The Daily Bible Readings for SATURDAY, October 24, 2020

 

The Daily Readings
SATURDAY, October 24, 2020
Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17; Deuteronomy 32:44-47; John 5:39-47
The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV)

Today’s Verse-of-the-Day:

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

The writer delivered a bold statement to his son: there is no wisdom without the fear of the Lord. Unless a person submits to God’s authority, he or she will always be a fool. In this proverb, the father’s advice is simple: if a person won’t listen to the omniscient, omnipotent Creator of the universe, he or she must assume that mere human thought is better than God’s. Fearing God is just the beginning of wisdom. It is the foundation for everything else.

As you pray, consider whether you are trying to build your life on a foundation other than God. Jesus said that anyone who does that is building a life on sand. The person who builds on the foundation of God’s Word will have a house anchored in the rock (Matt. 7:24–25). Ask God to show you how to build on the rock.

Today’s Readings:

Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17
Show your servants your works

1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.

6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

13 Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.

14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.

16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.

17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

Commentary
It is supposed that this psalm refers to the sentence passed on Israel in the wilderness, Numbers 14. God's favor and protection are the only sure rest and comfort of the soul in this evil world. Christ Jesus is the refuge and dwelling-place to which we may repair. We are dying creatures. All our comforts in the world are dying comforts, but God is an ever-living God, and believers find him so. When God, by sickness, or other afflictions, turns men to destruction, he thereby calls men to return unto him to repent of their sins and live a new life. A thousand years are nothing to God's eternity: between a minute and a million years, there is some proportion; between time and eternity, there is none. All the events of a thousand years, whether past or to come, are more present to the Eternal Mind than what was done in the last hour is to us. And in the resurrection, the body and soul shall both return and be united again. Time passes unobserved by us, as with men asleep, and when it is past, it is as nothing. It is a short and quickly-passing life, as the waters of a flood. Man flourish as the grass, which will wither when the winter of old age comes, but he may be mown down by disease or disaster.

Those who would learn true wisdom must pray for Divine instruction, must beg to be taught by the Holy Spirit, and for comfort and joy in the returns of God's favor. They pray for the mercy of God, for they pretend not to plead any merit of their own. His favor would be a full fountain of future joys. It would be a sufficient balance to former griefs. Let the grace of God in us produce the light of good works. And let Divine consolations put gladness into our hearts and a luster upon our countenances. The work of our hands, establish thou it, and, to that, establish us in it. Instead of wasting our precious, fleeting days pursuing fancies, which leave the possessors for ever poor, let us seek the forgiveness of sins and an inheritance in heaven. Let us pray that the work of the Holy Spirit may appear in converting our hearts and that the beauty of holiness may be seen in our conduct.

Deuteronomy 32:44-47
Moses’ farewell

32:44 And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.

45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:

46 And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.

47 For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

Commentary
Here is the solemn delivery of this song to Israel, with a charge to mind all the good words Moses had said unto them. It is not a trifle, but a matter of life and death: mind it, and you are made for ever; neglect it, and you are forever undone. Oh, that men were fully persuaded that religion is their life, even the life of their souls!

John 5:39-47
Moses judges the disobedient

5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

41 I receive not honour from men.

42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.

43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.

46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.

47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

Commentary
The Jews considered that eternal life was revealed to them in their Scriptures and that they had it because they had the word of God in their hands. Jesus urged them to search those Scriptures with more diligence and attention. “Ye do search the Scriptures,” and ye do well to do so. They did indeed search the Scriptures, but it was with a view to their own glory. It is possible for men to be very studious in the letter of the Scriptures, yet to be strangers to its power. Or, “Search the Scriptures,” and so it was spoken to them in the nature of an appeal. Ye profess to receive and believe the Scripture, let that be the judge. It is spoken to us as advising or commanding all Christians to search the Scriptures.

Not only read them, and hear them, but search them, which denotes diligence in examining and studying them. We must search the Scriptures for heaven as our great end; For in them, ye think ye have eternal life. We must search the Scriptures for Christ, as the new and living Way, that leads to this end. To this testimony, Christ adds reproofs of their unbelief and wickedness, their neglect of him and his doctrine. Also, he reproves their want of the love of God. But there is life with Jesus Christ for poor souls. Many who make a great profession of religion, yet show they want the love of God, by their neglect of Christ and contempt of his commandments. It is the love of God in us, the love that is a living, active principle in the heart, which God will accept. They slighted and undervalued Christ because they admired and overvalued themselves. How can those believe, who make the praise and applause of men their idol! When Christ and his followers are men wondered at, how can those believe, the utmost of whose ambition is to make a fair show in the flesh!

