Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 26, Proverbs 4:1-9
This month marks my first granddaughter’s 2nd birthday and the anticipation of my second granddaughter’s arrival. In honor of them both, I wanted to pray for them using the framework of today’s scripture reading. I hope you’ll join me in praying for your children and grandchildren.
Heavenly Father, I pray that my children and grandchildren will trust in You without wavering, that You may test their hearts and minds and they will be proven true. May Your steadfast love be ever before their eyes. Protect them from the schemes of hypocrites, evildoers, and the wicked.
I pray that their mouths will be full of thanksgiving, telling others of Your wondrous deeds. May they love to be in Your presence and delight to be in the company of Your people.
Redeem them. Be gracious to them. Set their feet on level ground.
I pray that they would listen carefully to the teaching of their mother and father, that they would gain insight and wisdom. May they hold fast to Your Words and desire to keep Your commandments all the days of their lives. May their lives be built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ, being followers of Your Word, not hearers only.
I pray that they would love You with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and love their neighbor as themselves, daily trusting in Your promises and being found faithful until their final breath.
In the holy, powerful name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen!
The LORD said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”
Numbers 27:12-17 ESV
In yesterday’s post, I wrote about godly jealousy – being jealous for the Lord’s honor and affection, rather than your own. Today, reading Moses’s humble response to the Lord’s pronouncement that he would not enter the promised land because of his earlier disobedience, I was again convicted about how often I’m more concerned with my own honor than my Lord’s.
Moses could’ve complained, “Lord, that’s not fair. I’ve worked so hard. I’ve led these people for all these years. I’ve tried my best. Why take away this blessing just because of one little mistake?”
Moses could’ve argued, “Lord, You’re wrong. You have forgotten all the good things I’ve done, all the times that I’ve obeyed. I quit! You can find somebody else to lead these horrible people.”
Moses could’ve made his own suggestions, “Ok, Lord, I get it. I’m awfully old, and I don’t have many years left. Thankfully I have these two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. Surely, You will choose one of them to lead the Israelites into this promised land.”
But he didn’t do any of those things. Rather he humbly asks the Lord to “appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” He put into practice the words of Philippians 2:3-4 and so should we.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:3-4 ESV
Heavenly Father, I pray that You would make me more like Moses, loving You and loving others, submitting humbly to Your will for me and those I love. Increase my faith. Help me to remember that You are on Your throne, working all things together for good for those who love You and have been called according to Your purposes. Help me to remember that all too often the way that seems right to me is actually the way to death. I want to want what You want because Your way is always the best way. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen
Philippians 2:3-4 Scripture Song by David Talaguit
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”
Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.”
So Moses prayed for the people.
And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole.
And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
“We have no food. Well, I mean, this food that You miraculously give us every morning is worthless, and we hate it. Why did you deliver us out of slavery? You’re a mean god. We want to go back home.”
I wish I could say that I can’t relate, but that would be a lie. All too often the thoughts in my head sound all too much like them.
“Father, what are you doing? Why is life so hard? Why did you lead me to this place only to abandon me here? I thought you loved me?”
When the snakes were biting (and killing) the people, the Israelites simply wanted the Lord to take the snakes away.
“Make this pain go away, God! Take it away! Get me out of this desert and put me in the promised land. Now!”
But that’s not what God does. Rather, He sends a Savior, a Rescuer.
He says, “Look up here! Look up at this bronze serpent up here on this pole. Look at it and have faith. Trust Me. Don’t look down at those snakes or that snake bite. Look up here at Me! I love you. Trust Me.”
Jesus referred to this very event when He was explaining to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to Him secretly by night, that he must be born again if he wants to enter the kingdom of God.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
John 3:14-19 ESV
What happened to the Israelites who didn’t gaze up at that snake on the pole that had been sent by God to save them? They died in their sins.
What happens to people today who don’t turn their eyes to Jesus, the God-Man sent by God to save them? They, too, will die in their sins.
