Day 104 Bible Reading - Deuteronomy 21: 22-23 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 21 & 22, Luke 16: 1-18, Psalm 59: 1-8

Deuteronomy 21: 22-23 (ESV)

“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.”

Verses 22 and 23 from Deuteronomy 21 remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made for us when he died on the cross. According to David Guzik, there was nothing worse for the ancient Hebrews than being put to death and have the corpse left exposed on a tree to shame, humiliation, and scavenging animals. This type of punishment was reserved only for those who are “accursed of God.” Christ took the place of the one who is “accursed by God” when he was hung on a tree (the cross) and exposed to shame and humiliation for all to witness. We as sinners deserved this kind of punishment, but Jesus took our place so we could receive the blessings of Abraham. I love how everything Christ did could be referenced back to the Old Testament. When I read this verse, I also thought of Judas who hung himself on a tree. Judas knew what was considered the worse punishment for his people, and we must give him some props for killing himself according to Mosaic law so he would become “accursed of God.”

Day 103 Bible Reading - Luke 15: 24 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 19 and 20, Luke 15, Psalm 57: 7-11

Luke 15: 24 (ESV)

“For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

Verse 24 from Luke 15 is the parable of the prodigal son and tells us how happy the father was when his son returned.  We are reminded in this parable how happy Christ is when we return to him and are repentant. God loves us so much that he gave us free will to do what we want, and that includes letting us make decisions that sometimes aren’t for our own good. When we realize the error of our ways and ask God for his forgiveness, he rejoices that we have learned the error of our ways and takes us back with joy and in celebration. I have often felt like the prodigal child in my relationship with God. I left him and learned my lessons and came back to God several times. Each time Christ was always joyful that I returned and welcomed me back with open arms. What other God would do this for his followers? Only Christ would love us so much to take us back when we leave him.

Day 102 Bible Reading - Psalm 57: 1 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 16: 21-22, Deuteronomy 17 & 18, Luke 14: 15-35, Psalm 57: 1-6

Psalm 57: 1 (ESV)

“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.”

I love verse 1 from Psalm 57 and the imagery of God as a bird where one can find refuge during storms. I’ve been watching live cams on YouTube of bald eagles laying eggs and then both the mom and day eagle taking turns sitting on the eggs to incubate them. There was one video where the mama eagle spread her wings over her baby eaglets to shield them from the rain. 

Here's the video - Mombrella Popcorn:

We are like the baby eaglets taking refuge under God’s wings from the storms. Whenever I’ve felt a major loss in my life, I always felt like God was holding me in the palm of his hand and taking care of me and shielding me from the depression that was threatening to overwhelm my life. I don’t know how I would have gotten through those intense periods of loss without Christ in my life. I used to wonder how anyone gets through an intense loss without God in their life. How frightening it must be to think you’re all alone in the world with nothing outside of yourself to help you get through your life. I began to understand that without a strong faith in God, how easy it would be to turn to drugs and alcohol to help cope with feelings of pain and loss. Drugs and alcohol provide an escape from your feelings, if only just for a little while. I was lucky. My faith in Christ helped me to deal with the feelings of pain and loss, and I didn’t need to escape these feelings. With God’s help, I was able to move through the grieving process quicker and come out of it much stronger.

Day 101 Bible Reading - Luke 14: 11 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 15, Deuteronomy 16: 1-20, Luke 13: 31-35, Luke 14: 1-14, Psalm 56

Luke 14: 11 (ESV)

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Verse 11 from Luke 14 reminds us of life of Christ, and how he is a model for how we need to lead our lives. He humbled himself when he came to earth to be with us, and when he gave up his life for us he was exalted. If we can embrace being humble with joy, we will not be filled with a high opinion of ourselves and can enjoy life fully. We will be content in whatever places God gives to us. When we our full of ourselves and haughty, inevitably there will always be someone who comes along who will greater than us. At the same time, we cannot act humble so that other notice our behavior and we enjoy a very subtle form of spiritual pride. But in modern life, it is hard to be humble because we live in a society that praises achievement. I know for myself that when I try to be humble, I wonder if I’m being too meek or just lacking in self-confidence. I always pray to God that I’m doing the right thing because half the time I don’t know how I’m supposed to behave. But I think that’s a good thing for me, to always ask God what I need to do. It strengthens my faith and my relationship with him. And that’s the important thing to me right now.