Zechariah 4, 5, 6
Luke 12
SOAP - Same ole struggles, again and again
Scripture
Luke 12:11-12 "When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say."
Luke 12:22-23, 31-34 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ... But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Observation
We should do what we know God wants us to do. We shouldn't hesitate to do things because we are worried that we won't be provided for. If it is words we need, the Holy Spirit is there to give us the right words. If it is food or clothing, God will make sure we are taken care of. The most important thing is to do what God wants us to do. Worrying about the things of this world keeps our hearts focused on this world instead of on God.
Application
I've mentioned before that I'm a worrier. It's kind of a constant struggle for me. I'd like to say right now that worry is not keeping me from doing anything. And in some ways, it's probably not. But worse yet, it's keeping me from knowing what I should be doing. Sometimes it seems like I'm so busy worrying, God's message can't even get through. All he has to say is "Kristy" and I'm already responding with "what about this or that". It's like I've got my list of worries and objections ready and waiting any time God wants to call on me. It's not like I wake up every morning, take an evaluation of all the things I could worry about and prepare to avoid being called upon by God. It's more like years and years of worry have just gotten me in the habit of keeping all the worries in the back of my mind, readily available to sabotage any potential opportunities to serve the Lord. But God is amazing. He truly can move mountains. And I've seen him right beside me many times, helping me do something I didn't think I could do, providing for me when I was afraid things wouldn't be provided. And all those times, the things the Lord provides are so much greater than anything I could have ever imagined myself. :-)
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for all the times you've stayed beside me to help me through life. I know that you are there. Thank you for your great blessings, so many great things, so many great people, so many great opportunities, so many great gifts. Amen.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Return to me
Zechariah 1, 2, 3
Luke 11
SOAP - Return to me
Scripture
Zechariah 1:3 Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Return to me," declares the Lord Almighty, "and I will return to you," says the Lord Almighty.
Observation
Whenever we are ready to return to the Lord, he is there waiting for us.
Application
I never really feel like God has turned away from me even when I've turned away from God. But he definitely can't bless me the way he'd like to if I've turned away from him. It's been a while since I've felt like I turned away from God in a big way, like no longer going to church or no longer reading the Bible, no longer praying. But I think I turn away from God in lots of small ways every day. We just talked on Thursday about how details are important to God. Even the little stuff is important. I feel like there are little ways that I exclude God from my life every day. All those little details can add up and prevent me from knowing what God wants for me, just like turning away in big ways can.
Prayer
Dear Lord. I know there are times when I close my eyes to what you are showing me, with the thought that its something little that doesn't matter much in the overall picture of life. But all the ways you talk to us matter. Lord help me see the little ways I leave you out and help me return to you, and enjoy the peace of knowing you are there. Thank you Lord, Amen.
Luke 11
SOAP - Return to me
Scripture
Zechariah 1:3 Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Return to me," declares the Lord Almighty, "and I will return to you," says the Lord Almighty.
Observation
Whenever we are ready to return to the Lord, he is there waiting for us.
Application
I never really feel like God has turned away from me even when I've turned away from God. But he definitely can't bless me the way he'd like to if I've turned away from him. It's been a while since I've felt like I turned away from God in a big way, like no longer going to church or no longer reading the Bible, no longer praying. But I think I turn away from God in lots of small ways every day. We just talked on Thursday about how details are important to God. Even the little stuff is important. I feel like there are little ways that I exclude God from my life every day. All those little details can add up and prevent me from knowing what God wants for me, just like turning away in big ways can.
Prayer
Dear Lord. I know there are times when I close my eyes to what you are showing me, with the thought that its something little that doesn't matter much in the overall picture of life. But all the ways you talk to us matter. Lord help me see the little ways I leave you out and help me return to you, and enjoy the peace of knowing you are there. Thank you Lord, Amen.
Sunday's scripture
Sunday, I didn't plan on journaling about the scripture, but I did read it, and this time I was not watching football. I read Saturday's again too. And I have some time today so I think I'll kind of combine them for a journal entry...
I really liked part of the Psalm from Saturday. I liked all the references to things being done in vain if they are not what the Lord wants us to be doing. Psalm 127:1-2 Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders build in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for foot to eat, for he grants sleep to those he loves.
And it went well with Haggai 1:5-6 Now this is what the Lord almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. you eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on cloths, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."
I have struggled a lot lately with trying to figure out what it is that I am supposed to be doing. I'm not happy with my job. It's definitely not what I want to be doing. But there are soooooooo many factors that are involved in changing jobs. I look at all the options and nothing stands out as being the right choice. They all have bad parts. They all have good parts. All in all, none of them are that much better than what I've got here. But yet I'm sure that something has to change. Maybe it's not my job, maybe it's me. I don't know. I don't want to be working in vain. I don't want to be ignoring God. I'm scared to make any big decisions. What if they are wrong?What if they end up hurting someone I love? Things like Saturday make me worry because I didn't mean to make a bad decision, but it got made anyway. I thought it over, I considered whether this Bible study should be a priority. I decided it was ok if it wasn't. Ok, there are a lot of "I's" in that description of Saturday. Asking God would have most definitely produced a different outcome. In reality, I am really confused about my job, who I should be, where I should spend the most of my time, where God wants me in life. But I haven't devoted as much prayer time to that as I should, not even close, maybe barely any at all. That seems so obvious right now. Yep, prayer. More prayer. I think I'll start that now.
Dear Lord. I feel like there are a lot of choices in front of me. I feel like something needs to change from the way things are now. I'm scared of making the wrong choice and having it hurt someone I love, mostly Hugh, but also my family and friends. I don't want to do something stupid and end up being a burden on anyone. Honestly, I'm not even 100% sure why I think things need to change. I think you've told me that. But maybe I've just decided that. I really don't know. Dear Lord, please help me sort through some of this confusion. Help me see you and hear what you are trying to tell me. Does something about my life now need to change? What is it? Thank you so much Lord for the blessings you've given me. Help me see how to use them to serve you. Amen.
I really liked part of the Psalm from Saturday. I liked all the references to things being done in vain if they are not what the Lord wants us to be doing. Psalm 127:1-2 Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders build in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for foot to eat, for he grants sleep to those he loves.
And it went well with Haggai 1:5-6 Now this is what the Lord almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. you eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on cloths, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."
I have struggled a lot lately with trying to figure out what it is that I am supposed to be doing. I'm not happy with my job. It's definitely not what I want to be doing. But there are soooooooo many factors that are involved in changing jobs. I look at all the options and nothing stands out as being the right choice. They all have bad parts. They all have good parts. All in all, none of them are that much better than what I've got here. But yet I'm sure that something has to change. Maybe it's not my job, maybe it's me. I don't know. I don't want to be working in vain. I don't want to be ignoring God. I'm scared to make any big decisions. What if they are wrong?What if they end up hurting someone I love? Things like Saturday make me worry because I didn't mean to make a bad decision, but it got made anyway. I thought it over, I considered whether this Bible study should be a priority. I decided it was ok if it wasn't. Ok, there are a lot of "I's" in that description of Saturday. Asking God would have most definitely produced a different outcome. In reality, I am really confused about my job, who I should be, where I should spend the most of my time, where God wants me in life. But I haven't devoted as much prayer time to that as I should, not even close, maybe barely any at all. That seems so obvious right now. Yep, prayer. More prayer. I think I'll start that now.
Dear Lord. I feel like there are a lot of choices in front of me. I feel like something needs to change from the way things are now. I'm scared of making the wrong choice and having it hurt someone I love, mostly Hugh, but also my family and friends. I don't want to do something stupid and end up being a burden on anyone. Honestly, I'm not even 100% sure why I think things need to change. I think you've told me that. But maybe I've just decided that. I really don't know. Dear Lord, please help me sort through some of this confusion. Help me see you and hear what you are trying to tell me. Does something about my life now need to change? What is it? Thank you so much Lord for the blessings you've given me. Help me see how to use them to serve you. Amen.
Saturday's scripture
Ok, I'm just gonna be honest and ramble for a minute here. On Saturday, this wasn't my priority at all. At the time I didn't feel like that was a problem. My friend Anne was in town. We spent the morning talking and catching up. We went to lunch and came back to watch the Virginia Tech game. Then we went to Big Spring Jam. It was all wonderful, a really great day. In theory, I read the scripture while watching football before we went to lunch. I thought I'd read it, go to lunch and the do my journal before the VT game started. Never even finished reading it. And of course didn't really take in what I read cause I was watching football while I was reading. And never even thought about it again after we walked out the door for lunch. Yeah, it seems ridiculous now. At the time it felt like it was ok that this wasn't a top priority. I think it should have been. I have proof that the reading and journaling we've been doing has been a great blessing. Leave it to me to decide that something which has been a great blessing is not a priority. Oh, and I think part of this scripture was about keeping our priorities straight. Ok, anyway, it should have been a priority. :-)
Dear Lord, thank you for the way that you have blessed this Bible study. I'm sorry for tossing it aside so easily. And sorry for even considering that I could read my Bible while watching football. Dear Lord, I want my time with you, my time studying your word to be a priority every day. Please help me see when I'm letting my priorities get out of whack. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Dear Lord, thank you for the way that you have blessed this Bible study. I'm sorry for tossing it aside so easily. And sorry for even considering that I could read my Bible while watching football. Dear Lord, I want my time with you, my time studying your word to be a priority every day. Please help me see when I'm letting my priorities get out of whack. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Worries = no crop, Perseverance = good crop
Ezra 2, 3
Luke 8
SOAP - Worries = no crop, Perseverance = good crop
Scripture
Luke 8:14-15 "The seed that fell among the thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."
Observation
Well, Jesus pretty much explained this for us. We may do all the "right" things. We may study our Bible, we may go to church, we may pray. But it never filters into the rest of our life. The cares of this world prevent us from becoming the people we could be. Some people do take God with them into their whole lives. It's not easy. But they keep trying and through their perseverance they become the people God wants them to be.
Application
Even the good things of this world can serve as a distraction and a detriment to our relationship with God. I know that happens to me some. And riches are always a temptation. It's scary to consider a life with far less money available. But this scripture really makes me think of the worries of this world. I'm a big worrier. I kinda think I've gotten better, but its really still pretty disruptive. I know there have been many times in life when fear and worry have kept me from doing something that God wanted me to do. I don't want to miss out on being who God wants me to be because I am worried and failing to trust God. I want to trust God, to have faith, and when he calls me, I want to persevere and be the person God wants me to be.
