Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 63, Matthew 10
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 10:34-39 ESV
What do I love more than Jesus? Sleep? Chocolate cake? My phone?
Who do I love more than Jesus? My mom and dad? My friends? My kids? My husband?
Who is on the throne of my heart? Who rules over my thoughts and my actions? Who am I living my life for?
It’s a lot to think about.
Lord, help me to love You more than any thing, more than any one. Make me willing to lose what I love for Your name. Show me today what that looks like. In the name of Jesus Christ, the only worthy One, Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 60; Matthew 7
My oldest two children (ages 10 and 7) and I initially memorized all 29 verses of Matthew 7 almost 20 years ago. Thankfully, I’ve used the Bible Memory app since then to review the verses I memorized, otherwise I fear that I wouldn’t remember it anymore. I hope you’ll check it out! Here’s a link to learn more or download it. Here’s a link to a video I made about how to use it. And here’s a link to my Teach What Is Good Bible Memory group You can join for free for some encouragement and accountability — don’t we all need that!
There is so much wisdom in all of Matthew 7, but today what I was especially thinking about the connection between verses 21-23 and 24-27.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’'”
Matthew 7:21-23 ESV
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Matthew 7:24-27 ESV
Don’t miss that word “then” in verse 24.
This reminded me of some other passages I’ve hidden in my heart.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
James 1:22 ESV
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 ESV
This is what differentiates students from disciples: Students listen, students study, students memorize, but disciples put into practice the words of their teacher, modeling their own lives after their master’s.
Let’s be faithful to store up God’s Word in our heart (like Psalm 119:11 says), but let’s be just as faithful to put it into practice!
Heavenly Father, we don’t want to merely listen to your Word, thus deceiving ourselves. We want to do what it says. Help us to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, modeling our lives after His, loving and serving others, doing good to them and forgiving them, as Jesus Christ perfectly modeled for us. And help us to be faithful disciple-makers, telling others the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, and teaching them all that You have commanded us, remembering that You are always with us even to the end of the age! In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 59, Matthew 6
Bear with me, please, as I silently ponder aloud some thoughts from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.
Is Jesus enough for me?
Can I be satisfied in Him? Or do I have to manipulate others with anger or bitterness or unforgiveness?
Can I be satisfied in Him? Or do I need to lust after that person or that thing or that circumstance, thinking that is the key to my joy?
Can I be satisfied in Him? Or do I need the praise and accolades of man? Do I need good health and good food, nice clothes and nice friends to be happy?
I can just hear the Father whispering to me, “O, Kim, you of little faith. I am enough for you. Trust Me. Look at those birds making their little nests and pulling worms from the ground. Look at those flowers poking out from the dirt. I am taking care of them and I’m taking care of you. Fear not for I am with you. I am enough. You, seek Me. You, trust Me. You, pursue Me. I’ll take care of the rest. I’ll take care of you.”
Heavenly Father, You are enough. You are more than enough. You are a good, good Father who always keeps His promises. Increase my faith, Lord. Help me to seek first YOUR kingdom, rather than my own. Help me to seek to store up treasures in heaven, rather than here on earth. Give me eternal vision and help me to trust You in the little and big things. In the all-powerful name of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 57, Matthew 4
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Matthew 4:1
It struck me that it was the Spirit that led Jesus to go into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Why? Why would God want Jesus to be tempted? I found the answer in the Word, in Hebrews.
“Therefore [Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
Hebrews 2:17-18 ESV
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV
Jesus experienced temptation, yet He resisted the devil by wielding the sword of the Word, and so can we. Like 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
So … What should we do when we face temptation?
Take your thoughts captive to obey Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 10:5) The battle against temptation is won and lost in your thoughts. If you want to resist temptation, you need to “think about what you’re thinking about!” As soon as you’re tempted, capture that thought, get rid of it, and replace it with the truth of God’s Word. I know how I feel after fasting for 12 hours, so I can only imagine how hungry Jesus was after fasting for 40 days of fasting! Jesus overcame temptation with God’s Word, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes in the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4 – Look at Deuteronomy 8:3 for it’s original use) The more of God’s Word you have stored in your heart, the better equipped you’ll be to replace those wrong thoughts with the right ones! (See Psalm 119:11)
Resist the devil. Ask yourself this question, “Who am I resisting, God or the devil?” All too often we are resisting God and submitting to the devil. 😩 If we want to resist the devil, we have to recognize his temptations and schemes. If you knew you were in a lion’s den, you’d keep alert for a lion, wouldn’t you? Listen carefully to the words of 1 Peter 5:8-9, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”
Submit to God. In those tough moments, remember that God is your commanding officer. He has every right to give you your matching orders, and He expects you to obey them. As James wrote, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:7-8a ESV) When you’re struggling with temptation, no matter what it is, turn to God and obey Him in faith. Trust that He is good and that His plans are for your good.
