Monthly Archives: July 2015

Follow God only – you won’t be sorry (Isaiah 8:11-22), July 11, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Isaiah 8:11-22

Set – Isaiah 8; Hebrews 8

Go! – Isaiah 8-10; Hebrews 8

Isaiah 8:11-22
¹¹ See, this is what the Eternal told me. God leaned in close—His strong hand on me—to keep me from following these people.
¹² Eternal One: Don’t call for an alliance, like all the rest of this people do.
Don’t fear what they fear, or dread what they dread.
¹³ After all, only the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, should terrify you.
Only God is holy. Only God should leave you trembling.
¹⁴ Look what I’m going to do in Zion:
The Eternal will be for you a sacred place,
But for both houses of Israel I’ll also be a stone that blocks their way
and a rock that trips them up;
For those who live in Jerusalem, I’ll be a trap and a snare.
¹⁵ Many will stumble over them. They will trip and be broken;
they’ll succumb to capture and be grabbed up.
¹⁶ Now take care to keep this message as it is.
Seal up this teaching
and hand it over to my disciples.
¹⁷ As for me, I will wait for the Eternal, even though He feels absent, even though He has hidden His face from the family of Jacob. I will put all hope in Him. ¹⁸ You see, I and my children whom the Eternal One gave to me, we personify the promise. We are signs of what God intends and will do in Israel, what amazing things the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies has in mind, the One who is indeed present in Zion, this heaven on earth.
¹⁹ People might tell you to ask the fortune-tellers, consult the babbling astrologers, conjure the dead to tell the living what’s to come, but shouldn’t they ask their God? ²⁰ Go to God’s teaching and His testimony to guide your thoughts and behavior! If any response disagrees with the word of God, then it’s muddling and wrong and not the least bit illuminating. ²¹ It leaves the people bedraggled and desperate, drifting here and there. In their hunger, the people are bound to be infuriated and curse their king and God. They’ll look up to the heavens ²² and down to the earth, yet see nothing but trouble, gloom, anguish, and darkness. They will be driven out into the darkness.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Be careful in who and what you listen to all the time. Some today will tell you the Old Testament is irrelevant. I will tell you it isn’t. You learn a great deal about Me and about yourself from reading and understanding it. Isaiah talks about his determination and about the path of those who don’t follow Me. I consistently see people running to the wrong sources today for information that will lead them the wrong way.

Isaiah described today pretty well. “People might tell you to ask the fortune-tellers, consult the babbling astrologers, conjure the dead to tell the living what’s to come, but shouldn’t they ask their God? Go to God’s teaching and His testimony to guide your thoughts and behavior! If any response disagrees with the word of God, then it’s muddling and wrong and not the least bit illuminating.”

If you will stick to My word life will turn out well for you. If you don’t you will suffer through consequences that you won’t like. You can trust My word. As creator of all things, you know My word is true. You know I will guide you correctly through life with it. I will not lead you down a path that takes you away from Me, but will draw you closer to Me each day if you let Me.

What the fortune-tellers, astrologers, and others tell you might sound appealing. They might tell you things you want to hear, but they won’t be the things you need to hear. They won’t tell you the things that will lead you to a life of righteousness. You might like what you hear, but it doesn’t help you. Just like going to the doctor, sometimes the treatment is painful, but necessary for the cure. That’s how My teaching and discipline can be. Sometimes the things you need bring some pain but it’s necessary to bring you the growth you need.

Just because you experience pain in your spiritual growth doesn’t mean I don’t love you, though. I do. If I left you to your own devices, you would wallow in your sin and never enter My eternal rest. You would find yourself left out of heaven because of your evil. My remedy sometimes hurts, but will eventually bring you to the realization that I am God and you are not. I know what is best for you each step along the way. I can free you from the chains that bind you. I alone can give you the keys to the joy you long for.

Listen to Me, trust Me, follow Me, you won’t be sorry.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

God is your high priest (Hebrews 7:15-28), July 10, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Hebrews 7:15-28

Set – Micah 7; Hebrews 7

Go! – Micah 5-7; Hebrews 7

Hebrews 7:15-28
¹⁵ Doesn’t it seem obvious? Jesus is a priest who resembles Melchizedek in so many ways; ¹⁶ He is someone who has become a priest, not because of some requirement about human lineage, but because of the power of a life without end. ¹⁷ Remember, the psalmist says,
You are a priest forever—
in the honored order of Melchizedek.
¹⁸ Because the earlier commandment was weak and did not reconcile us to God effectively, it was set aside— ¹⁹ after all, the law could not make anyone or anything perfect. God has now introduced a new and better hope, through which we may draw near to Him, ²⁰ and confirmed it by swearing to it. ²¹ The Levite order of priests took office without an oath, but this man Jesus became a priest through God’s oath:
The Eternal One has sworn an oath
and cannot change His mind:
You are a priest forever.
²² So we can see that Jesus has become the guarantee of a new and better covenant. ²³ Further, the prior priesthood of the sons of Levi has included many priests because death cut short their service, ²⁴ but Jesus holds His priesthood permanently because He lives His resurrected life forever. ²⁵ From such a vantage, He is able to save those who approach God through Him for all time because He will forever live to be their advocate in the presence of God.
²⁶ It is only fitting that we should have a High Priest who is devoted to God, blameless, pure, compassionate toward but separate from sinners, and exalted by God to the highest place of honor. ²⁷ Unlike other high priests, He does not first need to make atonement every day for His own sins, and only then for His people’s, because He already made atonement, reconciling us with God once and forever when He offered Himself as a sacrifice. ²⁸ The law made imperfect men high priests; but after that law was given, God swore an oath that made His perfected Son a high priest for all time.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

