Solid Stepping Stones: A Daily Devotional

By Brooks A. Bryan

This book is intended as a spiritual growth tool and should be used in conjunction with time in the Word, regular fellowship with other believers, and council with spiritual mentors. We Christians are all on our way toward becoming like Jesus. This means that each day our Heavenly Father carves a little more of his Sons image into our character. I pray this book will be a tool the Holy Spirit can use to guide you through each days challenges.

The scriptures in these meditations are verses that contain imperative mode verbs in the Greek New Testament epistles and letters. An imperative mode verb is a strong indicator of an authors purpose in a passage, so I give them special attention when I study the Word. Each passage has been chosen for its poignant application to our individual daily lives. The translation is my own and has been translated in a style that I hope will emphasize certain nuances of the Greek language pertinent to each days meditation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781546207023

Brooks A. Bryan

Brooks Bryan is a graduate of Colorado State University Pueblo and L.I.F.E. Bible College with language studies at Fuller Theological Seminary and the University of Athens in Greece. He is fluent in Modern Greek, writes songs and plays a ten-string classical guitar. After a 25 year career in ministry, including three years as a missionary to Greece he spent seven years in law enforcement including three years as Chief of Police. He now lives in Ketchikan, Alaska with his wife, Marlys, writing books, songs and taking photographs.

Book preview

January 1

Never Wrong Day

Romans 3:4 – ... It is imperative that God be continually true, and every man a liar, just as it has been written: In order that you may be proved right by your words and win when you judge. (Ps 51:4)

This is a good thought to start the year with. Let this be the year that you count God as the One Who is true even if everyone around you (including yourself) may say something to the contrary. We can be misled by the words of men. We are never misled by the words of God. There is a way to never be wrong. That is by simply letting God make all the decisions! If we do that, we will never be wrong, because He is never wrong! If you believe God above all men (including yourself) then you will always be proved right by your words, and win when you judge. If you are going to make a New Year’s resolution this year, let it be: if there is ever a difference of opinion between you and God, God will win. It means knowing His opinion – which requires studying the Word, not as a duty, but as a means to understanding the will of the One Who is never wrong. It also means getting serious about prayer, not as a duty, but to learn the voice of the One Who is never wrong. This is Never Wrong Day. There is only one way to go through this year without making mistakes. That is by being led by The One Who never makes mistakes.

Lord, I made some mistakes last year and I’m tired of doing things my way. I want to be led by Your Spirit this year, not just day by day, but moment by moment. Keep me open to your guidance, starting right now.

Genesis 1,2, Psalms 1-3

January 2

Lord of the House Day

Romans 6:11-12 – ... regard yourselves, on the one hand, to be dead to sin; but on the other hand, living to God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Therefore, it is imperative that sin not be king in your mortal body, with the result that you obey its desires.

If we consider ourselves dead to something, we do not respond to it. We give it the silent treatment. We see ourselves as no longer connected to it, as if we have died. A good comparison might be when a young person ‘falls out of love’ with someone and ‘falls in love’ with someone else. Their feelings toward the first person seem to die, while their feelings toward the new person seem to come alive. That is to be our attitude toward sin. It has to become something that we no longer respond to. The result of that will be that sin will no longer be lord, or ruler, in our bodies. Our body is a house, or temple, that we live in. We decide who will be the lord of that house. If we let sin be lord of our house, we will obey it and respond to its desires. If we let God be Lord of the house, we will obey Him and respond to His desires. Sin will never stop trying to deceive us into obeying it instead of our real Master. We have to decide each moment whether the nagging insistence of sin will rule, or whether the still small voice of God will rule. Today is Lord of the House Day. Who is ruling in your house? It is your choice moment by moment.

Father, I am Your house now and I’ll play by Your rules. I can’t do whatever I want any more and besides, Your Plan For My Life Is Better Than My Plan For My Life! I’ll do whatever You want today and for the rest of my life.

Genesis 3-4, Psalms 4

January 3

Toolbox Day

Romans 6:13 – Don’t present the members of your body to sin as tools of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as ones who are living after having been dead and the members of your bodies to God as tools of righteousness.

