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  Bible reading for November 29 -- 30 Nov 29 -- Micah 4 and Luke 13 Nov 30 -- Micah 5 and Luke 14 ================ "...many nations shall come, and say: 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." (Micah 4:2)   A NEW WORLD COMING (ch 4). Judah would suffer humiliation during the Assyrian invasion (5:5-6) and then be exiled later to Babylon (4:10), but these prophecies of Micah shine a light of hope from a future world where the nations would gather to Mount Zion to learn the ways of the Lord (vv 1-2). It will be a time of universal peace, with swords being made into plowshares (vv 3-4). Israel will be consecrated to the service of the Lord: "For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever" (v 5). The Lo...

Bible reading for week Nov 22 -- 28 Nov 22 -- Jonah 1 and Luke 6 Nov 23 -- Jonah 2 and Luke 7 Nov 24 -- Jonah 3 and Luke 8 Nov 25 -- Jonah 4 and Luke 9 Nov 26 -- Micah 1 and Luke 10 Nov 27 -- Micah 2 and Luke 11 Nov 28 -- Micah 3 and Luke 12 Dear friends, our family will be gathering together this week to give thanks, and I'll have less time to write. (But this means more time to hold our newest grandchild!) So, I'm doing one Bible reading post for the week. We have so much to give thanks for! "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Psalm 103:2-5). May you and yours have a blessed Thanksgiving time.   --Sandy  ================ "And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who...

  Bible reading for Oct 11 -- 12 Oct 11 -- Ezekiel 44 and Psalms 97-98 Oct 12 -- Ezekiel 45 and Psalms 99-101 ================   "They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean." (Ezekiel 44:23) PRINCES, LEVITES, PRIESTS (ch 44). We are reading Ezekiel's vision of a future temple and the worship which takes place there. Commentators differ on how these things are to be understood. Here are four possibilities: 1) This was to be the standard and plan for Jewish worship after the return from Babylonian exile, until Messiah should come (covering about 500 years). 2) This is applied symbolically to the church age. 3) This is fulfilled during the thousand-year period spoken of in Revelation 20. 4) This is a foreshadowing of the future eternal state (Rev 21-22). It may be that some (or all) of these apply at some point (in some way) in interpreting Ezekiel. One thing that helps us is...

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...

  "Oh give thanks to the LORD , for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south." (Psalm 107:1-3 ESV) THANKSGIVING. May you and your loved ones have a blessed Thanksgiving time this week! Of necessity many of us will be separated from our family and friends this season, which should remind us of what a precious gift "gathering" is. The Lord redeems and gathers us together from the lands. It is a gift to be placed into loving families, into caring churches, into good communities, and among supportive friends. Give thanks for that, along with a host of other blessings from the Lord!  GIRL PRAYING.  At the height of World War II the above painting by Norman Rockwell, "Girl Praying", appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post (November 27, 1943).  This was published about a mo...

Bible reading for Nov 23.  1 Chronicles 18. "So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people." (18:14)  WHAT'S WRONG WITH THANKSGIVING? Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. It's so satisfying to have an entire day just to give thanks to the Lord and to enjoy his many blessings of family, friends, and good food. Sadly, this year due to the pandemic many will not be gathering in person with family and loved ones. But every year the sad problem with Thanksgiving remains the same -- the joy and gratitude don't last for very long! It's a precious, short period of time when we are all together, thankful to God, satisfied, content, getting along with each other. For a brief moment all seems right with the world! For a brief moment... and then the squabbling returns, the complaints, the discontent, and selfishness and greed and unhappiness. For a moment -- for some briefer, for some longer -- we see how happ...

Bible reading for June 10.  Deuteronomy 15.  "You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake." (Deuteronomy 15:10) SABBATICAL YEAR. Every seventh year all Israelites were commanded to remit [or, release, cancel ] their debts toward one another. Hebrew slaves were indentured only until that time, and at the Feast of Booths (Deut 31:10) they were to be released. And with this action a spirit of generosity was to prevail (vv 7-14). The Lord promised his blessing upon them for this (vv 6, 18; cf Prov 11:24-26). The Israelites were to remember their slavery in Egypt and to be sensitive toward others in need. They were not to be hardhearted or miserly toward the poor and the indebted.  GENEROSITY.  Christians are to have open hearts and open hands toward one another and toward those in need. We have received a blessing tha...

Bible reading for June 9.  Deuteronomy 13-14.  "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth." (Deuteronomy 14:2)  FALSE PROPHETS (13). Here, and in Deuteronomy 18, Moses explains the importance of dealing with false prophets and with those who entice to worship other gods.  This carries over into the church age, as well. Jesus warned against false prophets (Matt 7:15; 24:11, 24). Satan bombards people with lies, false gospels, false prophets, false apostles, all leading to false hopes (2 Cor 11:3-4; Gal 1:6-9). As believers we are to test and discern the spirits (1 Jn 4:1). False teaching has been a real threat throughout church history. During the Reformation John Calvin warned against those who "bury the Word of God in order to make room for their own imaginations, claiming the authority of modern revelations over the expre...

Bible reading for May 14.  Numbers 23. "For from the top of the crags I see him, from the hills I behold him; behold, a people dwelling alone, and not counting itself among the nations!"  (Numbers 23:9)  TWO ORACLES. The chapter records the first two oracles of Balaam.  This Midianite seer, despite his desire to curse Israel, speaks God's blessing upon them (see Gen 12:2-3). God is able to draw a straight line with a crooked stick (Spurgeon). Just as he spoke through the donkey, so now he speaks through Balaam. Read more in  yesterday's post on the enigma of Balaam .  THE PEOPLE OF GOD. I'm struck by the language God uses to describe his people. They are a people set apart (v 9) and upright (v 10). God is with them (v 21) and has delivered them from slavery and made them like kings (v 21). They are powerful like a wild ox (v 22) and fierce as lions (v 24). These attributes contrast with much of the behavior we have seen, and will see, from the ...

Many families like mine, I know, have a time around the Thanksgiving dinner table where we share "what we are thankful for."   Sometimes, especially with younger children, there may be long pauses after we've thanked God for our family and pets.   So, it's time to think ahead and get a running start on gratitude.  Here's what I came up with this morning... God exists, and you are not him.  God reigns, not chance!  God rules over creation and history, working all things according to the counsel of his most wise and glorious will.  Give thanks for these truths!   God is unchanging in his essence, nature and purposes. God is good, his steadfast love endures forever, he is infinitely wise and powerful, and he is not capricious or evil. Give thanks that he is trustworthy! God has made a beautiful creation: trees, mountains, animals, and many other things.  For all things bright and beautiful, great and small, wise and w...