Tuesday, May 10, 2022

The Daily Bible Readings for Wednesday, May 11, 2022

 

The Daily Bible Readings
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Psalm 100; Jeremiah 50:17-20; John 10:31-42
with commentaries from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

Today’s Verse of the Day:
Ephesians 4:32

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
When we have a genuine and dynamic relationship with God, our lives will show it (Matt. 5:3–12; John 13:34, 35; 1 Cor. 13:4–8; Gal. 5:22, 23; 2 Pet. 1:5–8). We will express Christ’s character by treating others with the same love, comfort, forgiveness, and truth He has shown to us, and we will represent Him faithfully to whomever we meet (2 Cor. 1:3–7; 5:20; Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:12–17).

Today’s Lectionary Readings:
From the Psalter
Psalm 100
We are God’s Sheep


1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2    Worship the Lord with gladness;
     come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
     It is he who made us, and we are his;
     we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
     and his courts with praise;
     give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
     his faithfulness continues through all generations.


Commentary
An exhortation to praise God, and rejoice in him.

This song of praise should be considered as a prophecy, and even used as a prayer, for the coming of that time when all people shall know that the Lord he is God, and shall become his worshipers, and the sheep of his pasture. Great encouragement is given us, in worshiping God, to do it cheerfully. If, when we strayed like wandering sheep, he has brought us again to his fold, we have indeed abundant cause to bless his name. The matter of praise, and the motives to it, are very important. Know ye what God is in himself, and what he is to you. Know it; consider and apply it, then you will be more close and constant, more inward and serious, in his worship. The covenant of grace set down in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, with so many rich promises, to strengthen the faith of every weak believer, makes the matter of God's praise and of his people's joys so sure, that how sad soever our spirits may be when we look to ourselves, yet we shall have reason to praise the Lord when we look to his goodness and mercy, and to what he has said in his word for our comfort.


From the Prophetic Books of Major Prophets
Jeremiah 50:17-20
Israel Will be Fed


17 “Israel is a scattered flock
      that lions have chased away.
   The first to devour them
      was the king of Assyria;
   the last to crush their bones
      was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”

18 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

   “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
      as I punished the king of Assyria.
19 But I will bring Israel back to their own pasture,
      and they will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
   their appetite will be satisfied
      on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days, at that time,”
      declares the Lord,
   “search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
      but there will be none,
   and for the sins of Judah,
      but none will be found,
      for I will forgive the remnant I spare.


Commentary
The redemption of God's people.

The desolation that shall be brought upon Babylon is set forth in a variety of expressions. The cause of this destruction is the wrath of the Lord. Babylon shall be wholly desolated; for she hath sinned against the Lord. Sin makes men a mark for the arrows of God's judgments. The mercy promised to the Israel of God, shall not only accompany, but arise from the destruction of Babylon. These sheep shall be gathered from the deserts, and put again into good pasture. All who return to God and their duty, shall find satisfaction of soul in so doing. Deliverances out of trouble are comforts indeed, when fruits of the forgiveness of sin.


From the Gospels
John 10:31-42
The Son and the Father are One


10:31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.

Commentary
The Jews attempt to stone Jesus (vv. 31-38); He departs from Jerusalem (vv. 39-42).

Verses 31-38: Christ's works of power and mercy proclaim him to be over all, God blessed for evermore, that all may know and believe He is in the Father, and the Father in Him. Whom the Father sends, he sanctifies. The holy God will reward, and therefore will employ, none but such as he makes holy. The Father was in the Son, so that by Divine power he wrought his miracles; the Son was so in the Father, that he knew the whole of His mind. This we cannot by searching find out to perfection, but we may know and believe these declarations of Christ.

Verses 39-42: No weapon formed against our Lord Jesus shall prosper. He escaped, not because he was afraid to suffer, but because his hour was not come. And He who knew how to deliver himself, knows how to deliver the godly our of their temptations, and to make a way for them to escape. Persecutors may drive Christ and his gospel our of their own city or country, but they cannot drive him or it out of the world. When we know Christ by faith in our hearts, we find all that the Scripture saith of him is true.



