Category: John

January 10, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are three chapters.

January 10: John 9, Genesis 20, Genesis 21, (click on the chapter to begin reading)

In John 9 Jesus opens the eyes of a man blind from birth, on a Sabbath, so trouble arises from the Pharisees.

In Genesis 20 Abraham claims Sarah is his sister. Why? Sarah was his half-sister, so Abraham stretched the truth. The chapter shows God’s protection.

In Genesis 21 Isaac is born and Hagar and Ismael are sent away for good. It also features the treaty between Abraham and Abimelech at Beersheba.

 

January 9, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are three chapters.

January 9: John 8, Genesis 18, Genesis 19, (click on the chapter to begin reading)

John 8 begins with the sinful woman about to be stoned. Jesus last words to her is “Go and sin no more”. Jesus does not condemn for the past but looks to the future. The he gets into an argument with the religious powers to be about his and their ancestry. They claimed to be descendants of Abraham, and they questioned the legitimacy of Jesus. Jesus answered “Before Abraham, I am”. This was blasphemy, unless it is true.

Which brings us to Genesis 18 with Abraham still waiting for his offspring. He is visited by three angels that promise him he will have a son within a year. God confirms this promise, but is also proclaiming the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham tries to bargain with God, at no avail.

So in Genesis 19 Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed. There is ample evidence this is a historical true event, so the Bible is verified true even here. God provides for Lot, his wife and two daughters to escape.They do, but Lot’s wife looks back towards the city and is no more. Then comes a story about Lot and his two daughters, and all I can say about that is that it is not good to take matters in our own hand rather than listen to God and let Him guide.

 

January 8, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are four chapters. Jesus points out that according to Jewish law, circumcision is more important than keeping Sabbath, so, if the eighth day is on a Sabbath, it must be performed, but healing on a Sabbath is out. Jesus then promises “Streams of living water”.

January 8: John 7, Genesis 15, Genesis 16, Genesis 17, (click on the chapter to begin reading)

In Genesis 15 God promises Abram a son, and Abram believes God and it is counted to him as righteousness.

But in Genesis 16 Abraham badly wants an heir, so Sarai, being too old, gives her handmaiden Hagar to be mother of Abram’s son, Ismael. Sarai regrets what she has done, and Hagar is sent away with Ishmael into the wilderness.

Thirteen years later, in Genesis 17, Ishmael is back with Abram,  God  promises Abraham his seed of promise, changes Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name becomes Sarah, and establishes it with an eternal covenant, the covenant of Circumcision, and it was performed on Abraham, Ishmael and all Abraham’s servants.  A year later Sarah gives birth to Isaac, at the age of 90, (with God, nothing is impossible).

Circumcision is very important for Jews and Muslims (Sons of Ishmael). As for me, I am thankful for the streams of living water.

 

January 7, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are four chapters, and they are significant.

January 7: John 6, Genesis 12, Genesis 13, Genesis 14, (click on the chapter to begin reading)

In John 6, Jesus performs two miracles, feeding 5000, and walking on water. In spite of this people demand a sign. Jesus is the bread of life.

Then in the Old Testament Abram is called to leave his home in Ur. He goes to a land he does not know, promised by God, and he obeys. Read it and marvel at Melchizedek, to which Abram gives tithe after God gave him success in battle.

Question: Who was Melchizedek, and why is that important?

January 6, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are only 3 chapters, but they are significant.

January 6: John 5, Genesis 11, Psalm 2 (click on the chapter to begin reading).

John 5 describes how Jesus healed a man at the pool of Bethesda on a Sabbath, which offended the Jews. In addition Jesus claimed to be equal with the Father, for which the Jews sought to kill him, but Jesus defended His testimony.

Genesis 11 tells about the Tower of Babel, and how different languages arose, all by being disobedient to God.

Psalm 2 is then what happens when “the heathen rage” and this psalm ties together trends of today. The Tower of Babel is like today where the global internet, supposed to bring us together, divide us more and more into camps, where the same words mean different things, dependent on the audience. Jesus is controversial, his claims are being rejected by people thinking they understand biology and morals better than God.  And hate is increasing, yet there are people that believe in the universal good of mankind, if they only could get rid of the concept of God.

Ponder this.

January 5, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are only 3 chapters, but they are significant.

January 5: John 4, Genesis 9, Genesis 10, (click on the chapter to begin reading).

John 4 speaks about the first real evangelist, the woman at the well, scorn and rejected by her many husbands, yet used by God to tell the good news.

Genesis 9 speaks about Noah’s sin and “the curse of ham” in reality the curse of Canaan, ponder that!

Genesis 10 tells how the earth was repopulated.

January 3, read through the Bible in a year.

After 2 days with Creation and the fall. we now see what happened after the fall.

January 3: John 2, Genesis 4, Genesis 5, Psalm 1.  (click on the chapter to begin reading)

In John 2 Jesus turns water into wine, cleanses the Temple, and gives the Jews just one sign. Genesis 4 shows the results of original sin with the story of Cain and Abel, Genesis 5 shows the Genealogy from Adam to Noah, and Psalm 1 is a beautiful poem about righteous living.

The take home for today is the first of Jesus’ miracles, the first murder, the first man (Enoch) to be carried directly to God rather than die first, and Jesus giving the sign of Jonah about his (and our) resurrection. Psalm 1 extols righteous living according to the Old Testament and the law, with the New Testament counterpoint as given by the Apostle Paul.

 

January 1, read through the Bible in a year.

And so it began. The two chapters chosen for today, John 1 and  Genesis 1

(click on the chapter to begin reading) both start with the words “In the beginning”. The gospel of John deals with creation spiritually, and Genesis 1 deals with the physical creation.

We are existing in time and space. The question is: What was there before time and space existed, before the beginning?

Answer: God, existing in three persons, God the Father, God the Son (the Word) and God’s Spirit, (the Holy Ghost).

They alone are eternal, everything else, including time and space, is created.

John 21, another catch of fish, Jesus reinstates Peter.

That makes it eight miracles of Jesus, seven before his resurrection and one after.

 

Knowing John mentioned only seven miracles my rendition of the NIV study bible omits the man born blind, washing in the pool of Siloam.

The Ryrie NIV study bible mentions John mentions seven miracles, then goes ahead and lists all eight.

The first two times Jesus asks “Do you love me” he uses the word agappe, which means godly love, and Peter answers that he loves Jesus (fileo) with a brotherly love. The third time Jesus too uses the word fileo. Peter was hurt. He realized how far short of godly love he still was