September 30th One Year Bible Readings

Isaiah 60:1-62:5 ~ Philippians 1:27-2:18 ~ Psalm 72:1-20 ~ Proverbs 24:11-12
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Old Testament - Today in Isaiah chapter 60 we read about Jerusalem's future glory!  Verses 4 through 6 tell us - "Look and see, for everyone is coming home! Your sons are coming from distant lands; your little daughters will be carried home. Your eyes will shine, and your hearts will thrill with joy, for merchants from around the world will come to you. They will bring you the wealth of many lands. Vast caravans of camels will converge on you, the camels of Midian and Ephah. From Sheba they will bring gold and incense for the worship of the LORD."

Beautiful imagery in verses 8 & 9 - "And what do I see flying like clouds to Israel, like doves to their nests? They are the ships of Tarshish, reserved to bring the people of Israel home. They will bring their wealth with them, and it will bring great honor to the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he will fill you with splendor."

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Isaiah titled "The Spirit-filled Servant and the Kingdom of God" is at this link.

New Testament - Our readings in Philippians chapter 2 today have some powerful verses on imitating Jesus’ humility. In verses 3 & 4 we read:  “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Are you doing nothing out of selfish ambition or vanity in your life today? Are you humble? Do you consider others better than yourself? Do you look to the interests of others?  I realize these can be hard teachings to put into practice – in fact, it seems almost impossible in our modern world.  But, let us remember that indeed all things are possible with Jesus Christ in our lives and hearts.  Let us not give up on imitating Jesus’ humility in our lives today.  I pray each of us is becoming more like Jesus in some small or significant way each and every day.  Don’t stop the transformation process.  Don’t quench the Spirit.  Let God change you.

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Philippians titled "The Ultimate in Humility - Leaving the Comfort Zone" is at this link.

Psalms - I'll admit.  I pay attention every single time the Bible talks about serving the poor.  And it is a lot.  And I think it is for a reason.  Here it is again in Psalm 72 verses 12 & 13, speaking about Israel's king - "He will rescue the poor when they cry to him; he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them. He feels pity for the weak and the needy, and he will rescue them."  What about us today?  Does this Psalm speak to us?  Should we perhaps be "kingly" in this regard?  Do we rescue the poor when they cry to us?  (do we even listen for their cry?)  Do we help the oppressed and those who have no one to defend them?  Do we feel pity for the weak and needy?  Do we rescue them?  Do I?  Do you? 

Verse 20 tells us - "This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse." And below is a painting of an older King David... perhaps playing a Psalm he wrote...?

Proverbs -  Today in Proverbs chapter 24 verse 12 we read – “If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?”  This reminds me of the old adage that we are “either part of the problem or we are part of the solution”.  If we say “we knew nothing about this” related to some issue in our world today, do you think that God will know if this is truth or a lie?  What is going on in our world today where you feel like you perhaps should be taking some action on being part of the solution?  What is an atrocity that you are being called to help solve?  Do you think you should now move forward and be part of the solution?  If you do nothing – if you say you “knew nothing about this” – will you then instead be part of the problem?  Will you move forward on being part of the solution to issues in our world that God is calling you to?

YouTube - Today's readings in Isaiah, Psalms and Proverbs all remind me of the Steven Curtis Chapman song "Yours:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-ERm0_tuKM

Do you believe than anything is truly yours?  Click here and hand it over to God!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on two verses of Scripture today: "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." Philippians 2:14-15 (NIV)

Prayer Point: Pray that you do everything without complaining or arguing. Pray that you are blameless and pure in this crooked and depraved generation. Pray that you shine like a star in the universe, through your saving faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord & 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

[Ramona]

Isaiah 60:1-62:5

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. (Isaiah 61:1-3 KJV)

Have we ever really stopped to think about these three verses, do we admire the prose more than its content? Jesus stood up in the Temple and proclaimed this about Himself (Luke 4:18-21). I copied in the King James because in the NLT, in this particular case, a lot is lost. It is not just the poor, meaning lack of resources, this preaching/good news, is directed too, but to those who are meek in the Hebrew states:
‛ânâv ‛ânâyv
aw-nawv', aw-nawv' depressed (figuratively), in mind (gentle) or circumstances (needy, especially saintly)