Don’t you think that after we have been raised from the dead, or transformed in an instant at Jesus’ return that things will be different for us? Don’t you think we will have different desires and ambitions? Won’t our lives be wholly given to Him? When we have risen from the dead we will have new, spiritual bodies, and we will be like Him, not only physically, but in our motives and thoughts. We will even know as we are known. One of the keys to living this earthly life in Christian power is to realize that we have died and our life is hid with Christ in God (Col. 3:2). Once we realize (make real) that we already have eternal life, we no longer have any desire to slide back into the petty motives and desires of this mortal, dying world. On the other hand, when it occurs to us that when we sin we are actually letting Hell use our hands, our tongues, our bodies as tools to further it’s cause, we get very jealous about ourselves and what we allow our body to do. Today is Toolbox Day. Because I have been raised from the dead, I only belong in God’s toolbox.

God, I’m one of Your tools. Use me for whatever purpose You have for me today. I’m tired of letting the Enemy use my life for his purposes. I want to be Your tool today.

Genesis 5-6, Psalms 5

January 4

Slavery Day

Romans 6:19 – ... just as you presented the members of your bodies as slaves to uncleanness and to lawlessness resulting in even more lawlessness, now, likewise, present the members of your bodies as slaves to righteousness resulting in holiness.

Yesterday the members of our bodies were viewed as tools. Today they are viewed as slaves. Truly we were slaves of uncleanness and lawlessness when we were sinners. We could no more stop what we were doing than a dog can stop shedding. It was in our nature. Now, however, we have a new nature (2Pet. 1:4). We have also been bought with a price and owe servitude to the One who bought us from our former cruel master. We don’t own ourselves any more. That is what it means to make Jesus Lord. We no longer see ourselves as masters of our own fate, or even of our own bodies. We are to glorify God in our bodies. One young evangelist in East LA made a point one night when he saw the congregation getting fidgety because of the time. He said, When you were in the world you thought nothing of staying out till 2 a.m. until the bars closed. Now you can’t even stay out till 10 p.m. for God? Today is Slavery Day. Remember how much work you used to put into sin? How much money? How much time? You were a slave. Now see yourself as a slave to God and put at least as much effort into righteousness. Sometimes the best sinners become the best saints.

Lord, I am Your slave. I am no longer a slave to sin. I have a new Master and I owe You a lot. Help me not begrudge the time and effort I give to Your Kingdom today. Your burden is much lighter than the burden of sin.

Genesis 7-8, Psalms 6

January 5

Eternity In Our Hearts Day

Romans 6:22 – But now, since you have been emancipated from sin and enslaved to God, let the fruit of your life result in holiness, which will end in eternal life.

Since we have been set free from our old master, sin, and bought by a new master, God, the result should be a life lived for our new master. The things we produce in our life, the fruit of our labors, should lead to more and more holiness, or sanctification, which means a life more and more set aside to God. We are to see ourselves as already free from sin. It no longer has any power over us. We have a new owner and it is right that we do His desires, not the desires of our old master. What God wants from us is a life that is more and more set-aside to Him. He wants the things we do and produce to be done with Him in mind. To put it another way, we are to do all things as unto the Lord. Not with men in mind, nor our own benefit, but to please God. The result of a life like that will be eternal life. Not only in the future, after this life, but a life with eternal qualities even while we remain here on earth. When we live a life with eternity in mind that is eternal life. Today is Eternity In Our Hearts Day. Even though we live in time now, when we remember that we are eternal, we tend to do things differently. Go through this day as if you will live forever. – You will.

Lord, thanks for showing us the empty tomb! Help me realize today that I am eternal already. Help me to see my situations today as one who will live forever.

Genesis 9-10, Psalms 7

January 6

Escape The Trap Day

Romans 11:9-10 – And David says, Let their table become a snare and a net and a trap and pay-back to them. Let their eyes be darkened so that they can’t see, and their back be stooped over forever.

What an awful indictment! Who in the world was David speaking about? Paul here says that he was speaking about those in Israel whose hearts had become hardened to the grace of God. The table here represents religious ritual. Empty ritual cannot save souls. Only the sacrifice of Jesus for our crimes can save souls. The law only proves to us that we are truly sinners. When we try to keep the law, we find out we can’t. Then we have to rely on sacrifice to restore our relationship with God. The Jews of that day had missed that. They thought that the rituals assured them of relationship with God. Because of that, those very rituals that were intended to lead us to Christ became a trap the Enemy used to deceive them. The root cause here is pride. When we get good at religion, we think we have achieved something. We become blind, and stooped over and weak because we rely on our own strength. Today is Escape The Trap Day. Remember that the Jews thought they were doing things right and missed the Messiah. If you are depending on trying to do everything right in order to assure yourself a place in heaven, you are making the same mistake. It’s not what you do that assures your place in Heaven, It’s what Jesus did. Escape the Trap.

