a few thoughts

I underlined some things from readings a few days ago because I knew I would want to remember them and I didn't have time to blog.  From Romans 15:13 " I pray that God, the source of hope will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him."

 I actually wrote this down on a 3 X 5 card to memorize.  There is so much here for me.  Sometimes the truth is that God is not my source of hope.  I look for it in circumstances and get frustrated when my life doesn't look like I thought it would.  I long to remember that I need to find my source of hope in Christ.  I recently did a children's message that talked about JOY being "Jesus Owns You"  That because we are owned by Christ we have Joy, He takes care of his people.  I reminded the kids that joy is different than happiness because happiness is dependent on circumstances, but Joy is rooted in Jesus.  But I realize I constantly need that reminder myself.  I don't rest in Christ, I wrestle with Christ.  It's not where I want to be in my faith.  I recognize that God uses all of this to draw me closer to him and for this I am thankful. 

The "because you trust in Him" part is key.  I continue to place my trust in Jesus, but clearly I take it back again.  The evidence is in my worry and stress.  If I were truly trusting in Him as I want to be, I don't think I'd be so distressed over Derek, and other issues.  It's a process and I am thankful that God is faithful even when I am not as faithful as I should or wish to be. 

Another verse I underlined was from Psalm 25:4  "Show me the right path, O Lord, point out the road for me to follow."  This is such a perfect prayer for Den and I both right now as we try to figure out what the next step in this journey of parenting an adult kid that is not reaching his potential ought to be. 

Psalm 25:8  "The Lord is good and does what is right he shows the proper path to those who go astray."  This is an encouragement for me as a mom because once again God reminds me that He is showing Derek the way he should go, that He won't give up on him.  I certainly continue to pray that Derek will choose the path that the Lord shows him.

2 Chronicles 32:8b "We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!"  Once again, just an encouragement that God is on our side!

Psalm 25:17  "my problems go from bad to worse, Oh, save me from them all!"    (I could just relate to this...)

Closing in on year end

So I should probably rename the blog Genesis to 2nd Chronicles and mid Romans....  Or 1/2 way through in 2011 or something else...  No profound thoughts from today's readings.  Actually I had something from the previous days reading, but since that was a couple of days ago, and I didn't add it as I was thinking about it, I can't recall what it was....  guess that means it wasn't that interesting or profound!

Follow up on last post

So, after further study, thought and prayer I came to the conclusion that I broke the Cardinal rule when it comes to scripture.... Context.  I believe that I took the verse from Romans (11:36) out of context.  Paul was speaking in this section about salvation for the Jews and the Gentiles and how God accomplished this for both of them, it was all God...  that's the context for the verse.  He wasn't speaking about evil, or bad or anything like that he was speaking about salvation, and indeed that is All God!  "To Him be the glory for ever. Amen!" indeed.   Note to self.... context, context, context!

Sovereignty

This subject has been a hot topic for me lately.  What does it mean exactly.  I have a friend that thinks that God is behind everything.  Not just that he uses all things, but that ultimately he causes  all things.  I disagree with this thought as explained via the copy of the email I will paste below.  Since the email conversation, I've come across two texts that have challenged my position that were seperate from anything that had come up between Carrie and I.  One I discussed with my pastor and when going back to the orginal Greek, the way one word is translated into English is actually two different words that bring a different flavor to the verse. We talked it through and came to rest on my original position on the subject.  Today included another such verse, so after I copy the email conversation between Carrie and I, I will post today's email question to Pastor.  God is so big and we are so small....  Perhaps this will be a topic that I have to be content to not fully understand. 

Email to Carrie after lunch discussion:

I'm like a dog with a bone when my brain starts contemplating these issues.

 

Sovereignty of God:  Absolute authority and rule of God  (Bible dictionary)

 

From regular dictionary sovereign is "supremacy of authority"  complete independence.

 

From these definitions of Sovereign I still do not extrapolate that He causes....  for example  He has the complete authority to give mankind "free will".  He has the authority and ability to intervene in circumstances , and the authority and ability to allow circumstances to unfold.  But God is Good and what he does is good.  When it comes to sin, he is not capable of it and he does not cause men to sin... In his Sovereignty he allows men to sin and go their own way.  In His Sovereignty He allowed the Wright murders... hard enough to wrap my brain around, but I still maintain it is a far cry from causing it or it being his will.  We pray that God's will will be done on earth as it is in heaven, but the truth is that things are done apart from the will of God every day. 

 

Not trying to pursuade you really, the ongoing dialogue just helps me think my position through. 

 

Thanks for lunch!

 

Blessings!

T.

Carrie responded and then I replied to her response within her email.  My comments are in color.  Carrie did not respond to my response, but since then I have continued to think, pray about and contemplate my position.

Terri,

 

    This topic is so fascinating to explore! For sure! It gets my brain really cranking! There’s this paradox in my mind when I think of how the free will of man intersects the absolute sovereignty of God.  I completely agree that God can never do anything evil.  (James 1:13 –For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.)  Yet what if what we consider to be evil God had planned (not just allowed) for good?  Here I’m thinking about Joseph’s case when he told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”  (Genesis 50:20)  The brothers’ actions were evil, yet God not only allowed them, the verse says He intended them, which I see as an act of God’s will on purpose.  It is so interesting how different words strike people differently.  I do not read the word "intended" at all to mean a specific act of God's will on purpose.  For example one person could intend to use a scarf to keep them warm, and another to use the same scarf to compliment their outfit.  The intention has nothing to do with the origin of the scarf.  In the same way the origin of Joseph's situation is also irrelevant to God.  He knew what Joseph's brothers were going to do and he intended to use it in a different way than the brothers did.  I believe that God's will was to use the evil the brothers did for good, not to plan their evil.  I do not understand why God would "plan" evil to bring about good.  If it is that kind of Sovereignty why wouldn't he "plan" good to bring about good?  Not to place emphasis on human reasoning, I know that God's ways are not mine, but in my mind, especially in light of other scripture passages about God's goodness, it doesn't make sense.  I sill maintain that God didn't plan the evil - He knew the evil was going to happen and was still able to bring good from it.  (God works all things together for Good for those that love the Lord...)  to me this Biblical account is proof of this passage. Luther says this about Genesis 50:20 (regarding Joseph)  "God causes good to result from evil, not that He wants evil to be done."Somehow this doesn’t negate the brothers’ responsibility in regard to their choice to sin, but as in the case of salvation where those who believe do so only because God chose them and gave them the gift of saving faith while non-believers are still responsible for their rejection of Christ, there is no way with human logic to reconcile both sides of the equation.  Another example I see of this is in the case of Judas.  In John 17:12, Jesus says that “none has been lost (speaking of the disciples) except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” I think Judas was "doomed to destruction" because of his rejection of Christ.  Yes, Scripture was fulfilled through this act but I think God's inspired word reflects God's foreknowledge of what Judas would do, not what God wanted him to do or planned for him to do.  How do you reconcile the passage that says God would have ALL men to be saved with the idea that He "doomed" Judas to destruction.  Isn't Judas part of "ALL" Again I contend that this is a purposeful choice on God’s part not just to allow Judas to betray Jesus, but to plan that betrayal as the word “doomed” seems to imply a sovereign decree of God.  Again, this does not negate Judas’ responsibility in choosing to sin in this way, which seems like the same contradiction we see in the model of salvation we both agree on.   One commentary says it this way:  "This 'iva' (Greek for 'in order that'), like all the others referring to the Scripture fulfillment concerning the wicked, is not deterministic; it rests on the infallible foreknowledge of God.  God Foresaw all that Judas would become and would do in spite of the grace offered to him."  Knowing what Judas would do, God  used Judas' evil actions to help bring about His plan for salvation.  God can and does bring about good from evil, despite people's bad intentions.  Even when Judas came to betray Jesus, Jesus still reached out to him.  He actually called him friend.  God's grace was still there for Judas to receive, even though God knew Judas would not receive it.  I think that if Judas had repented and decided not to betray Jesus, God would have rejoiced over a sinner who had been lost but was now found.  He then would have still been able to bring about our salvation, but would have simply found another way for Jesus to have been brought to the cross.  But with His Divine foreknowledge of what Judas would do, God chose to use that evil as part of His plan.  In both cases Joseph and Judas God knew the evil that would occur before it happened and was able to use that evil for good.  I struggle with specific examples like Katherine’s murder in the same way as I struggle to understand why God doesn’t just grant saving grace to everyone. He desires all to be saved, and He has the ability to cause everyone to be saved (anyone who is saved was caused to be so by Him), so why not impart that saving faith to everyone? Here I have to trust that God is good, and if somehow His goodness is expressed in a way that glorifies Him but doesn’t make sense to me, I have to leave that in His hands.  I understand why the Arminians choose to assert man’s complete free will in regard to salvation and why the Calvinists support the idea of double predestination.  Both those views are consistent with human logic (either we’re fully responsible for our own salvation/damnation or God elects some for salvation and some for condemnation), but don’t really take the full teaching of the Bible into account.  I think in the end this is one of those questions we’ll just have to keep “chewing on” until God explains it all to us in heaven.  I appreciate the dialogue.

