All things can do
I who
P h i l i p p i a n s 4 : 13
READ PSALM
119:97-104
I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path (v.104).
Understanding The Bible
Isaw a great cartoon in a Christian magazine recently . It showed a young guy holding a Bible and telling a friend on the phone, âI think Iâve made one of the first steps towards understanding the Old Testament . . . Iâm starting to read it!â
Psalm 119 describes the writerâs hunger to read and think about Godâs Word each day . âOh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day longâ (V.97) . This daily time reading the Bible will help us to understand its message and get to know God better (VV.98â100) . Understanding the Bible isnât âmagicâ . We simply need to take the time to read what it has to say, asking Godâs Spirit to help us think through its message and then live it out . There will always be bits of the Bible that are hard to make sense of, but we can still enjoy learning from the parts we do clearly understand . As we spend more time reading the Bible, weâll be able to say to God: âHow sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong pathâ (VV.103â104) . DM
Want more . . . ?
Understanding the Bible starts with reading the Bible.
Why not read How do you read the Bible? online at ourdailybread.org/lookingdeeper
READ PSALM 145:1-13
I will meditate on your wonderful works (v.5).
âNothing Specialâ
One time a group of us visited the Eiffel Tower . A man close by watched us being typical touristsâgasping in amazement and taking photosâand said, âItâs nothing special . I see it every day . â
We can often become so used to the things we see every day that we donât realise how great they are anymore . Although weâre surrounded by Godâs amazing creation, sometimes our busy or distracted lives can block our view of what it tells us about Him . And in the same way, we can easily forget about what Jesus did on the cross for us . If weâre not careful, being part of Godâs family can quickly become ânothing specialâ . God promises to always be with us, in every situationâ thatâs incredibly special! Have you spent time with Him today, enjoying your place in His family?
What âwonderful worksâ have you seen God doing today?
I love what the author of the Psalms says: âI will meditate on your wonderful worksâ (PS. 145:5) . Take time today to step back from just âdoing lifeâ to think about Godâs âwonderful worksâ and all that He has done for us! JS
To pray about . .
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Father, thank You that I can talk with You wherever I go . Help me to remember how special it is to be Your child .
READ ROMANS
8:28-30
When Christ appears, we shall be like him (1 Jn. 3:2).
HHyperSeeing
ave you ever wondered how artists can turn a block of wood into a carving of an animal? Or turn a lump of stone into a personâs face? Artists have a word for this: âhyper-seeingâ . It means that when they look at the same block of wood as us, rather than just seeing the block, they can see the image they want to create from it . Hyper-seeing is also a good description of our all-seeing God . He sees all that we areâand more . He sees what we will be when He has finished His work in us; when we stand before Him blameless and without faultâjust like Jesus . The God who started this great work in us will keep at it until He finishes it on the day Jesus Christ comes back (SEE PHIL. 1:6) . Bit by bit, each day, He is chipping away at us to make us look even more like His Son . Godâs work in us canât be stopped! Whether weâre enjoying life or feeling low, God is at work . Whether weâre looking forward to today or wishing it would go away, God is going to use everything we go through to keep shaping us . DR
Thinking it over . . .
No matter what we see in ourselves today, God can see how weâre going to look in heaven.
In what ways do you look more like Jesus today than you did last year? What is God teaching you at the moment about Himself?
READ MATTHEW 9:27-38
[Jesus] had compassion on them (v.36).
Making A Difference
Elizabeth had been very embarrassed . To try and escape the painful situation she was in, she caught a bus out of town, but she couldnât stop crying . She didnât even notice that the bus had come to a stop . A passenger sitting behind her began making his way off the bus when he suddenly stopped, turned and walked back to Elizabeth . He saw her tears and handed her his Bible, saying that he thought she might need it . He was right . But not only did she need the Bible, she needed the Saviour it talks about . Elizabeth accepted Jesus because of this simple act of kindness by a stranger who gave a gift . Jesus is our example of kindness . In Matthew 9 we read, âWhen he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were [put down] and helpless, like sheep without a shepherdâ (V.36) . Not only did Jesus see the pain and hurt of broken people, He did something about it . He told His followers to pray that God would send out workers (or, in other words, people who love God) to help those in need (V.38) . Following Jesusâ example of kindness can help us to make a real difference in the lives of the people around us . BC
Simple acts of kindness can introduce others to Jesus.