Prayer
Dear Lord. Please help me take my focus off of me, and put it on you. Lord the fear and anger in my heart does not serve you. Please take these thoughts and feelings from me and place in me a spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Luke 8
SOAP - Worries = no crop, Perseverance = good crop
Scripture
Luke 8:14-15 "The seed that fell among the thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."
Observation
Well, Jesus pretty much explained this for us. We may do all the "right" things. We may study our Bible, we may go to church, we may pray. But it never filters into the rest of our life. The cares of this world prevent us from becoming the people we could be. Some people do take God with them into their whole lives. It's not easy. But they keep trying and through their perseverance they become the people God wants them to be.
Application
Even the good things of this world can serve as a distraction and a detriment to our relationship with God. I know that happens to me some. And riches are always a temptation. It's scary to consider a life with far less money available. But this scripture really makes me think of the worries of this world. I'm a big worrier. I kinda think I've gotten better, but its really still pretty disruptive. I know there have been many times in life when fear and worry have kept me from doing something that God wanted me to do. I don't want to miss out on being who God wants me to be because I am worried and failing to trust God. I want to trust God, to have faith, and when he calls me, I want to persevere and be the person God wants me to be.
Prayer
Dear Lord. Please help me take my focus off of me, and put it on you. Lord the fear and anger in my heart does not serve you. Please take these thoughts and feelings from me and place in me a spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wilful, wayward and childish discontent!
Ezra 1
Psalm 84, 85
Luke 7
Just wanted to put this scripture here because I thought it was pretty...
Psalm 85:10 Faithful love and truth will join together; righteousness and peace will embrace.
SOAP - Wilful, wayward and childish discontent!
Scripture
Luke 7:30-35 But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. (Jesus said) "To what then can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: 'We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not cry.' For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine and you say, "He has a demon." The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you say, "Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners." But wisdom is proved right by all her children."
Observation
I guess the Pharisees and experts in the law thought they knew better than God, and thus rejected his purpose for them. John lived a minimal life, not indulging in the normal pleasures of man and they thought he was nuts. Jesus came along and joined right in with whatever the people around him were doing and they decided he loved earth's pleasures too much. It seems those people were impossible to please. Reading the Barclay Study Bible again... I really liked this way of stating our impossible to please attitude... "The human heart can be lost in a perversity in which any appeal that God may make will be met with wilful and wayward and childish discontent." Barclay goes on to wrap up this scripture by saying, "Man may misuse their freewill to frustrate God's purpose; men in their perversity may be blind and deaf to all God's appeal. Had God used the force of coercion and laid on man the iron bonds of a will that could not be denied then there would have been a world of automata and a world without trouble. But God chose the dangerous way of love, and love in the end will triumph."
Application
The thing that stands out to me most here is the part about the children in the marketplace who won't dance for the happy songs and won't cry for the sad ones. I am definitely familiar with an attitude where nothing will please me. I love the way Barclay puts it, "wilful and wayward and childish discontent." Wilful? Is our discontent really wilful? Umm... yeah, probably a lot of the time, maybe not always, but definitely a lot of the time. But, thanks to all this journaling and reading, I have a great remedy for those wilful, wayward and childish days! Fear of the Lord! Our Lord is amazing and doesn't have to offer us grace but he does. That's so cool. It's not cool to pout and be wilfully discontent in front of our awesome Lord. I'd say he deserves better out of us than that! And I'm determined (with his help of course... always with his help :-) ) to give him "my best". I don't like the idea of God thinking "well, I was going to do something really amazing through Kristy today, but she's not listening because she just can't be pleased with anything!" Nope, don't want that. Like I said in a recent journal entry, when God calls me, I want to be willing.
Prayer
Dear Lord. I pray that you would give me willing spirit. Help me put away all the silly objections I can find that lead me away from your purpose. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your love. Amen.
Psalm 84, 85
Luke 7
Just wanted to put this scripture here because I thought it was pretty...
Psalm 85:10 Faithful love and truth will join together; righteousness and peace will embrace.
SOAP - Wilful, wayward and childish discontent!
Scripture
Luke 7:30-35 But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. (Jesus said) "To what then can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: 'We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not cry.' For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine and you say, "He has a demon." The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you say, "Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners." But wisdom is proved right by all her children."
Observation
I guess the Pharisees and experts in the law thought they knew better than God, and thus rejected his purpose for them. John lived a minimal life, not indulging in the normal pleasures of man and they thought he was nuts. Jesus came along and joined right in with whatever the people around him were doing and they decided he loved earth's pleasures too much. It seems those people were impossible to please. Reading the Barclay Study Bible again... I really liked this way of stating our impossible to please attitude... "The human heart can be lost in a perversity in which any appeal that God may make will be met with wilful and wayward and childish discontent." Barclay goes on to wrap up this scripture by saying, "Man may misuse their freewill to frustrate God's purpose; men in their perversity may be blind and deaf to all God's appeal. Had God used the force of coercion and laid on man the iron bonds of a will that could not be denied then there would have been a world of automata and a world without trouble. But God chose the dangerous way of love, and love in the end will triumph."
Application
The thing that stands out to me most here is the part about the children in the marketplace who won't dance for the happy songs and won't cry for the sad ones. I am definitely familiar with an attitude where nothing will please me. I love the way Barclay puts it, "wilful and wayward and childish discontent." Wilful? Is our discontent really wilful? Umm... yeah, probably a lot of the time, maybe not always, but definitely a lot of the time. But, thanks to all this journaling and reading, I have a great remedy for those wilful, wayward and childish days! Fear of the Lord! Our Lord is amazing and doesn't have to offer us grace but he does. That's so cool. It's not cool to pout and be wilfully discontent in front of our awesome Lord. I'd say he deserves better out of us than that! And I'm determined (with his help of course... always with his help :-) ) to give him "my best". I don't like the idea of God thinking "well, I was going to do something really amazing through Kristy today, but she's not listening because she just can't be pleased with anything!" Nope, don't want that. Like I said in a recent journal entry, when God calls me, I want to be willing.
Prayer
Dear Lord. I pray that you would give me willing spirit. Help me put away all the silly objections I can find that lead me away from your purpose. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your love. Amen.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
What's in my heart?
Daniel 10, 11
Luke 6
SOAP - What's in my heart?
Scripture
Luke 6:45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
Observation
Our words are often a good indication of the state of our heart.
Application
What do we mumble to ourselves when someone makes us mad? Or what about the "words" that are really only thoughts, because we manage to keep silent, but they are still there in our minds? I wish I could say that my thoughts and my words reflect a heart full of good. But in reality more often than not my words and my thoughts reflect a selfish and ungrateful heart. This is one of the hardest things for me to consider, having evil in my heart. I really really don't like the sound of that. The Lord will help me. :-) I think it's important to do what we can to promote good in our hearts by surrounding ourselves with good things, being careful about the music we listen to, the TV we watch, etc. I think that kind of things effects some of us more than others. I know it effects me a lot. I can tell a big difference in the way I react to life if I've been watching TV shows and listening to music filled with drama and bitterness.
Well... I thought I remembered some other good scripture about this, but I can't find it (Philippians 3:8 is great, but I think there is another verse somewhere). And the screen to my laptop just flickered off, and after shaking it a bit, came back on. So, I'm thinking I should wrap this up before it dies again. I've been wanting a new computer, but I was hoping to wait til Christmas. Anyway...
Prayer
Dear Lord. Please fill my heart with your love, so that the thoughts and words that come out of it will be good ones, words to show love to the people in my life. Thank you for the grace you offer us, being willing to make our hearts good even when we don't live the life you've called us to live, even when we try to fill it up with "good" from this world instead of good from you. Help us all to be good to each other Lord, approaching life with a heart of good instead of evil. Amen.
Luke 6
SOAP - What's in my heart?
Scripture
Luke 6:45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
Observation
Our words are often a good indication of the state of our heart.
Application
What do we mumble to ourselves when someone makes us mad? Or what about the "words" that are really only thoughts, because we manage to keep silent, but they are still there in our minds? I wish I could say that my thoughts and my words reflect a heart full of good. But in reality more often than not my words and my thoughts reflect a selfish and ungrateful heart. This is one of the hardest things for me to consider, having evil in my heart. I really really don't like the sound of that. The Lord will help me. :-) I think it's important to do what we can to promote good in our hearts by surrounding ourselves with good things, being careful about the music we listen to, the TV we watch, etc. I think that kind of things effects some of us more than others. I know it effects me a lot. I can tell a big difference in the way I react to life if I've been watching TV shows and listening to music filled with drama and bitterness.
Well... I thought I remembered some other good scripture about this, but I can't find it (Philippians 3:8 is great, but I think there is another verse somewhere). And the screen to my laptop just flickered off, and after shaking it a bit, came back on. So, I'm thinking I should wrap this up before it dies again. I've been wanting a new computer, but I was hoping to wait til Christmas. Anyway...
Prayer
Dear Lord. Please fill my heart with your love, so that the thoughts and words that come out of it will be good ones, words to show love to the people in my life. Thank you for the grace you offer us, being willing to make our hearts good even when we don't live the life you've called us to live, even when we try to fill it up with "good" from this world instead of good from you. Help us all to be good to each other Lord, approaching life with a heart of good instead of evil. Amen.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Lord, if you are willing... I am willing too
Daniel 9, 10
Psalm 123
Luke 5
SOAP - Lord, if you are willing... I am willing too
Scripture
Luke 5:12-13, 27-28
12-13 When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him.
27-28 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
Observation
I love the scripture about the man with leprosy. I love it that he says to Jesus "you CAN make me clean". He has no doubt. But he also says "Lord, if you are willing". I guess we don't really know what the man with leprosy is thinking, but I picture him being very humbled in the presence of Jesus, and very gracious toward Jesus, even if it turned out he wasn't willing. It seems like he appreciated the chance to be healed and had faith in Jesus power to do it.
I also like all the scripture where Jesus calls someone to follow him and they leave everything and go. There is no hesitation, the Lord called him and he did what the Lord said.
