Monday, December 27, 2010

Week 52: Revelation!

Can't believe it, but week 52 is already here! First, I'd like to commend all of you who have followed this blog one way or another. If you have finished all reading: Congratulations, you have read the entire Bible in 1 year!!! This is a big accomplishment, you stuck to it, and you finished it. Well done. If you have not finished all reading, but are now reading your Bible regularly, I’d like to congratulate you as well. I’d say this is even more important than finishing in 1 year. Reading God’s word on a daily basis is one of the most important habits you can develop as a follower of Christ, and it is life changing. Don’t worry about the fact that you haven’t finished the entire Bible in 1 year. I didn’t finish it the first time I’ve tried to read it in 1 year, but you know what… it gets easier every time you try it. Well done!! If you tried, but gave up after a while because you couldn’t keep up, I understand. I would urge you though, to pick it back up. Continue to stick your nose into the only book that can bring about true life transformation. One hint for next year: it’s ok to skip a section if you fall behind for one reason or another. Simply pick up the reading of the current day.

This last week we’ll tackle one of the most intriguing, yet one of the most difficult to understand books of the Bible: the book of Revelation:

• Weekend: Revelation 1 – 3
• Monday: Revelation 4 – 7
• Tuesday: Revelation 8 – 11
• Wednesday: Revelation 12 – 16
• Thursday: Revelation 17 – 20
• Friday: Revelation 21 – 22

There was a time in my life when all I read and studied was the book of Revelation and related prophetic scriptures such as the book of Daniel, Matthew 24, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, etc. In studying this book of the Bible, I have found the following wisdom: there are probably as many different explanations of the book as there are people trying to understand it. And every time someone thinks they understand Revelation, a book is written about it, claiming that the truth about it is now ‘unlocked’. The truth is: the book of Revelation contains a lot of symbolism that was probably well understood by the first recipients of the book in the 1st century A.D., but that is significantly more difficult to understand for a 20th century westerner.

Still, I know many of you have no clue what the book is all about, so I’d like to give you some more information than just saying that the book of Revelation displays an epic battle between ‘good’ and ‘bad’, and that the ‘good’ side wins in the end. But the only claim I will make, is that this is my interpretation of what the book is about. By no means is this a complete expository of all the different views and interpretations, such as pre-millennial or post-millennial, pre-, mid- or post tribulation, etc. This simply is a brief summary of my personal view. If you are interested in this topic, I encourage you to read many different books and commentaries about it, and then form your own view, or find one that makes most sense to you.

To better understand the book, it’s good to divide it into sub-sections that belong to each other. There are many different ways to do this, but one of the main keys to divide it is given in the book itself in Chapter 1 verse 19: “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.” This verse provides a natural division of the book into the following five parts:

1) Prologue (1:1-8)
2) “What you have seen” (1:9-20)
3) “What is now” (2:1 – 5:14)
4) “What will take place later” (6:1 – 22:9)
5) Epilogue (22:10-21)

The Prologue tells us who the writer of Revelation is: Jesus Christ himself (verse 1). Jesus had received this revelation from God the Father, and had passed it on to the apostle John, writer of the gospel of John and the 3 letters of John, who wrote it down in this book. In his turn, John sent this book to seven churches in Asia (current-day Turkey). As you will find out, the number 7 plays an important symbolic role in the book of Revelation, and many scholars belief that those 7 churches represent the entire church of the New Testament, over all places and all times.

“What you have seen” refers to the vision of Jesus that John saw. At his first coming, Jesus came as a ‘baby in a manger’. At his second coming, he will come as the Son of Man to judge the world with eyes like blazing fire and a sword in his mouth.

“What is now” refers to the seven churches, and the spiritual state they are in. As mentioned before, these passages can be applied to the church of all places and all times. As such, these passages contain warnings for us, and encouragement for persevering and staying the course. The passage to the church in Laodicea always speaks to me personally: we don’t want to be lukewarm in our faith, but on fire for the Lord. When Jesus stands at the door and knocks, we better hear his voice and let him in.

Chapters 4 and 5 take us into heaven, to the throne of God. We see a beautiful picture of God sitting on the throne, and all of heaven and earth worshipping him, and worshipping the Lamb of God (Jesus), who alone is worthy to open the scroll with its seven seals (5:9). Chapter 5 verse 13 shows us what this book of Revelation is ultimately all about: Every creature on heaven and earth will say: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

Chapter 6 verse 1 to Chapter 22 verse 9 covers the “What will take place later” part of the book. This is the part that’s confusing to many people because of its wealth of symbolism, and the many different explanations that go around. Without going into too much detail, I’d like to give you a birds-eye view of this section. In a nutshell, we see three sevenfold numbered series:

1) Seven seals (Chapter 6)
2) Seven trumpets (Chapters 8 & 9)
3) Seven bowls (Chapter 16)

Many books about Revelation will state that each of these three series of seven contain some sort of judgment of the world. I think that’s definitely true about the seven trumpets and seven bowls, however, in my opinion, the scroll and its seven seals represent a picture of world history during the end-times. I don’t think the white horse in 6:1 is Jesus, as some say, but rather the anti-christ, who is out to conquer the world. I believe that the first 5 seals all talk about the great tribulation that will take place during the reign of the anti-christ. Seals 6 and 7 announce the 2nd coming of Jesus, who will wage war and judgment against the anti-christ.

After the intermezzo of Chapter 7 about the 144.000 sealed from the nation of Israel, Chapters 8 and 9 show us that the 7th seal ‘unlocks’ the 7 angels with the 7 trumpets. These angels with their trumpets hold judgment against the world and the kingdom of the anti-christ. What is striking to me is the response of ‘mankind’ who were not killed by the plagues from the trumpets: “they still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshipping demons…”. Unbelievable how hard someone’s heart can be after seeing all these judgments!

Before the 7th trumpet gets blown in Chapter 11:15, there is first another intermezzo about the angel and the little scroll, and about the two witnesses in Jerusalem. This latter passage contains the time-frame 42 months and 1260 days, which both equal 3 and a half years, which many scholars explain to be the 2nd half of the last ‘year week’ (=7 years), as prophesied in Daniel 9:27.

I believe that the 7th trumpet concludes the judgment, and that the description of the 7 bowls in Revelation 15 & 16 are a detailed description of this last judgment of the 7th trumpet. In other words, chronologically, Chapters 15 and 16 continue where Chapter 11 leaves off.

Chapters 12 to 14 therefore form another intermezzo that depict the world history from a different angle, namely that of the dragon (=devil), the beast of the sea (=anti-christ), and the beast of the earth (= false prophet). One reason that I think justifies the thought that the chronology is temporarily broken in these 3 chapters, is that Chapter 12 shows us the birth of Jesus: I believe that the woman in 12:1 is a picture of the nation of Israel, from whom the Messiah was born. (12:5 is an unmistakable reference to the birth of Christ) Verse 5b then talks about the ascension of Jesus to heaven.

Ok, take a deep deep breath here. I never tried to summarize the book of Revelation in a few pages, and I feel hopelessly flawed in trying to do so. Stick with me though, as we continue this ‘birds-eye view’ of the book.

After the final judgment of Chapters 15 and 16, Chapters 17 and 18 contain another intermezzo about the ‘woman on the beast’, or ‘Babylon the great’. Several explanations exist for this ‘woman’. The most common one is that this woman represents the (non-christian) ‘world religion’ that is followed during the reign of the anti-christ. The woman also represents a city, ‘Babylon’. Many scholars belief that this was a reference to ‘Rome’ (7 hills, see 17:9) and its emperors in the 1st century A.D.. Dependent on how you explain, the 8th king of 17:11 is then either Nero (54-68A.D), or Domitianus (81-96A.D). Without a doubt, the readers in the 1st century A.D. would have made this connection, and I belief part of this scripture is fulfilled in these emperors. However, history has shown us many different ‘anti-christs’, such as Antiochus Epiphanes, Nero, or Hitler for that matter. Whenever evil raises its head on a large scale, an anti-christ appears and the devil (dragon) gives his power away to destroy. I belief we still have to expect (at least) one more anti-christ who will fulfill all these scriptures, and who will be the personification of the devil on earth.

Chapter 19 shows us who will ultimately conquer the anti-christ: Jesus Christ and his army of saints (19:14). He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the beast (=anti-christ) and false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire, which is a picture of hell.

Chapter 20:1-6 is one of the shortest sections of scripture that has caused great controversy in terms of how to explain it. It talks about the 1000 year reign of Christ, also called the ‘millennium’. Many scholars belief that many of the old-testament prophesies about the restoration of Israel’s kingdom (the day of the Lord), and prophesies from Isaiah about the lion and lamb being together, etc., will take place during these 1000 years. Because of all that’s written about this subject, I will not go into detail here . Let’s just take the text for what it is: after judgment of the anti-christ, Jesus will reign on earth for an extended period of time, together with all the believers who will be resurrected (20:5-6). The devil, who had given his power to the anti-christ, will not be able to do anything for these 1000 years. After those 1000 years, he will have one more chance to wreak havoc, but he too will be thrown into the pit of hell (20:10).

After judgment of Satan, the final judgment will take place before the white throne. I believe this is the judgment of the non-believers, everyone who has willfully denied Christ as their savior. Note how this judgment is called the ‘second death’ (20:14), in contrast to the ‘first resurrection’ of the believers (20:5-6).

Chapters 21 and 22 conclude with a beautiful picture of the new heaven and new earth, and the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven. A lot can be said about these two chapters alone, but suffice it to say that the main thing we take away from this is that heaven and earth will become one. God will tabernacle (=reside) among the people, and we will see his face, and that of the Lamb (=Jesus) day and night, and worship him before his throne. Chapter 21:22 says: “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple”. And the glory of God will be its light and the Lamb is its lamp (nice play of words…).

Chapter 22:1-5 contain some of the most encouraging and comforting verses of the entire Bible. This is our hope and future, folks. Hang in there if you are going through a tough time right now. This life is temporary, but the life described in verses 1-5 is eternal!!

