What’s been on my mind lately…

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is when I am asked if I want to be healed, the answer should be “yes.”

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Numbers 29 & 30:  More feasts and laws concerning vows. 
• John 5: Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath, which provokes the Pharisees. Jesus asks us if we want to be healed.
• Psalms 73: A prayer of triumph and thanksgiving after having been vindicated of injustice.
• Proverbs 11: Advice and wisdom for those suffering injustice.

In John 5, we see Jesus heal a man by the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. This provokes the Pharisees, which we have talked about before when reading the previous three gospels. Jesus gives a long-winded speech in this chapter about why this provokes them, but to me that is not the most important thing in this chapter. The part I find the most interesting is when Jesus walks up to the man he is about to heal and asks him, “Do you want to be well again?” The man does not say, “Yes.” He gives Jesus an excuse for why he has never been able to be healed in the past.

Think about whatever it is in your life that holds you back, and ask yourself, “Do you want to be healed? Do you want to get better? Do you want this trouble to go away?” Whatever it is that is keeping you from moving forward, ask yourself that question and then notice what your immediate reaction to the question is. Is it an unwavering, “Yes!” or is it an excuse or recounting of the reasons you’ve been held back all this time?

God wants to help us. He wants to heal us. He wants to remove the obstacles that are in our way, whether others put them there or we put them there ourselves. But sometimes we’ve faced them for so long we don’t know what our lives would look like without them. Sometimes the problems we have are so familiar and comfortable that we have difficulty letting go of them. Or if they are removed for us, we often will just replace them with new problems of a similar nature.

How often do we actually clear the decks and wipe the slate clean, and then move forward? For most people, the answer is “not often, if ever.”

Now, let’s connect the dots between what happened to the man by the pool of Bethesda with the way that Jesus healing him on the sabbath angered the Pharisees. That long-winded speech is aimed directly at them, and speaks to exactly what I said here about people getting comfortable in their circumstances, even when they are negative. He accuses them of combing the scriptures, looking for the Messiah, but then not recognizing him when he is standing right in front of him. The juxtaposition of these two events, the healing of the man by the pool of Bethesda and the long-winded speech aimed at the Pharisees, is not mere coincidence. He is essentially asking them, “Do you even want to see the Messiah?” What ails them is their long search for the Messiah without finding him, and Jesus is the cure for what ails them, but they refuse to accept him. They are too comfortable in the searching to ever want to actually find what they are searching for.

When I am experiencing problems in my life, because of this chapter in the book of John I ask myself, “Do I want to be healed? Do I want my problem solved?” And if the answer to my question is a bunch of excuses and rationalizations then I know that I am holding myself back, and have become too comfortable in my negative situation. I need Jesus’ healing more than ever, in that situation. We need to let Jesus heal us, and accept his help.

Psalms 73 gives us a prayer of triumph. The Psalmist writes of having been subject to some kind of evil or injustice, and then having been rescued. He thanks and praises God for rescuing him. This could have been a prayer that the man by the pool of Bethesda could have prayed after suffering for thirty-eight years from whatever ailment Jesus healed him of. Most of us have experienced injustice of some kind or another, and if we’ve been fortunate enough to be vindicated, this is the prayer we should pray.

Coincidentally, Proverbs 11 provides us with wisdom and advice for how we should comport ourselves when we are experiencing injustice. There is a lot about karma in this chapter, and the advice is that we should continue to operate out of our integrity and faith in God while allowing God to sort everything out. We should not take revenge or retribution against those who wrong us. Rather, their own actions against us will come back on them.

In the martial arts, there is a branch called Aikido, in which the entire practice is to use one’s opponent’s momentum against them. It is an entirely defensive martial art in which you don’t make aggressive moves yourself but actually assist your enemy when they make aggressive moves, so that whatever they had intended for you to take you down ends up taking them down. That’s what this chapter in Proverbs has to teach us.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is we are to be the light of hope in a dark world.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Numbers 27 & 28: The law regarding the inheritance of daughters. Joshua becomes the head of the community. Regulations concerning sacrifices for various feasts/celebrations. 
• John 4: Jesus reveals himself to the woman at the well, and ministers to the Samaritans for two days. He heals the son of a local official with a word, from a distance.
• Psalms 72: A description of the coming Messiah and his mission.
• Proverbs 10: “Reaping at harvest-time is the mark of the prudent, sleeping at harvest-time is the sign of the worthless.”

