Day 336 Daniel 9:1-11:1; 1 John 2:18-3:6; Psalm 121:1-8; Proverbs 28:27-28 Never Underestimate the Power of Prayer! We can learn much from the way that Daniel prayed and from the dramatic consequences. Daniel knows that exile in Babylon is nearing an end. Daniel prays fervently but does not rush to a request. First, he recounts…
Day 335 Daniel 8:1-27; 1 John 2:1-17; Psalm 120:1-7; Proverbs 28:25-26 The True Light Is Already Shining Advent begins. Christ’s coming means “the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8). Ministering from Babylon in the 6th century just at the rise of the Persian king Cyrus, Daniel receives…
Day 334 Daniel 7:1-28; 1 John 1:1-10; Psalm 119:153-176; Proverbs 28:23-24 Are You Without Sin? The reading in 1 John today states that if we say we have no sin, we are calling God a liar! Wow, I don’t want to even think I might do that—call God liar! But don’t I do that when…
Day 333 Daniel 6:1-28; 2 Peter 3:1-18; Psalm 119:129-152; Proverbs 28:21-22 Taking a Stand There are times in life where we have to make tough choices between faithfulness to God and faithfulness to other powers and authorities. The more corrupt the society and environment around us become, the greater the likelihood that we will face…
Day 332 Daniel 5:1-31; 2 Peter 2:1-22; Psalm 119:113-128; Proverbs 28:19-20 Book of Instructions As we approach Christmas, fathers everywhere are having nightmares over the traditional Christmas Eve’s “assembly of the toys.” I recall hours of cursing the instruction sheets on assembling doll houses, tricycles, and myriad other toys designed to frustrate fathers worldwide. The…
Day 331 Daniel 4:1-37; 2 Peter 1:1-21; Psalm 119:97-112; Proverbs 28:17-18 All Things in the Knowledge of God There is a thought hiding in plain sight among many Christians that goes something like this: “Jesus died for my sins and I can’t be perfect anyway, so why try?” There are, of course, many problems with…
Day 330 Daniel 2:24-3:30; 1 Peter 4:7-5:14; Psalm 119:81-96; Proverbs 28:15-16 Experiencing and Giving God’s Love and Grace Today’s reading reminds us of several things that we often forget in our day to day activities. First, we are told by Peter that the end of all things is near—a gentle reminder that this life is…
Day 329 Daniel 1:1-2:23; 1 Peter 3:8-4:6; Psalm 119:65-80; Proverbs 28:14 To Live Faith on Monday I often wonder how well the Church equips Christian lay women and men to live faith and serve as Christians in their workplaces. It often feels as if we do not connect Sunday and Monday very well. With that…
Day 328 Ezekiel 47:1-48:35; 1 Peter 2:11-3:7; Psalm 119:49-64; Proverbs 28:12-13 Spreading Living Water On each day of the Feast of Tabernacles, water was drawn from the pool of Siloam, processed to the Temple as the people sang “with joy you shall draw water from salvation’s living springs” (Is. 12:2-6), and then poured down the…
Day 327 Ezekiel 45:13-46:24; 1 Peter 1:13-2:10; Psalm 119:33-48; Proverbs 28:11 The Test of Eternity There was a time when my father worked as a mason’s apprentice. He would come home every evening dirty, exhausted, and yet content. As a teenager, I once spent a day with him doing the back-breaking work as a “gopher,”…
Day 326 Ezekiel 44:1-45:12; 1 Peter 1:1-12; Psalm 119:17-32; Proverbs 28:8-10 A Praise Test Peter’s letter was written to an audience that was confused and discouraged by the persecution they were encountering because of their faith. It was evident that faith was present and that it was being lived out in the lives of these…
Day 325 Ezekiel 42:1-43:27; James 5:1-20; Psalm 119:1- 16; Proverbs 28:6-7 Looking for the Harvest In James’ letter, he tells us to be patient and then uses the illustration of a farmer to highlight what that patience looks like. A farmer only sees the little seed that goes into the ground and then doesn’t even see…
