Day 195 Bible Readings – Jonah 2: 1-4 (ESV)

Jonah 1-4, Romans 2: 1-16, Psalm 106: 1-15

Jonah 2: 1-4 (ESV)

“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.”

Verses 1 through 3 from Jonah 2 moved me. God wanted Jonah to go Nineveh and ask the people to repent, and Jonah ran away. Nineveh was a Gentile city and Jonah did not want to do as God asked. Jonah ran away and boarded a ship but God sent a storm, and the sailors threw Jonah into the sea and God had a fish swallow him. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights before he started to pray to God. These verses moved me because I know what it is like to run away or avoid a task that God has given to me, and for awhile in my life things in my life got worse. And for a while I know I thought that God had abandoned me. I had to rely on my faith like Jonah to get me through this period. My experience was nothing as fantastical as Jonah getting swallowed by a fish, but the experience felt like I was in the “belly of the beast”.

When you have this kind of experience in your life that is of your own making because of something you’ve done or not done, you have to rely on your faith in God to get through this season of your life. It will feel like God has abandoned you, and I can promise you that thought will cross your mind. But let the thought go and renew your faith in God. Trust that God has your best interests at heart, and that this experience will draw you closer to him and you will look back at it and know that it has strengthened your faith.

Spent the weekend in Tucson and getting caught up

I was invited to spend the weekend in Tucson with family in a rented house. The house was beautiful with a pool, and Tucson was so much cooler than Phoenix. It was nice to sit outside at night because it was only in the 90's instead of in the 100s. We swam in the small pool and it was nice to cool down in the water. 

However when I'm on vacation, I get behind in my Bible readings. I don't get to see my family all that often, so I feel like I need to spend as much time with as possible when I'm with them. I do read the Bible readings for the day, but I always seem to never have the time to think about what part of the daily Bible readings spoke to me. 

So I'm getting caught up on my Bible readings, which is nice after the traumatic and shocking events over the weekend. Fires in San Carlos which destroyed many homes. I spent a weekend in March doing volunteer work in San Carlos, so these fires made me sad. The people I met in San Carlos were so nice. And the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump. I am thankful I have a God that protects our leaders from evil. Reading the Bible reminds to have peace in the midst of chaotic and shocking times. 

Day 194 Bible Readings for July 14 – Romans 1: 18 (ESV)

2 Kings 24: 8-20, 2 Kings 25, Romans 1: 18-32, Psalm 105: 37-45

Romans 1: 18 (ESV)

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”

Verse 18 from Romans 1 shows Paul defining what angers God. “Ungodliness” refers to people’s offenses against God, and “unrighteousness” refers to people’s offenses against each other. These offenses are not following the two commandments that Jesus said are the greatest; 1) love the Lord, your God with your heart, soul, and mind, and 2) love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. If you love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind, you will not commit offenses against him by disobeying his laws. If you love your neighbor as much as you love yourself, you will not commit offenses against other people because you would be hurting yourself. We need to remember what Paul is telling us about what angers God, because if we don’t anger God we will be following the two commandments that Jesus said are the greatest commandments to follow.

Day 193 Bible Readings for July 13 – 2 Kings 23: 2-3 (ESV)

2 Kings 23, 2 Kings 24: 1-7, Romans 1: 1-17, Psalm 105: 23-36

2 Kings 23: 2-3 (ESV)

“And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.”

In 2 Kings 23 verses 2 through 3, King Josiah read out all the words from the Book of the Covenant and made a covenant to keep his commandments and laws. The people were so moved that they joined in the covenant. These verses show that the leader of a country can inspire the people he rules to become closer to God. A leader cannot command his people who to worship. A leader can only be an example for worship of God and pass laws that are in keeping with God’s laws. A leader of a country is responsible for the well-being of a nation. If the leader sins, then his people will follow his example. But if a leader worships God, then his people will be inspired to follow him. As Christians we need to remember the example of King Josiah when we vote at the ballot box. A good Christian leader will bring us closer to God, and we need to remember this when deciding who to vote for in any election.