CCI Opelika One Year Bible Reading 2010

1.8.10

Genesis 18:16-19:38

19¹⁶ And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. ²² Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”
Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

John – The Lord is merciful, and the fact there is anything He “cannot” do is amazing, but He will not treat the righteous and the wicked the same..

Matthew 6:25-7:14

6²⁵ “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

John – Just being able to do this is divine… “do not worry about your life!”

7⁶ “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

7¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

John – Narrow –

Strong's G2346 - thlibō

θλίβω

Transliteration thlibō

Pronunciation thlē'-bō (Key)

1) to press (as grapes), press hard upon

We are pressed like grapes, boy is this a great picture of what it feels like to walk in the way!

Psalm 8:1-9

Proverbs 2:6-15

¹⁰ When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
¹¹ Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you,

John – Discretion is a gift to the person who uses it! Understanding will protect you.

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January 8 - Laura Lou

^{Ge. 19:29} And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.

Laura- God saved Lot because he remembered Abraham. It is powerful how close we can be to God.

Mt¹ “Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

Laura- This is so true. Every time i judge someone or something, i usually find myself doing it or struggling with the same attitude or action.

⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Laura- This is so powerful. If I ask, God will hear me and give to me. So many times we see this our way, yet God is truly hearing us and giving to us his way. What a joy to know that I am loved so much, that Father knows what is best for me. He is constantly giving me blessing from His hand. Every circumstance He is in to bless me.

He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; Pr. 2

¹¹ Discretion will preserve you; - Laura- having a purpose in Him will keep me safe, protect, and give me a strong foundation to constantly go back and remember that I am hear for something greater than wickedness.

1) purpose, discretion, device, plot

a) purpose

b) discretion

c) devices (evil)

Preserve

1) to keep, guard, observe, give heed

a) (Qal)

1) to keep, have charge of

2) to keep, guard, keep watch and ward, protect, save life

a) watch, watchman (participle)

3) to watch for, wait for

4) to watch, observe

5) to keep, retain, treasure up (in memory)

6) to keep (within bounds), restrain

7) to observe, celebrate, keep (sabbath or covenant or commands), perform (vow)

8) to keep, preserve, protect

9) to keep, reserve

b) (Niphal)

1) to be on one's guard, take heed, take care, beware

2) to keep oneself, refrain, abstain

3) to be kept, be guarded

c) (Piel) to keep, pay heed

d) (Hithpael) to keep oneself from

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Jan 8 Cont.

¹⁸ Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords! ¹⁹ Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. ²⁰ See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”
²¹ And he said to him, “See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. ²² Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”
Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

Ty: God told Lot to escape to the mountains, but Lot asked to escape to Zoar. God preserved Zoar for Lot to escape to.

³⁰ Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave.

Ty: After staying in Zoar, Lot chose to escape to the mountains like God originally instructed him. I assume the same wickedness existed in Zoar that was found in Sodam and Gommarah, but Lot rationalized that it wasn't as bad because of its size. He chose to flee to the city because he thought he would be more comfortable there. Once Lot expereinced the city, he feared God and left for the mountains. Lot trusted the uncertainty of the wilderness over the wickedness he found in Zoar. It is interesting how God allows us to make our own decisions and experience the consequences of those decisions so that we learn to trust him. Sometimes God may give us the desire of our heart allowing us to see for ourselves that the desire of our heart was not as promising or fulfilling as we thought. God always know the costs of our decisions before we make them, but we can't always discern the cost until we are living those decisions.