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▼ See a Sample of Today's Verse

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

—Daniel 12:3

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

God promised a sifting between the righteous and the unrighteous both in this life and before the life to come. Jesus repeated the same assurance of such a sifting in his parables. For God's people, however, promises to sift — to judge between righteous and unrighteous — are not fearful warnings. Instead, they are words of promise. Those who have wisely honored and lived for God and led others to him will shine brilliantly for all to see, and we will twinkle like stars in their Father's eyes... forever!

My Prayer...

Loving God, thank you for saving me by your grace and kindness. Father, sometimes I get frustrated when I see the wicked prosper while your loyal servants are maligned and ridiculed for their character. I'm thankful that you will judge us based on your incredible grace and your standard of righteousness! I'm also grateful you will bring justice for those who love you and who are enduring hardship, danger, and ridicule because of their faith. Please be with them, wherever they may be, and give them strength to persevere until that day of sifting arrives with glory. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

▼ See a Sample of God's Holy Fire

[Jesus said,] "If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth."

—John 14:15-17a NLT

Key Thought

Translators have tried to capture the essence of the Spirit's role as revealed in the word Jesus used here to describe the Holy Spirit. Different versions use Advocate, Comforter, Counselor, and Helper to translate the original Greek word "paraklaetos." Looking at all of these words helps us get an idea of the scope of the Spirit's work in us. But the point of Jesus' other words must not be overlooked: The Spirit will never leave us, and the Spirit will lead us into God's truth. No wonder the gift of the Holy Spirit was so anticipated by the Old Testament prophets as the sign that God's new age of salvation had come, and no wonder the early Christians saw this gift as crucial to one being a true follower of Jesus! Let's give thanks for this gift and cultivate our hearts so that the Spirit finds a welcome and receptive home in each of us.

Today's Prayer

My righteous and loving heavenly Father, I thank you for your many gracious gifts, and I especially want to thank you today from the bottom of my heart for the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit. I open my heart to receive the grace, comfort, correction, conviction, and love you want to pour into my life through the Spirit. In Jesus name, I offer my thanks and praise. Amen.

▼ See a Sample of What Jesus Did!

The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is also called Passover, was approaching. The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people's reaction.

Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren't around.

—Luke 22:1-6 NLT

Key Thought

I cannot help feeling unbelievably sad when I read this passage. Men who were called by God to intercede for his people and to interpret the Scriptures expertly for them were plotting the worst of all things — the murder of the Son of God. Judas, one of Jesus' 12 apostles, and the religious leaders came up with a plot to betray the Lord. The Temple guard also participated in the murderous scheming. Satan, of course, was behind it all. I wish that we could say this type of thing doesn't happen today. Unfortunately, when God's leaders get caught up in self-interest and religious politics, Satan steps in and leads them astray, and horrible things happen. Pray that God will protect his leaders from the devious ways of the evil one who seeks to sow dissension among godly leaders and cause them to put their own interests above everything else and thereby destroy the work of the Kingdom.

Today's Prayer

Father, please intervene directly in the lives of our church leaders and cast out any influence of Satan, all self-seeking and party spirit, and every hint of life-destroying political scheming. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

▼ See a Sample of Unstoppable!

Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You may speak in your defense."

So Paul, gesturing with his hand, started his defense: "I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders, for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now please listen to me patiently!"

—Acts 26:1-3 NLT

Key Thought

Paul began his defense using appropriate words of respect to address the dignitaries and leaders who were listening to him. However, we must not slip into a cynical skepticism about Paul's heartfelt honesty in the words he said. Paul genuinely paid respect to Roman leaders whether they were worthy of that respect or not — as also did Jesus.* Paul later revealed that he genuinely hoped to lead those listening to him into saving faith in Jesus.** In a world of caustic public political speech and behind-the-back rancid and scathing criticism, we must follow Paul's example of respectfulness and not the world's way of speaking. We cannot stand up for God's righteous character if we abandon God's mercy and gracious compassion (Jonah 4:1-3; Psalm 103:7-12; Jeremiah 9:23-24). Our goal must not be the destruction of those who oppose the ways of God or even our political or other preferences, but our goal must be leading them to know Jesus and follow his ways! (The book of Jonah is a great reminder of this truth!)

* See our first set of Related Scripture Readings.
** See our second set of Related Scripture Readings.

Today's Prayer

Dear Father, I pray the prayer of the psalmist as my own:

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
Don't let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt
and innocent of great sin.

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.^

In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

^ Psalm 19:12–14

▼ See a Sample of Passion for Praise

Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory; his holy arm has shown his saving power!

—Psalm 98:1

▼ See a Sample of Quotemeal

""The Word became flesh," John said ... He was touchable, approachable, reachable. And, what's more, he was ordinary. If he were here today you probably wouldn't notice him as he walked through a shopping mall. He wouldn't turn heads by the clothes he wore or the jewelry he flashed. "Just call me Jesus," you can almost hear him say."

—Max Lucado

▼ See a Sample of Morning and Evening

"Thou hast made summer and winter."

—Psalms 74:17

Morning Thought

My soul begin this wintry month with thy God. The cold snows and the piercing winds all remind thee that he keeps his covenant with day and night, and tend to assure thee that he will also keep that glorious covenant which he has made with thee in the person of Christ Jesus. He who is true to his Word in the revolutions of the seasons of this poor sin-polluted world, will not prove unfaithful in his dealings with his own well-beloved Son.