The book closes with an epilogue, and a warning for those who read it (22:18-19): we are not to add nor take away from the words of this book. I’m not sure, but I’m afraid many have not taken this warning to heart. I encourage you to see it as an exhortation to take the words of this book very seriously. And not just this book, but the entire Bible.

I hope this 50,000 feet view of the book of Revelation was useful to you. Let me state again that many of the things said here, represents my personal view of the subject. The more you read this book, the more you will shape your own view and thoughts. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask them on the blog or in person. Thank you for your faithfulness in sticking with the reading program. We will do it all again next year. And the year after that and after that… until Jesus will come back to establish his kingdom here on earth.

The Spirit and the bride (=we, the church) 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”. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

In Him,
Dick

Monday, December 20, 2010

Week 51: James through Jude

Less than two weeks to go before this year's journey through the Bible comes to a close. We trust that it has been a rewarding effort...and it takes effort to stick with a commitment like this for the whole year.

Perhaps you missed some reading along the way.

Not to worry!

There's always next year.

For now, we still have some great material in front of us before the year draws to a close. Here's how this week's reading unfolds:

* Weekend: James 1-5
* Monday: 1 Peter 1-5
* Tuesday: 2 Peter 1-3
* Wednesday: 1 John 1-5
* Thursday: 2 John (extra short reading...good for last-minute Christmas shopping)
* Friday: 3 John and Jude (another light reading day)

Even though we have a light reading load this week, it is rich with content. It contains some of the most practical advice that we find in the New Testament. James teaches us how to put trials and tribulations into the right perspective. He helps us "put feet" on our faith by insisting that what we believe is evidenced by how we live (novel concept, eh?). James teaches us how to "tame the tongue." He contrasts the so-called wisdom of the world and the "wisdom that comes from heaven." He helps us put our ambitions for success into perspective and he encourages us to hang in there during tough times.

Peter's two letters are equally helpful...as are the letters of John and Jude. But enough commentary...

It's time to get into the Word!

Happy reading...

Faithfully,
Chuck

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Week 50: Titus through Hebrews

Here is this week's scheduled reading plan:

Weekend: Titus & Philemon
Monday: Hebrews 1-3
Tuesday: Hebrews 4-6
Wednesday: Hebrews 7-9
Thursday: Hebrews 10-11
Friday: Hebrews 12-13

Since WCC just completed a series on Hebrews this last Spring, I will not go into this book for the purposes of this post.

Rather, I would like to ask you to focus on the weekend reading material- the letters of Paul to Titus and Philemon.

In the letter to Titus, Paul is charging Titus with the task of appointing elders in the church. Pay attention to the qualities of the elders as per Paul. Verses 5-10 basically lay out what a leader in the church (and in the family) ought to look like. Chapter 2 raises the stakes for wives, young men and slaves as well as the men. Pay attention...

In the letter to Philemon, Paul is asking for Philemon to treat his runaway slave Onesimus as an equal as he is returning to his house. Onesimus has accepted the Lord and Paul is pleading for Philemon to look upon him as an equal going forward. To boot, Paul is saying to Philemon "Hey, if this guy owes you anything or has hurt you in any way- take it up with me to settle it. I'll cover the damages." Paul is puttting his money and life where his mouth is... knowing full well that Philemon owes much to Paul for leading him to Christ in the first place...

Here's hoping you are having a great Christmas season and I look forward to touching bases with you again when we start reading all over again!!!

Mike

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Week 49: Philippians to 2 Timothy

The last 2 days of week 48 and all of our current week 49, we will read one of Paul's letters each day:

* Weekend: Philippians
* Monday: Colossians
* Tuesday: 1 Thessalonians
* Wednesday: 2 Thessalonians
* Thursday: 1 Timothy
* Friday: 2 Timothy

Reading an entire bible book in one day is a great opportunity to really understand some of the issues discussed in that book at a deeper level. It gives you a higher-level understanding of the issues that the writer addresses and tried to convey to his readers.

If you've been following our weekly series "Living to die & dying to live" at Woodhaven Community Church, you should know a lot about the book of Philippians by now. If you've missed it, you can always go on-line to listen to sermons on this letter:

http://sc.fhview.com/sc_customplayer/seriesitems/1/119313

The letter to the Colossian church is addressed to mostly non-Jewish believers. The church is commended and thanked for its solid faith. However, Paul does warn against false teachers and he calls the church to not be misguided by them, but remain steady in the faith the way it was taught. Paul emphasizes the message of God's grace, received in Jesus Christ.

Thessalonica was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia, the northern part of present-day Greece. Paul likely wrote this letter during his stay in Corinth. This letter is dated around 50 A.D. and is assumed to be the oldest document in the New Testament. Again, Paul thanks this church for its faith and their good reputation. He also calls them to remain faithful in times of persecution. The first and second letter to the Thessalonians contain a lot of valuable information regarding the end-times, the so-called anti-christ, and the corresponding second return of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, the last verses of each chapter in 1 Thessalonians contain some information about this subject, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 into Chapter 5 contain a revelation that Paul received through the Holy Spirit.

The second chapter in 2 Thessalonians talks all about the person of the anti-christ. The reason Paul is writing this, is because the church believed that Jesus Christ could return any day now, and therefore they had quit working and neglecting their daily responsibilities. This is a good warning for us as well. We need to be ready for Christ's return at any time, however, we can't use that as an excuse to neglect our daily responsibilities.

Finally, the two letters of Paul to Timothy are personal letters from Paul to his beloved 'son in the faith' and partner in ministry, Timothy. These two letters, together with Paul's letter to Titus, are called the 'pastoral' letters, because like a pastor, Paul instructs, exhorts, and encourages, two of his key partners in the ministry. These letters have instructions for how church leaders should conduct themselves, which still are used as guidelines for appointing elders/leaders in today's church.

These instructions and letters have stood the test of time, and will continue to do so until Jesus will come back to take his bride with him. We encourage you to be ready for his return, by staying true to Him, and by faithfully staying in His word that brings life.

In Him,

Dick

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Week 48: 1 Corinthians 15 - Ephesians 6

This week's reading covers the balance of 1 Corinthians and three of the Apostle Paul's other books: 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Ephesians.

The Apostle Paul is associated with 13 Bible books - just under half of the total number of New Testament books (27). In some cases, he dictated his letters to a scribe, who wrote down his words (see Romans 16:22). In other instances, he appears to have shared the authorship with others (see Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 1 & 2 Thessalonians 1:1). And in some cases, he wrote the books by his own hand (see Galatians 6:11).

What's interesting is that while Luke's work covers 28 percent of the New Testament in just two books (the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts), Paul's 13 books cover only slightly more than that: 31.5 percent. The reason for this is obvious: Luke wrote 2 lengthy books and Paul wrote 13 short books by comparison. But these statistics tell only half the story.

The New Testament consists of 4 basic literary types: (1) Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), (2) historical narrative (Acts), (3) letters (everything from Acts to Revelation), and (4) apocalyptic (Revelation).

Before we started into Romans, our reading of the New Testament brought us into contact with 2 literary types: Gospels and historical narrative. Beginning with Romans we encountered the New Testament's third type of literature: letters. From now until we get to Revelation we will be spending our time in this "third type."

Paul wrote his letters to individuals and groups of people (churches). Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1 & 2 Thessalonians are addressed to specific churches (and groups of churches, as is the case with Galatians - see Gal. 1:2, "...to the churches in Galatia"). His letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon speak directly to individuals.

Paul's letters are personal, situational, and timely.

In terms of the personal nature of his letters, Paul often addressed people by name. He prayed in his writing for the people to whom he was writing. When you read Paul's letters, you sometimes get the feeling that he is speaking directly to you. You can feel his passion, his concern for your soul, and his desire to see you succeed in your faith. You also feel his anger and frustration when he is writing to those who are messing up in one way or another. Paul asks the people to whom he is writing to pray for him. He is very specific in his prayer requests. He freely shares his struggles as well as what he is learning from them.

Paul also addressed specific issues that individuals and churches were facing at the time...and in that sense his letters were always situational and timely. When we read Paul's letters, therefore, we are essentially listening in on his conversations...like listening to someone talking on their cell phone (though less annoying). :)

As we listen in on these conversations, we sometimes discover that the situations that Paul's readers were facing at the time are strikingly similar to the challenges we are facing in the moment. There are times, in fact, when it feels like these portions of Scripture are alive with meaning...that's because they are!

Enjoy this week's reading!

* Weekend: 1 Corinthians 15-16
* Monday: 2 Corinthians 1-5
* Tuesday: 2 Corinthians 6-9
* Wednesday: 2 Corinthians 10-13
* Thursday: Galatians
* Friday: Ephesians

Faithfully,
Chuck

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Week 47: Romans 6 to 1st Corinthians 14

Here is the reading plan for this week:

* Weekend: Romans 6-8
* Monday: Romans 9-11
* Tuesday: Romans 12-16
* Wednesday: 1st Corinthians 1-6
* Thursday: 1st Corinthians 7-10
* Friday: 1st Corinthians 11-14

Last week we read about the activities of the apostles as they spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the land. This week we pick up the reading in Romans, the first of the letters of instruction that serve as the balance of the New Testament.

Romans is a particularly special book- in this, not only does Paul seek to teach, but he also puts himself up for an example of how the everyday Christian struggles in this world. Struggles such as sin, rebellion and pride are tempered by Paul with instructions regarding spiritual transformation, love and submitting to authority.

The next letter to the Corinthian church is a response to what Paul is hearing about this church. There has been infighting in the church and reports that immorality of certain types abound. Restoration of this church is very important- and getting back to the basics is what Paul prescribes for them. The last chapter of the reading this week will sound very familiar as this is the text used at WCC when we celebrate Communion together.

As an aside, this week kicks off what is called "The Holiday Season." Our culture has spent a considerable amount of time and energy to marginalize what really this time of year is about. Please continue to keep reading and taking the time daily to be quiet with God- it can be very easy to lose focus this time of year... have a Happy Thanksgiving and a great week overall!!!

