Sunday, February 28

Hello again. It's only 10:20, but for some reason I'm so tired. So, here we go to the Bible.

Reading for February 28
Leviticus 22:17-23:44
God announces feasts.

There is really nothing that stands out to me in this section of text. This is all about appointed days that God would like his people to honor him by taking off of work, and offering up sacrifices. Also, July seems like a particularly favorable month to God - there are quite a few days in July that God set aside for his people...

Mark 9:30-10:12
Jesus the feminist

OK, that title may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but he does say something interesting in contrast with the Old Testament here:

 ⁴They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away."
 ⁵"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. ⁶"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.'^{[d] 7}'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,^{[e] 8}and the two will become one flesh.'^[f] So they are no longer two, but one. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

In the Old Testament, women did not have any rights, but now Jesus is saying that men can't just leave their wife whenever they feel like it, which I think is great! To see god favoring one gender over another is just frustrating, but Jesus correcting that makes it somewhat better, I think.

Psalm 44:1-8

 ⁶ I do not trust in my bow,
       my sword does not bring me victory;
 ⁷ but you give us victory over our enemies,
       you put our adversaries to shame.

I like this as well. Don't trust yourself, only God. 


Proverbs 10:19
Wise words, son. Wise words.

 ¹⁹ When words are many, sin is not absent,
       but he who holds his tongue is wise. 

OK, mad tired. night. Love.

Saturday, February 27

I once again missed a Saturday as I was down in Central Jersey visiting ORB friends, but I had a great night seeing my friends Pete and Sandi. We got to go to ORB service this morning, and I had lunch with a bunch of buddies at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Excellent.

So my last post from Friday night was pretty rough. I've been having some internal struggles with that since then, but this morning at Church was helpful. I still have some tough questions that I don't yet have answers to, but as I always forget - I need to wait until I finish this whole thing before I start freaking out. After all, any self improvement is not achieved overnight, and is often achieved through personal struggle, which is definitely what I'm going through. So I just need to keep my chin up and plow through until the end. If I get to the end and I'm still feeling this way, or worse, then I need to do some serious thinking, but for now I will reserve final decisions.

Reading for February 27
Leviticus 20:22-22:16
OK - I think I have a somewhat concrete answer on one of my running questions. That is - what of the Bible can be dismissed because of cultural norms and what should be carried over. I don't have a final answer, per se, but I am starting to see the picture of what it might be. All of this stuff so far in the first three books in the Bible, while it shouldn't be dismissed, it no longer applies. I say it shouldn't be dismissed, because without it, Jesus' sacrifice would mean nothing. I've already somewhat reached this conclusion, but I'm fairly convinced of it now. This chunk of text is what really convinced me:  

¹⁶ The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁷ "Say to Aaron: 'For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God. ¹⁸ No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; ¹⁹ no man with a crippled foot or hand, ²⁰ or who is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles. ²¹ No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to come near to present the offerings made to the LORD by fire. He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God. ²² He may eat the most holy food of his God, as well as the holy food; ²³ yet because of his defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary. I am the LORD, who makes them holy. ^[f] ' "

Basically, if you were born with a deformity, or special need, you weren't worthy of offering anything to God. That, to me sounds incredibly unfair, unjust, and just outright mean. God who created man, rejects them because of a problem they had. While I do believe, based on the text so far, that these problems are a result of original sin and people turning away from God, I don't want to just lean on that as an excuse. Anyway, my point here is - look at all the disabilities God mentions in bold up there. In the New Testament, Jesus interacts with at least one person from each of those disability classifications (except for the damaged testicles, maybe Jesus felt a little awkward about that one). And not just interacts with, but personally touches, heals and loves.

If this doesn't prove my theory about the old way existing to provide a contrast to how Jesus did things, then I am not reading this correctly.

Mark 9:1-29
So my question about what should be dismissed has come somewhat into clarity, but only to be replaced by another one. My new question is this: "When Jesus speaks about 'this generation' and 'you people', is he referring to only the people standing in front of him, or to everyone who would read his words in the future?" The reason I ask is this line:

 ¹And he said to them, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."

Like, it sounds like he is definitely talking about just those people standing in front of him, as he doesn't say "some who are reading my words," or "future generations who hear these things", he says "some who are standing in front of me" - so does that mean that Jesus predicted the rapture before the end of the generation in which he lived? Obviously it didn't happen, so if he said that and it didn't turn out to be true, that hurts the validity of other things he said...frustrating...

Psalm 43:1-5
I really like this verse here:

 ⁵ Why are you downcast, O my soul?
       Why so disturbed within me?
       Put your hope in God,
       for I will yet praise him,
       my Savior and my God.

David is talking to his soul as it it was another person or entity, separate from him entirely.  Well maybe not completely separate because it seems that for David to praise God, his soul must first put it's hope in God. Or is it he will praise him in spite of his soul not putting its hope in God? Either way, this is a profound and poetic passage.

Proverbs 10:18
Wow, I really like this too:

¹⁸ He who conceals his hatred has lying lips

So to hide your anger or hatred towards someone is considered lying. Maybe this is to persuade us to not bottle up feelings, and not carry around hatred toward something or someone without venting it. But then again, why would God want us to go around saying how much we hate stuff or people?

Or maybe this is a double whammy - you are hating something, which is bad enough, but concealing it is even worse. Interesting. Regardless, I think this is an important verse - as I think there is so much focus on Christians just being nice - in some circles - in other circles, Christians seem to focus on being elitist buttholes. But I think it's important to just be real as a Christian. Not hide your feelings, talk things out, let people know what you're feeling, even if its awkward. Don't be a jerk about it, but don't avoid it either. This is something I could definitely work on improving in my own life.

Alright, caught up. I will finish tonight's reading tonight. Love.

Friday, February 26

Yes yes. What a day it has been. The snow pretty much continued throughout the day, but I did get out with the camera and took some really cool night shots. I'll post them up here when I download them. After doing that I just hung out with Kreacher and played video games. Nice cuddly night in with my bulldog baby.

Reading for February 26 
Leviticus 19:1-20:21
You know, when I was a kid, I thought the entire Bible was stuff like Leviticus. That it was just a book of rules and do-not's. I'm glad there is so much more to it than that, because this book is incredibly difficult emotionally to get through. 

This is section of text in particular is an extremely tough chunk. There are some very good, well-intentioned things that God says, and then some scary, witch-hunt-inducing things. One of the things I liked that stuck out to me was this line:

 ⁹ " 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰ Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.

It's basically telling people not to be greedy, and to share your wealth simply by leaving some of it "up for grabs" if you will. I like the imagery here, and it could be applied to so many things. It's also nice to see God actually caring about the poor people again. It seems like the rule book is ever-growing. 

Also. something that appears here is something that has appeared the most out of any of God's decrees so far - "honor your mother and father". This has been repeated and repeated throughout the first three books of the Old Testament. The other thing that God keeps repeating is to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. These two things are obviously extremely important to God.

The second half of this text focuses on the penalties for the "unclean" sexual acts which I read about  last night. And it's pretty scary, because most of the acts result in being killed, while others result in exile from the community. That pesky line about homosexuality is here again too, and this time there is no question about what God meant to say:

 ¹³ " 'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."

Damn. No gettin around that one.  Obviously I disagree with this. But as I've said before, I need to either accept the whole Bible or reject the whole thing. On the other hand, I'm starting to see the whole picture. The Bible is a full and complete narrative about the history of our world, the Israelite people, and God's influence over tens of thousands of years.

So, God being unlikable and saying things that I cannot accept in my mind may not mean that I need to reject the entire Bible because of a few lines I disagree with. It could mean what I've been suspecting for some time - that the Old Testament is purely an illustration of what God used to be like, and how difficult it used to be for humanity. That the Old Testament serves as - among other things - a stark contrast of the way things were as compared to the way things are.

