March 6   Leviticus 26 Psalm 31:1-8 Proverbs 7:6-8 Mark 9:1-29 Help My Unbelief   “But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!  And Jesus said to him, ‘If I can?  All things are possible to him who believes.’  Immediately the boy’s father cried out and was saying, ‘I do believe; help my unbelief.’”  Mark 9:22b-24 LSB   This man brought his son who was possessed with an evil spirit to Jesus.  He asked Jesus’ disciples to cast the demon out but they were unable to

March 5   Leviticus 25 Psalm 30:7-12 Proverbs 7:4-5 Mark 8 Mourning To Dancing   “Hear, O Yahweh, and be gracious to me;  O Yahweh, be my helper.  You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;  You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, That my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.  O Yahweh my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”  Psalm 30:11-12 LSB   We live in a fallen world and difficult times are common to everyone.  None of us escape this

March 4   Leviticus 23-24 Psalm 30:1-6 Proverbs 7:1-3 Mark 7:17-37 Treasure The Law   “My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live, and my law as the apple of your eye.  Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.”  Proverbs 7:1-3 LSB   “And He said to them, ‘Are you lacking understanding in this way as well?  Do you not perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it d

March 3   Leviticus 21-22 Psalm 29:7-11 Proverbs 6:34-35 Mark 7:1-16 Our Best   “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel who brings near his offering……which they bring near to Yahweh for a burnt offering—for you to be accepted—it must be a male without blemish from the cattle, sheep, or the goats.  Whatever has a defect, you shall not bring it near, for it will not be accepted

March 2   Leviticus 19-20 Psalm 29:1-6 Proverbs 6:32-33 Mark 6:21-56 The Tenderness Of Our God   “Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.  Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the afflicted and for the sojourner.  I am Yahweh your God……You shall not curse a deaf man nor place a stumbling bl

March 1   Leviticus 17-18 Psalm 28:6-9 Proverbs 6:30-31 Mark 6:1-20 A Prophet Without Honor   “Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?  Are not His sisters here with us? And they were taking offense at Him.  And Jesus was saying to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.’  And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few

February 28   Leviticus 16 Psalm 28:1-5 Proverbs 6:27-29 Mark 5:21-43 Scapegoat   “Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.  He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.  Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering.  But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for makin

February 27   Leviticus 15 Psalm 27:7-14 Proverbs 6:23-26 Mark 5:1-20 Wait for the Lord   “I remain confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”  Psalm 27:13-14   David began this psalm talking about fear.  He was preaching to himself.  Sometimes it is necessary to recount to ourselves God’s faithfulness.  In moments of fear and anxiety the best thing we can do is remind

February 26   Leviticus 13-14 Psalm 27:1-6 Proverbs 6:20-22 Mark 4:21-41 Fear   “Yahweh is my light and my salvation;  Whom shall I fear?  Yahweh is the strong defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?  When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies they stumbled and fell.  Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war arise against me, in this I trust.  One thing I have asked from Yahweh, that I shall seek; that I may dwell

February 25   Leviticus 11-12 Psalm 26:8-12 Proverbs 6:16-19 Mark 4:1-20 The Condition Of Your Heart   “And those are the ones that were sown on good soil; they who hear the word and accept it and are bearing fruit thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”  Mark 4:20 LSB   Jesus used the Parable of the Sower to explain to His followers that there are four different responses to the gospel.  The sower in the parable is Jesus and the seed is the word of God. The response to hearing th

February 24   Leviticus 9-10 Psalm 26:1-7 Proverbs 6:12-15 Mark 3:13-35 Examination   “Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for I have always been mindful of Your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on Your faithfulness.”  Psalm 26:2-3 NIV   It is a good idea to examine our lives periodically to take stock of where we are.  It is important to do that in our finances, relationships, occupation, and physical health and fitness.  Setting goals and then

February 23   Leviticus 7-8 Psalm 25:16-22 Proverbs 6:9-11 Mark 3:1-12 It Should Be Obvious   “And whenever the unclean spirits were seeing Him, they would fall down before Him and cry out, saying, “You are the Son of God!”  Mark 3:11 LSB   Several times in Jesus’ earthly ministry, He had encounters with people who were demon-possessed.  It is interesting to read about their encounters.  In today’s passage, Mark explained that whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they immedi

February 22   Leviticus 5-6 Psalm 25:8-15 Proverbs 6:6-8 Mark 2 An Ant’s Life   “Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest,”  Proverbs 6:6-8 LSB   We can learn much from the life of the ant.  The ant is industrious, diligent, organized and cooperative.  They work hard and prepare for the future.  They are tenacious and persevere even when the going

February 21   Leviticus 3-4 Psalm 25:1-7 Proverbs 6:4-5 Mark 1:21-45 Going Deeper   “Make me know Your ways, O Yahweh; teach me Your paths.  Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; in You I hope all the day.  Remember, O Yahweh, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, for they have been from of old.” Psalm 25:4-6 LSB   I love this passage because it underscores the importance of our personal time with God.  David is imploring God to teach h

February 20   Leviticus 1-2 Psalm 24 Proverbs 6:1-3 Mark 1:1-20 Fishers Of Men   “The Jesus said to them, ‘Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.’  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.”  Mark 1: 17-18   Jesus came to Peter, Andrew, James and John at the seashore.  They were fishermen and Jesus had chosen them to be His disciples.  They were not educated men.  They had grown up fishing like their fathers.  When Jesus came to them, He met them where they we

February 19 Exodus 40 Psalm 23 Proverbs 5:21-23 Matthew 28 My Shepherd   “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures;  He leads me beside the still waters.  He restores my soul;  He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of

February 18   Exodus 39 Psalm 22:27-31 Proverbs 5:18-20 Matthew 27:45-66 Tetelestai   “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His Spirit.  And behold the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom; and the Earth shook and the rocks were split.”  Matthew 27:50-51 LSB   The gospel of John adds another detail about Jesus’ final moments.  “Therefore, when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’  And bowing His head, He gave u

February 17   Exodus 37-38 Psalm 22:22-26 Proverbs 5:15-17 Matthew 27:24-44 Accountable For Our Actions   “Now when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to that yourselves.”  Matthew 27:24 LSB   Pilate knew Jesus was not guilty of anything.  Verse 18 says that he knew they had turned Him over because of envy.  In addition to h

February 16 Exodus 35-36 Psalm 22:16-21 Proverbs 5:11-14 Matthew 27:1-23 Willing Hearts   “And Moses spoke to the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded, saying, ‘Take from among you a contribution to Yahweh; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as a contribution to Yahweh.’…..’And let everyone wise at heart among you come and make all that Yahweh has commanded.’”  Exodus 35:4-5, 10 LSB   God could have made man as

February 15   Exodus 33-34 Psalm 22:11-15 Proverbs 5:9-10 Matthew 26:52-75 Failure   “I do not know what you are talking about.”…  “I do not know the man.” … “I do not know the man.”  And immediately a rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’  And he went out and cried bitterly.”   Matthew 26:69,72,74-75 LSB   We’ve all been there.  We have said or done things we thought we would never do.