11/01/01 Jonah 1:3
But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction in order to get away from the LORD. He went down to the seacoast, to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping that by going away to the west he could escape from the LORD.
I am the world’s worst at thinking that I can make the right things happen. The truth is that my intelligence is so limited it is astounding how big a mess I can make of things when I do them on my own. Only the Lord knows the end from the beginning and His ways are always right.
11/02/01 Jonah 2:1
Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from inside the fish.
Most of my earnest prayer is from inside the hurricanes of life. I’ve made another mess and now only the Lord’s intervention can save me. Thank you Lord for your faithfulness.
11/03/01 Micah 1:2
Attention! Let all the people of the world listen! The Sovereign LORD has made accusations against you; the Lord speaks from his holy Temple.
I must guard my heart against letting my faith become ritualistic. I cannot practice a growing faith by proxy. Faith in the Lord requires careful attention to my relationship with Jesus. My Bible reading needs to focus on what it is saying to me about the way I live. My prayer life should include dealing with sin in my life. I must practice my faith as the Lord directs. The way I believe is the way I should live.
11/04/01 Micah 2:1
How terrible it will be for you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry out any of the wicked schemes you have power to accomplish.
Evil thoughts lead to evil deeds. I am responsible for what I think. When my thoughts become evil I must immediately get before the Lord and ask Him to change my thoughts. Jesus is the only one who has victory over sin.
11/05/01 Nahum 1:3
The LORD is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet.
I talk with people who avoid God because of the hypocrites at the church. Others I talk with are angry with God because of evil in the world. The truth is hypocrisy and evil always turn up where people are. We need the Lord to help us change and not be a hypocrite or practice evil.
11/06/01 Nahum 1:7
The LORD is good. When trouble comes, he is a strong refuge. And he knows everyone who trusts in him.
God’s mercy is a refuge in time of trouble. I am learning that I need the Lord most when my world has been shaken or is falling apart. He is a powerful ally in times of turmoil. His presence safeguards us when all else fails.
11/07/01 1 Samuel 15:23
Rebellion is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you from being king.”
King Saul’s life was fast and loose. He always presumed on God. Salvation is not a fire insurance policy. God is not honored when we live our way and only use God as we pass through life.
11/08/01 Habakkuk 2:4
“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked; but the righteous will live by their faith.
Wealth is deceitful. It will take us where we shouldn’t go and leave us where we do not want to be. It also makes us think we are something when we in fact are just poor sinners. Trust the Lord. Use your resources to honor and glorify Him. Then you will be truly wealthy.
11/09/01 Zephaniah 1:12
“I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem’s darkest corners to find and punish those who sit contented in their sins, indifferent to the LORD, thinking he will do nothing at all to them.
Studying God’s Word is something a lot of people are diligent in doing. I am charged with the responsibility of living God’s Word. My goal is to change the way I live and change the way I act. The Lord sees what I am doing.
11/10/01 Zephaniah 2:3
Beg the LORD to save you – all you who are humble, all you who uphold justice. Walk humbly and do what is right. Perhaps even yet the LORD will protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.
Judgment of others does not relieve me of guilt. Judgment begins with me. I am responsible for the way I act. I am guilty for my sin. Christ provides the forgiveness I need. I am free because of Jesus.
11/11/01 Haggai 1:7
“This is what the LORD Almighty says: Consider how things are going for you!
By grace I am saved and that is a joyous fact. My joy or sadness is not based on my wealth or good luck. I can live my life because Jesus lives. I can make good choices because the Holy Spirit gives me the spiritual discernment that I need to live a Godly life.
11/12/01 Zechariah 1:3
Therefore, say to the people, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD Almighty.’
Salvation requires my request, Lord forgive me of my sin; come into my heart and save me. Forgiveness requires my request, Lord I have sinned, please forgive me. When I find myself with my heart dejected and worn down I have but to ask, Lord help me. I take the first step. The Lord handles the rest.
11/13/01 Zechariah 4:6
Then he said to me, “This is what the LORD says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty.
Try as I might I can never do spiritual things on my own. The Lord must be in it. The Holy Spirit directs my path. I spend time with Jesus. The Spirit gives me direction.
11/14/01 Luke 4:3-4
Then the Devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, change this stone into a loaf of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People need more than bread for their life.’
Most of my adult life has been focused on things. Acquiring things, having things and planning for things. Jesus loves people most of all. His focus is on me. Not the me that I want to create but the me that He created. He wants me to accomplish His plan for my life. He wants me to know that He is there and that I am not alone. He loves me.
