Day 189 - A Vineyard

Daily Reading:  Isaiah 4-6

I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard:

My loved one had a vineyard

on a fertile hillside.

He dug it up and cleared it of stones

and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it

and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

but it yielded only bad fruit.

Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah,

judge between me and my vineyard.

What more could have been done for my vineyard

than I have done for it?

When I looked for good grapes,

why did it yield only bad?

Now I will tell you

what I am going to do to my vineyard:

I will take away its hedge,

and it will be destroyed;

I will break down its wall,

and it will be trampled.

I will make it a wasteland,

neither pruned nor cultivated,

and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds

not to rain on it.

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty

is the house of Israel,

and the men of Judah

are the garden of his delight.

And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;

for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Isaiah 5:1-7

Footnote:

The lesson of the song of the vineyard shows that God's chosen nation was to bear fruit -- to carry out his work, to uphold justice.  It did bear fruit, but the fruit was bad.  This passage uses plays on words: the Hebrew words for justice and bloodshed sound very much alike, as do those for righteousness and distress.  Jesus said, "By their fruit you will recognize them" (Matthew 7:20).  Have you examined your own "fruit" lately?  Is it good or bad -- useful or wild?

Keep reading -- 176 days left!

All footnotes taken from the Life Application Study Bible, NIV

Day 188 - Isaiah

Daily Reading:  Isaiah 1-3


Isaiah was a prophet during the time when the original nation of Israel had been divided into two kingdoms -- Israel in the north, and Judah in the south.  The northern kingdom had sinned greatly against God, and the southern kingdom was headed in the same direction -- perverting justice, oppressing the poor, turning from God to idols, and looking for military aid from pagan nations rather than from God.  Isaiah came primarily as a prophet to Judah, but his message was also for the northern kingdom.  Sometimes "Israel" refers to both kingdoms.  Isaiah lived to see the destruction and captivity of the northern kingdom in 722 B.C.  Thus, his ministry began as one of warning.


1:10-14 Footnote:

God was unhappy with their sacrifices, but he was not revoking the system of sacrifices he had initiated with Moses.  Instead, God was calling for sincere faith and devotion.  The leaders were carefully making the traditional sacrifices and offerings at holy celebrations, but they were still unfaithful to God in their hearts.  Sacrifices were to be an outward sign of their inward faith in God, but the outward signs became empty because no inward faith existed.  Why, then, did they continue to offer sacrifices?  Like many people today, they had come to place more faith in the rituals of their religion than in the God they worshiped.  Examine your own religious practices:  do they spring from your faith in the living God?  God does not take pleasure in our outward expressions if our inward faith is missing.

Their land is full of idols;

they bow down to the work of their hands,

to what their fingers have made.  2:8

Under the reign of evil kings, idol worship flourished in both Israel and Judah.  A few good kings in Judah stopped it during their reigns.  Though very few people worship carved or molded images today, worshiping objects that symbolize power continues.  We pay homage to cars, homes, sports stars, celebrities, money, etc.  

Idol worship is evil because 

1. it insults God when we worship something he created rather than worshiping him; 
2.  it keeps us from knowing and serving God when we put our confidence in anything other than him; 
3  it causes us to rely on our own efforts rather than on God.


3:9-11 Footnote:

The people would be proud of their sins, parading them out in the open.  But sin is self-destructive.  In today's world, sinful living often appears glamorous, exciting, and clever.  But sin is wrong regardless of how society perceives it, and, in the long run, sin will make us miserable and destroy us.  God tries to protect us by warning us about the harm we will cause ourselves by sinning.  Those who are proud of their sins will receive the punishment from God they deserve.  Having rejected God's path to life (see Psalm 1), the only alternative is the path to destruction.


3:10,11 Footnote:

In the middle of this gloomy message, God gives hope -- eventually the righteous will receive God's reward and the wicked will receive their punishment.  It is disheartening to see the wicked prosper while we struggle to obey God and follow his plan.  Yet we keep holding on to God's truth and take heart!  God will bring about justice in the end, and he will reward those who have been faithful.

Keep reading -- 177 days left!

