Day 76: Being Faithful

Reading: Proverbs 7:6-20

Being Faithful in Relationships
Faithfulness in marriage is a hard concept to grasp in today's world. In a society laced with consumerism and instant gratification, we have learned that if we don't like something we have, or if it is broken, get rid of it and get a new one. Unfortunately, this has come to apply to relationships and marriage. We read in Proverbs today the exchange between a naive man and an adulterous woman. Sadly, in this Proverb there is much truth to what happens in even today's world. We are heavily warned throughout Proverbs to avoid adultery and things that compromise marriage, whether you are already married or not. Hanging on to your sexual morals while single is so important. Many may think it is outdated and old fashioned, but there is something so much better and special about entering into marriage vows with a pure start. Having your mind in the right place before you find that right person to spend life with is significant. Having standards now will cause you grief later. Though God can wash us clean when we fall, we are to start new this day.


Reading: Luke 2:1-20

Be Faithful to God's Promises
I couldn't imagine how it must have felt for either Mary or Joseph in that time. Though they each knew that Mary had not been unfaithful (a huge disgrace in that time), they held true to God's promise of this important event. Joseph could have easily been angry with Mary, and left her, but he held to the promise that was given to him. Mary was probably in a little doubt as she saw her baby, but she kept to herself and held to the promise of her humble baby being the Savior of the world. The shepherds here also show faithfulness as they heed the words of the angel and go see and honor this newborn King. They all need to trust in God's faithfulness that there is a huge plan behind this little baby. Though it seems impossible, the faithfulness in God's work is extraordinary. What extraordinary work can He do in and through your life? Are you willing to be faithful to Him and His promises?


Reading: Numbers 5:11-6:27

Faithfulness in Response to God's Faithfulness
We see the consequences of unfaithfulness that took place in Moses' time. Though there was a tangible, immediate consequence in the policy back then, today the consequences may not seem so apparent, but are brutal. When adultery takes place, here is hurt and there is the breaking of relationship. Our faithfulness to our spouse is a response to God's faithfulness to us. Many times throughout the Bible we see a comparison of a husband and wife, compared to Christ and the church. There is a tight bond between both, and unfaithfulness between those should never be tolerated. We give back our faithfulness to God by serving Him. In our churches, in our marriages, in our families, in our relationships. When we act in such a way that is apart from the actions that are the norm of our world, we make a statement that is bold and promotes Christ and His faithfulness to us.


Faithfulness comes with responsibility and great love. When we choose to be faithful, to God, to our spouse, to our mission, we give back to the faithfulness Christ has in us. We can be faithful to God's promises and to our own areas in life. Faithfulness promotes a statement of our love for God.

Day 75: Freedom in Him

Reading: Psalm 34:11-22

There are many times in life we find ourselves bound by the chains of many different things. What we read in Psalms today though tells us there is hope and freedom in crying out to God. He promises He hears the cries of those who seek refuge in Him. He will set us free from the things that enslave us and have taken over our lives. There is a freedom that comes from only God. Turning to other things will leave us disappointed in the long run, and may even enslave us more. One thing we can do is look back on previous trials and hardships and remember God's presence when we called out to Him. Seeing where we were then in comparison to where we have come can encourage us to cry out to God in our next storms. We were never promised to never have storms, but God promises to hear our cry when we seek His refuge.


Reading: Luke 1:57-80

There is an extent of symbolism between Zechariah's muteness with the time of Roman rule and oppression. Once John was born, people thought he would be named after his father, but once Zechariah insisted that he baby's name be John, he was free to speak again, and he praised The Lord. Because of Zechariah's obedience and faithfulness to The Lord, he was set free of his muteness. John came to prepare the way of Jesus into an oppressive time. Jesus was coming to set the people free by carrying out and obeying the mission and will of His Father. Because of His obedience, we are set free. When we fail to obey God, we are oppressed by our own will and consequences.


Reading: Numbers 4:1-5:10

Our freedom is never to be taken for granted. Because Christ has set us free, our life should be a response to His love. In doing this, we serve in our churches, spread His Word and worship. The people in Moses' time each had gifts and jobs they carried out. His is a foreshadowing to the church. God gives His people gifts and skills to help Him carry out His mission. When we simply come to His church as consumers and not contributors, we are taking advantage of our freedom. We live in a country that we can openly serve and worship Him, and failing to carry out His mission and use our individual gifts is not giving back to Him. May we do our part in God's plan. He can surely work through someone else, but the blessing of being in His work is far greater than being a spectator of it.


We are granted a great freedom through Christ. When we cry out to Him and seek refuge in Him in our times of trials, we can be set free of our worries and storms, and grow in them. We can find freedom when we obey Him. And we can have freedom when we do His work. May we never take our freedom in Him for granted.

Day 74: Blessings > Happiness

Reading: Psalm 34:1-10

David finds true delight in God's blessings. He praises Him for all He has done. We are told to "taste and see that The Lord is good." Like foreign food or something we're not accustomed to, we may look at something and think it doesn't look appealing. Some may look at the Christian life and think it doesn't look fun. But they tasting it, we may get a whole different view on it. David finds true happiness and delight in what he's seen in God. He praises Him for His protection, His answers to prayer, for freedom and for light. When we walk alongside God in our lives, we will discover the enormity of His blessings. This happiness is greater than anything we can ever experience here on earth.


