June 25 Bible Reading

Mark 12

If ever you wonder what the most important thing is that you ought to pursue to please God, look no further than Mark 12.  Here Jesus instructs us that we should love God above all else, and also that we should love our neighbor as ourself.  These two commandments are the most important and ought to be sought after before anything else.  

Psalm 54-56

We have a hope that we will be delivered from our affliction.  We also have something that David did not; we know that Peter tells us to count it joy when we are persecuted for the sake of the Gospel.  We can pray and know that God will deliver us one day into eternity to be free from oppression, but as we face it in this life, we can know that God is glorified.

Exodus 32&33

Aaron’s response to Moses’ asking about the golden calf actually made me laugh.  Aaron’s response is something like, “I through the gold in the fire, and a calf came out!”  This kind of response is one we might expect from a guilty child, but certainly not a man of God.  However, this and countless other examples of Moses’ and Aaron’s lives remind us that we are all fallen people capable of deceit and sin no matter how close to God.  This should make us strive to be more like Christ and not fall into these traps of sin.

Jeremiah 52 & Lamentations 1&2

Jeremiah’s lament over the fallen city of Jerusalem is a great example to us when we see inevitable consequences occur due to sin.  Jeremiah had warned the people of the coming judgement, and they did not turn from their erroneous ways.  Even after the fall of Jerusalem happened, and though Jeremiah knew it would happen, he still mourns its loss.  We can mourn the consequences of our friends and loved ones too when they receive the consequence of sin.

Ephesians 2

We have been saved through faith alone.  There is no law that we must fulfill or list of works we must accomplish.  We have been granted salvation because of Christ’s work on the cross and the faith we have in His death and resurrection, and there’s no other way about it.

1Kings 16-18

As I was reading this passage, I was struck with the heartbreak it must have been to watch the people of the One True God turn to the idol Baal.  Then, as Elijah reassembles the alter of the Lord, he must have felt such pain that it had been demolished like this.  But, the Lord proved Himself to be the One True God.  We serve a living God who interacts with us and is powerful enough to send fire from heaven.  When we are discouraged that people are falling away from a faith in God, we can be confident that He is real and true.