God placed the cherubim in front of the gate of the Tree of Life because he said that since man has eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, it is not good for man to live forever. In this same way, it was not good for all of man to share the same language to conspire together. Gen 3:22-24
I’m thinking about how the Samaritan woman felt when she shared that she knew about the coming of the Messiah, and how Christ responds with “I, the one speaking to you — I am he.”. I can’t imagine what went through her head at the moment upon learning that the Messiah she know of was standing RIGHT there, SPEAKING to her. Gives me chill
48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” – John 4:48 this really grabbed me and made me think how many times we ask God for signs. Do we sometimes miss our blessing because we are not seeing it because we do not notice the small blessings but instead look for larger signs and wonders?
The culture was that Samaritans and Jews don’t associate but in His kind and gracious nature, Jesus revealed His identity to the Samaritan woman at the well and in that moment encouraged her that the time had come when it didn’t matter where they worshipped, but that they worshiped in Spirit and in truth!
Reading this makes me realize how much fair these people had to have. It also shows how much God truly knows about us and how he has the answers to everything even if it doesn’t make sense at the time. God is so good!
love the story of Jesus and the samaritan woman. when the woman went back to bring the other samaritans to Jesus at the well and with vs. 42 where the samaritans said that they believe not just because of her but because they heard Jesus for themselves. it’s so important for us to share the gospel and it’s also important for people to see God for themselves as well.
35Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
I love the story of the woman at the well, for so many reasons. If you haven’t already, I recommend reading Caryn Reeder’s piece on this beautiful story.
The city of the woman from the well began to believe her and Christ… women back them had no respect or honor, typically their word meant nothing. It is mind blowing that because that woman shared her testimony, people believed!!! So encouraging!!!
I found the story at the Tower of Babel interesting as well! From a young age I do remember learning about this Bible story, but I thought they were trying to “reach Heaven” and that is why God stopped them. However the chapter actually highlights Gods acknowledgement that nothing they set their minds to would be impossible if they were able to work together. This serves, to me, as a great reminder that we are stronger together and community is incredibly important. A connected church that communicates and focuses on their mission and goals can do great and mighty things for the people of their community.
Reading that Jesus decided to stay in Samaria for 2 more days because the people asked him to stay longer really left an impression on me. It’s simple but to me, it shows that he really came to this earth to serve and love on people.
If anyone reading this has not yet watched “The Chosen ” , please do! The final episode of Season 1 is the story from John 4 with the woman at the well. So powerful!
I wondered about the Babel story too. The SRT podcast also had more to say about this story when they discussed their Genesis study book. I think it was January 2020.
Hi! I was confused about this too. Reading my commentary helped me a lot. It said that the people say “let us make” which is mirroring what God says in Genesis 1. This statement reveals that the people were thinking they were their own gods and could create perfect, greater things that the Lord Himself. They were dishonoring the ways that the Lord had saved them.
Hope this helps :)
I’m late to doing this today. I learned so much! I love how this seemed to be so focused on worship. And how careful you have to be with it. You have to make sure you’re worshipping the right things.
The things of this world will never sustain us- it will always leave us wanting and chasing for more. But a personal relationship with Jesus makes us truly content
I loved today’s reading! I have always been interested in family geology, but I thought we only knew Jesus’ history back to Abraham. Now I can trace it back to Adam, the first man! I also think was important to notice that the man remembered exactly when Jesus said “your son will be healed.” I probably wouldn’t remember the time:) Day 5 complete!
So grateful for the comments that help link the passages together! Am thoroughly enjoying reading the Bible in this way and how wonderful to connect with all you ladies and speak the true words of our Lord Jesus Christ to one another!
Most often I hear of the lineage in Genesis being described as monotonous, and I myself used to be of that belief. However, from this moment forward I choose to let is serve as a great reminder that we are cut from the same cloth. We are all alike in our differences, and I hope to seek comfort in what I once thought was monotonous.
I am humbled and grateful at the fact that Jesus called a woman to be his first missionary, and a Samaritan woman at that! Thank you Lord that you value women and have called us to serve you!
Today we have more genealogy given to us so we can see how the nations came to be. I never realized that Babel was the introduction to all the new languages on earth. If they had just followed God’s instructions, we would all speak the same language today. In John, we see how true faith works in the water with the Samaritan woman. The official used faith to believe his son would live. Today’s read was so enlightening!
Loved the reading today! Was especially hit with the faith of the official Jesus spoke it and he believed no more questions asked just faith. I need more of that!
AMEN! We need to seek God when we are weary. I’m in that same boat right now as well. My faith has been stronger in the past than it is now. Continue to seek him and he will reveal himself to you through so many ways.
It can be difficult to reach through all of those confusing names but, God put them in the Bible for a reason. I believe he wanted it to an historical account so that those whom read the Bible know that it is true from a historical point of view. We also see how from Noah and Abram all nations came through. In John, we see the Samaritans whom are far from God (but in the same lineage as in Genesis) come back to God all through this one woman’s testimony. They themselves came and heard the words from Jesus and believed. To me, that means that we are not the ones that are converting rather, we are the ones planting the seeds and now the Holy Spirit is the one to cultivate that.
I love how God confused the peoples language when it was at the Tower of Babel and I think that’s kind of funny since we call people who we can’t really understand babbling. I just feel like the Bible explains everything that’s occurring even in our lifetime even though it was written long ago
Isn’t it interesting that at the Tower of Babel, God confused their language so they could not understand each other; then in Acts, the Holy Spirit came upon the people and made it so they all understood each other even though they were speaking in different languages?! The New Testament (Jesus) making all things new.
From the second Genesis passage I took away God destroys our idols in our life. From the last Genesis passage the honesty part hit me hard. For the John passage I took away that God sustains and provides everything everyone needs even those who should not be given anything.
John 4:13-14 spoke to me the most- it reminded me that material and worldly things will never fully satisfy us but if we drink from the cup of the lord, he will sustain us for eternity.
I love the story of the Samaritan woman. Someone society had rejected for her sin and Jesus went there specifically to talk to her. It was no accident Jesus was there in Samaria, where Jews don’t go, at this particular time. It was this woman, who was lonely and an outcast from society, who’d been left by several husbands, who went to the well when she did to avoid judgement from people – this was who he first tells that he is the Messiah. She goes back and the people in Samaria believe just by her story. The story of this outcast led a village to believe. This goes to show no matter what we have done Jesus still loves us and will use us for good – and we are all part of God’s plan.
I love that the Samaritan woman immediately went and told everyone in the town about Jesus. Why are we so hesitant to share the gospel when these people screamed it from the mountain tops. We owe that to God and to other people. I pray to become a better disciple of Christ in this year as I grow closer in my relationship with God.
5/365
To trust a man who claims to be Christ…
I wonder if I would be skeptical ?
I am skeptical now when trying to decipher what is being obedient to God’s will or what I believe myself is true.. I pray that through these readings and walking closer to God I will confidently know the difference.
Unlike the official, I do not need to wait for Jesus to visit my town to go to him. I have the privilege of going directly into his presence through prayer any time, any where!!! What a gift.
What would my life be like if I heard God’s word and promised and believed, no questions asked? The man went to jesus and believed as soon as he spoke!
This really hit me today/ what would it really look like to live as if He is sustaining us, He is the one our spiritual selves are longing for and can be 100% fulfilled with!? What a thought. Praying to remember these verses and love life trusting that He is the only one who can sustain me.
I often get overwhelmed by the meds and the sense I’m supposed to respond. I usually step away and do nothing. But you’re right, if I rely on self, I’m overwhelmed and give up too quickly. If I rely on Jesus, he sustains and continually fills me, enabling me to adequately respond to His calling.
I really appreciate how our spiritual needs are discussed so much! I think we often forget that side of us…..focusing on our physical needs- but our spiritual selves are needing fed as well! My life application bible also mentions the Holy Spirit is accessible anywhere and references who the Holy Spirit does for us with He prays for us (romans 8:26) teaches us the words of Christ (John 14:26) and tells us we are loved (romans 5:5)
Such a great point, I often stray and focus on my physical needs too much. Great reminder that our spiritual needs are just as, if not more important. Great read today!!
I think it was because they had become prideful and arrogant. They were building the tower to reach the heavens to be like God and not need Him. They were building it as a status symbol of how great they were and could do anything.
I have read most of the Bible before and have spent a lot of time in the Bible throughout the years but this is the first time that I have noticed how often God referred to himself as “Us.” “Let us….”
I believe that this is where we see the trinity in action. “Us” most likely referees to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It shows that Jesus did not just appear in the New Testament but that He was present from the very beginning.
‘They believed because of the woman’s testimony’ What a calling for us as women. Our words, because of His grace, can bring others to learn of His character. How beautiful.
I love how Abraham obeys as God instructs him to leave his land… to leave all that is comfortable and his security. Sometimes I feel that I become to complacent and I don’t like to leave my security. I need to learn that when God calls me to do something, it’s for his glory and it’s to get me to the land that He wants me to be in.
I’m in the process right now getting ready to move to Kenya. I was thinking this morning about the passage of Abraham. Got it on a room to leave everything he knew and was familiar to him to go to the land that he would lead him to. So he got up anyway. He didn’t know what to expect, he didn’t know where he would end up, I’m sure he was scared. But he trust in the Lord And went. May I follow where he leads even when I’m not sure what the future holds.
It’s awesome to know that you don’t have to see to believe. In your heart you should know that God will always provide. “They will never be thirsty again”. All he want is for us to believe in him.
The story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well is so powerful to me. “But those who drink the water will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life” (John 4:14). How good?! He gives us living water that revives us and gives us eternity. We are so blessed.
I can really relate to some of the people I read about today, in that they need to see/experience to truly believe. I am a science driven person, so I believe what I see and what has been proven and that is something that has come between me and my faith in the past. But what I’m learning as I read through this 365 day challenge is that every day Jesus is proving to me through miracles that he exists. It is a miracle that we live and wake up every day, and I’m grateful to be on this journey to strengthen my faith and relationship with God.
I love the story of the Samaritan woman.
It always reminds me to “fill my cup” with living water/living word. In her vulnerability and shame she found God’s love and chose to share it & spread his light. ✨
In our world it is easy to “fill your cup” with temporary things and we all sin in different ways but JESUS BROKE DOWN BARRIERS to know and speak with this woman. And he will meet us in our brokenness and know and speak with US and offer US grace. POWERFUL.
I LOVE how much faith the people of God have and how they give the honor and praise to God. I also really love Jesus’ character and His firm and loving words of truth. ❤️
Blessed, yes, with Living water, the Savior of the World, the opportunity to be a true worshipper And the example of One who did the will of the Father.
“Now Sarai was barren; she had no child” (Genesis 11:30). And yet, just a few verses later, God says to Abram, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2). God uses a barren couple to bring hope to the world. From Abram would come Israel. From Israel would come Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world! Hundreds of years later, as the world still desperately waits for redemption, God again chooses a barren couple to bring John the Baptist into the world. He offers hope to these couples … and to the world.
Sarai’s story doesn’t sit well inside of me. How did she feel, being fearfully tossed to Pharaoh by her own husband? Was that God’s will? Was there not another way for Abram and Sarai to pass through Egypt? Or is this an example of God redeeming our brokenness, in that He provided them a way of escape, even after Abram’s destructive decision, that included new riches?
The story of Jesus resurrection the boy reminds me that we need to trust Jesus at His word. Also, once Jesus speaks something, that doesn’t mean we stop- we’ve got to keep moving or “running” to see His word come to “life”
One of the things I love about the woman at the well passage is that Jesus first reveals himself as the Messiah to a woman- this speaks so powerfully to the fact that Christ desires for women to be in leadership positions, in places where their God-given talents can flourish. Throughout the New Testament, God obviously values women, so our faith, actions and the church should reflect that.
i feel like the woman at the well is often seen as a passage about faith and believing in christ but it also speaks to the Church as a community in that it doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re called if you’re worshiping the Father with your whole spirit. this spoke to me so much because i often feel like my church i go to at school is so much better to worship but my church at home is just as good if my spirit can fully embrace the wondrous love of god.
I realized something after reading the passage about the Samaritan woman. Her testimony, one that tells of her own struggles that could evoke shame or vulnerability, did not hold her back from sharing with others about Jesus and I just think that is so amazing! Our testimony can guide others to Jesus
❤️❤️❤️
I also appreciated that even though folks believed because her testimony, once they got to Jesus themselves their beliefs were even the more engrained in Jesus as the Christ. It was a good reminder that our testimony is so important in kingdom work! Just tell someone about Jesus and then he’ll do the rest.
Day 5 ✔️. Woman at the well, one of my favorite passages! Jesus’ tenderness with her is undeniable. How we all need to be more gentle and meek as he was and is!
I love this last passage because it shows the power of God’s word is as strong as the credence we give it. When we believe in him and his word, it is true. But when we doubt him, then the things we seek from him do not come into fruition. It is so important to fully trust in him, because in true faith comes prosperity.
Because they felt they did not need God, that they as a people could build the tower to the heavens and achieve everlasting life on their own acts and righteousness instead of faiththoucj Christ.
I read elsewhere (because I needed help understanding as well), that the people were uniting in a way that displeased God. He intended humanity to multiply and disperse among the earth so as to care for it. The people would not be fulfilling that command if they built a city and settled down there. I guess God felt like they were disregarding His intentions for them, requiring him to intervene.
I know we often skip over the ancestry lists that are in the scripture, but I’ve learned over the past several years that they are important parts of scripture that help us better understand what’s going on in the world as time moves forward. The fact that God chose to include the lineage of Noah’s sons solidifies the fact that the entire world had just been wiped out and everyone was starting from scratch all over again to repopulate the world. And the tower of Babel explains how we speak different languages around the world. I know many people argue that the Bible is just a fairytale, but I see so many clear answers to history and how it happened that I cannot believe that their accusations are valid.
I don’t think that Scripture meant mighty in a positive sense of the word when read in context. I don’t think Nimrod was seeking the Lord. I really don’t think we’ll see him in heaven.
These passages are very encouraging to me personally as my husband and I are called to be missionaries. He is the youth pastor at our church right now, and we plan on planting a church over in the Basque Country within the next couple years. Being married with no kids it was so much easier to up and leave, but now we have two kids and that makes it harder for me to want to leave. But I know it’s what God has called us to do. And reading scripture like this reminding me that the harvest is ready is what encourages me and puts everything back in the right perspective. There are people out there who need God, they are in need of a Savior. And that’s way more important in this life than the things I am worried about. Now it’s just keeping that perspective and daily seeking the Lord that will keep me strong.
My husband and I are missionaries as well! One comment helped us while on the field. “farmers have to take out rocks from the soil before seeds can even be planted. Sometimes you pick up rocks, sometimes you sow, sometimes you get to see the fruits! But don’t get discouraged picking up rocks, bc without that task, theres no way something will plant and grow!” Picking up rocks means answering questions and breaking down guarded walls. Bless you in your preparations!
So much gold in the reading today! How beautiful is it that a word of knowledge can open up someone’s heart to wonder who this God is that “told me all that I ever did,” then the testimony goes on to reach many more people who got to encounter the truth of who God is for themselves!
I was also struck by the fact that just a single word from the mouth of Jesus brought healing to the official’s son in Capernaum. Just ONE word!
I have always loved this because it also shows that anyone can share the gospel. You don’t have to be some crazy scholar or a Christian for multiple years before you share Christ. Anyone who was once blind but now sees can share their testimony of how God has worked in their life!
Why would Abram lie about the identity of his wife to save himself, and force her to be taken as the Pharaoh’s wife, and the Pharaoh is punished? The Pharaoh thought she was Abram’s sister. Maybe I’m misunderstanding this passage?
Abram lied because he thought they would kill him if they knew that Sarai was his wife. He was scared because she was so beautiful they they would want her for themselves. I don’t know why Pharaoh was punished because he truly had no idea. But whether he knew or not, being with someone else’s wife is a sin, so maybe God did it to open up his eyes that something wasn’t right. And he did the right thing and gave her back when he found out. But I always just remember that the Bible is full of imperfect people just like us! They lie and make mistakes and God guises them along the way, correcting them and teaching them just like us.
I have thought on this passage too, and this is no answer as to why Abram did this – but I find it interesting and inspiring that God (1)allows Abram to profit through Sarai’s God given beauty (2) proves his power to Pharaoh through the situation.
If she had not been taken as a wife by Pharaoh, he would not have given Abram a portion of his wealth. Then after Abram receives this, God uncovers the truth. Pharaoh is able to see the power of God, and allows Abram to move on with the things he has given them.
God used a woman to reveal his power, and prosper Abram working all this for their good.
I believe it is because God was upset at them for creating the tower in the first place because they were basically making an alter so they can reach heaven to make themselves great
Well it also says why God did it, because if they accomplished this then there wouldn’t be anything they couldn’t do. And if man can do anything, then they wouldn’t need God. God wants us to rely on Him. And He knows we need a savior. If they would have succeeded, they probably would never recognize their need for God because they could do anything all on their own.
I think a part of it is in their reason: “let us build a name for ourselves. ” I think that it’s the same prideful attitude as the serpent’s “you will be like God.”