Is that scary? Yes. Yes, it is.
But is God good to provide a way of escape for each of us who are dying in our sin? Yes! Yes, He is!
I’ll end with the words of Jesus from John 6:40, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Heavenly Father, Please draw us to turn our eyes to You. You have already provided a Savior. You have already sent Your son Jesus to pay the price for our sin. Now, Lord, give us the desire and the strength to turn to You instead of turning to ourselves, our circumstances, and other fallen men. Forgive us for our complaining. Forgive us for our lack of faith. Thank You for Your steadfast faithfulness and mercy toward us, a sinful people. We pray for those around us who are running headlong away from Jesus. Draw them to know You. Please, Father. We cry, Holy! Mercy! Save us, Lord! In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Turn your Eyes – Sovereign Grace Music
My YouTube Video about this blog – Come. Pray. Share.
Initially as I began reading Numbers 16, I thought I’d write about the extreme humility and meekness that Moses continues to show again and again. He begs God to spare his people again and again. He doesn’t grab a sword and start cutting people down left and right, but instead asks the Lord to have mercy.
But then, when I got to the end of the chapter, verse 48 it hit me.
“And [Aaron] stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.”
Numbers 16:48 ESV
Maybe your reaction doesn’t look like mine, but that’s because your life hasn’t looked like mine.
I have the unique honor of standing in the gap, interceding for and reasoning with atheists who are angry with God and angry with his servants. It’s an honor. It’s a privilege. And it’s a calling.
But it’s hard. It’s hard to get in the ring with a mustang that you know is going to lash out at any moment. Yet the only way to gentle that mustang is to get in the ring with it.
Will you please help me to lift up my hands? Will you please stand in the gap with me? Will you pray for me and will you intercede for them, too?
Remember the words of Christ, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
Jesus pursued me while I was His enemy. I want to do likewise.
Oh, Heavenly Father, thank You for the examples of Moses and Aaron, brave men who ran into the plague to rescue people who deserved your wrath. Fill me with Your Mighty Spirit that I can do likewise. Make me like Jesus who came to seek and save the lost. Make me meek and gentle and humble. Keep me from pride and complacency. I need You, Lord. I can’t do it on my own. In the Name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Here’s my YouTube Live video sharing on this — please WATCH and PRAY with me!!
Come Thou Fount (Above All Else) – Shane & Shane
Curious how I came to believe in Christ from being an atheist??? Check this one.
It is so convicting to read Numbers 14 and see how desperately Moses desires God’s Name to be glorified among the nations. Moses’s top priority isn’t his own comfort, nor the comfort of the Israelites. Rather Moses’s top priority is that God would not be profaned among the Egyptians. Moses feared that “if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.'” (Numbers 14:15-16 ESV)
Moses isn’t the only one who put such a high priority on God’s name among the nations. Read Daniel’s prayers from Daniel 9,
“”O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us.
Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act.
Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.””
– Daniel 9:16-19 ESV
And how about the 79th psalm?
“(1) A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
(2) They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the heavens for food, the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
(3) They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
(4) We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.
(5) How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?
(6) Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!
(7) For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.
(8) Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.
(9) Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake!
(10) Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes!
(11) Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!
(12) Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
(13) But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.”
– Psalm 79:1-13 ESV
Heavenly Father, I echo the words of the psalmist and cry out, “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”” (Psalm 115:1-2) Father, so many other nations see America as a Christian nation, so we ask for Your sake, for the sake of Your Holy Name, that You will save our land. Draw us back into a right relationship with You, Lord. Heal our land. Forgive us our sins. Give us a heart of repentance, that we would turn to You and turn away from our wicked ways. In the Name of Jesus Christ our Savior and King, Amen.
I don’t like to wait. I think quickly, I speak quickly, and I act quickly. I always have.
