Days 23 and 24: Leviticus 25-27, Numbers 1-2, Mark 6 and Numbers 3-7, Mark 7-8

Leviticus 25
Initially I thought that the sabbaths that the people had to take meant that had to stock pile and not eat anything from the fields. But they don't actually have to do that. They just can't work the fields. They can't rely on their own efforts within that year. They trust in God and God's Creation to provide all that they will need for the year.

Leviticus 25:39-55
There are regulations and commands regarding the support of those who need support, and those who are so desperate that they sell themselves as slaves. But all is to be forgiven in the year of jubilee, so that oppressive debt or social structures don't continue on trough the generations.

Numbers 5:11-28
Is this combination of bitter water something that will actually, scientifically, affect the womb, or is it an act of God that brings on the results? Are there actual places in scripture where this is used to test for infidelity?

Numbers 6:22-27
This well known blessing was originally for Aaron and his sons, so that they might in turn bless the Israelites in and through the name of God.

Numbers 7
This chapter started to play through my head like the 12 Days of Christmas, but instead it was "on the the 12th day of offerings that the leaders brought to God". It got more than a little repetitive.

Mark 6:8-12
Again, examples of relying on God to provide.

Mark 6:34
Jesus teaches people because he has compassion for them. He's got to be exhausted and worn out from the constant crowds, but he knows they need the message and the healing that only he can provide.

Mark 7:6-8
In order to truly worship God, we have to have our hearts in the same place as our lips, meaning we have to walk the walk if we're going to talk the talk.

Mark 7:18-19
Mark makes a pretty big claim here, that Jesus declared all foods clean. That was a big thing for people to hear at that time.

Mark 8:23-25
Perhaps when we go to God and ask for something, ask for things to be revealed to us, but then don't take the time to look intently at hat God is doing, we miss what we are meant to see and we see things not as they really are.

Today's thoughts and wonderings:
How are we a blessing to others? How do we take the blessing that was originally given to Aaron and his sons, so that ALL of Israel could be blessed, and put it into action in our lives?

Do we look for the people in our own lives who are desperate for help, who may be about to make themselves slaves to something in exchange for a little help, and offer them assistance in any way we can?

I have had people do this a lot for me lately, whether family or friends, whether in the form of gifts or loans, and I am unbelievably grateful for them, and for their love, encouragement and support. I would not be making it today if it wasn't for them.

And I'm not saying that if you haven't helped someone out lately that you are ignoring need around you or that you're a bad person, but have you ever considered doing something extra, giving to someone who needs it, whether they deserve it or not? Because I don't necessarily DESERVE the help I have received. I know I could have put more into savings, or not bought that movie I wanted. But I didn't. And whether I got myself into this situation or not, I'm here.

Another passage that I read today talks about putting into action what you are saying, what you are promoting or teaching to others. I'm not going to pretend to know what this looks like for you, or even suggest ways to live your life better. I don't think that this is the place for that.

But let me offer this: consider those around you. Look out for small signs that someone else is struggling, because every person out there is struggling somehow, whether it's financially, physically, emotionally or spiritually. Take the blessing that we find in Numbers 6, and the commands to help others that we see in Leviticus 25, and the compassion and love of Christ that we see all over the Gospels and put them into practice. Because we live in a broken and hurting world that we have the opportunity to make a better place, even if it's for one person for one day.

Give what you can, where you can, to as many people as you can, as often as you can. You may have more opportunities to help than you realize.

Days 21 and 22: Leviticus 15-19, Mark 3 and Leviticus 20-24, Mark 4-5

Leviticus 15:18
I wonder if this verse helps to contribute to the idea that many people have that sex is dirty and wrong.

Leviticus 17:11
It is in the blood that the life of the flesh resides. That is why blood is required for the offerings and the sacrifices that are made to God for atonement.

Leviticus 18
What exactly does the phrase "Uncover someone's nakedness" mean?

Leviticus 18-19
After almost all of the commands that God gives to the Israelites, God says "I am the LORD your God", as if that is the reason for the statutes and regulations, but also as a reassurance that when they follow these commands, God will recognize them as the chosen people, set apart and distinct from all of the other nations around them.

Leviticus 20:6
The term "prostituting oneself" is an interesting one, but very descriptive and, I think, very applicable.

Leviticus 21
The priests, the representatives of the people before God, were held to a higher standard than the rest of Israel. What does this mean for pastors and church leaders today, even though our role for the community is different from that of Aaron and his sons?

Mark 3:11-12
I had always wondered why Jesus had told the unclean spirits not to make him known. But now I understand: If Jesus wanted people to truly understand and believe that He was the Son of God, the Messiah, then the testimony couldn't come from people who were possessed by unclean spirits and demons. It wouldn't be a believable testimony. It would have been rejected as crazy.

Mark 4: 22
Everything that is secret will eventually become known. I don't believe that Jesus wanted some people to to be ignorant of his message while others knew and understood, I just think that come people weren't ready to ear and understand. Some people just needed more time or guidance to reach a level of understanding.

Mark 4:39
I wonder if part of Jesus' command of "Peace! Be still!" was for the sake of the disciples, to stop them from freaking out and worrying if they were going to die in the storm.

Mark 5:17-20
I find it interesting that they were afraid of Jesus or by what he had done, but when the man who had been possessed spoke to them about the incredible things that Jesus had done, they were amazed.

Today's Ponderments:
When we prostitute ourselves to practices or ideas, we give ourselves to them in exchange for little or nothing that benefits ourselves. It is not a relationship that we cherish or treasure, or one that means anything at all. Whatever we give ourselves to, that thing takes from us whatever it wants, whatever we are offering, and doesn't regard us as anything of importance. 

This is the total opposite of God's relationship with us, how God wanted to be in relationship, in covenant, with the Israelite people. God wanted them to live their lives in a certain way, to worship God and respect the boundaries that God had for their lives, but it wasn't a one-sided relationship. God would bless them, protect them, save them, make them prosper, and through them bless the entire world.

God knew that they would be tempted by false gods, by other nations and their ways of life, by actions and decisions that would bring them temporary satisfaction but in the long run ruin them. God always kept the promises that were made to the Israelites. It was the Israelites who prostituted themselves to other gods, to sorcerers, to nations outside of their own, just to get a quick fix, a momentary and perverted glimpse of the true reward and blessing that God had promised to them.

And the Israelites are not the only ones.

Day 20: Leviticus 9-14, Mark 1-2

Leviticus 10:1-2
Aaron's sons did things that the Lord hadn't commanded them to do in worship. They were not doing anything the was AGAINST the rules, but they were trying to make up their own ways of worshipping God, thinking that they could "improve" on what God had come up with.

Leviticus 11
I have always heard that the laws that were handed down to the Israelites were for the purpose of being set apart from other nations, and I get that. I understand that reasoning and the importance of that. But what I don't get is why they could eat particular animals but not others. What makes a rock badger, or a lobster, or an owl, unclean? Why those specific animals?

Leviticus 13:9
If you are cleansed of a leprous skin disease, one of the things you have to do is shave off your hair, ALL your hair, including your eyebrows. Because the leprous skin disease wasn't humiliating and embarrassing enough.

Mark 1:20
I love the image of James and John not only leaving immediately to follow Jesus, but that they probably jumped out of the boat into the water, getting soaked, and then trying to run through waist deep water to the shore where Jesus, Simon, and Andrew were standing, all the while with Zebedee and the hired men watching from the boat, wondering what in the world was happening.

Mark 1:43-45
I wonder if the man who was cured ever went and presented himself to the priest or made the offerings he was supposed to make to God. He certainly didn't keep his mouth shut about the whole thing like Jesus told him to.

Mark 2:5-12
What was the paralytic man thinking in between when Jesus told him his sins were forgiven and when Jesus told him to take up his mat and walk. Was he wondering why Jesus hadn't healed him, or was he rejoicing that his sins were forgiven?

