MONDAY

Reading for Today:
Matthew 12:22-37
Acts 17:16-34
Psalm 28
Exodus 13–15

Matthew 12:22-37
What does your speech say about you? The words we say and the way we say them tell those listening a lot more than we might realize. For instance, a gossip’s speech tells people more about the gossip than it does about the person the gossip is talking about. Just as a diseased tree produces bad fruit, so also a diseased heart produces unhealthy speech. If we want to clean up our language, we can’t just change the words we say. That won’t work. Instead, we have to allow Jesus to clean up our hearts.

TUESDAY

Reading for Today:
Matthew 12:38-50
Acts 18:1-17
Psalm 29
Exodus 16–18

Exodus 16—18
It didn’t take long for the Israelites to forget what God did for them in Egypt: how he sent the plagues upon the Egyptians, how he protected the Israelites, and how he parted the Red Sea. As soon as troubles came, they forgot about these miracles. We, unfortunately, often do the same thing. When hard times come, we forget about the good things God has done for us in the past. We focus instead on what we don’t have or on what we think is missing from our lives. Sadly, focusing on what we don’t have leads us to neglect the blessings we have.

WEDNESDAY

Reading for Today:
Matthew 13:1-23
Acts 18:18-28
Psalm 30
Exodus 19–20

Acts 18:18-28
Sometimes we hesitate to share the gospel because we think we don’t know enough. We fear someone might ask us a question we can’t answer. We worry we might say the wrong thing. In Acts 18, Apollos didn’t know everything about Jesus. In fact, the text says he “knew only the baptism of John” (verse 25). That, however, didn’t stop him from sharing the good news. We might not know everything about Jesus, but we can share what we do know and how he has changed our lives. It’s not as much about what you know anyway; it’s about Whom you know.

THURSDAY

Reading for Today:
Matthew 13:24-43
Acts 19:1-22
Psalm 31
Exodus 21–23

Psalm 31
Do you worry about the future? Most of us do occasionally. We worry about finances or about our families. We fear things in the future that may or may not take place. We might claim Jesus as our Lord and say we trust him, but the truth is, our actions don’t always match our words. Instead of living in peace, knowing he has us in his hands, we fret and worry about things outside of our control. How much better our lives would be if we, like David, said with conviction, “My future is in your hands” (Psalm 31:15, NLT).

FRIDAY

Reading for Today:
Matthew 13:44-58
Acts 19:23-41
Psalm 32
Exodus 24–26

Matthew 13:44-58
Jesus didn’t perform many miracles in his hometown of Nazareth because the people lacked faith. Even though these people had seen Jesus mature and had likely noticed his righteousness and closeness with the Father, they refused to believe in him. Because of their unbelief, they missed the Savior. What might they have seen if they hadn’t refused to believe? What miracles might Jesus have done there? Today, is it possible our lack of faith is preventing Jesus from doing great works in our lives also? Is it possible we too are missing out because of unbelief?

SATURDAY

Reading for Today:
Matthew 14:1-21
Acts 20:1-12
Psalm 33
Exodus 27–29

Exodus 27–29
The Israelites had to do many things so that God would dwell among them. They had to wear certain garments, present certain sacrifices, and follow certain rules. Exodus 29:44, 45 says that only after Aaron, his sons, and the Tent of Meeting were consecrated would God come to dwell among the Israelites. What a privilege we have today! We don’t have to offer daily, weekly, or even yearly sacrifices. Jesus died on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Today, God dwells among us because of what Christ accomplished at Calvary.