Read the Bible in a Year (24OCT19)

DAILY REMINDER – Today, October 24’s Bible reading is Luke 2-3.

NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, October 25’s Bible reading is Luke 4-5. May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.

LUKE MOMENT – (24OCT19) “When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord  (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord’), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: ‘a pair of doves or two young pigeons’” (Luke 2:22-24). After the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary took Him to the temple to consecrate Him to God in accordance to the Mosaic laws for the firstborn son. They were careful to start Him out right in the ways of his Father, and He grew in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. The firstborn son was the first fruit that was to be dedicated to the Lord. Therefore, Jesus’ parents did not wait till later to build His foundation, but they committed Him as well as themselves to His upbringing and development.

How many parents have truly dedicated their children to the Lord? It’s not about a brief ceremony at the local church or taking pictures in a christening outfit. The Lord wants the firstfruits of your womb. The Bible says: “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court” (Psalm 127:3-5). Many people take for granted the importance of raising Godly children, and they do not understand that children are gifts from the Lord and not selfish accomplishments. God wants to use your children, but He needs you to guide them in the right direction. You are the first introduction to God that they will see, but if your life is ungodly, how will they know the true essence of God?

What you say, what you do, and how you act will all play an important role in how your children view God. If you live hypocritically, then they will think that God is untrustworthy. If they never see you spend any time in prayer and studying your Word, then they will grow up thinking that it is okay to place God on the backburner too. If they always listen to you complaining about the saints of God, then they will have no incentive to become one. If they never see you giving out of your need to others, then they will not know that in God, they can place their trust to provide. You are to be an ambassador for Christ, and it begins in your own home. Can your children say that you represent Christ to them? If not, what will you say to God when He ask you to give an account for the gifts that He has given to you? The Bible says: “It is written: ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God” (Romans 14:11-12). Something to ponder….

QUESTION OF THE DAY - (24OCT19) “Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, ‘This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul’” (Luke 2:34-35). Simeon was a holy man who the Holy Spirit told would not see death until he had laid eyes on the Messiah. So, when Joseph and Mary came to the temple to have Jesus’ purification done, the Holy Spirit led him to where they were, and he took Jesus into His arms and blessed the Lord for keeping His promise to him. Simeon also prophesied concerning the life of Jesus and how He would change the future of Israel. He would be opposed as the true nature of many hearts would be revealed. Simeon told Mary that her soul would be pierced in that she would be heartbroken to the very core as to how Jesus would be treated.

Immediately following this, Anna, a prophet and widow who was eighty-four years old, came to Joseph and Mary to see Jesus as well. She had only been married for seven years when her husband died, but she spent the years after that living at the temple in prayer and fasting. Upon seeing Jesus, she gave thanks to God and witnessed to others about His future work.

There were people who looked forward to the coming Messiah, and God blessed some who where up in age to see Him before they took their final breath. When He began His ministry, he was embraced by some and hated by others, but no one could stop Him from completing the work that He was called to do. Once again, the Messiah is coming and those who are living for Christ can look forward to His return. Satan will use all others to oppose the saints and do as much damage as he can prior to this event, but we are never to get discouraged. We do not know the day nor the hour, but we can take confidence in knowing that Jesus will return to gather up those who are ready. Jesus will put an end to sin for good and we will be rid of the enemy once and for all. Do you look forward to the return of the Lord? The Bible says: “ Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.  But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness” (2 Peter 3:11-13). Something to ponder….

LUKE MOMENT – (24OCT19) “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones” (Luke 3:8). John the Baptist was on the scene to prepare the way for the Lord. He preached about holiness and taught the people to honor the Lord with their lives and how they treated one another. They were not to take pride in just saying that they were the Children of Abraham, but they were to live lives that represented the God they claimed to serve. When asked how they were to go about doing this, John told them to give to those in need, do not collect more taxes than what was required, reframe from false accusations, stop exhorting money, and be content with what they had. John was ushering their hearts back to God as they learned to do what was right towards one another.

When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, He was not just giving the people a set of rules to obey. God was teaching them His ways in how they were to honor Him and one another. For example, when we give to those who are less fortunate than we are, we are also showing the love of God in how He provides for us all. As Christians, we should not wipe our hands clean and look to the welfare system to be the only ones to help the needy or just at Christmas time. We should always look for ways to bless someone ourselves as a testimony of what the Lord has done for us.

Another example is how the government is always debating the raising of taxes to finance people’s greed and not their needs. Yet, what if we as Christians did not promote socialism but individualism where everyone was encouraged to work hard, study hard, pray hard, and be productive citizens of society as we also helped one another? Wouldn’t this be what God would want from His people? This is not just a political issue, but as John the Baptist taught, we are to be fair in all of our dealings with one another rather governmental or on the private sector.

If we think that God pays no attention in how we deal with one another, then we have truly missed understanding who He is. The Bible says: “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42). When we treat our fellow brothers and sisters righteously, we are showing the world the love of Christ. It is not enough to just call ourselves believers, but we must be careful to model God’s love to the world in our dealings with each other. Something to ponder….