Monthly Archives: January 2012

2012 Day 21 – Luke 6

21 Saturday Jan 2012

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There is so much great stuff in today’s reading. I want to focus in on an area that always made me wonder because I always found it interesting that Jesus seemed to pick the Sabbath as the day He wanted to push the Pharisee’s buttons. Jesus must have known that healing someone on the Sabbath would annoy them, yet He did it anyway. I think some of the reasons are obvious, like wanting them to focus on what is really important rather than simply following the rules. However, I think one of the main things He wanted to show to them was simply that He is the creator of everything, including the Sabbath. If all they cared about was the Sabbath, then they were missing God’s entire reason for creating us in the first place. How many times do I miss God’s reason for doing something in my life because I simply focus in on the thing He has allowed to happen to me instead of learning to pull myself away from the individual incident and learn to see the big picture and His plan for it all.

2012 Day 20 – Mark 3

20 Friday Jan 2012

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There is a lot to take in with today’s reading. I focused in on final verse of the chapter, verse 35 where it says, “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” In this simple verse Jesus places all of us exactly where He wants us to be, which is in perfect relationship with Him. Jesus readily calls us His “bother and sister and mother”. I sometimes have to remind myself just how much He loves me and how much He wants to have a real and personal relationship with me.

2012 Day 19 – Matthew 12:1-21

19 Thursday Jan 2012

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I think today’s message is pretty straight forward. The Pharisees were so concerned with keeping religious rituals, that they missed the whole point of Jesus’ purpose here on earth. They were more concerned with the disruption Jesus caused to their way of thinking and refused to see the good that Jesus brought to the people around them. I know there are times I miss the good that people bring because I get stuck on the method or the fact that I would have done it differently. But I need to accept that ultimately God wants us to serve Him and honor Him by serving and accepting people right where they are and not where I want them to be. In verse 7 where it says, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”, it jams me right through the heart and reminds me that I fail when I am more concerned with the amount of sacrifice someone does than the amount of mercy they receive. And one final point; the mercy and sacrifice is all from God, He doesn’t really need mine.

2012 Day 18 – John 5

18 Wednesday Jan 2012

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The lame man being healed at the pool is a story that has always bothered me. Ever since I was a little boy I remember how troubled I was that it took him 38 years to be healed. For 38 years no one helped this man get into the “healing pool” and it took Jesus to come along to finally heal him. It wasn’t until recently that I realized that this man’s life was put into place to ultimately glorify Jesus. He was asked by God, unknowingly I’m sure, to live out his life for the sole purpose of helping to shine a light on the Messiah. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand suffering for more that 5 minutes, much less 38 years. I was reflecting with someone today about how easy it is to be an American. We have everything at our fingertips and when we suffer just a little it seems like the whole world is coming down on us. We must accept the life He has given us and know that all circumstances are for His purpose and not ours. I think it is also important to remember that our lives, whether in prosperity or in suffering, is put in place for the sole purpose of glorifying God.

2012 Day 17 – Mark 2

17 Tuesday Jan 2012

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Mark 2:17 is a verse that always stands out to me, “On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”” Jesus did not come for the healthy, He came for the sick. The biggest obstacle we face is recognizing we are sick in the first place. Most people, myself included, wait until they can’t take the suffering anymore before they go to the doctor. It is why a lot of people have to be broken to come to Jesus in the first place. The really sad part is that even believers sometimes need to be broken in order to come closer to God. For this reason, it is important we realize it’s about having a relationship with God. The closer I am to God and the more I include Him in my daily life, the less I will feel like I need to get closer to Him when crisis strikes because I will already feel His arms of protection.

UPDATED: Bible Reading List

16 Monday Jan 2012

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Just a quick FYI… I had to update the reading list to fix a couple of discrepancies. If you want to download it and have it handy so you know what’s coming, you will find a link to the left and one at the bottom of the page called 2012 Bible Reading List. Let me know if there are any questions. Thanks again for joining us this year!

2012 Day 16 – John 4

16 Monday Jan 2012

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One of the notes in my Bible really made me think about verse 34, ““My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”” Jesus makes a very good point about where He has gotten His nourishment. He got it from giving. How many times have I short changed myself from God’s blessing by simply receiving and not giving of myself to others. How much more fulfilled would I be if I gave as much as I received?

The other passage that got me thinking is the story of the government official and his faith in Jesus’ promise. When Jesus said, “You may go. Your son will live.” the man did not hesitate. He simply left and took Jesus at His word. I need to be more like that. I need to be the one who takes Jesus at his word, knowing He will always be with me.

2012 Day 15 – John 3

15 Sunday Jan 2012

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A couple of passages stood out to me today. The first is verses 14-15, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” When the Israelites were suffering through their plague of deadly snakes, they needed to turn their eyes to the bronze snake that Moses had made in order to be healed. With Jesus, we must do the same thing. We must turn away from ourselves and turn to the one who has given us eternal life. I think I do that sometimes, but I need to do that on a consistent basis. It is easy to forget how much more He must become in my life. Which brings me to the second verse I loved in today’s reading, verse 30, “He must become greater; I must become less.” I love how humble John the Baptist was to recognize the greatness of Jesus. It really does come down this; I must humble myself to allow His light to shine through. Others should see less of me and know it is because of Jesus in my life.

2012 Day 14 – John 2

14 Saturday Jan 2012

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The story of Jesus turning water into wine is always a favorite of mine. However, this time, I noticed something different as I read it. When Mary asked Him to do something about the wine shortage, she was not necessarily asking Jesus to perform a miracle. When you read verse 5 it says, “His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”” which very well may have been Mary asking Jesus to help solve the problem. In either case, I think we are like that with God sometimes. We want God to solve our problems like its some sort of puzzle we got stuck on. The reality is that God is capable of performing a miracle that may or may not be within our comprehension and He is capable of making it better than we could have ever imagined.

The other section of our reading today was when Jesus took a whip to the money changers in the temple. I think there are a lot of areas in our churches today that Jesus would lose it over. While I love the comfort of knowing I have a place to go each Sunday, I’m not really sure some of the things we spend money on is really what God intended when He talked about the “Church”, do you?

2012 Day 13 – John 1

13 Friday Jan 2012

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There are some great passages in the very beginning of this first chapter of John. When I read John 1:12-13 which says, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” In reading this passage I realize how much God loves me. By accepting Jesus as my savior, God gave me the right to be called His child.

The second part of this first chapter is actually entertaining to me. These first few interactions with each of the disciples begins to show some of their personalities. When Jesus sees Nathaniel, He already knows who Nathaniel is and what he said in verse 46 about Jesus, ““Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked….” The same is true for me. Jesus already knew me before I ever accepted Him. More importantly He knows me today as well; He knows my struggles, my victories, and sadly my sin. But He is always with me through it all. There is no hiding, there is simply accepting the fact that He has accepted me.