Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

'King of the Jews' (Matthew 2:2). Jesus came from the Jews. He came for 'all nations' (Matthew 28:19). He is the 'King of kings' (Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16). Here on earth, we are learning 'to worship Him' (Matthew 2:2). We are being prepared for heavenly worship (Revelation 7:9-12): 'Kings and queens and beggarmen, presidents and servants, the people of all nations, will gather on that day. We will kneel before the King. None will be observers. We will lift our voices. Together, we will say, "He is the King and He will reign forever. He is the King and we will sing His praise. The King of kings and Lord of lords forever, Jesus, He is the King. Hallelujah to the King, He is our salvation. Master of the universe, King of all creation"!' Let 'Jesus...take the highest honour'. Let us 'glorify the King of kings' ( Songs of Fellowship , 302, 590).

“We wish to see Jesus… The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified… I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself…  although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him… they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” ( John 12:21 , 23 , 32 , 37-43 ). When we say, “We want to see Jesus”, we are led by the Holy Spirit to the Cross of Christ. In the Cross of Christ, we see love that appeals to all people, calling them to come to the Saviour and receive His salvation. Sadly, there are many who refuse to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. There are some who find themselves drawn to the Saviour. They “believe in Him” but  “they do not confess Him” because “they love the praise of men more than the praise of God.” What are we to say when the love that makes its appeal to all is rejected by many? – “Not everyone has faith, but the Lord is faithful” ( 2 Thessalonians 3:2-3 ). Wh...

Deuteronomy 16:1-17:13 Lord, we celebrate Your love. We rejoice in Your salvation. Your love is a dying love. We see Your love in the death of Jesus, our Saviour. It's also an undying love. It's the only love that never dies. It never comes to an end. It's eternal love, shown to us in the sacrificial death of "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

“Every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). This sad situation is with us still. May God give us grace to pray, “Not my will, but Thine be done” (Matthew 26:42).

The reign of Jehoshaphat was a good reign. He was the “king of Judah” (2 Chronicles 20:31). He was very different from “King Ahab of Israel” (2 Chronicles 18:3). Good kings, bad kings - Each has his influence on the people: a good influence, a bad influence. Reading about these things makes us think about ourselves and the influence we have on other people. Is it good or bad? What about our own commitment to the Lord? Is it real? Is it changing us - and others?

Proverbs 16:1-17 “Wisdom is better than gold” (Proverbs 16:16). Where, Lord, will we find wisdom? Your Word tells us that Jesus Christ is “our Wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:30). When we find Him, we find wisdom. Jesus says to us, “Seek, and you will find” (Matthew 7:7). Set us free from the idea that we already know what wisdom is before we start looking for it. Help us to look for Jesus – and to find that He was already looking for us before we started looking for Him. We thank You, Lord, that, when Jesus finds us, we find the “wisdom” which “is better than gold.”

The Lord, our God, is “King of the whole earth. He rules the nations” (Psalm 46:10; Psalm 47:7-9). The Lord is great. He is “the great King” (Psalm 48:14). The Lord does not remain detached from us in isolated heavenly glory. He comes to us as the God of our salvation - “God will buy me back from the power of hell” (Psalm 49:15). By His Word, spoken to us and acted out on our behalf, God involves Himself with us as our Saviour. He is not a God who keeps His distance from us - “Our God will come.” He is not a God who keeps His silence - “and will not be silent” (Psalm 50:3). This God comes to us with His promise of salvation - “Call on Me in times of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honour Me” (Psalm 50:15). Along with this promise of salvation comes God’s call to live in faith and obedience: “Bring your thanks to God as a sacrifice, and keep your vows to the Most High” (Psalm 50:15). To those who walk in His way, the Lord promises His blessing: “Whoever offers thanks as a sacr...

Isaiah 6:1-13  Serving the Lord arises out of worshipping Him.  * We proclaim His holiness: "Holy, holy, holy... " (Isaiah 6:3).    * We confess our sin: "Woe is me" (Isaiah 6:5) - a personal confession. Before we can speak the words, "Here am I. Send me" (Isaiah 6:8), we must hear the words, "Your sin has been forgiven" (Isaiah 6:7). We are to be faithful in speaking God's Word. This involves our lips (Isaiah 6:7). It also involves our lives. Serving the Lord means more than paying lip-service to Him. We are to serve Him with our lives. Is there any guarantee that we will bear much fruit? The parable of the sower says that our fruit may be 100, 60 or 30 times what was sown (Matthew 13:23). The parable of the talents says that one talent could become two; two could become four; five could become ten (Matthew 21:14-30). What does Isaiah 6 say to us about bearing fruit for the Lord? There is a word of realism. Many pe...