But this is not who I want to be. I want to wait on the Lord. I want Him to lead, and I want to follow. God has given me this desire, this new “want to,” as part of the new person that I am in Christ.
In Numbers 9, we read about Moses and the Israelites learning to wait on the Lord. They needed to wait for the Lord to speak, to move, to guide — and so do we.
“And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what the LORD will command concerning you.””
Numbers 9:8 ESV
“At the command of the LORD the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the LORD they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.
Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the LORD and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the LORD they remained in camp; then according to the command of the LORD they set out. And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out.
Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by Moses.”
– Numbers 9:18-23 ESV
What are you waiting for the Lord about today?
How long are you willing to wait? Five minutes? An hour? An evening? A day? A week? A month? A year? A lifetime?
Let’s pray together.
Heavenly Father, I pray that we would faithfully wait upon You and that You would renew our strength as we wait. Whether we have to wait for an evening or a week or a month or a lifetime, I pray that we would not run ahead of You, doing whatever seems right to us, and then ask You to bless whatever we have already decided to do … but instead that You would be the One out front leading us. Make us faithful followers. I pray that our lives would be founded on the solid rock of Jesus Christ and Your written word. Like Matthew 7 says, it is the foolish person who hears Your Word and chooses not to obey, but it is the wise person who hears Your Word and obeys. So, Father, I pray that we would search Your Word diligently, listening fervently for Your Holy Spirit to guide us, and I pray that we would have obedient, submissive, humble hearts bent on obeying you in Your way and in Your perfect time. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen
Waiting on the Lord – Thoughts on Numbers 9 from a Former Atheist
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Numbers 6:22-8:26
“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 ESV
As Aaron and his sons prayed this over the people of Israel, I want to pray this over my family and nation. Will you join me?
Heavenly Father, I pray that you would bless my husband, my children, my grandchildren, and my nation with Your wisdom and peace. Guide them in the way that they should go. Protect them from the deceitful schemes of the evil one. Give them discerning spirits to recognize what is good and what is evil and grant them wisdom to choose that which is good.
I pray that Your face would be turned toward them, and that their hearts would likewise be turned toward You. Be gracious to them, Father. Pour Your love upon them according to Your steadfast love and mercy. May Your goodness shine gloriously upon them and out of them, that the nations of the world would be drawn to faith in Your Son.
I pray that You would smile upon them, filling their hearts with joy, hope, peace, and purpose, that they would know that You have good plans for them, plans to prosper them and not to harm them. May they follow You all the days of their lives, acknowledging You in all their ways. Please, Father, make their ways straight – not crooked or deceitful or false, not devious or evil. May they not be ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first but also to the Gentile.
Finally, Father, I pray that the peace which surpasses all comprehension would guard their hearts and their minds in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the only path to peace. He is the Only Way to You, Father. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. His blood is the covering that we need to be reconciled to You, Lord. His blood is the way of redemption. May they have peace with God and peace with man, peace in their hearts and peace in their homes. And may this peace draw them to worship You and tell others about You.
In the Holy, Almighty Name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Pray aloud with Me – FormerAtheist58
“The Lord Bless You and Keep You” Acappella Hymn – SE Samonte
“May the Lord Bless You” – Sing through the Bible
“The Lord Bless Thee” Scripture Song – Keep the Word
Read through the Bible in 2 years: Hebrews 4:14-5:10
For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. … And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”
Hebrews 5:1, 4-5 ESV
I love doing little word studies, how about you?
If so, then today’s your lucky day. 😃
If not, then I hope today’s study will win you over! 😂
I often like to study the original Greek or Hebrew words, but today I decided to study the English word “appointed.” I think this word jumped out at me this morning because it’s also in my life verse, 1 Timothy 1:12-14. Paul said,
“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.”
1 Timothy 1:12-14 ESV
One easy way to research a word in the Bible is to open up the Blue Letter Bibleapp (Available for Android and Apple) or website and simply search the Bible for the word you’re interested in.
