September 29th One Year Bible Readings

Isaiah 57:15-59:21 ~ Philippians 1:1-26 ~ Psalm 71:1-24 ~ Proverbs 24:9-10
~ Click here to read today's Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~ // Mobile Site Link
~ Listen to today's Scripture on One Year Bible Online Audio, ESVBible.org: OT, NT, Psalms, Proverbs or DailyAudioBible.com (podcast) ~

Old Testament - Today in Isaiah chapter 57 verses 20 & 21 we have a chance to think about that sometimes elusive word "peace": ""But those who still reject me are like the restless sea. It is never still but continually churns up mire and dirt. There is no peace for the wicked," says my God."  I don't know about you, but I know I have gone through many days of my life without true peace - and many days with true peace.  And I do honestly believe that there is no peace in our lives apart from God.  When we live our lives solely for our own selfish motives, we live a very chaotic un-restful un-peaceful life I believe.  But, when we turn our lives over to God, when we embrace God, when we love God, and when we are obedient to God's will for our lives, we come to know true peace!  And it is indeed a peace that surpasses all understanding.  I pray that each of us is walking in the light of God's peace this very day.  And tomorrow.  And the next day.  Please, don't ever step out of the peace of God and back into the chaos of living for yourself.  I know this can seem to be a glib saying at first glance, but there's a whole lot of truth to this one:

Today in Isaiah chapter 59 we read about warnings against sin - which were written for Israel in 8th century B.C.  Do you think we should heed these warnings today as well?  Any of these warnings in chapter 59 sound like they could have been written for our modern day?   In verses 9 & 10 today we read - "It is because of all this evil that deliverance is far from us. That is why God doesn't punish those who injure us. No wonder we are in darkness when we expected light. No wonder we are walking in the gloom. No wonder we grope like blind people and stumble along. Even at brightest noontime, we fall down as though it were dark. No wonder we are like corpses when compared to vigorous young men!"  When I read these verses above and look at this image below, I for some reason think of people in our world today who are addicted to pornography.  Pornography is a horrific sin that indeed turns vigorous young men into "corpses" of themselves.  Pornography sells you "vigor", but it delivers just the opposite - death.  I pray that if anyone reading this is addicted to pornography that you'll run for your very life to counseling.  Seriously.  Your life is too short and precious to walk around like a corpse any more!  Go for God!  You likely can't pull out of the addiction on your own.  You'll need help - immediately.  Find an addiction counselor in your town ASAP.  Please don't walk in the darkness of this deadly addiction anymore...

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Isaiah chapter 57 titled "God's Condemnation or God's Comfort" is at this link.

New Testament - Today we begin Paul's letter to the church in Philippi!  See # 5 on the map below -

~ Philippians ~
Author: Paul the apostle
Place: Rome
Date: A.D. 61
Content: Paul wrote this letter from prison in Rome to some very dear friends in Philippi as a response to their sending some money to him in order to meet his needs. He begins by expressing his confidence in them and then describes dome of the problems he faces in Rome. Whether he will die or not he does not know, but if death does come, he will rejoice in the presence of Christ. If he remains, he will continue to serve God by serving the churches. The example of Christ’s humility is set before the Philippians as an example to follow. False teachings are to be vigorously rejected. Two quarreling sisters are admonished to make up and all believers are admonished to set high ideals for themselves because God will supply all that one needs in life.
Theme: In this very personal letter of Paul the theme of rejoicing may be seen throughout. If one lives, he may rejoice because God loves him. Christ died for him, and all things are given to him by God for his life. If one dies, then he may rejoice by being in Christ’s presence forevermore. This does not mean that Christians will have no problems, however. Even as Jesus had to endure the cross, so we must be ready to follow that example of submission to God, if it must be. But we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:2) and should live with that thought constantly before us. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers “The One Year Bible Companion” p. 27)  More great commentary on Philippians is at this link.

Today in Philippians chapter 1 verse 21 we read this powerful statement of Paul's:

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Philippians titled "Paul's Perspective on Life and Death" is at this link.

Psalms - Today in Psalm 71 verses 6 through 8 we will read - "Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother's womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you! My life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection. That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long."  This is so true that God has cared for each of us since we were in our mother's womb!  This is a beautiful thing to realize.  There is an interesting thought in these verses - if our live is an example to many - and well, yes, it really is no matter what we actually do.  Hopefully our life is a good example - but there could be seasons of bad example too... If our lives are good examples to many, why is this so?  I agree with the Psalmist - it is simply because of God in our lives.  Is God literally your strength and protection?  Do you praise God unceasingly?   Do you declare God's glory all day long?   How do you do so?

Proverbs - Interesting Proverb chapter 24 verse 10 - "If you fail under pressure, your strength is not very great."  I think sometimes we forget that pressure is where we grow.  God will not give us more than we can handle.  Our key is to not fail under pressure.  Stay with the healing / fine tuning / pruning that God is placing you under - even if it comes with pressure.  For at the end of the pressure is transformation.  Let us not fail under the high pressure systems of life that will periodically come our way...

YouTube - Today's discussion in Isaiah above about pornography reminded me of the movie starring Kirk Cameron called Fireproof.  Have you seen this movie yet?  It is terrific! It is an awesome movie about marriage and God. Kirk's character does struggle with pornography in the movie, but is redeemed. Please see the movie soon if you can. Below is the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5lSu6GkC2k

Do you think you are Fireproof?  Click here for a Fireproof faith!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21 (NIV)

Prayer Point: Pray that you are living for Christ. Pray that you are not living for the world. Pray that you are looking forward to dying because you know that you will live in eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior.

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

Grace, love, peace, and joy!
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

[Ann]

Proven Men (provenmen.org) has excellent tools for breaking addiction to pornography.

[Karen MV]

It's comforting to know that the Lord sees the injustice and will redeem those who trust in Him. Perhaps the redemption does not come on earth, but surely in eternity.

In Philippians 1:21 "for to me to live is Christ, to die is gain", Paul being imprisoned was clear in the reason of his suffering. He remained bold in his teaching and even had the strength to encourage the believers that were not in chains. How often do we dwindle into our own self pity and bitterness in times of suffering. We can only overcome by having the right perspective in the purpose of difficult times in our lives.

[Jodie MV]

“This is my prayer for you: that your love for Jesus will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love; that you will see the difference between good and evil and choose the good; that you will be pure and blameless for the coming of Christ; that you will be filled with the fruit of right living in your life by Christ to bring glory and praise to God.”(Philippians‬ ‭1:9-11‬)

[Jack mv]

Psalm 71:3 "Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress." My parallel to David's world, the corporate world which is relentless and ruthless. There's great desire to perform under tremendous pressure. Though there's no immediate life danger but there's mental stress nonetheless.
This passage leads me to pray with a sincere heart that I can lean on God and He is faithful and He will do it. Amen.

[Richie MV]

Paul used the fact that he is in chains to encourage others to preach the good news even more. He is more concerned about whether it is preached than the motives of the people who are preaching. We should be like Paul, that worldly things don't get in the way of us carrying out the Lord's plans.

[Ryan MV]

But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,

I feel that we don't always put God first