Welcome to day 33 of our 40 day challenge! Today, we are in Psalm 18 and John 10

(You can catch up on our Intro, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23, Day 24, Day 25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28, Day 29, Day 30, Day 31, Day 32 if you missed them)

Psalm 18:1-7

¹ I love you, Lord, my strength.

² The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

³ I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
    and I have been saved from my enemies.
⁴ The cords of death entangled me;
    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
⁵ The cords of the grave coiled around me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

⁶ In my distress I called to the Lord;
    I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
    my cry came before him, into his ears.
⁷ The earth trembled and quaked,
    and the foundations of the mountains shook;
    they trembled because he was angry.

John 10:31-42

³¹ Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him,³² but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

³³ “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’^[d]? ³⁵ If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— ³⁶ what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? ³⁷ Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. ³⁸ But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” ³⁹ Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

⁴⁰ Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, ⁴¹ and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.”⁴² And in that place many believed in Jesus.

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Yesterday, what stood out to me was the difference between David and the Pharisees and how they knew (or didn’t know) the Lord.

In today’s Psalm, David shows his need and how God shows up in his need. David has personally experienced God as his rock and refuge, and he has seen God be there for his people. We need both, just like David. We need personal and collective experiences of the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness. Christianity was never meant to be a solo venture. Jesus is the Shepherd

In today’s passage, the Pharisees try again to stone Him, but as He goes back across the Jordan, where John the Baptist had ministered, more come to believe in Him. Jesus’s words and deeds revealed the Lord to the people who knew their need.

In Matthew 9:36, Jesus looked at the people and had compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd. The people need God. They are more likely to believe in Him because they need Him. Their hearts are open.  And it’s the same today. It’s often those at the bottom of society whose hearts are open to the Lord, because they know their need. But we all need Jesus.

The world is a rough place, and we aren’t meant to walk through it alone. We are meant to be His Body, walking together with Him, for the good of each other and all we come across. ♥

Options for further  journaling or discussion throughout the challenge:

• Choose a part of the passage to write out by hand. Writing by hand helps us slow down and focus on what the Lord might highlight for us in the passage. Our brains can focus and remember better by writing than just reading alone.
• Journal about what the passage brings to mind. Does the passage tell us anything about God? Does it tell us anything about our response to Him?
• Does your heart respond in gratitude to any part of the passage? Write or pray your gratitude to the Lord.

We’ll see you tomorrow for Day 34,  in Psalm 85 and John 11

♥ Samantha