Daily Bible Reading - Friday - Aug. 27th & Sat. Aug. 28th

Friday August 27th

As we read Job today we see he is still complaining about what he is going through.  He’s asking why the rich sinner can get away with what he does while the homeless lay out naked because they have no clothes and they have no shelter.  After all the complaining and questions Job has he ends what he is saying that no matter what he goes through it will not change how he feels about God.  The devil was certainly wrong when he told God that Job would fold under all the pressure, that he’d curse God.  Again there is such a lesson to learn in the book of Job.  In the devotional it talks about how God wants to increase us, he’s the God of increase.  He wants to increase us in every area of our lives.  It says one of the main things we have to do in order to keep ourselves on the right path is watch what comes out of our mouth.  It’s so right when it says that our words are seeds that will produce a harvest for our future.  If go around speaking words of defeat and negativity then that’s what we will harvest in the future.  The good thing is, if words of encouragement and words of being positive that’s what we’ll harvest when our seed gets ripe.

Today’s Reading

Job 23:1-27:23
2 Corinthians 1:12-2:11
Psalm 41:1-13
Proverbs 22:5-6

Daily Devotional

The God of Increase

God wants to increase us in every area of our lives. He wants to give us more wisdom, stronger relationships, more peace and joy, promotion, and health. Sometimes we don’t see it as quickly as we would like. It can be easy to get discouraged when we don’t experience the breaks we hoped for or when it seems that everyone else is rising higher while we are standing still. During these times, it’s especially important to stay focused on God’s Word knowing that He is for us, that He wants to increase us; and when we follow His principles, we get His results.

One of the most important things we can do to keep ourselves moving in the right direction is to carefully guard what we say. Remember, your words are seeds that produce the harvest of your future. If you go around speaking negative words of doubt and defeat, you are uprooting your harvest of blessing. You are literally speaking against what God wants for your life! But if you’ll stay in agreement with the God of increase, if you’ll declare His Word over your future, then you are setting yourself up to receive the victory and blessing He has in store for you.

Here are some of God’s promises to you to help keep your thoughts and words in agreement with Him:

For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep His commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in His ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy (Deuteronomy 30:16, NLT).

There will be joy and songs of thanksgiving, and I will multiply my people, not diminish them; I will honor them, not despise them (Jeremiah 30:19, NLT).

I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number (Hebrews 6:14, NLT).

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence (Jeremiah 17:7, NLT).

You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said (Luke 1:45, NLT).

Be encouraged today because the God of increase is on your side! As you stay in agreement with Him, you’ll see His blessing, honor, and increase in every area of your life!

Saturday August 28th

In chapter 28 of Job, we learn how we can find true wisdom. Men know how to do very many things. But only God can tell us how we can be really wise. We should fear God and we should worship him. And we should never do things that are wrong. That is how Job says we can be wise. In the next couple of chapters Job seems to be remembering how his life was before all this started.  He really did have it made, he was rich, had a great family, he had everything he could ever want and need and now its all taken away.  As we see though, he still hasn’t cursed God or blamed God for anything.  Sometimes we think we have it bad, we just need to read Job from time to time and that’ll make us think for sure.  I know its put all the situations I am going through into perspective.  It’s also really taught me about the way I talk, about being negative.  I’ve heard it said “we are what comes out of our mouth".  I really believe that because when negative words keep coming out of our mouth it changes our attitude and things really start going the wrong way.  When we stay positive no matter what the situation looks like things really do go better.  It also allows God’s blessings to flow our way.  Proverbs today is so true, that’s really spoke to me about working towards getting totally debt free and staying that way.  Boy the devotional sure hit me again.  I talk about God’s timing all the time but I sure do like to try and hurry Him up, thank goodness He’s so patient with us.

Today’s Reading

Job 28:1-30:31
2 Corinthians 2:12-17
Psalm 42:1-11
Proverbs 22:7

Daily Devotional

2 Peter 3:9, NLT

"The Lord isn't really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake…"

It doesn't take very long to discover that God's timing is not always our timing. It's easy to question and wonder why you've been waiting for your breakthrough for 15 years and your neighbor got their breakthrough in 15 minutes! In the Bible, Abraham waited 20 years for his promise, and in the upper room they waited about ten days. I don't know how long you'll have to wait, but you've got to understand that God has your best interest at heart. He is being patient for your sake. He's aligning things and waiting for the exact right moment! If you'll just continue waiting with the right attitude, then at the right time, God will bring it to pass.

Remember, God is always working behind the scenes for your good. Just because you don't see any changes taking place doesn't mean they aren't happening. Keep standing, keep believing, keep hoping because you're breakthrough is coming for your sake!

A Prayer for Today:

"Father in heaven, today I choose to surrender all my questions, all my fears, and all my doubts. I know that You have only my best interest at heart. I trust You and believe that You are working behind the scenes for my sake. In Jesus' Name. Amen."