Hey. So Jilly and I are going to Brooklyn tomorrow with our friends The Bennetts and The Soles. We're going to a craft fair and apparently its a place where there's a ton of homemade T-Shirts and super sweet stuff like that. After that there is apparently a "Vogue Battle" at a museum. I looked it up on youtube and it's incredibly awkward, but it says that they accept challengers, and I think The Bennetts may have signed me up. They are under the impression that I can out vogue professional voguers. Somehow I seriously doubt that. I can certainly out-dance-like-an-idiot anyone, but I don't know about voguing. Anyway, I'm bringin the old camera so I'll try to post some pics from the day.
Reading from June 4
2 Samuel 22:1-23:23
David sings a song of praise here. This could definitely be one of the psalms, in fact I think a few of the lines definitely appear in a psalm or two. The interesting thing here is that David points out that he has kept all of God's commandments. And aside from that little whoopsie with Bathsheba, he's right. David was a role model for all other Jews for most of his life, including the many years he was king. He always acted in a way that seemed like it would be pleasing to God (again barring the Bathsheba incident). And through this he suffered so much.
He lost three sons, one as an infant, he was ousted from his throne twice, he was constantly being tricked by tricky people, and yet here he is, praising the crap out of God. This has always been David's mantra throughout the psalms - praising in spite of suffering, and it's something I should adopt as well. We need to remember that God wants best for us and if we are suffering, and its not because of something stupid we did, we have to trust that it is out of God's love for us, and hopefully see the fruits of that suffering come to pass in our lifetime.
At the end of this chapter David dies and goes out with one last song of praise. Pretty good way to go out if you ask me. His last words were praising God, that's gotta get you a few hole punches onyour frequent customer card at the old Pearly Gates.
Acts 2:1-47
Peter addresses the Jewish crowd in this scene where the disciples begin speaking in tongues. The Jews begin laughing at them and accuse them of being drunk. Peter is a guy who knows his audience and he knows that these Jews regard their historical figures with great respect, so he brings up David who we just finished reading about. I had completely forgot that Jesus came from David's lineage just as God had promised. I mentioned above that David went through a lot of suffering and even though he was probably the best example of a God fearing Jew that lived up until that point, he was still susceptible to temptation - lust specifically.
He was human and I think God understood that to a degree, but I don't think God completely understood it until he did it himself. He couldn't understand what it was like to go up against human temptations until he did it himself; Jesus spent 40 days in the desert, fasting and being tempted by the devil. The devil was tempting him while he was at his weakest - he probably wanted a chicken sandwich more than anything in the world at that point, and yet he was able to overcome his temptation. I think the biggest temptation he was able to overcome was that of fleeing his fate.
The movie "The Last Temptation of Christ" brings up some interesting what ifs. It's pretty controvecial, but if you look at it the right way, it really makes you think about the sacrifice Jesus accepted when he could have easily walked away from it. At any point in the Jesus story, he could have said, "nope this is too heavy, I'm out" He could have easily come down off the cross when the guards tempted him to do so, but he didn't. He didn't do it because of you, and because of those you love and because of those you hate. He overcame the most tempting thing of all, avoiding death and he did it for everyone.
Well, that was a little off topic, but I think it serves as my summary of the gospels pretty well.
Psalm 122:1-9
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
"May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels."
8 For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, "Peace be within you."
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your prosperity.
Do you think back in those days they sang "God Bless the Jew. S.A."? Yuk yuk yuk.
Proverbs 16:19-20
Yes, verse 19. YES!
19 Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed
than to share plunder with the proud.
20 Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,
and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
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