We're taking a trip chronologically through the Bible this year.
My heart is yours, O God, and my soul sings praises to you. Every morning as I see the sun rise, I praise you, LORD.
Great is your love! It fills the heavens reaching to the skies. You are exalted, God, above the heavens and your glory shines over all the earth.
Deliver us, Father. We know you reign over all the earth. Nothing and no one can stand against you, God.
With God on our side, evil doesn’t stand a chance. Victory is our’s.
Thank you, Abba Father.
Let’s join with King David in his prayer:
Hear me, LORD, and answer me, I need you. I am a faithful servant who trusts you – please save me.
You are my God, have mercy on me as I call out to you all day long. I trust you, God. Please give me joy.
You are so good. When I walk close with you, your love and forgiveness overwhelm me. There is no other god like you. Everything you have created joins together to worship you. You are great and marvelous. You alone are God.
I want to learn all about you, LORD, so I can build my life on your truth. Give me an undivided heart which is focused on loving and honoring you.
I will praise you, God, with all my heart forever.
Each day I feel your great love for me. Keep me safe.
I am surrounded by arrogant and confused people who don’t believe in you, God. But I know you are a compassionate and gracious God, overflowing with love and faithfulness.
Open my eyes to what you doing, God. Have mercy on me and save me just like you have done for those who have gone before me. Show me your goodness, LORD, so that others around me will see what a great God you are.
Thank you for your help and comfort, LORD.
Amen.
The LORD takes care of me each day. He provides everything I need.
My Father guides me on the right path – he knows what is best for me. He gives me exactly what my soul longs for as I walk closely beside him.
I can always trust my Father’s guidance.
Even when I’m going through the darkest, most painful times of my life, Father, I have no fear. You are with me. You comfort me.
You pour out blessings on my life. Even those around me who don’t want the best for me can see how well you take care of me.
You fill my mind with your truth as I continue to study your Word and grow in my knowledge of you.
I am overwhelmed by your love for me. Your goodness and grace fill all the days of my life here on earth. And I am 100% certain of what happens to me when my time here on earth is done – I will go to live with my Abba Father forever.
Amen. Hallelujah!
Hear my prayers, Father, and show me your compassion. I will hide myself in your shadow until my fears and worries go away.
I ask that you fulfill your purposes for my life. I know the angels of heaven are fighting my battles and they will give me victory.
Your love and faithfulness never leave me, Father.
I am surrounded by the evil one who is trying to take pieces of me and devour me.
But I still praise you, God. May your glorious light shine over all the earth.
My enemy sets traps for me – especially when I am weary and distressed. The evil one digs deep pits in my path but then he falls into them himself.
I am confident in you, oh God. My heart sings your praises. I awake every morning with a song of praise to you. Thank you for your love and faithfulness which has no end.
I praise you, Father. May your glorious light shine over all the earth.
O God, you are my God. I am searching for you with all my heart.
My soul needs you. My whole being longs to be close to you in this empty, weary and very confused world. I treasure the precious time I get to spend with you.
I have personally witnessed your power and glory. I praise you for your love which makes this life worth living.
I will lift my hands and heart up to you in praise for as long as I live. Only you can fill the emptiness inside of me and make me sing for joy.
In the darkest part of the night, I remember how much you have loved me in the past and how much you have promised to love me in the future. My heart sings for joy as I cling to your promises and feel your arms around me, holding me safe and securely to your side.
The Evil One and his team are all around me, Father, trying to ruin me. But I know you are fighting my battles, God, and you have already won the war.
I rejoice in you, God. All who know the Truth know you. Liars will be silenced.
I will lift my hands in praise to you for the rest of my life, Abba Father.
God is good – all the time!
I will share this great news with everyone I know. Everyone needs to hear this – there is no one and no thing that compares to the LORD!
Say it with me – God is good, all the time!
When I talk to God, he answers me and takes my fears away.
The light of God’s love shines out of us, his children, and we are never ashamed. When we are lost in a pile of problems that we created, we can call on God who rescues us. His angel protects us and sets us free!
Try him and see! God is good!
My Father God is a safe haven and a provider for me and for everyone who has faith in him. Those who look strong on the outside are actually weak and empty on the inside if they don’t have faith in God.
God’s children have everything they need.
Listen to me –
respect and honor the LORD and you will live a life filled with good days. Stay away from lying and all evil. Be a peacemaker.
God watches over those who do what is right. He hears our cries. God is always close to the brokenhearted.
But God turns his face away from those who do evil.
When we have faith in God, we will still have trials but God walks beside us every step of the way – giving us peace and strength.
The wicked get what they deserve. The LORD condemns anyone who opposes the people who love him.
God rescues his children – he is a safe refuge that is always available to us.
We praise you, Abba Father, for you are good!
Sounds good – let’s all do whatever works for us. Then we’ll all be happy.
Or not.
“In those days Israel had no king: everyone did as they saw fit”. Judges 21:25. This is how the book of Judges ends. It may sound good until we scan back a couple of chapters and realize what they thought was ‘fit’ to do.
Family members were stealing from each other. They obviously thought this was an ok thing to do.
Family members were kidnapping each other. They thought this was ok as well.
Family members were killing each other to the point that they virtually annihilated one of the 12 tribes of Israel. I wonder how they could possibly think this was ok but they did. They could rationalize anything. Their moral judgement was quickly spirally into total chaos and confusion.
Because they had no compass.
Sounds familiar? Our current culture has many of these same issues. Why?
When I base what is right and wrong on what I think, I’m in trouble. Then I’m just like these Israelites – doing what I see fit and letting my standards waiver in whatever direction the wind is blowing.
