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The Rich Young Ruler
Daily Bible Reading – 1 Chronicles 16; Psalm 106; Matthew 19
Today’s Key Passage – Matthew 19:16-30
It is interesting that in life we can do countless things right only to see one wrong move ruin everything. This is well illustrated in the world of sports. A baseball player can pitch a perfect game for 8.2 innings, throw one bad pitch, and lose the game with one swing of the bat. A quarterback can throw for 400 yards and four touchdowns before throwing a game losing interception in the fourth quarter. A pro golfer can lead for 71 holes of a tournament, hook his tee shot out of bounds on the last hole, and lose by one stroke. In today’s key passage, we see the story of a man who did many things right only to see one wrong move ruin everything.
The rich young ruler in today’s passage did many things right. To begin with, he sought out Jesus. This is always a good place to start. In addition, he asked Jesus the right questions. He began by asking Jesus what he should do to gain eternal life. When Jesus told him to obey the commandments, he replied that he had kept the commandments all of his life. By Jesus’ lack of an argument to this statement, we might be able to infer that the rich young man had indeed lived a good life of obedience to God. The man then asked Jesus another great question when he said, “What do I still lack?” (Vs. 20) Now Jesus knew exactly what was holding this man back. He knew exactly what he needed to do to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He knew that there was only one path to eternal life, and He knew that He was that path. Jesus told the rich young man, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Vs. 21) At this point, after living a good life, coming to the right person, and asking the right questions, the rich young man makes one single mistake that cost him everything. We read in verse 22 that, “when the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” The one thing Jesus asked him to do was the one thing he was not willing to do. The rich young man made money his god, and he was not willing to give up that god to follow the one true God. In this one moment, all of the “right” things he had done in his life no longer mattered.
Many people misinterpret this passage of Scripture and believe that Jesus is telling all of His followers to sell all of their possessions and give everything to the poor. This is not the case, as Jesus’ words were only intended for this one young man who was worshiping his money. However, it does bring to mind a good question that each of us should ask ourselves today. Hypothetically, if Jesus asked you to sell all of your possessions and give to the poor, how would you respond? Would you be willing to give up everything for Him? Think about this question today. Search your heart for your true feelings and be honest with yourself. At the end of the day, nothing should be more important to us than Jesus. Nothing should come before Him.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
Related articles
- Conflict Between Grace And Truth Part I (ptl2010.com)
- King’s Cross by Timothy Keller – Chapter 11 – The Trap (jamespaulgaard.wordpress.com)
- Jesus Blesses the Children; The Rich Young Ruler (brakeman1.com)
- Charity of Gospel? (olujordan.wordpress.com)
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Quick to Forget
Daily Bible Reading – 2 Samuel 3; 1 Chronicles 12; Matthew 15
Today’s Key Passage – Matthew 15:29-39
Awhile back, my daughter was running into the kitchen to get a snack when she accidentally tripped over her shoes that were lying on the kitchen floor and skinned her knee on the hard ceramic tile. While the wound itself was small, her reaction to it was not, and she spent several minutes on the ground crying. After making sure she was okay, my wife and I picked her up off the floor, and she somberly headed to her room to watch television with her snack in hand. Minutes later, she emerged from her room laughing and smiling and in the best of spirits. In the span of only a couple of minutes, she had completely forgotten her run-in with the hard kitchen floor. Sometimes being quick to forget can be a good thing. The ability to quickly forget a past hurt or a wrong committed by another person is definitely a good trait. Being quick to forget a past failure can serve us well and keep us from being mired in guilt or self-pity. At other times, though, being quick to forget can be a detriment. In today’s key passage, we see an example of how the disciples were sometimes quick to forget what Jesus had already accomplished.
Just yesterday, we read the story of Jesus feeding over five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. It was the type of miracle that would illustrate to others that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, and the story of his accomplishment would no doubt follow him through the land. Amazingly though, His disciples seemed to have forgotten all about it in today’s reading. Jesus was teaching over four thousand people on a mountainside, and decided that He did not want to send the crowd away without something to eat. When He told the disciples His intention to feed the masses, their response was staggering. They answered Him by saying, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?” (Vs. 33) The disciples were perplexed by this problem even though it was strikingly similar to another issue that Jesus had already solved. In this example, the disciples were quick to forget what Jesus had already done for them.
