Walk in the Light

November 29, 2024

November 29th, 2024

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Zechariah 9-10

Highlight Verse:

“Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.”
‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭9‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I love reading mystery novels.

It’s fascinating how all the little puzzle pieces of the story fall into place.

A good author keeps you guessing throughout the story but once all the pieces come together, the story makes sense.

Today’s verse is one of those little pieces of the puzzle that seem totally random when you read it but falls right into place at the triumphant entry (Matt 21).

My favorite novels sit on my bookshelf, or on my Kindle or Audible apps. Every couple of years I pick them up again both to refresh my memory of them and to figure them out more.

If I do that with a novel, you know I do it with my favorite book, the Bible.

In another month, we reach the end of this reading through the Bible.

You better believe I’m going to read it again to refresh my memory and to understand it better.

I hope you’ll join me.

What truths from the Bible did you find the second or third or more times that you read it?
Do you find yourself remembering it better the more times you read it?
Thanksgiving Day, 2024

November 28th, 2024

(Today’s normal reading will be on Saturday, Nov. 30th)

Special Reading – Psalm 100

Highlight Verse:

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭100‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Last night we struggled with how to seat 11 people at the dinner table today.

It was a good problem to have. We eventually arrived at a satisfactory solution.

In the process, I had to think of my growing up days. Thanksgiving was often spent with my Godparents. Their family of 6 would come eat with our family of 7 or vice versa.

There was always a kids table.

It was usually chaos.

It was awesome.

Times were not always good back then. More often than not, they were pretty bad.

But there was always something to be thankful for – dear friends, family, food on the table (even if we knew there’d be turkey sandwiches for at least a week).

Sometimes it can seem like there is nothing to be thankful for.

I’ve lived long enough to know that something good will come out of even the worst of times.

This year, I am thankful for family, for provision, and for God’s grace and mercy.

But I’m also thankful for the good that came from the bad: For the empathy that came from living through my parent’s divorce, for the reliance on God’s provision that came from the times of financial crisis, and even for the closeness to God that came out of my depression after my own divorce.

Sometimes God’s most precious gifts come from life’s hardest moments.

What good things are you thankful for today?
What good has come from bad situations in your life? Are you thankful for that?
November 27, 2024

November 27th, 2024

Wednesday – History

Reading – Esther 2

Highlight Verse:

“And the king loved Esther more than any of the other young women. He was so delighted with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen instead of Vashti.”
‭‭Esther‬ ‭2‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s hard to imagine being in Esther’s place.

She was a young woman (probably a teenager) who was selected to be a concubine for the leader of the biggest empire in the world at that time.

Not an ideal situation.

There’s no way she could refuse, but I doubt she was happy about it.

How did she face the situation?

The passage doesn’t describe how she acted but how people reacted too her.

She impressed them.

So much so that she was crowned queen.

Whatever she did, she did it right. The divine call on her life was to be in the right place at the right time.

We’ll read more on how that plays out in the coming weeks.

How would you react in that situation?
How would you balance faithfulness to God with being drafted into a harem?
November 26, 2024

November 26th, 2024

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Deuteronomy 25-26

Highlight Verse:

““Every third year you must offer a special tithe of your crops. In this year of the special tithe you must give your tithes to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows, so that they will have enough to eat in your towns.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭26‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When I was a “starving college student” there was a couple in my church who took this scripture quite literally and gave one of their tithe checks directly to me.

While I am not advocating giving a tithe to anyone but your local church,

this verse raises an interesting concept.

Directing your giving in such a way as to give a maximum tax benefit is certainly wise, especially if you also give what you saved in taxes.

But there’s something to be said for helping people directly.

It blesses the recipient by meeting their needs and desires.

It blesses the giver with the satisfaction of causing good.

And it advances the Gospel by serving as an illustration of the grace of God.

I believe other verses make it clear that the whole tithe should go to the local church.

But God always out-gives us, freeing up money to help those in need all around us.

Have you prayed about giving directly to those in need?
Do you think it is a good thing to do?
November 25, 2024

November 25th, 2024

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 24

Highlight Verses:

“When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented the charges against Paul in the following address to the governor: “You have provided a long period of peace for us Jews and with foresight have enacted reforms for us. For all of this, Your Excellency, we are very grateful to you.”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭24‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Here’s proof positive that lawyers kissing up to judges is nothing new.

Of course, in this case it was the governor.

And in this case, it worked, at least to some degree.

Paul was not released from custody – which is just the way God wanted it.

Because Paul remained in custody, he was able to bring the Gospel message to Rome. And the rest is history.

But that’s not the only time God bent the workings of justice.

Each and every one of us should be punished for our sins. But God allowed His Son to take on our penalty.

