Reading from Sunday, August 29

Reading from August 29
Job 31:1-33:33
So now this guy Elihu begins speaking to Job, and he's got some sensible advice, such as "pray". This is something I mentioned a few days ago where I was comparing Job to David in the Psalms. David experienced a similar loss to Job, but David came out of it pretty successful, so what's the difference? David spent almost all of his time praying for God's destruction to be lifted from him. At times it seems like God refused to answer even David, but eventually he helped him.

But Job has yet to pray to God, only complain about him and his will to his friends. Don't get me wrong, he certainly has a right to complain, but just looking at the comparison between him and David is really interesting.

It would be like if I sat behind you in class and I kept flicking your ear. And instead of asking me to stop, you complain to the person next to you about how annoying it is. I don't know how annoying it is. In the same way, I think that it's possible that God doesn't understand the suffering that Job is going through. I mean he came to Earth in Jesus' form to experience suffering for the first time - so one would assume that before Jesus, he had no concept of human loss or sadness.

2 Corinthians 3:1-18
Gettin sleepy

⁷Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, ⁸will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?

Psalm 43:1-5
This is a perfect example of what Job could have done:

 ^1[a] Vindicate me, O God,
       and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
       rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.
 ² You are God my stronghold.
       Why have you rejected me?
       Why must I go about mourning,
       oppressed by the enemy?

Pray and it goes away.

Proverbs 22:8-9

 ⁸ He who sows wickedness reaps trouble,
       and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
 ⁹ A generous man will himself be blessed,
       for he shares his food with the poor.

And sleepy time.

Reading from Saturday, August 28

Bible blog.

I sat down to do this last night but could feel that I was too tired to give it a proper read. So yet again I am far behind.

Reading for August 28
Job 28:1-30:31
There is some awesome stuff in this chunk of text. Chapter 28 specifically weaves a beautiful image of wisdom and its rarity. Job describes a place completely uncharted, "forgotten by the foot of man" and how "No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon's eye has seen it." This whole chapter is so interesting if you consider it in light of the first few chapters of Proverbs where Solomon basically says that wisdom is more important than food and clothing.

I love the idea that wisdom is this sought after, hidden treasure. On a personal level it makes sense in the context of reading the Bible. There is wisdom in here, but its not on the surface - I need to dig and prod and think - and even then I'm sure I'm wrong about 90% of the conclusions I reach.

But this also makes perfect sense in Job's circumstance. He is still deep in a long speech of lamentation, and then he jumps to this idea of wisdom being hidden. Well, think about it. What is the biggest question of this book?

"Why?"

Job, his friends, his wife, and we the readers all struggle with the "why?" And Job describing wisdom as a hidden treasure which is more valuable than any of earth's precious metals fits perfectly with this question of "why?"

At the end of chapter 28 though, he reveals what wisdom actually is:

 ²³ God understands the way to it
       and he alone knows where it dwells,
 ²⁴ for he views the ends of the earth
       and sees everything under the heavens.
 ²⁵ When he established the force of the wind
       and measured out the waters,
 ²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain
       and a path for the thunderstorm,
 ²⁷ then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
       he confirmed it and tested it.
 ²⁸ And he said to man,
       'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
       and to shun evil is understanding.' "

Again, this is in line with Solomon's teachings from Proverbs 1:7:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom

So to sum this up:

• There is nothing in this world more precious or sought after or important than wisdom.
• Wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

And who among the entire cast of characters in the Bible has a reason to fear God?

Job.

Job is terrified of his creator. Yet, he is wise. Such is the price of wisdom.

2 Corinthians 2:12-17
Paul makes a cool analogy to smells here.

¹⁴But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. ¹⁵For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.

I'm currently reading a book called "The Passage" which is about future, super powerful vampires. One of the characters in that book described how he liked the way a certain woman smelled and how when she walked by there would always be this trail of a beautiful scent - and I think we've all experienced that. Someone has a perfume or cologne on and they leave this intoxicating fragrant aroma behind them, and sometimes all around them.

I think that's a great analogy to God's presence. It's something that exists in the ether of our world - you can sense it but you can't see it or touch it, but you feel its effects and are aware of its presence.

Also, look at verse 16. It didn't strike me at first what that actually meant but I think I have a basic idea. Again, think about perfumes. There could be one that makes you go absolutely starry eyed and trip over yourself because of how intoxicating it is, but someone could be allergic to that same scent. So the same scent could effect two people in completely opposite ways. In the same way, the "scent" of the message of Christ is polarizing. To "evil" people, it smells of death, but to those in need of saving it smells of life.

Sometimes my butt smells. I wonder what that means.

Psalm 42:1-11

 ⁹ I say to God my Rock,
       "Why have you forgotten me?
       Why must I go about mourning,
       oppressed by the enemy?"
 ¹⁰ My bones suffer mortal agony
       as my foes taunt me,
       saying to me all day long,
       "Where is your God?"
 ¹¹ 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.

Verse 10 is pretty poignant. I think people asking "where is your God?" in the face of disaster and pain and hardship, whether personal or widespread, is a common reaction. I have asked this myself many times with all the violent acts of nature this year. But as I'm learning - God is there. God does exactly what he wants. We people have no say and no right to complain against his will. Will I still complain to him when things don't go my way? You bet. But I need to remember he has plans and sometimes those plans suck for a lot of people. But it needs to come down to trusting him.  And that's something I think we all have a hard time doing.

Proverbs 22:7
 ⁷ The rich rule over the poor,
       and the borrower is servant to the lender.


Word up homies.

Reading from Friday, August 27

Howdy ho.

Reading for August 27
Job 23:1-27:23
This is sort of what I was saying the other night about how my fear of God finally solidified through reading Job's story. This story is proof that there is no consistency to God - at least not any kind we can detect or forecast. Check out what Job says:

¹² I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
       I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
 ¹³ "But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?
       He does whatever he pleases.
 ¹⁴ He carries out his decree against me,
       and many such plans he still has in store.
 ¹⁵ That is why I am terrified before him;
       when I think of all this, I fear him.

Same for me, man. Same for me. 

2 Corinthians 1:12-2:11
There really isn't a lot happening in this part. Paul is addressing the Corinthians in a personal manner talking about his visits to them and stuff like that. I don't have much commentary of it, unfortunately.

Psalm 41:1-13
This sounds very similar to Job's situation:

 ⁷ All my enemies whisper together against me;
       they imagine the worst for me, saying,
 ⁸ "A vile disease has beset him;
       he will never get up from the place where he lies."
 ⁹ Even my close friend, whom I trusted,
       he who shared my bread,
       has lifted up his heel against me.

Proverbs 22:5-6
 ⁵ In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares,
       but he who guards his soul stays far from them.
 ⁶ Train ^[a] a child in the way he should go,
       and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Tired. Goodnight.

Reading from Thursday, August 26

Oh man, what a great night. Our church put on a show tonight with a very different structure. It was an acoustic show and each act only played two songs. So about ten minutes per person. Me and my buddy Tim played a couple of songs from our old band, but we changed them around a little with him playing piano. It was great to play those old jamz again. Also, it was awesome to see so many other people playing. I had no idea so many people were so talented.