While it is easy for us to look back and wonder how the disciples could have possibly forgotten that Jesus had the power to rectify their current situation, it is equally easy for each of us to do the same thing. When faced with a difficult situation, how often is it that our first reaction is one of bewilderment? How often do we sit and wonder what we should do next? How often do we throw up our hands and think that the situation seems impossible? We are often quick to forget that nothing is impossible with God. We are quick to forget that He has helped us in the past and will help us again. When we have needed nourishment, He has fed us. When we have needed help, He has helped us. When we have needed saving, He has saved us. Do not be quick to forget the miracles our awesome God has done in your life and the lives of others. Remember His perfect goodness, and bask in the knowledge that you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
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If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
Daily Bible Reading – 2 Samuel 2; 1 Chronicles 11; Psalm 142; Matthew 14
Today’s Key Passage – Matthew 14:13-21
In today’s Bible reading, we find one of the most well known of Jesus’ miracles. Most people have heard the story, and it is illustrated in all four Gospels. Because it is so well known, sometimes we can have a tendency to gloss over it as we are reading God’s Word, but the lesson we learn from this story is so important that we must do everything we can to avoid that pitfall. The story of Jesus feeding five thousand people is not just a great story that shows Jesus’ capacity to perform miracles. It is not just a story about Jesus’ unlimited compassion. While both of these things are true and are highlighted in the text, there is so much more that we can glean from this story. The lesson taught is one that can permeate into every area of our lives. The lesson is about faith.
When our story begins, Jesus has just been told about John the Baptist’s death. He was filled with sorrow, and decided that He and His men needed a break, so they left in a boat to go to a solitary place. When they landed, though, Jesus and the disciples were met with thousands of people who were waiting on them. Instead of sticking to their plan of taking a break, Jesus had compassion for the people and healed their sick. Near the end of the day, the disciples wanted Jesus to send the crowd away so they could get something to eat, but instead Jesus gave the disciples a seemingly impossible task. He said, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” (Vs. 16) The disciples, knowing they were in a remote place, surveyed to see what they had available to feed the crowd. From John’s Gospel, we learn that they found a young boy who had brought his lunch consisting of five loaves of bread and two fish, and while they knew this was not enough to feed five thousand men plus women and children, they took what they had and gave it to Jesus. Jesus took the food He had been given, looked up to heaven, gave thanks, and everyone in the crowd ate and were satisfied. Once everyone had finished eating, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over.
In this life, we know that Jesus wants us to meet the needs of others. He wants us to meet their needs spiritually by reaching the lost and telling them about Him. He wants us to meet their needs physically by feeding the hungry and helping the poor. He wants us to meet their needs emotionally by taking compassion on others and serving them. Sometimes these tasks can seem difficult, and sometimes they might even seem impossible. There are many times when we simply feel we do not have a lot to offer. In those times, though, it is important that we do a bit of surveying to determine exactly what we have available. Whatever we find, no matter how small, if we give it all to Jesus He can do great things. He can multiply what we have to offer to create an abundance. There is a trap in this life, though, that we must avoid. When we feel like we do not have a lot of money or time, our flesh will say that we should just not give anything. When we feel like we do not have a lot of energy to serve others, our flesh will say that we should just not serve at all. When we feel like we do not know enough or are too afraid to reach people for Christ, our flesh will say that we should not even try. When we feel like we do not have a lot of faith, our flesh will say that we should just turn away from God. Imagine what would have happened if the disciples had fallen for this trap when they found the five loaves and two fish – Jesus never would have had a chance to perform one of the greatest miracles in history! In all areas of our lives, when we take everything we have and give it to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, He will multiply our efforts. The next time you feel like you do not have a lot to offer, give everything you have to Jesus and watch as He does miraculous things.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
Related articles
- Prep Work (firstsouthernbaptistofcoalinga.wordpress.com)
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Facing a Giant
Daily Bible Reading – 1 Samuel 17; Psalm 9; Matthew 2
Today’s Key Passage – 1 Samuel 17:1-50
In today’s key passage, we read the popular story of David and Goliath. Most of us have likely read this story before or have at least heard of it. It is the type of Bible story that we are often told as kids in Sunday school, and there are many lessons to be learned from it. Today, I would like to focus on the practical aspects of this story that we can all use as we walk through our lives. The Philistines had moved into Israel’s territory and set up camp, so King Saul put together an army to face off against them. The two armies were each perched on opposing hills with a valley in between them. At this time in history, armies wanted to avoid losing a lot of troops in a long, drawn out battle, so it was common for an army to pit their strongest soldier against the strongest soldier of the opposing army for a “winner-take-all” battle. Out of the Philistine camp came a giant named Goliath. He was big, he was powerful, he was armed with heavy weapons, and he wanted to fight one of the Israelites to settle the battle. When King Saul and the Israelites saw Goliath, they were all filled with fear. They did not know how they could possibly defeat this formidable foe. For forty days, Goliath would come out of the Philistine camp and intimidate the Israelites, challenging them to send someone to oppose him, but none of the Israelites would dare go against him. All of the Israelites, including Saul, were focused on their own self-preservation, so they were frozen in their fear and unable to move forward against their enemy.
