The Bible Matters: Recent Episodes
Joel Strahan
THE BIBLE MATTERS is a teaching ministry of Slayden Baptist Church, Slayden Ms. Joel Strahan, pastor of Slayden Baptist Church upacks every question under the sun demonstrating that the Bible matters!
If you are not paying close attention, this storyline can escape your attention...but it is an important storyline! This is Edom's story...and Edom's story--when you understand it--can keep you from making some interpretive errors later in Scripture!
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave the church one job to do...make disciples who make disciples.
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
The proverbs address sexual immorality and violence quickly. These are two areas man struggles with from the beginning of the Story. Also, wisdom is paying attention to what God loves. It is also paying close attention to what God hates.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Solomon records proverbs as an intentional training manual for attaining wisdom from the Lord. Proverbs invites us to choose God's blessing over the devastating consequences to sin. The invitation comes with a promise. If you desire wisdom and are willing to apply yourself to it, God will grant it.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
In Solomon's generation, God's promises to Abraham are fulfilled. Solomon understands what God requires of the heart of Israel's kings. His short-lived obedience and Israel's short-lived flourishing highlight our need for a King who never fails.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
God blesses everything Solomon touches. On the surface, it seems that nothing can stop Israel rise to prominence on the world stage. Under the surface, however, Solomon is growing calloused to the rebuke of Scripture.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Solomon’s wisdom becomes known through the untangling of the testimonies of two untrustworthy witnesses. Unique among men, Solomon possess the ability to uncover truth in spheres where truth seems undiscoverable. He uses wisdom to negotiate with his allies. In seven years, Solomon completed the difficult task of building the temple exactly according to blueprint. In matters of justice, politics, and administration, no ruler on earth matched Solomon’s application of wisdom.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Asaph again pens a corporate worship song instructing Israel of future things. Solomon establishes the kingdom by administering justice. The king must do the work of tearing down the wicked in order for righteousness in his rule to have integrity. What the king desires most from the Lord reveals his understanding of his role. How the Lord responds to his desire reveals God's desire for Israel's flourishing--and Israel will flourish. However, Solomon's decision to ally with Egypt will prove a snare opposing God's promise for blessing.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Psalm 79 provides Israel with another means through which to be exposed in their sin before the hand of God's wrath falls. Because Israel fails to sing this song consistently, its words must remind an exiled Israel to repent. Something really neat is going on with this psalm--another opportunity to champion the benefits of knowing the story of Scripture!
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Four songs of Asaph instruct God's people to know God through His story. God makes Himself known to every generation. He raises up stewards of His word and sends them out to declare His works among the nations. God administers His redemption plan among the nations. He also speaks, acts, and reveals in such a way that every individual may have hope in the midst of personal struggles--such as periods of depression.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Asaph, one of the leaders of Israel's corporate worship, memorializes God's charge against His people, transparently allows Israel to witness and remember his repentance journey, and he leads Israel through corporate repentance.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
The Psalms search out and state the character of God, His deeds that produce praise in His people, and the glory of His name. The prayers and songs of God's people instruct all believers to order their lives according to who God is and how He acts rather than be conformed to the culture around them.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Israel's corporate worship directs believers to think rightly about God, themselves, and others. Singing truth together reminds all believers to order their lives by faith, making every effort to learn obedience to the Lord's commands.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Still speaking to Israel's leaders and Solomon, David addresses leadership steps everyone present must take. David enlists the entire group to accomplish the work of the temple together. They are working for the Lord. They must not forget this.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
As David nears the end of his tenure as king of Israel, he dedicates himself to preparing the next generation for a great transition. The Holy of Holies will no longer be mobile. Israel will no longer be at war. God promises a King from David's lineage who will rule an everlasting kingdom. God's people must learn to obey God's covenant and champion the name of the Lord among the nations until the Messiah comes.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
David matures in Bible literacy through a faith journey administered by God. He learns from God's discipline responses when he sins. He learns from God response of blessing when he obeys. He grows in faith as a man, husband, and king.
In the final chapter of his life, David understands that God's choice for His permanent dwelling in Israel mandates a critical juncture of God's covenant process. The Law of Moses is a living document. It does not represent a stagnant religious list of activities. On the contrary, God calls Israel to walk with Him by faith in an authentic developing relationship. A transition to a permanent temple replacing a mobile tabernacle requires an application of law that reorganizes Israel in their commitment to obey the law.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
God promised Abraham to make him a great nation. Through Israel, God preserves the Seed of Promise given to Eve. Through Israel, the Messiah will come and bless every family on the earth. God fulfills all promises in order to raise Israel up as a nation on the world stage. He fulfills His promise of land, laws, and leaders. There is still yet one promise unfulfilled--the promise of a permanent dwelling.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
David records a song and teaches the next generations about God's forgiveness and justice.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
The kingdom of Israel is restored. God answers David's prayer. God's word will be proclaimed to future generations through a great man of faith. David has sinned. Yet, in repentance, he continues to learn obedience.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
God responds to David's sin concerning Uriah the Hittite by removing the hedge of protection around his servant. David is no longer guarded by the protection of wisdom from the Lord. He becomes a passive leader--willing to claim the honor others have earned and no longer zealous to administer justice from the Lord's hand.
David's passivity costs him, his family, and all of Israel.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
There is a difference between a person who genuinely desires to follow the Lord but stumbles and a person who rejects the Lord by sinning against Him with no repentance. David desires to obey the Lord. However, he stumbles mightily.
The story of David's sin against Uriah the Hittite teaches us about man's brokenness, our capacity for sin, and our continual struggle to walk by faith. Yet, this story also teaches us about God's mercy toward those who truly repent.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
David's heart is for the flourishing of God's covenant people. As king of Israel, David assumes a role. Not only is his position a picture defining the role of the promised Messiah but also, David's primary purpose is to administer the justice of God's covenant.
The foundation of God's character of justice is the pursuit of peace. David demonstrates the integrity of a peacemaker. Seeking peace with all people, David justifies the administration of wrath upon those who reject the blessings of God's covenant people.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Worldly kingdoms are marked by leadership rivalries and jealousy. David establishes his rule by committing to stewarding the justice of God's covenant law.
There is a difference between unjust violence committed through the rage of man's heart and the stewarding of God's wrath against the wickedness of man.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
The story of Scripture contrasts David's and Saul's leadership. The biblical leader is always the best follower. Because David orders his life to follow God and His word, those David leads flourish. In contrast, Saul orders his life in an attempt to be followed. As a result, those under his leadership and influence suffer.
Scripture does not sanitize David's story. Although he is a man of great faith, he must grow in his faith and Bible literacy. The messiness of David's sin teaches us that even great faith walkers are not exempt from sin's consequences.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
David is on the run. What does a running man need? Peace above all things. Because David is innocent, he navigates his time of desperation absent of bitterness, but rather with peace and wisdom.
The story reveals how God provides for David. Not one need goes unmet. David acquires what he needs physically. He acts with wisdom and integrity. He runs with peace. And now he has Goliath's sword...a bad-to-the-bone move!
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
David demonstrates how we must appropriate faith in the face of trial. He reminds us to agree with God that the nations must always be in focus. He also reminds us to sing through crisis--even if you are not a singer!
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Saul experiences curses while David experiences blessings. We watch the truth of James 4:6 play out:
James 4:6 (NLT)6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Saul stumbles quickly. He believes his own press. He drinks his own cool-aid. He believes He is Israel's protector rather than a steward of God's provision. For this, God will establish his kingdom for only a time in order to show mercy to Israel.
It is Saul's son, Jonathan--not Saul--who understands the role of Israel's king.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
God tells Israel they may set a king over them...but they sin by asking for a king...yet, God appoints a king over them...but God was their king. What is going on?
It is important to make sense of today's reading using three key passages for context. I want you to see three primary truths this transition story reveals before you launch into the next several weeks of biblical contrast between Saul and David. I want you to see:
- In the Law, God spoke future things to Israel permitting them set a king over them.
- In the Judges Era, the people ignored God as King and failed to ask for a king.
- In the beginning of the Kingdom Era, Israel desires a king for all the wrong reasons.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- When God's people struggle to recognize and submit to the authority of God's word, they are left to hope in mysticism. The absence of understanding in God's word always leads to mysticism. Mysticism always leads to idol worship. Idol worship always incurs the wrath of God.
- Fathers are reminded by today's reading that their work among the crowds is always short-lived if their work at home fails.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Genealogies and more genealogies! Yet today's reading sets up the transition story from the Judges Era to the Kingdom Era. God administers the faith of an abused woman to usher in the onramp to Israel's rise to be the most powerful and wealthiest nation on the earth.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Ruth's story teaches us that God administers the eras to accomplish His redemptive work by raising up stewards of His word to bring His salvation to the ends of the earth. If you were looking for a bright spot in the dark wilderness of the Judges era--you found it today!
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Well, there is no other way to say this: today's reading is discussing chaos. If you finished today's reading with the exclamation, "Good grief," you are not alone. In today's podcast, I simply want to provide you with a 50-thousand-foot context for today's reading. Rather than rehash the gory details of the story, let's dive into what this text reveals about what is going on underneath the surface of the story.
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Sampson's story ends with the bitter consequences of sin. However, God honors the repentance of His servant.
- The story of Jonathan and the tribe of Dan allows us to chew on our own zealousness for the word of God.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Jephthah walks by faith and orders his life according to Bible literacy. He also stumbles by obligating himself to a foolish vow because of Bible illiteracy.
Sampson endures the consequences of the sin of others. He is a sinner himself. Yet God uses his tragedy and his issuing hatred to begin delivering Israel from the Philistines.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jotham's curse against Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem is fulfilled. God administers the terms of His covenant with Israel by heaping His promised curses upon them.
- However, God also honors the terms of His promised blessings. When Israel repents, God is grieved by the misery of His curses on the people He loves. Though our love for God wains for periods of time, God's love never fails.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God dictates a song for future generations of Israelites who will reject Him. God is good. He provides an everlasting testimony to His good provisions and man's struggle to acknowledge Him for them. The song God dictates will aid Israel in future repentance.
- The song of prayer Moses records from his heart will remind future generations that God even provides intercessors for them long before they are aware of their needs.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Israel's response to God's past actions--His words, deeds, and revelations--have shockingly not penetrated the hearts, ears, and eyes of the people. God's present acts will have no effect either. Still, God speaks, acts, and reveals so that His covenant people may choose to obey Him. Because of all God provides them as a testimony of His goodness and the people's brokenness, future generations will not be able to wrongly evaluate their circumstances.
- In today's reading God orders His case against a stubborn and disobedient people. God will sovereignty administer His covenant in response to Israel's choices.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God declares additional terms for His covenant with Israel. The second generation of Israelites must be careful to reflect on all they have seen and heard. They must correctly interpret the years in the wilderness as judgment. Yet, they must believe that God desires to bless and flourish them.
- God provides a disciplined way for them to express their gratitude towards Him. He also provides testimony to instruct future generations so they may correctly interpret the events of their day. Everything will depend on their choices, therefore their actions.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God's law reveals His character. God teaches Israel about His righteousness and wrath; about man's faith and wickedness. God requires Israel to define His holiness as He reveals it. They must believe what God makes known by faith. They must order their lives accordingly!
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Until the Messiah comes, Israel must administer God's justice among the covenant community and in the midst of other nations. Israel--living under and bearing the law of God given through Moses--will prove to the world that God is good and His word is true.
- When the Messiah comes, He will mediate God's covenant between man and Himself. He will serve man as the Prophet they need. His word will be the non-negotiable word of God. The Messiah will be a Prophet. He will be the perfect unlimited Prophet. The Messiah is God.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Moses tells the story of Israel's forty-year wilderness journey. This second generation of Israelites must understand how God is preparing them to cross the Jordan to possess the land God swore to their forefathers.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God teaches Israel to administer justice when a person is killed. God also responds to a special inquiry.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Some decisions God dictates. At other times, God is pleased to allow His servants to steward their own choices. He administers both opportunities for His people at different times.
- Through choices--ones He dictates and ones over which He gives us stewardship--God teaches His people to obey.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The vows man makes are not only heard by God but attended to by God. No covenant member is allowed to carelessly make idle vows to the Lord.
- God's covenant members must have integrity in their words. He is using them to steward His redemption plan. They will both administer His wrath and His blessing. Their word must not be maligned before Him or the nations.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- We learn that the inheritance God provides for every family of Israel is important. Women are not inferior in God's community. Leadership in God's kingdom is built on submissive roles.
- God prescribes special sacrifices intended for the benefit of the entire nation. The picture of God's redemptive promise--the shedding of the blood of the innocent on behalf of the guilty--must be preserved throughout every year in every generation.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Balaam advises Balak in a scheme to bring God's wrath on the people He blesses. God's blessing is never a license for sin. His blessing is a call to obedience. Obedience is the boundary line for blessing.
- Phinehas demonstrates a zealousness for the righteousness of God. His story teaches us how obedience pleases God.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God provides a way for Israel to navigate the overwhelming number of deaths among them in the wilderness.
- Moses and Aaron’s rock incident teaches us valuable lessons in biblical leadership.
- Two seemingly obscure stories have great meaning in the context of the whole of Scripture. Edom and the bronze serpent will play important roles in our Bible literacy as we move through the story.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God calls faithful believers to lead His covenant community. He defends them and provides for them.
- Israel experiences the administering of God’s pronounced judgment—everyone twenty years and older at Israel’s refusal to go into the Land of Promise will die in the wilderness.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Israel stands between two opposing testimonies. Then spies testify that God is unfaithful to His word, Moses is a fraud, and death is certain. Joshua and Caleb testify that God will accomplish all He says, the land is just as God reported, and God’s presence is manifest among them.
- A complaining culture renders Israel blind to who God is, what He has done, and what He will do.
- When Israel rejects God by refusing His inheritance, Moses rushes to lead well. He is motivated not by the saving of the people, but by the majesty and power of the name of God.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- I have been so personally convicted that today's entire podcast is a devotional thought. I write it for myself and to myself. Do you need to listen along with me?
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God makes provisions for any covenant member to set themselves apart as holy unto the Lord. The Levites do not corner the holiness market.
- God's name is the seal of His covenant with Israel. God desires all nations to acknowledge His name and become covenant members.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Because God’s holiness must not be distorted, the Levites must handle the tabernacle and its furnishings according to God’s prescribed responsibilities.
- God reveals the value of a covenant member. He also provides protection for a wife under the suspicion of her husband. This is a perspective of community and value of women no other nations failed to prioritize.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God is a God of order, clarity, and provision. He instructs Israel to obey every detail of the life He designs so they may flourish in the land He gives them.
- He is their God, and they are His people. A lot is required to make this happen.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- What is dedicated to the Lord is the Lord's. It will belong under the covering of the Levite's stewardship--unless the giver redeems the offering. If this is the case, the monetary offering of redemption must add to the offering's value.
- The first census is taken. God raises up a nation through whom He will show His glory--His righteousness and His wrath. The size of the Israelite army is impressive. God does not want His people to fear their task at hand.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God's law demonstrates His desire for the flourishing of His people. Their seasons of crisis will expose their defiant hearts and lead them to repentance.
- God loves His people and disciplines His children as a father.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- What seems not to apply to our lives, applies very intimately! If you finished reading today and wondered why these details matter for believers or nonbelievers in 2023,
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- For the third day in a row, parental discretion is suggested before listening to today's podcast with children. Leviticus 20 must be discussed today. Parents, have a listen before you are joined by your children today.
- God is holy. Therefore, His covenant people must be holy. Israel must put God's commands into practice. Holiness before the Lord is a transformation of the heart. Heart transformation dictates behavior transformation. Some behaviors indicate a rejection of God's name.
- God teaches His people the danger of participating in the blessings of His covenant community without submitting to Him as King.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- If you listen to this podcast with your children, consider that today’s reading addresses sexual immorality in a very explicit way. Parental discretion is once again suggested.
- God contrasts the worship He designed for sinners to by faith enjoy the blessings of His presence among them. He also contrasts the sexual practices of Egypt and Canaan with the marriage covenant He designs.
- Leviticus provides an interpretation of all the altar scenes we encounter in Scripture. This text is key for our understanding of the story of the Bible.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- If you listen to this podcast with your children, be aware that today’s reading includes instructions about marital intimacy. Although I will only briefly mention this subject, parental discretion is required today.
- Instructions for the protection of the community continue. One person’s germs may impact other covenant members negatively. Mildew exposes the community to these negative impacts. Also bodily fluids expose members outside of an immediate family.
- The bodily fluids exchanged by husband and wife during marriage covenant renewal ceremonies—sex—also potentially expose other covenant members. A spouse’s reproductive fluids do not belong outside the boundaries of the marriage relationship. Married couples must carefully order their lives so that the exchanges of their bodies are for themselves alone.
- The Day of Atonement must take place on the 10th day of the seventh month. It is a holy sabbath day for Israel. In addition to the daily forgiveness of sin for all the people—a burnt sacrifice is offered in the morning and evening—God will atone for the sins of the nation once every year until the Messiah comes. When the Messiah comes, He will remove the results of sin forever, and He will assume the role of High Priest forever.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God loves Israel. Because the entire nation is raised in Egypt, God inserts a first through sixth-grade curriculum in personal hygiene. Israel must learn from scratch what is clean and unclean. The practices of the land they left must not continue in the Land of Promise.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God administers His sovereignty by responding to man's thoughts and actions. He demonstrates His watchful eye on the activities of the sacrificial system by confirming both obedience and disobedience. He also demonstrates that His law is not meant to be oppressive. Instead, He desires the flourishing of His people.
- Because God is holy, He demands those in covenant with Him to learn to be holy. He refuses to display His glory through a nation that looks like other nations. God makes His people clean on the interior. They must order their lives to be clean on the exterior.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
©2023joelstrahan
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The seriousness of sin must not be understated, ignored, or lessened. In order for Holy God to live among His people, His covenant terms must be adhered to. On the Mountain, God gives Moses stewardship of Israel’s requirements as covenant members.
- These offerings allow Israel to understand their desperate need for continual forgiveness. They also teach the people that God is for them. He wants nothing more than for them to succeed.
- This sacrificial system will be sufficiently fulfilled in Christ. However, these laws will preserve a people for the Lord until the Messiah comes.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The offerings prescribed by God are for the people. By participating in the offering system, worshipers expose their hearts and behavior to the community. The ceremonial elements of each offering allow the worshiper to confirm in every generation that God is always administering grace in order to bless His people.
