Day 96: Seek and You Will Find

 Reading: Proverbs 8:32-36

Avidly seeking God is a matter of life and death according to this reading. We are commanded to listen and to hold close to instruction and be wise. When we listen, we find great joy as we progress through life's situations and hardships. We have a foundation that instinctively seeks God in all times when we train ourselves to follow His instruction. Falling on Him in those times of needing direction will result in great blessing and powerful work through Him. When we wait on God to come and lead us, we will find life. When we fail to wait on Him though, and take our own path, we will find ourselves lost and injured. We are warned that those who miss God love death. They won't find the joy that those who wait patiently in His timing will find. Remember this Proverb the next time you seek direction and instruction from Him.

Reading: Luke 11:5-32

This reading is pretty straight forward when it comes to seeking God. Jesus makes some pretty blunt promises in His words here. He says that anyone who seeks will find, asks will receive, and knocks, the door will be opened to. He reassures us 6 times, repeating it in different ways, as He knows we are a people of doubt. We have a tough time having faith in being blessed. But Jesus reassures us that we will receive, find, and enter those things we want or need. 

Another hurdle we face as a human race is that of fear, wondering if what we receive will be good in the end. Jesus again, reassures us that His Father is good, comparing Him to our earthly fathers. If fathers on earth have enough common sense to not put their children in danger, or to give them what we need, Jesus tells us that God knows us way better than our own fathers, and will certainly be good to us, giving us exactly what we need, even before we need it. He knows what's down the road for us, and He prepares us to face the things to come. Maybe He'll give us a job that gives us the skills to take on a huge task that comes later in life. Or a child that will be gifted in areas their parents are not, so they can help their parents in that way. Whatever it is, we can be certain that God will take care of us, and give us what we need when we ask. 

Another part of this reading goes into asking for the right things. The people demand a sign from heaven that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, but Jesus tells them they are asking for the wrong thing. He has already brought signs. Our motives need to be right when we go to God with requests. If we go to Him without the faith it takes to believe in Him, we might be shot down. I we go to Him, oblivious to our sin and not caring about making our lives right, the blessings may be hard to come by. Make sure you approach Him with a right heart when putting in your requests. 

Reading: Deuteronomy 4:15-5:33

Our personal lives must always seek to keep God on top. If we seek Him wholeheartedly, we will find Him and live prosperous lives (4:29). We can't go about life seeking approval of others and thriving on their love when God's love is most powerful and consistent. We read into the Ten Commandments, reminding us of where we seek. The first commandments focus on putting God first, and the rest on living humbly and in harmony with others. When we seek, we strive to obey, and set our priorities straight. God cares so much for us that He wants us to live prosperous lives. Many times we confuse the rules as boundaries that hold us back from fun. But when we place rules on things, it's because we care enough about those things that we want to protect them. Parents with kids put down rules out of love. They don't wake up in the morning thinking about how to take fun away from their kids. They worry and love them. They want to protect them, and help them live prosperous, long lives. God wants e same for us. When kids obey their parents and refuse to show defiance, that show they love their parents back. When we obey God, we show love back to Him. Seeking Him and showing our love for Him will truly lead us in prosperous lives, full of God's blessing. Seek Him daily, and strive to pay back your love for Him by following His instruction. 

Jesus promises us that when we ask, we will receive. When we seek, we will find. When we knock, the door will be opened. We need to strive to seek Him daily. When we have the right heart and motives, we will be blessed and live prosperous lives in His Name. Seeking Him is the best thing you can do. 

Day 95: High Priorities

 Reading: Psalm 41:7-13

It can go unsaid that by now that we know David faced many worries and struggles. We also read over and over again how he cries out to God in the midst of these struggles and praises God when he sees Him work. We also have read, especially today, about how he seeks God's presence constantly. Our main priorities as followers of Christ should be to seek out His presence in our lives continually. When we lose focus of Him, we tend to fall off the path. We can claim we are followers, but if we don't show it with His direction in our lives, we are no different than anyone else in this world. But when we proceed to keep Him center of our lives, no matter the circumstances, we will be putting Him on display everywhere we go. Don't let His presence slip from your life.

