READING THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR

Mark 11 includes several miracles and lessons from Jesus. These set the stage for the last, dramatic days of His earthly ministry. In this chapter, Jesus enters Jerusalem to great fanfare and openly confronts local religious leaders for their hypocrisy. Over the next few chapters, Mark will continue to record controversial teachings, leading up to Jesus' arrest and early sham trials, recorded in chapter 14.

Though many barriers exist in the world that prevent us from receiving or experiencing justice, we get justice by petitioning the one who brings about justice on the earth. As Jesus instructs in Luke 18 we are called to be persistent in prayer, persistent in seeking justice, and resilient in everything we do.

Jesus explains that greatness in His kingdom is not about ruling over others as the Gentiles do. Instead, those who would be great should serve the others. Whoever would be first must serve (volunteer) others. After all, Jesus has come to serve and not to be served.

Matthew 19 and Mark 10 follow Jesus' teachings about temptation and forgiveness. While east of the Jordan, some Pharisees find Jesus, as well, and come to test Him with a difficult and divisive question. They hope to get Jesus to say something that will discredit Him in the eyes of the people. Or, He might give them cause to accuse Him of heresy. They ask Jesus if it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause. Some Pharisees said infidelity was the only allowable cause; others said a man could divorce his wife for virtually any reason. Christ quotes from Genesis, citing God's plan for marriage. Jesus overrules His disciples after they rebuke some people for bringing children to Him to lay hands on and pray for. He repeats the idea that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like little children.

While traveling from Galilee to Jerusalem, Jesus healed ten lepers. Only one of those who were healed returned to give thanks to Jesus. A clear lesson that Jesus expects us to show gratitude. In the account of the Thankful Leper, Jesus is clearly angry at the unthankfulness of the nine lepers who didn't return. Make it an intentional habit to be thankful, to give thanks, to be filled with thanksgiving. Much like Luke 17, in Luke 18 Jesus wants us to always pray based on God's will and not give up or lose heart. Jesus wants us not to be confident of our own righteousness or look down on anyone. Rather, Jesus wants us to confess and repent our sins before God, humbling ourselves, to let God do the exalting in his time and way.

In the Book of John, Chapter 11, Jesus enters the tomb and performs a miracle, raising Lazarus from the dead. It was witnessed by Lazarus's sister Martha. The story of Lazarus tells us that Jesus has power over life and death. The resurrection of Lazarus also foreshadows the death and resurrection of Christ. The raising of Lazarus from the dead is significant because Jesus used this historical event to prepare the world for the most incredible miracle yet to come: His death and resurrection, which proves that Jesus is God, the world's Savior.

In the Parable of the Shrewd Manager (Luke 16) Jesus is teaching us that the key to security about the things we need is not anxious earning and saving, but trustworthy service and spending. If God can trust us to spend our money to meet the needs of others, then the money we ourselves need will also be provided by putting Him first in every area of our lives.  Luke 17:1-10 can be summed up like this, it takes faith in a great big God to be able to offer forgiveness. It takes faith to remain humble so that we don't come to believe that God owes us anything.

In Luke 14 & 15, Jesus talks about who will enter the kingdom of God: the needy, the humble, the generous, those who come when God invites them, those who endure, and those Jesus seeks. Salvation is, obviously, part of the kingdom of God, and certainly the most important.

Luke 12 & 13 are about aligning ourselves and our passions toward God and our neighbor, and ultimately toward God's mission. God is reminding us that greed is a very human feeling. And more so, God is also calling us to align our lives toward God and neighbor. Our lives and possessions are not our own. They belong to God. We are merely stewards of them for the time God has given us on this earth.