Category: Bible Usage

Reading from May 7th in the One Year Pray for America Bible

Lord, Hannah understood exactly who you are. When she prayed, “No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you,” she nailed it (1 Samuel 2:2). May all who search for you—the powerful and the humble— recognize who you really are! Amen.

Prayer Prompt

1 SAMUEL 1:1–2:21
There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim. Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.

Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle. The priests of the Lord at that time were the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas. On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and each of her children. And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the Lord had given her no children. So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children. Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat.

“Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have
me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?”

Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle. Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.”

As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!”

“Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”

“In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”

“Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.

The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea, and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”

The next year Elkanah and his family went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and to keep his vow. But Hannah did not go. She told her husband, “Wait until the boy is weaned. Then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there with the Lord permanently.”

“Whatever you think is best,” Elkanah agreed. “Stay here for now, and may the Lord help you keep your promise.” So she stayed home and nursed the boy until he was weaned. Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-​year-​old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there.

Then Hannah prayed:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord!
The Lord has made me strong.
Now I have an answer for my enemies;
I rejoice because you
rescued me.
No one is holy like the Lord!
There is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
“Stop acting so proud and haughty!
Don’t speak with such arrogance!
For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done;
he will judge your actions. The bow of the mighty is now broken,
and those who stumbled are now strong.
Those who were well fed are now starving, and those who were starving are now full.
The childless woman now has seven children,
and the woman with many children wastes away.
The Lord gives both death and life;
he brings some down to the grave but raises others up.
The Lord makes some poor and others rich;
he brings some down and lifts others up.
He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
placing them in seats of honor.
For all the earth is the Lord’s,
and he has set the world in order.

“He will protect his faithful ones,
but the wicked will disappear in darkness.
No one will succeed by strength alone.
Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered.
He thunders against them from heaven;
the Lord judges throughout the earth.
He gives power to his king;
he increases the strength of his anointed one.”

Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest.

Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord or for their duties as priests. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, Eli’s sons would send over a servant with a three-​pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling, the servant would stick the fork into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli’s sons. All the Israelites who came to worship at Shiloh were treated this way. Sometimes the servant would come even before the animal’s fat had been burned on the altar. He would demand raw meat before it had been boiled so that it could be used for roasting.

The man offering the sacrifice might reply, “Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first.” Then the servant would demand, “No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” So the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord’s sight, for they treated the Lord’s offerings with contempt.

But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest. Each year his mother made a small coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice. Before they returned home, Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the Lord.” And the Lord blessed Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.

JOHN 5:1-23
Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind,lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-​eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

“I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”

But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

“Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.

The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him. So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.

So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants. In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.”

PSALM 105:37-45
The Lord brought his people out of Egypt, loaded with silver and gold;
and not one among the tribes of Israel even stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they were gone,
For they feared them greatly.
The Lord spread a cloud above them as a covering
and gave them a great fire to light the darkness.
They asked for meat, and he sent them quail;
he satisfied their hunger with manna—bread from heaven.
He split open a rock, and water gushed out
to form a river through the dry wasteland.
For he remembered his sacred promise
to his servant Abraham.
So he brought his people out of Egypt with joy,
his chosen ones with rejoicing.
He gave his people the lands of pagan nations,
and they harvested crops that others had planted.
All this happened so they would follow his decrees
and obey his instructions.
Praise the Lord!

PROVERBS 14:28-29
A growing population is a king’s glory;
a prince without subjects has nothing.
People with understanding control their anger;
a hot temper shows great foolishness.

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“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.” Galatians 5:1-4, NLT

Taken from the Wayfinding Bible

As Paul continues his letter, he explains to the churches what it really means to live in Christ, free from the law. The burden of following the Jewish law has been lifted by Christ, who fulfilled the law entirely. This is the joy of Christianity. Paul writes that we are free to live out the love of God through the power of the Spirit, experiencing joy and peace as we trust in Christ completely for our salvation.

OBSERVATION POINT
The Galatians thought they would please God more if they followed the law while believing in Christ. They had it all wrong. Christ had freed them from the obligations of the law. By his grace, his free gift, they were saved. Salvation is free. God gives it to us out of love for us, not because of what he gets out of us in return. In response to his generosity, we live a life of gratitude and thanksgiving to glorify him.