All footnotes taken from the Life Application Study Bible, NIV

Day 187 - A Blazing Fire

Daily Reading:  2 Kings 18, 19

2 Kings 19:1-7 Footnote:  

Sennacherib, whose armies had captured all the fortified cities of Judah, sent a message to Hezekiah to surrender.  Realizing the situation was hopeless, Hezekiah went to the temple and prayed.  God answered Hezekiah's prayer and delivered Judah by sending an army to attack the Assyrian camp, forcing Sennacherib to leave at once.  Prayer should be our first response in any crisis.  Don't wait until things are hopeless.  Pray daily for his guidance.  Our problems are God's opportunities.

19:2 Footnote:  

Isaiah the prophet had been working for God since the days of Uzziah -- 40 years.  Although Assyria was a world power, it could not conquer Judah as long as Isaiah counseled the kings.  Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.  Ahaz ignored Isaiah, but Hezekiah listened to his advice.   To read his prophecies, see the book of Isaiah.

We will be reading Isaiah next!

For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,

and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. 

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.  19:31

Footnote:  

As long as a tiny spark remains, a fire can be rekindled and fanned into a roaring blaze.  Similarly, if just the smallest remnant of true believers retains the spark of faith, God can rebuild it into a strong nation.  And if only a glimmer of faith remains in a heart, God can use it to restore blazing faith in that believer.  If you feel that only a spark of faith remains in you, ask God to use it to rekindle a blazing fire of commitment to him.

Keep reading -- 178 days left!

All footnotes taken from the Life Application Study Bible, NIV

Day 186 - Return to Your God

Daily Reading:  Hosea 11-14

Chapter 12:2-5 Footnote:  

Jacob, whose name was later changed to Israel, was the common ancestor of all 12 tribes of Israel (both northern and southern kingdoms).  Like the nations that descended from him, Jacob practiced deceit.  Unlike Israel and Judah, however, he constantly searched for God.  Jacob wrestled with the angel in order to be blessed, but his descendants thought their blessings came from their own successes.  Jacob purged his house of idols (Genesis 35:2), but his descendants could not quit their idol worship. 

But you must return to your God;

maintain love and justice,

and wait for your God always.   12:6

Footnote:  

The two principles that Hosea called his nation to live by, love and justice, are at the very foundation of God's character.  They are essential to his followers but they are not easy to keep in balance.  Some people are loving to the point that they excuse wrongdoing.  Others are just to the extent that they forget love.  Love without justice, because it is not aiming at a higher standard, leaves people in their sins.  Justice without love, because it has not heart, drives people away from God.  To specialize in one at the expense of the other is to distort our witness.  Today's church, just like Hosea's nation, must live by both principles.

So in my anger I gave you a king,

and in my wrath I took him away.  13:11

Footnote:  

God had warned Israel that kings would cause more problems than they would solve, and he reluctantly gave them Saul as their first king.  The second king, David, was a good king, and Solomon, David's son, had his strengths.  But after the nation divided in two, the northern kingdom never had another good ruler.  Evil kings led the nation deeper into idolatry and unwise political alliances.  Eventually the evil kings destroyed the nation; with Hosea, the northern kingdom's kings were cut off.

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God.  Your sins have been your downfall!  14:1

Footnote:  

Verses 1-3 are Hosea's call to repent.  Verses 4-8 are God's promise of restoration.  God had to punish Israel for its gross and repeated violations of his law, but he would do so with a heavy heart.  What God really wanted to do was restore the nation and make it prosper.

Take words with you

and return to the Lord.

Say to him:

Forgive all our sins

and receive us graciously,

that we may offer the fruit of our lips.

Footnote:  

The people could return to God by asking him to forgive their sins.  The same is true for us:  we can pray Hosea's prayer and know our sins are forgiven because Christ died for them on the cross (John 3:16). 

Forgivenss begins when we see the destructiveness of sin and the futility of life without God.  Then we must admit we cannot save ourselves; our ony hope is in God's mercy.  When we request forgiveness, we must recognize that we do not deserve it and therefore cannot demand it.  Our appeal must be for God's love and mercy, not for his justice.  Although we cannot demand forgiveness, we can be confident that we have received it because God is gracious and loving and wants to restore us to himself, just as he wanted to restore Israel.

"The fruit of our lips" refers to thank offerings to God.  God desired real, heartfelt repentance, not merely annual sacrifices.

14:3-8 Footnote:

When our will is weak, when our thinking is confused, and when our conscience is burdened with a load of guilt, we must remember that God cares for us continually; his compassion never fails. 

When friends and family desert us, when coworkers don't understand us, and when we are tired of being good, God's compassion never fails. 

