Day 47 Bible Readings – Mark 2: 16-17 (ESV)

Exodus 19 & 20, Mark 1: 29-45, Mark 2: 1-17, Psalm 30: 8-12

Mark 2: 16-17 (ESV)

“And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

In verses 16 and 17 from Mark 2, Jesus tells the scribes the Pharisees that he eats with tax collectors and sinners because he came to be with the sinners who are sick and not with those who have no need of a physician. I love this line from Jesus. I always think of Jesus as so amazing and when I read the stories of his disciples and other people of faith, I think of them as amazing people as well. These verses remind me that Jesus didn’t come for the amazing people. He came for the sinners. He came to redeem people from their sins, and he is the greatest doctor to heal us from our sins. But the words of Jesus also remind that he loves me exactly for who I am sins and warts and all. That I don’t have to be an amazing person but maybe with God’s help and if it’s part of his plan for my life, I will become an amazing person and follower of Jesus Christ.

Day 46 Bible Readings – Exodus 17: 11-13 (ESV)

Exodus 17 & 18, Mark 1: 1-28, Psalm 30: 1-7

Exodus 17: 11-13 (ESV)

“Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.”

Verses 11 through 13 from Exodus 17 shows us the value of having other people helping us with prayer. Moses was praying for Israel to prevail against the Amalekites by holding up his hand, but when he grew weary and lowered his hand the Amalekites started winning again. Aaron and Hur helped Moses to pray until Joshua and his men defeated the people of Amalek. If I am praying for something and it hasn’t happened yet, I often reach out to get other people to help pray with me and get their intercessory help with my prayers. Having other people pray with me or do intercessory prayer on my behalf has always helped me to get my prayers answered. Intercessory prayer isn’t always a guarantee that my prayers will be answered, but I think most of the time it does help. When I pray with other people, I am always awestruck by how other people pray. Their way of praying is so different than mine, and I am in awe of their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I love praying with other people because just listening to other people helps to strengthen my own faith.

              

Day 45 Bible Readings – Matthew 28: 12-15 (ESV)

Exodus 15 & 16, Matthew 28, Psalm 29

Matthew 28: 12-15 (ESV)

“And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.”

Verses 12 through 15 from Matthew 28 shows how people have doubted the resurrection of Christ, even though there were witnesses to the many miracles that took place before, during, and after Christ died. Reading these verses makes me think this was probably the first written example of a disinformation campaign and the original conspiracy theory. The Hebrew priests were so afraid of the teachings of Christ that they came up with this coverup story of the resurrection of Christ and created a disinformation campaign so powerful that it still persists to this day. But no matter how powerful the coverup, it is testament to the power of Christ that his teachings flourished and is still going strong to this day.

Day 44 Bible Readings – Matthew 27: 45 (ESV)

Exodus 13 & 14, Matthew 27: 45-66, Psalm 28

Matthew 27: 45 (ESV)

“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.”

Verse 45 from Matthew is a description of what was happening I the sky while Jesus was on the cross and dying. I’ve always found this verse so interesting. At first I thought that maybe there had been an eclipse that had happened while Jesus was dying on the cross. But as I was reading through several Bible commentaries, I found out there was not a natural eclipse of the sun. Jeus was on the cross for about 6 hours from 9 am in the morning until 3 pm in the afternoon. The darkness happened from 12 noon till about 3 pm, which is much longer than other eclipses. Bible scholars have noted that the darkness happened during a full moon, and it is said that it would be impossible for there to be a natural eclipse of the sun. I love how this darkness could be considered a miracle of sorts, and I am sure it seemed that way to the people who were watching Jesus die on the cross. It must have seemed as if the world itself was in agony when the sky darkened. If the sky getting dark wasn’t a sure sign that Jesus was the son of God, there would be more to come. But I love how the sky darkening reflected the agony that the followers of Jesus must have felt as they watched him dying on the cross.