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We are following a One Year Bible plan with 15-minute daily readings from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms & Proverbs.Your options for joining us include: 1. Subscribe to our daily readings emails above. 2. Read online using our daily links to Bible Gateway. 3. Listen online using the links at the top of each daily blog post (the daily readings by Tom Dooley are terrific!). 4. Read from your own Bible using your preferred translation. You can print out a listing of our entire year's readings in PDF format at this link. 5. Purchase a One Year Bible which organizes our daily readings. 6. Email me with any questions at [email protected]
Please note that we are not following a Chronological Bible plan on this blog - however, you can find my Chronological Bible Blog at this link, New Testament in a Year Blog at this link and Old Testament in a Year Blog at this link.
God bless! Mike
p.s. Keep scrolling down to see our latest daily readings blog post and email content below this welcome post. ⬇️
Old Testament - Today we begin the book of Nehemiah! This is one of my favorite books of the Bible! Rebuild the Wall!
Author: Nehemiah Date: Fifth century B.C. Content: The book of Nehemiah continues the story begun by Ezra and deals with life in the restored community. The major point of Ezra is the rededication of the Temple. The major point of Nehemiah is the rebuilding of the city walls of Jerusalem. The book begins by explaining the need Jerusalem had for protection that walls would give. This is followed by a discussion of how the walls were build in spite of numerous problems both in the community and outside of it. A national day of repentance was called for and the project was completed. Theme: The main theme of this book is the sad fact that people are slow to learn the lessons God wants to teach them. The Israelites had been carried into captivity because of their sin, but now the very same problems rose again. The people were neglecting worship, prayer, and Bible study, not to mention the fact that they were treating each other unjustly. But God in his patience continued to send his messengers to them to offer salvation and pardon. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers “The One Year Bible Companion” pp. 8-9) More commentary on the book of Nehemiah is at this link:https://bible.org/article/introduction-books-ezra-nehemiah
Below is an image from today's readings from Nehemiah chapter 1 verses 3 & 4 - ""Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been burned." When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven."
Today in Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 17 we read “Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I am fascinated by the rebuilding of the Temple that we read about in Ezra and now the rebuilding of the Walls of Jerusalem in Nehemiah. The thought of rebuilding is something that I think each of us needs to meditate upon at times. I believe that over time in our lives we unfortunately can tear things down. Things that need rebuilding. Perhaps we have torn down our faith in some way. Perhaps our love for God. Perhaps our connection to a church community. Perhaps our relationship with a family member. Perhaps our service to the poor. Is there an area of your life that is in need of rebuilding? Will you meditate upon your life and begin to rebuild in that area? Will you pray to God for strength in rebuilding in that area and will you allow his Spirit to lead you? I pray you will be encouraged by our readings this week in Nehemiah as you read about the Israelites rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. And I pray you will begin rebuilding the things in your life that have perhaps tumbled down over time!
New Testament - Today we read 1 Corinthians Chapter 7. This has been a very powerful chapter of the Bible for much of my spiritual journey. For a period of about 7 years I felt the call to "singleness" through this chapter through much prayer and reflection. I think the call to singleness for some of us may be just for a season, or it could be for many seasons. At the same time, just as valuable is the call to marriage and family life for many of us in this chapter as well. These are some powerful verses. Some say it is best just to consider these verses in "context" of the Corinthian church two thousand years ago. However, I do believe there is value in this chapter's verses for our lives as well. How does First Corinthians chapter 7 speak to you and your life today?
Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in First Corinthians titled "Sex and the Spiritual Christian" is at this link, "The Relationship Between Spirituality and Sexuality" is at this link, and "Spirituality and the Status Quo" is at this link.
Psalms - This is a wonderful look at God's goodness in Psalm 31 verse 19: "Your goodness is so great! You have stored up great blessings for those who honor you. You have done so much for those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world." Do you believe that God's goodness is indeed great? Are you honoring God with your life and your actions and your thoughts each day? Do you believe that God is storing up blessings for you? Do you believe that God will bless you if you go to him for protection?
Proverbs - Proverbs 21 verse 4 couldn't be much more straightforward! "Haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions are all sin." I actually needed a little help for what the word haughty really means. Here's what I found in the dictionary for haughty - disdainful: having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy; "some economists are disdainful of their colleagues in other social disciplines"; "haughty aristocrats"; "his lordly manners were offensive"; "walked with a prideful swagger"; "very sniffy about breaches of etiquette"; "his mother eyed my clothes with a supercilious air"; "shaggy supercilious camels"; "a more swaggering mood than usual"- W.L.Shirer Have you ever been haughty? Can you see how being haughty is a sin? I did a google image search on the word haughty, and this is one of the images it served up, which I thought was a bit amusing.... :) (I think this little guy is far more cute than haughty!)
