Look Inside: b'Explore 66 (Apr - Jun 2014)'

How to use Explore 1

Find a time you can read the Bible each day

In this issue The 91 daily readings in this issue of Explore are designed to help you understand and apply the Bible as you read it each day.

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Find a place where you can be quiet and think

It’s serious!

We suggest that you allow 15 minutes each day to work through the Bible passage with the notes. It should be a meal, not a snack! Readings from other parts of the Bible can throw valuable light on the study passage. These cross-references can be skipped if you are already feeling full up, but will expand your grasp of the Bible.

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Ask God to help you understand

Sometimes a prayer box will encourage you to stop and pray through the lessons—but it is always important to allow time to pray for 4 God’s Spirit to bring his word to life, and to shape the way we Carefully read think and live through it. through the Bible passage for today

We’re serious!

All of us who work on Explore share a passion for getting the Bible into people’s lives. We fiercely hold to the Bible as God’s word—to honour and follow, not to explain away.

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Study the verses with Explore, taking time to think

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Pray about what you have read

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Welcome

Tim Thornborough, Creative Director at The Good Book Company, is passionate about helping people to open up the Bible

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should try to develop your own lists to pray through. Use the flap inside the back cover to help with this. Often our problem is not so much who to pray for, as what to pray for them! That’s why Bible reading and prayer are inseparable. We are reminded from God’s word of what is truly important; it will shape what we pray for ourselves, the world and others.

elcome to Explore—a resource to help you dig into, understand and apply to your life the timeless truth of God’s word.

It can be a struggle to find a daily time to spend with God. Children, the busyness of life, special nights out, holidays, or just sheer exhaustion can all conspire to get in the way.

However, there is no substitute for just getting into a good habit.

Whatever you choose to do, guard your time with God jealously. If you come hungry to learn from the Lord, and to feed on the truth, it will be a place of nurture and growth, and a source of direction and strength for your daily life.

Time: Find a time when you will not be disturbed, and when the cobwebs are cleared from your mind. Many people have found that the morning is the best time, as it sets you up for the day. You may not be a “morning person”, so last thing at night or a mid-morning break may suit you. Whatever works for you is right for you.

Place: Jesus says that we are not to make a great show of our religion (see Matthew 6 v 5-6), but rather, pray with the door to our room shut. So, anywhere you can be quiet and private is the key. Some people plan to get to work a few minutes earlier and get their Bible out in an office, or some other quiet corner.

Share: As the saying goes: expression deepens impression. So try to cultivate the habit of sharing with others what you have learned. It will encourage both them and you. Using the same notes as a friend will help you encourage each other to keep going.

Remember: It’s quality, not quantity, that counts: Better to think briefly about a single verse, than to skim through pages without absorbing anything.

Falling behind: It’s inevitable that you will occasionally miss a day. Don’t be paralysed by guilt. Just start again.

It’s about developing a love relationship, not a law relationship: Don’t think that “doing your quiet time” is an end in itself. The sign that your daily time with God is real is when you start to love him more and serve him more wholeheartedly.

Prayer: Although Explore helps with specific prayer ideas from the passage, you

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Tuesday 1 April

MATTHEW: Workers

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Welcome back to the Gospel of Matthew. And welcome to Matthew’s Missionary College. But you don’t remember signing up to be a missionary?! Read on…

Read Matthew 9 v 35 We’re picking things up at a verse which rounds off Matthew’s description of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee (take a look at 4 v 23, where the description began). Jesus has come into a world where heaven and earth have been separated by sin, leaving the earth under the shadow of death. The “gospel of the kingdom” is the glorious news that heaven and earth will be reunited under God’s rule, bringing salvation to those who believe it. This is what Jesus has been proclaiming.

The problem is, there’s only one of Jesus, and still an awful lot of needy people under the shadow of death.

Jesus’ reaction to the crowds Read Matthew 9 v 36 Jesus has been doing amazing things, changing the lives of thousands of people.

y But how does Matthew describe his big concern? y How does Jesus describe the crowds?

