60 Day Bible Challenge: Day 2

This will certainly only get more challenging as I keep going. Today I read the gospel of Mark. It didn’t take too long to read, but it took a looong time to finish! The overall reading time was just 66 minutes. But today I am back in the office. I talked with teachers. I talked with parents. I dealt with a student situation. I even had my son hanging out for a few minutes. So the overall time was more like two and a half hours since there were so many distractions!

But I finished!

Again, it was a blessing to read through an entire gospel account. Just as it was very clear yesterday that Matthew was writing for Hebrew people, so it was very clear today that Mark was writing for non-Jews. Many times Mark explains things that would have been obvious and common knowledge to Jews.

I also highly recommend Mark as a good starting point for anyone to start reading the Bible. It is simple, straightforward, and action packed. Mark doesn’t bog the reader down with too many details. He relays the important and necessary information quickly and simply.

So two days into the 60 Day Bible Challenge, and so far so good!

Day 2 Reading:  Mark

Day 2 Time:  66 minutes

Total Time to Date:  168 minutes

Bible in a Year, Week 5: Acts

This is the fifth weekly reading in the plan for reading your Bible in one year. The assignment for this week is the book of Acts. It should only take about 15 minutes a day, or about 4 chapters a day to complete the assignment.

Here are some comments to help you grow in knowledge and faith as you read Acts.

Background: Luke wrote the book of Acts. Luke was not one of the 12 disciples, but he was an apostle. This letter to Theophilus is a continuation of where he left off with his detailed account in his gospel. Luke the doctor investigated carefully everything that Jesus said and did for his gospel account. But for Acts, Luke was a witness of many of the events himself. There are several “we” sections in Acts that indicate Luke was with Paul on these journeys. These “we” sections are: 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1-28:16.

Some think of Acts as a record of “the Acts of the Apostles.” This could be appropriate and fitting. Perhaps a better view might be to see this book as “the Acts of the Holy Spirit.” Acts is an amazing testimony to the power of the Spirit who worked in great and mighty ways through the preaching of the gospel.

As we read Acts, it can only be our prayer that God would use us to spread his Word in such bold and courageous ways, and that God would bless our work as he blessed the work of these first believers!

The Bible in a Year, Week 2: Mark

This is the second weekly reading in the plan for reading your Bible in one year. The assignment for this week is the book of Mark. It should only take about 5-10 minutes a day, or about 2-3 chapters a day to complete the assignment.

Here are some comments to help you grow in knowledge and faith as you read Mark

Background: Mark was written by Mark, who is also known as John. John Mark was not one of the 12 disciples. However, Mark was very active in the early Christian church. His mother’s house seemed to be a meeting place for Christian gatherings (Acts 12:12). He was the cousin of Barnabas and traveled with him on missionary journeys. Mark and Barnabas also went with Paul on his first missionary journey. However, for some reason Mark left in the middle of the trip–a great point of contention between Barnabas and Paul.

Later, Mark must have grown up and matured because Paul speaks of him favorably. It was also later on that Mark became very close to the apostle Peter. Peter speaks of him like a son (1 Peter 5:13) as they both send greetings from Rome. From this and other information, it seems like that Mark became somewhat of an interpreter or scribe for Peter. He may have gotten much of his information from Peter. He also may have written this gospel shortly after Peter died, around 64 A.D.

The Gospel of Mark is much different than the other three in style. Mark is not much for details. Rather, he relates actions and events at a rapid rate. It also seems quite clear that Mark had in mind a Gentile audience–perhaps even the Romans–as he quotes very little Old Testament Scripture and takes time to explain Hebrew or Aramaic customs and phrases.

Through reading this gospel, it becomes very clear that Mark is presenting to us exactly what he mentions in the first verse:  Jesus Christ as the Son of God.