Two Weeks In the Bible on Prayer

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Prayer at times can seem to be a complicated thing. There seems to be many ways, styles and methods. I think that each of us has an intense longing to talk to God, and in the end, that is all that prayer truly is, talking to God. However, I think that our difficulty when we want to pray and we have no real relationship with God.  This set of readings take us through various prayers through the Old and New Testaments that demonstrate faith, longing, pain, hope, remorse, praise, and thanks displayed through RELATIONSHIP.  I hope you will see role that faith and relationship play in prayer!

WEEK ONE

Day 1, Genesis 18: Abraham’s plea for Sodom

Day 2, Exodus 15: Moses’ song to the Lord

Day 3, Exodus 33: Moses meets with God

Day 4, 2 Samuel 7: David’s response to God’s promises

Day 5, 1 Kings 8: Solomon’s dedication of the temple

Day 6, 2 Chronicles 20: Jehoshaphat prays for victory

Day 7, Ezra 9: Ezra’s prayer for the people’s sins

WEEK TWO

Day 8, Psalm 22: A cry to God for help

Day 9, Psalm 104: A prayer of praise

Day 10, Daniel 9: Daniel’s prayer for the salvation of Jerusalem

Day 11, Habakkuk 3: A prophet’s prayer of acceptance

Day 12, Matthew 6: The Lord’s prayer

Day 13, John 17: Jesus’ prayer for his disciples

Day 14, Colossians 1: Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving

Two Weeks on the Old Testament

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The Old Testament tells the story of God’s chosen  people, the Hebrews, who were later known as Israelites or Jews. God made a promise with a man named Abram. He told him that he would make his descendants a great nation. In time, his descendants moved to Egypt to escape a famine in their own land. After many generations they had greatly increased their numbers but had become enslaved to the Egyptians.God sent a great leader named Moses, to lead the Hebrews out of captivity and into the Promised Land of Israel. It was during this time that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments which are still considered the basis for a moral life by both Jews, Christians and much of the world.

God intended for the Israelites to live according to His commandments and to show the truth of God to all the world (Genesis 12:1-3). However, the Israelites forgot their mission and God, falling into idolatry.

When they walked away, God called prophets, such as Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, Jonah, Isaiah, Micah and many others, to turn the Holy one of Israel.

Ultimately, the culmination of the Old Testament is to prepare the way for Christ. He is present all throughout the Old Testament. He is the Messiah (meaning “anointed one”). These reading will give you a very brief highlight of the Old Testament.

WEEK ONE

Day 1, Genesis 1: The story of creation

Day 2, Genesis 3: The origin of sin

Day 3, Genesis 22: Abraham and Isaac

Day 4, Exodus 3: Moses’ encounter with God

Day 5, Exodus 20: The gift of the Ten Commandments

Day 6, 1 Samuel 17: David and Goliath

Day 7, 2 Samuel 11: David and Bathsheba

 

WEEK TWO

Day 8, 2 Samuel 12: Nathan’s rebuke of the king

Day 9, 1 Kings 18: Elijah and the prophets of Baal

Day 10, Job 38: God’s answer to Job

Day 11, Psalm 51: A classic confession

Day 12, Isaiah 40: Words of comfort from God

Day 13, Daniel 6: Daniel and the lions

Day 14, Amos 4: A prophet’s stern warning

(Again,.. I will not take credit for the “Readings Plan” I found them on the net and added a bit to it!)

Two Weeks on the Life and Teachings of Paul

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Paul led an amazing life that followed truth and his convictions. This set of readings leads you from his early days to his work in the early church as an evangelist. During his life he had great joy and great suffering as well. Paul wrote most of the New Testament to instruct the church (and us) as well as spent his life preaching and sharing Christ with all he came in contact with. After you finish reading this set of readings whether as a devotional, historically or otherwise, you will have a great perspective on the life of Paul and his mission.

