January 31 -

Get out of here now! Exodus 12:14-13:16

Hey, mountain, go throw yourself in the sea! Matthew 20:29-21:22

Look upon my affliction: Psalm 25:16-22

Wink, wink: Proverbs 6:12-15

As huge as the story from Exodus is, especially to me having sons, the teaching from Jesus in Matthew is what really gets me. The word “faith” in verse 21 means a firm relying trust. Also, verse 21 has “I tell you the truth” in the NIV version, or as many of our forefathers read in the King James version, “verily I say unto you”. This was Jesus’ way of saying, “listen up, what I’m about to say is pretty darn important”. In other words, Jesus really, really wants us to know that if we have enough faith in Him we can move a mountain just by telling it to! And really, it’s not that hard to grasp when we think about the fact that Jesus made the mountain & everything else.

Would it be so insane to think that I, a programmer, can create an application that can do anything & everything to whatever database I want? That may not be true, but what about to any database that I created? Now it sounds reasonable. If I created it & have complete control over it, I can create another tool that gives you whatever access I want you to have to it.

If I told one of my computer users that they can do this or that with the application I created, monkeying with the database in Birmingham I created, can they trust what I said? Of course! They do it all the time because they know that I created both the software that they’re using and the database that they’re trying to manipulate through the software.

If little ol’ me can be trusted when I tell my clients what they can do through things I create, how much more can Jesus, the Lord God Almighty, Adonai (which means the Creator of all things) be trusted when He tells us that if we had enough faith in Him we could move a mountain!

January 30

John the Baptist would say, “where can we get all the honey to go with these locusts”: Exodus 10:1-12:13

Where’s my paycheck?Matthew 20:1-28

Composed into a song by Steven’s favorite band: Psalm 25:1-15

Learn from the ant:Proverbs 6:6-11

In Genesis we’re about to get into one of the most historic moments in the lives of the Jews. The passover even effects the lingo of us Christians. We sometimes refer to Jesus as “The Lamb of God” by symbolizing His shedding of His blood for our sins with the blood of the lambs that was used to mark the households of the Jews in Egypt.

But the teaching in Matthew stands out. Yet again, Jesus taught that “the last will be first, and the first will be last”. If Jesus thought it’s worth repeating then it’s worth us etching firmly in our minds. We really can’t get too into our social standing amongst our peers. Nor can we get into comparing how God blesses us with how God blesses others. All of us get a good deal from God, regardless of how that compares to the deal others get from God. Also, when we think that we’re standing pretty tall amongst our peers we better watch out, or we’ll be the one knocked down a peg or two.

Then when the mother of the sons of Zebedee asked Jesus to allow her sons (John & James) to sit at either side of Jesus in His kingdom, Jesus’ answer wasn’t form a standpoint of, “Girl, you need to quit thinking about making your boys ranked higher than other folks.” He basically told them that gaining glory over our fellow man requires that we “drink the cup” that Jesus was “about to drink”. Are we willing to give our lives for the sake of our fellow man seeing Jesus? Better yet, are we willing to live our lives for the sake of our fellow man seeing Jesus?

All three of them (Jesus, John, & James) weren’t lying when they said that they can & will drink from Jesus’ cup. James was killed for being a Christian (see Acts 12:1-2). John was put on a prison island (see Revelation 1:9).

All summed up: Don't see wordly glory. Any real glory comes from giving Jesus your all.

Bible geek information: In Matthew, “third hour”, “sixth hour”, & “eleventh hour” refer to the # of hours after sunlight. So “third hour” means about 9 in the morning (with the sun rising at 6 AM).

January 29 - Ribbet

Who ordered the frog legs? Exodus 8:1-9:35

Rich enough to order frog legs: Matthew 19:13-30

Frog legs belong to the Lord: Psalm 24:1-10

Try not to owe your brother frog legs: Proverbs 6:1-5

It’s hard to imagine Pharaoh being so bull headed that he wouldn’t let the Israelites go after all of that. If you noticed, God made it so that some of the plagues harmed only the Egyptians and not the Israelites. Even that wasn’t enough for Pharaoh to get the point.

Of course, that was so God could use Pharaoh as an example of God’s glory. Pharaoh, who thought he was the most powerful person in the land, eventually learned that he’s on the losing side. The greatest became last.

Then in Matthew, Jesus taught that “many who are first will be last and many who are last will be first”. He also taught that even when we think we’re living good enough lives to get into Heaven, it’s still not enough. Only Jesus lived a truly perfect life. Only Jesus can earn Heaven. It’s a good thing He lets us join Him for the ride!

He also said that those who follow Him get to sit at the throne with Him. Of course, it means living it like you mean it, even if the people around us don’t like it.

