Bible reading update week 4

January is finished! The first 25 days worth of reading done! Genesis is complete, Acts is about half finished, and Matthew is 1/3 of the way to its completion! The post will cover thoughts, observations, and randomness from: Genesis 41-50; Psalm 18-23; Matthew 8-10:1-20; Acts 11-15:1-21:

• Matthew 8:1- The crowds respect teaching truth. So often we sugar coat telling people about God or sin, and sometimes we avoid teaching truth to people because we are afraid of how they will react to us and to what we have to say. Tolerance is the buzzword that we hear in the world, and yet I think we can be fall to this as well when we avoid speaking the truth in love.
• One of the huge themes of Matthew is the authority of Jesus. Jesus has it, we are given it by him, but we are always under his authority. It is by his name that we can do what he calls us to do. We can get caught up in the whole "I have given you authority" that we forget that we are still under His and that we are called to use that authority to make disciples.
• Acts 11- Peter has to go up to Jerusalem because there is word the Gentiles have received the word of God. Peter tells them of his vision then says in verse 17 "who was I that I could stand in God's way". Peter knew that if he didn't change he would be standing in God's way. We are the ones who stop what God wants to do in the world. The church. And God wants us to preach repentance that leads to live (verse 18). It comes from God, we can't gain it on our own.
• Genesis 41- Here we begin to see the reason why Joseph has been brought to Egypt- the famine. God tells Pharaoh about the famine, but no one can interpret the dream. Except Joseph. Because of his insight, Pharaoh chooses him to lead the initiative to stockpile food, to prepare for the famine. In the midst of jail, slavery and all the other hardships that Joseph endured, God had a plan. His plan moves forward even when it doesn't seem like it is going the right direction. This is why patience is such an important characteristic. Waiting on the Lord isn't easy. It is much harder to wait on what He is doing than in other seasons. But the waiting is a deep preparation time. Never try to rush God.
• Matthew 8:18-22. We follow Jesus on his terms. It is always on his terms. He is not in the deal making business. When we try to set the terms and follow him by those, we aren't following him. We are following ourselves. His way doesn't change it is forward constantly.
• Psalm 19. God leaves us no excuses. He reveals himself in nature and in his word, a light to inspire us to greatness and His glory!
• Genesis 42-45. The tension builds. Not only had God put Joseph in charge of the stockpiles of food during the family, but he is the one who deals with the nations as they come to buy it. So when his brothers come, God has put Joseph in one of the few positions that he would be able to meet them again. He recognizes them, but they don't. Then finally the secret is revealed. The reunion takes place and joy can not contain itself. The family would soon be restored. The promise is preserved!
• Psalm 20:7. Trust in the name of God, not my might, but His alone.
• Matthew 8. Again Jesus has the authority to calm storms and to drive out demons, all from the Father. If He can do that, what does he want to do in each of our lives and in our church? What is possible when we act in his authority?
• Acts 12. Peter is in prison, for preaching Jesus. And they have 4 squads of soldiers to guard him! Seriously? I'm not doing a study here, so I'm not sure off the top of my head how many men that is, but it shows that they know Peter is no ordinary man. Honestly, when I read that this time, I thought, do they think he is Peter Parker (Spideman for those not comically inclined)? Is he some kind of superhero? And not only are there 4 squads of guards, but he is chained in his cell to 2 soldiers and there were sentries on the door. And he still escapes. What is God not capable of? The next morning, "there was no little disturbance among the soldiers" because of his escape. That is pure comedy.
• Matthew 9. When the paralytic is brought to Jesus he forgives him of his sins. This is the most important issue that man was dealing with, not his inability to walk. Jesus healed that too, but what he primarily wants to do with each of us is forgive our sins. Sometimes I think we take to small a view of sin in the world and in our lives. If it was a priority for Jesus, I'm thinking it should be a priority for us as well.
• Mt 9:10-13. Our call is to give mercy to those who have no idea where to look for it. This is why Jesus hung out with the ones that He did. They couldn't find mercy because God is the only source of true mercy and they didn't know God.
• A lot of Matthew 9 deals with healing. And yet there seems to be no consistency. Some are healed because of their faith, some are heal because their friends or family appealed to Jesus. People want to proof text and say, well this man is heal because of his faith, so if your not healed than its because you don't have enough faith. And yet that isn't always the case. There are many places in the Bible where someone is healed who is outside of the people of God. Can they have faith who do not know? The healings are a way that God demonstrates his authority. That is the key, he has the authority. The authority doesn't automatically kick in if the recipient hits a certain level on the faith meter. Since it is his authority, it moves how He chooses.
• Matthew 10:1-20. Jesus gives the 12 authority here, to cast out demons and heal every disease and affliction. They are to proclaim the kingdom of heaven (we have been talking a lot about this) and demonstrate that the kingdom of heaven is here by these signs. Tell and show. He also sends them out with nothing as an example of the utter dependence on God that is needed to be part of His kingdom. What things do we proclaim as a church and how do we show that they are true? If we proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, how are we showing or can we show that it is true?
• Acts 13. An amazing presentation of the Good News. The forgiveness of sins is proclaimed and by Him (Jesus) everyone who believes is freed from all works! The new converts are told to continue in the grace of God. All too often we believe grace at salvation, then put it on a shelf and move on to other teachings and ideas (sanctification). But here we see we continue on in grace as we go through the rest of our lives. (Much of that insight is from Tim Keller, refined through me, so it loses much).
• Genesis 46. Jacob is reunited with Joseph, his son. I can't imagine the torment of the pain of thinking you have lost a child. Then to find out later in life that he is alive and well and the one who can help your trouble is amazing.
• Genesis 47. The original government takeover! Through Joseph's administration, Pharaoh was able to acquire the bulk of the land of Egypt as well as 20 percent of its crops. Power was now consolidated in Egypt. The story is building and continuing as this is important for the next phase of the narrative, the exodus story.
• Genesis 48-50. The book ends as kind of an anticlimax, with blessings and family intrigue. Jacob dies in Egypt, but will not be buried there and reminds Joseph of the promise of the land that has been passed down. It is a promise that he too will not see himself, but waits. Before he dies, Jacob blesses his sons, as was the custom. The idea of blessing our children is very important and one I recommend to every parent, no matter the age of your children. We bless them by passing on what we know to be true of God and ask Him to do it within our children.
• Genesis 50. Joseph's brothers are afraid now that their father has died. The are worried that he will now take revenge on them for what they did to him years before. But Joseph had a change in perspective. "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?" He is the righter of wrongs, not us. "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today". He looks past the actions to the good that came out of it. All that waiting on God changed Joseph. He changes us too, when we let him. That is the hard part. Letting him.
• Psalm 23. This is probably the most famous part of Scripture, along with John 3:16 (just the reference not the scripture as that has bled into popular culture, but that is another conversation). I'm reflecting on this in the light of death and sickness. This psalm explodes with hope, with certainty. And all of it comes from knowing that, yes, He is the shepherd, he is in charge and his ways are better. Even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. He is God.

