Day 83 Bible Readings – Luke 5: 31-32 (ESV)

Numbers 17 & 18, Luke 5: 17-32, Psalm 50: 1-15

Luke 5: 31-32 (ESV)

“And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

In verses 31 and 32 from Luke 5, the Pharisees and scribes ask Jesus why he dines with tax collectors and sinners. Christ tells them he came to call the sinners to repent because they are sick with sin. One author of a Bible commentary called Christ a “physician of the soul”. The problem with the Pharisees and scribes is that they did not think they were sinners because they strictly followed the laws, even though Jesus has called them hypocrites. If your life is good and you don’t have any pressing material needs, it can be hard to realize that you need Christ in your life. People who have committed big sins like murder or stealing know they need repentance from God. But a sin is a sin whether you’ve done the deed or just thought of doing the deed. People who tend to be very successful in life don’t think they need God. Their life is great, and they do not need anything. But whether your life is successful or not, you need to ask yourself if you are happy and if you have peace in your life. If your life is not happy and full of miracles and peace, then you need Christ in your life. Only a relationship with God can lead a person to true happiness, miraculous days and nights, and unending peace.

Day 82 Bible Readings – Psalm 49: 10-12 (ESV)

Numbers 16, Luke 4: 38-44, Luke 5: 1-16, Psalm 49

Psalm 49: 10-12 (ESV)

“For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. Man in his pomp will not remain he is like the beasts that perish.”

In verses 10 through 12 from Psalm 49, the Psalmist tells us everyone dies including those with wealth. Even if the wealthy man owned much land and named the land after him, the final home of the wealthy man is grave. In other words, we cannot take our wealth with us when we die. Nor can our treasures be stores in the next world that we will inhabit when we Die. Despite all a person’s wealth, they will still die like any common animal. These verses applied to people during the time this Psalm was written and can still be applied to our time today. Many people pursue wealth, but in the end none of it matters when we die. If we trust in our wealth or boast of our riches, at the end of our life we will still die like an animal. We should instead trust in God and be proud of spiritual things, so we can live eternally and not go to the Pit.

Day 81 Bible Readings – Luke 4: 33-34 (ESV)

Numbers 14 & 15, Luke 4: 14-37, Psalm 48: 9-14

Luke 4: 33-34 (ESV)

“And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”

In verses 33 and 34 from Luke 4, the spirit of the unclean demon recognized Jesus Christ as a holy person and called out to him. I find it so interesting that the unclean demon knew who Christ was and recognized him as a Holy person, and the Pharisees would not believe that Christ was who he said he was. The Bible tells us that detailed reports were given to Pharisees about the miracles that Christ performed, so I am going to assume The Pharisees would have read what the demons said about Christ. The Pharisees had evidence that even the demons knew who Christ was, yet they still refused to recognize Christ as even a Holy person. I was in a class at my church today and we talked about why the Jewish people did not want to believe that Christ was the Messiah. One person suggested that people in Christ’s time thought the Messiah would be someone who would free them from the occupation of the Romans. When they found out Christ came to free them sin instead, they could not accept it. But if you think about it Christ may not have freed the people of Israel from the Romans during his lifetime, but the people who had faith in Jesus Christ would conquer the Romans and religion of Christ would become the official religion of Rome. I think Christ did conquer the Romans, but not till years later. So Christ did what the people of Israel wanted a Messiah to do, just not in the way they wanted.

Day 80 Bible Readings for March 22 – Luke 4: 3-4 (ESV)

Numbers 12 & 13, Luke 3: 23-38, Luke 4: 1-13, Psalm 48: 1-8

Luke 4: 3-4 (ESV)

“The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

In verses 3 and 4 from Luke 4, the Devil tempted Jesus to make stone into bread. Jesus had fasted while he was in the desert and was hungry. Jesus answered the Devil with a verse from the Old Testament, with Deuteronomy 8: 3. Jesus was tempted two (2) more times by the Devil and each time he answered the Devil with two more verses from Deuteronomy. Christ gave us the perfect example of how to battle temptation by knowing the Bible verses by heart and using them when we are facing temptation. The Bible has every answer to any temptation that we face. We might not know them by heart, but we can research which Bible verses to use when we are facing temptation.