Day #2

So, you came back for more, eh? Good for you!

Here we are on Day #2. Did you get all the readings in yesterday? Did you notice something new you'd never read before? I think the most amazing part of doing daily Bible readings is how often what I've read comes up during the course of the day.


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Thursday, Jan. 1
How did God create human beings? (Genesis 2)
Thursday: Genesis 2:7 7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

And here's today's question:
Friday, Jan. 2
Did the Magi follow the same road home? Why or why not? (Matt 2)



And today's reflection:
Genesis 4:6-7 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

This is something I don't remember reading before, and what a picture this paints! Like my dog curled up on the welcome mat in front of the door ready to jump up and greet me whenever I open the door, so too is sin crouching at the door. But not just at the front door; sin is hiding in every doorway in my house, but at the grocery store, in the hospitals, and even in the church.

"It desires to have you. . . " Wow. Normally, sin seems pretty banal. A little lie here, a little envy there. But to think that sin "desires to have you," well, that sounds personal. That sounds like the Snake is still out there, tempting and luring and enticing us to eat the fruit from the tree that is forbidden to us.

". . . but you must master it." Self-control is not something our culture excels at, is it? In fact, self-control is almost seen as a weakness. But self-control, part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5), seems to me to be the key. And to have self-control one must "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor 10:5) because that's where sin begins, in our thoughts. If we can take sinful thoughts captive, then we can stop them. We can choose NOT to act on them. THAT is how we can master sin.

Jesus' death and resurrection defeated sin's hold over us. Because of Jesus, we CAN master sin. We CAN say no. Choose to do right on this day!



FYI: If you are away from your Bible but find yourself with some spare time, there are several sites that provide online Bible texts. I suggest: http://www.biblegateway.com/. (I usually use the NIV translation.)

I originally intended to post the daily reading list for each day (in case you are away from your book AND your Bible but had time to read), but I've discovered that would be copyright infringement so we can't do it. I apologize for that. You'll just have to keep your Year of the Bible Participant Guide at your side all day!!


Happy reading!
Allison