September 24th One Year Bible Readings

Isaiah 43:14-45:10 + Ephesians 3:1-21 + Psalm 68:1-18 + Proverbs 24:1-2
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Old Testament - Isaiah's word's in chapter 44 verses 18 & 19 today are classic Old Testament very direct words!  "Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think. The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, "Why, it's just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a chunk of wood?"  I wonder about us in our lives today - do we create idols of our own today?  Maybe our idols are not made out of chunks of wood these days.  But do we create idols perhaps out of other people?  Do we create idols out of material goods?  Do we create idols out of our careers?  Do we create idols out of how we spend our time?  Are you bowing down and worshiping any "chunks of wood" in your life today?  Please turn any idols you might have over to Jesus and allow him to heal you from worshiping those idols in your life!

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Isaiah titled "Dead Idols or the Living God" is at this link and "The Knowledge of the Lord" is at this link.  Below is a great image from Isaiah 44:3 from today's readings:

New Testament - Wow, Paul's opening verse 1 in chapter 3 of Ephesians today reminded me that Paul literally wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus while he was in prison in Rome!  "I, Paul, am a prisoner of Christ Jesus because of my preaching to you Gentiles."  I think if we keep this fact in mind, Paul's words in this letter become all that more poignant and powerful.  Could you ever imagine yourself being a prisoner of Jesus because of your preaching the Word to others?  I think this is something we should really consider.  Would you go to jail for Jesus?  Why or why not?  If you would go to jail for Jesus, then I challenge you to consider ways in your life that God may be asking to you indeed be like Paul "in chains for the Gospel" - even if you won't "literally" be going to jail any time soon.  (I pray not!) Maybe those chains are that you don't spend as much time doing something that is counter-productive to the Gospel.

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Ephesians titled "Paul's Imprisonment, his Prayers, and his Praise" is at this link.  Below is a great image for Ephesians 3:18 from today's readings:

Psalms - I always like the idea and reminder to sing to God!  Do you sing to God at places other than church?  Maybe in your car?  Maybe at home with the headphones on?  Do you "sing" to God with the way you live your life?  Here's verse 4 in Psalm 68 today which I love - "Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the LORD-- rejoice in his presence!"  How do you sing your praises to the Lord each day?  Is it done as passionately as this fella below?  :)

Below is a great image for Psalm 68 verse 9 from today's readings:

Proverbs - Proverbs 24 verses 1 & 2 today are powerful - "Don't envy evil people; don't desire their company. For they spend their days plotting violence, and their words are always stirring up trouble." Have you ever found yourself desiring the company of evil people?  Have you ever found yourself envying them?  The bottom line to both of these things are these three words: waste of time.  Really.  Spending your time with people who do evil - those whose words stir up trouble - is simply a waste of your time.  Envying evil people?  Waste of your time as well.  Don't waste your time!  Our life is short and precious.  Spend your time loving and serving God and other people.  I have to share with you here that being careful who you spend your time with can be very challenging in some ways.  Obviously I think all of us can see the wisdom of staying away from people who are truly evil.  But what about people who are somewhere in between being holy and being evil - which, oh, includes all of us before we were saved...  :)  There are obviously people who are in different phases of life, or on different points on a spectrum between good and evil if you will.  And this gets tough to know if you're "compromising" too much by spending time with folks who perhaps don't care about God at all, don't care about the poor at all, and don't really care about much of anything besides themselves - but yet they are not "evil" people per se.  I will confess that I do purposely avoid spending time with people who I spent A LOT of time with in my past.  This was my past where I drank too much.  Stayed out way too late.  Didn't care about God.  Didn't care about the poor.  Only cared about myself.  And you know what, praise God that I was saved from that lifestyle by Jesus - and through a godly friend who still would spend some time with me back then and eventually brought me to the point where I could give my life over to the Lord.  So, I guess what I'm saying is this - we do need to spend time investing in others who don't know the Lord.  That is not a waste of time.  But, it gets tricky to realize when we are "going back to our old ways / old self" and when we're really loving people where they are at.  I don't have this fully figured out right now, as you may guess by this long post...  :)  But I'm cognizant of it.  Our hours each and every day are so very precious...  I do pray for wisdom and discernment in this area!  How are you spending your time these days?  Wisely?  Please don't waste your very precious time that God has given you this side of heaven...

