2 Peter 3. We live in the last days. God’s promise is not slack. There is coming a Day of the Lord, so be steadfast.
Amos 3. The Prophet declared why the inescapable logic of God’s judgement on Israel is inevitable.
Amos 4. God proclaimed punishment of Israel’s sins, and yet Israel refused to take correction.
Amos 5. The prophet gave a lament for Israel and issued another call to repentance, but in vain. The Day of the LORD would still come.
2 Peter 1:12-21. The Apostle Peter reminded the faithful of his approaching death and kept emphasizing the trustworthiness of the prophetic word.
Proverbs 21, Proverbs of Solomon. Yes, there is a difference between a wise and righteous man, and an evil, foolish and lazy man, thinking only about himself and his pleasures, and “It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.”
Psalm 123, a Song of Accents. This is a short but fervent prayer for mercy.
Psalm 124, a Song of Accents. This one is of David. Thank God! Only He can do the impossible.
Psalm 125 is a song of Ascents, sung by pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem to one of the three yearly prescribed feasts.
Psalm 126 likewise is a Song of Ascents. One verse: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”
1 Timothy 2. The Apostle Paul reminded the believers to pray for all, including the people of authority. Then he explained the roles for men and women in the Church.
Jeremiah 36. Jehoiakim burned Jeremiah’s Scroll. did this action result in the end of David’s line?
Jeremiah 37. Zedekiah held on to the vain hope that the Chaldeans would be defeated. Jeremiah prophesied otherwise, so he was put in prison.
Jeremiah 38. Jeremiah was in the dungeon and near death so they pulled him up to question him some more. Zedekiah feared for his life, and Jeremiah’s advice was: Give in to Babylon and you will live.
1 Timothy 1 is a personal letter from the Apostle Paul to Timothy and it starts out with a personal greeting of encouragement and a warning about false teachers, for there is no other doctrine. He encourages Timothy to remember to give glory to God for His grace and fight the good fight. An interesting fact in this letter: No slave trader will inherit the Kingdom of God.
Jeremiah 34. Zedekiah was warned by God to give liberty to the slaves, as commanded by Him, but the slaves were not freed, so bad things were going to happen.
Jeremiah 35 tells of the obedient Recabites.
Psalm 86, a Prayer of David. A plea for help, David poured out his needs and confessed his total dependence on God to teach him His ways.
2 Thessalonians 3. The Apostle Paul requested prayer, then he warned against idleness. Finally the letter ends with a benediction.
Jeremiah 32. With everything else going on, Jeremiah bought a field, the field of Anathoth, and then he prayed for understanding. God reassured Jeremiah, the people would return.
Jeremiah 33. The restoration of Israel is foretold, and the permanence of God’s Covenant with the house of David is restated.
Ephesians 2:1-10. This is the famous chapter explaining that we are saved by grace through faith and brought near by His blood, and, once saved, we are His ‘poem’ (ποιημα).
Isaiah 46 tells of the dead gods of Babylon and other useless idols. Compare that to the living God! “ Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”
Isaiah 47 prophesies the fall of Babylon.
Isaiah 48. God declared His plan for Israel, and the chapter ends with something quoted in a famous play. Which play?
Galatians 4. The Apostle Paul told the Galatians they are children of God and heirs of the promise, but still, he feared for the Church since they preferred the law over the promise. He explained it through two covenants, one in bondage through the law, the other in freedom through the Spirit.
Isaiah 37. Jerusalem’s deliverance is foretold, Hezekiah’s prayer and the word of the LORD concerning Sennacherib is recorded, followed by Hezekiah’s final fall.
Isaiah 38 describes Hezekiah’s illness and how the LORD added 15 years to his life.
1 Corinthians 2. Paul proclaimed Christ crucified, relying only on God’s power. This is God’s secret wisdom, spiritual wisdom, and in applying this “we have the mind of Christ“.
Job 22. Eliphaz the Temanite accused Job of wickedness.
Job 23. Job proclaimed God’s righteous judgments. Rejoice in the Lord. “ But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.“
Taking a knee can refer to
This seems to have taken root in the Olympics this year, where both the U.S. and the Swedish women soccer team took a knee before the start of the game. The question is, do they even know what they were aligning themselves with in so doing?
Being a Christian myself I always came to think of the little chorus we sang from time to time during worship: (The words are an abbreviated paraphrase from Philippians 2:6-11)
The other image that is forever ingrained in my memory was when my wife and I were waiting for our daughter to come back from a few months in Sweden. We were standing outside the International arrivals building in Philadelphia when we heard a scream and a rather good looking black woman in her twenties came running out the door like she was pursued. Then she suddenly stopped, took a knee, went down on both knees, bent all the way down and kissed the ground and said in a strong but not loud voice, Thank you, God, thank you God. Then she rose up, and as we looked startled at her, she smiled at us and was gone. This was 30 years ago.
Acts 18:1-8. Paul left Athens and went to Corinth where he stayed a year and a half, teaching many in the city, and some believed. When the Jews opposed him Paul decided that he from then on would go to the Gentiles.
2 Chronicles 11. The LORD warned against going to war with Israel, so instead Rehoboam fortified the cities, the priests and Levites left Israel and moved to Judah. The family tree of Rehoboam is recorded.
2 Chronicles 12. Egypt Attacked Jerusalem and Judah paid the ransom. The reign of Rehoboam ended.
2 Chronicles 13 tells of Abijah’s reign in Judah.
Psalm 46. Of the Sons of Korah. “Let us sing the forty-sixth psalm in concert; and then let the devil do his worst.” (Martin Luther)
Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment. 