Finished reading "Titus"

"Remind them to be subject to rules, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another." 3:1-3

We walked "in this world" and Jesus came to us and showed us that God loves us anyway. He sees through our sins to the human being He created and loves. We need to look at others, all humans, as God sees them. Love people and treat them with dignity and respect, not because they are good people or Christians, but because God created them and loves them.

Finished "2 Timothy"

I say finished like it's some kind of great accomplishment! These books are only a few chapters long, so if you just read titles, you'd think I were zooming along. But it is nice to have a reminder here about what my thoughts were the last time I read through and how things may have changed. I got this particular bible in July 2004, so I've read through it a few times. Some of my notes hurt to read again. Some bring big smiles. Some are not notes at all, but scribbles from one of the boys that wanted to "help" mom.

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." 4:3-4

I think that time has come and it has come before. I read the bible itself. Sometimes I find commentaries. Sometimes I try to find what the original language said, or other translations. Sometimes I find things that make me sad, angry, or confused. But they are still in there and I try to open my heart and mind to find out why. I pray A LOT about certain lines and authors intent. And for some things I may never find the answer and put on my "First Things to Ask Jesus" list. But I can't ignore it. It's there for a reason.

This one will always be close to my heart.

"At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen." 4:16-18

My MIL, Ann, gave me this when she had heard how some of my friends and deserted me when I was arrested in 2004. There were people who did not believe me that I was falsely accused. And there were some who would not stand with me for fear of being associated. I was devastated. I had no idea that anyone could ever do that. But the Lord did rescue me. I know that His strength was what held me up that year and what continues to be my rock through the years ahead. He's got my back even if the whole world turned against me.

Finished "1 Timothy"

And now I come across verses that I do not like. What to do with them?

"But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression." 2:12-14

Hmm...I can get behind no "authority over a man". Does anyone have an authority over anyone, really? And Adam was created first, yes. But the woman was deceived by Satan and the man was pulled into transgression by woman alone. I'd mark that as worse.

Also, it says "I do not allow...". This is written by Paul, not Jesus. So I take with a grain of salt. There are many passages by Paul regarding women that I don't agree with and I've never seen any church practicing, so I don't think I'm alone here.

"For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer." 4:4-5

Everything? This passage, I believe was written about food specifically. I don't think we should apply that to more.

"But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment." 6:6

Yep. But it's not what you think. When we are content in our lives and in what God has given us, we are relaxed and focused. When we focus on God and not on this world, we are more content and happy. We may not be rich in money or things, but we feel better than if we were. It doesn't matter how hard we work or how much money we get. If we focus on those goals, we always feel like we are missing the mark and need more. We do! We need the Lord and spiritually, we know that.

Finished "The Song of Solomon"

Very beautiful, but I wonder why it is part of the Old Testament. What is it that Christians are supposed to take?

Me? I take it that romantic love and desire are part of God's plan for us. Devotion is beautiful.

"Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." 2:3

Love satisfies us and gives us strength.

Sigh.

Finished "2 Thessalonians"

There were two verses that I want to share this time through.

"Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which  you received from us." 2:7

I don't think he is talking about hiding yourself away from the world. He's speaking about people that they have told the words of Jesus and have taken it in a direction they don't believe Jesus meant it to go. The disciples were people that spoke with Jesus first hand and their words are what we need to heed as we walk in Christ. If Jesus had written a book, we would be reading that. I think they were warning us that some people were taking their words and witness and leading others in the wrong direction. Funny that just this morning, I was reading about a public speaker that seems to be doing just that. He explains the gospel without quoting it. Many people may read what he says and take that as gospel instead of the words that the disciples wrote.

"Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." 3:15

And that is what we are charged with doing when we find people doing this. He isn't an enemy. He is brother that is being deceived. We, as Christians, need to remind him of God's Word and gently direct him back to it. We all have the free will to interpret the gospels ourselves. But we don't have the authority to explain it to others that way. Read the scriptures yourself. Pray and seek guidance. Open your heart to Him personally.

Finished "1 Thessalonians"

Ahh the letters...I found a few nice gems to glean this time around.

"For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night." 5:2

This verse always reminds me to continually prepare my heart for the return of Jesus. I enjoy the time I have on this earth because at any moment it could all be over.

Which brings me to, "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil." 5:16-22

Finished "Ecclesiates"

Believed to be written by Solomon towards the end of his life, I think he must have been a little jaded and unhappy because this book is a bit of a bummer. There are a few uplifting gems, but mostly it says "Life on earth sucks, look to God for relief.". I can agree to some degree, but I think if you focus on the suckiness of life, you're putting your focus in the wrong place. A real relationship with God and His creation can put a positive spin on things. Why would God put you in a place just to torture you? He wants you to love His creation, after all, He created you for it!

"I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted." 1:14-15

Probably right there. I can imagine Solomon, having all the wisdom God had given him and all that time ruling over his people, that he was pretty sick of the whole thing. God probably gets tired of the lack of human understanding in the world He created, but then He's God, so He fully understands what is going on. But Solomon was only human and got very tired of his fellow man. I can understand that. I'm no where near as smart as he was, but I know the more I learn the more I realize how much I do not know and sometimes it all seems futile. Wouldn't it be easier to live ignorance and just sit and quietly admire God instead?

"I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?" 3:22

Yep. You'll never know what happened after you, just be happy and joyful in what you are doing now.

"Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, for anger resides in the bosom of fools. Do not say, "Why is it that the former days were better than these?", for it is not from wisdom that you ask about this." 7:9-10

This is hard. Studying history and philosophy does help. You can see that there is no reason to hold on to anger and that times have been harder than they are now.

"When I gave my heat to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one should never sleep day or night), and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, "I know," he cannot discover." 8:16-17

See? Solomon was extraordinarily smart and he realized this. I think I'll take his word for it. I'll do what I can to learn what I can, to apply it to my life, but to be closer to God is my main life goal. We cannot know God's plan. Just watch and see what happens!

"If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success." 10:10

Constant study. Lifelong learning.

"Divide your portion to seven, or even eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on earth." 11:2

Preppers!

"So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting." 11:10

Enjoy it while you've got it!

"The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body. The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person." 12:11-13

Hmm...the best thing we can do is live in the moment for God alone. Our lives may be poor, or short, but ultimately for God. But, if we must, study, know the world and the way it works, but know it for God. Don't let study, work, or ambition get between you and God. 

Finished "Colossians"

I've decided to write about each book of the Bible as I finish them, like I do other books. I don't read a lot of Bible commentary, but I do look for it when something strikes me as strange. Also, I once did a bible study that had a lot of the meaning of specific words. It was amazingly eye opening. I'd like to do that again. Every morning, I read three chapters of the Old Testament, one chapter of Psalms through the Prophets, and one chapter of the New Testament. It takes me about 20 minutes each day and I get through the whole bible in about a year. As I read, I underline things that I'd love to remember in detail and add a note or comment here and there. That is what I will write here for each book.

Colossians is not a long book, only four chapters. Two verses that stuck out for me this time around.

3:23-24 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

Even if we work for Walmart, or in our own home as a housewife, our goal as Christians should not be a large paycheck or praise from our children, but to please God with our effort to care for what He has given us.

4:5-6 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

This is something that really spoke to me because it is something I've been working on. I want to be an example of God's love to others. I want to share with them the joy I find in God and His creation. I think this verse speaks to that. After all, when you find something that really lights you up, don't you want to share that with the world? God is Love! I want to be the kind of person people see that through.

Bible Study - HELP!!

You know the whole read a little each day and listen for answers thing? Well, I like that for the Old Testament but the New is just dragging me down. My sons and I both don't understand a lot of it. It seems so counter-intuitive and sometimes contradicts when I'm reading it straight. Many of things I know are lost in translation but how do I clarify things for myself? I've searched and searched online for a good in depth New Testament study but can't find one. I love the Old Testament and the studies I've found for it. Love love love! Help!!

Finished a Book This Morning

I just finished "A Year Through the Torah" by John J. Parsons. It didn't take me a year though. I decided when I got it to sit and read a weeks reading every morning. Don't get excited! It's not that much, a couple pages of commentary for each week. The reading of bible passages for that week are much more. My plan now is to go back and read it again but with the bible passages, so NOW it will take me a year...probably more.

The book is great! I love the Old Testament stories, so it really gave me some background and insight there. I'm surprised more Christians do not study what the Jews do, really. If we are to understand what Jesus came to do, shouldn't we know more about the Chosen People? They are still His people, you know. They haven't been forgotten or lost by God since Jesus came.

My next book is called "A History of Israel" by Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. It comes recommended from my online seminary class about Judges through Esther. I can't wait!

Bible Study

Grr....trying to do my morning study and my sweet husband got on the phone to work. Usually he is back in his room to do that, but the boys are still asleep so he's in the living room. The problem is that while the boys are asleep is when I do most of my study time. I need absolute quiet to read. When I hear other things (especially talking) I can't read a word. It's terrible. But I listen to audio classes and such while the boys are up and around because I can listen to something and knit without missing anything. Weird, huh?

This is what jumped out at me during my bible reading this morning. It's 2 Timothy 2:20-21. "Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work."

It isn't what the vessel is made of that is important, the fact that it is clean and whole that makes it useful. We are God's vessels in this world. We all look different and have different personalities and talents. But we are all useful to God in some way. Our form determines our purpose but none is less useful than another. We only need to remain clean and whole to useful in this world. And to be clean and whole means to be practicing our morals and knowing our principles, in essence being good people.

I'm sitting here on the shelf waiting to be used by my Master in His house! :)