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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.
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
Related articles
- Week 24 (aprilbiblein1year.wordpress.com)
- From Reign to Ruin: 1 Kings 10-11 (atruediscipleofchrist.wordpress.com)
- God First (brotherjonathandevotion.wordpress.com)
- What would we ask of God? (ilifejourney.wordpress.com)
- Solomon Asks for Wisdom (thebiblehistorybooks.wordpress.com)
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Pilate Washes His Hands of Jesus
Daily Bible Reading – 2 Samuel 18; Psalm 56; Matthew 27
Today’s Key Passage – Matthew 27:11-26
In 1818, Ignaz Phillip Semmelweis was born into a world of dying women. The finest hospitals in the world lost one out of six young mothers to the scourge of “childbed fever.” A doctor’s daily routine began in the dissecting room where he performed autopsies. From there, he made his way to the hospital to examine expectant mothers without ever pausing to wash his hands. Dr. Semmelweis was the first man in history to associate such examinations with the resultant infection and death of the new mothers. His own practice was to wash with a chlorine solution, and after eleven years and the delivery of 8,537 babies, he lost only 184 mothers–about one in fifty. Though none of his colleagues believed him at the time, we know today about the importance of washing our hands. In today’s key passage however, we see a different kind of hand washing. The religious leaders were calling for Jesus execution, and Pilate was feeling the pressure. He knew what he should do. His own conscience told him that Jesus was not guilty of anything, and his wife confirmed his suspicions, but Pilate knew that if he released Jesus he would have a possible revolt on his hands that could cost him his job. Since he could not come up with a solution that would make everyone happy, he decided to make no decision at all. We read in verse 24, “When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood,’ he said. ‘“It is your responsibility!’” Pilate wanted to simply walk away from the decision and not take responsibility for the outcome, but in the end, he still allowed Jesus to be crucified. In the end, he was still guilty.
There are many times when we can all feel tempted to simply “wash our hands” of a situation. When we see people who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, we may be tempted to not deal with the question of who He is. When we see temptations in our lives that may lead us to sin, it is often too difficult to cut those temptations out of our lives completely. When we see other believers sinning, it is often easier to stay quiet instead of correcting them in love. When we see someone in need, it is often easier to walk by him instead of stopping to help. I could fill this page and probably a couple more simply listing out examples of when we might be tempted to “wash our hands” of a situation instead of dealing with it, but the point is that in each of these examples there is one common truth – washing our hands does not make us innocent. Walking away and choosing not to deal with a problem does not solve it, and in the eyes of God, we will still be found guilty. When you are tempted to wash your hands of a situation, instead ask God for His guidance. Allow Him to lead you to the right answer. Allow Him to lead you down the right path.
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.
Related articles
- Easter Reflections: The Darkest of Days (graceformymess.com)
- The Fifth Station: Jesus is Judged by Pilate by Mark D. Roberts (trinityspeaks.wordpress.com)
- Saturday, May 5, 2012 @ Mark 15-16 (phyllisbenigas.wordpress.com)
- Matthew 27 Questions for Reflection (thisdaywithgod.wordpress.com)
- Treasure in the Arms of Christ – Matthew 27:1-10 (thisdaywithgod.wordpress.com)
The Rich Young Ruler
Daily Bible Reading – 1 Chronicles 16; Psalm 106; Matthew 19
Today’s Key Passage – Matthew 19:16-30
It is interesting that in life we can do countless things right only to see one wrong move ruin everything. This is well illustrated in the world of sports. A baseball player can pitch a perfect game for 8.2 innings, throw one bad pitch, and lose the game with one swing of the bat. A quarterback can throw for 400 yards and four touchdowns before throwing a game losing interception in the fourth quarter. A pro golfer can lead for 71 holes of a tournament, hook his tee shot out of bounds on the last hole, and lose by one stroke. In today’s key passage, we see the story of a man who did many things right only to see one wrong move ruin everything.
The rich young ruler in today’s passage did many things right. To begin with, he sought out Jesus. This is always a good place to start. In addition, he asked Jesus the right questions. He began by asking Jesus what he should do to gain eternal life. When Jesus told him to obey the commandments, he replied that he had kept the commandments all of his life. By Jesus’ lack of an argument to this statement, we might be able to infer that the rich young man had indeed lived a good life of obedience to God. The man then asked Jesus another great question when he said, “What do I still lack?” (Vs. 20) Now Jesus knew exactly what was holding this man back. He knew exactly what he needed to do to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He knew that there was only one path to eternal life, and He knew that He was that path. Jesus told the rich young man, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Vs. 21) At this point, after living a good life, coming to the right person, and asking the right questions, the rich young man makes one single mistake that cost him everything. We read in verse 22 that, “when the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” The one thing Jesus asked him to do was the one thing he was not willing to do. The rich young man made money his god, and he was not willing to give up that god to follow the one true God. In this one moment, all of the “right” things he had done in his life no longer mattered.