In Him,

Mike

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Week 46: Acts 19 - Romans 5

This week we'll finish the book of Acts and start the book of Romans:

* Weekend: Acts 19 - 20
* Monday: Acts 21 - 23
* Tuesday: Acts 24 - 26
* Wednesday: Acts 27 - 28
* Thursday: Romans 1 - 3
* Friday: Romans 4 - 5

In chapters 19 to 21, we witness the last part of Paul's 3rd missionary journey. We see how the gospel of Jesus Christ -- also called "The Way" in Acts 19:23 -- causes a riot in the city of Ephesus, because a silversmith by the name of Demetrius feels that his business of making silver shrines for the goddess Artemis is threatened by it -- and it is! We see how the gospel is powerful and spreading in the countries of Turkey and Greece, and churches pop up everywhere.

Later on in chapter 20, we witness the emotional farewell words of Paul to the elders of Ephesus. Paul knows he will not see them again, which leaves everyone saddened. Sometimes, that's how the Lord works. He brings people like Paul into our lives for a period of time, people that instruct and equip us, and mentor us. Look how Paul has mentored the elders of Ephesus in Acts 20:31 "Remember that for 3 years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears". Paul's love for them was such that he mentored them night and day for 3 years. Now it's time for them to stand on their own feet and take on the responsibility of mentoring the flock that God entrusted to them.

The final chapters of Acts show us Paul's last missionary journey -- as a prisoner. First he is arrested in Jerusalem by zealous Jews who want to kill him. Next he testifies before the Sanhedrin (the Jewish religious leaders). Then he testifies before several Roman governors, Felix and Festus, and he also testifies before the Jewish King Agrippa and his wife. Paul could have obtained his freedom, but because he had appealed to Caesar because of his Roman citizenship, he now has to go to Rome to testify one more time: before the Roman emperor himself. Paul sacrificed himself in order to proclaim the gospel at the highest stage possible, the court of Caesar.

The book of Acts ends open-ended. We know Paul arrives in Rome safely (after a shipwreck adventure, see Acts 27), but he goes in house-arrest for several years, where he continues to proclaim the gospel. We know from Paul's letters that he did testify before the Caesar, likely several times (see 2 Timothy 4:16-17). And he did get his wish granted of finally meeting the church of Rome (see Romans 15:23). The Bible doesn't tell us how and when he died, but according to Christian tradition he was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Nero around A.D. 64.

Paul fought the good fight, and finished the race that the Lord had set out before him. He mentored many during his lifetime, but billions more through his letters that have been recorded in the Bible. One of his most precious letters is his letter to the Christians in Rome, which lays a clear foundation for the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. More on that letter next week!!

Have a great week of reading. Let Paul's life and suffering inspire you to offer your life as a living sacrifice to Jesus Christ, every day.

Dick

Friday, November 5, 2010

Week 45: Acts 1-18

This week's reading encompasses about two-thirds of the book of Acts. In the original language, the title is "Acts of [the] Apostles." Interestingly, the book focuses mainly on the acts of just three Apostles: Peter, John, and Paul. In fact, more than half the book is dedicated to Paul's conversion and ministry. Another principal player in the drama of Acts is the Holy Spirit. No other New Testament book highlights the work of the Spirit as much as Acts. This has prompted some Bible commentators to suggest that the book should have been named "Acts of the Holy Spirit."

The other Apostles, however, do make several key appearances. They are present and accounted for in the opening of the book, as Jesus gives his final instructions before ascending to heaven. They are together when they choose Judas' replacement (1:12-26). Together they receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost (2:1-4). They were an integral part of the conversion of 3,000 people and the beginning of the early church (2:41-47). The Apostles were thrown in jail, freed by an angel of the Lord, and told to stand in the temple courts and preach the good news of Jesus...to the chagrin of the religious leaders who locked them up (5:12-42). They appointed seven key leaders to address a divisive issue, one of whom was Stephen, the church's first martyr (6:1-7:60). And they were present at the famous Jerusalem Council, which decided the fate of every non-Jewish Christ follower from then until now (15:1-35). So in the end, "Acts of the Apostles" is a fitting title.

We've pointed out that Acts is Luke's Volume 2. The Gospel of Luke is Volume 1. This is a book about new beginnings and the struggles associated with them. One important point to notice is that when people do God's will, those who don't won't like it.

Our Bible reading for the week unfolds like this:

* Weekend: Acts 1-2
* Monday: Acts 3-7
* Tuesday: Acts 8-9
* Wednesday: Acts 10-12
* Thursday: Acts 13-14
* Friday: Acts 15-18

As you make your way through this exciting portion of Scripture, prayerfully consider the ways that God is calling you to carry out his will...and ask for God's help to deal gracefully with those who might not like it when you do.

Faithfully,
Chuck

Monday, November 1, 2010

Week 44: John 1 - 21

One gospel per week! This week the book of John:

* Weekend: John 1 - 3
* Monday: John 4 - 6
* Tuesday: John 7 - 9
* Wednesday: John 10 - 12
* Thursday: John 13 - 17
* Friday: John 18 - 21

The gospel according to John is different from the first 3 gospels of Matthew, Mark & Luke, also called the synoptic gospels (syn=equal, optic=seen -> these gospels share a similar view and are clearly linked). The gospel of John is written by the apostle John, who can be regarded as one of Jesus' best friends, if not THE best friend. That John was very close to Jesus is clear from this gospel, where John several times talks about himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved". The gospel of John also talks a lot about Jesus' love for his disciples and for us, and has a number of intimate passages that are nowhere else found in the Bible. Jesus' prayer in John 17 is such a passage.

The gospel according to John gives us a unique insight in God's love for mankind through His son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The opening verses are some of the most famous verses in the Bible that show this perspective:

"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

It is our prayer that you may find light and life in Him by reading through this marvelous and inspiring gospel account.

Have a great week.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Week 43: Luke 7 - 24

This week we'll finish the Gospel according to Luke, with an easy-to-remember '3 chapters per day' reading schedule:

* Weekend: Luke 7 - 9
* Monday: Luke 10 - 12
* Tuesday: Luke 13 - 15
* Wednesday: Luke 16 - 18
* Thursday: Luke 19 - 21
* Friday: Luke 22 - 24

As Chuck already mentioned last week, the gospel according to Luke is part 1 of a 2-part series, the book of Acts being part 2. Luke was a physician and, as such, his writings are very detailed. In chapter 1 verse 3 he mentions: "Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you...". Note the words 'carefully investigated' and 'orderly'. Luke had investigated for himself that the accounts concerning Jesus were true and trustworthy. This is tremendous evidence for the Christian faith. These stories are not fabricated fables or nicely constructed novels, but trustworthy eyewitness accounts.

When you read these accounts, I encourage you to take God's advice in Luke 9:35 to heart: "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." We have to listen to Jesus when speaks to us through his word. In your Bible, underline Jesus' sayings that speak to you. Here are a number of versus that speak to me:

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" [9:23]

"See to it, then, that the light within in you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you." [11:35,36]

"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." [12:15]

"But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well." [12:31]

"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to." [13:24]

"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." [15:7]

In the gospels, we often see Jesus as a teacher. He taught his disciples, and he still teaches us today through the accurate accounts written down by Luke and other gospel writers. Take his teachings to heart. Meditate on them and let them transform your life.

Dick

Friday, October 15, 2010

Week 42: Mark 4 - Luke 6

This week's reading takes us into the middle of the Synoptic Tradition. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke share many similarities because each of these writers drew from the same oral and written sources.

The Gospel accounts that we have in our Bibles were compiled and written between AD 65 and 85, which means that the first generation of Jesus' followers relied on a robust oral tradition and short written stories. (In fact, the first New Testament book, James, did not come into existence until about AD 50.) The Synoptic Tradition drew together these oral and written stories, which came from eyewitness accounts of the Apostles and others closely associated with Jesus.

The early church fathers were united in their conviction that Matthew, a former tax collector and one of the twelve Apostles, was the author of the Gospel that occurs first in the New Testament. Interestingly, Matthew drew much of his material from the Gospel of Mark, which was written by Barnabas' cousin, John Mark, around AD 65.

New Testament scholars are in general agreement that Mark's Gospel was the first of the three synoptic Gospels and that both Matthew (written in the 70s) and Luke (also written in the 70s) drew liberally from Mark's material. That Matthew, himself an eyewitness of Jesus' life and ministry, would rely so heavily on Mark's account has caused some scholars to question whether Matthew actually wrote the Gospel bearing his name. One answer is that Matthew agreed with Mark's account and, while adding his own unique touches, sought to present a united apostolic witness. Luke was not an eyewitness, so no scholars question whether he wrote his Gospel on the basis of his reliance on other sources.

Matthew developed his Gospel for a Jewish audience. His main goal was to demonstrate that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah. He did this by (1) highlighting Jesus' family ties with Israel's greatest King and messianic archetype, King David, and (2) showing how many key events in Jesus' life were prefigured and prophesied in the Old Testament.

Mark was in Rome when he produced his Gospel. He sought to comfort his fellow Christians in Rome during a period of severe persecution, which went from AD 64 to 67. He emphasized that suffering was an integral part of Jesus' life and plays a key role in forging true faithfulness in the lives of Jesus' followers. References to suffering and discipleship occur throughout this Gospel (see 1:12, 13; 3:22, 30; 8:34-38;10:30, 33, 34, 45; 13:8, 11-13). Bishop Papias, an early church leader who wrote in the first half of the second century, quoted an earlier source, possibly the Apostle John, saying that Mark relied heavily on the Apostle Peter as he compiled his Gospel.

Luke wrote his Gospel for one man, Theophilus, whose name means "lover of God." He calls him, "Most excellent Theophilus" (1:3), which likely indicates that he was a person of wealth and prominence or perhaps a high-ranking Roman official. However, even though the book is addressed to a single individual, Luke clearly developed his Gospel with a wider audience in mind. He uniquely underscored such key themes as salvation's being available to Gentiles as well as Jews, the important role that women played in Jesus' life, the work and influence of the Holy Spirit, Jesus' practice of prayer, his concern for the poor, his affection for sinners, and his frequent use of the title, "Son of Man." Luke's Gospel is Volume One of a two-volume series. The book of Acts is his Volume Two.

This week's reading is as follows:
* Weekend: Mark 4-7
* Monday: Mark 8-10
* Tuesday: Mark 11-13
* Wednesday: Mark 14-16
* Thursday: Luke 1-2
* Friday: Luke 3-6

Some of Jesus' teachings are difficult to understand, so don't get frustrated if you aren't able to grasp everything he says. When you come upon a hard saying, relax, keep reading, and know that God will meet you in his word and give you what you need to know that day.

Seasoned readers of Scripture are forever delighted at what new things God reveals each time they read the Bible, knowing that the book they hold in their hands is a gift that the first generation of Christ followers lived without.

Have a great week!

Faithfully,
Chuck

Monday, October 11, 2010

Week 41- Matthew 11 through Mark 3

Here is the reading plan for the week:

*Weekend: Matthew 11-13
*Monday: Matthew 14-18
*Tuesday: Matthew 19-23
*Wednesday: Matthew 24-25
*Thursday: Matthew 26-28
*Friday: Mark 1-3

There is a saying that the Bible is the story of salvation. The Old Testament details how flawed we are as people and how we are in need of a Savior. The New Testament is the coming of that Savior, His atonement for the sins of all human beings- past, present and future- and the reward for living in faith.

If you participated in the New Testament Challenge last fall, you are no doubt very familiar with the readings from here on through the end of the year. But please continue to be diligent in your reading. God has something to say to us each time we open our Bibles. That passage you dismissed last year as just another sentence may be the passage that you need to hear today to get through a certain obstacle.

Jesus has many things to say this week on a variety of topics: Why we should follow Him (11:28-30), divorce (19:1-12), the importance of money (19:16-30) and paying taxes ((22:15-22) among others.

It is extremely difficult to unpack this book in a short blog posting, so I will wrap it up here with this: Chapter 22, verses 34-40 sum up how we as Christians should live. Life is about relationships- not rules- and these specifics are about as clear as they could ever be...

Have a great week reading!!!

-Mike

Friday, October 1, 2010

Week 40: Zechariah 12 to Mathew 10

Believe it or not, but this week we will finish the Old Testament (OT) and start the New Testament (NT)!! This is a major accomplishment, not only because the OT is more than 3 times as long as the NT, but also because parts of the OT are less familiar for most of us.

This week's reading plan is as follows:

* Weekend: Zechariah 12 - 14
* Monday: Malachi 1 - 2
* Tuesday: Malachi 3
* Wednesday: Matthew 1 - 4
* Thursday: Matthew 5 - 7
* Friday: Matthew 8 - 10

The last few chapters of Zechariah contain a number of interesting prophesies regarding both Jesus, as well as the end-times, when the Day of the LORD will come. Many of the prophesies in Revelation are related to these prophesies here at the end of Zechariah, which emphasizes once again the unity of OT and NT.

The book of Malachi is the last book of the so-called Minor Prophets, and it is also the last book of the Old Testament. Parts of this book form an interesting dialogue with rhetorical questions, see for example Chapter 1:7, 2:17, 3-14. The central theme of the book is God's covenant with the priests and the people. God accuses his people of doubting the covenant, and He calls for repentance. Chapter 3 versus 6-12 contain a challenge for all of us regarding our money and faithfully giving a portion back to Him of what He has so faithfully given us.

The last couple versus talk about the return of Elijah. Jesus later interprets that by saying those verses refer to John the Baptist, who was a prophet in the spirit of Elijah.

After the book of Malachi was written, God was silent for about 400 years, i.e., He didn't speak through any prophets for a long period of time. This is sometimes referred to as the 'silent time', almost like the 'dark ages' of the Old Testament. God was silent for a long time, but He didn't sit still... He was preparing the world for the coming of the promised Messiah, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The New Testament tells us all about this Messiah, starting with Matthew. More on that next week!

In Him,

Dick

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Week 39: Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zechariah

This week we cover the writings of three so-called minor prophets. Like Mike said last week, these books are "minor" only in the sense that they are shorter than the likes of Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. They are, however, just as important...and power packed!

This week's reading unfolds like this:

* Weekend: Zephaniah 1-3
* Monday: Haggai 1-2
* Tuesday: Zechariah 1-2
* Wednesday: Zechariah 3-6
* Thursday: Zechariah 7-8
* Friday: Zechariah 9-11

The prophet Zephaniah lived and preached during the reign of King Josiah. His contemporaries included Jeremiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk. Not surprisingly, Zephaniah's message was similar to that of his contemporaries. Jerusalem had lost its way spiritually and would soon fall into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army. The main theme of Zephaniah's writings is "the day of the Lord," which was not a good thing for the ungodly inhabitants of Jerusalem!

The prophets Haggai and Zechariah, on the other hand, served some 80 to 100 years later, when Jerusalem was being rebuilt by those who had returned from Babylonian exile. The two prophets were contemporaries. They engaged in a sort of tag-team ministry. Both prophets focused on the rebuilding of God's temple. While the people had built for themselves nice, paneled houses, the Lord's temple still lay in ruins (Hag. 1:2-3). God's message through Haggai and Zechariah was, "put me back in the center of your lives!"

Zechariah was both a prophet and a priest. His ministry paralleled that of Haggai, but he was much younger than Haggai, so he continued his work long after Haggai's death. The book of Zechariah is one of the longest of the Minor Prophets, roughly the same length as Hosea (both in terms of word count and number of chapters - 14).

What distinguishes Zechariah from Hosea is the number of messianic prophesies. Zechariah predicted that the Messiah would be humble and lowly (6:12; 13:7), making his triumphal entry on a donkey (9:9). He would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (11:12-13), crucified ("struck down," 13:7), and seated on the throne of glory (6:12-13). Accordingly, he would rule the earth and be worshiped by people of all nations (14:9, 16).

As you read this wonderful material, pray that God would speak to you and impress upon your heart the ways he is calling you to make him the center of your life. "Lord, I want to be wholly yours. Open the eyes of my heart to see the ways I can put you first in my life for Jesus' sake. Amen!"

Have a great week!

Faithfully,
Chuck

Friday, September 17, 2010

Week 38: Jonah, Micah, Nahum & Habakkuk

Here is the reading schedule for this week:

* Weekend: Jonah
* Monday: Micah 1-2
* Tuesday: Micah 3-5
* Wednesday: Micah 6-7
* Thursday: Nahum
* Friday: Habakkuk

We will knock out 4 books this week! Like it has been described earlier, we are in the middle of reading the books of the Minor Prophets, but if you have been keeping up with the reading, these books are anything but minor. How are the books speaking to you personally?

This week we start with Jonah- one of my personal favorites! This is a story of a prophet who disobeys God when given a direct order. Jonah is afraid to prophesy to the people of Nineveh because he fears for his life as he thinks he will be killed or hurt very badly when they reject God's word. He takes the long route to achieving his objective and eventually succeeds. What lesson can you pull from his story?

Micah displays the power of prophecy, especially in chapter 5. Hmmm... who do you think he is describing???

Nahum is about another prophecy to Nineveh, this time about 150 years after Jonah fulfilled his mission. Nineveh has fallen away from God again and this time God is determined to demonstrate His judgment as opposed to the mercy He showed in Jonah's day...

Habakkuk is a cool read- it is partly a dialogue with God about why evil is allowed to "prosper" in the world... sound kinda familiar? Well, God answers that He is truly in control and that He will act and react according to His will. The main thing we all need to realize is that we must live in faith- faith that God is good and that He will care for those who choose to have a relationship with Him.

We really hope you are keeping up and are finding enjoyment and/or fulfillment in the Word. Keep on reading and please let us know what you are thinking if you like!

Have a great week!!!

-Mike

Friday, September 10, 2010

Week 37: Joel, Amos & Obadiah

This week we read Prophets 2, 3 & 4 out of the series of 12 minor prophets:

* Weekend: Joel
* Monday: Amos 1 - 2
* Tuesday: Amos 3 - 5
* Wednesday: Amos 6 - 7
* Thursday: Amos 8 - 9
* Friday: Obadiah

Joel is the 2nd prophet from the collection of minor prophets. There is very little known about the prophet himself. Because of his concern for Judah and Jerusalem, it is generally accepted that that's the area he lived and prophesied. Dating the book is difficult too because of lack of historical references, but most scholars date the book in the 6th century BC, either right before the Babylonian captivity or afterward (586BC).

Joel prophesies about the "great and dreadful day of the LORD" (2:31). The massive locust plague and severe drought devastating Judah are all signs of that day. Confronted with crisis, he calls on everyone to repent: old and young (1:2-3), drunkards (1:5), farmers (1:11) and priests (1:13). The locusts are described as the LORD's army and he sees in their coming a reminder that the day of the LORD is near.

Chapter 3 is famous because the apostle Peter quotes it in one of the most famous sermons of the Bible in Acts chapter 2:14-47 (apart from Jesus' sermons). This chapter in Acts shows an interesting aspect about prophesies, namely that many prophesies are partly fulfilled at some point in time, but still wait for their complete fulfillment at a later point in time. In this particular case, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as prophesied by Joel 600 years earlier (!), had its fulfillment in Acts chapter 2, however, the 'blood and fire and billows of smoke, the sun turning to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful (or glorious) day of the LORD' has not been completely fulfilled yet. The great day of the LORD that brings judgment over all who rejected God, is still coming, and vividly described in the book of Revelation. The prophet Joel saw it all in one vision, and laid it out for us in one paragraph, but the actual fulfillment is happening at different moments in time.

