April 29
Judg 9:22-10:18 | PS 100:1-5 | Prov 14:11-12 | Luke 24:13-53
The purpose of the One Year Bible Challenge is to encourage people to go through the Scriptures in their entirety from year to year, and to serve as a mechanism for fellowship and discipleship as people can come alongside one another and deepen their walk together centered on the Bible. Many prefer the New Testament, while others have favorite books like the Psalms. But Jesus is not only in the New Testament, but in every book of the Old Testament. Here is a partial list for the sake of brevity: He is the Seed of the Woman in Genesis; our Passover Lamb in Exodus; our Scapegoat who bore our sins in Leviticus; the Bronze Serpent who was lifted on the pole in Numbers; the Prophet in Deuteronomy; the Commander of the Lord's army in Joshua; the Angel of the Lord in Judges; our Kinsmen Redeemer in Ruth; the Son of David in Samuel; the One whose hands and feet were pierced in the Psalms; the Good Shepherd in Ecclesiastes; the Bridegroom in Song of Solomon; our Suffering Servant in Isaiah; the Righteous Branch in Jeremiah; our prophesied King in Daniel, etc. Jesus is truly in every book of the Bible, for Jesus, as we read in John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." If you want to know Jesus, you need all 66 books. If you want to make Jesus available to others, not knowing the circumstances you might find yourselves in, you need all 66 books.
There are so many portions of Scripture, which I wish I could have witnessed, one of those are in today's reading. We read in Luke 24 of the interaction between Jesus and two of His disciples along the road to Emmaus. Failing to understand the true nature of all that transpired on the cross at Calvary, we read in Luke 24:25-27, "Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." Once Jesus revealed Himself in every book of the Scriptures, He then revealed Himself physically to them, we read their response in 24:32-34, " They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.” Jesus then brought the other disciples in the upper room through the Scriptures like He did earlier, as we read in 24:44-48, "Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations,[a] beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ You are witnesses of all these things."
Not only did God create us, but He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die for us, so that we can spend eternity with Him in heaven. In addition to all of this, He did not leave us alone to fend for ourselves as we spend our years on this earth. If we make a decision to repent and accept His free offer of salvation, He gives us the Holy Spirit to reside within us to guide our every step. In addition to this, He gave us 66 books of Scripture in which His truth is detailed on every page. If you find this tedious or difficult, don't worry, because He gave you the Holy Spirit to illuminate its contents for you. He can't and He won't make any of us do anything. But why would we forsake so great a gift? Considering all that He has done for us, isn't it worth at least 15-30 minutes of our time daily to engage our Savior through the Word? For the disciple of Christ, is there any other alternative? If you find yourselves afraid, discouraged, disillusioned, etc., perhaps you need to spend a little less time invested in the things of this world and a little more time invested in the things of the Kingdom of God.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: