Deuteronomy 4:7
For what great nation is there, that has a god so near to them, as Yahweh our God is whenever we call on him? (WEB)

I love this description of the nearness of God that we find in the Old Testament. As the nation of Israel was God's favorite, they had the privilege of being able to call out to Him any time and He would hear them. If God was close to the Israelites way back then, how much closer is He to you and I now?

Not only is the Godhead around us, He lives within us now thanks to the New Covenant and the price that our elder brother paid for us to be born into His family. My prayer today is that you would know the nearness of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!

The Triune God lives in you! All the time! 24/7! There is no place where you can go where He doesn't go with you. And He is always attentive to your prayers and He is cheering you on! May you be encouraged today with the thought that our God is close to us whenever we call out to Him! He is listening right now!

Ephesians 2:18-22
18 For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.19 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, 20 being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone;21 in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. (WEB)

Psalm 37:37
Mark the perfect man, and see the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. (WEB)

King David wrote Psalm 37, which is one of my favorite psalms! There are many precious gems that David unearths in his declaration of who God is and who we are in relation to God in this psalm. In today's Bible reading, David tells us that there is a future for the man of peace.

One of the things that makes our hearts anxious is the thought of an uncertain future. Will we have enough money? Will our health hold out? Will my job be there in 5 years? When we look towards the future, we have more questions than we have answers.

However, if we can take to heart today's promise of a guaranteed future, perhaps we will be able to breathe a little easier with the knowledge that our Father has promised us a bright future? Now you might say to yourself... "I don't feel like I am a man (or woman) of peace, so how can I know that I have a bright future?"

If that is a question you ask yourself, my encouragement would be to not look within your own ability to muster up a manufactured peace, but rather look to the Prince of Peace Himself and the promise that He has already given you in John 14:27... Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful. (WEB)

My prayer today is that the peace that passes our understanding (Philippians 4:7) will guard our hearts and our minds. I pray that any fear of the future would be driven out by the love of God (1 John 4:18) so that we could boldly agree with today's Scripture reading. There is a bright future for everyone who is yoked to the Prince of Peace!

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future. (WEB)

Galatians 3:1-3
1 Foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you not to obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth among you as crucified? 2 I just want to learn this from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now completed in the flesh? (WEB)

The Galatians were a group of believers that had an authentic conversion to Christ but then entertained a group of leaders that were trying to get them to add a little bit of 'law' to the finished work of Christ. In no uncertain terms, the Apostle Paul gave very clear instruction to this group of believers... Having begun in the Spirit, are you now completed in the flesh?

The New Living Translation says Galatians 3:3 this way... How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? (NLT) I think it is easy for us to read the book of Galatians and shake our heads in disgust and agree with Paul's admonition to them.

But before we distance ourselves too much from the Galatians, I would encourage all of us to look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we too have added a bit of 'law' into the gospel of grace. I think the subtle influences of legalism have infiltrated our Christian lives more than we might think.

I know I often feel better prepared to come into God's throne room if I have done my devotions or accomplished some spiritual discipline first. Why is that? Is it because I feel that my work can add to what Jesus has already done? What about the times when I feel at my lowest point? Do I still feel welcome to come boldy to the throne room of grace then? If not, then I may be looking to my own performance to be justified in the sight of my Father.

My prayer today is that we would all realize that our justification in the sight of God is not based on what we have done or will ever do. We are justified by faith through the finished work of Jesus Christ alone. Anything else that we add to salvation is simply wood, hay and stubble. May we all take a deep breath, relax and praise God for a salvation that comes freely as a gift from God and not of our own making!

Ephesians 2:8-9
8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, that no one would boast. (WEB)

John 15:1-2
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. 2 Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (WEB)

I am not a farmer but I know a little bit about the pruning process. Not the pruning of a fruit tree, but the pruning of my heart. In John 15, Jesus paints a very vivid picture of the Christian life using the illustration that He is the vine, we are the branches and His Father is the gardener. It is interesting to note that it is the fruitful branches that are pruned back, not the unfruitful ones. Not being a farmer, I risk not giving an adequate explanation of the pruning process, but here goes anyway...

When a branch begins to grow, it develops leaves and smaller branches that are meant to bear fruit. But along the way, it also produces useless shoots that do nothing but distract the branch from the fruit bearing process and drain it of its energy.

