February 23rd One Year Bible Readings

Leviticus 14:1-57 ~ Mark 6:30-56 ~ Psalm 40:1-10 ~ Proverbs 10:11-12
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Old Testament - Today in Leviticus chapter 14 we read about cleansing from skin diseases and treatment of contaminated houses.  I found the treatment of the mildew in the houses quite fascinating - with verse 45 telling us about the ultimatum for a house if the mildew reappears: "It must be torn down, and all its stones, timbers, and plaster must be carried out of town to the place designated as ceremonially unclean."  This chapter again goes into the clean & the unclean.  If you didn't get chance to read the bible.org commentary on Clean & Unclean from Leviticus chapters 12 through 15, you may want to take a few minutes to read it at this link.  Also, a sermon from Peninsula Bible Church with some interesting points on Leviticus chapters 13 & 14 titled "Sick Garments and Diseased Houses" is at this link.   Verses 52 & 53 today: "After he has purified the house in this way, he will release the living bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way, the priest will make atonement for the house, and it will be ceremonially clean."

New Testament - Today we read in Mark Chapter 6 verse 46: “Afterward he (Jesus) went up into the hills by himself to pray.” What a beautiful verse for each of us to meditate upon! Jesus went by himself to pray to God. It is interesting to note that this took place just after Jesus fed the 5,000. Jesus had been working hard – he is God and yet he still felt the call to pray to the Father. I think this verse is such a great reminder that you and I need to follow Jesus’ example in this verse. And we’re so not God! :) So, think about how much more crucial it is for us to pray. Jesus knew that God was his source of strength. His comfort. His wisdom. And prayer was the one sure fire way for Jesus to really connect and spend time with God. How is your prayer life these days? Are you finding a good amount of time each day to be by yourself and pray? If not, can you schedule this time into your calendar each day?

Psalms - Psalm 40 starts off in verse 1 with a beautiful reflection on David "waiting patiently for the Lord" about his prayer, and in turn God "heard his cry." David then goes forward in the Psalm rejoicing in the Lord and culminating in this powerful statement in verse 8: "I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." How does this Psalm speak to you today? Do you wait patiently for the Lord in your prayer life? Do you desire to do God's will? Is His law within your heart today?

Proverbs - Today we read in Proverbs chapter 10 verse 11: “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.” WOW! I love this Proverb on so many levels. The idea of a “fountain of life” is such a great metaphor! Because I think what comes out of our mouth is so much like a fountain – and we are hopefully pouring forth Living Water for others. However, I imagine that there are times when our fountain is not quite so clean and we’re pouring forth something else. I think what I find so meaningful about this verse is that I have really been convicted of how important and impactful our words are to others. Our words can really build people up – or tear people down if we are not careful. I don’t know about you, but I know there are times in my life when I can be negative with what I say. Then, there are times when I can be very positive and I feel like the enthusiasm is contagious to others. And these are the times when perhaps my words seem to be a bit more like a fountain of life. I say all of this to just encourage you to reflect on the words that come from your mouth. 

Worship God: Today's readings in Mark 6 about Jesus praying and Psalm 40 about David praying reminded me of the Casting Crowns song "What If His People Prayed." Here's a great live version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF-lXgjEHo0

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked." Proverbs 10:11 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray that your mouth would be a fountain of life to all you speak to today. Pray that your mouth would be filled with righteousness.

Comments from you & Questions of the Day:  Per Proverbs 10:11 above, are your words typically a fountain of life to others? Are you cognizant of what you say and how you say it to others around you so that your words truly will become a fountain of life to others?  Or are you sometimes careless with your words?   Do you think our words matter?  Also, 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]

Leviticus 14:1-57

As I read through the 14th chapter several times, two things kept running through my mind. One was a memory of an event in November 2004 when my apartment walls had to be torn down because of “mold.” Yikes that was tough so I know what it is you have to do to get rid of “leprosy,” on the walls. It ain’t easy.

The second thing that floated through my head was the thought of, “the curse of the law.”

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree") (Galatians 3:13 NET.)

Just reading everything that needed to be done once you were cured of “leprosy” is exhausting. Keeping the Law was a burden because sin is a burden. I am so glad Jesus told us,
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. (Matthew 11:28-30 KJVR)

While thinking about this I also realized there was a bigger blessing for one of the ten lepers Jesus cleansed, he turned back to worship and give thanks (Luke 17:12-19). Jesus had sent all ten to the Temple to show themselves to the priests and on the way, all ten were cleansed. Once at the Temple they would have had to participate in the expense and time of the ritual cleansing. This would have put their new beginning of living their lives on hold until the entire ceremony was completed provided they had the finances for bringing the offering for the poor.

