Finished "1 Chronicles"

"So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the Lord, because of the word of the Lord which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, and did not inquire of the Lord. Therefore He killed him and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse." 10:13-14

This was my only note from this book. It's come up a couple times in my life, recently because I watch "The Long Island Medium" on tv and I love her character. She's professes to believe in the God of the Bible and she seems to be a kind and loving person. The things she tells people seem legitimate and helpful. But the Bible is clear on the point of mediums.

The truth I see is that she is real. She does speak to the dead (in a way), but God clearly doesn't want us to do that. God wants us to come to Him for guidance. Speaking with a medium or a spiritualist is asking for trouble. It's a way for Satan to creep in with his demons to drive us away from God's light.

Here's my take. When we die, we "sleep" until the end of times when God reconciles all. He lives outside of what we think of as time, Einstein's time. Once we die, we are also outside of that time so there is no way for a medium to talk to us and tell our loved ones what we are thinking about. But Satan takes that love we have for our dead and gone and twists it. He has the ability to use our thoughts and confuse us. His goal is to keep us from God.

Sometimes when we consult a medium, we get positive feedback, something we think we can use to make us happy but it won't work for long. God wants us to go to Him and take comfort there.

Finished 2 Kings

Another long listing of the kings they had and how they fell farther and farther from God.

The only note I wrote down was about how interesting it is that they commonly note important people's Mother as well as their Father. I know they had multiple wives, maybe that's why.

Finished "The Revelation to John"

This book is a little too figurative for me to really like. The images are awesome to think about but I can't get my brain to hold onto anything concrete.

Here's something that my sons and I were just talking about yesterday. "He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death." end of 2:11

The second death. The word die can mean a lot. I think it means something different to God. Everyone's body dies, but our soul, what we are in the realm of God, is different.

Will those who did not get a chance to know Jesus (either because they lived before His appearance on earth or in an area that did not hear the Gospel yet) have a chance to accept Him as their savior? I think they will. Our bodies die and we are reborn, so to speak. That realm has no time. It just is, always, like God. When we perceive that place we are already at the Judgement. It's hard to write about on the fly like this. It's something we talk about and think about a lot.

Finished "Isaiah"

Loads of great prophecy in Isaiah. I love seeing Jesus foretold in these passages!

Something I wrote in the margin by 1:10-15; God doesn't want sacrifice. He wants our hearts. If we say we are believers and then act in defiance of God's Word, He knows the difference.

You can sacrifice all you want. You can fast. You can pray. You can go to church every Sunday. But you can't fool God. You can't hide your heart from Him.

8:19 "When they say to you, 'Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,' should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?"

God is the Living God. He is not ruler of the dead, but of the living. Something to think about when we believe we are talking with the dead through ghosts of mediums. Who are we really talking to? I'd say we're consulting with the ruler of the dead, those who are forever separated from God, not our loved ones.

14:12-14 " How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'"

The fall of Satan.

And my very favorite at the end, "That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, that you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom. For thus says the Lord, "Behold, I extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;" 66:11-13

This is directed at Jerusalem but I love the mothering imagery. You always hear about God being "the Father", Jerusalem as the Mother is beautiful. I don't believe that Isaiah is speaking literally about the city but about God's people. The whole family image just moves me.

1 Kings

From David to Jehoshaphat, that's a lot of years. But you know what the common theme is? Kings get power and then fall away from God. What in the world? It seems no matter how clear the message is from God, even straight from His own mouth, God's chosen people can't seem to follow the rules He gives them. It's just crazy.

One of my favorite verses from this book is 19:12, "After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing."

The Lord passing by was the gentle blowing, not a big overwhelming event, not an attention grabbing moment, but one you would only feel if you stand still and wait.

Finished "2 Samuel"

More on the reign of David.

There are a lot of why questions for me in this book.

Why did David treat Saul with such respect and awe when he was so cruel to him? Was it because David knew Saul was not in his right mind?

The issue with Bathsheba and having her husband killed. What? Why would someone like David even think that would all work out ok?