January 28 -- Taking a Swim in B Negative

The river vampires would love to have flowing through their neighborhood: Exodus 5:22-7:25

Forgive Others … Or Be Judged: Matthew 18:21-19:12

My Favorite Psalm: Psalm 23:1-6

Evil Deeds: Proverbs 5:22-23


The teaching in Matthew is pretty heavy. It reminds me of the model prayer that we say every Sunday morning: “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”. We have to forgive or we won’t be forgiven by God. As much as we think we can hurt someone else by staying mad at them, in the end we hurt ourselves a lot more.

At first glance it seems like Jesus contradicted Himself in Matthew. It’s almost like He said, “Hey, man. Forgive others or God won’t forgive you. But if your spouse cheats on you, don’t forgive – divorce.” But it’s really two different teachings. Jesus changed the topic from forgiveness to divorce only after he went to another town & the Pharisees brought up divorce.

Another thing, divorce as Jesus described it is not a matter of forgiveness as it is trust. Jesus didn’t say, “if your spouse cheats on you then you should hold onto your bitterness forever”. Instead, Jesus said that God didn’t dream up opposite sexes & marriage so that a married couple would get divorced, but if one person in a married couple can’t stay faithful then the other person doesn’t have to stay in that marriage. Breaking your vow is a sin, especially wedding vows.

Also, Brother Jack once pointed out that taking the Lord’s name in vain is not cussing by saying “God” (although we probably shouldn’t do that). It’s really about making a promise on the name of the Lord & breaking that promise. We don’t make promises like that much in 21st century America. We sometimes joke by saying, “I swear on my grandmother’s grave…”, but we don’t mean it -- except in weddings. When we choose to get married in a church before a preacher & share wedding vows, we’re making them before God. In doing so, we’re bringing the holiness of God into the vows. Thus, breaking the wedding vows by divorce defames the name of God.

Back to forgiveness – perhaps the people who have the hardest times forgiving are people who’ve been through divorce. Many of you youth can probably attest to that. Before I remarried & moved to FUMCH, I both taught Sunday School for singles (i.e. divorced) at another church & volunteered at the divorce counseling in Bessemer. As a Sunday School teacher, the hardest thing I’ve ever had trouble getting through to a class is that even divorced people must forgive or the Lord won’t forgive.

January 27 - a bridegroom of blood

I’m sorry for being a couple of days behind on the Bible blog. Here are Tuesday’s Bible readings:

A bridgegroom of blood: Exodus 4:1-5:21

The least is the greatest: Matthew 18:1-20

The kingship: Psalm 22:19-31

Your wife is your well: Proverbs 5:15-21

Poor Moses. He didn’t want this job. Yet his wife fusses at him for having to circumcise one of their sons (Exodus 4: 24-26). It’s not like Moses digs circumcision or wanted to be struck with illness. :)
Later, the Hebrew supervisors of the Hebrew slaves fussed at Moses for making Pharaoh mad (Exodus 5:21). It’s not like Moses didn’t try to talk God out of the whole bit of sending him to Egypt to free the Hebrew slaves. :)

I’m sure at this point Moses was ready to give up. We see in the next chapter that the Lord spoke to Moses to tell him that He would show Himself in glorious fashion to the Hebrews & the Egyptians. But at this point, I can relate to Moses. We’ve all had times when it seems like we’ve got our back against the wall, and the wall being God’s will.

Yet, in the end God is always shown to be the Supreme Being. What we see with our senses is just a temporary illusion when it seems to contradict the eternal truths.

Jesus’ teaching in Matthew backs this up. He said that the greatest in Heaven must contain the heart of a child. Moses, as described both in yesterday’s post & in part of today’s Genesis text, was a lot humbler than we usually think of him. Yet God used him in wondrous ways!

God will use you too if you learn to see yourself as small & the Lord as mightier than anything else.


About today’s Proverbs, Solomon continued his teaching about staying away from adultery. Verses 15-18’s references to a well, springs, & streams are allegories to fertility & offspring. Reading it in the amplified would probably be better: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%205:15-21;&version=45;. When we think God doesn’t see us fooling around, we’re wrong (verse 21). There’s plenty to keep us happy by keeping it all in marriage (verse 19).

January 26 - Bible reading

If you want to impress a babe, draw water for her: Exodus 2:11-3:22

A taxing subject: Matthew 17:10-27

A prophetic psalm of David about Jesus: Psalm 22:1-18

A continuation about adultery (the “her” in this passage from Proverbs): Proverbs 5:7-14


We often think of Moses as a larger-than-life character. But in Exodus 3 we see that Moses was quite humble. He asked the question “Who am I?” In the rest of the chapter & in chapter 4 he asks a lot of “But what if” type questions. In addition, I believe that God foresaw that Moses would have doubt even after God performs many wonders through Moses. In Exodus 3:12 God told Moses “and this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain”.

