Day 90

Deuteronomy 20 is about the Israelites going into war.  I kind of like the fact that the priest comes out before the army and addresses them before they go into battle.

Deuteronomy 21 has several various items taken care of.  Moses is still telling them about the laws they are to follow.

Deuteronomy 22 contains some laws about helping out your fellow man and then goes into laws regarding violations of a marriage.  There is a whole lot of stoning happening as punishment for crimes.  It appears that there is to be no evil in the promised land.

Luke 6 begins with the pharisees trying to catch Jesus in an act that could prove that He is not doing things that are holy.  We then go on to see the appointing of the twelve apostles.  The next portion kind of reminds me of the beatitudes just written a little different.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Deuteronomy 23, 24, 25 and Luke 6:27 - 49

Day 89

Deuteronomy 17 continues on in the same tradition as the previous chapters in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 18 begins with what the Levites were to receive, then goes into what they should not do in the eyes of the Lord.  It ends with information on a prophet that the Lord is going to send them.

Deuteronomy 19 is about the cities that are to be set aside as a place of safety for those needing refugee.  It also talks about the rules of a witness.

Luke 5 ends with Jesus healing a paralytic man.  We also read about Levi being called to work with Jesus.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Deuteronomy 20, 21, 22 and Luke 6:1 - 26

Day 88

Deuteronomy 14 tells them once again what foods they can and can not eat.

Deuteronomy 15 tells of how to take care of debts again.

Deuteronomy 16 is about the feast that they are to celebrate.

Luke 5 starts out with Jesus gathering his disciples and cleaning a man with Leprosy. 

It is really getting boring with our reading in Deuteronomy.  I hope everyone else is still doing OK with the reading.  I know I am getting a little discouraged, hopefully things will pick up a little bit.  I still have yet to figure out why things are duplicated so much.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Deuteronomy 17, 18, 19 and Luke 5:17 - 39

Day 87

Yep, Deuteronomy 11 is much like the others so far.

OK, Deuteronomy 12 is more about offering when they get to the promised land.

Deuteronomy 13 is about not worshiping other gods in the promised land.

Our reading in Luke deals with Jesus healing sick and driving out demons.  We have read this multiple times in previous books so I am not sure there is much more that I could say about it.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Deuteronomy 14, 15, 16 and Luke 5:1 - 16

Day 86

Deuteronomy 8 is Moses giving the Israelites more instructions before they go into the promised land.  This time he is reminding them to not forget the Lord.  One verse that really stands out in this section for me is.  You may say to yourself, "My power and strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me."  But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth. (Deut. 8:17, 18)

Deuteronomy 9 just goes on about how rebellious the Israelites were.

Deuteronomy 10 continues on just like the first 9 chapters have.  I will admit I am already bored with Deuteronomy.

The first portion of Luke 4 shows us the forty day and nights that Jesus was in the desert and being tempted by Satan.  Jesus' ability to fight off Satan with scripture is just such an amazing feature.  I wish I was stronger in my scripture to be able to pull verses out of my head at the appropriate time.  The last portion of our reading is Jesus being rejected in his home town.  I think this is a slap in the face for Jesus but He knows that it is going to happen by the quotes that He gives them.  I can see how this must have been hard for the people of this town to believe in.  I mean they knew him as Joseph's son, the son of a carpenter not as the Son of God.

I know I am still behind in post, it is still a little crazy here in the holiday season.  Hopefully as this next week begins I will be able to get a few more post online.  I would like to thank everyone for being patient and continuing to read.  I hope everyone is learning scripture and becoming closer to God in this process.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Deuteronomy 11, 12, 13 and Luke 4:31 - 44

Day 85

Deuteronomy 5 gives us a recap of the ten commandments.  Deuteronomy may get a little old in my eyes if it just keeps going over the stuff that we have already read about.  I am worried that we are going to start reading about all the procedures for the offerings again.

Deuteronomy 6 gives us the greatest commandment again.  Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength.  It really is the greatest commandment and I can never read it enough.

Deuteronomy 7 is a recap of what they are to do to the lands they are preparing to take over.

