Day 7

Guys I'm running a little late today but I will be posting when I get home tonight. Feel free to beat me to it.

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Alright I'm a little late but I'm going to get this in before midnight, so technically I didn't miss a day.

Genesis 16-18:19; Matthew 6:1-24; Psalm 7; Proverbs 2:1-5

Proverbs

How laid back are we about really truly seeking out God's word and knowledge?  Listen to the words in this passage of scripture: "recieve", "treasure", "incline your ear", "apply your heart", "cry out", "lift up your voice", "seek", "search"..."Then you will understand the fear of the Lord."  Those words imply really setting your entire mind, spirit, soul and body to seeking after God. Remember that word "fear" means to have reverence for God.  We can say we depend on God. We can say we ask Him for direction. But can you really honestly say that on a daily basis those words can describe your relationship with God in the everyday aspects of your life?  I can honestly say, it doesn't sound like me all the time but it really convicts me. I want to be able to speak with that kind of conviction.  We can't continue to say we reverence God and not "incline our ear to wisdom."

Genesis 16:5 - Notice in the verses leading up to this that it was Sarai's idea for Abram to go sleep with her servant. And it was her idea for Hagar to go in there with Abram.  Then all of a sudden when they go through with it, she turns to Abram and says; "my wrong be upon you."  How is it that we blame other people for our decisions?  Yes, Abram should have said no to his wife's request and Yes he and Hagar had a choice in the matter.  But she started them down that path. I don't know, I just found that interesting.

Day 6

Genesis 13:5-15:21; Matthew 5:27-48; Psalm 6; Proverbs 1:29-33

Genesis 13:10-13 - We can't always trust what we see with our naked eye.  Lot was looking for a good place to live. On the surface, everything about this land around Sodom was great. Green fields, lots of water, a perfect place to pitch a tent and raise some livestock.  So he chooses that land but never took into consideration who his neighbors would be.  How often do we do that in our own everyday lives as well. We look at a situation and think everything looks great and so we jump in and fail to look at the whole picture. What is pleasing to the eye is not always pleasing for the spirit. Can I get an amen?!?! 
Verse 13 reads like a cliff hanger..."The men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord." And then it moves onto a different subject...talk about foreshadowing.  This great looking land of opportunity was about to be Lot's downfall in life.  Don't judge a book by it's cover. Be sure to consult God about every decision in your life. Already that is my message for 2011.  We need to let God back into our EVERYday lives.

Psalm 6 - Just for me. Just for today. Thank you God for your words.
I had a great night at church last night. (Love my Dickson Family)  When I got home I recieved some news that took my breath away  like a punch to the gut. I'm not/can't go into the details right now, but those words David wrote about "I drench my couch with my tears"... that was me last night.  Joy came down a really bad flu bug or something last night (pray for her) so I let her have the whole bed and I stayed out on the couch. But the news that I recieved late last night wouldn't let me rest. I tossed and turned and wept into the cushions.  My eyes this morning feel as though they are about to give out, just as David wrote. BUT praise God for His word, because not only did it describe how I was feeling, it also gave me the encouragement that I needed today. Because I know, just as David wrote, that God hears the voices of the weeping, and He does hear my prayers. Amen

Word of the day - "Supplication" - you'll read it alot, especially in Psalms so I figure you should have a really good grasp of it's meaning.  Look it up and share with the class.  Congrats to Mama V and Jason for the definitions of "jot and tittle." Still just fun to say, especially with a british accent.

Proverbs had one big point that stood out to me among everything else.  Complacency Destroys. Never forget that and never become complacent in your walk with God.

I wanted to point out something in Matthew and you'll have to read back a little to see the whole picture of what I'm talking about.  There has been two repeated phrases in chapter 5. 
1. "You have heard it said" - Jesus would start off with this statement and then tell them something they had already heard.  The people were probably standing there going, "Yeah, so what. We already knew that." But then comes the second phrase that is repeated.
2. "But I say to you"  - Now Jesus brings in the new revelation. 
The law that these religious people were trying to enforce was a shallow, just enough kind of religion.  You know they kind.  I'll do just enough good to make sure I get to heaven.  I'm not gonna kill myself for other people, but I'll help if I have time. Hey as long as I don't go too far, it's not really sin.  Jesus was laying the ground rules and making it clear. This is what I expect from you.  Never be satisfied with man's standard of living.  Instead, listen for what God says and strive for the standard that Jesus  Christ Himself has called us to live.

