Recently I was challenged to read the Bible in its entirety before the end of the year. That left me with 139 days. I decided to read it Chronologically (or rather historically by date). Periodically as I’m reading I will bookmark some verses that I think are worth sharing.
Well... it's not gonna happen. I'm behind. WAY behind. To be honest some of the reasons were factors beyond my control. But that's only a small portion of it. Here are a few things I've learned about myself during this process.
1) I prefer reading paper instead of iPhone. I can read faster that way.
2) I do however like the instant ability to 'bookmark' a verse for later discussion.
3) The Old Testament repeats things very often and it repeats things very often.
4) Reading the entire Bible in 139 days is harder than it seems. (Typically 5-7 chapters a day)
5) Chronological reading (while neat) is very confusing if you miss a day or two.
I'm not giving up. I'm going to recalculate my reading plan and probably switch to some other method but I'm pressing on!
Recently I was challenged to read the Bible in its entirety before the end of the year. That left me with 139 days. I decided to read it Chronologically (or rather historically by date). Periodically as I’m reading I will bookmark some verses that I think are worth sharing.
MORE VERSES
Dt 30:19 - Classic verse. Don’t you wish life were this black and white all the time? I mean choosing life is an obvious choice but it’s never that plain and simple. Choosing life often results in a lot of trials and discipline.
Dt 31:16 - Upon my death bed, I want to hear about how effective my life has been on others. I’d prefer not to hear about how my influence will fade quickly after I’m buried. Sorry Moses.
Dt 32:47 - Great verse I had to memorize for my Old Testament class.
Dt 32:51-52 - Consequences for action is biblical. It hurts, it’s difficult, and it still falls under the banner of God’s grace!
Dt 34:5 - Many have argued that Moses could not have written all of the book because how can you write about your own death? This last chapter of Deuteronomy was added much later.
Dt 34:7 - Moses did not die a ripe old man, fragile and lame. He still had energy. Moses died as punishment based on the Israelites and in accordance to the age of man’s years set forth by God after The Fall (Gen. 6:3).
Dt 34:10 - Another proof that Moses did not write this last chapter. How would the most humble man in the world have written about himself this way. It would have been enough to disprove his humility.
Josh 1:2 - This would have been quite the introduction for Joshua. “Hey, guess what... Moses is dead and YOU are my next chosen vessel.” Wow.
Josh 21:45 - God always keeps his promises. When will I learn this? When will I believe this? When will I walk in this sort of way?
Josh 22:20 - The wrath of God fell upon an entire congregation because of one man?
Josh 23:14 - Another reminder that God keeps his promises.
Josh 24:14-15 - “Choose This Day...” Joshua is attacking the main problem of the people. They had been, were presently, and would continue to serve foreign gods. This would lead to many struggles and problems. Today we like to think “Choose this day...” mean choose to go to church. However the problem is the same. We serve other gods still. Why do we expect our outcome to be any different than the Israelites? Jesus doesn’t simply beat up idols in our life, He destroys them and removes them. This is painful.
Josh 24:27 - Having a stone set up as a witness against you seems harmless enough until there is no one left to worship God and the rocks begin to cry out.
Josh 24:31 - This verse seems very positive. If you quit reading here it would remain that way. However take this in context of Judges 2:10.
Judges 1:6 - Thumbs and Big Toes? Why is this important? See Leviticus 8:24.
Judges 2:10 - After Joshua, the faith of Israel died. Why? Surely that had passed down the stories of their grandfathers? The problem was in their stories, God was merely one of the characters and not the author.
Judges 2:15 - How would it feel to have the hand of the Lord constantly against you?
Judges 17:6 - A very repeated theme in Judges (and if were honest most of our lives today).
1 Sam 1:11 - This was a moving prayer for Shelly and I when we were struggling with having our first child. What does it actually mean (for us) to give our child (children) to the Lord all the days of their lives?
