January 3, 2014

JANUARY 3

Today's Reading in the ESV One-Year Bible

Genesis 5-7

God is still having Moses write about "beginnings" in Genesis. There is a lot in these chapters, so enjoy reading and making notes of observations. Then write down your questions. If you're reading this for the first time, as these texts are read, a lot of questions will pop up that are hard to answer. The questions are valid and they are what the Lord will use to set your heart seeking for answers. It is how you begin to make this truth your own possession. And reading this is how you slowly begin to learn to know, and "internalize," who God is.

Genesis 5

Vs. 1-2 This is the summary of the creation of man and purpose statement for all the genealogies to follow. It is tracing only the godly line from Adam that kept the faith and hope of the promise made to Eve. This is tracing the plan of redemption in the very early days of mankind.

Notice that God blessed them. It is important to note that in every beginning, there was a special blessing to get things going. There were miracles and wonders and special provision in the beginning of the nation of Israel. It went from the ease of birth for the Jewish women, to the birth of Moses, to the manna in the wilderness, to the fact that the shoes and clothing of the people never wore out. There was blessing in big and little things. The same is true of the birth of the church in Acts. There were all sorts of miraculous workings and little wonders that brought the church quickly to growth and to organization. Here also there were blessings given to launch mankind. All of these blessings were for those beginnings.

Vs. 3-4 For example, it doesn't mention the births of Abel or Cain, but Adam and Eve could have had many other daughters and sons, before and after the birth of Seth, numbering possibly into the hundreds. We can ask God when we get to heaven, but I'll bet that God made conception and birth very easy processes back then. I'm thinking their hormone levels were normal, fertility was high, and they didn't have TV, so what else did they have to do?

Notice that God is only interested in tracing the line of Seth, although it says that Adam and Eve had many other sons and daughters.

Vs. 4-31 As a fun sort of thing, try to figure out the actual time to the flood using the ages, the births and deaths of the line of Adam. The overlap of men up to the flood is interesting. If you do this right, you'll see that a very famous guy dies the year of the flood, and that all of the other godly guys were dead just before the flood. God does a good job of planning, even planning funerals.

Obviously, brothers and sisters married. Notice that they married. Cain knew his wife. That's a bit different than "had sex with his sister." Lamech, who had rage issues like his great grandpa Cain, also had 2 wives.

At the creation of Eve, Moses adds an explanation saying (my paraphrase), "so now you understand where this phenomena came from, this irresistible pattern engraved in the human race that a man will leave his father and mother (one socially identifiable entity) and be joined (married into another socially identifiable union) and become one flesh (have sex!). This order seems to have been established from the beginning - leave, marry, become one flesh. God ingrained in them from the start, that the bond of marriage happened in an identifiable manner. The woman was socially identified as a wife, and the man, as a husband. Then, after that was established, they could become one flesh, as the Hebrew expresses it, "to know" one another. Under God, even from the beginning, there was no sex without marriage.

Later, God gives the law and forbids incest. But also, later, God put the fear of man in the animals. Later, after the flood, the ages of men began to shorten, drastically. Things changed, guided by God, to the situation we have today.

V. 32 Notice that Noah was 500 when he had these three sons. That doesn't mean these were the only sons he had, not to mention daughters. However, these are the only ones who followed the Lord. That makes for a very sad reality. The times must have been terrible and God's punishment had to come to that culture.

Genesis 6

The knowledge of God became more distant. When God spoke to Cain, Cain wasn't amazed. He was irritated. He 'knew' God. The progress of those generations shows the drifting from God to the day of Noah. Only the line of faith, those who looked for God's answer to the tragedy of the Fall, as promised to Adam and Eve, are mentioned. Notice that in Genesis 4:26 that people began to call upon the name of the Lord, but which Lord (God)? The fact that the sons of God (fallen angels) mixed with humanity (see Jude 1:6), speaks also to the openness and need of humanity to seek and receive spiritual input, but not from the right god. Noah lived and preached (2 Pet. 2:5) for 100 years and there were no "takers" apart from his own family. Imagine how bad he must have felt about his preaching ability.

As disciples we need to lead the way, thinking through this record of fallen reality to give good sincere answers to people who ask. We need to realize, following in Noah's sandals, that our job is to follow Christ and proclaim His Word, not to be "successful" in anyone's eyes but His. Take heed to yourself and to your teaching; hold to that, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16)

Vs. 1-4 If you do a search on sons of God it turns out they are angels. Job 1:6 and 2:1 show this. I have the same question as you do, and I don't know how they could do it. Apparently the angels who did were stopped and mentioned in Jude 1:6.

V. 4 The Nephilim were giants, like Goliath.

Vs. 5-7 This is God's decision. He apparently locked up the angels that did this and prevented this from happening again. Then He had to cleanse mankind and begin again. Interestingly enough, this genetic line of the Nephilim must have continued through Noah's wife or one of the wives of his sons because the Nephilim are mentioned later. And if you add the sin nature to this the genetic material they were bringing in to the post-flood world, it wasn't a completely clean start.

God was sorry, not in that He regretted His decision, but He was grieved at the evil He witnessed. We say "evil," but I'm sure it defied the imagination. We see what happens today. Back then it would have been as bad, if not worse.

Vs. 8-10 Noah is in the godly line from Adam, looking for the redemption of man through the promised child. Although Adam and Seth had died, there were many men around Noah who would have personally known Adam. Because we know that Noah was 500 when he had these three sons, it was very probable that he had other sons and daughters, but the others had become part of the culture and had no interest in the promise.

Vs. 11-22 Noah's Ark!

Don’t miss v. 22.

Genesis 7

Vs. 1-5 Notice how often Noah does what God commands. God spoke to Noah and I'm sure there was a lot of encouragement along the way, especially when the animals began to show up. On the other hand, no one listened to Noah. He preached (2 Peter 2:5) for 100 years. Noah's only "success" was his obedience and the ark.

Vs. 6-10 Noah worked on the ark 100 years.

V. 7 You would have thought that with all of the offspring of the godly line, there would have been more people on the ark. Surely there were other kids of Adam and Enoch and others of the godly line who were still alive. Apparently sin was that bad. Also, there was a spiritual thing going on with the "sons of God" and the rise of powerful leaders. It is very possible that Noah had many other children who didn't follow God. The promise of redemption must have seemed as unnecessary as worshiping the true God. I think this shows how deep the evil was. Everyone but eight people was corrupted.

