Philippian commentary

This link may point you in the right direction for starting a more in depth reading on the book of Philippians.  It's a commentary by Gordon Fee, one volume in the IVP New Testament Commentary series.  It's a bit older, but you may recall from previous posts that I had read a great book called "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, which was co-authored by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart.  I was a fan of that book, so Fee's commentary on Philippians seemed like a great place to start!

Old habits

Well, it's certainly been a while!  Whoever said old habits die hard was wrong - either that, or this daily bible reading habit was not an old one.  I must admit, I've been struggling to keep up with the regime we created back in September.  Granted, I have been quite busy lately, but that's not much of an excuse.
Here's the latest news flash - since the bible reading plan was so successful, at least in keeping us on top of reading the bible, I've decided to do another plan of sorts so that we can still try and stay accountable in studying the bible.
The next plan is to study Philippians.  That involves more than just reading the text.  We're going to look more heavily into the history of Philippi, read some commentaries on this book, and find out what others have said about Paul's letter to this church.  We won't be reading large chunks of it at a time, like with the previous reading plan, so there likely won't be a daily post.  That's not to say you shouldn't check back here daily for more news!  As you read along in Philippians, feel free to leave your own comments on this book, and how Paul's words to them may be affecting you.

The end

Well faithful readers, it's over.
If you followed along, you will have finished reading the entire bible in 9 months as of yesterday.  It has been quite a journey!  I've learned a lot, and I hope you have too.  Although one thing I learned is that it's difficult to get into the meat of the bible when you're trying to race through it at lightning speed to get it done in 9 months.  It was a great experience, but I think a slower pace would be the best way to go.
I hope you'll stick with this blog even now that the reading plan is over, because I still intend to keep on reading my bible, as you should as well.  I've certainly gotten into the habit of regular bible reading!
Stay tuned for more conversations on topics relating to the bible and Christian theology and history.  I'm sure there's a lot more to uncover than what we have discovered over the past nine months.

Forgiveness

Philemon
I just noticed that I had to revise the last day of the reading plan to ensure that I indeed read the whole bible in the 9 months.  So today's reading included Esther 7-10, Proverbs 17, Philemon (the whole book), and Luke 20:9-26.  That's it!  We have finished the journey!
I would just like to comment briefly on Paul's letter to Philemon.  Paul requested that Philemon welcome back a runaway slave who had become a Christian while he was away from Philemon.  The outcome isn't clear, as we are only privy to Paul's request, not Philemon's response.  However, we know the right response - welcome back the one who wronged you with open arms, especially since Onesimus (the runaway slave) was repentant.  We must extend grace to those who have wronged us, just as Jesus did.  Even if they aren't requesting forgiveness, we should respond in grace and love.  This may have been a tough ask for Philemon, and for us, and we'll have to rely on God's strength to help us make that move.  Just remember though, it can be done!

Proverbs
Just a side note on Proverbs 17:17, which says "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."  I never saw the connection between the two parts of the verse before, but now I have realized something.  When it says that a friend loves at all times, there should be a focus on the fact that a good friend is with you not only in the good times, but also in the bad.  Since a brother is "born for adversity" that means that the brother will be with you in troubled times, like a friend is.  I'm not sure why I didn't clue in to this before now, but there you go.  It pays to re-read your bible!

Man's way leads to death

Proverbs

Proverbs 16:25 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”  Our judgment is fallen due to original sin, so regardless of what we do, if God isn’t in our plans, we won’t get too far.  The moral of this verse seems to be, make sure you consult God first!
This is in line with yesterday's post about committing your plans to God.  If you haven't done that already, make sure you do!

Commit to the Lord

Proverbs
Proverbs 16:3 says "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."
I wonder if this is a conscious commitment that you have to make every time you plan something.  I know deep down that everything I do is dependent on God, and I want Him involved in everything.  But do I have to tell Him every time I'm hoping to do something that I trust it is in His will?  I've laid my plans in His hands even before I start to make them; when I plan out specifics, should they be brought to His attention as well?
What is your approach to planning? Do you commit your plans to the Lord?  If so, how?

Eager to do good

Titus
Paul said that God brought us salvation that gives us the ability to have self-control, to live godly lives while we wait for the return of Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to purify for himself a people that are eager to do what is good (Titus 2:11-14).  I read that, and it sounded great, but am I eager to do good?  Not all the time!  Sometimes it is such a chore.  Why do we always have to put others ahead of ourselves?
In the end, it is more rewarding to do good.  Proverbs has tried to teach us that over and over again.  I think the desire has to be consciously cultivated, though.  So that's something I'll be praying about - being eager to do good!

You cretin

Titus
Well, the first chapter of Titus sure gives us a good picture of the origins of the word cretin.  The people of Crete were loud, boisterous, drunken, lazy, and mischievous.  All these things as Christians we should not be!  So if someone calls you a cretin, make sure it's not true of you!

Rich people going to heaven

Luke
I want to build on my previous post about the eye of the needle and a rich man going into heaven.  Check out the blog post on March 24 (click here).  That one was about the parallel passage in Mark 10.  Today's reading is Luke 18:18-30.  Not only is it impossible for a camel to go through the eye of an actual needle, but it is also impossible for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of heaven... on his own.  The ruler in this story had asked "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  This question is similar to the one of the rich young man in Matthew 19, which I posted about on January 27 (click here).  It's all about doing.  We can't do anything, so of course it is impossible for us to get to heaven.  But with God, through Jesus Christ, we can!
I think that the emphasis on the fellow being rich demonstrates that rich people don't think they need God as much as poor people, because they have the resources to get through life comfortably without really having to rely on God.  So for rich people, it is more difficult to get to the point where they can depend on God for salvation.  Of course, this is a major generalization, so if you have a differing view, let me know.

The tax collector and Pharisee

Luke
I find the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (see Luke 18:9-14) almost similar to the parable of the lost son.  The Pharisee is sort of close to God, in that he is always trying to do his duty and pray and all that, but he really doesn't understand God at all.  The tax collector has little regard for the law, has previously abandoned God, but realizes his need for God and repents from the depths of his heart.  He desires to get back to God.  The Pharisee is like the older brother in the parable of the lost son, and the tax collector is like the son who ran away from home.
The tax collector, as Jesus points out, is the one who God really listens to.  That doesn't mean that if you haven't committed terrible sins, God won't listen to you.  The point here is that we have to approach God with sincerity of heart and in humility.  That was the prayer of the tax collector, and that should be our prayer too.

The persistent widow

Luke
When I hear the story about the persistent widow, I'm somewhat surprised.  It seems to me that nagging away at someone until they give in to your request is not the best way to go about getting what you want.  And yet that's what Jesus seems to be telling us.  Granted, he didn't call it nagging, but rather persistence.
On that note, I suppose, you could look at this lesson with the view that persistence creates character.  Persistence is perseverance and patience, and both those qualities we should certainly aspire to have.  Although it gets tiresome to continually ask for the same thing, God is at least making sure you really want what you're asking for.  And if you aren't getting your answer, perhaps you should re-evaluate your request; you may find out that you really don't want God to give it to you!

The kingdom of God is in you

Luke
At the end of Luke 17, we have another example of 'early scribal emendation' (so called by the Archaeological Study Bible).  If you were reading along and seemed to think a verse number was missing, you weren't crazy!  Luke 17:36 was added to a later version of the manuscript, and is not part of the original book.  Check out Matthew 24:40 - you'll notice that this is the 'missing' Luke 17:36, which a scribe probably copied into Luke because of his familiarity with this particular teaching.