Application
I wish that in my life, my attitude reflected that attitudes of both these men more often. I try to have faith in the Lord, but often the things I worry about show that in reality, I have lots of doubts. And I wish that I always approached Jesus as humble and gracious, saying "Lord, if you are willing". But neither of those attitudes gets me very far if they are not combined with a willingness to accept the answer he gives me. I have to be willing too. Great things have happened in my life when my attitude in life and in prayer shows my faith and my willingness to follow the Lord wherever his will takes me. Usually it's not what I had in mind. But ALWAYS its more amazing than I could have ever imagined. :-)
Prayer
Dear Lord, I believe in your power to heal our broken hearts, our broken spirit. Lord, if you are willing, take from me my selfish desires, my ungrateful spirit and fill me with a gracious and loving spirit. Fill me with a willing spirit anxious to serve you and share your love with all your creation. Thank you Lord, for your love, for your forgiveness, for your strength, for the blessings you give us. Amen.
Psalm 123
Luke 5
SOAP - Lord, if you are willing... I am willing too
Scripture
Luke 5:12-13, 27-28
12-13 When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him.
27-28 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
Observation
I love the scripture about the man with leprosy. I love it that he says to Jesus "you CAN make me clean". He has no doubt. But he also says "Lord, if you are willing". I guess we don't really know what the man with leprosy is thinking, but I picture him being very humbled in the presence of Jesus, and very gracious toward Jesus, even if it turned out he wasn't willing. It seems like he appreciated the chance to be healed and had faith in Jesus power to do it.
I also like all the scripture where Jesus calls someone to follow him and they leave everything and go. There is no hesitation, the Lord called him and he did what the Lord said.
Application
I wish that in my life, my attitude reflected that attitudes of both these men more often. I try to have faith in the Lord, but often the things I worry about show that in reality, I have lots of doubts. And I wish that I always approached Jesus as humble and gracious, saying "Lord, if you are willing". But neither of those attitudes gets me very far if they are not combined with a willingness to accept the answer he gives me. I have to be willing too. Great things have happened in my life when my attitude in life and in prayer shows my faith and my willingness to follow the Lord wherever his will takes me. Usually it's not what I had in mind. But ALWAYS its more amazing than I could have ever imagined. :-)
Prayer
Dear Lord, I believe in your power to heal our broken hearts, our broken spirit. Lord, if you are willing, take from me my selfish desires, my ungrateful spirit and fill me with a gracious and loving spirit. Fill me with a willing spirit anxious to serve you and share your love with all your creation. Thank you Lord, for your love, for your forgiveness, for your strength, for the blessings you give us. Amen.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Jesus answered...
Daniel 7, 8
Psalm 137
Luke 4
SOAP - Jesus answered...
Scripture
Luke 4:4,8,12
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'"
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"
Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Observation
I'm cheating by getting the help of William Barclay. He says the first temptation is the temptation to bribe people with material gifts. And that Jesus' answer is the man will never find life in material things. The second temptation is to compromise, just compromise a little with evil and men will follow you. And Jesus' answer is that God is God, right is right, wrong is wrong and there can be no compromise in the war with evil. The third temptation is to give the people sensations. I'm really not sure what he means by that. Maybe he means the thrill of having God rescue you. I don't know. And Jesus' answer is that you must not make senseless experiments with the power of God. Thanks Barclay.
Application
It seems that Jesus was wrestling with all the ways he could convince man to follow him. Not sure where I'm going with this but I'm thinking of this today in terms of how we can convince people to come to our church. It really is tempting to try to win people over with the coolest building in town, having a place to hang out and come to church that is nicer and more appealing than anything else around. It's tempting to kinda overlook some of the characteristics we are called to have as Christians, so that we won't be hurting anyone's feelings or challenging them to make changes in their lives. It's tempting to make church full of excitement, fill the schedule with events and attract people by being the fun church. None of that really seems that bad to me. But even if they aren't bad, those things are not lasting. I think people will only stick with church if they are there because of God, not because of the cool leather couch, the best Sunday morning coffee in town, because they can come there and not feel convicted of their sins, or because we have the best cook outs. I think people will stay because they want their relationship with God to grow, because they see him working in their lives, because they are involved, learning and growing. We can still have a nice place to worship and hang out. We don't have to stand at the door and make sure people remember what terrible sinners they are. And we can still do fun stuff. We just can't let those things be the focus and let the important stuff get ignored. Hmm... so I have my guesses at what a church shouldn't look like. I'm not real clear on what it should look like. I know John has told us. And I think I kinda know, but don't know how to write it. Of course the greatest thing that comes to mind to me is love, we need to make sure everyone who comes to church feels accepted and loved. And I guess we need to equip them to grow their relationship with God. How?
Prayer
Dear Lord, awesome and powerful God of grace and mercy, help us all to see our part that we can be doing to build this church. I feel like there is more I can be doing. I'm not sure what it is, or maybe I do know and I'm trying to ignore it cause it's not easy. Lord please give me a willing spirit. Help us not get overwhelmed. Thank you Lord for so many blessings you've already given us. Thank you for the people that we've met. Show us how to use these blessings not only to grow our church, but to serve you in the community of Huntsville. Amen.
Psalm 137
Luke 4
SOAP - Jesus answered...
Scripture
Luke 4:4,8,12
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'"
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"
Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Observation
I'm cheating by getting the help of William Barclay. He says the first temptation is the temptation to bribe people with material gifts. And that Jesus' answer is the man will never find life in material things. The second temptation is to compromise, just compromise a little with evil and men will follow you. And Jesus' answer is that God is God, right is right, wrong is wrong and there can be no compromise in the war with evil. The third temptation is to give the people sensations. I'm really not sure what he means by that. Maybe he means the thrill of having God rescue you. I don't know. And Jesus' answer is that you must not make senseless experiments with the power of God. Thanks Barclay.
Application
It seems that Jesus was wrestling with all the ways he could convince man to follow him. Not sure where I'm going with this but I'm thinking of this today in terms of how we can convince people to come to our church. It really is tempting to try to win people over with the coolest building in town, having a place to hang out and come to church that is nicer and more appealing than anything else around. It's tempting to kinda overlook some of the characteristics we are called to have as Christians, so that we won't be hurting anyone's feelings or challenging them to make changes in their lives. It's tempting to make church full of excitement, fill the schedule with events and attract people by being the fun church. None of that really seems that bad to me. But even if they aren't bad, those things are not lasting. I think people will only stick with church if they are there because of God, not because of the cool leather couch, the best Sunday morning coffee in town, because they can come there and not feel convicted of their sins, or because we have the best cook outs. I think people will stay because they want their relationship with God to grow, because they see him working in their lives, because they are involved, learning and growing. We can still have a nice place to worship and hang out. We don't have to stand at the door and make sure people remember what terrible sinners they are. And we can still do fun stuff. We just can't let those things be the focus and let the important stuff get ignored. Hmm... so I have my guesses at what a church shouldn't look like. I'm not real clear on what it should look like. I know John has told us. And I think I kinda know, but don't know how to write it. Of course the greatest thing that comes to mind to me is love, we need to make sure everyone who comes to church feels accepted and loved. And I guess we need to equip them to grow their relationship with God. How?
Prayer
Dear Lord, awesome and powerful God of grace and mercy, help us all to see our part that we can be doing to build this church. I feel like there is more I can be doing. I'm not sure what it is, or maybe I do know and I'm trying to ignore it cause it's not easy. Lord please give me a willing spirit. Help us not get overwhelmed. Thank you Lord for so many blessings you've already given us. Thank you for the people that we've met. Show us how to use these blessings not only to grow our church, but to serve you in the community of Huntsville. Amen.
This is a test...
We've been reading and journaling for a little over a week now. I've really enjoyed it. But, I'm a little worried that I'll just forget what I've read and what I've learned. My memory is terrible. I've learned parts of the Bible many times and forgotten. I have high hopes for the SOAP method because I think reading it and then writing about it increases my chances of remembering. And this morning I want to hopefully increase them a little more by just kind of rambling off a list of what I can remember from what we've read so far. I think I'll try to do this once a week, probably on Thursdays.
Ok, here is my list... (for the things I don't remember well, I'll have to look them up when I'm finished, but for now, this is just what I can remember without opening my Bible to look over the scripture)
1 - Daniel and his buddies Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego wouldn't eat whatever it was that King N wanted them to. Daniel asked the chief official (or someone like that) if it would be ok for them to not eat what the King said. He told the official to give them a couple weeks and see if they ended up unhealthy. The official agreed. Daniel and his friends ended up being just fine. Unfortunately, I can't remember what happened after that...
2 - Did Daniel get thrown into a fire? Or was it just Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Or all four of them? I don't remember why they were thrown in a fire. But I do remember that God sent an angel to protect them. They didn't get burned up. And the king recognized God's power.
3 - King N had a dream that he didn't understand. He asked all the wise men to come and interpret it. No one could. So he got mad and wanted to have them all killed. They came to kill Daniel and his friends but Daniel asked that he would be given a chance to interpret the dream. The king allowed it. Daniel and his friends prayed that God would reveal the meaning of the dream. God revealed it. Daniel interpreted it for the king and saved the lives of himself, his friends and the wise men of... hmmm... where is all this taking place? I don't remember that.
4 - King N lived like a wild animal for a while.
5 - We learned LOTS about the temple and how it will look when Israel is restored. The main thing I learned from that is that it seems they did eat most of the sacrifices back in that time. Don't know where I had gotten the idea that they just killed them and let them go to waste, but that's what I thought. I like the idea of them being eaten much more.
6 - King N had another dream? Or something else happened that involved Daniel and King N realizes that God is awesome (after having forgotten again)! He wait, there was some kind of worshiping of a golden image. And Daniel refused. Or was it Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Or all four of them? Maybe this is how they got thrown in the fire.
7 - King N's son also seemed to forget God's power. He was using goblets and stuff stolen from Jerusalem (?). A hand wrote on a wall and Daniel ended up interpreting it for him. The writing on the wall said someone else would take over as king. Sure enough, that very night someone else conquered him.
8 - The new king seemed better. Some guys from the land tricked him into making a decree that would get Daniel in trouble. When the king had to throw Daniel in with the lions he was very upset. God protected Daniel, sending an angel to shut the mouths of the lions. The king was so happy when he realized Daniel was ok. His new decree declared that everyone should respect God. Yay!
9 - We read some weird stuff in revelation about being drunk on the blood of the saints, and some white horseman, some angels... yeah, I really don't remember much of revelation.
10 - In Ezekiel (?) we read about a river flowing gently through the land bringing life wherever it goes, so powerful that I could change the Dead Sea into fresh water.
11 - Somewhere, maybe in a dream of King N, there was a really cool tree with all kinds of animals living in it.
