If you don't
have a One Year Bible or prefer something online, this link will take you to
the day's reading, http://oneyearbibleonline.com/daily-oyb/. This
site allows you to select from several languages and several English
translations.
SEPTEMBER 29
Today you begin Philippians. You may want to celebrate with your
favorite latte.
Isaiah 57:14-59:21
Isaiah 57:14-21
Having described the Messiah as the Servant of the Lord who will redeem
both Israel and the Gentiles, this section concludes with a call to the people
to prepare the way for the Messiah.
Vs. 14-15 This sounds like the message of John the Baptist. Notice that
this leveling is described by God as humility that welcomes His blessing.
Vs. 16-19 As the Lord's servant, Israel failed, but in the future God
will heal and restore them. I think the humility of that future generation will
be the key.
Vs. 20-21 But this is a warning to all who resist God.
Isaiah 58
Chapters 58-66 are the last of three, nine-chapter blocks. This group
of chapters looks at the sin of the people in Isaiah's day, and the coming of
peace and prosperity to Israel and the entire earth, under the Messiah.
Vs. 1-2 This could well have been the people of Hezekiah's day. They
were following the rules, but they were worshiping for their own benefit.
Vs. 3-5 They thought God should have regarded their fasting. This is
God's commentary on their fasting. It makes you think of Jesus' words to the
Samaritan woman that those who worship the Father must worship Him in spirit
and in truth.
Vs. 6-12 This is what God really wanted. Loving God with all one's
heart was to turn into an outpouring of compassion for one's neighbor.
Vs. 13-14 The Sabbath was a day to delight in the Lord. It wasn't just
a day off.
Isaiah 59
This sounds more like the early years of Manasseh.
Vs. 1-2 These verses state the real issue between God and man.
Vs. 3-8 I'm sure Paul had this section of Isaiah in mind when he wrote
Romans 3:10-18. What Isaiah is describing here seems to indicate there was an
ungodly king leading the nation.
Vs. 9-15 This is why God could not use Israel as a light to the world.
Sin had infected everything about them. This is true of every man and woman on
earth without Christ. All would be lost for us, But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He
loved us, 5even when we
were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you
have been saved--6and
raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ
Jesus (Eph. 2:4-6).
Vs. 16-21 So, with Israel failing as God's servant, God chose another
to intercede. This is all about Jesus.
When I read this, I realize how well Paul knew these verses. Verse 17
sounds like the spiritual armor. Verse 20 is quoted in Romans 11:26 as proof
that God has a future plan for Israel to fulfill its calling.
V. 21 is the future covenant God will make with Israel because of the
work of Jesus.
When I read v. 16, I thought of the fact that Jesus isn't
"named," but you know it is Him. Who is this guy? Then I thought,
"Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is He." You might want to
think of these verses as you listen to the second verse of this song, A Mighty
Fortress Is Our God.
Philippians 1:1-26
Philippians is another of those amazing letters from Paul where we find
great statements of what it means to walk as a disciple of Jesus in the
harvest. These statements like, For to me
to live is Christ, and to die is gain, and Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who,
though he was in the form of God…he humbled himself…, and that I may know Him and the power of His
resurrection, stand alone as great teaching. But in the flow of Paul's
encouragement and warnings to this church, they are expressed as the mature
desires of a disciple totally in love with Christ. As we'll see, these
expressions are meant to be our desires, too, as we follow Christ in the
harvest.
Like Ephesians, Paul wrote this while he was being held in Rome awaiting
trial. This is where we left Paul at the end of Acts. It was a polite
imprisonment. Later, Paul was heard by Nero and released. Epaphroditus (a
pastor or elder at Philippi) had brought a collection from the church to Paul.
While there, "E" must have shared the general state of affairs in the
church. He also got really sick for a while. Now that "E" was back on
his feet, Paul was sending him back with this letter. As the spiritual father
of the church, Paul not only thanks them for the gift, but he expresses some
concern and suggestions. The biggest of these concerns is with those Jewish
Christians trying to get people to obey the law to get saved. The other concern
is that there seems to be a growing persecution of the church. Philippi was a
very special Roman town. The people there had privileges as if they were living
in Rome, but that meant that Rome had a very strong control of the city. About
seven years after the writing of this letter, Roman persecution would take the
lives of many Christians, Paul included. There is just a hint of it now.
Generally, this letter is a thank you to a church that was very close to Paul's
heart.
Vs. 3-6 The key phrase here is partnership
in the gospel. The church at Philippi is the only church we know of that
Paul planted and immediately, on their own, began supporting Paul financially.
It wasn't just that they wanted to help the kind old man who helped them. They
caught Paul's passion for following Christ: to be partners in the blessings of
the gospel, reaching the lost and making disciples for Christ. They are now
supporting Paul ten years after his work in Philippi.
