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September 19 Daily Reading- Read the Bible in 1 Year
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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 Books of John Chapter 11:18-54, Matthew Chapter 19:13-30, Mark Chapter 10:13-27, and Luke Chapter 18:15-27.
Today we will read about and ask the questions: do we believe that Jesus holds the power of coming alive again, eternal life, and that He is the Son of God. Who did Jesus die for? Why was it good for Him to die? And we will also talk some more about why we need to make Jesus and God the most important ones in our life. We will learn about the answers to these questions through the account of Jesus bringing Lazarus to physical life again and the resulting prophesy by the high priest that it would be better for one man to die for everyone than for everyone in the nation to die. As always, there was greater depth to this prophecy than he, or anyone else there, could have imagined. Jesus did in fact die (and he rose again) in order for ALL people to have the opportunity to be God's children! How about you? Do YOU believe?
In our discussion for daily application we will continue to talk about the big picture of how all of what we are learning is coming into focus for the big plan for our lives. If we believe that Jesus does hold the key to eternal life and believe that God sent Him then we, as His disciples (students), need to obey and DO what He is teaching us. We need to make Him and God the most important ones in our lives. This means using the resources that God has given us to help further the Kingdom of God rather than spending on whatever we might like for our physical life. God promises that if we give up things and even relationships for our physical life to follow Jesus then we will be rewarded with much greater treasure in Heaven! Our focus in life should be on telling other people about the Good News of God's Kingdom (that the Kingdom of Heaven exists within us and that we are given the Holy Spirit when we believe), as well as being a witness of what God has done in our lives. We are to share with other people how we are learning to apply Jesus' teaching to our daily lives and what God is doing with that daily application- how it is changing our lives. Encouraging others to believe in and follow Jesus by becoming His disciples will fulfill the command to "go and make disciples of all nations." Jesus tells us that if we are truly His disciples we will do as He is teaching us. LET'S DO THIS!!
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 and Audience Gratitude
00:00:03
Speaker
Hi, everybody. Today is September 19th. We are here today for our daily Bible reading through the Day by Day Kids Bible, written That's right, Karen Henley.
00:00:17
Speaker
I'm so glad that there are so many of you and that our audience is growing. Thank you so much for following along to hear God's Word. We are spreading the word about reading God's Word. And I'm just so grateful to God that you have chosen this event today.
00:00:33
Speaker
to increase your faith and your knowledge of God's word and to be encouraged. So thank you for being here, whether you are following along on a podcast somewhere like Spotify or Apple Music, Pandora, Podbean, Podcast, Overcast, Cast Off, or whether you are watching on video somewhere, such as on YouTube or on my site or the video on Spotify.
00:00:59
Speaker
However you are here, I'm so glad that you are here. Thank you. I'm so glad that God is is using me to be able to give you this event. I am just loving every day of it.
Community Growth Reflection
00:01:11
Speaker
I see some of you at work and i am just so thrilled because it is bringing me such a deeper connection to ah not just my work, but to people and to the other members of God's body.
00:01:25
Speaker
I love it. It started out with just mostly Julie and and Diamond and Pearl and Jedi and Forrest. And it has grown. And God has just really brought me closer to a lot of you. And I am so thankful for that.
00:01:41
Speaker
It makes my days every day just so full of joy. And I just love being able to share this with everybody, to have that relationship with everybody. So thank you.
00:01:53
Speaker
but Whether you are Joe or Maurice or Maria or Cleo, I'm so glad that you are here. Maybe Jessica and Cece. oh I am just so thrilled.
00:02:07
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Maybe George. George, have you been listening?
00:02:11
Speaker
So thank you for being here, every one of you, as well as those of you that I do not know personally. Thank you for being here. If you are following along on your bookmarking commitment calendar, boy, the name of this has gotten bigger, hasn't it?
00:02:26
Speaker
It's time to take that out and it's time to get out your sticker diamond. do you have that sticker ready? You love those little stickers and get ready to mark off your day, whatever you're using, because you are about to hear the Bible today.