Luke 17:21 says that the kingdom of God is in us.  That sounds almost like eastern mysticism or something, where we have the power deep within us somehow.  Anyway, that's not what the text means.  What is the kingdom of God?  I've talked a little bit about this in earlier posts.  The kingdom of God is wherever his will is being extended and lived out.  God came down to earth as Jesus to bring healing, eternal peace, joy, and righteousness.  If we have accepted his mission, the kingdom of God is now within us!  It has very little to do with what we can do, and has a lot to do with how we partner with God on his mission.

Receive your due

Proverbs
I can see how the wicked only receive their due on earth, as is stated in Proverbs 11:31, but it's a little more difficult to understand the first part of the verse - that the righteous also receive their due on earth.

"If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!"

I always tend to think of the righteous having to wait for the afterlife to receive their reward - store up treasures in heaven, and all that.  There are other verses that suggest that righteous people are rewarded on earth, but that seems a little hit and miss.  Lots of godly people live really great lives, but there are a lot of godly people who have a lot of hardship!  What do they think about receiving their due on earth?

We have only done our duty

Luke
Check out Luke 17:1-10, particularly the last few verses.  Jesus is basically talking about humility.  He says that when servants do what they're told, they shouldn't expect praise and rewards; they're just doing their job.  Likewise, if we do what God has commanded, we shouldn't feel more important or worthy of a prize; we're just doing our job!
Trying to fulfill our duties or supposedly working beyond what God has called us to do (which is impossible, since he called us to perfection) won't get us anyway - for it is through grace and faith we are saved, not through our own deeds, so we really can't boast about anything.  Sometimes it's still easy to fall back into that mentality that if we just do what God told us to do, we'll be okay.  In one sense that's an acceptable attitude, but once we turn it into a task list of sorts, hoping to curry to God's favour, we've really lost the point.  Doing what he wants us to do won't make Him love us less or more; but it'll help us love Him more, especially if we don't get a big head about it.

Fear of God adds length to life

Key verse
2 Timothy 1:7 - For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Proverbs
Proverbs 10:27 says "The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short."
I wonder if the author was thinking that fearing God would prolong life because then God wouldn't punish you as he would the wicked.  My first thought was the fear of the Lord would also include having common sense, a logical mind (to some extent, at least), and belief in absolutes, like absolute morality, and right and wrong.  All of those things are extremely helpful in living a successful life. 

God, the blessed and only Ruler

1 Timothy 6:11-16
What an exhortation!
"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen."
That last verse there about God living in unapproachable light, and no one seeing Him - it is yet another great reminder of how full of glory He is.

Nehemiah

Key verse
Proverbs 9:10 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.


Nehemiah
Now this is interesting - Ezra wrote the book of Nehemiah (or at least presumably)!  Curious.  I thought it was Nehemiah, particularly since it is written in the first person.  Also, what a great job to have - being a cupbearer for the king.  Imagine the joys of having to taste someone's wine to make sure it wasn't poisoned....

The lost son

Luke
Here's another parable about being lost - the parable of the lost son (or prodigal son).  Many times, the focus is on the lost son, rather than the one who was never lost.  That second son who never ran away, he had it made the whole time, with constant access to the father and the wealth!  And yet, he was really the one squandering what he had.  I can see in this parable how there is more rejoicing over the son who returned than the one who was there all along.  If you aren't lost from God, are you rejoicing with him and enjoying all that he has given you?  As much as there is a lot of rejoicing when the lost people come home, there is so much more available to those who have been with God the whole time; he loves all of us with an extravagant love.

One lost sheep

Luke
The parable of the lost sheep teaches that there is more rejoicing about the one lost sheep that is found than the other 99 who were saved already.  The earthly part of me wonders if God loves those recently lost but now found people more than the others.  That seems to be a reflection of our attitude toward lost things, which we think about more than all the possessions still safe in our homes.  The next series of parables are on this same idea of being lost.

Just a little rest, but no lying

Proverbs
A few verses from chapter 6 of Proverbs really stuck out to me.  For one, make sure you don't sit down for too long!  Check out verses 10-11: "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little fold of the hands to rest - and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like and armed man."
Apparently, I really like this passage, because as I was typing it out, I felt that it was awfully familiar to me on this blog, and I actually posted specifically on this phrase on October 1, 2010.  The verse was different - in Proverbs 24, but it was the exact same phrase.  So clearly this message is important!  I think that is because I myself am one to work hard and not take many breaks, which isn't always a good thing.

Anyway, the next passage that popped out to me was verses 16-19.  These verses give us a list of things the Lord hates.  Interestingly, lying is mentioned twice, which makes it a double sin??  I wonder, above all, does that mean the Lord does not like lying?
Well, I just read into this issue a bit further, and Gill's Exposition on the Bible makes the distinction between lying in general (the first mention) and "bearing false witness" (the second mention).  The bearing of false witness is speaking untruthfully about your neighbour, whereas lying could just mean speaking the non-truth in any situation.  Regardless, I think the point we can get from this is, always speak the truth!  It'll get you a lot farther in life.

The Great Banquet

Luke
Jesus told the story of a man inviting guests to a great banquet.  His closer friends were invited, but they all made excuses: I just bought some land, or some oxen, or I just got married.  These excuses may sound okay when talking about just being invited over for dinner somewhere.  But the point of the passage here in Luke 14 is the kingdom of God.  Jesus is talking about being given a chance to participate in God's kingdom.  Suddenly those excuses don't seem very good.
What do we do when we hear God asking us to get involved?  Do we make excuses and hem and haw, and try to avoid working with God?  Or do we hear his voice and say, yeah, sign me up!  I'd love to come and help you out.

Wisdom

Proverbs
The book of Proverbs is all about wisdom.  We are exhorted to follow after wisdom, to give all we have for understanding, and to esteem wisdom above all else.  I find this message to be particularly important in today's culture where we are continually pressured to follow after foolishness and cheap thrills.
Sometimes it may seem difficult to forsake the world's dreams and seek wisdom and understanding in God.  But I think we (who try to do so) can admit, at least deep down, that a life of wisdom is a life that is sustainable and full of integrity.  Wisdom leads inevitably to following after God because God is the author of wisdom.  From that come moral absolutes, which are far from popular in a relativistic world.  I won't get into the moral absolute vs. relativism debate here, but you should read up on it (check out Greg Koukl and Stand to Reason, for starters).  You'll see that wisdom really is the only way to go.

Women in leadership

1 Timothy
Women in leadership... that's a hot topic!  Check out the last bit of 1 Timothy chapter 2.  Paul's message that women should be silent in church is, in my opinion, culturally based.  I believe there is a time and place for women to be in leadership, simply because the bible also says that there is neither male nor female, slave nor free, etc.  We're all the same in Christ, at least in terms of human equality.  My personal take is that men should be the head, as it often says in scripture, but that in no way limits women from participating in some form of church leadership.

It's just not the same

Ezra
It's interesting how different people can have such different reactions to the same event.  In Ezra 3, the temple has just been rebuilt (or at least started to be rebuilt) in Jerusalem after years of exile.  Many of the Jews have now returned to Jerusalem and the temple is back, although not in its former glory.  Almost all of the people were ecstatic, gave shouts of praise to God, and offered up thanksgiving.  But some of the older people there, the priests and Levites, wept aloud when they saw the temple because they remembered the former temple of Solomon from many years ago.  This new temple wasn't nearly as good as the old one.
What do you say to those people who aren't happy?  Don't look a gift horse in the mouth?  After all, it was only by the goodness of Cyrus of Persia that the temple rebuilding took place anyway.  Or do you just tell them to forget about the past and move on with life?  None of these words would be that comforting.  I think we all just have to come to the realization that our sin is really going to make things worse, and even after God has forgiven us, we've got to deal with the consequences of the our sin, and whatever circumstances we got ourselves into.
What about the people that were happy just to have a temple?  Maybe it would have been a good reminder for them to think of the former temple and see just where rebellion against God had got them.  Perhaps they did realize that and understood how great it was just to have a temple and their homeland back at all.
Read on in the rest of Ezra and we'll see where this temple story leads us.

Endless genealogies

1 Timothy
1 Timothy1:4 mentions 'endless genealogies'.  Paul warns against false teachers who devote themselves to these 'endless genealogies'.  What's so wrong with genealogies?  Apparently the Jewish bloodlines had become so intricate that tracing lineage back to the twelve tribes really did make for endless genealogies.  The importance of keeping the twelve tribes separate really disappeared after Jesus, the Messiah, came to save the whole world, rather than just the Jewish nation.  Devotion to these genealogies wasn't necessary, and was likely a sign that the false teacher was, well, false, and insistent on still following the Jewish law rather than God's grace.  So in this case, I guess genealogies really aren't that great after all.

Peace on earth, maybe

2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles seems to be fairly similar to 2 Kings.  They both gave a brief synopsis of each king and mentioned whether or not they obeyed the law.  I did notice one difference in the last chapter today.  2 Chronicles ends with a message of hope for Israel because Cyrus of Persia announces that he will rebuild the temple in Jerusalem and let anyone who desires go back to Jerusalem.  This announcement leads nicely into the next book of Ezra.  2 Kings didn't go over that, and just ended with Jehoiachin living in prison.

Luke
Luke 12:50-51 caught my attention.  Jesus said "But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!  Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division."
First of all, the fact that Jesus was distressed until he completed his 'baptism' which I think refers to his death and resurrection.  He doesn't always let us into his feelings about his task on earth.  Usually, we just hear about all the wonderful things he did in ushering in the kingdom of God.  But in this sentence, we find out just how much of an impact his ultimate goal had on him.  It was truly difficult for him to follow through with the plan.  We are privy to this struggle at one other point in scripture - his time in Gethsemane where he asks that God take 'this cup' from him, but also that God would have His will done.  When we're struggling with a difficult task that God has given us, we can run to Jesus, because he certainly knows what we're dealing with.
Verse 51 is also interesting because it makes me think of another verse about peace.  Luke 2:14 says "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests."  Jesus' birth seems to usher in peace on earth, and yet later in his ministry, Jesus says that he didn't come to bring peace.  Seems like somewhat of a paradox.
However, after reading Gill's Exposition on the Bible, I have found somewhat of an answer.  God came to bring peace to men (as happened with Jesus' birth), but Jesus was not going to set up a political kingdom and solve the world's problems of peace or war.  So these two different verses are really talking about two different kinds of peace - God's and man's.  I think God's peace toward us is much more desirable and much longer lasting!

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded

Luke
Luke 12:48 says "But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."  I took this to mean that some people, if they haven't heard about Jesus, would still be able to get to heaven.  This verse reminded me of the passage in 1 Corinthians 3 where Paul said that those people who build on a foundation other than Christ will suffer loss, although they themselves will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.  So there would be a bit of harm, but in the end they are saved.
Here's a question for you - the more you know, the more you're able to avoid sinning, but the more you are punished if you do sin, which is really inevitably since we are fallen individuals.  Is it better to know more or less?

Seek first His kingdom

Luke
I've read this passage so often, the one about not worrying, found in Luke 12:22-34.  How do we revive the meaning in a passage that is already stuck in our heads, half-memorized, and losing meaning?  We have the head knowledge, that Jesus told us not to worry, because God cares for us.  But somehow we've got to translate those words into action.  That's what the entire Christian life is about, isn't it?  Translating what we know to be true into actual actions so that what we know changes our lives.  A key part to that transformation is prayer, and then letting God just take over.  We have to give up our will and desire to stress about things that are important to us, and simply (and not so simply) let God get involved.
I think a key verse here is verse 31 - "Seek first his kingdom, and then..."  If we start getting worried about our lives, chances are our focus is not first on God, but rather on our circumstances.  Take a step back and re-evaluate.  Are you seeking first his kingdom?

Because it's tradition

Key verse
Psalm 147:1 - How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him.

2 Thessalonians
2 Thess. 2:15 says "So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter."  This statement follows after Paul spoke about how God chose us to be saved through sanctification of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.  It's interesting.  The word 'teachings' here, according to my study bible, means 'traditions'.  Until the New Testament was written down, the spiritual teaching was really traditions that the rabbis passed down to their students.  We often think of traditions as being steeped in the past and without real substance or logic.  Why do we believe something?  Why, it's tradition!  But in fact, tradition can be powerful, if we pass down the meaning behind the tradition and not just the basic message or action.  So we should hold firm to traditions of our forefathers, if we know what they mean.  If you're involved in certain traditions and aren't sure why, look into that.  You may be surprised at what started it all.

Don't fear those who can kill the body

Luke
Check out Luke 12: 4-7.  Somehow, it's easy to start thinking that the person who can kill the body and send someone to hell might be Satan, and we should be afraid.  But Satan can't send anyone to hell.  Only God does that.  So when Jesus said not to be afraid of those who can only kill the body, Satan is part of that crowd.  Instead, we need to fear God, who can send both body and soul to hell.  But unless we have rejected God, we don't need to fear him in the sense that he might suddenly just send someone to hell.  He will care for us, as this passage goes on to say, and looks after us more than the sparrows.  God will forgive us.  So we don't have anything to fear, except to approach God in awe for his grace and mercy.

God will fight the battle

Key verses
Psalm 145:1-9 - I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.  Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.  Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.  One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.   They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.  They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.  They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.  The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.  The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

2 Chronicles
Jehoshaphat trusted in God, and God came through for him.  I read the story about Jehoshaphat defeating Moab and Ammon, described in 2 Chronicles chapter 20.  The people of Judah were wondering if they should attack Moab and Ammon, because these enemies were coming to their territory.  The people of Judah inquired of God, and the Spirit of the Lord spoke through Jahaziel who told the people of Judah not to fear.  The Lord was with them.  They wouldn't even have to fight the battle, because the Lord would fight for them.  So they went out to the place where their enemies were, and there were all the dead bodies.  The Moabites and Ammonites had fought against the men from Mount Seir, and then they turned on themselves and everyone was slaughtered.  The people of Judah didn't have to do a thing!
When you go into a difficult situation, trust in God and rely on him to come through for you (if you are in the will of God), and you will meet with success!

As a side note - what a legacy!  Here is 2 Chronicles 2:20, commenting on Jehoram's reign as king of Judah.  "Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years.  He passed away, to no one's regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings."

Eyes let in the light

Luke
Today I read about the story of how the eye is like a lamp, and when the eye lets in good light, the whole body is good, and when it lets in darkness, the whole body is dark (Luke 11:34).  Some commentaries try to liken the eye of the body to the eye of understanding.  To some degree, that is okay.  But I think we could just let the eye be the eye in this story.  For example, when you look on good things in life, and revel in nature, you can be drawn to God because you see the work of his hands.  When you read the bible, you're letting in light.   These sorts of visual activities bring light into the body.  But when you watch trash on TV, or see bad movies, or read inappropriate things, or go see inappropriate things, you're letting darkness in.  So we must make sure we let our eyes rest on the things of God, and that leads to bringing in more and more light to our understanding.  It's a tough thing to keep our eyes pure today, but we've got to rise to the challenge.

Luke
11:24-26 - “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

I wasn't sure what this passage was talking about, but then I followed a chain reference listed in my bible and it pointed me to 2 Peter 2:20.  This verse in 2 Peter mentions that a person is worse off if they have decided to follow a pagan lifestyle after first having embraced (and then fallen away from) a relationship with Jesus.  This idea of being worse off is mentioned elsewhere in the bible, such as in Hebrews 6:4 or Hebrews 10:26, which talk about how when a person has participated in the life of Christ, but then has fallen away, he or she cannot return again.  I'm sure a major study could be done on this idea of falling away from Christ.  I'd be interested in taking a survey to see if in fact those who have sincerely rejected Christ made some sort of comeback in later years.  I'm guessing from the content of these verses that such a comeback is impossible if rejection has truly taken place.  The point is not to scare us into following Jesus and making sure we don't fall away.  This is straying from the original passage in Luke, but I think what we can learn is that if we wholeheartedly follow Christ, we have nothing to fear.  But I would appreciate comments on this theological question.

