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Day 119 of Reading the Bible Cover to Cover in 365 days commentary, insights and thoughts. If you would like to follow along with the book offered exclusively on Amazon, please refer to https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Bible-Cover-365Days/dp/B0B6XSNMY6/ref=mp_s_a_1_90
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 119 of Reading the Bible Cover to Cover in 365 Days!
Let us pray:
O Lord, thank You for the freedom to read Your Word. Help us receive the message You have for us today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let’s see what’s happening in Mark chapter 2!
We see Jesus is back at Peter’s house. He healed a man who was paralyzed and dropped through the ceiling by his friends. There were some scribes who questioned what Jesus told this man. He told him his sins were forgiven. The scribes just couldn’t reconcile this within themselves because no one on earth was given that kind of power. We may have wondered about it too if we were them. One important thing to notice is that Jesus could see what they were thinking. He knows what we are thinking as well. For years, I feel like I tried to hide. Hide from the Lord, the people around me, and even myself at times. But God sees our hearts. Now I try and live in a constant state of surrender. It’s best to surrender everything even our thoughts to the Most High God, for He knows our thoughts before we think them. Let us surrender even more today than yesterday, and let the Lord fill us with His Holy Spirit.
Jesus finds one more disciple Matthew, the tax collector. We know tax collectors of the day were notorious sinners. But Jesus spent time with Matthew and his tax collector friends. He said He came for the sinners not the already strong in faith. Of course, the Pharisees didn’t like the company He kept.
The Pharisees kept finding fault with Jesus. He and His disciples didn’t fast, and they didn’t keep the Sabbath. Jesus tells them about the sacred bread David ate. We will read about this later in I Samuel. I point it out because it’s coming up shortly!
Let’s see what the author of Hebrews has for us today in chapter 4!
There is so much wisdom in this chapter. We read about faith. Faith the Israelites didn’t have. They also didn’t have unity with ones who did have faith – Joshua and Caleb.
The author of Hebrews references Psalm 95:7-8 which say, “For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice, Harden not your hearts as at Meribah and as at Massah in the of temptation in the wilderness.” He writes about the Israelites not resting even once they went into the land of Canaan. But there is a true “Sabbath-rest reserved for the [true] people of God.” Verse 10 says, “For he who has once entered [God’s] rest also has ceased from [the weariness and pain] of human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His own.” He then goes onto encourage us to pursue this rest and experience it for ourselves because, once experienced, our faith is unshakable. Yes, the Lord grants us rest from the burdens and difficulties that are in our external world – the world around us. While our circumstances may be hard, our hearts can remain soft.
Verse 16 is underlined in my Bible and says, “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].” He encourages us to go boldly to the throne of grace and confess our sins. He also tells us there is help ready and waiting for us. Imagine that! We have help from almighty God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the angels sent to care for us. Let us take full advantage of the help given to us and not shy away from the throne just because of our faults and failures. Instead, let us go boldly to throne and allow the Lord to forgive us and strengthen us.
Let’s see what’s happening in I Samuel chapter 5!
The power of the ark of God was fierce in the land it was brought to. First, the people of Ashdod set the ark in the same place as their false god, Dagon. When they went out to see their god, it was face down on the floor. The second day, the head and hands of the statue were cut off. In addition, there was a plague of mice, and the people were covered in tumors or boils. So, they sent the ark to Gath. The same thing happened. They sent it to Ekron, and the same thing happened. They met and agreed the ark of the Lord must be sent back to where it came from.
In chapter 6, the Philistines inquired of their priests about how to return the ark of the Lord and not suffer repercussions. The priests told them to put a guilt offering in it and return it. The Philistines followed their instructions perfectly. They sent the ark of God back on its own with 2 cows to take it where they would which was Beth-shemesh. The people were so excited to see the ark of God and immediately sacrificed the cows to the Lord. However, 70 men were killed that day because they looked inside the ark. Those remaining sent messengers to another town telling them to please come and take the ark. God is almighty and all-powerful. The people of Beth-shemesh didn’t know how to handle the power of God. I don’t think we even fully understand the power of God either. Let us meditate on the Creator of the universe today and recognize He has all the power in the world. He can handle us and the small problems we have even though we think they are big problems. There is nothing He cannot do. Let us fully surrender to Him and let Him do what only He can do.
Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible. We don’t know who the author is, but he includes the foundation of our faith throughout the entirety of this psalm.
The writer starts out blessing those who walk in God’s ways and seek Him.
Verse 10 says, “With my whole heart have I sought You, inquiring for and of You and yearning for You; O let me not wander or step aside [either in ignorance or willfully] from Your commandments.” This is a common theme in this psalm and is a powerful concept – asking God to not let us fail in following His commandments either willfully or out of ignorance. Do you remember there was an offering for unknown sin? Sometimes we sin and we don’t even know it, so this is a wonderful concept to add to our prayers.
The psalmist writes he will meditate on the Law. Yes, when we roll over the Great Commandment that tells us to love God with all our heart and our neighbors as ourselves in our minds and keep it front and center, our hearts change. We become the loving person God created us to be.
The psalmist asks God to give him understanding. He asks for a willing heart. Pay attention to all the things he asks for because we can ask for from our heavenly Father. We can ask the same, and I encourage you to do so.
Lastly, verse 165 says, “Great peace have they who love Your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble.” Yes, our peace is in the Lord. May we all meditate on God and His perfection. Let us keep our eyes on Him instead of the world. There is peace in Him.
Let us pray:
O Lord, thank You for the wisdom we find in Your Word today. Our prayer is to grow in You, grow in wisdom, grow in our knowledge of You, and learn to walk in Your ways. Teach us, guide us, and give us a willing heart, O God, In Jesus’ name, amen.