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September 15 Daily Reading- Read the Bible in 1 Year
2 Plays2 minutes 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 cover the Book of Luke Chapters 13:22-14:33.
Today we will asking and answering the questions "how important is it to make Jesus the most important one in MY life?" and "why is it so important?" Today Jesus tells us himself that we are to make Him the most important one in our lives. If we don't, then we cannot follow Him. Why is this? Our daily readings are chronological and so what we are seeing is Jesus building upon the lessons that He is teaching us. We have learned this year that we are to make God the most important one in our lives. We confirmed this teaching yesterday when we read about a teacher of the law who asked Jesus how to obtain eternal life. Jesus then taught us that He and God are ONE, meaning that Jesus is also God. He is God's Son. Jesus taught us that He did not come to do whatever HE wanted to do, but He only does what the Father tells Him to do. Twice we have read confirmation from God Himself, first at Jesus' baptism and again at what we call the transfiguration, where God Himself spoke and was audibly heard to say, "Here is my Son. In Him I am well pleased." At the transfiguration God also said, "Listen to Him." If Jesus were not one with God then God would not be pleased with Him for saying so. But God IS pleased with Jesus and Jesus is telling us what the Father wants us to know. Therefore, since God and Jesus are one, and we are to make God the most important one in our lives, we are also to make Jesus the most important one in our lives! If we do not, then we are not entering by the narrow gate that Jesus spoke about today. And as we learned recently, Jesus is like the narrow gate of the sheep pen. The only way to gain access and be one of Jesus' sheep is to enter through HIM. Jesus is THE WAY, (the way to what? The way to eternal life.) Jesus is the THE TRUTH, everything He speaks is TRUE, and Jesus is the LIGHT. He SHOWS US where and how to gain entrance to God's kingdom. The answer to our question today, is that making Jesus THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE IN OUR LIVES is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing we need to do in life, EVERY SINGLE DAY. There is nothing more important than this.
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Transcript
Introduction to Bible Reading
00:00:03
Speaker
Hey everybody, thank you for gathering with me. We are here to read our daily Bible reading for today out of Day by Day Kids Bible written by Karen Henley.
00:00:14
Speaker
And although I am recording this by myself, I have to believe that because you are watching now that there are two or more of us gathered together and we are gathered in Jesus' name.
00:00:25
Speaker
So he is right here with us. So thank you for joining me today, or should I say us? And I hope that you are having a fantastic day here on your September 15th.
00:00:38
Speaker
If you are following along on your bookmarking commitment calendar, go ahead and take that out. You are ready to mark it off for the day with your sticker or whatever you're using because we are about to hear the Bible today.
Significance of Making Jesus Central
00:00:54
Speaker
Today we are going to be looking and answering the question, how important is it to make Jesus the most important one in our lives?
00:01:06
Speaker
Is it a little bit important? Is it a lot important? Or is it the most important? And if it is the most important, why?
00:01:19
Speaker
Well, we're gonna look at those today. And we will answer those questions before we leave.
Parable of the Hen and Chicks
00:01:27
Speaker
Today, we are going to start our reading with a section entitled, Like a Hen Gathering Her Chicks.
00:01:33
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And today's reading comes to us from Luke chapters 13 and 14.
Teachings on Salvation and Parables
00:01:41
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Now Jesus went through many towns, and he was teaching people on his way to Jerusalem. Someone came to Jesus with a question. Will only a few people be saved?
00:01:55
Speaker
Try and go in at the narrow door, said Jesus. Lots of people will try to go in, but they will find out that they can't. And it's like a man who owns a house, said Jesus.
00:02:09
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He closes the door, and people may stand outside and tap on that door, and they may call out, open the door for us. But the owner will say, don't know you.
00:02:21
Speaker
don't know where you came from. They will answer, well, we ate where you were eating and we drank where you were drinking and we heard you teaching. And the owner will say, well, maybe you did eat where I ate and maybe you did hear me teach, but you did not get to know me and you still sin.
00:02:42
Speaker
You're doing what is wrong. And people will come from all over the east and people will come from the west. They will come from the north and the south. And there will be places for them in God's kingdom.
00:02:57
Speaker
They will come and sit at the dinner party. And the ones who are last now will be first then. And the ones who are first now will be last then.
00:03:12
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You'd better leave town, said some of the Jewish leaders. King Herod wants to kill you. You tell that fox I'm going to send bad spirits away, said Jesus, and I'm going to make people well today and tomorrow.
00:03:26
Speaker
And on the third day, i will finish my plan.
00:03:32
Speaker
Whatever happens, I have to keep going, said Jesus. It's not right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, said Jesus, you killed the prophets.
00:03:46
Speaker
You hurt the people that God sent to you. a hen gathers chicks under her wings. And I have often wanted to get your children together like this.
00:03:58
Speaker
But you wouldn't come. Look, said Jesus, you have nothing left. You won't see me again until you call to me and you will say, let God bring good to you because you come in the Lord's name.
00:04:17
Speaker
Now on a worship day, Jesus went to a dinner party and it was at a Jewish leader's house. Jesus was sitting at the table and he watched some of the people there. They took the best places at the table.
