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Daily Bible Reading

A feed containing today's WordLive Session.
  • Prepare
    Your life is a small, but incredibly important, part of a bigger story – ask God to help you see how it fits in.

    Acts 13:16–25

    ‘Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "People of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!’

  • Act 13:16–25

     16Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, 18he endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert, 19he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance. 20All this took about 450 years.

       "After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'

     23"From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25As John was completing his work, he said: 'Who do you think I am? I am not that one. No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.'

  • Main point: Chaos and control
    God is in control

    Honestly, there are moments when I get overwhelmed. My life is full of loving relationships. But there are things overdue, environmental disasters, rules that hinder me, unmet dreams that ache, needs too big for me to meet, and people hurting. How do I stop the panic?

    Breathing deeply, I need to remind myself that God is in control and he will use even these difficulties to bring about his redemptive plan. My job is not to control or even understand. I am to trust that God knows what he is doing. 

    God is faithful

    The Jews created and endured much chaos and tragedy. Wars and retribution abound in the Scriptures. But Paul here is able to speak of the gold thread woven through biblical history: the constant and consistent working of God actively rescuing his people.

    God has not been distracted, confused or forgetful. Despite all our mistakes, God has remained diligent and faithful. God will bring his people to himself.

    The coming King

    The lives of Saul, Samuel and David prepare the Israelites for the Messiah. David especially, whom God describes as ‘a man after my own heart’ (v 22), prefigures the coming King. The people will have the leader they need, the means to come back into fellowship with God.

    It is the same God I need to trust today. His rescue plan is still in place.

    Glenda Trist

Daily Bible Reading

The Bible is God's perfect word for your life. It's a manual for living and it's a handbook on understanding who God is and who we are. It can seem daunting at first because there's a lot in there, but when you cut it down into bite sized chunks like this the whole thing becomes a lot easier and life becomes a lot better.

At St Thomas' Church we believe in reading a bit of God's word every day and spending time in prayer. This changes our lives, bit by bit, each day.

When you read the passage of scripture and the short commentary which follows it, please be open minded and allow God's word to challenge you and change you. It was written by the Creator of the universe who is far wiser than we are and who loves you far more than you can ever know. Trusting in His word will be the best decision you will ever make in your life.

The Bible readings and short devotional commentaries which appear above are provided by Scripture Union and automatically appear on this website every day. You can visit www.wordlive.org to delve deeper into God's word each day and to engage with other Christians online.