Day 90: You Do It!

The Daily Word: Tuesday, March 31^st, 2020
Deuteronomy 16:1-17:20
Luke 9:7-27
Psalm 72:1-20
Proverbs 12:8-9
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” – Lk. 9:13

The disciples were panicked. They looked to Jesus for a miracle. Thousands of people have gathered to hear Jesus preach, and they were hungry. So the disciples asked Jesus for help. But Jesus gave them a surprise answer: “You give them something to eat.”

You see, Jesus had already given the disciples His power and authority:

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority… – Lk. 9:1a

So they didn’t need to come to Him again and ask for the same miracle-working power and authority He had already given them! They didn’t need to come to Jesus and ask for help doing what He already told them to do. They just needed to trust that the same Holy Spirit who moved through Jesus would move through them.

Stop asking God to do things He already delegated to you. Heal the sick (Matt. 10:8). Preach the Gospel! Declare blessing over your finances. Proclaim healing over our country and the world. You have the power and authority of Jesus! Are you going to use it?

Prayer:

Father, thank You for trusting me with power and authority. I want to glorify and honor You in everything I do! Help me to step out in boldness like never before, in Jesus’ name!

Archives
See commentary from this day in 2014.
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See commentary from this day in 2019.

Day 89: It’s Not Too Late

The Daily Word: Monday, March 30^th, 2020
Deuteronomy 13:1-15:23
Luke 8:40-9:6
Psalm 71:1-24
Proverbs 12:5-7
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.” – Lk. 8:49

Jairus asked Jesus for a miracle. He, “..fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying” (vv. 41-42). Jesus agreed to come and heal her! But as He went, “…the multitudes thronged Him” (v. 42). A woman with an issue of blood, who desperately needed healing, came to Jesus. He stopped and gave her His attention. He took so long ministering to her and dealing with other people who stopped Him along the way that Jairus’ daughter died. Her time was up.

Jairus had a choice when he heard the news. Would he get bitter because it looked like someone else had cut him in line? Would he get upset because someone else came and got their miracle before he got his? Or would he believe? Would he still believe that even if all hope seemed lost, God would do what He had promised to do?

It’s not too late. Don’t be discouraged if someone else gets their miracle before you. There is still more than enough of His presence and healing power to go around. God will do what He promised to do at the appointed time! Make a decision not to fear, and only believe.

But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” – Lk. 8:50

Prayer:

Father, increase my faith! Help me to believe Your word more than ever before. I will not be discouraged when it looks like You’re blessing everyone else but me! I am encouraged, because there is always more of You to receive.

Day 88: I’ve Been Through Some Stuff

The Daily Word: Sunday, March 29th, 2020
Deuteronomy 11:1-12:32
Luke 8:22-39
Psalm 70:1-5
Proverbs 12:4
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
“Know today that I do not speak with your children, who have not known and who have not seen the chastening of the Lord your God, His greatness and His mighty hand and His outstretched arm…” – Deut. 11:2

God was not speaking to the, “…children, who have not known and who have not seen the chastening of the Lord…” (v. 2). He was speaking to the adults! The people of Israel had experienced victory (the Lord bringing them out of Egypt); but they had also experienced defeat (plague, wandering, and defeat at the hands of their enemies due to their own disobedience). But God’s promise, through it all, was that the more that they experienced and tasted life, the more they would hear His voice.

You’ve been through some stuff. Some of it has been good! And some of it has been bad. But the fruit of it all – whether you realize it or not – is you know how to listen to God’s voice. You know when something is from Him, and when it’s not! Because your life experience has taught you how to listen to the voice of God.

What you’ve been through is not a curse; it is a blessing that allows you to hear the voice of the Lord more clearly than ever before. God has endowed you with an incredibly valuable skill: to hear His voice at all times.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for speaking to me. Thank You for enhancing the clarity of Your voice with every passing moment, and with every passing experience! The more I walk through life, the more I will hear You. I declare it in Jesus’ name!