They made success their idol and didn’t know the true God. If humans feel that much power they feel like they don’t need God anymore and He needed to remind humanity that He is sovereign and more powerful than we can ever be :)
They built a ziggurat to reach the heavens. Fallen angels had been mating with women (Gen 6:1-4) before the flood and had given humans all kinds of knowledge and power that God did not intend for them to have (witchcraft/sorcery and so much more). That was a lot of the reason for the flood. The people were trying to regain that after the flood by creating this stairway for these beings to come meet with them. Jesus talks about the days of His return as being “as in the days of Noah” in Matthew 24. We have access to insane amounts of information due to the internet now. Also, we now have the ability modify DNA in humans to making them healthier, and I’m sure there are some working to create humans with super abilities. There have been successful human animal chimeras created in labs, and trans species animals created as well. And what are we celebrating en masse as a culture? The ability to transform males into females and females into males. We are running head first into the culture in which Noah found himself.. Think
Just read an awesome Desiring God article on the Tower of Babel, looking for more understanding. God told Noah and his descendants to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. And in Genesis 10 it looks like that’s happened – obedience to His command. But Genesis 11 shows us the true WHY of Genesis 10. Humanity didn’t obey, instead they sinned and sought acclaim for themselves by building a tower + a feeling of safety by clustering together rather than obeying God and covering the earth. For that reason God confused their languages and forced them to spread over the earth. To accomplish the goal of filling the earth with His glory and keeping our trust in Him rather than in our surroundings. How merciful!!!
I’ve always heard this as the explanation for the tower of Babel and it’s one that has made the most sense to me. If they had not disobeyed and tried to make themselves great rather than obey God then why would He ever need to confuse the languages?
Today I picked up on the note at the end of the story of the Samaritan woman. The people said that is was no longer her word that caused them to believe, but they met the Messiah themselves and that was what confirmed their beliefs. What an encouragement for us to go directly to the Father and God’s Word instead of waiting to be spoon fed on a Sunday morning. We get to know Him personally and profoundly. Thank you, Jesus, for making a way for us!
This section also stuck out to me! The way it encourages me is that even though I am not a gifted evangelist if I can just show people a little bit of Jesus in my life to where they start asking questions and interacting with Him personally that may be all that they need to follow Him.
As I read through all the generations of people like Noah’s sons and even Abram…I can’t help but think that they didn’t always look as old as we picture them. If Noah lived hundreds of years, he must have not looked old and grey for the majority of that. Maybe they didn’t start to grey until they hit 300 years or so? Just a thought.
Hi Ladies, if you’re looking for some community & accountability & discussion of the readings, come look for a group on Facebook called “The Bible in a Year w/ SRT.” Many have joined so far, so I’ll probably make it private in the next few days. Keep up the good work with the reading!
Anyone struck by Nimrod’s description as the first mighty man? That always escaped me in the past….he is truly the only one set apart with such a personal description and honor.
Can someone help me understand – when Abram told his wife Sarai to say she was his sister, and Pharoah took Sarai to his palace, does that mean that Pharoah took her as his wife and knew her in the marital sense? But by doing so it saved Abrams life, because as they just claimed he was her sister, Pharoah didn’t feel he was a threat thus did not kill him?
I have always been a little sad about some of the things or decisions our biblical heroes made in the past. I start to condemn Abram for being a coward and not trusting God, or the Israelites continuing to betray God and worship other gods but then I remember I’m just like they are! How many times have I been fearful or worried about a situation and go out and try to make my own plans to save myself. How many times have I forgot how much God has blessed me and I start to care about all my stuff more than Him. The point is God loved us so much he sent His son to die for us so we can have a relationship with Him. I’m kinda glad that the Bible is stories of a bunch of ordinary sinful people who have an extraordinary living God instead of extraordinary people with an ordinary God. That means he can use me too. I’m an ordinary girl but forgiven by the grace of an extraordinary God!
Genesis 11:4b, “… let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” Love the irony here: the fact that the people felt the need to establish themselves outside of God, and took matters into their own hand, in order to be the greatest. That the tables should then be turned in them; their nightmare comes to pass in the most sudden, awful way imaginable (or, you might argue, unimaginable!)
This is such a warning to me. What a pitfall it is in trying to establish myself, and my primary identity, outside of God. How quickly we lean on our own understanding. He gives us a blessing and we turn it into a curse.
another irony: that He should then also take His direct curse and still use it to His glory. The astonding adaptability of the Bible to every tongue, tribe, and nation is certainly worthy of praise!!
Yes! And not long after God tells Abram, “I will make your name great.” When we seek to make our own names great, confusion and scattered and frustrated is the result. When we follow and obey God and trust Him, it opens the way for Him to do it!
The. Verse that stops me in my tracks every time is Gen 12:4 “so Abram went as the Lord told him.” One translation (can’t remember which) says “so he got up and went.” How many times has God called on me and I think I have too much to do or don’t recognize His call. Abram didn’t give excuses or do his own agenda he just went because God told him to. Every time I read it I am struck by this
Jesus was born a Jew. And the stories in the Bible were lived and written by jews. So, that was his lineage, his people. But now, the message of His love and salvation is open to everyone, and embraces every nation of the Earth.
Also–Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises God made to the Jewish people throughout the hundreds of years spanned by the Old Testament. Jesus is the Messiah and Savior promised to the Jewish people, and He was born a descendant of David.
He is the source of salvation that was both promised to, and — quite literally — delivered through the Jewish people of ancient Israel.
I never made the connection between Gen 11 & 12 before. The confusion of languages, scattering of people, and the call of Abram to go to a land not his own. Our God cares for the nations! And, as I prepare to move to South Asia, learning a language and culture not my own, I realize that it is God’s GRACE that allows us to learn languages, so we can GO and communicate His love to people who have never heard. It was His plan, despite the confusion and scattering it caused, to bring His Word to all those languages and people groups, no matter how far away. 3,000 years later, Jesus came to us, reminding us to GO. How beautiful that God’s heart for the world is woven into every page of Scripture!
Just like Abram, we too are on a journey. I continue to be challenged to not settle into comfort that I might be ready to continue the journey of faith that God has set before me.
25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan.
Was the earth a solid mass before this??
I love how Jesus told a Samaritan woman that he was the Christ, the Messiah. He shared this secret with her early on, a Samaritan and a woman! Both of which were looked down upon. This shows to me that Jesus truly loves everyone, and has a tender spot for women as well.
I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around Genesis 12. How is it ok for Abram to lie about Sarai in order to spare his life and yet unknowingly the Pharoah takez her as his wife and is punished.
Before Abram’s journey began, God said that anyone would be punished that does him harm. Pharaoh took his wife, despite the fact that he did it unknowingly.
Jesus told his disciples, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” Being in His will and doing the work of the Lord is enough to sustain and satisfy us! This hits home for me right now as I have been trying to seek a purpose and contentment. As long as we are in his will and work for the Lord, he is our sustainer.
Love that God calls Abram to a new place in order to be able to use him and bless him. It is sometimes only after we step out in faith and do what God has called us to do, that he can really use us and bless us.
in Genesis 12, i love how Abraham had such immense faith. i can’t imagine how difficult it would be to pick up and move my life so suddenly. i aspire to be like Abraham
Two things that stuck out to me today:
1. From today’s reading in the Genesis plan – Noah’s “I will build” left a legacy of faith that directly led to Abram’s “I will go” a few chapters, but hundreds of years, later.
2. The word of God is just as important to us as physical food, it is required to sustain us
Jesus healing the son was the miracle that made the father believe. This passage of scripture made me think about my own relationship with the Lord and what it took for me to believe. He shows up to all of us in different ways according to what it requires for each person to truly believe in him and accept his salvation. I am so thankful that God loved me enough to meet me where I was and show me who He is that I might believe in him and have everlasting life.
Here’s something I found interesting about God scattering all the languages. In a culture class at my university we learned about “universal grammar” it’s essentially the idea that there is something similar underlying all languages (that even the man who came up with the idea can’t put his finger on.) Basically we all learn and use languages the same way. This passage really reminded me of that and I thought maybe that’s why all languages have this “similarity”….because at one point we all spoke the same language. Just a thought! Love how so many things point back to the bible in some way!
Love the passage with the woman at the well. Everything in the bible is truly about Jesus. The four streams in the garden of Eden. The streams that water the tree of the righteous man. And then jesus, God in flesh, living water. So good. I love how everything points to him .
How gracious is Jesus that he heals the official’s son, even as he knew that the official would not believe without a miracle? He could have easily said, “you of little faith” and let the official on in disbelief, but Jesus heals the son anyway. What a great reminder that Jesus does not owe us anything, but graciously provides us everything we need and more.
I find it interesting that the Samaritan woman went and told her friends about Jesus they believed her words but once they met Jesus themselves it became personal and they believed because they saw for themselves the power that an encounter with God almighty had.
I feel like that’s so true of people who grow up in the church. We constantly hear and talk about Jesus. But at some point, it has to become our own relationship and walk with Him!
The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them….” Genesis 11:6
I found this verse very insightful because it shows you just how God puts obstacles in our lives, not for the purpose of watching us suffer and muddle in defeat, but more so be He KNOWS that we can get through it if we believe in Him and His plan for us. Nothing about living a Christian life is supposed to be easy, just as building the Tower of Babel was not supposed to be an easy of a task as originally it was going to be, if we neglect to include one person who is there to help us and guide us – CHRIST! That is wh we are CHRISTians after all. The people of Babel felt that they were fine and dandy on their own, and this is why God decided to intervene – because they needed to be reminded of why and WHO they live by and for.
Everyone read this poem my friend wrote in the viewpoint of the Samaritan woman!! It’s so incredibly relatable to all of our lives. It’s a bit long but it’s so worth the read.
You were used to men who came,
used you for a time,
and left.
All you had ever known was empty love;
time
and time
again.
All you ever wanted
was to be wanted.
All you desired was to be desired.
You knew you had so much love to give;
but none of them would stay.
None of them would stay.
Was about you was so unworthy?
You wondered this every moment.
The women avoided you,
Outcasted you,
Their ferocious whispers piercing your shame
every time you walked by–
the men sought to use you
Since they knew that they could.
Could it be true
that you didn’t deserve love?
After all, you gave and gave,
But never received.
Was there anything more to give?
All you had left was shame.
None of the men could give love back to you–
at least the love
You knew
you needed.
The unfailing kind;
the lasting kind.
With each ounce of love given, the wounds grew deeper.
The need,
The ache,
The raw desperation for someone
Anyone
To touch your shame–To heal the shards piercing your mind–
To silence the voices that spoke,
(Screaming day and night)
“You are not worthy of love.”
You felt the pangs of thirst,
And wished for more.
What did you think,
What crossed your mind,
that one lonely afternoon
When you went with your empty bucket
To fill it again, as you had a million times before
(It always ran dry, as all things do)
And you saw him–
Another man,
Another of the kind that always failed you
(yet still you ran to them,
Always hoping for more
Always hoping for worth.)
When you looked at this complete stranger,
Did you think you knew him?
Did you think you understood his selfish ways?
since he was a man,
(and you had known many of those)
And especially because
he asked something of you–
As they always did.
“May I have a drink of your water?”
Did you roll your eyes,
While your heart drops es, as it had a million times,
Did you feel a stab,
That once again,
another man
Was asking you to pour something out for Him–
taking from you–
As you stood there thirsting?
Giving nothing in return?
Yet–
You were surprised that he even spoke to you at all,
Since he was clearly a Jew,
And you a Samaritan.
Why would he
Of all the selfish men,
Stoop to speak to you?
You were surprised when his eyes met yours.
You were surprised when his words were directed at you.
But alas, he was a man after all.
Didn’t they only seek to take and watch you run dry?
Yet something about his presence felt different.
you put walls up to protect yourself from this intuition in fear.
you questioned his motives.
But still, He spoke of strange things.
He spoke of eternal things.
Divine things you had never known.
He spoke of a God who had gifts for you,
(You wondered what you would owe this God in return?)
He spoke of you never thirsting again.
He spoke of giving to you,
Of satisfying your thirst.
Were these more empty promises?
He must be the same as the rest.
Countless times, you had expected them to be different.
But they never were.
So you fought.
You doubted.
(How could you not?)
You said,
“This well is too deep.”
You told him this was impossible;
That your thirst was too great,
The water required to satisfy your thirst
Would be impossible to obtain.
You questioned his ability to deliver.
But
Even so,
He told you he had water
that would quench your thirst forever.
This made you cringe with desire.
You felt the mortar of your walls crumbling.
But still, fear had you in chains.
He saw your doubt.
He saw your need.
He spoke of your pain.
He told you of your hurt.
He told you of your shame.
He skipped the nonsense, the flattery, the meaningless things–
He went straight to your heart.
No one had ever done this.
This man you had never met,
KNEW you in a way no man ever had before.
How could this be?
this man was different than all the rest.
He called you worthy of love,
Holy love.
He was not afraid of your shame.
He was not shaken or deterred
By your past;
By your present.
He didn’t want to use you,
Or take from you–
He wanted to give.
He spoke of a future where you would be loved.
Where you would never thirst.
His words healed the fears in your mind.
As he looked into your eyes,
He said,
I AM
the One
who saves.
You knew he was full of truth.
You knew he was different.
You knew he would spend the rest of eternity
Proving to you
That you are worthy
Of real, deep,
TRUE
Love.
So you left your own water,
(Which evaporated with each passing second–and would always run dry)
And ran in freedom.
You didn’t go back to the men waiting to take from you.
You were done with the dehydration they caused.
How could it be?
How could there be love for you,
Deeper than the depths of your thirst?
Stronger than the strength of your shame?
How could it be?
What a glorious mystery:
Your shame was deep;
But His grace was deeper still.
Gen 12:13 “Say that you are my sister, that it will go well with me…” Abraham saw with human eyes. He felt there was no other way out alive but to exaggerate, deceive. control! Can I give up control on things that do not matter for eternity? Even Good things but not God things.
Abram showed doubt in Gods promise when he told Sarai to pretend she was his sister….if God had promised to bless the world through his descendants then he should have believed that he would not b killed because of Sarai. How many times does fear lead us to doubt Gods promises?
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
Love that Yeshua was led, fed and had no other need other than God! I pray to hunger for only You, and You more Lord! Let my wants and desires be You, needs and stresses be You, heart all in and on You! Root me in You Lord, I need to THRIVE in You!
God said “scatter and fill the earth” and man instead said “let’s build a city right here and make a name for ourselves!” God scattered the languages because that was the only way to make man follow his orders to scatter and fill the earth. At least, that’s what I got out of it! I think it is very cool though to think of
In my homeschool curriculum for my kindergartener it explains that because man did not obey God’s command to spread the earth, he confused their languages so that they could not communicate. This caused them to stop building the Tower of Babel. They could only communicate with their families. With so many languages it made it difficult for the people to buy things, build, etc. So the people gave up and families started moving away from the city.
I just love how relatable the Characters in the bible are! Genesis is an amazing book! And the Samaritan woman, I love that story! Her faith led her to tell others who then opened their hearts to Christ for themselves! But it started with her discipleship! Definitely something for me to apply!!
What Jesus did was amazing! With a couple words he managed to heal a sick person who was far away. It amazes me the miracles that he can preform. I’m so glad that we have a God like Him!
So honored to start this plan and determined to get through it! I’m finding your comments really encouraging.
FYI I just found a movie called “Gospel of John” that narrates the entire book.
It will go great with this first book!
My translation doesn’t change when I select any of the options. Is anyone else having this problem? My husband is able to switch translations on his He Reads Truth app with no problems.
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” I am not sure I have thought on this long enough, but I like the idea that God is working me for eternity and so thankful he is not done yet.
Didn’t a portion of the earlier Genesis reading say that God shorted man’s lifespan to 120 years or so? But now these men are all living between 400 and 500 again. Very random thought and not exactly important, but it came to mind as I was reading!
I thought the same. But as you kept reading, you notice that eventually one of the descendent sons of Noah’s sons does die at 119 years. It continually shortened after the flood, 400, 200 and then the 119. I also noticed they started to have their own children at 30 years or younger instead of 100+.
Reading this part of Genesis helped it make sense how just a handful of people could have populated the earth… They were having kids upwards of 5 centuries! Something we cannot comprehend today!
The people building Babel all spoke the same language. Once it was destroyed that’s when everyone spoke different languages so that no one could attempt to build Babel again.
I noticed that the Gen 10:5, the NIV reads “5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)”,but later speaks of the different languages spoken because of the Tower of Babylon. I’ve never taken note of this before. Did that confuse anyone else?
The way Genesis is written is sometimes so confusing! From what I understand it was typical for a Hebrew recount of events to first be told as sort of an over view (Moses’ sons lineage which says they had different languages) then in more detail, the Tower of Babel actually happened before the people split according to their language etc. has anyone heard it explained differently?
I’m confused because it’s said
5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)
Then in Gen. 11:1 said they all spoke the same language
Much of the bible is not in chronological order, it is true that first babel happened and then everything else occurred later on. Often it can be confusing, but remember, much of it is written down like a history text, I doubt they even had a clue that this would end up in our modern and translated bible. In the Jewish and “Old Testament” culture it made perfect sense. Most the books are not in order, let alone their chapters.
Thanks for that reminder. I have to admit that I too was confused by this. I was mindful of this fact with earlier passages, but this one puzzled me. Thanks for your input.
While it’s okay to listen to others. I pray to hear Jesus voice for myself. But one hope is if someone encounters Him then I know He can be just as present in my life, and He is. We each must know Him and experience a relationship with Him for ourselves. I pray to have a desire to continuously be before Him and experience His love for me.
Kathleen
This is how I interpret worshipping in Spirit and Truth. When Christ died on the cross and rose again, He took away all the bad things we’ve done and may do in the future. When we come to know Him as our saviour, we say sorry for all the things we’ve done and Christ is then able to put His Holy Spirit in us. He is part of us and who we are. It is the Spirit within us that is able to worship ‘in spirit and in truth’. God bless you.
I like to think of it as the Titanic of ancient times… (When they said “not even God could sink this ship!”)
You see, their intentions were not pure, it was so that they could get recognition for something, for themselves. It was not for God’s glory or to even see if they could reach heaven to reach God. God sees the heart and I think they thought they were unstoppable and able to do anything w/o God and so God had to show them that they couldn’t.
