Day 234 Bible Readings – 2 Chronicles 16: 8-9 (ESV)

2 Chronicles 16-17, 2 Chronicles 18: 1-27, 1 Corinthians 15; 1-34, Psalm 119: 121-128

2 Chronicles 16: 8-9 (ESV)

“Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”

Verses 8 and 9 from 2 Chronicles were talked about in my pastor’s recent sermon. King Asa had always relied on God until the 36^th year of his reign, when Baasha king of Israel built Ramah fortress to prevent people going into and coming out of Juday Instead of consulting God as he did previously when he faced the Ethiopians and Libyans, King Asa decided to make a treaty with the King of Syria.  Because Asa did not solely rely on God, Hanani the seer told him he would now have wars instead of peace. King Asa had peace for over 30 years, and now he would be facing war without help from God. My pastor said God is always looking throughout the earth to find those people of faith who are faithful, so he can fully support them. My pastor asked us if we always fully rely on God.

I’ve been contemplating this question since his sermon and I realized that even though I think I am fully reliant on God, I question God’s wisdom every day. I know what God wants me do but when I wake up in the morning, I have so much doubt if God made the right decision on his plan for me. I ask God daily if he made the right decision / plan for my life. I never seem to be satisfied knowing that God’s answer is always “yes” to my question. By asking this question, I show my doubt that God knows what he’s doing in my life even though I have years of proof that God’s plans for my life have always worked out for the best. It’s been hard to stop from questioning / doubting God, but I am getting better at it. Today was the first day I stopped myself from questioning God. It was a big deal for me. I don’t think this will last battle I have with my doubt, but I know that I had a victory this morning. And I know I couldn’t have done it without God’s help. Even in my doubt, God helps me to overcome it because he Is a good God.

Day 233 Bible Readings – Psalm 119: 14 (ESV)

2 Chronicles 12-15, 1 Corinthians 14: 20-40, Psalm 119, 113-120

Psalm 119: 14 (ESV)

“You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.”

When I read verse 14 from Psalm 119, I felt myself wanting to cry. I thought of all the times, I prayed to God for protection and safety. I asked God to keep me safe and I felt that he answered my prayers and made me feel protected and safe. But I also remember praying to God to help in times of stress and danger, so God became my shield in my time of affliction. God is so kind to us, his children. Like a good parent, we can go to God to hide from danger knowing God will protect us and keep us safe. When we are in trouble, God becomes our shield against those who would harm us. He is our father, our partner, the one who inspires us in times of trouble to be strong and do battle against our physical and spiritual foes. And when we have doubt, we can read the stories in the Bible of how God has always fulfilled his promises to those who have been faithful to him. These stories give us the assurance that if God was faithful to those in the Bible, he will be faithful to us if are faithful to him.

Reading the bible for me daily has become essential in my walk with God. I see myself in so many of the people from the Old and New Testament, who had doubts but still had faith in God. I also feel inspiration from the people in the Old and New Testament whose faith was so strong in God that they never wavered; their faith was unshakeable. Reading the Bible every day renews my faith in God’s word.

Day 232 Bible Readings – 1 Corinthians 14: 3-4 (ESV)

2 Chronicles 10-12, 1 Corinthians 141: 1-19, Psalm 119: 105-112

1 Corinthians 14: 3-4 (ESV)

“On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.”

Verses 3 and 4 from 1 Corinthians 14 shows Paul talking about the differences between the people who can prophesy and those can speak in tongues. If you have the gift of speaking in tongues, you are speaking to God and building yourself up in your relationship with God. If you have the gift of being able to prophesy, you build the church up and encourage and console other people.

I did not think I had the gift of speaking in tongues, but I had some friends pray for me and I received this gift. It’s a new thing for me and I’m not even sure I’m doing it right, but I do understand what Paul means when this gift builds you up. When I speak in tongues I speak to God, and I am assuming he knows what I’m saying and what is in my heart.

I’ve been in services where people burst out prophesying, and whatever they say is always to specific people or about the church. For people, it’s almost all the time words of encouragement for their life, their afflictions, or whatever they are going through at the time. For the church, it’s always about what the church needs to focus on and what people need to do to get closer to God. I love the spontaneity of people who prophesy. It feels as if the words are flowing out of the person uncontrollably, and sometimes looks like the person doesn’t even know what they are saying. It’s an amazing phenomenon and I feel blessed whenever I am a witness to this kind of event.

If have a spiritual gift, do not be afraid of it. Cultivate it because whatever your spiritual gift is, God gave it to you to serve him and his plan in the world.

Day 231 Bible Readings – 1 Corinthians 13: 13 (ESV)

Song of Solomon 5-8, 1 Corinthians 13, Psalm 119: 97-104

1 Corinthians 13: 13 (ESV)

“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Verse 13 from 1 Corinthians 13 show what Bible commentaries have said are the three things that people of faith need to pursue. We need to have faith in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We need to cultivate hope in the coming of Jesus Christ, hope for God’s justice in our world, and hope our prayers are answered. We also need to always look for the love in our relationship with other people and treat them with love as God has treated us with love. But when we are with God in his kingdom after our death, we will always have love with God and with other people of faith. I think that’s why Paul said love is the greatest thing to focus on for people of faith. We will always be pursuing love when we are on earth, and we will have God’s love for eternity when we are with him in his kingdom.

It sounds easy, doesn’t it? Just focus on love. But I know for myself that to always act in a loving way towards other people is hard. And depending on your family, showing love towards them could be harder. But if we look to how Jesus treated people, we have our role model. Jesus was kind to everyone include the sick, the oppressed, and unloved by society. The behavior of Christ towards humanity was always loving, including his final sacrifice of dying on the cross for our sins. If we think of how much Christ sacrificed for us, we know the acts of kindness and love we show towards other people will never equal what Christ did for us by dying on the cross. Whatever we do will never compare to Christ, but it may give us the courage and inspiration to try harder to be more loving towards our family and other people.