Month: June 2021

Scripture Readings Psalms 68:19Song of Solomon 7–8Revelation 21–22Proverbs 31 Verse Focus (Psalms 68:19) Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,     who daily bears our burdens. Meditation Congratulations, everyone! With today’s reading, we complete six months of the reading plan. That’s a fairly significant milestone. You have read through all of the New Testament, the Psalms, and the Proverbs, and, of course, half of the Old Testament. Yay, you! (Yay, me!!) 😀 Our verse focus today is Psalms 68:19. It’s a lovely verse (as so many of them are), but it means a lot to me today. “Praise be to…

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Scripture Readings Psalms 62:1Song of Solomon 5–6Revelation 19–20Proverbs 30 Verse Focus (Psalms 62:1) Truly my soul finds rest in God;     my salvation comes from him. Meditation Psalms 62:1 is lovely. “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him,” says the NIV. The ESV says, “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.” I love how these two translations capture the slightly different meanings of the Hebrew words. Finding rest in God, and waiting in silence for God. If it weren’t for this verse, it wouldn’t have occurred to me that these are…

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Scripture Readings Psalms 57:11Song of Solomon 3–4Revelation 17–18Proverbs 29 Verse Focus (Psalms 57:11) Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;      let your glory be over all the earth. Meditation Our verse focus today, Psalms 57:11, comes from one of my favorite psalms. “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.” God is exalted above the heavens, of course. But this verse calls us to recognize that fact first and then to work to see that God’s glory is recognized everywhere on earth. So how do we do that? I think speaking and singing…

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Scripture Readings Psalms 55:22Song of Solomon 1–2Revelation 15–16Proverbs 28 Verse Focus (Psalms 55:22) Cast your cares on the LORD      and he will sustain you;he will never let      the righteous be shaken. Meditation Our verse focus today is both a wonderful invitation and promise. Psalms 55:22 says, “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” The ESV says, “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”There is a lot of comfort in this verse. Sometimes, under the weight…

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Scripture Readings Psalms 54:4Lamentations 3–5Revelation 13–14Proverbs 27 Verse Focus (Psalms 54:4) Surely God is my help;     the LORD is the one who sustains me. Meditation Our verse focus today is another encouraging Scripture. Psalms 54:4 says, in the NIV, “Surely God is my help; the LORD is the one who sustains me.” The ESV translation is nice, too, saying, “Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.” Who better to give you help than the one who gives you life in the first place? God created us; God gives us life and breath. God upholds us…

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Scripture Readings Psalms 47:6Lamentations 1–2Revelation 10–12Proverbs 26 Verse Focus (Psalms 47:6) Sing praises to God, sing praises;     sing praises to our King, sing praises. Meditation Today’s verse focus, Psalms 47:6, is one of worship. “Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.” The psalmist commands us to sing our praise. Not just be thankful, not just speak about what God has done, but to actually sing. I don’t know about you, but I know I don’t sing my praises to God nearly enough. So I’m glad of this verse’s reminder to worship in song. This verse…

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Scripture Readings Psalms 40:8Jonah 3–4Revelation 7–9Proverbs 25 Verse Focus (Psalms 40:8) I desire to do your will, my God;     your law is within my heart. Meditation Psalms 40:8 says, “I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.” As the CSB translates the second half of the proverb, “your instruction is deep within me.” Within the context of the passage, these are Jesus’ words because this is a Messianic psalm. But they are also the words that every believer wants to make their own. I believe the desire to do God’s will does spring from having…

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Scripture Readings Psalms 36:9Jonah 1–2Revelation 5–6Proverbs 24 Verse Focus (Psalms 36:9) For with you is the fountain of life;     in your light we see light. Meditation Today’s verse focus is Psalms 36:9. It says, “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” Truly, God is the source of life for us — not just life, though, but abundant life. A fountain has that sense of spurting and bubbling over. Exhilaration. Excess. Plenty. But a fountain is also something from which you might drink. And we are reminded of Jesus’ invitation to come to him and…

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Scripture Readings Psalms 34:18Job 41–42Revelation 3–4Proverbs 23 Verse Focus (Psalms 34:18) The LORD is close to the brokenhearted     and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Meditation Psalms 34:18 says, in the ESV, “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” This is a beautiful and wonderful promise! It’s a comforting verse. But I think it’s a verse we can sometimes best appreciate in hindsight. When you are hurting — grieving, brokenhearted, wounded, in pain — sometimes the pain is just too big for you to recognize much of anything else. The LORD is close to…

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Scripture Readings Psalms 34:3Job 39–40Revelation 1–2Proverbs 22 Verse Focus (Psalms 34:3) Glorify the LORD with me;      let us exalt his name together. Meditation Psalm 34:3 calls, “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us together exalt his name.” I once heard a beautiful choral piece of music set to this psalm. To this day I cannot read this verse without hearing the beautiful soprano solo in my head. The voice soars. My heart throbs. I can no longer remember the rest of the music, but this one verse remains as a cherished memory. The verse is a reminder of…

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