July 29th One Year Bible Readings

2 Chronicles 24:1-25:28 ~ Romans 12:1-21 ~ Psalm 22:19-31 ~ Proverbs 20:8-10
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Old Testament - Today in Second Chronicles 24 verse 1 we read - "Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years."  This is quite a young age to be crowned king!  (yep, that's Joash on the right in the image below - the priest presenting him to the people is on the left)

Did you notice in today's readings that Joash followed God in his early years, when Jehoiada the priest was alive (verses 1-16), and then turned to evil and idolatry after Jehoiada's death (verses 17-27)?  One of the saddest parts was Joash's murder of Jehoiada's grandson Zechariah in verse 20.  (Note that the text says son, but scholars believe Jehoiada's son was Berekiah, and Zechariah was Berekiah's son - Biblical genealogies sometimes skip a generation.)  Jesus Himself references the atrocity of this murder when facing His own murderers in Matthew 23:35! This quote of Jesus' comes just after delivering his seven woes in Matthew 23:  "And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar."

New Testament - Wow!  Could Romans chapter 12 be one of the most powerful chapters in the Bible??  I love this chapter...  Please take a moment to re-read this chapter if you can. Verses 1 through 3 have been so powerful for me personally since the early days of my Christian walk - "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."   I really don't know what commentary I could add to these words of Paul's. I love the thought of our bodies being living sacrifices to God.  (There is of course the old joke that the only problem with a living sacrifice is that it tends to crawl off the altar... :)  And the warning to not conform any longer to the pattern of this world is so so so true.... and we all know it.  But I find myself still falling prey to the pattern of this world.  Its temptations do not cease.  But!  We can be transformed by the renewing of our minds to test and approve what God's will is.  Through a loving and growing relationship with Jesus, we can overcome the temptations and the death this world will offer us all too frequently.  In view of God's mercy, will you offer your body today as God as a living sacrifice?

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Romans titled "The Road to Renewal" is at this link and "Thinking Straight about Spiritual Gifts" is at this link and "What is this Thing Called Love" is at this link.  Below are 2 wonderful images for Romans chapter 12 verse 2 and verses 4 & 5:

Psalms - What's one good reason to go to church at all?  Check out Psalm 22 verse 22: "Then I will declare the wonder of your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among all your people." Praising God with other brothers and sisters through worship, tithing, learning, serving and being in community in church is a great reason to go to church!  To declare the wonder of God's name!  To praise God among all his people.  Wow... yes...  this is church!

Proverbs - Proverbs 20 verse 10 is convicting - "The LORD despises double standards of every kind."  I am afraid that I often do have double standards in the way I live my own life.  I am afraid perhaps we all do to a degree.  We hold ourselves to one standard when we are at church and among our friends and maybe even typing on this blog... :)  But, then, late at night or early in the morning or during the day perhaps we let this standard - this Christian standard - simply go.  We become judgmental.  We gossip.  We complain.  We lust.  We give in to our old addictions.  We fall prey to a double standard.  Please don't ever forget that God calls us to the highest standard!  And he sent us his Son Jesus to set us free from the bondage of sin from the bondage of double standards.  Through faith in Jesus we are gifted with the Holy Spirit living within our very bodies, which is an amazing blessing to consider!  God gives us everything that we need to live a life of high moral standards.  Will we pray unceasingly to let our double standards go?  Will we leave the double standards behind once and for all?  Will we stop living our lives with two faces?

Worship God:  Romans chapter 12 and Psalm 22 verse 22 reminded me of Jeremy Camp's song "Give You Glory."  It's a bit strange to me to see Jeremy performing this song on a big stage with big lights.  I remember a few years back seeing him perform solo with just his guitar while opening up for Bebo Norman and then playing another show in the gymnasium of a church.  I guess you've made it big Mr. Camp! :)  Songs like this are why:

Do you know our God of Glory?  Click here for Glory!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this week: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14 (NIV)

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

God bless,
Mike

Comments

[John A.]

Romans 12:1-21

My first two years as a Christian, I used to read verses like Romans 9-21, and the exhortations of James and John, and get really discouraged. I want to live like that, but I can't.

9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Are you kidding me, and that is just the first few verses. I fail repeatedly. What is wrong with me, etc.

It was very discouraging, and it would affect my prayer life, my bible studies, and my Christian walk would not even feel like a crawl, but that I was stuck in some thicket.

Then as I prayed about it the first few verses of Romans 12 hit me like a thunderbolt.
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12:1-2 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Paul has spent 11 chapters discussing God's anger and judgment on non-believers, the righteousness of faith of believers, and the history and future status of Israel.

Now, He is instructing us on how we are to live for Christ. And in the first few verses is the key.

Your rightful service once saved with a renewed spirit and endwelled by the Holy Spirit, is to follow up on your commitment to Jesus as YUOR Lord and not just your Savior.

A servant of the king is loyal to the king body and soul (spirit). You have a new spirit, now offer up your body as a living perpetual sacrifice. This is a one-time (Aorist active indicative in the Greek) completed or in the process of being completed offering.

Lord do with it as you will - You are in charge. Let it be for your glory. When you perform this offering, then on a daily basis you can resist the pattern of this world. That is not a list of "DON'TS" it is not living in the mindset of pride, it is not doing what is best for you to advance in this world. It is not about you.

How does this happen? Because you daily (by submission and humility) are being transformed by the renewing of your mind. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. It will not happen overnight, but I can attest through myself and other Christians I know, that you will see progress from year to year. When you fail, you just get up and trust God will continue to work with you and teach your mind. It is like learning to walk - there will be stumbling.

Summary: Now that you are a believer, you are able to make a right spiritual decision to offer to serve the Lord with your Body. Humbly submit to God, and let Him do the work in you that He ordained before time began. Trust in, rely on, and depend on God as it is all for His Glory, and He is big enough to do the job.

