July 1
Hosea 5:8
to
2 Kings
15:30-31; 17:1-2; Hosea 8:1 to
Loving
Father, Your Words contains such high emotion and even though I know You speak this
way in order to reach man’s emotion, and so that future readers like me can
know Your heart; I am still moved. You
are God. The things that Ahaz and Judah
did are frightening to consider. The
things I have done in my life in Your sight are frightening to consider. But You are eager with mercy to those who
will turn to You. You sent Your Son to
satisfy justice and deliver mercy. The downward
spiral of the nation of
July 2
Hosea 10:1
to 14:9; Micah 1:1-7
Father of
mercy, it is the eve of destruction.
Your warnings are at full flow.
You have spared no “energy” and You call out with warnings like that of
a Father desiring greatly to spare His child from pain. It is 722 B.C. (or close to) and
July 3
2 Kings
17:3-23; 18:9-12;
2 Kings
16:19-20; 2 Chronicles 28:26-27; 2 Kings 18:1-2;
2
Chronicles 29:1; 1 Chronicles 4:34-43
Righteous
Father, it gives me pause to read about the downfall of
July 4
Isaiah 13:1
to
Father,
true and righteous is Your Word. The
terror of Your Word is inescapable. The magnitude
of the calamity is unavoidable. The
swiftness of its coming is breathtaking.
But as powerful as all these observations are, they all mean nothing
without the most important observation.
Your Word is true! And when this
one fact is coupled with the realization that this was spoken repeatedly by
many in advance, we begin to get a powerful photograph of Your love. In fact, it is more than a picture. It is a demonstration! A mighty demonstration of the true love of a
Creator whose heart is touched. It is
stunning, as You speak of the horror coming upon
July 5
2
Chronicles 29:3 to 31:1; Psalm 66:11-20; 67:1-7
Father, I
have read this many times and rejoiced for Hezekiah’s reforms. I have been bewildered about his faith,
considering the evil of his father. What
was it in his early environment that revealed the truth to him? It seemed to me that “spoken” truth was rare
in those days. But Father, the one thing
that seemed to strike me especially about Hezekiah in this reading was his
diligence and persistence. He did not
just get the “warm fuzzies” about You.
He seriously planned and acted and followed up. And he would not allow obstacles to shipwreck
a return to the Lord by all in the land who were willing. This is significant to me because I know (all
too personally) how passions can quickly run cold. In fact, it can be difficult to know the
difference between emotion and faith.
But Your Word helps with that, for You have told us that true faith
results in action – in love. Amen.
July 6
2 Chronicles
31:2-21; Isaiah 18:1 to
Father in
heaven, when the leadership of a nation is orderly and reverent, the nation
will be orderly and reverent. And it is
all about worship. This appears to be
the testimony of Hezekiah. The unity is
powerful. Faithfulness begets
faithfulness. Thank You, for such
guidance, my Father. There are some who
try to make reverence become a synonym for chaos, but You prescribe order. And indeed, that is the message even in
Isaiah’s oracles to the nations. Discipline
is never desirable in its immediate manifestation. It appears disastrous, but it leads to
genuine godliness. In the heat and
violence of the open forge process, ugliness and disorder is reshaped according
to Your specifications, my Lord. And the
result is beauty and order. Thankfully
Father, what You do with nations, You also do with individuals. You do these things because of Your great
love for people and because You are righteous.
You are holy and Your people must also be holy. Today, Father, take Your writer and Your
reader through the torn veil by the blood of the Lamb. Amen.
July 7
Isaiah 22:1
to
Father, I
was thinking as I read, that there must have been some whose hearts had not
turned away from You. Isaiah must have
had some followers, and I know that others were prophesying according to Your
Word. But the principal priesthood – the
ones most in the public eye – and the people (the majority) all followed their
own deceptions. Of course, You have
always preserved a remnant. You have
always been merciful to those who remain humble before You, to those who love
justice and charity. Father, it seems we
have parallels in American society today.
There has been such a terrible drift in the religious structure of
American society: a drift toward “calling evil good and good evil.” I wonder, my Lord, how much longer Your
patience will restrain the inevitable.
Your grace is amazing and Your mercy everlasting. But we should never think Your justice is
compromised or eclipsed. Amen.
