The Daily Word: Saturday, July 31^st, 2021
2 Chronicles 29:1-36
Romans 14:1-23
Psalm 24:1-10
Proverbs 20:12
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
A Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. – Ps. 24:1

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness. Everything on the earth and in the earth belongs to the Lord. Even “those who dwell therein” belong to Him. You belong to God! Scripture says that “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, whom you have from God, and you are not your own” (1 Cor. 6:19).

This is particularly poignant in this age of personal freedom. It’s not your body; it’s His. It’s not your life; it’s His! It’s not your desires; they’re His. And when you understand that your body and your life belong to God and not to you, everything changes. Your life will move from being performance-based to being offering-based. Everything you do will no longer be a performance to try and win God’s affection! It will be an offering that you give unto God because you know you already have it.

Don’t you see? Your life doesn’t belong to you; it belongs to Him. Let everything you do be an offering unto God.

 “O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own.” – 1 Chron. 29:16

Prayer:

Father, thank You for giving me life! I know that I am not my own. I belong to You! And I will live my life as a holy offering unto You, in Jesus’ name!

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

The Daily Word: Friday, July 30^th, 2021
2 Chronicles 26:1-28:27
Romans 13:1-14
Psalm 23:1-6
Proverbs 20:11
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. – Rom. 13:7

It doesn’t matter what you think someone else deserves. All that matters is what God says to give them.

It would be nice if you didn’t have to pay taxes! But God’s word says to render taxes to whom taxes are due. It would be nice if you didn’t have to pay customs: the cost of running your business. But God’s will for you is to pay those whom you owe! You are to fear whom God asks you to fear, and honor whom God asks you to honor: even if you don’t like them, and even if you don’t respect them.

You don’t have to like the person to honor the office. But you do have to trust that “the authorities that exist are appointed by God” (v 1). God has a plan! Sometimes His plan is blessing for a nation, and other times it is judgment; but your portion in His plan is simply to do what He says, regardless of what you think or feel.

We are not led by our own thoughts and emotions. We are led by His Spirit.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. – Rom. 8:14

Prayer:

God, make me a man of simple obedience! Help me not to overthink decisions and full into the trap of making my own choices. All I have to do is rely on You. You will tell me what to do, and I will get it done in Jesus’ name!

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

The Daily Word: Thursday, July 29^th, 2021
2 Chronicles 24:1-25:28
Romans 12:1-21
Psalm 22:19-31
Proverbs 20:8-10
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. – 2 Chron. 24:2

Joash started out as a good king. Though he was only “seven years old when he became king” (v 1), he “did what was right in the sight of the Lord” (v 2). He rebuilt the temple at Jerusalem. He honored the Lord with his thoughts, words, and actions. But Joash had a good mentor. A man named Jehoiada the priest coached Joash and told him what to do from a young age. Jerusalem had peace: “the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet” (2 Chron. 23:21).

But when Jehoiada died, Joash went off the rails. He listened to men instead of God (v 17). He served “wooden images and idols” (v 18); and though God sent prophets to remind and encourage Joash to return his attention to God, he didn’t listen.

This is what happens when you follow man instead of God. Joash listened to Jehoiada! But he never learned to hear God for himself. And the consequences were disastrous. Joash’s obedience expired as soon as Jehoiada died, because he loved his mentor instead of his Father.

Don’t follow men! Follow God. Don’t follow men and women who are anointed! Follow the God who does the anointing. Idolizing someone who has a great relationship with Jesus is not the same as having a great relationship with Jesus for yourself. Men will fail and pass away; but God will never fail.

Prayer:

Father, I want to follow You! Convict me if there are areas in my life where I am following someone else instead of You. Please don’t allow me to settle for following a man or woman who knows You instead of knowing You for myself. I am asking You to protect me, and to bless me, in Jesus’ name!

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

The Daily Word: Wednesday, July 28^th, 2021
2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21
Romans 11:13-36
Psalm 22:1-18
Proverbs 20:7
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed. – Ps. 22:4-5

We are in truly unprecedented times. A pandemic continues to work its way across the globe in what is now the sixteenth month of lockdown restrictions in many countries. The vaccine in which many of us put our trust (instead of trusting God!) is not working the way it was supposed to. Inflation is reaching a boiling point, with citizens in many countries unable to afford daily staples like food and medicine, much less a permanent place to live. So where do we go in times like these? To whom do we turn?

