Daily Bible reading and prayer, Friday, October 27, 2023
Luke 14-15 (chronological); Jeremiah 20-22, 2 Timothy 1 (OT/NT)
We are on our chronological journey through the New Testament.
Our daily plan usually assigns whole chapters, so we end up reading different gospel writers’ versions of the same account on different days. If you want to explore all the gospel writers’ accounts of a single event on the same day, I have compiled a Chronological Study of the Gospels, that is available by subscription. You should be able to preview it, here. As we follow various clues in the Gospel writers’ accounts and look at smaller segments consisting of particular verses from all the accounts about the events of Jesus’ life and ministry, sometimes in that study we find ourselves either behind or ahead of the daily chronological assigned reading plan.
Today is the second day in a row where we examine in our chronological study of the Gospels, day 27, exactly what we read in the assigned plan.
Obviously, our daily Old Testament and New Testament plan will have us in the Old Testament through the rest of the year, but this will be the second time this year we have read each Old Testament reading.
A overview of our yearly Bible reading plan, with all edited summaries so far, can be found here.
Friday, October 27, 2023 chronological reading: Luke 14-15
Luke 14
v1-6 “It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?’ But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. And He said to them, ‘Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?’ And they could make no reply to this.
v7-11 “And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, “Give your place to this man,” and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’
v12-14 “And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors,otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
v15 “When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, ‘Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’
v16-24 “But He said to him, ‘A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.” But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, “I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.” Another one said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.” Another one said, “I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.” And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.” And the slave said, “Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.” And the master said to the slave, “Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.”’
v25-33 “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, ‘If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.” Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
v34-35 ‘Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’”
Luke 15
v1-7 “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’ So He told them this parable, saying, ‘What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
v8-10 ‘Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!” In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’
v11-24 “And He said, ‘A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.” So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.’” So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.” And they began to celebrate.
v25-32 ‘Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.” But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, “Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.” And he said to him, “Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.”’”
Friday, October 27, 2023 OT/NT readings: Jeremiah 20-22, 2 Timothy 1
We are reading Jeremiah for the second time this year. We finished 1 Timothy yesterday and are starting 2 Timothy today.
We are not reading Paul’s letters chronologically (we’ll do that later in the year). We’ve finished, in chronological order of their writing, Galatians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and Romans, all written before Paul’s imprisonment, and Ephesians, 1 Timothy, Philippians, and Colossians, written after his imprisonment. A summary of the events in the book of Acts, which is helpful in the timeline of the apostle Paul’s letters, can be found here.
Paul always has a purpose in his letters, but through them he always teaches theological truths his readers, including us, may not be aware of and how those truths impact how they (and we) should live in fellowship with one another and as followers of Christ.
I’ve had time to look at the chronology of Paul’s life and letters again, given the mention of Timothy throughout.
Paul met Timothy early in his second missionary journey: “Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek” (Acts 16:1-3).
Timothy plays prominently in the rest of Paul’s life, being mentioned in ten out of his thirteen letters. He is not mentioned in Galatians, because Paul had not met Timothy when he wrote this letter, and he is not mentioned in Ephesians, during Paul’s early imprisonment. He is not mentioned in Titus either, another letter written during his imprisonment.
We know, from the book of Acts, about Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey, and his subsequent imprisonment in Rome. We do not know, from the Bible, the sequence of events that occurred after this before his eventual martyrdom. But we can pick up clues by the mention of Timothy in Paul’s letters. These clues have helped me correct earlier confusion.
In 1 Timothy 1:3 Paul tells Timothy, “I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus.” I thought this occurred at the end of Paul’s third missionary journey, but Paul said his goodbye to the elders of Ephesus at Miletus and the proceeded to Jerusalem, not Macedonia. Scholars place Paul’s letter to Timothy at the end of his life. They also believe he had a time of freedom after his time of arrest in Rome, before he was arrested again and then killed. There are clues in this letter to Timothy that Paul possibly did get to travel again after his time of arrest in Rome that we read about in Acts. His dire condition upon a subsequent arrest, that ends in his death, makes the context and content of his letter to Timothy understandable.
1 Timothy is a letter of instruction from Paul to his “true child in the faith.” It is necessary instruction for those in church leadership, but also for all of us who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy is a very intimate letter of possible goodbye from an imprisoned, and likely condemned, Paul to Timothy, his “beloved son,” imparting all he wants to tell him in case he does not see him again.
1 Timothy was a letter of instruction from Paul to his “true child in the faith.” It is necessary instruction for those in church leadership, but also for all of us who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus.
There is so much instructive content in 1 Timothy, it was hard to summarize it simply, but I’ve included my shortest chapter summaries:
Chapter 1: Paul writes to Timothy to instruct men not to teach strange doctrines or to pay attention to things which give rise to mere speculation. He teaches that, “the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murders and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God.”
Chapter 2: Paul reminds that God our Savior “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” He urges that “entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness in dignity.” Men should “pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.” He reminds women to clothe themselves “moderately and discreetly…by means of good works.” Women “must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness” and not “teach or exercise authority over a man” because Eve, when she was “deceived, fell into transgression.” Women “will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.”
Chapter 3: Paul writes so that we will “know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” He describes the qualifying characteristics of elders, deacons, and deaconesses.
Chapter 4: “The Spirit explicitly says this in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in the own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.” Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.
Chapter 5: “Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.” Paul teaches how widows should be cared for, gives more instruction for elders, and exhorts “keep yourself free from sin.”
Chapter 6: Paul addresses slaves, that they should regard their masters as “worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against.” The rich should be instructed should be instructed “to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future.” He concludes his letter admonishing Timothy to “teach and preach these principles. If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusing language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who supposed that godliness is a means of gain.” Pursue “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith….keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Avoid “worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’—which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.”
2 Timothy is a very intimate letter of possible goodbye from an imprisoned, and likely condemned, Paul to Timothy, his “beloved son,” imparting all he wants to tell him in case he does not see him again.
2 Timothy 1
v1-2 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
v3-7 “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day, longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
v8-14 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
v15-18 “You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.”
Dear Lord,
none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
Help us to understand You want us to “travel light,” not being so attached to the things of this world that we are unable to respond to Your calling and directing us.
I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.
Our home and Your kingdom are not of this world. Help us not to get distracted.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.