Father, I know I try too hard because I’m afraid to totally depend on You. Show me where I am falling into the works trap today and teach me to rest in Your grace.

Genesis 11-12, Psalms 8

January 7

Don’t Forget The Grace Day

Romans 11:17-18 – But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them and became a partaker of the root and the fatness of the cultivated olive tree, don’t gloat over those branches; if you are gloating, you don’t supply the root, but the root supplies you.

In context here, Paul is warning Gentile believers not to boast over the fact that the Jews, for a time, seemed to be cast off by God. He is reminding us Gentiles here that we are simply grafted into the same source of supply as the Jews and that even they don’t supply their own spiritual needs. There are times when we tend to condemn the unbeliever, or the carnal Christian and become like the Pharisee who prayed I thank you God, that I am not like other men. With the grace of God encouraging us from within and guarding our steps from without, it is sometimes easy to think of ourselves as special. We must not forget that the only thing special about us is the Root. We offer the Root nothing, yet He offers us everything. Today is Don’t Forget The Grace Day. Let us look with gratitude on everything good that comes our way today and not make the mistake of thinking we deserve it over someone else.

Lord, I deserve Hell, but by Your grace I am made worthy of Heaven. All my works are as filthy rags, but Your grace has clothed me with the finest linen. Help me be a grateful person today as I see all Your goodness around me.

Genesis 13-14, Psalms 9

January 8

Put In A Good Word Day

Romans 12:14 – Continue to bless those who are persecuting you, continue to bless and stop cursing them.

The tense of the imperatives in this verse is present, which in Greek means continuous. The participle for the persecuting ones is also present. The whole of the verse speaks of an ongoing persecution, and the response of the Christian is to be an ongoing attitude of blessing. The literal translation of the word for blessing is speak well of. This means both to God in the form of prayer, and to men. The word for curse comes from an ancient word for prayer and the prefix for down. Literally it means to pray down on someone. More simply, to pray evil on someone. How are you reacting to those who persecute you? Are you praying FOR them, realizing the needs behind their behavior and praying that God will show them how He can meet those needs? Or are you praying AGAINST them, asking God to curse them, destroy them, or simply get them out of your life? Notice the heart attitude of both types of prayer. In one there is life, in the other there is death. In one you are praying for healing, in the other you are praying for death. Today is Put In A Good Word Day. It is a day to speak well to God for our enemies. When He heals them, they will change for the better. Isn’t that what you really want?

God, it is hard to pray for those who have hurt me or still desire my hurt. They are a threat to me, but not to You. Help me to see them as You do, as weak and injured like the rest of the human race, instead of as vicious and threatening to me. You are my protector. What can man do to me?

Genesis 15-16, Psalms 10-12

January 9

Across The Void Day

Romans 12:15 – Be rejoicing along with those who are rejoicing, and be crying with those who are crying.

We as Christians are to have hearts that reach into the hearts of others. We are to be sensitive to the needs and emotions of other human beings. We are not to be preoccupied with what we feel to the exclusion of the feelings of others. It is good that we have the joy of the Lord as an inheritance. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit. But we are not to let the joy we seek for ourselves blind us to the pain of others. Neither are we to let our grief blind us to sharing the joys of others. Not one of us can make it on our own. We all need each other. The Christian life is about relationship: relationship on the vertical plane with our Father in Heaven; and on the horizontal plane, where that relationship with God is lived out in our relationships with other humans. Not in the safety of shallow, formal, surface-level relationships; but risking deep, feeling relationships where we enter into one another’s emotional life. Today is Across The Void Day. There is a void that separates the souls of people from each other. We can bridge that void by looking deeply into the hearts of others. When someone sees that you are willing to reach into their life, they might open up and trust your God to reach into their life along with you.

God, I know how much I protect myself from genuine openness. I’ve been hurt and I am good at avoiding further pain. Help me be a little more open to others today so they will feel they can be open to me. Let me feel what they feel.

Genesis 17-18, Psalms 13

January 10

Don’t Let Go Of The Hand Day

Romans 12:16 – Be thinking on the same level with one another. Don’t be thinking about high (philosophical) things, but rather be carried away by humble things, don’t think of yourselves as more intelligent than you should.

