Psalm 119 If you have read the Bible everyday so far this year, congratulations, and, even if you have not, good work reading today! Psalm 119 provides a great summary of what you have been reading. God's Scriptures are described in this psalm as: the law of the Lord, his statutes, precepts, decrees, commands, his word, promise, and word of truth. In the Bible we encounter several different genres...  Read More

Psalm 115, 116, 117, 118 The commands we repeat are important. There are many things I have told my children again and again because I want them to remember. As parents to their kids, so God is to us. When he repeats something, we should pay attention to it. In Psalm 115 we are commanded multiple times to "trust in the Lord." Then Psalms 115-117 all end with the phrase, "Praise the Lord." Then in ...  Read More

Psalm 107, 111, 112, 113, 114 What have you praised and celebrated in the last few days? It is hard for us not to praise and commend, the only question is what we are praising.The psalms are a beautiful place to remind ourselves of why God alone is ultimately worthy of our praise. Psalm 107 begins by reminding us that God is worthy of praise because "his love endures forever." No matter how beauti...  Read More

Psalm 105-106 We are all missionaries. Every one of us is proclaiming the greatness of something and encouraging others to participate in that. It may be a restaurant we ate at recently, it may be a movie or book, or it may be God, but we are all continuously sharing what we enjoy with others. Psalm 105 commands us to “make known among the nations what he has done” (to be a missionary/a disciple w...  Read More

Psalm 98, 99, 100, 102, 104 "Mom," "Dad" seem to be two continual refrains from the mouths of my kids. It might be absurdly early in the morning or after they have been put to bed, but these words constantly flow from their mouths. Many psalms want us to learn a similar continual call for God our Father. Psalms 98 and 100 are calls to God from a place of joy. It is easy to envision smiles on the f...  Read More

Psalm 92-97 What do you picture when you think of God? This view will impact the way you live, so it is important that we have the right view of him. Thankfully the Scriptures and especially the psalms give us several pictures of God. Psalm 92 presents him as a rock. The one upon whom our lives are to be built. Psalms 93 and 97 present him as the eternal king of the universe. Psalm 94 presents him...  Read More

Psalm 1-2, 10, 33, 71, 91 Due to our fallen nature, we have a natural bent towards throwing off authority. If you doubt this, be sensitive to your emotions the next time you are asked to do something you do not want to do. Or watch a kid throw a tantrum when they are asked to perform a small task they dislike. Or consider the founding of our country, which we celebrated a couple days ago, and our ...  Read More

Psalm 47, 48, 49, 84, 85, 87 Some people find the music to be their favorite part of the church service. They love expressing themselves and praising God, while others may find the music to be an almost unnecessary interruption prior to the sermon. Regardless of your attitude, praise should be something we all cultivate in our lives. We need to consistently praise God, because he is worthy of it. ...  Read More

Psalm 42-46 Kids love to pretend to be animals. They love to act like monkeys, cats, and dogs as they run or crawl around the house. You may think as you have grown older you no longer need to act like an animal, but Psalm 42 tells us otherwise. We are all to be like deer. Deer have a longing, a thirst, and a panting for water. We also are to have this longing in our hearts. Yet our longing should...  Read More

Proverbs 30:1-31:31 If you encountered a genie like Aladdin and were given three wishes, what would be your three wishes? Your requests would reveal a great deal about what you value and your hopes for the future. We have already read about Solomon, who when given one wish, chose wisdom. Now, we see Agur’s request. In Proverbs 30:7-9 he asks God for lips that speak truth and for his basic needs to...  Read More

Proverbs 25:1-29:27 You may often hear people say the Bible has contradictions. When you ask what they are, often the person does not know any but is just parroting something they have heard. In today's reading, we encounter a potential contradiction they could mention. Proverbs 26:4-5 says, "Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool accordin...  Read More

2 Chronicles 29:3-31:21 Your spring cleaning should have been done a few months ago, but, if you never got around to it, it is never too late to start. And even if you did it, I’m sure there are new messes and clutter to undertake. Hezekiah's reign begins with a massive spring cleaning project. The focus is not on the homes of the people; rather it is on the home of God, the temple. The priests sp...  Read More