Day 5: Lie or Die?
So today(Sunday's) reading gave me some mixed feelings. The first part was again convicting like all those before. The second half was different though. There seemed to be a lot of frustration with David and Solomon. I didn't really see a lot of forgiveness but rather a more judgmental attitude. I got more out of the Genesis and Matthew so I'm going to just stick with that today....
So as I continue to make my way through Genesis, I realize that there are two themes running. God is wanting one thing from his people and then also, God blesses those that "Go." Things have not changed throughout time but it's a lot easier to look at other people and see what they're doing wrong. So, people are beginning to work together and somehow the idea to build a grand city with a huge tower comes up. I don't think this is what was upset God. I think that when the people decided to build the tower so that they could be known in all of land, that is where God decided things weren't cool anymore. It's easy to understand that when anything threatens to move focus from God to the world, there are problems. God comes down and introduces languages to build a gap between men and making it difficult for men to work together and create a shift in focus.
The second theme I've noticed is that God wants to bless those that "Go." It is seen multiple times already in Genesis. God tells someone to go do something and either tells them that He will bless them or just blesses those that respond to his commands. This brought two thought to my mind. First, why is it so hard to do some of the things God calls me to do even though I know He would bless me in it? But then that made me think as well.... Why am I doing the things God tells me to do? Is it because I want to be blessed or because they are an extension of my worship? Just something I'm trying to keep in my mind as I go about my day.
Another thing that kind of made me think was the trip to Egypt. I've heard this so many times but every time I hear it people pass over one part that I found significant. So (names have left me) a married couple move into Egypt.... the husband tells his wife to lie and say she is his wife because if not, he would be killed so the Egyptians could take her from him. I understand fear. But at what point does love get overlooked due to selfishness? I don't know what I would do in the situation. Honestly I think I would probably do the same thing... but I also think that after a little time I would regret my choice. It raises the question... If you are married, would you lie or die?
JDP
Monday, November 14, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Day 4: Fully Committing is Enough
Day 4: Fully Committing is Enough
So it's a Saturday during football season and that mean one thing had definitely happened today. Someone (probably a large number of people) has gotten waaaaaaay too worked up over a football game that has no long lasting implications on their life. I say this to use as an example for the Proverbs passage I read today. For me, the verses talk about God's will. My summary of the passage is this.... Being engulfed in our worldly ways makes it impossible for us to hear what the will of God is for our lives. The verses say that if we respond to God, He makes His thought known to us. That's what I get from it at least. I could be wrong.... oh well. My point is simple... Those of us that get so worked up over a silly game to the point where it influences our day, week, spending, and where we spend our time are missing the point of why we are here. God has a purpose for our lives. His will will be done whether I want it to be done or not. He's in control of everything. I think that if more people surrendered these things that overtake their lives, living would just be more enjoyable. I mean Alabama/Auburn/Michigan/LSU football is going to lose eventually. There is no way (unless God wants it to be) that they will win forever. God on the other hand has, will, and will always win. We know the outcome. It's done. God wins. No overtime. No official's review. God wins and anything that is not in agreement with God's will is on the other team. In this case, If you're not first you're lost.
I have read through Genesis before but for some reason it's pretty much a new book for me. I'm seeing the little details that actually mean the most. Today's reading was no different from the others before. *I know this story....blah blah* Then comes the part I don't remember. Water goes bye bye, dove has to fly back & forth a lot, finally land is there. So from there something awesome happens. Noah builds an altar. Realize that he is old as dirt, has been on a boat for an extended period of time, has been with his family non stop for the whole time, and has been kept with so many animals and animal stuff. I would not be happy at this point. Actually, I would be downright upset and the cause of my frustration would be God. I mean He's the one that flooded the earth. Yeah he let me live but he made me stay with animals on a boat... forever. But Noah was a righteous man. He had God's favor. Noah built an altar for God. He was not instructed like he was for the arc. He just did it. That's awesome. A lot of times I know people are waiting for God to tell them exactly what to do when they know what is needed and completely overlook it. I say all of this to question a part of this text. I see Noah as a righteous man... maybe even one that walks with the Lord. I meant God picked him to keep man alive. So why does Noah die. He was not taken away, he died. Enoch didn't even get picked to start over the human race. Yet, Noah was not with and in God???
