One Year Bible Blog

June 19th One Year Bible Readings

1 Kings 20:1-21:29 ~ Acts 12:24-13:15 ~ Psalm 137:1-9 ~ Proverbs 17:16
~ Click here to read today's Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~
~ Listen to today's Scripture on One Year Bible Online Audio, ESVBible.org: OT, NT, Psalms, Proverbs or DailyAudioBible.com (podcast) ~

Old Testament - In 1 Kings 20 today we read about King Ahab's battles with King Ben-hadad of Aram.  Verse 11 today was sharp! "The king of Israel sent back this answer: "A warrior still dressing for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won.""  Not a bad little saying from Ahab to Ben-hadad!  Sounds sort of like a Proverb.  Actually, this really sounds like our modern day saying of: "Don't count your chickens before they hatch!"  :)

Alas, even though King Ahab was given victories by God's grace in today's readings, he goofs things up by letting King Ben-hadad of Aram go free. Then, as we get into First Kings chapter 21 today, things go from bad to worse for Ahab in terms of his relationship with God.  Chapter 21 is a sad story of Naboth and his vineyard...  Would it be safe to say that King Ahab was coveting Naboth's vineyard?  Would Ahab be breaking a commandment in the Mosaic Law here in this image...?

I couldn't quite remember why Jezebel was cast in such a bad light in our readings a few days ago.  Today I remember why...  It is great to see Elijah show up on the scene and say to Ahab in verse 20 - "I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the LORD's sight." How sad.  Do you think people today can still sell themselves to what is evil in God's sight?  Below is an image of Elijah denouncing Ahab for the evil that transpired over Naboth's vineyard in today's readings.

Bible.org's commentary on today's 1 Kings readings titled "Israel's Deliverance" is at this link and "Ahab Buys the Farm or Payday Someday" is at this link.

New Testament - Wow.  It is fun to read about Paul's first missionary journey!  A very cool thing to note about today's readings is that Paul started his missionary journey not after an extensive planning session / retreat / etc. (all our modern day stuff of what we have to do before embarking on something...)  No!  Paul started his missionary journey after a time of worship & fasting and being filled with the Holy Spirit!  The Spirit moved and thus Paul moved!  It was that simple.  Think we can learn something from this in our lives today?  Are you listening to the Spirit's prompting in your life today?  What is the Spirit prompting you to do?  Will you do it?  Check out Acts 13 verses 2 and 3 that show all it took for Paul to begin his missionary journey: "One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work I have for them." So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way."

I am a huge fan of Paul's epistles, and greatly enjoyed verses 9 through 11, which are Paul's first words that we've read in Acts since his conversion on the road to Damascus - "Then Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked the sorcerer in the eye and said, "You son of the Devil, full of every sort of trickery and villainy, enemy of all that is good, will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? And now the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be stricken awhile with blindness.""  Paul was no joke!  Below is a map of Paul's first missionary journey:

I love the way today's Acts readings finish up in verses 14 & 15 - "Barnabas and Paul traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia.  On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services. After the usual readings from the books of Moses and from the Prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: "Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for us, come and give it!"  Uh-oh!  Think the folks in charge of the service are ready for a word from Paul and Barnabas?  :)  Stay tuned for the word of encouragement from Paul in tomorrow's readings!  Below is an image of Barnabas:

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Acts titled "What a Way to Go" is at this link.

Psalms - Psalm 137 is a Psalm reflecting upon the Israelites exile in Babylon and about how much Jerusalem was missed.  We also read about a call to punish Edom for their rejoicing in the fall of Jerusalem.  Later this year we will read prophesies against Edom in the book of the prophet Obadiah.  Below is an image of ancient Jerusalem - the tower of David - that this Psalmist missed greatly:

Proverbs - Proverb 17 verse 16 is interesting to consider: "It is senseless to pay tuition to educate a fool who has no heart for wisdom."   This is a great question for each of us to ask ourselves.  Today in your life - do you have a heart for wisdom?  What type of "tuition" are you paying to gain wisdom / to be educated?  Are you paying the "tuition" of time invested in studying the Bible each day?  Are you paying the "tuition" of joining a Bible study at your church?  What other types of "tuition" are you paying to gain wisdom?  Will you pray to God today for a heart for wisdom?

YouTube: Today's readings in Acts about Paul's missionary journey reminds me of the Britt Nicole song "The Lost Get Found:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO2prEoATH8

Are you Lost?  Click here to be Found!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "But the word of God continued to increase and spread." Acts 12:24 (NIV)

Prayer Point: Pray that the Word of God continues to increase and spread in our world today. Pray that you are part of helping the Word of God increase and spread.

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.p.s. Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

p.p.p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today. Thanks!

June 18th One Year Bible Readings

1 Kings 19:1-21 ~ Acts 12:1-23 ~ Psalm 136:1-26 ~ Proverbs 17:14-15
~ Click here to read today's Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~
~ Listen to today's Scripture on One Year Bible Online Audio, ESVBible.org: OT, NT, Psalms, Proverbs or DailyAudioBible.com (podcast) ~

Old Testament - Great chapter today!  We are introduced to Elisha, who will be mentored by Elijah to succeed him as a prophet at the end of First Kings 19 today.  However, before we get to Elisha, we read about Elijah being very "dejected" in the desert to say the least.  Some commentaries on this early portion of chapter 19 are not super-kind to Elijah for heading to the desert.  Commentaries I think wisely suggest that verses 9 & 13 demonstrate God trying to gently let Elijah know he's off course and feeling too sorry for himself, when asked twice in these verses: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"  This kind of reminded me of Jonah fleeing from God's will on the boat.  (which we'll read about later this year).  And this kind of reminded me of me - and maybe you too.  :)  Have you ever had that nagging question enter your heart or mind when you suddenly realize that you are off course from God's will in your life?  That question of:  "What are you doing here??"  I know I have...  Praise God when we are actually able to hear and understand that question and get out of the desert and back to life and back to loving this hurting world!  Below is a wonderful painting from the year 1464 by the Flemish artist Dirk Bouts for verses 5 & 6, early on in the chapter when Elijah was fleeing to Mount Sinai - "Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, "Get up and eat!" He looked around and saw some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again."

Today in 1 Kings 19 verses 11 through 14 we read about how God appears to Elijah in a way that he was not expecting – “Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind.  After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.  And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.  Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?”  The interesting thing to note about these verses is that Elijah was expecting or hoping God would appear in judgment to the Israelites in a windstorm, earthquake or fire. But God did not appear in any of these forms. Instead, God comes to Elijah in a simple gentle whisper. A gentle whisper. And I wonder about us in our lives today as well – do we often expect God to move mountains or to really show himself to us in big bold ways? When, perhaps, God may be speaking to you or me right now, but we’re missing it? Why? Well, is it possible that God is speaking to you right now with a simple gentle whisper? Is it possible that you have built up so many distractions or duties or activities or worries in your life that you cannot hear God’s gentle whisper? I know that I have been in this place too many times – I’ve gotten myself so busy looking for God in all the wrong places. And then finally I will slow myself down for just long enough to hear God speaking to my heart in a gentle whisper! A gentle whisper that I am sure was there all along. . . but I was looking for God in the windstorm and earthquake and fires of life. When instead I should have simply slowed down and listened for God’s gentle whisper. Will you slow down long enough to listen for God’s gentle whisper for you? Do you believe that God can speak to you in a simple gentle whisper this very moment?

 

Bible.org's commentary on today's 1 Kings readings titled "The Vulnerability of Victory" is at this link.  "The Crisis of Elijah" is at this link. "The Restoration of Elijah" is at this link.  And "Taking Up Your Mantle" is at this link.  Below is a painting in a Carmelite cloister in Frankfurt, Germany from the year 1517 by an unknown artist showing the life of the prophet Elijah, including what I think is the anointing/calling of Elisha in the middle portion - and you'll see the angel tending to Elijah in the desert on the left and the burnt offering from yesterday's readings on the right:

New Testament - There is a lot going on in today's Acts readings as Peter is freed from jail by an angel!

I love verse 5 in this chapter as Peter was put in jail - "But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him."  Who are you praying for very earnestly these days?  Do you think that prayer changes things?  How is your prayer life this very day?

Verses 21 through 23 are a great great reminder to not ever accept anyone calling you a god - nor for you to every think of yourself as a god - "When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them. The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, "It is the voice of a god, not of a man!"  Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people's worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died."  We should never accept worship from others.  The glory should always go to God.  As the Psalmist so wisely and worshipfully says in Psalm 115:1, "Not to us, not to us, O LORD, but to your name be the glory."

Bible.org's commentary on today's Acts readings titled "The Death of James and the Deliverance of Peter" is at this link.

Psalms - Psalm 136 is a liturgy of Praise to God as Creator and Redeemer.  A Levitical priest singer likely led the recital, while either worshippers or a Levitical choir responded with the refrain.  Fun Bible factoid here - the response "His love endures forever" is repeated 26 times in this Psalm, which is the numerical value of God's name "Yahweh" - back when Hebrew letters were also used as numbers.  A lot of intricacies went into the Psalms... some of which do get lost in translation from Hebrew to English.  Below is an image of the Hebrew letters yud, hey, vav, hey -- often depicted in English as YHWH or Yahweh -- spelling the name of God.

Psalm 136 is also a Michael W. Smith song!  :)  C'mon, you know the one - verse 1 - "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever."  (and Smitty carries on - "for he is good, he is above all things, his love endures forever. Sing praise. Sing Praise! Forever God is faithful, forever God is strong...")

Proverbs - Proverbs chapter 17 verse 14 today is a great reminder that the best way to end a quarrel is to stop it before it starts! "Beginning a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out."  Once the quarrel starts, the waters can quickly flow out of control like a flood.  Is there a simmering matter in your life that you need to address quickly and head-on before it breaks out into a quarrel?  Before the floodgate opens?

YouTube: In Psalms above, I mention Michael W. Smith's version of Forever, which of course reminds me of Chris Tomlin's original version of "Forever:" :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afGZf9dYoZM

Do you believe God's love endures forever?  Click here for Forever!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever." Psalm 136:1 (NIV)

Prayer Point: Pray in thanksgiving to the Lord for His Goodness today! Pray in thanksgiving that his love endures forever!

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.p.s. Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

p.p.p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today. Thanks!

June 17th One Year Bible Readings

1 Kings 18:1-46 ~ Acts 11:1-30 ~ Psalm 135:1-21 ~ Proverbs 17:12-13
~ Click here to read today's Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~
~ Listen to today's Scripture on One Year Bible Online Audio, ESVBible.org: OT, NT, Psalms, Proverbs or DailyAudioBible.com (podcast) ~

Old Testament - Wow!  Great readings today in 1 Kings 18.  This is an amazing chapter of the Bible, and one that I heard a wonderful sermon on a couple of years ago.  This is strong stuff.  One thing that kind of got me chuckling was the subtitle the New Living Translation puts at the top of this chapter - "The Contest on Mount Carmel"!  For some reason this got my mind thinking of WWF Championship Wrestling... yes... strange place for my mind to wander I realize.  :)  But then, this imagery kind of stuck with me throughout the readings and I definitely think Elijah threw down a WWF level taunt in verse 27 when the prophets of Baal were not having any luck getting their fire started: "About noontime Elijah began mocking them. "You'll have to shout louder," he scoffed, "for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or he is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or he is asleep and needs to be wakened!""  Perhaps he is relieving himself??  The prophet Elijah puts even Hulk Hogan's WWF taunt's to shame!  :)

Okay... in all seriousness... 1 Kings 18 is an amazing chapter.  There were several verses that stood out to me.  First was verses 17 and 18 when Ahab meets Elijah - ""So it's you, is it--Israel's troublemaker?" Ahab asked when he saw him. "I have made no trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the LORD and have worshiped the images of Baal instead."  I love Elijah's directness and boldness to Ahab.  Ahab tries to go after Elijah and maybe intimidate him, since Ahab is King.  And Elijah does not back down one iota - he tells Ahab exactly why Ahab is the troublemaker.  I love that.  I wonder about our lives today.  If someone comes after us and maybe attacks our faith or integrity falsely in some way, will we immediately stand up for our faith like Elijah did to King Ahab?

Verses 20 & 21 are powerful - "So Ahab summoned all the people and the prophets to Mount Carmel. Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, "How long are you going to waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!" But the people were completely silent."  What a great question - and one that we may need to ask ourselves - "How long are you going to waver between two opinions?  If the Lord is God, follow him!"  Are we wavering at all in our commitment to God?  Are we being silent like the people were when Elijah asked this question?  Let us not waver between two opinions...  If the Lord is God, are you following him?  Wholeheartedly? 

Below is an image of Elijah's "Sermon on the Mount Carmel"...  :)  bad pun... sorry.  (I really should know better than to start off a blog post with the Hulkster... it sets me off on the wrong foot... :)

I love the little story at the end of today's chapter where Elijah falls to his knees in prayer on Mt. Carmel and tells his servant to go look toward the sea - 7 times!  And then soon comes the little cloud....

Last but not least, verse 46 is a great closing to this eventful chapter! "Now the LORD gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab's chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel."  Think about this day's events - Elijah meets with Obadiah.  Summons Ahab.  Meets with Ahab.  Summons the people of Israel and the prophets of Baal and Asherah.  Conducts a WWF Smackdown tourney :) - and God wins big time!  Prays for rain.  And then what better way to finish out this type of day but to "tuck his cloak into his belt" and run faster than Ahab's chariot back to Jezreel!  Great stuff!  What a chapter!  Elijah rocks!

Bible.org has tons of great commentary on today's readings in 1 Kings 18, which is not surprising considering how much happens in this chapter today.  Commentary titled "The Word of the Lord Comes to Elijah" is at this link.  "Elijah ministers to Obadiah" is at this link.  "Elijah Meets and Rebukes Ahab" is at this link.  "When One Becomes a Majority" is at this link.  "The Ineffectual Prayers of the Baal Priests" is at this link.  And finally, "The Prayers of Elijah" is at this link.

New Testament - I love how Peter answers his "critics" in Acts chapter 11 today.  He simply tells them the story of what happened.  And through this plain and simple act of telling his story truthfully we get to verse 18 - "When the others heard this, all their objections were answered and they began praising God. They said, "God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of turning from sin and receiving eternal life.""  And this makes me wonder about our lives today.  How do we answer our "critics" when it comes to our faith?  Is it possible that we can answer our critics simply by telling our story?  Just like Peter simply answered his critics with his story?  Is it possible that our story of how God reached out and changed our lives could be very effective in winning hearts and minds for Jesus?  I think sometimes we underestimate the power of simply telling our story.  It is our story - and after we tell it, how can anyone really criticize it?  Or argue with it?  It is our story.  Let us tell it.  And let us tell our story often and with great love.  I believe God can work wonders when we simply tell our stories...

Bible.org's commentary on today's Acts readings titled "Peter is Called on the Carpet" is at this link and "One Step Backward and Two Steps Forward" is at this link.

Psalms - Today in Psalm 135 verse 3 we will read this very simple, yet profound verse – “Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.” The words I want to focus in on here are “the Lord is good.”  Do you believe this to be true? Do you really – in your heart – believe that God is good? I think this is important for us to really meditate upon. I’m afraid sometimes we get into our minds that maybe God is not always good. Maybe we start to think that God is out to get us. Or out to trick us. Really isn’t looking out for us. Doesn’t really like us. Doesn’t really love us. These are all of course lies that come into our mind from the Enemy, the Destroyer. God is obviously good. So good. All of the time. And maybe sometimes we really need to remind ourselves of this. Even in the midst of challenges and struggles and addictions and hardships – God is good. God is there with us. God is leading us – and maybe even taking us through a hardship to bring us to the Promised Land on the other side. Our human minds will often not understand God’s ways. But, I think for us to always remember that God is good is so important for our continuing growth in our relationship with God. So, again, do you believe the words of this Psalmist? Do you believe that God is good?

Proverbs - Yikes... Proverbs 17 verse 13 is no joke - "If you repay evil for good, evil will never leave your house."  Let us be diligent and prayerful to make sure we never repay evil for good... 

YouTube: Today's readings in Acts today reminded me of Rhett Walker's song "When Mercy Found Me:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50hYXJzNMM0

Has mercy found you?  Click here for mercy!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly." Proverbs 17:12 TNIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you do not associate with fools. Pray that you avoid folly. Pray you are a disciplined and loving follower of Jesus.

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.p.s. Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

p.p.p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today. Thanks!

June 16th One Year Bible Readings

1 Kings 15:25-17:24 ~ Acts 10:24-48 ~ Psalm 134:1-3 ~ Proverbs 17:9-11
~ Click here to read today's Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~
~ Listen to today's Scripture on One Year Bible Online Audio, ESVBible.org: OT, NT, Psalms, Proverbs or DailyAudioBible.com (podcast) ~

Old Testament - 1 Kings 15 verse 26 stood out to me right away today: "But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of his father, continuing the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit."  The key word that stood out to me in this verse is "example."  I think sometimes we can forget that every action we take is an example to others.  We are either exampling godly behavior or ungodly behavior.  Obviously Jeroboam exampled ungodly behavior - and unfortunately, since he was king of Israel, his bad example had far reaching effects.  Even though you or me aren't king of any land, I do believe that the examples we set have bigger impacts than we realize.  Our kids, our parents, our siblings, our neighbors, our co-workers, the stranger on the street, the person at the coffee shop, are all watching what we do.  How we behave.  Who we are.  Our very lives are examples to so many people each and every day.  What type of example are you setting with your life?  Do you realize that people are literally following your example each and every day?

1 Kings 16 is quite the chapter full of drama!  It's like a soap-opera.  As I was reading this chapter, and in particular when Zimri was plotting to kill Elah, I was reminded of Macbeth's old quote - "Heavy is the head that wears the crown."   Indeed very true in this chapter!

Great readings in 1 Kings 17 today!  We are introduced to the prophet Elijah!  And what an introduction.  I love the visual of Elijah being fed by ravens.  Elijah was completely dependent on God for his food delivery via birds.  This image reminds me of how dependent you and I are today on God...  (even if we do not realize how dependent we really are....)

Elijah was the first prophet in a long line of prophets to come over the next 300 years in Israel.  As the kings of Israel were now all sinning and there were few Levitical priests left in Israel (most were in Judah), God brought forth the prophets to bring God's word to his people in Israel.  More on who Elijah was is at Bible.org at this link.  More on the message of Elijah is at this link.

Great readings today about Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath!  Verses 21 through 23 are awesome - "And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, please let this child's life return to him." The LORD heard Elijah's prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he came back to life! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. "Look, your son is alive!""

Bible.org's commentary on our 1 Kings 17 readings on Elijah today titled "Testings By the Brook" is at this link and commentary titled "Testings and Ministry at Zaraphath" is at this link and commentary titled "The Death and Resurrection of the Widow's Son" is at this link.   There is a lot of great in-depth commentary on 1 Kings 17 at Bible.org! 

New Testament - Acts 10 verses 25 & 26 stood out to me today - "As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell to the floor before him in worship. But Peter pulled him up and said, "Stand up! I'm a human being like you!"   This reminds me that this type of stuff can still happen today.  I am afraid that sometimes we can end up worshiping people today, instead of worshiping God.  And I'm afraid that this can oftentimes happen in the context of our churches.  I have to say that I have seen what almost looks like worship of Pastors at churches.  And that ain't a good thing...  Pastors are human beings just like us!  Yes, they are called to a very high standard in Paul's letter to Timothy, which we'll read later this year.  But Pastors are not God.  They are not divine.  They should not be worshiped.  Yes, they can help lead us in worship of God in great ways and with great messages.  But let us make sure we are directing our worship at the true Rock and Light and Author of All who will never fail us and never let us down - God.  So, stand up before your pastor.  Pastors are humans just like us...

Peter's words in verses 34 - 36 are so powerful and are a huge turning point in the Gospel beginning to be preached to the Gentiles (non-Jews) - "I see very clearly that God doesn't show partiality. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.  I'm sure you have heard about the Good News for the people of Israel--that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all."  Do you believe that God does not show partiality?  Do you believe that in every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right?  Do you believe there is peace with God through Jesus?  Do you know this peace?

Psalms - Psalm 134 is a great little Psalm!  This Psalm is basically taking place as worshippers are leaving the Temple in Jerusalem for the night - and in the first two verses the Worshippers are speaking to the Levites (priests) in the temple - giving blessings to the Levites and asking them to bless God overnight.  Then, in the third verse the Levites give a departing blessing to the worshippers as they leave the temple: "May the LORD, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Jerusalem." And that is certainly my prayer for each of you reading this - May God bless you!

Proverbs - Wow. Proverbs 17 verse 9 is a challenging one for me today - "Disregarding another person's faults preserves love; telling about them separates close friends."  I get the wisdom of it initially.  Makes sense.  Makes me think about a marriage relationship really... :)  But, what about speaking the truth in love?  Isn't there is a time and place to let folks know about something that is maybe a major issue that needs some attention?  If someone is doing something wrong that is harming them or others around them, shouldn't we speak up?  I know there is a fine line here...  I need to meditate on this Proverb a bit more...  (This is the beauty of the Bible!  We will not understand every single verse every single time.  Could take years!  The Bible's got depth, that is for sure.  I am glad you are on this journey into the depths of the Bible with me this year.)  Let me know your thoughts on this Proverb in the Comments section below?  When do we close our mouth to preserve love and when do we not close it?

YouTube: Today's 1 Kings readings today about Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath reminded me of the Natalie Grant song "Held:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ii7KcYeEDA

Do you know what it is like to be Held?  Click here to be Held!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends." Proverbs 17:9 TNIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you do not repeat your neighbors offenses to others. Pray that you foster love by covering over an offense. Pray that you do not separate close friends through gossiping or busy-bodying.

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.p.s. Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

p.p.p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today. Thanks!

June 15th One Year Bible Readings

1 Kings 14:1-15:24 ~ Acts 10:1-23 ~ Psalm 133:1-3 ~ Proverbs 17:7-8
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~ Listen to today's Scripture on One Year Bible Online Audio, ESVBible.org: OT, NT, Psalms, Proverbs or DailyAudioBible.com (podcast) ~

Old Testament - Allright, now we are getting into the story of the Kings!  I really like this portion of the Bible.  I am fascinated by the back-and-forth stories and timelines of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judah.  The one very unfortunate thing you will notice over and over are verses like 1 Kings 14 verse 22: "During Rehoboam's reign, the people of Judah did what was evil in the LORD's sight, arousing his anger with their sin, for it was even worse than that of their ancestors." Or verses like 1 Kings 15 verse 3: "Abijam committed the same sins as his father before him, and his heart was not right with the LORD his God, as the heart of his ancestor David had been."  And we will read far too few verses like verse 11 as we read about the Kings of Judah and Israel: "Asa did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, as his ancestor David had done."  I think what is interesting to note in all of these verses - and in the verses to come about future Kings we will read about - is that it really didn't much matter what the Kings "did" in their reigns.  Their wars or their building of cities or whatever really didn't matter compared to did they sin against God or not?  Did they lead Israel or Judah into sin or not?  Did they love God or not?  And I think this is the same for our lives today.  God does not so much care what our careers are or what our social status is or how many friends  or how much money we have.  God cares whether we love Him with all of heart, mind, soul and strength.  God cares whether we are sinning against Him or not.  As Jesus tells us: "seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all of these things will be yours as well."  So, yes, God ultimately does care about our lives and careers and friends and such too - but he first wants us to seek a right relationship with Him - and then everything else will flow from our relationship with God.  Someone should have let some of these Kings of Israel and Judah know this!

Okay, a good overview of the Divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah at this point in our readings in First Kings is this image below:

 

Below is an image for 1 Kings 14 verses 25 & 26 - "In the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. He ransacked the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace and stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made."

New Testament - I love it!  Almost every time we see an angel visit someone the visited person is panic stricken by the angel!  :)  Verse 4 today - "Cornelius stared at him in terror. "What is it, sir?" he asked the angel.""  Seriously, it's pretty consistent that people in the Bible get freaked out by angelic visitors.  Probably because it's a pretty rare thing.  Don't you think you'd get freaked out / scared if an angel visited you?  I am pretty sure I would.  Maybe that's why angels only show up in our human world visuals when something big needs to happen.  Something big happens in today's (and tomorrow's) readings with Cornelius and Peter.  I'm thinking if you or I were visited by an angel today, we might end up with an expression somewhat like this...  :)

Before we get to the big thing that happens today with Peter, check the remainder of verse 4: "And the angel replied, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have not gone unnoticed by God!"  Hmmm...  think God pays attention when we give gifts to the poor?  Have you found a consistent way to give gifts to the poor?

Okay, back to today's readings and the big happenings.  I think Tyndale's One Year Bible Companion answers the question well of "What was the meaning of the vision Peter saw?" as follows:  "According to Jewish law, certain foods were forbidden to be eaten (see Leviticus 11).  The food laws made it difficult for Jews to eat with Gentiles without risking defilement.  In fact, the Gentiles themselves were often seen as 'unclean.'  Peter's vision meant that he should not look upon the Gentiles as inferior people whom God would not redeem.  Before having the vision, Peter would have thought that a Roman officer could not accept Christ.  Afterward, he understood that it was his responsibility to go with the messengers into a Gentile home and tell Cornelius the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ."

Bible.org's commentary on today's Acts readings titled "Is Cleanliness Next to Godliness?" is at this link.

Psalms - Psalm 133 is a great short Davidic Psalm about harmony!   Verse 1 sets the pace of this psalm nicely: "How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live together in harmony!"  Do you consistently seek harmony in your interactions with others? Do you pray for peace?

Proverbs - Proverbs 17 verse 7 teaches us today:  "Eloquent words are not fitting for a fool; even less are lies fitting for a ruler."  This is a great reminder, once again, to not lie.  One thing I've noticed that people do a lot these days is exaggerate...  and I gotta say it makes me uncomfortable.  Exaggerating feels like a lie to me.  Why exaggerate?  Why not just tell it like it is.  I mean, I think it's okay to encourage or market or get excited about things truthfully.  (hopefully my little World Vision goat sales pitch above doesn't go too far? :)  But, why exaggerate?   Particularly when it comes to factual numbers... why exaggerate those?  How about you - do you exaggerate?  Think this might be a very close cousin to a lie?  If so, can you focus on just telling things straight, like they are? 

YouTube: Today's readings remind me of the song "Lord, I need you" by Matt Maher:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaVPupbNFAo

Do you need the Lord?  Click here for your need to be fulfilled!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!" Psalm 133:1 TNIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you are living in unity today with God's people! Pray that your life is good and pleasant to other Believers in your life.

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.p.s. Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

p.p.p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today. Thanks!