Many trusts in some form of doctrines or some parties, who no more enter into the real meaning of those doctrines, or the views of the persons whose names they bear, than the Jews did into those of Moses. Let us search and pray over the Scriptures, as intent on finding eternal life; let us observe how Christ is the great subject of them, and daily apply to him for the life he bestows.

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel lessons are from The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV).

Commentaries from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible.

The Daily Bible Readings are selected from the Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, a three-year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year A. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2020, we will be in Year B. The year which ended at Advent 2019 was Year C. These readings complement the Sunday and festival readings: Thursday through Saturday readings help prepare the reader for the Sunday ahead; Monday through Wednesday readings help the reader reflect and digest what they heard in worship. Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org
The Daily Readings for SATURDAY, October 24, 2020
Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17; Deuteronomy 32:44-47; John 5:39-47 (KJV)

Prayer of the Day for SATURDAY, October 24, 2020

 

Prayer of the Day
SATURDAY, October 24, 2020

For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father.

— John 16:27 (RSV)

Dear Father in heaven, we thank you that with our poor, faulty, sinful, and death-ridden lives we may find shelter in your love. We thank you that we are your children. We thank you that whatever we are, however depressed we are about ourselves and the inadequacy of our own nature, we are still your children. Give us your Spirit, we pray. Give us your Holy Spirit, penetrating our whole nature, our flesh and blood, keeping us firm in faith under all temptation and distress. Give us your Spirit to fill us with hope as we look to the future, to fill us with certainty in our Lord Jesus Christ, who was, and is, and is to come, whose victory is before our eyes so that we never waver or become afraid. Give us your Spirit so that we may live in this certainty and prepare ourselves more and more for your coming into the world. May we come to know that your loving-kindness is at work today, that in the end your deliverance will come quickly, to the glory of your name. Amen.

Verse of the Day for SATURDAY, October 24, 2020

 

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Read all of Proverbs 9

Listen to Proverbs 9

The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV)

Ichthus Ministries Daily Devotions — He Remembers You

 

He Remembers You

You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. The Lord has remembered us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron; He will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great.

— Psalms 115:11-13

Nobody likes to be ignored or forgotten.

I remember a pastor who told me about a church picnic his congregation had sponsored. Unfortunately, one of the senior members of his church had been out of town when the plans were being made, and she hadn't been officially informed about the festivities.

The night before the picnic the pastor realized the oversight and immediately gave the lady an apologetic call. His efforts fell on deaf ears.

Brushing off the pastor's regrets with a cold reception, the lady replied, "Don't say you're sorry to me, Reverend. It won't do any good. I've already prayed for rain."

When I heard that story, I felt sorry for the pastor and, in truth, I felt sorrier for the lady. Still, it all goes to prove that nobody likes to be written off; nobody likes to be forgotten or ignored. Thankfully, none of us have to worry about the Lord ever forgetting us.

That's what Psalm 115 says: "The Lord has remembered us; He will bless us." Did I say that truth is found in Psalm 115? Goodness, the entire Bible shows that God remembers sinners! God remembered lost and condemned Adam and Eve and promised to send them a Savior. The Lord remembered Abraham and promised he would father a nation. The Lord remembered the children of Israel when they were in Egyptian slavery, and He remembered a Sinai shepherd and called Moses to lead His people to freedom.

When Jesus walked this earth, He remembered.

Read through the Gospels, and you will see how the Savior remembered people, especially those who had been forgotten or who were rejected by others. Jesus remembered lepers and the lost; He remembered publicans and shepherds; He remembered a widow whose only son had died, and He remembered a lady in Samaria who went to the town well alone. From the cross, through excruciating pain, He remembered a thief, the woman who had given Him birth, and those who had put Him there.

As you stand before Jesus' cross, I pray you will keep in mind two things: first, recall God's all-knowing Son remembered every sin you have ever committed. Second, remember it was not the iron nails—but Jesus' love—that kept Him on that cross.

Jesus stayed on the cross to pay the price for our sins. Today, because of this, forgiveness and salvation is offered to all. Yes, my friend, you have been remembered.

Heavenly Father, thank You for remembering me. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Ken Klaus

Reflection Questions:

1. Do you do anything to remember special occasions in people's lives?

2. How has God remembered us in Jesus?

3. Are people, in general, surprised when others remember something about them?

Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
Nobody likes to be ignored or forgotten.

Standing Strong Through the Storm — SUPERNATURAL ANSWERS

 

SUPERNATURAL ANSWERS

But before all this they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourself. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

— Luke 21:12-15

During her years of imprisonment in Eritrea’s wretched shipping containers, Helen Berhane was often interrogated and pressured to deny her faith. The Lord gave her supernatural answers each time, as documents in her book Song of the Nightingale:

Yet another official visited and accused me of being anti-government. “Political agents are just using you,” he said. “Why do you let them do this? Why do you risk your life to please other people and support their cause? Why make yourself a sacrificial lamb? Perhaps you are a genuine believer, but the ones who have asked you to stick so rigidly to this rebellious religion are just taking advantage of you for their political agenda.”