Luke 3 gives us a lot of information in a very short chapter.  We start out by learning of John the Baptist beginning his teaching in the desert and quickly read right into his imprisonment.  We then read a very quick section of the baptism of Jesus and then a bit of genealogy of the line from Jesus all the way back to Adam.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Deuteronomy 8, 9, 10 and Luke 4:1 - 30

Day 84

Christmas day and I hope everything was an amazing day for each of you and your families.

Deuteronomy 3 is still a recap of what has happened to the Israelites so far.

Deuteronomy 4  to me feels like Moses is wrapping it up.  He knows his time is almost up and he is trying to make sure that the Israelites keep everything they have learned from God.  To me it sounds like he is trying to make sure that they do not slip up again and lose everything that they have gained while he was with them.  It also feels like he may be stalling a little bit so that he does not have to die and he still might get a chance to go into the promise land.

The first part of our reading in Luke is Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to the temple on the eighth day.  When they arrive at the temple a man by the name of Simeon who was a righteous man came up to them and took their son.  Now, I am not sure how exactly this happened.  I do not know if he was such a righteous man that nobody doubted his actions or if he politely asked to see Jesus?  I would hope that he was a polite and kind man with the words that he spoke.  I could only imagine what Mary and Joseph must have felt like to hear these words being said about their son.  The smiles that must have been on their faces.  Now, the final portion of Luke 2 jumps forward in Jesus' life and He is now twelve years old.  His family has traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.  When the feast is over and they begin to make their way home Jesus stays behind and goes to the temple.  I begin to wonder what everyone was thinking when this first started.  Why does Jesus not tell his parents that He is going to the temple?  Why do Mary and Joseph travel for a full day before they realize that their son is not with them?  Are they traveling in such a large group that they could not notice their son was not with them?  So, after a full days travel out and a full days travel back, Jesus has now been away from them for two days.  Do you think he was scared at all?  Where did he sleep?  So many questions I do not know if I could put them all down.  Mary and Joseph then proceed to look for Jesus and find him in the temple.  Oh, what it must have been like for them.  A complete mix of feelings and emotions.  Were they happy or mad?  Do you punish the Son of God.  I mean really I think I would be afraid to punish Him.  I think this is also the first quotes we see from Jesus and His Earthly parents really do not understand what He is saying.  He is so young and He already knows what His life has in store for him.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Deuteronomy 5, 6, 7 and Luke 3

Day 83

I am doing a little back dating, and catching everything up.  This post would have been on Christmas eve.

Deuteronomy 1 and 2 seems to be like a complete overview of what has happened to the Israelites since they left Egypt.

OK, when I found out what we were going to be reading on Christmas eve I began to freak out just a little.  I mean I could not have planned it this way.  Who would have thought that we would be reading about the birth of Christ on Christmas eve.  It really made me think that God had more hands on me during my motorcycle accident then I originally imagined.  Anyway, Luke 2 gives us the Birth of Jesus.  We begin with the journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to the town of Bethlehem.  They are making this journey because a census is taking place and Bethlehem is the town Joseph is from.  When they arrive in Bethlehem they are unable to find a place to rest.  I do not believe I could begin to imagine what that must have felt like for this young pregnant lady.  They are given some shelter in a stable, which from what I have been able to learn was actually probably closer to a cave.  After Jesus was born an angel appeared to shepherds tending to their flocks of sheep in a nearby field.  This angel gives these shepherds some great news and then a host of angels appears and praises the Lord.  Now, if I was one of those shepherds I would have probably been scared out of pants when that angel appeared, but man the news that it brings, how amazing.  The last little portion we read for today really made me flash back to Leviticus because of the offering that was given for Jesus on the eighth day.  Wow, what an amazing read for Christmas eve.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Deuteronomy 3, 4 and Luke 2:25 - 52

Day 82

Numbers 34 tells us what the boundaries of the promised land are.  I found this to help me a little.  Map

Numbers 35 gives us a short section on how the Levites were to be given land.  We also learn of cities of refugee.  These sound intriguing to me.  I wonder how the people that fled to these cities were protected till they could be judged?  What was to stop a person from seeking revenge in one of these cities?  Now punishment for killing someone was serious.  Death, there was no escaping it if you killed someone intentionally.  I found one other thing interesting in this chapter.  They used witnesses to verify the death and there had to be more then one witness to give testimony.