Reading: Luke 10:25-11:4

Jesus is our prime example of setting our priorities straight in our lives. When He is asked what the greatest commandments are (or greatest priorities), He replies with putting God first, then loving your neighbors. He takes it a step further in telling the story about the Jewish man who was beaten and robbed, left on the side of the road. A priest and a temple assistant both came by at different times, but did not stop for him. Two men who are highly looked up to in the religious world both neglect to help a neighbor in need. There may have been many reasons these men wouldn't stop. Maybe they were late for church, or didn't want to become unclean as it made you unclean to touch a dead body in that day, thus not being allowed to enter the temple. Perhaps they didn't want to take the risk of the other robbers being around. Whatever the reason, they had one. I find myself sadly relating to this as many times I'm running off to church meetings or need to get to work (at church), and find myself too busy to help someone who needs it, or who calls. There's always a reason not to help someone, or to do something. 

Finally a Samaritan, a race despised by the Jewish people, stops and helps the man. This man not only stops, but takes him to a place to stay and get well, paying for it all. Now this is truly loving your neighbor and setting your priorities straight. 

Another example we read about is that of Jesus visiting with Martha and Mary. Mary sits and listens to Jesus as Martha rushes around, getting angry that Mary isn't helping her put a feast together. Jesus' response to this, however is that spending time with Him, as Mary was doing, was the right thing to do. This just goes to show us that spending time with God before we get into any of the busy work of this world is the highest priority we should have. One of my favorite quotes is "if you're too busy to open your Bible, you're more busy than God intended you to be." Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray is another example of the importance of spending time with God. 

Keep God number 1. Before work, before sports, before school, before anyone else in your life. Then love others, no matter how much you despise them. These are our priorities, according to Jesus.

Reading: Deuteronomy 2:24-4:14

As we read through the records of the people coming into the Promised Land, we can really begin to see that God neither cared about the land or His laws, but about having a relationship with the people that would carry on for generations to come. The laws are a proclamation of God's love for us, as He longs to have us near to Him, and our obedience to the laws are our response to Him in what He has done in our lives. God intends our relationship with Him to be a highly visible face in this world. We are to be set apart and only in this world, not of this world, and following its ways. Our priority should be to put God on display. This comes when we have His presence in every aspect of our lives, when we spend time with Him, and when we help our neighbors, no matter who they are. Make these things a high priority in your life as a follower of Christ.

Priorities are an important part of life, especially in a world as busy as ours. As followers of Christ, our example is laid out in Jesus. Today, we read about putting Christ center of our lives by keeping His presence in every aspect of it. Also following the greatest commandments of putting Him first, then loving our neighbors whether we like them or not. Putting these things on high priority in our lives will put God and His love on display for the world to see.

Day 94: Trampled Blessings

Reading: Psalm 41:1-6

God pours out blessing on those who care for the poor. This doesn't only mean those without much money, but those who are lost, sick, suffer addictions, etc. When we care for them, and do what we can to help them get on the right track or to find encouragement, we will find ourselves in God's blessing.

However, we must never forget that the enemy is on the prowl, especially against those going all in for God and His mission. He will do what it takes to knock us off kilter and make us feel like we've done wrong. This could even be in the form of gossip and slander. People who we think we can trust or who we believe are our friends may fish for any blackmail or gossip that can get from our lives, then tell the world all about it. Don't let Satan's tactics push you down when you're working on God's team. God will always be there to pick you back up and pour His blessing over you when you continue in His plan despite the hardships.

Reading: Luke 9:57-10:24

Those who choose to be followers of Christ will be the most blessed in the human race. Jesus calls His disciples to go out and spread the news and heal in His name. He gives them authority and power as they are followers of His. As followers of Christ today, we have the same authority under Christ to proclaim His word and to reach out to those in need. We can have full confidence in what we are doing because God has commissioned us. 

On the flip side, Jesus warns His disciples that He is sending them out into a dangerous world. He says He is sending out sheep among wolves. As Christians, you will probably face some sort of opposition at one point or another. Jesus didn't promise an easy road, but promised blessings upon His followers. The persecution that comes with Christianity (not as extreme in American as it is in many other countries), can turn people off to the faith. Fitting into the culture is more important than following Jesus for eternity. Society can make very hard to be a Christian. Sometimes it may feel like the slander and abuse can outweigh the benefits in this life. But keep the faith and keep the strength and authority you have in Jesus Christ. 

Reading: Deuteronomy 1:1-2:23

We have seen the endless journey through the wilderness for the Israelites. Moses reflects and instructs the people from here, telling them of the great things The Lord has done in their lives. Remembering the great blessings and provisions God had poured out on the people and himself. Moses also points out the promises God has fulfilled in multiplying the people greater than the stars. 

With reward comes hardship though. Moses also goes into the discouragement he faced, as well as the physical battles they had to fight along the way. The bickering, arguing and complaining from the people was another hurdle in the midst of blessing. 

Life at times can feel like an empty wilderness. We may become discouraged and complain about something good coming, that we have no patience for. The journey in the wilderness should have only taken 11 days, but ended up being 40 years! God will fulfill His promises to us, but don't let your complaining, discouragement and bickering set you back. Remember what God has done in your life, and be grateful. He knows what He's doing, and sometimes we just need to be patient and obey.


With blessing will always come something to knock us back down. We are a blessed people. Followers of Jesus are always blessed, but let this not make us entitled. Don't let a big head take away from your blessing. Always remember that enemies are on the prowl, waiting to pull you down and put your focus on things that are not of God. 

Day 93: Love in All Circumstances

Reading: Psalm 40:9-17

With love comes truth and with truth comes love. When we have only truth, without love, it is too hard. When we have only love, without truth, the love is too soft. David brings forth both in this reading as he begs God to send His love and mercy, but speaks truthfully about how his sins have piled up and he can no longer see clearly without God's love and forgiveness. When we go about life oblivious of our sin, failing to repent and confess them, the mercy of God may be hard to come by. He always loves us, but when our eyes need to be opened, He's going to pour out a little of truth on us until we realize our faults and make a change. Whether this is a result of our in, or a circumstance, He works through it. Don't forget to put love and truth together in your life too. Show love and show truth, but never separately. 

Reading: Luke 9:28-56

Love and mercy must always go together as well. Jesus displays this many times throughout this reading. We start out with the mountaintop experience of the Transfiguration. Peter, James, and John are left in awe and empowerment as they come back down the mountain and face real life again. Sounds like some of our mountaintop experiences. We can go off on all of these amazing retreats, conferences, youth rallies, camp, etc, but when we come back to real life, we are faced with many of the hardships we had before. However, when we do come back from those amazing experiences, we can be left empowered to make a change and tackle the issues in our lives. When they get to the bottom of the mountain, Jesus is faced with healing a boy with a demon, as the disciples had claimed they couldn't. After this experience, I bet James, John and Peter felt empowered though. 

Later, Jesus tells the disciples that the little children are the greatest, and should be welcomed. This kind of love and mercy was probably shocking in a time that children were better off seen and not heard. Jesus tells them they are the greatest, however, placing them above any religious leader and king. 

We also read of an incident where the disciples tell others to stop using Jesus' name to cast out demons because they are not a part of their group. Jesus reprimands them, however, telling them that if they aren't against Jesus, they are for Him. This should tell us to be accepting of others in the faith. Just because they don't attend your church, follow your traditions, or are even a part of you denomination, you should always welcome them. 

However, we must remember that we won't always be welcomed. As the disciples enter the Samaritan village, they are definitely not welcomed. The disciples become defensive, asking if they can call down fire from heaven to burn the people, but Jesus displays an example of mercy, rebuking the disciples, simply continuing on to another village. This can be a lesson to not seek revenge and even show love and mercy on those who don't accept us. I believe many Christians make this mistake, being defensive against people they don't agree with. This can even happen among Christians. Just because another Christian doesn't read the same Bible as you or prefers the traditional music over the contemporary, doesn't give any reason to pick a fight. The war is not about these things, but about bringing people to Christ, no matter their lifestyle. Seeking revenge and shunning them will definitely not get them there.

