Tuesday, January 31st: Exodus 25-26, Matthew 20:17-34 ~ Jody

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 25-26, Matthew 20:17-34

The contrast between the two requests in our New Testament reading today were interesting. I've heard both stories before but never realized that they came one after another like this. In both examples, people bring their desires to Jesus but only one gets their prayers answered in the way they were hoping.

What grace and love Jesus shows the woman with the two sons! She came to him with a worldly, selfish request to have her sons placed in positions of power for eternity. Instead of chastising her and sending her away with a lecture, He simply says, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” Matthew 20:23. 

After that when the disciples become indignant at her request (like so many of us can!) Jesus again shows pure love and grace by basically saying to them, the nature of this world is to gain power and rule it over others. It makes sense that she thinks the Kingdom of God would work in the same way. However, he continues His teaching: "26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,[a] 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,[b]28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

And then, He goes and shows us exactly what that looks like in the next paragraph!! When so many people moving in and out of the gates of the city would be passing by the blind men at the gates because of their unworthiness, Jesus stops, listen and heals them. And as soon as they receive their sight - they follow him.

I can't help but see the greater teaching of the positioning of our hearts when we go to God. When we pray, are we praying like the mother, looking for security or comfort through an earth-focused lens? Or are we praying like the blind men, for eyes to see so that we might follow Jesus more clearly?

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 27-28, Matthew 21:1-22

Monday, January 30th: Exodus 23-24; Matthew 20:1-16 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 23-24; Matthew 20:1-16

I totally forgot today was my Monday to post!

Every year that I read through the Bible, I notice new things that I hadn't before.  This passage in one such example.

Exodus 23:20-21 “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.  Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him."

According to the commentaries and sermons I read on this, the angel is most likely the pre-incarnate Jesus. According to the verses above, the Israelites were to obey Him, He is able to forgive sins, and God's name is in him.

Not only was the Presence of God promised to go with them, but the Lord would also go ahead of them.  He would prepare the way, He would fight their battles.  They were simply to obey God.

It's interesting that in this case, God actually explains to them the reason why He would not deliver them of the Canaanites all at once - wild animals would take over and the land would become desolate.  It was actually in their best interest for the conquest to be slow instead of quick, no matter how much they would have liked to have a speedy victory.

There are some important lessons for us in this passage.

God never calls us to fight an enemy on our own.  He will go with us, He will go before us - we need to obey, and walk in the victory that He has already won.

Sometimes those victories will be delayed, but we must trust God and His perfect timing. This sermon said it well...
Whatever difficulties we find ourselves in, we must realize that God has His reasons for not immediately delivering us out of them. Perhaps the greater grace and kindness is to allow us to remain in those circumstances a little longer, lest we be delivered and find ourselves in a worse situation! Sometimes even the most faithful of Christians remain in times of trial for a duration that can leave them wondering if God has forgotten them altogether. Sometimes, deliverance never comes at all. But it is never because God does not care or desire what is best for us. We do not always know the ramifications of God delivering us too quickly, but He does. God, in His infinite wisdom, knows the consequences of every action He might possibly take and loves us too much to ever rush His own perfect timing.

Our NT portion reminds us that salvation is about God's grace.  None of us deserve eternal life, but salvation is not dependent on timing.  Those that are saved at the eleventh hour will receive eternal life just as those who believe from a young age.  Their rewards in heaven will be different, but their salvation and entrance into heaven will not.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 25-26; Matthew 20:17-34

Sunday, January 29th: Exodus 21-22; Matthew 19 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 21-22; Matthew 19

Sorry for the delay in this post.  Due to exams and whatnot, I'm doing it in Emma's place.

Our OT portion reminds us that actions have consequences.  The saying "You are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequences of your choice" is biblical, and something we need to consider before we act.  Even though there is forgiveness for sin, that forgiven almost never negates the consequences.

In our NT passage we are reminded of the sanctity of marriage.  The marriage covenant is one that is entered into far too lightly in our society today.  It is incredibly sad how many marriages are collapsing, even among those claiming to be believers.  The consequences of choosing divorce are many, and affect so many different people.  God's design for marriage truly is for our benefit, and we need to do all we can to fight for our marriages.  This is also a huge reminder for me to pray for the marriages of our our friends, family, and church leadership.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 23-24; Matthew 20:1-16

Saturday, January 28th: Exodus 19-20; Matthew 18:21-35 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 19-20; Matthew 18:21-35

In our OT passage it is extremely clear that God is holy and we are not - and that should instill some fear in us.  It is amazing to me that God was willing to extend grace to us, by becoming One with us!

We are also given the Ten Commandments, which all of us are guilty of breaking.  I am so thankful for God's forgiveness of my sin.  Which should, as our NT passage reminds us, cause me to extend forgiveness to those who wrong me.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 21-22; Matthew 19

Friday, January 27th: Exodus 16-18, Matthew 18:1-20 ~ Nathan

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 16-18, Matthew 18:1-20

How often do I complain and feel like I'm getting short changed? Am I really, or do I have things pretty good?

In today's reading we see again how the Israelites complained, and yet we (who have read this story and know the ending) are disgusted with their complaints and can't see how they don't see how good they have it.

Exodus 16:2
In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.

Exodus 17:3
But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

They just left slavery and are now on their way to the promised land, more importantly God has already shown them many miracles which confirm that He is with them.

I don't know how each part of my day, month, or year will end, this story is a good reminder for me to not complain and have faith in the One who has done so much for me, our own story isn't over yet!


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 19-20; Matthew 18:21-35

Thursday, January 26th: Exodus 14-15; Matthew 17 - Deena

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 14-15; Matthew 17

One of the topics in the NT reading today was about having faith. Webster defines faith as complete trust, unquestioning belief.

I want to share a personal story about my faith. About 6 years ago our son Baret was really sick. It came out of no where. No prior medical conditions, nothing. So sick that the doctors told us he was going to die. IF he were to live they told us he would have no quality of life. Devastating time for us. There came a time when a couple of people told me that they had told Baret that if he sees Jesus he should go. This was very hard for me. I felt like I had surrendered my child to God, but to be honest I was more like, say hi to Jesus and you'll see Him again in 80'years. This was a very difficult time in my walk with God. I still had faith in Him, but I wanted it my way. God is good, He gave me time, and eventually I was able to fully surrender my child to God, not knowing if he was going to live or die, but knowing that God was in control. My faith was tested then and has continued to be at different times, but God is always there and loves us more then we could ever imagine!

(And for those of you who don't know our story, Baret is alive and doing very well. God granted us a miracle)

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 16-18; Matthew 18:1-20

Wednesday, January 25th: Exodus 12-13; Matthew 16 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 12-13; Matthew 16

I want to focus on our Matthew passage where he relates the story of Jesus taking them to Caesara Philippi.

This is another one of the Bible passages that take on a whole new meaning when you understand the historical context.  I'm going to quote from this article which is based on lessons by Ray Vanderlaan (it's a bit lengthy, but fascinating and worth the read).....

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. (Mark 8:27)

For the casual reader with no geographical context, this sounds no different than “Jesus took the disciples down the road to the neighboring village”. However, having just come from Bethsaida, this means that Jesus decided to take his disciples on a 32+ mile round trip to Caesarea Philippi, the only recorded trip Jesus took to that region or anywhere remotely like it...

This city, which sits at the foot of Mount Hermon, butts up against a large cliff, referred to as the ‘Rock of the Gods’, in reference to the many shrines built against it. Shrines to Caesar, Pan and another god (possibly the fertility goddess Nemesis) were all built up against this cliff. In the center of the Rock of the Gods is a huge cave, from which a stream flowed (after 19th century earthquakes, the stream began flowing out from the rock beneath the mouth of the cave). This cave was called the “Gates of Hades”, because it was believed that Baal would enter and leave the underworld through places where water came out of it.

In first century Israel, Caesarea Philippi would be an equivalent of Las Vegas – Sin City – but much worse than the modern city in the American West. In the open-air Pan Shrine, next to the cave mouth, there was a large niche, in which a statue of Pan (a half-goat, half-human creature) stood, with a large erect phallus, worshiped for its fertility properties. Surrounding him in the wall were many smaller niches, in which were statues of his attending nymphs. On the shrine in front of these niches, worshipers of Pan would congregate and partake in bizarre sexual rites, including copulation with goats – worshiped for their relationship to Pan.

And so, one day, Jesus took his twelve disciples, most likely all of whom were in their teens or early twenties, and said “we’re going to Caesarea Philippi” (if he even told them where they were going).

he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-16)

Now, we don’t know for sure where they were standing in the Caesarea Philippi region, but Jesus’ next statement gives us an idea that they may have been standing within sight of the Rock of the Gods.

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:17-18)

Jesus continues his short lesson, ‘calling’ (the Greek literally meaning shouting at the top of his voice) to the crowd and his disciples.

