My Journey Through The Bible

1 Chronicles 10 – 14

Verse 10:4 is really the first act we find Saul doing:

Then Saul said to his armour bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and mistreat me.” But his armour bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.

Interestingly it’s his last act. I am not sure why they spent no time on his kingship or how he was anointed king by Samuel, but his death is described. As I studied this history of these books I found a few things to note. First, this book was originally one book that was split in two by the Greeks in 200BC. They also changed the title to “the things omitted” by implying it was material not in both books of Samuel and both books of Kings. In 400AD it received the full title “The Chronicles of the Entire Sacred History”.

As we notice in the story of Saul, this was not omitted, so the Greeks title was not really right. I often wondered why include these books in the Bible, since they really are more like a “Readers Digest” version of this history. Also, it’s full of a bunch of genealogy which tends to be dry reading. We will see that these books parallel most of the two books of Samuel and the two of Kings.

Chapter 11 and 12 talk about David’s “Mighty Men” or his inner circle. There appears to be 37 men mentioned in 2nd Samuel and 52 in 1 Chronicles, yet they imply only 33. Verse 11:15 suggests that the “mighty men” may be 30 with three of them set aside:

Three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David at the cave of Adullam, when the army of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.

Verse 11:18 & 19 talk about “the three”:

18 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink it. He poured it out to the LORD 19 and said, “Far be it from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

As with much of my ramblings I start to focus on numbers or details and not the purpose. This describes David’s closest men who were with David before he took the throne. Sure it’s easy to rally behind a king, but to rally behind the one you believe to be king is another story. Especially since Saul was hunting David and trying to kill him.

Verses 13:9 & 10 take by surprise:

9 And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. 10 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark, and he died there before God.

Here the ark appeared to be unsteady and Uzzah placed his hand on the ark to steady. This angered the Lord to the point where he killed Uzzah. Sorry, but I don’t get it at all! Why would God do this? Was the ark really that Holy that no “normal” man could touch it? Were Uzzah’s intentions not “proper” and was he touching it for “power”? The story is not clear, other than he touched it and died.

Numbers 4 – 6

Verse 4:8 is part of a section that describes the duties of the sons of Kohath:

Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.

I find it interesting how this group of Levites is given a specific duty. It appears they are to prepare the tent of meeting for the next worship. It’s interesting how these chapters get into the details of the day to day operation where most of the other tribes duties are not specified.

Verses 5:2 – 3 seem cruel on the surface:

2 “Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. 3 You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.”

Basically they are exiling the people from their families and friends. This seems horribly unfair, until you realize it is all for the safety of the people. Maybe infectious diseases would be more readily handled of the people just isolated them today. One of the little “pet peeves” I have is people coming to work sick. For whatever reason people think it’s more important to get the job done, then to remain at home and recover. The problem is they never isolate themselves and end up infecting half the office.

If only we would take this serious and remove ourselves from contact with others to limit the spread of the disease.

Chapter 6 deals with the vow of the Nazirite. I find this interesting and should be read trough to see if I am missing something. But it really gives no detail on what the vow is, but rather what one should do when taking the vow. Verse 6:2 talks about the oath, but does not give the details of what:

“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD,

I often wonder if this is a generic vow of service to the Lord. It doesn’t matter what the Nazirite is doing, just that they will separate themselves from to the Lord for some period of time.

This gets into another subject on how long this period of service is. Some readings I have done imply this vow could be a lifetime, but the chapter is very clear in from verse 13 on what happens when this vow is over. I find it interesting how the Christian faith tends to wash over this vow and seems to not spend too much time with it. Why is that? Seems like this would a great guideline for those entering mission work for a period.

1 Timothy 1 – 3

Verses 1:3 – 4 open with a warning against false teachers:

3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

This has become such an issue over the years that it’s difficult to clear through the clutter. Often times we get into the minutia of the Word and lose the overall meaning. For example we often get lost in the Law and forget the grace of Jesus. I find it interesting that “stewardship” in these verses is used as what we should be doing.

Again this is another one of those “fine lines” where you can go in wrong directions. I have been to churches where people have broken out in tongues and been very uncomfortable. While I have been to others where this has happened and felt fine. Jesus said we are to do greater than he, now was that just to the disciples or the body of believers? Either way there is nothing that says speaking in tongues is wrong, I just think the emphasis on some churches often force a disingenuous response.

Verse 1:9 captured my interest:

understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers,

So often we think we are forced to obey the Law as Christians, when in reality we just do it without much thought. No the Law is here to convict the world; Jesus is here to save it. Without the law there would be no distinction between God’s people and the unholy. The Law actually provides us guidelines to live within, where it gives others conviction.

Verse 2:1 is a very important key to prayer:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,

Often we get wrapped up in our own personal needs and desires, which cause us to rarely break out of that in prayer. When we do we get to family and close friends, only to end it there. Paul is reminding us to pray for everyone, not just your close inner circle. This becomes a difficult task since we tend to lose focus and desire outside this group.

Think about the recent election, no matter which side you voted, did you pray the eventual winner would prevail and succeed? I wonder if this is a “missing ingredient” in much of our prayer life. I know it often is in mine; I focus on me, my family and close friends only. Try a shift for a week and instead of praying from you out, reverse it and pray for everyone else and move in.

Chapter 3 focuses on the qualifications of “overseers” and “deacons”. I know these are terms which are rarely used in many of the “modern” churches, but the “qualifications” should be applied to any in the role of leadership and trust. I find it interesting how both mention one wife. Did this mean no divorce or no “bigamy”?

Verse 3:15 has a charge to behave:

if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth

Funny how we all seem to have that ingrained knowledge of what is right and wrong. I think everyone has this on their hearts, Jesus just exposes it. So go today and enjoy church, sing a joyous noise and praise the only uncreated God!!

John 5 – 6

Verse 5:10 starts on the problem between the Law and logic:

So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.”

This is where the “intention” and the legalism goes crazy. I mean think about it, he is just moving his bed that he had been “resting” on for 38 years finally walks because of Jesus and the legalistic Jews found a problem with that. The intention of the “Sabbath” is to work 6 days and rest 1, if you have not been working for 38 years work the “legal” Sabbath does not technically apply.

We are seeing this same absurdity today in the schools. Granted we are coming off a horrific mass shooting before Christmas in Connecticut of elementary school students, but a few days after the incident a 6 year old was suspended for making a gun gesture with his hand. This is a bit over the top especially when you consider the video games he may play or the cartoons/shows/movies he is allowed to watch at that age.

This is an example of an over the top interpretation of a law or rule. On the surface the punishment may seem to be an overreaction to harmless play, but I would hope this is more reflective of disciplinary problems with the child. I would assume the child and parents were notified before a seemingly minor incident caused a suspension. But like the cripple who walked after 38 years, this may be an overreaction.

Verse 6:35 focuses on our salvation:

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

On the surface this sounds like if you accept Jesus you will never go hungry. In today’s financial turmoil we have many Christians who are going hungry all around us. Now one could say they are not really going hungry since I have not heard of any starvation deaths of Christians. This obviously is an illustration not of our physical needs, but rather our spiritual ones.

In verse 32 Jesus talks about being the true bread from heaven, comparing himself to the manna. Accepting Jesus is talking about one’s eternal life more so than the temporal one we live today. His “food” will ensure our eternal salvation, whereas the manna just ensured our survival here on earth.

Verse 6:40 cuts to the chase about our belief in Jesus:

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day .”

Simple equation to salvation! We often get wrapped up in the dirty details of being a Christian that we try to tie works into the promise of salvation. We just need to accept the gift and move forward, nothing more. Many argue that you need to “show” the “works” of the spirit to prove the salvation is true. Our some may argue that as a Christian you will obey the “Law” and its details like eating and tithing, otherwise they question your salvation.

Often I argue K.I.S.S. or Keep It Simple Stupid with the message of salvation, but if you have been following my writings for any amount of time you will notice the exact opposite in my writings. I get off on some tangents and often beliefs that have no scriptural basis. At the same time, I eventually will find my way back to the true intentions of God.

Verse 6:63 gets into an interesting subject of us as humans:

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

First I notice that “spirit” is used twice in this verse and once it is capitalized. So there is a dual meaning here over and above the basic definition which I think is key to our understanding of God. The “Spirit”, or “Ruach Hakodesh” in Hebrew, is God or the Holy Spirit. That “image” of God actually is what drives this meat suit we live in. So without it, we are just a lump of meat that does nothing.

If you look to the Hebrew “flesh” is translated from “basar” which often gets interpreted as “human nature” but the actual translation is “flesh, meat, body” or the physical stuff. “Human nature” is actually more the physical needs of the body driving the “spirit”.

Now the words Jesus “have spoken” give our spirit a better connection with the true Spirit of God. See this is the fine line between our spirit which drive our bodies and the ultimate Spirit of God. Often this “connection” gets blurred into humanistic terms like “energy” and the “universe”, similar to The Secret. Through this they acknowledge some kind of “energy” that many call “God”, but they do not make the actual connection. I believe if you dismiss God from this “spirit” connection you lose the connection in the afterlife. Granted riches on earth would be nice, the ideal of existing in eternity without that connection is not appealing.

Daniel 7 – 12

Most of today’s readings are “end times” prophecies. The first has 4 beasts with one being very “mechanical”. Then we get one with rams and goats all losing horns and have way more than they should. All point to the “end times” with chapter 12 devoted to this idea.

Although one could parse through much of the verses and make clear comparisons of the past and how these match. We could easily map them into present day and believe these prophecies come 2700 years after their writing. We have just lived through the most cataclysmic even in history, the Mayan Apocalypse.

Yep 12/21/12 was the “end of time” which was pointed to by the Mayans and could tie into tons of other cultures claiming the “end” being in 2012. There are even people who study numerology in the Bible and said it pointed to 2012. Time ended on 12/21/12 on the Mayan calendar, but continued on. It’s just like the 2012 calendar I threw out and replaced with my 2013 one, time will never stop marching on. There is NO END TIME! Now there may be an apocalypse, where the veil is torn and we will see something new. It may be the “end time” for our body, but time will keep marching on.

Looking at specific verses, verse 9:14 give us a warning towards man’s actions away from God:

Therefore the LORD has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice.

Often times we complain that we cannot hear his voice and therefore how can we “obey” it. We have a difficult position where we have all the tools available to us, but cannot figure out the “how” many times. First and foremost we have the Bible, that becomes the cornerstone of any decisions or problem we may face. Second is prayer, where we “talk” with God and petition him with our needs and grievances.

Next is the “dangerous” part and needs to be checked constantly to the Bible, but that’s the inner voice. I can say for a fact that my “inner voice” has directed me to go down the wrong path more than once. After ending up in a ditch, I will refer back to the Bible and see the error in my ways. Now was that “inner voice” Satan or just my personal wants and desires? Most of the time that “voice” was my own selfish desires, where I was justifying actions that do not match God’s plan or will.

Verse 9:21 is something I often pray would happen:

while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.

Notice in the reading, Daniel will pray or have a vision and some angel will explain what it meant. How I would love to pray and have Gabriel come and explain God’s position and the ultimate outcome. I think we expect this to happen every time we pray, so God’s will and plan is spelled out before us. In the 50 years on this earth with 36 of them as a Christian, I have never had a clear vision outside the Bible.

Maybe someday we will have a more open dialog with God? I would ask that the visions be clearer, so we do not need them explained. At the same time, if someone who had never seen a tank or an FA-18 fighter jet and had no way to describe them other than with animals, which may be why the visions are so “strange”. One of the 10 horn creatures it described could be a battleship with 10 large guns. So maybe if we have visions some 2000 years into the future we may need someone to explain them too us.

Proverbs 17 – 18

Verse 17:4 hits home today:

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and the LORD tests hearts.

Often we need to understand that God tests us to ensure our intentions are correct. We do things which are claimed to be for “His” glory, but in reality it’s for our own. Personally I want to have the gift of healing, so I can pray for and heal others. Do any of you see what’s wrong with that last statement?

The problem with that statement is the “I” part! See I may say I want the glory of God to flow through me, but it’s so I can get more twitter followers and maybe sell a book. If I am lucky, I’ll capture the event on video and post it to YouTube, all for the “glory of God” and a possible profit. See there is more benefit for me in doing this that expanding the kingdom of God. Now you may understand the “test” that possibly made God question giving me the gift of healing.

Verse 17:24 focuses on our goals and quests:

The discerning sets his face towards wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

I pray for wisdom and focus on “the ends of the earth.” Right now after months of not purchasing lottery tickets, out of pure frustration on our situation I purchased one yesterday. See to most that’s not a big deal, but to me that’s like being an alcoholic and taking a sip. Sure the sip will not hurt them, if they control it, but it has the possibility of spinning them down the rabbit hole of their addiction. In this case I was praying for wisdom on how to handle our problems, but focusing on the “easy” way to a solution and not wisdom.

Verse 17:28 is a wonderful verse for those of us who to tend to speak first and think later:

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

This reminds me of an old saying:

Better to remain silent and thought a fool,
then to speak and remove all doubt!

I believe this saying has its roots in Proverbs 17:28. This “saying” has been attributed to Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln, Samuel Johnson, Chinese Proverb or unknown. Now granted the saying twists the proverb slightly as the proverb has the premise of being thought wise, while the saying is being thought a fool. Either way often we should “bridle our tongues” before speaking out (James 1:26-27). Although often in this world the person who can bullshit eloquently can fool all into thinking they are wise. So we need to test the word by God’s standards and not the worlds.

Verse 18:12 focuses on the issue of pride:

Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honour.

I think of James 4:6 the comment of pride:

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

No matter how you slice it pride tends to take our focus off God and move the “spotlight” onto ourselves. Go back to my desire to have the gift of healing or winning the lottery and you will see the desires are for a better “bragimony” than a true testimony. We need to approach life and others with humility and not pride.

At the same time I often think I over do the “humility” and “silence” when living my life. Often these are viewed as weakness or indecisiveness, which cause others to lose confidence in the direction we are traveling. At the same time I often get “lambasted” for my “opinion” being wrong and then my “I told you so” is received very poorly. The world is wanting decisive action, be it wrong or not, rather than a thoughtful and prayerful approach.

Just look at the latest decision to avert the “Fiscal Cliff”, no action was taken for months with this deadline looming. When action was taken it was decisive and rash, causing taxes to go up on all and increasing the deficit by 4 billion or trillion (who’s counting these days). Not that is an increase in our debt that would not have happened if we had done nothing!! Again action by the “haughty” may lead us to destruction. Again why I played the lottery!!

