Walk in the Light

October 31, 2024

October 31st, 2024

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Revelations 14

Highlight Verse:

“And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭14‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Why do I picture Skillet on stage here?

Before you point out that it says harpists, John would not know what an electric guitar looks like so he could have confused them for harps.

Okay, they’re probably not electric guitars. From the description of the sound, they might not be classical harps either.

No matter what they are, it’s clear that music will be prominent in heaven. And it will be amazing.

Despite multiple attempts, I’ve never fully learned how to play an instrument (unless you count an audio mixer).

None the less, music plays a prominent role in my life.

Music calms me or gives me energy. It keeps me awake on road trips. It gives me encouragement.

Great music moves me emotionally.

More importantly, when I need it – which is often – it directs my thoughts toward God and living my life to please God.

I imagine that music in heaven will be moving beyond words.

What do you think music in heaven will be like?
Just for fun, what band or singer do you hope will be there? (You already know I hope to see Skillet).
October 30, 2024

October 30th, 2024

Wednesday – History

Reading – Nehemiah 7-8

Highlight Verse:

“And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!””
‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭8‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Yep, I picked another party verse.

There’s lots of them.

It’s almost as if God loves a good party.

The twist here is that this party comes with a command not to be sad.

It started with the reading of the Law. That made people sad because of how short they had fallen from obeying the Law.

The celebration comes from the provision for sin through sacrifice.

Our celebration should be far greater than theirs since our redemption is permanent through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Yes, our sin should sadden us.

But our repentance and redemption should bring about an awesome celebration.

Have you celebrated your redemption lately?
How can we make that celebration greater?
October 29, 2024

October 29th, 2024

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Deuteronomy 17-18

Highlight Verse:

“The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭17‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

King Saul had only one wife. But his heart was never really with God in the first place.

King David had 8 wives. Despite that, he was “a man after God’s own heart.”

King Solomon? – 700 wives and 300 concubines. And he became the wealthiest man alive.

He went from being the wisest man on the planet to compromising his faith to please his wives.

It’s easy to avoid having 700 wives today. That wouldn’t quite be legal, at least here in the US.

But wealth can turn people.

As the Apostle Paul instructed his protege Timothy, “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10 NLT)

While I’ve been able to avoid amassing large sums of money (at least by American standards)

I still have to be on my guard against the love of money.

Has money (or lust) been a stumbling block in your life?
In what ways can we actively avoid the “love of money?”
October 28, 2024

October 28th, 2024

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 20

Highlight Verse:

“As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below.”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭20‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Our pastor is an excellent speaker.

Despite that, I have the amazing talent of nodding off during his or anyone’s sermons.

I can definitely relate to Eutychus.

I could make a point about God’s amazing healing and even resurrecting power shown after Eutychus’ fall.

But what really stands out to me in this chapter is the great hunger that the people had to listen to Paul for hours on end.

They were desperate to learn everything they could from the man whom God had sent to them.

No matter what his preaching style Paul taught truth that they were eager to here.

That eagerness to learn would help us get a lot more out of sermons (and might help me stay awake through them).

How hungry are you for learning more about God?
What lessons have you heard lately that impact the way you live?
October 27, 2024

October 27th, 2024

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Job 25-26

“In comparison, people are maggots; we mortals are mere worms.””
‭‭Job‬ ‭25‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

These are the words of Bildad the Shuhite.

But many have taken them out of context to the point where there is the term “worm theology.”

That school of theology would emphasize our lowness and sinfulness in order to also emphasize our need for God.

It is very true that without the sacrifice and grace and mercy of God, we would be lost in our sin.

But we should also never forget that we were created by God in His image.

By the grace of God, we are His children, joint heirs with Christ. We are His masterpieces created to do amazing things through His grace and power.

Worms and maggots? Those were crushed the moment the cross was dropped into place.

Do you consider yourself a worm or a child of God?
Do you realize the potential for great deeds that God has put in each of His children?
October 26, 2024

October 26th, 2024

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Isaiah 1:16-28

Highlight Verse:

“Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Last night, for the first time ever, I watched Napoleon Dynamite.

Now I can officially say, “Huh?”

It was … different.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was Napoleon Dynamite (minus the dancing on stage).

I was that awkward kid who got picked on by the jocks and whose home life was, shall we say, less than ideal.

To some extent, I grew out of it.

But I couldn’t have done that without my friends.

People stood up for me. They helped me find my strengths. They stood by me when no one else did, not even myself.

I hope I’ve been that friend too.

Do you have friends who stood by you when no one else did?
Have you been that friend to someone else?
October 25, 2024

October 25th, 2024

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Haggai

Highlight Verse:

“But now the Lord says: Be strong, Zerubbabel. Be strong, Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people still left in the land. And now get to work, for I am with you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
‭‭Haggai‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A couple days ago, I was in a Workforce Center where people apply for unemployment and look for jobs.

