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Five Principles for Receiving God’s Blessings
Daily Bible Reading – Proverbs 1-3; Romans 7
Today’s Key Passage – Proverbs 3:1-10
The first few chapters of Proverbs contain Solomon’s fatherly advice to young people, but when I read them, I can clearly hear our Heavenly Father’s advice to all of His children. Today’s key passage is a good example of this. I believe that most people want to lead happy and fulfilled lives. We want to receive God’s blessings in our lives, but sometimes we do not do our part in this process. In the first ten verses of Proverbs 3, God provides us with five distinct principles that we can follow to prepare ourselves for receiving His blessings. Now please do not misunderstand what I am saying here – these five principles do not guarantee His blessings in this life. In a perfect world, following these five principles would always lead to the blessings defined in the text here and now, but as you know, we live in a less-than-perfect world. In our world, wisdom usually leads to blessings but this is not always the case. Sometimes the sin of this world gets in the way, and sometimes God’s blessings are delayed until Jesus returns to call us to eternal life. Whether in this world or the next, however, we can be sure that following His principles will ultimately lead to blessings. With that in mind, let us look at the five principles from today’s passage:
Obedience - “do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart” (Vs. 1) – In order to practice obedience to God’s Word, we must first know what God’s Word says. As we read the Bible and learn more about God, we can begin to keep His commands in our hearts, and can eventually get better and better at obeying Him. As a result, His commands will, “prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.” (Vs. 2)
Integrity - “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” (Vs. 3) – Relationships are more important than anything else in this life. Relationships with God and with other people are key to our existence. When you act in love and faithfulness, you build your integrity and positively impact all of your relationships. As a result, “you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” (Vs. 4)
Trust - “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Vs. 5) – God wants us to lean on Him in everything we do instead of leaning on ourselves. When you trust God with all of your heart, you will learn to lean on Him in good times and bad. As a result, “he will make your paths straight.” (Vs. 6)
Discernment - “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.” (Vs. 7) – Most of us know the difference between right and wrong. God’s Word and the Holy Spirit convict us of sinfulness in our lives and show us the things we should avoid. As we turn from evil and toward God, “this will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” (Vs. 8)
Giving - “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops” (Vs. 9) – When we give God the “firstfruits of our crops”, we are giving Him our best in terms of our time, money, and talent. We honor Him when we have a generous heart and give God the best that we have to offer. As a result, “your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
When we follow God’s principles in life, we can prepare ourselves to receive all of His blessings. He loves us more than we can possibly imagine and He wants nothing more than to give us happiness and fulfillment in this life, but we have to do our part. Praise Him for his goodness and for His grace today, and thank Him for all of your blessings already received, and the ones yet to come.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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Solomon Asks for Wisdom
Daily Bible Reading – 1 Kings 3; 2 Chronicles 1; Psalm 78; 2 Thessalonians 2
Today’s Key Passage – 1 Kings 3:4-15
Most of us, at one time or another, have played the little game of “3 wishes” with ourselves or with others. The game goes something like this – you have been given three wishes, and you can ask for anything you want. What would your wishes be? The answers to this question are typically humorous and pretty informative. In fact, if you ever want to really understand what drives another person, ask him or her this question. In today’s key passage, we see a real-life example of this game in Scripture. Solomon was the new king and one night in a dream, God appeared to him and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” (Vs. 5) Now we all have moments of greatness in our lives. These are moments when we do the right thing, say the right thing, or think the right thing. In my opinion, Solomon’s greatest moment comes in the next few lines of Scripture. In response to God, we read in verses 7-9, “Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” When given the chance to ask God for anything, Solomon chose to ask for wisdom. The next line of Scripture is beautiful in its simplicity as we read, “The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.” (Vs. 10)