I said, “If I may speak for myself: I have no other agenda but believing in the Bible. Since my childhood, I have never had any other intention. This Bible is not new—my fathers and forefathers read it. I am reading the same Bible my grandfather read; the only difference is that he read it in Geez [old dialect] while I can read it in my language. He used to treat his Bible with special reverence and keep it in a sacred box, but I do not worry about handling mine. My grandfather went to church for fifty years, but he didn’t understand the Bible; we know it better because it is in our language. If you are trying to take us back to the days of the older generation, then you cannot care about what is best for our country. Everything is changing, and we have to adapt and move with the times. Each generation of inventors must bring new ideas; otherwise, we will have nothing new, and nothing will change or improve. In our generation, because we can understand the Bible, people are changing.”[1]

RESPONSE: Today, I will trust the Lord for wisdom and words to answer those who challenge my faith.

PRAYER: Lord, give me grace to answer all challenges against You and Your Word with Your love and wisdom.

1. Helen Berhane, Song of the Nightingale, (Colorado Springs: Authentic Media, 2009), p. 72-73.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.
During her years of imprisonment in Eritrea’s wretched shipping containers, Helen Berhane was often interrogated and pressured to deny her faith.

The NIV Couples Devotional — Waiting for a Sign

 

Waiting for a Sign

Numbers 9:15–23

Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.

— Numbers 9:17

So often, married life feels like little more than a series of decisions: Should we buy that house? Is it the right time to start a family? Do we need to save more money for the future? We often look to God for some kind of clear answer telling us just what to do.

Early in our marriage, my husband began looking for a job closer to our home. He happened upon a job opening at a social service agency just a few blocks from our apartment. Not only was the job close, but it was the kind of work he was passionate about at the kind of organization he’d wanted to work for. The company was even willing to let him work flexible hours so he could be home with our baby part of the day.

My husband sailed through his interview and was offered the job right away. Before he said yes, we talked briefly about the wisdom of taking the job. As we reviewed the circumstances, it seemed that God had dropped this opportunity in his lap. We didn’t need to discuss the issue for long. We felt God’s leading very clearly.

While wandering through the wilderness, the people of Israel knew when to move and when to stay put because God gave them a sign: if the cloud that covered the tabernacle stayed put, they were to do likewise; when the cloud moved, they were to move. In our situation, we felt that the “cloud” had moved and that my husband should take the job.

But we don’t always get a clear sign from God. Many times, there have been many times when we have prayed, sought the advice of friends and family, and waited for God to point us in the right direction, only to get…nothing. For example, when I was trying to decide whether I should quit my job, I agonized for months with no sense of what God wanted me to do. Where was our sign?

The truth is, God doesn’t always move the clouds to show us which way to go. Instead, God asks us to be faithful, to make choices with our lives that honor him. He asks us to get our priorities in order to turn away from worldly standards of success and achievement and to bend our will to that of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And as we follow his example, walking in his ways, we begin to think more like him. Paul tells us in Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We will make our share of mistakes in life decisions. At times, we will undoubtedly go when we should stay and stay when we should go. But the promise that God gives us is that no matter where we go—to a new state, to a new job, to a new stage of family life—our God goes with us.

Carla Barnhill

Let’s Talk

• What choices have we made as a couple? Has there been a time when we’ve had to step out in faith without a clear sense of what the right choice was? How was God present with us in that uncertain situation?
• What kind of decision-makers are we? What are some ways we can show each other support and respect when we have a difficult decision to make?
• What people do we trust to help us think through difficult decisions? If we can’t think of anyone, maybe we should develop deeper relationships with a few other couples from church.

So often, married life feels like little more than a series of decisions: Should we buy that house? Is it the right time to start a family? Do we need to save more money for the future?

John Piper Devotional — The Purpose of Prosperity

 

Christ Is Like Sunlight

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.

— Hebrews 1:3

Jesus relates to God the way radiance relates to glory or how the rays of sunlight relate to the sun.

