"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship Him.' When Herod heard this he was disturbed..."   Matthew 2:1-3, NIV

 

It is interesting to see how quickly evil men perceive any threat to their power. As soon as Herod (who was king in the region with the most important concentration of Jews on earth), heard that the "King of the Jews" had been born, he was disturbed. He immediately tried to find out all that he could about this king and then set the wheels in motion to have Jesus killed. In his lust for power he went so far as to kill every male under the age of two in Bethlehem and its region.

 

The lesson: Do not underestimate the capacity of evil men to do evil.

 

Now consider this: It did not work! All of King Herod's attempts to wipe out any possible threat to his power failed because God was always one step ahead. Before the Magi headed back to let Herod know where the Messiah was, God warned them against doing so. Before Herod could get his men to Bethlehem to kill Jesus, God had Joseph escape with his family to Egypt. When Herod died and a man just as evil took his place, God continued to protect Jesus and his parents.

 

The lesson: God's purpose cannot be thwarted.

 

The coming of the Savior into a lost world was one of the most important events in human history. The Bible reveals that this event was planned by God before the creation of the world, and God was more than aware that evil men (who were firmly under the power of Satan whether they realized it or not), would seek to prevent the Christ from fulfilling His mission of salvation. But regardless of the power and influence that evil men may wield in this world of ours, it is never enough to thwart the plans of God.

 

I believe this is an important truth for us to consider in times such as the one we live in now. It would be good for us not to lose our focus on the vital lessons that we read in Scripture, nor to take our eyes off of the Messiah and His way of life. It is also good for us to be aware that evil men will stop at nothing to try to maintain their power. One of their methods, for whatever reason, has always been an attempt to reduce the influence of Christ in our lives. But, being aware is not enough. Mary and Joseph had to act upon the knowledge that evil men were seeking the life of Jesus. When they had this knowledge, they did everything in their power to prevent evil men from destroying the One who was precious and holy.

 

Can we do anything else?

 

Today's reading is from the 2nd chapter of Matthew. I pray that God will richly bless your efforts as you seek Him and His Son!

 

"... an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.'"

Matthew 1:20-21, NIV

 

Thus begins the study that will hopefully take you through 260 consecutive days of reading the New Testament. Many of you have never actually read all the way through the New Testament, so this will be an excellent start for what will hopefully be a lifetime of study. Many others have read through the Scriptures on many occasions, but this type of study may be a bit different than ones you have already done. My recommendation to the first time student as well as the Bible scholar is this:

 

Read a chapter a day, each day from the New Testament. Read it in order, starting with Matthew 1 and ending with Revelation 22. This should take you about 5 to 10 minutes a day, and it would be best if you set apart a few minutes at the beginning of each day to do so, remembering to pray for guidance that God might help you to understand and get the most from what He has provided for you in His inspired Word. The reason for this is leads to my second recommendation:

 

Read your chapter first thing in the morning so that you might take the message with you throughout the day, and think about it. So many will just read a chapter, check it off of their "to do" list and then move on. This might be a great way to take vitamins or eat your vegetables or do your sit-ups and push-ups, but it is a poor way to handle God's Word. The Bible is worthy of your consideration! So read the word! Let its message sink deep into your heart and mind, and then think about that message throughout the day. It is not the morning news, which is rarely more than bad news or propaganda. It is the Good News of God's message of salvation to you and your loved ones! So, take it to heart and meditate on what it means and why God thought it important enough to have it passed along to you.

 

Why do all this? That answer is simple: At the end of this life each one of us will kneel before God to be judged. After the Judgment, you will then go onto your eternity. And make no mistake, this eternity will be the one that you have chosen, so choose wisely. Remember the words from the passage above, "He will save His people from their sins." If you can take that message from this first day of your reading, then you will have added something vital to your life. For God will really give us an eternity somewhere - either Heaven or Hell - and this eternity will indeed be the one we choose.

 

That is why you are reading the Bible!  Today's reading is the first chapter of Matthew. May God richly bless your efforts!

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

Ancient proverb

 

If you have read from this website or from the companion articles on facebook for very long, then you will know that the primary focus is on being sure of your own salvation, and the only safe way to do that is to read the Bible for yourself.

 

I have always had great respect for our military men and women, and am convinced that they are among the most heroic and honorable of our society. I enjoy hearing about their training and, although it could be considered humdrum in its repetitiveness, it is this very repetitiveness that is often what makes them great. Of all the stories of the training of the various military branches, one of my favorites is of the men and women who become paratroopers.