Psalms 96 – 98

Verse 96:1 opens the New Year with a new song:

Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!

The mention of a “new song” comes up quite often in the Bible. I don’t know if I notice it more because of the group “New Song”, but often ponder what it actually means. A quick search shows the phrase comes up only 9 times, with 6 of them being in the Psalms. I guess what I ponder is are the passages new songs or are they instructing us to live outside the box and create our own new song?

Verse 96:6 is a great two line description of God’s dominion:

Splendour and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Sometimes we need to sit back and just think about God’s domain. It’s really amazing when you think about it. As people we tend to focus on the ugly and evil, and miss the big picture. Often our attention is on ugly things in this world which tend to draw more attention to the other evils.

If you have ever been in an accident or near accident, did you notice you went where your eyes were focused? I believe that is one of the reasons the Psalmist wants us to focus on the good and beauty and not the ugly. We can’t go through life with our “blinders on” because that lowers our defenses where we could get “blind-sided”. But if we keep the majority of our focus on the “splendor and majesty” our live would be a little smoother.

Verse 97:9 brings up God’s position over all:

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.

God is most high and is the only uncreated one in the universe. The thing that caught my eye in this verse is the statement “above all gods.” Is this an acknowledgement there are other gods in the universe? Or is it about our focus? When this was written the perception was gods of thunder, the seas, skies and other “natural” phenomenon’s existed. Today we are trying to dismiss the one and only God through science. Now instead of worshiping God or any other god, we have become materialistic and worship our stuff.

I pray we have a “soft” realization and revival in this nation, because the “slap upside the head” we need will be painful.

Verse 98:4 ties into the signing of a “new song”:

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

This Psalm is one of the other 8 that describe us singing a “new song.” With this I wonder if singing a well know praise and worship song loud and out of tune? Or do we just make one up, like a prayer? Is God looking for a more personal connection to Him via any way possible? I think the key is just sing to worship, don’t worry if you can sing wonderfully or like me, just project your love for God to him!

1 Chronicles 5 – 9

Verses 5:1 – 2 bring up another reference to Ruben being the first born:

1 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son; 2 though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph),

The “birthright” and order have always interested me in the Bible. Ruben was first born and therefore had the birthright, but ticked Jacob off and it was given to Joseph. I wonder if part of that was Ruben’s mother was Jacob’s least favorite. Also remember Jacob and Esau had a struggle for the birthright, so it obviously order and “tradition” had less importance to Jacob.

So what does that mean to our nation today? Well since most families have one or two children, the “birthright” is not as important. Also, the idea of equitable distribution of assets between the surviving family members is the way things are done today. The first born rarely gets the lion’s share. I guess this part of the reason stories like this tend to pass me without much attention, even Jacob and Esau. I never got the importance of that position.

Verse 5:25 talks about a breaking of one of the “tribes”:

But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and whored after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

This is about the half-tribe of Manasseh together with the tribe of Ephraim formed the house of Joseph. I just find it interesting that these people tended to drift and may be the root of much of the problems as time progresses. Not sure on that but they seem to be the first of the 12 tribes mentioned that does this.

Or maybe it’s just man’s nature to drift from God and get in their own heads what is right. I know many “cults” and new-age beliefs have us trying to become a “god” since technically if we are the image of God we can therefore become like Him. If you are rooted in Christ you know how this is folly, but it’s something that on can quickly justify themselves into believing.

You get into religions like Scientology or books like The Secret where one learns to use their “energy” to tap into the “infinite” resources of the universe, one can quickly believe that they can become a “god”. You may have years of prayers to God that appear to go unanswered, then suddenly wealth and fame are at your disposal. Most of the time these “mindsets” are from “snake oil” sales men, who promote an allusion of easily obtained wealth.

That I feel is one of the most dangerous “diseases” to our connection with God these days. We get caught up in something that promises what we want and appears to provide a simple path. We follow it, with some success and then slowly start to drift away from the idea of asking it in Jesus’ name and then start calling on our own name and “power.”

Verse 9:22 picks up an interesting concept of protection:

All these, who were chosen as gatekeepers at the thresholds, were 212. They were enrolled by genealogies in their villages. David and Samuel the seer established them in their office of trust.

This was the selection of a group of special individuals that were entrusted with protecting the nation’s holy ground. Think about the screening that must have been done through millions, or you may “narrow” it to the 604,000 fighting men, it’s still a daunting task. There were really “a few good men” to take a slogan from the United States Marine Corps.

Numbers 1 – 3

Verse 1:1 is one of those “I wish” verses:

The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

I often wonder how God spoke to Moses. Was it through an audible voice, a dream or a thought?Interestingly, the message given to Moses was take a census and then he does for the next few chapters. I never really get the census and why so much of the writing is devoted to saying almost the same thing for each tribe. Verse 1:22 – 23 is an example of how most of the first chapter is constructed:

22 Of the people of Simeon, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, those of them who were listed, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upwards, all who were able to go to war: 23 those listed of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

Through verse 43 it is almost word for word for each tribe except Ruben from two verses prior where Moses adds “Israel’s firstborn”. This is interesting to a point, but I often wonder why so much detail. This could have been summed up in two or three verses, but I often wonder if I am missing something. Here I am questioning texts which have survived thousands of years and were inspired by God, yet I don’t get it.

I think of Tennyson’s Charge of The Light Brigade sometimes when reading where he states: “Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die.” Not saying that reading the Bible is a life and death thing that we should “mindlessly” do, but rather we should read without too much “questionwhy.”

At the same time my questioning has lead me down some amazing paths of discovery which lead me back to the accepting this book on faith. Some of the most amazing and questionable statements from the Bible have been resolved in my mind including the parting of the Red Sea and creation happening in six days. So with an analytical mind one sometimes goes overboard on questioning.

Chapter two is devoted to how the camp is to be arranged. We tend to think of this as not that big a deal, but really think about the size and magnitude of this problem. The “census” was just numbers fighting age men, not children or women. Since the number of men in this census was about 604,000 one could assume the camp was between 1 and 2 million people. That’s about the population of San Antonio, Texas and over the city of Atlanta proper.

That suddenly gives you an idea of the immense task Moses had before him. Now you can see why he was reluctant.

Chapter 3 is devoted to defining the role of Aaron and his family. Verses 3:45 -48 jumped out at me as interesting:

45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.”

Wonder how a “tax” on the first born would go over today. Notice it included cattle!!

2 Thessalonians 1 – 3

Verse 1:8 starts off with a dire warning:

in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

The old argument comes up here, if God is love than how can he cast anyone into hell? Once must only realize God is more than just love, He is everything. Which opens an interesting thought posed by Pastor Shannon the other day; if God is everywhere, then he is in hell. It’s very perplexing when you really start to think about it. He is in the “flaming fire” with those “who do not know” Him.

Verse 2:8 continues the theme of the destruction of those who are not followers of Christ:

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

Interestingly, this appears to describe an individual and not a generic group. I read this and wonder how they relate to “the anti-Christ”. As I read these prophecies and writings I have to wonder if those who focus on the “end-days” do more damage to the “faith” than help. Think about it, if you did not believe and all you we exposed to was “dooms day” talk, you would be looking at 2000+ years of people saying these things with nothing happening. Would you be drawn to the faith or away?

Honestly I think there is more than enough to share with people that is positive than to slam them with end-times scary stuff. I do think “internally” we should focus on it since it will put urgency on doing “God’s work”. I honestly believe the “love” part needs to draw “newbies” in but we need to grow the other aspects after the fact.

Now this presents a dilemma for churches today, do they preach to the “congregation” of believers or the “new” person walking in for the first time? I think that is where “Sunday School” and small groups need to progress. Ensure they have some for every level of believer. Keep the “service” for “worship” and general teachings and focus on the details in the groups.

Verse 3:10 is a slap upside the heads of the people who want something for nothing:

For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

I think Paul is real specific that the “leaders” of a church should not rest on those laurels, but rather work so as not to seem privileged. This should be the way we live today. I really thing “charity” has been lost in today’s society. Everyone points to FDR as the start of the welfare state, and through the Great Depression it was necessary to keep from a total collapse of society. But there is one big thing I notice that is lacking from today’s programs, the aspect of working for the handout.

WPA is a perfect example; they fed, clothed and housed people in this program. They even paid them a little money, but in return they had to work. The result for our tax dollars was some major improvements in parks and infrastructure that provide value to the public some 60 years later. Assistance is always needed, but I think Paul was saying those who can, should work for whatever they receive.

Didn’t mean to go on a political rant, but at the same time charity is a huge component of our faith. Just think one needs to assess the recipient, and that is a fine line between compassion and enabling.

John 3 – 4

Verses 3:5 – 6 really sum up the “born again” experience:

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

This becomes difficult to get because often we look at these bodies we are in as a unit. Like the flesh has many integrated parts our “minds” are the same.The “mind” aspect of one’s being can actually be parsed into three different levels: the mind, the soul and the spirit. All work together, but are different in function.

The mind controls ones basic operation throughout the day, processing the environment and reacting to it. The soul takes these experiences and processes them on a deeper level, considered the “higher mind”. The spirit is the connection to God and the energy he offers. This is where Paul is trying to get us in understanding. Our souls are “images” of the spirit of God.

Verses 3:16 – 17 are the root verses of Christianity:

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:16 is one of those “verses” that if you have been a Christian long enough you have memorized it. One can spend days parsing out what this really means, but the reality of it is simple. We just need to believe Christ was real and believe what He said and did. In most basic of explanations it’s as simple as your “ABC’s”. ‘A’ccept Jesus into your heart and make Him the “Lord” of your life. ‘B’elieve that Jesus is who He said He is and walked this earth. ‘C’onfess your sins before God and be forgiven.

Verse 3:17 often gets ignored as Christians often feel they need to condemn this world. We should really leave the judgment part to God and just love on people to show them what God has to offer. Non-believers seem to look at living with God as more a lack than an excess. You “have” to give up promiscuous sex, drinking and partying. You “have” to be honest and manage your affairs properly. When we “condemn” the world we tend to turn more away than to the love of God.

Verse 3:30 says it all in a nutshell:

He must increase, but I must decrease.

That is so simple to say and so difficult to do!

Verse 4:24 ties into much of the real connection Jesus is trying to make for us:

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

We often try to connect with God through works or fancy prayers and lose the real connection with Him. Sure helping others and prayers are necessary, but they key is to know the motivation. Is it out of love and obedience or is it just to earn “brownie points”? We need to all learn that “works” and “prayer” led by the “spirit” are more of what God is looking for that the actual acts. This is the “sticky” part of Christianity that people need to understand to gain a more full life with God. If we can connect in spirit, than we know God personally.

Oops … forgot to post this yesterday

Proverbs 16

Verse 16:1 had me scratching my head:

The plans of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

This is a difficult one since often we think of God talking to us through the heart. The tongue is considered more from our own minds, since we need to consciously control it. Yet this verse implies differently, where the heart is of man and the tongue is of God. Now if we go to the CJB, which tends to flow the Hebrew a bit closer we find the word “plan” is not there and “prepare” is in its place.

If you consider “plans” as more of a conscious “preparation” of one’s heart to come before God, this makes more sense. Once we connect our heart with God, the tongue follows. So we need to prepare our hearts before speaking of or to God. I notice often when I sit down in the morning and have nothing to say about the reading, if I pray beforehand what I think is garbage ends up touching someone. It’s best to always have one’s heart in a state of preparation, so we can ensure the words from our lips are of God.

Verse 16:2 speaks to the way we often think ourselves into trouble:

All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the LORD weighs the spirit.

This actually ties into verse 1 and expands on the problems with not preparing one’s heart for the Lord. We all tend to “justify” things that we know are Biblically wrong, be it a drunken night on the town to blow off steam or an adulterous affair. I have come up with scenarios before where I could justify murdering an individual. We can put on different glasses and justify almost anything that violates and of the Ten Commandments. The key is the “spirit” since that will show the true intentions of your desires.

Verses 16:5, 18 & 19 all touch on my favorite subject, pride:

5 Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD;
be assured, he will not go unpunished.
18 Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
19 It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor
than to divide the spoil with the proud.

My favorite book of the Bible, James, expands on the problems of pride. Pride tends to make things look “pure inown eyes” when we allow it to cloud our judgment. Pride tends to separate us from God because we try to take control of our lives. We decide what direction we need to go and what is right or wrong. Basically we try to substitute our self-interest with God’s plan.

Verse 16:8 is something I have a tough time with:

Better is a little with righteousness
than great revenues with injustice.

Not that I wish to gain wealth from deceptive and covert acts, but I am interested in being wealthy are “righteous” at the same time. I often whine about my financial state and then it becomes obvious how I put myself here with deceptive business practices. No one in their right mind would have loaned me money without verifiable income, but Countrywide told me the numbers I needed to “estimate” for my income to obtain a loan. Their verification process was my signature, so both parties were engaged in fraudulent acts, but as “they” say: “Two wrongs don’t make a right!”

As with most Proverbs I could dissect each of the 33 in this chapter, but will highlight a few others. Verse 16 ties into verse 8 talking about how wisdom is more valuable than gold or silver. Again I would like both to take the debt pressure off. Verse 22 continues the theme saying “good sense is the fountain of life”. They key again is to allow Godly influences on one’s life to ensure a full life. Verse 25 talking about “a way that seems right to man” ending in death, ties into the verses about pride.

I will leave you with verse 16:31 that cheers up us “old folk”:

Grey hair is a crown of glory;
it is gained in a righteous life.

YES!!!

Daniel 1 – 6

Verse 1:12 – 13 describes the “Daniel Fast”:

12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

Interesting that the word “fast” is never used to describe what Daniel is doing. No in this case it’s just not eating the food the king is serving since it does not meet the Hebraic Law. So this is not really a “fast” but more of a modified diet. I have “fasted” this way and other ways that really don’t meet the real intention of a “fast”.

Think about it a fast is not eating and maybe not even drinking. Often we fast foods, but include fruit and vegetable juices. Or we will “fast” sweets or “pork” or some other food that is easily substituted. The more I explore fasts I have two takes on them. The first belief is fasts are more of a healthy “reset” of one’s digestive tract. The other belief is when one fasts they honor and connect to God. I believe this aspect applies to more long term fasts, where a single day one is more God’s intention on health.

Through this reading we see a bunch of well-known stories that are great to read in context. Unfortunately each would provide a whole “Thought” in its own respect, so I will only touch on a few. You will notice multiple times the kings create laws, prompted by jealous court members that are intentionally designed to “trap” the Jews in high places.

