WOW one week of reading the Bible! How is everyone doing? From the looks of the last Bible Talk you are doing great. My wife and I would like to thank everyone for participating. Your comments have been a blessing to us and many people. Happy reading and happy sharing! Also remember to pray for one another as we read the Bible together.
The scripture reading for this week:
Jan 10: Matt 22-23
Jan 11: Matt 24-25
Jan 12: Matt 26
Jan 13: Matt 27-28
Jan 14: Mark 1-3
Jan 15: Mark 4-5
Jan 16: Mark 6-7
May the Holy Spirit speak to your heart as you read His Word.
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13 comments:
In the Bk.of Matthew,healing takes place because of 'faith.' Because of her faith a woman with an issue of blood was healed, a young daughter was raised from the dead because of her father's faith, a Cananite womann's faith caused Jesus to deliver her daughter from demon possion and we continue to read howthe healings continue to all who came in faith.
Ch.17:14-21,tells of a man who came in faith before Jesus seeking healing for his son who often fell victim to terrible seizues. The disciples were unable to heal the boy. Jesus healed the boy and later repremanded his disciples for their 'little faith. He said, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith 'as small as a mustard seed', you can say to this mountain,'move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you"
God is calling us to this kind of faith for 2011.
Any comments readers?
Wow, I was meditating on this point myself. I noticed the issue of recurring faith in the chapters of Matthew we have covered.
Matthew 21:21-22
"So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and cast into the sea,' it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.'"
With the Canaanite woman, who Jesus appeared reluctant to heal at first, her faith moved our Lord. He commented, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." Matthew 15:28
I also found it interesting that when he returned to Nazareth, the Bible says, "Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief." Matthew 13:58
What is the impact of our faith upon our lives and those around us? I have prayed this prayer more than times than I can remember, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Mark 9:24
May we grow in faith as we journey in the Word.
Brothers and sisters as we read and share together, may I ask that we pray for one another that our faith may grow 'unwaveringly' this 2011 year; "Lord we do believe, help our unbelief."
Responses?
Matthew 24
This is such a powerfully prophetic chapter. Two things stand out to me, that gave me pause:
1. "...and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake." vs. 9
2. "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." vs.30
How is it that we will reach to a point when ALL nations will hate Christ-followers for the name of Jesus which we bear? Secondly, I wonder what will be going on in the hearts of mankind to cause them to mourn at the sight of the sign of the Son of Man?
Carole You have my prayers as well as all others on this journey
Natasha
"I wonder what will be going on in the hearts of mankind to cause them to mourn at the sight of the sign of the Son of Man?"
Hopefully grief
Zec 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
And Gratitude
Isa 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
Thanks Natasha.
Thanks David
I so look forward to such inspired insights.
Hello Bible friends,
I am part of the study but find that I have a bit of reading to catch up on. Im officially joining the group today.
Blessings 2011 to all
3 times I've tried to post this and my PC has crashed. I'm taking this as a sign that I've not understood this:
Matt 27:46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
Why would Jesus feel forsaken? Is he doubting God's will?
Hi Kelly
He was a human being
Isa 52:14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
Keep in mind he was beaten to a bloody pulp; his face was not even recognizable as human. Then He agonized for each breath for just short of 3 hours when saying"
"My God why have you forsaken me"
Remember earlier before his arrest?
Mat 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Mat 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
Do you think it was part of His purpose to feel as forsaken as all humans do at times?
Psa 22:1 To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
Psa 22:2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
Psa 22 is a good read on how the Lord felt at the cross.
KellyKelly,
You highlight one of the most remarkable passages in the Bible.
The doctrine of the Incarnation refers to Jesus' nature, which is fully God and fully man. The Old Testament Prophet Isaiah foretold of the coming of the Messiah-Jesus the Christ.
"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14 The Hebrew translation of Immanuel is 'God with us'. Karl Barth, a German Theologian, once described Jesus this way, "He is invisible as true God and visible as true man."
In the Old Testament Law handed down by Moses to the Jews, GOD gives a series of instruction on how to deal with the problem of SIN.
"11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul." Leviticus 17:11
Jesus' death on the cross, His suffering and His sense of abandonment is the price He is paying for us upon the cross. You see, GOD is so Holy that sin cannot dwell in His presence. When we get to the Old Testament, we will read about the Law and the requirements for atonement for sin. Jesus, as the Lamb of God, satisfies the requirement of the Law-His blood atones for our sins.
"And He was numbered with the transgressors, And he bore the sin of many." Isaiah 53:12
"And He himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." 1 John 2:2
In that moment when Jesus dies on the cross, He the sinless one, bears our sins. He both expiates (annuls) our guilt and propitiates (appeases) the wrath of GOD that our sin deserves. So when He cries, " “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani", it is at that moment that GOD turns His face away as Jesus becomes the atoning Lamb of GOD, for GOD cannot look upon sin.
Note what happens right after Jesus yields up His Spirit.
"Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." Matthew 27:51
In the Old Testament, only the High Priest was allowed into the Holy of Holies, the place where the presence of God dwelled. Now, that veil, symbolizing separation had been torn. The blood of Jesus acts to cleanse us from our sins, giving us direct access to GOD through Jesus.
There is such a powerful truth to David's highlighting the humanity of Christ. We can identify with the humanity of Christ. We see Jesus tempted (Matthew 4), we see Him suffering (crucifixion), yet we see Him denying His flesh and walking in obedience to GOD our Father. We see GOD's love.
When I was very sick in the hospital a few years ago, I experienced excruciating pain-I didn't even know it was possible for the human body to feel that. The doctors didn't know what to do, so they brought the pharmacist in. The amount of medication they gave me did not ease the pain, as multiple things were going wrong in my body at the same time. I spent the night and day in between screaming, pleading and praying. I stopped and asked the Lord what to do. I heard the still small voice of the Holy Spirit whisper to my heart, "Climb into your pain." Well, I had been sitting up in a chair by my bed, so I got back into bed, curled up in the fetal position and did not move. As I lay there, I was aware of every fibre of being engulfed in pain. Then I heard the Holy Spirit minister to my heart, "Jesus came in the flesh and suffered." At that moment, I understood that there were no short cuts, He experienced real, raw pain. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart again, "What you are experiencing is just a fraction of the Jesus experienced on the cross. Now pray for those down the hall." I was blown away. For a few minutes, the Lord revealed to me how great His love, mercy and grace in Christ Jesus truly is.
To me this is one of the most interesting parables in the Bible.
Any thoughts?
Mark4 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”
@David- Mark 4:11-12, here Jesus quote the Prophet Isaiah, who was addressing those of the children of Israel whose hearts had become hardened to the voice of the same GOD who delivered them from Egypt. I found an interesting perspective in the Quest Study Bible that I would like to share:
"Parables were used to reveal as well as to conceal truth (Isaiah 6:9-10). Jesus concealed truth from those who would reject his message-a judgment on their hard-heartedness." (Quest NIV, pg.1440)
I think this quote in Mark 4:11-12 mirrors so much of the tension found in the Old Testament between the Prophets/Word from GOD and the People of Israel. Here in the New Testament is the Word of GOD (made flesh) again speaking to the People. GOD knows the hearts of those who are sincerely seeking and those who refuse to love/obey the truth.
Very interesting...tough question...it makes me wonder about predestination.
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