One day David, a young shepherd who was tending his father’s flock was sent to the front lines to bring provisions and to get a report on the war. As he arrived, he saw Goliath come out of the Philistine camp for his daily taunting of the Israelites. Unlike the rest of the Israelites, David’s focus was not on his fear or on self-preservation. His focus was on the glory of God. He said, “Who is this unbeliever, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (Vs. 26) David was confident that God would defeat this enemy. He knew that this giant was no match for the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, so he decided to step up and face off against the giant. Though the other Israelites did not believe David could defeat Goliath, David still made the lonely walk to face off against the giant. David had the faith to know that while he could not defeat the giant alone, God was with him in the battle. In the end, David defeated Goliath using only a slingshot and a single stone.
As we walk through our lives, every single one of us will face off against “giants”. These “giants” might be people who oppose us. They might be habitual sins that we have trouble standing up to. They might be difficult circumstances, illnesses, or financial problems. Whatever the case may be, these “giants” will be a very real threat to us just as Goliath was a very real threat to the Israelites. When we face these giants, we have a choice to make. We can choose to be paralyzed with fear like Saul and the Israelites, afraid to move forward against the “giant”, or we can choose to have faith in God to solve our problems like David. We can choose to focus on our own self-preservation, or we can choose to focus on the glory of God. With the right faith in God, we can trust that He will deliver us from our “giants”. With the right faith in God, we can be sure that He will bring us victory in His own time. With the right faith in God, there is nothing we cannot overcome.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
Related articles
- Fear Not: Your Giant WILL Fall (johnfcft.wordpress.com)
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Hearing God’s Voice
Daily Bible Reading – 1 Samuel 3-5; Psalm 77; 2 Corinthians 8
Today’s Key Passage – 1 Samuel 3:1-15
Awhile back, I flew into Baltimore, MD for a business trip. As I was driving to my final destination about an hour outside of Baltimore, the radio station that I was listening to kept fading in and out. As I drove through the rolling terrain, I noticed that when I was on top of hills, the signal came through loud and clear, but when my rental car descended into valleys the signal would fade and I was barely able to hear the song among the static. I did not think much of it at the time, but I vividly remembered this experience as I was reading today’s key passage. So often, hearing God’s voice works the same way as hearing that radio station. As we move through our spiritual life, we all have high points and low points. At our highs, we are reading God’s Word daily, we are spending time with Him in prayer, we are living in obedience, and we are constantly seeking Him. In those times, His voice comes in loud and clear. When we begin to slip, however, things change. As we begin to allow the business of life to distract us from His Word or from prayer, His voice becomes harder and harder to hear. If we spend enough time with our focus and obedience away from God, all we will be able to hear is static.
