Genesis
1:1-3:24
Father,
thank you for such a challenging and instructional year.
So many weaknesses have been exposed – so much need has been
realized. Your strength has been
manifested and Your promises affirmed. Be glorified in Your
creation Lord God – be glorified – be regarded as holy by all of Your
creation. You have called us to life,
and Christ is that Life. But too often
we have chosen to seek life through knowledge rather than life through faith in
Jesus Christ. We want to use the Law in
our own power. All we think we need is
the knowledge of good and evil, and then we can just take it from there. We want to demonstrate that we can work all
this out ourselves – that we can be good enough – that we don’t need You to reach You. But
we have failed – totally, completely, miserably – and
we are undone. Father,
thank You for Jesus. Thank You
for bridging the gap between the Trees, for making a way that we might have
life and have it in abundance. It is
only through You Lord. Forgive me –
forgive us – keep us – deliver us. You
are able. Amen.
Genesis
4:1-6:22
Gracious
Father, as I begin the journey through Your revelation
of the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ, Your Son, I am once again
struck by how much bad news
must be revealed as the story of the Good News is told. In fact, Lord as You
bring to us this Gospel, You first bring to us the truth of its necessity. This is most harsh for us to read, but this
is not a complaint; because it actually reveals our need. And by Your Spirit it even drives us to true
repentance. So we continue reading and
witnessing the tragedies, crimes, perversions, and atrocities from distant
times and places. This is where Your
Holy Spirit brings us to an awareness that all these darknesses
abound within us, here, and now. This is
where we discover our only deliverance is through the triumphant atonement of
our Savior, Jesus Christ.
v The blood of Abel cries out to You, testifying of the curse the descendants of man have
inherited from the first Adam.
v The blood of Christ cries out to You, testifying of victory over that curse by the second
Adam!
Amen!
January 3
Genesis 7:1
to
Father,
Lord of all creation, forgive us. Too
often, we take Your Providence for granted.
And indeed, some even try to explain Your Providence in humanistic
terms. Forgive us.
This
reading today begins with the blessing of salvation from the wrath of Judgment,
and it ends with yet another curse, and yet another family turmoil. There is a very great darkness vividly
exposed by this marvelous Book of Yours.
That darkness is sin. It has
stained everything. Yet everywhere we
turn, in every reading, constantly emerging and dispelling the darkness is the
brilliant Light of Life, Jesus Christ.
He is Your Promise to us. He is
Your Gift. He is Your Son. May this day be saturated with thoughts of Him. Amen.
January 4
Genesis
10:1 to
My Father,
I am intrigued this morning by the marvelous genealogical accounts you have
given here. Just the fact that we have
these, much less their content, is an amazing blessing
and it would seem that skeptics would be persuaded by such things. The details are so revealing, such as the
descendants of
January 5
Job 1:1 to
Sovereign
Lord, it seems to me that great faith does not always mean great theology. Job did not have all the answers. It could be that he had very few. It appears that his primary contributions
here are to ask why, which is the ultimate reason he was rebuked. But oh Father – that
I might have the faith that would bless Your Name when all earthly blessing is
gone and there are only curses in every direction. May I always acknowledge Your
sovereignty, Father, and may I always trust that You are good. And Father, may my faith always exceed my
understanding so that having the answers to everything is not my drive, but
rather loving You.
I think it is ok to ask “why” as the essence of an inquiry to knowledge,
but it doesn’t seem appropriate to me to cast this question at You as an indictment of Your actions. Father, I bow to You,
regardless of what I know or don’t know.
In Jesus Name, amen.
January 6
Job 4:1 to
Merciful
Father, I have hope in no other but You. All else is a vanishing mist, but Your mercy endures eternal.
