The Bible is a big book. In a day and age where people like to get their information through soundbites and Tweets, it can be difficult to know where to start reading in the Bible. I will say this… there is no wrong way to read the Bible, but many wrong ways that lead away from not reading the Bible. If you don’t have a good plan, just read it... because THAT is the good plan.

I am sometimes asked, “Where should I start reading in the Bible?” I will often ask what they are dealing with, or how much they know about Jesus. Here are a few examples of those conversations when I am asked, “What part of the Bible should I read?”

Me: What are you interested in knowing about?
Person: Well, I’d like to know more about Jesus. I don’t really know much about Him at all.
Me: You should probably read the book of John. It was a letter about the life of Jesus written by one of Jesus’ best friends.

Me: What are you dealing with?
Person: I’m going through a difficult time, and need some encouragement.
Me: You can check out the book of Philippians. It was a letter written by the apostle Paul to Christians encouraging them to know Christ and experience the peace that comes through that deeper knowledge. Another place to find the love and truth of God is in the book of Psalms. In those chapters you will find people wrestling with the troubles of life and finding victory.

Me: What are you interested in learning about?
Person: I just need some direction for living a life where I make better choices.
Me: You should dedicate yourself to reading through the book of Proverbs. There are 31 chapters in that book. If you will commit to reading one chapter per day for the month, it will undoubtedly change your life. It is arguably the most practical book in the Bible, dealing with and giving wisdom into every single aspect of life. It deals with sex, government, money, relationships, crime, attitudes, business… everything. And they are short spurts. Sometimes a one-liner about dealing with difficult people will transform your day. Definitely the book of Proverbs. A proverb is a “wise saying.” The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Wisdom, and He permeates that book.

Some people probably don’t believe a book can be that rich in practical daily wisdom. So I thought I would give you an example. Today is the 25th of September. Here is Proverbs 25. I dare you to read it without finding something very powerful that you have to re-read and can apply to a situation in your life today.

1 These too are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, copied.

2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.
3 As the heaven is high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings cannot be investigated.

4 Remove impurities from silver, and a vessel will be produced for a silversmith.
5 Remove the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

6 Don’t brag about yourself before the king, and don’t stand in the place of the great;
7 for it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here!” than to demote you in plain view of a noble.

8 Don’t take a matter to court hastily. Otherwise, what will you do afterward if your opponent humiliates you?
9 Make your case with your opponent without revealing another’s secret;
10 otherwise, the one who hears will disgrace you, and you’ll never live it down.

11 A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples on a silver tray.[f]
12 A wise correction to a receptive ear is like a gold ring or an ornament of gold.

13 To those who send him, a trustworthy messenger is like the coolness of snow on a harvest day; he refreshes the life of his masters.

14 The man who boasts about a gift that does not exist is like clouds and wind without rain.
15 A ruler can be persuaded through patience, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
16 If you find honey, eat only what you need; otherwise, you’ll get sick from it and vomit.
17 Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house; otherwise, he’ll get sick of you and hate you.

18 A man giving false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.
19 Trusting an unreliable person in a difficult time is like a rotten tooth or a faltering foot.

20 Singing songs to a troubled heart is like taking off clothing on a cold day or like pouring vinegar on soda.

21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
22 for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

23 The north wind produces rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.
24 Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.
25 Good news from a distant land is like cold water to a parched throat.
26 A righteous person who yields to the wicked is like a muddied spring or a polluted well.
27 It is not good to eat too much honey or to seek glory after glory.
28 A man who does not control his temper is like a city whose wall is broken down.”

See what I mean? Each chapter of Proverbs is like that. How long did it take you to read that? Like 2 minutes? Did you find something in there that you had to read again? Did one or more of the proverbs point to something you are dealing with right now? What was it? Feel free to leave it in a comment below or on Facebook.

Guess what… tomorrow is the 26th… and there is a Proverbs 26. Make reading the Proverbs a habit and watch the fruit of wisdom grow in your life.

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

There is a lot of talk about prophecy and the end of time. This usually happens around Fall. Some of it is wild speculation. Some of it is people actually corresponding predictions in Scripture with signs in the heavens and humanity. This week is supposedly a high time for things that will usher in the end of life as we know it… if not the actual end of the world, then certainly some dramatic and catastrophic things. There is a good and a bad side to such predictions.

