Category: Faith

The Sharp Scalpel of the Word – Hebrews 4 – 2025 Day 157

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 124; Hebrews 4

For the word of God is living and active
and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, 
of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, 
but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

Hebrews 4:12-13 NASB95

I remember when I had my “jubilee year” physical, and my doctor told me that it was time for my first colonoscopy. Friends, I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to be on a liquid diet and tethered to the toilet for 24 hours. I didn’t want to be put under anesthesia, and I most certainly didn’t want to have my bottom examined by strangers. But, it was the right thing to do, because those unseen things inside me needed to be exposed and inspected, so that whatever impurities needed to be removed could be clearly seen.

So, I did it, even though I didn’t want to. And now, looking back, I’m glad I did. Even though it was painful, it was for my good, not for my harm

Friends, do you believe that the Bible you are holding in your hands is the very Word of God, that the God who spoke the world into existence, the One who holds your life and eternity in His Almighty hands, is the very God who breathed out the words of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus, as well as Matthew, John, and Hebrews? Do you believe that God’s written Word is as powerful as His spoken Word?

If you do indeed believe that, then take a moment to ponder how that should affect your life.

If God’s spoken word can cause lands and seas to appear, and birds to fly across the sky, then surely His written word can cause the dead to be born again. If God’s spoken word can cause soldiers to fall to the ground (John 18:6), then we ought to trust that God’s written word can convict even the hardest heart and bring them to repentance. If God’s spoken word can change the world, then we should trust that God’s written word can change your heart and life.

Sometimes we’re afraid to go to the doctor because we don’t want to hear the bad news.

Sometimes we refuse to be put under the knife, because we don’t want to go through the inevitable pain that will follow.

Oh, but friends, just like I’d tell you to go to the dermatologist for that suspicious spot on your nose, I’m telling you to get your nose into the Word. You need it. I need it. We need the double-edged sword of the Word.

Like a scalpel in the hands of an expert surgeon, God’s Word can root out the cancerous diseases of pride and selfishness and sin. God’s Word has pierced my heart time after time. Each time it hurts, but each time it’s good.

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for giving us Your Word. It is indeed living and active. It is life-giving and powerful. It reveals truth to me and it pierces my soul. I pray for my sisters who are afraid, who don’t want to read it, who know that they need heart surgery, but are running away in fear. Please remind them of Your goodness and mercy, that You are the perfect physician and judge who wants for their good and not for their harm. Help us to hunger for You and to find You in Your written Word. May we not perish for lack of knowledge while Your Word sits unopened on the shelf. In the name of Jesus, the Living Word we pray, Amen.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT MY YOUTUBE VIDEO PODCAST FROM TODAY’S MESSAGE.

Your Words are Wonderful (Psalm 119) – Sovereign Grace Music

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Freedom from Lifelong Slavery – Hebrews 2 – 2025 Day 155

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 122; Hebrews 2

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood,
He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

Hebrews 2:14-15 LSB

Growing up without God shaped how I saw life. I didn’t believe in any kind of higher power who was working behind the scenes. My life was all up to me. I was the potter, holding my own world in my hands. I believed I was the master of my own fate, the captain of my own soul, the determiner of my own destiny, so I better work hard and be good if I wanted to get ahead in life.

Not believing in God, also shaped how I saw death. My life was overshadowed by my fear of death. My last day on earth would be my last day. There was no afterlife, so I better be oh so careful how I lived.

When I became a follower of Jesus Christ in April of 1994, my views of life and death began to change. I became convinced that Almighty God ruled over my life, my death, and my life after death.

In the summer of 2023, two members of my small, local church body passed away in the same week. One was beginning his ninth decade of life, and one was beginning his second.

None of us know when our lives on earth will draw to a close. How thankful I am for the hope of life on earth with Christ, and the hope of eternal life in Heaven with Him as well. Do you have that hope or are you still in slavery to fear of death?