Verse 3:25 talks about what happened when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were tossed into a furnace:

He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

They lived to glorify God! Interestingly the “fourth” is often considered Jesus because of the “son” comment, but in reality this is how the pagan culture describes angels or supernatural beings. It may have been Jesus, but there is no evidence to support that assertion. This was all done because these men would not bow down to the Nebuchadnezzar’s gods or idols, so God made a “show” to protect them for their faithfulness and to show Nebuchadnezzar who the true God was.

Verses 5:25 – 28 describe Daniels interpretation of “the handwriting on the wall”:

25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; 28 PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

King Belshazzar died that very night and the kingdom began to crumble. Hence you now understand why “the handwriting on the wall” has become synonymous with something coming to an inevitable end.

Verse 6:22 describes the result of another time when King Darius’s advisors made another trap for Daniel:

My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”

Here he was thrown into the lion’s den to be protected by God. Again this turned the heart of the king to not only spare Daniel, but to toss the advisors to the same fate. As in the fire, these men were not spared by their “gods”.

Through the book of Daniel we see a man of great faith and one who trusts God. He moves into the king’s court by his gifts and is protected by his faithful obedience. The big question is can you faithfully follow God to ignore laws that conflict with His laws to a certain death? If you did would you “expect” protection like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego received? Or would you doubt? I am sure many who went into the gas chambers in Germany remembered these stories as they were exterminated.

Psalms 93 – 95

Verse 93:4 describes the power of God:

Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the LORD on high is mighty!

This I feel is obvious since if God is in everything, he is in the most powerful force in the universe. We try to limit God by comparing his power to waves that one can surf and harness. But if you think about how many waves have crashed on your body while swimming in the ocean, and yet nothing happens. At the same time the beach has rock cliffs that have been eroded away by these same “harmless” waves. The only time the waves hurt is if you try to act against them, like the cliffs or a person fighting the flow. In each case the wave will win.

Like waves, you “flow” with God and His immense power can be used positively. I have found the times I fight God, the waves that were compliant start pounding my life.

Verse 94:12 is how you respond to the “pounding” one gets from fighting God:

Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD,
and whom you teach out of your law.

I read this and realize I am “blessed” … really “blessed” … way more “blessed” than I want to be. All joking aside, one needs to embrace God’s discipline if for anything else it tells us He cares. Why would a God of the universe care about making sure this little spec on a dot of a planet? I can’t answer that, but know He does care about each individual which is really mind blowing. You think about infinity and how huge that is, then think of how insignificant we are to infinity, especially when you apply it to time and space.

As insignificant we are in relation to time and space, God of all takes the time to nudge us and correct us into a relationship with Him. All tapping into this is to grab a board and paddle out!

Verse 95:1 is proof that God loves us as we are:

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Those who have to bear with my singing at church know that the noise that comes from me must be joyful, because I am smiling and think it’s good! I think that is one aspect we miss from organized churches and that’s the “joyful noise” we make in song and worship. Often we look for more and more substance, yet that needs to come from places outside the pulpit. Really church needs to be a tune up so you can discover God the rest of the week.

If we decide to figure that out on Sunday, often the message from the pulpit is all we can handle since our spiritual growth is stifled. You feed a baby once a week; if they don’t die their growth will be stunted. Same with your relationship with God, the Sunday only relational time will limit one’s connection and growth. The key is to use Sunday as a tune up, that way if you miss a weekend or two, you still are growing in Christ.

1 Chronicles 1 – 4

Chronicles starts with the genealogy of the Jewish people. Because of this, verses 4:9 – 10 were about the only real substance I could bring out of this reading:

9 Jabez was more honourable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” 10 Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.

These two verses have been discussed by a few and actually have a whole book devoted to dissecting them. What interests me is why through all the lineage, including David, Solomon and a host of others that have whole books and sections of the Bible devoted to their lives, did the writer of 1 Chronicles focus on Jabez? Other than these two verses Jabez is not mentioned. So why did the writer move from a genealogy to talking about this one person’s prayer?

I don’t think we will ever be able to answer the “why” question, but we can look into what is said. It’s interesting that it mentions that his mother “bore him in pain.” Interestingly, Jabez sounds like the Hebrew word for pain. Also, he is “more honorable” than his brothers. Although we know nothing about them, we can only assume Jabez is a Godly person.

Verse 9 sets up Jabaz’s character and verse 10 is his prayer. The first part is asking for blessing and for God to “enlarge his border”. Often we as Christians feel we must live as the widow, in poverty. Jesus gave us multiple examples of this throughout his ministry, with comparing the rich to not being Godly. In one instance he has the rich man who is in hell asking for relief from the leper he ignored. Another Jesus asks a rich man to give up everything an follow Him, to which he compares a camel going through an eye of a needle to a rich man entering heaven. Here Jabez is asking for “more”.

He asks for God’s “hand to be with” him to guide him through life. I think more than blessing that is what we should be focusing on. Sure living comfortably would be nice, but having peace that God is guiding your way would be wonderful. We tend to live assuming God is not active in our day to day lives. While that may seem true, it’s far from reality. We interact with God 100% of our lives, it’s just if we notice it or not. So asking for guidance is really asking to open one’s eyes to the work God is doing every day.

The Lord’s Prayer asks to deliver us from evil, where Jabez asks something even safer. Instead of being delivered from evil he asks to be kept from it. The footnote in this translation for the word “harm” is also “evil”. Being kept from “harm” or “evil” is a much easier proposition than being “delivered” from it. Since many times once you have been sucked into the “evil” it causes more pain to be removed.

I think Jabez was wise to ask to be kept from “harm” since it keep one’s life much more steady. We go down paths of drinking, pornography or drug use and the “withdrawals” are painful. Also, the harm that is done in the middle of these “paths” often do intense damage to self, jobs and marriages. So Jabez is wise to keep from these path so as not to be in personal pain. Even a “forgiven” man has to live with the damage caused by his folly.

“And God granted what he asked” is something we all would like to hear. We think we are honorable and deserve the “blessings” but often as time goes on it is revealed problems that need correction before we can be “blessed”. In this instance Jabez asks from a position that is in tune with God. We need to do the same in order to ensure our prayers are heard and “granted”.

One warning, don’t think go “granting” of one’s prayers as God being your genie. We should all focus on God’s love and omniscience to know when, how and if “blessings” are to be “granted.” Try to integrate this prayer into your daily prayers and see if you notice a change.

Leviticus 25 – 27

As I started reading I forgot to mention a verse from the previous reading, verse 24:20:

fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.

Justice and the “eye for eye” quote is Biblical. Just found it interesting.

Verses 25:3 – 4 deals with a “Sabbath Year” and “crop rotation”:

3 For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.

Again is this something that Moses picked up wandering the “wilderness” or did God actually teach him proper farming techniques. I find it interesting how some 3 to 4000 years ago God was teaching us things that science has now proven. We have removed this and have not focused on high yield farming techniques. No longer do we allow the earth to “rest” but try to work it year round.

The nutrients that God intended to replenish over the years are trimmed down to 6 macronutrients and 8 micronutrients. Ironically most do not include additional ones that God intended; we now search to find them in a pill since our bodies are deprived of them. Additionally the chemical fertilizers which make the land useable without a “Sabbath Year” pollute our water supply and make it dangerous. Granted those chemicals being absorbed into the food we eat would NEVER cause us harm.

“Don’t mess with Mother Nature” was a catch phrase in the 70’s to sell processed margarine that “tasted like” butter. Now we are chemically reproducing taste for saving a buck and assuming these chemical concoctions are better than “natural.” Which reminded me of “Franken food” or GMO’s which are taking over the store shelves.

Now profit is driving our food to “engineer” something better than what God provided. Consider the GMO corn from Monsanto that is toxic to the touch, which improves farming yields. This GMO has created mutated weeds which are resistant to the chemicals and have driven up food prices since if that seed “cross pollinates” with a neighbors fields, Monsanto has rights to the product and will destroy the farm that this happened to, unless they pay.

Verse 26:12 should give us all comfort:

And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.

I read this as a possible foretelling of Jesus or as a promise of an intimate relationship with His people. Think about this universe and infinity, and how God is over it all. Now think about the significance of His relationship with us on a daily basis! How cool is that! We can access the God of infinity without restraints. He is over everything and has the time for YOU!! Can’t top that ever.

1 Thessalonians 4 – 5

Verse 4:11-12 are ones I try to live by:

11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one

Oh how I want to air some “dirty laundry” that relates to this subject, but that would only compound the stress in the family. Introspective on this has shown while I live quietly and mind to my own affairs, when it comes to “family” I guess that is not the way to walk. I have little to no respect with most, even though I just keep doing what I feel I should, quietly and without saying much. When I do speak, it blows up into a huge issue, so it prompts me to remain quiet. Guess something has to change and maybe it’s my meekness with family matters.

I try to live by example of how one should not be confrontational. Unfortunately, I may personally “over check” this since my temper is volatile and pulling away is the easiest solution that actually controlling my emotions. I remember a Kipling poem, “If” which starts:

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

I pray I can do this more often and remain calm.

Verse 4:17 talks about a subject that has much debate:

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

The subject of the “rapture” or our bodies being lifted to heaven before the Apocalypse seems to be a great subject since today is the end of the Mayan calendar and many say that other prophets point to this time as the “end times”. Interestingly, we are still here without any strange events, although the power went out on our block for a short time. A quick trip to the gas station made us realize how localized the outage was and not a solar flare disrupting the worlds power grid.

Now where did the term “rapture” become such a “Biblical” term. In a quick search of the KJV, NKJ, The Message, NLT, NIV, ESV and CJB I only found the term used once in The Message and it was not in reference to the “end-times” but rather ones heart. The term was “coined” first by Shakespeare meaning “to be transported by a lofty emotion or ecstasy.” It did not show up in Christian writings until the around 1931 and now with many denominations is a common term. It’s interesting how in such a short time a word that is not in the Bible has become a “Biblical” word.

As with much of Paul’s writing he “dumps” a ton of wisdom, quickly at the end. Verses 5:15 thru 22 is just this:

15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

“Pray without ceasing” is one that jumps out to me. That single verse is quoted more often than many others. When the subject of prayer is preached in church, Pastor can preach a whole sermon on these three words. It’s something we tend to over dramatize the meaning and think we need to lock ourselves up in a prayer closet for hours on end. In reality this means always be connected with God, always be in a state of confession and always ask for guidance. Seek God’s will and you will find it.

As with most of Paul’s advice this is all solid and works well as one lives in this world.

John 1 – 2

Verses 1:1 & 14 talks about the relationship between of Jesus and God:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

God is referred to as “the Word” in this chapter which often is assumed to be the Bible. But since the Bible did not always exist in the beginning we have to assume John implies the Bible has always been written. If history has already been written, then why do we assume we have free will in this world?

I digress from the key that God has always been and always will be. He came to this earth in the form of Jesus and “dwelt” among us. Do you remember the OT writings about how God would dwell among us in the tabernacle? Jesus has taken that interface down and now walks with man as “equal” in flesh. As a man, God felt the same pain and had the same limitations as we have; the difference was He was tapped directly into the power of God.

One thing we miss in our “image” of God is not the frail body that Jesus had, but the spirit and soul that was God in Jesus. That is the image of God imprinted on each of us! And as you notice in the Gospels we are told we will do greater than Jesus (John 14:12). With that said, are we? Or do we just need to know how to tap into the spirit of God? This is where the rubber meets the road and how faith becomes real. The scripture is simple, we must believe and it will be … simple … right?

Verse 50 tells Nathanael that he has only just seen the start:

Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree’, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

Nathanael was amazed that Jesus knew where he was and that peaked his interest. Imagine his excitement that this man knew where he was and the said you will see greater things.

Verse 2:10 ends the water to wine story:

and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

Jesus just took vats of water and turned them into great wine. As one would expect from God, only the best! This story is a great image of asking God and getting more than you expected. Interestingly when you ask God, expecting more it often does not happen. I think God would rather give to someone expecting nothing than one expecting millions.

God back to verse 4 and notice “the mother of Jesus” made these request and in verse 5 Jesus blows it off. But notice in verse 6 his mother doesn’t stop and told the servants to do what He says. Notice even with Jesus a “nagging mother” wins!

Verse 2:19 foretells Jesus’ resurrection:

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

They figured it was the literal temple that took 45 years to build and not His figurative body as the temple. Imagine living your life knowing you will suffer a horrible death, be crucified on a cross and then be raised back to life. Sure then end result is the salvation of the world, but imagine the suffering before. I think “The Passion of the Christ” captures Jesus’ suffering on the cross.

Imagine remembering these words, when you are before the risen Christ!!

Ezekiel 43 – 48

Ezekiel continues with the specifications on the temple. Again, I often wonder why God created this as the interface then and now we can access God where ever we desire. Is there still a need for this interface or has our knowledge of God “evolved” past the temple as we now understand his omnipresence.

Verses 43:18 & 22 focus on preparing the alter:

18 And he said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: These are the ordinances for the altar: On the day when it is erected for offering burnt offerings upon it and for throwing blood against it, … 22 And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and the altar shall be purified, as it was purified with the bull.

One thing I think we miss in our relationship with God is the significance of “preparing” ourselves to enter into a prayer. I start prayers at the oddest times, while driving or on the motorcycle or even in some “quite time” on the “porcelain throne.” I rarely start out the prayers preparing anything; I just cut to the chase on what exactly I need. I think passages like this actually should remind us to get our “house in order” before coming before the Lord with our petitions. Give thanks ad confess, set aside a special time where it’s not a side prayer but actually devoted time for God. Prepare yourself as they prepared the alter with a serious reverence.

Verse 44:23 has the duty of the priests to do this exact thing:

They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.

We should respect our time with the Lord as “holy” and ensure we are clean. God is not “common” although being everywhere and in everything we see Him as “common.” Again the key is do not take God for granted, as an aside note, come to Him with holy reverence.

Verse 48:35 makes me wonder about if this is considered a section of Jerusalem or if it’s a separate town:

The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There.”

Is this the district surrounding the temple in Jerusalem, similar to Vatican City in Rome? Either way again we see a place set aside for God, for holy remembrance of Him. Although God is ever where, I still feel a “church” is a special place which gives us time to focus on God. Unfortunately, within that “temple” there are still people to disappoint us along the way.