What does this mean about: • what normal life is like?

• what people most need?

TIME OUT

Think about the people you know—family, friends, neighbours—who haven’t heard, or believed in, the “gospel of the kingdom”.

y Are you feeling and thinking about them the same way that Jesus is?

Matthew 9 v 35-38

What Jesus has been doing

Ask God to help you to share Jesus’ attitude.

Jesus’ command Read Matthew 9 v 37-38

y What’s the image Jesus uses now? y Jesus says the harvest is “plentiful”. Is this the way you think about it?

y What exactly does Jesus tell his disciples to pray for?

Notice Jesus doesn’t ask us to pray for the Lord of the harvest to raise up leaders (as people sometimes pray). Rather, we should pray for workers (not just leaders) to be literally “cast out” into the field, to multiply the work Jesus began in his own ministry.

r Apply y What harvest field are you working in?

What would it look like for you to labour in it today?

n Pray Obey Jesus’ command in verse 38!

Bible in a year: Proverbs 25-26 • Hebrews 3

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Jesus has just asked his disciples to pray for workers to be sent out into the harvest.

Now he sends twelve of them into a very specific field.

Matthew 10 v 1-15

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Wednesday 2 April

Gospel multipliers Sent out Read Matthew 10 v 1-10 These are verses which need to be read thoughtfully. On the one hand, these instructions are directed to particular people at a particular time. Jesus highlights twelve named individuals (v 2-4). These are sent on a limited mission (v 5-6) for a limited time: not to the Gentiles; just to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

On the other hand, the more we read in Matthew 10, the more general the application becomes. So we need to work out which things apply to the mission we are part of (to the nations), and which things apply only to this mission (to Israel). For example, after his resurrection, Jesus’ disciples do not need to raise the dead (v 8) to proclaim the kingdom of heaven, because news of his resurrection victory over death does that much more completely. But some principles of the pattern set here will continue.

y How does what Jesus sends the twelve

apostles to do (v 5-8) compare with what he has been doing (eg: Matthew 9 v 35)? y So, given the need we saw back in Matthew 9 v 36-38, what is Jesus doing?

Prepared for rejection

Read Matthew 10 v 11-15

y What details emphasise the urgency

of the task Jesus has given the twelve apostles? y What should they do when they get a bad response?

r Apply y Do you, honestly, feel a similar sense of

urgency about evangelism and mission?

If y you don’t, what are the other concerns in your life that crowd out this one?

What will you do about it?

When we proclaim the kingdom to people, we will often give up altogether at the first sign of rejection. Or we might keep on at someone for years and years when there is zero sign of response.

y How does the pattern in these verses challenge us? How does it help us?

n Pray Ask God for perseverance in proclaiming the gospel. And ask for some new people to witness to!

Pray for our Christian family in countries where to witness to Christ is illegal and risks serious punishment. Pray for courage, boldness—and fruit.

So there are now twelve people doing what Jesus was doing.

Bible in a year: Proverbs 27-29 • Hebrews 4

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How to survive… …among wolves Read Matthew 10 v 16

y How would you describe the seriousness of the situation Jesus has placed his disciples in?

…being arrested Read Matthew 10 v 17-20 Jesus isn’t giving his disciples an excuse not to prepare for speaking when they can (preachers please note!), but he is promising help in some situations. There’s nothing here to suggest this only applies to the apostles and not to other disciples in highpressure situations.

r Apply y The next time you find yourself under

close questioning for your faith, even if it’s not in court, how will you make sure to remember this promise?

…your family wanting to kill you Read Matthew 10 v 21-22 This may seem a flippant sub-heading, but it isn’t. In many parts of the world, converting to Christianity, or living out your faith,

means living in fear of violence from your own family.

n Pray Pray for converts to Christianity throughout the world who really are in mortal danger from their families. You may not know their names, but the Lord does—and you will too, one day.

Matthew 10 v 16-25

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The Twelve’s mission sets the pattern for all Christian mission in several key ways. The survival advice Jesus gives here is essential for us to know about today.

Thursday 3 April

How to survive mission

…persecution in general Read Matthew 10 v 23

y Sometimes it’s right to stand and suffer under persecution, but what’s the principle here? Why, do you think?

The urgency of the situation is made clear in the second half of the verse. What Jesus means here by the time when “the Son of Man comes” is almost certainly his coming death and resurrection. This ended the exclusive mission to Israel, which is why the time was so short. But a parallel urgency in mission applies to our time too.

Read Matthew 10 v 24-25 None of the hostility described in today’s passage should come as a surprise. We are simply following what Jesus has been through before us. Ask your Father in heaven to enable you not to shy away from following in the footsteps of Jesus, your teacher and master.

Bible in a year: Proverbs 27-29 • Hebrews 5

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Imagine you were one of these disciples, being described by your Master as like sheep among wolves. How would you feel?

Matthew 10 v 26-31

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Friday 4 April

Don’t be afraid Jesus has warned the 12 apostles that they face arrest, murder and slander. It would not be at all surprising if at this point they were feeling quite terrified.

TIME OUT

y Have there been times when you’ve been afraid of being openly Christian? Why did you feel like that?

Because God is greater Back in Matthew 10 v 21, Jesus warned the disciples that even their close relatives might want to kill them for following him.

Read Matthew 10 v 28 It seems reasonable to be afraid if someone wants to kill you!

y But what should we (and those who hate It’s to this feeling of fear that Jesus now speaks. Three times in the verses which follow, he says: “Don’t be afraid”. But why not?

Because lies won’t stick Back in Matthew 10 v 24-25, Jesus warned the disciples that people may well slander them just as they have slandered him.

Those who speak openly about Jesus and the kingdom can and do suffer false accusation and have their words twisted.

Read Matthew 10 v 26-27

y Why should a disciple of Jesus not hold back in speaking out?

r Apply In Jesus’ day, the kingdom was proclaimed by a few—a mere whisper. Now there are millions of voices speaking out worldwide.

y What holds you back from joining in? y How will you join in today?

us) be more afraid of? Why?

Because God is your Father Read Matthew 10 v 29-31 Those who set themselves up against the One who can destroy both body and soul in hell have much to fear. But the same God has sovereign control over the least of the animals (sparrows, sold as food for the poor) and every hair on your head.

y So what can those who know this God as their Father be assured of?

n Pray Ask God for such a deep knowledge of his control of the future, his control over life and death, his control over every detail of life—and his love as your Father—that fear of talking openly about his Son melts away.

Bible in a year: Leviticus 1-3 • Hebrews 6

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Saturday Thursday 53 April October

Don’t be disloyal Whoever disowns…

Back in Matthew 10 v 24-25, Jesus warned his disciples that they would be mistreated for being his servants and his students.

Read Matthew 10 v 32-33

y What is Jesus’ promise for those who

acknowledge him even when mistreated?

y But what is his warning for those who won’t?

Anyone who loves…

Read Matthew 10 v 34-37 Back in Matthew 10 v 21-23, Jesus warned the disciples that even their close relatives might want to kill them for following him.

The question of loyalty to Jesus will bring division, not peace, to families.

y But in verse 37, what is the even stronger warning for someone being disloyal?

r Apply For many of us, our family relationships are the strongest ties we have, and the most important thing to us. What Jesus is saying here is incredibly strong.

y Have you fully taken on board the kind of loyalty Jesus is expecting? y Why is he worthy of it? y What does this kind of loyalty look like for you, particularly when it comes to your family?

Anyone who does not…

Read Matthew 10 v 38-39 Back in Matthew 10 v 17-20, Jesus warned his followers that they might well be arrested and given over to hostile authorities.

This is what will happen to Jesus himself.

Those worthy of him will follow in the same pattern—“taking up their crosses” to do so (v 38).

