Read To Me Daily Semester 4Sample

EZRA 5-6:
As we have seen in Ezra, when the Israelites returned from exile, they were determined to get worship started again. They made great progress, not waiting for the temple to be repaired in order to start sacrifices on an altar built upon the old location. They made a quick start to the building also. But then opposition developed, and several Persian kings later the progress was halted.

ISAIAH 31:
One of the great verses from yesterday’s reading in Isaiah was this:

15 GNT The Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says to the people, “Come back and quietly trust in me. Then you will be strong and secure.” But you refuse to do it.

And here is a good summary verse:

18 GNT And yet the Lord is waiting to be merciful to you. He is ready to take pity on you because he always does what is right. Happy are those who put their trust in the Lord.

2CORINTHIANS 11:30—12:
Paul took his gloves off yesterday in 2nd Corinthians 11 and was forced to talk like a madman. I like how some of Paul’s statements in that section drip with irony. And you gotta believe that is hard to translate! 

The part we are about to read about Paul’s weaknesses is one of my favorites. We’ll start with re-reading the last four verses from chapter 11.

Let’s pray.
Dear heavenly Father, we thank You for Paul’s example. He didn’t want to boast, but we thank You that he felt forced to do it, because we learn so much from what he said. Thank You for his example in every way, and most importantly, his persistent love for the Corinthian church. We thank You for his statement in chapter one: “We felt that the death sentence had been passed on us. But this happened that we should rely, not on ourselves, but only on God, who raises the dead.” So we praise You, Lord, for your promises in Isaiah. You said to Israel, “Come back and quietly trust in me.” And we thank You for the words, “The Lord will make you go through hard times, but he himself will be there to teach you, and you will not have to search for him any more.” When we wander off the road, Lord, may we hear your voice behind us saying, “Here is the road. Follow it.”