Walk in the Light

New Year’s Day, 2025

January 1st, 2025
Wednesday – History

Reading – Joshua 1-3

Highlight Verse:

““Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s not yet midnight as I write this though we’ve already watched the Ball Drop at Times Square.

There were a million people there ringing in a new year with new beginnings.

That’s what Joshua and the Israelites were doing in today’s reading.

They were on the edge of the Promised Land with great hope for a land they could call home.

Each new year brings a taste of that.

It’s a natural break from the past with promises of new things.

I enter the new year with hopes.
- Hopes that I will lose weight.
- Hopes that I will finish the edit on my book.
- Hopes that the book will get published.
- Hopes that I will be able to visit family that I haven’t seen in a while.
- And many more.
I leave you with God’s command to Joshua to strengthen him as he led the people into their new life:

Be strong and courageous.

What are your hopes for the new year?
What does being strong and courageous mean to you?
New Year’s Eve, 2024

December 31st, 2024
Introduction to Walk in the Light Bible Study, 2025-26

Reading – 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Highlight Verse:

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I was on Times Square on this day in 1992/93.

At three in the afternoon.

There’s no way I wanted to be in the middle of a million people to ring in the new year.

I did spend midnight with a few good friends as we encouraged each other into new beginnings.

That’s kind of what this Bible Study is about.

We are a group of people who encourage each other as we seek to get to know God and His Word better.

If you are new here, let me give you a little primer:

We are on a two-year journey through the Bible.

That journey is split up into different sections for each day of the week as follows:
- Sunday – Old Testament Poetry Books.
- Monday – Gospels through Acts.
- Tuesday – Pentateuch (1st five books of the Bible).
- Wednesday – Old Testament History Books.
- Thursday – New Testament Letters through Revelations.
- Friday – Old Testament Prophets.
- Saturday – Open Topic – Scriptures and devotions relevant to the current season or events.
The readings and devotions are posted by 12:05am Mountain Time each day at the Walk in the Light Bible Study Group on Facebook and at WITLBible.com.
Comments and discussions are welcome and encouraged on the Facebook page. (Please follow rules in the “about” section).

Two month reading lists and study guides as well as bookmarks are available to download on the website.

This Bible Study is not affiliated with any one local church. While the majority of the members are from Colorado (where I live), there are members and website followers from around the globe.

The devotions are written from a Bible believing Christian perspective, but we welcome members from all faiths, as long as participation is respectful. The rules apply equally to all participants.

If you have any questions or you would like to write some of the devotions, feel free to message me on Facebook.

May your New Year be overflowing with blessings and growth!
- Richard
December 30, 2024

December 30th, 2024

Reading – Deuteronomy 33-34

Highlight Verse:

“There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭34‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Moses had an incredibly close relationship with the Lord.

The people of Israel knew God through Moses and the priests.

Now we are offered that same closeness through the sacrifice of Jesus. We don’t have to wait until heaven to experience that relationship.

Instead of going through priests, we can approach God through our prayers and hear from Him through His Word and His Holy Spirit.

How close is your relationship with God?
Are you ready to get even closer in 2025?

That is the end of the Pentateuch and the end of our two-year reading plan.

Congratulations to those who have been with us since January of 2023.

We start again on January 1.

If you are wondering why we have no regular reading tomorrow, it is because 2024 is a leap year with one extra day (and I didn’t anticipate that when I divided up the daily readings).

I will still have a short scripture reading tomorrow along with a detailed description of the plan for all newcomers.

I may mix things up a little with the way I present the daily devotions so stay tuned!
December 29, 2024

December 29th, 2024

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Job 41-42

Highlight Verse:

“When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!”
‭‭Job‬ ‭42‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Did you notice that?

It was when Job prayed for his friends that the Lord restored his fortunes.

Would he have done it if Job hadn’t prayed for his friends?

That’s an impossible question as it was in Job’s very nature to care about others so it was unthinkable that he wouldn’t have prayed for them.

The more relevant question to us today is,

would you or I have prayed for those same people if we were in Job’s position?

Jesus told us to pray for our enemies. How much more should we pray for our friends after they repent from acting like enemies?

We are commanded to not just forgive but lift up and support those who need it regardless of how they have treated us.

What are your thoughts on this?
Do you think God will bless you according to how you treat others?
December 28, 2024

December 28th, 2024

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Hebrews 12:1-13

Highlight Verse:

“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This Wednesday is New Year’s Day.

Many use this time of year to start new good habits.

This Friday is known as quitter’s day.

Many will throw those new habits out the window.

I’ve been one of those quitters in multiple years.

So how do we keep our New Year’s resolutions?

I searched and found everything from setting “SMART” goals to not making resolutions.

I’ve often heard that a new habit requires three weeks to establish.

Most say, to get through those three weeks, it must be doable step.

In the words of Dr. Leo Marvin (“What About Bob?” – 1991 Touchstone Pictures), take “baby steps.”

All that is true, but sometimes bad habits build on each other and we need to kick them all out.

The only way we can achieve that is if we take the advice of Hebrews 12 and keep our eyes on Jesus.

Just as Jesus surrounded Himself with friends and disciples, who supported Him and each other, so we also need to surround ourselves with those who can support us and whom we can support.

That can be a simple as a few close friends or as deep as a Celebrate Recovery Group depending on the habits or hang ups we are trying to deal with.

All this is to say, make those resolutions.
Make them God pleasing.
Make them achievable.

And turn to Jesus and the right friends to follow through with them.

How have you succeeded with resolutions in the past?
What resolutions are you making this year?
December 27, 2024

December 27th, 2024

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Malachi 3-4

Highlight Verse:

““But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.”
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Do you remember the first day of summer vacation?