Numbers 36 sort of freaks me out.  To me it sounds like incest is suppose to happen for these young ladies that inherited land.  I just do not understand how that is right.

The last portion of Luke 1 gives us the birth of John the baptist.  How amazing it must have been for the father Zachariah to write the name John on a piece of paper when they asked and his voice immediately be given back to him.  I have to wonder what that felt like?  Did he feel the Holy Spirit come on him and know that he could speak again or was he trying to talk when he wrote the name?

One more book completed.  Numbers is officially over.  It was another one of those books that I am kind of glad to see done.  I sort of felt like I could not read another chapter about this offering or that offering. 

Tomorrow's reading is:
Deuteronomy 1, 2 and Luke 2:1 - 24

Day 81

Numbers 31 has the Israelites headed into battle.  Moses has 1,000 from each tribe prepared for battle on the Midianites.  After the battle is over not a single Israelite is lost.  God gives Moses instructions for how to split the spoils after the battle.  I guess with the number of livestock that they acquire it seems like they would have a large selection for an offering.

Numbers 32 left me a little confused.  I do not see how some of the Israelites would not want to enter into the promise land.  I mean really, do you think that this side of the river is so much better then what the Lord has in store for you on the other side of the river?

Numbers 33 is a chronicle of all of the Israelites travels.

As we continue reading in Luke 1 we find Mary traveling to see Elizabeth.  Upon Mary speaking to Elizabeth, Elizabeth's baby jumps in the womb.  What a miraculous sign.  It must have been something to feel that even your child in womb knows that there is something special about this women.  As for Mary's song, what an amazing song.  I do not think I could do it any more justice.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 34, 35, 36 and Luke 1:57 - 80

Day 80

Numbers 28 and 29 I am going to combine in this posting as they are both about offerings again.  One thing I noticed is that we have a daily offering mentioned.  Now, I am not sure if this something that is done as a community in whole or if each individual family is suppose to do this.  Either way I can see how the priest stay busy and would be glad to have the Lord's blessing as it seems that they would go through livestock pretty quick.

Numbers 30 tells us about keeping a vow.  We learn that vows are to be kept and what can nullify them.

Our reading in Luke give us another foretelling of a child to be born.  This child though is the one.  Gabriel meets with Mary and tells her that she is to have a son.  She wonders how this would even be possible since she is a virgin.  Gabriel basically says do not worry about it, God has everything under control.  She shows great faith here unlike Zechariah.  She answers the way I think we should all answer things.  "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered.  "May it be to me as you have said."  (Luke 1:38)  Could you imagine what our life would be like if we answered like that?  I am the Lord's servant, such simple words with such a deep commitment.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 31, 32, 33 and Luke 1:39 - 56

Day 79

Well, Numbers 26 was another census basically.  What did I really gather from this chapter, not much.  The one thing I think that stands out with me the most is that there are a whole lot of names that I can not pronounce.

Numbers 27 finally shows some positive light on woman.  Zelophehad's daughters confront Moses about not receiving any land since their father had no sons.  I think this was a very positive thing that happened for them as the Lord came back and gave them land.  To finish off chapter 27 we find out that Moses is soon going to die.  The Lord gives him instructions to transfer his leadership over to Joshua.  Joshua was one of the twelve spies that went into the land and reported what they saw.  Joshua and Caleb were the only two that did lie as to what they saw.

