My Daily devotions log
by Tony Copple Started 12 Feb 2010 A place to record verses or phrases that "hit" me, or "speak to me," from an Old Testament and a New Testament book. Note that dates given for the writing of the books are scholarly estimates and should not be quoted as accurate. Readings are from the New International Version of the Bible.Beginning with Jeremiah and Mark...
BEGINNING OF JEREMIAH, BC 629 J1: I have put my words in your mouth ... I will pronounce my judgments on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me ... They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you. BEGINNING OF MARK, AD 72 Mar1: I will send a messenger ahead of you ... He also drove out many demons, but he would not let them speak, because they knew who he was. Prayer: Now I have publicly confessed you, I ask that you will help me never let you down or bring dishonor on you ... I have so much to get though this day, I beg your divine help to clear my may. ------------ J2: Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem. Mar2: No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Prayer: Thank you that you opened the door for the Sierra Leone tax deductions through AGO. Please help me Holy Spirit (as you did yesterday) work though the long list of things that must be done today. ------------ J3: Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah. Mar3: Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin. Prayer: Thank you Father for standing with me in Eternal Hope and giving me joy in speaking. ------------ J4: Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. M4: But since they have no root, they last only a short time. Prayer: Show us Lord, in Sierra Leone, to sew seed that will take root. ------------ J5: They are well-fed lusty stallions, each neighing for another man's wife ... "Yet, even in those days," declares the Lord, "I will not destroy you completely." ... "The priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way, but what will you do in the end?" Mar5: At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him Prayer: Remind us dear Lord that our supplications to you are not answered without power being drawn from you, which you feel. ------------ J6: I appointed watchmen over you and said 'Listen to the sound of the Trumpet!' But you said. 'We will not listen.' Mar6: "Isn't this the carpenter?" Prayer: Lord, please strengthen this feeling in me that I am directly led by your angels in some things. ------------ Mar7: You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men. Prayer: Have mercy Lord on this generation of men who are deaf to your commands, including me. ------------ J8: The dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. M8: "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." Prayer: Help me Lord not to forget things I must do for GAT preparation. ------------ J9: Oh that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people. Mar9: They kept the matter to themselves, discussion what "rising from the dead" meant. Prayer: Help us understand that there are things we may not understand yet. ------------ J10: I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. M10: "Noone who has left home, or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields - and with them, persecutions), and in the age to come, eternal life. Prayer: Thank you Lord that your gifts are for this world as well as the next. ------------ J11: 'Obey me, and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God' ... but they did not listen.' Mar11: "Therefore I tell you , whatever you have asked for in prayer, believe that you will have received it, and it will be yours.' Prayer: Help me Lord to understand the enormity of your words about prayer, and help me take great care with what I ask. ------------ J12: Why does the way of the wicked prosper; why do all the faithless live at ease? ... "They will sow wheat but reap thorns; they will wear themselves out but gain nothing. So bear the shame of your harvest because of the Lord's fierce anger." Mar12: He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved ... David himself calls him Lord; how then can he be his son? Prayer: Lord, assist me in these last few days (of the RRSP season) not to miss instructions from my clients. ------------ J13: So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless. Mar13: 'And the gospel must first be preached to all nations' ... 'What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch.' Prayer: Lord, may I have a role, however small in having the gospel preached to all nations. ------------ Mar14: "Are you the Christ?" "I am, said Jesus." Prayer: Thank you God that your wrath showed to Jeremiah was turned to your love showed to those who tormented you. ------------ J15: 'You keep on backsliding, so I will lay hands on you and destroy you.' ... 'If you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman.' Mar15: "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani" Prayer: Lord, may my words in Sierra Leone be worthy. ------------ J16: 'It is because your fathers forsook me, ' declares the Lord, 'and followed other gods and served and worshipped them.' Mar16: 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.' END OF MARK Prayer: Lord, so be it. ------------ J17: The man who trusts in the Lord ... has no worries in the year of drought ... 'but if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.' BEGINNING OF JOHN, AD 96 Jo 1: He was with God in the beginning. "I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." Prayer: Continue to open my eyes Lord to your blessed word. ------------ J18: 'Go down to the potters house ... Does the snow of Lebanon ever vanish from its rocky slopes? ... yet my people have forgotten me' Jo2: He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. Prayer: I would like to 100% believe without miracles, but with the abundant testimony. + this collect for lent: Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent: Create and make in new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ------------ J19: They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal - something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind" Jo3: 'No-one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven - the Son of Man' ... whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.' Prayer: Please turn on the switch in people's lives that they know your Word is true. ------------ J20: I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Jo4: I who speak to you am he ... Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony. Prayer: Help me lord shrug off the mocking of unbelievers. Thank you for the words to use. ------------ J21: 'I will punish you as your deeds deserve,' declares the Lord. Jo5: "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." Prayer: We are saved by grace, but we condemn ourselves by sin. This is a lesson for all of us Lord. ------------ J22: Do what is just and right ... or you will have the burial of a donkey, dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem. Jo6: Andrew, Simon Peter's bother spoke up: "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish ... " "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." Prayer: Help us remember that there is only one pre-requisite for heaven. ------------ J23: 'Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams." declares the Lord. ... If a prophet ... claims 'This is the oracle of the Lord,' I will punish that man and his household. Jo7: But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no-one will know where he is from." (error in thinking by the people) Prayer: Lord, let me never disparage anyone because I know his/her background and assign no honour. ------------ J24: 'I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord.' Jo8: 'Go now, and leave your life of sin.' Prayer: Lord, you have said that you will help us know you, and that we should leave our life of sin, to the extent we are humanly capable. We praise your mercy! ------------ J25: 'I will summon all the peoples of the North and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares the Lord ... but when the 70 years are fulfilled ... they themselves will be enslaved by many nations and by great kings." Jo9: "Night is coming, when no-one can work." ------------ J26: Furthermore, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, and so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death. Jo10: 'I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also.' Prayer. Lord, I am one of the other sheep from another sheep pen and I am so infinitely grateful for your sacrifice for me. May I have courage like Ahikam son of Shaphan. ------------ J27: Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. Jo11: "Yes Lord," she (Mary) told him. "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." ... "I knew that you always hear me." Prayer: Let us obey the Lord, regardless of what our earthly minds may say to us. ------------ J28: 'But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized at one truly sent by the Lord only if the prediction comes true." Jo12: 'For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.' Prayer: Lord, may I become influential by working on my own character, that others may be drawn to Jesus. ------------ J29: 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to give you hope and a future.' Jo13: 'Whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me. Prayer: Lord, may we be accepted in Freetown, and may they then accept you. ------------ J30: Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. Jo14: 'You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.' Prayer: Lord, strengthen me as I prepare to lead this group in your name. ------------ J31: "The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will build a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah." Jo15: "I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener ... every branch that does bear fruit he trims clean so that it will be even more fruitful." Prayer: Lord prune me and help me remember it is so that I will be more fruitful. ------------ J32: They built high places to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, though I never commanded, nor did it enter my mind, that they should do such a detestable thing. Jo16: "Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you." Prayer: Lord, twice have you spoken to me about child sacrifice, Is this a reference to today's version, abortion? ------------ J33: Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever. Jo17: "And now Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. Prayer: Thank you Lord for this timely answer to our discussion from Beta last night. You are indeed right beside me in my journey of joy. ------------ Jo18: Surely you are not another of this man's disciples?" the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied, "I am not." Prayer: Your infinite goodness alone was strong enough to bear the sins and guilt of us all. How can our thanks ever be sufficient. ------------ J35: ... they obey their forefather's command. But I (God trough the prophets) have spoke to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. Jo19: "It is finished." Prayer; Write these things in my heart Lord, especially as we plan for Freetown, that my belief shines through my words and actions. ------------ J36: Take a scroll. and write on it all the words I have spoken to you ... whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe's knife and threw them into the firepot ... Take another scroll and write upon it all the words that were on the first scroll. Jo20: But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Prayer: Thank you for Jeremiah's patience (but a back up copy would have been a good idea!) ------------ J37: Please pray to the Lord our God for us. Jo21: Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Prayer: Lord, please heal Laurie-Ann of this dreadful condition (written in the Carleton Place Hospital emergency waiting room). ------------ J38: "Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes." Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. BEGINNING OF ACTS, written ~ 62 AD. Ac1: Then they drew lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. Prayer : Lord, teach me to act for you in all things, even though I could be thrown into a cistern. ------------ J39: "But I will rescue you on that day, declares the Lord, you will not be handed over to those you fear ... because you trust in me." Ac2: "Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?" Prayer: Lord, I put my trust in you at this time that as I devote energy to the GAT, that I will not fall prey to failing to watch over my business. ------------ J40: The Lord your God decreed ... and bow he has brought it about ... because your people sinned ... but today I am freeing you ... go back to Gediliah ... whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the towns of Judah. Ac3: Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. Prayer: "But you act as if Jesus never came; you will be completely cut off from among his people. ------------ J41: While they were eating together there, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gediliah son of Ahikam with the sword, killing the one whom the king if Babylon had appointed as governor. Ac4: Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned, and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet. Prayer: May you give me more Barnabas - the spirit of encouragement. ------------ J42: Ten days later the word of God came to Jeremiah ... O remnant of Judah, the Lord has told you, "Do not go to Egypt." Ac5: As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. ... They never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. Prayer: I look for ward to proclaiming this good news in Freetown; Holy Spirit, sustain me and give me the words. ------------ J43: So Johanan and all the people disobeyed the Lord's command to stay in the land of Judah ..the Lord Almighty says, "I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,and I will set his throne over these stones I have buried here." Ac6: This proposal [to select seven men to oversee distribution of alms) pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit .. Prayer: We should remember that both disobeying the Lord, and obeying Him may bring death. ------------ J44: 'This will the sign to you that I will punish you in this place,' declares the Lord, ... 