March 13th One Year Bible Readings
Numbers 19:1-20:29 ~ Luke 1:1-25 ~ Psalm 56:1-13 ~ Proverbs 11:8
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~ Click here to read today's Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~ // Mobile Site Link
~ Listen to today's Scripture on ESVBible.org: OT, NT, Psalms, Proverbs or DailyAudioBible.com (podcast) ~
Old Testament - Today in Numbers chapter 20 verse 12 we read about God pronouncing that Moses & Aaron would not enter the Promised Land - "But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!"" Why did this happen? Well, it's best to stick with Scripture - God says that Moses & Aaron did not trust God enough. They did not trust God enough to demonstrate his holiness to the people of Israel. Thus they will not lead them into the Promised Land. Where was the lack of trust? Go back to verse 8 and you'll see God tell Moses to "command the rock" for water - command meaning verbally... then in verse 11 we see Moses strike the rock twice - not using the verbal command God instructed him on, but using an action. There also may have been a pride issue when Moses in verse 10 says "must we bring you water from this rock?" You'll notice the little word WE - We being Moses & Aaron? -this is probably not the way to best recognize God for God bringing water out of the rock... It looks like Moses is taking credit. How about us in our lives today? Are there times when we disobey God's direct commands to us? Are there times when we take credit for God's work? Even if we generally follow God's instructions - as Moses clearly does for the majority of his life - should we be on constant watch that we do not disobey God?
New Testament - Today we begin the Gospel of Luke!
Author: Luke
Place: Perhaps Caesarea
Date: A.D. 60-65
Content: Luke was a physician and a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. He wrote his Gospel for a cultured Greek named Theophilus in order to show the true humanity of Jesus and his place in history. For this reason Luke was careful to examine all the evidence very carefully and give precise dates for the events that took place. He begins with an account of Jesus' virgin birth, giving many details not found elsewhere. Jesus' Galilean ministry is described, followed by a lengthy account of Jesus' trip to Jerusalem. After Jesus' death and resurrection, the disciples are left rejoicing, waiting for the promised power of God from heaven to fill them.
Theme: Whereas Matthew shows Jesus to be the Jewish Messiah and Mark shows Jesus as the servant of God, Luke depicts Jesus as the perfect God-man whose genealogy may be traced back to Adam. Jesus is the greatest man in history and is placed within the flow of world events by Luke. He is the greatest man because of what he taught, what he did, why he died – and because he rose again from the dead. For this reason we ought to accept him as our Lord. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers "The One Year Bible Companion" p. 22) More commentary on the Gospel of Luke is at this link. Below is "Saint Luke" from an illuminated manuscript, circa 1130:
Place: Perhaps Caesarea
Date: A.D. 60-65
Content: Luke was a physician and a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. He wrote his Gospel for a cultured Greek named Theophilus in order to show the true humanity of Jesus and his place in history. For this reason Luke was careful to examine all the evidence very carefully and give precise dates for the events that took place. He begins with an account of Jesus' virgin birth, giving many details not found elsewhere. Jesus' Galilean ministry is described, followed by a lengthy account of Jesus' trip to Jerusalem. After Jesus' death and resurrection, the disciples are left rejoicing, waiting for the promised power of God from heaven to fill them.
Theme: Whereas Matthew shows Jesus to be the Jewish Messiah and Mark shows Jesus as the servant of God, Luke depicts Jesus as the perfect God-man whose genealogy may be traced back to Adam. Jesus is the greatest man in history and is placed within the flow of world events by Luke. He is the greatest man because of what he taught, what he did, why he died – and because he rose again from the dead. For this reason we ought to accept him as our Lord. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers "The One Year Bible Companion" p. 22) More commentary on the Gospel of Luke is at this link. Below is "Saint Luke" from an illuminated manuscript, circa 1130:
In today's readings in Luke chapter 1 we read about the birth of John the Baptist being foretold by the angel Gabriel. Gabriel shares with Zechariah this powerful message about John in verses 16 & 17 -"He will persuade many Israelites to turn to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah, the prophet of old. He will precede the coming of the Lord, preparing the people for his arrival. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will change disobedient minds to accept godly wisdom."" This is a message for us to consider today - do we need to be persuaded to turn to God? Do we need our disobedient minds changed to accept godly wisdom? Can we open our ears to the message of John the Baptist some 2,000 years later? Will we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord? One interesting side note - only two angels are mentioned by name in the Bible - Michael and Gabriel. And here is Gabriel delivering the message from today's readings to Zechariah:
Psalms - Psalm 56 verse 10 makes a One Year Bible blogger quite happy :) "O God, I praise your word. Yes, LORD, I praise your word." Does this verse make you happy? Do you praise God for the gift of the Bible? Do you praise God's very Word, the Bible?
Proverbs - Proverbs Chapter 11 verse 8 today teaches us: "The godly are rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead." This is a great reminder that God rescues those who trust in Him!
Worship God: Today's readings in Numbers 19 reminded me of Nicole Nordeman's song "Holy:"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6a80TfszMU
Are you pursuing holiness in your life? Click here and cry Holy!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on two verses of Scripture today: "Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Luke 1:16-17 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray that you, like John the Baptist, will live a life that brings many people back to the Lord. Pray that you will be as zealous for God as John the Baptist was zealous for God.
Comments from You & Questions of the Day: Based on our Proverb today, has God ever rescued you? More than once? Are you willing to share with us in the Comments section below a time that without a doubt God rescued you? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
Love, Trust and Obey Jesus,
Mike
Mike
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