Animal sacrifices, circumcision, murder, the blood of Christ … why does the Bible talk so much about blood? Throwing blood on the altar and sprinkling it on the priests and the people seems so foreign to modern sensibilities.
And what about the different kinds of laws? Leviticus talks a great deal about the ceremonial laws including the blood sacrifices, but what about the moral laws having to do with sexual sin? Why does one set of laws still apply and the other doesn’t? It can be so confusing!
In today’s post, I’ll try to dispel some of the confusion.
The Parable of the Sower may be the most important parable that Jesus taught. This is what He said about it, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?”
As you read it, you might ask yourself, “Do the cares of this world like worry and anxiety, the need to get ahead or something else weigh me down? Have I drifted away from my relationship with God? Or worse, am I hard-hearted toward Him?
In today’s post, we’ll see how the Parable of the Sower can help us better answer those questions and show us where we need God’s help to grow and change. Perhaps, even to understand and receive the gospel for the first time.
Have people close to you ever thought you were crazy? Have they accused you of being a fanatic or turning away from your family traditions? Or have you ever had to choose between honoring Christ and honoring those traditions?
And what about outside the family, maybe in the workplace or at school? Have you ever been subjected to belittlement or persecution because you took a stand for Christ?
Why does God allow His children to experience rejection and persecution, anyway? Could there be a purpose to it?
And from our Old Testament reading about the sacrifices required for a leper, what do sacrificed birds, blood, water, and other rituals have to do with our relationship with God? Why was it important enough for God to record it in His Word?
Read about these and other subjects in today’s post.
Plagues and epidemics have been part of human history since the fall of man. Of course, the latest one is COVID-19 and all of its variants. But there is a plague that is even more contagious and disfiguring, the plague of sin. Paul warned us about contagious sins. We can pick them up from others and, worse yet, we can be carriers spreading them to those around us.
Have you allowed yourself to be exposed to some contagious sins? Are you protecting your family from over-exposure to them? Or worse, could you be guilty of spreading contagious sins to others?
Through the centuries, Christians have been burned at the stake, sawed in two, and crucified. They have been shot, fed to lions, and forced to choose between their faith and their freedom. Many were gassed along with the Jews for harboring their Jewish neighbors. These were people who were committed to their faith.
But according to Voice of the Martyrs, “More men and women are being persecuted today for Jesus than at any other time in human history. Millions of Christians face intense persecution and risk their lives for the sake of the Gospel.”
The Bible teaches that in the last days, evil, including every kind of persecution will continue to grow. But here in the US, we often feel somewhat insulated from all this. Most of us, probably, can’t imagine beheadings or people being burned alive here. But what if we were faced with the choice to stand up or betray Christ in the face of intense persecution? Would we be as committed to our faith as other believers around the world or as Christians in times past?
And I wonder, are we as committed to our faith as many of our Muslim neighbors are to theirs?
I will still be here in the coming year blogging through the Bible in a Year. But beginning this January, I’ll also be posting Bible in a Year videos on YouTube. You can view several of them right now including...
Why a fresh start through the Bible? Why “through” the Bible? Why not just read here and there, perhaps finding a subject that interests you? Or how about a short devotional? As long as you read something every day, isn’t that good enough? Today’s reading from the book of Psalms gives us a very good illustration of why it’s so important to read God’s Word in context.
The psalmist in Psalm 1 talks about a man who is like a tree planted on a riverbank where it gets plenty of water and is always fruitful. The psalmist goes on to say that God prospers whatever this man does.
I don’t know about you, but I want my life to be like that. But despite some who teach that God wants to make every believer prosperous, there are requirements for this prosperity. There are things we must do and other things we are to avoid. We also need to understand what the psalmist meant when he wrote about prosperity. If we don’t, we may find ourselves disillusioned, even angry, with God.
But this is just one example of the importance of understanding God’s Word in context, in its entirety. One of the biggest problems I find among believers is a failure to know God, to know His character, to know how He works through our tests and trials. As a result, far too many lead faithless, defeated lives.
But when we read through all of Scripture, we begin to see the big picture. As we go through the book of Genesis, we’ll look at the creation account and what it tells us about our incredible God. It will launch us on a journey through the history of God’s people and some of the most fascinating stories even recorded. As we go through the Prophets, we’ll see the many examples where their prophecies have already come to pass and our faith will grow. We will, also, come to better understand what was really happening in the book of Job, how much the psalmists were like us, and see the wisdom we can gain from Proverbs. In the New Testament, we’ll walk with Jesus and the Apostles, read Paul’s letters with fresh understanding, and marvel at the glories of eternity future.
So, why read “through” the Bible and not just here and there? So we understand the whole counsel of God and so we know the God of the Bible and not God as we think He should be.
Perhaps the question should be, “Why not read through the Bible in 2022?”
2022. A new year stands before us. 2021 and 2020 before that have been challenging to put it mildly.
Viruses. Bombings. Senseless murders. Shut-downs. Financial hardships. Crime. Dirty, partisan politics. Suicide. Sexual immorality. Anger. Road rage. Persecution. The loss of religious freedoms.
The world around us has been and continues to be in upheaval. Everything is changing right before our eyes.
Even within the church world, there are many false gospels.
So, how will we know truth from lies? How can we stand strong in a changing world, when life gets hard, or stays hard?
This year is fast drawing to a close and many of us are thinking about our goals for 2022. And there are many important goals and resolutions we can make as we look forward.
Certainly, these last two years have reminded us all that it’s important to take care of our health. And while, as believers, we shouldn’t live in fear, we should use wisdom in that area. Maybe you have career, financial, or other personal goals for 2022, as well.
But we should never neglect the most important area of life … our spiritual life. One of the most valuable goals is to read the Bible regularly. And I would like to suggest one of the best ways is to read through it in a systematic way. So, how about you? Do you want to grow spiritually in 2022? If so, what is your plan to do so?
Why is reading through the Bible so valuable? Can’t we get everything we need by going to church, reading a verse or two each day and listening to podcasts here and there? Isn’t it just too time-consuming? One more thing on a long to-do list?
Or what if you’ve tried in the past, only to fall behind and give up? How can you do it successfully in 2022?
Have you thought about reading through the Bible, maybe know you should, but keep saying, “Maybe next year”? Here is a 15-day catch-up plan so you can make this year your year!