For starters, the “you” in “you will worship God on this mountain” is plural. Clearly, God is talking about the Israelites, not just Moses, worshipping Him later. Also, this did not happen until well after the plagues, the slaying of the firstborn in Egypt, and the crossing of the Red Sea (perhaps best translated as “Sea of Reeds”). So, all in all, only after all of that is done & the Israelites worship God back at this mountain will Moses know for certainty that it was God who sent him. Even after hearing God’s voice, from a burning bush with a fire that didn’t consume the bush, and throwing the rod down to make it turn into a snake, and the plague of blood, and the plague of frogs, and etc. God, I believe, could see that Moses would still have doubt that he’s doing God’s will. Only when the Israelites are freed from Egypt & worshipping God at this mountain will Moses see the sign that’s the proof that God is the one who sent Moses.

If one of our main Bible heroes could have doubt, it’s okay for us to have doubt. We see the work of the Lord as something that’s on our shoulders – when we’re weak beings. We have to see ourselves as merely vessels of the Lord. The Lord has great ability to do anything, anytime, through anyone. Sometimes, we’re the anyone.

January 25 reading

Am I in the place of God?Genesis 50

When bathing in the Nile River & making yourself smell like fish is an improvement on your body odor, you’re in pretty bad shape for a princess: Exodus 1:1- 2:10

Who do you say I am?Matthew 16:13-17:9

Psalm 21:1-13

Proverbs 5:1-6


We tend to think of the Old Testament as being a strict time of God’s law and no forgiveness – you know: an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. But in today’s passage for Genesis, when Joseph’s brothers begged him to forgive them for being cruel to him & said that they would be his slaves, Joseph replied with the honest perception of who he is. He said, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?”

We don’t have the authority to get revenge on the people who do us wrong. We are God’s children, not God’s police. Plus, it’s our job to represent Christ, that fella who forgives us daily.

Most people reading this blog are Christians. We say like Peter did in Matthew that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Yet, we can’t even say that except that God reveals it to us. I’ve always thought this was kind of odd, but it’s true. It’s almost like God is believing in Himself through us. It’s quite humbling, in fact. Not only is my salvation dependent on Jesus, or my providence dependent on Jesus, but even my very faith is dependent on Jesus. When it comes to our relationship with God we really do have the best end of the deal.

January 24 - Fish vomit always makes a good object lesson

The death of Israel: Genesis 48:1-49:33

Jesus teaches about fish vomit: Matthew 15:29-16:12 Check it out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambergris

The Lord answers us in our distress: Psalm 20:1-9

Guard your heart: Proverbs 4:20-27


Jacob (Israel) on his death bed made a prophecy concerning Jesus. Genesis 49:10 says “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” Jesus’ birth coincided with the Roman rule of Judea, the first real time the Judeans didn’t have authority over their daily lives. Other kingdoms that had conquered Israel didn’t micro-manage the Jews like the Romans did. The “scepter” is the symbol for authority.

That verse’s “until he comes to whom it belongs” is sometimes written as “until Shiloh comes”. “Shiloh” means peace or tranquility and is often used as a name for the Messiah in the ancient Jewish writings.

Jesus Himself prophesied about His own resurrection. Jonah came out of the whale (or big fish) on the 3rd day. Jesus came out of the grave on the 3rd day. This is the sign that Jesus said is the only sign that Jesus would give the Pharisees.

And what a sign it is! Jesus tops death! Even death is subordinate to Jesus. We don’t have to be afraid of death because our leader demonstrated that He’s superior to death!

January 23 - Eating pizza is not sin

Jacob finally sees his son, Joseph, before he dies: Genesis 46:1-47:31

Eating pizza is not a sin: Matthew 15:1-28

More of the song from David about God giving him victory over his enemies: Psalm 19:1-14

The wicked stumble: Proverbs 4:14-19


Bible geek information: When Joseph placed his hand under his father’s thigh to make the vow, this was symbolic of two things:
1) It’s a respect for the circumcision – which is the mark on the human body that symbolized God’s covenant with His people.
2) The right thigh is the strongest part of the body.
Thus the placement of Joseph’s hand under his father’s thigh was a way of saying, “I make this promise on your strength and on God’s covenant with you.”


What comes out of mouth is what defiles us. (See today’s verses from Matthew.) What we profess with our lips comes from our heart. As sinful beings we have hearts bursting with sin. That sin shines through what we say.

Probably the first thing we have to do to clean up our lives is to clean up our mouths.

January 22 readings

Hey everyone!

I've got a BUSY (like "bang my head on the wall, I'm not sure if I can get it all done" sort of busy) day, so I will apologize right now for only providing the links to the readings for you today.

Enjoy...