00:04:31
Speaker
Then Jesus spoke to the people. What if somebody asks you to come to a wedding party? Then do not take the best seat at the table because somebody more important than you might come in.
00:04:48
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And then he will say, give this person your seat, please. And then you will feel put down and you will have to move on to a different seat. So instead, take a place that is not important, said Jesus.
00:05:03
Speaker
And then the person in charge may come to you and say, Hello, friend, move to one of these better seats. And then you will feel important in front of everyone.
00:05:15
Speaker
So you some people try to make themselves important, but they will end up feeling like nothing. Some people make others more important than themselves.
00:05:28
Speaker
And they will end up feeling great.
00:05:34
Speaker
Then Jesus talked to the man in charge of the dinner. Let's say you want to ask people to come to lunch. Or you want people to come for dinner. Don't ask friends or family or rich neighbors to come, because later they will ask you to come to lunch with them too, and they will pay you back.
00:05:55
Speaker
Instead, ask poor people to come to your party, said Jesus. Ask people who cannot walk or see, then God will bring good to you.
00:06:08
Speaker
Those people can't pay you back, but God can.
00:06:15
Speaker
A man at the table heard what Jesus said, and the man said, I know what will make people happy. They will be happy if they eat at the party in God's kingdom.
00:06:28
Speaker
Jesus said, Once a man planned a party, and he asked lots of people to come, but no one showed up when it was time. So the man sent his servant to say, Come on, the party's ready.
00:06:44
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But people gave different reasons, excuses, for why they couldn't come. The first man said, I just bought a field and I need to go see about it.
00:06:56
Speaker
Another person said, i just bought ten oxen and I'm on my way to try them out. Another person said, i just got married, so I can't come.
00:07:08
Speaker
So the servant came back and he told his master what the people said. The master got angry. Quick, he said, go out to the streets and all over town and get the poor people.
00:07:21
Speaker
Get people who can't walk or see and bring them to my party. So the servant went into the streets and he asked people to come to the party. And then the servant came back.
00:07:33
Speaker
I did what you told me to, he said, but there is still room. So the master said, then go out to the roads and go into the country. Bring people in and let's fill my house.
00:07:45
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None of the people I asked first can come and they won't even get to taste my food.
Importance of Prioritizing Jesus
00:07:55
Speaker
Big crowds of people traveled with Jesus and he turned to them and said, There is only one way that you can follow me, said Jesus.
00:08:06
Speaker
I have to be the most important person in your life. I have to be more important to you than your family. I have to be more important to you than your own life.
00:08:21
Speaker
And you must choose what is the most important to you.
00:08:29
Speaker
What if you wanted to build a tall building, Jesus said? First, you would find out how much it would cost, and then you would know if you had enough money to finish. Because what if you started the building and you couldn't finish it?
00:08:42
Speaker
Everybody would make fun of you. People would say, he couldn't finish what he started. And what if a king was planning to fight another king? First, he would see if he even had enough men to win. And if he didn't, then he would call some of his men and he would send them to the other king to make peace.
00:09:03
Speaker
So you must give up everything for me, said Jesus. If you don't, you cannot follow me.
00:09:16
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And that is the end of our reading today.
00:09:23
Speaker
That can be a tough question. How important is it to make Jesus the most important one in our lives? Let's track that back a little bit.
00:09:36
Speaker
When we first started reading, at the beginning of the year, we were reading the Old Covenant, and we learned that we are to make God the most important one in our lives.
00:09:49
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Doing that means that when we make him the most important thing and we seek God first, God will take care of everything else that we need.
Unity with God and Jesus' Authority
00:10:00
Speaker
Now, we've been learning, even as of yesterday, that Jesus is teaching us that he is one with God.
00:10:09
Speaker
And therefore, because he is one with God, the same rule to make God the most important also applies to Jesus.
00:10:20
Speaker
If Jesus were not God, then we could say it was not that important. But the fact is, that Jesus is God. He made that claim. And when he was both baptized and at what we call the transfiguration, where he went up to pray and Moses and Elijah came there and met with him and spoke with him,
00:10:41
Speaker
Both times God's voice was heard, and his voice said, This is my son. In him I am well pleased. Listen to him.
00:10:54
Speaker
So we have it on authority from God himself that what Jesus is saying is true. If what he were saying were not true, God would not be very pleased with him.
00:11:06
Speaker
God would not be very pleased with me if I started claiming that I was his son or his daughter and that I had come down from heaven and that I was sent to save the world from everybody's sins.
00:11:17
Speaker
God would not be very pleased with me at all because that would be a false claim. But Jesus' claim is true. And because he is God, he tells us that whoever welcomes him is really welcoming God.
00:11:34
Speaker
Whoever listens to and obeys Jesus is really listening to and obeying the one who sent him, who is God. And God says that we are to listen to him because God is well pleased with him.
00:11:48
Speaker
Everything Jesus did, we have learned. Jesus did not of his own will, not of his own desires. He did not come to do what he wanted to do. He came to do what God told him to do.
00:12:02
Speaker
And he said he always does what pleases God. So for him to teach us this, it is pleasing to God. And if we want to please God, then we please Jesus by obeying.
