Day 132 1 Samuel 12:1‐13:22; John 7:1‐29; Psalm 108:1‐13; Proverbs 15:4 God’s Work, God’s Way We have become accustomed to the notion that “there’s more than one way to skin a cat.” I have learned, however, that if you plan on using a new cat-skinning technique, you’d better be very clear what you are actually…
Day 131 1 Samuel 10:1‐11:15; John 6:43‐71; Psalm 107:1‐43; Proverbs 15:1‐3 Rejecting God’s Provision But now you have rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, “No, appoint a king over us.” – 1 Samuel 10:19 I don’t know about you but when I read those…
Day 130 1 Samuel 8:1-9:27; John 6:22-42; Psalm 106:32-48; Proverbs 14:34-35 Because of the Bread Earlier in John 6, we have this Gospel’s record of Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Although Jesus had managed to get away from the excited crowd who wanted to make…
Day 129 1 Samuel 5:1‐7:17; John 6:1‐21; Psalm 106:13‐31; Proverbs 14:32‐33 Covenant Box of the Lord The Ark of the Covenant was a box in which were kept the tablets of the Ten Commandments. The box was the throne of God such that where it went so did the force of God’s presence. God does…
Day 128 1 Samuel 2:22-4:22; John 5:24-47; Psalm 106:1-12; Proverb 14:30 Speak Lord, Your Servant Is Listening! “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” -John 5:24 The emphasis in the…
Day 127 1 Samuel 1:1‐2:21; John 5:1‐23; Psalm 105:37‐45; Proverbs 14:28‐29 None of His Words Fall to the Ground Did you ever realize how much drama there was in 1 Samuel on either side of the calling of Samuel? The drama that Eli’s sons cause in the temple and how wicked they are, and then…
Day 126 Ruth 2:1-4:22; John 4:43-54; Psalm 105:16-36; Proverbs 14:26-27 From Fateful to Faithful In the Old Testament reading, Naomi has returned to Bethlehem from Moab for the barley harvest. Although the famine in Israel has ended, the fortunes of Naomi have not improved. Her sons have died without children. Only Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law,…
Day 125 Judges 21:1‐25; Ruth 1:1‐22; John 4:4‐42; Psalm 105:1‐15; Proverbs 14:25 Hearing Is Believing Have you ever had to get your hearing checked to see if you were hearing clearly or if you needed a hearing aid? Sometimes we need a spiritual hearing aid to help our hearing and believing. Do you remember the…
Day 124 Judges 19:1-20:48; John 3:22-4:3; Psalm 104:24-35; Proverbs 14:22-24 He Must Increase, I Must Decrease The disciples of John the Baptist were very upset because people were going to Jesus to be baptized. They did not like the fact that their teacher was taking a “back seat” to the “new man on the block.”…
Day 123 Judges 17:1‐18:31; John 3:1‐21; Psalm 104:1‐23; Proverbs 14:20‐21 No King, No Direction! At the very end of Judges, we have two stories in the days when there was no king in Israel. During this period of moral lawlessness, people did as they saw fit: A young man steals silver from his mother. He…
Day 122 Judges 15:1-16:31; John 2:1-25; Psalm 103:1-22; Proverbs 14:17-19 Do Whatever He Tells You The first miracle of Jesus occurred during the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. Mary tells Him the wine has run out, but Jesus tells her His time has not yet come. She proceeds to tell the servants to do…
Day 121 Judges 13:1‐14:20; John 1:29‐51; Psalm 102:1‐28; Proverbs 14:15‐16 The Means of Salvation In the Gospel reading, we find significant pictures of salvation. First there is the proclamation by John the Baptist: “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.“ Offerings of lambs sacrificed in the temple were common…
