52 Weeks in the Word

  Welcome to Week 47 and Thanksgiving Week here in the United States.  We will finish reading Acts and begin Romans this week.  Acts has been one of my favorite reads so far in this year's journey because I find the words so powerful! This week in Acts we will read about Paul's Trial.  Up to this point he has had 3 mission journeys around the Mediterranean. Then he was falsely accused and taken to Caesarea, where Felix placed him under house arrest.  Over the next 2 years, Felix met with Paul to hear the Gospel message.  It was time for Paul to go to Rome, so they placed him on a large grain freighter, a large commercial vessel common during that time, to get to Rome.  Due to heavy winds that time of year (probably around October), the ship moved very slowly towards Rome.  Paul warned them about the stormy season, and he was correct.  The ship and crew found themselves in the middle of a horrible storm, for two weeks!  The Roman soldiers...

    Welcome to Week 46.  This week we will finish reading the Gospels.  You may have noticed the book of John includes a little more detail about some of the encounters than the other Gospels.  John was a little more direct when he had something to say, at least in his writings.   Thank you to all those who shared interesting ideas and thoughts on last week's reading.  This discussion has really enriched the reading for me.  Looking ahead to Week 46: The reading for Week 46 includes: John 20 - Acts 18.  A little background info on the book of Acts: The book of Acts begins where the book of Luke ends.  Same author as the book of Luke.  The events of the book begin with the 40 days following the resurrection of Jesus.  The book goes on to describe the quest of the Great Commission, requested by Jesus.  Acts is 28 chapters long, with half describing the ministry of Peter, and the second half describing the ministry of Pa...

    Welcome to Week 45.  The month of November has a way of moving ever-so-quickly, much like reading through Gospels.  Last week we finished reading the Gospel of Luke.  In that book, we were introduced to the 12 Apostles.  Before he selected the 12, Jesus went and prayed.  The book of Luke is the first place we see the term "Apostle" used, which means, "one who is sent out." Below are a couple of interesting highlights about 2 of the Apostles: Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was a disciple of John the Baptist.  He found and met Jesus, going back to his brother, Simon, telling him that they had found the Messiah!   Peter, also known as Simon Peter or Simon bar Jonah, was a fisherman, along with his brother Andrew, on the Sea of Galilea.  He is typically listed as the first disciple, perhaps because he declared his belief that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  He was also the one who denied Jesus 3 times the nigh...

   It's Week 44!  Last week we finished reading Mark and began the book of Luke .  A few highlights from last week's reading: Luke 6:45b: "For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."   We also read the traditional Christmas reading from Luke this week. In Mark 14, Peter denies Jesus 3 three times after declaring he would die for Him.  It is another reminder that these 12 men Jesus selected to be his apostles were average, ordinary men.  They were not perfect and did not fully understand everything Jesus was teaching them.  They were a work in progress.  Not only did they not stand with Him at that moment, but after the crucifixion, they forgot about the resurrection.  When others came and told them they saw Christ after His death, many did not believe until they had that personal encounter with Christ afterwards.   In Mark 14:51, it talks about a "certain young man" how fled naked during the betrayal of Jesus ...