June 22nd One Year Bible Readings

2 Kings 3:1-4:17 ~ Acts 14:8-28 ~ Psalm 140:1-13 ~ Proverbs 17:22
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Old Testament - In 2 Kings 3 verse 3 today we are reminded that King Jeroboam's legacy is held out as a unfavorable legacy... "Nevertheless he (Joram) continued in the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led the people of Israel to commit."  That is an interesting thing to think about - a legacy.  Jeroboam's legacy was obviously not one we'd like to have.  So, what type of legacy would you like to have?  And what type of legacy are you in fact leaving these days?  The more I think about my legacy, the more I simply hope and pray that my legacy is something along the lines of "one who loved God and loved people."  Pretty simple really.  But also really tough in our modern world full of so many distractions!  And I am not so sure that I am really leaving this legacy some days.  I don't want to pursue this type of legacy for the wrong reasons - for any sort of appearing "righteous" or prideful reasons.  But I in fact I really do want to spend the rest of my days simply loving God and loving people.  Whatever else I do - career, ministry, whatever - pales in comparison to loving God and loving people.  I even hesitate to write this hope for a legacy on this blog - I feel like I should go back and delete everything I just wrote.  Except - I think this might be the type of legacy we are called to as Christians.  Remember the two great commands Jesus gave us in Matthew 22:37 & 39 - "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself."  Love God and love people.  So - whaddya think?  Is this a good legacy for us to aim for?  Should we be aiming for a legacy at all?  What will your legacy be?

2 Kings 4 verse 8 definitely demonstrates that in addition to being a prophet, Elisha was a very wise man!  "One day Elisha went to the town of Shunem. A wealthy woman lived there, and she invited him to eat some food. From then on, whenever he passed that way, he would stop there to eat."   :)

Bible.org's commentary on today's 2 Kings readings titled "The Rebellion of the Moabites" is at this link,  "Elisha Prepares to Hear God’s Word" is at this link, "The Victory Over Moab" is at this link, "God’s Supply in the Midst of Poverty" is at this link, and "The Shunammite Woman Receives a Son" is at this link.

New Testament - Wow... amazing readings today... the thing that went through my mind while I was reading about Paul today was a very modern Christian song by Jonah33 called "Faith Like That" that goes like this:

"Oh I, I want Faith Like That
Whatever the cost
I'll suffer the loss, Oh I
I want the Faith That can move any mountain
and send them to the sea
I want the Faith that can break every stronghold
That keeps you, keeps you from me..."

Do you see the depth and strength and love of Paul's faith in verses 19 & 20 - "Now some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and turned the crowds into a murderous mob. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, apparently dead. But as the believers stood around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe."  Paul is stoned and then gets back up and keeps going forward in his minstry for God!  Next thing you know he is praying and fasting for elders in churches - after nearly getting stoned to death!  I want a faith like that...  Also, it is wonderful to read in today's readings how Paul and Barnabas tear their garments because they are so distressed that people were worshiping them as if they were gods!  Would we react so quickly to stop people from worshiping us today I wonder... ?

Bible.org's commentary on today's Acts readings titled "Mission Accomplished" is at this link.

Psalms - Psalm 140 is a prayer for deliverance from evil.  And this Psalm certainly should be a good reminder of the Lord’s Prayer, where we pray – “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”  What is the one thing that can truly deliver us from evil?  Can we deliver ourselves from evil on our own?  Or do we need something beyond ourselves for this deliverance?

Verse 7 in this Psalm gives each of us something to consider and should be an encouragement: “O Sovereign LORD, my strong savior, you protected me on the day of battle.”   Do you believe God is your strong savior who will protect you from evil on the day of battle?  Do you believe that perhaps every day is a day of battle?  Do you believe that Satan or evil ever rests in attempting to tempt people?  Should we pray for protection from evil on a very regular basis?  The Lord’s Prayer / Our Father is one great way to do this each day…

From 1928’s Book of Common Prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.”  Lord, teach us how to pray...

Proverbs - Proverbs 17 verse 22 for some reason reminds me of Paul again from today's Acts readings: "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength."  Think back again to Paul being nearly stoned to death in today's readings.  Think he would have a good "reason" to have a broken spirit after something like that happened to him?  But.... we see what he goes and does for the Kingdom just after that tragic incident!  My hunch is that Paul had a very cheerful heart - because he was in such close relationship with Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit.  And his cheerful heart was certainly good medicine for him.  He did not allow himself to have a broken spirit - even after nearly being stoned to death!  Seriously, Paul is amazing - but don't worry, I'm not worshiping him... :)  I am just amazed at how in love he was with Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit - and how he let that love guide him and propel him forward no matter what.  So, back to this Proverb - do you think it is possible for us at times to "decide" whether to have a cheerful heart or a broken spirit?  All of us have something bad happen at some time or another.  Is it possible that we can "decide" to be cheerful or broken after something bad happens to us?  If it is possible to be cheerful after something bad happens to us, why?  I think we could learn from Paul's example.  If we are so close in relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, I pray we can weather any storm that life might bring.  Any storm.  Do you believe this is true?