I tried to use men to guide you to a better life after the fall. Adam repented in the garden when I came to him and asked what he and Eve had done. He tried to teach his sons right from wrong. Abel got it. Cain didn’t. The world got worse as I tried to get people to teach each other My lessons about good and evil. Finally, I destroyed all of humankind except Noah and his family in a flood.

Noah followed Me and listened to Me. I tried to use him as the springboard for teaching his offspring about good and evil. But he failed to pass on what I taught him to his daughters and one of the first things that happened after the flood, he got drunk on the wine he made and his daughters slept with him.

I raised up Abraham and his children as My chosen people to teach the rest of the world about good and evil and how I wanted them to follow Me and live righteous lives. Abraham failed in some of the tests I set out for him, but in others he was a blessing to the nations around him. His offspring, the Israelites were to teach the world about Me. Instead they followed foreign gods and abandoned Me.

Time and again, I entrusted people to share My word, My commands, My directions and hope for you, but so many times, the lure of the world and its pagan practices that satisfy temporal pleasures pulled you away from Me. I wanted to let you discover for yourself that I am your eternal salvation and your redeemer, but you looked at the shiny baubles that Satan put before you and let him entice you for momentary gain.

I put the priesthood in place to set aside a specific tribe to try to help them understand the importance of remaining separate and holy. I hoped they would understand the importance of purity in their lives by living and working within the tabernacle and Temple. They didn’t. The tabernacle and the Temple became just as corrupt as the rest of the nation with its bribes, merchants profiting from selling sacrifices, dishonest scales, and the injustice within the gates.

So I came to earth as man. I came as one of you to become the perfect priest. I came as one unmarred by sin and evil. I came as the only one who could show you how to live free from evil and unwilling to bow to the temptations that came from every direction. Did I feel the pull of Satan? Yes. As a fully human being, I was subject to temptation just as you. But I never succumbed to them. I was sinless and so I can stand as your high priest.

I know what you go through because I was one of you but I can also redeem you because I was and am perfect, interceding for you as your high priest. Come to Me and I will do it. Repent, turn from your sin, follow Me.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Experience God, you won’t turn back! (Hebrews 6:12), July 9, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Hebrews 6:1-12

Set – Micah 4; Hebrews 6

Go! – Micah 1-4; Hebrews 6

Hebrews 6:1-12
¹ So let’s push on toward a more perfect understanding and move beyond just the basic teachings of the Anointed One. There’s no reason to rehash the fundamentals: repenting from what you loved in your old dead lives, believing in God as our Creator and Redeemer, ² teaching about baptism, setting aside those called to service through the ritual laying on of hands, the coming resurrection of those who have died, and God’s final judgment of all people for all time. ³ No, we will move on toward perfection, if God wills it.
^4-6 It is impossible to restore the changed heart of the one who has fallen from faith—who has already been enlightened, has tasted the gift of new life from God, has shared in the power of the Holy Spirit, and has known the goodness of God’s revelation and the powers of the coming age. If such a person falls away, it’s as though that one were crucifying the Son of God all over again and holding Him up to ridicule. ⁷ You see, God blesses the ground that drinks of the rain and then produces a bountiful crop for those who cultivate it. ⁸ But land that produces nothing but thorns and brambles? That land is worthless and in danger of being cursed, burned to the bare earth.
⁹ But listen, my friends—we don’t mean to discourage you completely with such talk. We are convinced that you are made for better things, the things of salvation, ¹⁰ because God is not unjust or unfair. He won’t overlook the work you have done or the love you have carried to each other in His name while doing His work, as you are still doing. ¹¹ We want you all to continue working until the end so that you’ll realize the certainty that comes with hope ¹² and not grow lazy. We want you to walk in the footsteps of the faithful who came before you, from whom you can learn to be steadfast in pursuing the promises of God.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Paul’s words seem strange to many today. Many believe you can pop in and out of walking with Me at will. Just do want you want and it will be okay. You can come and go as you please. Salvation really doesn’t work that way. When you come to Me, I will give you the stength to stand up to the temptations you face. I want you to turn from the evil paths you followed and live for Me. I don’t want you to wallow in the sinful ways of your past.

When you turn back to your old patterns of sin, you deny My power in your life and the path I’ve laid before you. You deny the power of the cross and the sacrifice I made for you. You crucify Me again. I have so much more for you than just simply forgiving your sins. I want you to truly live. Once you taste the life I have in store for you, you won’t want to turn back.

