March 1st
He prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops...
¤ He is like a blazing fire that refines precious metal, and He can bleach the filthiest garments. Like a refiner of silver He will sit and closely watch as the dross is burned away. He will purify us... ¤ We can rejoice, too, when we run into deep problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us... they help us learn to patiently endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and this patient character strengthens our expectation of salvation. Therefore this triumphant development of hope will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.
¤ As you endure His divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as His own children. Whoever heard of a child who was never disciplined? If God doesn't discipline you as He does in training all of His children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really His children after all. Since we respect our earthly fathers who disciplined us, should we not all the more readily submit to the discipline of the Father of spirits and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God's discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in His holiness. Yet, no discipline is enjoyable while it is happening. It is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
So, take a new grip with your tired hands. Stand firm on your shaky legs, that the discipline of life will not injure you further, but instead heal you, that you may make straight paths for your feet... See that you do not refuse Him who speaks to you. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, how terrible our danger if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!
¤ The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, the Holy One says this: "I live in that high and holy place with Him whose spirit is contrite and humble. I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts. For I will not fight against you forever, nor will I always be angry, for you would die spiritually—all the souls that I have made."
John 15:2 Malachi 3:2, 3 Romans 5:3-5 Hebrews 12:7-13 & 12:25 Isaiah 57:15,16
March 2nd
Jesus said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."
¤ The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Children of Israel said to them, "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat, and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death!"
Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough food for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow My instructions. On the sixth day they are to gather twice as much as they gather on the other days... Gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is a day of rest. There will be no food on the ground for you that day." ...In time, the food became known as manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey cakes... The Israelites ate manna forty years in the wilderness, until they came to the land of Canaan.
¤ He gave a command to the skies above, and opened the doors of the heavens; He rained down manna for the people to eat, He gave them the grain of heaven. Men ate the bread of angels; He sent them all the food they could eat. ¤ The people asked Jesus, "What must we do in order to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the One whom He has sent." So they asked Him, "What miraculous sign then will You give us that we may see it and believe You? What will You do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "
Jesus then replied to them, "I tell you the truth, it was not Moses who had given them the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the Bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world... I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen Me and still you do not believe."
¤ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him who overcomes, I will give to eat of the hidden manna.
John 4:32 Exodus 16:1-5, 26, 31, 35 Psalm 78:23-25 John 6:28-33, 35, 36 Revelation 2:17
March 3rd
And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.
¤ The whole Israelite community set out from the desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?" But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses, and said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to make us and our children and livestock to die of thirst?"
Then Moses cried out to the Lord, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me." And the Lord answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock of Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"
¤ The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle; they did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by His law. They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them. He did miracles in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. He divided the sea and led them through; He made the water stand firm like a wall. He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night. He split rocks in the desert and gave them water as abundant as the seas; He brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers. But they continued to sin against Him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High... When He struck the rock, water gushed out, and streams flowed abundantly.
¤ Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
Numbers 20:10, 11 Exodus 17:1-7 Psalm 78:9-17, 20 1st Corinthians 10:1-5
March 4th
Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.
¤ Rest before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Do not worry when others succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from your rage; do not envy others, for it only leads to evil. The wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land. ¤ And Paul said, "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all that you do. Remember that the Lord is coming soon.
Don't worry about anything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all that He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And finally, dear brothers and sisters, fix your thoughts on whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is praiseworthy—think about such things. Keep putting into practice all you have learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you."
¤ Let the words of Christ, in all of their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use His words to teach and counsel each other. ¤ Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with a pure heart. Again I say, don't get involved in foolish arguments that only start fights. The Lord's servants must not quarrel, but should be kind to everyone. They must be able to teach effectively and be patient and without resentment toward difficult people. They should gently teach those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people's hearts and they will believe the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the Devil's trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.
¤ O, Lord, cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You I trust; Cause me to know the way I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You... Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Psalm 86:11 Psalm 37:7-9 Philippians 4:4-9 Colossians 3:16 2nd Timothy 2:22-26 Psalm 143:8, 10
March 5th
You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself...