Vs. 11-16 This restatement shows that God was supernaturally taking care of man and animal. Notice the very exact time reference in v. 11. God had to have revealed this to Moses, especially since Moses was now using the new dating system God gave them after the Passover. It is also here in v. 11 that it is suggested that the protective layer of moisture in the atmosphere was dissolved and added to the general disaster. The final verse is interesting. God shut them in, protecting them, and shutting out all of the wicked.

Vs. 17-24 Notice the world "prevailed." Apparently the flood not only rose, but it lasted this long without beginning to go down.

One of the questions is, “Why didn’t God just kill everyone but Noah & Co with some plague or just vaporize them?” Of course, because of the flood we have great sermon illustrations, children's stories, movies and action figures. But really, it had something to do with mercy, judgment and guilt. The fact that Noah built the ark for 100 years gave everyone the opportunity to come and inquire. The fact that no one came made the righteousness of the judgment obvious. Also, it shows that God is patient but means business. Jesus and Peter both referred to the days of Noah as being an illustration of coming, inevitable judgment, patiently marching forward. (Luke 17:26, Matthew 24:37 and 1 Peter 3:20)

It is the same for us working in the harvest following the Lord. We do what the Lord says, sharing His Word and making disciples. Chances are we won't do worse than Noah, and God will bless us for following and obeying. He'll take care of the rest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhxzwp6h_TI

Matthew 3:7-4:11

Matthew 3:7-17

Vs. 7-12 Talk about how not to "win friends and influence people.” Note the contrast between the description of John (camel hair and locusts) and the Pharisees and Sadducees who were rich and well-dressed. John unloaded on them, but Luke 3:7 tells us John also addressed the multitudes of people who where there for baptism. John saw the P&S, then turned to the people and issued this blast. Here is the deciding factor in this very rough sermon. We don't know what the P&S did, but the people responded saying, "What then shall we do?” The Spirit led John to address the leaders and people like this. The people responded with open hearts. That was the reason the Spirit led John to be so harsh.

As disciples we should be tactful, where appropriate, but never hiding the truth. John spoke like this and the people who were drawing near in faith did not run; they came closer, unlike the people in Noah's day. Is it OK to tell people about judgment and hell? Both John and Jesus did.

Vs. 13-17 Jesus' baptism is the first event that all four Gospels refer to with the same specific detail, the Spirit descending as a dove and remaining on Jesus. Properly understood, it was His anointing as King; and, just like David, there was/will be time between His anointing and His earthly throne. This anointing and presentation of the Messiah to Israel was the fulfilling of the ministry of John the Baptist as seen in the Gospel of John, chapters 1- 3. This might be behind the words of Jesus. To fulfill all righteousness, here, was to have John fulfill his purpose in God's plan.

Matthew 4:1-11

Vs. 1-3 Dwight Pentecost mentions that one of the reasons for the 40 days might have been to make sure Jesus faced off with Satan. It took that long to smoke Satan out. Jesus, the real ruler of humanity, confronted the present ruler/guardian/rat. The Spirit was the aggressor. The temptation of man was in the garden. Afterward Satan turned the world into a wilderness. Jesus is challenging Satan in the wilderness. Another thought here regarding the wilderness is that Israel was in the wilderness being formed into the nation that was to reach the world, but as Paul says in that famous passage on temptation, 1 Corinthians 10:5-13 ---

Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

V. 4 Notice that Jesus, unlike Eve, correctly quotes Scripture and uses it against Satan. Interestingly enough, all of the Scripture Jesus quotes to Satan comes out of Deuteronomy. That was written during the wilderness experience of the children of Israel.

Vs. 5-6 This temptation is in a different order between Matthew and Luke. Personally, I would go with Luke, but I understand the Spirit having both men place this in a different order. Matthew builds up to showing Jesus is the Messiah, the King. Luke was painstakingly chronological and shows that Jesus is God the Son and superior to Satan. In Luke you get the sense that Satan was frustrated with Jesus quoting Scripture so he tried to trick Jesus with Scripture.

Vs. 7-11 Note that Jesus does not dispute Satan's claim to rule. There is no room here for a long discussion, but just to say that the claim is legitimate and supported by Paul's "God of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4) and "the world rulers of this present darkness." (Eph. 6:12)

Also, Jesus doesn't really have a discussion with Satan, He just quotes Scripture and ends it. Maybe there is a godly stance before aggressive unbelief that is simply silent, not giving dogs what is holy or throwing pearls before swine.

V. 10 Notice that worship equals service. If you don't serve you are not truly worshiping, and true worship leads to service. Jesus wasn't tricked by thinking you could have one without the other.

V. 11 I don't think Satan understood the full impact of this confrontation. When a demon possesses a person, it binds and dominates the human spirit. It could be that Satan assumed there was a human spirit in Jesus that was being dominated by the Spirit of God the Son, and he was trying to get that human spirit to rebel against God.

I think that Satan and his angels saw the man Jesus, but assumed it was the spirit of God the Son, merely dominating a human. That is how they work. In that case the human spirit would not have been free to choose to die for mankind. That possessed human would have been forced to do so. That would have made God's plan invalid. I think that Jesus, as incarnate God, fully man and fully God, was still veiled in mystery and hidden; for as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:8, None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Psalm 3

Vs. 1-2 I hate to say this, but I don't think you can grow past a certain place as a disciple until you experience something like this. These are only words until you have contended for God and been taken out by unfriendly fire, whether from believers or unbelievers. Paul promised Timothy, All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. (2 Tim 3:12)

Vs. 3-4 This is where you learn to truly cry out as a disciple and where you truly realize that the Lord, and no one else, can save and satisfy. Selah!

Vs. 5-6 You get the idea that David learned to trust and rest in the Lord over time. He was in constant danger for years, yet he slept and rose and God was still protecting him.

Vs. 7-8 Punishment comes to the rebellious. That is certain and David could rest in that. Salvation comes from the Lord. That too was certain and worth waiting for.

Proverbs 1:10-19

I think the message of Solomon to his son is "Beware of shortcuts.” I know none of us is going to sneak up on someone and mug them for their wallet. But there is a temptation, for the sake of God, to press the "easy" button in relationships, money and honesty.

