3-Day Bible Reading Plan: “Only the Devil Wins the Blame and Shame Game”
“What are the hurdles to practicing confession? What keeps us from acknowledging our sins before God and others? After we confess our sin, what keeps us from living like we are forgiven and free from our past? The two biggest hurdles I have encountered in practicing Christian confession are blame and shame. I have seen these two things hinder my spiritual life and the lives of others. Blame stops the practice of confession from ever starting, and shame sidetracks the healing process in the middle. Blame blinds us from our sinfulness, and shame prevents us from seeing forgiveness.” - Pastor Paul Crandell, 9/8/24
Day 1
Featured Verse: Psalm 51:1-6 - “Have Mercy on Me, O God”
Cross References:
Mark 10:46-52 - “Son of David, Have Mercy on Me!”
Blind Bartimaeus cried out to Christ although many told him to be quiet. If he hadn’t continued crying out, he might not have been healed. Despite God’s silence at times, when are some times you continued to pray and He answered your faithfulness?
Matthew 15:21-28 - “Have Mercy on Me, O Lord, Son of David”
The Canaanite woman cried for mercy upon her daughter. She had determined she wasn’t going to leave Christ without her blessing. She reasoned with Him and won Him with her faith. When have you reasoned and wrestled with God in prayer before He gave your request?
Luke 17:11-19 - “Jesus, Master, Have Mercy on Us”
Ten lepers were cleansed, but only one returned to give praise. Why, do you think, only one returned after receiving such a bountiful mercy? When have you returned to give thanks to God after answering your prayer?
“He did not sit and whisper, ‘Thou Son of David have mercy on me;’ but he shouted, and, as the opposition increased, his shouts grew yet more loud, ‘Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.’ He was vehement and persevering in his prayer, but he was justified in his zeal. He was blind and he knew the misery of blindness.” - Charles Spurgeon
“A Canaanite woman cries to our Lord for help, on behalf of her daughter. ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord thou son of David!’ she says. Such a prayer would have showed great faith had she lived in Bethany or Jerusalem; but when we find that she came from the ‘coasts of Tyre and Sidon’, such a prayer may well fill us with surprise. It ought to teach us that it is grace, not place, which makes people believers. We may live in a prophet’s family, like Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, and yet continue impenitent, unbelieving and fond of the world. We may dwell in the midst of superstition and dark idolatry, like the little maid in Naaman’s house, and yet be faithful witnesses for God and his Christ. Let us not despair of anyone’s soul merely because his lot is cast in an unfavorable position. It is possible to dwell in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, and yet sit down in the kingdom of God.” - J.C. Ryle
Day 2
Featured Verse: Psalm 51:7-12 - “Create in Me a Clean Heart”
Cross References:
Ezekiel 36:26 - “I Will Give You a New Heart”
Why does God give us a new heart? What can we learn from the metaphors of a “heart of stone” vs a “heart of flesh”?
Matthew 5:8 - “Blessed Are the Pure in Heart, For They Shall See God”
What does it mean to be pure in heart? Why are these the believers who will see God? What do you think “they shall see God” means in our lives?
John 3:3 - “Unless One is Born Again He Cannot See the Kingdom of God”
Nicodemus had no clue what being born again meant. That is quite understandable, since here, our Lord says unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. What does it mean to be born again, and why can’t those who are not born again see God’s kingdom?
“Human nature is too far gone ever to be mended. It is not a house that is a little out of repair, with here and there a slate blown from the roof, and here and there a piece of plaster broken down from the ceiling. No, it is rotten throughout, the very foundations have been sapped; there is not a single timber in it which has not been eaten by the worm, from its uppermost roof to its lowest foundation; there is no soundness in it; it is all rottenness and ready to fall. God doth not attempt to mend, he does not shore up the walls, and re-paint the door; he does not garnish and beautify, but he determines that the old house shall be entirely swept away, and that he will build a new one.” - Charles Spurgeon
“The man, whose heart is pure, will be able to see God in nature. When his heart is clean, he will hear God’s footfall everywhere in the garden of the earth in the cool of the day. He will hear God’s voice in the tempest, sounding in peal on peal from the tops of the mountains. He will behold the Lord walking on the great and mighty waters, or see him in every leaf that trembles in the breeze. Once get the heart right, and then God can be seen everywhere. To an impure heart, God cannot be seen anywhere; but to a pure heart God is to be seen everywhere, in the deepest caverns of the sea, in the lonely desert, in every star that gems the brow of midnight.” - Charles Spurgeon
Day 3
Featured Verse: Psalm 51:13-17 - “The Sacrifices of God Are a Broken Spirit”
Cross References:
Psalm 34:18 - “The LORD is Near to the Brokenhearted”
What does God being near to the brokenhearted tell you about the nature of God’s own heart?
Psalm 147:3 - “He Heals the Brokenhearted and Binds Up Their Wounds”
God is not only near to the brokenhearted, He heals them and binds up their wounds. In what ways might God bind up a broken heart? How might He make it whole once more?
Isaiah 61:1 - “He Has Sent Me to Bind Up the Brokenhearted”
Christ read this verse out loud in the synagogue of Nazareth (Luke 4:16-21). He proclaimed Himself the fulfillment of Isaiah’s words. Christ has been sent by the Father to bind up the brokenhearted. Has Jesus bound up your broken heart? How might you ask Him to heal your heart wounds?
“The patients of the great Physician are those whose hearts are broken through sorrow. Hearts are broken through disappointment. Hearts are broken through bereavement. Hearts are broken in ten thousand ways, for this is a heart-breaking world; and Christ is good at healing all manner of heart-breaks.” - Charles Spurgeon
“A truly Christian love, either to God or men, is a humble broken-hearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires. Their hope is a humble hope; and their joy, even when it is unspeakable and full of glory, is a humble broken-hearted joy, and leaves the Christian more poor in spirit, and more like a little child, and more disposed to a universal lowliness of behavior.” - Jonathan Edwards