Day 18 Genesis 37:1‐38:30; Matthew 12:22‐45; Psalm 16:1‐11; Proverbs 3:27‐32 Do Unto Others Last year our next-door neighbor borrowed the hand tool my husband uses to trim the tree limbs around our house. As far as I know, it is still in our neighbor’s garage and probably will be until we need to cut away…
Day 17 Genesis 35:1-36:43; Matthew 12:1-21; Psalm 15:1-5; Proverbs 3:21-26 Desecrating the Sabbath It is a constant temptation for those of us who are religious to maintain balance between religion and relationship. We can fall into the seductive trap of the Pharisees that says, “If I do my religion right then I am surely going…
Did you know? The Bible Challenge website has a “Going Deeper” section. There are in-depth study guides for each book of the Bible, and accompanying audio lectures that you can listen to at your convenience. These lectures were recorded live from St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Lake Mary, FL as we went through the Bible Challenge in…
Day 16 Genesis 32:13‐34:31; Matthew 11:7‐30; Psalm 14:1‐7; Proverbs 3:19‐20 Wise or Smart? We have two dogs in my household. “Natty” is clearly the smarter of the two. She understands commands quickly and even untangles her own rope when she gets wrapped around the grill. Yet, “Charlie” is the one we think of as the…
Day 15 Genesis 31:17-32:12; Matthew 10:26-11:6; Psalm 13:1-6; Proverbs 3:16-18 Follow Jesus… That’s Easy Right? Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. ~ Matthew 10:32 Jesus teaches the disciples, “It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher” (24a), suggesting that being a…
Day 14 Genesis 30:1-31:16; Matthew 10:1-25; Psalm 12:1-8; Proverbs 3:13-15 Human Godliness Our concept of human godliness is built around Jesus, our perfect Savior. We strive for perfection; we strive to be pure of heart, body, and mind like He was. But when we read about Jacob, Rachel, Leah, Zilpah, and Bilha, and their competition…
Day 13 Genesis 28:1-29:35; Matthew 9:18-38; Psalm 11:1-7; Proverbs 3:11:12 The Father’s Discipline Proverbs 3:11-12 – “My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” One day a man went to his pastor…
Day 12 Genesis 26:17‐27:46; Matthew 9:1‐17; Psalm 10:16‐18; Proverbs 3:9‐10 Welcome the Unwelcomed He had read the gospels, curious as to what Christians believed. From what he had interpreted, it seemed that Christians were people of love and acceptance. That’s exactly what he was looking for. So, one Sunday morning, he decided to visit a…
Day 11 Genesis 24:52-26:16; Matthew 8:18-34; Psalm 10:1-15; Proverbs 3:7-8 Radical Commitment In our passage today in Matthew, we can experience, with Jesus’ disciples, several aspects of Jesus’ ministry and mission. We learn something of the radical commitment necessary to be a follower when Jesus asserts His power over nature as He calms a raging…
Day 10 Genesis 23:1-24:51; Matthew 8:1-17; Psalm 9:13-20; Proverbs 3:1-6 We Reflect What We Worship It is a popular saying among motivational speakers nowadays that “we become what we think about.” If we think about positive things, we will become positive people; negative things: negative thoughts and actions. We are reminded of the same spiritually…
Day 9 Genesis 20:1‐22:24; Matthew 7:15‐29; Psalm 9:1‐12; Proverbs 2:16‐22 The Religious May be Surprised One Day A recent statistic was released by Willow Creek Church in Chicago. It states that out of thousands of people surveyed, 75% would be willing to go to church if someone were to personally ask them. They simply have…
Day 8 Genesis 18:20‐19:38; Matthew 6:25‐7:14; Psalm 8:1‐9; Proverbs 2:6‐15 A Promise of Wisdom In this reading from Solomon’s Proverbs, we find hope in our quest for wisdom. Backing up to the first verse, Solomon writes: “My son, accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying…
