Reading from Tuesday, July 6

So a few people were wondering what I ended up doing with that money I had last week. Well it turns out that Kreacher (our dog) needed medicine that we didn't have the flow for, so I ended up having to spend the money on that. I don't feel totally guilty though because I wasn't spending it on myself. So there it is.

Reading for July 6
1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4
OK - total disclosure here - this is mad boring. I do promise to actually read through these, but again, I may not have much to write about. One thing that kind of stuck out here is the lineage of David. Here it is:

Shammua, ^[g] Shobab, Nathan and Solomon. These four were by Bathsheba ^[h] daughter of Ammiel. ^6[i] Eliphelet, ⁷ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁸ Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet—nine in all. ⁹ All these were the sons of David, besides his sons by his concubines. And Tamar was their sister. The Kings of Judah

There were also Ibhar, Elishua,

 ¹⁰ Solomon's son was Rehoboam,
       Abijah his son,
       Asa his son,
       Jehoshaphat his son,
 ¹¹ Jehoram ^[j] his son,
       Ahaziah his son,
       Joash his son,
 ¹² Amaziah his son,
       Azariah his son,
       Jotham his son,
 ¹³ Ahaz his son,
       Hezekiah his son,
       Manasseh his son,
 ¹⁴ Amon his son,
       Josiah his son.
 ¹⁵ The sons of Josiah:
       Johanan the firstborn,
       Jehoiakim the second son,
       Zedekiah the third,
       Shallum the fourth.
 ¹⁶ The successors of Jehoiakim:
       Jehoiachin ^[k] his son,
       and Zedekiah. The Royal Line After the Exile

Like I said, not the most exciting section of the Bible. But interesting. If you're a nerd like me.

Acts 24:1-27

Paul is brought before the Roman governor, Felix in this chapter. I'm not sure how he got there since in the last chapter he made a great escape to a faraway land. Regardless, here he is and the Jews brought their accusations about Paul to Felix. Before they bring the accusations though, they open with a big flattering speech about how they have appreciated Felix's rule over them. It's remarkable how the Jews were sucking up to a leader of another nation (albiet a nation that rules them) when back in Moses' time, they would have killed him and his people.

Anyway, their accusations were that he was desecrating their temple and stirring up riots amongst the Jews all around. These were obviously false and Paul is allowed to defend himself. What I found interesting about Paul's defense is again comparing it to how Jesus handled the exact same circumstance. Jesus spoke very little when he was in situations where people were condemning or accusing him of something. If he spoke, he said maybe three or four words total. One thing that sticks out in my mind is when Jesus is on trial right before his death, they accuse him of claiming to be the son of God. Jesus replies "It is as you say." Basically confirming that his belief is that he is the son of God, and at the same time accepting his fate to die.

Paul does not have that great predetermination of his life and valiantly defends his honor. He gives a paragraph worth of intelligent defense about how he was not at all guilty of the charges brought against him. Felix decides to hold him and question him further - this leads to a discussion about Paul's beliefs and what he had been teaching for the past few years. When he begins to speak about God's impending judgment, Felix becomes very afraid, but still keeps him imprisoned in hopes that Paul will slip him a bribe.

In the end, when Felix's time was up as governor, he decided to keep Paul in jail as a favor to the Jews. The sweet talkin works sometimes I guess...

Psalm 4:1-8
I really like this.

 ³ Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
       the LORD will hear when I call to him.
 ⁴ In your anger do not sin;
       when you are on your beds,
       search your hearts and be silent.
       Selah

I like the idea of laying down and being silent and searching one's heart. It's something I don't do enough of, and would like to do more of. That is my personal challenge this week. To take, say, 5 five minutes a day to just be silent before God.  I would encourage you to try that too!


Proverbs 18:16-18
 ¹⁶ A gift opens the way for the giver
       and ushers him into the presence of the great.
 ¹⁷ The first to present his case seems right,
       till another comes forward and questions him.
 ¹⁸ Casting the lot settles disputes
       and keeps strong opponents apart.

Verse 17 is pretty wise. The first account of a story is always the one we believe. We need to wait to hear both sides.