Category: Bible (Page 259 of 361)

As a follower of Jesus, I know the value of reading my Bible. But the Bible is a big, intimidating book, filled with thee’s and thou’s, odd names and arcane rules. Some days I think, maybe I’ll just skip it. If that’s the way you’re feeling, here’s some handy excuses I tell myself to avoid my times of reading.

Summary

As you can see, I’ve developed a pretty good list of excuses. You can borrow any of these you want, or add some of your own. Even though I read through the Bible annually, I still have to fight through the inertia of getting started some days.

Remember, time in the Word of God is worth the effort. Your heart and soul, as well as those around you, will be better for it.

Week fifty-two of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by camilo jimenez

Psalm 102 carries this header in my New International Version Bible: A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.

The writer indeed pours out anguish and despair. My days are like the evening shadow, I wither away like grass. I appreciate the honesty with which the writer approaches the Lord. It reminds me that I can take anything to Him. Intellectually I know this, but to read another person’s lament helps me feel that truth in my bones.

Then the psalmist turns to the greatness of the Lord. In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but…you remain the same, and your years will never end.

To finish, this writer of lament and praise closes with hope—The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you.

That’s intriguing—how do I bless my children and their descendants in this way? Clearly, leaving a legacy of blessing carries great value. An old Greek proverb says that a society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit. How do I plant spiritual shade trees?

One way is to engage with the Holy Scriptures and allow them to influence my life. The Word of God forms the servant of God. Time spent in scripture benefits me and you, but it also blesses our children, grandchildren and future descendants—even those we’ll never meet on this earth. For those without children, you bless those around you and their future families.

Children yet born benefit from our chosen acts of serving God. When I read my Bible and allow the Holy Spirit to knead those words deep into my life, I bless generations still to follow.

Psalm102 in week fifty-two of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Jan Huber

I know it’s a corny bumper sticker slogan, but I’ve always liked the saying, wise men still seek Jesus. I like it because I believe it to be true. We seek lots of things in life, but nothing comparable to Jesus.

The passages below tell of the wonderful—kings seeking out and worshipping a peasant child—and the reprehensible—the slaughter of the innocents. The birth of Jesus set into motion angels in the heavens and kings on this earth, and the movement continues to this day.

Matthew 2

The Visit of the Magi

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

¹³ When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

¹⁴ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵ where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

¹⁶ When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. ¹⁷ Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

¹⁸ “A voice is heard in Ramah,
    weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.”

The Return to Nazareth

¹⁹ After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰ and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

²¹ So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, ²³ and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Luke 2

⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Photo by Inbal Malca