I can say without a doubt that has happened many times during my church life, that has pulled me away. Early on in our time here in Georgia, Katy broke her hip in a motorcycle accident. We had two small children and a bunch of animals. During that time, not once did anyone from the church come by or offer any assistance. It hurt our feelings and made us eventually leave that church only to move to another, only to have similar disappointments. Which has us were we are at today, disappointed in the churches response to a huge need.

At the same time during all this time we tend to remain relatively isolated, not sure if it’s been on purpose or just the way things are with us. We tend not to ask for help and assume they will see the need. Finally when we do ask for help it’s a crisis and quick action is difficult to come by. Fortunately this feeling has never spread towards God, to the point of wanting to leave His “church”!

As I say this I still believe church is a necessary part of our relationship with God. If for anything else, the time is needed to worship God and reconnect and repair damage from the week. So don’t become disillusioned with God and His church because of the people running the operation. Also, learn to manage your expectations of what you ask of others.

Proverbs 14 – 15

Time for a rapid fire go through these two chapters. Verse 14:4 has an interesting perspective:

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

This sound like easy times not having to muck the stalls! But when you think about it, the work is not being done in the stalls but in the fields. This proverb is simply saying work hard always and not rest for the right time.

Verse 14:11 makes a unique comparison:

The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
but the tent of the upright will flourish.

We always look at houses are solid while tents are temporary. In this instance a house of a “wicked” cannot stand to a tent of the “upright”. I think of the story of the three little pigs and how two of the houses could not stand up to the wolf. But this is less about the structure and what is going on inside. A structure built on honor and truth, no matter the construction, will be much stronger than something built on lies and deceit.

Verse 14:12 is simple yet difficult to live:

There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.

For “guys” especially we tend to let the “other” brain drive our bodies more than we should. This is where the “if it feels good, do it” mentality spawns more trouble. There are always consequences when you focus on pleasure more than what God intended. Drinking and sex are the two most common problems when done outside God’s limits.

Verse 14:23 is simple:

In all toil there is profit,
but mere talk tends only to poverty.

Our family works very different, my idea is to figure out what needs to be done and systematically forge ahead. Where mama just toils right from the start, sure it may need rebuilding a few times, but work is being done, not just talk. So I have a tough one on this, since my “planning” gets taken as “mere talk.” The key here is to take action and not just have grandiose plans with no start.

Verse 15:1 is a key to dealing with others:

A soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.

I wish I would have lived this more as I lived my life. I tended to get the nickname “the instigator” more places than not. I would stir up anger in others with harsh words, but would often deflect that anger to others. If I would have “worded” my “peanut gallery” comments more carefully, a conflict would have been avoided.

Verse 15:6 makes me wonder some time:

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,
but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.

This makes me wonder if I am doing sometime wrong. We seem to always have financial trouble between debt and lack of income to support our properties. At the same time or “treasure” which is causing such a burden financially is something that should pay off in the “long run”. My main fault was spending more than I made, not setting aside 10% for savings and 10% for God and “fudging the numbers” on loan applications. Granted I would “estimate” income based on what the loan office suggested I needed, but nothing was verified or accurate. Hence the housing “bubble” since I was obviously not the ONLY one doing this. The big difference is, at a great personal cost, we are “current”.

So we got some great “investments” but obtained them with “wicked” acts. Although basically “righteous” our poor management has had us waiting for “trouble” to “befall” us.

Verse 15:33 closes the chapters out with just some sound advice:

The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom,
and humility comes before honour.

Fear drifting from His “instructions” in this Bible and humbly live your life. Simple rules to live by!

Psalm 90 – 92

Verse 90:4 tries to explain the idea of time and from God’s point of view:

For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.

I wonder if there were already skeptics about God having made the universe in 6 days. Time is a difficult concept to understand since we live in a defined finite world. Our world has limits placed on it. The road always ends, the air always runs out the higher you go and our lives will end. The concept of infinity is difficult to imagine even as an engineer. Think about space because unlike time that could be visualized. There is no “end” for space, if there was then what would be on the other side.

Time is a difficult concept since it is all relative. God looks at time differently since he has always been where we have limits. 1 day during the year to us is .27% of the year where 1000 years on a half-million years is .2%. Also, as we have shown that God as the observer traveling the speed of light, 16 billion years would seem like 6 days. This is the Theory of Relativity explained in simple terms a few thousand years before Einstein complicated it.

Verse 91:2 shows God is our protection:

I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

This made me think about the sermon this past weekend, do you live in faith or fear. My answer was both! I tend to walk both lines. I believe in God, not by faith but fact. Everything I have researched and studied show that for the most part the events in the Bible appeared to have happened the way described. There are some events that still require faith in believing the story, but everything from the great flood to creation has evidence that it happened as described in the Bible.

So I have no problem living in “faith” that God exists, I live in fear because I question how hand’s on He is in our lives. I also see the holes I have dug and cannot imagine God helping. At the same time I look at my life and even when I royally mess up, God seems to working things out for me. I may feel some pain, but it’s far less than what could have been. The problem I have is falling back to God as my fortress in the middle of a struggle, although I have no evidence that He has case me aside. It’s just most of the messes I end up in are my own fault and fear what lesions God will have me learn.

Verse 92:7 touches on our envy of others:

that though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction for ever;

This happens in each of our lives, we see bad people living in luxury. Everything they touch seems to succeed, while we struggle to make ends meet. Their grass is always greener, while ours in chewed to the nubs. The last of the 10 commandments deals with coveting your neighbor, be it their grass or their success. I read verses like this and wonder if we should even think that way! Think about it, this Psalm is giving us peace that the wicked will be doomed.

Should we not focus on helping the person to salvation and praying they come to know Christ, rather than being envious of their success? Granted this is OT talk where the Jewish people were the protected ones and it tends to turn the energy of envy to peace they “they will get theirs!” We need to focus on showing the light of God so they can flourish in faith and not evil.

2 Kings 21 – 25

As we close out 2nd Kings the nation of Israel has gone from greatness to being overrun by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. This once great nation had fallen from God’s protection and grace and only a few were allowed to remain as subjects of the king. Starting the demise, verse 21:12 has King Manasseh dealing with idols and being punished for that practice:

therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.

This caught my eyes because of the ears tingling when one hears of this disaster. I still have a tough time understanding how a nation so touched by God’s hand could drift away so easily. We all tend to get wrapped up in our lives and what is going on that often we miss what God is doing for us. But why does it take such a huge kick in the pants for us to back on track? We do then to forget an unseen God and often take Him for granted.

Chapter 22 and 23 bring hope to the Jewish people that maybe all can be restored. King Josiah rebuilds the temple and in the process finds the Book of the Law, which had apparently been lost for quite some time. Verse 22:13 has Josiah remembering their history and attempts to make amends with God:

“Go, enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

Interesting God’s response in verse 30 is comforting in a way by saying; “your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.” Josiah repentance has only delayed the enviable and will postpone it until after he dies. I assume this would have continued if his heirs had continued in the ways “pleasing to the Lord.” But alas the Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz, only lasted 3 months and “did what as evil in the sight of the Lord.” It’s amazing what a short rule can do to a nation’s direction.

Some claim the current occupant in the White House is doing just that, while many claim he is doing a great job. Obviously since he won reelection the majority believe this. I saw the same thing with Reagan, he was very polarizing. The people who agreed loved him and the people who opposed though he was the end of this nation. The only concern I have is something Jamie Fox, a comedian, said while talking about President Obama. He called him “our lord and savior”!

Sorry but that crossed the line and caused some great concern when applying it to prophecy. Guess we can only pray and see, since it’s out of our hands from this point forward.

The book has a curious ending. King Jehoiachin was in prison for 37 years and finally he was released from exile. Verse 25:29 shows and interesting twist to the story:

So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table,

Interestingly he went from exile to guest in a quick change of heart! Hopefully God will show us the same change of heart!

Leviticus 22 – 24

Verse 22:3 talks about how one separates oneself from the Lord:

Say to them, ‘If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD.

I think of how things were consider “holy” and therefore treated with reverence then and how we are very casual today. Crocodile Dundee’s comment about how “me and God are mates” as he is sucking down a beer in a bar is a great example of how we are starting to treat God as an equal. Recently my prayer life has been going away for sleep. I will pray sprawled out in bed between snoozes and often fall back asleep.

The next verse is kind of odd as it lays out reasons to be “unclean” which include leprosy, bodily discharges, touching the dead or ejaculating. The last one caught me as odd since I would imagine if most men had an opportunity to “know” his wife before church, they would. With that said would they be “cut off” from the Lord? Is my recent casual attitude about prayer cause me to be “cut off”? Grace is a big thing in the New Testament, but if we “children” of God and have accepted Jesus as our Lord, are we to take our dealing with God with more reverence?

Verse 23:3 is another one we tend to miss:

For six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places.

I think of how many of us go to church expecting the pastor and his staff to take their “Sabbath” some other time. Then when church is over we expect the restraint we go to for Sunday Brunch to be open and well-staffed to server us. Then our mall trips we expect the stores all to be open and staffed. We then praise Chick-fil-a for not being open, even in a mall, but do not expect those same considerations to be made to other food establishments. To top it all off we go home to rest and finish chores around the house. We then end the day exhausted and ready for “rest”.

Was that God’s intention? Should we then “force” others to serve us in order so we can have our Sabbath? Should we really do much in the way of “work around the house” on the day of rest? I understand the “blue laws” use to extend to all places of business and now are commonly associated with liquor sales, but were they right? If someone is not a believer in God, should we be able to force our religious standards on them?

I remember a time when Sunday everything was closed and you needed to actually plan your shopping. Now with 24 hour Wal-Marts we expect to be able to get our Twinkies (RIP) at 3am! For some reason this has become a need in society to adjust to people’s work schedules, which are based on a 24 hour/7day a week work schedule. Stores say they need to do this in order to make money! Has the concept of “rest” gone away?

Verse 23:22 is repeated again:

“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.”

We briefly talked about this a few “Thoughts” ago and I noticed it came up again. I believe it is important for us to care for the needy, but not create them (if that makes sense). In today’s society and economy we are making the concept of “welfare” and “disability” are too easy to deal with. No longer do you have to go “collect” your gleanings from the government, they automatically deposit it to your EBT card. You no longer have to do any work for the handout; at least you had to make an effort with God’s plan. Poor was allowed, just not lazy!

1 Thessalonians 1 – 3

In this day and age we are trying “new” things to attract people to church and hearing the Gospel. Sometimes we need to step back and stay with the tried and true. Verse 1:6 has Paul expressing joy for this exact reason:

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,

The formula is simple and easy to follow, just need implement it in the church. Now am I saying we need to go back to the old hymns and no rock? Absolutely not, but don’t lose the Gospel of Jesus in pageantry and flash. Don’t try to “muddle” the message so we don’t offend people, but at the same time don’t read into the word to attract people with false teachings.

We like to think it’s a fine line, but it really isn’t. We get lost in details and miss the overall message of love and forgiveness. Sometimes we focus on one part of God, usually love, and lose the other attributes of God. Once you ignore the whole story, the message can easily get twisted. The focus goes like this, if God is “love” than we “love” the sinner and not the sin. Following this, then the sin soon becomes acceptable and confession is not needed for something not perceived to be a sin. You need to preach the whole Bible and not just the fun parts. Granted the genealogies in some chapters may be ignored or glossed over, but then you would miss the “Prayer of Jabez”.

Verse 2:5 sets the “tone” for preaching:

For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness.

We don’t need to flower up a sermon so not to offend others, but at the same time we do not need to judge. This is the fine line of “loving the sinner and not the sin” message. We can’t flatter the sinner to the point of accepting the sin, or judge to the point of becoming pious.

One of the hotbed issues in the church today is homosexuality and what the Bible says. Both Old and New Testament has the word “abomination” associated with homosexuality. I know many homosexuals from a young age exhibited these traits, which raises the argument they were born that way and therefore why would God “make” a sinner. I have not formed an opinion yet, but really don’t worry about it. If it’s a sin God will deal with it, if it’s not then why should it offend me.

Justice Scalia wrote in a recent Supreme Court dissension comparing the morality of homosexuality to murder and polygamy. Interestingly one cannot be justified while the other has been over history, most recently the Mormon’s and their “interpretation” of multiple wives being ok morally. I don’t think we should blur the lines between sins, but you can see how I get perplexed on how to keep to the word yet understand the true meaning.

One final note on Paul, verse 2:9 shows he came to preach without his hand out:

For you remember, brothers, our labour and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

The one thing that can “blow” a “witness” is if the people feel they are being “worked” to support your lifestyle. I have seen many mega-churches collapse at the indiscretions of their “leader”. Suddenly the donations one makes seems to be wasted on a “philanderer” who does not practice what he preaches. Again this becomes a fine line between the “tithe” and not giving at all. That is something you need to resolve on your giving. My opinion is “10%” goes to God’s work, be that your church or other ministry. As long as the pastor is not “burdening” us with their lifestyle and the church remains pure, it’s works for me.

Luke 23 – 24

The last two chapters describe the power of the Gospel. No matter what Jesus said during his life, it really was His death and resurrection that makes Jesus matter. If it wasn’t for that the story is just good advice. This is something we often miss in studying the rest of the Bible. If it wasn’t for the blood sacrifice of Jesus for our sins and His ascension into heaven our souls would be in question.

In the story Pilate sends Jesus to Herod since he does not want to deal with this problem. Verse 23:8 shows Herod’s interest in Jesus:

When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him.

I read this and think of Jesus Christ Superstar and Herod’s song. The line that pops in my head when is read “he was hoping to see some sign” is “prove to me that your no fool. Walk across my swimming pool!” This is a blatant mocking of Jesus and His time on earth. Often we wonder why Jesus didn’t do something to save his life, but His death had more significance that his life and therefore no matter how painful he needed to be sacrificed.

A side note is in verse 23:12 where Herod and Pilate became friends after this:

And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.

Not that big of a deal, but seems like the experience joined them in a twisted sort of way.

Verse 23:45 is the symbolic end of Jesus and the significance it had on the temple:

while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

Matthew describes this being torn from top to bottom. The Complete Jewish Bible translates this passage as “split down the middle.” The significance of the curtain being torn doqn is it shows the division between God and man being torn away by God and not man. After Jesus’ death man no longer required some elaborate “interface” to talk with God, anyone could do it … provided they were “in tune” with God. This “tuning” was simple, accept Jesus as your savior, believe that He is who the Bible said He is and confess your sins on the blood of Jesus. Without this the “veil” is symbolically still “up” for us.

The resurrection story starts with verse 24:1 and makes me curious of the timing:

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.

