Monday, May 18th: 1 Kings 14-15; Matthew 9:18-38 ~ Conrad

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is: 1 Kings 14-15; Matthew 9:18-38

In our 1 Kings passage we read about Jeroboam's son, Abijah is sick, and Jeroboam wants a little prophetic knowledge concerning him. So Jeroboam has his wife disguise herself and head out to see Ahijah, a prophet who told Jeroboam that one day he would be king.

What is interesting is that Jeroboam knew that Ahijah was able to prophesy.  So wouldn't Ahijah also be able to prophecy that Jeroboam's wife would be coming to him in a disguise?

Well he did know.  He was not fooled, despite his eyesight being poor from old age.  He not only knew but also prophesied that, because of Jeroboam's sin, Abijah would die upon her return......and that's exactly what happened.  He also prophesied that Jeroboam's lineage would be cut off. After 22 years of reigning on the throne in Israel, Jeroboam dies, leaving the throne to another son, Nadab, but he was killed two years later resulting in the extinction of Jeroboam's descendants.

We read that Solomon's son, Rehoboam, isn't doing any better with Judah.  "Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord.  By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than their father had done."  In The Message translation it said "They set new records in sin, surpassing anything their ancestors had done."

Everything that God had gotten rid of when He brought Israel into the land, was now back.  How frustrating that would have been for God!

Rehoboam has a 17-year rocky ride as King.  Being continually at war with Jeroboam added to his losing campaign against the Egyptian king, Shishak who comes in and takes all of Solomon's accumulated wealth from the palace and temple, and then he dies.

Rehoboam's boy, Abijah, takes over after his death, but reigns only 3 years.  According to 1 Kings 15:3 he didn't serve the One True God.  He is compared in a bad way to David in this verse. David is commended for having a "perfect heart" before God here.

No doubt, David would have been a tough king to follow after he had been continually doing what was right in the eye's of the Lord.  But these kings had no intentions of that!

So Abijah's three-year mission as king of Judah was characterized as a Northern/Southern Kingdom of Israel unification period, but it failed. He died after tremendous bloodshed with nothing to show for his efforts.

There's a lesson to be learned here.  The kingdom split because of Solomon's tolerance for paganism. The split of Israel into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms was done by the hand of God. Therefore, restoring the Kingdom of Israel as it was during Solomon's reign could only have been accomplished by King Abijah serving the one true God of Israel. However, he did not have any interest in that; instead, "he walked in all the sins of his father."  Abijah missed the point - the spiritual point. The forced reunification of Israel was not the remedy for a spiritual problem...yet Abijah was not in tune with God and did not see that.


Abijah's boy, Asa, becomes king - a good king - not perfect, but a good king. It's about time. Asa rids the land of the male prostitutes and removes all the idols his father had made. He got rid of most of the high places in the cities of Judah, and his heart was fully committed to the Lord.

Asa had a large army, but it was nothing compared to the Ethiopian army of 1 million that attacks Judah.  God enables Judah to pursue them as they fled back toward Ethiopia and wipe out this massive army. What a miracle and a testimony to the power of God!


But Asa didn't always rely on God for help.  When Baasha, King of Israel builds Ramah right outside Jerusalem for the purpose of interrupting Judah's trade routes He calls the King of Syria (Benhadad) for assistance.  The immediate good news?  It worked.  Baasha did evacuate Ramah and give up the idea of attacking Jerusalem.  The bad news?  God sends a prophet, Hanani, to tell Asa that, because he didn't rely on God like before against the Ethiopians, it'll be war for the rest of his days of his life.

With all the good Asa did before the Lord, his life ends with a lapse of spiritual insight accompanied by bad judgment.

I always think, it's not how you start, it's how you finish.  How true with Asa!

In our NT passage, we read about many miracles that Jesus performed.  Jesus performed them because the people in need had faith in Jesus that He could do it.  Is my faith that strong?

We are called at the end of Matthew chapter 9 to work in the harvest "to the sheep without a shepherd".  Jesus showed compassion for these people who are lost and helpless.  We are to too.  "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."



God knows all, and provided wisdom to Ahijah, the prophet.  Do we try to disguise ourselves to God
as Jeroboam did with his wife?  Are we in tune with God?  Or are we like Abijah?  Having good intentions, but not seeking God.  Do we forget what God has done for us in the past as Asa did, and eventually no relying on God down the road and trying to accomplish things on our own strength?  Are we prepared to work in the harvest and show compassion to the lost?  Is are faith as strong as it should be?

