Devotional Passages for Week of March 25-April 1

Monday:  Deuteronomy 4:1-49, Luke 6:39-7:10, Psalm 68:1-18, Proverbs 11:28
Tuesday:  Deuteronomy 5:1-6:25, Luke 7:11-35, Psalm 68:19-35, Proverbs 11:29-31
Wednesday:  Deuteronomy 7:1-8:20, Luke 7:36-8:3, Psalm 69:1-18, Proverbs 12:1

Watching March Madness to the Glory of God

Can a person enjoy March Madness to the glory of God?  The Apostle Paul's answer would be "Yes".  According to I Corinthians 10:31 - "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."  However, on the heels of that statement Paul would likely be very quick to give us the following advice on how to watch the tournament in a way that honors God.  

Paul might begin by warning us against idolatry.  Idolatry is desiring anything above Jesus Christ.  For many of us this immediately ought to result in confession of our misplaced desires and an asking of God for His help to order our desires rightly in our hearts that we might watch in a way that truly honors Jesus.  I believe Paul might then go on to point out the following truths.

9 Biblical Promises We Can Cling To

The following 9 promises were posted at the Desiring God Blog by Jonathan Parnell under the title:

9 Reasons You Can Face Anything 

The following is a portion of that post:

"By the blood of his Son, God has promised infallibly:

1. I will meet all your needs according to my riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).
2. My power will be made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
3. I will strengthen you and help you and hold you up with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).
4. I will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).
5. I will not let any testing befall you for which I do not give you grace to bear (1 Corinthians 10:13).
6. I will take the sting away from your death with the blood of my son (1 Corinthians 15:55f).
7. I will raise you from the dead imperishable (1 Corinthians 15:52).
8. I will transform your lowly body to be like my glorious body, by the power that enables me even to subject all things to myself (Philippians 3:21).
9. I will do this without fail because I am absolutely sovereign over everything and therefore, I can do all things, and no purpose of mine can be thwarted (Job 42:2).

This list is adapted from the sermon, When Jesus Meets Disability."

My Soul is in the Midst of Lions

"My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts - the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords."  Psalm 57:4

Perhaps like me the image above brings back hard memories of being mocked and ridiculed.  It could be that on this very day upon returning from school you find your soul hurting and discouraged by the sword-like tongues of your peers.  Their words have cut deep.  Now you are questioning- "how do I get through this?"  "How do I get up tomorrow and find the strength to return to that environment?"  "Where do I find healing for my emotionally scarred soul?"

I hope it is a great comfort for you, as it is for me, that we are not the first ones to experience these hardships.  The Psalmist who penned the words above, knew what it was to be mercilessly made fun of and mocked too.  He knew what it was like to be picked on.  He knew how it felt to be afraid of what others might say.  Thank God for a writer in the Bible who writes to those wounded by words, threats, jokes, and mockery.  So what might we learn from Psalm 57, how might this writer answer the italicized questions above?

Devotional Passages for Week of March 18-25

Monday: Numbers 26:52-28:15, Luke 3:1-22, Psalm 61:1-8, Proverbs 11:16-17
Tuesday: Numbers 28:16-29:40, Luke 3:23-38, Psalm 62:1-12, Proverbs 11:18-19
Wednesday: Numbers 30:1-31:54, Luke 4:1-30, Psalm 63:1-11, Proverbs 11:20-21

Devotional Passages for Week of March 11-18

Monday: Numbers 15:17-16:40, Mark 15:1-47, Psalm 54:1-7, Proverbs 11:5-6

Tuesday: Numbers 16:41-18:32, Mark 16:1-20, Psalm 55:1-23, Proverbs 11:7

Wednesday: Numbers 19:1-20:29, Luke 1:1-25, Psalm 56:1-13, Proverbs 11:8