The man who came back to worship was told to “go thy way,” where before they all were told to “go show thyself to the priest.”

And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
(Luke 17:12-19 KJV)

An attitude of gratitude does great wonders. All were cleansed but only one was freed.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

[Dee]

such an awesome statement you made about the lepers, or should I say, "the one leper" who received his healing and gave thanks unto God, All were cleansed but only one was freed. That is so true. There are so many people who receive redemption through Christ but yet still live in bondage and don't realize that the chains are gone, they have been set free, like Chris Tomlins song, Amazing Grace. Thats amazing in itself!! I wanted to speak on a few things above. The Lev. 14 reminded me of reading this last year with the one year bible group and remembering the significance of the cleanliness and why it was carried out as, blood on right ear, right thumb, and right big toe, I remember last year, it was mentioned that the uncleaned once they got sanctified and cleansed from all unrighteousness, that this "blood" was an atonement and protection for them to go and be cleansed of whatsoever they heard, touched and walked, that the blood covered and protected them in all three areas, and last but not least they placed blood offereing on forehead, and I believe that was to bless whatsoever they saw, they be blessed. Kind of a reference or reminder of those little monkeys you see at markets sometimes, hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil, but with a little more preparation and that was whatsoever they walked and went be sanctified. Also, I wanted to speak from Mikes commentary above in reference to Proverbs 10:11-12 about the mouth and it being the Fountain of Life or some could speak wrongly and produce curses rather than blessings, we spoke about that at church last night, about the Word being a seed and that when you speak the seed is going forth to be harvested and either someone comes along and speaks in opposition to the Word and it gets plucked out of the soils of our heart, and sometimes we feel like the seed going forth is not getting planted or registered when another sower comes by with the same Word and "waters" it and that "aha" feeling happens with a believer. They finally realize, hey, I got it, I finally understand what you have told me all along. That happened with some of our precious men and ladies this past weekend when they went on a mission trip to a boys camp for juveniles under lock up. The ministry that goes forth there sometimes "feels" like it falls on deaf ears but then someone else "new and unfamilier" comes in and relates the same Word to them and life goes forth to that spoken Word. Also brought to mind Hebrews 4:12 and it states, For the Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Be careful, all of us, of our tongue, and use it to edify the Lord. God Bless, DeeDee

[Beth]

Just a quick question... what do you suppose was with the scarlet yarn and the wood thing???

[Lily]

Amen Ramona & Dee.
At times (or most of the time) we forget the consequences of our actions and the words that come out of our mouth. The people around us (especially our children) learn from us through our actions and words that come out of our mouth. Words that are unclean and hurtful have a lasting effect. I am saddened that 4 letter words are becoming part of our regular part of our societies vocabulary. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be clean and acceptable to the Lord. Remind me O Lord that I can not take back what I said that may be hurtful to others. Teach me to pause and be patient before I speak.

[Dee]

Beth,
I believe the scarlet yarn stood for and was significant as the blood sacrifice as was the clean animals. God gave His son for us(the clean, pure lamb of God) and we give of our self a sacrifice back(our life, our possessions, in this sense the scarlet yarn) Its just like in Joshua when the story of Rahab was told(Joshua 2, and 6:22-23), the spies told her to place a scarlet rope in her window seal for deliverance and in rememberance and covenent with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That way, her and her household would be saved even when Jericho was destroyed! This be in "rememberance of Me"--God. I hope that helps a little. I am not sure about the wood spoon, maybe significant with the tree they used in Calvary, It was a dishonor and a sinful nature to be hung on a tree. Tree/wood/ you see some comparison and a connection here? I don't know, I may be completely off course here, but that is what I got from it. God Bless...DeeDee

[Jessica]

These verses stood out to me today...

Mark 6:47-51
47 Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. 48 He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning[b] Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. 50 They were all terrified when they saw him.

But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here![c]” 51 Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed

Many times we are so caught up in our struggles, trying to "row" our way through it alone, that we don't stop to recognize that He is there with us. We have to learn to not focus on the appearance of our circumstances, and look for Him. Once we let Jesus on board, the peace will come. Another thing that stood out to me was "He intended to go past them"...I believe that God allows us to struggle our way through things in our lives to help us learn to know that even when we don't feel like He is there, He is, and that we can look beyond our fears and find Him. How awesome is our Savior!

God bless! Jessica

[Jessica]

Thank you all for sharing your comments and insights on this blog! This is my first year to read the One Year Bible, and I love, love, love this blog!!!
God Bless!

[Raeann]

I try to be conscious of my words and actions so as not to hurt others.