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As the year draws to a close, as does this year’s ‘Read-the-Bible-in-a-Year’ journey, I again find myself in the book of Job. This trip through Job has been different, though, than at other times because instead of pinpointing ‘misstep’ in the lives of Job and his friends, I find myself asking God for his mercy that I wouldn’t slip into the same ‘mire’.

As I seek the Lord as to how to avoid these traps of self-righteousness, religion, criticism, judging others, and blaming God – and reflect on the many times I have fallen prey to the same ‘enemies’ – I realize my only hope is to abide in Jesus.

Micah 5:5-6 says…

And this man (Jesus) shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.

And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he comes into our land, and when he treads within our borders.

Our hope, our strength, and our victory against all the wiles of the devil – no matter what is going on around us – is to abide in Jesus.

In John 15:4, Jesus said…

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Earlier, in John 8:31-32, Jesus said to some believing Jews…

If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Interestingly, the words ‘Abide’ and ‘continue’ are the same Greek word – which is directly translated ‘to stay’.

David said in Psalms 18…

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

As one Jesus follower to another, I encourage you spend time in God’s Word – to commit yourself to a ‘Read-the-Bible-in-a-Year’ plan, to continue in the Word, to Abide in Jesus, to stay diligent. As we humbly approach the Lord in times of reading, he meets us, he changes us, he enlightens us, and he keeps us safe in these turbulent days.

The number of voices describing God seems endless.

As a matter of fact, in Matthew 24:4-5 Jesus warns about this saying, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Grace, works, sin, redemption, salvation, righteousness, healing, favour, judgement, eternity, forgiveness, trials, love… Many questions, many opinions, but where is the truth? What does God think, what does God expect?

Praying to the Father in John 17, Jesus said, Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

John1:14 says, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

In John 14:6 Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

So, what is the answer?

Spend time with God, spend time in his Word. Ask, seek, knock. Jesus said, For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Lord, open our eyes that we may see, open our ears that we may hear, and soften our hearts that we may receive the truth of your word.

Reading in Genesis 37, what would have been different if…

Joseph wouldn’t have brought his father an evil report of his brothers’ behavior?

Joseph’s brothers would have refused the hatred they felt because of the coat of many colours Jacob gave Joseph ?

Joseph wouldn’t have told his brothers about the dreams he had ?

Joseph’s brothers would have been longsuffering, meek, forbearing, patient, gentle, forgiving ?

Matthew 22:35-40 records the account of a lawyer asking Jesus …which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’

Can it be done? Sure it can. Read it for yourself!

This morning’s Bible reading provided yet another wonderful time with God. Here is one small part:

First of all, it is incredible that we can actually talk with God himself – the creator, omnipotent, eternal, King of kings, Lord of lords, who was and is and always will be – and that he will listen. It is an amazing thing that, in his mercy, God will let us approach him and come into his presence. Thank you, Lord, for your mercy, your grace, and your great love!

Now the Bible reading:

Mark 1: 40-42

And there came a leper to him (Jesus), beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying to him, ‘If you will, you can make me clean.’ And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and said to him, ‘I will; be clean.’ And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

When we come to Jesus, as the leper did in this account, with a meek and humble heart, he will hear us. And as in the case of this leper, Jesus – moved with compassion – can touch us and immediately intervene in the situation in which we approach him.

Whatever it is you may need to experience true freedom, Jesus can touch your life and set you free!

I hope you will spend time with God today – in his Word, in his presence – and let him touch you as only he can.

As I write this, for me the end of the year is in sight – and with it the end of my ‘Read-The-Bible-In-A -Year’ plan. (This has been my 5^th or 6^th time doing so.) It, again, has been an amazing journey. I have been able to spend precious time with many wonderful ‘friends’ (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Ezra, Hosea, and all the others) – and am already anxious to be with them again!

I don’t know that I can say ‘everyone should do this’ (that’s between you and the Lord), but I do know spending this time (with the Lord) in God’s Word has changed my life – and I am so grateful for the mercy he has shown me as I have approached him, and come into his presence, in this manner.

Hosea 13:2 says some in the church ‘have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding’. It reminds me how many ‘voices’ there are promoting messages and doctrines according to their own understanding – and not according to the truth of God’s Word!

I hope you will consider joining me in the upcoming year as I begin another ‘Read-The-Bible-In-A-Year’ plan. I guarantee, as you approach the Lord in humility, you will find treasures you didn’t know existed – and as you incorporate these things into your life, you will come to know God in a deeper, more intimate way.