Luke 1 starts out rather interesting to me.  It mentions a person by the name of Theophilus.  From what I can find out nobody really knows who Theophilus really was.  There has been many speculations but nothing definitive.  As for the next portion of our reading we meet John the Baptist father.  Zechariah was an older man and a priest.  His lot was called to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.  From what I have been told recently in a church service.  This was some honor and not one that all the priest got to partake in.  If your lot was called you entered into the temple if not you did not.  The only way you got to go in was if your lot was drawn and you were only allowed to do it once in your lifetime, that is if you got the chance.  But for the important part of this section.  While Zechariah was in the temple the angel Gabriel spook to him and told him that he was to have a son.  Zechariah was not only scared by the sight of the angel but shocked from the news he gave him.  Zechariah could not believe the words he was told and as a punishment Gabriel turned him into a mute.  Zechariah was told because he did not have faith that he would not be able to speak until his son was born.  This son was supposed to be named John and that he would be great in the sight of the Lord.  Now, could you imagine what kind of blessing and a curse this could be all at the same instance.  To go into the temple and meet an angel and not have faith in what he said could have ended very badly.  At this time it was a common practice to tie a rope to the priest that went into the temple so that they could be pulled back out if they were struck down.  And then to have the ultimate blessing, to find out that you are going to be a parent.  I really do not know what could be better for anyone in life then to find out that they are going to be a parent, especially one that is to be great in the sight of the Lord.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 28, 29, 30 and Luke 1:21 - 38

Day 78

In Numbers 23 we see Balaam speaking to the Lord for Balak.  Balak is not pleased with what he is hearing from Balaam.  Balak is wanting Balaam to curse the Israelites and Balaam can not do that.   Balak tries once again in a different location to get Balaam to curse the Israelites.  The Lord speaks through Balaam once again and tells Balak that he can neither curse nor bless the Israelites as they are protected by the hand of God.

Numbers 24 is much the same as the previous chapter.

Numbers 25 has the Israelites once again not following the commandments the Lord gave them.  This time 24,00 Israelites die because of their worshiping of other gods.  I just do not understand how they can see all of these people in their community die and still not follow what the Lord has told them to do.

Mark 16, one of the greatest chapters in Mark.  Why?  Well, lets see we first come to find out that the stone has been rolled away and Jesus is no longer in the tomb.  What!  I know right, giant stone rolled away somebody is playing an evil trick.  No, no trick here Jesus did exactly what He said He was going to do.  He rose on the third day.  He visited His disciples one more time before ascending to Heaven  to sit at the right hand of God.  In that last visit with his disciples he told them "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."  (Mark 16:15, 16)  What better instructions could He have given them, I do not think there could have been anything better to say.

One more book completed.  Oh, and guess what?  We get to start the book of Luke just in time for the Christmas season.  I am rather excited for that.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 26, 27 and Luke 1:1 - 20

Day 77

Numbers 20, really Israelites, do you still not have enough faith in the Lord.  I mean every time you grumble in the eyes of the Lord about what He is doing, you get what you want and also have something bad happen to you.  Moses and Aaron create water from a rock which must have been an amazing site.  Could you imagine smacking a rock and having a spring of water shooting out of it.  We also lose Aaron in this chapter.  Aaron is brought to his family because he did not have enough faith.  That is at least the way that I read it.

Numbers 21 talks of many travels that the Israelites made.  Once again they complained to the Lord and many of them died.  If I was them I think I would keep my mouth shut and do nothing but praise the Lord.

Numbers 22 tells a story of a king wanting to stop the Israelites.  He goes to a man that is in the eyes of the Lord and ask him to put a curse on the Israelites.  The Lord comes to this man and tells him that he is to do nothing of the sort.  They ask for him to travel with him, which he refuses.  They can not give up though and they go back to persuade him once again.  This time he travels with them but is instructed to do nothing but what the Lord commands him to do.

The remaining portion of Mark 15 actually ends with the death of Jesus.  I do not see much difference in this reading compared to the other version we read earlier.  The only thing I see is that we do not see a guard placed at the tomb.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 23, 24, 25 and Mark 16

Day 76

Numbers 17 has me all confused.  Is God kicking out the Levites or is He kicking everyone out except the Levites?

Numbers 18 once again talks of the many duties that the Levites are to do at the tent of meeting.  I still wonder why the Levites are responsible for all of this instead of the duties being shared.  It does talk in this chapter of how the Levites will basically be paid.

Numbers 19 talks more about cleansing a unclean person or an unclean tent.

