September 1
Ezekiel
47:1 to 48:35; 29:17 to 30:19
O Father,
this
September 2
Daniel
4:1-37; 2 Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34; Daniel 7:1-28
Wonderful
Father, I suppose all of this is just barely vague enough that those who refuse
to believe that which should be obvious manage to justify their ungodly
ways. But of course, many honest
historians have been converted by the wonderful accuracy and actual clarity in
this reading. How awesome You are, O
Ancient of Days. How worthy You are, O
Son of Man, Who has redeemed us with Your own perfection, flesh, and
blood. Another truth revealed here
strongly refutes those who would teach that the physical life of saints in this
current world is always without pain and problems. This egocentric way of thinking clearly
clashes with the text of Your Word before us today, Lord. Your plan and purposes are centered around
Christ, the Son with Whom You are well-pleased.
May His Name be forever praised.
Amen.
September 3
Daniel
8:1-27; 5:1-31; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Daniel 9:1-27
My Father,
I am quite curious this morning about the prayer of Daniel in chapter 9,
relative to the timing of Cyrus’ decree.
As I read Daniel’s prayer it seems to me it might be better placed in
this chronological setting, before the decree of Cyrus; and considered more
prominently in the timing of things.
Obviously, all of this can only be properly realized, however, within
the context of Your sovereignty. The
referrals to the prophecy of Cyrus’ decree all refer to Jeremiah, but the one
that always comes to my mind is Isaiah’s explicit prophecy that specifically
named Cyrus a century or more before his birth.
It seems that it would be interesting to follow Daniel through the routines
of his day for an extended period (maybe a year or two). We know something of his daily acts of
reverence, but it seems interesting to consider all the things possibly thrown
at him daily and his handling of them.
Lord, grant us such wisdom. Amen.
September 4
Ezra 1:1-4;
Daniel 6:1-28; Ezra 1:5-20; Nehemiah 7:4-25
God of our
salvation, Yeshua, You never forget Your people. How can You ever forget that which You, as a
loving Shepherd, care so perfectly for?
We are so inclined to describe You and explain You within the parameters
of humanity, but even when You came to Earth as a human, we find ourselves
still unable to master the mysteries of Your loving ways with our human
thoughts and words. You have graciously
given to us the ability to apprehend Your love, but we act unsatisfied with
apprehension, and demand instead, comprehension. I don’t think such will ever be available
even in heaven. It is part of why we
praise You – You are God – You are worthy – You are love. Cyrus appears to have been overtaken by it;
Darius seems to have yielded to it; and Daniel knew it all along. Your decrees are certain. They are not bound by our feeble
limitations. Amen.
September 5
Ezra
2:21-70; Nehemiah 7:26-73a
My loving
Father, one page and a full heart – where do I begin? There has always been a strong mindset in
Your people to maintain a proper recognition of their heritage. Other people have kept records of family
trees, genealogical records, and such; but I think never quite to the degree of
diligence as the children of
September 6
Ezra
3:1-13; Psalm 92:1-15; 126:1-6; Daniel 10:1 to
Father,
many things here, but my heart is drawn to the praises of the Psalms and to the
words of the angelic person who appeared to Daniel. I am especially drawn to the words of his
current activity, and the response to Daniel’s prayers, as well as the influences
that hindered this person, who is thought to be Gabriel. O Father, these people who have returned to
September 7
Daniel
Almighty
Father in heaven, this section is so perfectly organized in showing the terror
and deliverance of the End Times, and then breaking out into wonderful songs of
praise that recognize Who You really are and ascribe to You the attributes that
man can only bow before. I love the
verse that invites, “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the
Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the
flock under His care.” Father, what pain
and futility could be eliminated from lives and from this world, if only people
would accept such an invitation. There
are so many people caught up in the futility of “tail-chasing” (like a dog
running around in circles), trying to reach a goal of security and peace, trying
to outrun their inevitable rendezvous with the last heartbeat that approaches
so rapidly. O that we might find rest –
the rest that comes from drawing near to the Shepherd, Who is tireless in His
protection and attention. Amen.
September 8
Psalm
97:1-12; 98:1-9; 99:1-9; 100:1-5; Ezra 4:1-5, 24;
Haggai 1:1
to
My
wonderful Creator Who calls me His child – how can I take this in, my
Lord? The songs of joy and victory seem
to be such wonderful outlets to blend our voices – to sing with Your saints. Your righteousness is revealed from the
heavens - in Christ. Your judgments are
revealed to the creation, to that which You love, to that which You have, are,
and will redeem. Whether the pastures
are green or the plains are arid, Your fairness and holiness flow like twin
rivers. How could You do all this, my
Father, my gracious Lord? I know it is
not a question to be answered, but one to which we must bow. Our faithfulness can be so fickled, so
fluctuating, even as the rebuilding of Your temple progresses and stops and
starts. Is it not the same with our
bodies, which Paul describes as Your temple?
