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September 20 Daily Reading- Read the Bible in 1 Year
10 Plays1 day ago
If you would like to download my FREE calendar for keeping track of your commitment to read the Bible every day, you can find that on my site, here: https://www.inthefamilywaycoaching.com/pages/read-the-bible-in-1-year
Monthly memberships to support this event can be purchased on my site, here: https://www.inthefamilywaycoaching.com/offering_packages
Today's reading will include the Books of Matthew Chapter 20:17-34, Mark Chapter 10:32-52, and Luke Chapters 18:31-43 and 19:1-10.
Today we will read about Jesus telling the disciples about his impending death and how it would come about. We will discuss why it was important for Jesus to tell them ahead of time what was going to happen. Next we will learn about why it is important not to think that we are better than one another and learn how important it is to serve one another, especially other believers in our Spiritual Family. Lastly, we will read more about WHY Jesus came- to set people free from sin and look for people who have lost their way.
In our discussion for daily application we will talk about using the the resources and gifts that God has given us to look out for one another, care for one another, and help further God's Kingdom by seeking those who are lost and showing them the way into our spiritual family.
If you enjoyed today's reading and feel like God has lit YOUR light please click the LIGHT button (it looks like a thumbs up or a heart) and consider subscribing to or following my channel, if you have not done so already.
If you know someone who might be interested in reading the Bible with me this year please SHARE today's reading with them! It's never too late to join in! Let's help this event grow and together we can spread the word about reading God's Word!
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Transcript
Introduction to Daily Bible Reading
00:00:03
Speaker
Well, here we are again. Today is September 20th, and I think I know why you're here. You want to hear today's Bible reading through the Day by Day Kids Bible, written by Karen Henley.
00:00:18
Speaker
I am so glad that you are here listening or watching as we go through the entire Bible this year from Genesis to Revelation in chronological storybook order.
00:00:28
Speaker
And we are learning about the whole big picture that God has for us in just one year. And we also have daily application. So thank you for being here with me today.
00:00:41
Speaker
If you are new, then you may not already know about our bookmarking commitment calendar, but I'm going to tell you about it. So now you are going to know. We are using this calendar to mark off our days like a bookmark.
00:00:54
Speaker
Since you are not physically reading the book, I am, this helps you keep track of where you have been listening. It also serves as a great motivational tool so that when you get through, you can see how much of the Bible you covered this year.
00:01:10
Speaker
You can go back and listen to the days and then check them off on your calendar. And then you will be able to look back and say, hey, this is the year that I listened to the entire
Motivational Tools for Reading the Bible
00:01:22
Speaker
Bible. Now, this is not just some kiddie version.
00:01:26
Speaker
This is a pretty complete version. It is a little bit condensed, but it has a good bit of the detail of the entire Bible. It does skip some of the more intimate details. And so I always do encourage you that if you are hungry for more of God's word, because God is in the details, I do look up those details for us and I try to share them with you when I feel that there is ah special nuggets there for us in addition to our daily reading.
00:01:53
Speaker
But I do want to encourage you to feel free to head up your big Bible if today's daily reading makes you hungry for more of God's word than what we are currently serving up today. You can find that calendar.
00:02:06
Speaker
i have a link in the description below. It is on my site at inthefamilywaycoaching.com. And you click on that very first tab that says, read the Bible in one year.
00:02:18
Speaker
Below that tab, you will find all of the different months in both audio and video form. But before you get to that, where it just says, read the Bible in one year, that is where you will find the free download for my calendar.
00:02:32
Speaker
You do not have to subscribe to anything in order to access that calendar. You don't have to give me your email address. You don't have to send anything. It is just there for you as a motivational bookmarking tool for you.
00:02:46
Speaker
And you can use whatever you like to mark it off. So I hope that you ah find that convenient. And even if you just need a calendar for your refrigerator each month, it's there for you.
00:02:57
Speaker
Use it however you like.
The Story of Zacchaeus
00:03:00
Speaker
Well, I'm so glad that you are here with me, and we are going to be reading today a story that you may already know. We sing songs about it. He was supposedly a man of short stature, and his name actually means pure and innocent one.
00:03:20
Speaker
You're not going to know who he is by the name, but when we get to him, you're going to know who he is. And we're going to learn that he is connected to why Jesus came.
00:03:31
Speaker
We may think, well, we know why Jesus came. Well, Jesus is going to affirm for us today why he came. And he's going to also show us how we should not behave toward one another in our body of Christ.
00:03:48
Speaker
So let's begin today's reading.
00:03:52
Speaker
Today's reading, ah their first section is entitled, To Sit at Your Right Hand.
00:04:00
Speaker
So Jesus headed for Jerusalem. Now, remember, this is getting toward the time of Passover. So we are getting closer to the time of Jesus's crucifixion, his death.
00:04:17
Speaker
Jesus headed for Jerusalem and his 12 special friends and other followers went with him. Jesus's special friends, that is what this Bible refers to as Jesus's disciples.
00:04:29
Speaker
So there were 12 of them. They were surprised to see him going to Jerusalem. Do you remember why? Because they everybody was trying to kill him. And his other followers were afraid him.
00:04:44
Speaker
So Jesus called his 12 friends to him and he told them what was about to happen. We are on our way to Jerusalem, he said. One of my friends will turn against me.
00:05:00
Speaker
He will tell the leaders at the worship house where I am and they will take me and they will blame me and they will say that I should die.
00:05:11
Speaker
These leaders will send me to the Romans, said Jesus. The Romans will make fun of me. They will beat me and they will kill me. But on the third day, I will come back to life.
00:05:32
Speaker
Now Jesus' friends did not understand it any of this. They didn't know what Jesus was talking about.
00:05:40
Speaker
Then James and John's mother brought them to Jesus, and she bowed down before him. She asked Jesus to do something special for her. What do you want?
00:05:52
Speaker
Jesus asked her. Someday, she said, you will be king. Let one of my sons sit at your right side, and let my other son sit at your left side.
00:06:07
Speaker
You really don't know what you're asking. said Jesus. Can you do what I am about to do? We can, said James and John.
00:06:20
Speaker
And you will, said Jesus. But I am not the one to say who will sit at my right or my left.
00:06:29
Speaker
Now Jesus' other friends heard what James and John wanted, and they got angry at James and John. So Jesus called them all together, and he said to them,
00:06:41
Speaker
You know, the world's rulers boss everyone around and they tell everyone what to do. But you, you are not supposed to act like that.
00:06:53
Speaker
Instead, if you want to be great, then you will serve people, said Jesus. Anybody wanting to be first has to be a servant.
00:07:07
Speaker
Even I did not come to earth to be served. I came to serve and I came to give up my life.
Jesus and His Teachings on Servitude
00:07:20
Speaker
Then I can set people free from sin.
00:07:27
Speaker
Now Jesus came to the town of Jericho and there a man named Zacchaeus lived. He was tax man and he was very rich.
00:07:39
Speaker
Now Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming and he wanted to see who Jesus was. But Zacchaeus was a short man, so he couldn't see around the crowd. Now Zacchaeus knew which ways that Jesus was going.
00:07:52
Speaker
So he ran ahead of the crowd and he climbed up into a tree because he wanted to make sure he could see Jesus. Jesus did come that way.
00:08:03
Speaker
And when he got to the tree, Jesus stopped. He looked up. Zacchaeus, he called, come down right away.
00:08:14
Speaker
I need to stay at your house. So Zacchaeus came down and he was glad to welcome Jesus into his house. And the other people, they began to fuss.
00:08:28
Speaker
Jesus has gone to stay with a sinner, they said. But Zacchaeus, he was making things right. Look, Lord, he said to Jesus, I will give half of everything I own to poor people.
00:08:44
Speaker
Did I trick people into giving me too much money? Then I will pay them back. I will pay back four times the amount that I took from them.