Mark 8:11-38

¹⁵"Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod."

I was so intrigued by this line, I actually decided to look it up. I thought about it for a while, thinking there was symbolic connection to this metaphoric yeast and the yeast which was forbidden by God at the time of passover back in Exodus. It doesn't look like it, at least not in a deep way. In the commentary I found, it says that yeast in those days was a symbol of a "secret, penetrating, pervasive influence, usually of corruptive nature." By this, he meant not to fall into the ways of the Pharisees and the ways of Herod. The Pharisees being stuck in their traditionalist ways and Herod being a total butthole.

Psalm 42:1-11
There is a hymn based on the opening line of this Psalm. I went to look it up because of the stark contrast of those lyrics and the actual words in the rest of this psalm. But when I found the Youtube video of the song, I couldn't help but listen. As corny as the song is, it does hold a special place in the old Brandon heart. When I decided, on my own to become a Christian, it was at a retreat center called Keswick.

This song, titled "As the Deer" was played quite a few times that weekend, and hearing it now really brought me back to that time when it was so simple to accept God into my life. Now, here I am completely jaded and teetering on the edge of my faith because of some serious issues I can't cope with in the Bible. Here I am,  looking to lam bast a song that was so integral in my becoming a Christian.

I've been quietly trying to prove all of this to myself ever since I started this project. And so far, I'm coming up dry. I'm starting to question what it is that made be believe in this in the first place...I can be completely honest and say that the first time I came to faith, it was in large part due to social pressure. The whole reason of going to the retreat was to "be saved" and I felt if I didn't "get saved" I would be missing out.

On the other hand, I felt something powerful that evening. I was completely overcome with emotion - to the point where the councilors were becoming worried about me. It seemed to be affecting me much more than the other hundred-or-so middle school kids there.

I was weeping. Like best friend just died, full out bawling. My hands also went completely numb and I distinctly remember the feeling in my thumbs. It was as if an invisible force was pulling them back as far as they would go. I honestly had no control over them. I had chills and was shaking all over. So in defense of my fragile faith, the night I came to believe I was not faking anything to fit in with my peers. In fact, the opposite happened - people were a little weirded out by me after that night, seeing what happened. It could have been a subconscious mental crutch that created that rush of emotion so I could look all super Christian, or it could have been God, or the Holy Spirit filling my body. I will say that I haven't experienced anything remotely similar before that night, nor have I since...

The story of the Bible itself is beautiful. If it is read as fiction it is inspiring, uplifting, challenging and incredible. But I suppose there is only so much studying one person can do. It really comes down one question: do you believe this is true, or don't you? Do you believe that sin exists? That we cannot be with God because of it? Do you believe that because Jesus died for everyone on earth to absolve them of sin, we may now be in harmony with God? I'm not sure whether or not I can say yes to all those things at this point...this is a very scary feeling...

Proverbs 10:17

 ¹⁷ He who heeds discipline shows the way to life,

       but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.

I haven't prayed in a while. If people asked why I stopped writing my prayers out on the blog, I was going to say, "I felt that giving up that level of personal detail was too much, and I've decided to pray on my own after writing." I never got a chance to tell that lie, because no one ever asked. I haven't been praying at all lately because of these nagging issues. I haven't felt like really talking to God after seeing how he acts in some of the Old Testament books. It has instated a fear of God...hey look at that - I finally achieved a fear of God. But it doesn't feel right. This is more like a fear of an abusive parent. Maybe fear isn't even the right word - 'apathy' would probably be more accurate...

If you're the praying type, maybe throw one up to the big guy for me tonight...thanks.

Thursday, February 25

Hey chumps. How about that snow, huh? I just picked up Jilly from the train station, and if there was ever a night to believe in God, it was tonight. The roads were atrocious. But we made it home safely, and I prayed the entire time.

Reading for February 25
Leviticus 16:29-18:30
Alright. Here it is. One of the most debated verses in the Bible in recent years. Leviticus 18:22 says,

'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.'

Let me just say before going forward, that I believe homosexuals should be welcomed in the church. I also believe that homosexuality is not a choice, but rather is an inherent trait in that person. Therefore, to me it cannot be sinful. In many of the debates I've seen, the text above also says 'that is an abomination'. The word abomination has been the source of a lot of the debate, as to whether it means detestable like in the text above, or another version. The other version suggests that abomination means simply "against the customs". I think God means exactly what he says here, but again you have to look at it in context.

This entire section of text focuses on people you should not be having sex with. However, I think the reason these rules are put in place is because the Israelites were trying to grow their numbers, and breaking these rules that God laid out could threaten the propgation of their people. The section starts with saying "Hey, in general, don't have sex with any relatives." I would take that to mean they understood the fact that doing that would cause defects. Then it goes throw a specific list of all the relatives you should not have sex with. Then at the end of the section, it has the line about homosexuality. At that point in history, homosexuality would risk their race not continuing. If everyone was gay, no one would have babies and they couldn't continue. I think that it the reasoning behind that passage.

Mark 7:24-8:10
Two new miracles here. One is about a woman who comes to Jesus asking for a demon to be removed from her daughter, who wasn't even with her, but still at home. Jesus tells the woman to feed the children all they want to eat and that its wrong to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs. But then the woman says that even the dogs can have the crumbs that fall under the table. Jesus somehow deems this an appropriate response and tells the woman she can go and that the demon had left her daughter. I have no idea what to make of this story, and I'm too tired to research it.

The second miracle here is Jesus' healing of a deaf and mute man. Jesus basically takes him aside, put his fingers in this man's ears and grabs his tongue says "Be opened" in aramaic and he's all better. Yay.

Psalm 41:1-13



Nothing super new here, I did enjoy this line though:

 ¹ Blessed is he who has regard for the weak;
       the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.

 ² The LORD will protect him and preserve his life;
       he will bless him in the land
       and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.
 ³ The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed
       and restore him from his bed of illness.

I think this might be the, 'please don't beat me up, I'll be your best friend' maneuver. I think in this verse, David is referring to himself when he mentions the weak here. So this message is almost to his enemies saying, "Hey if you don't try to kill me anymore, God will do all these great things for you."

Proverbs 10:15-16
 ¹⁵ The wealth of the rich is their fortified city,
       but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
 ¹⁶ The wages of the righteous bring them life,
       but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.

Yes. Goodnight.

 

Wednesday, February 24

Hey there - on the eve of Snowpocalypse '10. So I'm awake for the first time all week. Hopefully, this post is a little more coherent than last night's...I just re-read that and it looks like I typed it drunk. Fatigue can do crazy things to the mind.

Reading for February 24
Leviticus 15:1-16:28

Oh man...so many freaking rules. This section focuses on becoming unclean due to bodily discharge...ewwwww. So it covers semen, period blood, and any other discharge. Same kinda deal - you have to wash your clothes and then you're considered unclean until evening. Some interesting points:

• If a man and woman have sex, they are both considered unclean until evening. Why penalize people for propagating creation? Is this where the fundamental fear and icky-ness when thinking about sex comes from?
  
• If a woman has her period, anything she touches is considered unclean. I started to read this book called "Living the Year Biblically". In this book, the author took every rule in the Bible literally, so when his wife had her period, he couldn't sit on anything she sat on.
  
  She started to get frustrated by the fact that he couldn't sit next to her, so she just sat on everything in the house. Eventually he went out and bought a folding lawn chair and brought it around with him everywhere. It is a really funny book and written from a comedic standpoint. I need to pick it up and read the whole thing, but I would definitely recommend it.
  
•  There is a bit after each set of rules where the person who is unclean has to "make atonement before the LORD" for being unclean. And the way someone makes atonement is by sacrificing two birds. I thought you only needed to sacrifice something when you had messed up, or wanted to please God. A lot of these things that lead someone to be considered unclean are out of their control. There is no conscious decision on a woman's part to wake up and want her period. So why would someone need to atone for something that is not their fault?
  
  I think this again relates back to original sin. The uncleanliness is a result of people being sinful by nature, and while it is not the fault of the human's who become unclean, they must still atone before God. Kinda sucky, but I guess it makes sense.

Mark 7:1-23
Wow, what a cool overlap. This entire section of text deals with the idea of being unclean. It starts with Jesus and his disciples eating with their hands, but they hadn't washed their hands. The Pharisees called him out on this saying he was breaking the tradition of the elders. Jesus completely reversed the paradigm here, saying,

"Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? ¹⁹For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")

 ²⁰He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' ²¹For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²²greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "

So this is another important factor I haven't yet talked about, at least not directly. So far in the Old Testament, God has been almost obsessed with the physical actions and attributes of his people. What to wear, what to eat, how to deal with skin disease, how to deal with discharge, and on and on. Jesus main focus seems to be people's hearts and attitudes and faith. Of the things he lists above, over half are 'mental sins' - meaning there is no physical action tied to them.

Old Testament - God concerned himself with the outer workings of a person
New Testament - Jesus concerned himself with the inner workings of a person


Psalm 40:11-17


 ¹¹ Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;
       may your love and your truth always protect me.
 ¹² For troubles without number surround me;
       my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
       They are more than the hairs of my head,
       and my heart fails within me.
 ¹³ Be pleased, O LORD, to save me;
       O LORD, come quickly to help me.

I'm sorry if you don't watch it, but this reminds me of a scene from LOST last night. Quick summation: There's this island and these people crashed there and survived for a reason. There's this God-like being named Jacob who brought them all to the island for a yet-unrevealed purpose. There was a scene in the episode last night where one of the characters, Jack, demands to talk to Jacob to ask why he is on the island, but Jacob doesn't show up. One of the other characters meets with Jacob later and asks him why he didn't appear to Jack when he asked. Jacob said something along the lines of:
"Sometimes you need to tell someone exactly where to go and exactly what to do. Other times you need to let them stare at the ocean for a little while" (Jack was indeed staring at the ocean at this point and obviously thinking long and hard about his purpose there).

This just reminded me of this verse, because there are times when God doesn't answer our prayers or our cries for help. I think the analogy on LOST is a great one, basically saying there is merit in self discovery and revelation.


Proverbs 10:13-14
 ¹³ Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning,
       but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment.
 ¹⁴ Wise men store up knowledge,
       but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.

Don't be a fool, reading the Bible is cool! Ugh...ok I'm done.

I really love doing this blog. I think I've said this before, but just the act of writing out my thoughts helps me reach new conclusions that I wouldn't have reached if I was just reading straight through. So thanks to everyone who continues to read and keep me motivated. Again, the invite is always open if you want to email me to debate or discuss something. My email is brandonamurray@gmail.com. Feel free to write me, or you can just throw something in the comments below, and thanks. (For Mr. Mitchell, there).

Tuesday, February 23

Howdy ho again. Sorry to cut the intro short again, but I'm freaking exhausted...

Reading for February 23
Leviticus 14:1-57
As you read this section of text, it becomes a bit overwhelming. Step after step of very precise directions on how to treat skin disease. Like very minute details and facts are required to be remembered for the process. Obviously, we are no longer required to do these things - and if you did, you would go straight to mental problem jail. Now more than ever though, I think the point of reading all of this is to say, "Thank God for Jesus' sacrifice - that we don't have to do all these things anymore to be in the presence of God."

Mark 6:30-56
OK - two things here.

1) We see a repeat of behavior from God. When Jesus is walking on water, he tells the disciples,

"Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." ⁵¹Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, ⁵²for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened."

Their hearts were hardened. Just like the Egytian leaders during the time of Moses. However, there was no negative consequence this time. Interesting...

2) The touching of the cloak. I know a few days ago I posted the story of the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years and was completely healed just by touching Jesus cloak. At the original time of writing, I said that I thought this was not an "official, authorized" healing method. But now, in the last scene in this reading, a group of people come to Jesus and all they want to do is touch his cloak. Everyone who touched him was healed.

I think these hem-touchers are a foreshadowing of modern day lazy Christianity. All they are thinking about is what is in it for them? How can I be healed? No desire for a relationship with God. I'm not saying that's bad - it works for me and helps me threough my day.

Psalm 40:1-10

Ah-HA!

 ⁶ Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
       but my ears you have pierced ^[b] , ^[c] ;
       burnt offerings and sin offerings
       you did not require.

Still in the Old Testament, but based on this psalm, God has already begun to change the way he deals with people.

Proverbs 10:11-12

 ¹² Hatred stirs up dissension,
       but love covers over all wrongs.

Love covers all wrongs. Take that with you. I can't even keep my eyes open. Goof night.

 

Monday, February 22

Interesting day today. Tired now. Bible read. Go.

Reading for February 22
Leviticus 13:1-59
Regulations about skin disease
This is so weird...God is giving instructions on how to deal with skin diseases. Anyone who had any visible skin disease was to be brought to Aaron or his sons who were the only recognized priests of their tribe. The priest was to decide whether or not this person should be deemed clean or unclean based on the specific set of facts that God lays out in this section of text. The 'penalty' for being unclean is a seven-day isolation, and then the person is re-examined. But they also must do this:

 ⁴⁵ "The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' ⁴⁶ As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.

Like, I understand the reasoning behind this - everyone is living in tight quarters and God doesn't want infections spreading around like crazy, but still - it sucks that you have to be so humiliated because of it. Imagine if every time you pooped your pants you had to walk around announcing it. What, you guys don't poop your pants every once in a while? Oh...m-me either...

Just thought of something though: Jesus deals with lepers and other 'unclean' people by touching them. Physically touching them and healing them. Showing...what, I'm not sure. Maybe just further proof that the ways of old are no longer valid. In last night's reading it said that the people had to remain 'clean' and eat what was Kosher so they could be holy like God. So I imagine remaining 'clean' from a skin perspective is also to serve the same end. Again, my theory being that it made the human race a little more tolerable for God to be around, so these skin diseases are another casualty of original sin and possibly a constant reminder to God of man's fall from perfection.

Then when Jesus actually comes over  and touches the lepers, it is a physical, tangible sign that Emmanuel - God with us - can and does interact with the people who were considered outcasts before...and not just interacts with, outright loves. Awesome.

Mark 6:1-29
No new info...
This text talks about Jesus giving the authority to his disciples. The second half is the story of how John the Baptist was killed, ordered to happen by King Herod's mistress-turned-wife. Ineteresting thing though is that Herod was the king who was trying to kill Jesus when he heard of his birth, but now he gets the next best thing - John the Baptist. Although he didn't want it to happen, he had to oblige the request for J the B's head on a platter because it was made in front of a huge party of people. Anyway, kinda cool.

Psalm 39:1-13
So insignificant, yet so special to God

 ⁴ "Show me, O LORD, my life's end
       and the number of my days;
       let me know how fleeting is my life.
 ⁵ You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
       the span of my years is as nothing before you.
       Each man's life is but a breath.

