Ruth 1-4; Proverbs 7:6-27
Click here for Friday's Bible Reading.
Nicolas Poussin 1593/94–1665
Summer (Boaz and Ruth)(Ruth 2:10)
Ruth 2:8-12
Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled."
At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?"
Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
Nicolas Poussin 1593/94–1665
Summer (Boaz and Ruth)(Ruth 2:10)
Ruth 2:8-12
Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled."
At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?"
Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
Judges 19-21; Proverbs 7:1-5
Click here for Thursday's Bible Reading.
Today's reading in Judges begins and ends with the same phrase:
"In those days Israel had no king." (Judges 19:1)
"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." (Judges 21:25)
Another interesting observation: the word love is not mentioned in this section.
Today's reading in Judges begins and ends with the same phrase:
"In those days Israel had no king." (Judges 19:1)
"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." (Judges 21:25)
Another interesting observation: the word love is not mentioned in this section.
Judges 13-15; Proverbs 6:12-19
Click here for Tuesday's Bible Reading.
Judges 15:18-19
Because [Samson] was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi.
Judges 15:18-19
Because [Samson] was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi.
Psalms 45-47
Click here for Sunday's Bible Reading.
Psalm 45:1, 7-8
My heart is stirred by a noble theme
as I recite my verses for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer . . .
You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.
All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from palaces adorned with ivory
the music of the strings makes you glad.
My dad's favorite hymn, "Ivory Palaces," is based on today's psalm.
Psalm 45:1, 7-8
My heart is stirred by a noble theme
as I recite my verses for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer . . .
You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.
All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from palaces adorned with ivory
the music of the strings makes you glad.
My dad's favorite hymn, "Ivory Palaces," is based on today's psalm.
John 11-15; Proverbs 5:15-23
Click here for Saturday's Bible Reading.
John 13:31-35
When [Judas] was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
"My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
At the end of the last supper with his disciples, Jesus made a last, impassioned plea, which he repeated three times: "Love one another." The third time he said it, he indicated that their witness to the world would depend on it.
Christians have many excuses as to why our witness to the world has failed, but few of them acknowledge our failure to love one another as the primary reason.
In an interview with Matt Lauer on the Today Show, Dan Merchant, comedy writer, filmmaker, and author of Lord, Save Us from Your Followers, said, "We're more comfortable being right than we are about trying to do the hard thing of loving one another."
In light of recent schisms, both local and national, in the family of God over who is right, I wondered what would happen if Christians made "being right" secondary to "being loving." Isn't that God's final word on what it means to "be right"?
You can watch the entire interview here . . .
John 13:31-35
When [Judas] was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
"My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
-----------------------
At the end of the last supper with his disciples, Jesus made a last, impassioned plea, which he repeated three times: "Love one another." The third time he said it, he indicated that their witness to the world would depend on it.
Christians have many excuses as to why our witness to the world has failed, but few of them acknowledge our failure to love one another as the primary reason.
In an interview with Matt Lauer on the Today Show, Dan Merchant, comedy writer, filmmaker, and author of Lord, Save Us from Your Followers, said, "We're more comfortable being right than we are about trying to do the hard thing of loving one another."
In light of recent schisms, both local and national, in the family of God over who is right, I wondered what would happen if Christians made "being right" secondary to "being loving." Isn't that God's final word on what it means to "be right"?
You can watch the entire interview here . . .
Judges 7-9; Proverbs 5:1-14
Click here for Friday's Bible Reading.
Ein Harod
At the foot of Mount Gilboa is Ein (the spring of) Harod. Judges 7 describes Gideon's actions in thinning his army out. He brought the men to the spring and sorted them on the basis of how they drank from the water. Today the swimming pool sits just in front of the cave where the spring emerges. —from BiblePlaces.com
Gideon Springs
—from Blair's World
Ein Harod
At the foot of Mount Gilboa is Ein (the spring of) Harod. Judges 7 describes Gideon's actions in thinning his army out. He brought the men to the spring and sorted them on the basis of how they drank from the water. Today the swimming pool sits just in front of the cave where the spring emerges. —from BiblePlaces.com
Gideon Springs
—from Blair's World
Judges 4-6; Proverbs 4:18-27
Click here for Thursday's Bible Reading.
