June 1
Proverbs
16:1 to
The Name of
the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Father, in the end, isn’t that what really
matters? Salvation is of God! Jesus lives!
I could memorize all of the wisdom “nuggets” of Proverbs. Surely that would make me very wise indeed;
or would I like Solomon allow myself to be led astray to sacrifice to other
gods. Father, may justification through
faith in the blood of Christ always be the foundation of my mindset – my
worldview. May it always be rooted in my
heart that the Name of the Lord is a strong tower. I love You, Lord. Please forgive my wandering feet, and thank
You for the rod that stops me from straying too far. As I read Your Word and study and find
fascination, help me, Father, to keep my communication simple. Help me to capture people with the simple
truth that You love them and want to rescue them. Truly, Jesus is that Friend Who sticks closer
than a brother. Glory to God! Amen.
June 2
Proverbs
19:1 to
Father, the
wisdom that You give is life-giving. As
I read through these three chapters, I am struck by how difficult it is to
digest all the wondrous truth in the text.
It seems I am to recognize old truths, and learn new – and then affirm
them all. If I can retain some in a
strong recall, then I am truly blessed.
One of the verses that so strongly describes where my head has been the
last few years is 19:2. “It is not good
to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.” I think this is a mistake made too often in
one’s youth. Father, I know it is so in
my case. I think my greatest consolation
in the text today is
June 3
Proverbs
22:1 to 24:22
My Father,
thank You for your Spirit with me and in me this day. Thank You for Your Word before me. It is sweet to my soul; and I desire it. There are so many lights of wisdom before
me. I am especially drawn, my Father, to
those verses about proper conduct regarding money, wealth, and poverty. You also say so much to young people about
right relationships with parents and with the elderly. I found special comfort in 24:16. “…though a righteous man falls seven times,
he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity. I suppose that is the difference between a
wicked man and a righteous man. They
both have done wicked things but where the wicked pursues his wickedness, the
righteous regrets his behavior. One (the
righteous) gets up when he falls; the other (the wicked) is quite content to
stay down. I think the difference is the
blood of Jesus. Amen.
June 4
Proverbs
24:23 to 27:27
Father,
Your wisdom and love truly meet in the reading today. As diverse as the Proverbs are, this reading
is surprisingly consistent in one theme! – Relationship. Whether it involves honor, integrity, or
folly; every verse seems to ultimately speak to the importance of relationships
and godly behavior toward others. Lord,
I think every young person should have to write a thoughtful 500-word (at
least) paper on 24:30-34, before he or she is allowed to graduate from high
school. In this day in
June 5
Proverbs
28:1 to 30:33
Father, the
so-called wisdom literature of Proverbs is about to close and once again I
think of Your omni-sapience. You are
all-wise and the only source of true wisdom.
You have manifested this wisdom most perfectly in the Person of Your
Son, Jesus Christ. This is why Your
wisdom cannot be segmented from Your love.
Your wisdom flows out of Your love and out with
Your love. In considering the reading
today, it seemed to me that all the verses were like a web, interconnected to
one another and branching out from one verse: Fear of man will prove to be a
snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe (29:25). Father, this is possibly the biggest pitfall
of middle class
June 6
Proverbs
31:1-31; 1 Kings
1 Kings
10:23-25; 2 Chronicles 9:22-24; 1 Kings 10:26-29;
2
Chronicles 1:14-17;
Beautiful
and Awesome Father, Your creativity is so far beyond what any human mind could
think. We can only crumble before Your
majesty with exclamations of how wonderful and terrible and glorious and loving
and thrilling You are. All You do –
shouts this truth – every item within the vision of my heart (and beyond). Every molecule is a miracle to the human
mind. My glorious Lord, before You I bow
– I am undone in Your presence, and yet, by the blood of Jesus Christ I am
here, clothed, protected, justified.
What incomprehensible, ineffable love is this!? You are the height and the depth and the width
and the breadth of goodness. The reading
today is structured so powerfully. We
have the wealth of the wealthiest monarch in history in contrast to the value
of a virtuous wife; and we are somehow shown there is no contest. The value of the second infinitely surpasses
the wealth of the first. Amen.
June 7
1 Kings
11:1-40; Ecclesiastes 1:1 to
Lord, today
the reading brings a heartbreaking tragedy – the turning of Solomon away from
You. I guess I have a little difficulty
reconciling the tremendous wisdom of Solomon with his foolish behavior with
women and his eventual gullibility. He
had to have known better, and it just seems to me that he was not wise. Father, when I read the opening two chapters
of Ecclesiastes it just reinforces that Solomon appears to have developed a
man-centered worldview that left him in despair. It’s not that he has totally forgotten
You. It’s just that he doesn’t seem to
see that You must be the central Figure in all of life or all balance will be
lost. It seems that all his wisdom took
him further from You, Lord. Eventually
he recognizes You, but I would have thought that wisdom from You would have
done the opposite of leading to meaninglessness and despair. I suppose, Father, wisdom and knowledge from
You is not necessarily knowledge of You (or rather in
You). Amen.
