Verse of the Day
for Wednesday October 7th, 2015

Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you — majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
—Exodus 15:11

Thoughts on Today's Verse...
With whom do you compare the incomparable? How do you grasp the infinite with a finite mind? When the quintessence of majesty is the God you contemplate, how can you ever speak of majesty about anything else? God exhausts our superlatives. God's glory bewilders our imaginations. God's greatness exceeds our wildest dreams. He is beyond what we can know or believe. Yet the Wonder of all his wonders is simply this: he limited himself to a baby, swaddled by loving parents in strips of cloth, and placed in a feed trough because there was no room for them in the inn. Sometimes the greatest of all wonders are not the ones that require our biggest and best words. Sometimes the greatest of all wonders wrap their tiny fingers around our own and capture our hearts.

My Prayer...
I do not know how to understand your incredible love for us, yes even for me. How could you enter our world in baby Jesus? Like the Magi, I bow and worship you, Lord Jesus, and our Father who sent you. Who is like you, O God? Nobody is even close. Yet for some reason known only to your grace, you have brought us close. I praise you for your majesty and I praise you for your manger. To your glory, precious Jesus, and in your name, I offer this praise. Amen.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.
– Psalm 111:10

Notice that wisdom doesn’t begin with knowledge, for knowledge without the fear of the Lord can become destructive. This Psalm tells us that obedience is the first step toward true understanding, so start with a heart that is ready to listen and obey what God says in His word. When you do, you not only gain wisdom and understanding, your heart experiences praise, which brings passion back into your soul, and passion motivates us to use all that we learn for God’s glory.

Verse of the Day
for Thursday October 8th, 2015

In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
—Exodus 15:13

Thoughts on Today's Verse...
As a minister, I am privileged to be present at many of the most important events in people's lives. Good or bad, to be there at the crossroads of life is a sacred trust. In those moments that are hardest, dying and death, verses like this one fill my heart with strength and remind me why I answered a call to serve in waters way above my head. God's promise here is a great reminder that what he began when he redeemed his people out of Egypt, he would also complete by bringing them into the Promised Land. Now, we can hear a more powerful promise behind these words. We can find it even more reasonable to trust them. God did what he said for Israel. Since he did for them, can't we say with confidence, "I know you will guide us to your holy dwelling?"

My Prayer...
Tender Shepherd, you have led me through some very difficult times and brought me safely through. Now as I seek to live for you, please make your presence known. I truly believe that you are guiding me to your holy dwelling, but sometimes, I must confess, the way becomes difficult and faith becomes hard. Renew my courage, O Lord, just as you did with reluctant Moses and untested Joshua. Then, dear Lord, please use me to help others find your promise and their way home to you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
– James 1:12

We must remember that there is a reward for those who are willing to endure the ridicule of others who don’t understand the ways of God. The gospel is so radical to our human experience that it turns our way of living upside down. The gospel causes the rich to humble themselves and exalts the poor; it offers eternal life to the outcasts and the powerless. There is something about the way that we live that should draw attention to God, even if that attention is adversarial, but do not fear for God has a crown for those who stay true to what they believe.