Day 304: More and More

The Daily Word: Saturday, October 31^st, 2020
Lamentations 4:1-5:22
Hebrews 2:1-18
Psalm 103:1-22
Proverbs 26:23
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. – Heb. 2:1

We should rely on God more and more every single day! The longer you have been a Christian, the more attention – not less! – you must give to God’s Word. The longer you’ve been a Christian, the more attention – not less! – you should give to the voice of God in prayer.

Hebrews 2:1 is addressing a very real tendency. When we first meet Jesus, we get excited! Everything with Him is new, and our prayers get answered left, right and center. But as we walk with Him more and more, we “drift away” (v 1). We get “lukewarm” (Rev. 3:16)! We forget what it means to worship with reckless abandon and throw our lives at Jesus’ feet.

But it’s time to come back. You will not drift away, in Jesus’ name! You will give “more earnest heed” to the things God says, not less! And as you refuse to drift away, you will feel closer to Him than ever before.

Prayer:

Lord, I pray I would rely on You more and more as my life progresses, never less! Help me to put my ear to Your heart, in Jesus’ name. I want to give You all my attention and all my devotion, every day for the rest of my life!

Day 303: Hear Him for Yourself

The Daily Word: Friday, October 30^th, 2020
Lamentations 3:1-66|
Hebrews 1:1-14
Psalm 102:1-28
Proverbs 26:21-22
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds… – Heb. 1:1-2

God speaks “to us” (v 2). For generation after generation, God only spoke “to the fathers by the prophets” (v 1). For centuries, God would only speak through a handful of chosen representatives. If you weren’t a prophet, you were out of luck! You might never hear God’s voice apart from divine intervention.

But because of the cross of Jesus Christ, God has “…in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (v 1). When Jesus died on the cross, the “veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matt. 27:51). The barrier between God’s presence and His people was permanently fractured as heaven invaded earth. And that means that you can hear God for yourself!

On this side of the cross, even “he who is least in the kingdom of God” is an anointed prophet (Lk. 7:28). You live in the greatest period in history: one in which the God of the universe speaks directly to His people! Are you taking advantage of it? Are you spending time with God every day so you can hear His voice for yourself?

Prayer:

Father, thank You for the privilege of hearing Your voice. I am so grateful! I don’t deserve to hear You speak; but by the blood of Jesus You have opened my ears all the same. Thank You for the cross!

Day 302: The Next Generation

The Daily Word: Thursday, October 29^th, 2020
Lamentations 1:1-2:22
Philemon 1:1-25
Psalm 101:1-8
Proverbs 26:20
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
“Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street.” – Lam. 2:19

If we want the next generation to be strong, we have to pray. If we want the next generation to love Jesus, we have to “cry out in the night” and “pour out [our] hearts like water before the face of the Lord!”

Satan comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy (Jn. 10:10). He often attacks children because they are vulnerable. They cannot defend themselves, and they are not old enough to have a solid foundation in the Word of God. The enemy wants to shake their faith before it can be firmly established. The enemy wants to shake their parents’ faith so they are too scared to stand in the gap on behalf of their kids until their children are old enough to stand for themselves! Our response to the enemy’s plan to take out the younger generation should be to lift our hands toward God and contend for their lives and their faith.

Spend some time today praying for the next generation. God will show them He is real! God will teach them how to follow Him with all their hearts, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer:

Lord, I ask that You would protect and perfect our children! Teach them how to love You with their whole heart. I will stand in the gap until my kids are old enough to stand for themselves. Help men and women across our country to take responsibility in prayer for the next generation, in Jesus’ name!

Day 301: With Gladness

The Daily Word: Wednesday, October 28^th, 2020
Jeremiah 51:54-52:34
Titus 3:1-15
Psalm 100:1-5
Proverbs 26:18-19
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
A Psalm of Thanksgiving. Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. – Ps. 100:1-2

Don’t just serve the Lord! Serve Him with gladness. “Gladness” is the Hebrew word simchah (Strong’s H8057), which means “joy, mirth, pleasure and happy rejoicing.” Aren’t you so glad you get to serve God? Aren’t you so grateful you don’t have to waste your life serving yourself, only to find out at the end of all things that serving Him is all that matters anyway?

Jesus saved you. He washed you clean: pure and “white as snow” (Isa. 1:18)! He separated you from your sin, “as far as the east is from the west” (Ps. 103:12)! And because Jesus came and died to “serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28), you now have the joy of serving Him.

Prayer:

Jesus, I will give my life to serve You! But I will not serve begrudgingly. I will serve with gladness because I am grateful, in Jesus’ name!

Day 300: God Uses People

The Daily Word: Tuesday, October 27^th, 2020
Jeremiah 51:1-53
Titus 2:1-15
Psalm 99:1-9
Proverbs 26:17
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Make the arrows bright! Gather the shields! The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it, because it is the vengeance of the Lord, The vengeance for His temple. – Jer. 51:11

It was time for Babylon to pay for her sins. So God “raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes” to come fight against her. When God has a plan, He will use people. Yes, He often intervenes directly! He can send angels to do His will. But His greatest joy is partnering with people to bring His plans to pass.

That means two things for you. First, if you need a miracle, God might send it through someone else. Very rarely will God drop a suitcase with exactly what you need in front of your door and ring the bell! But He will often use someone else to pray for you, give you a gift, or be the shoulder you need to cry on at exactly the right time. Be open to other people, because God may very well be working through them.

Second, there are people around you who need a touch from Heaven, and you are the person God has chosen to make it happen. When you pray for people in your life who need a miracle, God will move! When you give to someone who needs a financial breakthrough, the Holy Spirit will make your gift count. God wants to partner with you! And there is a world full of people who need to see His love on the other side of your “yes.”

