Skip to main content

April 26 + Daily notes & readings

DAY 116
DAILY READINGS

Isaiah 31-35 & Psalm 116

DAILY NOTES

Isaiah 31

  • Notice the imagery the prophet uses to describe God.  
  • The people have trusted the alliances they have made with Egypt.
Isaiah 32
  • A future king will rule over the people.  The king will rule in righteousness and the kingdom will do likewise.  
Isaiah 33
  • God again assures the people that they will be restored.
Isaiah 34-35
  • The prophecies deal with the time after the exile.  
Psalm 116
  • The psalmist was "brought low" and God saved him.
  • The psalm points to an illness the psalmist endured that God delivered him from.
  • The outcome is healing and thankful praise.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

"The Egyptians are human, and not God."  Of course.  We know that.  We know that we are not God.

What happens, though, is that we put too much trust in ourselves and/or other people.  We give others or ourselves the place God should have in our decision making.  In other words, even though we know we're not God, we sure start acting like it.

And where does that get us?  It brought the people of God destruction.  Most of us can see that it brings disarray to our lives, too.  So, what's it going to take to get us out of God's place?  How do we not think, decide and act like we're in full charge of our lives?

Figure that out and you've got a recipe for faithfulness.

Stay blessed...john


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

January 27 + Daily notes & readings

DAY 27 We'll be reading about atonement today.  T oday's video helps make sense of that biblical theme. DAILY READINGS Exodus 30-31 & Psalm 27 DAILY NOTES Exodus 30:6 Everything has its place.   Exodus 30:10 Once a year would be Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Exodus 12-15 The Lord's offering is required of everyone equally (of the appropriate age).  Strangely enough, there is a designation of rich and poor.  Everyone has just come from Egypt.  How has that distinction arisen?   Exodus 31:13 It's interesting to compare how the idea of sabbath here relates to previous mentions of it.   Exodus 31:18 Moses had written the words down.  Now, with merely his finger, God has provided the tablets for all to remember the covenant that has been made.   Psalm 27 Have you ever prayed and prayed and prayed for something?  The psalmist seems to know the feeling.  His final adm...

June 18 + Daily notes & readings

DAY 169 DAILY READINGS Jeremiah 4-6 & Psalm 14 DAILY NOTES Jeremiah 4 Perhaps the people swore "As the Lord lives," but they did not do so in truth, justice or uprightness.  That's a sobering reminder that our words about God must match the way we live. Jeremiah (God) wants the people to move from an empty adherence to a covenant behavior (circumcision) to an attitude of praise before God.  In other words, empty religion is not appealing to God. God will ask the people to "wash" their heart "clean of wickedness" (Verse 14). Jeremiah feels as if God has deceived the people (Verse 10).  Maybe God didn't predict the peace Jeremiah was thinking of.  False prophets? Jeremiah 5 The same theme.  There were people who said, "As the Lord lives," because that was the religious thing to say.  But God says there is not one person who acts justly or seeks truth.  The people used the right words, but lived the wrong way.  #Pr...

February 16 + Daily notes & readings

DAY 47 Before the movie Shrek, the best known talking donkey was Balaam's donkey.  That's what we're reading about today.   Of course, that's only part of the story between Balak and Balaam.   DAILY READINGS Numbers 22-24 & Psalm 47 DAILY NOTES Numbers 22:2 Apparently, Israel is making a name for itself.  The Moabites are terrified and distressed/irritated by the news of what the Israelites are doing. Numbers 22:5-6 Balaam is, apparentely, a diviner with a good reputation.  Balak is "overcome with fear" and his response is to go to Balaam.  Balak knows that "whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed." Numbers 22:8 This is the recurring theme for Balaam.  He will only say what  God tells him to say.  That is, there's no money back guarantee.  Even if it doesn't align with what Balak wants, Balaam will only give the words that God gives him. There is no indication why Balaam w...