'I am going to hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies, just as I handed Zedekiah over to Nebuchadnezzar.' Ac7: Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man names Saul. Prayer: Your purposes will not be obscured by men, though in the short term they will appear to thwart them. ------------ Ac8: Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth. Prayer: I pray for Jews to realize what they read in their own Bible. ------------ J46: Go up to Giliad and get balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt. But you multiply remedies in vain; there is no healing for you. Ac9: For three day he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. .. Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus names Saul, for he is praying. Prayer: The Lord heals and the Lord prevents healing, as he wishes and in accordance with His purposes. ------------ Ac10: Do not call anything impure that God has made clean ... but God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. Prayer: Lord, I ask that you would warm my heart toward Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, for you made them all. ------------ J48: Moab will be destroyed and her town invaded ... Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab. Ac11: Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. The disciples were first called Christians at Antoch. Prayer: What a priceless legacy we have from those early disciples - much stemming from Peter's vision of the sheet let down from Heaven. ------------ J49: "Yet afterwards, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites," declares the Lord. ... "Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come," declares the Lord. Ac12: He had James, the brother of John, put to death ... When he saw this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. ... Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches, and everything the Jewish people were anticipating." Prayer: The presence of angels is to be remembered at all times. Thank you Lord. ------------ J50: "Israel is a scattered flock, that lions have chased away. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria, but the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. " ... "I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria. But I will bring Israel back to his own pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Basham ... search will be made for Israel's guilt, but there will be none." Ac13: Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days, that you would never believe, even if someone told you. Prayer: Lord, I see that the punishment for unbelief of those who have been told has been devastating throughout the ages. Help me to bring belief to people. ------------ J51: Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives. Do not be destroyed because of her sins. The words of Jeremiah end here. Ac14: Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there (Iconium), speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. Prayer: May I be forgiven for not continuing this study while we were recently in Sierra Leone. ------------ J52: In the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. Ac15: Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. Prayer: You have supported your servants even when they through differing conscience have disagreed. Our God is a Great Big God. ------------ BEGINNING OF LAMENTATIONS, 586 BC La1: How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! Ac16: He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple names Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek ... When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bythinia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. Prayer: Help us understand that there will be times that the Holy Spirit may prevent, as He may encourage. ------------ La2: Look, O Lord, and consider: whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring? Ac17: When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered ... A few men became followers of Paul and believed ... Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus (listeners to new ideas). Prayer: (Jason just called) Lord, give Jason strength at this time as Bailey goes through mental illness, and soothe the way to her getting on medication for manic depression. / Even this would seem small compared with the woes of the Jews after the fall of Jerusalem. ------------ La3: He has broken my teeth with gravel ... because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed. Ac18: Your blood be on your heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles. Prayer: Lord, you supported your servant Paul even in his willfulness because his heart was right with you. But those whose hearts were lost were allowed to suffer unspeakably. ------------ La4: With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed. Ac19: On hearing this they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Prayer: I give thanks to the many scholars responsible for the New International version of the Bible, and for the words Emma Dupigny wrote in my copy so long ago, and our recent reunion in Freetown. ------------ La5: We must buy the water we drink; our wood can be had only at a price ... Our fathers sinned and are no more, and we bear their punishment ... the young men have stopped their music ... Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us for so long? Restore us to yourself O Lord, unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure. Ac20: Seated in a window was a young man names Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on ... "And new, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. Prayer: In this generation we risk losing all as disaster after disaster hits. Lord, where is the man to lead us from our abyss? ------------ BEGINNING OF EZEKIEL Ez1: On the fifth of the month - it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin - the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. The re the hand of the Lord was upon him. Ac21: Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place. Prayer: As you did with Paul, Lord, give me the courage to stand for truth as given to me by your Holy Spirit. ------------ Ez2: He said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you...You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, fore they are rebellious." Ac22: Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' Then they raised their voices and shouted, "Rid the Earth of him! He's not fit to live!" Prayer: Thank you Lord for reminding me that the effectiveness of my witness is not my concern. ------------ Ez3: But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are... But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his evil ways, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself. Ac23: The following night, the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome." Prayer: Lord, you reward those who speak for you, and you punish those who remain silent. ------------ Ez4: Bake it in the sight of the people using human excrement for fuel. Then I said, "Not so, Sovereign Lord! I have never defiled myself. "Very well," he said, "I will let you bake your bread over cow manure instead of human excrement." Ac24: I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. Prayer: Ezekiel reveals here that it is legitimate to argue with God, and you may even prevail in rare cases. God grant me even a small measure of such wisdom as Ezekiel was given by you. ------------ Ez5: Take a sharp sword and use it as a barber's razor ... Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair ... But take a few strands of your hair and tuck them away in the folds of your garment. Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again ... Therefore in your midst fathers will eat their children and children will eat their fathers... Then again my anger will cease and my wrath against you will subside. Ac25: "I appeal to Ceasar!" ... "I have brought him before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. For I think it is unreasonable to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him." Prayer: Your wrath knows no bounds. Help us avoid it in our world today. ------------ Ez6: But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations. Ac26: "And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today ... I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen - that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles." Prayer: For the Jewish people, that more of them would read and understand their own scriptures. ------------ Ez7: Their silver and gold will not be able to save them in the day of the Lord's wrath ... for it has made them stumble into sin. Ac27: The next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. Prayer: Thank you Lord for human kindness, and that your wrath has not yet descended on our country. Do we have time to prevent it? ------------ Ez8: You will see things that are even more detestable than this..and there at the entrance to the temple were about 25 men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces towards the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east. Ac28: But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect. Prayer: As you arranged for Paul to reach Rome, we know that even today you are arranging for prophets to have access to the secular forces - faith and politics continues to interact. ------------ Ez9: Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it. BEGINNING OF ROMANS, written 56 AD in Corinth Ro1: Men committed indecent acts withj other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Prayer: Lord, show you people that Paul's words are clear and cannot be construed in other ways, lest in the end times they will not recive the mark. ------------ Ez10: The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. Their entire bodies, including their backs their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels. Ro2: To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. Prayer: Lord, I do indeed seek eternal life by your grace. I want to rest in you and not be caught up in busyness. ------------ Ez11: The Lord said to me,"Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice to this city." Ro3: For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law... rather, we uphold the law." Prayer: You give us insite, through Paul, which includes living a true life and receiving redemption through faith. Thank you Lord. ------------ Ez12: They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people. Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Ro4: So then, Abraham is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. Prayer: Only God can change peoples hearts, and even he can have a very hard time. So let us just live out The way. ------------ Ez13: "My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and offer lying divinations ... beacause they lead my people astray saying "Peace", when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash." Ro5: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ ... Since we have now been justified through his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him ... For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one man the many will be made righteous. Prayer: Lord, how you hate evil and love righteousness! Thank you for the confidence you give us in eternal salvation. ------------ Ez14: "When any ... separates himself from me and sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face, and then goes to a prophet to enqire of me, ... I will set my face against that man ... I will cut him off from my people. Ro6: Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? If we have been united with him in his death, we will certainly also be unied with him in his resurrestion. Prayer: Lord, give me yet more joy from the life of faith and obedience. ------------ Ez15: "How is the wood of a vine better than that of a branch on any of the trees in the forest? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? Ro7: For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. Prayer: Take away my memories of wrongdoing that I may concentrate on the mission for you. Forgive me, and hurl my sins into the sea. ------------ Ez16: [Extraordinary chapter. You won't hear this read in church! An allegory of unfaithful Jerusalem.] "I put a ring on your nose, ear-rings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head ... and you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols ... you adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband. Every prostitute receives a fee, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favours." Ro8: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus ... If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness ... Now if we are children, then we are heirs .. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose ... For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Prayer: How truly awesome is your word, yet you know our depravity and suffer for it. ------------ Ez17: A great eagle came to Lebanon ... Taking hold of the top of a cedar, he broke off its topmost shoot, and carried it away to a loand of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders ... but there was another great eagle... Ro9: In other words, it is not the natural children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. ... The older will serve the younger. Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. Prayer: I pray for your mercy, O Lord. ------------ Ez18: Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood, though his father has done none of them ... Will such a man live? He will not! For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! Ro10: [This chapter contains 12 oT references from scholar Paul.] If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ... Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved ... How can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? ... How beautiful are the feet of them that briong good news. ------------ Ez19: .. and brought him to the king of Babylon. They put him in prison, so his [the young lion's] roar was heard no longer, on the mountains of Israel. Ro11: What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain ... as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so they could not hear, to this very day ... Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ... The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins. Prayer: I pray Lord for every Jew on earth that this time may come soon, ------------ Ez20: When you offer your gifts - the sacrifice of your sons in the fire - you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols. Then I said: "Ah, sovereighn Lord! They are saying of me, 'Isn't he just telling parables?'" Ro12: Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship ... Do not be overcome with evil; but overcome evil with good. Prayer: My prayer today is that you see us today less evil in our ways than in the days of Ezekiel. But I fear we may still bring you such grief, you who love us so much. ------------ Ez21: O profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: the lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low." Ro13: The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. Prayer: As I hope for the day, let me give love to all particularly my dearest Laurie-Ann, in this life. ------------ Ez22: I will disperse you among nations and scatter you through the countries ... because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem ... and you will be melted inside her. Ro14: One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables ... the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him ... For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Prayer: Help me Lord always to understand the real message from your Word, and not just a part out of context, and show me how best to use it. ------------ Ez23: There she [Jerusalem] lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. Ro15: It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation. Prayer: Lord, you have used sexual sin as an allegory for the works of the unsaved. Clearly you have given us the joy of sex for within marriage only. ------------ Ez24: Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you, but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided. ... So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded. Then the people asked me, "Won't you tell us what these things have to do with us?" Ro16: I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Prayer: Lord have mercy on those who have brought impurity into our modern Church. ------------ Ez25: I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered among the nations, and I will inflict punishment on Moab. BEGINNING OF First Corinthians, written by Paul around 58 AD in Ephesus. 1Co1: For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God ... For God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. Prayer: May this encourage me not to abandon those around me in favour of those ready to listen far away. ------------ Ez26: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army. 1Co2: We do not, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. Prayer: In your widom, O God, you used Nebuchadnezzar for your purposes. Open our eyes to see your secret wisdom that we may discover your kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven. ------------ Ez27: [A Lament for Tyre] Your domain was on the high seas; your builders brought your beauty to perfection ... But the east wind will break you to pieces. 1Co3: For no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ ... The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile. Prayer: Help me seek God's purposes not mine, and know that his wisdom not mine is a pre-requisite. ------------ Ez28: You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till wickedness was found in you through your widespread trade you were filled with violence and you sinned... By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. 1Co4: I care very little if I am judges by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. Prayer: My my trade always be contected honestly, and may I cease judging others. ------------ Ez29: Then they will know that I am the Lord. 1Co5: You must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy. Prayer: Lord, yesterday I read not to judge others; today I read not to associate with some others. Help be understand the subtlety here. ------------ Ez30: I have broken the arm of Pharoah king of Egypt. It has not been bound up for healing or put in a splint so as to become strong enough to hold a sword... I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand. 1Co6: If you have disputes, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church ... The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already ... Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. [This chapter contains the substance of the current chaos in the Anglican Church. ------------ Ez31: I made it beautiful, with abundant branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden in the garden of God. 1Co7: For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean... An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs - how he can please the Lord. ------------ 1Co8: For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? Prayer: Help me understand this Lord, which suggests we should not in love chastise those who follow other faiths. ------------ Ez33: .. and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people ... Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me ... When all this comes true-and it surely will-then they will know that a prophet has been mong them. 1Co9: God has commanded that those who preach the gospel should received their living from the gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. Prayer: Lord, maybe you are making me a watchman; I am not yet capable. Make me capable, I pray. ------------ Ez34: Then the word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel ... who only take care of themselves ... My sheep wandered all over the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no-one searched or looked for them ... I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them. 1Co10: Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered over the desert ... We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did - and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died ... And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. Prayer: On this Canada Day, I sense that you may be drawing some of those scattered over the earth to one land. Lord, raise up strong Christian leaders to tend the new flocks. Maybe Cardinal Ouellet is one such; strengthen his resolve. ------------ Ez35: Then you will know that I am the Lord [I see parallels between the repeated teachings in Ezekiel and Muslims killing Muslims in Pakistan.] 1Co11: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you, do this in remembrance of me." Prayer: Help me understand the series of terribe happenings in the world. Are you behind them Lord? ------------ Ez36: And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws ... I will save you from all your uncleanness 1Co12: On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensible. [sermon fodder?] Prayer: I certainly am weaker Lord, but to be indispensible is in itself surely the meaning of life. ------------ Ez37: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel ... I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them ... I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land 1Co13: Love .. keeps no record of wrongs. Prayer: You know that my forgiveness of Debbie is total - why then has she cut herself off so totally? ------------ Ez38: "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog ... prophesy against him a and say, "This is what the sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Gog." 1Cor14: If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? ... He will be convinced by all that he is a sinner, and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God." Prayer: Help me discern the trumpet calling me to the heavenly battle! ------------ Ez39: I am against you, O Gog ... I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. 1Cor15: And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins ... But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For, as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firtfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him ... The last enemy to be destroyed is death ... in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. Prayer: For revealing these mysteries through your servant Paul, may you be praised on earth forever. ------------ Ez40: In the twenty-fifth year of our exile ... on the tenth of the month ... in visions he took me to the land of Israel ... and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze ... with a measuring rod ... who said to me ... tell the house of Israel everything you see. [Design for the new temple area. NB: I am readig Relativity by Einstein, which is peppered with measuring rods.] 1Cor16: On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income. Prayer: Thank you for this Biblical version of "pay yourself first." ------------ Ez41: The man said to me, "This is the table that is before the Lord." 2Cor1: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. Prayer: I pray that I too may be able to comfort others, for you have surely given me the temperament to handle troubles. ------------ Ez42: There the [the priests] will put the most holy offerings-the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings -for the place is holy. 2Cor2: If anyone has caused you grief, ... you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Prayer: Why do I have Debbie so heavily on my mind? Have I not forgiven her in my heart long ago? What is tormenting her that she wants nothing to do with me? Should I try and investigate, or let things lie? ------------ Ez43: These are the measurements of the altar ... these will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings and sprinkling blood upon the altar when it is built ... at the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, delares the Sovereign Lord. 2Co3: Even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Prayer: Lord, I understand that the slaughter of innocent animals is a small thing compared with the slaughter of the Son of God, yet I ask that in some miraculous way the animals did not suffer. I pray for the Jews who still see only through veils. ------------ Ez44: I looked and saw the glory of the Lord filling the temple, and I fell face down. The Levites who went far from me ... may serve in my sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and serving in it; they may slaughter the burnt offerings and sacrifices for the people and stand before the people and serve them. 2Co4: But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. Prayer; every day in every way Lord help me feel your all-surpassing power. Help me witness tomorrow as I teach. ------------ Ez45: The shekel is to consist of twenty gerahs ... You are to do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance; so you are to make atonement for the temple. 2Cor5: Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Prayer: Help me genuinely welcome the time when I will dwell in that building from you Lord, though not leaving too much sorrow here. ------------ Ez46: He [the Prince of the tribe] is to give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that none of my people will be separated from his property ... these are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple will cook the sacrifices of the people. 2Cor6: ... having nothing, yet possessing everything ... we are the temple of the living God. Prayer: The temple transition from the old testament to the new is yet another relelation you have (just) given me. Thank you Lord. ------------ Ez47: When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows... You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 2Cor7: Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. Prayer: Your plans are all encompassing Lord, may they include that Godly sorrow for me that leaves no regret. ------------ Ez48: These are the tribes, listed by name: at the Northern frontier, Dan will have one portion ... the special portion you are to offer to the Lord will be 25,000 cubits long, and 10,000 cubits wide ... the remaining area will be for the common use of the city ... the city will be in the centre of it and have these measurements ... and the name of the city from that time on will be THE LORD IS THERE. 2Cor8: Last year, you were the first not only to give, but also to have the desire to do so. Prayer: Dear Lord thank you go giving your servant this desire also. ------------ BEGINNING OF DANIEL thought to have been written in 164 BC some time after these events. Da1: Please test your servants for ten days. Give us nothing but vegatables to eat and water to drink ... At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 2Cor9: You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. Prayer: A sirit of generosity clearly gladens your heart Lord, and you continually seek ways to enrich us. ------------ Da2: The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future ... Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him ... Daniel remained at the royal court. 2Cor10: For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing." Prayer: Let me not be affected by opinions but stong and boastful in the power given by you. ------------ Da3: If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O King. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. 2Co11: For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough... For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. Prayer: O God, give me the gift of discernment of such people. ------------ Da4: Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle... At the end of that time , I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes towards heaven, and my sanity was retored. 2Cor12: To keep me from becoming coinceited, there was given me a thorn in my flesh to torment me ... But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Prayer: Help me understand this wisdom for my own situation. And guide me to deal with the personal deficiencies and inefficiencies I have allowed to creep into my business life, O Lord. ------------ Da5: Peres: You kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persions ... Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in purple ... that very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom. 2Co13: This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority -the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down. Prayer: Clearly the Lord's strong hand is on all things. Help me always to have faith in his abiding love and protection of those who follow him. ------------ Da6: Three times a day he prayed, giving thanks to his God ...Then they said to the king, "Daniel, pays no attention to you, or to the decree you put in writing ... And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found, because he had trusted in his God. BEGINNING OF GALATIANS, AD 57. July 2010 Ga1: I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. Prayer: Lord, open the eyes of those around me that they will see that it continues to this day and in this city. ------------ Da7: Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed ... there before me was a fourth beast, terrifying and frightening ... the Ancient of Days took his seat ... the court was seated and the books were opened ... there was before me was one like a son of man ... his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed ... I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast ... the fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth .. the saints will be handed over to him for a time, times, and half a time. But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Ga2: For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me ... If righteousness could be obtained through the law, Christ died for nothing. Prayer: If Paul was so opposed, why should we fear for a second if we are opposed? ------------ Da8: The visions [a ram and a goat] of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future. Ga3: What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the seed to whom the promise referred had come ... So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. Prayer: Lord God, thank you that you saw fit to reveal such astounding truth to Paul, and that he preserved it for us. ------------ Da9: I, Daniel, understood from the scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years ... I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed ... look with favour on your desolate sanctuary ... While I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight ... Seventy seven are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin ... until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven sevens, and sixty two sevens. After the sixty two sevens, the Anointed one will be cut off. Ga4: I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. What has happened to all your joy? One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves. Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son. Prayer: I ask Lord that through visions and dreams you continue to free the descendents of Hagar the slave woman. ------------ Da10: In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel ... I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food, no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over ... He said, "Daniel, you are highly esteeemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you ... first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. Ga5: You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? The acts of the sinful nature are sexual immorality - drunkenness, orgies and the like ... The fruit of the spirit is love - self control. Prayer: Lord, your and your angels have striven mightily to show us the way to joy through honouring and loving you. Help me to such eternal joy! ------------ Da11: The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. Ga6: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Prayer: I try to do good; may I never become weary. ------------ Da12: At that time, Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people - everyone whose name is found written in the book - will be delivered. BEGINNING OF EPHESIANS, ~AD 90. Probably not actually written by Paul. Ep1: That power, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from tyhe dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. Prayer: Lord, as we look towards the age to come, thank you for your promise of Jesus' continuing authority forever. ------------ BEGINNING OF HOSEA, 8th century BC. August 2010 Ho1: The Lord said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord." Ep2: But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. Prayer: Open my eyes further Lord, the better to understand your mind working through Hosea and Paul (or whoever wrote Ephesians). ------------ Ho2: The Israelites are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. How then can the Lord pasture them like lambs in a meadow? Ep3: For this reason I kneel before the father, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being. Prayer: Paul's prayer just said is finer than anything I can say, so I repeat it, but directed to me. ------------ Ho3: The Lord said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin-cakes." Ep4: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold ... Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. Prayer: Help me not to open the 'fridge door, giving the devil a foothold in my life. ------------ Ho4: The more the priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their glory for something disgraceful. They feed on the sins of my people, and relish their wickedness. And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways. Ep5: But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people ... Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you ... Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled withe the spirit. Prayer: Your word is clear, Lord, in showing your hatred of impurity, and your love of purity. Help me in my life to practise purity. ------------ Ho5: And they will seek my face. In their misery they will earnestly seek me. Ep6: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Prayer: Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words will be given to me that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. ------------ Ho6: For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings. BEGINNING OF PHILIPPIANS, AD 62 Ph1: Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Prayer: Faith is the lynchpin. Lord, grant me this gift in full. Richard Rohr calls it the "freedom not to have to know" which I like, though this is a dangerous man. ------------ Ho7: Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is like a flat cake not turned over. Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with grey, but he does not notice. Ph2: But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you send to take care of my needs. [Epaphroditus took back to Philippi this precious epistle.] Prayer: O Lord, we give thanks for those, most whose names are unknown, who risked lives to bring us, the unborn, the Word of God. ------------ Ho8: Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the Lord because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law. Ph3: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Prayer: I wish to blow thr trumpet in my life; the sound that will carry me to your realm in eternity. ------------ Ho9: Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac. Ph4: I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you have sent. Prayer: That I and mine enjoy that same contentment that comes from the Lord; and hanker not after the appreciation of men. ------------ Ho10: Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unploughed ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. BEGINNING OF COLOSSIANS Co1: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created ... For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Prayer: Jesus my king, creator of the universe! ------------ Ho11: When Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me ... It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms, but they did not realize it was I who healed them. Co2: When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, Gad made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. Prayer: Lord, it is a comfort to know that you take some of us by the arms even when we do not realize it. ------------ Ho12: The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt, by a prophet hew cared for him. But Ephraim has bitterly provoked him to anger; his Lord will leave upon him the guilt of his shedding blood and will repay him for his contempt. Co3: Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourself of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips. Prayer: Who am I to criticise others, now or ever. Let me examine my own life. ------------ Ho13: Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people, "They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calf idols." Co4: I Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Prayer: Lord, if you see in me today's equivalent of a silver calf, speak to me to abandon it. ------------ Ho14: Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: "Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips ..." I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. BEGINNING OF 1 THESSALONIANS AD 52 (earliest NT writing) 1Th1: Brothers loved by God, we know that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. Prayer: Lord, unveil for me also the power of the Holy Spirit that I would know intimately, rather than intellectually, what Paul speaks of. ------------ BEGINNING OF JOEL. Written between 1000 BC and 400 BC Jo1: What the locust swarm has left, the great locusts have eaten ... What a dreadful day! For the day of the Lord is near. It will come like a destruction from the Almighty. 1Th2: And we thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. Prayer: I repeat George and Nahia's prayer last night, that you give me more of that capability to deliver that same word to those who do not know it. ------------ Jo2: Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. ... "Even now," declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart." ... Then the Lord will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people ... for he has given you a teacher for righteousness ... "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten ... And afterwards, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy ... even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days ... and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 1Th3: For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. Prayer: Thank you Lord that your promises through Joel were kept and that I, a tiny soul, am benefitting centuries later from your mercy. ------------ Jo3: Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! ... Beat your ploughshares into swords ... Let the nations be roused, let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations from every side. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near. The Lord dwells in Zion! 1Th4: Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like tht rest of men, who have no hope ... For the Lord himself will come down from Heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will ne caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Prayer: I look forward to such joy when I will fall asleep, and even though I fear the meeting in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, or wherever it will be, I have hope of ascending. ------------ BEGINNING OF AMOS, 750 BC Am1: For three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend his borders, I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah that will consume her fortresses amid war cries on the day of battle. 1Th5: The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night ... destruction will come on them suddenly, as labour pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape ... Do not put out the Spirit's fire, do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. Prayer: The sheer pain of evil grieves my heart. Lord I am so grateful that Jesus turned men away from the worst attrocities. ------------ Am2: I brought you up out of Egypt, and I led your for forty years in the desert to give you the land of the Amorites. I also raised up prophets from among your sons and Nazirites from among your young men ... But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy. BEGINNING OF 2 THESSALONIANS AD 53 2Th1: God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you, and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. Prayer: Thank you for these comfortable words written so long ago yet still perfect. ------------ Am3: Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? ... When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? ... As a shepherd saves from the lion's mouth ony two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites be saved. 2Th2: [The day of the Lord] will not come untill the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed ... proclaiming himself to be God ... And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendour of his coming. Prayer: That you have revealed these prophesies to us, and then further explained them we thank you Lord. ------------ Am4: Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, "Bring us some drinks!" ... I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord. 2Th3: We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ, to settle down and earn the bread they eat. As for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. Prayer: Lord, you are even a God of humour, both in very old times and in old. May I always keep my humour under all circumstances. ------------ Am5: Seek the Lord and live ... he who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns blackness into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the Land - the Lord is his name - he flashes destruction on the stronghold and brings the fortified city to ruin. BEGINNING OF 1 TIMOTHY, 65 AD 1Ti1: Timothy my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophesies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight. Prayer: Lord, are you teaching us that the disasters befalling earth almost weekly are indeed signs your wrath against the ungodly? ------------ Am6: You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments [jazz in the Bible!]. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions [Nu Skin in the Bible!] but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end. 1Ti2: This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved, and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Prayer: Thank you God for our faith, which is not a religion but knowledge of the truth about the universe and our place in it. ------------ Am7: Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. Amos is saying: "Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land." Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Get out , you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. 1Ti3: Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain ... In the same way their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers, but temperate and trustworthy in eveything. Prayer: Lord, I continue to thank you for bringing Laurie-Ann to be my beloved wife and for keeping strong love for her in my heart. ------------ Am8: "The days are coming,"declares the Sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine through the land - not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea, and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. 1Ti4: Do not neglect your gift, which was given to you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Prayer: Thank you Lord that you have at last given me a small measure of that famine, a need for your Word daily. ------------ Am9: I will plant Israel intheir own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them, says the Lord your God. 1Ti5: If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever ... so I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander ... Do not entertain an accusation against an elder, unless it is brought by two or three witnesses ... The sins of some men are obvious ... in the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden. Prayer: Lord, you are a comfort in so many ways. ------------ BEGINNING OF OBADIAH Date unknown. Shortest book in the Bible. Ob1: " ..There will be no survivors fom the house of Esau." The Lord has spoken 1Ti6: All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered ... If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. ------------ BEGINNING OF JONAH ~500 BC Jo1: The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish" ... "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this storm has come upon you" ... They took Jonah, and threw him overboard, and the raging sea became calm ... But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. BEGINNING OF 2 TIMOTHY, 65 AD 2Ti1: For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline ... Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you - guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. ------------ Jo2: From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said "...Those who cling to worthless idols fortfit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord. 2Ti2: Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness ... And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Prayer. Thank you Lord for what you have already given me, and I thirst for more. ------------ Jo3: Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time ... When the news reached the King of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself in sackcloth and sat down in the dust ... When God saw what they did and and how they had turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. 2Ti3: But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days ... lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God ... You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose ... All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Prayer: Lord I pray for those who have not heard. Let me be one who will bring the good news. Give me the talent. ------------ Jo4: Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city ... and waited to see what would happen to the city. The Lord God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm which chewed the vine ... Jonah wanted to die. ... The Lord said: "You have been concerned about the vine. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people ... should I not be concerned about that great city?" 2Ti4: For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear ... I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness ... and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. Prayer: Lord, you have given us these great truths becuase you are concerned about us, the multitudes. ------------ BEGINNING OF MICAH, 700 BC Mi1: The word of the Lord given to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Heezekiah, Kings of Judah - the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. BEGINNING OF TITUS, 66 AD Ti1: They are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach - and that for the sake of dishonest gain. Prayer: In any teaching, give me truthful words Lord. ------------ Mi2: If a liar and a deceiver comes and says, 'I will prophesy for you pleanty of wine and beer,' he would be just the prophest for this people! Ti2: Similarly, encourage the young ment to be self controlled. In everything, set them an example by doing what is good. Prayer: Help me to be an example Lord. ------------ Mi3: Hear this, you leaders of the house of jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right ... her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the Lord and say, "Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us." Ti2: Similarly encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything, set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching, show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned. Prayer: Thank you for again teaching me that I cannot expect favour if I do not walk in the light and set an example. ------------ Mi4: In the last days ... many nations will come and say, come , let us go up to the mountains of the Lord ... He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Ti3: He saved us ... so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs, having the hope of eternal life. Prayer: Lord, I indeed harbour the hope of eternal life, though that rests on your mercy from my transgressions. ------------ Mi5: But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. BEGINNING OF PHILEMON Ph1: Perhaps the reason that he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good - no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me, but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord. Prayer: I ask Lord for more insight into Paul's attitude towards slavery - and (therefore) my attitude towards same-sex blessings. ------------ Mi6: He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. BEGINNING OF HEBREWS, 80 AD He1: The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. Prayer: How unique in the annals of love was God's landing and life on Earth! ------------ Mi7: The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, and the result of their deeds ... But as for me, I keep watch for the Lord. I wait in hope for God my saviour; my God will hear me. He2: Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Prayer: Lord, give me good opportunities to share you with those who don't know you. ------------ BEGINNING OF NAHUM, 615 BC Na1: The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; The Lord takes vengeance and is filled wih wrath ... The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood, he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into darkness. He3: Every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything ... Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Prayer: Lord, I ask, give me the right words to soften a hard heart. ------------ Na2: An attacker advances against you, Nineveh. Guard your fortress, watch the road, brace yourselves, marshall all your strength! "I am against you," delares the Lord God Almighty. He4: For we have [a high priest] who has been tempted in every way, just as we were - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Prayer: Lord, in your graciousness your gave me the words to speak to Tom yesterday. You are a God who answers prayer. ------------ Na3: Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims [Nineveh]. He5: During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Prayer: Lord, please condinue to make me dissatisfied with the ways of this world, and to speak out. ------------ BEGINNING OF HABAKKUK, 720 BC Ha1: How long O Lord must I call for help, but you do not listen? ... Look at the nations and watch - and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even of you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people ... He6: It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness in the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace ... God is not unjust, he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. Prayer: Lord, for the bad news and the good news I thank you, and ask that I will never fall away. ------------ Ha2: Because he is greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations, and takes captive all the peoples ... For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. He7: This Melchizadek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything ... just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder ... You are a priest for ever, in the order of Melchizadek ... The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: "You are a priest for ever." Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant ... For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect for ever. Prayer: We are grateful Lord for yet one more corroboration of Jesus power for ever to bring salvation to those who believe. ------------ Ha3: Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. He8: The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah ... I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people ... By calling this covenant "new", he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and ageing will soon disappear. Prayer: To have your laws in my mind sounds very much like my conscience, Lord, and implies that this was not so with the old covenant. I pray for wisdom, my God and saviour. ------------ BEGINNING OF ZEPHANIAH, 600 BC Ze1: I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the (names of the) pagan and the idolatrous priests. He9: The gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshipper ... When Christ came as high priest ... he did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves, but he entered the most holy place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternalk redemption. Prayer: Lord so much blood spilt for human weakness. May I justify it by determination to attempt to avoid the pitfalls of sin. ------------ Ze2: Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger. He10: If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Prayer: Lord I know I have thorns but I don't know if they are grievous to you. I ask you mercy. ------------ Ze3: Woe to the city of oppressors ... the whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger ... The remnant of Israel will do no wrong, they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouths. He11: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see ... by faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice ... these were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Prayer: Lord, always strenghten my faith that may be placed with the remnant, but give me chances to bring many with me. ------------ BEGINNING OF HAGGAI, 520 BC Ha1: "... What you brought home, I blew away. Why? declares the Lord Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house." He12: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, ... let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us ... Endure hardship as a discipline; God is treating you as sons. ------------ Ha2: "And who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord ... this is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, and my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear ... The silver is mine and the gold is mine," declares the Lord. He13: Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners ... Jeus Christ is the same, yesterday and today and forever ... I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you. Prayer: Lord, are today's churches of value to you as was the temple? Or is our hearts that can please you most? ------------ BEGINNING OF ZECHARIAH, 519 BC Ze1: This is what the Lord says, 'I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,' declares the Lord Almighty. "Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zon and choose Jerusalem.'" BEGINNING OF JAMES, 40 or 60 AD, depending on which James wrote it. Ja1: Every good and perfect gift is from above ... Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. Prayer: My prayer is that this book of James really is through divine inspiration. ------------ Ze2: Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the lord's anger ... he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert. Ja2: What good is it my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds. Can such faith save him? ... Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did ... You see that a man is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. Prayer: O God, reconcile in my life faith and works. ------------ Ze3: Woe to the city of oppressors, rebelious and defiled! ... The Lord within her is righteous; he does no wrong. Morning by morning he dispenses his justice, and every new day he does not fail, yet the unrighteous know no shame ... At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. Ja3: All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Prayer: Help me Lord to use my tongue for good; never for evil. ------------ BEGINNING OF HAGGAI, 520 BC Ha1: Is it time for you yourselves to be living in your panelled houses, while this house remains a ruin? ... You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it ... So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel ... and the spirit of Joshua ... and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord .. Ja4: What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes ... Anyone then who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't so it, sins. Prayer: Thankyou you Lord for the joy you have given me even in the face of disappointment. ------------ Ha2: "'On that day,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the Lord, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the Lord Almighty." Ja5: Is any of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord ... The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." Prayer: Thank you Lord for hearing my prayers, and I am far from righteous. ------------ BEGINNING OF ZECHARIAH, 519 BC Za1: Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'My towns will overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.' BEGINNING OF 1 Peter, 62 AD 1P1: These [griefs] have come to you so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine, and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed ... for you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. Prayer: Your promises filled us with hope in the past. May they continue to bring hope, particularly to those with little else this Christmas. ------------ Za2: Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you," declares the Lord. "Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will come to my people. I will live among you, and yoiu will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. 1P2: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you our of darkness into his wonderful light ... Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he vists us. Prayer: It came true! You really came and lived among us! You do indeed keep your promises, Lord! ------------ Za3: Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him ... Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes." Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you" ... "I am going to bring my servant, the Branch." 1P3: Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without talk by the behaviour of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives ... Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner, and as heirs with you of the gracious gifts of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. Prayer: Lord, who is the Branch? Is he yet to come? Thank you for giving L-A to me and a never ending love for her. ------------ Za4: So he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' Says the Lord Almighty ... "What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?" So he said, "These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth." 1P4: Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins ... If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will bocome of the ungodly and the sinner? Prayer: Please bless mum, and Neesa as she cares for her, and for Sue Berry who gived her friendship to her. ------------ Za5: I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll ... Then I looked up - and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! 1P5: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undegoing the same kind of sufferings. Prayer: I pray for Emma Dupigny, newly arrived on Facebook that you will use her mightily in her school to prepare the children for godly lives. ------------ Za6: The word of the Lord came to me ... Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak. Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will breach out from his place and build the temple of the Lord ... And he will be a priest on his throne. BEGINNING OF 2 Peter, ~65 AD if written by Peter. 2P1: For this reason make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness, Knowledge, and to knowledge self control ... For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive ... We did not follow cleverly invented stories ... of our Lord Jesus Christ ... but we were eye-witnesses of his majesty ... when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory saying, "This is my son whom I love; with whom I am well pleased." We ourselved heard this voice, that came from heaven, when we were with him on the sacred mountain. Prayer: Open my eyes to recognise the Branch Lord. ------------ Za7: This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.' 2P2: But there were also false prophets among the people as there will be false teachers among you ... Many will follow their shameful ways, and will bring the way of truth into disrepute ... For if God did not spare angels when they sinned ... then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgement, while continuing their punishment. Prayer: I ask you to continue to show me the false from the true and thank you for my brothers and sister in ANiC. ------------ Za8: This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age. The city streets will be filled wioth boys and girls playing there ... In those days ten men ferom all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the edge of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you because we have heard that God is with you.'" 2P3: the day of judgement and the destruction of ungodly men ... With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise ... he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance ... Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. Prayer: Thank you for these references from one of yours about another Lord, strenghening the word. ------------ Za9: Rejoice greatly; O daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. BEGINNING OF 1 John, 105 AD 1J1: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the word of life. Prayer: King of the universe, you came on a donkey making yourself low and accessible to all. ------------ Za10: Assyria's pride will be brought down and Egypt's sceptre will pass away. I will strengthen them in the Lord, and in his name they will walk 1J2: Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist - he denies the Father and the Son. No-one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Prayer: In these days of Egypt's turmoil, bring comfort to your children in Egypt Lord as they seek freedom from dictatorship. ------------ Za11: Then I took my staff called favour, and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations ... I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. 1J3: The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work ... This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Prayer: Lord, you have so clearly laid out how we should live. Help me to follow and bring me even more joy as a result. ------------ Za12: On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem. And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and mourn for him as one mourns for an only child. 1J4: Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Prayer: Help us keep Jerusalem safe at this time of unrest in the Middle East. ------------ Za13: Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the Lord Almighty. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. 1J5: Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. Prayer: Lord, help me understand the meaning of Zachariah's words. Which shepherd will be struck? ------------ Za14: This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet; their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues will rot in their mouths. BEGINNING OF 2 John, 106 AD 2J1: Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Prayer: Grant to those today who would claim this, a word of knowledge that thy would know it for a falsehood. ------------ BEGINNING OF Malachi, 450 BC Ma1: When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? BEGINNING OF 3 John, 107 AD 3Jo1: Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. Prayer: Help me not offer to you damaged service Lord, but always the best from the gifts you have given me. ------------ Ma2: And now, this admonition is for you, O preists. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honour my name," says the Lord Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings ... you have turned from the way, and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi ... I hate divorce," says the Lord God of Israel. BEGINNING OF Jude, 75 AD Ju1: But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourself in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them. Prayer: Thank you Lord for these words of comfort from Jesus' dear brother, who was also not slow to condemn false teachers. ------------ Ma3: Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse - the whole nation of you - because you are robbing me. BEGINNING OF Revelation, 95 AD Re1: On the Lord's day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice on a trumpet, which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches." I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me ... then he said: "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am the living one; I was dead, and behold I am alove for ever and ever! Prayer: Lord, as I begin this most enigmatic of writings, help me gain insight to your purpose. ------------ Ma4: See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse. Re2: To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations. Prayer: Today all prayers are for the people of Japan, who last Friday experienced that great and dreadful day of the Lord. How will you treat those thousands Lord who have never heard of you? May you be merciful, for it was not they who hold the blame. ------------ BEGINNING OF Job. Having just reached the end of the final book in the Old Testament, I should go next the Genesis in this devotional sequence, but instead I am going to job. I am reading Mike Mason's The Gospel according to Job. Mike Mason suggests that this could pre-date Genesis, since it contains no reference to any other Old Testament figures. Be that as it may, it turned out to be fascinating to study it here as I read his book. Jo1: In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil ... He was the greatest man among all the people of the East ... The Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job?" Satan replied, "Have you not put a hedge around him? ... But strike everything he has, and he will surly curse you to your face." The Lord said to Satan, "Very well, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself, do not lay a finger" ... Yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brothers house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the dessert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you." At this Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Re3: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you our of my mouth. Prayer: May I remember Job's response to adversity when I receive adversity. ------------ Job2: Satan replied, "A man will give all he has for his own life. But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face." The Lord said to Satan, "Very well then, he is in your hands, but you must spare his life." So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top od his head ... His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" Re4: You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive Glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. Prayer: Teach me Lord, as you taught Job, to accept the bad and the good with equal thanks, for you created all things by your will. ------------ Job3: After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth ... "Why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day?" Re5: Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. But noone in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it ... Then I saw a lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne ... then I heard the voice of many angels ... in a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strenght and honour and glory and praise!" Prayer: He is indeed the ONLY one who is worthy, yet he is my friend and saviour! May my lips praise him for ever. ------------ Job4: Then Eliphaz the Termanite replied: "If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? But who can keep from speaking? Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands. Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees. But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you and you are dismayed. Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope?" Re6: I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake ... the stars in the sky fell to earth ... then the kings of the earth, the prices, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains ... "..for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" Prayer: Lord, is this to come? Grant me shelter through the power of your love. ------------ Job5: [Eliphaz] "Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the disciple of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal." Re7: Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the loving God ... then I heard the numbers of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel ... After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude ... standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb ... These are they who have come out of the great tribulation ... therefore they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night. Prayer: How glorious the future as all acknowledge the power and majesty of Jesus on the throne. ------------ Job6: Oh, ... that God would be willing to crush me, ... then I would still have this consolation - my joy in unrelenting pain - that I had not dneied the words of the Holy One. A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends ... but my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams. Re8: When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour ... the first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The second angel ... The third angel ... I heard an eagle that was flying in mid-air call out in a loud voice: "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!" Prayer: Such destruction, Lord. May I never see it in my lifetime. ------------ Job7: What is man that you make so much of him, that YOU give him so much attention? ... Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? If I have sinned, what have I done ot you, O watcher of men? Why have you made me your target? Re9: Out of the smoke, locusts came down upon the earth and wer given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ... The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle ... they had tails ans stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to toment people for five months. Prayer: Lord, as I deal with my puny problems, remind me of Job's courage, and the wrath to come for those without your seal. ------------ Job8: Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: "How long will you say such things? Your words are a blistering wind. Does God pervert justice? ... Surely God does not reject a blameless man or strengthen the hands of evildoers." Re10: But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets ... I took the little scroll from the angels hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Prayer: Thank you God for explaining that bad things can happen to truly good people (like Job) and foolish people (like Bildad) will misunderstand why. And many of the words of prophesy cannot yet be understood by our immature brains, such as eating the little scroll. ------------ Job9: Then Job replied: ... "But how can a mortal be righteous before God? ... He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion ... Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me ... If only there were someone to arbitrate between us ... then I would speak up without fear of him." Re11: And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth ... If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies ... Now, when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and will overpower and kill them ... but after the three and a half days, a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror stuck those who saw them ... The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven ... Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. Prayer: Job has beautifully described how our works cannot save us; only a saviour can, and he longs for such an arbitrator. Thank you Lord for this wisdom from an ancient. ------------ Job10: (To God): "Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and deep shadow and disorder, where event the light is like darkness. Re12: Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. Prayer: You show us the extremes or pain and triumph Lord. The power of Satan to destroy is massive. ------------ Job11: Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: "Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? Will your idle talk reduce men to silence? ... Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin ..." Re13: And I saw a beast coming out of the sea ... The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshipped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast ... Then I saw another beast coming out of the earth ... and he performed great and miraculous signs ... He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast ... He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand , or on his forhead, so that noone could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666. Prayer: I ask for insight into the meanings of these things, Lord. ------------ Job12: Men at ease have contempt for misfortune ... the tents of marauders are undisturbed ... but ask the animals and they will tell you ... or speak to the earth and it will teach you ... that the hand of the Lord has done this ... Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? ... He makes nations great and destroys them ... He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason. Re14: Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his father's name written on their foreheads ... Then I saw another angel flying in mid air, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth ... He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgement has come ... A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image or receives his mark on the forehead or the hand, he too will drink of the wine of God's fury ..." ------------ Job13: You are worthless physicians, all of you! ... Hear now my argument ... will you aregue the case for God? Would it turn out well if he examined you? ... Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him ... Can anyone bring charges against me? ... For you write bitter things against me, and make me inherit the sins of my youth. Re15: I saw in heaven another great and marvellous sign ... and I saw ... standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name ... out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues ... and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power. for man, the son of woman, his days are short and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower, and is cut down: he goes in flight like a shade, and is never seen again. Re16: And men were burned with great heat: and they said evil things against the name of the God who has authority over these punishments; and they were not turned from their evil ways to give him glory. Prayer: Lord, how fortunate I am in every way. My days are full of joy, and I have a true hope never to be burned with a great heat. ------------ Job15: And Eliphaz the Temanite made answer and said, "Will a wise man make answer with knowledge of no value, or will he give birth to the east wind? Will he make arguments with words in which is no profit, and with sayings which have no value? Truly, you make the fear of God without effect, so that the time of quiet worship before God is made less by your outcry." Re 17: And he said to me, The waters which you saw, where the evil woman is seated, are peoples, and armies, and nations and languages. And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will be turned against the evil woman, and will make her waste and uncovered, and will take her flesh for food, and will have her burned with fire. Because God has put it in their hearts to do his purpose, and to be of one mind, giving their kingdom to the beast, till the words of God have effect and are complete. And the woman whom you saw is the great town, which is ruling over the kings of the earth. Prayer: May I never be quick to blame based on superficial evidence. ------------ Job16: My friends make sport of me; to God my eyes are weeping, so that he may give decision for a man in his cause with God, and between a son of man and his neighbour. For in a short time I will take the journey from which I will not come back. Re 18: Saying, Sorrow, sorrow for the great town, she who was clothed in delicate linen, and purple, and red; with ornaments of gold and stones of great price and jewels! For in one hour such great wealth has come to nothing. And every shipmaster, and all who are sailing on the sea, and sailors and all who get their living by the sea, were watching from far away, and crying out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What town is like the great town? And they put dust on their heads, and were sad, weeping and crying, and saying, Sorrow, sorrow for the great town, in which was increased the wealth of all who had their ships on the sea because of her great stores! for in one hour she is made waste. Prayer: Job's suffering helps me enjore my own pain with my hip as I realise how trivial it is. Thank you Lord. ------------ Job17: My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me. Surely mockers surround me. My eyes must dwell on their hostility ... Where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? Will it go down to the gates of death? Will we descend together into the dust? Re19: After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God ..." I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True ... Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf ... The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulphur. Prayer: Your power will always prevail. I want to be on your side Lord. ------------ Job18: Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: "When will you end these speeches? Be sensible and then we can talk. You, who tear yourself to pieces in your anger, is the earthe toi be abandoned for your sake? Or must the rocks be moved from their place? The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out. Re20: And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven ... he seized ... Satan, and bound him a for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him to keep him from deceiving the nations any more until the thousand years were ended ... I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received the mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years ... This is the first resurrestion ... When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison, and will go out to deceive the nations ... to gather them for battle. They marched across the breadth of the earth, and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever ... And I saw the dead ... standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books ... If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Prayer: I ask that my name will be recorded in the book of life, though in the past I have committed eveil, but you have shown by your support of me that I am truly forgiven. ------------ Job19: Then Job replied: "How long will you torment me and crush me with words? ... If it is true that I have gone astray, my error remains my concern alone ... He has alienated my brohers from me; my acquaintances are completely estranged from me ... Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me. I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. Re21: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth ... and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God ... He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new! ... It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. Prayer: Lord, you take us from the depths of despair to the heights of joy, as long as we trust you in all things. ------------ Job20: Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: "My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer because I am greatly disturbed. I hear a rebuke that dishonours me, and my understanding inspires me to reply ... the joy of the godless lasts but a moment ... when he has filled his belly, God will vent his burning anger against him and reign down his blows upon him..." Re22: Then the angel of the Lord showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city ... "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done ... The Spirit and the bride say "Come! ... Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life" ... The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen Prayer: I come, Lord; please receive me with favour despite my many bad deeds in earlier times. ------------ Job21: Then Job replied: Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? ... Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not upon them ...They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace. BEGINNING OF Matthew, AD 85. Mat1: An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: "Joseph, son of David, Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit ... and he gave him the name Jesus. Prayer: From these acts come our civilization. Lord, your plan is conceivable only in a mind as infinitely powerful as yours. ------------ Job22: Then Eliphaz the Termanite replied: "Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless? You demanded security from your brothers for no reason; you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them naked. You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry, though you were a powerful man, owning land - an honoured man, living on it. Mat2: On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him ... When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said. Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt ... After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to the the child's life are dead." ------------ Job23: Then Job replied: "If only I knew where to find him, if only I could go to his dwelling! I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments ... God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me. Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness tat covers my face. Mat3: "I baptise you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" ... As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment, Heaven was opened, and he sway the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. Prayer: Thank you Lord for bringing me back to these devotions after a busy week away from them. ------------ Job24: [Job Continued] "The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out for help. But God charges noone with wrongdoing ... As heat and drought snatch a way the melted snow, so the grave snatches away those who have sinned. The womb forgets them, the worm feasts on them; evil men are no longer remembered but are broken like a tree ... for a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone ... they are cut off like heads of grain. Mat4: Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the dessert to be tempted by the devil .... From that time on, Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew ... "Come, Follow me," Jesus said. ... Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching ... preaching ... and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Large crowds ... followed him. ------------ Job25: Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: "Dominion and awe belong to God; he establishes order in the heights of heaven ... Upon whom does his light not rise? How then can a man be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? Mat5,6,7: Now when he saw the crowds, he went up to a mountain and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying [The Sermon on the Mount - there is no way I can précis them. Go to the source.]