[John A.]

VISIT WITH MY PASTOR

Three years ago, when I realized what Paul was saying I rushed to one of my pastors. I asked why this was not being taught, why were we told we must do all these things (not in a legalist way), but that we need to act like Christians. Why were we not taught to give ourselves over to God on a continual basis in a humble, submissive, reverant, and trusting (Characteristics of the heart of David) and let God work in us through the power of the Holy Spirit?

I wish I could say the conversation went well, but It was not all I had hoped for upon entering the office. This concept of relying on God had been confirmed to me over and over before my appointment. But no more so than what happened a month later.

Our head pastor returned from an overseas sabbatical, and gave his first sermon on - you guessed it - Romans 12:1-3. I thought that the associate pastor had said something to my pastor, but he denied it, and said he had been working on that sermon for awhile on his own and had not shared it with him until his return.

Look this will not be easy in the early stages. I know. Satan hates it when Christians figure this out, and wants us to keep trying to go back to "self".

I have never been more sure about anything in the Bible, than we need to just let God be God. When we come to him, it should be in the spirit, and in the body as servants, and trust in Him to run our lives.

Does this mean we just sit back in a chair and say - go ahead God get on with it. Nope, it means we should have a daily attidude of submission and humility towards the Father, and then get up and walk about our day. Trusting in Him to renew our minds and provide us with opportunities to share.

Think I am wrong? Who is our perfect model? It is Jesus, and it is pretty clear from the Gospels that being humble and submissive to the Father while here on earth was what Jesus was all about. Jesus depended on God for every word, every step, and every action He took on earth. Are we any better as children of God????????? Jesus did it perfectly, we ought to at least be attempting to follow His model of submission to the Father so we can grow in Christain maturity.

[Jean]

WOW!

[John A.]

2 Chronicles 24-25:28
II CHRONICLES 24

VERSES 1-3

"1. Jehoiada, who was the high priest, was truly the power behind the throne. He brought a godly influence back into the land and was influencing young Joash in the things he should do. He was a good role model for this child king. And the people of Judah were blessed by the actions of this man. It is as Solomon said in Proverbs 29:2, "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."

VERSE 9

1. What collection did Moses impose on the children of Israel in the wilderness? In Exodus chapter 30 we see that a half-shekel was to be given by every male, 20 years old and up, each year. This money was then used for the upkeep of the tabernacle, and now it was to be used in the upkeep of the temple. Now they could give more for this project if they wanted to, but this was the least they could do.

VERSE 15

1. Jehoiada did not die because of some illness, but because he was full of days. He completed the work he was called to do and God was gracious in allowing him to live for 130 years, for he was a positive influence in the life of Joash and because of that the nation was blessed by God.

VERSE 16

1. Now his burial is in sharp contrast to that of Jehoram. When Jehoram died no one cared and they had such a lack of respect for this king, that they did not even bury him in the tombs of the kings, there was no great burning of incense for him. Because of his evil influence, the people were glad he was dead. But Jehoiada, the high priest and not a king, was buried with the kings because the people loved him for bringing spiritual reform to the nation, by putting God back on the throne. It was a sad day when this man died.

VERSES 17-18

1. Isn't it amazing how quickly Joash changed after the death of Jehoiada. He loved the honor of men and was molded by their influence. In a sense Joash was like a spiritual chameleon, changing his behavior to fit those that were around him. This just tells me that Joash never really had a heart for the Lord, he was just influenced by those around him, and in the end his true colors came out, and as we will see, they are not pretty."

http://www.ccmanitowoc.org/Library/Guglielmo-Joe/Studies/TH/14-2CH/TH1064.HTM

[John A.]

2 Chronicles 24-25:28
[Continued]

II CHRONICLES 25

VERSES 1-2

"1. This verse sheds some light on a works theology. You can do good things, help all kinds of people, and yet if your heart is not right before God, it is meaningless. You can even serve God but if your heart is far from Him, if you don't have a relationship with Him, then all the work you do is meaningless. Amaziah did good things but his heart was far from the Lord. Yes it was far better for Amaziah to do good rather than evil, the people benefited from that. But he was still lost, his heart was far from the Lord. And that my friends is a sobering thought!

VERSE 9

1. Notice the concern of Amaziah, the money he is going to lose if he lets these men go. Amaziah wants God's help but he also wants the money. Jesus spoke on this issue of serving two masters in Luke 16:13 when He said "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." God is telling Amaziah not to worry about the money, God is not broke.

VERSE 10

1. Now why in the world were they so angry. Yes they were dismissed from the battle but they should have rejoiced, they still got paid for doing nothing. The reason is this. If you were victorious in battle you would take home with you much spoil from the victory as you plundered the troops and the cities. Thus, they had lost lots of money by being dismissed and they were not happy about it, and they will try to get even with Amaziah as we shall see in a few verses here.

VERSE 14

1. I find this truly amazing. God has just given him the victory over the Edomites with 100,000 less troops, and in this victory Amaziah gathers the gods of the people he has just defeated, and brings them home with him. In doing this, he is now worshipping these gods. And you think "Why in the world would he do something as stupid as that?" It is really quite simple for we see it done all the time today. When your backs are up against the wall, and you have no other place to turn, you turn to the true and living God for help. But after the trouble is over you turn back to the gods of this world, the gods of the flesh. They appeal to you, even though you know they can't help you, but they can satisfy your flesh. Amaziah does just that, he went to the gods of this world, the gods of the Edomites, for he no longer needed the true and living God. Well, he may have thought that way, but the reality is, he needed God more than ever in his life, and so do we!"
http://www.ccmanitowoc.org/Library/Guglielmo-Joe/Studies/TH/14-2CH/TH1064.HTM