The Daily Word: Friday, April 30^th, 2021
Judges 11:1-12:15
John 1:1-28
Psalm 101:1-8
Proverbs 14:13-14
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. – Jn. 1:1-3

In the beginning was the Word. Notice that “Word” is capitalized to refer to God. But we know we are not talking about God the Father, because He is referred to separately as “God” in verse 1. “The Word was with God.” Someone else was with God in the beginning, and “all things were made through Him.” So who is Scripture talking about here? Jesus!

Jesus is the Word personified. The original Greek translates “Word” as logos (Strong’s G3056). Logos is a multi-dimensional word. It can refer to what someone has said or is saying: a decree or declaration. But it can also refer to the reason or plan behind what is said. Thayer & Smith’s Bible Dictionary notes that the word logos was first employed by a Greek philosopher named Heraclitus around 600 B.C. “to designate the divine reason or plan which coordinates a changing universe.”[1] The logos is the Divine plan. And who is the perfect Plan but Jesus Christ Himself? We were perfectly sinful and in need of a Savior; yet God loved us so much that He sent a Rescuer to save us!

So what does this all mean for you? Jesus is His Word. You can trust your Bible just as you would trust Jesus. And what’s more, you cannot claim to love Jesus if you do not love His Word. Period. Because to love Jesus is to love His Word.

Prayer:

Father, help me to fall in love with Jesus more than ever before. Also, help me to love the Word – my Bible – more than ever before! I want to be madly in love with Jesus; and I know that means I must madly love His Word.

© Michael D. White, 2021. All rights reserved.

[1] https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/logos.html

The Daily Word: Thursday, April 29^th, 2021
Judges 9:22-10:18
Luke 24:13-53
Psalm 100:1-5
Proverbs 14:11-12
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
…God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, that the crime done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be settled and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brothers. – Judges 9:23-24

Ill will is a spirit. Abimelech had committed a heinous, evil act. He murdered his seventy brothers to ensure he would be in charge of Israel. As a result, he was cursed. The evil which he had done would return on his own head. And one of the marks of the curse was a “spirit of ill will.”

Ill will – constant disagreement and hate towards other people – is not God’s best for you! It is a mark of the curse, and you don’t have to settle for it in your life. So if you find yourself at odds with everyone around you, and people trying to hurt you for no apparent reason, the cause is not natural, it is spiritual. Bind the spirit of ill will in your life. Declare that your inheritance is one of peace, and not conflict! And watch God cover your life with His perfect peace.

…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. – Phil. 4:7

Prayer:

Father, I bind and cast out the spirit of ill will from my life. I reject every plan Satan has for me! I will not live in a state of turmoil and instability. I will be at peace, and I will be at rest, in Jesus’ name!

© Michael D. White, 2021. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Wednesday, April 28^th, 2021
Judges 8:18-9:21
Luke 23:44-24:12
Psalm 99:1-9
Proverbs 14:9-10
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.” – Judges 8:23

Israel was obsessed with following men instead of God. God had just given His people an amazing, sweeping victory. Yet instead of praising the God who gave them victory, they praised the man who led them into battle. The people wanted Gideon to rule over them as their king! But Gideon refused. Because Gideon knew what we should know: the only One you should ever follow and serve is God Himself.

Israel didn’t learn their lesson. They continued to beg God for a king again and again until He finally gave them one named Saul (see 1 Sam. 8:5). God’s promise had not changed: “I will take you as My people, and I will be your God” (Ex. 6:7). But God’s people still did not believe Him. They looked to man instead of God, and they were forever disappointed with the imperfect result.

Don’t look to man! Look to God. You have the perfect Leader. The perfect Guide! The perfect Savior whom you can trust and to whom you can look at all times. God is your King! Trust Him and Him alone.

Prayer:

Father, You shall rule over me! Nothing and no one else will. I will look to You! I will serve You. I will lay down my life at Your feet. Help me never to look to man, and always to look to You, in Jesus’ name!

© Michael D. White, 2021. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Tuesday, April 27^th, 2021
Judges 7:1-8:17
Luke 23:13-43
Psalm 97:1-98:9
Proverbs 14:7-8
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.” But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed. – Lk.23:22-23

Pilate knew Jesus had done nothing wrong. He wanted to release Him! His wife had warned him to let Jesus go (Matt. 27:19). But the mob – the “chief priests, the rulers, and the people” – cried out for Jesus to be murdered. “But they shouted, saying, ‘Crucify Him, Crucify Him’” (v 21)! So Pilate caved. Instead of releasing this Man who was clearly innocent and had done nothing wrong, Pilate sentenced Him to death. Instead of listening to his wife and his conscience, he sought to appease the mob.

