Bible Reading Challenge Week 34 Day 1

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 146-150. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 146 - We are blessed when our trust is in the LORD. Why? Because he is eternal, good, wise, faithful, and powerful. When we sing his praises we rightly proclaim his character. There is our hope.

Psalm 147 - It is “pleasant and fitting” (v. 1, NIV) to sing God’s praises. He is the one who cares for those that cannot care for themselves. He provides the weather and all that is needed to sustain life all over the world. And he cares for us as well. Pleasant and fitting!

Psalm 148 - Everybody and everything is called to praise the LORD. He created and sustains it all. Most of all, see at the end of the psalm, he has raised up a horn of salvation.

Psalm 149 - We celebrate and delight in the LORD because he delights in us. Today it seems people want to celebrate for the sake of celebration. That is empty and meaningless. Having an object of praise is important. Here that is the LORD of all who delights in us, his people.

Psalm 150 - In every way we can imagine we are to praise the LORD. As long as we have breath we look to him and proclaim his wonders.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 33 Day 5

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 141-145. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 141 - Our Lord delights in the prayers of his people. Yet again and again we ask him to hear us, to change our hearts so we pray rightly, to come and work in his righteousness.

Psalm 142 - In this Psalm, David prays from a cave where he and a few men were hiding. Without knowing David was in the cave, Saul’s forces, seeking David’s life, had encamped outside the cave and were using the cave as a latrine. In this position, when his refuge was unsafe, David looked to God as his true refuge.

Psalm 143 - When we are in distress we cry out to God. Yet sometimes even the faithful think God seems to be hiding. Yet we can look to his unfailing love and see he has not abandoned us.

Psalm 144 - In war and in peace God is the one who provides his people with all they need. In him we are perfectly safe.

Psalm 145 - Praising God is an intergenerational lifestyle. One generation tells the next of God’s love which extends to all generations. He is worthy of our praise, and the praise of those who will come after us.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 33 Day 4

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 136-140. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 136 - The repeated line “His love endures forever” seems almost out of place at times. Yet in the context of praises to the God who has particularly shown his love by bringing Jesus, the Messiah, to provide life for all who believe, this makes perfect sense. God’s love makes him preserve his chosen people forever, no matter what their unbelieving enemies might do.

Psalm 137 - The Babylonians who took Judah captive and destroyed her people then wanted life as usual. Yet here the Psalmist reflects that some trials are not easily left behind. Rather, we add those hard life events into our coherent world view, realizing that God’s mercy is what we depend on even in the worst of times.

Psalm 138 - The LORD preserves us. When we are troubled we depend on his word (v. 4) rather than our own.

Psalm 139 - Our God is the one who lovingly knows all of our life, all the time, from beginning to end. Nothing escapes his loving care.

Psalm 140 - When faced with opposition David here prays that his enemies will reap the natural consequences of their actions. Do we trust that the LORD will care for us in the same way?

Bible Reading Challenge Week 33 Day 3

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 131-135. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 131 - I had to read this Psalm slowly a second time. How often I try to involve myself with things too great for me, as if I had great understanding and wisdom! No, it’s time to be like a child before God.

Psalm 132 - David works tirelessly when he is shown that he is the ancestor of the promised king. The LORD has worked since creation to place Jesus, God the Son, on David’s throne.

Psalm 133 - Our unity in the faith is like a holy anointing for the priesthood. This is a very good thing. It is pleasing in the sight of God.

Psalm 134 - As we praise the LORD day and night he blesses us. This gives us all the more reason to continue praising him.

Psalm 135 - The living God who can do whatever he wants has chosen Israel. He who has no obligation to any of us has poured out his love and favor in a great way.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 33 Day 2

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 126-130. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 126 - God brings captives back home. In the Psalm the captivity lasted 70 years. Most of the captives had never been free. Yet they rejoiced. How do we view the freedom we have from the bondage to sin? That is a true release.

Psalm 127 - What God has appointed for us he will see that we can do. If he has not approved what we wish to do for him, we will not accomplish it. May we have grace to learn our Lord’s priorities.

Psalm 128 - The fear of the LORD brings blessing upon blessing. We rightly ask for his peace and grace.

Psalm 129 - Here the Psalmist asks that God would withhold his blessing from those who hate God and His people. There is a time to pray that God would strike down his enemies. But since we don’t know his timing and we have imperfect knowledge of the people we deal with, our duty remains to love our enemies and pray for them as well.

Psalm 130 - How great is God’s forgiveness? Greater than all our sin and shame. We look to Jesus who redeems us from all sins.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 33 Day 1

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 120-125. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 120 - When we find ourselves living among people who hate peace we can call on the LORD. He saves us first from the destruction we cause when we show that we ourselves hate peace. He also saves us from the people around us.

Psalm 121 - This Psalm is often taken to have the Lord as the one in the hills who helps us. More likely, since criminals hide in the hills, we should see that the Lord is the one who guards us from the enemies surrounding us. We are safe with Him no matter what.

Psalm 122 - Jerusalem in this Psalm is seen as the place of God’s true presence. We pray for peace and security in the presence of God. That is exactly what he promises us as well.

Psalm 123 - Modern Western culture has largely lost the idea of the servant and master. The best servant is invisible. The greatest compliment is when the master shows favor to a good servant. May God our master show his favor.

Psalm 124 - How are you doing today? Far better than without God’s help! He is our creator and sustainer.

Psalm 125 - God surrounds his people like a mountain range. He interferes with all the harm that can come their way. He does good, not evil.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 32 Day 5

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalm 119. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

This longest of the Psalms is an acrostic with each stanza featuring a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Throughout we are reminded of God’s Word being that which corrects us, draws us to faith in the Lord, and nourishes us for life. Lutherans make a clear distinction between Law, what we are commanded, and Gospel, what God does on our behalf. The Psalmist is not using the word “law” in that way. He rather views it as any decree of God.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 32 Day 4

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 114-118. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 114 - The earth responds to the Lord’s presence. But see that his presence is made known through his people. How does the world see the Lord today? Through his people assembled in the Church.

Psalm 115 - True praise belongs to the living God. Why do we trust in someone less, even often in something we have made? Rather trust in the true eternal and living God.

Psalm 116 - A commonly sung offertory consists of verses 12-14 and 17-19. When we make our offerings, though, we should remember that we offer our life along with our gifts. As he receives our very lives he gives us his eternal life.

Psalm 117 - Just two verses? All right. Here’s an assignment. Write your own Psalm of prayse. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or long.

Psalm 118 - When we are challenged we look to the Lord whose love endures forever. See the various places like vv. 22-23 where it looks like this Psalm is about Jesus. Yet we all are reminded to trust the Lord.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 32 Day 3

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 107-113. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 107 - God in his love raises up those who fear and trust him. Those who despise his word he will humble. He remains loving. Yet when we reject his call we may reap the consequences.

Psalm 108 - God is our great and glorious leader. He is the possessor of all. That includes those who reject him. There is no need to fear our enemies when the Lord walks with us.

Psalm 109 - This is one of our Messianic psalms, talking of Jesus’ suffering and death. Surely Jesus suffered on our behalf, in ways we have endured and in ways we have not. He is our faithful Lord.

Psalm 110 - Here is another Psalm that depicts Jesus, the one David calls Lord, the priest in the order of Melchizedek. See how Jesus is Lord for all eternity.

Psalms 111-113 - These three Psalms beg for meditation and prayer. May the Lord create in us the trust and delight that he commends here. How great our Lord is in all he does for us.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 32 Day 2

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 101-106. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 101 - God’s loving protection is on those who walk with him. Yet we must realize that we fail. We don’t walk in perfect integrity. We are not blameless. Only Jesus, God the Son, who places his perfect blamelessness upon us, is.

Psalm 102 - When we see our sin and our mortality we realize the Lord is the one in whom we can trust. All others are threatening but God has mercy on his people forever.

Psalm 103 - We are surely small and frail. But look at hte LORD and how great his love is. His love is greater than the greatest heights. He separates our sin from us in a limitless manner. This is true compassion.

Psalm 104 - In this Psalm all creation appears as God’s delightful play yard. He tends his garden and cares for all of it. His care is perfect and is a delight to him.

Psalm 105 - God’s greatness is shown in the way he rescues his people. Their deliverance may not always come immediately. Yet he always preserves his chosen people.

Psalm 106 - God’s love endures even through the flagrant sin of his people, who demand their own way and despise him. While we were yet sinners Jesus died for us to bring us to God.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 32 Day 1

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 96-100. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 96 - What is that new song we sing to the LORD? Ironically enough it is an old song. We sing that he is the mighty God, the Savior. We proclaim his glory, strength, and salvation. Our new song is new only because we are singing it anew.

Psalm 97 - By its very nature all creation praises the LORD. This extends even to the false gods which bow down before him. How much more his people who are called according to his grace!

Psalm 98 - Again all creation is singing the praise of the LORD who has made his salvation known. He alone is the righteous judge.

Psalm 99 - God’s forgiveness is there for Israel who has disobeyed him again and again. His forgiveness is there for all the nations who lived in disobedience. His forgiveness is there for us who believe him.

Psalm 100 - In our praise to the LORD we call all people to see him as their creator, redeemer, and sustainer. In Christ he has made peace with God on behalf of fallen humanity. Let us come before him in thanksgiving for his redemptive love.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 31 Day 5

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 91-95. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 91 - Safety comes not from being strong, fast, or smart, but from resting in the presence of the LORD. God rescues his people who love him.

Psalm 92 - Look at the plants in this Psalm. The wicked spring up like grass, which is a very hardy plant. The righteous are like palms and cedars which are substantial and long lasting. They may not be as common as grass but they are certainly of greater value, producing much food and shelter.

Psalm 93 - Water is amazingly powerful. But God is even greater. Nothing can displace our Lord.

Psalm 94 - When the Lord teaches us he often does it through discipline. We endure hardship for a time, then we begin to understand his desires and his holiness. Like the Psalmist, we may feel anxious. But we can depend on God’s unfailing love.

Psalm 95 - The first seven verses are the venite typically sung at Matins. See the change in person as we move to verse eight. God now cautions his people to hear him diligently. Though we confess Christ and hold to Christian doctrine we are often hesitant to trust and follow our Lord. May God grant us repentance and restoration.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 31 Day 4

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 86-90. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 86 - We are often bold to confess God’s power and love. But sometimes we are afraid that our prayers are selfish. We think God loves all those other people but maybe he doesn’t love us. Lord, treat us with your blessings just as we would have you bless others!

Psalm 87 - How does God treat “outsiders”? He gathers all sorts of outcasts to himself and treats them as his beloved family. What does this urge us to as we seek to bring Christ’s love to our community? Gather them all in!

Psalm 88 - Is it right to say the Psalmist is in despair here? Not entirely. There is some hope, for he turns himself toward God. Even when we are very low we can hope in the Lord. He is our deliverer.

Psalm 89 - Even as the Lord made his promise to David, he arranged for the wrath of mankind and the wrath of God to strike Jesus, the Son of David. He was mocked and brought low so we could be raised up with him in glory.

Psalm 90 - Our frailty stands in stark contrast to the Lord’s might. May we learn to rejoice in him for as much time as he grants us.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 31 Day 3

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 81-85. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 81 - Much of this Psalm shows up in the Lord’s prayer as we confess that God will establish his kingdom, lift our burdens, and provide all we need. It is God’s desire to care for his people. Therefore we are quick to pray in confidence.

Psalm 82 - We seem to have a spark of divinity in us. But it is only a dull remnant, recalling the way we were created in God’s image. Our fallen nature shows up as soon as we compare ourselves to God. May he show himself as the great ruler.

Psalm 83 - We notice that God often seems less zealous to protect himself than we do. People revile him and he waits. God’s mercy extends far beyond ours! While we are quick to defend ourselves, he forgives instead.

Psalm 84 - When I think of finding refuge in God I frequently think of wild animals in not-so-wild places. Look carefully around an urban environment. It’s dominated by humans. But there’s a nest in a sign, a hole in a tree, another hole in a planter. The wild animals find refuge. How much more do we find refuge in God even in this hostile world.

Psalm 85 - What does it mean when we say God’s love is unfailing? It means that even when we forget to look at him in love and trust he still looks to us in mercy. He never fails.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 31 Day 2

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 76-80. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 76 - Do we fear those who rule over us with an iron fist? They in turn fear God, who overcomes them so as to defend his people.

Psalm 77 - Often what gives us courage is our recollection of God’s word, particularly the ways he has shown mercy in the past. This is one of many reasons that I love the historic liturgy. In it we recite God’s faithfulness again and again. I’ve seen many times how weak and infirm people can remember what they have sung and said so many times. This brings them hope in God.

Psalm 78 - Generation after generation we must confess that we have fallen short of God’s commands. We are exactly the kind of people who fell in the wilderness. Therefore we owe it to the next generation to tell of God’s goodness and mercy.

Psalm 79 - God often uses people, evil people, to judge sin and failure. May we be the object of his care, not of his wrath!

Psalm 80 - Who is the man of God’s right hand? It is Jesus, whose face shines upon all who believe him. He brings salvation and grace.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 31 Day 1

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 71-75. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 71 - God’s faithfulness through our lives makes us want to proclaim him to the next generation as well. He is the Lord whose mercy and grace never changes.

Psalm 72 - We sometimes wonder when our leaders pray for themselves. Is there something self-centered when the ruler prays for prosperity? No doubt. But we would rather God bless us with prosperity than that our leaders would plunder us.

Psalm 73 - What is it that makes us stumble and fall? It is getting our eyes on those people and situations around us rather than on God. When we look to him we see our world and ourselves rightly.

Psalm 74 - Sometimes God seems far away. He doesn’t seem to be defending his glory. But we never need to worry. He is the great and mighty one who can do all his will. We don’t avenge him. He takes care of all.

Psalm 75 - God is, in fact, the one who has judged sin and death. He did it in the person and work of Jesus, God the Son, who took upon himself death, the penalty of sin, and conquered it through the resurrection. We trust in Jesus, our judge.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 30 Day 5

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 66-70. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 66 - When we shout with joy to God we proclaim what he has done, including sustaining us during trials. Very often the praise music we choose in churches talks rather about our feelings, not God’s care. May we have a change of heart and mind so as to sing God’s praises without worrying about our feelings so much.

Psalm 67 - Sometimes in our worship we want to gather only with others like us. But our Lord gathers people of all sorts from all lands. Though we may be very different from each other, we worship the true God in Spirit and truth.

Psalm 68 - When God arises none can stand before him. He is so great and mighty that we all are moved to bow down. Yet he comes to his people and cares for us so gently. The mighty Lord is great enough to be humble.

Psalm 69 - When we are sinking and in trouble our challenges seem to multiply. Yet God in his mercy can rescue us. Though our opponents may not have mercy on us, the Lord rescues us. We can trust in the Lord. Our enemies - his enemies - trust in themselves and harm themselves.

Psalm 70 - When we are weak, let us look to the LORD. He is the one who gives us salvation, even when we pray hastily and briefly, as David does here.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 30 Day 4

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 61-65. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 61 - The place of blessed safety is not in the presence of the earthly king. The king himself looks to God as his refuge. This is the place of blessing.

Psalm 62 - Who can shake us as we look to God in faith? Nobody. Our Lord is our rock and salvation. There is no danger. There is none who can harm us as we trust in him.

Psalm 63 - Which of us can sing this Psalm wholeheartedly? We may want to seek God earnestly but life gets in the way. We want his love but we want our earthly life more. In fact only Jesus can sing this Psalm truly. May he always be pleased to put his Spirit and nature on us who believe.

Psalm 64 - When God delivers his people from trouble he protects them publicly. His enemies are caught in their own traps and brought to ruin. May we ever trust the Lord, not our own plans and our own devices.

Psalm 65 - How has God crowned his creation? With forgiveness and abundant love. No matter our need he provides life, abundant life, more than we can ever imagine.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 30 Day 3

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 55-60. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 56 - It is very hard when people twist our words. We find it very painful. Yet we should ask how careful we are to avoid twisting God’s word. May we have grace to treat his words with integrity.

Psalm 57 - Our plea for mercy results in our proclaiming God’s majesty and love. Do we call to God for mercy despite his will? Not at all. He is the merciful one who cares for us.

Psalm 58 - How do Christians deal with unrighteous civil rulers? May God judge them. We, if we have influence, can try to influence our leaders for good. But the Lord is the ultimate judge. He will avenge the righteous.

Psalm 59 - David prays that the Lord would not destroy his enemies out of hand but that he would let them be found out in their evil. Seeing the distinction between good and evil helps us see more clearly. It is of great value to Christians. Then we know about sin and repentance.

Psalm 60 - What a terrible thing it is to be rejected by God. We have no hope if he has departed from us. Yet we often live our lives as if God is irrelevant. May he show us mercy and reveal himself as the one essential to all.

Bible Reading Challenge Week 30 Day 2

Our reading challenge for the day is Psalms 51-55. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Psalm 51 - How serious is our sin to others? Very serious. David had entered into adultery and murder. Serious indeed. Yet his sin is worse before God. His cry? That God would have mercy on him. Do we consider how serious our sin is before God?

Psalm 52 - All our attempts to hide our motives and actions from the LORD are useless. We should rather look to him as our hiding place.

Psalm 53 - Compare this Psalm with Romans chapter 3. Our failing is dreadful. Let us look to God for help and hope.

Psalm 54 - It is only God who rescues us from our enemies. Who are those enemies? They are the people who reject our God. May he guard us from all evil.

Psalm 55 - When I wish to grow wings and fly away from my troubles I realize that God is my refuge. Was Jesus also betrayed by his friends? Yes. Finally I realize what is wrong with this world. I am. I need to depend on the Lord who will never forsake me.