The bad side is that misguided end times prophecy causes confusion, fear, mistrust of God’s Word and a more casual approach to life if nothing happens. Over the last 40 years there has been an increase in prophecies about the end of the world, even in the Christian community. Many books have been written, seminars taught, and sermons preached about the return of Christ and the end of the world as we know it. Apocalyptic prophecy has become its own little industry, that ain’t so little anymore. As with the boy who cried wolf, each time there is a new wave or movement of apocalyptic warning that passes with no visible results, people become less and less likely to heed the true warnings found in Scripture and in nature.

The good side of apocalyptic prophecy is that people tend to talk and think more about mortality, the fragility of human institutions, and eternity. The fact is, Scripture does give warnings about signs and the end of life as we know it. Prophecy fills the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Jesus even told people that it wise to be able to read the signs of the times. How crazy is it that we spend so much time predicting the outcome of football games and weather patterns and not know what the end of time looks like? So when we study the Word, it should encourage us that God is still working to bring about deliverance for His people and destruction upon His enemies.

Good and bad aside, the fact is… no one knows when Jesus is coming back to get His bride. Nobody. Here is what He said after giving an apocalyptic message to His disciples…

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son —except the Father only. As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark. They didn’t know[r] until the flood came and swept them all away. So this is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be: 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one left. Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Who then is a faithful and sensible slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time? That slave whose master finds him working when he comes will be rewarded. I assure you: He will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that wicked slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ and starts to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards,  that slave’s master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 24:36-51)

The primary aim of prophecy in Scripture is not to help us know when something is going to happen. God has His own clock. Prophecy is not bad, but it is shared with us to let us know three things…

Something is going to happen – God is working. Prophecy reminds us that God is in control. He is actively working to bring about His purposes. In this, He gives us a peek into the future, sometimes cloudy, other times clear. God is not done. But it should always encourage us to know that God is bringing things to the place they should be.

God told us it was going to happen – God is true. Prophecy is rarely understood until after it happens. But when it is over, it should strengthen our belief in the fact that God is always right. He tells the future because He knows the future. Prophecy fulfillment should help us believe God more about the other things he says. I’m not saying He prophecies and then fulfills it to say, “I told you so,” but that is an element of prophecy in Scripture.

We should prepare for what is going to happen – God has expectations. When God prophesies about the end of time, or anything else, it isn’t so we will freak out or become fearful. Neither is it so we will all rush to a mountain and await His return. It is an alarm indicator to let us know that time is short. We shouldn’t stop what we are doing when we hear a prophecy about the end of things. We should start working even harder. There are people to save… yes from the coming judgment… so don’t stockpile water… ramp up your evangelistic efforts.

So I don’t know exactly what is going to happen today, or this weekend, or next month. I do know that Jesus came and died and rose to give new life. Even if I knew when He would return, I’m not sure it would be helpful to put that information on the internet. I wasn’t called to tell people the details about what will happen in the future. I was commissioned to tell people about what God has done and is doing to save souls. I don’t know all about blood moons and wilting trees. I do know about the Son and a cross.

Know this... even after all of the false or mistaken prophecies pass without occurrence... God's Word is still true. He is still coming back. So do not ditch the true because the false is damaging.

Today, do not fear. Trust. Trust in what you know about Jesus, not what someone wants you to know about the anti-Christ. One of my favorite things to say about prophecy is, “I don’t know when Jesus is coming back… but I do know He is here now.”

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

Don’t you appreciate it when someone says they are going to pray for you? Don’t you appreciate it even more when someone says they have prayed for you... especially when you didn’t request prayer? And isn’t it really cool when a person reveals the specifics of their prayer for you? What if the most powerful prayer warrior you know was praying the following prayer for you? Because He did. Jesus prayed this prayer for believers…

"I pray for those who believe in Me through the message of my disciples.
May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.
May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me.
I have given them the glory You have given Me.
May they be one as We are one.
I am in them and You are in Me.
May they be made completely one, so the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Father, I desire those You have given Me to be with Me where I am.
Then they will see My glory, which You have given Me because You loved Me before the world’s foundation.
Righteous Father! The world has not known You.
However, I have known You, and these have known that You sent Me.
I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them.” (John 17:20-26)

Jesus spent time before the cross praying for future believers… you and me. Look at what he prayed for us…

He prayed for unity. Not uniformity… but unity. He prayed that we would be one. During His ministry He was trying to get people to understand that He was one with the Father. Now at the end of His earthly ministry He was praying that we would be one with each other, and one with God. He knew that part of what would cause the world to believe in the Father was them seeing unity between the Father and the Son. He also knew that one of the factors of the world believing in Him was our unity with Him and each other. The world is not simply to see us acting sweet with each other so it will be a nice thing to see. They should see unity in us so that they may become Christians.

