June 23rd One Year Bible Readings
Mike - OYB
2 Kings 4:18-5:27 + Acts 15:1-35 + Psalm 141:1-10 + Proverbs 17:23
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Old Testament - Interesting readings in 2 Kings 4 about the Shumanite woman, her son and the prophet Elisha today! You'll note that in verse 20 her son dies, and in verse 21 she places her son on Elisha's bed - in part so that no one will know that her son died. As she gets to verse 22-24 she is saddling up on a donkey to go straight to Elisha without anyone in her family knowing her son had died! Below is a painting by Rembrandt from 1640 titled "The Departure of the Shumanite Woman":
As the Shumanite woman nears Mount Carmel Gehazi, Elisha's servant, comes out to greet her and still she won't even tell him that her son has died! She says everything is fine. She wants to deliver the news first and directly to Elisha! I like this woman's focused faith. She knew that Elisha delivered the Word that she would have a son in previous day's readings, and now that her son had died, I think she had faith that Elisha, being a prophet in relationship with God, would be able to revive her son. Do you have a focused faith like this when it comes to your relationship with God and Jesus? Do you always take your problems directly to the One who can truly revive you? Below is an image of Elisha and the Shumanite woman by artist C.F. Vos:
Did anyone else notice that at the end of chapter 4 today Elisha busted out with a miracle that seemed to foreshadow Jesus' loaves and fishes miracles?? Very cool to consider the parallels between Jesus' feeding of the 5,000 and Elisha feeding 100 here in chapter 4 verses 42-44: "One day a man from Baal-shalishah brought the man of God a sack of fresh grain and twenty loaves of barley bread made from the first grain of his harvest. Elisha said, "Give it to the group of prophets so they can eat." "What?" his servant exclaimed. "Feed one hundred people with only this?" But Elisha repeated, "Give it to the group of prophets so they can eat, for the LORD says there will be plenty for all. There will even be some left over!" And sure enough, there was plenty for all and some left over, just as the LORD had promised." (That's Jesus below, not Elisha :)
In chapter 5 we get to the story of the healing of Naaman. I found it very interesting that Naaman needed to humble himself and wash up in the waters of the lowly river Jordan! Know anyone else that did some "washing up" in the river Jordan?? :) Maybe all of us somehow need to humble ourselves and symbolically be washed up in the river Jordan to receive true healing? Below is a portrait by artist Guy Rowe of the prophet Elisha with Naaman washing in the river Jordan:
Bible.org's commentary on today's Second Kings readings titled "The Shunammite's Son Resurrected" is at this link, "Death in the Pot" is at this link, "The Miracle of the Bread" is at this link, "The Healing of Namaan" is at this link, and "The Sin of Covetousness" is at this link.
New Testament - Peter's teaching at The Council at Jerusalem in Acts 15 verse 11 is one of the most important verses that all of us should really meditate upon and know and believe: "We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the special favor of the Lord Jesus." Do you believe Peter here? Do you believe this to be true? Does this simple message of this little button below ring true to you?
Bible.org's commentary on today's Acts readings titled "The Jerusalem Council: The Gospel Defined and Defended" is at this link.
Psalms - Psalm 141 is a beautiful prayer of David's - praying for deliverance from the wicked and their ways. Verse 4 is powerful - "Don't let me lust for evil things; don't let me participate in acts of wickedness. Don't let me share in the delicacies of those who do evil." Is this a prayer you could incorporate into your prayer life? What might be some examples of "delicacies of those who do evil"? Will you pray to God to avoid these "delicacies" and "treasures" that will ultimately fail you?
Proverbs - Proverbs 17:23 today teaches us: "The wicked accept secret bribes to pervert justice." This should be a reminder to each of us to never accept bribes! Bribes always pervert justice...
Worship Video: Today's readings in Acts remind me of MercyMe's song "You Reign:"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eow2hNlA-k
Do you know the One who reigns? Click here to meet the King!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat of their delicacies." Psalm 141:4 TNIV
Prayer Point: Pray that your heart is not drawn to what is evil. Pray that you take no part in wicked deeds. Pray that you do not eat the delicacies of evildoers.
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our One Year Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 - Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
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II Kings 3-4:17
What I love about the bible are all the personal stories of the Patriarchs, the Prophets and kings. To me their stories are like Case Studies that I can observe, study and see all the warts, mistakes, miss-steps and obedience to God or lack there of. Since we live in a “Cause and Effect” world, I don’t have to bop myself upside the head repeating the same mistakes they did. If I study carefully their choices and the subsequent consequences, I can avoid failing down the same well they did. There are so many traps laid out to catch us and it is wonderful to have inside knowledge of how the devil operates, as well as avoiding those choices that eminent from my focus on “self.”
Jehoshaphat again aligns himself with Ahab’s family. This time it is his son, Joram. The last time this happened he almost got himself killed (I Kings 22), yet he again forms a pact with Israel. However because Jehosaphat is with Joram, the prophet Elisha, given the Word of the Lord regarding the battle, tolerates Joram and God gives them a great victory. How many people think they are all that and a bag of chips because they have been involved in something that is successful; however, the success of the project is not because they have clean hands or favor with God, it is because someone on the team is being honored by God because God is giving them respect and favor. I know I have been guilty of that.
We would laugh if we found out that the donkey Jesus rode on in his triumphant entry into Jerusalem thought that all the cheering was for him. But we are like the donkey when we take credit for things that succeed because we think it’s all about us; instead of realizing that the victories we experience, the favor we have, come because God sees us through the prism of His Son, Jesus. When God looks at me, a Christian, He does not see me He sees Jesus.
Isaiah 64:
6We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away.
Acts 14:8-28
When someone who can walk is injured and has to stay off their feet for even one week, when they become ambulatory again, they have a problem with balance. If someone is immobilized for an extended period, they usually go to a rehabilitation hospital to learn to walk and move again. This man that was healed had never walked before so not only did he receive strength in his feet to walk, he got instantaneous control of muscles he had never used before. That is just awesome.
Psalm 140:1-13
I imagine that David wrote this Psalm as he dodged King Saul’s dogged attempt to catch and kill him. Instead of trying to ambush and kill Saul or using the two opportunities that walked into his life to take Saul out, David gave the job of extracting vengeance over to God. David is such a role model to follow when others have wronged us and we want to get our pound of flesh. God takes care of all those who come against His servants and children. That is knowledge that I need to get deep down inside of me.
Proverbs 17:22
How we approach the day, how we respond to our situations and circumstances is a matter of choice, always was, is and will be. Circumstances shouldn’t color our day, we should color our circumstances with a joyful attitude. Happiness is based on circumstances; joy is based on knowing the outcome. As Christians, we are more than conquers which implies that we will have things to conquer, but we win!
As the Apostle Paul states, 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4)
Grace and peace,
Ramona