I am currently doing a four day Bible reading plan on the YouVersion Bible app. It looks at Abraham, Joseph and David and how they overcome their setbacks. I am finding it encouraging and thought I would share it.
Today’s Our Daily Bread had a really good insight in the reading. It talks about Jesus and our work on the cross and how we are forgiven and purified by Him…
The apostle John reminds us that “God is light” (1 John 1:5) and encourages us to walk in fellowship with Him (vv. 6–7). Elsewhere, Paul reminds us that we “are not in darkness” but are “children of the light” (1 Thessalonians 5:4–5). In 1 John, the apostle challenges us to “not sin” (2:1). But because we’re still not perfected, we do continue to sin (1:8). John assures us that when we confess and repent, God will “forgive us our sins” (v. 9). Our “advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (2:1), “through the shedding of his blood” (Romans 3:25), is “the atoning sacrifice [propitiation] for our sins” (1 John 2:2; see 4:10). The NIV Zondervan Study Bible describes “atoning sacrifice” as what Jesus did on the cross in “removing guilt and purifying sinners (expiation) and appeasing God’s anger toward sinners (propitiation).”
I really like this thought from today’s Our Daily Bread. It talks about choosing forgiveness and give an example from marriage…
“Eighty years of marriage! My husband’s great-uncle Pete and great-aunt Ruth celebrated this remarkable milestone on May 31, 2021. After a chance meeting in 1941 when Ruth was still in high school, the young couple were so eager to get married that they eloped the day after Ruth graduated. Pete and Ruth believe God brought them together and has guided them all these years.
Reflecting on eight decades of marriage, Pete and Ruth both agree that one key to sustaining their relationship has been the decision to choose forgiveness. Anyone in a healthy relationship understands that we all regularly need forgiveness for the ways we hurt each other, whether through an unkind word, a broken promise, or a forgotten task.”
I love this from Our Daily Bread today. It reminds us how precious our prayers are to God…
“In the book of Revelation, the apostle John describes “four living creatures” and “twenty-four elders” worshiping the Lord in heaven. Each one was “holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people” (5:8).
Just as incense was precious in the ancient world, our prayers are so precious to God that He keeps them before Him continually, treasured in golden bowls! Our prayers matter to God because we matter to Him, and through His undeserved kindness to us in Jesus He offers us uninhibited access (Hebrews 4:14–16). So pray boldly! And know that not a word will be forgotten or misplaced because of the amazing love of God.”