October 9 Psalm 119:1-8 1 Thessalonians 1; 2:1-16 Jeremiah 18; 19; 20
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?
October 9 Psalm 119:1-8 1 Thessalonians 1; 2:1-16 Jeremiah 18; 19; 20
Psalm 119:1-8
God loves humanity. God gives life. God is creative. God has design and desire. God has spoken to us. We should be searching out the guidance of God. We can choose to listen and learn from what God has said. We will then benefit from God’s Word and love it. Psalm 119 is focused on this relationship with God’s Word. This is a Hebrew acrostic poem of 22 stanzas, one for each successive letter of their alphabet. Each of the 8 verses within each stanza begins with the Hebrew letter named in its heading. This is one way that you can think through what you are learning about God’s love and then summarize it in a meaningful way. God’s love is available and beneficial.
1 Thessalonians 1; 2:1-16
Years ago, I heard stories from someone who visited the current churches of Thessaloniki, Greece. The people of today were described in ways that are similar to what we read here. Paul writes to the Thessalonians shortly after his first visit, seen in Acts 17. He commends their faithful love in action from the hope they found in Jesus. Their relationship with Jesus brought life change and inspired their expectant hope for His return. Thinking about what we read here, I believe that you see characteristics that the Thessalonians, Paul, and his team share in common. They are focused on Jesus Christ. Love is their motivation for faithful hard work. Their hope is found in Jesus. This hope endures. They put into practice a priority on pleasing God more than pleasing other people.
Jeremiah 18; 19; 20
Through Jeremiah, our Creator God speaks to His relationship with us as the relationship between a potter and clay. The people of Judah had stubbornly rejected God in favor of living however they wanted to. They ignored Jeremiah’s words. They gossiped about him. They were plotting to kill him. Through the prophet, Jeremiah God spoke a warning of punishment for their rebellion. In the face of rejection and opposition, Jeremiah believes God is with him. Jeremiah sings his faith in God’s rescue along the lines of Psalm 34:6. At the same time, there are ways in which Jeremiah is lamenting his suffering at the hands of other people. This is similar to Paul’s experience seen in 1 Corinthians 4:9-13.