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  Bible reading for December 8 -- 9  Dec 8 -- Habakkuk 3 and Luke 22 Dec 9 -- Zephaniah 1 and Luke 23 ================ "The sovereign LORD is my source of strength. He gives me the agility of a deer; he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain." (Habakkuk 3:19 NET).  JOY IN DIFFICULT TIMES (Hab 3). The prophet considers the coming invasion of their land. Poetically, he describes the Lord as a warrior going forth to defend his name and his people. Teman and Paran (v 3) are locations along the way in which the Lord led Israel out of Egypt from the south and on to the promised land. The chapter ends with Habakkuk's statement of joy and confidence in the Lord. Isn't this a good affirmation for us too? No matter our circumstances (v 17) we can rejoice in the Lord (v 18), who will enable us to make it through difficult times (v 18). Much later, while imprisoned in Rome, the Apostle Paul would write, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ...I can d...

  Bible reading for Oct 13 -- 14 Oct 13 -- Ezekiel 46 and Psalm 102 Oct 14 -- Ezekiel 47 and Psalm 103 ================   "And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes." (Ezekiel 47:9) THE PRINCE, THE PRIESTS, AND THE RIVER (ch 46-47). We are continuing to read about Ezekiel's vision of the temple, the city, the leaders, the ministers, and the geography. It is visionary language, and it is in the future from Ezekiel's perspective. There are connections here with Revelation, and also with the Mosaic laws in Leviticus. In these chapters we see that the prince is to lead worship by his example; there are instructions about gates, gifts, offerings, holy spaces, and preparation of food. There springs from the temple a remarkable, ever-expanding stream of fresh water. Also, there is to be fair di...

Bible reading for weekend Oct 1 -- 3 Oct 1 -- Ezekiel 34 and Psalms 83-84 Oct 2 -- Ezekiel 35 and Psalm 85 Oct 3 -- Ezekiel 36 and Psalm 86 ================   "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." (Ezekiel 36:26-27) BAD SHEPHERDS, GOOD SHEPHERD (ch 34). Ever since King David, the first shepherd-turned-king, the leaders of Judah were designated as shepherds, who were called to exercise oversight and care for God's people. They were to feed, guide, care for, and protect the flock of God. Generally, they did this poorly (vv 1-10). Where they failed, God himself would step in (vv 11-31). Over 18 times in this chapter God says, "I will..." or "I myself will...", that is, he will be the shepherd who seeks, gathers, feeds, and protect...

Bible reading for September 15 -- 16 Sep 15 -- Ezekiel 18 and Psalms 62-63 Sep 16 -- Ezekiel 19 and Psalms 64-65 ================   "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live." (Ezekiel 18:32) THE SOUL WHO SINS (ch 18). It seems there was a popular belief that since the Lord spoke of generational sins and judgment (Ex 20:5; 34:7), then the punishment the Jews were then experiencing at the hands of Babylon was due -- unfairly, in their minds -- to past generations of Jews. Jeremiah also refers to this belief (Jer 31:29-30). But the Lord asserts, "The soul who sins shall die" (vv 4, 20). That current generation of Jews, by persisting in idolatry and injustice, had reaffirmed (rather than repudiated) the actions of their forebears. If a descendant sees the sins of his or her forebears and repents, then that generational guilt is broken (v 14; cf Ezek 33:14-16). The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day thought they would...

  Bible reading for September 8 -- 9 Sep 8 -- Ezekiel 11 and Psalm 50 Sep 9 -- Ezekiel 12 and Psalm 51 ================   "And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God." (Ezekiel 10:18) BAD LEADERS, BRIGHT PROMISE (ch 11). Israel was chronically plagued by bad leadership (vv 1-12). In the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the rulers of Judah and their advisors, along with the popular prophets, urged the people of Jerusalem to hold out against the Babylonian siege. God had plainly told them through Jeremiah to not fight the Babylonians but to peacefully surrender. But in their pride and zeal they resisted and faced a long siege, starvation, disease, and finally, violence and enslavement by the Babylonians. But there's a bright ray of hope (vv 16-20),...

  Bible reading for July 26 -- 27 July 26 -- Jeremiah 22 and Mark 8 July 27 -- Jeremiah 23 and Mark 9 ================    "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land." (Jeremiah 23:5)    ABUSE OF POWER (ch 22) . King Josiah, himself a good and godly ruler, had two sons and a grandson mentioned in this chapter. Shallum (renamed Jehoahaz) ruled briefly after Josiah's death and was subsequently deposed by Pharaoh Necho and taken to Egypt, where he died. (At that time, before Babylon defeated Egypt, Jerusalem was subject to Egyptian power.) Eliakim (renamed Jehoiakim) replaced Jehoahaz and ruled oppressively. He used forced labor to build himself a lavish new palace. Jeremiah says, however, he would have a donkey's burial (vv 18-19). We also read of Jehoiakim's response to Jeremiah's prophecies later in chapter...

