April 27th One Year Bible Readings

Judges 7:1-8:17 + Luke 23:13-43 + Psalm 97:1-98:9 + Proverbs 14:7-8
~ Click here to read today's Scripture on Bible Gateway ~
~ Listen to today's Scripture with Tom Dooley’s terrific NLT 1996 readings at this link (**ERROR message? Clear the "cache" on your browser OR try another browser**) or The ESV Bible: OT + NT + Psalms + Proverbs ~

Old Testament - Okay, the big question from today's readings in Judges is are you the type of person that cups water in your hands and laps it up like a dog or are you someone who kneels down and puts your mouth directly in the stream to drink??  :)  I confess I'm option #1, so I guess I would have gone on with Gideon for the battle. In all seriousness, a commentary suggested that God chose those that cupped water in their hands rather than kneeled down, because it meant those who didn't kneel down were always ready for any emergency situation that might come up.  I guess I can buy that...  Nowadays perhaps the person who is always ready may be the person who drinks directly from the water cooler like this guy?? :)

Much of our readings in Judges chapter 7 & 8 today are like Braveheart! Quite action packed readings today!  An image is below for Judges chapter 7 verses 19 & 20: "It was just after midnight, after the changing of the guard, when Gideon and the one hundred men with him reached the outer edge of the Midianite camp. Suddenly, they blew the horns and broke their clay jars. Then all three groups blew their horns and broke their jars. They held the blazing torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands and shouted, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!""

New Testament - Today in Luke chapter 23 verse 34 we read this when Jesus was on the cross: "Jesus said, "Father, forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing.""  Tyndale's One Year Bible companion has a great commentary on this verse today, as follows - "There are seven sayings of Jesus uttered from the cross.  They were spoken in the following order:

1) the word of forgiveness: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:24)

2) the word of salvation: "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43)

3) the word of affection: "Woman, behold thy son"; "Behold thy mother." (John 19:26-27)

4) the word of despair: "My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?" (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34)

5) the word of physical torment: "I thirst" (John 19:28)

6) the word of triumph: "It is finished" (John 19:30)

7) the word of committal: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.""

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Luke chapter 23 titled "The Rejection of Israel's Messiah" is at this link.

Psalms - Psalm 97 verses 10 & 11 are so spiritually powerful & true: "You who love the LORD, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked. Light shines on the godly, and joy on those who do right."  I do believe that God protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked.  Honestly, I believe that God does this in our lives much more often than we even consciously realize.  I am sure there are a few moments in our life when we fully realize we were being protected by God.  But, I also have a strong belief that God protects us from unforeseen things that never entered our consciousness.  Do bad things still happen to godly people?  Yes, of course they do.  Why?  I can't answer this - I've heard C.S. Lewis' book "The Problem of Pain" gets at this a bit.  I need to read it.  We are in a fallen world.  There is evil and an enemy in this world.  Bad things do happen.  But, overall, I believe these verses above are so true.  I do believe that light shines on the godly and joy on those who do right.  Do you believe these verses above to be true?  Have you experienced the truth of these verses in your life?

Proverbs - Proverbs chapter 14 verse 8 is great wisdom - "The wise look ahead to see what is coming, but fools deceive themselves."  Jesus taught that we should live our lives not worrying about tomorrow.  However - this Proverb does show there is wisdom in looking ahead to see what is coming.  Don't worry about it - but pay attention to it!  For example, we shouldn't deceive ourselves into thinking that we can be reckless with our health today - we should know what this will do to us tomorrow.  We should see what is coming.

Worship Video: Today's readings in Luke remind me of the song "Mighty to Save" sung here live by Michael W. Smith:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYZQ6KN13jU

Has God saved you? Click here for Salvation!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations." Psalm 98:2 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you are involved in the Great Commission and are helping spread the Good News to the nations of the LORD's salvation and righteousness.

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  How do you think we should balance wisely looking ahead to see what is coming versus not worrying about tomorrow?  Should we be looking toward the future on occasion?  Or just try to stay focused on today?  Also, 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.

p.s. #3 - I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!

Comments

[Ramona]

Judges 7:1-8:17

God always gets us into a place where we cannot depend or rely on our own strength. With our backs against the wall and no other route out, God steps in and defeats our enemy. Gideon, aka Jerubbaal, had a tough task; he had to deal with the Midianites with only three hundred men. The Battle indeed was the Lord’s. But as God will do as the God of All Comfort, He gave Gideon a Word that not only comforted him but a Word that encouraged. He allowed him to hear and sense the fear of the enemy; they feared God, but they didn’t fear Him enough to turn to Him and surrender to His Will.

Just like the Midianites we can find ourselves fighting against God, setting ourselves up to be defeated by just a “handful” of men, men who become a mighty host when God is the captain. On the other hand if the Lord is leading your army against an enemy, don’t get “cocky” and do what Gideon did, assumed that everything he did after God’s victory was okay with God.. (Stay tuned tomorrow)
What was of God and what was of Gideon? So too I can find myself mixing up what God has said and what I have said. Has God told me to do something and then I tell myself its ok to add on, convincing myself that it was God who told me?

Luke 23:13-43

Why do we try to gather up a posse when we know that we are about to make a decision that is wrong, a decision that goes against the very fiber of our being? We try to turn the mob to our way of thinking and if we can’t we flip and go to the other side. The “crowd” was waiting for a deliver; however the deliverance that Jesus was bringing they didn’t want because they were looking for life in the wrong places. Life is not in the living it is in the knowing, the knowing, believing and trusting in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 97:1-98:9

The following two verses in the 98th chapter really caught my eye and imagination,

2 The LORD has announced his victory
and has revealed his righteousness to every nation!

3 He has remembered his promise to love and be faithful to Israel.
The whole earth has seen the salvation of our God.

God has revealed His righteousness to every nation, not just Israel or the United States. If h had revealed who He is then we have used our ability to choose to accept or reject what has been opened to us, so too God’s salvation (verse 3)

Proverbs 14:7-8

I’m am currently taking a writing class and for my second assignment I wrote a piece called “Silly Women,” and although I focused on women, I know that silly men are all around me and they usually “hook-up” with silly women. Since I wrote that piece, I’ve been trying to figure out what makes someone “silly,” but all I had to do was wait for today’s reading, “silly,” or at lest my understanding of what that means can be found in verse eight,

8 The wise look ahead to see what is coming, but fools deceive themselves.

Cause and effect; reaping and sowing; payback, all can be seen when one looks at the Big Picture instead of thinking one lives independent of consequences streaming out of behavior and choices.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

[Dee]

I believe we should look ahead at how to build the kingdom. It is important to help and give unto the widows and orphans. We talked about missions in church today. It is so much better to give than receive. Love u guys