Category: Two-Year-Bible-Reading

Advent Day 15 – Jesus, The Prince of Peace and The Pursuer of Lost Sheep

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 15

I’m loving reading the advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with a daily reading of a chapter of Luke. Hope it blesses you, too.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:6-7 ESV

The religious leaders were grumbling about Jesus receiving the tax collectors and sinners, so Jesus told them this parable,

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Luke 15:4-7 ESV

And then Jesus told them another parable about a lost coin and then another parable about two sons.

Lord Jesus, You left the ninety-nine to come after me. Thank You. You pursued me while I was lost and lame, blind and dead. Thank You. Protect me from pride and hypocrisy, that leaven of the Pharisees. Give me a heart full of humble gratitude for the privilege to live in Your presence and to share in Your abundance. Amen.

Prince of Peace – Monica Scott and One Voice Children’s Choir
For Unto us a Child is Born – Handel’s Messiah

Advent Day 14 – The God of Justice, Righteousness, and Faithfulness – (Isaiah 11 + Luke 14)

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 14

I’m loving reading the advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with a daily reading of a chapter of Luke. Hope it blesses you, too.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might,  the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

Isaiah 11:1-5 ESV

[Jesus] said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Luke 14:12-14 ESV

Heavenly Father, You alone are the all-righteous One. Thank You for sending Your Son to judge the living and the dead with perfect justice and righteousness. Now, Lord, send us out. Make us disciples who make disciples. Send us out into the streets and the markets to share the good news with the poor and lost, the needy and blind. May we follow You in all Your ways, daily taking up our cross, and living like You lived. May we delight in the fear of the Lord. May righteousness and faithfulness be bound tightly around our waists, keeping us upright and training us to cling to You. May we be humble and gentle and wise, to the glory of Your Name. For it is in the mighty Name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.

Oh Righteous Branch – Caroline Cobb
Is He Worthy? – Andrew Peterson – Highrock Church

Advent Day 13 – Humble, Childlike Faith: King Josiah and the Teachings of Jesus (2 Chronicles 34 + Luke 13)

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 13

I’m loving reading the advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with a daily reading of a chapter of Luke. Hope it blesses you, too.

Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD….” Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it before the king. And when the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes…

2 Chronicles 34:15a, 18-19

And someone asked Jesus, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”

And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able…. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Luke 13:24, 30 ESV

Heavenly Father, Forgive us for our pride and hypocrisy. Forgive us for our religious spirits, for trying to come to You through our own righteousness, while our hearts remain hard and unclean. Thank You for always preserving a remnant. You’re not impressed by kings and queens. You’re not impressed by external obedience to the law. You don’t need our money or fame. Please, Father, give us the childlike faith of Josiah. Draw us to enter through the narrow gate of faith in Jesus Christ. Give us humble and contrite hearts, tender hearts, that grieve over sin and sincerely desire to please You. Thank You for sending Jesus, meek and lowly, the Christ child wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. It’s in His Name we pray. Amen.

What Child is This? – Chris Tomlin
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly

Advent Day 12 – Fearing Man or Fearing God? Lessons from the Life of David and the Teachings of Jesus (1 Samuel 17 + Luke 12)

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 12

I’m loving reading the advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with a daily reading of a chapter of Luke. Hope it blesses you, too.

“And when the Philistine [Goliath] looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?”

And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

1 Samuel 17:42-47 ESV

And Jesus spoke to His disciples, saying

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Luke 12:4-7 ESV

Heavenly Father, thank You for holding my life in the palm of Your almighty, good hand. I know that You see me and know me and love me. You are indeed familiar with all my ways. Nothing is hidden from You. Increase my faith. Let me not fear anything that is frightening here in this world, but rather increase my fear of Your holy righteousness that I might walk constantly in awareness of Your presence. Give me strength to faithfully acknowledge You before men, not fearing what they might think about me or do to me, trusting that You are my true Father and my perfect judge and You hold every one of my days in Your almighty hands. In the Name of Jesus, who is my all-sufficient Savior and eternal king, I pray. Amen.