Amos was a shepherd in Tekoa, a small town about 6 miles south of Bethlehem. He was not from the elite of Israel (like Isaiah who was a man of the court, or Jeremiah who was a priest). He earned his living from the flock and the sycamore-fig grove (1:1, 7:14-15). He probably ministered for the most part at Bethel (7:10-13), Israel's main religious sanctuary. His prophesies are well organized, however, it is hard to find a chronological order in his prophesies. He prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah over Judah (792-740BC) and Jerobeam II over Israel (793-753).

The main theme of the book of Amos is probably captured in chapter 5:24:

"But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!"

Whereas Hosea emphasized God's love, grace, mercy and forgiveness, Amos was a vigorous spokesman for God's justice and righteousness. Amos declared that God was going to judge his unfaithful, disobedient, covenant-breaking people. And we need to hear both messages too! We need to fully grasp God's love, grace and mercy, but then we also need to understand God's justice and righteousness, not just for ourselves, but also to stir in us a compassion for all those who are still lost and need to hear God's message of love, grace and mercy, lest they will not come under His judgment.

The book of Obadiah is just one chapter! His name means "servant (or worshipper) of the LORD". The prophesy is about Edom (Edom are the offspring from Esau, Jacob's (=Israel's) brother. God is upset with Edom because they gloated over Israel's devastation. Because of their family relationship, God is even more upset with Edom than other nations who show hostility toward Israel. The recurring theme of "the day of the LORD" is also in this book (verse 15-21).

I apologize for the long post this week, but wanted to give a bit of background on 3 different bible books. I hope you still enjoy reading through the Bible. This week is a good week to catch up, as the reading is very light. Joel and Obadiah are 1 day each, but you can almost read Amos in day as well, which gives you a couple days extra to catch up or get ahead.

Have a great week!

Dick

Friday, September 3, 2010

Week 36: Daniel 10-12; Hosea 1-14

This week's reading completes the book of Daniel and moves into a new section of Scripture, which some have called "The Book of the Twelve" and others have called the Minor Prophets. The books of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are called "minor" only because of their length. Compared to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, the works of the Minor Prophets are comparatively brief. However, the messages they share are as power packed as the larger prophetic works. In the next few weeks, we will sometimes be covering two or three books per week...in stark contrast to the long stretches in Isaiah and Jeremiah.

This week's reading comes together like this:

* Weekend: Daniel 10-12
* Monday: Hosea 1-3
* Tuesday: Hosea 4-6
* Wednesday: Hosea 7-8
* Thursday: Hosea 9-11
* Friday: Hosea 12-14

The book of Hosea, the first Minor Prophet in The Book of the Twelve, is unique in a couple of ways. It is the only book written by a prophet from the northern territory of Israel (referred to simply as Israel after Solomon's day, when the kingdom was divided between "Judah," which lay to the south and was ruled by descendants of King David, and "Israel," the northern territory, which was ruled by an assortment of wicked kings).

The book of Hosea is also unique because all the dating references are linked to the kings of Judah (rather than Israel - even though he prophesied to Israel). Some scholars take this to mean that scribes in Judah compiled the prophet's writings after the northern territory was taken over by Assyria, which deported the Israelites and replaced them with people it had taken from other lands.

The prophet Hosea had the grim task of prophesying Israel's doom and deportation. Even though God loved Israel and wanted nothing but its redemption and salvation, Israel for its part was bent on rebellion and disobedience. Israel wanted nothing more than to do its own thing...without God.

Hosea's marriage to an unfaithful woman - and his love and forgiveness of her - powerfully illustrates God's unending love for Israel. That notwithstanding, however, Israel, like Hosea's wife, would have none of it.

The message of Hosea is sobering. It shows us that it is possible for us to reach a point of no return, so to speak, in our resolve to do our own thing and have nothing to do with God.

Scripture is clear about the fact that when we are saved by Christ, we are safe from the enemy's attempts to snatch us from God's hands (see John 10:28-30). But God loves us too much to compel us to be his disciples. Jesus invites us to come to him and take his yoke upon ourselves (see Matthew 11:28-30). But if we're unwilling to follow Jesus because we are either too attached to earthly things (see Matthew 19:16-26) or because we desire to please others more than we desire to please God (see Luke 9:59-62), God will sadly leave us to our own devices.

Hosea teaches us that we can will ourselves out of God's will by insisting on living life according to our desires instead of God's desires.

Let's make this prayer of relinquishment, which Richard Foster so eloquently expressed, our prayer at the beginning of each day this week:

Today, O Lord, I yield myself to You.
May Your will be my delight today.
May You have perfect sway in me.
May your love be the pattern of my living.
I surrender to You my hopes, my dreams, my ambitions.
Do with them what You will, when You will, as You will.
I place into Your loving care my family, my friends, my future.
Care for them with a care that I can never give.
I release into Your hands my need to control, my craving for status, my fear of obscurity.
Eradicate the evil, purify the good, and establish Your Kingdom on earth.
For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Have a blessed week!
Chuck

Friday, August 27, 2010

Week 35: Ezekiel 37-48, Daniel 1-9

This week we'll finish reading the book of Ezekiel, and make a start with the prophet Daniel:

* Weekend: Ezekiel 37-39
* Monday: Ezekiel 40-43
* Tuesday: Ezekiel 44-48
* Wednesday: Daniel 1-3
* Thursday: Daniel 4-6
* Friday: Daniel 7-9

Ezekiel Chapter 37 is a story that has haunted me since I was a kid- probably a reason why I like spooky films these days... As an adult I can appreciate the imagery and how this story rounds out the end of Ezekiel's book. For me, sometimes I feel down and out of it when I lose focus on the important things in life and pretty much turn into one of those bodies that exist but have no breath... but I know that God does not make junk and that I (and all of us) have a purpose. And when that purpose is "breathed" back in to us and we are ALIVE again, it can be as powerful as an army...

As the Nation of Israel is destined to return to the land, Ezekiel has the details of how that will look and lays them out in his writings... The attention to detail is amazing to read...

Daniel is one of the most powerful books of the Old Testament. From "cover to cover" this book does not quit. Chapter 1 details the story of how Daniel and his companions come into the service of the Babylonian King. There is a great case made for eating a proper diet!

Chapter 2 relays the story of the King's dream and the interpretation of that dream- can you identify what kingdoms the different metals/substances represent?

Chapter 3 is familiar to Veggie Tales fans (The Bunny...!). God reveals Himself as the real deal to the King when he saves the three men from the furnace...

Chapters 5 & 6 are also very familiar... the lion's den and the origin of the term "the writing on the wall..."

In Chapter 7 the tone of the book switches from storytelling to the dreams, visions and prophecies of Daniel. More on this next week, but this is some really cool reading if you ever harbored doubts about the accuracy of prophecy...!

Have a great week reading!

-Mike

Friday, August 20, 2010

Week 34: Ezekiel 12 - 36

This week it's all Ezekiel in the reading plan:

* Weekend: Ezekiel 12 - 15
* Monday: Ezekiel 16 - 19
* Tuesday: Ezekiel 20 - 24
* Wednesday: Ezekiel 25 - 28
* Thursday: Ezekiel 29 - 32
* Friday: Ezekiel 33 - 36

Ezekiel is one of the most remarkable prophets, if not THE most remarkable prophet, and the book of Ezekiel is one the most remarkable books in the Bible. It is probably also one of the lesser-known prophets. For me personally, the prophet and the book had to "grow" on me over time. Isaiah is known and read for its many prophesies regarding the Messiah. Jeremiah is known for prophesying and lamenting the fall of Jerusalem (in the Netherlands we even have a verb "jeremiering", which means as much as "wining"). Daniel is another famous prophet because of its famous stories of the lion's den, the fiery oven, etc. But who in the world is Ezekiel??

Well, as you have already read this past week, Ezekiel is an incredibly faithful servant. In chapter 4, God asked him to bear the sin of the people of Israel, one day for every year the people have sinned for a total of 390 days. Ezekiel has to lay down on his left side for 390 days, bearing the sin of the people!! After he's done with that, he has to lay down on his other side for 40 days, to bear the sin of the tribe of Judah. Not just laying down, but tied down with ropes, to symbolize the siege of Jerusalem. And if that is not all, God gives him only bread to eat and water to drink, and He asks them to bake the bread on human faeces!!!!! Can you believe that???!!! Ezekiel pleas with the Lord to prevent him from defiling himself, and so the Lord grants him to bake the bread on a cow pie instead of human excrements... Wow...

When I read that, I'm first of all stunned by the things that God is asking of Ezekiel, and secondly, I'm stunned by how faithful Ezekiel responds and executes the things God asks of him. Who of us would do this if the Lord would ask something like this today?? No, He won't ask these specific things, but what if He asks you to go through a time of trial that lasts more than a couple days, a couple weeks, a couple months or a couple of years? Maybe you feel like you have been 'tied down with a rope' for a long time.

Read a little further, and we see God's outrage against the sin of Israel and Judah, symbolized in the story of two sisters who commit adultery. God passionately loved them, but they rejected him time and time again (chapter 23). In this chapter, God uses some very explicit language to describe the situation, so be warned (reader discretion advised!). It is obvious that God is very upset, and does not dance around the subject.

And then... God asks an even more unbelievable thing from Ezekiel in chapter 24. God says: "With one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears." (24:15,16). And then we read in verse 18: "So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded."

When I read that, tears come to my eyes. I cannot believe God is asking that from someone who has been so faithful to him. I think of my own wife and family, and secretly hope God will never ever ask such a sacrifice from me. But I also know people who have experienced this, maybe not quite like Ezekiel, but most definitely a sacrifice that was hard to understand why God would allow that to happen. And I have experienced my own hardships with losses of dear people as well, some of them very untimely it seemed.

Yet... as we read the Bible more and more, we get to understand the heart of God better and better. We do not understand everything, but we do get a glimpse of the bigger picture God has in mind. We see His vision in chapter 18 verse 23:

"Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"

and in 18:32:

"For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the LORD. Repent and live!"

That is what God wants for each us, and not just each of us, but for the entire world! That is why Ezekiel had to do what he did, to bring a message of repentance and hope to an entire nation. That's why we sometimes have to go through the dark times in life... so that God can accomplish the big picture, not just for us, but for the entire world.

I encourage you to appreciate reading the book of Ezekiel. It's not easy to read, but so rewarding if you catch the big picture as well.

In Him,

Dick

Friday, August 13, 2010

Week 33: Jeremiah 30-45; Lamentations; Ezekiel 1-11

Here's this week's reading plan as we make our way through the books of Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Ezekiel:

Weekend: Jeremiah 37-39
Monday: Jeremiah 40-45
Tuesday: Jeremiah 46-52
Wednesday: Lamentations (entire book)
Thursday: Ezekiel 1-6
Friday: Ezekiel 7-11

If you are starting to feel that you've been reading the book of Jeremiah for a long time now, it's because you have. Jeremiah is the longest book in the Bible, even though other books, like Isaiah and Psalms, have more chapter divisions.

The books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel have some interesting similarities and differences. Like Jeremiah, the prophet Ezekiel lived and prophesied during one of Jerusalem's darkest periods. The year 586 BC marks the Holy City's worst catastrophe up to that point in time...its total destruction by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army. The city walls were breached and reduced to rubble. The temple was looted and burned to the ground. Homes and business were demolished. The majority of Jerusalem's population was exiled to Babylon, where the people remained for decades.

Jeremiah and Ezekiel (along with Isaiah and Zephaniah) followed the same basic sequence in writing their books. They began with a series of oracles against Israel, then moved to a set of oracles against the surrounding nations, and came full circle with oracles consoling Israel, which promised restoration and future blessing after God's judgments had run their course. While Ezekiel arranged his oracles chronologically, however, Jeremiah did not.

Ezekiel and Jeremiah ministered to many of the same people, but those people were in very different circumstances when they encountered the two prophets. Jeremiah prophesied to the inhabitants of Jerusalem before they were carried off into captivity. Ezekiel was "a missionary prophet" of sorts. He lived among the people after their exile to Babylon and instructed them on how they should conduct themselves among their captors.

The message for us is that God meets us where we're at...regardless of our circumstances in life. He instructs us on how we should live, and leaves the choice (along with the blessings and consequences of those choices) up to us. Yet, even after we've messed up in the worst possible ways, we can trust that God will never leave us or forsake us. He will deliver us and infuse us afresh with hope and joy.

A passage in Lamentations, the book that lies between Jeremiah and Ezekiel, is particularly instructive. As the early morning sun broke over Jerusalem's eastern horizon, it illuminated brown and yellowish hues of smoke, which wafted slowly heavenward from the Holy City's smoldering ashes. Jeremiah stood motionless and wept softly as he wrung these words from his lonely soul, speaking as if one with the city whose destruction he had predicted for some 40 years:

Like a bear lying in wait,
like a lion in hiding,
he dragged me from the path and mangled me
and left me without help.
He drew his bow
and made me the target for his arrows.
He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver.
I became the laughingstock of all my people;
they mock me in song all day long.
He has filled me with bitter herbs
and sated me with gall.
He has broken my teeth with gravel;
he has trampled me in the dust.
I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
So I say, "My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the Lord."

But then the Spirit whispered to the worn-and-weary prophet and his face brightened.

He continued...lament giving way to consolation:

I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord's great love we
are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will hope in him."
The Lord is good to those whose hope
is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
(Lamentations 3:10-26)

Jeremiah made the faithful acclamation: "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will hope in him."

Whatever circumstances we find ourselves facing in the coming week, let's make this common commitment: "Come what may, the Lord is our portion; therefore we will hope in him!"

Chuck

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Week 32: Jeremiah 11-36

Here is this week's reading plan- all from the Book of Jeremiah:

Weekend: Ch. 11-15
Monday: Ch. 16-20
Tuesday: Ch. 21-25
Wednesday: Ch. 26-29
Thursday: Ch. 30-33
Friday: Ch. 34-36

Jeremiah was a prophet who began his ministry when a righteous king (Josiah) sat on the throne. The Book of the Law was re-discovered during the time of Josiah's reign and as king he made sweeping changes in Judah to rid the country of idols and other things that enabled the people to sin against God. Jeremiah pretty much was brought on board while the going was good...

But...

Josiah's death in battle ushered in the bad habits that led to the destruction of Israel...

In my line of work in sales, it is said that my job truly begins when I hear the answer "No." Well, for Jeremiah, his job really began when Judah's king decided to lead them back into sin. He is the messenger of bad news (truth, really) to folks who do not want to change bad habits...

As we read together the story of Jeremiah, please note that all along as people abandon him and increasingly mistreat him, that he still holds fast to his mission and ministry...

-Mike

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Week 31: Isaiah 49 to Jeremiah 10

This week we'll finish reading the book of Isaiah and starting with the book of the prophet Jeremiah:

* Weekend: Isaiah 49 - 52
* Monday: Isaiah 53 - 57
* Tuesday: Isaiah 58 - 62
* Wednesday: Isaiah 63 - 66
* Thursday: Jeremiah 1 - 6
* Friday : Jeremiah 7 - 10

As you finish reading Isaiah, continue to look for prophesies regarding the "Servant of the Lord", which are all pointing to Jesus. In addtion, these last chapters contain many prophesies regarding the restoration of Israel and regarding the end-times when Jesus will come back and establish His kingdom of peace. Some prophesies even refer to the very end, when God will establish a 'New heaven and new earth' (Isaiah 65). 'New' does not necessarily mean 'completely created from scratch', but rather 'restored', 'remodeled'. God is not going to let down his first creation, but rather restore it and make it whole and perfect.

The prophet Jeremiah is a very interesting book as it describes the personal life and struggles of Jeremiah in greater depth and detail than any other old-testament prophet. More on him next week!

Let us know how you are doing with the reading. Is it a struggle to keep up? I know it is for me from time to time. It is not easy to consistently read every day for 20 minutes or so. If you miss a day, you have to do 40 minutes the next day, etc. Let us know where you're at, either through the blog or by e-mail.

In His service,

Dick

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Week 30: Isaiah 28 - 48

This week we'll continue with the prophet Isaiah:

* Weekend: Isaiah 28 - 30
* Monday: Isaiah 31 - 35
* Tuesday: Isaiah 36 - 39
* Wednesday: Isaiah 40 - 42
* Thursday: Isaiah 43 - 45
* Friday: Isaiah 46 - 48

As Mike mentioned last week, some big things are about to happen in the book Isaiah. Chapters 28 to 35 continue to describe prophesies regarding the nations surrounding Israel, and regarding the liberation of Jerusalem. The key message over and over: not the powerful nations will bring liberation, but God alone! (Chapters 30,31,33,35).

When you read these prophesies, don't skip over them as not being relevant anymore. Be on the alert for prophesies that foreshadow the coming of Jesus, both his first and second coming. Sometimes, all of a sudden you find these 'pearls' that are hidden in the text, such as Isaiah 28:16, which is a clear prediction of the coming of Jesus.

In Chapters 36 to 39, the writer shifts from recording prophesies to recording some actual history. Jerusalem is under siege by king Sennacherib from Assyria with his mighty army (at least 185,000 troops!). The Jewish king Hezekiah and his men are desperate and put on sackcloth because of the distress. They know for sure that they cannot win this battle, unless... the Lord helps them (37:4). I especially like verse 20 of Chapter 37: "Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God." You have to read all of chapter 37 to see if God hears Hezekiah's prayer or not.

Then, Chapter 38 is one of those other remarkable chapters in the book of Isaiah, and in the entire Bible for that matter. Hezekiah becomes terminally ill. Through the prophet Isaiah, God even tells him he will die. But... Hezekiah prays earnestly to the Lord for an extension of his life, and... God answers his prayer! He gets another 15 years to live!! That must have felt like more than a 2nd chance to life for him. That's how some of us feel when we come to know Jesus, after being 'spiritually dead' for so many years. What a gratefulness we have when we do get that second chance to life. Hezekiah shows his gratefulness in a wonderful prayer at the end of Chapter 38.

And you would think he would live the rest of his life in gratitude and trying hard to serve the LORD, just like we would do, right?! Well, the very next chapter records a costly mistake of Hezekiah that has far-reaching consequences for the kingdom of Judah.

Chapters 40 to 48 are kind of like a whole new section in the book of Isaiah. Because of its literary style and its different contents, it is generally assumed that this is written by someone other than Isaiah. This prophet is generally called 'Deutero Isaiah', or 'the second Isaiah'. This part of the book is famous for its many prophesies regarding the coming of Jesus, especially his suffering on the cross. It's stunningly amazing how accurately these prophesies describe what happened to Jesus many centuries later. More about that next week!

Dick

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Week 29: Song of Solomon 5-8; Isaiah 1-27

Here is the reading plan for this week:

* Weekend: Song of Solomon 5-8
* Monday: Isaiah 1-3
* Tuesday: Isaiah 4-7
* Wednesday: Isaiah 8-12
* Thursday: Isaiah 13-20
* Friday: Isaiah 21-27

Welcome to Week #29 in our quest to read the Bible in one year! This week the focus is on the balance of Song of Solomon and the first third and change of the Book of Isaiah.

Dr. Chuck covered the synopsis and purpose of the Song of Solomon in last week's posting, so this week we will focus on getting to know the Old Testament prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah came to promninence at a time in history where the kingdom of Israel had already been divided into two kingdoms- Isaiah resided in the kingdom of Judah.

Now Judah had some good kings and some not-so-good kings. Isaiah served under the rule of four kings. The first two kings, Azariah (Uzziah) and Jotham, did the right thing for the Lord in their own house (2 Kings 15:1-7, 32-38), but failed to lead the people towards the Lord by allowing them to worship any god they chose. The third king, Ahaz, was not so good and he got into all sorts of trouble (2 Kings 16). This trouble carried forward to Hezekiah, who did right by the Lord and led the people towards the Lord (2 Kings 18-20).

The message Isaiah sent was one of judgement and and also comfort, as the Journey Bible outlines. Because Judah continually marginalized God, especially through the leadership of their kings, God's judgement was coming.

