Knowing Truth

Sorry, I’m not very good with visions and things, so you’re on your own with Daniel. There are some really good commentaries that can help make sense of the names and prophecies and things.

I think our reading in 1 John 2:20-28 contains a very powerful idea.  The author concludes his argument by saying, in verses 27 and 28, that because the Holy Spirit lives in believers they don’t need anyone to teach them what is true and what is false. The Spirit is the teacher, and He only teaches what is true. Does that strike you as a powerful idea? It does me… I mean, sometimes life is confusing and there seem to be lots of gray areas. How do we know what is right and what is wrong, when so often it seems impossible to tell the difference? If we are to believe this passage of 1 John, then we can know with certainty what is true and what is false; we don’t have to be confused anymore. Verse 24 reminds us that we must stay faithful in our fellowship with God the Father and Jesus the Son, and it is on that foundation that the Spirit in us is able to guide us into holy discernment.

Psalm 121 has been one of my favorites since college, when I learned a song with these words. You know it? It asks: When I encounter hard times, where do I go for help? Do I look to the mountains? Or to people or to technology (to make the psalm more modern)? I think there’s a rhetorical answer to the question, “does my help come from there?”– NO! Our help, our only true help, comes from God, the maker of heaven and earth. From the Matthew Henry commentary: “We must see all our help in God; from him we must expect it, in his own way and time. This psalm teaches us to comfort ourselves in the Lord, when difficulties and dangers are greatest”. I like the imagery of the poem– of a God who never sleeps, for He is always watching over His children; He shades us from the hot sun and protects us from all other dangers; He keeps us safe wherever we go, forever and ever.

What promises we read today! A God who never slumbers in His care for us, a Spirit who lives within us and guides into truth… and the Love of a perfect Father for His children (1 John 3:1). My prayer as we begin to celebrate the Christmas season is that you will be struck anew by the miracle of the gospel, and the awesome beauty of a triune God who created us and continues to sustain us. May He keep you safe and full of joy.

 

WE HAVE MOVED

We have moved to our very own blog site! Please bookmark this new address:

 http://www.fcaoneyearbible.com

I’ve had some glitches late into the night, but I think everything on the new site is working. If you do find something that isn’t working correctly, please email me (in any window, the top right you will see “Contact” … send me an email with what seems to be malfunctioning, and I’ll work on it ASAP!

 

 

January 12th

Today’s Reading 

Genesis 26
It continues to amaze me how God chooses to use people to show 
Himself to others.  Take Isaac here who is cruising around the Valley 
of Gerar digging wells.  He struck water but that only brought 
quarreling and disputes among the people there.  But instead of 
continuing the disputes, he moves on and digs another well.  That 
water also results in quarreling and again he moves on and digs 
another well.  Finally no one disputes it and he settles down.  Then 
the coolest thing happens…the people that fought with Isaac came 
back to him and wanted to be on his side!  Why?  Because they saw the 
LORD was with Isaac!  Has this ever happened to you?  Have you ever 
exposed someone to the Living Water and all they want to do is 
quarrel and dispute over it?  I know that I have.  And there are 
times that I have let myself quarrel and gotten nowhere.  Yet there 
are other times when I have chosen to leave peacefully and to dig 
other wells.  And although it doesn’t happen all the time, there are 
a precious few times when those people who used to quarrel come back 
and want to know the truth.  Why?  Because even in our flawed 
attempts to be “Christians”, it will be evident that Christ is with 
us.  People will see Christ in us and they will want to be on our 
side.  Let’s continue to let His light shine because you never know 
when those people that used to argue with us will see the light and 
want to join in the party!
Matthew 9
What sticks out to me in this entire section is the continual 
misunderstanding of Jesus by the Pharisees.  They continually 
question his actions and his motives.  Because their entire religion 
was centered around works-based salvation, they just can’t grasp what 
Jesus is up to!  Jesus’ answer to them is to go and learn the meaning 
of, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”.  Growing up, I too had a works-
based concept of salvation (even though I didn’t really understand 
that I needed to be saved…but that’s not the point.)  The point is 
that the world around us tells us that we need to be “good people.”  
That we need to do and say the right things in order to be the right 
kind of person and to be accepted.  Yet Jesus’ answer is mercy not 
sacrifice.  So I’ve spent a little bit of time doing what Jesus said 
to do and trying to learn the meaning of, “I desire mercy, not 
sacrifice.”  A wise biblical scholar, Jen Price , told me that 
she’s heard Mercy defined as, “not getting judgement that you do 
deserve.”  And this is what Jesus DESIRES.  He desires to forgive 
us!  So He doesn’t want our hearts to be focused on sacrificing and 
trying to be perfect all the time because He desires to be merciful 
to us in our weakness and imperfections!  This has been a continual 
growth process in my walk with Christ.  More and more I am living in 
the FREEDOM of His mercy.  And it is in that freedom that we will 
have hearts that desire to serve Him.
I would love to hear anyone else’s thoughts on the meaning of “I 
desire mercy, not sacrifice.”  

 

 

 

January 11th

Today’s Reading

Genesis 24:52-26:16

Today we start with Rebekah making the journey back to become the wife of Isaac. God blesses Isaac and Rebekah with twins, but the babies are already fighting in the womb (Genesis 25:22). I think we get just small glimpse of Rebekah’s relationship with the Lord … her immediate response is to ask the Lord, “Why is this happening to me?” Sometimes I think that’s exactly the place God wants us … turning to Him immediately asking, “Why is this happening?”