00:08:56
Speaker
Someone has been saved today at this house, said Jesus. And this, this is why I came. I came to look for people who lost their way and I came to save them.
00:09:16
Speaker
Now Jesus and his friends were leaving Jericho and a big crowd of people followed them. There was a man sitting by the side of the road. He could not see and his name was Bartimaeus and he was begging for money.
00:09:32
Speaker
Bartimaeus heard people say that Jesus was coming. So he started shouting, Jesus, be kind to me. ah big Bible version says, have mercy on me.
00:09:45
Speaker
Now, lots of people got mad at him and they told him to be quiet. But Bartimaeus just shouted louder, Jesus, be kind to me. and Jesus stopped walking.
00:09:59
Speaker
And he said, tell that man to come here. So the people called to Bartimaeus. Stand up, they said. You can cheer up now because Jesus is calling you.
00:10:12
Speaker
So Bartimaeus threw off his coat and he jumped up and he went over to Jesus. What do you want me to do? Jesus asked him. I want to see again, said Bartimaeus.
00:10:26
Speaker
All right, said Jesus. You are well because you believe in me. And right away, Bartimaeus could see. All the people saw it.
00:10:38
Speaker
He followed Jesus. He cheered for God. And all the other people cheered for God too.
00:10:49
Speaker
And that is the end of our reading today.
00:10:55
Speaker
What do you think?
00:10:58
Speaker
Well, let's start at the beginning.
Repentance and Humility: Lessons from Zacchaeus
00:11:01
Speaker
So first we see that Jesus is talking to the disciples, his 12 friends, and Jesus is giving them the future.
00:11:10
Speaker
We call that prophesying. Jesus told them exactly what would happen and they didn't understand it. We've talked before, but in case you have missed those days or you are new, why is Jesus telling them what is going to happen?
00:11:27
Speaker
God tells us in the Old Covenant that he tells us exactly what it is that is going to happen so that we will know that it is him who brought these things to happen.
00:11:39
Speaker
That way we won't be able to give credit to any false gods, any false idols. We won't be able to get credit for ourselves for doing these things. All of these things were prophesied about.
00:11:52
Speaker
And Jesus was confirming those prophecies and telling them in more detail, in fact, in very vivid detail, exactly what would happen. And that is exactly what did happen.
00:12:05
Speaker
So Jesus was also proving who he was by telling them exactly what would happen the same way that God did. Now, we know also that nobody took Jesus's life.
00:12:19
Speaker
He willingly laid it down. Nobody took his life from him. He knew what was coming. And Isaiah tells us that he went like a lamb who was going to be slaughtered, to be killed.
00:12:34
Speaker
He went quietly, peacefully, willingly, and knowingly because he knew that what he was going to do was going to save everybody from their sin.
00:12:51
Speaker
He had purpose and it was not an easy decision to make. He struggled with it later. He knew that it was the right thing to do. But we are going to see in the future here also that he was still a person and he had feelings.
00:13:07
Speaker
And he would he would ah be stressed out, we would say, about his impending circumstance of what was going to happen. But despite that fact, he obeyed and did what was necessary.
00:13:22
Speaker
There is nothing that God can ask us to do that is greater than what Jesus did. And he did it. So we also should be motivated to know that God will strengthen us to do what we need to do as well, knowing it's nowhere near what Jesus went through.
00:13:43
Speaker
And yet he was able to go through with it. And it was for a great benefit. When God asks us to do things, it is for benefit. God has a bigger plan in mind.
00:13:55
Speaker
He always does. And it's bigger than what we may understand. As we see here today, that he explained these things, but they didn't know what he was talking about. They didn't understand yet.
00:14:08
Speaker
Jesus told them that out of those 12 friends, one of them was going to betray him. He knew already because he was God too. He is God too.
00:14:19
Speaker
So he knew exactly what was going to happen. And yet he chose to do so because he loves us. Not loved in the past tense.
00:14:30
Speaker
He loves us.
