Saturday, January 7th

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Job 14-16

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 2:14-18

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews 2:14-18

I think often we make the mistake of thinking that it was easy for Jesus to be a human because He was also God.  But I think that is faulty thinking.  Jesus set aside His God-ness (so to speak) when He became human.  He suffered trials and temptation as a human, not as God.  He endured them as a human, not as God.  He resisted temptation as a human, not as God.  He does truly understand what it is like for us when we are tempted or when we suffer, because He Himself went through the same thing.

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Hebrews 3:1-6

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Job 17-20

January 6th

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Job 10-13

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 2:10-13

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.” And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.” Hebrews 2:10-13

It was fitting, in other words, it was completely consistent with God's sovereignty, righteousness and holiness that the suffering and death of Jesus was necessary in order for our salvation.

And because Jesus, even though He was fully God, was fully human, when we receive that salvation we have the priviledge of being called the brothers and sisters of Christ. Isn't that amazing?  He is our brother!

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Hebrews 2:14-18

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Job 14-16

January 5th

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Job 6-9

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 2:5-9

It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.” In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. Hebrews 2:5-9

According to my MacArthur commentary, when the writer refers to the world to come he is referring to the millennial kingdom, so he means that the angels will not reign over the messianic kingdom.

Then the question is asked, why would God even bother with mankind.  Verse 9 answers that Christ is the greatest proof of God's love for humanity, and He was not sent in the form of an angel, but of a man.

There's at least two interpretations of the part about v8.  My Life Application Bible says that God put Jesus in charge of everything but we do not yet see Him reigning on earth, though one day He will.

My MacArthur commentary says that God placed mankind in charge of the administration of the earth but that due to the fall, mankind has been incapable of fulfilling this position.

Which do you think rings true?

In v9 we see that though Jesus incarnation, sacrificial death, victory over sin and death, Jesus has fulfilled man's original purpose.  And though He was made lower than the angels for  a short time (when He was a man on earth), now He has glory and honour and all things (including angels) are subject to Him.

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Hebrews 2:10-13

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Job 10-13

January 4th

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Job 1-5

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 2:1-4

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.  Hebrews 2:1-4

OK, loving this new format of studying the scripture!  Totally learned something new today.

"For if the message spoken by angels was binding..."
This message refers to the teaching that angels, acting as God's messengers, brought the law to Moses.
Galatians 3:19 says What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator.

And in Acts 7:38 Stephen says "He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to us."
And again in Acts 7:53 Stephen says "you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."

In Deuteronomy 33:2 we read He [Moses] said: "The Lord came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran, He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes."

Apparently, angels acted as messengers when God gave the law to Moses.  That is fascinating to me! And even though it's mentioned 5 times in the Bible, and I've read it now at least 3 years in a row, I have never noticed that before!

Paul's point here is to show how, even though knowledge of and obedience to the law was very important, and it was spoken by angels and was binding - how much MORE important is salvation given by Jesus Christ Himself!  The readers were 2nd generation believers so they had not seen Christ personally.  Just like us, they were relying on eyewitness accounts of those who had seen Jesus in the flesh, whose words were confirmed by signs, miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The point?  This is important stuff!  And we are in danger of falling away from the Truth if we do not pay careful attention, if we do not make it more than mere intellectual assent, if we do not actively pursue Truth, if we do not focus and hear and obey, if we do not continue to walk out our faith every day.

Because Jesus is superior to angels, because salvation through Christ is superior to the law alone, we need to pay careful attention to this truth so we do not drift away!

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Hebrews 2:5-9

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Job 6-9

January 3rd

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is  Genesis 8-11

Today's scripture focus is:  Hebrews 1:10-14

He also says, “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”  To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

The writer quotes Psalm 102:25-27 and Psalm 110:1 to testify to the deity of Jesus Christ and, therefore, His superiority to the angels.

He remains the same - forever.  What comfort there is in that!

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Hebrews 2:1-4

Tomorrow's Bible in a Year passage: Job 1-5

January 2nd

Today's Chronological Bible in a Year passage: Genesis 4-7

Today's Scripture Focus: Hebrews 1:4-9

4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

 ⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say,

   “You are my Son;
   today I have become your Father?

   Or again,

   “I will be his Father,
   and he will be my Son”?

 ⁶ And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

   “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

 ⁷ In speaking of the angels he says,

   “He makes his angels winds,
   his servants flames of fire.”

 ⁸ But about the Son he says,

   “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
   and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
   therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
   by anointing you with the oil of joy.”

No creature is ever greater than his Creator.  Angels are marvelous creatures to be sure, and I can't wait to see one, but they are only created beings, and are not to be worshiped.

The name Jesus inherited was the Son of God.  This title made it beyond clear that Jesus is infinitely superior to the angels, and He alone is worthy of worship.  Jesus is God's firstborn, His heir, holding the place of highest privilege and responsibility, superior to any created being.

Tomorrow's Scripture Focus:  Hebrews 1:10-14
Tomorrow's Bible in a Year passage:  Genesis 8-11

    

January 1st, 2012!!

Happy New Year everybody!!

Welcome to the new version of the Bible in a Year and Beyond.  I guess this is another version of the "beyond" phase as this year we move into studying the Bible in smaller sections, more in depth.

To review - the poster will be more of a conversation starter, using short Facebook style posts to either ask questions, share their thoughts on the passage, or something new or interesting they learned.  Hopefully, as people participate, there will be an ensuing "conversation" in the comments.

As we will be taking the scripture in very small chunks, I would recommend that in your reading you build upon what we've already studied. (For ex - Day 1 you would read Hebrews 1:1-3 and study that section.  On Day 2 you would read/study the next section, and then go back and read the two together.  On Day 3, you would read/study the next section, and then go back and read all 3 portions together.  And so on, for sure in 1 chapter segments, or more, however you choose to do it.

Hopefully that made sense ;)

Also, every day there will be a posting from the Bible in a Year Chronological Reading Plan for those who want to follow that as well - there is absolutely no pressure or expectation that you will/should be doing this, it is simply there for the convenience of those who are used to coming to this blog to find a Bible in a Year reference, or who want to continue to read a plan like that.

I am still working on the reading schedule and will post it as soon as I can - so sorry for the delay!

Anyway - on to today's new style post!

Today's reading from the Bible in a Year Chronological Reading Plan is  Genesis 1-3

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 1:1-3

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

What jumped out to me today is the fact that so much has changed from OT times to today (and the NT times).  No longer is God only speaking through the prophets, now He is speaking through His own Son!  No longer are we having to look forward to the fulfillment of the Promise, we can look back on the Promise being fulfilled in Christ.  Everything changed at the coming of the Messiah!

What jumped out at you?

Tomorrow's Scripture Focus: Hebrews 1:4-9
Tomorrow's Bible in a Year passage: Genesis 4-7
    

December 31st, 2011

Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is  Malachi 3-4; Revelation 22

I can't believe we've reached the end of 2011 already!  What an amazing journey this has been again this year for me. Tomorrow we start our new plan for 2012!!  I'm excited about going in another direction with this blog (in depth studying of the Word with more of a conversational style posting/commenting discussion).  A huge thank you to all the participants of 2011, especially our regular posters: Tammi, Miriam, Kathryn, Jody and Pamela.  I know some of you will not be joining us this year and we will miss you!  Maybe we'll see you back in 2013 or maybe you won't be able to stay away and we'll see you in 2012 after all :)

Anyway, on to today's post.

A few things stood out to me in today's passages. (all emphasis in the following scripture is mine)

"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
"In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse - the whole nation of you - because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."  Malachi 3:8b-10

When we rob God of what is His, we are actually also robbing ourselves.  We are robbing ourselves of God's blessings.  God even says to test Him in this!  I love His response - He will throw open heaven's floodgates and pour out blessing upon blessing!  Truly we rob ourselves when we do not give to God what is rightfully His - whether that is tithes and offerings, our worship, our love, or our obedience.

But thankfully, the Lord has never-ending patience!

"I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have no kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3:6

No matter how many times we mess up, He is faithful.  He is faithful to forgive us and to restore us to right relationship with Him as long as we return to Him.

But in this struggle against flesh and blood (where we do what we don't want to do, and don't do what we want to do), we have hope.  First, we have hope for this present day because we are filled with the power of His Spirit and strengthened by His very Word.  But in the future, we can look forward to the day that is coming!

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.  Revelation 22:3-5

And that promise holds true for everyone who will come and accept the free gift God gave us in His Son, Jesus Christ.

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.  Revelation 22:17

Come, Lord Jesus!

Tomorrow's passage: Hebrews 1:1-3
Bible in a Year: Genesis 1-3

 

2012!

2012 is upon us!

I know we've been having discussions for awhile now and what we're going to do next year, but it's all been on our Facebook group and I just realized that I should let all of the blog readers who may not be part of that group, know what's going on! (Click here if you'd like to join our Facebook group.)