Thank You, Father, for never forgetting or forsaking us, even when we
do. Amen.
September 9
Zechariah
1:1 to
Father, all
knowledge of Your ways is released from Your hands only by Your gracious
decree. None can know, unless You
allow. This prophet reminds me a little
bit of Ezekiel in some of his encounters.
Zechariah may be even more bold and inquisitive. The focus on Joshua, the high priest, is a
little surprising, but very pleasing.
Because even as I was noting the irony of his name, which means
“salvation is of God” or “Jesus,” You place a crown on his head and refer to
his name as being the same as “the Branch.”
Hundreds of years before the angel will tell Joseph to call Mary’s baby,
Jesus, You, O Lord, are telling us that His name will be Jesus. But then, have You not been telling us that
throughout Your Word, from Genesis until now?
Have You not always taught the people that salvation must come from You
– that only God can justify. No man can
bypass Your grace to access You! Thank
You, Lord. Amen.
September 10
Zechariah
7:1 to
Father of
the Way, the Truth, and the Life, every day is another day of Your conquering,
sacrificial love. And it is good to be
overwhelmed with thoughts of such love. This
may seem somewhat remote from the reading, but I would guide all who might read
here, go back to God’s text afterwards and consider it again. Are not His mercies new every morning? My God, Your anger is terrible, but it is
only for a moment – Your mercy is far more relentless. The ministry of Zechariah seemed to be
balanced, which ironically, a balanced ministry is dangerous, because it means
the truth will not be squelched simply because of being concerned that it may
not be well received. But it is equally
true that the “easier” messages are just as eagerly shared. May I stand true, my Lord, to Your Word, as
these prophets did so fearlessly. Amen.
September 11
Psalm
118:1-29; 129:1-8; 148:1-14; 149:1-9; 150:1-6;
Ezra
6:19-22; Zechariah 9:1-17
Father,
that finish by Zechariah sounds like the millennium reign of Christ. Nevertheless, I could not help but notice how
saturated these Psalms (and really the whole text) were with words about our
Savior. I began to wonder, Father, would
I see it? If I lived in Old Testament
times and had all the Old Testament writings available to read over and over,
would I see it? Or even today, if all I
had was the Old Testament and no access to a New Testament – would I see Jesus in
Your Word? I do now, of course. It is rich, real, and everywhere. Surely I would, but I would no doubt have to
read many times, listen intently, and think deeply during all the sacrifices
and festivals. I have to believe my
heart would be as hard as any of them, and it would come slowly and
difficult. But the picture of Christ is
so vivid, it would begin to emerge from where it was all along – wondrously,
beautifully, and I would see Jesus, my Savior.
Blessed be Your holy Word. Amen.
September 12
Zechariah
10:1 to
Father, I
feel somehow quieted today in the “face” of these terrible, wonderful words of
that which is to come. I am also
hurting. The weight of the spiritually
suffering and the lost is felt. O, not
what You feel! I know that. Lord, I know that. The cross shows so vividly, and even the
“Garden Torment” before the cross, and even the condescension from Your
ultimate royalty into the womb of the virgin shows that! You feel – You are moved – somehow, in some
way, as You see Your plan unfold. You
know the end from the beginning, but You feel.
Yes, Your Son proves You are pleased and You are angry and You are
compassionate. Most of all, You are
love. And until we turn to You the
gnawing on our souls will never stop.
Thank You, Father, for Your Spirit, Who convicts, breaks, restores,
teaches, comforts, and empowers. Change
me, Father, for Your glory, so vividly that others will be changed as they
encounter me and learn of You. Amen.
September 13
Esther 1:1
to
Father, Esther
appears to me such a beautiful book in Your Word. I think there are many criticisms circulated
regarding the book, one of which is the lack of a reference to You. But it seems to me that the book as a whole
is a reference (quite directly) to You. And it seems to me there is a beautiful,
silent saturation of Your Spirit here.
To provide ministerial exegesis seems to me a delightful challenge, even
though I must admit I have read little commentary and can recall very little of
that. The first thing that comes to
mind, Father, is the book of Esther is Your Word and Your Word is truth. It might be wondered if the truth of Esther
is to be enjoyed strictly in a historical manner or may it provide allegorical
truth for us to delve perhaps a little deeper into the revelation of Jesus
Christ in Your Word? Father, I think it
is both. Amen.