To pray about . . .
Jesus, open my eyes to see the hurts and struggles of others . Help me to know how to show them something of Your love and care . Amen .
READ PSALM
22:1-8, 19-26
Those who seek the L ord will praise himâmay your hearts live for ever! (v.26).
PIgnored?
salm 22 begins with these heartbreaking words that Jesus said on the cross, âMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?â (MATT. 27:46; MARK 15:34).
How bad must the situation have been that David, the Psalm writer, cried out to God in this way? He felt abandoned: âWhy are you so far from saving me?â (PS. 22:1) . It was like God was ignoring him: âMy God, I cry out by day, but you do not answerâ (V.2) .
Ever been there? Have you ever looked up to the sky and wondered why it seemed like God was ignoring you? Welcome to Davidâs world . But for every painful cry David writes, he remembers something good about God, and that stops him from losing hope . Through it all, David finds that God is holy (V.3), trustworthy (VV.4-5), a deliverer and rescuer (VV.8,20-21) and his strength (V.19) .
When we feel like God is distant, we can come close to Him by reading the Bible.
Do you feel like Godâs forgotten about you? Read Psalm 22 again and remember who He is . And let your heart ârejoice with everlasting joyâ (V.26 NLT) . DB
To pray about . . .
Father, sometimes I feel as if You donât care about my life . When those times come, please remind me of what You are like as You did with David . Help me to trust You again and know that You are there .
Donât let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers (v.12).
AJust Kids
fter secondary school, one boy joined the military and trained as a pilot . World War II was in full swing, and soon he had to do work usually given to older and more experienced men Years later he talked about the huge planes he was told to pilot, saying: âWe were all just kids flying those things!â
In the Bible thereâs lots of stories of young people living for God . Despite their age, they followed Him bravely, even when it meant doing things theyâd never had to do before .
A great example is David . He was just a teenage shepherd boy who faced up to the warrior giant Goliath despite being told, âYou are not able to go against this Philistine . . . for you are a youthâ (1 SAM. 17:33 NKJV) .
God doesnât think being young should stop us serving Himâso why should we?
And we canât forget Mary, the mother of Jesus . She was probably only a teenager when she was told she would give birth to the Son of God . But despite being so young, and probably afraid, she told the angel, âLet it be to me according to your wordâ (LUKE 1:38 NKJV) .
Paul told the young church leader Timothy, âDonât let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purityâ (1 TIM. 4:12) . Being young doesnât mean we canât live for God and expect Him to do great things in our lives . Even if others look down on us for our inexperience, our first call is to obey God . He can use anyone . The Bible proves it! DM
Notes
READ JAMES 3:1-12
Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness (v.18).
The Silent Keyboard
Iknow someone who has a rule that they will wait twenty-four hours before they reply to any emails that annoy them . If after a day they still feel like they need to send a reply, they will more often than not, they leave a lot of unsent messages in their drafts folder .
Itâs so easy to send instant replies to emails, texts or social media posts . This can be good, but also bad . If we stopped to think for a few minutes before we sent our messages, we might save ourselves from upsetting or hurting our friends . The Bible talks about how harmful words can be: âNo human being can tame the tongueâ (JAS. 3:8) . It can be hard to control what we say on a good day, never mind when weâre upset!
Just because you can reply instantly, doesnât mean you should.
When weâre gossiping about our friends or trying to get even, we can find ourselves writing and saying things that will hurt the people God has created . Our mouths, our pens and our keyboards should be âquietâ more often . Next time you want to write a mean or angry comment, take a break for a bit .
We have the choice to show the difference Jesus makes . When we follow Jesus, we can react to posts with kind and patient words . We may not be able to do it straight away if we feel mad . But if we give ourselves a bit of space from the messages to talk to God and cool down, weâll be able to take control of our words and use them to show Jesusâ love . RK
To pray about . . .
Help me, Father, to use my words to serve You and love the people You have made .