Reading: Numbers 35:1-36:13

We go into a whole reading about the laws, pertaining to accidental killing and murder. In this reading, we can see how serious it was to take a human life, but a trial was to be held for accidental killings, providing refuge for the people who did it from family who wanted revenge. Murder, however, required that person be put to death.

 Once Jesus came, however, we see that revenge and justice fell into God's hands. When we seek to take revenge, no matter what it may be, we need to stop and put trust in God that He will have the ultimate judgment against the person who's wronged you, instead of taking our own revenge. With justice, God calls for an element of love and mercy. What better testimony would there be for the person who did wrong against you then to show them love instead of hate? 

With many things in life, there needs to come love. Truth alone won't move a heart. Mercy alone would have no reason behind it. And justice alone would have no testimony. Love must cover all things. When we apply love in all circumstances, the mountains it can move are great.

Day 92: Aiming High

Reading: Proverbs 8:22-31

Aiming for constant joy and delight in God is what we are made to do. There is much to be joyful for when we have Christ in our lives. We can endure any struggle because He's by our side, and we can find immense joy when we see the wonderful things He's made. Not only can we take joy in the beauty of nature and the wonders of how He works, but we can take joy because He works through the seemingly impossible times in our lives. He orchestrates things just perfectly that the messes and heartbreak form into a perfect and full plan that is for the good of His kingdom and for our own good. Never stop finding joy in Him and in what He has done for you.

Reading: Luke 9:10-27

Aiming high in love is the greatest thing Christ did for us. He is the ultimate example of unconditional love. When it came to feeding 5,000 people, Jesus fed them, instead of sending them on their own to feed themselves. Jesus goes into what it means to be His follower and we can see that love is the basis of it. We must turn from our selfishness and become more selfless, putting Him and others before ourselves. Jesus calls us to not cling to our own lives but to lay it down for Him and gain life by giving ours away. This means we surrender everything to Him, including our jobs, lifestyles, agendas, plans, dreams, everything. When Jesus calls us to takes up our cross for Him, this is not a symbol of carrying the burden. This is a symbol of putting ourselves to death for Him. We have no plans or dreams because they are dead to Him. He will guide our steps and lay out our lives. We are to give it over to Him, instead of selfishly trying to take control of it for ourselves. 

We are to never be ashamed of Him. Jesus says that when we are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of us. This can be the biggest challenge in today's world. Speaking the name "Jesus" can cause so much conflict in out world today. People despise it. They despise the Bible. When you live it out in no fear though, you are acting in a passionate love for your Savior. Don't gain the approval of the people around you what all you need is the approval of God. Striving for their approval could lose you His.

Reading: Numbers 33:1-34:29

Looking back on the journey the Israelites had through the wilderness, we see how faithful God was to them indeed. Despite the grumbling and the hardship, God still carried them through. In this recall of their journey, may we be reminded to aim high when it comes to following God's instruction, cutting off any threat of sin in our lives and always striving to get more into God. We can learn quite a bit from the mistakes the people made as they repeatedly complained and whined, despite what God had done for them in many miracles and in major ways of provision. May we never overlook what God does in our lives, but hold ourselves at a higher standard, pleasing Him with our thankfulness and attitudes. 

Aiming high in life can carry us far. When we always keep the mindset of improvement, we will find ways to grow. God expects us to hold ourselves to a higher standard in being set apart in this world, instead of falling and settling for the ways of it. Aim high to go far.

Day 91: What Faith Can Do

Reading: Psalm 40:1-8

As you know by now, David faced many great hardships throughout his lifetime. He is able to see God's faithfulness again and again though, as he tells about being rescued by Him from a slimy pit, and being placed on steady ground. I'm sure there are many times you feel as if your life is stuck in the bottom of a slimy, slippery pit you just can't climb out of. But then we read what David states about putting your trust only in God: "Oh the joys of those who trust in The Lord, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols."(NLT, vs. 4) There are man times we rely on other things in this world- boyfriends, girlfriends, sports, jobs, drugs, whatever. But until we truly believe that we need to come to Christ daily in admiration and longing to spend time with Him before anything else, we will have trouble keeping on that solid rock when hardships come. When we see the awe of His work in our lives, we will sing a new song to Him. Daily seeking Him will establish a firm foundation for you when those storms come. 