EXPLORATION POINT
Christians are free from the law, but we do not have a license to keep on sinning. We have a choice, either to rely on the Holy Spirit or to yield to our sinful nature. The power of the Spirit within us will guide us to a life filled with peace, love, and joy. If we allow our sinful nature to dominate us, we will live in chaos, strife, and bitterness. We don’t have to battle sin on our own. We have the Spirit’s power to fight our sinful desires and to change our hearts to follow God’s will.

As the son of a marine, Joshua grew up moving from military base to military base. Rarely having time to catch his breath, let alone put down roots, he moved from one location to the next feeling alone and unable to connect, especially when it came to church. From talking to the base chaplain to going to local churches, he kept getting discouraged and gave up on church for several years. Until he found Cherry Point Baptist Church, a loving community that encouraged him to find out why he believed what he believed.

“After I was saved, I wanted to learn all that I could about the Bible. When I heard about the New Living Translation (NLT) my curiosity was piqued. Reading the NLT has brought a sense of vividness and clarity. I have read lots of translations, but keep coming back to the NLT,” said Joshua.

Joshua’s enthusiasm for God’s Word continues to grow and he can’t keep it to himself. He leads a multigenerational Bible study at his church and has become an active member in a local community feeding program.

“We live in a world filled with competing ideas. Not only reading but understanding the Bible helps people find their way. If they aren’t in the Bible, they are putting themselves at risk. I know, because it happened to me,” said Joshua.

From past experiences Joshua learned the importance of discernment and finding truth in God’s Word, not in the world around you. In his Bible study he helps others understand that too. It’s not only about reading the Word, it’s about studying it and applying it to our lives.

“Readability helps a person to understand what God is telling them. If a translation is hard to read and understand, I’ve seen people struggle when asked to read aloud or feel frustrated that they don’t understand. I’ve had that experience in my own study, finding myself mentally rephrasing or using a dictionary to try to understand some of the words. I wonder how many people have given up reading the Bible when faced with these issues?” said Joshua.

Making sure that doesn’t happen has become paramount to Joshua. The NLT is used every week in the Bible study Joshua leads to make concepts clear and help people feel confident while reading God’s Word. He has also found that the NLT is a great way to engage with people who attend a local feeding ministry.

Called Loaves and Fishes, this ministry invites community members to a free meal. Volunteers bring hot meals and desserts and they talk to people around the tables. The evening includes a short devotional, Scripture reading, and a time of prayer.

“I started attending as a visitor, and now I’m a volunteer. I give the devotional, but I also hand out plates, set up the tables, and help wherever I can. Just being a listening ear or extra pair of hands to someone who needs it is a powerful ministry,” said Joshua.

“Reading the NLT gives me a sense of peace. I feel I can turn off the distractions of the world around me and just pray, read, and ask God for wisdom,” said Joshua.

Explore New Living Translation Bibles

Devotional from the Beyond Suffering Bible

“One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, ‘My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”What can I do to help you?’ Elisha asked. ‘Tell me, what do you have in the house?”Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,’ she replied. And Elisha said, ‘Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.’ So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim! ‘Bring me another jar,’ she said to one of her sons. ‘There aren’t any more!’ he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing. When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, ‘Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.’” 2 Kings 4:1-7, NLT

In life, we manage changing circumstances, losses, pressures, and ambitions that make us vulnerable. Our bodies are susceptible to disease, abuse, and accidents. Our minds regularly cope with a wide range of emotions such as confusion, fear, anger, and trust. All of these can increase our sense of vulnerability in ways that can affect the rest of our lives.

A father of a young daughter with Down syndrome fears that she will grow up in a harsh and violent world. While he can’t be with her every minute, he longs to protect her so she can become the sociable, funny, loving woman of faith that God created her to be.

In the story recounted in 2 Kings 4:1‑7, a husband’s death brought economic hardship, poverty, and suffering to his wife. She became vulnerable to creditors, and if she failed to pay, her two sons would be taken as slaves (4:1). There was no governmental assistance, insurance policy, or benefit system to save them.