Day 5

Gen. 11-13:4; Matt. 5:1-26; Ps. 5; Prov. 1:24-28

Have you ever wondered where the word "babel" came from? Well now you know.  Just to point something out...Did you notice in the last chapter it talked about Noah's boys being spread out and part of the division was made "according to their language."  That division took place after these events at the tower of babel.  The people were driven by pride and arrogance. They wanted to make a name for themselves and so God saw where this was going and stepped in to intervene.  You might think God's judgement's can seem extreme at times, but let's not forget He can see beyond the immediate.  He saw their hearts were again turning to selfish things and so He stepped in and confused the languages so that they could no longer work together to acheive this incredible prideful act.  It wasn't neccesarily the temple it was the heart behind the temple.  It's the same in our lives. When God corrects, it may seem over small and insignificant things, but He knows the heart behind it and can where we are headed. Everytime He steps in it is for our own well-being.

In this geneology we see that Abram (soon to become Abraham) came from the line of Noah through his son Shem.

12:2 "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you."
In other words God was saying I want you to leave everything you know, everything that is comfortable to you and everything that feels safe and go to an unknown location that I will tell you about later. vs 4 "So Abram departed.  There's that faith of Noah, just do what you're told. But I want you to pay attention to the next few chapters of his story.  His faith isn't always so strong.  Even at the end of this chapter he is scared for his own life so lies to Pharoh about his wife and basically sells her. God shows His protection regardless and curses Pharoh's household with plauges til the figure out what is happening. 
We have to be willing to show our faith no matter what it looks like MIGHT happen.  God is our protector!

Ps 5:12 - There is protection in a godly life.  The righteous are protected as with a shield.  It is only when we try to live life outside of God's shield that true harm will come to us.

Vs 28 - It seems so harsh and unforgiving but I think the lesson to learn here is that we are all going to have to deal with the consequences of our choices. We can't live our whole lives completly ignoring the instruction of God and then when we're standing before Him on judgement day expect Him to say "don't worry about it, I was only making suggestions." 

Matthew - So much that could be said here. I'm thinking about doing a Wednesday night series on this chapter.  I'm just going to pick a couple points to comment on.

First of all I'm adopting the phrase "jot or tittle." Can anyone tell me what that means? I already know but I'm going to make you look it up, it's kind of interesting.

vs 14-16 - We are the light of the world.  That's powerful!  Light is an amazing thing. Have you ever been in a pitch black room trying to feel around for furniture so you don't smash a toe?  What is it that you look for...Light!  If you can just find one beam of light somewhere, suddenly your confidence increases. It's amazing how the smallest light can change everything and brighten up and entire room.  You find yourself drawn to that light and suddenly the obstacles in your way become clear to you.  That's what we are called to be to this world.  That light for people who are lost and searching in this dark world. They are lost and bumping around falling all over the pathway of life.  We need to let our light shine so they can find their way out of the darkness. God's light must shine out of us everyday, everywhere. Not just at church and around other christians but everywhere there is darkness, we need to be light.

Day 4

Genesis 8-10; Matthew 4:12-25; Ps. 4; Prov. 1:20-23

Proverbs
God doesn't hide himself from us. That's a constant theme throughout the bible. I love how honest this writer is, he just calls them like he sees them. Like in verse 22 when he calls people "simple." How many love to be called simple?  It's really a powerful point he's making though and let's face it, sometimes we need to be slapped in the face every now and then. He's saying these naive people who think they don't need the wisdom and knowledge God gives are just fools.  They try to find peace and comfort in thier ignorance or innocence but it is temporary. Don't complain about your life and lack of direction and then not listen or seek out the knowledge of God. He is shouting in the streets to give you knowledge.
Verse 23 - "Turn"...When God corrects or points out something in your life, Turn. Don't run or cower in shame. It's not a rebuke, it is a correction. There is no condemnation in Christ. To many times, when God points out correction in our lives we are so ashamed of it that we can run away from Him instead of turning to Him.  That's what he's trying to do...He's seeing you walking away and He's asking us to TURN back to Him. When we do, He will pour out His spirit on you, will give you knowledge and His words will be made plain.