It is funny how themes can emerge from different texts written for different purposes over hundreds of years to different people. The key always comes down to God being God and us not being God. And I thank God for that!

Bible reading update week 3

This post should have been up last week, so apologies for my tardiness! I'll be posting a wrap up of January's readings sometime the middle of next week (can't believe we are to the end of January already!). This week covers Gen31-40 , Psalms 13-18:24, Matthew 5:33-7, and Acts 8-10. If these seem a bit Matthew light, its because we about to launch into a series on the Sermon on the Mount so I don't want to give everything away (plus I'm still chewing on all of it;) ):

• Genesis 32:10- Jacob is about to face Esau and he is afraid. He didn't exactly deal with his older brother in the most honorable ways (a bit of an understatement I know). He does the only thing he can, calls out to God "I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant". Jacob knows that he is unworthy of all the blessings that God has given him. And yet it didn't stop God from pouring out his blessing and choosing Jacob to work through, for his sake. We are much the same. We are utterly unworthy of the blessings that God has poured out on us, the blessing of eternal life and a relationship of the Father, the blessing of being used by him for his Glory. And yet for His name's sake, he uses us and blesses us. Amazing.
• Psalm 13- A psalm of rescue. This is probably the most common type of psalm in my life, crying out to God to deliver me from my enemies, the sin and temptations of my life. In this Psalm, David cries out to God, wondering where He is. Am I forgotten? Are you there? But he trusts in His steadfast love. Because he knows that the one he calls out to is stronger than the ones pursuing him. It is why I cry out to God. He is stronger than my sin and the sin in the world. It is important to remember that.
• Acts 8:9-13- Simon the magician. He was a boastful man, dealing in magic, something forbidden by God in the Old Testament. He was someone who would have been very familiar with the spiritual, from a dark place. And yet, even someone like this, who heard the good news about the kingdom of God, believed. And not only did he believe, but upon seeing signs and great miracles, seeing what was possible through the Holy Spirit, he was amazed. Someone who would have seen all sorts of things through his practice of magic was amazed at what was possible through the power of God. Again, He is more powerful than the one who is in the world.
• Genesis 37- We tend to follow the patterns we learn as children, good and bad. So it should be no surprise that Jacob follows the pattern of his parents by choosing one of his children, Joseph, as a favorite. Even though he should have remembered how poorly it ended up for he and his brother Esau, Jacob repeated the pattern. His error caused discord and fed Joseph's arrogance. The message for us is twofold: favoritism leads to destruction to a family and we need to watch what patterns we imitate, as individuals, as families and as a church. Doing something just because it is an inherited behavior isn't always the best answer. Neither is changing something of value just because it is familiar. Discernment needs to be the watch word.
• Genesis 39- Joseph and Potiphar's wife. When Potiphar's wife attempted to seduce him, Joseph ran away from the temptation. Temptation is tempting (obviously). We can succumb to it or we can flee like Joseph. Joseph did the right thing, yet because of the lies of Potiphar's wife, he found himself in jail. But even this action was used by God in his unfailing love. He is in control, bringing Joseph to Egypt, then in jail Joseph was able to meet members of Pharaoh's court. He would have never been able to be in the position he would rise to without an audience with Pharaoh. And there is no obvious way he would have received that without God's intervention. We need to be mindful that God is in control of every situation and can turn that which was meant for evil to good (getting a bit ahead with some of this, but hey this is all one big story!)
• Genesis 40-The cup bearer, freed from jail and having promised to tell Pharaoh about Joseph did not remember him, but forgot him. In the rush of his freedom and getting his old life back, the cup bearer did not keep his promise. Are there people who God puts in front of us who we forget to pray for, to share the good news with because of our hectic lives? Be mindful of those who God puts in front of you!
• Acts 9-The conversion of Saul. One of the most epic chapters of the New Testament. What a story of redemption! A couple things here jumped out at me. What did Saul do for those 3 days he was blinded? He had no idea what was going on or what was going to happen, other than God told him that he would be told what to do. He didn't know how long God would wait, or what He would have him do. All we know is that he fasted. My guess is he prayed his heart out. He begged and pleaded God for an answer and for mercy. Then God appears to Ananias. God tells him to go to Saul and heal him. This obviously confuses this disciple, as Saul has been putting men like him in jail. But God tells him to go and to do it because He will use Saul. Ananias trusts God, believes Him at his word and goes. And not only does he go, but when he greats Saul, he calls him brother. Even before Saul makes a profession, before he is baptized, before he says a word, Ananias treats him as an equal. That our hospitality would be like this!