When God’s people trusted in God, He delivered them. Trust was the sole simple requirement! So why are we waiting so long and exhausting all our peripheral options before we try the simple solution – trusting God! – that worked for our ancestors?[1]

When our fathers trusted in God, He brought them out of captivity in Egypt:

So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. – Ex. 3:8

When our fathers trusted in God, He brought them through a sea on dry ground!

So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. – Ex. 14:22

When our fathers trust in God, He gave them a Messiah who would take away the sin of the world:

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. – Lk. 1:31

God has never failed His people who trust in Him! So stop trusting anyone or anything else, and start trusting the only God who can save.

Prayer:

Father, I choose to trust You! Thank You for the many ways in which You demonstrate Your faithfulness to me. I repent of ever putting my trust in anyone or anything else! I am so grateful for Your constant goodness and kindness, in Jesus’ name.

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

[1] Of course you may not be from Israel. But if you believe in Jesus, you are “heirs according to the promise” of Abraham (Gal. 3:29), which makes you his bloodline and his seed: Jewish by faith!

The Daily Word: Tuesday, July 27^th, 2021
2 Chronicles 19:1-20:37
Romans 10:14-11:12
Psalm 21:1-13
Proverbs 20:4-6
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
“O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” – 2 Chron. 20:12

A mighty army was marching to wage war against Jerusalem. King Jehoshaphat didn’t know what to do! He didn’t have a plan for the battle, and he had no idea how his army would overcome the odds. But he knew how to do one thing particularly well. He kept is eyes on the Lord.

You don’t need your own power and strength! You don’t even need to know what to do! All you need to do is fix your eyes on Jesus. He will strengthen you! He will tell you exactly what to do, and when! But until He does: fix your eyes on Him. Do not let the enemy force you to take your eyes off Jesus! He is where your help comes from. He is where the power lies! He is the One who will “guide you into all truth” (Jn 16:13) and “teach you all things” (Jn 14:26). And as you refuse to be distracted from His presence and His glory, He will bring you to victory.

Prayer:

Father, help me to keep my eyes on You. Strengthen me to keep my gaze on Your face! You are my Help, my Strength, and my Deliverer. Rescue me as I keep my eyes on Your glory, in Jesus’ name!

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

The Daily Word: Monday, July 26^th, 2021
2 Chronicles 17:1-18:34
Romans 9:25-10:13
Psalm 20:1-9
Proverbs 20:2-3
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God. – Ps. 20:7

Do you put your trust in men? Or do you put your trust in God? Men will fail; but God will never fail! Failure is absolutely impossible for God:

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. – Matt. 24:35

Maybe you’re reading this and you sort of trust God. You’re asking Him to rescue you in prayer, but you’re also hedging your bets. You’re asking Him to heal you but you’re still worrying every time you go to the doctor. You’re asking Him to send you a spouse but you’re still wondering if you’ll spend the rest of your life alone. You’re trusting Him for the perfect job where you make the money you need but still get to raise your kids and spend time with your family, but you’re still checking job listings online to see if God missed the message.

Trust in God! Remember the name of the Lord. For His name never fails.

And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. – Acts 3:16

Prayer:

Father, thank You that I can trust You! Whenever I am tempted to forget Your faithfulness, put me in remembrance. Bring me back to the place where I trust You: unconditionally and without fail, in Jesus’ name.

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

The Daily Word: Sunday, July 25^th, 2021
2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14
Romans 9:1-24
Psalm 19:1-14
Proverbs 20:1
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Therefore he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered. – 2 Chron. 14:7

Asa was a good king. He did what was “good and right in the eyes of the Lord” (v 2). He removed idols from Judah, and “commanded [God’s people] to seek the Lord…and to observe the law and the commandment” (v 4). So God blessed Asa. There was peace on every side as God gave victory to Judah over all her enemies.

But when Judah had victory on the outside, King Asa used the time to strengthen on the inside. Asa did not use peacetime to rest on his laurels! He used the rest Israel had from battle to fortify everything God had already given into their hand. He fortified his cities by building “walls…towers, gates, and bars” (v 7).  Asa knew that some day Israel would have to defend herself again. So instead of coasting, he got ready.