Today's wonderings:
What do we imagine healing to be? How do we understand it? Is it physical, spiritual, emotional, or some combination of the three? Or is it something that we can't really qualify or quantify because we really don't understand exactly what it means unless we understand the situation?

For example, take the paralytic man whose friend pulled a McGuyver when they hauled him up onto the roof, dug through the ceiling, and lowered him down in front of Jesus. What was he expecting was going to happen? What were his friends expecting was going to happen? Were they bringing him to have Jesus heal his paralysis, or did they want him to hear the incredible message that Jesus was preaching, so that perhaps he would have some reassurance and hope in life, even if he was still paralyzed?

So often when we think of healing, we think of it in the physical sense. And in today's world, with all the science and technology, it is hard for us to comprehend or hope for physical healing. We hear the doctors report, that there is nothing more to be done, and we give up, convinced that the situation is hopeless and we must let go. Sometimes, this is the logical and rational conclusion, and we must accept that no one will live forever.

My family faced this 3 years ago when my father suffered a massive and sudden brain aneurysm. We were told by the doctors that there was no coming back from what had happened, that even if he did recover, he would never be the same. We all agreed that my dad would not want to live like that. Some would say that we had given up hope. I do not agree.

At that time, we decided to let go, to say goodbye. I still believe that if it had been the will of God to miraculously heal my father, that my dad would have been healed. But that did not happen. And, to my knowledge, no one prayed out loud for that in front of my family. The pastors and priests that were there to support us never once uttered the word "heal".

But what they did do is pray for us to have comfort that we were able to say goodbye, that we we confident in our decisions regarding what to do, and that we would have peace. They prayed for spiritual and emotional healing for my family, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

I like to think that the paralytic was eternally grateful to Christ not only for being healed physically, but for being healed spiritually and emotionally. I cannot even fathom what it must have been like for him to stand up, pick up his mat, and walk out of that house. But what I would imagine was even more amazing and incredible would have been that Jesus Christ, savior of the world, God incarnate, looked him in the eyes, and said to him, "Son, your sins are forgiven." I cannot imagine a more life-changing event than that.

Day 19: Leviticus 4-8, Matthew 28

Leviticus 5
I like that the finances and situations of individuals are taken into account when determining what people are to bring for an offering. It considers that some of the Israelites might not be able to afford a sheep or goat or even pigeons. But God still provides the means for their forgiveness.

Matthew 28:3-7
I always imagine that this angel of the Lord has a sort of "puckish" quality to him. He states things quite matter of fact, and reassures the women at the same time that he has terrified the guards. I see him sort of crouching down, his hands on his knees, with a friendly and almost mischievous glimmer in his eyes, relaying the most incredible and important news in the history of the world: "He is Risen".

Matthew 28:8
The women left the tomb with fear AND great joy. They still didn't quite understand what had happened, but it was obviously something big.

Matthew 28:18-20
The Great Commission. The charge of Jesus Christ to go out unto all the world, spreading the gospel truth and making new disciples everywhere. It still inspires within me a need and conviction to go and share the Good News, no matter how many times I've heard it.

Today's ponderings:
When you read or hear an account of the resurrection, the Easter story, what do you imagine happening? Who are you in the story? What role do you play? Are you a passive observer or an active participant?

And what do you think of when you imagine the individual characters that are written about? What do you think of the women who waited at the tomb, for whatever reason that they were there. What do you think of the disciples, who voluntarily abandoned Christ, and were informed by women that Christ was, indeed, risen. What comes to your mind when you consider the Jewish leaders, or the Roman guards, or the people who laid Christ in the tomb? What do you imagine when you think of the angel of the Lord, coming with brilliance and clothes of lightning, intimidating the guards until yet appeared dead, but assuring the women that they need not fear, for their hopes and prayers have been answered: He is Risen!!!!

When we truly take the time to consider the events, the situation, the people involved, we see things we overlooked, things that we were never aware of in a story that we have heard hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of times. It can evoke new feelings, bring fresh insights, and inspire us to follow the Great Commission that we find less than ten verses later in the story.

Day 18: Exodus 39-40, Leviticus 1-3, Matthew 26-27

Leviticus 2:11
No leaven or honey was to be offered as a burnt offering. Why not? What happens to leaven or honey if it's burned? Does it not give off a "pleasing odor"?

Leviticus 3:16-17
All fat is the Lord's. No one was to eat any fat or any blood.

Matthew 26:6-13
Sometimes a gift to someone in need, especially one that us extravagant, is exactly what that person needs at the time. It is given freely, without a thought to the cost or efforts, or what could have been done that was more "reasonable". There is a need and it can be helped. This is what matters.

Matthew 26:30
What hymn did Jesus and the disciples sing at the end of the Last Supper?

Matthew 26:50
When Jesus addresses Judas, he calls him Friend. How incredible is that?

Matthew 26:52-54
Jesus makes a point that the will of God, the prophecies in the Scriptures, will not be completed or carried out with violence.

Matthew 27:19, 24-25
I wonder what this did to Pilate's marriage, and also what it did to his heart and soul, to go against the urging and pleads of his wife, as well as his own feelings, and hand over a righteous and innocent man to be crucified by an angry mob. How do you live with yourself after that?

Matthew 27:42
I wonder if Jesus was tempted to give them a little show when he was being crucified. Would they really have believed he was the Son of God if he had gotten down off of the cross?

Matthew 27:50
Jesus breathed his last; he gave up his spirit. Was he still waiting for the possibility of God doing something, o stepping in? Or was it that after God forsook him, that he finally had the sins of humanity upon him, and he could then die?

Today's ponderments:
How many times in my life will I have read the story of the crucifixion, hear it read, hear it preached on, or seen it in movies?

I have been hearing it as long as I can remember. Growing up as a child, the only scripture I ever remember reading as a family was the Christmas story, and the story of the crucifixion and resurrection on Jesus Christ. It is one of the most familiar scriptures to me, and one that I have always been able to visualize and imagine in great detail.

And it is also one that still fills me with awe and sorrow every time I hear it. I still, even as a 29-year-old seminary graduate, retain a child-like fascination and wonder when it comes to the crucifixion and resurrection. I am still baffled every time that Judas betrays Jesus, still hoping that Peter WON'T deny Jesus. I still want to yell at Pilate "You had a chance to stop this, all of this, with hardly any consequence on yourself, but you don't!!!! You go with the mob, release a murderer, and turn the Son of God over to people who wildly chanting for his brutal and public execution!!! What were you thinking???!!!"

And, without fail, I imagine myself in the story, holding fast to Mary Magdalene, tears streaming down my face as I watch my Lord and Savior being tortured, humiliated, and sentenced to death on a cross, all for my sins and the sins of humanity.

The crucifixion story is one that I have heard over and over. I could tell it with as much detail as any of the gospel accounts. And yet, it still affects me in my very soul, moving between grief and guilt and overwhelming gratitude at what Jesus, the Savior of the world, gave for me and for all.

Day 17: Exodus 34-38, Matthew 25

Exodus 34:29-30
I wonder if we see the same sort of shine on the faces of people who have truly been talking with God as the Israelites saw on the face of Moses. Do we see it in their personalities or their presence, or was it unique to Moses?

Exodus 36:6-7
The artisans only accepted the materials that they needed to do the work God had commanded to be done. The people were only ASKED to give what was in their hearts to willingly give, only what was needed.

Matthew 25:29-30
Even though the gifts that have been given to us don't truly belong to us, we can still make good use of them for the benefit of God and others. If we keep the blessings, skills, and talents that God has given to us to ourselves, we are wasting the opportunity that God has given, and it will be taken away.

Matthew 25:31-45
When God is asking us to help, care for, and visit people, there are no limits to this command. We are to care for everyone because they are God's children. We are to help people, from the least to the greatest, no matter what. We are to love everyone and treat them as valuable human beings. Everyone.

Today's ponderments:
What do I have to give? What skills do I have that I have been holding back on, that I haven't used for the grater good, or haven't shared with those in need?