My question today for each of us might be a convicting one. If you were in the same position as Solomon, what would you say? If God appeared to you today and told you to ask for whatever you want, what would you ask for Him to give you? I ask that you spend some time today prayerfully considering this question, because while it may seem like an easy one, the answer will directly reflect where your heart is in relation with God’s will. When considering this question, remember that no matter what we say our answer would be, God knows our heart and He knows what we would truly ask from Him. He knows what is in our deepest prayers and He knows what drives us and motivates us. Would your answer be pleasing to Him? If not, the good news is that God has the power to change our hearts. He has the power to help our will line up with His perfect will. In fact, that is what our walk with God is really all about – growing and maturing in our faith as we become more like Christ. My prayer today is that you would prayerfully consider your request, that your request would be pleasing to God, and that He will give you the desire of your heart. Just as God granted Solomon’s request for wisdom, He will grant your request as well when it lines up with His perfect will.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
To follow me on Twitter for inspirational tweets, click the follow button – Follow @kevin_griggs
If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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Freely You Have Received, Freely Give
Daily Bible Reading – 1 Samuel 27; Psalm 141; 1 Chronicles 9; Matthew 10
Today’s Key Passage – Matthew 10:5-10
In today’s key passage, Jesus is getting ready to send His disciples out into the world for the first time on their own. He has spent time with them and He has trained them, and now He is sending them to reach others. He tells them to go to the “lost sheep of Israel” and preach the message that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. He gives them the power they will need to heal the sick, raise the dead, and drive out demons. Just before they leave, Jesus gives the disciples a principle that they should use to guide their actions as they go from town to town preaching His message to others. He tells them, “Freely you have received, freely give.” (Vs. 8) When I first read this verse, my first reaction was that Jesus was talking about generous giving. God gives us so much in this life and blesses us in so many ways, that the very least we can do is share that wealth with others by freely giving of our time, money, and possessions to help others. While this is obviously sound advice and something that we should all practice in our lives, the more I read this passage today the more I started to believe that Jesus was talking about a lot more than just material goods.
As I sat quietly today talking with God and thinking about this passage, I tried to focus on all the different things we have received from Him. The more I meditated on it, the longer the list became, so I began to write down some of the things we freely receive from God that we can freely give. Below are some of the items on my list:
- Freely we have received His grace and mercy, and freely we should extend that grace and mercy to others.
- Freely we have received His forgiveness of our sins, and freely we should forgive others of their transgressions.
- Freely we have received His encouragement, and freely we should encourage others.
- Freely we have received His wisdom, and freely we should share that wisdom with others.
- Freely we have received His love, and freely we should show that love to others.
Perhaps the most important thing on my list that we have received from God is the Good News about Jesus Christ. Each of us has been saved by His grace through faith in Jesus, and the fact is that at some point in our lives we learned about our Savior because someone somewhere cared enough about us to share the Gospel with us. God freely gives us salvation, but in order for people to receive His gift, they have to first hear the Good News. That is where we come in. Freely we have received salvation through His Good News, and freely we should share that Good News with others. I encourage you today to make a list of all the things you have freely received from God that you can freely give to others.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
To follow me on Twitter for inspirational tweets, click the follow button – Follow @kevin_griggs
If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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The Beatitudes: Living a Blessed Life
Daily Bible Reading – 1 Samuel 20,21; Psalm 34; Matthew 5
Today’s Key Passage – Matthew 5:1-12
When you think of being blessed what comes to mind? For many people, the idea of being blessed has shifted over time away from God’s ideal definition. Today, some people think that being blessed comes down to their circumstances. If they have a lot of money or possessions or if they have a relatively happy marriage, they feel blessed. Jesus, however, had a slightly different definition of blessed. When He spoke about being blessed, he was talking about more than just happiness about our circumstances. He was talking about a feeling of hope and joy that only comes from following Him. He was talking about eternal joy as opposed to earthly happiness. In the first part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave us the Beatitudes, which were a series of statements about what it means to be truly blessed. In today’s key passage, we will examine each of these Beatitudes to find out how to live a blessed life:
- “Blessed are the poor in spirit” - A person who is poor in spirit is not the same as a person who is “poor spirited”. He or she is someone who has an honest opinion of his or her spiritual condition. The person who will admit he is sinful is well on his way to faith in Christ for salvation.
