Day 144 through Day 149 took us on a six day read through Nehemiah.

If we remember back to the start of Ezra, these two readings were once combined as one book. Together they tell the story of the Israelite who returned to Jerusalem following their exile in Babylon. While they both tell a similar story, Ezra focuses more on the reconstruction of the Temple, while the focus of Nehemiah is on the rebuilding of the city walls.

Some highlights:

• Nehemiah serves as a high ranking official (cup bearer) fro the king of Persia. He laments over news of Jerusalem’s destruction, and the king takes note of is saddened state. Telling his story to the king, Nehemiah is allowed to return to Jerusalem to assist wherever needed. (Chapters 1&2)
• The walls of the city are then rebuilt under Nehemiah’s leadership. It is an amazing building project that takes a mere 52 days. What an astounding feat! This was no small task. Rubble had to be removed, stone redressed, foundations laid, and the walls built. Amazing as it sounds, with God’s guidance, the impossible happened, because everyone was willing to do their part. Every family took on the responsibility of building the wall closest to their home, and it worked! (Chapters 2 – 7)
• Now building the wall wasn’t without controversy. Enemies of Israel try, and try again to ruin the plans of rebuilding the city and take long to a hold of Jerusalem. Every time they try . . . they fail (Chapters 4-6)
• With the walls (and Temple if we are considering Ezra) now complete the Torah is read to the people. The rededicated themselves, the Temple, and the walls of Jerusalem to the glory of God. A census is taken. Everything seems hunky dory. (Chapters 9 – 12)
• Well, these are Gods (un)faithful people, so we know how things go. The priest aren’t fulling their duties, people begin to intermarry, sin creeps its way back into Jerusalem. (Chapter 13)

All in all, Nehemiah is a great read as the people realize that with God all things are possible. Including the rebuilding of an entire city wall in less than two months time. Despite the hardships faced, they achieve the impossible, because God was with them. Yet that continual reminder as we close the reading in Nehemiah, that sin and temptation, continue to hold sway. Even in the midst of what would seem a bright corner in the story of Israel, there is the darken cloud of sin and shame that cannot and will not be erased until we encounter Christ and his cross. Long way to go in our readings until we get there, but we are getting closer.

Peace,
Pastor Bailey

Greetings friends and followers. Our family is back from a great week of travel. We created some wonderful memories together as we visited Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Hollywood, and San Diego. What a joy to take in a part of God’s creation as we played, explored, and had fun together. Thanks for your prayers during our travel.

While we were gone, I kept up on my daily reading. I didn’t make too many notes, but I know I’ll have some thoughts to share. It might take me a bit, but I’ll get there, I promise. In the near future you can expect and update on Nehemiah, Esther, and then on to Job.

If you are reading along, I know our readings don’t match Job’s response to each of his friend’s petition. God willing, it is my hope to write my thoughts that way. At least in my mind that seems to make the most sense. Bare with me, we’ll get caught up!

In the mean time, here’s an update on the reading we should be on:

Thursday, June 6:  Job 17-20
Friday, June 7:  Job 21-23
Saturday, June 8:  Job 24-28
Sunday, June 9:  Job 29-31
Monday, June 10:  Job 32-34
Tuesday, June 11:  Job 35-37
Wednesday, June 12:  Job 38-39
Thursday, June 13:  Job 40-42

Peace,
Pastor Bailey

I’m getting ready to take a long overdue and greatly anticipated break to spend some time with the family. I’ve decided for the most part to try and go with out much digital interaction. That mean’s I’ll be “blogging off” for a bit.

I fully anticipate continuing my daily reading. I certainly don’t want to ruin my 145 day perfect streak on my iPad app! Of course, I’m not doing this to keep count, but to grow closer to God, and deeper in my understanding of Scripture. While I continue to read, I pray that you will do the same.

Here is a list of the next two weeks of readings: I might surprise you and pop in while I’m traveling, but if not, I’m sure I’ll have much to say as we keep on reading together!

Peace,
Pastor Bailey

Friday, May 24: Nehemiah 1-3
Saturday, May 25: Nehemiah 4-6
Sunday, May 26: Nehemiah 7
Monday, May 27: Nehemiah 8-9
Tuesday, May 28: Nehemiah 10-11
Wednesday, May 29: Nehemiah 12-13

Thursday, May 30: Esther 1-5
Friday, May 31: Esther 6-10

Saturday, June 1: Job 1-4
Sunday, June 2: Job 5-7
Monday, June 3: Job 8-10
Tuesday, June 4: Job 11-13
Wednesday: June 5: Job 14-16
Thursday, June 6: Job 17-20

Today’s reading: 
Thursday, May 23: Ezra 8-10

Ezra’s story comes to a close with some humbling words as he prays for the people of Israel. I think they are beautiful words that continue to speak to us/for us even today. Granted, the events leading up to his prayer was the discovery of those who had intermarried with people of other nations. Yet, he speaks over arching words of being reconciled with God. It’s wonderful. If you didn’t read through chapter 9, here these words from Ezra’s prayer:

“I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. ⁷ From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.

