Valentine

John 8
I have heard verse 32 quoted many times, but now I see the context:

31To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my
teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the
truth will set you free." (NIV)

It seems to me that Jesus was not referring to the "truth" as an academic knowledge, but a practical obedience to His teaching. This reminds me of Romans 12:1-2:

1I call upon you, therefore, brethren, through the compassions of God, to
present your bodies a sacrifice -- living, sanctified, acceptable to God -- your
intelligent service;
2and be not conformed to this age, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, for your proving what [is] the will of
God -- the good, and acceptable, and perfect. (YLT)

I am also reminded of John 15:10:

10"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I
have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. (NASB)

Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me obey your teaching and remain in your love. I want to prove that Your Will is perfect. Jesus, please be gracious to me for Your Name's sake.

Messianic Misconceptions

John 7
I am fascinated with the Pharisees and other religious leaders who claimed to know God (and the Scriptures) yet missed THE MESSIAH. I guess something that hindered their understanding was a collection of general misconceptions about Who the Christ is and what His purpose is. Even though they knew He would be born in Bethlehem of the line of David (John 7:40-43), they were real knuckleheads about this one (John 7:25-27):

25At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, "Isn't this the
man they are trying to kill? 26Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not
saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the
Christ?
27But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know
where he is from."

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for revealing to me the identity of your Son, Jesus the Christ. Lord, please remove all my misconceptions of Who you Are and what your Plan is. Please give me the Truth, for then I shall be free.

Worthy Wife

Proverbs 12
Yesterday evening, my wife and I had the opportunity to renew our marriage vows at church, so verse four resonated with me this morning: "A worthy wife is a crown for her husband, but a disgraceful woman is like cancer in his bones." Praise the Lord, for He has given me a "worthy wife." Worthy, in this case, does not modify me, but her; that is, I would be most foolish to think she is "worthy" of me and my love. No, she is worthy of praise from me because of her faithfulness, love, compassion, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, grace, tenderness, and beauty (i.e., her attributes that identify her with our Heavenly Father).

Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for a "worthy wife" that seeks to demonstrate how the Church loves Christ. Thank you for your sanctifying work in her life, and for using our marriage to teach and grow us together in your image.

honesty

Proverbs 11
There are many verses in this chapter about the content/character of our speech (e.g., honesty, lying, gossiping, stirring up trouble, integrity, etc.). According to my interpretation, 11 verses(approximately one-third of the chapter) deal with speech. I think the concepts are simply generalized in verse 19: "Godly people find life; evil people find death."

Luke 16
Verses 9-13 are self-explanatory:

9 Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make
friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to
an eternal home.
10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in
large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with
greater responsibilities. 11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth,
who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12 And if you are not
faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of
your own?
13 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and
love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot
serve both God and money.”

Prayer
Lord Jesus, please help me be conscious of my speech and only say things that glorify You. Please teach me to be a good steward of the resources you have placed in my charge. Help me be kingdom focused, and not selfish, in my spending.

Know Fear

Proverbs 10
Recently, one of my Brothers was explaining how there are basically two types of fear: a proper fear of the Lord because of Who He Is, and a crippling fear associated with selfish perspective which Satan uses to control us. Proverbs 10:27 and 24 illustrate these two cases, respectively:

27 Fear of the Lord lengthens one’s life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.
24 The fears of the wicked will be fulfilled; the hopes of the godly will be granted.

John 5
There were two short paragraphs that caught my attention and are self-explanatory:

24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.

Jesus Christ is the only name by which you may be saved. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one approaches the Father, except through a saving understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for Salvation through your Son. Teach me to fear you as I should, and do not let me be deceived by the Devil, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I want to live in the Victorious Power of the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. Let me die to myself, take up my cross, and follow you daily that I may know this resurrection power and be found in Christ.

Messiah

Proverbs 9
This chapter begins with an invitation to dine in Wisdom's perfect/complete home. I don't think it is too far of a stretch to see Christ's invitation to the banquet table in Heaven. Especially considering verse 6: "Leave your foolish ways behind, and begin to live; learn how to be wise."

John 4
Several years ago, I was challenging an atheist/agnostic colleague of mine with the Liar, Lunatic, or Lord argument, and she replied that Jesus never directly claimed to be the Messiah. Well, she was wrong. When Jesus was speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well,

25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ.
When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”

Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for inviting us to be a part of your family. Thank you for showing your love to us. Thank you for making us Children of God. Thank you for the assurance that when we have Faith in You, we have Life. You are the Light by which we see!

Wisdom begs your hearing

Proverbs 8
This chapter is the proverbial Wisdom pleading for everyone to listen to her. I loosely interpret this as Christ calling sinners to repent and trust in Him for Salvation. I think it is summarized in the last couple of verses:

35 For whoever finds me finds life
and receives favor from the Lord.
36 But those who miss me injure themselves.
All who hate me love death.”

John 3
I just love it when you read text in different places in scripture, and it addresses the same topic. So, to go along with the aforementioned text, Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus when he says,

16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent
his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through
him."

Then, at the end of the third chapter, John the Baptist is speaking about Jesus when he says,

36 "And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who
doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s
angry judgment.”

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for saving me from death and giving me Life in the Spirit through your Son Jesus Christ. Please grow in me the desire to share your love with those around me, that they too would repent and turn to Life.