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August 1, 2024
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Here are the Bible Book(s)/ Chapter(s) to read each day this week. Note that the readings are based on the New American Bible.
Judges Chapters 1-4 Today we begin reading the
Book of Judges. This book tells us about several men who played an important role in defending the Israelites in their new land. Shamgar was one of those men.
There is only one verse, Judges 3:31, to describe Shamgar’s contri- bution to his community.
Ask God to remind us to recognize and appreciate all people doing good work in our lives.
Are any of your accomplishments unrecognized by others? If so, why would God allow you to experience this feeling of disappointment? Is there an accomplishment by someone else that you can recognize today?
Judges Chapters 5-8
Judges 6:15 tells us that Gideon doubted he could save Israel. Exodus 3:11 tells us that Moses also doubted God’s call on his life.
Gideon did not come from a powerful family: he came from the weakest family in his community. Within this weak family, he was the least significant member.
No matter what we look like, no matter whether we come from good families or from “the wrong side of the tracks,” we are the beloved children of God who can accomplish amazing things in God’s strength. In this book, we see that God chose people who were considered weak by others to do the greatest works.
Ask God to help us to know that He will certainly provide us with whatever we need to accomplish what He is calling us to do.
Is God calling you to do something, but you don’t see how someone like you could do it? St. Angela of Merici said that we should get on our knees in prayer and get ready for big surprises.
Judges Chapters 9-12
In Judges Chapter 9, we see an example of sinful competition. Abimelech took power by killing his rivals and then spent his entire reign as king fighting off challenges. Finally, he himself was killed violently.
Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, 2 Timothy 4:6-8 and Hebrews 12:1-3. What do these verses suggest about what makes a com- petition righteous?
Ask God to help us all to fight fairly in competition and to realize that winning one particular battle is no guarantee of winning an entire war.
What prize are you fighting for?
Judges Chapters 13-17
In Judges 13:8, Manoah asked God to teach him how to raise his son. Ask God to remind us to consult Him about all our concerns, both big and small.
Have you asked God to teach you what you need to know to do an important task?
Judges Chapters 18-21
Now that we’ve read all of the Book of Judges, we see that life for the Israelites in the Promised Land was, at times, horribly violent.
Judges 21:25 tells us that all the people did what they, themselves, thought was best.
Ask God to help us to take the time we need to consult wise advisors when making important decisions.
Is relying solely on our own reasoning a good way to lead our lives?
Ruth Chapters 1-4
The Book of Ruth tells us a wonderful story of love, devotion, obedience and reward.
Read Ruth 1:15-18 again and try to imagine yourself as Ruth in the story. Imagine what Ruth would be leaving behind to follow Naomi. Then, think of how much love Ruth must have had for Naomi to follow her mother-in-law with no hesita- tion.
Ask God to help us to love Him
with the same devotion that Ruth showed to Naomi.
Do you remember stories of saints, of other people written about in the Bible or some people in your own life who have shown as much love for God as Ruth showed for Naomi?
1 Samuel Chapters 1-5
Today, we begin reading about Samuel, a prophet, who anointed the first king of Israel.
Read 1 Samuel 2:1-10 again in which Samuel’s mother gave thanks to God for Samuel’s birth and then dedicated the boy’s life to God’s service. Then, read Luke 1:46-55 and skim through Deuter- onomy 31:30 - 32:44.
These are all songs of praise.
Ask God to inspire us to create some works of praise for His goodness to us.
Have you ever written a song or poem or painted a picture to praise God? Are there any liturgical artists or musicians whom you can encourage in some way today?
A version of this story appeared in the July 28, 2024, issue of The Catholic Registerwith the headline "We can accomplish amazing things with God’s strength".
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