In today’s key passage, Samuel also faced a problem in hearing God’s voice, but his problem was a bit different. He had no trouble hearing God voice, but he had difficulty discerning the source. One night while lying in the temple, God called out to Samuel three different times. Each time, Samuel’s response was correct in that he answered, “Here I am”, but he thought it was Eli, the high priest, who was calling him. In 1 Samuel 3:7, we begin to understand the problem when we read, “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.” Because Samuel did not yet know God, he was unable to realize that the voice he was hearing came from the Lord. As Samuel’s relationship with God grew, he would eventually solve this problem. Likewise, as our relationships with God grow, we will not only find it much easier to hear God’s voice, we will also be able to discern when it is His voice that is calling us. The further away from God we are, the more “static” we will hear. We will find that we have so many voices speaking to us – the voices of our sinful desires, our past hurts, and our enemy – that we will be unable to distinguish between those voices and the voice of the most-high God. Whenever you are having trouble hearing God’s voice and discerning His calling for your life, learn to press in even closer to Him. Spend more time in His Word. Spend more time in His presence. As our relationship with God grows deeper and as we shift our focus more on Jesus Christ, we will start to hear from Him loud and clear, and we will be able to answer His calling by saying, “Here I am”.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
To follow me on Twitter for inspirational tweets, click the follow button – Follow @kevin_griggs
If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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- 1 Samuel 15 (asorensen.wordpress.com)
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Trusting God’s Plan
Daily Bible Reading – Ruth 3,4; Psalms 64,65; 2 Corinthians 6
Today’s Key Passage – Ruth 4:9-22
In today’s reading, we finish the story of Ruth. Yesterday, we read about her hardships. We found out that Ruth was a widow living in poverty. To feed herself and her mother-in-law, she found a field belonging to Boaz and gleaned. Today, the story is wrapped up when Boaz and Ruth get married and have a child. The story of Ruth is a good one – one that almost sounds like it would make a great plot for a movie. Picture this – a woman loses her husband and moves to a town far away where the only person she knows is her mother-in-law. There she lives in poverty until she receives charity from a man who owns some land. He notices her and they end up falling in love and having a baby. That is a great movie right? If that was the end of the story, it would still be a good one, but the story of Ruth has so much more to offer. You see, the child they had together was named Obed (which means worship). Obed would go on to have a child named Jesse, and Jesse would go on to have a child named David who would later become known as King David. King David’s genealogy would continue through a few more generations all the way to a baby born in a manger in Bethlehem. When Ruth married Boaz and had a child, she set off a chain of events that would culminate in the birth of Jesus Christ.
When I read the story of Ruth, I think about how she must have felt when she lost her husband. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain that must come with losing a spouse. On top of that, she found herself living in poverty, literally picking up scraps from a field to eat, and living in a foreign land. How easy would it have been for Ruth to start to question God? How easy would it have been for her to think God had completely left her? Throughout all of these hardships, though, Ruth remained dedicated and faithful to God. She trusted that God had a plan for her and that He would work out her situation in His time. God used her painful situation to bring about events that would lead to the greatest event in the history of mankind – the birth, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Of course, Ruth could not have possibly known this at the time. All she could see was her present situation. All she could see was her pain. When we face trials, no matter how bad they are, we can rest in knowing that God has a plan for us. Sometimes the trials we face, as painful as they may be, are absolutely necessary for God’s plan. If Ruth had not lost her husband and become poor, she never would have ended up in that field meeting the man she would marry, and she never would have given birth to a genealogical line that would end with Jesus Christ. Very often, when we face difficulties or when things do not go according to our “plans”, we find it difficult to see how our pain might turn out to be a great thing for us. We can only see a tiny dot in the big picture of life. God, however, can see the whole picture. He knows where each piece fits. We can trust His plan and we can have faith that everything He does is for the greater good.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
To follow me on Twitter for inspirational tweets, click the follow button – Follow @kevin_griggs
If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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Overflowing Comfort
Daily Bible Reading – Judges 11,12; Psalm 50; 2 Corinthians 1
Today’s Key Passage – 2 Corinthians 1:1-11
In the past, I have talked a lot about how God comforts us in our times of sorrow. When we are suffering, God provides us with comfort in many ways. We are comforted by His Word and by stories of the comfort He has provided for others during times of strife. We are comforted by His promises to us of eternal protection. We are comforted by the Holy Spirit living inside of us providing us with the encouragement to move forward. There are countless ways in which He provides us with His comfort. In today’s key passage, Paul touches on something a bit different, though. Paul talks about why God comforts us. Obviously, one reason God provides us with comfort in our times of need is because of His great love for us. He does not want to see us suffer since we are His children. However, there is another reason for His comfort that I would like us to really focus on today. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, Paul says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” See, God does not just comfort us for our own sake. He comforts us for the sake of others.
As followers of Christ, we learn to love others unconditionally by focusing on the unconditional love God has for us. Likewise, we can learn to comfort others by focusing on the comfort God provides to us. One of the primary ways God comforts us is by using our brothers and sisters in Christ. Have you ever noticed that when you are really down or things are going badly, another believer comes along and says just the right thing to make you feel better? This is an example of God using His people to provide us comfort. Have you ever been stuck in a bad mood but find your spirits lifted by a song on the radio? This is another example of God using His people to provide us comfort. God does this all the time, and the fact is that He wants to use YOU to help comfort someone else. He provides you with comfort in your time of need to the point of overflowing so that the level of comfort you have received from Him can be shared with others. When a person comes along and says the perfect thing that you need to hear in your time of distress, it is partly so that you will be able to say the perfect thing that someone else needs to hear in his time of distress. Focus on the ways in which God has comforted you in the past. Focus on what He has done to help you. Then, when you see others in need of comfort, share your comfort with them.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
To follow me on Twitter for inspirational tweets, click the follow button – Follow @kevin_griggs
If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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Needing Assurances
Daily Bible Reading – Judges 6,7; Psalm 52; 1 Corinthians 14
Today’s Key Passage – Judges 6:11-40
In today’s key passage, we read the story of Gideon, a simple farmer who was called by God to free the Israelites from the oppression of Midian. One day, while Gideon was threshing wheat, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him that he was going to save Israel from the Midianites. Gideon, being a farmer from a relatively weak clan, had serious doubts that he would be able to save Israel, but the Lord insisted that he was the right person for the job. Despite God’s confidence in him, he still needed assurances from God and asked for a sign. Gideon asked God to wait for him while he secured an offering to set before the Lord. When Gideon returned with the offering, the angel touched the tip of his staff to the meat and the unleavened bread, and fire immediately flared from the rock it was sitting on and consumed the offering. Gideon asked God for a sign, and God delivered!
Now, you would think that after seeing this miracle, Gideon would be satisfied that he really was the right man for the job of saving Israel. However, once again, Gideon needed more assurances from God, and he asked for another sign. In fact, three times Gideon asked God for assurances, and all three times God answered him in a big way. Gideon would eventually believe what God was telling him, and he would eventually go to battle against the Midianites. He would ultimately win the battle without ever lifting a sword against the Midianites and he would free the Israelites (for a time), but not before God did something truly amazing. See, God knew that Gideon was still afraid. He knew that Gideon was worried about this battle. He was worried about whether he would be good enough to win and whether his people would be good enough to win. God, however, knew that He was good enough to win any battle, so He made a little point to Gideon. Gideon was ready to attack with 32,000 men, but God told him that he had too many soldiers. God reduced the number of soldiers Gideon had to take into battle from 32,000 to 300, yet the 300 were still more than enough to triumph over the Midianites.
Reading this story today, I thought a lot about all of the people who need assurances in our present age. There are so many who question whether God exists and need assurances of His existence. There are others who feel so lost in the world and need assurances of His presence. Some feel like they have heard a calling from God to action, but need assurances that the calling is legitimate, while others, though they have been saved and have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, still need assurances that they will really get to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. From time to time, all of us, no matter what our circumstances, still need assurances. Fortunately, God’s assurances are all around us. We find His assurances in the beauty and scope of His creation. We find His assurances in the countless illustrations we find in His Word. We find His assurances in the small voice we hear while we commune with God through prayer. God’s assurances are literally everywhere. Like Gideon, though, we each must decide for ourselves what we will choose to do with these assurances. Will we accept God’s promises for us and have the faith and trust we need to move forward in our walk with Him, or will we continue to ask for even more assurances from Him as we make excuses to stand still. My prayer today is that each of you reading this, regardless what you are walking through in your life will find the assurances you need from Him. His assurances are there waiting for you. All you have to do is look for them and hold onto them as you step out in faith.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
To follow me on Twitter for inspirational tweets, click the follow button – Follow @kevin_griggs
If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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Keeping Promises
Daily Bible Reading – Joshua 12-14; 1 Corinthians 7
Today’s Key Passage – Joshua 14:6-15
Have you ever noticed that in today’s world when someone keeps a promise it is a pretty big deal? You read stories in newspapers, magazines, or on the Internet about a person keeping a promise, and it is written as if keeping the promise was an amazing thing. In our society today, the fact is that most people do not expect others to keep their promises. Politicians make promises to get elected that they do not intend to actually keep. People promise they will show up for an event and then cancel at the last minute or fail to show up at all. Couples make a promise in marriage and then quickly divorce at the first sign of trouble. It seems that in our present age, most people do not take promises very seriously. Because of this, most of us have learned through experience to guard our hearts to a certain degree. There are times when we all almost expect someone else to fail us. There are times when we expect others not to keep their promises. The sad thing is that this distrust for humans sometimes spills over onto God. Since we expect others not to keep their promises, it is easy for us to expect God not to keep His promises either. The Bible, however, provides us with plenty of evidence that God keeps His promises, and today’s key passage is a great example.