It was also a very cool atmosphere that I've never experienced at a show before. Because there were so many acts, the majority of the audience were actually performers. But it was kinda like that scene from "Once" where they go to that dinner and everyone sings a song. Everyone was super supportive of each other and there wasn't that pretense that comes from every other show where you're comparing yourself against the other bands and stuff. This was very relaxed and it was really an awesome time.

Reading for August 26
Job 20:1-22:30
I don't know if I can take much more of this. Let's see what happens.

OK - not as bad tonight. We're getting into more of the philosophical reasons behind Job's suffering, and by extension - "Why bad things happen to good people."

To look at that question, Job addressed the opposite of that idea: why do good things happen to bad people. All of chapter 20 is about how people who ignore God and want nothing to do with him live perfectly comfortable lives and never experience anything close to what Job is going through. And yet Job made God his priority and look where it got him. It's one of those things that makes you wonder if it would have happened the same way if you went back and done it differently; gone back and cursed God before even getting into that situation.

So to answer the question of why good things happen to bad people, and vice verse: there is no answer. God does what he wants to whom he wants when he wants. It may seem unfair to us who live in systems governed by reward for good behavior and punishment for bad. I know it's a cop out, but there really is no explaining God's choices sometimes. I believe that the majority of the time my idea of "good" and God's idea are relatively the same, but God isn't as consistent as I think some of us would like to believe. And my fear of him rests in that inconsistency.



Then one of Job's friends finally starts making sense.

^22:2 "Can a man be of benefit to God?
       Can even a wise man benefit him?
 ³ What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?
       What would he gain if your ways were blameless?

This is an extremely New Testament idea. This is the root of the "faith over works" mentality. Because think about it - aside from bragging rights to Satan, how would it benefit God if I never broke a rule? I don't think it would at all.

Then he busts into some real NT stuff:

^22:5 Is not your wickedness great?
       Are not your sins endless?
 ⁶ You demanded security from your brothers for no reason;
       you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them naked.
 ⁷ You gave no water to the weary
       and you withheld food from the hungry,
 ⁸ though you were a powerful man, owning land—
       an honored man, living on it.
 ⁹ And you sent widows away empty-handed
       and broke the strength of the fatherless.
 ¹⁰ That is why snares are all around you,
       why sudden peril terrifies you,
 ¹¹ why it is so dark you cannot see,
       and why a flood of water covers you.

Close your eyes and this sounds exactly like Jesus. He's saying "hey man - no one is blameless. We're all under the same umbrella of sin. And you - with your fancy farm land and bags of money - never helped anyone in need. Shame on you. That's why you're suffering."


While I don't think his friend was right about the reason for Job's suffering, he was right to call Job out on those things. But the cool thing is that you never see that kind of rhetoric in the Old Testament. The stigma of the OT is avoiding breaking rules, not this charitable stuff. Kinda makes you wonder when it was written. Anyway, I thought that was really cool.

2 Corinthians 1:1-11
New book.

⁶If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

This is something I often forget about. Whenever we're suffering, no matter what the issue is, Jesus can relate. And if anyone at all can relate to Job, it's Jesus. So through that idea, we are comforted that someone else has been there. 

Psalm 40:11-17
There's an interesting distinction here.

Have you noticed how Job never actually prays to God for salvation from these troubles? He never goes to him to say "hey, can you tone it down a little? This is pretty awful..." Where David spent 90% of his time praying for mercy and salvation.

 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.

See? And David and Job had similarly terrible things happen to each of them. That could be a key to Job's extended suffering. 

Gosh - shut up about Job already.

Proverbs 22:2-4
 ² Rich and poor have this in common:
       The LORD is the Maker of them all.
 ³ A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge,
       but the simple keep going and suffer for it.
 ⁴ Humility and the fear of the LORD
       bring wealth and honor and life.

Indeed. And I am exhausted so good night, friends. 

Reading from Wednesday, August 25

Hey there. So I read this article today about how there are a ton of Christian teens in America today, but the majority of them are practicing what the author of the article called "watered down" faith. Where God is seen as someone who only wants us to be happy, and there is no sharing of the idea that God was kind of a butt hole and sometimes still is. Nor is it being preached that we should love each other sacrificially - to our own detriment.

One of the main points of the article is that these teens, when asked about their faith, cannot conjure up a tangible response, or mission statement. They can't really explain what God means to them or what their faith is all about. And to a degree, there will always be elements of mystery surrounding God and faith, but I think having a clear statement of what you're all about is important - and that is something I never had until I started doing this project. I'm seeing the full character of God. I'm seeing the history of this religion; and realizing that it was disgusting at points, and that is making the Christ story that much more tangible to me.

So all that to say, I am very much like the slacker teens described in the article, but that has given me a portrait of what I need to start moving away from, and how I should progress forward.

Reading for August 25
Job 16:1-19:29
Gosh - this is the most intense book in the Bible. I am gripped by every word Job utters and every word makes me miserable. This is maybe one of the worst stories I've ever read - and through Job's lamentations, we learn more about what's been happening to him. He talks about how the townspeople ridicule him. He says that his breath repulses his wife. He says that all of his friends and brothers have abandoned him because of this terrible luck that has fallen upon him. So because of God's decimation of Job's life, a ripple extended out and ruined the last small joys he had left - Job literally has nothing at all except the hope of death.

Some of the things he says actually made me tear up at the amount of pain in his heart:

^16:12 All was well with me, but he shattered me;
       he seized me by the neck and crushed me.
       He has made me his target;
 ¹³ his archers surround me.
       Without pity, he pierces my kidneys
       and spills my gall on the ground.
 ¹⁴ Again and again he bursts upon me;
       he rushes at me like a warrior.

^17:7 My eyes have grown dim with grief;
       my whole frame is but a shadow. 

 ^17:13 If the only home I hope for is the grave, ^[b]
       if I spread out my bed in darkness,
 ¹⁴ if I say to corruption, 'You are my father,'
       and to the worm, 'My mother' or 'My sister,'
 ¹⁵ where then is my hope?
       Who can see any hope for me?

This is heartbreaking. Like, I'm legit sad for this guy that may have never existed.

Think for a moment - in your mind, imagine a box. Now fill this box with everything you love and everything you depend on. Your job. Your wife, girlfriend, husband, boyfriend. Your children. Your friends. Your parents. Your dog. Your cat. Imagine that most excellent box in your mind. It is the best box ever. It is your box. It is your whole life - everything you have that is a source of joy and hope and laughter and excitement - it's all in this glorious box.

Now imagine that God sets the box on fire and forces you watch. Everything you love is now burning alive and you are helpless. Once everything and everyone has been completely decimated - then you get cancer.

Let that feeling of loss and anger sit in your mind for a moment. Let it fester a little.

Is your heart beating a little faster?

OK, now. You have the floor. What do you have to say to God? No BS here - be honest. What do you say to God?

I just did this experiment for myself. Wanna know what my response was?

"Fuck you"

Excuse the language, but if we're being honest with ourselves here, that is my gut response, and I can't imagine anyone responding very differently. If you have a different response, please let me know in the comments. Seriously. I would like to know how something like that would effect your faith. For me, that type of loss and pain would more than warrant a complete betrayal and abandonment of my faith and God. I would never want to hear the name "God" ever again unless it was preceded by the F word.

