What God is saying in this passage:

In 2:7, God tells me man was formed from the dust of the ground. Man typically thinks of himself as the zenith-the height of an evolutionary process. But there is nothing very sophisticated about dust. We normally sweep it away. What makes this dust significant is that God breathed into the man's nostrils the breath of life. Danny, remember that apart from My Spirit in you, you are nothing but dust.

How I plan to prayerfully obey what God says:

Because real life is dependent upon the Spirit of God in me, I purpose to consciously depend on the power of the Spirit to live obediently and purposely. My life is a fragile, temporary, product of dust completely dependent upon God.

What God Is Saying in This Passage:

In verse 22, the man "went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions."  This man came to Jesus and asked him how to inherit eternal life.  He wanted to know what it took.  He seemed to know that Jesus would have the answer.  And did he ever!  In Jesus' answer, he starts by listing the commands that deal with how to relate to others.  For those, the man checks off his accomplishments.  Got it, he says.

Then Jesus drops the bomb... Relating to God - Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me."  "Go, sell all you have..."  He was suddenly caught by his love for his things that separated him from God.  Can materialism really separate us from God? Ouch!

How I plan to prayerfully obey what God says:

Father - please protect me from this sort of materialism or from having anything which becomes more important to me than you.

What God Is Saying in This Passage:

A life of obedience to God is not just a matter of following the rules but it is a transformation of the heart. Doing right involves heart change not just behavioral change. The desires and affections of the person must be moved from a place of self centeredness to a focus on God's heart.

How I plan to prayerfully obey what God says:

Father, I confess my hardness of heart to your ways. So much of the time, I don't even really care about what you care about. Please change my wants and desires to match yours. Help me to love what you love and hate what you hate. Help me acquire a taste for your ways.

Daniel 12 | The resurection of the dead

What God Is Saying in This Passage:

There is so much imagery in these final chapters of Daniel that it is difficult for me to understand.  However, in Ch 12:1-3, something becomes quite simple for just a moment.  "...those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." ESV

For me, this brings great hope because it reminds me (again) that God remembers and rewards us for our life here on earth.  Not our Heaven or Hell destination (that is determined by the book mentioned in vs 1), but the honor that God bestows to those he determines to receive it.

How I plan to prayerfully obey what God says:

I will continue to strive to obey God and turn from the enemy's ploys to keep me from being effective or useful to God.  I wish to serve him whole heartedly and to be a road sign to those looking for the way.

Isaiah 55 | The Free Offer of Mercy

What God Is Saying in This Passage:

God is completely unlike us in some regards. This is the what the term "holy" means. Verses 8-9 make plain this fact. Usually we associate holiness with moral purity. However, the particulars of His holiness on this occasion relate to his forgiveness and compassion. Even though we continually sin and run into destruction, He calls us to come (v1&2a), listen (2b) and be restored. This seems to be the picture that Jesus paints of God in more detail in Luke 15. What a magnificent God!

How I plan to prayerfully obey what God says:

Father, help me to run to you, especially as you grant me eyes to see my stupid ways of sin. Please give me grace to repent, and renew my mind. Help me to trust in your character as a forgiving and gracious God who is ready and willing to receive me back. Please forgive my lack of faith when I refuse to accept your forgiveness by wallowing in self pity. Thank you for Jesus!

What God Is Saying in This Passage:

"When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider; God has made the one as well as the other...." God ordains that we should go through times of difficulty, pain and suffering. It is not happenstance, coincidence or bad luck. It is our opportunity to display the sovereignty of God in our lives by not freaking out.

How I plan to prayerfully obey what God says:

Father, I commit to see suffering as a prospect for spiritual growth instead of a source of frustration. I choose to embrace these situations as a gift from You to shape me into the image of Christ. I will embrace a lifestyle of difficulty as You sent it, believing it to be a good gift from my Heavenly Father who loves me too much to let me love the world.

What God is saying in this passage:

Verse 12 says "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life."
Verse 19 says "A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul..."

It is clear to me through proverbs that God loves to give us the desires of our heart when we align our heart with him and fear him with awe and respect.  He is a giver of good gifts and wisdom.  We can accept instruction and gain wisdom or reject it and take the path of fools.

How I plan to prayerfully obey what God says:

I really want the path of the righteous that is described in this chapter (and others).  I will follow instruction, fear the Lord, humble myself before him and desire his gifts.

What God is saying in this passage:

According to Psalm 95, we are either worshipers or wanderers.

The first seven verses represent a call to come and worship.  "Let us come" (1, 2, 6); "Let us shout" (1); Let us kneel" (6).  Twice, reasons for worshipping are introduced with "for" (3, 7).  We are invited to worship God as Creator and Caretaker. 

Then comes the warning in verses 8-11 to not harden our hearts like Israel did at Meribah and Massah.  There they did not trust the Creator as their Caretaker.  They had been witnesses of God's works, but not worshippers.  So they became wanderers, never to enter God's rest .

How I plan to prayerfully obey what God says:

I cannot worship and wander at the same time.  Worship is the antibiotic to the universal disease of wandering.  When I feel my heart straying, stiffing, or cooling, I will direct my attention to the works of God as Creator, and to the warmth of God as Caretaker.  The Creator of the universe cares for me. 

Prone to wander Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, oh take and seal it
Seal it for thy throne above.

What God is saying in this passage:

Sin is always a big deal but God desires to forgive, not judge. Nevertheless repentance is a requirement. The difference between David and his predecessor Saul, was not that one sinned greatly and the other didn't. In fact, David's sin of adultery and murder was far greater than consulting a witch. However, the difference was that David repented (turned from his sin) and Saul was just sorry for the consequences.

How I plan to prayerfully obey what God says:

I resolve to never be ok with sin in my life. Sin will always bother me. I commit to always being honest with myself, my friends and my God about my shortcomings. I will be transparent and repent of known sin.

What God is saying in this passage:

I think one reason that God made the Behemoth and the Leviathon was to show man how powerless he is and how useless his weapons are against God's powerful creation.  These huge animals could not be tamed or conquered by man.  Their weapons were of no use against them.  41:7-8 "Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?  Lay your hands on him; remember the battle - you will not do it again!"

Job understood how small he/we are compared to God and how it was wrong to "utter what he did not understand".  God was please when Job repented and humbled himself before the creator.

How I plan to prayerfully obey what God says:

Just like Job, I will not utter of things that I do not understand.  I will repent before God and humbly accept what he is doing in my life to show his greatness to those watching.  The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord!