The Social Concerns Ministry Team invites you to join them and to continue to…
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
DAYS 331-360
Our resource is Eugene Peterson’s
THE MESSAGE//REMIX:PAUSE
The year is coming to an end and we have moved into our new church!
DAY 331
Ezra 1-3: Since the Jews started rebuilding the Temple right after they returned to Jerusalem, shouldn’t God have blessed their efforts with an easier life? Why won’t people who find their identity in God ever have an easy time of it on this earth?
1 John 3: When you see someone in need, what does your response say about your claim to be God’s child? How do righteousness and generosity go together? Why can’t you have the former without the latter?
DAY 332
Ezra 4-6: Why would the non-Jews who lived in Jerusalem fight so hard to keep the Temple from being rebuilt? What makes people worshipping God such a threat to unbelievers? How could worship be a dangerous thing, both in the days of Ezra and today?
1 John 4: Why do you have trouble loving? What traits in others cause you to dislike them without even getting to know them? Why? What does God’s love do to all the barriers that separate people?
DAY 333
Ezra 7-10: What made the Jews’ practice of marrying people from surrounding nations so wrong that the entire book of Ezra would be devoted to confronting it? How do the lessons of the book apply to your own dating life?
1 John 5: What does it mean to be God-protected? If the Evil One can’t lay a hand on you, what do you have to fear? Think carefully about the role fear does play in your life. Does this reflect the fact that you are God-protected?
DAY 334
Nehemiah 1-3: Follow Nehemiah’s example today. Before you make any plans, before you work to fix some problem, talk it over with God. Once you get started, keep praying. What difference does praying make for you today?
2 John 1: Why is the fact that Jesus came to earth as a flesh-and-blood human being so crucial? Why are beliefs about who Jesus is and what he did the dividing line between God’s children and strangers who have no part of him?
DAY 335
Nehemiah 4-6: What kept Nehemiah from getting discouraged and giving up? Why didn’t he cave in to the threats? What is the relationship between prayer and diligence in the work God gives you to do? Why must God’s work be done God’s way?
3 John 1: Why does hospitality matter and how does it put faith on display for all to see? What in your life can you do to be hospitable to others? When someone offers you this kindness, how do you feel and what do you think of that person?
DAY 336
Your readings last week challenged you to put God-acts with your God-talk. You know by now that you need to live out your faith, and no doubt you’re already doing so. But you’re coming to the end of your journey through the Bible, and so rather than post further dos and don’ts, this week’s readings tossed you out of your comfort zones and into some awkward places.
John did just this when he wrote in 1 John 3:17, “If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happened to God’s love?” When you are in this position, what will you do? How will you respond to the guy who has nothing to eat when you have cash in your wallet, cash to buy something you’ve had your eye on? What does God’s love want you to do?
Ezra put you in that awkward place, too, having you walk beside him among people who claimed to love God yet who had compromised their faith by their actions. No one had the guts to tell them to get right with God until Ezra. So what will you do when you are in the same position? High schools and colleges (and the whole world) are filled with people who claim to know God yet don’t live for God. What will you do about it? How will you try to get your brothers and sisters in Christ to live consistently for Christ? Or how will you respond when God prompts you to do something for God that no one else wants to do?
DAY 337
Nehemiah 7-9: More than a hundred years had passed since the Jews return from the Exile. So why would they now feel compelled to confess the sins of their ancestors before God? Why would they take responsibility for things they didn’t do?
Jude 1: How can praying in the Holy Spirit make you strong in the faith? You know God won’t stop loving you. So what does it mean for you to stay right in the center of God’s love? Why do you need to keep your arms outstretched to receive God’s mercy? How does this define the real life you have in Christ?
DAY 338
Nehemiah 10-13: Why did the Jews make a formal, binding commitment before god to do everything written in God’s Word? After 338 days of your reading the Bible, what kind of commitment does God hope to find in you?