12 - And of course we've read the beginning of Luke where Elizabeth ends up having a child in her old age... that was John the baptist. And the angel also comes to Mary and tells her she'll give birth to Jesus.
Guess that's about all. There are definitely some holes in what I remember. But, I'm going to go look those things up right now. If some of this sticks, it would be so exciting because I'd have some old testament stories stored away in my memory. I really like that idea. :-)
Ok, here is my list... (for the things I don't remember well, I'll have to look them up when I'm finished, but for now, this is just what I can remember without opening my Bible to look over the scripture)
1 - Daniel and his buddies Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego wouldn't eat whatever it was that King N wanted them to. Daniel asked the chief official (or someone like that) if it would be ok for them to not eat what the King said. He told the official to give them a couple weeks and see if they ended up unhealthy. The official agreed. Daniel and his friends ended up being just fine. Unfortunately, I can't remember what happened after that...
2 - Did Daniel get thrown into a fire? Or was it just Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Or all four of them? I don't remember why they were thrown in a fire. But I do remember that God sent an angel to protect them. They didn't get burned up. And the king recognized God's power.
3 - King N had a dream that he didn't understand. He asked all the wise men to come and interpret it. No one could. So he got mad and wanted to have them all killed. They came to kill Daniel and his friends but Daniel asked that he would be given a chance to interpret the dream. The king allowed it. Daniel and his friends prayed that God would reveal the meaning of the dream. God revealed it. Daniel interpreted it for the king and saved the lives of himself, his friends and the wise men of... hmmm... where is all this taking place? I don't remember that.
4 - King N lived like a wild animal for a while.
5 - We learned LOTS about the temple and how it will look when Israel is restored. The main thing I learned from that is that it seems they did eat most of the sacrifices back in that time. Don't know where I had gotten the idea that they just killed them and let them go to waste, but that's what I thought. I like the idea of them being eaten much more.
6 - King N had another dream? Or something else happened that involved Daniel and King N realizes that God is awesome (after having forgotten again)! He wait, there was some kind of worshiping of a golden image. And Daniel refused. Or was it Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Or all four of them? Maybe this is how they got thrown in the fire.
7 - King N's son also seemed to forget God's power. He was using goblets and stuff stolen from Jerusalem (?). A hand wrote on a wall and Daniel ended up interpreting it for him. The writing on the wall said someone else would take over as king. Sure enough, that very night someone else conquered him.
8 - The new king seemed better. Some guys from the land tricked him into making a decree that would get Daniel in trouble. When the king had to throw Daniel in with the lions he was very upset. God protected Daniel, sending an angel to shut the mouths of the lions. The king was so happy when he realized Daniel was ok. His new decree declared that everyone should respect God. Yay!
9 - We read some weird stuff in revelation about being drunk on the blood of the saints, and some white horseman, some angels... yeah, I really don't remember much of revelation.
10 - In Ezekiel (?) we read about a river flowing gently through the land bringing life wherever it goes, so powerful that I could change the Dead Sea into fresh water.
11 - Somewhere, maybe in a dream of King N, there was a really cool tree with all kinds of animals living in it.
12 - And of course we've read the beginning of Luke where Elizabeth ends up having a child in her old age... that was John the baptist. And the angel also comes to Mary and tells her she'll give birth to Jesus.
Guess that's about all. There are definitely some holes in what I remember. But, I'm going to go look those things up right now. If some of this sticks, it would be so exciting because I'd have some old testament stories stored away in my memory. I really like that idea. :-)
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Wow! Lots of good stuff!
Daniel 5, 6
Psalm 130
Luke 3
I really enjoyed everything we read today. Maybe I'll write a little about all of it...
SOAP - Daniel's life with God
Scripture
All of Daniel 5 and 6, but mostly Daniel 6... sorry, too lazy to type all of it. :-) But here is one part that I liked a lot... 6:19-20 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"
Observation
Well, in Daniel 5 we once again have a king that ignores God even after having plenty of evidence that it's a bad plan. It kinda makes me laugh and wonder how the king could be so oblivious. And it also kinda scares me because I'm sure I pretty much do the same thing on a day to day basis.
Then, in Daniel 6 the king seems at least a little different. I guess he's not real focused on God because he lets those guys talk him into a decree making it so people can't pray, but I like it that he's so concerned with Daniel and seems to feel really bad once he realizes what his decree has done. He was so worried. And so happy when he went back to check on Daniel and found that God had sent an angel to protect him. His new decree is right on track... that in every part of his kingdom people should have fear and reverence for God.
Application
I guess maybe there are some obvious applications... don't ignore God, trust God. But I feel like there is something more that would be really useful in my life right now. And I can't quite put the pieces together. I think I'll read this scripture again later today and see if any other message comes through. Maybe it's one of those lessons that has multiple pieces and takes a few days to sink in. We'll see...
Prayer
Dear Lord. Thank you for all the good scripture today. I feel like you are trying to tell me something here and I'm somehow distracted. Lord help me read your word with an open heart and open mind so that I might receive your message. Thank you. Amen.
SOAP - Still fearing the Lord
Scripture
Psalm 130: 3-4 If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, therefore you are feared.
Observation
We have not hope without the Lord. We sin all the time. We need his forgiveness. We can't just recklessly wander through life ignoring him when it's convenient and hoping for his forgiveness at the same time.
Application
One morning in the last few days the scripture we read talked about the fear of the Lord. I had never really known what to think of scripture that talks about fear of the Lord before. But this week it kinda clicked for me. I know there is still a ton to learn... but for the first time I think I have a healthy fear of the Lord. That doesn't mean I think he is scary, just that I recognize the he is awesome and powerful, and I am nothing without him. The verses of this Psalm remind me of that and help keep me on track to continue learning what "fear of the Lord" looks like in my life.
Prayer
Dear Lord. I know you are forgiving and full of love, but I don't want to live my life as if the bad decisions I make are no big deal, cause you'll just forgive me and keep on loving me. Lord you have shown me that there is a place in between there. I need to try my best to make good decisions, but not let the bad ones discourage me. Thank you Lord for your power, your forgiveness and your love. Amen.
SOAP - That's how I want to be... now why don't I do it?
Scripture
Luke 3:10-11 "What should we do then?" the crowd asked. John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
Observation
I think everyone would agree that this scripture makes it obvious that we should share. But how much, when and where, with who? This is some of the scripture in the Bible that really really gets me thinking, and could have a major effect on my life (and Hugh's life... hah, poor guy) one day, depending on the outcome of that thinking. Are we supposed to only keep the minimal of what we need? Giving away everything else as long as there is someone in need? What an overwhelming thought! Of course there are millions of people across this world who are in need. And of course I have WAY more than I need. What should I do? Duh, the scripture says it right there in plain english. But NO ONE (ok, maybe someone somewhere) is doing what this scripture says. Why should I have to? Yep, I confess, this is stuff that absolutely drives me crazy.
Application
I doubt that the "right thing" to do is really as dramatic as giving away everything I own other than the bare minimal I need to live. But from the fact that this type of scripture always leaves me in turmoil, I'd say that something in my life needs to change based on this scripture. I know the answer. I should start taking steps in that direction, getting rid of all the "extras" in life, little by little. God will show me how far to go. I've taken lots of steps in this direction already. But I always get comfortable and stop. I guess it's time for another step. :-)
Prayer
Dear Lord. I've known for a while that I need to move some in this direction, giving more, having less material things. And I've been resisting A LOT. But I'm scared. I'm too attached to some of my stuff. I can attach sentimental value to anything, and I do. And my memory is bad. So think I need that stuff to help me remember. And I'm scared of not having what we need later. I'm scared my parents will get mad if I give away things from my childhood. I'm scared Hugh will feel like he's married into a life where we can't have anything fun. I'm scared I'll give away something that I regret and wish I could have it back. I don't know what to say. I know you can see my thoughts and know that I'm still resistant. Lord forgive me for my attachment to material items and help me understand. Help me let go. Help me find peace in letting go. I want to do what you want me to. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Psalm 130
Luke 3
I really enjoyed everything we read today. Maybe I'll write a little about all of it...
SOAP - Daniel's life with God
Scripture
All of Daniel 5 and 6, but mostly Daniel 6... sorry, too lazy to type all of it. :-) But here is one part that I liked a lot... 6:19-20 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"
Observation
Well, in Daniel 5 we once again have a king that ignores God even after having plenty of evidence that it's a bad plan. It kinda makes me laugh and wonder how the king could be so oblivious. And it also kinda scares me because I'm sure I pretty much do the same thing on a day to day basis.
Then, in Daniel 6 the king seems at least a little different. I guess he's not real focused on God because he lets those guys talk him into a decree making it so people can't pray, but I like it that he's so concerned with Daniel and seems to feel really bad once he realizes what his decree has done. He was so worried. And so happy when he went back to check on Daniel and found that God had sent an angel to protect him. His new decree is right on track... that in every part of his kingdom people should have fear and reverence for God.
Application
I guess maybe there are some obvious applications... don't ignore God, trust God. But I feel like there is something more that would be really useful in my life right now. And I can't quite put the pieces together. I think I'll read this scripture again later today and see if any other message comes through. Maybe it's one of those lessons that has multiple pieces and takes a few days to sink in. We'll see...
Prayer
Dear Lord. Thank you for all the good scripture today. I feel like you are trying to tell me something here and I'm somehow distracted. Lord help me read your word with an open heart and open mind so that I might receive your message. Thank you. Amen.
SOAP - Still fearing the Lord
Scripture
Psalm 130: 3-4 If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, therefore you are feared.
Observation
We have not hope without the Lord. We sin all the time. We need his forgiveness. We can't just recklessly wander through life ignoring him when it's convenient and hoping for his forgiveness at the same time.
Application
One morning in the last few days the scripture we read talked about the fear of the Lord. I had never really known what to think of scripture that talks about fear of the Lord before. But this week it kinda clicked for me. I know there is still a ton to learn... but for the first time I think I have a healthy fear of the Lord. That doesn't mean I think he is scary, just that I recognize the he is awesome and powerful, and I am nothing without him. The verses of this Psalm remind me of that and help keep me on track to continue learning what "fear of the Lord" looks like in my life.
Prayer
Dear Lord. I know you are forgiving and full of love, but I don't want to live my life as if the bad decisions I make are no big deal, cause you'll just forgive me and keep on loving me. Lord you have shown me that there is a place in between there. I need to try my best to make good decisions, but not let the bad ones discourage me. Thank you Lord for your power, your forgiveness and your love. Amen.
