In step

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 1:15-23

[May] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Ephesians 1:17

True knowledge is a gift from God. When we know God for who he truly is, that is the most important and basic truth that anyone can accept.

The apostle Paul prays that God will give his readers the spiritual powers of wisdom and revelation. Paul knows that God is eager to give Christians these gifts. When we have godly wisdom, we understand how God’s world works, and we understand what to do. When we receive the spiritual power of revelation (vision), we can see what lies ahead and be confident that the future is in God’s hands.

Wisdom and revelation from God lead us to know God better. Our increasingly wise thoughts inform us that the power and love and goodness of God are without end. And through revelation the Spirit shows that no matter how much we meditate on God and his Word, we will never see to the end of his goodness, power, and love.

Increasing knowledge of God sets us on the path toward holiness. This is not just a matter of accepting facts about God. We learn and experience that God is good and loving and just. And when we grow in the knowledge of God, we begin to offer him our reverence and obedience, which he truly deserves.

Let’s pray daily for wisdom and revelation so that our knowledge of God may continually increase.

O God, we need wisdom and revelation so that we may grow to know you better. May we know you as you truly are, and may we revere you as you deserve. Amen.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 96:1-13

Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Psalm 96:1

Whenever my Aunt Rosemary was working in the kitchen, she would sing. I don’t remember whether the songs were popular tunes, hymns, or made-up melodies, but they were lovely. Whenever I went there to play with my cousins, I could count on hearing her beautiful voice.

Singing is a great way to engage the mind with goodness (assuming the song doesn’t celebrate some kind of evil). This is why the Bible calls on us to sing to God and glorify him. The pleasant sounds of our voices give honor and glory to God as we sing biblical songs. Even if the songs we sing are not specifically Christian, our voices glorify our Creator just as the buzzes of bees and the songs of birds do.

Not all of us have beautiful voices, but that doesn’t matter. A voice raised to heaven is a voice beautified in heaven.

Singing is known to engage our minds at the deepest levels. Even in the last days of her life with Alzheimer’s disease, my mother-in-law could sing old hymns she had learned in her youth. She didn’t know where she was, but she still remembered the words and the tunes of those songs.

Our thoughts can be put to good use in song. Composing music and lyrics in honor of the Lord who gives us life and blesses us with all good things, we can apply our whole selves in praise to God. We can lift up our hearts and voices and sing!

“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise him, all creatures here below; praise him above, you heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” Amen.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ. . . .
2 Corinthians 4:4

In this passage Paul speaks of people’s minds being blinded by “the god of this age.” This is a reference to Satan, the devil, who is still very active in our world today.

Has the god of this age, the devil, blinded you? I think an honest answer would be that although we can see the gift of the gospel, we can certainly be blinded by the devil’s distractions and attractions today.

For example, how about constant and malicious online stories about political opponents?

How about porn? Looking at it may make you feel virile and powerful—for a short time. But it is not reality, and it is not God’s will for our sexuality.

How about scrolling through your favorite social media hour after hour? Too often we see only one side of the story in increasingly demeaning ways.

How about false religion like the prosperity gospel, claiming God will make you wealthy if you just follow its teaching?

How about “action movies,” in which people are killed or tortured in gruesome ways for entertainment?

The god of this age is present in so many ways today, making all of these things seem normal and desirable. Most of these influences, and more, are also just updated versions of what people faced in Paul’s day.

Give your mind a break. Let the true gospel enlighten you.

Dear God, so many influences today are used by the devil to lead us astray. Help us to reject the evil they present as if it were normal. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 40:1, 9-11, 28-31

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Isaiah 40:1

The book of Isaiah is sometimes called “the gospel of the Old Testament” because it announces the good news (gospel) of the coming of God’s servant, the Messiah, who is Jesus Christ. In chapters 1-39, Isaiah writes about history. And in the rest of the book he delivers a message of comfort, restoration, and hope.

Comfort has its source in God. Only the Lord can bring peace to the human soul. Only God can forgive sins, and only in God do we find redemption.

True comfort does not come from earthly things. It does not come from people. Comfort comes from God.

We cannot find full comfort in various therapies or in self-help psychology. True comfort cannot be found on a couch or in a gym. We do not find our greatest comfort by enjoying the most splendid vacations or the most appetizing pleasures. Comfort cannot be acquired with money or inherited from parents. Real comfort is the work of God. God is both the source and the giver of this gift.

Isaiah the prophet is ordered to comfort the people of God. But how? Not with flattering words or deceptive praise. True comfort can only be experienced when we turn to God, the inexhaustible source of grace. God alone can cancel our debt and forgive our sins. True comfort can only be found in God.

God of all comfort, only you can fill our deepest needs. Throughout this month, help us to find our only comfort in you by hearing from and living into your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 40:2; Ephesians 1:7-10

Proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for. . . .
Isaiah 40:2

God’s people had ignored his law and had closed their ears to the words of his prophets. As a consequence, the people were taken into captivity and exile. Because they would not listen to the voice of grace, they heard the crack of the whip of discipline.

But the same God who disciplines his people restores them by his mercy. God called Isaiah to speak tenderly and with assurance to his exiled people, proclaiming that their time of captivity was over and that their sins were forgiven. What a comforting message!

Because God loves his people, he disciplines them. And along with disciplining his people, God also forgives them. God forgives his people, and he also restores them.

There is no remedy for guilt except in God's forgiveness. No medicine can calm a heart tormented by guilt. No therapy can stifle the desperate cries of a conscience plagued with remorse for wrongdoing. Only God’s forgiveness can lift the heavy burden that crushes us.

Have you been forgiven by God? Do you enjoy the peace that “transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7)?

Now is the time of grace. If your heart weighs heavy with sin, now is the opportune time to turn to God in repentance and seek his forgiveness.

Lord God, speak to our hearts with your restoring mercy. Lift the weight of our guilt, forgive us, and lead us from discipline to renewal, bringing the peace that only you can give. In Jesus, Amen.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:1-10

“In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
— Isaiah 40:3

The prophet Isaiah looks ahead, pointing to a prophet who would prepare the way for the coming Messiah. John the Baptist was that prophet, and the Messiah was Jesus Christ.

John presented the Messiah, Jesus, as the true light that comes into the world and enlightens every person. John also said of Jesus, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). John came baptizing with water, and he presented Jesus as someone greater than himself, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. John did not feel worthy even to untie the straps of Jesus’ sandals. John lived by this principle: “[Jesus] must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).

The church cannot produce revival; however, it is up to the church to prepare the way for the Lord so that he may transform lives. Revival is the work of God, and preparing for it is our responsibility. Revival is a supernatural work of God, and we need to make a way straight in the wilderness for our God. Our lives must be the unobstructed road by which the Lord reveals himself to the world.

In what ways have you been a path through which the Lord has revealed himself? Prepare the way of the Lord!

Lord Jesus, make us a people who prepare your way with humility and faith. Help us to become less so that you may become greater among us. Clear our hearts of every obstacle so that your light may shine through our lives. Amen.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 40:4; Luke 3:1-5

“Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.”
— Isaiah 40:4

This passage in Isaiah describes the content of John the Baptist’s preaching, as shown in Luke 3:1-5. It is not about the topography of the land; it is not about road construction, as found in the Roman Empire. The prophet is speaking of the profound changes that need to take place in our lives for revival to come. “Every valley” refers to the dark places in our lives, the secret archives of the heart. Those valleys of darkness and sin need to be filled in and brought up to the light.

The mountains refer to pride, haughtiness of spirit, and arrogance. The arrogance of the human heart needs to be broken down by the plow of God’s Word. The crooked paths speak of double-lives, of people who are hypocrites. When people are two-faced, they are not who they claim to be. The winding paths of their twisted lives need to be straightened out.

The rough paths refer to things that are out of place in our lives. These paths need to be realigned with the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. When spiritual reformation takes place in our lives, revival will come, as we will see in Isaiah’s words that follow.

Spiritual reformation happens before spiritual revival. We need to repent and seek God’s help in aligning our lives with his way. Then powerful revival will come.

Lord, search our hearts and reshape us. Fill our hidden valleys, humble our pride, straighten our crooked ways, and realign all that is rough. May your transforming glory be revealed in us. Amen.