Read To Me Daily Semester 2Sample

JUDGES 10-11:
Yesterday in the book of Judges, we heard the conclusion of the story of Gideon. It is a pity that Gideon was so successful, but that a half-son and unfaithful people ruined his legacy. I am always very disappointed that Gideon so quickly turns to idolatry after God has worked so fantastically through him. The whole story, including the part about Abimelech, supports the verse which says, “Whatever you sow, that is also what you will reap.” 

PSALM 83:
Today’s poem, Psalm 83, is a plea for God to stop being silent at a time when Israel was praying for relief from their enemies. And we now have the background to understand the names mentioned by Asaph.

GALATIANS 5:
In chapter 4 of Galatians, Paul continued to use Old Testament pictures to show the teaching that is central to this book: Gentiles do not need to be circumcised because we have been freed from the Law of Moses. We do not need to earn favor with God. We have already been adopted as sons and are considered heirs of God's promises. Proof of this is that the Spirit of Jesus is in our hearts.

Remember that in Greek, ‘faith’ and ‘believe’ have the same root word. Most other English words— like ‘operate’ and ‘operation’, show their root-word similarity. It is an unfortunate quirk of English that it doesn’t work that way for ‘believe’ and ‘faith’. To help you see the cohesion and how Paul is harping on this one concept, I suggest reading this book substituting ‘fully believe’ for ‘faith’.

Let’s pray.
Our heavenly Father, I pray that You would give understanding to us of Paul’s message in the book of Galatians. No outward observance of religious rituals can improve on the salvation that Jesus has purchased for us. Instead, we might begin to think we deserve or have earned our redemption. How we thank You that we have been accepted as your children because of our union with Christ Jesus. So therefore, please help us to resist any misguided call for us to feel that we must submit to slavery to religious rites and customs— including such things as Sabbaths and new moon celebrations. Instead, we praise You for the witness of your Spirit in our hearts, which is the reason that we truly feel that we have permission to pray and call out to you as Abba, our Father.