Devotionals

Today's Bible Reading: Numbers 21-22, Psalm 56, Matthew 24:1-14, Romans 6:15-23 Psalm 56: David is facing another—or continued—attack. It is, according to the ascription, “when the Philistines seized him in Gath.” Having fled from Saul, he hides in the kingdom of Achish in Gath among the Philistines. They recognize him as the great general who had killed so many Philistines in battle. David fears for his life and pretends to be insane. And he escapes. You can read about it in 1 Samuel 21:10 and following. So when David says, “my enemies trample me all day long” (56:2), he means real physical danger. And there must have been emotional, verbal, relational pressure as well! What does David do about it? He tells us, and so important is the lesson that he repeats it. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I…

Today's Bible Reading: Numbers 18-20, Psalm 55, Matthew 23:25-39, Romans 6:1-14 Psalm 55: David is once again crying out to God in prayer. “Give ear to my prayer, O God” (55:1). This time it is for a particularly pernicious attack on him personally. How do you respond when someone attacks you? Learn from David’s example. He turns to God in prayer. The need is great “because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me” (55:3). He is internally disturbed, as so often we are when someone attacks us. “Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me” (55:5). He has a simple longing: escape! “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest…I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest” (55:6, 8). When we are under attack, we…

Today's Bible Reading: Numbers 15-17, Psalm 54, Matthew 23:13-24, Romans 5:12-21 Psalm 54: David had many reasons to despair. He faced enemies determined to kill. He was betrayed and attacked. In this instance “strangers have risen against me” and “ruthless men seek my life” (54:3). What would David do about this? What would you do? If you are faced by opposition, what is the right response? Perhaps this morning you are surrounded by “enemies.” You look towards the day ahead and you wonder how you will survive. Perhaps there is someone who is trying to “get you fired.” Perhaps there is someone who is attacking your character. Perhaps someone you have never even met is attacking you on the Internet. What do you? In this psalm, David models for us the instinct of the mature believer. “O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might” (54:1). In other words, when…

Today's Bible Reading: Numbers 12-14, Psalm 53, Matthew 23:1-12, Romans 5:1-11 Psalm 53: Once again, the Psalms sing to us the hymn to an atheist. Why is it repeated? (See Psalm 14). In the end, we do not know. But it is possible that God in his sovereignty is emphasizing the importance of the message of this psalm by ensuring it is repeated in the Psalms book! And what is that message? “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (53:1). It is the ultimate irony for someone to use speech (a marker of our non-merely material status) and thought (another marker of our non-merely material basis) to deny the existence of a Creator. How ironic it is for the atheist to use self-talk—“says in his heart”—to deny the existence of that to which his self-talk itself witnesses! While the fool says in his heart, God “looks down” (53:2). See the unfathomable…

Today's Bible Reading: Numbers 9-11, Psalm 52, Matthew 22:34-46, Romans 4 Psalm 52: The story that apparently gave rise to this psalm is a terrifying one. Doeg betrayed the priests for helping David escape from Saul. Later he was asked by Saul to put the priests to death. He killed eighty-five people in one day. “And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant…” (1 Samuel 22:19). All of this, David discerns, came about through the tongue. “Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? … Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit” (52:1-2). It reminds us of the Book of James: “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!” (James 3:5). Have you been wounded by other people’s…

Today's Bible Reading: Numbers 7-8, Psalm 51, Matthew 22:15-33, Romans 3 Psalm 51: The most famous of all the penitential Psalms, Psalm 51 is of perennial brilliance. It comes out of the fire of the personal experience of David and his sin of adultery and of murder. The prophet Nathan had confronted him and now David confessed his sin. Perhaps there is guilt that is stirring your conscience? There is no one righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10). We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). He who says he has no sin deceives himself, and the truth is not  some him (1 John 1:8). But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Would you use this Psalm 51 as your confession this morning? Note how David appeals to God to have mercy on him.…

Today's Bible Reading: Numbers 5-6, Psalm 50, Matthew 22:1-14, Romans 2 Psalm 50: Have you ever thought that God is silent? You can’t hear him or know what it is that he is saying? Perhaps you have a problem for which you are looking for an answer. Or perhaps you are longing to know what God is saying to you about your future. In this psalm, we meet the God who is not silent! He speaks in creation. He “speaks and summons the earth” (50:1). In nature, “God shines forth” (50:2). It is true that not everyone acknowledges that nature speaks of God (or rather nature is God speaking), but that is because they are spiritually deaf! For those with ears to hear, the natural world sings loudly of the glory of God! He does not “keep silence” (50:3). In “fire” and in a “tempest,” “he calls to the heavens above” (50:3-4). The “heavens…

Today's Bible Reading: Numbers 3-4, Psalm 49, Matthew 21:33-46, Romans 1:18-32 Psalm 49: “Hear this, all peoples!” (49:1). What is about to follow is very important. Will you listen? The psalmist wants to make sure that we hear this, pay attention to it, and give it our full attention. “Hear this, all peoples!” It is so easy to be distracted, and to only give passing attention to the Bible. Our minds quickly go to what we have just read on a blog or what duties the day holds or what may be the challenges that we are facing. But the psalmist wants us to make a special effort to pay attention. What are are we to hear? It begins with a question, “Why should I fear in times of trouble?” (49:5). It is so easy to worry or be scared when things go wrong. Especially when those who “cheat” seem to be doing so…

Today's Bible Reading: Numbers 1-2, Psalm 48, Matthew 21:23-32, Romans 1:1-17 Psalm 48: Today it is not uncommon to think that the institution of the church is unappealing. People may be in favor of Jesus, but they are less enamored by Jesus’ church. But in the Bible the connection between God and the corporate identity of God’s people—the city of Jerusalem, the temple, the church—is always close. But why? Have you ever felt disappointed by church or unable to connect to church? This psalm will help. It starts with a strong affirmation of God’s greatness: “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.” But this affirmation is immediately associated with the corporate identity of God’s people. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised “in the city of our God.” The praise and greatness of God is seen nowhere more truly than in the love that he has for his people, as…

In keeping with the Bible reading plan we are using, the last days of each month are designated as "free days." February 26-28 then are intended to allow you to catch up on reading you may have missed or to study passages more in depth that intrigued you during the first 25 days of the month. With this in mind, God Centered Bible will not have a devotional for February 26-28, but will pick back up on March 1, 2018. We welcome your comments also during these days with insights you've found during the first 25 days. To receive God Centered Bible devotionals directly in your inbox, sign up here.