June 8
Ecclesiastes
3:1 to
My Father,
all praise and glory are Yours. I love
You. Be pleased this day with every step
I take. Be praised, Father. I thank You for my hands. This is a blessing taken much for
granted. May You – may Your kingdom be
lifted by the work of these hands today.
Father, as I read today, it seems to me that Solomon was on a mental
seesaw. His writing at times can be
dizzying. He seems so close to You – to
truth – at times, but then becomes a secular humanist at the snap of a
finger. I can’t help but wonder if some
of the theology that I have been exposed to could be of some help to him. Father, I was thinking that this book
(Ecclesiastes) has strong evangelistic value as it reveals an exhausting and
futile search for significance outside of You.
It is true that You have set eternity in the hearts of men. It amazes me that Solomon states this and
then sets man equal with animals. A real
seesaw. Praise You, Lord. Amen.
June 9
Ecclesiastes
7:1 to
O glorious
One, my Father, I am so full of thoughts and they are thoughts of You and Your
purposes. Sometimes I am sure my
thoughts are foolish; sometimes I am sure they are wise. But even at our very best, coming to You
through the use of human language is a limited process. It is a process that I think will be fully
released when we become glorified by You.
Your transcendence over the human language makes You totally ineffable
to our lips. But precious Lord, Your
imminence, in some amazing way, allows us to use our words to touch You. It all seems so unattainable, and yet by Your
grace through faith in Jesus Christ it is attainable and very wonderful. You are beautiful, my Father, and yet such a
word is totally inadequate.
Nevertheless, You receive it!
Wow! Solomon struggled with this
as he went back and forth between secular philosophy and accurate
theology. He seems to be mentally
contorting as he confesses his failures to You, and his love for You. Father, be glorified this day by all said and
done in me. Amen.
June 10
Ecclesiastes
11:1 to
1 Kings
2
Chronicles 12:13-14
Glorious
Lord, I am beginning to see why so many commentaries see Ecclesiastes and its
writer the way they do. Most of the text
seems like a wrestling match in the heart of a man with great cognitive skills
who has compromised with evil. There
seems to be much misery in Solomon and yet he seems to be on a definite path to
a good end – even though that path has many twists and turns. At the end of chapter 12, his words indicate
much weariness with his path but he nevertheless arrives at the only inevitable
trail’s end. “Fear God and keep His
commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Wonderful Father, we who dwell in such a time
of grace as we do might paraphrase that statement thus: Love the Lord with all
your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
And love your neighbor as yourself.
I love You, Lord. Amen.
June 11
1 Kings
12:1-19; 2 Chronicles 10:1-19; 1 Kings 12:20-24;
2
Chronicles 11:1-4; 1 Kings 12:25-31; 2 Chronicles 11:13-17;
1 Kings
My Father,
it is so easy to look to the attraction and comforts of this world for the occupation
of our days on earth. But to do so,
Father, is to look away from You – to do so is to look away from those who need
Your message of love. When I think of
Rehoboam’s wretched behavior, my mind goes quickly to the sinful, compromising
behavior of his father, Solomon. Perhaps
Solomon showed his love for his son in many ways, but he apparently did not
love enough to give him a good example to follow. This truth is a conviction to me. You know my repentance, Lord, but I also
still reap the consequences of previous poor choices. Thank You for Your limitless grace. Jeroboam simply operated in total fear of
man, rather than God, and as usual, that always leads to behavior that is
detestable in Your sight. Father, on
this day, bless my loved ones with a powerful draw to your heart. Amen.