Job however never curses God. He never abandons his faith. He certainly voices the injustice in the situation. That is his main point in almost every verse. But he never damns God or curses his name. His eyes were opened to the darkest part of our creator. A part that I believe still exists, though I believe it's sleeping.

But there's my fear of God. I think I'm finally afraid of God.

1 Corinthians 16:1-24

²²If anyone does not love the Lord—a curse be on him. Come, O Lord

No. This is not the message of Christianity. Maybe it's a poor translation, but...ah...I don't know...

I'm, like, depressed about Job. I can't focus on anything else. I want to help him and I am angry at God because of what he did to him. It's like finding out that your best friend hurt his wife whom you are also close with.

Anyway - that's the end of 1 Corinthians.

Psalm 40:1-10
See stuff like this makes Job even more frustrating to read:

¹ I waited patiently for the LORD;
       he turned to me and heard my cry.
 ² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
       out of the mud and mire;
       he set my feet on a rock
       and gave me a firm place to stand.

David definitely had his share of hardships as well. But God delivered David from those hardships. David was crowned as the new Abraham essentially. He fathered the lineage of Christ. Where is Job's justice? Where is the savior that descended from the line of Job?

Where is the justice?

"Perfectly just" my butt.

Proverbs 22:1
 ¹ A good name is more desirable than great riches;
       to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

Reading from Tuesday, August 24

Hey hey. How's it going? So I just want to share a praise with you. This past week at work has been awesome - we've been editing together this video that is so funny and wacky and my boss and I have been having so much fun piecing it together. So we're laughing pretty much all day in our little studio and people walk by and ask what we're doing and everyone has the same response: "you guys have such cool jobs."

And I realized - "Holy crap. My job is fun?!" So few people can say that - I am truly blessed to have such an awesome job and team to work for. Thanks Big Guy.

Reading for August 24
Job 12:1-15:35
So as I said in the previous post, through Job's eyes, we are seeing the darkest side of God in this book. In the same way that we see what God's true loving nature is really like through Jesus, we are seeing what his vengeful, and frankly, scary self is like through Job. But that's what makes this book so interesting. Think about this again from a purely literary standpoint: If you have a flawless main character, it's totally boring - but when the flaws and darkness are exposed in a character, that's when he or she becomes interesting. Those are things we latch on to because we have our own flaws to deal with.

I think an important aspect of this idea that may go overlooked is that Job is one of very few people who have experienced this side of God. Well, let me rephrase that - he is one of very few of God's followers that have experienced that side of him - obviously the enemies of the Jews in the OT had seen this. My point is in the back and forth between Job and his friends: Job keeps arguing that God is this angry, terrifying being that is just waiting to dole out more pain, but his friends continue to defend God and say "he's not like that." But they hadn't had the experience that Job had. I mean look at Job's perception of God's character:

 ¹⁸ "But as a mountain erodes and crumbles
       and as a rock is moved from its place,
 ¹⁹ as water wears away stones
       and torrents wash away the soil,
       so you destroy man's hope.
 ²⁰ You overpower him once for all, and he is gone;
       you change his countenance and send him away.
 ²¹ If his sons are honored, he does not know it;
       if they are brought low, he does not see it.
 ²² He feels but the pain of his own body
       and mourns only for himself."

Verse 19 is particularly heartbreaking. I believe one of the main pillars of Christianity is hope - and for that to be destroyed by the God we're supposed to be serving must be an awful feeling. I mean a large number of Christians have this faith because of the hope it brings - because it gives us hope that our friend in the hospital might recover; that the loan just may go through; that we might be forgiven by someone we've hurt - these are the kinds of prayers that come from the deepest parts of us, and they all focus on hoping for something - hoping that God can come through with a miracle. God came through for Job in the opposite way. He ruined his life.

But then you have this, which came in the previous chapter:

 ¹⁵ Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;
       I will surely ^[c] defend my ways to his face.
 ¹⁶ Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance,
       for no godless man would dare come before him!

Job's faith in God's ultimate goodness is the definition of strong. He still believes, after everything that happened, that this will still turn out for good.

I have a good friend who went through a period in his life where he was in a marriage that was clearly broken. The person he was with was unkind and he had become severely depressed for a long time. Eventually the relationship ended, but by that time a couple kids were involved. He adored these kids, but as is the case in many divorces, the mother got full custody and he was only allowed weekend visits once a month. This became a huge source of mental and emotional pain for him in subsequent years and I had talked with him on several occasions when he just seemed ruined.

However, this friend of mine is a pastor. He has given several sermons which focused on this immense pain in his life - he is able to relate these stories of suffering in the Bible back to his own life. I approached him once after he had given a particularly moving talk where he had referenced this relationship. His eyes were still glossy from the end of his talk where he had recounted some painful memories with all of us. I said
"I know that this is probably the hardest thing you've ever gone through, but look at how you've been able to use it for good." I motioned to the rest of the room of college aged hipsters who were all having solemn, serious conversations about God and relationships, which were all initiated from my friend's talk which had finished moments earlier.


God sometimes chooses us to suffer at his hand, sometimes inexplicably - as we're seeing in the case of Job. But it's what we choose to do with that suffering that makes it either our downfall or our song.

1 Corinthians 15:29-58
Gosh, Paul seems so preachy and boring after reading Job. Job feels so real and organic. Straight talk.

I'm not really feeling anything he's talkin about tonight - so I'ma move on.

Psalm 39:1-13
This psalm focuses on the idea that our lives are only a breath. In the grand scheme of things - we're here for an instant and then we're gone. Think about that. God loves you. Individually. Jesus died for you. For that sin you committed today - specifically. He also died for Mordecai and Job and King David and everyone else in the Old Testament, and for everyone who will be born fifty years from now, a thousand years from now. But he listens to your prayers. He listens to my prayers. Me. Insignificant, nothing me. Yet valuable enough for the death of a blameless man. Wow.


Proverbs 21:30-31
 ³⁰ There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
       that can succeed against the LORD.
 ³¹ The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
       but victory rests with the LORD.

Feelin good.

Prayer Request: A friend of mine is in the hospital in a coma. Doctors think that he will come to tomorrow, but he went into cardiac arrest yesterday and it's just a scary situation. Please pray for him and his family - his name is Matt and he is a really good guy.

Thanks.

Reading from Monday, August 23

How ya'll doin?

Reading for August 23
Job 8:1-11:20
Wow - there is probably an entire books worth of material in these three chapters. I'll try to hit on the main points I want to get across without getting into too much babble and rabble.

So the rest of this book seems to be these "big question" philosophical debates between Job and his friends. They debate the character and personality of God. What he would do and what he wouldn't do. The interesting thing about this whole scenario is that this exact thing - or worse - has happened to other people in Jewish history at the hands of God. The mothers of Egypt - their sons were killed for no fault of their own. The Midianite women and children - struck down for no reason other than their husbands and fathers were evil. So what we're seeing here is a sort of in depth case study of how that kind of thing effects people. It's an experiment to test the limits of faith and Job is the test subject.

The first one to speak tries to comfort Job, going for the "everything has a purpose" answer. I think as people we're often tempted to provide this response to someone when tragedy strikes them, but telling a mother who's young child was just killed - "Hey, this is all gonna work out for something better" isn't really gonna do much. And Job is in that boat - no words of comfort can heal him.