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38)

This begs a few questions: What crowd did He call to him? Could it have been the Pan worshipers? Any crowd from this region would NOT have been religiously Jewish. Was the last statement aimed at his disciples, who might have been embarrassed at the spectacle Jesus was creating?

The Catholic tradition has taken Jesus’ pronouncement in Matthew 16:18 to mean that Jesus was declaring that the church was to be built on the authority of Peter and the other disciples. It is true that they led the early church, so this would be a possible interpretation.

The Protestant tradition has taken Jesus declaration here to say that His church was to be built upon the confession recognizing Him as the Messiah and the Son of the living God. This is a valid interpretation, as well, and is a practice supported by other scriptures.

Ray VanderLaan and other Hebrew contextual scholars suggest a third interpretation which may be just as – if not more – powerful as the others, based on the context. Why would Jesus choose this place, the filthiest (morally) place within walking distance of his earthly region of ministry?

Might it be possible that he took his talmidim [disciples] to the most degenerate place possible to say to them “THIS is where I want you to build my church. I want you to go out into the repugnantly degenerate places, where God is not even known. I want you to go out to places that make Caesarea Philippi look tame, and THAT is where I want you to build my church.” Because that is exactly what they did. They went to places in Asia Minor and the ends of the earth, where “gods” were worshiped in unspeakably awful manners and where Christians would be persecuted in horrific manner, and they gave their lives doing EXACTLY what they were told to do by their Rabbi.

I don’t know about you, but when I hear the story of Caesarea Philippi and understand it in its context, it comes to life in ways it never had before.


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 14-15; Matthew 17

Tuesday, January 24: Exodus 9-11; Matthew 15:21-39 ~ Jody

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is: Exodus 9-11; Matthew 15:21-39

The last paragraph of the OT Testament reading spoke to my heart today. "Israel's Wilderness Detour".

17 When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.[f] Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.[g]

We've just finished reading about how long and difficult it has been for the Israelites to get released from Egypt. I can imagine going into each plague they thought "Ok, now Pharaoh will HAVE to let us go!" and then nope, not yet. So finally, after the 10th plague they are released. It would be at this time in my own life struggles that I would feel like it's time for easy street. I deserve a smooth path now after all I've endured to get free of this bondage. But how often God has other plans that we don't see and understand!

As we read in verse 18 above, God led them in a roundabout way. BUT, not to be mean, or spiteful - or even to teach them a lesson. He knew that maybe the roundabout way was a longer journey, but that it would actually be the easier journey for them. Their heavenly Father chose the path that would enable them the highest chance of successful freedom! He knew how weak their minds were and that if they had to battle the Philistines, there was a high likelihood of them turning back to Egypt and picking the lesser of two evils.

Father God, help me to persevere in difficult times. When it feels like wave after wave of struggle, give me full and complete trust that You see what is ahead on each road and like any loving Father, will always direct me to what is best for me. Thank you for the "Wilderness Detours" in my life that have turned out to be the most glorious adventure of dependance on you. Amen.


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 12-13; Matthew 16

Monday, January 23: Exodus 7-8, Matthew 15:1-20 by Pamela

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 7-8, Matthew 15:1-20

(Kezia is getting ready for exams so I'm doing her post today for her.)

What does it take to get our attention?

In Exodus 7:3 it says:

3 But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt

God used the plagues to display His power. He hardened Pharaoh's heart. He brought on the plagues. He was in control the whole time and EVERYONE became aware of His power.

Sometimes we need that too....to be reminded that God is in control. He is in control of unfortunate circumstances. He is in control of the outcome. He knows exactly how it will all play out. Through blood, frogs, gnats, flies, and more....God is in control. He can use difficult situations to bring people to a place where they are without doubt that God's power is infinite.

In the NT readings, this verse stood out for me:
19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”

It's interesting to note that evil thoughts come in same sentence as murder. Sin is sin. Sin is what separates us from God. Without repentance, we cannot be clean from our sin. From our thoughts come actions and where are thoughts are evil, our actions follow. May we strive for clean thoughts and actions that honour God.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 9-11; Matthew 15:21-39

Sunday, January 22nd: Exodus 4-6; Matthew 22-36 ~ Emma

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 4-6; Matthew 14:22-36

I found there was a lot of questioning and disbelief in God in the passages read today.

Moses kept asking God "why me?" And he kept saying how he wasn't capable of doing what God asked him to do. Yet God provided what Moses needed, and gave him the abilities to do what he was asked to do.

We need to stop asking "why me?" when God asks us to do something, and trust that He will provide the resources and abilities we need in order to do what He has asked us to do.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Exodus 7-8; 15:1-20