Psalm
David is writing the heart of God in this passage.  Doesn't it just cut to your heart?  How long will you love worthlessness and seek falsehood?  Why do we waste our time looking in the wrong places for everything? God will set apart those of us that live godly lives. That's who He hears when they call to Him. This is what hit me as I was reading it this morning.  God hears our heart before He hears our words.  That was a convicting thought to me.  It doesn't matter what I say, if I haven't been living a godly life, the bible says God doesn't hear me.  He's listening to my heart before He ever hears the words come off my lips.

Matthew verses 20 & 22 - one word "Immediatly"
How often has Jesus asked you to do something and you put it off until you're ready to do it. Jesus called these men and IMMEDIATLY they dropped everything they were doing and left their jobs, family and homes to follow him.

Genesis 9:19 - "whole earth was populated."
Why does the bible list so many geneologies?  Why is this important? Take this one listed in chapter nine.  The whole earth was populated through this geneology.  That means all of us can trace our family tree to one of these roots.  One of these boys was your greaaaaaaat Grandpa.
What's really interesting as you read these geneologies is to watch the blessing and the cursing that takes place.  In verse 25 Canaan is cursed.  From now on keep an eye on his family line.  It's not going to be pretty.
Blessing and cursing is a real thing.  Keep reading the OT and you'll see what happens.  Be sure to always speak blessing and positive things over your family. Just cause you did bad at school don't tell your kids they're going to be stupid too.

This is exciting guys. Keep telling people about the blog and keep talking.  I also want to encourage you that if you miss a day or two. Pick up on the current day and catch up on missed days later. Don't get discouraged, God's saying something to all of us.  See ya tomorrow.

Day 3

Genesis 5-7; Matt. 3:7-4:11; Psalm 3; Prov. 1:10-19

Good Morning!!
Day 3 and I started off in Genesis today and I'm reading the line from Adam to Noah. I come up to Methuselah (how many didn't know he was a guy from the bible?) and I'm trying to imagine what it would have been like to live for almost an entire millenium.  No big spiritual thought here, just what would that have been like?

But in chapter 5 it says that God was sorry He ever created man because the thoughts of his heart were just evil all the time.  So in verse 7 He says he is going to destroy man...and beast. I just thought that was such an example of how our sin affects the world around us.  God wasn't just going to destroy the creation of man but also everything that had ever stepped foot on the face of His earth.  We can't continue to sin and delude ourselves into thinking that it doesn't affect the people and things around us.  If man's evil thoughts affected the creatures around them, what must our actions do the the people around us everyday?  We need to live life realizing the magnitude of our actions, thoughts, and heart.

I've always loved Genesis 6 because it spends most of the chapter with God giving Noah blueprints for the first cruiseliner. A detailed blueprint. Then it ends in verse 22 with "Thus Noah did. All that God commanded, so he did."  No questions asked. Just...."thus Noah did." Love it!

Matthew just spoke to me today about how we can all experience those moments in our lives when we know God is with us.  Jesus gets baptised and a dove comes down and a voice is heard. Pretty clear picture that God is there. But then comes the desert.  Temptation. Weariness.  As great as the dove moments are, we need to realize that many times the desert comes right after.  We need to learn to carry those dove moments into the desert with us so that we to can overcome the temptations we face. We are never alone, especially when we hide God's word in our hearts and minds.

