The New Year is only a few days old. Let's commit ourselves afresh to reading the Word of God day-by-day. Here are some links which I hope you will find helpful.
Read a specific comment online
Print a booklet containing monthly readings
There's a Christmas song which contains the words. "Man will live forevermore because of Christmas Day." If, however, we are to have a true understanding of the way to eternal life, we must move beyond Christmas Day to Good Friday and easter Sunday, and we must move on from there to the day concerning which the hymnwriter speaks, " O happy day! that fixed my choice on Thee, my Saviour and my God! O happy day! O happy day! when Jesus washed my sins away." The Gospel speaks not only of the Babe of Bethlehem. It speaks also of the Christ of Calvary and the risen Lord. When the Gospel speaks of Christ's death and resurrection, it does not suggest that these events carry with them an automatic guarantee of eternal life. The Gospel draws our attention to the Christ who was "crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men", after which He was raised from the dead by God (Acts 2:23-24). The Gospel does not, however, tell us only about what was done to Jesus - He was crucified by men and raised by God. It also sets before us the question: What will you do to Jesus? Will you receive Him? Or will you reject Him? "Joy to the world; the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing." "O come to my heart, Lord Jesus! There is room in my heart for Thee." Is there room in you heart for Jesus?
As we learn of Jesus' mighty resurrection from the dead, we come to think of Him in a different way. He is different from other characters from the past. We no longer ask the question, "Who was Jesus?" We ask, "Who is Jesus? In Isaiah 9:6, we have a tremendous description of Jesus Christ - "His Name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." If, after reading this amazing description of Jesus Christ, we are still tempted to think of Him as no more than a figure from the past, we must go on to read the first few words of verse 7 - "Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end."
From Bethlehem, then, we look back to learn from the prophets and we look forward to learn from the rest of the New Testament story. With great prophetic insight, Isaiah spoke of the coming Christ. He speaks of Christ's birth, ministry, death and resurrection. From Isaiah, we learn of who Jesus was, what He did and what was done to Him. When we come to Isaiah's prophecy concerning the birth of Christ (9:6-7), we may well come with the question, "Who was Jesus?" When we come to study the life of a historical character, we ask our questions in the past tense: Who was Julius Caesar? Who was William Shakespeare? Who was Robert Burns? When, however, we learn more about Jesus, we discover that He is more than a figure from the past. He is the risen Christ. He is the living Lord.
If we are to come to a true understanding of the story of Jesus Christ, we must not begin by opening our Bibles at the beginning of the New Testament - Matthew 1:1. We must go back into the Old Testament. We must seek to understand what the prophets said, as they looked forward to the coming of Jesus Christ, the Saviour.
Christ's journey into our lives is beautifully described in the words of the Christmas carol, “O little town of Bethlehem”: “How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven. No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.” Jesus’ way is so unlike the way of the world. He is not demonstrative. He is not showy. He does not make a fuss. There is nothing spectacular about His way with us. There is nothing sensational about His entrance into our lives. The world, obsessed with the dramatic, might say of Jesus’ way, “How cold! How unexciting! How uneventful! How unimpressive!” Let us not be preoccupied with outward appearances. Let us recognize the presence of Christ in the quiet way - “No ear may hear His coming.” This is Christ’s way with the “meek soul”. Let us not think that Christ is brash and insensitive. He does not disregard our temperament and personality. He does not ignore our natural feelings. He does not take delight in embarrassing us.
God restores the fallen. God gives a new beginning. These lessons are emphasized even more strongly when we turn our attention to Christ’s Journey to the Cross. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, there is the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day. These religious leaders were so proud of themselves, so proud of their religion, so proud of their morality. One instance of this conflict concerned “a woman caught in the very act of adultery” (John 8:3).”The scribes and the Pharisees” despised the poor woman. They were arrogant in their condemnation of her - “this woman has been caught in the very act of adultery” (John 8:4). They brought the woman to Jesus for one reason only. They brought her to Jesus for condemned. Jesus, however, did not condemn her. No condemnation! Forgiveness! This is the Good News of God’s grace. The scribes and the Pharisees saw the woman as a no-hoper. She was beyond hope - so they thought! They wanted to stone her. With one simple yet devastating sentence, Jesus exposed their hypocrisy: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). With the strikingly simple and devastatingly direct sentence, Jesus brought the proud accusers down to earth - “when they heard it, they went away, one by one” (John 8:9). Jesus was left alone with the woman. He did not condemn her, but He did say to her, “Do not sin again” (John 8:9-11). This conflict continued throughout Jesus’ life as He made His way to the Cross. The scribes and the pharisees sent Christ - the sinless Son of God - to the Cross. There Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them … “.
Before we even reach the opening chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, the Old Testament proclaims this message of hope: Christ is coming. The journey through the Old Testament paves the way for the coming of Christ. The first 17 verses of Matthew’s Gospel gives us a brief outline of Old Testament history as a preparation for the coming of Christ. These verses present us with a family tree. It’s not particularly interesting reading. For this reason, these verses are often overlooked. There are, however, important lessons which we must not miss! Here are two interesting names in Christ’s family tree - Rahab (Matthew 1:5) and Solomon (Matthew 1:6). Who was Rahab? - a prostitute! Who was Solomon? - a child born out of an adulterous relationship! How did they get into Christ’s family tree? Was there some kind of mistake? - No! It must be stresses that the names of Rahab - a prostitute - and Solomon - the child of an adulterous relationship - are found in Christ’s family tree so that we might learn that the love of God is greater than the sin of man. God forgives sinners! God restores the fallen. This is the message proclaimed to us by the inclusion of Rahab - the prostitute - in Christ’s family tree. God gives a new beginning. This is the message proclaimed to us by the inclusion of Solomon - the son of an adulterous relationship - in Christ’s family tree.
Here are a few articles you may find helpful.
The Child Who Learned Dreams Come True is dedicated to children and the child deep within us all. That child who loves to dream, that loves adventure, that believes and hopes for great things.
Just imagine spending 40 days and 40 nights in the Teton Mountains and surrounding areas. The beauty, nature, peace, wonderful moments, beautiful sunsets and endless hours of being far from the hustle bustle of life.
Order In Time For Christmas!
The Book That Mentors
New Book Release!
