Today’s Bible Reading

March 08

Old Testament I

Exodus 26:31 - 27:19 

26:37 And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be gold, and you shall cast five sockets of bronze for them.

This word depicts a “place of slaughtering” and is derived from the verb meaning “to slaughter for sacrifice” (20:24; Deut. 16:2). Altars were the site of sacrificial worship (Gen. 8:20) and were made of earth (20:24), stones (Josh 8:31; Judg 13:19), or even bronze (38:1–7). The ritual slaughtering of animals to the Lord was central to Hebrew worship at the temple (Lev. 1:5). But throughout Scripture, the Lord warned that righteousness, justice, and a humble heart submitted to Him were more important than bringing sacrificial gifts to the altar (Ps. 51:17; Prov. 21:3; Matt. 5:23, 24).

The sacrifices on the altar in the temple were a sign that God had forgiven the Israelites’ sins. That sign pointed to the ultimate sacrifice: the sacrifice of His Son on the Cross for the sins of humanity (Heb. 9:11–15; 13:10–13).



Old Testament II

Psalms72 

Psalm 72, a royal psalm, is one of two psalms (see also Ps. 127) ascribed to Solomon, the son of David. King Solomon might have arranged David’s psalms in something like their present order, then appended his own psalm to the group (see v. 20). This psalm is intensely messianic, speaking in ideal terms of the coming of the great King. On the basis of the ideals of ancient Middle Eastern royalty, the psalm calls for a good king to govern Israel under God’s blessing. Ultimately this King is the Savior Jesus.

The psalm has the following structure:

  1. a call for a reign of judgment (vv. 1–4);

  2. anticipation of a reign of righteousness (vv. 5–7);

  3. a vision of a universal reign (vv. 8–11);

  4. a vision of a reign of compassionate justice (vv. 12–14);

  5. a prediction of a reign of great blessing (vv. 15–17);

  6. praise for the God who will establish this glorious reign (vv. 18–20).



New Testament

Acts 15:22-35

15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:

15:29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

15:30 So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter.

15:31 When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement.

Our attitude to new converts should be encouraging them to stay faithful. We should not condemn them, we should know that we were once like them, it was the mercy and grace of God that saved us, and the same Grace of God made us grow to the level we currently are. There is a place for growth in christianity. Your word of encouragement will help the brethren.

The congregation rejoiced when they read the letter of encouragement. Let us be careful not to mistake a bad attitude for “speaking truth”. There are people who believe the truth hurts so if what they are saying makes the audience happy, they are doing something wrong. This is not always true. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is called GOOD NEWS for a reason. 


Action Point

Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior


work on the way you communicate


work on your attitude that needs working on


Join the evangelism unit


Make donations to Christian missionaries


Reach out & preach to people (set time and have a number of times in a week)

Quote

Never lose a chance of saying a kind word

-Willian thackeray



the task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts

-C S Lewis



"Let us be careful not to mistake a bad attitude for “speaking truth”. There are people who believe the truth hurts so if what they are saying makes the audience happy, they are doing something wrong. This is not always true. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is called GOOD NEWS for a reason."

-Eckleexiastiz


Prayer Points

  • Thank Jesus for coming to die for our sins

  • ask for forgiveness of sin

  • Pray for the power of Holy Spirit

  • Pray for the reign of the righteous to come

  • Pray for the justice of God in the world

  • Pray for blessing

  • Pray for grace to work on your attitude

  • Pray for those yet to accept Jesus (intercessory prayer)

  • Pray for the gift of Holy Spirit

  • Pray for the grace to accept Holy Spirit correction

  • Pray to be a better person

  • Pray that God reveal your flaws to you


#BibleInAYearChallenge