Job seems to be traversing a full range of emotions as he searches the
reason for his affliction. He considers
his physical affliction to be a terminal disease and seems to wish its
hastening. His friend Eliphaz tries to encourage, but then jumps to conclusions
about the past. It seems, Father, that Job has placed confidence in practical
righteousness at times, but other times he appears to understand his positional
righteousness to be the result of mercy by grace through his Redeemer. But Job feels so shaky about this. He assumes by his circumstances that God has
not forgiven him for his sins. It seems
his faith is weak and basing God’s grace on physical circumstances. Of course, the overriding problem is Job’s
error in desiring God to provide an explanation for His actions. Father, grant me faith that bows to You in all circumstances.
Amen.
January 7
Job 8:1 to
Father of
Lights, it is true we wonder after You. It is good that we question “What would You
have me do,” but
it not good to ask why. Job is a very
good theologian, but he seems to stumble when he begins to question Your reasons or motivations.
And before long, he deviates into counseling You,
which he himself knows is wrong. Lord,
may I be strengthened in faith. May I
grow in trust and when I am overwhelmed, may I simply concede my deficiency, Your greatness, and Your mercy. May I learn well, loving Father, from
blessings and sufferings that You love and attend to
all in Christ Jesus. May my attitude
always be one of worship. I glorify You! May my actions glorify You
consistently, not intermittently.
Forgive my sins, and cleanse my conscience, that I may sing Your praises forever.
Amen.
January 8
Job 11:1 to
Merciful
Savior, we are all so much like Job at best.
We become the most analytical when we focus on ourselves. It seems we fancy ourselves blossoming
theologians when we consider our own reactions to the ups and downs of
life. We are the masters of philosophy
as we stand in front of the mirror. And
as we draw closer to the mirror, we imagine that our wisdom is increasing
steadily. But Father, somehow, please turn us from this folly.
The only true knowledge of You must come from
You! We need You
and we must come to know it, and when we know it, then we will want You. And when we want You,
may we proceed onward to love You. The
search for knowledge and wisdom and philosophy and theology culminates
there. It is the homeland of our hope! It is the all out love of the Almighty Savior
with no reservations. Fill us with Your
Holy Spirit, dear, glorious Father. Take
captive our hearts, our minds, our strength, our souls – that we might at last
know true liberty. Amen.
January 9
Job 15:1 TO
My
wonderful Father, unceasing Provider, and tireless Sustainer, may these words
bring the love in my heart to You. Job felt such a variety of emotions – of
highs and lows – of confidence and weakness.
But he does show that his attention is not always on the earthly or
physical dilemma. He does remember the
unseen and when he does, his theology shines through. He knows he has a Savior. He knows he has a Redeemer. And he knows he has an Intercessor, pleading
his case. I am glad that Job is
positioned early in this chronological presentation of the Bible, because we
should all be reminded that the people of the Old Testament were saved the same
way and by the same Savior as the people of the New Testament and the people of
today. Father, teach me to focus more
strongly on the unseen, even when I am showered with physical abundance. May my eyes always look to You
and seek Your purpose. Amen.
January 10
Job 19:1 to
My Father,
I have read this morning Job’s responses to Bildad
and Zophar.
And it reminds me to move patiently and humbly in theology. Even with the wonderful canon of Scripture
that You have graced this generation with, it is still
easy to speculate too boldly regarding those things that remain
unrevealed. It seems, Father, that Job
and his friends have all become overconfident in their theology. But in the midst of it all, Job clings to one
point of confidence that is not foolish at all.
He expresses powerfully his confident hope in a living Redeemer. He knows he has been purchased and I believe
he knows the price paid. Job knows
Jesus! In other words, he looks forward
to the salvation of Yahweh. He knows
that You, my glorious God must provide the sacrifice,
the satisfaction for sin. And he also
looks back, because he knows all this has been concluded in Your
“chamber” before the Creation. He knows
his Redeemer dies and he knows his Redeemer lives again! Praise the Lord!
January 11
Job 22:1 to
26:14
Lord of
Glory, please cut off all the forces that would draw me away from the truth of
justification by faith. Remind me always
to embrace life by faith in the Life-giver.
Job seems to falter often in his faith but he always pulls back. He always remembers that the words of Your mouth are more treasured than his daily bread. Father, please protect me from the forces
that would weaken or rob such a memory.