- Participating in worship through offerings keeps God's holiness before the people. The people act according to the way they think. They walk according to their view of God, themselves, and their sin. These offering regulations allow God's people to continually remember to love God and honor other covenant members.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The Ten Commandments provide God’s framework terms for His covenant with Israel. They must worship Him rightly and honor other covenant members appropriately. Both terms are multi-layered.
- Israel’s worship requires the role of the firstborn to administer the covenant. God demands it, and the people must acknowledge and agree to the provision. Their offerings will not only be a blessing for them but bless the Levites who stand between the and God’s wrath.
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Have a question from today’s reading? Submit your question to jstrahan@slaydenbaptist.com. I may feature your question in an episode!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The glory of God’s presence, the glory of the tabernacle, and God’s pleasure in the obedience of His people is reflected in the twelve tribe’s desire to make offerings of dedication for the altar of atonement. For twelve days, the entire community celebrates God’s provision for their forgiveness by providing utensils that will represent them in the daily worship practices of the tabernacle.
- God is accomplishing what He desires the most—dwelling with His image-bearers! He continues to speak with Moses. The people are a able to confess their sins to God. They see His manifest presence in the cloud and the fire. They bring offerings to God that He then appropriates for the provision of the Levites.
- No other nation on the earth experiences a worship that is alive! Idols fall and must be maintained by the people who created them. God, however hears His people, speaks to His people, and receives what His people bring Him.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
Have a question from today's reading? Submit your question to jstrahan@slaydenbaptist.com. I may feature your question in an episode!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Evaluation is a part of God’s character. God evaluates all things according to the standard of His word. So we may know Him intimately, understand what He says about Himself, and live in relationship with Him, God requires us to evaluate the work we steward in His name. Moses models this evaluation mandate as He inspects the tabernacle work.
- God demonstrates His approval of the people’s work and accepts Israel’s invitation for His dwelling among them.
- God desires to be close to them. He loves them. He knows what lies ahead for them. Living in their midst, God acts to prepare them for the hard times He knows are coming.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Israel meets their second chance to appropriate faith to a forty-day and night wait with readiness. They are ready to begin work on the tabernacle.
- God’s covenant community must first willingly long for God’s presence among them by giving back a portion of the wealth God bestowed on them. Those with special abilities from the Spirit of the Lord must willingly dedicate their time and efforts to do the work God set before them. And the leaders stewarding the offerings of God’s people must do so with integrity.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Shortly after Israel commits itself to obey God’s terms for covenant with them, many throw away the glory of God’s blessing for the shame of self-pleasure in idol worship. God’s wrath is terrifying, but His mercy remains. God values intercessory prayer.
- The story of the Bible—all of it—teaches us important lessons for every generation of faith walkers. There are special differences between worldly leadership and the leadership God requires of His covenant people.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Moses is on the Mountain with God for forty days and nights. During this time, God commits Moses to pass on to the people specific instructions concerning the ordination of the priests, daily sacrifices, the incense altar, required offerings, the washbasin, anointing oil, incense oil, and the craftsmen for the entire project. Because this is a huge project, God reminds Moses about the Sabbath.
- When God is finished speaking with Moses, and presumably he accurately records all of it, God engraves the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone with His own finger. The framework terms for the covenant are permanently inscribed on stone. God must be worshiped rightly, and covenant members must be honored correctly.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- What God mentions to Abraham in the past only in pieces, He now reveals is part of a grander plan. He administers the redemption plan according to His design from the beginning.
- The tabernacle ensures that the religion of Israel is shown to be relational. Idol worship demands religious activity. However, worshiping Creator God demands personal and communal relationship.
- The tabernacle will not be a place where people observe an image. It will be a place where the One true God listens to His people.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God enters into covenant with the nation He promised Abraham. The story of redemption takes another step toward the fulfillment of the Seed promised to Eve. God’s terms for covenant—the law—will preserve a holy people unto the Lord until the coming of the Messiah.
- God demands to be worshiped rightly. He also demands that members of the covenant be honored rightly. The covenant community will be a people of justice, accountability, and provision. Even their land will be holy before the Lord and stewarded specifically for that purpose.
- Although the people are terrified to speak to the Lord directly, God provides Moses as a prophet among them and the Angel to manifest His presence among them.
- Israel will be a people living in God’s blessing if they obey Him.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God is holy. The law is God’s terms for His dwelling among the people.
- God calls the nation into covenant with Him by stating the terms of the covenant. They must love God with all their hearts. They must love other covenant members with all their hearts.
- God’s law deprograms Israel from the idol worship of Egypt. When man worships gods of their imagination, sin forms the law which rules them. Sin destroys the life of the individual and the community since everyone suffers the consequences of their own sin and the sins of others. The law trains God’s people to know the distinction between what is holy and what is wicked, what is clean and what is unclean. Responding to God by faith—ordering life according to belief in what God makes known, or obedience—causes the flourishing of God’s image-bearers and the glorious proclamation of God’s name. Disobedience—rejecting what God makes known—causes the destruction of God’s image-bearers. Therefore, God’s covenant with Israel includes a law which trains them to worship Him correctly and to love other covenant members who worship God in community.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- One month after the Passover, the Red Sea Event, the people complain because of their stomachs. Hunger and thirst cause the people to forget who is leading them. Yet, God provides for them.
- God prepares Joshua for the second chapter of his life.
- And God fulfills the sign He gave to Moses. God brought them back to Mt. Sinai—the scene of the burning bush—to worship Him. The people must prepare themselves for worship. They must be deprogrammed from all they learned in Egypt. The gods of Egypt are imaginary. Creator God is holy.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God provides for His people. He prepares them today for what He knows they will need in the future.
- God is not only preparing the Israelites for their future in the wilderness. He is also preparing future generations to know that He is God. There will not always be eyewitnesses of this event in the future. Knowing this, God makes His people a memorial people.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Pharaoh is not allowed to repent. Even though he progressively desires deliverance from the consequences of rejecting God, his desires are met with a resounding declaration—he is too late.
- Through the ten plagues, God makes a spectacle of Pharaoh and Egypt. The Passover stands as the climax of God’s revelatory acts. We read the story of the Passover in today’s reading. As the Story of Redemption moves forward, we will discover that Jesus fulfills all the Passover signifies.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God patiently torments Pharaoh and the Egyptian people through plagues because they have all rejected God. Sometimes God’s judgment is executed swiftly. Sometimes God allows a passage of time between the pronouncement of judgment and the execution of judgment.
- God exposes the Egyptian gods as frauds. Pharaoh—also considered a god—proves himself no match for Creator God who actually exists.
- God honors His people by making a distinction between them and the Egyptians. He humiliates Pharaoh by hardening his heart after several refusals to repent. God brings the prophets of Egypt’s religious system to nothing.
- Oh…and God executes judgment through plagues! Plagues…the most explicit picture of judgment we may look to in order to grasp the reality of God’s wrath in the book of the Revelation.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The majesty and glory of God's sovereign administration of His redemption plan are on display. God runs simultaneous boot camps. He trains Moses and Aaron to lead by speaking and obey His word. He exposes the hard-heartedness of Pharaoh and patiently preserves him for judgment with all of Egypt. He acts and speaks for the benefit of future generations of faith-walkers. He proves that He is faithful and His word is the final authority.
- God prepares everyone in this story for the Passover. The Passover is an important picture through which God will confirm Jesus’ identity. Although everyone in this story—except Moses, Aaron, Caleb, and Joshua—will witness God’s word with deaf ears, future generations will learn to believe.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God shows that He is good and His word is true. The future things He spoke to Abraham will come to pass. Every promise He makes, He will fulfill.
- God raises up a deliverer for His people.
- The Egyptians reject God’s blessing, His people, and His revelation.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God corrects Job’s wrong thinking about the way God administers justice. God desires to be known as Creator. Only He possesses all authority, all power, and all wisdom. Because of this, God is able to sovereignty administer perfect justice.
- This is important to God. If man does not trust the way He administers justice, man cannot trust His plan for redemption.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God responds to Job in the presence of his friends. They have all boldly referenced the approaching storm in order to make points about God. When God speaks from that storm and reveals He has heard all that was said, all of the men experience what must have been a heart-stopping moment.
- Notice today’s introductory commentary. God corrects Job’s thinking by asking questions. It says, “God used questions to confront Adam and Eve in the Garden after they sinned. God questioned Cain first about his attitude, then about his actions toward Abel. God questions people to bring them to the end of themselves and to awaken them to think more deeply about Him.”
- Let’s think more deeply about God!
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Elihu reminds Job that God is perfect in His administration of justice. He can be trusted because He is Creator. His authority, power, and wisdom are unmatched.
- Elihu explains that God allows a passage of time before He judges the wicked and rescues the innocent. It is good that God waits. Because God waits, His servant who suffers should also wait. The correct response to suffering is a song of praise rather than a shout of complaint.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Elihu angrily rebukes the four men who speak idle words about God. He is zealous for God's name, and he defends God's character. For Elihu, there may not be a good explanation for Job's suffering. However, none of the men should waiver while thinking about God's justice.
- When God is being accused of perverting justice, things have gotten way out of hand. Elihu is furious about it. So the young man speaks...possibly he yells!
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Job continues his lament from yesterday’s reading. He is depressed—for good reason!
- He continues to struggle because he believes God is acting to destroy him. He understands what faith looks like when manifested in works. And he despairs in his circumstance because he believes his faith should determine his circumstance.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Job lashes out at his friends one last time. Then he laments the loss of his peace, family, wealth, honor, and influence.
- God is approaching in a storm. He will speak and put an end to broken relationships and sorrow.
- The friend's accusations today will be forgiven. God will demand that Job pray for them rather than lash out against them. We must read today’s text in light of what God will do in the future.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Eliphaz wrongly builds a theology that holds to a god who does not love or value those created in his image. Bildad adds to this theology that his god glories in his power and dreadfulness. These men doom man to reflect the glory of terror.
- Job also confuses the correct view of God’s sovereignty because He attempts to define God’s character through the lens of his circumstances.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The introductory commentary directs our attention to the realities of navigating suffering and loss. Scripture allows us to identify with Job’s crisis journey. It is a hills and valleys pathway of both self-pity and desperate hope in God. Let me remind you of what the commentary says:
“Experiencing loss (of family, friends, or health) can create an atmosphere ripe for either drowning in self-pity and blame or reflecting deeply about life and death and looking toward God with hope and trust. Job does both.”
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The conversation turns intimately personal as the men jockey for intellectual superiority. Attempts to outdo one another with wisdom always require the destruction of one’s character.
- Friends become foes in religious doctrinal arguments. Man becomes the final authority for correct belief, and circumstance becomes the dictator of what God is doing.
- False teachers value their proving others are wrong rather than helping others submit to God. They spend their energy attempting to hear the words, “You are wise.”
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Job responds to Zophar out of deep suffering. He is suffering the loss of all he owned, his children, and his influence among people. He is a broken man.
- The introductory commentary sets the context for our processing of Job’s words.
- “The book of Job permits sufferers to think things through, to ponder out loud, to face their fears, and to express their deep grief. Job’s honest words echo the thoughts of all sufferers.”
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The dialogue between Job and his friends escalates into a full-blown theological argument. Like many theological arguments, this debate digresses into a competition to prove who is wiser.
- Remember that at the beginning of this story, God calls Job His servant. At the end of the story, God will call Job His servant. Yet, Job is unaware of what is really happening. He is forced to by faith navigate his friends accusations and theological frameworks. Job’s response to Bildad works out and considers the god his friends have imagined. He accurately breaks down the error in their arguments while continuing to speak from an anguishing heart.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Eliphaz’s words make matters worse for Job. He is convinced Job’s circumstance is the result of sin. He believes Job should make his case to God, allow God to expose his sin, and be restored.
- It is tiresome to read Eliphaz’s advice based on his own life experience and supposed mystical encounter with a spirit, but his arrogant testimony about God’s character serves as a warning to anyone wanting to teach others about God without a knowledge of God.
- Job defends himself before his friend’s accusation and pleads with God to end his suffering. He admits he spoke at first impulsively, and he fails to emerge from impulsiveness!
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The story of Job occurs in the Patriarch Era. The story traces the reality of what is really happening—what God knows to be true—and the struggle of men who perceive what they believe is happening.
- Job’s story can be difficult to navigate because a large amount of text is given to theological discussion filled with truths and errors. Don’t get frustrated or bogged down attempting to make sense of every right and wrong thing that flies from man’s lips in this story.
- Instead, remember that God is answering Satan’s challenge that man’s faith lacks integrity. This is what is really happening.
- Job and his friends are struggling to find a reason for suffering and a response to suffering. Man’s perception of reality is flawed, based on incomplete information.
- In the end, God proves that His character and His terms for salvation He makes known to man are sufficient for a very real response of faith. Man’s faith is also sufficient to help us navigate the suffering present in life outside the Garden.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The main patriarch storyline comes to a close, fast-forwarding to Jacob and Joseph’s deaths. There are six orders of business to which must be tended for the flourishing of the next generations in light of what God promised.
- Jacob’s burial site demonstrates confidence in God’s faithfulness and submission to His word.
- Ephraim and Manasseh must be included as Jacob’s sons. Jacob elevates these young men born in Egypt, and he gives them an inheritance in his household.
- God’s promise to Abraham must be restated and passed on to the next generations.
- Jacob’s sons must be instructed and organized as tribes in the nation God is establishing.
- Joseph must reassure his brothers of his forgiveness for the harm they intended.
- Joseph’s burial site and the timing of his burial will serve as a testimony of faith for future generations.
- All six of these items of family business will present the opportunity for the flourishing of God’s people even when their trail of slavery comes on them.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The future things God tells Abraham in Genesis 15, provide a backdrop for the newly liberated Hebrews in the wilderness—fresh with the lived experience of redemption through the Passover and eye witnesses to the destruction of Egypt’s military power, financial dominance, and world influence.
- As God catches them up by educating them on the history of His redemptive work and their own heritage as a people of promise, today’s reading reminds them that God led them into their slavery to Egypt just as He is leading them now to possess the land He promised Abraham.
- Today’s text teaches us that God’s righteousness (the way He administers the saving of sinners who respond to Him by faith) and God’s wrath (the way He punishes wickedness) are revealed through concurrent layers of individual and communal responses to His word.
- God is not afraid to ask His covenant people to patiently endure His administration of the eras to bring about the saving of a people of faith and the destruction of a people who refuse to bow the knee to Him.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
The NKJV translates 1 Chronicles 5:2:
2 yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a ruler, although the birthright was Joseph’s—
- This is exactly how the Septuagint translates this Hebrew verse into Greek. Judah was able to be stronger than his brothers. Judah, committing his life for the life of his brother Benjamin, looked more like the coming Messiah than all of his brothers—including Joseph. For this, Judah is awarded the Seed of Promise.
- The Messiah will come from Judah’s seed. This bizarre story of cat and mouse shows the Israelites in the wilderness how Judah became a leader worth following. He did what none of his brothers were willing to do. He puts his money where his mouth is.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God sovereignly acts by speaking in four dreams to three men. He demonstrates to the Egyptians that He is God alone, and the Egyptians respond to God’s revelation.
- By acting, God administers this era. He lifts Joseph from his trial and sets the stage for Joseph’s brothers to be restored—renewed to the promise of Abraham and reconciled to one another through forgiveness.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The narrative of Scripture zeros in on Joseph’s story. Through January 18, we will read the details of how God administers the future thing He told Abraham in Genesis 15. Abraham’s descendants will be enslaved in a foreign land for four hundred years, but God will visit them afterward, judge the enslaving nation, and bring His people out with great riches.
- Joseph’s story is not just an interesting historical account. God is tracing the inheritance of the firstborn in Israel’s household and the inheritance of the Seed of Promise. In this multi-layered and complex story of redemption, brokenness, repentance, and reward, God is teaching the Israelites in the wilderness how He acts to sovereignly fulfill what He speaks.
- Joseph will replace Reuben as the future head of household—he is given the seat of honor at the right hand of the father, the role of the firstborn. Judah will inherit the Seed of Promise. All of the brothers will be brought to their knees and called to submit to faithfulness to God’s word.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
The entire day is a day of genealogies! Raise your hand if you were blessed! There is nothing like reading a list of names you can’t pronounce and won’t remember to leave you scratching your head and wondering just what the Lord wants you to get out of the reading!
There are some significant truths couched in this genealogy text!
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jacob faces his fear of Esau and his disgust with his own past. Knowing all that he has is the result of his own sinful behavior, Jacob pleads with God to bless him. God blesses Him by changing his name. He will no longer embrace the identity of one who is always attempting to overcome. God gives him a new identity. Israel is one who gained God’s blessing by refusing to not be blessed.
- Jacob fails his daughter and his boys, but in the aftermath, the entire family is called to put away their idols. God alone is God Almighty. The Dinah incident will take some time to sort itself out—building bridges of trust back when they have been destroyed is hard work. However, the whole family will eventually get to Egypt as a people of faith, a family of redemption, and a covenant heritage testifying to God’s faithfulness.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jacob learns the true meaning of God being with him. He discovers that his efforts to protect himself have not made him wealthy. God has been working in the background to accomplish this. Jacob finally learns to rely on the Lord’s presence in his life rather than his own ingenuity.
- Rachel has not learned this lesson yet, but Jacob grows in his confidence in his own integrity. God honors his mustard seed of faith.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God confirms His approval of Jacob’s inherited Seed of Promise. Jacob doesn’t realize it yet, but God will not allow him to enjoy the blessings of his inheritance without being confronted with his lack of faith. God will be with him for more than just protection and blessing. God will expose his character and transform him into a humble faith-walker.
- The schemer with a wake of destructiveness behind him finds himself in the wake of another schemer. The result is one of the most dysfunctional family dynamics imaginable. However, God is faithful in the midst of brokenness to keep His promise to Abraham—descendants as numerous as the dust on the earth.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The story traces Isaac's faith journey as he learns to walk with God by faith in what God has said despite what his circumstances present him.