11/15/01 Luke 4:8
Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him.’
Jesus is worthy of worship. When all else fails I can worship the Lord. He and He alone is the eternal Lord.
11/16/01 Luke 4:13
When the Devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
I will never get beyond having to deal with sin this side of the grave. Sin is all around me. It wells up inside of me at the most surprising times. My humanity betrays me. Only Jesus can deal with my sin.
11/17/01 Luke 4:14
Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Soon he became well known throughout the surrounding country. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
Praise from the world is not what Jesus was seeking. He wanted me to know the Lord and serve Him. Sometimes doing what Jesus says will put me at odds with the world.
11/18/01 Luke 4:18-19
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.
Time is in God’s hands. He has called me to serve Him. I am not called to figure out how much time I have. My charge is to tell everyone I meet about Jesus. Today is all the time I have.
11/19/01 Luke 4:20-21
He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue stared at him intently. Then he said, “This Scripture has come true today before your very eyes!”
Jesus is Lord. I don’t make Him Lord or by my belief establish His control. He is Lord and He is in control. What I am charged with the responsibility of doing is to give Him control of me. I change from self-control to spirit-control.
11/20/01 Luke 4:22-23
All who were there spoke well of him and were amazed by the gracious words that fell from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Then he said, “Probably you will quote me that proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself’ – meaning, ‘Why don’t you do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum?’
Jesus will not force His way into my life. He is willing to help me. He is able to help me. Until I ask Him in He will wait upon my decision.
11/21/01 Luke 4:24-26
But the truth is, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. “Certainly there were many widows in Israel who needed help in Elijah’s time, when there was no rain for three and a half years and hunger stalked the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a widow of Zarephath – a foreigner in the land of Sidon.
I am a church member. I am an active Christian. Neither of these things in and of themselves will put me in good standing with the Lord. My relationship with Jesus is the key. Do I spend time with Jesus? Am I getting to know Him? Do I obey Him? I must never forget that salvation is by grace through faith.
11/22/01 Luke 4:27-30
Or think of the prophet Elisha, who healed Naaman, a Syrian, rather than the many lepers in Israel who needed help.” When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and took him to the edge of the hill on which the city was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he slipped away through the crowd and left them.
God is no respecter of persons. If you are hurting right now, Jesus will help you. If you are poor and in need Jesus will help you. If your world has closed in and there is no way out Jesus will make a way. He is Lord and He loves you.
11/23/01 Luke 4:31-32
Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. There, too, the people were amazed at the things he said, because he spoke with authority.
I can count on Jesus. He will meet my needs. He will heal my hurts. He is the author and finisher of my faith, the bright morning star that shines into the messes that I make. When all else fails Jesus will never fail.
11/24/01 Luke 4:33-34
Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon began shouting at Jesus, “Go away! Why are you bothering us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One sent from God.”
I hear the testimony. Even Satan cannot deny that Jesus is Lord. I must take the evidence to heart. He is concerned for me. Jesus is Lord.
11/25/01 Luke 4:38-39
After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. Standing at her bedside, he spoke to the fever, rebuking it, and immediately her temperature returned to normal. She got up at once and prepared a meal for them.
Jesus is never surprised by my problems. He is a problem solver. He doesn’t wring His hands or condemn me. He helps me. He is my savior.
11/26/01 Luke 4:40
As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one.
Change is always painful. I must change if I want to grow in Christ. He is the healer for man’s pain. Whether I am physically ill or seeking spiritual growth Jesus can heal me.
11/27/01 John 12:46
I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the darkness.
I can place my trust in Jesus. There is no other way to deal with the difficulty, depression, disappointment and heartache that life brings. Jesus Christ is Lord.
11/28/01 Gen 1:3
Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
God created the light. We cannot survive without it. I can find the light that I need for living in Jesus. Jesus is the light that I need to guide me through life.
11/29/01 Matthew 4:16
the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.”
The way I lived before I knew Jesus was a tragic existence. I thought I could see. I thought I could plan. I believed I was right. I thought I knew it all and all I really knew was death. I was ignorant about the ways of the Lord. I was lost. Then Jesus came into my life and now I am saved.
11/30/01 Matthew 5:14
You are the light of the world – like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see.
I represent the Lord. If I am to represent Him properly He must be in control of my life. I begin each day bending my knee to Him. Jesus is Lord of my life. My time, my heart belongs to Him.
