The Bible Bus: January 2, 2008 Reading Schedule

January 2, 2008 Reading Schedule

Read Genesis 4, 5, 6, and Matthew 2

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: Gen. 4 - Notice it says in v.7 that if you do well, will you not be accepted? Just another reason for obedience in our life. It also warns us that if we do not do well, sin lies at our door and desires us, BUT you should rule over it. God indicates that is possible for us to rule over sin. We do not have to be a slave to it. Notice in v.26 that God gives them another son, Seth and through Seth's son they begin to call upon the name of the Lord. It only took Adam and Eve 235 years to begin calling on the name of the Lord again! Oh, I pray that I/we never wait that long to restore our relationship with Him after we have blown it.
Gen. 6 - v.8 first time grace mentioned in the Bible. v.9 tells us that Noah found grace w/God. I want to be that woman who finds grace w/God. I want my life to be so close and in tune with the Lord that when He speaks to me w/precise instructions like he did w/Noah in how to build the ark, I will hear him and obey despite how crazy it sounds or despite the scoffers. Remember, it had never rained before and Noah obeyed God and built the Ark w/o the help of his friends.
Matt. 2 - What is amazing to me is how God spoke to so many in dreams and they heard, believe, and obeyed. Once again, that word....obedience. I see the Bible as a book about obedience and disobedience. A book about sin and consequences to our sin and also the blessings of obedience and the promies of God to the faithful. That is why we read it,study it, and hopefully do it. The Bible is our lifeline. We need God's Word to understand who He is, what makes Him tick and what we can do to please Him - showing our gratitude for giving us eternal life through Christ.; January 2, 2008 at 10:10 AM
Anonymous said...: Genesis 4:3-4 Cain brought God an offering of some produce; the Bible doesn't specify which kind, or how much, but it is specific in saying that Abel's offering was the firstborn of his flock. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but the beginning of Genesis, maybe even the entire book, is something I've been over several times in my resolve to read through the entire Bible, (Of all the times I've started, I succeeded once) so many of these passages are familiar to me and it's easy to almost recite them as I'm reading along. Today, however, v. 4 stuck out. Abel brought God the firstfruits of what he had. Am I doing that? Is God getting the first, the best, of my time, my money, my obedience, my love? Um...well...not always, OK? Should he? ABSOLUTELY.

2:6-7: When we sin, and then try to cover it up, our disposition will be lousy. We (OK, I) Feel depressed and guilty, which usually manifests itself as anger.

4:14: I'd had this question for some time and actually discussed it with Lynette today....Cain says he's afraid that "anyone who sees him" will kill him before God mercifully puts a mark on him. Who wa he afraid of? I mean, everyone on earth til then was a brother or sister, right? Of course, he did kill his little brother, which would tend to make some families a little upset with you. I wonder if, after he took off to Nod, he ever hung out with his folks again, apologized, asked forgiveness, that sort of thing.

4:17: I HATE it when people ask ask me where Cain's wife came from....first, like yesterday's musing, it has no bearing on my salvation, which is what I usually tell them first. Second, it was obviously his sister....right? I mean, that sort of thing was OK back then. If I've been leading folks astray on this, someone email me and let me know please.

5:5-Adam died. Where did he go? Did he just go back to the ground or did he go to heaven? I feel really stupid asking this question, but I hear tell pride is a sin, so I'm asking.

6:4-Does "the sons of God" mean angels here? Did angels come to earth and have kids with human chicks? Did they become human like that Nocholas Cage movie to do this, or did they stay angels? God was OK with this? I know about the giants and stuff; is that the same thing? I'm not trying to be flip here...my goal this year is to really dig in and answer questions I have been wondering about for quite some time, and keep pastors busy.

I know Lynette touched on Noah finding grace with God and being willing to look like an idiot for God. PD shared a couple weeks ago about being led to pray for someone and not heeding the call; I've been in a similar situation and it is an awful feeling to know you've been disobedient to the Lord, and that someone else will get that blessing of being used...I'm opting for looking like an idiot these days...it's less painful.

Matthew 2:1 If the wise men weren't in Bethlehem the night Jesus was born, why do we have them in the manger scenes? This year, I put mine off to the side, in a huddle, like they were planning their trip. It felt more authentic.

Last point: Between Matthew 1:1 and 2:22, 5 instances are mentioned of people being warned in a dream to do or not do something. I've had conversations with a few people about whether God speaks to us through dreams, and folks are very divided on this point. Many adamantly say no; place no stock in dreams. Others accept this. I tend to think if He is going to speak to us in a dream, especially with a direct order, He will make it very clear and perhaps repeat it a few times...which is a relief as I am prone to some very strange dreams. I concur with Lynette though; if God speaks to you, through a dream, a whisper, in your prayer time, through someone else, on a giant post-it note, DO WHAT HE SAYS....or, STOP DOING WHAT HE IS TELLING YOU TO STOP DOING. No excuses. No compromises. Obey, and give Him who so richly deserves them your firstfruits, and you will be blessed.