We assume Jesus rose on Sunday, but this implies it was Monday. I know we can get into a long drawn out debate on the timing and when the Sabbath actually is, but let’s focus on this passage. If Jesus died on a Friday and Saturday is the Sabbath then Sunday is the day Jesus rose and is the “first day of the week” in the Jewish week. This also assumes they did not leave the body on display for much time. The timing works better in my mind for Monday, because Jesus died the afternoon on Friday, one day later he was removed and laid in the tomb. Then the Sabbath came and nothing was done and day three he rose and was discovered.

Now you could argue he rose on Sunday and was discovered on Monday, but it really doesn’t matter. The fact is the tomb as empty and Jesus started to appear to his disciples and followers. Although this is difficult to comprehend for someone who is new to this story, but it was necessary. It shows Jesus was God in flesh; it fulfilled the prophecies and was necessary to prove to all that He accomplished what He was meant to do.

Now I often wonder if you believe that Jesus walked the earth, did wondrous things and died for our sins as a sacrificial lamb, but question the resurrection would they be “saved”? I believe yes, since it takes some time for a person, especially in this day and age to believe most of what’s in the Bible. It has taken me years to reconcile Jesus and God being one and decades to reconcile creation as stated in the Bible over what science has to say. So to ask someone to believe that Jesus rose before they can receive salvation is not “Biblical” and here is why.

The sacrificial system was to reconcile the spiritual death caused by sin. The “sacrifice” had to receive your sin and then die in order for your heart to be cleansed. Jesus did this on his death on the cross, not his resurrection. This is a fine line and may be dangerous to say, but the death brings us the salvation the resurrection just provided the proof. With modern technology it’s easy to understand one can “die” and be resuscitated back to life, so the resurrection is not that difficult to comprehend.

Ezekiel 37 – 42

Chapter 37 brings the story of The Valley of Dry Bones. In a nutshell Ezekiel is placed in a valley of dead soldiers, dead so long their bones are clean and dry. Then God has Ezekiel speak over the bones in verses 37:4 & 5:

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.

Some imply this really happened, while others believe it’s a vision. I tend to side of the vision part since it seems farfetched to have a valley full of bones all revert back to living men. Not saying God could not do this, but saying it’s unlikely. I feel this was more a vision of how God was going to bring Israel back than an actual event.

Now as for the prophecy, we need to determine if this happened and when. I love it when a prophecy comes together, to steal a line for the A-Team. Well a look through history and this appears to have been given to Israel while in Exile in Babylon. It appear the nation returns from exile and sort of rebuilds with Zerubbabel. Although this is the most logical time the nation never really becomes powerful again.

It’s not until 1948 when the UN gave the Jewish people Israel that this prophecy seems to be getting some teeth. Think about it, until now the “nation” of Israel had no teeth. They were not mighty warriors are Ezekiel said. This actually ties into the next prophecy.

The next vision of the stick parts representing the various Jewish nations. Verse 37:19 has God providing more imagery for the people of Israel:

say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand.

Ezekiel’s “stick” prophecy has the nations of Judah and Israel joined again. Now if one is to apply this to Zerubbabel they could since although he was “governor” of Judah, it appears the nations have joined together. Again one could easily apply this to the 1948 UN resolution and the fact Israel is now a joined power bordered by nations all with the expressed desire to wipe Israel off the map. For over 50 years the nation of Israel has been steadfast solid and been able to defend their ground over insurmountable odds.

The next two chapters deal with prophecy of the nations of Gog and Mangog. These prophecies tie into Revelations quite well and would take some time to parse and decode. But consider these two nations were the ones who routed Israel and God is restoring from this. Revelations is these two nations coming back together to signify the “End Times”. Since Israel is restored afterwards, I again assume this reflects the 1948 UN resolution.

Now the remainder of the reading talks about the temple and the details of its floor plan. I have a difficult time understanding this and again try to find significance to today’s world. But it appears to be the guide Zerubbabel used to rebuild the temple and not some significance to today. Unless Israel plans on rebuilding the temple and then the ties to Revelations will be complete. Interesting!!

I have been interested in this question for some time now. Using relativity and with God as the observer you need to do the math … see below:

 According to Wikipedia…

[t]he formula for determining time dilation in special relativity is:

where

is the time interval between two colocal events for an observer in some inertial frame (e.g. ticks on his clock), is the time interval between those same events, as measured by another observer, inertially moving with velocity v with respect to the former observer, is the relative velocity between the observer and the moving clock, is the speed of light, and is the Lorentz factor.

If we solve for v…  Assuming we input 6 days for delta t and 15 billion years (with 365.25-day years) for delta t(0), we get v equal to .99 999 999 999 999 999 992c … so very close to the speed of light.

Now this does not factor in gravity OR the expansion of the universe. The Big Bang had BLACK HOLE gravity which would have slowed time immensely for the observer AND factor in the expansion of the universe … and the slowing, it actually becomes possible for the universe to have been created in 6 days from God’s point of view and 15 Billion years from ours.

Proverbs 13

Verse 13:1 starts off with some awesome advice:

A wise son hears his father’s instruction,
but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

This verse can be applied throughout life in almost all your relationships. Once you think you stop needing correction is the time you are most in trouble. As fallen man we still find ourselves drifting and getting in trouble late in our lives. Now not trying to use a cliché here, but the Bible should be our first source of “instruction” in our lives. As a book it shows in detail solutions to most of the mistakes man will make in their lives.

An argument is we have “evolved” past the Bible intellectually. I argue man’s root desires never change and therefore this book will always apply. We have not evolved past greed, envy, lust or pride, only changed the technology we can exploit each. Doesn’t seem to matter how much we “intellectualize” things man still lusts for power, money and pleasure.

Verse 13:3 is great advice for anyone, especially in a marriage:

Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

Not saying our spouses are ready to kill us at one wrong word, but peace and harmony is best when we allow are thoughts to be formed diplomatically. Ever been in an argument and regretted the words rolling off your tongue? Yep, James had it right when he said the tongue defiles the whole body and compared it to fire (James 3:5-8). There is nothing that cuts deeper into ones soul than a harsh comment. So be “slow to speak” so you can protect those who are with you.

Verse 13:11 bring light to the rate at which lottery winners go broke:

Wealth gained hastily will dwindle,
but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

Sometimes we think the “influx” will help our problems, but that would never allow us to address our root problems. So we spend like there’s not tomorrow with $50 or $50 million, the final destination is the same. Granted the one who blew $50 mil may have better stories.

Verse 13:20 gets into forming friendships with people you aspire to be like:

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

As I write this I realize how foolish that statement was based on the idols we have in the entertainment industry. Some wish to aspire to Snoop Lion (formerly Snoop Dogg) level of smoking 81 “blunts” a day. Although one cannot argue against the wealth Snoop has made, one can argue the wisdom of smoking that much. Unfortunately for most who aspire to be like Snoop, weed tends to stifle ones talent and like him or not Snoop can make money stoned while most will just rot.

The key point to this verse is not chasing fools, but rater people who can teach us something. I have prayed for a mentor for business, religion and relationships recently, realizing “my way” is not working. Maybe I need to re-read verse 11 and “gather little by little”. Unfortunately as I age, the time to “retire” is getting close and the need to gather more is pressing. Also, with the tangents I go off in my spiritual life, I would love an mentor who could keep me on the right track. At the same time I have to be honest, who would want to spend energy helping an aging nut job over a 20 something with a future!

Oh well one can hope!

Psalms 87 – 89

Verse 87:6 shows the significance that God places on the city of Jerusalem:

The LORD records as he registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah

When I initially read this I thought “the one” was Jesus, in singular. I ignored the fact it was plural and not talking about Bethlehem. After reading the comments and footnotes, my brain got rattled. Often times we as Christians read Old Testament writings and search for anything that points to Jesus. When you have 60 prophecies and over 300 references to each one, it’s easy to find although requires sharp reading and a little digging.

Verse 88:11 caught my eye because of the reference of Satan:

Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon

The NIV says “Destruction” instead of Abaddon. Other times Abaddon is translated as the Destroyer. A few times Abaddon get interpreted as Satan or the Devil himself. Both way, this is one bad spirit and this Psalm is warning about our faithfulness to evil. We need to ensure we are not focusing on this.

Often times we get wrapped up in “wishing evil” on others. I believe this is what this Psalm is warning us about. We need to pray for the salvation of people focused on evil, not the destruction of them. It’s a fine line to wanting to destroy evil and destroy those who focus on evil. Just a thought.

Verses 89:3 & 4 does have some reference to the blood line of Jesus:

3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
4 ‘I will establish your offspring for ever,
and build your throne for all generations.’”

Many read this promise as a coincidence or just a fluke when trying to relate it to Jesus. While others look at this as part of the volumes of proof and say Jesus is who He said He is. When all is said and done you as an individual have to decide if this book is crap or if it’s the holy word of God. If you take each book written by many different authors over thousands of years all telling the story of God and Jesus as fact, it’s points you to salvation and peace. It’s difficult to say how much is 100% fact or historical events and how much is “allegory” to illustrate a point, but it’s all too often proven correct.

2 Kings 16 – 20

As we continue with good and bad kings, we find verse 16:3 where the King Ahaz goes a bit too far:

but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.

Now before we go on, it implies he killed his son and offered him as a burnt offering, but it appears to be he just burnt his son as an offer. The footnote says he “made his son pass through fire.” Some translations imply he died while others say he passed through the fire as an offering.

I immediately think of “fire walking” or the practice of walking over hot coals. This has been made popular by the rise of the Hindu religion’s influence on our culture. The largest rise was in the 70’s when people were trying to find spiritual enlightenment which worked with the free love and drug culture. Now it’s used as a team building exercise for corporate retreats. But maybe that was a symbolic “offering” that was “harmless” but looked impressive to his subjects.

Verse 17:13 points out how many times the people are warned yet never listen:

Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”

The people are warned frequently about their ways and eventually they repent, only to return back to their evil ways. Has this changed over the years? Have we learned from the mistakes of previous generations or are we destined to repeat them over and over? Are we protected by the blood of Jesus now? I often wonder when the bottom will fall out of this word as it appears we are following the paths against God’s will once again.

I think of myself, no matter how much I understand and read the Bible I can’t help but stress about money. I stress about pending law suits and potential financial disasters. My focus is taken from God when I should be drawn closer. I can’t help but wonder if the stress is natural and ok or if I need to truly have more faith. Then I wonder why with faith these problems seem to keep piling on. Is this just normal life? Or are we being tested for something great in the future?

Verse 20:17 caught my eyes:

Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord.

Although Hezekiah did right in the eyes of the Lord, he did let pride get in the way. In this instance he showed another ruler his wealth and because of this their envy cause them to rise up against Hezekiah. Although the text does not explicitly say pride caused his demise, I believe it obvious. If he had been humble and kept his storehouse doors closed, his wealth may have remained.

I read this and remember that the things on this earth are only temporary. We should not be focused on the wealth in our storehouses, but rather the promise of God. If our storehouse is full or it’s empty the focus should be thankfulness and faith in God.

Leviticus 19 – 21

Verse 19:10 discusses what to do with one’s “gleanings” from their harvest:

And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.

Actually verse 9 tells them what to do, while this verse tells them why to leave the edges. Even in God’s Law He makes provisions for the poor. I suspect that even if this was a law today, no corporate farm would ever follow it. Also, the poor tend not to travel outside the city in farm land. I find it interesting that today this seems to get applied to the money the rich have.

The first time I heard these verses I was talking to a friend about his situation, he was poor and about to lose his home. He was furious how a “God loving” country was not leaving him “gleanings” and letting him keep his home. I explained he could have all the “gleanings” he could possibly want since he qualified for so many government programs. But pride kept him from signing up for them and he was just expecting money to fall in his lap to pay for his home. Even the poor in these times had to go to the fields and collect the “extra”, the farmer was not expected to harvest and distribute his harvest to the poor.

Verse 19:18 is the commandment that Jesus called out as the “most important”:

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.

Interesting how God talks about “vengeance” and bearing a “grudge” before saying love your neighbor. It’s easy to love your neighbor when they are friends, but when you have issues things change. God is saying don’t “feud” with them, but love them no matter the differences. You think about it the “second most important” commandment is one of the hardest for anyone to keep!

We get caught up in many other sins not following this basic one. Not loving your neighbor can develop many sins, including envy, anger, covetousness, lust and even pride. We get wrapped up in what they are doing and often get upset because we will not try to love that person. Funny how so often the “root of all evil” is not money, but rather a lack of love. If we all focused on this one “commandment” for a month, I think our lives would change for the better. It would flow out into everything we do.

Verse 21:13 caught my eye:

And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

The footnote in this Bible say “young wife”, implying the older one gets the less likely they will remain pure. I also note that the priests are to marry a virgin, so I assume this does not apply to the general public. I am not saying God is allowing “free love” and promiscuous sex, but it appears that virginity may not be as big a deal as the church makes it out to be today. Sure we should remain pure for our “partners” because of the baggage that comes with other relationships, but I read this and wonder if saving “it” before you are actually married is the intention.

Now I will say guys will say anything to get “laid”, so before “giving it” up to someone. Ensure it’s out of love and not lust, for both parties, otherwise it gets messy. I think the description of you becoming “one” in flesh is something to consider strongly before having sex. No matter how “casual” or “free” the “hook-up” appears to be, you are emotionally joining for a moment and that bond remains in your conscious.

Colossians 3 – 4

Verse 3:5 is interesting in the wording:

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

The reason I find the wording interesting is “covetousness” idolatry or the entire list?Sexual immorality, impurity and passion are sin where you make the object of the immorality an “idol.” Evil desires also place that which one desires over God, or makes the desire an “idol.” Although the wording seems to imply “covetousness” alone, I believe it actually applies to them all.

Verses 3:12 & 13 put what you should replace these feelings with:

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

We all need to read these verses over and over! We need to absorb them and live by them daily. Think about how the world would be if we all treated each other with a “compassionate heart” and “kindness”. What if everyone was humble and stopped looking out for number one. Think of how few arguments there would be if we were all meek.

Patience is something we all need more of in this time of instant access. “Bearing with one and other” is key here, Paul realizes there will be issues. People will think differently and do “life” in a different manner. Imagine if everyone just accepted each other’s way of doing things! Marriages would not be broken over stupid little things or feelings would not be hurt if someone did not think the same way. This ends with the idea of “forgiveness” and how we should do so, as we desire “forgiveness” from God. I think if everyone took the Lord’s Prayer serous, the world would be a much better place.