We all like to feel intelligent. We all compete with each other in conversations. (Even when it’s a conversation about humility!) Paul is in the process of teaching Christians how to live together peacefully. He is telling them (us) to think as on the same level with each other; not to think of themselves as smart, or intellectual, which genders strife and debate and pride, but to be carried away, with the things concerning humility. This parallels what Paul says in 1Cor. 13 …knowledge puffs one up… Paul pairs his encouragements here. First he gives a positive encouragement to think in a lowly manner, the he gives us a don’t with regard to thinking in an elevated manner. The only verb here that doesn’t involve thinking means to be lead away with. It carries the idea of someone taking you by the hand along with others and leading all of you somewhere. Humble people are like that. They want to be led. People who think they are smarter than others tend to disregard guidance from others. Today is Don’t Let Go Of The Hand Day. God doesn’t want lobotomized Christians. We have a mind and He wants us to use it. He just doesn’t want us thinking we are so smart that we look down on others, or think we know enough to guide our own lives. Keep hold of His Hand. He knows where He’s going.

Lord, I need your guidance today. I need to feel your hand guiding me. I don’t know enough about life to not need your guidance. Help me to think humbly and follow you today.

Genesis 19-20, Psalms 14

January 11

Sharpen The Iron Day

Romans 12:19-20 – Don’t avenge yourselves, beloved, but give some space for (God’s) wrath; because it has been written Revenge is Mine, I will pay back, says the Lord. If, therefore, your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he thirsts, give him something to drink. For when you do this, you pile up coals upon his head.

It is so difficult for us to understand eternity. We think of things in our own time frame, day-by-day, minute-by-minute, and heartbeat-by-heartbeat. Especially when it involves emotional issues like revenge. We forget that God has an eternal plan for each of our lives – ours and that other person’s who has offended us. We forget that God’s primary plan for each of us is that we be conformed to the image of Christ. We forget that this 70 years down here is just a testing ground and that the trials we face here are just the master potter using His tools to make us vessels of beauty to be placed in his trophy case. The Bible says Iron sharpens Iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend (Prov. 27:17). If we are to become like Christ, and He was a forgiver, then isn’t it logical that God will do something to teach us to forgive like Christ? How can you learn to forgive unless someone hurts you now and then? Today is Sharpen The Iron Day. It is a day to view every hurt that comes your way as an opportunity to become more like Christ. Forgive them even if they know what they are doing! The trick is to become strong instead of callus.

Father, I’m going to get hurt today. Some of the hurts will be intentional and most will not be. Either way, make me the kind of person who can stand up to the hurts and forgive like You did without losing my sensitivity.

Genesis 21-22, Psalms 15

January 12

The Real Battle Day

Romans 12:21 – Don’t be conquered by evil, but conquer evil by good.

We are all alone with God and ourselves. It is not what goes on outside of us that counts, but rather how we react INSIDE of our own soul that counts. Victor Frankl, the Jewish psychiatrist who spent several years in Nazi concentration camps, when they had taken everything from him, came to the conclusion that You can take everything from me except my freedom to choose how I REACT to what you do to me. He discovered in the direst of circumstances that we still have complete control over the state of our spirit. There is nothing outside of us that compels us to do evil. It is a CHOICE we make minute by minute. Not only in our inner man can good conquer evil, but when we commit ourselves to thinking good, we find ourselves free enough to actually DO good in the face of evil and we begin to push the evil back all around us. Today is The Real Battle Day. Today, concentrate on what the real battle is: a battle between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Hell. It is a battle between love and fear, good and evil. See those around you as simply chess pieces in this great battle. Look behind those who seem to torment you and see that something much more important is happening. Let good win in you, then let it show so someone else will see.

Lord, I want Your Kingdom to win the war, first inside my own soul, then in the world around me. Help me to see spiritually today instead of selfishly. I don’t want the battle to be lost because I forgot I am in a war.

Genesis 23-24, Psalms 16

January 13

Social Order Day

Romans 13:1, 3,4 – Every individual must be in submission to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God, and the existing authorities have been set in order by Him. … because rulers are not a fear to good works, but to the bad. Do you want to not fear authority? Do good and you will have praise from him, for he is a servant of God for your own good. But if you do bad, fear, for he does not carry a sword for no reason, for he is a servant of God, a righter of wrongs in wrath to whomever does something bad.

This passage is about social order. God brings order out of chaos, and that includes social order out of social chaos. Read how Jethro encourages Moses to arrange leadership among the tribes (Ex. 18:11-23). Most issues of social order are simply agreements between all of us that we will do things like: stop when the light is red, drive on the right side of the road, and allow a person we elect as sheriff to enforce those agreements. These agreements remind us that we are responsible for the way we affect other people. They remind us that we are not alone. Today is Social Order Day. If you find yourself resisting the social order of your family, job or society today, ask yourself why? Do you distrust authority figures in general, or do you simply think the world revolves around you and should play by your rules. The world revolves around God, and His rules say social order is a good idea.

