God's People-We Are: A Daily Walk with the Saints

By Toni Joy

In this book, you will experience the people of the Bible enlightening us how God used them and the roles they played in the plan of God—from the beginning to the end, from Genesis to Revelations. Knowing the characters of the Bible gives an exciting and personal upfront look at how they lived in a crazy world. You will be strengthened and built up in faith to challenge every obstacle that comes your way—courageously. We read about this in Hebrews: By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith, Abel, Cain, Enoch, Abraham were all part of the foundation of this universe. We are the people of God. We play a role in that plan as well.

God’s People – We Are covers more than one hundred people of importance in the Bible. The whole book is added for some of the smaller books, separated into daily readings. It gives the Word of God in a people format mixed with personal life application and devotion in a one-year time frame, which makes it an easy daily five-minute reading. This definitely appeals to the busy person that would love to implement biblical reading in their daily schedule. Included are personal testimonies and applications in walking in the fruit of the Spirit.

Explore all the dynamites of life: love, hate, relationships, sorrow, money, children, politics, religion, sin, etc., and the people who lived it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685700928

Book preview

January 1

Scripture for the day

Creation

Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness (Gen. 1:26)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Then God said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Then God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.

Then God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.

Then God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Then God said, Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens. So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Then God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

January 2

Scripture for the day

Creation

Genesis chapters 1, 2

Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

And God said, See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

*****

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

January 3

Bible character/s of importance

Adam and Eve

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. (Gen. 3:8)

We have the opportunity to have that close relationship with God that Adam and Eve had. God created the Garden of Eden for them (every provision was in the garden), and they walked, talked, lived in, and wore the glory of God. God’s glory is not just the presence of God, but it is the tangible prosperity (health, provision, peace, joy, etc.) of earthly blessing and everything it took to live successfully—God’s supernatural on our natural.

Before sin:

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Gen. 2:25)

After sin:

And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden… So he said, I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?

After they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they lost the glory of God, which clothed them. It’s amazing how long they may have been covered in God’s glory—and they didn’t come together to multiply until after the fall.

Everyone they brought forth was born in sin. Here’s a thought: how long do you think it takes for two people to come together today, and do they even make it down the aisle? After the fall, God put them out of the Garden of Eden—they lived in the world with all the hustle and bustle as we do.

Let’s go back to talking to God in the cool of the day. Let’s leave the temptations of the world and be fulfilled in the glory of God. We don’t have to hide from God—God created us to have a personal relationship with Him. He never intended for us to live in this world without Him. It is through Jesus Christ we are redeemed; let’s appreciate the love of God.

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. (Rom. 5:16–19)

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell there in. (Ps. 24:1)

January 4

Food for living

Living above the law—no walls

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Gal. 5:22, 23, emphasis added)

How do we walk above the law? How do we put the shackles of this world under our feet?

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Pet. 1:3–4)

There are two worlds that concern us right now: the one we see (this natural world) and the one we don’t (the kingdom of God). We were born of the spirit—in the likeness and image of God (Gen. 1:26) and brought to life in the natural world. We were reduced to the nature of this natural world when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; we died to the kingdom of God / lost access to kingdom living. Through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we were given access back to the kingdom of God.

Even though we are born again, we have to submit to the new nature that we have. By choice and faith, we have to walk and live by the law of the Spirit, which is the fruit of the Spirit. When we look at the characteristics of God, the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control), the world has watered down these characteristics to meaningless and powerless attributes. We have to acknowledge them as the force and power that they are in the nature of God. Love in the world and love in the spirit are very different; worldly love is conditional, and the kingdom of God love is unconditional. When we consider the fruit of the Spirit—live in them where they belong, and the power of God will be present.

Living in the Spirit is applying kingdom living while we are living in this natural world. It was created to be ruled by the children of God. Let’s give the world what it’s yearning for.

This month:

Let’s look to the Spirit, who lives in us, to respond to everything; take a break from thinking—and feed our thoughts from the Spirit and the Word of God. The first of each month will be a devotional about each fruit of the spirit.

January 5

Bible character/s of importance

The serpent

The Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you? So he said, I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, Who told you that you were naked? (Gen. 3:10, 11, emphasis added)

The devil was there in the beginning and is still scheming to tear down the kingdom of God. The devil first started with trying the steal the glory in heaven and was cast out.

How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. (Isa. 14:12–15)

And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. (Luke 10:18, Rev. 12:9)

The devil watched the plan of God unfold on the earth and had seen the opportunity to be God, to steal mankind from God. He tricked Eve into disobeying God and stealth into our way of living.

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Cor. 4:3, 4)

The devil then proceeded to trick Jesus into serving him by offering Him the world.

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me. (Matt. 4:8, 9)

If the devil went after Adam and Eve, Job (Job 1:6–12), Peter (Luke 22:31), and Jesus, he has to think we’re easy targets—and we are without Jesus.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Just as the devil watched man fall into sin, he watched the redemption of man through Jesus Christ.

