Sunday, February 10th: Exodus 30:11-31:18, Matthew 26:47-68, Psalm 32:1-11, Proverbs 8:27-32 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 30:11-31:18, Matthew 26:47-68, Psalm 32:1-11, Proverbs 8:27-32

Exodus 31:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. 4 He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. 5 He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft!

6 “And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make
When we think of spiritual gifts or special talents from God we tend to think more about musical talent or a gift of discernment.  But here God speaks of gifting craftsmen and builders.  Obviously, this was somewhat situational, as they were building special things for the tabernacle of God.  But, I also think the point is to remember that all our talents come from Him, and everything we do, we can, and should, do for Him and His glory.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage:  Exodus 32:1-33:23, Matthew 26:69-27:14, Psalm 33:1-11, Proverbs 8:33-36

Saturday, February 9th: Exodus 28:1-43; Matthew 25:31-26:13; Psalm 31:9-18; Proverbs 8:12-13 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 29:1-30:10, Matthew 26:14-46, Psalm 31:19-24, Proverbs 8:14-26

Matthew 26:39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.  Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."

Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.

That must be one of the hardest prayers we will ever pray.  I'm sure it was for Jesus, too!  He knew the awful road of torture and death He was about to go down, and He begged God to find another way.  But this was the way.  And ultimately, Jesus wanted to fulfill God's purpose and plan more than anything else.

We, too, need to be willing to surrender what we want, to what God wants.

The prayer in my devotional ends with this line....
Help me to truly believe that they joy of surrendering to your will - whatever it may be - will be worth whatever it may cost.

May that be our prayer today.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 30:11-31:18, Matthew 26:47-68, Psalm 32:1-11, Proverbs 8:27-32

Friday, February 8th: Exodus 28:1-43, Matthew 25:31-26:13, Psalm 31:9-18, Proverbs 8:12-13 ~ Emma

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 28:1-43, Matthew 25:31-26:13, Psalm 31:9-18, Proverbs 8:12-13


14 But I am trusting you, O Lord,
saying, “You are my God!”
Psalms 31:14


We read how distressed the writer is in the first few verses, and then we come to this verse. Though he felt like everything in his world was crashing down, he was choosing to trust in God.

Lord, let us put our hope and our faith in You. Whether it’s a good day, a bad day, or an average day, help us always to trust in You.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 29:1-30:10, Matthew 26:14-46, Psalm 31:19-24, Proverbs 8:14-26

Thursday, February 7th: Exodus 26:1- 27:21, Matthew 25: 1-30, Psalm 31: 1-8, Proverbs 8: 1-11 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 26:1-27:21, Matthew 25:1-30, Psalm 31:1-8, Proverbs 8:1-11 

Matthew 25: 10-13
“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
[11] “Later the others also came. 'Lord, Lord,' they said, 'open the door for us!'
[12] “But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I don't know you.'
[13] “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

This parable reminds us today that we need to be ready, God could take us anytime. Are we living for God the way He wants, do I put Him first?

Proverbs 8: 10-11
Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold,
[11] for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

A good reminder of the importance of wisdom and living for the Lord. We often get caught up in working toward making more money or having more things, here we see a reminder that those things fall far short of following Jesus.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage:  Exodus 28:1-43, Matthew 25:31-26:13, Psalm 31:9-18, Proverbs 8:12-13 

Wednesday, February 6th: Exodus 23:14-25:40, Matthew 24:29-51, Psalm 30:1-12, Proverbs 7:24-27 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 23:14-25:40, Matthew 24:29-51, Psalm 30:1-12, Proverbs 7:24-27

Exodus 24:3 Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the Lord had given him. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.”
If only good intentions were enough!  No matter how much we want to, we can never obey the law completely.  It only took 40 days for the Israelites to prove that spectacularly.  Thankfully for the Israelites, and us, Jesus can do what the law can't - save us. 

I appreciated the thoughts in my devotional book today, and particularly the closing prayer.....
Lord, we need so much more in our home than a code of good behaviour and a load of good intentions. We need your Spirit to write your law on our hearts so that we will want to obey you. We need your holy law to work its way through the hidden paces in our hearts and the habits in our home so that we can be set free from idolatry and infidelity, disrespect and dishonesty. We long to be a holy people who together enjoy the freedom not to sin, which is made possible by the work of your grace in our lives. 

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 26:1-27:21, Matthew 25:1-30, Psalm 31:1-8, Proverbs 8:1-11

Tuesday, February 5th: Exodus 21:22-23:13, Matthew 24:1-28, Psalm 29:1-11, Proverbs 7:6-23 ~ Jeannine

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 21:22-23:13, Matthew 24:1-28, Psalm 29:1-11, Proverbs 7:6-23

Matthew 24 talks about what the end of days will look like and I'm pretty sure every generation throughout history feels like it can't get much worse and the end must be at hand. Verse 12 really stood out to me today though.

"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."

We live in a world where we are increasingly busy and as I watch my kids grow I pray that some habits of resting and quietly coming before God take root but I know that I find it harder in my own life to find that time and with all the distractions of today's world I fear this will just become harder and harder. And the lack of prayer, bible reading, attending church and cultivating friendships with like minded individuals will pull us further away for God which in turn may cause our "love to grow cold".

