Day 355: God’s Open Invitation

CityLight Church’s One Year Bible Reading Plan
Monday, December 21^st, 2015
Zechariah 1:1-21
Revelation 12:1-17
Psalm 140:1-13
Proverbs 30:17
For full text click here: http://bit.ly/1JBcQvp

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:

“Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. – Zech 1:3

Don’t spend your whole life waiting for God to make the first move. God already made His move. He has already taken the first step. He sent His Only Son – Jesus Christ – to die so that you can receive eternal life.

God gave everything He had to give. He offers to receive us with open arms when we repent and turn to Him. Return to Him, and He will return to you! This is not just a possibility; it is a promise.

The ball is in your court. Will you return to Him?

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. – Jas 4:8

Prayer:

Father, thank You for Your kindness. Thank You for Your goodness! You always receive me with open arms, and I am forever grateful.

Day 354: Be Strong

CityLight Church’s One Year Bible Reading Plan
Sunday, December 20^th, 2015
Haggai 1:1-2:23
Revelation 11:1-19
Psalm 139:1-24
Proverbs 30:15-16
For full text click here: http://bit.ly/1w650zr

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:

‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’ – Hag 2:5

The people of Judah had a monumental task ahead of them. God asked them to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem to its former glory. They didn’t have the time, or the resources, to make it happen. But God made a promise: His Holy Spirit would help them get the work done.

In Haggai 2, God encourages His people to “be strong” three times. The Hebrew word for “strong” has multiple meanings. On the one hand, the word can be translated as “be strong”: this was clearly divine encouragement for the people of Israel to get their act together. On the other hand, the word might properly be translated as “be strengthened.” The people of Israel were to understand that the only way they could ever do what God was asking was to be strengthened by His Holy Spirit!

Don’t try and live out your destiny alone. Be strengthened by God’s Holy Spirit. Be strong in faith, knowing that God calls you friend. If we try and do anything in our own strength, we will fail; but when the Spirit of God strengthens us, we cannot help but succeed!

Prayer:

Father, I will rely on Your Holy Spirit for strength! Fill me with Your power. Help me to do all the things You have called me to do, in Jesus’ name!

Day 353: Your Whole Heart

CityLight Church’s One Year Bible Reading Plan
Saturday, December 19^th, 2015
Zephaniah 1:1-3:20
Revelation 10:1-11
Psalm 138:1-8
Proverbs 30:11-14
For full text click here: http://bit.ly/1x3QWxv

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:

A Psalm of David. I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to You. – Ps 138:1

David made a decision. He was going to praise God with his whole heart, and not just part of it. He was going to praise God with his best efforts, and not just leftover energy. Are you ready to make that decision? If there’s any part of your heart that you haven’t given over fully to God, consider giving it to Him today. Right now. As soon as you give Him your whole heart, He can make every part of you a new creation!

When Saul was made king, God gave him a new heart (1 Sam 10:9). When Solomon was made king, God enlarged his heart (1 Kings 4:29). Christ has already made you royalty, so why are you waiting to rule? Give Him everything you’ve got: here and now. Let God have your whole heart.

Prayer:

Father, I give You my whole heart, in Jesus’ name! I don’t want to hold anything back from You anymore. Thank You for the freedom to trust You unconditionally!

Day 352: Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Song

CityLight Church’s One Year Bible Reading Plan
Friday, December 18^th, 2015
Habakkuk 1:1-3:19
Revelation 9:1-21
Psalm 137:1-9
Proverbs 30:10
For full text click here: http://bit.ly/1AvhOUk

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:

How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? – Ps 137:4

God’s people were tired. They had been taken captive and brought to Babylon against their will. How could they possibly sing at a time like this? How could they find joy when there was suffering all around them?

Our joy is found in Jesus Christ. The joy He gives us depends on our position, not our condition. We have joy because we are Heaven-bound! If God is on our side, whom shall we fear? Nobody should be able to steal the joy we have in Jesus Christ – ever.

Your “captivity” might be literal, or it might be symbolic. Maybe you’re trapped in a dead-end job you hate. Perhaps you’re stuck in New York City and you just can’t take it any more. No matter what you’re going through, your privilege is to sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land: to experience absolute, immovable joy, no matter where you are!

Prayer:

Father, the joy I have in Your Son Jesus Christ is my strength. Help me to be joyful at all times, no matter what’s happening around me. Protect my joy, in Jesus’ name!

Day 351: Is Jealousy Bad?

CityLight Church’s One Year Bible Reading Plan
Thursday, December 17^th, 2015
Nahum 1:1-3:19
Revelation 8:1-13
Psalm 136:1-26
Proverbs 30:7-9
For full text click here: http://bit.ly/1uUsZ4o

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:

God is jealous, and the Lord avenges… – Nah 1:2

I grew up hearing it was not Biblical to be jealous. Yet Nahum 1:2 says that God is jealous. So what gives? Why is God allowed to be jealous, but we’re not?

God’s jealousy and our jealousy come from different places. God’s jealousy is perfect; He is jealous from a place of love. He loves us perfectly, and wants us to understand that nobody else can love us like He can. He is jealous for each and every man and woman: He wants us all to be with Him in Heaven for all eternity.

