Daily Scripture Readings
Read along with us in community as we follow this daily scripture outline.
Sunday, June 7th:
Hosea 5:15-6:6; Psalm 50:7-15; Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
The poetic prophecies proclaimed by the mouth of Hosea serve as a foreshadowing of the coming of Christ. “He will heal us,” “he will appear,” and “after two days…on the third day he will restore us.” Though the immediate voice is that of Israel lamenting its folly while appealing to God’s mercy, we find that Jesus is the one who embodies all that Israel was meant to be and who fulfills the covenant perfectly on behalf of all humanity. These texts reveal that God was never in need of our sacrifices, but of faith, repentance, and the acknowledgment of Him as God. If we turn to God in faith like Abraham, entrusting our lives to Him through Christ, we become inheritors of the promise. Our faith now has a clear and definitive object: the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have justification and the forgiveness of sins, because we trust that He lived, died, and was raised from the dead for us. Let us cling to Christ, our hope.
Monday, June 8th:
Leviticus 15:25-31; Leviticus 22:1-9; Psalm 40:1-8; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:2
The purity laws taught to Israel, both Levitical and Mosaic, were not meant to be a form of legalistic oppression, but a means by which God set His people apart from the nations. These codes and ordinances were given to form a people whose entire life revolved around the proper worship of the one true God, Yahweh. Separatedness and purity were not odd particulars, but the right ordering of human life toward the service of God. Paul warns the Corinthians that participation in idolatry, including sharing in food offered to false gods, places a person out of proper order and communion with God. The Church, like Israel, is called to be holy—that is, set apart—from the nations, devoted wholly to the worship of God through Christ the Lord. Do not offer yourselves to what is not God, but be holy unto Him. Amen.
Tuesday, June 9th:
Hosea 8:11-14; Hosea 10:1-2; Psalm 40:1-8; Hebrews 13:1-16
Israel’s sin was not their ministry or service in the temple; it was the interior corruption and dividedness of heart. Correct sacrifices were never the true issue—they had forgotten the God they served and their lives no longer reflected His character. The writer of Hebrews teaches about the purity of the believer’s life and practice, calling them to pattern their lives after faithful teachers who handed down the gospel they themselves received. This continuity of life and teaching stretches back to those formed directly by Christ. The life of the follower of Jesus is no longer centered on temple sacrifice, since Christ is our High Priest who has completed the work once for all. Ours is now a transformed life, offering a sacrifice of praise and the public confession of Jesus as Lord. Let our lives be a sacrifice before God. Amen.
Wednesday, June 10th:
Hosea 14; Psalm 40:1-8; Matthew 12:1-8
Hosea ends with a call to repentance rooted in mercy. Israel is invited to return with words, not sacrifices, trusting that God heals apostasy and restores life like dew to a withered land. What God seeks is repentance that reshapes allegiance, not ritual that masks unfaithfulness. The psalmist gives voice to the repentant heart Hosea envisions. God does not delight in sacrifice alone, but in a will aligned with his purposes. Jesus brings the theme to its climax. Confronted by Sabbath legalism, he declares that mercy reveals the true intent of the law. The presence of Christ exposes how devotion to rules can eclipse love for people. They proclaim: God’s will is not satisfied by outward religion, but by hearts restored to delight in mercy, obedience, and life with him. May we ever seek communion with God. Amen.
Thursday, June 11th:
Exodus 4:18-23; Psalm 100; Hebrews 3:1-6
Moses was a type and foreshadow of Christ who was to come after him. He was a faithful servant of God who bore witness to all that the Lord commanded him to speak and reveal. Moses himself acknowledges this later in Deuteronomy 18:15, pointing forward to another prophet like him. Where Moses was a servant within God’s house, Jesus is the Son set over that household. Moses was a participant in the building of the house to which he belonged, but Christ is the heir and Lord of the house itself. Moses proclaimed the will of God to Israel and to Egypt; likewise, Jesus came to proclaim God’s saving will to the whole world. One participated in the deliverance of Israel from slavery, the other definitively accomplished the defeat of sin and death for all humanity. Let us hold firm to the message of salvation in Christ the Lord. Amen.
Friday, June 12th:
Exodus 4:27-31; Psalm 100; Acts 7:35-43
Together Moses and Aaron confirm the word of the Lord that Moses was called to deliver to Israel and their oppressor, Egypt. The message moves outward from Moses alone, to Moses and Aaron, then to the elders, and finally to the whole people. Their response is belief and trust, which quickly leads to worship. Yet it would not take long for them to stray from this faithful way, for when uncertainty arose they fashioned a god for themselves rather than trusting the God who had delivered them. Stephen reminds Israel how quickly they forgot their own history. In his sermon before being martyred, he recalls that moment when Israel turned from God and stopped believing, despite having every reason to trust Him. So too, they failed to believe that God was working through Christ to save them. Let us cling to the God who saves.
Saturday, June 13th:
Exodus 6:28-7:13; Psalm 100; Mark 7:1-13
Who is worse—Pharaoh, who attempts to thwart the word of God spoken through Moses, or the Pharisees, who through strict religious zeal violate the commands of God Himself? The answer is that they are the same. Both replace a rightful response of worship toward God with self-motivated action. One does so to preserve the power to enslave, the other to preserve religious authority over God’s people. Instead of submitting to God, they construct systems that excuse their disobedience. Every time we elevate our own desires above what God commands, we place ourselves in the same posture as Pharaoh and the Pharisees. May our hearts always follow God’s own.