MacArthur commentary also says that they were resisting the command to disperse and be fruitful and multiply. They wanted to stay where they were and not be scattered.
What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth? It’s repeated twice in scripture. ” yet a time is coming and and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the father in the spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the father seeks. GOD IS SPIRIT and his worshipers must worship in the spirit and in the truth. I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts !
I just finished my first semester of college and I can’t tell you how many times the story of the Samaritan woman has come up in my life these past few months. I can definitely relate to her and her shameful past. But I am thankful for the Lord’s constant reminder that we are loved despite sinful, selfish choices and it’s never too late to return to the Lord and practice His will. God often really uses us at our most broken and our weakest points transform into our
I wonder why God wanted to stop the humans from working together when they started to build the tower. I understand that He wouldn’t want humans to become too proud or arrogant for their accomplishment and confuse themselves for God- but I don’t really understand why he introduced confusion just to keep them apart. Any thoughts?
Ultimately it was part of his plan to fill the earth. The builders were trying to go against God’s perfect design to be dispersed over the earth(vs4). The Hebrew for confuse in this confound…it’s interesting to read the various definitions for confound, one definition is put to shame which would be appropriate for a prideful people who were attempting to reach the heavens, and devise their own plan for the people of the earth. It was never plan B for the Lord to confuse the language and in the end that’s enough for me ☺️
How interesting to find out more of the story than you were ever told! I’m fascinated by the fact that there is more to it. It makes me so happy to open my heart to God and see what he has in store for not only me but for everyone.
The beauty of being a few days behind in this study: the multitude and richness of posts here!! I could spend hours looking through these comments. So exhilarating to see so much discussion of God’s Word!
I had no idea Pharoah took Sarai as his wife!!! How about that? I’ve heard Abraham and Sarah stories for years and never knew that detail. God will teach us new things in his word every time we read it!!!
Margaret, you’re exactly right, Abram’s lie showed a lapse in trust and it was not ok. In fact, because of his lie he brought trouble upon the house of Pharaoh and was in essence kicked out. So just because it doesn’t specifically say that God was mad at Abram for lying, you can see that there were some pretty serious consequences for it.
This is interesting bc we see that first God blessed Abram, through Pharoh’s gift of sheep & livestock. The Bible doesn’t say here if Abram was allowed to take his accumulated wealth with him. There is a lot in this passage & I hope to dig into it more.
It’s ok. Your not alone! Pray for wisdom and understanding. Also-look for commentaries and don’t be afraid to read slower and take the time to look up things you can’t pronounce or understand!
I just had a big lightbulb moment…
Genesis 11:28- Lot’s dad passed away, so Lot was probably pretty much like Abram’s son. So it makes sense that Abram would travel with Lot and worry about him so much, especially sense Abram wanted a child of his own….
Love what my study Bible points out about Abram calling his wife his sister in order to protect himself: Abram’s lack of faith in God’s provision created an ethical dilemma (for Pharaoh). Sometimes lying may seem justified, but God expects us to trust Him and do what is right, even if the consequences appear unfavorable (Abram’s death)
Well, he did get kicked out because of it. And I have to imagine he probably feared for his life when he was called before Pharaoh because of his lie. It was probably only God’s protection that kept him from being killed for it.
Similarly the people of Babel were not seeking Him first but sought to honor themselves.
I love seeing His desire that we seek Him above all woven through these early scriptures.
I agree with so many of these comments. One of the things that struck me in Sarai being taken to pharaoh as HIS WIFE. That means because of her husbands choices she was forced to sleep with another man and then sent back to her husband. For one, I’d be furious. And two, I’m amazed at how God uses people who have some serious decision making issues (later Sarah has her servant sleep with Abraham resulting in Ishmael) and who sin horrible and still does amazing things through them. Because God is bigger and because God is amazing. It like God is saying to me, “Lauren you’re gonna screw up, you’re gonna think your choice is the best choice after weighing the options and it won’t be. But even though you do, I love you and I can make something out of x,y,z!”
Wow, I just about got goosebumps reading your response Lauren! God’s love for us, regardless of what we do or have done, is so amazing and unconditional
Love the fact that is inviting us daily to drink His living water. Living water that will quench thirsty souls. Once we drink the living water, God will create a spring in our heart. The spring that will sustains and satisfies our sou soul. Spring that well up and overflows to bless other. Jesus is the true thirst quencher. Only Him can satisfy my soul!
I’ve always thought of his words “everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” as the pure definition of faith. His water is your faith in God the other water material needs. No matter how many material things you “drink” it won’t fill the void in your heart like his water.
I love that Jesus shared the first task of his ministry (baptism) with the disciples! An encouragement to empower those around rather than do the work all on our own.
The woman at the well. I so identify with her. I have a past when I was so mad at God I didn’t care what he thought.. I had very little self respect and was convinced that to get a guy I had to keep him by sleeping with him. So when I made the decision to come back to church I came back with so much shame and fear… And he welcomed me like the prodigal daughter I was. But when jesus tells her nope your not married you have been many times and you aren’t married to the man you are with now… I can just imagine that shame, and then the realization that the past is the past and we are still worthy of love and by gods AMAZING grace we can be saved.
So was the tower destroyed because they were doing it for their own good and not His? I’m a little confused on why he didn’t want all the people united by one language. I am currently in the middle of making some big life changes so all of these trust verses are hitting hard- except I do not know what they are telling me to do! Which makes one descision of mine for God versus against? Do I trust that this is te path created for me and make the descisions I please, knowing that it is already planned and in these new changes show grace, love and act in the way of Him?
Hi Alyssa! Yes that is why … He judged the people by confounding the language, which may appear as though He intended it as punishment alone, but if you really think about it – He gracefully saved them from their weakness of pride “let us make us a name for ourselves…” , which many times is the intention deep down inside of us. We say we want His will, but really we’re just praying that His will happens to everything we want… And everything is dandy until He doesn’t pick what we expected.
Alyssa, I was stumped by the same passage. Thanks for asking such honest questions. I will be in prayer for you as you go through these changes in your life. There’s an Oswald Chambers quote that says something like, “leave the irreparable past in His hands and step into the irresistible future with Him!”
Gen 11:4 May we not live to make a name for ourselves. John 4:26 I am the One speaking to you. I am … So moving. And Kate Bradley has a beautiful faith!
I’m so struck as I read about the Lord’s reaction to people seeking to build a name for themselves that He has not called me to build my name. I’m called to build His name and His Kingdom.
I’m not sure why, but I tend to read through all of this really late at night, so I’m sorry for joining the party so late! But I am just SO thankful for this community! I love reading the Scripture and then reading through all the comments because y’all help me to understand the passage better! SO thankful for each of y’all!
One of the things that stood out to me was the disciples’ response in John 4. I love that when they returned from getting food they didn’t question why Jesus was talking (let alone revealing who He was!) to this Samaritan woman (v. 27). Instead, they were amazed! I can only imagine what they all must’ve been thinking when they walked up on this conversation! I also loved Jesus’ response to the disciples’ urging to eat, when He replies, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about…my food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.” (v. 32, 34) Wow! Just as food fuels our body physically, Jesus’ desire to fulfill God’s will fueled Him! Praying for that to be my food from this moment on!
When someone replies to your post, it connects with a line. If there get to be more than 1 or 2 comments on a post, it lets you know by saying, “+1 reply”, etc.
If someone writes a long post, they shorten it an add the ellipses for people to click on to see more. :) Does that help?
Does anyone find Jesus a little bit…for lack of a better word…sassy? I love how he is so matter of fact with the people with which he is speaking. He asks questions he KNOWS the answers to because he wants to see their response…even though he already knows that as well!! It’s incredible to see how truly all knowing our God is.
I was grappling with this thought too, even while I was reading the first few chapters in Genesis. God asks both Adam and Cain questions He already knows the answer to. I was praying and seeking why He might do that and what it reveals about God when it struck me that maybe He asks such questions to show that He cares – to invite us in to converse with Him, to relate with Him. He could just stand there and hold His foreknowledge above our heads and just simply skip the conversations, but He doesn’t. He invites people in to talk with Him. I think it’s amazing.
What really hit me tonight was the latter half of John 4 where Jesus heals the official’s son. It absolutely blew my mind tonight with how trusting the official was. I mean, if you really think about it, the official had never met Jesus before. He had heard of this man Jesus, may have heard that He had done some things no one else had, but he had never met Jesus. For all he knew, people could have just been stretching the truth. But yet, he had the courage to walk up to a stranger and ask Him to come heal his son. And then, after his courageous encounter with Jesus, the man just leaves after Jesus says, “Go. Your son will live.” The official had such deep faith and trust in this stranger that he just walked away after those five words. How inspiring is this?! I know so many times in my life I’ll bring something to the Lord and even after praying and reading the Bible and relishing in His promises, I still find myself going, “Okay, God, are You sure You’ve got this? I mean I know You’re God, but I’d still like to know that You can do this.” How often am I not content with His simple promises? How often do I long for more instead of just simply trusting in His goodness? I’m SO inspired by this man’s faith – I long to trust like that official.
Love your post! So very true and something I had not thought so intently about! It’s easy to question the Lord even with little things ; but the amount of faith it must have taken to trust his son’s life with Jesus is hard for me to conceive, but definitely something I strive for.
I think in previous of the daily reading it stated it was due to not being over populated… Then God stopped man at 120 years… I could be wrong but I remember reading that in this study.. I think..
Amber.. No one really knows but it is said that Adam (the first man to walk the earth) was the longest living person he was perfect. That is until sin entered the world. Sin is destructive and by the time of Abraham and his son the life spam had shrunk incredibly and no in our life that is also why people don’t live as long and even though the creation of meds and medical procedures God is still more powerful than anything! And again this might all be wrong but no one really knows the perfect answer
I’ve always understood that from the time of eating the fruit in the Garden the world began to decay and thus our life spans also have shortened as our body’s respond to sin.
What I learned this time in the reading, however, was that until the Fall Adam and Eve also had access to the Tree of Life and were basically immortal. Separating them from the Tree of Life was the major reason they were driven from the garden. Who knew?!
Abram depended on his well-intentioned plans, instead of trusting God to go before him and his family when entering Egypt. How often my plans are made for good reasons, but don’t include God!
Short answer: Yes!
Long answer: I will say there is so much richness to understanding who these people are and their family dynamics. I just think that when you’re reading the bible in a year you don’t really have time to work thoughtfully through the lineages and delve deep there. But it’s worth doing, maybe just not during this study.
Yes, yes, yes… So many times before I’ve just skipped over all the names I can’t pronounce and got back to the “good part”. I was really challenged this time though to read it all, and I’m glad I did as I learned some things I didn’t know before, but it was difficult. You are not alone!
It’s interesting how, like in the case of Abraham, he is a descendant of Shem, one of Noah’s “good sons.” Even to this day, genealogy is very important to the Jews. :)
Yes, but that Nimrod verse made me do a double take ‘he is a mighty hunter before The Lord; that is why it is said, “like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before The Lord.” Name name name, lineage, name, wait what?!
Not only was the lineage important to the Jews, but all of this is vital to the scripture to show collectively how Jesus came from a pure untainted bloodline. If he was to be a pure and holy man, he must come from that bloodline.
Love this part: 42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
I love John 4:13-14! I am a college student and have put my relationship with God on the back burner for a while now. These verses really stood out to me because without Him, I will always be thirsty. However, with Him, I will never thirst and will have a “spring of water welling up to eternal life!” How uplifting and exciting this is!
Last night, I dreamt that I was thirsty and kept drinking more and more water, but I was still left thirsty. Then, what a surprise to read God’s word this morning telling me to come and drink! I felt convicted to stop filling my precious jar of clay with things in this world that do no satisfy. Lord, please write your commandments on my heart so that I may hold fast to your truth and live a life that glorifies you.
How beautiful it is that the woman at the well was not offended by Christ when he told her the sins she commits?! She saw the Messiah and immediately told the others in town about Him! This is how we should act when we are convicted by sins…so many times I run from my sins and act as if Christ doesn’t know them. And it isn’t that He just KNOWS her sins (or ours), He wants to deliver her from the sins and He does the same with us daily! What a beautiful picture also of how WE as The Church should view sin…notice He doesn’t shame her, He loves her regardless and tells her how to be BETTER.
Thank you for this!!! This is so true. So many time I have tried to run from my sins as if he doesn’t already know them & FORGIVES! <3 Grace upon grace, I am forever thankful for that.
As I read Genesis 11: 7-9 I never noticed that it said God had scattered them over the face of the whole earth! I thought he just confused their language! So He actually scattered people across the earth… I always wondered how people actually made their way in the VERY beginning. Makes me sound silly but I never knew that!
As I was reading, I noticed a pretty great parallel between Abraham and the royal official. Gen.12:4 “So Abraham left, as the Lord had told him.” John 4:50 “The man took Jesus at his word and departed.” Both of these men had so much faith that they trusted what the Lord had promised them, and left, whether that was to pursue a new life in a different country and trust that God would guide them, or to return to a son and trust that God had healed him. Bottom line: Wow. I want to have THAT kind of trust in God. Praying for that today.
That struck me too!!! I can just imagine my response to my son being healed!! I know I probably would not have just departed after that… I would have probably stood there with a puzzled look and kept questioning whether it would really happen. Lord change me!
The first part of Gen 12 is really quite shocking. God tells Abraham to get up and leave everything and everyone he knows and move to a different country – a country Abraham had never been to! And Abraham obeys. Faith like this grows and grows. You don’t suddenly arrive with it. Faith increases as we see God’s faithfulness over and over again in our own lives. (Like in Jn 4 – the neighbors SAW and believed).
This really spoke to me today, I’m a person who really needs to see things just being a visual person. And Jesus telling them to believe without seeing was amazing. God always speaks to you in the way you need it!
John 4:24 really spoke to me today. We must worship in His spirit and truth. To me this means that I must read the word, and indulge myself and my family in the work of the Lord!
I’m interested in this as well! I’m wondering if He is telling the disciples that the are reaping the benefits that they have not earned because people such as the woman at the fountain brought the Samaritans to Jesus and not the disciples?
The one who reaps draws a wage: meaning the person who baptizes a new believer or gets to pray a prayer of salvation with someone gets a reward/benefit/joy from that opportunity
Reaper is the one that Harvests a crop for eternal life: sees one commit to the saving knowledge of Christ
The sower is the one who plants the seeds. Spiritually these are the people who have encounters that witness to someone or share life with someone or maybe even share the gospel but don’t see them come to faith.
They can be glad with the reaper that, together, by their combined efforts people are being saved
Rarely does one’s conversion story involve only their experience of one missionary/friend/witness. Multiple people sow and usually only a few people are present for the harvest
when you came to Christ, who was there? Everyone that ever pointed you in the direction of faith? Likely they would rejoice at your trusting Christ as a sower or a reaper.
Great points Beth! To add to your comment, I also see it as a humbling experience in the sense that not a single person can take credit for all that. The word says that no one comes to the Son unless the Father draws him. We all play a part in His great work but ultimately no one can say they do more than the other and none surely play a larger part than Christ. Just thankful He lets us be apart of it all! :)
Something that really stood out to me was the part where Jesus said the disciples had a saying that the harvest is still four months away. Then, he basically said “Open your eyes! It’s here!” That really spoke to me because I often think God is going to move in the future and fail to see ways He’s already moving now.
I think the reapers and sowers also connects to yesterday’s passage in Genesis about how are a a tree the is fruitful. We bear fruit so that others may see the light in us that comes from God and find nourishment and satisfaction in Him ( connects to John 4 also). Then with the reapers and sowers, I feel like Jesus is giving his followers spiritual authority. Like the fruit, we have life giving words to give and there are many many people who are starving for truth. We need not wait around for an invitation to show people love and God. It’s a pretty inspiring and convicting passage!
I feel like Jesus was saying that the harvest is right in front of your eyes: the Samaritan woman and her people. You don’t have to wait till you get to the next city or the next season of your life. Everyone we meet is ripe for harvesting for His kingdom.
I was just looking at my husband’s life application bible regarding this very part. The notes stated ‘ sometimes Christians excuse themselves from witnessing by saying that their family or friends aren’t ready to believe. Jesus, however, makes it clear that around us a continual harvest waits to be reaped. Don’t let Jesus find you making excuses. Look around. You will find people ready to hear God’s word.’
Reading this was another ‘aha’ moment for me.
draws a wage. (v.36) The work, or at least part of it, had been done, and others were working hard. The disciples were not to think that the harvest was far off. Jesus was not speaking of grain but of the “crop for eternal life.” There was urgency, for the crop would not wait. glad together. There is no competition among Christ’s faithful servants, and sower and reaper share in the joy of the crop.
Others. (v.38) May refer to John the Baptist and his supporters, on whose work the apostles would build. Or perhaps Jesus was looking further back, to the prophets and other godly people of old. Either way, he expected the apostles to be reapers as well as sowers.
Like so many others have commented, the faith the man with the sick son had is inspiring. He never questioned Jesus or his abilities, hesitated or worries that Jesus wouldn’t come through. He fully believed in his words. The man makes it look so simple! Just think how easy and worry free our lives would be if we didn’t question Jesus and what he has planned for us. I definitely am inspired by the man and his faith in Jesus. We all could try and live like that man.
Absolutely! The whole chapter of John 4 had me in awe today. We need to be trusting in our God that he will always do what he says and that he will protect.
I see the contrast in the Genesis passage and how Sarai was treated (like an object) vs. how the Samaritan woman was treated by Jesus. Jesus made a point to emphasize the fact that He knew her situation intimately, and had compassion on her. Although her sins were wrong, Jesus cared enough to look past the sin into the deeper issue of why she had made those choices. It was very likely that none of her husbands had treated her well, and she was longing to be deeply loved and known. What a sweet reminder that Jesus knows our hearts, and wants to fill us with a love that truly satisfies, if we let Him in.