That's all for this week! May God bless you richly!

Bible reading update week 2

Thoughts and reflections based on the second week of The Discipleship Journal's Bible reading plan (Genesis18-30; Psalms 7-12; Acts 4:23-7; Matthew 4-5:32):

• Genesis 20: For the second time, Abraham lies and says that Sarah, his wife, is his sister, putting her at risk out of fear for his own life. When confronted about his lie, he responds "I thought there is no fear of God at all in this place." But there was some fear, because when Abimelech was confronted with his sin (taking Sarah), he was terrified, and testified to the integrity of his heart. And God confirmed this. Abraham was guilty of poor discernment and a lack of trust in God's protection. Now, while this is bad, he compounded this by leading Abimelech into sin. This is why discernment and trust in God are key to our actions. I know when I read that, it made me think about the need to be discerning in my role as shepherd. May God give me deep insight!
• Matthew 4:1-11. The temptation of Jesus. Satan looks through us, into the weak places in our lives and tempts us there. He doesn't go after what has no effect on us. But the good news is we have One stronger than him. We need to identify how we are being tempted and cast him away, "Be gone Satan!" We can do this not by our strength but by Jesus' authority. And that is an amazing thing, that he who is in us is stronger than the one in the world!
• Acts 4. The believers prayed for boldness in the face of persecution, in word, action and prayer. An amazing testimony of how we should be today. We should ask for this same kind of boldness even in a time when we aren't being persecuted.
• Psalm 7:14-16. This is such a great portrait of sin, the wicked conceives evil, becomes pregnant with mischief and then gives birth to lies. Our sin starts with the spark of rebellion then grows to action. But our sin doesn't just go out from us without a consequence. It comes back upon us, falling back on our heads. Oh how true!
• Genesis 22:12. Not long after Abraham's false discernment, God had given another chance for redemption. God told him to take his son Isaac up on the mountain and offer him as a burnt offering. And Abraham was obedient. He had learned his lesson and had begun to trust God with everything. God responded "for now I know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." Are we willing to hold nothing back from God? Even if it is a promise that he gave to us? Or a dream? It is difficult to offer back to God the very thing He has given you, but if we don't then it is an idol and becomes worthless. Give it all back to God! He will get the glory, trust me, and you might get the dream back in full as well!
• Acts 6 and 7. Stephen. The accuser comes at us so often like in this passage, using half truths and lies about what we have said when we are speaking God's word. And he uses ordinary people. All to destroy our testimony. Our response needs to be like Stephen's. Biblical and true, rooted in the word of God, calling others to repentance.
• The other interesting aspect of Acts 7, Stephen's speech, is that it shows the importance of being grounded in our story. We have the story of our faith handed down from the Jews with the Old Testament plus the witness of the saints in the New Testament. We need to embrace the faith that is passed down to us through this Word, but also our community faith story, the story of our denomination and our church. All of these stories help to shape our individual faith stories, giving it the richness that we all possess. As we look back on our lives, we can see how God has acted from then to now all to bring Glory to himself!
• Psalm 11:7 "the upright shall behold his face." This needs to be my daily prayer, that each day I would cry out to behold the face of God, that I would see his face in each and every person that I come in contact with that day and that I would see his Glory!
• Gen 25:34 "Esau despised his birthright". We tend to shake our head at Esau, trading his birthright, his inheritance, for a bowl of stew. But then we go and do likewise when we turn our back on God and fall into sin. The allure of momentary satisfaction cause us to forget eternal glory.
• Gen 29. Jacob, Laban, Rachel, and Leah. What a story of patience! Jacob displayed that we will have patience for what we value. In his case he was willing to wait 7 years to marry Rachel, then he was told he'd have to work 7 more years. And in his mind it was worth it. We will wait for what we value.
• Acts 7:54-60. Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit called out to God asking him not to hold the sin of those who were about to stone him against them. What an act of forgiveness! And yet, how often do we hold sins against others, refusing to forgive something they have done to us or another. We need to look at Stephen's willingness to forgive and imitate it.