The twins were born, and it seems their rivalry continues through their life. Esau, the older twin, sells his birthright as the first born son for a bowl of soup made by Jacob, the youngest son!! (Remember the Seinfeld episode with the Soup Guy … “No soup for you!”) We might have a hard time understanding the significance of the birthright in our culture, but (if I understand it correctly … please … someone comment and give us more information!) the eldest son would receive a double portion of the family inheritance. So, if there were two sons, the eldest would receive 2/3 of the inheritance, and youngest 1/3. There were also some other important associations with the birthright, which we’ll see in a few days as we continue the story of Jacob and Esau.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! Isaac gets caught in the SAME lie by the SAME king … He tells King Abimelech Rebekah is his sister … this is exactly the same stunt Abraham tried to pull!

Matthew 8:18-34

Ok … before you read any further, let me challenge you to go back and read this passage again … slowly. Imagine yourself as a disciple…

WOW … can you imagine the disciples’ amazement and realization that this Teacher they have been following around can control the weather! But wait … back up a second. When the storm picked up out on the lake, the disciples “went to Him and wok him up, shouting, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown.’” Do you see this? Why would they wake Jesus up, unless they thought He could do something about the storm? They are calling on Him for deliverance … “Lord, save us!” yet when Jesus does exactly that, they are shocked and in awe. Aren’t we like this so many times when we pray! We sort of half-heartedly mutter a prayer, not necessarily thinking it will be heard, let alone answered, so we are completely awed and amazed when it is answered! One of the ideas I loved from the Experiencing God study is this: When you pray, pay attention to the next thing that happens … it’s often God’s answer. Expect an answer! (I heard a great story about this just today … I hope Erin will share in the comments!! )

Psalm 10:1-15

Two quick things I liked in this Psalm … the first is verse 1:

O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I need you the most?

Can you relate? Oh my … that strikes home in my heart! Sometimes I don’t always put it to words, but that’s often how I feel … like God is standing far away, just watching the world sort of spin out of control. By the way, that’s one of the best reasons to use the Psalms as guides to pray … they put words to thoughts and emotions we have that we can’t seem to express!

The other thing I liked is verse 14:

But you do see the trouble and grie they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you. You are the defender of orphans.

I underlined that part, because I think the Psalmist realizes that even when God seems to be far off, He really still knows what’s happening, and He is involved in the process.

Proverbs 3:7-8

“Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom …” – can I get an “Amen!”

 

January 10th

Today’s Reading 

Wouldn’t life seem way less complicated if it were still the custom that our parent’s were responsible for picking our mate…or maybe that would be way more complicated:)  In Genesis 24, Abraham puts his servent Eliezer in charge of picking a wife for Isaac.  After some guidance from the Lord, the most important character trait was one of service.  Rebekah had a servant’s heart and demonstrated that by going out of her way to help out a complete stranger.  What an example Rebekah is for women today.  Appearance is important to us, and we spend time and money improving it.  But how much effort do we put into developing our inner beauty?  Patience, kindness, and joy are the beauty treatments that help us become truly lovely!

O How I love Proverbs 3:5-6!!  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.�  What incredible freedom we, believers are offered through trusting God with our future.  He tells us if we trust him, he will guide us and direct us into what career we are to pursue, relationship to be in, decision to make, ect.  So easy to say and so very hard to do!! 

I want to have the faith of the centurion!  In Matthew 8:5-13 was a very powerful story of the Roman officer amazing Jesus with his faith.  The centurion could of let so many obsticles get in his way between him and Jesus (Pride,doubt, money, language, distance, time, power, race, self-sufficiency).  I feel like living in America with all of the conviences, wealth, and power a lot of times it is hard to see our need for Jesus.  The Centurion’s faith is a good reminder of what the power of Christ in our lives could look like.

 

January 9, 2006

Today’s Reading

Genesis 20:1-22:24

Oh Abraham … don’t you want to say that! Once again he decides to take matters into his own hands, and he tells King Abimelech Sarah is his sister (because he’s afraid the king will kill him to take Sarah as his own wife). He doubts God’s protection, and he’s forgotten God’s promise … to bring him a son, through Sarah, within the next year. Sarah must have been one hot 90 year old woman for Abraham to have been concerned about this! He says, “I figured this to be a godless place.” I love the reality … “But one night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, ‘You are a dead man, for that woman you took is married.’” God Himself appeared to this apparently godless king!

I love the opening verses of chapter 21:

Then the Lord did exactly what He had promised. Sarah became pregnant, and she gave a son to Abraham in his old age. It all happened at the time God had said it would.”

God always keeps His promises! Always … and it always happens exactly in the timing He promised. Sometimes, like in this case, it takes incredible faith to believe in the promise, because we see the obstacles (such as a 90 year old woman and a 100 year old man conceiving a child!)

Now, imagine, you’ve waited for so many years for this promised child, and one day God says to you,

Take your son, your only son – yes Isaac, whom you love so much – and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you.