- We also see three contrasts between Esau and Jacob. God has already declared the inheritance of the Seed of Promise will come through Jacob. Now we get to see how it all plays out. God remains faithful to what He promised Abraham through the messiness and brokenness of His people.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The story of Scripture traces the genealogies through Abraham’s three wives. Remember, God is telling His story to the Hebrews who have just come out of their slavery in Egypt. He wants them to know who He is, and He desires that they understand who they are. He is Creator. He promised a Seed to Eve who would one day remove the results of sin forever. He entered into covenant with Abraham to fulfill this promise for every family on the earth. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is their God, and they are His people.
- The story of the Seed of Promise continues with details about Jacob and Esau. God tells this story in great detail because of its worldview-shaping importance both for the Hebrews in the wilderness and all generations after.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God provides for Hagar and Ishmael but establishes that Isaac will inherit the promise of the Seed.
- For twenty-five years in the land of Promise, God trained Abraham and Sarah to walk by faith. God needs Abraham to be ready to obey when He commands him to place his only son on the altar of atonement.
- Once the role of the firstborn son is established and the covenant of the seed of Promise is established, God provides a bride for Isaac.
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In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God teaches Sarah to resist telling Him what is possible and what is not.
- His judgment on Sodom, Gomorrah, and the cities of the plains comes ten generations after the flood. God’s action at Babel allows Him to execute judgment in isolated places until the time of the final judgment.
- Abraham is allowed to participate through intercessory prayer in God’s actions.
- Lot’s story shows the futility of living by fear rather than faith.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The flood story reveals God’s righteousness and wrath. He acts to make Himself known. God desires that His image-bearers understand His character, their need for redemption and His faithfulness to both forgive those who walk by faith and punish all wickedness.
- God defines for Noah all that He is doing. He is destroying every living thing that breathes, but at the same time, He is promising to confirm His covenant with Noah, his sons, and every surviving being. God will give mankind another promise and picture. In the Garden, God promised redemption. In the flood, God points to the reality of a future sweeping and final judgment. The sign of the covenant—the rainbow—will remind all people of God’s act of righteousness and wrath. It will also demonstrate to all people that God is actively withholding this kind of sweeping judgment until some day in the future.
- The rainbow puts all people on notice. The reality of future judgment is sure, but so is the reality of future redemption. God will one day remove all wickedness from the earth, and He will save a people of faith.
- God is administering the eras to bring about the redemption He designed and planned before the foundations of the earth. As God tells His story to the newly liberated Hebrews in the wilderness, He wants them to think rightly about Him, themselves, and the people who currently live in the land He promised them—the Canaanites.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Two groups of people form: those who call on the name of the Lord and those who live according to their own pleasures.
- In the second generation, Abel and Cain’s story teaches us that God’s terms for salvation are non-negotiable. Understanding the story of the Bible helps us interpret why God accepts Abel’s offering while rejecting Cain’s.
- The Story of the Bible traces Seth and Cain’s lineages, the rapid spread of sin throughout the earth, and the full manifestation of man’s depravity—sexual immorality and violence.
- God acts to administer the fulfillment of His redemptive plan. He acts in righteousness and in wrath.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God redeemed the Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt. Now in the wilderness after experiencing God’s authority and power over the most powerful nation on the earth and its false gods, God wants His covenant people to know His character. As the story of Scripture is told from the beginning, God desires to deprogram His people from all they learned in Egypt. He tells them the story of redemptive history that brings them to Mount Sinai.
- God makes Himself known. He wants all image-bearers to know His character. He also wants all people to know our brokenness. Although we are made in His image so that we may know Him and live in relationship with Him, mankind from the beginning rejected His kingship.
- God desires to be known as Creator. Only Creator God may command things that do not exist to exist. Only Creator God may possess preeminent authority, power, and wisdom.
- As Creator, God desires all image-bearers to know His redemptive work. Paul said to the church in Ephesus:
Ephesians 1:4 (NLT)
4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
- The beginning of the story teaches us to believe rightly about God and ourselves. Our redemption was designed and planned before anything was made. For the Hebrews at Mt. Sinai, the story of the beginning reveals a good God who’s word is true—a God who has been administering the eras in order to redeem the brokenness that resulted from man’s sin. For us today, the story of the beginning is glorious in light of the end of the story, which God has made known in Christ.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Entering God’s rest is difficult because of our weakness. This is why Jesus is appointed our High Priest.
The writer of Hebrews says:
Hebrews 4:15–16 (NLT)
15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
- Entering God’s rest is difficult, but not impossible. We have a perfect High Priest better than those who served according to the law of Moses. Our High Priest serves in the order of Melchizedek.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The writer of Hebrews explains that Jesus is God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are One—Jesus being the full revelation to us of God’s glory and character. It may appear that the Son is different than the Father or even lesser than the angels, but God has declared Him Son in order to bring many children into glory.
- The writer of Hebrews explains God’s redemptive work and the role of the Son in such a way as to clearly articulate what God as done on our behalf so we may have faith and be saved.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul tells Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:6 (NLT)
6 As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.
- Paul encourages Timothy to remain faithful to Jesus, endure suffering, and be strong through grace in Jesus Christ. Difficult days lie ahead, but the Lord’s servant has only work that pierces the darkness of progressively sinful cultures—Preach the word!
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul concludes his first letter to Timothy. He reinforces the need for Timothy not to be outward-focused, but attentive to his own faith-journey. The integrity of the gospel is proven in its transformative power in the one who proclaims it.
- Paul calls Timothy and Titus his sons. He left Titus in Crete to appoint leaders in every church and instructed Titus to teach seven specific things.
- In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he encourages Timothy not to shrink back from his task because of the fear of persecution. The precious truth of the gospel is worth whatever it costs!
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Because Paul has left Timothy in Ephesus to correct false teaching, he instructs Timothy in how to chose leaders for the church. Many will desire to be leaders, but not everyone should be thrown into this responsibility.
- Paul is writing to Timothy so he and the church will know how believers are to conduct themselves in the household of God.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- James unpacks the faith problem of the early church—the wealthy among them are neglecting the poor among them. He tells them exactly what they must do to fix the problem!
- Paul also writes Timothy, who is in Ephesus. Paul left him there to correct false teaching that had permeated the church. We read the first specific instructions Paul gives to this young man of faith.
- In order to shepherd the flock of God, Timothy must have confidence in the word of God. He must have confidence in Paul, his father in the faith. He must continue to grow in his own faith. He must be disciplined in prayer. And he must have confidence in God’s design for marriage.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- James writes to believing Jews dispersed throughout the world. He addresses a main problem that exists in the church. Quarrels and fights are prevalent among the young body of Christ, and the root of the problem is the division between the rich and the poor.
- James desires for all believers to grow in their love for one another—that poor believers will enjoy the honor Jesus gives them in the Kingdom of God with an equal inheritance, and rich believers will enjoy the way their earthly status has been brought to no gain in the Kingdom.
- James teaches us that struggles in the church over socioeconomic status are a faith issue. His letter is a practical teaching defining biblical faith.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul enters the tumultuous waters of navigating conflict among God’s people. He reminds the Philippians that divisions have no place in the church. The secret of getting along is disciplined thinking and prayer!
- He also desires to protect the church from the Jew’s teaching about circumcision.
- Paul concludes his letter by sharing how their financial gifts have benefited him and the kingdom!
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Philemon is a member of the church at Colosse. Because Paul is sending Onesimus as a member of the team delivering his letter to this church, Paul also writes Philemon personally. Onesimus is a runaway slave in the household of Philemon. Onesimus was lost when he abandoned his responsibilities in Philemon’s care, but now he is a brother in Christ! Now he is saved. Paul wants to make sure Onesimus is forgiven and treated as a member of the church—not a runaway slave.
- The Philippian church is dear to Paul’s heart. Paul planted the church in the midst of persecution and trial. They have been a great help to him. Paul is thanking them for their financial help, strengthening them against the fear of persecution and false teaching, and admonishing them for allowing conflict to go unresolved.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul writes to the church in Colosse and intends for the church in Laodicea to read the letter as well. He has written a letter to the church in Laodicea, but we don’t have a copy of that letter. He has not planted these churches, but he loves them deeply.
- Paul is writing these congregations to encourage them and strengthen them. Although he does not know them personally, he writes very similar things to them that he writes the churches he does know personally.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Writing to the church in Ephesus, Paul shifts from instruction to believing Jews and Gentiles to an address for all of them as one in Christ. Instead of categorizing people into the two previous groups, now he specifies two ways to live—as fools and as wise.
- The remainder of Ephesians details the wise life in Christ as one people.
- To the Colossians, Paul similarly writes. Intending that this letter also be read to the church at Laodicea, Paul sends Tychicus and Onesimus with a message of encouragement and strength found only in faith in Christ so the young churches will be protected from the many false teachers attempting to enslave those who are willing to be distracted from the truth of the gospel.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- We continue in the letter Paul writes to the church in Ephesus.
- It is important that believing Jews and Gentiles understand the love of Christ and live in that love toward one another. This is a diverse church of young Christians. Their differences, however, are dissolved in Christ and they must work to mature together into the body Jesus designed to accomplish His will.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- After their shipwreck, the traveling party—Roman officers and prisoners—are welcomed on the Island of Malta. God’s covenant with Abraham is continuing to cover God’s people of faith.
- Paul preaches the gospel in Rome for two years without anyone attempting to stop him.
- Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, desiring that believing Jews and Gentiles grow in Christ so that they are one body.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul is a man living under a promise! Jesus appeared to him approximately two years ago, promising him he will testify to Jesus’ resurrection before Caesar in Rome!
- Today’s reading is a glorious picture of identity. Paul, a prisoner, is the only one enduring the dangers of the sea with knowledge of a promise. He pleads with those with him to believe the promise also and order their lives accordingly.
- Paul has testified to the truth of the resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem and Caesarea. Now he simply walks in the truth of what he claims. Jesus is alive. He is present. He is exalting His humble servant!
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- As God revealed Himself to Kings and governments during the Divided Kingdom Era through prophets, Jesus seeks confrontation with governments through Paul.
- Paul will fulfill his calling as a missionary just as effectively from prison as he does as a free man. Knowing the future Jesus promised, Paul speaks with freedom and authority—in chains.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul’s imprisonment begins his final chapter of missionary work. Today, we read the story of the first five days of His capture.
- We must read this portion of Paul’s story in the context of what Jesus told His disciples about coming persecution. He said:
Matthew 10:16–20 (NLT)
16 “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. 17 But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues. 18 You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me. 19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. 20 For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
- Paul’s imprisonment will spread the gospel. God will give him the right words to say at the right time. When Paul speaks, it will be the Holy Spirit speaking through him. Let’s unpack how all of this works out.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Toward the end of the third missionary journey, Paul is attempting to get to Jerusalem in time to celebrate the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost).
- On his way to Jerusalem, he calls the elders of the church in Ephesus together. He knows this is the last time he will see them. The Holy Spirit has told him as much. In Jerusalem, jail and suffering lie ahead.
- Paul’s conversation with the elders give us a sense of what he is saying to the churches he visits as he gets close to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit continues to confirm through other believers what He has already told Paul.
- In Jerusalem, in spite of the church’s efforts to protect Paul, the persecution God foretold arrived. God needs Paul in prison writing more letters! The church has feared for Paul’s safety, but God has the New Testament Scriptures on His mind!
Let’s dive into today's reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul admonishes the church for listening to false teachers.
- Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church corrects them in many areas where they are failing. They are struggling because they allow false teachers to gain their loyalty.
- Paul is fighting for the integrity of the gospel and the supreme lordship of Jesus!
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul concludes his teaching about church discipline to the Corinthians.
- He expresses his and Titus’ joy over the way they had handled the restoration of their member who was living a sexually immoral lifestyle with his stepmother.
- Paul also addresses the church’s desire to participate in the freewill offering for the needs of struggling believers in other places.
- Finally, he explains why he is so attentive to their faith journey. Paul is justified in his instruction to them because the gospel came to them through Paul and his team.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul writes for a third time to the church in Corinth. In His second letter, he asked them to do a very difficult thing. They have done it. They obeyed Paul’s instruction and sought to submit to Jesus.
- The rivalries that have been setting up in the church because its leaders became preoccupied with who could prove themselves the most wise, the most gifted, and the most influential, threaten to produce a negative aftermath.
- Paul is concerned now that they fully understand what they have done as a church. Yes, they have obeyed Paul’s instruction, but they must understand that he is teaching them how to live in the new covenant.
- If the church does not understand how the Spirit gives life and Jesus provides reconciliation, then even their obedience in the difficult situation they are in will fall short of the joy and refreshment God wants to produce in them.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul concludes his letter to the Romans with instructions for Jews and Gentile believers to praise God together, anticipation of his future visit, greetings for genuine partners in the gospel, and a warning to chose their teachers in the word wisely.
- In Paul’s third letter to the church in Corinth, Paul testifies to the comfort only Jesus can provide and an explanation for the delay of his next visit to them.
- Although Paul did not plant the church in Rome, we learn that twenty-nine individuals and groups have labored to make Jesus known there. Paul confirms the fruit of their labor—new congregations—and affirms that his absence from them should not indicate a lack of joy over them or concern for them.
- Paul desires that the Corinthian church understand his absence from them should be understood in the context of his love for them.
- Paul speaks the truth in love. He hopes that his love will not be misunderstood. Through letter writing, Paul is able to fully flesh out difficult teaching which should produce joy, comfort, love, and peace among the churches.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul continues to expose the sin problems of the Corinthian church. These problems exist because the leaders have preoccupied themselves with outdoing one another in influence.
- Apparently, the leaders are spending more time trying to appear wise and preach the best sermon than they are working for the holiness of God’s people.
- The church sent a question about food offered to idols, and Paul answers this question.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today's reading of Tyndale's OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul exposes four problems that exist in the life of the young church. He instructs them in four specific ways so they might obey the Lord and avoid the continuation of thinking and behavior unworthy of the call of Christ.
- The church must untangle themselves from their old worldview and lifestyles. They must learn to think biblically about every aspect of life.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today's reading of Tyndale's OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Like Philip needed help correcting his disciple-making methods, Apollos desperately needs someone who can explain the gospel accurately to come alongside him. Aquila and Priscilla meet him in Ephesus and teach him to explain the gospel accurately.
- Paul begins his third missionary journey and ends up in Ephesus. There he finds 12 men who also need to understand the gospel accurately. Through these 12 men, a new congregation is established in Ephesus, and every person who lives in Asia hears the gospel in a two-year period of time.
- While Paul is an Ephesus, he writes a letter to the church in Corinth. He spent more than a year with the believers there, but a culture of prideful celebrity teaching threatens the unity of this young church. Paul wants them to understand Jesus is their leader, and the gospel is not a means for men to gather followers for themselves.
Let's dive into today's reading!
In today's reading of Tyndale's OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul concludes his letter to the Thessalonians with thirteen specific instructions for Christian living and prayer.
- Paul writes a second letter to the church in Thessalonica because persecution does not only come in physical form. Paul continues to fight against wrong teaching.
- Paul plants the fifth new church during his second missionary journey. The new church in Corinth also must learn to navigate persecution as they mature in Christ.
- Also, Luke notes the next installment of Aquila and Priscilla's disciple-making journey.
Let's dive into today's reading!
In today's reading of Tyndale's OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul is separated from Silas and Timothy in his sixth destination—Athens—during the second missionary journey. Although Paul is in Athens, fleeing from the persecution in Berea and waiting on the rest of his team to join him, he is overcome by the idol worship he encounters in Athens.
- In Corinth, Paul meets two refugee Jews who were forced to leave Rome. Like Paul, they are tentmakers. Paul will disciple them. Their story teaches us that all believers can become disciple-makers under the right leadership.
- While in Corinth, Paul writes to the new church in Thessalonica. This church was born in the midst of great persecution. Because Satan—through persecution—has prevented Paul from returning to them, Paul’s letter will encourage and strengthen them after Timothy’s visit with them.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
In today's reading of Tyndale's OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The church encourages one another, settles a dispute about doctrine once and for all, and great joy is the result.
- Paul and Barnabas navigate conflict over John Mark.
- Paul begins his second missionary journey in today’s text, visiting six destinations and planting four new congregations.
The work of missions establishes new congregations and strengthens existing congregations. Let's dive into today's reading!
In today's reading of Tyndale's OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- False teaching threatens the young churches of Galatia. The primary question for believing Jews and Gentiles is this: in order to be saved must a Gentile become a Jew by submitting to circumcision?
- Paul understands this teaching of circumcision for both Jews and Gentiles who have come to faith in Christ changes the character of God, distorts his love, and rejects Christ as Lord and Savior.
- In order to help the churches Paul and Barnabas have just planted to stand firm in their faith in Jesus, Paul continues an argument from yesterday's reading. He introduces four more arguments, proving that God’s terms for salvation have always been by grace through the shedding of the blood of the innocent on behalf of the guilty and through faith in Jesus who fulfilled these terms.
Let's understand the five arguments Paul is making. Let's dive into today's reading!
In today's reading of Tyndale's OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Paul and Barnabas conclude their first missionary journey, returning to Antioch of Syria. The church's faith has resulted in much fruit.
- The churches in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia were birthed in the midst of great opposition from the Jews. They must learn quickly how to navigate a different kind of persecution. The main threat to these young churches would not be physical harm, but the temptation to believe wrongly about their salvation.
- Paul will spend his life not only spreading the gospel in many places, but he must also defend the gospel through letters to churches he dearly loves.
- In today's reading, we learned that thinking wrongly about God's plan of salvation changes his character, distorts his love, and rejects the authority of Jesus.
Let's dive into today's reading!
In today's reading of Tyndale's OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus teaches the church that just like he is stronger than Satan and demons, he is also stronger than the most powerful military force in the world. The church has whatever they ask for in prayer in Jesus' name, and they need to cling to this truth!
- Paul and Barnabas begin their first missionary journey. They will plant five new congregations in five places where God has not yet been praised. Opposition to the gospel manifests itself in four of these places. New congregations must grow in their faith while navigating the difficulty of persecution.
- We also learn the blueprint of Paul's presentation of the gospel. Like the apostles, like Stephen and Philip, Paul explains the good news about Jesus by storying through the Bible!
Let's dive into today's reading!
In today's reading of Tyndale's OYCSB (with featured continent, written by the CBT team),
- The church learns that Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit is not for Jews only, but for all the families of the earth. Abrahams's offspring of faith includes the Gentiles.