1 Sam 2:12 - One of the reasons we named our son Levi instead of Eli.
1 Sam 2:25 - This shows the need for a mediator or an intercessor (1 Tim 2:5-6).
1 Sam 3:11 - I want to hear stuff like this on a regular basis.
1 Sam 7:3 - Samuel is just continuing what Joshua challenged the people with... putting away foreign Gods.
1 Sam 9:9 - I love it when the Bible writes its own commentary on itself.
1 Chron 10:13-14 - Not having faith in God AND seeing a physic is a bad thing in the Old Testament. Probably isn’t much better these days.
Ps 102:18 - That’s Visionary Parenting right there!
Ps 102:20 - Amen! and Amen!
Ps 75:10 - I remember people wearing Texas A&M shirts which depicted the Longhorns “sawed-off” and this verse was on the back. I can think of worse ways to misinterpret scripture.
2 Sam 11:1 - We’ve heard this before but it’s worth mentioning again. David should have been fighting! Not lounging around his casa.
2 Sam 12:14 - How many times have I utterly scorned the Lord? Thank you God for forgiveness and grace.
2 Sam 12:28 - David’s commander Joab did all the dirty work and King David got to get the glory. That’s a good leader to have under you.
Recently I was challenged to read the Bible in its entirety before the end of the year. That left me with 139 days. I decided to read it Chronologically (or rather historically by date). Each week as I’m reading I will bookmark some verses that I think are worth sharing.
WEEK 3-4
Ex 23:3 - We should love the poor but not to the extent that we forsake justice.
Ex 29:20 - This is just a little too much for me. I can just see God waiting for Moses to say, “Ok, God? Really? Isn’t that a little too much?”
Ex 32:14 - God relents (as in changes His mind). Don’t let this freak you out. It doesn’t prove God is not all-knowing. Get used to it. It’s not the first time (remember Sodom & Gomorrah)
Ex 32:19 - I can really relate to this act of Moses. I mean I’ve gotten mad too sometimes and whatever was in my hands came a flying out.
Ex 32:27 - Aren’t you glad God does not demand we do stuff like this today? Or does He? I’ve got a sword...
Ex 33:11 - Moses spoke to God face to face (this is probably idiomatic because he never actually saw His face because it would have been too much for him).
Ex 34:15-16 - I think the message is clear... Don’t whore after other gods.
Lev 4:3 - The sin of the priest was enough to bring guilt upon the entire group of people. I’m inclined to believe this continues today to some extent.
Lev 13:40 - It’s ok everybody... hair loss is not a sin.
Lev 14:2 - Luke 17:11-19 is brought into context by understanding this passage. Lepers were required to show themselves to the priest.
Lev 19:30 - Sabbath?? What’s that? Do we do that anymore? [insert sarcasm]
Lev 20:5 - A friend of mine once said that in the Old Testament parents sacrificed their children to Molech because they thought it was the best thing to do. Today, parents just allow their kids to go to Spring Break beach parties.
Lev 23:11-12 - It’s called a wave offering. Interesting.
Num 6:24-26 - Such a great prayer to pray over your kids or just about anyone.
Num 14:24 - How I long to be considered by God a man with a “different spirit.”
Num 16:22 - Once again we see how God could possibly punish an entire congregation based on one man’s sin. Lookout people.
Dt 4:7 - God’s evidence of His chosen people. Reminiscent of 1 John 4:4.
Dt 7:7 - Love this verse. God proves to Israel that it was not because of anything they had to offer, the reason He chose them. He chose them because He wanted to choose them.
Dt 8:4 - Sometimes God’s blessings are not financial. Many times they are simple gifts like durable clothing and trouble-free appliances.
Dt 9:5-6 - God proves again that they were a stubborn and stick-necked people. They brought nothing to the table. He would allow them to conquer all because His name was at stake, not theirs.
Dt 11:19 - Are these strategic times or hyperbole for ‘always?’ Either way the call is the same. (See also 6:4-9)
Dt 12:3 - We get all in a foul mood if some Christian group tries to boycott somebody. Imagine God calling the Southern Baptists to something like this today? How would that go over?
Recently I was challenged to read the Bible in its entirety before the end of the year. That left me with 139 days. I decided to read it Chronologically (or rather historically by date). Each week as I’m reading I will bookmark some verses that I think are worth sharing.
WEEK TWO
Gen 12:17 - God is serious about marriage people.
Gen 17:17 - I think God waited on purpose for them to get past (way past) child bearing age.
Gen 20:12 - I used to think Abraham was being a punk calling Sarah his sister. However, she technically was his sister.
Gen 22:8 - God indeed did provide for himself a lamb in Jesus Christ several years later.
Gen 22:13 - This reminds me of Jesus’ self-sacrifice and the wearing of the crown of thorns.
Gen 26:7 - Apparently this pattern was a ‘learned behavior’ from his father Abraham (see Gen 20:12).
Gen 34:25 - I don’t know whether to say “Ouch!”, “Oh man that’s wrong”, or “Thanks for the great daughter-dating idea!”
Gen 39:5 - I should pray that the blessing of the Lord be on all that I have, in house and field. I really should.
Gen 42:21 - Imagine living life like this. Always looking over your shoulder waiting for God to pay you back, to get you! Oh wait, so many people still live this way.
Gen 49:10 - The scepter did not depart from Judah’s line. Christ came!
Gen 50:15 - These guys are still living with baggage from the past. Pity.
Ex 1:8 - We are all just one ‘king’ away from a generation who does not know God or His blessings.
Ex 2:22 - I guess Moses having kids escaped me. They really don’t get much of a spotlight while he is alive (see also 4:20).
Ex 3:13 - Reminds me of the line in C.S. Lewis’ Prince Caspian where Aslan tells Lucy to have the others follow her. “What if they don’t believe me?” Lucy says. “It doesn’t matter” Aslan responds.
Ex 6:9 - Everyone has a breaking point. The children of Israel had been broke after hundreds of years of slavery.
Ex 7:11 - Does this freak anyone else out but me? I mean the magicians we able to duplicate these miracles? Seriously spooky. Why would they want to duplicate these plagues? The plagues were a bad thing. Why add to it? (see also 7:22 & 8:7).
Ex 12:19 - It’s time to clean house literally. God was making (forcing) them to get physical when it comes to honoring and obeying Him. Interesting.
Ex 13:9 - Sounds very familiar to Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (see also 13:16).
Ex 20:17 - Not coveting a neighbor’s wife makes sense. It sounds like he’s saying you shall not desire to have your neighbor’s wife as your own wife. However, if you read the remaining examples of neighbor’s male servants, animals, etc. the context is not simply sexual. It is saying do not desire to have for your own anything that your neighbor has worked hard for or has been blessed with. Lust is an issue here but so is pride and greed.
Ex 21:17 - I think I’ll save this verse for my kids’ teenage years. Then plaster it all over the place.
WEEK ONE
Gen 4:7 - Strikingly similar to the woman’s curse in Gen 3:16. Her desire will be to have her husband’s role but he will (shall) rule over her. Here Sin is shown to have the desire to rule over us but Cain is called to rule over it.
Gen 4:26 - At this time in history people began to call upon the name of Yahweh publicly.
Gen 7:2 - Two by two... not so much. Try two by seven.
Gen 8:20 - How would you like to have been those birds? Rescued from the flood, caged up in the arc for weeks, and then once the sun is shining and all things look promising these birds get toasted.
Gen 8:21 - Truth: Bar-B-Q has always smelled good. (Yes, this is a little sacrilegious).
Job 5:17 - Great verse for me. Good verse for Job too!
Job 8:19 - Far too many people think like this. “Save all the Christians and let the lost go to Hell.”
Job 31:12 - Adultery is a fire that burns the whole house down. Recovery is difficult at best.
Job 32:8 - Old age does not equal wisdom. God’s Spirit in you equals wisdom!
Job 38:31 - I think it is cool that God uses the terms for two constellations (Pleiades or the Seven Sisters & Orion) both of which I assume were named by humans. Maybe not, I’m no astronomer. Yet leave it up to God to use our language to express His glory.