Our jealousy, on the other hand, is imperfect; we are jealous from a place of fear. We are jealous when someone around us has more stuff than us, or gets more recognition than we do, because we’re afraid of what that says about us. Fear and love are mutually exclusive: there is no fear in love, because perfect love casts out all fear (1 Jn 4:18). That is why God is allowed to be jealous, and we are not!

Prayer:

Father, thank You for Your perfect jealousy. I want to be zealous – full of passion and zeal for Your name – but never jealous. Help me to know the difference.

Day 350: Though You Are Little

CityLight Church’s One Year Bible Reading Plan
Wednesday, December 16^th, 2015
Micah 5:1-7:20
Revelation 7:1-17
Psalm 135:1-21
Proverbs 30:5-6
For full text click here: http://bit.ly/1uQO3cN

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” – Mic 5:2

The population of Bethlehem undulated over time. When David was King of Israel, tens of thousands of people lived in the vibrant city of Bethlehem. However, by the time Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, some scholars estimate the population had dwindled to as few as 300 people.

Life is full of up’s and down’s. You might feel like your strongest moments are in the past. But God can use your absolute lowest moments to make you shine. He will choose the low points to showcase His goodness and His glory!

Jesus came out of Bethlehem at the low point of the city’s history. In the same way, God will show His glory through you when you least expect it.

“Though she be but little, she is fierce!” – William Shakespeare

Prayer:

Father, You are the God Who Restores! Show Your glory through me! I know it doesn’t matter what I’ve done, or where I’ve been; I am with You now, and that is enough.

Day 349: Full of Power

CityLight Church’s One Year Bible Reading Plan
Tuesday, December 15^th, 2015
Micah 1:1-4:13
Revelation 6:1-17
Psalm 134:1-3
Proverbs 30:1-4
For full text click here: http://bit.ly/1wtPlie

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:

But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might… – Mic 3:8

God’s Holy Spirit fills us with power, justice and might. Micah was full of the Holy Spirit and His power; and at the moment you give your life to Christ, so are you! To be “full” means to be filled to capacity. Genesis 21:19 uses the same word to describe a wineskin bursting with liquid; Genesis 24:16 describes a pitcher overflowing with water.

Micah knew what you and I must know. If we try and do anything on our own – without God – we will fail. Yet if we allow His Holy Spirit to work through us, we will be so full of God’s power that we will be bursting at the seams!

Prayer:

Father, thank You for filling me with power, justice and might. I am only strong in You. Fill me up, Lord!

Day 348: God In Your City

CityLight Church’s One Year Bible Reading Plan
Monday, December 14^th, 2015
Jonah 1:1-4-11
Revelation 5:1-14
Psalm 133:1-3
Proverbs 29:26-27
For full text click here: http://bit.ly/134y0Rc

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:

So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. – Jon 3:5

Nineveh was a huge city. It took three days to walk from one side to the other (v 3)! God gave Jonah a crazy task: go into this humongous city, and tell them they are all sinners!

God’s request would seem ludicrous to anyone on the surface. But Jonah had learned his lesson. He stepped out in faith, and we see the fruit of Jonah’s boldness here: the entire city repented and praised God.

Jonah walked into the city’s borders and simply preached what God had told him to preach. His message was so impactful that the king himself heard it, and used the message Jonah preached to shape public policy. The entire city repented, fasted, and turned to God!

Where has God called you to go? Jonah had to learn the hard way that it is impossible to flee from God’s presence. You and I, however, can learn from his experience.

Be bold. Preach the Gospel. Your entire city might be hanging on the words God has given you to speak!

Prayer:

Father, give me strength and boldness to preach the Gospel everywhere I go! Remove fear from my vocabulary. Fill me with faithful obedience in Jesus’ name!!

Day 347: The Power of Presence

CityLight Church’s One Year Bible Reading Plan
Sunday, December 13^th, 2015
Obadiah 1:1-21
Revelation 4:1-11
Psalm 132:1-18
Proverbs 29:24-25
For full text click here: http://bit.ly/1wOBMfn

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:

“But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.” – Obad 1:17

In God’s presence we find deliverance, holiness and prosperity. In God’s presence, mountains melt like wax (Ps 97:5). In God’s presence, no enemy can stand!

God is everywhere; yet if we are to benefit from His presence, we have to value Him. The benefit you exact from spending time in His presence will be proportional to the desire you have to be impacted in the secret place. Make a decision today to value God’s presence more than anything in this world. He will meet you – face to face – at your level of desire.

Prayer:

God, help me to value Your presence! Your presence is the only place I want to be. I find peace, hope, love and joy in Your presence!

Day 346: What to Make of Bad Dreams

CityLight Church’s One Year Bible Reading Plan
Saturday, December 12^th, 2015
Amos 7:1-9:15
Revelation 3:7-22
Psalm 131:1-3
Proverbs 29:23
For full text click here: http://bit.ly/13eG7LK

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:

So the Lord relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” said the Lord. – Amos 7:3

Amos prayed, and God relented. God showed Amos something bad that was going to happen in a dream. In response, Amos prayed; and guess what? The dire outcome Amos saw in his dream was averted.

Whenever you have a bad dream, take it as a reminder to pray. Pray the people you see affected in the dream would be strong in faith. Pray the events God is showing you would not come to pass.

Don’t let bad dreams scare you into fear; use them to propel you into faith.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for giving me divine warnings in dreams. Help me to heed Your warnings when I see them, and pray that crisis would be averted, in Jesus’ name!

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