Bible Reading for the Day in March 2023
316Judith
Posts: 11,666 Member
This Month we will Read various Scriptures with Thoughts Shared:
I encourage everyone to share the Bible Reading you did with sharing your thoughts on what was read. Thank you
Unshakable Hope
Our/My Prayers Have Power
Today 1 Kings 18
Key Verse 36-37
Consider Elijah. He lived during a dark time in Israel’s history when the evil king Ahab went after idols and worshiped the pagan god Baal. Elijah called for a showdown: the true God of Israel against the false god of the pagans. Elijah was confident in his attack against the prophets of Baal on behalf of Jehovah, the God of Israel. Why? Because he had prayed. He Trusted his God
I encourage everyone to share the Bible Reading you did with sharing your thoughts on what was read. Thank you
Unshakable Hope
Our/My Prayers Have Power
Today 1 Kings 18
Key Verse 36-37
Consider Elijah. He lived during a dark time in Israel’s history when the evil king Ahab went after idols and worshiped the pagan god Baal. Elijah called for a showdown: the true God of Israel against the false god of the pagans. Elijah was confident in his attack against the prophets of Baal on behalf of Jehovah, the God of Israel. Why? Because he had prayed. He Trusted his God
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Bible Reading for Today:
John15:1-14
The words Jesus spoke to his disciples in the upper room on the last night of his life constitute a sort of last will and testament for the family of his followers. His central instruction was short and simple: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Yes Lord, this is my desire, that I would love others as You have loved me! ❤️📖1 -
Bible Reading:
John 16:13
Proverbs 16:9
I lift up your name in praise, knowing that I can depend on you to show me your way. I thank you for your wisdom, which stretches even into the future in order to guide and direct me toward my best possible outcome.0 -
Bible Reading
Hosea 2:14-20
Focusing on God’s Love and Mercy; God's Patient Love
Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. (Hosea 2:14
In this beautiful passage in Hosea, we read that while God’s people chose to follow other gods, God did not give up on them.
But rather than force them to love him, God says he will allure them and speak tenderly to them, giving them hope where there was none.
Through this, God declares, they will one day call him “my husband” (v. 16).
This is the promise of Christ.
Today, consider the patient love of God. He will not demand that you love him, but he is always calling to you, ready to welcome you into his open arms.
As you pray, thank our faithful God for his love. Ask him to help you love others the way he loves you.0 -
Bible Reading Today
I Corinthians 12:11
John 3:7-8
Ephesians 1:13
Galatians 5:22-23
Some Thoughts from the Commentary on the Work of the Holy Spirit in the Life of the Believer:
The Holy Spirit is central to the life of the Christian. He is a life-giving force to creation and, more significantly, a midwife of new birth for the believer (see John 3:7–8). He enters the believer upon confession of faith (see Ephesians 1:13). His power produces attributes and fruit: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). He provides gifts to the believer: wisdom, teaching, healing, prophecy, and preaching, among others. The apostle Paul declared, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines” (1 Corinthians 12:11).0 -
Bible Reading:
Romans 8:1, Isaiah 59:2, 1 John 1:9
Key Thoughts: Hallelujah Jesus Paid the Price Once and for All, He washed our sins away with His Precious Blood!
God could not compromise His standard. He had to satisfy every demand of justice. Yet He also knew that we are made of flesh—and that we can never achieve perfection.
So He placed our sin on His perfect Son—and Jesus felt the wrath of a just and holy God.
Christ’s death brought new life to us. As a result, we can approach Him without condemnation.1 -
Bible Reading:
2 Corinthians 12:1-4
2 Timothy 4:13
Revelation 1:3
Final Thoughts:
There is a good example of this kind of desire for the Word in 2 Timothy 4:13.
Paul was old, he was in prison waiting to die, and he was cold and lonely. Here was a man who had been to the third heaven, who had seen things no one else had seen (2 Corinthians 12:1-4).
But what did Paul want more than anything in that damp prison cell? “When you come,” he wrote to Timothy, “bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:13).
These parchments were Paul’s copies of the Old Testament. In other words, Paul was alone, cold, and friendless, but he wanted the Scriptures. He knew that God’s Word would supply everything else he needed. Paul wanted to study the Word even in prison.