Mark 15 tells us the story of Jesus appearing before Pilate.  Pilate could not find anything wrong with this man and asked who he should release.  The crowd ask for Barrabas who was not a very nice man at all.  Then the crowd began to chant crucify Him.  That must have been one crazy crowd that day.  I think I would have been sick to have participated in that crowd.  And what it must have been like to be that man they pulled off the street to carry Jesus' cross.  I can not begin to imagine what type of burden and blessing this must have been all at the same time.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 20, 21, 22 and Mark 15:26 - 47

Day 75

Well, Numbers 15 deals with more offerings.  It is really starting to seem like there is an offering for everything, even offerings for offerings.  It is getting really confusing in my mind.

Really Israelites,  Numbers 16 tells of the Israelites once again doubting Moses and God.  I am totally shocked that God has not put them all to death by now.  We get a little closer in this chapter as there are several that do not make it through it.  I just can not see how they can see miracle after miracle and still not believe.

The end of Mark 14 tells the story over again of Jesus being questioned and the Peter disowning Jesus.  I do not see much difference in this telling compared to the one we have already read.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 17, 18, 19 and Mark 15:1 - 25

Day 74

Numbers 12 in my opinion shows a small form of jealousy.  Miriam and Aaron have some concern for Moses because of his wife.  The Lord comes down and speaks to them about Moses.  Miriam comes away from this meeting with Leprosy. 

Numbers 13 has Moses sending 12 people into the land of Canaan to explore it.  Reading this chapter made me think of the song I used to sing at children's church.  "Ten were bad and two were good."  Twelve spies are sent in to recover data about this land that they have been promised.  When they return ten of them lie to the crowd and say there is no way they can win if they go in.  Only two of them stand up and say that they will be able to overtake it because they have the hand of God with them.

Numbers 14 tells of Gods punishment on those that doubted him yet again.  I just can not believe the Israelites, they have seen miracles performed before them how many times now.  Over and over God delivers them from one thing or the other.  Only a few are told that they will be able to enter into the promised land.

Mark 14 tells the story of Jesus being arrested.  We have read this story before, with one difference that I noticed.  I am not sure what verses 51 and 52 are all about.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 15, 16 and Mark 14:54 - 72

Day 73

Numbers 9 begins with some questions the Israelites had about the passover.  It appears that some of them wanted to celebrate in worship to the Lord but were unclean.  The Lord gives them permission to become clean and celebrate the following month.  It also tells us what told them to pack up and move or to stay in camp.

Numbers 10 tells us about two silver trumpets that are to be used as a sort of communication.  While reading this I kept thinking of the bugle used in the cavalry many years ago.  They both were used for the same form of purpose, to relay commands to a large crowd of people.

Numbers 11 starts out with the Israelites complaining again.  I am not sure how this is to be taken but it sounds like the Lord sent down fire and consumed some of the people.  I may not be interpreting that correctly though.  Well, this entire chapter is once again about the Israelites complaining.  Can they not find something better to do with their time.  I mean come on Israelites, you have the Lord providing for you around every corner and yet you still complain to Him.  I think this shows us that we should accept what God gives us because He does take care of us and is easily angered when we refuse what he does for us.

Mark 14 tells of the woman who anoints Jesus.  It then begins to tell us the story of the Lord's Supper.  We have read this story before and I am not really seeing any differences in the story other then at the very beginning.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 12, 13, 14 and Mark 14:27 - 53

Day 72

Numbers 7 repeats over and over and over.  I sort of felt like it was a broken record.  We read the same paragraph 12 different times.  One for each of the 12 families, a different family each day.

Numbers 8 is all about how to make the Levites clean for their duties with the tent of meeting.  It also lays out a few guidelines about how long they are allowed to work.  I kind of like their retirement age.  Fifty seems like a good age to retire at, to bad most of us now work well past that age.

The rest of Mark 13 has to deal with the timing of the apocalypse.  Jesus tells us that only the Father knows the date of the final day.  We are to be ready for it at any moment.  In this manner we should live our life at the ready.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 9, 10, 11 and Mark 14:1 - 26

Day 71

Numbers 5 starts out and reminds me a lot of Leviticus.  Once again more with diseases and making atonement.  The remaining portion of this chapter deals with an unfaithful wife.  This portion really throws me.  He curses the women for cheating on her husband but not once is there any form of punishment for the male.  Nor does it talk about if a male cheats on his wife.  I mean does that not happen in this time period, only females cheat?