July 8
Micah 4:1
to
Gracious
and awesome Lord, Your words today demonstrate the certainty of Your judgment,
the scope of Your love, and the tenure of Your everlasting hope. Your judgment is perfect and just. Your wrath is righteous and true. It ultimately recompenses every deed, for it
is the deeds that reveal the heart. And
yet, my Father, Your justice is never divorced from Your mercy. You love with an everlasting love, and all
Your discipline is performed with an eye for restoration. And if all this seems incompatible to the
reader, Father, show him or her that we need look no further than the Cross to
attend the perfect view of justice and mercy as one. We need look no further than John 3:16 to see
through Your loving eyes. Of all the
words in the reading today, it is the words of hope that emerge to take hold of
my heart and guide me through this day.
Amen.
July 9
2 Kings
Father in
heaven, Lord Almighty, I am always surprised when pagans seem to acknowledge
You and then before they finish, they are blaspheming You. It puzzles me that this commander of the
Assyrian forces, speaking for himself or his king (I am not sure – he seems to
vacillate), states that he has been sent by the Lord; and then includes the
Lord in with his long list of gods that represented defeated nations. He questions why Hezekiah would think the
Lord could save them when all the “other gods” could not save anyone from
him. And he totally does not get that
Hezekiah did not treat the Lord negatively when he destroyed the high places
and the strange altars. This commander
and Sennacherib, on the one hand, seem to know the Lord; and on the other hand,
clearly do not know the Lord at all.
They know of the Lord but they
do not know the Lord intimately. This
seems familiar to me, as I consider many within our churches. Forgive us, Father. Amen.
July 10
Psalm
75:1-10; 76:1-12; 77:1-20; 80:1-19
Holy
Father, Your ways are more awesome than our minds can appreciate. We cannot take in Your scope. We cannot discover Your limits. The finite must bow to the infinite. Indeed, whether it is acknowledged or not,
Your purpose will prevail. Your rebuke
will bring low – then lift – then heal.
It is Your horn that emerges and elevates above all the earth. It is Your righteousness that ascends and
defines You. And Your Son is this
righteousness. May we all be found in
Him. Father, there is so much in our
visual range that is missed because we take it for granted. Everywhere we turn, everywhere we look, the
evidence of Your sovereignty is present.
May we never cease to lift You.
Your goodness feeds all true goodness.
Your salvation is our only haven of peace. Surround us Lord. With Your arms of love, surround us. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. Amen.
July 11
Psalm
87:1-7; 125:1-5; Isaiah 1:1 to 4:6
Father, the
inevitable result of a heart like Yours is Jesus. But of course, there is no heart like
Yours. There are people who avoid love
because they fear that it can only result in a broken heart. And so as a result, instead of a broken
heart, they consign themselves hopelessly to a cold heart – which is no heart
at all. Nobody’s heart has been broken
like Yours, Father. Your love reaches
and reaches, and is repeatedly betrayed, but the reach is never withdrawn. Thank You!
And yet, although Your love is as high as the heavens and Your mercy as
deep as the oceans; Your justice is never more true, Your righteousness never
more sure. So what can be done with a
universal body of unrighteous beings that Your heart still aches for with
love? There is only one way. It is inevitable. It is Jesus.
You know – You have always known - only You, O God, will be able to
bridge the gap. Thank You, Father. Amen.
July 12
Isaiah 10:5
to 12:6; 28:1-29
Patient
Lord, my Father, it will not go on forever, will it? That Root of Jesse, that Chief Cornerstone is
soon to be revealed to those who love Him.
And already He has in the Revelation from Your heart. It is so interesting to me that mortals would
dare to criticize Your ways. Their
spirits are dark, even in the glow of those who have Your Spirit. Help me Father, to shine, to reflect You, to
reach those who are to receive You. I am
struck this day by Your command to trust.
There seems such a holy tension between the passive and active nature of
the proper response to such a command.
Truly, a response is required, but it is a response of surrender. I love You, Father, and I am so grateful that
You have been patient with me through the times when I have been more in love
with my belief in You than in You. Thank
You, loving Father, for Your discipline, and guidance, and relentless patience. Praise Your holy Name! Amen.
July 13
Isaiah 29:1
to 32:20
Father,
such a reading cannot be contained by a mortal as me. It is too wonderful. It fills my heart with weeping and dancing,
and one does not end before the other begins.