And when their child died he was no longer in constant prayer. "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.' But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." 12:22-23

At first I figured this was the best way to react to the death of a child but then, doesn't that mean you don't believe that God could do anything? I'm not sure what to think here. Thinking about it, I wonder why God would punish the child and not the man who had sinned? But then, dying is not punishment but reward in Heaven with God. It only pains those that have to go on in this world without the one who died.

"The Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over now and cut off his head." But the king said, "What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? If he curses, and if the Lord has told him, 'Curse David,' then who shall say, 'Why have you done so?'" 16:9-10

I was just reading the other day about the truth and how it stands up to tests. We don't need to suppress anyone's speech or thoughts because the truth will be told. If it is false, speaking it and arguing it will test it's validity and it will fail. If it is true, speaking and arguing it will give us more knowledge to live on. It's the same with the Lord's Word.

At the end of the chapter, David numbers his people and it's considered wrong? I've seen that before. Why is it such a big deal to take a census?

And my very favorite in this chapter is this.

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge;
My savior, You save me from violence."
22:2-3

Jude

"But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed." 1:10

Instincts are not always positive. We were given reason for a purpose. I believe it, our free will, is what makes us "in the image of God".

3 John

Another very short one! Here's something I found interesting, "I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say." 1:9

Funny to think of the early church arguing among themselves about what they should or should not do.

2 John

I found a nice commentary here.

This is one of those short books that I wonder about. Why was this letter so important to have in the canon? Who was it to and why?

From the commentary linked above I found this, "family imagery also underscores that it was not by the children's initiative that this family came into existence."

How's that for an image? Many of the parenting principles that I've used with my children are based on that very idea. These children did not ask to be here. They were brought into this world by us and we are charged with caring for them and helping them be what they want to be until they are capable of striking out on their own.

In a similar way, we did not ask to become God's children. He created us and is there to support, guide, and love us on our path. I love that image of God. He could have created beings that would automatically worship Him and do everything He told them to do. We can't create children like that, although current parenting philosophy tends to treat children as if we can. God created us "in His image" and I believe that our free will is what makes us like Him.

I'm just loving the analogy and having a hard time putting what I'm feeling and thinking into words best to describe it to others.

1 John

This is one that has some nice quotes in it!


"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 2:15


The "love of the Father is not IN him." Not that the Father does not love him. He still loves you, it's just that you haven't grasped the full idea of worshiping the creator, not the created. Something I think some National Park people need to think about.


"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 4:10-11

That's why we are supposed to love one another. God forgave our sins, and nothing we can do to each other is worse that what we do to God. We can forgive others who sin against us.

"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request which we have asked from Him." 5:14-15

He's listening. He wants to help. Have faith.

1 Samuel

The stories of Samuel, Saul, and David.

I love in Chapter 2, Hannah prays for a child and promises him to God if she gets one...and then she does give him to serve God in the Temple. For this she was blessed with many more children. Don't make false promises when praying for God's help.

Chapter 8:10-22 Israel demands to have a king over them, as if the Lord in the midst is just not enough. Samuel warns them what a king will do. Sigh.

And my favorite in Chapter 10, Samuel tells them that God is not happy about this king idea but will give them what they want because they are stubborn...they rejoice over their new king. Kind of like when you tell your child asks you for something you know is bad for them, they've had before, and you warn them how sick they will be, or pull the old "I'll give it to you, but I'm so disappointed you won't take no for an answer." face, and they skip off with the request happy as can be, oblivious to your dissatisfaction.

"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as a man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord Looks at the heart.'" 16:7

Yep.

"Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him." 16:14

What? God uses evil spirits? I'm not sure what the reason was or why it had to happen this way. To show that David was determined to follow God?

2 Peter

Reading chapter 2, I believe that excess of sensuality was a recurring problem.

"For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved." 2:18-19

When I was thinking about getting married (in the forever sense, not the temporary sense many of my young friends thought of it), I had one friend who was disappointed in me. She thought that committing to one person for the rest of my life was enslavement and that I should not tie my sexuality down like that.

Strange to see words like the ones I read today and think of that. She begged and harassed me about not getting married. She was outwardly hostile to me because women should not think they have to get married to be whole, women should be free, women shouldn't think they need one man to take care of her.

