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Jan 01, 2024 06:00am

The Bible Recap: Days 288-294

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(The following are reflections from the writer’s personal journey through The Bible Recap by Tara-Leigh Cobble – a Bible reading plan to read the Bible chronologically in one year. To learn more about The Bible Recap, visit thebiblerecap.com. Find more posts from this series at lifeword.org/thebiblerecap.)

Day 288: Read Mark Chapters 4-5

My Takeaways:

I love reading the same stories from different perspectives! You get new details each time. I loved Mark’s story about our bleeding woman—what I love about that story was this: when she touched Jesus, her body was healed. But when she came forward and fell before Him, submitting to Him, her soul was healed. She received salvation.

Could you imagine how she lived life? How much she was set free? Can you imagine Jesus, perhaps cupping her hands or her face—a big no-no with an unclean person in the Jews’ world—and calling her “Daughter”?

In that moment, she was seen. I would imagine much of the past 12 years she lived trying to not be seen. I would imagine how people tried to avoid her, crying out, “Unclean! Unclean!”

And yet, she risked it all by pushing her way through a crowd of people so that she could touch His tassels on His prayer shawls.

To me, this is seeking, friends! She was adamant to get her healing. She was desperate enough to SEEK Jesus and risk being exposed and possibly arrested. She wanted Jesus!

I wonder…when was the last time you sought Him this way? When was the last time you lay flat on the carpet and exposed it all to Him? When was the last time you were so adamant and so desperate you preached Scripture back to him?

Sometimes, I know it’s true for me, I can do my prayers and Bible reading and not engage the heart. But, seeking engages the heart! Seeking is taking steps to get closer to Him! Seeking is saying, “If you are willing, I know you can!” Seeking is saying, “Your will, not mine!”

Seeking is surrendering, friends. It’s opening your hand to God and giving up anything you’re trying desperately to hold onto.

Because if we are willing to expose ourselves in such a raw way, that’s when He steps in. That’s when He does something miraculous in us and around us. That’s when He cups our faces, looks us in the eyes, and says, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.”

Dear sisters-in-Christ, I know each of us has heavy things in our lives. Let’s see what He can do in us and through us, shall we? To seek Him and seek His presence in a way we haven’t. To be desperate enough to not give up.

Whether it’s preaching Scripture back to Him, asking BIG things, or surrendering precious things, let’s believe more.

Day 289: Read Matthew Chapter 10

My Takeaways:

To live is Christ.

That is what today’s reading reminded me of. These 12 disciples are now going out and LIVING OUT THEIR FAITH!

Heal the sick
Raise the dead
Heal the leprous
Drive out demons

Oh, can you imagine how excited/nervous/apprehensive they might have been?!

On top of going out to other towns, Jesus told them a few more instructions:

Don’t take an extra travelling bag or tunic
Don’t accept money
Stay with whomever will have you
If they reject you, shake the dust off of your feet

They are called to be totally reliant upon God. They won’t be accepted everywhere. They will be persecuted. If they are, Jesus assures them that the Holy Spirit will give them the words to say.

And lastly….don’t be afraid. If God takes care of the birds daily, how much more would He take care of His kids?

The last part is something we’ve seen already; Jesus didn’t come with peace to earth like what they envisioned in the form of a warrior. His words are divisive and will separate loved ones: those who follow Christ and those who don’t.

But He promises something beautiful: if you follow me, you will find real life, real freedom.

Oh friends, it’s testing time for our disciples and now their feet hit the pavement and they are going to experience doing life with God, and God alone.

And this, ladies, is just a sneak peak of what’s in store for them in the future when they will do life without their beloved Jesus.

And it’s these men who will light the world on fire for Christianity.

My God Shot is that God does the same for us. We learn from Him in His Word daily, but we will be tested out there, in the real world. Will we too live out God’s love? And, will we live out our trust for Him?

Day 290: Read Matthew Chapter 14, Mark Chapter 6, and Luke Chapter 9

My Takeaways:

Well, ladies, today’s readings were chock-full of so many tender stories! Too many to do justice to!

But, my ABSOLUTE favorite story was in today’s reading…and today, I got a little more perspective on it.

John the Baptist was beheaded…this had to be heartbreaking and scary for our disciples and for Jesus. They withdrew to soak it in, but the crowds follow Jesus wherever He goes. Instead of turning away from them, He has compassion on them. To Him, they were like sheep without a shepherd, so He ministers to their hearts and leans into them. It’s toward the end of the day, they all are hungry and tired….there’s no way to feed them all. The disciples see this and beg Jesus to send them away. (You guys, how many times have I been like them?! The Son of God is among them and they worry about not having enough food to feed the people! I chuckle because they are so relatable to me!)

Then, Jesus takes them back to spiritual school and feeds the people physical food! He provided for nearly 15,000 people! The disciples, in the wake of John’s death, can’t wrap their minds around this! Jesus sends them in a boat to go to the other side and He spends time alone. Can you imagine how tired He was—physically and emotionally? Even though He was God’s Son, it still had to be hard to hear about John, teach and feed the people, and still pour into His disciples.

In the boat, those disciples had to be reeling internally. John was dead. This had to be a heavy foreshadowing of their ministry. Jesus fed 15,000. This was a HUGE miracle right after a HUGE loss. They were quite possibly stunned. And now a storm blows up, in the middle of the night. They are exhausted and give way to fear. They see someone walking on water. Their first thought was it was a ghost! But, Peter, seeing Jesus says something interesting: “Tell me to come to you, Lord.”

I wonder…is it because it’s easier to take that step of faith when Jesus commands it vs. his own volition?

And Peter does something NO ONE, save Jesus, had ever done: walk on water. I love him for this! He only sinks when he takes his eyes off of Jesus. Immediately, Jesus saves him (again—I love that Jesus saves him IMMEDIATELY), but convicts him when He says: Why did you doubt? (Again, I feel like God asks me this often.)

Friends, I think these two miracles after John’s death happened intentionally to bolster these men’s faith. Upon hearing about John, they had to have questions, hard emotions, and perhaps even doubt. Some of them had followed John! It was perhaps at this tender time, Jesus allowed them to experience two BIG miracles to remind them of who He was and the bigger picture: preaching the Good News.

You guys, these young disciples were being pushed and stretched beyond what they could comprehend, but Jesus knew it was exactly what they needed. They needed to be reminded He could do the impossible. They needed to be reminded that they can’t hole up when heartbreak happens. They needed to be reminded to believe more.

Because Jesus has a mission for them upon His death. He’s preparing them to do these things in His name. He’s preparing His students to take over for Him.

Oh ladies, these readings get me! These moments are so intentional in their lives! I love how Jesus pours into them, at perhaps one of the hardest times in their lives. (The hardest one coming soon with His death…)

He does the same for us. Tough times are inevitable. But, He stands by with His Word and the Holy Spirit to help us during such times. He urges us to step out of the boat and to walk by faith. He saves us when we falter. He asks us why we doubted Him. He reminds us with Him, all things are possible.

Day 291: Read John Chapter 6

My Takeaways:

So far, we’ve had ALL THE FEEL GOOD VIBES in our readings about Jesus performing miracles! The only negativity has come from the Pharisees.

But today, people—Jesus’ followers—are turning away from Jesus.

Funny, after Jesus feeds the 5,000 (really, 15,000), He and His disciples go to the other side of the sea. This is where John records Him walking on water!

The crowds of people TRACK JESUS DOWN! They follow Him and want MORE teaching. (Maybe more miracles…) Jesus uses a metaphor—HE IS THE BREAD OF LIFE. He does some deeper teaching about Him coming from heaven to do the Father’s will and no one can come to the Father except through Him. Then, He talks about His flesh and His blood and this sends them over the edge. They can not wrap their minds about it! They take it literal, while He is using it as hyperboles. They get frustrated and turn away from following Him.

Yep, Jesus didn’t come to give peace, friends. He came with a sword to divide: those would have an open heart, a willing heart, to believe Him and those who don’t or won’t. Either these people want miracles or a conquering warrior to save them from Rome. Or, people are are threatened by Him like the Pharisees.

After many people leave Jesus, He turns to His disciples and asks them: Are you going to leave me too?

Then, Peter (who just walked on the water, friends) says 2 beautiful things:

Where will we go?

You are the Messiah.

Peter can be impulsive and brash, but man, he nailed it in the head here!

This happens everywhere, friends! People want the Jesus who can do miracles, but they don’t want Him if His teachings are hard, or they don’t understand Him. They want the God of love, not necessarily the God who preaches hard things that they can’t understand or don’t want to…because then, they would have to change.

But, those who STILL BELIEVE, even though they don’t understand everything, are the ones who stick with Jesus. How many times have we read something in the Bible we don’t get but still read it? God wants the heart of someone who doesn’t always understand but leans into Him for wisdom and insight. And, He will use His Holy Spirit to teach them and guide them.

Today, we also have our first mic drop when it comes to a traitor…Jesus made a reference to one of them being the devil.

I wondered what that moment was like? Did they look around at each other and think “Not me!” Or was someone side-eyeing the person next to them?

That is proof that people can appear to follow Jesus-they can come to church, serve in ministry, witness miracles—and never surrender to Jesus Christ.

Day 292: Read Matthew Chapter 15 & Mark Chapter 7

My Takeaways:

Words and actions

Food and faith

And hypocrites

Those words would sum up today’s reading! The Pharisees are back at it today attacking Jesus with what seems to be an obvious reason: He doesn’t wash His hands!