They run together. Glorious,
marvelous, terrible, wonderful, awesome, holy Father in Heaven – You are
Lord! How sad it is that the only way to
reach our hard hearts and dull minds is to crush all confidences – to utterly
destroy all our securities. I wonder how
many see Your loving and aching heart as You do these things, because Your
attention never takes a break from Your children. And You will have them to know You and
worship You alone – not because it is good for You. Our Father, You cannot be added to. You are simply pure – simply complete. You do these things because the welfare of
Your children can only reach the peace of
July 14
Isaiah 33:1
to 37:13
Father, I
suppose the main thing that I bring from reading Your Word through the prophet
Isaiah is the careful lacing of restoration and hope with the inevitable
judgments to come. Some of the other
prophets may speak more of the impending doom with little or no reference to
any future hope. Some may be more
inclined toward the future restoration, which I suppose is always easier to
read. So Father, it seems to me that
Isaiah presents the Gospel in full. He
does not just present the justice, he presents the mercy. He does not just present the hatred for sin,
but the love for souls. He precisely
presents the dynamics of all that is satisfied (that MUST be satisfied) at the
Cross by our Lord Jesus Christ. Sin must
be punished, and that punishment (or better word is destruction) is very
terrifying. But mercy flows from the throne
of Grace, and You, O Lord have stepped into the World to take our
punishment. Thank You. Amen.
July 15
Isaiah
37:14 to 38:22; 2 Kings 20:1-11; 2 Chronicles 32:24-26;
2 Kings
20:12-19; 2 Chronicles 32:27-31; Isaiah 39:1-8
My Father,
my Provider of Hope, Your justice and mercy can never be divorced. They are clearly defined and distinct and yet
they are married – they are one. And
Lord, this is because of Who You are.
You are love. Even Your wrath
flows from Your love – You always have an eye for restoration, even in the
midst of discipline. Indeed, Your
correction is restoration. How grievous
it is that people would hate their Creator.
What you must feel when the Potter is rejected by the pot. We can understand if the Potter rejects the
pot, but not the clay rejecting the hands of its future. Even when we are unresponsive and especially
when we are broken, You are patient and You remember us in Your love. You remanufacture us by Your kindness. Forgive us and replace our hard hearts. Change us into Your image, the image of
Jesus, the Son of God. Hezekiah did so
much good, but my heart grieves over his pridefulness and selfishness in his
closing years. Thank You, Father, for
mercy. Amen.
July 16
2 Kings
18:3-7a; 2 Chronicles 29:2; 2 Kings 20:20-21;
2
Chronicles 32:32-33; Isaiah 24:1 to 27:13
Praise Your
Name, God of our salvation! Your justice
may be delayed by grace but it is denied by nothing. All of the justice and all of the grace
needed for the vindication of God’s glory and the salvation of sinful man, are
found at the cross. Not that Your glory
needs vindicating, but to the eyes of a blind world, the veil will someday
(“that day”) be pulled away from the stone hearts of the wicked and they will
see the glory of God – and they will be repelled by the fierce burning of
wrath. In that Day, they will know that
salvation is of the Lord, but it will be too late; it will not cause joy, but
rather gnashing of teeth. Holy Father,
how can it be said by some that grace is irresistible? Isaiah 26:10 is so clear that men do reject
Your grace. And Father, how can it be
thought that the “Old Testament folks” did not have the teaching of the
Resurrection when Isaiah 26:19 is so clear?
What value You place on understanding in Isaiah 27:11! Thank You, Lord. Amen.
July 17
Isaiah 40:1
to 42:25
Father,
there are so many things I thought to write to You as You spoke to me
today. As I read Your Word, the amazing
passion that leaps from the print grips my heart so tightly. But then I read those verses near the end of
chapter 42 and I am stunned. Especially
when I read 42:19b – “Who is blind like the one committed to me, blind like the
servant of the Lord?” Father, that verse
shocks and convicts me, and causes me to cry out, “Lord, do not let such a
thing be so in me.” How many of us in
this insane culture have committed ourselves to You, and yet continue to
stagger spiritually, drunk with the wine of self-pleasures that are always drawing
– always intoxicating us. But Father,
the satisfaction that is promised in these things just teases, then moves
continually out of reach. Father, remove
the spiritual cataracts. Perform
eye-surgery on our hearts, O Lord!
Awaken us that we can bring light and comfort to others in Your Name. Amen.
July 18
Isaiah 43:1
to 46:13
All-knowing
and all-powerful Father, what an amazing testimony of Your love that Isaiah
brings in this reading today. The first
thing that strikes me, Father, is how You contend with those You love – that
You, our Creator, argue Your position!
