Read through the Bible in 2 Years: 2 Corinthians 5
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ESV
Kelly Hall and I first met almost thirty years ago when I was a first year teacher at Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, Missouri. Little did I know then how God would mightily use Kelly and her courageous faith in my life. Kelly and I had lost touch after exchanging annual Christmas letters for many years only to be reconnected about five years ago when I discovered that my faithful Memphis area prayer partner, Beth, also knew Kelly from their husbands’ mutual service in the air force in Texas! Isn’t God amazing?!? He is the great tapestry weaver.
I hope you’ll take a half hour of your time to tune in to my interview on Kelly Hall’s Unshakable Hope podcast and consider subscribing to be alerted as she releases new ones.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: 2 Corinthians 4
For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
2 Corinthians 4:5 ESV
Have you ever heard of the book, “Share Jesus Without Fear” by William Fay? This book solidified my belief in asking questions and genuinely listening to the person’s responses as an effective method of sharing the gospel. The book also encourages you to share the gospel directly from the scriptures, by suggesting seven key passages for the person you’re sharing with to read themselves. In fact, I’ve written these passages down in the pocket New Testament Bible that I carry with me in my purse. My only complaint about the book is the title. I’m STILL afraid to share — but I pray every day that the Lord will give me strength to overcome that fear.
I want to always be prepared to give away this pocket Bible, so I also wrote several key passages in the cover that are excellent for non-Christians or new Christians to study. I actually keep a second pocket Bible ready at home with these verses written in it, too, so when I give this one away, I’m already prepared to pop another one into my purse. I learned these passages from No Place Left ministries whose website has lots of great resources for evangelism and discipleship.
But, back to ‘Share Jesus Without Fear,” this book includes many excellent questions to ask to open the door for a spiritual conversation. Here are some questions that I hope might help you. I think these questions are appropriate to ask just about anyone given the right situation, whether a close friend or a stranger on an airplane.
Has anyone ever explained the basic beliefs of Christianity to you? Would you like me to share my thoughts with you?
Do you have any kind of spiritual beliefs?
Who is Jesus to you? Can I share with you who Jesus is to me?
Do you think there is a heaven or hell? How did you come to those beliefs?
If you died tonight, where would you go? If heaven, why?
May I share seven scriptures with you that changed my life?
Don’t be afraid to ask someone to meet you for coffee or a meal, asking them in advance if they’d like to meet up with you to talk about spiritual things. You might be surprised how many people would be willing to meet with you if you asked them! You’ll never know if you don’t ask.
Heavenly Father, I’m asking You to open doors for me to have a spiritual conversation with someone this week. I want to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. I want to love my neighbor as myself. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and I want to do that, too. Please give me courage and wisdom to be a witness and ambassador for the kingdom of heaven. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: 1 Corinthians 15
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 ESV
Dear friends, no one will be compelled to follow Christ by listening to you complain and criticize. Sharing haughty arguments and brilliant expositions on lofty theological ideas isn’t the way to bring lost sinners to the feet of Christ. It’s the gospel. It’s the good news of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, who died for our sins and who was raised triumphant from the dead, that draws people to faith. Share the gospel.
Ask questions. Listen thoughtfully to the answers. Share transparently about the struggles and joys of your own life. And share the gospel.
Jesus is who draws and saves. And Jesus is the Savior – not you. Friends, please, share the gospel.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the best news I’ve ever heard, the good news that the lost can be found and the dead can be raised through faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man who died in my place. I pray that You will send me where You want me to speak. Open my mouth to speak what You want me to say, and open my eyes to see the doors that You open for me. You are the One who saves. Make me a faithful steward of the gospel of Jesus Christ and of my testimony. For the glory of Your Name. Amen.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: 1 Corinthians 1
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:1-7 ESV
Please take the time to read this incredible sermon by Charles Spurgeon titled, “Once Dead, Now Alive.”
Here’s a brief excerpt of it that I hope will cause you to want to read the whole thing.
To find out what spiritual death means, I shall ask you to remember that this dead body here is characterized by an absence of sense.
