Daily Reading Passages

Click below for access to the passages. Biblegateway.com is an excellent site with many versions of the Bible. The link below opens in NIV.  Youversion.com is a new site that allows you to annotate your own Bible, make notes, and comments once you create an account. That link opens in the TNIV version. Other versions are available at both sites.

Coaching Comments

Our Old Testament reading today is Exodus 37:1 - 38:31. This is one you might skim over. Here the remainder of the furniture for the Tabernacle is built, and it's largely a repeat of the chapters we read where God gave the designs. Here the artists and craftsmen follow the designs and build the whole thing. The final paragraph gives a tally of the materials used to build the Tabernacle, and the totals are pretty amazing. This was a work of art that that Israelites were carrying around with them in the desert. Truly a huge reminder of God's glory and presence.

With New Testament reading for today, Matthew 28:1-20, we close out the Gospel of Matthew. We see three scenes: Jesus' resurrection and appearance to the two women, the religious leaders fabricating a story to cover up Jesus' resurrection, and Jesus' final appearance to the disciples where He gives them their marching orders.

All three of these scenes are compelling and relevant to us. Jesus' resurrection is the seal of God's authenticity. Before this moment, it would be possible (difficult, but possible) to write Jesus off as one good teacher among many. But after this moment there are only two choices: Either the story is true or false. If it's true, then Jesus is God. That's all there is to it. And if true, then the story of Jesus is the closest God has ever come to humanity, and it is something that demands our attention and response.

The religious leaders were the first of many in every generation to say that the resurrection wasn't true. And like many, their reason was their own status and position. To admit that Jesus had raised from the dead, would be to admit that He was the messiah, and that would have required a response from them. To deny it allowed them to keep going the way things were. This is the same response that every generation has given. Many people will argue against the resurrection from many different angles. They question the credibility of the text. They question the credibility of the authors of the text. They question the possibility of this and any other supernatural event. They give lots of philosophical, or scientific, or rational reasons why this cannot be true. But at the core the problem is still the same. They cannot be open to the possibility, because to be open would require a response on their part, and if it turned out to be true, that would require massive changes to their world-view and their daily life. And since it is the nature of the sinful heart to fight against anything that threatens its sovereignty, this above all else must be fought.

But there were those few who believed. These we see gathered in Galilee where they get their instructions from Jesus. For these people, not only is Jesus resurrection true, but it defines how they are going to live their life every day into the future. And that's where you and I find ourselves. Do we believe this? If so, then how do we respond?

The Psalms reading for today is Psalms 34:11-22, the remainder of the 34th Psalm. I commented on the whole Psalm yesterday.

The Proverbs reading today, Proverbs 9:9-10, continues on the comments from yesterday, about correcting a wise person. In this case, a wise person understands that receiving correction will only increase their wisdom. And of course, the very origin of this desire for wisdom is a healthy respect for God. The more we truly love God, the more we will want to know His wisdom for living.

2007 Cohort Comments