December 26, 2022
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in our Advent readings from “The Life of Jesus”? Here’s today’s reading:
Day 26 in the Book: “The Life of Jesus“
The Year of Growing Opposition
Read Sections 4.9 through 4.12 (pages 77-80)
This book is an account of Jesus’ life and teachings told through in chronological order from the four Gospels to create one continuous story.
*If you do not have a copy of the book please contact the church at (401)667-0775 and we can get you a copy.
Again Jesus must remind the Pharisees the importance of your heart and not just the law. Sharing the heart of God to help others and to follow Him is what is important. Having faith like the Canaanite woman is what God is looking for not our ability to follow rules alone.
Again Jesus feeds so many people and even more so He is feeding them spiritually!
I just finished reading all the readings up to day 26. I was amazed at Jesus’s teachings contained so much repetition. I have not been a reader of the Bible. I am still learning and understanding Gods word and how impactful they are to my life. This little book has impacted my life and faith in God. I read it then reread it to make sure I believe in His word. I want to incorporate it totally into my life and beliefs. Repetition is a good and useful tool to learning which brings me back to why I am writing this in the comment section.
Amen Penny!
Day 25
4.9 – 4.12
Have to comment on Jesus walking on water. Sends the apostles out late evening. They struggle rowing against a storm not making any headway. Jesus comes to them early the next morning. That’s a LONG night. Why? Especially in this country we want immediate fixing. Hard lesson to learn. But the lesson is God empties ourselves of all possible earthly solutions so that the only answer left is Him. The prince of peace.!! Jesus comes to them in the morning still a storm raging and he walks right on top of what the apostles were afraid of!! Peter is the only one out of 12 that gets out of the boat. And what a lesson. In a storm keep your eyes on Jesus. You will go through with supernatural peace which surpasses all understanding!
How many outward things legalistic people put significance on that have no moral value in and of themselves. It matters far more what is in our hearts that determines whether something is right or wrong, based naturally on what God says is right and wrong. But it is not what goes into a person that matters, but what comes out. And Jesus’ interaction with this Canaanite woman is an interesting one. It shows that Jesus is not afraid of requiring us to dig deeper before He resolves things for us. If God puts up a barrier before us, sometimes it is because He is asking us to press Him more. And with all the people that Jesus is healing, some from a distance, some up close, but only by a word and then other times Jesus using a physical demonstration or action to accomplish the healing. It cannot be because the physical action is required in order to heal. So it must be to benefit the person being healed in some way: to validate the healing to them, to provide physical contact, or connect something physical to the faith they are having in Jesus to heal. And Jesus feeds a bunch of people yet again. Some do say this is a different account of the same event of the feeding of the 5,000. I do believe they are distinct. But one does wonder why one instance doesn’t cause the disciples to realize they don’t need to have the people go find food because Jesus can feed them. But then again, the disciples have shown themselves to be pretty clueless at times.
Jesus was not afraid to tell the leaders that what they were focusing on was not right. It is not wrong if traditions, rules and restrictions on food are not followed, but it is those things that we stir up within ourselves that is wrong such as jelousy, bitterness, lying, stealing etc. When we are aware of this, we can free ourselves up to work on our evil nature, and do things like studying the Bible and depending on the Holy Spirit to guide us towards the right way to live.
Jesus was, and still is, the Great Physician. He healed a lot people while he was on the Earth! He has compassion for people who are in pain and suffering, and he wants to make them well. What’s more, he wants people to repent, stop sinning, and have a right relationship with his Father, God.
Amen Shelly!