Day 169 Bible Readings – 1 Kings 3: 23-25 (ESV)

1 Kings 3: 16-28, 1 Kings 4 & 5, Acts 12: 19-25, Acts 13: 1-12, Psalm 90: 11-17

1 Kings 3: 23-25 (ESV)

“Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king. And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.”

Verses 23 through 25 from 1 Kings 3 shows the wisdom of Solomon when he came up with this crazy solution to two women claiming the same child. This story is very famous, and I remember hearing about it as a child. And when I read it today, I am still in awe of the genius of Solomon’s solution to this problem. Only the boy’s real mother would wish no harm to come to him and would gladly give him up. But the thing that struck me is the other woman’s answer which was to divide the child. That such a strange and cold answer to the question. She didn’t care about the harm that came to the child because it wasn’t her child.

But Solomon didn’t come to this wisdom on his own. He prayed to God for wisdom, and this is great advice for anyone contemplating a decision small or large. Pray to God for wisdom to make the right decision and trust that whatever God tells you will be correct answer, even if it doesn’t seem that way at first because you will surely have a taste of the wisdom of Solomon from this famous story.

Day 168 Bible Readings – Acts: 12: 1-2 (ESV)

1 Kings 2: 11-46, 1 Kings 3: 1-15, Acts 11: 19-30, Acts 12: 1-19, Psalm 90: 1-10

Acts: 12: 1-2 (ESV)

“About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword,”

Verse 1 and 2 describe Herod killing James, who was a disciple and brother of John. He was the first of Christ’s 12 disciples to be killed, but he would not be the last. All the disciples except for John died violent deaths for their beliefs and for preaching about Christ. Because of the TV show “The Chosen”, I’ve gotten to know the disciple Jakes. James and his brother John were close to Jesus. They were also witnesses to many miracles he performed that other disciples did not see. Many biblical scholars have made the case that James was part of inner circle of Christ.

But Jesus did tell the 12 disciples that they would follow him in his path, but they never believed him. It makes me wonder if the death of James made them fully realize what Jesus had been warning them about and what it would mean for their lives. Even if they did realize that they too would one day die of a violent death, the disciples kept talking about the words of Christ. They did not stop preaching.

Day 167 Bible Readings - Acts 10: 44-46 (ESV)

Day 167 Bible readings are for June 17. 

1 Kings 1, 1 Kings 2: 1-12, Acts 10: 24-48, Acts 11: 1-18, Psalm 89: 46-52

Acts 10: 44-46 (ESV)

“While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God.”

Verses 44 through 46 from Acts 10 shows Peter baptizing Cornelius and his friends with the Holy Spirit, and the gifts of the spirit coming to them where they end up speaking in tongues. I always thought that speaking in tongues was a gift of the spirit, and that not everyone would be able to do it. But two kindly women who sat next to me at church on Sunday corrected me and told me that “speaking in tongues” was not a gift but something that all believers can do if they truly believed they were baptized with the Holy Spirit.

I had never heard “speaking in tongues” explained to me in that way and their words resonated with me. When I told the two women what I thought, they spontaneously started praying and laying their hands of me for me to “speak in tongues.”  I have been praying to God to speak in tongues for months, but nothing ever came out so I didn’t think I had this “spiritual gift.” I couldn’t do it while they were praying, but I promised them I would try when the Holy Spirit moved me. I later tried and words came out of my mouth that were strange and I had no idea what I was saying, But Holy Spirit assured me I was indeed speaking in tongues. Then Monday I received the message from Holy Spirit that as long as I prayed with intention, then it didn’t matter if I didn’t understand “the speaking in tongues” part of my prayer. God understands what the strange words mean. The two women did mention to me that interpreting what words mean when you “speak in tongues” is a spiritual gift, which I may or may not have. So Holy Spirit confirmed what the two women told me. I may never understand what I am saying when I speak in tongues, but God will always understand me.

Speaking in tongues feels so strange, but I know I feel this way because I am so used to understanding what I am saying. I need to have faith that whatever is coming out of my mouth, God understands exactly what I am saying.

Day 166 Bible Readings - Acts 10: 3-6 (ESV)

2 Samuel 23: 8-39, 2 Samuel 24, Acts 9: 32-43, Acts 10: 1-23, Psalm 89: 38-45

Acts 10: 3-6 (ESV)

“About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

Verses 3 through 6 from Acts 10 describes how a centurion named Cornelius heard the word of God. Cornelius worshipped the God of Israel even though he wasn’t Jewish. I love how in these verses we see God reaching out to the non-Jewish people who believed in him. The message of Christ was not only for the Hebrews but also for the Gentiles.

I can imagine God looking into the future and trying to determine how to best spread the faith. Jesus always said that his message was for everyone, and not just for his own people. It was the Gentiles who spread the words of Jesus all over the world. And I love how it started with a Roman named Cornelius because I believe it is a synch-wink from God to tell us that one day the vicar of Christ would live in Rome, and Rome would become the center of Christendom.