January 4

January 4
One Year Bible Readings:
Genesis 8:1-10:32
Matthew 4:12-25
Psalm 4:1-8
Proverbs 1:20-23

Supplemental Reading For The One Year Bible

The following are excerpts from Mike’s One Year Bible Blog

Genesis:
In Genesis chapter 9 verses 8 through 17 we read about the first major covenant of God's in the Old Testament called the Noahic Covenant. There are 6 more major covenant's that we will get to later this year - The first Abrahamic covenant, The second Abrahamic covenant, The Sinaitic Covenant (Moses on Mt. Sinai), The Phinehas Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant. So - Covenants are a big deal! God is a God of covenants! This one is laid out in all 10 verses but can basically be summed up in verse 11: "I solemnly promise never to send another flood to kill all living creatures and destroy the earth." And the rainbow is given as a sign of The Noahic Covenant.
Q: How did reading about the flood affect you? Is there any way you can see the flood as an act of mercy from God?

 Matthew:
Matthew chapter 4:12 begins Jesus' public ministry. Verse 17 is of note: "From then on, Jesus began to preach, "Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven is near."" You'll note that Jesus is echoing earlier words of John the Baptist - turn from your sins - repent. The message is obviously of utmost importance - then and now. And then you'll see several times in the gospel of Matthew the term "the Kingdom of Heaven." You'll later see in Mark and Luke's gospel's a similar term, "the Kingdom of God." They basically mean the same thing - but Matthew was using the term "Heaven" instead of "God" because he was writing for a Jewish audience, which did not like to verbalize God's name
 (out of respect). Per Zondervan's NIV Study Bible, the Kingdom of Heaven is essentially brought about through the ministry of Jesus and those that have faith in Him - the establishment of God's rule in the hearts of people, the overcoming of evil, the removal of the consequences of sin, and a new order of peace. The idea of God's kingdom is mentioned nearly 50 times in the gospel of Matthew.
 Q: How have you seen God’s Kingdom manifested in your life? How have you seen that the Kingdom of heaven is near? What does repent meant to you? Is repentance a one time thing or an ongoing thing our lives?

Psalm:
Psalm 4 is a wonderful Davidic Psalm.  Verse 7 stood out to me today" "You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and wine."
Q: Do you believe that God's Spirit can give you greater joy than any amount of money or material goods or even human love can give?  Will you seek a deeper relationship with God this year and ask God for this holy joy?

Proverbs:
Proverbs 1:23 is beautiful to think about: "Come here and listen to me! I'll pour out the spirit of wisdom upon you and make you wise."
 Q: Do you want the spirit of wisdom this year?  Do you want to be wise?  Do you believe studying the Bible can give you the spirit of wisdom? Will you pray to God for the spirit of wisdom in this new year?

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