Now if you obey Me fully and keep My covenant, then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.
¤ "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make idols of any kind, to bow yourselves down to them... Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God... Remember the Sabbath (day of rest) by keeping it holy... Honor your father and your mother... You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house, his wife, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
¤ As Christians, like newborn babies you are to crave the pure spiritual milk of God's word, so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Now that you have tasted that the Lord is good, come to Him as to a living stone, the chief cornerstone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. You also, as living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ... You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praise of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who were once not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
¤ To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us a kingdom and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. ¤ For He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption... ¤ For all of you who were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. ¤ Blessed and holy are those who have had part in this first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, for you are priests of God and Christ, reigning with Him now for a period of time until His return.
Exodus 19:4-7 Exodus 20:2-17 1st Peter 2:2-6, 9, 10 Revelation 1:5, 6 Colossians 1:13
Galatians 3:27 Revelation 20:6
March 6th
Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?
¤ Now the Egyptians who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt, and so the people of Israel also began to complain. "Oh, for some meat!" they exclaimed. "We remember the fish we use to eat freely in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. But now our appetites are gone and we have nothing to eat but this manna!"
...Moses heard all the families standing in front of their tents weeping, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very angry and said to the Lord, "Why are You treating me, Your servant, so miserably? What did I do to deserve the burden of a people like this? Are they my children? Am I their father? Is that why You have told me to carry them in my arms—like a nurse carries a baby—to the land You swore to give their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep complaining and saying, 'Give us meat!' I can't carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! I'd rather You killed me than treat me like this. Please spare me this misery!"
¤ Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?" And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they replied, "Seven, and a few little fish." So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, then broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. So the people all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left over. Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.
¤ Moses said to the Lord, "The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, 'I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.' Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough food for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?" And the Lord said to Moses, "Has the Lord's arm been shortened? You shall see if what I have said will happen to you or not." ...Now a wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side, and about a day's journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about three feet above the surface of the ground.
Isaiah 50:2 Numbers 11:4-6, 10-15 Matthew 15:32-38 Numbers 11:21-23, 31
March 7th
God does not tempt anyone. Everyone is tempted when they are drawn away by their own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.
¤ And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail; and they spread them out for themselves all around their campsites. But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was even chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and He struck them with a very great plague. So Moses called the name of that place "Graves of Craving," because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving the things of Egypt.
¤ It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all of my heart. But there is another law within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: in my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. ¤ But now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but walk according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin that leads to death.
¤ Run from all evil things and follow what is right and good. Pursue a godly life of faith, love, patience and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life that God has given you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses. And I command you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, that you obey His commands with all purity. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ returns. For at the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. He alone can never die, and He lives in light so brilliant that no one can approach Him.
¤ Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. ¤ These events happened and became examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, or become idolators as some of them did.
James 1:13-15 Numbers 11:32-34 Romans 7:21-25 Romans 8:1, 2 1st Timothy 6:11-16 1st Peter 2:11
1st Corinthians 10:6, 7
March 8th
When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will know that I am He.
¤ The Israelites journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread."
So the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. The people soon came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from among us." So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a poisonous serpent and set in on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked up at the bronze serpent, he lived.
¤ And Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." ...Nicodemus said to Him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, we speak what we know and testify what we have seen, and you do not receive our witness. But if you don't even believe Me when I tell you about things that happen here on earth, how can you possibly believe if I tell you what is going on in heaven? For only I, the Son of Man, who lives in heaven, have come to earth and will return to heaven again. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world the He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
¤ So the Lord God said to the serpent, "You are singled out from all the domestic and wild animals of the whole earth to be cursed. You will grovel in the dust as long as you live, crawling along on your belly. From now on you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel." ¤ And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him... After this, knowing that all things were now accomplished, He said... "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
John 8:28 Numbers 21:4-9 John 3:5, 9-17 Genesis 3:14, 15 John 19:17, 18, 28, 30
March 9th
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
¤ Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali and the land of Ephriam, Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.
Then the Lord said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there." So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day. Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyesight was not weakened, nor his natural vigor diminished. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days.
