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"Anointed Failure" February 28 Readings: 1 Samuel 6-10

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  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   1 Samuel 6-10 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     It is interesting how often immensely talented people end up being failures in God's kingdom work. Samson was good-looking and athletic but lacked character. Here we have King Saul - head and shoulders taller than others, charismatic and appealing, but he was not careful to obey God, and his life became a cautionary tale of failure. In today's reading, we see Saul anointed as king with tremendous promise, which we know will fail in the next few chapters. We see a flaw in Isr...
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"Magical Religion" February 27 Readings: 1 Samuel 1-5

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  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   1 Samuel 1-5 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     As Judges 17-21 took Israel to the nadir of its history, this passage is the beginning of the rise to Israel's greatest days. God's grace restored Israel. The irony is that when Israel reached its worst days at the end of the period of the Judges, it was only 50 to 75 years or so from its glory days under King David. It all began when one woman prayed fervently for a son and then gave that son to God. Samuel grew to lead Israel back to God and eventually anointed a young shep...
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"For the World" February 26 Readings: Ruth 1-4

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  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Ruth 1-4 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     Ruth is one of the truly great love stories in ancient literature. No, it is not so much a story of romantic love, but the faithful love of a daughter-in-law to a mother-in-law. It tells the story of King David's great-grandmother's migration from Moab to Israel. She is also one of the four women who appear in Jesus' genealogy in the Gospels. Daily Devotional:  For the World The fundamental failure of Israel was their failure to understand the full meaning of the blessing th...
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"King of My Life" February 25 Readings: Judges 17-21

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  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Judges 17-21 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     There is little uplifting or encouraging in this passage. It is the story of the degradation of Israel at its end stage, when the downward spiral of the cycle of Judges reached its nadir. Israel drifted away from God and then returned, but the direction was always downward, as is human nature, and finally, there was no obedience, no conscience, no fidelity to the God who brought them out of Egypt and gave them the Land of Promise as their inheritance.  The last verse of ...
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"Kryptonite" February 24 Readings: Judges 11-16

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  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Judges 11-16 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     As the cycle continued, Israel's judges became less noble and more flawed. Today, we focus on two flawed leaders - Jephthah and Samson. The biggest question in today's reading is what happened to Jephthah's daughter (Judges 11). There are two schools of thought, and each time I have taught this book, I've changed my mind. Jephthah's daughter was sacrificed - put to death - in fulfillment of the vow.  The sacrifice was not death, but that she was never allowed to marry or...
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"Mighty Warrior" February 23 Readings: Judges 6-10

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  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Judges 6-10 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     Today, we read the story of Gideon, the nobody whom God made a judge. It is a story of God's power to transform and accomplish great things with the weakest of vessels who submit to his use. Daily Devotional:   Mighty Warrior Judges 6:12 is one of those great moments in history. Gideon was hiding in the winepress, threshing his grain and keeping his head down. The most unlikely of heroes, he was the insignificant son of an insignificant family in the large, but largely in...
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"God's Relentless Faithfulness" February 22 Readings: Judges 1-5

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  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Judges 1-5 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     Having divided up the tribal land, Israel failed to drive out the inhabitants as they were commanded to, and the result was a terrible cycle of spiritual drift, catastrophe, revival, and renewed drift. Chapter 2 explains the cycle, and the rest of the book covers the stories of the judges who led Israel back to God. There are 12 judges, but the book focuses on 7. Throughout the duration of this book, there is a downward moral spiral that results in Israel's lowest point in its ...
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