Jesus said, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Matthew 7:24, 25
From hearing to doing requires meditating on God’s word, day and night. Not passively but with active engagement in God’s word, looking for our encounter with Jesus Christ. Our daily reading aloud the scriptures, to encounter Jesus Christ, is the foundation for doing His words, and not falling when the storms of life come.
Matthew 3 – 9
We begin this week, with Jesus being baptized by John and the Holy Spirit, like a dove, alighting upon Him. Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Jesus overcomes through the written word of God. Jesus calls His disciples to follow Him and went throughout all of Galilee teaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing the sick and demonized.
In Chapters Five through Seven, Jesus teaches the Sermon on the Mount and gives the commands of the kingdom of God.
In Chapters Eight and Nine, Jesus continues calling disciples to follow Him. He does many miracles and calls sinners to repentance.
Revelation 8 – 14
The trumpets begin to blow! Seven thunders sound in Chapter Seven, in which John is told not to record what was uttered. Instead, he is given a little book to eat, which is sweet as honey but makes his stomach bitter. The two witnesses arrive and are killed and resurrected. The seven trumpets are sounded, and heaven enters into worship.
Chapters Twelve through fourteen are an interlude before the bowls of judgment. The women (Israel and the church) are in intercession for the maturity of His bride, in Chapter Twelve. The Beast from the sea rises with all his false signs and wonders and calls to worship the image of the beast.
Chapter Fourteen brings the hundred and forty-four thousand, the three angels with the everlasting gospel, the reaping of the earth’s harvest, and the grapes for the winepress of the wrath of God.
Numbers 20 – 27
Chapter twenty is the beginning of the final year in the wilderness. The people complain; God instructs, and Moses is provoked by their resistance to the Spirit; and sins. He will not be going into the promised land. Israel begins to taste battles and victory, and Aaron dies. More complaining and serpents are sent to discipline Israel, and more battles ensue with victories for Israel.
In Chapters Twenty-two through Twenty-five, is the Balaam incident. A fascinating read of God’s ability to move curses into blessings. But Balaam finds that the love of money brings Israel into compromise and judgment. Balaam is still with us today. 2 Peter 2:15,16, Jude 1:11, Revelation 2:14
Chapter Twenty-seven is the second numbering of Israel.
Psalms 65 – 70
Psalms of praise, warfare, and deliverance. These are some of my favorite Psalms that ignite praise, still the mouth of the avenger, and give me the courage to face my battles.
Jeremiah 37 – 42
Chapters Thirty-seven and Thirty-eight show the vain hopes of human effort and the stubbornness of man in submitting to God’s instructions. Jeremiah suffers much, ending up in a waterless pit in a dungeon. Zedekiah is afraid as Nebuchadnezzar is about to penetrate the city. Jeremiah gives God’s word of deliverance within the imminent judgment, but Zedekiah will not listen.
Chapters Thirty-nine through Forty-two bring Nebuchadnezzar into Jerusalem, Zedekiah is taken to Babylon, and a new government is set up by Nebuchadnezzar. God is already prophesying, through Jeremiah, for Israel not to be afraid and go forward in this new arrangement and not flee to Egypt. There is an insurrection. God again steps in through Jeremiah telling Israel what to do, the elders ask Jeremiah what to do, but are unwilling to do what God says. It’s a mess.
