The Reading Plan Daily Devotions

Wisdom is one of the most valuable components of life. God devotes an entire section of books in the Old Testament so that we could become wise (the "Wisdom" books- Job, Psalms Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon).  Do you have wisdom? Here is a way to evaluate from James 3. 13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. I talked with a man once who thought he was very wise, yet

Most people in the world are on a quest for physical wealth. "If I just had _____," they reason, "I would be happy." Amazingly, God has provided a way for every man to have incredible riches. God addresses the sin of partiality and personal favoritism in James, Chapter 2. People were honoring the rich above the poor. But in this rebuke, God makes a statement that identifies the wealthiest people on earth. Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? (James 2:5) I'M RICH IF I HAVE FAITH! Faith is dependence upon the One who is beyond us. Everything in the Christian life operates by this principle of trust. Followers of Christ struggle and falter in our faith at times. But it is essential to see why faith is so valuable: it is the connector to God! It turns our attention away from our meager abilities and causes us to look up to God in humility and say,

Just because a church or a pastor names the name doesn’t mean they are engaged in ministry as God desires. The picture of an effective, God-glorifying church is given to us in the pages of the book of Acts. In Acts 13, we see a beautiful picture of how the church is to function. It begins with leaders who seek the Lord fervently. “While we were ministering to the Lord and fasting.” (vs. 2) These leaders turned to the Head of the church, listening and responding to the Holy Spirit to lead and empower. And look what the Spirit did (and will do for all who follow His leadership). THE SPIRIT SPEAKS While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. (vs. 2-3) THE SPIRIT SENDS So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. (vs. 4) THE SPIRIT PROCL

Pride is the mother of all sins. God says a great deal about arrogance in the Scripture because we need to understand its source and effects. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" is a truth that is repeated three times in the Bible. It is a foundational sin, a default posture of our thinking, that most of us will deal with until we see Him face to face. A PROUD KING Herod was in a long line of kings who operated by pride. He was frustrated that the church was growing and that he couldn't stop it. Acts, Chapter 12, records Peter's miraculous, angelic deliverance from prison, under Herod's watch. Herod was so frustrated by this miracle that he had the guards executed. He went to Caesarea (a city he had built like so many others) to find some relief. While there, he delivered an address, and here was the result. On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The peopl

"The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings." ( Acts 11:12 ) How do we know what we are to do? First of all, God has given us His Word. If we will read and follow what God is saying to us every day through this Word, it will be a “lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path” (Psalm 119:105). But this is not a mere academic exercise. It is empowered by the Holy Spirit (God in Spirit form) who lives in us. God speaks to us, not in audible form although He could, but in the way that God communicates in the spirit with His creation. PETER’S PROMPTING Peter is recounting to his fellow Christians how God led him to go to the Gentiles in Acts 11. This step was unheard of because most Jews at this time believed the gospel was just for them. It's hard for us to grasp, but there were reasons for these assumptions. The Spirit of God came to explode that thought and showed the young Jewish believers in bold relief that the gospel was for everyone. But the first man to cro

Does someone around you need to hear about Christ today? The Biblical record indicates that God wants to use you constantly to lead people to Himself. We don't know much about Philip in the Scripture except that he was chosen as a deacon in the early church. The requirements for these six men who were chosen are found in Acts 6. "Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation,  full of the Spirit  and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task." (Acts 6:3) Our first encounter with one of these men is Stephen, who became the first martyr of the New Testament in Acts 7. Now we see Philip "preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans" in Acts 8. During a great movement, the Lord gives him a strange request to go to a desert road.  He instantly obeyed, and there was an Ethiopian official who just "happened" to be reading the book of Isaiah and was wondering about the one referenced in the Scripture. Then the Spiri