In Numbers today, we learn about provisions that were made for women to inherit their father’s land and possessions, when the father had no sons. This was a new thing. Before this request by the daughters of a man who had died, the property bypassed them and went straight to the father’s brothers. Before this, women did not inherit property.

In John 4, Jesus meets the woman at the well and asks her for some water. She starts quoting him social regulations about how Jews and Samaritans are supposed to (or not supposed to) interact, and how men and women are supposed to (or not supposed to) interact. He tells her everything she has done in her life, and reveals that he is the Messiah. She tells everyone she knows and they come back to meet him. His disciples are astonished to find him hanging out with Samaritans and sharing the good news with them. They continue to make the mistake of thinking that Jesus has come only for the Jews. Jesus sets them straight again.

While speaking with the woman at the well, and his disciples, Jesus talks about a harvest sown by others that his disciples will reap. He speaks of the foundation laid down by the prophets (fertile ground), the ministry he himself has embarked upon (seeds he is sowing), and a harvest to be reaped by others (his disciples, both those with him during that time, and those of us who succeeded them, to this day).

They travel back to Galilee and Jesus heals the son of a local official with a word, from a distance.

Some of the events in John are the retelling of events we have already read about in previous gospels. But the way that John writes about them is centered on the mystical nature of Jesus, and the bigger picture of his ministry; the meaning of it all. In the previous gospels, we get the events. In John, we get the things that really can’t be explained in logical terms. John shows us where faith is necessary for the stories to make sense.

Coincidentally (there’s God winking at us again), Psalm 72 is a description of the coming Messiah and his mission. What Jesus says to his disciples in John is the perfect bookend to today’s Psalm.

Another coincidence occurs today in Proverbs 10, where we read in verse 5, “Reaping at harvest-time is the mark of the prudent, sleeping at harvest-time is the sign of the worthless.” Jesus spoke of a harvest that his disciples (both those he was with at that time, and those of us who succeeded them to this day) would reap that they had not sown. In Proverbs 10 there are other verses that speak directly to being wise and leading a productive and fruitful life in general. But in verse 5 we have a double entendre concerning reaping a harvest. There’s the literal meaning, which is to not be lazy and to reap a harvest so that you can feed your family; and there’s the interpretation related to the harvest of which Jesus speaks in John 4, the one sown by Jesus in a field prepared by the prophets and ultimately reaped by his disciples; a harvest of souls. Jesus sowed seeds of light and hope, and it’s our job to finish the work and bring people into the light by connecting the dots for them. We are to, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5: 16).

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is the first principle of wisdom is faith in God.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Numbers 25 & 26: The Israelites have short memories, and sin against God, again. Another census is taken. 
• John 3: Nicodemus, a Pharisee, has a deep conversation with Jesus.
• Psalms 71: A prayer for help in old age.
• Proverbs 9: The first principle of wisdom is faith in God.

During the time that the Israelites wander through the desert looking for the Promised Land, they spend an awful lot of time complaining, losing faith in God, falling prey to local customs which are abhorrent (child sacrifice, prostitution, etc.). Here we find that after they win the victory against Moab, they fall into practices of prostitution with the Midianites. This makes God angry and causes him to send a plague. They have to cleanse the camp of all who partook in the sinful practices before the camp can be cleansed of sin. Then they take another census.

Stories such as these are designed to describe the short memories and flip-flopping nature of humanity, and in this case in particular, the Israelites. When things are going well, everyone is grateful and praising God. But if people go too long left on their own, without strict adherence to practices of prayer and thanksgiving, they tend to forget and start to drift and slip. The Israelites are no different than the rest of us.

If I find myself getting too busy to do my morning prayers and meditations for very long, I find myself drifting into ingratitude, depression, and things start to feel like they are getting beyond me. If you’ve ever read the Hobbit, you may recognize the metaphor of Mirkwood, where Gandalf (a kind of Moses) warns the Hobbits, “Don’t stray from the path!” They do stray from the path and find themselves falling prey to giant spiders and then the wood elves. For the Israelites in the desert, it was the temptations of cultural practices that violated the ten commandments. For me it’s a simple case of inattention to simple daily spiritual practices that keep me centered. What is it for you?

When we find ourselves having strayed from the path, we don’t have to go so far as killing everyone in the camp who strayed (old testament stories can be bloody and brutal, and remember–they were written thousands of years ago in a different time and place, for a different culture practicing different moral and legal traditions that, if you practiced them today, would get you arrested and imprisoned). All we have to do is return to the good practices. Pick up our Bibles and begin reading where we left off. Resume our daily prayers and devotional practices. Make small course corrections. Before you know, it you’ll be back on the path. But the best practice is to not let them slip to begin with.

