Wednesday, October 13, 2021

The Daily Bible Readings for Thursday, October 14, 2021

 

The Daily Bible Readings
Thursday, October 14, 2021
Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35b; Job 36:1-16; Romans 15:7-13
with commentaries from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

Introduction
In today’s lectionary readings, our psalm is a majestic hymn of praise that extols Yahweh as creator and sustainer of the natural world. As the psalmist views God’s creative work, it is even a more striking record than that of Genesis in some respects. In our reading in Job, young Elihu saw that his listeners were becoming uncomfortable with his condemnation and long-windedness. He begs for them to keep listening and insists that he is speaking on God’s behalf. Though Elihu was too confident in his knowledge and words, the One with perfect knowledge was probably a reference to God. Elihu promoted the ideas of God’s power and perfect justice. In His perfect justice, God punishes the wicked and works for the oppressed. In our epistle reading, Paul quotes a series of passages from the Old Testament demonstrating that God intends that the Gentiles praise Him. Instead of dividing over disputable matters, Jews and Gentiles should unite in Jesus over the common ground of praise. Our verse of the day warns us that the “world system”—the popular culture and manner of thinking that is in rebellion against God—will try to conform us to its ungodly pattern, and that process must be resisted.

Today’s Verse of the Day:
Romans 12:2

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Transformation begins with our thinking and with consciences that are committed to listening to and obeying God. Our minds are renewed as we study His Word, and our hearts are changed as we submit to Him. We do not merely try hard to sin less. We learn to depend upon Him, observe His commands, and trust Him to mold us into people who please Him. It is then we discover how awesome it is to live in the center of His will because it is life at its very best—and there is nothing in this world that compares to it.

Today’s Lectionary Readings:
From the Psalter

Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35b
In Wisdom You Have Made Them All


1 Praise the Lord, my soul.

  Lord my God, you are very great;
     you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

2 The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment;
     he stretches out the heavens like a tent
3    and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
  He makes the clouds his chariot
     and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers,
     flames of fire his servants.

5 He set the earth on its foundations;
     it can never be moved.
6 You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
     the waters stood above the mountains.
7 But at your rebuke the waters fled,
     at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
8 they flowed over the mountains,
     they went down into the valleys,
     to the place you assigned for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
     never again will they cover the earth.

24 How many are your works, Lord!
      In wisdom you made them all;
      the earth is full of your creatures.

35b Praise the Lord, my soul.

    Praise the Lord.


Commentary
Every object we behold calls on us to bless and praise the Lord, who is great. His eternal power and Godhead are clearly shown by the things which he hath made. God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. The Lord Jesus, the Son of his love, is the Light of the world.

From the Books of Wisdom
Job 36:1-16
God Watches Everything We Do


1 Elihu continued:

2 “Bear with me a little longer and I will show you
     that there is more to be said in God’s behalf.
3 I get my knowledge from afar;
     I will ascribe justice to my Maker.
4 Be assured that my words are not false;
     one who has perfect knowledge is with you.

5 “God is mighty, but despises no one;
     he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.
6 He does not keep the wicked alive
     but gives the afflicted their rights.
7 He does not take his eyes off the righteous;
     he enthrones them with kings
    and exalts them forever.
8 But if people are bound in chains,
     held fast by cords of affliction,
9 he tells them what they have done—
     that they have sinned arrogantly.
10 He makes them listen to correction
      and commands them to repent of their evil.
11 If they obey and serve him,
      they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity
      and their years in contentment.
12 But if they do not listen,
      they will perish by the sword
      and die without knowledge.

13 “The godless in heart harbor resentment;
      even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help.
14 They die in their youth,
      among male prostitutes of the shrines.
15 But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering;
      he speaks to them in their affliction.

16 “He is wooing you from the jaws of distress
      to a spacious place free from restriction,
      to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.


Commentary
Verses 1-10: As in prosperity we are ready to think our mountain will never be brought low; so when in adversity, we are ready to think our valley will never be filled up. But to conclude that to-morrow must be as this day, is as absurd as to think that the weather, when either fair or foul, will be always so. When Job looked up to God, he had no reason to speak despairingly. There is a day of judgment, when all that seems amiss will be found to be right, and all that seems dark and difficult will be cleared up and set straight. And if there is Divine wrath in our troubles, it is because we quarrel with God, are fretful, and distrust Divine Providence. This was Job's case. Elihu was directed by God to humble Job, for as to some things he had both opened his mouth in vain, and had multiplied words without knowledge. Let us be admonished, in our afflictions, not so much to set forth the greatness of our suffering, as the greatness of the mercy of God.