00:14:34
Speaker
All right, so let's move on to our next bit. Here we see that we have a little bit of competition going on. James and John were one of the original followers for Jesus.
00:14:46
Speaker
And they may have felt like, you know, we've been here from the beginning. ah We should be at your right and your left side. But you see, already we see from a moment ago, Jesus explained exactly what was going to happen.
00:15:01
Speaker
And they didn't understand. So when Jesus asked them or told them first, he says, you really don't know what it is that you're asking. He says, can you do what I'm about to do?
00:15:14
Speaker
they had a lot of confidence. Yes, we can. Yes, we can do that. And he told them, he said, you will. Meaning that that would be the way that they would die. but their death would not pay for our sins.
00:15:31
Speaker
And it is not for Jesus to say who sits at his right or at his left. That is for God to decide. But he did tell them previously. We read the other day, i think just yesterday, actually, that ah in the final time in the new world, they will sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel.
00:15:54
Speaker
So they already have been assured a place of notoriety, we might say.
00:16:02
Speaker
So Jesus tells us here that in the world, people who have ah greater authority or more power, they have a tendency to lord it over other people.
00:16:14
Speaker
Ha ha, I'm better than you. And we see that that was already the case, even just with the religious leaders. They liked to be made to feel important. They wanted to be looked up to.
00:16:26
Speaker
And that's our pride. we have a We can have a great tendency to want others to think that we are great. Just take a look at any kind of social media. Everybody is fantastic.
00:16:37
Speaker
Look how great I am. I make crazy videos. Everybody wants to see them. Oh, this one went viral. Look how important I am. My video went viral. Yay! You know, and that's their moment in the spotlight.
00:16:50
Speaker
Jesus tells us that this is not God's way. And we have been learning that That what God values is not the same as what we value. That those who may think that they are first right now may actually be last when it comes to their place in the kingdom of heaven.
00:17:09
Speaker
And those who are of of a most humble nature, who don't think that they are very important, that they may well be exalted to be first in the kingdom of God.
00:17:23
Speaker
So Jesus explains to us here that if he, he who was to die for our sins, but did not come to be served and waited upon and to lord it over people, neither are we.
00:17:38
Speaker
Jesus is our great example. He only does what he sees the Father doing. And Jesus was so humble. He did not make himself to be great. God made him to be great.
00:17:50
Speaker
He came and he served. This man that we see at the end, Bartimaeus, he was calling out to him, Jesus, be kind to me, have mercy on me.
00:18:01
Speaker
And everybody else told him to shush. And Jesus said, come here. And he did not ignore anybody. We have also Zacchaeus.
00:18:13
Speaker
He saw who Zacchaeus really was. And he knew Zacchaeus' heart. Because God looks at our heart. That is what we have been stressing this entire year.
00:18:26
Speaker
God knows our heart. He is looking for hearts that want to follow him. And although Zacchaeus was tax man. ah The lowest kind of the low.
00:18:38
Speaker
And he was also very wealthy. And the other day, and think it was yesterday. Yes, yesterday, we read about a religious leader who was very also well-off, rich, and he did not want to sell anything he owned.
00:18:53
Speaker
But here, Zacchaeus is immediately offering. He says, I am going to sell half of what I own and give it to the poor. Who is going to be greater in the kingdom of heaven?
00:19:05
Speaker
That religious leader who had saved claimed that he had followed all of God's commandments since he was just a young boy? Zacchaeus, who was lost and then found, and then if he had wronged anybody, he would pay back four times the amount that he had taken?
00:19:27
Speaker
Who was the better man? Zacchaeus. It's not that he was better than than anybody. It's that his heart was towards God. He had a heart for God.
00:19:39
Speaker
He was going to serve. That is what God is looking for. That's what we're supposed to be like. God has all power. And yet he uses all of his power and to be loving and kind, gracious and merciful and forgiving.
00:20:00
Speaker
And he has the right to condemn if he wants to, but instead he chooses to forgive.