Heavenly Father, Thank You for the hope and peace that are mine because Jesus died in my place. I know that Jesus conquered death, and so will I. You are my hope in life and in death. Praise Your Name.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT TODAY’S VIDEO PODCAST ON YOUTUBE.

Christ our Hope in Life and Death – Keith and Kristyn Getty, and Michael W. Smith

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The Eternal, Unchanging God – Hebrews 1 – 2025 Day 154

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Read through the Bible: Psalm 120-121; Hebrews 1

“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”

Hebrews 1:10-12 ESV

I’m thankful God has given mankind the ability to grow and change, so we can shed our slavery to sin and be born anew after the image of our creator. I’m thankful for the blessing it’s been to watch my own babies grow up – learning to walk and talk, and read and write, and now with one raising babies of her own, one navigating married life, one on the verge of getting married, and one just graduated from high school and preparing to go to college.

But I’m equally thankful that God doesn’t change. He is immutable – that’s a fancy word for “unchanging.” God is perfect. He always will be perfect. Everything He does is perfect. We don’t need to worry that He’ll outgrow His love for us or learn something new about us, because He already knew it all from before the beginning of time. God is God. And we’re not. All Praise to His Holy Name!

If you’d like to learn more about who God is and what He’s like, I hope you’ll pick up a copy of my latest book, “Who is God? A Former Atheist Looks at the Attributes of God.” It examines twenty of God’s attributes, including His holiness, sovereignty, and self-sufficiency, in simple, practical language that even a brand-new Christian can understand.

Heavenly Father, What a comfort it is to know that You are the unchanging God! Even things that seem unchanging – the sandy seashore, the rocky mountains, the sun, moon, and stars – even these things change and wear out. But You, oh God, You remain the same. You never have to get better because You are already completely perfect. You will never wear out or grow old or get weary. I’m looking forward to eternity with You. In the name of Jesus Christ, Your Eternal Son, I pray. Amen.

Did you know that I started a podcast??? Today was my first episode! Please check it out and subscribe today!

From Everlasting (Psalm 90) – Sovereign Grace Music
Psalm 121 – The Corner Room

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Keep the Light Burning – Leviticus 24 – 2025 Day 152

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 119:121-160, Leviticus 24

One summer morning, while on vacation in Pensacola Florida, my family decided to go see the Blue Angels practice. We got up early and headed out, only to get stuck in a crazy traffic jam unlike anything I’ve seen before. After moving a mile in an hour, we decided we needed to make another plan. We turned left, away from the Navy base, and motored to the Walmart parking lot where we joined a dozen other wanna-be air show watchers.

The air show was scheduled to begin at 10:30, and sure enough at 10:30 we saw a couple planes in the air, but it was nothing particularly earth-shattering. After about 20 minutes of this, out in the heat on an asphalt parking lot, several members of our family decided they’d rather go get a cold drink and a snack from inside Walmart than wait in the parking lot with their heads craned toward the skies.

Blue Angels over Walmart

Minutes after they disappeared inside, the magic began. The planes started flying every which way, roaring through the blue skies.

And they missed it.

Command the people of Israel
to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly….
Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the LORD regularly.
It shall be a statute forever
throughout your generations.

Leviticus 24:2-3 ESV

I’m not good at doing things regularly or forever. I like to make plans. I like to start new projects. I struggle at maintaining the commitment once the novelty wears off. That’s one reason why I’m trying so hard to write here every day until I’ve blogged through the Bible.

But, friends, God commands us to be faithful, to keep our lamps burning, evening to morning, day after day, forever. He wants us to pass on our faith to the generations coming after us.

Do we have our eyes fixed on the skies, waiting for His return, and our hearts rooted in His Word that it can be that light to our path and lamp to our feet which He promised for us?

Or are we so busy shopping for cold Cokes and salty chips that we miss the real show?

“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.”

Luke 12:35-36 ESV

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’

Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.

Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Matthew 25:1-13 ESV

Heavenly Father, You are always faithful. Always. You never change. You never grow tired or weak or weary. You never get bored and give up. You are the perfect example of steadfastness. Help us, Father, to be faithful like You. We can’t keep our lamps burning on our own. Give us the oil of Your Spirit and the living water of Your Word that we may be found faithful. And embolden us to share the good news with others, that they may enter the kingdom with us, to the praise of Your glorious might. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Give Me Oil in My Lamp – Cedarmont Kids

A Discharge of Blood – Leviticus 15-16 – 2025 Day 147

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 117, Leviticus 15-16

Yesterday I wrote about the Levitical laws about leprosy and Jesus healing the leper… Now we come to Leviticus 15, the Levitical laws about bodily discharges and menstruation and other discharges of blood. Ugh. Well, I’ve never been a leper, but I had times of menstrual uncleanness for over thirty-five years.

First, I was reminded of Genesis 31:34-35 which takes on a whole new depth of meaning in light of these laws (which hadn’t yet been given, at least not in writing). “Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about the tent, but did not find them. And she said to her father, ‘Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.’ So he searched but did not find the household gods.”

But then I was reminded of the woman who had suffered with a discharge of blood for twelve years. You can read her story in Matthew 9, Mark 5, and Luke 8.

“And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. And Jesus said, ‘Who was it that touched me?’

When all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!’

But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.’ And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed.”

Luke 8:43-47 ESV

How lonely she must have been. How desperate for healing. Twelve years is a long, long time. And how terrified she must’ve been that she might get in big trouble for touching the rabbi.

Yet, Jesus was not angry with her for touching Him. Rather He spoke these tender words to her,

“Daughter, your faith
has made you well;
go in peace.”

Luke 8:47
  • Are we tender like that with those who need healing, or do we join in ostracizing them and putting them outside the camp?
  • Do we go to Jesus and grab hold of the fringe of His garment when we need healing ourselves?

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, there are men and women in our midst who need healing. Help us to see their need and respond tenderly to them. Help us to introduce them to Jesus, the only one who can heal them. Father, we all need healing in various areas of our life – healing from bitterness, healing from emotional pain, healing from physical ailments. We come to You, the Great Physician, and lay all of our needs at Your feet. Help us to reach out to You and cling tightly to You. It is in the Almighty name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Touch the Hem – Sam Cooke

Keeping the Fire Burning – Leviticus 6-7 – 2025 Day 142

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 112, Leviticus 6-7

“The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it;
it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.
Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually;
it shall not go out.”

Leviticus 6:12-13

The Lord is faithful. Day after day. Night after night. Morning after morning. He pours out His blessings upon me. He fills my lungs with breath. He causes the earth to continue to spin and the birds to continue to sing. Where would I be without Him?

I need Him every hour. In the highs and lows, on the mountain tops and in the valleys, in the darkness of nights and on the brightest of mornings, His praise will ever be on my lips.

He is faithful, and I want to be faithful, too.

Pray with me.

Heavenly Father, Let not let the embers of my love and faith grow cold in my heart. Fan those embers into roaring fires. Help me to abide in You and to hunger for Your Word to abide in me. Let me not forget that I need You every hour and every day. Remind me of the love I had at first – the passion and hunger and deep gratitude that I felt when I first met my Savior. Make me a bright and shining lantern, pointing the world to You. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

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Sins of Ignorance – Leviticus 4-5 – 2025 Day 141

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 141; Leviticus 4-5

The Lord here provides specific directions for how to atone for unintentional sins, sins of ignorance. This reminded me of so many other passages, like Paul’s beautiful testimony from 1 Timothy 1:12-16,

“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”

Listen to Jesus’s words when He was being crucified,

“Father, forgive them,
for they know not what they do.”

Luke 23:34

But what about when you continue willfully in sin? Or what about those who have heard the gospel again and again and yet they choose to turn their back on God?

“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Hebrews 10:26-31

Let’s stop questioning what God will do with those who have never heard the gospel, and instead ask ourselves, “Am I prepared to meet God? Am I in willful disobedience to the Word of God? Am I being faithful to share the good news and make disciples where God has placed me?”

