Day 170 Bible Readings – Acts 13: 38-39 (ESV)

1 Kings 6, 1 Kings 7: 1-22, Acts 13: 13-41, Psalm 91: 1-8

Acts 13: 38-39 (ESV)

“Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.”

Verse 38 from Acts 13 talks about the promise that Jesus offers to anyone who believes in him. Because Jesus was the son of God and he died for our sins, he offers the forgiveness of sins to anyone who believes in him. Believers of Christ are freed from everything that could not be offered under the law of Moses. With Jesus there is a new covenant for us, different from the original covenant God made with his people. We do not keep the law of Moses. We do not need to earn our forgiveness. Forgiveness of sins is given freely by Christ because he paid for our sins when he died on the cross. You could say in today’s modern parlance, Jesus paid forgiveness forward for all of us by his death. We only need to believe in him. We do not have to earn our forgiveness from him. We need do nothing except believe in Christ, but that may be the hardest thing of all for some of us to do because we’ve been conditioned and taught that nothing is free.

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.