May 11

May 11
One Year Bible Readings:
1 Samuel 10:1-11:15
John 6:43-71
Psalm 107:1-43
Proverbs 15:1-3
Supplemental Reading for The One Year Bible.
The following are excerpts from Mike’s One Year Bible Blog.

1 Samuel:
Okay - I have a temporary new favorite verse in the Bible!  Today in First Samuel chapter 10 verse 22 when they were about to name Saul king, but they couldn't find him: "So they asked the LORD, "Where is he?" And the LORD replied, "He is hiding among the baggage.""  That is awesome!  I really appreciate the fact that Saul was hiding among the baggage.  :)  I think that's where I would be too.  I hope I would be in any case.  I think it's a bit scary when someone is too lustful for power.  Better to have your future king hiding in the baggage...  :)  In First Samuel chapter 11 we see Saul really step into his role as king by defending the city of Jabesh-gilead from the Ammonites attack.  Verse 2 was sad to consider when the Ammonite king said this to the citizens of Jabesh-gilead - ""All right," Nahash said, "but only on one condition. I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you as a disgrace to all Israel!""  Gouging out the right eye would be done for humiliation purposes - but also to destroy the military ability of the archers.  After this point, Saul gets word back in his hometown that Jabesh-gilead is under attack.  I was impressed with Saul's graciousness in verses 12 & 13 of this chapter: "Then the people exclaimed to Samuel, "Now where are those men who said Saul shouldn't rule over us? Bring them here, and we will kill them!" But Saul replied, "No one will be executed today, for today the LORD has rescued Israel!"  Impressive.  You could see where after defeating the Ammonites, Israel's adrenaline might be running high to go after dissenters.  Saul put a stop to it, which was impressive.  
Q: What about us today?  When we are riding high on a victory of some sort and the group around us says we should forge ahead on something that does not seem right, can we stand up and say "No" to the group as Saul did on this day?

John:

Okay, so John chapter 6 verses 53 through 58 are some verses that get interpreted several different ways - some saying these verses speak of the Lord's Supper and some saying they speak only of faith in Jesus because the Lord's Supper had not yet been instituted by Jesus at this time.  I think the key for us to focus on is that Jesus is our nourishment - our literal spiritual food if we have faith in him. It is interesting to note that many disciples turned away from Jesus after this teaching.  I love Peter's reply to Jesus in verses 68 & 69 after Jesus asks if the Twelve will leave too - "Simon Peter replied, "Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them, and we know you are the Holy One of God."" True words indeed Peter.  True words indeed.  
Q: If not Jesus, to whom would you go?  Does anyone else have the words that give eternal life? Are you looking forward to eternal life with Jesus?

Psalm:

Psalm 107 repeats a verse four times - starting with verse 6 here - ""LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress."  (then see verse 13, verse 19, and verse 28 - same verse) This is a great reminder to pray - and yes, it's great to pray during times of distress of course.  
Q: But, how about praying during times of happiness & joy?  Or even times of just regular blahs?  I recently read much of the book "The Life You've Always Wanted" by John Ortberg (great book!), and it has a great chapter on prayer.  It is so true that one of the best ways to truly know and love God is through prayer.  Simple prayer.   5 minutes a day.  Do you pray to God 5 minutes a day?  When the storms of life come, do you cry out for help to Jesus?  Do you know that he will always be there for you in the midst of the storm?
 
Proverbs
:
Proverbs chapter 15 verse 1 is so so so very true... we would all do well to practice this every day - "A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare."  How beautifully true & wise this is?  Let us be gentle people...  
Q: If someone were to describe you, would they describe you as a "gentle" person?  Would you want to be described as a gentle person?  Should we be gentle all of the time?  Was Jesus gentle all of the time?  Was Jesus gentle most of the time?  To whom or in what circumstances was Jesus not gentle?  Should we follow Jesus in this regard?
 
Copyright © 2004-2012 One Year Bible Blog

No Comments