Psalm 3 - David is on the run. This time from his own son.  He cries out to God.  The number of people against is increasing, he is getting no encouragment from anyone. But then he remembers who He can hide behind. God is his shield. I love verse 5. "I lay down and slept. I awoke, for the Lord sustained me."
No matter how bad life seems, no matter how many people tell you there's no hope, and no matter who's out to get you...I pray you sleep.  How many nights have I laid awake worrying and stressing about something. How many times have I woke up every hour thinking about what was coming the next day.  God help me to find rest in you, knowing you are in control and you will sustain me. That no matter how bad it may seem I'm still going to wake up tomorrow BECAUSE GOD IS IN CONTROL! Amen

Day 2

Genesis 3-4; Matthew 2:13-3:6; Psalm 2; Proverbs 1:7-9

Isn't it interesting that what the serpent tempted Eve with was "to be like God?" That's really what we all struggle with whether we realize it or not.  When you try to call the shots in your own life and live the way you think is best instead of depending on God to be your guide, you are really trying to assume His role in your life.  I know I struggle in this area. I think I know best, I think I can do a better job with my family, ministry, job, finances, and the list goes on and on.  In reality the devil is trying to tempt me to be "God" in my life. Sadly, I give in way too much.  There is nothing but pain, sorrow, shame and loneliness on the other side of temptation.  God help me to listen this year!  To look away from what seems "pleasent" and "good." To trust and obey You in all areas of my life.  Amen.

Teaching note for today...(you won't get these everyday).  The tree of life was not destroyed but merely guarded so that man could not live forever here where sin had entered.  But read Rev. 22:2...we will see it again when we are in that place of eternal life and we have been made clean.

Proverbs 1:7 (NLT) "Fear (reverance) of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."      'Nuff Said!

Matthew
Can I just say, I don't think enough is said about Joeseph.  He was an amazing guy.  Show me one time where he questioned God thoughout the whole rasing of Jesus. From the moment he found out his bride-to-be was pregnant (not by him) to the times where angels are telling him someone is out to kill his child, he just does what he is told to do.  Amazing man of God.

Day 1

Sorry this is late, I've been driving all day coming back from North Carolina. 


Genesis 1-2; Psalm 1; Proverbs 1:1-6; Matthew 1:1-2:12


Okay, so this is a really good example of what I'm talking about when I say let's read the bible with new eyes allowing God to show us new things. 
I'm reading Genesis chapter one...which I've read more times than I can count.  I'm tempted to gloss over it a little because it is so familiar, (I know that's bad, it's only the first day) then suddenly I come to verse 14; "Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;"  Do you know what that is saying? It's not just about creating stars and constellations, "signs and seasons, and for days and years."  HE WAS CREATING TIME! Think about it, everything we know about time is based on the sun and moon. Our calendar year, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes...all based on the movement and phases of the sun and moon which God created. Why do we worry about God's timing again?  He made time, He probably has a pretty good idea of how to use it. I don't know...that's just really cool to me.


As an interesting teaching note.  Wherever you see the name God used during the story of creation, it is from the Hebrew word "elohim."  What is interesting about this word is that it is plural.  In other words the name God or Elohim speaks of the plural nature of the Trinity as God and all their involvment in creation.


Psalms 1 & Proverbs just confirms why we're doing what we're doing here. 
Psalm 1 talks about the results of meditating on the "law of the Lord." This is refering specifically to the first 5 books of the bible, since that what was written at this point in time. We can take it to mean meditating on the whole bible.  And as we do our life will be blessed.
Proverbs speaks of gaining wisdom, knowledge and so on.  This is why we are reading the bible, to gain all these things.


Matthew starts off with a geneology of Jesus. His earthly family tree.  As we read through the OT you'll see a lot of these.  What you'll notice is that they rarely if ever mention the women that "begat" all these boys.  But here in the line Jesus we see four women besides Mary mentioned. What I've always found cool about who is mentioned is that each one of these women were involved in some sort of scandal back in their day.  Matthew takes the time to show readers that it doesn't matter where ya come from, you can still have a royal lineage.  Kind of like us...it doesn't matter what we've done in the past, we can still be sons and daughters of the King.


I want to encourage you again to comment as you read.  It doesn't have to be long or what you consider profound, just talk.  Some days I'll have a lot to say, other days my just be a sentence or two about one of the scriptures.  Don't be shy, we're family.