A question to ask yourself:
Are you simply reading the word or are you studying the word for a deeper knowledge and understanding of Christ?1 -
Bible Reading
Ezekiel 3:1-3
The prophet Ezekiel says that when God told him to eat the scroll containing His Word to Israel, it was as sweet as honey in Ezekiel’s mouth (Ezekiel 3:1-3). It was good to the taste. It was worth the effort. You only know whether something’s worth the effort when you put in the effort to find out.1 -
Bible Reading:
Matthew 4:1-11
Thoughts on those Verses Read: By Tony Evans
The best example of the value of knowing Scripture is Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus answered Satan each time, “It is written.” Jesus didn’t open a copy of the Old Testament and show Satan the verse. He simply responded out of what was in His heart.0 -
Bible Reading:
Romans 1:16
God’s Word is Powerful:
When you see the Word of God become alive in your life, when you see it bubble forth from your heart, and when you see God honor His Word, then the issue of whether you’re good at Bible memory will disappear. When you find that you can send the devil packing with the Word the way Jesus did, you’ll know it is worth the effort to hide God’s Word in your heart.
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John 14
Key Verse Focus verse 1-3
Commentary Thoughts on Scripture Read
The Son of the King has searched us out so that your own story can have a happy ending. He’s going to take you home to be with Him eternally. No matter what challenges you face in your life, you have a divine Prince of Peace who has prepared a home for you!
What a day that will be when we see Jesus and we are awarded our Heavenly Home to be with Jesus for all eternity!1 -
Bible Reading:
John chapter 14
2 Corinthians 5:1
Let’s talk a little bit about heaven. The first thing I want you to know about heaven is that it is a promised place. Before He spoke about heaven in John 14, Jesus said, “Believe in God, believe also in me.” We can trust His promise.
To make that promise real, Jesus is going to give us a new heavenly body. He’s going to recraft your body—remake it so it will fit in the new environment of heaven (2 Corinthians 5:1).0 -
Bible Reading
Revelation 1:9
John 14:1-3
Focusing on verse 3
Closing Thoughts
When He left this earth, Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:3). The reservations have been made in your name and He’s ready when your time comes to check in.1 -
Bible Reading:
Matthew chapter 26
Closing Thoughts: a continuing account from the Easter Devotion I shared earlier!
Jesus and His disciples gathered together for the Passover supper, and Matthew 26 tells us,
"As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins'" (vv. 26-28).0 -
Bible Reading:
Psalm 36:5
Lamentations 3:22-23
Closing Thoughts: Devotion by Tony Evans on the “Names of God”
Because we can’t always be faithful people, it’s reassuring to know that we serve a faithful God. His name El Emunah means “the faithful God,” and He can always be counted on to show up, roll up His sleeves and get to work in our lives.0 -
Bible Reading
Hebrews 4:16
Ephesians 2:4-5
Closing Thoughts:
God’s mercy, though, gives us second chance after second chance. Elohe Chaseddi—God of mercy— showers us with forgiveness and bathes us with lovingkindness. He is always truthful. Always merciful. Always compassionate. If we love Him and ask Him for His forgiveness, He grants it. Always.1 -
Bible Reading Today
Matthew 7:11
Philippians 4:19
Closing Thoughts
It can be a hard lesson to learn, but trials here on earth strengthen our spiritual muscles and draw us closer to God. Through our struggles, He shows us firsthand how He provides air for our lungs to breathe and light for our eyes to see. He gives us exactly what we need to produce the greatest growth in us and the most far-reaching impact for His kingdom. And He always gives it in a spirit of love.0 -
Bible Reading
Hebrews 12:28-29
Deuteronomy 4:24
Closing thoughts:
He is Esh Oklah, a consuming fire, but a fire filled with grace and patience and compassion. He draws us to Him with the goal of us making Him first in our hearts, minds and souls. And in the midst of the fire, He cultivates love in our hearts.0 -
Bible Reading
Romans 15:13
Nehemiah 8:10
All good things come from God, and He rejoices in all good things. He is the only and true source of joy, and when we put our trust in Him, we can experience joy in all our circumstances. We can have joy in the midst of struggle, if our hope is in the Lord.1 -
Bible Reading:
Psalm 119:49-56
John 16:32-33
Closing Thoughts: by Tony Evans and last paragraph is by “me”
Life hurts. And Jesus knew it would. He said, “In the world you will have tribulation ….” He didn’t say “you might” have troubles and difficulties. Jesus said you and I will have pain, hurt, and struggles.
Sin has made its mark on society in such a dominant way that its repercussions and reverberations are felt everywhere.
“But one thing for sure, Jesus is with us in all areas and situations of our lives giving us what we need in all areas of our lives”.