Job is getting another view of God - this "dark side" of him that I theorized about a few months ago. He is not getting the forgiving, patient-ish God that forgives the Israelites time and again, Job has been punished by the same side of God that killed all the first born children of Egypt. Look how his perception of God has changed overnight:

 ¹⁵ Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;
       I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.
 ¹⁶ Even if I summoned him and he responded,
       I do not believe he would give me a hearing.
 ¹⁷ He would crush me with a storm
       and multiply my wounds for no reason.
 ¹⁸ He would not let me regain my breath
       but would overwhelm me with misery.

 ²² It is all the same; that is why I say,
       'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'

This is a relationship with God that has been utterly destroyed. And while he still believes in him, perhaps more than ever, the anger and hatred toward God is evidence of a shattered marriage.

Then Job hits on something that's more profound than I think he realizes.

 ⁴ Do you have eyes of flesh?
       Do you see as a mortal sees?
 ⁵ Are your days like those of a mortal
       or your years like those of a man,

This is the absolute direct center of the heart of the matter. At this point, God had no idea what it was like to be a mortal - to "have eyes of flesh" or live like a man - and that was why the tension between God and his creation was so constant. He could not comprehend their repeated mistakes and failures. Until he disgraced himself to finally understand what it really is like for people to suffer the wrath of God. It's likely that God felt that Job was overreacting to his loss. God never had a wife or children in the literal sense - he would have no idea what it would be like to have those things or to lose those things.  I think this story is in place partly to make that distinction.


1 Corinthians 15:1-28
Pretty simple once again - Paul is preaching on Christ's resurrection. He asks "How can you say that resurrection from the dead is impossible and yet believe that Christ was resurrected?"


So you have to believe that is a possibility if you profess Christianity. Then again, Jesus was kinda God, so it's cheating. I probably couldn't resurrect myself - should I try it?

"It's a great trick, but I can only do it once"

Psalm 38:1-22
Looks like Job and David spent some time together at emo rehab:

¹ O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
       or discipline me in your wrath.
 ² For your arrows have pierced me,
       and your hand has come down upon me.
 ³ Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
       my bones have no soundness because of my sin.

Proverbs 21:28-29
 ²⁸ A false witness will perish,
       and whoever listens to him will be destroyed forever. ^[a]
 29 A wicked man puts up a bold front,
       but an upright man gives thought to his ways.

Good night.

Reading from Sunday, August 22

Yo yo.

Reading for August 22
Job 4:1-7:21
This is a pretty long span of text, but I think it tells the next chunk of the story of Job. So after all these horrible things had happened to him, Job's friends come over to comfort him. First, one of the friends speaks and basically says that there must be a reason for the punishment - that Job must have done something to entice God's extreme anger. Which, I think if we weren't given the insight into the dealings between God and Satan at the beginning of the book, most of us would be reading back through the beginning to try and figure out what Job had done to deserve such punishment. It goes against not only our intuitive rule that good things should happen to good people and vice versa - but also what we've read so far about God. Sure there have been times when I felt the punishment did not match the crime, but God only punishes those who have broken his rules - and it says that Job was "blameless". It's counter-intuitive. It's outside the mold of what God has been explained to us as. Which is why I would assume it was even more frustrating to Job - who must have been racking his brain to try and figure out what he had done to deserve what came to him.

After his one friend finished speaking, Job comes back in to rebut the situation. He basically says "Hey man, I don't need your judgment," but then cuts into some really poetically deep stuff about his anguish

 ² "If only my anguish could be weighed
       and all my misery be placed on the scales!
 ³ It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—
       no wonder my words have been impetuous.

 ¹⁶ I despise my life; I would not live forever.
       Let me alone; my days have no meaning. 

In any other story I would be calling Job a whiny baby, but remember the context. His entire family was just murdered by God - well it was Satan, but just like the Midianites - God allowed it. Then he says something really cool at the end of the reading:

 ¹⁷ "What is man that you make so much of him,
       that you give him so much attention,
 ¹⁸ that you examine him every morning
       and test him every moment?

In one way this could be a flattering question - "What is man that we so deserve your love?" but I think what Job is getting at here is asking the question of "why us?" Sure, God, you protect us and love us and everything, but why attack us? Why hurt us intentionally? And then digging even deeper - why hold us to that standard? The cheetahs are totally cooler than people...I guess its a trade off - you get love and protection but you're constantly being tested.

1 Corinthians 14:18-40

Paul is still talking about speaking in tongues and how it should be orderly and anyone who does it in front of a congregation, there must be an interpreter to let the audience know what the person is saying.

Pretty simple...

Psalm 37:30-40
Nope:

³⁷ Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
       there is a future ^[a] for the man of peace.

Proverbs 21:27
 ³⁷ Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
       there is a future ^[a] for the man of peace.

So sleepy...

Comment on Job

Hey buds. My friend Henry wrote a really great response to the first reading from Job from a few nights ago. He is currently in seminary and has some serious knowledge on the subject. Check it.

At seminary, the best class by far that I have taken is my course on Job. I really feel for you trying to read the whole book however--in my ten weeks of class, we only read 1-12, 19, and 40-42.

I won't tell you how I read Job, but I'll point out a couple things in the first few chapters that caught my eye.

Job is not a Jew, nor is he an Israelite. Job is from the land of Uz, a place that might not even exist, but is used literately in a way that would translate in today's English as "in land far far away". Jewish and early Christian tradition make Job a contemporary of Abraham, so in a way Job can be seen to precede not only the Moses covenant, but also the Abrahamic. The whole point of me telling you this is to drive home the point that Job lives in a mythic time and place outside of any conception of Jewish law. The question that might follow from this is, what the heck is the book of Job doing in the Bible?

I think you let God off the hook. The character of Satan in the book of Job has no power of his own, only what God allows and actually makes happen. I could go through verse by verse and show this, but that would be too much for a blog comment. All I'll do is draw your attention to verse 2:3. " Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."

God ruined Job without any reason at all. Wow.

The other bits that I think you might find interesting is that in Hebrew, the word "curse" as in "curse God and die" is actually the word for "bless". Jewish tradition has always insisted that it be translated as "curse" though.

My Job professor pointed out that chapter 3 is quite possible one of the most "blasphemous" parts of Scripture, outside a verse in Jeremiah where Jeremiah implies that God raped him.
But as you probably noticed, it is Job's friends who get condemned by God at the end, not Job himself. They're the ones who keep saying to Job, suffering happens for a reason, you must have done something wrong so God is punishing you, good things will come out of this suffering, etc etc etc. It is Job who says through out the entire story that such justifications for God's behavior are bullshit. Job cries out against God's injustice throughout the entire story, and insists that he will not be silenced.

If you can't tell, I love the book of Job, and I'm excited to follow you as you read through it. Good luck man.

Saturday, August 21

Hey hey. What do YOU say?

Reading for August 21
Job 1:1-3:26
I gotta admit, I am really nervous about reading Job. With the way my faith has been challenged through reading the OT, I am afraid that this story of this poor guy - who is essentially tortured so God can prove a point - will severely damage my beliefs. I have read this whole book before just because I think it's one of the more interesting stories in the Bible, but I'm curious to see how my view of it changes in the context of the rest of it. Alright, enough hemming and hawing. Time to start reading this thing...

