November 16   Ezekiel 39-40 Psalm 122 Proverbs 27:17-18 James 5:1-12 Accountability   “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  Proverbs 27:17 LSB   We are not meant to be alone.  “Then Yahweh God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.’” Genesis 2:18 LSB   God created us as relational beings. We need people to fulfill different roles in our lives.  Different people serve different functions.  Some provide companions

November 15   Ezekiel 37-38 Psalm 121 Proverbs 27:15-16 James 4:13-17 Tomorrow   “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’  Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.  You are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.  Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’  But as it is, you boast in your ar

November 14   Ezekiel 34-36 Psalm 120 Proverbs 27:13-14 James 4:1-12 Shepherd Of Israel   “For thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I Myself will seek My sheep and care for them.  As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his sheep which are spread out, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.  I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring

November 13   Ezekiel 32-33 Psalm 119:169-176 Proverbs 27:11-12 James 3:13-18 Bitter Jealousy And Selfish Ambition   “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.  This wisdom is not coming down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil practice.”  James 3:14-16 LSB   If you attend a typical business/leadership seminar or

November 12   Ezekiel 30-31 Psalm 119:161-168 Proverbs 27:9-10 James 3:1-12 A Forest Fire   “Behold how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!  And the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our existence, and is set on fire by Hell.  For every kind of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.

November 11   Ezekiel 28-29 Psalm 119:153-160 Proverbs 27:7-8 James 2:14-26 Faith And Works   “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”  James 2:26 LSB   This question is the source of much debate in the church.  It is the difference between denominations and is a point of division within the body of believers.  Many scholars differ on this subject, and many believe that Scripture contradicts itself on this topic.  I do not believ

November 10   Ezekiel 25-27 Psalm 119:145-152 Proverbs 27:5-6 James 2:1-13 Favoritism   “If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin, being convicted by law as transgressors.”  James 2:8-9  LSB   Satan loves to create division and tear us apart.  He hates the unity and love that should be characteristic of the Body of Christ and will

November 9   Ezekiel 23-24 Psalm 119:137-144 Proverbs 27:3-4 James 1:19-27 Do What It Says   “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it—not forgetting what they

November 8   Ezekiel 21-22 Psalm 119:129-136 Proverbs 27:1-2 James 1:1-18 Tempted   “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God;’ for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully matured, it brings forth death.”  James 1:13-15 LSB   God is holy and without sin (Psalm 111:2-3, 145:17

November 7   Ezekiel 19-20 Psalm 119:121-128 Proverbs 26:26-28 Hebrews 13 The Lord Is My Helper   “Make sure that your way of life is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ so that we confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?’”  Hebrews 13:5-6 LSB   The author of Hebrews was quoting Psalm 118:6 in this passage.  “The Lord is my

November 6   Ezekiel 17-18 Psalm 119:113-120 Proverbs 26:23-25 Hebrews 12:18-29 Turn Back   “’Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his way,’ declares Lord Yahweh. ‘Turn back and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you.  Cast away from yourselves all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!  Now why will you die, O house of Israel?  For I

November 5   Ezekiel 14-16 Psalm 119:105-112 Proverbs 26:20-22 Hebrews 12:1-17 Run The Race   “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter or our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of

November 4   Ezekiel 12-13 Psalm 119:97-104 Proverbs 26:18-19 Hebrews 11:17-40 Joking   “Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death is one who deceives their neighbor and says, ‘I was only joking!’”  Proverbs 26:18-19   This proverb is often referred to as the practical joke proverb.  I am not suggesting that all practical jokes are bad.  The motivation is certainly an important factor in determining whether it is wrong, but many practical jokes are done to humiliate some

November 3   Ezekiel 9-11 Psalm 119:89-96 Proverbs 26:17 Hebrews 11:1-16 Faith   “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him.”  Hebrews 11:6  LSB    Hebrews 11 is often referred to as the Faith Hall of Fame.  It recounts the lives of numerous men and women throughout the Bible who had faith in God.  Their faith was much more than just an intellectual understanding of

November 2   Ezekiel 7-8 Psalm 119:81-88 Proverbs 26:16 Hebrews 10:19-39 Willful Sin   “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.  Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy by the mouth of two or three witnesses.  How much worse punishment do you think he will deserve who has tr

November 1   Ezekiel 4-6 Psalm 119:73-80 Proverbs 26:13-15 Hebrews 10:1-18 The Wrath Of God   “Then you will know that I am Yahweh when their slain are among their idols all around their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak—the places where they offered a soothing aroma to all their idols.  So throughout all their habitations I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land more desolate and d

October 31   Ezekiel 1-3 Psalm 119:65-72 Proverbs 26:11-12 Hebrews 9:11-28 The Fool   “Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who...

October 30   Lamentations 3-5 Psalm 119:57-64 Proverbs 26:8-10 Hebrews 9:1-10 His Faithfulness   “The steadfast love of the Lord never...

October 29   Lamentations 1-2 Psalm 119:49-56 Proverbs 26:4-7 Hebrews 8:7-13 A New Covenant   “’And this is the covenant that I will make...

October 28   Jeremiah 51-52 Psalm 119:41-48 Proverbs 26:3 Hebrews 8:1-6 Freedom   “And I will walk in a wide place, for I seek Your...