Judges v 1-16 Matthew 10 v4 32-42

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If you are inside God’s family, there is never any need to be afraid—your future is utterly secure. But now comes the reality check—who is really inside that family?

y What happens if they refuse to? y But what is certainly true if they obey?

Anyone who receives you…

Read Matthew 10 v 40-42 Jesus’ teaching in this chapter ends on a positive note. It is true that as people reject Jesus, they will also reject his followers.

But it is also true that as people accept his followers, they will be accepting Jesus, and finding the reward of life and blessing he came to give.

r Apply Matthew 10 contains some hard teaching.

y What have you found most challenging in this chapter?

y What have you found most encouraging, or reassuring?

Bible in a year: Leviticus 4-5 • Hebrews 7

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I often find myself singing songs in church, but not thinking about the words or feeling the content; just going through the motions, really. I imagine it’s not just me…

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Sunday 6 April

How to sing well

Psalm 96

Read Psalm 96

y What overall impression do you get of

how the writer feels about singing about God? Why does he feel this way?

A new song Re-read Psalm 96 v 1-3

y Who are God’s people meant to sing to (v 1-3)?

There’s a vertical and a horizontal aspect to singing; and the horizontal one is about evangelising “all peoples” as well as encouraging each other.

TIME OUT

y If a non-Christian came to your church

next week and saw you singing, what would they think your view of God was?

This still leaves me with a problem, though.

I know I ought to enjoy singing hymns, and be moved by them. But how will it happen?

The reason for singing Re-read Psalm 96 v 4-10

y What do these verses tell us about: • who God is?

• what God deserves?

Notice that to come to the real God in worship (whether sung or otherwise), we are

told to “bring an offering” (v 8). To give God glory, we can’t come empty-handed. When Israelites came to the temple, the “sanctuary”, they brought a sacrifice to offer, to secure their forgiveness so that they could be in relationship with their Creator God. We, too, look to that sort of offering; the ultimate once-for-all sacrifice, Jesus Christ.

A future song Re-read Psalm 96 v 11-13 The writer now looks forward to a future day, when God comes to “judge the earth … and the peoples” (v 13).

y How will creation respond (v 11-12)?

We sing now because we know who God is, and what the future holds. We will spend eternity with creation praising God; we anticipate that eternity whenever we sing his praise.

It’s as we consciously reflect on who God is that we become engaged with, and excited about, singing to him. We’ll express that excitement differently, with our facial expressions and body postures; but the excitement should, and can, be there for all of us.

r Apply Choose a verse from this psalm that excites you, memorise it, sing it in your heart each day this week, and remember it next time you stand to sing in church.

Bible in a year: Leviticus 6-7 • Hebrews 8

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Until now, Jesus has been preaching with words which have astonished people with their authority (chapters 5 – 7). He has brought life and hope to those struggling under the shadow of death in the towns and villages of Galilee. He has even sent out twelve of his disciples to do the same, multiplying his ministry twelve-fold (chapter 10).

But then…

The crisis of doubt Read Matthew 11 v 1-3 John the Baptist was an important witness to Jesus. He warned that judgment was on its way (3 v 1-12).Yet when Jesus came, he came not with the fire of judgment, but wanting to get baptised (3 v 13-17).

y Where is John now (11 v 2)? y What does he want to know (v 3)? y Why would John’s current situation

make this issue all the more important for him, do you think?

TIME OUT

Many of our doubts are related to our impatience that injustice persists in the world, or to our sadness at circumstances or disappointments in our life.

y What events have you witnessed in the

world, or in your personal experience, that have led to you doubting the goodness of God or the identity of Jesus?

The testimony of God Read Matthew 11 v 4-6 John is looking for “the one who [is] to come”. The one who is to come according to whom? The Old Testament prophets. But what do they actually say about him?

Matthew 11 v 1-6

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So far, things have been going well as Jesus has proclaimed the coming kingdom. So the beginning of Matthew 11 marks a significant moment.

Monday 7 April

The one?

