23: Everywhere Jesus went, his disciples followed. This is what a disciple does, nothing less. Many today who call themselves his disciples fail to ask themselves if they are truly following him.

Daily Bible Reading: Hosea 8:1-13:16

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:24 “Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,”

Daily Tidbit: There are about 39 hours left in 2012, how will you use them?

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love for us. You are incredible! We can never truly understand just how much You love us. Thank You for Your faithfulness and grace. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for people to honor the Lord in these last days of 2012.

Personal Journal Entry #12262

22: Though Jesus’ statement here may jolt many into a bad attitude towards him in this passage, his words were not that strange. The Jewish persons listening would at least understand that he is referring to those who are dead in their sins. Jesus is literally comparing physical and spiritual death. He says let those who are spiritually dead care for those who are physically dead. This does not exclude his followers from participating in any funeral whatsoever. What it does do is to make the call of Christ on one’s life more important than one’s own family, even if that means missing a funeral. The question is not whether a minister of the gospel may be involved in family affairs. The question is whether family affairs may be sufficient grounds to keep one from being a minister of the gospel. One dare not wait to serve on a foreign field, or move to a far away place, for Christ only because of fear for missing their parent’s funeral. If reasonable means may get them to their parent’s deathbed, then okay. But to wait close to home on the chance that someone might die someday is preposterous. You are just as liable to die waiting for them to depart as they are to die while you stay.

Daily Bible Reading: Hosea 2:1-7:16

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:23 “And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

Daily Tidbit: The ‘James’ ossuary, reported about ten years ago, is an example of the burial practices of the ancient Jews. Though the inscription on this box is, and likely always will be, disputed, the ossuary itself is a great example of what was at stake in Matthew 8:21-22. The eldest son in a Jewish family would remove the father’s body from the family sepulcher a year or two after the funeral. The body would be decomposed, so only bones would be left. The bones would then be placed in a box such as this ossuary. So, this disciple may have wanted to stay close to home so he could re-bury bones!

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, You are wonderfully kind to us! Blessing people with friends and family to encourage and help them is very kind of You. You know that we need each other and You. You bring us together at church, unified by You Spirit, in the name of Your Son. It is so nice to know others who love You and serve You. If I were to sit down and try to list all the ways that You bless my life, it would take way too long to do it! Oh Father, we do not deserve Your blessings, but we know that Your glory is great, and You will not share it with any other. You are not good because You give it great effort to be so. You are good by Your very nature. You are truly glorious! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for a man having problems with his blood. Pray for a woman who just recovered from cancer. Pray for a man who is suffering from heart trouble.

Personal Journal Entry #12261

21: This disciple is asking something that we will not immediately understand. The disciple’s father was not, just then, dead. For one thing, if that were the case, he would likely have already left to bury him. Also, it can be seen by how the man made his request that the father was not yet dead. He does not say, ‘let me go bury my father’. Instead, he says, ‘let me first’, meaning, ‘before I follow you’. So, we see that this man is not simply asking permission to go bury a dead man.
   It was, in Jewish custom, a very honorable thing for the son, especially the eldest, to be involved in the father’s death. Indeed, many Jewish sons would not venture from home until after the death of their father. There was even a practice of a second burial, after the decay of the flesh, in which the son, a year after the first, would bury the father’s bones by interring them in a box and placing them in the family tomb. This disciple could even have had this second burial in mind.
   Either way, the key is that this man was not simply asking for a few days to go bury a dead man. he was asking for an uncertain period of time to wait for his aged or sickly father to die. Or, he was asking for time to go and perform the second burial. In each case, the need to care for the dead is not the main point. Delaying his following of Christ in order to honor his father by staying home until his death was what was in mind here.

Daily Bible Reading: Daniel 10:1-Hosea 1:11

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:23 “And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

Daily Tidbit: It is a good idea to look back ever once in a while to see where you have been spiritually. If you have personal notes, or studies you have done in the past, pull them out and look them over again. It can be a big encouragement.

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for knowing what we need. It is amazing that someone so great, good, and perfect could be so intimately familiar with our weaknesses. It jut goes to show Your love for us. Every interaction with You reveals Your glory a little more. We come to realize that any perceived lack in You is not a lack in You at all, but a lack in our knowledge of You. When we look to You with a new set of problems, we find You have a new set of mercies waiting for us. How can we thank You enough for being so kind to us? Help us to live for You. In the name  of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for two couples who will be travelling in the next few days. Pray for a woman with severe health issues.