We've decided to take a break from reading through the entire Bible in a year, at least as a group, and instead focus on studying a few Books of the Bible slowly, and in more depth.  I, personally, would like to continue to read through the Bible in a Year as well because I don't want to lose my momentum in reading the text and want to continue to cultivate a passion for the text.  I know you can do that in slower study as well, but I would like to continue get to know the Bible better as a whole, while studying the smaller portions.  There is absolutely no pressure for anybody else to do that, but just in case others are wanting to do the same, I will be posting the daily passages to this Chronological Bible in a Year plan every day as well.

We are going to be starting with the book of Hebrews.  I am making the schedule of daily readings and will post the whole thing soon (obviously I need to do it soon!).  Some days we will literally only do one verse, if it is a difficult one to understand.  Other days it will be 3 or 4 verses, and others larger chunks.  John will be the first gospel we study - likely not in quite as small chunks as Hebrews.  Romans will be another one that we will take in very small chunks.  We will probably do the other 3 gospels as well, unless I receive requests to do something else.  Even after the schedule is out, we can change it as we feel led, please do not hesitate to request that!

Also - the daily posts will be a bit different this year.  We are going with shorter posts - more Facebook status style.  We'd like it to be a conversation starter - so either an observation you made about the verses, or a question you had, or something new you learned - which will hopefully spur on a conversation in the comments section.

A huge thank you to all who participated in 2011, especially our regular posters: Tammi, Miriam, Kathryn, Jody and Pamela.  I know some of you will not be joining us in 2012, and we will miss you!!  But hopefully we'll see you again soon.

Looking forward to starting this new adventure with you in 2012!

Friday, December 30 ~ tammi

Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is Malachi 1-2; Revelation 21.

So we approach the end of the year with a sober warning from Malachi and the glorious presentation of the Bride of Christ in Revelation.

God's words through Malachi in chapters 1 and 2 blast the post-exile priests, who, within just a hundred years of the initial returning wave of exiles, have once again begun profaning the name of God and desecrating His house of worship ~ they're allowing imperfect animals to be offered as sacrifices.  And we're not talking small, hidden imperfections either. They're allowing blind, crippled, and diseased animals!!  God's Law clearly stated PERFECT, UNBLEMISHED animals were the only acceptable sacrifice, and the priests are teaching the nation by example that it doesn't matter what they give to God.

Not only that, but they're seeing worship and their duty as a burden.  They're complaining about God's requirements and design for their lives.  Because they broke the covenant that, centuries earlier, God had made with Levi, God essentially made the priests a laughingstock among the people.  Everyone knew of their corruption and they were no longer revered or sought out when wisdom or advice was needed.  Because they were responsible for leading God's people, they were held to a higher standard and God curses them.

Interestingly, roughly 450 years later, when the veil of the Holy of Holies was torn in half at Christ's death on the cross, that was the end of the line for the priests.  The position of human intermediary between God and man was terminated as Jesus became our Great High Priest.

God then addresses the entire nation and accuses them similarly ~ of breaking their covenant relationship with Him.  Notice though, that even though God voices His displeasure, there is no curse.  He parallels what has happened in Israel as a nation spiritually, with what has been happening among them in reality: divorce.  Because our relationship with God is what's to be mirrored in a marriage relationship, the fact that inter-marriage with pagans was again being regularly practiced and divorce was rampant, this was clear evidence that their hearts had turned from God, their deliverer, their first Love.

I find both of these warnings so applicable to us today.  Pastors and other spiritual leaders are still leading church-goers astray.  Christians ~ at least, particularly those in the Western world ~ are continually plagued with the feeling that church and serving in the Body of Christ is a chore, an obligation.  We tend to grumble about not being able to sleep in on Sundays, about having to teach Sunday school or lead singing week in, week out, month after month, year after year...  Not many of us see it as a privilege, a high honour.

But when we see the picture of Christ's Bride appearing, the Holy City, made pure and clothed in dazzling robes, covered with every imaginable precious stone, doesn't that give us incentive to change our hearts and our attitudes, to continue seeking to know Him better, and to remember why we love serving God?  I think it does.  We have an incredible reward awaiting us, and because it's there despite our failings and our sin, we should desire to live our lives as a sacrifice of gratitude to Him ~ faithfully, JOYFULLY serving Him each and every moment until He returns to perfect the work He began in us.

















Tomorrow's readings: Malachi 3-4; Revelation 22