Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

Day 326 Ezekiel 43:1-44:31 ; 1 Peter 2:4-24 ; Psalm 132:1-18 In Ezekiel, the priests are described in great detail. In 1 Peter 2:5 , the Lord’s people are described as “a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” This description continues in 1 Peter 2:9 - “a royal priesthood ... a people belonging to God. To His people, God gives this call - “Declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” To be “a holy priesthood ... a royal priesthood” is not only privilege. It is also responsibility. Concerning this privilege and responsibility, the Psalmist writes, “May Your priests be clothed with righteousness; may Your saints sing for joy ... I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall ever sing for joy” ( Psalm 132:9 , 16 ).  Day 327 Ezekiel 45:1-46:24 ; 1 Peter 3:1-22 ; Proverbs 28:18-28 In Ezekiel, we read of many sacrifices being offered to God. I...

2 Peter 1:1-2:10a We thank You, Lord, for Your “very great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). You’re leading us on, with Yourself, to “a rich welcome into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:11). The pathway to heavenly and eternal glory will not be easy – but we’re not alone. You’re with us, every step of the way. You will not fail us in our “trials” (2 Peter 2:9). Help us not to fail You! 2 Peter 2:10b-3:18 Help us, Lord, to “grow” in Christ – and to give “glory” to Christ (2 Peter 3:18). How can we live without Your grace? Why should we not give glory to You? Grace comes from You. Glory belongs to You. The grace is Yours. The glory is Yours. Teach us to give thanks for Your grace. Teach us to give You glory in all that we do.

Seeking to grow in our understanding of God’s Word is important. We need to move from there to ask the question: Why are we seeking to increase our understanding of God’s Word? We are to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). An increase in knowledge is to be accompanied by growth in grace.  We can easily get ourselves confused when we’re reading the most difficult parts of God’s Word. That’s when we need the reminder: God calls us to obey His Word –– “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3). When we start thinking that we’ve made some progress in mastering the Bible’s difficult passages, we need to be reminded that God calls us to love Him and to love our neighbour – “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). We must never forget the words which follow the call to grow in Chris...

Worldly men “praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone” ( Daniel 5:4 ). They worship things - material possessions. The Lord calls His people to higher things. He tells us that “the idols of the nations are silver and gold” ( Psalm 135:15 ). They are not to be worshipped. We are to “praise the Lord” ( Psalm 135:19-21 ). We are to give the glory to “our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” ( 2 Peter 3:18 ). We are to praise the Lord - “Your Name, O Lord, endures for ever, Your renown, O Lord, through all generations” ( Psalm 135:13 ).

“The Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of men” ( Daniel 4:17 ). It is a great comfort to know that God is sovereign. It gives strength in the midst of the conflict. It’s an unequal conflict - God’s Kingdom will prevail over the kingdom of Satan . We must not, however, doubt that Satan will provide determined opposition - “false prophets ... false teachers ... will bring the way of truth into disrepute” ( 2 Peter 2:1-2 ). However fierce the conflict may be, we have this assurance: “The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the Day of judgment” ( 2 Peter 2:9 ). In the heat of the battle, we must never forget what we are fighting for and who we are fighting for - ‘To be the best that I can be for truth and righteousness and Thee.” In this battle, the Lord Himself fights with us and for us. He enables us to maintain His standard. He keeps us from dropping down to the level of the world’s standards. “The ...

God is sovereign. He is establishing His Kingdom which is heavenly, eternal and glorious - “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a Kingdom that will never be destroyed ... it will itself endure for ever” ( Daniel 2:44 ). Alongside the sovereignty of God, there is also the responsibility of man - “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fail, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” ( 2 Peter 1:10-11 ). There is no comparison between the kingdoms of men and the Kingdom of God - “I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods ... He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings ... and He gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to His people Israel ” ( Psalm 135:5 , 10-12 ).