To help the branch be more fruitful, these useless shoots are cut away so that all of the energy coming from the vine can go directly to where it is supposed to go. There is one thing that I have discovered about the pruning process though... IT HURTS! No doubt about it.

I have had many 'useless shoots' pruned from my life over the years. At the time, the loss of some of these things was very painful. But in hindsight, I am thankful to my Father who lovingly cut away all that was necessary, so that I could bear the fruit that brings glory to Him (John 15:8).

If you are going through a pruning process in your life right now, my prayer is that you will know that all things will ultimately work together for your good (Romans 8:28). Our dear friend Jack Winter used to say... "The Gardener is never closer to the branch then when He is pruning it". May we all receive comfort in these words as we submit to the fruit bearing process in our daily lives.

John 15:1-9
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. 2 Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you. 8 “In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples. 9 Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. (WEB)

Matthew 23:9
8 But don’t you be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers. 9 Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called masters, for one is your master, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you will be your servant. (WEB)

In Matthew 23, Jesus is talking to His disciples about the religious leaders of the day and their abuse of their spiritual authority. In this passage of Scripture, Jesus very clearly tells His disciples that they are not to misuse their spiritual authority in a like manner.

Instead of striving to be the most powerful or most influential, Jesus called them to take on the posture of a servant. He then reminds them of the upside down Kingdom that they are called to, where the last will be first, the poor will be rich and the weak will be made strong.

In His address about spiritual authority, Jesus tells His disciples that they better not try to be the intermediary between God and man. Instead of taking on the title 'Rabbi', they should defer to Christ as the Great Rabbi and simply point to Him. The same goes for the title 'Master' too.

But Jesus also says in this passage to 'Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven.' Was Jesus saying that we should not address our earthly dads as 'father' because of our relationship with our heavenly Father? Absolutely not!

We are called to honor our mothers and our fathers as this is the first one of the ten commandments that comes with a promise. (Ephesians 6:1-3). The Apostle Paul also encourages Timothy to treat older men in the faith as 'fathers' (1 Timothy 5:1). So I don't think it would be consistent in Scripture to say that Jesus was telling His disciples not to acknowledge their natural or spiritual fathers.

I believe what Jesus was saying is that in the same way that we have direct access to Jesus as our Master, we have direct access to our heavenly Father. We do not need an intermediary to get between us and God. Sure we have brothers and sisters who cheer us on and leaders who model what it means to follow Christ, but never, and I say never should any person take the place in our hearts that is reserved for God alone.

My prayer today is that we would all know that we have a Father in heaven who loves it when we come into His presence with boldness. There is no need for us to go through anyone other than Christ to have direct access to our heavenly Dad.

Ephesians 4:4-6
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all. (WEB)

John 8:28-29
28 Jesus therefore said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I say these things. 29 He who sent me is with me. The Father hasn’t left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” (WEB)

What a beautiful picture of the intimacy shared between God the Father and God the Son. Jesus lived His life in complete dependence on His heavenly Father and plainly declared that He could do nothing of Himself. Everything that Jesus did was to make His Father smile. Jesus lived to please His Dad and to be an exact representation of His being (Hebrews 1:3).

And Jesus was never alone either. He lived in a constant state of abiding in His Father's presence. Though there were times when He would leave the crowds to go up on a mountain and pray, even at the busiest moments in His ministry, His Father was close by.

As we live our lives today, may we all be aware of the nearness of God to us too! In John 14:23 tells us that He would come and His Father would come, and they both would make their home in our hearts. We are never alone in this life. At the end of the Great Commission, Jesus promised to be with us always, even unto the ends of the earth.

My prayer today is that you wouldn't feel alone in life. I pray that you will feel the nearness of the Godhead in you and around you wherever you go. He hasn't left you alone. He is closer to you than you could possibly imagine. May the Holy Spirit bring a fresh revelation of His nearness to you right now.

Psalm 139:7-10
7 Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the dawn and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me. (WEB)

John 8:12
Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.” (WEB)

Darkness is not an issue when light is present and it cannot co-exist with light. Just go into a dark room and switch the light on and see what happens. Darkness has no choice but to flee in the presence of light. If this is the case in the natural realm, how much more does this apply in the spiritual realm?