Heavenly Father,
Each and every day, I meet temptations of various kinds. Some temptations are stronger than others, but all of them can be overcome by Your Spirit and Your Word. I believe that He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. I trust that Your Word is my sword by which I can fight the devil’s schemes.
Please help me to resist the devil and submit to You as my commanding officer.
I am no longer a slave to sin. I am no longer a slave to my flesh. I am no longer a child of wrath. I am a child of God by the blood of Jesus that flows through my veins. I am a soldier in the army of the Lord. I have been bought with a price, and now I have been called to serve You with my body. Make me a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to You, my Lord and Captain and King.
In the holy and almighty name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 33, Psalm 48
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life…. Behold, I am toward God as you are; I too was pinched off from a piece of clay.
Job 33:4, 6 ESV
Have you ever tried making a “pinch pot” out of a little lump of sticky brown clay or have you ever attempted to mold a little clay pot on a potter’s wheel?
I actually grew up with two aunts and one uncle who are professional potters. I spent many hours admiring their work and attempting to make my own. Then, a few years ago, my oldest daughter and I went to a local pottery shop to try our hand at throwing coffee mugs on a wheel. Let me just say that these experiences have taught me to appreciate the skill involved with making incredible beauty out of a few handfuls of wet dirt.
In this passage of Job, two things jumped out at me.
1. God is the potter. God is who made us, and He is who gives us life. He creates and shapes and molds us into what He desires. Friends, none of us are mere accidents. We didn’t just evolve from apes through a random series of genetic changes. Our lives have purpose. As Ephesians 2:10 explains, “We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
2. All mankind is level before God. Though you and I each have a unique, intentional purpose, we are all equally pinched off from a piece of clay. (Job 33:6) God has fashioned us each to look different, so that we might each accomplish the works which He has designed for us, but may we never boast as though we’re better than anyone else for we’re all jars of clay made by the same potter. May this truth keep us humble before God and before our fellow man.
Let’s pray.
Oh, Heavenly Father, what is man that You are mindful of us? You know that we are dust. We are but clay in Your skillful hands. You have a divine purpose for each of us. May that truth empower us to go and do the works that You have designed us for. Keep us humble as we remember that we are equally Your creation and give us courage as we remember that You have works prepared for us to do. In the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 26-27, Psalm 43
Let’s just ponder this one verse from today’s reading.
With whose help have you uttered words, and whose breath has come out from you?
Job 26:4 ESV
On the sixth day of creation, the Lord breathed into the first man, Adam, the breath of life (Genesis 2:7) and He’s been doing it ever since. Why are we so prideful, so self-sufficient, thinking that we are independent creatures who don’t need God? Truly, what do I have that I haven’t been given? Even the very breath in my lungs is a gift from God.
And to think of the gift of language, of thinking and speaking and communicating – with God and with others – oh, what a gift! As an educator for the deaf, I witnessed first-hand how desperately children and parents desire to communicate, whether using gestures or sounds or facial expressions. My 100-lb Aussie-Labradoodle moose-dog is about as smart as animals come, but he can’t communicate nearly so well as my 20-month old granddaughter. God has given mankind a unique gift in the gift of language, so that we can hear from Him and speak to Him like none of the other creatures He has made on earth.
Psalm 150, the final psalm, is a psalm of praise, praising God with trumpets and harps and strings and pipes, praising Him with dancing and loud crashing cymbals, but oh the gift of singing words of praise and making declarations of spoken praise, telling of His mighty deeds! The Lord has put breath in my lungs and with it I will praise Him! As the final verse of the final psalm says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6) Will you join me in declaring aloud His greatness?!
Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, giver of life and breath, You are worthy of all our praise! You created the sun and moon and stars by Your will and by Your word. You hung the earth on nothing. You created the seas and everything in them. You created the earth and the sky and everything that fills them. What is man that you are mindful of us?