I find this verse interesting because if we are indeed just a breath, we are still considered God's children and he goes out of his way to love us. Like, as a comparison, flies live only like 5 days or something like that. Imagine if you were a fly-keeper, with hundreds of thousands of flies in your possession - but you have a name for each one. You care so deeply about each individual fly that you take time to examine each one to make sure its 5 days on earth will be good ones. Not only that, but you sacrifice your son so their lives would be easier. Like if I were God, I would say, what's the point? Thank goodness He loves us.

Proverbs 10:10 
 ¹⁰ He who winks maliciously causes grief,
       and a chattering fool comes to ruin.

If there's one thing this would could do without it's those darn malicious winkers. Always causing grief...OK goodnight.

Sunday, February 21

It has been a meat filled weekend. Last night we went to a beefsteak - being a recent transplant to North Jersey, I understand the feeling of 'what the heck is a beefsteak?' A beefsteak is like a spaghetti dinner fundraiser, but instead of spaghetti, you get thin slices of steak served over a thin slice of italian bread, with garlic butter drizzled over that - but as much as you can eat...I musta had me about 30 pieces.

Then tonight, our crew of 'Asian friends' took Jilly and I out for Korean BBQ - a first for both of us, but my my was it delectable. It's kind of like hibachi in that they cook the food at a small grill in your table, but its BBQ meat, and a lot of it. My only issue with this place was the smoke from the grill. I just happened to pick the seat where the smoke exclusively blew. So I was getting punched in the face the entire night by sweet sweet BBQ smoke. Kreacher licked my entire head when we got home.

Reading for February 21
Leviticus 11:1-12:8
Is this Kosher?
So here we have the exact rules for what the Jews are allowed to eat, or what is Kosher for them. For meat, it is any animal that has split hooves and "chews the cud" - which I think means "eats grass" is OK, but they must do both. If the animal has a split hoof, but does not chew the cud, it is considered unclean, and vice versa.

Now the idea of unclean isn't as damning as I originally thought. Basically, if you eat or touch the meat of an unclean animal, you will be deemed "unclean" until that evening. You must also bathe and wash your clothes, but there's no real penalty for breaking the Kosher rule. It says later that a woman is considered unclean for up to two weeks after child birth, which is encouraged  by God! So the idea of unclean isn't like this harsh banishment, its just an "eugh dude, you need a shower..."


So I had two questions as I was reading this.

1) Why the strict regulation? What's the point?
     Well, God actually answers that one at the end of this reading:

⁴⁴ I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. ⁴⁵ I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

But this begs another question - what does it mean to be holy. Well, God is holy so we can see an example of someone who is holy, but what exactly does holy mean? I think in this context we can take it to mean 'like God'. So by avoiding certain foods, we are becoming like God. Now is it the act of obedience of avoiding the foods that makes us holy, or is it actually the fact that these specific foods are actually bad for us? Sorry - that was like four questions in the first one.

2) Why does this no longer apply to us as Christians? Or does it apply, but its not really popular so modern Christianity has dropped these regulations in favor of the ever  so delicious pork roll and cheese on an everything bagel?

I think this may go back to the sin separation of God and man. That eating Kosher made it easier for God to be around his people and tolerate their sin, but now that that aspect has been taken care of by Jesus, we no longer need to worry about that. Any thoughts?

Mark 5:21-43
Another account of a couple of mircales.

This section focuses on two people, a sick woman and a dead girl. The sick woman had been bleeding for twelve years, had seen many doctors and had drained all of her money due to this illness, and she only got worse (sounds like a personal story from the health care debates) - when she heard about Jesus she knew that if she only touched the hem of his clothes she would be healed.

Now the idea of touching Jesus' clothes had never been provided as a way of being healed, this woman just assumed that Jesus' power radiated all around him and that just slight physical contact would cure her. My initial thought when reading this miracle was "yeah, if you believe something strongly enough, you can actually make it happen on your own. So Jesus didn't really have anything to do with this, it was just a placebo effect based on this woman's strong belief as to what would happen." This was refuted by the fact that Jesus could feel that power had gone from him. There was a physical feeling Jesus had that indicated someone took some of his power. It's like a video game, Jesus saw his health bar go down. Anyway, he felt energy leave him and knew that someone had touched his clothes to be healed. The woman admits to the act and Jesus tells her that her faith has healed her.

In the meantime, the little girl who Jesus was on his way to help had died. The family of the girl told him not to bother coming anymore because she had already died. The family was weeping heavily and there was some serious mourning going on when Jesus walked in the door. So based on her family's reaction, this girl was pretty dead if that's how they were acting. Jesus says, "hey she's not dead. She's sleeping." The Bible says that they actually laughed at him for saying that, further evidence that they believed this girl was suffering from an extreme case of deadness. But Jesus took her hand and said "little girl, get up!" And she was raised from the dead.

This scene is interesting because I think this may show us that Jesus had a different perception than we do. He probably actually saw her  as a little girl who was calmly sleeping. Like dead-ray vision or something...

Psalm 38:1-22
This one is pretty depressing...David is saying how God has humbled him because of his sin.

³ Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
       my bones have no soundness because of my sin.
 ⁴ My guilt has overwhelmed me
       like a burden too heavy to bear.

Is he just being emo or is this actually what's happening? God has actually made David unhealthy because of his sin? Or is this more a metaphorical illness? Look at verse 4 there. Have you ever been sick with guilt or worry? I think that might be the situation here. This is a good example of fearing God if that's the case, because if you are so worried about your transgressions that you make yourself sick over it, you are obviously afraid of the wrath of something...

Proverbs 10:8-9

 ⁸ The wise in heart accept commands,
       but a chattering fool comes to ruin. 

Or, the wise man listens, the fool speaks.

Alright - bedtime. Hey if you have time, check out the poll down on the right. Actually, depending on your monitor, it may actually be above where you're reading this - anyway, please take a moment to vote on the ad situation if you would. Thanks chums!

Book Report - Exodus

This has been a good while coming. I've been sort of putting this book report off because I'm slightly afraid of what my mind may deduce after looking at the book as a whole, nonetheless, here we go.

So first, a factual summary. Exodus picks up a few generations after Genesis ends. The Isrealites that were in Egypt were still there because of Joseph's adventures in slavery and government. But now the Israeli name was no longer respected and they were soon slaves to the Egyptians. They were treated harshly and lived that way for quite some time. Moses, in the mean time rises to great power in Egypt but eventually sees the plight of the Israelites and wants to set them free. God appears to Moses in several forms throughout this process, the most famous being the burning bush. God instructs Moses with the things to say and do to prove to the Egyptians that God isn't messing around.

Moses follows God's orders and performs miracles with the help of God. The Egyptians are indeed impressed and several times it seems that the Egyptian King, Pharaoh has a change of heart and decides to let the Israelites go. God, in the meantime, was hardening Pharaoh's heart so the Egyptians and Israelites could see his full power. Moses and God infected Egypt with plague after plague until the final plague which killed every first born male in Egypt. The Israelites were spared their children if they followed God's instructions of slaughtering a lamb and smearing the blood over the door of their house, which I imagine most did. This was the first passover.

This final plague does the trick and the Israelites are free to leave Egypt. However, on their trek out of the land, Pharaoh once again has a God-induced change of heart and decides to pursue them with the intent of killing them all. The Israelites escape through the Red Sea, walking on dry land as Moses/God parted the sea for them to cross safely. The Egyptian pursuers were swallowed up by the sea and everyone was saved. Yay.

Now they are wandering around in the desert and are struggling to survive with limited resources. God provides them with water and manna to eat and drink, but the people become restless. Moses eventually goes and meets with God on Mt. Sinai and God hands down the ten commandments among other rules and regulations. And that's kind of where Exodus ends.