June 12
1 Kings
14:1-18; 2 Chronicles 11:5-12; 2 Chronicles 11:18-23;
1 Kings
14:22-28; 2 Chronicles 12:1-12; Psalm 89:1-52
Father, You
are the amazing, faithful One! If I had
not already read the rest of the Bible, I would still trust Your truth. If I did not know the facts of history back
until this time, I would still know I could trust You. In the context of the sins of
June 13
1 Kings
14:29-31; 2 Chronicles 12:15-16; 1 Kings 15:1-8;
2
Chronicles 13:1-20a;
2
Chronicles 13:20b; 1 Kings
1 Kings
15:12-15; 2 Chronicles 15:8-19
Gracious
Father, there is such an air of sadness over this section, even though the
righteous shine brightly. The effects of
the past are never lost while life on earth continues. Father, Solomon’s behavior, and maybe even
some of David’s continue to produce fruit that is never considered at the time
of sinning. But it is also not lost, my
Lord, that You always shelter the righteous, because the righteous love Your
shelter. It is so encouraging to me the
way You sent Azariah to encourage Asa in seeking You and doing right. Asa was already doing what was good and right
in Your eyes, but You lovingly and soberly draw Him to an even higher level of
dedication simply because You love him and You know he is capable of serving
You more fully. Father, may I take the
obvious lesson from that, and respond to every opportunity You send to me,
moving more deeply into Your service.
Help me. Amen.
June 14
1 Kings
1 Kings
16:1-33;
2
Chronicles
Merciful
Father, it is sobering to consider these kings of
June 15
1 Kings
17:1 to
Father, this
reading makes me think of Your providence.
Beginning with the direction of God to Elijah, then the direction of God
to the ravens, then to the rain, to the angel, to Elisha, and to all of Your
creation; my Lord, Your providence clearly flows from Your love and Your
sovereignty. You are separate from all,
sovereign over all, and imminent in all.
You are God, my God. You are
Father, my Father. You do not guarantee
a smooth trouble-free life; only a life cared for by You. You will never neglect Your children, no
matter how foolish they may be. For the
sustenance of physical life, You provide what is best for those You love and
call. Physical life begins and ends at
Your decree. But spiritual life is
eternal. This is where Your providence
shines the brightest. It even promises a
transformation (ultimately) of physical life to incorruptibility. That’s what I call meeting needs! Amen.
June 16
Psalm
104:1-35; 114:1-8; 115:1-18; 1 Kings 20:1-43
My wonderful
Father, You are beautifully revealed in the reading today. Your providence and sovereignty are shown as
they were yesterday, but today there is a special highlighting on Your
creativity. It is shown that You are
all-powerful. It is a creative power. Your actions reveal color and flavor and
variety. Your actions reveal love. I know that You are beautiful – more
beautiful than the most wondrous tapestry.
I know this because of the indescribable creation that You have provided
for my eyes to witness. This lets me
know how privileged mankind is. You have
loved us far beyond our sinfulness.
Every day I am given the witness of Your everlasting mercy. All of nature shows me not only Your awesome
power and fearfully wonderful actions, but it shows me Your grace and
mercy. This thinking should only lead to
Christ, but regretfully, too often, as in the case of Ahab, it does not. Deliver us, O Lord, from our preoccupations
with inanimate, unfulfilling gadgets, distractions, and entertainments – the
gods of this age. Purify our hearts,
Father. Amen.
June 17
1 Kings
21:1-29;
Holy
Father, You know every chamber of my heart – every secret place of my
mind. These narratives that I have read
today of Ahab, Naboth, Micaiah, Jezebel, and Jehoshaphat draw me to wonder all
over again, “What is this force called sin, this drive called self, this draw
called the tempter?” If it were not for
the knowledge of You, my Lord, and the knowledge of the outcome of Your plan, I
would feel overwhelmed by the relentless nature of these evil energies. But I know You are within me and I know I am
within You. And there is no energy
greater than You. Father, not only are
You infinitely greater than the evil that battles You in futility, but You are
infinitely caring of those who love You and who are called by You. There are no perfect players in the list
above, but Your grace is amazingly alert even when the evil Ahab shows signs of
repentance. Truly the heart is
deceitful, my Shepherd, and without Your guidance – Your merciful guidance, I
would certainly bring shame to You.
Thank You, Father. Amen.
June 18
1 Kings
22:36-40; 2 Chronicles 19:1-4a; 2 Kings 1:1;
2
Chronicles
My glorious
Lord, the thoughts churn rapidly, but the praises are the first to emerge. Your faithfulness is not measured by man’s
standard. You are there, always there
with Your children – always here with me.
Even when Your children are rebellious, Your discipline flows from
love. It is not the strength of Your
children that attracts Your favor; but it is when Your people recognize they
have no strength at all, except in You.
Such acknowledgment is all You have watched for and all You respond
to. It is the sound of surrender – the
sound of dependence – the sound of children who know and love their
Father. I love You, Father. And You know how many times I have succumbed
to the enemies of my soul. But You are
not my enemy – You are my Father in heaven.
You sent Your Son to save me. You
have used every failure to teach me there is no strength in me but Yours, and I
surrender, my Abba. Amen.
