1 Chronicles 28:1-29:30 ~ Romans 5:6-21 ~ Psalm 15:1-5 ~ Proverbs 19:18-19
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Old Testament - We finish up the book of First Chronicles today! Second Chronicles begins tomorrow! Today's readings are a nice transition from the reign of King David to his son Solomon.
Our readings today set the transition scene nicely in First Chronicles 28 verses 1 & 2: "David summoned all his officials to Jerusalem--the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the twelve army divisions, the other generals and captains, the overseers of the royal property and livestock, the palace officials, the mighty men, and all the other warriors in the kingdom. David rose and stood before them and addressed them as follows: "My brothers and my people!"" One thing that really stood out to me in David's address to his officials today was his absolute passion for God's Temple! David was so passionate about making sure the Temple was prepared for his son Solomon to build it. Yes, true, God gave David the plans for the Temple. :) But... what about us in our lives today... does God give us any "plans" for our lives today? What about the Bible? Is the Bible a "plan" for our lives today that we should follow? Below is an image from today's readings of David addressing his officials:
I love David's prayer of praise to God today in 1 Chronicles 29 verses 10 through 12: "O LORD, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Riches and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is at your discretion that people are made great and given strength." Have you ever prayed a prayer of praise like this to God? Would you like to? You could do so right now!
New Testament - Wow... I don't know what it is about Romans this year, but it is speaking to me like never before. For those of you that have gone through the One Year Bible multiple times, you probably know how this is. One year a book will kinda sorta speak to you - God's Word always does. And then the next year a book will just blow you away with its wisdom. Romans is one of those books for me this year... Paul's words in Romans 5 verses 6 through 8 today spoke to me right away: "When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." This is so powerful to think about. Jesus died for us sinners. Think about how selfless this is. Would you die for someone right now? Perhaps your family or maybe someone who is especially good, as this Psalm says. But would you die for a liar, a thief, a cheat, or a hopeless addict? Maybe so... but probably not. Jesus came for us. He died for us. Us thieves. Us liars. Us cheat. Us addicts. He came to save us! Have you been saved by Jesus?
We are now called friends of God as Paul tells us in verse 11: "So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God--all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God." Do you rejoice in knowing that you are a friend of God? If someone were to look at how you interact with others and how you spend your time and your days, would they know that you are a friend of God? Do you often spend quality time with God like you would with any other friend? Do you think spending time with God is more valuable than anything else you could do in this world?
Paul's contrast of Adam and Jesus in today's readings is so powerful for us to meditate upon... Verses 18 & 19 stood out to me today: "Yes, Adam's one sin brought condemnation upon everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness makes all people right in God's sight and gives them life. Because one person disobeyed God, many people became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many people will be made right in God's sight."
Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Romans titled "From the Curse to the Cure" is at this link.
Psalms - Psalm 15 verses 1 & 2 today are awesome: "Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts." Psalm 15 was written for those that wished to have access to God in his Temple in Jerusalem. However, I do believe that today, through Jesus, anyone can worship God anywhere - in a church or in our homes or wherever we find ourselves. However, I do think there is truth in these Psalm verses in that we can worship God beautifully by living a blameless life (not perfect life - only Jesus was perfect this side of heaven - we will need to confess sins & repent), doing what is right, and speaking the truth from sincere hearts. I do believe these are acts of worship that demonstrate our friendship with God and our growth in becoming more like his son Jesus in our lifetimes. Do you seek to lead a blameless life? Do you seek to do what is right? Do you speak the truth from a sincere heart? Do you seek to worship God in some way each and every day? How?
Proverbs - Proverbs chapter 19 verse 19 teaches us today: "Short-tempered people must pay their own penalty. If you rescue them once, you will have to do it again." This is an interesting Proverb to think about. What it says to me is that sometimes people can only learn things on their own. They have to make their own mistakes. Pay their own penalty. And then they'll learn. If we don't let them go through this process, and we "rescue them" once, we'll have to rescue them again. Interesting to consider this in light of verse 18: "Discipline your children while there is hope. If you don't, you will ruin their lives." This verse to me indicates that we can actually "rescue" people with godly discipline early in their lives. We can "rescue" our children through godly discipline and save them much ruin later in their lives. Do you agree with both of these Proverbs? Do you see the wisdom in godly discipline for our children? Do you think this graph below shows how godly discipline can both send people on the upward road and also save people from ultimate ruin?
YouTube - Based on our readings in Romans chapter 5 verses 6 through 6 (shown above), I think you'll appreciate this 5 minute YouTube sermonette by Josh Harris. It's called "The Room," based on a dream Josh had several years ago. Josh wrote about this dream in his book "I Kissed Dating Goodbye". Here are a few words from Josh about this dream and this video you're about to watch: ""The Room" is a dream I had while visiting Puerto Rico for a Billy Graham crusade when I was 19. People often ask if I really had the dream, and the answer is yes. I woke up deeply shaken, grabbed my computer, and began to type. The dream became an article, and the premise was this: What if there were a room of files that cataloged your every thought and action? Could you bear to review them? "The Room" touches on the universal themes of guilt and redemption. How does a person find forgiveness for the wrongs they've committed or for the good they've left undone? Is our past something we can leave behind or forget? How can any of us know true forgiveness from a God who is holy and just? "The Room" points to our need for a Savior who can rescue us from the punishment our sins deserve. Jesus Christ is that Savior. And "The Room" is a story that helps explain what he accomplished when he died on the cross for the sins of the world. I hope that it will point you to the Savior who died for you." If you'd like to read the full text of "The Room" it's online here.
Have you allowed God into your "Room"? Click here to let him in!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this week: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 (NIV)
Comments from You & Questions of the Day: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
