"Forever Faithful" April 17 Readings: 2 Chronicles 6-7, Psalm 136

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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: 2 Chronicles 6-7, Psalm 136

In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer. 

Background:  


This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened." Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.  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: 2 Chronicles 6-7, Psalm 136


Background:  

The fire of God falls on the Temple as God's powerful presence fills the place after it is constructed.

Daily Devotional: Forever Faithful

Don't you hate those "7-11" choruses with all their repetition?

Evidently, the Psalmist didn't get the memo that repetition was bad. The 26 verses of this hymn contain the same two-word Hebrew phrase - leolam chesdu. Literally, that is, "to forever (is) his steadfast love." The faithful love of God is a faithful and eternal constant in the life of his people.

The Psalm begins with God's sovereign power in Creation, then reminds the reader how God saved Israel from Egypt and gave them the Promised Land by acts of power. His faithfulness, even in the light of Israel's sin, is constant. That is seen in the repetition of "leolam chesdu" in verse after verse.

There are two realities in your life as a believer. First, you have not always been faithful to God. We seek him, and we struggle, but we fail. We fall into sin, and we stray from the fold. Like the hymn says, "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it."

There is a second reality we must cling to. God's faithfulness is never-ending. When we are weak, he is strong. When the storms of life blow, he is a faithful refuge. When life crashes against us with circumstantial tsunamis, he is a refuge of grace. When the enemy marshals his forces to attack, greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. The faithfulness of God is bigger than any problem we have or any failure in us.

Leolam Chesdu. That is worth repeating!

Thank you, Lord, for you constant faithfulness. May I never presume on your grace, but may I always rely on it. Your grace is greater than my sin. 

 

Consider God's Word:


Consider writing your own Psalm 136, detailing the events of your life and then reminding yourself that at every moment of that life, "leolam chesdu" - God was faithful.

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