August 12th One Year Bible Readings

Nehemiah 3:15-5:13 ~ 1 Corinthians 7:25-40 ~ Psalm 32:1-11 ~ Proverbs 21:5-7
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Old Testament - Today in Nehemiah chapter 3 we read about the Israelites involvement in the various segments of the wall of Jerusalem being rebuilt!  Below is an image by C.F. Vos titled "Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem":

New Testament - First Corinthians chapter 7 verses 32 through 34 are intriguing words from Paul: "An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord's work and thinking how to please him. But a married man can't do that so well. He has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. His interests are divided."  I see his logic of these words - and these words have often rung so very true in my own life.  But, I also see the blessing of the family.  Of marriage.  Of being part of a Holy Family.   Obviously each of us came into this world because of the union of a woman and man.  There are a billion reasons of why marriage is important - why the family is important.  It produces people like us!  :)  Unfortunately in our world today I am afraid the concept of the "Holy Family" is not so strong.  Family can turn into a negative word for many people, instead of the holy word it should be.  All this to say - I believe many of us are called to family life - to marriage and to kids.  But I also believe that many of us are called to singleness.  I really do.  And I do believe being called to singleness is truly a blessing - just as being called to marriage is a blessing as well.  Have you spent much time in your life discerning whether God has called you to singleness or to marriage?  I think it's worth reflecting upon periodically - but not to stress out about.  It's better to ultimately remember Paul's words in verses 29 through 33: "The time that remains is very short, so husbands should not let marriage be their major concern. Happiness or sadness or wealth should not keep anyone from doing God's work. Those in frequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away. In everything you do, I want you to be free from the concerns of this life."  Whether you are single or married, do you believe these preceding verses are true for you?  What does it mean to you that "the time that remains is very short"?  How might this affect how you live your life?

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in First Corinthians titled "Undistracted Devotion" is at this link.

Psalms - Today we read Psalm 32, which is a wonderful testimony of joy about God’s gift of forgiveness to us when we confess our sins to God! In Psalm 32 verses 1 & 2 we read: “Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!” Do you agree with this Psalmist that there is joy in forgiveness? Have you confessed your sins to God? Do you make a regular habit of examining your conscience and confessing your sins to God? After confessing your sins, do you continuously pray to God to heal you of sins that may be gripping you? Will you then move forward on the actions or corrective measures that God leads you to - to truly be healed of addictive sins? Will you seek the joy of God’s forgiveness? Will you seek to live your life in complete honesty to God? Below is the famous painting titled "Forgiven."  Please take a few moments to meditate upon this painting.  How does it speak to you today?

Proverbs - Today in Proverbs 21 verse 5 we read – "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty." This is quite a convicting Proverb for me, as I often find myself acting very hastily. I like to hustle and move fast all too often - and then try to plan later. . . I had a great conversation recently with a friend who recently completed a 5 year strategic plan for her own life, which was fascinating to me and seemed incredibly beneficial to this friend. I have another friend that does this type of significant planning in his life as well. Now, I don't know that all of us are called to have 5 year strategic plans for our own lives! :) However, I do think this Proverb advocates planning. Planning is diligent. And planning leads to profit – whereas haste leads to poverty. So, how do you plan in your life? Do you pray to God regularly to show you what His Plan is for your life? Do you then seek to follow what God's plan is for you? Do you set goals and plans based on where you believe God is leading you? Do you think there would be value in setting goals and plans in your life?

Worship God:  Today's readings in Psalm 32 reminded me of the awesome Sidewalk Prophets song called "The Words I Would Say:"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htyU9cwNp0k

What are the words God would say to you? Click here for the Word!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty." Proverbs 21:5 (NIV)

Prayer Point: Pray to be a diligent person through a saving relationship with Jesus. Pray that you will not act in haste in your life, but will act with godly diligence in all things.

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]

Nehemiah 3:15-5:13

Ah! Like a bad penny, Sanballat and Tobiah keep popping up. The devil sure is persistent and never gives up, unlike us Christians. Satan knows how to talk a “good” game and is a master at verbal sparing and intimidation.

Knowing the Word of God, having it hidden in our hearts is vital to seeing through the smoke screen of the devil’s lies. Mike thank you again for providing a forum for those interested in knowing what the Word of God says as opposed to what we think it says. The next think we must learn to do is trust that what God has said He will do. Having and knowing the Word is one thing, applying it to our lives, situations and problems are another.

Betrayal by those who supposedly love you and care about you is most heart wrenching. The rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem took on an “all-hands-on-deck” approach so I’m not sure if this famine is one of lack of rain or if it is a famine of human resource to cultivate the land so food would grow. If they were not working on building the wall, they were protecting those who were. If the people were building the much needed defenses while they ignored their crops in the fields which was needed to protect everyone, what the Jewish settlers who had money to sustain them during this time did, loan money as high usury were extremely egregious. Those who were slaves and exiles know what it feels like to be subjugated to another human. Being released from that bondage should make one more sensitive to the plight of others, sadly, it does not.
I Corinthians 7:25-40
Because of the impending crisis I think it best for you to remain as you are. The one bound to a wife should not seek divorce. The one released from a wife should not seek marriage. (1Co 7:26-27 NET.)

Clearly, Paul is writing about the political climate and situation the church at Corinth was facing. Because the date of this letter is not known with certainty, we can only guess at what was going on in the Roman Empire as Paul penned this letter. However, I do believe the topic he is discussing, to be marred or single, must be tempered with the times one is living in. If the preacher wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes,
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: (Ecc 3:1 KJV), then surly there is a time to be married and a time to dwell in singleness.

Psalm 32:1-11

This is a wonderful Psalm and causes to come to my remembrance the Words of Jesus,

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Mat 11:28-30 KJV)

Sin and guilt are burdens we were never designed to bear.

5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide them.
I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the LORD."
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
6 Therefore, let all the godly confess their rebellion to you while there is time,
that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.
7 For you are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with songs of victory.

Proverbs 21:5-7

The thoughts of the [steadily] diligent tend only to plenteousness, but everyone who is impatient and hasty hastens only to want. (Pro 21:5 AMP)

I don’t know why but I kept thinking of our desire to have everything fast food quick when I read this particular Proverb. People want everything yesterday even abusing the sales staff that is being paid to help them as best they can. It seems when you have someone who is unreasonably demanding, thinking that it is “My Right” to abuse sales staff and any other worker, the more you accommodate them the worse they behave and the needier they grow.

I find it interesting that it says they hasten to want and not hasten to need which are two separate things. If someone is in perpetual want, their wants will never be satisfied no matter how much they are given. Their deficiency is not in the lack of resources it is in their lack of spiritual substance, which causes them to be a drain of every material blessing they receive leading to abject poverty.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

[Hillbilly Pat from Kentucky]

Mike, I too believe that some where called to minister as single people and others to minister as married. We know for sure that Peter was married for Scripture tells us that Peter had a wife. During His earthly ministry, Jesus came to Peter's house and healed "his wife's mother" (Matthew 8:14-17 and Mark 1:30-31. In addition we learn in 1 Corinthians 9:5 that Peter’s wife accompanied Peter as he travelled the countryside with Jesus. The important thing is that each of us be true to the calling of the Holy Spirit.