Diamonds Are Not God’s Best Friend

Diamonds are precious and beautiful. They are also the hardest naturally occurring substance. So when Zechariah describes the hearts of the people as like diamonds, it is not a compliment.

“They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 7:12 ESV)

A diamond heart is stubborn and resistant. It refuses to hear and to heed the word of God. If your heart is going to be precious in God’s eyes, it must be soft and shaped by His word—like clay in the potter hand.

Submit your heart to God and heed His word today.

Reading: Zechariah 4-7

La, La, La!

Reading: Jeremiah 35-39

“I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.” (Jeremiah 35:15)

The people of God figuratively put their fingers in their ears and started singing, “La, la, la!” They just refused to listen. Even when the truth was screaming in their face, even when it was a matter of life and death, they would not listen.

Sometimes the truth is hard to hear. The truth might hurt, or maybe it just goes against what you want. One profound lesson from this reading in Jeremiah: Truth is truth, no matter who hears.

Dedicate yourself to hearing and sharing the truth of God today.

Next reading: Jeremiah 40-44

Warning: Satan Lies

Reading: Jeremiah 25-29

And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. (Jeremiah 28:15)

When the false prophet spoke, even Jeremiah said, “Amen.” It wasn’t because he knew it to be true; the lie was just much more palatable than the truth. Though the truth can be a bitter taste, it is still the truth. Rather than hearing the truth, the people of Israel scarfed down sugarcoated poison.

Satan uses many mediums to spread his lies. Today, don’t listen to them. Take time to heed the truth of God’s inspired Scriptures.

Tomorrow’s Reading: Jeremiah 30-34

The End of the Matter for the God Filled

Today’s reading is Ecclesiastes 10-12; Song of Solomon 1-2.

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, ESV).

Well, it certainly seems presumptuous to add anything to God’s inspired message about the end of the matter. So, I don’t think I will.

Tomorrow’s reading is Song of Solomon 3-8.

The #1 Place to Find Help in Affliction

Today’s reading is Psalm 119.

I hope you read Psalm 119 more than once today. In between all the statements about God’s Word, you’ll find a man who is going through some kind of amazing affliction and struggle. He can’t understand why God hasn’t done what His covenant word promises, and he’s calling on God to keep up His end of the covenant by delivering right now. Have you ever been there? Are you there now? Do you wonder how you’ll survive? “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life” (Psalm 119:92-93, ESV). God’s Word is not a homework assignment, it is a lifeline. Are you hanging on to it?

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 121-125.

The God Filled aren’t Governed by the Gray Haired

Today’s reading is Job 15-19.

It may shock you to find out that the God Filled do not assume that every thing the aged say is God’s will. Eliphaz made this second mistake in Job 15:10 (we saw his first mistake in Job 4:12ff). The aged and grey-haired were among Job’s friends and they agreed with Eliphaz. Certainly there was some truth to what Eliphaz believed because of them, and the God Filled never dismiss the more experienced out of hand, but his application to Job was completely wrong. Today, many who claim to be in Christ act as if whatever the aged among us say is gospel. Eliphaz stands as a monument to how wrong this can be. As Paul wrote, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV). Don’t misunderstand, the God Filled don’t assume that what the young say is God’s will either. The God Filled look to God’s revealed standard, His Word and respect anyone young or old who simply look there too. What are you looking to for direction?

Monday’s reading is Job 20-24.

The God Filled aren’t Governed by Traditions of the Past

Today’s reading is Job 8-10.

It may shock you to find out that the God Filled do not assume that every tradition passed down from those who went before them is really from God. Bildad made that mistake in Job 8:8-10. He had inquired of bygone ages and considered what the fathers searched out and it seemed like God’s own will to him. Certainly, there was some truth to what Bildad said, but his application to Job was completely wrong. Today, many who claim to be in Christ act like whatever has been passed down to them from one church to another, from one “Christian” to another, must be God’s will. They try to trace some kind of lineage back to Jesus Christ and His apostles and prophets instead of just looking at what was given to the world by Jesus Christ through His apostles and prophets, God’s Word. Just because a thousand ancient worthies claim something doesn’t mean it is a message from God. The God Filled look to God’s revealed standard, His Word. What are you looking to?

Tomorrow’s reading is Job 11-14.

The God Filled aren’t Governed by Dreams and Visions

Today’s reading is Job 4-7.

It may shock you to find out that the God Filled do not assume that every thought, vision, or dream that enters their head is really from God. Eliphaz made that mistake in Job 4:12-21. He had something that seemed like a vision or a revelation. Certainly there was some truth to what he believed because of it, but his application to Job was completely wrong. Today, many who claim to be in Christ act as if any thought that enters their head must be God breathed. Eliphaz stands as a monument to how wrong this is. As Paul wrote, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV). Just because we think it, dream it, envision it, doesn’t mean it is a message from God. The God Filled look to God’s revealed standard, His Word. What are you looking to for direction?

Tomorrow’s reading is Job 8-10.

Finish Strong

Today’s reading is 1 Kings 11-15.

I’ll admit it almost doesn’t seem fair. The man of God who confronted and rebuked Jeroboam in 1 Kings 13 did mostly what God said, properly rebuking Jeroboam and refusing to eat with him. In fact, he only disobeyed God because another prophet lied to him. Yet, we need to recognize how this story fits in the context of Israel and Judah. Isn’t this exactly what happens to king after king and to the nations themselves? The nation started well under David and several of the kings started well, including Solomon. But, at some point they allowed false voices, sometimes even false prophets, to sway them. The God Filled don’t have room for other voices. We must rely completely on God and always go back to what God says no matter what the other voices say. No matter how we started, we must finish strong in the LORD.

Tomorrow’s reading is 1 Kings 16-20.

My Way or God’s Way: The Choice is Yours

Today’s reading is Judges 16-20.

In Deuteronomy 12:8, God said, “You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes” (ESV). Yet, the last half of Judges shows Israel doing just that. “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25, ESV). And there are no sadder or more disturbing stories in all the Bible than found at the end of Judges. Othniel, Gideon, and Jephthah show what happens if we are God Filled, surrendering to Him. Micah, the Levite, and Gibeah show the complete depravity of being me filled as Israelites behaved even worse than the nations they were supplanting. So, here is your choice today. You can choose to pursue God and have victory or choose to pursue your own way and suffer ultimate depravity and defeat. The choice is yours.

We’d love to know what you got out of today’s reading or if some other part of the reading struck you.

Tomorrow’s reading is Judges 21, Ruth 1-4.