Want to study together?

We are changing the world one life at a time for the glory of God.

If you would like to study Biblical topics in depth, stop by my other blog:

http://onlinegracegroup.blogspot.com/

Current study: Spiritual Warfare

31 October 2012

Week 44 Review - October 31


October 31
     Matthew 24-25
     Mark 13
     Luke 21:5-38

Today’s reading was really heavy! The Olivet Discourse is a very sobering picture of what’s to come – and of what came shortly after Jesus answered the disciple’s questions.

Jesus had lamented over Jerusalem and withdrew to the Mount of Olives to talk privately with his disciples. Jesus predicted that nothing would remain of the temple, and Andrew, Peter, James and John asked for details. Jesus answered them, but gave them far more information than they expected.

30 October 2012

Week 44 Review - 30 October


October 30
     Matthew 22:15-23:39
     Mark 12:13-44
     Luke 20:20-21:4; 13:31-35

Jesus has taught in parables. He is being tested by all of the rulers. They don’t believe He is the Messiah. There are plots to kill Him. People are beginning to believe. It’s Passover. Jesus knows He will soon die for the world’s sin. There’s no better plot than this!

Why did Jesus have to go through all this questioning? There are many reasons. First, this was a debating style. Next, without the questioning, Jesus’ commands could not be made public. And another reason: Jesus was coming to be the world’s sacrifice. He was to be the Passover Lamb. According to Mosaic Law, the Lamb had to be examined before the sacrifice, and if the examiners found even one tiny blemish, the animal was not acceptable (Exodus 12:5-6). Jesus’ accusers examined Him in every way possible, and they could find no blemish.

29 October 2012

Week 44 Review - October 29


October 29
     Matthew 21:23-22:14
     Mark 11:27-12:12
     Luke 20:1-19
     John 12:37-50

Jesus has marched triumphantly into Jerusalem and received the accolades due an earthly King. Lazarus is there, and his resurrection is causing many to believe in Jesus – and the Sanhedrin are not amused. Jesus goes to the Temple to teach, and the chief priests and elders question His authority.

28 October 2012

Week 44 Review - October 28


October 28            
     Matthew 26:6-13               
     Mark 14:3-9       
     John 11:55-12:36
     Matthew 21:1-22
     Mark 11:1-26
     Luke 19:28-48
     John 2:13-25

    
It’s Passion Week, the week before Jesus’ death. Before He heads to Jerusalem for the final time, He is anointed with expensive perfume (valued at nearly one year’s wages) by a woman in Bethany. John tells us the woman was Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus (who was also there). Judas was indignant! He said that the money should have gone to the poor, but Jesus disagreed.

Week 44 Readings


October 28
     Matthew 26:6-13
     Mark 14:3-9
     John 11:55-12:36
     Matthew 21:1-22
     Mark 11:1-26
     Luke 19:28-48
     John 2:13-25
October 29
     Matthew 21:23-22:14
     Mark 11:27-12:12
     Luke 20:1-19
     John 12:37-50
October 30
     Matthew 22:15-23:39
     Mark 12:13-44
     Luke 20:20-21:4; 13:31-35
October 31
     Matthew 24-25
     Mark 13
     Luke 21:5-38
November 1
     Matthew 26:1-5, 14-35
     Mark 14:1-2, 10-31
     Luke 22:1-38
     John 13
November 2
     John 14-17

26 October 2012

Week 43 Review - Friday, October 26


Matthew 20
Mark 10:32-52
Luke 18:31-19:27

We’ve reached the end of week 43. Only 9 weeks to go! Congratulations for staying with it. It has been rewarding for me, and I pray that it’s rewarding for you as well.

Today Jesus deals with envy. The story of the laborer reminds us that God will bless each of us in the way He chooses. It’s not up to us to want riches, or fame, or … because God is the Master. If we serve Him only for what we get out of the deal (a danger the prosperity and health/wealth ministers don’t address), then we aren’t serving Him wholeheartedly. We are in danger of the warnings in Luke 13:24-28 (http://readthroughthebiblechallenge.blogspot.com/2012/10/week-43-review-tuesday-october-23.html).

24 October 2012

Week 43 Review - Wednesday, October 24


Luke 14-15

Mark 10:1-31
Luke 16:1-18:30

Jesus gives us more practical application as we strive to live more like Him.

Jesus’ disciples were humans just like us, and they argued about who would be first in God’s kingdom. Jesus rebuked them and gave them an answer, and today he uses the parable of the wedding feast to do so. He reminds us that it’s better to consider yourself lowly and be raised by the host than to consider yourself important and be publicly rebuked. It’s still that way today. Church members fight over who has the “right” to sit somewhere, or to do something, or to sing or play or teach. It’s human nature to want to be considered important. Jesus reminds us that the ones who are truly important and the ones considered lowly. It’s the consistent worker bees that will be lifted up in God’s kingdom.