As I said several times through the course of reading this book, the God in Exodus is not a God I would be proud to worship. He does things seemingly only to glorify himself (such as keeping the plague  process going when it could have ended so easily), he strikes people down, or threatens them with death for seemingly arbitrary offenses, the owning of slaves is condoned by God in this book, and all in all, it looks like he cares about nothing but himself and his rules.

Now, with that said, I still believe that he is the creator of the earth, universe and all things within. And that being true, I suppose its kind of a "my house, my rules" kind of situation, which is fine - but that doesn't mean I have to like it. In fact I don't like it. If I were given just the book of Exodus when deciding whether or not I wanted to be a Christian, I would have handed it back and said, "no thanks, that God sounds like a total jerk."

One of my main, kind of running questions, however is what should still be considered valid today, and what can be dismissed as cultural norms and or 'the way things used to be'? Specifically in this case, 'should this text be read as how to accurately perceive God, or more as a compare-and-contrast text that shows how it used to be, but how beautiful and different it is now that Jesus' sacrifice has taken place?'

A few weeks ago, I was thinking about what God actually is, and I came to a conclusion that he is a living breathing idea. An inconceivable thought-being that is completely inflexible in it's motives, ideals and norms. My reasoning behind this comes from a scene in Exodus where God says that if he comes into face-to-face contact with his people, he will freak out and kill them all, and its implied that this is because of their sin-nature, and that God cannot physically exist in the presence of sin. This could explain the bi-polar God we see from Old Testament to New Testament. The New Testament God is based around the fact that Jesus' sacrifice made it possible for God to be with and love and care for the people he created, just as was always intended from the beginning of creation.

So, for now I suppose I am accepting the 'compare-and-contrast' thing. I think it makes sense and seems to rectify some serious problems I was having with the portrayal of God in this book. At the same time, I do have several unanswered questions. Hopefully I will see everything clearly once this project is complete...

Saturday, February 20

A good Saturday evening to you. I had a bit of an impromptu makeover today. New glasses, jeans and haircut - I feel like a splendid new man! Plus my glasses are totally emo and made me want to start writing songs again. Weird how certain things can trigger action. Anywhoosen, Bible time.

Reading for February 20
Leviticus 9:7-10:20
OK - bold statement time. I can't believe that this is the God the Jews worship. I don't mean that in a derogatory sense at all, either. I mean it out of the utmost respect. This section of text shows Aaron giving the sin offering in the temple along with several other offerings. Quick side note - did you know there was such a thing as a "wave offering"? When someone takes a piece of the slaughtered animal and just waves it around in the air. I gotta admit, I literally laughed out loud when I saw the phrase "wave offering". Anyway, back to Aaron's offerings. So he is doing everything right, just as the LORD had commanded Moses, but then two of his sons screw up by burning the wrong kind of incense in their incense burners, and God strikes them down. Dead. Sorry, Aaron - your two sons are now dead because they put the wrong incense in their incense burners. For Jews, I can't see how following this "version" of God is desirable. There is no margin for error it seems, and you must live in constant fear of somehow messing up...So  like I said, much respect for being able to stick with this, I would have given up long ago if this is what I was up against.

Mark 4:26-5:20
Some extra detail


So, for me, this is the kind of stuff that makes having four gospels interesting. The stories here are repeats of those told in Matthew, but the details are either new or different in Mark. There are two examples.

1) When Jesus and the disciples are in the boat and Jesus calms the storm. In Mark he says "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" He says this after he calms the storm, a more passive way of rebuking the disciples for their lack of faith. In Matthew he calls them "ye of little faith" before calming the storm, a more aggressive was of calling them out.

2) When Jesus heals the demon possessed man and sends the demons into a herd of pigs. Matthew doesn't mention how many pigs there were, I always assumed it was about 10 or so pigs, but Mark tells us that it was actually 2000 pigs.

The pig story is interesting too, because after the pigs drowned themselves due to the evil spirits, the people of the region made Jesus leave. However, before he left, he commissioned the guy who was demon possessed to share his good news with the people from his region and tell them "all the LORD has done for [him]".

I like this because it shows that Jesus may not be welcome in some places, but the people's who's lives he's affected can be his hands and feet and share the love of Christ through what he has done for us..

Psalm 37:30-40
So last night I was saying how the psalm was very contradictory to what I've been trying to study about the problem of evil and things like the fact that you don't need to be a Christian to succeed in this world, and honestly what being a Christian won't make you immune to problems. This passage somewhat answers my question.

 ³⁵ I have seen wicked and ruthless people
      flourishing like a tree in its native soil.
 ³⁶ But when I looked again, they were gone!
      Though I searched for them, I could not find them!

So, according to this passage,while its true that wicked and ruthless people flourish for a long time, it is not permanent. And that the frailty of the way in which they've built their "corporate ladder" could crumble at any minute.

Proverbs 10:6-7
Again, here is a "Christianity is all about good things happening to you" verse:

 ⁶ The godly are showered with blessings;
      the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.

Now, normally one would look up what is meant by "blessings" here, but I'm too tired. Goodnight.

 

Friday, February 19

Curling is the strangest thing I've ever seen. I think part of the appeal is trying to figure out what the heck is going on in this crazy olympic sport. I also think that the announcers are aware that its weird, and they don't really explain what's going on, leading to endless in-bar arguments about what indeed is actually going on. It sure is fun to watch though...

Reading for February 19
Leviticus 7:28-9:6
So after God's instructions on how to slaughter animals for different reasons, Moses is now carrying out those commands word for word. This is something I've noticed about the Bible in general, there will be a long string of text explaining something to someone. Then if that person goes and explains it to someone else, they repeat the text word for word. So this is leading me to skip over a lot of the text because I've already read it. And as much fun as it is to read about the extraction of a slaughtered animals doo doo, I'm not really excited about it the second time I read it.

Anyway, the phrase, "Just as the LORD had commanded him" is repeated again and again here at the end of each paragraph, reiterating the idea of strict obedience to God's law and instructions.

The neat thing that sticks out in this section of text comes right at the end. The people of Israel had been instructed to bring a goat, lamb, bull and ram as sin offerings to God because he was going to appear to them on that day.

⁶ And Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.”

But what is the benefit here. Again, my personal set of beliefs say that every rule and guideline God imposes is good for us. Ultimately we will be better people if we listen to and follow the teachings in the Bible. But how does seeing God benefit these people. I mean, don't get me wrong - it completely mind blowing for someone to say, "oh by the way, I invited God to this thing and he said he's definately gonna stop by." WWWHHAAAAA?? I would be so overwhelmed...but still, in the end, how does it benefit me to actually see God? Proof? Proof that what I've been doing has been for something that actually exists. But then again, how much more proof did the Israelites need at that point? They just were witness to some of the most famous miracles of all time. Ah, Old Testament, you always get me riled up...

Mark 3:31-4:25
The parables begin
This is the first account of Jesus speaking in parables in the book of Mark. He tells the parable of the seedsower (path, rocky ground, thorn bushes, etc.) and the parable of the lamp. One completely new thing I don't think was referenced in Matthew is a prophecy that Jesus was fulfilling by speaking in parables. This is Jesus quoting the book of Isaish:

   ‘When they see what I do,
      they will learn nothing.
   When they hear what I say,
      they will not understand.
   Otherwise, they will turn to me
      and be forgiven.’

Who's they? Why are the being denied forgiveness? Didn't Jesus die for everyone? This passage clearly implies that there are those who aren't worthy of Jesus sacrifice, which if true, kills the entire thing. The whole message of forgiveness and unconditional love goes right out the window. I know this is a bit of text is out of context,  but it's definately worth mentioning.

Psalm 37:12-29
See, this kind of stuff just aggravates the issue of 'why is there suffering in the world if God exists?' Look at this:

¹⁸ Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,
      and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
 ¹⁹ They will not be disgraced in hard times;

      even in famine they will have more than enough.

