July 9

July 9
One Year Bible Readings:
1 Chronicles 7:1-8:40
Acts 27:1-20
Psalm 7:1-17
Proverbs 18:22
Supplemental Reading for The One Year Bible.
The following are excerpts from Mike’s One Year Bible Blog.

1 Chronicles:
We read some interesting verses to consider today in First Chronicles 8 verses 8 through 10: "After Shaharaim divorced his wives Hushim and Baara, he had children in the land of Moab. Hodesh, his new wife, gave birth to Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, Jeuz, Sakia, and Mirmah. These sons all became the leaders of clans." These verses basically record polygamy & divorce by Shaharaim. However, just because these actions are recorded in the Bible, it does not mean they are condoned by God. Since the creation of Adam and Eve, God has meant for there to be one man with one wife. But, we humans don't always follow what God wants for us... (as we each well know) The Bible records both the good & the bad in human actions. If someone were to chronicle our lives today, would what the chronicle recorded be pleasing in God's sight? Don't worry so much about your past & past mistakes. God can forgive and redeem those, if you will turn to him in repentance.
Q: But right now - what would the chronicler capture in your life today? Would it be pleasing in God's sight? Would you want other people to read about your life today? Would you be comfortable with any aspect of your life showing up on the front page of tomorrow's news?

Acts:
Today in Acts 27 verses 1 & 2 we read: "When the time came, we set sail for Italy. Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of an army officer named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment. And Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was also with us. We left on a boat whose home port was Adramyttium; it was scheduled to make several stops at ports along the coast of the province of Asia." In verses 10 & 11 Paul's wise advice about the storm is not heeded: ""Sirs," he said, "I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on--shipwreck, loss of cargo, injuries, and danger to our lives." But the officer in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship's captain and the owner than to Paul."
Q: I wonder about this in our lives today - are we like the officer in charge of the prisoners and ignoring Paul's advice? Do we hear Paul's advice to us in his Epistles, and yet are we ignoring it? Are we instead paying attention to the ship's captain, or the world, rather than Paul, when a storm is indeed bearing down upon us?

Psalm:
Today in Psalm 7 verse 10 we read: "God is my shield, saving those whose hearts are true and right." What stood out to me here is that it does not say that God saves those who "do" what is true and right. It says that God saves those whose "hearts are" true and right. As discussed in yesterday's Matthew 5 post, below, this is getting toward our interior motives and thoughts and hearts - the important thing is not what we do on the "exterior", but who we are on the "interior". And then certainly if our hearts are true and right, a natural outflow of this is doing good things on the exterior. But, it's the interior - our hearts - that matter most.  
Q: How is your heart these days? Is it true and right? And do you believe that God is indeed your shield?

Proverbs:
Proverbs 18 verse 22 I believe is a two way street: "The man who finds a wife finds a treasure and receives favor from the LORD." And the woman who finds a husband finds a treasure and receives favor from the Lord! I think all of us are fortunate to find a wife or husband. The sad thing of course in our world today is that marriages statistically are not lasting. I believe the divorce rate is around 50% now? Pretty high to say the least... My thought is that God needs to be the center of any marriage for it to really last. Really, God needs to be in the center of anything we do in our lives for it to truly last...  
Q: Is God in the center of all areas of your life today?

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