Grant me a joy that withstands the curses of this earthly journey and
transcends the ups and downs of daily living.
O Lord, may all glory be Yours, and if I ever
seek glory among my brothers, please Lord, turn my heart, that I would rejoice
in laying it before Your feet. Thank You so much for Your love that gives all to save and for
Your grace that satisfies justice for the sinner. Amen.
January 12
Job 27:1 to
29:25
Merciful
Father, I read that the fear of the Lord is wisdom and to shun evil is
understanding. Father, it is obvious I
am lacking in critical areas. But Your
Word assures of Your generosity when wisdom is asked
for in unwavering faith. So we are back
to the “faith” issue. This is another
commodity that originates with You, and even before it
is requested, You dispense a portion to each one. It appears that how faith is used (or if it
is used) or exercised, is strictly up to the individual. The help that the individual receives with
faith comes from hearing Your Word. That
is how Your Spirit attracts. Father, thank You for Your presence today. Thank You for Your help. I am reminded of my resource You have so graciously provided. I will return from the mud puddles to wash in
the water of Your Word. Forgive me,
shepherd me, and deliver me. Glorious
Savior, thank You.
Amen.
January 13
Job 30:1 to
31:40
My God of
grace, Lord of the humble, Father of the broken, we forget Your
love 100 times a day. We are so
wishy-washy. When will we ever learn
that we are Your children and that we are loved? When will we understand that the comforts of
this life are not our goal? Will we ever
truly see that our lives should be a quest to share in the power of Christ’s
resurrection and in the fellowship of His suffering? The suffering are
all around us. O Lord, who have we
suffered for that we might relieve them?
I don’t believe that Job forgot that God is God! I think he forgot that Job is Job! He lays out his self-justifying defense, and
no doubt was correct in all he said, but then he caps it all of with a charge
to God to answer him. Humility is such
an elusive virtue. Father, forgive me
for dictating to You.
You are the Creator and I am Your
creation. Amen.
January 14
Job 32:1 to
34:37
Dear
Father, be praised this morning. Be
regarded holy this day in my heart, my home, and my community. May Your sovereignty
be acknowledged and bowed to. My Lord,
the reading this morning is unsettling because of the arrogant confidence shown
by some in defining Your ways to others. I think we all suffer from fuzzy theology in
one way or another and to varying degrees, and while that does not mean we
should keep our mouths shut, it does mean we should proceed very meek, gentle,
and reverent. It is not our place to
determine why things happen. It is
our place to realize we all deserve eternal punishment and only by grace
through faith in Christ can it be avoided.
We should all maintain a continuing attitude of repentance and minister
to those who are suffering rather than judge them. We should worship our Creator with every
breath and enjoy the merciful access to His throne forever. May it be so dear Lord. Amen.
January 15
Job 35:1 to
37:24
Father, Elihu seems to have an understanding of You
and Your relationship to man that comes close to Your revelation to Job, but I
do not think he properly understands man’s relationship with man, nor how to
properly reflect the image of a saving God.
I think all of them forget Your mercy. I say “forget” because they sometimes show
brief insights into Your mercy but quickly depart once
again. The final leg of his discourse is
rich in illustrations of the majesty and sovereignty of God and it leads well
into the “terrifyingly beautiful” discourse that You
direct to Job. It’s just that Elihu seems to speak too harshly regarding Job and it makes
me think he is somewhat puffed up in his knowledge and in fact, even seems
braggadocios. All of these guys, maybe
even Job a little bit, seem to lack poverty of spirit and meekness. It is so true that knowledge puffs up. Forgive me, Father. Amen.
January 16
Job 38:1 to
39:30
My God, my
Father, be my Lord. Oh, that I would
acknowledge You in all my ways and that I would have
no ways that would darken Your counsel.
