The NT Challenge and Beyond

Hey guys! Alright, time to wrap up the Sermon on the Mount. I did not have a chance to write any more on Matthew 6 today; not sure if I ever will, but I want to go through it again someday. Maybe when I finish the challenge I will come back to passages I want to highlight more! We'll have to see! :) Before today ends, I'd like to share with you my thoughts from Matthew 7. Again, there are so many things I would love to touch on, but my time is limited. So for now, I'll focus on verses 15-20: "A Tree and Its Fruit". There are so many things to say about this, but I'll stick with just one. This is a tough topic I think because it has revealed some things about myself that I realize I need to change. Now I know that these verses say to watch for false prophets whose lives may seem committed to Christ but they show no signs of that commitment. But I think it means more than just nonbelievers; I think that it applies in some way to Christians as well. I think t...

Today's post is going to be shorter. Why? Because there are so many wonderful things to write about and if I don't cut it down, I will practically write a novel. So what I am going to do is write about this chapter in pieces: one tonight and probably two segments tomorrow (that's planned between packing for camp, so we'll see how much really gets written!)   :)  There are a few topics I plan to cover, but the first one I'll choose is the last one mentioned: worry/anxiousness.  Who here worries? I expect every single person reading has their hand raised for this one! If you don't, I want your secret! There are so many things we worry about. I worry about my college decisions, financial aid, what I will do with the rest of my life, what others think of me, and so many other things. Why do I worry? The answer can be found in Matthew 6:25-34. Let's check it out! If you haven't already, I encourage you to read this passage before you continue reading. ...

The Sermon on the Mount... tough chapters! There are so many different ways to go with the teachings of Jesus in the next 3 chapters, where do I start?! I think I'll start with Matthew 5:1-2. These verses say, "Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them". The first thing that jumps out to me is how Jesus seized the opportunity to teach those around him. He didn't waste any time deciding where to go or what he should do. He just sat down and began to teach. Do we do that? Do we seize the opportunities we have to encourage others, to tell them about God's Word? I sure don't. There have been many missed opportunities that I regret second-guessing or waiting to see if a better time might come. There's another thing I see in these first two verses: his disciples came to him (verse 1). Now remember Jesus had just called them at the end of chapter 4. They were still new...

We live in a world where information is at our fingertips in an instant, where we can talk to someone in another country just by clicking a few buttons, where macaroni and cheese can be ready to eat in just three minutes! Yet we ourselves have not developed that quickness in our own personalities. I know I haven't. If my mom asks me to do something, the first words out of my mouth are usually, "I'll do it in a minute," although my actual response time is much longer. We don't do these things immediately. Why? Sometimes we can't get away from the project we are working on. But how many times do we say "in a minute" because we are too selfish to stop what we are doing and take the time to do what is required? I'm guilty of that probably 99% of the time! And you know what? Putting it off only makes it worse! If I don't want to do it now, what makes me think I'll want to do it in 30 minutes?! Yet I still postpone the inevitable because I...

I know it's late, but I'm finally writing today's post. Between setting up this blog and my grandmother's birthday, I haven't had a chance to just sit and write. That time has finally come, and I am so excited to share with you what I saw in Matthew 3! :) Matthew 3 begins with John the Baptist (Jesus' cousin). The Bible says that John was preaching in the wilderness and told the people to "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Just like Isaiah prophesied, John was preparing the way of the Lord. Now when I read this, it seemed to be the same story I've heard over and over again: John preaching in the wilderness, Jesus coming to him to be baptized, etc. But verse 4 caught my eye today, and I'd like to focus this post on this single verse. I know, here I go again with the little stuff in the middle of the passage. But I guess I've learned that from my pastor of 17 years through his example of going verse by verse or focusing on smal...

Ok, I'm back! Before I begin my observations of Matthew 2 I'd like to begin with an apology for the length of my first post. It was a bit longer than I planned, but I just couldn't stop writing! Forgive me? Whew! Thanks! Alright, now I can move on! :) Anyway, back to serious business. As I look at chapter 2 in Matthew, I see many subjects I could touch on. There's Herod's attitude and resulting actions, there's the wise men, the gifts of the wise men, and the flight to Egypt. Hmmm... lots of choices... Alright, I'll take... the gifts of the wise men for 100 please Alex. Now there are 23 verses with over 600 words in Matthew 2 (I would know, I checked by copy-paste to Word and used Word Count. Cheating, yes, but it's too late to count on my own!) You might wonder why, out of 600 words, I chose three tiny seemingly unimportant words smack dab in the center of the chapter. It's ok, I wondered the same thing too when I first considered. Why did I choos...

Matthew 1 is half names (genealogy of Jesus through Joseph) and the other half the Birth of Christ according to Matthew. Now normally I would just skim through a passage like this. Today, however, since I am reading the ENTIRE New Testament, I had to read all of it. I noticed several things in chapter 1 alone: 1) how God uses people with a messed up past to show His glory and perfect plan to the world, and 2) the character of Joseph.  We'll start with number 1, since that is how most people start. Now I wrote that I noticed how God uses people with a messed up past to show us His glory and perfection. Some of you may already know where I'm headed with this, but hear me out all the same. I know the names in the Bible, especially the Old Testament, can get confusing and therefore boring (as most seem that they were named in the midst of a sneeze...) However, today I saw a few familiar names in the middle: Rahab, Boaz, Ruth, Obed, Jesse, David and Solomon. Some may see this ...

Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog! I figured I should give you guys a heads-up on what this blog will be about. On July 16, 2012, I took the challenge to read the entire New Testament, one chapter each day until Easter Sunday 2013. My purpose for this blog is to keep you guys updated on my progress through the New Testament and share my thoughts on the chapters I read. This blog will also be a sort of accountability for me, a reinforcement and reminder for me to continue reading. I've tried challenges like this before, but never really told anyone about them. Without writing or updating my progress, I'd give up quite easily. I hope that this blog will keep me current on reading the Word and maybe complete the challenge. I'm so excited to start, and hope that you will enjoy reading my take on each chapter and that maybe you too will join me in taking this challenge! I, Grace Postorino, commit to complete the New Testament challenge, starting July 16, 2012, and ending Eas...