August 9th One Year Bible Readings

Ezra 8:21-9:15 + 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 + Psalm 31:1-8 + Proverbs 21:1-2
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Old Testament - Today in Ezra chapter 8 we read about Ezra & crew's return from the exile in Babylon to Jerusalem.  And below are some very artistic :) scenes from this journey (well, except keep in mind that the Temple had already been rebuilt by the time Ezra & crew arrive - this image would have been better for the early chapters in Ezra...) -

Below is an image for Ezra chapter 9 verses 1 through 3: "But then the Jewish leaders came to me and said, "Many of the people of Israel, and even some of the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the other peoples living in the land. They have taken up the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. For the men of Israel have married women from these people and have taken them as wives for their sons... To make matters worse, the officials and leaders are some of the worst offenders." When I heard this, I tore my clothing, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down utterly shocked."  And then a wonderful prayer of repentance from Ezra on behalf of the Israelites comes forth in the remainder of chapter 9 today. When is the last time you prayed a prayer of repentance? Should we pray prayers of repentance regularly?

New Testament - Wow... there is a lot going on in Paul's words in First Corinthians chapter 5 today.  The first half of verse 6 stands out: "How terrible that you should boast about your spirituality, and yet you let this sort of thing go on."  This is such a trap I think for many of us - boasting about our spirituality.  It is a very dangerous trap too.  Why do you suppose Paul would say this is a terrible thing to boast about your spirituality?   I think it is because when you boast about your spirituality, you have lost humility and you have in a sense put yourself in the place of God.  You've elevated yourself too high.  And Jesus says we are to be humble.  Here comes a tangent - :) - I was listening to talk radio recently and I heard some guy talking about Kabala - the Jewish mysticism religion that is very popular these days - particularly with some Hollywood celebrities.  Well, I won't say that this guy was boasting about his spirituality... but maybe he was.  :)  The great thing I thought was then a guy studying to be a rabbi called in and basically went off on this guy.  The caller said that this guy was far too confident and boastful in his discussions of who God is and how God works.  And the caller said that he had studied the Torah for all of his life and he still considered himself only a student.  I wish I could remember his exact words - but he said something along the lines that "one will always be a student of the Torah.  Never it's master."  Something like that.  I loved it!  It was so humble and true.  And I think you and I would do well to realize that we will always be students of the Bible - never its master.   And we need to realize how terrible it truly is for us to boast about our spirituality in any way - either publicly or in our own minds.  As this image says below, "Boast only in the cross."  Amen...

 

The second half of verse 6 is powerful for us to consider as well - "Don't you realize that if even one person is allowed to go on sinning, soon all will be affected?"  This is so true.  Sin is an infection that will infect others.  Or, another way to look at this - when we sin we are affecting / infecting others.  Nobody sins in a vacuum.  It affects the whole community.  It affects everyone you know in some way.  Paul goes on later in this chapter to say in verse 12 - "It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your job to judge those inside the church who are sinning in these ways." Paul really has what will appear to our modern ears to be some strong / harsh words for Christians who sin in the ways listed in verse 11 - "What I meant was that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a Christian yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler."  I think there is truth in his words - but we need to walk a fine line.  There are people who are Christian who do struggle with sin - sin that indeed will infect / affect others.  And I think we are absolutely called to speak the truth in love into those Christians lives to point out their sin and encourage them to repentance.  But... I think there does come a point where we may have to realize that someone simply will not or does not want to repent of their sin.  And then it may be time to prayerfully follow Paul's words about avoiding and removing that type of person from your church.  I don't know - let me know what you think?  How / when do we draw the line of speaking the truth in love to a Christian stuck in sin?  And when do we avoid and/or remove them from our churches?  Is this too harsh?   Are Paul's word's too harsh?  Even if they are harsh, are they true? 

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in First Corinthians titled "Church Discipline: Taking Sin Seriously" is at this link.

Psalms - Psalm 31 verse 1 is such a powerful start to this powerful Psalm of David's - "O LORD, I have come to you for protection; don't let me be put to shame.  Rescue me, for you always do what is right."  In your life today, do you need protection from something?  If so, will you run to God for your protection?   Do you believe that God can rescue you?  Do you believe that God can save you from shame?  Do you believe that God always does what is right?  Did you catch that verse 5 from this Psalm were Jesus' last words on the cross.... "Into your hands I commit my spirit." (NIV)  Here it is from Luke 23:46 - "Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last."

 

Proverbs - Proverbs 21 verse 2 is so true - "People may think they are doing what is right, but the LORD examines the heart."  Interesting Proverb to meditate upon.  Do you suppose it is possible that we may think we are doing what is right, but that it's not really right?  Why would this happen?  Do you believe that God examines your heart?  I am so thankful that he does examine our hearts!  I am afraid that at times we may deceive ourselves.  We may start down a path or course that we think is right - or that our friends or the world tells us is right - but it's not.  The "governor" (in both senses of the word) that can keep us from continuing down this foolish path is God.  God constantly examines our heart.  And he can instantly see if our motives are not pure.  Then, the trick becomes for us to actually listen to God.  This can be the challenge.  I heard a sermon recently at church about how God came to the prophet Elijah in a whisper.  And that God comes to us today oftentimes in a whisper - in that still small voice.  All this to say - I hope you are thankful that God examines your heart.  And - I hope you find time to really be still before God and let him tell you if the motives of your heart are not pure.  Let him tell you if you are doing something that you think is right, but that is not.  Who better is there to truly examine your heart than God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit?