Reading: Luke 8:40-9:9

We see a great example of what faith can do in this passage. Jesus healed and taught with such authority that He didn't need things like broadcast systems, power points, or sound systems. He spread the news through the people He encountered. Though there is nothing wrong with things like the technology I listed off, it is a reminder that we can't allow these thing to get to the heart of what is most important in our churches and in proclaiming the word of God. 

We see how people came to Jesus who were ill. A desperate woman comes to Him and simply touches His robe, having complete faith that she will be made well. Jesus tells her that her faith has made her well. After this interaction, Jesus again brings a young girl to life, telling her family to have faith, and that it will make her well. 

Jesus "advertised" through His ministry and the compassion He put out. He taught about faith and showed people what faith can do. Simply shoving a message on a big screen and yelling over a loud speaker may not get the same result as genuine love and compassion towards people. When we follow the example of Jesus, we need to remember to do what He did- love people and act on faith.

Reading: Numbers 31:25-32:42

Caleb and Joshua were devout followers of Christ, and because of their wholehearted following, we see how their faith comes into action in this reading. Because they followed God faithfully, God gave them the authority and power to carry out great things in His name. 

Moses also warns against sin and not following The Lord in this reading, as quoted in 32:23: "...you will have sinned against The Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out."  In verse 15, Moses tells the people that if they turn away from following Him, they will be responsible for destroying the entire nation.following God's Word and even having time to dive into it can be a challenge at times. When you hit those lulls and low points in your life, opening the Bible can feel like the last thing you want to do, but when you do, the light and healing can commence. Stay close to God, so He can use you in mighty ways as He did with Caleb and Joshua.

Faith is a tough thing at times. When we are faced with the heavy load of discouragement or the bottom of the pit of hardship, we can have a tough time keeping the faith alive in us. But when we press on through those times and continue to follow Christ wholeheartedly, we can allow ourselves to be used and moved through Him, to do His mighty work.

Day 90: Resurrection Power

Reading: Psalm 39:1-13

We have the power to conquer death through Jesus. David talks about how short and small our life on earth is compared to what God offers us. We can spend our whole lives chasing happiness, whether it be in possessions, people, money, success, etc., but none of those things will give us the ultimate and eternal happiness we find in Christ and His gift to us. When we place our hope in something eternal and promised, our lives will be handled well now, and great in eternity. Trust in something that won't ever fail you, and all these things will also be added unto you. 

Reading: Luke 9:19-39

We have the power to overcome our fears and anxieties. We can see how Jesus casts out any worries from our lives when we simply rely on Him. The disciples are afraid of the massive storm that threatens to overtake them, as Jesus sleeps. But Jesus calms the storm, once again showing the disciples the power and authority He has. Jesus also casts out demons from a man who was feared. There is something to be said in giving our worries, fears, and anxieties to God, as He proves His faithfulness again and again. Jesus asks the disciples why they are scared and why they have no faith. I bet He asks us the same thing in the midst of our life storms. It's hard to naturally fall on God when we live in a world of many scary things and situations. But we can remind ourselves to always run to Him when we feel unsure and fearful. Turning anywhere else could only be temporary, dangerous or make matters worse. 

Reading: Numbers 29:12-31:24

There is much complexity and things at are hard to grasp in the Old Testament, but one thing is for sure: God hates sin. Thankfully, through the sacrifice on the cross, we have power over sin because God cared enough to give us a chance against it. We can read through all the Old Testament rituals and punishments that took place because of sin, but God wanted to simplify it for us because He hates it that much. Instead of focusing on the ritual of our cleansing, He wanted us to focus on the relationship with Him. 

We have great power over many things because of what Christ has done for us. When we accept the gift He has given us, we can have the outflow of His blessing. We can have power over sin, over fears and anxieties, and even over death. Just rely and trust in Him.