At the moment, I don't have a whole lot of money. I can't find a job, and I'm quickly running out of items on my shelves that I can sell in order to pay my own bills. So I'm thinking that money is not what I have to offer, at least not right now.

But I do have my art. Reading in Exodus today about the artisans that were gifted and called to construct the tabernacle and everything in it, and then reading about how we are called to give and provide to those in need, I realized that art is what I have to give.

I'm not really sure about how I'm supposed to give this gift of art, or if maybe I'm just supposed to do it for me to hear God's voice in my life, to give to myself because I can't give to others unless I'm okay in and of myself. I don't really know how I'm supposed to do it, or what it's going to look like.

But tomorrow, I'm going to start painting again. God will show me the rest in good time.

Day 16: Exodus 29-33, Matthew 23-24

Exodus 29:13-14
Why are they commanded to do the particular things with the particular parts of the animals bodies? Why are the fat, kidneys, and liver special?

Exodus 29:19-20
Blood on the earlobes and on the big toes of the right feet? WHY????!!!! What does this symbolize?

Exodus 31:2-11
God appoints artists and fills them with the divine spirit, the spirit of God, fills them with ability, intelligence, and the knowledge to make the tabernacle, the temple, the ark, the vestments, and everything else that is useful and needed for worship, and to make them beautiful. Bezalel and Oholiab, the first artists commissioned by God.

Exodus 32:20
Moses comes down from te mountain, sees the gold calf that the Israelites had made and gets monumentally angry. He takes the calf, burns it, grinds it into powder, throws it into the water, and then makes the Israelites drink it. Gross. And potentially harmful. Which I guess was sort of the whole point.

Exodus 32:27-29
Why would Moses have commanded the sons of Levi to kill so many people? What was the benefit of that? And why we're they then blessed and ordained for the service of God?

Matthew 24;10-14
(also known as Today's Ponderings)

I don't know what I really believe about the 'end times', what they will look like, or what will happen, and when, or if, Jesus will return in some recognizable form. But I do believe that what Jesus said will happen, will happen. I believe that some of it has already happened, like the persecution and the betrayal, the hatred and the falling away, the lawlessness and the lack of love throughout the world.

But I also believe that the only way to overcome all of that, to bring about the desires and fulfillments of Christ's prophecies, is to continue to spread the love and message of the Gospel of Christ to every corner of the world.

We have no way of knowing if the things that Jesus spoke of were literal or metaphoric, or some combination, or if they were something that we just can't even fathom in our tiny human imaginations. But we do know that no one ones, for sure, when Christ will return, when the judgment day will happen, when we will be held accountable for our choices.

We must always be faithful. We must always be ready. We must always be watchful. And not because we are afraid, or trying to make sure that we aren't punished, but because we want to do everything possible to share the love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus Christ with the entire world.

Once we have heard and accepted that Good News, why would we want to do anything but share it with everyone we know, in every single way possible, and in every moment of our lives? What is the alternative?

Days 14 and 15: Exodus 18-22, Matthew 20-21 and Exodus 23-28, Matthew 22

Today you get a double dose of thoughts and ponderings. No real reason other than the fact that I didn't have time to post yesterday. (I did do the reading and journaling yesterday. Still kept on top of that part.) And I'm going to combine my thoughts for the two days, because the sections really build on each other, especially the readings from Exodus.

Exodus 18:17-26
Jethro tells Moses how to delegate. Moses still has final say, and he makes the harder decisions, but he also chooses able people to be leaders and judges. It is a perfect example of the fact that no one can do ministry alone.

Exodus 20:5-6
As much as this seems like a cruel punishment, making children pay for the sins of their parents, I don't think that's really what it is. Consider the choices your parents made, and their parents, and how they affect you and your children. It is more of a habit and consequence than it is a punishment. I think that this was just God saying, "Watch what you do, because it will affect the generations that are going to come after you, for better or for worse."

Exodus 20:20
How is this a comfort for the people? Moses tells them that God just wanted to 'test you and put the fear of God in you so that you don't sin.' How is that a reassuring thought???!!!!

Exodus 21-22
These laws help to shape the society and views of the Israelites. They offer guidance and answers about what to do in difficult situations.

Exodus 23:29-30
God promises to drive out the people who live in the Promised Land, but it's not going to happen overnight. God will do it slowly and methodically, and because of this, God warns the Israelites not to interact with the peoples who are in the lands, so that they won't be influenced by them or start to worship their gods.

Exodus 28:3-5
 The vestments for Aaron and the priests are to be made of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarn, and of fine linen. They are described in great detail.

Matthew 21:22
Whatever you as for in faith you will receive. It is not just that we will be given anything and everything, but that we will be given what is asked for through and with faith.

Matthew 21:28-32
Is it better to make the wrong decisions initially and then change your mind, or is it better to have initial good intentions, but then not follow through?

Matthew 22: 1-14
This story was very convicting to me. Even though the doors were opened to everyone, and all the people were invited to the wedding banquet, people still had to make the choice and put on the appropriate wedding clothes. They didn't need to change in order to be invited and welcomed into the house, but once you're in, there are certain expectations of how you will behave and what you'll wear, and they need to be followed.

Those good ole ponderings:
I have never before read this art of Exodus, at least not with any great attention paid to it. I knew that there were specific ways that the Israelites were to build the Ark, what it was supposed to look like, and how they were supposed to construct the tabernacle and the Holy of Holies. I just never really cared enough to read it before. Here are some things that I have learned:
1. Apparently Acacia wood is awesome, and worthy enough to be fashioned into the Ark of the Covenant, and for the makings of the temple.
2. Most of the parts of the Ark and items for the tabernacle were meant to be made out of one big piece of gold (when it was possible), melted and hammered and fashioned into the appropriate shape and size. I don't know anything about fashioning items out of gold, but I can't imagine that it's the easiest thing to do, especially when you consider the fact that these people are in the desert, without metal processing factories and modern day tools for working with gold. Who knows if they even had what would have been considered the most advanced tools for that time with them in the desert.
3. Gold is not the lightest substance in the world, and so making this Ark that is plated inside and out with Gold would mean that you've got a rather heavy item on your hands, not to mention the table that it's supposed to sit on.
4. I still don't really have a good understanding of what a cubit is. I've been told that it's about the length of a man's arm, but I'm still not really sure about that. (Research will be done)

I'm also wondering where they have come up with all these materials? I know that they plundered the Egyptians when they left, so that's probably where they got the gold, bronze, and silver that they needed to build all this stuff, but what about the wood and the yarn and everything.

I would also like to know how the Israelites felt about the fact that Moses went up on the mountain to talk with God for forty days and forty nights, and comes back down with not only a whole book of rules and regulations that they are supposed to follow in their daily lives (which, let's face it, they probably should have been following anyway), but with this master plan for a giant gold box with angels on top, a tabernacle to house all of it, and a design for priestly robes Aaron that would have put Lady Gaga and Elizabeth Taylor both to shame.

They had left Egypt, were camped out at the base of Mt Sinai, and now Moses wants them to spend all this time investing in gold hammering, carving, weaving, building, and sewing. Hello, crazy....

But given all of that, and the seeming ridiculousness of it all, there was a point. We look at this and might think that it resembles something from Mardi Gras with a bit of high church Roman Catholicism thrown in, but it was more than that.

God had told the Israelites that they were going to be delivered to the Promised Land. There were a whole mess of nations that already lived there, so God was going to remove them, drive them out, one by one, so that the Israelites could have the land that had been promised to their ancestors. But God wanted to make sure that the Israelites stayed separate, that they didn't intermingle, intermarry, or worship the gods of the other nations. God is a jealous God, no doubt about that, but with good reason. God created everything about this world, everything about humanity, and God had just delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians in some pretty spectacular ways. God wanted to make sure that they remembered that they were God's chosen people, and that through them, the world would be blessed.

