Teach us to number our days

The Lord has been teaching me some amazing things and I apologize for not updating my blog. I miss it's accountability and opportunity for reflection.

Today I read Psalm 89 and 90 and Romans 14. All of Romans just takes my breath away with the knowledge there. I think before I start my next go around of reading the bible in a year I may just take some time to really study Romans more in depth. But that's not what I want to write about today. Today the Lord is calling to my attention a verse from the Psalms:

Psalm 90:12 "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

There was a story in the news yesterday of an elementary school principal who went to go check on his children in the morning and collapsed in the hallway and now is gone. Our days are numbered and we don't know how many we will get. What we do know is that life is fleeting. The older I get the more I sense it's quick passing.

I read a book this summer called "Don't Waste Your Life" which basically asks if how we are living is maximizing the time we have on this earth for God's glory. Am I wasting my life? Do I realize that I don't have unlimited time to make an impact for his kingdom? Have I been a good and faithful servant, making the most of the gifts that He has given me?

In real estate we talk a lot about setting and hitting goals. I don't know that I want to set numeric goals, but I can take time to just think and pray about what else I could be doing. As New Years Resolutions approach, I'm resolving to ask the Lord to place on my heart what He wants my resolutions to be, what my goals should be, how to not waste my life. Give me a heart of wisdom.

Job 23 - asking God to explain himself

I haven't read Job in a while and although I remember the story of the tragedy that overcame him, and I had remembered that the rest of the book is a conversation that Job is having with his 3 friends. What i had forgotten is that the jist of the conversation is the friends saying "Job, this is happening because of your sin. Confess it so that God will have mercy on you." and Job responds "No, I have been righteous before God."

In Job 23 Job responds to his friends in verses 3-5 "If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say." I know I have felt like this before. I have felt like I don't understand why things are happening and if only I could talk to God about it. For instance, my friend Brenda. She is suffering from an unknown disease and is dying at a very young age. She is so sweet and loves God, why would something like this happen to her?

I think it's okay to wish you could talk it out with God, I think it's okay to wonder what he has planned. I just am trusting that it isn't for nothing. Maybe a doctor that wouldn't be reached by anyone else, maybe the lengthy e-mail list of people that care about her and hear her witness through adversity, maybe.....

Maybe it's not for us to know. I know it's easy for me to say this as an outside person looking in, it's easy for me to trust him when it's not happening to me. God give me faith when it is me.

2 Chronicles 25

First, my apologies for my hiatus. I was struggling with extreme tiredness and couldn't get myself out of bed to do my normal time so I got behind in my reading schedule and then I've been spending my entire time in the morning trying to catch up so I've been neglecting the blog a little bit. However, even though I am not quite caught up yet this chapter has long been a favorite of mine so I wanted to post about it.

Something that I have long struggled with is following the Lord wholeheartedly. What does that look like in my life? What's the difference between kind of following him and sort of believing he's there and following and loving him with my whole heart? This chapter gives some insight.

This is the story of Amaziah, king of Judah. Verse 2 says that "He id what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly. Then they give examples of how this looked in Amaziah's life:

1) He trusted in his own abilities and the power of man. Amaziah is about to go to war and he does what everyone at the time did: beef up the troops by hiring in some fighting men. A man of God comes to him and tells him that he will not win the war. The King asks the man of God vs 9 "What about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?" The man of God replied, "The Lord can give you much more than that." And this is the verse that always hits me between the eyes. What am I toiling away at, trusting on my own abilities and understanding, when all the while the Lord can give me more than that?

2) Amaziah was easily turned to other gods. The Lord did give him victory after he sent the other troops away and he defeated the Edomites but then he brings home their gods with him and begins to worship them instead. Even after the Lord had just given him victory, he turns to other gods. It seems so foolish when you read it but it makes me reflect on my own life if there are times that I fail to trust the Lord when he has just shown his faithfulness to me. I have seen miracles in my own life and had things in my life that leave no doubt that God exists and cares about what happens to me. Why is it a leap of faith every time?

Every time I read this chapter I am convicted to examine my own heart and pray for the Lord to reveal areas in my life where I am not wholehearted.

1 Kings 14 & Luke 22 - The detestable practices of the other nations

The history of the Israelite faith is a rocky one, at best. They see the miracles of the Lord and believe for a time but then fall away and are tempted by the practices of the nations around them. David followed the Lord with all his heart, Solomon started that way but then was led astray by his wives whom he married from the nations around him. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, was worse than this. The practice of idol worship became rampant.

1 Kings 14 vs 22-24 says " Judah did evil in the eyes of the LORD. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than their fathers had done. They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites."

It only took a couple of generations and there was no difference between the people of God and the godless around them. Does this happen to us? What are the gods of those around us? Money, power, esteem from men, accumulation of stuff, physical perfection, I'm sure I'm missing some worldly values. Are these the same as the values that God calls us to? If not, can people tell that I am different? Or am I like Judah, with no difference between me and the godless around me?

Luke 22 describes the Last Supper and the trial of Jesus before his crucifixion. At the Last Supper the disciples begin to argue among themselves of who was considered to be the greatest. Jesus says to them in Luke 22:25-27 "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For whois greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves." Jesus calls us to not seek the things the world seeks and be one who rules. Instead, we are to be those who serve.

I don't see much in the bible that gives value to ambition except for that ambition that advances the kingdom. What does this mean for my life? How do I balance my biblical mandate to work as if for the Lord but not let that get tangled in my own want for advancement, recognition and material success?

I think the answer simply is keep my eyes always on Jesus.

I have been struggling to keep my time with the Lord because physically it has been hard for me to find the energy to get up in the mornings. However, at Sunday school yesterday someone said "I have to trust that my spiritual needs are more important than my physical needs and that if I take care of that the Lord will care for my physical needs." That was convicting to me and so I am praying the Lord will give me enough energy to realize what's important.

1 Kings 11 - Solomon led astray

1 Kings 10 talked about how great Solomon was in wisdom and wealth. His reputation was so great that the Queen of Sheba came to visit him, his wealth so great that his palace had no equal among the other kings. Vs. 24 says "The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart." I can only imagine what an amazing guy he was. His reputation was also about how his wisdom came from the Lord.

But then chapter 11. What a stern warning we have for our lives in chapter 11. It says in vs 4 "As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God." It never says that Solomon forgot the Lord and renounced him, just that he split his attention to appease all his foreign wives.

It has me thinking if I do things that cause my attention to be split. Are there things where someone describing my life might say that it was not fully devoted to the Lord my God?

2 Samuel 1-2, Luke 14 - Do you have what it takes?

1 Samuel ends with a battle that leaves Saul and his son Jonathan dead. 2 Samuel begins with a person who escapes from that battle coming to David to tell him the news. Thinking that David and Saul are enemies the messenger tells David that he had killed Saul after seeing him wounded. However, this is not truthful. He expects a reward but David is angry that he had killed the Lord's annointed and had the messenger killed. What a turn of events!

Chapter 2 begins with David inquiring of the Lord of his next move. This is something that I really respect about David - he inquires of the Lord before every decision he makes. When I look back at my own past mistakes, many of them are because I failed to ask God for guidance. I shouldn't think myself very smart, God's wisdom is better.

Luke 14 is interesting. Right now I am in sales. I'm always honest with people and try to give an accurate presentation of what they are buying, but it is still generally considered good salesmanship to point out the more positive things and not drawing attention to the negative. If Jesus is trying to recruit for the kingdom, he isn't using slick salesmanship! He is giving the people a painfully clear presentation of what they are signing up for. Jesus says in Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life- he cannot be my disciple." Then Jesus talks about constructing a tower and budgeting. Do you even begin construction if you don't have the money to complete it? In the same way Jesus is telling us to count the cost. Are you up to it? In Luke 14:33 he says "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." Can you give up your family and your money for the kingdom of God? Are you up to it? Do you have what it takes? As I think about what it means to really train not just to finish, but to win, I think about if I am really up to it. Is the cost too great? Am I willing to sacrifice everything? What does he want from me?

I am thankful that I do not have to do this of my own strength. Thank the Lord that he is here to guide my steps. I, like David, can inquire of him and he will show me what to do. I must just be willing and obey.

Luke 12 - 13 Don't worry about money

Sorry for my long hiatus! I have been keeping up with my daily reading but between some vacation time and other morning events I got a little behind and took my normal blogging time to catch up on my reading. I do miss the blogging time though as that is what forces me to process what I am reading and really think about what God is saying to me through the passages.

