Thursday, November 30, 2017


Great peace have those
  who love Your law;
nothing can make them stumble.

Psalm 119.165

(God's peace does not mean
an absence of conflict,
but His Presence within,
not dependent 
on favorable circumstances,
    but engraved with
    uncommon strength).

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

So Daniel was taken up
          out of the den,
and no kind of hurt
    was found on him,
because he had
  trusted in his God.

              Daniel 6. 20

(Trusting in God
and faithfulness to Him
was woven seamlessly 
in his daily life.
How much more would
  I know God
if I trusted Him,
even in this,
even today?)

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Therefore I direct my steps
     by all Your precepts...

                    Psalm 119. 128

(Have I considered God in this?
Specifically about this?
Seeking Him 
and not an answer of my own choosing?
What does God's Word
       have to say about this?
Directing my steps doesn't mean
God hands me an itinerary 
but the next proximate step
            in trusting Him).

Monday, November 27, 2017

...but you are able,
for the Spirit of the holy God
                    is in you.

                   Daniel 4. 18

(Nothing of your own abilities,
but able
    because God is in you.
And that is going to look
     very different in this 
                  impossible situation
    and among these difficult people.
Even today.
His grace,
His glory,
    and many such things
    you will see).

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Cast all your anxieties on Him,
       for He cares about you.

                     1 Peter 5. 7

(Hand them over,
don't keep taking them back.
God has been faithful to you
      your whole life long,
          through thick and thin.
He is not about to stop now).

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Do not return evil for evil
or reviling for reviling,
but on the contrary
                 bless,
for to this you 
     have been called,
that you may obtain a blessing.

                     1 Peter 3. 9

(Be a contrarian.
Live in a way that is not expected
and inexplicable
          if not for God.
Am I seeking to "win" in this,
        or bring grace in my pockets?
To be right,
        or compassionate?
To complain the loudest,
     or bring the name of Jesus there?)

Friday, November 24, 2017

And on the banks,
of both sides of the river,
there will grow all kinds of trees
                     for food.
Their leaves will not wither
        nor their fruit fail,
but they will bear 
            fresh fruit every month,
because the water for them
   flows from the sanctuary.
Their fruit will be for food,
and their leaves for healing.

                  Ezekiel 47. 12

(The source of my strength
radically impacts
everyone around me.
Deep roots,
sustaining fruit,
even the leaves for healing.
That the LORD is my strength
   matters more than I can know).

Thursday, November 23, 2017

O give thanks to the LORD,
          for He is good;
for His steadfast love
                endures forever.

                    Psalm 118. 29

(Not just thankful,
    but thankful to God.
Grateful that we live in a country
that has a major holiday
     just for giving thanks).

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Then he brought me back
to the outer gate of the sanctuary,
which faces east;
and it was shut.

                  Ezekiel 44. 1

(Closed doors are never random
       but designed intricately by God,
                     always for good reason.
It is not a closed door at all,
    but a deeper one beckoning
for His infinite purposes
           and profound direction.
It may be about
    bringing His light and grace 
                     to a new place).


Tuesday, November 21, 2017

...and pray for one another
         that you may be healed.

                         James 5. 16

(One of the many side effects
of prayer:
God's healing over relationships.
"Confession and forgiveness
are the concrete forms
in which we sinful people
             love each other."
                    -- Henri Nouwen
                         In the Name of Jesus)

Monday, November 20, 2017

...beyond the nave.

               Ezekiel 41. 4

(Am I willing
to go deeper
    and grow deeper
in my relationship with God,
or just satisfied 
with being in the big room?
Daily choices,
      little steps in faithfulness).

Sunday, November 19, 2017

...set your mind
upon all 
that I will show you,
for you were brought here
in order that
I might show it to you...

                  Ezekiel 40. 4

(What is the sense in this?
We are strategically placed
for His profound purposes,
perhaps even more so when we
don't see the point in it.
His glory sometimes comes with
       a side of deep mystery 
and incredible wonders
                yet to be revealed).

Saturday, November 18, 2017

...being no hearer that forgets
     but a doer that acts,
he shall be blessed
                in his doing.

                     James 1. 25

(What has God placed
before me today?
Put feet on your faith
    and grace in your hands).

Friday, November 17, 2017

If any of you lacks wisdom,
let him ask God,
Who gives to all men
     generously 
         and without reproaching,
and it will be given him.
  
                       James 1. 5

(Did it even occur to me
   to ask God
   for His wisdom in this?
Even now.
Even in this.
No excuses.
No exclusions.
There is nothing small,
      or too small,
in God's economy,
nothing random,
everything profoundly used).

Thursday, November 16, 2017

...but we seek the city
      which is to come.

                 Hebrews 13. 14

(Living in light of eternity
   looks very different.
Even today,
even in this
    impossible situation,
even here,
bring the name of Jesus there,
on so many levels).