Numbers 6 is all about the rules regarding the Nazirites.  Some very interesting practices to being a Nazirite.  I am not sure that I fully understand what being a Nazirite means.  I see how to become one and how it can be taken away but I never really read what they received.   Did they have a special purpose, sort of like a monk or was it just a title?  I kind of like the prayer at the ending of this chapter.  "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine up you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." (Numbers 6:24-26)  For some reason I just see that as such a blessing.

Mark 13 gives a very gloomy forecast.  Jesus tells us about the end of ages.  It portrays a very tough time for those that believe in Christ.  Many will come against us and make us suffer.  We are told that we are to remain strong in the Lord and His words will be spoken through us.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 7, 8 and Mark 13:21 - 37

Day 70

Numbers 3 tells us about the clans of the Levites.  It tells what each family was responsible for in the tent of meeting.

In my opinion Numbers 4 is basically a little more in depth version of chapter 3.

The ending of Mark 12 begins with the greatest commandment.  "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."  (Mark 12:29,30)  "The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:31)  The very last portion of this chapter is one I like.  In my mind it shows that Jesus does not care how much offering you give but it is in how you give.  In this story some are putting in an offering to basically show off then the poor women puts in very little but it was all she had.  It shows her putting God first and when we put God first He will take care of us.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 5, 6 and Mark 13:1 - 20

Day 69

Welcome to Numbers chapter 1.  We start out with what reads like a gearing up of war.  They hold a census to count everyone and gather those 20 years old or older to serve in the military.  I am not sure if the  total size of their military was 603,550 or that was the number of people all together.

Numbers 2 basically tells us how they camped around the tent of meeting.

Mark 12 starts out by going straight into a parable.  I believe this parable is sort of a telling of Jesus life.  I see Jesus in this parable creating the vineyard (Earth) and leaving us to take care of it.  Sadly, we do not do a perfect job and try to take it over with out Jesus in the picture.  The next little chunk is once again the pharisees trying to trap Jesus.  This time they are trying to do it in regards to money.  I am not fond of this little bit of reading just because it says we should pay our taxes.  Oh, how I would love to get rid of those.  The last bit of reading we have in Mark 12 for today tells how we will not be married in Heaven.  I can really understand this since in other verses it says we worship all day.  Really would you want to do anything else once you get to Heaven other then worship.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 3, 4 and Mark 12:28 - 44

Day 68

Leviticus 26 begins by telling the Israelites that as long as they follow the Lord's commandments they will be rewarded.  In my opinion this still applies in today's life.  If we do what the Lord ask us to do is He not going to take care of us?  We then learn about what will happen if they do not follow the Lord's commandments.  I for one would strive to follow everything to the letter rather then face the punishment that was laid out before them.  The Lord describes some pretty horrendous stuff as their punishment.  He does show them that there can be light at the end of the tunnel though as long as the confess their sins and the sins of their fathers.

Okay, as for the last chapter in Leviticus I am really not sure what is going on here.  Pretty much all I can see from this chapter is that there is more value placed on a male over a woman.  They were definitely not equals in this time period.

Our remaining reading of Mark 11 explains why he cursed the fig tree.  He was showing us that as long as we have faith in the Lord what we ask for in prayer will happen for us.  What an amazing concept.  All we have to do is have faith and ask.  Could it really get any simpler then that.  Now, do not misunderstand that and think that it may happen that instance.  God really does answer prayer but He does not do it according to our time frame.  He has a master plan for each and every one of us and knows exactly what we need and when we need it.

Well folks, congratulations, one more book of the Bible complete.  That is a total of five books now and we are just barely 2 months into this.  Honestly though I am a little glad to be done with the book of Leviticus.  I found it rather dry most of the time reading about how to perform all of the offerings.  I can only hope Numbers is a better read. 

