Read To Me Daily Semester 3Sample

2SAMUEL 21:
As we return to 2nd Samuel, remember that the story of David being welcomed back ended poorly with arguments. Sheba attempted to mount a revolt. He died even though surrounded by his clan members, because there was a wise woman in the town where he had taken refuge. 

Before that, David had decided to promote national reconciliation by appointing Amasa as military commander. But Joab— who had grown too powerful, shamefully put an end to Amasa's career.

PSALM 118b:
Today we read the second half of Psalm 118, which is antiphonal psalm. Imagine a leader and a chorus of voices saying a series of refrains. Today we will hear verse 22, which is the Old Testament verse most frequently quoted about the Messiah in the New Testament. And you may break out in song at verse 24.

Re-reading John 2:
In chapters 1-2, John has already started to tell us what Jesus was like. He was able to enter into the joy of a wedding feast, he was stern about not turning the temple into a marketplace, and he miraculously knew about people. In verse 24 of chapter 2, NLT translates that Jesus knew “all about people.” And the GNT translates it “He knew them all.” We have already seen Jesus’ miraculous knowledge about people, in chapter 1 in the story of Nathanael.

Let’s pray before opening God’s Word.
Our heavenly Father, thank you for the beautiful Messianic Psalm we are reading, Psalm 118. Jesus himself would have said while on earth, “In my distress I called to the Lord (meaning You, O God), and He answered me and set me free.” Jesus himself tells us, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to depend on humans or human leaders.” We worship You, O Lord! “Your love is eternal.” Nothing can separate us from your love and mercy. There is not one thing that can stop You from loving us. Lord Jesus, You also knew that your words about tearing down the temple would be thrown up against you in your trial and while You hung on the cross. Ironically, the Jewish leaders saw the miracle that they asked for which showed that You had the right to cleanse the temple. Lord we see here, that You indeed know what is in people’s hearts. We cannot hide anything from You. Instead we ask that we might worship You in Spirit (that is with all the help of the Holy Spirit’s cleansing and empowering) and in truth (that is sincerely from the heart, not hypocritically, and in accordance with all the true teachings you have brought to us).