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Bible in a Year : Job 17–19   Acts 10:1–23

Today's Scripture Psalm 32:5–11 ( NIV ) Insight  Psalm 32   is one of seven penitential psalms (also  Psalms 6 ;  38 ;  51 ;  102 ;  130 ;  143 ), so-named because they contain [a] confession of sins and a plea for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Many scholars believe David wrote  Psalm 32  after he committed adultery with Bathsheba. For about a year afterward, he refused to repent of his sins of covetousness, adultery, deceit, bearing false testimony, and murder. Then the prophet Nathan confronted him ( 2 Samuel 11–12 ). In  Psalm 32  David speaks of the heavy burden of guilt he experienced when he denied his sins (vv.  Psalm 32 : 3–4 ) and the joy of receiving God’s forgiveness when he confessed and repented ( v. Psalm 32:5 ) and became receptive to God’s rule in his life ( vv. Psalm 32:7–11 ). David contrasts the blessedness of repentance ( vv. Psalm 32:1–2 ) with the anguish of refusing to confess his sin ( vv. Psalm 32:...

By: Rev. Lynwood F. Mundy Psalm 32:5-11 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. ( 2 Sam. 12:13; Ps. 38:18 ) ; [ Prov. 28:13; 1 John 1:9 ]  I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah 6   [ 1 Tim. 1:16 ]   For this cause, everyone who is godly shall ( Ps. 69:13; Is. 55:6 )  pray to You  In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. 7 ( Ps. 9:9 )  You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with ( Ex. 15:1; Judg. 5:1; [ Ps. 40:3 ])  songs of deliverance. Selah 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. 9 Do not be like the ( Prov. 26:3 )  horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. 10 ( Ps. 16:4 ) ; [...

Rumblings “But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent …” ( Acts 6:1a NLT ) After the church I was pastoring completed a building program in 1985, our attendance began to pick up and we became effective at reaching people in our community. That didn’t surprise me. I knew that the growth of the church was hampered by the [run-down] building we were meeting in and that relocation would give us a chance to survive. The growth didn’t surprise me, but the grumbling did. I graduated from Seminary over the weekend and we broke ground on the building the following Monday. In many ways, my education began with that experience. They were hard days. We averaged about 25 people at the time, so there weren’t enough of us to pay contractors, so we did much of the work ourselves. I served as the “owner/builder” and pulled the permits and hired sub-contractors as needed. We worked long, hard hours. All of us doing our day jobs, then coming down to the building sit...

Reflect & Pray What circumstances in your life right now feel like whitewater rapids? How might you seek God’s guiding voice about how to respond? Father, thank You for Your promise to be my Guide. Help me to seek You and listen to You as You direct the course of my life.  For help in navigating the storms of life, read  discoveryseries.org/hp061.

Tuesday, June 30, 2020, | Fixed Feasts Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles Dark Vestments On the same date: Fifth Tuesday after Pentecost Epistle 1 Corinthians 4:9–16 Gospel Matthew 9:36, 10:1–8 ( Slavic )   Byzantine Lectionary (Gregorian) . Faithlife; Bellingham, WA, 2015; 2015. Print. Tue, Jun 30, 2020, (Jun 17, 2020) | Octoechos Fourth Tuesday after Pentecost Bright Vestments Epistle Romans 10:11–11:2 Gospel Matthew 11:16–20   Byzantine Lectionary (Julian) . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2016. Print. Tuesday, June 30, 2020, | Fixed Feasts Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles Dark Vestments On the same date: Fourth Tuesday after Pentecost Epistle 1 Corinthians 4:9–16 Gospel Matthew 9:36, 10:1–8 ( Slavic )   Byzantine Lectionary (Revised Julian) . Faithlife; Bellingham, WA, 2015; 2015. Print.

Tuesday, June 30, 2020, | Ordinary Time Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time Year 2 | Roman Missal | Lectionary On the same date: First Holy Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church First Reading Amos 3:1–8, 4:11–12 Response Psalm 5:9a Psalm Psalm 5:4b–8 Gospel Acclamation Psalm 130:5 Gospel Matthew 8:23–27   Catholic Daily Readings . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2009. Print. Tuesday, June 30, 2020, | After Pentecost Proper 8, Tuesday Year 2 Psalms (Morning) (Psalm 120) 121, 122, 123 Psalms (Evening) Psalm 124, 125, 126 (127) Old Testament Numbers 22:21–38 New Testament Romans 7:1–12 Gospel Matthew 21:23–32   The Episcopal Church. Book of Common Prayer Lectionary . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2010. Print. Tuesday, June 30, 2020, | Trinity Season Tuesday of the Fourth Week after Trinity Morning Prayer On the same date: Tuesday of the Fourth Week after Trinity, Evening Prayer Psalm Ps...

June 30: By Your Example Esther 8:1–10:3; 3 John 5–15 ; Psalm 118:17–29 By nature, we are creatures of imitation. Children mimic the traits of their parents, and even in later life, we are influenced by the habits of our friends. People naturally imitate, even if they don’t realize it or intend to. This is one reason why “lead by example” is such a powerful principle. It’s also why leaders can change the direction of a whole community—for better or worse ( Jas 3:1 ). Diotrephes, an ambitious member of the early church who misused his power, was unwilling to heed the advice of John and others who reprimanded him. In his letter to Gaius, a church leader known for his faithfulness and love, John gives this advice regarding Diotrephes: “Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God” ( 3 John 11 ). Throughout his letters, John emphasizes that people’s actions reflect their [hearts]. Diotrephes’ actio...

Bible in a Year : Job 14–16   Acts 9:22–43

Today's Scripture 2 Kings 5:9–14 (NIV) Insight  The Jordan River, where Naaman was told to “wash [himself] seven times” ( 2 Kings 5:10 ), was the primary source of water in the ancient Near East and is the most well-known river in the Bible. The melting snow of Mt. Hermon in the north is the main water source for the river that winds for 156 miles through the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea and has no outlet.  Joshua 3   records the parting of the waters of the Jordan so the Israelites could enter the land of Promise. Twice the waters of the river were parted in  2 Kings 2  when they were struck with the cloak of Elijah ( vv. 2 Kings 2:8 ,  2 Kings 2 : 14 ). In the New Testament, John the Baptist baptized believers in Jesus and even Christ Himself in the Jordan ( Matthew 3:6 ,  Matthew 3: 13–17 ).

By: Rev. Lynwood F. Mundy 2 Kings 5:9-14      Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house.   10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and ( 2 Kin. 4:41; John 9:7 )  wash in the Jordan seven times and your flesh shall be restored to you, an d you shall b e clean.”   11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’  12 Are not the ( So with Kt., LXX, Vg.; Qr., Syr., Tg.  Amanah )   Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.   13 And his ( 1 Sam. 28:23 )  servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told y ou to do something great, would y...

Routines Today as I arrived in the office, to my utter delight, I was greeted by four tickets to the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals game on July 23 rd . My Uncle Bobby, who pastors the Praise Assembly of God in Pueblo, Colorado, mailed them to me as a gift. Life doesn’t get much better than this! Just last week I was telling a friend that I wanted to go to a Rockies/Cardinals game during our vacation this year. He told me that he already tried to get tickets, but couldn’t because the games are sold out. Now I’ve got mine and I can’t wait to use them! I love baseball. I like to watch batting practice and the field crew manicuring the infield. I like hearing the vendors selling their wares, “Hot Dogs, get your Hot Dogs heeeeeere!” I love the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of the game and singing “Take me out to the Ball game”  [at] the bottom of the seventh inning. And I even love watching the stands empty after a game. Then there is the game itself. Baseball is th...

Reflect & Pray How complex are your prayer requests? What life problem can you offer to God in a simple prayer? Dear heavenly Father, when life feels complicated and difficult, thank You for Your promise to hear even my simple prayers.

Monday, June 29, 2020, | Fixed Feasts Holy Apostles Peter and Paul Dark Vestments Matins Gospel John 21:15–25 Epistle 2 Corinthians 11:21–12:9 Gospel Matthew 16:13–19   Byzantine Lectionary (Gregorian) . Faithlife; Bellingham, WA, 2015; 2015. Print. Mon, Jun 29, 2020, (Jun 16, 2020) | Octoechos Fourth Monday after Pentecost Bright Vestments Epistle Romans 9:18–33 Gospel Matthew 11:2–15   Byzantine Lectionary (Julian) . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2016. Print. Monday, June 29, 2020, | Fixed Feasts Holy Apostles Peter and Paul Dark Vestments Matins Gospel John 21:15–25 Epistle 2 Corinthians 11:21–12:9 Gospel Matthew 16:13–19   Byzantine Lectionary (Revised Julian) . Faithlife; Bellingham, WA, 2015; 2015. Print.

Monday, June 29, 2020, | Solemnity Saints Peter and Paul During the Day Years ABC | Roman Missal | Lectionary First Reading Acts 12:1–11 Response Psalm 34:5 Psalm Psalm 34:2–9 Second Reading 2 Timothy 4:6–8, 17–18 Gospel Acclamation Matthew 16:18 Gospel Matthew 16:13–19   Catholic Daily Readings . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2009. Print. Monday, June 29, 2020, | Holy Day SS. Peter and Paul Morning Prayer Years 1 & 2 On the same date: SS. Peter and Paul, Evening Prayer Psalms Psalm 66 Old Testament Ezekiel 2:1–7 New Testament Acts 11:1–18  The Episcopal Church. Book of Common Prayer Lectionary . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2010. Print. Monday, June 29, 2020, | Holy Days St. Peter Morning Prayer On the same date: St. Peter, Evening Prayer Psalm Psalm 22:23 First Reading Ezekiel 2:1–7 Second Reading Acts 11:1–18 or Acts 3 (before Trinity III)  Episcopal Church. Book of C...

June 29: Behind the Scenes Esther 3:1–7:10 ; 3 John 1:1–4; Psalm 117:1–118:16 Sometimes life can look so bleak that it seems as if all hope is gone. This was the situation for Esther and Mordecai: “Letters were sent by couriers to all the provinces of the king to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children” ( Esth 3:13 ). Genocide was upon Esther, Mordecai, and their people, and it seemed that little could be done. Yet God unexpectedly used Esther to do His work and made Mordecai a hero for thwarting the enemies’ plan to destroy God’s people ( Esth 5–7 ). As a result, the people who wanted to kill Mordecai ended up dead ( Esth 7:7–10 ). But these events depicted more than poetic justice; they provide an example of hope in the midst of adversity. This story shows that God is at work even when we don’t realize He is there—when even prayer feels like a waste of energy. While God is not a “character” in the book of Esther, His presence is i...