July 21st One Year Bible Readings

2 Chronicles 4:1-6:11 ~ Romans 7:1-13 ~ Psalm 17:1-15 ~ Proverbs 19:22-23
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Old Testament - Today in Second Chronicles we read about the furnishings for the Temple, including the completion of the Sea in chapter 4 verses 4 & 5 - "The Sea rested on a base of twelve bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east. The walls of the Sea were about three inches thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a lily blossom. It could hold about 16,500 gallons of water."  The Sea was used by the priests for their ceremonial washings.  Interestingly, the New Testament views these washing rituals as a foreshadowing of the cleansing provided to us by Jesus, as we will read later this year in Hebrews chapter 9 verses 11-14: "When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!"  Below is an image of the Sea from today's readings:

Today we also read about the Ark being brought to the Temple.  Second Chronicles chapter 5 verses 13 & 14 are incredible to consider: "The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the LORD with these words: "He is so good! His faithful love endures forever!" At that moment a cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. The priests could not continue their work because the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple of God."

New Testament - Great writings by Paul in Romans 7 today about the Law!  I love how he wraps up today's readings in verses 12 & 13 by saying: "But still, the law itself is holy and right and good.  But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my doom? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God's good commandment for its own evil purposes." Great theology in this chapter today!  Indeed - the law itself is holy and right and good.  But, we couldn't keep the law and sin tempted us to break the law.  And thanks to Jesus, Paul tells us in verse 6 today: "But now we have been released from the law, for we died with Christ, and we are no longer captive to its power. Now we can really serve God, not in the old way by obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way, by the Spirit."  We now serve God by the Spirit!  We are free indeed!

Bible.org's commentary on today's Romans readings titled "The Loveliness of the Law and the Ugliness of Sin" is at this link.

Psalms - In Psalm 17 David appeals to God as Judge when he is being attacked by foes.  Verse 7 is a great prayer and comfort! "Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. You save with your strength those who seek refuge from their enemies." Do you seek refuge with God from whatever might attacking you?   Do you believe that God will show you his unfailing love in wonderful ways?  Have you been saved by God's strength?  Have you sought refuge with God from your "enemies"?

Proverbs - I like Proverbs 19 verse 22 today!  "Loyalty makes a person attractive. And it is better to be poor than dishonest."  It is an interesting combination of proverbs in one verse.  I do agree that loyalty is an attractive quality in people.  Are you loyal to God?  And I wholeheartedly agree that it is better to be poor than dishonest.  Dishonestly is a sin that breeds so many other sins and wrong-thinkings in our life.  It's to be avoided - even if it means being materially poor.  You will be wealthy in God's eyes because of your honesty!

Worship God:  Romans 7 verse 6 I think correlates very well with this video of The David Crowder Band's "Everything Glorious":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81dK2Vu1IUs

Is everything glorious in your life? Click here for Glory!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God." Romans 7:4 TNIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you are alive in Christ. Pray for the body of Christ. Pray that you are bearing fruit for God.

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!

Comments

[Vance]

Second Chronicles chapter 5 verses 13 & 14 are incredible to consider –

"The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the LORD with these words: "He is so good! His faithful love endures forever!"

At that moment a cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. The priests could not continue their work because the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple of God."

The KJV renders the last part of verse 14 as: “…for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.”

This is according to the “Blue Letter Bible”, by which one can see the Hebrew and Greek meanings of words through Strong’s Concordance.

Hebrew: LORD – Y@hovah {yeh-ho-vaw'}

This means: Jehovah = "the existing One"

Hebrew: “glory” –kabowd {kaw-bode'}

The meaning is:

1) glory, honour, glorious,
abundance
a) abundance, riches
b) honour, splendour,
glory
c) honour, dignity
d) honour, reputation
e) honour, reverence,
glory
f) glory

I do not know the source of the quote, but C.S. Lewis defined glory in a way that has always really impressed me, and which truly captures the essence of glory.

He defines glory as that which is “weighty, substance, of true value.” Picture a set of scales, and you are measuring two (2) different things. Gold has more “glory” and has more “substance” than other substances. Thus, the side of the scale, which weighs the gold, is “weighed down”

Think about it!

It is very important to praise the Lord – to set time aside to do this—to offer not just offerings from our substance (possessions) – but our very selves as well.

When we do that, we are following the example of the priests in verse 13: “…they raised their voices and praised the LORD with these words: "He is so good! His faithful love endures forever!"

And when we consistently do that—as a habit—then, we allow the TRUE glory, substance—that which lasts and that which is eternal—to be deposited into our being.

Then, what the Lord promised with an oath in Isaiah 54 will come true: (Amplified Bible)

verse 9
For this is like the days of Noah to Me; as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you.

verse 10
For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.

If we persistently, consistently offer our possessions and ourselves to the Lord in praise,
then the “riches, abundance, splendor, reputation” and the “weightiness, substance, true lasting value” of God’s character will be deposited into our lives!

Isaiah 54 (Amplified Bible)

verse 17
This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
[those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced];
this is the righteousness
or the vindication which
they obtain from Me [this
is that which I impart to
them as their
justification], says the
Lord.

I end with quotes from The Weight of Glory, by C.S. Lewis...

"There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.

Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat.

But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendours.

This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of the kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously--no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.

And our charity must be real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinners--no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment.

Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat, the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden."

Remember: Christ is us is the CERTAIN, GUARANTEED hope of glory!… and PRAISE increases the substance of GLORY of Jesus IN and THROUGH us !

[alan mills]

"King of Righteousness" I'm reading a book on the names of Jesus, " He shall be Called" by Robert J. Morgan. A snippet from yesterday's reading hit me real hard. "I have a King who will never embarrass or disappoint me...But even better He wants to impute His Righteousness to me, so that in His sight I am just as righteous as the King of Righteousness...I'm a broken sinner. I've created my own little scandals. Moral failure has tarnished my life. I cannot help breaking my promises. BUT the King transferred my sins to His account while, at the same time transferring His Righteousness to my account. This Righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood.{Romans 3:22-25 NIV] Why did He do this for us? Drop the last letter from King and you have the answer. We are made in His image, we are His kin...Think of Him as your Righteousness. As Steve Brown would say, "I'm in" Thanks, In His grace, Alan

[Jane seaman]

This Devo below ties in with Roman 7:7 . We have freedom in Christ but we won't be chasing things of this earth that bog us down!! If we let God carry our baggage and walk in faith
Without Covetousness - Hebrews 13:5
INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS

A man’s conversation should consistently exhibit a high level of individual contentment. Defining conversation and covetousness will help to better understand Hebrews 13:5
. A man’s conversation in the Bible sometimes refers to more than the words he speaks. It frequently refers to his entire way of life. One who lives covetously desires things not belonging to him. The Bible stresses the seriousness of covetousness by connecting it to the sin of idolatry. Combining these two simple truths shows that man should never live his life chasing after things not belonging to him. Why is it so important for a Christian to live a life of contentment? Since God promises to never leave or forsake His own, a discontented Christian lacks a trust in His Creator. Understanding these simple truths should bring great contentment to the believer.