January 20, 2008

Read Genesis 49-50 and Matthew 13:31-51

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This has nothing to do with our Bible reading, but was a quote which impacted me profoundly when I read it. Alan Redpath says: "...God has promised that the fire of His Spirit and the glowing reality of His love will always descend upon that yielded life which places no confidence in the flesh but hungers for a God-renewed heart of holiness and righteousness." NO confidence in the flesh, guys. My prayer lately has been for myself to be totally pushed aside while God increases within me. To really just give it all up, total surrender....what else is there? There is nothing better to be found; I am more convinced of that by the day....not posessions, relationships, worldly "security"....it's all junk.

But on to the Bible reading....
Genesis 49:10 and 24 I need to delve into these verses some more as I don't have an OT commentary (can anyone recommend a good one?) but it would seem to me that they are prophetic, speaking of Christ, yes?

V 49 Where someone is buried can be of great significance....I have seen families divided on this very issue, but what is interesting to me is that Jacob did not choose to be buried with Rachel, his beloved, but rather Leah.

V 50:2 The Egyptians had some mad medical skills, according to my nursing texbooks. They did the whole embalming thing, they were among the first to identify diseases for what they were, and performed the first major surgeries, albeit with some questionable techniques by today's standards. Ya gotta give them credit for trying, though. The Hebrews, on the other hand, had the first midwives, and it is believed that Dinah, you know the unwilling bride of Shechem, was a midwife. See? I am full of fun facts. Amaze your friends!

50:17 It's nice that Joseph's brothers finally apologized, and that he didn't say "Sorry, too little, too late. Dad's gone, so now it's payback time." I noticed, too, that these OT guys were men who were not afraid to cry. They got upset; they showed it. There was no guessing. I hafta admire it.

And so we end Genesis. I remember the Genesis gradutaion celebration you guys had up there, and I am proud to say that the things Renee learned have stuck. As I said, we've been going through this schedule in her kid's Bible, and she is able to tell me what happens even before I read it to her. I am very grateful for all the teachers who have taught my girls up there: Luke & Heather, Burt, Cory & Annamarie, Dan & Jean, Tim & Sonya, Dana, Lynette, anyone else I forgot to mention, you guys rock!

Matthew 13:31 It's cool how this big tree can grow out of a tiny mustard seed. I mean, something that small can make something so big. It's the same with the seeds we sow, through our words and actions. They can make something huge happen, even if we're unaware. In fact, in my life, sometimes I feel it's better if I remain unaware, lest I become prideful and say, "Look what I did!" When we drop a seed in the ground, we don't actually make it grow....sometimes we don't even cultivate it. Sometimes others do, sometimes it's seemingly left alone and grows anyway.....that's God. Take this blog; being the only one writing makes me uncomfortable...no guilt trips, but you guys should jump in! And Satan says, "Chris, give it a rest....if you'd shut up, Lynette could be spared the trouble of even keeping it up....she's busy after all...." And if I stop to consider his words, like Eve did, I'm lost. I tell you what, guys, when Satan tries to step all over something that you're honestly doing for God, ya gotta be like, "Dude, shut up. I know your game, and MY Daddy wins in the end." And then don't engage him further, because he is crafty. Turn your back, and walk away. Run if you have to, even if he's yelling, "Chicken!" at you.

In case you're wondering, the doctors say I am not mentally unstable.

13:35 Through God's Word, we are privy to things that have been kept secret since the foundation of the world! I think part of what appeals to people about the occult is this search for hidden knowledge, because knowledge = power, and people want that. But this stuff goes all the way back to creation! It doesn’t get any better than that! Potions, spells, archaic mumbo jumbo all pale in comparison to the depths of knowledge contained in this Book! We have everything we need for life within these pages. How awesome of God to provide it for us! And how blessed we are that there is no shortage of Bibles in this country! In fact, we can get just about any kind we want. Let us not take that for granted. People in persecuted nations long for the Word and are so grateful to even have a page....this is a treasure we should be so grateful to have.

V 40 (Flashback) Sweet mercy that was one big fire....

V 42 I can’t imagine how anyone can read this and say there is no hell.

V 46 In Christ, we have been given that pearl of great price. Are we willing to “sell” all that we have to obtain it? What am I willing to give up for God? A friend of mine once said that my love for someone had “the momentum of a train wreck.” (Thanks; what a sweet way to put it!) Basically, it wasn’t stopping for anything. That’s how I want my love for God to be; no slowing down, no hesitation, full speed ahead, come what may, no fear, even not knowing what's around the next curve.

V 54 I like this verse and am going to look into it more. Scribe = a scholar of the OT.

V 55 Jesus’ hometown missed out because of their unbelief. I don’t ever want that to happen.

I have confessed and repented of my envy for everyone going to the Pastor’s Conference. Have a wonderful time, guys. God bless each & every one of you.

January 20, 2008 at 2:04 PM

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