And so even thought all of the Ark building and tabernacle construction and the making of the technicolor bejeweled robes for the priests seems a little over the top, it was for a purpose. It was to set the Israelites apart, to remind them that they were special, and because they were special, they were to observe certain laws and practices and ways of worshiping. They were to live their lives in a particular way, respecting each other and each others possessions, and above all, living lives that were pleasing to God.

As Christians, we are called to do the same thing. We are a part of the legacy of these Israelites, and we are in a world where we have to be intentional about setting ourselves apart, about being Christ's presence in the world. God said that the purpose of blessing the Israelites was so that the entire world could then be blessed by them. Eventually, everyone would be invited into the Kingdom of God, into the great wedding banquet.

But once we've chosen to come in, there are certain guidelines that we are expected to live by, particular ways that we are to act in order to be an example of Christ's love and saving grace in the world. When the wedding guest is kicked out into the streets because they are not wearing the proper attire, we may think that he is being treated unfairly. But there is an expectation there. When you go to a wedding, it is to celebrate with other people in their joy and have a good time. There are lots of benefits of attending a wedding banquet, particularly if you're invited from some random spot on the street where you're trying to figure out where your next meal if coming from. Sure, you might have to give a toast, or participate in the chicken dance or some other thing that you might not be too familiar with, but you also get a good meal, time to relax with other people, a couple slices of cake, and maybe even a few drinks. And you are expected to be presentable, to thank your hosts, and to not be disrespectful.

Something that is important to note, however, is that you don't have to do any of this in order to be invited to the wedding in the first place. You don't have to be presentable, or thankful, or respectful. And that's the incredible thing about the Kingdom of God and the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We're all invited, no matter where we've come from, no matter who we're associated with or what we've done in the past. We're all invited. But there is the understanding that once we have made the choice to accept that invitation, we are expected to live the way that Christ wants us to live, just as the Israelites were expected to live by the statutes that God gave to them.

Day 13: Exodus 13-17, Matthew 19

Exodus 13:17
God knew that the Israelites were doing a huge thing by leaving Egypt, and God didn't want them to change their minds and want to turn back, so God led them on a path so they wouldn't run into enemies and have to go to war.

Exodus 14:10-15
It's seems that even though God didn't want the Israelite people to have to face war, it was totally fine for them to be chased down by the Egyptians and then doubt the Lord. But maybe it made a bigger show of God's power in the beating of the Egyptians, whose power and oppression the Israelites understood all too well, than it would have made a show of beating the Philistines, whom the Israelites had no knowledge of.

Exodus 14:27
I always imagine a giant hand appearing in the sky, picking up the Egyptians, and back-handing them into the Red Sea. Makes me chuckle every time.

Exodus 15:8
"At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea." Gotta love that Old Testament poetry with all the imagery!!!

Exodus 16:17
Here, and other places as well, God addresses and answers the COMPLAINING of the Israelites, as opposed to the cries of the Israelites. They are whining and doubting and blaming instead of crying out to God for legitimate reasons.

Exodus 16:27-30
The first commandment that the Lord wants the Israelites to follow is to observe the Sabbath, to rest and worship the Lord through renewal and rest, to trust that God will provide even if they don't do what they normally have to do.

Exodus 17:11-13
Moses needed the help and support (literally) of his friends to accomplish what needed to be done. The Israelites would not have been successful in their war with the Amalekites if Hur and Aaron hadn't helped Moses.

Matthew 19:12
I wonder if when Jesus says that there are eunuchs who are made so by other people, (seemingly in reference to divorce), if he is talking about people who are so utterly broken, crushed, and destroyed by divorce that they can't even comprehend the possibility of loving or being in a relationship ever again.

Matthew 19:21-26
We cannot accomplish what we need to make ourselves perfect. It's not even that we can actually make ourselves perfect, because only God can do that. But what I think Jesus is saying is that it is easier for us to give up everything to follow Christ if we don't have many worldly possessions to give up in the first place. That is why is meant by the comparison of the rich man and the camel going through the eye of the needle.

Today's ponderings:
I was told once that Jesus talks more about divorce than about any other subject. He talks about when the law says it's okay, when it's not okay, what it does to people, and how God hates divorce. I believe that there are very legitimate reasons for this, ones that pretty much anyone can understand.

As a child of divorce, and someone who has seen more than one divorce amongst my friends, I know all too well the complete damage that is caused by a divorce. Families are torn apart. Parents, who once vowed to love each other through the good and the bad, snipe and scream at and harass each other. Children, whether by choice or by force, and made to pick sides, and are often used as pawns for the parents to hurt each other. All the people involved exhibit and/or observe hatred towards each other, as well as feelings of betrayal, anger, and abandonment. Children either learn that marriage and relationships are as easy to cast aside as signing a piece of paper, or they are so broken by the effects of the divorce that they themselves are never willing to enter into a relationship commitment because they don't want to have even the possibility of going through what their parents went through.

And if, by some miracle, the parents have a mostly calm and amicable divorce, (as I believe my parents had), there is never any healing for the disruption and destruction of the core family unit.

My brother, sister, and I came out on the other side of our parents' relationships having learned from them (luckily). We understand that when we make those marriage vows, that it is forever. My brother married a wonderful woman, whom I can see that he obviously loves every time that he talks about her or even looks at her. She is precious to him. My sister married an incredible man who loves her, and would do anything to make her happy.

I could not be happier for them, or more proud that they went through trials in their youth, and came out the other side with a good understanding of what a marriage should be. Something not to be entered into lightly, but with great thought as to the gravity and permanence of their decisions.

I still believe that in some situations, divorce and a separation of family is necessary, such as in the case of abuse. As much as God holds sacred the bond of marriage and love, I do not believe, for one second, that if there is abuse in a relationship that it is something to be tolerated. God loves us so much that Jesus was sent to earth to die for our sins, so I don't think that God tolerates abuse in relationships.

And, sadly, there are times when things happen that simply cannot be reconciled, whether it be actions that people have made, realizations that they come to, or events outside of the relationship. We are fragile beings, and if that intimate bond in a relationship is severed, sometimes there is no putting it back. It is a hard situation, one that it takes more time to heal than most people realize, but sometimes that is the way it is.

Yet even after all of that, and still holding on to the belief that marriage and relationships are important, I pray that those who are considering divorce, and those who have been so marred by divorce that they themselves are almost unrecognizable, are given comfort and answers in the loving, forgiving, and accepting arms of Jesus Christ, who at times seems to be our one and only solace. May we all look to the teachings of Christ for the guidance to know God and live a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

Day 12: Exodus 8-12, Matthew 17-18

Exodus 8:22
There isn't a specific distinction made between the Israelites and the Egyptians until the fourth plague. Did the first 3 also affect the Israelites?

Exodus 8:26-27
The reason that the Israelites needed to go out into the wilderness a three days journey was because their sacrifices were offensive to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians would have stoned them.

Exodus 8:19 vs. Exodus 8:32
Pharaoh's heart was hardened as opposed to Pharaoh hardening his own heart. Is there really a difference?

Exodus 9:20-21
Some of the officials have figured out what is going on by now, and they have come to fear and respect the Lord, but some of them still haven't.

Exodus 10:21-23
I would imagine that the difference between the darkness that the Egyptians experienced and the light that surrounded the Israelites was the same difference that C. S. Lewis describes in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. A darkness so all-consuming and oppressive that you can't even move or imagine a way out of it, something that no light could possibly penetrate.

Exodus 12:46
The bones of the Passover lambs in Egypt were not to be broken, just as Jesus' bones were kit broken when he was crucified.

Matthew 17:11-13
When Peter, James and John realize that the Elijah that Jesus was talking about was John the Baptist, was it because what John said when describing Jesus were quotes of Elijah?

Matthew 17:17
Jesus seems really hose and annoyed by the man asking Jesus to heal his son. But who is the 'generation' that Jesus calls perverse and faithless? Is it the disciples that Jesus is speaking to?

