Day 172 Bible Readings – Psalm 92: 12-15 (ESV)

1 Kings 8: 22-66, 1 Kings 9: 1-9, Acts 14, Psalm 92

Psalm 92: 12-15 (ESV)

“The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

Verses 12 through 15 from Psalm 92 describe the future of the people who follow God. They will flourish like a palm tree that stands erect and grows in the desert. They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon, which are known for being strong, large, beautiful, and useful. The people of God who are planted in the house of God will flourish, and bear fruit even in old age so they can keep praising him.

I love this image of believers in God as plants who flourish in the Garden of God. And like a good shepherd, God is a good gardener. If you are planted in God’s Garden, you will live a long life and be healthy and will prosper. May we all be plants in God’s Garden.

Day 171 Bible Readings for June 21 – Psalm 91: 14-16 (ESV)

1 Kings 7: 23-51, 1 Kings 8: 1-21, Acts 13: 43-52, Psalm 91: 9-16

Psalm 91: 14-16 (ESV)

“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

Verses 14 through 16 from Psalm 91 are written from the point of view of God. God talks about the promises and blessings to those who love and obey him by choice. God will deliver us and protect us because we know his name. He will answer us when we call him. He will be with us in trouble. He will rescue and honor us. He will give us a long and blessed life full of prosperity.

I love these verses because it is rare to see something written in the Bible from God’s point of view. These verses remind me of Jesus saying that God and he are the shepherds, and we are his flock. The shepherd cares for his flocks and will rejoice when even one lost sheep is found. I often feel like I am that lost sheep. God always finds me even when I don’t want him to because I’ve run away to experience freedom. He lets me experience freedom and he always welcomes me back when I’ve had enough or rescues him when I get myself into trouble. God loves everyone, even a black sheep like me.

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.