Worship Video: First Corinthians Chapter 7 seems an appropriate point to share with you this phenomenal song by Rebecca St. James that she wrote for her future husband called "Wait for Me":
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on two verses of Scripture today:"Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion." 1 Corinthians 7:8-9 TNIV
Prayer Point: Pray for God's perfect will to be done in your life in regards to being married or being single. Pray a prayer of praise and contentment for whichever calling is upon your life. Pray that you don't live a life burning with sexual passion. Pray you live a life of passion for God's glory.
Comments from You: 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. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our One Year Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 - Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 - I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Old Testament - We have some powerful readings in Ezra chapter 10 today, as we read about people publicly confessing their sin! An image is below for verses 10 through 12 - "Then Ezra the priest stood and said to them: "You have sinned, for you have married pagan women. Now we are even more deeply under condemnation than we were before. Confess your sin to the LORD, the God of your ancestors, and do what he demands. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from these pagan women." Then the whole assembly raised their voices and answered, "Yes, you are right; we must do as you say!"
New Testament - Today in 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 we read: "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside their body, but you who sins sexually sins against your own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." These are powerful verses. And verses that seem to fly in the face of much of what we are sold in today's culture. Reflect on these verses. Do you believe that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? Do you believe that you are not your own? Do you realize that you were bought at a price by Jesus on the cross? If you see sexual immorality heading your way, do you flee from it? Will you flee from it? What are the consequences if you do not flee from sexual immorality? Do you believe that sexual immorality is a sin you commit against your very own body? (self-abuse, if you will – though, I strongly believe others around you suffer from this sin against your own body as well. Nobody sins in a vacuum. It affects everyone we interact with. It affects everyone in our community. Think that sin is a selfish act?) Do you realize that when you sin sexually, you are sinning against a temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells? Will you flee from sexual immorality? Please - literally - flee from it.
Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in First Corinthians titled "Courting Sin" is at this link and "The Relationship between Spirituality and Sexual Morality" is at this link.
Psalms - Have you ever felt like Psalm 31 verse 10.... "I am dying from grief; my years are shortened by sadness. Misery has drained my strength; I am wasting away from within." Do you believe that God can rescue you from this? Will you pray to God to save you from this? A good book related to this Psalm is C.S. Lewis' A Grief Observed. Has anyone read this? It is a very short book. But, wow, it is a powerful short book! It is a memoir C.S. Lewis wrote after the death of his wife and it is so incredibly thoughtful and moving as C.S. Lewis works through his grief and his questions for and about God. This verse kind of reminds me of this book.... though not really... it seems like C.S. Lewis didn't quite get as down as the level of this verse. Anyhow - great book I think for any Christian who has lost a loved one. Let me know reviews in the Comments section below if you've read A Grief Observed, or know others who have? Has it been consoling for you during a time of loss?
Proverbs - Proverbs 21 verse 3 is powerful today - "The LORD is more pleased when we do what is just and right than when we give him sacrifices." Have you ever had a stage in your life where you got this Proverb backwards? Have you ever been so focused on "giving sacrifices" to God that you forgot to simply do what is just and right? This reminds me of the Pharisees in Jesus' day. They were focused on their religious duties - on giving proper sacrifices to God on the proper days and times. But in the meantime they forgot to simply do what was just and right to those around them. And Jesus called them out on it. And if we're not careful, Jesus can call us out on it too. Which is good. A rebuke can be good to bring us back into a loving relationship with God and other people. Today in your life, are you more focused on simply doing what is just and right before God and people, or are you perhaps more focused these days on "giving sacrifices" to God? Which do you think is more pleasing to God? Perhaps this painting of "The Good Samaritan" by the English Victorian painter George Frederic Watts from the year 1852 is helpful for us to reflect upon, along with this Proverb:
Worship Video: Today's Proverb and the great painting above reminded me of Casting Crowns song "If We are the Body." Here's a live version of this powerful song:
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on three verses of Scripture today:"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins people commit are outside their bodies, but those who sin sexually sin against their own bodies. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 TNIV
Prayer Point: Pray that you flee from sexual immorality. Pray that you will run to Jesus in prayer if/when sexual temptation comes your way. Pray that you will not sin against your own body, a temple of the Holy Spirit (if you are in a saving relationship with Jesus). Pray that you will honor God with your body. Pray that you will never ever look at pornography under any circumstances.
Comments from You: 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. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our One Year Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 - Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 - I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Old Testament - Today in Ezra chapter 8 we read about Ezra & crew's return from the exile in Babylon to Jerusalem. And below are some very artistic :) scenes from this journey (well, except keep in mind that the Temple had already been rebuilt by the time Ezra & crew arrive - this image would have been better for the early chapters in Ezra...) -
Below is an image for Ezra chapter 9 verses 1 through 3: "But then the Jewish leaders came to me and said, "Many of the people of Israel, and even some of the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the other peoples living in the land. They have taken up the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. For the men of Israel have married women from these people and have taken them as wives for their sons... To make matters worse, the officials and leaders are some of the worst offenders." When I heard this, I tore my clothing, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down utterly shocked." And then a wonderful prayer of repentance from Ezra on behalf of the Israelites comes forth in the remainder of chapter 9 today. When is the last time you prayed a prayer of repentance? Should we pray prayers of repentance regularly?
New Testament - Wow... there is a lot going on in Paul's words in First Corinthians chapter 5 today. The first half of verse 6 stands out: "How terrible that you should boast about your spirituality, and yet you let this sort of thing go on." This is such a trap I think for many of us - boasting about our spirituality. It is a very dangerous trap too. Why do you suppose Paul would say this is a terrible thing to boast about your spirituality? I think it is because when you boast about your spirituality, you have lost humility and you have in a sense put yourself in the place of God. You've elevated yourself too high. And Jesus says we are to be humble. Here comes a tangent - :) - I was listening to talk radio recently and I heard some guy talking about Kabala - the Jewish mysticism religion that is very popular these days - particularly with some Hollywood celebrities. Well, I won't say that this guy was boasting about his spirituality... but maybe he was. :) The great thing I thought was then a guy studying to be a rabbi called in and basically went off on this guy. The caller said that this guy was far too confident and boastful in his discussions of who God is and how God works. And the caller said that he had studied the Torah for all of his life and he still considered himself only a student. I wish I could remember his exact words - but he said something along the lines that "one will always be a student of the Torah. Never it's master." Something like that. I loved it! It was so humble and true. And I think you and I would do well to realize that we will always be students of the Bible - never its master. And we need to realize how terrible it truly is for us to boast about our spirituality in any way - either publicly or in our own minds. As this image says below, "Boast only in the cross." Amen...
The second half of verse 6 is powerful for us to consider as well - "Don't you realize that if even one person is allowed to go on sinning, soon all will be affected?" This is so true. Sin is an infection that will infect others. Or, another way to look at this - when we sin we are affecting / infecting others. Nobody sins in a vacuum. It affects the whole community. It affects everyone you know in some way. Paul goes on later in this chapter to say in verse 12 - "It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your job to judge those inside the church who are sinning in these ways." Paul really has what will appear to our modern ears to be some strong / harsh words for Christians who sin in the ways listed in verse 11 - "What I meant was that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a Christian yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler." I think there is truth in his words - but we need to walk a fine line. There are people who are Christian who do struggle with sin - sin that indeed will infect / affect others. And I think we are absolutely called to speak the truth in love into those Christians lives to point out their sin and encourage them to repentance. But... I think there does come a point where we may have to realize that someone simply will not or does not want to repent of their sin. And then it may be time to prayerfully follow Paul's words about avoiding and removing that type of person from your church. I don't know - let me know what you think? How / when do we draw the line of speaking the truth in love to a Christian stuck in sin? And when do we avoid and/or remove them from our churches? Is this too harsh? Are Paul's word's too harsh? Even if they are harsh, are they true?
Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in First Corinthians titled "Church Discipline: Taking Sin Seriously" is at this link.
Psalms - Psalm 31 verse 1 is such a powerful start to this powerful Psalm of David's - "O LORD, I have come to you for protection; don't let me be put to shame. Rescue me, for you always do what is right." In your life today, do you need protection from something? If so, will you run to God for your protection? Do you believe that God can rescue you? Do you believe that God can save you from shame? Do you believe that God always does what is right? Did you catch that verse 5 from this Psalm were Jesus' last words on the cross.... "Into your hands I commit my spirit." (NIV) Here it is from Luke 23:46 - "Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last."