The other question I had that just didn't sit well with me is if rainbows remind God of His covenant with man... Does that mean they show up when God is mad at man? But since He sees the rainbow, man is cool.?? I don't know. Just a thought. I'm really tired. This might mean nothing.
The passage in Matthew was by far my favorite. It talks about Jesus beginning to preach as well as his collecting disciples. When Jesus starts preaching, he does not tell people to come to him. He makes the journey to where the people are. Again I think this is a problem with today's Christianity. We expect people to come to us and for them to listen to every word we say. In actuality we should be going out into the world to save people. It should be our desire to GO not collect. Then Jesus starts to find disciples. I don't know what happened in explicit detail but I do know it was brief. Jesus would call his soon-to-be disciples and they would drop what they were doing and follow. That is either unbelievably awesome or just a coincidence that he met really easily influenced men. I believe that there was just that something different about Jesus that people could see and it made them want to be a part of whatever he was doing. I think that we have the ability as a church to reflect the same "something" to a dying world. The result would be astronomical. Imagine Baptisms by the hundreds, all because we, as a church, went out to the people of the world and showed them Christ in us. Crazy times. Let's do it.
I had a lot more to blog about but I am so flippin tired so I have one more thing. Psalm 4 spoke to me and told me that I need to be happy with the blessings I have. They are so great and my worries so few. People have trouble (myself included) with finding rest in knowing that God is enough and his blessings are enough. We complain and covet so much. These are actions brought upon us by this world. The world teaches us to not be happy until we have everything. The sooner we all realize that we do have everything, the better. SO tired..... Goodnight.
Danger
So it's a Saturday during football season and that mean one thing had definitely happened today. Someone (probably a large number of people) has gotten waaaaaaay too worked up over a football game that has no long lasting implications on their life. I say this to use as an example for the Proverbs passage I read today. For me, the verses talk about God's will. My summary of the passage is this.... Being engulfed in our worldly ways makes it impossible for us to hear what the will of God is for our lives. The verses say that if we respond to God, He makes His thought known to us. That's what I get from it at least. I could be wrong.... oh well. My point is simple... Those of us that get so worked up over a silly game to the point where it influences our day, week, spending, and where we spend our time are missing the point of why we are here. God has a purpose for our lives. His will will be done whether I want it to be done or not. He's in control of everything. I think that if more people surrendered these things that overtake their lives, living would just be more enjoyable. I mean Alabama/Auburn/Michigan/LSU football is going to lose eventually. There is no way (unless God wants it to be) that they will win forever. God on the other hand has, will, and will always win. We know the outcome. It's done. God wins. No overtime. No official's review. God wins and anything that is not in agreement with God's will is on the other team. In this case, If you're not first you're lost.
I have read through Genesis before but for some reason it's pretty much a new book for me. I'm seeing the little details that actually mean the most. Today's reading was no different from the others before. *I know this story....blah blah* Then comes the part I don't remember. Water goes bye bye, dove has to fly back & forth a lot, finally land is there. So from there something awesome happens. Noah builds an altar. Realize that he is old as dirt, has been on a boat for an extended period of time, has been with his family non stop for the whole time, and has been kept with so many animals and animal stuff. I would not be happy at this point. Actually, I would be downright upset and the cause of my frustration would be God. I mean He's the one that flooded the earth. Yeah he let me live but he made me stay with animals on a boat... forever. But Noah was a righteous man. He had God's favor. Noah built an altar for God. He was not instructed like he was for the arc. He just did it. That's awesome. A lot of times I know people are waiting for God to tell them exactly what to do when they know what is needed and completely overlook it. I say all of this to question a part of this text. I see Noah as a righteous man... maybe even one that walks with the Lord. I meant God picked him to keep man alive. So why does Noah die. He was not taken away, he died. Enoch didn't even get picked to start over the human race. Yet, Noah was not with and in God???
