of mice and men...

Life seems to be very large these days. Summer came and went with the blink of an eye and now I find September knocking on my door. I've had the best of intentions but somehow I find that it's already the third of September and I haven't posted the reading list yet. Sigh. Believe it or not, by the end of September, we will be leaving the Old Testament and beginning our journey through the New. Press on!


September 1: Ezekiel 43-45

September 2: Ezekiel 46-48

September 3: Ezekiel 29:17-21; Daniel 4; Jeremiah 52:31-34; 2 Kings 25:27-30; Psalm 44

September 4: Psalms 74, 79, 80 & 89

September 5: Psalms 85, 102, 106, 123, 137

September 6: Daniel 7-8; 5

September 7: Daniel 9; 6

September 8: 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4:5

September 9: Daniel 10-12

September 10: Ezra 4:6-6:13; Haggai

September 11: Zachariah 1-6

September 12: Zachariah 7-8; Ezra 6:14-22, Psalm 78

September 13: Psalms 107, 116, 118

September 14: Psalms 125-126, 128-129, 132, 147, 149

September 15: Zachariah 9-14

September 16: Esther 1-4

September 17: Esther 5-10

September 18: Ezra 7-8

September 19: Ezra 9-10

September 20: Nehemiah 1-5

September 21: Nehemiah 6-7

September 22: Nehemiah 8-10

September 23: Nehemiah 11-13

September 24: Malachi

September 25: 1 Chronicles 1-2

September 26: 1 Chronicles 3-5

September 27: 1 Chronicles 6

September 28: 1 Chronicles 7:1-8:27

September 29: 1 Chronicles 8:28-9:44

September 30: John 1:1-18; Mark 1:1; Luke 1:1-4; 2:23-38; Matthew 1:1-17

Soon!

Ezekiel 46-48

Somehow the days have gotten away from me. (Now how could that happen?) Anyway, today's reading is Ezekiel 43-45. I should be able to post the entire month this evening. As long as no "adventures" come our way. Praying your September morning is a glorious one!

Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."
Jeremiah 9:23-24

This is what the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
Jeremiah 6:16

August Reading Schedule

August 1: Jeremiah 10-13

August 2: Jeremiah 14-16

August 3: Jeremiah 17-20

August 4: 2 Kings 22:1-23:28, 2 Chronicles 34:8-35:19

August 5: Nahum, 2 Kings 23:29-37, 2 Chronicles 35:20-36:5, Jeremiah 22:10-17

August 6: Jeremiah 26, Habakkuk

August 7: Jeremiah 46-47, 2 Kings 24:1-4,7, 2 Chronicles 36:6-7, Jeremiah 25,35

August 8: Jeremiah 36, 45, 48

August 9: Jeremiah 49:1-33, Daniel 1-2

August 10: Jeremiah 22:18-30, 2 Kings 24:5-20, 2 Chronicles 36:8-12, Jeremiah 37:1-2, 52:1-3; 24; 29

August 11: Jeremiah 27; 28; 23

August 12: Jeremiah 50-51

August 13: Jeremiah 49:34-39; 34; Ezekiel 1-3

August 14: Ezekiel 4-7

August 15: Ezekiel 8-11

August 16: Ezekiel 12-14

August 17: Ezekiel 15-17

August 18: Ezekiel 18-20

August 19: Ezekiel 21-23

August 20: 2 Kings 25:1; 2 Chronicles 36:13-16, Jeremiah 39:1; 52:4; Ezekiel 24; Jeremiah 21:1-22:9; 32

August 21: Jeremiah 30-31, 33

August 22: Ezekiel 25; 29:1-16; 30; 31

August 23: Ezekiel 26-28

August 24: Jeremiah 37:3-39:10; 52:4-30; 2 Kings 25:2-21; 2 Chronicles 36:17-21

August 25: 2 Kings 25:22; Jeremiah 39:11-40:6; Lamentations 1-3

August 26: Lamentations 4-5; Obadiah

August 27: Jeremiah 40:7-44:30; 2 Kings 25:23-26

August 28: Ezekiel 33:21-36:38

August 29: Ezekiel 37-39

August 30: Ezekiel 32:1-33:20; Daniel 3

August 31: Ezekiel 40-42

whatever is right

Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa's heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life. 2 Chronicles 15:17

In everything he walked in the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. The high places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 1 Kings 22:43

At first glance, it seems like high praise. Asa's heart was fully committed to the Lord. Jehoshaphat did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Yet, something is a little off. Neither father nor son removed the "high places." And the people continued to sacrifice to their idols.

We might say that they did the best that they could. That they spent their time being obedient and that should be enough. But were they obedient? Not according to scripture. I counted ten times from Exodus to 1 Samuel that God forbids idol worship. Their failure to completely eradicate idolatry in Judah would have tragic circumstances. Jehoshaphat's son, Jehoram, "walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord." (2 Chronicles 21:6) I have to wonder if the outcome might have been different if Asa or Jehoshaphat had removed all idols from the land.

I desire to walk a life that is pleasing to God. I want to have a heart that is fully committed to the Lord. I want to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord. And yet, I find myself "overlooking" certain areas in my life, assuring myself that they are too small to bother God. (impatience, irritated driving, and so forth.) However, scripture reminds me that "It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread." (Galatians 5:9 MSG) If I continue to allow these "minute" sins to persist in my life, they will eventually "permeate" my entire being and my witness. From that point, who knows how it might affect future generations of my family. After all, it only took one generation for Judah's kings to go from "doing what was right" to following in the footsteps of one of the most wicked kings in Israel's history. What a sobering thought.

Your flip and callous arrogance in these things bothers me. You pass it off as a small thing, but it's anything but that. Yeast, too, is a "small thing," but it works its way through a whole batch of bread dough pretty fast. So get rid of this "yeast." Our true identity is flat and plain, not puffed up with the wrong kind of ingredient. The Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has already been sacrificed for the Passover meal, and we are the Unraised Bread part of the Feast. So let's live out our part in the Feast, not as raised bread swollen with the yeast of evil, but as flat bread—simple, genuine, unpretentious. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 MSG