We aren't friends any more. We weren't really then either. She was enslaved to those ideas. She couldn't see that "getting married" didn't make me whole, committing myself to the love of my life and keeping it that way made me happy. I was free to choose this man, to become a partnership. It's sad for me to think that someone could think like that, find someone they truly loved and felt drawn to, and then walk away from that person because they were enslaved to the idea that they didn't need that to be whole.

1 Peter

"like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation," 2:2

I know it's a fragment, but just this phrase is what interested me this time around. New born babies don't need to taught to want mother's milk, they have an instinct that longs for it and reaches for it when it is presented to them. When presented with a pacifier they don't take to it instantly, they need to be coaxed and taught, then they finally give up looking for the nourishment and pacify themselves.

I think we have that same longing for a relationship with God. Over time, we're given other things that we don't take to automatically but end up pacifying ourselves with. Or instincts lead us toward Him and that is what we need to follow.

Although I'm not satisfied with my reading of 2:13-20, I do like this one, "Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God." 2:16.

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." 5:6-7

This reminds me of something I noted in "Zorba the Greek". The author says he was taught about the proper amount of time to take when he was a child. He found a chrysalis with a butterfly just emerging and he was to anxious to wait to watch, so he helped the bug and blew its wings dry only to watch the poor thing struggle and die. We too, need to wait for the proper time. Sometimes the struggle that God has given us is what prepares us to take flight in the next stage of our lives.

"James"

James has those lines that have bothered me because they go on about "works" along with faith, instead of faith alone. But, in light of the other recent book I read, I think I can put it into context.

Works alone cannot get you in God's graces. He needs your faith to tell you what works you should be doing. Sometimes all we need is faith and other times we need to add some works to show others our faith and bring them closer to God. And sometimes the works are just the fruit of our faith. It's not one or the other.

There are also some quotes that I find the hardest to obey or use in my life, like this one, "But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God." 1:19-20

And this one, "For judgement will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement." 2:13

"And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." 3:18

Are you catching the theme here? These are just one of my weaknesses. I pray daily for help here.

"The Bible Tells Me So..." by Peter Enns

I heard an interview with the author on The Tom Woods show and HAD to have the book! I'm so glad I did. It was an eye opener. There were some chapters that, even though I had plenty more time to read, I just had to put it down and let it roll around inside my head for awhile.

Only one tiny criticism though. There was one part about Israel and a lack of physical evidence to back up some of the stories. In my opinion, a lack of evidence is inconclusive. It doesn't mean those things could not have happened. It just means there is no evidence. I'm more likely to get behind evidence to the contrary to a biblical story, than a lack. Besides, just because I have no pictures of the birthday party, doesn't mean it didn't happen.

I'm not going to go into details about this book, but I will give a few of my favorite general quotes. For one, "The Bible - from back to front - is the story of God told from the limited point of view of real people living at a certain place and time." Don't get him wrong. He isn't saying the Bible is a myth or fiction. We cannot ignore what is written there. We cannot pretend that some parts don't exist. And we cannot ignore what we know about history and science.

"But God seems to be in the habit of working through normal channels, and the Gospel writers were normal storytellers of that time and of any time - they offered their perspective. Maybe this isn't a problem to be solved or avoided, but just more evidence of how God rolls."

"Cramming the stories of Israel into a modern mold of history writing not only make the Bible look like utter nonsense; it also obscures what the Bible models for us about our own spiritual journey."

"Some call that unhistorical clothing myth, and that's a perfectly fine word - as long as we remember "myth" doesn't mean "silly things we made up while on acid. Myths were stories that were part of ancient ways of describing ultimate reality,..."

"I want to align my expectations with the Bible as an ancient text and accept the challenge of faith: letting go of how I think things should be and submitting to God. There's an irony: the passionate defense of the Bible as a "history book" among the more conservative wings of Christianity, despite intentions, isn't really an act of submission to God; it is making God submit to us."

Oh gosh, there is so much more and it's so much deeper than these quotes. I'll tell a personal story. When I was in elementary school we had "released time education". It was an hour each week for those that had permission from their parents to go to a trailer off school property and learn about God. You could choose Catholic or Protestant. I went to the Protestant one. It was they only church service I knew when I was a kid. They told bible stories, gave us a little bible, sang songs. To be totally honest about it, I went because it got me out of math lessons once a week.