Father, where can I go to escape this flesh that insists on the
darkness? Only to You,
my gracious Father! Only to You! You are the Possessor of victory and no
other. You are the Dispenser of that
victory through Jesus Christ the Lord, Your only unique Son, and through no
other. You grant wisdom and the
recipients are wise; You withhold wisdom, and only
foolishness remains. Gracious Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, this is Your creation; I am Your
creation. You have made me and enabled
me, but I have neglected You so very much. You issue the decree “choose!” and how often
I choose poorly. I plead for Your mercy for the sake of Christ. I claim the victory You
offer through Jesus. Sanctify me by Your
Spirit and Your Word. Amen.
January 17
Job 40:1 to
42:17
Almighty
Lord, I suppose one of the big lessons for me is to approach Your Word with
great humility and care, lest I darken what shines brightly for all the hungry
to be gratified by; lest I obscure the goblets of truth offered to the thirsty. Your Word is Sovereign, my Lord, and I bow to
Your counsel.
Protect me, Father from the egotism that would embellish Your Words with
thoughts that are not Yours – with ideas that are not
there. Lord, seize my heart, I beg You; turn me from the convenient counsel of this earthly
culture. Rescue me from my own evil
propensities that grow up from the soil of my fleshly lusts. Wash me and I shall be clean; deliver me and
I shall be free; guide me and I shall not stray; consume me and I shall disappear
into Your glory, and reflect Your goodness forever. Amen.
January 18
Genesis
Righteous
God and loving Father, I know that righteousness comes only by faith in Jesus
Christ. Your grace provides this plan
that seems so outlandish to this world.
Men want to establish their own righteousness and ascend to Your presence by their own merits. But this leaves them totally doomed –
excluded – outcast. We know works of
righteousness crafted from the hearts of men are soiled with evil, because
there is none born of man who is righteous – not one. Abram believed what You
said. Of course, he acted upon what You said, because belief that justifies is belief that acts
justly. However, his action continued to
include imperfections. It was not his
actions that justified Abram, but it was the decree of God when Abram believed
the Word of God. Abram even lacked faith
at times and lost his awareness of God’s presence, but he always repented and
remembered God’s promises – Your promises!
Amen.
January 19
Genesis
16:1 to
Loving
Lord, once again Your love for man comes through with
such radiance. Man can be (and is) so
unfaithful, so fickled. And Yet Your grace
is manifested so brilliantly through Your patience. Your patience is not like men’s
patience. The scales of man are
inadequate to measure Your grace. Indeed Your mercies are everlasting. I am saved by Your
grace. Your grace reaches beyond the
“7-times-70” incessant repetition of sinfulness, and keeps forgiving. I dare not compare Your
love to the earthly affections of men, because without Your Spirit, men only
love that which is made in their image.
But with Your Spirit, men only love as You
would love, because we see men and women as Your creation, made in Your
image. Father, stir me to resist the
comforts of this world, and demonstrate surrendered love. May my life be defined by nothing less than
loving You with all my heart, soul, might, and
mind. Amen.
January 20
Genesis
19:1 to
Genesis
25:12-18
1
Chronicles
Father, You are so wonderful.
Your Word can heal all wounds.
Your spirit can quicken the brokenhearted. Abraham had to know how faithless it was to hide
the fact that Sarah was his wife. How
did he feel when his beautiful wife, his only wife, was taken away to become
another’s wife? He did not have Isaac
yet. Did he forget God’s promise,
because if he remembered God’s promise, then wouldn’t he know that it was
impossible for him to die before he had Isaac.
Father, maybe I should be ashamed for thinking this, but I am thankful
that Your Word gives this to me right now.
Because Father I know my faith has been weak – virtually set aside at
times. This account is both tragic and
wonderful to me. Faith is not flawless
in us. We can believe God and receive a
just accounting and still falter. Truly,
we are saved by grace! Amen.
January 21
Genesis
22:1 to 24:67
My Savior,
so much is made of the language in Abraham’s obedience in offering Isaac as a
sacrifice to God. He knew that salvation
is of God. He knew that innocent blood
must be shed, and he knew that the death of the innocent leads to the
resurrection of all who believe. He knew
that salvation is of You, Lord. He Yeshua – Jesus. And if he knew, then Moses knew, and of
course it is confirmed in Your Word, OT and NT.