Many people misinterpret this passage of Scripture and believe that Jesus is telling all of His followers to sell all of their possessions and give everything to the poor. This is not the case, as Jesus’ words were only intended for this one young man who was worshiping his money. However, it does bring to mind a good question that each of us should ask ourselves today. Hypothetically, if Jesus asked you to sell all of your possessions and give to the poor, how would you respond? Would you be willing to give up everything for Him? Think about this question today. Search your heart for your true feelings and be honest with yourself. At the end of the day, nothing should be more important to us than Jesus. Nothing should come before Him.
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.
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
Related articles
- Conflict Between Grace And Truth Part I (ptl2010.com)
- King’s Cross by Timothy Keller – Chapter 11 – The Trap (jamespaulgaard.wordpress.com)
- Jesus Blesses the Children; The Rich Young Ruler (brakeman1.com)
- Charity of Gospel? (olujordan.wordpress.com)
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Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
Daily Bible Reading – 2 Samuel 2; 1 Chronicles 11; Psalm 142; Matthew 14
Today’s Key Passage – Matthew 14:13-21
In today’s Bible reading, we find one of the most well known of Jesus’ miracles. Most people have heard the story, and it is illustrated in all four Gospels. Because it is so well known, sometimes we can have a tendency to gloss over it as we are reading God’s Word, but the lesson we learn from this story is so important that we must do everything we can to avoid that pitfall. The story of Jesus feeding five thousand people is not just a great story that shows Jesus’ capacity to perform miracles. It is not just a story about Jesus’ unlimited compassion. While both of these things are true and are highlighted in the text, there is so much more that we can glean from this story. The lesson taught is one that can permeate into every area of our lives. The lesson is about faith.
When our story begins, Jesus has just been told about John the Baptist’s death. He was filled with sorrow, and decided that He and His men needed a break, so they left in a boat to go to a solitary place. When they landed, though, Jesus and the disciples were met with thousands of people who were waiting on them. Instead of sticking to their plan of taking a break, Jesus had compassion for the people and healed their sick. Near the end of the day, the disciples wanted Jesus to send the crowd away so they could get something to eat, but instead Jesus gave the disciples a seemingly impossible task. He said, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” (Vs. 16) The disciples, knowing they were in a remote place, surveyed to see what they had available to feed the crowd. From John’s Gospel, we learn that they found a young boy who had brought his lunch consisting of five loaves of bread and two fish, and while they knew this was not enough to feed five thousand men plus women and children, they took what they had and gave it to Jesus. Jesus took the food He had been given, looked up to heaven, gave thanks, and everyone in the crowd ate and were satisfied. Once everyone had finished eating, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over.
In this life, we know that Jesus wants us to meet the needs of others. He wants us to meet their needs spiritually by reaching the lost and telling them about Him. He wants us to meet their needs physically by feeding the hungry and helping the poor. He wants us to meet their needs emotionally by taking compassion on others and serving them. Sometimes these tasks can seem difficult, and sometimes they might even seem impossible. There are many times when we simply feel we do not have a lot to offer. In those times, though, it is important that we do a bit of surveying to determine exactly what we have available. Whatever we find, no matter how small, if we give it all to Jesus He can do great things. He can multiply what we have to offer to create an abundance. There is a trap in this life, though, that we must avoid. When we feel like we do not have a lot of money or time, our flesh will say that we should just not give anything. When we feel like we do not have a lot of energy to serve others, our flesh will say that we should just not serve at all. When we feel like we do not know enough or are too afraid to reach people for Christ, our flesh will say that we should not even try. When we feel like we do not have a lot of faith, our flesh will say that we should just turn away from God. Imagine what would have happened if the disciples had fallen for this trap when they found the five loaves and two fish – Jesus never would have had a chance to perform one of the greatest miracles in history! In all areas of our lives, when we take everything we have and give it to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, He will multiply our efforts. The next time you feel like you do not have a lot to offer, give everything you have to Jesus and watch as He does miraculous things.
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.
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
Related articles
- Prep Work (firstsouthernbaptistofcoalinga.wordpress.com)
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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.
Related articles
- “They saw the signs which Jesus did” (worryisuseless.wordpress.com)
- Week 11.3 Jesus Sends Out the Twelve pt 2 (dailybiblestudy.com.au)
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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.