Jesus tells His disciples to make sure they were on the right way. How do you know which way is the right one? The gate is narrow, you are pressed getting though it, and the way is hard. It takes work and focus. Honest work, paying taxes, honoring city codes, telling the truth, honoring copyrights, being authentic are all work. If our faith costs us nothing, it could be that we are not following Christ in the harvest at all. We're just being good clean church people.

For the sake of the Kingdom we get tempted to take shortcuts. We are not to be in the company of, or enticed by, those who want to disobey God in order to "serve" God and "build" His kingdom. Many disciples have stumbled and many ministries have been destroyed by this nonsense. Worst of all, Christ Himself and His church become held up to ridicule by the behavior of His own people.

If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this linkhttp://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”

I'm writing these comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the harvest.

If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.

I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.

Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it. Send comments or feedback todgkachikis@gmail.com.

If you would like documents containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download these to use on your computer or to print.

January 2, 2014

JANUARY 2

Today's Reading in the ESV One-Year Bible

JANUARY 2

Genesis 3-4

The word "Genesis" means beginnings. Today there are all sorts of important beginnings. They are almost all tragic, but they are vital in understanding how mankind (you and I included) got so messed up. There is no end of observations in these two chapters and there are many connections between things that are said here and things that are "reversed" later in the Bible. For example, the temptation that led to the fall and to Satan's dominance happened here in a garden. Jesus' temptation was in a wilderness. That's an interesting contrast. Also, the battle between the woman's offspring and Satan is mentioned here. If you read Revelation last year, that should sound like Revelation 12. Then, of course, there is the comparison/contrast of Adam and Jesus. There are many more connections, because all of the damage done here will someday be undone by God as He works to redeem mankind.

Genesis 3

V. 1 There is no explanation given for Satan. Here, he is assumed. Later, particularly in Job and Daniel we get more information. Then, in the Gospels and in Revelation, we get more information. To be noticed also is that Satan passes out of the story immediately after the curse, with only an allusion to his forces in Genesis 6:2. This is all to say that as major as Satan's opposition is in this life, for the disciple, apparent from the emphasis of the Bible itself, our focus, goal and what we are to do is to equip others to follow God. In following Christ in the harvest as disciples, Satan is defeated. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. (Revelation 12:11)

Vs. 2-7 There are a lot of things to observe here, but don't worry about thinking deeply about everything. As you read this year after year, the Spirit will bring different things to mind.

So, how would you summarize or describe Satan's strategy? It's the same one he uses now, getting us to doubt God.

V. 3 Assuming the information was correctly given to Eve by Adam, what do you think about her "adding" to what God said? There is a lot going on there. The religious people who killed Jesus added man-made rules to what God said and therefore lost sight of God.

V. 6 There is a lot here, such as the description of temptation once a person has doubted God. Jesus said that temptations "must" come. This event was necessary, but doubting God is what opened the door.

Some people suggest that Adam was standing next to Eve when this happened; in which case Adam was a dweeb and a moron. With her probably means that they were partners.

V. 7 Eve's eyes were already opened. Now both people were initiated. Note also that sin didn't become a permanent part of mankind until Adam ate. It says that Eve was deceived, but not Adam. This means that Adam walked into this, ironically, with his eyes open. To make a long story short, whatever happened in Adam was spiritual and physical. He died spiritually; and that "magic" within him, that God had put there, to pass on life to another human became corrupted and rebellious to God. Conception is not simply physical. There is a soulish, spiritual kind of thing that is passed on in conception. From now on, that "thing" that would be passed on would be depraved and would be rebellious toward God.

Knowing they were naked meant that for the first time, they were embarrassed in their self awareness. There was a sense of negative judgment toward themselves and possibly toward each other. Oddly enough, they didn't have movie stars with which to compare themselves. It just happened within them. Isn't sin great?

Sin is a spiritual disease and is the most powerful, destructive force on the planet. Sin permeates everything. We don't grasp this and do not understand how truly lost we are without God. And it isn't just lost-ness, it is in the edge of our attitudes and in every disagreement and every gripe. A disciple needs to understand this illness, its incessant, ever-present power.

This is why we need the daily washing of the Word, or put another way, why we need to take our "meds" every day. I'm told that a person who is bi-polar doesn't fully acknowledge his condition until he submits to taking his meds daily. As believers, we think we are OK if we go a day or week without being close to God in His Word, but we are kidding ourselves. Our condition is grave. We may throw up a few words to God as we multi-task and we know He is everywhere, but it is not until we are quiet in His presence, in His Word that the Spirit can begin the cleansing, healing and guiding. He is still present in that still, small voice, and we need to be still and quiet before Him, in His Word, to hear it.

Forgiveness allows God to come into our lives to break the power of sin by the regeneration (giving of spiritual life) by the Holy Spirit. The power of sin is broken, not removed. To the Christians in Rome, Paul wrote that the power is still there (ch. 7), but that the Holy Spirit helps us as we walk by the Spirit (ch. 8) and that the redemption of our bodies is the hope we live for, that is, the death of this body of death and being resurrected without a sinful nature. Amazingly, even with Christ, the sinful nature is incurable in this body. You know this theologically, but even more practically, everyday. This world is under the power of sin, in each of us, incurable and pervasive; and only God has the cure…the resurrection in Christ. Dead as we were, we could not earn forgiveness. There had to be justice for our actions and payment for our sins. We couldn't pay for our sin. Yet even with forgiveness in place through Christ, we still need to agree with Him that we are incurable (by repentance) and welcome His cure (accept Christ). Then and only then, are we JUST before Him in Christ, and He can enter in and break the power of sin by the life of the Spirit.

As disciples we need a healthy respect for the sin that is in us. Jesus' words to His disciples, pointing to their ability to make disciples of others (Luke 6:39-42), explain that if we do not recognize and deal with the sin in us, we will pass it on to others, or at least lead them into a hole.

Vs. 8-13 This began our hiding from God and blaming others.

V. 13 Although Adam blamed Eve, taking no official responsibility, God didn't argue with Adam. He went right to Eve. This was the truth, but Adam would pay for what he had done.

Vs. 14-15 Notice that there is no question for Satan. God already understood the motivation. The curse on Satan apparently also affected the animal he possessed. This curse is literal and figurative. Some aspect of his service to mankind (dust) would be more hateful to him. Verse 15 is not only his defeat by Christ in the crucifixion and resurrection, but I think there is also a reference to Revelation 12.