So yes, God has intervened in legal proceedings at least twice.

And both times we reaped the benefits.

Do you know of other times in the Bible when God has swayed justice to our benefit?
How do you feel about God swaying judicial actions?
November 24, 2024

November 24th, 2024

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Job 33-34

Highlight Verse:

“He doesn’t care how great a person may be, and he pays no more attention to the rich than to the poor. He made them all.”
‭‭Job‬ ‭34‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There are currently 8.2 billion people on Earth.

Over all time there have been over 100 billion people.

I’m just an average middle-class dad.

But God knows my name.

He knows my past (though he redacted all the sinful parts) and He knows my future.

He listens to me as much as any world leader.

And He answers me when I’m willing to listen.

He hears you too!

Do you bring your cares to God’s attention?
Do you listen when He answers?
November 23, 2024

November 23rd, 2024

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Luke 17:1-19

Highlight Verse:

“And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This man was the only one of ten who came back to Jesus after being healed of leprosy.

He was also the only one who heard Jesus say to him, “Stand up and go.”

He was not just healed, he was released.

Released to live a life free from leprosy.

Released to live among other people.

Released to share his joy at being healed and given purpose.

Thanksgiving is not just a time of giving thanks once a year to a vague divine being who may have helped you get through the year.

Thanksgiving is a time to be released to share the joy of all that God has brought to you and brought you through.

Let’s live in that freedom and share the joy to all those around us this and every week.

What special blessings has the Lord given you this past year?
What has He brought you through in this past year?
November 22, 2024

November 22nd, 2024

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Zechariah 7-8

Highlight Verses:

““This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.”
‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Zechariah takes us to school – Living Right – 101.

The people he spoke to were getting caught up in how they thought God wanted them to celebrate holidays.

Zechariah points them to what matters in two verses.

We humans tend to overcomplicate things.

If we truly follow what Zechariah just spelled out so plainly, we’ll avoid all kinds of sin.

I dare say that all sin, from immorality to selfishness and pride violates at least part of what Zechariah sets forth.

If we ran all our words and deeds through that check list, we’d see amazing results.

How does your life line up with Zechariah’s commands here?
Can you see how much we need to rely on Jesus when we really look at fulfilling these commands?
November 21, 2024

November 21st, 2024

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Revelations 17

Highlight Verse:

“Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all Lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.””
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭17‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

No matter how confusing the imagery of Revelations may seem, there’s one simple theme that runs through the whole book.

God wins!

No matter how confusing life gets, let this be the simple theme of your life.

God wins!

Are you on the winning team?
Are you training to do your best for the winning team?
November 20, 2024

November 20th, 2024

Wednesday – History

Reading – Esther 1

Highlight Verse:

“These events happened in the days of King Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia.”
‭‭Esther‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I didn’t realize until today that the Persian Empire was huge.

2.1 million square miles to be exact.

That’s more than half the size of the United States.

It had 50 million people, 2500 years ago.

That was almost half the world’s population at that time.

And God put Esther, a refugee from a small country, right at the heart of the Empire.

Right where He needed her to be.

If God’s calling on your life seems way too big; if you feel inadequate for the position,

Think again.

To what do you believe God has called you?
Do you believe He can get you there?
He can!

I love reading mystery novels.

Today’s verse is one of those little pieces of the puzzle that seem totally random when you read it but falls right into place at the triumphant entry (Matt 21).

You better believe I’m going to read it again to refresh my memory and to understand it better.

There was always a kids table.

Sometimes it can seem like there is nothing to be thankful for.

Sometimes God’s most precious gifts come from life’s hardest moments.

It’s hard to imagine being in Esther’s place.

How did she face the situation?

She impressed them.

this verse raises an interesting concept.

But there’s something to be said for helping people directly.

But God always out-gives us, freeing up money to help those in need all around us.

Here’s proof positive that lawyers kissing up to judges is nothing new.

But that’s not the only time God bent the workings of justice.

And both times we reaped the benefits.

But God knows my name.

And He answers me when I’m willing to listen.

He hears you too!

He was not just healed, he was released.

Thanksgiving is a time to be released to share the joy of all that God has brought to you and brought you through.

Let’s live in that freedom and share the joy to all those around us this and every week.

Zechariah takes us to school – Living Right – 101.

If we truly follow what Zechariah just spelled out so plainly, we’ll avoid all kinds of sin.

If we ran all our words and deeds through that check list, we’d see amazing results.

God wins!

God wins!

I didn’t realize until today that the Persian Empire was huge.

That was almost half the world’s population at that time.

And God put Esther, a refugee from a small country, right at the heart of the Empire.

Think again.