Wednesday, January 31, 2018

And Jesus stopped and called them, saying,
     "What do you want Me
           to do for you?"

             Matthew 20. 32

(How do I respond to Jesus?)

    

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

...and we do not know
with what 
     we must serve the LORD
until we arrive there.

                  Exodus 10. 26

(God's divine provision
    for His divine appointments
          His deeper purposes
                    in His timing.
Get ready to be astonished.
I may have no idea
   where, what, when, why
                    or how,
     but it is not unknown to God.
I have only to be faithful.)

Monday, January 29, 2018

...that you may know
that there is no one
    like the LORD our God.

                      Exodus 8. 10

(God's bottom line
         in all we experience.)

Sunday, January 28, 2018

But the LORD said to Moses,
"Now you shall see
       what I will do..."

              Exodus 6. 1

(Moses had no idea.
Neither do we.
That which is
  beyond what we can see,
       imagine
       or comprehend.
"Just follow Me.")

Saturday, January 27, 2018

But the LORD said to Moses,
"Put out your hand,
and take it by the tail"
--so he put out his hand
                and caught it,
and it became a rod in his hand --
"that they may believe
             that the LORD..."

                    Exodus 4. 4-5

(What fear does God want me to
        grab by the tail
that He can use
for His greater purposes?
God uses 
     the most unlikely people,
           oddest objects,
       and weird situations
in unexpected and unexplainable ways
                   for His glory.
Even us
with His tools in our hands.

Friday, January 26, 2018

For truly, I say to you,
if you have faith
    as a grain of mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain,
"Move from here to there,"
          and it will move;
and nothing will be impossible to you."

                          Matthew 17. 20-21

(What is your mountain?
It is not for me to move,
            but God.
Claim God's power over it.
God does not call me 
    to the heavy lifting,
but to "all-in" faithfulness to Him.
Seek God, not the answer.
Expect what is unexplainable
               if not for Him.)

Thursday, January 25, 2018

And when they lifted up their eyes,
they saw no one
             but Jesus only.

                  Matthew 17. 8

(Not overwhelmed by circumstances,
not distracted by the urgent,
not irritated by what is happening 
            or not happening,
but see Jesus in this.
What does He want me to do?
             "Follow Me.")

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

...the God who has led me
    all my life long to this day...

                     Genesis 48. 15

(God is faithful still.
He continues to lead you.
Even in this.
Even through this.
Remain aware of His Presence,
remain in the reality of His Presence,
          even now.)

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Thus Israel dwelt in the land of Egypr,
in the land of Goshen,
and they gained possessions I it,
and were fruitful
     and multiplied exceedingly.

                         Genesis 47. 27

(God uses powerfully
even what we see
as wilderness,
a place of exile,
a barren-looking landscape,
        or even affliction.
The turning point comes
when I stop asking "Why, God?"
    and pray expectantly 
             "What, God?")
    

Monday, January 22, 2018

But immediately He spoke to them,
"Take heart,
         it is I;
                have no fear."

                    Matthew 14. 27

(Now just watch
    what God does with this.
There are much more profound
        purposes in this.
"It's Me.
      I am with you."
Jesus comes to us 
         in our deepest need
and transforms our deepest fear.)

                 

Sunday, January 21, 2018

And He did not do
    many mighty works there,
because of their unbelief.
  
                  Matthew 13. 58

(Not in believing what
     He is able to do,
but in Who He is.
It is not a matter
    of believing enough
    and it will happen,
but believing in 
     the Lord Jesus Christ.)

Saturday, January 20, 2018

The name of the second son he called Ephraim,
for God has made me fruitful
        in the land of my affliction.

                       Genesis 41. 52

(Faithfulness even in the smallest 
          and most invisible responses
     doesn't just produce fruitfulness
     in impossible places.
Through faithfulness,
God changes your vision
   to see something deeper in this.
Not just what is underneath,
     but what is right before you.)


Friday, January 19, 2018

Joseph answered Pharoah,
"It is not in me,
          but God....."
 
                   Genesis 41. 16

(Not just acknowledging
     what only God can do,
but following Him faithfully through 
         what is not in me.)

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Do not withhold good
    from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power
                  to do it.

                  Proverbs 3. 27

(It is always in my power 
    to be kind and gracious
       and self-less.
Who has God has strategically placed 
           on my path to love today?
Enlarge my heart, O LORD,
      to visible need.
Deepen my vision
         to act on what is invisible.)

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Do not be afraid of sudden panic,
or of the storm of the wicked
                 when it comes;
for the LORD 
      will be your confidence
and will keep your foot
            from being caught.

                     Proverbs 3. 25-26

("Trust Me in this."
Courage is knowing
                 God has this.)
Trust is
     taking the next step.)
     

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Come to Me,
all who labor and are heavy-laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you,
           and learn from Me,
for I am gentle 
     and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest
                 for your souls.
For My yoke is easy,
        and My burden is light.