Lord, I have been hurt at times by the authorities in my life. The only authority who will never let me down is You. Help me today to trust You as the ultimate authority in my life.

Genesis 25-26, Psalms 17

January 14

Public Servant Day

Romans 13:6-7 – For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are public servants of God, who diligently stick with the job. Pay what you owe to everyone, tribute tax to whom tribute tax is due, census tax to whom census tax is due, fear to whom fear is due, honor to whom honor is due.

This is about the time most of us begin to get our taxes in order from the previous year. Taxes are part of the social order we talked about yesterday. There are a lot of Christians who resent taxes and openly dishonor our elected officials and diligent public servants. The Roman system was one of the most oppressive in history, yet we see Paul here urging us as Christians, even if we regard the system as flawed, to regard our public obligations with a right heart and to even consider the faithfulness of those people whose job it is to exact those dreaded taxes. Today is Public Servant Day. Today watch your thoughts as well as what you say about our government and those who work for it. With each thought you notice, and each remark that slips out our your mouth, ask yourself if Jesus would have thought that, or said that. Then ask yourself what is the difference between how Jesus believes and how you believe regarding government, taxes and public servants. Now consider how would you feel toward them if you saw them as Jesus does?

Father, I live in a society. We do the best we can to serve each other and govern ourselves. There will never be a perfect government till You return, so help me be a positive contributor to our imperfect attempts to govern ourselves until You come back to take over.

Genesis 27-28, Psalms 18

January 15

Law Of Love Day

Romans 13:8 – Owe nothing to no one except to love each other, for whoever loves another has fulfilled the law.

This verse is the conclusion of the discussion about social order. It is all about loving our fellow man. When we submit to the social order around us we are expressing love to all those who are part of that social order. Imagine what a society we would live in if we would all simply do the loving thing in every circumstance. But because we don’t all have the same concept of what the loving thing might be, and we all know that we can’t all be loving all the time, we have to agree as a society about what the loving thing is under each circumstance. Some of these agreements are written, others are not, but they all guide us to a loving choice in each given circumstance. In other words, if we love each other we will fulfill our laws! Both the one Law that God has given us, and the laws and mores we have agreed upon as a society. Today is Law Of Love Day. We have laws because we don’t have decency. Then, if we had decency we wouldn’t need laws! But in the absence of true decency our laws guide us to the loving thing to do. If I see it as a debt I owe to love everyone around me then I won’t need to pour over the law because I will always do the loving, decent thing. If you love you will fulfill the law today. If you break the law today it means you have not been truly loving.

God, show me when I break the law today. Both man’s laws and Your laws show me how much I care about my fellow human beings. Give me a heart of love and cooperation.

Genesis 29-30, Psalms 19-21

January 16

Change Of Clothes Day

Romans 13:12-14a – The night has advanced, the day has approached, let us take off (like clothes) the works of darkness, put on the armament of light. As (we would) in the daytime, let us be well behaved, not partying and getting drunk, not sleeping around and living in excess, not creating strife and jealousy. Rather, put on (like clothes) the Lord Jesus Christ.

When our clothes get filthy we despise them. We want to get out of them as fast as possible, take a shower and get into clean clothes. That’s how easy it is to change our lives as Christians. We take off darkness and put on light. Jesus is the light. The main problem for most Christians is admitting that our clothes are filthy. We justify a little stain here, a little rip there, a few wrinkles and a missing button. We forget to look in the mirror. The Mirror (The Word) tells us in these verses that certain kinds of behavior are darkness. As long as we keep ignoring the Mirror, we don’t notice our filthy clothes so we don’t change, and we continue to wear filthy clothes! Today is Change Of Clothes Day. Take a look again at the short list of things these verses prohibit and consider honestly whether any of them are spots on your garments. If they are, take them off and in their place put on armor! Let the Word show you where the spots are, come to God in simple admission, lay the soiled clothes at His feet and put on Christ! It’s as simple as changing clothes.

Lord, I know that for me to change I must let go of the old in order to attain the new. Help me to see the stains in my garments, and then give me the will to take them off in exchange for Your unspotted purity.

Genesis 31-32, Psalms 22

January 17

Malice Of Forethought Day

Romans 13:14b –… and give no premeditation to the desires of the flesh.