00:02:40
Speaker
And we have a lot to read again today. There is so much that we are learning
The Miracle of Lazarus
00:02:46
Speaker
today. Jesus is putting the whole big picture together for us. And so today we are going to be looking at Jesus being the way to eternal life and answering the question, do you believe?
00:03:01
Speaker
And also answering the question of who did Jesus die for and why? What is God's purpose? What does he hope to gain? What does he know he will gain from Jesus's death?
00:03:16
Speaker
Is it just for him? It's also for us. So let's dig into today's reading. We are going to begin by concluding the story about Lazarus and his sisters, Miriam, also known as Mary, and Martha.
00:03:40
Speaker
Now, the town of Bethany was only about two miles from Jerusalem, and lots of people went to go see Mary and Martha. The people had hoped that they could make the two sisters feel better after Lazarus had died.
00:03:54
Speaker
Now, someone said that Jesus was coming, so Martha went out to meet him, but Mary stayed home.
00:04:02
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Lord, Martha said, if you had just been here, Lazarus wouldn't have died. But I know God gives you whatever you ask for, and he will give it to you even now.
00:04:18
Speaker
Your brother will come to life again, said Jesus. Yes, I know, said Martha. He will come back to life at the end of time.
00:04:28
Speaker
I hold the power of coming alive again, said Jesus. I am new life. People who believe in me will live even after they die.
00:04:42
Speaker
People who live and believe in me will never really die. Do you believe what I am saying?
00:04:54
Speaker
How about you? Do you believe what Jesus is saying? Yes, Lord, said Martha. I believe that you are the one God promised to send.
00:05:05
Speaker
You are God's son. how about you? Do you believe that Jesus really is the one that God promised to send? Do you believe that Jesus is God's son?
00:05:20
Speaker
Then Martha went back to her house and she told Mary that Jesus is here and he wants to see you. So Mary got up quickly. She went to see Jesus.
00:05:32
Speaker
He had not come into town yet. He was still at the place where Martha had left him. People at Mary's house were trying to cheer her up, but they saw how fast she got up and they thought she was going to go to Lazarus's grave to cry there.
00:05:47
Speaker
So they followed her. Mary went to the place where Jesus was. She bowed down at Jesus' feet and said, Lord, if you had been here, Lazarus would not have died. then Mary began to cry.
00:06:04
Speaker
and the people who had followed Mary also began to cry. Jesus felt their great sadness. Where is the grave, he asked.
00:06:15
Speaker
We will show you, they said. And then Jesus began to cry too. Look at how much Jesus loved Lazarus, said the people.
00:06:27
Speaker
But some of them said, He has made people's eyes well. Couldn't he have kept Lazarus from dying?
00:06:36
Speaker
They were implying that Jesus had not chosen to do so, although he could have potentially done so.
00:06:44
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So soon Jesus came to the grave and he felt the deep sadness again. The grave was a cave and a big stone blocked the opening.
00:06:56
Speaker
Take the stone away, Jesus said. But Lord, said Martha, he has been in there for four days and by that, by now, it will stink in there.
00:07:09
Speaker
Remember what I told you, said Jesus. If you believe in me, you will see God's power. How about you?
00:07:23
Speaker
Do you remember what Jesus said?
00:07:27
Speaker
So they took the stone away, and then Jesus looked up. Father, he said, thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me, but saying this will help people believe that you have sent me
00:07:45
Speaker
And then Jesus called out loudly, Lazarus, come out.
00:07:52
Speaker
And then Lazarus came out. Cloth covered his hands and feet, and there was a cloth around his face. Help him out of his grave clothes, said Jesus.
00:08:05
Speaker
So many people who saw this chose to believe in Jesus.
00:08:12
Speaker
But some of the people went to go see the Jewish leaders and they told them what Jesus had done. These leaders of God's people called a meeting. What good are we doing? They asked.
00:08:25
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Here is this man. He's doing lots of wonders. What if everybody starts believing in him? What if everybody starts believing in him?
00:08:38
Speaker
Then the Romans will come, they thought, and they will take away our nation and they will take over our worship house. So one of the leaders who was the high priest that year, Caiaphas, he said, you don't know anything.
00:08:54
Speaker
It is good for one man to die for the people.
Prophecy and Sacrificial Role
00:08:58
Speaker
And it's better than the whole nation dying. Now, The thing is, is that he didn't say this himself.
00:09:08
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His words were actually a message from God because he was the high priest that year. He was prophesying. And so his words were actually a message from God that Jesus would die for the whole nation and he would die for all people.
00:09:29
Speaker
And that way they could be God's children.
00:09:35
Speaker
So from then on, the leaders made plans to kill Jesus. So now Jesus did not go where he could be seen in public anymore.
00:09:46
Speaker
Now people started bringing their little children to Jesus. They wanted Jesus to touch them, lay hands on them, and pray for them. But Jesus' friends got mad at them for doing this.
00:09:59
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And when Jesus saw this, he became upset. And he said, let those little children come to me and do not stop them. Because God's kingdom belongs to those who are like these children.
00:10:12
Speaker
People must welcome God's kingdom like a child does, said Jesus. And if they don't, they won't get to go to it.
00:10:23
Speaker
Then Jesus picked up the children and he held them in his arms. He laid his hands on them and he prayed that God would bring good things to them.
00:10:36
Speaker
Now, as Jesus was leaving, a religious leader came, ran up to him and the man bowed down in front of Jesus. Good teacher, said the man.
00:10:48
Speaker
What do I need to do to live forever?
00:10:57
Speaker
Why are you calling me good? Jesus asked. God is the only one who is good. Are you calling me God? Why do you ask me?
00:11:15
Speaker
If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. Which ones? He asked him. like That makes me laugh. Which ones? Which commandments do you think he should keep?
00:11:29
Speaker
Jesus says, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.
00:11:44
Speaker
All these I have kept, the young man said to him.
00:11:50
Speaker
I've done them since I was a little boy. so Jesus took a good look at this man. Jesus loved him. There is one more thing you need to do.
00:12:02
Speaker
If you want to be perfect, then go and sell everything you have. Take the money you get and give it to the poor. Your riches will be in heaven and you can come and follow me.
00:12:18
Speaker
Now, when Jesus said this, the man got very sad and that's because he was very rich.
Wealth and God's Kingdom
00:12:25
Speaker
Jesus turned to his followers and said, it's hard for rich people to come into God's kingdom.
00:12:31
Speaker
It's even harder than a camel going through the hole of a needle. Now, Jesus's followers were surprised by this. Well, who can be saved? They asked.
00:12:43
Speaker
It's impossible for people to do it, said Jesus. But anything is possible with God.
00:12:53
Speaker
And Jesus said to them,
00:12:57
Speaker
I tell you, when the son of man sits on his, oh, and sorry, I missed a line. Peter then said to him, look, we have left everything to follow you.
00:13:08
Speaker
So what will we have? And Jesus said to them, I tell you, when the son of man sits on his glorious throne in the new world, you who have followed me shall also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel.
00:13:27
Speaker
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or their father or mother or children or property for my name's sake, they will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
00:13:47
Speaker
But many who are first will be last and the last will be first.
00:13:56
Speaker
And that is the end end of our reading for today.
00:14:02
Speaker
We have a lot that we read today. We had so much. We are going to go over it. It's very important. We had a lot of really important lessons today for our daily application.
00:14:14
Speaker
So we need to look at the whole big picture and see how everything fits together for us. It's very important that we understand God's word, because if we don't understand it, it didn't do us any good. And you have wasted your time.
00:14:30
Speaker
So let's look here.
00:14:33
Speaker
Yesterday we read about and we talked about that God's value system is not the same as ours. So what is important to God is not necessarily what is important to us.
00:14:45
Speaker
And what is important to us is not necessarily what God considers important. So we need to try to value things according to how God values them. We see here that the people, ah Mary and Martha, and even some of the people,
00:15:02
Speaker
didn't think that Jesus had valued Lazarus's life. That couldn't he have saved him if he had simply been there? Couldn't he have done so even from a distance to save his life?
00:15:14
Speaker
But Jesus told us yesterday that this was done so that people might see God's power and believe that it was God who had sent him. And because they saw these things, they believed.