That’s why Paul can say what he does in these verses. If you really taste the life I have for you, you won’t want to turn back. Those who really experience the full life in Me never want to return to their old life of sin. It’s like the difference between living in a sewer drain and living in a well furnished house.

The comparison is so extreme, there really is no comparison between the two.

Some, however, never really repent of their sins. You cry a few tears, feel sorry you are caught in the trap of guilt for doing wrong, assage you conscience by telling Me you’re sorry, but get up and continue to do the same thing again. That is not repentance. Repentance is turning away from sin. Repentance is doing an about face. It is turning toward Me and away from the life you were living before heading in the direction I want you to go. And that’s the problem with the watered-down religion many hear today. Just cry and few tears and everything is okay. Say you’re sorry and move on.

Not enough. I didn’t die on the cross for you to do whatever you want to do. I died for your redemption. Redemption means I bought you with My blood. I own you. But I give you a choice as to whether you will let Me own you. You can choose to walk away without experiencing My forgiveness and My abundant life. Or you can allow Me to direct your path.

If you allow Me to direct your path, if you become a slave to My word, if you follow the directions I give you, I don’t think you’ll want to leave. You’ll enjoy the abundant living I promised. You’ll experience the incredible joy that comes from My spirit living in you that the world around you will never understand. You’ll amaze those around you with the new life that springs from you each moment because of My spirit that pours through your actions and your words. You’ll live life through Me.

Really experience Me, you won’t turn back!

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Experts in following God (Hosea 14; Hebrews 5), July 8, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Hosea 14; Hebrews 5

Set – Hosea 14; Psalms 102; Hebrews 5

Go! – Hosea 13–14; Psalms 100,102; Hebrews 5

Hosea 14; Hebrews 5
¹ Return, Israel, to the Eternal, your True God.
You’ve stumbled because of your wickedness.
² Think about what to say, and come back to the Eternal One.
Say to Him, “Forgive all our sins, and take us back again.
Bring us into Your good grace so we can offer You praise and sacrifice,
the fruit of our lips.
³ We admit that Assyria can’t save us, nor can riding horses and chariots into battle.
We’ll never again say to idols made with our own hands, ‘You’re our gods!’
We know You’re merciful because You take care of orphans.”
⁴ Eternal One: I’ll heal their apostate hearts so they won’t turn away from Me again;
I’ll love them freely because I won’t be angry with them anymore.
⁵ I’ll be like dew that waters Israel. She’ll blossom like the lily.
She’ll put down roots like the stable cedars of Lebanon;
⁶ She’ll send out shoots until her beauty is like the olive tree
and her fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.
⁷ The people will return from exile and sit in My shade once again;
they’ll flourish like grain; they’ll send out shoots like the vine.
And their fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
⁸ Ephraim, what do I have in common with deaf and blind idols?
I’m the One who responds to your pleas and cares for you.
I’m like a flourishing juniper tree; I provide life year-round.
⁹ The wise will understand these things;
the perceptive will know them.
For everything the Eternal One does is right,
and the righteous follow His ways.
But those who turn against Him will stumble along His path.

¹Remember what I said earlier about the role of the high priest, even the ones chosen by human beings? The job of every high priest is reconciliation: approaching God on behalf of others and offering Him gifts and sacrifices to repair the damage caused by our sins against God and each other. ² The high priest should have compassion for those who are ignorant of the faith and those who fall out of the faith because he also has wrestled with human weakness, ³ and so the priest must offer sacrifices both for his sins and for those of the people. ⁴ The office of high priest and the honor that goes along with it isn’t one that someone just takes. One must be set aside, called by God, just as God called Aaron, the brother of Moses.
⁵ In the same way, the Anointed One, our Liberating King, didn’t call Himself but was appointed to His priestly office by God, who said to Him,
You are My Son.
Today I have become Your Father,[a]
⁶ and who also says elsewhere,
You are a priest forever—
in the honored order of Melchizedek.

⁷ When Jesus was on the earth, a man of flesh and blood, He offered up prayers and pleas, groans and tears to the One who could save Him from death. He was heard because He approached God with reverence. ⁸ Although He was a Son, Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered. ⁹ And once He was perfected through that suffering He became the way of eternal salvation for all those who hear and follow Him, ¹⁰ for God appointed Him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
¹¹ I have a lot more to say about this, but it may be hard for you to follow since you’ve become dull in your understanding. ¹² By this time, you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet I feel like you want me to reteach you the most basic things that God wants you to know. It’s almost like you’re a baby again, coddled at your mother’s breast, nursing, not ready for solid food. ¹³ No one who lives on milk alone can know the ins and outs of what it means to be righteous and pursue justice; that’s because he is only a baby. ¹⁴ But solid food is for those who have come of age, for those who have learned through practice to distinguish good from evil.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Too many people learn their life lessons through intense suffering. Unfortunately, More never learn life lessons at all because they just never take the time to figure out what got them into the mess they find themselves. The passages you heard from Hosea and Hebrews points out the importance of stopping and reflecting on where you are in life and what your goals are for the coming years.

The Israelites finally woke up and discovered the enemy at their door was a result of their abandonment of Me. They forgot how they came to this land in the first place. Finally, they listen to My prophets, came to their senses and began to pray. When they did, I listened.

The writer of Hebrews brings his readers to the same conclusion in the verses you heard today. Too many of My followers content themselves with dabbling in My word. Just getting enough of Me to satisfy their guilty conscience but never delving into the riches I have for you. I want you to grow up. I want you to tackle the meat in My word. I want you to study what I tell you.

Learning about Me is different than knowing Me. Think back to your school days. Until you dug into your school work and began to put all of those elementary skills to work building on each other, you couldn’t compose sentences or paragraphs or ideas into meaningful essays. You couldn’t get beyond adding simple numbers or understand how higher math could ever be useful in life. But ask a mechanical engineer about calculus and how he uses it to test the tensil strength of materials. He’ll tell you the importance of the math he learned years ago.

Some have said it takes 10,000 hours of active practice to become an expert in any skill. Have you given 10,000 hours to the active practice of seeking and following Me? That doesn’t mean just saying you’re a Christian or going to church. That means active practice – studying, praying, seeking Me with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

You don’t have to say anything, we both know the answer. Is it time to work toward becoming an expert in following Me? There’s no time like the present to start.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Prepare the soil (Hosea 12), July 7, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Hosea 12

Set – Hosea 12; Psalms 73; Hebrews 4

Go! – Hosea 10–12; Psalms 73; Hebrews 4

Hosea 12
¹ Eternal One: Ephraim feeds on the wind.
He chases the hot east wind all day long.
He’s becoming more and more deceitful and violent.
They’ve abandoned their covenant to make an alliance with Assyria,
trading oil for favor from Egypt.
² The Eternal has charges to bring against Judah;
He’ll punish the nation of Jacob for the way he’s acting
and pay him back for the things he’s done.
³ Even from the womb, he fought with his brother by grabbing his heel;
when he grew to be an adult, he struggled against God.
^4-5 He wrestled with a heavenly messenger and won;
he wept and begged for his help.
It was the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies, who met him at Bethel;
the Eternal Himself spoke with him there; the Eternal One is His memorial name.
⁶ So you must return to your God, maintain loyalty and justice,
and wait patiently for your God.
⁷ Like Canaan, Israel is a merchant who uses dishonest scales—
he loves to cheat people!
⁸ Ephraim gloats, “I’ve gotten rich! I’ve made a fortune for myself!
And in all my dealings no one can charge me with iniquity and dishonesty.”
⁹ Eternal One: I’m the Eternal One; I’ve been your True God ever since you left Egypt.
I’m going to make you live in tents again,
As you do in remembrance during the Feast of Tabernacles.
¹⁰ Eternal One: I’ve spoken to the prophets; I’ve given them many visions,
and I’ve told you parables through them.
¹¹ Because Gilead is so wicked, it is worthless.
They sacrifice bulls at the cultic center of Gilgal,
But their altars will be heaps of stone next to a plowed field.
¹² Jacob fled to the fields of Aram;
Israel worked for Laban in exchange for a wife;
to pay the bride-price, he shepherded Laban’s flocks.
¹³ But the Eternal One led Israel out of Egypt by a prophet;
Moses, God’s own prophet, kept the people safe.
¹⁴ But now Ephraim has made his Lord furious, and this is His judgment:
God will punish him for the blood he’s shed
and pay him back for his defiance.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Farmers always expect a harvest. Can you imagine what it would be like to be a farmer but not expect a harvest from the work you put into the crops? You prepare the fields each winter and spring. You spend days and weeks fertilizing, plowing, checking the soiling and making sure it is ready for planting. Then you carefully plant seeds into freshly plowed ground to ensure the best crop possible for a good harvest when the fruit is ripe on the stalks.

You water, weed, fertilize during the season. You protect the crop from bugs, birds, and other animals that might destroy the crop before you can harvest it. Then the big day comes. The crop should be ripe. The harvest should be ready. But instead of a harvest, you have nothing. Can you imagine the heartbreak the farmer must feel? All year he has labored, but he has done so in vain. No farmer goes through that labor without expecting a harvest. He always expects to reap what he has sown.

Life is like that. You reap what you sow. If you sow good deads, in time you will reap a harvest of good. But if you sow evil deeds, in time you will reap evil. Your harvest will reflect the seeds you planted and labored so diligently to grow. So I have a few questions for you along the metaphor of the farmer and his crop.

Have you planted the right seeds? Have you planted good deeds and a righteous life or evil? Let’s assume you are planting good deeds, or trying to.

Are you working diligently on the preparation of the soil before you plant the seeds and after the seeds are planted? Too many think just planting the seed is sufficient to make a bountiful harvest grow. What they find instead is just planting a seed will often result in a scrawny plant.

Pay attention to the preparation of your own soil and in the place you plant the seeds of good deeds. Fertilize the soil of your life and the lives of others with prayer. Plow the field with My word, a sharp sword that can divide body and spirit. That dividing sword can be the plow that creates furrows in the mind and spirit and prepares the heart for the seed being planted.

Once seeds of good deeds are planted, care for them. Water them with My spirit. The evidence of My can be found in its fruit – unconditional love, joy, peace, patience, kindheartedness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Remove the weeds that come from the world’s interference.

Take care of the seeds of good deeds you plant in others and prepare the soil well. Then care for the field. When you do, you will see a bountiful harvest in yourself and in others.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Encourage each other (Hebrews 3), July 6, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Hebrews 3

Set – Hosea 6; Hebrews 3

Go! – Hosea 6–9; Hebrews 3

Hebrews 3
¹ So all of you who are holy partners in a heavenly calling, let’s turn our attention to Jesus, the Emissary of God and High Priest, who brought us the faith we profess; ² and compare Him to Moses, who also brought words from God. Both of them were faithful to their missions, to the One who called them. ³ But we value Jesus more than Moses, in the same way that we value a builder more than the house he builds. ⁴ Every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. ⁵ Moses brought healing and redemption to his people as a faithful servant in God’s house, and he was a witness to the things that would be spoken later. ⁶ But Jesus the Anointed was faithful as a Son of that house. (We become that house, if we’re able to hold on to the confident hope we have in God until the end.)

⁷ Listen now, to the voice of the Holy Spirit through what the psalmist wrote:
Today, if you listen to His voice,
⁸ Don’t harden your hearts the way they did
in the bitter uprising at Meribah
⁹ Where your ancestors tested Me
though they had seen My marvelous power.
¹⁰ For the 40 years they traveled on
to the land that I had promised them,
That generation broke My heart.
Grieving and angry, I said, “Their hearts are unfaithful;
they don’t know what I want from them.”
¹¹ That is why I swore in anger
they would never enter salvation’s rest.
¹² Brothers and sisters, pay close attention so you won’t develop an evil and unbelieving heart that causes you to abandon the living God. ¹³ Encourage each other every day—for as long as we can still say “today”—so none of you let the deceitfulness of sin harden your hearts. ¹⁴ For we have become partners with the Anointed One—if we can just hold on to our confidence until the end.
¹⁵ Look at the lines from the psalm again:
Today, if you listen to His voice,
Don’t harden your hearts the way they did
in the bitter uprising at Meribah.
¹⁶ Now who, exactly, was God talking to then? Who heard and rebelled? Wasn’t it all of those whom Moses led out of Egypt? ¹⁷ And who made God angry for an entire generation? Wasn’t it those who sinned against Him, those whose bodies are still buried in the wilderness, the site of that uprising? ¹⁸ It was those disobedient ones who God swore would never enter into salvation’s rest. ¹⁹ And we can see that they couldn’t enter because they did not believe.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Some say they can serve Me apart from a community of believers. That’s not how I intend you to serve Me. You’ll find life much easier to contend with when you bind together in fellowship and travel through it together than if you try to face it alone. That’s why the writer of Hebrews says to encourage each other every day.

Meeting together and encouraging each other in the face of adversity and persecution helps you know you are not alone in the troubles you face from the world. The world will always tell you that following Me is not worth the effort. Those who oppose Me will always try to block your path and lure you away from Me in a variety of ways. But being a part of a fellowship of believers will strengthen you and encourage you along your journey.

Solomon’s proverb reminds you that two are stronger than one and a rope of three strands is not easily broken. The same is true when applied to groups of believers. When you meet together, you have the strength to stand up to whatever the world might throw your way. You can lean on each other and help carry each others burdens.

I made you to want to have meaningful relationships with other people, not just with Me. That’s why I told you it is impossible to love Me and hate your brothers and sisters. How can you hate your brother who you see and love Me who you cannot see? It just isn’t possible. You need each other and meeting together to worship Me is a great place to start that bonding in fellowship.

It’s also especially helpful and important to encourage each other in these times. You can see the pressure increasing on those who really stand for Me. As long as you move along with the ideas of those who just call themselves Christians but bow to the whims and ways of the world, you don’t have problems. But stand for Me and My word and you will face ridicule, slander, insult, and persecution. Expect it. Embrace it. Encourage each other in the face of it.