While we were the youth pastors at Angelus Temple in L. A. Pastor Harold Helms had a favorite line he would use particularly at meal times. He would pray: Forgive us Lord, for we know what we are doing! This joke struck at the core of our ability as fallen creatures to rationalize beforehand the sins we are about to commit! The difference between first-degree and second-degree murder is premeditation, or malice of forethought. Sometimes people kill one another by mistake, or out of sudden rage and it is always a tragedy for all concerned. But even the law understands that it is much more evil to carefully plan out a murder – to know what you are about to do and systematically design the death of another. This forethought, this premeditation is what Paul is diverting us from in this verse. It is amazing how many sins we wouldn’t commit if we simply didn’t think about them beforehand! Bottom line, if we don’t think about it first, we usually won’t do it! Today is Malice Of Forethought Day. When you catch yourself thinking about something you know Jesus would not do, simply stop thinking about it! You might even be in the middle of ongoing plans to do something you know Jesus wouldn’t do. The solution is simple – stop planning! Simply start planning something Jesus would do! It’s all about thinking like Jesus.

God, show me my sins in the planning stages today. If I’m not thinking about it, I certainly won’t do it. Show me the malice in my thinking before it becomes malice in action.

Genesis 33-34, Psalms 23

January 18

Everyone’s A Gift Day

Romans 14:1 – Receive to yourself the one who is struggling with his faith, but not for picky differentiation of debatable issues.

The last thing people who are unstable in their faith need is others confusing them further with nit picking moral and theological hair-splitting. What they need is the confidence that comes from feeling solidly accepted by the Body of Christ. The word for receive in this verse has the prefix, προσ- (pros-) which implies direction towards something. The picture I get from this word is not just receiving something, but drawing it to yourself like a child would a Christmas present. Imagine how people who have been raised in conditional love and further confused by contradictory religious and moral teachings would feel if they came to your church and walked into a barrage of theological do’s and don’ts. Wouldn’t that further confuse and pressure them? Now imagine that same injured person walking in and having everyone simply wrap their arms around them, draw them close (both physically and emotionally) and welcome them home! Don’t you think that with this introduction to your church they would be much better equipped to resolve the theological issues as they become healed? Today is Everyone’s A Gift Day. Look at the people God has sent you as something precious and fragile to be drawn to yourself and nurtured instead of as people to be debated with or convinced. Love edifies, knowledge puffs up.

Father, show me the giftedness of the people around me today. Help me feel my kinship with other Christians instead of finding fault with their doctrines.

Genesis 35-36, Psalms 24

January 19

Know That You Know Day

Romans 14:4-5 – Who do you think you are judging someone else’s domestic servant? He stands or falls before his own boss. And he will stand, because God is powerful enough to cause him to stand. One person distinguishes between days, another sees all days the same. Each person must think it through until he is completely convinced in his own mind.

There will always be issues that Christians disagree on. There will always be people who insist that the Sabbath must be observed, or that we shouldn’t eat certain foods. There will also be people who don’t believe one day is any different from another and that we can eat anything we can stomach! Romans 14 resolves those differences. Each of us is alone with God. The trick for me is to not do anything I think God would disapprove of. If I do something I think is sin, then I am doing something I believe is outside of God’s will and that is what determines that I am sinning. I am disregarding what I believe to be His will. Each one of us has to wrestle with that, especially concerning the issues that are not spelled out clearly in Scripture. … be completely convinced literally means to be filled up and the implication is that our knowledge about each issue should be complete. Today is Know That You Know Day. Instead of criticizing others for what they believe, concentrate on doing the hard work of confirming your own belief system. Then once you are completely convinced, live by it.

God, give me an appetite for Scripture. By your Spirit show me the truth of Your Word. But remind me that I need to be humble about what I think I know.

Genesis 37-38, Psalms 25

January 20

Clear The Path Day

Romans 14:13 – Don’t judge each other anymore, but rather let this be your judgment: to not put anything in your brother’s way that he could stumble over, or that would entrap him.

We are not called to pass judgment on whether our brothers and sisters are in the right or not regarding their religious practices. We are called to help them get closer to Jesus. What we are commanded to do in this verse is to make sure that we 1. Don’t place anything in front of them that they might stumble over and 2. That we don’t place something in front of them that could become a trap for them. There is a subtle difference between these. The first might cause someone to fall, the second might cause them to become ensnared. An example might be if I think a little wine is OK and I push it on a brother who sincerely doesn’t think wine is OK then I might cause him to stumble in his belief. He will have to confess to God what he did as a sin (because he believes it to