¡Hola, hola! Welcome to week 15 of our Bible Reading Challenge, Friends! This coming week is the last week we will meet for our Webinar this year (Monday, 18 at 10:00am PST), but we will back on January 8th. I am still hoping, however, to send you an email or two to encourage you and somehow remind you that we are together persevering in this challenge. But… I am not promising anything (insert smiley face here, Friends).
I am so happy for the holidays this year as all my children will be home. We won’t have a white Christmas, but we will for sure have one full of laughter and good conversations around the table. And I am so very grateful for that.
This week we will finish reading the second book of Samuel, Psalms 18 and 54 and then, on Tuesday we will have a very welcome catch-up day. I want to suggest two options for that day:
1. Divide Monday readings in two. The chapters are a bit longer this time, so I’m thinking that you can read the two Psalms on Tuesday.
2. You can read John 1-3 and Matthew 1-3. If you choose this option, you will be reading, in the same week, the three accounts of Jesus’ birth recorded in the Gospels.
After our catch-up day we will start Micah and the gospel of Luke (who also wrote the book of Acts).
Micah was a prophet around the same time as Hosea and Isaiah, and as any other prophet of the Lord, he points to the sins of the people, calls them to repentance and reminds them of God’s lovingkindness and willingness to forgive their sins. When reading Micah, keep your eyes open to see God at work in the midst of judgement: how in His perfect justice He deals with sin, but how in His perfect mercy and compassion, He extends the possibility of reconciliation, of restoration, and of peace. And so we find in this book one of the greatest prophecies about the coming of the Messiah, of Jesus Christ. Now, when you get to chapter 7, be ready to find a passage that will for sure drive you to pray the Scriptures.
Luke was travel companion of Paul and a physician. He also authored the book of Acts, which is like the sequel of his epistle (both are addressed to Theophilus). It is interesting to note how much Mary’s song of praise will make us think of Hannah’s song back in 1 Samuel 2 -and we will talk more about how fascinating this is on our webinar on Monday.
In Luke 19:10 we find the heart of the gospel: “The Son of man came to seek and save the lost.” and when the time came, “He set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (9:57). Jesus was determined to seek and save the lost, and in many verses you will read how he did that, what strategy He had to find them. Hint: eating and drinking were involved (Luke 7: 34).
This week our readings are wonderful. They are the stories we should be reading in Advent, the stories that make our story make sense. Because of these stories, we put lights all over our homes, and make cookies, and gather with family and friends, and sing with joy. Christ has come, Friends! No more waiting! And we cannot remain quiet, we cannot be spectators in this huge narrative. We must go tell it on the mountains, over the hills, around our neighborhood, on social media, and everywhere that Jesus Christ is born!
¡Feliz Navidad!
Under His sun and by His grace,
Becky Pliego and the team of Christ Church Ladies Fellowship
