Day 36 Bible Reading

Job 34-36, Matthew 24: 1-31, Psalm 18: 43-50

Matthew 24: 4-7 (ESV)

“And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.”

Verses 4-7 from Matthew 24 made me think about whether we are now living in this time described by Christ. Because of social media we live in a time when people can become famous very quickly. Something they’ve said or done goes “viral” and they get millions of views. I don’t believe anyone has said that they are “the Christ”, but they come very close in terms of their influence and fame. People follow them until something happens and their new “idol” becomes tarnished. We hear rumors of wars, and sometimes it feels like nations are ready to go to war with each other. There are famines but they are not widespread yet, but there does seem to be a rise in earthquakes around the world. Are we in the end times? I don’t know. All I know is our world is shifting quickly and because of social media, we know about it in “real time”. I think what we need to hold onto in our seemingly “chaotic” world is The Bible and the teachings of Christ. They have survived for over 2,000 years in a world that is always changing and in times of world wars has been even more chaotic than they are now.

Day 35 Bible Reading

Job 31-33, Matthew 23, Psalm 18: 27-42

Matthew 23: 8-10 (ESV)

“But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.”

Verses 8-10 from Matthew 23 reminded me today I shouldn’t hold anyone up as greater than Christ. I can read commentary about the Bible from others, but my true authority is how I understand the text for myself according to my relationship with Christ. I felt convicted when I read these verses because there are so many people I admire and read their words and listen to them speak. I read everything they put out, buy all their books, listen to their podcasts if they have them, and ponder their words. These verses are reminding me that no one should stand above Christ for my authority. That when push comes to shove, the words of Christ and in the Bible are my true authority. Sadly some of the people I admire and listen to don’t have a relationship with Christ, but they are true giants in their areas of study. I know I have to be careful because their words and their theories do not have Christ at the center. And I think Jesus is reminding me as well with these verses that my true authority should only come Christ. He is my one teacher, my one father, and my one instructor. I need no other but Christ.

Day 34 Bible Reading

Job 28-30, Matthew 22, Psalm 18: 25-36

Psalm 18: 28 (ESV)

“For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness.”

I love Bible verses such Verse 28 from Psalm 18 that talk about God being a light in the darkness. When I am in a dark space of fear, hopelessness, abandonment, or even confusion, I look to God to help me find my way out of the darkness. And even when I am feeling so lost that I forget sometimes that I have a relationship with Christ, it is he who reaches out to me to let me know that I need to call out to him, to reach for the light, and that light will help me find a way out of the darkness. I had a bad dream a few months ago where I was in a dark hall, and I kept calling out for someone to turn on the light so I could see and not feel afraid. In the dream. Eventually someone turned on the light and I felt the fear leave me immediately, and I woke up. In the dream I didn’t see who was it that turned on the light, but as I was thinking about what happened in the dream I realized that it was Christ who did it. Christ will always be the one to turn on the light in the darkness, and no one else, but Christ.

Day 33 Bible Readings - Matthew 21: 45-46 (ESV)

Job 25-27, Matthew 21: 33-46, Psalm 16-24

Matthew 21: 45-46 (ESV)

“When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.”

Verses 45-46 from Matthew 21 made me reflect how these verses from the Bible are reflecting what we sometimes go through in life today. There seems to be a parallel between “chief priests and Pharisees” and mainstream media. Do we rely on mainstream media to tell us who to believe and who to not believe? Or do we as Christians rely on The Bible and our relationship with Christ and the Holy Spirit to guide us? If Christ were to show up today, would he be ridiculed and persecuted in the news because he did not follow their narrative? Who would we believe if we had personally experienced the teachings of Christ or had seen a YouTube video of him of one of his parables? Is our relationship with Christ strong enough to ignore what the mainstream media or the so-called “experts” are telling us? In my case, I try to first rely on my own discernment and then I pray to Christ and the Holy Spirit to guide me for more guidance. Christ has guided me my whole life and I have years of seeing and knowing that his plan for my life has always been correct. Christ is the only standard that I know I can trust because I know he has never failed me. And yes, sometimes it does feel like that I have been swimming upstream these last few years as I have relied on Christ to make decisions for my life. But I can only do that because I have many years of experience of relying on God’s guidance and seeing how better my life has been because of it.