July 15th One Year Bible Readings

1 Chronicles 19:1-21:30 ~ Romans 2:25-3:8 ~ Psalm 11:1-7 ~ Proverbs 19:10-12
~ Click here to read today's Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~
~ Listen to today's Scripture on OneYearAudioBible.org or DailyAudioBible.com (podcast) ~

Old Testament - In First Chronicles 21 we read about David taking a census after being tempted by Satan.  Satan didn't force David to do this - Satan tempted him and David fell prey to the temptation.  This census was a sin because David was seeking to demonstrate how mighty "his" army was - when he should have realized all that he had came from God and that David's true strength came from God and not his army. The census was a sin of pride.  (And it is very interesting to note that Joab, who is not one known for his scruples, realizes this census is a sin!) And so we read in verses 14 & 15 - "So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand people died as a result. And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But just as the angel was preparing to destroy it, the LORD relented and said to the death angel, "Stop! That is enough!" At that moment the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."

New Testament - Paul's writings in Romans 3 verses 7 & 8 today are so powerful for us to remember always: ""But," some might still argue, "how can God judge and condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights his truthfulness and brings him more glory?" If you follow that kind of thinking, however, you might as well say that the more we sin the better it is! Those who say such things deserve to be condemned, yet some slander me by saying this is what I preach!"  Have you ever thought in any way along the lines of "well, it doesn't really matter if I sin?"  This is such risky thinking.   Let me highly encourage you to read the Bible to see what it says about sin and in particular these early chapters in Romans.  In reading these chapters in Romans do you see the risk, and really the stupidity, in continuing in unchecked sin?

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Romans titled "No Excuse for the Jews" is at this link.

Psalms - Today we read Psalm 11, which is one that you might miss the full meaning of if you didn't know some of the commentary behind this Psalm.  Basically in this Psalm King David is expressing his unshakable trust in God to other people around him who are very scared of enemy attacks.  Knowing this - check out verse 1: "I trust in the LORD for protection. So why do you say to me, "Fly to the mountains for safety!"  Like David, do we really trust in God for our protection?  Or do we sometimes rely on others or our own cunning - or, our own fear - for protection?  Are there times when we are faced with a challenging situation that we feel like running away from it?  “Fleeing to the mountains” for safety?  When, instead, should we simply trust in God for our protection and move forward in spite of the fear within us?  Is there an area of your life where you need to turn over more trust in God for ultimate protection?  Will you flee to God only instead of fleeing to the mountains?

Proverbs - Proverbs 19 verse 11 is a bit challenging for me: "People with good sense restrain their anger; they earn esteem by overlooking wrongs."  I can see the point of restraining our anger.  But overlooking wrongs...  I guess I'm having a hard time with this one.  I believe there is a point where we do need to speak the truth in love to someone about their wrongs.  If we simply overlooked their wrongs, then would we really be doing them any favors?  I mean, I guess we would be keeping the peace by overlooking wrongs, but I'm just thinking there is a time and place to speak the truth in love.  In love.  Not in anger.  Let me know what you think on this one?  I know just recently I posted up about not getting into an argument with a friend over the way he left a voicemail to me with a bad tone.  And that seemed to be the right thing to do, and correlated with a recent Proverb we read.  And today's Proverb indicates we earn esteem by overlooking wrongs.  I see where this Proverb is often / generally true - but is it always true?  Let me know your thoughts on this in the Comments below if you will!  Thanks!

YouTube Video: Today's readings in Romans reminds me of Jeremy Camp's song "Let it Fade:"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtWo8lETdwY

Will you let your old life fade?  Click here for your new life!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face." Psalm 11:7 TNIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you are living an upright life. Pray that you are seeking justice. Pray that you will one day see our righteous God face to face.

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

p.s. GotQuestions.org: What does it mean that God is a God of justice? What does it mean that God is just? Answer: http://www.gotquestions.org/God-of-justice.html

Comments

[Ramona]

Hi Mike,

I will need to think on this for a while but one thing I know, in the Hebrew usually the word translated to English as Transgression, is not the same as the one for Sin. Could this possibly be a personal boundary violation and not the doing something wrong “sin?”

Boundary issues can be a simple as someone who is an acquaintance thinking they have access to your personal information or info that is not privy to them because of their relationship. Example: When I was involved in teaching a Bible Study to homeless men, who happened to me sexual predators, I was very aware that I needed to have a strong sense of decorum around them no hugs, no physical signs of affection: you get the drift.

One day one of these men saw me hug and kiss on the check someone who used to be a co-worker, in fact the former Comptroller of my school who was a Christian. d We would mutually encourage each other and pray in times of strife and acrimony on the job. I hadn’t seen this gentleman in about three years and we by happenstance ran into each other. After we converses for about half-an-hour on the street and we went our ways, one of the Bible Study Members, walked up to me and demanded I should do the same thing to him.