V. 15 Notice that it was God who "put" enmity between Satan and mankind and between his followers and Christ's followers. This is spiritual. I'm scared of snakes too, but more is meant here. I'm also afraid of bees, wasps, and all sorts of stuff. But here, there is a fear and division being put in place to keep mankind safe, in some sense, from Satan. I would think that this is sort of like God putting the fear of man in the animals after the flood.

Inherent in what God is saying here is that the "woman" would bear a savior. This begins the promise of redemption. Adam and Eve must have clung to the hope that Eve would bear a deliverer who might reverse what they had done. Although Satan "bruised" Jesus, Jesus has crushed Satan. The book of Revelation shows how it will end.

And now, we don't hear anything more about Satan's influence until chapter 6.

V. 16 This is a short verse with long-reaching results. Apparently there would have been little pain in childbirth. Imagine that.

The major impact is in her relationship with her husband. At first glance, this looks cool. She will desire her husband. What husband wouldn't want that? Notice that the words to the woman in her curse (3:16) are the same words to Cain (4:7). Give this a lot of thought. The fall brought a sickness into the relationship between man and wife. Even in Romans 1:18ff, the sickness after perverting the knowledge of God led to the sickness between husband and wife. This battle ruined marriage and turned the need for "completeness" to sexual perversion. Some say that since we are redeemed in Christ, the effect of this curse is gone. Obviously this is promoted by those who want gender equality and do not notice that since we've trusted Christ, we still sin. Sin's power is still amazingly strong, and the curse is still working.

In those minutes and hours between Eve's sin and Adam's sin, she was superior, realizing (as all wives do) that he was an idiot. Because of what she had done, she would now seek to control and withhold respect. He would live in a defensive, ruling posture. Properly understood, the curse on the woman was that because of this bent she had developed toward Adam, he would suppress that bent by force, lacking understanding and gentleness. The gender wars were spawned, and it all rolled downhill from that moment, until the Spirit via Paul commanded regenerate men to love their wives as Christ loved the church and commanded women to respect their husbands (Eph. 5:22-33).

Vs. 17-19 Since the curse on Adam was longer than either Satan's or Eve's curse, you can see that God held Adam responsible. If you look at Romans 5, you can see that it was Adam's sin that brought the curse on all of mankind and on nature.

Sometimes you wonder what Adam could have done? Eve had sinned and had to be punished. The answer is really pretty easy. All he would have had to do was what the second Adam did. If Adam had taken Eve's punishment and died for her, being sinless himself, he would have been raised and this substitution would have brought forgiveness to Eve.

V. 19 By the way, we still live from the field, even in industrialized countries, where the only time we see farms is on the nature channel. Adam's curse was not work. He was already creatively working in the garden (2:15). His curse was that now he would have to work to live. Up to this point food was totally provided for Adam and Eve. Now, if they didn't work and toil, they would starve. That was huge. Work would now be to make ends meet.

Vs. 20-21 Adam gave his wife a good name. Verse 21 records the first death in the Bible. It was probably a sheep, killed to make skins for Adam and Eve to wear. In that sense, it was the first sacrifice.

Vs. 22-24 Adam and Eve were sent from God's presence and provision in the garden. The tree of life was guarded because they were not worthy to eat of it. Also, many think that had they eaten of it at that point, their nature would have been everlastingly bound to a resurrection (undying) body. In essence they would have been permanently sinful and would have had to have been put in hell.

Genesis 4

Vs. 1-2 Adam and Eve believed the promise. If the hope of Adam and Eve was that one of their first two sons would be the promised one, it was crushed in what followed, both seeing, in full realization, what this spiritual sickness was that they had brought into the soul of man. You have to believe that the object of saving faith for them, and the godly line that followed, was that one of their sons, or some son of the future, would reverse the curse. Cain's lineage proved the spreading power of sin as they watched, I'll bet, with deep regret. I wonder if they thought it might be Seth. Eventually, it was through Seth, but many generations removed, to Jesus.

Vs. 3-7 At this point, we have no idea of what these sacrifices meant. It might have been offerings of gratefulness to God. Apparently there were some guidelines. It is interesting that Abel knew how to prepare an animal for offering. Maybe Abel learned this from Adam, who had been taught by God. Notice that the point with Cain is really his attitude, not his sacrifice of produce. Notice too, how freely God spoke with them. It wasn't that God was far off or hidden.

V. 7 The word desire is the same as Eve's desire for Adam. It was a desire to control and dominate. Cain was told to fight. Had he fought and asked for help, Cain might have won and done something that led to deliverance.

Vs. 8-16 This is the beginning of murder and hate. I was just reading where Jesus said that all the blood of all the prophets would be required of that generation in Jerusalem that killed Him, beginning with the blood of Abel.

V. 9 I'm always amazed at the unsurprised, openly arrogant way Cain talked to God. Back then, the relationship with God was so close and natural you could "dis" Him. We have grown further and further from God with each passing year.

Not only did God curse the ground even more, but He made Cain wander. I think that might have been to separate his influence from those people surrounding Adam and Eve. This must have been a heartache for Adam and Eve.

V. 14 Notice that this happened at a time when there were many people around.

V. 15 Note that God says that the vengeance would be seven times. That reminds me of Peter and Jesus in Matthew 18:21-22, Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times."

Vs. 17-24 This shows the line of Cain, or the line of ungodly culture, growing in the world. There are a few things to note.

· First, obviously there was "incest." All you can say here is that it was watched over by God until the population grew large enough. But notice that Cain knew "his wife." It doesn't say he had sex with his sister. They were married. Nowhere does it say that fathers abused their daughters. We have no clue here how many years passed, how quickly the population grew and what "marriageable" age was. We just have to trust God. This would have been the case after the flood too. Interestingly enough, when God made rules for this in the Law of Moses, God forbid all incest and also outlawed the relationship that Abraham had to Sarah, half-brother and sister through one common parent.

· Second, in v. 21, this line made the first musical instruments. Therefore, some churches and groups do not use instruments in worship because they originated with the line of Cain.

· Third, the line of murder continued with the added idea of self-justification of sin and guilt. Notice that Lamech, in Cain's line, is the first to have multiple wives. They were still called wives, meaning there was a ceremony in the culture. Notice too, that Lamech mentioned seventy-seven. Apparently they could do math.