Matthew 18:1-5
I think that this isn't so much a passage of Jesus rebuking the disciples, or even one that emphasizes that children are part of God's family, but Jesus trying to get the disciples to wrap their minds around the idea that the Son of Man and the Kingdom of Heaven are NOT about power, but about simple and childlike faith.

Today's ponderments:
I think that I swing back and forth on the pendulum of faith between childlike trust and belief to rationally wanting signs and confirmations of what I believe in. I find that my heart's location on that arc usually coincides with what is happening in my life, although not often in the way that I would have initially imagined.

For example, I seem to have more faith in God and God's presence and affect on my life when things are going poorly, when I have little to no control over what is happening in my life, and when I have no other choice but to rely on God's provision.

The times when I seem to have trouble with the trust and 'faith like a mustard seed' is when things are going okay, and I start to think that I actually CAN take care of myself, provide for myself.

As much as Jesus called his generation, (whether it was the disciples, the Jewish people, the Pharisees, or just everyone around that time), a faithless and perverse generation, I think that our generation has even less faith in God and is even more perverse in our level of arrogance regarding our control over our own lives.

We like to think that with all of our knowledge, technology, medical advancements, and information that we can solve any problem or deal with any situation that comes our way. But looking around our world, our countries, our homes, even our own individual minds, we see that this is not true.

With everything that humanity 'knows', we still have yet to figure out how I 'solve' hunger, guilt, rage, jealousy, loneliness, grief, disease, emptiness, abuse, depravity, lust, doubt, hatred, or greed. The only solution to these, the only way to truly bring about happiness, joy, comfort, love, understanding, compassion, healing, confidence, and generosity is through the love that we first have from God and Jesus Christ.

If we want to learn how to live with each, love each other and learn from each other, we have to be willing to give up the control that we think we have in life to God, putting our trust and faith in Jesus Christ, learning from and following his example in every aspect of our lives. We have to have what is, simply put, a childlike faith.

Day 11, Exodus 3-7, Matthew 16

Exodus 3:22
Why will the women ask the neighbors for gold and silver and jewelry? Why would a transaction like this be done through the women?

Exodus 4:14-17
God is angry with Moses for his actions, for his doubting, but God still accommodates Moses' fears. And even though Aaron is the mouthpiece, it is all still credited to Moses.

Exodus 4:24-27
This story seems so out of place and random. Why would God try to kill Moses? Why was his son not already circumcised? What does a "bridegroom of blood by circumcision " mean? Why was a foreskin touching him enough to stop God from killing him?

Exodus 7:1-2
God tells Moses that he (Moses) is like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron is his (Moses') prophet. Moses isn't just like a god to Pharaoh (with a little 'g'), he is God to Pharaoh (with a big 'G'). I don't know if this is all in the translating, but if it's not, it's intriguing.

Throughout this section of Exodus, when God calls Moses, God tells him to go to Pharaoh and ask for permission for the Israelites to take a three day journey into the wilderness in order to sacrifice and worship to God. But God is telling Moses that the Israelites will be delivered, and that they will have the land of Canaan that God promised to their ancestors. Why the differences in the messages?

Matthew 16:22-23
Peter rebukes Jesus???!!!! Seriously????!!!! Is this because Peter understands that Jesus is the Messiah, and therefore thinks that they last thing Jesus should be doing is suffering at the hands of the Romans? Then Jesus rebukes Peter, saying that Peter's mind is too caught up in human ideas of what the Messiah will do, human ideas of what power and change will look like.

Matthew 16:28
Was Jesus speaking of his death on the cross and how it brought about a new age and a new understanding of the Son of Man and the Kingdom of God?

Today's Ponderings:
What do we see as the power of Christ? Do we truly believe that it can bring about change in the world on anything past a personal and spiritual level? Or do we think of ourselves more as the agents of change for God's Kingdom in the world?

Christ is no longer physically present on this earth, and has not been for 2000+ years. But the church is still here. We are the ones who are meant to go into the world, sharing the Good News of the Gospel, baptizing in the Name of Christ, and growing the Body of Christ in all the corners of the globe.

But I wonder if Christianity would be more prevalent and "powerful" if the Messiah had looked a little bit more like the one that many Jews had anticipated. Would there even be a difference between Christianity and Judaism? Would people convert because they feared Christ the way that people in the Old Testament feared God? And would that necessarily be such a bad thing? People who feared God are credited with righteousness, they are brought into the Israelite family, even though they are not actually part of the tribes of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Also, what would our views be in regards to so called "holy wars"? Would they still be looked at as fanatical, something that many people (especially those centuries later) believe about the Crusades and other actions taken in the name of Christ. Or would they be seen as just and necessary to the Kingdom of God, converting the so called heathen and bringing them into the saving and purifying light of Christ?

Peter rebukes Jesus for implying that he (Jesus) will suffer, which was a little bit of a shocker to me, because I'd only ever heard of Jesus rebuking Peter. Jesus sets the record straight right away, nips the problem in the bud before it ever becomes anything bigger. The Messiah is not some monumental warrior, calling down fire and brimstone upon the unrighteous. The Messiah is caring, loving, a healer, and the sacrificial lamb.

Sure, we are the church now. We are the ones that are physically present in this world, called to do the acts of Christ, showing that amazing and completely unique love to the world. But we must never forget where that message, those actions, that love came from in the first place. It comes from the power that is in Jesus Christ, our one and only Savior, the Messiah. It does not come from within ourselves, but only in Christ through us.

Day 10: Genesis 47-50, Exodus 1-2, Matthew 14-15

Genesis 47:7
Jacob is presented to Pharaoh, and blesses him, not once but twice. Why does he bless Pharaoh?

Genesis 49:33
I really love the phrase 'gathered to his people' for describing when someone dies. Not only is it poetic, but it is calming and comforting. It shows a trust thy death on earth is not the end.

Genesis 50:3
Was Jacob so revered in Egypt that the Egyptians wept for him for 70 days after he died? Or was the more out of reverence for Joseph?

Exodus 1:15
I really like the attention that is given to Shiphrah and Puah, naming them and crediting them with not only helping he Hebrew people to prosper, but also in their fear and respect of God. Their names are recorded for the generations, yet even Pharaoh himself is left unnamed.

Matthew 14:13-14
Even Jesus needed time away from people to grieve for John the Baptist. But when he came back, he saw the crowds and had compassion on them because he knew that they needed him.

Matthew 14:31
I've always imagined that Jesus is not angry with Peter for doubting, but that he understands Peters doubt, and that his words are in the tone of a loving mother who is comforting her child after she has gotten lost, reminding her that there is no need to fear.

Matthew 15:6
How often do we confuse human church tradition with the will and Word of God? How often do we blatantly go against the Word of God for the sake of tradition?

Matthew 15:31
Most of the time it seems that web Jesus heals people, that they praise him as the Son of Man or the Son of God. But here, the people praise the God of Israel. What is different?

Today's ponderings:
Two of the passages that I read today talk about grief: one the death of Jacob, and the other the death of John the Baptist.
In the first passage, it goes into great detailed about the grieving of Jacob's family, the Egyptians mourning, as well as the burial and the traditions surrounding Jacob's death. It says that he was gathered to his people instead of saying that he died.
The second passage, about the death of John the Baptist, is much more direct, no poetry, no description about the mourning or the burial. The only real detail about the grieving is that Jesus went off by himself when he heard the news.

I wonder to myself which if these processes is better, which gives more honor to the deceased, which helps people handle their grief better, which is better for the community as a whole?

Grief is a very uncomfortable subject in our society, one that is pushed into the darker places of our souls, hidden and taboo because, I believe, people don't want to be reminded of their own times of grief, and also because we don't know what to do when someone is grieving.

Jewish communities (some, although I'm not sure if all) observe something called Shivah when someone dies. There are many rules and stipulations, many of which seem ridiculous or pointless in our modern society. But I see a kind of grace and honor in the act of Shivah. It sets aside a specific time, place, attitude, and particular behaviors that are meant to be observed during the mourning period.

