Read the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 15, 1 Chronicles 21
And David said to Ornan, “Give me the site of the threshing floor that I may build on it an altar to the LORD—give it to me at its full price—that the plague may be averted from the people.”
Then Ornan said to David, “Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him. See, I give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for a grain offering; I give it all.”
But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David paid Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site.
Read the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 14, 1 Chronicles 18-20
“Be strong, and let us use our strength for our people and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him.” 1 Chronicles 19:13 ESV
Read the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 13, 1 Chronicles 17
“Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?” (1 Chronicles 17:16 ESV)
The Lord Exalts or Humbles as He Wills – FormerAtheist58
Never Lost – Cain
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It’s so beautiful to read these four chapters (Romans 5-8) all at once. Feel the excitement building. Try listening to these four chapters together while you’re exercising or cooking or driving or cleaning your home. Only 21 minutes!
Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!
How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 5:20-6:11 ESV
Did you notice how many times the words dead, death, and died appeared in these 13 verses?
I once was dead in my sins, but now that person has died, and I’ve been born anew! Praise God! I’ve been given new life, eternal life, in Christ. It’s crazy how ALIVE I feel now – and how dead I once felt, but I didn’t even know it. I once feared death, but now I look forward with confidence and certainty to eternal life with Jesus.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for taking what once was DEAD and making it ALIVE. I wasn’t just sick, Father. I was dead. I was among the walking dead. I didn’t just need healing. I needed revival. I needed to be born again. Thank You for Your mercy and grace, for bringing me from death to life. Thank You for sending Your own son to DIE in my place. It’s in His Name that I pray. Amen.
Saved my Soul – City Alight
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 25, Romans 4
Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness
Romans 4:4-5 ESV
The way I see it, most people around the world today are living in one of two ways:
Either they are trying to reach God by being really good …
Or, they aren’t trying to reach God at all because they just don’t believe or don’t care.
Well, what if both of those groups are wrong?
What if the truth is that God came to us, reached down to us, and the only way to find Him is by following the path of trust, not the path of trying harder?
Certainly, God wants His children to “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” (Colossians 3:23) But that hard work is the result of our salvation – rather than the way to salvation. Our good works are the fruit of our rebirth – rather than the means to it. Let’s put things in their proper order.
Like Ephesians 2:8-10 says, it is “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
God is the perfect giver and salvation is the perfect gift
[Abraham] did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
Romans 4:19-21 ESV
Don’t you just love that two-word phrase, “fully convinced”? I do.
It made me wonder, “What am I fully convinced of? What am I really ‘certain-sure’ about?”
Am I fully convinced that Jesus died on a cross in Jerusalem 2000 years ago, was buried in an empty tomb, and rose from the dead three days later?
Am I fully convinced that the Bible is the inspired word of God Himself and that it has full authority over my life?
Am I fully convinced that God is the eternal, Almighty Creator of the universe and that He will one day judge the living and the dead for how they spent their time on earth?
Is my faith just the “blow out the candles on my birthday cake” wish of a fool, or is it based on the solid, trustworthy, unchanging wisdom of the Lord and His Word?
I hope you’ll take some time today to ponder these questions, and that no matter the size of your faith – whether it’s as small as a mustard seed or as big as an elephant – it will be rooted deep into the bedrock of the Lord who holds you fast.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for all of Your many, many gifts: the gift of faith, the gift of salvation, the gift of Your Holy Spirit, the gift of forgiveness, the gift of new life and fresh hope and eternal peace. You are the perfect giver. I pray that I would have a heart of humble gratitude, receiving these gifts with thanksgiving. I pray that You would use me to share these gifts to the four corners of the world, for the glory of Your Name and the good of my fellow man. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Standing on the Promises
He Will Hold Me Fast – Selah
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 111, 2 Samuel 10
And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.”
2 Samuel 10:11 ESV
How often do I try to do it on my own, refusing to ask for help from others?
Sometimes I need help physically – carrying something, reaching something up high, opening a jar.
Sometimes I need help emotionally – someone to listen to me or give me a hug or speak an encouraging word to lift me up or a stern word to snap me out of a pity party.
Sometimes I need help spiritually – someone to pray for me or give me wise counsel or point me to an applicable passage of Scripture.
But, I’m afraid that all too often I want to do it myself like my younger daughter is famous for saying a few too many times. I’m reminded of Galatians 6:2-3, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (ESV)
Heavenly Father, I need Your help, Your guidance and strength, Your encouragement and chastisement. But, Father, I also need help from others, from the body of Christ here on earth. I need others to be eyes and ears for me. I need others to be hands and feet for me. I need others to speak truth to me. Please, Father, help me to be humble and to ask for help when I’m in need. Help to see the great company of fellow workers who want to labor together side by side for Your kingdom and glory. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 89, 1 Samuel 11.
Once again I was reminded of the story of the Levite and his concubine which took place in Gibeah (Saul’s hometown) in Judges 19-21, particularly Judges 19:29 ESV, “And when [the Levite] entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.” Along with Judges 21:14 ESV, “And Benjamin returned at that time. And they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead….”
Saul is a Benjaminite from the city of Gibeah. He would have known these stories. In fact, his family would have been directly touched by these events recorded in Judges.
Now notice the connections in 1 Samuel 11. Nahash the Ammonite is attacking the people of Jabesh-Gilead — Was Saul’s mother from there? His aunt? His best friend’s mom?
Saul took the yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them to all the other tribes in Israel — Just like what the Levite had done with his concubine’s body. It had worked last time to get the people involved, and it worked this time for Saul.
Our family’s traditions, the stories we grow up hearing, the attitudes of people around us, they impact our lives. How I react to my husband, my children, and the cashier at Walmart is shaped by my upbringing. The takeaway for me in this is twofold. One, as a mom, I want to consider the impact I’m having on my children. How am I shaping them by how I behave and what experiences I invite into my children’s lives? Two, as a grown person, how are my actions today being shaped not by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God but by my past. How am I following my passions, instincts, and impulses rather than the Lord?
Heavenly Father, I love You. All Your ways are right. All You do is good. Father, I want to follow You all the days of my life. I want to be conformed into Your image. Make me more like You. I pray that all my actions would be led by Your Holy Spirit who dwells in me and Your Inspired Word which is a lamp to my feet. Give me wisdom as a mother to recognize how my attitudes and actions, what I let into my children’s lives, what I put in front of their faces, will shape their lives in the future. Help me to live for Your glory. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 80, Ruth 3-4
My husband sent me this picture from his John MacArthur study Bible, saying that John MacArthur compares Ruth to the virtuous wife in Proverbs 31.
Ruth Baker, in her January 2, 2019 blog post at GoThereFor.com digs further into this idea. Read it here.
Heavenly Father, help me to be a virtuous woman, to take good care of my husband and children, and to work diligently day after day. May I do my husband good and not harm all the days of my life. May the teaching of kindness be on my tongue. May I open my mouth with wisdom. May I remember that charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting, but that a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and redeemer, I pray. Amen.
Proverbs 31:30 song
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 29, 1 Corinthians 4
On my weekend trip to Greer’s Ferry Lake in Arkansas, I was amazed by the rocks that covered the lakeshore. From far away, looking down at the beach, I expected them to be solid, hard, firm, stable … you know, ROCKS. But when I finally made my way down six flights of stairs and walked on those rocks, I discovered that they were anything but that. These rocks crumbled like eggshells under my feet.
Ask yourself –
What kind of rock am I standing on? Am I standing on the solid rock of Jesus or the shifting sand of man’s opinions?
What kind of woman am I? Am I steadfast and immovable, solid and faithful like my God and His Unchanging Word, or do I crumble under the pressures of life?
1 Corinthians 1:9 ESV — God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthians 4:2 ESV — Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
1 Corinthians 4:17 ESV — That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithfulchild in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.
1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV — No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 ESV — He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
1 Timothy 1:12 ESV — I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,
2 Timothy 2:13 ESV — if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.
Hebrews 10:23 ESV — Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 11:11 ESV — By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.
1 Peter 4:19 ESV — Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Revelation 17:14 ESV — They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.
Revelation 19:11 ESV — Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
Heavenly Father, You are Faithful. You are Trustworthy. You are a Promise-Keeper. Every word You speak will come to pass. Help me to be faithful because You are the source and the object of my faith. Help me to daily entrust my soul to You, Father, because You are trustworthy. Because my hope is in You and You alone, I will not be shaken. You have called me to Your service, so I can trust that You will fulfill all Your plans for my life. Make me more like You, Lord. Make me faithful and trustworthy because You are Faithful and trustworthy. In the Name of Jesus Christ who died in my place I pray. Amen.
“My Hope is Built on Nothing Less (On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand)”
“Great is Thy Faithfulness & My Redeemer is Faithful and True” – Steven Curtis Chapman
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 20, Joshua 20
In Joshua 20, the Lord told Joshua and the people of Israel to designate cities of refuge where those who had unintentionally killed someone could flee. I’ve never killed anyone (intentionally or not), but sinful anger has festered in my heart more times than I care to admit.
Let’s not forget the words of Jesus, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthrew 5:21-22 ESV)
We all deserve the death penalty, but Jesus paid the price that by our faith in Him we can be set free, as Romans 6:23 reminds us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I’m so thankful that the Almighty Lord God is my ever-present refuge, and that His Son is my city of refuge.
Here’s a smattering of verses from Psalms which point to the Lord as our refuge. Meditate on them. Write them out. Memorize them. Let this truth wash over your soul.
“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.” Psalm 5:11 ESV
“O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,” Psalm 7:1 ESV
“Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.” Psalm 17:7 ESV
“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2 ESV
“This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” Psalm 18:30 ESV
“Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.” Psalm 25:20 ESV
“The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.” Psalm 28:8 ESV
“Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!” Psalm 31:2 ESV
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8 ESV
“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.” Psalm 57:1B
“Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!” Psalm 61:4 ESV
“On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” Psalm 62:7-8 ESV
“Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.” Psalm 71:3 ESV
“But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.” Psalm 73:28 ESV
“It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.” Psalm 118:8-9 ESV
“I cry to you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.’” Psalm 142:5 ESV
“He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.” Psalm 144:2 ESV
Heavenly Father, You are my refuge, my strength, my rock, and my fortress. I have no reason to fear for You are by my side. I am hidden under the shelter of Your wings. Strengthen me to trust in You and You alone. Let me not be shaken. Some trust in chariots and some trust in horses, but I trust in the almighty name of Jesus Christ, my Faithful Refuge, I pray. Amen
Psalm 34 – Taste and See – Shane and Shane
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Teach What is Good 
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