Through the Bible: Day #15

Let’s try to read as much of the Bible we can together this year.I know it is not always easy.I want to help.I am going to provide you with some questions most Mondays to Fridays that will help you get a little something out of what you are reading. Sometimes there will be more questions, sometimes less. So, get a notebook, a pen, your Bible, and if you would like some help, take some time to answer the questions, and you may be surprised by all God teaches you.Genesis 15

1. What does God come to Abram and tell him not to do? 
2. Why should he not do that? 
3. What question does Abram ask him?
4. What specific promise does God make to Abram here?
5. How does Abram respond and what does God do as a result? 
6. How as Abram made right with God? 
7. God affirms His commitment to this promise by entering into a covenant with Abram. Abram brings animals to God, kills them, and protects them from birds of prey, and then what happened to Abram? 
8. What does God tell Abram then? How does that help you understand what is going to happen in the rest of Genesis and Exodus? And what does that tell you about God? 
9. God is the one who makes the covenant and this covenant is one way. It is dependent on God’s action, not Abram. This is going to happen. What does God promise at the end of the chapter? 
10. Now God’s made a lot of promises. But have any of them happened to Abram yet? God doesn’t always keep His promises right away, but He always keeps His promises. How does understanding that help you understand your life as a Christian? 

Psalm 15

1. What question is the psalmist asking?
2. And how does he answer?
3. He’s describing a godly person. Let’s think about some of these qualities. Which one stands out to you? 
4. What do you think it means to speak truth in your heart?
5. What do you think it means to swear to your own hurt?
6. What is the result of having these qualities true in your life? 
7. Ultimately, there’s only one person who fulfilled this perfectly! Jesus. Rejoice. Because Jesus was like this, and we are in Jesus, we can come into God’s presence. 
8. Which of the qualities here is most true of you? Which of these qualities is least true of you? 

Matthew 15

1. The Pharisees come to Jesus from Jerusalem. They seem to be bothered. What are they bothered about? Now think about this, what has Jesus just done in the previous chapter. And they are coming all the way from Jerusalem to speak to Jesus. And what are they asking him?
2. Jesus pinpoints a bigger problem. What were the Pharisees doing? 
3. What illustration does he give of how they are doing that?
4. Jesus quotes Isaiah. What does the passage he quote teach you about worship? 
5. What does Jesus teach about what defiles a person? How does this contrast with what the Pharisees were concerned about?
6. What do you learn about false religion from this story? What do you learn about true religion?
7. The Jewish religious leaders are blind. But Jesus goes from here to a Gentile region. What does she see in Jesus? How do the disciples respond to her? How does Jesus? But the story ends with him listening to her. Why? What do you think that teaches us about salvation and the Jews and the Gentiles?

Now to sum up. 

1. What did these passages teach you about salvation?
2. How would you harmonize what you learned in Genesis 15 about salvation being all God and what you saw in Psalm 15 about the importance of holiness?
3. Why is an external religion that is all about what you do and doesn’t address the heart not enough?