September 14
Esther 5:1
to
Holy Lord,
nothing in all the Earth escapes Your eye, and I think if we bring that lesson
from this book of Esther, we have done well.
But there are so many other lessons to be received. Yesterday I mentioned to You my suspicions of
the allegorical value and I see even more evidence of that in the reading today. But let no minister neglect to teach the
direct historical lessons clearly evident as they teach verse-by-verse or
thought-by-thought. There are rich
lessons, as well as thought-provoking discussion questions to be drawn. The concern for the absence of Your name
throughout the book often makes me think it was truly intended as allegory, but
I always wonder about the mentality of limiting Your name to phonics. Your name represents all You are. It is all You are, Your attributes, etc. Even the 7 sons of Sceva would testify to
that! Blessed be Your Name! Amen.
September 15
Esther
My Father
in heaven, the account of Mordecai reminds me a little bit of the account of
Joseph. How you raised them both from
positions of (essentially) slavery to positions second only to the great rulers
of the time. They are exhilarating
accounts that many consider fiction, but then they are both at least, somewhat
verifiable from historical records, especially the later one regarding
Mordecai. They cannot be intellectually
dismissed. They can only be wisely
believed and learned from, or foolishly rejected to one’s destruction. It seems, Father, that the more time passes –
the older I get – the more I marvel (in sadness) at those who reject Your
Words. And so many of them, by what I
have seen, actually believe Your Word is true.
But they still reject it, because they think it (belief) will lead them
to loss of control, or just loss of the “gusto of life.” There is a sense in which they are both wrong
and right. Forgive them, Father, and
draw them to You. Amen.
September 16
Psalm
106:1-48; Ezra 7:1 to
My Father,
the clarity is staggering to the unbeliever (or should be) – only You can so
move the hearts of kings and rulers. You
direct them continually for Your purpose, which is in Your Son, our Lord. But gracious, Sovereign Lord, we are so
blind. Truly, You orchestrate the
universe within a single cell, and within the galaxies, and within the hearts
of all. This means my heart too! And I am so grateful. I am thankful that the likes of me can call,
can cry out through my Lord Jesus Christ to You, my Father, the Creator and
Sustainer of all that is, and I will be heard!
But even more important, You know infinitely more about my wellbeing
than me, and so even though Your children touch Your heart, You will re-direct
them from all spiritual harm. And while
they may feel pain from that re-direction, it is working a far greater good –
Your glory! Amen.
September 17
Ezra
Gracious
Father, thank You for Ezra. When even
one man can become so completely surrendered to You, what a wonderful thing it
is to witness the developments. There is
praise to You, intercession for the brothers, regret for sin, awareness of the
fierce anger and discipline of God, humility, and intense brokenness. I could go on, Father, but I think it better
to pause, and pray, O God, let it be again and again and again. My Father, raise up an army of Ezra’s who are
completely committed to Your purpose; who are uncompromising with a culture
that is “in-your-face” demanding compromise; and who know they are strangers
and pilgrims in a strange land on a brief journey. We have a commission, and we have been given
Your purpose. What man do we need? Grip us Father – with Your grace, grip us –
our heart, that we would remember the fatherless and widows. Amen.
September 18
Nehemiah
1:1 to
Our Father,
how awesome You are! And how easy it is
for our view of You and Your purpose to become narrow and fogged in our
self-centered busyness. It is almost as
if we think You are asleep, Father; somehow not really working or active or
personal; when the truth is, You are intimate in even the tiniest details of
literally everything. Every atom of
every molecule is composed of forces that cannot be cohesive, and yet that
which confounds the most brilliant of those minds which study such things,
holds those atoms together tirelessly.
Father, without Your attention, nothing is that is. And Nehemiah knew it, and the people of
September 19
Nehemiah
5:1 to 7:3; Psalm 1:1-6; 107:1-43
O my
Father, please do not allow the wisdom in this reading to escape me because of
my feeble inattention or other neglect.
It is simply too important – too rich.
If I could just ingest this as Your Spirit would intend, my children
would benefit, my coworkers also, and any others who might give audience. From the first sentence to the last (whoever
is wise, let him heed the things and consider the great love of the Lord). Your guidance is so vivid, and I desire it,
my Lord. Nehemiah just seems born to
lead, but perhaps it would be better noted that he was born for Your purpose,
and blessed were all his actions along the way.
An interesting thing about the Psalms is how incredibly the first one
sets the tone for all of them. It begins
with the word, “Blessed’ and it might be well paraphrased, “Blessed is the man
who reads through and heeds all these Psalms.”
