December 4 Psalm 138 1 John 4:7-21 Daniel 11:2-35
Please read the suggested passages, prayerfully consider them, and the questions below. My comments here may be helpful after those moments. The suggested daily reading is for the purpose of reading through the whole Bible within a year.
Reading the Bible is helpful in taking next steps to follow Jesus. It may not be easy and yet it can be rewarding. Digging into Scripture alongside people you know is a life-giving way to pursue answers together. We discover the love that God has for us has been expressed through Jesus.
- What’s the plain simple truth of the verses you read?
- Based on today’s reading, what is one thing God is saying to you?
- What should you do about that truth?
December 4 Psalm 138 1 John 4:7-21 Daniel 11:2-35
Psalm 138
King David sings praises to Yahweh God, who is superior to anything else worshipped by people. His song repeatedly describes our God as one who is faithful in love. David has found God to be responsive. David believes in the promises of God. David draws strength from his relationship with God and a constant conversation with God. At first, it seems a contradiction that out God is most powerful and yet cares for the humble. “Surrounded by troubles” as David was, he had learned to trust in the living God.
1 John 4:7-21
John recognized God as overflowing with faithful, patient, kind, selfless, determined, and forgiving love. John saw God express this love to us through Jesus Christ. God made a way for us to be forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We can receive this and share it with other people. As we live in a close personal love relationship with God, our love grows stronger. When we give this kind of love it is evidence of our identity as children of God. This love is possible because we receive Jesus as our Savior. We have put our trust in His love. As we live to be fully devoted followers of Jesus, our God-kind-of-love grows into maturity and we will not fear the future. We will love each other “because He loved us first”.
Daniel 11:2-35
God had sent refreshing and spiritual strength to Daniel who had become exhausted by intercession and distressing visions of the future. God revealed specific events that would come to be, through the rise and fall of Greece and Rome. God was again proving His own sovereign control over people who believed their own kingdoms to be most powerful. God predicted the specific decisions of the leaders of nations. God prepared Daniel for a time when the Temple of Jerusalem would be defiled by idolatry. God is saying that such events would not diminish His power. Such events would not stop the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. God placed Daniel in a position to speak truth to powerful people many times over many years. It is our reasonable response to worship our living God.