Personal Journal Entry #12260

19: In this part of the passage, Jesus speaks with a couple of his followers. One, who happened to be a scribe, offered to go with Christ anywhere, thus becoming one of the more dedicated members of the group. Jesus, however, had evidently not called this man to such, and he did call his other close disciples to this level of devotion.
20: Though we do not know the result of this exchange, Jesus wanted this potential servant of his to understand the true nature of the ministry.  Unlike what the scribe was used to, Jesus had no permanent dwelling or situation. He was not cared for and established, which would be expected by a scribe. It was an altogether different setup from what the scribe had experienced up to that point.
   Jesus’ use of this simple illustration involving birds and foxes, though quaint, gets right to the point. Jesus was less likely to find a place to rest than would these wild animals. Jesus calls himself the ‘Son of man’, which the Jews, especially a scribe, should immediately recognize as a reference to himself as the Messiah.

Daily Bible Reading: Daniel 7:1-9:27

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:23 “And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

Daily Tidbit: Dr. John Gill, a great scholar of the Word from days gone by, holds for us today an example of what not to do in the ministry. On the one hand, Gill’s understanding of the Scriptures is to be applauded and emulated. His commentary on the Bible has been helpful to me on many occasions. Yet, his ideas concerning election and the doctrinal confusions surrounding it kept him from being as influential for the gospel as he could have been. He could not, it seems, find it withing himself to call men to Christ. Though we may understand the source of his hold-up, we may not be held by it. Like Peter in Acts 3:19 we must call upon people to “Repent” and “be converted”.

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, You are our Source of joy, peace, hope, love, mercy, and grace. These kindnesses are a great benefit and blessing to us. How can we ever thank You enough for just these, and yet You have even more. Your Truth, justice, holiness, patience, and faithfulness are also so wonderful. Oh Father, can we ever truly know just how good You are to us? As this day unfolds, we will see yet more examples of all of these things. We will, though the measure of them is constant, perceive a growth of all these blessings in connection with us. We understand You more every day, and yet wonder more each day how we will ever know all there is to know of You. An eternity in heaven is surely enough to know You completely, but as it stands, we feel sure that it will take all of eternity to begin to know You in all of Your glory. Give us, Father, in our lifetime enough a sense of You that we will never find time to think of anything else but Your great love and the attendant blessings of it. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for a family having a custody battle. Pray for an elderly woman with health issues. Pray for two young girls who are sick. Pray for a woman having trouble with her knee.

Personal Journal Entry #12259

18: Jesus had many followers. Even today, many follow, or claim to follow, Christ. But now, as then, the true followers of Christ are few. this multitude dwindled as Jesus’ ministry progressed.

Daily Bible Reading: Daniel 5:1-6:28

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:21 “And of some have compassion, making a difference:”

Daily Tidbit: We have 365 days, or 8,760 hours, or 525,600 minutes, or 31,536,000 seconds in this new year. How will we use them?

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for 2012! Your provision and goodness to us this year has been wonderful. May Your people have a great year in 2013. We need to be more devoted to You every step of the way. Father, thank You for Your faithfulness. Help us to be faithful like You. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for many who are making plans for the new year.

Personal Journal Entry #12258

Luke 2:7: This child was the firstborn of Mary, not Joseph. His firstborn would come later. Jesus, being the son of the woman only, was the result of a great miracle of Almighty God. He was born sinless and perfect. Mary wrapped the child. This morning, thousands will unwrap presents of all shapes and sizes. One can receive all sorts of wonderful presents, but we dare not miss the most important present of all, the Christ-child.

Daily Bible Reading: Daniel 2:1-4:37

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:21 “And of some have compassion, making a difference:”

Daily Tidbit: Each day, over a billion e-mails are sent over the internet.

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for Christmas. Without You, the most popular holiday of the year would not even exist. We often forget how much You do. You are the source of all the good there is. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for Christians to be a good witness to this world this Christmas.

Personal Journal Entry #12257

17: This quote is from Isaiah 53:4, which is one of the greatest chapter about Christ in all of prophecy. To think that the very Son of God Almighty has taken our sins upon himself is quite amazing. We would never think it if it had not been God who told us. Also, it is said here that he removes our diseases upon himself. Though we remain in this present sinful body, we have a promise of a future glorified body made on fashion of this one that will have no diseases. thus, this part of it has a literal fulfillment as well.

Daily Bible Reading: Ezekiel 47:1-Daniel 1:21

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:21 “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.“

Daily Tidbit: If the world has been in existence for 10,000 years (which is a long number, 5,000 to 6,000 is more likely) that is 3,650,000 days. If you were to make a 1″x1″x1″ cube for every day, you wouldn’t even be able to fill an average American home with the cubes. If you live to be 100 years old, and you made the same size cube for every day, you could not even build a pile the size of a small car.

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, teach us to count our days. We can see Your greatness all around us. This Christmas I praise You for Your wondrous mercy. If I had lived a far better life than I have I would still be overawed by Your mercy and grace towards me. Oh Lord, may we live in the light of Your goodness, considering Your glory at all times. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for a family who just lost a loved one. Pray for a man having trouble with his blood.

