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52 days down, 313 to go.

Today’s scriptures for my Read the Bible in a Year plan are Leviticus 11:1– 12:8; Mark 5:21-43; Psalms 38:1-22; Proverbs 10:8-9.

My thoughts from today’s reading:

1. DROP THE DISBELIEVERS
2. YOU GOTTA SMELL YOUR OWN FUNK – Feel your sin
3. WISE PEOPLE WELCOME CORRECTION

1. DROP THE DISBELIEVERS
When you’re chasing your dream, you must keep the faith and maintain your focus at all costs. Whether it’s an athletic pursuit, a business idea, or going to the next level in your spiritual life, your faith and your focus must always be protected.

You must avoid the naysayers and the doubters.

Jesus puts this into practice in Mark 5:39-42.

He is going to the home of Jairus to heal his sick daughter, but before He gets there, the girl dies.
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50 days down, 315 to go.

Today’s scriptures for my Read the Bible in a Year plan are Leviticus 7:28– 9:6; Mark 3:31 – 4:25; Psalms 37:12-29; Proverbs 10:5.

My thoughts from today’s reading:

1. FEED THE PREACHER – To give or not to give
2. ARE YOU RELATED TO JESUS?
3. YOUR HEART GETS A GRADE, BUT NOT A, B, C, D OR F
4. HEY KID. GET A SUMMER JOB!

1. FEED THE PREACHER – To give or not to give
How would you feel if after everyone in your church brought their offering, the preacher went through the bucket and took a cut off the top and put it in his wallet? You’d probably be shocked and come down with a severe case of righteous indignation.

However, this is exactly what God instructed here in Leviticus 7:28-39.

Leviticus 7:34-35
34 For I have reserved the breast of the special offering and the right thigh of the sacred offering for the priests. It is the permanent right of Aaron and his descendants to share in the peace offerings brought by the people of Israel. 35 This is their rightful share.
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49 days down, 316 to go.

Today’s scriptures for my Read the Bible in a Year plan are Leviticus 6:1 – 7:27; Mark 3:7-30; Psalms 37:1-11; Proverbs 10:3-4.

My thoughts from today’s reading:

1. FORGET OPRAH’S SECRET. HERE’S THE REAL SECRET – How to get what you want
2. THE FIRE MUST NEVER GO OUT
3. THEY MAY CALL YOU CRAZY
4. GRIND AND SHINE – Don’t be lazy. There's no replacement for hard work.

1. FORGET OPRAH’S SECRET. HERE’S THE REAL SECRET – How to get what you want
Psalm 37:3-4
 3 Trust in the Lord and do good.
      Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
 4 Take delight in the Lord,
      and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Simple and plain.  If you want something, this is how to get it. You must exchange your desires for God’s, and He will gladly give them to you.

No, this doesn’t mean that if you want a particular material possession you have to give up that desire, or that you have to sacrifice your own dreams and passions.

It just means that you must place a desire to please God above all other desires.
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48 days down, 317 to go.

Today’s scriptures for my Read the Bible in a Year plan are Leviticus 4:1 – 5:19; Mark 2:13 – 3:6; Psalms 36:1-12; Proverbs 10:1-2.

My thoughts from today’s reading.

1. DON’T SPILL THE WINE – God wants to stretch you.
2. HAS SIN EVER WHISPERED TO YOU?
3. $100 FOR A LIE & $200 FOR CUSSING - Paying for your sins
4. BAD KIDS ARE AN EMBARRASSMENT AND CRIME DOESN’T PAY

1. DON’T SPILL THE WINE – God’s wants to stretch you
No this post isn’t a defense for Christians to drink wine.

In Mark 2:13-27 Jesus is getting into it with the Pharisees again. They are once again trying to frame Him as guilty of breaking Jewish religious law.

Jesus tells them in Matthew 2:22:
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.”

This is another one of those parables and analogies that are a bit anachronous for us today, meaning they don’t quite apply to our day and time.

Back then, wineskins held wine, and newer wineskins were more flexible and more able to be stretched than old
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45 days down, 320 to go.

Today’s scriptures for my Read the Bible in a Year plan are Exodus 37:1 – 38:31; Matthew 28:1-20; Psalms 34:11-22; Proverbs 9:9-10.

OK let’s go.

1. THE GREAT COMMISSION – Not just conversion, but also transformation
2. THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM - There are no do-over's in life

1. THE GREAT COMMISSION – Conversion is just the beginning
The Great Commission. Pretty much ever practicing and church attending Christian knows this one. Here it is as stated in Matthew.

Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

However, just as much a part of the Great Commission, but not as often quoted is Matthew 28:20.

and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you...

Our job as the church is not just to get people saved, as in converted, but to get people saved, as in transformed. This is the hard part.

Anyone can go down the altar and say a prayer, mean it in their hearts and become a Christian.

What is more difficult, however, is to actually live your life as a Christian.

I first “got saved” when I was only seven years old. I understood what I was doing, and I believed what I was saying.

But as I grew older into adolescence and then young adulthood, I strayed – not in my religious beliefs, but in my lifestyle and behavior.

Why? Perhaps it was because I was so young when I became a Christian, or perhaps because there was no one to disciple me, or be my spiritual mentor, when I entered those teenage years.

Whatever the reason, it happens time and time again with most Christians, at least in America. In fact, if you are reading this, you probably had a similar experience.

You see, having a conversion experience is not enough. That is only the beginning. We must also become disciples of Jesus and live a life of obeying His commandments.

But like I said, this is the hard part. It is so difficult for a person to live a Christian lifestyle. No one can do it on their own. We need each other as fellow followers of Jesus to even just continue to live like followers of Jesus.