Archives
See commentary from this day in 2014.
See commentary from this day in 2015.
See commentary from this day in 2016.
See commentary from this day in 2017.
See commentary from this day in 2018.
See commentary from this day in 2019.

Day 87: A Consuming Fire

The Daily Word: Saturday, March 28^th, 2020
Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22
Luke 8:4-21
Psalm 69:19-36
Proverbs 12:2-3
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Therefore understand today that the Lord your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has said to you. – Deut. 9:3

It’s comforting to know that God goes before you. Before He calls you into a new place, He goes first. He prepares the ground where you are about to walk. His angels are, “…ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14).

Even more comforting is how God goes before you. He goes before you, “…as a consuming fire” (Deut. 9:3)! God is not a passive force. He is not a reluctant participant in your life. He is always willing to charge into a place before you arrive to burn up anything that doesn’t belong there and guarantee your success on His behalf.

God is active, and He is moving. Is He calling you somewhere new? Take comfort and know that before you get there, He is already there, “…as a consuming fire!”

Prayer:

Father, thank You for going before me! Thank You for being a consuming fire that burns out the dross in my life, and displaces my enemies before I arrive. You are amazing, and I love You, in Jesus’ name.

Day 86: He Chose You

The Daily Word: Friday, March 27^th, 2020
Deuteronomy 7:1-8:20
Luke 7:36-8:3
Psalm 69:1-18
Proverbs 12:1
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
“For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.” – Deut. 7:6

God chose you. You are a holy people to God. He has chosen you, “…for Himself.” You are a special treasure of His on the earth. There is nothing and no one God values more than you! He could have picked anyone to be His beloved! And He chose you.

What do you think you’re worth to God? Sometimes we live as if God doesn’t care about us. But God gave His most prized possession to redeem your soul. He gave His Only Son, Jesus Christ, to make sure that you would be with Him for all eternity!

So don’t waste another moment thinking your life doesn’t matter, or that you’re insignificant to God. You are of infinite worth and value in God’s sight! You mean everything to Him. And Jesus died to prove it.

Prayer:

Father, help me to understand my value! I pray You would never allow me to see myself as “less than” or “not enough.” I am worthy of Your love because Jesus died to make me worthy, in Jesus’ name!

Day 85: Something New

The Daily Word: Thursday, March 26^th, 2020
Deuteronomy 5:1-6:25
Luke 7:11-35
Psalm 68:19-35
Proverbs 11:29-31
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. – Deut. 5:3

God is doing something new with His people today. He is demonstrating His faithfulness to us – the current generation of His people – in a way that the generation before never got to experience. He is shepherding us through a global pandemic. He is protecting us from harm. He is shielding us from violence. He is showing us that when we turn to Him with our whole heart, plagues stop in their tracks and are removed from the earth.

Be filled with hope this morning. Every disaster is an opportunity to experience God’s faithfulness like never before. This virus will not be your death; it will be an experience that ushers you into Resurrection life. God did not cause this virus; but He will use the climate it has created to do something the world has never seen before. He is doing something new. Are you ready?

When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” – Jn. 11:4

Prayer:

Father, we are believing for a miracle. We know that even as we pray, you are stopping COVID-19 in its tracks. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for showing us something that Your people have never seen before. Thank You for doing something new, in Jesus’ name!

Day 84: Possessing the Promise

The Daily Word: Wednesday, March 25^th, 2020
Deuteronomy 4:1-49
Luke 6:39-7:10
Psalm 68:1-18
Proverbs 11:28
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
“Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you.” – Deut. 4:1

Living is not possession. You can live your entire life without ever laying hold of what God has for you to possess. Have you received God’s promise for your life? Or are you just alive? Have you fully and completely taken hold over the destiny He put you on this earth to fulfill?