¤ After the death of Moses, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying; "Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all the people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel... No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be very strong and courageous, that you may observe to do according to the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go."
¤ Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look directly before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and hold to that path and be safe. Do not turn to the right or to the left; don't become sidetracked in following evil. ¤ For the ways of a man/woman are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his/her paths. ¤ There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give and account. ¤ Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord.
Joshua 1:9 Deuteronomy 34:1-8 Joshua1:1-7 Proverbs 4:25-27 Proverbs 5:21 Hebrews 4:13
Psalm 27:14
March 10th
Oh, that You would burst forth from the skies and come down! How the mountains would quake in your presence!
¤ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. ¤ Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; Touch the mountains and they shall smoke.
¤ This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. ¤ He will come again but not to deal with our sins. This time He will bring salvation to all those who are eagerly waiting for Him. ¤ He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth... And it will be said in that day: "Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him and He will save us. This is the Lord; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation."
¤ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
¤ For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our weak, mortal bodies, that they may be changed into glorious bodies like His own, according to the power by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
¤ Behold, I tell you a mystery; We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Isaiah 64:1 Romans 8:19-23 Psalm 144:5 Acts 1:11 Hebrews 9:28 Isaiah 25:8, 9 Titus 2:11-14
Philippians 3:20, 21 1st Corinthians 15:51-53
March 11th
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the rock of my salvation, my stronghold.
¤ Now Joshua sent out two men to spy secretly, saying, "Go view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told to the king of Jericho that men had arrived from the children of Israel to spy out the country. So the king of Jericho sent men to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country." But Rahab hid the two Israelite men and said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I don't know where they were from. They went out the city gate, as it was closing, just at dark. I don't know where they went, but you might catch them if you hurry." So the men of Jericho pursued them on the road to the fords of the Jordan. As soon as those who pursued had gone out, they shut the city gate.
Now Rahab went up on the roof where she had hidden the men and said to them, "I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, and give me a pledge of truth and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death."
So the men answered her, "Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the Lord has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you." Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall. And she said to them, "Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way."
¤ By faith they passed through the Red Sea as on dry land, whereas the Egyptians attempting to do so were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. ¤ Do you now see that faith was working together with their actions and, by their actions, faith was made perfect?
Psalm 18:2 Joshua 2:1-16 Hebrews 11:29-31 James 2:22
March 12th
Oh, you of little faith, why do you doubt?
¤ When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray:
"Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
¤ Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places... Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God... Pray always... Be alert and persistent in your prayers for Christians everywhere.
¤ Lord, teach me good judgement and knowledge, for I believe Your commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. You are good and do good; teach me Your statutes... It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver. Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
Matthew 14:31 Matthew 6:5-15 Ephesians 6:10-12, 14-18 Psalm 119:66-68, 71-73
March 13th
The paths of the Lord are true and right, and the redeemed walk along them. But sinners trying it will stumble.
¤ Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone; a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble because they do not listen to God's word or obey it, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
¤ My son, do not forget My law, but let your heart keep My commands; For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones.
¤ Lord, uphold my steps in Your paths, that my footsteps may not slip. I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me and hear my speech. Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You, from those who rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings, from the wicked who oppress me, from my deadly enemies who surround me... As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
¤ The Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his incredible folly. ¤ Listen to My counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days. There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless the Lord's purpose will prevail. ¤ Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge. ¤ Do not enter the path of the wicked... Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on.
Hosea 14:9 1st Peter 2:7, 8 Proverbs 3:1-8 Psalm 17:5-9, 15 Proverbs 5:21-23 Proverbs 19:20, 21
Proverbs 23:12 Proverbs 4:14, 15
March 14th
The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is sound, your whole body is full of light. But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness.
Be very careful then that the light within you never becomes darkness. If your body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body then will be radiant—it will be like a bright lamp giving off its light! ¤ Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in Him and He will help you. He shall bring forth your redemption as the light, and the justice of your cause as the noonday sun. ¤ The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?