 

    It was great to see you yesterday.  Maybe we could try to schedule a once a month Wed. lunch so we can catch up with each other more regularly. 

 

    Love, Carrie

 

Today's email to my Pastor to keep chewing on this....

 

Dear Rev,

 

Today's reading contained Romans 11:36 which caught my eye because of the sovereignty discussion.  The text as I read it this morning reads: "For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory.  All glory to him forever! Amen" 

 

ESV says it like this:

 

³⁶For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

 

NIV says it like this:

 

For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

 

Wondering about the originial language that is translated as "all" things and "everything" in English they would indicate all inclusive, the good the bad the ugly....  This keeps coming up.....   

 

The thing is as I am reading scripture and if what I read is in support of a thought or helpful for what I'm going through I'm sure it is sent to me straight from God.  I do not want to be ignorant if He is telling me something about himself that is in opposition to how I view Him.  I don't have to like something for it to be true.  I don't have to be comfortable with it for it to be true....  But I don't want to be a person that ignores uncomfortable ideas and puts God in a human box.... He's God and I'm not, I for sure get that.....  If nothing else this whole discussion helps to to see very clearly why there are different teachings on this subject. 

 

My questions sure give you a lot of homework... However, you are the brains of this operation, so  I appreciate your help!!

 

Blessings,

T.

 

December 3

2 Chronicles 12:1  "But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord, and all Israel followed him in this sin."

When I read this I thought about how nothing really changes.  Unfortunately this is still common place isn't it.  Count on the Lord when the chips are down, and then never mind about Him when things are going well. 

Dear Jesus guard me against this, and help me to put my trust in you each and every day!

Time flies

Oh geeze, October 18th was my last entry.  I'm not sure what is more difficult, keeping up with the reading, or keeping up with the blog!  Today is December 1st, and clearly I am not going to meet my goal of reading through scripture completely in one year.  Currently I am in 2 Chronicles in the OT, and Romans in the NT Psalm 18, and Proverbs19....  From time to time I have been tempted to skim the passages to get caught up, but then I thought that it really defeats the purpose.  Really to take longer, and allow the Holy Spirit to use His word to stretch my faith and strengthen it makes way more sense than to rush through it for a "TA DA I DID IT".  So my journey will continue, not only into 2012, but after I have completed reading through then to keep reading. I think allowing myself to take more time will help me be better at bloging too.  When I spend the time trying to catch up, then I don't really make the time to contemplate what I read, at least not via the blog. 

Ironic again

I just zipped a note to my Pastor part of which expressed frustration at an ongoing issue in my life that is not getting resolved in my time frame that is for sure.  In that email as a reminder to myself I said: Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see...Christ, the one who will leave the 99 to go after the one, the One who will bring to completion the good that He began....  Trying to hold on to promises, but it sure is challenging.

Then in today's readings I read the following from Acts 27:25 & 26  So take courage!  For I believe God.  It will be just as he said.  But we will be shipwrecked on an island...  I extrapolate that to my situation as a reminder to take courage, and believe God and that He will do as he has said.  I will not be shipwrecked, but it may get worse before it gets better...  Sort of good news bad news I guess, but the point is to trust in the Lord.

Tardy, oh so tardy

The thing about getting behind for me is that it makes it really hard to get started again because I feel like I have to "Catch up" I am behind on the readings, but even more so the blogging.  I often do the reading when I cannot do the blog, and mark this or that thinking I'll post later, then I don't and then it snowballs because I don't have time to post all I want to...  So I'm just skipping those thoughts with the hope of being able to start fresh again. 

Today is October 17th, but I am reading from July 9th...  see how easy it is to get behind with this project?  Natalie and I have agreed to take a bit longer than the year if needed to complete reading through because she is also behind and it becomes very tempting to just skim it rather than read it in order to catch up.  We decided the point was more to learn and absorb than to get through it in the time frame.  However, 1 Chronicles so far is a bit of a skimmer anyway with all the family lines...

Having just returned from my anniversary trip in celebration of 25 years, today's proverb was a fun read:  "the man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord."  Proverbs 18:22

back from the gathering

I was gone from Sunday until Wednesday night.  I did bring my bible with me, but I did not do the daily readings while I was away.  We were busy from very early until very late every day.  With that said, it was an amazing spiritually energizing experience.  The theme was "The Bridge" and like pretty much everything it spoke to me about Derek.  So much was about God's amazing love for us and relentless pursuit of us.  It affirmed my recent thoughts that seem so clearly spoken to me by God through His word.  The readers digest version:  "I've got this, don't worry".  And so it is my intention to beat back the worry every time it rears it's ugly head and claim the victory of Christ for my son.  Jesus is the bridge that will reconcile Derek with God and I wait in expectation for Derek to hear His voice, quit running from and rather cling to His savior.  In the time being I know that God has not given up on him, that He loves Him desperately and is pursuing him passionately.  There was a song we sang and the chorus had these words:  If God is for us then who can stand against us?  (obvious answer.... NOBODY & NOTHING!)  God's power has certainly lifted many people from lives of  sin and destructive choices.  I am thankful that I am not dealing with addiction etc.  with Derek.  It is still hard to see him wasting his time and potential.  But again, I am excited to see what God has in store for him.  He is such a smart guy and has so much potential.  Seriously, he could do anything he set his mind to.   It's too bad that he's taking the long way around, but it's not too late for him.  I will continue to pray and do whatever I can to lead him in the right direction.  There is nothing more I can do, the rest is up to him, and up to God.

So tomorrow is July first and I'm on June first.... a month behind but still on track. 

June 22

Clearly I loved this scripture before, because it is underlined, but it still resonates with me.  2 Samuel 14:14B  "But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been seperated from him."

June 21

So, the Bible readings continue to be about Derek, or about me with regard to him. I can very much relate to Psalm 119:81-82  "I am worn out waiting for your rescue, but I have put my hope in your word.  My eyes are straining to see your promises come true.  When will you comfort me?"

 

Well except for the comfort part, I do sense His comfort the last few days, but for sure I am worn out waiting, and straining to see the promises come true....  Oh well, God's timing, not mine right?

 

June 20

I just finished the daily readings.  (I've been doing good about the "daily" part lately.  Nothing like a crisis with the kid to drive the habit.)  I'm still behind though.  Today's reading was May 27th and clearly we are well into June...   seems like everything has Derek's name on it, or my name with regard to how I relate to him.  Today is no different, here is the verse that jumped off the page at me:  Psalm 119:73  You made me, you created me.  Now give me the sense to follow your commands. 