Moses knew Christ, and if Moses knew Christ, we can know that the
millions who followed him were taught of Christ. Father, people are slow to see Christ in the
Old Testament, but the old Testament is really about
nothing else. Your plan, Your Son, Your
mercy, Your love, Your grace. It didn’t start when Jesus came. It started in eternity past. In other words, Your
mercy had no beginning nor end. Your
love is You.
You provided for Abraham a sacrifice – not a ram caught in the bush –
but a Savior in the Person of Your Son.
And You provided salvation to me. Thank you.
Amen.
January 22
Genesis
25:1-4; 1 Chronicles 1:32-34; Genesis 25:5-6;
1
Chronicles 1:34; Genesis 25:19-26; Genesis 25:7-11;
Genesis
25:27 to 26:35
Holy
Father, thank you for enduring mercy. It is
encouraging to see that You can turn a man’s
foolishness into eventual blessings. I
am thinking of Isaac’s lie to Abimelech. He could have just as easily been put to
death for his lie, but instead Abimelech was aroused
to insure Isaac’s safety. Dear Lord, it
is so beautiful that You so powerfully affirm the
value of life in the womb. When You console Rebekah, You not only
affirm Your care for individuals in the womb, but You go even farther and make
it clear that individuals are also nations-to-be. Even us pro-lifers under-value life in the
womb, because where we see individuals, You see
descendants. You actually point back to
the Creator, Yourself, Who created man in His image. This is our source of value; without it we
would be of no value. Esau and Jacob are
so diverse. In a sense, they were both
ruled by passions, but it seems Jacob was a little more disciplined in his
thinking and in his administration.
Nevertheless, they were both ornery.
Father, forgive me for those times – those acts – in which I have
compromised my spiritual birthright for the craving of the moment. Amen.
January 23
Genesis
27:1 to 28:9
Genesis
36:1-43
1
Chronicles
Righteous
Father, there is no flesh justified in Your sight,
except those found righteous in Jesus.
We have all failed in living without sin. Our attempts at righteous actions in our
flesh are disgusting in Your eyes. But Your love never
fails – it always reaches. And Your Son
Jesus – His blood – is our redemption.
This scenario with Rebekah, Esau, and Jacob
seems quite pathetic to me and perhaps to You, but
ultimately Your will was done. Jacob
received his blessing and eventually realized it but only through treachery and
many years of anguish and exile. There
is much sin and sadness among these three and Isaac. Sin never results in blessing. A person may feel happiness for a season, but
the ultimate offspring of sin is misery.
That is why, Father, we not only need Your
forgiveness and Your guidance. We are
also in perpetual need of Your deliverance. Outside of Your grace is the assurance of
failure and misery. Keep me O Lord. Amen.
January 24
Genesis
28:10 to 30:43
Dear Lord,
this is such a colorful section. It
incites quite an array of emotions. I
look at these people like Jacob, Laban, Rachel, Leah,
etc. and I wonder how much theology they had regarding the true God. Jacob must have been taught plenty by his
father and probably even more by his grandfather. We are not shown if he is given to daily
devotion. He seems to remember his dream
well, because of the vivid recording for us, but he does not seem clear on the
meaning. However, he does seem clear on
the significance. He sensed that he was
somehow in the direct presence of God.
We know from Jesus and His reference to angels ascending and descending
upon Him that the “stairway” reference speaks of Your Son. Jacob was afraid. That always seems to be the case when people
truly encounter the kingdom of heaven and know it. I love You Father. Please help me to never disappoint You. Amen.
January 25
Genesis
31:1 TO 32:32
O God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, my Lord, how I love to read of Your
communication and Your care. When I look
at how You brought Jacob from a lying deceiver to a mature
Christian through various levels of distresses and deliverances, troubles and
miracles, brokenness and triumphs, I am so encouraged. I see now that stairway to heaven, which is
my Savior, Christ the Lord. I know the
dispatch of messengers and angelic caretakers are continual to and from Your throne. O Son of
Man, thank You for entering into my wrestling – for strengthening my faith
through distress, adversity, and triumph.
