Day 45 - 50 Day Journey To Christ

Daily Reading:

Zechariah 3

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Fourth Vision: High Priest and Branch

1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, with Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan: “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn't this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

3 Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the Angel. 4 So the Angel of the Lord spoke to those standing before Him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then He said to him, “See, I have removed your guilt from you, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.”

5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So a clean turban was placed on his head, and they clothed him in garments while the Angel of the Lord was standing nearby.

6 Then the Angel of the Lord charged Joshua: 7 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: If you walk in My ways and keep My instructions, you will both rule My house and take care of My courts; I will also grant you access among these who are standing here.

8 “Listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your colleagues sitting before you; indeed, these men are a sign that I am about to bring My servant, the Branch. 9 Notice the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. I will engrave an inscription on it”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and I will take away the guilt of this land in a single day. 10 On that day, each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree.” This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.

Key:  Bold - Verse of the Day 

Reflection:  As we round the corner, and near the end of our journey to see Christ, we stop by the prophet Zechariah.  Zachariah, was an important prophet during the return from exile.  He, like Isaiah prophesied both of the Messiah birth, and His death.  In this 4th vision, he sees the High Priest Joshua, before the Angel of the Lord.  Joshua's clothes are filthy, and he is given new ones, to represent his sin being removed.  As we draw closer to Christmas day, think about how the Lord removes your filthy rags, and clothes you in righteousness.  What an amazing Gift, the Father chose to give us.  

Discussion Topic:  Vs 7 says that if you walk in His way, and keep His commands you will rule in His house, and take care of His courts.  What does that look like in your life?

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Prayer:  Father, oh glorious and all knowing Father.  Your name is Holy, Holy, Holy.  You call us into Your throne room, and clothe us in righteousness, not because of what we do, but because of what Jesus did on our behalf.  We thank You for that.  Teach us Your commands, show us Your ways, so that we can rule in Your house and take care of Your courts.  In Jesus mighty name, Amen! 

Acknowledgements:  Scripture - BibleGateway.com, Image -http://www.holypal.com/profiles/blogs/joshua-the-high-priest

50 day journey to Christ - Day 21

Daily Reading:
Psalm 23
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

A Davidic psalm.

¹ The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I lack.
² He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
³ He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake.
⁴ Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger,
for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff—they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
⁶ Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

Key: Bold - Verse of the Day

Reflection: The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I will lack.  Think about the implication of this opening sentence. The writer, King David, identifies the Lord of everything, Creator of the Universe our shepherd, and that we will have no needs.  Never be in lack.  Amazing responsibility, enourmous freedom.  

Discussion Topic:  How is the Lord your Shepherd?

Bonus Teaching:  Learn about the 7 names of God and more about his character.  


Prayer:  Father in Heaven, thank you for being my Shepherd, for your provisions, your leadership, your care and your service.  You set us up for success, teach us to keep our eyes on you.  In Jesus name we pray.  Amen. 

Acknowledgements: Text - BibleGateway.com  Image Artist- Unkown, Image Website - http://www.the-covenant-kingdom.com/good-shepherd.html

50 Day journey to Christ - Day 17

Daily Reading:

Ruth 4

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Ruth and Boaz Marry

4 Boaz went to the gate of the town and sat down there. Soon the family redeemer Boaz had spoken about came by. Boaz called him by name and said, “Come^[a] over here and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. ² Then Boaz took 10 men of the town’s elders and said, “Sit here.” And they sat down.³ He said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, is selling a piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. ⁴ I thought I should inform you:^[b] Buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do so. But if you do^[c] not want to redeem it, tell me so that I will know, because there isn’t anyone other than you to redeem it, and I am next after you.”

“I want to redeem it,” he answered.

⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you will also acquire^[d] Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the deceased man, to perpetuate the man’s name on his property.”

⁶ The redeemer replied, “I can’t redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I can’t redeem it.”

⁷ At an earlier period in Israel, a man removed his sandal and gave it to the other party in order to make any matter legally binding concerning the right of redemption or the exchange of property. This was the method of legally binding a transaction in Israel.

⁸ So the redeemer removed his sandal and said to Boaz, “Buy back the property yourself.”

⁹ Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon. ¹⁰ I will also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to perpetuate the deceased man’s name on his property, so that his name will not disappear among his relatives or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.”

¹¹ The elders and all the people who were at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built the house of Israel. May you be powerful in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem. ¹² May your house become like the house of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

¹³ Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he was intimate with her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ Then the women said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel. ¹⁵ He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” ¹⁶ Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and took care of him. ¹⁷ The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed.^[e] He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

David’s Genealogy from Judah’s Son

¹⁸ Now this is the genealogy of Perez:

Perez fathered Hezron.
¹⁹ Hezron fathered Ram,^[f]
who fathered Amminadab.
²⁰ Amminadab fathered Nahshon,
who fathered Salmon.
²¹ Salmon fathered Boaz,
who fathered Obed.
²² And Obed fathered Jesse,
who fathered David.

Daily Reflection:  As we pass into the next part of the story, we learn about more of a personal story.  A story about a woman, born of a foreign land with foreign traditions and customs.  A woman whose husband had died, and the family name would have died with the death of Ruth and her Mother in law Naiomi.  Without a husband neither one of them had much of a chance to work, earn income and provide for themselves and needed a reedemer.  As sinners, outside of the will of God, we are all in need of a reedemer.  

Discussion Question:  Think about your own life, what has Jesus redeemed you from?

Prayer:  Father in heaven, thank you for giving us your Son for our redemption.  Jesus thank you for taking on the ugliness of our sin and stepping up to be our Redeemer.  Your love for us is never ending.  We give thanks and praise for all You do, and all You are.  In your beautiful name.  Amen.  

(Acknowledgments: Scripture Text - BibleGateway.com, Artwork from: involutedgenealogies.com)

50 day journey to Christ - Day 12

Daily Reading:

Exodus 12

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: ² “This month is to be the beginning of months for you; it is the first month of your year. 
³ Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they must each select an animal of the flock according to their fathers’ households, one animal per household. ⁴ If the household is too small for a whole animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each person will eat. ⁵ You must have an unblemished animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats. ⁶ You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight. ⁷ They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat them. ⁸ They are to eat the meat that night; they should eat it, roasted over the fire along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over fire—its head as well as its legs and inner organs. ¹⁰ Do not let any of it remain until morning; you must burn up any part of it that does remain before morning. ¹¹ Here is how you must eat it: you must be dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord’s Passover.

¹² “I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. I am Yahweh; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. ¹³ The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute. ¹⁵ You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶ You are to hold a sacred assembly on the first day and another sacred assembly on the seventh day. No work may be done on those days except for preparing what people need to eat—you may do only that.

¹⁷ “You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread because on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent statute. ¹⁸ You are to eat unleavened bread in the first month,from the evening of the fourteenth day of the month until the evening of the twenty-first day.¹⁹ Yeast must not be found in your houses for seven days. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a foreign resident or native of the land, must be cut off from the community of Israel. ²⁰ Do not eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.”

²¹ Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select an animal from the flock according to your families, and slaughter the Passover animal. ²² Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning. ²³ When the Lord passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, He will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you.

²⁴ “Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants. ²⁵ When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as He promised, you are to observe this ritual.²⁶ When your children ask you, ‘What does this ritual mean to you?’ ²⁷ you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” So the people bowed down and worshiped. ²⁸ Then the Israelites went and did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

²⁹ Now at midnight the Lord struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock. ³⁰ During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing throughout Egypt because there wasn’t a house without someone dead. ³¹ He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, “Get up, leave my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship Yahweh as you have asked. ³² Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked and leave, and also bless me.”

³³ Now the Egyptians pressured the people in order to send them quickly out of the country, for they said, “We’re all going to die!” ³⁴ So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their clothes on their shoulders.

³⁵ The Israelites acted on Moses’ word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. ³⁶ And the Lord gave the people such favor in the Egyptians’ sight that they gave them what they requested. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.

³⁷ The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 soldiers on foot, besides their families. ³⁸ An ethnically diverse crowd also went up with them, along with a huge number of livestock, both flocks and herds. ³⁹ The people baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves, since it had no yeast; for when they had been driven out of Egypt they could not delay and had not prepared any provisions for themselves.