This passing on of the baton of faith is huge. Jesus knew the Father because He came from the Father. Then He passed along the faith to His disciples, who then passed it along to the next generation, and so on. And here we are. We are believers because people kept on believing and passing along the faith, and the unity that comes through faith.

Today you get to live it out and pass it on to others. When you meet other Christians, celebrate the bond of unity that is the Spirit of Truth. When you meet non-Christians, do not engage in the tearing down of other believers or the Church in general. Let us exhibit unity with God and one another so that the baton of faith can continue to the next generation.

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

We live in a world where everyone’s life is dragged out in front of everyone on social media and paraded around, becoming a target for judgment and ridicule. Throughout the history of Christianity there have been those who have achieved great success in the Church and then fallen into sin. Sometimes it has been a stupid sinful moment in the person’s life. But often times it is revealed that the stupid sinful moment was the result of a steady lifestyle of hypocrisy.

Whether it is sexual sin, greed, drug use, or any other expression of wickedness, it always seems worse when the person has been living it out behind closed doors for an extended period of time. It is not uncommon for the offending person to be outspoken in areas of righteousness, justice, etc. This makes it that much more painful when it is discovered that they were playing two parts, which is actually what the word ‘hypocrite’ means. In the ancient theater a single person would often act out a play. They would have various masks to use as they interpreted various characters. It is this wearing of various masks to portray various characters that defines a hypocrite.

Even within the world of hypocrisy there are different levels of expression. There are some hypocrites who despise their hypocrisy, but can’t figure out the best way to safely escape the lifestyle without causing unnecessary damage to others. Some are embarrassed by their position and trying to get out of the sin before anyone can find out. Then you have others who are simply playing the game so they can reap the pleasure found in their sin. God despises all of these situations… not because He hates the people, but because of the destruction that comes with sin and hypocrisy.

A hypocrite has a hard row to hoe in this world. We don’t like being deceived and we love outing deceivers. What we don’t do well is forgive deceivers. Part of that is the nature of the beast. If a person has been lying to you about their sin, it becomes difficult to believe them when they tell you that they are sorry. When lying is your main sin, you can’t be surprised when people do not believe you when you claim to be repentant.

But there is forgiveness for hypocrites. There must be. Most sins are done in secret. Rarely does anyone put out a sign saying, “I hate you,” or “I am cheating you out of a few bucks,” or “I just had some impure thoughts about the woman next to my wife,” or “I just lied.” We just do these things and hope nobody figures it out. So in a sense, we are all hypocrites at some level when we break God’s law. It is rare to find the person who is up front about their sin.

God hates hypocrisy because it goes against His nature. He is truth. He created us to be transparent and honest. God hates hypocrisy. But He loves hypocrites. He sent His Son to die for hypocrites. He transforms hypocrites into honest people.

The apostle Paul talked about many types of sins, but only one type of salvation. He believed that a person could be entirely transformed by the power of the Gospel. Here is what He wrote to some Christians in Colossae…

“Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him-- if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard.” (Colossians 1:21-23)

A hypocrite can become a truly honest and holy person. But only by the power of Christ. Hypocrites have their limit. Grace does not. When a person has a clean heart before God, they have a clean heart. The hypocrites past may be in shambles, but their future can be established if they surrender to the purifying work of the Holy Spirit.

Then they must walk a consistent life before God and man. A reputation can be destroyed overnight, but it takes time to build it back up. This too comes with the guidance and help of the Spirit. A former hypocrite, like any former sinner must remain grounded and steadfast in the faith, not shifting away from the hope found in Christ.

Today, if you are a hypocrite, ask God to forgive and change you. Submit to His work. Walk in a new way. If you know a hypocrite, forgive them as Christ forgives your hypocrisy. Watch their life to see fruit of repentance. Help them as they walk away from that lifestyle.

This is going to be short and straight to the point. If you want to have a good day, good week, or good life, you should do this right here...

"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable - if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise - dwell on these things." (Philippians 4:8) 

Keep your mind on these things. Make these things your home address. Constantly be about these things. Let these things be at the front and back of your mind. Do not forget these things. Wake up thinking about these things. Go to sleep dreaming about these things. Immerse yourself in these things. Whatever is...

True
Honorable
Just
Pure
Lovely
Commendable
Moral excellence
Praise

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.