When the Israelites were first led out of Egypt, Moses sent spies into the Promised Land to gauge the strength of the opposing forces. Of the twelve spies that were sent, only two of them had a favorable report – Joshua and Caleb. While all of the other spies believed that the forces were too strong to oppose, Joshua and Caleb believed that God would be with them and would help them conquer the land. (To read more about this event in a related post entitled When Fear Overshadows Faith, CLICK HERE) Of course, we all know that at the time the Israelites chose not to listen to Joshua and Caleb and spent the next 40 years wandering around the desert. Because of his faith in God, however, God made a promise to Caleb. In Numbers 14:24, God said, “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” Now we fast-forward to a time 45 years later, after the Israelites conquered the promised land and were getting ready to divide the land amongst themselves. In today’s key passage, we find out that the promise God made 45 years earlier was fulfilled. In Joshua 14:13-14, we read, “Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.” Obviously, God does not put a time limit on His promises.
God is completely faithful to us, and He keeps all of His promises. Even if you have been hurt by others, God will never hurt you or forsake you. Even if others have lied to you, God will never lie to you. God made us many promises in the Bible, including the gift of salvation, and we can trust that His word is good. One of those promises is in Ephesians 1:11-14 where we read, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” Believe in God’s promises for you, and never doubt that He will be faithful to His word.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
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- A 600 year old promise fulfilled! (ilifejourney.wordpress.com)
- When Fear Overshadows Faith (dailybibleplan.com)
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Overcoming Obstacles
Daily Bible Reading – Deuteronomy 10-12; Mark 16
Today’s Key Passage – Mark 16:1-8
On the Sunday following Jesus’ death on the cross, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome made their way toward the tomb where Christ was buried. They carried with them spices to anoint Jesus’ body, which was a sign of love and respect at the time. The knew where they were going, because they had watched Joseph of Arimathea take Jesus’ body to this particular tomb on the night of His death. They saw Joseph place Jesus body in the tomb cut out of rock and they watched as he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb. From Matthew’s account of the Gospel (27:62-66), we know that Pilate placed guards at the tomb and sealed it to prevent anyone from trying to steal the body in an attempt to “fake” the resurrection. As the women walked toward the tomb, they thought about the obstacles that were in their way. They talked amongst themselves about the heavy stone that was blocking the opening of the tomb and they wondered how they were going to get inside to anoint Jesus’ body. They may have also wondered how they were going to get past the guards, as they would likely keep the women from tampering with the body. Looking back now to that walk toward the tomb, we might wonder what they thought they were going to accomplish by going there. All of the signs pointed to them not even being able to see Jesus’ body because there were too many obstacles in the way, but the women went anyway. They knew the obstacles that stood in their way, but they still took the journey and walked closer and closer to Jesus because they loved Him so much. When they arrived at the tomb, they found that the obstacles they had worried about were no longer an issue. The stone had been rolled away, and the guards were so afraid that they “shook and became like dead men”. (Matthew 28:4) That is when the women heard the good news for the first time – Jesus is alive!
There are many times in our lives when the obstacles in front of us might seem insurmountable. We may be tempted to think that we cannot go on; that we cannot possibly achieve our goals and we might as well just turn around and quit. The women walking toward the tomb that day could have felt like that. They might have been tempted to turn around and go home, but instead they kept on walking toward their Savior. When life’s obstacles seem too great for us to deal with, that is what we must do as well. Instead of quitting, we must keep walking toward Jesus. We must step out in faith because of our love for Jesus, and leave everything else to God. We must trust Him to help us along the way to overcome whatever obstacles life throws at us. The women did not know how their journey was going to turn out, but they knew that the one thing they could control was what they chose to do that morning, so they chose to keep walking toward Jesus. We do not know how our journey is going to turn out either, but we can keep walking toward Him, and trust that when we come to our expected obstacle we will find that God has already overcome it.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
To become a fan of The Daily Bible Plan’s Facebook Page, CLICK HERE.
To follow me on Twitter for inspirational tweets, click the follow button – Follow @kevin_griggs
If you like this post, please SHARE it with others to spread the Word of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
