘Bring me back, let me come back, for you are the Lord my God!’
(Jeremiah 31:18).
Jeremiah 31:21-40
‘Set up road signs; put
up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take’
(Jeremiah 31:21). Lord, it’s so easy, for us, to take a wrong turning.
We lose our sense of direction. We get confused. We're not sure which
way to go. We get lost. We're getting more and more lost all the time.
We can’t find our way back home again. We need someone who knows the way
to come and be our guide. We wonder, "Is there someone who can get us
on the right road again? Is there someone who can guide us safely home?"
We thank You, Lord, that You have answered our question. Your answer is
"Yes!" We thank You that Jesus is ‘the Way, the True Way, the Living
Way’ (John 14:6). We thank You for Jesus - our Guide and our Saviour.
Jeremiah 32:1-25
‘Nothing
is too hard for You’ (Jeremiah 32:17). Lord, we face many difficult
situations. What are we to do when we feel we can take no more? Help us
to remember You. Nothing is too hard for You. Help us to remember Your
promise: ‘The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you
from the evil one’ (2 Thessalonians 3:3). May we hear the voice of
Jesus, calling us to follow Him. May we hear His word of warning - ‘the
way is hard.’ May we also know that He is our loving Saviour. He does
not leave us to go it alone. We thank You, Lord, that Jesus gives us His
strength - ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light’ (Matthew 4:19;
7:14; 11:30). We thank You, Lord,
Jeremiah 32:26-44
‘I will
bring them back to this place’ (Jeremiah 32:37). Lord, You're bringing
us into Your ‘place.’ You're bringing us close to Yourself: ‘They will
be My people, and I will be their God’ (Jeremiah 32:38). You're bringing
us into the ‘place’ of obedience: ‘I will inspire them to fear Me, so
that they will never turn away from Me’ (Jeremiah 32:40). You're leading
us to the ‘place’ of blessing: ‘I will give them singleness of heart
and action, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and the
good of their children after them’ (Jeremiah 32:39). Sometimes, Lord,
our life seems like ‘a desolate waste.’ Help us never to lose sight of
Your purpose: ‘I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly
plant them in this land with all My heart and soul’ (Jeremiah 32:43,41).
We thank You, Lord, that You will not leave us in our ‘desolate waste.’
You will lead us to a better ‘place’ - the ‘place’ of obedience and
blessing.
Jeremiah 33:1-26
‘I will bring Judah and Israel
back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will
cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against Me... Then
this city will bring Me renown, joy, praise, and honour before all
nations on earth...’ (Jeremiah 33:7-9). What great blessing lay ahead of
Your people! Lord, You were pointing Your people to the place of
blessing: Jesus Christ - ‘the righteous Branch from David’s line’
(Jeremiah 33:15-16). We thank you that 'in Christ’, we have ‘every
spiritual blessing’: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has
conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him’ (Ephesians 1:3; 1
Corinthians 2:9). We thank You, Lord, that You have so much blessing to
give to us. Help us to come to You and receive Your blessing: ‘Call to
Me, and I will answer you; I will show you wonderful and marvellous
things that you know nothing about’ (Jeremiah 33:3).
Jeremiah 34:1-22
We
read, Lord about slaves being ‘set free.’ We think, "This is great!"
Then, we read about things going wrong - ‘Afterwards they changed their
minds and took back the slaves... and enslaved them again’ (Jeremiah
34:8-11). What, Lord, do You have to say about this? - ‘You have turned
round and dishonoured Me... You took back the slaves... You forced them
into slavery again... You have not obeyed Me’ (Jeremiah 34:16-17). We
thank You that Jesus isn’t like these slavemasters! He doesn’t only
promise us freedom. He gives us our freedom: ‘If the Son sets you free,
you will be free indeed’. He doesn’t come to us with ‘a pack of lies’ -
promising this, that and the other, and then breaking every promise. We
thank You that He sets us free with His Word of truth - ‘You shall know
the truth, and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:36,32; Psalm
119:45).
Jeremiah 35:1-19
‘Will you not learn a lesson and
obey My words?’ (Jeremiah 35:13) - ‘Jonadab, son of Rechab, ordered his
sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept... I have spoken
to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed Me’ (Jeremiah 35:14).
Lord, help us not to say, ‘I will follow You’, and then change our mind
(Luke 9:57). Help us not to sing, ‘Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to Thee’, and then live a life which contradicts our
prayer of commitment to You. Help us to mean what we say - to follow
through our words of commitment with a life of obedience, a life that is
pleasing to You. We read about the Rechabites. They were obedient to
Jonadaab’s command - and You blessed them (Jeremiah 35:18-19). Obedient
and blessed - That’s what You want us to be. Help us, Lord, to obey You -
and look to You for the blessing.
Jeremiah 36:1-32
‘The king
cut it with the penknife, and threw it into the fire’ (Jeremiah 36:23).
Help us, Lord, not to be like this king. He didn’t like Your Word. He
thought he could get rid of Your Word. What a fool he was! You saw what
was going on. The king’s attempt to silence You was utterly futile. You
would not be silenced. You continued to speak Your Word. Soon, the king
was hearing another Word from You: ‘You burned that scroll...’
(Jeremiah 36:29)! Lord, You’re still speaking to us today. You’re
calling us to listen to You. You’re calling us back from the way of
‘wickedness’, back from the brink of ‘disaster’ (Jeremiah 36:31). You’re
calling us back from the way of unbelief, the way that leads to ‘the
eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.’You’re calling us
to be ‘blessed.’ Help us to have faith in the Saviour - to receive ‘the
Kingdom prepared for us since the creation of the world’ (Matthew
25:41,34).
Jeremiah 37:1-21
‘Is there any Word from the Lord?’ -
‘Yes! There is a Word from the Lord.’ Lord, Your Word wasn’t exactly
what the king wanted to hear - ‘You will be handed over to the king of
Babylon’ (Jeremiah 37:17). You were going to bless Your people - but
they would have to be patient: Things were going to get an awful lot
worse before they would get much better! Before their restoration - “I
will bring them back and restore them to this place’, Your people faced
captivity - ‘They will be taken to Babylon.’There was bad news - a
captivity of ‘seventy years.’There was good news - the captivity
wouldn’t last forever (Jeremiah 37:27:22; 29:10-11)! Lord, You speak of
Your blessing - ‘It will certainly come’, but You also say, ‘Wait for
it’ (Habakkuk 2:3). Help us to listen to all that You say to us - and
not ‘only hear what we want to hear’!
Jeremiah 38:1-28
‘No
Surrender’ - Lord, was this the way forward for Your people? ‘No
Surrender’ - What would happen if Your people adopted this attitude?
Jeremiah speaks Your Word to the people. He calls them to make their
choice. They can ‘surrender’ and ‘live.’ They can say, ‘No Surrender’ -
and face certain death (Jeremiah 38:17-18). Captivity in Babylon would
not be easy. They would be heartbroken as they recalled happier times -
‘By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.’ It
would be so difficult to keep on praising You - ‘How shall we sing the
Lord’s song in a foreign land?’ (Psalm 137:1,4). Life in Babylon would
be difficult - but ‘it would not be the end of the world’! They could
still look forward to the fulfilment of Your ‘gracious promise’: ‘I will
come to you and bring you back to this place’ (Jeremiah 29:10).
Jeremiah 39:1-18
You can take the man out of Babylon, but you can’t take Babylon out of
the man! We may have never set foot in the ancient city of Babylon, but
we know all about the spirit of Babylon! ‘The heart is deceitful above
all things, and desperately corrupt’ (Jeremiah 17:9) - This, Lord, is
the spirit of Babylon. It’s ‘the spirit of disobedience’, the spirit
which is ‘at work’ in every one of us: ‘All have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God’ (Ephesians 2:2; Romans 3:23). Is there any hope for
us? We cannot change ourselves: ‘Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or
the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to
doing evil’ (Jeremiah 13:23). Lord, You can change us. To those who
‘trust’ in Him, You say, ‘I will save you’ (Jeremiah 39:18). You want to
bless us. Help us to put our trust in You. May Your blessing flow into
our hearts (Jeremiah 17:7).
Jeremiah 40:1-16
‘The Lord your God
pronounced this evil against this place; the Lord has brought it about,
and has done as He said. Because you sinned against the Lord, and did
not obey His voice, this thing has come upon you’ (Jeremiah 40:3). Lord,
we hear a great deal today about ‘the feel good factor.’People need to
get a good feeling: ‘Give them a pat on the back. Make them feel good
about themselves.’There’s not much of a ‘feel good factor’ in Jeremiah’s
preaching! The people must have been wondering, ‘Where did they dig him
up from? He has nothing good to say about anyone or anything.’ Help us,
Lord, to rise above the sarcasm of those who have no time for Your Word.
May we ask, ‘Where did Jeremiah’s message really come from?’ - and may
we hear Your answer: ‘The Word came to Jeremiah from the Lord’ (Jeremiah
40:1).
Jeremiah 41:1-42:6
Terrible things were happening!
Things were going from bad to worse. ‘What next?’ - The people were
wondering where it would all end. Lord, what are we to do when
everything seems to be getting totally out of control? There is one
thing we must never forget. It is the most important thing of all. We
must ‘pray to the Lord our God.’We must ask You, Lord, to ‘show us the
way we should go.’You will ‘show us the thing that we should do’
(Jeremiah 42:2-3). May we learn that it’s time to stop complaining and
start praying.
Jeremiah 42:7-43:7
‘Do not go to Egypt’ (Jeremiah
42:19). We may never set foot in the country known as ‘Egypt’ - but the
spirit of ‘Egypt’ may be in our hearts: ‘Who is the Lord, that I
should obey Him...?’ (Exodus 5:2). ‘Egypt’ is an attitude of the heart.
It is an attitude of rebellion against You, Lord. Teach us to say ‘No’
to ‘Egypt.’Teach us to say ‘No’ to the spirit of rebellion against You.
For Your people, ‘Egypt’ was a place of slavery, a place from which they
needed to be set free by You, Lord (Exodus 2:23-25; 3:7-10). Each of us
must choose how we will live. We can remain in the place of slavery -
‘slaves of sin’ - , or we can be ‘obedient from the heart’, stepping out
from that place into the place of freedom, ‘the new life of the Spirit’
- ‘`the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from
the law of sin and death’ (Romans 6:17-18; 7:6; 8:2). Teach us, Lord, to
choose Your way - not our own way.
Jeremiah 43:8-44:14
‘The
Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah’ (Jeremiah 43:8). Lord, You speak Your
Word to those who are prepared to make time for listening to You. Help
us to come to Your Word, praying that it will be ‘a lamp to your feet
and a light to your path.’May we come with the prayer, ‘Open my eyes
that I may see wonderful things in Your Word.’Help us to ‘live according
to Your Word’: ‘I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not
sin against You’ (Psalm 119:105,18,9,11). ‘Speak’ to us, Lord - and
teach us to ‘listen’ to what You say to us (1 Samuel 3:10). ‘Say to
them, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says...”’
(Jeremiah 43:10). Help us not to keep Your Word to ourselves. Help us to
share Your Word. May we not listen to You without also speaking for
You. May we always remember that we cannot really speak for You unless
we are also listening to You.
Jeremiah 44:15-45:5
‘Egypt’ was to
be a place of punishment. Lord, You speak to those who remain in the
the place of rebellion. You say to them, ‘I will punish you in this
place.’This is Your Word of warning. We don’t need to remain in the
place of rebellion and punishment. We can ‘return’ to ‘Judah’, the place
of obedience and blessing (Jeremiah 44:28-29). This is not about places
we will find on a map of the world. It’s a call to look into the secret
places of our hearts. Teach us, Lord, to search our hearts. What will
You find when You look into our hearts? Will You find rebellion? Will
You find obedience? You want us to leave the place of rebellion and
punishment. You want us to return to the place of obedience and
blessing. ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart!... See if there be any
wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!’ (Psalm
139:23-24).
Jeremiah 46:1-28
‘Egypt rises like the Nile, like
rivers whose waters surge. He said, “I will rise, I will cover the
earth, I will destroy cities and their inhabitants”’ (Jeremiah 46:8).
Lord, the spirit of rebellion against You is very powerful. Many lives
have been destroyed by the attitude of proud unbelief: ‘Who is the Lord,
that I should obey Him...?’ (Exodus 5:2). Help us to take our stand
against this attitude. Help us, Lord, to stand up for You. We see the
world going from bad to worse. Help us to keep on believing Your Word.
When, Lord, we are filled with fear, You come to us with Your Word, ‘Do
not fear... Do not be dismayed...’When we feel the spirit of rebellion
sweeping over us, You come to us with Your promise: ‘I will surely save
you out of a distant place.’ You give us ‘peace and security’ - ‘Do not
fear... I am with you’ (Jeremiah 46:27-28).
Jeremiah 47:1-48:17
‘The day has come to destroy all the Philistines... The Lord is about to
destroy the Philistines... Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh
are destroyed’ (Jeremiah 47:4). That seems like ancient history -
nothing to do with us! What about this? - ‘A curse on him who is lax in
doing the Lord’s work!’ (Jeremiah 48:17). Lord, Your Word was written
many centuries ago - but it still has a great deal to do with us! We
miss the point if we read the Bible as no more than a book of ancient
history. Lord, You’re still speaking to us through your Word. You’re
still calling us to sit up and take notice. You’re still demanding our
attention. Help us not to be lazy in Your work. Teach us to be Your
faithful servants. ‘Always give yourselves fully to the work of the
Lord... your labour in the Lord is not in vain’ (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Jeremiah 49:1-22
‘Afterwards I will restore the fortunes...’ (Jeremiah 49:6). Sometimes,
Lord, when we’re going through a particularly difficult time, we
wonder, ‘Will this ever end?’You, Lord, speak to us Your Word of
encouragement. There will be an ‘afterwards.’There will be a
‘restoration of our fortunes.’’The Lord will not cast us off for ever.
Though He brings grief, He will show compassion according to His
steadfast love. He does not willingly bring suffering or grief to
anyone’ (Lamentations 3:31-33). May there come a time when we will be
able to look back at our most distressing circumstances and say from the
heart, ‘God meant it for good’ (Genesis 50:20). In our most testing and
trying times, Lord, You’re teaching us to say, with confidence in You,
‘We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love
Him’ (Romans 8:28).
Jeremiah 49:23-39
‘I will restore the
fortunes... in days to come’ (Jeremiah 49:39). Lord, You’re calling us
on to Your future, a glorious future, a future full of heavenly and
eternal glory. We look ahead to ‘days to come.’ We look ahead to the
greatest Day of all - the Day of Christ’s Return. It will be a glorious
Day - ‘the Day He comes to be glorified... in all who have
believed.’What a glorious Day it will be - the Day of ‘the Coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ’, the Day of ‘our being gathered to Him’: ‘The Lord
Himself will come down from heaven... We will be with the Lord for
ever.’ Help us, Lord, to get ready for Christ’s Return. May we not be
like those who ‘perish.’ They ‘do not obey the Gospel of our Lord
Jesus.’They ‘refuse to love the truth and be saved.’May we have ‘faith’
in Christ and be ‘saved’ (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; 2:1,10,13-14; 1
Thessalonians 4:16-18).
Jeremiah 50:1-28
‘The people... will go
in tears to seek the Lord their God... They will come and bind
themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be
forgotten’ (Jeremiah 50:4-5). Lord, You’re calling us to come to You.
You’re calling us to commit ourselves to You. We’re to come to You Lord
with ‘tears’: ‘Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation’
(2 Corinthians 7:10). Our commitment to You is not to be a half-hearted
thing. It is to be a whole-hearted dedication of our lives to You. You
love us. You have blessed us so much. You have drawn us to Yourself. You
have heard and answered our prayer for salvation. How are we to respond
to Your love? Teach us, Lord, to give ourselves to You as ‘a living
sacrifice.’This is our ‘spiritual worship.’It is ‘holy and pleasing’ to
You, Lord (Romans 12:1).
Jeremiah 50:29-46
‘The arrogant one
will stumble and fall’ (Jeremiah 50:32). Lord, Your Word warns us -
‘Pride goes before... a fall’, ‘Arrogance will bring your downfall’
(Proverbs 16:18; 29:23). Help us not to trust in ourselves. Help us to
put our trust in You, Lord - Our ‘Redeemer is strong. The Lord Almighty
is His Name’ (Jeremiah 50:34). Help us not to boast of ourselves.
Salvation is ‘not our own doing.’Teach us to ‘boast’ of You,
Lord.’Salvation is ‘the gift of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:31; Ephesians
2:8-9). When we are tempted to take pride in ourselves - ‘Lord, I thank
You that I am not like other men...’ (Luke 18:11-12), teach us to come
to the Cross of Christ, praying the sinner’s prayer - ‘Lord, have mercy
on me, a sinner’ (Luke 18:13) - and boasting only of You, our Lord and
Saviour - ‘God forbid that I should glory except in the Cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ’ (Galatians 6:14).
Jeremiah 51:1-33
‘Lift up a
banner in the land! Blow the trumpet among the nations!’ (Jeremiah
51:27). Lord, You call us to be Your witnesses. If we are growing in our
fellowship with You, we will want others to know what they’re missing.
We will want them to know how much blessing they could know - if they
put their faith in Christ and began to walk with Him day-by-day. Help
us to give our testimony: ‘The Lord is my Banner’, ‘His banner over me
is love’ (Exodus 17:15; Song of Solomon 2:4). Help us to make sure that
our ‘trumpet’ gives out ‘a clear call’, calling people to come to
Christ. May we point them to Christ, calling them to trust Him as
Saviour and obey Him as Lord. Teach us, Lord, to show them the way to
true happiness: ‘Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in
Jesus, but to trust and obey’ (Mission Praise, 760).
Jeremiah 51:34-64
‘When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud’
(Jeremiah 51:61). Lord, Your Word is not to be kept within the place of
worship. We are to take Your Word to ‘Babylon.’Help us to speak Your
Word in the places where You are not worshipped. May we call people to
turn from their sinful ways. May we call them to return to You, Lord.
This will not be an easy message to speak. Many people won’t want to
hear it. Help us, Lord, to Your faithful messengers, warning people that
they must not neglect Your salvation and put themselves in danger of
Your judgment. Help us to speak of the Day, when everyone of us must
‘answer’ to You concerning the way we have lived our lives (Hebrews 2:3;
4:13). Teach us to call on people to ‘believe in the Lord Jesus’ and
‘be saved’ (Acts 16:31).
Jeremiah 52:1-34
We need ‘a portion for
each day... all the days of our life’ (Jeremiah 52:34). When, Lord. we
pray, ‘Give us this day our daily bread’, teach us to look beyond our
physical need for food. May we remember our spiritual need for ‘the
Bread of life’: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of
God’ (Matthew 6:11; John 6:35; Luke 4:4). Teach us, day-by day, to pray
for spiritual feeding: ‘Break Thou the Bread of life, dear Lord, to me,
as Thou didst break the bread beside the sea. Beyond the sacred page I
seek Thee, Lord. My spirit longs for Thee, Thou living Word! Thou art
the Bread of life, O Lord, to me, Thy holy Word the truth that saveth
me. Give me to eat and live with Thee above. Teach me to love Thy truth,
for Thou art love.’
_______________________
LAMENTATIONS
Lamentations 1:1-22
Jerusalem had fallen into hard times -
‘she who once was great among the nations... has now become a slave’
(Lamentations 1:1). Lord, we wonder why this happened. The explanation
for this sad situation was not hard to find - ‘Jerusalem has sinned
greatly and so has become unclean...’
(Lamentations 8-9). We wonder, "Could things be turned around? Could
there once again be blessing?" We thank You, Lord, that there was a way
back to You - the way of being honest before You. They needed to look
seriously at their way of life and think seriously about their attitude
towards You, Lord. They were not to adopt an arrogant attitude -
‘There’s really nothing wrong with us. We’re doing all right.’ They were
to come to You with a real confession of sin: ‘The Lord is righteous,
yet I rebelled against His command... O Lord,... I have been most
rebellious’ (Lamentations 1:18,20). We thank You, Lord, that Your
blessing will begin again when we confess our sin.
Lamentations 2:1-22
We
think, Lord, about Jerusalem’s fall into hard times. This wasn't ‘just
one of those things that happens.’ Your people brought it on
themselves. They didn't take You seriously - but You continued to take
them seriously. They ignored You, Lord, but You didn't ignore their
disobedience to You. They sinned against You - and You were angry with
them: ‘How the Lord in His anger has set the daughter of Zion under a
cloud!’ (Lamentations 2:1). This was not just a case of glibly saying,
‘The good times will come again.’ They needed to recognize why the bad
times had come: ‘The Lord has... carried out His threat’ (Lamentations
2:17). Lord, You had warned Your sinful people. Judgment was on its way -
if they refused to listen to You. Now, in the time of You judgment, You
are still calling us back to Yourself: ‘Cry aloud to the Lord!...’
(Lamentations 2:18-19). Help us, Lord, to return to You.
Lamentations 3:1-24
Lord,
there are times when it seems nothing is going right for us: ‘I am the
man who has seen affliction...’ (Lamentations 3:1-3). In such times,
Help us to remember this: ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
His mercies never come to an end.’ When we find ourselves in
circumstances of great distress, may we learn to look beyond the things
that are happening to us. Teach us, Lord, to look You, and say, ‘Great
is Your faithfulness.’ We don't find it easy to see You at work in our
lives when everything seems to be going wrong. Teach us to be patient,
as we wait for Your blessing return to our lives. May we put all our
hope in You, Lord. Teach us to trust in Your precious promise: ‘The Lord
is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It is
good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord’
(Lamentations 3:22-26).
Lamentations 3:25-42
Teach
us, Lord, in our ‘grief’, not to forget Your ‘compassion’ (Lamentations
3:32). You understand us. You care for us. How, Lord, do we know that
You love us? ‘Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8). This is the greatest
demonstration of Your love for us. How can we doubt Your love for us
when we think of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, dying on the Cross for
us as our Saviour? When we think of Your love for us, may we remember
that You call us to love You. Teach us not to take Your love for granted
- ‘God loves me. I can do what I like.’ Help us to appreciate Your love
- ‘God loves me. I will love Him.’ You love us. Christ died for us. How
can we say, ‘I’ll do what I like’? How can we refuse to be changed by
Your love?‘ Teach us, Lord, to examine our ways and turn back to You.
Teach us to open our hearts to You’ (Lamentations 3:40-41).
Lamentations 3:43-66
‘You
came near when I called You... O Lord... You redeemed my life’
(Lamentations 3:57-58). We wonder, Lord, ‘Will You answer our prayer for
salvation?’ Yes! At the Cross of Christ, we learn that You love us and
answers our prayer. ‘You did not wait for me to draw near to You, but
You clothed yourself in frail humanity. You did not wait for me to cry
out to You, but You let me hear Your voice calling me. And I’m forever
grateful to You, I’m forever grateful for the Cross; I’m forever
grateful to You that You came to seek and save the lost.’ ‘Thank You for
the Cross, the price You paid for us, how You gave Yourself so
completely, precious Lord, precious Lord. Now our sins are gone, all
forgiven, covered by Your blood, all forgotten, thank You Lord, thank
You Lord’ (Songs of Fellowship, 631; Mission Praise, 632).
Lamentations 4:1-22
We
thank You, Lord, that no human king can even begin to compare with our
Lord Jesus Christ, ‘the King of kings’ (Revelation 19:16). The people of
Jerusalem were full of confidence. They ‘trusted their king to protect
them from every invader.’ They thought Jerusalem was invincible: ‘No one
anywhere, not even rulers of foreign nations, believed that any invader
could enter Jerusalem’s gates.’ They were wrong. They thought it would
never happen - but it did! The unthinkable happened! ‘They captured the
source of our life, the king the Lord had chosen.’ Why, Lord, did it
happen? Your Word gives us the reason: ‘It happened because of the sins
of her prophets and... priests’. The king - ‘the Lord’s anointed’ - was
unable to prevent Jerusalem’s defeat (Lamentations 4:12-13,20). We
praise You, Lord - We have a greater King: our Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ!