Luke 12 and 13 are both fairly long chapters so I don't want to comment on everything, but a couple of interesting things:

- Luke 12:8-9 "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God." We don't face political persecution here in the US. I would never deny Jesus because I feared for my life. But I might be tempted to deny him when I think it might hurt me professionally. As I read this I am searching my memories and my heart to see if I am guilty of denying Him when He is not convenient. Also, I am thinking of ways that I might acknowledge him more often and in ways that are more honoring.

- Luke 12:20-21 (Jesus speaking of a rich man who had full storehouses) "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." Is anything talked about more in the Bible than how frequently money stands in the way of us having a deep relationship with God? This causes me to reflect back on my comment from the previous paragraph where I say I might be tempted to deny Christ if I fear it may cost me money. God has never ever failed to provide for us. We've had scary times, but it has always been taken care of. I know that God will not let me down, why do I feel like I need storehouses?

Luke 12:29-31 "And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well." Just in case I wasn't paying attention before, Jesus calls us out for worrying. Why are seeking after and worrying about things that God knows that we need? This shows our unbelief. Tell God you need it and then wait on his provision. Thank Him for the skills we have to provide wages. Set your heart on the kingdom of God and let God worry about the needs of this life.

Luke 12:33-34 "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." I remember blogging when I read the story of the rich young ruler than comes to Jesus with a perfect record of obedience and Jesus tells him to sell his belongings and give them to the poor and the man goes away sad as he can't bring himself to part with his money. I remember asking the question - what would I do if Jesus was asking me to do that? Oh great, in this verse he is asking me to do that. Now I'm going to have to think about that a little harder. What does it look like for me to give more to the poor?

Luke 13:6-9 Jesus tells the parable of a fig tree that is not producing fruit. When it fails to produce fruit for several years the man who owns it orders for it to be cut down. Why should it use up resources when it produces no fruit? This seems to be another recurring theme: bearing fruit. What does it mean to be bearing fruit? Converting followers to Jesus? The fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23? What can I do to increase my 'fruit production'?

So much these chapters are telling us! I think it all ties together with pursuing a crown that lasts. Not just training to finish, training to win. Loving Him at a level where we willingly give all we have to the poor if it means a deeper relationship with HIm. Do whatever it takes to know Him as well as I can and serve him as deeply as I can. How does my life change when I really and truly take this seriously?

Judges 19-21 Is religion in politics important?

This is the story of a Levite who was traveling with his concubine and when they entered the town of Gibeah of the tribe of Benjamin some of the wicked men of the city threatened him. (Very similar to the story in Genesis 19 of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah) This man throws his concubine out to them instead and they rape and beat her to death. The man cuts her body into pieces which he sends all over evil to make them aware of the vile and evil ways in Benjamin which sends them to war.

Judges 17, 18, 19, and 21 all have the phrase "In those days, the Israelites had no king" and two of those were followed with "and everyone did as he saw fit". This is actually the last phrase of the book of Judges. If I remember my history from the book of Kings correctly I don't think that Israel did much better when they had kings. I'm thinking through if this changes how I feel about Christians being involved in politics. It seems that when there is no godly leadership that the country disintegrates into evil behavior. Honestly, I have been skeptical of politicians who use their religious beliefs to help them get elected. I'm honestly not sure what the right balance is. I do know this - God knows the right people to have in our government and leadership positions and so we just need to pray for his direction and that the leadership He provides is best for the spiritual welfare of the community.

I really haven't thought about it this way before. I've always kind of separated religion and politics in my mind. I've been thinking more about their position on taxing small businesses than I have how their influence will contribute to the moral climate. This really gives me something to consider - new lenses to see the candidates through. I can't know their heart, I must rely on God's direction in the voting booth.

Thanks be to God - seek and you will find

My last blog post was me wrestling with what is the Bible saying about money. Does God really hate for us to have money? To be well fed? What was he saying in Luke 6:24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort."

God rewarded my questioning with a sermon that I think may have been written just for me (do you ever have sermons that feel like that? Like God had things align to fit in your life just when you needed it?) about Proverbs and it's dealing with money.

He starts with some basic money how-tos that Solomon gives in his proverbs. Work every day, save, give, don't squander on foolishness, etc. Started out a little disappointing in light of my questions but he brought it around when he talks about the Proverb of Agur (Proverbs 30) as he was watching Solomon become corrupted by his money. He say in Proverbs 30:8b-9 "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."

And then the pastor spoke of being content in all situations. By focusing on Jesus we can be content whether we have great abundance or great need. Whatever God gives us, that is enough. As the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Sometimes it's just these little things, like the right sermon an hour after a blog post, that just makes reminds me of the Father's great love. I am thanking him for this gift!

Luke 6 - Examining the difference between it and Matthew 5

As I was reading Luke 6 of course it brings the beatitudes so i decided to compare them side by side. I imagine that Jesus spoke for a long time so the author needed to choose what to include and Matthew chose slightly differently than Luke. The beatitudes in Matthew I know so well. I have memorized it in my childhood and although I don't know if I can recite it without help today, I certainly am very familiar. For the Luke passage that's not true for me so I found this comparison kind of fun to do and interesting. I have a cynical side that thinks that we as an American Christian culture gravitate to the Matthew passage rather than the Luke passage because of the "woes". I think there are other reasons as well, but I have noticed how we try to downplay verses that condemn the rich. Frankly, I'm not sure what to do with them myself. It's certainly something that I commit to prayer.


Matthew 5
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Luke just says poor)
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted. (very similar, although not verbatim)
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth. (not mentioned)
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled. (Luke just says hunger)
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy. (not mentioned)
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God. (not mentioned)
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God. (not mentioned)
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (not mentioned)

11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Very similar)


Luke 6
(all of the "blessed"s are duplicates of those mentioned in Matthew)
20Looking at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.

23"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.

(None of the woes were mentioned in Matthew)
24"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.

I'm not sure what he is saying here. Is he saying that having money and being well fed are wrong? That people like that won't receive anything from God? What about Abraham, who was blessed financially by God? I think it has more to do with where you place your hope - where do you get your comfort. Maybe I'm just doing the American make excuses for money thing. It's certainly as issue to struggle with.

Judges 9 - The story of after Gideon

First of all, let me apologize for my hiatus. I had a series of morning meetings that threw me off my routine and then spent the next several days just trying to catch up with the reading schedule, which took away from my blogging time. Which I really missed. For me, blogging is accountability and sharing of thoughts, but it is also the opportunity to really process what I just read and hopefully listen better to whatever God is telling me through the passage. It's good to be back!

Today's reading on the schedule (I'm using youversion.com and the plan the OT and NT in a year) is Judges 9 and 10. First let me say that I have found Judges to be a little depressing to read. It seems to be a series to blessings, fall away into sin, cry to God for help, get saved, follow the Lord and have blessing, fall away into sin, cry to God for help, etc. etc.

Almost as soon as they got the land and Joshua passed away they fell away into sin. Then, a neighboring king made them slaves for 8 years and then they called out for help (it took them 8 years!) and so the Lord rose up Othniel (Caleb's younger brother) and they have peace until he died and they fell away again. The king of Moab took them as slaves and this time it took them 18 years to call out to the Lord. The Lord rose up Ehud, who killed the fat king and they had peace. Then Shamgar, then Deborah. Then Gideon. I love the story of Gideon because it is the story of God using us in our weakness to show his own strength. I should've blogged that day because I find it pretty inspiring.

Judges 9, however, is what happened to Gideon's children. Gideon had many wives and 70 children. His son Abimelech wants to rule the place and so he kills all his brothers, except for one that escapes. Later, he is killed in battle. Verse 56 says "Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers." And then after all of his evil that he commits against Israel the Lord raises up Tola and then Jair.

The thing about Judges 9 that struck me is really just my own ignorance. I remember the story of Gideon so well, but the story of his rebellious son I have absolutely no memory of! This is why actually reading through the Bible is so important! I'm learning how easy it is to fall away from God when times are good. I'm learning that God uses hard times to bring us back to him. Honestly, I don't especially like hard times. I want to learn his ways in good times as well! But, I am seeing where the hard times are really the times of blessing in that God is our best reward.

