Click here if you would like to print a copy of the New Testament Schedule to tuck in your Bible. If you are ever at your computer, the best and easiest way to get the reading is to click the tab SCHEDULE above this post. You can even click on the date and the reading will come up on Bible Gateway.
Archive for the ‘Malachi’ Category
30 Sep
Recap and Inter-testament Handouts
Just in case anyone wanted extra copies…here were the handouts in the order I spoke with them. Just click on the name: Each handout was chosen for a specific purpose. Let me know if you have ANY questions!
30 Sep
Malachi
This week I came across a Scripture in Matthew 12 that says:
“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”
We are either on His team or against His team. There are no spectators. Jacob He Loved. Esau He hated. Tomorrow we are going to embark on our Journey through the Gospel. Are you of Jacob or Esau.
Chapter one reminds me of how sinful man is. Bringing our blemished offerings before the Lord. Our left over money, our left over time. We put everything first. And at the end of the week, IF we have time to read the WORD, IF we have time in the car to PRAY, IF we cover all our bills and extra spending, we GIVE. Don’t read this text and say “I can’t believe they ignored God AGAIN. Ahhhheeeemmmmm.
In Chapter 2 I almost fell over. After reading about how we ignore God, we then (look at 2:13)
Another thing you do: You flood the LORD’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.
Let’s move on to Chapter 3. If you are by chance JUST reading the blog and are going to jump in at the New Testament, Malachi 3 is a MUST read!
Verse 1: “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.
Verse 6: “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty.
“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’
Chapter 4:5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
When we get to Revelation this will all make sense 🙂
See you tomorrow at the Incarnation!!
29 Sep
Malachi Overview
Well, here we are. The last Overview of the Old Testament. We read approximately 2000 years of God’s history in just 9 months. Amazing. So on your mental timeline we are at around 400 BC. (Christ will be born in year 4 B.C.)
This is the last book of the Old Testament and it falls under the category of prophecy in your Bible. The remnant returned to Jerusalem in about 100 years ago in 3 different journeys. We had a time of revival under Ezra and Nehemiah but we read the end of History, they went back into the cycle of apostacy (falling away from the Lord). The priests are lax and degenerate. The temple is neglected, sacrifices are not a priority.
The Jews are waiting for a King to show up from the Line of David to restore the glory of Jerusalem. Malachi assures them that the Messiah will come, but it will mean judgment for them rather than glory! This is the book that will bridge the Old Testament and the New Testament.
What do I want from you? I want to know what is in your head right now. SOme of you just read the Old Testament for the first time in your life! And for some this was the 20th time you have done it. Please share with me what you learned, what your view of God is now, how different life is for you in 9 months….anything. Please share with me.
29 Sep
Get Prepared
By Thursday Night I want you to be ready to read the New Testament for the next 3 months. Take these 3 days to prepare your heart as well as your schedule for this. Here are some ways you can get ready: Click here for NEW Schedule to print.
- Have a Bible and a schedule ready and in a good place to do this.
- More importantly, take a spare or buy a little inexpensive bible and keep it in your car or purse (and a copy of the schedule). You will find that waiting in the car, sitting in the Dr’s waiting room, sports practices, pick up lines, kids running late, dance practice…. will actually be carved out times to read! You will learn to love the times that usually annoy us as a waste to be our MOST productive this year.
- It is ok to read ahead. If God prompts you to keep moving…keep moving OR even better dig deeper with a Commentary.
- Also, humble yourself to ask the obvious. Do we think so much of ourselves that we can’t say “What is that? Why? Who?” Be prepared to learn things you thought you knew.
Each day I want being in God’s Word to be a priority on our list. Not the last thing on our list. Getting on the correlated blog is NOT a priority, it is just a means for us to communicate our questions. Make sure that each morning you have an idea of “when” you might do your reading for that day. Of course, my first choice for you would be in the morning we all have different schedules. Try:
- Set your alarm 30 minutes earlier each day and read before you even get out of bed
- On your lunch time
- While the kids read after school, you do your read
- At night, if your kids read 30 minutes in bed…join them
- Eliminate 30 minutes of TV each night and read instead.
- If none of that works for you, delete your Facebook account, you will surly free up some time there!
Reading the Bible in one year 
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