Keep in mind that every analogy between God and natural things is imperfect and will distort if you press it. Nevertheless, consider, for example,

1. There is no time that the sun exists without the beams of radiance. They cannot be separated. The radiance is co-eternal with the glory. Christ is co-eternal with God the Father.
2. The radiance is the glory radiating out. It is not essentially different from the glory. Christ is God standing forth as separate but not essentially different from the Father.
3. Thus the radiance is eternally begotten, as it were, by the glory—not created or made. If you put a solar-activated calculator in the sunlight, numbers appear on the face of the calculator. These, you could say, are created or made by the sun, but they are not what the sun is. But the rays of the sun are an extension of the sun. So Christ is eternally begotten of the Father, but not made or created.
4. We see the sun by means of seeing the rays of the sun. So we see God the Father by seeing Jesus. The rays of the sun arrive here about eight seconds after they leave the sun, and the round ball of fire that we see in the sky is the image—the exact representation—of the sun; not because it is a painting of the sun, but because it is the sun streaming forth in its radiance.

So I commend this great Person to you that you might trust in him and love him and worship him. He is alive and sitting at the right hand of God with all power and authority and will one day come in great glory. He has that exalted place because he is himself God the Son.
Jesus relates to God the way radiance relates to glory or how the rays of sunlight relate to the sun.

Un dia a la Vez — Jesús y la ley

 

Jesús y la ley

Les aseguro que mientras existan el cielo y la tierra, ni una letra ni una tilde de la ley desaparecerán hasta que todo se haya cumplido.

— Mateo 5:18

Me gusta mucho que fuera el mismo Dios el que estableciera la ley y que dijera que la hizo para que no se quebrantara. Algo que Dios rechaza es la forma en que algunos fariseos, como se narra en la Biblia, cumplían la ley, pues lo hacían con fingimientos o la desobedecían en su interior. Dios dice que su Palabra se cumplirá en su totalidad. También dice que debemos cumplir la ley y enseñarla, para que de ese modo nos consideren grandes «en el reino de los cielos» (Mateo 5:19). Por eso, no tratemos de hacer una nueva ley para nuestra conveniencia.

Es lamentable que hoy en día haya muchas personas que cambien la Palabra de Dios a su manera y vivan en total desorden y desobediencia. Los cristianos debemos ser diferentes porque Dios estableció la ley de este mundo para que se obedezca:

• La manutención de los hijos: Es la ley de Dios y del hombre.
• No se toma mientras se maneja: Es la ley de Dios y del hombre.
• Se multa a quien no use el cinturón de seguridad: Es la ley de Dios y del hombre.

Todas estas cosas son algunas de las leyes establecidas que no cumple un gran por ciento de la humanidad.

La ecuación es sencilla: Obediencia = Bendición.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Me gusta mucho que fuera el mismo Dios el que estableciera la ley y que dijera que la hizo para que no se quebrantara.

Хліб Наш Насущній — Переживаючи засуху

 

Переживаючи засуху

Читати: Єремії 17:5-8 | Біблія за рік: Єремії 3–5 ; 1 Тимофія 4

Завантажити MP3

Той… що покладається на Господа… буде, як дерево те, що над водою посаджене.

— Єремії 17:7-8

У квітні 2019 року передмістя Вікторвілла в штаті Каліфорнія заполонило перекотиполе. Сильні вітри принесли із сусідньої пустелі Мохаве пагористі бур’яни, які там ростуть. Ці рослини можуть виростати до двох метрів у висоту і стати великою проблемою, особливо коли вони відокремлюються від коріння і починають нестися вітром, розсипаючи своє насіння.

Читаючи в Книзі пророка Єремії опис людини, чиє серце “від Господа… відступає” (Єр. 17:5), я уявляю перекотиполе. Ті, хто покладається “на людину”, будуть, “як голий той кущ у степу”, і не зможуть побачити, що “добре прийшло” (Єр. 17:5-6). Цілковитою протилежністю є ті люди, які покладаються на Бога. Їхнє міцне і глибоке коріння отримує живлення від Господа, що дає їм змогу процвітати навіть у посушливих умовах.

Коріння є і в перекотиполе, і в дерев. Однак перекотиполе відокремлюється від джерела свого живлення, що призводить до засихання і смерті. Дерева, навпаки, поєднані зі своїм корінням, яке дає їм змогу квітнути і процвітати – воно живить їх у скрутні часи. Якщо ми тримаємось за Бога, черпаючи силу і підбадьорення в біблійній мудрості та в молитві, ми також зможемо отримати життєдайне і життєствердне Боже живлення.

Як Бог вас підтримував у періоди засухи? Що ви можете сьогодні зробити, аби поглибити стосунки з Ним?

Життєдайний Боже, Ти – моя опора. Дякую, що забезпечуєш усім необхідним, аби мені впоратися зі своїми труднощами.

Автор Кірстен Холмберг

© 2020 Хліб Наш Насущні
У квітні 2019 року передмістя Вікторвілла в штаті Каліфорнія заполонило перекотиполе. Сильні вітри принесли із сусідньої пустелі Мохаве пагористі бур’яни, які там ростуть.