And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. (Matt. 27:52, 53)

He knows his own demise, and still he is not a believer, but let’s say he does believe—he is looking to take with him everyone he can.

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

If you are born again, your new nature is of God and not of the devil.

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (Eph. 2:1–5)

Scriptures to read: 1 Peter 5:8, Acts 10:38, Ephesians 4:27, James 4:7, Hebrews 2:14, 2 Corinthians 11:3, 1 John 4:4, Revelation 20.

January 6

Scripture for the day

Romans, chapter 3

What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged. But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world? For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? And why not say, Let us do evil that good may come?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.

All Have Sinned

What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one. "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

God’s Righteousness Through Faith

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Boasting Excluded

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

January 7

Scripture for the day

Romans, chapter 4

Abraham Justified by Faith; What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

David Celebrates the Same Truth; But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin."

Abraham Justified Before Circumcision: Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

The Promise Granted Through Faith: For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, I have made you a father of many nations) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, So shall your descendants be. And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

January 8

Scripture for the day

Romans, chapter 5

Faith Triumphs in Trouble

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Christ in Our Place

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Death in Adam, Life in Christ

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

January 9

Scripture for the day

Romans, chapter 6

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

January 10

It’s one thing after another, and it’s okay.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Have you ever felt like it’s one thing after another—like there’s no such thing as downtime—it just keeps coming, one hit after another?

Things happen all the time; tribulation and changes come, but it’s okay; Jesus told us this, and He also said, Be of good cheer.

*****

Just when you reached a milestone—you get a phone call, you lose something; something will try to throw you off your square or some change that will take your attention off where it should be. I’m not saying it might happen; it will happen. We might not even recognize it; it may be so sudden—our mind will be somewhere else before we know it. There is an enemy in this world that will always try to divert our attention to the things of this world.

You see, the next moment will always come (time continues).

The Holy Spirit is bidding for that next moment, and so is the devil.

So it will always be one thing after another.

But Jesus said He has overcome the world, so everything that comes up, you have the greater one living on the inside to make it happen for your good.

We have to stay focused and recognize that not everything that pops in our path is from God (even some things that seem good)—but God will work things to our favor (even tragedy) (Rom. 8:28).

We have an agenda that we know is in the will of God; there will always be things that come up to change our agenda. Remember, stay focused. For anything that comes up, get it approved by God, let him be your CEO; let things flow by being led by the Holy Spirit. Stay focused—know the Word, walk in the Spirit, pray in the Spirit. We can do this because greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4 KJV).

Let God take you from moment to moment.

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Josh. 1:8)

January 11

Bible character/s of importance—NT

Zacharias and Elizabeth

I believe everyone born has a purpose and/or a calling on their life. Sometimes we go through things we don’t understand, but God has His own way and timing to reveal to us why things happen the way they do. But how we respond to that lack of understanding is of utmost importance. It matters if we go to the left or the right; I wish I could say that I always make the right turn or respond to life in faith and integrity (but God knows every turn we make). But enough about us.

I believe Zacharias and Elizabeth lived their life with all of the following: purpose, faith, and integrity—in the midst of not knowing that God was going to use them to bring forth John the Baptist, the forerunner for Jesus Christ. All through the Bible, we have stories of questionable parenting—that brought forth some remarkable men and women of God. It took just the right people to bring forth John the Baptist as well as Jesus Christ.

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. (Luke 1:5, 6)

They had to have questioned God many times about not having children, but they stayed the course of being holy before God. An angel appealed to Zacharias and said that his prayer for a child had been heard. Wow, in his old age, it’s not a wonder that he doubted. What’s amazing to me is that not just any angel appeared to him, but the angel Gabriel, and he gave Zacharias a full detail of what the life of his son was going to be. And in that crucial moment, Gabriel didn’t allow Zacharias to disturb the plan of God.

I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time. (Luke 1:19, 20)

In his muteness, Zacharias was, I believe, given by God that full detail of his son’s life to sustain him. On the other hand, his wife, Elizabeth, was full of faith.

And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (Luke 1:42, 43)

She was on a roll, believed God for her son, acknowledged Mary as the mother of the Lord—she was on fire. Zacharias did come around; some of us get it right away, and for some of us, it takes a minute. But let’s make sure we get it.

January 12

Scripture for the day

Isaiah 53

Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth;

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment,

And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living;

For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence,

Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;

He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. (1 Pet. 2:21–24)

January 13

Bible character/s of importance—NT

Angels

All through the Bible, we see and read of appearances of angels. The wise tales of angels having wings are not always the story. There have been angels seen in dreams and some talking and walking with Abraham, Hagar, Lot, Moses, Jacob, Elijah, Joseph, Mary, Zachariah, and more. Some came with messages and some came with fire. They are spoken of too many times in the Bible for them not to exist. They were seen with the shepherds at Jesus’s birth and with the disciples during His death and resurrection.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men! (Luke 2:14)

But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. (John 20:11–14)

The most interesting angels to me, which are the most forgotten about, are the ones spoken of in Hebrews 1:14, Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city. (Gen. 19:15)

(Moses) "Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. (Exod. 23:20)

(Peter) But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life. (Acts 5:19, 20)

Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. (Acts 8:26)

And in Psalm 91:9–13.

