Thursday, April 1

Hey. So today was once again a fairly awful day, but I don't feel awful. I mentioned that last night I was cheered up by my wonderful wife, which carried over to today. The reason I think I got so cheered up is because we talked about our big theoretical goals in life. I said that my dream is to be a teacher. I've always wanted to be a teacher, and went down a different path when I started college. It's a lot more work now, but actually saying it out loud made it a reality. A goal. Something to work towards. And that has given me an immense amount of joy and purpose to my day. It's hard to explain, but its very cool.

OK, Biblio Tempo.

Reading for April 1
Deuteronomy 18:1-20:20

Deuteronomy 18:13:
^"13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God."

No other verse encapsulates the overall message of the first five books of the Old Testament. God requires absolute perfection to be with his people. Remember, God and sin physically cannot coexist. So God commands that his people be "blameless" is actually allowing him and his people to be together in a personal relationship. Obviously this doesn't work because, well, because people are assholes.

This verse is also a perfect encapsulation as to why Jesus' sacrifice was necessary. It is impossible to be blameless, to live a blameless life - unless you are God himself. Jesus lived a blameless life so we could be free from attempting to, and failing.

Luke 9:28-50
A couple of things stand out to me here:

1) "For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest."

Wouldn't it be nice if instead of competing with one another to see who could bench the most weight, or who could have the fastest car, or have sex with the most people, we competed with one another in a battle of kindness, trying to outdo one another in selfless generosity. That's the way Jesus idealized this world, but I don't think that came to pass, as shown by the high moral quality of reality programming.


2) The disciples come to Jesus to tell him that there was a man attempting to drive demons out in the name of Jesus and that they tried to stop him. Jesus tells them not to stop him and says

"for whoever is not against you is for you."

This might have been the first time it was brought up that everyone is now welcomed in the Kingdom of God. 

Psalm 73:1-28
This is the first Psalm of Asaph as this book shifts the focus from David, and it is one of the most honest Psalms I think I've read. There is no pretext. Asaph deals with issues of doubt, greed and envy in a very real, and almost modern way. Check it:

³ For I envied the arrogant
       when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
 ⁴ They have no struggles;
       their bodies are healthy and strong. 
 ⁵ They are free from the burdens common to man;
       they are not plagued by human ills.

And then this is my favorite section of this psalm

12 This is what the wicked are like—
       always carefree, they increase in wealth.

 ¹³ Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
       in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

Such brutal honesty about his feelings. He is observing that buttholes have an easy life, so why the heck is he working so hard to remain pure, when others are thriving while being wicked. You hardly ever see this type of honest, self reflection in the Bible, or especially in Christianity and the modern Church. Everyone is so focused on the happy aspects of Christianity, that no one stops to think: "Hey, that guy who runs sweat shops and beats his wife just got promoted and a raise. I volunteer at the soup kitchen and children's hospital 4 nights a week and I just got fired. Why should I be good?"

The more honest we can be about our faith and out doubts, the stronger we can be as Christians and just as people in general. This stuff is good to talk about - don't just sweep it under the rug. You'll probably come out of it having more faith than before...

Proverbs 12:10
 ¹⁰ A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal,
       but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

Wow - Solomon was the first PETA member...

Dear God, 

Thank you for today. It was a pretty terrible day, but I thank you for it anyway. Please let tomorrow be better.

Thank you for the courage to start working toward my goal of becoming a teacher. I pray that if this is your plan for me, that you would guide me down the right path to make it happen in a way that would allow my family to live comfortably.

Thank you, God
Amen