Love you guys,
Chris <><; January 2, 2008 at 10:16 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi gang!

Hasn't it been fun reading the Word together? I have been talking with some of you (mostly with those who AREN'T commenting on this blog) and it has been a blast hearing what the Lord is showing some of you and sharing with you what the Lord has been showing me. I am actually in California right now for my dear aunt's funeral. Thanks for your prayers. Currently though, I am moreso answering questions (which I love to do) instead of writing my own thoughts, but will begin to write some of my own thoughts when I get back to Florida. But I really want to get answers in to the blog sooner than later as others will be reading and may possibly have the same questions. I will attempt with my greatest ability to give clear and concise answers so that all of us can grow together. I hope that this input will help you as you take what I write and others write and then seek the scriptures yourself to see if what I (and any others) say is true and acurate.

I know that Chris has asked more of the questions, and that's OK Chris!!! Keep them coming. Your hilarious and you have some really great insight. Your insights have stretched my understanding and I am thankful for that. Keep it up sis. I also believe that the questions Chris has asked so far are questions that many other people ponder and yet are too afraid or unwilling to ask. For those of you that fall into that category - well - quit being wimps.

OK. Chris, first question that I see is regarding Cain and the judgement and the mark that God placed upon him. The question was who was Cain afraid of, seeing that everyone on earth was a part of his family. Remember God's assurance to Cain was that anyone who kills Cain would be judged 7 times more. It would seem that the only people on the earth at that moment was Adam, Eve and Cain. If that was the case, the warning of vengence set forth by God would obviously speak directly to Cain's father and mother (Adam and Eve), however, the judgment does not simply stop with Adam and Eve, but I am sure that Cain understood about siblings and that he was, at the least, the first of two children(Abel). Cain even may have had the "birds and the bees" and "where do babies come from" talk with his father (and maybe his mother), and he would put two and two together and know that there would probably be more on the way someday. That's one possiblity. Another possiblity is that just because God is specifically speaking of the death of Abel and the judgment of Cain, does not remove the possiblity (if not probablilty) that there were already other little brothers and sisters running around and growing up who had also been born to Adam and Eve after Cain and Abel. Just because the Bible does not name them yet does not mean that they have not yet been born. In fact, the Bible does not always name each and every child and what's more the Bible seldom names a female child unless she will have a role of biblical significance.

So, with all of this said, who could Cain be afraid of? As said above, Adam and Eve, but also any brother, sister, cousin, niece, nephew, etc... As I said above, I am in California to honor my aunt and moreso my uncle by attending her funeral, but after the funeral (which was yesterday) we all went to my cousins house to gather as a family and lick each others wounds at the great loss we have all suffered. I have to say that there were a couple of MY VERY OWN distant family members that I had never met, and would not have known them if I ran into them on the street. Such could also be the case with Cain. He would eventually be a member of a very, very, very large family and it is concievable that he would not know some of them. It may be that one of those may want to "right a wrong" by finding Cain and killing him. Why? "He's the blacksheep," "He's not only a troublemaker, he's a murderer!" "We need to get rid of this riff-raff who killed brother/cousin/uncle Abel. Do I see the birth of the very first "dysfunctional family?" How's that buzz word (dysfunctional).