Well three weeks after I began that study, this gentleman tried to get up a posse to gang-rape me, to put me in my place, which I latter, way latter, found out they had done before to someone else and the church did nothing about it because, “We after all are supposed to forgive our brothers.” Forgiveness and holding someone accountable for their actions are two separate things I think we get the two confused and mix up boundary violations with out right sin, which it could turn out to be if left un-checked.

I will think on your questions regarding this Proverb throughout the day.

Grace and peace
Ramona

[Constantino de la Luna]

...God's judgement comes on a proper time...we should not measures God's fidelity on us...i am quite pretty sure God is watching us and wieghts the things we have done,and others have done to us...He is just waiting...for us to surrender our anxiety's to HIM...and He promised, He is with US,now and for always,...till we get the proper justice... justice

[Greg]

In the King James the word in Proverbs 19:11 is translated transgression. The Ungers Bible dictionary says the following about transgression "Sometimes used synonymously with sin, but sometimes used in a distinctive sense as indicating a violation of the law through ignorance, e.g., Exodus 34:7; Romans 4:25. All sin is transgression, but all transgression is not sin in the sense of incurring guilt." — New Unger's Bible Dictionary. I would see that as we do not need to be a tattle tell for every specific occurrence where someone is ignorant.

[John Culp]

In regard to Ramona's comment about a church having ignored a group of predators raping a teacher because "we after all are supposed to forgive our brothers," this is wrong. We as individual believers are commanded to forgive our brothers for their sins against us (which as Ramona says does not preempt personal responsibility.) We have NO authority whatsoever to forgive sins against others! None. There's a powerful point in the story of Jesus' healing of the paralyzed man lowered through the roof into the crowded house where Jesus was teaching, found in Mark 2:1-12 and Luke 5:17-26. When Jesus saw "their" faith (of the paralyzed man and his friends? Or of his friends?), he said to the paralyzed man "Son, your sins are forgiven." 6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7"Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? 10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." He said to the paralytic, 11"I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!" (That's the Mark version.) Jesus did not deny what the Pharisees were thinking. It was and is blasphemy for people to forgive sins committed against someone else. That is God's prerogative, a right reserved to himself alone. Jesus was demonstrating his divinity by forgiving the man's sins, then backing it up by healing his paralysis in everyone's plain sight. But Christians too often forget the original point that God alone can forgive sins(though our personal forgiveness against those who have wronged us is demanded.) I frequently see this in the context of someone who has committed a very serious crime against society such as murder and is facing harsh punishment, but who has come to be regarded as a pitied, sympathetic character. People call on the state or nation to exercise "Christian forgiveness" by not executing the punishment demanded by the law. That cannot be justified on scriptural grounds. A victim can (and must, if Christian) forgive the perpetrator for their personal hurt. But society must enforce justice according to the law, for only God can forgive. The church cannot forgive what was done to an individual.

[Debbie Smith]

I think the first line of that proverb gives the answer to your question: A man's wisdom gives him patience;
Through wisdom we will know when to overlook a matter and when to confront a matter.
As a teacher, children constantly test me to see what my response will be. Oftentimes my response is to "ignore" because that's the wise thing to do. Many times a child will misbehave for attention and if he realizes his misbehavior is not going to get him the attention he wants, he begins to behave. However, when a child's misbehavior will effect the entire class, I must deal with the issue at hand.

[Wendy]

I had to forgive my ex-husband of molesting our daughter of 2 years. The law did nothing but I cannot pass judgement. That is God's doing. I cannot harbor hatred in my heart.....it is not easy as now she is 32. However, I see pain in her life due to this act. I know God is working in her life and she has to learn to forgive as well. That is one of my prayers.

[janice]

forgiveness begins with the pure truth....those who have committed crimes against others will have to be judged on their sins...we as a society have been given morls to live by.....let God alone do the judging....forgiveness will heal the world

[Lori]

Overlooking wrongs is something I struggle with too. I think God is trying to teach me about restraining my anger when I am wronged. I think it is particularly hard to "overlook a wrong" when someone continually is committing wrong to me. Forgiveness is something God's really teaching me about now, also, which relates to this. I know Jesus said to forgive "seventy times seven." I think there is a correlation in this proverb about being slow to anger and overlooking a transgression. If I am slow to anger, then I will be more inclined to overlook a transgression. I do also think there is a time to speak the truth to others in love. When that becomes hard, I think, is when the other person does not want to hear the truth, even in love. Maybe then I am supposed to overlook some things. But this is hard, again, especially if the offense is continual. This is definitely a proverb to ponder on.