Lord, I pray for ourselves and for our children, that you would sustain a love in our/their hearts for you. That the distractions of the world will not pull them or us away from you and that we will continue to worship and stand firm to the very end.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus23:14-25:40, Matthew 24:29-51, Psalm 30:1-12, Proverbs 7:24-27

Monday: February 4: Exodus 19:16-21:21 Matthew 23:13-39 Psalm 28:1-9 Proverbs 7:1-5 by Pamela

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 19:16-21:21Matthew 23:13-39Psalm 28:1-9Proverbs 7:1-5 

Some things that stood out for me from today's readings:

Exodus

19:20 The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain.

God meets us halfway. He does not impose himself. He does not beg. He does not command us like robots with no free will. He calls us but we need to come to him. He will chase us but will not overtake us without our willingness to submit to Him.

20:1 Then God gave the people all these instructions[a]:

God gave. He did not make these commands without choice. He gave us the rules and boundaries to live a good life. We are told to follow them but we do have a choice. We are free to choose to live outside these instructions but we are not free from the consequences of those choices.

Matthew

13: 23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,[c] but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

Following all the rules that God sets out for us does not mean that we are perfect and without sin. We can follow all the commandments like a checklist and still not enter the kingdom of Heaven. 

13: 25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For 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! 26 You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,[e] and then the outside will become clean, too.

It is not only our outward appearance that God notices but our hearts, our minds, and our motivation as well. It's not good enough to look the part we need to acknowledge our sin and how short we fall from God's expectations for us. 

Psalm

28:8&9 (ish)

8 The Lord gives his people strength.......

 
.......Lead them like a shepherd,
    and carry them in your arms forever.

Although strength comes from God when we ask for it. True strength is in total submission to Him and allowing Him to carry us.

Proverbs

7:1-3

Follow my advice, my son;
    always treasure my commands.
2 Obey my commands and live!
    Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.[a]
3 Tie them on your fingers as a reminder.
    Write them deep within your heart.

God desires us to come to Him. He gives us commandments and rules for our benefit. However, the rules are not to be obeyed verbatim as a checklist without love and compassion. We need to remind ourselves often that we are in need of a shepherd to lead us in the way we should go. 

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: 5 Exodus 21:22-23:13Matthew 24:1-28Psalm 29:1-11Proverbs 7:6-23 

Sunday, February 3rd: Exodus 17:8-19:15, Matthew 22:34-23:12, Psalm 27:7-14, Proverbs 6:27-35 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 17:8-19:15, Matthew 22:34-23:12, Psalm 27:7-14, Proverbs 6:27-35

I love the story of God helping the Israelites in battle with Moses needing to keep his hands raised.  It was a fitting reminder for the Israelites that God was fighting this battle on their behalf, and that the glory of victory was His.

It was wise of Moses to accept advice from his FIL.  We are not always quick to listen to advice, especially when someone tells us to do something different than what we've been doing.  But Moses was wise, and implemented the advice he received from his FIL.

Obviously I've read this passage numerous times, but this is the first time I noticed that Moses' wife and children hadn't been with him for awhile - I wonder how long they had been with her family and what experiences they all missed out on, and why Moses sent them away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Love God and love each other - so simple and yet sometimes so difficult.  A good reminder also to impress on our children that this is what's most important.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage:  Exodus 19:16-21:21, Matthew 23:13-39, Psalm 28:1-9, Proverbs 7:1-5

Saturday, February 2nd: Exodus 15:19-17:7; Matthew 22:1-33; Psalm 27:1-6; Proverbs 6:20-26 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 15:19-17:7; Matthew 22:1-33; Psalm 27:1-6; Proverbs 6:20-26

It is amazing to me that God responded to the Israelites grumbling with graciousness.  He could've justly let them starve in the desert - they had just seen Him work amazing miracles and they were already grumbling against Him.  Instead, He responded with grace and provision for them.

They were also taught a lesson in obedience - how much manna to take on which days.

It's important for us to remember that God provides for our needs, not our wants; He provides for the day; and He desires our obedience.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage:   Exodus 17:8-19:15, Matthew 22:34-23:12, Psalm 27:7-14, Proverbs 6:27-35

Friday, February 1st: Exodus 13:17-15:18, Matthew 21:23-46, Psalm 26:1-12, Proverbs 6:16-19 ~ Emma

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 13:17-15:18, Matthew 21:23-46, Psalm 26:1-12, Proverbs 6:16-19

17 When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle

 - Exodus 13:17-18

It often feels like we are in seasons of waiting. And a lot of times we question why God would make us wait, and even tell Him that we think we’re ready for what’s coming next.

But, we are not God, so we don’t know the big picture, and we don’t have everything figured out perfectly (although sometimes we think we do). Like the Israelites, sometimes God needs to take us in a roundabout way to get to the end goal to teach us something, or show His glory.

In times of waiting, let’s remember that God has a plan, and He will get us where we need to go. We just need to trust in Him. 

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 15:19-17:7; Matthew 22:1-33; Psalm 27:1-6; Proverbs 6:20-26