God has been very clear to you and me on moral boundaries. His Word to us is full of direction and guidance. I might not like all of it. You may not agree with all of it. But that doesn’t change his Word to us.
This picture of the Umbrella of God’s Blessing is stuck my head and reminds me that one of my main goals in life is to stay in line with God. When I obey God and follow the compass he has given me, I am placing my life under his umbrella of blessing. When I don’t obey God and just do what I want to do, I am stepping out from under his umbrella. I can’t expect God to bless my decisions and life when I’m not obeying him.
One example is tithing. If we have put our faith in God, we also want to put our money in his hands. This means tithing. We can’t expect God to bless our finances if we steal for ourselves his portion of all he gives us.
It’s my choice and I choose to stay under the umbrella – every hour of every day.
What do you choose?
Dear Father, I desire to walk in your path of truth. Please guide me so that your moral standards are what ‘fits’ me best.
He died.
She passed away.
He was killed.
Before Moses died, God told him, “Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. There on the mountain you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.” Deut. 32: 48-49.
I like that. It makes great sense when someone is a believer. Moses was not going to die. After taking his last breath on earth, the next moment he would be in heaven – with his people. His Father was in heaven. And his Savior was in heaven.
This makes me ask the question – where are my people?
God has blessed me by giving me a family with a very long lineage of Christ-followers. Many generations of my people are in heaven. My son who was a Phoenix Police Officer killed in the line of duty is already in heaven. I have published a book on Amazon, “Then I Looked Up: Losing a Child, Finding His Legacy of Love.” which tells the story of his death and my painful yet hopeful journey since then.
The people I identify with here on earth are also Christ-followers. These are my people. They will be with me when I am gathered to my Father – when I am gathered to my people.
I’m thinking about starting to use this phrase with believers instead of ‘died’ or ‘passed away’. Some people wouldn’t get it but that’s ok – some people don’t get a lot of things.
How about you? Are your people in heaven? Is your Savior in Heaven? If so, then he has prepared a place for you.
Will you be with me when all believers are gathered to our Father in Heaven?
I hope and pray that you will.
On the day you have already determined, I will be there, Abba Father.
Our world can be so disappointing – people lying to get ahead, just telling you and I what they think we want to hear. Often, never actually intending to do what they say they will do. They don’t even remember they said it!
Or other people intending to do what they said but never doing it. Too busy, no money, couldn’t figure it out, yada-yada-yada.
Frustrating.
God is just the opposite.
He always does what he says he is going to do. He always keeps his promises. He doesn’t always do things the way that we think He should but – then again –
He is God and we are not –
He is perfect and we are not –
we are limited by our 3 pound brains while His is infinite, all-knowing and eternal.
I just need to accept that His ways are better than mine – in every situation. I need to stand firm each day on the fact that God loves me and wants the best for me.
God clearly tells what I’m supposed to be doing and how he will respond in Leviticus 26:3 – 13, ” If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will….. “
Okay, my part is to keep His commands and obey Him. In response, God says his blessings will rain down on me from heaven –
He will bless my labor, what I do.
That sounds great!
He will provide food to eat and a safe place to live.
Thank you, Father.
He will give me peace – I will lie down at night without fear.
Exactly what I need.
He will remove danger and my enemies from my life. I will have victory over the evil that surrounds me.
Yes, Father!
God will look on me with favor and keep all of his promises.
You are always faithful, Father.
He will give me prosperity. He will be my God and I will be his daughter.
Please help me prosper, Father, in the things that money can’t buy- like peace, joy and love.
I believe this and will do what He asks, moving forward with my eyes focused on Him. Then I will receive these many blessings of obedience.
Amen. May it be so, Abba Father.
Do what is right and good.
I am reading the entire Chronological Bible for the 15th consecutive year and I know there is a significant number of you who are reading it with me. It’s February so we’re still in the beginning of the Bible and today God highlighted a phrase to me that we have already read several times, ” Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may be well with you.” Deut. 6:18.
I definitely want things to ‘go well’ with me and I’m sure you are on that same page. God is telling me – and you – that he wants to guide us. He wants to light up our path. He wants to walk beside us when the trials of life on this planet try to overwhelm us.
The part you and I have in this is to do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight.
That’s my goal. I’m not perfect- no one knows that better than my Father God. It’s very clear to me that God doesn’t expect perfection, he desires that I admit my mistakes and sins to him with a humble heart and turn away from them. He desires an open heart that is submitted to him and his will. He desires a willing heart that obeys him, even when I don’t understand or don’t agree.
I have found that it is much easier to do what is ‘right and good in the Lord’s eyes’ when I am reading God’s Word each day with my eyes and heart open to what he is saying to me. I am also finding a huge benefit from reading the entire Bible – not just a verse here and a chapter there. Reading God’s Word in Chronological order has helped it make sense to me. I tried one of those reading plans where you read parts of the Old Testament, New Testament and then a Psalm or Proverbs. It didn’t keep my attention. I lost my motivation. What I was reading didn’t tie together into a bigger picture.
The Daily Chronological Bible has kept my attention for 15 years. Because it is a Daily Bible, it has dates on the top of the pages which help give me the structure I need to keep going. I sometimes get ahead and other times I get behind but I keep moving forward. This Bible is not good for studying verse by verse because chapters are condensed and combined. But it is a great reading Bible.
Because I am consistently reading his Word, God is constantly talking to me, guiding me and teaching me his truth.
There’s no question in my mind that this is ‘right and good in the Lord’s sight.‘
Come with me on a Journey through the Bible 