This post is a follow up to the one right down below this one (you should probably read that one first).
I said that I had a doozy of an example and here it is. Take into account 1 Timothy 3:2-5. Most of us have grown up in a church that has dynamically been opposed to drinking. That in itself is another blog. However, in this one I don’t so much want to attack whether it is right or wrong to drink alcohol (as if that were the real question). Here, I simply want to show the laziness and erroneousness in how most leaders deal with Scripture.
Take a look... {2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. 4 He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity 5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),}
Notice the “period” at the end of verse 3. That will come in handy later! I think it is extremely ironic and even a bit devilish to elevate the importance of verse 3 to the point that we have taught “forget being addicted to wine, stay away from it all together and in fact never go around it nor around those who are addicted to it. Avoid it in the grocery stores unless you have to get that tub of butter on the same aisle. Condemn those in your congregation who know the difference between a Merlot and Chardonnay.” Abstinence from alcohol is NOT what this passage is teaching. We like the Pharisee have added more law to protect ourselves from going around something that has a potential of destruction. However here is where the whole thing just gets my Fruit of the Looms in a big bothersome and vexing knot.
Notice verses 4 and 5
Why is it that we can highly elevate one side of the equation (verse 3) and drastically dumb down the mandate and responsibilities of the other (verses 4-5)? It never worked in Algebra and it doesn’t work here either?
Essentially we have said this, “NEVER touch any alcohol, but it is alright if your kids grow up to be brats.” In fact we’ve even created a cute little euphemism to describe this style of spasmodic child “PK or Preacher’s Kid.” As if it is expected for a minister’s child to be a hellion. I had a man tell me once after a church event, “Well Robert, it looks like your son is fulfilling his duty as a typical preachers kid.” What I wanted to say was, “No the truth is that he’s just sat through 3 hours of baptist boredom, he’s starving, tired, probably soiled to saturation point, and he’s 13 months old... That’s his excuse for being obnoxious. What’s yours?” But I digress.
Remember that ‘period’? In the Greek, there is no period. The sentence does not end until verse 6. This means it was meant to be stated in the same breath so to speak. The two are side by side yet we have driven a large chasm between them never to be bridged. This is anything but trivial or meaningless. This is borderline idolatry according to John Kachelman, “Modern idolatry accepts biblical religion and a biblical God, but first modifies each to suit personal tastes.”
This Guy spoke at a conference I went to this weekend and did an amazing job!
This is a long one... get ready! (But I hope well worth the read)
I don't know if you were one of the lucky ones or not when it comes to quality Premarital Counseling, but I was not. My premarital counseling consisted of one meeting with my pastor and that was basically just him asking, "So who is going to stand where?" He gave us the once over and said something along the proverbial lines of, "Ahh, you guys are great! You're committed Christians and you do a lot in the church, you'll be fine." He didn't even give us a book to go through or anything. {Cause you know some pastors simply throw a book at an engaged couple like "Before you Say I Do" or "Intended For Pleasure" or something like that as if to say, "Read this and you'll know everything you need to know."} Which is really funny because I wonder when the last time they (as Pastors) were content with throwing a Bible to a child and saying, "Read this, and you'll be fine." {But that's another post}.
So over the years I have come to realize that I (we) had a VERY neglected view of what marriage was about (meaning: how it was designed, what it meant, and what it means for us today, etc). Only by the grace of God has He shown us the truth and filled our depraved and thirsty souls with a Biblical understanding of marriage. But if I'm honest I do feel a little cheated. I mean it’s not like we didn’t know marriage was important. Duh! But I think we really didn’t know just how important it was. We didn’t understand words like covenant and how God pursues us simply because it is in His nature to do so, He can do no other thing (that’s called his loving-kindness). We didn’t realize what actually was happening when we stood together on that ghastly, brick-red carpet with the Roman colosseum poles in terms of our identity and new-found ‘oneness’. Sure we knew that Christians were not supposed to get divorced so we vowed to never get a divorce. We knew adultery was bad, so we vowed to stay true to each other. Our wedding was not a sad occasion. On the contrary, it was great... (not as great as the honeymoon) but it was still a great afternoon. I don’t think having a Biblical knowledge of marriage would have made the ceremony more spectacular so to speak, but I do think it would have made me more aware of just how big of a stinking deal it really was. So what does Premarital Counseling have to do with the Old Testament?