I have a companion book that I’m reading alongside this year in the Word that has biographies of each woman mentioned in the Bible. One thing I found interesting is that Abram wanted to (and did) pass Sarai off as his sister in front of Pharaoh. God brought disease to the Egyptians because of this deceit and according to historian Josephus, it was likely Sarai herself who told Pharaoh that she was Abram’s wife so that the plague could end.
The author says she was “courageous and unafraid” in spite of the fact that her husband was neither of those things and that it was by her own fidelity that her escape was possible.
We have such a rich history of bold women in our Spiritual family. :)
The feminist side of me is really disappointed with Abraham sacrificing his wife to the pharaoh, for his own comfort and protection. And I’m shocked that the heathen Pharaoh had more morals that Abraham had. Sometimes it is really hard not to be biased against the Old Testament. Life was hard for women back then. But. That’s not what matters. In the end God put all things to right. God is a Just God. Even though the Pharaoh paid for Abraham’s deceit. Helps me to remember that my actions could end up hurting others a lot more than the ever hurt me.
I agree with Ruth, how she pointed out the contrast between Abram’s view of women, and Jesus’ view & treatment of women. As a fellow feminist, I find great joy and freedom in how Jesus always elevates His daughters.
My brother just recently claimed his belief (or unbelief, I should say) in atheism. There has been a lot of bad news in this season of life for me, but as you can imagine, this one takes the cake. For a time I thought, “God, why?” And “how?” And “are You sure You know what You’re doing?” But the more I read His truth, I’m reminded that He certainly does know what He is doing. And I believe He’s not done yet. I love verse 50 in John. “The man took him at his word.” Praying for face to face moments!
My brother is also currently working on his testimony in this way. I notice that oftentimes when we’re talking things will come out and I know he’s not truly “an atheist” but going through stuff in a different way than I would. I will say a prayer for your brother! :)
John 4:50 just rocked my world. Obedience is such a struggle for me some days. I know God has laid something on my heart and I sit there and question but are you sure is that really what you want me to do Lord. I love that in John 4:50 Jesus says Go, your son will live and the man WENT!! He didn’t say but wait are you sure or no Jesus you don’t understand my son is dying I need you to come heal him. He doesn’t question God declaration of his boy living he obeys going home honoring Jesus and believing in the fulfillment of what God had told him. Your son will live!
Alrxandra,
What you said speaks so much truth! I feel I’m needing to work on discipline and obedience, and wow what mountains God can move! We just need a little faith!
Yes, I also found that to be so cool. Both Abram and the official trusted that God would do what He said He would do. God told Abram go to the place that I WILL show you. Not go to this place that you already know. The official was told go, your son WILL live. I want to have the same faith and obedience. To go on the promise of Gods action and to trust that He will do what He promises. More so, I want to be the type of woman who follows Gods prompting with unwavering faith and without demanding more answers to my questions.
Oh Alexandra I love this so much. I in the same situation right now. I kept asking if He was sure about what He had laid in my heart. If my decision was the correct one. then it just came to me like a breeze of fresh air, I will trust Him without asking and do things without fear because I know He will be there to catch me if I fall
It struck me how quickly the Samaritan woman and then her town accepted Christ! They were so hungry for truth. Unlike the Jews who continually needed signs from Jesus in order for just a few to believe him.
It’s interesting to me how John is painting the Samaritans as the example to follow in this passage. Which is a pretty radical message since the Samaritans were viewed as “less than” at the time.
Jesus took the “less than” people and raised them up not only by treating them respectfully despite the norm of Jews shunning them but also by insuring their example would be included in John’s gospel for others to read about including us thousands of years later. :)
this is beautiful. I especially loved how she just left what she came to get to go and testify about Christ. this is what we ought to do and be, fearlessly and boldly leave what is less important to testify about our saviour :-)
“like the city that nurtured my greed and my pride, I stretched my arms into the sky, I cry Babel! Babel! Look at me now, then the walls of my town, they come crumbling down.” (Babel, by Mumford and Sons)
I finally understand the song, I had no clue about the Biblical references. Oh, just imagine what we could do now if we were unified like the one in Christ that we are!!
Kara, I am amazed by the secular things that we can find Biblical truths in today. In a world that Is falling, we find that the Bible is everlasting, no matter the form It is presented in. Thank you for this- it gives me a bigger picture and connects the Old Testament with modern day for me.
Side fact…. Apparently In the band one mate is Christian and another is atheist and so on and so forth. Reminds me that God has placed his people in situations with the purpose of bringing his kingdom here on earth! Many of the other lyrics have interesting parallels to biblical stories and convey the tension between the heathen lifestyle and the Christian one.
I think it’s so beautiful after reading to come over on the comments and see a community of women excited about God and His truth! Keep it up ladies, God is good!
Crazy as this may sound, a few of the verses that hit me were in the genealogy part where it lists Abraham’s fathers name(Terah), and the fact that one of Abraham’s brother died, while specifically nothing this point ‘his father was still alive’. While nothing more is said after that, I just wonder why that specific point was included there? Maybe the overall conclusion (without detailing more points) is that while we see the ending blessings of Abraham and his family, there was much sorrow also…
13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:13-14
This is a much needed remind that true life, true contentment is found in Christ and Christ alone. The promise of contentment this world offers is fleeting. Christ alone is able to quench my soul’s thirst. The pursuit contentment and peace outside of Christ is a fleeting pursuit. The life an peace that Christ gives, is not temporal but eternal.
I want to have faith in Him that is not dependent on how He answers my prayers as we see with the official who does not believe until his son is healed.
God is all knowing. Gentle. Present. And He offers living water! May I drink of it daily as It sustains me.
I felt the sane way.. If it was my child, would I have had the faith to leave? I think I would want to draggggg Jesus to my house to confirm he healed him!!
I also thought about this point Katy. I think our prayers should be something like this “thank you God for what you are about to do today, as you have already planned it, give me the wisdom and strength to ~accept~ your already planned will and understand that you have allowed it in my life…”
Yes Donna, you are right we must all learn compassion, tolerance and acceptance of each other, we are His children, brothers and sisters in Christ. Something I need to constantly be reminding myself of. Satan is always trying to get his way, he is so cunning and powerful.
41 And because of his words many more became believers.
My prayer for myself and all of you is like the Samaritan woman, that our words and experiences with the Lord lead others to faith through Christ. What joy to know that because of our words and tellings of Jesus, the glory will be spread and people will be saved to an eternity with Abba!
I love this passage of the Samaritan women. I want to drink of this living water to never thirst again. She didn’t need her hat anymore. She could only talk about the Lord she had met. And people believed.
It his is in stark contrast to Abraham, the chosen father of the Jewish people. He would have many offspring and lead a great nation yet he sinned against God by pimping out his wife to save his life. I feel bad for Sarai to be used like that but can understand how when someone is desperate they will do anything to survive.
I’m always in awe at the story of Babel. To hear that they were “one people” and that whatever they set their mind to they were going to accomplish makes me wonder what would happen if today we acted and unified truly as “one people” in the spirit of God and decided to build something for the Kingdom. Too often the church body confuses things with the multiple agendas and the conflicting interests. I’m sure the leaders of that time just simply said “we are building a tower” and the group said ok. Not “well why does it have to be a tower? Why can’t it be a bridge or a ship?” This year I want to practice humility so that I can be a better servant.
While I like your point of creating something greater for the Lord as a unified body, I looked at it a differently Deira. “They said to each other…Then they said (again), “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower…so that we may make a name for ourselves…” It seems to me wisdom & discernment was lacking…the fool igniting the fool per say. And ending result was to make a “name for themselves” not honor God. I just wondered how many times we sit around, discuss mindless things, without pondering on God’s word & His will? Then, coming to similar conclusions to seek our interest verses God?
Your thought process in regards to this story really helped convict me. How often do I set out to do something for my glory rather than God’s? I’ve never really put much thought into this story before, but now t convicts me. There is so much to be gained when we look at the OT as more than just stories of old.
I pondered on that too. that they were all about making a name for themselves and not exalting the greatest name that ever lived.. we need to do everything, to give glory to God.
Or, another way to look at that, maybe,especially if we are all encouraging one another to be imitators of Christ, might be to pray for strength and extra measures of love and compassion for one another so that these critical spirits don’t have to be the norm. We are all in this work together, all priests in this kingdom work . His Spirit lives within us now, right? And didn’t he tell us we’d be better off because of it?
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” I am so thankful for Jesus’ presence that lives in us as a spring of water- a living source that is constant and nourishing! His presence is what I need to grow strong in Him. And as it wells up in me, it pours into the lives of others. Thank you Jesus!
Yes Lauren so true what you say, I was talking to someone about that same thing today. Also feel that once we get too familiar with our ‘prophets’ we start to be critical, for that reason I think it’s a good rule that pastors/ministers do not stay too long in one place.
John 4:39 From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things I have done,”
Everyone has a story… God uses it to fulfill His mission! May we be compelled to share ours!!
What struck me this morning was Genesis 11:7 ‘Come let us go down’. As I was reading this I was reminded of the use of ‘us’ in Genesis 1:26 and felt as though God was telling me that ‘us’ is the Holy Trinity and that Jesus was there through it all. Instead of thinking of the Bible as Old Testament without Jesus and New Testament with Jesus, I feel like God is reminding me today that Jesus is there from the beginning and through it all. Praise be to God!
As I was reading about the people building the Tower of Babel, I was thinking that we are in that place right now because all that man imagines; he thinks that he should do without thinking if the consequences. Also, I mourned the fact that human actions caused a rift between us. Imagine if we all had one language and could understand one another.
Gen 12:1-3, 7 overwhelmed me afresh this morning. I’ve read this passage countless times in my life yet the truths therein hit me as never before! The Lord exceeds mere fulfillment of His promises: He does so while putting His power, His authorship, His glory on display! He did not simply grant Abram an inheritance as one would give a gift. Rather He bestowed to Abram that which belonged to an opposing people and fulfilled His covenant while growing Abram’s faith, stretching his dependance of God’s delivering hand. There could be no doubt that God was the one true God, mighty and faithful, above every earthly power and authority. He fulfilled this covenant not based on any merit in Abram but by the steadfastness of His character! Grace upon grace! Our God has always been and will always be great in loving kindness to those upon whom He sets His affection. What great love is this: that God FIRST loved!
Isn’t it wonderful assurance for us as women that Jesus chose a Samaritan women to spread the good news about him. No matter what we have done in our lives if we trust Jesus we are 100% acceptable in His sight and have the wonderful task of spreading the message about the true source of Living Water.
Jesus was a pretty radical feminist for his day! We kind of miss out on that a bit without knowing the culture context that he was working in. He was… is! a pretty neat guy! :)
He was definitely a non-conformist! This really challenges me to think about how I tend so often to conform to the world. I so want to be more like Him in His boldness and His way of challenging the status quo, but also do it with His spirit.
So challenged today by John 4:34-35 – because this is our/my work too – to finish the work of the Father, by seeing the ripe fields and heading out as servants into the harvest. I have been convicted over Christmas by opportunities I let go out of my own lack of gumption to potentially be ridiculed by unbelieving family members. Lord, give me faith, obedience and boldness. In your mighty Name.
Amanda, I am praying for you. I, too, have unbelieving family, and when I went to the mission field they gave me a very hard time and were extremely critical of me. To this day, I see how the Lord is using my obedience to Him to change my family. Keep putting God and His vision first and He will make a way for you and your family. Praying for the Lord to comfort and strengthen you. ~Tracy
I love in John vrs 50 where is says “the man took Him at His word”…..how many times have I heard something but then had to question it over and over again? My big decision this year is to take God at His word, to not be so critical or doubting. Praying for faith because I know I have a lot of doubts, or rather a hard time of trusting on the first time.
God placed the cherubim in front of the gate of the Tree of Life because he said that since man has eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, it is not good for man to live forever. In this same way, it was not good for all of man to share the same language to conspire together. Gen 3:22-24
I’m thinking about how the Samaritan woman felt when she shared that she knew about the coming of the Messiah, and how Christ responds with “I, the one speaking to you — I am he.”. I can’t imagine what went through her head at the moment upon learning that the Messiah she know of was standing RIGHT there, SPEAKING to her. Gives me chill
I wonder why God “confused the people” then dispersed them
48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” – John 4:48 this really grabbed me and made me think how many times we ask God for signs. Do we sometimes miss our blessing because we are not seeing it because we do not notice the small blessings but instead look for larger signs and wonders?
The culture was that Samaritans and Jews don’t associate but in His kind and gracious nature, Jesus revealed His identity to the Samaritan woman at the well and in that moment encouraged her that the time had come when it didn’t matter where they worshipped, but that they worshiped in Spirit and in truth!
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
I love the women and the well story. It is beyond beautiful!
Reading this makes me realize how much fair these people had to have. It also shows how much God truly knows about us and how he has the answers to everything even if it doesn’t make sense at the time. God is so good!
love the story of Jesus and the samaritan woman. when the woman went back to bring the other samaritans to Jesus at the well and with vs. 42 where the samaritans said that they believe not just because of her but because they heard Jesus for themselves. it’s so important for us to share the gospel and it’s also important for people to see God for themselves as well.
Such a cool story of Jesus and the woman at the well!
Man this verse brought me so much peace, as I’m currently fasting.
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God sees all that we ate and have done and loves us still. That is the miracle
Nothing is impossible and if you ask the lord for something and believe on your heart, it’ll come true ♥️♥️
Yes!! I was thinking this same thing when I read it! I loveeeee The Chosen!
THIS!!!! ❤️
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“I am he” – how often does Jesus meet us and we do not recognise or acknowledge the truth of who he is? Praise Him for his love and mercy towards us!!
35Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
The field is ready for harvesting! Use us Lord!!
I love the offical who came, told Jesus his needs and left believing Jesus n that his was well!!
I love the story of the woman at the well, for so many reasons. If you haven’t already, I recommend reading Caryn Reeder’s piece on this beautiful story.
The story of Babel definitely brings a new meaning to the word Babel!
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The city of the woman from the well began to believe her and Christ… women back them had no respect or honor, typically their word meant nothing. It is mind blowing that because that woman shared her testimony, people believed!!! So encouraging!!!
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I found the story at the Tower of Babel interesting as well! From a young age I do remember learning about this Bible story, but I thought they were trying to “reach Heaven” and that is why God stopped them. However the chapter actually highlights Gods acknowledgement that nothing they set their minds to would be impossible if they were able to work together. This serves, to me, as a great reminder that we are stronger together and community is incredibly important. A connected church that communicates and focuses on their mission and goals can do great and mighty things for the people of their community.
Reading that Jesus decided to stay in Samaria for 2 more days because the people asked him to stay longer really left an impression on me. It’s simple but to me, it shows that he really came to this earth to serve and love on people.
I didn’t consider this when reading, but wow – a great illustration that you pointed out of his mission and desire to serve and love people.
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If anyone reading this has not yet watched “The Chosen ” , please do! The final episode of Season 1 is the story from John 4 with the woman at the well. So powerful!
I wondered about the Babel story too. The SRT podcast also had more to say about this story when they discussed their Genesis study book. I think it was January 2020.
I wondered this too. About Babel and why confuse them with their languages? Very interesting
Hi! I was confused about this too. Reading my commentary helped me a lot. It said that the people say “let us make” which is mirroring what God says in Genesis 1. This statement reveals that the people were thinking they were their own gods and could create perfect, greater things that the Lord Himself. They were dishonoring the ways that the Lord had saved them.
Hope this helps :)
I’m late to doing this today. I learned so much! I love how this seemed to be so focused on worship. And how careful you have to be with it. You have to make sure you’re worshipping the right things.
The things of this world will never sustain us- it will always leave us wanting and chasing for more. But a personal relationship with Jesus makes us truly content
Every number has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to God!
I loved today’s reading! I have always been interested in family geology, but I thought we only knew Jesus’ history back to Abraham. Now I can trace it back to Adam, the first man! I also think was important to notice that the man remembered exactly when Jesus said “your son will be healed.” I probably wouldn’t remember the time:) Day 5 complete!
So grateful for the comments that help link the passages together! Am thoroughly enjoying reading the Bible in this way and how wonderful to connect with all you ladies and speak the true words of our Lord Jesus Christ to one another!
I believe it was because they were worshipping themselves instead of God.
Why did God have to bring confusion to the midst of the people?
I think today was a good reminder that if we just have faith God will provide.
Most often I hear of the lineage in Genesis being described as monotonous, and I myself used to be of that belief. However, from this moment forward I choose to let is serve as a great reminder that we are cut from the same cloth. We are all alike in our differences, and I hope to seek comfort in what I once thought was monotonous.
I am humbled and grateful at the fact that Jesus called a woman to be his first missionary, and a Samaritan woman at that! Thank you Lord that you value women and have called us to serve you!
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Today we have more genealogy given to us so we can see how the nations came to be. I never realized that Babel was the introduction to all the new languages on earth. If they had just followed God’s instructions, we would all speak the same language today. In John, we see how true faith works in the water with the Samaritan woman. The official used faith to believe his son would live. Today’s read was so enlightening!
Loved the reading today! Was especially hit with the faith of the official Jesus spoke it and he believed no more questions asked just faith. I need more of that!
I found the genesis chapter a bit confusing with all the new names but I loved reading John 4
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AMEN! We need to seek God when we are weary. I’m in that same boat right now as well. My faith has been stronger in the past than it is now. Continue to seek him and he will reveal himself to you through so many ways.
