Daily Reading Passages

Click below for access to the passages. Biblegateway.com is an excellent site with many versions of the Bible. The link below opens in NIV.  Youversion.com is a new site that allows you to annotate your own Bible, make notes, and comments once you create an account. That link opens in the TNIV version. Other versions are available at both sites.

Coaching Comments

Today's Old Testament reading is Leviticus 19:1 - 20:21. Chapter 19 presents a running list of various laws and standards. Some of these recap parts of the Ten Commandments. Others are new. The gleaning laws sets up the beginning of a social support system for the poor, making sure that they are provided for. A number of these laws are specifically targeted at the religious practices of the Caananite tribes. These external things (tattoos, body cutting, special beard cuts, etc.) were indicators of affiliation and service to the various Caananite deities. So, God ruled them out for for His people. There are also a couple strong prohibitions against involvement in the occult.

The key thing to see in this chapter is the opening line. Verse 2. "Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy." This is God's desire for His people. The purpose for these many laws and standards is so that this community can come to represent God's own character in the middle of a very brutal and broken world.

Chapter 20 gives a list of sentences for some of the violations that have been mentioned in the previous chapters. They are, by and large, very strong. Most of them earn a death sentence. This can seem harsh, but it's vital to remember the context. God is setting up a strong boundary between His people and the people of the land. Where He is leading Israel, there are already existing cultures with all kinds of wickedness accepted as normal: tribes who practice child sacrifice, religions who have prostitutes available as a part of their worship, cultures with very few sexual standards, where all kinds of debauchery is acceptable. As God leads His people into this land, He is preparing them with very clear expectations and standards that will keep them united as a community. At this stage in the game there is no margin for error. If Israel accommodates itself to these practices, they will get comfortable, they will intermingle and intermarry, and it won't be long until - like all the various tribes in Canaan, they will cease to exist as a unified people.

This is not an acceptable outcome, and thus the clear standards and consequences. God has a long-term plan that is much bigger than these people, and it requires a unique nation with a deep sense of ethics and attentiveness to God's way. And this is just the beginning of that journey.

In the New Testament rading we move towards one of the highlights of the story for Mark. (Mark 8:11-38). The last reading ended with a conflict with the Pharisees, and that leads into a conversation with the disciples. They seem so clueless at times. Jesus warns them to avoid the "yeast" of the Pharisees, and by this He means their subtle influence that infiltrates into a life and changes it from the inside out. But they thought He was talking about bread. Jesus pointed to His two miraculous feedings, and asked them why they didn't get it. This was about something bigger than whether they had a loaf of bread with them or not.

Next we see a strange, almost incomplete, healing of a blind man. For some mysterious reason it takes two steps for Jesus to heal. It's been suggested that Mark highlighted this healing at just this point because this was another teaching moment for the disciples. The disciples were with Jesus, and yet they still did not see things clearly. They had partial vision, but it was going to take another intervention on Jesus' part for them to have clear vision.

Whether or not this interpretation is accurate, it fits very nicely with what follows, for the end of today's reading and the beginning on tomorrow's is the highlight of Mark's gospel, where Jesus reveals Himself to the disciples. It starts with Peter's confession that Jesus is the Messiah, a high point, indeed. But following this Jesus begins to frankly talk with the disciples about His soon-coming death. They have just acknowledged that He is the Messiah, but this is not the kind of Messiah they are looking for. Peter - the one who had the realization - reacts against Jesus' comments, and Jesus goes into a teaching about the cost of following Him. It's the highest cost, and yet it has an infinite return.

Today's Psalm reading, Psalms 42:1-11, is one of the most beautiful songs in the book. It is a skillful interweaving of desire for God and the truth of feeling separated from God at times. It's one of those passages that the writer wrote to be recited in moments of doubt and uncertainty, as a reminder of what is true about God and His love. The images are beautiful and compelling, and the reminder is vital for us. Let us remember those high moments when we felt God near, and then when our souls are downcast and we struggle, let's recall those times, and let them life our eyes to God's love and protection that is present, and that our hearts deeply desire.

This is an excellent Psalm to highlight in your Bible, and to use as a personal meditation when you need a reminder of God's presence in your life.

One simple proverb in our Proverbs reading for today. Proverbs 10:17. This is the contrast between "heeding discipline" and "ignoring correction." A lot of us think the word "discipline" means "punishment," but that couldn't be further from the truth. Sometimes "discipline" includes punishment for some violation, but it always includes something more: instruction. "Discipline" is the word from which we get "disciple," which means a student who emulates a certain teacher. The point of discipline is to learn and grow; it's aim is maturity.  So, when we face situations in life where we are "disciplined," where we have painful consequences for the choices we've made, our choice -- and the thing that distinguishes a wise person from a fool -- is whether we will allow ourselves to learn from the consequence, or whether we will just get angry and bitter. If we learn, then we are wise and are walking in the path of life. If we ignore the lesson, then we are fools.