Please forgive me for my sins and receive my gratitude for Your amazing grace manifested in Your everlasting
mercy. Father, may Your
patience endure. Cleanse my heart, wash
my mind, transform my thoughts into the glory that is due You. Amen.
January 26
Genesis
33:1 to 35:29
1
Chronicles 2:1-2
Our Father,
Your grace abounds, and Your forgiveness is ever
responsive to the repentant, and yet the natural consequences of sin are ever
before us. Jacob had struggled so much
in brokenness with You and had prevailed with You and
You with him. And yet we find out
quickly that more spiritual growth was needed.
It wasn’t until he went to
January 27
Genesis
37:1 to 39:23
Father, You are such a loving Shepherd. Your care is relentless and tireless. I take so much for granted because too often
I operate as if I am in charge of my life.
And yet, I know that You are Lord, and so when
I lean to my own guidance, I am not at peace.
But Your care continues. When
January 28
Genesis
40:1 to 41:57
My Father,
You are so wonderful in Your sovereignty, in Your
infinite knowledge, and in Your gracious care.
It would be wonderful to have a shepherd with special power, but Father,
it is wonderful beyond words to have a Shepherd Who is
all-powerful and Who is all-knowing. O
that I might know from my heart, the loving care of my Father, and realize that
He is the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. And then, when sin comes rushing in like a
flood, I would say, “no further!” And
dismiss it back to the shoreline outside of my life. My awesome Redeemer, grant the power of Your
Holy Spirit and Your Holy Word in sanctifying my thoughts, my actions, my
intents. Thank You for the revelation of
Joseph and Pharaoh – of Your gracious care and
assurance even in the midst of despair.
All victory is in Jesus, my Rock, and I curl up into the cleft of the
Rock now. Cover me, dear Lord. Amen.
January 29
Genesis 42:1
to 44:34
My Lord, my
wonderful God, it is such an amazement to see how
January 30
Genesis
45:1 to 46:9
1
Chronicles 5:1-6
Genesis
46:10-12
1
Chronicles
Glorious
Shepherd, we consider Your sovereignty – it is
illustrated so beautifully in the account of Joseph. We consider Your
intimacy – it is also revealed powerfully in Joseph’s life. But wonderful Father, our limited, earthly
minds resist considering Your sovereignty and Your
intimacy together, and yet they are inseparable. It is the essence of that proclamation, “God
is love.” Such love is incomprehensible
to the earthly mind. To be all-knowing
and all-powerful and all-present would seem to exlude
being all-loving and indeed in the human mind it might be. We see that mindset in those who craft a
teaching suggesting that Your atonement has
limitations. Such suggestions imagine
bowing to You, but only after they “master” their
understanding of You with flawed logic.
Forgive us Father, we have all distorted Your
truth, but Your love prevails. Heal our
hearts, open our eyes, and change our minds.
In surrender to You and service to Yours. Amen.
January 31
1
Chronicles 4:1-23; Genesis 46:13; 1 Chronicles 7:1-5;
Genesis
46:14-18; 1 Chronicles 7:30-40; Genesis 46:19-25;
1
Chronicles 7:6-12; Genesis 46:26 to 47:12
Father, You are the good Father.
You sustained and provided and loved throughout world history and You continue today.
The nation arises that will bless all nations. The seed of Abraham continues toward the Lamb
of God Who was slain before the world was. The names are kept. It reminds me that the names are known – all
of them, and mine. You know and care for
even those who would prefer to change their name, such as Jabez,
which means pain, and apparently brought him pain. Father, all those who see themselves as
pilgrims on this earth have discovered that brokenness, suffering, and
adversity can actually be in the plan of God (i.e. the Cross). Those who look for the enlarged borders of
the abode of God, will discover the eternal blessings
of God and the pain-free city of
Ó
2005 C. E. Briggs