Lamentations 5:1-22
‘You,
O Lord, reign for ever; Your throne endures from generation to
generation’. Help us to remember this when we feel like You have
‘forgotten’ us. When we feel like You have ‘abandoned’ us, may we
remember this: ‘You, O Lord, are King for ever, and will rule to the end
of time’ (Lamentations 5:19-20). Teach us not only to pay lip-service
to You, our Lord and our King. May we crown You as King of our hearts
and our lives. How, Lord, are we to do this? Teach us to pray, ‘Bring us
back to You, Lord!’ (Lamentations 5:21). Lord, You're looking for a
real return to You and a real difference in our lives. ‘In your hearts
enthrone Him. There let Him subdue all that is not holy, all that is not
true...’; ‘So let us learn how to serve and in our lives enthrone Him,
each other’s needs to prefer, for it is Christ we’re serving’ (Church
Hymnary, 300; Mission Praise, 162).
__________________________
EZEKIEL
Ezekiel 1:1-2:10
‘The
heavens were opened and I saw visions of God... The Word of the Lord
came to Ezekiel’(Ezekiel 1:1-2). Lord, You open our eyes to ‘see the
light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:4). You
Lord speak to us. Help us to listen to You: ‘Speak, Lord, for Your
servant is listening’ (1 Samuel 3:9-10). ‘The Spirit came into me... Do
not be afraid of them or their words’ (Ezekiel 2:2,6). Through Your
Spirit, we receive wisdom - ‘We have received the Spirit who is from
God, that we might understand what God has freely given us’ - and
strength - ‘God strengthens us with power through His Spirit in our
inner being’ (1 Corinthians 2:12; Ephesians 3:16). ‘Be Thou my Vision, O
Lord of my heart... Be Thou my Wisdom, Thou my true Word... Be Thou my
Battleshield, sword for the fight.’
Ezekiel 3:1-4:17
Lord,
You speak to us: ‘The Word of the Lord came to me’ (Ezekiel 3:16). We
speak to You: “Ah, Lord God!’ (Ezekiel 4:14). We speak for You: ‘When I
speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, “This is
what the Lord God says, Whoever will listen, let him listen...”’
(Ezekiel 3:27). How can we keep on listening to You, speaking to You and
speaking for You? We need to be strengthened with the power of the Holy
Spirit: ‘The Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet’ (Ezekiel
3:24). We thank You, Lord, that the Spirit is our ‘Helper.’He helps us
to listen to You: ‘The Holy Spirit will teach you all things’ (John
14:26). He helps us to speak to You: ‘The Spirit helps us in our
weakness’ (Romans 8:26). He helps us to speak for You: ‘You will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses’
(Acts 1:8).
Ezekiel 5:1-6:14
‘Because you have defiled My
sanctuary... I Myself will withdraw My favour’ (Ezekiel 5:11). To those
who despise Your Word and treat the place of prayer with contempt, Jesus
still speaks His Word of judgment: ‘My House will be called a House of
prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves’ (Matthew 21:13). Lord,
You’re warning us: ‘You have abandoned the love you had at first.
Remember the height from which you have fallen! Return to Me and change
the way you think and act. If you don’t change, I will come to you and
remove your lamp from its place’ (Revelation 2:4-5). When, Lord, You
remove Your blessing, there is nothing left but ‘a desolate waste’
(Ezekiel 6:14). Help us to make sure that we don’t become like Samson -
‘“I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.”He did not
know that the Lord had left him’ (Judges 16:20).
Ezekiel 7:1-8:18
‘This
is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: The end!’
(Ezekiel 7:2). Why, Lord, did You say, ‘This is “the end? ”’You had been
taking a good look at what was going on among His people: ‘the utterly
detestable things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will
drive Me far from My sanctuary’ (Ezekiel 8:6). You came to this
conclusion - ‘This is the end of the road. It’s the end of the time of
blessing. It’s now time for judgment’: ‘The end is now upon you and I
will unleash My anger against you. I will judge you according to... all
your detestable practices...’ (Ezekiel 7:3-4). Why did You say, ‘This is
“the end”’ - the end of a time of blessing, the beginning of a time of
judgment? The answer is clear: If there is no obedience, there can be no
blessing. Disobedience can lead to only one thing - judgment. Teach us,
Lord, to obey Your Word. Lead us on the pathway of blessing.
Ezekiel 9:1-10:22
For
many people, the time of blessing had come to an end and the time of
judgment had begun. Some, however, would escape the judgment, They had
been obedient to You, Lord. You protected them in the time of judgment:
‘Put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the
detestable things that are done... Do not touch anyone who has the
mark’ (Ezekiel 9:4,6). They were marked out as Your faithful people.
They had continued to worship You when so many others were turning away
from You. For many people, life can be summed up in these sad words:
‘The glory of the Lord departed’(Ezekiel 10:18). ‘I looked and I saw...’
(Ezekiel 10:1,9): In a time when many show no interest in You, Lord,
there are those who look to You and catch a glimpse of Your glory - ‘the
glory of the God of Israel was above them’ (Ezekiel 10:19).
Ezekiel 11:1-12:16
Lord,
You speak to us about our sin - ‘Son of man, you are living among a
rebellious people’ - and Your salvation - ‘I will... put a new spirit in
them...’ (Ezekiel 12:2; Ezekiel 11:19-20). Show us, Lord, that we must
receive’ with humility, the bad news concerning our sin - ‘The wages of
sin is death’ - before we can receive, with gladness, the Good News
concerning Your salvation - ‘The free gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 6:23). You want each of us to be saved:
‘The Lord... does not want anyone to perish; He wants everyone to turn
away from their sins’ (2 Peter 3:9). To those who refuse to be saved,
dismissing the bad news concerning their sin and closing their hearts to
the Good News concerning Your salvation, You speak Your Word or
warning: ‘...I will punish them for what they have done’ (Ezekiel
11:21).
Ezekiel 12:17-13:23
‘Hear the Word of the Lord!’
(Ezekiel 13:2). Lord, Your Word warns us: ‘The time is coming when
people will not endure sound teaching. Instead, to suit their own
desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say
what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn away from listening
to the truth and wander into myths.’When, Lord, we see this happening,
help us to commit ourselves to You. May we live as Your faithful
servants: ‘As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work
of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry’ (2 Timothy 4:3-5). When, Lord.
people are looking for a ‘feel good’ type of message, a message with
plenty of entertainment and no real challenge, may we never forget that
Your Word is to be used for ‘teaching, rebuking, correcting and training
in righteousness...’ (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Ezekiel 14:1-15:8
‘Some
of the elders of Israel came to’ Ezekiel. He spoke the Word of the Lord
to them: ‘Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable
practices!’ (Ezekiel 14:1,8). This, Lord, may not have been what they
wanted to hear. It was what You wanted them to hear. They did not want
to hear this, but they needed to hear it. Lord, You were warning them
what would happen if they did not make a real return to You: ‘I will
make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful’ (Ezekiel
15:8). Your Word demands a response. What will our response be? Will we
say, ‘We don’t want the Lord “to reign over us”’ (Luke 19:14)? Will we
be, like Peter, who ‘took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him...’
(Matthew 16:22)? Help us, Lord, not to be like those who dismiss Your
Word with arrogant pride. Help us to listen to Your Word - and be
changed by Your Word.
Ezekiel 16:1-34
Without Christ, we
are naked and dirty. He covers our nakedness and washes away our
dirtiness (Ezekiel 16:8-9). We thank You, Lord, that Jesus is our
Saviour. Teach us to come to Him with this prayer: ‘Nothing in my hand I
bring, simply to Thy Cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me,
Saviour, I die.’Lord, You hear and answer this prayer. You have given us
Your promise: ‘Whoever comes to Me, I will never drive away’ (John
6:37). When You have heard and answered our prayer for salvation, we
have this joyful testimony: ‘I delight greatly in the Lord, my soul
rejoices in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of
salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness’ (Isaiah
61:10). May we rejoice in this: ‘He saved us by washing away our sins’
(Titus 3:5).
Ezekiel 16:35-63
Lord, You call Your unfaithful
people to listen to Your Word: ‘You prostitute, hear the Word of the
Lord!’ (Ezekiel 16:35). You speak to them of ‘sin, righteousness and
judgment’ (John 16:8). You show them their sin - ‘your filthiness and
your nakedness’ (Ezekiel 16:36). You speak to them as the righteous God,
the God of perfect holiness - ‘Your eyes are too holy to look at evil.
You cannot stand the sight of people doing wrong’ (Habakkuk 1:13). You
warn them that there will be judgment: ‘I will judge you” (Ezekiel
16:38). Why, Lord, do You speak to us of sin, righteousness and
judgment? This is Your way of bringing us to repentance - ‘I will make
you stop being a prostitute’ - and salvation - “My anger will be over,
and I will be calm’ (Ezekiel 16:41-42). Lord, we know that our sin is
great - but we thank You that we know something else: our Saviour is
greater - ‘Wonderful grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin... Praise
His Name!’
Ezekiel 17:1-24
To those who adopt a ‘rebellious’
attitude to You, Lord, You speak Your Word of warning - They shall ‘not
escape’ Your judgment (Ezekiel 17:12,18). For those who abandon this
attitude of rebellion, there is a way of salvation. We thank You, Lord,
for the words of prophecy which looks forward to the coming of the
Messiah, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ . We thank You for Your
promise: ‘I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it’(Ezekiel 17:22-24).
We thank You that You have fulfilled Your promise. You have sent Your
Son to be our Saviour (Matthew1:22-23). We now await the fulfilment of
prophecy concerning Christ’s Return: ‘I will come gain’’, This same
Jesus... will come back.’, ‘The Lord Himself will come down from
heaven.’We thank You that Jesus has given us His promise - “I am coming
soon.’We hear His promise, and we say, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ (John 14:3;
Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 22:20).
Ezekiel 18:1-32
‘The
soul that sins shall die’ (Ezekiel 18:4). ‘If a man is righteous... he
shall surely live’ (Ezekiel 18:5-9) Lord, what hope is there for us? If
we look, with honesty, into our own hearts, we discover this dark truth
concerning ourselves: ‘None is righteous... All have sinned’ (Romans
3:10,23). Is there any Good News for us? Is there a way that leads to
eternal life? ‘Suppose there is a truly good man, righteous and
honest...’ (Ezekiel 18:4). Lord, is there such a man? Is there a man
concerning whom You say, ‘That man is righteous; he will surely live’
(Ezekiel 18:9). Yes! There is! Who is this man? What does Your Word tell
us about Him? He is Jesus Christ, our Saviour. He ‘died for our sins,
the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God’ (1 Peter 3:18).
We put our faith in Him. He gives us ‘eternal life’. We ‘pass from death
to life’ (1 John 5:11-13; John 5:24). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus, our
great Saviour.
Ezekiel 19:1-14
Lord, You look upon the
sinfulness of His people - and Your heart is filled with sadness. If we
truly love You, we will have great sadness when we see people turning
away from You and ruining their lives. We have joy in You, Lord -
‘Rejoice in the Lord always’ (Philippians 4:4). There is also ‘great
sorrow’ in our hearts when we think of those who refuse to come to
Christ for salvation. This ‘sorrow’ leads us to pray: ‘My heart’s desire
and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved’ (Ezekiel 19:1,14;
Romans 9:2; 10:1). Help us, Lord, to pray for our ‘dry and thirsty
land.’We pray that You will come to our ‘wilderness’: ‘He will come to
us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.’We pray
that people will ‘return’ to You. We pray that they will ‘press on to
know’ You (Ezekiel 19:13; Hosea 6:1-3).
Ezekiel 20:1-26
What
great things, Lord, You did for Your people, Israel. You ‘brought them
out of the land of Egypt.’ You led them to ‘a land flowing with milk and
honey’ (Ezekiel 20:6). We think of what You have done for us. You have
brought us out of our sin and into Your salvation: ‘He called you out of
darkness into His marvellous light’ (1 Peter 2:9). Lord, You saved Your
people, Israel - and they were to live for You: ‘I am the Lord your
God. Obey My laws and My commands’ (Ezekiel 20:19). You have saved us:
‘You have been saved by grace through faith. This is not your own doing.
It is the gift of God.’You call us to live for You. We have been
‘saved... for good works.’ Our ‘good works’ are to ‘bring glory to our
Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5:16). Help us, Lord, to ‘walk in the light’,
rejoicing in our Saviour - ‘the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all
sin’ (1 John 1:7).