Ferdinand Bol 1616–1680
Gideon and the Angel (Judges 6:21)
Judges 6:20-24
The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so. With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared. When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"
But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die."
So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace.
OBSERVATION: So often when God presents himself in Scripture, the earthly witness is terrified. Again and again, God must say, "Do not be afraid." Our natural inclination is to believe that anything bigger and stronger wants to harm us. God has to keep reminding us that he is the exception. Yet still our fear of anything bigger and stronger keeps us striving to be the biggest and strongest and smartest and richest. The children of God however do not have to strive to be superior because the father who loves us is bigger and stronger than all. The theme of both the old and new covenants is that God's children are to humble themselves so that God's power above all will be evident to all.
Ferdinand Bol 1616–1680
Gideon and the Angel (Judges 6:21)
Judges 6:20-24
The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so. With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared. When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"
But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die."
So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace.
OBSERVATION: So often when God presents himself in Scripture, the earthly witness is terrified. Again and again, God must say, "Do not be afraid." Our natural inclination is to believe that anything bigger and stronger wants to harm us. God has to keep reminding us that he is the exception. Yet still our fear of anything bigger and stronger keeps us striving to be the biggest and strongest and smartest and richest. The children of God however do not have to strive to be superior because the father who loves us is bigger and stronger than all. The theme of both the old and new covenants is that God's children are to humble themselves so that God's power above all will be evident to all.
Joshua 22-24; Proverbs 3:27-35
Click here for Tuesday's Bible Reading.
Joshua 22:4-5
"Now that the LORD your God has given your brothers rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul."
Yesterday on the Today Show, Meredith Viera interviewed Eugene Cussons about his television program "Escape to Chimp Eden" on Animal Planet. Cussons's explanation as to why rescuing Chimps is so difficult is a good analogy for the difficulty God has in rescuing humans.
Rescue mission for chimps
Joshua 22:4-5
"Now that the LORD your God has given your brothers rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul."
Yesterday on the Today Show, Meredith Viera interviewed Eugene Cussons about his television program "Escape to Chimp Eden" on Animal Planet. Cussons's explanation as to why rescuing Chimps is so difficult is a good analogy for the difficulty God has in rescuing humans.
Rescue mission for chimps
Joshua 19-21; Proverbs 3:11-26
Click here for Monday's Bible Reading.
Joshua 21:43-45
So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
Joshua 21:43-45
So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
Psalms 42-44
Click here for Sunday's Bible Reading.
PSALM 42:1
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
Above photo: "This photograph shows a mother and her kid drinking from a spring at En Gedi. These goats, known as ibex, are dependent upon water and thus live near a dependable supply. Ibex have apparently lived in the area of En Gedi for thousands of years, as attested by the name of the spring and by depictions of ibex on objects found in the Cave of the Treasure in the nearby Nahal Mishmar." —from BiblePlaces.com newsletter
PSALM 42:1
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
Above photo: "This photograph shows a mother and her kid drinking from a spring at En Gedi. These goats, known as ibex, are dependent upon water and thus live near a dependable supply. Ibex have apparently lived in the area of En Gedi for thousands of years, as attested by the name of the spring and by depictions of ibex on objects found in the Cave of the Treasure in the nearby Nahal Mishmar." —from BiblePlaces.com newsletter
John 6-10; Proverbs 3:1-10
Click here for Saturday's Bible Reading.
Vasily Polenov 1844–1927
Jesus and the Sinner Woman (John 8:4)
JOHN 8:1-11
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
Vasily Polenov 1844–1927
Jesus and the Sinner Woman (John 8:4)
JOHN 8:1-11
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
Joshua 10-12; Proverbs 1:20-33
Click here for Wednesday's Bible Reading.
Nicolas Poussin 1593/94–1665
Joshua's Victory over the Amorites (Joshua 10:10)
Nicolas Poussin 1593/94–1665
Joshua's Victory over the Amorites (Joshua 10:10)
After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites. —Joshua 10:9-11
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)