Revelation 1: Why does Jesus look different in Revelation than he did in the four Gospels? Why should John, one of Jesus’ disciples, faint dead at the sight of him? What is your reaction to this Jesus? What would you do if you saw him like this now?
DAY 339
I Chronicles 1-5: Reading this long list of names isn’t the most exciting thing in the world. Why then would God include it in the Bible? What do these long family trees stretching back to Adam say about God?
Revelations 2:1-2:17: Talk to God about the letter that best describes you. Have you walked away from the passion you once had for Jesus? Do you need encouragement in the midst of a trial? Do you hang too close to so-called Christians who indulge the flesh?
DAY 340
1 Chronicles 6-9: Why would God make sure the first Israelites to return from exile to their homes and cities were the priests and the Levites, the Temple support staff? How might you relate God’s actions then to those who serve in the church today?
Revelation 2:18-3:6: Why would believers who excel in love, faith, service, and persistence tolerate a false prophet who preaches “cross-denying, self-indulging religion” (2:20)? Why does living the God-life demand you confront lies when they masquerade as the truth?
DAY 341
1 Chronicles 10-12: Why would the writer of Chronicles emphasize the exploits of David’s Mighty Men? Keep in mind, Chronicles was written after the Exile. How does remembering what God did for you in the past prepare you for challenges today?
Revelation 3:7-3:22: What is your spiritual temperature? Why is ice-cold better than stale and stagnant? Why does spiritual stagnation make God sick? What can you do to heat your spiritual passion back up and protect yourself from becoming stale?
DAY 342
1 Chronicles 13-15: Use David’s example in chapter 14 as your prayer guide today. Don’t just plead with God to act. Lay your own plans before God, asking God for specific instructions. How will you know when God has answered your prayers?
Revelation 4: The priority of heaven is worship. All the angels and heavenly host gather around God’s throne and sing God’s praises. Set aside a big part of today to make heaven’s priority your own. Worship God. Give God glory and honor and thanks.
DAY 343
On the surface, 1 and 2 Chronicles appear to have nothing in common with Revelation. Yet, in his introduction to each, Eugene Peterson points out that both build on the priority of worship. Chronicles looks back at the past and shows how the people’s failure to honor and worship God led to their downfall, while Revelation looks upward and outward, showing how the priority of worship in heaven will overtake the earth. Revelation is the last book in the Bible. However, in the days of Jesus, the Hebrew Old Testament ended with 1 and 2 Chronicles. This means that God ended both halves of the bible on the same note: worship. God longs for you and every human being to make worship your highest priority.
Why does this theme run throughout the Bible? What makes worship so central to the God-life? How has your understanding of worship changed during your journey through the Bible? How has your practice of worship changed? You know worship is important, but why did the writer of Chronicles say Israel’s first and greatest mistake was its failure to worship God properly, especially in light of the rest of their story? Why does failure to honor God lead to so many darker, more sinister sins? The reverse is also true. Why does worshipping God with all your heart, soul, and strength lead to a life that pleases God in every way?
Worship, like faith, is part of Christianity 101, the basic of what it means to live a life that pleases God. You will see this again and again as you read over the next six days. God designed everything in the universe, including you, to glorify God.
DAY 344
1 Chronicles 16-18: What was the connection between David’s life of prayer and praise and his success in everything else? What kept his devotion to God from becoming a trade—worship for power and wealth? How high on your priority is worship? Would you sacrifice everything else to stand in God’s presence and sing God’s praises?
Revelation 5: This chapter tells the ultimate fulfillment of the promise God made to David in 1 Chronicles 17. Jesus, the Messiah, doesn’t rule just Israel, he rules the entire universe from heaven’s throne. How do all the heavenly hosts respond to him?
DAY 345
1 Chronicles 19-22: Why are people who live so close to God still susceptible to temptation? Use David’s failure as a launching point for a long talk with God. Ask God to point out places in your life where you’ve left the door open to Satan.