In today's Bible reading, Jesus tells us that He is the light of the world. He not only projects light, He is light itself. Often in our struggle with darkness, we tend to focus on trying to rid ourselves of it rather than simply turning the light on. Jesus promises us that anyone who follows Him will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

My prayer today is that we would not spend too much of our energy focusing on the dark world that we live in. Darkness is not an issue when light is present, so may we simply fix our eyes on Jesus who is the author and the finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2) and let His light shine through us.

In Luke 11:34, Jesus tells us that our eyes are the lamp of our body. May each one of us radiate the light and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ today and may His light illuminate our path and dispel any shadows that come across our path!

Luke 11:33-35
33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light. 34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.35 Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness. (WEB)

Matthew 25:34
Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; (WEB)

Today's Scripture verse is just a small portion of a parable that Jesus was telling His disciples. In this parable, Jesus referred to a time of judgment where the 'goats' will be judged and the 'sheep' will be be blessed. Time and space would prevent me from talking about the whole parable today, so I want to focus on verse 34 which is addressed to the 'sheep' in the story.

Who are the sheep in this story? It is those who have received Christ and have been transformed by His life into children of the living God. If you have said 'yes and amen' to Christ in your own life, then the promise in today's reading is for you!

My encouragement to you today is simply this...There is a glorious Kingdom inheritance that was prepared before the foundation of the world for YOU! The truth is that every child of God lives under His blessings and is a full recipient of the family inheritance that our Father prepared for us even before He created the world.

No matter how difficult life is this side of heaven, we have a promise of an eternal inheritance. My prayer today is that each one of us would be strengthened by the thought that we live our lives (today and throughout eternity) under the blessings of our heavenly Dad. He has prepared a place for us in His heart that will last forever! May this truth give us perspective especially when we go through difficult times here on earth.

John 14:1-3
1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also. (WEB)

Deuteronomy 31:7-8
7 Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous: for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 Yahweh, he it is who does go before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you, neither forsake you: don’t be afraid, neither be dismayed.” (WEB)

There are many times in the Bible where we are encouraged to not be afraid and be of good courage. This is one of those examples where Moses passes on the leadership baton to Joshua, encouraging him to not be afraid of the big task at hand.

The reason that Moses was encouraging Joshua not to be afraid was probably because Joshua was afraid. When we are in an overwhelming situation, it is the most natural thing in the world to struggle with fear. It is not being afraid that is the problem, but it is what we do in the face of fear that matters.

Moses didn't guarantee Joshua that there wouldn't be giants along the way that would be obstacles to victory. All he told Joshua was that God would go before him and be with him, every step of the way. He went on to say that Yahweh would never fail or forsake him either.

The reason why Joshua could be strong and courageous was not because he was trusting in his own ability to lead the nation of Israel into the promised land. The reason that he could be fearless was simply because of the greatness of his God and all of Yahweh's precious promises.

My prayer today is that each one of us would be strong and courageous in the midst of all of the challenges we are facing. Not because we have the ability to manage life on our own, but simply because we have a Father and an elder brother who have promised to be with us wherever we go. May we all have a deeper sense of the abiding presence of the Godhead in our being as we take the promised land set before us.

Luke 12:32
Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. (WEB)

John 16:23-24
23 “In that day you will ask me no questions. Most certainly I tell you, whatever you may ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full. (WEB)

In today's Bible reading, Jesus is telling His disciples that a time was soon coming when they would no longer ask Him questions. Jesus was pointing to the time when all who believed in Him would have direct access to His Father in His name.

Of course, praying 'in the name' of Jesus, is not primarily about just saying 'in Jesus' name' at the end of our prayers. Praying in the name of Jesus is all about us being completely and fully united with Christ so much so that when we pray to our Father, we are praying in the very person of Jesus Christ Himself.

In John 14:6, Jesus told us... I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. (WEB). Jesus is our very access to our heavenly Father. It is in Jesus and through Jesus that we can ask our Father directly. And Jesus wants us to ask because He wants us to receive directly from His Dad so that we would be full of joy.

My prayer today is that we would all know that our elder brother has made a way for all of us to have direct access to our Father. May we know that it brings delight to our Father's heart to hear our prayers and to answer our prayers as well. He wants us to be full of joy knowing that He knows what we need even before we ask (Mathew 6:8). May we all have a new boldness in our hearts, knowing that we have access to our Father in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 4:14-16
14 Having then a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold tightly to our confession. 15 For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need. (WEB)