Three months with no homework or having to get to school on time.

The walk or ride home from school had a feeling of freedom that we had waited for all year.

The end of the Old Testament has that kind of anticipation of a time of freedom.

Freedom from the bonds of sin by the grace of God through the work of Jesus came with the Gospels on the very next pages in the Bible.

When you remember the grace God has shown you, celebrate like calves set free in a pasture, or like children set free from the old of school.

Only remember your celebration is forever.

How do you celebrate your freedom from sin?
Can you celebrate it with the heart of a child?
December 26, 2024

December 26th, 2024

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Revelation 22

Highlight Verses:

“He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

These are the closing words of the Bible.

Yes, we have a few more days of reading as the topics for each day didn’t line up perfectly to the end of the year.

As we look at the end of the Bible, it’s important to note that, while the confirmed inspired Word of God ends here, the work of His grace continues to the end of time.

The Holy Spirit brings the work of God’s grace to us right until the return of the Messiah Jesus Christ.

That grace brings us abundant life that we may walk in his presence.

May that grace be with you as you seek to walk with Him.

How have you seen God speak to your heart this past year?
Do you know that unsurpassed grace of God?
Christmas Day 2024

December 25th, 2024

Wednesday – History

Reading – Esther 9-10

Highlight Verse:

“He told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy.”
‭‭Esther‬ ‭9‬:‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus was born at a time when there was great sorrow in the land.

Israel was occupied by Rome.

Poverty and oppression were the norm.

To make things worse, Caesar declared a census that required people to move to their ancestral lands during the taking of the census.

In the midst of all that stress and hardship, Jesus was born.

The festival of Purim celebrates how God saved Israel from her enemies.

Jesus, would save far more than just Israel.

I just spent three Christmas Eve services explaining the gift of Jesus coming as a baby to 4- and 5-year-old kids.

For the most part they didn’t really get it.

But they understood that Jesus coming as a baby was the reason behind the biggest celebration of the year.

That’s a great reason to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

Simply put, Jesus came to rescue any who would reach out to Him for rescue.

It is the best cause for celebration ever.

In what ways do you bring the real reason for the season into your Christmas celebrations?
Are there more ways you can think about to highlight the Gospel aspects of Christmas?
Christmas Eve, 2024

December 24th, 2024

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Deuteronomy 32

Highlight Verse:

“He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭32‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Why on earth did I schedule Deuteronomy 32 on Christmas Eve?

It’s a tough chapter that’s all about how bad people have become.

Which, by the way, ties right into the reason for Christmas.

You see, Christmas isn’t just another time for religious people to practice religious rituals or for party people to have another excuse to party.

It’s not even about feeding kids’ imaginations and giving them reasons to behave.

Christmas happened because humans are messed up.

God had to come rescue us.

He had to come as a baby so He could live a blameless life. That way, He satisfied the requirement of a perfect sacrifice to satisfy justice for the sin filled lives that all humans have lived.

Christmas is the beginning of the outpouring of God’s love for each and every person.

It is God with us!

Emmanuel!

May your Christmas be blessed as you enjoy the gift of God with us!
December 23, 2024

December 23rd, 2024

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 28

Highlight Verses:

“For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him.”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭28‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Acts seems to come to a very abrupt end here. We don’t get to find out what happened in Caesar’s court. It doesn’t let us know about the end of his life not many years later.

Why?

The most obvious answer is that Luke wrote this book in Rome and finished it before Paul had a chance to appear before Nero.

We know from history that Paul was first acquitted and later arrested and executed for preaching the Gospel.

The other answer to why there is no conclusive ending to Acts is, in a sense,

Acts is a book that never ends.

Paul’s ministry continues today in every local church and missionary group.

You and I are Paul to the world today.

Let’s continue boldly proclaiming the Word of God to today’s generations.

What do you imagine it was like for Paul to live, work, and preach in Rome?
How can you continue his work?

They were on the edge of the Promised Land with great hope for a land they could call home.

I enter the new year with hopes.

Be strong and courageous.

I was on Times Square on this day in 1992/93.

I did spend midnight with a few good friends as we encouraged each other into new beginnings.

We are a group of people who encourage each other as we seek to get to know God and His Word better.

If you are new here, let me give you a little primer:

May your New Year be overflowing with blessings and growth!

Moses had an incredibly close relationship with the Lord.

Instead of going through priests, we can approach God through our prayers and hear from Him through His Word and His Holy Spirit.

It was when Job prayed for his friends that the Lord restored his fortunes.

would you or I have prayed for those same people if we were in Job’s position?

We are commanded to not just forgive but lift up and support those who need it regardless of how they have treated us.

This Wednesday is New Year’s Day.

So how do we keep our New Year’s resolutions?

The only way we can achieve that is if we take the advice of Hebrews 12 and keep our eyes on Jesus.

Do you remember the first day of summer vacation?

Freedom from the bonds of sin by the grace of God through the work of Jesus came with the Gospels on the very next pages in the Bible.

Only remember your celebration is forever.

These are the closing words of the Bible.

The Holy Spirit brings the work of God’s grace to us right until the return of the Messiah Jesus Christ.

May that grace be with you as you seek to walk with Him.

In the midst of all that stress and hardship, Jesus was born.

But they understood that Jesus coming as a baby was the reason behind the biggest celebration of the year.

It is the best cause for celebration ever.

Which, by the way, ties right into the reason for Christmas.

Christmas happened because humans are messed up.

It is God with us!

May your Christmas be blessed as you enjoy the gift of God with us!

Why?

Acts is a book that never ends.

You and I are Paul to the world today.