- The church learns that local congregations must embrace oneness with the entire body of Christ. Local congregations must learn from each other, help each other, and pray for each other.
- The Holy Spirit is teaching them – training them in faith – exposing their blind spots and leading them to obey all that Jesus commanded.
Let's dive into today's reading!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Persecution led by Saul scatters believers and begins the Missions Era.
- Philip’s story reveals the success of missions, the faithfulness of Jesus to keep His promises concerning the gospel, and the need for the church to pay attention to their missiology (or the way they are doing missions).
- Jesus chooses Saul as a “sent out one” to the Gentiles, kings, and the people of Israel. He quickly begins preaching with power and the hunter becomes hunted.
- Peter also does the work of missions as a missionary, and signs and wonders continue to accompany the spreading of the gospel.
The Missions Era begins! LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The young church navigates its first problem that threatens to divide them. Persecution and threats from false religion has never threatened the spread of the gospel, but administration problems, pride, the difficulty of forgiveness, and leadership challenges have always threatened to distract God’s people.
- Stephen’s story shows us the kind of disciple produced by Bible Literacy, the suffering Jesus promised would befall His followers, and the Lord’s hand of providence as He advances the Kingdom and rewards His servants.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Signs and wonders continue to accompany the spread of the gospel. The Holy Spirit continues to create opportunities for believers to proclaim the gospel.
- The church’s obedience also continues to create opportunities to preach the gospel. They experience the validation for all of which Jesus prepared them—they had whatever they asked for in prayer according to the Scriptures.
- The Holy Spirit continues to fill the believers teaching them to be bold in the truth, discerning of lies, and joyous in the face of persecution.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus spends forty days after His ascension teaching the disciples about the Kingdom of God.
- The new church learns to order their lives around Scripture.
- Jesus fulfills His promise to send the Holy Spirit. The kingdom multiplies in magnificent fashion as Peter realizes the fulfillment of the picture of a great miraculous catch.
- The disciples begin making disciples after the pattern Jesus taught them.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The gospel writers record four of the six post-resurrection appearances of Jesus mentioned in Scripture.
- Jesus patiently deals with His disciples' doubt and teaches them that the Kingdom of God exists in reality, not the realm of mysticism.
- The cornerstone question for the world and remaining generations before Jesus’ return is, “Do you believe Jesus rose from the grave or not?”
- The disciples are charged to spend the rest of their lives making disciples of all nations—helping others believe by faith and teaching believers to obey Jesus’ commands.
- Indeed, Jesus is risen, and He will return to rule over the day of judgment.
- The disciples must be restored after they deserted Jesus. They must know all the words of Scripture to shape their thinking. They will no longer see Jesus, but the Holy Spirit will baptize them. Now, they must believe, pray, know the Scriptures, and order their lives accordingly.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The gospel writers give their account of Jesus’ resurrection—the single event that completely changed the world!
- The resurrection ensures to us that the Father accepted the Son’s sacrifice for the atonement of the sins of the world.
- Paul would later say to the Athenians in Acts 17:30-31, “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The Messiah—the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world—atones for the sins of all people by crucifixion.
- Jesus reminds anyone with ears to hear that all of this is happening according to Scripture. He directs everyone's attention to Psalm 22. Jesus leaves no doubt for future generations that God has foreseen this event, communicated clearly about this event’s design, and accepts Jesus’ death as a substitutionary penalty payment for man’s rejection of Him.
LET’S DIV INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus endures Roman trial. He is acquitted. He is sentenced to death not based on evidence, but on the will of the Jews.
- Jesus is the Messiah, fulfilling the first picture of substitutionary death for the atonement of sin in Gen 3 21. Jesus will shed His innocent blood so the guilty may be saved from coming judgment
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- After an unofficial trial at Anna’s house, Jesus stands trial officially for the first time before the Sanhedrin.
- Peter denies Jesus three times before the rooster crows.
- Judas suffers the consequence of his sin.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING.
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus demonstrates the power of prayer to keep us from falling into temptation.
- The disciples desert Jesus when He is arrested.
- The first session of Jesus’ trial signals that none of this will proceed according to the Law of God, but everything will happen according to the word of God.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus prepared His disciples for everything that is about to occur.
- The introductory commentary today directs our attention to Jesus’ encouragement, teaching, and prayer.
- Jesus tells them future things so they may have joy and peace—so they won’t stumble because of sorrow and fear. He encourages them by explaining how the Holy Spirit will cause them to flourish. And Jesus intercedes for them, ensuring God’s favor on them as they navigate the battle being waged in the unseen realm.
- AS JESUS PREPARES THIS FIRST-GENERATION CHURCH, HE IS ALSO PREPARING US!
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus announces that it is now time for Him to return to His glory after Judas leaves the room. This launches a discussion about where Jesus is going and why the disciples cannot follow Him there yet.
- Because the disciples still do not understand exactly what is happening and their role in all of it, Jesus teaches them about what it means to love Him, what it means for Him to love them, and what it means for them to love each other.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Two days before the Passover Feast, the religious elite determined not to arrest Jesus during the Passover. They feared the crowds could riot. Jesus, however, knew it was time and told the disciples that He would be handed over to be crucified. Jesus is laying His life down on His own accord.
- Jesus institutes the new sign of the covenant. God’s terms for salvation have always been the shedding of the blood of the innocent on behalf of the guilty.
- Judas has been living in the shadows for a long time, embezzling money and living a double life. He is the one who will betray Jesus and ultimately facilitate the Jews’ early arrest of Jesus. It would have been better for Judas to never have been born.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team), Jesus continues His answer to the disciple’s question in Matthew 24:3, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”
- Jesus provides stories or illustrations of what it means to be alert and watchful for His return.
- It is not for us, the angels, or even Jesus Himself to know the hour of His return.
- Jesus says, “Be on guard! Be on watch! Be alert!
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus responds to a person’s glorying in the magnificence of the city by speaking future things.
- Jerusalem will be destroyed when the Kingdom of God is established at Jesus’ return.
- When the disciples ask Jesus when these things will happen, Jesus provides nine indications that it will be time to look up!
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- The Pharisees see that Jesus has silenced the Sadducees, so they take a shot at trapping Him. They shouldn’t have!
- When none of the religious leaders are willing to ask Jesus more questions, Jesus asks a question. Then He pronounces the great sorrow that awaits them for their hypocrisy.
- Finally, Jesus elevates a widow above the wealthy—including the religious leaders. She truly desires to obey the Lord.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus continues His answer to the leading priests and elders who questioned Him in the Temple. They asked Him, “By what authority are you doing all of these things?” Remember, Jesus had just driven out the merchants from the temple.
- The Sadducees challenge Jesus about the resurrection. Jesus’ answer caused the religious leaders to be afraid to ask Him any more questions.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Unbelief blinds the crowds, and God shows that it is impossible to reject Him and at the same time understand His message.
- Jesus teaches the disciples the difference between the prayers of the religious and prayers of faith.
- Jesus cleanses the temple of those who are attempting to benefit financially from God’s promises.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus continues toward Jerusalem for the Passover. In Bethany, two women anoint Jesus with expensive perfumes, and Jesus applies specific meaning to what they do.
- Jesus enters Jerusalem in a specific way to fulfill prophecy, and Jesus speaks future things to the disciples, helping them not get caught up in the fickleness of the crowd.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus teaches that in the Kingdom of Heaven, the last will be first, and the first will be last.
- The disciples still do not understand the suffering Jesus is marching towards and that they are also going to experience.
- On His way to the Passover Feast in Jerusalem to die as the Passover Lamb, Jesus heals blind men, and Zacchaeus repents.
- The parable of the servants teaches us that Jesus will ask for an accounting of what we have done with what He has given us when He returns.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus teaches the danger of glorying in one’s religious activity.
- He shames the Pharisees trying to trap Him with a question about marriage and divorce.
- Jesus exposes the contrast between the values of the world and the values of the Kingdom of God.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. The way He does this has a specific purpose.
- The fourth Passover is near and is marked by Luke.
- Jesus heals ten lepers.
- He teaches about the way the kingdom of God will be detected.
- Jesus teaches His disciples that their persistent prayer is a primary indicator of faith.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus unpacks the cost of following Him. Being a disciple of Jesus requires the consideration of relational costs, personal agenda costs, changing worldview costs, and changing lifestyle costs.
- Jesus also gets ready to raise Lazarus from the dead.
- Jesus acts in a way that may seem unexpected to us, but He will use this situation to set final atonement for all people in motion.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus follows up the healing of the man who was blind from birth (in yesterday’s reading), with an appeal for the crowd to understand His goodness. Jesus is good and desires good for all people. The Pharisees, in contrast, do not love the people. Instead, they destroy the lives of others in order to temporarily improve their own lives.
- When asked to plainly state that He is the Messiah, Jesus tells the crowd that He has already told them. Some believe Him and some want to kill Him. Jesus’ love for the people is highlighted as He grieves over their heard-heartedness.
- Jesus also teaches the way His servants relate to the rich and poor in the Kingdom of God.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus follows up His warning about being driven by wealth with a warning about coming reward and judgment.
- His Sabbath healing continues to expose the Pharisees’ blindness. They are like Jannes and Jambres before Pharaoh. They are guilty because although they are blind, they claim they can see.