¤ In Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has dawned. ¤ Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." ¤ Come and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
¤ God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we only deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
¤ The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory. Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. ¤ For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, and He has made us to understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. ¤ You are the light of the world; A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Luke 11:34-36 Psalm 37:3-6 Psalm 27:1 Isaiah 9:1, 2 John 8:12 Isaiah 2:5 1st John 1:5-9
Isaiah 60:19, 20 2nd Corinthians 4:6 Matthew 5:14-16
March 15th
Show me faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
¤ Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; no one went out, and no one came into the city. And the Lord said to Joshua, "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all your men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do for six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the horns. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horns, and when you hear the sound of them, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the walls of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall charge straight into the city"
...And so it happened on the seventh day, when the people heard the sound of the horns and shouted with a great shout, that the walls of the city fell down flat. And they rushed in and utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both men and women, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, "Go into the harlot's house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her." And so the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. They brought out all of her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father's household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
¤ You believe that there is only one God, you do well, yet, even the demons believe—and tremble! You see then that a person is justified by works and not by faith only... Was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she hid the spies and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so, believing without action in accordance to believing is dead also.
¤ Therefore lay aside all filthiness and the abundance of wickedness in your lives, and accept with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But if you keep looking steadily into God's perfect law—the law that sets you free—and don't forget what you have heard but do what it says, then God will bless you for doing it.
James 2:18 Joshua 6:1-5, 20-24 James 2:19, 24-26 James 1:21-27
March 16th
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, that will they also reap.
¤ But the children of Israel committed a sin regarding the devoted things among the spoils of Jericho... And God said, "Israel has sinned, and they have transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the devoted things and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff" ...And Achan said to Joshua, "Indeed, I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And they are hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver underneath them." So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there the items were, hidden in Achan's tent, with the silver underneath them. So they recovered the things from the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord.
Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them into a valley. And Joshua said to Achan, "Why have you troubled us: The Lord will trouble you this day." So all of Israel stoned Achan and his family and his animals with stones, and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them. Then they raised over them a great heap of stones, still there to this day. Then the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger against the children of Israel. Therefore, the name of the place has been called the valley of Achor (trouble) to this day.
¤ You were getting along so well as Christians. Who has interfered with you to hold you back from the truth? It certainly isn't God, for He is the one who called you to freedom. But it takes only one wrong person among you to infect the others—a little yeast spreads quickly through the whole batch of dough! I am trusting the Lord to bring you back to believing the truth as I do. God will judge that person, whoever it is, who has been troubling and confusing you.
¤ Preach the word of God. Be persistent, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage people with sound teaching. For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear. They will reject the truth and follow counterfeit teachings. Be watchful for these things.
Galatians 6:7 Joshua 7:1, 11, 20-26 Galatians 5:7-10 2nd Timothy 4:2-5
March 17th
"I will never leave you nor forsake you"... The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
¤ Behold, I am with you and will protect you wherever you go... I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised to you. ¤ Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be afraid; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. ¤ At my first defense, no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear... And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.
¤ Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, Lord, will I seek." Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me... I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord.
¤ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with a bit and bridle, else they will not come near you.
¤ No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a false hope for safety, neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You. ¤ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Hebrews 13:5, 6 Genesis 28:15 Deuteronomy 31:6 2nd Timothy 4:16-18 Psalm 27:7-10, 13, 14
Psalm 32:8, 9 Psalm 33:16-22 Romans 5:5
March 18th
Jesus taught them many things by parables...
"Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The plant sprang up quickly, but it soon wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil. Other seed fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades, so that it produced no grain. Still other seed fell on fertile soil, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted... Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand."
Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with other followers who were gathered around, they asked him, "What do these stories mean?" He replied, "You are permitted to understand the secrets pertaining to the kingdom of God. But these stories conceal everything about it from outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: 'They see what I do, but they do not perceive its meaning. They hear My words, but they don't understand. So they will not turn from their sins and be forgiven.' But if you can't understand this story, how then will you understand all the others I am going to tell?"
