Author: Bill Hall

Matthew 26:2
   How appropriate is it that Jesus is to be betrayed to die at the very same time that the Jews were celebrating their deliverance from death? The Passover of course commemorates the time when the death angel passed over the homes of the Jews living in Egypt. As God poured out the last plague upon the Egyptians, the Jews deliverance from His wrath was not automatic. This is where the Passover was born. God’s specific instructions had to be followed. The blood of the slain lamb had to be put over the door of the Jewish homes. Thus, just as all of Judaism was celebrating the deliverance brought about by some sheep, Jesus was preparing for the deliverance He would supply by His own death.

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 33:1-36:32

Scripture Memory: James 4:11 “Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for all of Your goodness! You are so faithful! May we never fail to give You the thanks and praise in our lives. You are Holy, Holy, Holy! All honor and glory belongs to You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a family man that just lost his job. Pray for a church that is looking for a pastor.

Journal Entry #14321

Matthew 26:1
   Please notice that the proceeding chapters come towards the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. His disciples had been with Him quite some time. As a result, they had already heard, and come to understand, many of His other teachings. Only at the end do they hear all of this prophecy. Notice also the way the Scriptures are organized in our Bibles, with the prophecy towards the end of the Old Testament, and of the New Testament. This is the proper order. Once we have understood all that goes before, then we can hope to properly understand the prophecy.

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 31:1-32:44

Scripture Memory: James 4:11 “Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and goodness! You help us through the dark valleys of life. No matter what comes our way, You give us strength through Christ. May we always live to sing Your praises. You are worthy of our love and service. You are great and mighty, O Lord! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man in bad shape in the hospital. Pray for a family that suffered a house fire. Pray for a woman having cancer treatments this week.

Journal Entry #14320

Matthew 25:46
   Though it is not by works that we are saved, there is a very real sense in which our obedience to the Lord is what Salvation is all about. Though we should be careful not to make a final judgement ourselves, we may never teach that disobedience is the path to life. Salvation is not as easy as flicking on a light switch and nothing more. There will be those who think they belong to Christ, who don’t.

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 28:1-30:24

Scripture Memory: James 4:10 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we do easily fall prey to the enemy! We live or lives without even having our eyes open to all that is going on around us. Teach us Your truth that we may live lives that are spiritually effectual. You are important to us, we don’t want to miss what You are doing. Your program for this world is our source of hope. All over we see people fighting each other. Though there is a battle to fight, it is a spiritual one. Only when Christ returns will Your kingdom become physical. Lord, help us to love others as You would have us to. We need in our hearts the Spirit and His guidance. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man who just got home from an extended hospital stay. Pray for a couple of women who don’t feel well.

Journal Entry #14319

Matthew 25:45
   The right balance here is to do what we do for the sake of Christ. All that is done for others must be done for Him. Simply doing good works, or simply being ‘good’ people, is not enough. Jesus teaches us to do things for Him, and in doing that, we do for others. This is what these miss. They are judged not for failing to be ‘good’ as best as anyone can on their own. They are judged instead for the fact that that goodness, outside of Christ, is worthless. All glory belongs to Him. Thus, man is basically evil, not good, and He alone may change that.

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 25:1-27:22

Scripture Memory: James 4:10 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, your amazing and boundless love is so wonderful to me! How could I ever thank You enough for Your precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ? Your great faithfulness and unfailing grace are what keeps me going from day to day. How can we ever praise You enough for Your Almighty power? Forever and loner we will lift Your name high, for You are worthy! In the name of the Logged Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man in a difficult situation. Pray for a man who needs assurance in his life. Pray for a young woman with health concerns.

Journal Entry #14318

Matthew 25:44
   You can see here the incredulity. The first group we see here judged may be characterized by humility, the second by pride. The first group does not feel worthy to be rewarded, whereas this second group will not fail to think themselves worthy of honor. They think all along that they have done what the Lord would have them to do. This shows us the sinister character of the antichrist. People will believe they are doing God a service, yet will be His enemies.