"Let Your blessings reach me, O Lord. Save me as You promised" (Psalm 119:41). We count our blessings. We name them on by one - and it surprises us what the Lord has done for us. None of our many blessings can even begin to compare with the greatest blessing of all - salvation. When we thank God for His many blessings, may we never forget to thank Him for His greatest blessing - our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In His speech, the Lord asks many questions. They underline the fact that God is God, and none can even begin to compare with Him: “Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind” (Job 38:36). Wisdom and understanding come from the Lord. In his response (Job 42:1-6), Job humbles himself before God. At the beginning of the book, Job was close to God - “My servant Job.” At the end of the book, he is even closer to God. This is highlighted in Job 42:5 - “I had heard about You with my own ears, but now I have seen You with my own eyes!” The book ends with the restoration of Job. Before we read of what became of Job, we note God’s Word to Job’s so-called ‘comforters.’ These words are spoken to Eliphaz - “I’m very angry with you and your two friends (Bildad and Zophar) because you didn’t speak what is right about Me as My servant Job has done” (Job 42:7). In this criticism of the ‘comforters’, there is also the divine approval of Job. God was pleased with him. God’s pur...

Genesis 2: 4-14 Lord, we look at ourselves, and we say, “This is my life. This is the way I’ve always been. I’ll never change. I’ll never be any different.” Is this all that we can say about ourselves? Is this what You’re saying about us? We’re always thinking about what we are. You’re always saying to us, “This is what you can become. This is what I am going to make you.” Help us to listen to what You’re saying to us. Help us to make a new “beginning” with You - as we believe and receive “the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” ( Mark 1:1 ).

"Every spiritual blessing in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3) Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3). Every spiritual blessing – in Christ: Come to Him and receive His blessing.

 * The love in us comes from the love of God.  * The joy in us comes from the joy of God.  * The peace in us comes from the peace of God.  ... The God of love, the God of joy, the God of peace...   Without God, there can be no love in us, no joy in us , no peace in us ...  ... Love, Joy peace... That's what we find in Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we are learning to love Jesus, learning to rejoice in our Saviour, learning to rest in the peace of Christ. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we learn to walk with Jesus in the way of patience, kindness and goodness. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we travel to the Cross of Christ where we learn the way of faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

"There before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven… His Kingdom is one that will never be destroyed’ (Daniel 7:13-14). These words point us to Christ’s description of His Second Coming, the Coming of His Kingdom: ‘They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory’ (Matthew 24:30). In Revelation 1:7, we have another echo of Daniel’s ‘vision’: ‘Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him’. ‘Lo! He comes, with clouds descending… Yea, Amen! let all adore Thee, high on Thine eternal throne; Saviour, take the power and glory, claim the Kingdom for Thine own. O come quickly! O come quickly! O come quickly! Alleluia! Come, Lord, come!’(Church Hymnary, 316).

Psalm 93:1-5 “The Lord reigns”  - “majesty”, “strength” (Psalm 93:1). He is the eternal God (Psalm 93:2). He speaks to us. His Word is true, holy and eternal (Psalm 93:5).

Isaiah 40:12-31 The greatness of God  * He is great in Himself. Before the world was created, God is great: “In the beginning, God....” (Genesis 1:1).  * He is great for us. This is the great message that comes to us from Isaiah 40:28-31. God is great in love. God is great in power. God is great in holiness. God is great in faithfulness. God is great in glory.  * Love - “God is love” (1 John 4:16); “God so loved the world...” (John 3:16); “God showed His love for us...” (Romans 5:8).  * Power - the power of God’s love - “kept by the power of God” (1 Peter 1:5); “He is able to keep us from falling” (Jude 24).  * Holiness - God is holy. Through his love and His power, He is working to make us holy. As well as the command - “Be holy”, there is the promise - “You shall be holy.”  * Faithfulness - “Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22). God is faithful. He will accomplish His purpose in us (1 Thessalonians 5:24).  * Glory - Jude...