 

 Moms in touch taught me to pray scripture... what a wonderful verse for that purpose:  Dear Lord, you made Derek, you created him.  Now give him the sense to follow your commands!  Amen.

June 19

The OT reading is the account of David's affair with Bathsheba and his successful plot to kill her husband to cover his transgression...  But we cannot hide our sin from the One that matters and today's OT reading ended with these words:  "But the Lord was displeased with what David had done" 

That's really awful.  I don't think I have spent much time in the past contemplating that sentence, but its tragic really.  And worse I think it is common to pile sin upon sin in the attempt to cover our sin so that we look all fine and good to the world.  So much better to take our lumps as we turn to Christ for forgiveness and the fresh start that He promises.  Clearly David does repent (that's coming up) but what a blessing for me if I can try to remember that sentence and allow the Holy Spirit to stop me from repeating David's mistake.  It is God's opinion of me that matters, not what the world sees or thinks.  I am a screw up and fail to do what pleases God daily.  But it is not my intent and it helps me to ponder the beautiful gift of His grace and mercy.  I am sure it can often be said "But the Lord was displeased with what Terri had (done, said, not done, not said etc.)  But thanks be to God that He is very pleased with what His Son did and with that in mind and with the help of His Holy Spirit (and as pointed out last entry in thankfulness) I will do my best to live my life and to make choices that "please" Him and therefore Honor and Glorify Him.

NT Reading was from John 15 the Vine and the branches.  Its interesting that each time "remaining in" is  spoken it begins with our part "remain in me, and I will remain in you."  I am not a theologian (in fact I cannot even spell it correctly but am thankful that the spell check will fix it before I post this...) but this makes me think of our free will.  You do your part people and I will do mine.  (well I suppose more accurately Jesus already did His part but we lose the benefit of that if we don't do our part of "remaining in")  I think of my son and how concerned I am about the fact that he does not appear to be remaining in...  John 15:4 Says Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me."  It is no wonder that I do not see "fruit" in his life right now.    But before I let that cause despair, I am reminded of Romans 11:23 which says "And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again." 

 And to seal the deal of comfort the Psalm reading for today began "Remember your promise to me, it is my only hope.  Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles."  Not just the promise of grafting in again, but also the promise of leaving the 99 and going after the one, and "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion" and in the parable of the prodigal son where it says "while he was still a long way off" the party preparations were started. 

We are called to remain in Christ, and we should take that very seriously.  However, I am so thankful that God is able and willing to work in the lives of those that are not "remaining in" Him.  It is my fervent prayer that my son as well as all people that are not taking their faith life seriously would turn back toward Christ and be grafted in again.  I continue to pray that God will soften Derek's heart and bring the good work that was started at his baptism to completion.

June 16

Psalm 119:7 b (NLT)  "I will thank you by living as I should!"  So ironic to read this today after the conversation I had yesterday with Pastor.  The reason God's people should do the right thing is to live out their appreciation for what Christ has already done for us.  We cannot earn our salvation, we can never do enough, or be good enough.  The good news is that we don't need to worry about that because Christ lived the perfect life for us and then went to the cross to pay for all of the sins of humanity.  But it isn't "cheap grace"  good works do not matter for salvation but they most certainly do matter.  Faith without works is dead scripture says, as well as that we must be doers of the word not just hearers only.  So cool that today's Psalm sums it up so nicely.  When someone does a kind deed for us that seems over the top we so often say "how can I ever thank you?"  There is nothing to be more profoundly grateful for than the salvation that Christ won for us and so cool that the way to thank Him for this awesome gift is also spelled out.... May the Holy Spirit in His awesome power enable me to live a life of appreciation by enabling to live as I should!

June 6

From today's reading, Psalm 112:1&7
"How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands.   They do not fear bad news:  they confidently trust the Lord to care for them."

Unfortunately life comes with "bad news" days, and times of tremendous challenges.  I love the reminder found in today's readings that we do not need to fear!

David and Goliath

1 Samuel 16 & 17 are a bit confusing as to the order of things.  In chapter 16 Saul sends for David on the recommendation of others to play music for him to soothe his dark moods, but in Chapter 17 is the account of David killing Goliath, and Saul says, who is this boys father and again he is explained as the son of Jesse.  I am guessing the killing of Goliath must have come prior to going to soothe Saul's issues with the evil spirit.  He is explained as a great warrior which would of course be true after the Goliath ordeal.

The account of David and Goliath is such a great example of how God Grants victory in the face of impossible odds.  It anticipates Jesus victory on the cross in the face of all the powers against Him. We are not to place our trust in human endeavors and devices.  The message of the cross is that God chose what is weak to shame the strong, and the "weakness" of God is stronger than human strength.

June 2

1 Samuel 13:10-14

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ¹⁰ Just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet and welcome him, ¹¹ but Samuel said, “What is this you have done?”
   Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. ¹² So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.”
 ¹³ “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

When I read this last night, my initial thought was that Saul did the wrong thing for the right reason.  Certainly God would have him seek His help, however, not at the expense of a direct command.  But I was curious about it because again the punishment seemed harsh for seeking God.... I looked at the notes in my Study bible, and the explanation there was "Saul's words are a rationalization for his actions.  Humans have a common tendency to offer reasons for not following God's directives."

Once again the theme of how seriously God takes our obedience is completely clear.  And once again I realize how important Christ's sacrifice is for me because of my inability, in spite of effort, to keep God's law.  Obviously God is not satisfied with our effort, but only with adherence.  I am thankful for the miracle that because of Christ, when God looks at me He sees His son and not my sin.

sure not daily....

I thought a lot about Samson...  still think he is a big jerk that shouldn't be on Sunday school leaflets or children's Bible Story books.  But God's grace explains a lot.  I also thought about the lesson that might be learned by parents through this account.  Perhaps if Samson's parents had not indulged his every whim he would have lived a different life.  Either way God in His wisdom picked Samson and used him.  We really cannot out sin God's grace. 

I am reading a book that Kate needs to read for her leadership group at Martin Luther Chapel at Michigan State.  It is called "Out of the Salt Shaker"  it is about evangelism and I am really enjoying it.  Evangelism is something I struggle with as I am often not sure how to balance respecting people and their beliefs and sharing mine.  I also think most of the evangelism tactics are not just ineffective, but rude and judgemental.  I don't want to be like that.  This book starts out addressing that same concern.  I'm excited about reading this book and seeing what I have to learn.  The author spends a lot of time talking about Jesus and his life and his example.  To that end I am going to concentrate my thoughts as I continue my reading journey on Christ and his example as best I can.  Here is today's reading from John and my thoughts about it:

John 6

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

 ¹After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is  the Sea of Tiberias. ²And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.(Rock star status...) ³Jesus went up on  the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. ⁴Now  the Passover, the  feast of the Jews, was at hand. ⁵ Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?"(Sometimes it is a good strategy to ask a question that you know the answer to.) ⁶He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. ⁷  Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." ⁸One of his disciples,  Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ⁹"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?"(Sharing what you have is place to start. Jesus does the multiplying and the meeting of needs)  ¹⁰Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. ¹¹Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks,(be thankful for what you have, before you have more) he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹²And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost."(don't waste, even when you have an abundance of things) ¹³So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. ¹⁴When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!"
 ¹⁵ Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. ( a time to regroup and refocus may be in order when you are misunderstood)

Jesus Walks on Water

 ¹⁶When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. ²⁰ But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." ²¹Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

claification

When I reread my last post I thought it sounded a bit like I was saying that Samson killing those 30 men was God's will.... NOOOOOO Samson treating his parents with disrespect, eating unclean food, touching a dead animal carcus, killing people..... All those things were not God's will, they were Samsons will.  God does not want us to sin, He wants us to follow Him.  However, His ultimate will of using Samson to save Israel from the Philistines is accomplished in spite of Samson's sinfulness. 