V. 7 This is what a true partnership in missions gives the people back
home. The people see what has been done by God's grace and become partakers of
that grace and those blessings.
Vs. 8-11 Paul's prayer is that their love would abound more and more. The rest is
important and descriptive, but don't lose sight of the focus of Paul's request.
Love for Christ and others grows in the harvest, and Paul wanted it to grow in
a certain way. If this love grew, the end product would be the glory and praise of God.
Vs. 12-18 This is like Job writing why it is good to suffer. Paul
couldn't control the attitudes of the Christians who were trying to make him
feel bad, but he was happy that the unbelieving public was hearing about
Christ. God would take care of that other stuff.
V. 19 Paul had a good feeling that he would be released. We'll see this
expressed again in chapter 2.
Vs. 20-21 The thought of being ashamed, I think, came from those bratty
preachers trying to make Paul look small. But the real issue was that Paul was
where he was, to give testimony of Jesus Christ to the Roman authorities. In
this sense especially, he knew he wouldn't be ashamed. I like that line, but that with full courage now as always
Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. Amen!
V. 21 Many Christians would say "amen" to this, but their
treasure is really on earth. If they were to die they would be losing
everything.
Vs. 21-26 The life that Paul describes here seems like discipleship on
steroids. If you read what Paul wrote after his even bigger declaration in
chapter 3, you'll see that Paul and the Spirit mean this to be normative
thinking for the disciple of Jesus on earth. Why else are we here except to
follow in the harvest, reaching the lost, and making disciples, who make
disciples? Being with Jesus will be so much better, except this life isn't
about us and what would be better for us? It is about following Jesus and reaching
those He died to save.
Psalm 71
This psalm doesn't have information regarding the author; but reading
it, I say, "You can't fool me. This is David." Just an older version
of him, possibly before and after the civil war with Absalom. I see a lot of
Psalm 40 in here, but really, it echoes all of David's praying and crying out
and celebrating. The only thing that’s missing is a reference to God's
steadfast love.
Vs. 1-3 If this is David, the years had passed and now there was a new
threat. David had been forgiven for what he had done regarding Bathsheba and
Uriah, but there were many who were unwilling to forgive. David's hope was in
the Lord, and again, he was looking to the Lord to vindicate him.
Vs. 4-13 This alternates between David's plea for help and the threat
of his enemies.
Vs. 14-24 The one thing that strikes me is the long celebration of hope
in these verses. The writer was now old and had been following God from his
early years. He had seen adversity, and yet, he had known so much deliverance.
He knew God.
Proverbs 24:9-10
I guess these are good general truths. But in the context of yesterday,
seeing Satan referred to as a schemer, I guess you could take that application
into today. You should have a note that devising
can be read "scheming."
Adversity often comes from the human and spiritual side of scheming or
devising sin. To scoff at God, His existence, His holiness and justice, is an
abomination. That spiritual origin of these things is literally an abomination
to mankind. It degrades mankind.
So what does God do for us? He gives us the Word, the Spirit, and
insight into what's really happening in life. He gives us a place in the fight,
in the harvest, winning the lost, turning them into disciples. We have seen
everywhere that God makes us strong through adversity, but only through that
adversity that is somehow linked to the harvest. Remember that verse from
yesterday about Jesus sharing the spoil with the strong? Can you see some
connection to that verse and v. 10 here? The work makes us strong. To hold back
makes us weak, because our strength is in the Lord and in the Spirit; and they
are both active in reaching a lost world. We all need to be in the Word in the
harvest. That is where we draw close to Christ, use the armor and develop spiritual
strength.
Even a seasoned disciple like Timothy was shocked into fear by the
sudden aggression of Nero that had risen. Paul, facing death in a Roman
dungeon, wrote to Timothy to remind him to be strong in Christ in the harvest.
2 Timothy 1:7-10 For
God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 8Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony
about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel
by the power of God, 9who
saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because
of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages
began, 10and which now has
been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished
death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are interested in growing
deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the
growth of a discipleship culture in the church, that is, groups of 3-4
disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to
reach out and make disciples, who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most
universal and important discipleship manual we have and it is the key to our
growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here,
or what we are to be doing, or whom we are to be following. My comments are
only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of
God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are
designed to keep us, as disciples, focused on Christ and our role in His
harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be
willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their
growth as disciples, making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a more descriptive
commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
Anyone reading along with us is
welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own
observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition
or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any
point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as
I understand it. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm
doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that
will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are
reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a
supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we
will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples, who make disciples. Being in
the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the
essential essence of being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the
harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
If you would like documents
containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full
presentation of discipleship read Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with
insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these
can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
The One Year Bible © by
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C.
Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
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