Day 317 Bible Readings – Proverbs 15: 13 (ESV)

Ezekiel 24-25, Hebrews 11:17-40, Proverbs 15: 11-20

Proverbs 15: 13 (ESV)

“A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.”

In Proverbs 15:13, Solomon tells us that when you have a relationship with God the Father, you have a joyful heart, which means you have an inner state of contentment and happiness. One of the fruits—or effects—of being filled with the Holy Spirit is joy. When you have joy in your heart, you will have a cheerful and happy face. But when there is sorrow in your heart that is deep and long-lasting, it can affect your spirit. Sorrow leads to despair, hopelessness, and a broken heart.

Solomon reminds us that when you have a relationship with the Lord and are filled with the Holy Spirit, your heart will be filled with joy, and your facial expression will reflect this joy. But when you have sorrow in your heart, the despair you feel will also be reflected in your face. Over time, that hopelessness can crush your spirit.

When I have sorrow in my heart, I pray to the Lord to help me restore the joy in my life. I ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to help me evaluate the sorrow so I can regain my joy. Sometimes, when I feel sad about my life, I make a list of all the things I am grateful for. Halfway through writing the list, I always feel the sorrow beginning to leave me. I am often overwhelmed with gratitude for Father- God’s love for me and for all the blessings I can recall in my life. This reflection leads me to write down a list of the blessings and miracles from the Lord, and soon joy comes flooding back into my being. The memories of the sadness I was experiencing disappear supernaturally, as if they were never there. I know I can keep the sadness I sometimes feel at bay when I think of all the good things the Lord has done in my life.

If this verse resonates with you—if you feel drawn to place your faith in Jesus Christ, whose goodness will always fill you with joy—this may be your moment. Open your heart to Him. Speak to Him in the prayer that follows, expressing your trust and your desire to walk with Him. Welcome His presence into your life. God is faithful and ready to meet you exactly where you are.

Heavenly Father, I give You my life. Please forgive me for all my sins and wash me clean through the blood of Jesus. I believe in my heart that You raised Jesus from the dead, and I confess with my mouth that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I receive Your forgiveness and the gift of salvation. Thank You, Lord—I am saved, I am forgiven, I am clean, and I am made new in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

If you prayed this prayer, welcome to the family of Father-God! I encourage you to find and join a Holy Spirit-filled, full-Gospel, Bible-based church where you can grow in your faith and experience the Lord’s love, signs, wonders, and miracles in your life.

Day 316 Bible Readings - Hebrews 11: 8 (ESV)

Ezekiel 22:23-31, Ezekiel 23, Hebrews 11:1-16, Proverbs 15:1-10

Hebrews 11: 8 (ESV)

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

In Hebrews 11:8, the writer reminds the Jewish Christians of Abraham—the father of the Christian faith and the patriarch of the Jewish people. God the Father instructed Abraham to leave his native country and his people in the prosperous city of Mesopotamia. Abraham wasn’t even told where he was going, yet he obeyed the Lord immediately and left without hesitation. All he knew was that the land he was being led to would become his inheritance.

This verse shows us the importance of obeying Father God’s call when we receive it—and of obeying immediately. Even if the path ahead is unclear, we are called to respond without question. Abraham demonstrated the strength of his faith through his actions. Though it took several generations for Father God’s promise to be fully fulfilled, Abraham ultimately received his inheritance. The Lord loves an obedient believer, and Abraham’s unwavering faith was rewarded, leaving a legacy for generations of his descendants.

When I reflected on how often I obey the Lord’s guidance, I asked the Holy Spirit to give me a percentage rating. The answer I received was 65%, which I thought was fair. Sometimes my obedience is immediate and unquestioning. At other times, it takes three reminders from the Holy Spirit before I act. And in some cases, I drag my feet, complain, and argue—though I eventually give in to the Lord. On those rare occasions when I dismiss His guidance altogether, I feel the pain and consequences of my rebellion. I’m not sure I will ever be as faithful as Abraham, but I hope to reach a 95% rating someday. What I do know is this: whenever I obeyed the Holy Spirit’s guidance immediately and without question, Father God rewarded that obedience. And whenever I delayed, I always regretted not acting sooner. Obedience to the Lord’s guidance—prompt and unquestioning—is the path to a peaceful and rewarding life.

If this verse resonates with you—if you feel drawn to place your faith in Jesus Christ, whose guidance leads to peace and blessing—this may be your moment. Open your heart to Him. Speak to Him in the prayer that follows, expressing your trust and your desire to walk with Him. Welcome His presence into your life. God is faithful and ready to meet you exactly where you are.

Heavenly Father, I give You my life. Please forgive me for all my sins and wash me clean through the blood of Jesus. I believe in my heart that You raised Jesus from the dead, and I confess with my mouth that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I receive Your forgiveness and the gift of salvation. Thank You, Lord—I am saved, I am forgiven, I am clean, and I am made new in Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer, welcome to the family of Father-God! I encourage you to find and join a Holy Spirit-filled, full-Gospel, Bible-based church where you can grow in your faith and experience the Lord’s love, signs, wonders, and miracles in your life.

Day 315 Bible Readings – Hebrews 10:23 (ESV)

Ezekiel 21, Ezekiel 22:1-22, Hebrews 10:19-39, Proverbs 14:25-35

Hebrews 10:23 (ESV)

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

In Hebrews 10:23, the writer encourages the Jewish Christians to remain faithful. Facing persecution, they had become discouraged and were tempted to return to their old faith. The writer reminds them to hold fast to the hope of salvation and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Believers in Christ have the assurance of our Father God’s reliability. We believe in the Lord, who is always faithful to His people.

This verse applies to every believer in Christ, even in modern times. I often feel pressure because of my faith in Jesus Christ, and I have occasionally experienced persecution from those who see Christianity as something only an ignorant person would believe in. The writer of Hebrews tells us that we should have confidence in God’s promises—knowing that He is faithful and will fulfill every one of them.

Our hope must be grounded in the unchanging character of the Lord, who loves His children. We cannot merely claim to have hope; our daily actions should reflect the hope we profess to believe in. When we remember the promises of our Father God and His new covenant with His people, we gain the strength to stand firm in our faith. We can call on the guidance of the Holy Spirit to help us remain faithful to God the Father, who promises us everlasting life through our faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

If this verse resonates with you—if you feel compelled to place your faith in Jesus Christ, who promises us everlasting life and is faithful to His word—this could be your moment. Open your heart to Him, speak to Him in the following prayer, and express your trust. Share your desire to walk with Him and welcome His presence into your life. God is faithful and ready to meet you wherever you are.

Heavenly Father, I give You my life. Please forgive me for all my sins and wash me clean through the blood of Jesus. I believe in my heart that You raised Jesus from the dead, and I confess with my mouth that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I receive Your forgiveness and the gift of salvation. Thank You, Lord—I am saved, I am forgiven, I am clean, and I am made new in Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer, welcome to the family of Father-God! I encourage you to find and join a Holy Spirit-filled, full-Gospel, Bible-based church where you can grow in your faith and experience the Lord’s love, signs, wonders, and miracles in your life.

Day 314 Bible Readings - Hebrews 10:15-18 (ESV)

Ezekiel 19-20, Hebrews 10:1-18, Proverbs 14:15-24

Hebrews 10:15-18 (ESV)

“And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

In Hebrews 10:15-18, the author wrote to the Jewish believers in Christ to explain the superiority of Christ’s new covenant with his people. The writer explains that the Holy Spirit is an active witness to this new covenant. We become transformed in our hearts when Father-God writes His law in our hearts and minds. In the new covenant, we obey the Lord’s laws because we love him. We do not obey Him because of external laws and obligations. The Lord promises to forgive our sins and remove them from His memory. Father-God will not hold our sins against us. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ made the annual practice of sin offerings unnecessary. The death of Christ fully atoned for all our past, present, and future sins. As a result, believers can now focus on deepening their personal relationship with the Lord, rather than on rituals of atonement and repeated sacrifices.

Although ritualistic sin offerings are no longer practices, we often still identify with our former, sinful selves. We need to forget our sinful selves as well because this new covenant tells us that Father-God does not remember our sins. The Lord has forgiven us, and we need to forgive ourselves. We are new people through our faith in Jesus Christ, who has transformed our hearts.

Whenever I have a thought that references my life before I was born again, I tell myself that person does not exist because Jesus Christ transformed my heart. I have more peace in my life and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, helping me align my life with the Lord’s laws and purposes. Faithfully following Father-God’s laws has brought peace to my life as I embrace that I am a child of the Lord, who loves and protects me from all harm.

If these verses resonate with you—if you feel compelled to place your faith in Jesus Christ, who gives you a new and more peaceful life—this could be your moment. Open your heart to Him, speak to Him in the following prayer, and express your trust. Share your desire to walk with Him and welcome His presence into your life. God is faithful and ready to meet you wherever you are.

Heavenly Father, I give You my life. Please forgive me for all my sins and wash me clean through the blood of Jesus. I believe in my heart that You raised Jesus from the dead, and I confess with my mouth that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I receive Your forgiveness and the gift of salvation. Thank You, Lord—I am saved, I am forgiven, I am clean, and I am made new in Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer, welcome to the family of Father-God! I encourage you to find and join a Holy Spirit-filled, full-Gospel, Bible-based church where you can grow in your faith and experience the Lord’s love, signs, wonders, and miracles in your life.