July 16th One Year Bible Readings

1 Chronicles 22:1-23:32 ~ Romans 3:9-31 ~ Psalm 12:1-8 ~ Proverbs 19:13-14
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Old Testament - Today's readings in First Chronicles chapter 22 reminded me that none of us does anything in life on our own.  We always rely on those that came before us.  We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors.  The thing that made me think about this was how many preparations David worked on for his son Solomon to then later build the Temple of the Lord.  Solomon would not have been able to build the Temple as quickly (or probably as well) without his father David's help.  Solomon was standing on the shoulders of his father David. Do you realize that many good things that have happened in your life are thanks to those that came before you?  Do you realize you are standing on the shoulders of your parents, your teachers, your pastors, and your community leaders?  And, to take this a step further, do you realize that in the future people will be standing on your shoulders?  They are going to need your shoulders!  So, like David was making preparations for his son Solomon and the future Temple of the Lord, are you making preparations for others in your life for their future?  Perhaps even for people you may never meet?  Let us always remember we are standing on the shoulders of those that came before us - and that there will be others who will need to stand on our shoulders in the future!

Okay, quick flashback to yesterday's readings - you'll recall we finished up the readings with David buying Araunah's threshing floor to build an altar to the Lord to offer sacrifices on to stop the plague (which occurred due to the sin of the census).  Well, to continue the story, today in First Chronicles 22 verse 1 we read this: "Then David said, "This will be the location for the Temple of the LORD God and the place of the altar for Israel's burnt offerings!"  This is Araunauh's threshing floor that is going to be the location for the Temple.  The very interesting note about Araunah's threshing floor is that it is believed to have been located on Mount Moriah!  Yes, the same Mt. Moriah where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac.  And the same spot where the Temple was to be built by Solomon!  So, this brings to light the importance of David actually buying the threshing floor from Araunah and not just taking it for free, as was offered in yesterday's readings.  David not only bought the threshing floor to build the altar for the burnt & peace offerings, but he bought the land for the Temple of the Lord to soon be built on by his son Solomon!  Below is an image of Araunah the Jebusite offering his threshing floor to David:

New Testament - Today in Romans chapter 3 verses 22 through 24 we read – “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Please take a moment to re-read these verses and meditate upon them. How do they speak to you? Do you believe that humans are righteous on our own? (One way to consider this is to imagine what a city would look like without a police force, for example – think we would just naturally be good and kind and righteous to each other? Or might there be crime and maybe even anarchy and survival of the fittest – ala Lord of the Flies. . . ) Do you believe God is righteous? Do you believe we can be made righteous before God through faith in Jesus? Have you sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? Are you justified freely by God’s grace and through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ?

I want to focus a bit more on verse 24 because I think this is one of the most important concepts for us to understand: we "are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”  Justified.  That's an important word to understand!  Per the NIV Study Bible, Paul uses the Greek verb for justified 27 times, mostly in the letters of Romans and Galatians.  The term describes what happens when people believe in Jesus as their Savior.  God declares them to not be guilty and credits (or imputes) righteousness to them.  Jesus' righteousness is credited to believers as their own, with a few key characteristics that we read in verse 24 (look at this verse above again):  1. It is freely given as a gift,  2. by God's grace, 3. through the redemptive act of Jesus on the Cross, where He paid the price for our sins and redeemed us, 4. and through faith.  Got all this?  :)   Have you been justified with the free gift of grace and faith through Christ's redemption?  If not, today will you dive into the river of everlasting justification through faith in our Lord Jesus?  Please jump into the river of faith!

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Romans 3 titled "Some Bad News, And Good News" is at this link.

Psalms - Psalm 12 verses 1 & 2 are intriguing verses for me - "Help, O LORD, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth! Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and insincere hearts." Are there days when you feel like this?   I think there are some days when I do... but not too many.  I guess I sometimes wonder about the state of my heart - or if I've gotten enough sleep the night before :) - when I feel like this Psalmist does.  It is interesting how this verse goes into people talking with "flattering lips and insincere hearts".  I do notice right away when that's happening... particularly the insincerity.  Maybe this is something we should ask of ourselves - do we talk at times with flattering lips or insincere hearts?  Or are we sincere people?  I like that thought... being a sincere person.  I pray that we all are and can become more and more "sincere" in our dealings with each other and that we would just simply be sincere people.  Are you a sincere person?  Do you want to be sincere?  Was Jesus a sincere person?

Proverbs - Proverbs 19:14 today teaches us: "Parents can provide their sons with an inheritance of houses and wealth, but only the LORD can give an understanding wife." This is interesting to consider in light of my "standing on the shoulders" comments in First Chronicles above.  Parents may try to give us material things, but they can't provide us with an understanding spouse!  A wise wife or husband is a gift from God.  Praise God for the gift of understanding spouses in our lives!

