July 29 - Time of the Church

Psalm 104 - There's no doubt about it, God created and sustains all things.

1 Samuel 14:47-15:9 - Saul disobeys God by saving the good stuff when he destroys the Amalekites.

Acts 24:1-23 - The text says that Felix had a rather accurate knowledge of the Way. I wonder if this made him more likely to side with Paul or not.

July 27 - Time of the Church

Psalm 65 - God is in control of all things. All our daily needs are provided by His hand. All people look to Him, whether they know it or not.

1 Samuel 12:1-25 - Israel has asked for a king, which comes from a desire to be like the other nations. The evil that Samuel talks about here is their rejection of Yahweh as king. He says that they can still do well to trust in Yahweh and worship Him alone. The problem comes when they rely on the king himself rather than as an agent of God's work. This is a fine line for us as well.

Acts 22:30-23:11 - Paul is very clever here, living up to Jesus' command to the disciples to be as innocent as doves and as shrewd as snakes. Paul is on trial because of his confession of Jesus as Lord, but also because of the hope he has in the resurrection. He knows that Pharisees and Sadducees don't agree on this.

July 22 - Time of the Church

Psalm 133 - Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.

1 Samuel 5:1-6:16 - Israel and their neighbors have constantly been at war. Along with this comes spoils, but the Philistines did not realize what they were getting when they stole the ark of the covenant. You would expect that God would send Israel to fight and deliver the ark, but this story illustrates how God does it Himself. The imagery of the god Dagon falling on his face still rings true for any gods that we set up in place of God.

Acts 18:1-28 - The story of Apollos is an important one to me. Throughout Acts we see two major players. Those who know the good news and those who don't. Even though Apollos taught about Jesus he still didn't know everything he needed to. It can be easy for us to assume we know all that we need to, but like Apollos, there's always a little more education that is good for us.

July 20 - Time of the Church

Psalm 113 - Who is like our God?

1 Samuel 3:1-21 - God is about to do a thing that will make the ears of everyone tingle. I love this phrase. Very often we talk about the power or signs of God in terms of sight. People see miracles, they believe if they can see with their eyes. But here God will work tingling in the ears of His people through His prophet.

Acts 16:1-20 - There's a lot in this passage, but I'm caught off-guard by one thing. Paul has Timothy circumcised. The fact that this excruciating procedure is only mentioned in passing is bad enough, but what happened to all these discussions earlier in Acts about how unnecessary it was? There's no easy answer here, but I think it may have something to do with acting for the benefit of the weaker brother. For the sake of those who know Timothy's heritage, Paul avoids the conflict and he and Timothy take the harder road for the sake of others.

July 16 - The Time of the Church

Psalm 36 - There's a stark contrast between verses 4 and 5. The psalm starts with meditation on the ways in which people reject the will of God, and then transitions to the breadth and depth of God's steadfast love. It makes me wonder if the point is that God's love and presence is so large that the wicked's attempt to flatter themself is absurd in comparison.

Judges 16:4-30 - At first I can't believe why Samson tells Delilah anything. What an idiot. Yet, who has never done something stupid for love? Throughout Samson's life he seemed preoccupied with games and tricks, but his story isn't just about himself. God leaves him and he is beaten, but when the Philistines start to give thanks to Dagon, the power of God is shown again.

Galatians 4:12-31 - Sarah and Hagar as example of what it means to live under the Law versus under the Gospel.

July 15 - The Time of the Church

Psalm 48 - In one way this psalm seems like a military song of triumph, but the focus is truly on God's presence and protection.

Judges 15:1-16:3 - Whenever I reread Judges I'm reminded that these aren't the stories I remember from Sunday School. Samson burns down Philistine crops, kills a thousand men with a jaw-bone, and sleeps with a prostitute. This is a hero of the faith? The obvious answer is no, and the prophets point to this when they remind Israel of their collective and individual sin against God. But in one sense Samson is a hero in that God is able to use him despite his sin.

Galatians 3:23-4:11 - Paul gives another way to understand how Christ has made us righteous through faith. Here Paul talks about sonship, highlighting that we are heirs with Christ in closer relationship with the Father.

July 14 - The Time of the Church

Psalm 123 - The eyes of a servant look to the hand of their master. Why not eye to eye? It could be a sign of position. You don't look your master in the eye. Or it could be that the hand stands for the providing of the master. This psalm at once reminds us of our lowly position in relation to God but also His emmense mercy toward us. And in Christ we can call God not only Master but Father.

Judges 14:1-20 - It's not easy thinking of something profound in this section of Scripture. It's easy to get distracted by the seemingly weird in this story. Samson rips a lion to shreds, eats honey from its carcass, and loses a strange riddle. Though we would see this Scripture as descriptive of events rather than prescriptive of what we should do, it's important to remember that despite Samson's faults, God uses Him in the story of salvation leading up to Jesus. What benefit is there in reading this kind of story?

Galatians 3:1-22 - Paul reminds us that it is Christ, not Moses, not the law, not our efforts, that justifies us before God. Our faith is radical in that it trusts totally in the work, sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. What good news this is when we are burdened by guilt and the struggles of this world.

July 8 - The Time of the Church

Psalm 33 - This psalm is a song of praise to God and highlights His power and mercy. It can also be read as a summary of the book of Genesis, moving from creation to Babylon to the calling of God's people. It beautifully ends with hope.

Judges 3:7-31 - The pattern of Israel worshipping other gods and then calling out to Yahweh when they need help is a pattern that has continued to this day in our world. I recall a professor asking which of the judges was the most important. His answer: Shamgar. We have three stories of three judges but Shamgar gets only a verse. My professor's point: God is the one saving His people, the judges are the ones He uses to do it. So even if Ehud or Samson get cooler stories, the story isn't about the judges alone, but about God's work for His often rebellious people.

Acts 13:42-52 - When I think about Evangelism I often think of it as a two person interaction. There's the evangelist and the hearer and they will exchange words and thoughts. But in this story as with so many in Acts, there's also a third player. Paul and Barnabas' message was received positively by many, but they still had to contend with naysayers. There are those who will reject the Gospel and there are those who are receptive, but have other thoughts whispered in their ear. Even with this difficulty the Word is not without effect.

July 6 - The Time of the Church

Psalm 81 - This psalm recounts the Exodus story often from God's perspective. The language gives insight into the anguish God feels for His rebellious people. Jesus expresses this concern about Jerusalem as well.

Joshua 24:1-31 - Joshua reminds the people what it means to be the Lord's. Israel renews the covenant with God.

Acts 13:1-12 - My initial thought is that the proconsul believed because of the miracle, but the text says he was amazed at the teaching of the Lord.

July 1 - The Time of the Church

Psalm 15 - This psalm is no doubt intended to illustrate the righteous life that God's people should live. I find it both beautiful and challenging. I am unworthy for God's tent and His hill. But there is one who tabernacled among us, and who went up to a hill to take the place of the unrighteous. Therefore I can stand before God.

Joshua 6:6-27 - Why did the Israelites have to circle the city and do everything so specifically? Couldn't they have just conquered the city in a normal way? Why does God need the gold and silver? All of this points ultimately to who the Israelites rely on. I don't know the specific reasons as to why things happened this way, but they seem to point to God and not Israel being the conquerer.

Acts 10:18-33 - The lordship and grace of Jesus is extended to the whole world, not just the Jewish peoples. This motif appears again and again in Acts as the disciples wrestle with the implications of Jesus having died and risen for all people.