When we can't see the way or seem to hear God's voice, and when we lack courage to go on, God's compassion never fails. 

When our shortcomings and our awareness of our sins overcome us, God's compassion never fails.

Who is wise?  He will realize these things.

Who is discerning?  He will understand them.

The ways of the Lord are right;

the righteous walk in them,

but the rebellious stumble in them.  14:9

14:9 Footnote:  

Hosea closes with an appeal to listen, learn and benefit from God's word.  To those receiving the Lord's message through Hosea, this meant the difference between life and death.  For you, the reader of the book of Hosea, the choice  is similar: either listen to the book's message and follow God's ways, or refuse to walk along the Lord's path.  But people who insist on following their own direction without God's guidance are "like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble".  If you are lost, you can find the way by turning from your sin and following God.

God's concern for justice that requires faithfulness and love that offers forgiveness can be seen in his dealings with Hosea.  We can err by forgetting God's love and feeling that our sins are hopeless, but we can also err by forgetting his wrath against our sins and thinking he will continue to accept us no matter how we act.  Forgiveness is a key word: when God forgives us, he judges the sin but shows mercy to the sinner.  We should never be afraid to come to God for a clean slate and a renewed life.

Keep reading -- 179 days left!

All footnotes taken from the Life Application Study Bible, NIV

New Year's Resolution

January 2014 Reading Lists

Happy New Year!  Below are the reading lists for January.  If you've fallen behind, take the time now to catch up or just jump right in.  Make God's Word a priority in your life in 2014!


   January

❏1 Hosea 8-10
❏2 Hosea 11-14
❏3 2 Kings 18,19
❏4 Isaiah 1-3
❏5 Isaiah 4-6
❏6 Isaiah 7-9
❏7 Isaiah 10-12
❏8 Isaiah 13-15
❏9 Isaiah 16-18
❏10 Isaiah 19-21
❏11 Isaiah 22-24
❏12 Isaiah 25-27
❏13 Isaiah 28-30
❏14 Isaiah 31-33
❏15 Isaiah 34-36
❏16 Isaiah 37-39
❏17 Isaiah 40-42
❏18 Isaiah 43-45
❏19 Isaiah 46-48
❏20 Isaiah 49-51
❏21 Isaiah 52-54
❏22 Isaiah 55-57
❏23 Isaiah 58-60
❏24 Isaiah 61-63
❏25 Isaiah 64-66
❏26 Micah 1-4
❏27 Micah 5-7
❏28 Nahum 1-3
❏29 2 Kings 20,21
❏30 Zephaniah 1-3
❏31 Habakkuk 1-3


Junior Bible Challenge Reading List for January


  January

❏1 Nehemiah 1
❏2 Nehemiah 2
❏3 Nehemiah 3
❏4 Nehemiah 8
❏5 Esther 4
❏6 Job 1
❏7 Job 2
❏8 Job 38
❏9 Job 42
❏10 Psalms 1
❏11 Psalms 2
❏12 Psalms 5
❏13 Psalms 19
❏14 Psalms 23
❏15 Psalms 27
❏16 Psalms 34
❏17 Psalms 51
❏18 Psalms 61
❏19 Psalms 63
❏20 Psalms 84
❏21 Psalms 103
❏22 Psalms 139
❏23 Psalms 150
❏24 Proverbs 1
❏25 Proverbs 3
❏26 Proverbs 7
❏27 Proverbs 9
❏28 Proverbs 10
❏29 Proverbs 22
❏30 Proverbs 31
❏31 Ecclesiastes 3

Day 185 - Sowing and Reaping

Daily Reading:  Hosea 8-10

They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.  The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour.  Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up.  Hosea 8:7

Footnote:  

Crop yield is the result of good seed planted in good soil and given the proper proportions of sunlight, moisture, and fertilizer.  A single seed can produce multiple fruit in good conditions.  Israel, however, had sown its spiritual seed to the wind -- it had invested itself in activities without substance.  Like the wind that comes and goes, its idolatry and foreign alliances offered no protection.  In seeking self-preservation apart from God, it had brought about its own destruction.  Like a forceful whirlwind, God's judgment would come upon Israel by means of the Assyrians.  When we seek security in anything except God, we expose ourselves to great danger.  Without God there is no lasting security.

 Keep reading -- 180 days left!

All footnotes taken from the Life Application Study Bible, NIV