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 22:1-24:10

Scripture Memory: James 4:10 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your blessings! May we never forget the importance of our service to You. When we fail to love You as we should, though you forgive us, it is a failure to show You that we care. With all that You love us, we should love You in return. Help us to know that You care and to see that You can enable us to care for others, and You. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a couple of people who are sick. Pray for a man in the hospital.

Journal Entry #14317

I’m sick. I hope to resume posting in a day or two. Have a blessed day!

Matthew 25:43
   For many even now Christianity is seen as something that Jesus teaches us how to do. In other words, He is an example and teacher only. He shows us how to live right. Though all of this is true, it is only partly true. Jesus is the very person of salvation. Christianity is not simply following His pattern. It is knowing and serving Him personally. We are His servants, obeying His will. We cannot simply learn from him how to be good and then move on in our own strength. But, this is exactly the picture of Christianity that people have today. They attempt to separate the principles of Christ from the person of Christ. This one simply cannot do. When it is attempted, the true teaching of the Lord is lost in the process. All that is left is man’s imitation of Christ’s righteousness. This is why these people in this judgement will fail to minister to Christ. They will be doing ‘good’ in man’s eyes, but will fail to do the will of Christ.

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 10:1-13:27

Scripture Memory: James 4:9 “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, may we never be found to simply imitate Christ. We must depend upon Him completely. He must be our Master. He must control every aspect of who we are. There must be a personal connection between us and Him. May we always lift His name high. Jesus is our Savior. He is the Lord of our lives. He is the Master of our future. He is our hope. He is our truth. We dare not try to define good, or perform it, without full reliance on Him. It is when we try to be good and right without the Holy Spirit that we get into trouble. We must live in the Spirit! We dare not try to be good in the flesh. Thank You for Your grace in our lives in that You make it possible for us to live right through Christ. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman recovering from heart surgery. Pray for a man with financial woes.

Journal Entry #14316

Matthew 25:42
   Once again, though doing good works for others is very important, notice what Jesus is saying here. These people may have indeed fed the hungry. But, they did not feed the hungry that God would have them to feed. Just doing good deeds is not enough. We must do the will of the Lord.

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 7:1-9:26

Scripture Memory: James 4:9 “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for another day to serve You. You have been so merciful to give us Your truth. You are so powerful! Thank You for allowing us to be what we are by Your grace and love. You can never be praised enough! We will hold Your name high! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man in the hospital. Pray for a woman going to rehab.

Journal Entry #14315

Matthew 25:41
   This is one of the great wonders of the Word of God. The fires of hell are created by God. And for what purpose? To punish the devil and his hordes. Though God knows from the beginning what humans will end up there, he does not say it was prepared for them.

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 4:1-6:30

Scripture Memory: James 4:9 “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for today! Sunday is always a wonderful opportunity to sing Your praises. You alone are God, and we love You. Thank You for giving us Your love, otherwise we would never really know what love is all about. Thank You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for the lost. Pray for a boy that is sick. Pray for a man who wants to get back in church.

Journal Entry #14314

Matthew 25:40
   As in other places, Jesus speaks of doing something for the least. By this, he emphasizes once again that there is no respect of persons with God. Everyone is important to Him. There is no person too insignificant to be noticed by Him. Because this is the practice of our Lord, Christians should always notice everyone. We should not allow any group to escape from our care because we fail to see their need.

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 1:1-3:25

Scripture Memory: James 4:8 “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your mercy and truth. Your grace and love gives us hope for each new day. Never can we say You have not given us hope for our lives. Through Christ, we may have all the hope we could ever need. Though we are weak, You give us strength. Though we are sometimes in pain, You comfort our souls. We will praise You forever, Almighty God. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for those who are not feeling well. Pray for many who have cancer.

Journal Entry #14313