As for the second question, "Where did Adam go when he died?" Well, remember Abel died first. Where did Abel go? And what about any others who died after Abel and Adam, where did they go. As I wrote yesterday, I believe that something radical happened sometime between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 (read yesterdays blog). Sometime in this creative process of God, He created an abode for the dead called "Hades." Though I do not have an answer for WHEN God created this place, I am absolutely sure that it was sometime between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 4, for God had declared that in the day that Adam (Eve) ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil they would surely die. Once they did eat of the fruit of the tree, there had to be an abode for the dead. I believe that place is called "Hades." Luke 16:19-31 speaks of this abode as a place where both the righteous and wicked go, HOWEVER, Jesus says in Luke 16:26 that this abode is divided by a great valley which separates the place of torments (where the wicked go), from the place of the righteous. Now where is this place? Jesus says that after he dies on the cross, He will spend "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matt 12:40) Paul also speaks of the location of Hades in Ephesians 4:9 being in the "lower parts of the earth." What is the purpose of Jesus going to Hades after He died on the cross? Jesus says that he will preach deliverance to the captives (Luke 4:18-19), and Paul writes that "When Jesus ascended on high (after crucifiction and after the three days in Hades), He led captivity captive..." (Eph 4:8). Who are these captives you ask? Good question! You've got your thinking caps on! These are those who we read about in Hebrews 11 who died in righteousness awaiting the "promise." What is this "promise?" It is Jesus Christ the Messiah, God in human flesh, dying for the sin of mankind that those who believe in Him would not perish but everlasting life. You see, before Jesus placed the sin of mankind upon His own shoulders, there was no satifaction of judgment for the sin of man. In other words, before Jesus, whenever someone in the faith died, he/she needed a place to go to await for the Promised Messiah to set them free. Though these who died in the faith prior to Jesus death on the cross, were not immediately ushered into heaven, God created a place of comfort for them (the good side of Hades) to wait until the Promised Messiah was revealed and died on the cross where He then decended into the good side of Hades and preached to all those who died looking FORWARD to the day Messiah would come and set them free to be delivered to God in heaven. When Jesus decended, He set captivity captive and took them home to be with His Father. These are those who died from Abel until Jesus death and ressurection.
Remember when Jesus spoke to the thief on the cross? He said, "Assuredly I say to you, Today, you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). This thief only had to spend a whopping three days in Hades before he got to go in the righteousness of Christ to spend the rest of eternity with God the Father in heaven. This is what WE look forward to today!!! So, you may ask, "What is in the good side of Hades today?" Again, you have posed a great question. You're brilliant!!! The answer, is nothing but emptiness. Those who die in the faith today (looking BACK at the cross of Jesus and His righteousness placed upon us) will immediately ascend into heaven to be with the Lord. Now what about the other side of Hades - the bad side? It is still being stuffed with those who reject the free offer of salvation of God through Jesus death on the cross and ressurection three days later. Revelation 20:13 says Hades will give up her dead in the day of the great white throne judgment to be judged by God. I hope that this helps.

Another question regards the "sons of God." Yes, I am of the persuasion that these sons of God are some of the 1/3 of the angels that Lucifer/Satan influenced to follow him and the fell with him to the earth. Jude 6 says that these "angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own habitation, He (God) has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day." The product of this unholy union was that giants were born on the earth through these unions (Genesis 6:4). The reason we do not see this today I believe is that these demons saw the immediate harsh judgment of God and those who were judged were immediately put out of commission by God and have been kept in chains for the past 6000 years, unable to be used by Satan. I say this to encourage you and I that God is still on the throne. Demons are subject to God and they have limitations.

Last question regards the wisemen, Vinny, Tony, and Tommy Two Eyes. (Just jokin) The question is why are the wisemen included in manger scenes when they weren't in Bethlehem the night that Jesus was born? I would only say that this may simply be a form of art. A single piece of art may tell the story of an event that happened over an extended period of time. My guess is that because the wisemen play an important role in the story of the birth, announcement, and recognition of the birth of the King of Kings, it is much easier to have them included in the manger scene instead of having a second scene that would show them presenting their gifts some time after the birth of Jesus. This brings up a couple of other points that I would like to share here. Matthew 2:8-11 uses the term "young Child." This term can speak of a child from infancy to even a more mature child. "So what!" you may say. Well, if the child is older than an infant, then we must consider the question of why Joseph stuck around Bethlehem instead of going back to his hometown with his new wife. Was it the harrassment, retribution, or the embarassment from his countrymen that held him in Bethlehem to which he would have had to get a job and a dwelling place. This would support Matthew 2:11 that says that the wisemen came into the "HOUSE" (notice its not a manger now). It's just a plausible thought that we can consider.

The last point I would like to mention is this, "Don't allow tradition to dictate how you read the Bible!" What do I mean by that? It's this. How many wisemen were there that came to Mary, Joseph and Jesus? If you said three, well, you may be right, however, you may be wrong also. Why? The Bible only shares that there were three TYPES of gifts (Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh). The Bible DOES NOT say that there were only three wisemen. We assume that because there were three gifts, there must have only been three men. However, what if there were numerous wisemen bringing one or more of the three gifts to present to Jesus? To have more than three wisemen (or at the least a large entourage accompanying the wisemen)entering the city of Jerusalem seeking the King of the Jews, would make more sense to me in that the reaction of Herod AS WELL AS the whole city of Jerusalem was "troubled." If three guys ride up on a camel asking directions to the King of the Jews of the people in the town, I am not sure that it is going to cause the kind of raucus that we read in Matthew 2:3.

Oh well, I am about to pass out now. It is late and I am tired. I hope that what I have written is helpful to someone somewhere sometime somehow. Until next time. May the Lord fill you completely as you continue to seek Him.

Blessings
PD; January 11, 2008 at 3:30 AM
Anonymous said...: Good words.; November 10, 2008 at 4:34 PM