The other question I had that just didn't sit well with me is if rainbows remind God of His covenant with man... Does that mean they show up when God is mad at man? But since He sees the rainbow, man is cool.?? I don't know. Just a thought. I'm really tired. This might mean nothing.
The passage in Matthew was by far my favorite. It talks about Jesus beginning to preach as well as his collecting disciples. When Jesus starts preaching, he does not tell people to come to him. He makes the journey to where the people are. Again I think this is a problem with today's Christianity. We expect people to come to us and for them to listen to every word we say. In actuality we should be going out into the world to save people. It should be our desire to GO not collect. Then Jesus starts to find disciples. I don't know what happened in explicit detail but I do know it was brief. Jesus would call his soon-to-be disciples and they would drop what they were doing and follow. That is either unbelievably awesome or just a coincidence that he met really easily influenced men. I believe that there was just that something different about Jesus that people could see and it made them want to be a part of whatever he was doing. I think that we have the ability as a church to reflect the same "something" to a dying world. The result would be astronomical. Imagine Baptisms by the hundreds, all because we, as a church, went out to the people of the world and showed them Christ in us. Crazy times. Let's do it.
I had a lot more to blog about but I am so flippin tired so I have one more thing. Psalm 4 spoke to me and told me that I need to be happy with the blessings I have. They are so great and my worries so few. People have trouble (myself included) with finding rest in knowing that God is enough and his blessings are enough. We complain and covet so much. These are actions brought upon us by this world. The world teaches us to not be happy until we have everything. The sooner we all realize that we do have everything, the better. SO tired..... Goodnight.
Danger
Friday, November 11, 2011
Day 3: Enoch, Enoch.... Who's there?
Day 3: Who's there?? A crap ton of water...
So today I was reading and it was yet another story I've heard 5 billion 27 times. But before I got to the story there was a very significant passage concerning genealogy. It's pretty boring and pretty much the same story for all of these guys with the really hard names that live 10 times longer than I will. So I'm reading, wondering why it's important.... still reading... still wondering... and then comes Enoch. Until Enoch, everyone had a kid then lived to the age of decomposition. Then they died. Key word here is died. So... Enoch is in line to follow those before him. He has a kid and lives to be ancient. Then things change. While others died because they just lived, "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." The most important difference here is that Enoch did not die. The end. When you live life walking by yourself, you will die. When you walk with God, death is not the final outcome... God takes you away. When I think of someone taking me away, I think of leaving a situation, person, or environment that is not beneficial to me. I don't think this is any different.
As I continued through Genesis I came to two different stories that relayed the same message to me. As the world became more and more populated God saw the men of the world begin to favor women more and more. It was at this time that God caused mankind's life to shorten. The next instance is when God sees that mankind as a whole has just become unbelievably wicked. Due to this he sends a flood to wipe them all out. So... these stories tell me a couple of things. First, it tells me that God does not like to share His worship. It belongs to Him and Him alone. Second, they show me that when God determines that something is taking away from His worship, He takes care of it.
Obviously the flood story is the story of Noah. Two new things stuck out to me today with this. One was that that was a whole lot of water. I mean really. I did some research because I'm a nerd. (if you check the research and I'm way off... forgive me, its after 10 and I'm normally asleep by now.) Everest is close to 30,000ft high. okay.... the water covered the mountains by 20 cubits. Soooooo.... after math (and some rounding) I came to the conclusion that the earth was covered by water that was at least 6 miles deep. That's a lot of water. I don't know if you know this, but Earth is kind of big. This made me think... where did all of this water go? If science says that matter is neither created or destroyed.... where is the 6 mile deep water covering the earth? The other question I have is something I'll never know.... While on the arc, was it cold? if you're above mountains it had to be. Oh well... not important.
So next was Matthew. Great story of the Bible today. Jesus being tempted in the desert. This story showed me that even when Satan is all around and seems to be in control, God is actually calling the shots. The Devil can do nothing unless God allows it. God let Jesus be tempted. Jesus did not randomly walk into the desert. He did not call Satan collect and ask where he was. Jesus was led BY THE SPIRIT to the desert to be tempted. Divine guidance led Jesus to a troubling time. Another proof that God knew what was going on is that as soon as the devil left Jesus, Angels were sent to him. You can't tell me that's coincidence. I'll say it again... God has it on lock.
I thought it was great when I went from Matthew to Psalm 3 and found that they gave me more proof of God's will for man. Jesus is tempted by things of the world. He is promised all of the Earth. I don't know what it was worth back then, but land is worth quite a bit. So it's safe to say, Jesus would be loaded and also the only face on money. (getting tired... excuse the ADD) The words of the world try to create a rift between us and God. They bring doubt into our minds. Those who institute a strong and unwavering Faith are assured deliverance. As I continued reading, Proverbs just drove in the winning run. (I hate baseball.) It told of how the things of the world are only temporary gains. The Message says it best in my opinion..."the more you gain, the less you are."
JDP Out
So today I was reading and it was yet another story I've heard 5 billion 27 times. But before I got to the story there was a very significant passage concerning genealogy. It's pretty boring and pretty much the same story for all of these guys with the really hard names that live 10 times longer than I will. So I'm reading, wondering why it's important.... still reading... still wondering... and then comes Enoch. Until Enoch, everyone had a kid then lived to the age of decomposition. Then they died. Key word here is died. So... Enoch is in line to follow those before him. He has a kid and lives to be ancient. Then things change. While others died because they just lived, "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." The most important difference here is that Enoch did not die. The end. When you live life walking by yourself, you will die. When you walk with God, death is not the final outcome... God takes you away. When I think of someone taking me away, I think of leaving a situation, person, or environment that is not beneficial to me. I don't think this is any different.
As I continued through Genesis I came to two different stories that relayed the same message to me. As the world became more and more populated God saw the men of the world begin to favor women more and more. It was at this time that God caused mankind's life to shorten. The next instance is when God sees that mankind as a whole has just become unbelievably wicked. Due to this he sends a flood to wipe them all out. So... these stories tell me a couple of things. First, it tells me that God does not like to share His worship. It belongs to Him and Him alone. Second, they show me that when God determines that something is taking away from His worship, He takes care of it.
Obviously the flood story is the story of Noah. Two new things stuck out to me today with this. One was that that was a whole lot of water. I mean really. I did some research because I'm a nerd. (if you check the research and I'm way off... forgive me, its after 10 and I'm normally asleep by now.) Everest is close to 30,000ft high. okay.... the water covered the mountains by 20 cubits. Soooooo.... after math (and some rounding) I came to the conclusion that the earth was covered by water that was at least 6 miles deep. That's a lot of water. I don't know if you know this, but Earth is kind of big. This made me think... where did all of this water go? If science says that matter is neither created or destroyed.... where is the 6 mile deep water covering the earth? The other question I have is something I'll never know.... While on the arc, was it cold? if you're above mountains it had to be. Oh well... not important.
So next was Matthew. Great story of the Bible today. Jesus being tempted in the desert. This story showed me that even when Satan is all around and seems to be in control, God is actually calling the shots. The Devil can do nothing unless God allows it. God let Jesus be tempted. Jesus did not randomly walk into the desert. He did not call Satan collect and ask where he was. Jesus was led BY THE SPIRIT to the desert to be tempted. Divine guidance led Jesus to a troubling time. Another proof that God knew what was going on is that as soon as the devil left Jesus, Angels were sent to him. You can't tell me that's coincidence. I'll say it again... God has it on lock.
I thought it was great when I went from Matthew to Psalm 3 and found that they gave me more proof of God's will for man. Jesus is tempted by things of the world. He is promised all of the Earth. I don't know what it was worth back then, but land is worth quite a bit. So it's safe to say, Jesus would be loaded and also the only face on money. (getting tired... excuse the ADD) The words of the world try to create a rift between us and God. They bring doubt into our minds. Those who institute a strong and unwavering Faith are assured deliverance. As I continued reading, Proverbs just drove in the winning run. (I hate baseball.) It told of how the things of the world are only temporary gains. The Message says it best in my opinion..."the more you gain, the less you are."