WEEK ONE

Day 1, Acts 9: The conversion of Saul

Day 2, Acts 16: Paul’s Macedonian call and a jailbreak

Day 3, Acts 17: Scenes from Paul’s missionary journey

Day 4, Acts 26: Paul tells his life story to a king

Day 5, Acts 27: Shipwreck on the way to Rome

Day 6, Acts 28: Paul’s arrival in Rome

Day 7, Romans 3: Paul’s theology in a nutshell

WEEK TWO

Day 8, Romans 7: Struggle with sin

Day 9, Romans 8: Life in the Spirit

Day 10, 1 Corinthians 13: Paul’s description of love

Day 11, 1 Corinthians 15: Thoughts on the afterlife

Day 12, Galatians 5: Freedom in Christ

Day 13, Ephesians 3: Paul’s summary of his mission

Day 14, Philippians 2: Imitating Christ

Two Weeks In the Bible on Social Justice

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Social Justice.

An integral part of the Gospel is loving your neighbor. Although as believers we are to be set apart from the world, Jesus never called us to withdraw from the world! In fact he sent us boldly into the world to be his hands and feet. It is to this cause that we have the next two weeks of scripture readings about Social Justice and our call to follow the example we see in God’s word!

WEEK ONE

Day 1, Exodus 3: God hears the cries of the slaves

Day 2, Leviticus 25: The year of jubilee, a time of economic revolution

Day 3, Ruth 2: A poor woman finds help

Day 4, 1 Kings 21: Elijah speaks to a land-grabbing, murderous king

Day 5, Nehemiah 5: Nehemiah demands justice for the poor

 Day 6, Isaiah 5: Warning to fun-loving materialists

Day 7, Isaiah 58: Worship that God appreciates

WEEK TWO

Day 8, Jeremiah 34: Freedom for slaves

Day 9, Amos 2: Sins against God by his own people

Day 10, Amos 6: Warning to the complacent

Day 11, Micah 6: What the Lord requires

Day 12, Luke 3: John the Baptist tells how to prepare for Jesus

Day 13, Matthew 6: Jesus speaks on material things.

Day 14, James 2: How to treat the rich and the poor

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for
me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,^f  you were doing it to me!’

The G.O.S.P.E.L. Truth

What is the Gospel? It’s the good news.

But what does that mean? Good news  about what? Well if you don’t know the whole story, you may not know how good things were in the beginning and how things have gone down hill by comparison since creation! It is nice to be able to share the God’s Story and our part in it in  a quick and memorable way, and this is not the only way, but it is a great way. It comes from Dare 2 Share and Greg Stier, you can find it at http://www.dare2share.org

If you are not a Christian, considering the claims of Christianity or
are a Christian, the following will help you wherever you are to
understand the big picture of what God has done for us!

God Created us to be with Him (Genesis 1-2) Psalm 100:3

Our Sins Separate us from God (Genesis 3) Rom 3:23

Sins cannot be removed by Good Deeds (Genesis 4-Malachi 4) Isaiah 64:6

Paying the Price for Sin, Jesus Died and rose again (Matthew – Luke) Rom 5:8

Everyone who Trusts in Him Alone will Have Eternal Life (John) John 3:16

Life with Jesus Starts now and Lasts Forever (Acts-Revelation) John 10:28

If you want to ask give up the surrender your life and ask Jesus to take over you can use this as an example:

“Dear Father, I know that I’m a sinner.  I realize that my good deeds will never get me into heaven. Right now I believe that Jesu died in my place for my sins. I trust in him alone to forgive me for all my sins. Thank you for this free gift of Eternal life!”

Two Weeks on Women of the Bible

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I know that sometimes we can have a great motivation to read the Bible. These Bible reading sets I will post are only two weeks,.you can hang on that long right? I found these on the net somewhere and do not claim them as my own, although you could probably put together a couple of weeks worth of readings on a topic with the right tools. As they say,.. Ladies First.