Vs. 25-26 Again we have no idea of the time involved in all of this, but this goes back to the time of Cain killing Abel. Adam and Eve may have had other children in between, but Seth is mentioned because Seth appears to be the new child of hope, who had faith in the promise of redemption. Now we begin to see the growth of the line of those who had hope in the promise.

It's funny to read this about the child of promise, and then to go to Matthew and read about the real child of promise. We who know the Lord become children of the promise, children of God, by spiritual birth. Now it is our turn to work in the plan of redemption. That's why God left us here, to keep (internalize) Christ's Word, follow Him into the harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples who make disciples, who make disciples.

Matthew 2:13-3:6

Note how Matthew shows that Jesus fulfilled OT prophecy, even in the deeds of Herod.

Matthew 2:13-23

Vs. 13-15 Notice again that the Spirit is moving Matthew to talk only about how God spoke to Joseph, the son of David. And of course, notice how this flight to Egypt fulfilled Scripture (Hosea 11:1).

Vs. 16-18 If the people had had any hope because of the coming of the wise men, Herod put that to an end. I really believe that Herod was religiously evil; that is, he had an understanding of the spiritual and thought he could control it through his actions. In that sense, he had a satanic kind of irrationality.

Notice again, Scripture was fulfilled in the coming of the Savior. Actually, in Genesis, Rachel, Jacob's wife, died near Jerusalem giving birth. Here sorrow and grief in losing her child (actually Benjamin lived and she died but she lost him all the same) were used by Jeremiah to express the sorrow of the mothers and the nation in losing their children when Babylon came into that area to destroy Jerusalem.

Vs. 19-23 It is interesting that Joseph and Mary ended up back in Nazareth, from where they started. God made it their desire to return there. And oddly enough, this fulfilled Scripture in a funny way. Jesus was a Nazarene, meaning and showing that he was a prophet from Nazareth; but he was not a Nazirite, like John the Baptist, having taken an oath before God, neither cutting his hair, touching the dead and abstaining from wine. Actually, no OT prophet ever said that Jesus would be a "Nazarene" or that He would come from Nazareth.

There is a subtle wordplay taking place here. The Messiah was referred to as the Branch of Jesse, coming out of the house of David, that is, the Son of David. There are many words used to refer to this "branch" but one of the most important is in Isaiah 11:1. This word for branch is "netser" from which we get the word Nazareth. To hear the title "Jesus of Nazareth" was to hear "Jesus of branch" or "Jesus the branch." It is just like names we hear but don't actually think of, like, "George Bush" or in German, "Helmut Kohl (cabbage)." It was a very sly way for the Lord to open the ears and hearts of people who were spiritually perceptive. When Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, heard the commotion of a crowd going by, he asked who it was And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47) Bartimaeus understood that Jesus was the branch of the root of Jesse.

This is funny in a way because the Pharisees said that the Bible said no prophet was to arise from Nazareth. They knew better.

Matthew 3:1-5

If you read last year, you just read about John in the final chapters of Malachi. Here he is.

Vs. 1-3 Many years had passed. Luke actually nails the time down very specifically. It is thought that John and Jesus both began their ministries at about 30 years of age. John was six months older than Jesus, as you can see in Luke. Again, John fulfilled a lot of Scripture regarding the Messiah's birth.

Vs. 4-5 In John, you see people drawn toward spiritual reality. Jesus later asks the crowds what they were seeking when they went out into the wilderness. John didn't know much about marketing…camel hair and locusts. Yuck. But the people needed a prophet to confront them with spiritual reality and they went to see him. This is what the world needs today, not simply believers, but disciples of Jesus who speak and live for Him.

Psalm 2

If you read Revelation and Zechariah last year (last month), this will remind you of how God will judge the nations when the Messiah comes.

Vs. 1-3 This is the expression of mankind and its nations refusing to accept God's rule. If it was David who wrote this, he probably understood that the promise of redemption was coming through the promise of Abraham and that all nations would eventually bow to God.

Vs. 4-6 Notice that the King is to reign in Zion and that God Himself is fighting for Zion. This is a major theme in the OT.

Vs. 7-9 Notice the references to the Messiah, the coming king. Verse 7 is quoted in Hebrews 1:5 and 5:5, regarding Jesus being the reigning king. Verse 9 is something we recently read in Revelation 19:15. This is a very redemptive and "end times" psalm. It shows that God was always pointing people to His plan of redemption and to the future.

Vs. 10-12 The options are pretty clear. In the harvest we are warning people of v. 10 and inviting them to vs. 11 and 12.

How interesting that Psalm 1 points to where a disciple grows and finds life, whereas Psalm 2 shows where our boldness and confidence for following comes from. Our God reigns. Disciples see God's power and control behind the scenes, and are humble on the outside, knowing that God is truly in charge, even as the ungodly sit on thrones. Paul's words in 1 Timothy 2 show us what we are to do as disciples: pray for those who rule, to allow us to fly under the radar and make disciples of the lost, for it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

We need to ask the Lord to keep our eyes on the harvest as we follow Him. We just read Revelation, so we know how things will end. Nations will be controlled, but more importantly, men and women and children will be sent to hell. We need to be in the harvest today. That's what Jesus wants.

Proverbs 1:7-9

Vs. 7-9 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. We just read in Proverbs 31:30 that a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs begins and ends with the fear of the Lord.

This fear is not just "respect," but as we all know, fearing the police or punishment will make you go the speed limit. Again, if we have a real understanding of sin and its power, it is not difficult as disciples to love God for issuing His stern warnings to us. He is a loving Father, wiser than we can imagine, and He gave us His Son.

If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this linkhttp://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't work, go tohttp://www.esvbible.org/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”

I'm writing these comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the harvest.

If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.

I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.

Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it. Send comments or feedback todgkachikis@gmail.com.

If you would like documents containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download these to use on your computer or to print.

January 1, 2014

JANUARY 1

Today's Reading in the ESV One-Year Bible

I've written the Reading Notes as a help and supplement to leaders leading discipleship cells. I am not suggesting that everyone read these, although that might be helpful. The main goal is to have everyone reading The One Year Bible each day. The Holy Spirit will work with that. For each person who desires to go deeper and to lead others, answering questions and adding perspective and detail to the Bible passages, the Reading Notes might be a help.