Be not afraid, it is your brother man; come close up to him, and speak. He does not hear you. Speak more loudly; he does not answer you, he gives no sign of recognition. Shout at the very top of your voice; stoop down, and speak into his ear. Alas! it is the clay-cold ear of death, upon which no effect whatever is produced.
I remember when I was spiritually just like that. I could not hear even the voice of Jesus, though it was very soft and tender. He said, “Come unto me,” but I did not respond to his call. There were others near me who did; but I was dead, and took no notice.
Then there came a louder sound, a voice of threatening, a message of condemnation. God spoke from the top of Sinai, and hurled at me the ten great thunderbolts of his law; yet still I did not hear. I had broken all those commands, and I must bear the penalty of disobedience; the law told me so, but I did not hear.
Friends led me, sometimes, dead as I was, where both the law and the gospel were fully preached; but I did not hear, I could not hear. Sounds went past the drum of my ear, and my body heard; but the ear of my heart was not reached, I could not hear, for I was dead.
Charles Spurgeon, ‘Once Dead, Now Alive,’ 1888
Oh, save us, Lord for our nation is perishing! Our people are dying for lack of knowledge and understanding. We have trusted in ourselves and turned our backs on You, preferring the fake wisdom of man over the true wisdom of God.
Forgive us, Lord. Have mercy on our souls. Draw us back to You by Your steadfast lovingkindness.
I once was lost but now I’m found. I once was dead but now I’m alive. Praise Your Name. You opened my eyes and gave my life. You brought me out of the darkness. You set my feet on the Solid Rock. You hid me under the shelter of Your Almighty Wings. Thank You, Father!
You loved us so much that You sent Your Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Let us not waiver any longer. May we choose this day whom we will serve, and may it be You and You alone for You alone are worthy. You deserve all the praise and all the glory.In the matchless name of Jesus I pray. Amen
I grew up listening to my mom’s stories, stories about her life growing up on a dairy farm, how she and my dad planned a quick wedding before he went off to college out-of-state, how I was finally born three weeks past my due date, and many more. I’ve heard the same stories again and again, but somehow I can’t seem to remember all the details. I need to be reminded of these true stories that are important to my family’s life.
The Israelites had been miraculously delivered out of slavery in Egypt. They had spent 40 years wandering in the desert while the Lord miraculously fed them daily with bread from heaven. And now they are going to miraculously cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land of Israel.
Their children will need to hear these stories told again and again. They will need to be reminded of how God provided and God delivered and God led His people, not just so they’d know their people’s history but so they’d know their God.
Our children need to know how God worked in our lives, so they will trust that He can work in their lives, too.
Remember, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 ESV) Let’s tell our children some stories about how the Lord has worked in our lives, setting up some Stones of Remembrance for them to know and trust God. This is one of many reasons I wrote the story of my Jesus transformed my life from Evangelical Atheist to Evangelical Christian.
I’d love to hear your stories. Leave a comment here so others can be encouraged by how the Lord has worked in your life.
Heavenly Father, You are the eternal, unchanging God. You have always been perfect, and You always will be. But, Father, we need change. We need transformation. We need to be made new creations by the power of Your Spirit in us. And so do our children and our neighbors. Please work in us and through us, give us courage and wisdom to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ with whoever You place in our path. Let us not forget the Stones of Remembrance that You have given to us. May we remember You, and how You have led us, delivered us, and provided for us. In the Name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Today’s passage reminded me how often the Bible just “tells the story like it is” without any commentary on the morality of a person’s decisions. Was Joshua wrong to send the two spies to Jericho? I’m not sure. Was Rahab wrong to lie about the Israelite spies she was hiding? I think so, but once again I’m not sure.
But I am sure that God works even through the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad decisions that we make. In fact, God chose Rahab who had been a prostitute (clearly not a good choice) to be the great, great grandmother of that man after God’s own heart, King David.
And did you know that Rahab is the mother of Boaz, the worthy man who acted as the Moabite Ruth’s kinsman-Redeemer? (Matthew 1:5) I think that Boaz was more accepting of Ruth’s Gentile background because of his mother’s, and that he would’ve better understood the transformative power of faith in God because of his own mother’s testimony.