Reading: Luke 1:39-56

Mary expresses such great praise on the blessing she has in carrying the Son of God. Though the fear of this responsibility was great, Mary's willingness to be open and used by God was seen as a blessing, not a burden. When we have the opportunity to do hand-picked work for The Lord, we are extremely blessed, and should be grateful for being apart of His plan. We may try to strive for the happiness and temporary pleasures of this world, but they will never last as long, or be as great as the blessings that come from God. There is so much more to be gained when we are blessed by God. Our faith, love and humility can expand in ways we would never have thought. Be so excited about God's blessings as Mary was in a time of uneasiness as well.


Reading: Numbers 2:10-3:51

The blessing of God's presence is amazing. We see back in Moses' time how there was a division between the people and God. It was a great honor and blessing to approach God. Just because it is easier today, it is still a huge honor and blessing. God has made it possible for us to come to Him in easy ways through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. Because He took the punishment for our sin, we can fully come to God and be in His presence. We can experience His presence, as God has made possible throughout time. He provided the people of Moses' time to come to God in the holy tabernacle. He sent Jesus to live among people. Now He allows us to come to Him freely, and experience His presence in church or wherever we're close to Him. And He is coming back to us sometime. We are blessed to have this privilege of coming before God.


God's blessings on us are far greater than any temporary satisfaction we can encounter here on earth. We may seek happiness from those thing, like trips, experiences, drugs, food, sex, people...but we'll be left still unhappy later. To be in God's blessing, however, is surely a life-changing view of true contentment. Don't let those slip you by.

Day 73: Be a Winner

Reading: Psalm 33:12-22

When we face life's trivial battles and hardships, David tells us to put full reliance in Christ. Winners put God at the forefront and find their strength in Him. When we rely on our own strength and will, we fall fast, focusing on ourselves and not the direction of God. Those who rely on His love and fear Him, will find strength to face the hardships of daily life. If we place our hope in people, in things and in ourselves, we will be left broken and hurt. But when we place complete hope and trust in Christ, and allow Him to envelop us in His unfailing, unconditional love, we will be filled with light and strength to press on.


Reading: Luke 1:26-38

Jesus is the common denominator to Christians. We all share His Name, His existence, and His sacrifice in common. Though we share this amazing, all-powerful factor, we still fight and battle with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We fight about theology, about paint colors, coffee offers in church, pews, songs...whatever we feel convicted about. Our conviction should be to fight for Jesus, however. This amazing, loving, powerful, example came to us as a humble, tiny baby. What does that tell us about winning our battles? He came to save the lost, not to pick battles with believers. This commonality we share needs to be the bottom line and the only major battle we put up with fellow believers. The rest will fall into place. When we have the love of God in us, we will fight for others to know that love, not to know our music preference, or color preference, or what version of the Bible you stand by. Choose your battles with love and humility, placing Jesus at the front.


Reading: Numbers 1:1-2:9

We continue to see the history of the Israelite people. These are a people brought out of the hardship of Egypt, to the trials of the wilderness and then to an established society. We see the work God has done in a through them. Throughout Leviticus, we see the people strive for holiness in offering sacrifices and reading of the customs they needed to follow to be a set apart people in the name of The Lord. In Numbers, we read about the preparation for battle. God raised up leaders in this society that listened to Him and longed to follow His direction. Listening to God raises up leaders to follow Him. Raising up leaders empowers people. The question you face when looking into the eyes of life's battles is who are you listening to, and who are you following? What kind of a leader are you setting yourself up to be? When trials come, be empowered by Him.


Life will come with battles. They are inevitable in a broken, fallen world, filled with broken, fallen people. How will you choose your battles? Who do you look to for your strength and hope? Winning at life is taking those battles in stride and knowing how to handle them as a follower of Christ.

Day 72: Boundaries

Reading: Proverbs 7:1-5

When rules are laid out for us, we may feel constricted and not free. But when there are no rules, that is the case. When we watch or play football, the rules of the game keep it structured and fun. If there were no rules, no one would know what they were doing and there would be disagreements all over, constricting the motion of the fun. The same goes with the rules for life that God has laid out for us. He shows us in His Word how to live because He loves us and doesn't want us to have to face the consequences of life. This Proverb is pretty straight forward on how important the rules are to keep close to our hearts, as they will lead to a better life.


Reading: Luke 1:1-25

We see the amazing examples of people all around us who know the boundaries and happily follow them, probably not even thinking about them. We see how the book of Luke is opened by Zechariah and Elizabeth, both people who have good standing with The Lord. They, unable to have children pray and ask for a child, and we see how God grants them with that request. When we do our best to follow The Lord and His rules, we will be blessed in one way or another. God uses this couple to bring one of the greatest people in the Bible into the world, John the Baptist. When we have God's will and not ours in mind, He will use us to do His work and bless us through it. We can ask for things, and know He will bless us if it is in His will. Keep the commands of God close, as they are your guide.