I think back to when my father died 3 years ago, very unexpectedly. No one knew what to do. We didn't know how to act around each other, what was okay to say and what was not. People around us who were not directly involved REALLY didn't know what to do. And even though everyone wanted to be a help, to be a comfort, no one knew how.

I believe this is because our society has become so void of outward expressions of genuine, intense, awkward displays of human emotion. When someone is laughing insanely loud and hard in a public place, we look at them with annoyance rather then being glad that someone is experiencing a wonderful and entertaining moment. When someone is overcome with grief, wracked with sobs, and a has a face that is so distorted by grief and the pain of loss, we look away rather than join them in their grief.

Many cultures have wailers, people who join in with the grieving family and friends, giving them a comfortable and welcome outlet for their emotions. I would imagine that it is comforting for the ones who grieve because they are not alone in their misery, in their loss, and they are allowed to completely open up and feel what they are feeling out in the open.

We are rarely allowed to do that in our society. Instead, people who are sobbing hysterically are moved into a private room, told to breathe and calm down, as if stopping the gut-wrenching cries will somehow calm the grief. The only thing that did for me was make me feel numb, and caused me to have to wait until I wasn't around people to cry into my pillow, lest I disturb anyone else with my grief.

Grief over the loss of someone you love is not an individual emotion or experience. Sure, no other person can completely understand or feel your particular emotions, because they did not share the same relationship you had with the person you lost. But everyone can share in the experience of grief and loss. We can all mourn when a loving father dies, or when a child is lost at a young age, or when a grandmother who has lived a long and full life is no longer present to share her stories, wisdom, and life experiences with her family. Each life is sacred, special, and unique. And even if we believe in a glorious afterlife with no pain or suffering, we still must openly and honestly identify and fully experience the loss that we feel when someone is gathered up to their people.

Day 9: Genesis 42-46, Matthew 13

Genesis 44
Joseph sets up his brothers, threatens to keep Benjamin as a slave so that he can force Jacob to come to him. Jerk!!!

Genesis 45:24
Web Joseph sends his brothers to retrieve their father, he tells them not to quarrel along the way. Even after all the time he's been away (which I think totals about 22 years) he still knows his brothers, and knows what they are inclined to do. They are prone to anger and jealousy.

Matthew 13:54-58
I wonder how Jesus felt when he had been rejected and when the people of his town, whom he must have cared for greatly, didn't understand what he was saying or how he possibly could have known what Jesus was talking about. How unbelievably frustrating and discouraging.

Today's ponderments:
Joseph is kind of a jerk. Sure, he's been dealt a pretty crappy hand of cards in his life, but in the end, it all turns out better than fine. He is ruler over all of Egypt, and he basically gets credit for saving not only Egypt, but the surrounding nations that come to him for food. That's a pretty lofty position to be in considering he started out as a guy whose brothers sold him into slavey for 20 pieces of silver.

But it irks me how cruel he is to his brothers and his father. Yes, they sold him into slavery, and yes, his father played favorites and he was mocked as a result, but did he really need to do what he did? It wasn't enough that his brothers came to him, begging for their very lives when the asked to buy grain. He had to throw them in jail, and then force them to do his bidding, bringing Benjamin, and then he frames them as thieves. Does that really sound like someone who is looking to the Lord for guidance, someone who is attentive to what God would want to happen in a particular situation?

No. Joseph puts his own bitterness, anger, and loathing above everything else. He wanted to see his brothers grovel, to see them humiliated, before he showed compassion and benevolence to them, which I think is actually meaner than humiliating them. From that day on, they would know that he was the reason that they were alive, that he was 'the bigger man'. Even his compassion and help was another way to stuff their noses in the fact that they were nothing, an he had everything.

Day 8: Genesis 37-41, Matthew 11-12

This reading and the blog have been a challenge for me so far. I am a bit ashamed to admit this, but even my years in seminary did not instill in me the habit of daily reading of scripture. It was always such a daunting task, trying to decide what to read, how much to read, what to do before and afterwards, how to evaluate whether or not it was really beneficial for me.

I have now completed one week of this practice, where the first thing I do in the mornings is read scripture, out loud, taking notes and thinking about what I have just read and the message that I feel God is giving me through the Word. (okay, let's be honest. The first thing I actually do is take a shower, but considering the fact that I'm not really awake until after my shower, I think God will understand my need, especially if I am expected to stay alert during the genealogy of Esau).

But this morning I noticed something. I got up, took a shower, and the thought that went through my head was not, "well, I guess I SHOULD take the time for Bible reading right now". The thought I had instead was, "it IS time for me to sit down and read today's scripture". You might think that these two thoughts are extremely similar, if not downright identical, but for me it was a shift in my thinking.

I'm not saying that it's going to be that way every day, especially if I actually get a job and 'first thing in the morning' starts taking place at 7am instead of 10:00am (or whenever I happen to wake up). But I think that my mindset had shifted into understanding that the first part of my day is to be set apart for reading, meditation, instruction, and prayer.

With that I offer you today's insights and observations.

Genesis 37:28
When Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery, they sold him for 20 pieces of silver. Betrayal of one that they were supposed to love for 20 pieces of silver. Sound familiar?

Genesis 38:24-26
Would Tamar really have been forgiven as quickly as she was for her 'whoredom'? Or was it merely because Judah didn't want it known that he had slept with his daughter-in-law (whom he thought was a prostitute), gotten her pregnant, and all of that after he had denied her marriage to his youngest son?

Genesis 41:46
Joseph was 30 years old when he was finally made the overseer of Egypt. But he was 17 when he was sold into slavery by his brothers. God watched over him and protected him during those years, but he was not conducted and put where he should have been for 13 YEARS!!!!!

Matthew 11:16-19
Jesus said that the generation of his time was one that was not listening, not taking heed of the message that John the Baptist or Christ himself was bringing.

Matthew 12:38-42
Jesus is challenging the Pharisees, telling them that even the city of Nineveh and the Egyptian queen Sheba will have cause to judge their generation, because something greater than Jonah and greater than King Solomon was present in front of them, and they are rejecting it.

Today's ponderings:
In case you didn't know, I'm going through a pretty rough time in my life, one that has lasted for the last 16 months. I have been trying to find a job as a youth pastor in a church, and have not had any success. I've gotten to the Final Four quite a few times, but I can't seem to get the championship title. It is very discouraging, and I oftentimes feel like somewhat of a failure, especially when I see all of my friends from my graduating class with jobs, and even a bunch of people from the class after mine.
Interestingly enough, I have not lost my faith and firm belief that God has a place for me; it's just that it's going to be so awesome that it's taking a little extra prep time before its ready. Or who knows, maybe I'm not quite ready yet. Whatever the reason, I'm in this hellish sort of limbo place that is driving me just a LITTLE BIT crazy, (not to mention the fact that I can't pay my student loans that put me through grad school in the first place, but that's another story for another time.)
You may be asking yourself: What is Sara babbling on about today? What does this have to do with the scripture she read this morning? Well here's where you find out (if I haven't bored you enough to make you stop reason before now).

Joseph waited for 13 years before God finally had him in the position of overseer of Egypt, the one where he was actually able to help people in what, I think, was the position that god had intended to use him for the most good. And what happened to Joseph in those 13 years? Let's have a little video montage, shall we? (minus the video part)

His brothers beat the snot out of him, throw him in a pit, and then sell him to slave traders. He works his way up in the household of Potiphar, only to have Potiphars wife continually hitting on him, and when she can't stand the rejection anymore, tells everyone that he tried to have sex with her, and he goes to jail. (in my imagination, this is NOT the type of jail where you have your own personal cell, time to play catch with the other inmates in the prison yard, or where a guy named Brooks comes by every night with a cart of books to read. It looks a lot more like the jail in pirates of the Caribbean, with a few more diseased guys chained up next to you.) Things start to look up for him there, he's in charge, interprets a few dreams, but still has to wait 2 years for the cupbearer he helped to remember him and get him out of prison. All on all, not a great way to spend his 20's.