It can be difficult to reach through all of those confusing names but, God put them in the Bible for a reason. I believe he wanted it to an historical account so that those whom read the Bible know that it is true from a historical point of view. We also see how from Noah and Abram all nations came through. In John, we see the Samaritans whom are far from God (but in the same lineage as in Genesis) come back to God all through this one woman’s testimony. They themselves came and heard the words from Jesus and believed. To me, that means that we are not the ones that are converting rather, we are the ones planting the seeds and now the Holy Spirit is the one to cultivate that.
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The Genesis portion of the reading confused me but after reading so many informative comments I have a new understanding!
I love how God confused the peoples language when it was at the Tower of Babel and I think that’s kind of funny since we call people who we can’t really understand babbling. I just feel like the Bible explains everything that’s occurring even in our lifetime even though it was written long ago
Isn’t it interesting that at the Tower of Babel, God confused their language so they could not understand each other; then in Acts, the Holy Spirit came upon the people and made it so they all understood each other even though they were speaking in different languages?! The New Testament (Jesus) making all things new.
From the second Genesis passage I took away God destroys our idols in our life. From the last Genesis passage the honesty part hit me hard. For the John passage I took away that God sustains and provides everything everyone needs even those who should not be given anything.
From the first chapter in Genesis I took away that God’s provision was great after he had wiped everything away. He built up a great generation.
John 4:13-14 spoke to me the most- it reminded me that material and worldly things will never fully satisfy us but if we drink from the cup of the lord, he will sustain us for eternity.
Well said.
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Done! @madisonjohnson
done!!!
It was absolutely amazing to read the grace and selflessness of God and his son as they gifted the lands they passed through
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I love the story of the Samaritan woman. Someone society had rejected for her sin and Jesus went there specifically to talk to her. It was no accident Jesus was there in Samaria, where Jews don’t go, at this particular time. It was this woman, who was lonely and an outcast from society, who’d been left by several husbands, who went to the well when she did to avoid judgement from people – this was who he first tells that he is the Messiah. She goes back and the people in Samaria believe just by her story. The story of this outcast led a village to believe. This goes to show no matter what we have done Jesus still loves us and will use us for good – and we are all part of God’s plan.
Done!!
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I love that the Samaritan woman immediately went and told everyone in the town about Jesus. Why are we so hesitant to share the gospel when these people screamed it from the mountain tops. We owe that to God and to other people. I pray to become a better disciple of Christ in this year as I grow closer in my relationship with God.
I’m falling behind, so I’m trying to slowly catch up.
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He took Jesus at his word that his son was going to make it. That’s the type of faith I pray I keep
✔️ such a good reminder of where having faith and trust in the unknown will take you
Completed another day. I wish to have the same faith, and trust, with His word. I know He’s watching out for me, I just need patience.
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To trust a man who claims to be Christ…
I wonder if I would be skeptical ?
I am skeptical now when trying to decipher what is being obedient to God’s will or what I believe myself is true.. I pray that through these readings and walking closer to God I will confidently know the difference.
I am right there with you! Praying for the same confidence!
Unlike the official, I do not need to wait for Jesus to visit my town to go to him. I have the privilege of going directly into his presence through prayer any time, any where!!! What a gift.
Amen!!
What would my life be like if I heard God’s word and promised and believed, no questions asked? The man went to jesus and believed as soon as he spoke!
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The man took Jesus at his word – that is the desire of my heart tonight. To do the very same.
God is more powerful than our fears
This really hit me today/ what would it really look like to live as if He is sustaining us, He is the one our spiritual selves are longing for and can be 100% fulfilled with!? What a thought. Praying to remember these verses and love life trusting that He is the only one who can sustain me.
I often get overwhelmed by the meds and the sense I’m supposed to respond. I usually step away and do nothing. But you’re right, if I rely on self, I’m overwhelmed and give up too quickly. If I rely on Jesus, he sustains and continually fills me, enabling me to adequately respond to His calling.
I really appreciate how our spiritual needs are discussed so much! I think we often forget that side of us…..focusing on our physical needs- but our spiritual selves are needing fed as well! My life application bible also mentions the Holy Spirit is accessible anywhere and references who the Holy Spirit does for us with He prays for us (romans 8:26) teaches us the words of Christ (John 14:26) and tells us we are loved (romans 5:5)
Such a great point, I often stray and focus on my physical needs too much. Great reminder that our spiritual needs are just as, if not more important. Great read today!!
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Can someone explain why GOD made the language barriers just because the people were successful? I’m a little confused
I think it was because they had become prideful and arrogant. They were building the tower to reach the heavens to be like God and not need Him. They were building it as a status symbol of how great they were and could do anything.
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I have read most of the Bible before and have spent a lot of time in the Bible throughout the years but this is the first time that I have noticed how often God referred to himself as “Us.” “Let us….”
I have noticed the same thing while reading the past few days. And, I have read these passages several times before.
I believe that this is where we see the trinity in action. “Us” most likely referees to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It shows that Jesus did not just appear in the New Testament but that He was present from the very beginning.
‘They believed because of the woman’s testimony’ What a calling for us as women. Our words, because of His grace, can bring others to learn of His character. How beautiful.
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Obedience and faith
The faith of the father is amazing. Turning from the messiah on his word of “go”
Come see a man, this man called Jesus
Day 5 ❤️
I love how Abraham obeys as God instructs him to leave his land… to leave all that is comfortable and his security. Sometimes I feel that I become to complacent and I don’t like to leave my security. I need to learn that when God calls me to do something, it’s for his glory and it’s to get me to the land that He wants me to be in.
Jesus can satisfy us of our thirst. How great is our God.
Day 5 ✔️
Like the disciples. Just follow, no questions asked. Go!
❤️ beautiful
I’m in the process right now getting ready to move to Kenya. I was thinking this morning about the passage of Abraham. Got it on a room to leave everything he knew and was familiar to him to go to the land that he would lead him to. So he got up anyway. He didn’t know what to expect, he didn’t know where he would end up, I’m sure he was scared. But he trust in the Lord And went. May I follow where he leads even when I’m not sure what the future holds.
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It’s awesome to know that you don’t have to see to believe. In your heart you should know that God will always provide. “They will never be thirsty again”. All he want is for us to believe in him.
The story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well is so powerful to me. “But those who drink the water will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life” (John 4:14). How good?! He gives us living water that revives us and gives us eternity. We are so blessed.
I can really relate to some of the people I read about today, in that they need to see/experience to truly believe. I am a science driven person, so I believe what I see and what has been proven and that is something that has come between me and my faith in the past. But what I’m learning as I read through this 365 day challenge is that every day Jesus is proving to me through miracles that he exists. It is a miracle that we live and wake up every day, and I’m grateful to be on this journey to strengthen my faith and relationship with God.
That’s amazing how God knows you so intimately bc he created you. He knows how yo reveal His truths to your scientific mine. So happy for you!
I love how the Lord tells Abram to go and he does without a word! And even builds an alter to the Lord to praise and thank him
I love the story of the Samaritan woman.
It always reminds me to “fill my cup” with living water/living word. In her vulnerability and shame she found God’s love and chose to share it & spread his light. ✨
In our world it is easy to “fill your cup” with temporary things and we all sin in different ways but JESUS BROKE DOWN BARRIERS to know and speak with this woman. And he will meet us in our brokenness and know and speak with US and offer US grace. POWERFUL.
Exactly!! I love this!
So well said! I completely agree.
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I LOVE how much faith the people of God have and how they give the honor and praise to God. I also really love Jesus’ character and His firm and loving words of truth. ❤️
Blessed, yes, with Living water, the Savior of the World, the opportunity to be a true worshipper And the example of One who did the will of the Father.
Blessed, yes, with Living water,
“Now Sarai was barren; she had no child” (Genesis 11:30). And yet, just a few verses later, God says to Abram, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2). God uses a barren couple to bring hope to the world. From Abram would come Israel. From Israel would come Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world! Hundreds of years later, as the world still desperately waits for redemption, God again chooses a barren couple to bring John the Baptist into the world. He offers hope to these couples … and to the world.
“And many more believed because of his word.”- ellie
May our food also be to do the will of our Lord, and our water spring up from within by the Spirit.
Sarai’s story doesn’t sit well inside of me. How did she feel, being fearfully tossed to Pharaoh by her own husband? Was that God’s will? Was there not another way for Abram and Sarai to pass through Egypt? Or is this an example of God redeeming our brokenness, in that He provided them a way of escape, even after Abram’s destructive decision, that included new riches?
i love the story of the samaritan woman. it’s always a reminder that jesus doesn’t judge and loves all. loved today’s reading!!✞✼
I have always loved the story of the Samaritan Woman
The story of Jesus resurrection the boy reminds me that we need to trust Jesus at His word. Also, once Jesus speaks something, that doesn’t mean we stop- we’ve got to keep moving or “running” to see His word come to “life”
Amén!
I really like this that thought ❤️. We do we have to pray as though we have received it already, ultimate trust
Poor Sarai. Either way she’s gonna be taken by Pharaoh. Wish we heard more of her own voice.
Lord let me have the faith of Abram to do and follow you as you call.
One of the things I love about the woman at the well passage is that Jesus first reveals himself as the Messiah to a woman- this speaks so powerfully to the fact that Christ desires for women to be in leadership positions, in places where their God-given talents can flourish. Throughout the New Testament, God obviously values women, so our faith, actions and the church should reflect that.
Yes! And women were the first to deliver the news that He was resurrected.
Day 5!!
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Done ✅
Day 5!✔️
Phew! I. Caught up! Tax preparation. Got the better of me the first few days of this year.
i feel like the woman at the well is often seen as a passage about faith and believing in christ but it also speaks to the Church as a community in that it doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re called if you’re worshiping the Father with your whole spirit. this spoke to me so much because i often feel like my church i go to at school is so much better to worship but my church at home is just as good if my spirit can fully embrace the wondrous love of god.
I realized something after reading the passage about the Samaritan woman. Her testimony, one that tells of her own struggles that could evoke shame or vulnerability, did not hold her back from sharing with others about Jesus and I just think that is so amazing! Our testimony can guide others to Jesus
Love this!
Agree!!
Yes! So true!
ABSOLUTELY!!!!! He loves us despite what we’ve done
So true!
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I also appreciated that even though folks believed because her testimony, once they got to Jesus themselves their beliefs were even the more engrained in Jesus as the Christ. It was a good reminder that our testimony is so important in kingdom work! Just tell someone about Jesus and then he’ll do the rest.
Day 5 ✔️. Woman at the well, one of my favorite passages! Jesus’ tenderness with her is undeniable. How we all need to be more gentle and meek as he was and is!
I love this last passage because it shows the power of God’s word is as strong as the credence we give it. When we believe in him and his word, it is true. But when we doubt him, then the things we seek from him do not come into fruition. It is so important to fully trust in him, because in true faith comes prosperity.
Why did God go to Babel to confuse their speech if they were thriving?
Because they felt they did not need God, that they as a people could build the tower to the heavens and achieve everlasting life on their own acts and righteousness instead of faiththoucj Christ.
I read elsewhere (because I needed help understanding as well), that the people were uniting in a way that displeased God. He intended humanity to multiply and disperse among the earth so as to care for it. The people would not be fulfilling that command if they built a city and settled down there. I guess God felt like they were disregarding His intentions for them, requiring him to intervene.
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I know we often skip over the ancestry lists that are in the scripture, but I’ve learned over the past several years that they are important parts of scripture that help us better understand what’s going on in the world as time moves forward. The fact that God chose to include the lineage of Noah’s sons solidifies the fact that the entire world had just been wiped out and everyone was starting from scratch all over again to repopulate the world. And the tower of Babel explains how we speak different languages around the world. I know many people argue that the Bible is just a fairytale, but I see so many clear answers to history and how it happened that I cannot believe that their accusations are valid.
Agreed! I love studying the historical facts and seeing the logic behind everything. It makes a lot of sense.
Day 5✔️
Day 5! ✔
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I don’t think that Scripture meant mighty in a positive sense of the word when read in context. I don’t think Nimrod was seeking the Lord. I really don’t think we’ll see him in heaven.
These passages are very encouraging to me personally as my husband and I are called to be missionaries. He is the youth pastor at our church right now, and we plan on planting a church over in the Basque Country within the next couple years. Being married with no kids it was so much easier to up and leave, but now we have two kids and that makes it harder for me to want to leave. But I know it’s what God has called us to do. And reading scripture like this reminding me that the harvest is ready is what encourages me and puts everything back in the right perspective. There are people out there who need God, they are in need of a Savior. And that’s way more important in this life than the things I am worried about. Now it’s just keeping that perspective and daily seeking the Lord that will keep me strong.
My husband and I are missionaries as well! One comment helped us while on the field. “farmers have to take out rocks from the soil before seeds can even be planted. Sometimes you pick up rocks, sometimes you sow, sometimes you get to see the fruits! But don’t get discouraged picking up rocks, bc without that task, theres no way something will plant and grow!” Picking up rocks means answering questions and breaking down guarded walls. Bless you in your preparations!
I don’t think Scripture meant mighty in a po
So much gold in the reading today! How beautiful is it that a word of knowledge can open up someone’s heart to wonder who this God is that “told me all that I ever did,” then the testimony goes on to reach many more people who got to encounter the truth of who God is for themselves!
I was also struck by the fact that just a single word from the mouth of Jesus brought healing to the official’s son in Capernaum. Just ONE word!
I have always loved this because it also shows that anyone can share the gospel. You don’t have to be some crazy scholar or a Christian for multiple years before you share Christ. Anyone who was once blind but now sees can share their testimony of how God has worked in their life!
Why would Abram lie about the identity of his wife to save himself, and force her to be taken as the Pharaoh’s wife, and the Pharaoh is punished? The Pharaoh thought she was Abram’s sister. Maybe I’m misunderstanding this passage?
Because Abram thought that they would kill him and take Sarah anyway. He was trying to protect himself and their marriage.
Thank you April!
Abram lied because he thought they would kill him if they knew that Sarai was his wife. He was scared because she was so beautiful they they would want her for themselves. I don’t know why Pharaoh was punished because he truly had no idea. But whether he knew or not, being with someone else’s wife is a sin, so maybe God did it to open up his eyes that something wasn’t right. And he did the right thing and gave her back when he found out. But I always just remember that the Bible is full of imperfect people just like us! They lie and make mistakes and God guises them along the way, correcting them and teaching them just like us.
I have thought on this passage too, and this is no answer as to why Abram did this – but I find it interesting and inspiring that God (1)allows Abram to profit through Sarai’s God given beauty (2) proves his power to Pharaoh through the situation.
If she had not been taken as a wife by Pharaoh, he would not have given Abram a portion of his wealth. Then after Abram receives this, God uncovers the truth. Pharaoh is able to see the power of God, and allows Abram to move on with the things he has given them.
God used a woman to reveal his power, and prosper Abram working all this for their good.
Thank you Jenni!
I was wondering why God went to Babel to confuse their speech and disperse them if they were thriving?
I’m wondering the same thing!
I believe it is because God was upset at them for creating the tower in the first place because they were basically making an alter so they can reach heaven to make themselves great
Well it also says why God did it, because if they accomplished this then there wouldn’t be anything they couldn’t do. And if man can do anything, then they wouldn’t need God. God wants us to rely on Him. And He knows we need a savior. If they would have succeeded, they probably would never recognize their need for God because they could do anything all on their own.
I think a part of it is in their reason: “let us build a name for ourselves. ” I think that it’s the same prideful attitude as the serpent’s “you will be like God.”
I believe it was because they were building a tower to worship instead of worshiping God.
They made success their idol and didn’t know the true God. If humans feel that much power they feel like they don’t need God anymore and He needed to remind humanity that He is sovereign and more powerful than we can ever be :)
They built a ziggurat to reach the heavens. Fallen angels had been mating with women (Gen 6:1-4) before the flood and had given humans all kinds of knowledge and power that God did not intend for them to have (witchcraft/sorcery and so much more). That was a lot of the reason for the flood. The people were trying to regain that after the flood by creating this stairway for these beings to come meet with them. Jesus talks about the days of His return as being “as in the days of Noah” in Matthew 24. We have access to insane amounts of information due to the internet now. Also, we now have the ability modify DNA in humans to making them healthier, and I’m sure there are some working to create humans with super abilities. There have been successful human animal chimeras created in labs, and trans species animals created as well. And what are we celebrating en masse as a culture? The ability to transform males into females and females into males. We are running head first into the culture in which Noah found himself.. Think
Just read an awesome Desiring God article on the Tower of Babel, looking for more understanding. God told Noah and his descendants to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. And in Genesis 10 it looks like that’s happened – obedience to His command. But Genesis 11 shows us the true WHY of Genesis 10. Humanity didn’t obey, instead they sinned and sought acclaim for themselves by building a tower + a feeling of safety by clustering together rather than obeying God and covering the earth. For that reason God confused their languages and forced them to spread over the earth. To accomplish the goal of filling the earth with His glory and keeping our trust in Him rather than in our surroundings. How merciful!!!
This is so good!!! I never really thought in depth about that whole story. Thanks for sharing!
I was very confused on that, thanks for explaining it in depth. That makes sense.
I’ve always heard this as the explanation for the tower of Babel and it’s one that has made the most sense to me. If they had not disobeyed and tried to make themselves great rather than obey God then why would He ever need to confuse the languages?
So good! Thank you!
Today I picked up on the note at the end of the story of the Samaritan woman. The people said that is was no longer her word that caused them to believe, but they met the Messiah themselves and that was what confirmed their beliefs. What an encouragement for us to go directly to the Father and God’s Word instead of waiting to be spoon fed on a Sunday morning. We get to know Him personally and profoundly. Thank you, Jesus, for making a way for us!
Yessssssssssss! I totally agree with your comment…this was very encouraging!
Amen!!
