Daily Scripture Readings
Read along with us in community as we follow this daily scripture outline.
Sunday March 23rd
Isaiah 55:1-9; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9​
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In all seeking of the Lord do we often find ourselves missing Him altogether? Like strangers passing in the dark? God’s ways are so different from the way we often believe and indeed Jesus’ teachings are so contrary to our mode of reasoning that I think many times we just miss the point altogether. Israel didn’t understand Jesus’ way of peace, the way of the Kingdom of Heaven. They couldn’t imagine that Him and His way of life and teaching was the way God was coming to His people to rescue them. Do we misunderstand the Lord when He sends us help? Do we refuse His way in disbelief? Sometimes forgiveness is a means of punishment at times and grace the water for the fires of anger. But can we believe that Jesus expects us to live so contrary to reason?
Monday March 24th
Jeremiah 11:1-17; Psalm 39:1-6; Romans 2:1-11
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God eagerly desires that all will live in a way that is keeping in step with repentance. For we have sinned and continue to sin, therefore we are in need of forgiveness. Yes, Jesus saved us from our sins, but if anytime we forget that we are at the mercy of God through our Lord Jesus, we risk straying from the life of repentance. David understood this and cried out to the Lord God for help. God judged Israel for their unrepentant commitment to sinning and worshiping other gods. If we believe ourselves above judgment then we take for granted the merits of Christ’s work on our behalf. Just because we’ve been saved, doesn’t mean we are not in need of the persevering reminder of how we’ve been saved, that is through Christ. Let us be humble and quick to seek God in repentance.
Tuesday March 25th
Ezekiel 17:1-10; Psalm 39:7-13; Romans 2:12-16
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The parable of the two eagles and the vine is a great warning against those who break oath or more simply those who don’t fulfill their promise. The king of Israel at this time was to be the last king of Judah, who broke the covenant of God and his promise to Nebuchadnezzar who installed him as king. He is the low vine, who would not flourish but be punished for his faithlessness. Paul also warns those who struggle with whether to keep the law or follow Christ. Those under the law will be judged by it and strictly too, but those who allow Christ to lead are judged according to Him and his righteousness. In following Christ we are freed from the law to live by the Spirit in obedience to Him.
Wednesday March 26th
Numbers 13:17-27; Psalm 39; Luke 13:18-21
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The promised land and the kingdom of God are similar in this regard, it is by faith that they grow and are bountiful before the Lord. God led His people out of Egypt, through the wilderness and into the promised land by the faith of Moses. Yet Moses would not enter the land because of his failures, but he did glimpse at the land and its fruit. We are similarly led to the kingdom of God through the faith of the messiah, Christ Jesus the Lord. He leads us in righteousness that we might taste of the goodness of God. Yet, we must live by faith and hold to His promises to us, so that the kingdom of God can grow like the mighty oak, full of the favor and blessing of God. May we hope always in Christ.
Thursday March 27th
Joshua 4:1-13; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5
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For Israel, they had physical signs of the blessing of God incorporated into their communal life. The ark was a sign of God’s presence, the twelve stones a memorial to God’s leading them to the land of promise, and the commandments a reminder of their covenant to God. Paul on the other hand encourages the church in Corinth not to focus on what is seen but rather the unseen. He isn’t saying to not look at the physical at all, but instead when we see the temporary we must be reminded of the eternal nature resting behind them. When we see the cross we don’t see death, but life. When we see the church we don’t see disunity but unity. When we feel pain, we know it joins us with Christ who for us endured the worst torment to bring us to God. Let us see beyond.
Friday March 28th
Joshua 4:14-24; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:6-15
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Joshua, the leader of the Israelites going into the promised land, set up a visual cue to signal the story of how God had stopped the Jordan and allowed the people to cross unharmed on dry land. This was so that they could pass on faithfully the things they had witnessed to their descendants. We too have a cue, that is the cross of Christ and the witness of His resurrection by the disciples. For this same reason we, as Paul says, “we try to persuade others”, since we now know that all will be judged by Christ. So we carry on the faithful witness in hope that all will come to know the promises of God in Jesus.
Saturday March 29th
Exodus 32:7-14; Psalm 32; Luke 15:1-10
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Grace is the seed of repentance and salvation. God gives us grace before we ever repent, but to make it effectual to us we must respond with repentance so that His forgiveness can heal us. God forgave Israel before they ever repented. He was never going to punish them, but wanted Moses to realize His faithfulness to the covenant and His love for Israel. To make sure Moses would lead the people in faithfulness himself. The Pharisees' hardness of heart showed that they did not know the love of God. They had forgotten God’s grace from the beginnings of their people and now judged the sinner without shame. The thing to remember is we all need forgiveness for no one is like God. May we remind each other of the grace of God in our lives before passing judgment and may we show grace like the Lord. For it was God that first loved us while still sinners. Let us love first and not hate.