January
31, 2012
Learning to Love Leviticus! :) This upcoming month of readings is what I call mission-critical! We are about to begin our journey through the book of Leviticus. And as this is my 8th time leading people through the One Year Bible, I know that Leviticus is the book where I lose many people who started out so strong over the past 6 weeks. I want to let you know this in advance, so that if you feel like maybe not reading your Bible for even just one day this upcoming month, don't do it! You may find Leviticus "boring" on occasion, but there truly is a lot of depth to it. And if you stop reading the One Year Bible during Leviticus, you'll miss out on so much more of the Bible coming up later this year - including Saul, David, Solomon, the prophets - and the list goes on.
Congratulations
on Month One!
Hi everyone,
We're
crossing
the threshold of Month One of our One Year Bible readings! Congratulations! Your marathon pace is looking great. The wonderful habit of reading from God's
Word every day is starting to settle into place in your life. Keep your eyes forward on the path before you this year and your eye on the prize! As Paul tells us in Philippians 3:14 - "I
press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Let us each press on toward the goal! We have an amazing month of readings in front of us with the Exodus, the Crossing of the Red Sea, and Manna from Heaven! Matthew brings us several incredible Parables,
Palm Sunday, The Great Commandment and
the Seven Woes!
Skip
Ahead Advice - I do want to share some encouragement and advice for those of you that are behind on our One Year Bible readings.
First and foremost, please
know that you are not alone in being behind. I lead this ministry every
year, and know that there are always a relatively large percentage of people who fall behind in the daily readings. Please don't beat yourself
up over this at all. What I encourage you to do today - and again later
this year if you happen to fall behind again - is to simply skip ahead
to today's readings. Pick up
the Bible with the readings for today's calendar date, and keep pace with us based on the calendar dates of readings going forward. If your goal is to read the entire Bible and not miss a word, that's great - you
can circle back in January next year and catch up on any
days (or the entire month perhaps) of readings that you skipped. Just don't get too worried about reading every single word right now and playing catch-up to today's date right now - you'll just end up frustrated and likely quit altogether. Skip ahead to today's readings!
I personally have done this before in years past and it works wonders to
keep us going on this beautiful marathon journey. I have a hunch there may even be a few of you reading this email who have not started our readings at all yet. :-) That's okay too! Will you start with us now with today's readings? In January next year you can circle back and read
Genesis and our early Exodus readings. Please just dive in and get back
on course with us today!
Please
join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this month:
"If you believe, you will
receive whatever you ask for in prayer." -Matthew 21:22 NIV
Small Group & Individual Study Notes & Questions for the upcoming month of readings are attached to this email and are also at these links (PDF & Word) below :
www.oneyearbibleimages.com/OYBNotes2_1to2_28.pdf
www.oneyearbibleimages.com/OYBNotes2_1to2_28.doc
Or, if these links above don't work, download this week or past weeks Notes at this website link:
www.oneyearbibleblog.com/groups.html
Small Group & Individual Study Notes & Questions for the upcoming month of readings are attached to this email and are also at these links (PDF & Word) below :
www.oneyearbibleimages.com/OYBNotes2_1to2_28.pdf
www.oneyearbibleimages.com/OYBNotes2_1to2_28.doc
Or, if these links above don't work, download this week or past weeks Notes at this website link:
www.oneyearbibleblog.com/groups.html
"I
will harden his heart. . ." Exodus 4:21
One thing I love
about the One Year Bible Blog
is the Comments each of you post up every day! Everyone posts up some amazingly insightful and heartfelt Comments. As well as posting up some great questions and conversations for us to dive into. A few years ago someone posted up this great question: "In Exodus 4:21 God told Moses that he was going
to harden Pharaohs
heart, so doesn't that mean it is Gods fault that Pharaoh made the Israelites
life worse and also that all the plagues had
to happen?" I
thought I'd copy my reply gave on the blog here in this email too, because I am guessing that many of you may have
this same question:
"Very good question! I meant to post up about this earlier, as I know others are having this question come up too. Paul in Romans gets at this in Romans
9:14-21, below. (please don't see this as a harsh answer to you personally to your question - just Scripture interpreting Scripture here... :)
"What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom
I have compassion." It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised
you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?"