- “Blessed are those who mourn” - The heart that mourns over sin is the heart that will confess and find the comfort of forgiveness. Initially people will find the forgiveness of salvation. After salvation, people will find the comfort of forgiveness for sins that they confess.
- “Blessed are the meek” - Being Biblically meek is being in submission to God. Being meek does not indicate a lack of strength, but rather strength that is under God’s control.
- “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”- To hunger and thirst after righteousness should be a characteristic of every Christian. We should want to please God by doing what is right. We should hunger and thirst for the things of God and His Word.
- “Blessed are the merciful” - As followers of Christ, we should show mercy toward others simply because of the mercy God has shown us. None of us deserves to be saved, but God has saved us anyway because of His great mercy. When we understand our own forgiveness, we will be better able to show mercy toward others.
- “Blessed are the pure in heart” - Many people concern themselves with what other people see about them. They think appearance or actions are key because they want others to believe they are righteous. God, however, looks only at our hearts. What we have in our heart is what matters to Him, so we should do everything we can to keep our hearts pure.
- “Blessed are the peacemakers” - There are two main ways in which we can be peacemakers. We can be peacemakers between man and man by how we treat others and by avoiding things like gossip and strife. We can be peacemakers between man and God by sharing our faith with others and leading them to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
- “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness” - Many Christians may face persecution because of their faith in Jesus, but we can take comfort in knowing that there is an eternal reward in Heaven.
If you truly want to live a blessed life, consider living by the Beatitudes. Jesus has provided us with a blueprint for what it means to be blessed, and to achieve the hope and joy that comes with being blessed through Him, all we have to do is follow His instructions.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
To follow me on Twitter for inspirational tweets, click the follow button – Follow @kevin_griggs
If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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Healing Through Prayer
Daily Bible Reading – 1 Samuel 1,2; Psalm 66; 2 Corinthians 7
Today’s Key Passage – 1 Samuel 1:1-18
In today’s key passage, we read the story of a man named Elkanah who had two wives, Peninnah, who had children, and Hannah, who had no children. Three times a year, Elkanah and his wives would travel to the tabernacle in Shiloh to worship God and bring the required sacrifices to God, and each time Peninnah would insult Hannah because she was barren. Hannah would get so upset during these trips, that she would end up crying constantly and would not eat. Finally, during one of these trips, Hannah decided to pray. She made a vow to God that if He would give her a son, she would dedicate him to a life of service to God. The high priest Eli saw her praying and gave her encouragement. When she finished her conversation with Eli, this woman who was so upset that she would not eat, “went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.” (Vs. 18) In a matter of moments, Hannah went from feeling depressed and discouraged to feeling joyful. Eventually, God blessed her with a child, and she kept her promise to God to dedicate him to a life of service. (Vss. 27-28) In addition, God would later give Hannah five more children. (Vs. 2:21)
In this story, Hannah actually received two different types of healing through her prayer. She received a physical healing when her prayer was answered and God allowed her to conceive her first child. In addition, she received emotional healing when she was finished praying. It is important for us to note that she did not need to wait for her prayer to be answered in order to feel joy. Her emotional healing came about not by God working on her behalf and making her pregnant, but through her faith in God and through the encouragement she received from Eli. When she cried out to God in her desperate time, she was able to leave her problems with Him. Moreover, she received moral support from a fellow believer that further led to her emotional healing. So often, we have a tendency to hold on to our discouragement until the time comes when God answers our prayers, but we can receive emotional healing long before that ever happens. When we pray, we can take all of our problems to God and can LEAVE THEM at the cross of Jesus Christ. We do not have to hold onto our sadness, our anger, or our bitterness. When we have faith like Hannah, we can finish our prayer knowing that God has heard us. We can finish our prayer knowing that God is working in our best interest. We can finish our prayer with emotional healing.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
To follow me on Twitter for inspirational tweets, click the follow button – Follow @kevin_griggs
If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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Your Part in the Body of Christ
Daily Bible Reading – Judges 1-3; 1 Corinthians 12
Today’s Key Passage – 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
The worship team at our church is awesome. There are people on that team who could easily be professional singers and would likely be very successful. Sometimes when I am listening to them sing, I wish I had their ability. I wish I was able to sing the way they do, but sadly, I would be lucky to string two notes together in tune because singing is simply a gift that God did not give to me. Before I feel too bad about my lack of singing ability, though, I stop and think about Paul’s words in our key passage for today.
