Reading from January 4

OK, so after taking a break, having some dinner, watching the Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special, and playing New Super Mario Bros Wii - I'm back for one more entry before bed. This comes with some new excitement because I got my first comment already! Thanks Liv.

Reading for Januray 4

Genesis 8:1-10:32
This wraps up the Noah story. One of the most 'kid friendly' stories in the Bible showcases some of the most subtle, yet profoud emotions of God. After Noah gets off the ark, God tells himself he will never do that again. 'That' meaning 'destroy the whole world'. Here again, I am seeing a God suffering from regret. He regretted creating everything in the first place, then he seems to regret destroying it. Who would've thought reading a couple chapters of the Old Testament could give so much insight to who God is and what he is thinking? I'll tell you who:

Moses.
 
Matthew 4:12-25
This is another section of the Bible I've read quite a few times so I had to force myself not to gloss over the words here. This is the beginning of Jesus' ministry and right when he begins to preach. I imagine he would be about my age at this point. Wow. 

Anyway, he begins calling his disciples here - building up his crew if you will. He finds a few fisherman and says what basically boils down to "Hey everyone, come over here!" The Bible says that they immediately drop everything they are doing and follow him. This is one of those context clues, I think, hinting that there was something about Jesus that people automatically responded to. It's no different today - everyone has some sort of stance on Jesus. And we've never even seen him.

Psalm 4:1-8

I haven't written too much about the psalms I'm reading yet. Mostly because they are so far all about how David (the writer of the Psalms) is facing intense persecution, and is asking God for help. The Bible does say that we will be persecuted for being Christian. And I have been trying very hard to avoid persecution my whole life.

I am a conflict avoider by nature. So when the topic of Christianity comes up among a group of Non-Christians I always state proudly that I am a Christian, but I always try to be the "cool Christian" guy. I go out of my way to make them think, "Hey, Christains aren't all gay-hating protestors. There's some decent ones out there."

The problem is, I often 'soften' my faith to make sure I come off as a cool kid who believes in God. I need to be more proud of who I am as a Christian, even if that means some people think I'm a weirdo. I also need to find out who I am as a Christian - that should hopefully come from reading the Bible. 

Proverbs 1:20-23

There's a small line in here that says "How long will fools hate knowledge?" Inherently saying that smart people love knowledge, and by extension, seeking knowledge. I've been avoiding Biblical knowledge for a while, but now I'm on this great path...I SHALL BE A FOOL NO LONGER!

Or who knows, I'll probably always be a fool.

Alright, I'm done for the night - four in a day. Not bad. Now, how to stay motivated during the work week...keep me honest, kids.