Joshua 1-7, Mark 16 Preparing for battle

In Joshua 1 the Lord has a talk with Joshua to prepare him for battle. What does our military do when we prepare for battle? I don't have any military experience but I know they go to boot camp and assumedly learn protocol for different situations, learn how to handle their weapons, study different strategies for war winning.

Joshua is told to prepare a different way. Joshua 1:7-8 says "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, than you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."

Ironically, although the point he is making to Joshua is to be successful in whatever he does he needs to meditate on God's law, I was thinking in my head "Day and night? I like to study in the morning but if I did it at night too I wouldn't ever get to read anything else or do anything else." I can't believe that this is the thought I have while reading. Is that the thinking of a person training for a crown that lasts or is that trying to get by?

That's not the person that I want to be. I want to get my success through the Lord. I want to study his word so that I am careful to do everything that it says.

When Joshua fights against Jericho he does pray to God, but he also sends spies so that he can be prepared. God doesn't ask us to close our eyes and blindly follow him without using the brain we have been given. The Lord ultimately fought the battle for them, but they still fought prepared and carried out the instructions.

Deuteronomy 28 - Blessings and curses

I have to admit something. I've been of the thought that the "prosperity gospel" (for lack of a better term) is kind of garbage. What I mean by "Prosperity Gospel" is the thing that I've seen preached in various churches that says "If you believe in God then everything will go smoothly and well for you and you'll be financially rewarded for your faithfulness". I have a couple of problems with that. One is that I feel like it takes our eyes off Jesus. I think it causes us to have an ulterior motive in serving him. No longer are we serving him because of his incredible greatness and his unfailing love, now we're serving him because if we do we'll get a cottage by the lake (there's nothing wrong with a cottage by a lake, but first and foremost we must keep our eyes on Jesus). The other problem that I have is that I know some wonderful and faithful Christians that have had a hard life. God walked beside them through their trials, but they were not rewarded financially for their faithfulness. Are we to presume that they weren't as faithful as God wanted them to be? Was there something lacking in their faith that they weren't given an earthly reward?

So, then I read Deuteronomy 28. The first 14 verses outline the blessings that Israel will receive for their obedience: lots of kids, lots of livestock, defeat of their enemies, abundant prosperity. Verses 15-68 outline the horrors that they will endure for disobedience. I'm not sure what to do with this.

I am reminded of the story found in John 9 where Jesus and his disciples walk past a blind man and the disciples ask "Who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." Deuteronomy 28:10 says "Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord." To me, this means that sometimes God uses hard situations to give us faith and sometimes he rewards faithfulness financially as an example to the world of his goodness and generosity. The point is not the reward. The point is pointing people to God - whatever the situation.

Deuteronomy 22-24

"You must purge the evil from among you" seems to be a theme I am picking up on in Deuteronomy. I did a search on it on biblegateway.com and it found that phrase seven times - all in Deuteronomy. Here are the evils to be purged:

13:5 False prophet, someone who tries to turn Israel from the Lord
17:7 Worshipping other gods
19:19 Someone who testifies falsely (in this one not death, whatever bad he intended against the one he testified falsely against)
21:21 A rebellious son
22:21 A bride who is found not to be a virgin
22:24 A man sleeping with another man's wife - both are put to death
24:7 Someone who kidnaps as a slave or to be sold

There are other things where the Lord demands that they are to be stoned to death, but these are all the cases where he adds that they are doing so to purge the evil from among them.

This just points out to me God's holiness and his intolerance of sin. I am thankful for a risen Savior who washes our sins and paid the penalty.

Deuteronomy 19-21

Deuteronomy 21 talks about how to handle a rebellious son. He says to bring to the elders at the gate and tell them how rebellious he is. Then the whole town is to stone him to death! Whoa, can you imagine being that parent?

Honestly, my first thought was "I would never do that. Good things my parents didn't!" With this attitude am I really saying that my children are more important to me than obeying God? I started thinking about verse 21: "You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid."

I don't think that it pleases God for us to lose our children. But I think he is making a statement about how critical it is to purge evil from our lives. God needs to be the absolute most important thing. Family is important and is a gift from God, but even it cannot be more important to us than He is.

I understand the principle, I hope it's something that's never tested!

Deuteronomy 13-15

Deuteronomy 13 is about how passionate for purity we should be. God says that if we discover any false prophets that we should put them to death. I don't think that this is something that God expects from us now, but I think that he does expect us to not be around people who are trying to preach something besides Jesus as truth. How will we know if it is a false prophet? He just showed us a miraculous sign, after all. If he says "Let us follow other gods." I have recently been made aware of someone in my office who is a Mormon. This seems to me the classic example of something that kind of looks Christian, but adds to it and tries to entice people to worship other gods, so to speak. In response to this, I've been trying to do some google research on the beliefs of the Mormons. I'm going to try looking in some places besides the internet, but in the meantime I'll just pray often.

Deuteronomy 15 shows God's passion for taking care of the people around us. He talks about how important it is to take care of the poor.

Deuteronomy 15:10-11 Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

I've had to really examine my own attitudes toward the poor. Having rental property I do run into poor people. They tell me all kinds of stories of why they can't pay rent. They try to deceive me and take advantage of me and it doesn't feel good. I don't want to be generous with them because then they've won, I've taught them how to take advantage. The Bible says not to think of it that way. Don't worry so much if you're being taken advantage of. Our responsibility is to take care of the poor. They know when they ask for a loan and it's almost the year of Jubilee that they won't be required to repay. The poor of that day also knew how to work the system. God didn't say to try to teach them a lesson in hard work, he says in verse 7 and 8"Do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs." and then in verse 10 "Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to."

God knows that this person won't repay you, but what you're doing is good so He will repay you.

People above money - Lord open my eyes around me to people in need and help me not to be tightfisted with them.

Deuteronomy 7-12, Mark 12

I know I may have said this many times before, but I continue to be amazed by the amount if time that the Bible gives to our attitude towards money. Deuteronomy 8 is a great example of that.

Deuteronomy 8:12-14. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Deuteronomy 8:17-18. You may say to yourself, " My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.". But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.

The Lord is to be our focus, he is the source of our blessings. Although we may work hard and from that comes material blessings, we must not lose sight that our body and mind come from God - without him we have nothing.

Along wih this theme is Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

And in Mark 12 Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is. Jesus answers in verse 30: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." When the person who asked him this question agreed and said that it was more important than all burnt offerings Jesus says "You are not far from the kingdom of God."

So, even though Deuteronomy 10:12 makes it sound like not big deal, it's just loving him with all your heart and soul and then you're all set, I have been thinking all day about what does this mean. What does this mean to me today? What does this mean for my tomorrows? What does this mean to the way I raise my kids? What does this mean for how I do my job? What does this mean for how I greet my neighbors? What does it mean for church?

Do I study scripture differently when it's my way of getting to know Him, Him that I love with all my heart and strength? Do I listen differently to sermons on Sunday, which it's lessons on how to live when I love him with all my heart? Do I greet the beggar on the street differently, when he is made in the image of the One that I love with all my heart and strength? Do I behave differently at work, knowing that I am representing the One that I love? Is there any area of my life whatsoever that is the same? Is there any part of the day when I'm not thinking of Him?

Numbers 35-36, Mark 10

In Mark 10:14-15 Jesus says "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

In The Message it says "Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in."

As a mother of young children, it makes me ponder which character traits Jesus is referring to. The Message is on to something in the simple way that children see the world. They don't ponder deep theology and argue about the fine points. When people pass by on the street, they say hi to absolutely everybody. They don't see the people who are poor and dirty as anything but people who probably want to hear about their stuffed dog, the same as the well dressed guy in the nice car. Ethan is pretty sure that we should have a cross mounted on the top of our house to make sure that everyone knows about Jesus. It's not a part of themselves that only comes out on Sunday, they wouldn't know how to make the separation between their religious selves and the part of themselves they can talk about freely. It's all just matter-of-factly part of them.

Interestingly, this story in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke transitions right into the story of the rich man. As I read the scriptures this is the theme that seems to be the most talked about: money needs to be prioritized after God and people. The theme of the whole chapter seems to be the first will be last and the last first. Children do not depend on money. To my kids, quarters are something that is kind of fun to spin on the table. To this rich man it means more to him than the kingdom of God. How do we go from here to there? In a word: slowly. So slowly that we don't realize that now it means more to us than God does.

I am grateful to God for this journey of "training" and bringing this point before me often. I want to be more like the child and less like the rich man.