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

From the rising of the sun 
         to its setting,
the name of the LORD
   is to be praised.

                  Psalm 113. 3

(Bookends of the day
     and all the way through.
How radically different my heart,
my vision,
my first response,
my life,
if I started and ended the day
         in praise to God Almighty?)

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

...let us run with perseverance 
       the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus...

                   Hebrews 12. 1-2

(What is the course
    God has set before me today?
God has embedded profound purpose
in His training program
for the strength I will need
and to encourage others
                     along the way).

Monday, November 13, 2017

By faith
Rahab the harlot did not perish
with those who were disobedient,
because she had given
       friendly welcome to the spies.

                          Hebrews 11. 31

(The world says love yourself.
God calls us to Him,
to love those on our path,
to love strangers,
even to love those against us.
I need not know the outcome
nor the magnitude
           of even a friendly welcome,
   but just that God uses it.
A kindness is never small,
        but ever profound.
Even here.
Even in this).

Sunday, November 12, 2017

With my mouth
I will give great thanks to the LORD;
I will praise Him 
    in the midst of the throng.

                         Psalm 109. 30

(Faith is revealed
in both word and work
         seamlessly woven.
And perhaps,
the LORD has brought you here
in this place,
in this circumstance,
in this conversation,
       for such a time as this,
to bring the name of Jesus there.
Praise and thanks to God 
in our culture
do not stick out like a sore thumb,
but manifest hope
               in very dark places
and the grayness of the ordinary).

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Let us consider
how to stir up one another
      to love and good works,
not neglecting to meet together,
as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another,
and all the more as you see
the Day drawing near.

                  Hebrews 10. 24-25

(God designed us for community.
There is enormous purpose
                  in fellowship.
God never intended for us 
                to just attend church,
         but be the Church,
our love and encouragement for each other
    brimming over,
               transforming lives,
and getting all over the world around us).

Friday, November 10, 2017

O grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the help of man.
With God
       we shall do valiantly;
it is He who will
              tread down our foes.

                       Psalm 108. 12-13

(Who am I looking for help?
         Or not at all?
Work hard, do not fear,
and trust God for the outcome.
God provides and delivers
    in unexpected ways
    and multiple layers).

"Courage means being afraid
and saddling up anyway."
                   -- John Wayne

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Let the redeemed of the LORD
              say so....

                    Psalm 107. 2

(What story has God given you
    to point others to Him?
Acknowledge God
     even in this,
     even here,
     even among the rebellious.
You can never know how God
   is using you in the lives of others).

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Save us, O LORD our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks
          to Your holy name
and glory in Your praise.

                 Psalm 106.47

(Seeking God 
      with singular mindset
and every dimension today
     to glorify Him).

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

...and make the dry tree flourish.

                      Ezekiel 17. 24

(Rooted in Him,
    the LORD will bear fruit through you
        wherever He places you.
God is not limited
    by favorable circumstances.
Indeed, His most incredible work
thrives in the most impossible places.
Even here.
Even now.
Even in this).

Monday, November 6, 2017

He rebuked the Red Sea,
         and it became dry,
and He led them 
          through the deep
   as though through a desert.
So He saved them 
from the hand of the foe,
and delivered them
from the power of the enemy.

                      Psalm 106. 9-10

(No matter what overwhelms you,
     God leads you through.
Give me wisdom and grace, O LORD,
   to know how to navigate this day
       in a way that honors You).

Sunday, November 5, 2017

In the morning,
the word of the LORD came to me,
"Son of man,
has not the house of Israel,
the rebellious house, said to you,
        "What are you doing?"

                                  Ezekiel 12. 9

(Walking with God
         will always look differently.
Live in such a way
  that others can't help
                  but ask why.
What is different about you?
         His embedded grace).

Saturday, November 4, 2017

... to seize the hope
         set before us.

                  Hebrews 6. 18

(To seize the hope before us,
not the despair around us.
Because of Christ,
     life is very different).

Friday, November 3, 2017

Seek the LORD and His strength,
seek His Presence continually.

                           Psalm 105. 4

(Not just seeking an answer,
       nor a particular outcome,
nor an open door,
            but seeking the LORD.
God has something
              completely different
              already woven in place,
and that is always
       rooted in relationship with Him.)

    

Thursday, November 2, 2017

...and you shall know
     that I am the LORD.

                  Ezekiel 6. 7

(This phrase is repeated 62 times
in the book of Ezekiel.
What does it take
       for me to realize that?)

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

...and the hand of the LORD
          was upon him there.

                         Ezekiel 1. 3

(Wherever God strategically
                   places us,
whenever we are responsive to Him.
No matter what appears as the outcome,
obedience to God always brings along
            an unexpected blessing,
    even what we may never see.
"We are called to be faithful,
           not successful."
                     --Mother Teresa)