"The farmer I spoke of is the one who brings God's message to others. The seed is the word of God. Those seeds that fell on the hard path represent those who hear the message, but then Satan comes at once and takes it away from them. The rocky soil represents those who hear the message and receive it with joy, but like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they encounter problems or are persecuted because of the word. The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so that no crop is produced.
Now the good soil represents those who hear and accept God's message and put it into action, producing a huge harvest—thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted. I ask you, would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed to shut out the light? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine!"
Mark 4:2-21
March 19th
He prunes those branches which bear fruit, that they might produce even larger crops.
¤ I will bring them through the fire, and refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. ¤ I will take away the dross from the silver, and it will go to the silversmith for jewelry.
¤ We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and teaches us to trust God more each time we experience it, until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady.
¤ As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as His own children. Whoever heard of a child who was never disciplined? If God doesn't discipline you as He does all of His children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really His children after all. Since we respect our earthly fathers who disciplined us, should we not all the more cheerfully submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God's discipline is always right and exceedingly good for us because it means that we will share in His holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
¤ Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake I have done this, for why should My name be profaned? I will not give My glory to another. ¤ So take a new grip with your tired hands. Stand firm on your shaky legs. Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall, but will become strong. ¤ How can a young person stay pure? By obeying Your word and following its rules. I have tried my best to find You—don't let me wander from Your commands.
John 15:2 Zechariah 13:9 Proverbs 25:4 Romans 5:3-5 Hebrews 12:7-11 Isaiah 48:10, 11
Hebrews 12:12, 13 Psalm 119:9, 10
March 20th
Rescue me from the oppression of mankind, that I may keep your precepts.
¤ So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He had done for Israel. Joshua, the servant of the Lord, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephriam, on the north side of Mount Gaash. When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord, nor the work He had done for Israel.
Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the images of Baal; and they forsook the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger... They did not cease from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
¤ This is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men and, as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly deserved. When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving. They are fully aware of God's death penalty for those who practice such things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do the same things.
¤ You may be saying, "What terrible people you have been talking about!" But you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you do these very same things... Don't you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don't you care? Can't you see how kind He has been in giving you time to turn from your sin? ¤ Do you think these people were worse sinners than you? I tell you that unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Psalm 119:134 Judges 2:7-12, 19 Romans 1:26-32 Romans 2:1, 4 Luke 13:2, 3
March 21st
Though the Lord is on high, yet He has regard for the lowly
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The Lord will work out His plans for my life—for Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever. Do not abandon me, for you made me.
¤ When doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer.
¤ Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, and teach out of your law, that You may give him rest from the days of adversity.
¤ O Lord, You have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away. You chart the path ahead of me, and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You both precede and follow me. You place Your hand of blessing upon my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; far to great for me to understand. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I run from Your presence? If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, You are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell in the farthest oceans, even there Your hand will guide me, and Your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness I cannot hide from You. To You the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to You.
You formed all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable. I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, You are still with me.
¤ The Lord is close to all who call on Him, yes, to all who call on Him sincerely. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cries for help and rescues them.
Psalm 138:6-8 Psalm 94:19, Psalm 94:12, 13 Psalm 139:1-18 Psalm 145:18
March 22nd
Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?
Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."
¤ But they do not regard the work of the Lord, nor consider the operation of His hands. Therefore My people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge...
Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and drag their sins behind them as if with a cart rope; They say of Me, "Let Him hurry up and do something! Quick, show us what You can do! Let us see what the Holy One has planned, that we may know it." Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and clever in their own sight. Woe to those who are heros when it comes to drinking, who boast about all the liquor they can hold. They take bribes to pervert justice. They let the wicked go free while punishing the innocent. Therefore they will all disappear like burning straw. Their roots will rot and their flowers wither, for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty.
¤ The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the hearts. ¤ Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name. Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary...
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar and all that is in it. Let the field be joyful and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and all the peoples with truth.
Matthew 11:3-6 Isaiah 5:12, 13, 18-24 Proverbs 17:3 Psalm 96:1-6, 11-13
March 23rd
Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?
¤ And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may know what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. ¤ Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, love one another fervently with a pure heart, for you have been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass; The grass withers and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word by which the gospel was preached to you.