I'm doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are reading. This would mean that if we were to meet in a cell on any given evening, we could discuss the Bible reading up to and including that day, regarding our walk as disciples. The important thing is that people are in the Word. The leader doesn't need to be a teacher. He just needs to see that people are in the Word, are interacting and then, when necessary, he can add some perspective or clarification.

When the year is done, I'm hoping, with your ideas and mine together, we will have a guide for discipleship to lead a group through one year of using The One Year Bible as a discipleship tool. Every year I read like this, I glean more from the reading. The Spirit uses our growth and our life situation to put His finger on words and thoughts that take on importance as we follow Christ. So, reading the Word each year will always be new because of our changing walk and the lives of the new people who will be in these groups.
In doing this, going through the Bible like this, we are modeling, for others, the importance of reading the Word and learning from the Lord. We are also equipping them and helping them become disciples who will feed themselves from the Word and be able to reproduce this in the lives of others. What a great privilege.
I'd encourage you to get The One Year Bible, ESV. I like to have a book in hand, old school, to mark up and make lines all over. If you don't have one or prefer something online, this link will take you to the day's reading, http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word. If you prefer to have a hard copy of the Reading Notes (I do), you can find documents for each month at https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.

Genesis 1-2:25
In reading the creation account, a disciple is faced with a challenge of faith and trust. How big will we allow God to be in our lives?

The creation account is very "matter of fact." God doesn't present Himself figuratively. The account is simple and descriptive. Nothing suggests that this account of creation is not literal. Our rationality or fear of seeming irrational sneaks in and says, "But God could have made all of this over millions of years and the seven days could be figurative." True. But is saying this really necessary to help God, or ourselves out? If God is God, could He have done things just this way? Can we put total trust in God even when things don't "appear" to follow what everyone says? How big will we allow God to be?

Some examples: The angels that came to Abraham later were in human form. They made the bodies from the spiritual, without effort. These were full, normal-looking human bodies, with teeth and tongues and fingerprints, made immediately, not requiring a billion-year process.

When Jesus raised the young man in Nain, or Lazarus, both men had decayed. Their bodies and every cell had died. They weren't somehow in suspended animation. They were dead and decaying. For Jesus to have raised them, it not only meant calling back the spirit, but their bodies had to be made new and able to sustain life. To call the spirit into a decayed body couldn't work. For Jesus to have made the body new, it would have been on the level of a creation…a re-creation of the body. And it happened in a second and Jesus didn't break a sweat.

The point being, the spiritual is infinitely more powerful than the physical. God creates out of nothing, without exertion, instantly. Also, the fact that the sun, moon and stars were made on the 4th day does not hint to the fact that the "primitive" writers got mixed up, but simply that the almighty God called them into existence, in a moment, at the right time, in His planning.

This all-powerful, sovereign Creator is the Lord we follow. All things were made through Him and without Him was nothing made that was made. Surely there are reasons He doesn't answer every prayer the way we ask, but for the disciple, there is never a doubt to the greatness of our Lord and Savior, or His ability, at any time, to do what is amazing and to do far more abundantly than we can ask or think. We serve and follow with confidence in His power.

Genesis 1

V. 1 What a way to begin a book. If you were reading last year, this verse should sound familiar since it is just like Revelation 21:1.

V. 2 This is very different from Revelation 21. Some see the Spirit brooding in judgment here. It was probably more like an artist walking around a piece of marble, visualizing what it was to become.

Vs. 3-5 Day One-Light was given from God Himself. The darkness was already there.

Vs. 6-8 Day Two - The waters above and below have suggested that there was a thick layer of moisture in the atmosphere surrounding the entire earth, limiting the rays of the sun and giving the earth a uniform tropical atmosphere. This layer of water in the atmosphere would explain the waters of the flood and the changes that came after the flood. Actually, only God and His power can account for all of the changes.

Vs. 9-13 Day Three - This was a big day. Not only do you have dry land and seas separated, but God planted and grew everything. Again, if we have faith in the Lord, this shouldn't be any problem. We have plenty of examples of what God can do in an instant, but the most deciding thing is our faith. And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. (Luke 17:6)

Vs. 14-19 Day Four - All of the days up to now are pretty straightforward, but there are some questions about this day. First, it comes after God made the plants. Second, it has a specific purpose, to separate and to be for signs and seasons and for days and years.

This would mean that the sun, moon, other planets and galaxies were made on the fourth day and they were made for us. Their purpose was to give a "natural" day and night and for counting time. Of course there were other reasons God made these, but these are the said reasons. We'll see in Revelation, that life can exist without them; in fact, it will. It seems that these things were made only for this time during the history of the earth.

Vs. 20-23 Day Five - One interesting thought here is that although the plants were fine before the sun was made to provide energy and heat, the animals needed the universe to be there even more than the plants. Birds and insects, (bees, for example) need the angle of the sun and the other "signs" for guidance. Probably all of the animals are much more instinctively aware of the sun, moon and stars than we know.

Vs. 24-31 Day Six - This is the creation of the animals first and then us as the finishing of God's work.

V. 26 Notice that this is the climax of creation. Nothing else has been created in the image of God. Man then is to rule over, guide and shepherd all that God had made. In so much of what we see with God, He always creates with a purpose and with a sense of giving purpose and responsibility. Being made in God's image and being able to talk personally with God, would have given mankind purpose, fulfillment and responsibility. It would have been cool, and eventually we would have known and built and developed more than we have at present. Sin ruined a lot of things.

V. 27 This is a huge verse. Every person on this planet fails to thank God for His image. It is the thing we take for granted. It is the thing we twist so we can sin intelligently and deny His existence. Cool. When God pulled the "image" from Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel, chapter 4, he didn't think it was cool; in fact, he didn't think. Nebuchadnezzar just mooed.

The second part of this verse is also to be respected and revered. God made them male and female. Men take the gifts of God and twist them to their own destruction. Read Mark 10:6-7 where this is quoted by Jesus. Jesus had no other view of marriage than a man and a woman, who, by the way, did not divorce.
Vs. 28-31 This is a fuller description of man's rule of the planet. This authority and power that Adam was given was lost to Satan when Adam sinned. Man came under the condemnation of sin and was no longer fit to rule the planet. Satan apparently went from being an assistant to mankind, to being a restricting guardian.
With all of these blessings, and before the Fall, it was a very good day.

