Daily Reading Week 3
Sunday Jan 15
Joshua 24
What verse did you connect with today?
What do you want your house to be known for?
Who have you been choosing to serve?
How have you seen God fight for you? Provide for you? Rescue you?
Respond:
How are you going to be better this week?
monday
Matthew 6:19-24
What verse did you connect with today?
What are your treasures on earth? Why do you hold tightly to them?
Where would you say your treasures are right now?
How do you help your “eye” be healthy?
Respond:
The reality of life is that we are all serving something or someone whether we want to admit it or not. That also means if you are not serving God, then you are serving someone else. There are many things that you could be serving money, sports, and success, really the list is endless. Take a moment and write down the things that you know distract you from serving God and come up with one action step this week to help you not fall into that trap again.
Tuesday
1 Corinthians 10:1-24
What verse did you connect with today?
Who were the idols of the nation of Israel? V.7-8
What are the idols of today?
Where do you find yourself being tempted as it talks about in v. 13? How do you fight that temptation?
What are ways to flee from idols?
Respond:
Several times in this section of scripture we see that what has happened in the past are examples and warnings. Nothing is new under the sun, sure there are some differences, but the core root of the problems are all the same. Due to that, we have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes and successes of others in scriptures. What is one thing that you learned from the nation of Israel today about idolatry?
WEDNESDAY
Psalm 22:25-31
What verse did you connect with today?
What is the result of praising God? V. 26
How do you currently serve the Lord?
What’s your family's faith history? How has that influenced you?
Respond:
When you make a decision to follow Jesus, you are not making a decision that will just effect you. It is a decision that changes your family line. In that moment, the perspective that you had previously changes because you are able to look at life in a different lens. Your future also changes because following Jesus will affect your decisions and lifestyle. TTHis is not an isolated decision. This is a generation changing decision.
How is or how would following Jesus affect your current circle of influence?
Thursday
Joshua 5
What verse did you connect with today?
How has the power of the Lord influenced the challenges that you have faced?
Why would all the men be circumcised at this point?
What was the significance of not having manna appear?
Joshua recognized that he needed to follow in v.14 (this was potentially God or an angel, we are unclear for a 100% answer, however we do know that God was communicating and important message) What has been a moment that you recognized that God was present in your life?
Respond:
Joshua 5 featured a renewal of covenant ceremonies. Covenants are talked about in scripture a lot, but have lost their way in current culture.
Here is what a covenant is: a covenant is a promise between two or more parties to perform certain actions.
The reason they are so important is that we see in scripture that God holds true to his covenants and regardless of how unfaithful people may be, God never will be.
Friday
Joshua 6
What verse did you connect with today?
Have you ever had a time when God instructed you to do something and it seemed ridiculous?
The people obeyed the strict commandments for victory. What are the things we need to do to have victory?
Rahab shows us anyone can serve the lord. V.17 - who is someone you need to connect with about following Jesus?
Respond:
From the Pulpit commentary, “The inhabitants of Jericho, though in a state of the utmost alarm, were nevertheless fully on their guard against the children of Israel. The commencement of hostilities imposed a great responsibility on Joshua. Success at the outset was, humanly speaking, indispensable. We may see what defeat involved for him by his distress in consequence of the check at Ai. The alternative was victory or annihilation, for the Israelites had no homes or fortresses to which they could retire. Joshua was therefore encouraged by a visible proof that he was under the protection of the Most High, to be yet farther assured by the marvels that were to follow.”
This was a major victory for the nation of Israel. What is a victory you have had this week?
Saturday
Joshua 7
What verse did you connect with today?
Achan stole from the Lord. It affected the entire nation. How has your sin affected others before?
Have you ever blamed God for something that was not his fault? (V.10-11)
Where do you find yourself “stealing” from God?
How are you honoring God with your finances?
This is an example of why you can’t serve both God and money.
Respond:
For clarity on why his entire family was stoned here is this excerpt from the Keil and Delitzch commentary, “The law of the ban was founded upon the assumption, that the conduct to be punished was not a crime of which the individual only was guilty, but one in which the whole family of the leading sinner, in fact everything connected with him, participated. Thus, in the case before us, the things themselves had been abstracted from the booty by Achan alone; but he had hidden them in his tent, buried them in the earth, which could hardly have been done so secretly that his sons and daughters knew nothing of it. By so doing he had made his family participators in his theft; they therefore fell under the ban along with him, together with their tent, their cattle, and the rest of their property, which were all involved in the consequences of his crime.”