JDP Out
Day 2: Surrender & Fear
Day 2: If you ain't first, you're last... It has biblical backing. (Okay maybe not exactly)
So day 2 is complete and good. Here's what's going on in my head today...
As I read the Genesis chapters lots of things were jumping out at me. First thing is when it mentions the sacrifices of Cain and Abel... I see a significant comparison of this to the modern church. Cain and Abel each give up a sacrifice to God. Step one - √ The only difference is that Cain gives "some" of his crop. I take this to mean that he only gives when he realizes he is supposed to give. There isn't an immediate recognition with him as opposed to Abel who gives the "Firstborn" of his heard. That's huge! Abel's first thought at the birth of his flock is to offer it to God. He doesn't think "what should I name this one?" or "man this thing is going to taste good one day after I smoke it over a fire for 5 hours." NO! The FIRST thing Abel does with the FIRSTborn is give it up to God. I feel that this example is taken too lightly in modern times. God calls each of us to offer up the first of all we are. Please don't think I'm talking about money. I mean, money is part of it but I think money is only a portion of what a tithe is. A tithe is your money, your time, your talent, Your Life. How amazing would it be to be able to surrender the first of everything I do to God? It says somewhere in the Bible (paraphrasing and interpreting - don't judge) to give freely and joyfully and the Lord will return blessings in abundance. Time is money and I think that is why it is so difficult to offer this up. Money is the easiest tithe to give, in my opinion. It doesn't take time. You write a check or give some cash and it's done. That's a 45 second transaction. 10% of my time is A LOT harder to come by. More than that, it's harder to "freely and joyfully" give up. God favors Abel for purposefully sacrificing his first. I've heard a preacher say that it is impossible to out-give God. I hope to challenge that as much as I can. Looking back at the ways I've givien, I've already been blessed beyond belief.
I wanted to make another statement about this passage. They are each short so bear with me. As I read yesterday and then again today I realized that one of God's first actions in everything is to bless it. This is true when he creates animals and man and then again with Cain. Most times I've read this story I remember that God punished Cain. This time reading it I found that, yes, Cain was punished but if you continue the story, he is then blessed. Cain expresses worry to God about "whoever finds me will kill me." God replies with an "I got this fool." (Paraphrasing.) God marks Cain and protects him. This is insane. Cain acted out in pride & selfishness and still gets blessed. That should give anyone hope that God forgives.
Onto Matthew.... This is where I was challenged in my own Faith. I'll be brief because this is already long. The wise men blindly follow a star to worship the newborn king. That's two points right there. First, They follow a star. That's pretty awesome. They have no idea where they are going geographically but they have believe what they are told and follow a star to worship Christ. Second point... It does not say to meet Christ. They are on a blind journey with the intent to WORSHIP Christ. This blew my mind. One word changes the severity of this statement. Worship vs. Meet (or find, discover, even to bring gifts.) This made me think. If men thousands of years ago can follow a star for miles and miles with no idea of where they are going with the sole intent to Worship Christ if and when they got there, why can't some people do that today? We know who Christ is. We know what he has done. We know the significance of his life. Worship in this passage has rejuvenated the idea that I should blindly follow Christ in all that I do. But more than that... I should whole-heartedly Worship him as I walk blind, confused, and ,sometimes, against this world.
When I read Psalm 2 one thing stuck out to me. The idea that in the time it was written, the idea that God and Christ were binding. But in a bad way. I've always heard of accepting Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit as breaking chains but never as being bound to chains. I don't have much to say except that. Kind of crazy way to think about it.
Day 2 Out....
JDP
So day 2 is complete and good. Here's what's going on in my head today...
