Category: Holy Living

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 14

I’m loving reading the advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with a daily reading of a chapter of Luke. Hope it blesses you, too.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might,  the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

Isaiah 11:1-5 ESV

[Jesus] said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Luke 14:12-14 ESV

Heavenly Father, You alone are the all-righteous One. Thank You for sending Your Son to judge the living and the dead with perfect justice and righteousness. Now, Lord, send us out. Make us disciples who make disciples. Send us out into the streets and the markets to share the good news with the poor and lost, the needy and blind. May we follow You in all Your ways, daily taking up our cross, and living like You lived. May we delight in the fear of the Lord. May righteousness and faithfulness be bound tightly around our waists, keeping us upright and training us to cling to You. May we be humble and gentle and wise, to the glory of Your Name. For it is in the mighty Name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 13

I’m loving reading the advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with a daily reading of a chapter of Luke. Hope it blesses you, too.

Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD….” Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it before the king. And when the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes…

2 Chronicles 34:15a, 18-19

And someone asked Jesus, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”

And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able…. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Luke 13:24, 30 ESV

Heavenly Father, Forgive us for our pride and hypocrisy. Forgive us for our religious spirits, for trying to come to You through our own righteousness, while our hearts remain hard and unclean. Thank You for always preserving a remnant. You’re not impressed by kings and queens. You’re not impressed by external obedience to the law. You don’t need our money or fame. Please, Father, give us the childlike faith of Josiah. Draw us to enter through the narrow gate of faith in Jesus Christ. Give us humble and contrite hearts, tender hearts, that grieve over sin and sincerely desire to please You. Thank You for sending Jesus, meek and lowly, the Christ child wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. It’s in His Name we pray. Amen.

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 12

I’m loving reading the advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with a daily reading of a chapter of Luke. Hope it blesses you, too.

“And when the Philistine [Goliath] looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?”

And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

1 Samuel 17:42-47 ESV

And Jesus spoke to His disciples, saying

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Luke 12:4-7 ESV

Heavenly Father, thank You for holding my life in the palm of Your almighty, good hand. I know that You see me and know me and love me. You are indeed familiar with all my ways. Nothing is hidden from You. Increase my faith. Let me not fear anything that is frightening here in this world, but rather increase my fear of Your holy righteousness that I might walk constantly in awareness of Your presence. Give me strength to faithfully acknowledge You before men, not fearing what they might think about me or do to me, trusting that You are my true Father and my perfect judge and You hold every one of my days in Your almighty hands. In the Name of Jesus, who is my all-sufficient Savior and eternal king, I pray. Amen.