¤ So then, since Christ suffered physical pain for us, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude He had, and be ready to suffer too. For if you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning, and so you won't spend the rest of your life chasing after evil desires, but will be anxious to do the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime doing the evil things that godless people enjoy—immorality and lust, feasting and drunkenness, wild parties and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, some think it strange that you no longer run with them in the wicked things they do, and they say evil things about you. But they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
¤ I write this to you who believe in the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. And we can be confident that He will listen to us whenever we ask Him for anything in line with His will. And if we know He is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that He will give us what we ask for...
We also know that those who have become part of God's family do not make a practice of sinning, for God's Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot get his hands on them. We know that we are children of God, and that the world around us is under the power and control of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we are in God because we are in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and He is eternal life; Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place within your hearts.
Romans 11:34 Romans 12:1, 2 1st Peter 1:22-25 1st Peter 4:1-5 1st John 5:13-15, 18-21
March 24th
Since we have a kingdom which cannot be destroyed, let us serve and please God with thankfulness, worshiping Him also with holy fear and awe.
¤ After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord... Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. ¤ Shamgar, the son of Anath, once killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad, and he delivered Israel. ¤ And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak, of Sampson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle and put whole armies to flight.
Women received their loved ones back again from death, yet, others were tortured, not denying their faith but preferring to die, that they might obtain resurrection to a better life. Some were mocked and their backs cut open with whips. Others were chained in dungeons. Some died by stoning and some were sawed in half. Others were killed with the sword. Some went about in skins of sheep and goats, hungry and oppressed and mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these received God's approval because of their faith, yet did not receive the awaited promise; God had something better planned for our day, and it was not His plan that they should reach perfection without us.
¤ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sins which so easily ensnare us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, thinking nothing of its shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Think constantly of Him enduring all that sinful people could say and do against Him and you will not lose your purpose or your courage. After all, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your struggle against sin.
Have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you, His children? He said, "My child, do not ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don't be discouraged when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those whom He loves, and punishes those He accepts as His children." ...See to it then that you obey Him who speaks. For if those did not escape who refused to listen to Moses on the earth, how much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks to us from heaven?
Hebrews 12:28 Judges 2:11, 16 Judges 3:31 Hebrews 11:32-40 Hebrews 12:1-6, 25
March 25th
O Lord, I have come to You for protection...
Don't let me be put to shame. Rescue me, for You always do what is right. Bend down and listen to me; rescue me quickly. Be for me a great rock of safety. ¤ For You are my hiding place; You protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. ¤ God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even if earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! ¤ Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.
¤ Here is a bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works: There was a small town with only a few people living in it, and a great king came with his army and besieged it. There was a poor, wise man living there who knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought any more about him. Then I realized that though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long. But even so, the quiet words of a wise person are better than the shouts of a foolish king. A wise person can overcome weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.
¤ Don't let the excitement of your youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor Him in your youth before you grow old and no longer enjoy living. It will be too late then to remember Him, when the light of the sun and moon and stars is dim to your old eyes, and there is no silver lining left among your clouds. Your limbs will tremble with age, and your strong legs will grow weak. Your teeth will be too few to do their work, and you will be blind too. And when your teeth are gone, your lips will be tightly closed when you eat. You will no longer hear the chirping of the morning birds, but will be deaf and tuneless. You will be afraid of heights and falling—a white-haired, withered old man, dragging himself along: without sexual desire, standing at death's door, and nearing his everlasting home as the mourners go along the streets.
Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is cracked, or the pitcher is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
Psalm 31:1, 2 Psalm 32:7 Psalm 46:1-3 Proverbs 1:7 Ecclesiastes 9:13-18 Ecclesiastes 12:1-7
March 26th
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him
¤ Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. Joash's son, Gideon, was threshing wheat at the bottom of the winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, "Mighty hero, the Lord is with you... I will be with you and you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man."
¤ Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly shaken. ¤ Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
¤ The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in their old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. ¤ Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will it cease from yielding fruit.