Numbers 32-34

These chapters start with the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh asking if they could take their inheritance on the side of the Jordan River that they were on already. This angers Moses because he thinks they are asking this to avoid the war that is involved in taking the countries on the other side. They promise to go to war with them, but would still like to settle on this side of the Jordan. This satisfies Moses and he allows it as their inheritance.

The next chapter is a summary of everywhere that they have camped since they left Egypt, living like Nomads wandering the desert.

The next chapter the Lord gives the boundaries of the land they are to conquer and assigns leaders to the 12 tribes.

I kept thinking "I wish I had a map! I have no idea what this all means." Then I remembered: I have google. I found a map and an interesting article about the archaeological support (or lack thereof) for the story told in the bible.

This is one of those days that I just find interesting. I didn't come across any new truth for my life, it was more a history lesson, but I think it is important in helping me to understand the context of the things to come.

Numbers 26-31, Mark 8-9

When the Israelites rebelled in the desert they Lord told them that they would all die and only their children would see the promised land. Now all are dead except for Caleb and Joshua, the spies who trusted the Lord. Therefore they took a new census as they prepared for war. Moses too was told that he would not be entering the promised land because of he failed to honor God as holy n front of Israel when bringing water from the rock. At this time God tells him to appoint Joshua as his replacement, the man to lead Israel when they go out and when they come in. I wonder how old he is, since all his peers are dead. Or did the Lord cause the other generation to die more quickly except for Caleb and Joshua? There were stories of plagues, so maybe so.

The Lord commands Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites. They had sent their women to seduce the men and cause them to worship their gods after Balaam refused to curse them. The Israelites fought the Midianites and killed every man. The Bible makes a special point of mentioning that when they killed every man, they also killed Balaam. I don't know why this bothers me except for he had been an example to me of someone who followed the Lord and had a relationship with Him that wasn't an Israelite. He was an example to me of how Israel was an example to the world of the Lord's power and a tool used by him to show Himself to the world, but not that worshipping him was reserved only for the Israelites. "Look", I thought "here is a man who is known as a prophet among these people who God honors his curses and blessings. God tells him what to say and where to go." I would have thought that God would save him from dying by the sword to repay his faithfulness. I wonder why he did not.

Mark 8:35-38 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.

I'm trying to let this soak in. I am trying to think how this translates into how I should live my life. I do try to be good at my job, but I don't think that this verse is saying there's anything wrong with it - unless I compromise my relationship with Jesus to profit in this life. I don't really read anything in the Bible that says "if you believe in me, suddenly life will become so much easier". That's why we do this spiritual training. When the hard times come (and they will) we are spiritually fit enough where we can weather the hard times and persecution.

I often feel like the Father described in Mark 9:22-24 who says to Jesus "But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

This is my prayer today as well: "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!"

Numbers 20-25, Mark 7

In my reading today Israel is starting to make it's way to the promised land and having to fight with some of the people around them to do so. They've killed all the people of a few different groups and this is making the others nervous. Israel asks merely to travel through, but the kings refuse and this is when they fight. Balak, the king of Moab, knows that Balaam is a man who "those you bless are blessed, ad those you curse are cursed" and wants Israel to be cursed. The Lord prevents him from cursing Israel and so Moab decides a different plan. They try to entice Israel to worship their gods and seduce them with their women.

Numbers 25:3 So Israel joined in worshipping the Baal of Peor. And the Lord's anger burned against them.

As Moses gives the command to kill those involved in this practice, right before their eyes an Israelite man brings a Midianite woman into his tent. This so angers Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, that he follows them in with a spear and drove the spear through both of them at once. This vigor for defending the Lord stopped the plague (I'm catching on the "The Lord's anger burned" means he sent a plague on them) .

Numbers 25:11 (the Lord speaking) "Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them."

This really got me thinking. Do I zealously defend the Lord's honor? I'm not going to spear anyone, of course, but I wonder if there's more that we can do? We don't bow down to other idols, but we do sometimes like sex and money more than we should.

Colossians 3:5-6 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Admonish, not in judgement, but in love.

Open my eyes Lord to things that dishonor you. Give me wisdom for what you would call me to do to defend your honor.

Honestly, this makes me very uncomfortable. The idea of admonishing another Christian makes me very nervous. Who do I think that I am? My interpretation of the Bible is better than theirs? Mostly I pray for wisdom to be sure that I am truly doing what God is calling me to do for his honor. The case of Phinehas it was so clear that what this man was doing was causing the Lord's anger. May the Lord give me the same clarity and the same zeal.

Numbers 17-19

God responds to the rebellion of the Israelites against Moses and Aaron by affirming Aaron. All the leaders of all the tribes put their names on their staffs and then put them in the Tent of Meeting, where God lives. The one he affirms as leader will sprout. Aaron's staff not only sprouted but also blossomed and produced almonds!

The Israelites were trying to say that some others were sent by God, so this sign affirming Aaron told them (beyond the ground swallowing the others, I guess) that they were wrong. They respond in mortal fear "We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?"

It makes me wonder: is this how I respond to correction? God goes into details on cleansing from sin by burning a red heifer. This is how he wants them to respond, he wants them to seek forgiveness. Do I respond in fear? Or do I respond by humbly asking for forgiveness?

Numbers 15-16, Mark 6

One thing that I have learned from this "training log" that I wasn't necessarily expecting, is that although I started a blog to give me some public accountability, but what I have learned is that doing a journal like this forces me (if that's the right word) to think about what I'm reading and what it's teaching me about the character of God and how to live my life in a way that pleases him.

Numbers 15 and 16 is the story of a man who gathered firewood on the Sabbath and the Lord commanded that he be stoned to death for his disobedience. The next story is the story of a rebellion against Moses and Aaron where God caused the earth to open up and swallow the rebel men and their families. When this happened the Israelites didn't repent, they grumbled against Moses and Aaron saying "You have killed the Lord's people". God made straight who were his people by striking them with a plague that killed 14,700 people.

This is on the heels of the story of the spies sent to look at the land they were heading two where only two of the twelve spies had faith that the Lord could give the land to them, all the rest thought the people already there were too powerful for them. These people experienced the 10 plagues in Egypt and the parting of the red sea. It causes me to think of times when I doubt. Times when I say "I know the Lord was faithful before, but this is different. I'm not sure I can trust him with this."

Mark 6 has the story of Jesus walking on the water to meet the disciples. Vs 51-52 says "Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened."

What? The disciples, who had witness miracle and miracle and heard as he preached wisdom to the people. The disciples, who had just gotten back from a mission to preach repentance where they also were given the ability to drive out demons and heal sick people. Their hearts were hardened?

Lord, open my eyes and heart so that I am not like the Israelites or the disciples: witnessing your power but not believing. Help me to believe.

Numbers 3-6, Mark 4

The beginning of Mark 4 is the Parable of the Sower. The story says that there is a farmer who sows seed. Some gets eaten by birds, some is sown in shallow soil, some is choked by weeds, and some fell on fertile soil that grew and produced a crop and multiplied. This story is about our hearts, and how receptive we are to the word.

Mark 4:18-19 says "Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful."

I find this interesting in. The seed doesn't die, like the seed eaten by the bird or in shallow soil. It's still there, it's just doing nothing. It is unfruitful. And what makes it unfruitful? Being distracted by things that are temporary. What does it mean to be fruitful? I looked up "fruit" to see other references to it in the bible. Some that are explanatory to me are:

Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Ephesians 5:8-9 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)."

Colossians 1:6 All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth.

It seems that there are two kinds of fruit: internal and external. Internal fruit being the fruits of the spirit, being a better person as you could only be as brought about by the Spirit of the Lord. The external fruit is spreading the gospel and growing the church.

I think it's interesting that money is brought up here - again. The deceitfulness of wealth. What does this mean? How is wealth deceitful? In my opinion, wealth promises things will be easier, things will be better, the more money you have the happier you are. So we pursue it. We want the stuff. If only my house was bigger, my car was better, my clothes were nicer; maybe then. In my time in public accounting I saw many wealthy people. Some of them were happy and had great families and friends and others had very messed up family lives. Money does not create or prevent happiness. It's easy to get caught in the trap that if we just had more stuff we'd be happier so be careful when you think about money.

Dear Lord, help me to hear the word and accept it. Please help me to bear fruit: thirtyfold, sixty, or a hundred.