YouTube: Per my reflections on diving into the river of faith in Romans above, check out Steven Curtis Chapman's video for his awesome song "Dive!"

Have you Dived in to the River of Faith?  Click here and Dive!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this week: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 (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

[Ramona]

I Chronicles 22:1-23:32

I’ve always dreamed of doing a Bible Study, or at least a topical study, studying David’s leadership style. I think that it would be so cool to look in a catalogue of a major MBA program and find a course devoted to David and his godly principles, his success, failures and his beliefs.

In reading how David charged Solomon to build the temple, I am impressed how David gives the order and the plans to Solomon but also the materials that he will need. He doesn’t say build it, do it and not provide the necessary means. Whatever Solomon adds to the construction is desert. Managers/leadership should never demand someone to do something without first picking the right people for the job and providing that person with all the material and resources needed for completion.

I’ve always pondered why David wasn’t allowed to build his hearts desire, the Temple. But I now see that you cannot have a building campaign while you are at war because you put a strain on the people who will be fighting and building. Most likely, the same men who are out on the battlefields are the same men needed in the construction. David would also put undue strain on the taxpayers because monies would be needed to pay the construction workers as well as keep the army in the provisions needed to do the job.

Romans 3:9-31

Romans is a difficult book to read. It has taken years and years of reading and rereading to grasp the little bit, I know. Peter said it correctly about Paul,

And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, speaking of these things in all his letters. Some things in these letters are hard to understand, things the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures.
(2Pe 3:15-16 NET.)

In this passage, I see that Paul considers no man or woman above anyone or below anyone. He does not classify good sin, like little white lies, or bad sin, sin is sin.
I find it captivating that today feminist accuse Paul of being sexiest and condescending to woman. I find Paul’s writing to be freeing and one of my three revelations about the Love of God towards me came on my maiden read-through-the-bible voyage when I docked in Paul’s’ letter to the Church at Galatia. I cried my eyes out, well not really but they were red.

Psalm 12:1-8

If I did not know when this was written I would swear that David’s scathing accusations, flattery, lying lips was pointing to Madison Avenue with its multiplicity of advertising agencies and marketing firms. Solomon wrote,

That which hath been is that which shall be, and that which hath been done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.
(Ecc 1:9 JPS)

Flattery was and is a problem yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Liars hate their victims; flatterers sabotage trust.
(Pro 26:28 MSG)

Proverbs 19:13-14
14 Parents can provide their sons with an inheritance of houses and wealth, but only the LORD can give an understanding wife.

Sometimes what we marry is not an understanding wife or husband, they may be a wife or a husband we have chosen but if the person is not from God they will not be understanding.

[John A.]

Romans 3:9-31

No One is Righteous

The first nine verses are pretty easy to read. If you are not a Jew than you are a Gentile, thus Paul is referring to everyone in the world: MANKIND

Mankind is in rebellion as a group, and no one is righteous on their own. All have sinned.

WHAT ABOUT INDIVIDUALS

Not Job, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Rachel, Rahab, Daniel, Joshua, or any other OT character is righteous (holy, pure, without sin) on his/her own. The OT goes to great pains to point out at least once if not several times when the characters sin.

But wait! Are not some of these men called righteous in the OT. Yes, but just like Christians their righteousness is imputed to them based on their belief (Trust in God:faith) and His promise of a redeemer. God sees them as righteous because they are believers.

In the NT not Mary, Joseph, the apostles, Paul, etc. or any other character is righteous on his/her own - all have sinned. They are declared righteous (justified) because of their belief (trust in God: faith) that Christ paid the price for our sins.

All are rebels. The ones declared righteous are "rebels" who have gone to God in faith. The rest of mankind (non-believers) has always been and always will be REBELS (unrighteous), not understanding (foolish), turned away, deceitful, and warlike against God. They will remain so unless they TURN BACK, REPENT, AND BELIEVE.
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Pauls use of OT Scripture

Verses 10-17 cite different verses from Psalms, Eccles., and Isaiah. The words may not match up with the OT citations word for word in any one Bible. This used to bother me until:

I relaized most writers in NT used the Septuagint: the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible written between 300 and 0 A.D in Alexandria, Egypt. The translated Greek may not match up with the ancient Hebrew translation in your OT.

In addition it seems some of the writers paraphrase the OT passages when writing in NT. This would be a problem, unless you acknowledge that all scripture is inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16). The men writing were endwelled (as all believers) are with the Holy Spirit. So - as long as the paraphrase conveys the same meaning as the original OT citation - there is no problem.

Wait a minute John, anybody can take different verses out of the Bible and string them together to say any point they are trying to make to an audience.

True. this happens all the time with non-believers who do not have God's help at understanding Scripture. It is also very dangerous for believers, and is something that should be avoided or prayed about a great deal before expressing the thought.

However, Paul and the other NT writers are being inspired by the Holy Spirit to write NT. If they string together verses from different books of OT, then we have to believe (trust in God) that the message is correct and that the passage IS what God is saying to us (believers).

[John A.]

Romans 3:9-31
[continued]

3:20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

The Law was never meant to save, it was meant to convict man to sin. The Law was God's perfect standard, and if you could perfectly uphold the Law, then you would be able to go to heaven and be with God. No one can.

What about the sacrifices in the Law, if one did those did it not atone for sin? Yes, it did atone for the sin, but it did not make man righteous in God's eyes. Man was still a rebel and a sinner. In addition the question comes up - what if the sacrifice was not done with the right heart. Scripture says that is a stench to God's nostrils. Would such a sacrifice atone for that sin????

This should all lead man to ask: What is the answer? How can I be righteous in God's eyes?

3:21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

The answer is Christ, the Gospel (Turn back, repent, and believe), and believing in the redeemer for imputed righteousness. In the OT it was believing in the promise of the redeemer, as the Law pointed to (sacrifices were meant to symbolize the need for atonement and forgiveness, and Christ would be that one final sacrifice) and the prophets testified.
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3:25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement..

KJV uses "propitiation" instead of atonement, and I like this word better because of the connection to the mercy seat (Greek root) on the ark of the covenant. Sins were atoned for, AND God's mercy and love could now be allowed to flow unto those who believe. Endwelling all believers permanently with the Holy Spirit. (In the OT the Holy Spirit could come and go in a person - it did not signify belief (ex. Saul).) Thus God is now a believer's father and through the Holy Spirit will lead us on our Christian walk from stumbling steps to maturity, and finally glorification in heaven.

God did this sacrifice to be just. Sins had to be held accountable. God paid the price. He also did it so that he could be the justifier to those that have faith (trust in God) who in now way deserved salvation but received it through His Grace.

[John A.]

Romans 3:9-31
[Continued]

No boasting

Salvation HAS NOTHING to do with works:

3:28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Paul is talking about works here. We cannot "work" our way to salvation. Very different from "doers of the Law" in last chapter. In that context a believer can be a doer of the Law, it is just that he has God's help, knows he will fail, and asks God for restoration of fellowship. Being a doer of the Law does not save anyone, it is just a result of what happens (what we do) in a believer's life after Holy Spirit resides in us. Much like what James said in hiw writings.

Faith and works:
Paul defines salvation (on faith alone).
James: Describes the Walk after salvation (works because of faith).
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Paul gets the comment: OK Paul that is good for you and your mission to the Gentiles. That is the Gentile God.

Paul says, NO!. there is one God. He is God of gentiles and Jews, and he Saves by FAITH period.

3:31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

The Law had purpose. It pointed out God's Standard. It convicted of sin. It taught that innocent blood needed to be shed for atonement. It pointed to the need of a redeemer (kinsman-redeemer).

Christ's sacrifice acknowledged and upheld all of the above. Provided for atonement and redemption.

All you have to do is Turn back to God (quit being a rebel), Repent (acknowledge you are a sinner), and believe (trust in God) in your redemption through Christ.

Confess it with your tongue AND believe it in your heart (the right heart) and become part of the Family.

[John A.]

1 Chronicles 22-23:32

I disagree with Ramona about why David was not allowed to build the Temple. David was denied not because a building campaign would have been too much of a strain during wartime, nor because of any strain on taxpayers.

God is the Creator of the Universe and is sovereign and all-powerful. I think God could have provided a respite from war (in fact He did during Solomon's reign), and supplied enough funds (Solomon was the wealthiest man on earth at the time) for David to build the temple. God could have provided if it was His Will, but it was not God's Will.

22:7 David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God. 8 But this word of the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my Name.

The temple is to be a place of worship of Jehovah. It is to be a place of peace and rest. therefore it is to a man of peace and rest who will build the Temple - Solomon.

Details are very important to God. The temple is not a place of war, but a place of peace and rest to worship God. If David built it - mankind could say oh yeah, this God of peace and rest - but look at the man of bloodshed, of war who built it. No, the temple, the house of God must have a pristine image. That is why David was not allowed to build it.

God still loved David and gave the Davidic covenant to him and Israel. Solomon sinned, but he was a man of peace and rest for Israel. The House of Woeship, the Temple, would have a pristine image. Yes, sinners would come in, but like it is said today:

The house of God is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for the sick. All you who are weary and sick come in - the Lord provides rest, healing and sustenance.

[karen syvrud]

how can you NOT see how garish and worldly that music video of 'dive' is??????????????????????????