Did the world end on May 21?

1 Thessalonians
So, apparently the world was supposed to end on May 21.  That didn't happen...  My question is, why do people think they can accurately predict when the world will end?  It says right here in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 "for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."  We don't expect thieves to come in the night, and when they do, they're a surprise (unless you live in a very crime-ridden city).  That doesn't mean we can't be prepared for the eventuality.  When they do come, we won't be caught off guard.  But we won't know for certain when they'll come.
It's the same way with Christ's return.  We know he's coming back, that much is certain.  But when he'll come, we don't know, as was clearly evidenced by his non-return on May 21.  Not knowing when he'll come should not be worrisome, however.  If we're living in faith, knowing that our salvation comes through Christ alone, it won't matter when he comes back because regardless, we'll be ready.  And that's a relief!

Mary or Martha?

Luke
The passage I am commenting on today is rather short, so I'll just post it below.  Here is Luke 10:38-42:
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

 

When I read this story, I often assume that it would be really easy to be Mary.  Who wants to do the house work anyway?  But when it comes right down to it, and I honestly think about it, I have to admit that I might find myself hanging out in the kitchen doing the work, thinking that it was more important to make sure Jesus had the best possible experience when in my home.  After all, I wouldn't want my guests to have bad food or be bored, or think my place was dirty.  But the main point of our relationship with Jesus, which should spill over into our other relationships, is spending time with him.  Being with people is key.  It's certainly a tough balance between maintaining a household and working, and spending time with family and friends.  It's not always an easy decision to make.  The right choice is not always clear.  We can take a lesson from Mary, though, and try to spend more time with God and less time with things and being busy just to be busy.

Repentance and the blood of Christ

Key verse
1 Thessalonians 4:7 - For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.


2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 7:13-14 - “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
God's love manifests itself in different forms.  If we repent and obey, he is kind and compassionate and slow to anger.  But if we have heard his commands and yet disobey, He will not hesitate to punish us.  Not that we have to fear fire from God every time we do something wrong, but we can't rest on  our laurels thinking that God has promised only to do good to us, even if we do bad.  Look at King Solomon.  God told him, right after verses 13 and 14, that yes, if they repented, he would save them.  But, if Solomon did not respect God's law and instead followed pagan gods, God would certainly send Israel into exile and destroy the temple Solomon had just built for Him.
Our good deeds will never save us.  Only the blood of Jesus, come with the new covenant, can cover our sin and intercede for us when we go off the trail.

Glory in a cloud

2 Chronicles
Whenever I read about the glory of God physically appearing before man, I'm impressed.  It sounds so wonderful and amazing!  In 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, it says that when Solomon finished building the temple, the priests couldn't even perform their service because the glory of God filled the temple as a cloud.  I've never seen the glory of God appear as such a cloud, but it sounds like quite the sight.

Take a time out

Today I'm not going to talk so much about the readings as about the fact that taking a Sabbath rest is okay.  It doesn't even necessarily have to be on Sunday.  Just because we are no longer living under the old covenant, but the new, doesn't mean that we have to forget everything that came with the old.  Jesus often took time to step aside and rest and pray.  In today's culture, it's easy to feel like we have to be go, go, go all the time.  Resist the pressure!  (I'm speaking to myself here as well.)  Life will go on even when we aren't at the helm, so to speak, although it is tempting to want to be 'in control' all the time.  It's totally not worth it, though.  If we take the time to recharge, whatever we offer to society will be that much better for having a clearer head and more focused heart.

In Chronicles, David is King

1 Chronicles
If you will recall my post from May 10, you will see that I talked about the focus of 1 Chronicles, noting that the author was keenly interested in King David, more so than the other kings of Israel/Judah.  We have now come to the end of 1 Chronicles, and the main point of this book has certainly been David.  The book started with many lists of names, leading up to an extremely brief narrative of Saul's reign, and then headlong into David's tenure as king.  Moreover, we didn't really hear about any of the negative aspects of David's time as king, such as the fights between him and Saul before he became king, or his murder of Uriah, husband of Bathsheba.  It was mainly a rosy picture of how God blessed David and prospered him on the throne.  It remains to be seen how things turn out in 2 Chronicles, now that David has passed on.

Betrayal

Luke
In the midst of having done some miracles, Jesus turns to his disciples while the crowds are distracted and says to them, "Listen carefully, I'm going to be betrayed into the hands of men." (Luke 9:44)
How could he expect them to have a clue what he was talking about?  What does being 'betrayed into the hands of men' even mean?  Sometimes it's not too difficult to see why the disciples didn't really know what was going on; Jesus appears to leave out important contextual information for what he's talking about!
Looking back on this scene, it's easy to understand that, sure, now the crowds love Jesus because he is healing their sick, but Jesus warns that they will eventually turn on him.  But at the time he originally said this, does it make sense?
If you check out some commentaries on this verse (click here), they mention Jesus' suffering and death, but that just drives home the point that Jesus spoke in cryptic language that could only be understand after the fact.  Curious, isn't it?

Great is the Lord's renown

Your name, O Lord, endures forever, your renown, O Lord, through all generation (Ps 135:13).

As a side note totally unrelated to this amazing verse that speaks such truth, I just wanted to point out that the name Happizzez (mentioned in 1 Chronicles 24:15) is quite an interesting name.

We can see the kingdom of God

Luke
Jesus said in Luke 9:27 that there would be some among the disciples who would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God.  What does this mean?  The kingdom of God sometimes seems to be a bit ethereal, not just in the sense that it is part of the spiritual world, but also in that it seems like we could never be a part of it until we die.  But that's not the case.
The kingdom of God exists wherever God has sovereign control.  In one sense, that means everything is God's kingdom.  However, I think that in this context, and in most places where this phraseology is used in the bible, the kingdom of God refers to wherever people are joining in God's mission and working to extend his power in this earthly realm.  We can do this through the Holy Spirit.  Thus, God's kingdom probably truly started at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came on the disciples.
I'm getting a bit of help from Gill's Exposition on the Bible for this idea, but, in Luke 9:27, when Jesus said some of the disciples wouldn't die until they saw the kingdom of God, he meant that some of them would survive until he was raised to life and they could see firsthand his true power and authority as God's Son.

Old hymns

I was just looking at some old hymns and was struck by the words.  I just love the language they used to write these songs.  You don't see much of this these days.

Here's a verse from O Worship the King by Robert Grant (adapted from Haydn):
O worship the King all glorious above, And gratefully sing His wonderful love; Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days, Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

Or here's a verse from Crown Him with Many Crowns:
Crown Him the Lord of years: The potentate of time, Creator of the rolling spheres, Ineffably sublime.  All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou hast died for me; Thy praise and glory shall not fail Throughout eternity.

A temple for God

1 Chronicles and Psalms
Psalm 132 relays how David had exclaimed that he would build God a house on earth.  Knowing what a psalm of ascent is, this psalm really makes sense because it is all about God’s temple in Jerusalem.  It’s
also interesting to see how in 1 Chronicles 17, also in today’s reading, we can read again of David’s desire to build God a temple.  He wanted to honour God by giving him a beautiful and wonderful place to reside.

I don’t always think of my body being a temple, but if we have received Jesus into our hearts and placed our trust in Him, we are all temples!  David never got the chance to build a temple, yet he continually strove to honour God with all his heart.  I have a temple of the Lord right here, and what am I doing with it?  Am I honouring God?