Today's Proverb

Each day I read a snipit from a Proverb.... usually just a verse or two.  They are so often "zingers" .  Today is like that again:  Proverbs 14:15-16  Only simpletons believe everything they're told! The prudent carefully consider their steps.  The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence.

OT reading is from Judges in Chapter 13 &14, it begins the account of Samson.  I found myself scratching my head on this one quite a bit.  So much sinfulness but it is preceeded by words that indicate God was at work in it.  Both when Samson is being a selfish jerk and demanding his parents get the pretty girl for him.  "I want to marry her.  Get her for me."  (For real???  I don't think this kind of talk would motivate me to do anything my kid was asking!)  And again when the Lord increased Samson's strength.  "The spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.  He went down to the town of , killed thirty men, took their belongings, and gave their clothing to the men who had solved his riddle."  Things that make me say hmmm.  I do not believe that God causes us to sin, but rather that He is able to work His purposes in spite of our sinful choices.  Samson is not a picture of an obedient child of God, but rather a selfish, greedy, sinful picture.  In spite of this God worked His purposes.   It is to our benefit to work in Concert with the Lord, following His commandments, but the truth is His Will shall be done one way or another.

May 10

Woo hoo, a post two days in a row!  And I even have some thoughts about today's reading.  It's interesting because it happens to be the same text I studied and though about a lot last week as I prepared for my Children's message, as well as for Sunday school.

 Here are my thoughts and pondering from Luke 24:13-32  the text takes place following the resurrection.  ¹³ Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles^[a] from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶ but they were kept from recognizing him.
 ¹⁷ He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
   They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
   ¹⁹ “What things?” he asked.
   “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰ The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹ but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. ²² In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³ but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴ Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
 ²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
 ²⁸ As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
 ³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

So, for the bright yellow first:  I've always wondered about why Jesus wasn't recognized.  I mean clearly it states that God PREVENTED them from recognizing Him, so it certainly is not that they were dull and dim witted.  But still, why?  Then this week I had an ah ha moment as I thought and prayed about it preparing for children's message.  My mom taught me so many things.  Truly, the woman I am today is because of her.  From moral issues to how to cook, everything important that I know I credit her.  And then in March of last year I watched her die.  It was a horrible thing to witness, such a beautiful strong woman be diminished that way.  I understand why death is referred in scripture as "curse"  because it was ugly and difficult and horrible.  In like manner, the disciples watched Jesus die on the cross.  They saw it with their own eyes.  So here's the thing:  I realized that if my amazing mother walked into the room, she would not be able to teach me a thing!  I would be so many things, amazed, confused, excited.  But what I would not be is in a position to learn something!  Perhaps the same would be true of the disciples, and Jesus had more teaching to do!

Next thought, neon green:  When Jesus asks a question, it's for our benefit not his.  He already knows the answer.

Light blue:  I just dig that he was kind of "pretending"....

Pink:  Wouldn't it be cool if as followers of Christ we could figure out how to have people want to hear more of what we have to say about scripture rather than being "Whew, we're home, let that dude keep walking"  I wonder what it is about Jesus style that accomplished that.  I pray that He will grant such an ability to me.

Orange:  This made me think of the chorus of a pop song that is played on the radio now.  "I gotta feeling. woo hoo"   So often we get a feeling about something.  Call it Conscience,  intuition, instinct,.....the Holy Spirit perhaps.  I think that still small voice we hear within ourselves is often the voice of God directing us.  We would do well to practice heeding rather than ignoring that "feeling".

And that is it for my pondering today!

May 9th

I'm a little bit behind again, but mostly the problem with posting has been that I've been without my computer for the last month or so. At first I had been noting things I wanted to blog about or mention, but then I felt so overwhelmed with all the catching up that I didn't write because I didn't have time to take care of it all.  Finally today I decided to just never mind about what I missed and start again. Ironically, nothing much grabbed my attention from the readings today.... 

this is hard!

So today is April 15th....  a 1/2 month since I blogged the last time.  I was away the first week in April on vacation. (Which was fabulous) and that is part of the reason that the month has zipped  by.  I did not have Internet where we were, so I didn't even attempt to blog.  However, I did do a great job reading scripture daily, and used the time to get COMPLETELY caught up! 

And then today, I had to read three days worth again.... ugh!  It irritates me that I keep not making this important task the habit it ought to be.  I don't forget to brush my teeth, or eat, or get dressed.  I really want daily scripture to be that routine for me.  I guess the trick is to just keep at it.  Three steps forward and two back is still forward progress.....

I did underline quite a bit from the last couple weeks of readings, and hope to comment on at least some of them over the next several days.  But after reading three days worth of scripture, and then blogging this much I am out of time for this morning.  Time to get ready for work.

Encouraged through scripture

My brother-in-law has been diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer.  I feel like I am reeling.  (And so I really can't fathom how my sister, brother-in-law and their girls must be feeling)  It's only been just a year since my mom died and in fact we got the news about Rick right at the anniversary.  That was a bad day.  But Rick has said an amazing thing.  He said that everything that God allows is to somehow Glorify Him and that he needed to somehow Glorify God in all of this.  I think he already has!

So as I read scripture of course Rick and Suzi are on my mind and in my prayers.  I took special encouragement from a couple of Psalms I read the past couple of days.  Psalm 61:1-2 "I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation my fortress where I will never be shaken."  And Psalm 63:7-8  "Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.  I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely."  I see that quiet strength of faith in Rick and the sure and certain knowledge that his victory over this disease will come from God.  Of course we pray that it will be victory in the form of restored health here and now, but victory is certainly His because of the faith that God has put in him and because of the victory of Christ on the cross at Calvary.  And I also am enabled to sing for joy in the shadow of God's wing because I am overjoyed at the knowledge that God is Rick's helper and that he his held securely in His strong right hand.

We have seen many blessings already in what will prove to be a long journey ahead.  Rick has the Nations most renown surgeon working on his case, as well as an oncologist that specializes in pancreatic cancer.  He is diagnosed with this disease after remarkable current breakthroughs involving a combination of chemotherapy and surgery.  While our whole family wishes that he did not have to go through this, we thank God for His hand of provision and care through the medical people Rick's care is entrusted to.  If you read this blog, please join me in continued prayers for Rick's health and encouragement through this difficult time.

March 30

I have utilized the bicycle time several times and have been doing better (although not perfect) in reading "daily".  Finding time to blog about the reading continues to be a challenge.  Especially since I sometimes do not know where to begin....

The bit about Moses not being able to enter the Promised land because he struck the rock rather than speaking to it scratched my brain even further shortly after I blogged the last time.  When I got to work one of the tasks I started with was reading the passages for the up coming Sunday so I could begin preparation for a Children's message.  The old testament reading was from Exodus and is a different account of the people complaining against Moses because they are thirsty.  In this account God directs Moses to a rock and tells him to hit it with the staff.  Moses did that very thing and the rest of the account is much the same, enough water for all the people, their livestock etc.  God's provision prevails for the people of Israel yet again.  (although they will quickly forget and bellyache and complain again)  Anyway, I just kept thinking in my own human way that it explained Moses transgression the next time, at least in my mind, even more.  He hit the rock the first time, and so he hit the rock the second time.... makes sense - us being creatures of habit and all.  I kept thinking it took Moses off the hook a little more and yet the reality is that it did not.  God held Moses accountable for his disobedience.  Not obeying exactly was disobedience, not 'imperfect obedience'.  There's a difference.  In fact according to God imperfect obedience doesn't exist....  As I prayed for understanding about what seems so harsh of a punishment for what seemed to me such a small transgression, especially in light of Moses overall faithfulness, I kept hearing "But I said speak to the rock".  Eventually the conversation in my head evolved into current examples of "imperfect obedience"  ie disobedience.  Times when we rationalize our choices to take us off the hook in our own minds and consciences.  I shared this with my Sunday school class and we came up with a whole host of examples....  'I only cheated a little bit because I didn't have time to do the homework because I was at church and youth group all day'  (yeah God it's really your fault I cheated)   And God says "I said do not bear false witness"  I only blew up at my mom because she accused me of something I really didn't do"  and God says "I said to Honor your Mother and Father"  I only stole the bread because my family is hungry and God says "I said you shall not steal"  I only swore because I stubbed my toe  and God says "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth"  or "Do not take my name in vain"  On and on the examples could be listed where we excuse our lack of obedience and we are reminded that God says what he means and means what he says and his expectation is obedience.

We are sinners that do not get it right more than we do. It is purely out of our love for Him and all that He accomplished for us on the Cross that we strive to make the right choices. And because of His great love for us we are able to rest in His amazing Grace and forgiveness when we get it wrong.  And although Moses did not get to go into the Promised land because of his mistake, because of God's promise he remains in THE promised land of Heaven with God for all eternity.  That's a better deal anyway.

yippee for muli-tasking!

Have to do the exercise bike, have (need, want...) to catch up on the Bible readings.  That was a time slot good for a couple of days worth of reading!

Last night at youth group I was sharing with the kids my little discovery from yesterday regarding "including Peter"  during the conversation Greg (adult youth leader) said, at least you weren't reading Numbers, you'd never get caught up.  I said, I AM reading numbers, that 's the OT readings.  We had a laugh about how difficult it is to get through Numbers and I must admit that the word "boring" did come up.  That's why today is so funny.  In the chapters in Numbers I read this morning, Moses hit the rock instead of talking to it, and forever has to miss out on entering the promised land for this tiny tiny (in my opinion) transgression.  I mean, it's still pretty clearly God's doing.  It's not like it is typical to strike a big rock with a staff and have water pour out enough for all the people and their livestock....  Once again the underlying message appears to be that God is very serious about obedience.  Once again I am so thankful that I live on this side of the Cross!  Anyway, it's not at all "boring".  Another head scratcher, but not boring.  And then there was Balam and the talking donkey.... THAT is a crazy cool account in scripture and not boring either!  And perhaps my favorite verse in all that I read today was also from Numbers!  Chapter 23 verse 19: "God is not a man, so he does not lie.  He is not human, so he does not change his mind.  Has he ever spoken and failed to act?  Has he ever promised and not carried it through?"  This goes right back to where I typically land.... He is God and I am not. 

Well it's 8:15 in the morning and I have a really long day of work ahead of me and I haven't had a shower or breakfast yet so I need to get after the rest of the day. It feels good to have started the day addressing both physical and spiritual health though.  So even though I am running a little late, at least it is for a worthy cause, not just because I rolled over and snoozed the alarm!

March 20 (but earlier readings)

I feel like I am losing my steam with the blogging.  In such a busy life it often feels like one more thing to do. However,  I really like the idea of it -  to be able to look back at my thoughts.  So, at least for now, I am going to continue doing it.  Perhaps it will not be daily, but at least from time to time.  I think blogging is partially to blame for being behind on the readings.  (well that and screwed up priorities with regard to the daily readings....)  I often do not want to make the time to read AND Blog, and so I end up doing neither.  Today is actually March 20th, but after reading a couple of days worth of readings to "catch up" I'm still only on March 13th.  I clearly have more catching up to do...

I  read something today that I have never really paid particular attention to before.  It is from Mark 16:7.  It says "Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee.  you will see him there just as he told you before he died."  (This from the angel, speaking to the women who had come to the tomb)

Here's the part that I am pondering:  "including Peter"  It makes me wonder if Peter was on the outs because of his denial.  And if so was it self inflicted out of guilt, or were the others mad at him because of his denial?  I think I am leaning more toward self inflicted if this is indeed the case at all.  I think this only because scripture indicates that the disciples "scattered" "fled" etc.  Yes, Peter was vocal in his denial in spite of his declaration of "Even if I have to die with you I will NEVER......"  Yes, yes you will Peter, and you did.  And I think in many ways and at many times, we all deny Jesus- even if it is our desire not to.

So I take encouragement from the words "including Peter" .  It is a tremendous encouragement to me that in spite of Peter's denial (and ours) Christ's sacrifice trumps it.      

yikes

I need to get caught up!  I am 1/2 way through the reading for March 9th and today is the 15th of March.  It really is challenging to keep up on this....  I think I'll try to read a couple of days  at a time until I get caught up.

March 7

Two days to read today. ..OT Reading from the 6th made me giggle in the first couple of verses.  Numbers 6:2-3  If any of the people, either men or women take a special vow of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart to the Lord in a special way, they must give up wine......   Nope, never going to be a Nazirite!  I find that wine falls more into the category of  Ecclesiastes 8:15 "So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad."

March 5

March 3's readings had two of my favorite verses, and I guess I forgot that they were both in Psalm 46.  I love 46:1  "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble."  And also 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God."  Whenever I read 46:1 I am reminded of a story that I heard one time about a child that got the words mixed up a bit and said "god is our refuge and strength, a very helpful present in times of trouble."  That works too!  And as far as the other verse goes..... I (as an official gabby-talk-a lot) often have to hear those words in my head...  God's polite but firm version of "Shut up and trust Me"....

I actually read March 3's readings on March three... but didn't have time to blog about it.  Today I'm catching up with March 4 and 5.  I think my plan is to read the study notes from my Bible regarding the readings in Numbers.  I think perhaps I will learn more this way since Numbers is such a snoozer for me.

Nothing more to write today, except to maybe say that the study notes for the readings were not all that interesting to me either.... 

March 1

My favorite verse from today's reading is from Leviticus 25:17  "Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. 

I think we can show our fear (respect/reverence/love) for God in many similar ways, just plug in the area of obedience  "Show your fear (respect/reverence/love) of God by not over eating.  (for example)  This fits because we are to honor God with our bodies, and my fifty extra pound of baggage I imagine is not exactly honoring Him with my body....

I wonder how to connect the dots... to have that thought before I skip the exercise, or before I pig out on junk food.....  I'm thankful for forgiveness, but I'd like to tap into the strength that I know is available to me to just avoid the bad habits....

I think I'll go down another glass of water, perhaps I'll raise it in a toast and drink it in His honor!!

February 28

Reading three days worth again today.....

From the 26th:

The NT reading from Mark 8 had an account of the Disciples arguing with one another because they forgot to bring bread to eat.  Jesus got after them asking them about the two miracles of feeding the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000 both times having 7 baskets of leftovers to pick up.  I feel like I would not have been worried about food if I had viewed those miracles, but the truth is God has taken amazing care of me and my family over and over and over and when worry creeps in my response is really no different than the disciples, so perhaps I should not be so sure of myself with regard to my reaction, because I don't have a great track record in the trust department.  I am so thankful that Christ is so loving and patient with me.

The account of Jesus healing the blind man using spit.... that is so cool that I can't even call it gross.  Because truly, if He can use spit to heal blindness then the possibilities are endless of how He can use me.  I am a sinner for sure, but I still think I'm a step above spit!  Well it was Jesus spit, that makes it extra special you may say.... not just regular spit.  Well I am His child I say, a redeemed sinner, not just a regular sinner....  that is a pretty special feeling.

From February 27  Mark 9: 24  "The father instantly cried out, 'I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief'"    I can relate to this Father so well.  My head and my faith do battle on occasion, and at those times my prayer is the same as this Father's .  I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief! 

Today's Proverb (10:19)  Too much talk leads to sin.  Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. 

