Category: Daily Bible Reading Blog

A blog following the daily readings from the Revised Common Lectionary.

Psalm 139:1-6

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            How do you talk to yourself?  You know what I mean.  The kind of speech that goes on inside your head.  The things which you say inside your heart that no one knows but you.  I think you will agree with me that you are rather hard on yourself.  In the reclusive parts of your mind, you speak to yourself in ways that you would never say to others, nor tolerate others saying about someone else.  Only you know the depth of your own sorrows, hurts, fears, insecurities, and worries.  Except….
            God.  He knows it all.  He knows it all intimately.  And He is not repulsed.  You see, God knows that the answer to all the doubts about yourself is His protection.  You have the freedom to plumb the recesses of your heart and soul – to bring out all that is inside the cluttered closet of your mind and lay it out on the floor without fear of God calling you what you call yourself.
            Slowly read out loud these verses for today several times.  Allow the protecting God to wash over you with grace and understanding.
139 You have looked deep
into my heart, Lord,
and you know all about me.
2 You know when I am resting
or when I am working,
and from heaven
you discover my thoughts.
3 You notice everything I do
and everywhere I go.
4 Before I even speak a word,
you know what I will say,
5 and with your powerful arm
you protect me
from every side.
6 I can’t understand all of this!
Such wonderful knowledge
is far above me. (CEV)

 

Amen.

Judges 2:16-23

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Listening seems to be a lost art and a forgotten skill which needs careful development to be good at it.
            The Lord God Almighty is gracious, merciful, and kind.  He hears us when we call to Him, He listens when we incline our hearts to Him.  This is a characteristic of God – He always bends in a posture of listening to his creation.
            This is the reason why, as creatures in the image of God, we were meant from the very beginning of creation to listen.  But after humanity fell into disobedience, people have the tendency to talk more than they listen, to even refuse to hear what another is saying.  People even completely ignore God when He is speaking.
            The ancient Israelites were fickle in their attention to God.  When things were bad, they cried out to Him.  And because God listens, He heard and responded.  But when things were better, the people went about their business and forgot about Him.
            It was God who sent judges, rulers and leaders, to the people for their own welfare.  But we get this comment in the text of today’s Scripture:  they were quick to be unfaithful and to refuse even to listen these judges.
 
            Listening just wasn’t of value to the Israelites.  They talked and talked, and so could not hear what God or his appointed rulers were saying.
            We are to listen well, because God listens well.  We are to pay attention and hear because we are designed by our Creator to do so.  Perhaps our society would not be so perpetually upset and polarized if we would just take the time to listen well.
            Today, take a posture of listening.  Take just 10 minutes and don’t talk, don’t read, don’t check your phone, don’t do anything but just listen to the sounds around you.  What do you hear?  What do you think God is saying to you through those sounds?  How does He want you to respond?

 

            God of all creation, you have made me with two ears for listening.  Help me to so hear and distinguish you through creation and the voices of others so that I will follow you with confidence in my daily life through Jesus Christ, my Lord.  Amen.

Judges 2:6-15

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            The Old Testament book of Judges reads something like a soap opera.  The main characters are the ancient Israelites, fresh from coming into the Promised Land; God, the One who brought them into the land with a series of miraculous events and divine interventions; and, of course, the Judges, the men and women who ruled in the land.
            Moving through the chapters of Judges is full of adventures and misadventures.  It is a sad downward spiral of people forsaking the worship of God; God getting their attention; the people awakening to their dire condition and crying out to God; God sending a Judge to save them; the people slipping into a worse condition; and, the cycle starting all over again with more disastrous results and brokenness than before.
            In chapter 2, we get the clue as to where it all began and why it kept happening.  Tucked away in the middle of these verses is this cryptic and passive phrase: “After a while the people of Joshua’s generation died, and the next generation did not know the LORD or any of the things he had done for Israel.”
 
            There we have it.  The first generation of Israelites just plain failed to pass on their values, their experiences, and their knowledge to their children.  They simply were not intentional about providing the kind of education to their kids that would let them know who God is and what He did for them.
            The next generation will not know God unless this present generation takes to heart the mandate to graciously teach and develop their children in the words and ways of Jesus Christ.  It doesn’t just magically happen.
            What are some ways you can pass on the grace and truth of Jesus to the next generation?  How can you do it in a way that is loving and compelling, and not boring and pedantic?  If you are not confident in your familiarity of God, how might you go on a discovery with your kids or grandkids to find out more?

 

            Lord God Almighty, you have acted in the past with mighty deeds and gracious ways.  Help and enable your people to pass on their love for Jesus to the next generation so that your kingdom breaks into the generations and your will be done here on earth as it is always done in heaven.  Amen.

Isaiah 41:14-20

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Each morning I rise and read God’s Holy Word.  It is a discipline I’ve been doing for nearly 40 years.  In the past few years, I have begun reading more slowly and with greater contemplation –  because the goal is not to check off that you have read some verses on a Bible reading plan.  The aim is to connect meaningfully with God.  The desired result is to hear from him, and to let the Scriptures do their incredible work in our hearts.
            One of the ways I connect with Scripture, after having read the verses for the day several times, is to write it in my own words, using personal pronouns.  This morning is one of those days.  Here is today’s Old Testament lesson interpreted and personalized with God being the speaker….
“My dear servant, there is no need whatsoever to worry yourself,
though others say about you,
            ‘That guy is nothing, only a wormy maggot!’
I am your holy God,
            who saves and protects you.
I’ll let you be like a big ol’ log
            covered with sharp spikes.
You will grind and crush
every mountain and hill in front of you
            until they turn to dust.
A strong wind will scatter the dust of unholy jerks
            in all directions.
Then you will celebrate
and praise me, your LORD,
            The holy God who watches your life.
When your financial budget doesn’t budge
and your bank accounts lie empty
            and you have no idea where to turn,
I, your LORD and your God
will come to your rescue.
            I will not forget you.
I will make rivers of abundance flow
            on the desolate mountain peaks in your life.
I will send streams of life
to fill your empty valley of life’s tribulations.
Dry and barren places in your life
will flow with springs
            and become a lake of grace and goodness.
I will fill the parched desert areas of your needy life
            with all kinds of fruitful trees –
apple trees, olive trees, fig trees,
oak and walnut, elm and maple, fir and pine,
like in the original garden,
all your needs will be met in and through me, your God.
Everyone will see this
            and know that I,
the holy LORD God whom you love and serve,

 

            created every bit of it.”