It's Day 31 and we're in Jeremiah 18.
If it's hard to understand
what you're reading in the Bible, make sure you have a translation that's a
good fit for you. Reading the King James (a great historic translation) can be
particularly difficult because of the antiquated language. Among the good
options available today: New International Version (good all-around
translation), English Standard Version (good all-around translation), New
American Standard (a more literal translation, closer to the original
manuscripts), and New Living Translation (a translation that focuses on
readability and understandability).
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 6 - Am I willing to be molded as He desires or do I want to be the one calling the shots?
If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It's Day 30 and we're in Luke 16.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Nothing really jumped out to me today.
Help:
- Verses 1-9 - This is an unusual story. The point I take from it is this: use what you control to accomplish your goal. The manager wanted to have someone to help him after he was fired and so he used the resources still under his control to accomplish that. In our lives, we need to figure out what our life's goal is (exalt Christ? make my life easier?) and then use the resources I have to accomplish that.
- Verse 16 - "forcing his way" - Probably simply an expression of the zealous interest that many were showing in Christ's teaching.
- Verse 18 - There are other passages that give a more nuanced understanding of Jesus' stand on divorce. This is merely a statement of the general principle.
If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It's Day 29 and we're in Luke 15.
A tool for your reading
that can be useful is a study Bible. A study Bible is just a Bible that has
notes in it to help explain some of the harder passages. If you don't have one
and would like me to recommend one, just let me know. I'd be happy to suggest a
few good ones.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 32 - "had to celebrate" - There is something so wonderful about a lost child coming home that you're compelled to celebrate.
If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
Where God Spoke To You:
- "One way we as 21 century Christians may have of carrying out these verses is by contributing as much food as we are able to our local food pantries. In this way , the recipients will never know from whence it came making payback strictly from God, if He so chooses."
It's Day 28 and we're in Luke 14.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 12-14 - This is a command from Jesus, and yet I can't say I know of anyone ever actually doing that.
Help:
- Verse 26 - This means "hate by comparison to your overwhelming love for God." Obviously Jesus said the second greatest commandment was to love those around you, so He clearly doesn't want us to be mean to folks. What He's getting at here is that our love and devotion to Him needs to above and beyond anyone else.
- Verse 33 - This doesn't mean that we have to sell all we have and become homeless, but it does mean that we have to be willing to make whatever financial sacrifices Christ asks us to.
If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It's Day 27 and we're in Luke 13.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 34 - Many times these days Christians complain (justifiably) about the moral state of America. I wonder if our attitude should be more like this verse - pained longing, rather than our usual righteous finger-pointing.
Help:
- Verse 24 - This is not saying there are many who want to enter the Kingdom and have done everything they should have but God will not let them in. Rather, it's saying there are many who will presume that they're ok with God only to have God confront them with the fact that they haven't done what God said was necessary to enter the Kingdom. See Matthew 7:13-14 for a similar passage. Those Matthew verses are then followed by a lot of talk about how essential it is to actually obey the teaching of Christ. I think a similar idea is at play here: there are a lot of people who claim to love God, but who are not obeying the teaching of Christ in their lives. They will "seek to enter" when they get to heaven, but "will not be able" because they didn't do what Jesus said to do.
If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
Where God Spoke To You:
- "I needed this today. We put an offer on the house that we've been renting from a friend, as she wants to sell it. We offered $10K more than she originally asked, and now they've raised the asking price to $5K above what we offered. :-( I've spent the morning worrying about where we're going to live in 60 days and how we're going to pack up all our stuff. I've tried to pray for God's will, but I've mostly been worrying. Now I am reminded that it's just stuff, and God loves us and will provide the home He has for us, whether it's this one or another one. He won't leave us in the street. Trying to find peace in that."
It's Day 26 and we're in Luke 12.
An encouragement as you
read today: "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God
stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8).
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 31 - I love this verse (and its parallel in Matthew 6:33). Put God first, seek His Kingdom, and He'll take care of all this other stuff.
If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It's Day 25 and we're in Luke 11.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 1 - For all of us who aren't particularly good at prayer or find prayer difficult, it's encouraging to know that the disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray and He didn't rebuke them for that.
Help:
- Verses 49-51 - This is tough to understand, but I take it to say something like, "You all are in an advantaged position - you have all the history of Israel to look back on and learn from. Yet, rather than learning, you're every bit the hypocrites that your forefathers were. Therefore the guilt just continues to pour out on you."
- Verse 52 - What is the "key to knowledge"? He doesn't say here. One obvious explanation would be that the key is Jesus. Another possibility, given the Pharisees' habits, was that the key is avoiding hypocrisy.
If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
Questions You Have:
- "Why do you think, in verse 4 [of Luke 10], Jesus told the disciples/missionaries to not greet anyone on the road? Was it to keep them on their 'path'?" - It does seem an odd instruction. Your suggestion is along the lines of what I'm thinking - they had a limited amount of time and He wanted them to get to the cities where they could speak to more people. It does seem a little rude, though, doesn't it?
It's Day 31 and we're in Jeremiah 18.