How can such patience be?! But
that is Who You are. You even spend
significant detail explaining and comparing the idols of the people with
You. You have said Your mercy endures
forever, and again You prove it. Another
striking thing is the precision of the prophecy that refers to Cyrus and the
rebuilding of the
July 19
Isaiah 47:1
to 50:11
Father, You
are the Mighty One of Jacob, but You are also the Savior, the Redeemer of all
the world. You have disciplined Jacob
and You have preserved
July 20
Isaiah 51:1
to 55:13
Righteous
Father, this reading truly contains it all.
I read of Your righteousness, man’s sinfulness, Your judgment, Your
redemption, Your promise regarding eternity, etc. Even Your resurrection is found here. You inspired Isaiah to teach them the truth
that apparently very few really got.
Even today, very few ministers and theologians are willing to consider
that the Old Testament teaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It may seem a little more shadowy to us who
have the New Testament and are given so much knowledge through hindsight, but
that is because our objectivity is clouded.
It does not seem a stretch to me for a person to be studying Scriptures
(in perhaps 650 B.C.), such as the Pentateuch and some of the earlier history
and prophets; and then while going through Isaiah, come to chapter 53. It is easy for me to imagine such a person
reading and re-reading chapter 53, wondering if what is before him is what it
seems. And then realizing it is, as he
gradually ties it all together. No
wonder Jesus said the Scriptures speak of Him.
Amen.
July 21
Isaiah 56:1
to 60:22
Holy
Father, how can it be that a serious student of the Bible could not see the
clear Gospel message in the Old Testament?
The Great Commission could be or actually is the perfect summary of this
reading today. Your mercy has never been
restricted to only include the Jews. It
has been restricted to only include the repentant. And all men are called to repentance. Such a call is in itself a great mercy. It is called grace. But the Spirit Who draws to such repentance
can be grieved. Your Holy Spirit can be
resisted and even rejected, but someday every knee shall bow and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This
is the hope of all who are being saved – the hope of Your appearing, Lord. This reading today is rich with mercy and
hope. And it should bring great joy to
those who look to You, Father. Praises
to Your wonderful, holy name, my Lord.
You are worthy of all honor and glory and praise. Blessed be the name of the Lord! Amen.
July 22
Isaiah 61:1
to 65:25
Father, it
is good to consider Your omnipotence.
Your limitless power, driven by Your amazing love, brought to pass my
salvation and the foundation of Your kingdom – my Lord Jesus Christ. This is the source of hope – the essence of
hope. Isaiah seemed to understand so
well. I am always disappointed, Lord,
when I hear or read a scholar’s proposal that more than one person wrote the
book of Isaiah, simply because they cannot reconcile Your wrath with Your
love. Father, we slide so easily into
thinking of You with human descriptives and deteriorate from there into
mentally confining you to human specifications.
Forgive us for this, Father. May
we learn that even in the midst of diligent, godly study that meekness is
essential – the ability to bow to the mysteries of the Almighty. May we avoid the pitfall of arrogance in our
reaching for deeper knowledge of You.
And finally, Father, may we grasp this Blessed Hope that Isaiah
articulated so beautifully. Your Son
died, and Your Son lives, and so I live.
Amen.
July 23
Isaiah
66:1-24; 2 Kings 21:1-17; 2 Chronicles 33:1-9; Psalm 82:1-8;
2
Chronicles 33:10-19; 2 Kings 21:18-26; 2 Chronicles 33:20-25;
2 Kings
22:1-2; 2 Chronicles 34:1-3
Glorious God,
we tremble and rejoice and draw near through Jesus. Father, I love Your Word, revealed to me
through hearing and revealed to me through Your Spirit. Most of all, I love Your Son, Jesus, the Word
revealed to the world in flesh. What a
wondrous reach the heart of my loving Father has! Lord, it is interesting to me how some kings
did evil and some did good. My first
inclination is to look at their earthly fathers, but that does not seem to
reveal anything consistent. I know in
some cases, a caring and godly priest was able to influence a child king to
grow up in the Lord. And I suppose in
some cases a priest could even incline a child to grow in evil. But I think one of the most telling things in
the reading today is the referencing of mothers. We see this often and it is not
unimportant. The influence of mothers
(to good or bad) cannot be overemphasized.
But the most powerful influence is Your hand, my Lord. Amen.
July 24
Zephaniah
1:1 to
Our Father,
discipline and restoration is the future of Your people. You will not allow them to escape the shame
of neglecting You; but You always have the goal of erasing the shame,
justifying the repentant, and establishing the humble. Your people shall not perish forever. Your eye is always toward restoration. You will not leave Your people without
hope. And all of those who would harm us
will not stand in the day of the Lord.
Cleanse our guilt, O Lord.
Forgive our neglect. Pour Your
Spirit out and revive Your people. May
our land have rest from the violence of self-worship. Salvation can only come from You, and the
Gift You gave. The price You paid was
ultimate. You have spared nothing; and
according to Your glorious nature of grace, You have rescued from sin, Satan,
and self. You are God Almighty, and You
are good! Amen.
July 25
Jeremiah
2:1 to
Father of
love – of salvation – of Jesus, I do not think anyone can articulate Your love
and Your wrath so compatibly as Jeremiah does here, and elsewhere. There is such heartbreak in Your Words, and I
think Jeremiah brings this out most clearly because he is so personally
heartbroken over the calamity that
July 26
Jeremiah
5:1 to
My Father,
how Your prophet ached for the people.
How You reached! There are two
things that stand out in the reading to me today. They are both heartbreaking, but one offers
hope; the other does not. And both of
them make me think of the spiritual plight of
July 27
Jeremiah
16:1 to
Father, I
am so blessed by Your patience, and I suppose that may be the most significant
thing overseeing this reading today.
There are things here that are heartbreaking but there are some things
that are encouraging. Josiah’s conduct
is exemplary to all, and while I am blessed that the people obeyed, the closing
words of this section have a sobering implication to them. The people followed the Lord as long as
Josiah lived. I am afraid that they did
not follow the Lord from their hearts, but only from a legalistic
obligation. And that sure tempers the
elation that is felt from Josiah’s reverence.
I am struck by an earlier verse (Jeremiah 16:5) that states you have
withdrawn Your love from the people. It
is clear to me that the context shows You already have an eye toward the
restoration of the people, so this must be referring to love that is associated
with physical blessings. Amen.
July 28
Nahum 1:1
to
Merciful
Father, this is such a bittersweet reading.
First,
July 29
Psalm
81:1-16; Jeremiah 47:1 to 48:47; 2 Kings 23:29-30;
2
Chronicles 35:20 to 36:1
Beautiful
Father, the Psalm today provokes such mixed emotions. It begins with a call to rejoicing and
energetic worship, but quickly reveals the “but.” “But my people would not listen to me…” And from there, it reveals that it is
actually a Psalm of lament. I can’t help
but feel this Psalm in a personal way, Father.
I know we are to be careful about such matters, like not deviating from
context. But I truly do not feel it is a
violation of context for me to feel it personally when You use the phrase “my
people.” Even though You are clearly
referring to
July 30
Jeremiah 22:1-17;
2 Kings 23:31-37; 2 Chronicles 36:2-5;
Habakkuk
1:1 to
Faithful
Father, we must not love You for what You give, but for Who You are. You are love.
We love You because You first loved us.
Even the gift of salvation through the sacrifice of Your own Son began
with “God so loved.” It is true, that
Your gifts are wonderful and undeserved: the earth, the heavens, the sun, the
moon, and the beauty of how all these coordinate to provide beauty to Your people. But sometimes when we ignore You or defy You
and act unjustly, especially toward the poor and oppressed; then Your gifts can
be terrifying. Those who are called by
Your name must not behave as the pagan behaves.
Your message has always been one of self-denial, but too often we turn
it into one of self-indulgence. Habakkuk
understood that he would not serve You for Your deeds, but for Who You
are. He understood, if he was to be
justified by You, it would only be by faith.
Righteousness can only come by repenting and believing that salvation is
from God, through Jesus. Amen.
July 31
Jeremiah
8:4 to 9:15;
Father of
lights, we must not lose understanding of Your pure simplicity. We must not attempt to redefine You into what
is essentially our own fallen image. Father,
this is exactly what is being done far too often. It was done in Jeremiah’s day, and it is done
in our day. The sad thing is that this
is not so much a problem among the pagans, as it is among Your people. We are addicted to earthly amusements and the
only way that many of us can enjoy worship is by corrupting it with the
incorporation of enhancements that tickle our
fancies. But the problem is, what
excites us today, will bore us tomorrow.
We are amusing ourselves to death.
The only answer is to repent – to turn.
Our only passion should be to know You in all of Your actuality. And this can only be done through Your Word
and prayer. Teach us to love Your Word
and Your presence. Glorious Father,
thank You for Jesus. Amen.
Ó
2007 C. E. Briggs