SOAP - That's how I want to be... now why don't I do it?
Scripture
Luke 3:10-11 "What should we do then?" the crowd asked. John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
Observation
I think everyone would agree that this scripture makes it obvious that we should share. But how much, when and where, with who? This is some of the scripture in the Bible that really really gets me thinking, and could have a major effect on my life (and Hugh's life... hah, poor guy) one day, depending on the outcome of that thinking. Are we supposed to only keep the minimal of what we need? Giving away everything else as long as there is someone in need? What an overwhelming thought! Of course there are millions of people across this world who are in need. And of course I have WAY more than I need. What should I do? Duh, the scripture says it right there in plain english. But NO ONE (ok, maybe someone somewhere) is doing what this scripture says. Why should I have to? Yep, I confess, this is stuff that absolutely drives me crazy.
Application
I doubt that the "right thing" to do is really as dramatic as giving away everything I own other than the bare minimal I need to live. But from the fact that this type of scripture always leaves me in turmoil, I'd say that something in my life needs to change based on this scripture. I know the answer. I should start taking steps in that direction, getting rid of all the "extras" in life, little by little. God will show me how far to go. I've taken lots of steps in this direction already. But I always get comfortable and stop. I guess it's time for another step. :-)
Prayer
Dear Lord. I've known for a while that I need to move some in this direction, giving more, having less material things. And I've been resisting A LOT. But I'm scared. I'm too attached to some of my stuff. I can attach sentimental value to anything, and I do. And my memory is bad. So think I need that stuff to help me remember. And I'm scared of not having what we need later. I'm scared my parents will get mad if I give away things from my childhood. I'm scared Hugh will feel like he's married into a life where we can't have anything fun. I'm scared I'll give away something that I regret and wish I could have it back. I don't know what to say. I know you can see my thoughts and know that I'm still resistant. Lord forgive me for my attachment to material items and help me understand. Help me let go. Help me find peace in letting go. I want to do what you want me to. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
A life-giving river
Ezekiel 47, 48
Luke 2
SOAP - A life-giving river
Scripture
Ezekiel 47:7-9 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live."
Observation
I'm always bad at getting the symbolism in scripture. I guess I'm way to literal. Anyway, I read this and wonder if that fresh water sea really exists, search for freshwater seas on Google, learn a little about the Black Sea (which isn't as salty as most) and realize a study Bible would work better. I'm just going to quote the study Bible (Zondervan's Life Application Study Bible) because I like what it said... "The river symbolizes life from God and the blessings that flow from his throne. It is a gentle, safe, deep river, expanding as it flows. ... The sea that will become fresh refers to the Dead Sea, a body of water so salty that nothing can live in it. The river will freshen the Dead Sea's water so it can support life. This is another picture of the life-giving nature of the water that flows from God's temple. God's power can transform us no matter how lifeless or corrupt we may be. Even when we feel messed up and beyond hope, his power can heal us." Well, now that I've read it, the symbolism seems really obvious, especially for a nature lover like me. :-)
Application
I love being out in nature, away from all the man-made things. There is nothing like standing a few miles out into the mountains beside a stream listening to it flow, seeing the life all around. I love all the parts of the Bible that talk about trees and rivers. I feel close to God when I'm surrounded by those things. Maybe it's easier for me to let go of all my "man-made" wants and desires if I'm away from all this man-made stuff. I can't really escape to the mountains every day, but I have been trying to make sure I spend at least 10 minutes or so outside every morning enjoying God's beautiful creation. It's my chance to start my day with him, to be reminded of his awesome love and power to give us life. It will be nice this morning to walk outside and think of this river, gentle and fresh, bringing life and hope wherever it flows.
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for wanting to heal us and give us life. Thank you for the times in life when I do get to escape to the mountains. Thank you that I live in a place where we have a yard, trees, a pretty neighborhood to walk around, and it's safe to be out walking. Thank you for the mountains I can see from the backyard. Thank you for all the mornings, but especially the ones that are my favorites. :-) Lord I pray that each of us has a way of connecting with you and that we each find time in the day to do that. Thank you for this Bible study. I feel like I've learned a lot over the last few days. Lord I want to give you my best. And I know I can't be all you'd have me be on my own. Lord I want to take the gifts you've given me and use them to follow your path. Please Lord I pray, be with me as I try. Thank you. Amen.
Luke 2
SOAP - A life-giving river
Scripture
Ezekiel 47:7-9 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live."
Observation
I'm always bad at getting the symbolism in scripture. I guess I'm way to literal. Anyway, I read this and wonder if that fresh water sea really exists, search for freshwater seas on Google, learn a little about the Black Sea (which isn't as salty as most) and realize a study Bible would work better. I'm just going to quote the study Bible (Zondervan's Life Application Study Bible) because I like what it said... "The river symbolizes life from God and the blessings that flow from his throne. It is a gentle, safe, deep river, expanding as it flows. ... The sea that will become fresh refers to the Dead Sea, a body of water so salty that nothing can live in it. The river will freshen the Dead Sea's water so it can support life. This is another picture of the life-giving nature of the water that flows from God's temple. God's power can transform us no matter how lifeless or corrupt we may be. Even when we feel messed up and beyond hope, his power can heal us." Well, now that I've read it, the symbolism seems really obvious, especially for a nature lover like me. :-)
Application
I love being out in nature, away from all the man-made things. There is nothing like standing a few miles out into the mountains beside a stream listening to it flow, seeing the life all around. I love all the parts of the Bible that talk about trees and rivers. I feel close to God when I'm surrounded by those things. Maybe it's easier for me to let go of all my "man-made" wants and desires if I'm away from all this man-made stuff. I can't really escape to the mountains every day, but I have been trying to make sure I spend at least 10 minutes or so outside every morning enjoying God's beautiful creation. It's my chance to start my day with him, to be reminded of his awesome love and power to give us life. It will be nice this morning to walk outside and think of this river, gentle and fresh, bringing life and hope wherever it flows.
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for wanting to heal us and give us life. Thank you for the times in life when I do get to escape to the mountains. Thank you that I live in a place where we have a yard, trees, a pretty neighborhood to walk around, and it's safe to be out walking. Thank you for the mountains I can see from the backyard. Thank you for all the mornings, but especially the ones that are my favorites. :-) Lord I pray that each of us has a way of connecting with you and that we each find time in the day to do that. Thank you for this Bible study. I feel like I've learned a lot over the last few days. Lord I want to give you my best. And I know I can't be all you'd have me be on my own. Lord I want to take the gifts you've given me and use them to follow your path. Please Lord I pray, be with me as I try. Thank you. Amen.
Friday, September 18, 2009
May it be to me as you have said
Ezekiel 45, 46
Luke 1
SOAP - May it be to me as you have said
Scripture
Luke 1:38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Observation
Mary believed the angel and accepted what he told her. She didn't object or doubt.
Application
Wow! I'm totally impressed by Mary. If I were her I would have been pretty mad... even though I was being told that I would be a part of something so wonderful and amazing. I'm sure a part of me would have been thinking, "yeah right, I'll have a kid that will reign over the house of Jacob forever?" I would have had a lot of doubt. And I would have also been thinking, "this is going to ruin everything!" I would have been worried about Joseph not wanting me if I was pregnant. I would have wanted to tell that angel to go away, no thank you angel, my life is just fine the way it is right now.
I wonder how many times I've passed up opportunities to do something great for God because I thought it would mess up my life at the moment. I'm sure there have been many. But, I can think of at least one where I (we... Hugh and I) said yes to the challenge in front of us, and it was a huge blessing. When they called him and asked him to come be the pastor at Bethel UMC for a while, I wanted to say "no" so badly. But we both felt like it was something we had to do. The timing was terrible. We were already busy. We were part of a new church we didn't want to leave. We were about to get married and feeling a little overwhelmed already. Going to Bethel felt like it would mess things up. Hah, not at all! Everything about it was great! I love how the Lord works. That whole experience was a great blessing. And we continue to be blessed by the people we have met at Bethel. Answering the Lord's call turned out GREAT even though I was afraid it would mess everything up.
Prayer
Dear Lord. I know there have been lots of times that I've said "no" to you. Actually, I kind of feel like I say "no" in LOTS of little ways everyday, probably thinking those little things don't really matter. I don't want to say "no". Lord I am going to try to make sure I notice when I'm turning away from what you've called me to do, and turn all those little (and the big ones too) "no's" into "yes's". Thank you Lord for your word, for this Bible study, and for all that I am learning. Please bless the study of Hugh, John, Zach and Rachel as well. Amen.
Some general thoughts on today's scripture:
1 - Kitchens?! In Ezekiel it mentions kitchens for cooking the offerings. Did they eat the offerings? I confess, I've always been bothered by the fact that all these offerings in the old testament seem wasteful. I guess I'm too much of a tree hugger, animal lover, whatever. It's giving back to God what is God's so I guess it's impossible for it to be wasteful, but still. I've always thought they just burned the offerings and did not eat them. But here it sounds almost like they are using them to feed the priests. That would be pretty cool. I like that idea. I looked in some study Bibles trying to find out if that is what's going on, but none of them addressed that topic. Bummer. Further research will follow... :-)
2 - This section of Ezekiel seems to contradict itself some, and have more footnotes about uncertain translations, etc. Wonder why that is? Weird.
3 - Zechariah and Mary both questioned the angel. Wonder why he got mad at Zechariah and not a Mary? I guess it sounds kinda like Zechariah doesn't believe the angel, but Mary believes and is just asking how it will work.
Luke 1
SOAP - May it be to me as you have said
Scripture
Luke 1:38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Observation
Mary believed the angel and accepted what he told her. She didn't object or doubt.
Application
Wow! I'm totally impressed by Mary. If I were her I would have been pretty mad... even though I was being told that I would be a part of something so wonderful and amazing. I'm sure a part of me would have been thinking, "yeah right, I'll have a kid that will reign over the house of Jacob forever?" I would have had a lot of doubt. And I would have also been thinking, "this is going to ruin everything!" I would have been worried about Joseph not wanting me if I was pregnant. I would have wanted to tell that angel to go away, no thank you angel, my life is just fine the way it is right now.
