Category: faith

February 25, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

Matthew 13:31-58. Jesus told many parables on the Kingdom of heaven: The mustard seed and the yeast, the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price and the fishermen and the net. Then Jesus explained what the parables meant to his disciples. The parables were well received, except in his own hometown, about which Jesus said: ” Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor”.

Numbers 6 tells of the vow of the Nazirite, how he (or she!) must separate themselves totally to the LORD, not shave their hair, not eat anything from the grape, not even the dry skin, not touch any dead bodies and so on. When the separation is over an offering must be given. Thankfully the chapter ends with the priestly blessing: “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:  The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.“

Numbers 7 has 89 verses, but the chapter only seems long since the same offerings for the dedication of the tabernacle are repeated for each of the twelve tribes.

February 24, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

Matthew 13:1-30 Jesus told the parable of the sower and the parable of the wheat and the tares.

Numbers 3 lists the sons of Aaron and the Levites by clan.

Numbers 4 tells of the duties of the Kohathites, the Gershonites and the Merarites. Then these Levite clans are numbered.

Numbers 5 deals with purity, how to deal with leprosy or dead bodies, restitution for wrongdoings and how to deal with marital unfaithfulness, especially for women.

February 23, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

Matthew 12:22-50. Jesus continued to heal in secret, but the Pharisees said he did it by Beelzebub (lord of the flies). What did Jesus answer? “A Kingdom divided against itself will not stand.”  Jesus also said “he that is not with me is against me.” There is no middle ground, and there is a sin that cannot be forgiven: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Continuing on, Jesus said that the only sign given will be the sign of Jonah. Finally Jesus in a way rejected his own mother and brothers by pointing to his disciples, saying: “Here are my mother and brothers, for whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother”.

Numbers 1 consists of a listing of the heads of the people that left Egypt, the first census. All the people from the twelve tribes were counted, except the Levites.

Numbers 2 tells how the tribes were to be arranged around the tabernacle, three to the east, three to the south, three to the west and three to the north and the Levites in the middle.

February 22, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

In Matthew 12:1-21 Jesus proclaimed he  is the Lord of the Sabbath and healed a man with a withered hand. Since this was on a Sabbath it was considered blasphemy. Jesus continued to heal all to fulfill the prophecy of the Prophet Isaiah.

After completing the book of Leviticus we take a one day break before we continue with Numbers, and read

Ecclesiastes 5. Fear God, keep your vows. There is vanity in amassing riches, even vanity in seeking honor.

Ecclesiastes 6. Vanity is the theme, this time the vanity of desire.

Psalm 14 is short and to the point. It begins: “The fool has said in his heart, there is NO GOD.”

Psalm 15 is only 5 verses long but full of truth which carries on into the New Testament. Fittingly there are five 5 references from the New Testament given.

Psalm 16, of David. A wonderful psalm of confidence in the LORD even in times of trouble. This is a prophetic psalm pointing to Jesus resurrection, it is quoted in the New Testament.

February 21, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

Matthew 11:20-30. Jesus despaired of the current generation, but promised: “Come to me…. my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Leviticus 25 defines the Sabbath year, a year of rest for the land,  and the year of the jubilee, the year when property is restored, rights redeemed, and slaves are set free. (As far as I know the year of the jubilee was never celebrated)

Leviticus 26 tells of blessing for obedience and punishment for disobedience.

Leviticus 27 deals with redeeming people and property and what is to be dedicated to God. This ends the book of Leviticus, and I for one am thankful that thanks to Jesus Christ and his fulfillment of the Law on the cross, we are no longer under Mosaic Law.

February 19, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

In Matthew 10 Jesus named his 12 disciples and sent them out to preach: “the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” They did the same miracles as Jesus and they also met resistance. Jesus promised there will be opposition and division because of the message. A most interesting chapter.

 Leviticus 19 is a continuation of moral and ceremonial laws, one of the lesser known is that tattoos are forbidden, and

Leviticus 20 outlines the penalties for breaking the law. They are many and severe.

Leviticus 21 begins listing the regulations for priests.

February 18, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

Matthew 9:18-38. Jesus healed a woman with a bleeding issue, brought back a girl to life and healed the blind and mute. Then he looked at all the people, seeing they were sheep without a shepherd and said “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few”.

Leviticus 16 is the apex of Leviticus and tells of all the things Aaron must do on the day of Atonement to atone for his own sins and for the sins of the people during the year that was past. It also explains “the scapegoat”.

Leviticus 17 deals with the sanctity of blood and why eating of blood is forbidden in the Mosaic Law.

Leviticus 18 defines the laws of sexual morality, and especially tells to stay away from Molech, a Pagan god who enticed the people through sexual orgies, made them pass through the fire and offer child sacrifices (the result of those sexual orgies.)

February 17, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

Matthew 9:1-17.  Jesus continued his healing ministry, he healed a paralytic, but the real story is; Jesus forgave him his sins, a blasphemy unless Jesus is who he said he is. Then he called Matthew the tax collector and explained why his disciples did not fast while Jesus was with them.

Leviticus 14 continues to deal with leprosy and mildew and what to do with both. Things like that are complicated.

Leviticus 15 deals with bodily discharges. (Hang in there, next chapter deals with the Atonement!)

February 16, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

Matthew 8:18-34 tells of Jesus continuing his healing ministry. . He healed many , including the strange encounter with the demon possessed men from east of Lake Gennesaret (Sea of Tiberias; Sea of Galilee). Many wanted to follow him, but Jesus warned them off by telling the price of following him. It also tells of how Jesus calmed the storm.

Leviticus 11 deals with clean (kosher) and unclean food and clean and unclean animals. (Locusts and grasshoppers are o.k.)

Leviticus 12 is a short chapter and deals with purification after childbirth.

Leviticus 13 deals with leprosy and mildew and what to do with both. Things like that are complicated.

February 15, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

Matthew 8:1-17 tells of Jesus continuing his healing ministry. He healed a man with leprosy and a Roman centurion displayed his faith in Jesus, so Jesus healed his servant because of the great faith of the roman. He healed many that came to him.

Leviticus 8 goes into some length on how  the ordination of Aaron and his sons was performed.

In Leviticus 9 the priestly ministry begins.

And in Leviticus 10 two of Aaron’s sons were killed by fire for violating the command of God. But Aaron’s uncle had two sons and together with two other sons of Aaron they became the new priests and the rest of the chapter deals with how they should behave.