This section also stuck out to me! The way it encourages me is that even though I am not a gifted evangelist if I can just show people a little bit of Jesus in my life to where they start asking questions and interacting with Him personally that may be all that they need to follow Him.
As I read through all the generations of people like Noah’s sons and even Abram…I can’t help but think that they didn’t always look as old as we picture them. If Noah lived hundreds of years, he must have not looked old and grey for the majority of that. Maybe they didn’t start to grey until they hit 300 years or so? Just a thought.
Reading complete for today ✝️ Thank you Jesus for your grace of the Word and salvation!
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Yes and amen! ♥️
Hi Ladies, if you’re looking for some community & accountability & discussion of the readings, come look for a group on Facebook called “The Bible in a Year w/ SRT.” Many have joined so far, so I’ll probably make it private in the next few days. Keep up the good work with the reading!
Thanks! I joined
Just joined, but make it private, please! :)
Just joined! I am so excited! Thank you!
Just requested to join! I’m excited!
Anyone struck by Nimrod’s description as the first mighty man? That always escaped me in the past….he is truly the only one set apart with such a personal description and honor.
Abram built an Altar to the Lord everywhere he went.. And Jesus talks about worship too.. Interesting
The passage where Jesus saved the Capernaum officials sons’ life brought tears to my eyes
Can someone help me understand – when Abram told his wife Sarai to say she was his sister, and Pharoah took Sarai to his palace, does that mean that Pharoah took her as his wife and knew her in the marital sense? But by doing so it saved Abrams life, because as they just claimed he was her sister, Pharoah didn’t feel he was a threat thus did not kill him?
I have always been a little sad about some of the things or decisions our biblical heroes made in the past. I start to condemn Abram for being a coward and not trusting God, or the Israelites continuing to betray God and worship other gods but then I remember I’m just like they are! How many times have I been fearful or worried about a situation and go out and try to make my own plans to save myself. How many times have I forgot how much God has blessed me and I start to care about all my stuff more than Him. The point is God loved us so much he sent His son to die for us so we can have a relationship with Him. I’m kinda glad that the Bible is stories of a bunch of ordinary sinful people who have an extraordinary living God instead of extraordinary people with an ordinary God. That means he can use me too. I’m an ordinary girl but forgiven by the grace of an extraordinary God!
Never mind Lol I see it is when JESUS is speaking
What is the highlighted red indicate? Silly question.
Am I the only one that enjoys it and just wants to keep reading??
Genesis 11:4b, “… let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” Love the irony here: the fact that the people felt the need to establish themselves outside of God, and took matters into their own hand, in order to be the greatest. That the tables should then be turned in them; their nightmare comes to pass in the most sudden, awful way imaginable (or, you might argue, unimaginable!)
This is such a warning to me. What a pitfall it is in trying to establish myself, and my primary identity, outside of God. How quickly we lean on our own understanding. He gives us a blessing and we turn it into a curse.
another irony: that He should then also take His direct curse and still use it to His glory. The astonding adaptability of the Bible to every tongue, tribe, and nation is certainly worthy of praise!!
Yes! And not long after God tells Abram, “I will make your name great.” When we seek to make our own names great, confusion and scattered and frustrated is the result. When we follow and obey God and trust Him, it opens the way for Him to do it!
The. Verse that stops me in my tracks every time is Gen 12:4 “so Abram went as the Lord told him.” One translation (can’t remember which) says “so he got up and went.” How many times has God called on me and I think I have too much to do or don’t recognize His call. Abram didn’t give excuses or do his own agenda he just went because God told him to. Every time I read it I am struck by this
Possibly – Jesus was of earthly Jewish lineage
what does Jesus mean when he says salvation is from the Jews?
Jesus was born a Jew. And the stories in the Bible were lived and written by jews. So, that was his lineage, his people. But now, the message of His love and salvation is open to everyone, and embraces every nation of the Earth.
Also–Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises God made to the Jewish people throughout the hundreds of years spanned by the Old Testament. Jesus is the Messiah and Savior promised to the Jewish people, and He was born a descendant of David.
He is the source of salvation that was both promised to, and — quite literally — delivered through the Jewish people of ancient Israel.
I never made the connection between Gen 11 & 12 before. The confusion of languages, scattering of people, and the call of Abram to go to a land not his own. Our God cares for the nations! And, as I prepare to move to South Asia, learning a language and culture not my own, I realize that it is God’s GRACE that allows us to learn languages, so we can GO and communicate His love to people who have never heard. It was His plan, despite the confusion and scattering it caused, to bring His Word to all those languages and people groups, no matter how far away. 3,000 years later, Jesus came to us, reminding us to GO. How beautiful that God’s heart for the world is woven into every page of Scripture!
Just like Abram, we too are on a journey. I continue to be challenged to not settle into comfort that I might be ready to continue the journey of faith that God has set before me.
25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan.
Was the earth a solid mass before this??
That’s what I have learned… That during Peleg’s days the continents split from what was one main land mass.
I love how Jesus told a Samaritan woman that he was the Christ, the Messiah. He shared this secret with her early on, a Samaritan and a woman! Both of which were looked down upon. This shows to me that Jesus truly loves everyone, and has a tender spot for women as well.
Yes! Jesus came and embraced people on the margins, which included women (especially women married many times, which means she had been widowed).
I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around Genesis 12. How is it ok for Abram to lie about Sarai in order to spare his life and yet unknowingly the Pharoah takez her as his wife and is punished.
I don’t think God was okay with it, but I’m also confused why Pharoah was punished instead of Abram
Before Abram’s journey began, God said that anyone would be punished that does him harm. Pharaoh took his wife, despite the fact that he did it unknowingly.
So God was the Sower of the crops and we come yo harvest the grains that give eternal life.?
John 4:53 ” when the father heard this he realized that it was the exact same time as when Jesus said,’ your son will live.'”
Jesus told his disciples, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” Being in His will and doing the work of the Lord is enough to sustain and satisfy us! This hits home for me right now as I have been trying to seek a purpose and contentment. As long as we are in his will and work for the Lord, he is our sustainer.
Yes, love your comment! Such a beautiful reminder that God and His word is enough :)
Such a great reminder! Beautiful.
That is what stood out to me while reading this portion too!
Oh yes!!! Nothing in this world merely satisfies us the way Jesus does!!! I wouldn’t trade my Jesus for anything in this world
Love that God calls Abram to a new place in order to be able to use him and bless him. It is sometimes only after we step out in faith and do what God has called us to do, that he can really use us and bless us.
in Genesis 12, i love how Abraham had such immense faith. i can’t imagine how difficult it would be to pick up and move my life so suddenly. i aspire to be like Abraham
Two things that stuck out to me today:
1. From today’s reading in the Genesis plan – Noah’s “I will build” left a legacy of faith that directly led to Abram’s “I will go” a few chapters, but hundreds of years, later.
2. The word of God is just as important to us as physical food, it is required to sustain us
Good reply Savannah. Thank you for that insight
Good pointers. Love it
Jesus healing the son was the miracle that made the father believe. This passage of scripture made me think about my own relationship with the Lord and what it took for me to believe. He shows up to all of us in different ways according to what it requires for each person to truly believe in him and accept his salvation. I am so thankful that God loved me enough to meet me where I was and show me who He is that I might believe in him and have everlasting life.
thank you for this insight! it helped me!!
Here’s something I found interesting about God scattering all the languages. In a culture class at my university we learned about “universal grammar” it’s essentially the idea that there is something similar underlying all languages (that even the man who came up with the idea can’t put his finger on.) Basically we all learn and use languages the same way. This passage really reminded me of that and I thought maybe that’s why all languages have this “similarity”….because at one point we all spoke the same language. Just a thought! Love how so many things point back to the bible in some way!
Thanks for that insight! That part of Genesis is what really stuck out to me this morning, and it made me want to know more.
Love the passage with the woman at the well. Everything in the bible is truly about Jesus. The four streams in the garden of Eden. The streams that water the tree of the righteous man. And then jesus, God in flesh, living water. So good. I love how everything points to him .
I loved this passage also!
Amen!
How gracious is Jesus that he heals the official’s son, even as he knew that the official would not believe without a miracle? He could have easily said, “you of little faith” and let the official on in disbelief, but Jesus heals the son anyway. What a great reminder that Jesus does not owe us anything, but graciously provides us everything we need and more.
So true something I needed to be reminded of everyday! Everything God gives me is a wonderful gift
I find it interesting that the Samaritan woman went and told her friends about Jesus they believed her words but once they met Jesus themselves it became personal and they believed because they saw for themselves the power that an encounter with God almighty had.
I feel like that’s so true of people who grow up in the church. We constantly hear and talk about Jesus. But at some point, it has to become our own relationship and walk with Him!
The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them….” Genesis 11:6
I found this verse very insightful because it shows you just how God puts obstacles in our lives, not for the purpose of watching us suffer and muddle in defeat, but more so be He KNOWS that we can get through it if we believe in Him and His plan for us. Nothing about living a Christian life is supposed to be easy, just as building the Tower of Babel was not supposed to be an easy of a task as originally it was going to be, if we neglect to include one person who is there to help us and guide us – CHRIST! That is wh we are CHRISTians after all. The people of Babel felt that they were fine and dandy on their own, and this is why God decided to intervene – because they needed to be reminded of why and WHO they live by and for.
Thank you for sharing that, Samantha! I love your insight!
17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.
I wonder how many times a little white lie we told ended up causing someone pain? Today really spoke to me on the importance of truth.
So true Nicole! We never really know who or how greatly we may affect others with an “innocent” little lie.
Everyone read this poem my friend wrote in the viewpoint of the Samaritan woman!! It’s so incredibly relatable to all of our lives. It’s a bit long but it’s so worth the read.
You were used to men who came,
used you for a time,
and left.
All you had ever known was empty love;
time
and time
again.
All you ever wanted
was to be wanted.
All you desired was to be desired.
You knew you had so much love to give;
but none of them would stay.
None of them would stay.
Was about you was so unworthy?
You wondered this every moment.
The women avoided you,
Outcasted you,
Their ferocious whispers piercing your shame
every time you walked by–
the men sought to use you
Since they knew that they could.
Could it be true
that you didn’t deserve love?
After all, you gave and gave,
But never received.
Was there anything more to give?
All you had left was shame.
None of the men could give love back to you–
at least the love
You knew
you needed.
The unfailing kind;
the lasting kind.
With each ounce of love given, the wounds grew deeper.
The need,
The ache,
The raw desperation for someone
Anyone
To touch your shame–To heal the shards piercing your mind–
To silence the voices that spoke,
(Screaming day and night)
“You are not worthy of love.”
You felt the pangs of thirst,
And wished for more.
What did you think,
What crossed your mind,
that one lonely afternoon
When you went with your empty bucket
To fill it again, as you had a million times before
(It always ran dry, as all things do)
And you saw him–
Another man,
Another of the kind that always failed you
(yet still you ran to them,
Always hoping for more
Always hoping for worth.)
When you looked at this complete stranger,
Did you think you knew him?
Did you think you understood his selfish ways?
since he was a man,
(and you had known many of those)
And especially because
he asked something of you–
As they always did.
“May I have a drink of your water?”
Did you roll your eyes,
While your heart drops es, as it had a million times,
Did you feel a stab,
That once again,
another man
Was asking you to pour something out for Him–
taking from you–
As you stood there thirsting?
Giving nothing in return?
Yet–
You were surprised that he even spoke to you at all,
Since he was clearly a Jew,
And you a Samaritan.
Why would he
Of all the selfish men,
Stoop to speak to you?
You were surprised when his eyes met yours.
You were surprised when his words were directed at you.
But alas, he was a man after all.
Didn’t they only seek to take and watch you run dry?
Yet something about his presence felt different.
you put walls up to protect yourself from this intuition in fear.
you questioned his motives.
But still, He spoke of strange things.
He spoke of eternal things.
Divine things you had never known.
He spoke of a God who had gifts for you,
(You wondered what you would owe this God in return?)
He spoke of you never thirsting again.
He spoke of giving to you,
Of satisfying your thirst.
Were these more empty promises?
He must be the same as the rest.
Countless times, you had expected them to be different.
But they never were.
So you fought.
You doubted.
(How could you not?)
You said,
“This well is too deep.”
You told him this was impossible;
That your thirst was too great,
The water required to satisfy your thirst
Would be impossible to obtain.
You questioned his ability to deliver.
But
Even so,
He told you he had water
that would quench your thirst forever.
This made you cringe with desire.
You felt the mortar of your walls crumbling.
But still, fear had you in chains.
He saw your doubt.
He saw your need.
He spoke of your pain.
He told you of your hurt.
He told you of your shame.
He skipped the nonsense, the flattery, the meaningless things–
He went straight to your heart.
No one had ever done this.
This man you had never met,
KNEW you in a way no man ever had before.
How could this be?
this man was different than all the rest.
He called you worthy of love,
Holy love.
He was not afraid of your shame.
He was not shaken or deterred
By your past;
By your present.
He didn’t want to use you,
Or take from you–
He wanted to give.
He spoke of a future where you would be loved.
Where you would never thirst.
His words healed the fears in your mind.
As he looked into your eyes,
He said,
I AM
the One
who saves.
You knew he was full of truth.
You knew he was different.
You knew he would spend the rest of eternity
Proving to you
That you are worthy
Of real, deep,
TRUE
Love.
So you left your own water,
(Which evaporated with each passing second–and would always run dry)
And ran in freedom.
You didn’t go back to the men waiting to take from you.
You were done with the dehydration they caused.
How could it be?
How could there be love for you,
Deeper than the depths of your thirst?
Stronger than the strength of your shame?
How could it be?
What a glorious mystery:
Your shame was deep;
But His grace was deeper still.
Your thirst would be no more.
Thanks for sharing! I love this perspective!
That is awesome, such a neat perspective!
Gen 12:13 “Say that you are my sister, that it will go well with me…” Abraham saw with human eyes. He felt there was no other way out alive but to exaggerate, deceive. control! Can I give up control on things that do not matter for eternity? Even Good things but not God things.
Abram showed doubt in Gods promise when he told Sarai to pretend she was his sister….if God had promised to bless the world through his descendants then he should have believed that he would not b killed because of Sarai. How many times does fear lead us to doubt Gods promises?
Man! So true! I didn’t really catch that–thanks for pointing that out!
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
Love that Yeshua was led, fed and had no other need other than God! I pray to hunger for only You, and You more Lord! Let my wants and desires be You, needs and stresses be You, heart all in and on You! Root me in You Lord, I need to THRIVE in You!
I want to know why God wanted to confuse man by providing several languages
God said “scatter and fill the earth” and man instead said “let’s build a city right here and make a name for ourselves!” God scattered the languages because that was the only way to make man follow his orders to scatter and fill the earth. At least, that’s what I got out of it! I think it is very cool though to think of
In my homeschool curriculum for my kindergartener it explains that because man did not obey God’s command to spread the earth, he confused their languages so that they could not communicate. This caused them to stop building the Tower of Babel. They could only communicate with their families. With so many languages it made it difficult for the people to buy things, build, etc. So the people gave up and families started moving away from the city.
Does that help?
I just love how relatable the Characters in the bible are! Genesis is an amazing book! And the Samaritan woman, I love that story! Her faith led her to tell others who then opened their hearts to Christ for themselves! But it started with her discipleship! Definitely something for me to apply!!
Our God is an Awesome God! Reading of his work in Galilee and healing the sick child simply by speaking is completely mesmerizing.
I am thoroughly enjoying this app!
What Jesus did was amazing! With a couple words he managed to heal a sick person who was far away. It amazes me the miracles that he can preform. I’m so glad that we have a God like Him!
So honored to start this plan and determined to get through it! I’m finding your comments really encouraging.
FYI I just found a movie called “Gospel of John” that narrates the entire book.
It will go great with this first book!
wow I needed this so much today! parts of John 4 really spoke to me
My translation doesn’t change when I select any of the options. Is anyone else having this problem? My husband is able to switch translations on his He Reads Truth app with no problems.
I had the same troubles. I went in to the settings section and switched my preferred translation. Hope this helps you!
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” I am not sure I have thought on this long enough, but I like the idea that God is working me for eternity and so thankful he is not done yet.
Didn’t a portion of the earlier Genesis reading say that God shorted man’s lifespan to 120 years or so? But now these men are all living between 400 and 500 again. Very random thought and not exactly important, but it came to mind as I was reading!
I read Mcarthur’s commentary and he said that the 120 years was referring to the length of time until God would flood the earth.
I thought the same. But as you kept reading, you notice that eventually one of the descendent sons of Noah’s sons does die at 119 years. It continually shortened after the flood, 400, 200 and then the 119. I also noticed they started to have their own children at 30 years or younger instead of 100+.
Reading this part of Genesis helped it make sense how just a handful of people could have populated the earth… They were having kids upwards of 5 centuries! Something we cannot comprehend today!
I think that is why the lifespan had to be long again, they had to repopulate the earth
The people building Babel all spoke the same language. Once it was destroyed that’s when everyone spoke different languages so that no one could attempt to build Babel again.
I noticed that the Gen 10:5, the NIV reads “5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)”,but later speaks of the different languages spoken because of the Tower of Babylon. I’ve never taken note of this before. Did that confuse anyone else?
I definitely noticed that as well. Maybe “own language” refers to dialects. A dialect is very different from a language.
Very true. That’s why I am loving this study. I can get others perspective. That is so helpful. Have a blessed day!
The way Genesis is written is sometimes so confusing! From what I understand it was typical for a Hebrew recount of events to first be told as sort of an over view (Moses’ sons lineage which says they had different languages) then in more detail, the Tower of Babel actually happened before the people split according to their language etc. has anyone heard it explained differently?