                 Matthew 11. 28-30

(God never intended for you
      to navigate this life by yourself.
"Fear not, I am with you.
    Let Me carry that with you."
Two of the greatest deceits from the Fall
   are randomness "it doesn't matter,"
   and self-sufficiency "I don't need you, God."
"Come to Me" is not a religion,
more than just another worldview,
but the most intimate relationship
                           of love.)

Monday, January 15, 2018

But God came....

          Genesis 31. 24

(God intervenes.
Listen for Him.
Watch for Him.
It is not that
        God "shows up,"
but He makes us aware
  that He is already present.
Even now.
Even in this.)

Sunday, January 14, 2018

...now then,
whatever God has said to you,
                            do.

                            Genesis 31. 16

(Follow Me into this,
       Follow Me through.
Taking even one step
                       of faithfulness
releases you to take the next.)

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Then Jacob arose from his sleep
and said,
"Surely the LORD is in this place,
      and I did not know it."

                           Genesis 28. 16

(Even when we do not understand
or things look bleak indeed,
God is right here with us,
using us in His extraordinary ways
     even on the most ordinary days,
maybe particularly
                in what only appears as ordinary.
God is working mightily
         in this appointment.
Some things we will only understand
             in the rear view mirror 
   or on the Other Side of life.)

Friday, January 12, 2018

...so he called its name 
           Rehobeth, saying,
"For now the LORD
     has made room for us,
and we shall be
       fruitful in the land."

               Genesis 26. 17

(In the most unexpected places
    and most unlikely people,
God brings fruitfulness.
Never discount 
    what incredible things
                  God is doing,
    nor where,
    nor among whom,
           including you.
That which is inexplicable 
       but for God.)

Thursday, January 11, 2018

And Isaac went out to meditate
    in the field in the evening,
and he lifted up his eyes and looked,
and behold...

                         Genesis 24. 63

(Communing with God,
meditating on His Word,
listening and praying,
    always makes you aware
of something else on your radar.
Seek God first.
He is enlarging your vision.
  Behold what He has placed 
                      in your heart.)

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Trust in the LORD
     with all your heart,
and do not rely 
     on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
  and He will make straight
                     your paths.

                    Proverbs 3. 5-6

(Take God at His Word.
Trust God in this.
     He is already guiding you.
Do not let the familiarity of this verse
    drain the reality of it.
Read it slow.
Marinate in it today.)

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

From there
        Abraham journeyed...

                    Genesis 20. 1

(When we listen,
            God leads.
Where He guides,
             God provides.
When we walk with Him,
     God always brings us 
 to a different and unexpected place,
      sometimes right where we are,
   not tomorrow but today,
always, always
      to know Him more.)

Monday, January 8, 2018

Ask,
     and it will be given you;
seek,
      and you will find;
knock,
      and it will be opened to you.
For every one who asks
                      receives,
and he who seeks
                      finds,
and to him who knocks
                      it will be opened.

                      Matthew 7. 7-8

(Have I even brought this
                  before the LORD?
God does not just provide
                     open doors;
   He knocks 
          on the door of my heart.
When I seek Him,
         and not just an answer,
He provides in ways
     far beyond what I ever expect.
God never works in 
                  singular outcomes.)

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Is anything
   too hard for the LORD?
At the appointed time...

              Genesis 18. 14

(I may not be ready yet.
The right time 
        may not yet be ripened.
But I can know that
       Almighty God is already at work.
He steps in
and manifests the impossible
               at the appointed time.
God is never late.
His timing and provision
   are more perfect
   than we will ever know.
"Trust Me in this.")

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Lift up your eyes,
and look from the place
             where you are....

                  Genesis 13. 14

(Don't miss out where you are today,
  be faithful in what is before you.
       God is at work.
   His mighty hand is guiding you
   in what is before you
                 and into what is next.)

Thursday, January 4, 2018

But God...

          Genesis 8. 1

(Because there is God,
    because God is,
nothing is random,
or meaningless,
or empty without purpose,
        nor are you.
Because God is,
    everything is significant,
       profoundly designed,
       divinely appointed,
                  as are you.
Because God is,
    don't live as if He isn't.
"Be not afraid,
        I am with you."
God doesn't just intervene.
          God redeems).

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

And Noah did all
that the LORD 
    had commanded him.

                   Genesis 7. 5

(Noah responded to God
even in what
    didn't seem to make sense.
Responding to God,
following Him into something,
        is never a mistake,
even when it turns out
     different than you expect.
God prepares you for what is
and equips you
      for what is to come.
God's purposes prevail,
  even in what we may
          never live long enough to see).

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Blessed are all
who take refuge in Him.

                      Psalm 2. 11

(Refuge in the LORD
     is not a place of hiding,
but a place of strength
           from which to go forth.
Not a place for cowards,
   but the address
          of the courageous).

Monday, January 1, 2018

In the beginning 
   God created
the heavens and the earth.

                 Genesis 1. 1

(Life all boils down to this reality:
                  God is.  
He created the world,
       and He created you.
Nothing random at all).

Happy New Year.
Don't just watch 
what God will do in this new year--
          join Him in it.