Damn - this is some heavy stuff. It's hard to read simply because of Job's suffering. OK let me recap first...

Job was a model Jew. He feared God, he followed all the commandments - the book says he was blameless. He even set up a burnt offering every morning in the off chance that one of his seven sons had sinned against God. This guy was into preventative repentance - he was that good.

And because of his strict obedience, God blessed him. He had many children, a large amount of land, a good wife and many servants. Now - during this time, Satan comes up to meet God in what I think is the first chronological mention of Satan in the Bible. I always pictured this meeting being like Jerry and Newman from Seinfeld...

"Helloooo...Satan..."
"Hello God!"

Anyway, God says "Hey check out Job. He is blameless and fears me and is totally awesome." Satan says, "Well you've given him a pretty cushy life - I would probably even praise you if I had his life." To which God replied, "Oh yeah? Do your worst - he will still praise me."

So the next day, Job was out in his field when one after another, servants came running up to tell him that all his animals were swept away, then another that all his animals were killed, then another that all his servants were killed, then another that all his children were killed. All within the span of what the text makes seem like five minutes, Job loses absolutely everything. His livelihood, his income, and his entire family - all at once. I think my brain would literally explode. Here is how Job reacted:

Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said:
       "Naked I came from my mother's womb,
       and naked I will depart.
       The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
       may the name of the LORD be praised."

Some time later, God and Satan met again because of one of Kramer's hairbrained schemes. God said, "Hey check it out. Job is still praising me even after you did all that crap to him." Satan said "Well, he's still got his health - let me at that." "Fine, do it." God said. So the next day Job woke up with boils and painful sores covering his whole body.

 ⁹ His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"
 ¹⁰ He replied, "You are talking like a foolish ^[e] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"

His wife reacted like any normal person would. Essentially saying - "Hey, even if God does exist, he's got it out for you. Just get it over with." But Job was very wise in his response, and I think this is an important but confusing piece of theology.

Technically, God didn't do those things to Job. He authorized Satan to do them, which I suppose is just as bad, but I had always thought that Satan convinced God to do those things to him. So when he says "Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?" that trouble is technically Satan, not evilness from God.

The other thing that struck me while reading this again is something that I have been thinking about in my own life. When Satan challenges God by saying that Job is such a good Jew because his life is easy, I often feel that my faith in God springs from the same well. I haven't had a huge tragedy in my life or had to endure any long periods of hardship, and as weird as it sounds, I sometimes find myself wanting something terrible to happen to me so I can experience what it's like. I don't know what would happen to my faith, honestly. I can tell you right now that if all my friends and family died in one swoop and I lost my job and suddenly contracted a super painful cancer, I wouldn't have reacted in the way Job did. If Job is anything, he is admirable in the steadfastness of his faith.

It does bring up the question of motive though. God allowed this to happen for what greater purpose? To prove to Satan that he's awesome? That's sort of a dick move. We're always told that suffering happens for a greater purpose - "All things work together" and all that. What benefit came out of this story aside from us having an impossible role model to measure ourselves against?

Now, critical thinking cap on - Paul keeps saying that the OT is in place to help us grow and give us examples of times before Christ. Of the many stories in the Old Testament, this one is one of the harder ones to take as fact. How would the person who wrote this know what was happening between God and Satan? I mean, I'm down for divinely inspired work, but this is pretty specific. So it seems possible to me that this story didn't happen, or at least not the way its portrayed here. Maybe all those things did happen to Job and someone added in the God/Satan details afterwards to try and make sense of it.

So if we get past the why of this story and focus on the what - the direct cause and effect, I think we start to see a more purposeful image rise out of it.


1 Corinthians 14:1-17
OK - now we're talkin speaking in tongues. This is a strange subject in Christianity - I have never been one to explore it too deeply and have always found it a little frightening. I have no problem with people who do it, but it's just not for me. Paul is sort of emphasizing the importance of it here, though. Saying that speaking in tongues and prophesying are the two most important gifts one could hope to inherit. Now, this completely destroys his message of every gift is equally important. So the message should be "Everyone's gifts are equally important, except those who can speak in tongues and prophesy - those people are better than you."

Psalm 37:12-29
 ¹⁸ The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
       and their inheritance will endure forever.

Umm...no it won't. At least not for Job...

Proverbs 21:25-26
 ²⁵ The sluggard's craving will be the death of him,
       because his hands refuse to work.
 ²⁶ All day long he craves for more,
       but the righteous give without sparing.

Hey hey. Good night night. 
 

Friday, August 20

Howdy. We just watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - excellent film. Just excellent. A Forrest Gump for the 2000s. Except backwards.

Reading for August 20
Esther 8:1-10:3
This completes yet another book. Yay.

Wow, the story turns sour. So once King Xerxes lifted the decree on the eradication of the Jews, guess what the Jews did? They started killing people. It says that they killed anyone they didn't like, and did whatever they pleased to them. This was reported to Esther and Xerxes. Now, based on the New Testament teachings - how would you like Esther to respond to this scenario? My vote would be for "Hey! Lay off the killing, morons! We just got out of persecution. Do you think you could lay low for at least a little bit?" But what does she actually do? She convinced Xerxes to issue a command to kill more people - including Haman's ten sons - they were to be hanged. That's cold, man.

My friend, Andy often says that the events of the Old Testament are written as they were, not as they should have been. And this is the case here. A story that is so full of hope and perseverance and "doing the right thing" is completely besmirched by a violence-begets-violence conclusion.

I can almost taste God's disappointment.

1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13
The most popular Bible passage for wedding ceremonies. "Love is patient, love is kind..." - but I've never seen it in it's proper context. In last night's reading, Paul wrote about how we all have unique gifts with which to serve God, and no one should feel less important because they're job is a little less flashy, or if their wallets don't burst cuz all of the cashy. (Patrick Swift reference) - so now he is laying out love in the context of each of our gifts:

¹If I speak in the tongues^[c] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^[d] but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is the cornerstone and foundation of everything. Each job that each of us has is rooted in love. We must all start at that base level, and then work our way up to the more detailed aspects. "But what is love?" you may ask - well, Paul answers:

 ⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 ⁸Love never fails.

These are the qualities you should be striving for each day when you go about whatever it is you go about doing. Whether its your job, your school, your kids, your family, your enemies - base every task and every relationship in love and allow that to guide your decisions and actions. 

Psalm 37:1-11
I think the last time around, I went off on a tangent about verse 4:

^{1 [a]} Do not fret because of evil men
       or be envious of those who do wrong;
 ² for like the grass they will soon wither,
       like green plants they will soon die away.
 ³ Trust in the LORD and do good;
       dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
 ⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD
       and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Saying that there is a misconception that the relationship between us and God is only beneficial to us. That we only follow the rules, so to speak, so we can get things that we want. And I think verses like this one help to support that misconception. What I think the true meaning is that when you start to follow God, your desires change. You no longer want that PS4 or that lifetime supply of chicken sandwiches, you want good relationships, you want to help people, you want to make a difference. Those are the desires of the heart that I believe David was talking about here. 

Proverbs 21:23-24
 ²³ He who guards his mouth and his tongue
       keeps himself from calamity.
 ²⁴ The proud and arrogant man-"Mocker" is his name;
       he behaves with overweening pride.