Pastor's explaination

I zipped Pastor an email regarding my last post, here is his response:

Just a quick reply for now - I’ve got to get to work studying my sermon – we can talk more later.  In the Old Testament there was the moral law (Ten Commandments), political law (state law of the Israelites) and ceremonial law (all these rules and regulations concerning worship, etc. that you are now reading about).  The moral law certainly still applies to us today, but the ceremonial law had meaning only until Christ came.  I’m going to quote a commentary because others say and explain things so much better than I can.  “The laws and restrictions of these chapters were given to keep Israel separate from the nations as the people from whom the Savior of the world would come.  These regulations were not intended to apply forever (Jesus makes that point indirectly in your reading from Mark); they do not apply to us today (just like we no longer make animal sacrifices during worship – that too was commanded in the Old Testament), there are nevertheless good reasons for studying them carefully.” 

Basically, Leviticus describes the worship of the Old Testament people of God.  As it does so, it looks forward to Christ.  Another quote: “The rituals, rules, and regulations (nice alliteration!) of Leviticus were God’s way of teaching His people about the importance of holiness in their lives.  They learned that sin was a barrier between them and God, that this barrier would have to be done away with, and that atonement was necessary for them to stand before God and live in communion with Him.”  Christ, of course, was that atonement.  He removed that barrier.  By the way, Jesus didn’t undo God’s command to Moses.  Jesus is God.  Jesus was the fulfillment of all that the Old Testament people of God looked forward to.  The Old Testament Israelites were God’s chosen people from whom the Savior would come.  God gave them special commands, laws, regulations, whatever, because of their situation and to teach them to rely on Him, and again to look to the coming of Christ.  Christ has come.  Worship is still very important to us today (reading Leviticus helps us understand the importance of worship) but we are not under those same ceremonial laws that God gave Israel . 

February 25

Well, here I am three days behind again on the reading....  Thought I'd have the blog page up so I can type a thought as I go along.  I get so frustrated with myself getting behind, seriously, I need to figure out a routine. (Honestly that applies to more areas of my life than I care to admit, but certainly including the Bible readings!)

So from the readings I should have done on the 23rd:  More offering stuff.  Seriously as I am reading this there is no way to explain the complexity of these offerings.  I repeat, I am so thankful that Christ is the ultimate, and final sacrifice.  There is no way I would ever get this stuff right.  Example:  ...using two live birds that are ceremonially clean, a stick of cedar, some scarlet yarn and a hyssop branch...  And the supplies were the easiest part... Check it out in Leviticus 14:1-7, or this  from vs 14  "The priest will then take some of the blood of the guilt offering and apply it to the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot of the person being purified."

From Mark 6:30-56. " Jesus said " Let's go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile."  He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn't even have time to eat."

So today as I am trying to get caught up and lamenting the feeling of passing myself coming and going this spoke to me deeply.  Plan rest.  It's OK to take a breather, it's good to take a breather... Now to find a calendar square to write "breather" on....

February 24th's reading start right out with the instructions again.... regarding bodily discharge.... here we go with the complicated rules again. If he touches a clay pot it must be broken, a wooden utensil must be rinsed with water.  (who does the rinsing? If you touch what he touched you are unclean.  Then you'd have to take a bath, launder your clothes and wait til evening to be clean again.  That's an awful lot of effort....)

In Mark 7:1-23  Jesus says that it's not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.  I believe he just un-did the command God gave to Moses to give to the people - all those directions about split hooves, or winged insects (Unless they have jointed legs by the way) "By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God's eyes." (vs 19)  It makes total sense to me that the heart is more important than the stomach, but what makes me ponder this is that we are to measure everything against scripture to see if it is appropriate or not.  By this, we will know if someone is truly speaking God's word, or is a wolf in sheep's clothing.   I agree with this whole heartedly, and yet I just realized that given this practice Jesus would have been disregardable on these grounds, because what he said was opposite of what the word of God said.  Hmmm. 

OK, two days caught up one to go:

February 25th
Well the OT reading was all about not having sex with your relatives.. oh gross.  At least this is not an area of scripture I struggle with!!

February 22

Today's reading continued my thankfulness that I do not live under the laws of Leviticus.  And I especially appreciate that I go to the Dr. not the priest if I get a skin infection...  If I thought the laws regarding clean and unclean food were confusing, well, skin disease and mildew are just as confusing.  If it has a white hair in it..... but if it has a black hair in it.... Yikes. 

On the up side I combined riding my stationary bike with reading today's reading benefiting my physical health and my spiritual health all in the same time frame.  Yeah me!

February 21

 I'm in Leviticus now. All those clean and unclean rules, so confusing! - It's unclean if it has this kind of hoof, but not if it has this kind, or if it chews the cud....  insects with wings are detestable to you and unclean unless it has a jointed leg, then its fine....  if an unclean thing falls onto something it has to be washed and it's unclean til evening, but if it's a clay pot it has to be smashed.... Oh my goodness, wash it, break it, eat it don't..... UGH so glad I don't have to think about such things anymore.  Crazy!

February 18

Dear Blog,
Oh how I ignore you....  It has been nearly a week since I posted.  I was getting really weary of the details of the building of the tabernacle.  The curtains, the coverings, the specifics on everything....  Not exactly riveting reading after awhile.  Still good to think about God being so specific in nature, and to be reminded when we want to be "generally" good etc.  I was so excited to move on, and I suppose it is because I forgot that next comes all the specifics about sacrifice.... Now I am longing to hear about fine purple and blue thread again.... It's so gross all the sacrifice talk, and explained with every bit as much detail as the building of the tabernacle.

Some lovely notes from recent NT readings though: Mark 2:27  Then Jesus said to them, " The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath."  We need to rest, to pause, to recharge our batteries and God knew this and built into His expectations for us a way to meet that need.  But we ignore it and go go go go constantly.  The Sabbath is a gift, and a command, not just a good idea.  We are wired to be connected to our Heavenly Father through worship too.  So often I think we do not tend to our spiritual health.  Worship on Sunday, and get enough rest!  Take a breath, enjoy the pause, you, your work, your spiritual life, your physical life will all benefit!!

Loved this from Psalm 36  (vs 5 -7)  Your unfailing love, O Lord is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.  your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths.  You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.  How precious is your unfailing love, O God!  All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings."

Also loved this from Psalm 37 (vs 5)  Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust him, and he will help you."

And some good advise from Psalm 37:8  "Stop being angry!  Turn from your rage!  Do not lose your temper- it only leads to harm."

It's Friday with a busy week end coming up.  I find it doubtful that I will pay attention to you, dear blog, until sometime next week.  However, I will keep reading, and if anything cannot wait, I promise to post it right away!

February 12

Kind of struggling with the daily part of this plan....  I had to read three days of readings today to get caught up again.  I need to work out a plan so that I do not get behind like this, because I find that I do not enjoy reading this much at a sitting and tend to rush and not really think or contemplate it much.  There was a lot of interesting stuff in this three days of reading, and I'm sure I'd have tons to comment on, but when it is three days worth, not only is it a lot to read, it's a lot to type about and I don't feel like doing that much of a book report!  So, super going to try to get better at the daily part!  It's only February 12th!  I cannot let it slip away if I am to be successful with the goal of completing the "cover to cover" plan!  But thankfully as of today again I'm all caught up!!

February 9

Exodus 29:1-30.... Aaron and His sons are in their priestly garments, and directions for the sacrifices are given.  What a blood bath.  It just sounds so gross and stinky.  It makes me think of flies everywhere.  Maybe the incense that had to be burned helped with the smell??  Aaron's garments sounded so beautiful, trimming of pure gold, and gem stones.... And now sprinkled with blood.  Even as I type this I can feel my face squished into a grimace.....  EWW.

Matthew 26:14-46 is the account of the Last supper and the garden of Gethsemane.  As I think about the sacrifice of Christ replacing the need for the sacrificing I read about in Exodus I am relieved that His blood took care of sin in a permanent way.  I'm sad that my sin required such a tremendous payment, and truly unable to express appropriate gratitude for Christ's sacrifice.  I am especially touched by Christ's prayer in the garden.  "If it's possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.  Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."  Three times this prayer.  So often I am about telling God my will in my prayers.  May I be enabled to follow the example of my Savior and trust God's will for my life, even when it is impossibly hard.