If not, step one is to ask. Ask God what your destiny is! He will tell you. And step two is to do whatever God says. Moses’ final exhortation to the people of Israel was, “Go in.” Don’t just look at the promise! Take the promise. Believe that what God says is yours actually belongs to you, and go in and possess it.

Today is the day to lay hold of your destiny like never before. Why wait, when God says it’s yours?

Prayer:

Father, I don’t want to live without purpose anymore! I know You have an amazing destiny for my life, and I thank You for it in Jesus’ name. I want to possess Your promise for me: now more than ever before.

Day 83: Power to Heal

The Daily Word: Tuesday, March 24^th, 2020
Deuteronomy 2:1-3:29
Luke 6:12-38
Psalm 67:1-7
Proverbs 11:27
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
…And they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. – Lk. 6:18a-19

First, Jesus spent “all night” in prayer:

Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. – Lk. 6:12

Next, He “came down” to a multitude of sick people who needed healing:

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases… – Lk. 6:17

Then, the power of God went out from Jesus and “healed them all.”

And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. – Lk. 6:19

The world doesn’t need any more clever, thought-provoking sermons. The world needs power. The world needs healing! The world needs a touch from Heaven: saturation with the presence of God!

But you cannot get the power without the prayer. We must pray first; and the power will come.

Prayer:

Father, I want to pray like never before so I can see Your power like never before! Fill me with the healing touch that this world needs. I will lay hands on the sick and they will recover, in Jesus’ name!

Day 82: In His Own House

The Daily Word: Monday, March 23^rd, 2020
Numbers 36:1-Deuteronomy 1:46
Luke 5:29-6:11
Psalm 66:1-20
Proverbs 11:24-26
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. – Lk. 5:29

Levi – whom we know as Matthew – met Jesus at his job. Jesus saw him, “sitting at the tax office” (v. 27), and told him, “Follow Me” (v. 27). “So [Matthew] left all, rose up, and followed Him” (v. 28). This is radical devotion to Jesus! Matthew had never even met the Man before! But there was something about Jesus that caused Matthew to abandon everything he had ever known for the chance to sit at Jesus’ feet.

But Matthew’s devotion was not just private. He didn’t worship Jesus in isolation. Matthew’s first order of business as a brand new baby Christian was to throw a party – a “great feast in his own house.” He immediately invited Jesus into His home; and then he invited all his tax collector friends to meet this Jesus who had just changed his life.

When people come into your home, do they meet Jesus? Do they leave with a conviction to follow Him? Are you living a life of such radical devotion that anyone who steps foot into your dwelling cannot help but wonder who this Jesus is? Evangelism doesn’t have to be hard. Open your home to Jesus; and then invite others.

Prayer:

Lord, make me a man of radical devotion. I want to host You in my home; and I want to invite others! I pray that every single person who walks in the door of my home would have a profound and powerful encounter with Jesus Christ!

Day 81: The Best Medicine

The Daily Word: Sunday, March 22^nd, 2020
Numbers 33:40-35:34
Luke 5:12-28
Psalm 65:1-13
Proverbs 11:23
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. – Lk. 5:15-16

The word was getting out about Jesus. People heard He healed! So they came in “great multitudes” (v. 15) to hear His word and be healed by Him. But the more people came, the more Jesus withdrew.

As the demand on Jesus increased, His burden to pray increased. More and more people came to Jesus! So He spent more and more time alone in prayer. The higher the level of strain and stress the world puts on you, the more you need Jesus – not less! The best way – and the only healthy way! – to respond to stress is intimate time in prayer.

We live in a stressful world! And what you need most is time alone with Jesus. Are you getting what you need? Are you withdrawing into the wilderness for time in prayer?

Prayer:

Father, the more stress I have in my life, the more I want to lean on You. Remind me to come to You every day. The greater the burden to find solutions and solve problems (and keep my kids busy during coronavirus!), the greater my burden to pray! Help me to bring every burden right where it belongs: laid at Your feet, in Jesus’ name.

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