Genesis 44:1-45:28
Matthew 14:13-36
Psalm 18:37-50
Proverbs 4:11-13

Hope you all have a great day!

(And don't forget to say a prayer for Matt as he heads off for his Emmaus Walk this weekend.)

January 21 -- I'd like to order a prophet's head.....can I have fries & a drink with that?

More on the story of Joseph: Genesis 42:18-43:34

I never got this for my birthday! Matthew 13:47-14:12

Deliverance from enemies: Psalm 18:16-36

Wisdom is a prize worth getting: Proverbs 4:7-10

In Matthew Jesus continued to teach the same thing he taught yesterday. I believe we need to pay close attention to this if Jesus feels it’s worth repeating. The bad fish being thrown away is like the weeds being thrown in the fire. Hell is real & some people are going to go to it. All of us deserve to go. Only grace saves us.

We’re fools if we think that we’re all going to Heaven – it’s automatic, there’s nothing on our part to do. We have to accept God’s grace by accepting Jesus.

January 20 - Hey, Brother - Can you spare a slice of Egyptian bread?

Walk like an Egyptian: Genesis 41:17-42:17

Weed N Feed: Matthew 13:24-46

I Will Call Upon the Lord: Psalm 18:1-15

Love Wisdom and She Will Watch Over You:Proverbs 4:1-6

God always makes a way for His people. Had God not allowed Joseph to be used as Pharaoh’s second-in-command and been given the revelation of the coming famine, the Israeli race would have never existed beyond Jacob’s sons & grandsons. God kept his promise to Abraham, which was passed down to Abraham’s son, Isaac, and Isaac’s son, Jacob. Jacob, if you recall, was renamed “Israel” and is the ancestor to the Israelis.

When last we blogged, Joseph was facing pretty hard times. Now, he’s living it up in royal luxury. And to this day both Jews and Christians regard him as a hero.

Plus, God has a way of turning the tables. Joseph’s brothers, the same ones who treated him like dirt, are now coming to beg Joseph for food.

Finally, Joseph had to trust God’s foresight. He had to plan for a famine that he couldn’t detect with his natural senses. God’s direction had to be supreme in Joseph’s planning in order for Egypt & Joseph’s family to survive.

The teaching in Matthew is similar. In yesterday’s teaching Jesus told the parable about the sower spreading seeds – some of which take root & multiply to bear more seeds & more plants. Some of them, however, get choked up by the thorns & thistles. Today’s teaching from Jesus backs that up. In this parable, Jesus makes it clear that Satan is the one planting the weeds. Satan’s offspring (the weeds) get thrown into the fire, yet Jesus’ offspring get pulled into the harvest. The parable is not a perfect analogy to the reality, we can through God’s grace go from being a weed to being grain. Likewise, we can decline God’s grace and go from grain to a weed. However, the rest of the parable precisely portrays reality. The day will come when we face Heaven or Hell. If we accept Jesus as our Savior we’re going to Heaven, otherwise we’re going to Hell. There is no middle ground. This is going to happen, even though we can’t see it happening with our natural senses. Just like Joseph had to prepare for the coming famine he couldn’t see with his natural senses.

January 19 Bible readings -- I had a dream

It’s kind of funny that today, as we remember Martin Luther King’s “I Had a Dream” speech, that this is today’s text from Genesis: Genesis 39:1-41:16

The Bible tells me Sow: Matthew 12:46-13:23

Apple of your eye: Psalm 17:1-15

Being cursed vs. being blessed: Proverbs 3:33-35

There’s a lot to gain from reading today’s passage of Genesis. The Lord was with Joseph and had given him an amazing talent. Yet, that didn’t prevent Joseph from experiencing hard times that he did not deserve. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love the Lord, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” If you know the end of the story you realize that God put Joseph in the right place to save his family from starvation. Yet, being carried of to Egypt as a slave probably didn’t make Joseph feel like the Lord was with him. Then it gets worse – Joseph gets thrown in prison. But if Joseph could see the big picture like the Lord does I’m sure Joseph would agree that even these hard experiences were small prices to pay for his entire family surviving the coming drought.

On a side note, Joseph’s family are the first generation of Israelites. And the Ishmaelites who took Joseph to Egypt as a slave are decedents of Ishmael – the great-great grandfather of the Arabs. It may be that these Ishmaelites were Arabs. The clash in the Middle East that we have today is far from a new thing.

In Matthew, Jesus tells us to sling the seed of the gospel – which means the good news about Jesus. Some people won’t get it. Some people will get it, but put it aside. Some people will get it for a while until troubles in life make them put Jesus aside. Others will get it & stick to Jesus like glue all of their lives – and even sling the seed of the gospel to others. It’s easy to get depressed when it seems like nobody cares to here about Jesus. Yet, we’ve got to keep slinging the seed, knowing that somebody will get it. One thing is sure – if we don’t tell folks about Jesus then the seen will NOT be planted.

