Day 214 Bible Readings for August 3 – Psalm 116: 1-2 (ESV)

1 Chronicles 12: 23-40, 1 Chronicles 13 & 14, Romans 15: 14-33, Psalm 116: 1-11

Psalm 116: 1-2 (ESV)

“I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.”

I love verses 1 and 2 from Psalm 116. The psalmist talks about probably what every person of faith feels about their God. You love God because he heard your voice and your pleas for mercy. Because God answered you once, you will always call on him as you live. These verses make me wonder how long it took before a person was willing to always call on her God. For some it might have been the first time, for others it might have been a long and continual pattern of feeling like God had heard you before you decided you can upon God indefinitely. No matter how long or short it look, the person’s faith God was established permanently for the rest of their life.

Day 213 Bible Readings – Romans 15: 5-7 (ESV)

1 Chronicles 11, 1 Chronicles 12: 1-22, Romans 14: 19-23, Romans 15: 1-13, Psalm 115: 12-18

Romans 15: 5-7 (ESV)

“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

Verses 5 through 7 from Romans 15 shows us Paul’s advice on how to live with people for those who have faith in Jesus Christ. Paul tells us that we need to live in harmony with each other, and to help us we have a God who will give us endurance and encouragement to live with people. Paul’s hope is if we get along with everyone, we will together glorify God. Paul tells us to look to the example of how Christ welcomed people who came up to him. Christ was kind to everyone who came up and wanted healing or who greeted him. If we look to how Christ behaved with new people, we have a perfect example of how to live with one another. Christ gave us a great example  of how to behave and live in the world. Jesus was always kind to everyone and treated everyone as an equal. He did not look down on those who were lowly or cast off from society. He even made the tax collector Matthew his disciple, even when tax collectors for the Romans were the most despised people in Jewish society. If we can emulate Christ in our behavior, we will give glory to God.

Day 212 Bible Readings for August 1 – Romans 14: 10-12 (ESV)

1 Chronicles 9 & 10, Romans 14: 1-18, Psalm 115: 1-11

Romans 14: 10-12 (ESV)

“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess[b] to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

Verses 10 through 12 from Romans 14 gives us Paul’s advice on not judging others. Paul tells the church in Rome to not judge others because everyone will stand before God and be judged. As believers in Christ, it is not our job to judge other because that is God’s job. These verses have a special meaning for me because I feel like Holy Spirit has been convicting me these past weeks on how much I judge others. Holy Spirit has been showing me that everyone is a part of God’s plan and will be used by God to further his kingdom. I may never know the plan and how that person or group is part of God’s plan, but Holy Spirit has been instructing me that I need to have faith in God. I am always reminded of how God hardened Pharoah’s heart in the story of Exodus as part of his plan for his people to leave Egypt. By the end of the plagues, the Egyptians were telling the Hebrews to get out of their land. Their actions may not have come about had God not hardened the Pharoah’s heart. There are other stories in Bible how God took a person’s actions and used it for good as part of his plan for us.

Day 211 Bible Readings for July 31 – Romans 13: 8-10 (ESV)

1 Chronicles 7 & 8, Romans 13, Psalm 114

Romans 13: 8-10 (ESV)

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Verses 8 through 10 from Romans 13 are Paul’s recommendation for how to live life as a Christian. If we have faith in Jesus Christ, we need to love one another or as is written “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If we just love one another, we will fulfill all of God’s laws including the laws in the ten commandments. I like how Paul explains “loving your neighbor as you love yourself.” I try to live my life this way. I try to treat people as I like and want to be treated. I don’t always succeed, but that is my intention when I interact with other people. I don’t wish bad things on people when they don’t agree with me or persecute me. I know what it is like to be mistreated and persecute unfairly, so I try not to mistreat or persecute other people. I think Holy Spirit is trying to teach me to everything that happens to me in my life as part of God’s plan, to always look at each event or circumstance as a gift from the God. There’s a treasure if you look for it in any event or circumstance no matter how awful. But you need much faith in God to think this way, and that is perhaps part of the teaching for me from the Holy Spirit.