One Year Bible February 1

EXODUS 13:17-15:18
The crossing of the Red Sea is the most remarkable miracle of the Old Testament. 1Cor 10:1-11 likens it to being baptized in water. God hardened Pharaoh's heart so that He might destroy the Egyptian armies, and deliver Israel from the power and dominion of slavish fear. To recap, in Exodus 12, Israel was blood-washed at Passover. In Exodus 13, Israel was given the Holy Spirit, and in Exodus 14-15 they were baptized in water. NOW HERE COMES THE FLESH. And that is what the Wilderness is for.

The cloud and the fire of the Holy Spirit that led Israel, got between them and the Egyptians to cover them, or hide them. The Holy Spirit cloud and fire led them by day and night, gave them shelter, guidance, shade, warmth, and light. "By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned." (Heb 11:29) Israel never saw the Egyptians again "no more forever."

In Moses' Song, they prophetically declared that their enemies in Canaan would be paralyzed with fear when they heard about what God had done. All I can say to that is, "Yeah, sure. You say that NOW." When it came time to actually go into the Land, we find out that they weren't so sure any more. 

RESPONSE: Been there. Done that. After a great victory, I am pretty certain that God will do it again. But, if I "coast" in the afterglow, by the time I have to tackle something else, my confidence isn't what it was. Right after a victory is a dangerous time for Believers, because the temptation is to "slide" and then we aren't ready when the enemy tries to slow us down or stop us. I want to stay ready.

MATTHEW 21:23-46
Clearly, the Pharisees are no match for Jesus! In this confrontation, the Pharisees wanted to know where Jesus got His authority, probably in reference to His chasing them all out of the Temple earlier. He backed them into a verbal corner where they had to back down, or be exposed as the cowardly hypocrites that they were.

Jesus then told two parables, the first of which showed the conflicting responses to the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom. The second parable was clearly a trap! The Pharisees fell right into it when they said that they deserved to be "miserably destroyed". Then Jesus told them that the Kingdom of God would be taken away from the religious, legalistic, tradition-keeping Israelites, and given to a "nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." That is, who reflected the "way of righteousness". And furthermore, the ones who stumbled at the Gospel message, would eventually be crushed to powder when the message actually judged them. The Pharisees were incensed when they realized that Jesus was talking about THEM!

The important truth to take from this piece of Scripture is that the Kingdom of God was taken away from the people who "rejected" Him and killed Him, and given to a "holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." (1Pet 2:9-10) God has only ONE covenant people, by faith.

RESPONSE: Jesus is savvy. He knows what makes people tick. He has true insight into people's thinking and reactions. He is the smartest Man who ever lived. He is the best Counselor and best Psychologist alive. I can trust Him that He knows what He is talking about. He sure has a way of getting to the truth!

PSALM 26:1-12
David was the object of ridicule and false accusations often. King Saul did it to him, and his son Absalom did it, as did others in his court. Although he did have men who sacrificed everything for him, many of his Psalms involve the unjust treatment he got from people close to him. We don't know for sure who was after him this time, but Psalm 26 is prophetic of Jesus, Who was also falsely accused and ridiculed.

He appeals to God to judge him because of his faith and trust in God, and because of his own integrity. He may not have done it all right, but when he fell, he fell toward God, and owned up to his misdeeds. Verse 3 shows us he trusted in God's grace.  

His integrity is proven in not associating with people who were in rebellion against God. He did not spend any more time than his business required with them. He didn't want God to lump him in with them. David is resolute, that he will maintain his own integrity, regardless of what the people around him do.

PROVERBS 6:16-19
An "abomination" is something that is offensive to all the senses. It is repulsive like idolatry, heathen gods, magic, divination, sexual perversion. It is to loathe because it stinks. But, some of these are what a lot of Believers think of as "little sins": looking down my nose at people, saying things that might be misleading, stirring up trouble between people. All seven things are hateful to God, but the worst to Him is someone who would take fiendish delight in causing division and discord between people, whether they be relatives, husband and wife, friends, churches, nations. It is the sin of sins.

RESPONSE:  God, I trust in Your lovingkindness when You examine me. I don't want to be an abomination to You. I repent of my rebellion and ask You to forgive me. Thank You for the blood of Jesus, and for the Holy Spirit Who warns me and gives me the courage to own up to my transgressions. Sometimes I don't know why You stay with me. I don't even like myself when I do things I know I shouldn't. Thank You for Your faithfulness and Your mercy. By Your grace and help, I want to stay right and do right.