October 31, Day 304

Today's Reading

"Yes," Jesus replied, "and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. (Mark 10:29, 30 NLT)

I have tended to want Christ to give me the first part of these verses, but without the persecution. The more I think about it, even the first part doesn't fit with my worldview. Houses can mean staying with friends who provide a room. Family can mean fellow servants of His. How could someone who had no place to lay His head be talking about earthly mansions that keep me separate from the pain of the world?

October 30, Day 303

Today's Reading

The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: `I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don't cheat, I don't sin, and I don't commit adultery. I'm certainly not like that tax collector! (Luke 18:11 NLT) Isn't this the same attitude I portray when I live as if I don't need God? It's painful to consider!

October 29, Day 302

Today's Reading

It took me a long time to accept the idea that Jesus' tears at Lazarus' grave were simply compassion for the people He loved.  Today I read it again with new eyes.  I noticed the description of Jesus' anger at their unbelief.  Martha said that she believed Him to be Messiah, but their unbelief was incompatible with that statement.  Could it be that Jesus tears really were a deep spiritual anger because they had seen so much, yet believed so little?  If that's so, how much have I seen and how little have I believed?  Ouch!

October 28, Day 301

Today's Reading

The Lord answered, "If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, `May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,' and it would obey you!

"When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, `Come in and eat with me'? No, he says, `Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.' And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, `We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.'" (Luke 17:6-10 NLT)

So, part of faith is to do what He assigns us without expecting credit. This is really speaking to me today.

October 27, Day 300

Today's Reading

I noticed today the context of Luke 14 and 15. Jesus was addressing the religious leaders. Their piety was such that they would do anything to keep from being stained by the world. That included the erection of invisible walls between themselves and the "sinners". Jesus came along and refused to live within those walls. Then He spoke about true humility, about the cost of true discipleship and about His compassion for the lost. Somehow we must figure out how to take His love to the people trapped in the muck and the mire without being sucked into it.

October 26, Day 299

Today's Reading

"So don't be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. (Luke 12:32 NLT) The kingdom of God is in us. He delights to give it to us and to show it through us. It's what we were created for!

October 25, Day 298

Today's Reading

Jesus' command to , "pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields…" has become part of my daily prayer life.  He has been pulling my blinders back and allowing me to see the vast needs of the world.  Workers are needed in the kingdom!

October 24, Day 297

Today's Reading

“I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” (John 9:39 NLT) Jesus is still in the business of opening the eyes of those who know that they are "blind".  This can be spiritual blindness as well as physical blindness.  By His grace, some who think they can see (and have the arrogance to prove it!) discover their blindness and humble themselves before Him.

October 23, Day 296

Today's Reading

John 8 begins with Jesus' love for the woman caught in the act of adultery.  It ends with the crowd ready to stone Him after He called Himself "I Am", the Name of God used in the burning bush.  Clearly the people were looking for Messiah, but couldn't quite believe that Jesus was the one.

October 22, Day 295

Today's Reading

It seems that Jesus' message on reconciliation in Matthew 18 is in the context of local churches.  It's not that we don't need reconciliation in every part of life, but the local body of believers is where it gets lived out (we hope) most effectively.  I think it's sad that so many churches exist unreconciled with one another for years.  It's as if Jesus never spoke what was recorded here.

October 21, Day 294

Today's Reading

Moses represented the Law on the Mount where Christ was transfigured.  Elijah represented the Prophets.  The Law and the Prophets were the two pillars upon which the Jewish faith was built.  Their presence, accompanied by the miraculous sight of Jesus in glory and the voice of God, verified that He was indeed their awaited Messiah.  They were told to keep this event quiet until after the resurrection.

October 20, Day 293

Today's Reading

Some verses leave us scratching our heads. For instance, And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom." (Matthew 16:28 NLT) Most likely, Jesus was talking about the coming experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, when only Peter, James, and John would accompany Him.

October 19, Day 292

Today's Reading

Reading the Bible through each year is a great adventure. Each time I take the journey, different passages jump out at me. Today, for instance, it was this: Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn't speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all. The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn't been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel. (Matthew 15:29-31 NLT)

October 18, Day 291

Today's Reading

John 6 is a chapter worth meditation. After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus spoke hard sayings to separate those looking for a political king from those who followed Messiah.

For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day." (John 6:40 NLT) Do you see Jesus? Believe in Him and receive eternal life!

October 17, Day 290

Today's Reading

John the Baptist served God to the extreme.  When Jesus began His ministry, John said, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  Still, John was arrested, jailed and beheaded.  Obeying God is no guarantee against persecution.

October 16, Day 289

Today's Reading

As resistance to the claims of Christ continues to grow in this age, I am more and more drawn to Jesus' words in today's passage.  He loves us.  In the worst of times, He will give us the words to say.  He will accomplish His purposes, no matter how bleak things may be for us.

