Hearing God’s Voice from His Word
James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
Take a moment and turn your attention to God. Tell God that you desire to trust and obey Him. Ask God to speak to you from His word.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 38:1-4 1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me.
3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.
Read the entire Psalm
David literally feels the weight of his sin. Sin separates and sin harms our bodies. David calls on God for mercy. Give thanks to God for mercy. Acknowledge the reality of sin and praise God for the wonder of His mercy.
Scripture Reading
Daniel 1 – New International Version
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.
6 Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”
11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
Having God’s Ear through Prayer
- Express thanks to God.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal sin to you.
- Confess your sin to Him and receive forgiveness.
(1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sin He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins.”) - Bring your personal requests to God.
(Psalm 62:8 “Pour out your heart before God”) - Pray for someone in your small group.
- Join with others from River and pray for Austin and Jenni. Ask God to encourage them and guide them as they continue their time in the states. Ask God to strengthen and encourage their team on the field.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
Congratulations, you are reading this devotional. I’m not being sarcastic; I sincerely mean it… well done! It is early January though. I hope to be “talking with you” in December. I hope you will continue to spend daily time in God’s word, reflecting on the truth as the year goes on. Don’t become discouraged if you begin to feel like it is not “working.” Often this means we don’t believe we are being helped, or changing, or we are just not “feeling” anything when we spend daily time in God’s word. Measure your life by the standard of faithfulness. To try and measure by anything else is sure to fail. Faithfulness to consistently spend time in God’s word always “works.” Sure, we can read without understanding. We can just put in time without putting in effort to apply God’s word. If this happens, don’t stop doing what is good to do: keep showing up for daily time with God. As you keep showing up, keep asking God to change your heart. Ask him to help you be faithful to apply his word to your life. It is essential that we spend this year in God’s word so that his word can shape our lives. We cannot become too busy or too bored to do what is essential to do. Again, well done, you are on track so far. Please stay with me all the way through the year. If you get off track, quickly get back.