But as I grew up, those stories didn't cut it anymore. I wanted more. I wanted the deeper meaning behind those stories and there was no one to give me answers, or even point me in the direction of discovery. Church going people that I asked only told me that the stories were history and to be believed without questioning. As a thinking and growing human being, that just wasn't enough. I ended up walking away from God for much of my young life. But then I met my husband and his wonderful mother. I saw their kindness, patience, and love. I saw their relationship with God and wanted to know more about it. I thank God for that every day.

Which leads me to my final quote from the book. "An unsettled faith is a maturing faith. Christians often get the signal from others that if they doubt or struggle in some way with the Bible, their faith is weak." And I think that is where many people walk away. Our free-will and questioning nature, our longing to understand and connect, I believe, is what makes us "in God's image."

"God may be pushing us to experience him more fully, with us kicking and screaming all the way if need be. Feeling unsettled may be God telling us lovingly, but still in his typical attention-getting manner, it's time to grow."

If you're on the fence about God. If you feel something lacking in your relationship. If you don't feel a connection with the Bible or God, read this book. God might be calling you out to play!

Finished "Ruth"

I have no quotes from this story, but I have always loved it. It's short and sweet and so hopeful. Ruth loved her Mother-in-Law so much she went with her when she went back to her native land. It was an ancient land and people did not look kindly on foreigners. It was a huge risk.

She believed that Naomi's God would do good for her and her actions brought her respect from kinsmen and a new husband.

It's just a beautiful story.

Finished "Hebrews"

This must be one of my favorite books because there is a lot of writing on these pages! Here are a couple of my favorite verses this time around.

"For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near." 10:1 (emphasis mine)

This is the second time in the past couple weeks that I'm reminded of Plato's Cave. I think of the Law and the Bible itself, even this world, as a shadow on the wall of the cave and we're sitting there making up stories about what we think is going on in those shadows. Jesus is the man that goes outside the cave and comes back to tell us what reality is. We think he is insane and ostracize him or we misinterpret the words that he uses and miss the point entirely, or only vaguely understand that we can't see the real picture. I can't wait to see what the reality is with my own two eyes!

"Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?" 10:28-29

Here's my interpretation. The Law of Moses was for Israel. The had the law, the kept the temple, they performed the sacrifice, they dealt out the judgement. But Christians are different. God is the law, the people are the church, Jesus/God performed the sacrifice, and THEY deal out the judgement. It is not for us to judge or condemn others for their choices. It is between God and them. Ours to show the love of Christ through our actions. Love them ask Christ loves us, whether they deserve it or not.

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it." 13:2

I remember reading about the Greeks doing this all time, like in the Illiad. You just never know if those men that knock on your door or ask for change at the grocery store parking lot may be angels waiting to tell you something very important.

"Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited." 13:9

This I read just this morning and it was so important for me to hear. I'm currently reading another book called "The Bible Tells Me So" by Peter Enns. I'm enjoying it very much and it is helping shed some light on scripture for sure, but sometimes I get wrapped up in things I read and take them as truth to build on before I search them out thoroughly. This verse reminded me to rely on my faith in God, not on man's words. I believe that goes for the Bible as well. God has done well to lead me to Him before I had ever really read the Bible. My Bible has helped me journey closer to Him and strengthen my understanding of Him, but my FAITH in Him is what builds the relationship. Every time I read, I pray that the words will bring me closer to understanding. The words are "food" I should not be consumed by.

Finished "Joshua"

Wars and genocide, taking over the land that God promised Hid people. Ick. I really don't like reading these stories. It's as if the God I know from the New Testament and my personal relationship is totally different than the one I read about here. It's always been a sticking point for me. Luckily, I found this very awesome author recently that wrote a book about these very same problems, and I'm not alone here. His explanations seem plausible but I'm praying for guidance while I read them. I'll write a post specifically about THAT book later!

"Philemon"

I have no quotes from this letter. It seems so personal and I'm not sure why they would have this in the canon at all. Maybe I'll find more in it next time around.