What kind of people are we to be? What kind of life are we to live? Lord, You’re calling us to live a life of “love” (Proverbs 17:9). How, Lord, do we learn what love is? – We learn from You. You show us what love is – “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son… ” (John 3:16). In Jesus, we see perfect love – “The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The Holy Spirit fills our lives with Your love – “The fruit of the Spirit is love” (Galatians 5:22). Help us, Lord, to live a Godly, Christlike, Spirit-filled life – a life of love.

“I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the House of the Lord.’ Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem” ( Psalm 122:2 ). * Standing – in the House of the Lord! In life’s many trying times, we are put to the test – Will we stand? Will we fall? * Standing – in the house of the Lord! Let’s never imagine that we can stand in our own strength – “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” ( 1 Corinthians 10:12 ). * Standing – in the House of the Lord: We stand when we put our trust in the Lord. We stand when we build our life on Him.

Why? Why? Why? - Even when we don’t understand, we can still say, ‘My help comes from the Lord’ (Psalm 121:2).

"You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to You" (Psalm 86:5). Sometimes, we contrast 'the God of the Old Testament' and 'the God of the New Testament.'  We speak about 'the God of law' and 'the God of love.' If we think that 'love' only began with the start of the New Testament, we need to read God's Word more carefully. Here, we are in the Old Testament. What do we find? We find love - the love of God, the God of love.

"A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk" (Habakkuk  3:1) - Prayer and prophecy go together. Pray before preaching God's Word. Let the prayers go up to the Lord. May the power come down from the Lord. Keep on praying after the Word's been preached. Pray that the Lord will follow His Word with His blessing. "... renew... reveal... remember... " (Habakkuk 3:2). Pray that God will remember us - "remember to be merciful." Pray that He will reveal Himself to us as the living God, the God who works in our lives to change us and make us more like Himself. Pray that He will renew our life so that we are no  longer walking in our own weakness. Now, we are living in His strength. "Praise... power... paths... " (Habakkuk 3:3-6), "His praise fills the earth, His brightness as the sunlight. Rays of light stream from His hand. That is where His power is hidden." We need to go to His Word. We need to let His Word shine upon us. We need ...

At the cross, we see Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” ( John 1:29). In the cross, we see the fulfilment of God’s eternal plan of salvation – “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). In the cross, we catch a glimpse of the eternal glory of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb … For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘He will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’” (Revelation 7:10,17). As we consider the glory of our Saviour sent to us from eternal love, crucified for us, leading us on to eternal glory, let us join with Paul in saying “I will glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We rejoice in our Saviour. We give all the glory to Him. He's "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). What a great salvation He has given to ...

Song of Solomon can be read at two different levels. At the human level, it’s a celebration of the love between a man and a woman. At the spiritual level, it inspires us to appreciate, more truly and more fully, the great love which Christ has for us. As we grow in our awareness of Christ’s amazing love for us, we are called to love Him more. His love comes first. We must never forget this. His love is an everlasting love. Our love for Him can never be any more than a response to His love for us.

Divine grace - “But He is compassionate. He forgave their sin. He did not destroy them. He restrained His anger many times. He did not display all of His fury” (Psalm 78:38) - and human sin - “How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness! How often they caused Him grief in the desert! Again and again, they tested God and they pushed the Holy One of Israel to the limit. They did not remember His power... “ (Psalm 78:40-43): This is the story of human history. When God’s love is thrown back at Him by persistently rebellious sinners, there will be divine judgment - “They tested God Most High and rebelled against Him... When God heard, He became furious... “ (Psalm 78:56-64). Where God is angry, it can lead to restoration - “ ...He struck His enemies from behind He built His holy place to be like the high heavens ... He chose His servant David... ” (Psalm 78:65-72).

Jesus Christ – the great King ( Psalm 24:8–10 ) “Who is this great King?” ( Psalm 24:8 , 10 ) The Psalmist tells us – “He is the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, victorious in battle … The triumphant Lord – He is the great King!” (vs. 8, 10). When we turn to the New Testament, we learn that Jesus is the great King. Jesus is the Lord. Jesus is strong and mighty. Jesus is victorious in battle. Jesus is the triumphant Lord. Jesus Christ is the Name which jumps out at us from the first chapter of Ephesians. Everything is centred upon Christ.

