December 26

December 26
One Year Bible Readings:
Zechariah 9:1-17
Revelation 17:1-18
Psalm 145:1-21
Proverbs 30:32
Supplemental Reading for The One Year Bible.
The following are excerpts from Mike’s One Year Bible Blog.

Zechariah:
I love it! In today's readings Zechariah prophesies 500 years in advance about Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey to a hail of Hosanna's (days before his death - popularly known as Palm Sunday) in chapter 9 verse 9: "Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt."
Q: This reminds me of a saying of one of my classmates in a Bible study class: "You can't understand the New Testament if you don't understand the Old Testament!"

Q: How have the prophecies in the Old Testament this year strengthened your faith in the New Testament? How have they strengthened your faith in Jesus?

Revelation:
Today in Revelation chapter 17 we read about the woman and the beast.
Q: How have our readings in Revelation about the beast affected your faith or outlook on end times? Do you believe these writings in Revelation are true?

Psalm:
I love the imagery today in Psalm 145 verse 9! "The LORD is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation."
Q: Do you believe that God is good to everyone? Do you feel God's compassion being showered upon you right this very moment?

Proverbs:
Proverbs chapter 30 verse 32 teaches us today: "If you have been a fool by being proud or plotting evil, cover your mouth in shame." The thing that stood out to me in this Proverb today is that being proud equals being a fool. Plotting evil also equals being a fool - and I'm sure we'd all quickly agree on that. But, being proud also equals being a fool! This is so important for us to realize. I am afraid that all too often we can default to being prideful, thinking that's appropriate, when indeed it is pure foolishness. Being proud = been a fool. Why do you suppose this is? What is it about pride that is so bad? I think it is in large part this: when we are proud we are turning our focus away from God and toward ourselves. We are relying on ourselves instead of God. We are glorifying ourselves instead of God. And when we look at Satan and the Fall, we see that pride can even get to the point of trying to equate ourselves with God! This was Satan's great sin. Pride. And pride is a sin that we must be vigilant to guard against in our lives today, tomorrow and every day. Let us not be foolish by being proud! And when we find ourselves being prideful, let us cover our mouths in shame as this Proverb teaches and repent.
Q: Do you struggle with pride in your life? Do you agree with this Proverb that being proud = being a fool?

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