May 10th One Year Bible Readings
1 Samuel 8:1-9:27 ~ John 6:22-42 ~ Psalm 106:32-48 ~ Proverbs 14:34-35
~ Click here to read today's Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~
~ Listen to today's Scripture on BibleOnRadio.com or DailyAudioBible.com (podcast) ~
Old Testament - We have some great dramatic reading today in First Samuel! Tyndale's One Year Bible Companion today has some good food for thought to the question of Why did Israel want a king? - "1. Samuel's sons were not fit to lead Israel 2. The 12 tribes of Israel continually had problems working together because each tribe had its own leader and territory. It was hoped that a king would unite the tribes into one nation and one army. 3. The people wanted to be like the neighboring nations. This is exactly what God didn't want. Having a king would make it easy for them to forget that God was their read leader." In First Samuel Chapter 8 we hear Samuel passing on God's warning to how the king will treat the people...
Can you imagine hearing these words of Samuel if you were Saul in First Samuel 9:20 today: "And I am here to tell you that you and your family are the focus of all Israel's hopes." All you are doing is looking for your dad's lost donkeys and all of the sudden you hear this from the seer! Whew... You know though - I will say this. Being in relationship with God is always an adventure. I think oftentimes we will start out on a journey to do one thing and God ends up taking us some place completely different. Saul is about to embark on an adventure. You and I have the opportunity to embark on an adventure with God each and every day. I know that there are many times that God sends me into places & situations I would have never thought imaginable. That's the adventure of faith. It truly is not boring! I honestly think that life apart from God is truly boring. The secular life is boring. The materialistic life is boring. If you are feeling bored these days, will you break free and wholeheartedly pursue an adventurous relationship with the Lord?
An image is below for 1 Samuel 9:11 today - "As they were climbing a hill toward the town, they met some young women coming out to draw water. So Saul and his servant asked, "Is the seer here today?"
Bible.org's commentary on 1 Samuel's readings today titled "Give us a King!" is at this link and commentary titled "The making of Israel's first king" is at this link.
New Testament - Wow... verses 28 & 29 in John chapter 6 are so beautiful and simple that I think it is easy to miss the strong meaning behind this conversation between the crowd & Jesus - "They replied, "What does God want us to do?" Jesus told them, "This is what God wants you to do: Believe in the one he has sent."" Check out that very last sentence. This is what God wants you to do. Believe. That's it. It's that simple. Believe. Not give away all your money to the poor. Not do thousands of good deeds. Not become a perfect person over night. Just believe. Believe. Yeah, okay, maybe God will ask you to give away some money and do good and become better person after you believe... :) But the key is first and foremost to Believe. Do you Believe in Jesus, the one whom God sent?
And verse 35 is so powerful as well - "Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst." Jesus saying he is the bread of life is similar to him saying he is the Door or the Vine. Bread is a beautiful metaphor that Jesus supplies divine nourishment to us spiritually. For me, this verse also reminds me of The Lord's Supper in our churches today.
Bible.org's commentary on our John chapter 6 readings today titled "The Bread of Life" is at this link.
Psalms - Psalm 106 verse 39 stood out to me today, speaking about the Israelites: "They defiled themselves by their evil deeds, and their love of idols was adultery in the LORD's sight." I think this Psalm verse stands the test of time with our modern world today. Do you believe that we still defile ourselves with our evil deeds today? Do you believe that our love of idols is adultery in God's sight? How can we stop defiling ourselves with evil deeds and stop loving idols in our modern world today? Who can save us from ourselves?
Proverbs - Proverbs chapter 14 verse 34 today teaches us today: "Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people." This is a great reminder that godliness is not just an individual issue, but a community and even national issue.
Worship God: John 6:29 today reminded me of the Wes King song "I Believe:"
Do you believe? Click here for Belief!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this week: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12 NIV
Love Your Neighbor: Teen Challenge
Comments from You & Questions of the Day: Do you agree with this Proverb that godliness makes a nation great? In our recent readings in Judges, was Israel a godly nation? Or was there sin in the nation bringing disgrace? How about today? Do you live in a godly nation? Or is there sin bringing disgrace to the people? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
The bible verse suggested to meditate and memorize this week "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."Romans 12:12(NIV)
is one of my favourites.I have often put this on cards when Christians were leaving the area to go to work or university in another part of the country.
Posted by: Helen | May 10, 2008 at 05:10 AM
Greetings family,
The Living Water, chapter 4; The Bread of Life, chapter 6.
He nourishes us continually, it is there for the asking, bless His name!
He is the I AM, which covers every area in our life, praise His name!
In the book of John, Nicodemus says what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus says you must be born of the water and Spirit (paraphrased). Just in case, the complete reading may be found in John, Chapter 3. :-). Not much is required of us to enter into the Kingdom of God. And one can say that same thought is continued in today's verses (using two different versions).
"They then said, What are we to do, that we may [habitually] be working the works of God? [What are we to do to carry out what God requires?] Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger]." (John 6:28-29, AMP)
They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28-29, NLT)
All the "work(s)" is culminated in John 3:16:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
So we don't have perform any thing for God because all of the requirements have been fulfilled on the cross - He did it all for us. Enjoy the gift!
Be blessed and be a blessing.
Posted by: Lisa | May 10, 2008 at 05:54 AM
Hi - I'm Simon, I'm 36 and I'm in England. I started this year with the One Year Bible and have recently found your blog - and I'm SO pleased to have ! Your thoughts and words give me an additional perpective and the photos and images you include really do add to my daily experience of my daily study. Thank you for what you're doing.
One other thing ... have you disabled right click on images ? I was able to save a few when I first came here because they were really helpful for me, but can't seem to do that now ... ?
Your brother
Simon
Posted by: Simon | May 10, 2008 at 11:19 AM