Prayer:

Father, thank You for using people. Thank You for surrounding me with people who are a blessing in my life! Thank You for using me to bless others. You didn’t need to partner with us; but You chose to. We are grateful, in Jesus’ name.

Day 299: God Cannot Lie

The Daily Word: Monday, October 26^th, 2020
Jeremiah 49:23-50:46
Titus 1:1-16
Psalm 97:1-98:9
Proverbs 26:13-16
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began… – Titus 1:1-2

God cannot lie. It’s not just that He will not; Scripture says that He literally cannot lie. God – the Truth – is absolutely incapable of producing or saying anything that is false.

Think about the implications for your life. What has God spoken over you? What has He promised you? What has He whispered to you in the “secret place…under the shadow of His wings” (Ps. 91:1, 4)? Whatever He has spoken over you is true! And whatever “evidence” or “reality” you see that contradicts His word is a lie.

So rejoice! Because if God said it, it is true.

For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. – Rom. 3:3-4

Prayer:

Father, thank You that I can trust You! Every single word You speak is a promise. As soon as it leaves Your lips it is as good as done! Help me to trust You and You alone, in Jesus’ name!

Day 298: In the Word

The Daily Word: Sunday, October 25^th, 2020
Jeremiah 48:1-49:22
2 Timothy 4:1-22
Psalm 95:1-96:13
Proverbs 26:9-12
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. – 2 Tim. 4:1-2

The apostle Paul had one last charge for his younger apprentice Timothy: preach the word! If you want to preach the word, you have to know the word. If you want to know the word, you have to be in the word. And if you want to be in the word, you have to love the word.

But I have good news for you. God will put a love for His word in you. As you read your Bible, His Holy Spirit will make the words jump off the page! When you ask God to fill you with a love for His word, He will make you absolutely obsessed with everything He has to say. You will never have to struggle to make time to read Scripture again. It will consume your every waking moment. It will be the only thing you want to read when you wake up, and the last thing you want to see before you go to bed.

Lord, won’t You will us with a love for Your word?

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. – Jer. 31:33

Prayer:

Father, I want to love Your word! I want to be in the word so I can preach the word any time and any place. Thank You for putting a love for Your word in me, in Jesus’ name!

Day 297: Trouble All Around

The Daily Word: Saturday, October 24^th, 2020
Jeremiah 44:24-47:7
2 Timothy 2:22-3:17
Psalm 94:1-23
Proverbs 26:6-8
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
“Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,” says the Lord, “For I am with you; for I will make a complete end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but I will not make a complete end of you… ” – Jer. 46:28

God’s people were scattered. Babylon had overrun Israel! Some of the people were taken into captivity. Others fled to Egypt to avoid violence. There was so much to be afraid of! Insecurity. Poverty and lack of provision. Uncertainty of survival! Yet God’s message to His people was, “Do not fear…for I am with you.”

No matter what is happening around you, God will protect you! He is with you, and He is for you. You might be in the middle of a full-blown geopolitical crisis – but no matter what is happening in a nation or a region around you, God protects His people when they call on His name!

So let the nations rage. Let the ground shake, and the stars fall from the Heavens! Because I trust in the Lord my God, and He is with me.

A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. – Ps. 91:7

Prayer:

Father, thank You for protecting me! I know Your protection is not contingent on my location; it is contingent on my relationship with You. Help me to trust You more than ever before. Even if things around me get worse, my relationship with You will only get better, in Jesus’ name!

Day 296: Will You Stay?

The Daily Word: Friday, October 23^rd, 2020
Jeremiah 42:1-44:23
2 Timothy 2:1-21
Psalm 92:1-93:5
Proverbs 26:3-5
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
“If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. For I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you.” – Jer. 42:10

The people of Israel were scared! They had a choice to make. Would they stay in their land, knowing that the armies of Babylon could overrun them at any time? Or would they flee to Egypt and ask Pharaoh for protection?

Here was God’s word to His people: “If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you.” If God’s people had the courage to stay where He had planted them, they would flourish. The odds of success or failure were irrelevant. The likelihood of being overtaken by their enemies didn’t matter! God said He would protect them. And His word is as good as gold.

The only rule for God’s people was this: don’t run away. And I’m wondering if the same word applies for you today? Would it be easier to run from where God has called you? Would it make more sense on paper to go somewhere else, where crime is lower, the cost of living isn’t so elevated, and life seems that much simpler? But if you leave the place where God needs you, who will take your place?

Will you have the courage to stay when others tell you to run? All that matters is this: where has God called you? Go there, and you will be blessed.

Prayer:

Father, help me to be obedient to Your word. I want to go where You call me. Period! And if You want me to be where I am, I will stay. Thank You for Your constant guidance, in Jesus’ name.

Day 295: He Still Is

The Daily Word: Thursday, October 22^nd, 2020
Jeremiah 39:1-41:18
2 Timothy 1:1-18
Psalm 90:1-91:16
Proverbs 26:1-2
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. – Ps. 90:1-2

Before you were born, He is God. Before you received Jesus, He is God! Before you came to Him for the first time in prayer, He is God. And no matter what you are going through and where you need help here and now: He is God.

God is your refuge. He is your dwelling place! He is your shelter from the storm. He is the only One to whom you can run for strength in times of weakness, and for direction in times of confusion! He has never changed; and He never will.

He is still God: He always has been, and He always will be. Won’t you go to Him?

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. – Heb. 13:8

Prayer:

Father, thank You for never changing. Thank You for always being exactly who I need, exactly when I need You most! Won’t You please bring me back to a place where I run to You for everything? You are still God, and I still need You more than ever before, in Jesus’ name.

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