February 4
February 4
One Year Bible Readings:
Exodus 19:16-21:21
Matthew 23:13-39
Psalm 28:1-9
Proverbs 7:1-5
Supplemental Reading for The One Year Bible.
The following are excerpts from Mike’s One Year Bible Blog.
Exodus:
Big day today! Ten Commandments day! This kind of snuck up on me, but it was a great surprise. Today in Exodus chapter 19 Mount Sinai plays quite a prominent role in the narrative. Below is an image of Mt. Sinai that I think correlates well with verse 18: "All Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the LORD had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook with a violent earthquake."
Q: Since we've arrived at the Ten Commandments in our readings today, now is an appropriate time to ask - are the Ten Commandments important to you? Why? Have they always been important to you? I will confess that there was a time early in my Christian walk where the Ten Commandments didn't really matter to me. All that mattered at that time was my faith in Jesus. But, then, I personally felt that I was not moving forward as a disciple of Jesus' without meditating upon and considering and, yes, applying the Ten Commandments to my life. Am I perfect when it comes to the Ten Commandments? Of course not, this side of heaven. But meditating upon the Ten Commandments and meditating upon my actions - in relationship with Jesus and inviting Jesus into this process - has changed my heart and my actions. Do you think that we should meditate upon the Ten Commandments and our actions?
Verse 19 in this chapter is intriguing as the Israelites speak to Moses: ""You tell us what God says, and we will listen. But don't let God speak directly to us. If he does, we will die!"" The NIV Study Bible commentary suggests that this is the first time that people asked for a "mediator" between them and God. And that mediator is initially fulfilled in Moses, then in the Aaronic / Levitical priests, then in the prophets, and then finally in Jesus Christ - our final mediator. Powerful for each of us to consider...
Q: Who is the mediator between you and God? Has this always been the case?
I liked reading and considering the simplicity of God's instructions on the proper use of altars in verses 24 & 25: ""The altars you make for me must be simple altars of earth.... Build altars in the places where I remind you who I am, and I will come and bless you there. If you build altars from stone, use only uncut stones. Do not chip or shape the stones with a tool, for that would make them unfit for holy use." For some reason the simplicity of these altars stood in stark contrast to the religiosity Jesus goes after in our Matthew readings today. Maybe God likes us to keep things simple? This is an interesting thing to consider. The gospel message is not complicated. It's simple. Sometimes I think we do a pretty good job of complicating it for ourselves or others though. When maybe instead we should just be sharing with others our simple altars to God....
Q: Have you ever over-complicated the Gospel in your own life? How do you think the Gospel is simple? But perhaps not simplistic?
Exodus chapter 21 dives into some regulations surrounding slavery. I know this brings up some questions. The One Year Bible Companion today covers this topic at a high level: "The Hebrews, though freed from slavery, had slaves themselves. A person could become a slave because of poverty, debt, or even crime. But Hebrew slaves were treated as humans, not property, and were allowed to work their way to freedom. The Bible acknowledges the existence of slavery but never encourages it."
Matthew:
Today in Matthew 23 we read Jesus' "Woe to you!" warnings and teachings. Verses 25 & 26 stood out to me today: ""How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! You are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy--full of greed and self-indulgence! Blind Pharisees! First wash the inside of the cup, and then the outside will become clean, too." These verses reminded me a lot of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus very clearly goes to the heart of the matter with many of the Laws. These verses are such a strong reminder for us to guard our hearts - and what we let into our hearts - and the condition of our hearts. Because Jesus is much more concerned about the condition of our hearts than the condition of our skin. He wants to heal us from the inside out.
Q: How is the condition of your heart today? Will you allow Jesus to heal your heart? To heal you from the inside out? Where will you find true inner peace to heal you from the inside out? Have you ever been healed by Jesus from the inside out?
Psalm:
Psalm 28 verse 2 stood out to me today - "Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary." The thing that stood out to me is the image of the Psalmist "lifting his hands" in prayer.
Q: Do you periodically lift your hands in prayer? Do you kneel when you pray? Close your eyes? Bow your head? What do you do to really signify your worship and praise of God? Do you think lifting our hands or doing other body movements can change the way we pray to God - rather than doing nothing unique with our body? My quick thoughts are that we can absolutely pray at any time in any place without lifting our hands or closing our eyes or bowing, etc. I think this gets toward the idea of "praying unceasingly." However - I do think there is something special about the times in our day when we can really spend some quality quiet time with God in prayer. And the best way for me to personally do this is by really changing my body language first - by kneeling down, closing my eyes, bowing my head, maybe lifting my hands, etc. This somehow I think brings me closer to God - it doesn't bring God closer to me - he's always close. But, somehow, what I do with my body before & during prayer can definitely make a difference in how long I will actually pray to God and how deep into prayer & listening I will go. How about for you?
Proverbs:
Proverbs chapter 7 verses 1 - 3 today are powerful: "Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands. Obey them and live! Guard my teachings as your most precious possession. Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart."
Q: Do you guard God's teachings as your most precious possession? If not, what is your most precious possession? And then where do God's teachings rank in comparison to your other possessions?