Worship Video:  Psalm 68:4 took my mind to many great worship songs.  It seems like "Awesome God" by Rich Mullins, and performed here by Michael W. Smith is a great one to share with you today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38V8jnN1Kpw

Do you know our awesome God?  Click here to meet God!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." Psalm 68:5 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you emulate God's character and that you too are a father to the fatherless. Pray that you are a defender of widows. Pray for Christians to adopt the fatherless. Pray to see whether you yourself might be called to adopt the fatherless. https://www.showhope.org/

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.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]

Isaiah 43:14-45:10

Mike you ask, “do we create idols of our own today?” I think as long as there are men and women walking the earth only when Jesus comes again will we stop creating our idols.

I’ve pondered for years why we love to create idols. My definition being anything submitted to and looked upon for deliverance and as a source of life and sustenance. We create our idols so we, by substitution, control the universe or in a smaller sphere, we control our own little universe. With an idol, we make up the rules of conduct and engagement. The problem comes in when everyone has their own little idol and they try to force others to bow down to what they have created. When that happens the strongest, manipulative, the one with the most human power, wins out.

Just when we think we have the answers given to us by a rock (crystals), mood rings, the government, along comes God and says, “Not so!”

24 The LORD, your Redeemer and Creator, says: "I am the LORD, who made all things. I alone stretched out the heavens. By myself I made the earth and everything in it. 25 I am the one who exposes the false prophets as liars by causing events to happen that are contrary to their predictions. I cause wise people to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools. 26 But I carry out the predictions of my prophets! When they say Jerusalem will be saved and the towns of Judah will be lived in once again, it will be done! 27 When I speak to the rivers and say, `Be dry!' they will be dry. 28 When I say of Cyrus, `He is my shepherd,' he will certainly do as I say. He will command that Jerusalem be rebuilt and that the Temple be restored."

Just my thoughts.

Ephesians 3:1-21

Paul seems to be one of those “Get-up-and-go” kind of guys. He appears to want to take care of business in person whether to confront or to encourage. Paul was a hands-on kind of guy. So I am glad that Paul was constrained by the Holy Spirit by way of travel plans and yes, even prison. If Paul was not confined by these things how much of the New Testament would have been written and codified?

Some of us are going through trials, bad trials. Some of us desire to do things “For God,” yet find ourselves blocked in and seemingly shut out. But God may have other plans for us that will only be accomplished when our escape routes are blocked or destroyed.

Paul was able to write this wonderful explosive prayer in chains,

14 When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. 17 And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20 Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. 21 May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.

Psalm 68:1-18

Ever wonder how loud it will be in heaven? I think the decibel level will be tremendous and we will have glorified ears so as not to destroy our eardrums. I get my clues from verses like this:

4
Sing praises to God and to his name!
Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.
His name is the LORD--
rejoice in his presence!

Ever forget where you are and start singing to God, loudly? I know I have and then looked sheepishly around me with embarrassment as folks look at my as if I’m crazy. Maybe I am crazy, crazy for God. I think it’s time I stop being embarrassed for singing out loud to God. I shouldn’t be any more embarrassed then those who argue or speak loudly on their cell phones so that everyone on the train can here them.

Proverbs 24:1-2

Truth be told we envy evil people because we want what they have. We want the things, the brashness, the boldness and the audacity to do what they do. Yet God provides boldness in Him and besides, God owns everything in the universe. For the Believer, God is our Dad,”… who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3 NET.)

(Proverbs 28:1 KJVR) The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

[Bunny]

In Isaiah 45 the account of King Cyrus —-who God named 150 years before he was born,—-as His “right hand” Is amazing.
The prophet Jeremiah showed this pagan king the scripture and he did send the Jews back to their homeland. He gave them money for the trip and for the temple.
The account of the capture of Babylon is amazing—in Babylon, while Belshazzar was having a drunken party, defiling the temple goblets that has been taken when Jerusalem was sacked, and the Medes army surrounding them, the army dried up the River by diverting it and were able to go under the iron gates. Somehow the bronze double doors were open and they just walked in.
There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that there is nothing impossible for our God

“That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
For Jacob My servant’s sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me.”

[Jane]

One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.
Luke 14:26
Family and traditions can be idols. Father/son/mother/daughter. Who holds onto traditions can become idols taking the place of God
Also Isaiah 43:25 “I am he who blots out your trangessions and remembers your son no more! We have a merciful Father!