Pilate was swayed by the loudest voices. Who are the loudest voices in your life? If you’re a Christian, are the loudest voices in your life the Holy Spirit and the Word of God? I hope so! Because if not, you are in major danger of making some terrible mistakes. Pilate would suffer an eternity of torment for wrongly condemning Jesus to death. And he did it just to avoid a moment of discomfort as he was at odds with the people around him, most of whom he didn’t even know!

Make sure Jesus is the loudest voice in your life, and tune out everyone else. Because His voice is the only one you can trust, and the only one you need to hear.

Prayer:

Father, speak to me! I pray that Your voice would always be the loudest in my heart and in my head. I refuse to be swayed by the opinions of others – especially those who don’t know You! Instead, I will only be moved by the King of kings: my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

© Michael D. White, 2021. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Monday, April 26^th, 2021
Judges 6:1-40
Luke 22:54-23:12
Psalm 95:1-96:13
Proverbs 14:5-6
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey. – Judges 6:3-4

Every harvest season, Israel’s enemies would come into their land, destroy all their crops, and steal all their animals. God had led Israel into a “land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex. 3:17)! But the abundance did them no good because the enemy kept coming in and taking what was God had provided.

Verse one tells us why the enemy – the devourer – had access to Israel in the first place. “The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord” (v 1). Israel stopped listening to God! So God “delivered them into the hand of [their enemies].” God didn’t want to destroy His people! But His people removed themselves from the umbrella of His protection through disobedience. God can protect you when you stay by His side! But when you wander off and away from Him, you leave yourself exposed.

Obedience is what causes you to prosper, and also protects what you have. Had Israel listened to God – had they stayed faithful to Him! – their crops and livestock would have been protected and preserved. The enemy would have had no access to them. And as you listen to God, not only will He bless you beyond your wildest dreams, but He will also protect what He has given you. The enemy will not be able to touch you or anything you have, because you remain faithful to God.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for Your supernatural provision! Thank You that You not only provide for me, but You also protect what You have provided. The enemy has no access to me because I have laid my life at Your feet, in Jesus’ name!

© Michael D. White, 2021. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Sunday, April 25^th, 2021
Judges 4:1-5:31
Luke 22:35-53
Psalm 94:1-23
Proverbs 14:3-4
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Then she sent and called for Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand’?” – Judges 4:6-7

Israel “cried out to the Lord” (v 3). They were trapped under the tyrannical rein of Jabin king of Canaan and the commander of his army, Sisera. They needed help! But what they didn’t know is that God had already promised deliverance through a man named Barak. God had already spoken! God told Barak to go to a specific place with a specific army, and promised that He would give the enemy into Israel’s hand! But Barak was afraid. He didn’t have the heart to take God at His word. So God had to send Deborah, a prophetess, to remind Barak that God had already spoken.

Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded? What has God told you to do that you’re afraid of doing? Do it. There is no sense in crying out for help from God if He has already told you what He needs you to do to receive His help! Where has He called you to go? Go there. What has He asked you to do? Do that.

If you’re crying out to God to deliver you from an impossible situation, you have to ask yourself: what has He already asked you to do that you’ve left undone? And is the fear of stepping out and doing it keeping you from the victory you seek? Barak had to swallow his fear and do what God asked! And so do you. And just as Israel won the victory, so too will God give the battle into your hand.

Prayer:

Father, I trust You. Give me the courage required to charge into battle. To do what You have asked me to do! I refuse to live my life afraid. I will live with the bold courage that only You can inspire, in Jesus’ name!

© Michael D. White, 2021. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Saturday, April 24^th, 2021
Judges 2:10-3:31
Luke 22:14-34
Psalm 92:1-93:5
Proverbs 14:1-2
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. – Judges 2:11-12

Israel made it to the Promised Land! They had finally taken possession of the land God had promised them so many years before. It was a good land, “flowing with milk and honey” (Ex. 3:8). But the blessing would not stay on them for long! As one generation died and another began to lead God’s people, they forgot about God. This new generation “did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel” (v 10). They didn’t know God through personal experience! They had never seen His miracles or watched Him move on their behalf. So they followed after other gods and missed out on God’s intended blessing.

The real problem was that Israel’s leaders stopped taking their cues from God’s Word, and started taking their cues from the dominant culture. They “followed other gods from among the…people who were all around them” (v 12). They were influenced by the culture of the region in which they lived, instead of influencing the dominant culture with the culture of God’s Kingdom!