She sought out the prophet Elijah, who offered help. He began by asking what she had in the house. He concentrated on what she had, not on what she lacked. She had nothing except a flask of olive oil (4:2). Next, he involved the close community around her by instructing her to borrow as many jars as possible from her neighbors (4:3). She filled the jars to the brim until there were no more jars left, and the oil stopped flowing (4:5‑6). Then Elisha told her to sell the oil, pay off the debts, and live on what was left over.

What God did for this widow happens often in the lives of his followers. When we’re stressed and filled with anxiety, God’s Word offers practical guidance. His miracles frequently make use of the resources we have right in front of us. Be careful not to miss the miraculous in the middle of the ordinary!

Note from the Christian Basics Bible

“Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh. The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, ‘Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.'” Exodus 34:5-6, NLT.

While people often say that the God of the Old Testament seems so different from the God of the New Testament, nothing could be further from the truth. We probably already associate Jesus with compassion, but here in Exodus 32–34 is a story that clearly declares how God revealed himself as the God of compassion in Old Testament times too.

While Moses was up on Mount Sinai, Aaron had made a gold calf, which Israel worshiped in a wild party (Exodus 32:1-8). God was rightly angry with them (though his anger is not like our anger; it is the right and just response of a holy God to wickedness). They had broken a fundamental aspect of the covenant—to have no gods other than him—and so deserved his judgment.

Yet even here we see God’s compassion, mercy, and patience. In swift response to Moses’ prayer, God forgave them (32:14), and when he called Moses up Sinai once again, he showed him what he was really like: “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin” (34:6-7)—a revelation that utterly transformed Moses (34:29-35).

This absolute conviction that God was compassionate and merciful, always patient with his people, became an underlying theme of the Old Testament (e.g., 2 Chronicles 30:9; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86:15; 103:8-18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2).

One of the most beautiful aspects of being a part of God’s family is that no matter our background, race, culture, nationality, or education level, we are all children of God. The Bethesda Community Church in Fort Worth, TX, is a thriving multigenerational, multicultural, multilingual congregation. Though united in love for God and each other, the congregation of English and Spanish speakers were looking for a way to grow together in community as well as in understanding God’s Word. Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience was a perfect fit. With all six volumes and resources available in both English and Spanish, the Bethesda family is growing close to God and each other by studying his Word.

Hear from members of the Spanish congregation about their experience. (The video includes English speakers and has English subtitles when the speaker uses Spanish.)

Learn more about Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience

by Glenn Paauw, Senior Direct of Content for the Institute for Bible Reading

At the heart of the Gospel is the stunning realization that God is creating a new worldwide family through Jesus. The First Testament is the story of Israel – the Family of Abraham. God launches his project to restore the world by making Abraham a big promise. “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. . . . I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” Since their inception, the nation of Israel knew that they were God’s family.

This is the story that Jesus was born into – the long, winding, up-and-down story of Israel. Then surprisingly, shockingly, Jesus fulfilled God’s promise to Abraham by giving up his life for the life of the world. Israel’s story became everyone’s story. All people are now invited to join God’s family, and the boundary lines that formerly ordered society – nationality, language, economic status, gender – are now superseded by membership in the family of God.

This means the Story of the Bible is the story we’ve all been adopted into. It’s our Family Story.

This beautiful reality is why we at the Institute for Bible Reading believe everyone should be welcomed to the table to feast together on the Word of God. And we intentionally crafted Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience to allow for that.

We were thrilled to hear how Bethesda Community Church used Immerse to create unity between their Spanish and English congregations (watch video story). They used the Family Guide to invite families with young children to read and discuss together. They (and others) have used the custom Immerse Audio edition for those who struggle to read or simply prefer to listen.

We realize there’s still a long way to go: more languages, more resources, and more adaptability for every kind of context. But our vision is for everyone to have the tools to read big, read real, and read together. This vision for God’s new family to go deep into God’s Word is already beginning to happen.

The Kingdom of God is brown, white, black, young, old, educated, uneducated, healthy, disabled, rich, poor, and everything in between. We speak a multitude of languages. But we are united in Christ. What a beautiful gift it is to come together and feast on our Story.

Learn more about Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience

Learn more about the Institute for Bible Reading

“About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem. Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him. As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, ‘Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them. Then a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.’ When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone. They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen.” Luke 9:28-36, NLT

Peter, James, and John had such an amazing time with Jesus up on a mountain that they didn’t want to leave. Have you ever been to a youth retreat or had a time with God that was so cool you didn’t want it to end?