Tomorrow's reading is:
Numbers 1, 2 and Mark 12:1 - 27

Day 67

In Leviticus 25 we begin to read a little bit about instructions for when they reach the promise land.  We learn that when they reach the promised land they are to plant and sow just as they normally would but only for six years.  On the seventh year they are to let the land rest and are allowed to eat what it produces naturally.  The next portion is on how to sell land and what is to happen to it and how you may get it back.  It also talks about slaves.  Now do not take this the wrong way as I am not in favor of slavery but I can begin to understand the south's point of view and where they could see slavery as a biblical concept.

Mark 11 begins with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  To be honest I do not really understand this little bit of reading besides the fact that it shows the people worshiping Jesus.  Now, this next section about the tree just confuses me.  I am not sure what we are to learn from it.  Is it about showing his power over all things?

Tomorrow's reading is:
Leviticus 26, 27 and Mark 11:19 - 33

Day 66

Well, Leviticus 23 deals with a lot more offerings.  These offerings all deal with special feast that were to be held by the Israelites.  As many feast and offerings the Israelites are to perform I am beginning to wonder how any regular work ever gets done.  It sort of makes me feel like it is a many heaven on earth situation.  They worship the Lord all day long, sounds like a great party to me.

Leviticus 24 is one of those rough chapters.  Death once again is the punishment for any person that kills another man or blasphemies the Lord's name.  This must have been a very harsh time.  Everything is taken to the extreme and in a lot of instances I am seeing there is no chance to make retributions.

In are reading of Mark 10 we read Jesus telling His disciples once again about his death and resurrection.  I do not think the disciples are really understanding what He is trying to tell them.  We then find out that James and John put in a special request to sit at Jesus right and left hand at the table in Heaven.  I truly have to wonder if they had any clue what they were asking here or if it was just a bit of greed showing through.  Next we read of Bartimaeus being given sight.  His sight is given to him because he had faith in Jesus.  Jesus can do some amazing things as long as we have faith in Him.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Leviticus 25 and Mark 11:1 - 18

Day 65

Leviticus 21 is another one of those chapters that just reach out and smack you.  It is pretty blunt I do not know how to elaborate on it any further then what was already written.

Leviticus 22 is another one of those chapters on offerings.  To be honest I am getting a little tired of reading Leviticus.  I have had enough on how to slaughter and animal and sprinkle, chop, and burn it in the correct way.

Mark 10 starts our pretty hard.  Jesus is talking to the pharisees and the question Him about divorce.  Jesus says that if divorce is allowed it is a form of adultery.  Jesus once again then accept the little children.  I love the relationship Jesus shows for all the little children.  We then read the story about the rich man trying to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus tells him that he needs to give all that he has to the poor and follow him and he will be allowed into heaven.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Leviticus 23, 24 and Mark 10:32 - 52

Day 64

Leviticus 19 is God giving Moses a lot of instructions to give the Israelites.  Some of them are very familiar as they are part of the ten commandments.  One of the verses stands out to me a lot because it is so often used in debates as whether Christians should get tattoos or not.  Considering I would kind of like a tattoo this is not one of my favorite verses.  There are many other laws that we should take note from this chapter that are still very relevant in today's society.

Leviticus 20 is a dangerous chapter for any of us who do not follow the Lords commands.  So often we read in this chapter that for sins we commit we will be put to death.  I am thankful that I live in a time period after Jesus gave his life for my sins.  I know I am not perfect by any means and maybe that punishment would have been a good motivator for me to live a holier life.  Maybe as Christians today we should think that we could be put to death for not living the life he commanded us to.  I am thankful though that we are given a chance to ask and receive forgiveness.

Mark 9 finishes out by Jesus telling the disciples that He is going to die and rise again.  This confuses the disciples and I can see why partially.  It makes me wonder if they have not seen enough miracles to know that if He can raise other people from the dead could he not raise himself.  We then read how we are to welcome in the little children because it is like welcoming Him.  This little section also makes it know to us that we are to be servants.  We then learn that the disciples had stopped a man from doing miracles cause he was not one of the disciples.  Jesus tells them that they should never hinder a person who is doing His work.  To finish up the chapter we are told that we should do nothing to cause a child to sin.  If we do the punishment will be severe.  

