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Day 104 of Reading the Bible Cover to Cover in 365 days commentary, insights and thoughts. If you would like to follow along with the book offered exclusively on Amazon, please refer to https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Bible-Cover-365Days/dp/B0B6XSNMY6/ref=mp_s_a_1_90
This is a podcast sharing thoughts and insights for the accompanying the daily reading schedule for the book, Reading the Bible Cover to Cover in 365 Days.
Welcome to Day 104 of Reading the Bible Cover to Cover in 365 Days!
Let us pray:
O Lord, thank You for Your Word. Speak to us as we read about You today, Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let’s see what’s happening in Matthew chapter 15!
Well, the Pharisees are after Him again! This time it’s about washing hands. He immediately turned the accusations against them and accused them of not caring for their parents as the Law required them to do – and not allowing others to care for theirs either. They were taking money from the people for themselves instead of having them care for their parents with it. In verse 6, Jesus said, “So for the sake of your tradition (the rules handed down by your forefathers), you have set aside the Word of God [depriving it of force and authority and making it of no effect].” Then he called them hypocrites.
Interestingly, the disciples didn’t quite understand His teaching. The ones who had been with Him day in and day out for quite some time, were a bit dull as He called it. Just as our faith and understanding wane from time to time, so did theirs. They were human just as we are. I appreciate their fallibility and appreciate that this was written so we have more understanding of human nature. We live in a fallen world and will never live in perfection here even though Jesus died to make us perfect before the Lord. We can be especially thankful we are covered by Jesus’ blood today and every day.
Then we read about Jesus healing a woman’s daughter. She was a Canaanite and Jesus didn’t initially listen to her as she was considered a heathen. But her persistence and faith gave Him pause to listen and cure her daughter. Jesus saw her great faith and gave her daughter the healing she most desired. Let us keep the faith, my friend. Miracles happen when we believe they can.
Let’s see what Paul is writing to Timothy in I Timothy chapter 3!
Paul writes to Timothy about the character needed for someone to become a bishop and a deacon. There are rigid rules for serving in these offices. I dare say we can rise to meet them with the help of Almighty God. Do we need to be bishops and deacons to serve the Lord with integrity? No. Let God show you what He desires of you, and then be obedient to Him. He changes us little by little from glory to glory.
In verse 16 Paul writes, “And great and important and weighty, we confess, is the hidden truth (the mystic secret) of godliness. He [God] was made visible in human flesh, justified and vindicated in the [Holy] Spirit, was seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, [and] taken up in glory.” Paul writes about the unknown becoming known through Christ. For years, we know the secret truths about God were simply not known. But through Christ’s appearance here on earth, we have the opportunity to learn more of God’s ways. As I’ve already shared, some years back I had the desire to learn more about Jesus. So, I started a daily quest to learn more by reading the Gospels every day. God and Jesus work as One, so we see God’s true nature in motion through Jesus’ life. He was compassionate beyond what I thought Him to be. He was a Man of action leaning into danger instead of backing away from it. He was determined and continued His ministry even though He was criticized by leaders of the day. No matter how much negativity was thrown at Him, He never gave up. He loved the unlovely which was very unpopular. He gave His time to the sinners, ate with them, healed them, and rejoiced when they came to believe in Him. He came to shine the Light in the darkness. He was tended to by angels at His birth, in the wilderness, and the tomb. Jesus shows us more of Who God is through the life He lived. I see more and more of Him every day as we read through the Gospels. I pray the Lord shows you more of His secrets and His ways as you continue in His Word. It’s truly where we find Him and see just how magnificent He is.
Let's see what's happening in Joshua chapter 21!
The Levites went to Eleazor, the priest, and Joshua and asked for land for to reside in. As we have read many times, they weren’t given land of their own to possess, but they were given land to reside in and give pasture to their animals. This land came out of the inheritance of the land from all the other tribes. There were 48 cities they were given to reside in.
The last 3 verses tell us the Lord had now given the Israelites all the land He had promised their forefathers. He gave them peace all around them. Verses 44-45 say, “Not one of all their enemies withstood them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands. There failed no part of any good thing which the Lord had promised to the house of Israel; all came to pass.” How amazing is our God! He gave them every good thing – everything He promised. And He will do the same for you, my friend. It may take time and perseverance, but our God is faithful. In everything, He is faithful.
In chapter 22, Joshua calls the 2 ½ tribes: Reuben, Gad, and half of the Manasseh tribe to him to tell them they are free to go back to the east side of the Jordan to the land Moses had given to them. They had been faithful to fight for the rest of the land for the Israelites, and now it was time for them to have rest. He gave them an instruction before they left in verse 5 “To love the Lord your God and to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and to cling to and unite with Him and to serve Him with all your heart and soul [your very life].” Another instruction we should be mindful of as well. I love that he tells them to cling to this as they walked through life.
They returned to their land, but before they crossed the Jordan to it, they built an altar for the Lord. This enraged the rest of the Israelites because they thought the altar was against the Lord. They wanted to wage war against them but sent Phinehas, the priest, and 10 leaders – one from each remaining tribe went to confront them about their wrongdoings. But the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and ½ the Manasseh tribe told them it was to remind the rest of the Israelites that they indeed did worship God. You see the Jordan River was a large barrier between them and the rest of the Israelites. They didn’t want the other Israelites to one day war against their children. So, they built this altar for their future children and the future children of the other tribes to make sure they all knew they belonged with one another, and one day war against one another. This appeased the other tribes.
Psalm 104 is another favorite psalm of praise and glory to our God. Verses 2-3 are some of my favorites: [You are the One] Who covers Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain or a tent, Who lays the beams of the upper room of His abode in the waters [above the firmament], Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind,” Yes, the Lord walks on the wings of the wind. How lovely. The psalmist continues with all the works done by God’s hand. Verse 24 says, “O Lord, how many and varied are Your works! In wisdom have You made them all; the earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures.”
Then in verse 27 he writes, “These all wait and are dependent upon You, that You may give them their food in due season.” Yes, all are dependent on the almighty God – even we are. Every detail and part of our lives is dependent on Him. I didn’t always live in a place of surrender and still have trouble sometimes. But as I spend more time in the Word, I can see we are all dependent on Him. And the more we depend on Him, the more He intervenes in our lives. Let us fully surrender to the Lord. It is amazing what He can do when we offer ourselves up to Him. Just as Paul writes in Timothy about the integrity of a bishop or deacon, we can live up to these standards as well as surrender ourselves and our hearts to almighty God.
Let us pray:
O Lord, thank You for being the great God that You are. Thank You for being faithful to Your promises and Your Word. We praise You, Father. We praise Your holy name and all the works of Your hands. May we surrender our lives wholly to You, so that You can use us as You plan. May You bend our will to Yours, Lord. Keep our eyes on You. In Jesus’ name, amen.