Emmanuel (God with Us Forever) – Bryan and Katie Torwalt
That’s my King – S.M. Lockridge

Advent Day 11 – A Kingdom Divided (Ruth + Luke 11)

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 11

I’m loving reading the advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with a daily reading of a chapter of Luke. Hope it blesses you, too. Here’s an excerpt from today’s, Day 11, devotional.

Even though Ruth was a Moabite, she loved God and she wanted to go along with Naomi when she returned to Israel.

God’s love is available to people from every nation. Anyone who trusts in Jesus, the only Son of God, can become a child of God, whether they are an Israelite, a Moabite, an American, or a Russian. God judges us by our heart of faith, not by the color of our skin or what language we speak.

Like John 1:11-13 says, “[Jesus] came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

…

Luke 11:17 ESV — But [Jesus], knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.”

Heavenly Father, thank You for making a way for us to become Your children. Thank You for loving us, no matter what color our skin or language we speak. May there be clear division between light and dark and no division between the children of Your kingdom. Break down the walls of division in the body of Christ. Make us one, Lord, as You are ONE. In the Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Silent Night – Chris Tomlin
Make us One – Twila Paris

Advent Day 10 – The Promise Keeper and the Harvest Field (Numbers 13 + Luke 10)

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 10

I’m loving reading the advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with a daily reading of a chapter of Luke. Hope it blesses you, too. Here’s an excerpt from today’s, Day 10, devotional.

Has anyone ever broken a promise to you? Have you ever broken a promise you made to someone else? Unfortunately, we, as humans, sometimes break our promises. Sometimes something unexpected
happens, so we can’t keep a promise we made.

But God is not like us. God will always keep His promises. God never gets sick. God is never too tired. God is all-powerful and all-knowing, so He never makes a promise He can’t keep. As Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not man that He should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken,
and will he not fulfill it?” We can always trust God. Always.

…

Faith is believing that what God says is true, even when you can’t see it (Hebrews 11:1). God had helped His people again and again – passing over their firstborn sons, rescuing them from Egypt through the Red Sea, giving them manna from Heaven – yet the people doubted God’s power and God’s goodness. Because of their lack of faith, God made them wander in the desert for forty years before they could enter the Promised Land.

…

Luke 10:1-2 ESV — After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Heavenly Father, Thank You for bringing me into Your kingdom, for bringing me out of the dark and into the light, for breathing life into my dead bones. Thank You for every one of the laborers that You have sent out into the harvest. We lift up Ryan and Chelsea and their daughters and Moses and Esther and their sons serving in Asia, Ryan and Chelsea and their children serving in Africa, Gabor and Edina and Dorsey and Renee serving in the U.S., Ray and Leah and Spencer and Patti serving in Mexico, Tom and Brenda serving in France, Srinivas and Sujatha serving in India, and the whole host of those who have dedicated their lives to making disciples of all nations. I pray that You will raise up more, millions more, laborers – men, women, and children – to work in the fields, preparing soil, scattering seed, tending young seedlings, and bringing in the ripe clusters of grapes. Provide what they need financially, physically, and spiritually. Give them wisdom. Give them strength. Give them peace and joy and hope and endurance. Help them to abide in You that they might bear much fruit. Make us one of them and one with them, and help us to remember them each day in our prayers. By faith in Your promises we pray. Amen.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing – Stephen McWhirter
Ye are the Branches (Part One) – Andrew Murray

Advent Day 9 – The Ten Commandments, Jesus, and Me (Exodus 20 + Luke 9)

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 9

I’m loving reading the advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with a daily reading of a chapter of Luke. Hope it blesses you, too.

Today’s advent devotional was about the Lord leading the Israelites out of Egypt and giving them the Ten Commandments.

“And God spoke all these words, saying,

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

“You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

“You shall not murder.

“You shall not commit adultery.

“You shall not steal.

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Exodus 20:1-17 ESV

And [Jesus] said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

Luke 9:23-26 ESV

Heavenly Father, Thank You for freeing me from my slavery to sin, that I might joyfully and willingly make myself a slave to righteousness. Help me to set my mind on the things of the Spirit and not the things of the flesh. Help me to look at Your Law with thanksgiving rather than dread. Give me the desire and the strength to lose my life for Your sake, that for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. In the name of Your Son Jesus who is my Lord and my Savior I pray. Amen.

