Bible passage (chapter numbers)

 Matthew 1:1 – 1:22

Heading

God’s masterplan

3 points of note

·         Matthew 1:17  “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.”

o   Fourteen generations thrice in a row. How mathematically possible can this be? Yet, God created Jesus’ genealogy in that numerical order.

o   Does that not amaze you of God’s wonderful capabilities? From the very beginning, when he made Abraham, He has foreseen that Abraham would be the father of all nations and He foresaw who would be the father of whom.

o   I don’t know about you, but this is terribly exciting to know that God has pre-destined all these men such that they would be the direct ancestors of Jesus Christ, and in perfect number sequence! I counted myself and the numbers tally.

o   Reading from the earlier-mentioned post on Genesis 1:1 – 3:8, we now know that not all is lost. God has planned his masterplan of redemption through Jesus Christ.

·         Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

o   Joseph did not want to dishonor Mary. In Jewish culture, it was the norm for young women to remain virgins until marriage. Mary was found to be pregnant with Jesus. What could Joseph do, except to do the right thing?

o   Yet, the angel of the LORD appeared to him, and asked Joseph not to be afraid of taking Mary as his wife.

o   If I were Joseph, I would grapple with this dilemma: do I do the culturally right thing or do I trust God?

o   What nailed or rather compelled Joseph to trust God were these very words: “thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

o   Joseph had read the Scriptures many, many times. He knows that there is a Messiah to come. He knows that God’s prophecies would come true in time to come, and by his acceptance of God’s plan, we now read:

·        Matthew 1:22 “ Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying”

o   “It might be fulfilled” – God’s prophecies would come true at the perfect time. After 14 generations thrice in a row, this was the perfect time for Jesus to be born, and from a royal lineage counting King David.

o   We now live in a time where promises are easily made and broken. What can we trust? Who can we trust?

o   The prophets in ancient times were not always seriously taken by the people at that time. What now should we believe and trust, when people have hurt us by their lies?

o   The very fact that the prophecies were written in the Bible and kept for posterity shows us that God and His Word can be trusted 100%.

o   Jesus as the Promised Messiah is now born in flesh, like man. He saves people from their sins. What a wonderful hope there is to know that Jesus can save us.

o   Some of you may doubt, and scoff. Just remember, you could be this Joseph. And in your time of greatest need, God will appear to you and say, “Have faith in Me. Believe Me and leave the rest to Me”. Let God do the worrying for you, my brothers and sisters in Christ. You just need to trust Him.

Summary

God created Jesus’ genealogy such that it would be 14 generations thrice in a row. The mathematical design of God’s planning is amazing to behold. Mary would bring forth Jesus into the world as the Messiah, the one who shall save his people from their sins. If Joseph chose to do the culturally right thing, there would be no Jesus. We need to let go of our control to let God take care of the chaos.

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for letting me read about your wonderful story of bringing Jesus as the promised Messiah into the world. We now know that You have already set Your plan of redemption through Jesus, whose name has been divinely proclaimed as “the one who shall save his people from their sins”. It awes and humbles us to see how profoundly creative You are, and that everything You create has its plan, purpose and meaning for that time. May this inspire us to thank You for everything in our lives, and we pray for God’s love upon those who still hurt inside. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Bible passage (chapter numbers):