Reading: Leviticus 26:14-27:34

In not obeying God's commandments, we can make life quite sticky for ourselves. The hard part is when we shove God and His rules away, and then blame Him when we get into trouble. Ouch. Seems a little self-righteous. Bit even when we get mad at God for the things we get ourselves into, we will always be able to turn to Him for help. He is always there with welcoming arms, when we're ready to go back to Him. God really lays out what the consequences of not following His rules are in the end of Leviticus. It is a big deal to the love God gives us that we follow the rules to reciprocate that love back to Him. He knows what is best for us, and wants us to have a successful life in Him. Nothing in this world will ever give us the satisfaction that only He can give. People disappoint, things break and get old, but God's love and mercy are new everyday.


Boundaries in life may seem restricting and not free enough for us, but the harsh truth is that without them, we are left wandering astray without a purpose. God lays out rules because He loves us, and wants us to live life to the fullest. Rules are a response to God's love, not the way to it. Boundaries set us free.

Day 71: Plans

 
Reading: Psalm 33:1-11

There is no doubt in my mind that God has a huge plan for you. He moves in great ways through the big things and the little things in life. David was able to see God's capabilities by looking back on what God had done. Simply looking around the nature of our world, we can see He holds majestic plans and power. When we are able to look back and see His work in our lives, we can stand a little more confident about what's to come. Though we may face hardships, we know God has a plan through them. I do struggle with the worry factor in everything. This is something that can crush faith and make you depend on others or yourself. When we give all our plans to Tod though, we can breathe easy and know He has it.


Reading: Mark 16:1-20

We see the grand plan of God come out into the light following such a tragic event in Jesus' life. Because He died, He was raised. And because He died, He has saved us from eternal separation from Him. If Jesus hasn't faced the hard, unknown plan by God, the story would have ended even more tragically for us. After we read about His rising, we read about His next plan for us. That is to go out and spread the word that He lives and to make more disciples. This is the plan God has for His people. We can choose to follow and obey, or we can choose to follow our own plan in living life the way we want to live. The rewards may be temporary out of this world, but the rewards of following Christ are great and eternal. The plan is your choice.


Reading: Leviticus 25:1-26:13

The plans that God has for us belong to Him. He sets the rules out of His love and and we show our love for Him by responding to these rules. They are not a way to a god, but a way to respond to God. God promises we'll have great futures if we follow Him and His decrees. This is definitely a plan to be a part of. When we call ourselves Christian, and truly are at heart and soul, following the rules of Christ just fall into place because of God's love in you. You will put God first, and treat your neighbors well. Don't get me wrong- having the love of God in us doesn't mean we won't still mess up sometimes and make mistakes, but the love will cause us to go to Him in repentance and asking for forgiveness. His plan is great for us when we decide to follow it.


Plans are a big part of our culture. We plan where we want to live, the path of our career, kids (most of the time), the whole plan for our lives. But what would happen if you dropped those plans completely, and followed God's plan for you instead?

Day 70: Forgiving

Reading: Psalm 32:1-11

Jesus came to set us free from our guilt and sin. This not only means we are forgiven, but we are to forgive others and that they are also forgiven. When we refuse to forgive, we are refusing God's love and forgiveness. We need to stop trying to hide our guilt and sin and confess it to God. David tells us of the great joy we get in doing this. Bing stubborn through life and refusing His direction is not going to get you anywhere. Trust in The Lord and His direction to put you somewhere amazing. This includes forgiving those you hold a grudge against. Let there be joy in your life through the freedom and peace that comes with forgiveness and love. When we forgive those around us and ourselves we are granted a fresh start and ultimate freedom from the guilt that comes with it.


Reading: Mark 15:33-47

Ultimate forgiveness came when Christ face separation from His own Father, and not even for His own sins, but ours. We see that love and forgiveness were poured out for us that day, and when we accept that forgiveness, we are to give back by forgiving others. God loves us so much that He wanted to give us a chance to be with Him in closing the gap between us and Him, between His perfect presence and a fallen world. He loves us so much that He made a way of forgiveness through His very own Son, Who took our punishment for us. That is the ultimate kind of forgiveness. If God could forgive us in such a huge way for all the things we do that are against Him, surely we can forgive someone in our lives that we don't think we ever could.


Reading: Leviticus 23:1-24:23

We can tell by all the Old Testament regulations and laws, that sin was nothing to mess around with. One thing we need to learn about forgiveness is that it can't be earned. It is a huge gift from God for us, and it is given to others who have wronged us. When Jesus came to die, He wiped out all the rules and legalism. When someone sinned, the regulations needed to be followed. Now, sin is forgiven freely. Jesus gave us the gift of forgiveness, and that is something that can never be earned on our own. When someone wrongs us, it is wrong to make them earn our forgiveness, because that would also put us in the wrong. Don't be legalistic, but focus on what Jesus did. Forgive and love freely.


Forgiveness is a powerful concept from both angles. We are to freely forgive, because Jesus forgave us through His ultimate sacrifice. Holding a grudge is "like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." Don't taint your life through grudges and hurt. Allow relationships to flourish through love and forgiveness.