Team Daily Bible Reading for October 2023

316Judith

Bible Reading

Psalm 8:1

Psalm 8:3-4

Commentary Thoughts

The beginning of Psalm 8 is one of the most
popular and most frequently quoted verses in all Scripture about the splendor of God’s
name:

O LORD, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
Psalm 8:1

The names of God reflect the majesty and glory that intrinsically rest within Him. His name is nothing short of pure majesty.

Discovering and experiencing the manifestation of His names in your life will usher you directly into the presence of our majestic God.

My wife Lois and I recently took a trip to Alaska with several hundred partners and ministry supporters of our radio ministry, The Urban Alternative.

Alaska is one of our favorite places to visit, simply because of its relaxing nature and inspiring beauty. Yet something special happened on this trip.

Our cruise guide, who had hosted well over 90 cruises in the same area, told us he’d never seen the weather so perfect. Each day the skies were clear and beautiful, giving us multiple opportunities to marvel at the splendor of God’s creation.

In fact, things were so perfect that our guide named that trip the atheist cruise. He said, “If someone was an atheist when they got on this cruise, they couldn’t be by the time it was over.”

This is the kind of majesty David wrote about in Psalm 8. Like my wife and me, David had been awed by the splendor of God’s creation. He responded by recognizing his own smallness and insignificance in comparison to the majesty of God’s name expressed through creation:

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
Psalm 8:3-4

Keep in mind, you won’t experience the power of His names in your life if you’ve got an inflated sense of your own worth.

The majesty of God is reserved for those who know enough to know they don’t know much of anything at all. In other words, you can’t know the splendor of God’s names until you come to grips with the smallness of your own.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Psalm 25:4

1 Chronicles 18:1

Commentary Thoughts

King David was a successful warrior even though he grew up herding sheep, skipping rocks and playing instruments. David didn’t attend military school. But he knew who was in charge.

And because of that, he won his battles and his wars (see 1 Chronicles 18:1).

A critical element of David’s military leadership was his willingness to seek God’s guidance. No other biblical narrative contains more inquiries of God than David’s story. And when he sought God’s will and God’s way, he got an answer.

As a result, David stood strongly positioned to defeat every enemy and rescue his people from every challenge.

David, who was a kingdom man after God’s own heart, understood the value of this treasure called guidance. And he feared God, which enabled him to follow God more fully.

Life is full of choices. The problem we face is that we cannot see what’s just around the bend. Like being on a highway of many twists and turns, we are unable to see around the next turn. We must slow down because we don’t know what’s coming next.

That’s why David prayed a prayer we should all pray: “Make me know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths” (Psalm 25:4).

That’s not just a sweet verse to put on a coffee mug. It’s a game plan for life.

Where are you getting the wisdom to make good decisions?

Where are you putting your trust?

316Judith

Bible Reading

Ephesians 3:16-19

Commentary Thoughts

What would happen if you woke up and reminded yourself of the Gospel every day?

If you are like me, you are tempted to take the Gospel for granted and stop rehearsing it because it’s become so familiar. We store it in our story somewhere in the past and subconsciously try to move on from it. But we need to hear the Gospel every bit as much today as we did the day we heard it for the first time.

If we remind ourselves of the Gospel each morning, we will wake up and live in grateful joy that the toughest battle we are going to face today has already been won.

How different would your life be if you preached the Gospel to your own heart more regularly?

There are dozens of ways the Gospel positively impacts and shapes our everyday lives. We all need regular reminders of these benefits, and we need God’s power to grasp them more.

Too many believers think the good news is old news. We haven’t heard the Gospel too much; we haven’t heard it enough. Like many facets to a beautiful diamond, the Gospel has an infinite beauty that can never be exhausted.

The more we look into the Gospel, the stronger and more satisfied we will be in our faith.

We need regular reminders of all God has done for us in the Gospel, because the Gospel fuels and motivates our desire to obey God and to serve Him.

When we see how much He has done—how much He has given us in His Son—we cannot help but be changed and motivated to give Him our whole lives.

And even while we are weak and feeble sinners struggling to follow a perfect Savior, the Gospel reminds us how loved we are and how much God is working in us to help us follow Him.

There is no greater need in your Christian life
than regularly reminding your own heart of the truth of the Gospel.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Romans 8:11

Commentary Thoughts

A local church once took a mission trip to build a church in a remote village in Russia.

They were building the house of worship from the stones of an abandoned Russian prison. What a powerful scene!