October 15, Day 288

Today's Reading

Yesterday I was amazed by the sequence of events in Jesus' life recorded in Luke. Today we read them again, this time in Mark.

October 14, Day 287

Today's Reading

Today I found myself in awe as I read the sequence of these familiar events in Jesus' life. I can imagine being there as the events unfolded one after another. Amazing!

October 13, Day 286

Today's Reading

Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: "Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, `A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.' And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, `Don't bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can't help you.' But I tell you this—though he won't do it for friendship's sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. (Luke 11:5-8 NLT)

The older I get, the more I understand that God has a purpose in us learning to be persistent in our prayers.

October 12, Day 285

Today's Reading

"My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (Matthew 11:27 NLT) I'm captivated by that verse this morning: "No one truly knows the Son except the Father...". I would be quick to claim that I KNOW Jesus. Could it be that He is so much more than I could ever imagine? I think so.

October 11, Day 284

Today's Reading

Today we read about so many different significant events in Jesus' life. What I came away with was His model of ministry and the target of our prayers. My heart is more passionate about this every year...

Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields." (Matthew 9:35-38 NLT)

October 10, Day 283

Today's Reading

The Sermon on the Mount: enough to work on for a lifetime. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit produce these qualities in us and that you and I keep growing in Christ.

October 9, Day 282

Today's Reading

I found it very helpful that we were able to see some events in Jesus' life from three different perspectives today. The passage, though, that jumped off the page at me was, When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed. Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone. (Luke 6:17-19 NLT)

I wonder what it was like for Jesus to heal so many that day. Must have been a huge party!

October 8, Day 281

Today's Reading

It is very interesting that Jesus went to the pool of Bethesda, a pool surrounded by sick people wanting to get well. He didn't do a massive healing service, but healed just one man. Later he warned the man to stop sinning. We so easily put Jesus in boxes of false assumptions. If He could heal, why not simply heal everyone? Why didn't He tell the guy to stop sinning before He healed him? In this passage, He makes it clear. He did what He saw the Father doing. You and I are to do the same!

October 7, Day 280

Today's Reading

It doesn't matter what your ethic background is. What matters is your heart. Jesus praise the Roman officer for his belief and rejected the Jewish people who said they wanted to follow Him, but planned to put other things first.

October 6, Day 279

Today's Reading

Matthew, Mark and Luke are called "synoptic (the word means 'seeing the whole together') Gospels." They parallel each other, sharing events from Jesus' life from different perspectives. John, however, often gives information unique to his account. The water turned to wine, the encounter with Nicodemus and the woman at the well aren't found in the other Gospels.

The verse that strikes me today is You know the saying, `Four months between planting and harvest.' But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. (John 4:35 NLT) It is time for harvest at Stone Ridge.

October 5, Day 278

Today's Reading

I see such a stark contrast between the religious people and the broken people.  The religious people in Jesus' hometown seemed to love Him...until He pointed out that God loves Gentiles as well as Jews.  The broken people simply needed Him and cried out to Him with no reservations.  I know which one I want to be!

October 4, Day 277

Today's Reading

This particular chronological reading plan (there are others) uses a method that is harder for me to follow. Some plans will take a particular event and jump from one Gospel to the next, allowing each to describe that one event before moving on. This one stays with whole chapters. Therefore, we get the baptism of Jesus in Matthew, but both Mark and Luke contain other details.

You will notice that Mark's gospel is very action-oriented and doesn't spend much time on pastoral scenes. Mark 1, for example, contains so much activity that it takes Luke a few more chapters to describe the same events. Luke was the consummate historian, carefully describing both the action and the history of the time. We will learn much by reading this way, but at times it may be a little hard to follow.

October 3, Day 276

Today's Reading

You and I are shocked by the barbarous nature of Herod.  Such evil has been common all over the world since the beginning of time.  Powerful leaders crush those who threaten their power.

October 2, Day 275

Today's Reading

We have valid evidence that Matthew wasn't the first Gospel to be recorded.  Instead, Mark holds that distinction.  Why, then, is Matthew first in the New Testament order?  Simply it's because Matthew most objectively bridges the Old and New Testament.  The Old Testament resounded with the message, "Messiah is coming!  Messiah is coming!"  Matthew said, "He's here!  He came!  Jesus, born of a virgin from Galilee named Mary, is the Son of God.

I thought about this as I read Matthew today.  I can imagine religious skeptics reading his words and scoffing.  I can also imagine that Matthew had no clue how many of his words ring in the ears of people around the world and have done so for 2,000 years.

October 1, Day 274

Today's Reading

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. (John 1:12, 13 NLT) What a great way to begin our reading in the New Testament!