Donna is a wife, mother, grandmother, writer, and Biblical counselor. She has been blogging through the Bible each year since 2012. She loves God's Word and sharing how freeing and practical it is. She is certified through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors.
Why a fresh start through the Bible? And why “through” the Bible? Why not just read here and there, perhaps finding a subject that interests you? Or how about a short devotional? As long as you read something every day, isn’t that good enough? Today’s reading from the book of Psalms gives us a very good illustration of why it’s so important to read God’s Word in context.
The psalmist in Psalm 1 talks about a man who is like a tree planted on a riverbank where it gets plenty of water and is always fruitful. The psalmist goes on to say that God prospers whatever this man does.
I don’t know about you, but I want my life to be like that. But despite some who teach that God wants to make every believer prosperous, there are requirements for this prosperity. There are things we must do and other things we are to avoid. We also need to understand what the psalmist meant when he wrote about prosperity. If we don’t, we may find ourselves disillusioned, even angry, with God.
But this is just one example of the importance of understanding God’s Word in context, in its entirety. One of the biggest problems I find among believers is a failure to know God, to know His character, and to know how He works through our tests and trials. As a result, far too many lead faithless defeated lives.
Today we’ll finish our Old Testament reading with the little book of Malachi. Though it’s little in size, it’s not little in spiritual truth. Malachi’s words challenge us to give God our best, not what is left over, whether that means our finances, time, talent, or some other resource.
So, how can we purpose in our hearts to give God our best in the coming year? How can we bring Him glory in all we do and honor Him in our marriages, our singleness, or whatever our situation?
Then our final passage in Proverbs pictures “the virtuous or excellent wife.” We’ll look at how an ancient description speaks to us today.
Finally, as you read the last 2 chapters of Revelation, allow John’s vision of the glories to come to excite your heart!
The Bible is not a series of books about God. It is one book, penned by numerous human authors, and inspired by God. It is His-story told through His continuing revelation of Himself to mankind. The more you read it, the more you see how the books, the prophesies, the stories, and the letters fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. In today’s O.T. reading Zechariah prophesied hundreds of years earlier about many of the things Jesus showed John in the book of Revelation.
And in our New Testament reading, as we continue through the book of Revelation, we learn about two final judgments. One day every person will stand before God at one of them: “the great white throne judgment” or “the judgment seat of Christ.” Where will you stand?
Believing lies about anything can lead to problems but believing lies about your spiritual life and eternity can be downright dangerous. Yet, rarely do we think we are vulnerable to such lies. That’s part of the danger. Lies and those who promote them can be so appealing. But since our eternal destiny is at stake, how can we be sure we aren’t believing lies?
False religion and prosperity can both have an intoxicating effect on men and women.
In its extreme, false religion enables people to become suicide bombers, terrorists, and even radical defenders of abortion or gay rights. But there are other forms of false religion that can be just as dangerous to us personally.
Prosperity, on the other hand, can lull people into a materialistic stupor that renders them blind to what’s really important.
Also …
When we experience sorrow over sin, is it worldly sorrow or godly sorrow? This is important to understand because one leads to life and the other to death. And, finally, what do we have in common with lions, greyhounds, goats, and kings?
In today’s post … we’ll talk about those times when you feel worn down and discouraged by your circumstances. Maybe you’re exhausted from dealing with a strong-willed child, a difficult marriage, or some other family issue. Maybe you have suffered a devastating loss over the past year and the holidays were especially difficult. You may have lost a job or had some other financial setback. Or maybe you’re worried about rising costs or a medical diagnosis.
You may be so discouraged you’re tempted to give up altogether. How do you keep going when life seems so full of challenges?
How do you view your life and the world around you? Do you view your circumstances through the lens of Scripture or do you allow your circumstances to dictate how you “see” God? It seems the people of Zechariah’s day began to allow the latter. They needed some encouragement to refocus on God and keep going. Is it possible that God’s encouragement through the prophet, could encourage you and me, as well?
Then, as we continue reading the book of Revelation, we’ll look at the seven bowl judgments: incurable sores, water turned to blood, intense heat, darkness, floods, earthquakes, and unbearable pain. And there is only one way to avoid God’s judgment.
The people in Haggai’s time had a problem. They were working hard, but getting nowhere. The blessings of God were missing from their lives and God sent Haggai to help them understand why. Could their problem be ours as well? This is the time of year for evaluating priorities and setting goals for the coming year. Don’t forget to consider God’s priorities as you do. God had something to say to the people in Haggai’s day on that subject. Could a book written in 520 BC have a lot to say to us, too?
Like all great books, the last chapters in God’s Word are “hold-your-breath” exciting. Today we’ll talk about “The King” who was born as a babe but will one day return in power and glory. The climax will be a great battle where the fighting will be so fierce that the blood will be four feet deep in places and cover an area of 200 square miles. We’ll, also, talk more about the Tribulation and how people will be given one last chance to believe the gospel. But if they take the mark of the beast, their eternity will be sealed for all time. We, too, must decide in this life because there’s no Purgatory, no opportunities to earn our ticket to heaven, and no last chance to realize, “Oops, I made a mistake!” So we must choose wisely.
During the Tribulation, the final Antichrist will rise to power. All those who want to buy and sell will be required to wear his name or his number 666 on their right hand or foreheads. And all who dwell on the earth will be deceived into worshiping him, except those whose names are written in the Book of Life of the Lamb. It will seem that he has free reign to do evil and get away with it.
The prophet Habakkuk felt the same way about the enemies of Israel in his day. And we may feel that way today as we watch our nation and the world spiraling downward morally and spiritually while evil men and women appear unrestrained, even celebrated. But there will come a day when God will judge the wicked and in the meantime, God reminds us that “the just shall live by faith.”
