Chapter 28: verse 10... we have the 'fear' of others only because we bear the name of the Lord. verse 13... ok, this verse made me laugh... it reminded me of the cartoons and things where there was a donkey costume (or whatever) and someone had to be the head, and someone the backside... so many negatives in being the 'tale'. :) verse 1-14... definately good to be in God's blessing and obey Him! verse 15... 'all these curses will come over you'... so many more horrible curses than blessings... SO much better to obey and be blessed than to disobey and be cursed! verse 20... does this only happen becuase of our disobedience? if so, and you don't know how you disobeyed to receive this, then what do you do? how do you repent for something you don't know you did? what if you are certain you are following God's will but this still happens? just some personal frustrations right now... anyway... verse 20-52, and verse 58-68 ... do we as a nation need to take heed to these verses? do we see warning signs in some of the diseases and incurable things we are bringing on ourselves by our disobedience? do our people have 'blindness' and 'confusion' in the things they believe and follow? are we still successful as a nation, and if not, do we want to know why? if we were attacked, would anyone come to our nations rescue? do the 'aliens' in our land rise higher and higher as we sink lower and lower? do we lend to others, or does our nation borrow from others? have we thanked God for our prosperity? have we turned back to Him in our time of need? just some things to think about as we keep turning our back on God... we can't do it forever without a punishment, so why do we act like none will come and why do we wonder why things are not going so well?... ok, so this is also probably a foretelling of Israels future when they will become captives and such, but I think we can still reap some wisdom from it in hopes of making some important changes ourselves, too, lest we fall into similar 'curses' (or should I say 'fall deeper' into similar curses)
verse 27... 'itch that can not be cured'... ok, do not want that! verse 30-35... sounds like a country song... they stole my girl, killed my cattle, kicked my donkey, and now I'm sick... not really a laughing matter, but it is just so awful, it is kind of amusing (in a 'not happening to me' kind of way)... also kind of reminds me of all that happened to Job... no wonder Job's friends thought he was cursed and must have done something wrong verse 36-37... wow verse 53-57... this is just gross! I hope that I never reach that point... I can't even imagine that... how horrible! and verse 55 is just terrible... ewww... yuck... YUCK!... think good thoughts, think good thoughts... ok moving on... verse 61... and if that wasn't enough to deter you, God's got even more up His sleeve... if He has listed all these, I would hate to know the ones He hasn't listed! verse 65-67... our rest, peace and comfort only comes from God (see Matthew 11:28, Romans 5:1, 2 Corinthians 1:3), so if He is not with us, we cannot hope to have these things. verse 68... God didn't say the "wouldn't" make the journey again, just that they "shouldn't" make it again... important difference apparently... 'but noone will buy you'... harsh and embarassing... the ultimate acknowledgement that without God we are truly nothing.
Study Notes ask why God would us 'secular means' to discipline the people... I think the answer is two-fold... first, there are natural consequences to many of our disobedient actions (like going to jail if we are caught stealing, or losing a friend if we choose to lie to them, etc)... secondly, though, if we know that God is more powerful than any human thing, and we think we are invincible because we are on God's side, and then we end up being beaten by the human thing, it might make one wake up and smell the coffee, so to speak?... also, the Study Notes imply that the word "The Lord" is used so often to make it clear that these things are happening because of God... not because He is unjust and merciless, but so that they know that He knows what they are doing and so that they will want to return to obedience and fellowship with Him... that is why their 'eyes will be weary with longing' (verse 65)... which is precisely the point and desire for the discipline. Makes me think how when we are having difficulties, do we desire to repent, or do we curse God for the troubles? if we chose to repent and thank God, how might our circumstances (or at least our attitude about them) change?... worth some consideration, I think.
Chapter 29: verse 4... do we only understand in God's timing and only what He wants us to know?... makes sense, but why would it be so?... if it is for our own good (see Romans 8:28), then we must still have things to learn so we can handle the additional truth without getting ourselves in trouble?... like power without knowledge and restraint leads to corruption, it is probably the same with why God gives us only small bits of understanding at a time... maybe so our brains don't explode either :)... you know, like how we have to stretch our muscles slowly or we'll tear them or something. verse 10... do we always remember that we are in the presence of God? not just at church, either, but in everything we say, and everywhere we go? I once heard it asked, 'if Jesus came over to your house today...'... the idea behind it was would we be ready to let Him in the way our house was, or would we have to hide things, tidy up, and get other things out (like the Bible, etc)?... as thought provoking as that is, though, I would like to challange it a little, in that, we should remember that Jesus is always at our house... in fact, if we are a believer, He lives with us (or at least the Holy Spirit does, and since all three are one and the same, Jesus and God live with us, too)... makes me feel a little guilty about some of the things I said to my kids today, and some of the ways I acted, too... I wish I could always act the way I would if I visibly saw Jesus in my house... to speak a little kinder, act with more patience, and love a little more... verse 13... interesting that the words 'He may be your God' were used instead of 'He is your God'... I wonder if there is any significance in that? verse 18... 'bitter poison' because when one sins it can spread throughout the group... and sin leads to death... we must be careful not to lead others astray (see also Proverbs 10:17) verse 19-21... we can't say we belive in God and then do our own thing... we can't say we are a new creation, but continue in our old sinful ways (see 2 Corinthians 5:11-21) verse 23... when I read this verse it reminded me of the smell of the burning trash piles that are all along the land of Haiti and how it has a distict odor all its own... it permeates the air throughout the nation...nothing grows there and only destruction is there in that trash area. verse 29... there are things that we do not know, but if God has shared it with us, then we need to make it our business to know and obey those things. 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 soon.
ReplyDeletesandJ
Chapter 28: verse 10... we have the 'fear' of others only because we bear the name of the Lord.
