Friday. February 12

Hello old chaps. How grand it is to see you this evening. Had a great day today - work was pretty cool cuz I got some new software (photoshop among other things) and our friends Liv and Sole came up after work. So great to see them. And tomorrow we're all going to the city to see the Tim Burton exhibit at the MOMA. SO PUMPED!


Yesterday I posted a request for some feedback, and I'd love it if you could give me your thoughts. Even if this is your first time here - what are your first impressions? Comment below or send me an email at brandonamurray@gmail.com

Alright - let's read.

Reading for February 12
Exodus 34:1-35:9
OK - right off the bat here I see something that sticks out - This is God speaking here:
  “Yahweh!^[b] The Lord!
      The God of compassion and mercy!
   I am slow to anger
      and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
 ⁷ I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.^[c]
      I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
   But I do not excuse the guilty.
      I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
   the entire family is affected—
      even children in the third and fourth generations.”

Yeah right, buddy. If I were to just read Genesis and Exodus up to this point, that would be my reaction. "Slow to anger"?! Are you serious? The people built a gold calf and you almost wiped them out without thinking! "Compassion and mercy"? Tell that to the Egyptians who lost their sons. Where was the compassion for them. In fact, I have not seen anything up until this point that I would even remotely consider classifying as "compassionate". Especially after everything that JUST HAPPENED.

Matthew 27:15-31
Now THIS is a God of unfailing love, compassion and mercy. This is the scene where Jesus has a chance to be released, but the crowd asks for a murderer to be set free. Then the whole process of going to the cross begins. Then Mel Gibson made a movie about it. But there is something so amazing about the section where the prisoner is freed and Jesus is convicted.

Once again, this is based on a sermon I saw Christian preach back a few years ago. Basically the story is this: every year, the Roman governor would free one prisoner during the Passover celebration. This was decided by a crowd vote. So he brought before the crowd Jesus and Barabbas. Obviously Barabbas is spared and Jesus is sent to die. In the sermon, Christian spoke about the name "Barabbas". If you're familiar with the Bible you will recognize the second half of that name "Abbas" or "Abba" meaning father. "Bar" means son. So his name was "Son of Father". He said it took him a while to think about that and what it meant. What he came up with was that everyone was the child of a father - which means Barabbas is the everyman/woman. He is you, and he is me. This one scene represents so beautifully what Jesus did for us - we were set free. We horrible, nasty despicable people were set free so this innocent man could die. Or actually, he died so we could be set free.

After the sermon - which was so powerfully delivered - I approached Christian to tell him what a great job he did. He agreed. Then he said this statement:

"I preached my balls off, didn't I?"

Christian is the best pastor I've ever had.

Psalm 33:12-22

¹³ The Lord looks down from heaven
      and sees the whole human race.
 ¹⁴ From his throne he observes
      all who live on the earth.
 ¹⁵ He made their hearts,
      so he understands everything they do.

Awesome. I could really get into a debate with myself about the hearts thing there - going back to Exodus and Pharaoh and stuff, but I would like to not be a jaded comedic hack for once and let the text stand for what it is.

 ¹⁸ But the Lord watches over those who fear him,
      those who rely on his unfailing love.
 ¹⁹ He rescues them from death
      and keeps them alive in times of famine.

So another benefit of fearing God is that he watches over us. Sounds like a fair deal.

Proverbs 9:1-6
Funny. Lady Wisdom here almost sounds like the temptress Solomon described in an earlier chapter:

 ¹ Wisdom has built her house;
      she has carved its seven columns.
 ² She has prepared a great banquet,
      mixed the wines, and set the table.
 ³ She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come.
      She calls out from the heights overlooking the city.
 ⁴ “Come in with me,” she urges the simple.
      To those who lack good judgment, she says,
 ⁵ “Come, eat my food,
      and drink the wine I have mixed.
 ⁶ Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live;
      learn to use good judgment.”

 Hey word up. Thanks for reading. Have a great day.

Dear God. Thank you for a great day. Thank you for my friends Sole and Olivia. Thank you for my wife who loves me. Thank you for my dog who loves me. Thank you for a job where I can be creative and unique. Thank you for the motivation to not give up on this. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for dying in the place of Barabbas. Thank you.

In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.