Then, Jesus calls them out for not honoring God in their lives and by living by their man-made traditions and looking “right” in their lives but being far from God in their hearts. He also tells them it’s what comes out of our mouths that defiles us! Our words reveal our heart.

Mic drop!

Jesus also goes out of His way to test a Gentile’s faith…her daughter is demon-possessed and she is desperate for a healing! Jesus tells her He is here for Jews, not Gentiles, and it’s then she has the best comeback: “Sir, I will gladly take whatever leftovers you will give me!”

It reminds me of the centurion’s faith when he said, “Lord, if you are willing, I KNOW YOU CAN”

And like the centurion, He heals the mama’s daughter. I LOVE THIS. Again, Jesus has a heart for the desperate.

Amid all this, he serves up a meal for 4,000 men! (Plus, women and children!)

I love that that once again, Jesus calls out hypocrisy and calls out the heart condition of the Pharisees—they don’t have a relationship with God. And He blesses a woman who didn’t grow up with the Torah—but she simply believed Jesus.

It always has been about the heart in the Old Testament and continues to be about the heart in the New Testament. That’s because God’s after a relationship. Though we may not look the best on the outside, if we have a heart after Him, that’s all He needs to work mightily in our lives.

Day 293: Read Matthew Chapter 16 & Mark Chapter 8

My Takeaways:

Did anyone else sense the heaviness of Jesus today? It feels like He knows His time is near, and He needs His disciples to get it.

You know what? I felt like the disciples when Jesus was like, “Don’t you get it?!” They take everything literally (as do I) and many times, He teaches in analogies, metaphors, and hyperboles—figurative language. I was kind of like, “Ummm, I don’t get it either, Jesus. Can you expound on that bread thing more?”

I wonder how much time has passed in their ministry? Has it been a year? Two years? Going on three?

Two parts really grabbed me. Those questioning Pharisees come back to test Him AGAIN and then we read this: “Sighing deeply in his spirit, he asks, ‘why does this generation demand a sign? No sign will be given!’” (This is where I like to imagine Jesus doing an internal eye roll or side eye.)

And He leaves.

Oh, friends, how many times have I demanded I sign from God! How many times have I made Him sigh deeply in His spirit? This got me! Those Pharisees just don’t get it. And, I hate to admit that I have very much been like them.

And this last part also grabbed me: Jesus healing the blind man. Jesus got His hands dirty for this healing, friends. And you know what? He shows us something profound here: when things don’t appear clear cut, cleave to Jesus. Believe Him. Trust Him. Some healings take more time. Just because we don’t see clearly doesn’t mean He’s not working. This is working on our faith muscles. For me, some of His deepest works in my life have been inch by inch, not immediate results. Very few things in my life have been instantaneous. When God wants me to get it, like really get it, He lets me learn it over time…nice and slow.

Day 294: Read Matthew Chapter 17 & Mark Chapter 9

My Takeaways:

I want to focus on how Peter, James, and John were so focused on the wrong thing at the transfiguration. I want to point out how they were so fixated on staying present in that moment, they missed it. They missed witnessing Jesus visiting with two HUGE figures of their faith—Moses and Elijah!

I want to add how I, too, can be experiencing something really cool and often times, I am missing it by focusing on the wrong things!

But, what I really want to talk about is something that grabs my heart: the story of the demonized child. A father begs for his child’s release of the demon and the disciples fail. I don’t know if they are scared, they don’t pray, they don’t invite God into this situation—whatever it may be, it’s something that flat words can’t get them. It’s something that Jesus seems to indicate takes a deeper faith and deeper petition. There are two beautiful things going on here:

A father, who struggles with faith, asks Jesus for more faith—to overcome his disbelief-and Jesus grants it! And Jesus says something I absolutely love: All things are possible for he who believes.

Does it mean we will get all things? No, it’s Jesus using a hyperbole that shows us when our faith is great, He will show up every time! I LOVE THIS!

Faith accesses God, friends. Let’s be bold and ask God for more faith!

And the second beautiful pearl of wisdom here is this: A parent’s faith helped heal his child. As a mama, I pray for my kiddos. I see the shortcomings and pitfalls, and I so want to help them with those! But, they need Jesus. They have to seek Him on their own and when they do, they will find Him! I can’t do it for them. But, our father in our story took his boy to Jesus alongside his admission of his unbelief…and they experienced Jesus.

Friends, we must live out our faith, if only for our kids. So that they see it and feel our love for God. We must be praying parents for our kids’ sakes! Jesus healed a boy because of his father’s faith! I want it! I want that for my kids! Let’s be praying and believing mamas very time we can for our kids and in front of our kids. They are always watching! They need to see faith lived out loud to know all things are possible for he who believes.

And who knows? What if our faith helps heal them? Wouldn’t it be worth it? This story encourages me to keep petitioning God for my kids. Keep praying. All things are possible for he who believes.