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This is a podcast sharing thoughts and insights for the accompanying the daily reading schedule for the book, Reading the Bible Cover to Cover in 365 Days.
Welcome to day 308 of Reading the Bible Cover to Cover in 365 Days!
Let us pray:
O Lord, thank You for sending Your Son to teach us about You and save us from our sins. Help us hear the message You have for us today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let’s see what Jesus is teaching in Mark chapter 13!
Jesus talks about the end times. Many will proclaim to be Jesus, and many will be swayed to believe in them. Verse 13 says, “And you will be hated and detested by everybody for My name’s sake, but he who patiently perseveres and endures to the end will be saved (made a partaker of the salvation by Christ, and delivered from spiritual death).” Perseverance and endurance. Let us pray for these things now so we are prepared to face whatever comes our way.
Verse 33 says, “Be on your guard [constantly alert], and watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come.” Then Jesus talks about servants in charge of a household when the owner leaves. We are the servants. He is the Owner of the household. We do not know when He will return, but Jesus urges us to be on watch. The word watch is mentioned four times in the last five verses of this chapter. May we watch, be on our guard, and continue to prepare our hearts for His coming.
Let’s see what Peter is writing in I Peter chapter 4!
He writes about suffering and persecution. He encourages the people to stay strong in their faith through suffering and give glory to God that they were worthy enough to suffer. This lines up with Jesus’ sermon on the Mount – the Beatitudes. Matthew 5:11-12 says, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and falsely utter all kinds of evil against you on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
The Gentiles persecuted people because, in the past, both the Israelites and the Gentiles were ruled by their sinful hearts. They all spent time over-drinking and over-indulging in immoral activities but stopped when the new believers were saved. The dislike for these new believers incited more dislike and, ultimately, persecution. Peter points out that we can barely stand up under this kind of duress and wonders what will happen to those who aren’t saved. May we continue to stand firm and endure in our faith until the Lord brings us home and be the examples others will want to follow so, they will be saved, too. God’s heart is that everyone will come to Him and worship Him.
Verse 8 is underlined in my Bible and says, “Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].” Love does cover sin. Jesus is love, and His love covered our sins. Are we not then obligated to protect one another’s sins? May we love one another past each other’s sins just as God does. We can ask God to help us love the unlovable. For He loves us all and will put abundant love in our hearts.
Let’s see what Ezekiel is writing in chapter 3!
God gave Ezekiel a scroll to eat, absorb, and fully receive. He writes it was sweet as honey. There are several references to God’s words being sweet as honey. Psalm 119:103 says, “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” You can look up more, too. God’s visions and words are sweet to our souls – more precious than honey.
God told him to go live among the people. God warned him over and over that the people would likely not heed the words he’d say to them. The Lord gave him supernatural strength to tell them anyway. Again, we see God’s perseverance to pursue His people. After God strengthened him, He lifted him to His presence. Often, when God gives us a difficult task, He shows us His glory. We need to be reminded how magnificent He is, and then our task is not so hard. Ezekiel saw how hard it would be even though the Lord’s strength was with him.
Ezekiel was made the watchman over God’s people. This was an all-important job that he needed to take very seriously. He was tasked with telling the people about their sins and asking for their repentance. He was personally liable for the sin if he didn’t deliver the message. So, Ezekiel had to tell it like it was and not sugar-coat anything. If the people didn’t repent, then sin was upon them, not Ezekiel.
In Chapter 4, Ezekiel was to act out the sinful years of the Israelites, which was 390 years, and 40 years for the sins of Judah. Each year was represented by a day that Ezekiel enacted.
First, he was instructed to draw an outline of the city of Jerusalem on a tile and put a siege wall against it. Then, put a plate of iron between him and the city. This symbolized the siege held against Judah and then God’s protection taken away from them. Next, he was instructed to make bread from different grains, symbolizing there wouldn’t be enough to eat, so they’d have to eat whatever they could. God also instructed him to bake the bread from the fire of human feces. Ezekiel refuted the instruction and asked God if He would allow him another way to bake the bread. The Lord conceded and allowed him to use cow dung instead. This enactment demonstrated the degradation and destruction that befell the people because they had sinned against the Lord. Their sins were many, and their recompense was next to impossible to endure. May we pray for the strength to be obedient to the Lord in all we do. He has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to lead us through the sacrifice of His Son. We can be grateful that He sent His Son to save us.
Let’s see what we can learn from Psalm 127!
Psalm 127 is short and powerful. It is another ascent psalm sung on the eighth step leading up to the temple. It is also cited as a psalm of Solomon. David may have written it for Solomon or by Solomon himself.
Everything happens by God’s hand. No matter how hard we work, if our work isn’t in God’s plan, it won’t be blessed. There seems also to be a warning about working too hard. Verse 2 says, “It is vain for you to rise early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil – for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep.” The Lord blesses us. May we look to Him for our blessings instead of overworking to achieve them.
Let us pray:
O Lord, thank You for being the Almighty God that You are. Father, keep us at Your feet, learning about You. Keep our hearts soft toward You so that we hear Your gentle whispers. Bend our will to Yours, and help us follow You instead of our will. In Jesus’ name, amen.