I say all of that to say this...
I don’t know if you were one of the lucky ones when it comes to OT teaching but I was not. I grew up hearing things like “The OT is good for moral rules, understanding the history of Israel, and some really weird junk concerning dead animals and diets.” I was taught (in not so few words) “Sure the OT was important but we live in the New Covenant (read: Different Covenant).” All the rules were changed. We no longer need the OT for anything other than remembering where we came from and some cool poetry with an erotic story to boot.
So over the years I grew up with a VERY neglected view of what the OT was really about (meaning: How it was designed, what it meant, and what it still means for us today). Only by the grace of God had He shown me the truth and filled my depraved and thirsty soul with a Biblical understanding of His all encompassing Word. But if I'm honest I do feel a little cheated. I mean it’s not I didn’t know the OT was important. Duh! But I think I really didn’t know just how important it was. I was told the books represented groupings of Poetry, and History, and Minor (read: unimportant) prophets.
I didn’t realize that everything in the OT points back to the Law. All the prophets pointed back to the Law, all the Writings pointed back to the Law. When you read the OT and even the NT the writers assume you have a basic understanding of the Law. There is no stark distinction between the OT and the NT like the blank sheet of paper in my Bible indicates. It is not so much the OT and the NT as it is the OT and the ‘same-ole’ Testament. Sure the avenue of salvation changed but faith is still the key (as it was in the OT), the heart is still the goal (as it was in the OT), and the far-off country is still the vision (as it was in the OT). The OT set a pattern of {Establishing a Covenant -> Stipulations (laws) were added-> Breaking of the laws by man -> Convent Renewal -> More Laws Added -> Man breaking the laws again...} This happened over and over and over again and each time the focus was narrowed (go read Exodus and Leviticus). And when the time was right, Jesus arrived and what did he do? He continued the same pattern! Except this time he narrowed it down far enough and small enough for man to finally understand.
Jesus stated... “You’ve heard it said not to murder, But I say to you, if you’ve hated someone, then it’s as good as killing them.” And again, “You’ve heard it said not to commit adultery, But I say to you, if you’ve lusted after someone then it’s as if you’ve slept with them.” Those in ear shot were outraged and perplexed. “How can this be? How then is it possible for us to fulfill this Law set forth by our fathers?”
Jesus said... “Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner. Johnny tell them what they’ve won!”
You see its never been about man’s ability or inability to follows RULES, or guidelines, or moral codes, or even by-laws. IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT MAN’S HEART! We’ve become perfectionists at behavior modification. Some teach their kids not to do certain things like drink and smoke but never follow that coercion up with anything valid or defendable. It’s the religious equivalent of “Because I said so.” So we have children who grow up to be adults who don’t drink or smoke (THEY DON’T KNOW WHY THEY DON’T DO IT) they just don’t do it. More precisely, they avoid it. They modify their behavior so they don’t have to deal with it. And sadly they often modify their lives so they don’t have to live near or be around others who do. We teach the latest and greatest methods of how to compartmentalize our faith and meanwhile our hearts are far from the truth.
For those who are wondering, this is NOT a rant. I am not belittling my current church or the church I grew up in (I love that place). I’m not even striking out against the elusive “American” church (which seems to get all the blame these days. I mean seriously, can we please quit blaming all our problems on the “American” church? Maybe all these perceived problems is because we once again compartmentalized our faith into regions... as if to say the “European” church has it all figured out. God looks for those whose hearts are for him regardless of location.
This is a basic statement from a man who sees his role as shepherd as a very serious task and desires to help his people become aware of things that he learned far too late in life!
Identities