Ezekiel 20:27-49
You speak to us, Lord,
about Your purpose for our lives: ‘Through you I intend to display My
holiness for all the nations to see’ (Ezekiel 20:41). You want other
people to notice that we are different. You want them to see that You
have changed us: ‘As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become
more and more like Him’ (Ezekiel 20:2 Corinthians 3:18). May this be our
testimony: ‘What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since
Jesus came into my heart!... I have ceased from my wandering and going
astray since Jesus came into my heart! And my sins which were many are
all washed away since Jesus came into my heart!’ Lord, help us to live
as ‘a new creation’, being ‘renewed every day.’ May we make it our ‘aim’
to ‘live’ for You and ‘please’ You (2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 5:9,15,17).
Ezekiel 21:1-32
Lord,
we read about ‘the time of final punishment’ (Ezekiel 21:25,29). Your
Word speaks to us about ‘eternal punishment’ as well as ‘eternal life’:
‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the
Son will not have life, but will remain under God’s punishment’ (Matthew
25:46; John 3:36). Lord, You love us. You sent Your Son to be our
Saviour. You call us to put our faith in Christ (John 3:16-18). You
speak to us Your Word of promise - ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you
will be saved’ - and Your Word of warning - ‘How shall we escape if we
ignore such a great salvation?’ (Hebrews 2:3). Lord, You’re calling us
to ‘flee from the wrath to come’ (Luke 3:7). Help us to turn from sin -
‘Turn away from your sins and live’ - and turn to You - ‘Turn to Me and
be saved’ (Ezekiel 18:32; Isaiah 45:22).
Ezekiel 22:1-31
‘I
looked for a man..., but I found none’ (Ezekiel 22:30). Lord, You’re
looking for people who will be faithful in prayer. What happens when
Your people refuse to pray? Your Word leaves us in no doubt - ‘I will
pour out My anger on them..., bringing down on their own heads all they
have done’ (Ezekiel 22:31). What a tragedy! The people refused to pray -
and there was no blessing from You, Lord: ‘You do not have, because you
do not ask God’ (James 4:2). Things could have been so different: ‘If
My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray
and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land’ (2 Chronicles
7:14). Lord, You want to bless us. Help us to pray for Your blessing.
‘Ask and it will be given to you...’ (Matthew 7:7-8).
Ezekiel 23:1-49
‘Because you have forgotten Me and turned your back on Me, you will be
punished for all your sin’ (Ezekiel 23:35). Lord, help us not to forget
You. Help us to remember You. Help us not to let Your Word ‘go in one
ear and out the other.’ Help us to be ‘doers of the Word’ as well as
‘hearers of the Word’ (James 1:22-25). May we put the past behind us and
make a new beginning with You: ‘Return
to Me, and I will return to you’ (Malachi 3:7). ‘Have mercy on me, O
God... Cleanse me from my sin... Create in me a clean heart, O God, and
put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your
presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your
salvation’ (Psalm 51:1-2,10-12). May this be the prayer of our hearts,
and may Your blessing flow into our lives.
Ezekiel 24:1-27
‘I will punish you because of the way you lived’ (Ezekiel 24:14). Lord,
You're calling us to think about the way we are living. You want us to
leave behind the old, self-centred way of living. You want us to begin a
new life, a life that is centred on You. Real change comes from You,
Lord. We pray that You will change us - ‘Change my heart, O God. Make it
ever true. Change my heart, O God. May I be like You’. We must pray for
a deep work of the Spirit of God in our hearts - ‘Spirit of the living
God, fall afresh on me... Break me, melt me, mould me, fill me...’. We
must pray that we will become more like Jesus - ‘Let the beauty of Jesus
be seen in me, all His wondrous compassion and purity. Oh, Thou Spirit
divine, all my nature refine, till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me’
(Mission Praise, 69,613,410).
Ezekiel 25:1-17
Lord, we read about Your judgment upon sinful nations - Ammon (Ezekiel
25:1-7), Moab (Ezekiel 25:8-11), Edom (Ezekiel 25:12-14) and Philistia
(Ezekiel 25:15-17). You speak to us. You say to us, ‘You will know that I
am the Lord’ (Ezekiel 25:5,7,11,17). You speak to us as our Judge. You
speak to us about ‘sin, righteousness and judgment’ (John 16:8-11). We
are sinners. You are righteous. There will be a Judgment. This, Lord,
is Your way of showing us how much we need Your love. You show us how
much we need to be saved so that we might learn to be truly thankful to
You for the Good News of Your love, the Gospel of our salvation - ‘God
so loved the world that He gave His only Son...’; ‘Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners’; ‘Christ died for our sins’ (John 3:16;
1 Timothy 1:15; 1 Corinthians 15:3). Teach us to ‘rejoice in God our
Saviour’ (Luke 2:47).
Ezekiel 26:1-21
‘I am against you, O Tyre... You will be no more... You will never
again be found...’ (Ezekiel 26:3,21). Lord, Your Word is spoken against
us: ‘There is no-one righteous... All have turned away... There is
no-one who does good... All have sinned...’ (Romans 3:10,12.23). You
speak Your Word against us ‘so that every mouth may be silenced’ (Romans
3:19). You want us to to stop making
excuses for ourselves. You want us to start listening to what You have
to say to us. For the city of Tyre, the situation was hopeless. For us,
there is a Word of hope. Jesus Christ has come ‘to seek and to save the
lost’. Jesus Christ has ‘died for our sins’ (Luke 19:10; 1 Peter 3:18).
We thank You, Lord, that ‘through faith in Jesus Christ’, we hear Your
Word of forgiveness: ‘I will remember their sins no more’ (Romans 3:22;
Hebrews 8:12; Hebrews 10:17).
Ezekiel 27:1-36
‘Your wealth... will sink into the heart of the sea
on the day of your shipwreck’ (Ezekiel 27:27). Teach us, Lord, that we
will sink if we don’t ‘keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.’ Help us not to
allow ourselves to get weighed down. Keep us from becoming ‘entangled’
in the world’s way of living. Help us to ‘throw off everything that
hinders’ our spiritual growth. We thank You, Lord, that Jesus is ‘the
sure and strong Anchor for our lives.’ He will keep us from sinking.
Teach us to look to Him and learn from Him: ‘Do not lay up treasures on
earth... Lay up treasures in heaven’ (Hebrews 12:1-2; 6:19; 2 Timothy
2:4; Matthew 6:19-20). ‘Will your anchor hold in the storms of life...?
We have an Anchor that keeps the soul, steadfast and sure while the
billows roll, fastened to the Rock which cannot move, grounded firm and
deep in the Saviour’s love!’ (Church Hymnary, 412).
Ezekiel 28:1-26
‘You were on the holy mount of God... You were blameless in your
ways... You sinned... I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God’
(Ezekiel 28:14-16). This is much more than the ‘long time ago’ story of
‘the king of Tyre’ (Ezekiel 29:12). As we read these words, Lord, may we
catch a glimpse of ‘the spiritual forces in the heavenly realms’. We
read about ‘war in heaven.’ We read about the downfall of ‘Satan.’ Your
Word is warning us: ‘Our struggle is not against flesh and blood.’
You're showing us that we face a much more powerful ‘enemy’ - ‘Satan.’ He
‘disguises himself as an angel of light.’ Help us not be fooled by him.
He is no ‘angel of light.’ He is ‘a roaring lion.’ He is ‘prowling
about, looking for someone to devour.’ We thank You, Lord, that we shall
overcome him ‘by the blood of the Lamb...’ (Ephesians 6:12; Revelation
12:7-9,11; 2 Corinthians 11:14; 1 Peter 5:8).
Ezekiel 29:1-21
Lord, in Your dealings with Egypt, we see both Your wrath - ‘Egypt will
become a desolate wasteland’ - and Your mercy - ‘At the end of forty
years... I will restore the fortunes of Egypt’ (Ezekiel 29:9,13-14).
Your wrath is Your response to Egypt’s pride - ‘Because you said, “The
Nile is mine; I made it”, therefore I am against you’ (Ezekiel 29:9-10).
In Your merciful restoration, You place Your restraint on Egypt’s pride
- ‘It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, and will never again
exalt itself above the other nations’ (Ezekiel 29:15). Lord, we come to
You as sinners. We confess our sins, praying, ‘In wrath, remember
mercy.’ You save us by ‘Your mercy.’ Your way of salvation - ‘through
Jesus Christ our Saviour’ - is a constant rebuke to our pride: ‘This is
not your own doing. It is the gift of God’ (Habakkuk 3:2; Titus 3:4-6;
Ephesians 2:8).
Ezekiel 30:1-26
‘The day of the Lord is near... A
sword will come against Egypt... The day of Egypt’s doom is sure to
come’ (Ezekiel 30:3-4,9). Teach us, Lord, not to take You lightly. Show
us that we can’t do what we like and get away with it. We must not
‘trample the Son of God under foot.’ We must not ‘treat Christ’s blood
as an unholy thing.’ We must not ‘insult the Spirit of grace.’ Help us
never to forget this: ‘It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of
the living God.’ Lord, You're speaking to us concerning ‘the Day of the
Lord’, the Return of Christ: ‘He who is coming will come...’ You're
speaking to us Your Word of warning: ‘Those who shrink back are
destroyed.’ He speaks His Word of promise: ‘Those who believe are saved’
(Hebrews 10:29,31,37-39). ‘When Christ comes, will He find faith...?’
Teach us to pray, ‘Search my heart, O God...’ (Luke 18:8; Psalm
139:23-24).
Ezekiel 31:1-18
‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt’ had the
appearance of ‘majesty’ - ‘Who can be compared with you in majesty?’ -
yet he was ‘brought down’ (Ezekiel 31:2,18). Teach us, Lord that there
is one Majesty who will never be brought down. May we never forget our
Lord Jesus Christ. He is ‘the same yesterday and today and for ever.’ He
will receive ‘glory for ever and ever.’ To Him alone, You say, ‘Your
throne, O God, will last for ever and ever’ (Hebrews 13:8,21; 1:8). This
is real Majesty! ‘Majesty, worship His Majesty. Unto Jesus be glory,
honour and praise. Majesty, Kingdom authority, flows from His throne
unto His own. His anthem raise. So exalt, lift up on high the Name of
Jesus. Magnify, come glorify, Christ Jesus the King. Majesty, worship
His Majesty, Jesus who died, now glorified, King of all kings’ (Mission
Praise, 454).
Ezekiel 32:1-32
‘Pride goes before
destruction’ (Proverbs 16:18). ‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt’ was arrogant and
ruthless: ‘You are like a lion among the nations;you are like a monster
in the seas, thrashing about in your streams, churning the water with
your feet and muddying the streams’ (Ezekiel 32:2). Soon, it would be
‘the day of his downfall’: ‘The sword of Babylon will come against
you... Pharaoh and all his hordes will be killed by the sword’ (Ezekiel
10-11,32). Teach us. Lord, not to be like the rich fool - ‘You have
plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink
and be merry’. He couldn’t have been more wrong! - You said to him,
‘You fool! I will demand your life from you tonight!' Help us, Lord to
hear and heed Your Word of warning: 'This is how it will be with anyone
who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God’ (Luke
12:19-21).
Ezekiel 33:1-33
Ezekiel was to be ‘a watchman for
the house of Israel’: ‘whenever you hear a Word from My mouth, you shall
give them warning from Me.’ He was to ‘warn the wicked to turn from his
way’ (Ezekiel 33:7-9). This, Lord, is Your warning of love. You love
us. It is because You love us that You ‘have no pleasure in the death of
the wicked.’ In Your love, You show us our sin so that we might come to
You with a real confession of sin: ‘Our sins are upon us.’ In Your
love, You create in us a desire for Your salvation: ‘How then can we
live?’ In Your love, You call us to return to You: ‘Turn back from your
evil ways.’ You love us. You do not want us to ‘die’: ‘Why will you
die?’ (Ezekiel 33:10-11). In love, You show us our sin - ‘The wages of
sin is death.’ We thank You, Lord, that You also call us to receive Your
‘free gift’ - ‘eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 6:23).
