Daily Scripture Readings
Read along with us in community as we follow this daily scripture outline.
Sunday March 15th
1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9
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If one thing stands out in scripture it’s that humans simply don’t see the things of God clearly without His help. Samuel goes to Jesse and examines his sons for the Lord’s anointed, but he judges with human eyes. One by one he looks over the sons, but cannot see what God sees, their hearts. The one God would choose wasn’t even invited to be considered as he was left to tend to the flocks. And so David is anointed in obscurity while the Pharisees close their eyes to Jesus’ open revelation of God’s anointing. Jesus is teaching so that the crowds marvel at His words but not only that, He heals those that are considered unable to be healed. Yet, the Pharisees deny what they see with their very own eyes and purposely blind themselves to the truth of who Jesus is. May we be open to God revealing what we cannot see, so that we might know the truth of His glory and receive the grace of His presence with us. Praise the Lord.
Monday March 16th
Isaiah 59:9-19; Psalm 146; Acts 9:1-20
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Saul was as blind as those in Isaiah who say, “At midday we stumble as if it were twilight.” He believed what he was doing was righteous according to the law and God. But his morals are as disoriented as a blind groping in the darkness. These passages reveal humanity’s deep need for God saving intervention. Before God came to enlighten our eyes to the Savior’s grace, we all were without hope, lost in rebellion and turning our backs on the God who made us. But like Paul, light has dawned on us who have believed and God has reached out to reveal His salvation to us. God first acts and we respond to His grace through faith. His light does not destroy us though, it recreates us in Christ for the purpose of mission. To be the light in the world who seeks to reveal God to others who are still searching in the dark. Preach the gospel!
Tuesday March 17th
Isaiah 42:14-21; Psalm 146; Colossians 1:9-14
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Salvation is not humanity finding God, but God acting decisively to create a people who can finally see, walk, and obey. Isaiah declares that God will break silence, shatter darkness, free captives, and restore true sight. Paul tells the Colossians that God has done exactly this—by transferring us into the kingdom of his Son. The Lord wills that people will know Him so He creates and executes the opportunities for those who live in darkness to see His glorious light. Our part is to respond to God’s enlightening our lives with His presence and wisdom, in order to know Him and receive salvation. God acts and we respond. A relationship built of trust and obedience. Let us be built up in faith, wisdom and fruitfulness by the Holy Spirit.
Wednesday March 18th
Isaiah 60:17-22; Psalm 146; Matthew 9:27-34
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Instead of considering the work of Jesus’ hands for the good they were and His teaching for the wisdom which is from God, the Pharisees buried their heads in the sand, willfully denying all that Jesus did. They were witnessing the splendor and beauty of their God come to save, heal and redeem, but they could not see past their own assumptions and presuppositions. How often do others do that with the Christian faith? They have it made up in their mind or they’ve “done the research” concluding that the church and its faith are not the truth. I pray that we can live out the gospel in a way that doesn’t add to their case but reveals the truth of Christ so they may know God and live with Him always. Let us be the light set upon the hill. Amen.
Thursday March 19th
Ezekiel 1:1-3, 2:8-3:3; Psalm 130; Revelation 10
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The language of prophecy and apocalypse can sound at times confusing, but within it are hidden powerful truths. Ezekiel’s message to Israel in exile was something that came with both sorrow and hope. Sorrow for the punishment being endured, but also hope for a future that has been promised by God. When the prophet was told to eat the scroll which contained lament, mourning and woe, he could not have thought it would taste “as sweet as honey” for those things are not delightful. The angel in John’s apocalypse vision told him to eat the same type of scroll, with words of prophecy that would be both hard to hear, yet have a heavenly sweetness to it. Why? Because the words of judgment and hope bear a double burden, both to convict and to encourage. It crushes those for whom punishment is due and brings comfort to those who find in them the very grace of God Himself, that they have received salvation and are no longer condemned. Will we find those words sweet on that day? Or unstomachable?
Friday March 20th
Ezekiel 33:10-16; Psalm 130; Revelation 11:15-19
Some have questioned, “Why does God seem so angry and wrathful in the Old Testament?” and “Where is His mercy like in the New Testament?” This is a false dichotomy when we view the scriptures as a unified whole pointing to Christ Jesus. God has been reserving judgment and punishment for mankind from the time of the first sin in the garden until the day Christ comes to bring the kingdom on earth as in heaven. Ezekiel proclaims that judgment is announced so that repentance may lead to life. In Revelation the time for repentance has borne its fruit, and God’s reign is now fully manifest. God’s final judgment does not negate his mercy—it proves that mercy was always real, meaningful, and just. Christ is the place of mercy for all to have life.
Saturday March 21st
Ezekiel 36:8-15; Psalm 130; Luke 24:44-53
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The words of the prophet Ezekiel promise restoration to the exiled nation of Israel. That God would no longer cause them to falter and they will not be the object of scorn and mockery among the peoples. There will be life, fruitfulness and all that was lost will be restored. What Ezekiel prophecies, Christ confirms and fulfills. He restores ruined people, first His disciples and through their witness the entire world. Humanity lost to corruption now restored by the Spirit of God to live fruitful lives eternally. Not merely a return to what was lost, but a fulfilment of what was promised.
We are now part of that restoration in Christ and we go to proclaim the promises of that story we now inhabit. Praise be to God through Christ our Lord who saves. Amen.