The church in Corinth had a few problems that Paul was trying to sort out in his letter. One of these issues was how some people were thinking of and using spiritual gifts. At the time, some people were in the church were contending that spiritual gifts were representative of how religious a person was in the eyes of God. Basically, a person with a particular gift (for example, the gift of speaking in tongues) believed that he or she was more spiritual than a person who did not have this gift. In effect, the believers in Corinth were ranking their own spirituality based on the gifts they had received from God. Obviously, this is a misuse of gifts and not at all what God intended. Spiritual gifts are gifts from God designed to help the church function more effectively, and should never be used to divide the church. In our key passage today, Paul likens spiritual gifts to different parts of the body. He states that the foot has its particular purpose and the hand has its particular purpose, but each part is essential to the overall health of the body. No one part is greater than any other part, and no part of the body is greater than the whole body. The church functions the same way.
For those of us who have been saved, we are all parts of the body of Christ. When we received the Holy Spirit and He began to dwell inside of us, we were given certain gifts from God to help us during our walk with Christ. Some people are given the gift of singing while others were not. Some people are great preachers and some are not. Some are given the gift of prophecy, and some are not. God divides His gifts in His own way and by His own design, and no one with one particular gift can claim to be any greater than a person without that gift. No matter which gifts you have been given from God, there are a couple of important things that we need to keep in mind. First and foremost, you HAVE been given gifts, even if you have not yet figured out what those gifts are. Each of us has individual talents and strengths that can be used to further God’s kingdom. Our job is to figure out what those gifts are, and then use them to God’s glory. Do not spend time wishing you had been given other gifts. Instead, use the gifts you have been given to reach your full potential for Christ. Just as the overall health of the body is dependent on the health of its individual parts, the overall health of the body of Christ is dependent on the health of each one of us. Once you have determined your part in the body of Christ, make sure you are putting it to good use. Finally, always remember that as the body of Christ, we all share in each other’s times of joy and times of sorrow. Paul says, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (v. 26) Whatever your part in the body of Christ might be, do not allow yourself to be jealous of those who are honored or to ignore those who suffer. We are all part of the same Body. We can choose to build each other up, or tear each other down. Find out what your part is in the body of Christ, do your part as well as you can, and choose to build up other believers around you. When each of us decides to use the gifts God has provided us for the glory of God and not for our own personal glory, the body of Christ grows stronger and stronger.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
To follow me on Twitter for inspirational tweets, click the follow button – Follow @kevin_griggs
If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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Taking Credit for God’s Work
Daily Bible Reading - Numbers 19,20; Psalm 28; Mark 5
Today’s Key Passage - Numbers 20:1-12
About ten years ago or so I was working in the corporate office of a company near where I lived. One day, I came up with an idea for an operational program that would change the way we ran operations and would ultimately save the company money. I slaved night and day for at least a month working on this project and setting all of the pieces in place to ensure a successful launch, and when everything was put together I presented the idea to my boss. A few weeks went by and I did not hear anything about the project, until one day I was sitting in a meeting with my boss, my boss’s boss, and several top executives from the company. During that meeting, my boss was asked about the department and she brought up the project I was working on. The only problem was that she presented the idea as if it was her own. I sat in the meeting listening as she took credit for the work I had done. Of course, I did not say anything during the meeting, but I can still remember how I felt that day. I was certainly angry, but more importantly I felt betrayed by what she had done.