Your job is not to be accepted by the dominant culture. Your job is not to be well-liked! It is to be an ambassador of God’s Kingdom! Don’t try to fit in. Stand out. Because “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4).

“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” – Lk. 6:26

Prayer:

Father, I repent for allowing myself to be influenced by the dominant culture of my day. Help me to stand apart, even if it means standing alone! I want to be an ambassador for Your Kingdom: no matter what it costs, and no matter what other people think, in Jesus’ name.

© Michael D. White, 2021. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Friday, April 23^rd, 2021
Judges 1:1-2:9
Luke 21:29-22:13
Psalm 90:1-91:16
Proverbs 13:24-25
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” – Lk. 21:36

The disciples asked Jesus how they would know when He was coming back. Jesus couldn’t tell them the day nor the hour (see Matt. 24:36). But here’s what He could tell them. “Watch,” and “pray always.” Stay ready, and stay in prayer, no matter what.

The moment you think you can tackle your day without prayer is the moment you should be praying the most. The moment you think you can stand on your own is the moment you need to throw yourself at the feet of Jesus and ask Him for help! When Jesus said, “pray always that you may be counted worthy…to stand before the Son of Man,” He wasn’t talking to nonbelievers! He was talking to His disciples. The temptation to get lost in the world and take your eyes off Jesus is real: not just for new believers, but for Christians young and old alike.

Pray always. Stay at the feet of Jesus! There should never be one moment in your life where you feel like you don’t need Jesus. It is only by His strength that you will stand.

Prayer:

Father, keep me humble! I will watch. I will pray! I will throw myself at Your feet and stay there. I need You. I cannot do a single thing on my own! And I thank You for always blessing me with Your presence, in Jesus’ name.

© Michael D. White, 2021. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Thursday, April 22^nd, 2021
Joshua 24:1-33
Luke 21:1-28
Psalm 89:38-52
Proverbs 13:20-23
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
‘Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.” – Josh. 24:9

Balak, king of the Moabites, wanted to make war against God’s people. But before he physically started a conflict, he tried to curse Israel. It didn’t work (see verse 10), but the moral of the story for us is this: the battle is won in the spiritual realm before it is won in the physical realm. The battle is won with the tongue before it is won with the sword.

Think about what that means for you! Before Satan launches an all-out attack on your life (relational conflict, physical affliction in the form of sickness, emotional heaviness in the form of depression), he will first try to curse you. If you belong to Jesus his curses won’t work, because no one can curse that which God has already blessed! But here is the catch: even though the enemy can’t curse you, he can try and convince you to curse yourself.

And that is where you must put up your guard. Speak life, and never death. Do not say things like “FML” or “this always happens to me” when bad things happen in your life! It may seem like a small thing – even a joke – but that is the beginning of the enemy’s strategy to “make war” against you.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. – Prov. 18:21

Prayer:

Father, I will not allow the enemy to wage war with me! I will watch my tongue and stand my guard. Satan cannot curse me because God has already blessed me! And what’s more, Satan will not convince me to curse myself. I am covered by the blood of Jesus, and I am safe in Jesus’ name.

© Michael D. White, 2021. All rights reserved.

The Daily Word: Wednesday, April 21^st, 2021
Joshua 22:21-23:16
Luke 20:27-47
Psalm 89:14-37
Proverbs 13:17-19
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
And the Lord your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God promised you. Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left… – Josh. 23:5-6

God fought for Israel. He gave His people victory over every enemy they encountered in the Promised Land. And His promise would never fail. He would “expel [their enemies]…and drive them out of [their] sight” (v 5). Victory was God’s job! So what was Israel’s job?

To “keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses” (v 6). Israel’s only responsibility was to “keep and to do” God’s Word. To “meditate” on His word day and night (Psalm 1:2) and do as He commanded. That’s it! Real courage did not mean charging into battle unafraid. After all, God was the one who won every battle for Israel! He fought, and they just collected the spoil. No, real courage meant keeping and doing God’s Word.

It takes courage to follow Jesus. It takes courage to build your life around His Word! Real courage means making your Bible your best friend: all day, every day, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer:

Father, help me to fall absolutely in love with Your Word. Help me to be “very courageous to keep and to do all that is written” in Your Word. I know there is nothing more important, and no better use of my time, than knowing and loving Your Word, in Jesus’ name.

© Michael D. White, 2021. All rights reserved.