You are worthy of every word of worship, every song of praise, every beat of the drum, every blast of the trumpet, every clang of the cymbal. You are worthy! You are holy and mighty and good. All your ways are right and all Your ways are just.
We worship You in the glory of Your presence. We ask that You would make us vessels of Your glory and grace. We ask that You would make us declarers of Your praise! Use us, Lord! By the sacrifice of Your Son, we have been made temples of Your Holy Spirit. Make us pure and holy vessels for You.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord, we pray. Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 23-24, Psalm 40
I had a friend comment recently that Job is hard to read. Amen, sister. Job is indeed very hard to read. Sometimes I just focus on one thought from Job and meditate on it. I also like to use the words in Job as a springboard for prayer. Let’s try a few verses of that today.
Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
Job 23:8-10 ESV
Heavenly Father, Sometimes it seems like You’re not there. Sometimes I can’t feel You or see You and it feels like You’ve abandoned me. Help me to remember the truth: You will never leave me or forsake me. You have made me Your sheep and I am Yours. It is me – not You – who is prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love. Thank You that You always know the way that I take, that I cannot escape from Your presence, that I cannot hide from You no matter where I go. And thank You for Jesus, my good shepherd who searches for me and joyfully brings me back into Your fold.
My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
Job 23:11-12 ESV
Heavenly Father, please help my feet to remain on the straight and narrow path, to hold fast to You and Your ways. Let me not turn aside. May I ponder the path of my feet and not turn to the left or the right in what I say or think or do. Keep me from sins of omission as well as commission. Help me to actively do good, rather than just not doing bad. I want to treasure Your words more than food, even more than rich, sweet, tasty food. Your love is indeed better than any treasure here on earth.
But he 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
Lord, You are unchangeable. No one can turn You away. You do whatever You desire. You will be faithful to complete whatever You have begun. And I’m so thankful for that because Your ways are always best. There is so often a way that seems right to me, but it’s end is simply the way to death. Help me to trust You. Help me to believe that Your way is always best.
In the almighty, all-good Name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 22; Psalm 41
Have you ever struggled with why “bad things happen to good people”? I believe the simple answer to that question is, “Truly there are no good people. We’re all downright bad. None of us deserve anything that the Lord gives to us out of His grace.” But, today when reading Job 22, I found myself thinking about a slightly different question, “Why do good things happen to bad people?”
They said to God, “Depart from us,” and “What can the Almighty do to us?”
YetHe filled their houses with good things…
Job 22:17-18a ESV
Why does God allow the sun to shine and the rain to fall on both the evil and the good, like we read in Matthew 5:45? Why is the LORD good to all, and why does He have mercy on all that He has made? (Psalm 145:9) Why do the wicked prosper like we considered in yesterday’s reading of Job 21?
I think one reason is that when God saves and blesses bad people (like each and every one of us), so that we can display His immeasurable riches of His grace and kindness.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:3-6 ESV
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:1-7 ESV
Like Job, and David, and Paul, the Lord inclined Himself to me and heard my cry and drew me out of the pit of destruction that I had dug for myself. He set my feet upon the rock of His salvation. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of PRAISE to our God, that many will see and fear and put their trust in God. (Psalm 40:1-3)
Heavenly Father,
I am indeed so poor and needy, yet You take thought of me. You have indeed multiplied Your wondrous deeds and thoughts towards me. I will proclaim and tell of them, though they are more than can be told. You are my help and my deliverer. Do not delay, for You are my God.
I delight to do Your will for You are my God. Your law is within my heart. Let me not restrain my lips. Help me to tell of all the glad news of deliverance that I have experienced. Let me not hide Your saving grace within my heart.
Fill me with Your Spirit. Delight me with Your presence. Make me Your witness, sharing boldly and openly of Your faithfulness and salvation.
Truly, You are good to both the evil and the good for You are a good and gracious King. May I praise You just as loudly for the thorns in my flesh which You have given me to keep me humble as I praise You for Your mighty works of deliverance. They are both gifts granted out of Your abundant, overflowing grace!
Make me a pipeline of Your kindness and grace toward sinners like me.
In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 16-17; Psalm 36
After Job’s friend, Eliphaz, shares his human wisdom with his grieving friend (Job 15), it comes Job’s turn to reply. Job’s first words to his friends are, “I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all.”