Being away from the reality and problems of our daily life can seem inviting. But we can’t stay on a mountaintop forever. Instead of becoming spiritual giants, we would soon become giants of self-centeredness.

We need times of retreat and renewal but only so we can return to help build up our family and friends. Our faith must make sense off the mountain as well as on it.

Note from the Girls Life Application Study Bible

by Joni Eareckson Tada, from the Beyond Suffering Bible

This is what God wants—hearts burning with a passion for future things, on fire for Kingdom realities that are out of this world. God wants his people to be aflame with his hope and to have an outlook of pure joy that affects the way they live their lives. God wants each of us to be “like a city on a hilltop” (Matt 5:14) and “a lamp . . . placed on a stand” (Matt 5:15) so that everyone around us will be encouraged to look heavenward.

A perspective like this doesn’t happen without suffering. Affliction fuels the furnace of heaven-hearted hope. People whose lives are unscathed by affliction have a less energetic hope. Oh, they are glad to know they are going to heaven; for them, accepting Jesus was a buy-and-sell agreement. Once that’s taken care of, they feel they can get back to life as usual—dating and marrying, working and vacationing, spending and saving.

But suffering obliterates such preoccupation with earthly things. Suffering wakes us up from our spiritual slumber and turns our hearts toward the future, like a mother turning the face of her child, insisting, “Look this way!” Once heaven has our attention, earth’s pleasures begin to pale in comparison.

What has suffering taken away from you? Don’t allow your heart to dwell on such earthly disappointments. God permits suffering to draw our attention to heaven where that which was lost—and more—shall be restored. Suffering forces us to look forward to the day when God will close the curtain on all disease, death, sorrow, and pain (Rev 21:4). Until then, we have work to do! Jesus says, “We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work” (John 9:4),

Lord of heaven, turn my heart toward you this day.
I set my mind right now on things above.

Judges Book Introduction from the Life Application Study Bible, 3rd Edition

Real Heroes are hard to find these days, thanks in large part to social media, which has made the foibles and weaknesses of our leaders all too apparent. We search in vain for men and women to emulate. The music, movie, and sports industries in particular seem to produce a steady stream of “stars” who shoot to the top and then quickly implode with one moral failure after another.

Judges is a book about heroes—12 men and women who helped rescue Israel from its oppressors. These judges were not perfect; in fact, they included an assassin, someone who doubted God, and a sexually promiscuous man. But when they were submissive to God, God worked through them in amazing ways.

Judges is also a book about sin and its consequences. Like a minor cut or abrasion that becomes infected and causes great damage when left untreated, sin grows and soon poisons the whole body. The book of Joshua ends with the nation of Israel taking a stand for God, ready to experience all the blessings of the Promised Land. After settling in Canaan, however, the Israelites lost their spiritual commitment and motivation. When Joshua and the elders died, the nation experienced a leadership vacuum, leaving them without a strong central government. Instead of enjoying freedom and prosperity in the Promised Land, the people of Israel entered the dark ages of their history.

Simply stated, the reason for this rapid decline was sin—individual and corporate. The first step away from God was incomplete obedience (1:19–2:5); the Israelites refused to eliminate the enemy completely from the land. This led to intermarriage and idolatry (2:10–3:7) and everyone doing “whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (17:6). Before long, the Israelites became captives. Out of their desperation they would beg God to rescue them. In faithfulness to his promise and out of his loving-kindness, God would raise up a judge to deliver his people, and for a time there would be peace. Then complacency and disobedience would set in, and the cycle would begin again.

This book spans over 325 years, recording six successive periods of oppression and deliverance and describing the careers of 12 deliverers. The Israelites’ captors included the Mesopotamians, Moabites,
Philistines, Canaanites, Midianites, and Ammonites. God used a variety
of deliverers—from Othniel to Samson—to lead his people to freedom and true worship. God’s deliverance through the judges is a powerful demonstration of his love and mercy toward his people.

As you read the book of Judges, take a good look at these heroes. Note their dependence on God and their obedience to his commands. Observe Israel’s repeated downward spiral into sin, refusing to learn from past mistakes and living only for the moment. But most of all, stand in awe of God’s mercy as he delivers his people over and over again.