Winter in the soul is by no means a comfortable season, and if it be upon thee just now it will be very painful to thee: but there is this comfort, namely, that the Lord makes it. He sends the sharp blasts of adversity to nip the buds of expectation: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes over the once verdant meadows of our joy: he casteth forth his ice like morsels freezing the streams of our delight. He does it all, he is the great Winter King, and rules in the realms of frost, and therefore thou canst not murmur. Losses, crosses, heaviness, sickness, poverty, and a thousand other ills, are of the Lord's sending, and come to us with wise design. Frosts kill noxious insects, and put a bound to raging diseases; they break up the clods, and sweeten the soul. O that such good results would always follow our winters of affliction!

How we prize the fire just now! how pleasant is its cheerful glow! Let us in the same manner prize our Lord, who is the constant source of warmth and comfort in every time of trouble. Let us draw nigh to him, and in him find joy and peace in believing. Let us wrap ourselves in the warm garments of his promises, and go forth to labours which befit the season, for it were ill to be as the sluggard who will not plough by reason of the cold; for he shall beg in summer and have nothing.

▼ See a Sample of Daily Wisdom

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands.

—Psalm 112:1

▼ See a Sample of Praying with Paul

Philippians 4:5

Dear Father, victorious deliverer,

Everything points to the fact that we live in the last days, so let me not waste time sleeping.

Salvation is nearer now than when I first believed. The night is far gone. The day is at hand.

Help me cast off all the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Let me conduct myself as becomes one of your people, not in reveling or drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling or jealousy.

Rather let me put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provisions for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

▼ See a Sample of A Year with Jesus

Note from Jesus

Dear Friend,

You just have to love the apostle Levi! You may know him better as Matthew since that is the name of the first gospel in your New Testament — same guy, just known by both names. My choosing Matthew as one of My 12 apostles was a big surprise to many folks. He had a good, priestly, Jewish name — Levi. However, his profession was considered anything but Jewish. He was a tax collector, and tax collectors were hated by Jewish people in the first century.

People assumed that tax collectors were unclean, sharing in an anti-pious lifestyle. Most Jewish tax collectors in Matthew's time had sold out to the Romans and financially preyed upon their fellow Jews. They also ran around with people generally considered to be sinners. So when Matthew became My disciple, he also threw a big party for his "sinful" friends so they could meet Me (Matthew 9:9-13). Whew! That party created a lot of negative chatter. It also revealed plenty about Matthew's heart, and also Mine!

Notice two things today about Matthew. Both reflect the heart of the Father.

First, Matthew cared about those who were left out. If you read My story from the Gospel of Matthew, you will notice that Matthew wants to show that all kinds of people came to know Me. There were magi from far away, people from all nations becoming disciples, a Roman centurion with great faith, a humble Syrian woman who had a seriously ill child and who gave a clever response to Me, and a lost sheep that needed to be found.

Second, Matthew may have been considered an outsider, but he connected My story to the Father's promises told centuries before I came. Over 15 times, Levi reminds you that My coming was foretold by the prophets.

Bottom line: Matthew wants you to know that God — Father, Son, and Spirit — has always had the plan to bring everyone, including outsiders, true HOPE. That plan was spoken by the prophets centuries before I came. That plan was fulfilled in Me! My coming was not an afterthought. My association with sinners and tax collectors was not a mistake. My death was not a miscalculation. My resurrection was not a last minute fix.

Levi wants you to know that no matter how far on the outside you may feel, I came for you. That's God's long-term plan — the very plan that I came to fulfill!

Verses to Live

Notice just two of the many references to Me from the ancient prophets of Israel that Levi (the apostle Matthew) shares in My story. These references to the prophets can help you see God's long-term plan to include you. The Father has had the plan to reclaim you that goes back a long way before the miracle of My birth!

Joseph woke up from his dream and did exactly what the messenger had told him to do: he married Mary and brought her into his home as his wife (though he did not consummate their marriage until after her son was born). And when the baby was born, Joseph named Him Jesus, Savior. Years and years ago, Isaiah, a prophet of Israel, foretold the story of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus:

A virgin will conceive and bear a Son, and His name will be Immanuel (which is a Hebrew name that means "God with us").

(Isaiah 7:14 in Matthew 1:22-25)

But you, Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
of the clans of Judah, are no poor relation —
From your people will come a Ruler
Who will be the shepherd of My people, Israel,
Whose origins date back to the distant past,
to the ancient days.
(Micah 5:2 quoted in Matthew 2:6)

Response in Prayer

Holy God and loving Shepherd, thank You for having the plan to include all of us who felt we were on the outside and without hope. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for choosing someone like Matthew to be one of Your 12 apostles and using him to write Your story in a way that includes us all. Thank You for including me in Your family of grace. Thank You, in Jesus' name. Amen.

▼ See a Sample of Spiritual Warfare

Don’t behave like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he kill him? He killed him because his own works were evil, but the works of his brother were righteous. Don’t be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

—1 John 3:12-13 CEB

Today's Prayer

Lord, I always hoped to be loved by You and by my fellow Christians, and also to be loved by the world. But now I realize that this is not possible. The world is full of evil and anger and violence and disobedience, and if I follow a different path than theirs, Lord, the world will never love me. But YOU will. Help me to focus on YOUR love and pleasing YOU instead of trying to keep one foot in each world. Now I know that will never work. Lead me to the path of righteousness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.