The Daily Word: Wednesday, November 20^th, 2019
Ezekiel 40:28-41:26
James 4:1-17
Psalm 118:19-29
Proverbs 28:3-5
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord. – Ps 118:19

God has opened the gates of righteousness. He sent Jesus Christ – His only Son – to die on the Cross in your place. God’s presence requires perfection; but God knew you could never be perfect; so He sent Someone to die in your place. Jesus died a perfect death so you could live a perfect life!

When you believe in Jesus, you have become the “righteousness of God:”

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – 2 Cor 5:21

God has opened the gates. Heaven is waiting! Will you walk through?

Prayer:

Father, I am saying YES to Jesus Christ today. I am walking through the gates of righteousness! And now that I have Jesus, I will spend the rest of my life praising You.

© Michael D. White, 2019. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Tuesday, November 19^th, 2019
Ezekiel 39:1-40:27
James 2:18-3:18
Psalm 118:1-18
Proverbs 28:2
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe–and tremble! – Jas 2:19

Believing that God exists is not the same as giving your life to Jesus. A vague, non-committal belief that God is real is not saving faith! Curiosity that wonders if this life is all there is is not enough to make it to Heaven. But confession that Jesus is Lord – and a life lived as evidence of this belief – is the real deal.

Do you believe in God? Good! Even the demons believe and tremble. But there is more! Knowing God is real is not the same as admitting your imperfections and acknowledging your need for a Savior! You have one chance to live your life for Jesus. Don’t waste another day living for anyone else. Give your life to Jesus, and never look back.

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” – Heb 10:13

Prayer:

Father, I want to live my life for Jesus! I pray I would live my life without reservation and with great faith. I love You, Jesus! And I thank You for loving me first.

© Michael D. White, 2019. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Monday, November 18^th, 2019
Ezekiel 37:1-38:23
James 1:19-2:17
Psalm 117:1-2
Proverbs 28:1
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
…for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. – Jas 1:20

There is no good fruit that can come from flying off the handle. You might feel like you “have to:” like you have no choice but to react with anger and rage! But you don’t “have to.” You’re an adult. You’re led by the Holy Spirit; not your emotions! And you certainly don’t need to. The wrath of man (your temper) will never lead to the righteousness of God (your blessing).

But it’s not just your blessing that’s at stake. God made you a messenger. He put you in your family, your workplace, and your city to tell people about Jesus. Yelling at people won’t product disciples! But loving them will.

Be slow to anger. Be quick to love! And the result will be abundant blessing: both for you, and for everyone around you, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer:

Father, help me to control my temper! I only want to do things that lead to righteousness. And I confess that being angry won’t get me where I want to go. I give my anger to You; and in exchange, I receive Your perfect peace, in Jesus’ name.

© Michael D. White, 2019. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Sunday, November 17^th, 2019
Ezekiel 35:1-36:38
James 1:1-18
Psalm 116:1-19
Proverbs 27:23-27
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it…” – Ezek 35:1-2

What mountain are you facing? This is how God told Ezekiel to deal with his mountains (i.e. the things that stood in his way from walking out his Divine destiny): “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it.”

Prophesy against your mountain! Speak to your mountain and tell it to move! Declare the word of the Lord over whatever obstacle you are facing, and expect the very foundations of that mountain to tremble and fail!

Your mountain is real. But the word of God is true. Declare the word of God over whatever you’re facing this morning, and expect that mountain to move!

“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” – Mk 11:23

Prayer:

Father, I am going to prophesy against my mountain. I am going to condemn the distraction and destruction the enemy wants to let loose in my life; and I am going to declare victory and breakthrough over every battle I ever face! I thank You and praise You for victory in advance, in Jesus’ name!

© Michael D. White, 2019. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Saturday, November 16^th, 2019
Ezekiel 33:1-34:31
Hebrews 13:1-25
Psalm 115:1-18
Proverbs 27:21-22
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. – Ezek 33:32

Church is not a concert! Sunday service should not be a performance where we sit and listen, waiting to clap when the show is over. Our time in the presence of God should not just be nice; it should be transformational!

When you go to church, do you come home different? When you spend time in prayer, do you say “Amen” and feel changed? When you read God’s Word, do you feel renewed? We should not only hear what God is saying; we should also do what He has said. It is as we do what we hear that we will be forever changed.

What has God called you to do? And do you have the courage to do it?

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. – Jas 1:22-24

Prayer:

Father, make me not only a hearer of the Word, but a doer also. I want to be changed in Your presence! I want my mind to be renewed as I read your Word. I want to be transformed as I spend time in prayer. Thank You for being faithful to make all things new, in Jesus’ name!

© Michael D. White, 2019. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Friday, November 15^th, 2019
Ezekiel 31:1-32:32
Hebrews 12:14-29
Psalm 113:1-114:8
Proverbs 27:18-20
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord… – Heb 12:14

Peace and holiness don’t just happen; you have to pursue them! Jesus died to make you holy! He died to give you His perfect peace: “…the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding…” (Phil 4:7). But if you want the things He died for you to have, you have to pursue them.