Verses 11-16: Elihu here shows that God acts as righteous Governor. He is always ready to defend those that are injured. If our eye is ever toward God in duty, his eye will be ever upon us in mercy, and, when we are at the lowest, will not overlook us. God intends, when he afflicts us, to discover past sins to us, and to bring them to our remembrance. Also, to dispose our hearts to be taught: affliction makes people willing to learn, through the grace of God working with and by it. And further, to deter us from sinning for the future. It is a command, to have no more to do with sin. If we faithfully serve God, we have the promise of the life that now is, and the comforts of it, as far as is for God's glory and our good: and who would desire them any further? We have the possession of inward pleasures, the great peace which those have that love God's law. If the affliction fail in its work, let men expect the furnace to be heated till they are consumed. Those that die without knowledge, die without grace, and are undone for ever. See the nature of hypocrisy; it lies in the heart: that is for the world and the flesh, while perhaps the outside seems to be for God and religion. Whether sinners die in youth, or live long to heap up wrath, their case is dreadful. The souls of the wicked live after death, but it is in everlasting misery.


From the Epistles
Romans 15:7-13
The Gentiles Glorify God


15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9 and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:

   “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
      I will sing the praises of your name.”

10 Again, it says,

“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”

11 And again,

   “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
      let all the peoples extol him.”

12 And again, Isaiah says,

   “The Root of Jesse will spring up,
      one who will arise to rule over the nations;
      in him the Gentiles will hope.”

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Commentary
Christ fulfilled the prophecies and promises relating to the Jews, and the Gentile converts could have no excuse for despising them. The Gentiles, being brought into the church, are companions in patience and tribulation. They should praise God. Calling upon all the nations to praise the Lord, shows that they shall have knowledge of him. We shall never seek to Christ till we trust in him. And the whole plan of redemption is suited to reconcile us to one another, as well as to our gracious God, so that an abiding hope of eternal life, through the sanctifying and comforting power of the Holy Spirit, may be attained. Our own power will never reach this; therefore where this hope is, and is abounding, the blessed Spirit must have all the glory. "All joy and peace;" all sorts of true joy and peace, so as to suppress doubts and fears, through the powerful working of the Holy Spirit.


Today’s Lectionary Readings are selected from the Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, a three-year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year B. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2021, we will be in Year C. The year which ended at Advent 2020 was Year A. These readings complement the Sunday and festival readings: Thursday through Saturday readings help prepare the reader for the Sunday ahead; Monday through Wednesday readings help the reader reflect and digest what they heard in worship. Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org. The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel lessons are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Commentaries from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible.

The Morning Prayer for Thursday, October 14, 2021

 

The Morning Prayer
Thursday, October 14, 2021


I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—but let them not turn to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
Psalm 85:8–9, NIV


Lord our God, you are help, comfort, and life to us in everything we have to endure. We gather before you as poor, weak people, but you can make us rich and give us new life so that our lives prove we hold to your will and to the justice you bring on earth. May we be one in spirit through all we experience in our hearts, to the glory of your name. May the praise and thanks of many people ring out into all the world because you are help and deliverance from all evil. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Thursday, October 14, 2021

 

Verse of the Day
Thursday, October 14, 2021


Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Transformation begins with our thinking and with consciences that are committed to listening to and obeying God. Our minds are renewed as we study His Word, and our hearts are changed as we submit to Him. We do not merely try hard to sin less. We learn to depend upon Him, observe His commands, and trust Him to mold us into people who please Him. It is then we discover how awesome it is to live in the center of His will because it is life at its very best—and there is nothing in this world that compares to it.

Read all of Romans Chapter 12

Listen to Romans Chapter 12


Scripture from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Our Daily Bread — A Beginner’s Guide to Life

 

A Beginner’s Guide to Life

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

READ Romans 6:16–23

After my mother’s sudden death, I was motivated to start blogging. I wanted to write posts that would inspire people to use their minutes on earth to create significant life moments. So I turned to a beginner’s guide to blogging. I learned what platform to use, how to choose titles, and how to craft compelling posts. And in 2016, my first blog post was born.

Paul wrote a “beginner’s guide” that explains how to obtain eternal life. In Romans 6:16–18, he contrasts the fact that we’re all born in rebellion to God (sinners) with the truth that Jesus can help us be “set free from [our] sin” (v. 18). Paul then describes the difference between being a slave to sin and a slave to God and His life-giving ways (vv. 19–20). He continues by stating that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life” (v. 23). Death means being separated from God forever. This is the devastating outcome we face when we reject Christ. But God has offered us a gift in Jesus—new life. It’s the kind of life that begins on earth and continues forever in heaven with Him.

Paul’s beginner’s guide to eternal life leaves us with two choices—choosing sin, which leads to death, or choosing Jesus’ gift, which leads to eternal life. May you receive His gift of life, and if you’ve already accepted Christ, may you share this gift with others today!

By Marvin Williams

REFLECT & PRAY

How would you describe what it means to receive the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ? What’s the difference between being a slave to sin and a slave to God and His life-giving ways?

Jesus, thank You for loving me and forgiving me. You paid a debt I couldn’t pay and gave me a gift I couldn’t buy.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Writing to believers in Jesus at Rome, some of whom may have been slaves, Paul says, “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (6:16). The word Paul uses for slave is doulos. It refers to “someone who belongs to another; a bond-slave, without any ownership rights of their own.” This word is derived from another word that means “to tie or bind, to ensnare or capture.” Paul is telling the Roman believers that they don’t serve themselves; they serve the one they’re bound to. They’re either owned by sin or owned by God.

J.R. Hudberg