Bones Alit Devo

  LAYOUT OF THE PSALMS DIVISIONS Book I Psalms 1-41 Book II Psalms 42-72 Book III Psalms 73-89 Book IV Psalms 90-106 Book V Psalms 107-150 AUTHORS David 2, 3-9, 11-32, 34-41, 51-65, 68-70, 86, 95, 101, 103, 108-110, 122, 124, 131, 133, 138-145 Asaph and family 50, 73-83 Sons of Korah 42, 44-49, 84-85, 87-88 Heman + Sons of Korah 88 Solomon 72, 127 Moses 90 Ethan the Ezrahite 89 Anonymous, a Psalmist 1, 10, 33, 43, 66, 67, 71, 91-94, 96-100, 102, 104-107, 111-121, 123, 125-126, 128-130, 132, 134-137, 146-150   MINOR COLLECTIONS Psalms 44-49 Psalms of the Sons of Korah poetic priests of David’s time ...

What keeps our fire burning for God is the courage that comes from growing in the grace, that is, obeying God in doing what we cannot do without God’s divine empowerment, His grace. So, why are there people who call themselves Christians who do not do what God wants them to do? These are people who want something apart from God. Maybe they became aware of the good they ought to do by reading their Bible or in prayer, but instead of obeying God’s plan for their gifts, they put God out of their mind and went the other way. Maybe they weren’t willing to quit leaning on their favorite crutch when God called them to be free of its burden. Maybe they were afraid that they were not good enough to do what God called them to do.  The result of disobedience is dullness. If we fail to turn everything in us over to God for His glory, then we lose the power of God’s grace in our lives to bring joy from obedience. If we refuse to give ourselves fully to God, then the Bible only reminds us that...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. The reading for January 17 is: Genesis 48-50 Genesis 50:20 ASV - And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. The ability of God to bring good from evil completely challenges the way we tend to think. Several mind-bending conclusions can be drawn.  1 - People cannot stop God's good plan for anyone. God incorporated the choices of every person into his masterful plan. No one can mess up God's plan. 2 - Good wins. God easily overcomes evil every time. God's purpose for life is not to provide a place to do battle in order to defeat evil. Life is a place where people learn to hate evil and love good. Evil is easily defeated by God, but He wants us to learn to fight evil in ourselves. 3 - God knows best what is good. G...

  For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. The reading for January 16 is: Genesis 46-47 Israel (Jacob) was an interesting man. Several times he appears to have tried to use his wealth to gain favor. Yet, Jacob's wealth never saved his family. When wealth did nothing, Jacob made altars and had visions from God.  It makes me wonder: do I go to God first? We often say that all we can do is pray. If we know that prayer is all there is, then we will pray first and last and everything in between.  God knew Jacob's future.  I find Genesis 46:2 NASB to be particularly interesting: "God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, 'Jacob, Jacob.' And he said, 'Here I am.'" God waited until He had Israel's attention. Then God let Israel know that He would go with Israel and that Joseph would be with Israel when he died ...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. The reading for January 15 is: Genesis 43-45 In Genesis 45:5 NASB, Joseph tells his brothers, "Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life."  Joseph was aware of a mystery that his brothers had not yet come to understand. There is nothing more exciting than uncovering a mystery about God in your own life.  Joseph's brothers thought that they took Joseph's life from him. How could they possibly fix what they had done to Joseph's life? Surely now that Joseph was in power, he would get revenge against them right? (Genesis 50:15-17) Rather than keeping Joseph from the life he was meant to live, the actions of Joseph's brothers fit right into God's plan. God transformed Joseph's self-important attitude into the...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. The reading for January 14 is: Genesis 41-42 We find in Genesis 41:8 that no one could interpret the dream of Pharaoh. In Genesis 41:16 Joseph makes it clear that God is the One who interprets dreams.  In Genesis 41:39, Pharaoh tells Joseph that because God has revealed this to Joseph, surely Joseph is the most discerning and wise. We find that Joseph finally understood the meaning of the dreams he had about his brothers bowing down to him. Joseph's story was really about God all along. God had put Joseph in exactly the right place with the gift of dream interpretation that only comes from God. God shows Himself through the life of Joseph.  I am not the hero of my story. So, when I feel left behind in my own life, I need to remind myself. God is here too. God will handle my deepest needs when the time i...