Be intentional: no more wasted time, and no more passive attitude. Pursue holiness. Pursue peace! Drop anything you’re pursuing that is not of God, and run after Him instead.

Prayer:

Father, I want to pursue You! Give me the time, and give me the energy, to pursue You with my whole heart, in Jesus’ name!

© Michael D. White, 2019. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Thursday, November 14^th, 2019
Ezekiel 29:1-30:26
Hebrews 11:32-12:13
Psalm 112:1-10
Proverbs 27:17
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt.” – Ezek 29:1-2

God speaks through people. God needed to get a message to Egypt. They were headed for destruction unless they changed their ways! God, in His great mercy, wanted to warn them. But He didn’t send a plague, or yell down at them with a big booming voice from Heaven: He sent a person.  

When God wants to get you a message, He will often speak through someone else. Sometimes we expect that God is going to yell down at us from Heaven! But we should never ignore when other people speak wisdom into our lives. This is, by the way, why we must be in community. What if God is trying to tell you something, but you keep turning away the messenger?

Receive other people into your life as a blessing from God. What you need from Him, just might come through them.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for getting me the message, and thank You for the messenger! I know You have infinite ways of speaking to me. Help me to pay attention, and to understand that the message I’m waiting for may come through someone else.

© Michael D. White, 2019. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Wednesday, November 13^th, 2019
Ezekiel 27:1-28:26
Hebrews 11:17-31
Psalm 111:1-10
Proverbs 27:15-16
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. – Heb 11:24-26

Moses had riches. He had wealth. He was the “son of Pharaoh’s daughter:” raised in the palace, with all the benefits that come with royal status! But he gave it all up. He recognized a call that was greater than personal pleasure. He shared his power and privilege with the marginalized, and worked with God to fulfill His mission for His people!

In what ways are you abundantly blessed? Are you willing to give up your power and privilege to suffer affliction with the people of God? To benefit everyone instead of just yourself?

You have something to offer! God has filled you up with something unique. Now offer it. Pour out that with which God has filled you up! You will not regret it; and the whole world will benefit as a result.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for blessing me so abundantly. I am so incredibly grateful for everything You have done in my life. Now I’m going to make it my mission to go out and share with others, in Jesus’ name!

© Michael D. White, 2019. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Tuesday, November 12^th, 2019
Ezekiel 24:1-26:21
Hebrews 11:1-16
Psalm 110:1-7
Proverbs 27:14
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed you, and you were not cleansed, you will not be cleansed of your filthiness anymore, till I have caused My fury to rest upon you. – Ezek 24:13

God never wanted to destroy His people. But His people would not seek Him. They would not love Him! They would not listen to Him. When He tried to “cleanse them,” they refused to get clean. Instead of accepting God’s goodness, they ran towards the world’s uncleanness.

How much of God’s goodness you see in your life is up to you! You can either choose destruction apart from God, or blessing in the Kingdom of God. God would never choose to be far from you! But when you choose to be far from God, He gives you up to destruction. He lets you have your way. He loves you so much that He allows you to have free will and make your own choices; even if it leads to your demise.

Come back to God. A lack of blessing in your life is not an indication that God doesn’t want to bless you; it is a siren call for you to come back to God where it’s safe. The only way to avoid destruction and find blessing is by becoming hidden in Him!

Prayer:

Father, I’m making the decision today to come back to You. Speak to me, and bring me back into Your presence, in Jesus’ name!

© Michael D. White, 2019. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Monday, November 11^th, 2019
Ezekiel 23:1-49
Hebrews 10:18-39
Psalm 109:1-31
Proverbs 27:13
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. – Heb 10:22

The writer of Hebrews offer us a crash course in how to approach God in prayer:

1. Draw near with a “true heart.” Approach God with genuine sincerity. Are you coming to Him to get what you want from Him? Or are you coming to Him to ask what He wants for you?
2. Draw near in “full assurance of faith.” Your belief in Jesus gives you access to the presence of God. You don’t have to go to God on your own; you get to go to Him “hidden with” Christ Jesus (Col 3:3).
3. Leave your evil conscience at the door! Scripture says we should have our hearts “sprinkled from an evil conscience” when we go to God. Prayer is not the place to feel miserable about yourself because of your past. Prayer is the place to be uplifted as God reminds you of your future!
4. Draw near “washed with pure water.”  Ephesians 5:26 tells us that washing of water happens “by the word.” Bring the word of God with you into prayer! There is no more effective way to pray than standing on God’s word, and reminding Him of His promises (see Isaiah 55:11)!

You get to pray with boldness because Jesus died on the Cross to give you an invitation into the presence of God. This is how we should enter into the presence of God: with perfect confidence in Jesus’ perfect blood, knowing that the Cross has made us holy and clean, with nothing to hide.

Prayer:

Father, I ask for a transformed prayer life in Jesus’ name! I want to be confident and bold in prayer. I want to know (and feel!) that You love me! Thank You that, because of the blood of Jesus, I get to approach You clean and with nothing to hide!

© Michael D. White, 2019. All rights reserved.