Deuteronomy 13-34; Galatians 1-6; Psalm 38 & 40; 1 Corinthians 1-7

And we're back! Well, I'm back. Sorry for the absence. My cold really set me back - and then life gets in the way. It's going to take me a day or two to catch the blog up to where I am in the reading.

How are you all doing with your reading?

Before I get into the passages that spoke to me, I wanted to discuss something fascinating (to me) that I find about all of this. It seems that every time I read something, literally it comes up in the next day or two. We are doing a video series study during Sunday School and sure enough, just after reading Mark 15, that exact subject popped up in the study. That has happened several times. So I find it fascinating and motivating to have that happen.

The passages hat really spoke to me in this block were:

1.) Deuteronomy 20:4: 1 When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. 2 When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. 3 He shall say: "Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. 4 For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."

I had heard the last line quoted before with regard to military battles - it was interesting to get the entire context.


2.) Galatians 5:1-15
This passage really speaks to me. The repeated message that we have a choice - weight of the earth or fruit of the Spirit really hits home.

3.) 1Corinthians1:26-29: 26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him.

What a wonderful reminder of how truly unworthy we are to be allowed anywhere near heaven in addition to the possibility of God's purpose for us here on earth.

And when I get frustrated over the fact that I cannot wrap my brain around the concept of Heaven, verse 9 helps me out:

9However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"


4.) 1Corinthians6:18-20
18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Anytime I have to talk to one of my Kids from church about modesty (or even my own kids), this verse comes up. It's a great reminder that God blessed us with our bodies and that it IS a temple and that we owe it to him to treat it properly.

5.) 1Corinthians7:12-14
12To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

Two years ago, a friend of mine lost her husband. She does not know if he was saved and this has caused her a lot of heartache. One day, after he had died, I found this passage and it literally jumped off the page at me. I sent it to her in the hope that it would not only offer her some comfort but also reassure us all that he is up in Heaven like we pray he is.


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So that's it for today. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get another post up and catch back up to where I should be. Keep reading! We're more than 1/4 of the way through!!

Still here...

I've been slammed with an ugly cold. Lots of reading. Little blogging. Be back soon.

Numbers 28-36; Mark 8-16; Deuteronomy 1-12; Psalms 36, 43

Lots to cover yet again. The reading is happening (almost 1/3 of the way through!) but the blogging is lagging. Sorry!

Recapping seemed to work last time so that's how I'm going again.

Numbers 31: 19-24 ~ These are some pretty harsh verses. The discussion of warfare policies seems to be in complete contrast to the bulk of the Bible in which Jesus shows us how to love our neighbor as ourselves. I have a hard time wrapping my brain around these verses because of the contrast.


Mark 8:17-21 ~ Jesus' exasperation with his disciples is interesting to me. Here are these men who are followers of Jesus and yet even *they* didn't completely get it.



Mark 10:39-45 ~ "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Jesus is talking about his forthcoming suffering and death and his disciple again don't get it. They start bickering over petty stuff. Jesus is trying to get them to understand that in His kingdom, the greatest is the one who serves others.



Mark 12:29-31 ~ The reaffirmation of those two commandments as being the two most important is comforting.


Mark 12:43-44 ~ I wonder what happened to the widow after she gave out of her poverty?


Mark 13 ~ End times has always fascinated me. Our church is currently in the middle of a series on End Times and the term for the study of End Times is eschatology. Verses 9-11 have me wondering if we are currently seeing the signs in these verses actually taking place. the internet has made it possible for the Gospel to be preached in every corner of the earth in just about every language. Many Christians are martyred each and every day. Are these signs that the end is near? God tells us that we will not know (see Mark 32-37)...


Deuteronomy 8:13-14 ~ "When your herds and flocks grown large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."

Alexander Solzhenitsyn once said "When things are bad, we are not ashamed of our God. We are only ashamed of Him when things are going well." So very true. We turn to God when things are bad but when things are good we tend to move away from God and let our relationship with Him suffer. Why is that?


That's all I have for now. What about you?

Number 9-27; Psalms 27-29 & 90; Mark 1-7; 1Corinthians 13

Whew! Sorry to have been gone so long. This past week was a difficult one and one where I truly needed to immerse myself in the Word but had little time to digest it and put it up here. For that, I apologize.

Lots of ground covered over the past 7 days...


1. Numbers 11 really highlighted for me the fact that leadership has had incredible burdens since Biblical times. So it is comforting to know that I am not alone when wrestling with my roles as a leader in various positions. There are many, MANY times where I wish I was not the leader type yet Moses' conversation with God in this chapter comforts me. The fact that his patience was worn incredibly thin and yet he still was able to show mercy to his rivals amazes me and shows me that I have MUCH to learn.

2. Numbers 15:37-39 was interesting. I did not realize that the Israelites used tassels and blue cords on the corners of their clothing to remind the of the Lord's commands. I wonder if that might be a wise idea for us today.

3. Number 20:21 It is interesting to see just how far back this issue stretches.

4. Numbers 22-24 blew my mind. A talking donkey?? Really? Wow. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this so if you have any insight, I'd love to hear it.

5. Psalm 28:6-7 really resonated with me this week. With everything that is going on in the world, I find myself turning more and more to the Word of God for comfort, for strength, for wisdom. These 2 verses really summed that up for me. "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped."

6. Mark 2:17 How very true. Healthy people do not need doctors - those who are sick do. People who already believe in the Lord and have accepted Him into their hearts are not the ones in true need here. It is those who do not already have the gift of salvation that God is most concerned about and whom WE should be most concerned about.

7. Mark 4:30-34 and 6:39-44 The parable of the mustard seed and the miracle of the loaves and fishes are two of my favorites. We meet each Friday night for Bible study and potluck. There are, on average 20-40 people there and each week it's the miracle of loaves and fishes. Obviously not on such a grand scale but there is *always* enough to feed everyone including the hoarde of hungry teens that are there each week.

8. Mark 7:8-9 and 15-16 really convicted me. I am so quick to put aside the commands of God and take up the commands of this world and I don't even think twice about it. I need to stop myself and really think about whether my actions are God-honoroing or world-honoring.

9. 1Corinthians 13 Many have heard this one. It's recited at many weddings - mine included. I didn't know the backstory though. Paul arrives in Corinth after being chased out of Thessolonica and Berea by lynch mobs and Athens by people who scoffed at him intellectually. When he gets to Corinth, the Jewish leaders become abusive and drag Paul into court. But God is there with him and tells him not to be afraid. How incredible is that. So Paul trusts God and does what He tells him to do and Paul winds up staying in Corinth - a town known mainly for it's lewdness and debauchery - for 18 months, nurturing converts. The description of ideal love is one that I strive for in my relationships with my family but I admit that I don't have that level of dedication with my friendships sometimes. And that is something I most definitely need to work on.



So, again, I apologize for my absence. I will try to post more regularly from here on out. I am still reading almost every day. I hope you are too.

Tonight, I am saying a special prayer for my friend L. She and her family have suffered a very painful tragedy and it's not something that anyone can help fix. So I pray. I pray for comfort and strength for her and for her family. I pray that God would reassure her that there IS a reason for everything and that everything happens for His glory. I pray for healing for her heart, for her family's hearts. And I am incredibly grateful that she is my friend because I am blessed for knowing her and her family.

Still here

Still reading. No time to post at the moment. Keep reading y'all!!!

Numbers 7,8; Psalm 23; Acts 27, 28

Scripture: Psalm 23 (New International Version)

Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.


This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. I'm sure I am not alone. However, a video series that we are watching during Sunday School, titled "That the World May Know", really opened my eyes to what this psalm really means.

I'm going to go through Ray Van der Laan's analysis of the Psalm because it's so interesting to me.


"The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want."
We are God's sheep. Once sheep have spent enough time with their shepherd, they come to know his voice and are able to discern it among voices of others. Van der Laan asks the question, "As God's sheep, have we spent enough time with him to recognize his voice? If we are truly his sheep, then we will follow him alone, ignoring other voices that may tempt us." What an incredible question. In today's world, it is SO easy to follow the wrong voice and truly become lost. Every day can be a struggle for me in terms of focusing on and following God's voice.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
Van der Laan points out that when you and I think of "green pastures" we think of big, grassy open fields with greenery for days and days. But, in Israel, that is not the case. The "green pastures" are rocky fields with just enough greenery to sustain a flock for a day. Which implies that, as God's sheep, we need to trust that EVERY DAY, He will lead us to places that will sustain us. EVERY DAY. We won't necessarily have greenery for days and days but what we will have is ENOUGH. For that day. Enough to sustain us. For that day. But we have to keep coming back. We have to trust our shepherd (God) to lead us to a green pasture every day, just as the sheep trust their shepherd and do not worry about where tomorrow's meal will come from.

The shepherds also know where the "quiet" waters are. It's not the waters that are left after a flash flood comes through the wadi. Those are dangerous waters, even though they may be calm for the moment. The problem comes in when the flash flood occurs again and wipes out those in the wadi. Instead, a good shepherd will know where to find truly quiet waters that pose no risk for their sheep. God is the same way. He leads us to the truly "quiet" places in life - places where there is no risk to us as we drink.

He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

From "Follow the Rabbi":

Sheep always travel in a straight line, which creates problems when a shepherd calls to sheep further up the hillside: The animals will not walk around hazardous obstacles, but plummet straight down, getting hurt in the process. To avoid this problem, shepherds guide their sheep using straight trails that slowy zig-zag down the hills.

The Hebrew language uses the same word for ?straight? and for ?righteousness.? Thus the ?straight paths? of the shepherd were the ?paths of righteousness? mentioned in Psalm 23. The Israelites understood that the path of righteousness is the path that leads straight to the shepherd.

Our path to righteousness is the one that leads directly to our shepherd. But we cannot walk that straight path if we do not focus on His voice and tune distractions out. If we are distracted, our path with not be straight or righteous.

During the day, a shepherd will keep a distance from their flock but at night, the shepherd walks among his flock because that is when the danger to the flock is the greatest. The rod is used to defend the sheep and keep predators away. The staff is used to gently keep the sheep with the rest of the flock for their safety. So the image that is portrayed in this Psalm is one of comfort - the shepherd will keep his flock safe with the rod and the staff

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever.

Even when enemies are all around us, God provides for us. We have a shepherd that will do anything for us and protect us, as long as we follow his voice.



So that's it for now. Hopefully next week I'll be able to post more frequently.

Numbers 3-6; Psalms 22, Acts 25 & 26

Scripture: Psalm 22


What an interesting Psalm. It starts off with a story of incredible suffering and then, about 1/2 way through it turns into a story of jubilation. The beginning of the Psalm is full of pleas for help among tremendous suffering that continue day and night. And all the while, God remains silent.

Then, in verse 22, the Psalmist turns from grief to jubilation. Somewhere in there, God has saved the sufferer and the Psalmist then begins to tell others about it. This Psalm was on Jesus' lips while He was dying on the cross (see Matthew 27:46).

The pattern (per the commentary in my Bible) is one of redemptive suffering. And that suffering has a point - after the suffering subsides, victory, power, and salvation of the world follow. Psalm 22 shows that David left a legacy (in addition to a Warrior-Messiah who would lead his people to victory through battle) that there is victory through suffering.

What an incredible story.