Numbers 1-2, Mark 3

Numbers 1 is the counting of the Israelites by tribe: 603,550 in all. Numbers 2 is the instruction of how they should line up and camp. While it is kind of interesting, I'm unclear as to the wording they use. Before each number of each tribe they say "All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were counted and listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families." This, by itself, is not curious to me, but that it was repeated over and over is.

One of the stories of Mark 3 is the pharisees accusing Jesus of being possessed by Satan and that is what empowers him to drive out demons. Jesus responds that this doesn't make sense, a house divided against itself cannot stand. Then he says that blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a sin without forgiveness.

What? There is a sin without forgiveness? I've read this passage before, but still didn't feel like I understood it so I started looking at commentaries online and googling and ran across this blog post that helped me to understand. The unforgivable sin

Here's an exerpt:

"So in my opinion, the unforgivable sin, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, consists in misusing one’s training and education in the Scriptures to publicly and knowingly slander the Holy Spirit by misleading people into thinking that He is Satan. Clearly no one who does this can be forgiven, because it is through the Holy Spirit that we are forgiven. Also, no one who thinks that the Holy Spirit is Satan will permit himself to be guided by Him or filled with Him or given gifts by Him. So just as pulling the main breaker in your house means that you can never receive electricity, blaspheming against the Holy Spirit means that you can never receive forgiveness, because it turns off the tap through which forgiveness flows!"

We are to live the exact opposite. Our life is meant to exist to bring glory to God! I just want to learn how to do that better.

Leviticus 26-27 , Mark 2

Leviticus 26 starts out describing the life of the Israelites if they love and obey him: a utopia. Plenty of food, no wild animals, and enemies flee before them. And then it goes on to describe what life will be like if they are disobedient: the land will not be productive, enemies will eat their food, they'll flee before enemies that aren't even there, always looking over their shoulder. The land will get its sabbath when enemies carry them away and leave the land without inhabitants. I can understand why people would think that when bad things happen it is a curse from the Lord for disobedience. We know how this story ends. Israel is very disobedient and God causes other countries to carry them off. But all the bad things that happen are meant to bring them back to repentance. Even in the bad things, God means it for good.

In Mark 2 Jesus begins to let the teachers of the law know that he is God by not only healing but also forgiving sin. This is the story of the paralyzed man whose friends lower him down through the roof to see Jesus. Jesus healed many people. but why does he look at this man and say "Son, your sins are forgiven"? He must have known that this man needed to hear that, that he needed forgiveness. And then to prove his authority he also heals the man. Verse 12 says "This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!'" It must have been Jesus' preaching that caused them to give glory to God for this, or how would they know who to give the credit to?

And then, this man that claims to be God - he calls a tax collector to be his disciple and then eats with "sinners". He sure is breaking all the rules about what it means to be religious! I think that we, today's Christians, can learn from this lesson especially. I don't think that "sinners" should be our counselors and best friends, but they should be people that we spend time with and try to show them God's hope.

I do have a person that I work with often that I know goes to church because he thinks it will make his kids better people, but doesn't understand that we go to church to spend time with other believers and to celebrate this awesome God that we serve. If you take just the morality, you miss the real prize: our precious Savior. He himself is our prize. Jesus spent time with unbelievers and talked to them about what it meant to follow God. I've been feeling him call me to just have lunch and talk to him what and why I believe. It's kind of scary to do something like this! But this is part of training for a crown that lasts.

Leviticus 25, Mark 1

Leviticus 25 is the Lord's commands about giving the land a rest every 7 years and having a year of Jubilee every 50 years. In the year of Jubilee all the land sold within the time frame goes back to the original family who had owned it. Sales price for land is calculated based upon the number of year left until the year of Jubilee, knowing that it will be going back to the original owner at that time. I find this interesting, especially since they hadn't settled in their land yet.

Mark 1 is the beginning of Jesus' ministry. It starts with John telling people to repent of their sins and then he would baptize them. I thought it was a little weird, to be honest, not being familiar with the Jewish culture. Why would he start a ritual of river dunking? So, good 'ole google to the rescue. I found out that it was based on the purification ritual from the priests when people made the required sacrifice and went from unclean to clean. Well, that's just what I was reading about in Leviticus. I wasn't excited about reading that, but I like that it's given me better understanding of other parts of scripture. So John is acting as a priest and cleansing people from their sins. Maybe this is why verse 14 says so matter of factly "After John was put in prison" as I can see where this would be very offensive to the Jewish people. The sons of Aaron were put to death for doing ceremonies they were not supposed to perform, after all.

The other story that was impactful to me was the calling of the disciples. They must have had some familiarity with Jesus because when he called out to them on a boat they immediately left their nets and followed him. This made me thing. When Jesus calls to me, do I drop everything that I am doing for something more important? Or do I tell him to wait a minute, I'm busy?

Leviticus 23-24

Leviticus 23 is the Lord telling Moses about the Festivals that they are to observe, which I thought was a fun thing to learn about as we prepare to celebrate 4th of July. Passover, seems to me, is similar to 4th of July in that they both are celebrating independence from another country. However, Passover was a much bigger deal to the Israelites. The Lord mightily delivering them from the Egyptians by using many miracles. He established this time to remind the Israelites of his power and his care for them.

Leviticus 24 tells the story of a man who gets into a fight and during this fight he blasphemed the Name of the Lord with a curse. The punishment for this was for all of the people who heard him to lay hands on his head and then the whole community stoned him to death. vs. 16 "Anyone who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be stoned to death by the whole community of Israel." Whoa, he takes this very seriously! One thing that I think I'm learning from Leviticus is how holy God is. We love him, we serve him because that is the best life and not because we are afraid of him. Having said that, we should fear him. Not in the way we fear monster, aliens, and wild animals but in the way that we fear the President. We respect the position that he is in and because of that we have fear when we bring shame to that office. There are obvious flaws to that parallel, I know. I think sometimes we focus so much on the God that loves us (and he does) that we forget that he is all-powerful and he really hates sin. He doesn't laugh it off. He wants us to take it seriously also which is why he has Israel take part in the punishment of the blasphemer.

God, please expose any sin in my life and help me to take it as seriously as you do.

Leviticus 21-22, Matthew 28

Leviticus 21-22 is the instruction of priests on when they can and cannot eat the holy food. The thing that impressed me the most is that the priests are held to a higher standard or behavior. This reminded me of another passage:

James 3:1 Dear Brothers and sisters, no many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.

I think the reason for this is stated in the first part of Leviticus 21:6 "They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God." The priests are who people look at as the strongest representation of God, and as his representative he holds them to a higher standard. This is not something to be afraid of, but to be aware of and aspire to be the best representative that we can, being aware that our behavior reflects on what people think of our savior.

I was reading someone else's blog this morning about how we worry so much about drinking alcohol, women in office, music style but hardly any time thinking about how to reach the lost in our world. This lead right into my reading of Matthew 28 which ends with the great commission.

Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

I've been giving a lot of thought as to what this means as a practical thing in my life. Our church is choosing 3 people to pray for for a year - that's a start. God, give me eyes to see the lost around me. God me your courage to talk to them and remind me that you are with me always, even to the end of the age.

Leviticus 19-20

Leviticus 19:2
Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: "Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy".

This sets the tone for the entire chapter. Then the Lord goes on to explain what you do to be holy:
- Respect your parents
- Observe the sabbath
- Don't make metal idols
- Show respect for sacrificed food
- Leave food for the poor
- Don't steal
- Don't lie
- Don't swear things in His name that you don't follow through on
- Pay the wages you owe
- Don't defraud your neighbor
- Don't deny justice to either the poor or the rich
- Don't slander
- Don't hate your brother in your heart
- Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.

The list goes on but it was quite interesting. Holiness seems to boil down to putting others before yourself and not being selfish. Many of these laws dictate the condition of your heart, which would not be enforceable by any human priest or court. In a world where we are taught to "look out for number one" and "if you don't look out for you, no one is going to" it makes me think about how I'm living my life. Do I leave "food in the corner of fields for the poor to pick up?" He doesn't say that you should pick it and give it to them, but that you provide something for them to harvest for themselves. I'm not a farmer but I'm going to give some thought to how I can provide opportunities for those less fortunate than I.