Bible reading update #1!

Well, it's been one week since the new year and since we started the Discipleship Journal Read through the Bible in a year plan. My goal is to post some basic reflections on what I read each week, usually on a Friday or Saturday.

The readings as of yesterday: Genesis 1-17, Psalm 1-6, Matthew 1-3, Acts 1-4:22.

Thoughts:

• Shame. Reading through the first two chapters of Genesis, you realize how perfect it all was. Then you hit the last verse of chapter 2: "And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." They had no shame. No need for it, because there was nothing for them to be ashamed of. Sin had not yet entered the picture. This is a brutal reminder than everything we deal with on a daily basis was not God's intention. Shame was not part of the original package. And as you keep reading into chapter 3, after the forbidden fruit is eaten, shame enters the story: they knew they were naked. Innocence is lost and now you not only do you have sin, but you have shame. Jesus didn't just die to take away the penalty and guilt of our sin. He came to remove the shame, the stigma of our sin as well. God killed animals for their skins to cover the shame. Jesus' blood does the same for us. For those in Christ, you can be freed from the shame and guilt of your sin just as freely as the condemnation. "Let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you." (Psalm 5:11)
• Genesis 12:7. This is in that great section where God calls Abram and he goes, following the Lord where he tells him to go. Then they arrive in the promised land and God drops the bomb on Abram "To your offspring I will give this land." Not to you, but to your offspring. We complain about an instant gratification culture today and yet later on in Abram's story, there are examples he is just as impatient as we are. And yet here we see God telling Abram basically, I've called you out not for your sake for to give this land to your offspring. Oh, yeah and I know you don't have any of those yet either. And Abram's response was not to say no, or to say how long (here). His response was worship. There is something profound in knowing that you are doing something not for yourself, but for the next generation, those who aren't in front of you right now. May God allow us to have the same mindset for our congregation, that we would think of it as building his church for those who aren't here yet. It takes humility to do that, pray that He would give us that in abundance.
• Acts 3&4. Peter is a personal hero. I look at his life and see me. Mostly in his impatience and his stumbles. While Jesus was on Earth, he seemed to take one step forward and then two steps back. But after Pentecost, he was a different man. First, he steps out and preaches a powerful sermon calling all who were listening to repentance (Acts 2). Then, he continues with his boldness by healing a man who was begging, telling him at once to stand up and trusting that God would heal the man. He gets called in to the religious authorities and is told to stop talking about Jesus raised from the dead. His response? Keeps on preaching. He trusted the Holy Spirit to speak and act through Him and God to take care of the rest, even if it meant danger. May we be the same!
• Genesis 12-17. God's faithfulness to his promise. Time and time again in these chapters, God reminds Abram of the promise that he made with him, the promise of land and numerous offspring. Despite the constant reminders, Abram is less faithful (sounds like that will be a trend throughout Scripture). He lies and puts his wife Sarah in a terrible position, isn't patient, and yet each time God remains faithful with his promise. He keeps his word. Important reminder to us all that He always keeps His word no matter how we act. He is faithful.

That's week 1. I've been blessed going through this, hoping you have been as well!