January 26 – Genesis 23, Judges 7, Psalm 28-29, Matthew 19

Observe with some (Interpretation in Parentheses)

• Focusing on Judges 7
• The story of Gideon is one of my favorites
• He is a fearful man from a “weak” clan (in his own words)
• But, God chooses people who will display His glory, not their own
• God is explicit to Gideon that he has too many men for Him to give the Midianites over to them
• Why? – “Lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’”
• (God is the Savior of His people!)
• God gives the army of Midian over to Gideon and his 300 men

How Points to Christ

• God is the Savior of His people ultimately through Jesus Christ
• We did nothing to earn or deserve God’s salvation.
• Jesus did it all, so that all glory goes to God

Apply

• Please pray that I would always recognize and remember that I am who I am ONLY by the grace of God
• My own hand accomplishes nothing!
• It is God who saves
• Please pray that I would grow in dependence upon God, constantly seeking His presence through His Word and prayer, and seeking to overflow and share His glory with others
• And please pray that God, through Christ, would defeat sin in people’s lives, saving many from death to life

May God increase our desire for His glory to spread to all nations and peoples - Operation World. and Joshua Project!

Unreached of the Day

Please pray for the …

Gujarati of Tanzania

January 25 – Genesis 22, Judges 6, Psalm 27, Matthew 18

Observe with some (Interpretation in Parentheses)

• Focusing on Matthew 18:21-35
• Forgiveness is hard
• Forgiveness often goes contrary to what our bodies and hearts want when we are wronged
• Forgiveness seems incompatible with our desire for justice to prevail
• Therefore, meditating on Matthew 18:21-35 is worth our constant meditation
• We are called to forgive others no matter how often they sin against us
• We are called to forgive others because of how much greater God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ
• We are called to forgive others because God is the great judge who will make all things right in the end

How Points to Christ

• Jesus Christ bore God’s justice against sin so that through repentance and faith, we can receive God’s merciful forgiveness in Christ
• The debt we owed God was infinite, and Jesus paid it all as the eternal Son of God

Apply

• The application from this passage is simple to understand, but hard in day to day life
• Please pray that I would remember the Gospel at all times so that my heart would be moved to constantly forgive others who sin against me

May God increase our desire for His glory to spread to all nations and peoples - Operation World. and Joshua Project!

Unreached of the Day

Please pray for the …

Kyrgyz of Kyrgyzstan

January 24 – Genesis 21, Judges 5, Psalm 26, Matthew 17

Observe with some (Interpretation in Parentheses)

• Focusing on Genesis 21
• Isaac is finally born!
• It was at least 15 years after God’s initial promise to Abraham to bless him with descendants who will fill and bless the whole world
• (God fulfills His promises according to His timetable – not ours)
• (But, God is faithful to fulfill ALL His promises He makes!)
• Even if all earthly circumstances look grim, God is able and faithful to keep His promises, to show that the fulfillment of His promises are not dependent on the abilities of man, but on the greatness and power of God

How Points to Christ

• Jesus Christ is the ultimate promised seed of Abraham through whom all the nations are blessed
• The coming of Jesus Christ was according to God’s perfect timing, and all of God’s promises are YES in Jesus

Apply

• Please pray that I would trust in God more – that when things don’t go according to my timetable, that I would trust in God’s sovereignty and faithfulness to all His promises!
• And please pray that throughout my life, I would simply seek to be faithful to Him in all things, pointing all people to Jesus, the fulfillment of God’s promises
• Please pray that I would live a Jesus-centered, cross-centered life

May God increase our desire for His glory to spread to all nations and peoples - Operation World. and Joshua Project!

Unreached of the Day

Please pray for the …

Minyak of China

January 22 – Genesis 20, Judges 4, Psalm 25, Matthew 16

Observe with some (Interpretation in Parentheses)

• Focusing on Matthew 16, esp. v. 13-20
• One of the focal themes of the Gospels is the identity of Jesus Christ
• Lots of people “think” Jesus is somebody or somebody else
• But, people’s opinions of Jesus doesn’t change His identity as the Christ, the Son of the Living God
• And, it doesn’t matter what other people think Jesus’ identity is, the eternally important question is who YOU say Jesus is?
• (The question is not, “what about the mountain person across the world who has never heard of Jesus?)
• (The question is, “now that you have heard of Jesus in the Bible, who do YOU say Jesus is?)
• (The Scriptures and Jesus’ identity is not merely some abstract knowledge question, but knowing who Jesus is determines life or death)

How Points to Christ

• Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God

Apply

• Please pray that I would make the Scriptures personal to people, calling people specifically to respond to Jesus and His claims to be the Christ
• Please pray that I would believe and trust and submit to Jesus as the Christ, hating the sin that He came to die for
• And please pray that I would love to learn more about Jesus as the Christ, that I would not be so easily distracted by things that draw me away from knowing and loving Christ more

May God increase our desire for His glory to spread to all nations and peoples - Operation World. and Joshua Project!

Unreached of the Day

Please pray for the …

Miana of India

January 21 – Genesis 19, Judges 3:7-31, Psalm 23-24, Matthew 15

Observe with some (Interpretation in Parentheses)

• Focusing on Genesis 19
• God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah, while saving Lot, Abraham’s nephew
• In chapter 18 and in chapter 19, verse 13, God is clear the reason for destroying the whole city
• “Because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord”
• In chapter 18, Abraham prayed that if there were even 10 righteous men in the entire city, God would spare the city
• But there were not even 10 righteous to be found
• The cities were justly destroyed
• Lot was mercifully spared, as the angels literally has to drag him out of the city
• (Lot was spared because of his relationship to Abraham, God’s chosen man)
• As the end of the chapter shows, Lot and his daughters were no better than those destroyed
• (God is both perfectly just and patiently merciful)

How Points to Christ

• God’s perfect justice and mercy met at the cross of Jesus Christ
• Sodom and Gomorrah were not the only cities that deserved utter destruction
• As sinners, all cities and all nations deserve it
• But, God’s mercy is abundant and can only be shown because of God’s justice poured out on Jesus Christ at the cross
• Jesus bore God’s just wrath against sin, so that God could show mercy to repentant sinners who believe in Jesus

Apply

• Please pray that God’s justice would always humble me – that I am always doing better than I deserve
• Please pray that God’s justice would move me to pray and work for justice in this world to reflect His character
• Please pray that God’s mercy would always amaze me – that I would never cease giving thanks for God’s undeserved mercy
• And please pray that God’s mercy would move me to show mercy to others to reflect His character and Gospel of Jesus Christ

May God increase our desire for His glory to spread to all nations and peoples - Operation World. and Joshua Project!

Unreached of the Day

Please pray for the …

Nara, Nialetic of Eritrea