Revelation 6: Why would God wait to avenge the deaths of God’s servants? Why wouldn’t God prevent others from paying the ultimate price for their faith? What does the testimony of the martyrs say about hiding in caves rather than turning to God?
DAY 346
1 Chronicles 23-26: Why would twice as much space be devoted to listing those assigned to lead Israel in worship than to the military leaders? What makes worship stronger than military might?
Revelation 7: These apocalyptic images can be terrifying. Yet this chapter is anything but. What is the significance of the multitude from every nation, tribe, race, and language on earth worshipping at God’s throne? How does this image reassure you?
DAY 347
1 Chronicles 27-29: How does the knowledge that God sees through your every motive change the way you approach God? Why does David seem so unimpressed with the large sums he and Israel’s leaders contributed to the building of the Temple?
Revelation 8: Why would God inflict such terror on the earth? How did the prayers of all the holy people of God contribute to these events? How can death and destruction come as answers to prayer?
DAY 348
2 Chronicles 1-3: If God isn’t impressed by the temporary riches of this world, why would God allow Solomon so overlay so much of the Temple with pure gold? Why doesn’t God choose to mark God’s presence on earth today through a single structure like the Temple?
Revelation 9: What will allow people to endure the horrors of Revelation 8-9 and go on their merry way unchanged? Why won’t the entire earth repent, turn to God, and plead for God’s forgiveness before it’s too late?
DAY 349
2 Chronicles 4:1-7:10: What kept the day Solomon dedicated the Temple from marking the beginning of even greater days ahead? Why did it instead become only a high point of their history?
Revelation 10: What makes the message of everything God will do when God draws history to a close both sweet and sickening for those who love God? Because you know God will one day judge the entire earth, what responsibility do you have to warn people?
DAY 350
Your reading over the past week took you to polar extremes. The Old Testament readings looked back on ancient Israel’s golden age. Under David and Solomon, Israel dominated the ancient Near East. Her borders stretched from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River in Assyria, just as God had promised Abraham. But her influence went much farther. Kings from afar sent Israel tones of gold and other gifts. Never before or since has Israel had a time like this.
Your New Testament readings looked ahead to the earth’s darkest hour. A day lies on the horizon when God will pour out God’s full wrath on the human race. Death, destruction, and misery will rain down from heaven and flood the earth. Just as God’s warnings sounded through the Old Testament prophets came to pass, Revelation isn’t an empty threat. God will do everything written in the book. The only question in when.
What lessons did God teach you as you read these opposites? Why would God so richly bless a tiny little nation like ancient Israel? What did they do to deserve such treatment? Why will God choose to send horrific curses on the human race in Revelation? What will the people on the earth do to deserve such treatment? What was the key to Israel’s good times in Chronicles? What is the reason for God’s anger in Revelation? How do both books reveal God’s holiness and God’s love? What does each say about God’s ultimate desire for the human race? Why is neither extreme the end of the story?
DAY 351
2 Chronicles 7:11-9:31: What did God want Israel to learn and never forget through the bountiful reign of Solomon? What do you need to take from their experience and add to your own?
Revelation 11: Why will God send two Witnesses in the middle of God’s judgment? Why won’t anyone listen to God? Does this surprise you? How does their experience represent the reception of all God’s prophets and witnesses throughout the Bible?
DAY 352
2 Chronicles 10-12: Why did Rehoboam think he had to outdo his father? Why wasn’t God important to him? Why are selfish ambition and pride so destructive? Do you see anything in yourself that’s like him?
Revelation 12: What weapons does God use to defeat Satan, weapons neither Satan nor his demons can ever combat? How can you use these weapons in your own life? How can you live in constant victory over the Devil?
DAY 353
2 Chronicles 13-14: The size of the opposing army didn’t determine the outcomes of these battles. What did? How did all of Israel and Judah’s battles come down to a contest of deities? Why would God use world events to reveal God’s self?
