Today’s Scripture: 2 Chronicles 13-16

Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. – Psalm 119:35

King Asa was a man whose primary aim in life was to please God and do the things of which the Lord approved. In 2 Chronicles 15:1, the prophet Azariah told Asa, “The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”

Asa set His heart to know God and His ways. He spent the first years of his reign purifying the worship of God throughout the land. When he was attacked by a neighboring king with a vast army, Asa turned to God in prayer. And the Lord delivered him. Now, is it possible for you and me to have that kind of relationship with God and that kind of guidance from Him? Of course it is.

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Today’s Scripture: 1 Chronicles 1-9

Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel. – Ezra 7:10

A friend of mine was sorting through a box of old financial records several months after his father died and came across copies of his parents’ income tax returns for the past thirty years. One year his father had earned less than $200. His mother’s salary from teaching school had been their only income. If my friend had read that income tax return as a child, it would have meant nothing to him. But as an adult, those records were a revelation, filled with deep meaning.

A lot of people would put the genealogies of 1 Chronicles 1-9 in the same category as old income tax returns. Some would question the value of lists of names and a discussion of who were the parents of whom. But a lot of what we see in the Bible depends on our maturity and perspective. After reading the Scriptures several times, we should begin to recognize names and recall incidents from their lives. But if we confine our Bible reading to favorite portions of Scripture, we will miss much of the blessing of the entire Word of God.

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Kings 22-25

The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. – Psalm 119:72

Several years ago, a fifteenth-century Gutenberg Bible was sold at Christie’s Auction house in New York for $5.4 million, more than double the previous record for a printed book. Now that’s a dramatic response to the Bible, but not nearly as dramatic as what we see in today’s passage.

King Josiah had arranged to have the temple repaired, and as the workmen went about their tasks, they found a book. But it wasn’t just any old book; they found The Book! For some reason, it had been lost or mislaid or tossed in a corner by those who didn’t know the value of it. Or perhaps it had been hidden by some idolatrous priest who hoped it would never again see the light of day.

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Today’s Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-11

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! – 1 John 3:1

Bible scholars and theologians usually list the attributes of God under two headings: His natural attributes and His moral attributes.

His natural attributes tell us of a God who is all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, eternal. His moral attributes tell us of a God who is holy, righteous, faithful, full of mercy and kindness, and who is love. To contemplate any one of these attributes by itself staggers us. But it is His undying love for us that thrills our hearts.

Some years ago my wife and I were visiting the home of friends who live in Oklahoma City. We arrived midafternoon, and my wife went into the living room to join a ladies’ Bible study. I went into the back bedroom to prepare a message I was to give that night at a church banquet.

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Today’s Scripture: Esther 1-2

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. – Jeremiah 17:7-8

As far as I know, the book of Esther is the only book in the Bible in which the central figure rose to prominence by winning a beauty contest. But Esther never considered her promotion selfishly. In fact, she put everything on the line, including her life, to do the will of God in a very difficult situation.

For Esther and her people, the Jews, circumstances were bad. They had been taken captive from their homeland many years before and were second-class citizens in this place. Now a plot was being hatched to exterminate them from the face of the earth. But the hand of God was leading Esther and her Uncle Mordecai in what seemed to be a God-forsaken place.

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Today’s Scripture: 1 Samuel 16-19

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. – 2 Corinthians 4:16

Most of us put a lot of stock in outward appearance. While there’s nothing wrong with combing our hair and smelling good, it says a lot about our basic orientation to life. We are most concerned with how other people see us.

Not so with God. When the Lord sent Samuel to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem to anoint one of his sons as king, Samuel was impressed with Eliab, but God said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Does that mean that a big, good-looking guy cannot be a spiritual leader? No, of course not. It just means that God looks for something deeper than that: a heart that is given to Him.

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Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 36-39

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. – Psalm 32:7

As I’ve talked with people and listened to their prayers, many of them are concerned with seemingly impossible situations: long-term unemployment, terminal illnesses, rebellious and estranged children.

These are real issues in today’s world. The international scene is filled with chaos, hate, and mistrust. There seems to be no power on earth that can turn things around to bring peace and tranquillity. It all seems overwhelming. And it is, except for God.

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Today’s Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11

But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. – Daniel 5:20

We were on our way to Steamboat Springs for a few days of skiing. The road was icy, and the wind was blowing so hard we went gliding right off the road into the snow. Some of us got out and tried to push the car back onto the road. The combination of slickness and a large snow bank was too much resistance for us. The car wouldn’t budge.

Eventually, a good Samaritan in a four-wheel-drive truck came along and pulled us out.

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Today’s Scripture: John 17:25-26

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. – Ephesians 5:25

I greeted our youngest boy with, “Son, what did you do in school today?” To my utter surprise, he said the teacher had them write a definition of love.

That sounded more like an assignment for a college-level sociology or philosophy class than a bunch of eight-year-olds. But I controlled my surprise and said, “What did you write?”

“Well, it sure could have been better.”

“But what did you say?”

“Well,” he replied, “it sure could have been longer.”

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Today’s Scripture: Mark 8-10

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. – Acts 20:24

For many people, being a servant of Jesus Christ sounds romantic and idealistic. But serving Christ is a demanding proposition, as we see in Mark 10:32-34.

And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, saying, “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles, and they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him; and the third day he shall rise again.” (KJV)

Before these remarks, Jesus and His disciples had been in Galilee. The people had been friendly and had turned out in large numbers. The ministry had gone well, and the disciples may have begun to think that serving Jesus was a great idea. Friendly people, big crowds. And then one day Jesus dropped the bombshell: “We’re leaving Galilee and going up to Jerusalem!”

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Chronicles 29-32

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. – Romans 12:11

Isn’t it good to see people give it all they’ve got, whatever they’re doing? That’s what we see in today’s section of Scripture concerning King Hezekiah. Second Chronicles 31:21 tells us, “And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered” (KJV).

This is God’s evaluation of Hezekiah’s life: he sought the Lord and served Him with all his heart.

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