Sister, have you made choices in your life that you wish today you could go back and erase? I have. And, yet, those very choices have made me the woman I am today. All I can say is, PRAISE GOD for where sin abounded, His grace abounded all the more.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king….
Matthew 1:1-6 ESV
Heavenly Father, Your mercy is more. Your power is greater. Your love is better. You are perfect in all Your ways, using the tangled webs of our lives to weave a masterpiece of Your glory. You have cleansed me and washed me white as snow in the crimson blood of Christ my Savior. Now take my life as a living offering of gratitude for Your saving grace. In the Name of Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, my sinless kinsmen-redeemer, I pray. Amen.
His Mercy is More – The Gettys
By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Deuteronomy 27-28
In Deuteronomy 27:14, the Levites (the priests) were told to declare a series of curses to all the men of Israel in a loud voice. After voicing these curses for disobeying God’s commands, then they were to share the blessings for obedience, followed once again by more pronouncements of God’s judgment on their disobedience.
No one likes to tell others about the hard things going on in life. It’s so much more fun to just talk about the happy stuff – the joys of marriage, the highlights of homeschooling, the achievements of our children. Likewise, our churches are full of messages about HEAVEN and BLESSINGS and GOOD NEWS!
But, the thing is that only telling half the truth is really deceptive, and the GOOD NEWS is really so much sweeter when you know the bad news.
The bad news is that you are a sinner through and through.
The bad news is that on your own you can’t do anything good.
The bad news is that you deserve God’s wrath.
The bad news is that (apart from the saving grace of God) you are destined for eternity in hell.
The bad news is just as true as the good news.
The good news is that Jesus became a curse for me.
The good news is that Jesus delivered me from my path straight to hell.
The good news is that Jesus paid the price for my sin by His death on the cross.
The good news is that Jesus is my Savior and my Friend.
We have to tell the good news and the bad, the curses and the blessings. They’re both true and they both need to be proclaimed.
“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Deuteronomy 18:15-19:21
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’
And the LORD said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.
Deuteronomy 18:15-19 ESV
These words spoken by Moses as recorded in Deuteronomy 18 have been fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. As Peter said to the people in Jerusalem after they were eyewitnesses to him healing a crippled man,
“Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.
But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.
To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.
Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.
Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’
Acts 3:12-23 ESV
Dear friends, for so long I, too, was ignorant. I didn’t know the Word, and I didn’t know that Jesus was God’s only Begotten Son, fully God and fully man, whom God the Father had sent to pay the price for man’s sins by His death on the cross. I didn’t know that I could be saved by trusting in Him, turning away from my sin and turning to Him. I didn’t know.
But now I do. I’m no longer ignorant.
And just like God has different punishments for an accidental killing versus an intentional, willful murder, God’s justice will be more severe toward those who have willfully rejected His offer of salvation.
If you have read even this one blog post, you can no longer claim ignorance when you stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Like Paul said to the religious men in the Areopagus in Athens, “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31 ESV)
This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. Andthere is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:11-12 ESV
Reject Him no longer. I pray that today will be the day of salvation for you and your household. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for opening my eyes, for bringing me out of the darkness and into the light. Thank You for setting my feet on the solid rock of Jesus Christ, for hiding me in the Rock that was cleft for me, for passing over my sins because the blood of Jesus Christ has been applied to the door of my heart. This is all from You and for You. All praise and honor and thanks to You. I pray for those reading this today who are still wandering lost in the dark, who need their eyes to be opened. Please, Father, please. Show them Christ. In the Name of Jesus, my Savior and Redeemer and Lord. Amen.
Rock of Ages – Augustus Toplady – sung by Chris Rice
Show us Christ – Sovereign Grace Music
And click here for an article on the topic of more severe punishment in hell for those who reject Christ.
Dear friends, if you are reading this and have not yet bowed the knee to Jesus, let me appeal to you that you turn to Him today and be saved. Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, left the glories of heaven, took on human flesh, was born as a human baby, lived a perfect and sinless life, performed numerous miracles before thousands of eye witnesses, taught with authority explaining the way of salvation by faith in the One true God. He died on a Roman cross to pay the punishment for the sins of humans like you and me, making a way – the only way – for man to be forgiven by a just and holy God, and now He invites us to trust in Him and be saved from the wrath of God.
