It is my intent in these next few chapters to focus on new concepts instead of 'beating a dead horse' so to speak by recovering many old ones we've discussed prior... sometimes many times over... not that it is ever a bad thing to review thoughts or meditate on Godly ideas or things, but I feel it would be best to try to pull out new ideas instead of rehashing the same old things... if you disagree, please post your thoughts on the matter, as we'd love to hear it.
Chapter 12: verse 4... so even though we must be all things to all people so that we might win some (see 1 Corinthians 9:19-23), we still are to uphold our integrity of worship and make a clear distinction between who we worship, and why and how. verse 6... interesting that there is a distinction made between 'tithes', and 'freewill offerings' (among others mentioned)... I guess I never thought about tithing being a mandatory gift and anything above and beyond it being a freewill offering... I guess I thought it all was a freewill offering... and looking back on our giving in the past, at times it was obvious that that was my thinking on the matter... I believe giving is very important as it is a way of showing God your faith in His provision, and for thanking Him for all He has already blessed us with... I guess I never thought of it as a requirement like paying bills or taxes or whatever... but just because God is loving in His mandate does not mean that I should take His desire any less serious than that of the desire of my mortgate company or the IRS, huh verse 7... is this a description of the first church potluck? :) verse 8... interesting... not sure how to phrase the thoughts that are swirling in my head on this one, but interesting nonetheless verse 12... in reference to the Levites having 'no allotment of their own'... it seems strange to me for this to be a statement of honor... it is so countercultural to today to think of having nothing as a righteousness, but then I am reminded of Jesus's words that we are to give up everything we own to follow Him (Luke 18:22 and others)... to be part of His holy priesthood (1 Peter 2)... and it makes me think how freeing it would be to be able to live like that and how each time we've given up something (like a job, TV, a lifestyle, or whatever), we initially thought that it would be the hardest thing in the world, and then it ended up being such a blessing and drawing us so much closer to God... so what a blessing for the Levites verse 20... this verse reminds me of how far the people have come from whining about meat in the desert (Numbers 11, where God cursed them with their desire for meat), to now God blessing them by saying to just eat all the meat they want... it makes me think about how the exact same concept/thing can be either a blessing or a curse... the only difference it whether God is in it as a blessing... so many times we try to go ahead with a 'good' thing, or a 'good' idea, but forget to consult God first... is it any wonder when we feel 'cursed' in all our efforts, then? verse 23... 'blood is the life'... what does this mean? Figuratively? Literally? Biblically? verse 30-31... makes me think about how we, as Americans, can be so intrigued by other cultural worship practices, like Hinduism, spirit worship, Islam, etc... and how they have ensnared us and turned us from a 'Christian' nation (one founded on Christian principles) to one that denounces God from the government and takes His name out of every public place... should we take God's warnings to Israel a little more to heart maybe?
Chapter 13: verse 1-5... when I read this, my mind immediately thought of all the Nostradomus (sp?) predictions on things that are posted periodically in the Enquirer and Sun and others... or the 2012 movie coming out... there have apparently always been people wanting to try to 'play God', but we are to hold fast to the truths God gives to us in His word and not rely on the fads of 'information' talked about on the fly. verse 6-11... wow... that's all I can say right now... wow verse 13... I like how it keeps saying 'gods you have not known'... isn't it great how we love and are loved by a God we DO know and who knows us intimately, too?! verse 14... this verse reminds me that we are not to gossip about things, as gossip is repeating things without knowledge or their truth... instead, we are to find out the truth before we take action, if we are to do anything about the matter at all verse 16... 'it is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt'... this reminds me of the song, 'Heal the wound, but leave the scar'... isn't it good that God gives us 'ruins that will not be rebuilt' in our lives so that they can stand as a testimony to remind us what not to do, to direct our paths in a straight way, and to help serve as a beacon to steer others as well.
Chapter 14:verse 1-2... two comments on this section... first, how awesome it is to know that we are God's chosen children, His treasured possessions... I think of how my kids collect all kinds of crazy things that others might discard (like broken colored glass, sparkly but dirty rocks, paint splattered wood chips, etc)... as odd as some of these things can be, they are help in high regard by my kids and treasured above all their other things (even above some really expensive toys that function perfectly)... anyway, the analogy might be obvious, but in case it's not, we are like those yucky pieces of 'trash'... without the loving eyes or our admirer, we are nothing and worthless... but when beheld by the one who calls us His precious treasure, we become more we could ever be on our own... more precious than those who seem to have it all together on their own, because they do not have someone who measures their value as infinite.... it is in God that we have our worth... always has been, always will be... second thought on those verses is actually a reference from the Study Notes that refers to 1 Kings 18:28 about the practices of those days (for some additional clarification) verse 21... ok, I found myself laughing here... like someone would go up and be like, 'here I found this roadkill... I've been forbidden to eat it, do you want it?'... It's like a game we play on road trips with our kids... "I saw a dead, maggoty, smelly skunk on the side of the road... I 1 it... (next person says '2 it'... '3 it'... and so on)... until '8 it'... ewww gross! :)
And on that highly theological thought, I guess I end it tonight. :) Much Love and God Bless, sandJ
The IDEA: Romans 1:12-That we may be mutually strengthened, encouraged, and comforted by each others faith. Have you ever read the whole Bible before? We have never done it. We want to share God’s Word, but how can we if we do not know it.
The PLAN: Ecclesiastes 4:12-One person is easily overcome, but two can stand together and conquer. Three is even better, though, as a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. With each others help we can succeed-So, let us team up and read the Bible in a year.
