(Apologies: this should have been Day 41 to stick to chronological order, and yesterday’s reading should have been given today.) Luke 7:36-8:3 (AD 48) Jesus did not forgive the woman because of what she did for him, and the woman was not forgiven after Jesus declared her forgiven. What Jesus told the Pharisee host is … More Day 42: How much do you owe Jesus?
Matthew 12:22-50 (AD 28) In v.27 Jesus says, “…if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out?”. There may to have been some successful instances of exorcism by Jewish people – i.e. it wasn’t just Jesus and his disciples. The difference with a mere human doing the exorcising is … More Day 41: When Jesus was accused of being Satan
Luke 7:11-35 (AD 28) Christians are often accused of valuing blind faith over scientific evidence. It’s frustrating, as Jesus a lot of his ministry talking to people urging, commanding, goading, encouraging, provoking and asking that they value the evidence of what they could see. Jesus avoided, on a number of occasions, giving a straight answer … More Day 40: Believe the evidence
Luke 7:1-10 (AD 28) Doctrinal correctness can mean the difference between heaven and hell, life and death, being with God or being without God. And yet it is often, also, not the biggest problem. The same priorities that must often drive us to emphasise correct doctrine, will sometimes mean we must ignore (at least in … More Day 39: Doctrine isn’t always the thing
Matthew 7:7-29 (AD 28) “do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (v.12) The summation of the Law often gets turned into an anti-Law: ‘As long as I wouldn’t mind it happening to me I can do it to someone else, so go … More Day 38: Making God in our image
Matthew 7:1-6 (AD 28) There are a lot of Biblical verses that get badly mangled, and verse one is a classic example. “Do not judge” is commonly used to mean that we should never claim that someone else is wrong in any objective way; that we can have opinions but should never tell someone to … More Day 37: Of sawdust and planks
Matthew 6:19-34 (AD 28) “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…” (v.25) File that one next to, “Do not be anxious about anything…” (Philippians 4:13) Note first the “Therefore” in Jesus words. The reality of our treasures in heaven and the priority we should place on those over anything here, drive the … More Day 36: Do not worry
Matthew 6:1-18 (AD 28) Here are five things Jesus was NOT saying in these verses: Jesus was NOT saying, when he recommended praying in private, that praying together as a local church is unnecessary. Jesus was addressing his disciples – a selection of believers, not a local church. In fact pretty much the first thing … More Day 35: What Jesus did and didn’t say about prayer
Matthew 5:21-48 (AD 28) Those who give in to anger and hate are lost, Jesus said. He was not referring to that moment that anger comes into your mind – that’s the temptation part. It’s what happens after that which matters – do you allow those thoughts and feelings to sit there, or even feed … More Day 34: Don’t be a h8er
Matthew 5:17-20 (AD 28) Jesus, in condemning the persecution and murder of prophets from centuries past, condemning the Pharisees, talking about God blessing the Gentiles and causing a ruckus at the temple in Jerusalem, was accruing quite a reputation. It’s why three readings ago in Mark chapter three, we saw his mother and brothers trying … More Day 33: The Unchanging makes changes
Paul T Reynolds 