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Kings 16-18; Matthew 10:1-20

Sunday, May 17th: 1 Kings 12-13, Matthew 9:1-17 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 1 Kings 12-13; Matthew 9:1-17

What struck me about our OT passage was Rehoboam's foolish decision to listen to the advice of his friends, who were simply telling him what he wanted to hear, instead of listening to the wise advice of his father's older advisors.  We need to be careful in the friends we choose, because, as much as we may like to try to convince ourselves otherwise, they will influence us and the decisions we make.  We need to be humble enough to listen to those who give us advice we don't want to hear.  We need to be discerning enough to filter the bad advice from the good.  We need to be wise enough to overlook what we want to be true, to see what is actually true - as always, this is done by filtering things through the Word and a biblical worldview.

In our NT passage, I was struck by both the faith of the paralytic, and even more so, the faith of his friends.  They were the ones that did the work it took to get him to Jesus, and they would not have done that if they were not sure that their faith was well placed.

Over and over, Jesus contrasted the false teachings of the pharisees (salvation by works) with the true message of the gospel (salvation by grace).  You cannot combine the two teachings (the wineskin analogy).  You cannot teach that you are first saved by grace but then need to have works in order to maintain your salvation.  You cannot teach that you must do everything you can to achieve salvation and then trust Christ to make up the difference.  No!  It is salvation by grace - and all the work is done by Jesus Christ.  The works that we do are not to earn salvation, but rather to express our love and thankfulness to Christ for what He has done for us, and as a result of our desire to grow more and more like Him every day.



Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Kings 14-15; Matthew 9:18-38

Saturday, May 16th: 1 Kings 10-11; Matthew 8:18-34 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 1 Kings 10-11; Matthew 8:18-34

In our OT passage the Queen of Sheba rightly sees that with a king like Solomon, the people couldn't help but be happy.  How much more should we be joyful, who have a much greater King than Solomon!  When we are not happy, or do not feel priviledged or favoured, it is because we have forgotten who our King is, what His kingdom is (and will be) like, and the priviledge of belonging to it.  We may not be guaranteed earthly wealth, but the treasure awaiting us in heaven will make all earthly treasure pale in comparison.  We must never forget how priviledged we are to serve a King such as ours!  This doesn't mean our circumstances will always be wonderful, happiness due to circumstances is only superficial anyway.  It means we can always be joyful, no matter our circumstances, because of who our King is, and because of our faith in His coming perfect and eternal kingdom.

Unfortunately, Solomon begins to forget this himself, despite all his wisdom.  The Bible never shies away from brutal honesty about the lives of its greatest heroes, and Solomon is no exception.  Yes, he was wiser and richer than anyone in the world, but he allowed his wives and their idol worship to turn his heart away from being fully devoted to God.  And by the time of his death, he had managed to seal the doom of his kingdom due to his own foolishness and sensuality.

How could such a wise man become so foolish?  How could He become so careless of the Lord's favour and God's law?  It is clear from the rest of the OT and NT that Solomon was repentant and died a believer, but how tragic is the second half of his reign!

There are a few reasons for this deterioration in Solomon's spiritual life.  First, he became willing to compromise with secular culture when he married more than one woman (against God's specific command to kings), and specifically married Canaanite women, all for political advantage.  We need to remember not to allow the ordinary thinking and behaviour of our culture to become acceptable to us as believers. We cannot compromise on things the Bible clearly forbids.

In Solomon's case the lure of the culture was strengthen by the lusts of the flesh.  The sin of promiscuity has many serious consequences - Solomon (and his children) did not escape them, and neither will we, if we give in to temptation.

And, like the lyrics in the Casting Crowns song, it was a slow fade.  Solomon didn't go from righteous living to idol worship in a day.  It happened in small steps, one after another, each one getting progressively worse.  What started off as amassing horses and wealth against God's law, eventually became full out idol worship.  First horses, then gold, than many wives, then idol worship.  It was a slow fade.  We need to be so careful that we don't start justifying small sins to ourselves and allow them to lead us so far in the wrong direction that we no longer know where we are.  Our spiritual lives are subject to the law of decline - if we want to remain spiritual strong, we need to be proactive about it!

In our NT passage we see very clearly that Jesus does not promise earthly riches to those who follow Him.  There is no prosperity gospel in the NT.

I always love the stories of Jesus calming the storms - it would have been absolutely amazing to be there and witness such an amazing miracle.



Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Kings 12-13; Matthew 9:1-17

Friday, May 15th: 1 Kings 8-9, Matthew 8:1-17 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 1 Kings 8-9; Matthew 8:1-17

In our OT passage today we read about the dedication of the temple.  Solomon's prayer is both theological and personal.