Ezekiel 34:1-31
Lord, You speak to us in love. You say to us, ‘I Myself will be the
Shepherd of My sheep’ (Ezekiel 34:15). We rejoice in Your love. We say,
‘The Lord is my Shepherd’ (Psalm 23:1). We thank You that Jesus is our
Shepherd. He is ‘the good Shepherd.’ He laid down His life for us that
we might receive the forgiveness of our sins. ‘Christ died for our
sins.’ We thank You that Your Son, Jesus - ‘the Righteous’ - died for us
- ‘the unrighteous’ - ‘to bring us to You’ (John 10:11; 1 Corinthians
15:3; 1 Peter 3:18). He is ‘the great Shepherd.’ He was ‘raised’ from
the dead.’ Through His resurrection, we receive eternal life. We thank
You that He says to us, ‘Because I live you will live also’ (Hebrews
13:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:4; John 14:19). He is ‘the chief Shepherd’.
We thank You that He will come again with ‘the unfading crown of glory’
for His ‘good and faithful servants’ (1 Peter 5:4; Matthew 25:21).
Ezekiel 35:1-15
‘You will be desolate, O Mount Seir, you and all of Edom. Then they
will know that I am the Lord’ (Ezekiel 35:15). The people of Edom knew
You, Lord, as their Judge. We thank You there is a much better way of
knowing You. We can know You as our Saviour. Those who refuse to come to
Jesus Christ, trusting in Him as Saviour, place themselves under God’s
judgment. They are ‘condemned already because they have not believed in
the Name of God’s one and only Son.’ They will know the Lord as their
Judge - but they could have known Him as their Saviour if they had
submitted to Your saving purpose for their lives: ‘God did not send His
Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through
Him’ (John 3:17-18). Each of us must choose. You're asking us a very
important question - Do you know Christ as Saviour, or will you face Him
as Judge? Give us faith, Lord - faith in Your Son, our Saviour, the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel 36:1-38
‘I will look on you with
favour’ (Ezekiel 36:9). Through Christ our Saviour, You, Lord, look upon
us with favour. Teach us to rejoice in the ‘wonderful grace of Jesus.’
It is ‘greater than all our sin.’ It 'reaches us.' We thank You, Lord,
for Your wonderful grace: ‘Let me introduce you to a friend called
Grace. Doesn’t care about your past or your many mistakes. He’ll cover
your sins in a warm embrace. Let me introduce to a friend called Grace.’
‘His grace reaches lower than your worst mistake and His love will run
further than you can run away.’ ‘He believes in lost causes when common
sense would just give up. He believes in lost causes and changes people
with His love. There’s nobody too far gone, no one beyond His reach. He
believes in lost causes ‘cause He believed in me’ (Phillips, Craig and
Dean). Teach us to let Jesus be our Joy!
Ezekiel 37:1-28
It was
‘a valley of dry bones’ (Ezekiel 37:1-2). Then, Lord, You changed
everything - ‘I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live’
(Ezekiel 37:5). What a difference You make! ‘Breathe on me, Breath of
God. Fill me with life anew’ (Church Hymnary, 103). What happens, Lord,
when Your Spirit breathes new life into Your Church? - ‘The Church that
seemed in slumber has now risen from its knees and dry bones are
responding with the fruits of new birth.. ‘Holy Spirit, we welcome You.
Let the breeze of Your presence flow that Your children here might truly
know how to move in the Spirit’s flow... Holy Spirit, we welcome You.
Please accomplish in us today some new work of loving grace, we pray.
Unreservedly, have Your way. Holy Spirit, we welcome You’ (Mission
Praise, 274,241).
Ezekiel 38:1-23
We read, Lord, of Your
judgment upon ‘Gog from the land of Magog’: ‘When Gog attacks the land
of Israel, My hot anger will be aroused... I will execute judgment upon
him...’ (Ezekiel 38:1,18,22). The names ‘Gog and Magog’ are also found
in Revelation 20:7-10. There, we read of rebellion against You, Lord -
‘They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of
God’s people...’ We read of Your judgment - ‘Fire came down from heaven
and consumed them’. In this divine judgment upon ‘Gog and Magog’, we
see Your final triumph over ‘Satan’: ‘The devil who had deceived Gog and
Magog was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur’ to be ‘tormented
day and night for ever and ever’. ‘Hallelujah! Our Lord God Almighty
reigns’ (Revelation 19:6).
Ezekiel 39:1-29
We read, Lord, about
Gog's defeat. Teach us to look beyond this to Satan’s final defeat
(Ezekiel 39:1-6; Revelation 20:10). We look ahead to Your final victory
over Satan. While we’re here on earth, teach us never to forget that
Satan is a very powerful enemy. He will do all that he can to make us
sin against You, Lord. We see this in the life of Your people, Israel.
They allowed Satan to get the upper hand - and You were not pleased with
them: ‘The nations shall know that the people of Israel went into
captivity for their sin, because they were unfaithful to Me’(Ezekiel
39:23). We thank You, Lord, that Your Word assures us that - even when
Satan has gained the upper hand - , we can be ‘brought back’ to the
place of blessing. We thank You, Lord, that You will ‘have mercy’ on us.
You will ‘pour out Your Spirit’ upon us (Ezekiel 39:25,29). ‘Restore
us, O God...’ (Psalm 85:4).
Ezekiel 40:1-49
Lord, You were
revealing Yourself to Ezekiel. ‘The hand of the Lord was upon’ him. He
received ‘visions of God’ (Ezekiel 40:1-2). You told him not to keep
this revelation to himself: ‘Tell the house of Israel everything you
see’ (Ezekiel 40:4). Help us to learn from ‘the prophets who spoke in
the Name of the Lord’. Like them, we are to seek to bring ‘sinners’ back
to the Lord, showing them ‘the error of their ways’ and pointing them
to Your way of salvation. This work is to be done prayerfully. May we
never forget that ‘the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and
effective’ (James 5:10,16,19-20). We thank You, Lord, that You promise
great blessing to those who are faithful in this work of winning others
for You: ‘Those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars
for ever and ever’ (Daniel 12:3).
Ezekiel 41:1-42:20
‘This is
the Most Holy Place’ (Ezekiel 41:4). Here, Lord, You're speaking about
the Temple. The Temple was the place where Your people were to gather
together to worship You. There is another ‘holy place’, another place
where You are to be glorified: ‘Your body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit... Glorify God in your body’ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We worship
You, Lord, when we are in the place of worship. That is only a part of
our worship. Our heart is to be a ‘holy place’ where You alone are
worshipped. Teach us to worship Him in everything we do: ‘Be holy in all
you do’. At the heart of our worship, may there be thanksgiving for
Your love. At the heart of the holy life, there is love. Teach us to
‘obey the truth’ - to ‘love one another deeply from the heart’ (1 Peter
1:15-16,22).
Ezekiel 43:1-27
Lord, this is not only about the
glory of the Temple. It’s about ‘the glory of the God of Israel.’ This
is the greater glory - ‘the glory of the Lord filled the Temple’
(Ezekiel 43:1,5). Lord, You're not only concerned about the creation of a
beautiful place of worship. You want our lives to be ‘radiant with Your
glory.’ This happens when ‘the Spirit lifts us up’ and brings us close
to You - ‘into the inner court’ (Ezekiel 43:2,5). We pray that Your
glory will fill the place of worship: ‘May the fragrance of Jesus fill
this place.’ We pray that ‘the glory of Jesus’ will ‘fill His Church.’
We are not only praying for Your glory in the place of worship. We are
praying for Your glory in our lives: ‘May the beauty of Jesus fill my
life... Fill my thoughts, my words, my deeds’ (Mission Praise, 462).
Ezekiel 44:1-31
'I looked and saw the glory of the Lord filling the Temple of the
Lord...’ (Ezekiel 44:4). We look to You, Lord. We catch a glimpse of
Your glory - and ‘we become more and more like You’. You're leading us
out of our life of sin, a life that ‘falls short of Your glory’, You're
leading us into Your life of salvation, a life of ‘being transformed
into Your likeness with ever-increasing glory’ (2 Corinthians 3:18;
Romans 3:23). We have not yet arrived at our full deliverance from sin:
‘When He appears, we shall be like Him’ (1 John 3:2). As we await the
return of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, may we keep on praying:
‘Change my heart, O God... May I be like You’. Teach us, Lord to ‘turn
our eyes upon Jesus." May we 'look full on His wonderful face.' May 'the
things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and
grace’ (Mission Praise, 69,712).
Ezekiel 45:1-25
We read, Lord,
about 'the sin offerings, cereal offerings, burnt offerings, and peace
offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel’ (Ezekiel 45:17).
We thank You that all of this points forward to the single Sacrifice for
sin made by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: ‘Christ died for sins
once for all, the Righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God’ (1
Peter 3:18). ‘We have been forgiven and made clean through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all’ (Hebrews 10:10). Teach us to
look beyond the many sacrifices to the one Sacrifice: ‘Christ has
offered one Sacrifice for sins, an offering that is effective for ever.’
Teach us to rejoice in our Saviour: ‘He is able for all time to save
those who draw near to God through Him’ (Hebrews 10:12; 7:25).
Ezekiel 46:1-24
We read, Lord, about the ‘offering’ of ‘a lamb without defect.’ This
was to happen ‘morning by morning’ (Ezekiel 46:13). From these offerings
, we look on to another Offering, ‘a single Offering’, the ‘once for
all’ Offering of Jesus Christ as ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin
of the world’. Jesus Christ - the Lamb of God - has ‘offered for all
time a single Sacrifice for sins’ (John 1:29; Hebrews 10:10,12,14). As
we read about the many lambs, we hear Your voice calling out to us,
directing our attention to our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: ‘Look,
the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:36). We
thank You, Lord, that ‘Christ’ is ‘our Passover Lamb’. We thank You that
He ‘has been sacrificed’ for us. Teach us to rejoice in this - Through
His ‘precious blood’, we are ‘redeemed’ (1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter
1:18-19).
Ezekiel 47:1-23
We read, Lord, about the rising of
the ‘river’ of Your blessing - ‘ankle-deep... knee-deep... up to the
waist ... deep enough to swim in - a river that no-one could cross’
(Ezekiel 47:3-5). This is the river of ‘life’ - ‘a great number of
trees.... Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river
flows... large numbers of fish because... where the river flows
everything will live’ (Ezekiel 47:7-9). We thank You, Lord, that ‘the
Spirit’ brings ‘rivers of living water’ into our lives (John 7:38-39).
Help us not to settle for a shallow experience of Your blessing -
‘ankle-deep’, ‘knee-deep’. ‘Deep calls to deep.’ May ‘the Spirit’ lead
us into ‘the deep things of God.’ Teach us to ‘launch out into the
deep’. May we ‘swim’ in Your mighty ‘river’ of blessing. May we ‘be
filled with the Spirit’ (Ezekiel 47:3-5; Psalm 42:7; Luke 5:4; 1
Corinthians 2:10; Ephesians 5:18).
Ezekiel 48:1-35
‘The Lord is
there’ (Ezekiel 48:35). We thank You, Lord, that You are with us when
we gather for worship: ‘Where two or three are gathered together in My
Name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Matthew 18:20). You love to be
among us when we are worshipping You: ‘He looks down upon us, delight in
His face, enjoying His children’s love, enthralled by our praise.’
Teach us to come into Your presence with joyful praise - ‘The King is
among us. His Spirit is near. Let’s draw near and worship. Let songs
fill the air!’ - and reverent fear - ‘Be still, for the presence of the
Lord, the Holy One, is here. Come bow before Him now with reverence and
fear’ (Mission Praise, 650,50). When we leave the place of worship, may
we take Your promise with us: ‘I am with you always’ (Matthew 28:20).
_____________________
DANIEL
1:1-2:16
‘Daniel resolved not to defile himself’ (Daniel 1:8).
We thank You, Lord, that Daniel was devoted to You. It was not easy to
live as Your faithful servant. His dedication to You was put to the test
- ‘Test your servants’ (Daniel 1:12). Our faith is put to the test. We
‘suffer many trials’. Why, Lord, do You allow our faith to be tested by
‘all kinds of trials? - ‘The testing of your faith produces
steadfastness’. ‘These have come so that your faith, which is much more
precious than gold, may be proved genuine and may result in praise,
glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed’ (1 Peter 1:6-7; James
1:2-3). Knowing that ‘every trial falls from above, traced upon our dial
by the Sun of Love’, may we learn to ‘trust You fully’ and ‘find You
wholly true’ (Mission Praise, 421).