Leviticus 15-16

Leviticus 16 describes the Day of Atonement. God gives Moses the instructions for how once a year the high priest can enter the Most Holy Place, and there is sin offerings of a goat and a bull. There is another goat that is the scapegoat that the high priest puts the sins of the nation on his head and then they release it into the desert.

I must admit that although I do find Leviticus a bit boring, I am beginning to understand why it is important to read it. It gives me a better understanding of what Jesus did and the law that he not only released us from, but took to completion. Jesus became our scapegoat. Jesus tore the curtain to the Most Holy Place and became our high priest.

Hebrews 9 says:
11When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
15For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

I am so thankful!

Leviticus 14

Our pastor on Sunday was talking about Spiritual laziness and as an example mentioned having a goal to read the Bible in a year but quitting about half way through Leviticus. I am bound and determined for that not to happen to me! I have to admit, however, that the chapter on how to cleanse from infectious skin disease or what to do if your house has mildew is challenging. I keep thinking "This is the word of God, there must be something for me in these passages that reveals God's character".

A couple of things come to mind:
- He cares about not just our spiritual health, but also our physical health
- He leaves a way for people that have been sick to return to their people. He desires for them to be part of the community.

The Grevengoed family is having a big day today so I was hoping for something a little more applicable. Knowing that God cares about our health means that he cares about the other things that happen in our life, I do take comfort in that. We're praying for his will to be revealed and we're thankful that he cares about us.

Leviticus 13, Matthew 26

Leviticus spent a lot of time talking about how to deal with infectious skin disease. That would be sad to get a skin disease since you have to live outside of camp and if anyone passes by you yell "unclean, unclean". I realize you don't want everyone to get this disease, but that is a sad way to live.

Matthew 26 is leading up to the death of Jesus. He is anointed with oil and the disciples thought it was wasteful, but Jesus defends it. This bothers Judas and right after that he goes to the chief priests to betray him.

The story that strikes me the most is the story of Peter who tells Jesus in verse 35 "Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you!" but then later in vs 74 he denies him for a third time, as Jesus predicted. This reminds me of a passage in the book I just read "Don't Waste your Life" by John Piper. He has a whole chapter entitled "Risk is right - better to lose your life than to waste it" where he spends time talking about risk and safety and what that really means to risk. I don't run into situations where I fear for my life for Jesus' sake, but I do run into situations where I would risk credibility professionally. While I might not deny him, per se, I don't always follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit to say something.

Peter ends up dying for his faith. In time his faith is strengthened so that he is willing to risk it all for Christ. I am praying that merely losing some professional credibility means nothing to me in comparison to the riches that I would gain in Christ.

Leviticus 8-12

Most of the passages of Leviticus 8-12 is law concerning the preparation of their food and which animals are clean or unclean. Leviticus 8 and 9 marks the beginning of the ministry of the priests where they begin wearing the special clothing that was prepared for them and then stayed at the Tent of Meeting for 7 days. On the 8th day they sacrificed a sin offering, burnt offering, and a fellowship offering. After this the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Leviticus 9:24 "Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown."

Can you imagine this: God provides fire from Himself for the burnt offering - what an amazing sight!

Then Leviticus 10. As they are experiencing the Lord's holiness Aaron's sons Nabad and Abihu offered "unauthorized fire" which was "contrary to his command" and God didn't like this. God sent out fire and they died before the Lord. God is showing himself holy and demanding honor from the people. Because they died in their sin God doesn't let Aaron mourn their death, but leaves that to the rest of Israel.

My reaction to this is: Whoa! God, don't you think you're being a little extreme here? What did they do that was so terrible that it demanded death?

The verses that follow have God prohibiting priests from drinking wine which implies that his sons were drunk and thought in their pride that they wanted to do something other than what God had commanded to show that they knew better than Moses. They were trying to put themselves over God, while masking it as worship. God demands more from those who are his priests and this attitude could not be tolerated.

I started thinking of other times in the Bible when God punished with death:
- Lot's wife turned to salt (Genesis 19:26)
- Uzzah died when he touched the Ark of the Covenant when the oxen stumbled (2 Samuel 6:6-7, 1 Chronicles 13:10)
- Ananias and Sapphira when they lied about their giving to the Lord (Acts 5: 1-11)

What do these stories have in common? Lot's wife mourns those that God finds evil, Uzzah was irreverent by touching the ark of God, Ananias and Sapphira wanted praise from men rather than wanting to give to God. In all of these cases the people involved forget who they're dealing with. The Lord - holy, mighty, all-knowing, intolerant of evil. The Lord knows our hearts and our motivations. Maybe Uzzah reached out to save the Ark in order to get rewarded by King David rather than out of concern for God. We must evaluate constantly the desires of our hearts. God wants the one desire of our hearts to be God and him glorified. When we do things to glorify ourselves but masquerade as one glorifying God, that's when we run into trouble.

Leviticus 6-7, Matthew 25

Before getting into my bible reading I want to comment on a mini personal retreat that I had yesterday. Mark had the kids and I had about 4 hours all to myself where I could just read the Bible, pray, and continue with the book that I am reading right now: "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper. It was absolutely wonderful to have a pretty solid chunk of time to really be able to think and read and grow. I think we all need to do this periodically - spend a day or two with God. Mark and I try to get away for a couple of days every year for our anniversary to keep our relationship strong, even though we see each other every day. I think we need to do the same with our God. Take some time to just be alone with him. It wasn't long enough for me yesterday, I want more!

Leviticus is making my eyes gloss over a bit, I must admit. I just keep reading it trying to understand the character of our holy God more. One thing that I can tell is that he takes sin very seriously. Even yeast, which is a symbol of the power of sin in our lives, is prohibited in any of the offerings. He wants no hint of it in our lives.

Matthew 25 talks about being ready for the day Christ returns. We don't know when it is going to be so we must always be ready. Jesus says that when he returns in glory and he judges all the nations those who are righteous will have done the following:
- Feed the hungry
- Give something to drink to the thirsty
- Invite in strangers
- Clothe those who need it
- Look after the sick
- Visit those in prison
Although I have heard this passage many times before it's something that I'm reading today as if I've never heard it before. The list is so simple and there are things that aren't in this list that I would have thought would be important at judgement day. To me it looks like being generous with money and time and really paying attention to the needs of people around us. Bringing glory to God by helping people meet their physical needs.

How does my life change if I take this list really seriously? How do I help "the least of these"? I'm just praying to the Lord to open my eyes and help me see people the way that he does.

Hearing God's voice

Some of you that know me know that Mark and I have been struggling with how to represent Jesus to our former business partner. For a more detailed description of what we've been struggling with, see my previous blog post:

Matthew 5&6

I really felt like I couldn't know the dollar amount that would satisfy our partner (if there was such an amount) so I've been praying about how much to give him. I felt like the Lord kept telling me a certain amount but I wanted to get confirmation so I asked Mark to be in prayer about this as well.

Recently I ran into a mutual friend of our partner and I and he mentioned to me a couple of little comments that he made about us recently that strengthened my conviction to make right with him the best I could. I threw our a number to Mark that our friend had mentioned to me and Mark responded "I had been thinking a little bit more.". And then he said the amount that I believed the Lord had been telling me all along. This was the confirmation that I needed.

So I looked at the bank balance to make sure I had enough money. It made me a little tight but was doable, so we wrote e check and sent it out, knowing that if we are in God's will then he will provide for us.

Later that day I went to the bank to deposit a couple small checks I had been carrying around in my purse and found in there a commission check that I had forgotten about. I never forget about commission checks! It more than covered the amount we had just written and felt again like God blessing us for following his leading. Feeling his leading is just absolutely so amazing. Hearing his voice is something that I used to think was reserved for people in the Bible. But it happens to us if we just listen! Even though He sometimes tells me hard things or asks for things that are hard, I absolutely love to hear his voice.

I've been reading in Exodus about Moses going to the tent of meeting and talking to God as one converses with a friend. I used to long for that opportunity, while being blind to the opportunity to enter his presence in prayer whenever I wanted. Praise him for tearing the curtain in the holy of holies so that we can talk directly to God! I am amazed by this privilege and so grateful.

Exodus 25-26

Exodus 25 and 26 is the detailed description of how to build the tabernacle and it's furniture. It starts with the Lord asking the Israelites for an offering from each man whose heart prompts him to give. In Sunday School we were just talking about the difference between "Offering" and "Collection". Collection implies that it isn't quite voluntary, somebody's coming to get it. The IRS collects our taxes, we don't offer it to them.