⁸ “But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place^[a] in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage.⁹ Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “But now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commands ¹¹ you gave through your servants the prophets when you said: ‘The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other. ¹² Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them at any time, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it to your children as an everlasting inheritance.’

¹³ “What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved and have given us a remnant like this. ¹⁴ Shall we then break your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? ¹⁵ Lord, the God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence.”

Sometimes as a Christian today, it feels as if we are the remnant of faithful followers. Do you feel the same? Perhaps, as Ezra once did, we should pray, not only for our selves, but for those who do not yet know God, that they might, and that together we might find salvation in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ!

Peace,
Pastor Bailey

Our next readings: 
Friday, May 24: Nehemiah 1-3
Saturday, May 25: Nehemiah 4-6
Sunday, May 26: Nehemiah 7

Side note: I’m getting ready for some travel, and I’ve decided that it’s okay to not take work with me. Once we get through Ezra, I’ll probably “blog-off” for a few weeks so I can enjoy some time with family and serve with our youth on their mission trip. I know I’ll keep reading. Hope you will too. And maybe, I’ll just surprise you with a few posts along the way. Be sure to stay tuned . . . 
PB

Today’s reading: 
Wednesday, May 22: Ezra 4-7

Today we encounter a little bit of pride and arrogance!

This isn’t unusual, and it is something we are all guilty of. Each and everyone of us as boasted a bit more than we should, and with that, our fall into sin slips just that little bit further. Yet, by grace we are saved, through faith! Thanks be to God for that!

Unfortunately, it is the faithfulness of some which leads to the pride and arrogance of those reconstructing the Temple.

When the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of families and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of King Esar-haddon of Assyria who brought us here.”
(Ezra 4:1-2, NRSV)

Here is a gracious offer! Here is a chance for a wonderful partnership! Here is a truly new beginning for the people of Israel! Here is a sign that God’s presence is being revealed to people all around the world! All of these are great things, yet the response:

You shall have no part with us in building a house to our God;
but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel.
(Ezra, 4:3, NRSV)

A little bit of pride. A little bit of arrogance. At this point in the story of Israel, I get it. I don’t have to like it, but I understand it. The people were home. This is an important place. This is part of their story. They want to do it alone. But at what cost?

Think about that, the next time your pride and arrogance get in the way of a future partnership. Perhaps, God is trying to do something greater if/when we realize that its not about us or what we want, but what God wants to do through us!

Peace,
Pastor Bailey

Our next readings: 
Thursday, May 23: Ezra 8-10
Friday, May 24: Nehemiah 1-3
Saturday, May 25: Nehemiah 4-6

Side note: I’m getting ready for some travel, and I’ve decided that it’s okay to not take work with me. Once we get through Ezra, I’ll probably “blog-off” for a few weeks so I can enjoy some time with family and serve with our youth on their mission trip. I know I’ll keep reading. Hope you will too. And maybe, I’ll just surprise you with a few posts along the way. Be sure to stay tuned . . . 
PB

Today’s reading: 
Tuesday, May 21: Ezra 1-3

Fast forward from the end of Chronicle about 70 years. The Israelites have been living in exile. Some in Assyria. Some in Babylon. It’s been a long time since many of them have been home. The older generations have passed away. The younger generations might have a fleeting memory of the glory and splendor of Jerusalem. Now, as Cyrus has some divine guidance, a select group of people are allowed to return to Jerusalem. The words that come to us from Ezra and Nehemiah tell their story. Some of them are stories of great rejoicing, others tell of hardships they experience. Some tell of rebuilding the Temple, others tell of rebuilding the city itself.

As we read, we have to keep in mind, much has changed. The mindset of the people has changed. The dynamics of life have changed. Even their faithfulness has changed. We’ll have to see how it all comes together as we venture back to Jerusalem, now 70 years after the reign of Zedekiah. But before we get too far into our reading, let’s take a look a the summary that is provided by thebibleproject.com

Peace,
Pastor Bailey

Our next readings: 
Wednesday, May 22: Ezra 8-10 
Thursday, May 23: Nehemiah 1-3
Friday, May 24: Nehemiah 4-6

Side note: I’m getting ready for some travel, and I’ve decided that it’s okay to not take work with me. Once we get through Ezra, I’ll probably “blog-off” for a few weeks so I can enjoy some time with family and serve with our youth on their mission trip. I know I’ll keep reading. Hope you will too. And maybe, I’ll just surprise you with a few posts along the way. Be sure to stay tuned . . . 
PB

Today’s readings: 
Monday, May 20: 2 Chronicles 35-36

If you’ve been following along with me for a while, or wanted to page back to Day 107 when we started our reading through the story of Kings, I posted a check sheet for you to follow along and track whether or not the king did good or evil in the eyes of God. If you need to jog your memory check out:

Year of Scripture – Day 107

And while you are traveling down memory lane, I wanted to share with you a great diagram that I recently found on Visualunit.me which charted the kings of Israel and Judah. Mark’s diagram is a great visual understanding of how good and bad the kings really were. Check it out:

Now one thing you need to remember when comparing this chart to our recent reading through Chronicles, is that many of the kings according to Chronicles are given a bit better representation than presented Kings. Take Manasseh for example in yesterday’s blog. History always has a way of making the story a bit better than it actually may have been, so Chronicles tells the brighter side of things. In the end, the story turns out the same. both Israel and Judah end up exiled for their wicked ways.

