Read To Me Daily Semester 3ናሙና

JEREMIAH 1-2:
Today we begin the book of Jeremiah, which was written between 627 and 580 BC. Next to the book of Psalms, Jeremiah is the longest book in the Old Testament. Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet, and his other book is Lamentations. It is possible that he is the son of the high priest Hilkiah who brought the book of the Law to the attention of king Josiah. Having just heard in 2 Kings an overview of what happened during the last days of the kingdom of Judah, we now will hear the poems and sermons of a sensitive man living through it all. Mears wrote in her handbook, “No other prophet bares his soul to his readers as does Jeremiah. Although Jeremiah announced the coming destruction of Judah, he looked beyond this judgment to a day when everyone would know the Lord personally through the forgiveness of his or her sins (Jer. 31-34). This new kind of relationship with the Lord would be part of the “new covenant” the Lord would establish with his people (Jer. 31:31).”

PSALM 138:
Today’s poem, Psalm 138, is the first of a series of eight psalms where the psalmist speaks in the first person singular. This psalm includes an important declaration in verse two, which ESV translates like this: 

Ps. 138:2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

NLT and CEV have done a good job translating the meaning of that verse. I particularly recommend the way NLT translates the last phrase, which is, “your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.”

JOHN 18a:
As we turn to John chapter 18, recall what John wrote in chapter 13, “Jesus, having always loved his disciples, he loved them to the end.”

Let’s pray.
Usually I pray using ‘we’ and ‘us’, meaning that I am including both you (my listener) and me in the prayer. Today, as I pray following some verses in John 17, I will make the prayer more personal using ‘I’ and ‘me’. I do this hoping that you will repeat my prayer using exactly the same words, making this prayer your own. I’ll pause a little longer than usual between sentences.

Lord Christ Jesus, You are indeed, the way, the truth, and the life. Eternal life means knowing You, and through You I have come to know the heavenly Father. And Lord, I know that the Father has granted and will grant all that You prayed for all believers— and even me, in your high priestly prayer. You asked Him to keep me safe by the power of his name. You asked Him to keep me safe from Satan, the Evil One. Lord help me to realize that the Father is doing that. When I am tempted by evil, Lord, as other Scripture says, thank You that the Father always gives me a way of escape. May the Holy Spirit help me to always choose that way of escape. Lord, please forgive my past stubborn and willful failures. I am called by your name, Lord, if people call me a Christian. So therefore, Lord, I pray that I will never bring shame on your name. Today Lord Jesus, may your love overflow in me, and in my heart may I have the joy You mentioned— your joy “in all its fullness!”