What has always fascinated me about Abraham’s life is the number of times he’s doubted God, taken things into his own hands, challenged God (like yesterday in the story with Sodom and Gomorrah), yet this time, when God asks him to kill the son he’s waited so long to have, he does so without so much as question. Certainly not the response I would have! What has happened to Abraham? What has changed? Maybe he just finally realized God’s ways are higher than his ways, and he can trust God with his whole life … even the life of his son!

Just as Abraham is ready to kill Isaac on the altar, God stops him and tells him not to do it. Instead, Abraham looks up and there is a ram caught in the bushes (once again … perfect timing!) Here we see another name of God given … Yaweh-yir’eh, or Jehovah Jireh as we may be more familiar with, which is what Abraham named that place … The Lord Will Provide.

Matthew 7:15-29

Maybe I’ll ruffle some feathers with this post, but what hits me in this passage is Jesus’ obvious emphasis on obedience.

Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as ‘Lord,’ but they still won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)

We probably all know people like this (and there are times we, ourselves, act like this). It isn’t enough to say you are a Christian, or even to say to God, “You are my Master.” What God is looking for is our sold-out obedience.

Jesus then tells the parable of the wise and foolish man. Those who listen to His teachings are like the wise man who builds his house with a firm foundation. Those who ignore His teaching are like the foolish man who builds his house on sand.

Here’s a discussion question for you … the grace God has given us through Jesus’ death on the cross is free … if only we will receive that grace. Why, then, is our obedience important? Use the comments to give your thoughts!

 

January 8, 2006

Today’s Reading

 Genesis 18:16-19:38 This is a difficult and uncomfortable passage.  I think the thing I am struck by the most is God’s mercy to a boldly pleading Abraham.  In 18:23, Abraham asks, “will you sweep away the righteous along with the wicked you are going to destroy?” and then says in 18:25, “Far be it from You to treat the righteous and the wicked alike.”  And then after trying to shame God with those questions, Abraham has the brass to bargain with God: “What if there are 50 righteous?  Will you spare them?  How about 45? 40? 30? 20? Ok, how about 10 righteous?  Abraham lowers the bar for saving Sodom each time and he goes to the well with God six times!  Six times!  For a city that didn’t even have 10 people who weren’t wicked!  What great patience God had with him and does with us when we pray.  Matthew 6:25-7:14 In this passage, Jesus is still preaching to the multitude and says, “Ask and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.  May we be as unrelenting in our entreaties to God as Abraham was in the Genesis passage, especially on behalf of others – those who may be stuck amidst a “Sodom” in their life.  May we be encouraged knowing not only what we ask will be given but, “how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”  (The exclamation point is the actual punctuation mark at the end of that last sentence!!).  And may our requests and prayers be reflective of Matthew 6:23, “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”  Psalm 8 “How majestic is Thy name in all the earth, Who has displayed Thy splendor above the heavens!…When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, The moon and stars, which Though hast ordained; What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him?  What is man that God would take thought of us?  He not only made us but He hears our pleadings as well (just like he did with Abraham!).  Our Father knows our needs and He cares for us (vs.4, MT 7:11).  He has crowned us with glory and majesty in this world (vs. 5) – may we be good stewards of those gifts He has given – He has made us to rule over the works of His hands (vs. 6)! Today at sunrise or sunset, take 15 minutes to watch the “glorious lamp of heaven the sun” (to quote Robert Herrick) and praise the Lord, Our Lord – How majestic is His name in all the earth! Proverbs 2:6-15 The Lord gives wisdom – discover the knowledge of God (vs. 2)!  Wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul (vs. 10)… discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you (vs. 11), and wisdom will deliver you from evil (vs. 12)! Matthew 7:7,8 – ask for wisdom!

 

January 7

Today’s Reading

How are you doing on the daily readings? I want to take a minute and encourage you! If you’ve missed a day or two, or maybe you’re just starting this journey, don’t be discouraged! If you’re behind in reading, take a couple of days to catch up, or just read the blog posts so you know what’s happening in the story … then start reading today. Please take advantage of the “comments” section to share what YOU’VE learned from the daily readings! The idea behind this is to interact with the daily readings as well as each other! I’m praying for you as you read!

Genesis 16:1-18:15

Abraham is quite a character! At times he demonstrates incredible faith … even faith that God credits to him as righteousness. But then there are times like this … when he obviously doubts God’s plans. In this passage Abraham decides to take things into his own hands. God has promised his descendants would be as many as the stars in the sky. Abraham and Sarah become tired of waiting on the fulfillment of this promise, so Sarah suggests Abraham conceive a child through one of her servants, Hagar. Can you imagine the family dynamics in that household!

This is one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament, as we are given one of the many names of God, El Roi (not to be confused with Elroy Jetson!) El Roi means, The God Who Sees. This name is given by Hagar after she realizes God sees the pain she is in. I love that … I have had this kind of experience more than once in my life … a sudden realization that God sees and cares about the difficulty I’m facing. Hagar returns to Abraham and Sarah’s home, but I doubt if the situation really improves … can you imagine the jealousy between these two women! But I think Hagar returns with the assurance God sees what she’s going through, and He cares deeply for her.

