September 21
September 21
One Year Bible Readings:
Isaiah 37:1-38:22
Galatians 6:1-18
Psalm 65:1-13
Proverbs 23:24
Supplemental Reading for The One Year Bible.
The following are excerpts from Mike’s One Year Bible Blog.
Isaiah:
Great readings in Isaiah featuring King Hezekiah today! You'll recall from yesterday's readings that King Sennacherib of Assyria's representative threw down some serious trash-talking at the walls of Jerusalem. (see yesterday's blog entry below). Well today in chapter 37 we read about Hezekiah seeking the Lord's help. Hezekiah takes all of this to God in prayer. Good move!
Q: How often in our lives today, when challenges come our way, do we take the challenges everywhere else BUT to God? Wouldn't it be easier to take them directly to God? Why do we turn to alcohol or drugs or food or worrying or _______ (fill in your blank here) when we can simply take our challenges to the one true living God who can actually do something with them? Will you model what Hezekiah did when he received distressing news from the King of Assyria, in verses 14 through 17: "After Hezekiah received the letter and read it, he went up to the LORD's Temple and spread it out before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the LORD: "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Listen to me, O LORD, and hear! Open your eyes, O LORD, and see! Listen to Sennacherib's words of defiance against the living God."
I love Hezekiah's poem of praise in chapter 38. Verse 16 stood out to me: "Lord, your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health."
Q: Would you agree with Hezekiah on this point? Is God's discipline good? Does God's discipline lead to life and health? Are you accepting God's discipline in your life today?
Galatians:
We finish up Paul's letter to the Galatians today. Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus begins tomorrow! We read some powerful teachings in Galatians chapter 6 today. I love verse 1: "Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself." This is such a great teaching. And one that I have a hunch we do not follow often enough...
Q: When was the last time you gently and humbly helped someone who is overcome by sin get back on the right track? The last sentence in this verse is powerful and reminds me that we need to be particularly careful around sexual sin I think - to make sure we don't fall into the same temptation ourselves. One important note for all of us is to not discuss with someone of the opposite sex their struggles with sexual sin! It is foolish to do so I believe. Men can discuss and counsel men in the area of sexual sin. And women, women. But I think it is just way too risky for men to discuss or counsel women in the area of sexual sin - and vice versa. I think we just open ourselves up potentially to temptation if we do this. I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but generally speaking, don't go into a discussion on personal sexual sin struggles with someone of the opposite sex! A good book on this topic is Josh Harris' "Sex is Not the Problem (Lust Is): Sexual Purity in a Lust-Saturated World."
Psalm:
Psalm 65 has some amazing verses about nature! I love verse 8 - "Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy."
Q: When is the last time you have been inspired to shout for joy to God for the beautiful sunset he created? Verse 7 of the Psalm says this - "You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations." When is the last time you have stood in complete silence before God because of his beautiful Creation?
Proverbs:
Proverbs 23 verse 24 is one of those Proverbs that simply states a fact without giving advice per se: "The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure it is to have wise children." This is of course true.
Q: My question for us today - are we ourselves godly children to our parents? Are we giving our parents pleasure because we ourselves are wise children?
Copyright © 2004-2012 One Year Bible Blog
One Year Bible Readings:
Isaiah 37:1-38:22
Galatians 6:1-18
Psalm 65:1-13
Proverbs 23:24
Supplemental Reading for The One Year Bible.
The following are excerpts from Mike’s One Year Bible Blog.
Isaiah:
Great readings in Isaiah featuring King Hezekiah today! You'll recall from yesterday's readings that King Sennacherib of Assyria's representative threw down some serious trash-talking at the walls of Jerusalem. (see yesterday's blog entry below). Well today in chapter 37 we read about Hezekiah seeking the Lord's help. Hezekiah takes all of this to God in prayer. Good move!
Q: How often in our lives today, when challenges come our way, do we take the challenges everywhere else BUT to God? Wouldn't it be easier to take them directly to God? Why do we turn to alcohol or drugs or food or worrying or _______ (fill in your blank here) when we can simply take our challenges to the one true living God who can actually do something with them? Will you model what Hezekiah did when he received distressing news from the King of Assyria, in verses 14 through 17: "After Hezekiah received the letter and read it, he went up to the LORD's Temple and spread it out before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the LORD: "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Listen to me, O LORD, and hear! Open your eyes, O LORD, and see! Listen to Sennacherib's words of defiance against the living God."
I love Hezekiah's poem of praise in chapter 38. Verse 16 stood out to me: "Lord, your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health."
Q: Would you agree with Hezekiah on this point? Is God's discipline good? Does God's discipline lead to life and health? Are you accepting God's discipline in your life today?
Galatians:
We finish up Paul's letter to the Galatians today. Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus begins tomorrow! We read some powerful teachings in Galatians chapter 6 today. I love verse 1: "Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself." This is such a great teaching. And one that I have a hunch we do not follow often enough...
Q: When was the last time you gently and humbly helped someone who is overcome by sin get back on the right track? The last sentence in this verse is powerful and reminds me that we need to be particularly careful around sexual sin I think - to make sure we don't fall into the same temptation ourselves. One important note for all of us is to not discuss with someone of the opposite sex their struggles with sexual sin! It is foolish to do so I believe. Men can discuss and counsel men in the area of sexual sin. And women, women. But I think it is just way too risky for men to discuss or counsel women in the area of sexual sin - and vice versa. I think we just open ourselves up potentially to temptation if we do this. I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but generally speaking, don't go into a discussion on personal sexual sin struggles with someone of the opposite sex! A good book on this topic is Josh Harris' "Sex is Not the Problem (Lust Is): Sexual Purity in a Lust-Saturated World."
Psalm:
Psalm 65 has some amazing verses about nature! I love verse 8 - "Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy."
Q: When is the last time you have been inspired to shout for joy to God for the beautiful sunset he created? Verse 7 of the Psalm says this - "You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations." When is the last time you have stood in complete silence before God because of his beautiful Creation?
Proverbs:
Proverbs 23 verse 24 is one of those Proverbs that simply states a fact without giving advice per se: "The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure it is to have wise children." This is of course true.
Q: My question for us today - are we ourselves godly children to our parents? Are we giving our parents pleasure because we ourselves are wise children?
Copyright © 2004-2012 One Year Bible Blog
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