PSA Bible Reading Challenge 2025-2026

We continue along in the same theme of praises for the community which finds itself in Thessalonica. Throughout both of these books, the first and the second, we do see that Paul states that he prays continuously for them. This is a like a red thread throughout these books is the support and help that the founder of the church does for the church even if he is not there to be with them. He is in prison, and even describes himself as an old man, but nevertheless what he is able to do is to pray for them while he is in prison.

There is that one train of thought that is somewhat disturbing in chapter three which the early Puritan settlers took to heart. Paul talks about idleness and states that those who do not work hard, should not receive any food. The exact quote, and it is a quotation and so Paul gets it from somewhere else, is “those who are unwilling to work should not eat.” I mean, he isn’t wrong…

It has been a long time since I read Philemon, and how refreshing was that? A book of the Bible where the author is happy with the recipients of the word that is written to them. We have read consistently the disobedience of the Israelites in basically every book of the Old Testament. We read in Corinthians about how short they have fallen from that which God wanted from them. But here in Thessalonians, Paul can’t help but sing their praises. He uses them as an example of faith that other communities ought to emulate. We also get him explaining to them what the story is with the end times and why there is a delay and what to do during the delay. They were expecting it at any time, and as their loved ones were dying around them he tells them it is okay to grieve, but not like people without hope.

Philemon, the single chapter, is Paul reminded the person, Philemon, about Onesimus who seemed to be a slave and was asked to be welcomed back into the fold because he is now no longer a slave, at least should no longer be a slave, but a brother in Christ.

We close out Daniel with a recognition that Daniel is very aware that he is in need of God, to the point where he states that he did not understand how God remains faithful to humanity even as people turn their backs continually against the Lord. The Psalms reflect how we have all disobeyed God and yet God continues to provide and give that which we need. But we do find ourselves in history turning out backs to God and God never leaving us or forsaking us. Isn’t that the main theme in the Psalms, God continually supporting us and being faithful even in our own unfaithfulness. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

We find the classic story of Daniel and the lion’s den where we see that Daniel, no matter what, was going to follow God’s commands and leading. Every time that I read this story I am reminded of the discipline that Daniel had in his prayers over 3 times a day and wonder why we don’t have that same consistent discipline. It should not be difficult to find three times in the day when we pray and recognize that the creator God is the one who gave us life and is the one who provides all things for us. Psalm 75 is also a celebration that reminds us that we are to worship the living God because he has given us life, for the very same reason that Daniel celebrated God, because he consistently recognized that God had given him life.

Daniel is one of the favorite books of the Bible for people simply because of the story of the lion’s den. But there is so much more to it. There is a real similarity between Daniel and Joseph, each rising up to the ranks in a foreign land and gaining the trust of the foreign rulers. They both were also gifted by God to interpret dreams which in one case saves their lives and in another case predicts the fall of the king in a day’s time. I did just notice that when the men were thrown into the furnace Daniel was not in there with them. It was his three friends who were thrown into the fire because they refused to bow down to the golden god that was created. But their steadfastness and God’s faithfulness turned the king around and made him pronounce a decree that no one should ever slander the Jews again.

Short book of the Bible is Malachi. It is also one of those books that is filled with condemnation for Israel because they are no offering to the Lord that which ought to be offered. This is specifically true in the offerings where the people are choosing to give to the Lord that which is not worth anything at all, the blind animals, the lame, those that nobody wants. The questions comes what would happen if they offered these animals to an earthly ruler. The answer is clear, swift retribution.

The phrase that is well known is the command in chapter 3 to bring the full tithe into the storehouse. The question arises if God will be cheated. The answer is clearly no, but as people we think that this is possible, that somehow when we give to God of our tithe we can do less because we actually doubt if God is present or if he really cares or if he even notices that we have done this. Nobody at the level of his church, his receiving agent, is holding us accountable so we really are able to do that which we want. The key is to allow people to understand that what we want should be what God wants, and so the tithe would never become an issue.

I had not really noticed before how so many of the Psalms that we read are really curses against the enemy. We know psalms of praise, and kingly psalms, and psalms about nature, and psalms of lament, but we do have our fair share of psalms which curse the enemies and ask for God’s right hand and judgment to come down swiftly and in a strong fashion. These are not the psalms that we are called to remember and to use for our own good, as in a proof text kind of way, but rather recognize that those who wrote the psalms, like us, are subject to desires and wishes which may not exactly reflect what God would want us to do. This is especially true for us of the new covenant who have been shown a new way in which to live, a way that reflectes the suffering servant of Isaiah in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It does feel a bit like we are reading in Numbers or Leviticus where we have the measurements of the temple and all that has to go into the temple, similar to all the descriptions of the laws and all that had to be done to follow the laws. But remember, the people of God have been in exile for all these generations so much, if not all, was forgotten. The rebuilding of the temple was the first priority for those returning from captivity, and those who had disobeyed in the most egregious way, the Levites, had their actions curtailed. They were in charge of the “things” in the temple, but no longer were they allowed to be the ones who offered the sacrifices. Disobedience carries repercussions.

We find probably the most powerful verses in all of Scripture in Ezekiel 37 as we find ourselves in the valley of the dry bones. It is a perfect Scripture for Pentecost, a time when we recognize that God has breathed his Spirit upon us and that we have seen his presence in our midst. The knitting together of bone upon bone and sinew upon sinew allows us to see that God is in the business of recreating that which was dead, comes alive again. There is a song that says dead things come alive in the name of Jesus. That is where we find ourselves in this Scripture, and hopefully this is where we find ourselves in our faith as well. Enjoy the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wJKiOEdUsk

We begin our reading with Egypt being targeted as a country that has disobeyed and so will enter into the “pit” along with the rest of the countries who thought that they could defy the Lord and not have to take him into consideration. There is not only the warning to Egypt that this was happening, but also a listing of all the other countries who found themselves buried in the pit because they were mocking the Lord. There is an interesting caveat that we don’t see in other place in Scripture where we read that the Lord would change his mind, that God would stay his actions if the nation were to repent and turn from their ways. There is a bit of a soliloquy there that explains rationally why God would change if people changed, and why God would stay on track for destruction if the people pursue their evil ways. Not always a way in which I would think God would act, based upon our actions. The sovereignty of God is called a bit into question in this way of thinking.