In John, we see Nicodemus, a Pharisee, having a deep conversation with Jesus about the revelation of the Spirit. Nicodemus is a rare (and perhaps singular) Pharisee in that he recognizes that Jesus is teaching directly from the heart of God, and he wants to know more. It is evident that Nicodemus doesn’t understand everything that Jesus is teaching, but he receives it, and is converted. We know this because Nicodemus is present after the crucifixion of Jesus and assists Joseph of Arimathea with the preservation of the body by providing the necessary spices for burial.

In the conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus first uses the term “born again.” He is, of course, speaking of a spiritual birth. We are born physically into this world from our mother’s womb, and if we receive the teachings of Jesus, we are born again spiritually into the life God intends for us. Later, in II Corinthians 5:17, Paul further explains this phenomenon: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

This is what the Israelites in the desert had so much difficulty grasping. They did not experience a spiritual rebirth. God kept rescuing them and they kept returning to their old way of doing things. Nothing had become new. Whenever there was a large group of people worshipping a golden calf, or cursing God for the lack of water or the bad food, or participating in child sacrifice or prostitution, God just wiped them out. They didn’t have Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help them be “born again.” There was no forgiveness. As Joseph Campbell so astutely reserved, the old testament was full of a lot of rules and no mercy. Jesus is all forgiveness and endless mercy.

In Psalms 71 we have a prayer for mercy and refuge in old age. As we age, we slowly regress to a state of relative helplessness, similar to that from which we originated as babies. Our bodies begin to fail, we can’t work as long or as hard as we did when we were younger. People become impatient with our inability to catch up. Psalms 71 reminds us that God is there to help us and protect us from those who might take advantage of us, if we just call on him.

Proverbs 9 provides us with yet another portrait of wisdom, as well as its opposite, foolishness. In this proverb we read that “The first principle of wisdom is the fear of Yahweh.” Faith in God is our first step towards wisdom. Recognizing a higher power, that there is something bigger than ourselves, is the first step towards wisdom. Recognizing that we don’t have all the answers is essential. When we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, recognizing that we have access to the deepest and greatest of all mysteries through prayer and faith in God can lift us out of the depths of our despair and give us hope. If we have nothing, and no resources, and we do not pray and put our faith in God, then there is no hope because we are relying entirely on ourselves, and we’ve already recognized that we have nothing. Putting our faith in God acknowledges that we don’t have all the answers and are open to receiving help outside of our own limited imaginations.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is [write it here].

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Numbers 23 & 24:  The story of Balaam continues, and he ends up blessing Israel instead of cursing them. 
• John 2: Jesus turns water to wine, and then cleanses the temple of money changers.
• Psalms 70: A prayer for help in time of distress.
• Proverbs 8: “Fear of Yahweh means hatred of evil.”

In Numbers 23 and 24, we continue with the story of Balaam and discover that not only is Balaam prevented from cursing Israel, he is compelled to bless them! God turns what Balak had meant for evil into good. That’s a profound message for you and me. Not only will no weapon formed against us prosper, but the evil others mean for us will be turned to good.

In John, we see once again his first miracle at the Wedding in Cana, where he turns water into wine. Then John tells a story not told in the other three gospels. Jesus drives the money changers out of the temple market, where people would buy animals for sacrifice. If you do some outside reading on this, some Bible scholars say that the issue Jesus had with this practice was not that animals were made available for purchase for sacrifice, so that people could perform the rituals required in the temple, but that they probably had brought their own animals for sacrifice and had then been told they weren’t good enough and would have to buy a replacement from the temple market. This was just one more way the Pharisees were taking advantage of the people they were meant to serve.

When the Jews ask Jesus what authority he has to do such a thing, he tells them that if they destroy the temple he will raise it back up in three days. It took forty-six years to build the temple, so they scoff at this answer, but he was speaking of the temple of his body, and of his death and resurrection.

John finishes this chapter with a brief paragraph about Jesus’ ability to see into the hearts of every person and know what they are about.

Once again, we see that John is concerned with the mystical Jesus, the one who is more than mere man; the one who is God on Earth.

