Reading from January 10

Woot! I'm caught up to where I started from. If I do two tomorrow, I'll be at the twelfth, which is today, and then two the next day - then I'll be all caught up!

Reading for January 10
Genesis 23:1-24:51
So, Sarah dies, Abraham mourns, then asks his servant to find a wife for Isaac in his hometown of Nahor. Abraham's servant does just that. This is interesting too - I wonder if this is where we get the idea of 'asking God for a sign'...

Abe's servant tells God that he is going to ask the first girl he sees for a drink of water. If that girl gives him a drink and also gives water to his camels, then he asks God for that to be the one whom He has selected for Isaac. This actually works out, as the first girl he asks is Rebekah, who eventually marries Isaac and becomes the mother of Jacob and Esau. And on that day gave water to the servant and his camels.

I haven't had much luck with God giving me signs in my lifetime. Probably because I say things like this:

"God if you want me to have a PS3, make a chicken sandwich appear in my mouth."

My heart is in the wrong place when I ask for things most of the time. 
"Wherever your treasure lies, there will be the desires of your heart." 


Matthew 8:1-17
This section shows the incredible faith of a centurion, or Roman soldier. He has a servant at home who is paralyzed, and he asks Jesus to heal him. Jesus says, "OK, show me where he is." The centurion replies, "You don't even need to go, just say the word and I know my servant will be healed."

Jesus is very pleased with this guy and says he has never seen such faith. The text said that Jesus was "astonished" at the level of faith this Roman solider had. Obviously this should be applied to my own life. Have faith that God/Jesus will answer prayers.

Psalm 9:13-20
OK, so this goes back to the 'Answering Some Questions' post, but gives more evidence to the dichotomy of God's perfect justice and perfect love

¹⁶ The LORD is known by his justice;
       the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.

Because of the death of Christ, however, I think now the LORD is known by his love.

Proverbs 3:1-6 
Alright! Here's something positive!

 ³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
       bind them around your neck,
       write them on the tablet of your heart.
 ⁴ Then you will win favor and a good name
       in the sight of God and man.
 ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
       and lean not on your own understanding;
 ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
       and he will make your paths straight.

So here, we are being instructed to be loving and faithful. Those two things will win favor in the sight of God and man. Both of them say yes! The Bible often de-emphasizes being right in the sight of man, and it's often said that what's pleasing to God is often displeasing to other people. It's kinda cool to see something that pleases both.

Also my other concern about me not liking what I read - the part up there about not leaning on my own understanding but trusting in God seems to help that a little bit. That God is a wise one, alright...

Wow, I'm getting pretty wordy here...I want this to be personal, but I also don't want it to be a chore to read for those who are reading it. Let me know in the comments if I start to ramble. Thanks dudes.

Dear God. I am once again very happy with how excited I am about reading Your word. I came across some tough questions tonight, and I don't want to take the easy path and ignore them, I want to test my faith and work through them. I can already see you working through my understanding, as both questions were not only answered by the papa blog, but also in the very next reading I did. God, You truly are amazing. I pray that You continue to reveal your wisdom and knowledge to me through your word. Thank you.

In Jesus name I pray, Amen.