Day 72: Mark 9:14-Luke 1:80 - 90 Day Challenge

Who are you for? 


In Mark 9:40 we are faced with a fact: "Whoever is not against us is for us." Whoever is not against the Lord is for Him. Believe in the resurrection, follow Christ's ways, believe in Him. And the Lord will make things possible (Mark 10:27)--so I ask you, who are you for? 

In Mark 11 we see Jesus's triumphant entry into the city where he will later be crucified. The people are shouting, "Hosanna in the highest!" they're throwing down their robes and palm leaves and making a path for him. But remember, he's riding a donkey. Just like his "triumphant" entrance into the world (in a barn, in a manger) Jesus is a man for the people. He's not on a majestic white horse--he's on a donkey. And he still accumulated a following of people. 

Then we go through the betrayal and denial and crucifixion and resurrection once again. 

And we're brought into Luke chapter 1. Luke 1 goes into much greater detail about how Jesus's birth, as well as the birth of John the Baptist, was foretold. Luke also declares why he is writing this gospel, it's because everyone will try to make connections, and he wants to show where the connections actually lie. I have a feeling Luke is going to be a bit more detailed than the last two gospels we read. 

There is one thing specifically that I'd like to point out. One concept is reiterated in Luke 1: 

In case anyone here is missing the point: there is nothing that cannot be done when one has strong faith in God, and in His power. The power of prayer is real. I've witnessed it first hand, I'm sure many of you have too--even if you haven't realized it. 

Tomorrow's reading: Luke 2:1-Luke 9:62
Have a wonderful day!
Jill Jafarace
Director of Student Ministries
New Leaf UMC


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 1: Genesis 1:1-Genesis 16:16 - 90 Day Bible Challenge

Image
And so it begins!  Our journey through the Bible begins right here, at the creation of everything.  What a busy  reading. So much happened! Let's break it down... The Earth, heavens, animals, and man were created. The first sin happened and God cursed the first man and the first woman (Adam and Eve). Their child killed his brother and was banished. The generations leading up to Noah became corrupt and made the Earth an evil place. God commanded Noah to build an ark and collect two of each animal. God flooded the Earth to cleanse it of evil, and Noah was trapped on an ark with his family and thousands of animals. God made a covenant to never flood the Earth again. Making rainbows a sign of his covenant. Noah had three sons, and from each of them there was a new nation.  Some of the nations tried to build a tower to reach the heavens and rule over the Earth, so God created many languages to make evil plotting more difficult.  Abram, Sarai, and Lot took a vacation
Read more

Day 35: Nehemiah 1:1-Nehemiah 13:14

Image
A Nation Reborn Nehemiah's Journey to Deliver the People of Israel Maybe you've just been catching up on the Bible through the quick summaries I post, which is fine! But I highly recommend reading Nehemiah when you get the chance.  Nehemiah begins by rebuilding the temple against the will of all the other leaders. He convinces them all to allow the Israelites to rebuild anyway. (Nehemiah 4:14--Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and daughters, your wives and your homes.)  He helps the poor, who were forced to pay a hefty tax, and give their land to the kings. They continue to rebuild. Nehemiah commissions Ezra (the scribe from yesterday's reading) to read aloud the Book of Law, where we hear, "Do not grieve. For the joy of the Lord is your strength," (Nehemiah 8:10).  Nehemiah 9-10 is what we've all been waiting to hear! The repentance of the Israelites and their
Read more

Day 22: 1 Samuel 28:20-2 Samuel 12:10 -90 Day Challenge

Image
Nobody's Perfect  Temptation is Blind I think it's important to start out by saying we are officially 1/4 of the way through the Bible! (Yes, the 90 Day Bible Challenge is actually an 88 Day Bible Challenge). That's awesome! If you've made it this far, you've got the rest of this, if you're just starting today, it's not too late!  So today's reading was wonderful and weird.  It started out in 1 Samuel with the Lord rebuking Saul  for being a horrible king, David defeating the Amalekites, and Saul dying by his own sword.  David hears of Saul's death by a man who claimed to have killed him (this did not actually happen, he's just trying to gain David's favor) and delivers the crown to David. David strikes this man down and mourns for Saul and Jonathon (Saul's son who was extremely nice to David).  David is made king over the tribe of Judah, but the remaining sons of Saul continue to rule the other tribes. There ar
Read more