I wonder how many times I've passed up opportunities to do something great for God because I thought it would mess up my life at the moment. I'm sure there have been many. But, I can think of at least one where I (we... Hugh and I) said yes to the challenge in front of us, and it was a huge blessing. When they called him and asked him to come be the pastor at Bethel UMC for a while, I wanted to say "no" so badly. But we both felt like it was something we had to do. The timing was terrible. We were already busy. We were part of a new church we didn't want to leave. We were about to get married and feeling a little overwhelmed already. Going to Bethel felt like it would mess things up. Hah, not at all! Everything about it was great! I love how the Lord works. That whole experience was a great blessing. And we continue to be blessed by the people we have met at Bethel. Answering the Lord's call turned out GREAT even though I was afraid it would mess everything up.
Prayer
Dear Lord. I know there have been lots of times that I've said "no" to you. Actually, I kind of feel like I say "no" in LOTS of little ways everyday, probably thinking those little things don't really matter. I don't want to say "no". Lord I am going to try to make sure I notice when I'm turning away from what you've called me to do, and turn all those little (and the big ones too) "no's" into "yes's". Thank you Lord for your word, for this Bible study, and for all that I am learning. Please bless the study of Hugh, John, Zach and Rachel as well. Amen.
Some general thoughts on today's scripture:
1 - Kitchens?! In Ezekiel it mentions kitchens for cooking the offerings. Did they eat the offerings? I confess, I've always been bothered by the fact that all these offerings in the old testament seem wasteful. I guess I'm too much of a tree hugger, animal lover, whatever. It's giving back to God what is God's so I guess it's impossible for it to be wasteful, but still. I've always thought they just burned the offerings and did not eat them. But here it sounds almost like they are using them to feed the priests. That would be pretty cool. I like that idea. I looked in some study Bibles trying to find out if that is what's going on, but none of them addressed that topic. Bummer. Further research will follow... :-)
2 - This section of Ezekiel seems to contradict itself some, and have more footnotes about uncertain translations, etc. Wonder why that is? Weird.
3 - Zechariah and Mary both questioned the angel. Wonder why he got mad at Zechariah and not a Mary? I guess it sounds kinda like Zechariah doesn't believe the angel, but Mary believes and is just asking how it will work.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Near to God
Ezekiel 42-44
Revelation 22
SOAP - Near to God
Scripture: Ezekiel 44:15
But the priests, who are the Levites and descendants of Zadok and who faithfully carried out the duties of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat and blood, declares the Sovereigh Lord.
Observation
First, a question, what does God mean by "minister before me"? I looked up this passage in a couple study Bibles trying to figure out what "minister before me" means. I didn't have any luck with that part, but I did learn some about other aspects of this verse. Sounds like Zadok was a priest who kept Gods commands while other priests turned away from God. And he supported God's choice of Soloman to succeed David. Then the descendants of Zadok also stayed in service to God while other priests became corrupt and went astray. So this was a pretty impressive bunch of people. They had been in consistent service to God even through some trying times that caused others to faulter. I think God is saying He wants the best folks in his service and that as one of our study Bibles says "if we keep close to God, God will keep us close to him."
Application
I think it's important for me to want to be the best and try wholeheartedly to keep close to God, to stay in His will. But it's equally as important to recognize that I'm going to fail. I'll fail, God will forgive me, and He'll willingly and happily take me back. I can't set a goal of perfection and then have a giant pity party every time I don't reach it. In life in general I like the thought of "hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst." I want to set my expectations high, high enough that I can't do it on my own, leaving no doubt that I need God help. I want to put my whole heart into being the person God wants me to be. And when I fail, I want to stay close to God, keep doing my best and accept the grace that He offers us. Yay! Sounds like fun. Won't be easy, hasen't been easy so far, but it has been and will be an amazing blessing to serve the Lord. :-)
Prayer
Dear Lord. I don't really know what to say right now. I'm amazed at how you bless me. Lord show me how to use the blessings you give me for your service. Show me how to be the person you want me to be. Help me take all that I learn from reading your word, prayer, sermons, devotionals, conversation, observing other people... all that I learn that helps lead me on your path. Help me take that knowledge and use it to see how I should use your blessings, and who you want me to be. Thank you Lord for using me at all. Thank you so much. Amen.
Revelation 22
SOAP - Near to God
Scripture: Ezekiel 44:15
But the priests, who are the Levites and descendants of Zadok and who faithfully carried out the duties of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat and blood, declares the Sovereigh Lord.
Observation
First, a question, what does God mean by "minister before me"? I looked up this passage in a couple study Bibles trying to figure out what "minister before me" means. I didn't have any luck with that part, but I did learn some about other aspects of this verse. Sounds like Zadok was a priest who kept Gods commands while other priests turned away from God. And he supported God's choice of Soloman to succeed David. Then the descendants of Zadok also stayed in service to God while other priests became corrupt and went astray. So this was a pretty impressive bunch of people. They had been in consistent service to God even through some trying times that caused others to faulter. I think God is saying He wants the best folks in his service and that as one of our study Bibles says "if we keep close to God, God will keep us close to him."
Application
I think it's important for me to want to be the best and try wholeheartedly to keep close to God, to stay in His will. But it's equally as important to recognize that I'm going to fail. I'll fail, God will forgive me, and He'll willingly and happily take me back. I can't set a goal of perfection and then have a giant pity party every time I don't reach it. In life in general I like the thought of "hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst." I want to set my expectations high, high enough that I can't do it on my own, leaving no doubt that I need God help. I want to put my whole heart into being the person God wants me to be. And when I fail, I want to stay close to God, keep doing my best and accept the grace that He offers us. Yay! Sounds like fun. Won't be easy, hasen't been easy so far, but it has been and will be an amazing blessing to serve the Lord. :-)
Prayer
Dear Lord. I don't really know what to say right now. I'm amazed at how you bless me. Lord show me how to use the blessings you give me for your service. Show me how to be the person you want me to be. Help me take all that I learn from reading your word, prayer, sermons, devotionals, conversation, observing other people... all that I learn that helps lead me on your path. Help me take that knowledge and use it to see how I should use your blessings, and who you want me to be. Thank you Lord for using me at all. Thank you so much. Amen.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
I want to walk in His ways...
Ezekiel 40, 41
Psalm 128
Revelation 21
SOAP - I want to walk in His ways...
Scripture: Psalm 128:1
Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways.
Observation and Application
I really like the beginning of this Psalm. Usually I'm kinda neurtral to scripture that talks about "fearing the Lord". It doesn't really throw me off like some of the harsh old testament stuff, but I don't really know what it looks like in my life for me to "fear the Lord". But for some reason today this scripture was just what I needed, a comfort to me really. Yesterday was not a proud day for me. I don't even begin to know where I went wrong, but it was not a pretty sight. From the moment my eyes open to pretty much the moment I fell asleep... I haven't been that grouchy, angry, frustrated, etc in a long time. I was mad at God. I was mad at Hugh's job. I was mad at my job. I was totally lacking compassion for anyone. I was really really mad at myself... for being mad. I hate days like that. It's embarrassing (even if no one ever knows) and definitely not productive or fruitful. I felt like a little kid that just went totally crazy and had a temper tantrum. So, this morning, when I read the words "fear the Lord" it made me think of a father figure, one who is VERY VERY loving, but also one who you wouldn't dare pitch a fit in front of... because you have a kind of healthy fear of him. He keeps you in check. Yeah, I feel a little pathetic thinking that I need someone to keep me in check. But at the same time I'm sitting here wondering how it is that I've never really seen my dependence on God this way before. Duh, of course I need Him to help me. It's a comfort to me to know God is there, loving me. And I think I have a better understanding of what it looks like to "fear the Lord". I don't think I can really write exactly how I feel right now, but it's definitely an improvement over yesterday, it's hopefully involving an appropriate amount of fear of the Lord, and it's so cool that He will still help me after a day like yesterday. :-)
Prayer
Dear Lord. Thank you for your words this morning that have given me some comfort in the midst of me being a total grouch. Thank you for the love you offer us. I offer you myself today Lord. I want to walk in your ways, perhaps a little healthy fear will help me do that. Amen.
Psalm 128
Revelation 21
SOAP - I want to walk in His ways...
Scripture: Psalm 128:1
Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways.
Observation and Application
I really like the beginning of this Psalm. Usually I'm kinda neurtral to scripture that talks about "fearing the Lord". It doesn't really throw me off like some of the harsh old testament stuff, but I don't really know what it looks like in my life for me to "fear the Lord". But for some reason today this scripture was just what I needed, a comfort to me really. Yesterday was not a proud day for me. I don't even begin to know where I went wrong, but it was not a pretty sight. From the moment my eyes open to pretty much the moment I fell asleep... I haven't been that grouchy, angry, frustrated, etc in a long time. I was mad at God. I was mad at Hugh's job. I was mad at my job. I was totally lacking compassion for anyone. I was really really mad at myself... for being mad. I hate days like that. It's embarrassing (even if no one ever knows) and definitely not productive or fruitful. I felt like a little kid that just went totally crazy and had a temper tantrum. So, this morning, when I read the words "fear the Lord" it made me think of a father figure, one who is VERY VERY loving, but also one who you wouldn't dare pitch a fit in front of... because you have a kind of healthy fear of him. He keeps you in check. Yeah, I feel a little pathetic thinking that I need someone to keep me in check. But at the same time I'm sitting here wondering how it is that I've never really seen my dependence on God this way before. Duh, of course I need Him to help me. It's a comfort to me to know God is there, loving me. And I think I have a better understanding of what it looks like to "fear the Lord". I don't think I can really write exactly how I feel right now, but it's definitely an improvement over yesterday, it's hopefully involving an appropriate amount of fear of the Lord, and it's so cool that He will still help me after a day like yesterday. :-)
Prayer
Dear Lord. Thank you for your words this morning that have given me some comfort in the midst of me being a total grouch. Thank you for the love you offer us. I offer you myself today Lord. I want to walk in your ways, perhaps a little healthy fear will help me do that. Amen.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
In the fire with God! (ok, maybe it was an angel, but still)
From our September 12, 2009 Daily Reading
Daniel 3, 4
Psalm 81
Revelation 17
SOAP - In the fire with God! (ok, maybe it was an angel but still)
Scripture: Daniel 3:25
He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."