Worship Video:  Today's readings reminded me of Phil Wickham's song "Hymn of Heaven:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjB0mkj0XaM

Do you know the hymn of heaven? Click here to sing in heaven forevermore!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this week: "But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with any who claim to be fellow believers but are sexually immoral or greedy, idolaters or slanderers, drunkards or swindlers. With such persons do not even eat." 1 Corinthians 5:11 TNIV

Prayer Point: Pray for those in your church who claim to be believers, but who are sexually immoral, greedy, idolaters, slanderers, drunkards or swindlers. Pray for their repentance and restoration to the fellowship. Pray for church discipline, if necessary. Pray you won't ever be lead astray by those living in sin.

Comments from You:  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.s. #2 - Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

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Comments

[Ramona]

Ezra 8:21-9:15

Ezra so spoke up about His God that he was caught by his words. I don’t think that is a bad thing but a good thing. Saying that our God is all that is a very good thing, but allowing Him to be all that is another matter.

When our words force us to walk in “faith” not only do we show others the power of God but we also show ourselves that God is faithful. God told Joshua to mediate on the “Book of the Law” day and night so that he would have success (Joshua 1:8) The words we speak out loud will either cause us to commit to the words we have spoken or we become hypocrites and are seen as all talk and no action. So that we will speak the Words of God and know the Words of God, we must mediate on the Word He has given us.

To Mediate: H1897 (Strong’s Number)
הגה
hâgâh
haw-gaw'
A primitive root (compare H1901); to murmur (in pleasure or anger); by implication to ponder: - imagine, meditate, mourn, mutter, roar, X sore, speak, study, talk, utter.

In chapter nine we read about the danger of “being unequally yoked together with unbelievers,” again. Solomon had joined himself with strange foreign woman, all those “ites,” and had been led astray to worship and make idols of all the gods of the wives he married. Judah had just returned from exile after falling into sin, yet she fell into the same ‘ole traps.

Yesterday or was it the day before yesterday, Vance mentioned the humility of Paul and today we see the humility of Ezra. The Western cultural, at least in the United States, sees humility as a weakness, it is not considered an admirable trait especially in the business world. Moses was a humble man as measured by God’s standard (Num 12:3) and I’ve wrestled with that and tried to figure out what made him so. Ezra and Moses did two things the samethat may be the common denominator, the prayed for the people.

Maybe humility, biblical humility, is when you identify yourself with the sin of the people even when you personally have not done what you are praying for are repenting of. Ezra used the word “we” instead of them. Is the sign of humility the innate propensity to say us instead of them?

I Corinthians 5:1-13

I’m not sure if this is correct biblical theology but I believe when we allow “sin” to live among us, we protect the sinner from the immediate consequences of his or her behavior thus shielding them from the need to repent, a deadly and dangerous state. . However, the effects of the sin on the entire body begin destroying the group from within and not from without. That is seen in today’s reading of Ezra and in the history of Judah and Israel. Paul states,

A little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise! (Gal 5:9 NET.)

Psalm 31:1-8

Time and time again our readings from different books written at different times, deal with the same thingsor theme, almost.

In the seventh verse, David says how he hates those who worship worthless idols. When a person makes the choice to walk righteously and not to join in the worship of those who are into idolatry, they will make enemies and those enemies will try to entrap them. The same battles David had, Ezra had and the church at Corinth.

I hate those who serve worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord. I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness, because you notice my pain and you are aware of how distressed I am. You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy; you enable me to stand in a wide open place.
(Psa 31:6-8 NET.)

Proverbs 21:1-2
All of a person's ways seem right in his own opinion, but the Lord evaluates the motivations. (Pro 21:2 NET.)

These exact words are also written in the second verse of Proverbs 16. They must be very important. God is the only one who truly knows our heart and its intent. We don’t even know all the time why we do and say the things we do and say because past hurts and grudges color our thinking and make us self-deceived,

Grace and peace,
Ramona

[Dd]

I love that Ramona..saying and walking it out are 2 different things. It is one thing to profess Jesus as Lord but to walk it out is another story! Yes!! I pray I always stay faithful both in word and deed.

I believe too that when sin is among us and not dealt with it becomes a stinch and can affect us badly. Sometimes as Christians we have to do the hard things..however the biggest thing to hold is do things in love.

Into thee I commit my spirit! Wow..it's hard to hear and know what Jesus or be reminded of his goodness and awesome power..He is all that and mighty.

I hope and pray my intentions are true today Lord. I love u