September 15

Today's Reading


Isaiah. The prophet's visions were partly about his own day and partly about the future when Messiah would establish His kingdom on the earth. He spoke of judgment against Egypt when the Nile would dry up. He mentioned Ethiopia, which is south of Egypt. He also mentioned Assyria, Edom and the Philistines. Each of these had been powerful kingdoms in that day. Some are powerful again today. Notice the word picture about a coming day when Israel, Egypt and Assyria (modern-day Iran) will be united together serving and worshiping God. Only Jesus can bring that unity; someday we will see it!

Galatians. One of the controversies in the early church (dealt with in Acts 15) was whether a Gentile man had to be circumcised in order to become a Christian. The reason some were holding to this teaching was that it meant, in effect, only Jews could be Christians. The act of circumcision would mean that the Gentile was becoming a Jew. Obviously, this was heresy, but Simon Peter who didn't personally believe the heresy, set a bad example by refusing to hang out with Gentile believers when the circumcision adherents were around. Paul rebuked him to his face for leading others astray.

Psalms. David learned to trust God through the trials of running from Saul. Imagine living through several years of running from an evil ruler, one whose primary goal in life is to destroy you. No wonder David prayed such vivid prayers.

Proverbs. I know that spanking is considered a no-no by many today and I won't argue the point. Perhaps more important is the need to discipline consistently. I'm afraid that far too many parents don't do it and we have been raising a generation of children who think they get to conform the world to their wishes. It's a very broken part of our public education system.

Which of today's passages speaks to you?