Great great. Have a good night, kids. 

Thursday, August 19

Hey you guys. What's going on?

Reading for August 19
Esther 4:1-7:10
Holy crap. The story of Esther is awesome.

So there's this guy, Haman, who is King Xerxes adviser. Haman is the one who ordered the destruction of the Jews - and he did this because of his hatred of one Jewish man - Mordecai. When Mordecai heard that the kingdom was hunting out and killing Jews, he fled the city and wept and mourned for days. Esther heard about this and was very upset. Mordecai sent a message to Esther saying 'now is the time to reveal your true heritage - you have a chance to make a difference and free the Jews from this terrible fate.'

Esther gathered up her courage and went to speak with the king. As soon as she entered hum chambers he said "Ah Esther! What is it you want? I will give you anything, even if it's half my kingdom." Esther asked to have dinner with Xerxes and Haman. They had wine and got drunk, but Esther did not ask for her wish - not yet. When Haman left the dinner, he was in very high spirits and then he met Mordecai at the city gate. And because Mordy didn't tremble in fear and fall down and worship Haman, Haman got all whiny and went home to cry to his family about it. What a baby. Someone in his family suggested building a 75 foot sharpened pole to impale Mordecai on. Haman thought this was a fantastic idea. So he set off to do it at once.

Meanwhile, Xerxes couldn't sleep so he called in one of his servants. This is great - he asked his servant to read the book of records from his own kingship. Can you get any more conceited? That would be like me asking Jilly to read my blog to me so I could fall asleep. Anyway, while he was being read to and sipping his microwaved milk and nibbling on his cookies, Xerxes heard a little detail about Mordecai in the records which his servant was reading. He found that Mordecai had stopped a couple of intruders from getting into the palace to attack Xerxes. He asked his servant what reward was given to Mordy for his service to the king - and it turns out it was nothing.

Just then, Haman came back to the palace to tell Xerxes about his plan to impale Mordecai on this ridiculous, definitely-compensating-for-something pole. When he walked in Xerxes asked him what should be done for a man who has honored the king. Thinking that Xerxes was talking about him, Haman gave a laundry list of things that included getting one of the kings horses and being publicly honored to everyone.

Xerxes said "Those are great ideas! Go and do those things for Mordecai"

Boom. In your face Haman!

Needless to say, Haman was mortified, and he went home again to cry to his family. The next night, Esther had another dinner with Xerxes and Haman and gave her request to the king to stop the hunt and destruction of the Jews, and specifically to protect Mordecai. When Xerxes heard this, he blew up and said "WHO ORDERED THAT?!" When he found out it was Haman he freaked out and tried to think of a punishment - then someone said "Hey, he's got a giant sharpened pole in his front yard. That would be perfect for hanging!"

"Agreed!" exclaimed King Xerxes.

And so he was hanged.

1 Corinthians 12:1-26

Here, Paul is talking about the idea of all of us being part of the body, and each one of our gifts is important to the overall stability and health of the body. No one should be ashamed that their gift seems less important than someone else's - each ability and gift was given to each of us by God, and we should be very proud of what we can do to honor him.

Paul also says that we each have different gifts so we can help each other. Think if everyone's gift was playing soccer. Nothing would ever get done - we wouldn't even be able to play the World Cup because there wouldn't be anyone to organize it. Paul mentions this idea too - he says "What if the entire body was made of eyeballs? How would we hear?"

This of course made me think of this:




Whoa-Whoa-Whoa-Whoa-GROSS!

Psalm 36:1-12

 ⁶ Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
       your justice like the great deep.
       O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.

This makes me think of my question of  "who is God ultimately out for?" Here it seems like he is out for all of his creations, both people and animals. It would make sense, I mean have you seen a baby elephant? Cute.

Proverbs 21:21-22
 ²¹ He who pursues righteousness and love
       finds life, prosperity ^[a] and honor.
 ²² A wise man attacks the city of the mighty
       and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.

Word up, homies.

Wednesday, August 18

Have you heard of iTunes U? My friend from work turned me on to it. You can download free podcasts of lectures from college courses. One of the featured ones I found today was a theology class from a college in the UK. The professor was a Protestant Christian but was defending Darwinism within Christianity. I didn't quite follow his whole argument, but he did have one really interesting thing to say that stuck with me.

He was talking about how fundamentalism, creationism and literalism is actually destructive to the faith and in fact counter to how we should be living as Christians. He said that The Bible is a place to base and develop your faith - not a place to make your home in. That it is something that should inspire you and encourage conversation and debate and discussion - not to just read it once and say "That's that".

There are so many things in the Bible that are confusing or troubling, and I think it's our job as Christians to not just blindly accept what is there, but explore it. Really dig deep and talk with others and determine what it means for you. That's what I'm trying to do with this blog and hopefully that's coming across.

Reading for August 18
Esther 1:1-3:15
New book!

This is a great change up from the last few books. This is a story revolving around one person - Esther. At this time the king of all the nations was King Xerxes. He had a disobedient wife so he got rid of her and sent out a decree to all the virgins in his kingdom to determine who his new queen would be. The girls had to go through a twelve month beauty treatment before even walking in to meet Xerxes. Finally, Esther came to meet him and he fell in love with her and instantly made her the queen of his kingdom.

Now Esther was a orphaned Jew, raised by a man named Mordecai. Mordecai told her to keep her heritage a secret because the Jews were not very well liked at that time. Soon after she became queen, Xerxes' chief of staff informed him that there was a group of people who were refusing to bow down to him and breaking many of the king's laws. So Xerxes approved a decree to seek out and kill all the Jews in the world. And that's how this chapter ends.

Pretty intense.

1 Corinthians 11:17-34
In this section, Paul talks about the Lord's Supper. While I believe that much of Paul's teachings can apply to anyone, Christian or not, this is pretty specific to Christianity. He is saying that if you partake in communion - as its known today - you must first examine yourself and make sure that Jesus is present within you.

The crazy thing is that how communion is taken and how often it is taken is one of the main issues that divides churches. I attended a Catholic mass a few weeks ago, and as a Protestant I didn't know any of the rituals or songs or call and response things. But I knew communion - that was the same - save for much less tasty bread. After the service my mother in law asked me how I could have taken communion without going to confession. This was a completely foreign idea to me. As a Protestant, I don't confess my sins to other people, but rather directly to God, and it was very strange to me that someone would be excluded from what represents the most inclusive gift of all time.

I think the important thing is to take communion only if you accept Christ's death and resurrection as occurring for you and for everyone you love and everyone you hate. If this is a truth in your heart, I believe you are eligible to take communion. Eligible isn't the right word. I believe everyone is eligible, but if you don't meet the criteria laid out above, it would mean nothing to you. I don't think it would be blasphemy to do it, unless you were doing it mocklingly, but it's definitely something I believe everyone should be welcomed to.

Psalm 35:17-28
Hope.

 ²² O LORD, you have seen this; be not silent.
       Do not be far from me, O Lord.
 ²³ Awake, and rise to my defense!
       Contend for me, my God and Lord.

  
Proverbs 21:19-20
 ¹⁹ Better to live in a desert
       than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.
 ²⁰ In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil,
       but a foolish man devours all he has.