He is appealing to God on the basis of things God has done and said.  Solomon knows that God chose the people of Israel and that He made the Davidic covenant, and he is praying with that as his foundation.  We, too, should pray using the Bible as the basis for our prayers.  We know what God has promised and we can appeal to Him based on those promises because He is faithful.

Rayburn: it is to be our commitment as Christians to make our prayers as much like this prayer as we can and then our lives like our prayers! Profoundly theological – the expression of our confidence in God, in his electing and redeeming love, in the promises of his Word – and deeply personal, the expression of our own hearts, our own love, our own need, in sincerity and seriousness.

In our Matthew passage we see Jesus using miracles to prove His supernatural power as the Son of God.  What I love about these miracles is that Jesus didn't just do a bunch of meaningless miracles, like use lightning to draw pictures in the sky. No,  His miracles weren't designed just to impress.  They also evidenced His great compassion for the least of these, and His salvation - He was doing something for them that they couldn't do for themselves and that no one else could do for them.  He never turned anyone away.  He can heal, not only our bodies, but more importantly, our souls.


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Kings 10-11; Matthew 8:18-34

Thursday, May 14th: 1 Kings 6-7, Matthew 7 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 1 Kings 6-7; Matthew 7

In today's passage it mentions that it took Solomon 7 years to build the temple and 13 years to build the palace.  I've often wondered if that was a negative comment, or simply a statement of fact.

Rayburn's sermon discusses this and he had some great points I hadn't thought of before.  It does seem like there was some excess involved in the building of the palace, but there is no suggestion that the temple was too small or built "cheaply" in any way.  In fact, there is gold everywhere in the temple, but not in the palace.  The building of the palace is inserted into the middle of the account of the building of the temple which seems to say that the temple is the main thing and the palace is less important.  The palace would, by it's very purpose and nature, be a larger complex requiring a variety of buildings and would naturally take longer to build.

Rayburn goes on.....
You spend much more of your time at work, whatever your work may be, than you do at church. Is that wrong? Are you, for that reason, worldly? You spend more of your time at home with your family than you do worshipping God or directly involved in some ministry? Is that wrong? Are you, in that way, demonstrating that you care more about other things than you do for the glory of God?

No; of course not. We would say, and rightly, that to be a faithful worker, to support our families, to build in our homes a happy and holy life for our children is not being worldly. To do such things, in fact, is to glorify God because it amounts to fulfilling his will for our lives and the callings that he has given us as his children. Solomon was not belittling God by serving Israel as her king; he was not showing himself more interested in his work than the worship of God by building a palace complex. He was glorifying God by doing and doing well the work God had given him to do.

This is everywhere the Bible’s perspective: whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all to the glory of God. Solomon was no doubt right to think that he was giving glory to God not only by building for him the most glorious, costly, and beautiful sanctuary in the world but as well by building an impressive complex of government halls, offices, and palaces. Israel was Yahweh’s people and he was Yahweh’s king! The palace should reflect that fact as the temple did. He would not have thought, and we should not think, that if we work at our calling we are subtracting from God’s glory.

He goes on to use the example of marriage.  In the NT Paul wishes that all Christians could remain single as he was so to be free to devote themselves entirely to the work of God, but he's knows it's not possible and not the calling of every individual.  In other words, when people get married, they cannot be only completely devoted to God - some of that time and energy and commitment now needs to be invested into your spouse.  Is this wrong?  Far from it!  It is precisely what God expects of us, demands of us!  It would not be glorifying to God to neglect your spouse in order to work on a church project, and it would not have glorified God for Solomon to devote himself entirely to the temple and ignore his duties as Israel's king.  We definitely need to have the church and worship as priorities in our lives, but it is not only in church that we are able to give glory to God.  We each serve Him in the areas that He has called us to serve.  We are to be people of both the temple and the palace.

Our Matthew passage contains the most widely known verse in the Bible, and one that non-Christians love to pull out and use completely out of context in order to avoid any negative criticism about their lifestyle.   "Judge not, lest ye be judged".    It's easy to understand why people like their assumptions of what this verse says - nobody can condemn their behaviour without bringing condemnation on themselves.  

First, Jesus is not speaking to people whose behaviour is bad and letting them know they don't need to worry about being criticized.   He's speaking to His disciples (and us!) and letting them know that they need to be humble in their attitude and speech towards others.  We need to live with an awareness of our own sin, and God's grace to us in forgiving that sin, and be likewise generous and merciful when it comes to those around us.