The DATE: We will start Dec 26, 2009 - Dec 26, 2010.
The FYI: We will read 3-4 chapters each day, starting in Genesis, and post thoughts daily. If you do not have a Bible, you can access many translations at www.biblegateway.com. You can also download an audio for each chapter at: http://www.audiotreasure.com/webindex.htm
Read it. Will comment later.
ReplyDeletesandJ
It is my intent in these next few chapters to focus on new concepts instead of 'beating a dead horse' so to speak by recovering many old ones we've discussed prior... sometimes many times over... not that it is ever a bad thing to review thoughts or meditate on Godly ideas or things, but I feel it would be best to try to pull out new ideas instead of rehashing the same old things... if you disagree, please post your thoughts on the matter, as we'd love to hear it.
ReplyDeleteChapter 12: verse 4... so even though we must be all things to all people so that we might win some (see 1 Corinthians 9:19-23), we still are to uphold our integrity of worship and make a clear distinction between who we worship, and why and how.
verse 6... interesting that there is a distinction made between 'tithes', and 'freewill offerings' (among others mentioned)... I guess I never thought about tithing being a mandatory gift and anything above and beyond it being a freewill offering... I guess I thought it all was a freewill offering... and looking back on our giving in the past, at times it was obvious that that was my thinking on the matter... I believe giving is very important as it is a way of showing God your faith in His provision, and for thanking Him for all He has already blessed us with... I guess I never thought of it as a requirement like paying bills or taxes or whatever... but just because God is loving in His mandate does not mean that I should take His desire any less serious than that of the desire of my mortgate company or the IRS, huh
verse 7... is this a description of the first church potluck? :)
verse 8... interesting... not sure how to phrase the thoughts that are swirling in my head on this one, but interesting nonetheless
verse 12... in reference to the Levites having 'no allotment of their own'... it seems strange to me for this to be a statement of honor... it is so countercultural to today to think of having nothing as a righteousness, but then I am reminded of Jesus's words that we are to give up everything we own to follow Him (Luke 18:22 and others)... to be part of His holy priesthood (1 Peter 2)... and it makes me think how freeing it would be to be able to live like that and how each time we've given up something (like a job, TV, a lifestyle, or whatever), we initially thought that it would be the hardest thing in the world, and then it ended up being such a blessing and drawing us so much closer to God... so what a blessing for the Levites
verse 20... this verse reminds me of how far the people have come from whining about meat in the desert (Numbers 11, where God cursed them with their desire for meat), to now God blessing them by saying to just eat all the meat they want... it makes me think about how the exact same concept/thing can be either a blessing or a curse... the only difference it whether God is in it as a blessing... so many times we try to go ahead with a 'good' thing, or a 'good' idea, but forget to consult God first... is it any wonder when we feel 'cursed' in all our efforts, then?
verse 23... 'blood is the life'... what does this mean? Figuratively? Literally? Biblically?
verse 30-31... makes me think about how we, as Americans, can be so intrigued by other cultural worship practices, like Hinduism, spirit worship, Islam, etc... and how they have ensnared us and turned us from a 'Christian' nation (one founded on Christian principles) to one that denounces God from the government and takes His name out of every public place... should we take God's warnings to Israel a little more to heart maybe?
Chapter 13: verse 1-5... when I read this, my mind immediately thought of all the Nostradomus (sp?) predictions on things that are posted periodically in the Enquirer and Sun and others... or the 2012 movie coming out... there have apparently always been people wanting to try to 'play God', but we are to hold fast to the truths God gives to us in His word and not rely on the fads of 'information' talked about on the fly.
ReplyDeleteverse 6-11... wow... that's all I can say right now... wow
verse 13... I like how it keeps saying 'gods you have not known'... isn't it great how we love and are loved by a God we DO know and who knows us intimately, too?!
verse 14... this verse reminds me that we are not to gossip about things, as gossip is repeating things without knowledge or their truth... instead, we are to find out the truth before we take action, if we are to do anything about the matter at all
verse 16... 'it is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt'... this reminds me of the song, 'Heal the wound, but leave the scar'... isn't it good that God gives us 'ruins that will not be rebuilt' in our lives so that they can stand as a testimony to remind us what not to do, to direct our paths in a straight way, and to help serve as a beacon to steer others as well.
Chapter 14:verse 1-2... two comments on this section... first, how awesome it is to know that we are God's chosen children, His treasured possessions... I think of how my kids collect all kinds of crazy things that others might discard (like broken colored glass, sparkly but dirty rocks, paint splattered wood chips, etc)... as odd as some of these things can be, they are help in high regard by my kids and treasured above all their other things (even above some really expensive toys that function perfectly)... anyway, the analogy might be obvious, but in case it's not, we are like those yucky pieces of 'trash'... without the loving eyes or our admirer, we are nothing and worthless... but when beheld by the one who calls us His precious treasure, we become more we could ever be on our own... more precious than those who seem to have it all together on their own, because they do not have someone who measures their value as infinite.... it is in God that we have our worth... always has been, always will be... second thought on those verses is actually a reference from the Study Notes that refers to 1 Kings 18:28 about the practices of those days (for some additional clarification)
ReplyDeleteverse 21... ok, I found myself laughing here... like someone would go up and be like, 'here I found this roadkill... I've been forbidden to eat it, do you want it?'... It's like a game we play on road trips with our kids... "I saw a dead, maggoty, smelly skunk on the side of the road... I 1 it... (next person says '2 it'... '3 it'... and so on)... until '8 it'... ewww gross! :)
And on that highly theological thought, I guess I end it tonight. :)
Much Love and God Bless,
sandJ