December 17th - Jesus is Wisdom

Jesus is Wisdom

Proverbs 8

"And as Jesus grew up, he increased in wisdom and in favour with God and people." (Luke 2:52)

Proverbs 8 personifies Wisdom, and makes clear statements about Wisdom's role in Creation:

I was there when he set the heavens in place,
    when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, 

when he established the clouds above
    and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, 

when he gave the sea its boundary
    so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.

Then I was constantly at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
    rejoicing always in his presence,

rejoicing in his whole world     
and delighting in humankind. (Proverbs 8:27-31)

December 16th - John the Baptist

John the Baptist

Luke 1:39-45, Mark 1:1-8

John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin. They quite possibly spent much time together growing up, and perhaps knew each other really well. Jesus grieved when He heard about John's death. Even before they were born, John recognised who Jesus was. He leapt in his mother's womb when the pregnant Mary approached. There can be no argument that John was merely brought up thinking that Jesus was special - his spirit recognised his God before they even met in person!
It is difficult to acknowledge that someone you grew up with is better than you, more important, more special, and yet John willingly got down on his knees before Jesus. He reccognised God and responded to Him, acknowledging that he was not worthy even to touch his feet. Interesting to note that when Jesus was grown, He bent to clean the feet of others unworthy of touching Him.
John said of Jesus: "He must become greater; I must become less." (John 3:30)

Listen to the following song, written by Matt Redman, and meditate on what it means for Jesus to increase and us to decrease:
You Must Increase

"Dear God, help me to recognise you and respond to your presence. Enable me to become more like you. You must increase; I must decrease, Lord."

Bible in a Year - Day 80

Day 74 - Deuteronomy 23, 24 & 25; Mark 14:51-72
For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you. (Deuteronomy 23:14)
If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand them over to their master. Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them. (Deuteronomy 23:15-16)
If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married. (Deuteronomy 24:5)
Do not take a pair of millstones—not even the upper one—as security for a debt, because that would be taking a person’s livelihood as security. (Deuteronomy 24:6)
Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is an Israelite or is a foreigner residing in one of your towns. (Deuteronomy 24:14)
Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each of you will die for your own sin. (Deuteronomy 24:16)

Bible in a Year - Day 73

Day 67 - Deuteronomy 3 & 4; Mark 11:20-33
Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you. (Deuteronomy 3:22)
What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? (Deuteronomy 4:7)
But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)
Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 4:37-38)

Day 68 - Deuteronomy 5, 6 & 7; Mark 12:1-27
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. (Deuteronomy 7:6)
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. (Deuteronomy 7:9)

Bible in a Year - Day 66

Day 60 - Numbers 23, 24 & 25; Mark 8:1-21
God is not a human, that he should lie,
    not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?    Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19)
I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;     a scepter will rise out of Israel. (Numbers 24:17a)
I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. (Mark 8:2)

Day 61 - Numbers 26 & 27; Mark 8:22-38 
Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. (Numbers 27:8)

Day 62 - Numbers 28 & 29; Mark 9:1-29 
Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” (Mark 9:7)
But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. (Mark 9:27)

Bible in a Year - Day 59

I have to admit, I'm really struggling with Numbers - it's just so full of lists, and numbers! It's very hard not to just skim it.

Day 53 - Numbers 7; Mark 4:21-41
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. (Mark 4:39)

Day 54 - Numbers 8, 9 & 10; Mark 5:1-20
For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!” (Mark 5:8)

Day 55 - Numbers 11, 12 & 13; Mark 5:21-43
I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone. (Numbers 11:17)

Bible in a Year - Day 52

Day 46: Leviticus 20 & 21; Matthew 28
Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death. The members of the community are to stone him. (Leviticus 20:2)
Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head. If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife —with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death. (Leviticus 20:9-10)
 But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations. (Leviticus 20:24) 
You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. (Leviticus 20:26) 
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. (Matthew 28:6) 
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:10) 
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20b)