The point is that our job as Christians and the church is not just to help other people say the sinner’s prayer and “get saved”, but to help each other become true disciples of Jesus Christ, which means not only getting saved, but also living saved.

Your thoughts?

2. THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM - There are no do-over's in life.

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom...

So does that I have to be afraid of God to be wise?

And what about someone who is not a Christian or does not believe in God? Does that mean they cannot be wise?

Well…..yes….and no….and….

To “fear” God in this context means to have a reverential respect of God, His holiness and His authority.

So if the bible is correct, and if a person does not believe in God and His plan of salvation through Jesus Christ, then that person is denying God’s authority. He or she is basically saying

 

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40 days down, 325 to go.

Today’s scriptures for my Read the Bible in a Year plan are Exodus 29:1 – 30:10; Matthew 26:14-46; Psalms 31:9-18; Proverbs 8:14-26.

Ok I know I got out of order with Psalms. Yesterday’s Psalms was supposed to be for today and today’s was supposed to be for yesterday. Sorry about that....but I’m sure you can follow.

1. HOW TO OVERCOME TEMPTATION – BE ALERT & PRAY
2. ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE NOT SO HAPPY PSALMS
3. THE BIRTH OF WISDOM

1. HOW TO OVERCOME TEMPTATION – BE ALERT & PRAY
In Mathew 26:14-46, the reality of His impending crucifixion is weighing heavy on Jesus. He knows that very soon, He will have to endure a horrible and excruciating death.

In fact, if you do a quick word study, or if you know any Latin at all, you’ll discover that the word “excruciating” means “out of (ex) the cross (crux)”. The fact is that the pain endured during a crucifixion was so severe, that a new word was created to describe it – excruciating.
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38 days down, 327 to go.

Today’s scriptures for my Read the Bible in a Year plan are Exodus 26:1– 27:21; Matthew 25:14-30; Psalms 31:1-8; Proverbs 8:1-11.

Superbowl Sunday….let me hurry up and get my blog up before the party.

1. YOUR TALENTS AND GIFTS AREN’T YOURS TO WASTE
2. DO YOU HAVE GOD’S BACK
3. THE VALUE OF WISDOM

1. YOUR TALENTS AND GIFTS AREN’T YOURS TO WASTE
We all have a gift. Some of us are great athletes. Others are gifted teachers. Others are really good at business. Some are talented artists.

Whatever your gift, it is not meant to be yours to simply use as you wish. Whatever money, resources and status your gift brings you, they are not simply for you to live the good life.
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37 days down, 328 to go.

Today’s scriptures for my Read the Bible in a Year plan are Exodus 23:14 – Exodus 25:40; Matthew 24:29 – 25:13; Psalms 30:1-12; Proverbs 7:24-27.

Late getting this one up…but here we go.

1. SMASH THEIR SACRED PILLARS…OF PLURALIST HYPOCRISY
2. YOU’RE NOT READY TILL YOU’RE READY
3. WHAT ARE YOU HERE FOR?
4. MEN, ARE YOU CHASING DEATH?

1. SMASH THEIR SACRED PILLARS…OF PLURALIST HYPOCRISY
In Exodus 23:20-27, God is telling the Israelites that when he takes them into the Promised land, there will be other people there with other gods. God says that He will run these people out of there, and the Israelites are not get too close to them, and they are definitely not to start serving their gods.

In fact in Exodus 23:24, God says, "24 You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars."

I just thought this was a cool concept. Smash their pillars. It has a special relevance in this age.
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33 days down, 332 to go.

Today’s scriptures for my Read the Bible in a Year plan are Exodus 15:19 – 17:7; Matthew 22:1-33; Psalms 27:1-6; Proverbs 6:20-26.

Ok guys and girls, let’s get into month 2. Here are my thoughts.

1. SOMETIMES, WE FORGET HOW GOOD WE HAVE IT
2. JESUS SAYS – PAY YOUR TAXES!
3. DESIRE GOD’S PRESENCE…ABOVE ALL ELSE
4. BEWARE OF PROSTITUTES & DEADLY HOUSEWIVES

1. SOMETIMES, WE FORGET HOW GOOD WE HAVE IT
In Exodus, from today’s readings, God has miraculously provided water and food for the Israelites while they travel on foot through the wilderness.

By the time we get to Chapters 15 through 17:7 of Exodus, the Israelites have been constantly griping and complaining. First, they gripe about what they don’t have. Then God provides, and before long, they’re complaining bout that,
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32 days down, 333 to go. Month 2 starts today.

Today’s scriptures for my Read the Bible in a Year plan are Exodus 13:17 – 15:18; Matthew 21:23-46; Psalms 26:1-12; Proverbs 6:16-19.

Ok guys and girls, let’s get into month 2.

1. BEWARE OF GETTING COMFORTABLE / NEVER SETTLE FOR LESS THAN GOD’S BEST
2. PRAY…THEN GET OFF YOUR BUTT
3. TAKE A STAND…AND BACK IT UP
4. DO YOU DISGUST GOD?


1. BEWARE OF GETTING COMFORTABLE / NEVER SETTLE FOR LESS THAN GOD’S BEST
In Exodus 13:19, Moses has gathered Joseph’s bones to take along the journey out of Egypt. Why? Because Joseph had complete faith and confidence in God to deliver on his promise.

During the famine, Joseph was able to save his family and move them into the land of Goshen in Egypt where they could have food and prosper. This was a great relocation for the ancestors of the Hebrew people. But deep down inside, Joseph knew it was not God’s best.
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