ReplyDeleteverse 13... ok, this verse made me laugh... it reminded me of the cartoons and things where there was a donkey costume (or whatever) and someone had to be the head, and someone the backside... so many negatives in being the 'tale'. :)
verse 1-14... definately good to be in God's blessing and obey Him!
verse 15... 'all these curses will come over you'... so many more horrible curses than blessings... SO much better to obey and be blessed than to disobey and be cursed!
verse 20... does this only happen becuase of our disobedience? if so, and you don't know how you disobeyed to receive this, then what do you do? how do you repent for something you don't know you did? what if you are certain you are following God's will but this still happens? just some personal frustrations right now... anyway...
verse 20-52, and verse 58-68 ... do we as a nation need to take heed to these verses? do we see warning signs in some of the diseases and incurable things we are bringing on ourselves by our disobedience? do our people have 'blindness' and 'confusion' in the things they believe and follow? are we still successful as a nation, and if not, do we want to know why? if we were attacked, would anyone come to our nations rescue? do the 'aliens' in our land rise higher and higher as we sink lower and lower? do we lend to others, or does our nation borrow from others? have we thanked God for our prosperity? have we turned back to Him in our time of need? just some things to think about as we keep turning our back on God... we can't do it forever without a punishment, so why do we act like none will come and why do we wonder why things are not going so well?... ok, so this is also probably a foretelling of Israels future when they will become captives and such, but I think we can still reap some wisdom from it in hopes of making some important changes ourselves, too, lest we fall into similar 'curses' (or should I say 'fall deeper' into similar curses)
verse 27... 'itch that can not be cured'... ok, do not want that!
ReplyDeleteverse 30-35... sounds like a country song... they stole my girl, killed my cattle, kicked my donkey, and now I'm sick... not really a laughing matter, but it is just so awful, it is kind of amusing (in a 'not happening to me' kind of way)... also kind of reminds me of all that happened to Job... no wonder Job's friends thought he was cursed and must have done something wrong
verse 36-37... wow
verse 53-57... this is just gross! I hope that I never reach that point... I can't even imagine that... how horrible! and verse 55 is just terrible... ewww... yuck... YUCK!... think good thoughts, think good thoughts... ok moving on...
verse 61... and if that wasn't enough to deter you, God's got even more up His sleeve... if He has listed all these, I would hate to know the ones He hasn't listed!
verse 65-67... our rest, peace and comfort only comes from God (see Matthew 11:28, Romans 5:1, 2 Corinthians 1:3), so if He is not with us, we cannot hope to have these things.
verse 68... God didn't say the "wouldn't" make the journey again, just that they "shouldn't" make it again... important difference apparently... 'but noone will buy you'... harsh and embarassing... the ultimate acknowledgement that without God we are truly nothing.
Study Notes ask why God would us 'secular means' to discipline the people... I think the answer is two-fold... first, there are natural consequences to many of our disobedient actions (like going to jail if we are caught stealing, or losing a friend if we choose to lie to them, etc)... secondly, though, if we know that God is more powerful than any human thing, and we think we are invincible because we are on God's side, and then we end up being beaten by the human thing, it might make one wake up and smell the coffee, so to speak?... also, the Study Notes imply that the word "The Lord" is used so often to make it clear that these things are happening because of God... not because He is unjust and merciless, but so that they know that He knows what they are doing and so that they will want to return to obedience and fellowship with Him... that is why their 'eyes will be weary with longing' (verse 65)... which is precisely the point and desire for the discipline.
Makes me think how when we are having difficulties, do we desire to repent, or do we curse God for the troubles? if we chose to repent and thank God, how might our circumstances (or at least our attitude about them) change?... worth some consideration, I think.
Chapter 29: verse 4... do we only understand in God's timing and only what He wants us to know?... makes sense, but why would it be so?... if it is for our own good (see Romans 8:28), then we must still have things to learn so we can handle the additional truth without getting ourselves in trouble?... like power without knowledge and restraint leads to corruption, it is probably the same with why God gives us only small bits of understanding at a time... maybe so our brains don't explode either :)... you know, like how we have to stretch our muscles slowly or we'll tear them or something.
ReplyDeleteverse 10... do we always remember that we are in the presence of God? not just at church, either, but in everything we say, and everywhere we go? I once heard it asked, 'if Jesus came over to your house today...'... the idea behind it was would we be ready to let Him in the way our house was, or would we have to hide things, tidy up, and get other things out (like the Bible, etc)?... as thought provoking as that is, though, I would like to challange it a little, in that, we should remember that Jesus is always at our house... in fact, if we are a believer, He lives with us (or at least the Holy Spirit does, and since all three are one and the same, Jesus and God live with us, too)... makes me feel a little guilty about some of the things I said to my kids today, and some of the ways I acted, too... I wish I could always act the way I would if I visibly saw Jesus in my house... to speak a little kinder, act with more patience, and love a little more...
verse 13... interesting that the words 'He may be your God' were used instead of 'He is your God'... I wonder if there is any significance in that?
verse 18... 'bitter poison' because when one sins it can spread throughout the group... and sin leads to death... we must be careful not to lead others astray (see also Proverbs 10:17)
verse 19-21... we can't say we belive in God and then do our own thing... we can't say we are a new creation, but continue in our old sinful ways (see 2 Corinthians 5:11-21)
verse 23... when I read this verse it reminded me of the smell of the burning trash piles that are all along the land of Haiti and how it has a distict odor all its own... it permeates the air throughout the nation...nothing grows there and only destruction is there in that trash area.
verse 29... there are things that we do not know, but if God has shared it with us, then we need to make it our business to know and obey those things.
sandJ