Daily Bible Readings

In August of 2024, the congregations of China Methodist Church and Forest Park Methodist church started on a journey to read the Bible together over two years. To facilitate this, I have created a reading schedule and am providing some daily thoughts to help along the way.

Each day’s entry contains the assigned reading (with a link to read it online at Bible Gateway) and a contemplation on how the section relates to life or to other parts of scripture. There is also a short reading from the Wisdom writings of the Bible and a suggested prayer focus. The most important part, though, is the words of scripture themselves; they are our surest guide to life.

– Mark Fleming, pastor

Most recent reading:

  • Day 280 2 Chronicles Chapter 29 – 31:1

    Return to faithfulness
    Day 280, Sunday, May 18
    2 Chronicles Chapter 29 – 31:1
    With Hezekiah we have a king who is not only good and righteous, but is also a reformer committed to restoring temple worship and the faithfulness of the nation.
    It is interesting to read the process of removing defilements from the temple and restoring the objects that belong there—it sounds more like a spring cleaning project than a religious rite, which is probably an honest report of how it really happened.
    We even read of several cases of following the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law, with Levites helping with work that should be done by priests and even changing the time of the celebration of the Passover to accommodate the shortage of priests and the rushed timetable. These are not portrayed as disobedience, though.
    The first offering, of seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats is fairly modest compared to some we have read about, but is obviously sincere.
    When Hezekiah sends a letter out across the land asking people to return, he is clear that only a remnant is left: “People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.”

    Sunday meditation

    Proverbs 28:6-7
    Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse.
    A discerning son heeds instruction, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.

    Prayer focus
    May we return to the Lord, that he may return to us.

    -Rev. Mark Fleming

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