The people and kings of Judah worshipped "by-the-book." They sacrificed, prayed and went through the motions of the Law. But their hearts were not in it. This lukewarm religion was the key to how much they took their rights as God's chosen for granted. Well, if they are not on board fully with God when times are good, then it is time for things to turn bad.

This book is a record of the message Isaiah preached to the kings and the kingdom during this time.

To make it personal this week, consider what Isaiah might say to you if he were in your living room today. Would you be considered outright rebellious, a Sodom or Gomorrah? Would you be considered lukewarm, going through the motions but not really living in faith? Or would you be considered to be on fire for the Lord- living your faith in all aspects of your life, whether you are in public or in private? If you fall under any of the first two categories, do not despair- you are not alone. But maybe the time is right in your life to allow Isaiah to speak truth to you. But please don't stop until you have read the entire book- I won't steal the thunder from next week, but some remarkable things happen in the book that are very cool and point out the fact that no matter where we are the Lord will provide if we choose to place our faith and trust in Him.

God Bless and Happy Reading!

-Mike

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Week 28: Proverbs 22 - Song of Solomon 4

This week we get to read in 3 books that are generally (completely or partially) associated with King Solomon:

* Weekend: Proverbs 22 - 24
* Monday: Proverbs 25 - 29
* Tuesday: Proverbs 30 - 31
* Wednesday: Ecclesiastes 1 - 6
* Thursday: Ecclesiastes 7 - 12
* Friday: Song of Solomon 1 - 4

We end the book of Proverbs, then we read the book of Ecclesiastes in 2 days, and make a start with the book of Solomon on Friday.

Like the book of Proverbs, the book of Ecclesiastes is also part of the "Wisdom literature", as Chuck so nicely explained last week. Although no time period or writer's name is mentioned in the book, several passages strongly suggest that King Solomon is the author (e.g. 1:1,12,16). Some bible scholars think Solomon might have written this toward the end of his life, after the period during which his love for his many wives led him astray in his devotion to God (1 Kings 11).

The book of Ecclesiastes is reflecting on life in its entirety, from birth to death. The author tells us that life not centered on God is purposeless and meaningless. Without Him, nothing else can satisfy (2:25). With Him, all of life and his other good gifts are to be gratefully received and enjoyed to the full (2:26, 11:8). The book contains the philosophical and theological reflections of an old man (12:1-7), most of whose life was meaningless because he had not himself relied on God as he should have.

The Song of Solomon, in the Hebrew text called "Solomon's Song of Songs", is first and foremost a love song. The classic interpretation of this book is that it describes the love relationship and desire between a woman ("beloved") and a shepherd boy ("lover"), and the back-and-forth love dialogue between the two. The love between the two is challenged by king Solomon, who desires to have the woman added to his harem. In the end, the love between the woman and shepherd boy prevails (8:6-14).

Other interpretations of the text tell us that this book is an allegory of the love relationship between God and Israel, and later between Christ and the church. Regardless of which interpretation is true, the Bible speaks of both wisdom and love as gifts of God, to be received with gratitude and celebration. That is the main theme of the book, and of the Bible as a whole.

Enjoy the continued reading in the "books of wisdom".

Dick

Friday, July 2, 2010

Week 27: Psalm 145 – Proverbs 21

The Hebrew people divided (Old-Testament) Scripture into three primary sections: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. The third division, the Writings, include such books as Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.

This week, as we complete our reading of the Psalms and move into Proverbs, we stay within the Writings…but move into a very different literary tradition, which we call Wisdom Literature.

This week’s readings are as follows:
• Weekend: Psalms 145-150
• Monday: Proverbs 1-5
• Tuesday: Proverbs 6-9
• Wednesday: Proverbs 10-13
• Thursday: Proverbs 14-17
• Friday: Proverbs 18-21

King Solomon wrote most of the Proverbs. According to 1 Kings 4:32, Solomon spoke over 3,000 proverbs. Many of these proverbs were no doubt recorded and included in the Book of Proverbs.

Other sage writers contributed to the Book of Proverbs as well. Proverbs 22:17 and 24:23, for example, speak of the “sayings of the wise.” Other contributors appear by name. Chapter 30 ascribes authorship to Agur, son of Jakeh, and 31:1-9 attributes its content to King Lemuel. Neither of these writers appears again in Scripture.

The Book of Proverbs displays several notable literary characteristics. Many proverbs are short, two-line sayings that are cast in contrasts. Biblical scholars call this type of Hebrew poetry “antithetical parallelism.” Proverbs 10:19, for example, says, “When words are many, sin is not absent, but those who hold their tongues are wise.” Proverbs makes liberal use of simile and metaphor. Eleven similes occur in chapter 25 alone!

One important feature to note is that the Book of Proverbs contains practical wisdom…which is to say wisdom that is generally (though not always) true. It is often the case, for example, that the just and unjust “receive their due on earth” (11:31)…but not always. A person’s rewards or punishments will be reckoned in eternity, irrespective of what happens on earth (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:10).

When we read these proverbs, we must be careful not to interpret them as absolute promises or surefire prophecies that will always be realized. They are offered up as “instruction to the wise”…“for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young... (Proverbs 1:2-4).

Read with a pen in hand and mark the proverbs that speak to your soul this week. You’ll be the wiser for having read this section of God’s word!

Faithfully,
Chuck 

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Week 26: Psalms 112-144

The book of Psalms continues this week with the following plan:

*  Weekend:  Psalms 112-118
*  Monday:  Psalms 119
*  Tuesday:  Psalms 120-127
*  Wednesday:  Psalms 128-135
*  Thursday:  Psalms 136-139
*  Friday:  Psalms 140-144

This is the last full week of reading the Psalms.  Last week, Dick shared some examples of how this book plays an integral part of his and his family's spiritual health.  The instruction Dick gave was "to make the Psalms your own."  This means that different Psalms will resonate more with you based on where you are in your spiritual walk.  There are Psalms of praise, of pain and of repentance among others.  As you read the Psalms and if one really grabs you, please print it out or write it out and post it in a prominent place.

Two Psalms stand out for me:  Psalm 25 and Psalm 119.  The first Psalm is a prayer for forgiveness.  This is posted above my desk in my work office.  It is my reminder to live a life with integrity, yet still humble myself to know that I sin repeatedly and am in constant need of forgiveness.  A reminder that I cannot do life without God.

The second Psalm is more about a verse as opposed to the whole chapter.  Psalm 119:105 is the first memory verse I was taught in church as a kid.  I remember it in the King James version and I suppose that is always how I will remember it:  "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

Have you found a Psalm to own? 

Have a great week- sorry for the late posting!

-Mike

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Week 25: Psalms 78 - 111

This week we'll continue in the book of Psalms:
  • Weekend: Psalms 78 - 82
  • Monday: Psalms 83 - 89
  • Tuesday: Psalms 90 - 97
  • Wednesday: Psalms 98 - 103
  • Thursday: Psalms 104 - 106
  • Friday: Psalms 107 - 111
Over time, certain Psalms can become very personal and bring back strong memories. For me (Dick), Psalm 90 is such an example. When I grew up, every year on New Year's Eve we would gather with family and play games and eat Dutch dumplings all evening. But five minutes before midnight, we would stop all festivities. My uncle, the oldest brother on my mom's side, would get out his Bible and read this Psalm with his low voice. Then we would pray, usually interrupted by the fireworks that would burst out at 12a.m. Psalm 90 is one of those Psalms that shows the 'transitoriness' of mankind, his weakness and mortality. But it also shows his dependence on an eternal, immortal God.

Psalm 92 is another one of those memorable Psalms for me. On Sunday morning before church, we would all have breakfast together as a family. After breakfast, my dad would get out his Bible and read either Psalm 92 or Psalm 122. Both are Psalms of worship that exalt God and tell us how good it is to worship God in his temple. Very appropriate to read that before you go to church. As kids, we'd sometimes jokingly recite the whole Psalm to imitate my dad -- that's how familiar it had become to us.

Psalm 103 is a beautiful psalm about God's mercy and forgiveness. Jesus' work on the cross almost jumps off the pages if you read that. In the church I grew up in, we used to read that every single time after we had communion. Parts of Psalm 105 were read when we had baptisms as it talks about God's faithfulness with his people.

I encourage you to make the Psalms your own. They are expressions of all kinds of emotions, but most of all, they are expressions of worship of our great and awesome God. He is worthy of all our praise.

Dick

Friday, June 11, 2010

Week 24: Psalms 42-77

Welcome to week 24...just two weeks shy of the year's halfway mark, which means that we've read almost half the Bible!

If you've missed some reading, don't despair.  Jump right in here and resolve to finish the balance of the year on a strong note.  God has a way of speaking to us in timely ways whenever we open his word.

Here's our reading schedule for the week:

Weekend: Psalms 42-47
Monday: Psalms 48-53
Tuesday: Psalms 54-59
Wednesday: Psalms 60-66
Thursday: Psalms 67-72
Friday: Psalms 73-77

Students of Scripture call the Book of Psalms the "most New-Testament Old Testament book."  The Psalms are prayers, praises, petitions, reflections, and even complaints...voiced by people who are trying to sort out life in relationship with Yahweh, the God of Israel.

Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann, says that the writers of the Psalms alternate between periods of "orientation," "disorientation," and "new orientation" (see his superb commentary, The Message of the Psalms).

This is our spiritual journey.  There are times in our lives when all is right with the world.  Songs and praises flow easily.  There are other times, however, in which dark clouds darken our days.  We are in a state of disorientation.  The Psalms help us through these periods by giving us vocabulary by which to articulate praise and thanksgiving during times of "orientation," and examples of how to express dismay, confusion, and even anger amid the periods of "disorientation."

The silver lining that the Book of Psalms reflects is that periods of disorientation are followed by seasons of "new orientation."  God will never leave or forsake us.  "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."  God says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth" (Psalm 46:1-2, 10).