How amazing it would be to have been one of the Samaritans when Jesus was in Galilee
I’m confused because it’s said
5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)
Then in Gen. 11:1 said they all spoke the same language
All the people building Babel spoke the same language??
That is confusing.
I also noticed this. Confused as well…
Much of the bible is not in chronological order, it is true that first babel happened and then everything else occurred later on. Often it can be confusing, but remember, much of it is written down like a history text, I doubt they even had a clue that this would end up in our modern and translated bible. In the Jewish and “Old Testament” culture it made perfect sense. Most the books are not in order, let alone their chapters.
Thanks for that reminder. I have to admit that I too was confused by this. I was mindful of this fact with earlier passages, but this one puzzled me. Thanks for your input.
While it’s okay to listen to others. I pray to hear Jesus voice for myself. But one hope is if someone encounters Him then I know He can be just as present in my life, and He is. We each must know Him and experience a relationship with Him for ourselves. I pray to have a desire to continuously be before Him and experience His love for me.
Kathleen
This is how I interpret worshipping in Spirit and Truth. When Christ died on the cross and rose again, He took away all the bad things we’ve done and may do in the future. When we come to know Him as our saviour, we say sorry for all the things we’ve done and Christ is then able to put His Holy Spirit in us. He is part of us and who we are. It is the Spirit within us that is able to worship ‘in spirit and in truth’. God bless you.
Why does God want to come down and confuse the people so they can’t understand each other? Was he not okay with them building babel? Gen 11:5-7
I like to think of it as the Titanic of ancient times… (When they said “not even God could sink this ship!”)
You see, their intentions were not pure, it was so that they could get recognition for something, for themselves. It was not for God’s glory or to even see if they could reach heaven to reach God. God sees the heart and I think they thought they were unstoppable and able to do anything w/o God and so God had to show them that they couldn’t.
MacArthur commentary also says that they were resisting the command to disperse and be fruitful and multiply. They wanted to stay where they were and not be scattered.
Were abram’s motives to hide the fact that Sarai was his wife selfish?
I was wondering the same thing while reading that…
What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth? It’s repeated twice in scripture. ” yet a time is coming and and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the father in the spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the father seeks. GOD IS SPIRIT and his worshipers must worship in the spirit and in the truth. I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts !
I think God is saying to us , that we should worship in the truth of his word and through him (his holt spirit).
I just finished my first semester of college and I can’t tell you how many times the story of the Samaritan woman has come up in my life these past few months. I can definitely relate to her and her shameful past. But I am thankful for the Lord’s constant reminder that we are loved despite sinful, selfish choices and it’s never too late to return to the Lord and practice His will. God often really uses us at our most broken and our weakest points transform into our
…strongest outlets to serve and spread the Word. How beautiful and deliberate is a God that can capitalize so well on our insufficiencies.
Every word you posted is exactly relatable to my life, even the finishing the first semester of college part! God is good
I wonder why God wanted to stop the humans from working together when they started to build the tower. I understand that He wouldn’t want humans to become too proud or arrogant for their accomplishment and confuse themselves for God- but I don’t really understand why he introduced confusion just to keep them apart. Any thoughts?
Ultimately it was part of his plan to fill the earth. The builders were trying to go against God’s perfect design to be dispersed over the earth(vs4). The Hebrew for confuse in this confound…it’s interesting to read the various definitions for confound, one definition is put to shame which would be appropriate for a prideful people who were attempting to reach the heavens, and devise their own plan for the people of the earth. It was never plan B for the Lord to confuse the language and in the end that’s enough for me ☺️
Love this! I never would have noticed this angle on my own. Thank you!
I haven’t quite figured out how this works…but did you get my reply Emily?
How interesting to find out more of the story than you were ever told! I’m fascinated by the fact that there is more to it. It makes me so happy to open my heart to God and see what he has in store for not only me but for everyone.
The beauty of being a few days behind in this study: the multitude and richness of posts here!! I could spend hours looking through these comments. So exhilarating to see so much discussion of God’s Word!
Agreed ☺️
I had no idea Pharoah took Sarai as his wife!!! How about that? I’ve heard Abraham and Sarah stories for years and never knew that detail. God will teach us new things in his word every time we read it!!!
I always wondered why it was ok for Abraham to lie. Aren’t we supposed to be honest and I would think God would have protected them.
Margaret, you’re exactly right, Abram’s lie showed a lapse in trust and it was not ok. In fact, because of his lie he brought trouble upon the house of Pharaoh and was in essence kicked out. So just because it doesn’t specifically say that God was mad at Abram for lying, you can see that there were some pretty serious consequences for it.
This is interesting bc we see that first God blessed Abram, through Pharoh’s gift of sheep & livestock. The Bible doesn’t say here if Abram was allowed to take his accumulated wealth with him. There is a lot in this passage & I hope to dig into it more.
Ok I can’t pronounce half of the words in this reading
It’s ok. Your not alone! Pray for wisdom and understanding. Also-look for commentaries and don’t be afraid to read slower and take the time to look up things you can’t pronounce or understand!
I just had a big lightbulb moment…
Genesis 11:28- Lot’s dad passed away, so Lot was probably pretty much like Abram’s son. So it makes sense that Abram would travel with Lot and worry about him so much, especially sense Abram wanted a child of his own….
Love what my study Bible points out about Abram calling his wife his sister in order to protect himself: Abram’s lack of faith in God’s provision created an ethical dilemma (for Pharaoh). Sometimes lying may seem justified, but God expects us to trust Him and do what is right, even if the consequences appear unfavorable (Abram’s death)
Interesting though that pharaoh suffered because of Abrams lie, and not Abram.
Applying that to ourselves today, we may not suffer the consequences of a lie but someone will eventually.
Well, he did get kicked out because of it. And I have to imagine he probably feared for his life when he was called before Pharaoh because of his lie. It was probably only God’s protection that kept him from being killed for it.
Thanks for sharing that commentary!
God desires that we seek Him first . Just as Abel gave God the firstborn of his flock, while Cain just gave God some of the fruits.
Similarly the people of Babel were not seeking Him first but sought to honor themselves.
I love seeing His desire that we seek Him above all woven through these early scriptures.
I agree with so many of these comments. One of the things that struck me in Sarai being taken to pharaoh as HIS WIFE. That means because of her husbands choices she was forced to sleep with another man and then sent back to her husband. For one, I’d be furious. And two, I’m amazed at how God uses people who have some serious decision making issues (later Sarah has her servant sleep with Abraham resulting in Ishmael) and who sin horrible and still does amazing things through them. Because God is bigger and because God is amazing. It like God is saying to me, “Lauren you’re gonna screw up, you’re gonna think your choice is the best choice after weighing the options and it won’t be. But even though you do, I love you and I can make something out of x,y,z!”
Wow, I just about got goosebumps reading your response Lauren! God’s love for us, regardless of what we do or have done, is so amazing and unconditional
Amen!
Love the fact that is inviting us daily to drink His living water. Living water that will quench thirsty souls. Once we drink the living water, God will create a spring in our heart. The spring that will sustains and satisfies our sou soul. Spring that well up and overflows to bless other. Jesus is the true thirst quencher. Only Him can satisfy my soul!
I’ve always thought of his words “everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” as the pure definition of faith. His water is your faith in God the other water material needs. No matter how many material things you “drink” it won’t fill the void in your heart like his water.
I never equated the water from the well to all material things but you’re exactly right!
I love that Jesus shared the first task of his ministry (baptism) with the disciples! An encouragement to empower those around rather than do the work all on our own.
A little off topic but how did you get a photo ID?! I’ve looked around the app but can’t find where I’d add it :p
Hi Elle! If you register your email address at Gravatar.com, it will attach an image to your address that will appear anytime you comment online!
xoxo-Kaitlin for She Reads Truth
The woman at the well. I so identify with her. I have a past when I was so mad at God I didn’t care what he thought.. I had very little self respect and was convinced that to get a guy I had to keep him by sleeping with him. So when I made the decision to come back to church I came back with so much shame and fear… And he welcomed me like the prodigal daughter I was. But when jesus tells her nope your not married you have been many times and you aren’t married to the man you are with now… I can just imagine that shame, and then the realization that the past is the past and we are still worthy of love and by gods AMAZING grace we can be saved.
So was the tower destroyed because they were doing it for their own good and not His? I’m a little confused on why he didn’t want all the people united by one language. I am currently in the middle of making some big life changes so all of these trust verses are hitting hard- except I do not know what they are telling me to do! Which makes one descision of mine for God versus against? Do I trust that this is te path created for me and make the descisions I please, knowing that it is already planned and in these new changes show grace, love and act in the way of Him?
It’s deep and hard.
Hi Alyssa! Yes that is why … He judged the people by confounding the language, which may appear as though He intended it as punishment alone, but if you really think about it – He gracefully saved them from their weakness of pride “let us make us a name for ourselves…” , which many times is the intention deep down inside of us. We say we want His will, but really we’re just praying that His will happens to everything we want… And everything is dandy until He doesn’t pick what we expected.
I had the same question as Alyssa! I’ve always had faith but following along has been confusing. Thank you for clearing that up.
Thanks Monica!!!
That helps so much!
Alyssa, I was stumped by the same passage. Thanks for asking such honest questions. I will be in prayer for you as you go through these changes in your life. There’s an Oswald Chambers quote that says something like, “leave the irreparable past in His hands and step into the irresistible future with Him!”
Gen 11:4 May we not live to make a name for ourselves. John 4:26 I am the One speaking to you. I am … So moving. And Kate Bradley has a beautiful faith!
I’m so struck as I read about the Lord’s reaction to people seeking to build a name for themselves that He has not called me to build my name. I’m called to build His name and His Kingdom.
Such a good reminder!!! Thank you
SO GOOD! Thank you for that
“Let living water satisfy the thirsty without price!!!!” All glory be to Christ
I’m not sure why, but I tend to read through all of this really late at night, so I’m sorry for joining the party so late! But I am just SO thankful for this community! I love reading the Scripture and then reading through all the comments because y’all help me to understand the passage better! SO thankful for each of y’all!
One of the things that stood out to me was the disciples’ response in John 4. I love that when they returned from getting food they didn’t question why Jesus was talking (let alone revealing who He was!) to this Samaritan woman (v. 27). Instead, they were amazed! I can only imagine what they all must’ve been thinking when they walked up on this conversation! I also loved Jesus’ response to the disciples’ urging to eat, when He replies, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about…my food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.” (v. 32, 34) Wow! Just as food fuels our body physically, Jesus’ desire to fulfill God’s will fueled Him! Praying for that to be my food from this moment on!
I just love reading John and thinking about the miracles of Jesus! What a blessed people we are to be born saved by such a God!
I love the gospel of John too!!! It’s so empowering
Might be a dumb question, but how are some responses connected by a line and others are a reply you have to click on?
When someone replies to your post, it connects with a line. If there get to be more than 1 or 2 comments on a post, it lets you know by saying, “+1 reply”, etc.
If someone writes a long post, they shorten it an add the ellipses for people to click on to see more. :) Does that help?
Got it! Thanks!
Does anyone find Jesus a little bit…for lack of a better word…sassy? I love how he is so matter of fact with the people with which he is speaking. He asks questions he KNOWS the answers to because he wants to see their response…even though he already knows that as well!! It’s incredible to see how truly all knowing our God is.
I was grappling with this thought too, even while I was reading the first few chapters in Genesis. God asks both Adam and Cain questions He already knows the answer to. I was praying and seeking why He might do that and what it reveals about God when it struck me that maybe He asks such questions to show that He cares – to invite us in to converse with Him, to relate with Him. He could just stand there and hold His foreknowledge above our heads and just simply skip the conversations, but He doesn’t. He invites people in to talk with Him. I think it’s amazing.
I love his sass too! Must be where I get it :)
My Bible study laughs about Jesus’ sass all the time!
Me and my bible regularly joke and laugh about ‘sassy Jesus’ we have memes and everything. I absolutley love it.
What really hit me tonight was the latter half of John 4 where Jesus heals the official’s son. It absolutely blew my mind tonight with how trusting the official was. I mean, if you really think about it, the official had never met Jesus before. He had heard of this man Jesus, may have heard that He had done some things no one else had, but he had never met Jesus. For all he knew, people could have just been stretching the truth. But yet, he had the courage to walk up to a stranger and ask Him to come heal his son. And then, after his courageous encounter with Jesus, the man just leaves after Jesus says, “Go. Your son will live.” The official had such deep faith and trust in this stranger that he just walked away after those five words. How inspiring is this?! I know so many times in my life I’ll bring something to the Lord and even after praying and reading the Bible and relishing in His promises, I still find myself going, “Okay, God, are You sure You’ve got this? I mean I know You’re God, but I’d still like to know that You can do this.” How often am I not content with His simple promises? How often do I long for more instead of just simply trusting in His goodness? I’m SO inspired by this man’s faith – I long to trust like that official.
Love your post! So very true and something I had not thought so intently about! It’s easy to question the Lord even with little things ; but the amount of faith it must have taken to trust his son’s life with Jesus is hard for me to conceive, but definitely something I strive for.
Can someone explain to me how people of that time lived for so many years? Is this measurement of time the same as ours today? Thanks!
I was wondering the same thing…
I think in previous of the daily reading it stated it was due to not being over populated… Then God stopped man at 120 years… I could be wrong but I remember reading that in this study.. I think..
Amber.. No one really knows but it is said that Adam (the first man to walk the earth) was the longest living person he was perfect. That is until sin entered the world. Sin is destructive and by the time of Abraham and his son the life spam had shrunk incredibly and no in our life that is also why people don’t live as long and even though the creation of meds and medical procedures God is still more powerful than anything! And again this might all be wrong but no one really knows the perfect answer
I’ve always understood that from the time of eating the fruit in the Garden the world began to decay and thus our life spans also have shortened as our body’s respond to sin.
What I learned this time in the reading, however, was that until the Fall Adam and Eve also had access to the Tree of Life and were basically immortal. Separating them from the Tree of Life was the major reason they were driven from the garden. Who knew?!
Thanks for asking that, Amber. Despite my best efforts, the crazy ages have been a huge sticking point for me!
Agreed
Abram depended on his well-intentioned plans, instead of trusting God to go before him and his family when entering Egypt. How often my plans are made for good reasons, but don’t include God!
Yes. I would love some NLT
Anyone else struggle through the lineage? It’s so hard for me
I do Laura!
Short answer: Yes!
Long answer: I will say there is so much richness to understanding who these people are and their family dynamics. I just think that when you’re reading the bible in a year you don’t really have time to work thoughtfully through the lineages and delve deep there. But it’s worth doing, maybe just not during this study.
Would love some NLT. It’s tough and I find myself babbling through it at times
Yes, yes, yes… So many times before I’ve just skipped over all the names I can’t pronounce and got back to the “good part”. I was really challenged this time though to read it all, and I’m glad I did as I learned some things I didn’t know before, but it was difficult. You are not alone!
It’s interesting how, like in the case of Abraham, he is a descendant of Shem, one of Noah’s “good sons.” Even to this day, genealogy is very important to the Jews. :)
Yes, but that Nimrod verse made me do a double take ‘he is a mighty hunter before The Lord; that is why it is said, “like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before The Lord.” Name name name, lineage, name, wait what?!
Thanks everyone! It’s nice to know I’m not alone, and that I can take time outside this study to delve into it all :)
Not only was the lineage important to the Jews, but all of this is vital to the scripture to show collectively how Jesus came from a pure untainted bloodline. If he was to be a pure and holy man, he must come from that bloodline.
Love this part: 42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
I love John 4:13-14! I am a college student and have put my relationship with God on the back burner for a while now. These verses really stood out to me because without Him, I will always be thirsty. However, with Him, I will never thirst and will have a “spring of water welling up to eternal life!” How uplifting and exciting this is!
Amen
Last night, I dreamt that I was thirsty and kept drinking more and more water, but I was still left thirsty. Then, what a surprise to read God’s word this morning telling me to come and drink! I felt convicted to stop filling my precious jar of clay with things in this world that do no satisfy. Lord, please write your commandments on my heart so that I may hold fast to your truth and live a life that glorifies you.
Wow, how amazing!
How awesome is that? I’m so moved by hearing about how God is making his word come alive in your life (and your dreams)!
How beautiful it is that the woman at the well was not offended by Christ when he told her the sins she commits?! She saw the Messiah and immediately told the others in town about Him! This is how we should act when we are convicted by sins…so many times I run from my sins and act as if Christ doesn’t know them. And it isn’t that He just KNOWS her sins (or ours), He wants to deliver her from the sins and He does the same with us daily! What a beautiful picture also of how WE as The Church should view sin…notice He doesn’t shame her, He loves her regardless and tells her how to be BETTER.
Thank you for this!!! This is so true. So many time I have tried to run from my sins as if he doesn’t already know them & FORGIVES! <3 Grace upon grace, I am forever thankful for that.
❤️ beautiful thought!
That’s so true and so important.
As I read Genesis 11: 7-9 I never noticed that it said God had scattered them over the face of the whole earth! I thought he just confused their language! So He actually scattered people across the earth… I always wondered how people actually made their way in the VERY beginning. Makes me sound silly but I never knew that!
I agree! I had never read it like that before. Super interesting.
As I was reading, I noticed a pretty great parallel between Abraham and the royal official. Gen.12:4 “So Abraham left, as the Lord had told him.” John 4:50 “The man took Jesus at his word and departed.” Both of these men had so much faith that they trusted what the Lord had promised them, and left, whether that was to pursue a new life in a different country and trust that God would guide them, or to return to a son and trust that God had healed him. Bottom line: Wow. I want to have THAT kind of trust in God. Praying for that today.
Wow Elyse! What an amazing observation, thank you for sharing!