Proverbs 8 is a Wisdom poem, full of clues about what wisdom looks like, and how to choose it. It concludes with an open invitation to all to choose Wisdom. In verse 23 we read, “Fear of Yahweh means hatred of evil. I hate pride and arrogance, wicked behavior and a lying mouth.” This is the perfect tie-in to what Jesus did in the temple and what John said about him in the concluding paragraph of chapter 2. It tells us that those who have evil in their hearts do not have God in their hearts. Being a discerner of the hearts of people, that is what Jesus was angry about at the temple. The people who were taking advantage of people coming to the temple to cleanse themselves of their sins were acting out of pure evil. They were wolves in sheep’s clothing.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

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The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is when I am in dire circumstances, I can call on God and he will help me.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Numbers 21 & 22:  Israel defeats the Canaanites. The people complain AGAIN about the lack of water and the boring food. God sends “fiery serpents” (poisonous) to punish them for their complaining. The people repent and Moses creates a bronze serpent for them to look at, which when they did so would heal them of the poisonous bite of the “fiery serpents.” The Israelites continue on to Transjordan, find water, and conquer Transjordan. The king of Moab tries to enlist the help of Balaam in his defense against the Israelites, and fails.
• John 1: John writes a poetic summary of the way in which Jesus fulfills the prophecies of the old testament and comes to us as the light of the world. He then presents a chronological summary of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, beginning with John the Baptist announcing his arrival and then with the selection of the first disciples.
• Psalms 69: A prayer of lament and hope for rescue from dire circumstances.
• Proverbs 7: A reminder to keep God’s precepts, and to stay out of trouble.

In Numbers 22, we find one of my favorite stories in the Bible, because it involves a talking donkey and an angel carrying a sword. I mean, how often do you find those two things in a story together? The king of Moab has heard about the Israelites making their way from Egypt to their ultimate destination in the Promised Land. He has heard that they have conquered nations on their way, and he doesn’t want to be the next conquered nation. Balaam is a sorcerer of sorts, so Balak (king of Moab) pays Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites so that the Moabites can defeat them. Balaam actually tries to do this, but God comes to Balaam in a dream and tells him to do no such thing. King Balak offers him even more money, but Balaam assures him he can’t go against God, although he wants to because the fee is so rich. He continues on his journey to the place where he plans to curse the Israelites.

However, an angel with a sword appears in the way, blocking the path of Balaam and his donkey. The donkey can see the angel but Balaam can not, and the donkey refuses to approach the place where the angel is standing. Balaam beats his donkey, but not only does the donkey refuse to move, he also rebukes Balaam for beating him, speaking Balaam’s own language. Then suddenly Balaam is able to see the angel and the angel rebukes Balaam for ignoring the instructions God has given him, and for beating his donkey.

We’ll find out how this story turns out in the next chapters, and talking donkey or no talking donkey, the moral of the story is clear: none of us will be able to accomplish anything that goes against God’s plan for us or someone else, no matter how hard we try. Later in our reading through the Bible, we will eventually come across Isaiah 54:17, which states, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” That is what is going on here. God will not allow a weapon formed against the Israelites, in the form of Balaam and a curse, to even happen, much less prosper.

I find that comforting, because I have experienced people with ill intentions toward me actively working to do evil against me. Sometimes they have succeeded. When I read this story it reminds me that even if it feels like they may have succeeded, they will never be able to do the worst they have in mind for me, because no weapon formed against me shall prosper. God is looking out for me, and will prevent the worst from happening at their hands. When I find myself in dire circumstances, whether natural or contrived by someone intending to do me harm for their own purposes, it is my job to turn to God, pray, and seek his help. I like to imagine that for the person intending to do me harm, God sent them a dream with instructions to stop what they are doing, and if they ignored that he sent some other major sign (maybe not a talking donkey, but some other glaringly obvious obstruction to their plans) that they should stop. If they choose not to put an end to their evil plans, well that is between them and God, and they are likely in for some devastating karma. I’ve done as much as depends on me by laying my trouble at God’s feet and asking for his help. It’s not up to me to do anything directly against them to thwart the attack. I am to shake the dust off my feet and go on my way.

The other message I take away from this passage is that Israel didn’t even know this was going on. The king of Moab was plotting against them, and they had no idea. This also gives me great comfort, because it tells me that God knows what I need, even when I don’t, and he’s got my back. He sends help and protection even when I am unaware that I need it.