. Prayer: For the beauty of the brilliant teachings on which our civilization is founded, I humbly give thanks to God. ------------ Job26: Then Job replied: "How you have helped the powerless ... what advice you have offered to one without wisdom ... death is naked before God; destruction lies uncovered ... by his power he churned up the sea ... by his breath the skies become fair ... and these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him!" Mat8: Then, Jesus said to the centurion. "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour ... but Jesus was sleeping ... then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region. Prayer: In his humanity he slept through weariness from teaching and healing. In his divine hands were the powers that moulded the universe, yet they pleaded with him to leave. ------------ Job27: As long as I have breath within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit ... For what hope has the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? Mat9: Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed." Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment. Prayer: How powerful job's faith in the face of apparent abandonment. Give me such faith Lord, even a tiny part of it. --b---------- Jo28: There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined ... Man's hand assalts the flinty rock, and lays bare the roots of the mountains. He tunnels through the rock; his eyes see all its treasures ... But where can wisdom ne found? ... Where does understanding dwell? ... The fear of the Lord - that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding. Mat10: He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits, and to cure every kind of disease and sickness ... Go to the lost sheep of Israeland preach this message: The Kindom of Heaven is near ... Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge him before my father in heaven. Prayer: Lord, you clearly directed us on your business, you have even given us enthusiasm to go about it. We pray that you give us often that special joy of witnessing before men, and bringing them to you. For this is indeed the path of wisdom. ------------ Job29: How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me ... when God's intimate friendship blessed my house ... I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. Mat11: Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. "... and you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it would be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgement than for you." Prayer: Lord, should we apply this to out own city of Ottawa, in efforts to bring us to repentance? ------------ Job30: "But now they mock me, men younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs ... They detest me and keep their distance; they do not hestitate to spit in my face ... I go about blackened, but not by the sun ... I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of owls." Mat12: "And I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven ... I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word that they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. Prayer: May I be ever mindful of my words to anyone and everyone. ------------ Job31: I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl ... If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit, let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless ... If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I habe lurked at my neighbour's door, then may my wife grind another man's grain and may other men sleep with her ... If my land cries out against me, and all it's furrows are wet with tears ... then let briars come up instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley. Mat13: A farmer went out to sow his seed ... still other seed fell on good ground, where it produced a crop - a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown ... what was sown on good ground is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Prayer: Help me Lord with Job's prayer, and may a crop come from my efforts. ------------ Job32: Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with God for justifying himself rather than God ...He said: "I am younger in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know ... I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply. Mat14: The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him ... a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume ... "What she has done will be told in memory of her" ... Judas went to the chief priests to betray Jesus ... while they were reclining at the table eating, he said, "I tell you the truth - one of you will betray me. ... Take eat, this is my body ... this is my blood of the covenant ... My soul is overburdened with sorrow to the point of death ... stay here and keep watch" ... "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard" ... The high priest asked him "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" ... "I am,"said Jesus. Then the high priest tore his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he said. Prayer: Understanding was missing for Job's "friends" - their eyes had been blinded. The eyes of Jews are still blinded so they cannot see the truth of the gospel with startling clarity. Open their eyes Lord! ------------ Job33: Job, listen to my words ... I am just like you before God ... but you have said in my hearing "I am pure and without sin; I am clean and free form guilt. Yet God has found fault with me" ... In this you are not right. For god does speak, now one way, now another ... to turn man from wrong-doing and keep him from pride ... his flesh wastes away to nothing, and his bones, once hidden, now stick out. His soul draws near to the pit ... God does all these things to a man, twice, even three times, to turn back his soul from the pit ... Listen to me, be silent, and I will teach you wisdom." Mat15: "Are you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate. "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied ... "Crucify him!" they shouted. "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate ... "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" ... Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there ... Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus saw where he was laid. Prayer: At this beginning of a new year, I pray for forgiveness where I have strayed or been influenced by non-believers. Bring me ever closer to you My God and King. ------------ Job34: Then Elihu said: "Job says, 'I am innocent, but God denies me justice..." Far be it from God to do evil ... He repays a man for what he has done; he brings upon him what his conduct deserves. It is unthinkable that God would do wong, that the Almighty would pervert justice ... Can he who hates justice govern? ...His eyes are on the ways of men. He sees their every step. He punishes them for their wickedness, where everyone can see them ... Mat16: But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb they sawa young man dressed in a while robe ... "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here" ... Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating. He rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. He said to them: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whowever does not believe will be condemned." Prayer: Lord, you have made it very clear that we will either be saved or condemned. I pray you will increase my zeal to prevent people from being condemned. ------------ Job35: Then Elihu said: You ask Him, ... 'What do I gain by not sinning?' ... Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself, and your righteousness only the sons of men ... He does not answer when men cry out ... indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea ...How much less then will he listen when you say that you do not see him? BEGINNING OF Luke, AD 62. Lu1: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard; your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son ... he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth ... The Angel went to [Mary] and said "... You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus ... " "My sould praises the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour" ... [Zechariah] "His name if John." Immediately his mouth was opened and hs tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. Prayer: It is thrilling indeed to read yet again of your holy purposes being made real in flesh among us. ------------ Job36: Elihu continued: ... "He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food. But now you are laden with the judgement due to the wicked; judgement and justice have taken hold of you ...Beware of turning to evil, which you seem to prefer to affliction ... How great is God - beyond our understanding! Lu2: While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born ... But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart ...For my eyes have seen your salvation ... And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Prayer: Lord, open the eyes of those I love so they can perceive these great events that happened among us. ------------ Job37: {Elihu continued:} "Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth. He unleashed his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth ... Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God's wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? ... The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power ..." Lu3: In the fifteen year of the reign of Tiberius Ceasar - when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee ... the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert ... John said to the crowds coming our to be baptised by him, "You brood of vipers ... produce fruit in keeping with repentence ... but when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all; he locked John up in prison ... Now when when all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too ... And a voice came form heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." ... Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph ... the son of God Prayer: Lord, you guide us through this book in discerning misunderstanding, and learning your unfolding plan for the world. ------------ Job38: Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm. He said: "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; and I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand ... Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew? ... Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? ... Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, 'Here we are'? ... Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God? Lu4: Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: Man does not live on bread alone" ... When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time ... He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom ... "the Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor ... " and he said to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" ... "no prophet is accepted in his home town ..." All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town ... Then he went down to Capernaum, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority. Prayer: Lord I ask for perseverence in ministry, as given to Job and shown by Jesus. May I never lose heart. ------------ Job39: Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? ... Does the eagle soar at your command, and build his nest on high? Lu5: When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' feet and said, "Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken ... Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything, and followed him ... "Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say 'Get up and walk.' ... "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Prayer: Lord, my son is lost and seems determined to remain so, but you can come to him and save him. ------------ Job40: The Lord said to Job: "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!" Then Job replied to the Lord: "I am unworthy - how can I reply to you?" I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer - twice, but I will say no more." Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm: "Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer me. Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? Do you have an arm like God's, and can your voice thunder like his? ..." Lu5: Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him ... Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. Prayer: On the eve of our trip to Las Vegas to see James, would you Lord whisper 'Follow me' in his ear? ------------ Job41: "Can you pull in the Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tonge with a rope? ... He makes the depths churn like a boiling cauldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment. Behind him he leaves a glistening wake ... he is king over allthat are proud." Lu6: "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" ... Then Jesus said to them, "The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath." ... But they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus. Prayer: Today I ask only that you give healing and relief to Laurie-Ann that she might fully enjoy this holiday. ------------ Job42: Then Job replied to the Lord: "I know that you can do all things. No plan of yours can be thwarted ... Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know ... My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Termanitee, "I am angry with you and your two friends, beacuse you have not spoken to me what is right, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken to me what is right, as my servant Job has." ... After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again, and gave him twice as much as he had before ... nowhere in the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters ... Job lived 140 years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. Lu7: News about Jesus [and his miracles] spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country ... John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come or should we expect another? ... So he [Jesus] replied to the messengers ... "the blind receive sight, the lame walk ... and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." ... "Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" Prayer: You are faithful Lord to those who trust in you, even though they may be afflicted for many years.
Matters of Faith