Blessed by the God of love, called to be “His people, the flock of His pasture”we “praise” Him and “give thanks” to Him (Psalm 79:13). He is our “Shepherd” (Psalm 80:1). He restores our soul. He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake (Psalm 23). He is “our Strength.” In Him, we rejoice with true happiness (Psalm 81:1). “All the nations” belong to the Lord (Psalm 82:8). He is “the Most High God of the whole earth” (Psalm 83:18). Those who know the Lord as their Shepherd and their Strength, the One who “saves” (Psalm 80:19) and “satisfies” (Psalm 81:16), are to pray and work, with the goal of bringing others to the knowledge of Him.

Genesis 1:23 - “the evening and the morning” The repeated pattern of nature – evening, morning, evening, morning… – speaks to us of God’s great faithfulness. Without the sustaining power of God of perfect faithfulness and constant love, our world would return to chaos – “without form and void” (1:2). Whatever changes may take place in our world, let us never forget this: God’s mercies are renewed every morning. He is the God of great faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23).

Genesis 1:20 - “Let the waters bring forth abundantly.” What abundance of blessing there is when the living water of the Holy Spirit are flowing freely among the Lord’s people (John 7:37-39; Ezekiel 47:5,9). Genesis 1:21 - “great whales” Remember “the great fish” that swallowed Jonah (Jonah 1:17). This was God’s way of showing us that “salvation comes from the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). From the story of Jonah’s mighty deliverance, we look on to the mighty miracle of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. He died, but He did not remain dead. He rose from the dead.

‘Write this song, and teach it to the people of Israel’(Deuteronomy 31:19,22). Moses did not delay his obedience to God. ‘Write... Teach...’: God is speaking to us about the renewal of our worship. Don’t say, ‘It’s never been done that way before’- ‘the seven last words of the church’! Moses’ song was ‘a witness for God against the people of Israel’(Deuteronomy 31:19). It can still help us, in this generation, to confess our sin - We ‘have dealt corruptly with Him’(Deuteronomy 32:5) - and glorify our God - ‘I will proclaim the Name of the Lord’(Deuteronomy 32:3). Modern music can help us to hear afresh the ancient message: ‘Ascribe greatness to our God...’(Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Mission Praise, 40). Let us praise God ‘in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs’(Ephesians 5:18-20).

Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12 The Lord’s work is moving on. The Lord’s servant – Moses – is looking towards the future. He is pronouncing God’s blessing on the people of Israel. He pays special attention to each tribe. There is a Word from the Lord for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. The people of Israel had been “blessed” – “a nation saved by the Lord” (Deuteronomy 33:29). The future lay with the whole people of God, as they moved forward together. There was, however, to be one man who was called to special leadership among the people – Joshua. For this work, Joshua was “filled with the Spirit” (Deuteronomy 34:9). The people of God were moving forward, but they would not forget where they had come from – how the Lord had led them. They remembered Moses (Deuteronomy 34:10-12) – and they gave thanks to God.

Grace, Gratitude, Glory – These three words summarize the meaning of the Lord’s Supper, the preaching of the Gospel, the message of the Bible. We live in an age where there is a great call for originality and novelty. Often, people lose their bearings. They don’t know what to believe. In such a time as this, we need teaching which is both simple and profound – simple enough to state clearly the message of the Lord’s Supper, the Gospel and the Bible; profound in a way that makes us conscious that, in the Lord’s Supper, the Gospel and the Bible, we are in contact with Someone greater than ourselves – the God of grace, the God of glory. As we consider this God – the God of grace, the God of glory, we must allow our hearts, and not only our minds, to be deeply affected, so that, from our hearts, there arises a song of thanksgiving. We have God’s call to thanksgiving. “Give thanks with a grateful heart, Give thanks to the Holy One, Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His So...

1 Kings 18:17-19:21 Life is full of ups and downs. There are high-points – “The fire of the Lord fell” and “all the people said, ‘The Lord, He is God’” (1 Kings 18:37-39), and there are low-points – ”O Lord, take away my life” (1 Kings 19:4). Lord, we are so changeable. Sometimes, we’re full of joy. At other times, we’re at the point of despair. We find ourselves in a turmoil of confused and confusing emotions. What are we to do? What can we do? Can we pull ourselves together? We try – but we fail. Lord, help us to look beyond our own efforts. Help us to look to You, to believe that You can change us, You can come to us in our weakness, You can give us Your strength – the strength that we need to love You more and bring more glory to Your Name, the Name of our salvation.