April 4   Deuteronomy 5-6 Psalm 40:6-10 Proverbs 10:9-11 Luke 6:27-49 To Bring Us In   “but He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.  So Yahweh commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Yahweh our God for our good all our days and for our survival, as it is today.”  Deuteronomy 6:23-24 LSB   God always has a purpose when He tells us to do something.  As parents when our children ask us “Why?” sometimes w

April 3   Deuteronomy 4 Psalm 40:1-5 Proverbs 10:6-8 Luke 6:1-26 Blessed   “Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are those who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.  Blessed are you who cry now, for you shall laugh.  Blessed are you when men hate you, and exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man….But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.  Woe to you who are well-fed now

April 2   Deuteronomy 2-3 Psalm 39:7-13 Proverbs 10:3-5 Luke 5 Example   “But He Himself would often slip away to the desolate regions and pray.”  Luke 5:16 LSB   Throughout the gospels, there are numerous mentions of Jesus slipping away to be alone and pray.  Jesus was God, so why did He need to pray?  I think there are several reasons for this.  In His earthly state, He willingly took on the characteristics of humanity.  When He had a long day, He got tired. When He was hun

April 1   Deuteronomy 1 Psalm 39:1-6 Proverbs 10:1-2 Luke 4:22-44 Authority   “And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority…..And amazement came upon them all, and they were talking with one another saying, ‘What is this message?  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.’”  Luke 4:31, 36 LSB   During Jesus’ earthly minis

March 31   Numbers 35-36 Psalm 38:16-22 Proverbs 9:16-18 Luke 4:1-21 Prophecy Fulfilled   “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read.  And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him.  And He opened the scroll and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.  He has sent Me to proclaim rel

March 30   Numbers 33-34 Psalm 38:9-15 Proverbs 9:13-15 Luke 3:21-38 A Clean Slate   “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall dispossess all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places; and you shall take possession of the land and inhabit it, for I have given the land to you to possess it….But if you do not dispossess the inhabit

March 29   Numbers 32 Psalm 38:1-8 Proverbs 9:10-12 Luke 3:1-20 Wisdom   “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.  For by me your days will become many, and years of life will be added to you.”  Proverbs 9:10-11 LSB   “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” is a phrase found in numerous verses in the Bible (Proverbs 1:7, 15:33, 14:27, Psalm 111:10, and Job 28:28).  The fear of the Lord is the foundation or p

March 28   Numbers 31 Psalm 37:35-40 Proverbs 9:7-9 Luke 2:39-52 Pondering   “And He went down with them, and He continued in subjection to them, and His mother was treasuring all these things in her heart.  And Jesus was advancing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”  Luke 2:51-52 LSB   Earlier in chapter 2, when the shepherds came to visit Jesus, Luke said, “But Mary was treasuring all these things, pondering them in her heart.”  In the passage today, Luke

March 27   Numbers 29-30 Psalm 37:30-34 Proverbs 9:3-6 Luke 2:21-38 Waiting And Watching   “And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.  She was advanced in years having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four.  She never left the Temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.  And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God and continued to

March 26   Numbers 27-28 Psalm 37:23-29 Proverbs 9:1-2 Luke 2:1-20 Fit For A King   “And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guest room.  In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But

March 25   Numbers 26 Psalm 37:14-22 Proverbs 8:34-36 Luke 1:57-80 Under The Lord’s Care   “Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.  The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever, in times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.”  Psalm 37:16-19 NIV   “The blameless spend all the

March 24   Numbers 25 Psalm 37:7-13 Proverbs 8:32-33 Luke 1:26-56 Grateful Obedience   “’I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’  Then the angel left her.”  Luke 1:38 NIV   Mary was a teenaged girl (probably around 15-16 years old), living in Nazareth.  She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph.  She was just going about her everyday life when her world changed forever.  Like any teenaged girl, she had plans, dreams, hopes for th

March 23   Numbers 23-24 Psalm 37:1-6 Proverbs 8:30-31 Luke 1:1-25 Unbelief   “And Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How will I know this?  For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.’  And the angel answered and said to him, ‘I am Gabriel, who stands before God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.  And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe by words, which will

March 22   Numbers 21-22 Psalm 36:7-12 Proverbs 8:27-29 Mark 16 Balaam’s Donkey   “Then Yahweh opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand;  and he bowed his head down and prostrated himself to the ground.  And the angel of Yahweh said to him, ‘Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary because your way was contrary to me.  And the donkey saw me and turned aside

March 21   Numbers 19-20 Psalm 36:1-6 Proverbs 8:25-26 Mark 15:21-47 Courage   “And when evening had already come, because it was Preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent Council member, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up the courage and went before Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus….And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.  And when Joseph had bought a line

March 20   Numbers 18 Psalm 35:22-28 Proverbs 8:22-24 Mark 15:1-20 Vengeance   “You have seen it, O Yahweh, do not keep silent;  O Lord, do not be far from me.  Stir up Yourself, and awake to my justice and to my cause, my God and my Lord.”  Psalm 35:22-23 LSB   Psalm 35 is an imprecatory psalm.  In it David laid out his case to God and prayed for the defeat of his enemies.  We are not told when David wrote this psalm or the enemies he was referring to but it may have been wr

March 19   Numbers 16-17 Psalm 35:17-21 Proverbs 8:20-21 Mark 14:43-72 The Path Of Righteousness   “I walk in the path of righteousness, in the midst of the pathways of justice, to give those who love me an inheritance of wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.”  Proverbs 8:20-21 LSB   The speaker in Proverbs 8 is “Lady Wisdom,”  a personification of God’s wisdom.  She is calling out to people to listen to her and embrace the value of choosing her way.  She explains that wi

March 18   Numbers 15 Psalm 35:9-16 Proverbs 8:17-19 Mark 14:27-42 Blue Cords   “Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.  And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of Yahweh, so as to do them and not follow your own eyes, after which

March 17   Numbers 14 Psalm 35:1-8 Proverbs 8:14-16 Mark 14:1-26 The Lord’s Supper   “And while they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is My body.’  And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.  Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine

March 16   Numbers 12-13 Psalm 34:15-22 Proverbs 8:10-13 Mark 13:24-37 The Woodshed   “And they said, ‘Has Yahweh indeed spoken only through Moses?  Has He not spoken through us as well?’  And Yahweh heard it.  (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the Earth.)  Suddenly Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, ‘You three come out to the tent of meeting.’  So the three of them came out.”  Numbers 12:2-4 LSB   Thankfully I was never t