Acts 17:26-27

…And has made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth… That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being…

Jer 51:17-18 reads:

Every man is brutish by knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

As I pondered verse 17, and how it may apply today, it came to mind that among the ‘graven images’ a person may possess are his accomplishments – and, more importantly, how they may impact that person’s life.

Bringing it closer to home, how do you behave when you attain a goal, when you become one-of-the-best at something? It seems a feeling of satisfaction is a given… but does that satisfaction ever cross into something contrary, a heart issue? Maybe pride, arrogance, haughtiness? It seems like that is when the founder is confounded by the graven image.

Accomplishments are not eternal.

1 Cor 13:8 says:

Charity never fails: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail: whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.  Like it says above… in the time of their visitation, they shall perish.

In Luke 7, Jesus said:

Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

God, I pray you give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand.

Reading through Jeremiah on my ‘Read the Bible in a Year’ plan, I find myself in chapter 22 today. As in much of the book, the first few verses document God pleading with the leaders of that day’s church to turn to him – with verse 4 detailing the outcome if they do and verse 5 the outcome if they don’t.

Verse 21 seems significant when God says, concerning Jehoiakim (the king of Judah),

I spoke to you in your prosperity; but you said, “I will not hear”. This has been your manner from your youth, that you obeyed not my voice.

What really hit me, though, are verses 29 & 30:

O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD, Write this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.

How tragic that those to whom God was speaking had ‘covered their ears’, with God, then, prophesying to the ground itself to establish the word of the Lord. I am reminded of the lyrics in a Maranatha Music song:

Give us ears to hear that still, small voice,
And give us lips, forever willing to rejoice.
And may our eyes be lit with wisdom,
May we know the path that’s true,
And we’ll march with hearts courageous after You.

… oh God, have mercy on us.

Q: Is there a perfect way?

A: It is up to you.

Q: What does that mean?

When Jesus was explaining the Parable of the Sower (Mt 13), he said, “…he that receives seed into the good ground is he that hears the word, and understands it; which also bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Notice the determining factor of the outcome of ‘the sowing’ isn’t dependent upon the sower or the seed, but upon the ground (wayside, stony, thorny, or good).

Matthew 19 begins with some Pharisees tempting Jesus with a question regarding divorce. Jesus asks them if they have read what was written, ending with, “Wherefore they (husband and wife) are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” The Pharisees respond with Why did Moses say different?, to which Jesus answers, “Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.”

So, is there a perfect way?

…dig in to the Word, and read it for yourself.

Following-up on ‘And Jesus Stood Still’, it is so very important for each person to dig into the Word of God himself, and humbly ask the Lord to reveal the truth of his Word. There are so many voices today, so many places to hear and read commentary… but without the true revelation of God’s word, a person can easily be led astray.

In Matthew 24, Jesus said, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many,  and,  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

In Mark 13, Jesus pretty much repeats the same thing… as is also repeated again in Luke 21.

Matthew 27 records a very telling event at the end of Jesus’ time on this earth. When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

The devil is doing that same thing in these times – trying to bind, and kill, the Word – and is using whoever he can to do it… including today’s ‘church leaders’!

Mark 7 records an interaction between Jesus and some of the day’s ‘Bible scholars’…

7: Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

9: Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

13: …Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition…

John 1 says, He (Jesus) came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

I want to see that power operating in my life, to continue to change, to daily feel the Lord drawing me closer to him.

Ephesians 4 talks about God giving a ‘ministry gift’ to the church… and I do receive that gift. But I also recognize the warnings Jesus left us with – to be careful with what we hear. And the best way to be careful… dig in, and read it for yourself!

Matthew 20 documents an event in Jesus’ life that is very familiar in the times we are now in.

Jesus had just departed Jericho, with a great multitude following him. When two blind men who were sitting by the way side heard that Jesus passed by, they started crying out, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David” – at which the multitude rebuked them and told them to be quiet.

We are in the midst of a great multitude – secular & religious, all with their own opinions pretty much about everything, including God & his ways – who aren’t afraid to speak out and voice those opinions… especially behind the curtain of social media. With input depending upon the topic, the consistent voice ultimately resounds, “Be quiet, you don’t know, you are wrong, you are making too much noise” – which is what the multitude said to the blind men. But we can respond the same way the blind men responded, with the same result… But they cried the more, saying, ‘Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And Jesus stood still, and called them and said, ‘What will ye that I shall do unto you?’

It doesn’t matter what the multitude around you is saying, you can call on the Lord from an honest and sincere heart, and he will hear you – and just like he did that day with the blind men, he will have compassion on you, and touch you, and meet your need.

Psalm 34: 15: The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.