In this passage he is clearly not asking for a percentage or anything else like that, he just asks for whatever their heart prompts him to give. I think that this is a reference to the Holy Spirit, as he is the one that whispers things to our hearts. I think he is just asking Israel to obey the Spirit's promptings.

The rest of the chapters were very detailed building instructions and I'm not sure that I understand the symbolism. It's interesting to me that he does give such detail, surely there were skilled men in construction among the Israelites. He is revealing things about Himself in the plans: His holiness. I think we focus sometimes too much on how God loves us and we think of Him as warm and fuzzy, which is a side of him to be sure. But there is also the side of him that is almost a little scary where He demands our solemn respect in the presence of his Holiness.

I'm going to think more today about our God who is Holy and think about what it means to fear the Lord.

Exodus 23-24, Matthew 20

Exodus 23 has the laws of justice and mercy where he spells out that you don't take advantage of the poor, or refuse to help someone that you dislike. I love that our God is one that concerned about justice and mercy, and realize that he wants me to love justice and mercy also. Exodus 24 is the story of Moses giving the laws to the Israelites and then going back up on the mountain where he was with God for 40 days and nights. What an amazing experience that must have been!

The theme of Matthew 20 is that the last will be first. Starting with the parable of the workers in the vineyard where a landowner hires people for his vineyard at various times throughout the day, and then pays them all the same. The people who worked longer thought that they should be paid more but the landowner responds "Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?" Jesus concludes "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Another story in Matthew 20 shows the mother of the sons of Zebedee asks Jesus if her sons can sit on his right and left in his kingdom. Jesus had just told them that he was going to Jerusalem to be crucified, but yet I think the their mother was referring to an earthly kingdom. Jesus is not. He lectures them on lording authority over others, but whoever wants to be great must be a servant. vs 28 "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

The second story is more along the lines that I think of when I think "the last will be first". Becoming a servant and living sacrificially is what earns us respect in heaven. The first story, frankly, confuses me a bit. Is he talking about the order in which we get salvation? Some people get saved early in life and work for Jesus all their lives while others are saved just before they die, yet we all share eternal life? Why does this mean the last will be first and the first last?

If any readers have any ideas, I'd love to hear your comments.

Exodus 21-22, Matthew 19

Exodus 21-22 is the continuation of Moses giving the law to the people. It can be summed up with and eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. I remember that Jesus expanded on that and was hoping that this is the passage I was up to in the New Testament, but it wasn't.

Matthew 19 starts out talking about divorce. I would probably linger here if this were an issue that I was dealing with. The second section is the story of the rich man who comes to Jesus to ask what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him to sell all he has and give it tot he poor and come follow him. This man didn't realize what he had: an invitation from the actual Son of God to sit and his feet and learn! The man chooses his money and goes away sad.

Jesus says "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." and the disciples are shocked and ask "Who then can be saved?" and Jesus responds "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." So Jesus isn't saying that rich people don't go to heaven, but he does say that it takes a miracle of God for it to happen.

I'm not sure what this means for me. Rich is such a relative word. In comparison to many people in our area, my house is just a normal, adequate house. In comparison to what most people of the world have, it is a fantastic house. I know that the theme that I keep seeing is people above money. I think Jesus asks this of this man because he could see his heart and his priorities. When asked to give it up, he couldn't do it. It may be that if the man had said "wait here while I sell everything" that Jesus would release the demand because what he's really interested in is where our priorities lie, like the story where God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Do we trust God to take care of us, or trust our money? Do we love God as long as he doesn't ask for our money? When it really comes down to it, what's more important? If Jesus asked me to sell all we have and go live more modestly so that we are able to give more generously, would I do it? Is he asking that?

Exodus 12-13, Matthew 16

I've gotten a bit behind in blogging about my scripture reading, but I chose these two chapters because they were together in my reading a couple of days ago and it's something that I've been mulling over in my mind. In Exodus 12 and 13 the Lord is describing the Passover celebration and what stood out to me is that for 7 days no yeast is to be used, or even be found in the house. Exodus 12:19 says "And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born."

Whoa! If you use yeast you're to be cut off from the community? God is taking this pretty seriously, what's the big deal? Is yeast sinful? If it was just having bread that was ready to go in a hurry when fleeing the Egyptians I don't think the punishment would be so severe.

As that question was brewing in my mind I read Matthew 16. In Matthew 16:6 it says "'Be careful,' Jesus said to them. 'Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.'" and like myself, the disciples were a little confused. They asked him about it and Jesus explained he wasn't talking about bread. Matthew 16:12 "Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

Why does Jesus refer to their teaching as yeast? I kind of get it, but I felt I could benefit from further explanation so I looked up other references to yeast and found this verse:

1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the hole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast-as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

From this passage it seems like yeast, like pride, starts out small but begins to work throughout you and become bigger and becomes malice and wickedness. Yeast represents that you must rid yourself of even "small" sins, because it is something that can grow. This is why it must be taken out of the house and if it is not you must be thrown out of the community, for your sin may grow and spread to the other people in your community.

I am praying for God to reveal in me any sin that I may consider small, and replace it with sincerity and truth.

Exodus 4-8, Matthew 15

My Exodus reading today was the continuation of the story of Moses. The Lord appears to him in a burning bush and asks him to go back to Egypt and Moses complains that he's not a talented speaker. I am always struck by that part of the story because of the complete lack of confidence that Moses had was so strong that he had the courage to tell God, who was speaking to him out of a bush, that he wasn't the right one. First God is angry, then he provides a helper - which was his plan all along.

Than Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh and ask not for release, but for 3 days to go and worship their God. I'm not sure why God told them to ask this when the plan was for them to leave completely. It doesn't matter though because Pharaoh doesn't listen to this request. And this is where I see parallels in the Exodus passage and the Matthew passage: in both God uses miracles to get the attention of the people. Much of Jesus' ministry was healing and other miracles. Moses and Aaron called down miraculous plagues on the Egyptians. In both stories even while witnessing these supernatural events there were people who did not believe.

Why not? Pharaoh didn't believe because if he did it meant losing his laborers and he believed in money more. The Pharisees didn't believe because they believed in the law and liked the esteem that came from being an expert. If they believed Jesus then their position as expert was lost as Jesus revealed areas where their interpretation was off.

So now I look to my own heart. God has performed miracles in my life, to be sure. Is there anything that even in the face of this means more to me than believing what is right in front of me? Dear Lord, give me eyes to see.

Exodus 1-3, Matthew 14

Exodus 1-3 tells the beginning of the story of Moses. I am constantly amazed by the flawed people that God uses and how the Bible doesn't skip over the flaws, but states them matter of factly. For example, the journey of Moses begins with him fleeing from Pharaoh because in his anger he had killed an Egyptian. His anger is probably justified, but killing him doesn't seem like the best solution. But God has a plan. He uses that situation to bring about his plan.

Matthew 14 is so packed with stories too much to respond to in this blog. The story of Jesus walking on the water and Peter meeting him. Peter gets scared by the wind of the storm and begins to sink and Jesus says "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" As I read it, I give Peter credit for getting out of the boat. His instinct is faith, but his rational part takes over and makes him dobut. To me, that is the purpose of "training for a crown that lasts". I want my rational part to be faith because I have seen so much that causes me to trust him.

Genesis 45 - God has a plan

My journey of faith and the struggle that I had was never if I believed that God was real or not. It has never really occurred to me that he's not real. Look at the Grand Canyon or the stars in the sky, listen to the first cry of a newborn or feel the power of Niagara Falls. What was hard for me is that I lacked the knowledge that this almighty powerful God who made the earth and everything in it wanted anything to do with me. Why would he care about this one little soul, one of billions of people that have existed on this earth?

In this chapter Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and they were afraid that he was still angry about them selling him into slavery. But Joseph responds "It was not you who sent me here, but God." Joseph sees the order of events that needed to come together to save lives during the famine. When I've read this story in the past at some level I was thinking "Of course God does that for the line of Israel and weaving together the stories that will be in the Bible. Does he really put things together for me? Do I matter to him too?

Yes, he cares for me.

These past few days I went to a conference in Philadelphia and partially due to this blog I've been struggling with what's important in my life. Is selling real estate really something that impacts the kingdom for eternity? Is this where God wants me? In my mind I was thinking that this conference may be a place to find some perspective from other real estate agents of how they believe that this job of mine can fit into the fabric of living a life of faith and caring for people above money. The presenter is a believer and I knew that he was going to be at the reception in the evening. But I also knew that it would be difficult to talk to him. God had a plan for me.

