Day 90 Bible Reading - Luke 8: 22-25 (ESV)

Numbers 30, Numbers 31: 1-24, Luke 8: 19-39, Psalm 48: 9-14

Luke 8: 22-25 (ESV)

“One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?””

Verses 22 through 25 from Luke 8 remind me that even though the disciples of Jesus trusted him and had seen all the miracles that he had performed, they still panicked. But I don’t blame the disciples. I think that this is the way of human nature, that we always constantly doubt even though we know better. Isn’t our life like that sometimes? Our faith is tested. We have this incredible faith in Christ and our life is calm and going forward. We think our faith is so unshakable. Then a storm comes along in our life, and our calm life goes into a tailspin and our faith disappears. We think God is punishing us, or worse has forgotten us. But then we pray and Jesus helps us through the storm and gets our life back to calm waters. And I can imagine Christ saying to us “Where is your faith?”

Day 89 Bible Reading - Luke 8: 4-8 (ESV)

Numbers 28 and 29, Luke 8: 1-18, Psalm 48: 1-8

Luke 8: 4-8 (ESV)

“And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable,  “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.  And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.  And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.””

I read a commentary on verses 4 through 8 from Luke 8 which was new for me. Instead of thinking we are one of the soils (the path, the rock, the thorns, and the good soil), we should see ourselves in seeing bit our ourselves in all four soils.

Sometimes we are like the path where we allow the word of God to have no room in our lives. Sometimes we are like the rock when we have feel moved by the word of God, but whatever we feel is quickly burnt out. Sometimes we are like the thorns because we hear the word of God, but the cares of lives and the love of money are constantly threatening to choke out God’s word and our faithfulness. And finally, sometimes we are like the good soil because the word of God takes root in our heart, mind, and soul and bears fruit in our lives.

I think if we can determine what type of soil we are that day when we hear God’s word, we can figure out how to turn it around and make sure God’s words takes root in our hearts, mind, and soul and bears fruit in our lives.

Day 88 Bible Reading - Numbers 27

Numbers 26 and 27, Luke 7: 36-50, Psalm 47

Numbers 27: 18-21 (ESV)

“So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.””

Verses 18 through 21 from Numbers 27 remind us of the value of waiting. Joshua waited patiently as second in command to Moses. He did everything that was asked of him, and he was eventually rewarded by God to lead after Moses. The promotion of Joshua shows us that God does see everything that we do, and if we are patient and trusting in God, then eventually God will promote us to where we need to be. I think the hardest part is the waiting. The waiting plays with your mind and makes you distrust God and lose your faith. But if we can wait long enough, God always has a plan for us. He knows our strengths and weaknesses and will put us in a position that benefits us and his plan for humanity. But the waiting is hard, so very hard.

Day 87 Bible Reading – Happy Good Friday! Luke 7

Numbers 24 and 25, Luke 7: 15-35, Psalm 46

Luke 7: 34 (ESV)

“The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”

I heard an interesting interpretation of verse 34 from Luke 7 by David Guzik, a pastor at the Calvary Chapel of Santa Barbara – see his commentary (https://enduringword.com/media/luke-7-witness-forgiven-woman/). Religious leaders at the time didn’t want to associate with sinful people because it was a badge of honor to do that. That’s why they made this comment about Jesus. But Guzik said that Jesus was a friend of tax collectors and sinners because he loved them and wanted to meet them where they were at. He did not despise them. His heart and compassion went out to them because he wanted to help and rescue them from their sin, to transform their lives so they are no longer under the bondage of sin. Jesus loved sinners just the way they are, but he loved them too much to leave them where they were at and wanted to transform their lies. I love this interpretation. Jesus loves me enough just the way I am, but he loved me too much to leave me where I am. He wants to transform my life and free me from the bondage of sin. People get it so wrong. Yes, Jesus loves us as sinners and accepts us, but that acceptance doesn’t come without wanting us to transform our lives from sin. That’s the power of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins on the cross. He died for our sins on the cross, otherwise it would be us instead of him on the cross.