 

I’ve been known to “birth” Ishmaels in my life … ideas that were definitely my own as I attempted to speed up the process of waiting on the Lord for something. You may have heard someone ask the question, “Is that an Ishmael or an Isaac?” meaning, “Is that an idea you have conjured up on your own, or a God-child, birthed in a seemingly impossible situation?” Tomorrow we’ll read more about God’s fulfillment of His promise to Abraham and Sarah … to conceive a child through Sarah and make Abraham the father of many nations.

Matthew 6:1-24

There are lots of teachings packed into these 24 verses of the Sermon on the Mount, but in each teaching I see a common theme … Jesus wants us to avoid religious practices for their appearance. Let’s be honest … we’ve all probably done this at some point … we don’t want to do something (go to church, give to the poor, read your Bible) but we do it, not as an offering to the Lord, but because of who might be watching us. I don’t think Jesus wants us to avoid giving to the poor, homeless man we pass on the street, simply because there are people around, but I think He is asking us to check our motives … are we doing it because people are watching, or because we want to be salt and light and serve the Lord.

Do you have a prayer closet … a quiet place you can get away to and just be in God’s presence … no distractions and no one to see you? It’s kind of cool to read this passage on the same day as the Old Testament story … we serve El Roi (the God who sees … even tucked away in our closet!)

Psalm 7

The Psalms are such raw, unguarded emotions, and this is a great example. David is calling on God to vindicate him from the injustice of his enemies. He recognizes, “My shield is with God.” (vs 10).

Proverbs 2:1-5

This “formula” is almost too simple … if we accept God’s commands and pursue God’s wisdom (with the same passion as if we’re searching for a treasure) then we will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God!

 

January 6th…Sacrifice

Today’s Reading

 

Genesis 13:5-15:21
 

Sacrifice…it takes sacrifice.  It mentions throughout the Old Testament of people building altars to the Lord (13:8).  What is an altar?  It is a place of sacrifice.  Not that God needs our sacrifice, but we need to sacrifice.  Often when Abram is blessed he builds an altar in thanksgiving to God for the blessings he has been given.  He sacrifices what he has been given and is given more in return because he knows to “trust the Giver, not the gift.�

Sacrifice must be intentional.  It doesn’t happen without our consent.  It is something that we choose.  We must choose to remember the way God has provided for us in the past as God reminds Abram that He is the one that has given him all of this land (15:7). If we remember how God has led us before and will lead us again and again it might not seem like such a hard thing to sacrifice.  He may not work in our timing but He is faithful.

Sacrifice takes trust.  The things that God asks us to sacrifice may not always make sense to us in the moment.  In chapter 15 God asks Abram to get a three year old heifer, goat and ram, along with a dove and a pigeon.  Now that sounds pretty random and pointless to me.  Not quite knowing why yet trusting so much that he is willing to fight for them (15:11).  Yet this leads to more blessings (15:15, 15:18). 

Sacrifice is hard.  At least it seems hard to us to give up our own desires and our own plans or the way that we think things would work best.  How quickly we forget that when we give up something for the Lord’s sake He gives us even more in return. God never said that it would be easy.  In fact he guarantees Abram it will be hard.  “Know for certain that your descendants…will be mistreated four hundred years.  But…afterward they will come out with great possessions� (15:13-14).  

How can we remember the things God has done for us so that when He asks us to sacrifice things that seem crazy we can choose to trust Him, though it will be hard because we know He has something better for us?!
 

 

Matthew 5:27-48
 

Keep sacrificing!  God calls us to make sacrifices just as He did.  We must go the extra step to sacrifice our own desires.  In our sins we must sacrifice that which causes us to sin though it may seem an important part of us…like an eye, or a hand (5:27-30).   Even more in our lives we must give and keep giving, love and keep loving like our Father in heaven.  We are to imitate that of Christ to follow Him as our example, our perfect example and never stop seeking that (5:48).  He didn’t just love those who were easy to love, or do the things that were easy to do (5:46).  This is the power why He changed lives forever. His life looked different.  We are called to do more, we are called to sacrifice ourselves for Himself. 

 

Psalm 6:1-10
I can so relate to this prayer wondering how long God is going to take to show Himself but that’s where I usually stop.  I don’t get much past the groaning and frustration.  Yet David keeps going into declaration and expectancy.  “Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping…all my enemies will… turn back� (8-10).  He speaks out the truth God has promised in the power God has given us. 

 

Proverbs 1:29-33
Obedience from a fear of God is a choice (1:29).  We can choose waywardness…disobedience, and complacency….self-satisfaction (which P.S. is in opposition to sacrifice) or we can choose to listen to God and receive the blessing of safety and ease (32,33).  Choose to fear the Lord!

 

 

January 5th

Today’s Reading 

Genesis 11 – Genesis 13:4

Abram is one of the most amazing men in the Bible in my opinion, because of his obedience to God, and his steadfast hope in God’s promise. By faith, he leaves his people and his father’s household solely because of God’s promise. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.” It seems illogical that Abram could become a great nation, because he had no children AND his wife Sarai was barren. This raises up the challenge in my life: What is God asking me to do, and am I willing to become obedient? God’s logic doesn’t necessarily add up to my logic, and planning doesn’t always line up with my momentary desires or comfort. God is looking for people to do work for His kingdom. He also gives us the promise that He will not give us something we cannot handle, and will never leave or forsake us. We have two options: To shun God’s plan for us, or in the words of Paul “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:13-14)

Matthew 5:1-26

Jesus gives such hope to the weak and weary. The poor in spirit, the meek, the mourners, the pure in heart; Jesus has not forgotten them. He also gives strength to His people in times of hardship and persecution. “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven…” It is definitely against our human instinct to celebrate in the midst of suffering or persecution, but Jesus is telling us that is what our reaction should be.

