Day 133 Bible Reading - John 8: 7 (ESV)

Judges 16 & 17, John 7: 45-53, John 8: 1-11, Psalm 74: 10-17

John 8: 7 (ESV)

“And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Verse 7 from John 8 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. I’ve always liked this verse because for me it means that we shouldn’t look at the sins of other people unless we’ve looked at how we’ve sinned. Many bible commentaries have pointed out Jesus was exposing the common sin of a desire to punish the sins of others while ignoring our own sin. It’s not that we can’t expose people who have sinned, but we must do it only when we recognize that we ourselves are forgiven sinners. If we own our sinful nature, we can point out the sins in other people with a generous and forgiving heart. We only accuse other people of sins because our heart has been broken, so we need to make sure we are doing it for the right motives and not out of anger or a desire to punish.

Day 132 Bible Reading - Judges 14: 1-4 (ESV)

Judges 14 & 15, John 7: 14-44, Psalm 74: 1-9

Judges 14: 1-4 (ESV)

“Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.”

I’ve always been fascinated by the story of Samson with his long hair. He was born in a time when the Jewish people were ruled by the Philistines, but God had great plans for him. In verses 1 through 4 from Judges 14, we see Samson wanting to marry someone just because of the way she looked to him. He knew nothing about her except that she was the daughter of a Philistine, so he knew at the start that he was marrying someone not of his faith which was not according to God’s law. But I love how God’s uses everything about us, even our disobedient and sinful nature to do his will. He wanted Samson to marry this Philistine woman so he could kill many Philistines.

Does this justify Samson’s action in disobeying God? The answer is No, but God knows everything about us. He gave us the freedom to choose and when he knows we will choose to do wrong, he will use it to serve his purpose on earth. I like this story because even when we choose to disobey God’s will, we can be assured that God will use it to serve his purpose. I know I am a person who learns by doing things wrong. I’ve always been that way because I have a very curious nature. I know that God uses my nature to teach me things about myself, about him, and my faith. And I know over the years, my faith has become so much stronger because of my curious nature. We can’t change who we are, but we can be assured that God will use us to serve his purpose and to bring us closer to him.

Day 131 Bible Reading - John 6: 64 (ESV)

Judges 12 & 13, John 6: 60-71, John 7: 1-13, Psalm 73: 15-28

John 6: 64 (ESV)

“But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)”

Verse 64 from John 6 reminds us that Jesus always knows what in our hearts. He is not surprised by anything we tell him. But he has so much love for us and so much patience. Even when we over and over again turn away from and do wrong, he always waits for us to come to our senses and come back to him. He is truly like the father with the prodigal. We are his prodigal children. And no matter what we do or how long we are away from God the father, when we return to him he will always celebrate us coming home.

Is there a limit to God’s patience with us? I don’t know. I think as long as we are alive, God will always grant us grace and mercy if we have true repentance in our heart when we come back. God does not ask for perfection in our lives. He created us and he knows that his not possible. I think all he asks for is our love and commitment to follow him, and when we mess up because of our flawed nature, he asks that come back to him with repentance in our hearts.

Day 130 Bible Reading - John 6: 25-27 (ESV)

Judges 10 & 11, John 6: 25-59, Psalm 73: 1-14

John 6: 25-27 (ESV)

“When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

Verses 25 through 27 from John 6 stood out to me because instead of answering the crowd’s question, Jesus told them why they were seeking him. It made me wonder if this is the thought that God has when we pray for him to grant us things? Do we want a God who only gives us constant miracles? Or do we want more?  Jesus tells us that we need to want more than miracles because miracles only last for so long, which is true.  We ask God for a miracle and it happens, and then we need more miracles because the miracle we asked for didn’t last or was only for a specific thing.

Jesus tells us we need to ask God for “food that endures to eternal life” which is only through faith in him.  Jesus tells us we need more than the miracle for material things. We need miracles that bring us spiritual fulfillment and eternal life. But it’s hard because we live in a physical and material world, and sometimes we need miracles just to get by. Or do we? Would spiritual fulfillment solve everything in our life? To be honest I don’t know. I don’t think I have spiritual fulfillment. I have belief in God, but spiritual fulfillment. What does that even mean. For me, it’s all baby steps right now. I want to strengthen my faith in God, so I can quiet the constant doubts in my head for at least a little while. I’m not sure I can quiet them forever, because doubt seems part of the human being package of living. But it would be nice to have more than a few minutes of a doubt free mind.