Amen.
September 20
Psalm
111:1-10; 112:1-10; 117:1-2; 119:1-72
Dear Lord,
our lack of attention to, and application of, Your Word is the reason for so
many maladies of life. But Father, for
those reading, I should probably clarify.
I am not so much referring to the maladies of life as I am meaning how
we handle the maladies of life. Calamity will
come. Question is: will I look to Your
Word? As all security is removed from my
life, will I know – will I trust – will I remember that You are good? O my Lord – my dear Lord, Your Word searches
my heart and Your Spirit convicts and purges and fills. I will rejoice in Your great mercies on the
mountaintop and in the valleys; but far more important, I will praise You on
the uphill incline, as my legs become heavy, and my lungs no longer
compensate. I will give thanks and
praise to the Lord Almighty, Who gives me His wonderful Word and Spirit to
sustain me. Amen.
September 21
Psalm
119:73-176
My Father,
and my glorious Savior, Jesus Christ, with Your Spirit within, I worship You
this day. You are indeed the hope of
life and the life of hope. Because only a
relationship with You can grant freedom and peace in this troubled, earthly
life, as well as the future eternal. I
think the most important word that flowed from the writer’s inspired heart was
the word, “Your.” He always used that
possessive pronoun as he looked beyond himself.
The greatest failure of our present day is the failure to look outside
oneself. Even our churches are
digressing into ministries of self-esteem and self-focus. But the writer here is beautifully,
wonderfully obsessed with Your statutes, Your laws, Your precepts, Your
decrees, and on and on. But the most
gratifying reference of this writer is “Your salvation.” That is what he looked for – hoped for. He trusted in the Savior to come, as I
do! Amen.
September 22
Psalm
121:1-8; 122:1-9; 123:1-4; 128:1-6; 130:1-8; 134:1-3;
Psalm
135:1-21; 136:1-26
Dear Lord
and loving Father, forgive me for my material inclinations and worldliness –
all those ways and things that cause more and more desensitization to Your
presence, Your love, Your care, Your promises, Your assurances, and Your
perfection in all things. The words here
of Your ruling and blessing from Zion, I suppose are references of things yet
to come; but I am also aware of Your teaching to a Samaritan woman that God is
not tied to a location. You told her
that worship should be spiritual and genuine, rather than based on location and
ritual. Our minds are so weak and
fickled. Such Psalms as these are
profitable to hide in our hearts.
Father, please help those I encounter today to see you – to see
hope. How can people who are so hopeless
be so resistant of life guided by their Creator? Only one reason – sin. Indeed, we have all walked in that path. Thank You for grace, my dear Lord. Amen.
September 23
Psalm
146:1-10; 147:1-20; Nehemiah 7:73b to 9:37
My Father,
we should never search farther than the heavens or the hillsides or any of the
miracles we see – to find cause to thank and praise You. Even the miracle of sight itself is a grand
reason for praise. And even if we have
not known all the evidences of Your love through other senses. Father, even if we have felt desensitized to
all of life, our breath still continues to respond to that first time when You
breathed into our beings and we became living souls. Even from our mother’s womb You designed us
uniquely with our own special code, the name that no one else can know – You
named us. I think of the confession
apparently recited by Ezra and I am inclined to compare confession to
repentance. I think they flow together
rather than one before another, for to confess is the process of a mind
changing. And You hear. Amen.
September 24
Nehemiah
9:38 to 11:36
Holy
Father, the restoration of Your people begins to evolve. Apparently, Nehemiah believes that a covenant
could be a productive tool to help keep the people focused on the proper
worship of God. It seems to have
worked. Everything the people do seems
to be with their eyes toward Jerusalem, and ultimately, toward the Temple and
the worship of God. Whether the various
groups are placed effectively throughout the lands surrounding Jerusalem or
whether they brought their families and settled directly in the Holy City, they
all had a mind for worship. This
included productivity in their crops and herds, so that their firstfruits and
tithes would be a blessing to God’s house and His priests and servants. Father, I pray that all Your people today
would have an eye (both eyes) for Your work at all times in their jobs and
homes. Amen.
September 25
1 Chronicles
9:16-34; Nehemiah 12:1-47
Father, I
think there are very few who have ever investigated the difference between
“contributions, firstfruits and tithes.”
I think if such a study was made and then taught exactly as the biblical
study revealed, there would likely be many frightened modern and postmodern
churchgoers. Frightened by their own
realization that they had just heard the truth.
