Day 48 Bible Readings – Psalm 31: 7-8 (ESV)

Exodus 21 & 22, Mark 2: 18-28, Mark 3: 1-30, Psalm 31: 1-8

Psalm 31: 7-8 (ESV)

“I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul, and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.”

Of all the Bible readings for today, verses 7 and 8 from Psalm 31 brought tears to my eyes. I often think that God knows me better than anyone knows me, better than I know even know myself. I know that God has seen the troubles in my life because he has always helped me get through them. I know that God has seen the distress of my soul because I know I can count on God to send me healing love when I am in any kind of distress. And I definitely know that God has always taken care of me and never delivered me into the hand of my enemies because no matter what happened in my life, I always seem to end up in a better place.

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.