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"God over All" May 23 Readings: Isaiah 45-48

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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 :   Isaiah 45-48 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     This passage is a watershed in our theology. It is the reason that many do not believe that Isaiah wrote the latter chapters of the book. Isaiah wrote in the 8th Century BC, before the fall of Israel in 722 BC. But here we see the name of Cyrus, the Persian king who decreed, sometime after 538 BC, the return of Israel to Jerusalem. If you believe in a God who can give an 8th-century prophet accurate predictions of the name of the Persian king who would grant the people the ri...
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"Grace Greater than Our Sin" May 22 Readings: Isaiah 40-44

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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 :   Isaiah 40-44 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     Isaiah  40 begins the second major section of the book. The theme changes so dramatically that many (more liberal) scholars assume that there are two different authors. The first 39 chapters deal with judgment for Israel's sin, and now God asserts his intention to restore Israel and comfort. Daily Devotional:   Grace Greater than Our Sin Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt, yonder on Calvary's mount out-poured, there where th...
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"Perilous Pride" May 21 Readings: Isaiah 37-39, Psalm 76

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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 :   Isaiah 37-39, Psalm 76 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     Yesterday we spoke of the downfall of Hezekiah, and today we read it (again - as recorded in both 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles) and see how pride destroyed this once-great king. As we close chapter 39, we finish the first and longest section of the book in which the judgment of God is pronounced. Now, starting in verse 40, we read of the comfort God will bring to his people when he restores them. The difference in tone is so stark that less conservative scholars be...
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"Misplaced Confidence" May 20 Readings: Isaiah 33-36

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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 :   Isaiah 33-36 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     The oracles of Isaiah scan the globe and announce God's judgment all around. But now God is turning to the sins of his own people, primarily of the soon-to-be destroyed Israel and the idolatrous Judah. Daily Devotional:   Misplaced Confidence "God himself couldn't sink the Titanic."  The story has been passed down since that fateful moment in April of 1912 when the Titanic hit an iceberg, began to fill with water, and within hours was at the bottom of the ...
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"A Faithful, Frustrated Father" May 19 Readings: Isaiah 28-32

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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 :   Isaiah 28-32 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     The oracles of Isaiah scan the globe and announce God's judgment all around. But now God is turning to the sins of his own people, primarily of the soon-to-be destroyed Israel and the idolatrous Judah. Daily Devotional:   A Faithful, Frustrated Father If God had demonstrated anything to Israel throughout the years, it was that he always had a plan and could be counted on when things got rough. When the Hebrews were in bondage in Egypt, God had a plan. It was an odd one. ...
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"A God Who Judges" May 18 Readings: Hosea 8-14

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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 :   Hosea 8-14 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     Hosea is largely written against the Israelite Tribe of Ephraim. Today's reading contains a series of oracles - prophetic words - against Israel/Ephraim, ending in a word of hope. Hosea's prophecy is the first to compare marriage to the human relationship with God. Daily Devotional:   A God Who Judges "It isn't my fault." "It was just bad luck." "They did it first." "I'm only human." We are so often people of excuses, rationalizations, and justifications. ...
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"I Am Gomer" May 17 Readings: Hosea 1-7

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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 :   Hosea 1-7 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     Many prophets were asked to do strange things to illustrate the message of God. Hosea's entire life became a message of grace. He married and then reclaimed a sinful woman to illustrate the infidelity of God's people. Daily Devotional:  I Am Gomer The prophets did some weird things to demonstrate the anger of God against sin and the love of God for his people. One wore ill-fitting undergarments to show how irritating Israel's sin was, but Hosea's story is perhaps the most g...
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