June 19
Psalm
49:1-20; 83:1-18; 91:1-16; 1 Kings 22:47-49;
2
Chronicles 20:35-37; 2 Kings 1:2-18; 3:1-3
Wonderful
Savior, Redeemer of men, this first Psalm (49) that I read today is so
revealing, but the understanding of the writer appears to fall short. Nevertheless, the message is there if the
people of that day (and today) would only see it. “No man can redeem the life of another or
give to God a ransom for him – that he should live forever and not see
decay.” It is clearly recognized in the
writing that all have sinned – all have fallen short of Your glory, Father. And then the writer shows us, “But God will
redeem my life from the grave; He will surely take me to Himself.” The people recognize that salvation must come
from You and it must be by grace through faith.
But the one thing they seem to miss (that they should see from the
context of the sacrificial system) is that they can only be redeemed by
God. And yet, God must become a man in
every way as they are (as we are), only without sin. Jesus is that Man! Our Father, thank You. Amen.
June 20
2 Kings
2:1-25; 3:4-27; 1 Kings 22:50; 2 Chronicles 21:1-3;
2 Kings
Father,
thank You for the shining examples of Elijah, and especially Elisha, against
such a dark background. There is very
little decency anywhere to be found among the people in this reading. Their behavior is very poor and inexcusable
(but forgivable). My Father in heaven,
there is very little decency left in the American Community today. Our behavior is poor, but it is forgivable –
because of Your Son – because of Your grace.
In fact, Father, there are times when it seems that decency even gets
crowded out of my own heart. But one
very great message that emerges from my study of these kings of
June 21
2 Kings
9:1-37; 2 Chronicles 22:7-9; 2 Kings 10:1-27;
2 Kings
11:1-3; 2 Chronicles 22:10-12
Merciful
Lord, I can only recall one reading more dark than this one, and that would be
when reading of Your Son on the cross.
But the thought is not lost, my Father, that even in the darkest moment
on the cross, the light of Your everlasting love showed most brightly. This reading contains nothing but bloodshed,
treachery, and complete disregard for life.
Father, we have witnessed Your mercy in response to repentant souls, but
it seems there is only pride and arrogance at work in the text today. Yet, even as dark as all this is, one thing
comes forth from it all: Your Word is true.
It never fails. Let all who love
You, rejoice; and let all who don’t, despair.
When You say it, it will come to pass.
Thank You, Father, for absolute faithfulness. We live in a temporal world sustained only by
Your eternal Word. We look up at night
at temporal heavens, sustained only by Your eternal Word. Be glorified this day, Father. Amen.
June 22
2 Kings
11:4-21; 2 Chronicles 23:1-21; 2 Kings 12:1-16;
2
Chronicles 24:1-16; 2 Kings 10:28-36; 13:1-3;
Father,
thank You for Your patience and faithfulness to Your covenants. Even those who are unfaithful are blessed by
Your faithfulness to Yourself; even though they may not know it. I have read many times of Joash and felt gratitude
to You for Your mercy toward Your people.
But today, Father, it is not Joash that I thank You for. It is Jehoiada, the priest. When You gave him courage, he rose up. He protected the king from certain death and
when You inspired him, he established the king.
He guided the king until he died.
This makes me think of Jesus, Who is our King; but just as important, He
is our priest. And it is His work as
both Priest and Sacrifice that saves us from our sins. It is the Priest that attends to the soul,
while the King attends to the
June 23
2
Chronicles 24:17-25a; 2 Kings 12:17-18; 4:1-44; 13:4-8; 8:1-6;
2 Kings
13:9-11;
2
Chronicles 25:1-10
Father, You
are strong, and I have no strength at all except in You. The ministry of Elisha truly demonstrates
Your providence, and Elisha seems to understand that You operate in different
ways in different situations. His
ministry reminds me of the miracles of Jesus.
It seems like every miracle was performed in some special way in order
to teach a lesson. And that fact alone
teaches a mighty lesson. Today, when a
miracle occurs, we tend to rejoice and thank You, but we seldom ponder it as a
source of education. We acknowledge that
we learn very little (if anything) from the so-called good times. All of the lessons in our lives that were
best learned came from the tragedies or the problems. Until now, I always considered this the
normal way, but I’m not so sure anymore.
Perhaps if we were not so dull, maybe we could stop to consider the
valuable lessons that You intend to teach us even through the miracles. What a loving Lord You are. Be blessed, my King. Amen.
June 24
2 Kings
14:7-14; 2 Chronicles 25:11-24; 2 Kings 5:1 to 7:2
My
wonderful Lord, Your inspiration continues to flow through Your Word even to
this day. Amaziah is such a
disappointment; so foolish and arrogant.