February 7

As I expected, keeping up with the blog is a challenge!  Sometimes I just am too lazy to log on and type something, and other times I don't have anything interesting to say!

Today's OT reading is a little on the dull side...  Except that it's interesting to note the very explicit detailed instructions God gave with regard to the building of the Tabernacle, and for the making of the priestly garments.  I suppose it would be good to remember the next time I want to fudge a little on the details of obedience that God is pretty specific in His nature, and not at all "general".

In the NT reading in Matthew it is several parables.  In the story of the ten virgins the point is that we are all responsible for our own spiritual condition.  It can't be bought or borrowed at the last minute....  The story of the talents shows how important it is to use well what God has entrusted to us.  Not just money, but time talent etc. as well.  It doesn't matter how much we have of something, but it sure does matter how we use what we do have.  In the parable of the sheep and goats really emphasises the importance of serving others in the life of a Christian.  "I tell you the truth"  Jesus says, "whenever you did/didn't do.... onto the least of these brothers of mine you did/didn't do it unto me"   

February 2

I let myself get 3 days behind....  It's only the beginning of February, I can't start slipping already, or I'm going to be in big trouble!  I got caught up, although some of it was more a quick skimming rather than a word for word reading.  It's easy to convince myself that's ok when I am so familiar with the section.  The OT had the parting of the Red Sea, and then the complaining starts pretty immediately following...  We're hungry, we're thirsty, we should have just stayed in Egypt.  Oh how often the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, and how quickly we forget that we (to keep with the analogy) didn't even have a lawn in the prior situation... Some things just don't change.

January 30th

Well, tomorrow will mark the end of the first month.  Glad I am still on track!

January 28

Today's reading in the OT  is from Exodus 5:22- 7:25 and in this section we continue with Moses and Aaron speaking to Pharaoh regarding God's command to let the people go and Pharaoh's continued resistance.  Pharaoh is unimpressed by the signs that God allows Moses and Aaron to accomplish in order to get his attention - because His magicians were able to reproduce them.  Even the first plague of turning water into blood....  In spite of the fact that they were able to use trickery or sorcery to reproduce the signs, they couldn't reverse them.  It is clear that there is significant power available in opposition to God, but it is not stronger than Gods!  If it were, then they could have reversed rather than duplicate... And how terribly gross to have that blood everywhere.   

NT reading is from Matthew 18:21-19:12 and is a great lesson in forgiveness.  How many times do we have to forgive someone?  Pretty much all of them!  Don't keep track, don't do the math, just forgive!  Why?  Well, because God forgives us without keeping track, and out of our great appreciation for His Amazing Grace and Mercy, we are to do likewise.  Forgiveness sucks sometimes.... we feel like someone doesn't deserve it, or that perhaps they aren't even sorry.  I don't think that lets us off the hook of obedience though.  We are clearly commanded to Forgive as Christ forgave us.  When it is hard for us, or perhaps even humanly impossible because of horrific circumstances, may we rest in the Truth that God provides all of our needs, and will even enable us to Forgive that which seems unforgivable... Just ask for His help, admit that you must, agree to be obedient....  In any event forgiveness does way more for us than it does for whomever we forgive.  To not forgive is like holding on to poison that just makes us embittered.  Why forgive?  The reason is never because someone deserves it, any more than we "deserve" the forgiveness of Christ.  It is because as His Children we are called to be obedient.  And the blessing is that it frees us and leaves it in the Lords hands to deal with.

Psalm 23 is the psalm today, what's not to love there!  The Lord is my Shepherd..... He renews my strength!

Proverbs 5:22-23 "An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.  He will die for lack of self control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness." 

January 27

The OT reading covers the familiar burning bush when God calls Moses to free His people from the Egyptians.  I love this section because of Moses lack of confidence and how God patiently provides for every area that Moses is concerned about.    I definitely get the feeling that Moses was trying to get out of his assignment but God kept meeting every worry until there was no option.  When I compare this section to a little further ahead when Moses, his wife and sons start back toward Egypt I find another interesting thing.   In this section, there is a passage that says that God was about to kill Moses  but his wife circumcises their son and that's takes care of things....  (my paraphrase of course)  Here is why I find that so interesting:  God was very patient with Moses lack of confidence, and He provided for every worry with regard to that.  However, He was absolutely not going to accept lack of obedience.  Moses knew the law with regard to the covenant of circumcision, and he had not obeyed - no patience granted.  It does seem like it might have come up at the burning bush conversation.  "And Moses"   Says God.  "Yes Lord"  answers Moses.  "About the covenant of circumcision, I'm completely serious about that, and you are going to be in big trouble if you don't hurry up and mind me."  "Ok, God, I'll get right on it, sorry I'm tardy."   It's odd because clearly our all knowing God knew that Moses (who he was calling for a big job)  had a bit of an issue to deal with, and He didn't mention it to Him at the time, or at least if He did, it's not recorded for us to know about.  In any event, what I take from that is the encouragement that God will be with me and help me overcome areas where I lack confidence and  He will make sure I have everything I need to serve Him effectively.  At the same time I see the warning that He takes obedience VERY seriously as well.  He's patient with lack of confidence, but not lack of obedience.  Thanks be to God that we live on this side of the cross of Christ, so no worries that He will Kill us for our lack of obedience.  Even still we are called to live for Him and with His help we need to be obedient.

Still in Matthew for the New Testament Readings.  Today's reading had another section of scripture that I am really fond of and has such great advice.  It teaches of handling conflict appropriately.  When someone does you wrong here is the formula:  Go talk to them about it.  Do that first, don't talk to everybody but them about it!  If that does not work out well then go to them again but bring a witness with you... and it goes on from there.  I think that as a rule people really stink at this.  We'd rather talk to everybody about a situation than deal with it head on.  Of course it isn't easy, but it's the right thing to do. 

I didn't blog yesterday, but the NT reading from Matthew 17 was timely.... I wish I could catch a fish that would pay my taxes....  Cool miracle.

it's lonely in blogging land....

If you are reading this blog, please drop a comment!  What do you think?  Do you have the same questions as me?  Do you have answers or opinions??  Or if nothing else, just say hi and that you stopped by!
Blessings,
Terri

January 25

I think keeping up with the blog is more challenging than keeping up with the reading!

Reuban finally got called out for sleeping with his dad's wife... right before Jacob died he lays that info on him....  I'll bet Reuban thought he didn't know about it all that time.... Oh to have been a fly on the wall in that room!

Jesus does another food miracle, this time feeding 4,000 men plus women and children.  Directly after this when Jesus and the disciples move on, the disciples start arguing about the fact that they forgot to bring bread with them to eat..... Really?  They are worried about food after seeing two spectacular miracles that provided food for thousands .... WITH LEFTOVERS??   I have to admit that while I find it ridiculous that they did this having been witnesses of those miracles, I find it comforting as well.  I get frustrated with myself for having to learn the same lessons over and over with regard to God's provision and various other areas.  But clearly even those with first hand accounts that walked side by side with Jesus in the flesh had short memories as well.  The best part?  Jesus reminded, forgave, and redirected them and He still does the same for me today. 

So now Abraham Isaac, and Jacob are dead.  Enough time has passed that the current leadership in Egypt doesn't know about Joseph and his role in Egypt, but only that the Israelites are strong and many!  So begins their enslavement in Egypt.  Moses is born and placed in the Nile to be found by Pharaoh's daughter....  The beauty in this account is just the amazing timing of everything....  Some would call it coincidence, but I don't believe there is any such thing as coincidence.  God has always had perfect timing.  And while I often do not understand His ways (or His timing for that matter) I do believe it is always perfect.