Genesis 1:1 - 3:8

Heading

The beginning of good

3 points of note

• Genesis 1: 4 "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."
• God did not simply lump light together with darkness. He saw the light as a good thing, to guide His plan to form Earth in its simple distinct order. So he separated light from darkness.
• This is again emphasised in Genesis 1:18 "And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good."
• He repeated "good" twice to the distinct separation of light from darkness. Why?
• Let's find out.
• Genesis 2:9 "And out of the ground made the LORD GOD to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."
• Without light, animals and man cannot see what God has made. He grew trees for food and to sustain life. Genesis 1:29 said: "And God said, Behold, I have given every herb-bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat."
• He has designed trees that are pleasant to the sight. In darkness, we cannot see what is there, and what we can do. It is God's goodness that brings delight to the eye in everything visual: trees, animals, scenery, homes, gardens, seas, beaches - I guess that is why many people prefer to take beach or resort holidays to recuperate, recharge and be reminded of the freshness and hope of life.
• Some of you would say "Hey, wait, God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil". If God intended that man should see this "dangerous" tree which has been designed to be pleasant to the sight, why did He warn Adam not to eat of this tree?
• If you look at Genesis 2: 16 , "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." The key word is command. God commanded Adam (and for that matter, man) not to eat of this tree. The penalty of disobedience is death. 
• You know, alot of things are inedible on Earth. Take puffer fish for example. The meat of puffer fish, if not correctly identified and prepared, can be extremely poisonous. Japanese chefs are required to undertake a license in cutting and selling puffer fish. Yet why do people still eat this, knowing that they can die?
• I think people just want to experience the novelty of eating it. If they survive, they say "Oh yeah, I survived! Suckers!". If they die, they regret their foolish decision. Question is: if you know it is dangerous, do you still want to go ahead with it?
• God gave Adam the choice of letting God do what is best for him or to let himself decide if God is good for him. Guess which choice Adam made?
• We know the rest of the story: Eve was tempted by the snake, and ate of the tree and gave the fruit to Adam who ate, knowing full well God's command. So, is all lost? Would we continue this cycle of death; continue to sin knowing we'd die someday and not bothering about the consequences of sin?
• Genesis 3:8 says " And they heard the voice of the LORD GOD walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD GOD amongst the trees of the garden".
• Do you ever think at this point, God did not know what happened? He knows everything. He is the Master Planner. He knows the course of things, creatures, the Earth, the seas, the sky, Man. 
• Even when God called out to Adam and Eve, He knew that they had already sinned. 
• Yet, He did not boom down from the sky, strike lightning or cause thunderstorms. He just came to the garden to seek Adam and Eve, calling them out.
• God seeks each and everyone of us actively. He knows and sees what we are doing. Even when our actions hurt us, He waits for the moment when we finally see the futility of trusting in ourselves and then turn to Him for grace and guidance. He loves us unconditionally. 
• In the next sharing, we find out how God has masterfully planned His plan of redemption and love.

Summary

God's creation of light is the beginning of good. With light, God's creation can see things more clearly. God has commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, realising that they had sinned and knew the meaning of good and evil. Yet God sought Adam and Eve, instead of hurling thunder, lightning, hailstones and fire on them. In this same way, God seeks us out all the time.

Prayer

Father in Heaven, thank you for helping me read this passage today. Thank you for telling me the story of the beginning of good. In your infinite wisdom, love and care, You created everything for our pleasure, that we can see with the help of Your wonderful creation: light, the Sun, the moon and stars. Sometimes, we can be like Adam, knowing full well Your commands, Your nudging and not doing them. More than often, we choose to be busy, ignoring Your calls to sit down with You and drink of the eternal water. Lord, may this remind us to spend more time with You, because You still seek us out. We owe it to You that we should spend time with You, to honor Your presence in our lives. We pray for Your continued grace, protection and mercy. In His Name, Amen.

Introduction

Hi, greetings in Jesus' Precious Name of love!

I had done a 3-month missionary studies course abroad last year, and now that I am back in KL, I had been thinking what I should do. Just as I closed my eyes to sleep, God said: Why not start writing a blog?

You see, I love writing. I love even more that my writing touches people. I think my writing talent is a gift from Abba Father, and I pray that my writing through Him will touch many more people and help them know that God is really alive, and that Jesus loves all of us very, very much.

Actually, I have wanted to enrol in a seminary or theology college overseas to further my knowledge of the Bible and how to share the Gospel of salvation with others. But fees are expensive, and there seems to be no solution unless I score a scholarship or raise funds on my own. So yes, God put this crazy thought of writing this blog and raising funds for my studies here. It sounds incredibly impossible, but if God thinks He really has use for me, I shall rest in His promise that He will make a way for me to do my theology studies. I have a specific place, time and amount of money that I need to raise but I shall disclose that later.

So, here is my blog. :)

This is the first of many more Bible readings I will do everyday. The reason why I do this is because I want to grow in His Word by reading, understanding and penning down my thoughts (or rather His thoughts), so that they can be of use to my fellow brothers-and sisters-in Christ.

Using the 365 day Bible reading plan provided by BibleJames.com (see http://www.biblejames.com/read-the-bible-in-one-year.php) , each post features the following:

• Bible passage (chapter numbers)
• Heading
• 3 points of note
• Summary
• Prayer.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on each day's Bible passage and the posts that follow.

Shalom and may I pray that God grant you His wonderful grace and love as you journey together with me.