Unfortunately, if I typed in the whole word “appointed,” then I’d only get the exact word “appointed,” and I’d miss “appoint,” “appoints,” “appointing” and so on. So, instead, I typed this: “appoint*”.
The asterisk at the end means that the word can end with other letters, so the search will return words that begin with “appoint” but have different word endings, such as appoints, appointing, appointed, and appointment.
My results included 196 verses in the ESV translation, so here’s just a smattering of the results.
“And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.”” (Genesis 4:25 ESV)
“Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”” (Genesis 18:14 ESV)
“And you [Moses] shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”” (Numbers 3:10 ESV)
“But he [The Lord God] is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind.” (Job 23:13-14 ESV)
“Before I [The Lord God] formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5 ESV)
” And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:17 ESV)
“Now the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”” (Jonah 4:6-8 ESV)
“And he [Jesus] appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach” (Mark 3:14 ESV)
“And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child [Jesus] is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed” (Luke 2:34 ESV)
“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.” (Luke 10:1 ESV)
“You did not choose me [Jesus], but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15:16 ESV)
“And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48 ESV)
“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”” (Acts 17:30-31 ESV)
“And I [Saul-Paul] said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.'” (Acts 22:10 ESV)
“But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you,” (Acts 26:16 ESV)
“Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” (Romans 13:2 ESV)
“And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.” (1 Corinthians 12:28 ESV)
“This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you–” (Titus 1:5 ESV)
From this list, I noticed that people can be appointed to a specific job or responsibility by God or another person, but only God can appoint events. For example, God can appoint a whale to swallow Jonah or a plant to grow over him, but no man can do this.
I also noticed that often it was God who was the one who appointed a person to a specific job or responsibility. For example, it was God who appointed Jeremiah to be a prophet and Paul to be His servant and witness.
In today’s passage in Hebrews, the high priest had to be appointed by men and by God. The high priest could not take this honor for himself. Likewise, even Jesus Christ Himself was appointed by His Father to be made the eternal high priest. Even He did not exalt Himself. Even Jesus was submissive and humble before God the Father.
Think of all the things we are trying to take for ourselves and make for ourselves. We want to be our own boss. We want to “make things happen.” We want to be the “master of my fate” and “captain of my soul” like William Ernest Henley’s poem, “Invictus” says.
Instead, I pray that we would just be thankful for Jehovah God, the ruler over our lives, the One who controls our fates and pilots our ships. I am so incredibly grateful that I am not the captain of my own soul for I know that I would lead myself astray like the foolish sheep that I am. How about you?
Let’s pray.
Oh, Heavenly Father, thank You for the comfort it is to know that You are on Your throne. When things in our world and in our lives seem out of control, You are still very much in control. Your Word says that it has been appointed for man to die once and after that comes judgment. I pray that You would draw each person reading these words into Your kingdom. Open their eyes, Lord, and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ. It is in the name of Jesus that we can pray boldly and with confidence. Amen. (Scripture references: Hebrews 9:27, Acts 26:18)
Earlier this week 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.
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
Blue Angels over Walmart
Give Me Oil in My Lamp – Cedarmont Kids
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.
Read through the Bible in 2 years: Leviticus 21-22
And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD.”
Leviticus 22:32-33 ESV
Heavenly Father, I am Your child. You have called me by name and I belong to You. You have engraved Your name across my heart, and You have engraved my name in the palm of Your hand. You have brought me out of the land of darkness and slavery to sin, and You have brought me into the land of light and freedom in Your Holy Name. I pray that I will draw others to You by how I live and speak and love. I pray that others will see Your Holiness in me – not only in what I *don’t* do, but also in what I *do* do. I pray that I will love justice and practice kindness and walk humbly with my God. I pray that I will love my neighbor as myself. I pray that I will abstain from sin – from slander, lying, and sexual immorality. I’m a new creation in Christ. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
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