Last Sunday I finished an 8-week study about living a “MORE THAN” life in Christ. (I’m hoping to make this into my next book. Will you pray for me about this?) But, anyway, back to the subject at hand, I wanted to share some of one of the lessons as I looked at the life of Mephibosheth, a poor wretch of a man who was adopted into a King’s family. His story can be found in 2 Samuel 9.
Let me begin by sharing a little back story with you before we read. David was the second king of the nation of Israel. The first king, King Saul, along with his son, Jonathan, had recently died. David and Jonathan had been lifelong best friends despite King Saul’s fanatical hatred for David and repeated attempts to take David’s life. Though the family of the newly-crowned David and the family of the former king, Saul, should have been enemies of the highest degree, David was determined to keep his covenant with Jonathan by blessing his descendants.
And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
And he said, “I am your servant.”
And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?”
Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.”
The king said to him, “Where is he?”
And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.”
Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!”
And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.”
And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.”
And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?”
Then the king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master’s grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s grandson shall always eat at my table.”
Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants.
So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.
2 Samuel 9:1-13 ESV
Certainly Mephibosheth was not expecting to be chosen to be brought into the family by the King. According to human logic and emotions, Mephibosheth should have been the very last to be picked.
Like God had chosen King David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, David has chosen Mephibosheth, a cripple, the grandson of his enemy, to feast at the king’s table all the days of his life.
In the rural area where I live, there are countless stray dogs roaming around which means there are all too many dead dogs laying on the side of the road, struck dead by a passing car – unloved and unnoticed. Maybe someone would pull over to help a living dog, but a dead dog? Nah.
Mephibosheth sees himself not only as a dog, but a dead dog. Why would David choose him? He is wholly unworthy of this honor. He has done nothing to deserve it, and he has nothing to offer him in return. Like the great 18th century preacher and theologian Jonathan Edwards said, “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.”
And even more awesome than all of the stuff Mephibosheth got to enjoy, more than the produce and the palace and the servants …. Mephibosheth got to enjoy the presence of the King.
All too often we see ourselves more like Eliab, David’s big, strong, older brother, worthy of being chosen by God, rather than like Mephibosheth. The truth of the matter is that from birth we are born enemies of God, cripped by our sin, residents of the enemy’s camp, wholly unable to save ourselves. And while we were living far away in the desolate land of LoDebar, God pursued us, brought us into His palace, seated us at His table, and made us His daughters.
But how is that even possible? How can a holy God invite a sinful person like me into His family? Well, in human terms, it isn’t. With man this is indeed impossible, but with God all things are possible
The miracle of being made a child of God is the greatest conceivable miracle. Like Romans 5:7-8 tells us that one will scarcely die for a righteous person – a just, law-abiding, rule-keeping, moral person – though perhaps for a good person – a truly kind, loving, benevolent person – one would dare even to die. But GOD shows HIS love for us in that while we were STILL SINNERS, Christ died for us.
Jesus died to bring enemies into his family. His kindness is meant to bring us to repentance. He already paid the penalty for our sin, so we don’t have to. When we by faith receive Jesus as our King, we are forgiven, cleansed, made whole and brought into the family.
Friends, like Mephibosheth, we could never be good enough on our own. We could never clean ourselves up enough to march into the king’s palace and take our own seat at the table.
You will never be smart enough, strong enough, or rich enough to deserve God’s love.
You can’t wear enough make-up, lose enough weight, or buy a big enough house to deserve a place in God’s kingdom.
You can’t read your Bible enough, go to church enough, or pray enough to deserve a spot in God’s family.
We’re all lame. We all need to be carried to the table. We need God to take what was dead and make us alive, to take what is unworthy and sinful and make us worthy and righteous.
Thank You, Father, for casting Your loving eyes upon me and bringing me into Your everlasting kingdom. I love You, Lord. You are worthy of all the praise. I’m honored to sit at Your table. The banner over me is love. You have filled me with joy and peace and purpose, and given me new life in Christ. It is in His Name that I pray. Amen.
Teach What is Good 
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