And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:15 NIV

A Christian’s goal should be to create the Kingdom of God here on earth, as it is in Heaven. Not only, to get to Heaven.

To finish the Bible in one year, Read Isaiah 19-20and Acts 18.

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Reflection for Today.

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Isaiah 19

An Oracle concerning Egypt

19 An oracle concerning Egypt.

See, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud
    and comes to Egypt;
the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
    and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
² I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
    and they will fight, one against the other,
    neighbor against neighbor,
    city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
³ the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
    and I will confound their plans;
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead
    and the ghosts and the familiar spirits;
⁴ I will deliver the Egyptians
    into the hand of a hard master;
a fierce king will rule over them,
    says the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts.

⁵ The waters of the Nile will be dried up,
    and the river will be parched and dry;
⁶ its canals will become foul,
    and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up.
Reeds and rushes will rot away,
⁷     the reeds beside the Nile;^[a]
all that is sown by the Nile will dry up,
    be driven away, and be no more.
⁸ Those who fish will mourn;
    all who cast hooks in the Nile will lament,
    and those who spread nets on the water will languish.
⁹ The workers in flax will be in despair,
    and the carders and those at the loom will grow pale.
¹⁰ Its weavers will be dismayed,
    and all who work for wages will be grieved.

¹¹ Clearly the princes of Zoan are foolish;
    the wise counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
    “I am one of the sages,
    a descendant of ancient kings”?
¹² Where now are your sages?
    Let them tell you and make known
    what the Lord of hosts has planned against Egypt.
¹³ The princes of Zoan have become fools,
    and the princes of Memphis are deluded;
those who are the cornerstones of its tribes
    have led Egypt astray.
¹⁴ The Lord has poured into them^[b]
    a spirit of confusion;
and they have made Egypt stagger in all its doings
    as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.
¹⁵ Neither head nor tail, palm branch or reed,
    will be able to do anything for Egypt.

¹⁶ On that day the Egyptians will be like women and tremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts raises against them. ¹⁷ And the land of Judah will become a terror^[c] to the Egyptians; everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the plan that the Lord of hosts is planning against them.

Egypt, Assyria, and Israel Blessed

¹⁸ On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of the Sun.^[d]

¹⁹ On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the Lord at its border. ²⁰ It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and will defend and deliver them. ²¹ The Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day and will serve with sacrifice and offerings, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. ²² The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing, so that they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their supplications and heal them.

²³ On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians.

²⁴ On that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, ²⁵ whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people and Assyria the work of my hands and Israel my heritage.”

Isaiah 20

Isaiah Dramatizes the Conquest of Egypt and Cush

20 In the year that the commander-in-chief, who was sent by King Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and took it— ² at that time the Lord had spoken to Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go and loose the sackcloth from your loins and take your sandals off your feet,” and he had done so, walking naked and barefoot. ³ Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush, ⁴ so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as captives and the Cushites as exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. ⁵ And they shall be dismayed and confounded because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. ⁶ On that day the inhabitants of this coastland will say, ‘See, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’ ”

Isaiah Dramatizes the Conquest of Egypt and Cush

20 In the year that the commander-in-chief, who was sent by King Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and took it— ² at that time the Lord had spoken to Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go and loose the sackcloth from your loins and take your sandals off your feet,” and he had done so, walking naked and barefoot. ³ Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush, ⁴ so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as captives and the Cushites as exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. ⁵ And they shall be dismayed and confounded because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. ⁶ On that day the inhabitants of this coastland will say, ‘See, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’ ”

Acts 18

Paul in Corinth

18 After this Paul^[a] left Athens and went to Corinth. ² There he found a Jew named Aquila from Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul^[b] went to see them, ³ and, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together—by trade they were tentmakers. ⁴ Every Sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks.