As the end of times approach, persecution against the church and My people will increase. The rise in violence against you will become increasingly severe as My return approaches. Be ready. Lean on each other. Encourage each other every day – while “today” is still around. I’m coming back to take you with Me. Persevere until the end. It’s worth it.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Come back, stay faithful (Hosea 2:2-20), July 5, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Hosea 2:14–23

Set – Hosea 2; Hebrews 2

Go! – Hosea 2–5; Hebrews 2

Hosea 2:14-23
¹⁴ But once she has nothing, I’ll be able to get through to her.
I’ll entice her and lead her out into the wilderness where we can be alone,
and I’ll speak right to her heart and try to win her back.
¹⁵ And then I’ll give her back her vineyards;
I’ll turn the valley of Achor, that “Valley of Trouble,”
into a gateway of hope.
In the wilderness of exile she’ll learn to respond to Me
the way she did when she was young, when I brought her out of Egypt.
¹⁶ And I swear when that day comes, she’ll call Me “my husband” and never address Me again as “my master” as she did those other gods. ¹⁷ She’ll never invoke the name of any other master again.
Everyone will forget that gods by that name ever existed. ¹⁸ When that day comes, this is what I’ll do for My people: I’ll make a covenant for them with the wild animals and flying birds and crawling insects, and they’ll agree never to devour her crops again. I’ll smash all the bows and swords and weapons that could be used to invade their land, and they’ll live in security.
(to His reclaimed bride) ¹⁹ I’m going to marry you, and this time it’ll be forever in righteousness and justice. Our covenant will reflect a loyal love and great mercy; ²⁰ our marriage will be honest and truthful, and you’ll understand who I really am—the Eternal One.
²¹ And I swear that when that day comes
I’ll answer the sky and prayers for rain,
and the sky will give the land the water it’s asking for.
²² And the land will give the grain and wine and oil the fertile soil they need to develop,
and the crops will shout back to Me, “God sows!”
²³ I won’t just restore the agricultural abundance;
I’ll sow into My beloved land and plant the people in the land and make them My own.
To the one who has not been shown mercy,
I’ll rename her Mercy.
I’ll tell Not My People, “You are now My People!”
and he’ll respond, “You’re my God!”

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

You might remember Hosea’s story. I asked him to marry a harlot as an example of how My children treated Me. Hosea’s wife ran off to other men instead of being faithful to her husband, but he goes to her and brings her back home despite her unfaithfulness. The poetry in the prophecy tell of his actions to win her back. Hosea tried everything he could to keep her faithful to him. He gave her his love and remained faithful to her even though she was unfaithful to him.

My children treat Me like Hosea’s wife treated him too often. I give you blessings and you don’t appreciate them. I give you My love and you chase after worldly things instead. I protect you, provide for you, help you, teach you, yet you throw My love away and give yourself to meaningless activities and throw yourself to whatever will give you temporary pleasure instead of aspiring to develop lasting relationships with Me.

How is it that you can read history and know what happens to those who oppose Me and still continue on the path you take? How can you continue to defy Me when you see that in the end only a relationship with Me will last? How can you chase after the things of the world when you see the evidence time and again that those things only lead to your destruction?

It was difficult for Me to use Hosea as an example for the Israelites. I knew the heartbreak he would feel as his wife deserted him and ran off after other men. I knew the tears he would shed because of her deceit after all he did to provide for her. I knew the anguish Hosea would experience because of the rejection he felt from the one he loved.

I knew Hosea would experience these things because I experience them when one of My children, one of My creation, reject Me despite the love I give them. I do everything I can to reach to you, yet you run away from Me. I give you My love, even to the point of sacrificing Myself on the cross to redeem you, still you turn from Me and follow your own path. I love you with a love that reaches deeper than your vilest sin. All I ask is that you return to Me and be a faithful bride.

Like Hosea, I will take you as you are. But I won’t let you remain in your sin. I won’t let you continue to return to your unfaithful ways. I won’t allow you to continue to reject Me forever. I love you, but I remain holy. I cannot live in the presence of sin. It must be blotted out. I made provision for you so your sins can be blotted out. I died for you for just that reason.

Perhaps remembering Hosea’s story will help you understand how I feel when you run from Me. I want you with Me. Come back to Me. I’ll accept you as you are and help you remain faithful if you will work with Me.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

The Son, the Anointed One, God! (Hebrews 1), July 4, 2015

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Hebrews 1
Set – Hosea 1; Hebrews 1
Go! – 2 Kings 15–16; Hosea 1; Hebrews 1

Hebrews 1
¹ Long ago, at different times and in various ways, God’s voice came to our ancestors through the Hebrew prophets. ² But in these last days, it has come to us through His Son, the One who has been given dominion over all things and through whom all worlds were made.
³ This is the One who—imprinted with God’s image, shimmering with His glory—sustains all that exists through the power of His word. He was seated at the right hand of God once He Himself had made the offering that purified us from all our sins. ⁴ This Son of God is elevated as far above the heavenly messengers as His holy name is elevated above theirs.