 ²⁵ Once I was young, and now I am old.
      Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned
      or their children begging for bread.
 ²⁶ The godly always give generous loans to others,
      and their children are a blessing.

Never seen the godly abandoned, or their children begging for bread? I have. The earthquake last month people were begging for a lot more than bread. I guess  one could argue that those people weren't godly, which would allow this text to make sense, but I don't know...I've known plenty of decent Christian people who get sh** on every once in a while. I'm not trying to make light of it either - deaths in the family, sick relatives, really hard things that are happening to really good Christians.

I think the other issue with this is that some churches are teaching this message. This message being, "Convert to Christianity and everything will be exactly as you want it, and you'll never face hardship again." So then when these people are faced with hardships they try to bury it because they assume that its because of something they've done wrong, and then often don't talk to someone about it. It gets bottled up until it explodes and then some terrible things start happening.

I know that being a Christian isn't all bake sales and rainbows, there are some serious hard times I've personally had when I felt like my relationship with God was at its strongest. But ultimately, I feel like I am a better person because of it. If you're reading this and you're not a Christian, I'm not saying that you are a bad person because you're not a Christian, not at all. You are in fact probably a better person than I am. What I'm saying is that for me, finding myself through the context of Christ has ultimately, despite hardships, made me a more whole person.

Proverbs 10:5
This one's easy...

 ⁵ A wise youth harvests in the summer,
      but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.

Hey, just out of curiosity, if you read this thing on a regular basis and I don't know you personally, drop me a note in the comments below or on email brandonamurray@gmail.com. I'd love to get to know you and chat a little. I'm a totally friendly dude. Promise.

Wow that sounded really creepy. Scratch that last line, I promise I'm not a psycho. Thanks duders.

Thursday, February 18

Hi there. I think I'm finally awake enough to write a competent entry. I had a great small group meeting tonight with my friend Alex. It's kind of cool, we met each other at our church ORB in central Jersey, but then we both moved separately up to north Jersey and within 10 minutes of each other. So we try to get together once a week to talk about our lives and what's goin on and what we can pray for each other about. Before I started this project, Alex and I were keeping each other accountable for reading the Bible at least once or twice a week. It's a great relationship and I'm really glad we have one another to pray for and just talk to about stuff that's on our minds. I would encourage everyone to find a relationship with someone you trust and set aside time every week to meet and talk with that person. It really is a healthy thing to do, and I really enjoy the time we spend together.

Reading for February 18
Leviticus 6:1-7:27

Would you believe I actually just remembered that Leviticus is the book of straight laws? Well, its true. Leviticus is the book that contains the controversial statements about homosexuality and women in the priesthood and stuff. If I had trouble with some of the things I've been reading, I think this book may pose a serious problem...well, let's see...

OK - so the rules around sacrificial offerings continue here. One thing I learned though is that the sacrificial offering was not just to atone for sins - no. There are actually several different types of offerings: Burnt, Grain, Sin, Trespass, Peace - with that last one being the most interesting. God outlines a plan here for people to be able to sacrifice an animal for the sake of God any time they want. God says you can use this as an offering of Thanksgiving to Him. I've never heard of that before, when you think sacrificial animal offering, you're thinking trying to fix something that made God angry, not "Thank you God, my cat had babies - let me sacrifice one of them." That's so weird...

The instructions for some of the other ones, like the burnt offering are strangely specific and confusing. Check it:

‘This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. ¹⁰ And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen trousers he shall put on his body, and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. ¹¹ Then he shall take off his garments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. ¹² And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. ¹³ A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.

Like, why does it have to be those specific things? What about this is appeasing God? Does he just love details and making people follow strict and strange rules? This seems like something the Pharisees would love.

Mark 3:7-30
OK, again a lot of repeated information here, but told in such a punchier way. Jesus steps away from the multitude of people for a while to confirm his twelve disciples. Then at the end of this passage we have the idea of the only sin that can't be forgiven is blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. Which is hard to know if you are doing when you have no idea what the Holy Spirit is. On the plus side, my pastor, Christian is currently giving a series of sermons regarding the very topic of the Holy Spirit. I need to add this to my running questions: "What in the world is the Holy Spirit?"

On the other hand, I think that statement that I'm overlooking here is this one:

²⁸ “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter


This goes back to my book report on Matthew. Jesus died so every sin committed by every man will be forgiven. Not can - will be forgiven. It's this type of grace and forgiveness that I think is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian.

Psalm 37:1-11
This psalm seems to focus on not getting upset when other non-Jew/Christian people around you do well or receive blessings, when you are not getting anything. And also how believing and trusting in God will "give you the desires of your heart." Which is a dangerous statement.

I think the important thing here is the distinction between Jew/Christian and "evildoer. Obviously God is not going to give someone evil the evil desires of their heart, so the idea here is that trusting in God will change one's desires to be more in line with the desires of God. Right? I think that makes sense...

Proverbs 10:3-4
This is more in line with my understanding of what Proverbs was - simple 1-2 line nuggets of wisdom.

³ The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish,
      But He casts away the desire of the wicked.
       ⁴ He who has a slack hand becomes poor,
      But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Obviously I could debate these things to death based on the evidence of the real world, but the thought here is nice. In face the second half really has nothing to do with God at all - it says be lazy and you'll be poor, work hard and you'll be rich. Maybe not in today's society where people seemingly get rich by falling out of bed, but still - this is excellent advice, especially for me. I tend to get lazy from time to time. And by "from time to time" I mean "all the time."

Thanks buderinos. Goodnight.

Wednesday, February 17

So I'm in this intramural basketball league with work. We've been playing since the beginning of January, we play 3 games every night we play, and we haven't won a single game yet. We have one win on our record becuase one team had to forfeit. So we're 1-17, and the three games we played tonight contributed to that total. I know its just for fun, and I'm really happy for all the exercise I'm getting from it, but it sure is frustrating to lose every single game. It's also not the best place for me to be a good example of a Christian since I'm cursing my head off all the time for losing.

Alright - Bible time.

Reading for February 17
Leviticus 4:1-5:19
OK - the process for sacrificing animals to absolve one's sins continues here. God goes into each possible person who could sin, but not know it - and they must sacrifice an animal to atone for their sins. A lot of this information repeats itself, and again I am seeing the connection to Jesus, but a few things of note are here. Firstly, it was up to the preist to decide who was forgiven of their sins and who wasn't based on the sacrifice they brought to the temple. Secondly, the majority of this text focuses on sins you would commit without knowing it.

The text says that the person who committed the sin is still guilty and must atone for their sins by sacrificing an animal to God in this very specific way. I don't understand the reasoning behind the animal sacrifice though...maybe since you're supposed  to bring your finest animal with no defects to be destroyed means some serious problems for  your livelihood. People depended on their animials and having to sacrifice then would obviously cause them some financial hardships. Or is the sacrifice of these animals something a little more cosmic? Is there something about the killing of animals that appeases God's anger against his people who are sinning?


Mark 2:13-3:6

“The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

What a change of pace. While the Old Testament seemed to be that every rule and law catered to God, its interesting to see Jesus saying that something was created to meet the  needs of people. I believe that this holds true for the rest of the stuff in the Bible as well. Basically, if I boil it down, "It's good for you to follow God and follow the rules of the Bible.  

Psalm 36:1-12

   You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.
    ⁷ How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
   All humanity finds shelter
      in the shadow of your wings.
 ⁸ You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
      letting them drink from your river of delights.
 ⁹ For you are the fountain of life,
      the light by which we see.

