December 18
December 18
One Year Bible Readings:
Habakkuk 1:1-3:19
Revelation 9:1-21
Psalm 137:1-9
Proverbs 30:10
Supplemental Reading for The One Year Bible.
The following are excerpts from Mike’s One Year Bible Blog.
Habakkuk:
Today we start and finish the book of the prophet Habakkuk! This is a great book & there is a lot going on in it. In some ways it reminded me of the end of the book of Job, with the conversation going on between Habakkuk and God. Habakkuk was a prophet from Judah who prophesied between the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C. and Babylon's invasion of Judah in 588 B.C. Assyria fell in 612-605 B.C. and Babylon was becoming the world's dominant nation. In the first 2 chapters of this book Habakkuk argues with God about God's ways, and then in the 3rd chapter Habakkuk responds with an incredible prayer to God. In the first 2 chapters the big questions are - 1. Why does evil seem to go unpunished? and 2. Why does God not seem to respond to prayers? Reminds me of the Psalms! :)
Chapter 3 verses 18 & 19 are powerful verses for us to consider in our own lives in the midst of challenging times: "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He will make me as surefooted as a deer and bring me safely over the mountains."
Q: Do you rejoice in God? Are you joyful in God as your salvation? Even in the midst of challenging times in your life? Do you trust that God will bring you to safety?
Revelation:
Revelation chapter 9 brings forth the 5th and 6th trumpet plagues at the end times! A note on the star in verse 1 - this is likely an angel that descends from heaven with the key from Jesus to open the abyss. The fierce demonic locusts in today's readings are intense. You will recall that very recently we read about locusts in a similar fashion in the Old Testament in Joel chapter 1 through chapter 2 verse 11. Verses 20 & 21 in this chapter stand out: "But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to turn from their evil deeds. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood--idols that neither see nor hear nor walk! And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their immorality or their thefts." Even in the midst of such destruction and horror, many people do not repent.
Q: Is it possible that we receive much less severe signs in our own life today to repent, and we ignore them? Why do we ignore the signs? Is this wise?
Psalm:
Psalm 137 is a Psalm reflecting upon the Israelites exile in Babylon and about how much Jerusalem was missed. We also read about a call to punish Edom for their rejoicing in the fall of Jerusalem. As you'll recall, we recently read prophesies against Edom in the book of the prophet Obadiah.
Proverbs:
Proverbs 30 verse 10 today teaches us: "Never slander a person to his employer. If you do, the person will curse you, and you will pay for it." This is a great reminder to not speak untruths behind someone's back - particularly to their employer! If you attack someone's livelihood unfairly, you'll be attacked back. Simply a foolish idea. Bite your tongue and pray rather than say anything false or in anger to someone's employer...
Copyright © 2004-2012 One Year Bible Blog
One Year Bible Readings:
Habakkuk 1:1-3:19
Revelation 9:1-21
Psalm 137:1-9
Proverbs 30:10
Supplemental Reading for The One Year Bible.
The following are excerpts from Mike’s One Year Bible Blog.
Habakkuk:
Today we start and finish the book of the prophet Habakkuk! This is a great book & there is a lot going on in it. In some ways it reminded me of the end of the book of Job, with the conversation going on between Habakkuk and God. Habakkuk was a prophet from Judah who prophesied between the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C. and Babylon's invasion of Judah in 588 B.C. Assyria fell in 612-605 B.C. and Babylon was becoming the world's dominant nation. In the first 2 chapters of this book Habakkuk argues with God about God's ways, and then in the 3rd chapter Habakkuk responds with an incredible prayer to God. In the first 2 chapters the big questions are - 1. Why does evil seem to go unpunished? and 2. Why does God not seem to respond to prayers? Reminds me of the Psalms! :)
Chapter 3 verses 18 & 19 are powerful verses for us to consider in our own lives in the midst of challenging times: "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He will make me as surefooted as a deer and bring me safely over the mountains."
Q: Do you rejoice in God? Are you joyful in God as your salvation? Even in the midst of challenging times in your life? Do you trust that God will bring you to safety?
Revelation:
Revelation chapter 9 brings forth the 5th and 6th trumpet plagues at the end times! A note on the star in verse 1 - this is likely an angel that descends from heaven with the key from Jesus to open the abyss. The fierce demonic locusts in today's readings are intense. You will recall that very recently we read about locusts in a similar fashion in the Old Testament in Joel chapter 1 through chapter 2 verse 11. Verses 20 & 21 in this chapter stand out: "But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to turn from their evil deeds. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood--idols that neither see nor hear nor walk! And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their immorality or their thefts." Even in the midst of such destruction and horror, many people do not repent.
Q: Is it possible that we receive much less severe signs in our own life today to repent, and we ignore them? Why do we ignore the signs? Is this wise?
Psalm:
Psalm 137 is a Psalm reflecting upon the Israelites exile in Babylon and about how much Jerusalem was missed. We also read about a call to punish Edom for their rejoicing in the fall of Jerusalem. As you'll recall, we recently read prophesies against Edom in the book of the prophet Obadiah.
Proverbs:
Proverbs 30 verse 10 today teaches us: "Never slander a person to his employer. If you do, the person will curse you, and you will pay for it." This is a great reminder to not speak untruths behind someone's back - particularly to their employer! If you attack someone's livelihood unfairly, you'll be attacked back. Simply a foolish idea. Bite your tongue and pray rather than say anything false or in anger to someone's employer...
Copyright © 2004-2012 One Year Bible Blog
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