As I read the Genesis chapters lots of things were jumping out at me. First thing is when it mentions the sacrifices of Cain and Abel... I see a significant comparison of this to the modern church. Cain and Abel each give up a sacrifice to God. Step one - √ The only difference is that Cain gives "some" of his crop. I take this to mean that he only gives when he realizes he is supposed to give. There isn't an immediate recognition with him as opposed to Abel who gives the "Firstborn" of his heard. That's huge! Abel's first thought at the birth of his flock is to offer it to God. He doesn't think "what should I name this one?" or "man this thing is going to taste good one day after I smoke it over a fire for 5 hours." NO! The FIRST thing Abel does with the FIRSTborn is give it up to God. I feel that this example is taken too lightly in modern times. God calls each of us to offer up the first of all we are. Please don't think I'm talking about money. I mean, money is part of it but I think money is only a portion of what a tithe is. A tithe is your money, your time, your talent, Your Life. How amazing would it be to be able to surrender the first of everything I do to God? It says somewhere in the Bible (paraphrasing and interpreting - don't judge) to give freely and joyfully and the Lord will return blessings in abundance. Time is money and I think that is why it is so difficult to offer this up. Money is the easiest tithe to give, in my opinion. It doesn't take time. You write a check or give some cash and it's done. That's a 45 second transaction. 10% of my time is A LOT harder to come by. More than that, it's harder to "freely and joyfully" give up. God favors Abel for purposefully sacrificing his first. I've heard a preacher say that it is impossible to out-give God. I hope to challenge that as much as I can. Looking back at the ways I've givien, I've already been blessed beyond belief.
I wanted to make another statement about this passage. They are each short so bear with me. As I read yesterday and then again today I realized that one of God's first actions in everything is to bless it. This is true when he creates animals and man and then again with Cain. Most times I've read this story I remember that God punished Cain. This time reading it I found that, yes, Cain was punished but if you continue the story, he is then blessed. Cain expresses worry to God about "whoever finds me will kill me." God replies with an "I got this fool." (Paraphrasing.) God marks Cain and protects him. This is insane. Cain acted out in pride & selfishness and still gets blessed. That should give anyone hope that God forgives.
Onto Matthew.... This is where I was challenged in my own Faith. I'll be brief because this is already long. The wise men blindly follow a star to worship the newborn king. That's two points right there. First, They follow a star. That's pretty awesome. They have no idea where they are going geographically but they have believe what they are told and follow a star to worship Christ. Second point... It does not say to meet Christ. They are on a blind journey with the intent to WORSHIP Christ. This blew my mind. One word changes the severity of this statement. Worship vs. Meet (or find, discover, even to bring gifts.) This made me think. If men thousands of years ago can follow a star for miles and miles with no idea of where they are going with the sole intent to Worship Christ if and when they got there, why can't some people do that today? We know who Christ is. We know what he has done. We know the significance of his life. Worship in this passage has rejuvenated the idea that I should blindly follow Christ in all that I do. But more than that... I should whole-heartedly Worship him as I walk blind, confused, and ,sometimes, against this world.
When I read Psalm 2 one thing stuck out to me. The idea that in the time it was written, the idea that God and Christ were binding. But in a bad way. I've always heard of accepting Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit as breaking chains but never as being bound to chains. I don't have much to say except that. Kind of crazy way to think about it.
Day 2 Out....
JDP
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Day 1: Light in the Dark
Day Uno:
So it's day one, I just read the scheduled verses for today and am already super pumped about this plan. Enough of that onto what I read.
This plan starts with the creation stories. It's a great place to start, in my opinion... you know... the beginnig... not important right now... So I've read this story probably 28 billion times give or take 1 or 2 times, but today a couple of new things stuck out to me.
As creation is happening, God makes the various things *blah, blah, blah I've read this.* God makes two lights: A greater light to govern the day & a lesser light to govern night. This isn't a huge new discovery in the Bible, I know that. I just never realized how important the moon was... and I don't mean for creating romantic scenes in movies... GOD created two lights to govern day and night. Lets go back a few verses... God creates Day (which is light/good) & Night (which is dark/absence of good). From the beginning, there is a separation between good/light and, for the lack of a better word, bad/darkness. From there my mind goes in two different directions. The first thing I think about is that God "separated the light from the darkness." It is important to realize that it is not the other way around. And the second thought is encompassed in the symbolism of the two lights governing the light and darkness.