Observation
For some reason this section of scripture is almost funny to me, or at least really uplifting. I like how King Nebuchadnezzar (King N) leaps to his feet in amazement. He seems so excited. And I love the thought of God being there in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Or at least an angel or something... hmm... is it supposed to be God that's in the fire? I think it's says an angel. Anyway, the trust in the Lord and determination to honor the Lord by not worshipping the golden image is wonderful. this scripture just makes me smile. :-)
Application
Honestly, I can't pick out a direct application. But I hope that at times in life when I feel like I'm being thrown into the flames, I'll trust God. And I hope my actions will reflect the fact that He is right there beside me, walking around in the fire. And maybe someone that sees what's going with me and sees God helping me, will leap to their feet and say "yay God!".
Prayer
Dear Lord please I pray, hear my prayer...
Bless the reading of your word. Lord be with us all as we study your word, taking a step further in relationship with you. Open our minds and hearts to receive the blessing of reading your word and all that we can learn from it. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to learn and to grow and to be your servants. Amen.
Some general thoughts on the scripture:
In Daniel...
1 - Chapter two ended with King N laying at Daniel's feet saying that God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, but now beginning chapter 3 he has apparently forgotten and decides to build a big gold statue to worhip... oops! Hmm... wonder how often I do that to God in my life.
2 - Chapters 1 and 2 didn't show much about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, other than them being with Daniel. Here we see them stand up for God themselves by refusing to worship the golden image. Way to go guys! I'm impressed.
3 - Is chapter 4 a letter? It's a bit odd. Sometimes it sounds like King N writing about that past, sometimes the present, and sometimes it sounds like someone else is writing.
4 - The tree in his dream sounds really cool! :-)
5 - Sounds like he's recognized God as the Most High God again. We'll see if he forgets again...
In Psalms...
6 - Talks about Israel not obeying God. Nice match for the scripture about King N not obeying God.
In Revelation...
7 - Typical weird stuff from Revelation. 17:6 is weird with the prostitute being drunk on the blood of the saints. Crazy stuff!
Daniel 3, 4
Psalm 81
Revelation 17
SOAP - In the fire with God! (ok, maybe it was an angel but still)
Scripture: Daniel 3:25
He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."
Observation
For some reason this section of scripture is almost funny to me, or at least really uplifting. I like how King Nebuchadnezzar (King N) leaps to his feet in amazement. He seems so excited. And I love the thought of God being there in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Or at least an angel or something... hmm... is it supposed to be God that's in the fire? I think it's says an angel. Anyway, the trust in the Lord and determination to honor the Lord by not worshipping the golden image is wonderful. this scripture just makes me smile. :-)
Application
Honestly, I can't pick out a direct application. But I hope that at times in life when I feel like I'm being thrown into the flames, I'll trust God. And I hope my actions will reflect the fact that He is right there beside me, walking around in the fire. And maybe someone that sees what's going with me and sees God helping me, will leap to their feet and say "yay God!".
Prayer
Dear Lord please I pray, hear my prayer...
Bless the reading of your word. Lord be with us all as we study your word, taking a step further in relationship with you. Open our minds and hearts to receive the blessing of reading your word and all that we can learn from it. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to learn and to grow and to be your servants. Amen.
Some general thoughts on the scripture:
In Daniel...
1 - Chapter two ended with King N laying at Daniel's feet saying that God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, but now beginning chapter 3 he has apparently forgotten and decides to build a big gold statue to worhip... oops! Hmm... wonder how often I do that to God in my life.
2 - Chapters 1 and 2 didn't show much about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, other than them being with Daniel. Here we see them stand up for God themselves by refusing to worship the golden image. Way to go guys! I'm impressed.
3 - Is chapter 4 a letter? It's a bit odd. Sometimes it sounds like King N writing about that past, sometimes the present, and sometimes it sounds like someone else is writing.
4 - The tree in his dream sounds really cool! :-)
5 - Sounds like he's recognized God as the Most High God again. We'll see if he forgets again...
In Psalms...
6 - Talks about Israel not obeying God. Nice match for the scripture about King N not obeying God.
In Revelation...
7 - Typical weird stuff from Revelation. 17:6 is weird with the prostitute being drunk on the blood of the saints. Crazy stuff!
Ezekiel 38, 39
Psalm 145
Revelation 20
SOAP - Our gracious and compassionate Lord
Scripture: Psalm 145:8-13
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. All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.
Observation
To me, God often seems really mean in the old testament. He seems quick to anger, very harsh, jealous and totally lacking compassion. He seems obsessed with Israel and hateful toward everyone else. I don't like thinking of God that way. That's not the God I know. Here is a psalm, from old testament times, which is full of praise. Did David write it? Whoever wrote it calls God gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. That is the God I know. How come He comes across as being to harsh when I read parts of the old testament? That is something that was a HUGE challenge for me a few years back when I was baptized and starting trying to get back into church. It's not the same challenge now but it's still pretty confusing. I do love the psalm though... the God I know is definitely gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love, good to all. Thanks God for the love and grace you give us.
Application
I'm not really sure what to say for application. I want to remember that God is gracious and compassionate. I don't want the things I read in the old testament to cause me to back away from God. Seems like this is a good chance to rely on God. I'm going to try to make sure I start my reading each day with a pray, remembering the MANY blessings in my life, and reminding myself that God is so very kind.
Prayer
Dear Lord. Thank you for the blessings I have in this life. I don't deserve any and yet I have so many. I don't really even know what to say to you when I really acknowledge all that you have given me. Thank you definitely doesn't feel like enough. I wish I could promise to live every day, all for you, and I will try but I have plenty of evidence that I will fail. I love you Lord. And I'm sorry that I sometimes when I read stuff it makes me think you have been mean. Thank your for the psalm we read today. Lord thank you again for the many blessings you've given me and please help me as I try to live my life for you, serving you in all that I do. Amen.
Some general thoughts on today's scripture:
Psalm 145
Revelation 20
SOAP - Our gracious and compassionate Lord
Scripture: Psalm 145:8-13
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. All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.
Observation
To me, God often seems really mean in the old testament. He seems quick to anger, very harsh, jealous and totally lacking compassion. He seems obsessed with Israel and hateful toward everyone else. I don't like thinking of God that way. That's not the God I know. Here is a psalm, from old testament times, which is full of praise. Did David write it? Whoever wrote it calls God gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. That is the God I know. How come He comes across as being to harsh when I read parts of the old testament? That is something that was a HUGE challenge for me a few years back when I was baptized and starting trying to get back into church. It's not the same challenge now but it's still pretty confusing. I do love the psalm though... the God I know is definitely gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love, good to all. Thanks God for the love and grace you give us.
Application
I'm not really sure what to say for application. I want to remember that God is gracious and compassionate. I don't want the things I read in the old testament to cause me to back away from God. Seems like this is a good chance to rely on God. I'm going to try to make sure I start my reading each day with a pray, remembering the MANY blessings in my life, and reminding myself that God is so very kind.
Prayer
Dear Lord. Thank you for the blessings I have in this life. I don't deserve any and yet I have so many. I don't really even know what to say to you when I really acknowledge all that you have given me. Thank you definitely doesn't feel like enough. I wish I could promise to live every day, all for you, and I will try but I have plenty of evidence that I will fail. I love you Lord. And I'm sorry that I sometimes when I read stuff it makes me think you have been mean. Thank your for the psalm we read today. Lord thank you again for the many blessings you've given me and please help me as I try to live my life for you, serving you in all that I do. Amen.
Some general thoughts on today's scripture:
1 - For some reason it's always kinda disturbing to me when scripture makes it sounds like God is purposefully making one group of people behave badly toward another. Whoever Gog is, it sounds like God is planning to make them bad. He's controlling them and having them attempt to destroy Israel. It's hard cause I have no doubt that there is a God. And I have no doubt that He is good. The God I see depicted in so much of the old testament seems more like a jealous brat, like a three year old that didn't get their way. That's not the God I know. I've tried to ignore that that last few days and just pick some scripture and focus on something good, but it's managed to creep into my mind and I can't ignore it now. Why was God so mean? I get that the people were horrible to him, but still. It's confusing. I'm thinking this old testament stuff needs a bit of prayer included with my reading time.
2 - Like the Psalm. It's full of good stuff... a nice break from Ezekiel and Revelation.
3 - And Revelation wasn't quite as weird today. I like the thought of all those who have sacrificed their lives for Christ being with him and reigning for 1000 years. I'm not sure what it's meant to symbolize, but it does sound nice.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Daniel does what's right... twice! | God helps Daniel save the wise men
From September 11, 2009 Daily Reading
Daniel 1, 2
Revelation 16
SOAP - God helps Daniel save the wise men
Scripture: Daniel 2:18
He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Observation
Daniel face a TERRIBLE situation. Arioch came looking for him and his friends to kill them for something they had no part in. He could have gotten mad, and done something horrible to Arioch, or just become so overwhelmed by such a bleak situation that he froze. Instead he kept his head, was able to have a reasonable conversation with Arioch, and then also the King. Then he put his faith and trust in God. He urged his friends to pray. God came through and gave Daniel the knowledge he needed to save himself and his friends.
Application
In life in general, I get overwhelmed. Big deals, small deals, all kinds of situations have the potential to overwhelm me. Worse yet, I sometimes respond rudely to whomever gives me the overwhelming news, objecting angrily to sudden changes of work schedules, requirements, plans that have already been made, new responsibilities, etc. I just easily get overwhelmed and don't always "keep my head". I'd like to be more like Daniel, able to stay calm, be polite, and TRUST IN GOD.
Prayer
Dear Lord. I want to say I trust in you but my reactions in times of stress don't always show that. Lord help me stay fixed on you so that when stress arrives, you are the first place I look. Amen.
SOAP - Daniel does what's right... twice!
Scripture: Daniel 1:8
But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the cheif official for permission not to defile himself this way.
Observation
I think Daniel followed God's will by refusing the royal food and wine. And he trusted God to keep him healthy. He also did the "right thing" by asking permission from the chief official. He was following God, but not being rude or arrogant about it.
Application
Somehow this seems applicable at my job. If someone were to ask me to do something I find questionable morally and I'm convicted to refuse, I should do it politely and with respect, trusting God. I shouldn't refuse just for the sake of being "right".
Prayer
Dear Lord, give me the courage and grace to stand for what's right when I know it's your will. Amen.
Some general thoughts on this set of scripture:
1 - Daniel refused to defile himself with food but uses the word servants, plural... who else chose to forgo the food... Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego I guess. Did hey want to or did Daniel just sorta include them?
2 - Throughout Chapters 1 and 2 it mostly mentions Daniel but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo seem to go with him and he looks out for them.