Read Isaiah 35 v 5-6 This is just one of several places where the prophet Isaiah talks about what we shall see when God finally restores the world to its right order.

y So in Matthew 11 v 4-5, how is Jesus

answering the question raised by the disciples of John the Baptist? y How does Jesus’ answer show John that he hasn’t wasted his life, even though he’s in prison?

These verses summarise what we have seen of Jesus in Matthew chapters 4 – 10.

Clearly we have seen enough to know that the Christ has come and that justice is on its way. And there is great blessing in knowing who Jesus is, and continuing in our faith even when what he does is not what we would have expected.

r Apply y In times of doubt, what do these verses suggest you should do?

y When life doesn’t go as you’d like, how will you let this passage help you?

Bible in a year: Leviticus 8-10 • Hebrews 9

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Jesus has answered John’s question—he is the one who was to come. Now, as John’s followers leave, Jesus turns to the crowd, and asks them a question of his own.

Matthew 11 v 7-24

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Tuesday 8 April

Are you listening?

Will you listen to John?

Read Matthew 11 v 7-15 John was a popular figure and attracted large crowds. He had a prophet’s message about the kingdom of heaven being near (3 v 2). And he looked the part of a prophet: no-nonsense, rugged, stripped of all pretension (v 8), just focused on his God-given task—unlike other so-called “leaders” the people would have known. (Jesus may be alluding here to Herod Antipas, the wild-living puppet king who put John in prison—see 14 v 3-5.)

y What does Jesus say about John (11 v 9, 11)?

y Who does he say is even greater than John (v 11)?

And yet, although the crowds went to see John, Jesus suggests in verses 14-15 that they hadn’t actually listened to him. The Lord says: “If you are willing to accept it”.

The people had enjoyed the spectacle, but had not heeded John’s teaching.

Will you listen to anyone?

Read Matthew 11 v 16-19 One group of children is trying to attract the attention of another. A happy tune produces… nothing. So they try a sad song instead.

But still nothing. No response.

y How is this like the people’s reaction to

John the Baptist (hard message) and Jesus (joyful message), does Jesus say in verses 18-19?

TIME OUT

y Have you come across these reactions

to the gospel (it’s too serious vs it’s too outrageous)?

Why do you think people are so y determined to find fault in gospel messengers?

Will you keep not listening?

Read Matthew 11 v 20-24

y What does Jesus warn the local

towns (ie: Korazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum—v 21-23)?

In the short run, when people don’t respond to Jesus, changing their minds (repenting) about the coming kingdom, it’s frustrating.

In the long run, it’s a tragedy of the highest order. It brings judgment.

n Pray Ask God to have mercy on those who have heard the gospel, but have not responded.

Pray for individuals by name.

Bible in a year: Leviticus 11-12 • Hebrews 10 v 1-181

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Wednesday 9 April

Come to me Jesus on his Father

Jesus calls people

Read Matthew 11 v 25-26

Read Matthew 11 v 28-30

In these two verses, Jesus gives us a glimpse behind the divine curtain.

y Who is it that reveals the truth to people (v 25-26)?

y How is this humbling? Why is it something to praise God about?

TIME OUT

y How does verse 25 remind us of the limits of human intelligence?

Clever people rejecting the gospel does not mean the gospel is not true! Remember, we should want to be “little children” who know the Father, rather than intellectual geniuses who don’t.

y If you’re a parent, how ought this to

shape your perspective as you bring up your children?

Jesus on himself Read Matthew 11 v 27 Jesus has just said that his Father has the right to conceal things.

y But to whom has the Father given the

right to reveal himself, that people might know him as Father?

Matthew 11 v 25-30

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Verse 24 strikes a sombre note: there is a Day of Judgment coming, and it will be terrible for those who don’t respond. But there is still time…

y Who is being addressed here (v 28)? y What should they do (Jesus mentions three things)?