Ain’t that the truth? Miserable counselors they have been. When you’ve lost all ten of your children, all of your possessions, and even your health, do you really want to hear words like, “Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash, that you turn your spirit against God and bring such words out of your mouth?” (Job 15:12)
Remember, friends, there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. I pray that we learn to speak those words that fit the occasion, to ask the Holy Spirit, our great counselor, to guide us in what to say to a grieving friend.
So, how amazing it was to then read Psalm 36 right on the heels of the words of Job’s heartache.
“Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O LORD.
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.
Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart!”
– Psalm 36:5-10 ESV
Job’s friends truly were miserable comforters, but God’s faithful, steadfast love is a comfort to His children. Jesus truly is our very good shepherd who comforts us in all our affliction. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 ESV
Let’s pray,
Heavenly Father,
Please help us to be patient with our friends when they say stupid things because they just don’t know what to say. I’m sure it hurts them to see us hurting. Help us to have grace toward them when they are terrible comforters and say things that make our pain even worse.
I pray that we will trust You all the more as we see what miserable counselors even our dearest friends are, for Your Holy Spirit is our perfect comforter. Apply the wisdom of Your Word like a balm to our hurting souls. Speak to us through Your Words, healing our brokenness for Your glory, comforting us so that we can comfort others.
Lord, I want to thank You in all circumstances and trust that You have purpose in my pain. As I walk through dark valleys, will you please grow my faith muscles? Help me to see Your light glowing at the end of the tunnel, guiding me with your merciful staff and fending away my enemies with Your righteous, rugged rod.
I pray that You will someday use my pain to comfort others who find themselves in pain. Teach me how to speak fit words for hurting hearts. Give me wisdom as to when to speak and when to be silent, when to exhort and when to encourage. I want to be an instrument of Your peace, to be my brother’s keeper, to love my neighbor as myself, and to comfort others with the comfort that I have received from You.
In the Name of our Perfect Comforter, Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.
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Read Through the Bible in 2 Years: Job 11; Psalm 32
Before going any further in our study in the book of Job, I want you to know that I’m actually finding it really weird to invest time reading through Job verse by verse and sharing my thoughts with you, because many of the ideas contained in this book simply aren’t good theology. No one should base their ideas about God and man on the grief-stricken meditations of Job, like “Why did you bring me out from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave.” (Job 10:18-19) But on the other hand, it’s actually really cool to mine for truth in this book. Like you can find truth in secular books and movies, you can find truth in the words of Job and his friends, though I still caution you from using them as the foundation for your theological beliefs.
With that out of the way, let me ask you a question – Have you ever greeted someone with the very standard question, “How are you today?” and received the unexpected reply, “Better than I deserve”? There’s TRUTH in those words. All of us are better than we deserve. Like Romans 6:23a says, “The wages of sin is death.”
So, today, let’s ponder these words spoken to Job by his friend, Zophar,
Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.
Job 11:6
Dear friends, I don’t know about you, but I know that I have broken God’s law more times than I can count. I have used His name in vain. I have blasphemed the Almighty Creator of the Universe. I have mocked and criticized His Son and His children. I have hated and dishonored God and His creation.
God would be totally just to spit in my face, call me unspeakable names, slap me across both my cheeks, and apply two-dozen lashings across my back. I deserve to be hung and shot and burned. I deserve it. God has exacted from me much less than my guilt deserves.
Truly, God has had mercy on me, a sinner. God pours out His grace on me and calls me His child. God sent His Own Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the price for my sins – making a way for me to not only NOT be punished, but to receive EVERLASTING LIFE!
I’m not worthy. I’m not worthy. But He has made me worthy. That is indeed Amazing GRACE.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father,
Oh the Grace of our Lord God! The matchless, unfathomable GRACE of God! Not only have You not given us what we deserve, but You have given us that which we do not deserve – boundless, eternal abundant life, the riches of glory with You.Thank You!
Lord, please help us to understand how great is Your goodness, that we will shout from the mountaintops, “Christ the Lord is Risen! Hallelujah! Come to Him! Come to Him!” We have found a goldmine with limitless gold. We have found the living water that never ceases. We have found the bread that is indeed new every morning. May Your love compel us to share this good news with others. Let us not keep these wonders to ourselves. Your love is boundless – it grows as it is shared. Let us share it! Give us ears to hear and eyes to see and mouths to proclaim Your mercy and grace and power and might and goodness!
In the Name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
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“My Worth is Not in What I Own” – Fernando Ortega, Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty
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