2:17-49
‘In the time
of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a Kingdom that will never
be destroyed’ (44). We thank You, Lord, that Your Kingdom is the only
Kingdom which stands forever. Your Kingdom is eternal. We thank You
that, through Christ, ‘the Kingdom of God has come near to us’ (Luke
10:9). Christ is the ‘King of kings’ (Revelation 17:14; 19:16). ‘His
throne will last for ever and ever’. ‘His Kingdom will never end’. ‘He
will reign for ever and ever’ (Hebrews 1:8; Luke 1:33; Revelation
11:15). Teach us, Lord, to sing, from our hearts, 'Christ triumphant...
ever reigning... enthroned for ever’: ‘Sin and death and hell shall
never stifle hymns of love. So, our hearts and voices raising through
the ages long... this shall be our song: Yours the glory and the
crown...’ (Mission Praise, 77).
3:1-30
‘We want you to
know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of
gold you have set up’ (Daniel 3:18). We have no other king but You,
Lord. You, alone, are King. You, alone, are to be worshipped. We are to
‘have no other gods before You’. We are ‘not to make for ourselves an
idol’ which takes the place of the Lord (Exodus 20:3-4). You, Lord, must
come first in our lives. You are to be our ‘first love’ - ‘the love of
our heart: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart...’ (Revelation
2:4; Mark 12:30). Jesus asks us, ‘Do you love me?’ He waits for our
reply: ‘I love You’ (John 21:15-17). May we sing, from our hearts, ‘I
love the Name of Jesus. King of my heart, He is everything to me’. ‘I
love You, O Lord, You alone... my God who shall have all my praise’.
(Mission Praise, 285,286).
4:1-37
‘His Kingdom is an
eternal Kingdom; His dominion endures from generation to generation’
(Daniel 4:3). The generations rise and fall - ‘You sweep men away in the
sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning... by
evening it is dry and withered’; ‘As for man, his days are like grass...
the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no
more’ (Psalms 90:5-6; 103-15-16). You, Lord, are ‘the everlasting God’:
‘From everlasting to everlasting You are God’. Your love is an
‘everlasting’ love: ‘From everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is
with those who fear Him’. You, Lord, ‘have established Your throne in
heaven, and Your Kingdom rules over all’. We thank You that You are ‘our
dwelling-place throughout all generations’ (Isaiah 40:28; Psalms
90:1-2; 103:17,19).
5:1-31
Teach us, Lord, not to ‘praise
the gods of gold and silver...’ (Daniel 5:4). Material possessions must
never take the place of God. Seeking material prosperity is not to be
the most important thing in our lives. We are to ‘seek first Your
Kingdom...’. We are to ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ’ (Matthew 6:33; 2 Peter 3:18). Teach us to say,
from our hearts, ‘I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold, I’d rather
be His than have riches untold...I’d rather have Jesus... than to be the
king of a vast domain and be held in sin’s dread sway. I’d rather have
Jesus than anything this world affords today. I’d rather have Jesus than
men’s applause, I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause; I’d rather
have Jesus than world-wide fame, I’d rather be true to His holy Name’
(Mission Praise, 319).
6:1-28
‘He is the living God and He
endures for ever; His Kingdom will not be destroyed, His dominion will
never end’ (Daniel 6:26). You, Lord, are the living God. You are also
the loving God - ‘His love endures forever’ (Psalm 136). You are the
King. You're a very special kind of king. You're ‘the King of Love’. The
coming of Your Kingdom will be the victory of Your love: ‘Kingdoms of
the world become the kingdoms of the Lord: Love has the victory for
ever!’ May we enjoy the victory of Your love as we lift our hearts to
You in worship: ‘Who can see Your greatest Gift and fail to worship
You?’ May we enjoy the victory of Your love as we give our lives to You
in service: ‘Let us labour for the Master... Let us talk of all His
wondrous love...’ (Church Hymnary, 388; Mission Praise, 86,759).
7:1-28
‘There before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of
heaven... His Kingdom is one that will never be destroyed’ (Daniel
7:13-14). We thank You, Lord, for these great words. They point us to
Christ’s description of His Second Coming, the Coming of His Kingdom:
‘They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with
power and great glory’ (Matthew 24:30). In Revelation 1:7, we have
another echo of Daniel’s ‘vision.’ As we
think of these great things, may we be inspired to lift up our hearts
to You in praise: ‘Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye
will see Him’. ‘Lo! He comes, with clouds descending... Yea, Amen! let
all adore Thee, high on Thine eternal throne; Saviour, take the power
and glory, claim the Kingdom for Thine own. O come quickly! O come
quickly! O come quickly! Alleluia! Come, Lord, come!’ (Church Hymnary,
316).
8:1-27
We read,
Lord, about a ‘vision’ concerning ‘the distant future’, ‘the time of the
end’ (Daniel 8:26,17). We catch a glimpse of Satan, the very powerful
enemy of God’s people. Satan’s power is very frightening - ‘His power
shall be great, and he shall cause fearful destruction...’. It was the
power of Satan which lay behind the ‘stern-faced king’: ‘He will become
very strong, but not by his own power’ (Daniel 8:23-24). We thank You,
Lord, that Satan’s power will be broken. We thank You that Satan faces
certain defeat - ‘He will be defeated.’ How will he be defeated? We will
not defeat him - ‘He will not be destroyed by human power.’ There is
only one Power able to destroy the power of Satan: ‘He shall be broken
by the hand of God’. ‘Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Corinthians 15:57).
9:1-27
‘O Lord,
listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act!’ (Daniel 9:19). How,
Lord, do we know that You will hear and answer our prayer as we look to
You for salvation? - ‘The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even
though we have rebelled against Him’ (Daniel 9:9). We come to You with
our sin - We are ‘dead in our sins and wickedness.’ You come to us with
Your grace - ‘By grace you have been saved through faith.’ We come to
You, Lord, deeply conscious of our sin. We know, in our hearts, that we
can do nothing to save ourselves. The way of salvation can never begin
with the word, ‘I’. It always begins with You, Lord. It begins with Your
love - Your great love for us’: ‘God, who is rich in mercy, made us
alive with Christ even when we were dead in our sins’ (Ephesians
2:1,4-5,8).
10:1-11:13
Daniel came to God in great
weakness - ‘I am helpless... My strength is gone...’ (Daniel 10:16-17).
We thank You, Lord, that Daniel received great strength from You - ‘The
One who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength... When He
spoke to me, I was strengthened...’. Daniel’s strength came from Your
love and Your peace. You assured him of Your love for him. You called
him a ‘man greatly beloved.'. We thank You, Lord, that
You spoke Your Word of peace to Daniel: ‘Peace be with you.’ As You
revealed Your love and peace to him, he came to realize that there was
no need to be afraid. He could ‘be strong’ in You (Daniel 10:18-19).
When we are weak, help us, Lord, to come to You and receive your
strength - ‘His grace is sufficient for us. His strength is made perfect
in weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9).
11:14-45
Help
us, Lord, to live for You - ‘The people who know their God shall be
strong and do great things.’ Help us to stand against Satan - ‘The
people who know their God will firmly resist him’ (Daniel 11:32). Teach
us that, if we are to live for You and stand against Satan, we must ‘put
on the whole armour of God’. ‘Strong in the Lord’, we ‘take our stand
against the devil’s schemes’ (Ephesians 6:10-11). Help us to rise to the
great challenge of living for You and
standing against Satan: ‘Soldiers of Christ, arise and put your armour
on, strong in the strength which God supplies through His eternal Son...
From strength to strength go on, wrestle and fight and pray, tread all
the powers of darkness down and win the well-fought day that, having all
things done and all your conflicts past, ye may o’ercome through Christ
alone and stand complete at last’ (Church Hymnary, 441).
12:1-13
We read, Lord, of two very different futures - ‘everlasting life’ and
‘everlasting contempt’ (Daniel 12:2). We thank You that we receive
‘eternal life’ through ‘believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God.’ Through faith in Him, we ‘know that we have eternal life.’ You
give us Your promise: ‘He who has the Son has life.’ To those who
‘overcome’, through ‘believing that Jesus is the Son of God’, You give
this promise: ‘I will never blot his name out of the Book of Life.’
Alongside Your promise, there is also Your warning: ‘He who does not
have the Son of God does not have life.’ To those who refuse to come to
Christ for salvation, You give this warning: ‘If anyone’s name was not
written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire’ (John
20:31; 1 John 5:5,11-13; Revelation 3:5; Revelation 20:15). Help us,
Lord, to heed Your warning and trust Your promise.
_____________________
HOSEA
1:1-3:5
‘Hosea’ means ‘salvation’. Married to ‘an adulterous
wife’, Hosea spoke with great compassion to ‘the land’ which was ‘guilty
of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord’ (Hosea 1:2). We
thank You, Lord, that Hosea brought Your Word of love to the people: ‘I
will show My love to the one I called, “Not My loved one”’. He spoke to
them of the life-changing power of God’s love: ‘I will say to those
called, “Not My people”, and they will
say, “You are My God”’ (Hosea 2:23). We thank You that He brought a Word
of hope to Your people: ‘The Israelites will return and seek the Lord
their God... They will come trembling to the Lord and to His blessings
in the last days’ (Hosea 3:5). We thank You that Hosea's words of hope
point us to our Saviour, Jesus Christ - ‘In these last days, God has
spoken to us by His Son’ (Hebrews 1:2).
4:1-5:14
We read, Lord, about Israel’s rebellion against You: ‘A spirit of
prostitution leads them astray. They are unfaithful to their God... A
spirit of prostitution is in their heart. They do not acknowledge the
Lord’ (Hosea 4:12; 5:4). You, Lord, are not pleased with them. You speak
Your Word of ‘judgment against’ them (Hosea 5:1). Help us, Lord, to
look closely at our lives. What kind of people are we becoming? Are we
becoming ‘slaves of sin’? You're calling us to be changed by Your love
and power: ‘Now that you have been set free from sin, and have become
slaves of God, the benefit you reap is holiness, and the result is
eternal life’ (Romans 6:16,22). May Your love show us that You have not
abandoned us because of our sin. May Your power assure each one of us
that You can make us ‘a new person’ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
5:15-7:16
Teach us, Lord, to leave the old way of sinful disobedience and follow
the new way of faith and obedience: ‘Come, let us return to the Lord...
Let us press on to know the Lord.’ As we return to You, pressing on to
know You, Your blessing returns to us. You lead us in the way of
fruitfulness: ‘He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains
that water the earth’ (Hosea 6:1,3). Help us not to be like those who
react to Your Word with ‘pride’: ‘They do not return to the Lord their
God’. God longs to ‘redeem’ them, yet they ‘rebel against’ Him: ‘They do
not turn to the Most High God’ (Hosea 7:10,13,16). May our ‘love’ for
You not be ‘like the early dew that disappears.’ Teach us to
‘acknowledge our guilt and seek Your face.’ May we love You with a
‘steadfast love’ (Hosea 5:15; Hosea 6:4,6).
8:1-9:17
‘Israel’ had ‘forgotten’ and ‘forsaken’ the Lord (Hosea 8:14). Lord, we
have not remembered You. We have turned away from You. We have forgotten
You. We have been ‘unfaithful’ to You. This is the sad story of our
life - a story of forgetting and forsaking You. You, Lord, are very
different from us. You have not forgotten us. You have not forsaken us.
You have ‘remembered’ us. You have been ‘faithful’ to us. You have shown
us Your ‘salvation’ (Psalm 98:3). How
do we know that You remember us? How do we know that You are faithful to
us? - ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’; ‘While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (1 Timothy 1:15; Romans 5:8).
‘If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot be false to
Himself’ (2 Timothy 2:13).
10:1-12:9
We thank You, Lord, that Your love for us is much greater than our love
for You. So often, we are like ‘Israel’ - ‘they did not fear the Lord.’
Our love for You grows weak. Your love for us remains strong. You
refuse to give up on us. We wander away from You. You call us back to
Yourself - ‘It is time to seek the Lord’; ‘You must return to your God’
(Hosea 10:3,12; Hosea 11:1,8; Hosea 12:6). When we return to You, Lord,
You lead us in the way of Your ‘love.’ You teach us to ‘walk in the
Spirit.’ You produce in us ‘the fruit of the Spirit’ (Hosea 10:1; Hosea
11:3-4; Galatians 5:16-18,22-25). Help us to grow strong in our love for
You - ‘the Spirit helps us in our weakness.' Help us ‘not to quench the
Spirit.’ Help us ‘not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God’ (Romans 8:26; 1
Thessalonians 5:19; Ephesians 4:30).
