Read To Me Daily Semester 3Sample

JEREMIAH 26-27:
The prophet Jeremiah revealed some important points in yesterday’s reading: The people the Lord was about to send into exile to the North would return to Him wholeheartedly and God would bring them back to their land. God would put it into their hearts to return to him! Those remaining in the land at the point of exile and their king would be scattered, cursed, and vanish. The exiles would come back after 70 years, and afterward Babylon would have its turn to be punished and would remain a ruin forever— as in fact it is! That 70 year time was important to the prophet Daniel when he discovered it when reading this book!

PROVERBS 1:
In  our poetry readings this year, we started with Job, then Psalms, and now we enter the wisdom literature with Proverbs. Solomon wrote and compiled these proverbs around the year 950 BC, in the height of Israel’s golden age. We will hear the theme statement of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes today in verse 7 (NLT), “Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge.” There is a clear division in the organization of this book. The first 9 chapters are highly thematic and are especially directed to giving wisdom to Solomon’s sons. Then there are proverbs giving every-day advice to everyone, followed by advice to rulers. The very last chapter is the one that extols the blessedness of having a wise wife.

1CORINTHIANS 8:
Summarizing important points about our position that we have heard in 1 Corinthians 6-7: Remember that we are joined as one with Christ— as in the vine and branch metaphors. We are ‘of one spirit with the Lord’. (6:17) We each have become the ‘temple of God's Spirit’. (6:19) We are in the humble yet honored position of being ‘slaves’ of the Lord, the King of Kings. (7:22) We are not our own. We have been bought with a high price. (6:20 and 7:23)

Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, just like you told Jeremiah not to marry because of the distress of the time he was going to live through, so Paul’s audience was living in a time of deep distress. Thank You for providing chapter 7 of 1st Cointhians for Paul’s readers, and also for us! Thank You for Paul’s wisdom— given by the Holy Spirit, in providing flexible guidelines, which even today still guide us in our differing circumstances. Lord, in the distress that the Corinthians were living through, we can see reflected in Paul’s writing that they were intensely devoted to You. It is clear that both the women and men were wanting to be focused on your work, and fully dedicated in body and spirit, and not concerned with worldly matters. Lord, make us— your body, the whole united church— to be ever more wholehearted in our devotion to you. Thank You that Paul also dealt with situations of life that normally would not easily be changed, such as if a believer was a slave, or married to an unbelieving partner. Help us and guide us also through his teaching, that we will seek peace, that we will be a testimony for You in all such circumstances, and that we be able to see ourselves as spiritually free people in union with You. We praise You today as we trust our lives totally to You. You are our peace and our shepherd.