Scripture And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the Lord swore to your fathers, (Deuteronomy 6:18)

Observation This verse comes after Moses' reciting of the 10 commandments again as he prepares to leave the children of Israel to Joshua’s leadership. It almost seems that there is a “behave and benefit” kind of relationship here.

Application Why should we follow these commandments, statutes, etc? Is it that if we obey we are rewarded with good things? Or, and this is where I stand, we see that these principles help us in life and outlook. God shares not only His “best tips” but actually opens to us principles that keep us from doing great harm to ourselves and others. Why wouldn’t anyone want to benefit from this wisdom? Outwardly obedience looks the same, but the motive actually makes a big difference. Something for more consideration. hmmm.

Prayer Heavenly Father, help me to understand my own motives for obedience. Help me to obey for my own good, not just to appease a distant God. I am grateful to know Your revealed principles and can understand that these principles help me through life. Amen.

Scripture “But the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the Lord said to me: ‘Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter.‘ (Deuteronomy 3:26)

Observation This discussion between Moses and the Creator God seems a little too informal. Was God miffed at Moses, or were there more important things that he needed to be engaged in, like training up a successor..

Application Two applications for today. One, that God is real and personal – just like a friend. He can be wrestled with, you can pour out your heart and your thoughts. He is patient and will be long suffering towards you as you grow in your understanding.

Also there were certain things that God wanted Moses to grasp and to do. He heard Moses out, but also was keeping him on task. God is not a task master, but He urges and encourages us to do right. If we are willing, He will give us direction.

Prayer Father, help me to be attuned to your voice. I appreciate your willingness to hear me out and to allow me to share my thoughts and desires with you. But I also value your leadership and I pray that you will make your direction for me for today to be clear. Then walk with me and give me the strength to physically stay alert to follow and convicted to hold to Your desire for me this day. Amen.

Scripture Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34)

Observation Jesus was in discussions with various thought leaders at the time and he was listening to a scribe compare God’s valuation of loving God and neighbor to the rounds of offering and sacrifice. He proposed that God valued the love displayed as greater than the keeping of the ritual that points to truth.

Application Wouldn’t that just fill your soul to hear Jesus affirm your thinking? To tell you that you are indeed on the right track? Jesus had been speaking to leaders who were trying to trap Him into saying something they could use to accuse Him of wrong doing. In the midst of this a profound statement was made and He acknowledged it.

The point was priorities, it wasn’t about one precept being good and another bad. It was allowing things to fall into their correct category as major and minor. The offerings to God were important in what they illustrated of truth. But the way we relate to each other also reveals the God we serve in addition to revealing the state of our own heart. One is a reflection or model, the other is the actual outworking of the process of sanctification.

Prayer Dear Jesus, teach me not to major on the minors. Also help me to see the value of not just prioritizing, but of living out conviction. Show me what it means to be loving and enable me to live it out. Amen.

Yes, this is actually being posted on March 5th. I got up very early yesterday to go to an Ordination Committee meeting. It was my first time serving in that capacity and it was very educational and even inspirational. But once my reading time got overturned, the whole day was off-kilter.

Scripture This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them marry whom they think best, but they may marry only within the family of their father’s tribe.’ Numbers 36:6)

Observation The daughters of Zelophehad from the tribe of Manasseh had no brothers, and they had gone before the lord back in the beginning of Numbers 27 and asked God if they could have an inheritance for their father’s sake. And God said that this was right and he made an exception for them.

Then in Numbers 36 when the rules for inheritance were established, they came again and pointed out that they posterity would loose their inheritance by these rules. Again the Lord made a way by requiring that they marry within their own tribe.

Application This verse has fascinated me for some time. Different cultures use different criteria for selecting a life long mate. Some allow parents to determine these things in a prearrangement. Others allow their children to select someone, but they have a strong say so, and maybe even a veto vote.

Where I grew up, there were no restrictions. Children might ask their parent’s opinion, but that would not cause them to deviate from their own determined course. We would believe that they fell in love and that was that.

If this were the case for the daughters of Zelohpehad, then God’s solution to their problem would have posed quite a hardship. Was God too strict here, or is it possible that my culture has something to learn on this topic? We want to marry, divorce, marry, and divorce whomever we see fit. It would seem from this story that God doesn’t quite see things our way. Something to really think about today.

Prayer Father God, help me to see my decisions as You would have them made. Help me to understand your boundaries even if they seem restrictive or nonsensical. Give me the patience to wait for their meaning and my understanding to unfold. Amen.

Scripture Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. (Mark 10:43)

Observation It’s clear that the point of this verse is that we should serve one another. But it would also seem to indicate that there isn’t anything particularly worthy of reprimand for desiring to become great. It just instructs how.

Application It’s a bit of an unconventional look at the verse, but it goes to having a passion in life. Is it wrong to have desires? Is it wrong to desire greatness? Often it is presumed that Christians are to not assert themselves, that meek and mild means weak and vacillating. It would seem that this is a misunderstanding. How can our desires be godly desires. Can we have ambitions and passions that can honor our Lord and savior? Something worth considering.

