by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Deuteronomy 30-31
If anyone doesn’t understand the importance of honoring Israel, let that person read Deuteronomy 30. Just as God had spoken to Abraham and told him that his descendents would go into another country and after 400 years be brought out by signs and wonders, God now speaks through Moses that the nation will eventually follow after other gods and be cast into many corners of the earth.
But at the right time, God will restore them. He will “gather them again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered them. ..If their outcasts are at the end of the earth, from there the Lord their God will gather them, and from there he will bring them back.” (V. 3-4).He will bring them back to their land and “they shall possess it”.(v.5).
In 1948, Israel was restored as a nation. (That’s what some of the ruckus is about over there. The Muslims don’t like them being there). Since that time, it has been a miracle what has happened.
Jews from all over the globe have moved to Israel – just like God promised in these verses. Without any good explanation, these people have had a desire to move to the land of Abraham, their father. Sometimes without even knowing it, they were being drawn by God Himself.
God will perform His Word. He knows the end from the beginning and when He says something will happen, rest assured, it will happen.
There are many more declarations which God has made, and they too will come to pass..
In the end, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. (Philippians 2:10). The blessed ones will say it this side of the grave.
Mark 15: 1-23
The crowds, the crowds. We love to be acclaimed by the crowds, don’t we?
That’s the nature of unregenerate man. He always wants to be highly esteemed.
So the leaders of the Jews fight for their place of honor, and deliver Jesus to the Romans. Now Pilate takes up his fight and pleases the crowd also.
He knows that the chief priests deliver Him because of envy, and that they stir up the crowds to want Barabbas, the thief, released instead of Jesus. But Pilate also wants to please the crowd, so he goes right along, in spite of his knowledge.
That desire for fame and reputation can be dangerous for any of us. Oh, I know that we won’t be called upon to kill Jesus. That day has come and gone. But when it isn’t popular, are we willing to stand up for Him?
Do we keep quiet when we should be holding Him up? Or is popularity more important?
In our day and in our culture boldness for Jesus may not be the norm. Yet there are many of our friends and acquaintances who have never met Him, and even may have a false idea of just who He is.
Are we willing to take the risk? If we get prompted by Holy Spirit to share with an individual at work, whom do we go with: God or man?
True disciples have to look foolish sometimes.
Lord, help me to be obedient, regardless of the cost. I’m Yours when its popular, and I’m Yours when it isn’t.
![Read The Bible Through, March 14]()
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Deuteronomy 20-22
When man has no developed conscience to know right from wrong, it takes bunches of laws to teach him. So we continue with the “sundry laws,” concerning what to do with unknown murders, how to treat your neighbors’ property, and how to deal with sexual sin and rebellious children. Tough laws!!
When I’m reading through passages like this, I always like to find some “gold nuggets,” which enlighten me. These are bits of truth which encourage me concerning our Christian walk.
One of these nuggets is 20:1 and following. “When you go into battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, don’t be afraid of them, for the Lord your God who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you.” Today we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but principalities and powers. In the natural, these enemies are greater than us, but they are small compared to our God. (more…)
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Deuteronomy 17-19
How do you keep people from Satan before they are equipped to fight against him? That is God’s challenge in dealing with the children of Israel.
Natural man is no match for the devil when he opens the door of his heart to enemy influence. There would come a time when Jesus would pay the price for the sin of Adam and send back Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of those who were His. Then those people would have the power to overcome the devil. But that time wasn’t here yet.
So God can’t teach the Israelites to stand against the devil; He has to settle for keeping them out of Satan’s territory. That’s why He is so strict about opening the doors to the devil.
When the people worship other gods, they are opening themselves to Satan, without even knowing it. When they are influenced by other pagans, or when they enter into sexual perversion, or when they take on the practices of the Canaanites, they open wide their hearts to be influenced away from the one true God. So our Father, out of His love for the people, keeps them from the evil one by harshly dealing with those who violate His parameters.
They must obey. That’s the only way their lives will be saved from their adversary.
When we keep in mind what God is dealing with and what is at stake, we understand the no tolerance policy of our Father. He has to keep a group of people faithful enough to God’s principles to be able to eventually bring his perfect sacrifice, Jesus, through them.
What a job! But our God accomplishes it, just like He will accomplish the rest of His Word. We have an awesome, Holy, powerful, loving God!
Mark 13:1-20
There are many interpretations concerning the end times. There are those who think all of this happened under Nero, when the Christians were fed to the lions, the temple was destroyed, and Jerusalem burned.
Yet, obviously, everything wasn’t over then, because we are still here. Many times there are seasons of prophecy being fulfilled, as certain aspects of the prophecy come around again and again. I think that this is what is happening here.
It seems to me that it would be hard to look around and not realize that we are in the end times. I don’t know how long this phase will last, but it’s hard to imagine things getting much worse.
This is not to bring fear, but wisdom. We should be actively pursuing our relationship with God. He is our refuge and strength, regardless of what is going on around us. We should also be actively sharing His love with those close by.
God’s Word is true, and His promises will come true.
Let’s commit ourselves to a greater pursuit of His presence, His Kingdom, and His plan.
“And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”(Daniel 12:3)
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Deuteronomy 8-10
Heads up as we see the Israelites approach the Promised Land. Remember, Egypt and the bondage to Pharoah resembled our lives and bondage to Satan before we were born again. We were able to cross the Red Sea (the blood of Jesus) by God’s mighty hand. Now we have a choice. There is a certain amount of wilderness to go through, but we can stay there and “hang out,” or we can press through to the Promised Land.
The Promised Land is the land full of the promises from God for healing, deliverance, blessed families, and provision. There are giants in the Promised Land; demonic forces which do not want you to have all that Jesus paid for. So we have to proceed as our Father directs.
We must worship Him with our whole hearts, and we must love others. And we are to have faith. If we are to live the God kind of life, we will not be prideful, because it is His goodness that provides the blessings. (more…)
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Deuteronomy 3, 4
“And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, in order that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers is giving you.”(4:1)
With this introduction, Moses begins one of his most inspiring messages to the Israelites. As he speaks, you can feel a father’s heart toward the people. Just think what he must be feeling. For the last forty plus years he has led this group on a mission from God.
He exhorts them to inquire from one end of the earth to the other and see if anything like this has ever been done before…”that a god has tried to go and take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?”(4:34)
The significance of their relationship with God is beyond anything ever seen or heard. But Moses knows how easy it is for people to forget unless they are reminded over and over. So he is gving them a final charge.
They must remember that “the Lord, He is God in Heaven above and in the earth below; there is no other.”(4:39)
He warns them of making idols with their hands. Today, idols are still made with hands, but they usually aren’t of wood or stone. They are bank accounts, stock portfolios, or even education – anything that you might trust more than God.
All of us have to guard our hearts so that we are locked into the One True God.
Mark 10:32-52
Blind Bartimaeus has faith and he boldly shows it. His crying out annoys the disciples, but not Jesus. Jesus hears the faith in his voice.
When Bartimaeus casts aside his cloak, he is showing faith. Blind people of that day wore cloaks to signify their handicap, so as he casts it aside, he is indicating that he won’t be needing it anymore.
“Go your way; your faith has made you well.”(v. 52) If we can just grasp this, our lives will change forever. Jesus is still in the healing and delivering business, and our faith can still make us well.
Read, meditate, believe. Read, meditate, believe. That’s the way our faith comes to us.
I want to be like Bartimaeus, and I know that you do also. I don’t want to settle for the status quo; I want to believe – and receive – God’s best.