Proverbs - Proverbs 21 verse 2 is so true - "People may think they are doing what is right, but the LORD examines the heart." Interesting Proverb to meditate upon. Do you suppose it is possible that we may think we are doing what is right, but that it's not really right? Why would this happen? Do you believe that God examines your heart? I am so thankful that he does examine our hearts! I am afraid that at times we may deceive ourselves. We may start down a path or course that we think is right - or that our friends or the world tells us is right - but it's not. The "governor" (in both senses of the word) that can keep us from continuing down this foolish path is God. God constantly examines our heart. And he can instantly see if our motives are not pure. Then, the trick becomes for us to actually listen to God. This can be the challenge. I heard a sermon recently at church about how God came to the prophet Elijah in a whisper. And that God comes to us today oftentimes in a whisper - in that still small voice. All this to say - I hope you are thankful that God examines your heart. And - I hope you find time to really be still before God and let him tell you if the motives of your heart are not pure. Let him tell you if you are doing something that you think is right, but that is not. Who better is there to truly examine your heart than God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit?
Worship Video: Today's readings reminded me of Phil Wickham's song "Hymn of Heaven:"
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this week:"But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with any who claim to be fellow believers but are sexually immoral or greedy, idolaters or slanderers, drunkards or swindlers. With such persons do not even eat." 1 Corinthians 5:11 TNIV
Prayer Point: Pray for those in your church who claim to be believers, but who are sexually immoral, greedy, idolaters, slanderers, drunkards or swindlers. Pray for their repentance and restoration to the fellowship. Pray for church discipline, if necessary. Pray you won't ever be lead astray by those living in sin.
Comments from You: 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. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our One Year Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 - Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 - I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Old Testament - We have great readings in Ezra today! It is very encouraging that King Artaxerxes wrote such a strong letter of endorsement for Ezra, the priest and scribe. It made me think that government and religion can work together for good. Below is a wonderful engraving from Gustave Dore of King Artaxerxes proclaiming freedom for the Israelites from Babylon:
I found chapter 7 verses 9 & 10 intriguing: "He had left Babylon on April 8 and came to Jerusalem on August 4, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the law of the LORD and to teach those laws and regulations to the people of Israel." What I noticed here is that it says about Ezra - "the gracious hand of his God was on him." And why was this? "Because Ezra had determined to study and obey the law of the Lord AND to teach those laws and regulations to the people of Israel." Ezra was living his life not just for himself. He was committed to studying God's law and teaching it to those around him. And thus, the gracious hand of God was on him. And this just makes me wonder about our lives today. Are we committed to studying God's Word, the Bible, and then teaching it to those around us? Are we like Ezra in any way? Should we be? Below is an image from a 14th century illuminated Bible of Ezra teaching the law:
New Testament - Allright... so Paul has a little bit of scolding for the church in Corinth in our readings today! Perhaps we would do well to listen to some of this scolding today too? Verse 5 is powerful for us to consider: "So be careful not to jump to conclusions before the Lord returns as to whether or not someone is faithful. When the Lord comes, he will bring our deepest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. And then God will give to everyone whatever praise is due." I think far too often we ourselves try to judge others - saying that someone is wholly righteous or that someone is a doomed sinner. Neither this excessive praise nor condemnation is ours to give. It is only for God. God is the judge. We are not. So be careful not to jump to conclusions about someone else...
If you blinked, you just might have missed verse 20 today - "For the Kingdom of God is not just fancy talk; it is living by God's power." Great stuff! I am afraid that sometimes we do indeed reduce the Kingdom of God and living out our faith to just fancy talk. We sometimes talk a lot, but we do not practice what we preach. Rather than focusing on our fancy talk, how about if we simply live by God's power? It's a revolutionary idea! :)
Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in First Corinthians titled "Follow the Leader" is at this link.
Psalms - Today in Psalm 30 verses 4 through 5 we read: “Sing to the Lord; you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” How does this verse speak to you? Do you believe that God’s anger can last only a moment, but his favor last a lifetime? If you are weeping now in some area of your life, do you believe that God can bring rejoicing to you? Will you pray to God to grant you favor in this life and in life everlasting? Will you pray to God to heal any situation that you are weeping over today, and to bring you rejoicing tomorrow? Do you look forward to this rejoicing that will allow you to sing to the Lord as a saint and to praise his holy name?