Obviously, we are still to discern between right and wrong.  He is not even forbidding us from condemning certain men or behaviour (see v 6 and 15 of this same passage).  And we are later instructed to hold our fellow believers accountable with the goal of repentance and reconciliation.

Rayburn sites a quote from John Stott "Do not judge is not a requirement to be blind, but rather a plea to be generous" in our estimation of others and their conduct.  Rayburn also adds....
I know of no wiser or more incisive comment or interpretation of Matthew 7:1 than Johann Albrecht Bengel’s four words:   sine scientia, amore, necessitate. That is, do not judge another unless you really have all the facts, unless you are motivated by love for him, and unless it is really necessary for you to intervene.  Do not judge without knowledge, without love, and without necessity....

The reason we should not judge others in the way Jesus forbids here, without knowledge, without love, and without a need to do so, is because it is not right for Christians to have a censorious spirit when they have been treated with such mercy by God.



Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Kings 8-9; Matthew 8:1-17

Wednesday, May 13th: 1 Kings 3-5, Matthew 6:19-34 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 1 Kings 3-5; Matthew 6:19-34

In our OT passage today, we see Solomon show signs of wisdom - by asking for wisdom.  He was wise enough to know that being able to discern right from wrong was crucial in his role as King, and he was wise enough to know that he wasn't wise enough on his own.

Can we say the same?

Are we wise enough to know that we ought to pursue wisdom and discernment?
Are we wise enough to know that wisdom does not come from within ourselves, but rather from God - the author of wisdom?
Are we wise enough to desire wisdom over everything else the world offers instead - power, money, prestige, etc?

As we'll see later in the OT, Solomon's wisdom was not enough to keep him wholly devoted to God.  Not only do we need the ability to determine right from wrong - we need the desire to chose rightly when we know what we ought to do.  Solomon did not always choose rightly.  We need to desire, not only wisdom, but the Author of wisdom.

This Matthew text fit very well with our OT passage.....
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
What are you (and I) pursuing?  Where is your treasure?  Where is your heart?

I also found it awesome that Solomon is mentioned in our NT passage - I love how God is able to speak through His Word by "coincidentally" matching up "random" passages in this way.




Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Kings 6-7; Matthew 7

Tuesday, May 12th: 1 Kings 1-2, Matthew 6:1-8 ~ Nathan

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 1 Kings 1-2; Matthew 6:1-18

In 1 Kings 1 we read how one of King David's sons wanted to place himself on the throne,  instead of following procedure.  His name was Adonijah,  he was a spoiled child who grew up to be proud.

Adonijah set himself up to become King, only to have Solomon move ahead of him to take his rightful spot on the throne. Solomon was promised the throne by his father King David.  After Solomon became king,  he could have had Adonijah killed for trying to step ahead of Solomon, but instead gave him a second chance.

As King David lay on his death bed,  he gave Solomon some final advice. After telling Solomon to follow all the commands of the Lord,  he goes in to tell Solomon to settle a few old scores David had from men who crossed him.

Later in chapter 2 Adonijah pushes Solomon again,  this time he pays with his life. Solomon later has opportunity to kill both of the men that his father wanted him to kill,  and he gets the opportunity and kills both. Now he has full control of his kingdom.

This passage says to me to be patient. God will accomplish His will at His time. He will create opportunities for us at His time.

In the passage from Matthew 6:1-18, we read about Jesus teaching about  giving,  prayer and fasting. In all three He says to do these things in private and not for show, like hypocrites. We need to take time daily to be by ourselves reading the Bible and praying, not doing it for others to see and be impressed,  but rather so that we can grow stronger in our faith and closer to the people God wants us to be. God cares about our true relationship with Him, not a fake relationship we put on for others to see.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage:  1 Kings 3-5; Matthew 6:19-34

Monday, May 11, 2015 Jonah 1-4; Matthew 5:27-48 by Pamela

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is  Jonah 1-4; Matthew 5:27-48

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers,^[c] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Observation: Do the hard stuff because it will be what no one else would do.


Application: The story of Jonah can apply to this passage. God commands us to love our enemies. Love the people we can't stand. Love the sinners...and we are all sinners...and pray for those who intend to hurt us. Hmmmm....that doesn't sound like something that is easy to do. And. It. Isn't.

When Jonah was called to Nineveh, he was called to the city of sinners. Nineveh was evil to its core. Jonah literally wanted nothing to do with this city. He bought a ticket in the opposite direction to get away from loving his enemy. Of course, Jonah learned the hard way that we can never out run God and ended up getting a crash course in God's "time out chair" to reflect, repent, and receive God's mercy and forgiveness.

