Read Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do th

Read Song of Solomon 8:6-7 (ESV) Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised. Reflect Why do you think God included a book about romantic love and sex in the Bible? Pop culture has no shortage

Read Ecclesiastes 2:22-25 (ESV) What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? Reflect Have you ever

Read Proverbs 1:5-7 (ESV) Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Reflect What does it mean to fear the LORD? Do you ever wish life came with an instruction manual? Not one focused on theoretical knowledge but one that gives you practical advice for how to l

Read Psalm 42:8-11 (ESV) By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at nights his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise

Read Job 19:23-27 (ESV) “Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! Reflect What lessons has God taught you through sufferi

Read Esther 8:3-6 (ESV) Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and stood before the king. And she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to

Read Nehemiah 6:15-16 (ESV) So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. Reflect How have you seen God work to rebuild Your life? If I asked you to think of a story in the Old Testament involving walls, which one would come to mind? I’m guess

Read Ezra 7:10 (ESV) For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. Reflect If we long for our relationship with the LORD to be restored and our lives reformed, what do we need to do? What is the standard that dictates how we should live? Pretend you are an Israelite exile for a moment. About 70 years ago, the homeland of your ancestors was conquered by an enemy, Babylon, and the people were deported to a p

Read 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 (ESV) As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and g

Read 1 Chronicles 17:11-14 (ESV) When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne sh

Read 2 Kings 23:27 (ESV) And the LORD said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.” Reflect How is God’s love reflected in His discipline? The wise King Solomon wrote: “My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs

Read 1 Kings 11:4, 11 (ESV) For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father… Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.” Reflect How does Solomon’s example serve as a warning to you

Read 2 Samuel 7:12-13 (ESV) When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Reflect Despite his serious sins, how does David demonstrate his faithful heart toward God? What evidence do you see of God’s faithfulness to us despite our sinful failings? History typica

Read 1 Samuel 8:4-7 (ESV) Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they h

Read Ruth 4:9-10 (ESV) Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this

Read Judges 2:18-20a (ESV) Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stu

Read Joshua 2:18-19, 21 (ESV) “‘Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. Then if anyone goes out the doors of your house and into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head… A

Read Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (ESV) I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. Reflect Notice that Moses set before the pe

Read Numbers 14:22-23 (ESV) “None of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give their fathers.” Reflect Has unbelief and disobedience ever significantly cost you? How might that situation have played out differently if only you had trusted and obeyed God? Recently, I saw a social media post in which an atheist societ

Read Leviticus 20:7-8 (ESV) “Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you.” Reflect You probably already know that God demands holiness. But have you ever been able to meet God’s standard of holiness without His help? When you first became a believer in Christ, did you ever wonder “Now what?” You had already placed saving faith in Him, and you had hope in the promise of eternal life.

Read Exodus 12:21-23 (ESV) Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on th

Read Genesis 3:15 (ESV) “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Reflect If someone asked you where Christ is found in the Bible, how would you respond? One common misconception about where Jesus is found in the Bible is that He is only found in the New Testament. But the reality is, once you learn how to look for Him, you realize that there are signs pointing to Chri

Read Philippians 4:5 (ESV) Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Reflect Does knowing that the Holy Spirit is always present in your life change the way you want to behave? Have you heard the old adage “When the cat's away, the mice will play?” Maybe you’ve even seen this play out in your life. When the parents are gone, the kids break house rules. When the boss is gone, productivity drops. When the teacher steps out of the room, chaos ensues.

Read Philippians 4:10-12 (ESV) I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. Reflect Are you struggling with con

Read Colossians 3:23 (ESV) Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men… Reflect What is your attitude towards work? Do you work hard or hardly work? I was driving around town the other day and I noticed something. It seemed like every other business I passed had a sign in the window that said, “Now Hiring.” A quick internet search confirmed what I had noticed—there are a lot of job openings right now and labor shortage. According to the US Bureau of Labor

Read Proverbs 12:19-22 (ESV) Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy. No ill befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble. Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight. Reflect Think about the last time you told a lie. Was it a little white lie or a lie that could have serious consequences? Either way, wha

Read Proverbs 16:18 (ESV) Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Reflect Think back to the last time you fell into sin. What thoughts or motivations were underneath that sinful behavior? The first sin we read about in Scripture occurs in Genesis chapter 3. Satan, disguised as a serpent, tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God. His strategy? Get them to doubt God as the only worthy authority in their lives and believe instead that they could be their ow

Read Galatians 6:9-10 (ESV) And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Reflect Have you ever grown weary of serving God faithfully? What keeps you going? The richest man in my home state of Nebraska is Warren Buffett. It is well known here that Buffett acquired his wealth by playing the long game. In other

Read Luke 2:25-32 (ESV) Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms a