Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
May 4, 2025 Daily Reading- Read the Bible in 1 Year
0 Plays2 seconds ago
Thank you for joining me as we learn about the connection between Passover, First Fruits, Shavuot (pronounced shav-oo-oat) and Pentecost. As part of understanding and observing the festivals that God has appointed for us to observe, we count the Omer (pronounced oh-mare) today and then have our daily Bible reading session!
Here is the link for a downloadable devotional if you would like to count the Omer for yourself. It has been put out by the Messianic Jewish Congregation Shoresh David in Florida: https://www.shoreshdavid.org/download/counting-the-omer-booklet/
Today's reading continues in 1 Kings Chapters 19 and 20: 1-22. Today we will read about King Ahab telling his wife, Jezebel, about what happened to the false prophets of Baal and her threat to Elija that she would kill him by the next day. Elijah, scared for his life, ran into the desert, where he cried out to God that he felt overwhelmed by all that had happened and discouraged by the falling away of God's people. We will see God's Angel, Jesus, come to Elijah and provide him with food and water for a journey to Mount Horeb, where Elijah had a special encounter with God. We will see that God spoke softly to Elijah and comforted him, assuring him that there was still work for him to do and that his work was not for nothing- God had reserved 7,000 people for Himself who did not serve Baal. In our daily discussion we will be encouraged to listen for God's soft, tender voice assuring us that the work we are doing in His name is not for nothing. We will be encouraged to keep loving people and showing God's love during the times when God has told us that the love of many will grow cold, but that we must endure, and not give up. Be assured that there ARE those God has reserved for Himself and we ARE fruitful in our obedience, even if we cannot see it.
If you would like to join me LIVE for the daily reading you can register to attend on my site, here: https://www.inthefamilywaycoaching.com/schedule
Registration for the live event is a tiered pricing event, so you are not required to pay to attend, only if you feel led. If you feel led to support this event with either a paid live registration or a monthly membership then I will give back to YOU by sending you a printed copy of the monthly calendar on sugar cane paper along with a set of stickers for the month to keep track of your daily commitment to read the Bible with me every day.
Monthly memberships to support this event can be purchased on my site, here: https://www.inthefamilywaycoaching.com/offering_packages
Please note, while this FREE online event is a family friendly event and the Bible we are using is suitable for ages 7 and up, you must be 18 or older to support this event by purchasing any monthly membership or by registering for the live event, whether registration for the live event is done with or without supporting the event with a paid registration.
If you enjoyed today's reading and feel like God has lit YOUR light today, please click the LIGHT button (it looks like a HEART or LIKE button) and consider subscribing to or following my channel, if you have not done so already.
If you know someone who might be interested in reading the Bible with me this year please SHARE today's reading with them! It's never too late to join in! Let's help this event grow and together we can spread the word about reading God's Word!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Focus
00:00:02
Speaker
Hi there, everyone. Happy Sunday. It is May 4th, 2025, and you're here with Robin at In the Family Way Coaching. We are here for our daily reading of the Omer, or counting of the Omer, and our daily Bible reading as we go through the Day by Day Kids Bible, which has been written by Karen Henley.
00:00:23
Speaker
I am so glad that you are here with me today, whether you are following along on your podcast or watching the video somewhere. I am so glad you are here. Thank you so much for joining me for this event.
00:00:35
Speaker
If you are keeping track with that count accountability calendar, go ahead and get that out because you're about to hear the Bible today. In case you do not know, I have a calendar available for you to download on my site.
Supporting the Event
00:00:50
Speaker
That can be found at
00:00:58
Speaker
Click on the tab for Read the Bible in One Year, and I have a monthly calendar each month for you to download so you can keep track of your daily accountability for reading the Bible with we each year or each day.
00:01:11
Speaker
So thank you for joining me for that. In case you don't know, you also have the ability to um support this event with a membership each month.
Counting the Omer Explained
00:01:23
Speaker
And you can do that with any amount of your choosing by registering for the live event. You don't have to attend, but that's on a tiered pricing level where you can select any amount you want, $2, $3, $5, whatever you like.
00:01:37
Speaker
and that would be for once a month, or you can ah subscribe to a monthly membership at a higher recurring amount at five or $10 a month.
00:01:48
Speaker
And I have that under the section of part of the family. So thank you so much to those who are choosing to support this event. I appreciate you. We are going to do our daily counting of the Yomer.
00:02:02
Speaker
This is in obedience to God's commandment for us to do so. This started the day after Passover and ah we are counting 50 days until we reach Shavuot or Pentecost.
00:02:16
Speaker
Pentecost is actually, actually means 50.
00:02:22
Speaker
And if you would like to ah join with me in counting the Omer for yourself, simply repeat after me and you will have counted the Omer today.
00:02:33
Speaker
Blessed are you, o Lord our God, King of the universe, who has set us apart by your commandments and has commanded us to count the Omer.
God's Search for Israel
00:02:52
Speaker
Today is the seventh day of the third week and day 21.
00:03:02
Speaker
I have counted the Omer.
00:03:06
Speaker
Thank you so much for joining me as we counted the Omer today.
00:03:13
Speaker
Yesterday we had a wonderful reading where we saw God looking for his lost sheep of israel israel as we have been reading has had a succession of very bad kings who deliberately started worshiping idols because the jewish temple is not located in israel it is located in judah and in order to keep people from leaving and uh pilgrimaging to Judah in order to observe the holy days, we see that the kings of Israel have deliberately set up false idol worship in an effort to keep people in their kingdom.
00:03:53
Speaker
And despite this fact, God looked for them as he would for our lost sheep.
Elijah's Journey
00:03:59
Speaker
And Jesus tells us that he is the good shepherd and he takes care of us.
00:04:04
Speaker
And in that same way, we see that God looks for us as his lost sheep so that he can bring us to himself.
00:04:14
Speaker
Today, we are going to continue with Elijah.
00:04:20
Speaker
And this will be in 1 Kings chapter 19. This section is entitled, Afraid in the Desert.
00:04:31
Speaker
King Ahab, and remember he is king of Israel, told his wife Jezebel what had happened. He told how Baal's prophets had been killed.
00:04:43
Speaker
So Jezebel sent a message to Elijah. I promise I'll kill you and by this time tomorrow, you'll be dead.
00:04:53
Speaker
Elijah got scared. He ran away and he left his servant in town. Elijah ran away into the desert. He went as far as you could go in one day.
00:05:05
Speaker
Then Elijah saw a broom tree. He sat down under it and he prayed that he would die. This is too much for me, God. He said, just let me die.
00:05:19
Speaker
Elijah lay down there and he went to sleep. Suddenly an angel came. He touched Elijah and woke him up.
00:05:30
Speaker
Get up, said the angel, eat something. Elijah looked around and he saw some bread. He saw a jar of water. So he ate the bread and he drank some of the water and then he lie back down.
00:05:48
Speaker
God's angel came to Elijah again. He touched Elijah. Get up, said the angel. Eat some more or your trip will be too hard for you.
00:06:02
Speaker
So Elijah got up, he ate and drank, and then he felt stronger. And that was all he ate. But he was strong enough to travel for 40 days and 40 nights.
00:06:18
Speaker
At last Elijah got to Horeb Mountain. This was the mountain of God. Elijah spent the night in a cave there. Then God spoke to Elijah.
00:06:31
Speaker
Why are you here, Elijah? I've worked hard for you, God, said Elijah. But your people have turned away from you.
00:06:42
Speaker
They broke your altars. They killed your prophets. I'm the only prophet left. And now they're trying to kill me. go stand on the mountain, said God.
00:06:55
Speaker
I'm going to pass by.
00:06:59
Speaker
strong wind blew. It was so strong it broke rocks. But God was not in the wind. The earth began to shake.
00:07:12
Speaker
But God was not in the shaking earth. A fire came. But God was not in the fire.
00:07:22
Speaker
Then Elijah heard a soft, quiet voice. Elijah pulled his coat over his face, and he stood at the opening to the cave.
00:07:35
Speaker
Then God spoke. Why are you here, Elijah? I've worked hard for you, God, said Elijah. But your people have turned away from you.
00:07:48
Speaker
They tore your altars down, they killed your prophets, I'm the only prophet left. Now they're trying to kill me.
00:08:00
Speaker
Go back, said God. Make Jehu king of Israel. Make Elisha the next prophet after you.
00:08:12
Speaker
Then God said, I have saved 7,000 people for myself in Israel. They do not worship Baal or follow him.
00:08:26
Speaker
So Elijah left and he found Elisha. Elisha was plowing a field and he had lots of oxen to plow, pulling the plow. And Elijah walked up to Elisha.
00:08:40
Speaker
He put his coat over Elisha's shoulders. Elisha left the plow and he ran after Elijah. I have to kiss my mother and father goodbye, he said, and then I'll come.
00:08:54
Speaker
All right, said Elijah. So Elisha went back and he killed some of the oxen. He burned the plow. He cooked the meat. He gave it to people to eat.
00:09:07
Speaker
And then he left to go with Elijah.
King Ahab's Battle
00:09:12
Speaker
First Kings, chapter 20, verses 1 through 22. King Ahab fights war. king ahab fights a war
00:09:20
Speaker
Now the king of Aram got his whole army together. He got 32 other kings to go with him. They got their horses and chariots ready, and then they all marched out to fight against Israel.
00:09:34
Speaker
They marched to the city of Samaria. The king of Aram sent a message to Ahab. I want to have your silver and gold, and I want to have your best wives and children.
00:09:47
Speaker
ah King Ahab sent a message back. It said, all right. Then the king of Aram sent another message. Tomorrow I'll send my leaders into your city.
00:09:59
Speaker
I'll take everything that looks good to me. King Ahab called his leaders together. He said, the king of Aram is asking for trouble. First he asked for my wives and children.
00:10:12
Speaker
He asked for silver and gold. I told him yes. Don't give him anything more, said the leaders. So King Ahab sent a message back.
00:10:23
Speaker
I'll give you what you asked for the first time, but I can't give you anything else.
00:10:28
Speaker
Then the king of Aram sent another message. Only dust will be left when I'm done with your city. King Ahab sent a message back.
00:10:40
Speaker
You haven't even started to fight. You shouldn't brag as if you've already won.
00:10:47
Speaker
The king of Aram and his leaders were in their tents and they were drinking when the message came. The king of Aram said, Get ready to fight. So his army got ready to fight the city of Samaria.
00:11:02
Speaker
Then prophet came to King Ahab and the prophet told the king what God said.
00:11:09
Speaker
Look at this big army. I'm going to give it to you. You will win. Then you'll know that I am God.
00:11:18
Speaker
Who should fight? asked Ahab. God says the young leaders will fight, said the prophet. Who will start the fight? asked Ahab. You will, said the prophet.
00:11:32
Speaker
So Ahab called his young army officers. There were 232 of them. And then Ahab got the rest of the army together. And there were 7,000 of them.
00:11:44
Speaker
He sent them out at noon. Now at noon, the king of Aram was in his tent, and the other 32 kings were in their tents. They were getting drunk. The king of Aram had men watching the city of Samaria, and they sent him a message.
00:12:01
Speaker
Men are coming from the city. Catch them, said the king of Aram. So the men from Aram went to catch the young officers, but the young officers killed them.
00:12:13
Speaker
Then the army of Aram began running away and the king of Aram got away on a horse. But King Ahab and his army chased them. He caught up with them. A fight began.
00:12:25
Speaker
King Ahab and his army won. The prophet came back to King Ahab. He said, make your army stronger and make your city stronger.
00:12:36
Speaker
The king of Aram will come back to fight.
Lessons from Elijah
00:12:39
Speaker
He will come back next spring. And that is the end of our reading for today.
00:12:52
Speaker
Our daily application today is when we saw Elijah, he was scared and he was feeling very sad because he just felt like his all of his work was was not having any beneficial effect.
00:13:12
Speaker
How often times have we felt that we are doing God's will and it's just not doing any good? He was very depressed about the fact that he couldn't see any benefit to the work that he was doing for God.
00:13:28
Speaker
He said, God, I've been serving you and the people are just not there with you. So he felt that he was not winning anybody for God. Despite all of the amazing things that had happened, God's people had turned away from him.
00:13:46
Speaker
And so he went out into the desert and he was scared because Jezebel had had threatened to kill him. And we see that God's angel came to Elijah.
00:13:58
Speaker
When we see God's angel, do you remember who that is? It's Jesus. So Jesus came to Elijah and he gave Elijah food and water for a long journey.
00:14:14
Speaker
And then we see that he had he came a second time and he provided food and water a second time and said, you need to eat. God was caring for Elijah.
00:14:27
Speaker
God loved Elijah. And when Elijah was taken on the journey to Mount Horeb, God passed in front of him and his arrival was heralded with a strong wind, but God wasn't in the wind.
00:14:46
Speaker
And then there was an earthquake, but God wasn't in the earthquake and fire came. God wasn't in the fire either, but then soft the voice was heard.
00:15:01
Speaker
Let us listen for God's soft voice. He is so tender with Elijah. He was so caring with Elijah. Elijah's spirit and heart were broken and he was so despondent and sad.
00:15:16
Speaker
He felt like what he was doing was having no effect. And yet God reassured him and said, I have saved, I have reserved 7,000 people for myself.
00:15:29
Speaker
And they have never kissed Baal's idol. They have never bowed before him. So he was letting Elijah know there were still people who were listening for God and looking for God.
00:15:43
Speaker
All was not lost. All his work was not for nothing. He was doing God's work and it was having an effect. It was strengthening those people.
00:15:55
Speaker
God had 7,000 people who were reserved for him.
Encouragement to Persevere
00:16:02
Speaker
Let us listen for God's voice when we feel that what we are doing is having no effect.
00:16:11
Speaker
Don't feel like the work you are doing for God is having no benefit and no good is coming from it. We can't always see the good that is happening, but rest assured, God has good going into it.
00:16:27
Speaker
Our job is to obey and God will do the rest. And as we see, Elijah obeyed and God was taking care of the rest. His work and was not for nothing.
00:16:40
Speaker
Your work is not for nothing. My work is not for nothing. Don't let the enemy me make you feel scared. God is with you.
00:16:52
Speaker
God was with Elijah. And in that same way that God spoke softly to him, listen for God's soft voice. He will speak softly to you as well.
00:17:03
Speaker
And he speaks softly to me when we are despondent thinking, I am having no benefit. That is the enemy. Don't let the enemy discourage you.
00:17:16
Speaker
Remember the soft voice that God spoke to Elijah with. And remember that he is soft with you too. And listen for his soft voice and know that you are also having an effect in this world.
00:17:33
Speaker
That's our daily application today. I hope you feel God giving you a great big hug today. And I hope that you hear God's soft voice as he speaks to you tenderly and lovingly that you are not for nothing.
00:17:49
Speaker
Your work is having a benefit in this world where it seems like there is no one left. There are people. We are here. We read in the Bible that as the end times come, that the hearts of everyone will grow colder. There will be less love and it will become harder to love.
00:18:09
Speaker
And this is how Elijah felt. But don't give up. God says that we must hold strong. Keep loving. Don't be discouraged. Listen for God's soft voice and know that he is God.
00:18:24
Speaker
Be still and know that he is God. So I hope you feel that God has lit your light today and given you a great big hug. And just if you feel that God has lit your light, then when you're done listening or watching, click that light button so that we can let others know too that they are not for nothing in the world.
00:18:45
Speaker
That they too should listen for God's soft voice, letting them know that their work is still having an effect in the world. and together we can spread the word about reading God's word.
00:19:01
Speaker
I hope everybody has a fabulous rest of their day today, and I will be here for everyone again tomorrow.