Read To Me Daily Semester 2Sample

1SAMUEL 13:
In yesterday's story in 1st Samuel, God's Spirit came powerfully upon the new king Saul, and he succeeded in mobilizing all of Israel's fighting men. They won a stunning victory over king Nahash and the Ammonites. Afterward, Samuel led the people in renewing Israel's call to Saul to be king and then Samuel confronted them all about staying true to the Lord.

PSALM 97:
Today’s Psalm is found in chapter 97. Even though the psalms (and our translations) cast several verses of this poem in the present tense, the intent of the writer should be understood to be about future things. Also the past tense in verse 8 is really talking of a future event. So we see that Hebrew is very fuzzy as to verb tense, especially in poetic language. But also we may consider that all times are present to the Lord, and the psalmist may see things as happening or already happening in his vision that refer to future events. You’ll see what I mean in today’s psalm.

ROMANS 4:
In Romans, Paul has been talking about the new way of being made right with God by means of fully believing. One might ask, “Is this a new religion, or is it based on the past?” The answer: It is based on the past. We follow Abraham's example of believing, and this also fulfills the prophetic promises given to Abraham. Not only that, but we become heirs to the same promises. Please note: Paul uses questions to propel his logical arguments all the way through Romans— just like I did earlier in this paragraph.

Let’s pray.
Our heavenly Father, You are great and deserve all our praise! Glory and majesty surround You, and power and beauty fill your Temple. It is only right that we would every day proclaim the good news that You have saved us. The creation is waiting for You to bring your kingdom to earth, and at that time even the sea creatures and the trees in the woods will be glad. All creation is groaning now as we wait for that day. We thank You that now Abraham is our spiritual father. Abraham believed that You were able to bring the dead to life, including enabling him and Sarah to bear a son when old, and including that You would be able to raise Isaac to life after performing the sacrifice You ordered Abraham to make. Abraham even trusted when You promised him that he would become the father of many nations. So now we trust and believe in You and Jesus like that— not just believing that You exist, but placing our very lives in your hands. You have proved that You are faithful to keep all your promises. Thank You for being with us today.