KNOWING YOUR BIBLE
March 20, 2022: Dear Friends, Welcome to this blog on this beautiful “Spring” day in March. The overall purpose of this blog is to help the reader learn and know the Bible. The blog is organized into several series that focus on different aspects of Bible learning. A series on specific instructions on learning the Bible can be found by going to the website above left, and beginning with the April 11, 2021, blog, and advancing forward, one blog at a time, to the June 27, 2021, blog, to study this way of learning and gaining knowledge of the Bible.
Because this is a time of Lent, our focus is learning and knowing Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. The time frame for Lent is the 40 days before and leading to Easter Sunday, the day of Jesus’ resurrection. During this time the followers of Jesus spend time in fasting and penitence, fostering one to grow closer and nearer to Jesus. Focusing on our sins and wrongdoings helps us realize our own wrong ways of thinking and acting. Facing ourselves and our own wrong thinking and actions, leads us to offer penitence to our Lord and seek forgiveness. Fasting helps the process along because fasting lowers the strength of our confidence, placing us in the mode of recognizing the need to change ourselves from wrong to right thinking, from wrong to right actions.
In this series we have focused on Jesus’ humanity, of being human, as we are human, having similar thoughts and actions as he has had. Bible verses have been written or searched for to read, that describe Jesus’ actions and behavior during his life while here on earth. Jesus, being human, expressed words and ideas, and did actions and behaviors, that we, ourselves, have done, having talked and behaved in similar ways and in similar circumstances that Jesus was in when he spoke such words and had such actions.
Verses have been written or listed to search for and read in this series of blogs that tell of Jesus’ request for a drink of water, he went outside to pray while it was still dark, he was tired from a long journey and set down to rest. Other verses describe Jesus eating with his disciples or with various people. In Matthew beginning in chapter 4, verse 2, it is written, “He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and afterwards, he was famished. He described the crowd as being hungry in Mark, chapter 8, verse 4, when he said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for 3 days and three nights and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way and some of them have come a long way.” Jesus recognized hunger for what it was and had compassion for those who were hungry. In Mark, chapter 11, verses 12-14, it is written “On the following day, when they came from Bethany he was hungry..” Probably because he had experienced hunger, Jesus had such compassion for those who were hungry. He fed thousands of people fish and bread as written in Matthew, chapter 14, verses 13-21; and in Matthew, chapter 15, verses 32-39. Draw near and close to Jesus as you study and contemplate on the life he lived.
Go to the series of blogs written that start on February 20 through today by going to the website above left. Advance slowly blog by blog to today’s blog to continue studying and reading of Jesus’ humanity.
MAY GOD BLESS YOUR BIBLE STUDY THIS WEEK!
Matthew, chapter 5, verse 6; Matthew, chapter 25, verses 34-40. Mark, chapter 2, verse 15-17; Mark, chapter 14, verses 22-25. Luke, chapter 14, verse 1; John, chapter 2, verses 1-2. John, chapter 12, verses 1-2; James, chapter 2, verses 14-17 Matthew, chapter 14, verses 13-21 and Matthew, chapter 15, verses 32-39.. Continue reading the gospel book you have chose for continuation of your Lenton Season meditation. (Refer to March 13 blog last paragraph before verses.)