Wives submit

Colossians
Although we read Colossians today, I would like to point you to the commentary from Barnes on Ephesians 5:22 (click here to go to the commentary), which is a parallel passage to Colossians 3:18.  This verse is about wives submitting to their husbands.  Sometimes, people, particularly women, like to get all up in arms about this verse, and think they have to lay aside their personality, sense of self-worth, and pretty much everything else in order to submit to a husband.  That's not what we're talking about here.  Check out Barnes' notes - he gives a variety of circumstances that apply, but he also states that, above all, women must obey God.  God is the head of all people, and submission to husbands does not trump that.  Husbands must rule in line with Christ, and so, as long as both parties live within the will of God, there shouldn't be too much trouble.  It may not always work out so easily, but never let it be said that women have to forfeit their very selves in following their husbands.  The only person we completely surrender to is God.

The demon-possessed man

Luke
Why would Jesus send the demons into a herd of pigs?  That was my question when I read Luke 8:26-39.  After a bit of digging on the internet (from the links below), I found that there were a number of reasons that Jesus may have done this.  We don't really know much of the context of this story, like who the nearby farmers were, so there is a bit of guessing involved.  Either way, Jesus probably commanded the demons to enter the pigs to show his power over all creation, even these evil spirits.  Moreover, we can learn from this passage that Jesus has control even over demons, and that demons have very little power of their own - they couldn't even leave the man of their own accord, really.  They had to wait for Jesus to tell them where to go.

We can take heart that when we call on Jesus to rescue us from evil, he can do it!

If this topic on demon-possesion is of interest to you, check out the following links: a comparison of the various gospel versions of this story or a commentary on the Luke passage.

Connection with the Head

Colossians
 We can see in the second half of chapter 2 of Colossians that the people to whom Paul was writing had a somewhat Gnostic and very heretical view of Jesus.  They thought that they could commune with God through spiritual beings who came from Christ, and that they had to follow a very ascetic and rule-bound lifestyle.  Thankfully, Paul set them straight.  We can find our reality in Christ himself.  We'll see in the coming days in reading Colossians just how much we can rely on Christ, rather than some cheap man-made imitations.

Neverending genealogies with a purpose

1 Chronicles
I'm not going to lie - after now having read 7 chapters of genealogy in 1 Chronicles, I'm a little bored...  The Chronicler sure liked to chronicle things!  However, I understand that there is a point to all the names.  He is showing the lineage and heritage of the great kings of Israel - David and Solomon.  God made a number of promises to King David, stating that he would always have someone from his line on the throne.  God keeps his promises!  Nonetheless, it seems that maybe the information could have been presented in a more interesting manner.
Here's a fun fact, though.  The Chronicles tell roughly the same story as 1 and 2 Kings, but the focus is different.  In Kings, the author seems keen on showing how the Israelites failed to follow God's commands and subsequently, God would punish them, show love to them again when they started obeying, and then punish them when they fell back into pagan, sinful ways.  In Chronicles, I believe we will see how God's promises to King David came true.  Track along with me as we read continue to read the Chronicles and we'll find out!

The dead son

Luke
Have you ever seen a dead person raised to life?  I certainly haven't!  But imagine what it would have been like for the people in Nain watching Jesus raise this man to life.  And the joy of the mother, who was a widow and had no other sons.  Her last hope was being carried out in a casket in front of her.  Jesus then came along and raised him to life!  The crowds were in awe and praised God (see Luke 7:11-17 for this story).
I guess my point here is that if Jesus cared enough about this woman that he raised her son to life, I think we can trust him in work in our lives too.

Colossians
Paul had such a powerful ministry, even when he was under house arrest.  He wrote many letters, not just to the Colossians, and his letters have had a last effect on the world, far beyond his time.  Granted, Paul did a lot of stuff before he was in prison, but still, you don't have to go too far to extend God's kingdom here on earth.

Extra-biblical sources

2 Kings
It is so neat to hear about extra-biblical sources that back up what the bible says.  Today I read in the footnotes of my Archaeological Study Bible that some archaeologists found Babylonian administrative tablets.  These tablets apparently outline the rations provided to the captives in Babylon.  In 2 Kings 25, we can read about the fall of Jerusalem and the captives that were taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.  These tablets support this information because they mention Jehoiachin king of Judah and five of his sons!
As I read the bible, I often find myself reading it in a bit of a vacuum, thinking that nobody else would have bothered recording the information in it.  It's interesting to see that the historical facts have been recorded elsewhere, to some extent.

Psalms of Ascent

Psalm 121:1-2 - I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 

This is part of a psalm of ascent. A wikipedia article on the psalms of ascent said that these psalms were likely sung as the people ascended to Jerusalem on the three pilgrim festivals (Deut 16:16) or by the priests as they ascended the steps into the Temple in Jerusalem. 

In both of these cases, these psalms would certainly help the speaker enter into closer relationship with God or reflection on His character.

A Good Measure

Key verses
Philippians 4:4-7 - "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Luke
Luke 6:38 is another clear example of generosity.  "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."  Jesus said that.  Doesn't it sound great?  And the idea of giving abundantly sounds wonderful.  God just needs to help loosen the grip we have on our time and money, doesn't he?

Just a side note on Luke 6:39, where Jesus talks about how a blind man can't lead another blind man.  Every time I hear that phrase, I think of John Kenneth Galbraith's line in his book The Affluent Society: "The bland leading the bland" (p. 4).  I'm not too certain if we should be drawing links between the two meanings, but it is an interesting use of the phrase.

Citizenship

Philippians 3:20-21 - "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."

The beatitudes

Luke
Have you read Luke's version of the beatitudes (see chapter 6 verse 20-26)?  His are far less 'spiritualized' than the ones quoted in Matthew 5.  For example, Luke only says blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.  Matthew however, says blessed are you who are poor in spirit....
I looked up a couple commentaries, and they don't comment on the non-spiritual seeming aspect of Luke.  Are we supposed to readily see that Luke actually means poor (humble in spirit), because on the surface of things, it appears to mean that those who are physically/economically poor, they have the kingdom of God.  Feel free to weigh in on this conversation!

Righteousness through faith

Philippians
 I have copied below a passage from today's reading in Philippians.  It is a powerful passage because of the strength of the language Paul uses to describe worldly accoutrements versus heavenly treasures.  It really puts life into perspective, for me.  Consider the verses below and just see what you can learn from them. 

Phil 3:7-11: "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.


*I included verses 10 and 11 even though they are in tomorrow's reading simply because you can't stop at verse 9!

New wine in new wineskins

Key verses

2 Kings 13:20-21 - "Elisha died and was buried.  Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring.  Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet."

Luke
I was just enlightened as to the meaning behind the new wine in new wineskins and old wine in old wineskins parable that Jesus told as recounted in Luke 5:36-39.  Before now I didn't catch the connection between what he was saying and what he meant.  In Gill's Exposition on the Bible, I found out that the old wine was likened to the Old Testament and the old wineskins were the Pharisees and Sadducees type of people.  It's easy to see this connection when you read this paragraph of Luke with the paragraphs beforehand, but my bible has them all separated with headings.
Anyway, the new wine certainly burst the old wineskins when the Pharisees listened to Jesus but rarely accepted what he was saying.  However, the disciples, who weren't as learned in the law, as well as the tax collectors who didn't pay much attention to the Old Testament, were new wineskins who readily accepted Jesus' new message of life and hope for all people.
Perhaps you already knew the meaning to this parable, but for me, today's reading was yet another lesson in reading contextually, and reading commentaries.

Follow this link to find additional commentary on Luke 5:36-39 at bible.cc.