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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.
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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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.
The King Will Return
Daily Bible Reading - Genesis 47,48; Psalm 10; Luke 19
Today’s Key Passage - Luke 19:11-27
As Jesus was preparing to enter Jerusalem, He knew that many of His followers were expecting Him to become an earthly King and begin his reign right away. He knew that many of these followers believed that He would save them from their oppression. He also knew that in a matter of days many of these people that seemed so willing to follow Him would turn on Him and want Him to be executed. Though most of the people in the crowd were unable to discern it at the time, the parable in today’s key passage clearly showed that his kingdom would not take on this earthly form immediately. Jesus, the man of noble birth, would go away for a while to become King (when He went to Heaven). Before He left, He would call his servants to Him and give them gifts (time, money, and talents) that they should put to use to advance the Kingdom. Later, Jesus would return in all His glory to reign over His Kingdom. When He returned, he would ask his servants for an accounting of all of the gifts He had given them. He would expect that His gifts would be returned to Him with interest as He expected them to be put to good use. The first servant and the second servant took their gifts, used them properly, and multiplied them for the benefit of the Kingdom. To these servants Jesus response would be, “well done, my good servant”. The third servant, though, feared Jesus. He felt he was a hard man who did not reap what He sowed, so he did not use his gifts for the betterment of the Kingdom. Instead, he took the gifts he was given and stored them away in a safe place so that he could return the gifts to his King. Jesus was so unhappy with how this servant used his gifts, that He took everything away from the servant, and all of the other people who did not want Him to be King were put to death.
Jesus message to us has always been a straightforward one. He has given each of us gifts – be it time, money, talent, or a combination of the three. Jesus expects us to put these gifts to work. How are you using His gifts? Are you using them to advance His Kingdom, or are you squandering them on things of this world or storing them away? We can be certain of a few things in life. First, we can be certain that Jesus is the King. He will rule over everything and everyone. We can be certain that He will return one day. We can be certain that the people who have chosen not to follow Him will be thrown into the fire, and we can be certain that He will ask us to account for the gifts He has given us. What is left in question, however, is what His response will be to each of us individually. Stop today and think about how He will respond to you on the day of His return, then put His gifts to use, and advance His Kingdom here on Earth. When we do, we can all wait for the day when He says, “well done, my good servant”.
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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Living For Today
Daily Bible Reading - Genesis 25,26; Psalm 6; Luke 10
Today’s Key Passage - Genesis 25:19-34
In the days of Jacob and Esau, a birthright was an important thing. As the firstborn son of Isaac and Rebekah, Esau was due certain rights and privileges. Esau would have been entitled to receive a double portion of the family’s inheritance. In addition, Esau would have one day become the leader of the family. These rights and privileges, the birthright of Esau, could be sold or given away at his discretion, but if that happened, the action was permanent. Esau would have lost material possessions and his future leadership position in the family if he gave away his birthright. It almost sounds crazy for anyone to want to give all that away, but as we see in today’s key passage, Esau was living for today. In that moment, he was hungry. He had been out all day and came home to find Jacob cooking stew, and wanted to have something to eat. Jacob took advantage of the situation and tried to blackmail his brother with the stew he had made. A rational person would never have traded away a birthright for a little bit of stew and some bread, but Esau was not thinking rationally. He saw something that he wanted, and he was willing to give up everything to get it. His need for immediate gratification was enough to outweigh any future benefits he would have received with his birthright.
How many times have we all found ourselves in a situation similar to Esau’s? In the moment, we find ourselves wanting something. It might be a shiny new item that we see at the store that we just have to buy right now. It might be that piece of cake on the dessert tray that looks so good. It might even be a temptation to sin. When we are faced with these situations where immediate gratification seems to be the only answer, we can easily find ourselves doing something foolish like Esau did with his birthright. When we live only for today, we can sometimes lose sight of how important tomorrow is in the big picture. The shiny new toy that you had to have is great until you cannot afford to pay the bills at the end of the month. The piece of cake tastes great until you remember how many miles you would have to run on the treadmill to burn all of those calories. The sin may bring temporary pleasure to the flesh, but the resultant guilt and shame will cause you to pull further away from God. The world tells us to live for today for tomorrow we will die, but living for today can do irreparable damage to ourselves and others when it makes us forget what is truly important. Our lives here on this earth are not the end game. This place is just our temporary home. Our future reward is eternal life with the Father. When we live for that future instead of just living for today, we can avoid the kind of devastating mistakes that we will later regret. Pray for God to give you the strength to stop living for today, and pray for Him to give you the courage to live for your tomorrow with Him.
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
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