January 18 Bible readings -- my daughter-in-law is hot enough to be my hooker

If you’ve fooled around with the same woman two of your sons already fooled around with...


you might be a Jewish redneck: Genesis 37:1-38:30


Demon Hunter: Matthew 12:22-45

Pleasures Forevermore: Psalm 16:1-11

Withold not good: Proverbs 3:27-32

Today’s Bible reading is full of LILYMI – Live It Like Ya Mean It

The story in Genesis is the kind of story that’ll make you blush if you read it out loud. :)

To understand parts of the story, we must first realize that in the ancient Middle East it was a huge shame to die of old age without ever having kids. The people around you thought that you must be an awful person to have been cursed by God with childlessness.

It seems like a perverted thing for Judah to command his son, Onan, to marry Tamar & make babies through her in his brother’s name. But in reality Judah was trying to do both the memory of his son & his still living daughter-in-law a favor by giving them the honor of having kids in their name.

Onan tried to take advantage of his sister-in-law’s situation by getting his kicks from her on a long term basis while at the same time trying to give himself & his kids a bigger piece of the inheritance pie. As long as she was not pregnant, Onan could keep taking advantage of the situation in a sexual manner. As long as Onan’s late brother didn’t have a son, then Onan would get half of Judah’s wealth when he died (with the other half going to Onan’s still living brother, Shelah).

We’re called on to help the needy, not take advantage of them. Apparently, God takes this very seriously.

Jesus’ teaching in Matthew backs this up. “For a tree is recognized by its fruit.” Jesus said this in the context of trying to explain to the Pharisees that He is not a chief demon. Our works make it clear who’s side we’re on -- Jesus' or Satan's. Now, we can’t run on a tangent & say that our works get us into Heaven – lots of places in the Bible say that we’re saved by grace. Yet, we can’t throw out this part of the Bible either. We must love our fellow man – case closed.

Tomorrow when the youth go to work at the mission, we must remember that God puts us in situations like that to help people. We represent Him, not the world. Our behavior needs to reflect God’s love, not Satan’s selfishness.

Saturday, January 17

Genesis 35:1-36:43

Matthew 12:1-21

Psalm 15:1-5

Proverbs 3:21-26


When reading today’s passage from Matthew, it’s hard to imagine some people having a problem with Jesus healing someone on the Sabbath day. They couldn’t simply be impressed with Jesus healing someone. You’d think normal people would go, “Wow! Cool! That dude from Nazareth just healed a man’s hand! Maybe he can get rid of my athlete's foot!” Instead, the Pharisees reached in their back pocked, pulled out their organizer, and checked the date to make sure it was the wrong day of the week. :)

But we do the same thing today. We try so hard to make Jesus conform to what we want Him to be, or what we expect Him to be. I guess that’s why we have so many churches & so many denominations. Which, by the way, is why Matt is wanting all of us to read the Bible. When some of you boys were in my Sunday School class, you were taught what I thought was right & wrong, what I thought was most important, & how we should apply it to our lives. Yet, if you’re reading the whole Bible this year you’ll have a better handle on Jesus as He really is, not what someone else wants you to think He is.

Jesus doesn’t have to conform to us or our expectations. We have to conform to Jesus. It’s easier to do that if we know who He is & what He’s like.

January 16 reading -- how to win a fight, and wisdom too :)

Can you imagine a worse death?  Genesis 32:13-34:31

Matthew 11:7-30

Psalm 14:1-7

Proverbs 3:19-20

Some of the stories in Genesis are so ridiculous they can be funny without trying to be funny. 

Matthew & Proverbs both speak out to me today. In Matthew, 11:17-19, Jesus tells the people of that day they were foolish for not heeding John the Baptist’s teachings of repentance & of the coming Messiah, Jesus. All they could do was come up with religious sounding logic for refuting first John the Baptist, then Jesus. Yet, as Jesus put it, wisdom is proved right by her actions.

For starters, wisdom is referred to by the female gender. When male writers of old ascribed femininity to something, they were =trying to portray it with romantic overtones to show how dear that something is. Wisdom is a precious thing.

Secondly, wisdom is an active concept. It has actions. The amount of wisdom each one of us has is not based on just what we know, it’s based on how we live what we know.

Finally, wisdom was used in God’s marvelous design of everything (today’s proverb). If wisdom is good enough for God to use, it’s certainly good enough for us too.

January 14 readings

Hi, all. I had to take a break for a couple of days to help my parents get the pool ready for the hard freeze we're liable to have tomorrow. While reading the past few days of Bible readings, I realized that we forgot to post January 14. So here it is.


My maid’s better than your maid! Genesis 30:1-31:16 No wonder there were 12 tribes in Israel. 

Matthew 10:1-23

Psalm 12:1-8

Proverbs 3:13-15

I joked about how the some of the tribes of Israel were the result of the “battle” of the maids.  But Matthew recorded Jesus recruiting & utilizing His 12 disciples. Jesus had many disciples, but the twelve were the closest to Jesus. Those of us who are Christians should probably pick a couple of people close to us who are not as spiritually healthy as we are and give special attention to them.

Also, note the spiritual war. Jesus gives us the ability to cast out demons. Yet, some people try to execute the spiritual war in the flesh by harming other people (verses 17-23). For 2,000 years Christians have been hunted down in various parts of the world by various peoples & governments. And it still goes on today.

Thursday, January 15 Readings

Good Morning!

Your Bible readings for the day are:

Genesis 31: 17- 32:12
Matthew 10:24- 11:6
Psalm 13: 1-6
Proverbs 3:16-18

I am really enjoying these daily readings. I'm so proud I'm keeping up! (I'd love to know how many youth are doing it. Let me know if you're reading it!)

All of the readings were really good for today, although I am constantly amazed by the dysfunctional families in the Genesis stories (I guess it can make me feel good about the craziness in mine sometime too! lol). But the Matthew passage is what jumped out at me today.

Two excerpts especially made me think:

32"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

I listen to a lot of sports talk radio and one of the main topics of conversation lately has been about Tim Tebow and how outspoken he is in his faith. People are becoming really critical of him, questioning why he has to talk so much about his beliefs. Why does he always have to thank Jesus first whenever he gives a speech? they are asking. While certainly we can show our faith by how we act and live--and many other athletes and "normal" people do that all the time--Tebow thinks that his best way to serve Christ is to share Him with others through his words.

The Bible says that if we acknowledge God in front of others, He will acknowledge us. It sounds like God wants us to be bold in how we show our faith--in both words and actions.

And then this second passage--

37"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

This has always been a really tough couple of verses for me. Christ wants us to love Him more than our parents, our children, our friends, our jobs, our families, ANYTHING. How often do I show that I love Christ more than any of these things? It is a challenge, that's for sure!!

January 13 readings

                                                                     

 

January 13

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Genesis 28:1-29:35

Matthew 9:18-38

Psalm 11:1-7

Proverbs 3:11-12

January 12 readings

                                                                    

                                                                     

 January 12

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Genesis 26:17-27:46

Matthew 9:1-17

Psalm 10:16-18

Proverbs 3:9-10

January 11 readings

January 11

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Genesis 24:52-26:16

Matthew 8:18-34

Psalm 10:1-15

Proverbs 3:7-8

January 10's readings

Want to talk a cute young thing into marriage? Try giving her a nose ring. Genesis 23:1-24:51
The centurion’s faith: Matthew 8:1-17
Strike them with terror: Psalm 9:13-20
Trust in the Lord with all your heartProverbs 3:1-6

In today’s readings, it’s the story of the centurion in Matthew that moves me. He was a Roman soldier, yet he trusted Jesus with healing a servant he cared about. Just Jesus’ word was all that was needed. Perhaps the centurion knew that Jesus is God and, as God, His word was what created everything in existence.

Jesus, as Creator has entire dominion over everything, including the nations (see today’s psalm). The Lord is supreme. Yet, His love for us is so great He jumps to heal us.

Proverbs 3:5 is a good one to memorize. Take it from the experience of the centurion. He trusted in the Lord and leaned not on his own understanding. His own understanding would have told him to give up on his servant being healed. But his trust in the Lord is what wound up winning out & being a proper perspective on the situation. Oh, how stress free we would be if we trusted in the Lord like He deserves!

January 9 Reading

Pickin’ up older chicks: Genesis 20:1-22:24

The origin of one of my favorite songs: Matthew 7:15-29

The blood avenger: Psalm 9:1-12

Following wisdom: Proverbs 2:16-22

As a father, it seems crazy to think about Abraham sacrificing his son, Isaac, just because God command him to. God Himself must be just as crazy to sacrifice His Son for us. In fact, I say that it’s even stranger. Jesus’ blood was shed for us, even though we are nothing in contrast to Him.

The teaching in Matthew seems to back up the teaching from Genesis. Jesus taught that He is the rock we need to build our lives on. To hear His teachings but not actually live His teachings is to build our lives on a wobbly foundation. Abraham knew this back in Genesis. Abraham did what God said, no matter what. God came through for Him. Abraham had a LILYMI mentality (Live It Like Ya Mean It).

This goes even in our dealings with others, including those who are enemies (today’s Psalm). God is the One Who wins in the end. If we are on His side, our enemies are the ones who have to worry. Note, we don’t have to fight them.