Revelation 13: How can God’s holy people passionately and faithfully stand their ground against the two fearsome Beasts? Why would the Beast demand that all the earth bow and worship him? What does the Beast ultimately want to do?
DAY 354
2 Chronicles 15-16: In the hide-and-seek game people play with God, who does the seeking and who allows himself to be found? Why does a holy God constantly look for people who are totally committed to God? Why doesn’t God wait for people to look for God?
Revelation 14: People on earth have made the Beast king of the world, so why would God offer them another chance to turn to God? If people will not listen, who is to blame for what is about to happen? How can God’s love and God’s wrath walk hand in hand?
DAY 355
2 Chronicles 17-18: Why would godly Jehoshaphat make an alliance with evil Ahab? If you were Jehosophat, what would you think of Micaiah’s message of doom? How can you reverse a situation when a poor choice puts you in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Revelation 15: How can the darkest moment in human history be a moment of praise and celebration in heaven? What would lead the nations of the earth to join in worshipping God even though they feel the full brunt of God’s wrath?
DAY 356
2 Chronicles 19:1-21:1: What kind of military mind thinks to put a choir out in front of the army singing praise songs at the top of their lungs? How could this strategy work? How can worship overcome any enemy you may face in the world today?
Revelation 16: Is God fair when God orders God’s angels to pour out these seven bowls of God’s wrath on the entire earth? Why or why not? Why must God judge the wrath like this? How does the human race leave God no other choice?
DAY 357
Over the past six days you read predictions of the future, a frightening and real future that could happen soon. Reading about the Dragon, the Beast, and the bloodshed makes most people hope they won’t live to see these events unfold. Alongside these images you read reassuring accounts of God’s faithfulness. Just as God refused to abandon ancient Israel, God will not abandon God’s children no matter what the future may hold.
God has punished sin in the past, and it’s no surprise that God will do this on a global scale in the future. But how do you fell about God’s methods of judgment? Why would God allow the Beast to set itself up as a god and deceive the entire earth? Why wouldn’t God show people the Beast is a liar? Why would God allow God’s own people, those God claims to love so much, to suffer at the hand of unrestrained evil? What is the point of dragging out the judgment for so long? Why doesn’t God just cut to the chase? Finally, how does the image of God pouring out God’s wrath on the earth compare to the God who lives in your mind? Does God’s defense of Israel in Chronicles change you view of God’s acts of wrath in Revelations? In what way?
Tomorrow begins the final week in your yearlong journey through the Bible. Listen closely for the final messages God wants to teach you through God’s Word. As you read think back on the themes of change in your life. How will God’s parting words fit into the totality of what he’s taught you over the past year?
DAY 358
2 Chronicles 21:2-23:21: Why would Jehoram imitate the kings of Israel rather than his own godly father? In light of the way God delivered Judah from all their enemies, why would any king turn from God? Why does God remain faithful when people are faithless?
Revelation 17: The riddle of the great Whore riding the Scarlet Beast may be difficult to figure out, but her fate is not. How does knowing God will defeat and condemn all God’s enemies change the way you face the world?
DAY 359
2 Chronicles 24-25: Both Joash and Amaziah started well. Why didn’t they finish that way? What makes finishing well harder than starting off right? Why can’t you coast on what you did for God when you were younger?
Revelation 18: Knowing your possessions could be gone in an hour (or a moment), do you feel differently about them? How does the reassurance that God will pay back everyone who caused God’s people to suffer change the way you see injustice around you now?
DAY 360
2 Chronicles 26-28: Uzziah didn’t worship some pagan God. Why was he disciplined so quickly and severely for burning incense to God inside the Temple? What prompted Uzziah to do what he did? How did God show mercy in the midst of judgment?
Revelation 19: Jesus will return and when he does, he will defeat all of his enemies. Mediate on this hope today. Respond to it in the same way the choirs of heaven welcome this news, with enthusiastic, unbridled worship.