¤ I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me, and I in them, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; Abide in My love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
Psalm 2:12 Judges 6:11, 12, 16 Psalm 62:1, 2 Psalm 1:1-3 Psalm 92:12-15 Jeremiah 17:7, 8 John 15:5-10
March 27th
Everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I did in fact suffer the loss of everything, but considered it mere garbage compared to being able to have Christ...
I want to be one with Him. I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God's law, but I trust Christ to save me. For God's way of making us right with Himself depends on faith. And through faith I want to know Him and the power shown by His resurrection. I long to share His sufferings, and even to die as He did, so that I may experience the resurrection from the dead. I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these desires, or that I have already reached perfection. But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.
¤ Be careful that nobody takes your faith captive through the intellectualism of high-sounding nonsense and traditions of men. Such philosophy is at best founded on men's ideas of the nature of the world, and disregards Christ. Yet, it is in Him that God gives full and complete expression of Himself in bodily form. Moreover, your own completeness is realized in Him, who is the ruler over all authorities, and the supreme head over all powers. ¤ If you were then raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
¤ For as many of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ¤ You were buried with Him through your water baptism into death, and just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, you also were raised from the watery grave to walk in newness of life... God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that very form of doctrine to which you were entrusted, and having then been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
¤ Then Jesus said to those who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." ¤ So why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Philippians 3:8-14 Colossians 2:8-10 & 3:1-3 Galatians 3:27 Romans 6:4, 17, 18 John 8:31, 32
Acts 22:16
March 28th
The kingdom of God does not come with observation. Nor will they say, "See here!" or "See there!" For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.
¤ Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus within himself, "God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess." And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat on his breast saying, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
¤ Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a person. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies. These are the things which defile a person. Eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person. ¤ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord search the heart, I test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. ¤ Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they die.
¤ In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise. The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver; the heart of the wicked is worth little. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom. ¤ The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and can turn the entire course of your life into a blazing flame of destruction, for it is set on fire by hell itself. Every kind of beast and bird, reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth proceed both blessing and cursing.
My brothers and sisters, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus, no spring yields both salt water and fresh. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show by good conduct that their deeds are done in the meekness of wisdom.
Luke 17:20, 21 Luke 18:10-14 Matthew 15:18-20 Jeremiah 17:9, 10 Ecclesiastes 9:3
Proverbs 10:19-21 James 3:6-13
March 29th
I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." And He said, "Go and tell my people...You will hear my words, but you will not understand. You will see what I do, but you will not perceive its meaning."
¤ Then He spoke a parable to them: "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.' " ¤ If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
¤ The Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. Jesus then said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgement to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him... I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgement, but has passed from death into life."
¤ And Peter said, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Now when the multitude heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching.
Isaiah 6:8, 9 Luke 5:36-39 John 3:12 John 5:18-24 Acts 2:36-42
March 30th
There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for one star differs from another in its beauty and brightness.
¤ Now there was a dispute among Jesus' disciples, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors'. But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Normally the master sits at the table and is served by his servants. But not here! For I am your servant."
¤ Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something of Him. And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom." But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink?" Her sons said to Him, "We are able." "You will indeed drink from it," He told them. "But I have no right to say who will sit on the thrones next to mine. My Father has prepared those places for the ones He has chosen."
¤ Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it something to be held onto to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God has also highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
¤ Then Jesus called a little child to Himself and set him in the midst of His disciples, and said, "Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." ¤ The Son of Man will one day come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
1st Corinthians 15:41 Luke 22:24-27 Matthew 20:20-23 Philippians 2:5-11 Matthew 18:2-4 Matthew 16:27
March 31st
They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.
¤ Then I shall put clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the sinful heart of stone out of your body and give you an obedient heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgements and do them.
¤ Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
¤ And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter the Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of His death for us. And since we have such a great High Priest who rules over God's people, let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting Him. For our evil hearts have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water that has removed our former sins. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
¤ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord... For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.... Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord.
Jeremiah 32:38, 39 Ezekiel 36:25-27 Psalm 25:8-15 Hebrews 10:19-25 Lamentations 3:25, 26, 31, 32, 40
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