⁵ For no heavenly messengers have ever heard God address them with these words of the psalms:
You are My Son.
Today I have become Your Father.
Or heard Him promise,
I will be to You a Father,
and You will be My Son.
⁶ Now, when the Son, the firstborn of God, was brought into the world, God said,
Let all My heavenly messengers worship Him.
⁷ Concerning them, God said,
I make My heavenly messengers like the winds,
and My servants like a flame.
⁸ But to the Son He said,
God, Your throne is eternal;
You will rule Your kingdom with the scepter of justice.
⁹ You have loved what is right
and hated what is evil;
That is why God, Your God, has anointed You
with the oil of gladness and lifted You above Your companions.
¹⁰ And God continues,
In the beginning, You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth
and set the skies above us with Your own hands.
¹¹ But while they will someday pass away,
You remain forever;
when they wear out like old clothes,
¹² You will roll them up
and change them into something new.
But You will never change;
Your years will never come to an end.
¹³ Did God ever say to any of the heavenly messengers,
Sit here, at My right hand, in the seat of honor;
and I’ll put all Your enemies under Your feet?
¹⁴ No, of course not. The heavenly messengers are only spirits and servants, sent out to minister to those who will certainly inherit salvation.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

My Son, fully human, fully God. It’s something you cannot understand if I tried to explain it. There at the beginning of time, yet alive in human skin for a mere 33 years. Lived among, died a cruel death, rose from the grave, lives eternally. The human mind cannot comprehend how it happens except that My Son is God and is Man. I came to you to show you how to live. I came to show you how to love. I came to show you who I am.

Hebrews gives a discourse on the supremacy of My Son as worthy of worship because He is God incarnate. The Hebrews couldn’t understand it. Jesus in the flesh ran counter to much their religion evolved into over the course of time. Their religion became a list of rules and traditions. Rituals that adherants must perform at certain times in certain ways. Religion without heart or real devotion or worship.

I came to them as I come to you to remind them I am a God of love. I am alive. I care about you because I created you. I want a relationship with you. But I am still a holy God and abhor sin. It cannot dwell in My presence. So I had to make a way to bridge the gap between us. My Son, God incarnate, Me in the flesh as the perfect sacrifice for the redemption of sin was My plan from the very first act of disobedience in the garden.

There was never anything you could do to bridge the gap. Only I could do it. So I came to you and became one of you. I gave My life for you so you could have life. This book, these few chapters written centuries ago still hold the same solid arguments as they did when penned. As you read them, let them move you like they never have before. Let the author of Hebrews help you understand why I came and what I offer you as My followers.

The opening verses tell you Jesus, My Son, is worthy of worship. He is part of Me. He stands above all others. He participated in creation and will stand at the final judgment. He is eternal as I am eternal. He is God as I am God, part of the triune Godhead. All will bow at His feet and call Him Lord one day. It’s best to start now.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

What does God want you to do? (Isaiah 6), July 3, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Isaiah 6

Set – Isaiah 6; 2 Chronicles 26

Go! – Isaiah 6–7; 2 Chronicles 26–27; Philemon

Isaiah 6
¹ In the same year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a grand throne way up high with a flowing cape that filled the whole temple. ² Bright flaming creatures waited on Him. Each had six wings: two covering its face, two covering its feet, and two for flying. ³ Like some fiery choir, they would call back and forth continually.
Flaming Creatures: Holy, holy, holy is the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies!
The earth is filled with His glorious presence!
⁴They were so loud that the doorframes shook, and the holy house kept filling with smoke.
⁵ Isaiah: I am in so much trouble! I’m ruined!
I’m just a human being—fallible and stammering.
My lips are encrusted with filth;
and I live among people just like me.
But here I am, and I’ve seen with my very own eyes
none other than the King, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.
⁶ Then one of the flaming creatures flew to me holding a red-hot ember which it had taken from God’s table, the temple altar, with a pair of tongs. ⁷ The creature held it to my lips.
Flaming Creature: Look! With the touch of this burning ember on your lips,
your guilt is turned away;
All your faults and wrongdoings are forgiven.
⁸ Then I heard the Lord’s voice.
Eternal One: Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?
Isaiah: Here I am! Send me.
Eternal One: ⁹ Go to this people and say,
“Keep listening, but do not comprehend;
Keep looking, but do not understand.”
¹⁰ Make their hearts hard, their ears deaf, and their eyes blind.
Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts, and then turn and be healed.
¹¹ Isaiah: How long, Lord?
Eternal One: Until cities are in ruins, the houses sit empty,
and the land has become a wasteland.
¹² You see, the Eternal has determined to move the people far away;
place after place will be completely abandoned.
¹³ And even if just a tenth survive, it will be burned again;
imagine a terebinth or an oak; once it is cut down, the stump remains.
The holy seed remains in the stump.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

I let Isaiah peek into My throne room. He saw what few have seen. He viewed a scene that thrills Me. My seraphs and seraphim surrounding the throne singing and worshiping Me. They cannot help it. All who see Me worship in My presence. They cry out “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God, Almighty.” When you see Me, you will do the same. You won’t be able to resist.

Isaiah saw something else as He peeked into the My throne room. He listened in on a conversation between Me and My angels. I asked a question to which I already knew the answer, but wanted him to realize the answer. It’s always better to let the owner of the task discover the task themselves. So I let Isaiah hear the conversation and he volunteered.

Like many of My followers, Isaiah didn’t know what the task really entailed. He didn’t know the sacrifices he would eventually make. He didn’t know the resistance he would face. Isaiah was ready to tell the world what he saw. He was ready to proclaim whatever I told him to the world. He didn’t realize that few would believe him just like few believe Me.

