January 6 – Bible reading for today from the One Year Bible:

 

Martin Luther said, “Scripture is the manger in which Christ lies. As a mother goes to a cradle to find her baby, so the Christian goes to the Bible to find Jesus!”

Every day as we read God’s Word, we are discovering treasures… and the greatest treasure is Jesus Himself! The other day I was asked, “What’s the most important word in the Bible?” It’s hard to pick one word, so here are my top three that we discover in our Bible reading today.

NEAR

It’s who you are near that can make or break you. That was Lot’s story. Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain (Genesis 13:12-13), and it cost him his wife. Who are you placing yourself near? Who you surround yourself with makes a huge impact on your entire life and future. I want to encourage you to make a decision to draw near to God this year. Like Noah, let’s choose to walk in close fellowship with God.

BELIEVE

We read today that Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith (Genesis 15:6). Jesus said some amazing things about the power of believing:

  • Because you believed, it has happened (Matthew 8:13).
  • Anything is possible if a person believes (Mark 9:23).
  • This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one He has sent (John 6:29).

Martin Luther said, “Faith is the ‘yes’ of the heart.” Faith says “yes” to everything God says. If God says it, faith says, “I believe it!” You cannot even be saved without believing.

LISTEN

But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm (Proverbs 1:33). “Listen” implies obedience. The child that is not listening to their parents is the child that is not obeying them. So here is the secret – listen and obey! Did you hear what was promised for the person who would listen? They will live in peace—they will be untroubled! Hey, in a world that is full of troubled people, to be untroubled sounds pretty good!

I pray today for you, my friend, that 2017 will be a year of you being near the heart of God. I pray that you walk in a new realm of blessing—because you dared to believe! And I pray that the Holy Spirit will give you ears to hear His voice… that your life this year would be ever listening.

Love ya,

Pastor Kevin