With My Own Eyes

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Deuteronomy 1:46-3:29; Luke 6:12-38; Psalm 67:1-7; Proverbs 11:27.

Luke 6:27-29 (NIV)
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, [28] bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. [29] If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.

Is there anything more unnatural than loving your enemies?  Yet, this life of following Jesus is not natural–it is supernatural.  It is lived in the Spirit and not in the flesh.  The Holy Spirit empowers us to do what we ourselves cannot do.  Some people dismiss passages like this as being too extreme to be practically lived out.  So we view ourselves as somehow being exempt.  But we must be reminded that the life God has called us to live is indeed extreme.  Thank God for His power to do what is truly supernatural.

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Numbers 36:1-Deuteronomy 1:45; Luke 5:29-6:11; Psalm 66:1-20; Proverbs 11:24-26.

Proverbs 11:24 (NIV)
One man gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

God’s economy is different than ours.  In God’s economy, blessing comes with giving rather than receiving.  In God’s economy, the more tightly we cling to material possessions, the more they slip through our fingers.  But the more we let them go, the more blessing we receive.  God is a giving God.  We are to be a giving people.  Are you a giver or a hoarder?

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Numbers 33:40-35:34; Luke 5:12-28; Psalm 65:1-13; Proverbs 11:23.

Numbers 35:33 (NIV)
” ‘Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.

Our land is polluted by bloodshed.  Each year 1,350,500 babies are killed in our nation. Since 1973  the number of babies aborted in the United States is 50,311,528.  

But praise God, He Himself has made atonement for our sin through Jesus Christ.

Psalm 65:2 (NIV)
O you who hear prayer,
to you all men will come.

Psalm 65:5 (NIV)
You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,
O God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,

In Him we find hope.  He offers forgiveness and healing to those who confess their sins.  May God end the bloodshed in our nation and heal our land.  

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Numbers 32:1-33:39; Luke 4:31-5:11; Psalm 64:1-10; Proverbs 11:22.

Proverbs 11:22 (NIV)
Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.

No pigs at our house (except for our Pug Cleo who snorts like a pig).  I am blessed in that my wife is a beautiful woman who possesses an incredible ability to recognize and speak Truth.  Many times when we have faced situations that at first glance were cloudy, she is the one who centers us with the question, “What do we know to be true?”  That question illustrates her ability to provide wisdom and discretion.  She is a rich treasure. 

Here is today’s Bible reading: Numbers 30:1-31:54; Luke 4:1-30; Psalm 63:1-11; Proverbs 11:20-21.

Luke 4:22 (NIV)
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

Luke 4:28-29 (NIV)
All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. [29] They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.

It is only six verses between the crowds speaking well of Jesus and then wanting to throw Him down a cliff.  It is only a matter of days between the crowds shouting “Hosanna!” at the Triumphal Entry and then “Crucify!” before Pilate.  People are fickle.  They can change their opinion of you in moment.  It is an exercise in frustration and futility to base your worth in the opinions of others.  There is only one opinion that matters–that of God Almighty.  It simplifies life so much when we realize we only have Him to please.      

Here is today’d Bible reading:  Numbers 28:16-29:40; Luke 3:23-38; Psalm 62:1-12; Proverbs 11:18-19.

Psalm 62:1-2 (NIV)
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
[2] He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

I can add nothing to this.  

Luke 3:23 (NIV)
Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. 

I have already lived on this earth seven years longer than Jesus did.  Weird.  His ministry was so short, yet He had such an impact. If you are like me and sometimes feel like your life should count for more than it has, God can accomplish so much in a short period of time.  Be faithful.  Be available.  Let God unleash His power through your life and change the world around you.

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Numbers 26:52-28:15; Luke 3:1-22; Psalm 61:1-8; Proverbs 11:16-17.

Luke 3:19-20 (NIV)
But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, [20] Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

“You can’t handle the truth!”  Remember that line from the movie “A Few Good Men”?  (I love that movie.)  John the Baptist was a messenger of truth.  Herod couldn’t handle the truth and took steps to make the truth go away.  Sometimes we do the same thing.  We cover our ears and say “la, la, la, la, la.”  (Or something like that.)  The point is, there are times in our lives when we have our minds made up and don’t want to be confronted with the truth.  Perhaps we avoid those friends who speak truth to us and spend our time with those who tell us what we want to hear.  I wonder how Herod’s life could have been different if he would have listened to John and repented.  I wonder how our lives could be different if we listen to the truth with and open heart.

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Numbers 26:1-51; Luke 2:36-52; Psalm 60:1-12; Proverbs 11:15.

Luke 2:46 (NIV)  
    After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

Jesus the learner.  It is pretty amazing that the Son of God was teachable.  He was humble.  As a growing young man He sought understanding.  What an amazing example to us.  Are we content to gloss over the Scriptures or to dig deep with the hard stuff?  I find that like most things in life, I get out of the Bible what I put into it.  How about you?