This Bible reading plan takes you through most of the Holy Scriptures each weekday of the year. Each day has three Bible readings:
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2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.1 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified2 by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness3 were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
[1] 2:12
[2] 2:16
[3] 2:21
(ESV)
When I was in high school I had a friend named Max. Especially my freshman year, Max and I were inseparable. We would hang out together after school. We would walk down the street to the coffee shop during lunch and buy the strongest espresso drinks on the menu so that our hands would be trembling all afternoon. And, of course, we got into our fair share of trouble. But beneath the veneer of typical adolescent lighthearted fun and foolishness, Max and I were fundamentally different people. For I was a Christian while Max was not.
Over the course of our time together in high school, I tried to share my faith with Max countless times. I told him about the difference that Jesus had made in my life. I invited him to church with me. But all of it was to no avail. Max just wasn't interested. "To be real honest with you, Zach," Max told me one time, "I think faith is for weak people who just need something to believe in."
"Faith is for weak people who just need something to believe in." A lot of people feel this way. The world-renowned Oxford professor and Darwinian atheist Richard Dawkins once said, "Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence." No need for faith, says Dawkins. It's simply for the feeble and faint minded. With all due respect, however, I would beg to differ with this preeminent Oxford scholar. For I would say that, whether we recognize it or not, we all live by faith.
"I believe I'll have the Caesar salad." "I believe it's time for a vacation." "I believe I need to run to by the grocery store on the way home." These are sentences that many of us have muttered at one time or another. And their openings, "I believe," are indicators that we are all people who live by faith. We believe that when we order the Caesar salad, that's what we will receive. We believe that when we schedule a vacation, we'll be able to take it. And we believe that when we run an errand to the grocery store, the store will be open for us to make a purchase. We live by faith. For when we make each of these statements, we don't know for sure that they will come to pass. Indeed, sometimes they do not come to pass. The waiter messes up our order and brings us the garden salad rather than the Caesar salad. Our vacation plans get postponed by a family emergency. The grocery store does not have an item we are looking for. And we walk away disappointed because our faith has been dashed. Nevertheless, we believe anyway. Why? Because we have a reasonable expectation that what we believe is true and will happen.
This, in fact, is one of the ways in which I would define faith: A reasonable expectation that what we believe is true and will happen. I think that all too often, too many people conceive of faith as something that is "other-worldly." Something that is needed to get a person in good with God so that they can go to heaven when they die. But faith is much more profound and encompassing than that. That's part of the reason I appreciate Paul's words in our reading for today from Galatians 2: "The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (verse 20). Notice that for Paul, faith is not something that is otherworldly, ethereal, and detached from his everyday life; instead, it is something that is part and parcel of his very earthly being. It's essential to the "life he lives in the body." And so Paul says, "The life I live in the body, I live by faith... " But then, Paul adds an all-important preposition: "in." You see, it's not just that Paul has faith, it's that Paul has faith in something. Paul has faith in someone. He has faith "in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." This is where Paul's faith rests. And this is why all of us, whether we're willing to admit it or not, are creatures of faith. Because we all have reasonable expectations in someone or something. Richard Dawkins has a reasonable expectation in his atheistic and naturalistic view of the universe as a correct one. I, along with Paul, have a reasonable expectation in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. The question is not, "Do you have faith?" Rather, it's, "What do you have faith in?" I'm placing "Jesus" at the end of my "in." How about you?
6 For thus says the LORD of hosts:
“Cut down her trees;
cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be punished;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
7 As a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her evil;
violence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
lest I turn from you in disgust,
lest I make you a desolation,
an uninhabited land.”
9 Thus says the LORD of hosts:
“They shall glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches.”
10 To whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
Behold, their ears are uncircumcised,
they cannot listen;
behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn;
they take no pleasure in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of the LORD;
I am weary of holding it in.
“Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
both husband and wife shall be taken,
the elderly and the very aged.
12 Their houses shall be turned over to others,
their fields and wives together,
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,”
declares the LORD.
13 “For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
15 Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”
says the LORD.
16 Thus says the LORD:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’
18 Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
19 Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people,
the fruit of their devices,
because they have not paid attention to my words;
and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20 What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21 Therefore thus says the LORD:
‘Behold, I will lay before this people
stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;
fathers and sons together,
neighbor and friend shall perish.’”
22 Thus says the LORD:
“Behold, a people is coming from the north country,
a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and javelin;
they are cruel and have no mercy;
the sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
set in array as a man for battle,
against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24 We have heard the report of it;
our hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
pain as of a woman in labor.
25 Go not out into the field,
nor walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword;
terror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth,
and roll in ashes;
make mourning as for an only son,
most bitter lamentation,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
27 “I have made you a tester of metals among my people,
that you may know and test their ways.
28 They are all stubbornly rebellious,
going about with slanders;
they are bronze and iron;
all of them act corruptly.
29 The bellows blow fiercely;
the lead is consumed by the fire;
in vain the refining goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
30 Rejected silver they are called,
for the LORD has rejected them.”
(ESV)
The repeated warnings from Jeremiah seem wearisome and repetitive to us, but they are here because of God's patience and goodness, and because of the stubbornness of God's people who continually spurned His call to repentance. God's desire is for His people to turn from their sin and idolatry and return to Him. He reiterates His indictment of them over and over again in the hope that at least a remnant will return. Thus, Jeremiah warns of a coming siege because "This is the city that must be punished." God's accusation is that just as a well continually fills up with fresh water, so Jerusalem is continually refreshing her wickedness. As a result, they despise God's Word. Sadly, "the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it." Jeremiah's accusation extends even to the prophets and priests. He decries the fact that they dress the wounds of God's people lightly, and cry "Peace, peace, when there is no peace." God urges His people to seek the ancient paths, the good way that will bring rest for their souls, however, they said, "We will not walk in it." Again, Jeremiah condemns their incense and burnt offerings as worthless because of their impenitence. God again warns that the people coming from the north to bring destruction "are cruel and have no mercy." He has sought to refine His people by the trials they have already endured, longing for them to repent in sackcloth and ashes, but the refining has been useless. "Rejected silver they are called, for the LORD has rejected them." What verdict could be worse? It is like the warning Jesus gave in Matthew 5:13. "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." Impenitence makes the people of God like rejected silver or unsalty salt. May God's Spirit keep us from unrepentance!
60:1 O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
you have been angry; oh, restore us.
2 You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
repair its breaches, for it totters.
3 You have made your people see hard things;
you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.
4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it from the bow.2 Selah
5 That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
6 God has spoken in his holiness:3
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.
8 Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”4
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11 Oh, grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man!
12 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
[1] 60:1
[2] 60:4
[3] 60:6
[4] 60:8
(ESV)