That’s what I want from those that follow Me, though. I want you to volunteer to do whatever I want you to do. I want you to be like Isaiah. Just say I’ll go before you even know what I’m asking. Be so willing to do anything that you jump up and down with your hand in the air that I’m reminded of the kindergarteners volunteering for their favorite teacher.

My missions will sometimes be tough. But I’ll be with you. Sometimes what I ask of you will seem impossible, but I’m in the business of the impossible. Remember, I created everything from nothing. The impossible is My specialty. People will often hate you for doing what I ask of you. But don’t worry, I will love you and that’s what counts.

Isaiah had a special viewing before I gave him his task. You might not. I still want you to work for Me. Will you do it? Can you stand up the test? Are you man or woman enough?

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Choose your path wisely (Isaiah), July 2, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Isaiah 5:1–7

Set – Isaiah 5; Jude

Go! – Isaiah 4–5; Psalms 115–116; Jude

Isaiah 5:1-7
¹Let me now sing for my dear friend,
a love song about his vineyard.
My friend, whom I dearly love,
had a vineyard on a fertile hill.
² He labored to prepare the ground, tilling the soil and digging out rocks,
and then he planted it with the best plants he could find.
In its midst, he built a watchtower over it
and cut out a winepress in the hill nearby;
Then he waited, hoping it would be bountiful.
But the vineyard produced only wild, bitter grapes.
³ Eternal One: That’s it. Enough. Now, you who live in My special city, Jerusalem,
you people of this choice country, Judah,
Who’s in the right—Me or My vineyard?
⁴ What else could I possibly have done to make it flourish?
Why, when I had every reason to expect great beauty and bushels of grapes,
Did it yield only wild, bitter fruit?
⁵ I’ll tell you what I’m going to do,
what I’ve determined to do to My vineyard:
I’m going to take away its protective fence
and let the deer, raccoons, and rabbits devour it.
I’ll break down its wall,
let the vines be eaten and trampled.
⁶ I will set it up for destruction—
do no pruning, no tilling—
And it will be overrun with nasty briars and thornbushes.
I will even order the clouds not to water it.
⁷ See here, the vineyard of the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies,
is the house of Israel, His special people.
And the shoots and buds He nursed so lovingly along
are the people of this choice country, Judah.
He expected a paragon of justice and righteousness—
but everywhere injustice runs bloodred in the streets, and cries echo in the city!

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

I try hard to bring you to Me. I want you in My home. But I’m a holy God. I cannot tolerate sin. So I made a away to teach you right from wrong. I made a way of escape for you so you can choose right instead of wrong. But you still have a choice. I created you with that capability. Unfortunately, as much as I try, you often choose the wrong over the right. It’s your choice, but you must understand, I have not changed. I still cannot tolerate sin and ultimately, I will destroy every vestige of sin that exists.

I separated the Israelites as My chosen people to especially teach them My ways so they could then teach them to the rest of the world. Instead, they turned from Me and chose their own path. It led to their destruction at the hands of other nations. Only in the last century have I allowed them to stand up as a nation again with national boundaries and their own government. But time for them to truly return to Me is drawing short.

I raised up a nation across the seas with individual freedoms like no other nation. I gave it democratic rules and representative government. I blessed it with men who saw far beyond themselves and established laws that would give self-government to individuals and cities as far as possible to protect freedom from tryanny. You called yourselves Americans. I hoped this new democracy would follow Me based on the people who fled the persecutions they faced in Europe.

The new settlers followed Me for a while, but like Israel, when you gained prosperity and power in the world, you forgot Me. You felt self-sufficient and thought you no longer needed Me. Despite the fact I gave you what you needed to begin this experiment in self-government, you cast Me aside. Now you begin to feel the payment for your arrogance. As with Isaiah’s prophecy so many centuries ago, the metaphor still holds true.

I am like a the farmer who planted the vineyard and did everything I could do to create a good crop, but the vineyard produced only wild, bitter grapes. You are that vineyard and will leave you to your own destruction. I will no longer tend to you or help you in times of despair. You have chosen your path by the actions you take in your courts, your legislature, you seats of power. You choose the wrong path instead of following Me. You choose to tickle your ears with personal pleasure, you hear only what you want to hear to satisfy your base desires instead of listening to what separates you from the rest of the animals in creation.

So since you have chosen your path, I will leave you to your own ends. I will let you see what it is like to live as a nation without Me. I will allow you to become the wild, wanton creatures you choose. It pains Me to watch, but I gave you freedom to choose and I will not withdraw that freedom. Remember, however, you do not choose the consequences of your choice. I do. You will not like the consequences of the path you follow apart from Me.

For 20 centuries, the Israelites wandered without a country to call their own. They were My chosen people. What do you think will happen to you when I withdraw My protection from you? Choose your path carefully. As a nation, it is done. As individuals, you still have a choice. Choose wisely!

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.