Bible reading for weekend July 9 -- 11 July 9 -- Jeremiah 5 and Matthew 19 July 10 -- Jeremiah 6 and Matthew 20 July 11 -- Jeremiah 7 and Matthew 21 ================    "Thus says the LORD: 'Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, "We will not walk in it."'" (Jeremiah 6:16) FAILURE OF THE ELITES (ch 5). The leaders of Jerusalem and Judah also have fallen away from the Lord. The prophets (so-called), priests, scribes, judges, and royal officials alike are all on the moral skids. Education in and of itself will never save a society (v 5). These elites are more interested in sex and extra-marital affairs than in leading with righteousness. Popular opinion holds sway, and there is no remorse or shame, for "they love to have it so" (v 31). SOCIETY-WIDE FAILURE (ch 6). Note how widespread is this apostasy: "For from the least to the greatest of...

  Bible reading for May 31 -- June 1 May 31 -- Isaiah 32 and Rev 2 Jun 1 -- Isaiah 33 and Rev 3 Take some time today to pause, remember, and thank God for the many soldiers who died in military service for our country. Here's the USAF band performing Dvorak's "Going Home" at the National Cemetery in Culpeper, Virginia. ================    "Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land." (Isaiah 32:1-2) LOOKING FOR FEW GOOD MEN (ch 32). Don't we all long for good leadership? Good leadership in homes, in businesses, in the church, in communities, and in the nation? How much suffering and misery comes from corruption, bribery, conflicts of interest, immoral decisions, unjust laws, bribery, and favoritism.  Whether leadership is weak or overbearing, all of the people s...

Bible reading for April 14 -- 15 Apr 14 -- Ecclesiastes 1 and 1 Timothy 3 Apr 15 -- Ecclesiastes 2 and 1 Timothy 4 "Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?" (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3)  VANITY OF VANITIES. Ecclesiastes was the first book of the Bible I ever read! As a non-Christian college student in the tumultous years around 1970, I vacillated between Marxism and eastern mysticism as my worldview. Like many I was hoping for "the age of Aquarius", but what I saw in the world was strife, selfishness, divorce, drug problems, political corruption, riots at home, and wars abroad. A Christian friend challenged me to read Ecclesiastes and so I bought my first Bible. Turning to Ecclesiastes, I resonated deeply with that phrase, "vanity of vanities." This little book of wisdom was the door that eventually led me to read and understand the gospel, and soon to put my tru...

  Bible reading for weekend March 12 -- 14 Mar 12 -- Job 41 and 2 Corinthians 11 Mar 13 -- Job 42 and 2 Corinthians 12 Mar 14 -- Proverbs 1 and 2 Corinthians 13 "Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." (Job 42:8) THE END OF THE MATTER (ch 41-42) . God has spoken, and Job is humbled. God restores Job's life with double blessings. Job's prayer will result in God's forgiveness for the three friends. His possessions are returned two-fold, but the same number of children (seven boys, three girls) are given as before, but not doubled. Some think, and I would agree, that this is because Job's children from earlier, unlike the livestock, were not lost, in the sense of forever. They would be restored at the resurr...

Bible reading for March 10 -- 11 Mar 10 -- Job 39 and 2 Corinthians 9 Mar 11 -- Job 40 and 2 Corinthians 10 "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it." (Job 40:2) MORE LESSONS FROM NATURE (ch 39-40). God speaks of the mountain goat, the wild donkey, the ostrich, the horse, and the hawk, in order to demonstrate the limitation of human knowledge and power. Each of these creatures -- a creature like Job -- has greater strength, skill, and speed than Job. We are not as wise and capable as we often think.  ON BEHEMOTH AND LEVIATHAN (ch 41-42). There are many opinions about whether these are real creatures to be found in nature, being described with hyperbole, or if these are references to mythological creatures symbolizing death and Satan. Some have suggested these are remnants of dinosaur species. See Constable's comments on the various interpretations . And here's Christopher Ash's interpretation . The over-riding poi...

Bible reading for February 17 -- 18 Feb 17 -- Job 16-17 and 1 Corinthians 4 Feb 18 -- Job 18 and 1 Corinthians 5 "Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and he who testifies for me is on high. My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God, that he would argue the case of a man with God, as a son of man does with his neighbor." (Job 16:19-21)  CAN I GET A WITNESS?  (ch 16-17) Job's friends are insisting on a simple and straightforward explanation for his suffering. Job does not buy it. But he is perplexed by what seems to him to be a serious contradiction.  His life circumstances testify (give witness) to Job's being under severe judgment from God (16:8). But he is also confident that God is his witness and the only one who can testify to Job's upright walk (16:19).  At heart, Job believes that God is just. But he wonders who could mediate between a man and God in a human, neighborly way? Hint: only God will be able to do that (1 Tim 2:5).    BILDAD...