Personal Journal Entry #12256

16: The preponderance of demonic possession in Christ’s day is not to be a surprise. Many were given to the practice of magical arts, such was common in a culture so mixed up. The religious leaders seemed unable to offer anything authentic, and the influx of pagan idolatry was strong in areas controlled by Rome. Jesus delivered these possessed ones by a means different from all others. Indeed, his authority prompted the Jewish leaders to feel that he must be a servant of the devil. On the contrary, the demonic hoards were the more subject to his will and word than they could ever be to the devil. Verses like this one serve to highlight the extent of Jesus’ ministry. There was no sickness, no torment, no problem, that could not be easily handled by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Daily Bible Reading: Ezekiel 44:1-46:24

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:21 “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

Daily Tidbit: Much ado has been made about nothing it seems in the case of the Mayan calendar. Scientists and thinkers have, though pointing it out, shown the December 21 date to be just what it was, another day. Religionists and spiritualists did what they do best and celebrated it, and the money they made off of it. The rest of us just went on with our lives. So is there any significance to this Mayan doomsday? Well, yes and no. As it has been pointed out, the day is just the end of an epoch of time for the Mayans, and the beginning of another. However, the true significance of the day is that it ends a certain period of time. This period was roughly five thousand years long. Thus the ancient Mayans believed that time began about five thousand years ago. Not surprisingly, the Hebrew calendar starts not but a few hundred years before that. Indeed, many calendars of ancient cultures put the date of creation somewhere in recent history. If we stop thinking that we know everything long enough to accept the wisdom of the ancients, we must come to the conclusion that God’s Word is not off in its report of the time of creation.

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. Though mankind hesitates to accept Truth not reported by our own senses, we could not have come this far without the influence of Your Words upon our society. May we have a renewed sense of Your awesome power and great glory this Christmas season. Father, You are able to make our lives whatever You want them to be. May we yield to Your plans this coming year, rather than chasing our own. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for a man with terminal cancer.

Personal Journal Entry #12255

15: The woman was immediately healed. She was not fatigued, hungry, or in need of long recovery. This was not always the case. Sometimes Jesus’ miracles were different, like with the blind man who saw men like trees, or the young lady that needed some food after she was raised. None of this minimizes Jesus’ power. What it does do is point out that he will heal in his way, not ours. We may not always understand why some are healed, while others remain sick. We make Jesus’ ability to wipe all the problems away our acid test of his power. And yet, he has yet to wipe all problems away. He will, one day. But, in the meantime, we must believe that he can, whether he heals like we would expect or not.

Daily Bible Reading: Ezekiel 41:1-43:27

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:20 “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,”

Daily Tidbit: The biblical cubit was probably about 18″, which was generally measured by the length from a man’s elbow to the tip of his middle finger.

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for each day that You give to us. If the rapture does not occur this coming year, which would be better, we look forward to a whole year of days from You. Every one of them is a new opportunity to remember Your glory and grace. May we never miss a day of realizing Your role in our lives. May we never let a night slip by without knowing that You have us in Your hands. We believe that You can do anything You want to do, and that You have a very specific plan for this year. May 2013 be a year full of people bringing to You the glory that You deserve. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for the strength of Christian marriages. Pray for our shut-ins. Pray for those who are recovering from health issues.

Personal Journal Entry #12254

14: Several things must be noted in this verse. First, Jesus notices Peter’s mother-in-law as soon as he comes into the house. The disciples told him quickly, but he knew it all along. This reminds us of the importance of telling Almighty God our needs. He already knows, and has more than enough power to meet those needs, but he wants us to ask.
   Secondly, we notice that these miracles have been for those who would normally be considered less important, or forgotten altogether. The first was a leper, the second a Gentile, and this was a woman. Jesus left nobody out.
   Finally, Jesus was always willing to go with the flow of events. Unless he had a specific point to make, he would allow interruptions, and seemingly unexpected needs, come into his schedule. Though many would be quick to point out that he knew everything ahead of time anyway, he is to be our Example to follow. So, we should have a similar willingness to find our schedule in the serendipitous revelation of God’s will for our next moment.

Daily Bible Reading: Ezekiel 38:1-40:49

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:20 “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,”

Daily Tidbit: Though many may have thought the world would come to an end today, it did not. However, the reactions to the continuation of things as they are makes one wonder about the reaction when it actually does one day. When Jesus takes the church out of the world, for example. what will people’s reaction be then? When he returns to to rule on earth, how will everyone respond? Scripture gives us an educated guess to the answer of these questions. Indeed, based on the reaction to this day, and what we find in scripture, the true ‘end of the world’ will likely not make people very happy.

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your goodness to us. You are always ready to meet our needs. I am glad that You ask us to tell You though. Our greatest need is to remember that You are the Source of all good. We easily forget that. Oh Father, may we be as willing to be interrupted by You, as You are to be interrupted by us! Your love is so patient. We speak of the patience of Job, and yet You had to be patient with him! Lord God Almighty, Your ways are perfect. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for children still recovering from sickness. Pray for people this Christmas to spend time with their families.

Personal Journal Entry #12253