Matthew 1:18-25 (7-6 BC) The penalty for adultery according to the Old Testament was death, and God’s not embarrassed or ashamed about that, one bit. A couple of things to bear in mind, then, before we worry over how we feel about it: First, believers didn’t stop having that as a law because we became … More Day 7: Be Like Joseph
Luke 1:46-80; 7-6BC Zechariah’s failings weren’t bad on an epoch-ending scale, and his sins aren’t good movie material. His song of a fully-experienced faith, enhanced by great blessing from God through Holy Spirit doesn’t have a special name for its moment in church history, like Mary’s preceding ‘Magnificat’. So really, he’s a lot more like … More Day 6: Zechariah’s Big Comeback. Sort of.
‘Women’s Faith 2 v Man’s Faith 0‘ Ever felt like you were getting the rough end of someone else’s special treatment? Or that you and a colleague/friend/sibling could do the same things wrong, but only you would get in trouble? I wonder if Zechariah raised an eyebrow when God responded in very different ways to … More Daily Bible Readings, Day 5: Luke 1:27-45 (7-6BC)
Luke 1:1-38 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A1-38&version=NIV If Zechariah was trending on twitter for the events in these verses, it might involve tweets looking a bit like this: Lowkey sympathy for Zak, massive congrats on Liz’s pregnancy! #harsh #dumbnotdumb #letthemanspeak #zechariahthepriest His punishment for unbelief wasn’t devastating, so we’re not overly troubled by it. But it’s easy to feel … More Daily Bible Reading, Day 4: #dumbnotdumb
Matthew 1:1-17 “Paul”, Dad said, “Pick a passage for us to read”. He usually picked the passage for family devotionals so this was quite the treat. I picked this one. Not because I found it interesting – I didn’t. But I DID like how the names sounded, and the challenge of reading them out loud. … More Daily Bible Readings, Day 3
Day 2: John 1:1-18 The identity of Jesus and what that means for us, is the reason John wrote his gospel. Demonstrating that Jesus is God so that we can have life and forgiveness through him, is the effect John was hoping for – John expressed that clearly, later in the gospel (20:30-31). And John … More Daily Bible Readings, Day 2
Luke 1:1-4 (written c.AD 69) We live by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). AND, our faith is based on historical facts, without which our faith is useless (1 Corinthians 15:17). ‘Faith’ is not a virtue on its own – many people have ‘faith’ in people, ideas, things or their own strength, all of … More Daily Bible Readings, Day 1
New Year, new resolutions, new determination, new hope…same old likelihood that the ship of our good intentions will run aground on the rocks of Leviticus in early February. The benefits, necessity and responsibility as Christians to be serious, “devoted” even (Acts 2:42), to reading our Bibles can be oppressive when we’re struggling. In early January … More Daily Devotions through the New Testament
Paul T Reynolds 