Unfortunately, Jonah still doesn't fully comprehend God's message when Jonah's message is not only heard but received by the people of Nineveh. When they reflect, repent, and receive God's mercy and forgiveness Jonah is furious. They become even more detestable in Jonah's eyes and Jonah wishes he could die instead of living with the knowledge that they have been saved despite living their evil ways in the past. Jonah can't even see that the Ninavites are just like him....sinners who have been redeemed.

It's easy to love the people you like. It's downright difficult to love the people you don't and people don't usually do it. However, when they do, God can use their love to draw them closer to Him. When we love as Christ loves it stands out. It makes people wonder why. What am I doing to make people wonder why?

Prayer: Lord, you are the God of love. You have demonstrated perfect love to us. We  constantly fall short of your perfection. Thank you for your abundant love and mercy. Help us to model those same things when we are interacting with others. Give us ability to love like you do so that others may wonder why. Amen.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Kings 1-2; Matthew 6:1-18

Sunday, May 10th: Numbers 35-36, Matthew 5:1-26 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 35-36; Matthew 5:1-26

In Numbers 35 we see that the people were to be intolerant of sin, but impartial to the accused in order that justice would be served.  It is wrong to overlook wrongdoing, but it is also wrong to jump to conclusions.  It's a good reminder for us to stand up for justice, protect those who have not yet been proven guilty, and to listen to all sides of the story before making judgment.

As Chapter 36 shows us, there are always exceptions to the rule.  Wise leaders are able to sort out the legitimate concerns and make sure that justice is done in these cases.

In Matthew we have the passage that probably demonstrates how counter-cultural the biblical worldview is more than any other passage.

I liked this quote from my Life Application Bible....
The Beatitudes can be understood in at least four ways: (1) They are a code of ethics for the disciples and a standard of conduct for all believers. (2) They contrast kingdom values (what is eternal) with worldly values (what is temporary). (3) They contrast the superficial "faith" of the Pharisees with the real faith Christ wants.  (4) They show how the Old Testament expectations will be fulfilled in the new kingdom.  These beatitudes are not multiple choice - pick what you like and leave the rest. They must be taken as a whole. They describe what we should be like as Christ's followers.

I know MacArthur has pointed out that the attitudes described in the Beatitudes are essential to the gospel message.  Only those who recognize how poor in spirit they are, who mourn their lost condition, are humble enough to recognize they cannot save themselves, and who long to be made righteous will accept the gift of salvation, and in return show mercy to others.




Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Jonah 1-4; Matthew 5:27-48

Saturday, May 9th: Numbers 32-34, Matthew 4 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 32-34; Matthew 4

In Chapters 32 we see two and half tribes deciding to opt out of the Promised Land for what they determined to be greener pastures. It seems that they were originally also attempting to opt out of the coming conflict, but they exhibited some spiritual maturity when they capitulated to Moses' argument that they could not and should not. To at least some degree, they gave in to worldly temptation and unbelief by choosing these greener pastures over the Promised Land God intended for them.

An argument could also be made that God's plan was flexible and He allowed the Promised Land to be enlarged as long as it was done the right way.

What is likely key in this passage is Moses' argument and how he persuaded them not to sin.  Moses' first point is that the sin of one can negatively affect the faithfulness of others.  Your sin does not only affect you.  Moses did not want their disinterest in the Promised Land from discouraging the other Israelites.   His second point was that if they chose to sin, God would not allow that sin to go unnoticed or unpunished.

Both those points are true for us as well.  Our sin affects those around us.  And, even though the sins of believers are forgiven through the blood of Jesus, we are not absolved of the consequences of our sin.  The Bible gives example after example of this - the death of David's son due to his sin of adultery and murder is just one such example.  God will not be mocked, and we do reap what we sow, and grace is not a license to sin.

There are many reasons to obey God.  Chief of which should be because we love Him and are grateful for His redemptive work in our lives.  But other reasons include the fact that our sin will always be brought to light, we cannot escape earthly consequences for our sins, others depend on our faithfulness, and others are damaged by our faithlessness.

In our Matthew passage, what struck me (and ties in well with the theme from Numbers 32) was the temptation of Jesus.  Even though Satan tried to twist the very words of God to entice Him to sin, Jesus did not take the easy way out.  He obeyed His Father out of love, and gave us an example in His faithfulness.




Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Numbers 35-36; Matthew 5:1-26