-Seventy One- Who Is A God Like You?

Who is a God Like You?

Today’s Reading and Focal Verses: Micah 7:18-19

Who is a God like You,

Pardoning iniquity

And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?

He does not retain His anger forever,

Because He delights in mercy.

He will again have compassion on us,

And will subdue our iniquities.

You will cast off our sins

Into the depths of the sea.

There are some people who will never forgive you.  You may have apologized and may have changed whatever behavior hurt them in the first place, but the memory of that hurt is stronger for them than your efforts since.  It is a sad thing to see relationships destroyed.
God had the right to stay angry with His people.  They rejected Him and turned to other man-made gods so many times that no one could have blamed for walking away or even destroying them.
But “He delights in mercy”.  It is a joy to Him to forgive us when we return to Him, and we can count on open-armed love and acceptance because He casts our sins away from sight.  No one can sit on a boat out where the ocean is deep and see the bottom.  There are recesses of the ocean never seen by man, and that’s how our forgiven sins are to God.
Who is a God like You?

Praise be to God who is so full of grace that He removes your sin from His sight.  Stop brooding over what He has already forgiven and cast away.

-Seventy- Hezekiah

Hezekiah

Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 30:1-20

Focal Verses: 2 Chronicles: 30:18b-20

Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, 

“May the good LORD provide atonement for everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.”

And the Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

Jesus loves even those who come to Him with messy lives.  Unfortunately, you wouldn’t know it from going in most churches today.  Many in the Christian community have it backwards.  They want someone to clean up their act before they come, instead of welcoming them with all their mess and letting God clean it up.
Hezekiah had it right.  They were preparing to eat the Passover and many were there to eat it without having done the ritual cleansing ceremonies.  Hezekiah did not want to keep from God those who were seeking Him.  Today’s focal verses are his prayer and God’s response.
It is time for the church, the body of Christ, to do what Hezekiah did.  He understood God’s grace.  He welcomed those with a seeking heart and interceded on their behalf.  And the Lord listened.

Let the Lord speak to you about your attitude towards those with messy lives.  Accept His grace and pass it on to others.

-Sixty Nine- Come, Let Us Return

Come, Let Us Return


Today’s Reading: Hosea 14:1-4
Focal Verse: Hosea 6:1
Come, and let us return to the LORD;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.

Sometimes, life is miserable.  A devoted follower of Christ will have their share of trials and sorrow, but there is nothing like the misery of a life that has turned its back on God.

God called for Israel to turn back to Him and He calls for us to do the same today.  He knows, in your disobedience, you have encountered some wounds. In His grace, however, He is ready to heal them.

He promised Israel a time of restoration and He promises the same thing to us today – if we will only return to Him.

“Come, and let us return to the LORD.”

Praise God for being a Healer, Restorer, and Grace-giver in your life.

-Sixty Eight- God Of Hope

God of Hope

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 9:1-7

Focal Verse: Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

God doesn’t want His people to despair. Even in the darkness of the captivity of Israel, He gave His people a hope:

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given”


His Son, Jesus Christ, has already come now. He still holds out hope for those who are in the darkness of the captivity of sin:

For unto you a Child was born.

Unto you a Son has been given.

　

Do you have that hope?

Are you sharing that hope with others?

-Sixty Seven- Unclean

Unclean

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 6:1-7

Focal Verse: Isaiah 6:5

So I said, “Woe is me, for I am undone!

Because I am a man of unclean lips,

And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;

For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

In our day, it’s all about how you look. If you don’t like your hair or don’t have any hair, it can be changed. If you don’t like your body, that can be changed, too (surgically if need be). In this world, our appearance is the first thing that is judged.

We can spend all our money on the best haircuts, manicures, tanning beds; all our time on getting the perfect “abs”. But while there is nothing wrong with having a great appearance, it is worth nothing if we are unclean inside.

Jesus tried to tell the religious leaders of His day this. They criticized Him when He went to the house of Zacchaeus, a “vertically challenged” tax collector (Luke 19:1-10). He called them “whitewashed tombs (Matthew 23:27), for although they put up a good appearance, there was nothing but decay and death inside.

Confronted by the presence of a Holy God, we see just how filthy we are, but praise God, He is willing to clean us up (Mark 1:40-41). Through the blood of His holy Son, we can be washed clean and He will say to us as He said to Isaiah: “Your iniquity is taken away and your sin purged” (Isaiah 6:7b).

Although you may already be a believer, sometimes a little “foot-washing” is in order (see John 13:10). Spend time in His presence today.

-Sixty Six- Grace For The Innocents

Grace for the Innocents

Today’s Reading: Jonah 4

Focal Verse: Jonah 4:11

“And should I not pity Ninevah, that great city, in which there are

more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot

discern between their right hand and their left – and much livestock.”

God has great compassion on those who cannot fend for themselves. Part of the reason He wanted to spare Ninevah was because of the 120,000 small children who were there. Jesus insisted that the little children be allowed to come to Him (Matthew 19:14). We see in Psalm 139 and Jeremiah 1:5 that even in the womb, God is already caring for us. His word shows His care for widows (Proverbs 15:25) and orphans (James 1:27).

In a world where at times we feel so small, isn’t it a relief to know that we have a God who has compassion and doesn’t see anyone as too “small”.

Read James 1:27. Compare what this verse says about religion to your form of religion and see how it measures up.

-Sixty Five- Prejudice

Prejudice

Today’s Reading: Jonah 1-3

Focal Verse: Jonah 1:2

“Arise, go to Ninevah, that great city, and cry out against it;

for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

Most of us know the story of Jonah and how he tried to run from God’s assignment. We know the miracle of the fish swallowing him and Jonah living in that fish 3 days and 3 nights until he becomes obedient to God. We make jokes about not wanting for God to send a fish to swallow us.

But what if God sent you to a country that was your enemy and that you were raised with a prejudice against? Would you be willing, or would you run like Jonah did?

God wants us to lose our prejudices. He is graciously patient with us as He teaches us His truth and changes our hearts, but if we refuse to allow God to change our views of people into His views, we are in rebellion like Jonah.

God may choose to use you to bring a people to Him that you have been prejudiced against. He has been patient with you. He chose you even though you were His enemy (Romans 5:8-10). Begin allowing His grace to dissolve your prejudices today.

Prejudices can extend to things beyond race. Ask God to reveal to you any prejudices you may have. Thank Him for being patient with you. Let God speak to you through this verse:

Galatians 3:28

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”