Though I had not thought about that situation in years, when I read today’s key passage I immediately remembered how I felt that day. In our passage, we see that the Israelites were experiencing a drought. They were thirsty and were agitated and were complaining to Moses. Moses and Aaron went directly to God and asked for His help, and God told them to go back to the Israelites and to, “Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.” Instead of following God’s instructions what did Moses do? He went back to the Israelites, but instead of simply speaking to the rock Moses said, ““Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.” In essence, Moses took credit for God’s work. Moses acted as though he and Aaron had the power to bring water from the rock, when actually God was the one with that power. God saved the people from their thirst in the desert – Aaron and Moses were just his messengers. I can imagine that God felt the same way I felt ten years ago. He was angry and felt betrayed by what Moses had done, and punished him by not allowing Moses and Aaron to enter the Promised Land.
We can often be tempted to feel prideful about things that we did not actually make happen. We can be tempted to boast to others about the things we have done. In actuality, God deserves credit for all of the good things in our lives. The job you have and the amount of money you make are not due to your “hard work”, your education, or your experience. You have that job and that paycheck by the grace of God. That idea that I came up with so many years ago that I was so proud of at the time was not my own doing – that idea was a gift to me from God. He was working to make me successful, even though I did not know it at the time and was not giving Him any credit for His work. It is ironic that I felt so angry and betrayed that my boss took credit for my work while all the time I was taking credit for God’s work in every area of my life. While we are not called to put ourselves down or to be self-deprecating, we are called to be humble. We are called to acknowledge what God has done for us and what He continues to do for us daily. In Matthew 23:12, Jesus said, “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Let us all humble ourselves today before the Lord, and remember that He is the one deserving of all the glory.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
To follow me on Twitter for inspirational tweets, click the follow button – Follow @kevin_griggs
If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
The Right Place at the Right Time
Daily Bible Reading - Leviticus 26,27; Acts 23
Today’s Key Passage - Acts 23:12-24
Some of the men from the Sanhedrin wanted to kill Paul. They viewed Paul as a threat, and they vowed not to eat or drink until Paul was dead. They came up with a plot against him, and planned to attack him while traveling to stand before the commander of the Roman army. But God had different plans in mind. God was watching over Paul and protecting him. Paul’s nephew heard about the plot to kill him because God put him in the right place at the right time. Paul’s nephew went to Paul to tell him about the plot to kill him, and Paul instructed his nephew to tell the commander what he had heard. When Paul’s nephew went to the commander, the commander could have dismissed the boy’s story, but instead God moved him to listen and to act. The commander came up with a plan to protect Paul and get him to Governor Felix and away from the threat.
Time and time again in the Bible we see that God has perfect timing. He knows when and where to act to produce the best results. We also see time and time again that God does a lot of things in the background that we do not even know about to protect us. Paul did not know about this plot against him and did not even know to be praying to God to thwart it, but God already knew. He knew to put Paul’s nephew in the right place at the right time to hear about the plot. God moved Paul’s nephew not to just sit on the information he had but to actually take it to Paul. God moved the commander to listen to Paul’s nephew and to move Paul out of harm’s way. God did all of this in the background without Paul even knowing what the outcome would be. In Jeremiah 29:11, we read, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God’s plans for us will not be thwarted. He will use His perfect timing and whatever means necessary to ensure we are fulfilling his ultimate plans for us, even when we are completely unaware that this is going on in the background. How many times has God moved in the background of your life and saved you from pain without you even knowing it? How many times has he placed people in exactly the right place at the right time for your benefit without you even having to ask? Never underestimate God’s love for you and all that He does to protect you, and always remember the words from Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
To follow me on Twitter for inspirational tweets, click the follow button – Follow @kevin_griggs
If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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Daily Practices
Daily Bible Reading - Leviticus 23,24; Psalm 24; Acts 21
Today’s Key Passage - Psalm 24
We all have certain things we do on a daily basis. Whether it be eating, drinking, getting dressed, brushing our teeth, or checking email, there are certain things that we never go without doing even for a single day. Psalm 24 challenges us with three things we should add to our list of daily practices, because spending time with God daily is more important than anything else we can do. Let’s break down Psalm 24 into these three sections and take a look at what we should strive to do daily.
Verse 1 and 2 say, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.” Each day, we should acknowledge God’s possession. All that is and all that will ever be belongs to God. He has created everything for His glory. We do not own the house we live in. We do not own the car we drive. We do not own the money we make. We are simply caretakers of God’s possessions. We have been tasked with being good stewards of His possessions, and we must always remember that everything we see in this world is temporary - “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:17) As followers of Christ, we should also acknowledge daily that we are His possessions in a very special way. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (John 1:12-13) We are His children – His most prized possession.
In verse 3 through 6 we read, “Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. They will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God their Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob.” Each day, we should “ascend the mountain” into God’s presence. Each day we should spend time with God – praying to Him, reading His Word, and meditating on His truths seeking to understand His will for us. We should strive daily to meet with Him and communicate with Him. The verses remind us that we are to come to him with clean hands and a pure heart. How can we do that? It is really a two-part process starting with God’s gift of salvation to us. 1 Corinthians 6:11 says, “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” God has washed away our sins giving us a path to Him and allowing us to come to Him with clean hands and a pure heart. The second part of the process is regular confession of our sins. To maintain our clean hands and pure heart, we must go to God and confess all of our unrighteousness and ask Him for His forgiveness. As we learn in 1 John 1:8-10, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
Finally, in verses 7-10 David writes, “Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty— he is the King of glory.” Each day, we should praise the “King of Glory”, our Lord Jesus Christ. We must remember that our times of prayer are not just a time for asking God for all the things we believe that we need. Prayer should also be a time for praise and worship of He who has paved the way for us to God. We are made whole not by our own deeds or our own hands, but by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. We can praise Him daily for what He has done for us and what He continues to do for us as He acts on our behalf as our chief priest in the house of God.
These three daily practices in Psalm 24 are not difficult, but they are vitally important to our spiritual health and wellbeing. If you have had trouble spending time with God daily in the past, let today be the first day of the rest of your life. When we follow these practices daily, all of our relationships (including our relationship with God) will grow stronger as we seek to put Him first in our lives.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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Overflowing Generosity
Daily Bible Reading - Exodus 35,36; Acts 10
Today’s Key Passage - Exodus 35:4 – 36:7
God had given Moses very specific instructions for building the Tent of Meeting (also called the Tabernacle). It was a huge job, and obviously not one that Moses could complete all alone. After he received his instructions from God, Moses went back to the Israelites and told them all about the tabernacle. He told the people that everyone who was willing should bring an offering to help build the tabernacle. Some people brought their possessions – gold, silver, bronze, yarn, fine linen, goat hair, skins and hides, wood, oil, spices, and gems. Other people brought their time and their talents. All of the people who gave, though, shared a common trait. They gave from the heart out of their own free will. God did not demand that these people give of their time, possessions, and talent and neither did Moses. Instead, God only invited the people who wanted to give to participate in the building of the tabernacle. The people gave because they knew how important their giving was going to be – after all, they were building God’s house. In the end, the Israelites gave so much that Moses had to ask them politely to stop. The people had gone above and beyond what was needed to build the tabernacle. That, my friends, is overflowing generosity.
This is the type of giving that God wants from us. He does not want us to give because we think we have to, and He does not want us to give with bitterness in our hearts. God is looking for us to give because we want to do it. He wants us to find ways to be generous with our time, possessions, and talents to the point of overflowing. He wants us to give because we know how important our giving can be. When we give to the church, we are helping to build God’s house. When we give to missionaries, we are helping to spread the Gospel. When we give to the needy, we are helping to make their lives a little bit better. All of these activities should pull on our hearts. We should give because we want so badly to help in these areas that we cannot help but give. What has God put on your heart? Where in your life has He asked you to give if you are willing? How will you answer that call? Imagine what would happen if every follower of Christ gave with the same overflowing generosity as the Israelites in this story. What could we as the body of Christ accomplish if we all gave more than what was needed? I believe that this type of overflowing generosity would change the world, and we can begin that process one person at a time.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
To follow me on Twitter for inspirational tweets, click the follow button – Follow @kevin_griggs
If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