January 23

Back again...  haven't blogged in a couple of days, but rest assured I am still on track with the readings.  Sometimes I don't set enough time aside to read and blog.... 

Some notable things....Joseph and his brothers and father have all reunited in Egypt and we get the blessing of seeing how God used all the really awful things that happened to Joseph to not only be resolved on the family level, but also to spare a nation from the ravages of famine.  I want so much to remember that God sees the whole picture and is ABLE to work all things together for good.  Even when He doesn't spare us hardships He still has a plan and a purpose and His plan and purpose will prevail!

Herod had John the Baptist beheaded and his head brought on a tray to Herodias's daughter.  Besides being disgusting this section caught my attention because  of vs 9 "Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders."  Note to self:  Engage brain before engaging mouth! 

The miracle of Jesus turning a tiny bit of food into enough for 5,000 men (plus women and children) with left overs is a great reminder that God can take our "little" and make and abundance, He is our provider in every instance, but of course when it is so dramatic we pay attention.  Often God provides in unexpected ways. I experienced it yet again this past week when Katie called and said "We're in big trouble"  Turns out the $5,000 scholarship that we thought would be applied to the 2nd term of school (and we made our financial aid requests based on this information) is actually to be distributed over 4 years of her education.  So instead of five grand, Michigan State received just over one thousand dollars leaving $4,086 still due.... in less than two weeks.  UGH.  But God of course was not surprised by this as I was and His provision was in place.  Den and I had refinanced our home to take advantage of the low interest rate.  We cashed out several thousand dollars to take care of some projects that we had been talking about (new carpet, finish bathroom/laundry room project, refinish hardwood floors in the kitchen, etc.)  We were still in the process of figuring out the priority of our list and hadn't spent the money, so...... off it goes to Michigan State, and our daughter will be able to continue her education without any lapse.  I feel so blessed.  No, it isn't how we planned to spend the money, but I feel so very thankful that it worked out as it did.  There is no way that we could have met that tuition without the refinancing money.  And I am just as sure that the projects will get done because in the same way God provided for Katie's tuition, He will provide for our other projects, or He will show us how He would have us spend our Time & money instead....

Also read about Jesus walking on water and Peter coming out to him on the water as well.  What an amazing and then frightening experience.... Note to self:  Keep my eyes on the savior, not the storms of my life!

I think I've made up for not posting the last couple of days.....

January 20

Joseph's dream comes true...And so do the ones that he interpreted. 

The best nugget from today is Psalm 18:1 " I love you, Lord; you are my strength."    And to that I say AMEN!  In spite of my questions, and all that I do not understand or find fair from my meager human perspective, that statement remains absolutely true for me.  "I love you, Lord; you are my strength!"

January 19

Joseph sure gets a raw deal, poor guy.  But God is with him and gives him success.  I suppose success in prison wasn't quite what he had in mind, and yet at the same time each piece fits together and God's story is played out.  In spite of murderous brothers, in spite of a false rape accusations and the resulting prison term, despite the cup bearer forgetting his promise.....  God still works his purposes.  Note to self, REMEMBER we only see what we see, we don't see what we don't see, and God sees it all, and works it all together for His purposes.  Be patient and wait and see what God does with whatever mess you are in!

NT Jesus teaches in Parables for the first time.  It was the parable of the four soils. 

Also kept up with the Psalm and Proverb.  19 Days and still on track.  Woot Woot!

January 18

The coffee cup is nearly empty and the readings for today are completed.  But for me it's still kind of early in the morning to be clever. I'm sure if I were typing this at night I could find some humorous way to call out Jacob for his favoritism of Joseph, or some sarcastic comment for Joseph's brown nosing arrogance.  I'll bet if I were not still sleepy I could even figure something catchy to say about the murderous scheming brothers, or Reuban's lack of spine.  However, I've not quite cleared the cob webs yet.  I'm excited that I already know how it turns out though.  That God uses all this dysfunction and naughtiness to fulfill his plan and what people planned for evil God used for good!  What a great reminder when we are in the middle of something that looks like no possible good can come of it that God knows (read this next part in the voice of Paul Harvey) "the REST of the story"!

I really should comment more on the Gospel, New Testament, Psalm and Proverbs sections...  I feel confident that when I hit "Numbers"  I'll vamp up the comments on NT.  Numbers if I remember correctly is a bit of a snoozer....

Woo Hoo a comment!

I feel like a celebration is in order! My very first comment!  Thank you "M" !  Although when I clicked on M to get that clarified there was no further info...   But in answer to your question, yes, there is a specific plan to get through all of scripture in one year.  It has a reading from the OT, NT, and a Portion of a Psalm and Proverb.  This is how I've done it in the past as well. However, a couple of years ago, my mom purchased me a Read through the Bible in a year Bible, and this is printed in the order of the readings, so now there is no pesky list to keep track of, or flipping back and forth, just have to keep moving the book mark as each days reading is headed with the Date.  Natalie also has this Bible.  It really does make it easier for some reason.  Anyway It's called The One Year Bible and it's published by Tyndale.  My copy is New Living Translation, Nat's is New International Version.  You can get it at Family Christian Book store, or probably any other Christian Book store for that matter.  Keep commenting!!!!  Blessings, T.

January 17

Between Worship, SS, & Youth group, my nose was in the Bible plenty, but I didn't read my daily reading yesterday.  However, I did get caught back up today.  I'm determined to not get behind! 

So Dinah gets raped and her brothers hatch quite an impressive plan of revenge....  Starting with deceit which caused the men to all get circumcised....  And on the third day while the men were still sore (ya think?) they went in and murdered them in revenge and plundered their stuff....  Again, this stuff is rated R for sure!

Reuban (Jacob's oldest with Leah) had intercourse with Bilhah, his concubine (Rachel's servant) or his 1/2 brother's mother (eeeeew!)  and Jacob soon heard about it, but so far that's all it says, just that he soon heard about it.  So far no consequences for this.... the things that make you say hmmmmm....

Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin, I'd forgotten that was how she died.

New Testament reading Jesus teaches about it being acceptable to do good on the Sabbath.  In other words, it's not "work" .  Even though he knows the Pharisees are trying to trip him up he heals the guys hand just to prove his point.  And the Pharisees call a meeting to plot how to kill him....  Jesus really was not a meek dude.  I think with his turn the other cheek teaching, people get the idea that he was a bit of a push over door mat... Sooo not the case.  In this account it's more like "how do ya like them apples..."  Of course he does move along since he knows what they are plotting.  But certainly that was wise, not wimpish!

Kind of goes along with the Proverbs reading  (3:31) " My child, don't lose sight of common sense and discernment."

Wish more people would not lose sight of common sense.  I think common sense is no longer "common".

Tomorrow's readings will be Genesis 37:1-38, Matthew 12:22-45; Psalm 16:1-11 and Proverbs 3:27-32

January 15

History repeats itself again...  Rachel and Leah give their servants to Jacob to produce children.... Seems like the family story might have passed down the lack of wisdom in that train of thought. 

Rachel uses her period as an excuse... Who knew that tactic dated back to biblical times! 

Matthew 10:30:  "And the very hairs on your head are all numbered."  I find this to be such a cool thought.  That our Savior is so familiar with us that every detail even as insignificant as the number of hairs on our head is known to him!

I have completed reading through Genesis 32:12; Matthew 11:6; Psalm 13:6; And Proverbs 3:18

staying on track....

It's January 14th and I'm still on track!  I haven't had a chance to blog thoughts much, I'm at Confirmation Camp as I type this and won't have time to type much....  Yesterday's reading had Jacob getting a taste of his own medicine as Laban tricked him.  How dark does it have to be in a tent to not realize that the wrong woman was sent in???  And was there no speaking allowed???  Seems like he might have caught on before the big surprise in the morning....

Lesson:  What goes around comes around?  That's what my mama always said!