Bible Reading Plan (Day 12)

DAY TWELVE —   Genesis 12, Matthew 12

Gen 12

God commands Abram to leave what he knows and loves and by faith follow God.

To make Abram a great nation would take a miracle. Sarai was barren.

I find myself recalling the scene just after the fall. The promise of a savior to come.

Offspring, again, Sarai was barren. It would take great faith to be able to think of there being any children.

Apparently, there was a famine in the land.

God did not command Abram to move, but Abram did anyway.

As further evidence of doubt, and that of humanity’s unchanging inability to heed God’s call, Abram lies to Pharaoh with regards to his relationship with Sarai.

Despite Abram’s indecent actions, the Lord protects His people and His name.

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Mt 12

Where do these Pharisees come from?! What is this? Monty Python? “Nobody escapes the Pharisaicial Inquisition!”

The Sabbath is not about legalistic ritual. It is about rest in God and peace with Him.

The Pharisees were outwitted again by Jesus. They don’t like that.

Up until now we have seen Jesus mean and wild, here we see Jesus meek and mild. He does his miracles to the glory of God as the fulfillment of prophecy. Not for His own fame, but that God would be glorified in the healing and saving of the lost.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is, in this context, to attribute God’s work to demonic forces.

Verse 34… ouch.

This is not to say that our words justify us, but are evidence of it. Our fruits are not our salvation, but evidence of it. We should not confuse the fruit for the root.

In response to the question in verse 38… “Dur!” HOW many signs has Jesus performed?

Jonah went unwillingly to an overtly hostile city to preach repentance. Jesus went willingly to an overtly hostile world to peach repentance.

Moralizing to clean up one’s life is just fine and may work for quite a while, but without Christ to evict the tenants and padlock the premises for safety.

Woe to those whose faith is not in Christ, who reject him and live for and by themselves.

The family of God is not based upon bloodlines, but on faith and repentance.

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Questions to Ponder:

* Compare God’s call to Abram and Jesus’ call to the Apostles and disciples.

* What does “I desire mercy not sacrifice” mean? (See Hosea 6:6)

* Can blasphemy against the Holy Spirit be committed today?

Tags: Bible Reading Plan, Genesis 11, Matthew 11