 

For years, these soldiers have a training that eventually becomes a mindset - you "fold your own" ! I don't know if it is a practice that is still in place, but I do know that it used to be a key to their training. The idea was that for a soldier to have the confidence to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, he or she needed the confidence to know that their parachute was going to open right. The only way they could do that was to "fold their own" parachute.

 

This is the same concept behind Paul's instruction in his letter to the church at Philippi. God inspired him to write the following:

 

"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed - not only in my presence, but much more in my absence - continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and act according to His good purpose". Philippians 2:12-13, NIV

 

Think about the importance of that phrase, "continue to work out your salvation". Note also the part about God's good purpose. Both phrases are important to have the right understanding of the command. The paratrooper does fold his own chute, but he does not make his own chute. That is left to the experts who design and manufacture the parachute, using the right materials and the exact measurements that will allow the chute to do its job. In a similar manner, we do not come up with our own purpose or plan of salvation - God has done that - but we are commanded to work out own salvation because it is we who will need to be sure.

 

So, here is a method that I would like to recommend to you for the new year: Start "folding your own" chute by starting in the New Testament. Just read one chapter a day, day in and day out without fail, until you have read through the entire New Testament. It won't take much time out of your daily schedule, but it has the potential to be an investment in your own salvation that could prove to be the difference between a safe landing or a deadly plunge to the Day of Judgment.

 

One last thing: Reading through the New Testament one chapter at a time will take 260 days. That means you will be about 3/4 of a year older than when you began. That's a long time, it's true, but how much older will you be in 260 days if you don't read a chapter a day?

 

As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For He says,

"In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. "

I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

II Corinthians 6:1-2, NIV 

"Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, and he did not inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David, son of Jesse."

I Chronicles 10:13-14, NIV

 

As we consider the current state of our nation and contemplate just what it is that God expects us to do, it would be well to heed the warning found above. Saul had been made king by God, but he committed four errors that brought his reign to an end. What were these errors?

 

First, Saul was unfaithful to the LORD. I imagine most people don't consider that to be too big of a deal, because most people in America are, in fact, unfaithful to the LORD. It is the rule, not the exception. For those of you who are married, all you have to do to understand how "big of a deal" that God viewed unfaithfulness is to think how you would feel if your spouse was continually unfaithful to you. Unless you were some sort of pervert, you could not accept such a lifestyle, even from someone you loved.

 

Second, Saul did not keep the word of the LORD. Again, this is the norm for Americans, so it doesn't seem that serious. But imagine this: If you owned a company, no matter how small in the eyes of others, you would still consider it an affront to have en employee break all of your rules. After all, you are the boss and he is the hired hand. If he continues to break the rules to the detriment of your reputation, you would fire him. So would God!

 

Third, Saul consulted a medium - someone who practiced evil in an attempt to take the place of God. We have many such false counselors today, from politicians, to false preachers, to the politically correct. Men who reject the ways and counsel of God for their own ends. We do it all the time while considering ourselves savvy and sophisticated. God considers it sin, and He will not tolerate contrary advice and alternate gods for long.

 

Fourth, when he was in great trouble and could not make it on his own, Saul did not seek God. Imagine that - the One Being who had the power to know not only what to do but also had the power to do it, and Saul rejected Him. So God rejected Saul!

 

Do these things sound familiar? They should, for these are the very things our nation (and even some of our churches) have been doing for a very long time. Did you think that God would accept such a departure from His sovereignty without penalty? Again, sadly, I think most people do... how is that working out for us?

 

It is true that we cannot control everybody in our nation, so we can perhaps be excused for not stopping some of these things that were beyond our power of influence - but what about us as individuals? Have we been unfaithful to God? Have we failed to keep His word? Have we sought evil men for advice instead of God? Have we failed to inquire of the LORD...?

 

We must ask ourselves these questions and then give them an honest answer, because our fate hangs in the balance. For while God punishes nations in the "here and now" and brings them down from time to time (something that very well may be happening to America before our very eyes), the punishment He has for wicked individuals is a bit more lasting. In fact, it is eternal.

 

So, if you are wondering what righteous men and women can do, here it is: We can be faithful to God. We can keep His word. We can reject the counsel of the wicked. We can inquire of Him for help. None of these things are particularly easy, so most people will not do them. As a wise man once said, the masses of people prefer the easy way. But for those who are willing to pay the high price of serving God, we must do it. It will start with something that the man possessed whom God replaced Saul with: You will have to be a man or a woman after God's own heart! That will require total commitment, and a love for God you that may not have had in the past. But, if you are willing to pay the high price that excellent service to God demands, then you have it in your power to turn your life around today. Then, and only then, you might be able to do something about the state of our once great nation before it is too late.

 

Do you have what it takes?

 

"Now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after His own heart"

I Samuel 13:14, NIV