It was unavoidable! Eventually, we knew we would get to some hard-hitting Jesus teaching on judgment that we cannot avoid! And here it is!
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- We read Luke’s account as Jesus teaches the crowds.
- After Jesus heals another demon-possessed man and the people accuse Him again of being empowered by Satan, Jesus addresses the foolishness of this accusation. Then His lecture exposes the root of the problem: you cannot separate the spiritual vitality of the crowd from the spiritual vitality of its leaders.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus teaches the crowd gathered at the temple concluding their observance of the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Shelters.
- In the crowd, there are those who believe Jesus and those who don’t.
- Jesus exposes the people’s main problem: they have created an imaginary god and called him Yahweh.
- Jesus sends a group of 72 into the harvest field like He sent the disciples earlier. He teaches them that although kingdom work is rewarding, they should rejoice in their eternal reward.
- Jesus defines for an expert in the law what the law he has studies actually means.
- The disciples want to learn how to pray. Jesus teaches our need in the discipline of prayer.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- In the seventh month, the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Shelters are being observed in Jerusalem. As the time draws near for Jesus to ascend into heaven, the crowds have learned of the plot to have Jesus killed.
- Jesus teaches at the festival and drives the gap between those who believe the Scriptures—that He is the Messiah—and those who know the Scriptures but are blind, to a greater distance.
- Today’s reading features several opinions about Jesus. The Lamb who sits on the throne in the Heavenly Kingdom with no end is unrecognized in the temple made with hands.
- The Light of the World demonstrates what life looks like, but those in the darkness of what they have made the temple doubt the kind of life that would force them to admit they are sinners.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- A large crowd is waiting for Jesus and the boys after the transfiguration. Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy and teaches the disciples an important aspect of the work of driving out demons.
- He continues to teach the disciples about His future death and resurrection.
- Jesus teaches them what leadership really is in the Kingdom of Heaven.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Jesus heals in a way that should encourage us today.
- Jesus asks the cornerstone question for the church.
- The disciples struggle with what it means for them if the Messiah must suffer and die.
The text today is full of truth we will spend the rest of our lives working out in our understanding.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team), We encounter three stories of faith, and two of them show the faith of those outside of the Promised Land. Jesus again demonstrates His compassion and feeds thousands, pressing in on the disciples’ struggle to trust and expect Him to meet people’s needs. Jesus’ compassion is contrasted by the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and Jesus intends for the disciples to overcome their insecurities.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team), Jesus explains why He fed the 5,000, and He gets three wrong responses and one correct response. Jesus evaluates the hypocrisy of religious leaders by exposing their thoughts and words.
Today we are reminded that we can always check our interpretation of God’s word by doing a thought and word check!
STRAP ON YOUR STEEL-TOED BOOTS AND LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team), the worldview of those who reject God is on full display.
- Herod and his advisors are completely incapable of understanding the events of their day because instead of seeking the kingdom of God, they were focused on protecting the power of their own kingdom.
- Jesus once again shows His compassion for people’s spiritual and physical needs and takes the opportunity to enroll the disciples in a sign of His character workshop.
- He shows the disciples that believing He is great is easy, but faith is forged in the work of believing that He is God.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team), Jesus heals three people in order to expose others’ faith and unbelief. He sends His disciples out as workers in the fields of harvest, preparing them for the kind of work that must be done.
Jesus’ disciples are called to the same work Jesus has been doing, but it is not a glamorous job.
- It is a difficult work.
- It is a work of humility and dependence.
- It is a work of trial, struggle, and heartache.
- It is a work that potentially will stir up great fear.
However, God has prepared the work before the foundations of the world.
- He has prepared the field for harvest.
- He has prepared the workers for the field.
- He has prepared peace for the hard times.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team), we read three healing stories.
- Jesus heals four people in desperate situations.
- Two are healed because Jesus is demonstrating His power over the ruler of this world.
- Two are healed because Jesus responds to the faith of His image-bearers.
To some, Jesus’ instructions are to not tell anyone what has happened. To others, He gives the freedom to share what He has done for them. There is a difference between the crowds who witness these healings, and there are differences in how Jesus addresses those who are being healed.
The differences we need to notice involve faith, fear, and foolishness.
LET’S DIVE INTO TODAY’S READING!
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team), Jesus identifies the primary issue defining faith that pleases God. He teaches five truths about the Kingdom of Heaven. He falls asleep to uncover the disciple’s fear problem.
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team), four groups of people make their opinions known. Jesus calls one of these groups His family. Jesus testifies that He is stronger than three individuals. Jesus teaches a parable that no one understands but Him. There is a reason for this, and this reason is important! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team), Jesus heals two people in households that were on the fringes of the Jewish community.
- He rebukes those who refuse to pay attention to the Scripture being fulfilled in their day.
- He gives us insight into a theological truth people struggle with today.
- He exposes the difference between those who wish to honor Jesus on their own terms and those who come to Him because they need rest.
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team), we continue studying what we call the SERMON ON THE MOUNT. We read the final 6 of 13 corrections Jesus is making to how the people have been taught Scripture.
The introduction commentary to today’s reading says:
Jesus contrasts God-centeredness with self-centeredness and self-exaltation. Jesus differentiates between those who truly know the Father and those who only know religious activity.
There is a difference between religious activity and genuine faith-relationship.
In today’s reading, Jesus summarizes all of the corrections He has made to the way Scripture is being taught, and He articulates clearly what it means to be His disciple.
In today's reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team), we encounter what we know as THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
The benefit of reading the Bible chronologically is on full display today because we are able to see the big picture. Jesus is articulating the contrast between what it means to live in God’s blessing and what it means to live outside of His boundaries. It is very reminiscent of the Law’s blessings and cursings sections (Deut 28 and Lev 26).
The introduction commentary to today’s reading helps us see the context of this Scripture.
- God loves people.
- The religious leaders in Jesus’ day disdained the people unless the people were honoring them.
Jesus teaches the sermon on the mount to many crowds to help them differentiate the difference between the religion they have been taught and the faith relationship He is offering.
In today’s reading in Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
Jesus confronts the Pharisees’ distortion of God’s word. He does this by healing on the Sabbath and allowing His disciples to gather grain for immediate consumption on the Sabbath.
The introductory commentary for today’s reading written by the CBT team explains that the Pharisees’ Sabbath theology is the perfect area to confront and expose their rejection of Jesus because their Sabbath theology distorts the character of God. Their stewardship of Scripture in this area teaches people that God’s law is not for the good of His people, but rather a burden for them to dread.
But Jesus wants all people to know that He is the Lord of the Sabbath.
- He is God.
- He made the rules.
- …and regulations were meant to glorify God and cause rejoicing in His people.
Scripture should have ensured the Pharisees believed Jesus because of His teaching and His miracles. However, because the Pharisees viewed themselves to be the rulers of the Sabbath and misused the Scripture, that very Scripture would indict them on the Day of Judgment.
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- Luke records the details of Jesus’ promise to the disciples He is calling to follow Him.
- Jesus gives them a promise and picture by which to understand the promise.
His choosing of these men is an invitation for them to spend the rest of their lives learning from Jesus how to fish for and catch people.
By following Jesus, these men are going to swim upstream of the religious culture of their day. They will become trophies of contrast between those who are sick and know they are sick…and those who are sick but continue as if they are fine.
In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team), we continue to encounter what I call “seeing stories." In yesterday’s reading, we unpacked four of these, and today will look at the other five.
A daily devotional thought as we read through Tyndale's One Year Chronological Study Bible
A daily devotional thought as we read through Tyndale's One Year Chronological Study Bible
A daily devotional thought as we read through Tyndale's One Year Chronological Study Bible
A daily devotional thought as we read through Tyndale's One Year Chronological Study Bible
A daily devotional thought as we read through Tyndale's One Year Chronological Study Bible
A daily devotional thought as we read through Tyndale's One Year Chronological Study Bible
A daily devotional thought as we read through Tyndale's One Year Chronological Study Bible
A daily devotional thought as we read through Tyndale's One Year Chronological Study Bible
A devotional thought from today's reading in the Tyndale One Year Chronological Study Bible.
I have been preaching through the book of Hebrews on Sunday mornings…
- I chose not to attempt to teach Hebrews 6 and portions of Hebrews 10, during the Sunday morning context, because…
- our time is limited and these are complicated passages
- passive listening during sermons create a greater possibility for confuision.
- I wanted you to be able to chew on what the writer of Hebrews is saying.
- This calls for a DEEP DIVE…SO LET’S DIVE IN!
Today on THE Bible MATTERS:
- Pride month celebrates a contradicting definition of gender than the one God designed. Our culture is rejecting God’s kingship over our lives
- Sexual Immorality is a sin issue—an issue that is not new.
- Mail Bag: How does a culture get to gender confusion? How does someone come to the conclusion that they are LGBTQ+?
Sermon Series: How do you know you are saved?
John provides us with six main problems that cause us to loose confidence in Jesus…when we loose confidence in Jesus, we misunderstand our salvation. These things happen to people after they are saved...
Our Joy is not what it could be.
Our obedience is not what it should be.
Our memory is not what we need it to be.
Our understanding is not what God wants it to be.
Our teachers are not as trustworthy as we want them to be.
Our belief is not as enduring as it must be.