Goodnight.

Tuesday, August 17

What's up?

Reading for August 17
Nehemiah 12:27-13:31
This is the last chapter of Nehemiah. Another book in the...books...I guess...

It's a pretty uneventful ending to the book - the Israelites have a dedication of the new wall and the Book of Moses is read aloud again to everyone. During this reading they determined that no Moabites or Ammonites should be allowed to live in Jerusalem because centuries ago they cursed them. So they drove all foreigners out of the land.

That's pretty much it - the text just fizzles out in minute details about who was at the dedication and what their jobs were.

1 Corinthians 11:1-16
Op...the sexist part of the Bible...


Here is what Paul actually says:

³Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

Here is how I think many people interpret it:

Men are better than women

Here is how I interpret it:
God designed man, then from man he designed woman. It says in Genesis that woman was created for man. But I don't think that means what it sounds like. It would be like saying my wife was created for me - that doesn't sound as bad...And I don't mean that she was created to serve me, I mean she was put on this earth for me to find her and be happy - and vice versa. So woman being in place for man doesn't mean she is there to serve the man, rather they are to serve each other in love. Paul points out later that even though woman was born from man, man is born from woman through the act of giving birth. So really the sexes are equals.

The one bit that is controversial is I think the order in which Paul lays out the power. He says it goes Woman --> Man --> Christ --> God. So in essence, the woman should defer to the man. That's certainly not how my wife and I live, in fact most of the time I defer to her judgment. If it were the other way around we would be homeless. I am an idiot with money and organizing, and she is a wonderwoman.

I do try to be the leader in terms of our faith, though - although I'm not very good or consistent at it. Maybe this is a call to try to become better at keeping us both in check as a family.

Sorry, I'm talking in circles. I don't know if any of that made sense.

Psalm 35:1-16
David gives us an example of how to live as a Christian

¹¹ Ruthless witnesses come forward;
       they question me on things I know nothing about.
 ¹² They repay me evil for good
       and leave my soul forlorn.
 ¹³ Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
       and humbled myself with fasting.
       When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
 ¹⁴ I went about mourning
       as though for my friend or brother.
       I bowed my head in grief
       as though weeping for my mother.
 ¹⁵ But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
       attackers gathered against me when I was unaware.
       They slandered me without ceasing.
 ¹⁶ Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked ^[b] ;
       they gnashed their teeth at me.

Love your enemies.


Proverbs 21:17-18
 ¹⁷ He who loves pleasure will become poor;
       whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich.
 ¹⁸ The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,
       and the unfaithful for the upright.

Word up. Goodnight.

Monday, August 16

Hey joo guys. Whas goin dahn?

Reading for August 16
Nehemiah 11:1-12:26
Really nothing going on here. After they had prayed and signed that big contract to God, the Israelites then repopulated Jerusalem. They cast lots and one in every ten people got to move into Jerusalem, while the other nine had to continue living in their own town. This sounds like a reality show waiting to happen. "Who Wants to Live in Jerusalem?" Each week, one lucky Israelite will be given a piece of Manna and will still have a shot at becoming Jerusalem's Next Top Citizen. Then Tyra Banks will cry. Then Bret Michaels and Flavor Flav will come out and try to snatch up all the ladies. Then the Real World comes out and starts throwing beer everywhere THEN the Hills comes in and puts really nice clothes on everyone.

Who knows a producer. I'm pitching this idea. Fo Real!

1 Corinthians 10:14-33
This is a very popular idea in the New Testament, and I'm not really sure I understand it:

 ²³"Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive. ²⁴Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

Verse 24 I get. That is, in my opinion, the overarching goal of Christianity. But verse 23 I don't - particularly what Paul means by "Everything is permissible". That's not true - I don't have permission to kill someone - neither under God's law or state law. I'm really not sure - who out there knows what this means? Hit me up in the comments.

Psalm 34:11-22
This is interesting:

¹⁸ The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
       and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Sure, that looks like a really nice verse about how God cares for people who are suffering. But a few nights ago I wrote about how many people only come to God in times of sorrow and suffering. And then, either their problem is solved and they forget about God, or their problem gets worse and they get angry at God and forget him anyway.

This is a theme throughout history with the Israelites. Follow God, screw up, get punished, freak out, pray for mercy, God forgives, follow God, screw up...

I suppose that God does helps people who are suffering because he is merciful. He probably knows that those people will likely abandon him no matter the outcome, but he does it because he loves his people. I suppose we are his priority.

Proverbs 21:14-16
 ¹⁴ A gift given in secret soothes anger,
       and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.
 ¹⁵ When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous
       but terror to evildoers.
 ¹⁶ A man who strays from the path of understanding
       comes to rest in the company of the dead.

And goodnight. Off to play Donkey Kong Country...



 

Sunday, August 15

Had a nice lazy, rainy Sunday with the wife and the pup.

Reading for August 15
Nehemiah 9:22-10:39
Here we are seeing a real realignment from the Israelites. Under the guidance of Ezra (who I think is delivering the powerful prayer in this reading) they are headed to a place where they have really never been: in a fully committed relationship with God. Ezra speaks with God frankly and honestly in this prayer - talking about how these people abandoned him time and again, he would punish them, and then rescue them from said punishment when they began to cry out.

He goes on to make many promises to God about how the Israelites will finally turn from their rebellious ways and really start worshiping God. They actually draw up a contract and have all the leaders of each tribe sign it.

I really haven't read too much into what happens after this, so this could very well be a significant turning point in Israel's history. Or perhaps this could be the fulcrum of when they turn in the opposite direction and we get the super religious Jews that are present during Jesus' time. Who knows how it plays out? Well, actually I would imagine a lot of people do know. But don't spoil it for me, I'm excited to see what happens.

On a somewhat related note, I've never seen any of the Star Wars movies. Don't spoil those for me either.

1 Corinthians 9:19-10:13
Here again, Paul is telling us that the stories of the Old Testament occurred as examples for us to learn how to live today. Again, I am slightly put off by the fact that God killed people to make a point so I could live in comfort and plenty. I mean, I'm thankful that I wasn't the example, but still it doesn't seem right.

I know these details aren't the things I should be dwelling on, but rather the message is the real focus. I just have a hard time with things like that though. I won't keep beating this idea to death - I've talked about it enough.

Psalm 34:1-10
One of the first questions I had when I started this project was "what does it mean to fear God?" I think I've got a pretty good understanding of what that is now, but I haven't thought about it in a while. So many other issues and questions have been taking up my brain that it hasn't really been a priority in my thoughts. Here though is a verse that reminds me to continue searching for answers about this important question:

⁹ Fear the LORD, you his saints,
       for those who fear him lack nothing.

The statement "those who fear him lack nothing" is a complicated one. Fearing God is not a simple choice. It's not like saying, "Those who ate chicken for dinner lack nothing." As I've come to discover for myself, fearing God is something you need to work up to. I think what David is saying here is that once you fear God, you have reached a very good place in your faith. You understand the relationship and what is expected from you, and also what you can expect from God to an extent. You know your history and you know the power God wields, and that he could decide to use that power in whatever way he sees fit at whatever time he chooses.

If you have a proper fear of God, you also likely have a fairly strong faith. Essentially, you can't fear something that you don't believe in. Nor could you fear something that you believe is only out for your welfare.

Huh - that raises an interesting question. Who is God looking out for? Surely he loves us and protects us, but are we his highest priority? Does he have stockholders and investors to report to? Does he have to bring up his year-over-year profits? Does God trade publicly on the Dow?

All kidding aside, I don't think God is out for any one of us individually but he is out for us as a whole. And if that's the case, there can be certain time when sacrifices need to be made. Our fear of him should come from the idea that we might be sacrificed for the greater good of humanity.

Wow, I sound like a crazy person.

Proverbs 21:13
 ¹³ If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,
       he too will cry out and not be answered.

A message I need to hear.
 

Saturday, August 14

Hey ho. Jilly and I just got back from a wedding. If you know me well, you know I have a tendency to spill things on my clothes. Well tonight I wore a white shirt with a black tie - almost taunting the spill gods. I made it 90% of the way through the wedding with no incident - I even had pasta and ice cream. Then ten minutes before we walked out the door, I spilled an entire cup of coffee on myself. White shirt and all.

The streak continues...

Reading for August 14
Nehemiah 7:73-9:21
So now that Jerusalem is well on it's way to recovery, the next step is to recover the people themselves. The Israelites celebrated Passover for seven days with great joy, and then on the eighth day, there was an assembly. While everyone was gathered together, Ezra began reading from the book of law (which I think is the first five or so books of the OT) and he read all day every day for about a week. When he had finished, the people joined together in a prayer of repentance - confessing their sins, and confessing the sins of their forefathers.

Up until this point, whenever Israel had a change of heart and turned back to God, it was always in a time of crisis - when they really needed God to step in and help them out. Now they come to him broken, humbled and honest. They have realized how sinful their nation had been and were earnestly confessing those sins. In this example, we are shown a dynamic that still occurs today.

Many people today, like the Israelites, turn to God in times of crisis. When a loved one becomes sick or dies. When you, yourself contract a fatal or life threatening disease. People will turn to God in these instances, and I'm not at all saying that's wrong. Things like that are too heavy for us to deal with alone. So even if God doesn't exist, and let's say he doesn't for the moment for the sake of argument, even the idea of something more powerful than anything on this planet brings solace to people. Whether that thing is good or bad, if it will listen to you, and possibly answer you, it's intriguing to say the least. But I think what happens is that relationship between the emotionally distraught person and God is one sided. The person only seeks God's power to turn something around in their life. This doesn't set up a strong foundation for long-haul type faith.

It's only when someone is truly humbled and broken, like the Israelites we read about here, that someone can come to God and begin to kindle a relationship. I've never really hit "ground zero" for me, so I've never experienced that deep humility that comes from something like the destruction of one's city. Some may say that I'm lucky, and indeed I count myself lucky and blessed that I've never had to "walk through the fire" so to speak, but 1) that makes me more afraid of one day when I will have to do that and 2) it has never put me in that humble position that seems to be the most direct route to a solid foundation of a relationship with God.

If any of you reading this who became believers in a time of crisis or uncertainty, I would challenge you to explore your faith a little more. See what else is there - pray and ask around. Find a sweet church like this one and just take a little while to prod it a little. You may be surprised at what comes out.

1 Corinthians 9:1-18

This chapter is fairly personal for Paul. He is talking about how a farmer makes his living off his farm, someone who works at an altar shares in what is offered, in the same way a preacher should make his living from preaching. Paul rejects this idea and says that he is offering all of his preaching for free because he is compelled to do so.

I was thinking tonight - I met someone at this wedding who asked me to take pictures at an event she's having. As I sat and thought about what my hourly rate should be when I'm a professional photographer, I came up with this idea: "What if I just offered free photography for everyone?" That would be such a cool service. Granted, I would need new gear and stuff, and would need to self finance, but maybe I could offer free photography to those who can't afford it, and charge people who can afford it whatever they want to pay. Although people who can afford to pay me would probably use a better photographer.


I don't know - just an idea - what do you think?

Psalm 33:12-22
Beautiful

 ¹³ From heaven the LORD looks down
       and sees all mankind;
 ¹⁴ from his dwelling place he watches
       all who live on earth-
 ¹⁵ he who forms the hearts of all,
       who considers everything they do.

Proverbs 21:11-12
 ¹¹ When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;
       when a wise man is instructed, he gets knowledge.
 ¹² The Righteous One ^[a] takes note of the house of the wicked
       and brings the wicked to ruin.

Yessir, goodnight.

 

Friday, August 13

Oooh - Friday the 13th! WOAH!!! Spooky!

Reading for August 13
Nehemiah 5:14-7:73
So the people who were working on the reconstruction of Jerusalem were focusing all their efforts on the completion of the wall around the city. The surrounding nations made many attempts to keep this from happening, because they knew that if the wall was completed, that Israel would begin to once again grow in strength. Well, they finished the wall in a little under two months and the other nations backed off because they knew that God had helped the Jews to finish it.

After it was completed, Nehemiah's brother was appointed as the leader of the Jews - not king - leader. Then they tally up all the tribes of Israel and the numbers are pitiful compared to the counts we saw in the books of Numbers and the start of 1 Chronicles. They are basically starting from square one. Just as God had hit the giant reset button when he flooded the earth and saved Noah, he once again hit the same button but only wiped out Israel and only saved a few, and these few were humble and scrappy and fearful of God - exactly what God wanted from his children.

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. ²The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. ³But the man who loves God is known by God.

A couple things about this. First of all, this is in stark contrast to all the writings in Proverbs about how wisdom and knowledge are the most important things in the world. Paul is saying that wisdom is good, but it's misleading. You learn a small morsel and you think you have all the answers (talkin to myself here), and in face you know nothing at all. In fact, I think the more you learn and understand, the more you don't understand. It's like each door of knowledge leads to a thousand other doors.

Such is the idea of God. A being that cannot be comprehended by wisdom and study, but only through love. Because if what I've been told is true, God is love. So to love God is to know him, to study him and analyze him is to deepen your confusion about him.

It's completely counter-intuitive to how most of us go about things. Let's take the example of a digital camera. You decide you need one, so most people would jump on the internet and start looking up reviews and features and eliminating things based on the specs they had in mind. They ask friends for suggestions, they study consumer reports, they wait for a sale and then finally pounce on the perfect digital camera. We cannot approach the understanding of God in that way - we simply have to love him. I say simply, but it is anything but simple - how do you love something you can't see? OR! How do you love something who is responsible for multiple genocides. And finally, how do you love something you can't understand? It would be like falling in love with a theoretical digital camera that your friend told you about.

It's a paradox of the mind. But I think the more we let go of our traditional thinking and approaches to understanding, the sooner we will all get what God is about.

Psalm 33:1-11
I really like this:
⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea into jars ;
       he puts the deep into storehouses.


I just imagine God with a big back yard and a tool shed in the back with jars of ocean water and a lawnmower, or I guess a galaxy mower. (tee hee)

Proverbs 21:8-10
 ⁸ The way of the guilty is devious,
       but the conduct of the innocent is upright.
 ⁹ Better to live on a corner of the roof
       than share a house with a quarrelsome wife...HAHA
 ¹⁰ The wicked man craves evil;
       his neighbor gets no mercy from him.

Good. night.