So often in my life I try and blend in, as if it were a bad thing to be different. It is often easier to go with the flow and not be the sore thumb. Passing up on gossip can be hard. Forgiving when you have every right to be angry can be downright impossible. Monitoring the things we watch and the things we listen to can be frustrating and arduous. We are called to be different though. As Christians we are to be the “light of the world” and are to let our “light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Psalm 5

“But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple. Lead me, O Lord in your righteousness because of my enemies– make straight your way before me.” Ps. 5:7-8
I like this Psalm because it acknowledges that we only come into His house because of His great mercy. It has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Him. We should worship Him with reverence and awe because of this, and should be led by His righteousness.

Proverbs 1:24-28

“But since you rejected me when I called…I in turn will laugh at your disaster” –Prov. 1:24, 26

What sticks out to me here is that wisdom will mock those who shun it. When they look for wisdom, they shall not find it. I guess the moral here is to listen to wisdom and do the right thing the first time around, so one doesn’t have to learn from his mistakes. This is easier said than done.

 

January 4th

Today’s Reading

We don’t have an author for the 4th, but please read Mike’s comments at The One Year Bible Blog! You can still make comments for discussion on this blog.

 

Gen 6-8, In Pictures

So I don’t think I’m on the same page as everyone else w/ the daily readings, but I think that’s alright since this is a searchable database of sorts.  I’m basically reading 4 pages (in my Bible version) a day, which should work out to me finishing the OT in a year.  And since I can’t get myself to read in the morning, I do my readings before bed each night.  Last night I read on the Flood and Noah’s Sacrifice, so I had to write another post since this represents another key scene from the Sistene Chapel vault, which if you haven’t guessed by now, is a big passion of mine.  (I’m going to visit again for the 3rd time in April.)  So hopefully below you can see these two scenes — scenes 7 and 8 along the central vault Creation storyline — which are actually the only two scenes that were painted by Michaelangelo out of order.  This is thought to be the case b/c every other scene is framed, so he probably wanted to have the bigger scene used for the flood since there’s so much more action and characters involved.   These are some of the first scenes painted by Michaelangelo, so the characters are a little small… it wasn’t until halfway through the chapel that he was actually able to remove the scaffolding and view the frescoes from the floor, like 60 feet below.  After that (as you could see from the creation of man and of the universe scenes I posted yesterday) all the figures were much bigger and the scenes were simpler.  Aaanywho, what strikes me about these stories, and from these paintings, is the terrible wrath of God and his innate desire for justice.  What it must’ve been like to experience the flood!  I’m sure the levees breaking during hurricane Katrina would’ve been nothing compared to this deluge.  God was clearly livid, and this is way before we were even given commandments to live by!  So like Paul describes in Romans 1, and like CS Lewis describes in Mere Christianity, we do and always have had this moral fingerprint of God inscribed on our consciouses.  We are indeed made in His image, and we do indeed know right from wrong, without having to be told.  And He is a God of justice.  And Noah was a man of faith (as seen by his no-questions-asked ark building, and his post-flood sacrifices).  What a model for us today!  So I guess the question I ask myself after reading this is, how would I respond if God were to ask me to build an ark?  (Uh, unfortunately I think it’d be something like this:  “Whatchu talking bout, Willis?!”)

 

 

January 3

Today’s Reading

We do not have an author for the 3rd of the month, but thanks to the graciousness of another blog administrator, Mike, we will be linking to his site, The One Year Bible Blog.

If you would like to be an author for the FCA One Year Bible on the 3rd of the month, please let us know!

 

January 2

Today’s reading

Genesis 3:1-4:26

The story of the fall of Adam and Eve (and ultimately, all of us) always seems like such a sad chapter of human history. It’s a story of rebellion, of misplaced trust, of blame and lying, and in the end, of separation from God. Not exactly a great beginning to the history of God and His creation.

But I love that God continues to interact with people in spite of their sin (like Cain, in Genesis 4)… and that in spite of our hard hearts, we long to interact with God: “Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.” Genesis 4:26

 

Psalm 2

Verses 11-12 “Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way. For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

On rare occasions God lets me glimpse His glory, in nature or in acute awareness of my own wretched sinfulness, and when that happens my worship of God is less like a peppy Chris Tomlin song… and more like a trembling, weeping worship of God’s power and sovereignty. When was the last time you trembled and wept when you thought of God?

Isn’t it ironic that the only place I can be truly safe is in the arms of the God who possesses the ability to destroy me in the fire of His holy and righteous wrath? I like the way the author of Hebrews puts it: “Therefore, since we are recieving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’” (NIV)

Proverbs 1:7-9

I love Proverbs– it’s simple, pratical, and surprisingly witty. It’s a challenging book– the Message translation calls it a manual for living, and it is certainly a demanding manual. That’s why I’m glad Solomon (the author) tells us what our first step should be in our quest for a wise life. In the everyday language of the Message: “Start with God– the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning. Pay close attention, friend, to what your father tells you; never forget what you learned at your mother’s knee. Wear their counsel like flowers in your hair, like rings on your finger.”