Monday, June 7, 2010

Week 23: Psalms 7 - 41

Happy Monday!  Hope you all are enjoying the Spring as much as possible!  Since the rain is keeping us a little more indoors these days, hopefully you are able to keep up on the reading plan a little better...

Here is the plan for this week:

*  Weekend:  Psalms 7-12
*  Monday:  Psalms 13-18
*  Tuesday:  Psalms 19-24
*  Wednesday:  Psalms 25-30
*  Thursday:  Psalms 31-36
*  Friday:  Psalms 37-41

Tuesday we will read the 23rd Psalm, probably the most known passage in the entire Bible.  How does this Psalm apply to your life?  Please post your thoughts if you would like and maybe even post how this reading plan has been a catalyst in your life (we hope it has been!).

Have a great week!!!

Mike

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Week 22: Job 29 to Psalm 6

This week's reading entails:
  • Weekend: Job 29 - 31
  • Monday: Job 32 - 34
  • Tuesday: Job 35 - 37
  • Wednesday: Job 38 - 39
  • Thursday: Job 40 - 42
  • Friday: Psalm 1 - 6
This week we'll end the book of Job. We read Job's last words to his friends. He maintains his innocence before them and before God. For some reason, this attitude keeps infuriating his friends. They cannot understand why he maintains his innocence before God. To them it is very clear: God's curse is upon Job, so that must be a consequence of his sin. Sometimes it is... but we can never take the position of The Judge when it comes to things like this. Job's youngest friend, Elihu, most definitely takes this stand in chapters 32 to 37. Then in Chapters 38 to 41 we have a couple remarkable chapters where God Himself speaks. He speaks of all the miracles in creation and His mighty deeds. When Job hears all this, all he can say is "I'm unworthy, how can I reply to you? I spoke once, but I have no answer, twice but I will say no more." Job's attitude is one we can learn from ... a lot! It's no wonder that God loved him so much. He was a remarkable man with a remarkable faith in the Almighty. God blesses him after all this, and the end of Job's life is even better than how it started. God is faithful.

After finishing the book of Job, we will make a start with the book of Psalms on Friday. Psalm 1 is a wonderful praise to the upright person, who meditate on God's law. You, who have committed to reading the Bible in 1 year, are such a person. You are blessed, and you are like "a tree planted by streams of water".

Have a great week.
Dick

Friday, May 21, 2010

Week 21: Job 11—28

Reading schedule for this week:
·      Weekend: Job 11-14
·      Monday: Job 15-17
·      Tuesday: Job 18-19
·      Wednesday: Job 20-21
·      Thursday: Job 22-24
·      Friday: Job 25-28

This week continues our reading of the book of Job.  This is one of the oldest biblical books in Scripture…and it can be a bit confusing to first-time readers.  Therefore it might help to stop and take a birds-eye view to get a feel for how the book is structured:
·      The Prolog (chapters 1-2), tracks Job’s upright character, his blessings, the divine-demonic drama that gives rise to Job’s sufferings, and an accounting of Job’s losses and state of suffering in isolation from all that he held near and dear. 
·      The section of Dialog and Dispute, encompasses the largest single section of the book (Chapters 3-31).  It starts with Job’s lamenting his state of suffering (ch. 3).  This is followed by three cycles of dialog between Job and his friends, Eliphas, Bildad, and Zophar (chs. 4-31) – all of whom were convinced (wrongly) that the reason behind Job’s suffering was some secret, unconfessed sin. 
The cycles follow the same pattern for the most part.  Each one starts with Eliphaz’s comments (chs. 4-5, 15, 22), followed by Job’s reply (chs 6-7, 16-17, and 26), followed by Bildad’s interjections (chs 8, 18, 25), then Job’s reply to Bildad (chs. 9-10, 19, and 26-31), and Zophar’s comments, which appear in only the first two cycles (apparently Job wore him out!) (chs. 11, 20), and Job’s reply to Zophar (chs 12-14 and 21).
·      The next section features, Elihu, a person who had been a silent observer to the dialog between Job and his friends to that point.  His speech encompasses chapters 32-37.
·      At that point, God shows up to speak directly to Job (chs. 38:1 – 42:6).
·      The book concludes with an Epilog (42:7-17), which gives us the final account of Job’s (restored) life.

As you read this week, you will be completing the conversations of the first cycle of dialog , all of the second cycle, and most of the third.  Bear in mind that the main mistake that Job’s friends made along the way was trying to speak for God in explaining why Job was going through his suffering. 

We too can end up making a similar mistake whenever we try to “comfort” someone by offering up the “reason why God allowed” a terrible thing to occur in one’s life.  Only God is qualified to speak for himself on such matters.  Our job as friends is to sit alongside our suffering companions, put our arm around them, and say, “I am here for you.”

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Week 20: Esther 3 - Job 10

Reading schedule for this week:
  • Weekend: Esther 3 - 4
  • Monday: Esther 5 - 7
  • Tuesday: Esther 8 - 10
  • Wednesday: Job 1- 3
  • Thursday: Job 4- 7
  • Friday: Job 8 - 10
We're about 1/3 of the way through the reading calendar and we hope you are still energized and making time to read on a daily basis.  Even if you may be behind, no worries- please stick with the daily reading the best that you can and sneak in some extra reading time during lunches or breaks if you can to get a little caught up.  And as always, please take the time to post on here any questions or comments you may have regarding the reading- your thoughts are very important and we do listen!

This week we complete the book of Esther and begin the book of Job.  Both are stories of courage- the courage to stand up against a foreign regent when a massive injustice is to take place as we read in Esther, and the courage to remain faithful to God even when it appears God has turned His back on you.

Before there was Hitler, before there was Nero, there was Haman.  Haman was so insulted by one Jew refusing to honor him that he set out to destroy the entire captive Jewish population.  It was a planned extermination, to be carried out on a single day.  As the story unfolds, it comes down to one woman, Esther, to save the Jewish people...

"Why does God allow people to suffer?"  This is one of the toughest questions that people ask and in times of crisis it can be even tougher to understand the answer.  The book of Job is a story that revolves around this theme.  The main character, Job, is made to suffer unimaginable loss and personal tragedy- all tests of his character and integrity and his faith in the goodness of God.  Job's wife and buddies seek to comfort him, but also harbor doubt and anger and uncertainty about why such disasters should come upon such a noble and faithful man of God.  When pressed by such pressure, Job summons the courage to remain faithful to God, even if he does not understand whay God would allow such things to happen.

The answer to the tough question:  "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"  (Ch.2 v.10)

God bless you this week in your reading!

-Mike

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Week 19: Nehemiah - Esther 2

Reading schedule for this week:
  • Weekend: Nehemiah 1 - 2
  • Monday: Nehemiah 3 - 4
  • Tuesday: Nehemiah 5 - 7
  • Wednesday: Nehemiah 8 - 10
  • Thursday: Nehemiah 11 - 13
  • Friday: Esther 1 - 2
This week the reading continues with the book of Nehemiah. The books of Ezrah and Nehemiah really are 1 book - split in two - that deals with the return of the remnant of Israel to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity. The book of Nehemiah consists of 3 parts. Chapters 1-7 covers Nehemiah's activities as governor. He gets approval from the Persian king Artaxerxes to return to Jerusalem and rebuild it. Despite opposition, he is able to rebuild Jerusalem's city walls in a stunning 52 days! Nehemiah also implements rules against social injustice (Chapter 5). What I love about the book of Nehemiah is that he wrote down his inner thoughts, which gives us a great picture of how he interacted with God, see for example the little prayers in 2:4 and 4:4.

Chapters 8-10 focuses on the renewing of the remnants spiritual/church life. The priest Ezra reads from the law of Moses, and the people understand and respond. Note the parallel between Nehemiah 8:12 and the book Acts 2:43-45. When a church understands the true meaning of God's word, beautiful things happen in the way the church body interacts with each other.

The last part 11-13 consists of lists of people who return, as well as a description of the consecration of the temple and some reform measures.

Finally, we'll make a start with the book of Esther this week, which is written in between Ezrah and Nehemiah, and tells the story of the exiled Jewish girl who became Queen to the King of Persia. More on that next week.

We're hoping you're still enjoying reading through the Bible. It isn't always easy to make time, but it certainly is rewarding to continue. An pdf file of the complete reading schedule is now available. It is a one page that you can keep in your Bible with a summary that allows you to mark off each day when you finish it. Make sure you get one at the church or send an e-mail to wccbible@gmail.com. Keep up the hard work!

Dick

Friday, April 30, 2010

Week 18: 2 Chronicles 29 to Ezra 10

This week's reading schedule is:
  • Weekend:   2 Chronicles 29 - 32
  • Monday:    2 Chronicles 33 - 36
  • Tuesday:   Ezra 1 - 3
  • Wednesday: Ezra 4 - 6
  • Thursday:  Ezra 7 - 8
  • Friday:    Ezra 9 - 10
We'll finish the 2nd book of Chronicles with the kings Hezekiah (good), Manasseh (bad), Amon (bad), Josiah (good), and then in rapid succession until the Babylonian siege: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachinand Zedekiah, under whom Jerusalem falls and the people of Judah taken captive. 2 Chronicles 36:21 always intrigues me: "The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah." The writer of Chronicles, whose vantage point was after the exile, was able to look back to the exile not only as judgment (different from the writer of Samuel and Kings), but also as containing hope for the future. For him the purified remnant had returned to a purified land (verse 22 & 23), and a new age was beginning. The exile was not judgment alone, but also a blessing, for it allowed the land to catch up on its sabbath rests (Lev. 26:40-45, 1 year for every 7 years, so a total of 490 years of not observing the sabbath rests). But God had remembered his covenant (Lev. 26:45) and restored his people to the land.

It is a reminder that God is in control of the big picture of world history, and the small details of our lives as well. The book of Ezra is all about this new hope and restoration, and the challenges that it brings. The beginning of Ezra is identical to the end of 2 Chronicles, showing the continuity of Israel's history. Both Ezra and Nehemiah are great examples of church leadership, and the challenges of building up and maintaining a healthy church, God's people.

Dick