⁵ When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word,^[c] testifying to the Jews that the Messiah^[d] was Jesus. ⁶ When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes^[e] and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the gentiles.” ⁷ Then he left the synagogue^[f] and went to the house of a man named Titius^[g] Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. ⁸ Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household, and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized. ⁹ One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.” ¹¹ He stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹² But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. ¹³ They said, “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the law.” ¹⁴ Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of crime or serious villainy, I would be justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews, ¹⁵ but since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I do not wish to be a judge of these matters.” ¹⁶ And he dismissed them from the tribunal. ¹⁷ Then all of them^[h] seized Sosthenes, the official of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of these things.

Paul’s Return to Antioch

¹⁸ After staying there for a considerable time, Paul said farewell to the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was under a vow. ¹⁹ When they reached Ephesus, he left them there, but first he himself went into the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay longer, he declined, ²¹ but on taking leave of them he said, “I^[i] will return to you, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

²² When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem^[j] and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch. ²³ After spending some time there he departed and went from place to place through the region of Galatia^[k] and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Ministry of Apollos

²⁴ Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos from Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures. ²⁵ He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord, and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately. ²⁷ And when he wished to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers, ²⁸ for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah^[l] is Jesus.

Sermons by various teachers about these verses.

Reading 1, First Corinthians 11:17-26, 33

¹⁷ Now that I am on the subject of instructions, I cannot congratulate you on the meetings you hold; they do more harm than good.

¹⁸ In the first place, I hear that when you all come together in your assembly, there are separate factions among you, and to some extent I believe it.

¹⁹ It is no bad thing, either, that there should be differing groups among you so that those who are to be trusted among you can be clearly recognised.

²⁰ So, when you meet together, it is not the Lord’s Supper that you eat;

²¹ for when the eating begins, each one of you has his own supper first, and there is one going hungry while another is getting drunk.

²² Surely you have homes for doing your eating and drinking in? Or have you such disregard for God’s assembly that you can put to shame those who have nothing? What am I to say to you? Congratulate you? On this I cannot congratulate you.

²³ For the tradition I received from the Lord and also handed on to you is that on the night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread,

²⁴ and after he had given thanks, he broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’

²⁵ And in the same way, with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’

²⁶ Whenever you eat this bread, then, and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes.

³³ So then, my brothers, when you meet for the Meal, wait for each other;

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 40:7-8, 8-9, 10, 17

⁷ then I said, ‘Here I am, I am coming.’ In the scroll of the book it is written of me,

⁸ my delight is to do your will; your law, my God, is deep in my heart.

⁹ I proclaimed the saving justice of Yahweh in the great assembly. See, I will not hold my tongue, as you well know.

¹⁰ I have not kept your saving justice locked in the depths of my heart, but have spoken of your constancy and saving help. I have made no secret of your faithful and steadfast love, in the great assembly.

¹⁷ Poor and needy as I am, the Lord has me in mind. You, my helper, my Saviour, my God, do not delay.

Gospel, Luke 7:1-10

¹ When he had come to the end of all he wanted the people to hear, he went into Capernaum.

² A centurion there had a servant, a favourite of his, who was sick and near death.

³ Having heard about Jesus he sent some Jewish elders to him to ask him to come and heal his servant.

⁴ When they came to Jesus they pleaded earnestly with him saying, ‘He deserves this of you,

⁵ because he is well disposed towards our people; he built us our synagogue himself.’

⁶ So Jesus went with them, and was not very far from the house when the centurion sent word to him by some friends to say to him, ‘Sir, do not put yourself to any trouble because I am not worthy to have you under my roof;

⁷ and that is why I did not presume to come to you myself; let my boy be cured by your giving the word.

⁸ For I am under authority myself, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man, “Go,” and he goes; to another, “Come here,” and he comes; to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it.’

⁹ When Jesus heard these words he was astonished at him and, turning round, said to the crowd following him, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found faith as great as this.’

¹⁰ And when the messengers got back to the house they found the servant in perfect health.

Dr. Myles Munroe

I am including a video by Dr. Myles Munroe, I’ve listened to him back in the nineties, and rediscovered him recently. Now his perspective seems to be a good way to also look at scripture. In Pursuit of Purpose – Book Highlights