Devotions from July 2023

Passage Read: Zechariah 7-10 Meditation Verses: 10:2-3 Thought Jesus says almost the exact same thing in His day, looking on the crowds after going through all their towns and villages. He in effect says they are leaderless, though they have very many leaders and teachers.

Passage Read: Zechariah 11-14 Meditation Verse: 13:9 Thought Two-thirds of the people will be destroyed, but a third will survive. Yet this third will be tested by fire to be refined, ultimately proving faithful to the Lord and saved by Him. The Lord has been…

Passage Read: Malachi 1-4 Meditation Verse: 2:17 Thought There is so much in this book about dishonoring the Lord. People and priest treat Him with contempt in so many ways. Behind it all is a lack of fear of Him. In this verse, they say…

Passage Read: Matthew 1-2 Meditation Verse: 1:5 Thought Boaz's mother was Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute/innkeeper who hid the Israelite spies and pleaded for her life and the life of her family. Surely she was held in honor by that generation, though it is possible some…

Passage Read: Matthew 3-4 Meditation Verses: 3:7-10 Thought Right out of the gate, John seems pretty hostile to the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious people. It's as if he recognizes that they have a problem with appearances over substance. They're all about looking right, but…

Passage Read: Matthew 5-6 Meditation Verse: 5:7 Thought How do you show mercy? Because I want to be shown mercy. Surely it includes forgiving those who seek forgiveness from you. Mercy doesn't hammer someone who shows repentance and humility, but extends grace and kindness and…

Passage Read: Matthew 7-8 Meditation Verses: 7:1-5 Thought It seems the safest path is to never judge anyone, just speak truth without applying it specifically to anyone. But verses like Leviticus 19:17 imply that not rebuking your neighbor is to hate them and also to…

Passage Read: Matthew 9-10 Meditation Verses: 10:14-15 Thought If anyone doesn't listen to our Gospel message, we're under no further obligation to them. Even worse, they have chosen to reject the only chance at eternal life and are left with nothing but judgment. As tragic…

Passage Read: Matthew 11-12 Meditation Verses: 11:21-22 Thought Tyre and Sidon would have repented long ago if they had seen the miracles that Jesus was doing. But He didn't do them there. He didn't go where people would have repented, but went to the lost…

Passage Read: Matthew 13-14 Meditation Verse: 13:19 Thought We talk about sowing seeds in the heart of unbelievers, but according to Jesus, anyone who hears and doesn't believe, Satan snatched the seed from him. So there is no seed left in their heart to water…

Passage Read: Matthew 15-16 Meditation Verse: 16:12 Thought The teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees are both subtle and invasive. Only a little yeast is needed for a batch of dough, but it works its way throughout the whole loaf. The Pharisees loved to debate…

Passage Read: Matthew 17-18 Meditation Verses: 17:17,20 Thought Jesus sounds pretty frustrated with His disciples and the people, "O unbelieving and perverse generation!" He's frustrated and discouraged because they still don't believe. And it's not just believing in Him, it's because they still need Him…

Passage Read: Matthew 19-20 Meditation Verses: 20:26-28 Thought Jesus served everyone who came to Him, He healed everyone who came to Him, but He didn't grant every request. He served everyone, but not as their absolute slave. There were requests He denied, like to make…

Passage Read: Matthew 21-22 Meditation Verse: 21:43 Thought The Pharisees and Sadducees, the chief priests and teachers of the law, they were supposed to be caring for God's kingdom and leading the people into faith and obedience to the Lord. But instead, they muddied the…

Passage Read: Matthew 23-24 Meditation Verse: 24:45 Thought The faithful and wise servant will continue to feed and care for the master's other servants right up to the master's return. When the master returns and finds him so doing, he will put that servant in…

Passage Read: Matthew 25-26 Meditation Verse: 25:40 Thought Whatever we do for a believer in need, we do to Jesus. We're supposed to care for each other like family and long-lost relatives. Though we don't know a believer, we should help out as we're able.

Passage Read: Matthew 27-28 Meditation Verses: 28:18-20 Thought Jesus obeyed His Father to the very last, even unto death. Because of that, the Lord gave Him all authority in heaven and on earth. Because of that we should have confidence to go and tell all…

Passage Read: Mark 1-2 Meditation Verse: 1:38 Thought Jesus came to preach, but He gladly healed people left and right. He came to bless people, to help them out from under Satan's thumb. He didn't build houses or provide fresh drinking water, He healed diseases…

Passage Read: Mark 3-4 Meditation Verses: 4:11-12 Thought It is not everyone who can understand the Word of God, but only those to whom Jesus chooses to reveal it. I can't make people understand, any more than I can make myself understand. If Jesus doesn't…

Passage Read: Mark 5-6 Meditation Verses: 6:19-21 Thought John was arrested by Herod and protected by him from his wife who wanted him dead. Herod knew he was a righteous and holy man and liked to listen to him, but couldn't understand him. That in…

Passage Read: Mark 7-8 Meditation Verse: 8:38 Thought So Jesus is right in everything He says. All of God's Word is right in everything it teaches. If I am ashamed of anything God has said, any of His words, Jesus will be ashamed of me…

Passage Read: Mark 9-10 Meditation Verse: 10:21 Thought This man wanted to know how to inherit eternal life, and Jesus pointed him at the Ten Commandments. Astonishingly, the man claimed to have kept them since he was a child, and Jesus didn't disagree with him!…

Passage Read: Mark 11-12 Meditation Verse: 12:12 Thought They understood that Jesus had spoken that parable against them, and their response wasn't repentance but murder! Solve their problem by removing the one who pointed it out...which only confirms that their problem is real! Instead of…

Passage Read: Mark 13-14 Meditation Verse: 13:34 Thought Jesus has gone away for a time, leaving several servants in charge, and each servant has his assigned task. They do not all have the same task, though there may be several with the same task so…

Passage Read: Mark 15-16 Meditation Verse: 16:14 Thought The Eleven didn't believe Jesus had risen from the dead, even though several among the rest of the disciples saw Him. His own chosen apostles didn't believe the testimony of others, even though He had told them…

Passage Read: Luke 1-2 Meditation Verses: 1:50-52 Thought God's mercy is for those who fear Him, not for those who don't. The arrogant, those who are proud in their thoughts, not necessarily in deed, He will scatter; they will be overthrown. But the humble, who…

Passage Read: Luke 3-4 Meditation Verse: 3:18 I need to adjust my gospel to make repentance a priority. Forgiveness is only for those who repent and change their ways, who walk in the Lord's ways. Anyone who claims to believe in Jesus but doesn't bother…

Passage Read: Luke 5-6 Meditation Verses: 6:27-31 This really makes me want to have very little, and have stuff I don't really care about. The poor man hears no threat; it's the rich man who cannot sleep for fear of being robbed. But whether rich…

Passage Read: Luke 7-8 Meditation Verses: 7:37-38 How many of us would do such a thing? Who wants to draw attention to themselves, especially if they had lived a sinful life, the kind that everyone knows about and everyone looks down on you for? Oh…

Passage Read: Luke 9-10 Meditation Verse: 9:26 If I acknowledge Jesus as Lord, then I don't have a choice in what teachings of His I'll accept. It's all or nothing. If I follow some teachings but not others, I clearly have little fear of Him.

Passage Read: Luke 11-12 Meditation Verses: 12:32-34 I want my heart fixed on heaven, on eternity with Jesus. I want to serve and love Him, which means doing good to others and helping them know and grow more devoted to Jesus. But a few verses…