My Bible reading today:
1 Chronicles 28; 2 Peter 2; Micah 5; Luke 14

I love how the timing of the readings from Micah coincide with the coming Christmas season.  Micah is prophesying about the coming of Christ and what we have to look forward to as followers of Jesus.  "And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.  And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.  And he shall be their peace." -Micah 5:4-5a, ESV

First of all what do I learn of God here?  He is my Shepherd, He is strong, even His name is majestic, His greatness knows no bounds, and He is my peace.  As for me, I "shall dwell secure." 

Verse 2 of this chapter tells us that the One who is to come, the one who will be ruler of Israel will come out of Bethlehem Ephrathah-for us it makes it very clear that this is indeed a prophecy concerning Jesus coming and eventual rule over His chosen people.  When I read this I cannot help but feel an immense gratitude to God for sending His son to die in my place for every sin I have ever committed, for every sin I have yet to commit.  Jesus Christ gave His life so that I might dwell in security, so that I would have peace with God.  It was His plan all along, and here I am now an undeserving beneficiary of God's amazing grace.  To God be the glory, great things He has done!  So loved He the world that He gave us His Son.  (First lines from one of my favorite hymns-To God be the Glory by Fanny Crosby)
 
Grace, Peace, and Mercy,
Debra
 

My Bible reading today:
1 Chronicles 23; 1 Peter 4; Micah 2; Luke 11

I like using various translations to do my daily Bible readings as it keeps the words fresh for me.  This year I have been reading through the English Standard Version (ESV).  As I said, it keeps the Word fresh, hearing it in a different voice-and sometimes a very familiar passage will catch my attention in a surprising way.  It is like when we are trying to learn something new, sometimes you need to hear it from more than one teacher to really understand-they are saying the same thing, but one has a way of relating the information to you that allows you to really grasp the idea.  And so I came to the Lord's prayer today.

I have been reciting this prayer since I was a child, let's just say for 50 some years now. 
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
And lead us not into temptation.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen.

It is that forgiveness line that I want to focus on this morning.  Over the course of my life I have been in churches where it is recited as sins, trespasses, and debts-one is never sure which version will be recited when worshiping in a new place.  The ESV says it this way, "and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us." (Luke 11:2-4) Got that?  We forgive everyone who is indebted to us.  Well, I just have to stop right there and consider today whether that is really true of me.  Have I forgiven everyone who has sinned against me?  Might there be some that I deep down feel do not deserve my forgiveness?  That is a very troubling thought! 
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Grace, Peace, and Mercy,
Debra
 

My Bible reading today:
1 Chronicles 19-20; 1 Peter 1; Jonah 3; Luke 8

1 Peter 1:13 has my attention this morning, "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."  Just how do I prepare my mind for action?  What does that even mean.  Way back in the day I learned this verse from  a version that read "gird up your minds" and I am able to get a much better idea of how to prepare my mind for action.  So what in the world does it mean to gird up my mind?  Well the phrase "gird up your loins" is from the Greek word anadzonnumi. This word was used to describe Orientals who wore long robes. Before taking a long journey or before running in a race, they would gather up their loose robes and tuck them up under their belt.  In so doing, their long robes would not get in the way of movement. 

Peter is not telling us here to tuck up our garments, but to do so with our minds-to get those things out of the way that would hinder us in our walk with Christ.  Are there any "loose ends" in our minds, our emotions that we need to deal with?  Take care of them, get them out of the way-someone to forgive perhaps, or maybe a fear that needs dealing with-what is in my mind that would cause me stumble as I walk-as I run the race set before me?

How about any wrong thinking?  A main reason I read my Bible everyday is to correct any wrong ideas I might have about what it means to live my life for Christ.  I often find it also corrects how I think about myself-to see myself as God sees me has freed me from an awful lot of guilt and shame that I continued to bear.  It continues to amaze me how easily I can talk myself into something, into believing something, that is neither right or good.
Peter is saying that the place to begin is with my mind-taking up those things that would hinder my walk and tuck them up out of the way.  Not permitting those things that would hinder my walk with God in any way.  Preparing my mind for action.

The next part of this verse is a lot easier to understand.  Be sober-minded.  An easy definition is, to be serious and sensible, but I like what R.C. Sproule Jr. says about it; "To be sober-minded is to treat truth seriously and to have a healthy doubt as to our own understanding of truth."

And the result of all of this preparing of our minds, of treating truth seriously?  Hope!  And it is interesting to note here that Peter makes this a command-set your hope.  I like the NASB translation here: "fix your hope completely."  Peter does not give us a choice about this- just do it.  And what is our hope?  The grace that will be brought to us through Jesus Christ.  May I get better at preparing my mind.
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Grace, Peace, and Mercy,
Debra