YouTube: 2nd Kings today reminds me of the song "Legacy" by Nichole Nordeman:

Do you want to leave a legacy?  Click here for the true Legacy!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this week: "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14 (NIV)

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  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

Comments

[Anka]

Jehoshaphat was a man who held no grudges,even though in an attempt to save himself,Ahab put Jehoshaphat's in danger,he still went along to help Ahab's son.Even though Joram wasn't as evil as his parents were...he was still bad...and Elisha had no respect for him.
It's so obvious from this OT reading who's godly(Jehoshaphat,Elisha)and who's not...Their lives spoke of their faith.I guess that's what I want in my life as well....that my life truly be a light...that I live out my faith and love for God(and my neighbours)not just profess it.
I thought a bit about the Shunammite lady...she had money,she came to terms with the fact that she's never have a son...so really she wanted nothing from Elisha except to show honour to God by showing kindness to His servant...no strings attached.
The same crowd that was ready to worship Paul and Barnabas turned against them...Sometimes I wonder if we as humans truly know how to worship...When we're happy we sing out loud,praise God with all(?)our heart...when we're faced with problems we get mad at the same God we once worshipped...some even reject Him completely...I pray that God teaches me how to worship Him...No stings attached..just because He is God and I am...terribly me(human)...Oh yes we should reject worship from men...I hear fans who go so nuts over their idols that they rip out earings,clothes from them...stalk them..even when we as christians "respect","adore" certain leaders that we feel God is using....we want to go and unload all our problems,we don't care how tired they are....we just want them to pray for us,hoping for a touch from God..then if they make a mistake in their lives,we're ready to stone them.....
I also pray to have the kind of heart Paul did...even with bruises from the stones,maybe even limping...he still went about the kingdom business...his faith so evident in his life...
God bless you all

[John]

Acts 14: Lystra

In a time and area of the world where magic, sorcery, and other activities alleged to have abounded - WHY jump on these guys bandwagon so quickly?

Because the area had, according to legend, screwed up before - and lest it happen again, and they be wiped out - the people of Lystra were trigger happy to worship the return of what they thought were Zeus and Hermes.

"Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker."

In Greek mythology, it was common for the “gods” to come to earth in human form, though they did not always do so for the good of man... The people in Lystra had a legend that once Zeus and Hermes had visited their land disguised as mortals, and no one gave them any hospitality except for one older couple. In their anger at the people, Zeus and Hermes wiped out the whole population, except for the old couple. No wonder the people of Lystra were so quick to honor Paul and Barnabas! - David Guzik

Now Zeus and Hermes (whom the Romans called Jupiter and Mercury) were traditionally connected with that region; in the eighth book of his Metamorphoses (lines 626 ff.) the poet Ovid tells a well known story of how they came to those parts incognito and received hospitality from an aged couple, Philemon and Baucis, who were well rewarded for their kindness, while their inhospitable neighbours were overwhelmed by a deluge.
http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/ffbruce/ntdocrli/ntdocc08.htm
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Paul's Follow-Up: Going back to previous "stops".

Personally this hit me hard. I received almost no follow-up after salvation. I travelled to a family church 30 miles up the interstate, and was on my own the next 6 days. Person at work who pointed me to Christ hardly ever spoke to me - surely not as much as he did when trying to "evangelize me"/"save me".

My faith was not an issue, but after wonderful Sunday worship - I found myself after six months finding it harder to hit my knees in prayer, read the Bible, think of Christ - I JUST started becoming easily distracted. Then going back getting "right" on Sunday only to drift again thru another week.

I am not talking about an indoctrination, but just "caring" for other Christians. A phone call, an email, an accountability/prayer partner, a Bible Study Group, occasional planned activities, and PRAYER for the new Christians.

Paul and Barnabas seemed to have a very succinct and patterned system for follow-up. It is a little different than above because "new" churches (groups of people) were involved - but other than "organization" it would seem also to apply to individual new Christians.

["They" being Paul and Barnabas]

"They were willing to give up their lives to carry the gospel." But have you ever known anyone willing to give up his life for follow-up? They did. They went back to the cities, and it would have been hotter for them than their first visit. It would have been very easy for them to say, "They are already saved, let's play it cool. They are going to get to heaven." They were so committed to follow-up that they would spend their lives if need be. That is some kind of commitment. I find that there are many people burdened over leading people to Christ, and willing to give their lives to preach the gospel, but I don't find too many people giving their lives to follow-up the saints."

http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/sg1749.htm

ELEMENTS OF FOLLOW-UP

1)"strengthening the disciples" - Gk. episterizo: which is made up of epi meaning "upon," and sterix meaning "a prop" or "a support." Paul and Barnabas went back to prop up the disciples. Episterizo is used four times in the book of Acts for propping up new believers (Ac. 14:21; 15:32, 41; 18:23). Literally it means "to strengthen." They helped the disciples to stand on their own and to be strong. - John MacArthur

2)"encouraging them to remain true to the faith" - Exhorting them - The word "encouraging" is parakaleo in the Greek and means "to push a person toward a certain kind of conduct." It is like saying, "Here are the facts, now go do it!" - ibid.

[Purpose of exhorting is to have them continue in faith, and be prepared for the coming hardships (spiritual warfare).]

3)Organization: appointed "elders" so the people would have local leadership when Paul and Barnabas were gone.

4)prayer with fasting: concentrated prayer

5)"committed them to the Lord" - in the end when all the follow-up of the evangelists is done - they "commended" the new believers (church) to God.

Cited direct lifts from a John MacArthur sermon.