Two year Bible reading program.

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 17:28 Understanding to grow in The reason to side with God's king is because the LORD is with him. That's the theme here. Israel give David their allegiance acknowledging it, David is able to establish his fortress (the city of David) as the heart of Jerusalem because of it, and he is able to defeat the Philistines because God fights for him. And it is no withful thinking. When God's holiness strikes Uzzah down it proves the reality of his presence, as does the blessing of Obed-Edom's house whilst the ark is there. This is why David so rejoices. God is with him. And it is a joy we can share too - alhough with an awesome reverence learnt from the Uzziah incident. We come to Jesus becau...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 17:25 Understanding to grow in There have always been those within the church who oppose genuine gospel ministers in order to draw Christians after themselves. This was one of the problems in Corinth. Some "false apostles" charged Paul with being unimpressive, and questioned whether Christ was speaking through him (10v10, 11v13, 12v3). Today telegenic celebrity pastors can do the same. Thousands may follow them, prioritising what seems to be more dynamic ministry over less "impressive" ministries and churches that are actually more faithful. Reluctantly, Paul recognizes he has to affirm his credentials to counter these "super apostles." But it is striking what credientia...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 17:24 Understanding to grow in Those who have committed to Christ seek godliness. That dominates this section. It is to be called out of the ways of the world and so to living differently, in all purity, holiness and reverence. Paul encourages the Corinthians that they have displayed this in their repentance after his first letter. But he urges them to display it too, in the sort of sacrifical genersity with money the Macedonian churches had already shown. The cause is a collection Paul is making for impoverished Christians in Jerusalem. The principle is that of the gospel: Just as Christ became poor so we could be rich, we must be willing to follow his example. And the motivation should be a joy bef...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 17:23 Understanding to grow in There should be no question of turning away from the gospel, whether to Judaism or any alternative belief. Paul's point is that the ministry of the gospel is greater than that of the old covenant of Moses. Why then, don't more believe? He answers it is because they are blinded by Satan, whereas God has granted faith to Christians by revealing Christ to them by the Spirit. And the encouragement to conitnue in faith is significant. No matter how much hardship or persecution may come, we do not lose heart because we know all will be judged by Christ and resurrection and life awaits those of faith. This is why Paul continues in the "ministry of reconciliation...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 17:22 Understanding to grow in This letter was most likely written just a few months after 1 Corinthians, and begins with Paul affirming his concern for his readers. He readily faces hardships for their sakes, and if comforted, is delighted if that comforts them. More than that, Paul stresses that it was for their sake that he didn't return to Corinth as he didn't want to be thought too controlling in dealing with their compromises in the faith. Instead he dealt with the issues as we read in his first letter. And now the Corinthians have dealt with the immoral man mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul urges them to reaffirm their love for him. As with his other letters then, we see something of ...