Thursday, August 10th: Psalms 79-80; Romans 11:1-18 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Psalms 79-80; Romans 11:1-18

Romans 11:6 Now if by grace, then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace.

Our salvation is either by grace of by works - it cannot be both, and if it is not one then it is the other.

Thanks be to God, it is by grace!  

That's easy to believe when we're walking the right path, when we're trying to do the right thing. But it's truly tested when we fail, when we mess up, when we wonder if grace could ever possibly be big enough.

It is.  God's grace is big enough to cover all our sin.  Hallelujah, what a Saviour!


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage:  Psalms 81-83; Romans 11:19-36

Wednesday, August 9th: Psalms 77-78; Romans 10 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Psalms 77-78; Romans 10

Romans 10:14-15  How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.
This passage does not only apply to missionaries who go off to far away places to preach the good news.  We are all called to missionaries - whether it's to the people across the street, across the city, or across the globe.

We always need to be ready to share the good news!

And we should not just wait passively until a shining opportune moment is laid at our feet.  No!  We should not only be actively looking for opportunities, but creating them as well.  Our news is the best news of all, and if we truly believe it, we must share it!


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Psalms 79-80; Romans 11:1-18

Tuesday, August 8th; Psalms 74-76; Romans 9:16-33 ~ Jody

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is: Psalms 74-76; Romans 9:16-33

Psalm 75

1 We praise you, God,
    we praise you, for your Name is near;
    people tell of your wonderful deeds.

2 You say, “I choose the appointed time;
    it is I who judge with equity.
3 When the earth and all its people quake,
    it is I who hold its pillars firm

The start of Psalm 75 is so beautiful as a follow up to Psalm 74. As the whole chapter of Psalm 74, David is calling out for God to stop His foes and show His Power. David shares how he is not seeing any signs from God at all and calling God to defend Himself! And then he starts off Psalm 75  in praise. Full faith and praise that God's timing, power and being is perfect. In fact, he carries on praising God all through Chapter 75.

A great truth that praise and faith go hand in hand always! Especially when we feel helpless and far away from God. Going back to what we KNOW is true and praise Him for it. The only way to feel peace and hope in those dry and scary times.


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Psalms 77-78; Romans 10

Monday, August 7th: Psalm 72-73; Romans 9:1-15 ~ Kezia

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Psalm 72-73; Romans 9:1-15

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:26

This verse explains the power we have when we rely on God for strength. When it says "my flesh and heart" that refers to a whole man, his body and his soul. So when the whole body fails, our human strength has run out, whether that be through sickness, health, sorrow or any other weakness. On our own, we are helpless once our flesh and heart have failed.

But it doesn't end there. When we are exhausted and our bodies are failing, God gives us a strength that gives us life, joy, and endless peace in even the hardest of situations. In circumstances when fear and doubt should be overpowering us, God's love surrounds us and keeps us alive. But not only that, this power that God gives us will satisfy us to the core everyday. No source of happiness from any earthly friend, or from fame or wealth will give us the joy and strength that is in Jesus.

This verse has a poetic feel to it by the way in which it was written. The second part of the sentence is inverted and the word "heart" is mentioned first, instead of second. This is because of the importance of how God takes the weaknesses we have and transforms us from the inside out. Starting with the heart. Once He has given us the strength in our heart, on the inside, His joy will last with us forever.


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Psalm 74-76; Romans 9:16-33

Sunday, August 6th: Psalms 70-71; Romans 8:22-39 ~ Emma

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Psalms 70-71; Romans 8:22-39

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." - Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬

Whenever we are losing hope and can't find the light at the end of the tunnel, we can trust in God and His promises. Because we love Him, everything will work out for the good. He has a plan for us, we don't have to be afraid.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Psalms 72-73; Romans 9:1-15

Saturday, August 5th: Psalms 68-69; Romans 8:1-21 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Psalms 68-69; Romans 8:1-21

Psalm 68:2b-3 As wax melts before the fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.
But the righteous are glad;
they rejoice before God and celebrate with joy.

There are only two options - the wicked will be destroyed while the righteous will rejoice before God - which will you choose?

Psalm 68:18a
Come near to me

It is amazing to me that this prayer is answerable.  Our God, Creator God, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Almighty God - He desires relationship with us, sinners all.  

Unmerited grace.  

Amazing grace.  

Relationship restored.  

Thank you Jesus!

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Psalms 70-71; Romans 8:22-39

Friday, August 4th: Psalms 66-67; Romans 7 ~ Conrad

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is: Psalms 66-67; Romans 7


"For you, God, tested us; your refined us like silver.  You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.  You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance."     Psalms 66:10-12

This part of todays reading stood out to me.  Just before these verses, the writer was praising God for His awesome deeds and power.  Then the writer changes gears and speaks about how God lead them to a path of distress.

From one point of view, a time of distress can constitute a testing of God's people as to their loyalty and trust in Him.  When we are tested, we have the choice of attempting it on our own (which will ultimately lead to failure) or we can stand firm by putting our faith where it needs to be; in God.

When a precious metal is being refined, the metal needs to be heated up.  It is only when the metal is exposed to heat that the impurities can be separated.  We too are like a precious metal and need to be exposed to difficult times in order to remove our impure thoughts and desires.

I pray that during and after the difficult times that I would be able to praise God as this writer did, and to also have the desire to tell others for what He has done for me. (vs 16)  

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Psalms 68-69; Romans 8:1-21

Thursday, August 3rd: Psalms 63-65; Romans 6 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Psalms 63-65; Romans 6

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is one of the most popular memory verses, and part of the Roman Road gospel message.  

The wages of sin is death.  We are all sinners - every last one of us (aside from Jesus, of course!).  And we all deserve death, the wages for our sin.  When it comes to salvation, it doesn't matter if our "worst" sin was murder or jealousy, our sin costs us eternity.  

But thanks be to God, who gives us, at great cost to Himself, the gift of eternal life through the birth, perfect life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

It's a gift so underserving.  But it's not free.  The cost was the life of the Son of God Himself.  And when we accept this amazing grace, we too need to count the cost.  There is a cost to following Jesus while living in a world determined to live in rebellion against Him. Being a Christian isn't just about a get our of hell free card.  It's about following Jesus as Lord of every single part of our lives, taking up our cross daily, pursuing holiness and sanctification as He continues His work in us.   

The gift is priceless, and the cost is worth it!

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Psalms 66-67; Romans 7

Wednesday, August 2nd: Psalms 60-62, Romans 5 ~ Nathan

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is: Psalm 60-62; Romans 5

Psalm 60:11
Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless

Only God can truly help us, asking and relying on human help is truly worthless in the long run.

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Romans 5: 6-8
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. [7] Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. [8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

When I think about this passage, and I've done this before over the years when reading this, I think about which people in my life I would actually give my life for. The honest answer is some family and some friends.

This honest (and pathetic) answer shows the massive difference between a person like me, and our saviour Jesus Christ. He loves all of us, including sinners like myself, enough to give His life for us. What an amazing thing He did for us! Why wouldn't I then want to do my best for Him?


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Psalms 63-65; Romans 6

Tuesday, August 1st: Psalm 57-59; Romans 4 ~ Jody

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is: Psalm 57-59; Romans 4

19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body to be already dead (since he was about a hundred years old) and also the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 because he was fully convinced that what God had promised, he was also able to do.Romans 4:19-21

This passage convicted me to explore how often do I let my human shortcomings impact my faith in God? I pray that I can walk through seemingly impossible situations and have my faith strengthened and never weakened, but "fully convinced" of God's power and faithfulness.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Psalm 60-62; Romans 5