 

Matthew 2:13-3:6

Three times in this section (2:15;2:17;2:23) Matthew tells us that an event happened to fulfill Old Testament prophecies. Matthew includes this information often in his book, no doubt to convince skeptical Hebrews who would be well acquainted with Old Testament history and prophecy. But you and I can also be convinced by this proof that Jesus was exactly who He claimed to be, and that God was planning all along to bring us salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. Somehow it makes me feel better to know that things did happen, are happening today, and will continue to happen according to His plan, and there is no better example of that than the life (and death) of Jesus.

 

May you feel today the consuming fire of God’s love for you. 

 

Gen 1, 2 — In Pictures

Not sure if these pictures are going to come through… this is my first post.  These are the scenes from the vault of the Sistene Chapel, frescoes painted by Michaelangelo between 1508 and 1512.  They gloriously depict creation scenes from Gen 1 and 2.  The first three are of non-human creation, and the second set of three are of the creation of man.  The order is this: separation of light from darkness; creation of sun, moon and plants; separation of sky and water; creation of adam; creation of eve; temptation in and expulsion from the Garden.  My favorite is the central scene, of God (as the powerfully intense and focused father-creator) reaching out to man (similarly powerful (“in His image”) but languid in pose, as if careless or unappreciative).  Michaelangelo’s visual interpretation of this incredible story is just beautiful.

(Click on pictures to see larger image)

    

 

 

January 1, 2006 – Welcome to the FCA One Year Bible!

Thanks for wanting to take this challenge to read through the Bible in 2006! My personal prayer for you is not that you would complete every reading every day (though I do hope you are able to find some consistency in that), but rather that you will fall more in love with Jesus and the Scriptures as you read! I hope you will be encouraged and challenged as we journey through this together! Feel free to share your thoughts and comments each day as you see fit! If along the way you have some suggestions as to how we can make this site more helpful, challenging, user friendly, or any other improvement, please let us know!

Today’s Reading (HCSB), Today’s Reading (NLT)

Genesis 1:1-2:25

The creation account … I guess what really sticks out to me as I read the story of the creation is actually found in the first two verses in just a few key words … “In the beginning God created … the earth was empty, a formless mass …” How much this tells us about our God!! Now, I’m no Picasso, but I do believe if you gave me some paint, some brushes, an easel, a canvas, and a few lessons, I could probably create something that someone somewhere might consider to be art! But that’s not the picture given here … God didn’t sit in front of a blank canvas with a bunch of materials (some dirt, some water, a few random cells, some stones, etc) and create the earth as we might create something. No … what we’re told here is there was literally nothing … it was emptiness, void of anything. And God, our Creator, formed, shaped, and fashioned everything we see out of NOTHING. Stop and think about that for just a moment, and it gives you just a glimpse of the power of the God we worship and serve! Not only is He incredibly artistic and creative, but He spoke into existence this universe out of complete nothingness!

Matthew 1:1-2:12

Ugh … a geneology on the first day!!! If you’re like me, you want to skip right to Matthew 1:18 … the good stuff … “Now this is how Jesus the Messiah was born.” After all, isn’t that the purpose of the Gospel writers … to tell us about Jesus’ life on earth? Well, yes … that is one of the purposes, but I think we have to at least ask why Matthew would spend his first 17 verses giving us this geneological information. It might be fun to refer back to this section as we read through the Old Testament, because we will encounter many of these names as we read. And we’ll probably find Jesus has anything but a spotless heritage! Three of the four women mentioned in this geneology are not even Jews! Why does Matthew, writing to a predominantly Jewish-Christian audience include these women in his list? It seems Matthew wants his readers to understand Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, but He was also the Savior of the nations. Matthew wants his readers to see God had always planned to save the nations, and Jesus is the fulfillment of His plan.

Psalm 1

I love this Psalm! I memorized it a few years ago. It’s such a great picture of how our lives should be … if only I were a little more like that tree, firmly planted by the life-giving stream of the Lord!

Proverbs 1:1-6

This is a brief introduction to Solomon’s purpose in writing the Proverbs … As we read them over the next 365 days, may we learn wisdom and discipline and may they give us knowledge and purpose!

 

Sign up to be an Author!

Thanks for being willing to be an author for the FCA One Year Bible! There are a few things you need to do before you can begin posting:

1. Sign up as a WordPress.com user. (You don’t ever need to actually use your own blog site, but if you would like, it’s a free service!
2. Email us and tell me your Word Press account name and which date of the month you would prefer as your assigned date, as well as a brief snippet I can include in our Author Profiles.
3. Read the Information for Authors page for more information when you get ready to do your first post.

Thanks so much for being willing to serve FCA in this way! I hope you will be blessed as much as we will be! Enjoy reading God’s Word in 2006!

 

Author Profiles

Jen Price (posting on the 1st and 11th of each month)

I am the Director of College Ministries in Southern California, and I direct the Campus ministry at UCSB. I have become very interested in the “blogging” world, so this venture is really fun for me! Check out my other blog, Some Java with Jesus and Jen. I’m very excited about the athletes I work with having the opportunity to fall in love with Scripture!