Careful attention was taken to preserve the stones. While removing one of the large stones, they discovered a hollowed-out stone with a canister in it; inside the canister was a hastily written note:

“We are a group of Christians being forced by Communists to take the stones of our church and build a prison where we will stay until we die.

Our prayer is one day these stones would once again be used to build a church.”

When Christ rose from the dead, He chose to reveal Himself first to Mary Magdalene. In those days, the testimony of a woman would not even hold up in court.

But Jesus picked a poor minority woman as His first witness, showing the world a minority woman with the greatest news in the world can subvert the largest, most dominant empire in the history of humankind.

And now today, God’s kingdom is growing by the thousands every day, men and women committing their lives to Christ, while the Roman kingdom lies in ruins.

The Gospel story is a story of ordinary people witnessing and experiencing the extraordinary power of the resurrection.

Whenever you feel poor and powerless, the resurrected Christ stands ready to reveal His power through you.

All of the areas of your life that feel insignificant are exactly where Christ is looking to do another resurrection miracle.

Christ did His greatest miracles among the most ordinary people, in the most insignificant towns, at the most ordinary times. The majority of miracles were not done in the temple of Jerusalem but on the outskirts of tiny villages. If you are in an unremarkable place, you just might be in the perfect for the resurrection power of God to break out.

When you start sharing the Gospel with your own heart every day, you will start seeing resurrection in the most normal and average of days, places, and people.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Ephesians 1:3
2 Corinthians 4:17

Commentary Reading

I nearly dropped the book when I read David Bentley Hart’s translation of the word “blessed” in the Bible.

The famous scholar talks about how blessed has lost its meaning in our culture: it is used more or less as “lucky” or “fortunate.”

Instead, Hart argues the real meaning would be much closer to our word blissful or a state of enraptured happiness.

This is what God has done for us in the gospel: He has given every eternal blessing imaginable to us to the point that we are full of bliss!

Our daily choice, our daily fight, our daily trial is whether or not to remember, realize, and live in this reality.

And it is not based upon circumstances. It’s really not. A young man, Meisha taught me this in a way I won’t ever forget.

Meisha was a refugee in a war-torn country. His village and all he had ever known were destroyed by an oppressive army, and he was forced to be a porter, carrying the supplies of a soldier through a rainy jungle while staring down the barrel of a gun—much like in Jesus’s day when a Roman soldier forced a person to carry his gear for a mile.

Then one day a soldier forced Meisha at gunpoint to dismantle a land mine.

The mine exploded, and Meisha lost both hands and both eyes in an instant.

They left him there, thinking he was dead, but he did not die.

Several years ago, someone shared with him the story of the suffering Savior.

He identified with a God who knew his pain.

His life was gloriously transformed.

Meisha is so blissfully excited about the Gospel that he has people lead him from refugee camp to refugee camp so that he can share the Gospel with those who have not heard about Jesus.

Meisha’s joy is infectious. He is far happier than most people who can see, have both hands, and don’t live in survival poverty in a refugee camp.

His joy springs from his gratitude for the cross. Meisha knows in a short time he will be with Christ forever.

Meisha models this by spilling out Gospel bliss in the middle of a refugee camp. He embodies the writings of the apostle Paul, who said, “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

316Judith

Bible Reading

Romans 8:14-17

Commentary Reading

Theme of Todays Reading: Reminding myself We Are a Chosen People: We Belong to God:

In a dusty village in Nepal near the shadows of Mount Everest, close to 80 percent of the girls are destined to be sold into brothels because they are the lowest subgroup of the lowest caste in the country, the Badi people. Their religion teaches in a past life they must have racked up a serious number of sins for Karma to punish them and send them back to earth in their caste. People do not even help them, because they do not want to prevent Karma from punishing them. As a result, Badi girls are some of the most trafficked people per capita on the planet. The caste they are born into means they are doomed to be treated lower than a dog—used, sold, and abused.

It was here my friend Ryan met Landana, the most beautiful ten-year-old girl. Her father had agreed to sell her to an Indian brothel. Her mother couldn’t bear the thought and tried to prevent her husband from selling her precious girl. But he would not have it. He started beating his wife because she did not want to sell their girl.

When they found this out, they acted quickly with local social workers and law enforcement. They got Landana to a safe house where girls like her are kept safe, warm, fed, and loved. Landana heard the Gospel. She heard how through Jesus we are adopted into God’s family. This is the most powerful part of the Gospel for many in this area of the world.

When sharing the Gospel with another Badi girl, my friend Ryan told her, “The Gospel teaches your last name is no longer Badi. It’s like your name is no longer Jarla Badi; it is Jarla ‘Christ’ because you are in His family, you are in His caste now.” She lit up and looked at him with eyes of possibility and hope. “Can this be true?” she asked. “Yes, it is the truest truth in all the world!”

Landana gladly joined the family of God, leaving behind the shame of her family, her caste, her bloodline. God became her father, and His love is the opposite of a father willing to sell his little girl. It is a God who was willing to sell Himself for thirty pieces of silver to save His little girl.

The modern mind looks at Christianity and wonders, “Why blood? How can you sing about the blood of Jesus?” But those who have been bought with the blood of Christ know that we now share a bond that goes much deeper than our bloodlines here on earth. Jesus is inviting us into a new family and a new destiny. This is why Christians love to think about the blood of Christ.

This Gospel goes beyond purging our past of its sin; it purges our entire ancestry, lineage, extended family of its shame. You are not primarily a part of an earthly family anymore; you have joined a heavenly family. The blood of Jesus marks you as family for all eternity. We have a new family identity, a new family crest, a new estate, new brothers and sisters, a new last name

316Judith

Bible Reading

Ephesians 1:7

Commentary Reading

That’s it, I’m ending it all.”

This text showed up on my friend Ryan’s phone from an unknown number on a Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. He had just sat down on the couch after kissing his kids goodnight after a long day.

“I’m sorry, who is this?” he texted back.

Her name was Sarah. She realized she had texted the wrong number and apologized.

“Wait a minute” he texted. “I can help.”

They started texting back and forth for around half an hour. She told him her story. It was tragic.

The final wound was her current abusive boyfriend breaking up with her. He kept trying to let her know about the love of Jesus and her worth to God in spite of all she felt. He told her not to base her life on the opinion of a twenty-two-year-old boy.

“It’s too late” she texted, “I just downed an entire bottle of pills.”

Ryan begged her to tell him where she was. He told her he and his wife would come bring her to the hospital. She told him, and they rushed her to the hospital, where doctors immediately treated Sarah and saved her life.

Over the coming months, Sarah’s eyes were slowly opened to see how valuable she is in Christ. She even ended up going to a Christian University to pursue God’s plan for her life. God had redeemed her; He had taken a life deemed worthless by our world—and even by herself—and flipped it around. She was worth dying for.

While a friend was getting an MBA in entrepreneurship, the economics professor drilled into their heads a fundamental concept: The value of something is determined by what someone will pay for it.

The price paid for our redemption is the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Could there be a greater price? Could anything make you worth more?

We each fight a daily battle to base our worth on the price God paid for us. We each have some other currency we use to measure our worth. We use the currency of accomplishments, family, looks, wealth, race, education, leadership ability, influence numbers, or “fill in the blank.”

Humans are either desperately trying to prove their worth or living in depression because they feel they do not have worth.

This is one of the more powerful effects of preaching the Gospel to your soul. You are reminding your soul of its worth in Christ by reminding yourself of the high price that was paid to redeem you.

316Judith

Bible Reading

1 John 5:4
1 Corinthians 15:57

Commentary Thoughts

Perhaps you didn’t have a good beginning upon which to build. Maybe your parents fought constantly or divorced early on.

Maybe you didn’t come from a nice neighborhood or a school system whose funding indicated that they took your future seriously. Maybe you had to raise yourself because your mom worked three jobs.

Or maybe you lived in the suburbs, but you were abused and neglected.

Whatever the case, where you start has nothing to do with where you are going.

After all, Jesus started out in an obscure town named Nazareth.

Since Jesus came from this no-name place, He can meet you in any place at any time, even when your life seems worthless.

He can turn it around and set you on your feet if you will just look to Jesus from Nazareth.

This strips us of any excuses we might have: “If it weren’t for him,” or “If it weren’t for them,” or “If it weren’t for that circumstance, or my background, or my limitations.”

All that is real, yes, But in the name of Jesus Christ, the one from Nazareth, you don’t need to be whining anymore.

You can get up. You can walk. You can be responsible. You are no longer to see yourself as a victim.

Your relationship with Jesus Christ makes you an overcomer (1 John 5:4).

What do you need to let go of to be an overcomer?

Who do you need to stop blaming so you can move on?

316Judith

Bible Reading

2 Peter 3:9
Romans 3:23
Joel 2:13

Commentary Thoughts

Scripture What would you say to a basketball player who kept constantly running toward the wrong basket? You’d probably tell him to go sit down. As a coach, you wouldn’t have time for that.

Thankfully, God doesn’t exist in time, and He’s not bound by the same limitations like we are.

He’s got all the time in the world, and then some.

And He doesn’t kick us off the team for running in the wrong direction. God grasps that none of us is perfect and we all fall short (Romans 3:23).

Yet that doesn’t make our rebellion any less serious. His patience doesn’t translate into a free pass to keep running in circles. Instead, it means helping us along as we grow.

If you have found yourself heading in the wrong direction by what you think, say or do—turn around.

There’s no time like the present to get back into alignment with God. He wants you to follow Him.

He doesn’t want to see you suffer the consequences of a life apart from Him and His rule over your life. So, use His patience for a good purpose.

Do you ever feel like you are spending a lot of
time moving in the wrong direction?

How are you responding to God’s patience?

316Judith

Bible Reading

1 Thessalonians 3:18

Commentary Thoughts by Charles Stanley

The Foundation for All Peace

Prior to a speaking event not so long ago, a staff
member and I were enjoying a meal on the West Coast. While the young waitress attended our table during the meal, I asked her: “If you could ask God for anything in your life, what would you ask Him to do for you?”

Without hesitation, she answered: “I’d ask for peace.”

A tear made its way down her cheek as she shared with us about her beloved grandmother’s death a few days before.

As she shared her story, I learned no one in her family believed in God—and neither did she.

She’d not consciously rejected Him. All she knew was there was a deep restlessness inside, but she had no understanding about how to resolve that inner turmoil, or even what lay at the root of it. Like many people, she was living day to day, not having much purpose or meaning in her life.

This young woman represents so many in our society today—going through the motions, striving to make ends meet, seeking a way where there seems to be no way, and trying to make sense of it all.

Too often, there seems to be no adequate answers to our human dilemma—especially to the question of why we feel so empty, void, and lacking peace. Furthermore, there appears to be no satisfactory reason for us to keep putting out our best efforts and still suffering with life’s adversities.

The young waitress serving us explained the issue in her terms by saying, “I need peace.”

Others would say, “I’m so lonely.” Some would say, “If my spouse would only love me as he/she should, then I’d be happy.” Different variations but all the same melody: “There’s something wrong ... I’m not happy. I have no peace. What’s wrong with me?”

Most who are victims of the messages of our secular society experience this void and don’t equate their problem with God.

We’re constantly bombarded with society’s claims: “If only you were thinner, dressed with more style, drove a Jaguar, lived in a better part of town, made more money …” the list goes on and on.

But none of the aforementioned highly-prized answers to our problems or any of the hundreds of others offered to us can permanently and satisfactorily provide what we desperately crave.

The young waitress had it right: Most of us feel strongly that we need something more—and the
all-encompassing word that so well describes it is peace.

And as a pastor for more than six decades, I can tell you that until you have peace with God, you will never experience true peace in this life.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Ephesians 3:13
Hebrews 4:16

Commentary Thoughts

Spiritual power comes as we recognize our identity as God’s children.

Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 is offered on behalf of a group of Christians who are facing discouragement. In offering this prayer, after having addressed the Father, Paul then reminds these discouraged Christians that this Father is the one that every family in heaven and on earth derives its name from.

"Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory" (Ephesians 3:13).

In other words, Paul is telling these struggling believers in the midst of their despair, that they are still family—the sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father. The good news for us as believers is that, regardless of the nature of our struggles, we have access to a powerful Father who listens to and cares for the needs of His children. As it says in Hebrews,

“Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Are there any circumstances or trials in your life
that are causing you to “lose heart?” Take a
moment, like Paul, to “bow the knee” before the Father and lift up your needs to Him.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Ephesians 3:17-19

Scripture Thoughts

Spiritual power comes as the believer increasingly allows Christ to dwell within.

Paul states that the specific purpose of his prayer for spiritual power is so that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17).

When we invite guests to stay with us, we often encourage them to “make themselves at home,” but we don’t allow them to go into our bedroom or look through our closets. What we really mean is they should make themselves “at room.”

The same is often true of our invitation to allow Christ to have lordship over our lives. There are certain areas in which we are willing for Him to rule and direct, but there are other rooms that we will not allow Christ to enter into and make Himself “at home.”

When we give Christ the access and freedom to run the property, we gain an increased understanding of the vastness of His love for us—even in the midst of the messy homes of our lives.

Paul prays that as these Christians allow Christ to dwell within their hearts so they would come to know the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge (3:18-19).

This increased knowledge of the love of God for us in Christ gives us an increased capacity to experience the benefit of spiritual power that comes from God as our lives become filled up with all the fullness of God (3:19).

Are you allowing Christ to “dwell” in all the rooms of your life? Have you given Him complete ownership of the property?

316Judith

Bible Reading

John 14

Commentary Thoughts

The Peace God Gives

by Charles Stanley

If you’re a student of the Bible, I’m sure you’ve noticed that God’s perspective is often given in the form of comparison and contrast. For example, He often contrasted the rich and the poor, the wise and foolish, darkness and light, and with respect to our topic, the peace that comes from God as opposed to the peace found in this world. Jesus said, “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives …” (John 14:27).

Clearly, the Master was stating that the peace He gave His followers was different from the peace they could find in the world. When Jesus referred to “the world,” He was speaking of the society and culture in which we humans live.

Have you ever been on a troubled sea? I’ve experienced storms at sea on several occasions and frankly, I’ve no desire to repeat the experience! On the surface, the winds can sweep across the sea at 40, 60, 100 miles an hour, with blowing rain, lightning, thunder, and an overpowering darkness. Waves can rise to 20, 30, even 50 feet high.

A ship in such a storm can be tossed about like a toy boat. It’s easy for an oceangoing craft to be lost in such storms. But underneath the surface, just 100 feet down, there’s no storm. All is perfectly quiet. No sound. No tumult. Not even a ripple of turmoil.

This remarkable fact makes me think of God’s peace. It gives me an inkling of what our Lord must’ve been talking about when He promised His disciples His peace.

He told them because they were His followers, they’d have trouble in this world. In fact, He claimed that some of them would be persecuted because they were His disciples.

But in spite of this, He promised He’d never leave those who followed Him, and His constant presence would be the means whereby they could experience His peace.

When fears, anxieties, and troubles arise in your life, look for the following signs of God’s peace as it …

Transcends circumstances. Often, peace is more readily seen and felt in the midst of trial and trouble. But regardless of what you’re experiencing, know this: God is your peace. Put your faith in Him.


Surpasses understanding. The peace of God is not something we can always figure out. But it’s operative and available to us—far beyond our ability to understand it.

Extends to all His followers. God’s peace is extended to every person who accepts Jesus as their Savior, turns from their sin, and pursues a life in obedience to the guidance of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit.

Is an abiding state of being. In the difficult circumstances of life, the Holy Spirit is present to help. Peace—deep, genuine, God-given peace—can be the “norm” in which you live day to day.


As you move forward in the journey of life, trust and believe that God’s desire for you is to feel an abiding peace at all times—a peace that includes
joy and a feeling of purpose in every area of your life.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Ephesians 3:20-21

Commentary Thoughts

As we experience spiritual power, we’ll find that it is more than enough to supply all of our needs.

Paul describes the working of spiritual power as
“Able to do abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

For the believer, whatever the circumstances or trials we encounter, God is able to meet our needs because His superlative, His “beyond” power works within us. We must remember that God gives the believer this experience of His “beyond” power because it ultimately leads to His glory (3:21).

We can identify a person who knows God by the demonstration of God’s power in the midst of a situation that would render the normal Christian powerless. When this person is tempted to lose heart, his or her knowledge of God imparts a spiritual power that transcends, or goes beyond, the trials being experienced.

As we arrive at an understanding of our identity as God’s children and allow Christ to dwell in our lives as Lord, we, too, will experience this benefit of spiritual power that will supply every need.

The people of Israel often sustained themselves during times of trial by remembering the “mighty acts” of God as He demonstrated His power to them throughout their history. Can you recall demonstrations of God’s superlative or “beyond” power in your life?

316Judith

Bible Reading

Psalms 120

PRAYING SCRIPTURE:

Praying through the Psalms

Psalm 120:1–2

This is the first of what some call the Songs of Ascent. The people of Israel sang these while walking to Jerusalem for the three national worship celebrations (the Feasts of Passover, Weeks, and Temporary Shelters).

Imagine singing these songs with Jesus as you traveled to the Feast of the Passover (Luke 2:41−52).

Looking closer at this psalm, we can see that the theme of deceit is prominent. The psalmist asked God for deliverance from lies.

Pray through this psalm and consider the outcomes of falsehood in your personal relationships and your culture.

Ask God to help you discern the truth and establish His Word as your guide.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Psalm 121

Scripture Thoughts

PRAYING SCRIPTURE

Psalm 121:1–8

When we choose to live by faith in God, we gain eternal life with Him and the fulfillment of His promises for life today. To choose Him, we turn our backs on the world’s ways.

Although there is a cost to saying no to the world, what we gain through faith in God is incomparably greater.

In fact, Paul described his worldly losses as mere “liabilities” (Phil 3:8).

The writer of this psalm focused on how trusting God leads to the protection of our lives (v. 7).

The psalmist, using the Hebrew word shamar (“to guard,” “to preserve,” or “to protect”), said that God is with us in all we do (v. 8).

Thank the Lord that He guards you as you walk through life.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Psalm 122

Commentary Thoughts

PRAYING SCRIPTURE

Psalm 122:1–9

David proclaimed the joy of seeing God’s people gathered at the house of the Lord and in the city of Jerusalem.

He also prayed for the peace and prosperity of the city (v. 7).

As you pray Psalm 122, remember the unity (Ps 133:1; Eph 4:3) shared by believers from all times and places.

We find joy in being together in the house of the Lord (vv. 1, 4).

Consider Paul’s description of Jerusalem above (Gal 4:26).

Today, many of our sisters and brothers are suffering without the peace (v. 122:8) that will one day be ours in the heavenly city.

Pray for sisters and brothers in need of Christ’s peace.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Psalm 123

Commentary Thoughts

PRAYING SCRIPTURE

Psalm 123:1–4

As pilgrims walking toward the heavenly Jerusalem, we know who we are. We are servants following Jesus, who suffered and died on our behalf (Isa 53).

We are servants waiting to hear the Lord’s Word so we can joyfully obey.

The psalmist described our relationship with God using the metaphor of a maid looking to her mistress for directions and provisions.

We are focused not on our own glory but on obeying the Lord’s Word. We are servants attending to the divine Word.

Make Psalm 123 your prayer today, and ask the Lord to help you fix your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1−2).

316Judith

Bible Reading

Psalm 124

Commentary Thoughts

PRAYING SCRIPTURE

Psalm 124:1–8

David pondered what life would be like without God in this short psalm.

He concluded that the Israelites would have been devoured by their enemies (v. 3), just for starters.

Yet following God is not risk-free. Jesus told His disciples that following Him would include suffering and sorrows (John 15:20–21; 16:33).

But His way is also the path to joy, peace, and life (John 10:10).

As we live in alignment with God, we know that He is our deliverer (v. 8).

Without the Lord, we would have remained in darkness.

As you pray through this psalm, give thanks and praise to the Lord for the many ways He has delivered you.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Psalm 124

Commentary Thoughts

PRAYING SCRIPTURE

Psalm 124:1–8

David pondered what life would be like without God in this short psalm. He concluded that the Israelites would have been devoured by their enemies (v. 3), just for starters. Yet following God is not risk-free.

Jesus told His disciples that following Him would include suffering and sorrows (John 15:20–21; 16:33).

But His way is also the path to joy, peace, and life (John 10:10).

As we live in alignment with God, we know that He is our deliverer (v. 8).

Without the Lord, we would have remained in darkness.

As you pray through this psalm, give thanks and praise to the Lord for the many ways He has delivered you.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Psalm 125

Commentary Thoughts

PRAYING SCRIPTURE

Psalm 125:1–2

Where do you feel safe? For God’s people, the safest “place” is not a place but God Himself.

The psalmist said that those who trust in the Lord are unmovable, like Mount Zion (v. 1).

Our lives are often filled with risks, uncertainties, and dangers. God sometimes calls us to live outside our comfort zones.

In those circumstances, remember that “the Lord surrounds his people” (v. 2).

As we trust Him, He makes our paths straight (Prov 3:5−6).

Thank the Lord that He is your safe place.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Psalm 126

Commentary Thoughts

PRAYING SCRIPTURE

Psalm 126:1–6

This psalm focuses on the Israelites who returned to Jerusalem from exile (v. 1).

Although their suffering had been severe, the return to Jerusalem was filled with joy.

The psalmist compared this return to a farmer who sowed seed in tears only to experience great joy in the harvest.

Likewise, if you seem to be experiencing a time of exile, remember that God will lead you to a harvest of joy (vv. 5−6).

Ask God to help you persevere until that day comes.