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I didn’t get to read this morning, as I received a message from my brother immediately after I got out of bed. He was coming through town to pick up his daughter and wanted to know if I was interested in joining them for the morning and lunch. Yes! So I completed my Bible reading shortly upon returning home this afternoon.

The reading covered Luke 21 through John 5. I love John. It’s my favorite gospel. I feel John is packed with great advice, information about Christ, and motivational verses. John even starts out wonderfully.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men
John 1:1-4.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth
John 1:14.

This tells us that the Word is Christ. He existed in the beginning and is God. Christ created the world and formed Adam with His own two hands. For some reason, this makes the creation story so much more personal. Jesus Christ, the one who offered up His life for me, created cats and trees and water and whales and MAN. Not only did Christ create us, He is life. He is our life source. My overwhelming response is gratitude. What an amazing gift.

Today I covered Luke 10 through 20. I challenged myself to keep my eyes on Christ, to focus on what He was saying and doing. I had to remind myself several times to focus on Christ but the reading went well.

I marked one passage during my reading.

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Luke 11:13

For some reason, I only knew this passage as it is worded in Matthew.

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Matthew 7:11

The first part of each passage is identical. The second half is where they differ. Matthew says that my Father will give me “good things” if I ask. This is how I’ve always understood this promise. However, Luke says that my Father will give “the Holy Spirit” if I ask. Luke’s version is so much more powerful. Good things are always a blessing. But the Holy Spirit being in my life is vitally important. This passage promises that I all I have to do is ask.

This morning I read Luke 3 through 10. Only 15 days left to go. I’m starting to wonder what I’m going to do after this read through is complete. I’ve thought about repeating the 90 day program but I want to savor passages rather than speed read them. I’m afraid that if I don’t plan my upcoming Bible study, I will flounder.

I don’t have anything specific to say about today’s reading. I just read with a sense of sadness that the gospels are such a short account of such an important life. Christ’s life should span 1,000 books. We have that much to learn from Him.

Today I finished Mark, reading Mark 10 through Luke 2. While Mark does cover a few details that the other gospels don’t, there were no additional stories unique to Mark.

I noticed something today that made me very uncomfortable. As I was reading through the stories, I realized that I was concentrating on what other people were doing. For instance, in reading the story of Christ and the rich young ruler, I was focusing on the rich young ruler. In the story of Jesus and Caiaphas, I focused on Caiaphas and the false witnesses. While I believe there is much to learn from the stories of other human beings, my focus is in the wrong place.

The Bible is supposed to be a revelation of Jesus Christ and His Father. While reading it, I should be concentrating on what I can learn about God. Learning from the mistakes of others is beneficial. However, I want to be like God. In order to do that, I must study the character of God, His actions while on Earth, and how He deals with people. To become more like Christ, I must study Christ more than I study other sinful people.

I’m going to read the Bible again and intentionally direct my focus to God instead of people. I think I’ll learn more that way.

Today’s reading covered Mark 1 through 9. So far, there is very little in Mark that is not covered in either Matthew or Luke. There is a parable of the growth of a seed, a sermon about evil coming from the heart, and two healings that are unique to Mark.

I’ve noticed in many of the healing miracles that Jesus is asking people to have faith before they are healed. He will ask them if they believe Jesus can heal them. Or He will ask them to rise up and walk. When the person makes the effort to rise, that is when they are healed. We can’t just ask miracles of God without having faith that He will perform them. It is when we believe that we begin to see Him working in our lives.

Today’s scheduled reading covered Matthew 16 through 26 but I went ahead and finished the entire book. It’s such a short account of 33.5 years of life, though the Old Testament covers much longer time periods in only a few short chapters. I recently finished reading a Holocaust memoir that only covered several years and it was longer than Matthew’s telling of Christ’s life.

I don’t have any specific thoughts and I didn’t mark any passages while reading. I’m glad that Christ came to live on earth for awhile but disappointed and saddened that He was killed. Why are human beings so threatened by anything different? We tend to live in our own little bubble, only socializing with people who agree with all of our religious and lifestyle beliefs. The Jewish leaders had their ideas of what it meant to be Jewish. Christ threatened their security. And for that they killed Him.

I don’t want to get so zealous about minor issues that I fail to see the big picture. Christ criticized the Jewish leaders because they tithed mint but failed to grasp the ideas of judgment, faith, and mercy (Matthew 23:23). Tithing was and is important, but mercy is more important. It’s important to have lifestyle standards like dress and food but even more important to love people. If your attitudes about what other people are wearing gets in the way of loving them, it’s time to take a step back and analyze your religion. If my beliefs about food are causing me to judge others, I need to look at my priorities. People are more important than anything else and we are called to love.

Today’s reading covered Matthew 5 through 15. What spoke the most to me was this passage in Matthew 15.

Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men
Matthew 15:7-9.

This idea makes me a bit nervous. Christ is telling the scribes and Pharisees that while they think they are doing all the right things, they are actually being hypocrites. They are keeping the commandments, making up all these little rules for themselves that will make commandment keeping easier. But Christ calls their bluff. He tells them they are worshiping in vain because their hearts are not in the right place.

My church, like all churches, teaches that they are a commandment keeping church. They have guidelines that are supposed to keep people on the straight and narrow. Guidelines about jewelry, makeup, worship, music, food, etc. But if my heart isn’t in Christ, my worship will be vain. I pray that God will keep my spirit teachable, that I will love Him and everyone else with the purest of intentions.

Today I finished reading the Old Testament and started the New. Whew! That was a very fast trip through the first half of the Bible.

The chapters today covered Zechariah 11 through Matthew 4. Right away, I marked another Messianic prophecy.

And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.

And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD
Zechariah 11:12-13.

My study Bible has a footnote regarding this verse. Mosaic law dictated that when an ox killed a slave, the ox’s owner was to pay the slave’s owner thirty shekels of silver as a reimbursement for his loss (Exodus 21:32). According to Judas and the chief priests, Christ was worth only the price of a dead slave. How tragic that the King of everything was sold for the price of a dead slave. How could He be so devalued?

I was having problems with everything Google yesterday and that included the ability to log into my blog. Therefore, there was no post.

Between yesterday and today, I read Obadiah through Zechariah 10. Tomorrow I start reading the New Testament!

I marked down several more Messianic prophecies.

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting
Micah 5:2.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass
Zechariah 9:9.

This last passage shows me what is really important to God.

Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Micah 6:6-8.

God doesn’t want thousands of burnt offerings or my first born child sacrificed on an altar to forgive my sins. What does He want? That I do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him. Such simple requirements but so hard to follow. I pray that God will give me a spirit that will want to follow Him.

Today I read Joel and Amos. It’s so cool being able to read multiple books all in one day. I know they are short, but still. It’s an accomplishment.

I am noticing a theme across the Bible. I don’t believe this is the only theme, but I think it’s a major theme of the Bible. What is it? God loves us and keeps calling for us to return to Him. I know I’ve posted at least a few texts about God calling Israel back to Him, pleading with them to give up their stubborn ways and return to the life Giver.

Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil
Joel 2:12-13.

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call
Joel 2:32.

No matter what Israel did, whether it was idolatry, murder, distrust, corrupt kings, sexual perversion… God called Israel back to Him. The people didn’t always listen, but God kept calling. I know it is the same with us today. No matter what we’ve done, God keeps calling us back to Him so that we might have life. I hope we listen.