Of course, there would be few who would be joyously excited by the new,
more liberal parameters for blessing the ministers of God, the teachers of the
Word, the facilities, and the work of God in general. They would be blessed because such teaching
would confirm that what they have been giving was biblical, or encourage them in
increasing their giving. Also, realizing
careful genealogies thousands of years after their recording makes me wish I
could join the Levite singers on the freshly repaired walls of Jerusalem. Amen.
September 26
Nehemiah
13:1-31; Joel 1:1 to 2:32
Holy
Father, why is it that we lose grip on that fact so easily – the fact that You
are holy. It is surprising to me to read
about and imagine someone like Nehemiah in operation. Of course, I am referring to his reactions to
discovering flagrant disobedience regarding the things of God. The only actions I can think of as radically
violent are those of Jesus in the Temple toward the money changers and
merchants. He was righteously indignant
to the point of great physical energy.
This is interesting to me, and also sobering. Father, may I love righteous behavior more
than life and detest impropriety in Your assembly more than… Joel spoke or wrote so clearly of Your
judgment, my Father. But ironically, the
message I took from the book is that it is never too late (in this life) to
repent. Even as judgment is swooping in,
You still desire repentance and belief in the Son of God. Praise You.
Amen.
September 27
Joel
3:1-21; Malachi 1:1 to 4:6
My
wonderful Father, tomorrow I begin reading the New Testament. Today I completed the reading of what Jesus
and the writers of the New Testament called the Scriptures. Father, what did I learn? If I had never read the New Testament, would
I have learned about Jesus or would I be like the Pharisee who learned very
well about everything except Jesus? One
of the first things we learn in the New Testament is that there were some,
maybe many, who were looking eagerly for the Messiah. Would my reading of the Old Testament lead me
to look for Jesus? Would I be one of
them? I have discovered over the last few
years that Jesus (the salvation of God) is every where in the Old Testament,
every chapter. And I have learned that
most in the pulpits don’t see Him there, and don’t believe that Old Testament
characters could be saved by grace through faith in the “Salvation of God”
(Jesus). Too bad. Amen.
September 28
Luke 1:1-80
My Father,
my Savior, I love You. I know I show it
poorly, but I also know it is true.
Thank You for saving me. Thank
You for the miracle of Elizabeth’s pregnancy to prepare hearts for Jesus
through John the Baptist. Thank You for
encouraging and confirming Your attention to Mary, the virgin peasant girl, who
obviously loved You so much that she accepted the miracle that “rational” minds
call impossible. I can’t help but feel a
little of the excitement stirring in the villages of the hill country of
Judea. They had waited for centuries and
now it seemed that God was about to do a special thing. Zechariah knew Who was in the womb of
Mary. “The Lord, the God of Israel has
come and has redeemed His people” (verse 68).
This continues to shock people today, my Father, and draws so much
ridicule; but ironically, those who ridicule live without hope, utterly without
hope. Open their hearts, merciful
Lord. Amen.
September 29
Matthew 1:18-25;
Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38; 2:21-40
My loving
Father, You did it! A Savior is
born! He is Christ the Lord! On this first Christmas, the shepherds called
this event: This thing that has happened!
Then they say that “…the Lord has told us…” Father, it seems so neat to me that these
shepherds were essentially saying that the Lord told them about the Lord’s
birth (His own birth)! That is a wonder
that my mind will simply have to bow to.
Father, it also fascinates me to consider the women listed in Matthew’s
genealogy of Christ. They were
apparently all Gentiles except Tamar. It
actually could be argued that Sarai and Abram were as well. These ladies were very interesting characters
and the message inherent in Matthew’s inclusion of them in a genealogy of Jews
is a message that continues all the way into Paul’s ministry to the world. It is unthinkable to write this without the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Thank
You, Lord. Amen.
September 30
Matthew
2:1-23; Luke 2:41-52; Mark 1:1-8; Matthew 3:1-12;
Luke
3:1-20; John 1:1-28
My Savior,
You are the coming Lord. John the
Baptist responded to Your call in the 15th year of the reign of
Tiberius Caesar to proclaim the coming of the Lord and to call to
repentance. Father, we should be doing
the same. If ever there was a reading
that should leave the skeptic unsettled regarding his course, it should be this
one. O my Father, You are perfect in the
fulfillment of the ancient prophecies.
You are perfect in Your setting of the “fullness of time.” You are perfect in Your representation
through Your Son. Your love glows in
every word, every action, and in every thing before us as Your children, called
to Your purpose. How delightful You are
to me. I shudder to consider those who persist
in the dark hopelessness of life without You.
Such a life is death. Help me
show You to them. You are my Rock! Amen.
Ó
2007 C. E. Briggs