There are many who have an abundance of resources or at least enough to live on. In fact, God has given to each according to his abilities but we have not recognized either the value of what God has given us, or we like the servant who buried his talent, refuse to acknowledge that we are to do something with it. Poverty, or lack of financial resources, is relative based on the culture, climate and economic system you live in anyway. When I read the above verses I am reminded that my biggest job is to work with people in identifying the gifts God has given them and help them place a true value on that gift. The greatest poverty is spiritual poverty. When you are in “poverty,” you recognize neither the God who created you nor the God who gifted you with your gifts, talents and abilities.

Without seeing yourself as God sees you, without valuing yourself as God values you, you will never be able to get out of spiritual poverty. All of the stated bondage listed in Isaiah 61:1-3 are not physical conditions but spiritual conditions from which everything else flows.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

[Richie MV]

Paul describes how he wants the followers of Christ to spread the Word and be joyful about it. Since Jesus came down from the level of God to be a man and suffer with us, God had brought him to the highest place in heaven. We should also believe in and suffer for God so we and others can be with him too.

[Heidi MV]

This Phillipians passage is a very commonly read one at church and memorized during AWANA. Verses 12-18 is a reminder that we should not complain or "grumble" while doing anything. Because we will "shine among them like stars in the sky." In a world that loves complaining, if we can learn how to not complain and grumble while doing anything, we will stand out in the world like stars in a dark night sky. Super applicable for me.

[Karen MV]

Paul was not only imprisoned at the time of writing this letter, he was awaiting the end of a trial that would eventually put him to death. It was in such circumstance that he wrote these words. The clarity of who Jesus was to him and his own purpose and mission in life was to imitate Christ gave Paul the ultimate courage and peace to face anything even death for his faith. While I am not even asked to imitate Christ in this way YET, what am I striving to imitate at the moment that is worthy to be called His followers?

[Shinya MV]

We shouldn't do anything in selfish ambition and/or conceit, instead we should do it in interest of others and yourself. Jesus is the ultimate example of humility. Paul describes the mind of Christ, but before he tells us, he tells us what we ought to do with the information. Then in verse 11, it says that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord. It kind of reminded me of Romans 10:9 "If we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

[Angela MV]

When I read the passage from Philippians, there were two parts that stood out to me the most. One of them was Philippians 1:29, which says "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him." I think this is an important verse because although faith is crucial, if we suffer for the sake of Jesus we know that our faith is strong. Maybe we believe in Christ but are not willing to suffer for him.

The other few verses that stuck out to me was Philippians 2:5-8. Here, it says that Jesus humbled himself and became a servant, obeying God without asking questions. Jesus freely gave himself to die for our sins on the cross. When you read those verses, you feel kind of ashamed. Because Jesus came to earth as a servant, when he could have been sitting on a throne in heaven with God! How humble Christ was when he died on the cross. Paul says we should have the same mindset in our relationships with each other: humble and obedient.

[Jessie MV]

When I read the verses in today's Philippians passage, I remembered the times when I disobeyed what Paul said. It's often easy to want to argue or complain. And as a student, I usually study with the mindset of getting a good grade for my own accomplishment. But the verses the Paul wrote says to never work for our sake, but to "work out our salvation... to fulfill His good purpose". I hope I remember that at each start of a new day!

[Jack mv]

Isaiah had foretold the suffering of Christ in chapter 53. Today's passages he's painting a future picture for the Israelites (us believers). The verses stand out to me are:"your sun will never set again, your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end". There's faith and there's hope just like in Hebrews 11, although we can not see yet by faith we know it will happen. God is faithful.

[Jodie MV]

Today's Philippian passage is a reminder for me to exam my attitude.

[Ryan MV]

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, This passage is an important because i feel like the world needs to see and follow this