Tomorrow's reading is:
Leviticus 21, 22 and Mark 10:1 - 31

Day 63

Leviticus 17 teaches us that the Israelites were not to eat anything that had blood left in it.  Of the clean animals they were permitted to eat all of the blood was to be drained from it and basically buried.  We also kind of get a glimpse to the fact that sometimes the Israelites offered sacrifices to other gods.  These gods are referenced here as images of goats.  God wanted to make sure that they understood that all offerings were to be directed to Him and they were required to do them at the tent of meeting.  The image of the god as a goat appears in some other religions and the one I can see the most reference to would be of Greek Mythology.  The Greek god Pan often appeared as part goat and was the god of shepherds and flocks.  I can see why some of the Israelites might have taken to offering things to this particular god, because of what he was supposedly a god of.

Leviticus 18 is a dandy.  We learn a lot about unlawful sexual relations.  This chapter goes into great detail about who and what we are not permitted to have relations with.  I would prefer not to get into a huge commentary on gay relationships but this chapter does contains a verse that confirms that God did not create people to be gay.

Mark 9 begins with three very lucky disciples.  They accompany Jesus up on a high mountain and are blessed with being able to see.  They not only see Jesus before them but also Moses and Elijah.  What a truly amazing site this must have been.  They not only got to see those three but they even heard the voice of God.  We then head back to town were the remaining disciples have been trying to exorcise a demon from a young boy.  They were unable to vanquish this demon and Jesus does it for them.  He tells them that this particular type of demon can only be dealt with by prayer.  I find it interesting that we kind of see a glimpse here that suggest that demons can be cast out by different means.  If there are some that can only be cast out by prayer what are the other methods of casting out a demon?


Tomorrow's reading is:
Leviticus 19, 20 and Mark 9:30 - 50

Day 62

Well, Leviticus 15 is another one of those unclean chapters.  This chapter has to do mainly with men and women being unclean from body fluids.

Chapter 16 of Leviticus explains how the Israelites were to make atonement for their sins.  All I have to say is "I am glad I was not a priest back then."  I would have to have one amazingly thick book with the instructions in it just so I could perform all the tasks correctly.  I would hate to know what happened if you missed a step or did it incorrectly.

Mark 8 ends with yet another story of Jesus spitting on a person to heal him.  This time he is healing a blind man.  Jesus then talks about his death and explains what we must do to follow him into heaven.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Leviticus 17, 18 and Mark 9:1 - 29

Day 61

 Leviticus 14 tells how the Israelites were to become clean again after an infectious skin disease.  It really seems to be some major process for all sacrifices in this time period.  In my personal opinion I am glad I did not live in this time frame.  Wow, the process for cleansing a house is not much different.  It sounds like there is a lot of work involved in all things cleansing.

Mark 8 begins with the second time Jesus feeds a large crowd.  I find it interesting that each time we read these stories we are only told how many men were present.  It really makes me wonder how many people total were feed during these stories.  We then read about the pharisees testing Jesus again.  I am apparently with the disciples in this last little bit of reading for the today.  I do not know what he is talking about with the yeast in this story.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Leviticus 15, 16 and Mark 8:22 - 38

Day 60

Leviticus 13, what a chapter.  In my opinion we see the first doctors are priest.  Even though their treatments are not much of a treatment.  I wonder what is to happen to those people that never become clean again.  We also read about mildew on their clothes and the steps taken to determine if it is clean.  Both of these sound a lot alike.

The rest of Mark 7 starts by showing us what makes us clean or unclean.  We then read about a young daughter who is possessed and Jesus cures her.  The next little section is interesting to me.  The process who took to make the deaf and mute man whole again is a little gross.  I am not sure why Jesus needed to spit for this miracle to work.

Way to go folks, we have made it two whole months.  I hope every one is feeling good about what they have been reading.  I also hope that you are taking it to heart and that your life is beginning to change because of what you have read.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Leviticus 14 and Mark 8:1 - 21