First, let's talk about the lights. There are two things that I thought with this idea. One is that God created something to govern/control light and dark. So God is in control of good and the absence of good. That's awesome but hard to grasp for me sometimes. This idea brings up the question "why does God let "____" happen?" I don't know. I'll just put it that way. I'm just excited about the fact that God has it on lock and that He loves me. I don't know why it is such a struggle for me to trust God in rough times and so easy in the good times. I expect the ones I love to trust me with there lives at all times, good or bad. I don't control anything...?? I feel like a hypocrite when I tell my family to trust me and then I doubt God who literally from the beginning put a choke hold on good and evil... How arrogant can I be? I'm not comparing myself to God, that's a lose-lose situation. I just feel convicted in that I would offer people assurance in troubling times and not whole heartedly rest in the assurance that comes from God. It's a struggle and It's just one of those things that I know is true. I just have to start embracing it 100%.
On to the next thought... separating Light... from Darkness. I could be reading way into this but it's what I'm thinking right now as I reread this passage over and over. Follow my progression... God separates Light from dark. God calls Light "day." God saw that light was good. Therefore Day is good. God creates all living creatures in the day. Most importantly, God creates man (you and I) in the day, which is separated from evil. From here I realized that even in the beginning, we are meant to separated from evil. We are meant to be Light not Darkness. Obviously man is not without some darkness. We all have some in there somewhere. I say all of this as a challenge to myself and others to strive to be as we were at the start.... Separated.
-Danger
So it's day one, I just read the scheduled verses for today and am already super pumped about this plan. Enough of that onto what I read.
This plan starts with the creation stories. It's a great place to start, in my opinion... you know... the beginnig... not important right now... So I've read this story probably 28 billion times give or take 1 or 2 times, but today a couple of new things stuck out to me.
As creation is happening, God makes the various things *blah, blah, blah I've read this.* God makes two lights: A greater light to govern the day & a lesser light to govern night. This isn't a huge new discovery in the Bible, I know that. I just never realized how important the moon was... and I don't mean for creating romantic scenes in movies... GOD created two lights to govern day and night. Lets go back a few verses... God creates Day (which is light/good) & Night (which is dark/absence of good). From the beginning, there is a separation between good/light and, for the lack of a better word, bad/darkness. From there my mind goes in two different directions. The first thing I think about is that God "separated the light from the darkness." It is important to realize that it is not the other way around. And the second thought is encompassed in the symbolism of the two lights governing the light and darkness.
First, let's talk about the lights. There are two things that I thought with this idea. One is that God created something to govern/control light and dark. So God is in control of good and the absence of good. That's awesome but hard to grasp for me sometimes. This idea brings up the question "why does God let "____" happen?" I don't know. I'll just put it that way. I'm just excited about the fact that God has it on lock and that He loves me. I don't know why it is such a struggle for me to trust God in rough times and so easy in the good times. I expect the ones I love to trust me with there lives at all times, good or bad. I don't control anything...?? I feel like a hypocrite when I tell my family to trust me and then I doubt God who literally from the beginning put a choke hold on good and evil... How arrogant can I be? I'm not comparing myself to God, that's a lose-lose situation. I just feel convicted in that I would offer people assurance in troubling times and not whole heartedly rest in the assurance that comes from God. It's a struggle and It's just one of those things that I know is true. I just have to start embracing it 100%.
On to the next thought... separating Light... from Darkness. I could be reading way into this but it's what I'm thinking right now as I reread this passage over and over. Follow my progression... God separates Light from dark. God calls Light "day." God saw that light was good. Therefore Day is good. God creates all living creatures in the day. Most importantly, God creates man (you and I) in the day, which is separated from evil. From here I realized that even in the beginning, we are meant to separated from evil. We are meant to be Light not Darkness. Obviously man is not without some darkness. We all have some in there somewhere. I say all of this as a challenge to myself and others to strive to be as we were at the start.... Separated.