Prayer Lord, thank you for recognizing that we need to have purpose and plans in life. Help me to find passion, purpose and even ambition in a direction that pleases and honors you, amen.

Scripture “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.“ (Mark 9:49)

Observation This verse is actually a connecting verse between a passage saying that it’s better to remove offending body parts than to be burned up in hell. But this verse says that everyone will be seasoned with fire!

Application This verse supports a concept that I learned just a few months ago. How often the enemy wants to pervert what the Bible actually says. People have been taught that fire is evil and is composed of hell fire. This may be true, but the Bible also says that our God is a consuming fire Himself. So we will be seasoned with fire if we are to be in the presence of God. This changes the way we look at fire. The Bible also says that we will be refined by fire. This isn’t that profound but it does fundamentally challenge common understandings of some Bible principles.

Prayer Lord, help me not to fall in line with assumptions. Help me to see your word as fresh and available for new understanding. Thank you for getting me back on track, amen.

OK, it’s been a while – but I’m back at it. I got caught up on my reading by the end of February, so I’m going to give the journaling thing another swing too.

If you want to read along you can get a link to the reading of the day under the menu “The Readings” on the main page.

Scripture But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.“ (Mark 8:12)

Observation The leaders in Jesus' day wanted more evidence than was right before them, they were looking for an opportunity to not believe.

Application Our generation is a “see it to believe it” generation as well. If the word of God isn’t enough to convince on its own, there are always the testimony of those impacted by God in their life. Why would more of a sign be needed? Is there a reason?

Prayer Lord, thank you for helping me to get caught up. I now pray that you help me to create a habit. I can’t wait to see how you answer my prayer, in Jesus' name, amen.

Yeah, I fell off the wagon. Not sure if I’ll circle back and fill in the gaps. My thinking is to not do that. I will catch up on my reading. But the point is to make it a daily practice, not to have a contiguous string of posts. The posts are a byproduct (and an accountability tool… didn’t work so well…).

Scripture And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. (Exodus 9:34)

Observation When the hail destroyed all the crops, Pharaoh was sorry. He was sorry that he couldn’t stop the destruction. But when Moses put an end to his immediate pain, he went right back to his old thinking. This was the sevenths plague. Did he think that another could not come? We can be vary hard to convince and to turn some times.

But this passage makes it clear that the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was a sin. Other verses from today’s reading say that the LORD hardened his heart (9:12, 10:1, 10:20, 10:27, and 11:10). So if the LORD did it, is the LORD the cause of sin? That doesn’t make sense. There has to be a deeper understanding.

Application While many would apply this as God doing what he wants with us and creating some to sin so that He can show his might makes sense to them. I can’t subscribe to that because of what it would say about who God is that would be out of step with the rest of scripture.

A different understanding would be that God allows us to make our choices, and He even allows us to sin. By allowing this, He is accountable but not responsible. When I say God is held accountable, I mean that He will have to give an account and a price may have to be paid. Well that’s pretty much what happened. And the lesson for us to learn is that the price was very high. The cost of His own Son. But God is not responsible for the choices that Pharaoh was free to make.

In the same way, can I be that stubborn? And does my stubbornness have to be paid for by such a high price? How many plagues would it take for me to get the hint? Cut sin short, or better yet cut it off all together – stop the cycle of hurt and ruin.

Prayer Father in heaven, I see that Pharaoh’s sin had an impact on him, his nation, and even upon You. Teach me to see the results of a hardened heart. Trade me my hardened heart of stone for a fleshy heart of understanding. Thank you for such a gracious and costly offer. In the name of your Son, Jesus, amen

Scripture For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You. (Psalm 5:4)

Observation Just a simple verse today that declares that God and evil can’t dwell together.

Application What does that say about us? Can we dwell with God while harboring evil? It would seem that is not possible. So we can either be resigned to our own destruction, or we can work along side our Savior in a process that removes the evil from us. Then we would be able to stand before Him.

Prayer Heavenly Father, help me to see evil the way you do. Help me to not let it dwell in me and be a part of who I am. I want to be like you to the point where evil can’t stay around. Amen

The verse selected today seemed odd. I was familiar with the parable, but not the summary. Anyway, I guess more explanation would fall under observation. We’re already 4.4% of the way through this project. (Which would mean we’re that far through the year…)

Scripture And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. (Luke 16:9)

Observation This is at the end of the parable of the unjust steward. He calls due all of his master’s outstanding debt in order to give a good accounting.

At the end of all that, Jesus says to make friends with your money – then when the money’s gone, the friendships will be built.

Application The application here seems a little unclear … but what I’m seeing is that Jesus recognizes that there are resources and leverage in the world we live in. We should be mindful of these things and be sure to not use them for our own selfish pleasure, but to use them to advance relationships. These will be built and used for the glory of God’s kingdom.

Prayer Lord Jesus, help me to see the value of the resources I have – my thoughts, my time, my relationships… Help me to not neglect building upon these, in Jesus' name – amen