Note that the real division between chapters 1 and 2 is between 2:3 and 2:4. This is a good time to learn or be reminded that the verse and chapter divisions were made by Stephen Langton in 1205. He did an amazing job, but the divisions are not inspired and many of them are not accurate. The general creation of chapter 1 is revisited in, and focused upon, in chapter 2, giving some specific detail to the creation of man and woman.

Regarding the creation of woman: As followers of Christ we know that our world and society is "sex" saturated. We also know that we, like King David (and countless Christians and ministers), can fall prey to sexually related malfunctions. What I'm about to say might not have applied to Paul or to 1% of the population, but I believe it applies to everyone else.

This account, true and literal, shows that "sex" is not the issue with "sex.” The issue is completeness. There is a huge difference. Generally speaking, sexual urge is something we "think" we can harness, but the human need for completeness is an irresistible human need built into us from creation. Ignore it, and it will run you over. Deny it, and it will find a way of expression that will create dysfunction and pain. Completeness may be expressed as sexual, but the real driving power is the spiritual need to be complete as man and woman, as God made us. This is the reason God later grants a concession for remarriage. The need He built into us is a part of us. On this earth and especially with our spiritual sickness (sin) it will not be denied.
All this is to say that in the world of discipleship, this reality has to be faced. Many couples are ruined and many men maimed in their walk with Christ, because they don't take their need for being complete seriously. It becomes spiritualized or put in the category of scratching an itch. Sexually, they end up wounded and sidelined. Much more should be said on this subject in the context of discipleship, but suffice it to say that this passage is an important one every day in our world.

Genesis 2

Vs. 1-3 These verses really end the general description of creation from chapter 1.

V. 4 This verse is huge. In a sense, it is telling us that the Bible will be an account of the fallen history of man until this history is ended. Remember, God had Moses begin writing this well after the Fall. The purpose of the book is to record the redemptive history of God's working with man to save man. The conclusion of this book will be in Revelation when God does away with these heavens (sky, space, galaxies) and earth and creates the new heavens, new earth and the eternal world.

Vs. 5-9 Now, the account of creation will be retold with the focus on the creation of man.

Vs. 5-6 Notice how the order is given again, but relative to man. The earth was planted and God watered the earth from a mist that went up. Apparently there was no rain until the flood. This would have been complete, including the garden, before man would have something to eat. Just like a baby, once it's out of mom, it has to have air to breath and food to eat.

Vs. 7-9 The focus here is the garden and the provision. God planted the garden, but Adam would have been the landscape architect.

V. 9 Here are the two trees. What a solemn verse. Death and life were both present. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not magic. The decision made there would give that knowledge regardless of whether Adam and Eve had obeyed or disobeyed. The decision was a spiritual action, which would either break their relationship to God, or it would prove their love for Him. Had they made the right decision, God would have led them to the tree of life, where they would have received eternal life and their "innocent" nature would have been transformed into a mature, sinless "spiritual" nature. God could have then turned around and judged Satan and the entire sad tragedy never would have been.

Vs. 10-14 This geography shouldn't make too much sense to us. Moses and God are giving the people some general bearings. The creation of man and the garden was between these rivers. However, the earth changed after the flood. In those generations after the flood it is supposed that the continents drifted, creating the continents and thereby distributing mankind all over the place. Some of the continental drift theories make the Persian Gulf the center of a flower that spread out east and west. Also, there would have been people in Moses' day who would have still known about this event as history. (Remember, Moses was well educated, meaning that nations back then had recorded historical events.) Today it would be the same as telling children that Germany used to be divided. They'll find that hard to believe.

Vs. 15-17 Notice that "work" was not the curse. Adam would have been smart and energetic and creative. I'll bet he had all sorts of ideas on what to do. And then of course, the tree of the test. Imagine, Adam had hundreds of square miles and every imaginable tree to eat from. I'm sure that staying away from one tree couldn't have been that big of a deal, right?

Vs. 18-25 Notice that in the creation of Eve, God was very intentional. He made Adam feel his need. Notice that God made Adam so that even in a perfect environment, with all his needs met, with a sense of fulfillment in being able to make his mark on God's creation, and with being able to walk daily with God in the cool of the evening, according to God's plan, Adam was not complete without Eve.

V. 20 In naming the animals there wasn't just the idea of "lordship," but rather connection. Adam would have felt personally responsible for all of this creation that was given to him to protect and develop.
Adam eventually probably felt lonely.

V. 22 I wonder if Adam thought it was Christmas! God brought her. This was the first wedding and I'll bet it was God the Son who was officiating.

V. 23 What an amazing declaration. Again, the naming of woman is connection. She would now be under his care, figuratively speaking, casting his garment over her (Ruth 3:9 vs. Malachi 2:16) although they were both naked.

V. 24 Don't let the simplicity of this verse fool you. God is saying through Moses that this is what began that feeling in man, that force of nature, that event of life that is so close to us and is still so unexplainable. God did it and it will be an irresistible part of human history until the end. Our need is not sex, it is completion.
Also notice the order in this verse: a man leaves, joins to his WIFE (not girlfriend), and then the two become one flesh.

These were good days on the earth. Redemption was not yet needed, but tomorrow it will be a bad day and the beginning of all bad days on earth. It will show us why God has left us here as disciples to follow our Lord in the harvest.

Matthew 1-2:12

Now, the beginning of the redemptive work of our Lord.

Matthew 1

Vs. 1-17 Notice that Matthew not only uses the lineage of Joseph, but Matthew only records God speaking to Joseph, the son of David. Matthew is doing this for his very Jewish audience. In emphasizing David here, there is an emphasis on grace. It was God's grace that made the covenant with Abraham. It was God's grace that chose David and promised the Christ would be born in his lineage. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ in its full revelation. Although ages changed and the object of saving faith was different for Abraham, for David under the law, and for the believer in Christ, it has always been by grace, through faith. Note later that Paul mentions both Christ and His resurrection and descent from David as a part of his gospel….grace and fulfillment. And in all of that grace, the salvation of man has been the goal. As disciples we have received grace, and it is now our mission to tell those around us that this grace is fulfilled in Christ.