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2 Timothy 1:6
Food For Thought:
God does not judge you according to the talents of others. He judges you according to yours. His yardstick for measuring faithfulness is how faithful you are with your own gifts. You are not responsible for the nature of your gift. But you are responsible for how you use it.0 -
Bible Reading:
Galatians 6
John 21
Your Assignment:
Commentary Thoughts by Max Lucado
You be you. Don’t be your parents or grandparents. You can admire them, appreciate them, and learn from them. But you cannot be them. You aren’t them. “Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life” (Galatians 6:4–5 msg).
Jesus was insistent on this. After the resurrection he appeared to some of his followers. He gave Peter a specific pastoral assignment that included great sacrifice. The apostle responded by pointing at John and saying, “‘Lord, what about him?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to live until I come back, that is not your business. You follow me’” (John 21:21–22 ncv).
In other words, don’t occupy yourself with another person’s assignment; stay focused on your own.0 -
Commentary and Bible Reading on the Theme “Hope for the Hurting” by Tony Evans.
The apostle Paul took his commitment to telling the truth seriously. That’s why we read in his own words a pretty stark summation of his life, showing how God has cared for him amidst a mass of suffering, as found in 2 Corinthians 1.
In contemporary language, that would be classified as severe depression. There’s no way to sugar-coat someone writing that they “despaired even of life.” And yet, what I find interesting in all of this is that Paul is also probably the most mature Christian who has ever lived. He stands head and shoulders above most others when it comes to boldly declaring the faith, representing Jesus and suffering for His cause.
I want to remind all of us whose hearts may hurt that we are not talking about a bad man in pain when we reference Paul and learn from him. We are looking at a good man hurting—a godly man hurting. He’s a man hurting even as a result of the things he was doing to advance God’s kingdom in the world!
See, a lot of believers think that if they follow Jesus, serve Him and love Him, they are not supposed to hurt.
This world comes with trouble. It just does. The sooner we can accept that reality and stop ourselves from trying to spiritualize every painful situation, loss or difficulty we encounter, we will be better positioned to weather it well.
People get sick on this planet. People die. People get abused. Go hungry. Lose relationships. Accidents happen. Careers go south. Loneliness lingers. As I referenced earlier, Jesus reminded us that this world comes with troubles and tribulations (John 16:33).
But the difference for kingdom followers comes in knowing that because of Jesus in us, we can overcome the onslaught of hurtful scenarios we
face.0 -
Bible Reading and Commentary Thoughts Shared by Max Lucado.
God’s Goal for You
Envision the day you stand before Jesus and look back over your life. “God will give to each one whatever praise is due” (1 Corinthians 4:5 nlt).
Your Savior will declare the final outcome of your life:
“With God’s help John Doe took on the enemies of his promised land and drove them out.
“Greed!
“Explosive temper!
“Envy!
“Abused as a child yet stable as an adult.
“Tempted with drugs yet sober and steady.
“Strayed off course yet returned with vigor.”
One by one the conquests will be read and celebrated.
Every witness will rejoice at the work God did.
This is God’s goal for you. This is your inheritance: more victory than defeat, more joy than sadness, more hope than despair.
Devotion by Max Lucado: Theme: God is With You Everyday0 -
Bible Reading:
Romans 8:28-29
2 Corinthians 1:3
Commentary and Bible Reading with Tony Evans
As we all know, pain and difficulties can be temptations. They exist as temptations to give up, blame God, complain, gripe, blame others and more. God never promised us a life without temptation or grief. What He did promise is that in the midst of the affliction and hurt, He will give us comfort.
I don’t know how long God is going to allow your pain to persist. I don’t know how long He is going to make you wait for your deliverance to come. I can’t guarantee you that your problem is going to be solved tomorrow, next month or even next year. You can pray toward that end, trust toward that end and desire toward that end, but you and I both know that neither of us can create that end on our own.
So I’m not going to spend my time and yours making false promises to you that if you trust Jesus, Monday is going to be better. For all I know, Monday may even be worse.
But what I will tell you is that while you are waiting for the pain to subside and the hurt to heal, there is a Comforter given to you by God. God has offered you a new focus of His own divinity to take your focus off your own feet standing still for so long.
The worse the pain gets, the deeper your focus on the Lord ought to be. You can do this when you rest in the overarching reality of the sovereignty of God, understanding that nothing happens to you unless it passes through God’s fingers first. God is in control.0