Copyright © 2004-2012 One Year Bible Blog
One Year Bible Readings:
Exodus 19:16-21:21
Matthew 23:13-39
Psalm 28:1-9
Proverbs 7:1-5
Supplemental Reading for The One Year Bible.
The following are excerpts from Mike’s One Year Bible Blog.
Exodus:
Big day today! Ten Commandments day! This kind of snuck up on me, but it was a great surprise. Today in Exodus chapter 19 Mount Sinai plays quite a prominent role in the narrative. Below is an image of Mt. Sinai that I think correlates well with verse 18: "All Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the LORD had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook with a violent earthquake."
Q: Since we've arrived at the Ten Commandments in our readings today, now is an appropriate time to ask - are the Ten Commandments important to you? Why? Have they always been important to you? I will confess that there was a time early in my Christian walk where the Ten Commandments didn't really matter to me. All that mattered at that time was my faith in Jesus. But, then, I personally felt that I was not moving forward as a disciple of Jesus' without meditating upon and considering and, yes, applying the Ten Commandments to my life. Am I perfect when it comes to the Ten Commandments? Of course not, this side of heaven. But meditating upon the Ten Commandments and meditating upon my actions - in relationship with Jesus and inviting Jesus into this process - has changed my heart and my actions. Do you think that we should meditate upon the Ten Commandments and our actions?
Verse 19 in this chapter is intriguing as the Israelites speak to Moses: ""You tell us what God says, and we will listen. But don't let God speak directly to us. If he does, we will die!"" The NIV Study Bible commentary suggests that this is the first time that people asked for a "mediator" between them and God. And that mediator is initially fulfilled in Moses, then in the Aaronic / Levitical priests, then in the prophets, and then finally in Jesus Christ - our final mediator. Powerful for each of us to consider...
Q: Who is the mediator between you and God? Has this always been the case?
I liked reading and considering the simplicity of God's instructions on the proper use of altars in verses 24 & 25: ""The altars you make for me must be simple altars of earth.... Build altars in the places where I remind you who I am, and I will come and bless you there. If you build altars from stone, use only uncut stones. Do not chip or shape the stones with a tool, for that would make them unfit for holy use." For some reason the simplicity of these altars stood in stark contrast to the religiosity Jesus goes after in our Matthew readings today. Maybe God likes us to keep things simple? This is an interesting thing to consider. The gospel message is not complicated. It's simple. Sometimes I think we do a pretty good job of complicating it for ourselves or others though. When maybe instead we should just be sharing with others our simple altars to God....
Q: Have you ever over-complicated the Gospel in your own life? How do you think the Gospel is simple? But perhaps not simplistic?
Exodus chapter 21 dives into some regulations surrounding slavery. I know this brings up some questions. The One Year Bible Companion today covers this topic at a high level: "The Hebrews, though freed from slavery, had slaves themselves. A person could become a slave because of poverty, debt, or even crime. But Hebrew slaves were treated as humans, not property, and were allowed to work their way to freedom. The Bible acknowledges the existence of slavery but never encourages it."
Matthew:
Today in Matthew 23 we read Jesus' "Woe to you!" warnings and teachings. Verses 25 & 26 stood out to me today: ""How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! You are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy--full of greed and self-indulgence! Blind Pharisees! First wash the inside of the cup, and then the outside will become clean, too." These verses reminded me a lot of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus very clearly goes to the heart of the matter with many of the Laws. These verses are such a strong reminder for us to guard our hearts - and what we let into our hearts - and the condition of our hearts. Because Jesus is much more concerned about the condition of our hearts than the condition of our skin. He wants to heal us from the inside out.
Q: How is the condition of your heart today? Will you allow Jesus to heal your heart? To heal you from the inside out? Where will you find true inner peace to heal you from the inside out? Have you ever been healed by Jesus from the inside out?
Psalm:
Psalm 28 verse 2 stood out to me today - "Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary." The thing that stood out to me is the image of the Psalmist "lifting his hands" in prayer.
Q: Do you periodically lift your hands in prayer? Do you kneel when you pray? Close your eyes? Bow your head? What do you do to really signify your worship and praise of God? Do you think lifting our hands or doing other body movements can change the way we pray to God - rather than doing nothing unique with our body? My quick thoughts are that we can absolutely pray at any time in any place without lifting our hands or closing our eyes or bowing, etc. I think this gets toward the idea of "praying unceasingly." However - I do think there is something special about the times in our day when we can really spend some quality quiet time with God in prayer. And the best way for me to personally do this is by really changing my body language first - by kneeling down, closing my eyes, bowing my head, maybe lifting my hands, etc. This somehow I think brings me closer to God - it doesn't bring God closer to me - he's always close. But, somehow, what I do with my body before & during prayer can definitely make a difference in how long I will actually pray to God and how deep into prayer & listening I will go. How about for you?
Proverbs:
Proverbs chapter 7 verses 1 - 3 today are powerful: "Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands. Obey them and live! Guard my teachings as your most precious possession. Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart."
Q: Do you guard God's teachings as your most precious possession? If not, what is your most precious possession? And then where do God's teachings rank in comparison to your other possessions?
Copyright © 2004-2012 One Year Bible Blog
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