3 - Typical harsh old testament stuff like killing all the wise men over a dream... seems very extreme and crazy.
4 - In Revelation, verse 16:15 about keeping your clothes on seems very random. The Earth is being destroyed by angels... who cares about clothes?
Daniel 1, 2
Revelation 16
SOAP - God helps Daniel save the wise men
Scripture: Daniel 2:18
He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Observation
Daniel face a TERRIBLE situation. Arioch came looking for him and his friends to kill them for something they had no part in. He could have gotten mad, and done something horrible to Arioch, or just become so overwhelmed by such a bleak situation that he froze. Instead he kept his head, was able to have a reasonable conversation with Arioch, and then also the King. Then he put his faith and trust in God. He urged his friends to pray. God came through and gave Daniel the knowledge he needed to save himself and his friends.
Application
In life in general, I get overwhelmed. Big deals, small deals, all kinds of situations have the potential to overwhelm me. Worse yet, I sometimes respond rudely to whomever gives me the overwhelming news, objecting angrily to sudden changes of work schedules, requirements, plans that have already been made, new responsibilities, etc. I just easily get overwhelmed and don't always "keep my head". I'd like to be more like Daniel, able to stay calm, be polite, and TRUST IN GOD.
Prayer
Dear Lord. I want to say I trust in you but my reactions in times of stress don't always show that. Lord help me stay fixed on you so that when stress arrives, you are the first place I look. Amen.
SOAP - Daniel does what's right... twice!
Scripture: Daniel 1:8
But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the cheif official for permission not to defile himself this way.
Observation
I think Daniel followed God's will by refusing the royal food and wine. And he trusted God to keep him healthy. He also did the "right thing" by asking permission from the chief official. He was following God, but not being rude or arrogant about it.
Application
Somehow this seems applicable at my job. If someone were to ask me to do something I find questionable morally and I'm convicted to refuse, I should do it politely and with respect, trusting God. I shouldn't refuse just for the sake of being "right".
Prayer
Dear Lord, give me the courage and grace to stand for what's right when I know it's your will. Amen.
Some general thoughts on this set of scripture:
1 - Daniel refused to defile himself with food but uses the word servants, plural... who else chose to forgo the food... Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego I guess. Did hey want to or did Daniel just sorta include them?
2 - Throughout Chapters 1 and 2 it mostly mentions Daniel but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo seem to go with him and he looks out for them.
3 - Typical harsh old testament stuff like killing all the wise men over a dream... seems very extreme and crazy.
4 - In Revelation, verse 16:15 about keeping your clothes on seems very random. The Earth is being destroyed by angels... who cares about clothes?
A new heart and a new spirit! Yay!
Ezekiel 36, 37
Psalm 110
Revelation 19
SOAP - A new heart and a new spirit! Yay!
Scripture: Ezekiel 36:26-27
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Observation
Is this pretty much the same as what God does for us through Jesus now? When we turn to God and fully trust him, the Holy Spirit gives us a new heart, and a new spirit, right? I guess this is pretty straight forward... with out God our hearts are selfish, ungrateful, not so good; our spirit is pretty much dead. With God, our hearts are filled with his love, kind and giving; our spirit is alive and we become people filled with the fruit of the spirit... love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control.
Application
In my life, I get it - trust God! It's the only way. I have lots of evidence that God is just waiting there with blessings, waiting for me to rely on Him, follow Him. Yet every day is a struggle between what I know is good and right; and what I "want", trying to do things my way. When I try things my way things don't go horribly and terribly wrong. I've never been really rebelious, etc. It's not as though I just run amuck in life breaking the law and trampling people in my path. In a way I wonder if that makes it all the more tempting to try my way instead of God's way. If I choose my way, there are no convictions about how to wisely use my time, how to treat my loved ones, how to treat strangers, being a polite driver, talking to people about the Lord. My way is easy and it's not filled with bad stuff, so it looks pretty darn appealing. But its not nearly, not even one billionth of the blessing of any one moment of time spent following God's way. If I just think of the ripple of blessings I see when I follow God's way, it's amazing. And I know there are things happening that I don't even know about. People are blessed by our actions and we never realize it. All those blessings combined... WOW! Duh, God's way is THE BEST WAY! And yet, as I go through this day, I'm sure "Kristy's way" will make itself known...
Prayer
Dear Lord please I pray, hear my prayer: Please help us all let go of our own ways, turn our hearts over to you, so that your can give us a new heart and a new spirit. Lord we look to you for strength to follow your way. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Just some general thoughts on the scripture:
1 - This is a really random thing to wonder about, but I can't help it... Ezekiel talks about the mountains of Israel. Is God happy with them and feeling sorry for them because they are desolate, or is he mad at them? Sounds like he kinda feels sorry for them and wants to restore them. But then he says "you will never again deprive them of their children" as if the mountains have done a bad thing. I'm confused. I'm gonna assume that there are no ill feelings toward the mountains of Israel.
2 - LOVE it that God is talking to mountains. Not sure what significance that has. But I love the mountains so I'm proud that God talked to them. :-)
3 - Who were all the dead people that God brought back to life? People that used to be part of Israel?
4 - So let me make sure I know what's going on here. Some of the people of Israel have moved out of the land (the mountains of Israel?) and settled all around. And some have died. The Lord is going to bring them all back together in the restored mountains of Israel and make them prosper? Did that ever happen? What time period is this? Wait... I just looked it up in a book Hugh has about understanding the Bible. Ezekiel was during the exile so I'm guessing Israel was eventually restored. Or maybe not. I think I'm confused about what this book means by the "exile". I'll figure all this out eventually. :-)
5 - It says there will be an everlasting covenant, and David will be prince forever. So what happened? Did they refuse to obey God again and He gave up on them and sent Jesus to save everyone?
Wow, I feel like I should know this stuff. I knew I was kinda clueless, especially with the old testament, but this Bible study is really letting me see how clueless I am, which is good. I'm excited to learn!
6 - Well, Revelation is still just WEIRD! There is a rider called "Faithful and True" on a white horse. Then they say only he knows his name. Then his name is "Word of God". And then it's "King of Kings, Lord of Lords". A little consistency please? Confusing.
7 - I don't understand the symbolism of the wedding of the lamb, the fine linen, the wedding super, etc. (hah, I don't understant most of the symbolism of Revelation... not sure why I feel the need to point it out in this case, maybe because I feel like I should know and I don't.)
8 - Who is eating the flesh of all these kings, generals, horses, riders, all the people, etc? And why?
9 - Birds gorged themselves on the flesh of the devil and his army? Just weird.
Psalm 110
Revelation 19
SOAP - A new heart and a new spirit! Yay!
Scripture: Ezekiel 36:26-27
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Observation
Is this pretty much the same as what God does for us through Jesus now? When we turn to God and fully trust him, the Holy Spirit gives us a new heart, and a new spirit, right? I guess this is pretty straight forward... with out God our hearts are selfish, ungrateful, not so good; our spirit is pretty much dead. With God, our hearts are filled with his love, kind and giving; our spirit is alive and we become people filled with the fruit of the spirit... love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control.
Application
In my life, I get it - trust God! It's the only way. I have lots of evidence that God is just waiting there with blessings, waiting for me to rely on Him, follow Him. Yet every day is a struggle between what I know is good and right; and what I "want", trying to do things my way. When I try things my way things don't go horribly and terribly wrong. I've never been really rebelious, etc. It's not as though I just run amuck in life breaking the law and trampling people in my path. In a way I wonder if that makes it all the more tempting to try my way instead of God's way. If I choose my way, there are no convictions about how to wisely use my time, how to treat my loved ones, how to treat strangers, being a polite driver, talking to people about the Lord. My way is easy and it's not filled with bad stuff, so it looks pretty darn appealing. But its not nearly, not even one billionth of the blessing of any one moment of time spent following God's way. If I just think of the ripple of blessings I see when I follow God's way, it's amazing. And I know there are things happening that I don't even know about. People are blessed by our actions and we never realize it. All those blessings combined... WOW! Duh, God's way is THE BEST WAY! And yet, as I go through this day, I'm sure "Kristy's way" will make itself known...
Prayer
Dear Lord please I pray, hear my prayer: Please help us all let go of our own ways, turn our hearts over to you, so that your can give us a new heart and a new spirit. Lord we look to you for strength to follow your way. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Just some general thoughts on the scripture:
1 - This is a really random thing to wonder about, but I can't help it... Ezekiel talks about the mountains of Israel. Is God happy with them and feeling sorry for them because they are desolate, or is he mad at them? Sounds like he kinda feels sorry for them and wants to restore them. But then he says "you will never again deprive them of their children" as if the mountains have done a bad thing. I'm confused. I'm gonna assume that there are no ill feelings toward the mountains of Israel.
2 - LOVE it that God is talking to mountains. Not sure what significance that has. But I love the mountains so I'm proud that God talked to them. :-)
3 - Who were all the dead people that God brought back to life? People that used to be part of Israel?
4 - So let me make sure I know what's going on here. Some of the people of Israel have moved out of the land (the mountains of Israel?) and settled all around. And some have died. The Lord is going to bring them all back together in the restored mountains of Israel and make them prosper? Did that ever happen? What time period is this? Wait... I just looked it up in a book Hugh has about understanding the Bible. Ezekiel was during the exile so I'm guessing Israel was eventually restored. Or maybe not. I think I'm confused about what this book means by the "exile". I'll figure all this out eventually. :-)
5 - It says there will be an everlasting covenant, and David will be prince forever. So what happened? Did they refuse to obey God again and He gave up on them and sent Jesus to save everyone?
Wow, I feel like I should know this stuff. I knew I was kinda clueless, especially with the old testament, but this Bible study is really letting me see how clueless I am, which is good. I'm excited to learn!
6 - Well, Revelation is still just WEIRD! There is a rider called "Faithful and True" on a white horse. Then they say only he knows his name. Then his name is "Word of God". And then it's "King of Kings, Lord of Lords". A little consistency please? Confusing.
7 - I don't understand the symbolism of the wedding of the lamb, the fine linen, the wedding super, etc. (hah, I don't understant most of the symbolism of Revelation... not sure why I feel the need to point it out in this case, maybe because I feel like I should know and I don't.)
8 - Who is eating the flesh of all these kings, generals, horses, riders, all the people, etc? And why?
9 - Birds gorged themselves on the flesh of the devil and his army? Just weird.
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