God works in us

Key verse
Luke 5:32 - [Jesus said,] "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Philippians
Phil 2:13 - "... for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."
Sort of stemming from yesterday's post on considering others better than ourselves, which is a hard thing to do, this verse brings some good news.  We aren't in it by ourselves!  Not that we can sit back and enjoy the ride, as we do have to bring 100% effort to the relationship, but what we lack, God brings.  So when we set our minds to following his purposes, He'll jump in and help us out!  That's awesome.

Consider others better than yourself

Philippians
Phil 2:3 - "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."
There's not much to add to this verse; it pretty much says it for itself - we've got to get rid of self!  That's tough to do; for some reason, we were hardwired to love ourselves a lot, and it takes a lot of work sometimes to put other people ahead.  I'm going to work on that today!

Praying in lonely places

Key verse
Philippians 1:21 -  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Luke
One verse that struck me in today's reading was Luke 5:16 - "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."  I thought of that story in another gospel where the disciples were trying to heal a boy who was demon-possessed, but they couldn't.  Then Jesus came and healed the boy, and told his disciples "This kind can only come out by prayer."  Jesus had simply rebuked the evil spirit, and it came out.  But I believe the reason he was successful whereas his disciples weren't was because he spent a lot of time in prayer, as we can see in Luke 5:16.  Jesus was always on the 'same page' as his Father.  He knew what was going on in the spiritual world.  The disciples weren't at the same level of communion with God at that point, and so could not rebuke demons as easily as Jesus could.
I think we should follow in Jesus's example here.  How often do you pray, and how often do you do it in quiet places where you can focus?  I know I should be praying more.  Let's work on that!

The next big thing

2 Kings
The story of Naaman exemplifies how we must be willing to swallow our pride so that God can do his work in our lives.  We may often wonder when God is going to do his next big thing in our lives, but all the time perhaps he is working in our lives in small ways, stretching and growing us day by day.
In addition, while we are holding out for the opportunity to make ourselves shine, we could be actually keeping God from working in our lives at all!  This story in 2 Kings 5 shows us that once we humble ourselves, God's Spirit can move through us, enabling him to do the work and bringing him the glory that he is due.

A light for my path

Psalms
Psalm 119:105 says "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."  That is why reading the bible is so useful.  God speaks to us through the words he left for us, and guides us in the way we should go.

The armour of God

Ephesians
I was reading a commentary by William Wiersbe on the last chapter in Ephesians.  He said something that was so true, and yet often forgotten.  In the last chapter in Ephesians, Paul talks about putting on the armour of God so that we can wage war against the forces of evil.  We always have to be on our guard.  Wiersbe said that, "as believers, we do not fight for victory - we fight from victory."  That is to say, victory is already ours in Christ!  We just need to keep walking in that truth. How do we do this?  We wear the armour of God.  Check out Ephesians 6:13-18 for Paul's description of the armour.

In a gentle whisper

1 Kings
This is one of my favourite passages in the bible.
1 Kings 9:9-14 -

The Lord Appears to Elijah

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 

In this passage, Elijah is at his wits' end because of the persecution in Israel.  God comes to him, but not in power or violence, rather, in a gentle whisper.  I think that helps us stop and think, reflect, and really pay attention to what God has to say.  It's easy to get caught up in a windstorm, and afterwards to forget about God when it gets quiet.  But when we start out quiet, and hear God then, maybe then it's easier to hear him in the noise?

God is powerful

1 Kings
Where is God's power in your life?  1 Kings 18 shows that even when society seems to be going downhill and people give themselves to false gods, God will still come through and show himself in powerful ways to those who follow him.
Elijah taunted the prophets of Baal and had them try and get their god to set fire to their sacrifice to him.  No matter what they did, Baal did not respond.  He couldn't; he wasn't real.  These prophets were the ruling priests of the day, endorsed by the king, but they still couldn't make anything happen.  Elijah was one of the king's major enemies, he was on the run and living in the wilderness.  When he doused his sacrifice in litres of water, an onlooker may have assumed he was committing "spiritual suicide" as it were, ensuring that his sacrifice would not be burnt up.  However, God sent his fire down and burned down the sacrifice, the altar of stones, the soil around it, and all the water!  That's power!
We have access to that power on a daily basis because Christ opened up the way for us to talk with God whenever we want.  Let's not waste this access, but like Elijah, live in constant communion with God, and when we need him to, God will come through for us.

Cult of Dionysus

Ephesians
The cult of Dionysus, an ancient religion coming from Asia to Greece, involved sensual, orgiastic ceremonies, and lots of wine.  People would become intoxicated and do all sorts of immoral acts.  The drunkenness brought on by the wine was often equated to being filled with the spirit of Dionysus (this information derived from the Archaeological Study Bible).
Paul wrote to the Ephesians and told them that they should avoid even the hint of sexual immorality or any kind of impurity.  Instead of getting drunk on wine, which some may have thought would lead to being filled by the Holy Spirit, Paul told them to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
We don't have to use outward means to try and create a holy, God-filled experience.  God lives in us and works through us directly!  When we earnestly seek him, he will fill us up.

Subject ourselves to God

Ephesians

Ephesians 4:17-24 discusses how the Ephesians didn’t indulge in sensuality and earthly desires.  According to the Archaeological Study Bible, many ancient Greeks sought to ignore and not succumb to such desires; it was the height of mental maturity to refuse to indulge oneself.  This refusal of self, however, is not entirely possible on our own.  In Christ, though, we can be made new in the attitude of our minds.  In Christ, we can subject our desires to God’s will, and become righteous and holy.  So we don’t necessarily have to ignore what we want, but we have to give it to God so that what comes out is purified and righteous.

Be gracious to me

Psalm 119:58 - I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.

Is this verse true for you?  I read it and thought, yes Lord, be gracious to me.  But have I sought him with all my heart?  Just something for you to consider as we look toward this Easter weekend.

Solomon and his gold

1 Kings
In 1 Kings 10:14, we read that Solomon received yearly 666 talents of gold.  That number made me curious, but many theologians don't bother to comment on the significance (or insignificance) of this number.  Some websites do mention this link between Solomon and 666 and other mentions of 666.  However, my personal and somewhat uneducated opinion is that we really shouldn't bother to place much stock in the appearance of the 'devil number', at least in this context.  Even with a simple comparison of when the book of 1 Kings was written versus the book of Daniel (the next Old Testament book to mention 666), we can see that 1 Kings came before Daniel.  Daniel was the first to link the number with the 'Beast', so it seems somewhat straightforward that the author of 1 Kings did not equate Solomon with the devil or some other such evil figure.
What does this mean for us today?  I wouldn't put much stock in trying to find symbols and meanings in the scriptures.  If you are reading the bible with an open heart and mind, ready and waiting to hear from the Holy Spirit, you will likely garner all the teachings you need to live a holy and godly life.  Though sometimes finding conspiracy theories are kinda fun...

Turn us toward You

Psalms
"Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain" (Ps. 119:36).  This verse in Psalm 119 caught my eye.  As you read your bible, pay attention to what might stick out to you, and consider why God might be directing you to that particular passage.  It may be for a specific reason.

Once we were far away

Ephesians
 "Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world."  That's Ephesians 2:12.  What a bleak picture that paints!  Without God in the world...
Fortunately, God didn't leave us in that predicament.  Verse 13 says "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ."  That is a good reminder for me to live in the truth that I am near to God.  That should change how I live; without hope, life is bleak.  With this hope in Christ, I can live every day in confidence and joy.

Faith and works

Ephesians
Here it is, right in Paul's letter to the Ephesians.  We are saved by grace, not works (Ephesians 2:8-10).  And yet, it also says that we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works!  So while we are not saved by what we do, we need to demonstrate our complete faith and trust in God by joining him in expanding his kingdom on earth, by doing good works.

Pray it like you mean it

Ephesians
What a powerful prayer!  Paul prayed for the Ephesians (in Eph. 1:15-19): "For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe."