Will you join me in prayer?

Heavenly Father, I, for one, am not ignorant. I once was lost, but now I’m found. Even when I was darkness, running away from You, You had written Your law on my heart. I knew that it was wrong to lie. I knew that it was wrong to say hateful things about other people. I knew that it was wrong to slander and gossip. I knew it, but I did it anyway. Thank You for saving me while I was yet a sinner. Thank You for sending Jesus to die in my place, to be the sacrificial lamb who died outside the camp, who bore my sin and shame.

Now let me take this knowledge and share it with others, so that they will not meet You in ignorance. I pray also for those who have heard the truth and have willfully rejected it, who are intentionally running away from You today. Please, Lord, save them! Draw them to Yourself. Send Your Word, Your angels, and Your children into their path. May Your courts be filled with people from every tribe and tongue from around the globe. In the Name of Jesus Christ, the only Name that saves, Amen.

In the Light – Shane and Shane

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The Priest and the Offering – Leviticus 1-3 – 2025 Day 140

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 110, Leviticus 1-3

In these chapters, I see again and again the role of the priest in all of these detailed offerings. No one could make these offerings themselves. They had to go to the priest who would sacrifice the animal and throw its blood on the altar and burn it. They couldn’t do it themselves. A priest was required.

Some churches have taken this to mean that people must now continue going to a priest, that they cannot go directly to God, but that is in absolute contradiction to the Scriptures.

For there is one God
and there is one mediator
between god and man,
the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

1 Timothy 2:5-6

Jesus Christ Himself is our great and perfect priest. He is both the priest and the offering. We can – and we must – go directly to Him and through Him if we want to reach the Father.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for sending Jesus to earth to be our perfect High Priest, our Mediator, our spotless Lamb without blemish. May we confess our sins directly to Him, the only priest able to forgive us completely. Use us to share this good news with the world. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

What an Awesome God –
Phil Wickham, Michael W. Smith

With Unveiled Face: Exodus 34 – 2025 Day 135

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 105; Exodus 34

“When Moses came down
from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain,
Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.”

Exodus 34:29 ESV

His face was shining, not because he had just married the woman of his dreams, or because he was holding his newborn son, or because he’d successfully led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, but because he had literally been in God’s presence.

I know that my face will not physically radiate light from my time with the Lord … but how I wish for my countenance to radiate the joy, peace, and hope that comes from having communed with Him that day. It reminds me of 1 Peter 3:3-4, “Do not let your adorning be external–the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear– but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”

And 2 Corinthians 3:7-18,

“Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 3:7-18 ESV

Heavenly Father, May my face radiate Your glory. May my countenance reflect the joy that fills my heart. Let Your glory flow into me and out of me, that people would see YOU when they look at me. May they see my good deeds and give glory to You, my Father in Heaven. To the glory of Your Name we pray. Amen.

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery – Keith and Kristyn Getty

Without You – Exodus 33 – 2025 Day 134

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 104, Exodus 33

Please get out your Bible and read Exodus 33. It’s such a rich chapter of the Word. I’d love to spend a week just studying its 23 verses.

The LORD said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’ I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

Exodus 33:1-3 ESV

How would I feel if I heard these words?

How would you feel?

Well, here’s how the Israelites reacted –

When the people heard
this disastrous word,
they mourned,
and no one put on his ornaments.

Exodus 33:4 ESV

Lord, no news is good news if You’re not in it. If You won’t go with me, I don’t want to go. I don’t just want Your gifts. I want You. You are the center of my life. You are the purpose behind everything that I do. You are my strength, my shield, my fortress, my rock. I want to walk with You – whether in the garden or in the valley or in the desert. I want to see Your glory. Hide me in the Rock of Ages, Jesus Christ, who was pierced and broken for me, who shed His blood for me. In His Name I pray. Amen.

Rock of Ages by Chris Rice
I Can’t Even Walk – Chris Blue