12:10-14:9
We thank You,
Lord, that You love us. You invite us to come to ‘know’ You as our
‘Saviour.’ Teach us to ‘return’ to You and receive the blessings of Your
salvation. You ‘forgive all our sins.’ You lead us in the way of
‘fruitfulness.’ You give us eternal life - ‘I will ransom them from the
power of the grave. I will redeem them from death ...’ (Hosea 13:4,14;
Hosea 14:1-2,4,8). Your call to receive salvation from the Lord is a
call to choose which way we will live. Help us to choose to be
‘righteous’ rather than ‘rebellious.’ Teach us to acknowledge that ‘the
ways of the Lord are right.’ May we choose the way of ‘the righteous’
who ‘walk in the Lord’s ways.’ Help us to reject the way of ‘the
rebellious’ who ‘stumble over the Lord’s ways.’ Teach us to 'walk in the
light of the Lord’ (Hosea 14:9; Isaiah 2:5).
________________
JOEL
1:1-2:17
‘Joel’ means ‘the Lord is God.’ We thank You, Lord,
that You are our God. You are ‘gracious and compassionate, slow to anger
and abounding in love...’. Teach us to ‘return to You, the Lord our
God.’ Help us to ‘return to You with all our heart.’ May we always look
to You for Your ‘blessing’ (Joel 2:12-14). Alongside Your promise of
blessing for those who return to You, there is Your Word of warning for
those who take no notice of You and pay
no attention to Your Word: ‘The Day of the Lord is near. It will come
like destruction from the Almighty... Let all who live in the land
tremble, for the Day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand - a Day
of darkness and gloom...’ (Joel 1:15; Joel 2:1-2). We thank You, Lord,
that You want to bless us. Help us to ‘cry out’ to You for Your
blessing: ‘To You, O Lord, I call’ (Joel 1:14,19).
2:19-3:21
Show us, Lord, that each of us is ‘in the valley of decision.’ Help us
to make sure that we are prepared for ‘the coming of the great and
dreadful Day of the Lord.’ We thank You, Lord, that You have given us
Your promise: ‘Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved’
(Joel 2:31-32; Joel 3:14). You promise great blessing to those who call
upon You. You ‘will pour out His Spirit’ upon us. You will do ‘great
things’ for us. You will be our ‘Refuge’ and ‘Stronghold.’ You will fill
us with ‘joy and gladness.’ You will fill our hearts with ‘praise’
(Joel 2:20-21,23,26,28-29; Joel 3:16). You're calling on us to make sure
that we ‘call on the Name of the Lord.’ May we make sure that we do not
miss out on the great blessings that You, Lord, give to those who call
on Your Name. Help us to make your decision now - ‘I will call on the
Name of the Lord’ (1 Kings 18:24).
______________________
AMOS
1:1-2:16
‘The Lord roars.’ ‘The Lord thunders’ (Amos 1:2). We
thank You, Lord, that Your Word comes to us from above - ‘The Lord will
roar from on high.’ You speak to us from heaven - ‘He will thunder from
His holy dwelling.’ We dare not ignore Your Word. Your Word comes to us
as a Word of warning - ‘He will shout against all who live on the earth’
- and a Word of judgment - ‘He will bring judgment on all mankind.’
You're calling for our attention: ‘Look! Disaster is spreading from
nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.’
You're speaking to us about Your ‘fierce anger.’ You're calling us to
turn from our sin. Help us, Lord, to return to You and hear Your Word of
salvation: ‘I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their
sins no more (Jeremiah 25:30-32,37; 31:34).
3:1-5:5
‘You
only have I chosen... therefore I will punish you for all your sins’
(Amos 3:2). Along with the privilege of being ‘chosen’ to belong to You,
Lord comes the responsibility of living as Your servants. Teach us not
to take Your Word lightly - ‘The lion has roared - who will not fear?’
(Amos 3:8). You speak to us very directly about the way we are living -
‘You have not returned to Me’ (Amos 4:6,8-11). Help us to take You
seriously: ‘Prepare to meet your God’ (Amos 4:12). You're calling us to
‘seek You and live’: ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him
while He is near. Let the wicked forsake His way and the evil man his
thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and
to our God, for He will freely pardon’ (Amos 5:4; Isaiah 55:6-7).
5:6-6:14
‘Seek the Lord and live’. ‘Seek good, not evil...’ (Amos 5:6,14). Those
who truly seek You, Lord, are to live a godly life. You see right
through hypocritical religion. You are is not pleased with it: ‘I hate
your show and pretence - your hypocrisy of ‘honouring’ Me with your
religious feasts and solemn assemblies... Away with your hymns of praise
- they are mere noise to My ears. I will not listen to your music, no
matter how lovely it is’ (Amos 5:21,23). You're looking for true
obedience: ‘a mighty flood of justice - a torrent of doing good’ - ‘Let
justice flow like a river and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream’
(Amos 5:24). You speak to us, Lord, about our sins - ‘Many and great
are your sins. I know them so well’ - so that we might learn to ‘hate
evil’ and ‘love good’ (Amos 5:5:12,15).
7:1-9:15
‘That’s
enough, prophet! Go back to Judah and do your preaching there... Don’t
prophesy here at Bethel any more’ (Amos 7:12-13). We thank You, Lord,
that Amos was a faithful preacher of Your Word. How sad, sinful and
shameful it was that his hearers wanted to get rid of him! This was the
beginning of a time of great darkness: ‘The days are coming when I will
send a famine through the land - not a famine of food or a thirst for
water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger
from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the Word of
the Lord, but they will not find it’ (Amos 8:11-12). There were dark
times ahead - but You, Lord, were looking beyond them to a brighter
future: ‘I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel’ (Amos 9:14).
‘Restore us again, O God of our salvation...’ (Psalm 85:4-7).
_______________________
OBADIAH
‘The Kingdom will be the Lord’s’ (21). When, Lord, Your Kingdom comes,
there will be both salvation - ‘The house of Jacob will possess its
inheritance’ - and judgment - ‘There will be no survivors from the house
of Esau’ (17-18). ‘Not by works but by Him who calls’ - This is the
great contrast between ‘Jacob’ and ‘Esau’. We thank You that we have not
been saved ‘because of any good deeds that we have done.’ We have been
saved ‘by grace’. We can never be saved ‘by works.’ We can never receive
Your grace ‘by works.’ Teach us, Lord, to receive Your grace ‘by
faith.’ May we look away from ourselves to You, and say, ‘He saved us.’
‘It is by grace that you have been saved through faith... not by works,
so that no-one can boast’ (Romans 9:10-13, 30-32; 11:6; Titus 3:4-7;
Ephesians 2:8-9).
______________________
JONAH
1:1-2:10
‘Salvation comes from the Lord’ (Jonah 2:9). We can
never save ourselves. We can only be saved - by You, Lord. Left to our
own devices, we ‘flee from Your presence.’ We ‘run away from You’ (Jonah
1:3). Sin - This is the story of our life. Salvation - This is the
story of what You have done for us. We are sinners. We need to be saved.
How can our life be turned around? How can we turn from the way of sin
and seek the way of salvation? We cannot
change ourselves. We need to be changed by You, Lord. We cannot forgive
our own sins. We need to be forgiven by You. Where does the desire for
forgiveness and change come from? Does it come from ourselves? No! It
comes from You, Lord: ‘He drew me, and I followed on...’ (Mission
Praise, 499).
3:1-4:11
The people of Nineveh ‘believed God’ and ‘turned from their evil ways.’
You, Lord, had shown Yourself to be ‘a gracious and compassionate
God...’ How did Jonah react? Was he rejoicing in You? No! He was
complaining - ‘Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.’ Jonah was
a proud Jew. He despised the Ninevites. He didn’t want them to be
saved. That’s why he was ‘so quick to flee to Tarshish’ (Jonah 3:5,10;
Jonah 4:1-2). What does Your Word say about Jonah’s attitude? - ‘You
have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else.’ Teach us never
to ‘show contempt for the riches of His kindness.’ May we never say,
‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men.’ May we always pray,
‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner’ (Romans 2:1,4; Luke 18:11-14).
_________________________
MICAH
1:1-2:13
We thank You, Lord, that Micah was a fearless preacher
of Your Word. His message was not popular: ‘Let the Lord God be a
witness against you.’ He was a forthright preacher of Your Word. He knew
that the people wouldn’t want to hear what he had to say to them. He
demanded that they listen to him. This wasn’t only Micah’s word. It was
Your word, Lord. That’s why Micah said, ‘Hear, O peoples, all of you.
Listen, O earth and all who are in it’ (Micah 2:2). Teach us, Lord, that
we cannot afford to ignore Your Word. Help us to listen to Your Word.
You speak Your Word against us. You say to us, ‘You cannot save
yourselves’ (Micah 2:3). You speak Your Word against us so that we might
learn to rejoice in Your Word of salvation: ‘I will bring you together
like sheep returning to the fold’ (Micah 2:12).
3:1-5:1
We
thank You, Lord, for the words that Micah speaks to those ‘who hate
good and love evil’ (Micah 3:2). He calls upon them to change their way
of living. He calls upon them to worship You - ‘Come, let us go up to
the mountain of the Lord’ - and walk with You - ‘We will walk in the
Name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.’ How do we learn to ‘walk in
Your paths’? We come to Your ‘House’. We listen to Your ‘Word’. We pray
that Your Word will come to us ‘with power.’ We ask You to ‘teach us
Your ways.’ We pray that we will be ‘filled with the Spirit of the Lord’
(Micah 4:2,5; 3:8). We worship You, Lord. Gathered in Your House for
worship, we ‘receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us.’ Through
Your power, we are equipped for witness: ‘you will be My witnesses...’
(Acts 1:8).
5:2-6:16
We thank You, Lord, for Micah's words
of prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus at ‘Bethlehem’ (Micah 5:2).
This prophecy invites us to ‘go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has
happened, which the Lord has told us about.’ At ‘Bethlehem’, we see
‘shepherds, glorifying and praising God’ (Luke 2:15,20). We thank that
Jesus, Your Son is also Jesus our Shepherd. He is the One whom the
shepherds worshipped. He is the One who ‘will stand and shepherd His
flock in the strength of the Lord...’. He is ‘the Good Shepherd’. He
‘laid down His life’ for us. He is ‘the Great Shepherd’. He ‘was raised
from the dead’ for us. He is ‘the Chief Shepherd’. He will ‘come’ again
for us (5:4; John 10:14; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:4). We thank You,
Lord, that Jesus our ‘Shepherd’ gives us ‘strength’ to ‘do justice, love
kindness and walk humbly with our God’ (Micah 6:8).
7:1-20
‘Who is a God like You? You forgive sin... You love to be merciful.You
will again have compassion on us... You will throw all our sins into the
depths of the ocean!... You will bless us... You will set Your love
upon us...’ (Micah 7:18-20). When, Lord, we read these great words, we
think of Jesus, our great Saviour - ‘I stand amazed in the presence of
Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how He could love me, a sinner, condemned,
unclean. He took my sins and my sorrows. He made them His very own. He
bore the burden to Calvary, and suffered and died alone. When with the
ransomed in glory His face I at last shall see, ‘twill be my joy through
the ages to sing of His love for me. How marvellous, how wonderful, and
my song shall ever be: How marvellous, how wonderful is my Saviour’s
love for me!’ (Mission Praise, 296).
____________
NAHUM
1:1-2:9
‘Fulfil your vows’ (1:15). Lord, You're calling us to
be faithful to Him. We are to be faithful in worship. We are to be
faithful in reading Your Word. We are to be faithful in prayer. We are
to be faithful in giving. We are to be faithful in witness. Our faith is
to be real. Our faith is to make a difference. It’s to change the way
we live. It’s not to be a case of ‘faith without works’. Show us , Lord,
that this kind of ‘faith’ is ‘dead’
(James 2:17). Our whole life is to be a life of faith. It is to be a
life of ‘love.’ You're calling us to live ‘for Your glory’ (Romans
14:23; 1 Corinthians 16:14; 10:31). ‘Fill Thou our life, O Lord our God,
in every part with praise... Not for the lip of praise alone, nor even
the praising heart we ask, but for a life made up of praise in every
part’ (Church Hymnary, 457).