Raleigh Tillman (posting on the 2nd of each month)

My first experience with FCA was when I served for 10 months as an FCA Intern in Santa Barbara in 2004-2005! During that time I helped with the Huddles at Dos Pueblos High and Santa Barbara, as well as the UCSB FCA Huddle. While in Santa Barbara I also served as the goal keeper coach for Westmont College women’s soccer. I also served as Huddle Leader for FCA Camp in soccer. I graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2004, where I was a member of the women’s soccer team for four years. I am now working at a YMCA in Colorado Springs as I try to determine what’s next in life.

Alex Cardiasmenos (posting on the 5th of each month)

I just graduated from UCSB in December of 2005. I ran cross country and track for the UCSB Gauchos, and have been involved with FCA as a student leader. I’m currently looking for a job in engineering!

Loren Thornburg (posting on the 6th of each month)

I am a UCSB alum and was part of the original FCA Student Leadership team in 2001! I was a 4 year member of the UCSB Softball team, and following graduation I spent a year as a Volunteer Leader for the UCSB Huddle. I have also been a Huddle Leader for FCA Camp for three years! Currently I’m working on my Masters in Counselor Education at Augusta State. I also serve as an Assistant Coach for the Augusta State softball.

Kristen Dowling (posting on the 7th of each month)

Carter Shaw (posting on the 8th of each month)

I am an Assistant Basketball Coach for UCSB Women’s Basketball. I’ve been coaching at UCSB for 4 years. I’m involved in the monthly FCA Coaches Bible Study. I thought this would be a good way to be involved with the student ministry of FCA. I’m originally from Salt Lake City, UT.

Lauri Schakett (posting on the 9th of each month)

I am junior at UCSB, majoring in psychology with a minor in Exercise Science and Heath. Currently I am a member of the track team, running the 400 hurdles as well as training for the heptathlon. I have been a member of FCA since 2003 but did not get involved with leadership until last year. Hopefully, (if its His plan) I will be in some type of sports ministry after graduation. . .

April McDivitt (posting on the 10th of each month)

I am an Assistant Basketball Coach for UCSB women’s basketball, and I am also a Volunteer Leader for the UCSB FCA Huddle. After playing basketball for 3 years for the University of Tennessee, I transferred to UCSB to play my final year of basketball. Like Jen Price, I am also from the great basketball state of Indiana!

Kirsten McKnight (posting on the 12th of each month)

Debbie Haliday (Posting on the 13th of each month) 

I have been on staff with FCA since 1995 and currently I am the Regional Camp Director in Southern California. That’s a fancy way of saying I get to plan overnight camps and retreats for kids and adults who love sports…it is the dream job I never imagined I’d get to have. I also coach girls’ basketball at Hillcrest Christian School in Granada Hills, CA. I get to coach three seasons–4-5th graders, middle school and high school. It is probably the second most challenging thing I do. The most challenging (and amazing!) aspect of my life is that God has given me a husband Lance (23 years of marriage and counting!) and three kids. Matthew is 20, Ryan is 17 and Bethany Joy is 9. Life is full! And because the days are full and I want to be and love like Jesus more and more, I need to be spending time with Him in His Word. I’m excited to read through the Scriptures together and to share some thoughts once a month.

Grant Hurst (posting on the 14th of each month)

I am currently a senior on the men’s swimming team at UCSB and a member of the FCA Student Leadership team. I am also lead our worship team, playing the guitar and the djimbe.

Cheryl Baird (posting on the 15th of each month)

I grew up in Santa Barbara and still wear my SBHS colors proudly. I moved to the Midwest many years ago, graduated from Wheaton College and Trinity Seminary and live here in Wheaton w/ my husband Brian and three kids. I’ve helped out with some Rest & Renewal Retreats for FCA. I am a marriage and family therapist and when I’m not home I can be found working at our church, Blanchard Road Alliance.

Ashlee Stroud (posting on the 16th of each month)

I am currently a senior at UCSB majoring in Political Science and a part of the FCA Student Leadership team. I also do a little bit of singing with the FCA worship team.

Genevieve “G” Wilkinson (posting on the 17th of each month)

I have been involved with Southern California FCA since the summer of 1989, when I began serving as a Huddle Leader for Summer Camp. Since that time I have only missed one summer of FCA, serving a variety of roles during that time. I played college basketball at Occidental College. I now live in Santa Barbara and work at Westmont College as the Administrative Assistant to the Executive Vice President. I am working on my Masters of Arts in Theology from Fuller Seminary and my Master of Arts in Clinicial Psychology from Antioch University (I do a lot of reading and writing … what’s another blog!)

Preston Biller (posting on the 20th of each month)

I am a UCSB alum and was part of the original FCA Student Leadership team in 2001! I was a part of the Track and Field team fr 5 years and graduated in 2005. I am currently getting my credentials at CSU Channel Islands to become a high school math teacher. I would like to attempt some triathlons this year, but we’ll see how the training goes …

Hillary Murrah (posting on the 21st of each month)

I heard about the FCA One Year Bible through my roommate, Loren Thornburg (a UCSB softball/FCA alum!)

Erin McGrath (posting on the 22nd of each month)

I am on staff with FCA in the Sout

 

Introduction

I know … it sounds like an impossible challenge! Maybe you’ve tried before, and by January 6th you’re already 5 days behind. Well, why don’t you join the UCSB athletes, coaches, and FCA friends as we attempt to read the Bible through in 2006!

