Read the Bible in 365 | Day 97 — Faith on Go Mode: No More Waiting

Faith isn’t meant to sit still—it’s meant to move. Today’s readings call us out of hesitation and into action, reminding us that God often meets us right in the middle of obedience, not after we’ve figured everything out. 

Today’s readings:

• Leviticus 8
•  Acts 8
•  Psalm 39
•  1 Thessalonians 5

In this episode, we’re challenged to leave delay behind and live in “go mode” faith-ready to follow God’s lead, trust His timing, and move when He speaks, even when the path isn’t fully clear.

Transcript

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Hi, and welcome back to another episode of our daily devotional podcast. Today is day 97 of our Read the Bible in 365 Days series. And today we'll be reading from the book of Leviticus 8, Acts of the Apostles 8, Psalm 39, and 1 Thessalonians 5. Have you ever felt like God might be preparing you for something, but you're not exactly sure what yet? Sometimes life feels like we're in a season of waiting, growing, or even being stretched in ways we don't fully understand. And honestly, that can feel uncomfortable. But here's the thing: often those seasons are exactly where God is working, shaping us, and getting us ready for what's next. Today's readings will show us this in action. We will see people being set apart for service, the message of Jesus spreading to unexpected places, reminders to focus on what really matters, and encouragement to stay spiritually awake and ready. Through all of it, God is at work, moving through our lives in powerful ways. So let's dive into today's word, starting with Leviticus 8, set apart for service. If anyone sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, he being a witness, whether he has seen or known, if he doesn't report it, then he shall bear his iniquity. Or if anyone touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean animal, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and it is hidden from him, and he is unclean, then he shall be guilty, or if he touches the uncleanness of man, whatever his uncleanliness is with which he is unclean, and it is hidden from him, when he knows of it, then he shall be guilty. Or if anyone swears rashly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man might utter rashly with an oath, and it is hidden from him. When he knows of it, then he will be guilty of one of these. It shall be, when he is guilty of one of these, he shall confess that in which he has sinned, and he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord, for his sin which he has sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin. If he can't afford a lamb, then he shall bring his trespass offering for that in which he has sinned, two turtle doves or two young pigeons to the Lord, one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. He shall bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one which is for the sin offering. He shall wring off its head from its neck, but shall not sever it completely. He shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, and the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. He shall offer the second for a burnt offering, according to the ordinance, and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin which he has sinned, and he shall be forgiven. But if he can't afford two turtle doves or two young pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for that in which he has sinned one tenth of an ephaf of fine flour for a sin offering, he shall put no oil on it, and he shall not put any frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. He shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it as the memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, on the offerings of the Lord made by fire. It is a sin offering. The priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin that he has sinned in any of these things, and he will be forgiven, and the rest shall be the priest as the meal offering. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, If anyone commits a trespass and sins unwittingly regarding the Lord's holy things, then he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord, a ram without defect from flock, according to your estimation, in silver by shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering. He shall make restitution for that which he has done wrong regarding the holy thing, and shall add a fifth part to it, and give it to the priest, and the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and he will be forgiven. If anyone sins, doing any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, though he didn't know it, he is still guilty and shall bear his iniquity, he shall bring a ram without defect from of the flock, according to your estimation, for a trespass offering to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him concerning the thing in which he sinned and didn't know it, and he will be forgiven. It is a trespass offering, he is certainly guilty before the Lord. ACT 8. The Gospel Goes Out. Saul was consenting to his death, a great persecution arose against the assembly, which was in Jerusalem in that day. They were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and lamented greatly over him, but Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into every house and dragged both men and women off to prison. Therefore, those who were scattered abroad went around preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. The multitudes listened with one accord to the things that were spoken by Philip, when they heard and saw the signs which he did. For unclean spirits came out of many of those who had them. They came out crying with a loud voice. Many had been paralyzed and lame, were healed. There was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who used to practice sorcery in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, making himself out to be some great one, to whom they all listened, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is that great power of God. They listened to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching good news concerning God's kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself also believed. Being baptized, he continued with Philip, seeing signs and great miracles occurring, he was amazed. Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for as yet he had fallen of none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of Christ Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that whomever I lay my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money. You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart isn't right before God. Repent therefore of this, your wickedness, and ask God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you, for I see that you are in the poison of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity. Simon answered, Pray for me to the Lord, that none of the things which you have spoken happened to me. They therefore, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem and preached the good news to many villages of the Samaritans. Then an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert. He arose and went, and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority, under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship. He was returning and sitting in his chariot and was reading the prophet Isaiah. The spirit said to Philip, Go near and join yourself to this chariot. Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, Do you understand what you're reading? He said, How can I, unless someone explains it to me? He begged Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this: He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, as a lamb before his shearer is silent. So he doesn't open his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who will declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth. The eunuch answered Philip, Who is the prophet talking about? About himself or about someone else? Philip opened his mouth and began, and beginning from this scripture, preached to him about Jesus. As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized? He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch didn't see him anymore, for he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azetus. Passing through, he preached the good news to all the cities until he came to Caesarea. Psalm 39, remembering what matters. For the chief musician, for Judasin, a psalm by David. I said, I will watch my ways so that I don't sin with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a brittle while the wicked is before me. I was mute with silence. I held my peace even from God. My sorrow was stirred, my heart was hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned. I spoke with my tongue. Lord, show me my end. What is the measure of my days? Let me know how frail I am. Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath. Surely every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up and doesn't know who shall gather. Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions. Don't make me the reproach of the foolish. I was mute, I didn't open my mouth because you did it. Remove your scourge away from me. I am overcome by the blow of your hand when you rebuke and correct man for iniquity. You consume his wealth like a moth. Surely every man is but a breath. Hear my prayer, Lord, and give ear to my cry. Don't be silent at my tears, for I am a stranger with you, a foreigner as all my fathers were. Oh spare me that I may recover strength before I go away and exist no more. 1 Thessalonians 5, staying awake. But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you, for you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. For when they are saying peace and safety, then sudden destruction will come on them like birth pains on a pregnant woman. Then they will in no way escape. But you brothers aren't in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief. You are all children of light and children of the day. We don't belong to the night nor to darkness. So then let's not sleep as the rest do, but let's watch and be sober. For those who sleep sleep in the night, and for those who are drunk are drunk in the night. But since we belong to the day, let's be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God didn't appoint us to wrath, but to the obtaining of the salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore, exhort one another and build each other up, even as you also do. But we beg you, brothers, to know those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to respect and honor them in love for their works' sake. Be at peace among yourselves, we exhort you, brothers, admonish the disorderly, encourage the faint-hearted, support the weak, be patient toward all, see that no one returns evil for evil to anyone. But always follow after that which is good for one another and for all. Always rejoice, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you. Don't quench the spirit, don't despise prophecies, test all things and hold firmly that which is good, abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who will also do it. Brothers, pray for us, greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I solemnly command you by the Lord that this letter be read to all the holy brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Okay, so let's reflect on each of those readings. In Leviticus 8, set apart for service, God has Moses set apart Aaron and his sons as priests. There was a lot going on. Washing, anointing, and offerings, all to mark them as ready for something special. But what's cool is that God doesn't just throw them into service, he prepares them first. He gives them the tools, the guidance, and the purpose before sending them out. And if you think about it, it's kind of like what God does in our own lives. He's shaping us through the everyday stuff, teaching, patience, building our character, and sometimes stretching us all to get us ready for the next thing that he wants us to do. And then in Acts 8, the gospel goes out, it shows us what happens when life doesn't go as planned. After persecution hits, the believers are scattered, and you'd think the story would stop there, right? But actually the scattering spreads the message even further, and Philip shares the good news in Samaria and then helps an Ethiopian official understand scripture, which leads to his baptism. And this reminds us that God often works this way in our lives. What looks like a setback or a challenge or even chaos can actually be the very thing that he uses to help us move his plan forward. And then in Psalm 39, remembering what matters, David is reflecting on life, how short it is, how fleeting it can feel, and how easy it is to get caught up in worry or frustration. He's honest with God about his feelings, but he also remembers that God is bigger than any of our struggles. And this reminds us that when we pause and see life from that perspective, it will help us focus on what really matters, our relationship with God, our purpose, and the ways we can fully live for him. And then in 1 Thessalonians 5, staying awake, Paul's letter here reminds us to stay spiritually aware and awake. He calls believers children of the light, which basically means living in hope, faith, and love, and encouraging others to do the same. And this reminds us that faith isn't just about believing, it's about acting, watching, and living with purpose every single day. It's like he's saying, be ready, be alert, and be part of what God is doing around you. So when you look at all of today's readings together, one truth stands out, and that's how God is always preparing people for purpose. He sets hearts apart, teaches through challenges, reminds us what truly matters, and sends us out to do his work in the world. And he's doing the same thing in our lives, even if we don't fully see it yet. Okay, so let's reflect on these questions. Where might God be preparing you for something new? And is there a challenge in your life right now that God could be using for a bigger purpose? And how can you stay spiritually awake and aware in your everyday life? So I hope you take some time to reflect and pray over these today. Now let's end today's episode with a closing prayer. Lord, thank you for the ways you work in our lives, even when it doesn't make sense at first. Help us trust the process of being shaped by you. Give us hearts that are ready, willing, and open to wherever you might lead. Teach us to live as people of the light, bringing hope, kindness, and truth into the world around us. Remind us that even when life stretches us, you're using it to prepare us for something greater. In Jesus' name, Amen.