V. 11 Notice that Jechoniah (also called Jehoiachin or Coniah) was part of Joseph's genealogy. God spoke through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 22:30) that Jehoiachin would never have a descendant who was king of Israel. This is why Jesus is a physical descendant of Mary, not Joseph. In terms of human lineage, Joseph was Jesus' legal father, but Jesus was Mary's physical son. Jesus' claim to the human throne of David is through Mary.

Vs. 18-25 Matthew is being led by the Spirit to focus on those events of Jesus' birth that fulfilled the predictions of the law and the prophets. Again, notice that everything is being directed through Joseph.

V. 18 In Luke we know that Mary was with Elizabeth, south in Judah, for three months, helping Elizabeth during the birth of John. When Mary returned home she was three months pregnant and showing, and I'm sure her explanation sounded great.

Vs. 20-25 I think this is kind and very encouraging of the angel to address Joseph as "son of David.” Joe must have felt down, thinking Mary had been unfaithful. Notice that the angel tells Joseph to name the baby in v. 21 and v. 25. That would have been a great honor for Joseph knowing that this baby was the coming Savor in the line of David.

Vs. 22-23 This is Matthew's and the Spirit's commentary on this event. God was not just fulfilling Scripture, He was fulfilling His promises of redemption.
Vs. 24-25 Joe was quite a guy and a man of faith. He named Jesus. Oddly enough, what we find in Matthew regarding the times the angels spoke to Joseph is all we know of Joe. He served God in a very quiet, obscure way.

Matthew 2

Vs. 1-2 Notice that Matthew skips the shepherds and the manger. The wise men have no names. They came from the east, probably the area around Babylon. It is thought that the inspiration for their waiting and observing came from the influence of Daniel. We don't know how many wise men there were, only that they brought three gifts.

Vs. 3-4 Herod was evil and religious. What a combination. He believed enough to be very dangerous. He claimed to have some Jewish connection to Israel and to have the right to claim the throne, thus being a king. If the Messiah was to have been found, it would have been a major threat to Herod. Sin is pretty irrational.

Vs. 5-6 This is Micah 5:2. Again, Matthew is proving to the Jewish mind, that Jesus fulfills these prophecies.
Vs. 7-8 Wait until you see what comes of this. Herod was really an evil genius.

Vs. 9-12 It will be fun one day to meet these guys. I remember the first time I read this as a disciple of the Lord and realized that they found Jesus in a house, not the stable and manger. I just kept reading this, stunned. I'm happy to say I got over it.

Tomorrow, Joseph and family are really going to need those gifts. Stay tuned.

One of the benefits of reading The One Year Bible is to keep the perspective of what all this history is working toward. The OT is going to get hard to read, but in the gospels and Acts, we stay focused on the unfolding of God's mission to reach a lost world. Having the New Testament along with the Old Testament will help us see the very wise and subtle way God uses those people in the OT to lay the foundation for our salvation.

Psalm 1

What a tremendous promise of the power of the Word in our lives. Yet, for the disciple, it begins with the delight in Christ and the saving plan of God. The appreciation of salvation, of His grace to us, draws us to His Word; and in these our lives are rooted. This is the strength of abiding in Christ as a disciple.

V. 1 The Lord wants us to be separated unto Him. This reminds me of John 17:17, Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

V. 2 Does God really mean this? Every year I believe this more.

Vs. 3-4 This has nothing to do with outward success. It is the life of following Christ.

Vs. 5-6 The decisions we make now not only affect the kind of life we lead on earth, but they determine where we stand on the day of judgment when this tragic time on earth is concluded. Will we stand in the redemption that Jesus brings or will we stand under God's judgment?

It is easy to read this psalm and enjoy the imagery and say, "Amen!” But how many of us will really believe that we need to be in the Bible every single day, drawing our life from Him? If you believe that, do it. Make time and do it. No excuses. Just do it. It has been the best time of my life for the past 20 years and I don't know where I'd be without it.

Proverbs 1:1-6

It is always sad for me to begin Proverbs, knowing that the wisest man in the world stopped loving God, began to love everything else and died a bitter fool. If it could happen to him, are we any better, even with the Spirit? No, the strength of a disciple is to love and follow Christ and abide in His Word. The wise and understanding (Matt. 11:25) don't get to see what little children see if they simply and humbly hear God's Word and do it.

If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this linkhttp://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't work, go tohttp://www.esvbible.org/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”

I'm writing these comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the harvest.

If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.

I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.

Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it. Send comments or feedback todgkachikis@gmail.com.

If you would like documents containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download these to use on your computer or to print.

The December Reading Notes are ready

Thanks to Laura’s hard work the December Reading Notes are in one document and ready for you to download, if you choose, at https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/posts

We are now in the process of going back to January and making more corrections and refinements.

We are thankful for the Lord allowing us to do this, and we are even more grateful for the many people using the Notes to grow in Christ, following Him in the harvest and making disciples who make disciples.

In Christ,

Dan

November 2013 Reading Notes are Ready

If you are interested in having the November Reading Notes as a complete document to print or to just have on your computer, you can find it and download it at https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/posts

Thank you too, for all who prayed that the Lord would lead us to a place to serve a church, reaching the lost and making disciples who make disciples.  As of March 1 I will be the pastor of Immanuel Church in Woodside, NY.

In Christ,

Dan

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Or I suppose necessity is the impulse that brings you back to earth to discover the simple and sensible.

If you are wanting to make a booklet for the monthly installments of the Reading Notes you can do what I did since spending $13 at a printing place seemed too much for me.

Print the notes out on both sides, that is the "manual duplex" setting on my old printer in the garage.  Or, really, if that is too much and you have lots of paper, print them single sided.

Then I found a very thin binder and after putting all the pages through the 3-hole punch, viola!, not only was it quick and cheap, but the booklet stands on a shelf.  The other booklets didn't stand and I look at that as a minus point on their behalf.  Then I printed a snazzy cover page and slipped it into the front cover of the binder.

Anyway, I have heard that the "thumb drive" idea was a little too technical for some people and thought I would offer this idea since necessity moved us to it and I now prefer it.

Dan

The October Reading Notes are Ready

If you would like the October Reading Notes in one document, either to print or to put on your computer, you can find them at

https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/posts

What Laura and I do is put the notes on a thumb drive and take them to a printing place like Office Depot or DocUmart. They will bind them for you and you can ask for a colored cover page.

In Christ,

Dan