00:15:27
Speaker
And even when Jesus prayed, he did not pray for his own benefit, but for those who were there with him, that seeing and hearing that they might believe. So it might've looked like Jesus didn't care, that he didn't value Lazarus's life like he did the other people's.
00:15:47
Speaker
But in reality, he was valuing everybody's life to a greater degree than they had even imagined because that's the way God's love is. No matter how great we think God's love is, how big we think it is, how wonderful we think it is, it's even more than that.
00:16:07
Speaker
And so while when Caiaphas, the leader of the the high priest that year, spoke and said that it is good for one man to die for all of the people, he had no idea the depth of what he was actually saying.
00:16:24
Speaker
He was actually saying the truth. He was prophesying. that yes, it was good for Jesus to die for us. In doing so, he didn't save just one nation.
00:16:39
Speaker
He saved all people. And why did he do that? So that we could become children of God. We are all God's children. We are brothers and sisters within the body of Christ.
00:16:52
Speaker
We are all part of one fold of sheep. He is our good shepherd. He is the gate into that fold. He is the one who looks after us.
Jesus' Sacrifice and Prophecy Fulfillment
00:17:03
Speaker
He is the good shepherd who laid down his life for us so that we could all be reconciled to God. And now the kingdom of heaven is within us.
00:17:15
Speaker
And we have God's Holy Spirit with us. And we will read about that coming up later after we read how he died. Also, it is important to remember that Jesus told us that nobody made him lose his life.
00:17:32
Speaker
He willingly gave it. Nobody took it from him. He willingly laid it down for us. and Although they are planning to kill him, this was something that was God's plan.
00:17:45
Speaker
This fulfilled many prophecies. It fulfilled Isaiah chapter 53 verses 8. It i fulfilled Isaiah chapter 11 verses 10 through 11.
00:17:59
Speaker
It fulfilled Isaiah chapter 56 verses 6 and 7. It fulfilled Micah chapter 2 verses 12 and 13. All of these things were fulfilled and more by this prophecy that Jesus was going to die and he would lay down his life for all people so that we could become one in God's family.
00:18:26
Speaker
And we need to believe that Jesus is God's son and that God sent him to us. So you may be saying, okay, yes, I already do that. So let's also look at what Jesus was talking about, and about that it's more difficult for a rich person to enter into God's kingdom than it is for a camel to go through the eye or the hole of a needle.
00:18:51
Speaker
It's important to note here that Jesus says that when we choose to give up our earthly possessions, he promises that when we do that for his sake, in order to benefit God's kingdom.
00:19:05
Speaker
We talked a few days ago. So if you're new, you may not have heard this particular ah message that we talked about, but everything we have has been given to us by God. So this religious leader,
00:19:18
Speaker
He loved riches and he didn't want to sell all of his things. He didn't want to give his money to the poor and leave everything to become a follower of Jesus. He was a religious leader and he loved money more than he loved God.
00:19:35
Speaker
And we spoke about that. And so it is more important for us to look at the big picture, not at the small picture,
00:19:46
Speaker
of just seeing our physical life.
Valuing God Over Wealth
00:19:49
Speaker
He was focusing on his physical life, on his physical comforts. And so he was not willing to want to do so.
00:19:58
Speaker
Now, does that mean that in order to enter God's kingdom, every single person has to be completely poor and sell everything they own? That is not what God is saying. That is not what Jesus is saying.
00:20:09
Speaker
He is saying that for those who make him the most important one in their lives, they are the ones that God is looking for.
00:20:21
Speaker
it's It is not simply enough to just follow God's ways, but we need to worship God with our heart, not just with our mouths. And this is what the religious leaders were doing.
00:20:32
Speaker
They were worshiping God with their mouths, but their hearts were far from God. Jesus is talking about our hearts. This religious leader was valuing money more than he was valuing God. He was not making God the most important one in his life.
00:20:50
Speaker
And so we have been learning this year to make Jesus, to make God the most important one in our lives, to do things the way God wants us to do them.