Serving Others with Humility
00:20:07
Speaker
He says, I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
00:20:13
Speaker
If our God, who is absolutely perfect, doesn't condemn and doesn't put people down and and is kind and is merciful,
00:20:26
Speaker
How much more too should we, who are nowhere near the status of God, to emulate, to be like him, to follow God's example?
00:20:38
Speaker
And God gave us Jesus so that we could be reconciled to him. It says Jesus came to look for people who lost their way and to save them. He looks for people who are lost.
00:20:52
Speaker
He was looking for Zacchaeus and Zacchaeus was looking for him.
00:20:58
Speaker
It's just wonderful. He says, then i can set people free from sin. and as we read about a week or so ago, if the sun has set us free from sin, then we are free indeed.
00:21:14
Speaker
So I hope that you have enjoyed today's reading and found our daily application. We didn't explicitly say it, so let's say it. We are not to lord our positions over people, especially in the kingdom of heaven.
00:21:29
Speaker
We are not to think of ourselves as being better than other people. And we're not to think that we can achieve greatness by by our actions, by what we are doing.
00:21:43
Speaker
We are meant to serve one another. Jesus came to be served. No, he did not come to be served. Ha, that was silly. Jesus himself did not even come to be served.
00:21:55
Speaker
He serves us and he is still serving. He saved us and he is listening to our prayers. He is with us always.
00:22:06
Speaker
He sent us the helper, the Holy Spirit. We are connected to God and to him. And he wants us to live in him and for us to live and for him to live in us.
00:22:19
Speaker
So we do that by serving one another, by using the gifts that God has given us, by learning to use who we are to be like fishers of men. We are to use whoever it is God made us to be to further his kingdom, to serve God, to serve our fellow human, to look out for one another, to love one another, to help one another, to be united in one body, one sheepfold, in one pen, with one shepherd.
00:22:55
Speaker
not to look down on one another, to judge one another as being lesser than us. Who is our neighbor?
00:23:04
Speaker
Everybody.
Unity and Reconciliation Among Believers
00:23:06
Speaker
We are all brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, and we are to look out for one another, to build one another up in speech and in deed.
00:23:17
Speaker
We are to look out for one another. God looks out for us. We are also to look out for one another. So I hope that you are inspired by our daily application today to look out for your fellow person, especially those who are within our spiritual body, our spiritual family, but not only them, but for everybody, because we are seeking those who are lost to draw them into our sheepfold so that we can all be part of one family.
00:23:49
Speaker
and be unified and reconciled to our wonderful, loving, forgiving, gracious God. So I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day today, whatever day you get around to listening or watching our daily reading today for September 20th.
00:24:06
Speaker
And if you are hungry for more of God's word tomorrow, you know where to find me. i will be wherever you are listening to your podcast or watching that video.
Access and Share the Daily Bible Reading
00:24:15
Speaker
This event is available on Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube Music, YouTube Video,
00:24:24
Speaker
You can find it on my site at in the family way coaching.com. You can find it wherever you listen to your favorite podcast, pod bean overcast cast off, you name it. It's out there.
00:24:39
Speaker
Our goal is to spread the word about reading God's word so that we can seek those who are lost and get them reconciled back into our sheepfold.
00:24:50
Speaker
We are missing sheep. Where are they? Do you see one out there? Are they near you?
00:24:58
Speaker
Also, I want to encourage you to click that light button. That light button that looks like a heart. It looks like a thumbs up. It might look like a follow, a subscribe, a share.
00:25:09
Speaker
Let's get the word out. When we light up our lights, since we are the light of the world, it helps other people see that people are not just watching, but are enjoying this event. And it's not me.
00:25:20
Speaker
It's not my event. This is God's event. We are looking to read and spread the word about reading God's word. It is so useful in our lives for teaching, for ah building us up to enable us to be prepared for all the good work that God has for us to do as we go about serving one another.
00:25:43
Speaker
So click that light button. Don't put it under a bushel. Put it up high. And I will be here for everybody again tomorrow. See you then.