MONDAY

Reading for Today:
Luke 21:1-19
Hebrews 2:1-9
Proverbs 19:15-29
Isaiah 6–8

Hebrews 2:1-9
Important instruction in school was often prefaced with, “Now pay attention. This is important.” Most likely it would appear on the next test. The writer of Hebrews used the same literary heads-up. Pay attention so you do not drift away. Not the drift away as in listening to a sermon, but drift away spiritually as in an unanchored life. That’s followed by the rhetorical question, How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? English grammar demands an article before salvation for a smoother read, but it is not as if this salvation is one of many. If we miss the salvation Jesus offers, we’ve missed everything. So pay attention!

TUESDAY

Reading for Today:
Luke 21:20-28
Hebrews 2:10-18
Proverbs 20:1-15
Isaiah 9–10

Isaiah 9–10
Walking through a darkened house is a painful experience. I will inevitably stub a toe or stumble into a wall. Tucked in the middle of Isaiah’s dark, foreboding prophecies of impending destruction comes the promise of a great light dawning. Surprisingly, that light comes in the form a little child. God always sends relief in the most unique and unexpected ways. The child would shoulder the challenges of leadership while giving unending peace. His name is “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (9:6). We don’t need to wait for the Christmas season to celebrate the One who came to be the Light of the World.

WEDNESDAY

Reading for Today:
Luke 21:29-38
Hebrews 3
Proverbs 20:16-30
Isaiah 11–13

Proverbs 20:16-30
Walter Winchell said, “Gossip is the art of saying nothing in a way that leaves practically nothing unsaid.” When others confide their secrets to you, never make any withdrawals on their investment of trust. At one time or another we all have known the pain of another’s gossip. Have you noticed that gossip travels faster over grapevines that are slightly sour? Guard carefully what you share; sometimes you can make a more powerful statement with the words you don’t say. Remember, gossip is like mud thrown on a clean wall; it may not stick but it always leaves a stain.

THURSDAY

Reading for Today:
Luke 22:1-13
Hebrews 4:1-11
Proverbs 21:1-16
Isaiah 14–16

Luke 22:1-13
(Pt. 1) How often have you hurried past the phrase, “a man carrying a jar of water” (v. 10)? I watched my grandfather draw multiple buckets of water from his cistern, so it was a long time before I realized that seeing a man carry a water jar in the gospels would have been a striking sight. The Jewish leaders were seeking an opportune moment to seize Jesus while Jesus needed this last night to prepare his disciples for the tragic events to follow. Could it be the man with the jar was a prearranged clandestine signal to keep the Passover meeting place a secret? 

FRIDAY

Reading for Today:
Luke 22:14-23
Hebrews 4:12-16
Proverbs 21:17-31
Isaiah 17–20

Luke 22:14-23
(Pt. 2) Russell Boatman, the brilliant academic dean at St. Louis Christian College, made observing the Lord’s Supper profoundly simple for his students. In four words, He died for me, the whole crucifixion story unfolds. By prayerfully emphasizing each word the worshiper is drawn into the moment. He—Jesus, Emmanuel, Incarnate God. Died—the One who formed man out of dust and breathed into him the breath of life, stopped breathing! For—on our behalf, in our place, our substitute. Me—if I had been the only sinner in the world, he still would have come. What a Savior!

SATURDAY

Reading for Today:
Luke 22:24-30
Hebrews 5
Proverbs 22:1-16
Isaiah 21–23

Hebrews 5
Feeding a grandchild a bottle is a truly peaceful, enjoyable moment. Before long, however, the child begins holding his own bottle and then stops taking a bottle altogether. But imagine how you might feel if your 14-year-old was still sipping milk from a baby bottle. I suspect you wouldn’t go out in public to eat. If we never dig into the meat of prophecy or feast on the poetic Psalms or chow down on the high protein letters of Paul, how will we learn important spiritual truths? If we only sip at thoughts like John 3:16, the Father might be embarrassed of us in public too.