As we turn the page to read Ezra and Nehemiah, we are going to see how the story comes to an end. There is still hope for the Israelites! If there is anything we should know, is that there is always hope with God!

Peace,
Pastor Bailey

Our next readings: 
Tuesday, May 21: Ezra 1-3
Wednesday, May 22: Ezra 8-10
Thursday, May 23: Nehemiah 1-3

Side note: I’m getting ready for some travel, and I’ve decided that it’s okay to not take work with me. Once we get through Ezra, I’ll probably “blog-off” for a few weeks so I can enjoy some time with family and serve with our youth on their mission trip. I know I’ll keep reading. Hope you will too. And maybe, I’ll just surprise you with a few posts along the way. Be sure to stay tuned . . .
PB

Our readings: 
Friday, May 17: 2 Chronicles 25-27 
Saturday, May 18: 2 Chronicles 28-31 
Sunday, May 19: 2 Chronicles 32-34

These past few days have been like a roller coaster. Things to do at home. Things to do at church. Things to do with the family. It was fast, fun, and a bit crazy. Not too much unlike our readings the past few days.

As we continue to follow the Kings of Judah, it’s a roller coaster of a ride as well. One does evil in the eyes of God. The next does what is right in the eyes of God. One restores the Temple, the next builds altars to the false gods. Can you imagine the confusion the people must have felt? From one generation to the next, each one seems to believe something different.

I can honestly say, I was a bit confused as well. Take Manasseh for example. He’s down right evil. Sacrificed his children. Carved idols and placed them in the Temple. Everything he does seems to have some evil intention behind it. Especially as told in the Book of Kings. He is the worst of the worst. Yet, Chronicles tells a bit different story. 2 Chronicles 33:12-17, Manasseh has an epiphany. He starts doing what is right. He worships and honors God, and works to restore what evil he had originally intended. Who would have thought?

It brings me a bit of hope, knowing our evil ways can be turned. Even thought life is like a roller coaster, full of ups and downs, God has a way of smoothing out the ride so that we can all come to a pleasant ending.

Peace,
Pastor Bailey

Our next readings: 
Monday, May 20: 2 Chronicles 35-36
Tuesday, May 21: Ezra 1-3
Wednesday, May 22: Ezra 8-10

Side note: I’m getting ready for some travel, and I’ve decided that it’s okay to not take work with me. Once we get through Ezra, I’ll probably “blog-off” for a few weeks so I can enjoy some time with family and serve with our youth on their mission trip. I know I’ll keep reading. Hope you will too. And maybe, I’ll just surprise you with a few posts along the way. Be sure to stay tuned . . .
PB

Today’s readings: 
Thursday, May 16: 2 Chronicles 21-24 

Now this is much more like the story of the kings that we are used to. “And . . . did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. First it is Jehoram. Then we encounter Ahazaih. Followed by the wicked Queen Athaliah. Even Joash, as much good as he did at first, eventually goes astray. Now the path to exile is looming closer. We’ve still got several wicked kings to go, but the fate of sin and temptation has taken hold, and our once faithful kings have lost their way.

Peace,
Pastor Bailey

Our next readings: 
Friday, May 17: 2 Chronicles 25-27 
Saturday, May 18: 2 Chronicles 28-31
Sunday, May 19: 2 Chronicles 32-34

Today’s readings: 
Wednesday, May 15: 2 Chronicles 18-20 

If you would, turn back with me to 1 Kings 22. You don’t need to read the whole chapter again, but take note of the stories that are told of Jehoshaphat. You’ll note some similarities between that and our readings in Chronicles. However one notable difference . . . 1 Kings designates one chapter where Chronicles sets aside four chapters. That’s quite a difference.

As we read, in Chronicles we get a greater sense of his faithfulness. Yet, there is an underlying tension between Jehoshaphat and the prophets that guide him. While most scholars would denote him as one who “did right in the eyes of the LORD,” I think we can question that to some degree. Completely faithful? Nope. As wicked as they come? Definitely not. In the end, Jehoshaphat is probably a lot like you and me, somewhere in between, drawn into sin yet redeemed through the grace of God!

Peace,
Pastor Bailey

Our next readings: 
Thursday, May 16: 2 Chronicles 21-24 
Friday, May 17: 2 Chronicles 25-27
Saturday, May 18: 2 Chronicles 28-31