We will be following The One Year Bible Plan, made popular by Tyndale House’s One year Bible. You have several options in reading with us:

• Purchase The One Year Bible in your preferred version (FCA uses Holman Christian Standard Bible)
• Read from daily posts on this blog. To see an example of a daily reading for the exerpt from December 1, 2005. (we will use the on line One Year Bible)
• Print the reading schedule to keep with your own favorite Bible.

Each day’s reading will include an exerpt from the Old Testament, New Testmant, Psalms, and Proverbs. Join us for all four sections (about 20 minutes of reading each day) or just read one section (for example, just read the New Testament section and read through the New Testament in one year).

Each day a different “author” will share his/her perspective on the daily reading. It’s our hope that you will check this site every day and read the author’s perspective. By utilizing the “comments” on each post, it’s our hope we can have an on-line community, sharing and growing together through 2006! If you are interested in being an author, please sign up!

Sign up to take the challenge and read the entire Bible in 2006! Be sure to book mark this blog and return on January 1st to begin!

 

Post Example

Today’s Reading (from May 1st)

Judges 13-14:20

I’m certain it must be an incredible thing to have the doctor confirm “you are going to have a baby.” But what about when the angel of the Lord confirms a child’s arrival! Wow! I love Manoah’s plea to the Lord:

 ⁸ Then Manoah prayed to the LORD : “O LORD, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”

I’d want the Lord to tell me how to raise this specially announced child also! I think it’s incredible to Manoah and his wife’s response when they realize they’ve been in the presence of the Lord … they simply fall on their face in worship. I wonder how many times God has manifest Himself in my life, and I failed to recognize Him?

John 1:29-51

I love this passage, because I think it’s a great example of different ways people encounter Jesus!

• John the Baptist points Jesus out to two of his disciples, and they immediately follow Jesus. John the Baptist is a great example here of humility in ministry. It would have been so easy for him to want his disciples to stay with him, but instead, he clearly knew his purpose was to point others to Jesus, the Messiah.
• Andrew was one of those two disciples. After spending some time with Jesus, he immediately goes to his brother, Simon Peter, and tells him, “We have found the Messiah!” And then he brings him to Jesus. It’s worth noting that John mentions Andrew in his gospel on three times, and every time he is bringing people Jesus.
• Jesus found Phillip and said, “Follow me.”

Sometimes we must point others to Jesus, sometimes we must bring others to Jesus, and sometimes Jesus simply goes out on His own to find others! I have spent quite a bit of time wondering what it looks like today, in my life, to bring others to Jesus. So often we begin to think we must bring them to church or bring them to FCA or bring them to Bible study, and perhaps those are ways they can encounter Jesus, but the real question, is how do we bring them to Jesus! For it is only a personal encounter with Jesus that can change a person. Andrew was obviously changed by his encounter with Jesus, for he immediately realized Jesus was the Messiah. For us to be Andrews,bring others to Jesus, we need to spend time with Jesus and be changed.

    

  

  

  

 

Information for authors

First, THANK YOU for being willing to be one of our authors! Our hope is to have a minimum of 7 authors (one for ech day of the week) and a maximum of 31 authors (one for each day of the month).

Here are few instructions as you begin to post: (click here for a PDF version to print)

• To sign in as an author, go to the FCA One Year Bible Blog, and click on Log in (at the bottom right under “Meta”. (You must first be signed out of your own blog site to do this, so you may need to go to your blog, sign out, then return to this site).
• Because we want posts to be available immediately in the morning, we ask that you would write your post the day before, and use 2:00 am as the publish time (one of the links to the right of your post).
• Begin every post with a link to the daily reading from the One Year Bible Online. 
• Simply click on the month and day for your particular post, then copy the web address in the window. We’d prefer to use either the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) or the New Living Translation (NLT).
• In your post, type Today’s Reading and then highlight it.
• Click on the “Insert/edit link” icon and paste the web site (select “open in a new window”)
• Now begin writing your post! You can comment on one section of the reading (for example just Old Testament) or comment on each section (OT, NT, Psalms and Proverbs).
• You can be as creative as you would like with this! If you would like to include pictures that relate to the passage or your comments in some way, please do so!
• This is a great example of a  One Year Bible Blog. We thought about just using this blog, but decided it would be more fun to read thoughts of people we know or who are somehow connected with the FCA ministry! We also thought it would be great to gear comments to athletes and coaches where applicable!
• One of the benefits of having so many different authors is readers will really have a chance to see different thoughts and perspectives of Scripture. Let your posts reflect your personality, your own experiences, and what God is teaching you as you read. Don’t try to “conform” with the way other authors post … be yourself!
• Make sure you select your name as the post author (to the right).
• It would be really helpful if you would choose a category for your comments. For example, if you were posting about John 1, you might use/create a category “Baptism”. You can create as many categories for your post as you think might be helpful.
• This will allow readers to search the entire blog by category (rather than sifting through 365 days of reading!)
• You can see how this can be a great tool for our athletes and coaches as they grow in their faith!

 For your first post, you may want to get on the site two days early and become familiar with the blog! If you have any questions, contact us ASAP!