Oh really, I  disagree - how could God care for animals when he mandated that one be slaughtered if you screw up only once? Also, "All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings."??? What about the Egyptians? They didn't find shelter in the shadow of God's wings...they found torment in the shadow of God's fist. 

Proverbs 10:1-2
Again - very simple, but totally sweet.

 ¹ The proverbs of Solomon:

   A wise child^[a] brings joy to a father;
      a foolish child brings grief to a mother.
 ² Tainted wealth has no lasting value,
      but right living can save your life.

This is funny...again I'm so tired for some reason, but as I'm typing I'm almost falling asleep. So every once in a while, I'll just start typing while completely unconscious of it and then look back and be like "AHH! that's not what I meant!" Last night I started typing a quote from "The Wedding Singer" starring Adam Sandler. Then woke up, realized what I was writing and deleted it. I promise I will leave my sleepy rants up from now on.

Brandon

Book Report: Matthew

I have neglected to do the summaries for both Matthew and Exodus, so let me bang out Matthew now and then I'll do Exodus maybe tonight. So - Matthew. The first book in the New Testament; the first account of the life and work of Jesus Christ.


I made a note of this a few times while reading the daily entries, but the thing that is repeated over and over again in this book is Jesus' frustration with the Pharisees. These Pharisees, who were religious leaders, were obsessed with the letter of the law but were not getting the message Jesus was bringing. These were men that had risen to great power and authority within the Jewish community. They commanded great respect amongst the people of their region, but Jesus wasn't about that. In Matthew, Jesus was about two things: loving God and caring for others. He even boils down all the commandments into those two things. On the other hand, the Pharisees were obsessed with catching people in the act of breaking a rule or law, even going so far as to pose impossible, theoretical scenarios to Jesus to try and trick him into admitting to breaking a law.

And in the act of Jesus beating down the philosophy of the Pharisees, he was by extension beating down the old way of religion. He was beating down the idea of focusing so much on what you are doing wrong, and how to avoid punishment from God. He is essentially canceling the God of the Old Testament. Well, maybe that's not the right way to say that - he is canceling the anger of the God of the Old Testament. There is even a section where he goes into some Old Testament scripture, saying, "You have heard it said..." and then saying "But I tell you..." So he actually was canceling out some rules and norms of the Old Testament.

Once again I must correct myself. I said that Jesus canceled the anger of the God from the Old Testament, but he didn't do that either - at least not with his message. In his teachings he taught people this new way of viewing God, but I don't think everything really changed until his ultimate death and resurrection. That's when the curtain in the temple tore in two, and God and man were finally able to exist in the same plane.

There's a common picture that you might have seen on those "religious tracts" that people try to give you when you're in the mall or on the boardwalk or something. It shows two cliffs with man on one side and God on the other and a valley in-between. The imagery is that God and man cannot exist together, and I noticed this in Exodus when God says that if he comes into contact with the Israelites that he will freak out and destroy them all. But Jesus dying on the cross filled in that gap - the second part of that image is a huge cross filling in the void so now God and man can co-exist. It's really interesting to see that in the context of reading the Old Testament simultaneously.

But what does that mean? Now we can exist with God? I've never heard God's voice in my whole life? What exactly has changed? We don't have to atone for our sins anymore by sacrificing animals - but doesn't that just make us lazy? The old - "Eh Jesus took care of that for me" attitude. Maybe that's where the fear of God has gone in these times. Christians are taught that they are forgiven for everything they do, no matter what they do. And I'm not saying that's an incorrect message, but imagine it this way: You get a job where you have to enter data into a computer. The software you are using is aware of all the data that needs to be entered and knows the correct values. So you can try to enter the data correctly, but even if you mess up, the software will correct it for you. So what's the value in even trying?

I'm so off track now from Matthew, but maybe its the idea of "good works should be the result of your faith" So because Jesus has done this great thing for me, so should I do great things for others. But what about people who don't believe in God? What were they saved from? As Christians, we believe that Jesus died for everyone, even the non-believers, but telling an Athiest that Jesus died for his or her sins, means absolutely nothing to that person. They weren't concerned about sins to begin with. There is nothing for them to be accountable for. No one to be accountable to. What's to convince an atheist that they are in need of Jesus' sacrifice?

So many questions - who can help me here?

Tuesday, Februay 16

Yes. Another snow day today. Unfortunately, I had a few things I couldn't do from home so I ended up spending the entire day in the office while most others went home. Also, my one last hope for playing basketball one more time before the season ended was thwarted by the snow. Our chance of improving our 1 win - 14 loss record was also thwarted in the process. Also, work has once again become a somewhat overwhelming for me.

Wow, I sound like a baby. I guess it was just an annoying day...sorry to take it out on you, friends.

Reading for February 16
Leviticus 1:1-3:17
Shamon! I finished another book! Exodus is complete! I don't think I've ever even looked at Leviticus. Well, here we go...

Well, this just continues right where Exodus left off. God is now giving specific directions on how to sacrifice an animal to him. Some of this is highly barbaric and nasty...like this excerpt:

¹⁴ “If you present a bird as a burnt offering to the Lord, choose either a turtledove or a young pigeon. ¹⁵ The priest will take the bird to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar. But first he must drain its blood against the side of the altar.

Doesn't that sound outrageous? I don't think Jews do this today - although I think the other guidelines here were the beginnings of the idea of food being Kosher.

The other thing of note here is the obvious symbolism to Jesus. Here is what I mean: when you, as a person, screw up, you must atone for your sins. One of the best ways to do that, according to God, is to bring him an animal and slaughter it. But it can't be just any animal. It must be:

1) Male
2) Free from any defect

The Bible says that after you sacrifice this animal for God that, "the Lord will accept its death in your place to purify you, making you right with him." So in the same way that people needed to constantly do this to make themselves right with God, Jesus did it once. And He did it for everyone. And he was a male with no defects. Often referred to as the Lamb of God. He was a sheep who allowed himself to be slaughtered for our sake. Remember that today when you interact with someone else he died for, that you may not get along with. - That message is for me by the way...



Mark 1:29-2:12
Again, Mark is moving the story along at a very quick pace here. Jesus' ministry continues and he begins expelling demons from people's bodies. The one thing that's new from Matthew that I thought was interesting was the idea of how quickly his popularity spread. Word of mouth was the chief marketing tool back then, and the environment of close knit communities was ideal for that kind of thing to thrive. But it says that when Jesus returned to Capernaum - where he had healed a man with Leperousy - the place was overrun by fans of Jesus. It says that the house he was staying in was so crammed full of people that not a single additional person could fit inside, and in fact there was a crowd forming outside as well. JC was totally popular.

Psalm 35:17-28
This is another very honest psalm where David is asking God why he isn't getting an answer after praying for several days. I think Psalsm is a great way to learn about different ways of looking at and approaching God. Granted, they are mostly all from the same guy, but still its a cool thing to look at.


Proverbs 9:13-18

Once again back to the "stop-cheating-on-your-wife" campaign. Pretty simple stuff about how people can be easily seduced into sin.





I'm so sorry for the turbo-short entry I've been having trouble keeping my eyes open after 10:00 PM.
Goodnight.

Monday, February 15

Ugh...It's only 10:40 and I'm already so sleepy...I hate to BS an entry, but I just need to get this done before I fall asleep...

Reading for February 15
Exodus 39:1-40:38
OK - I see the point of all these details. The author of Exodus - which is in fact, Moses - repeats a key phrase at the end of each section of text. And that phrase is "just as the LORD had commanded him". So perhaps its not the actual details that are important, but rather the fact that Moses and the Israelites obeyed God without question. God asked them to build a tent that he would live in when he comes to the earth in cloud form - they build it. No questions asked. I mean, I would have a few questions if I was tasked with that assignment, wouldn't you?