2:10-3:19
To those who refuse to live in obedience to You, Lord, You speak Your
Word of judgment: ‘I am against you’ (Nahum 2:13; Nahum 3:5). To those
who refuse to listen to Your Word of salvation - ‘The Lord is good, a
refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him’, You
speak a very different Word. It will be Your Word of judgment. Your Word
will come like ‘an overwhelming flood’: ‘He will pursue His foes into
darkness’ (Nahum 1:7-8). We thank You, Lord, that none of us needs to
face this ‘overwhelming flood’ and hear the words, ‘I am against you.’
Each of us can come to Christ and hear His Word of ‘overwhelming
victory’: ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?... Nothing will be
able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord’
(Romans 8:31,37-39). Thank You, Lord.
_______________
HABAKKUK
1:1-2:14
‘How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but You do
not listen?’ (Habakkuk 1:2). Lord, there are times when it seems that
You are not listening to us. What are we to do when we feel like this?
Are we to give up on You? Are we to stop praying? No! Teach us to wait
patiently for Your answer - ‘I will look to see what He will say to me.’
May we never forget Your promise: ‘The Lord is good to those who wait
for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It
is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord’
(Habakkuk 2:1; Lamentations 3:25-26). ‘The vision awaits its time... If
it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay’.
Teach us, Lord, to ‘live by faith’, awaiting the Day when ‘the earth
will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the
waters cover the sea’ (Habakkuk 2:3-4,14).
2:15-3:19
Teach us, Lord, to ‘be silent’ before You. Help us to ‘stand in awe’ of
You. In Your holy presence, we become deeply conscious of our sin which
separates us from You: ‘Your eyes are too pure to look on evil.’
Confessing our sin to You, Lord, we pray that ‘in wrath’ You will
‘remember mercy.’ We pray that You will ‘renew’ us with Your blessing.
You answer our prayer. You send Your ‘glory’ into our lives. You fill
our hearts with Your ‘praise’: ‘I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be
joyful in God my Saviour. The Lord God is my Strength. He makes my feet
like the feet of the deer. He enables me to go on the heights.’ We thank
You, Lord, for Your precious promise: ‘Those who wait on the Lord will
renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles...’ (Habakkuk
2:20; Habakkuk 3:2; Habakkuk 1:13; Habakkuk 3:18-19; Isaiah 40:31).
______________
ZEPHANIAH
1:1-2:7
‘The great Day of the Lord is near - near and coming
quickly... That Day will be a Day of wrath... I will bring distress upon
the people... because they have sinned against the Lord’ (Zephaniah
1:14-17). This, Lord, is Your Word of warning. You're calling us back to
Yourself: ‘Seek the Lord - before the fierce anger of the Lord comes
upon you, before the Day of the Lord’s wrath comes upon you.’ Help us,
Lord, to seek You in ‘righteousness’ and
‘humility.’ This is the way of being ‘sheltered on the Day of Your
anger’ (Zephaniah 2:2-3). You're calling us to ‘worship You in Spirit
and in truth’: ‘Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated
to His service and pleasing to Him. This is the true worship that you
should offer’ (John 4:24; Romans 12:1).
2:8-3:20
We read, Lord, a story of sin - 'Woe to the city of oppressors,
rebellious and defiled! She has not obeyed His voice. She has not
accepted correction. She has not trusted in the Lord. She has not drawn
near to her God’ - and a story of salvation - ‘Sing, O Daughter of Zion;
shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O
Daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment. He has
turned back your enemy... The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to
save. He will take great delight in you. He will renew you in His love.
He will rejoice over you with singing’ (Zephaniah 3:1-2,14-17). The
story of our sin is full of sadness. The story of Your salvation fills
us with gladness - ‘Rejoice and be glad! The Redeemer has come’ (Mission
Praise, 573).
____________
HAGGAI
1:1-15
We read, Lord, the questions that You put to Your
people: 'Why is everyone saying it is not the right time for rebuilding
My Temple?'; ‘Is it then the right time for you to live in luxurious
homes, when the Temple lies in ruins?’ (Haggai 1:2-4). Your people had
forgotten about You. They were pleasing themselves - but they were not
pleasing You! Lord, You're challenging us to think about our way of
living - ‘Consider your way of life’ (Haggai
1:5,7). Teach us, Lord, to ‘obey Your voice.' Help us to change our way
of thinking - ‘the people feared the Lord’ - and living - ‘They came
and began work on the House of the Lord Almighty, their God.’ Help us to
obey Your voice and trust in Your promise - ‘I am with you’(Haggai
1:12-14).
2:1-23
Lord,
You're speaking Your Word to us: ‘“Be strong, all you people of the
land”, declares the Lord, “and work. For I am with you”, declares the
Lord Almighty’ (Haggai 2:4). You're calling us to work for You. When,
Lord, we commit ourselves to serving You, You give to us the promise of
Your blessing: ‘From this day on I will bless you’ (Haggai 2:19). To
Your faithful servants, You promise great blessing: ‘I will fill this
House with glory’ (Haggai 2:7). You're calling us to give ourselves
completely to You: ‘Always give yourselves fully to the work of the
Lord, because you know that, in the Lord, your labour is not in vain’ (1
Corinthians 15:58). When we hear Your questions, ‘Who is on the Lord’s
side? Who will serve the King?', may we say, 'We are on the Lord’s side,
Saviour, we are Thine... Always on the Lord’s side, Saviour, always
Thine’ (Church Hymnary, 479).
_______________________
ZECHARIAH
1:1-2:13
We thank You, Lord, that You promise to bless Your
faithful people: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My
House will be rebuilt’ (Zechariah 1:16). You looks upon Your House, and
You see Your glory - ‘I will be the glory within it’ (Zechariah 2:5).
You see the glory of Your presence - ‘I will live among you’ (Zechariah
2:10). We read about the Temple at Jerusalem. We read about its glory.
Your Word speaks about another ‘temple’ and another ‘glory.’ Through
‘faith’ in ‘Christ’, we have become ‘a holy temple in the Lord’ - ‘a
dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit’ (Ephesians 2:21-22; Ephesians
3:16-17). To every believer, God says, ‘Your body is the temple of the
Holy Spirit who is in you... Glorify God in your body’ (1 Corinthians
6:19-20). Help us, Lord, to bring glory to You.
3:1-4:14
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit”, says the Lord Almighty’
(Zechariah 4:6). Teach us, Lord, that there is only one Power by which
Your work can be done. It is the power of the Holy Spirit. Help us not
to try to do Your work in our own strength. May we exchange our weakness
for Your strength. Teach us, Father, to ‘wait for Your promise’ - ‘You
shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.’ We thank
You, Lord that great things happen when Your people are ‘filled with the
Holy Spirit’ - ‘About three thousand were added to their number that
day... The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved’!
Let us pray that God will ‘pour out’ His Spirit upon us (Acts 1:4,8;
Acts 2:4,17-18,41,47).
5:1-6:15
‘Here is the Man whose
Name is the Branch... It is He who will build the Temple of the Lord...’
(Zechariah 6:12-13). We thank You, Lord, for these great words of
prophecy. They point us to our Lord Jesus Christ: ‘I will build My
Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’ (Matthew
16:18). How does Christ build His Church? He sends His blessing when His
people are obedient to Him: ‘Those who are far away will come and help
to build the Temple of the Lord... This will happen if you diligently
obey the Lord your God’ (Zechariah 6:15). We thank You, Lord, that
You're ‘building a people of power.’ You're calling us to ‘move through
this land by Your Spirit and glorify Your precious Name’. Teach us to
pray, ‘Here I am, wholly available - as for me, I will serve the Lord’
(Mission Praise, 151,229).
7:1-8:23
Lord, when people stop
listening to Your Word, their life becomes ‘a desolate wasteland’
(Zechariah 7:11-14). What are we to do when we see this happening? - ‘Do
not be afraid... Be strong.’ Help us, Lord, to keep on believing Your
promise: ‘I will save you, and you will be a blessing.’ Help us to keep
on praying that our faithful witness will bring others to You: ‘Let us
go with you, because we have heard that God is with you’ (Zechariah
8:13,23). Teach us to pray that ‘the Spirit will be poured upon us from
on high and the desert will become a fertile field.’ ‘Don’t hide your
light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so
that they will praise your heavenly Father’ (Isaiah 32:15; Matthew
5:15-16). Lord, shine Your light on us, and shine Your light through us.
9:1-10:12
‘...See your King comes to you... gentle and riding on a donkey...’
(Zechariah 9:9). We thank You, Lord, for these wonderful words of
prophecy. They point us to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Jesus is
our King. He comes to us. How are we to welcome our King? We are to
welcome Him with joyful praise - ‘Blessed is He who comes in the Name of
the Lord’ (Matthew 21:1-9; John 12:12-16). We thank You, our Father,
that Jesus our King has come to us from You: ‘When the time had fully
come, God sent His Son...’. We thank You that Jesus our King has come to
us to be our Saviour: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners’ (Galatians 4:4; 1 Timothy 1:15). We thank You that He will come
again - ‘with power and great glory.’ ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ (Matthew
24:30; Revelation 22:20).
11:1-12:14
‘They will look on
Him whom they have pierced...’ (Zechariah 12:10). We thank You, Lord,
for these great words of prophecy. They point us to Christ’s
crucifixion. In Psalm 22:1, we read Christ’s prayer from the Cross: ‘My
God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?’ (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). In
the same Psalm, we read these words: ‘They have pierced My hands and My
feet’ (Psalm 22:16). In Isaiah 53:5, we learn that Christ ‘was pierced
for our sins.’ In Revelation 1:7, the words of Zechariah 12:10 form part
of a prophecy concerning Christ’s Return: ‘Look, He is coming with the
clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him ...’. In
His heavenly glory, Christ will always be ‘the Lamb’ who was ‘slain’
(Revelation 5:6,9). Thank You, Lord, for our great Saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ.
13:1-14:21
Lord, we ‘call on Your Name’. You
‘answer’ our prayer - ‘I will say, “They are My people”, and they will
say, “The Lord is our God’ (Zechariah 13:9). We confess our faith in
‘You, Lord.’ You are the ‘Lord of lords.’ You are the ‘King of kings’.
Your Name is ‘the only Name’ of our salvation. Your Name is ‘the Name
that is above every name’ (Zechariah 14:9; Revelation 19:16; Acts 4:12;
Philippians 2:9-11). We ‘worship the King, the Lord Almighty.’ We sing
‘Holy to the Lord’: ‘Holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is
to come! Worthy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come!
Glory to the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come!’
(Zechariah 14:16,20; Mission Praise, 239).
_____________________________
MALACHI
1:1-2:17
Lord, You look upon us in our sin. What do You see?
You see ‘the Wicked Land. You see ‘a people always under the wrath of
the Lord’ (Malachi 1:4). You look at what Christ has done for us -
‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’; ‘While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us’; ‘Christ died for our sins’ (1 Timothy
1:15; Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3). You look upon us in Christ - and
everything is so very different: ‘God
made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might
become the righteousness of God’ (2 Corinthians 5:21). We thank You,
Lord, that, at the Cross of Christ, we hear Your Word of love - ‘I have
loved you’; ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’ (Malachi 1:2;
Jeremiah 31:3).
3:1-4:6
Lord, You're calling us to be Your faithful people. You say to us,
‘Return to Me.’ You promise to bless those who return to You: ‘I will
return to you.’ You call us to honour You with our ‘tithes and
offerings: ‘Bring the whole tithe (tenth) into the storehouse...’ When
we honour You, Lord, You have promised that You will honour us: ‘Those
who honour Me, I will honour.’ When we honour You with our obedience,
You promise that You will honour us with Your blessing. You promise to
‘open the windows of heaven and pour down for us an overflowing
blessing’. Satan - ‘the devourer’ - will be defeated. We will ‘serve
God’. He will take ‘delight’ in us. We will be Your ‘treasured
possession’ (Malachi 3:8-12,17-19; 1 Samuel 2:30).
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