Bible.org gets at this point at this link - http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=218 Surf down to "The Permissive Will of God"
section. A brief excerpt is below here:
"Other parts of God's plan He permits. The permissive will of God embraces only the moral features that are evil or
contrary to His desired will. Though God
does not actively promote this aspect of His sovereign will, He uses them to accomplish His purposes, since He knows before hand just how every person will respond to every possible situation, and decreed to allow it or not. Regardless, God always places the responsibility for these acts and their results with men or angels, as in the case of the fall of Satan
and then of man (Acts 14:16; Ps. 78:29; Isa. 10:5-14; Acts
2:23; Rom. 1:18-32). A classic example of this is perhaps the hardening
of Pharaoh's heart in the book of Exodus. Ten times it is said that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (7:13, 14, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 34; 13:15), and 10 times that God hardened Pharaoh's heart (4:21; 7:3; 9:12;
10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17). Paul uses
this as an example of the inscrutable will of God and of His mercy toward men (Rom. 9:14-18). Seven times Pharaoh hardened his own heart before God first hardened it, though the prediction that God would do it
preceded all. The
fact that God permits these things does not make them less certain, nor
remove them from the sovereign plan of God, but it does remove the responsibility for the sinful acts of men and fallen angels from God."
A few other websites that I found helpful surround this question of the hardening of
pharaoh's heart are at these links (Please know that I may not personally agree with everything you read in these websites, but thought
that they had some good food for thought at various points):
http://www.biblehelp.org/pharaoh.htm
http://www.rationalchristianity.net/pharaoh.html
http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/text/exo4_21.htm
http://www.biblehelp.org/pharaoh.htm
http://www.rationalchristianity.net/pharaoh.html
http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/text/exo4_21.htm
Leviticus
Learning to Love Leviticus! :) This upcoming month of readings is what I call mission-critical! We are about to begin our journey through the book of Leviticus. And as this is my 8th time leading people through the One Year Bible, I know that Leviticus is the book where I lose many people who started out so strong over the past 6 weeks. I want to let you know this in advance, so that if you feel like maybe not reading your Bible for even just one day this upcoming month, don't do it! You may find Leviticus "boring" on occasion, but there truly is a lot of depth to it. And if you stop reading the One Year Bible during Leviticus, you'll miss out on so much more of the Bible coming up later this year - including Saul, David, Solomon, the prophets - and the list goes on.
My main goal in this email is to encourage you to Learn to Love Leviticus! :-)
If
you do nothing else with this email, please take ten minutes or so to review the amazing reflection, at the link below, on the book of Leviticus by Bob Deffinbaugh over at Bible. org.
The article at this link below titled "Learning to Love Leviticus" will
bless you immensely before we embark on our study of Leviticus this week:
An excerpt from Bob at this link above: "Up to this point in time the Book of Leviticus has been the "liver and onions" book
of the Bible to me. That is, I know
that it must be good for me, but I just don't seem to have a taste for the stuff. To others, the Book of Leviticus is something like camping . .
. they tried it once and that was enough to last them a lifetime. Having
briefly looked at the Book of Leviticus, let us get down to the issue of "taste" which must be settled before we will ever benefit from this portion of God's word. The first thing we must seek to do is to identify
the reasons why we tend to dislike and thus to avoid this book."
Again, please please
read "Learning to Love Leviticus" at this link - http://bible.org/seriespage/learning-love-leviticus - before you read anything
else in this email.
Author: Moses
Date: 1420 or 1220 B.C.
Content: The book of Leviticus was designed to be a handbook for the priests or Levites, hence the name Leviticus. It sets down the regulations that were to govern the life of Israel in general and specifically to give regulations concerning sacrifice and worship. All of the major sacrifices are described, as well as the way they were to be offered. All of the major festivals and holidays are discussed. There are also special sections devoted to the priesthood and regulations concerning ceremonial matters.
Theme: The central theme of this book is that God has provided a way for atonement to be made by the offering of sacrificial blood. This whole system found its fulfillment in the shedding of Christ's blood as the one great sacrifice for the sins of the world. Leviticus also shows that worship is to be orderly and is to follow a regular pattern. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers "The One Year Bible Companion" page 2) More commentary on Leviticus is at this link: http://bible.org/page.asp?page_id=882
Date: 1420 or 1220 B.C.
Content: The book of Leviticus was designed to be a handbook for the priests or Levites, hence the name Leviticus. It sets down the regulations that were to govern the life of Israel in general and specifically to give regulations concerning sacrifice and worship. All of the major sacrifices are described, as well as the way they were to be offered. All of the major festivals and holidays are discussed. There are also special sections devoted to the priesthood and regulations concerning ceremonial matters.