Today’s Lectionary Readings are selected from the Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, a three-year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year C. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2022, we will be in Year A. The year which ended at Advent 2021 was Year B. 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 Wednesday, May 11, 2022

 

The Morning Prayer
Wednesday, May 11, 2022


For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Colossians 3:3–4, NIV


Lord our God, we thank you for making us into a community whose refuge and certainty is Jesus Christ. We thank you that he will not remain hidden from us forever; his life will be revealed, perhaps soon, in our times. Lord God, how long, how long have your children waited! Now a new time is coming, the end of this age, and we rejoice in this even if you must also judge and punish. No matter what happens, we are at peace. We live in your future, in the future of Jesus Christ, in the great day when humankind will receive the Spirit and their old works will come to an end. Be with us. Bless us this night and help us in what we have most on our hearts. We have so much on our hearts, but you see everything and you know our needs. Lord God, your grace will overcome all earthly troubles, and your name will be glorified on earth if only there is a church that believes and truly awaits your help. Praise to your name! You have done immeasurably much for us and you will do even more. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Wednesday, May 11, 2022

 

Verse of the Day
Wednesday, May 11, 2022


Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
When we have a genuine and dynamic relationship with God, our lives will show it (Matt. 5:3–12; John 13:34, 35; 1 Cor. 13:4–8; Gal. 5:22, 23; 2 Pet. 1:5–8). We will express Christ’s character by treating others with the same love, comfort, forgiveness, and truth He has shown to us, and we will represent Him faithfully to whomever we meet (2 Cor. 1:3–7; 5:20; Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:12–17).

Read the Full Chapter



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

Our Daily Bread — Always Worth Sharing

 

Always Worth Sharing

Thanks be to God, who always … uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
2 Corinthians 2:14

READ 2 Corinthians 2:12–17



After I became a believer in Jesus, I shared the gospel with my mother. Instead of making a decision to trust Jesus, as I expected, she stopped speaking to me for a year. Her bad experiences with people who claimed to follow Jesus made her distrust believers in Christ. I prayed for her and reached out to her weekly. The Holy Spirit comforted me and continued working on my heart as my mom gave me the silent treatment. When she finally answered my phone call, I committed to loving her and sharing God’s truth with her whenever I had the opportunity. Months after our reconciliation, she said I’d changed. Almost a year later, she received Jesus as her Savior, and, as a result, our relationship deepened.

Believers in Jesus have access to the greatest gift given to humanity—Christ. The apostle Paul says we’re to “spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14). He refers to those who share the gospel as “the pleasing aroma of Christ” to those who believe, but acknowledges we reek of death to those who reject Jesus (vv. 15–16).

After we receive Christ as our Savior, we have the privilege of using our limited time on earth to spread His life-changing truth while loving others. Even during our hardest and loneliest moments, we can trust He’ll provide what we need. No matter what the personal cost, God’s good news is always worth sharing.

By Xochitl Dixon
REFLECT & PRAY


How has God encouraged you to not give up after you shared the gospel with someone who reacted in a negative way? How did God bring you close to someone after you both connected as believers in Jesus?

Help me share Your good news wherever You send me, God!

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Believers in Jesus have been rescued from death by faith in Him. But another way to view believers in Christ is as “commissioned captives” in that they’ve also been tasked with sharing with others the same good news that has brought them from darkness to light, from death to life. When Paul notes that “God . . . leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14), he uses images from military conquests of the ancient world. After significant victories, Roman military commanders would lead those who’d been captured in procession. Some of the processionals included the use of fragrant spices, perfumes, and incense. This is what Paul is likely referring to in these verses. Believers in Jesus are His “sanctified spoils,” crucial and now useful for His mission in the world.

Arthur Jackson