That struck me too!!! I can just imagine my response to my son being healed!! I know I probably would not have just departed after that… I would have probably stood there with a puzzled look and kept questioning whether it would really happen. Lord change me!
Wow didn’t see that! Such a great parallel
The first part of Gen 12 is really quite shocking. God tells Abraham to get up and leave everything and everyone he knows and move to a different country – a country Abraham had never been to! And Abraham obeys. Faith like this grows and grows. You don’t suddenly arrive with it. Faith increases as we see God’s faithfulness over and over again in our own lives. (Like in Jn 4 – the neighbors SAW and believed).
This really spoke to me today, I’m a person who really needs to see things just being a visual person. And Jesus telling them to believe without seeing was amazing. God always speaks to you in the way you need it!
John 4:24 really spoke to me today. We must worship in His spirit and truth. To me this means that I must read the word, and indulge myself and my family in the work of the Lord!
Could someone comment on the words Jesus spoke to his disciples about the harvest? About the reapers and sowers? Thank you!
I’m interested in this as well! I’m wondering if He is telling the disciples that the are reaping the benefits that they have not earned because people such as the woman at the fountain brought the Samaritans to Jesus and not the disciples?
Yes someone please comment! Especially 4:36-38
Here’s how I understand and interpret it:
The one who reaps draws a wage: meaning the person who baptizes a new believer or gets to pray a prayer of salvation with someone gets a reward/benefit/joy from that opportunity
Reaper is the one that Harvests a crop for eternal life: sees one commit to the saving knowledge of Christ
The sower is the one who plants the seeds. Spiritually these are the people who have encounters that witness to someone or share life with someone or maybe even share the gospel but don’t see them come to faith.
They can be glad with the reaper that, together, by their combined efforts people are being saved
Rarely does one’s conversion story involve only their experience of one missionary/friend/witness. Multiple people sow and usually only a few people are present for the harvest
when you came to Christ, who was there? Everyone that ever pointed you in the direction of faith? Likely they would rejoice at your trusting Christ as a sower or a reaper.
Great points Beth! To add to your comment, I also see it as a humbling experience in the sense that not a single person can take credit for all that. The word says that no one comes to the Son unless the Father draws him. We all play a part in His great work but ultimately no one can say they do more than the other and none surely play a larger part than Christ. Just thankful He lets us be apart of it all! :)
Something that really stood out to me was the part where Jesus said the disciples had a saying that the harvest is still four months away. Then, he basically said “Open your eyes! It’s here!” That really spoke to me because I often think God is going to move in the future and fail to see ways He’s already moving now.
I think the reapers and sowers also connects to yesterday’s passage in Genesis about how are a a tree the is fruitful. We bear fruit so that others may see the light in us that comes from God and find nourishment and satisfaction in Him ( connects to John 4 also). Then with the reapers and sowers, I feel like Jesus is giving his followers spiritual authority. Like the fruit, we have life giving words to give and there are many many people who are starving for truth. We need not wait around for an invitation to show people love and God. It’s a pretty inspiring and convicting passage!
Thanks for this Gabrielle! A wonderful observation. I am new here and find the comments really helpful!
I feel like Jesus was saying that the harvest is right in front of your eyes: the Samaritan woman and her people. You don’t have to wait till you get to the next city or the next season of your life. Everyone we meet is ripe for harvesting for His kingdom.
I was just looking at my husband’s life application bible regarding this very part. The notes stated ‘ sometimes Christians excuse themselves from witnessing by saying that their family or friends aren’t ready to believe. Jesus, however, makes it clear that around us a continual harvest waits to be reaped. Don’t let Jesus find you making excuses. Look around. You will find people ready to hear God’s word.’
Reading this was another ‘aha’ moment for me.
draws a wage. (v.36) The work, or at least part of it, had been done, and others were working hard. The disciples were not to think that the harvest was far off. Jesus was not speaking of grain but of the “crop for eternal life.” There was urgency, for the crop would not wait. glad together. There is no competition among Christ’s faithful servants, and sower and reaper share in the joy of the crop.
Others. (v.38) May refer to John the Baptist and his supporters, on whose work the apostles would build. Or perhaps Jesus was looking further back, to the prophets and other godly people of old. Either way, he expected the apostles to be reapers as well as sowers.
Like so many others have commented, the faith the man with the sick son had is inspiring. He never questioned Jesus or his abilities, hesitated or worries that Jesus wouldn’t come through. He fully believed in his words. The man makes it look so simple! Just think how easy and worry free our lives would be if we didn’t question Jesus and what he has planned for us. I definitely am inspired by the man and his faith in Jesus. We all could try and live like that man.
Absolutely! The whole chapter of John 4 had me in awe today. We need to be trusting in our God that he will always do what he says and that he will protect.
I see the contrast in the Genesis passage and how Sarai was treated (like an object) vs. how the Samaritan woman was treated by Jesus. Jesus made a point to emphasize the fact that He knew her situation intimately, and had compassion on her. Although her sins were wrong, Jesus cared enough to look past the sin into the deeper issue of why she had made those choices. It was very likely that none of her husbands had treated her well, and she was longing to be deeply loved and known. What a sweet reminder that Jesus knows our hearts, and wants to fill us with a love that truly satisfies, if we let Him in.
Yes, me too. It is comforting to see that Jesus doesn’t see me as an object.
I didn’t put the two together. Awesome!
I have a companion book that I’m reading alongside this year in the Word that has biographies of each woman mentioned in the Bible. One thing I found interesting is that Abram wanted to (and did) pass Sarai off as his sister in front of Pharaoh. God brought disease to the Egyptians because of this deceit and according to historian Josephus, it was likely Sarai herself who told Pharaoh that she was Abram’s wife so that the plague could end.
The author says she was “courageous and unafraid” in spite of the fact that her husband was neither of those things and that it was by her own fidelity that her escape was possible.
We have such a rich history of bold women in our Spiritual family. :)
This is great! :)
That amazing! What wonderful insite
What is the name of the book? I’d like to look into it. Sounds awesome!
I would also like to read this book! Please let us know the name! Thanks
Wow! Love that perspective.
Awesome!!
The feminist side of me is really disappointed with Abraham sacrificing his wife to the pharaoh, for his own comfort and protection. And I’m shocked that the heathen Pharaoh had more morals that Abraham had. Sometimes it is really hard not to be biased against the Old Testament. Life was hard for women back then. But. That’s not what matters. In the end God put all things to right. God is a Just God. Even though the Pharaoh paid for Abraham’s deceit. Helps me to remember that my actions could end up hurting others a lot more than the ever hurt me.
I agree with Ruth, how she pointed out the contrast between Abram’s view of women, and Jesus’ view & treatment of women. As a fellow feminist, I find great joy and freedom in how Jesus always elevates His daughters.
And also it was before Abram was changed by God to Abraham. I think it’s so cool how it shows Abraham’s before and after…much like a modern testimony!
Well put!
Love this!
My brother just recently claimed his belief (or unbelief, I should say) in atheism. There has been a lot of bad news in this season of life for me, but as you can imagine, this one takes the cake. For a time I thought, “God, why?” And “how?” And “are You sure You know what You’re doing?” But the more I read His truth, I’m reminded that He certainly does know what He is doing. And I believe He’s not done yet. I love verse 50 in John. “The man took him at his word.” Praying for face to face moments!
My brother is also currently working on his testimony in this way. I notice that oftentimes when we’re talking things will come out and I know he’s not truly “an atheist” but going through stuff in a different way than I would. I will say a prayer for your brother! :)
Thank you Amanda! Know that I am covering your brother in prayer as well!
The royal officer took Jesus at His word!!!!! Lord help me to believe this same way!
John 4:50 just rocked my world. Obedience is such a struggle for me some days. I know God has laid something on my heart and I sit there and question but are you sure is that really what you want me to do Lord. I love that in John 4:50 Jesus says Go, your son will live and the man WENT!! He didn’t say but wait are you sure or no Jesus you don’t understand my son is dying I need you to come heal him. He doesn’t question God declaration of his boy living he obeys going home honoring Jesus and believing in the fulfillment of what God had told him. Your son will live!
Alrxandra,
What you said speaks so much truth! I feel I’m needing to work on discipline and obedience, and wow what mountains God can move! We just need a little faith!
Yes, I also found that to be so cool. Both Abram and the official trusted that God would do what He said He would do. God told Abram go to the place that I WILL show you. Not go to this place that you already know. The official was told go, your son WILL live. I want to have the same faith and obedience. To go on the promise of Gods action and to trust that He will do what He promises. More so, I want to be the type of woman who follows Gods prompting with unwavering faith and without demanding more answers to my questions.
Oh Alexandra I love this so much. I in the same situation right now. I kept asking if He was sure about what He had laid in my heart. If my decision was the correct one. then it just came to me like a breeze of fresh air, I will trust Him without asking and do things without fear because I know He will be there to catch me if I fall
It struck me how quickly the Samaritan woman and then her town accepted Christ! They were so hungry for truth. Unlike the Jews who continually needed signs from Jesus in order for just a few to believe him.
It’s interesting to me how John is painting the Samaritans as the example to follow in this passage. Which is a pretty radical message since the Samaritans were viewed as “less than” at the time.
Jesus took the “less than” people and raised them up not only by treating them respectfully despite the norm of Jews shunning them but also by insuring their example would be included in John’s gospel for others to read about including us thousands of years later. :)
this is beautiful. I especially loved how she just left what she came to get to go and testify about Christ. this is what we ought to do and be, fearlessly and boldly leave what is less important to testify about our saviour :-)
“like the city that nurtured my greed and my pride, I stretched my arms into the sky, I cry Babel! Babel! Look at me now, then the walls of my town, they come crumbling down.” (Babel, by Mumford and Sons)
I finally understand the song, I had no clue about the Biblical references. Oh, just imagine what we could do now if we were unified like the one in Christ that we are!!
Kara, I am amazed by the secular things that we can find Biblical truths in today. In a world that Is falling, we find that the Bible is everlasting, no matter the form It is presented in. Thank you for this- it gives me a bigger picture and connects the Old Testament with modern day for me.
Side fact…. Apparently In the band one mate is Christian and another is atheist and so on and so forth. Reminds me that God has placed his people in situations with the purpose of bringing his kingdom here on earth! Many of the other lyrics have interesting parallels to biblical stories and convey the tension between the heathen lifestyle and the Christian one.
I think it’s so beautiful after reading to come over on the comments and see a community of women excited about God and His truth! Keep it up ladies, God is good!
Crazy as this may sound, a few of the verses that hit me were in the genealogy part where it lists Abraham’s fathers name(Terah), and the fact that one of Abraham’s brother died, while specifically nothing this point ‘his father was still alive’. While nothing more is said after that, I just wonder why that specific point was included there? Maybe the overall conclusion (without detailing more points) is that while we see the ending blessings of Abraham and his family, there was much sorrow also…
Made a typo… It should say ” Specifically ~noting~ this point” … Not nothing :))
13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:13-14
This is a much needed remind that true life, true contentment is found in Christ and Christ alone. The promise of contentment this world offers is fleeting. Christ alone is able to quench my soul’s thirst. The pursuit contentment and peace outside of Christ is a fleeting pursuit. The life an peace that Christ gives, is not temporal but eternal.
I want to have faith in Him that is not dependent on how He answers my prayers as we see with the official who does not believe until his son is healed.
God is all knowing. Gentle. Present. And He offers living water! May I drink of it daily as It sustains me.
I felt the sane way.. If it was my child, would I have had the faith to leave? I think I would want to draggggg Jesus to my house to confirm he healed him!!
I also thought about this point Katy. I think our prayers should be something like this “thank you God for what you are about to do today, as you have already planned it, give me the wisdom and strength to ~accept~ your already planned will and understand that you have allowed it in my life…”
Yes Donna, you are right we must all learn compassion, tolerance and acceptance of each other, we are His children, brothers and sisters in Christ. Something I need to constantly be reminding myself of. Satan is always trying to get his way, he is so cunning and powerful.
41 And because of his words many more became believers.
My prayer for myself and all of you is like the Samaritan woman, that our words and experiences with the Lord lead others to faith through Christ. What joy to know that because of our words and tellings of Jesus, the glory will be spread and people will be saved to an eternity with Abba!
I love this passage of the Samaritan women. I want to drink of this living water to never thirst again. She didn’t need her hat anymore. She could only talk about the Lord she had met. And people believed.
It his is in stark contrast to Abraham, the chosen father of the Jewish people. He would have many offspring and lead a great nation yet he sinned against God by pimping out his wife to save his life. I feel bad for Sarai to be used like that but can understand how when someone is desperate they will do anything to survive.
I’m always in awe at the story of Babel. To hear that they were “one people” and that whatever they set their mind to they were going to accomplish makes me wonder what would happen if today we acted and unified truly as “one people” in the spirit of God and decided to build something for the Kingdom. Too often the church body confuses things with the multiple agendas and the conflicting interests. I’m sure the leaders of that time just simply said “we are building a tower” and the group said ok. Not “well why does it have to be a tower? Why can’t it be a bridge or a ship?” This year I want to practice humility so that I can be a better servant.
While I like your point of creating something greater for the Lord as a unified body, I looked at it a differently Deira. “They said to each other…Then they said (again), “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower…so that we may make a name for ourselves…” It seems to me wisdom & discernment was lacking…the fool igniting the fool per say. And ending result was to make a “name for themselves” not honor God. I just wondered how many times we sit around, discuss mindless things, without pondering on God’s word & His will? Then, coming to similar conclusions to seek our interest verses God?
Your thought process in regards to this story really helped convict me. How often do I set out to do something for my glory rather than God’s? I’ve never really put much thought into this story before, but now t convicts me. There is so much to be gained when we look at the OT as more than just stories of old.
I pondered on that too. that they were all about making a name for themselves and not exalting the greatest name that ever lived.. we need to do everything, to give glory to God.
Or, another way to look at that, maybe,especially if we are all encouraging one another to be imitators of Christ, might be to pray for strength and extra measures of love and compassion for one another so that these critical spirits don’t have to be the norm. We are all in this work together, all priests in this kingdom work . His Spirit lives within us now, right? And didn’t he tell us we’d be better off because of it?
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” I am so thankful for Jesus’ presence that lives in us as a spring of water- a living source that is constant and nourishing! His presence is what I need to grow strong in Him. And as it wells up in me, it pours into the lives of others. Thank you Jesus!
Yes Lauren so true what you say, I was talking to someone about that same thing today. Also feel that once we get too familiar with our ‘prophets’ we start to be critical, for that reason I think it’s a good rule that pastors/ministers do not stay too long in one place.
John 4:39 From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things I have done,”
Everyone has a story… God uses it to fulfill His mission! May we be compelled to share ours!!
What struck me this morning was Genesis 11:7 ‘Come let us go down’. As I was reading this I was reminded of the use of ‘us’ in Genesis 1:26 and felt as though God was telling me that ‘us’ is the Holy Trinity and that Jesus was there through it all. Instead of thinking of the Bible as Old Testament without Jesus and New Testament with Jesus, I feel like God is reminding me today that Jesus is there from the beginning and through it all. Praise be to God!
I noticed this too!
44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
Ha. So true. It’s not deep or theological, just human nature, same as always!
As I was reading about the people building the Tower of Babel, I was thinking that we are in that place right now because all that man imagines; he thinks that he should do without thinking if the consequences. Also, I mourned the fact that human actions caused a rift between us. Imagine if we all had one language and could understand one another.
Gen 12:1-3, 7 overwhelmed me afresh this morning. I’ve read this passage countless times in my life yet the truths therein hit me as never before! The Lord exceeds mere fulfillment of His promises: He does so while putting His power, His authorship, His glory on display! He did not simply grant Abram an inheritance as one would give a gift. Rather He bestowed to Abram that which belonged to an opposing people and fulfilled His covenant while growing Abram’s faith, stretching his dependance of God’s delivering hand. There could be no doubt that God was the one true God, mighty and faithful, above every earthly power and authority. He fulfilled this covenant not based on any merit in Abram but by the steadfastness of His character! Grace upon grace! Our God has always been and will always be great in loving kindness to those upon whom He sets His affection. What great love is this: that God FIRST loved!
Isn’t it wonderful assurance for us as women that Jesus chose a Samaritan women to spread the good news about him. No matter what we have done in our lives if we trust Jesus we are 100% acceptable in His sight and have the wonderful task of spreading the message about the true source of Living Water.
Jesus was a pretty radical feminist for his day! We kind of miss out on that a bit without knowing the culture context that he was working in. He was… is! a pretty neat guy! :)
He was definitely a non-conformist! This really challenges me to think about how I tend so often to conform to the world. I so want to be more like Him in His boldness and His way of challenging the status quo, but also do it with His spirit.
So challenged today by John 4:34-35 – because this is our/my work too – to finish the work of the Father, by seeing the ripe fields and heading out as servants into the harvest. I have been convicted over Christmas by opportunities I let go out of my own lack of gumption to potentially be ridiculed by unbelieving family members. Lord, give me faith, obedience and boldness. In your mighty Name.
Amanda, I am praying for you. I, too, have unbelieving family, and when I went to the mission field they gave me a very hard time and were extremely critical of me. To this day, I see how the Lord is using my obedience to Him to change my family. Keep putting God and His vision first and He will make a way for you and your family. Praying for the Lord to comfort and strengthen you. ~Tracy
I wish we could like comments in here. LIKE
I love in John vrs 50 where is says “the man took Him at His word”…..how many times have I heard something but then had to question it over and over again? My big decision this year is to take God at His word, to not be so critical or doubting. Praying for faith because I know I have a lot of doubts, or rather a hard time of trusting on the first time.
Said a prayer just now that God would strengthen your trust in him. :)
Amen to that! I am praying to take God at his word as well and to really walk in faith!