In Matthew, we received the historical and genealogical lineage of Jesus, providing evidence of his authority to make the claims that he did. In Mark, we received an accounting of all of the signs, wonders, healings, and miracles that he performed, providing further evidence of who he was, as set forth in the prophecies of the old testament. In Luke we received an ordered, anecdotal account of all that he did during his life. And now in John, we receive a more mystical account of Jesus’ oneness with God and position in the holy trinity, as John takes us back to the creation of the world to establish that Jesus was there in the beginning.

Each gospel provides a distinct and unique view of the various roles that Jesus played, the work that he did, and the significance of that work. There is some repetition in the stories, which only adds authenticity to the accounts. But each gospel is told with a different voice and a different viewpoint of those events; which also adds authenticity to the accounts.

When a crime or a major accident occurs, the police separate the witnesses before getting their statements. There are two reasons for this. The first is that they don’t want them to be unduly influenced after the fact by other stories they hear. The police want to get their statements with as little outside influence as possible. The other reason they are separated is that if their stories are identical, the police know that they are not true. When people are witness to the same event, they never see exactly the same thing. The major events that they report will be the same, but the details will always vary in some way, because what each person was paying attention to when the event occurred will be slightly different, based on their point of view.

That is what we see here in the gospels. Each accounting is slightly different based on the points of view of the witnesses and the authors who recorded the accounts, as well as the authors’ own points of view.

The opening of the book of John is the most poetic account, and one that takes into consideration the grand perspective of a universal point of view. Jesus was more than just another man; he was the son of God. He had divine insight and abilities. He was there when the universe began. John wants to make sure we don’t miss that important point.

In Psalms 69 today, we have a very long prayer of lament and hope for rescue from dire circumstances. This could have been a good prayer for the Israelites as they wandered around in the desert, and in today’s chapters in Numbers they found themselves complaining about a lack of water and boring food. It could be a prayer for us today as we endure difficult times. In my own life, I have some very difficult things going on right now, both financially and physically. Reading this psalm gave me great comfort and hope. Perhaps it will do the same for you.

In Proverbs 7 today we have a reminder at the beginning of the chapter to keep God’s precepts, and the rest of the bulk of the chapter is a warning to stay out of trouble.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is teaching is a light; correction and discipline are the way to life.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Numbers 19 & 20: The sacrifice of the red heifer for the purpose of generating ashes for the purification of those who become unclean. The journey from Kadesh to Moab, in which Miriam dies; the people complain that there is no water, and God tells Moses and Aaron what to do about it; Edom refuses to allow Israel to pass through their country; and Aaron dies. 
• Luke 24: The women visit the empty tomb, are greeted by angels, and tell the apostles what they are told. Jesus appears to his disciples and gives them his final instructions.
• Psalms 68: An epic poem summarizing the history and glory of Israel.
• Proverbs 6:Instructions and advice about how to comport ourselves as we move through the world in our daily lives.

In Numbers 19 and 20, we get yet more instructions about purification of those who are unclean. We also get to the beginning of the end of the long journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. Miriam dies. Aaron dies. The people rebel AGAIN. More drama.

After so many sad chapters in Luke about the end of Jesus’ life, today we get a happy chapter as some of the the things that he told his disciples would happen do indeed happen. He has arisen from the dead and visits them.

My favorite part of this chapter is the story of the road to Emmaus. Two of his followers are walking along from Jerusalem to Emmaus, talking about the sad events of recent days, when suddenly Jesus walks up beside them and asks them what they are talking about. They basically chastise him for being so ignorant that he has no idea about the biggest events that have ever occurred in Jerusalem. After they tell him everything that has happened, he calls them foolish for not recognizing that those events have fulfilled all of the old testament prophecy. As he gets to the end of his story, he vanishes, and suddenly they recognize him as Jesus, risen from the dead. They become so excited about this that they go right back to Jerusalem to tell the rest of his followers.

When they meet up with the disciples, Jesus appears amongst them and breaks bread with them, at which point everyone recognizes him, but they think he’s a ghost. He points out the holes in his hands and feet, and eats a piece of fish to prove that he’s actually flesh and blood.

He then gives them his final instructions, which are to go tell the good news to everyone they meet.

Coincidentally, today’s Psalm is an epic poem of Israel’s glory. How fitting that as we come to the end of Jesus’ work on Earth and his ascension that we should happen to land on a Psalm that summarizes the history of Israel.

Proverbs 6 could almost seem to be instructions to Jesus’ disciples about how to comport themselves as they head out to fulfill his great commission. They are definitely good advice for us about how to comport ourselves in our daily lives.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.