God is always looking to make you stronger. Sometimes you will be engaged with external change! You will be fighting obvious battles and contending for victory in Jesus’ name. But when you have rest externally, allow God to build you internally. Peacetime is growth time. Use it wisely! God will fortify you so that when the enemy returns, you are stronger than ever before.

Prayer:

Lord, strengthen me! I am so grateful that You build me up the way You do. When I’m at war, I will rely on You to bring me to victory! And when I’m at peace, I will ask You to build me up and make me stronger than ever. Thank You that no matter what I’m doing, you make me better, in Jesus’ name.

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

The Daily Word: Saturday, July 24^th, 2021
2 Chronicles 11:1-13:22
Romans 8:26-39
Psalm 18:37-50
Proverbs 19:27-29
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. – Rom. 8:37

You are not just a conqueror. You are more than a conqueror! “More than a conqueror” is the Greek hupernikao (Strong’s G5245), which means “to gain a surpassing victory.” You are not just victorious in Jesus. You are super victorious! You gained a surpassing victory when you put your faith and trust in Him.

And here is why that matters. A conqueror has to fight. He has to overcome! There is a battle to be won. But one who is “more than a conqueror” no longer has to fight. He has already overcome! There is a battle that has already taken place, and his enemy is already defeated.

Do you get it? You are “hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). You are more than a conqueror! You are not fighting for victory; you are fighting from victory. And if Jesus has already won the war, you don’t have to fear the battle. All you have to do is stand in victory and occupy the territory Jesus has already won, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for making me more than a conqueror! Thank You that I get to fight from victory, instead of for it. Jesus made a way! And now I get to guard it and occupy until He comes, in Jesus’ name.

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

The Daily Word: Friday, July 23^rd, 2021
2 Chronicles 8:11-10:19
Romans 8:9-25
Psalm 18:16-36
Proverbs 19:26
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her. – 2 Chron. 9:2

Solomon was the wisest king who ever lived: “wisdom and knowledge” were granted to him, “…such as none of the kings [ever] had who were before [him], nor [any after him]” (2 Chron. 9:12). The Queen of Sheba came to him with “hard questions” (v 1). She asked him everything she could think to ask! And Solomon answered “all her questions.” Not a single one of her questions was so difficult that Solomon could not provide the answer.

But read closely. This passage, written about King Solomon on the surface, is really about Jesus. Jesus is the wise King! And Queen Sheba is an unbeliever: a woman with questions and doubts. People who don’t know Jesus will come to test Him! They will come to Him with “hard questions” that they think are unanswerable. But Jesus has the answer to every single one.

What is the meaning of life? Jesus can tell you. Why did God put you on this earth? Jesus knows. What happens when you die? Ask Him! Whatever questions you have, Jesus has all the answers. Come to Him, and be amazed.

Prayer:

Father, thank You that Jesus is the Answer! Not only does He have all the answers to life’s most difficult questions; He also is the Answer. He is my reason for living! He is the One I will serve, in Jesus’ name.

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

The Daily Word: Thursday, July 22^nd, 2021
2 Chronicles 6:12-8:10
Romans 7:14-8:8
Psalm 18:1-15
Proverbs 19:24-25
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
…and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been carried captive, and pray toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and toward the temple which I have built for Your name: then hear from heaven… – 2 Chron. 6:38-39a

As Solomon dedicated the temple to God at Jerusalem, he prayed for future generations. He knew they would lose sight of God! He knew they would stop serving Him. So Solomon prophetically prayed for God’s people to return to Him so that He would hear their prayers.

Wherever you are: pray from there. Come back to God! Don’t swallow the lie that you have to be in a “good place” with God to be heard in prayer. He hears you! Even in the midst of your mess. Even when God’s people had been “carried captive” (v 38), when they turned to Him with “all their heart and all their soul,” He would hear their prayers.

God sees you. He knows you! And He loves you just the same. There is no such thing as too far gone for God. When you return to Him with all your heart and all your soul – even in the midst of captivity! – He will hear your prayers and respond.

Prayer:

Father, thank You that You always hear me. My life is a mess! But I am returning to You today. I am praying to You from my place of frustration and pain, and I know that You hear me, in Jesus’ name.

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