MONDAY

Reading for Today:
John 10:1-10
1 John 2:12-17
Job 10
Ezekiel 29–30

Job 10
Job didn’t hold anything back with God, did he? He was 100 percent honest about his difficult situation. He even asked why God let him survive outside of his mother’s womb since his life was going to be this painful (verse 18). He threw himself quite the pity-party. Though his actions were certainly understandable after all he had been through, I doubt his self-pity did him much good. When we face hardships, we have two choices: we can focus on the unfairness of our situation and grow bitter, or we can allow God to use them to make us better.

TUESDAY

Reading for Today:
John 10:11-21
1 John 2:18-23
Job 11
Ezekiel 31–32

1 John 2:18-23
We don’t need to be on a ministerial staff to know the truth of God’s Word. When we have the Scriptures, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the counsel of wise believers, we have all we need. First John 2:20 says, “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.” The word anointing would have reminded the original readers of oil being poured onto someone. In a similar way, God has poured the Holy Spirit onto each of us. Now it’s our job to let him sink in deep.

WEDNESDAY

Reading for Today:
John 10:22-42
1 John 2:24-29
Job 12
Ezekiel 33–34

Ezekiel 33–34
How many of us go to a worship service each week but leave unchanged? How many of us listen to the words spoken from the stage and sing the praise songs, but never put into practice anything we hear? Our lives remain the same as they were before. Ezekiel 33:31 says, “My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.” This week, don’t merely listen to the words. Let them transform your life.

THURSDAY

Reading for Today:
John 11:1-16
1 John 3:1-10
Job 13
Ezekiel 35–37

John 11:1-16
Are you willing to go through suffering if God is glorified through it? Sometimes that’s exactly why God allows hardships. In John 11:4, after Jesus was told that his friend Lazarus was sick, Jesus responded, “It is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” We don’t always have a choice about what happens to us. So many things in life are outside of our control. But I wonder, if we had a choice, would we choose for God to be glorified, or would we choose the easy route?

FRIDAY

Reading for Today:
John 11:17-37
1 John 3:11-18
Job 14
Ezekiel 38–39

1 John 3:11-18
Love isn’t a feeling. It’s also not something you fall into or out of. If you want to know what love looks like, read 1 John 3. In verse 16 we learn that real love is selfless and sacrificial. Real love means putting the other person’s needs, the other person’s very life, before your own. In verse 17 we learn that real love is generous. Real love sees a need and meets it. In verse 18 we learn that real love is shown by actions. Real love is more than mere talk. How can you put your love into action this week?

SATURDAY

Reading for Today:
John 11:38-44
1 John 3:19-24
Job 15:1-16
Ezekiel 40–41

John 11:38-44
In John 11, after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus seemed to state the obvious: “Take off the grave clothes” (verse 44). It should be clear that someone who has risen from the dead would need to take off their grave clothes. Then again, how many of us, after we have been raised to new life, fail to remove our “grave clothes”? How many of us receive Jesus’ gift of new life, but then continue walking around in our filthy rags? Today, don’t cling to those old grave clothes. Take them off and walk in the new life you’ve been given.