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.