Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Days 10, 11 & 12 Bible Readings: 353 days left....!

  3 Days worth of Genesis & Matthew....here we come!
  • Genesis 31-37    
    • The beginning of these 6 chapters of reading starts with Jacob leaving his father in law, Laban.  The Lord said to him, "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you."  Verse 3  Laban pursues Jacob when he leaves in secret but Jacob convinces him that he must go his own way.  
    • Jacob then prepares to reunite with his brother Esau and spends a night wrestling with God..."So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak."  Chapter 32 Verse 24  "Then the man said, 'Let me go, for it is daybreak.  But Jacob replied, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.'"  Verse 26  "Then the man said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."  Verse 28  Then Jacob said, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."  Verse 30
    • Jacob & Esau reunite...."But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.  And they wept."  Chapter 33 Verse 4
    • To the end of the 3 days' reading, we get into the story of Jacob's son Joseph...."Now Israel loved  Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him."  Chapter 37 Verse 3
    • Then Joseph starts dreaming and his brothers begin to resent him more than they already do....and in the end of Chapter 37, Joseph's brothers sell him into slavery with the Midianite merchants.....
  • Matthew 10 & 11
    • Jesus sends out the 12 disciples....He says to them, "Freely you have received, freely give."  Chapter 10  Verse 8  "As you enter the home, give it your greeting.  If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.  If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town."  Verses 12-14
      • I've spent bible studies trying to understand what those verses really mean...it seems that it's saying it's okay to give up on people...which I'm tempted to do often, but always believe that we're supposed to exercise humility, turn the other cheek, set our pride aside and love.....Those two concepts don't seem to match...  
    • "But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it.  At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."  Verses 19-20
    • "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.  When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.  I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel, before the Son of Man comes."  Verses 22-23
    • "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."  Verse 28
    • "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.  But however disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven."  Verses 32-33
    • "...and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."  Verses 38-39
    • Jesus & John the Baptist  "...and the good news is preached to the poor.  Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."  Chapter 11 Verses 5e & 6  
      • "I tell you the truth:  Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."  Verse 10
    • "But wisdom is proved right by her actions."  Verse 19
    • "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."  Verse 25 
    • "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon  you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  Verses 28-30

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