But what I see in this story, is that the timing I everything was still in God's hands. He went through a mess of bad times, but it all made him who he was. He was a dreamer, a prophet, the one that God had picked to carry on the family of Jacob, Abraham and Isaac. And I think it also shows that just because things come at you that seem like the end (being sold into slavery by or brothers or going to jail for something you didn't do) are no match for God's power and God's plan. We are still God's children, loved and blessed, and even if we're sitting in the bottom of a pit, beaten and bloodied, broken in our bodies and our souls, God can still overcome that situation, whether it's been going on for 16 months or 13 years.

Day 7: Genesis 32-36 and Matthew 10

Genesis 32:20
Jacob was sending all of the flocks and gifts to Esau because he was afraid of Esau. He wasn't doing it to honor his brother or make him happy. Jacob was terrified and was trying to bribe good favor from Esau. Jacob wasn't trusting in God who said "I will surely do good for you." he was trying to take matters into his own hands, which has become somewhat of a theme in Genesis.

Matthew 10:12-15
A lot of times that I've read this passage, it seems harsh to have people reject and turn away from the houses that didn't welcome them, but if you have tried to give the message of Christ to people and they reject it and you, why would you stay and keep beating your head against a wall?

Today's ponderings:
The entire chapter of Matthew 10 seems harsh, even downright mean. Jesus is saying that he has come not with peace, but with a sword; not to unite but to separate. It's seems the opposite of what many people understand to be the message of Christ, the message of love and unity.
But we have to remember that Christ don't come to divide. He came to give us all the message of salvation. It isn't the message itself that divides families, or even Jesus Christ himself that divides us. What divides us and separates us is our own choices, our own reactions and responses to the message of salvation.
We become divided because some people will choose to follow Christ, to accept the gift of grace and salvation, and others will not. We are told to give the message that we have heard to everyone that we encounter, to live it out in every aspect of our lives, but if we share that message and people reject it and do not welcome us, we are to turn away.
And I don't believe that we are called to give up on people, or to count them as lost causes, but trying to tell someone a message that is everything to you and nothing to them is not going to benefit anyone. They have heard the word. Continue to pray for them. Always be available if they have a change of heart. But we are not called to be stubbornly annoying to people who have turned their backs on the word of God.

Day 6: Genesis 27-31, Matthew 8-9

Genesis 27:36-38
Why is it that blessings work the way they do in the Old Testament? Why can only one person receive them? Why can't they be changed or added to? Isaac finds out that Jacob has tricked him, so why can't he cancel out the blessing and give it to Esau?

Genesis 28:15-16
Leah gives Rachel her sons mandrakes, thought to increase fertility, and Rachel says that Leah can sleep with Jacob that night. This I sort of understand, a bargain and understanding between the women. But then Leah goes and tells Jacob that she has HIRED him for the night with the mandrakes. HIRED???!!!!!!! Like he's a stud horse or a prostitute or something. And Jacob doesn't think anything of it, cause he gets to have sex. What???!!!!!!

Genesis 31:1-2
Jacob sees that Laban doesn't like him as much as he used to. Well, it's not surprising, considering that Jacob uses information regarding the flocks that only he knew in order to acquire better flocks from Laban. Similar to when he tricked Esau out of his birthright and Isaac out of the blessing. I'm sensing a pattern in Jacobs behavior.

Matthew 8:10
Jesus lifts up this man, this Gentile, this Roman Centurion, and says that he has more ad greater faith than anyone in Israel. Pretty awesome. Bending the rules already.

Matthew 8:33-34
Why would the people of the town beg Jesus to leave? Did they care more about the swine than about the two men who were healed of their demon possession? Did Jesus jut freak them out?

Matthew 9:36-38
Christ had compassion in the crowds because they were lost and wandering. They needed someone to look after them, to guide them. Jesus was that one. They were "harassed and helpless" and he was to be their help, the one who would stand up to their oppressors and challenge the way that things were.

Today's ponderings
I wonder, a lot of the time, what people would think if they read certain passages of scripture and thought about them for long periods of time, really immersing themselves in them, discussing them with other people.
Two of the passages that really grabbed me today were Jesus being driven out of town after he saved the demoniacs and the passage where Matthew points out that Jesus had compassion on the crowds because they were lost, harassed, and helpless. (I know, you thought I was going to go with Leah hiring her husband for a night of sex, but no, not today.)
Jesus heals people, he cares for them, reassures them in times of struggle and doubt, performing unprecedented miracles throughout different areas, and having compassion upon people who need compassion.
All of that is amazing, and astounding, but what really stands out to me isn't the miraculous healing, or the driving out of demons, or raising a little girl from the dead. It's that Jesus has compassion on the people. But what is important to notice is that the compassion does not include pity.
When he heals the woman with the hemorrhages, he doesn't look down on her and say, "I'm so sorry for what you're facing. I feel bad for you, let me help." He turns to her and reassures her, affirming her faith, and letting her know that it is her faith that has healed her, not the fact that Jesus pitied her situation. Jesus empowers her.
When he tells his disciples that the crowds are ready to be "harvested" he doesn't say it with pity in his voice. He says it with compassion. Yes, Christ has a message to give that these people need. It's not something that they can accomplish in their own, but Jesus doesn't say that the laborers are better than others, just that they are needed in a different way. Once people hear the message of Christ, they, in turn, become laborers as well. They are blessed, healed, and empowered to help change the world, carrying the message of Christ into all regions and peoples.

Day 5: Genesis 21-27 and Matthew 7

Genesis 21:17-20
Sarah and Abraham took matters into their own hands, and wound up with two sons. Sarah has Hagar and Ishmael banished. But even in this situation, God knows what's happening. God fulfills the promise made to Ishmael, saving him and Hagar in the desert. God heard Hagar and Ishmael crying out in the desert, and they are taken cared if and looked after.

Genesis 22:10-13
Abraham was prepared to do what God eventually did, sacrificing a son for the sins of others and for the worship and glorification of the Lord.

Genesis 24:67
I appreciate that it says that Isaac took Rebekah as his wife, and the he LOVED her. It doesn't emphasize that he knew her in the biblical sense, which he did, but focuses on the fact that he lived her and that she comforted him.

Genesis 26:6-11
Isaac does exactly the same thing that Abraham did: calls his wife his sister because he was afraid someone would kill him in order to take her. King Abimelech must have been fed up with this kind if thing from that family.

Matthew 5-7
The Sermon on the Mount is pretty intense, but it gives us pretty much every possible guiding principal that we need to live the life God wants us to live. All we need is in those 3 chapters.

Overall thoughts:
It is amazing that god can take a seemingly impossible situation and turn it around for the better. As God asked of Sarah, is there anything to wonderful for God?
But what happens when we start to doubt that, when we take matters into our own hands? How badly do we mess things up? Anything is possible with God, but I'm sure that life would actually be a lot easier if we calmed down, stopped being in such a rush, and followed what we KNOW to be Gods desires for the world and for our lives.
Think about this: how much drama, heartache, rejection, and war could have been avoided if Sarah and Abraham had just trusted in Gods plan for Sarah to have a son? How much better of a world would we live in if we followed the teachings of Christ that were spoken on the sermon on the mount? It's all there, God doesn't hide. Gods knowledge and instruction are there for the taking, for the knowing. But we are just so full of ourselves, thinking that we know better, that we lave it all figured out, that we go around screwing up most of the plants that have been set in place for us.
How different of a world would we live in if we CHOSE to do what we knew to be the right thing, if we CHOSE to follow Gods teaching and the plans that God had for our lives? How different would it all be?

Day 4: Genesis 16-20 and Matthew 5-6

Genesis 16: even though the blessing of the multitudes was given to Ishmael, it was not the complete blessing. God did not make a covenant with Ishmael, and Ishmael and all of his descendants were destined to be at odds with their kin forever.