-Danger
And so it begins... The Adventure
Today marks the beginning of my "adventure" to read through the Bible in 1 year. Here it goes....
I wanted to give a little bit of an intro... I don't know why... I guess because it's the Internet and I can.
Where to start... where to start... Day one of anything brings on an abundance of emotions. Day one of the new workout, day one of studying for a life changing test, day one of eating healthier, day one of reading the Bible again... Some are easier to admit to. Some are easier to start. Some are harder to continue. But as far as I'm concerned the emotion backing the need for each one is the same or similar. For me, it all begins with a thought, a picture, an idea, etc., but more than that... a desire. A desire to be something, to look like something, or to live like something that I am currently not. Knowing that I am not where/who I want to be causes anger, frustration, guilt, humility, and a lot of times embarrassment as well as countless other feelings. These emotions don't just go away. I can't just turn them off. They grow and grow and overwhelm every part of my life. This is me even two days ago. I was at the point where even the slightest word could set me off. Stupid things could ruin my day. My life was surrounded with negativity. SURROUNDED. But... Such a great word... But.... I have people in my life that can say the smallest things and make me realize what I am doing and more importantly what I am doing wrong. It was through a conversation, not even about my life, that I recognized where I am/who I am right now in comparison to where/who I want to be. I haven't read the Bible in 8 months. That, unfortunately deserves repeating.... I haven't read the Bible - the most important, influential, amazing text in my life - in 8 months... It was when I came to this that these negative emotions came to a peak and I found that they had taken over everything. I know who I am called to be and what I am called to be and knowing that I am so far from that, I started back in that direction today. It blows my mind how much relief I have felt in the past 24 hours. I am a big fan of the word "but." For one simple reason.... I make mistakes, turn my back, walk away and do things that all but glorify God....BUT... my God forgives, my God saves, and as long as I have breath in my lungs, it's not too late. And with that, things change for me. Today starts my journey to live the life I desire to live... one that not only reflects the light of God but a life that changes the lives of those around. On to day 1...
I wanted to give a little bit of an intro... I don't know why... I guess because it's the Internet and I can.
Where to start... where to start... Day one of anything brings on an abundance of emotions. Day one of the new workout, day one of studying for a life changing test, day one of eating healthier, day one of reading the Bible again... Some are easier to admit to. Some are easier to start. Some are harder to continue. But as far as I'm concerned the emotion backing the need for each one is the same or similar. For me, it all begins with a thought, a picture, an idea, etc., but more than that... a desire. A desire to be something, to look like something, or to live like something that I am currently not. Knowing that I am not where/who I want to be causes anger, frustration, guilt, humility, and a lot of times embarrassment as well as countless other feelings. These emotions don't just go away. I can't just turn them off. They grow and grow and overwhelm every part of my life. This is me even two days ago. I was at the point where even the slightest word could set me off. Stupid things could ruin my day. My life was surrounded with negativity. SURROUNDED. But... Such a great word... But.... I have people in my life that can say the smallest things and make me realize what I am doing and more importantly what I am doing wrong. It was through a conversation, not even about my life, that I recognized where I am/who I am right now in comparison to where/who I want to be. I haven't read the Bible in 8 months. That, unfortunately deserves repeating.... I haven't read the Bible - the most important, influential, amazing text in my life - in 8 months... It was when I came to this that these negative emotions came to a peak and I found that they had taken over everything. I know who I am called to be and what I am called to be and knowing that I am so far from that, I started back in that direction today. It blows my mind how much relief I have felt in the past 24 hours. I am a big fan of the word "but." For one simple reason.... I make mistakes, turn my back, walk away and do things that all but glorify God....BUT... my God forgives, my God saves, and as long as I have breath in my lungs, it's not too late. And with that, things change for me. Today starts my journey to live the life I desire to live... one that not only reflects the light of God but a life that changes the lives of those around. On to day 1...
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