Theme: The central theme of this book is that God has provided a way for atonement to be made by the offering of sacrificial blood. This whole system found its fulfillment in the shedding of Christ's blood as the one great sacrifice for the sins of the world. Leviticus also shows that worship is to be orderly and is to follow a regular pattern. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers "The One Year Bible Companion" page 2) More commentary on Leviticus is at this link: http://bible.org/page.asp?page_id=882
The Gospel of Mark
Author:
Mark
Place: Rome
Date: A.D. 60-65
Content: John Mark was a companion of the apostle Paul. He finally settled in Rome where he wrote down the remembrances of the apostle Peter. Thus Mark's Gospel reflects the words of an eyewitness of the events he describes. Mark's purpose was to put together an expanded Gospel message. Hence it centers upon the acts of Jesus rather than his words and devotes a disproportionately large amount of material to the last week of Jesus' life. Mark's Gospel begins with Jesus' public ministry and preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Several explicit predictions of his coming death are made (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34, 45) and then Jesus goes to the cross to die for the sins of the world.
Theme: Mark depicts Jesus as the Servant of God who came to do God's will. The miracles, healings, victory over demons, and personal power show the world that Jesus was no ordinary servant, but was truly the Son of God (Mark 15:39). Jesus' resurrection authenticated all that he did, and now we await his return in glory from heaven. Mark also wrote to encourage the Roman Christians in a time of persecution. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers "The One Year Bible Companion" pages 21-22) Excellent commentary on the Gospel of Mark is at this link.
Place: Rome
Date: A.D. 60-65
Content: John Mark was a companion of the apostle Paul. He finally settled in Rome where he wrote down the remembrances of the apostle Peter. Thus Mark's Gospel reflects the words of an eyewitness of the events he describes. Mark's purpose was to put together an expanded Gospel message. Hence it centers upon the acts of Jesus rather than his words and devotes a disproportionately large amount of material to the last week of Jesus' life. Mark's Gospel begins with Jesus' public ministry and preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Several explicit predictions of his coming death are made (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34, 45) and then Jesus goes to the cross to die for the sins of the world.
Theme: Mark depicts Jesus as the Servant of God who came to do God's will. The miracles, healings, victory over demons, and personal power show the world that Jesus was no ordinary servant, but was truly the Son of God (Mark 15:39). Jesus' resurrection authenticated all that he did, and now we await his return in glory from heaven. Mark also wrote to encourage the Roman Christians in a time of persecution. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers "The One Year Bible Companion" pages 21-22) Excellent commentary on the Gospel of Mark is at this link.
The
Israelites crossing the Red Sea
Our
Upcoming Scripture Readings
February 1
One
Year Bible Blog
Every
day
in
2012,
I
will
be
posting up daily commentary, questions for reflection, and images on
the One Year Bible Blog at: http://www.OneYearBibleBlog.com/ I encourage you to visit the blog each day in 2012.
The blog will be the place for you to interact with our online community
of 14,000 people in more than 77 countries around the world participating with us in our One Year Bible readings. Please do share your insights or
reflections or questions by clicking on the "Comments" link at the bottom of each daily posting at: http://www.OneYearBibleBlog.com/ or http://www.facebook.com/OneYearBible
I am excited that there are 14,000+ of us on this journey together through the One Year Bible! Please contact me as any questions come up. Until next month's email!
God bless,
Mike
mike@...
p.s. If you would consider praying for this One Year Bible Blog ministry when you think of it, I would so greatly appreciate your prayers. Would you consider praying for this ministry on a regular basis? Maybe even once a month when you receive this email? This ministry is in its 9th year in 2012. Your partnership of prayer in this ministry will help bring more people worldwide into the joy and transformation of heart that takes place by reading and studying God's Word every day. Thank you so very much for your prayers. I truly mean it - thank you.
-
-I am excited that there are 14,000+ of us on this journey together through the One Year Bible! Please contact me as any questions come up. Until next month's email!
God bless,
Mike
mike@...
p.s. If you would consider praying for this One Year Bible Blog ministry when you think of it, I would so greatly appreciate your prayers. Would you consider praying for this ministry on a regular basis? Maybe even once a month when you receive this email? This ministry is in its 9th year in 2012. Your partnership of prayer in this ministry will help bring more people worldwide into the joy and transformation of heart that takes place by reading and studying God's Word every day. Thank you so very much for your prayers. I truly mean it - thank you.
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