Throughout the day I had been talking with one of the staff people for the company who was presenting the seminar, but had forgotten my business cards. That evening, after I had refilled my business cards, I saw him and began to talk with him again, although he was already in conversation with someone else. As it turns out, God had orchestrated for those people to be together. Although the staff person worked for that company part time, his full time position was pastor of a church. The woman that he was talking to was the youth pastor for her church. They were able to encourage me as to how our profession allows us the flexibility of schedule to also pursue other ministries. I was so encouraged to have gone to this conference and found two pastors, it felt like God affirming my career.

Thanks be to God for caring about the details in our lives. Praise him for being big enough to care about the details of one of billions of people. Glory to his name for not being just the God of the Bible, but for being the God in our lives today.

Genesis 39-40, Matthew 11

Genesis 39-40 is the story of Joseph and his experience being sold into slavery to the Egyptians.

Joseph was sold into slavery and Gen. 39:2 says "The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of this Egyptian master." but then then the wife of his master told lies about him and he was put in prison but then in the end of verse 20 and 21 it says "But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him favor in the eyes of the prison warden." Of course, I've heard this story a hundred times and know that God used Joseph's presence in Egypt to save his family from the upcoming drought. Knowing the end, it is amazing to see God's plan unfold. But in the midst of the story Joseph says "For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon." He feels like he's had a string of bad luck and injustice. In the short term he is absolutely correct. Although he is constantly described as receiving the Lord's blessing, I'm not sure Joseph thought of it that way all the time.

This is a good story to remember when we go through bad times. I'm beginning to trust God to be faithful for the end of the story. Things happen to us for his glory, we must trust him with the big picture.

Matthew 11 is a comfort for me, having just read all of the warnings of Matthew 10 where he tells us that family will turn against us and we will experience persecution for his sake (again, this is terrible now but earns us eternal rewards). Matthew 11 tells us that we aren't in this alone. Matt 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Jesus gives us hard experiences, but he helps us to carry them. Even in the story of Joseph he asks Joseph to go through hard things but he gives his blessing to Joseph along the way.

When I was training for a marathon I didn't just run and run with no purpose, I was training for a particular day and a particular race. Sometimes the question comes to mind: what am I training for right now? I think the answer is that sometimes hard things happen in life, although I don't know the day, but training gives us the spiritual maturity to handle the hardships that come our way. That is one of the things that I am training for.

Genesis 33-38, Matthew 10

The passages in Genesis continue the story of Jacob and Esau, the death of Rachel, the death of Isaac, the sale of Joseph into slavery by his brothers, and the story of Judah's sons and their widow Tamar who Judah impregnates thinking she is a prostitute. I just keep thinking about how God uses such flawed humans to bring about his plan!

Matthew 10 is when Jesus sends out his disciples. His description of missions work is not very appealing! Jesus is the one who saves us eternally, but following him is not without cost in this world. He makes it very clear to expect persecution, even loss of life. Jesus says in verse 34 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." This is certainly not prosperity gospel! Jesus is telling us not to focus on what is temporary, but what is eternal.

This reminds me of a conversation that I once had with my cousin Joe where he told me that if he went through a day where he did not feel persecuted for Christ: if he didn't have someone snub him, ignore him, demote him at work, etc. then he wasn't doing it right. This is a philosophy that is a little hard to swallow, but Jesus gives comfort. Verses 28-30: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."

Jesus tells us that when we follow him, we should expect hard times. But he also promises to be with us and that our eternal reward is worth our earthly troubles.

Genesis 29-32, Matthew 9

The passages in Genesis continues the story of Jacob. He fled his brother Esau and went to stay with his uncle Laban and find a wife among his mother's relatives. He works for Laban and they negotiate wages: 7 years for Rachel. When the time comes Laban switches his daughters and gives him Leah instead. In order to marry Rachel, Laban asks for another 7 years.

After 20 years with Laban, Jacob decides to head home to land where he grew up. On the way there he literally wrestles with the Lord, who renames him Israel. I don't really understand this exchange, honestly. Why did the Lord come to him? If it was just to rename him, why did he need to come and fight him first, why not just come to him as he did Abraham?

Throughout it all, the years and the deceptions, the Lord continues to bless the sons of Abraham. They increase in number and wealth. God's patience and faithfulness is evident.

Matthew 9 is the ministry of Jesus. Jesus calls a tax collector to be his disciple and dines with him and 'sinners'. When Jesus is criticized for it he says" But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

I have to say that reading that he said this makes me love him all the more; to see his heart for saving the lost. How he values mercy.

As Christians we often try to remove ourselves from the influences of the world as much as possible. Although it is right to stay away from sin, I think that God wants us to be in places where we will meet people who are lost and show mercy to them. As I go along in my spiritual training I believe I need to look for times to be uncomfortable and share his love with people who otherwise might now hear.

Training - Day 9: Genesis 25-28, Matthew 8

In Genesis the story of Abraham and his family continues. Abraham dies. After 20 years of marriage Isaac and Rebekah have twins. Isaac borrows from Abraham's playbook and tells the king in the land he is living that Rebekah is his sister rather than his wife. Esau and Jacob are very different men. Jacob trades with Esau: a meal for his birthright. I've always thought of this as Jacob being tricky, but I noticed it says "So Esau despised his birthright." That sentence makes sense to me - if it had value to Esau he would not have traded it simply for a meal.

As Isaac is about to die Jacob also steals from Esau his final blessing and Esau isn't very happy about it and threatens to kill him. Rebekah sends him to her family to escape from Esau. On his journey the Lord appears to Jacob in a dream and promises to bless his family and make his descendants like the dust of the earth and "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring". There Jacob built an alter and promised to give to God 10% of all that God gives him.

The second time that I've seen a tithe mentioned, before there are even priests!

I don't know why I am so surprised by all the drama and tricking and lying. Maybe it's more so that I'm surprised all of that makes it into the story. Maybe it's just that I'm surprised that these are the methods that bring about God's will. He takes our sin and turns it instead into something beautiful.

Matthew 8 has in it the story of a centurion who came to Jesus to ask for healing for his servant. Jesus offers to come help him and the centurion responds "Just say the word, and my servant will be healed". He recognizes Jesus authority and has faith that he is able to heal him. He doesn't feel like he needs to be there seeing the healing take place, he just trusts that it will happen.

I am longing for this kind of faith. I believe that God called us to be living in the house we are living. As an extension of that, I believe that God has a school already picked out for our son for kindergarten. Although I don't know where he is going yet, that hasn't been a source of stress for me, I just believe that God will give us peace and direction in his timing. I haven't felt peace like this before about something important that is unknown so I feel like my faith is taking baby steps forward. What other burdens can I lay at his feet and just trust that it will happen?

Training - Day 8: Genesis 23-24, Matthew 7

Matthew 7 is a continuation of Jesus' famed Sermon on the Mount.

I have to admit, I'm very confused. If anyone is reading my blog and has any insight, that would be great.

It starts out saying "Do not judge, or you too will be judged". Okay, I think I get that. We don't know the heart of other people or what point on their journey they are on so it's not our place to judge them. He then talks about the measure we use to judge others will be used to judge us as well. I think he's saying to make sure that we spend more time examining our own hearts than other people, but does God judge us according to how we judge others? Or is it a more absolute standard? Or maybe he's not talking about God's judgement but of other people who use our standard against us if we are guilty of the same thing?

Then in vs 6 Jesus says: "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw pearls to pigs." Does that relate to the verse before, after, or is it random? I don't really understand what he is referring to there at all.

Then in vs 15-23 Jesus talks about identifying false prophets by the fruit they bear. vs. 19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." I understand what he's saying (and will be thinking all day on the fruit that I bear) but I am surprised that it's the same chapter that spent the first 5 verses talking about "don't judge" and then shortly after that he talks about recognizing people by their fruit. What's the distinction between "judging" and "recognizing good fruit"? Does he just mean discerning whose advise to follow versus publicly criticizing?

I do get the point that is being made over and over: don't just hear the words Jesus says - do them. Faith isn't faith without action. (James 2:17) Faith isn't faith without fruit. I think this is where my training heats up: moving from hearing the word to concentrating on bearing fruit.