Genesis 17:20-21
God sees that Abraham loves Ishmael, sees that Abraham is concerned for his son, and has mercy, promising that Ishmael will be blessed with nations of descendants, but not with the covenant relationship with God. That is for Isaac only.

Genesis 18:14
"Is anything to wonderful for God?" I love that this is Gods response to Sarah when she hears that she will have a child, and then laughs about it.

Genesis 19:8
Why is it a better alternative for Lot to give his own daughters over to be raped and who knows what else in order to keep the angels/men safe? How could that POSSIBLY have been a better idea??!!!!!???

Genesis 19:30-34
We've just got inappropriate sexual things happening all over this chapter. I feel like it would have been better for Lots daughters to have died in Sodom than it was for them to get their dad drunk and then sleep with him do they could get knocked up.

Genesis 20
Abraham just keeps on putting other people in the position of making mistakes. He makes excuses, ad he judges Abimelech, assuming that he would have killed Abraham in order to take Sarah, and assuming that he did fear God. Ridiculous.

Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. If our hearts are not set on God and God alone, then how can we even hope to see God?

Matthew 5:42-47
We are called to give freely to all, to not refuse someone what they need, what they are asking of us. We are to treat everyone the same, greeting and loving everyone that we come across because it is the simple way of human nature. God has called us to love everyone.

Matthew 6:34
I do not need to worry about what I'm going to eat tomorrow, or how I'm going to pay my bills. I need to be attentive to the situation that I am in, of course. But worrying won't do any good. There is enough worry today without me adding to it the worries of tomorrow.

Overall thoughts:
I have read Matthew 6:25-34 about 100 times in my life. I always seem to come across it when I'm in a rough spot, and today is no exception. Worry is something that I struggle with on a daily basis, mainly because I am the type of person who likes to be in control of my life, knowing what's going to happen, and making decisions regarding everything that is happening to me. However, that level of control barely lasts until I get out I bed in the morning.
I am constantly being presented with struggles that I worry about, which I see as frustrating, and also an opportunity to learn to not worry, or at least not worry as much. (baby steps, right?) I don't know if I'll ever get to a place where I won't worry about anything, but I am trying. And it helps when I come across this verse at the exact times that I'm starting to freak out because I'm overwhelmed.
That, my friends, is God's providence, and a reassurance for me that God exists and cares about each one of us ad each area of our lives.

Days 2 and 3: Genesis 6-10, Matthew 2-3; and Genesis 11-15, Matthew 4

Well, I missed my post yesterday, but not the reading, so today it's time for a double dose!

Here are my thoughts from Day 2:

Genesis 6:6-7
God was grieved and sorry that he had made humanity. If God was grieved then, how much more must God be grieved with the state of the world now? Or have we actually improved and the world isn't actually as corrupt as we perceive it to be?

Genesis 6-8
Noah doesn't speak AT ALL throughout the entire flood story. There is no dialogue with God, just obedience. The only time he speaks, the only words we have of Noah's are his cursing of his son Ham.

Genesis 9:6
"whoever sheds the blood of a human shall that person's blood be shed". Does this condone revenge killing, or the death penalty? God obviously values human life highly, for it says that we are made in the very image of God.

Genesis 9:22-27
Does Noah curse Ham and Canaan because Ham saw Noah naked, or because Ham told his brothers about it instead of covering his father up?

Matthew 1-3
There is a lot of quoting of the prophets. Matthew really wants to make the point that everything that was said about the messiah was fulfilled in Christ.

Overall thoughts:
How would it have looked to God, who had just wiped out humanity except for these 8 people, when the first story we have after the covenant was Noah cursing an entire line of descendants? How do we handle that information, and what do we do with the question of why Noah did it? Was it out of embarrassment? Was it to punish Ham for running to his brothers for a laugh at the fact that their old man had passed out and was naked? And was it really necessary to curse all of the generations of Ham?

Day 3

Genesis 12:1-3
God calls Abram for no apparent reason. With Noah, it says that he had found favor in Gods eyes, but not with Abram. Abram does follow God and do what is asked of him, building altars and worshipping God.

Genesis 12:10-20
Abram saves his own skin by basically giving his wife, Sarai, over to another man, telling her to go along with it in order to spare Abram's life. Was God really okay with that, especially since God brought plagues upon Pharaohs house as a result? And Abram gets rewarded for the whole thing for being Sarai's "brother"!!!!

Genesis 15:1-6
God told Abram that a great nation of descendants would come from Abram, more then there are stars in the sky, but Abram doubted, questioning how it was possible, pointing out to God the reasons for his unbelief. But God tells him again, ad Abram believes, and God "reckoned it to him as righteousness".

Matthew 4:17
Jesus goes about proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." But in his ministry, it seems that people come to him for healing, that his message wasn't what was getting people's attention. He proclaimed and healed, but it only mentions people coming to him for healing.

Overall thoughts:
God chose Abram, made promises to him, a covenant with Abram and his descendants, but what was the reason? It doesn't mention Abrams devotion to God before God chose him. Sure, he helps other people out, try's to resolve conflict, stands up for things that need defending. But it isn't until Abram questions and doubts how God can do what God is promising to do, and then the giving over of those doubts and questions that Abram is mentioned as being seen by God as a righteous man.
I think the message, the underlying point in all of that, is that regardless of your riches, the accomplishments that you've achieved, righteousness and a true relationship with God cannot be established until you've given up the doubts and the questions.
I think it was fine that Abram had questions, that he turned to God and asked, "How are you going to pull that one off? These are the facts, this is the situation at hand." But God told Abram again what was going to happen, what was being promised to him by the God of all creation. And Abram believed. Not the easiest, or the most sane, thing to do in that situation, but he did it. And God reckoned it to him as righteousness. And God stayed true to that promise, no doubts or questions about it.

Day 1: Genesis 1-5, Matthew 1

Today is the first day, of this blog, of my adventure/challenge of reading through the Bible in 6 months, and of Creation (in what I am reading in Scripture). I don't know how the blog will look every day, but I will blog every time I read. So here goes, for better or for worse:

Genesis 3: 14-19
God curses all 3 who have taken part in the first sin: Adam, Eve, and the serpent. My question is this: the serpents punishment appears to be one that will continue on through the generations, but is it the same for Adam and Eve? Is theirs a lasting punishment? Does it apply to all of humanity?
These thoughts come from reading the English version of the text, so does the "you" in the conversation refer to just Adam and just Eve, or is it a y'all meaning all of humanity from this day forward?

Genesis 3: 21
Even after God has made the declarations of punishment upon Adam and Eve, God still provides for them, giving them clothes. God shows compassion even after punishment.

Genesis 4:17-24
Lamech, 6 generations removed from Adam and Eve, tells his wives that he has 'killed a man for wounding me'. Who did he kill? Was it in his mind? Was it metaphorical? And why is this story randomly stuck into Genesis 4, in the middle of the story of Cain? What purpose does it serve?

Matthew 1:1-17
Why are the groupings of 14 generations important? Do they mark significant times in the history of Israel, or at they just good placeholders? Is 14 significant?

My overall thoughts:
The order, timing, and placement of all things and events are important. Family history is important. Knowing where we come from informs where we are going in life, and there is no separating our past from our present and future. I don't believe that our current and future lives are dictated by our past, but they are informed by the past. It is something that cannot be undone, but something that can be overcome.

We see this in Gods creation of the world, that each step informs the next. We see it in the development of the interaction between Eve and the serpent, between Adam and Eve, and between God and the brings that God created. We see that Cain's actions were still get generations later, and we see how Adam and Eve, and thus humanity as a whole, moved on from the tragedy of a murdered son and a murdering son who was driven out into the world, away from all he knew. God still overcame that tragedy, but the future events were still informed by the tragedy.

How is our life informed by our tragedies?