But that's exactly what they do. Then God actually does come down to earth in cloud form. And when this holy cloud rests over the Tabernacle, the people are to stay put - but when the cloud begins to move, the people follow it. Why does God take so many different forms when he comes to earth? Why not have some consistency? Maybe he's just bored and these different forms are like his wardrobe choices for the day. 

Mark 1:1-28
Holy crap. I finished another book! Matthew is complete! YES! That's two completed books so far...alright - onward to Mark.

Man - Mark doesn't mess around. For those who may not know, the four book Matthew Mark Luke and John are all the story of Jesus, just told from different perspectives and penned by different authors. I never really pondered why it is set up this way - maybe because his life and teaching is of such significance that you would want to hear different perspectives. It's like when a major news story happens, you tune into as many different media sources as you can to try to get the most detail possible.

Alright - so the reading. People always say that the book of Mark reads like an action novel. I'm not sure about that specific term, but Mark does move through the key points very quickly. In the first chapter we see:

• John the Baptist baptizing Jesus
• Jesus going into the desert and being tempted for the forty days
• Jesus calling his disciples
• Jesus beginning his ministry

All of that happens in chapter 1. There is no Christmas story in Mark - no account of his birth or of Mary and Joseph. Interesting. As far as I know the details written, however, are all details from Matthew, so no other huge revelations unfortunately...

Psalm 35:1-16
David does a little loving thine enemy here. Check it:

 ¹¹ Malicious witnesses testify against me.
      They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.
 ¹² They repay me evil for good.
      I am sick with despair.
 ¹³ Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them.
      I denied myself by fasting for them,
      but my prayers returned unanswered.
 ¹⁴ I was sad, as though they were my friends or family,
      as if I were grieving for my own mother.

How very un-Old Testament of you, David.

Proverbs 9:11-12
Simple advice is twice as nice.

 ¹¹ Wisdom will multiply your days
      and add years to your life.
 ¹² If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit.
      If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.


Buhhh...sleep...
 

Sunday, February 14

Oh yeah. Happy Valentines Day! So we just got back from Jilly's V-Day surprise. I'm gonna build a little anticipation here...

So I knew that whatever we were doing was scheduled for 7:15. So I thought it might be a show, or a Devils game or something. I tried to find shows or games all week that were today at 7:15, and could not find anything. Well, tonight rolled around and I still had no idea what we were doing. We left the house around 6:45, so I knew we weren't going too far and also that we were probably getting dinner somewhere since we hadn't eaten. Jilly also made me dress up, so I figured we were doing something somewhat fancy. So Jilly's driving us down Rt. 17 and I still have no idea what's going on. Then finally the car starts to slow down, she puts the blinker on, and pulls into White Castle.

Oh yes. White Castle. I was beyond excited. She made us reservations for White Castle for Valentines Day. So we walk in - and the place is packed. Like no joke full to capacity. There is a maitre de checking peoples' reservations; the tables all had tablecloths, menus, roses and candles; and we had a waiter. He started by taking our drink order and returned with the two largest sodas I've ever seen. I seriously think they were a half gallon of soda each. Then he took our food order. Jilly got one cheeseburger and a milkshake, I got "Sack Meal #1". For Valentines Day.

We ate, left the guy a tip and headed out. We were in the restaurant for a total of 15 minutes. I laughed the entire time. It was the most amazing Valentines Day I've ever had. My wife totally gets me and I love her so much. Here's some pictures of the wonderful evening:

OK - now on to the non-White Castle related portion. The Bible.

Reading for February 14
Exodus 37:1-38:31
OK - so this entire section of text consists of the specifications of the things that were built as requested by God. The dimensions of everything, what everything was made out of, who contributed the materials, how many hooks or rings were attached to it, what the rings were made of, and on and on. Does this sound boring to you? Yeah, me too. But I thought, this can't just be arbitrary information, if its in the Bible, it's here for a good reason. My thoughts are that this info is so detailed so if future generations find these items, they can reference the Bible to see if what they found is actually what is described. And if that is true, it gives some secular credibility to the Bible as - at the very least - a historical document.

The other thing that I found interesting is the use of 'acacia wood'. It seems like almost everything in this section is built out of this specific wood. So I did what any good scholar of the Bible would do - I googled acacia wood. Turns out that this wood is often used to make incense in the eastern religions and is thought to repel demons and ghosts, but make God or the gods happy. And what they're building in this section of Exodus is the Tabernacle, which is like a temporary "mobile temple" which would be the place where God would come down to Earth and dwell. Later this Tabernacle would be placed in the temple of Jerusalem. So its interesting that the wood used for the Jewish holy place where God dwells is used by other religions for holy things as well.

Matthew 28:1-20
So last night when I said the crucifixion was the crux and climax of the Bible, I was wrong. It is actually the resurrection, which is what happens here. So Jesus is dead. Buried in a cave with an enormous stone blocking it. And there are two guards in front of that. On Sunday, the third day, Jesus' mother and Mary Magdelen come to the tomb to find it empty and the stone rolled away. An angel comes and tells them not to be afraid, because Jesus is alive and in Galilee. He tells them to go let the disciples know what's happening.

Shortly thereafter, the "leading priests" met with the guards from Jesus' tomb. The leading priests bribed the guards to tell everyone that the disciples came during the night and stole Jesus body. Basically, that this resurrection didn't happen. Obviously they felt threatened by someone rising from the dead and didn't want things to change. The Bible says that "Their story spread widely among the Jews, and they still tell it today." I've always wondered what the Jewish response to Jesus is. I've never really talked religion with a Jewish person before, I wonder if this is their actual belief. It would be cool to talk to someone about that...

Jesus then meets a group of people in Galilee and commisions everyone to go out into the world and "make disciples of all nations" (meaning, not just the Israelites anymore). Jesus is essentially telling these people - and today's reader by extension - to start and be the church. Not what most churches are today, Jesus is telling everyone to basically follow his ministry. Traveling and telling people this good news. Very cool.

Psalm 34:11-22
 ¹¹ Come, my children, and listen to me,
      and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
 ¹² Does anyone want to live a life
      that is long and prosperous?
 ¹³ Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
      and your lips from telling lies!
 ¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do good.
      Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

The thing I like about this passage is that last verse there, verse 14. "Turn away from evil and do good." I think a lot of times, Christians focus so much on the first half of that verse, and forget to do the second half. They focus on fixing themselves, but in the meantime neglect the broken world we live in and neglect to help people as we've been called to do. There is such a "bubble" mentality among some sects of Christianity that I think needs to change. It's time that Christians start doing good for others. And I'm including myself in that sentiment. Hold me to it if you see me regularly. Ask me what I've done for others in the past couple days. I don't want to get lax on that.

Proverbs 9:9-10

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
      Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.

I think that Solomon said something very similar in an earlier proverb. Something about the fear of the Lord is the root of all wisdom or something. I'm a little further in my journey now, so let me take a stab at what this means again. If you try to gain knowledge without first fearing God, you will become pompous and self righteous in your knowledge, but fearing God first and then doing the learning will instill humility within the person.

That makes sense, but I know a few very learned, wise people who aren't Christian, nor are they pompous or self righteous. So my interpretation is probably wrong. Well, it was worth a shot.

Excellent. This was probably the best weekend I've had in a very, very long time. If I spent time with you on Saturday, I love all you guys. If I saw you this morning at church, I love you guys. If I had lunch with you at New Corner Pizza in Red Bank, I love you guys. If I had a romantic dinner for two with you at White Castle, I REALLY love you! You're...what I crave. :)

Sorry everyone. Goodnight.