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

And don’t forget about these angels:

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. (Heb. 13:2)

January 14

Bible character/s of importance—NT

Joseph and Mary

Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, God with us. (Matt. 1:23)

Let’s think about our neighbors for a minute. Let’s say Mary and Joseph lived next door. We know Joseph was a just man (Matt. 1:19) and Mary was highly favored of all the women at that time (Luke 1:28). This was their description before the angels came on the scene—even their neighbors knew this. (Let’s put ourselves in this this story, bring it to life.)

As we’re imaging them, we too are all looking for the Messiah to come; it was prophesied years ago that a Savior was to be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14).

Mary:

Then the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. Then Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I do not know a man? And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Then Mary said, Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:26–38)

Joseph:

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus. (Matt. 1:18–25)

How about these two people? Can’t get better than this!

Can you picture their lives/lifestyle? The faith life (The just shall live by faith). Could we be Mary or Joseph? Can we be vessels that God can use for a miracle? God didn’t haphazardly decide on Mary and Joseph; they were people that God had been leading all their life. They were chosen, just as we are. Can we identify with them?

Are we ready for Jesus to come again? Just as the prophecy was fulfilled then, it will be fulfilled again. Are we going to be among the ones who are ready?

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up, he said, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: Out of Egypt I called my son. (Matt. 2:13–15)

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead. So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. (Matt. 2:19–23)

January 15

The word about it

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (Rev. 12:11)

There are many of us who live every day not speaking the words that will take us to a high level of living—getting what we want! We have to ask ourselves, Do I want to be an overcomer? We can’t speak the same dead words every day and think something is going to change because we are hoping and wishing.

So let’s connect what we speak every day with what we pray.

I was reading about the scripture above; it is talking about how the brethren overcame the enemy with the word of their testimony. Well, what was their testimony? They did not say what they thought or saw. They spoke the word of God.

We have to pray the Word. So as I’m writing in my notes (1) We have to pray God’s will, (2) God’s will is His word, and (3) How do we pray? do we get all emotional or loud? Do we always tell God the problem? Do we find ourselves crying to God all the time?

The Word of God is the answer; it’s the power, and it’s the life. After meditating on all of this and thinking about how sometimes life seems hard and we wonder, Are we ever going to get what we want? I wrote in my notes the following:

Whats the Word about it, pray it, say it, believe it, receive it

Its o.k to get emotional about it, cry about it, pray all day about it…just make sure it’s the WORD about it.

Something funny just went through my mind. I wonder if Jesus got all emotional when He preached. Can you picture God when He created the world (aspirating)?

Let there be light…ahhhh ha.

Let there be birds…ahhhh ha.

Let there be animals…ahhhh ha.

Let us make man…ahhhh ha, in our image…ahhhh ha.

I thought it was funny, but don’t get me wrong, I like preachers that get excited about the Word, but don’t look for a feeling or even at the man, just focus on the Word. It was the Word about it that made it happen. So as we pray about situations, find out, "What’s the Word about it?" Then pray it, say it, believe it, receive it.

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (Mark 11:22–24)

January 16

Scripture for the day

Ephesians 1:3–12 (the Message Bible Version)

How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

January 17

Scripture for the day

John, chapter 1

The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, I am not the Messiah. They asked him, Then who are you? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the Prophet? He answered, No. Finally they said, Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? I baptize with water, John replied, but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

John Testifies About Jesus

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel. Then John gave this testimony: I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.

January 18

Bible character/s of importance

Cain and Abel

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering…, Abel also brought of the firstborn.

I noticed the phrase in the process of time. Remember both are the sons of Adam and Eve; if one knew how to give, both did. Much time has gone by (the earth was very populated) when they presented the offering.

And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

And I don’t think this was the first time God was pleased with Abel’s offering, and it may not have been the first time God was displeased with Cain’s. And it may have not been the first time the Lord discussed this with Cain. We as earthly parents give much grace to our kids—we talk to them quite a bit before the consequence of their behavior comes to circumvent disaster. No one can love more than our heavenly Father, and we can get out of His hands.

So the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.

Some of us will wake up and do right before we hit rock bottom. But some of us don’t stop until we hit the wall, if then. Well, Cain hit the wall hard. Cain didn’t do anything about his attitude and ended up killing his brother. And sometimes the ignorance and attitude doesn’t stop there. The Lord asked him, Where is Abel your brother? Cain’s answer was Am I my brother’s keeper?

And He said,