WEEK ONE

Day 1, Genesis 2: Eve, the first woman

Day 2, Genesis 18: Sarah laughs at God’s promise

Day 3, Genesis 24: Rebekah’s marriage to Isaac

Day 4, Genesis 27: Rebekah, the manipulative mother

Day 5, Judges 4: Deborah’s leadership frees her people

Day 6, Ruth 1: Ruth and Naomi’s deep friendship

Day 7, 1 Samuel 1: Hannah prays for a son

WEEK TWO

Day 8, 1 Kings 17: A poor widow and the prophet Elijah

Day 9, 1 Kings 21: Jezebel, an emblem of wickedness

Day 10, Esther 2: Esther is chosen as queen

Day 11, Esther 4: Esther’s courage at the risk of death

Day 12, Luke 1: Mary and Elizabeth receive great news

Day 13, Luke 2: Mary gives birth to Jesus

Day 14, John 11: Mary and Martha and their brother’s death

Old Testament Stories-30 Tales You May Find Unusual and Instructional

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DAY                                                THEME                                             PASSAGE

1 Fire and Birds: God Lays Down the Law Numbers 11

2 Miriam: Leprous as Snow Numbers 12

3 Korah,Dathan and Abiran: Gulp! Numbers 16

4 Aaron:A Budding Leader Numbers 17

5 Moses Strikes Out Numbers 20:1–13

6 Afraid of Snakes? Numbers 21:4–9

7 Balaam’s…er, Donkey Numbers 22

8 Balaam’s…er, Donkey Day (2) Numbers 23–24

9 Laws for a Special People in a Special Time Deuteronomy 21

10 Moses: End of an Era Deuteronomy 31

11 Moses: End of an Era  Day (2) Deuteronomy 32:44–52; 34

12 Solar Stand Still Joshua 10:1–15

13 Ehud: Left Handed Wonder Judges 3:12–30

14 Deborah and Jael: Girls Power  Judges 4

15 Jephthah: A Hero’s Vow Judges 11

16 A Levite: The Wickedness of Israel Judges 19

17 David and Abigail: The Good Guy Wins 1 Samuel 25

18 Mephibosheth: Rags to Riches 2 Samuel 9

19 Elisha: Miracle Man 2 Kings 2:23–25; 4:8–37

20 Elisha: Miracle Man Day (2) 2 Kings 6:1–23

21 Asa: But if You Forsake Him . . .  2 Chronicles 15

22 Asa: But if You Forsake Him . . .Day (2) 2 Chronicles 16

23 Joash: Kindness Forgotten 2 Chronicles 22:10—23:21

24 Joash: Kindness Forgotten Day (2) Chronicles 24

25 Josiah: Youthful Ruler 2 Chronicles 34

26 Josiah: Youthful Ruler Day (2) 2 Chronicles 35

27 Nehemiah: Homesickness Nehemiah 1

28 Nehemiah: Homesickness Day (2) Nehemiah 2

29 Jerusalem Falls: Judgment Arrives Jeremiah 52

30 The Writing on the Wall Daniel 5

Things that don’t get you into the Kingdom of God

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Too often people fail to consider the difference between what God want us to do simply because its right, and what it takes to actually get to heaven. If you ask people what they think will get them to Heaven, you may get some of these answers, however you wont find that any of these things securing salvation in the Old or New Testament!

1. Doing good works
2. Being a member of a church
3. Wearing Christian T-Shirts
4. Intellectual Belief in God
5. Memorizing Scripture
6. Having your name on a list
7. Trying to follow the 10  Commandments
8. Being Baptized, fully or partially
9. Good Intentions
10. Repeating Prayers in a  particular pattern
11. Growing Up in Church
12. Going to Bible Studies
13. Washing the Pastors Car
14. Tithing to the Church
15. Having a good feeling
16. Being Confirmed
17. Teaching Sunday School
18. Showing Up to Church weekly
19. Having Parents that are  Christians
20. Being Religious
21. Carrying a Cross in your  Pocket
22. Praying
23. Reading your Bible
24. Going to a Christian School
25. Doing all of these things!!!

So how do you get there?

Check out John Chapter Three for the answer

Jesus
replied,

 “I assure
you, unless 

you are BORN AGAIN you can never
see
the
Kingdom
of
God.”
John
3:3

(NLT)