Proverbs - I love Proverbs 20 verse 29 today! "The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old." I think the beauty of this Proverb is to show that there are unique values & contributions we can make both when we are young and when we are old. When we are young we are full of strength. We can do much and with much energy. However, when we are young, we do not have much experience, so we will likely make some mistakes in our youthful zeal. When we are older, we are blessed with experience. So that when we act, we act wisely. We know how to spend our time and what type of activities are important. We don't have the strength perhaps that we had when we were younger. We may not be able to do as much with as much energy. But the experience focuses us, such that we can prioritize what we do. Whether you are young or old, are you utilizing your strength or your experience for Kingdom purposes? Are you spending your time on things that have eternal value rather than things that are fleeting and temporal? How are you using your strength and experience for God this very day?
Worship Video: Chris Tomlin songs seem to be on my mind this week. First Corinthians chapter 4 verse 20 reminded me of Chris' song "Enough." I ended up finding this great YouTube clip below of Chris and Louie Giglio being interviewed on how "Enough" was written (and Chris plays the song around the 3 minute mark):
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on two verses of Scripture today:"Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. " Psalm 30:4-5 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray for rejoicing in your life, if you are going through a dark night of the soul. Pray for the morning. Pray in thanksgiving that God's favor lasts a lifetime for those who love Him. Praise His holy name!
Comments from You: 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. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our One Year Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 - Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 - I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Old Testament - We have great readings today in Ezra about the completion of the second Temple! Note that this second Temple, which was completed on March 12, 516 B.C., is the same Temple that existed during Jesus' ministry. This second Temple was then destroyed by Roman armies in 70 A.D. This second Temple was a lot smaller than the first Temple built by Solomon. And less ornate. And the big thing of course was that this second Temple did not have the Ark of the Covenant nor the tablets of the Law, as these were believed to have been destroyed when Nebuchadnezzar burned Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Nonetheless, the completion of the second Temple was a great cause of celebration for the Israelites who had returned from exile!
New Testament - This may be a somewhat of a controversial reflection here, but I'd like to put it out for discussion. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts in the Comments section of the blog below. Today's readings in First Corinthians made me think about all of our various Christian church denominations that we have in our world today. In our readings today, some followed Paul. Some followed Apollos. Some followed Peter. And in our churches today, some follow Calvin. Some follow Wesley. Some follow Knox. And so on. And I guess I just wonder would the church today look any differently today if we simply all followed Jesus? I don't mean to knock denominations here per se. I myself go to a church affiliated with a denomination. I just pray that each of us could look beyond our denominations and look fully toward Jesus. And that we come to realize that no matter what our denominations, we are brothers and sisters through faith in our Lord Jesus. We inherit eternal life through God's grace and our faith in Jesus. We all - no matter our denomination - are "the church" through our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. As Paul teaches us in First Corinthians 3:21-23 - "So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you—whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God."
Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in First Corinthians titled "A Different Look at Leadership" is at this link and "A Call to Repentance" is at this link.
Psalms - Psalm 29 today is a beautiful hymn of praise to God the Creator! Verses 3 and 4 are awesome - "The voice of the LORD echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty." And verse 2 is something for each of us to joyfully obey - "Give honor to the LORD for the glory of his name. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness." Amen!
Proverbs: Proverbs 20:27 today is a powerful teaching: "The Lord’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive." I love this thought! God's Light penetrates our human spirits, exposing our hidden motives. And this is a very good thing! I believe that most all of us have some "blind spots" in our lives. Blind spots meaning we have sins or issues or motives or bad habits that we don't even know we have! We're blind to them. And God's light - His Light of the world, Jesus - can expose these hidden things to us! I think sometimes this can happen via solitary prayer or worship. However, I think this can also often happen through brothers and sisters in Christ who we ask to point out any blind spots to us. Have you ever asked anyone in your life to point out a blind spot? Was this painful? Was it ultimately helpful to you? Do you think you have any blind spots in your life today? Will you ask someone who knows you well if you have any blind spots?
Worship Video: Psalm 29 today reminded me of the song "Indescribable." Here's a great live version of this song sung by Avalon:
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today:"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray in thanksgiving that if you are in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ that you yourself are God's temple. Pray in thanksgiving that God's Spirit lives within you! Pray that you will not grieve the Spirit through any sort of abuse or neglect of your body, God's temple.
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. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our One Year Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 - Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 - I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