O Come Emmanuel (Shema) Stephen McWhirter

Advent Day 8 – Let My People Go That They May Worship Me (Moses, Exodus + Luke 8)

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 8

I’m loving reading the advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with a daily reading of a chapter of Luke. Hope it blesses you, too.

Today’s advent devotional was about God calling Moses to lead the Passover.

I know many of our brothers and sisters around the world are facing severe persecution. Please, friends, join me today in praying for them.

One of the best ways we can encourage our faith family is to be faithful to share the gospel ourselves. If they are faithfully worshipping God under such constraints, why are we so remiss when we enjoy such freedom?

And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, [Jesus] said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.”

As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.

Luke 8:4-16 ESV
Go Down Moses – Let My People Go – Paris’UD Choir
God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen

Advent Day 7 – Forgiving and Being Forgiven (Luke 7 and excerpts from Genesis 37-50)

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Luke 7

The seventh advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with Luke 7. If you don’t have your own copy, you can order your own a Kindle version instantly, while you wait for the paper copy to arrive. I’m really loving this “mash up” of the advent devotional with the daily reading in Luke. I hope you are, too!

How was Joseph able to forgive his brothers after they had perpetrated such great sin against him? I think the answer might be found in Luke 7.

“Then turning toward the woman [Jesus] said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven–for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.””

– Luke 7:44-50 ESV

So long as I think my sins aren’t really that bad, it’s hard to forgive other people. But when I recognize how much God has forgiven me, then I’m able to love God and love others.

And if I think that God is mean to allow such terrible things into my life, then I will be bitter toward Him and toward others as well. But if I think that God is the master weaver, creating a masterpiece of my life, then I will humbly accept whatever others do to me and keep praising Him through it all.

Heavenly Father, I know that You are good. I trust You. Help me to love others with the love that You have poured out lavishly on me. Help me to remember how MUCH I have been forgiven, how GREAT my sins are and have been. Help me to be so busy working on getting the log out of my own eye that I don’t have time to fret about the splinter in my brother’s. I love You, Lord. Help me to love You more!

Advent Day 6 – All Nations Will be Blessed Through Faith in Messiah Jesus (Jacob’s Ladder + Luke 6)

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Luke 6

The sixth advent devotional in “From Creation to Christ” along with Luke 6. If you don’t have your own copy, you can order your own a Kindle version instantly, while you wait for the paper copy to arrive.

When we read the story of Jacob dreaming about a ladder set up on earth reaching to heaven, let’s pay careful attention to Genesis 28:13-14, where the Lord repeats the promise He had made to Abraham, Jacob’s grandfather, telling Jacob that, “The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”

I was reminded of Galatians 3.

“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” … Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. … But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

Galatians 3:8, 16, 25-29 ESV

Friends, though there are many children of Abraham, there is only one ladder by which anyone can reach God, that is Abraham’s one offspring, Christ, the Son of God.

Then, turning to Luke 6, I noticed in verses 17 and 18 that “[Jesus] came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.”

According to Got Questions, “Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities north of Israel.” And in Luke 10:13, Jesus compares the cities of Galilee (Chorazin and Bethsaida) with these Gentiles cities, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.” (You can read more about Tyre and Sidon in Matthew 11:20-24, Matthew 15:21-28.)

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6) It is by faith in Him that we can come to the Father now and for all eternity. All the nations will be blessed through the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, through Messiah Jesus, the Promised, Long-Awaited Seed.

Heavenly Father, I pray that You will use me to bless the nations of the world. Draw all men to Yourself by faith in Jesus Christ, Your Only Begotten Son. Send Your children out to preach the good news in the corners and in the marketplaces, from the rooftops and through the airwaves. Bring the nations in! We want heaven to be filled with every nation, tribe, people, and tongue to the praise of Your glorious name. In the Name of Jesus Christ who is the Only Way to You, Father, we pray. Amen.

O Holy Night in English, Arabic, and Hebrew