It seems about the only thing he did well was self-destruct. But Elisha keeps us in balance with the
refreshment of his miracles, his wisdom, and his faith. There is so much about his ministry that
parallels the ministry of Christ. His
intimacy with God did not ever waiver.
The healing of Naaman reminds me of the blind man who was anointed with
spit and mud by Jesus and told to go wash.
And the miracle of the floating axe head is another that speaks of both
compassion and the employment of instruments that tend to teach and build faith. Father, thank You for mercy, for nature, and
for supernature. And thank You for the
grace that is all flows from. Your grace
is truly sufficient. Father, help us to
be strong in our passion and quick in our minds as we reach into the world for
those who will believe. Be hallowed
today, my Lord. Amen.
June 25
2 Kings
7:3-20; 8:7-15;
2 Kings
2 Kings
15:1-5; 2 Chronicles 26:1-21; Amos 1:1-15
Father, I
really have to thank You for these 4 men with skin diseases. They might have had physical challenges, but
their cognitive abilities were apparently quite solid. Lord, they are incredible men and I thank You
for insuring their story was recorded.
There decision reminds me of Peter’s response to Jesus, when asked if he
and the disciples would join the other followers who were now turning away from
Jesus. Peter said, “Where can we
go? Only You have the words of eternal
life.” It also reminds me of Pascal’s
Wager, which calculates the absurdity of following any but You. And yet, even with the obvious wisdom in
following Christ, the majority chooses otherwise. But this fact, Father, does not lessen the Good
News in the Good News. And we must not
be reluctant in sharing this wonderful news of Jesus. Father, fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Give me wisdom and boldness. Fill our church with Your Spirit, Lord. It is Your Church! Revive us!
Amen.
June 26
Amos 2:1 to
Righteous
Father, there are so many words here that speak of Your tenderness and Your
broken heart, but of course Your love is not separate from Your justice. You are holy and You will not
compromise. We must never give a
one-sided message, Father. My heart is
gripped by the knowledge of when Amos delivered this message, likely 35 years
or so before the fulfillment. And more
warnings will follow, but very few will pay attention before the fulfillment in
722 B.C. Why should we believe that it
would be any different in
June 27
Amos 7:1 to
Almighty
Father, as I read, I realize there is nothing new under the sun. It is the way of men to wander from You, even
to avoid Your path. And when I consider
Your discipline, it frightens me; yet in another sense, it comforts me. Because I am thinking there is something even
more frightening than Your discipline, my Lord.
And that is no discipline. The
most terrifying thing to all should be – that You would withhold Your
correction as wandering souls stray into their own destruction. I thank You and praise You for Your glorious
love that gives grace and mercy (even when that mercy feels severe)! Father, please lead me away from temptation,
because such a place does not lead to You.
I am weak, and I am easily drawn into rebellious behavior. But Your mercy reaches farther than my
rebellion. And You will not forget the
object of Your love. You will account
with Your staff and guide with Your rod, and while it may seem painful for the
moment, it will bring an eternity of comfort.
Blessed be the name of the Lord!
Amen.
June 28
Hosea 4:1
to 5:7; 2 Kings 14:24-28; Jonah 1:1 to
2 Kings
14:29; 15:8-12;
Father,
Savior this reading pulls the tears from an aching heart. Hosea delivers Your words and it just seems
that Your heart is breaking.
June 29
2 Kings
15:17-20; 1 Chronicles5:23-26; 2 Kings 15:6-7;
2
Chronicles 26:22-23; 2 Kings 15:21-29; Isaiah 6:1-13;
2 Kings
2 Kings
16:1-9; 2 Chronicles 28:1-21
Father,
forgive me and guide me in Your way. Do
not allow the enemy to overwhelm me.
Forgive my country, which in many ways has forsaken You. Father, there are so many in this country who
still love and serve You and
June 30
Isaiah 7:1
to 10:4; 17:1-14
Merciful
Father, it is so curious to me the way the prophecies of the Messiah are set in
the context of calamities that took place centuries before His birth. My Father, I wonder how people missed it back
then. I suppose I might have missed it
also. But it seems to stand out like
such a bright jewel. “The virgin will be
with child and will give birth to a son, and will be called Immanuel.” Father, it cannot get any plainer and it
cannot stand out in the text and context any more vividly. Is it just that it is too unbelievable that
they refuse to entertain something so outlandish? Or is it just the lack of enlightenment that
can only come from Your Holy Spirit?
Father, this makes me want to cry to You, to forgive my dull mind and
hard heart, and thank You for the tender moments when You open Your glorious
Word to the eyes of my heart. Wonderful
Counselor, I love You. Amen.
Ó
2007 C. E. Briggs