00:12:16
Speaker
And so therefore, it is the most important thing we can do is to follow Jesus, to make him the most important one in our lives every day.
00:12:29
Speaker
Jesus gives us some examples today. When the one person asked, will only a few people be saved? Jesus said to him to try to enter through the narrow gate.
00:12:41
Speaker
What does that mean? Well, as I mentioned the other day, Jesus is building on his teaching. He is letting us know how everything is connected.
00:12:53
Speaker
Jesus told us that he is like the gate into the sheep pen. We are the sheep within that pen. And that anybody else who tries to come in is not allowed and the sheep won't follow him.
00:13:07
Speaker
He is the gate in. There are many ways, people say, to righteousness. There are many paths. But there is only one small, narrow gate into the sheep pen.
00:13:21
Speaker
And Jesus is that gate. He is the way.
Path to Eternal Life
00:13:26
Speaker
The way to what? The way to eternal life. He is the truth.
00:13:32
Speaker
What he speaks is true. And he is the life. He is the light. He is the light of the world. He shows us which way to go. Now, it is like those who believe in God and may believe that Jesus existed and is a prophet, but that they do not believe that Jesus is God's Son.
00:13:56
Speaker
and that he came to save them from their sins, and that he is their salvation, that he is the the path and the way. Yet they believe that he existed. And so Jesus tells us today that it is like that, that people may say, well, I knew of you, and I knew of your teachings.
00:14:14
Speaker
And Jesus will say, yes, you may have known me. You may have been where I was, and you may have seen me and heard me But you did not do as I taught. You are still sinning.
00:14:27
Speaker
You are doing what is wrong. So you are not permitted entry. And he tells us that at that time, there will be many who will be denied entry into that great banquet, that great feast.
00:14:42
Speaker
We call that the wedding feast. And that is because they did not enter through the narrow gate. Jesus is the way. Jesus says that if you obey my teaching, then you are truly my disciples.
00:14:59
Speaker
Do you remember we read about that? If you missed that, I can't ah tell you exactly which day that that was. I don't recall that off the top of my head, but we did just do it. And we only have Jesus's teachings from,
00:15:12
Speaker
ah So, so there are only two months of Jesus' teaching. So, if you were going to consolidate you and you just wanted to hear Jesus' is teaching, you would check out starting on August 10th.
00:15:28
Speaker
This wasn't too long ago. it was maybe about a week or so ago that he taught about that. I'm not sure. But these teachings are building upon one another.
00:15:39
Speaker
So we can know for certainty that Jesus is who we need to be listening to and following and obeying. And if we follow him as God instructed us to do, because God is well pleased with him, then we are truly his disciples.
00:15:56
Speaker
What is another word for a disciple? A student. We are listening to him teach us and we will never be above him. but we are meant to be like him.
00:16:10
Speaker
And that is our goal, is to learn to be like Jesus. Jesus told us the other day that he is kind and gentle. And it might sound like that's a contradiction with it that we need to follow him and make him the most important one, that that sounds harsh.
00:16:27
Speaker
But he is simply transferring the same teaching as what we learned yesterday when the teacher of the law said, well, what do I need to do to and to have eternal life?
00:16:38
Speaker
And Jesus asked him, how do you interpret the scriptures? And the man said to love God with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength, and are you all your soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself.
00:16:51
Speaker
And Jesus said, yes, do this and you will live. So following Jesus means that he is also to be loved with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our strength, all of our soul.
Applying Teachings in Daily Life
00:17:06
Speaker
And we are to also love others as we love ourselves.
00:17:12
Speaker
So I hope that you feel that today's reading was very eye-opening and enlightening, that you feel that God has lit your light. He gave us a lot of examples today as to what it means when we do not follow Him and how narrow that gate is.
00:17:27
Speaker
And He told us very plainly the absolute best way to go. So I hope that you feel like spreading that word, that you are confident. And that if somebody asks you that you are confident in being able to give an answer for the hope that is in you, God's word strengthens us and it teaches us and it is useful for for enabling us for every good work.
00:17:54
Speaker
So I want to encourage you also to ask God what good work, what people he is putting in your path today, that he will give you in order to practice what we are reading about. Because we can't just absorb it and then just know everything.
00:18:08
Speaker
We have opportunities every day in which to practice what we are learning. Our daily application. And God will definitely send ways into our life. Maybe things will come up that try to make us busy.
00:18:21
Speaker
And like Martha, we need to be sure that we are not focused on the things that are too busy, but that we are sitting at Jesus's feet and making him the most important one in our day, like Mary was doing yesterday.
00:18:34
Speaker
So thank you for joining me today, whether you are listening on your podcast somewhere or whether you are watching on video. I would ask that you be encouraged to share this event so that we can help spread the word about reading God's word.
00:18:47
Speaker
Jesus is the word. In the beginning, he was there. He is with God. And he is the light and the light. So let us spread the word about reading about Jesus.
00:18:59
Speaker
I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day, whatever day you're getting around to watching or listening today's September 15th event. And you know where I'll be here for tomorrow, right wherever you're watching or listening.
00:19:12
Speaker
And until then, have a great day.