⁴⁰ The time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was 430 years. ⁴¹ At the end of 430 years, on that same day, all the Lord’s divisions went out from the land of Egypt. ⁴² It was a night of vigil in honor of the Lord, because He would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the Lord, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.

⁴³ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner may eat it. ⁴⁴ But any slave a man has purchased may eat it, after you have circumcised him. ⁴⁵ A temporary resident or hired hand may not eat the Passover. ⁴⁶ It is to be eaten in one house. You may not take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of its bones. ⁴⁷ The whole community of Israel must celebrate it. ⁴⁸ If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover, every male in his household must be circumcised, and then he may participate; he will become like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it. ⁴⁹ The same law will apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.”

⁵⁰ Then all the Israelites did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.⁵¹ On that same day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their divisions.

Think of our American feast or festivals that we consume to celebrate Independance Day or even Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Think about how that food reminds us of memories of past celebrations.  Holiday traditions remind us of similar memories as we celebrate the joy of the seasons.  

Discussion Topic:  How do you think the Israelistes responded to the traditions of eating a passover meal fully dressed with staff in hand?  Do you think the bitters and unleaven bread helped put them in a state of rememberance and reflection? Additionally, can you imagine the closeness of living with the family lamb for the 4 days leading up to the mass sacrifice on the night of the passover, what would your own feelings be if you applied that to our modern day thanksgiving feast and say a family turkey?

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Prayer: Father in heaven, we thank you for your sacrifcial lamb that you have given us.  The Lamb of Jesus Christ, whose blood causes the angel of death to passover our house even to this day.  Lord as we approach this time of Thanksgiving, let us prepare our hearts for a time of thankfulness to you, for what you have done for us.  Let us seek the true meaning of this festival, let us seek you in all that we do.  In Jesus, the Lamb of God's name, Amen!  

(Acknowledgments: Scripture Text - BibleGateway.com, Lamb - Artist Unknown from blog of Stephen Sizer http://www.stephensizer.com/2011/09/christ-in-all-the-scriptures-exodus-and-the-passover-lamb/, Passover Door - Artist Unknown from website http://familydads.com/blog/family-passover-feast/ , Turkey - Artist Unknown, from website http://www.businesspundit.com/the-secrets-behind-mass-turkey-production/ )

50 day journey to Christ - Day 11

Daily Reading 
Exodus 3

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

3 Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. ³ So Moses thought: I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

⁵ “Do not come closer,” He said. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then He continued, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of My people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I know about their sufferings. ⁸ I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the territory of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁹ The Israelites’ cry for help has come to Me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ Therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

¹¹ But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² He answered, “I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them: The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ what should I tell them?”

¹⁴ God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.

¹⁶ “Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I have paid close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷ And I have promised you that I will bring you up from the misery of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁸ They will listen to what you say. Then you, along with the elders of Israel, must go to the king of Egypt and say to him: Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.

¹⁹ “However, I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, unless he is forced by a strong hand. ²⁰ I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles that I will perform in it. After that, he will let you go. ²¹ And I will give these people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. ²² Each woman will ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry, and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.”

Key - Purple = Words of God, Bold = Verse of the Day

Reflection:  We see again, when God calls a person, they answer, Here I am.  Today we learned the name of God is actually I AM.  Reflect on your own life and your own calling, when God calls us do we answer Here I Am?  Do we make ourselves available or do we pretend that we can't or don't here him?  

Discussion Topic:  Give an example in your own walk of a Here I AM moment, and how that faith helped guide you into the mission you were given.
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Prayer:  Dear I AM, you are, and always will be.  I am humbled by the simple complexity of your Name.  Teach me your ways oh Lord, so that my every response to you is Here I AM.  I know that you ARE always there for me.  Thank you Jesus.  In your Holy and Perfect name I pray.  -Amen.  

Acknowledgments: Biblical Text - Bible Gateway, Image - Fred G. Zaspel (http://www.credomag.com/2011/12/13/i-am-and-the-burning-bush/)