When I read this, I thought, wow, this prayer actually has some power behind it!  So, consider for yourself, as I also plan to do, who can you pray this prayer for?

Counting the fighting men

Key verse
Mark 16:6 - “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him."


2 Samuel
In today's reading in 2 Samuel 24, David counted the number of men in his army.  He did this because God was angry with the Israelites, 'and he incited David against them.'  I see this act of David's as a lack of trust in God.  He needed to know exactly what position he could hold against his enemies, rather than relying on God to come through for him regardless of the situation.
I think we can learn from this situation and realize that in our own lives, we don't need to know exactly what's going on.  For example, we don't need to count our pennies and stay rigidly within certain guidelines; we should have the freedom to rest in God's provision for our needs.  Instead of restraining yourself from something God may want you to do, go forward in faith, even if it may not seem that you're equipped for it right away.

Shortest Psalm

Psalms
Since this is the shortest psalm in the bible, I figured it could have the honour of being posted for today's reading.
Psalm 117:

Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.  For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.  Praise the Lord.

It certainly has an uplifting message, doesn't it?

Freedom in Christ

Galatians 5:1
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

The thieves on the cross

Mark
I noticed in Mark 15:32 that is said the robbers who were crucified with Jesus heaped insults on him.  However, in Luke 23:39, only one thief insulted him while the other requested that Jesus remember him.
After a little bit of research, I learned about a literary term called 'synecdoche', which means that a whole can be used to refer to a part, or vice versa.  Thus, the scriptures can still be in agreement even with these differences between the texts.

Heirs of God

Galatians 4:6-7
"Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”  So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."

Atheists...don't have no songs

Check out this youtube video (click here)!  Steve Martin performed with the Steep Canyon Rangers at a jazzfest in the States.  You know how we have a number of hymnals and never run out of songs to sing?  Well, this is a humourous take on what it would be like to be an atheist - do they have hymnals?

A way back

2 Samuel
Sometimes, it seems like the people in the Old Testament would have misunderstood God, just because the stories seem so harsh and judgmental.  Lots of people dying, and not a lot of grace.  But in 2 Samuel 14:14, we see that they did actually understood what God was after.  A wise woman said to King David "But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him."
God is always trying to get us to come back to Him.  His Son, Jesus, is the ultimate example of how far God was willing to go to reconcile us to Himself.  We just have to accept that He loves us that much!

A trial or a circus?

Mark
What a joke!  That's what the supposed 'trial' at the Sanhedrin was that Jesus had to go through.  I was reading in William Barclay's commentary on Mark 14:53-65 that the Jews had very specific rules about how to conduct a trial in the Sanhedrin, which is the supreme court of the Jews.  For one thing, they were supposed to meet in their own building, allow one night to pass before delivering a judgment, question the witnesses separately and take their testimony only if they all agreed.  Well, upon reading the passage in Mark, we can see that the Sanhedrin met in secret in the middle of the night, the false witnesses couldn't agree on the testimony to bring against Jesus, and the court pronounced a judgment almost instantly.  Indeed, they had really decided beforehand what verdict they would come to.
These people were so intent on calling Jesus a law-breaker and a sinner that they themselves were breaking laws to condemn him!  The truth was clearly on Jesus's side.

Life in Christ

Galatians
2:20-21 - "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”


We are not saved by works, but through faith in Christ.

A matter of the heart

Galatians
After following the commandments of the Old Testament, I think some of the Jews may have been scared to follow Jesus and put all those laws aside.  It seemed to be ingrained in them to follow the laws, or else.  To give that up and live in freedom - it would be freeing indeed, but also difficult to become accustomed to.  I'm not too surprised that Paul had to tell some of the Galatians to ignore the old laws and live by the spirit instead.  Sometimes, it might even seem like legalism is the easier way, rather than having to struggle with maintaining a right relationship with God.  In the end though, the new testament brought in through Jesus Christ is far more fulfilling, and ultimately the only effective way to meet with God.

God's grace

Mark
Isn't the grace of God wonderful?  He is so long-suffering and patient.  Today's reading in Mark 14 drove that point home for me.  Jesus was nearing his crucifixion, and he spoke with his disciples.  He said that they would all fall away.  Even though Peter denied this, Jesus reaffirmed that indeed, they would deny him at a crucial moment.  For his whole ministry, Jesus drew these men to him and poured his spirit and words into them, likely knowing that they would desert him.  But God loved them so much that he gave them a chance to come back afterward.  And they certainly did, spreading the good news of Christ across the entire ancient world!
God loves us all and gives us all second chances. Take heart from the situation of the disciples, and if you've fallen away, decide now to recommit, and God will certainly bless you for that!

In God is victory

Psalm 108
"With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies." (Psalm 108:13)
This verse reinforces a lot of what I've posted about the past few days.  If we rely on God, not ourselves, we will triumph.  And note the last part of the verse - he will be the one doing all the vengeance.  He's trampling down the enemies.  So even if we're in what we think is a despondent situation, God will still act.  Just wait!

Be weak, and therefore strong

2 Corinthians
I'm focusing on 2 Corinthians again today.  Paul has a lot of good things to say.  In today's reading in chapter 12, he said that "when I am weak, then I am strong" (verse 10).  He delights in his weakness, because that is where Christ can shine through the strongest.  What a different mindset than most of us!  I usually try to hide my weaknesses and my ignorance because I want to seem as strong, smart, and put together as I possibly can.  Unfortunately, relying on our own 'strength' in this way can keep us from discovering and experiencing the strength of God, which is infinitely better than anything we could conjure up on our own. By withholding ourselves from others and refusing help, relying on our own power and not submitting to God, or reaching out to those around us, we are truly missing out on the life that God desires for us.  Community with him and with the rest of his children.  Our way may seem to be the better way, but really, if we are all pretending to be competent when we aren't, what kind of relationships are we living in?  I don't think we need to broadcast our weaknesses and inexperience to the world, but realizing that we need help, and being open to receiving it, will help us live a fuller, stronger life.

A servant of Christ

Today's key verse is 2 Corinthians 11:23 - "Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more." 
Paul is writing to the Corinthians, explaining why they should not listen to the false brothers coming in preaching a bad message but purporting to be Christians.  Instead, they should listen to Paul, because he brings the message of life and truth.  I appreciate Paul's approach to convincing the Corinthians that he is more reliable than the others.  Normally, he wouldn't bother mentioning his credentials, and as brothers and sisters in Christ, we shouldn't have to do that, as we are all equal under Christ.  But in order to reach these Corinthians, Paul meets them at their level, giving them the information that they would understand and respond to.  As he does this, however, he makes sure that they realize that what they are looking for is not what is truly important.  They're looking at appearance and outward show, not at the actual message.
In the end, we should take a cue from Paul and refrain from boasting about what we do and instead, just go out and extend God's kingdom on earth, as he did.  But if we've got to meet people at their level, we should do it with humility and not let ourselves become feel more important than we are.

Honour and vengeance

1 Samuel
David shows us what it really means to honour those in power.  Saul was anointed by God to be king of Israel, but he didn't follow God's ways.  Through envy, he tried to kill David a number of times.  While on the run from Saul, David had multiple opportunities to kill Saul, and yet he didn't.  He would tell his men, "This is the Lord's anointed.  Far be it from me to avenge myself on the Lord's anointed."  He allowed God to take care of Saul for him.  He said "I will not be the one to kill Saul.  When his time comes, he will die, or he will go into battle and die, but I will not be the one to kill him."
That is true reliance on God.  We are not to take vengeance into our own hands, for God is the only one who truly knows what is going on.  Giving up our supposed control over the situation results in a far better outcome, because we won't feel the guilt of having done something we would later regret, and God will ensure that the person who wronged us will pay the price.  We just have to be patient.  That's not to say that we should lie in wait and gloat when they finally are avenged.  We should ask God to change our hearts so that we are more like David - we should want to be reconciled to the other person (Saul, in David's case).