00:21:01
Speaker
Not our will, but God's will to be done. We've been learning also that for those of us who boost ourselves up, who exalt ourselves, who make us to be important,
00:21:15
Speaker
That is what God is referring to and what Jesus is referring to when he says that those who are first will be last and those who are last will be first. It doesn't mean that there is an automatic reversal of roles, that those who are rich now will be poor in heaven later.
00:21:33
Speaker
It means that we are looking at all of the possessions that God has given us and that we are using them to further God's kingdom. And where is God's kingdom? inside of us.
00:21:45
Speaker
So we are looking to further the kingdom by helping people come to God's kingdom to know about the good word. The good word of the good news of God's kingdom is that he has come. and He can save us.
00:22:01
Speaker
He has done what is needed. We just need to believe and that we need to support and help those who may have less than ourselves.
Resource Utilization for God's Kingdom
00:22:11
Speaker
And that we use what the resources are that God has given us, whether it is a little or whether it is lot, to benefit the kingdom of God, to help others within our family, and to help bring others to a saving grace in God's kingdom.
00:22:28
Speaker
When we are using our resources to do that, we are valuing God over ourselves. When we choose to spend money on other things to benefit God's kingdom rather than to buy another car or the latest gadget, whatever it happens to be, then we are showing that God is more important than what we value in the physical world.
00:22:52
Speaker
and Jesus says that those of us who lay down our physical life will gain eternal life. Not everybody will die as a result of of being a believer.
00:23:04
Speaker
But what he is talking about is putting the spiritual existence ahead of the physical existence. Because anybody who believes in him will not really die.
00:23:19
Speaker
So it's important to remember those things. And those are our daily application for today. It is both an understanding and applying this to our everyday life.
Fostering Discipleship
00:23:30
Speaker
So I hope you feel that you understand God's word, that you have something to share with somebody. I love when people ask me, how are you today? Because it gives me an opportunity to say, i am so fabulous. I am so excited.
00:23:43
Speaker
i This is what God has been doing in my life. And I just got to share it with you because I am just so excited. And so that's how i I start a lot of conversations with people about um reading this event and then being able to spread the word about reading God's word this way. And then like, that's how I found out that you, Joe, are my brother.
00:24:05
Speaker
We were so excited. I worked with you for three years and we didn't even know. I'm sure we probably suspected, but it just never came up in conversation. And because I utilize that as my entry, my talking point, it then paved the way and into that conversation being started.
00:24:24
Speaker
and And now we have that connection. And it is just so awesome. So I encourage you to talk with other people and to tell them, I've been listening to God's word through this event.
00:24:36
Speaker
And it's really helping me to understand his word. And it's making me excited to share it with people. And I just, I'm so excited. I got to tell you what I've been learning and how it applies in my life.
00:24:48
Speaker
And this is how it applies in my life. And when I do this, this is what happens. And that is us being a witness.
00:24:56
Speaker
And that is what we are called to be is witnesses for God. So I want to encourage you to be that witness that i I hope that God's word has lit your light and that you are excited and that you are encouraged to share how this is ah impacted you in your life and and to be that witness for people.
00:25:17
Speaker
And together, when we do that, when we encourage people to then hear this event and to read and hear God's word, to learn how to apply it in their lives, that is what Jesus meant when he said to go and make disciples of all nations.
00:25:33
Speaker
A disciple is a student. So as you are here listening to God's word, you are a disciple of Jesus.
Active Discipleship and Teachings
00:25:41
Speaker
And Jesus says that if you are truly my disciples, then you will do as I have told you.
00:25:49
Speaker
you love it? I know I do. So i i I love how it works together and how it inspires us to obey and how it perpetuates him.
00:26:02
Speaker
That's what we want to do. We want to bring glory to God and glory to Jesus and spread the word about reading God's word so that we can make disciples of all people everywhere. So thank you for being here and being a disciple, a fellow disciple with me.
00:26:19
Speaker
I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day that you are brought a couple of people into your life today to share this with whatever day you get around to hearing this September 19th message.
00:26:31
Speaker
And if you are hungry for more of God's word, I will be here again tomorrow for tomorrow's daily reading through the Day by Day Kids Bible. And until then, I hope you have a great rest of your day.
00:26:44
Speaker
Thank you.