Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

" ... O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name ... provide atonement for our sins, For Your name’s sake!" ( Psalm 79:9 ). Beyond our salvation, there is God's glory. When we think about Christ's atoning sacrifice for sin, we must not think only of the "for us" blessing - the forgiveness of our sins. We must also think of the "for God" character of the atonement which has been provided for us by God. We rejoice in the forgiveness of our sins.  We also rejoice in this: God's holiness is proclaimed in the death of Christ for sinners. We may think first of the blessing that has come to us through the the shedding of Christ's precious blood. Scripture speaks first of the "for God" character of the atonement - God is "just" - before speaking of the "for us" blessing - God is "the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" ( Romans 3:26 ).

Psalm 118:19-29  God is calling us to praise Him.  * “I will praise the Lord” (Psalm 118:20).  * “I will praise You” (Psalm 118:21).  * “You are my God, and I will praise You” (Psalm 118:28). Praise is more than words that we sing in church. Our whole life is to be full of praise to God. We come to the Lord’s Table to receive forgiveness from Him. We go from the Lord’s Table to share His forgiveness with others.  * “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12),  * “Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive” (Colossians 3:13).  * How many times should I forgive my brother? - “As many as seven?” “Seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22). If we’re still counting, we’ve missed the point!  * “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they’re doing” (Luke 23:34). Thank God that Jesus prayed this prayer for every one of us. Let it shape our attitudes and actions towards one another. ...

“ The people of Berea were more open-minded than the people of Thessalonica. They were very willing to receive God’s message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). Give careful attention to God’s Word. This is what we learn from the Bereans. May God help us to be more like them.

Amos 1:1-2:16 ‘The Lord roars’. ‘The Lord thunders’(1:2). God’s Word comes to us from above - ‘The Lord will roar from on high’. He speaks to us from heaven - ‘He will thunder from His holy dwelling’. We dare not ignore the Word of the Lord. His Word comes to us as a Word of warning - ‘He will shout against all who live on the earth’- and a Word of judgment - ‘He will bring judgment on all mankind’. God is calling for our attention: ‘Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth’. God speaks to us about His ‘fierce anger’. He calls us to turn from our sin. Let us return to the Lord and hear His Word of salvation: ‘I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more (Jeremiah 25:30-32,37; 31:34). Amos 3:1-5:5 ‘You only have I chosen... therefore I will punish you for all your sins’(3:2). Along with the privilege of being ‘chosen’ to belong to the Lord comes the responsibility of living as the ...