Are we being generous?

Mark 12:41-44 -
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.  But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Just consider this story for yourself.  Do you see yourself as being blessed when you offer back to God, or are you trying to bless God with your possessions?

Wrapped in light

Psalm 104:1-3

"O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.  He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.  He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind."

As I read these verses, the imagery and language really made God come alive.  Reading poetry like this helps put things in perspective.  I had a sense of the 'bigness' of God.  He is so far above us, and all around us!  It's great just to sit for a few minutes and think about his glory and power.  This can be a spiritual act of worship.

Generosity overflowing

Doesn't it hurt to be generous sometimes?  I don't know about you, but even though I want to give freely to God's mission, or those in need, or just enjoy a good time with friends, there's something in me that says, "No, this is mine.  This is my money, my time."  But how liberating would it be to just let go?  If we have the right attitude, we would receive back one-hundred-fold the reward if we were generous versus reticent.  If we do it grudgingly, and all the while think about what else could have been done with our resources, there's really no point, although after a while it might become a little easier to do.  If you're one of the ones who finds it difficult to be benevolent, ask that God would develop that gift in you, and you'll see a difference.

Godly sorrow

2 Corinthians
Sometimes, sorrow and grief are necessary.  As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 7, we need to feel the pain of our mistakes in order to correct our behaviour and move on.  The key is that this sorrow comes from God's Spirit in us. Sometimes we can feel bad for no reason and try to change ourselves, or we feel bad because we got caught.  With godly sorrow, God's Spirit in us will work on our conscience and we'll be grieved because we disobeyed God.  When the Holy Spirit is involved, we have a far better chance at repentance and new life than we would on our own.
When you experience grief, sorrow, or guilt over your actions or lifestyle, ask God to work in your heart and he can renew you.

Obedience is better than sacrifice

1 Samuel
Today I learned that even if we think we're doing God a favour, we aren't if we have not followed his commands.  That's where this verse comes in - 1 Samuel 15:22 - Obedience is better than sacrifice.  Saul had just waged war against the Amalekites, as the Lord had asked.  However, God had also told Saul to kill all the Amalekites, both the people and their animals.  Saul killed the weak ones, but left the king alive, as well as the choicest sheep and other animals.  He was going to sacrifice these animals to God, thinking he would be pleasing God. However, this is what Samuel the prophet tells Saul: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."
God is not interested in our offerings if we can't actually follow his word.  In the end, it will go better for us, even if we can't seem to understand that right away.  Here's what happened to Saul - Samuel killed the Amalekite king, and God took the kingship away from Saul and gave it to David.
It seems to me that living within the will of God is far better than trying to get on his good side in our own way.

Clearing out the temple

Mark
Jesus wasn't just concerned about clearing out the moneychangers and livestock market from the temple.  The temple area where these people were conducting business was meant to be the court of the Gentiles, the place where Gentiles could come and worship God.  They couldn't move any farther into the temple, but they could come to this outer court to worship and pray.  When the place was full of animals and people trying to do business, the hubbub was so loud that others could hardly think, let alone try and pray to God.  When Jesus cleared out the temple (Mark 11), he said "My house is a house of prayer for all nations."  He wanted all people to be able to come and worship God, not just the Jews.  God is available for all of us!

Light and momentary troubles

2 Corinthians
It sounds so nice and simple - our "light and momentary troubles" are achieving for us an eternal glory.  And yet, when we're living through these circumstances, they don't seem so light and momentary.  That's where our weekly gatherings with other Christians come in handy - we can encourage each other to keep going, to remember that there are far better experiences in store for us.  When we're all alone, it's a lot easier to get tunnel vision and start thinking that what is here and now is all there is.  Let's encourage each other to lift our eyes to a higher power and stay focused on God's kingdom, not ours.  With that new mindset, we'll be able to withstand anything!

The fall of Jericho

Today's post doesn't have anything to do with today's readings, but it does relate to something else I read today.  I'm reading Paul Copan's book "When God Goes to Starbucks".  He was giving reasons for believing that God does indeed participate in this world, as opposed to the belief of Deists, who think that God set the world in motion and then basically forgot about it.  Anyway, God interacts with us through natural events and through miracles.  Natural events follow the laws of nature, but the timing of such events was directly affected by God, while miracles are events that cannot be explained through natural causes.  For example, an earthquake is a naturally occurring event, while someone coming back to life when they were physically dead is a miracle as that conflicts with natural laws.  All this is to say that perhaps the fall of Jericho wasn't a miracle, so to speak.  I always read this story and thought that the Israelites blew the trumpets and the city fell.  Copan mentioned in passing that God could have timed the two events - the blowing of the trumpets and the falling of the city - at the perfect moment so that when an earthquake hit Jericho and it collapsed, the Israelites just happened to be blowing the trumpets on their final round around the city.  Sort of like when the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry land due to an earthquake upstream.  It's amazing to see how God may have used such natural occurrences to achieve his goals.  What are your thoughts on this version of Josh and the Big Wall?

The eye of a needle

Mark

Jesus said that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it was for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Mark 10:25).  Some people have suggested that a camel going through the eye of a needle referred to a small gate into Jerusalem, where camels had to get down on their knees in order to go through it.  Such a task was very difficult, but not impossible.  However, Jesus was likely just referring to a real sewing needle, in which case it would be impossible for a camel to go through the eye of the needle (referenced from the Archaeological Study Bible).  This latter interpretation is supported by Jesus’s later statement in Mark 10:27 – “With man this is impossible…”.  That is, it is impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God on his own.  But the good news is that “with God all things are possible”.  Not to say that following Christ will not be difficult at times, because Jesus also goes on to say that we have to leave family and possessions and follow him wholeheartedly.  But we’ll receive more than what we left behind when we go after God.  The hard part is that we have to give it all up in order to receive.  Ask God today to help you loosen your grip on this world so that you’ll be able to receive more abundantly from the next – eternal life with God!

Trust of a child

Mark
A child has a much easier time trusting people.  It's somewhat unfortunate that we can't keep that same trust as adults.
Jesus says "Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
This statement brings to mind the trust that we must place in God for our salvation.  Many children understand this right away, but as we grow up, we feel the need to examine this trust.  We test God to see if he really is worthy of the trust.  It is good to examine our beliefs and to make them our own, but at some point, we need to realize we won't get all the proof we were hoping for, and we'll have to take God on faith that he knows what he is doing, just like a child believes that his father knows all.

The God of all comfort

2 Corinthians
The following passage from 2 Corinthians 1 brought to light (for me) a potential new way to think about suffering:

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

8We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our^a behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. 

Our experiences aren't for us alone.  What God has done in our lives should be shared with others to help them grow and mature.  We aren't alone in the world.  The stuff we've gone through, good and bad, can connect us with others.  The comfort that God has given in all circumstances can be a powerful tool in ministering to others as we demonstrate that through God, we can endure all things.

Why couldn't we heal him?

Mark
Jesus's comment about the healing of the demon-possessed boy was interesting.  See Mark 9:29 - "This kind can come out only by prayer."  He said this in response to the disciples' question about why they couldn't heal the boy.
Using God's power effectively requires a relationship with God.  Jesus had just spent a long time on the mountain, where he was transfigured and spoke with Moses and Elijah.  The majority of the disciples had remained behind, and didn't have the benefit of close contact with Jesus during this time.  Jesus, however, had just been renewed in his relationship to his Father, and so was ready to go back into the world and continue his mission.
We have access to an inordinate amount of power, through Jesus Christ, from God.  Are we remaining in Christ, and so using that power, or are we going about our way, trying to work miracles on our own strength, when we really need prayer and God's intervention?