July 27

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.

...But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully (2 Kings 22:7).

July 26

Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.

July 25

My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

July 24

Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited.

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

July 23

This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles as my word.

July 22

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and relase from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a corwn of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a psirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

...as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. Isa 62:5

Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

July 21

To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant - to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

Isa 58
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wandered with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn...

Isa 60
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

July 20

The ransomed of the LORD will return. THey will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

Isa 53
By his wounds we are healed...

Isa 55
Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters...

July 19

See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.

Shout for you, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.

July 18

Fear not, for I ahve redeemd you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you...

Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.

I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

July 17

Comfort, comfort myh people, says your God.

A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Do you not know? Have you not heart? THe LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the waek. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

July 16

And the LORD was with him; he was successful in wahtever he undertook...

"Glory to the Righteous One."

"O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago."

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.

July 15

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, "Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

...For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. THe living, the living - they praise you, as I am doing today...

July 14

O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.

July 13

These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. (Isa 29:13).

Yes the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks, till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest. Justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the fertile field. THe fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

July 12

Does the ax raise itself above him who swings it, or the saw boast against him who uses it? (Isa 10:15)

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. (Isa 11:1-3).

In that day the Rood of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. (Isa 11:10).

In that day you will say: "I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

July 11

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel."

July 10

I remembered my songs in the night.

Restore us, O God; make your face shi9ne upon us, that we may be saved.

You brought a vine out of Egypt... Watch over this vince, the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself.

Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name. Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

July 9

Hezekiah recevied the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: "O LORD, God of Israel, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God. ...Now O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God." (2 Kings 19:14-19).

That night the angel of teh LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp.

Be strong and courageious. ...for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.

He took care of them on every side.

July 8

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." (Micah 4:2).

All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. (Micah 4:5).

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be rules over Israel, whose orgins are from of old, from ancient times. (Micha 5:2).

With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my first born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micha 6:6-8).

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness. (Mich 7:7,9)

July 7

At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done.

July 6

In everything that he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered. (2 Chron 31:21).

In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign and witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. (Isa19:19-20).

July 5

In the first month of the first year of his (Hezekiah) reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the LORD and repaired them (2 Chron 29:3).

Now I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel...

"We have purified the entire temple of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for seeting out the consecrated bread, with all its articles."

He stationed the Levites in the temple of the LORD with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the kings seer and Nathan the propthet; this was commanded by the LORD through his prophets. So the LEvites stood ready with David's instruments, and the priests with their trumpets.

Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifcie the burnt offering on the altar. As the offering began, singing to the LORD began also, accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel. The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers sang and the trumpeters played. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed.

When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped. King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer.

...all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.

SO the service of the temple of the LORD was reestablished.

Hezekiah sent word...wrote letters...inviting them to come to the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel.

They decided to send a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, calling the people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel."

Return to the Lord,... that he may return to you. ...submit to the LORD. ...He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.

...the people scorned and ridiculed them.

Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them saying, "May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God- the LORD, the GOd of his fathers- even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary."

And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.

Psalm 66:1-4, 18-20
Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name."
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!"

Psalm 67:1
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations."

All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing.

The LORD has established Zion, and in herhis afflicted people will find refuge.

In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it - one from the house of David - one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness. (Isa 16:5).

July 3

Turn from you evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.

SO the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. (2 Kings 17:18).

So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the LORD. (2 Kings 17:28).

Rather, worship the LORD your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.

July 2

Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowered ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers rightousness on you. (Hosea 10:12).

"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." (Hosea 11:1).

July 1

Come, let us return to the LORD, He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. (Hosea 6:1)

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

June 30

"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." (Isa 7:9).

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isa 7:14).

...and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.

I will wait for the LOrd,...I will put my trust in him.

...the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

June 29

Here am I, Send me!

Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God. (2 Chron 27:6).

June 28

Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.The more the priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful. (Hosea 4:6-7).

Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD. (Jonah 2:8-9).

June 27

"The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land - not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it."

June 26

Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7).

Seek me and live

Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good.

I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments

Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring. Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a bnad of raiders; so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet. (2 Kings 13:20-21).

As long as he (Uzziah) sought the LORD, God gave him success. (2 Kings 15:5).

But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. (2 Kings 15:16).

June 24

"Washed and be cleansed!" "...and his flesh was restored."

June 23

"The LORD provided a deliverer for Israel..." (2 Kings 13:5).

June 22

As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the LORD.

June 21

Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD (Jehu).

June 20

While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha...

June 19

No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom ofr him - the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough - that he should live on forever and not see decay.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."