Daily Reading Week 8

Sunday

Genesis 3

DISCOVER

  • What did the serpent say would and would not happen if Eve ate the fruit ?

  • In what 3 ways did the fruit appeal to Eve?

  • What did Adam and Eve realize when they had eaten the fruit? So what did they do?

RESPOND

  • Satan was not totally incorrect when he told Eve that eating the forbidden fruit would make her “like God”. Becoming more aware of the ugliness of her sin certainly brought her closer to God’s knowledge of all things. As is his typical tactic however, Satan did not give Eve the entire truth. He did not tell her that man would develop a desire for perversion with this new understanding of evil. He also lied outright when he said that she would not eventually die after her decision to rebel. Half-truths and lies are the nature of Satan. He calls God’s truthfulness and goodness into question with subtlety as he did in the Garden by overemphasizing what God forbids instead of what God permits. His tactics have not changed so we can be on guard for his attacks against us.

monday

Matthew 3

DISCOVER

  • How did John illustrate the work of Jesus in 3:12?

  • Who came to be baptized by John according to 3:13,14? How did John respond to him?

  • What response did Jesus give to John? 

  • How did the Father and the Holy Spirit express their approval of Jesus?

RESPOND

  • Today’s chapter is one of the texts where we see all three persons of the Trinity referred to together and separately. Others include the Great Commission in Matthew 28 and benedictions like 2 Corinthians 13:14. One of the grounds that people of other faiths attack Christianity on is the doctrine of the Trinity. Christianity is not monotheistic, they say. Clearly Christians believe in three gods. These passages do not indicate that the Apostles believed in three gods. The doctrine of the Trinity tells us that God is both one and three but this is not a contradiction. The way in which God is one is not the same way that he is three. Throughout church history, orthodox Christianity has confessed God is one in essence, but this essence is shared fully by three persons. The Father is not “more God” than the Son or the Spirit. The three persons are distinct but not separate and have all existed throughout eternity. This is a difficult concept for our finite minds to grasp but it is one that we must accept by faith because Scripture makes it clear. What the Word tells us about God is true, and it is at the heart of our faith.

Tuesday

Romans 5:12-21

DISCOVER

  • What two “men” are contrasted in today’s passage?

  • What came into the world through Adam? 

  • How did this come on all men?

  • What did many receive through Adam’s sin and through Jesus?

  • What reigns through Adam’s sin and what reigns through Jesus?

RESPOND

  • Today’s passage addresses two of the questions that man has wrestled with throughout history: “Why does everyone sin?” and “Why does everyone die?” Paul tells us it is because of what Adam did. Adam is the one man in verse 12. As we saw in Genesis 3 on Monday, Adam disobeyed God by doing the one thing that was forbidden. Because Adam disobeyed, and because he represented all mankind, he brought guilt to all of humanity. Because we were not represented well by Adam we may be tempted to complain that we are guilty because of one man. We should take care here however, because our salvation is also based on one man. The Lord Jesus Christ. It is because of his perfect obedience that we are made right before God. As you pray today, ask God for wisdom to help you grasp what he has revealed to us about himself in Scripture.

Wednesday

Psalm 25

DISCOVER

  • What is the prayer request that opens Psalm 25?

  • What do you think is the central focus of this Psalm?

  • How did David feel about the hostility of his enemies?

  • What did David want God​​ to remember and what did he want God to forget?

  • What prayer concludes the Psalm?

RESPOND

  • Psalm 25 is a helpful place to turn when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances. Much of it is the prayers of David asking for God’s help, direction, and forgiveness. In verse 12 David asks “Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him shall he teach in the way he chooses.” Matthew Henry comments on this by saying “It comes all to one, for he that fears the Lord chooses the things that please him. He that directed our choice will direct our steps and lead us in it.” God is always teaching us as we seek him. Even when we encounter trying circumstances we know God is sovereign in all things. We can take comfort in that just as David did.

Thursday

Genesis 7

DISCOVER

  • Why did God spare Noah?

  • How long did God say it would rain?

  • How old was Noah when the flood came?

  • What information is given that tells how high the water got?

  • How long did the water prevail on the earth?

RESPOND

  • We read in Genesis 7 about the beginning of the great flood as the deep burst and water pours from the sky. The sovereignty of God would have been especially evident to ancient Israel as they read the flood account. Water is precious in the arid regions of Palestine but it was also greatly feared. The sea is perilous. It is no wonder that the disciples were in awe of Jesus when he calmed the storm. That miracle furthered the process of helping Jesus’ disciples see him as the sovereign God of creation who controls the waters with his words.

Friday

Genesis 7

Genesis 8

DISCOVER

  • What is the first thing we are told that Noah did after leaving the ark?

  • What promise did God make to Noah at that time?

RESPOND

  • God’s covenant with Noah is a promise to bestow his common grace to all people. Everyone benefits from the regularity of nature and his promise to not further curse the ground and to not completely destroy humanity again. It is through this common grace that God also bestows special grace to believers. Because we are preserved we have the opportunity to respond to the call to salvation. We do not deserve this and when we share the gospel we should call attention to the common grace God shows everyone even while calling them to repent. As you pray today, remember to thank God for his special grace that is available to us through Christ.

Satureday

Genesis 9

DISCOVER

  • What are we forbidden to kill? 

  • What reason is given why this is different from killing animals?

  • What punishment was decreed for the kind of killing that God forbade?

RESPOND

  • Sin did not remove God’s image in man. We see in chapter 9 that even after Adam’s sin man still bears God’s image. Everyone reflects the dignity of God in some way despite the fact that we have blurred that image with our sin. Because of this, our treatment of our fellow man reveals in many ways what we think of God. If you have shown cruelty to someone, repent of that sin and seek to make it right.