23 October 2012

Week 43 Review - Tuesday, October 23


Luke 12:1-13:30

Jesus continues to heal and lovingly show people who have faith that He is the Christ. The Pharisees refuse to see that Jesus is Messiah and continue to plot His death.

Jesus is speaking to the people again. Today, He speaks of the leaven of the Pharisees. Leaven, as you recall, usually represents sin. Jews ceremonially remove all leaven from their homes during the Passover celebration. A little leaven (yeast) affects the entire body, or project. Jesus is warning against hypocrisy. The Pharisees were the “super-religious” of their day. They knew every law and every commandment, and their job was to make sure that all the laws and commandments were obeyed. They were really good at religion, but they had no true heart for God.

22 October 2012

Week 43 Review - Monday October 22


October 22
     Luke 10
     John 10:1-11:54


Today, Jesus sends His followers on an urgent mission. They are going as sheep among wolves. We know it was urgent because He tells them…

Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Luke 10:4 (ESV)

In the Middle East, greetings were long and intricate. It could involve many formalities. There was usually a meal, and the delay could be long. However, people who had urgent business were excused from the formalities without being considered rude.

21 October 2012

Week 43 Review - Sunday October 21


October 21
     John 7-9

Have you found new insights into Jesus’ life as you’ve read through the Gospels this time? I sure have! I never really stopped to think about how many times Jesus was threatened with death. I also notice for the first time how disbelieving Jesus’ family was.

This week opened with the celebration of the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles), a festival that looked back to Israel’s journey through the wilderness, and looked forward to the kingdom of the Messiah. This festival occurs just after the Feast of Trumpets each year.

Week 43 Readings


October 21
     John 7-9
October 22
     Luke 10
     John 10:1-11:54
October 23
     Luke 12:1-13:30
October 24
     Luke 14-15
October 25
     Matthew 19
     Mark 10:1-31
     Luke 16:1-18:30
October 26
     Matthew 20
     Mark 10:32-52
     Luke 18:31-19:27

19 October 2012

Week 42 Review - Friday October 19



     Matthew 17-18
     Mark 9:2-50
     Luke 9:28-56

The transfiguration – when Jesus and His three closest associates went to the mountain and saw Moses and Elijah.  The disciples went with Jesus, and Luke tells us that they had fallen asleep. They awoke when they saw the glory of God represented by the shining white countenance of Jesus.

Did you notice that God interrupted Peter when he offered to build tents for the three of them?

He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Matt 17:5 (ESV)

In his excitement to help Jesus, Peter was placing Jesus, Moses and Elijah on the same level. God chastised Peter quite dramatically!  Predictably, all three men fell to ground in fear, but Jesus had compassion, helped them up, calmed their nerves and said:

“Rise, and have no fear.” Matt 17:7 (ESV)

Can Jesus touch you today and tell you to have no fear. Can you place whatever is frightening you, worrying you, or keeping you up at night into Jesus’ hands? When you do, He can tell you to have no fear as well.

Back to Moses and Elijah. They were there as representation of the law and the prophets. Elijah was the prophetic forerunner of Jesus.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” Mal 4:5-6 (ESV)

Matthew tells us that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy.

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ” Matt 3:1-3 (ESV)

Jesus showed vividly that He came to fulfill the law and the prophets! Luke told us the subject of their conversation.

And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: 31 Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. Luke 9:30-31 (KJV)

Can you imagine how difficult it would have been for Peter, James and John to follow Jesus’ command to tell no one what they had seen until His resurrection?
The other portion of today’s reading that stood out was the directions for godly dispute resolution. It was aimed at resolution within the body of Christ. First, tell the person privately and to their face about their sin. Sometimes people hurt others without realizing it. If he continues in his sin, then and only then are we to talk to him with two or three witnesses – privately. If the problem remains, we are to bring the issue before the church, and if there is no resolution we are to excommunicate (“let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector) the sinner! The goal isn’t embarrassment and punishment, but to remove the problem from the church, minimizing its detrimental influence. If it gets that far, the problem isn’t just the underlying sin – it’s also the hard heart of the sinner. If it goes that far, we then have an obligation to think of that sinner in the same way we think of any unrepentant sinner – a prospect for fellowship in God’s kingdom! Restoration can occur.


If we followed these rules rather than using prayer chains as a means to pass gossip; if we chose to confront people instead of harboring resentment; if we called sin SIN and dealt with it before it tore up families and churches – how much different would our lives be?

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Matt 18:15-17 (ESV)

Jesus pulls no punches. We are to live peaceably as much as possible, but we are responsible for calling sin – sin – and dealing with it. We can’t do our best for the kingdom with sin in our hearts or our churches. We all sin, but the key to this passage is that we look for repentance. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but it’s the only way to maintain a healthy church.

What did you see in today’s reading? Please leave a comment with your insights. We’re less than 100 days from completing our challenge! I congratulate you for continuing through the year. It will be a great feeling to complete the Bible on December 28th. See you next week!