Dear sisters,
Isn’t it great to know that we are ready to start week 2 of our Bible Reading Challenge? Week one was already a huge blessing and now as we go into week two we will be amazed about the story God is writing.
This week we will read Genesis 12- 36 and Mt. 8-19. Some of the chapters in Genesis are a bit longer, so you may want to divide your reading in two parts. Maybe read Genesis in the morning and Matthew in another window of time you open in your day. Yes, opening God’s Word will feel like opening a window of fresh air in your day! The days will never be quiet enough for you to read your Bible, especially if you are in that season of life in which your littlest are making messes in the bathroom and your teenagers are coming back from school really hungry. But it is there, in the midst of it all, that we can meet God in his word. Stop for a second and think about what you just read. You can meet God in the middle of your day in His Word. That is true and that is huge. Come!
We will be reading this week about Abraham and Sarah and God’s Promise. Isaac is born and God shows himself faithful -again. God will keep revealing Himself as the God who keeps Covenant in spite of all the sins we will see great men of God commit.
We will read about Isaac and their sons, and Jacob and his sons; and we won’t be able to put the Book down. Because, really? How is God going to keep the line of the Seed of the Woman alive if those He chooses are definitely not flawless characters?
In Matthew the story continues when Jesus comes down from the mountain and crowds start following him. He heals many because that is what God wills to do. And He doesn’t tell us why the Man with leprosy was suffering, or why the servant of the Centurion was paralyzed, etc. No, He sees beyond that and sees their faith and hears their cry for mercy and He chooses to heal them. Your faith will be encouraged for sure as you read those stories!
Jesus will call Matthew and the rest of the disciples just like God called his servants in the stories we are reading in the OT : Out of the pleasure of His own will! Don’t miss that. One of the ways God exercises his Sovereign will is by choosing men to fulfill His purpose and bring Him glory.
We will read some puzzling parables, like the parable of The Sower that Jesus tells to confuse his critical hearers. Parables, after all, Jesus tells us, are not to make the meaning of his teachings as clear as water. We can only understand them when the Spirit opens our eyes to see.
When you read the question Jesus will ask his disciples in chapter 16: 13-20, be ready to have a response. Every single human has to face that question and only the Holy Spirit can help us give the right answer that opens the door of Heaven.
Jesus will go up again on a mountain. But this time He will not be preaching, He will be transfigured and have a reunion with Moses and Elijah that a few of the disciples (He chose who) will witness. And guess what? It is recorded for us so that we may read and meditate upon, so take the Book and read it!
We will finish with a powerful question and statement that will shake your bones, strengthen your faith, and give you hope. Keep reading you will find it on Chapter 19 of Matthew verses 25-26 (don’t peek ahead!)
May our prayer this week be, “I come to you Jesus, labored and heavy laden, trusting that you will give me rest as I come to you in the Word.” (Based on Mt. 11:28-30)
A little note to answer a question we believe you may want to ask: all webinar recordings can be found on the Christ Kirk YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnTDQ1ggnV_wdm6JsHVBAaQ
Under His Sun and by His grace,
Becky Pliego and the Team of Christ Church Ladies Fellowship