Why should they do them (v 29-30)? y

Matthew has introduced Jesus as one coming like light into a world struggling in sin under the shadow of death (see especially 4 v 12–17). So, in this context, to be “weary and burdened” is to be under the shadow of death: suffering with the rest of humanity, but also aware of your sin and your need for forgiveness. To take Jesus’ lighter yoke is to participate in everything he is doing. There is a short-term cost, but there is also “rest”, which begins with forgiveness of sins and ends with resurrection life in his kingdom.

It is a beautiful offer to make; and an offer that only a man with the authority of verse 27 can make.

r Apply If you have never responded to this personal call from Jesus, do it now! Come to him, give your failures and death to him, and live for him.

y If you have come to him, how will you enjoy his easy yoke today?

Bible in a year: Leviticus 13 • Hebrews 10 v 19-39

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In the Sermon on the Mount, back in chapters 5 – 7, Jesus was recognised as having great authority. But now, his authority begins to come under attack.

Matthew 12 v 1-14

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Thursday 10 April

Jesus and the Sabbath The cornfield question Read Matthew 12 v 1-8 The Pharisees question the legality of what the disciples are doing on the Sabbath (v 1-2), and therefore the reputation of their teacher. Jesus could have engaged in a debate on the detail of the law (and won), but instead…

y Whose example does he mention (v 3, 5)?

y What point is he making about the

Sabbath?

What does he say about himself (v 6, y 8)? y And what do they need to learn about God’s priorities (v 7)?

Jesus has quoted Hosea 6 v 6 before: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”, when he was rebuking the Pharisees’ harsh attitude towards tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 9 v 13).

He is challenging his listeners to reorientate themselves away from the legal detail of the law, to the One who makes the law; to see that at the heart of the Law-maker, and therefore the law itself, is mercy and compassion.

TIME OUT

Think through a situation in the last few days where you were tempted to be grumpy,

rude, or judgmental as someone broke “the rules”.

y What would mercy have looked like in that situation?

The healing question Read Matthew 12 v 9-14 This story of healing is dripping with irony.

The Sabbath was supposed to be a celebration of life: the people of God showing their dependence on God, who had given them life in creation and through their rescue from slavery in Egypt.

y What point does Jesus make to his

opponents (v 11-12)?

How does Jesus bring life on the Sabbath y (v 13)? y What do the Pharisees do on the Sabbath (v 14)?

In this little episode we have a graphic picture of what sin is all about. The Life-giver and Restorer is in their midst… and they want to kill him!

n Pray Pray for Jesus-like compassion, and Jesuslike courage. Pray against a Pharisee-like heart; that you would be open to Jesus challenging you, rather than so closed to it that you’d rather reject him than change.

Bible in a year: Leviticus 14 • Hebrews 11 v 1-19

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Introduce a friend to If you’re enjoying using Explore, why not introduce a friend? Time with God is our introduction to daily Bible reading and is a great way to get started with a regular time with God. It includes 28 daily readings along with articles, advice and practical tips on how to apply what the passage teaches.

Why not order a copy for someone you would like to encourage?

Coming up next…

Romans 8–16 with Timothy Keller

Proverbs with Graham Beynon

Matthew 16–22 with Ben Cooper

1 John with Carl Laferton

Habbakuk with Andrew Reid

Psalms 108–118 with Tim Thornborough

Don’t miss your copy. Contact your local Christian bookshop or church agent, or visit: UK & Europe: thegoodbook.co.uk info@thegoodbook.co.uk

Australia: thegoodbook.com.au info@thegoodbook.com.au

North America: thegoodbook.com info@thegoodbook.com

New Zealand: thegoodbook.co.nz info@thegoodbook.co.nz

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Good Book Guides Faithful, focused, flexible

3 reasons to try...

Field-tested studies that are adaptable for your group: Optional extras and Explore more sections that give you everything you need to run a short, or longer, session.

Extensive help for leaders: built-in leader’s notes to help you navigate through difficult questions and passages.

Faithful, practical and relevant: great questions that work off the page to take you to the heart of God’s word and apply it to your lives.

thegoodbook.co.uk/goodbookguides thegoodbook.com/goodbookguides

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