If we took these two verses serious then verse 3:18 thru 4:1 would not be needed!

Verse 4:2 is a mindset we need to take daily, not just Sundays:

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Funny how we remember to pray Sunday, but what about the rest of the time? We are told to always pray, yet often times the “church prayers” involve shopping lists and task reminders and less time with God. I know my prayers often get interrupted with, “I have to do this” or “oops, I forgot that”! That’s what a pen and paper a for, write it down and go back to your prayer. It’s normal to drift, just learn to refocus so you will do what is needed later, while retaining that connection.

The other point is thanksgiving! Honestly we deal with “covetousness” so much thanksgiving is difficult for most. Instead of being thankful for what we have, our “covetousness” fills our prayers with a shopping list of things we want. I think of Jimmy Stewart in “It’s A Wonderful Life” saying “I wish I had a million dollars”. He never got it, but eventually was shown why he needed to be thankful for what he had. God wanted him to say “hot dog” for what he had, not for what he wanted.

Luke 21 – 22

Verses 22:3 & 4 ends another recount of the widow giving all she had:

3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

So often we look at giving and hope to gain something from it. I can’t tell you how many times I have tried to strike deals with my tithe. I would always give when it was convenient and would assume that if I tithed, my “basket” or bank account in this case would overflow. Neither of which have happened.

The point we should be getting is we are not to be giving out of abundance or even pain, but without question. It’s all God’s but this passage is not asking everyone to give everything to the church, but rather release the binds the money has on you. Have faith that you will be provided for and all will be well. Just give with joy and not concern or safety.

Verses 21:9 & 11 talk about “end times”:

9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.” 11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

Through the generations we all have been looking at our time and the start of the “end.” Funny thing is time keeps moving forward, tick tock. I believe “mass communications” and the internet have brought the horrible things this world has to offer to our door step each and every day. Of course today we think times are coming near because we are in the front lines of each battle and every disaster. I wonder if they are more frequent or just now seen, and not just a “byline” in a huge newspaper.

The “key” is finding peace and love in Christ, by accepting Him as Lord and confessing your sins. It is really quite simple, but must be done from the heart and not the brain. This is easy once you have that “realization” but is difficult to get there with an unseen God and a story that is 2000 years old. The only thing we have today that’s concrete is the Bible and a “feeling” which many argue is just nerves. As I become more knowledgeable about science, I am able to see God more.

Verse 22:27 is a tough one to take in the world of “egos” today:

For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

This is something we all have to realize, that God is the top and even as king, he serves all. God is above all others, yet he came to this earth and washed our feet (which I noticed was not in this version of the last supper). We need to realize it’s not about us, but use God as the example. If everyone was to help others the world would be better off today. Sure there would still be the 1% and the poor, but we would all live in harmony.

Just live to serve God and others. Like the widow, don’t serve the all mighty dollar.

Ezekiel 31 – 36

Verse 31:10 continues a common theme of God’s dislike of pride:

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height,

God is using the imagery of a tree and what happened to Assyria to show nations the folly of earthly power and might. How many great nations have fallen over history? It is strewn with once powerful nations that are either gone or a faint shadow of whom they once were. All these nations were once great military and economic powers, yet they fell. Why is this? In almost all the cases it was pride and loss of focus.

We had two powerful nations a few decades ago which were whittled down to one. The USSR fell to revolt and economic hard times. Their demise was a peaceful one, which was odd considering how bloody their history was. They focused on their military might at the expense of the economic might. This eventually collapsed the nation economically. I fear we are doing the same thing in the USA, the other remaining “super power”.

Verse 33:2 has God giving Ezekiel an important task:

Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman,

God lays out the responsibilities of the “watchman” and they have rather severe penalties. If the watchman does not do their job, the people they are watch over get harmed. So their responsibility is great of one for the protection of many. Hence the seriousness of the calling!

One instance I can remember that a “watchman” did not do their task. In school we were a mile from the Fox Theater. The Rolling Stones were doing their “last” concert tour and tickets were only being sold at the Fox and a “surprise” time. Well at 3am the announcement was made and one of our “brothers” heard the announcement and told no one. 32 rooms of people all wanting tickets were so upset at this one guy because he heard the call and did nothing. Imagine if it was about your salvation or safety? Sure you can ignore the call, but it’s the responsibility of the “watchman” to at least ensure the call goes out.

Verse 34:8 the Lord declares a warning to the leaders of Israel:

As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep,

It’s a great responsibility to lead a large group of people; sure most have free will and if knowledgeable of the scriptures would avoid folly. Most of the time a “shepherd” who is in religious leadership basically has a bunch of sheep. If they say pray, we pray. If they say fast, we fast. Hence this shows the importance of having great leaders.

A radical example of sheep blindly following their leader was Jim Jones and the Jonestown massacre in Guyana. These people all committed suicide blindly with their leader by “drinking the Kool-Aid” laced with cyanide. More often a leader will take his followers down a path of spiritual stagnation. They will never pass the basics of salvation and get into the meat of our calling here on earth. So although “saved” the followers become spiritually “dead” and never grow or spread the word.

This is what God was warning the people against their leaders of the day. They had lost focus on the “Law” and were doing as they pleased to further their kingdom and not Gods. With great power and influence comes even a greater responsibility to be true to your purpose.

I watched an interesting movie that took the scientific explanation of creation and merged it with the account of the Bible. Interestingly they actually mesh quite well. See we look at the Bible as a description based on mankind as the observer and see it as impossible. There is overwhelming evidence that suggests the earth was made in billions of years and not 6 days, not the 5000 that most “creationist take.

Honestly, as an engineer with a heavy scientific background, I cannot reconcile this evidence with the accounts from the Bible. I just figured it was allegory to describe what happened to a audience that had no clue about the science. People we a heavy exposure to science cannot easily reconcile the actual six day account, although many of us dismiss evolution as being fact based on fossil history and animals that could not have "evolved” since they would have died trying, like the woodpecker. Even Darwin looks at the human eye and claims it destroys his “theory” because of the complexity.

But I digress. This now brings in Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity.

See Genesis was transcribed by the writer, assumed to be Moses, from God. If you view creation from his point of view it was only a few days. Follow me on this … we know that gravity and speed compresses time. Traveling at 100 mph there is no perceived difference, but at the speed of light it becomes huge. Space travelers have proven this buy losing a little time each trip at speeds much lower than the speed of light. Also, you must consider the density of the universe was immense before the Big Bang, like a huge black hole, way more than 1g we experience. We also know as the universe expands time slows…

So take the Big Bang … from the aspect of the one creating it and not the one experiencing it. As the universe expands … there are 6 doublings of size, which corresponds to the 6 days … granted from our POV, the time is 16 billion years … but from God’s it’s only 6 days. So Genesis can be true from God’s perspective as describes the Big Bang accurately. We just have to remove ourselves as the observers and view it from someone outside the events. Watch the Genesis Code for more detail … Now how cool is that?!?!?

Proverbs 11 – 12

I could spend weeks on these two chapters since each verse contains volumes of information in a few words. Verse 11:2 touches on my favorite subject, pride:

When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with the humble is wisdom.

Often times this can easily go “unchecked” and we begin to think we have some sort of power over the world. Once this “pride” comes in and we become boastful, it quickly relegates God to second place. Hence a prideful spirit is why God has a problem with this characteristic. It’s not that God want’s all the credit, it’s just He would like an “attitude of gratitude.”

Pride also closes the pathways to learning and understanding, since once you think it’s about you then no one can tell you anything. We tend to not listen and move in our own direction without consideration that it may be a wrong path. Pride tends to close one mind to any other ideas other than one’s own.

Verse 11:12 ties into why prideful hearts cause problems:

Whoever belittles his neighbour lacks sense,
but a man of understanding remains silent.

This is something that is very common in this world and one of the things I dislike about “the South”. People have a tendency to be sweet as all can be, until they are removed from the people they have a problem with. Sure things are rarely said to one’s face, but often the “belittling” happens behind their back. I will say when “they” do “belittle” you to your face, it’s hard to get angry since it is said so kindly. “Bless your heart” is the most common way you can tell your about to be “slammed.”

Verse 12:1 is one we tend to quote often as the “discipliner”:

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates reproof is stupid.

On the other hand, we rarely think this when we are getting “spanked”! As much as I hate being criticized, I always seem to find wisdom. We cannot go through life avoiding discipline since it most often is used to correct wrong actions. I hate to criticize our youth, but have to in this instance. We have made it so parents and especially teachers have lost the ability to do this. Not because it damages our precious souls, but because a few took thinks overboard.

I know early on in my child “rearing” days, I had a big issue with temper. I would explode quickly and wind down just as quick, but often the emotional damage was done. But the end result has been two wonderful children. At the same time I feel the schools damaged them from lack of discipline, more as what became acceptable behavior. I am concerned that over time our nation is showing the results of people not wanting to take the time to discipline since the accepted “methods” today are a bunch of work and often don’t have the same impact as a spanking.

I will leave you with verse 12:22 to think about as you go forward today:

Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD,
but those who act faithfully are his delight.

Psalms 84 – 86

Verse 84:10 expresses the psalmist’s desire for justice:

For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

The great thing about the Lord’s court is God works justly and unlike human’s courts, He will hear the case justly. Unfortunately, our justice system is slanted for the rich and the lawyers. Laws have become so complex and procedural knowledge requires a law degree to deal with the simplest case. With God everything is dealt with fairly and justly, without some smooth talking attorney blowing smoke up the judge’s posterior. Also, when you think about it, Jesus took that seat for us!

Verse 85:4 asks for restoration:

Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation towards us!

How many times have we prayed this before? We have driven off a cliff and are asking for restoration before we hit bottom. Often times we have to hit bottom to learn what God has in store for us, and often we just need to wake up. This is a prayer we should not have to pray, but often need to since we all drift and dismiss God from time to time.

I know I have, then in the middle of nowhere something amazing happens and I know He is God. Often times it’s a simple walk to class when a watch breaks, and there is a new one in the box. Was that a coincidence or did God orchestrate my mother sending a new watch to land right when I needed it? I tend to dismiss the coincidence since she knew I did not need one, but felt compelled to get one.

Verse 86:6 is something we all ask when problems arise:

Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.

In our lives we tend to get in funks where we just feel God does not care. Our prayers often time seem ignored and we wonder why. I can say after 50 years God is always listening to your cries. We just often are expecting something different than what God is doing. I can’t say how many times I pray with expectations of what God should do and often feel he is not listening because of the answer or lack thereof.

Remember, he is always listening we just have to accept his answer and be tuned in so we can hear it. So often we just get wrapped up in life and lose sight of what happens from God. Don’t forget that when God is answering it’s often in a still silent voice, so we have to learn to lean in and hear it. In essence most of the time we don’t have to ask God to pull the wax out of his ears, but rather we need to do that!

2 Kings 11 – 15

As we get into the meat of the royal leadership for Israel. We find short snippets about the kings and what they did. Sometimes we get more details on why they were “good” or “bad”, but for the most part it’s give the period they reigned, in reference to the king of the other nation, be it Judah or Israel.

Verse 12:5 caught my eyes, since it’s dealing with money given to the “church”:

let the priests take, each from his donor, and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered.”

They actually had a surplus and stopped asking for donations. Many people think that giving to a church is lining the pockets of the minister. A few preachers of “mega churches” claim to be “inverse tithers” where they give 90% and live off 10%. I don’t think people really understand the “infrastructure” required to serve 1000’s of people each week. So I don’t worry about a tithe, since it’s all going to further the kingdom of God, if there are issues of impropriety it’s not my worry.

Verse 12:15 also caught my eye:

And they did not ask an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to pay out to the workmen, for they dealt honestly.

How many of our businesses today would you trust to deal with you “honestly”? Even many of the so called “Christian businesses” are dealing from “under the deck”. But at the same time what appears to be a crooked contractor is more like a cheap customer who wants everything for nothing. But here they did not try to cheat the contractor and trusted they were doing a fair job.

During these snippets of the kings we find Elisha dies. One of those cool embedded stories that often get missed came out in verse 13:21, where something amazing happens:

And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

Elisha is one of the few people in the Bible to actually raise the dead, and interestingly in this case his dead bones still had enough power to raise the dead. We read stories like this today and dismiss them as being more a person appeared to be dead, but was not. I don’t worry about those details since we have the account and doesn’t matter if the person was alive or not, they were revived at touching Elisha’s bones!

Verse 15:5 interested me since the king “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”:

And the LORD touched the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the household, governing the people of the land.

Here he did not submit fully and allowed the people to worship other gods and not follow proper “protocol” on offering sacrifices. There were many other kings who did this, but in this instance King Azariah was stricken with leprosy. I often wonder why God picks and choose who gets afflicted with illnesses and who does not.

I often fall on the side of “SH&^ HAPPENS” and God is not controlling all aspects of our lives. Sure in this instance God may have afflicted Azariah with leprosy but in most instances it’s just part of this world we live in. We have so many people applying the “finger of God’s” on natural events that when God really does touch us it’s dismissed. Our bodies are can get sick naturally and earthquakes just happen, it’s by design. We must know when it’s God and when it’s just life … and that is difficult to discern.

Leviticus 16 – 18

Translations in verse 16:8 are different between versions:

And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel.

Azazel is most commonly translated to “scapegoat” in English. Interestingly this translation indicated the word may be a name of a person or a demon. If it’s a demon, the reference almost seems like they are offering the goat to the demon to satisfy it. Either way the goat is not sacrificed, but is cast out to take the sins of the people away.

Today the term, scapegoat, is commonly used as someone who receives unmerited blame. I never have really understood the concept of having all these blood sacrifices, except in this instance. Why could Jesus not have been a scapegoat and just sent away?

Verse 17:10 goes into eating blood:

If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.

I have often wondered how they get all the blood out of the meat. I can understand draining the blood and getting most of it out, but the small capillaries would make it difficult to impossible to drain 100% of the blood. In researching Kosher meats, they do take a long process of rinsing, salting and draining the meat to ensure no blood is in the meat.

Again we look at this as an extra cost which is not necessary, but when you really think about it the blood has all the crud in it. It carries the toxins from the body and has them filtered in the liver. So God ordered this to limit the toxins, bacteria’s or viruses entering the body. Again this is another reason why the Jewish people are overall healthier than the rest of the world’s people.

Chapter 18 deals with sexual relations and spends the majority talking about “inbreeding” and what not to do. I have always found this interesting since the Jewish people started as an inbred family. Now verses 18:22 & 23 hit on two popular subjects these days:

22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23 And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion.

Now in today’s society we have a feverous debate over verse 22. The argument is that God made homosexuals that way and therefore it’s natural. Then others argue it’s a choice and a conscious decision has been made. I stand more on the natural side of this equation. Our bodies were developed for continuation of the species, just because one is attracted to the same sex it’s not natural. Our bodies were not designed for sex in this manner, be it hetero or homo sexual. With that said, I don’t think if you are not bound to the Law than it is necessarily a sin or an abomination. I don’t think the life style will remove one’s ability for a relationship with God, it just may mute the full blessings.

Again this is a touchy subject and I am not 100% confident to make a statement either way. My homosexual friends have been always been that way since a young age and I can’t imagine that choice was made then. Also, most will say if it was a choice they sure as hell would not have chosen it with the ridicule through their life. So in my opinion we need to judge or shun this lifestyle, but rater love the people and let God figure it out in the end.

As for verse 23, I’ll just say it’s dangerously close to being “socially acceptable” for the “if it feels good do it” crowd.

Colossians 1 – 2

Verse 1:18 describes Jesus’ relationship to the church:

And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

This could go into much more symbolism than we can imagine. First the obvious that Jesus is the head and we as the body are to bring more people to help the head. The other not so obvious one is considering Jesus being God and we are made in the image of God. What does that mean? Our image is not the body, but the energy or soul operating behind the scenes. The “soul” resided in the brain and operates that machine called the body do any function. So in saying “he is the head of the body” says that God/Jesus/Holy Spirit is living and moving through the church body to do what He wills.

On a “networking” level He is the “cloud” that we use to load applications to run on our “devices”. Now, am I a geek or what?

Verses 2:6 & 7 talk about how we should interface with Christ:

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

I grab on to the last few words in this verse; “abounding in thanksgiving.” Sometimes that is difficult when the only thanks we seem to be able to give is we are alive. Our finances are in shambles, our bodies are falling apart and our families are disintegrating. Through all this Paul asks us to be thankful!! It came to light how short sighted we are after Thanksgiving dinner when I posed the question what is everyone thankful for this year. No one could come up with anything other than some very superficial things from being “alive” to “weed!”

No one could remember their epic journeys or their adventures in life, or their self-discovery but rather superficial things in life. If we can’t recognize the big things or let life’s messes cloud these events we should be thankful for, we are in trouble. I think society has made us believe that we should be thankful for the car or the house or the raise, but not the experiences.

In 10 years you will say “the Plitvice Lakes and their falls are beautiful” over “the new car I got was slick.” The new car will rust and crumble, where the memory of the beauty we see each and every day will be the important memories. We need to learn to be thankful for what we do, not get sucked into the “what we have” mindset, of which I am guilty. I say all this knowing my “answer” to the Thanksgiving question was superficial also!

Verses 2:13 & 14 sum up what Christ did for us:

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Paul is trying to tell us it’s not what we do in Christ’s name, but rather it’s what we can’t do. It doesn’t matter what we eat or do to our bodies, but rater accepting that sacrifice Christ made on the cross. If you study the sacrificial system in the OT, you see the people are to place their hands on the lamb and “transfer” their sins through confession. Then the lamb suffers the punishment for sin, death.

This is a point I cannot stress highly, yes Jesus dies for all our sins, past, present and future, but we must place our hand on his head. After 2000 years that is physically impossible, but we must believe and confess in order to be forgiven. It doesn’t work that everyone is saved and nothing needs to be done, no it’s a conscious actions on our part.

Not being raised as a Jew, this becomes difficult to understand in a culture that “sacrifice” means not getting what you want immediately. So to grasp the concept of some guy dying on a cross to forgive us of our “sins” is difficult. As Christians who were raised in the church, this is easy for us to understand. But imagine someone who has no church what so ever! Tell them to repent, because this unseen God will throw them into the fires of a fiery place that no one has ever seen and you will be laughed at! Christ’s belief system needs to be shared over time before that “moment” of salvation can occur.

Luke 19 – 20

Verse 19:10 hits the heart of Jesus’ mission:

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

Often times we isolate ourselves in the “safety” of our “religion.”At church we are with “like minded” people and do not need to fear the unknown. Yet in Jesus’ time he did not hang with the religious, but rather the sinner. In this story he calls Zacchaeus, at chief tax collector, from a tree he had climbed to see Jesus to dine with him. At this time it was common for the tax collectors to collect more and skim some off for themselves.

Zacchaeus confessed doing this to Jesus and made plans to correct his wrong doing. In this crowd Zacchaeus was trying to push through there were many religious leaders and Jesus chose the tax collector to meet with. Again that must have ruffled a few feathers in the mix but Jesus knew their meetings were more to trap him that to listen. Now I am saying avoid church and hang out with the crooks? No, but ensure you are open and not judgmental to the sinner seeking truth and forgiveness.

Verse 19:26 ends the story of the Ten Minas:

‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

A common misconception is that Jesus is a “socialist” and wants the rich to give all they have to the poor. On the contrary, this illustration is to show the hold that money has on a person and not that money is evil. In this illustration the one who made the most money for his master gets what the lazy one has. I don’t believe God is shuffling the money as dynamically as this master, but I do think it illustrates the old saying “a fool and his money are soon parted.”

Verse 20:25 is a verse near and dear to my heart:

He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

This is one of those “Ouija board Bible” times where I prayed and opened the Bible and dropped my finger on a verse for the answer. In this instance I had not done our sales tax for years and had two options, lie and say the business had closed or go through and pay the taxes. So I prayed on what to do, and opened the Bible to this verse. I did not like the answer so the next day I prayed and opened the Bible to Matthew 22:21, which was the same story.

From there I filed the sales tax forms with the state and owed $45,000. From there we sold a rental home we had and profited $46,000. I negotiated with the state to settle the debt and penalties for this amount to which they agreed. I learned two things, do the right thing and obey God. Second is get things in writing, not from God but from the state because they never actually lifted the penalties and are still trying to collect. And refuse to review the case. Fun continues!

Interesting how this “thought” stated with Zacchaeus the tax collector and ends with the tax collectors for the state of Georgia. Maybe there is a lesson here in this story for me!

Ezekiel 25 – 30

First thing I noticed is the phrase “Then they will know that I am the Lord” is repeated some 12 times in this reading and a derivation thereof another 6 times. Ezekiel and God are trying to make a point about how events will point to God. I wonder if today that would happen or our society who has been raised on special effects and YouTube hoaxes would believe God had anything to do with events. Science would quickly debunk anything that happened as “probable” or “possible” in the realm of nature.

The first chapter goes into detail about the destruction of Ammon, Moab, Seir, Edom and Philistia. The next three chapters go into detail on Tyre, a nation I know little about. Tyre, also known as Sour, is a port on the Mediterranean in southern Lebanon, close the Israeli border. David and Solomon befriended their king, Hiram to help build their operations. Later they turned adversary and sold the Jewish people into slavery.

Verses 26:13 & 14 tells what will happen to the hub of trade:

13 And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. 14 I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, for I am the LORD; I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.

If you have ever been to a bustling hub of trade in this world it’s difficult to imagine it becoming silent. Imagine going to San Francisco or New York to discover it desolate. When God punishes people He tends to do it in a big way.

Verse 28:2 may provide insight into why Tyre failed:

“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD:

“Because your heart is proud,
and you have said, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of the gods,
in the heart of the seas’,
yet you are but a man, and no god,
though you make your heart like the heart of a god –

This is the heart of many “cult” and new age thinking’s. Take the book The Secret, which teaches people how to tap into the cosmic energy to get all your desires. The “Law of Attraction” basically says you have the power to create your reality. You no longer need to ask God, because you control the same powers.

On the other hand Luciferian cults worship Satan, but the goal is to become a god also. In these equations man has become proud and is “flexing” his “image of God” in which he was created. The truth behind each of these concepts and cults is that we do have similar attributes to God, but are in no way close to equal with His glory. Our discovering those God like characteristics usually entails selfish desires and not worrying about others.

The next two chapters are devoted to Egypt and its demise. Notice that the two nations that enslaved the Jews seem to be dealt with the harshest. Also, I notice both nations are “proud” because they have replaced God with their own gods. This is even to the point of claiming to be a god. Although we all have the power to tap into God’s energy, we must always recognize it’s not us! Learn from these ancient cultures and correct your ways, before God rains down His judgment.

Proverbs 10

Verse 10:1 opens a string of wise verses:

A wise son makes a glad father,
but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

Not to be “sexist” but this applies to daughters also!Why is this so accurate? I can’t tell you how many “sons” I know that still live in their parent’s basements at an old age. I just don’t get it. The economy is more and more to “blame” but wisdom should guide your decisions so that your parents end up living with you and not the other way around.

I could spend pages at times when I made foolish decisions that have had ramifications decades later, but would help you avoid this altogether. First and foremost pray for wisdom and guidance, because often times God is waiting for you to submit. Second is to search out wise counsel to help guide you. That is where I missed the boat!

I think of our 9th great grandfather, Roger Williams, and wondered how he “made it” in his life. He followed BOTH these guides. When he was a teen he apprenticed under Sir Edward Coke, Francis Bacon and many influential church leaders before becoming one of the most significant people in the formation of the USA. Although the “wall of separation between church and state” is credited to Thomas Jefferson, “grandpa” wrote these words in 1644 over 150 years prior. At the time I wonder if his father though him to be a fool!

Verse 10:4 hits the nail on the head of entitlements:

A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

There are many cases where the poor are there for a reason, but more often than not it’s because they are fools. They pursue endeavors which do not lead to profit and squander their youth fighting a system that they could prosper in. We have developed an entitlement system in this country that is far away from FDR’s Great Society where the people got a helping hand to work. No we no longer promote working and help the poor out by “job programs” but rather promote having children and being disabled.

Not to get “political” but there are many who are truly disabled and need a helping hand but again it should be a help “up” and not assistance to remain in poverty. Over the years I have worked with many disabled people and have seen their productiveness once they find a skill that works with their disability. As a nation we need to be caring, but also helpful. I like to use FDR’s programs as an example the WPA was one of the largest “New Deal” programs which helped poor work and be productive. As a nation we gave the people handouts, but in return got many structures and trails still used today! We are promoting a “slack hand” and building the poor.

Verse 10:15 actually ties into the poverty subject:

A rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
the poverty of the poor is their ruin.

The key is the mindset and not necessarily ones financial status. I think of the two most famous rivals and college dropouts, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. They did not start their “empires” with a ton of cash in the bank, yet they became some of the wealthiest in the world because of a mindset and not blowing their initial earnings on fast cars and fun times. And to those who say that was then have not read Mark Zuckerberg’s bio. Now I will say Mr. Zuckerberg’s company is based on information and is still trying to “find itself”, one can’t deny his success.

One can also look at the tons of lottery winners who return to poverty after a few short years. Poverty is not a condition, it’s a mindset. Not having money is a condition of a rich mindset starting from scratch. So wisdom ties into one’s handling money, and as with every other wise piece of information we can get, the Bible is an excellent source of help.

Psalms 81 – 83

Verses 81:8 & 9 gives us the option to listen or not:

8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9 There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

How many times are we scolded and just tune out? Most often the scolding has some credence and should be listened to for corrective action. But how many times do we not listen? How many times does our temper boil when we are confronted with our problems and we get defensive?

Proverbs 12:1 popped into my head:

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates reproof is stupid.

Says exactly what the problem is with mankind, we love praise but hate correction! God is offering loving correction and the people of Israel reject it and bear the consequences. It’s like playing with fire, no matter how many times you are told by dad not to do it you keep playing until you get burned. Ironically, as we see with Israel, they never learned from the first burn, they keep playing with the fire!!

Verse 82:3 has simple rules to live by:

Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.

Do we step over the poor or walk around them? Go to the other side of the road or avoid the contact altogether? Or are we the “Samaritan” and help the person out? Over and over again we are told to help those in need. We are also told there will always be the poor among us to trying to “cure” poverty is a folly. Our job is to help those who are in need so we can show them God’s love; it’s their job to rise above the poverty.

The government and it’s “war on poverty” is a joke because all it creates is a dependent class. We are not to feed the poor, but rather teach the “how to fish” so they will never go hungry again. Right now the “pond” is the US government and it’s easy catching! Again I am not saying don’t have a safety net to help those in need, but don’t make it so people have no motivation to climb out of the net.

Verse 83:1 is a prayer I say often:

O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!

How often do we need to hear from our father, be it good or bad, and we hear nothing? It seems that way often for me; I can’t tell if the small voice in my head is God or my personal wants and needs. As you know my big thing is getting out of the burden of debt and I often look to the lottery for the quick fix. You don’t know how many times that “small voice” has had me buying tickets only to not match any numbers.

I have learned over the years to budget and pay debt off. Our life has been difficult and we have sold off a bunch of “pleasures”, like dirt bikes, that we have little fun these days. But when you debt burden is still almost 5 times your income, a quick fix is prayed for often. I no longer listen to that small voice saying buy a lottery ticket and have said if it’s God’s will the cashier will ask me if I want one. I have learned over the past year, convenience store attendants don’t sell but rather just take your money.

Psalms are great since today we learned how to take correction, how to help others and how to pray for God’s intersession. It’s our job to integrate these “example” into our daily prayer life to get a tighter relationship with God so we can hear his voice better, be it correcting or assisting.

2 Kings 6 – 10

Verses 6:26 – 27 caught my eye on my second read this morning:

26 Now as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!” 27 And he said, “If the LORD will not help you, how shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?”

The city is going through a great famine and the king remains in his “castle” not seeming to care or respond to the people’s needs. Here a specific need is called to him and he just says if God can’t help how can I help? How lazy is that? Taking no action and allowing the famine to continue is a sign of an inept ruler.

Seems like things have not changed over the millennia! The first thing that comes to mind is the Marie Antoinette’s comment “let them eat cake” upon learning the peasants had no bread. The claim is she spoke these words during one of the famines that occurred during the reign of her husband. The problem with ruling is you must put the needs of the people before your own, and unfortunately the king of Israel, the king of France or today’s leader don’t seem to get that part. They remain oblivious to anything happening outside their parties and walls. The golf game is more important than seeing to the needs of the people.

Interestingly God did fix the problem and sent a commoner to “find” the solution. Verse 7:7 shows what these “lepers” found:

7 So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives.

Outcasts of society they quickly turned to meeting their needs, but quickly honor and civic duty overtook their personal desires! They returned to the city besieged in famine to inform them of the find. So they went from dire need where a “cup of dove dung” was being sold for 5 shekels to a “seah” of fine flower for a shekel. Classic supply and demand, when you’re hungry you’ll pay anything to eat whatever, including dove poop if that is all that is available.

The remainder of the reading follows a similar story line throughout Israel’s history. Verse 8:18 sums up how many of these kings are “summarized”:

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.

As with most of these kings eventually God gets fed up and removes them from power. Often times, like with chapters 9 and 10, the new kings slaughters the king and their descendants. I rarely get into all this fighting since it does not relate to our times today in the USA. We don’t have a “ruling family class” where generational bloodlines determine your status. Or do we? I can think of the Bush, Kennedy, Roosevelt and others as families who ruled, so maybe we can relate.

The point here was removing any traces of evil from the nation, since the people recognized the family as the heir and most of the time, evil is taught to the offspring. Fortunately today the redemptive blood of Jesus can cure much of these issues and evil can be conquered without death!

Leviticus 13 – 15

Many times we read the Bible and it can drone on and on with rules and regulations. The Levitical law has a bunch of stuff that is used to point at the hypocrisy of Christians. We say no homosexuality because the Bible says so, while eating a pulled pork sandwich. Verse 13:3 starts the chapter to determine if the person is “unclean”:

and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean.

All of chapter 13 describes how to determine if a leper is unclean and chapter 14 describes how to cleanse a leper. So two full chapters talking about the “walking dead,” which is what lepers have been called over the years since their body decays until they die. The skin dies and parts start to fall off the body, like a person decaying in the grave, only alive.

Guess the impending “zombie apocalypse” that the government has prepared for could look like an outbreak of leprosy.

This just sets as a bunch rules on handling people with this disease and seems irrelevant in today’s time. Interestingly a vaccine wasn’t developed until 1988 by Jacinto Convit, so it has relevance up to recent times. I had heard of “leper colonies” which apparently were very recent and “Biblical” to boot, but it’s not something we even concern ourselves with today. It’s interesting that the Biblical handling of this disease was one of the only successful treatments, up until 24 years ago.

Focusing on the “unclean” aspects, jump to Matthew 8:1 – 4 and the story of Jesus healing the leper. After reading these chapters this story has new significance on two aspects. First, by the “Law” Jesus did something that would make Him “unclean” by touch the leper, but he was God in human flesh and something different happened! Instead of Jesus become “unclean” the man became clean; God cured this disease through the touch of Jesus.

Secondly, I always took Jesus sending the man to the priests as a minor victory dance when in reality it was required by the Law. Reading chapter 13 and 14 you notice how much the priest is the “doctor” and is the final word in the leper’s health. So Jesus was not doing a victory dance, but sending the man to be declared cleansed so he can continue a normal life in society.

Chapter 15 expands on leprosy into “bodily discharges” and the ramification of these. Verse 15:16 describes a “normal” discharge which makes us “unclean”:

“If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until the evening.

I read this and wonder if it’s an accidental discharge or purposeful. And then if it’s purposeful is this saying if you have sexual intercourse with your wife you are considered “unclean” until the evening? What if you have sex at night, then you shower are you clean or are you delayed until the next evening? Verse 18 says both are “unclean” till the evening. The accidental discharge, called the wet dream, is the body’s normal function to release dead semen, so does this “natural bodily function” make you “unclean”?

Often, this is applied to making “masturbation” dirty, but this does not specify which “discharge” and does touch on normal sexual activity. So pretty much you “whack off”, have a wet dream or have sex, you are Biblically unclean before God for at least ½ the day. I often wonder why God made something that He designed be considered “unclean” until you study the spread of disease and then it makes sense. This also is just part of the reason the Jewish people always seem to be envied, since they tend to survive outbreaks of disease because of their healthy, clean lifestyles.

Now I read this passage Sunday night right after hearing PK preach about Matthew 8 and our prayer life. He focused on the prayer the leper said but this reading gave a great “back story” to bring into clarity the significance of Jesus’ actions. Sure PK talked about it, but to see the significance that this was not a one line law that leprosy is “unclean”, but rather we see the seriousness of what Jesus actually did in the eyes of the people.

Also, how cool was that “coincidental timing” of this reading. If I was 100% diligent I would have been way past this reading! Or missing a few extra days the last 6 months or stating it a month later, the timing would have not meshed. One could say it was “probable” that this happened, but to me it was a year or more in the making to get the timing “right”!! Thank you God! (now thing about 365 days of reading … and this one falling on the same day this sermon was preached … on a tape delay! So if we had not begrudgingly moved to the new campus it would have hit so well)

Philippians 3 – 4

Verse 3:7 gets into something that many of us can relate to but not understand:

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

In this instance the Greek words used for loss and gain are business terms. So Paul’s audience is people just trying to make it in this world. One has to look at this as applying to our definition of “blessing”. Consider you had a huge business deal just come together, nothing seemed like it was going to work prior. It almost seemed like God’s hand was working to bring all the pieces together. Now is that a “blessing” or really a “loss” in Christ?

This is one of the problems I have digesting the Bible; you have David and Solomon who had great kingdoms. Their “blessings” were accounted for in the homes, gold and wives they had. At the same time you have Jesus saying give all your belongings to the poor and Paul living day to day in faith Christ will carry him. So what is it?

Is money a blessing or a curse? Does it bring us closer or separate us from God? Interestingly the answer to both is BOTH. It all comes to where you place money in your life. Does it happen and you recognize the source is God or do you become absorbed with the pursuit you ignore God. The key is what place is the money in relationship to God. What comes first, the Gospel or the bank?

Verse 4:6 ties into this a bit with me:

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

This is where Paul never helps me in my current situation. If gain is bad, along with debt, then should I not worry about either? How do I honor my debts without “gain”? How do I deal with the pressures of debt without being “anxious”? I have prayed for that one “deal” or an increase so that the “pressure” is relieved and I can breathe. It’s almost impossible to not be “anxious” when the bills never end while the paycheck does.

I have always though these writings would expand to a book, which the royalties would help eliminate the debt and allow us to help others more easily. But with the daily writings being “out there” for years and noticing how few actually read them, the realization my insight may be unique I cannot communicate them well and most don’t like “fringe” ideas on our relationship with God. I will continue, because if anything this exercise helps me to find God so maybe in the future I can help others, but I cannot resolve not being “anxious”.

Verse 4:17 ties into this a bit:

Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.

We all like to talk about “storing up treasures in heaven”, but what does that really mean. I know many who accept their position justifying that it will be paid back greater in heaven. But what does this really mean? Think about it, as spirits we are not in need of “treasures”, I mean we are in heaven!! Is there really an economic “strata” in heaven, where the one who saved the most souls has a great war chest?

Again I have to go back to the question; what is your “obsession”? Is it God or money? Is it reading the Bible or reading Facebook? Do excuses always happen where you miss church? Honestly where are your priorities today? This is the key between living like a king while living for God! And again don’t think that you “rub” Jesus’ belly, all the riches in the world will be yours. No it’s the never ending peace that all will be ok. I think of the major “stress” points that are 10 years or greater in my past and they are just faded memories. That’s where today’s stress will be in 10, while your relationship with God could be greater!

Luke 17 – 18

Verses 17:3 & 4 are something I have a minor problem with:

3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent’, you must forgive him.”

This is one of those verses that remind me of an “old saying” … “Help someone when they are in trouble and they will remember you when they are in trouble again.” I know Jesus is saying forgive your brother, but what if they just keep doing this knowing there are no consequences? What if their repenting is shallow and not true? Honestly how would we know?

I tend to look at forgiveness this way, just do it and let God sort it out in the end. We must always remember this especially when you apply the Lord’s Prayer. It is very clear to ask for forgiveness, like we forgive others. I often “go back to the same well” when it comes to sin and hope that as contrite as my repentance may be God would forgive me over and over.

Verse 17:33 is one of those clear verses of how we should live our lives:

Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.

This verse and verse 18:14 emphasize God’s model for how we should live:

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

These again are tough verses to apply to one’s life. How do we honestly humble ourselves or lose our life? We need to really define what losing one’s life to God really means. Does it mean we should give all up but pursuit of Jesus? If so who would produce the food? Who would move the trash? How would we pay for these services? So we have to work for food and shelter, since everyone cannot be giving up it all for God.

The next parable is on this subject is shortly after humbling yourself about “The Rich Ruler.” In this story a rich man is asked to give up everything and he does not. I can see this happening to me, not saying that I am “rich” but do have a bunch of cool stuff that would be difficult to let go of. Which then ties into the losing my life and humbling myself and my fear God will reject me.

Now Jesus says it’s “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Again not saying I am “rich”, but often wonder if there are consequences to my desire to gain more. I look at my home church 12 Stone and wonder about PK. He is a man from very humble beginning and over the decades God has taken his church from the brink of closing and him giving up on everything, to being one of the top growing churches in the nation. He has enjoyed the “blessings” of his labor, but has this placed him into the “rich man” status?

There are quite a few devout Christians I know that are very well off, are they not going to “enter the kingdom of God”? Well verses 18:26 & 27 give me hope this is not the case:

26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

This give me hope since this was in response to the “camel” comment! God can change the hearts of the very rich not to give it all away, but learn to use their resources to advance the kingdom of God. I have no doubt that if I make it to heaven, I will see PK and the entire 12 Stone staff. Because he has squeezed (or is squeezing us) through that eye of the needle!

Ezekiel 19 – 24

Interesting, Ezekiel refers to “princes” of Israel which are the kings of Judah. A “prince” is below the king, so are Judah’s kings not the same stature of Israel’s? Verse 19:12 talks about their future:

But the vine was plucked up in fury,
cast down to the ground;
the east wind dried up its fruit;
they were stripped off and withered.
As for its strong stem,
fire consumed it.

Judah lived well as and portrayed as a vine that God plucks in judgment. How often do things seem to be going well when suddenly they turn on a dime? Sometimes that is just life and other times that is God’s judgment. Often times when things turn we look to what we did wrong or what we have not done for God, when in reality it’s just life. Or as I mentioned recently, the bigger picture may be looking out for the needs of others and not just your desires.

As you learn reading Kings and Chronicles Judah and Israel tend to stray from God’s grace most of the time. It’s interesting how you can live in God’s presence and still drift. We do it all the time and one could argue we don’t have prophets accurately predicting the future or miracles happen. At the same time our “prophets” are quickly discredited on any deviation and our “miracles” are explained away by science. Even if the mathematicians and scientists can explain these events, often times they cannot explain why or how.

Verse 20:9 is repeated three times in this chapter:

But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

As Ezekiel writes these he is going through a “Readers Digest” version of this history. Each time God punishes Israel he writes this verse or something very close. The point is to remind everyone that we are in God’s blessing when we follow Him, otherwise we are often times on our own without His protection.

A quick note one chapter 21, notice the section before in chapter 20 is titled “The Lord Will Restore Israel” and this one starts with how God will punish them. This is one of the problems of prophecies is often times you get two choices, and it follows your decisions. It shows how we do have an active role with God and we are not “preordained” for the path we are on. Jonah and Nineveh are the best example of this happening. God was using Jonah to warn Nineveh of the pending judgment, they repented and were forgiven.

Verses 22:27 & 28 provide may provide insight into our times today:

27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. 28 And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD’, when the LORD has not spoken.

Do you notice how this is common among the many visions and stories of a nation or the world unraveling? Think about how many times we see warnings of “false visions” and people insisting God is speaking to them when He is not. I am still trying to develop hearing that small voice and pray it becomes clearer. Often times my “small voice” is my desire and not the will of God. Unfortunately we all get God’s voice confused with our own unless we have worked on it for years. Rarely does it just happen where God is speaking through an “infidel”.

I am not real keen on the imagery used in chapter 23 about “whoring”, but it does make the point how man has moved away from God. If we looked at our “materialism” more as “whoring” our souls from instant gratification, pulling us away from God, then maybe we would avoid that “trap.” Think about what things pull you away from God and apply that imagery to the act. Does it change your perception and desire to continue?

Proverbs 8 – 9

Verse 8:1 starts off with two interesting questions:

Does not wisdom call?
Does not understanding raise her voice?

Sometimes I wonder about this. Does wisdom really call or do we search it out? One has to ask based on the large number of fools in this world. All you need to do is spend a few hours on YouTube and the world of fools opens up. Ironically, the more views the more money they make, so who is really the fool!

We all know the friend, who always says “hey watch this” and crashes. With smartphones those become the source of many of the videos we watch today. But one has to wonder if wisdom is really calling and is ignored by many or if it’s something we need to search out. I think it calls, but like God, it’s a faint whisper.

One rule you should take away is “we learn from the mistakes of others!” I wish I could say that applied in my life all the time, but often I would digress from wisdom and follow the well-worn path of fools. If you think about it that is what much of the Bible is about; teaching us Biblical truths from other people’s mistakes. That is why it’s important not only to read the Gospels, but the entire thing. It’s gives context so you can understand how we got to where we are today.

Verse 8:11 makes me wonder who wrote this:

for wisdom is better than jewels,
and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

One could quickly argue that the author, King Solomon, had all the wealth and power one could want. So of course wisdom has great value to him, he does not need. I often wonder if the two are connected, because I rarely find very wise poor people. We should not search out wisdom for money and glory, but for peace and knowledge.

Verse 8:13 describes many of the “attributes” of people who are wise:

The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.

We need to fear the Lord, but never shutter away from him. We need to understand His disgust of evil and fear that more than God. I know the arguments if “God is love” than why should we fear him? Well “love” is one of His many attributes, not the only one. Don’t get caught worshiping only that part of God or you will miss out on the whole experience.

I also note the how “pride and arrogance” are called out for being evil, granted in a run on that is difficult to read. Other versions read easier, but the underlying theme is God hates “pride and arrogance.” We should avoid it at all costs! Notice how much of the Bible has comments about these sins, because they become the root of most of the others. Pride in one’s self propagates envy, envy causes greed, greed causes many unholy acts including theft and adultery. Arrogance almost always removes one’s ability to self-regulate, since nothing seems wrong with what they do (in their own minds).

Verse 9:8 is very interesting to me:

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

Have you ever tried to correct someone and they get upset at you? How about the ones that actually listen and make a correction? There you have the difference between a wise man and a fool. When someone “corrects” us we often take offense and try to correct them back. Don’t do this! Pay attention to the correction, because even if it’s from a “fool” it often has credence. Learn HOW to respond from this, not to judge others. Also, learn how to offer advice, so even the fool with accept it willingly!