This is the wise course to live by (today’s Proverb). Wisdom (the “It” at the beginning of verse 16). The righteous (those who are in a relationship with God through His grace) will benefit from God’s prosperity, but the wicked will not.

All 4 teachings today seem to be saying over & over LILYMI!

links for January 8

Howdy, my friends.

If it helps, here are the links to BibleGateway for today's readings:

Genesis 18:16-19:38
Matthew 6:25-7:14
Psalm 8:1-9
Proverbs 2:6-15

Don't Worry, Don't Judge. And Other Tough Stuff.

Readings for Thursday, January 8 are:

Genesis 18:16- 19:38
Matthew 6:25- 7:14
Psalm 8:19
Proverbs 2: 6-15

All the readings for today are really good, but the one that really struck home for me--in a real personal way--was the one from Matthew. It really challenges me.

I used to be a real worrier. I'd worry about how I'd do on a test; I'd worry if people liked me; I'd worry about what others thought about me; I'd worry about something bad happening. As I got older, I'd worry about how the bills were gonna get paid or if something bad was going to happen to my family.

Then, something pretty cool happened. I became less of a worrier because one day I had an experience with God when I told Him: "You know. I'm tired of doing this by myself. I'm tired of worrying so much about what's going to happen to this sweet little baby that I'm having to take care of now all by myself. I'm going to give her over to You and just trust that Your plan is the right plan for me all along."

That doesn't mean I don't worry anymore. I do worry because everyone worries--it's human nature! But I at least have that experience to fall back on. I know that worry really doesn't get me anywhere. And I know that God wants to take my worry and carry it around with Him instead.

That's what the first part of the Matthew passage (the chapter six part) is talking about. He says that we shouldn't worry about things like what we're gonna eat or what we're gonna wear. God will take care of all of our needs. Why? Because HE LOVES US. And this extends not just to lunch or fashion; it extends to everything in our lives!

The second part of the Matthew passage (the chapter 7 part) is even more challenging to me these days. It tells me that if I expect God to forgive me and to not judge me...well, I can't judge other people around me. Wow! That's really convicting....because I really like to judge people. I like to think that I'm better than them. I like to think that I'm doing okay because, at least, I don't have the problems that those other people have.

One thing that has always helped me with this challenge from God is something I tell McKenna and Delaney all the time. I tell them to look at other people, not as an irritating person or someone they can't get along with or someone who's not doing what God wants them to do...but, intsead, look at that person as a child of God. They need to remember that God loves everyone--you, me, that friend, that enemy, that teacher, that parent, that brother or sister... as a child of God just as worthy of God's love as they are. That puts it in perspective for me and helps me not judge that other person quite as much.

I really do want to be more like Jesus. It's something I strive for everyday, and it's not always easy. But Not Worrying and Not Judging are two things that can help me get closer to that goal.

(Any thoughts on the Matthew passage?
Any thoughts on the other passages for the day?)

I hope you guys all have an awesome Thursday!

--Cheryl

January 7 readings

January 7

--------------------

Genesis 16:1-18:15

Matthew 6:1-24

Psalm 7:1-17

Proverbs 2:1-5

It was great to see everyone at prayer breakfast this morning. It was great to read through today's Psalm reading. What a great reminder of the power and care our Lord has for us. Here it is again:

"O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; 
       save and deliver me from all who pursue me,

 2 or they will tear me like a lion 
       and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

 3 O LORD my God, if I have done this 
       and there is guilt on my hands-

 4 if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me 
       or without cause have robbed my foe-

 5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; 
       let him trample my life to the ground 
       and make me sleep in the dust. 
       Selah

 6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger; 
       rise up against the rage of my enemies. 
       Awake, my God; decree justice.

 7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you. 
       Rule over them from on high;

 8 let the LORD judge the peoples. 
       Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, 
       according to my integrity, O Most High.

 9 O righteous God, 
       who searches minds and hearts, 
       bring to an end the violence of the wicked 
       and make the righteous secure.

 10 My shield ^[b] is God Most High, 
       who saves the upright in heart.

 11 God is a righteous judge, 
       a God who expresses his wrath every day.

 12 If he does not relent, 
       he ^[c] will sharpen his sword; 
       he will bend and string his bow.

 13 He has prepared his deadly weapons; 
       he makes ready his flaming arrows.

 14 He who is pregnant with evil 
       and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.

 15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out 
       falls into the pit he has made.

 16 The trouble he causes recoils on himself; 
       his violence comes down on his own head.

 17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness 
       and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High."

January 6 readings

Genesis 13:5-15:21
Matthew 5:27-48
Psalm 6:1-10
Proverbs 1:29-33

It is important to always keep in mind that the story of Abram and his descendants is about God's plan of redemption through history.  Always keep an eye towards our salvation and victory in Christ. 

"Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, 'blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.'" (Genesis 14:18-19)

God has given Abram victory over his enemies and the King of Salem comes to pay tribute, sharing "bread and wine". Sound familiar? Well, Hebrews continues this discussion, talking about how Melchizedek is one of the only "priestly-kings".  He looks forward, foreshadows the priestly king of Jesus who gives us victory... on that note... on to Matthew!

This section of the "sermon on the mount" is especially humbling. There is not a word that does not cut us down to size. Our Lord wishes us to see ourselves for who we are and be humbled before his throne.

The Psalms is especially comforting here:

"The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer"

December 5, 2008

January 5
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Genesis 11:1-13:4
Matthew 5:1-26
Psalm 5:1-12
Proverbs 1:24-28

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Hello everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying our "through the bible in a year" trek. today's readings are very interesting. As we continue through Genesis we are beginning to get a picture of Abraham. Pay attention to Abraham for it is to him that God promises to bless the nations, the entire world! Through Abraham and through the nation of Israel God will bring forth salvation for the world. Through this nation, Jesus is promised and Jesus is come! This allows us to understand Matthew and why he talks so much about Jesus "fulfilling" what the prophets said. The Bible makes sense as a whole and the more you read the more you'll understand, though we will always be learning because God's word is living. The Psalms continue to provide us with wonderful reflections on God's care for his people and the punishment of the wicked. God's justice will prevail in the end! Finally, Proverbs is a reading that will continue throughout the year and helps us to stay focused upon the quest for wisdom through the reading of God's word.

January 4

Today's Bible reading has both Proverbs and a teaching from Jesus teaching the same thing. I think it's clear that this teaching hasn't changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Can anyone tell me what it is?

Genesis 8:1-10:32
Matthew 4:12-25
Psalm 4:1-8
Proverbs 1:20-23

Thoughts on today's readings

Genesis...

Today's reading in Genesis is a wonderful account of the dawn of humanity as it continued in rebellion against the Lord of creation. Our Lord nonetheless is concerned with maintaining a distinctive presence amongst his people. No matter how things get, the Lord will always preserve a way for his people to seek and find his face and his will. The Bible constantly speaks of that balance between God's justice and God's redeeming love for this world.

Matthew...

"I baptize you with^[a] water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

Here we read of so many particulars of God's redemption of us through Christ. John's baptism is of repentance. This repentance prepares the way, in the lives of his people, the way for the work of redemption. The Holy Spirit is promised, this Spirit will be God's means of applying Christ's cleansing sacrifice to his people. We should hang on every word as we realize the true meaning of our redemption in Christ!

Psalms...

No matter what enemy we may face in this life, we must always remind ourselves that God is on our side. This may comfort us on all sides!

Proverbs...

wow. this is a sobering reminder of where the motivations of the Godless derive. Those who are committed to their own ways, to living to please their own wants and desires will do anything to attain their ways. To commit ourselves to the way of the Lord requires us to submit our wills and desires to the wills and desires of our creator.

January 3rd -- Please pray for Pop

Howdy

Would you please pray for my step-father. You young men probably remember me asking you to pray for him to be rid of cancer. Mama & I took him to the hospital last night. He's not in a life-threatening situation, but it's not good either.

Genesis 5:1-7:24
Matthew 3:7-4:11
Psalm 3:1-8
Proverbs 1:10-19

After breakfast I'm going to get to eat some of the Word. Put on your swim trunks & take a deep breath -- today we read about a lot of folks treadin' water. :)

January 2 Bible Reading

Good morning, Bible Thumpers!

Below are the 4 passages of the Bible for today. I'll definitely delve into them on my lunch break. I can't wait until we get to 1st Samuel! :)

Genesis 3:1-4:26
Matthew 2:13-3:6
Psalm 2:1-12
Proverbs 1:7-9

January 1 fixed

Here are the links again. This time I hope they're fixed. :)


Genesis 1:1-2:25
Matthew 1:1-2:12
Psalm 1:1-6
Proverbs 1:1-6

January 1 Bible Reading

Here are today's Bible verses:
Genesis 1:1-2:25
Matthew 1:1-2:12
Psalm 1
Proverbs 1:1-6

Oh, what a beautiful morning! Oh, what a beautiful year!

I'm starting the year off with a commitment to re-read the Bible this year. Why read something I've already read? (Try saying that last question with an Elmer Fudd voice. :) ) Because I forget things, because the world doesn't stop repeating its message, and because the Lord is worth focusing on every day.

Before you read it, pray about it. Pray that you get the point, that you believe it so much you LILYMI (Live It Like Ya Mean It), that you have the ability to tell others about it, and that you get addicted so the Word you keep coming back for more.

When you read it, tell us what you think about it.