No, I wasn’t looking for a job but doing mine by fixing their copier.

While I was there, I found out there are a couple of things people need to do to collect unemployment benefits.

First, they had to work at getting another job. They had to show that they had made at least 3 attempts to get a job per week.

Second, they had to ask for it each week. If they don’t ask, the system assumes they got a job and benefits stop.

We saw in Nehemiah that people were, indeed, working during this time.

They had completed the wall and were rebuilding their houses.

In other words, now that they were secure, they were working to make themselves more comfortable.

But God wanted their attention to be on Him.

So, He put them to work rebuilding he temple.

And they constantly prayed for the temple and the people.

God blessed them for working and relying on Him.

Are you working for God or yourself?
In what ways has God blessed you for that work?
October 24, 2024

October 24th, 2024

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Revelation 13

Highlight Verse:

“Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭13‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

That will be a terrible time.

But let’s face it, in many ways that time is now.

I believe it will get worse but there is so much blasphemy against God in the world now.

It can be depressing until you notice one word in this verse:

“Allowed.”

The beast did not earn the right to speak by defeating God or anyone.

God allowed it for a limited time.

God is still in control despite all the blasphemies the devil can come up with.

Like a refiner’s fire, the beast’s words and actions will purify and strengthen those believers who live during that time.

They will even drive all those destined to believe to hasten their decisions to follow Christ.

What does it feel like to you to hear blasphemy against God?
How do you handle yourself when you see or hear such blasphemy?
October 23, 2024

October 23rd, 2024

Wednesday – History

Reading – Nehemiah 5-6

Highlight Verse:

“After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, “You are hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem.”
‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Sometimes, especially when I’m mad, my mouth gets ahead of my brain.

Nehemiah was ticked, but he stayed calm.

He took the time to think the situation over.

Then he called a meeting and dealt with the people who had been taking advantage of their neighbors in a reasonable way.

I’d like to say that I’ve learned from Nehemiah. In fact, I have.

But there are still times when my mouth tries to bypass my brain.

Nehemiah showed the best example by stopping to think it through.

We would do well to do the same.

Does your brain do a good job of staying ahead of your mouth?
How can you remind yourself to stop to think before you speak?
October 22, 2024

October 22nd, 2024

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Deuteronomy 16

Highlight Verse:

“This is a time to celebrate before the Lord your God at the designated place of worship he will choose for his name to be honored. Celebrate with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites from your towns, and the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live among you.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In the Bible, seven is a number that is often used to denote perfection or completeness.

Is it any coincidence that the word “Celebrate (ing)” is used seven times in this chapter?

Maybe, but one thing is clear – God likes a good party!

Okay, maybe not the kind of party you might be thinking of.

But He loves it when we rejoice about God providing for us.

He loves when we remember how He saved his people from slavery and death.

The three big festivals He required each year were times of joyful celebration.

Now God still insists that we have us some parties.

I’m game, Are you?

Why do I picture Skillet on stage here?

No matter what they are, it’s clear that music will be prominent in heaven. And it will be amazing.

I imagine that music in heaven will be moving beyond words.

It’s almost as if God loves a good party.

The celebration comes from the provision for sin through sacrifice.

But our repentance and redemption should bring about an awesome celebration.

King Solomon? – 700 wives and 300 concubines. And he became the wealthiest man alive.

He went from being the wisest man on the planet to compromising his faith to please his wives.

I still have to be on my guard against the love of money.

But what really stands out to me in this chapter is the great hunger that the people had to listen to Paul for hours on end.

That eagerness to learn would help us get a lot more out of sermons (and might help me stay awake through them).

These are the words of Bildad the Shuhite.

By the grace of God, we are His children, joint heirs with Christ. We are His masterpieces created to do amazing things through His grace and power.

Worms and maggots? Those were crushed the moment the cross was dropped into place.

It was … different.

But I couldn’t have done that without my friends.

I hope I’ve been that friend too.

But God wanted their attention to be on Him.

God blessed them for working and relying on Him.

That will be a terrible time.

God is still in control despite all the blasphemies the devil can come up with.

Like a refiner’s fire, the beast’s words and actions will purify and strengthen those believers who live during that time.

Nehemiah was ticked, but he stayed calm.

I’d like to say that I’ve learned from Nehemiah. In fact, I have.

Nehemiah showed the best example by stopping to think it through.

Is it any coincidence that the word “Celebrate (ing)” is used seven times in this chapter?

But He loves it when we rejoice about God providing for us.

Now God still insists that we have us some parties.