Reading from Thursday, August 12

Yo kids. Just had a great night with some great friends. Life is indeed good.

Reading for August 12
Nehemiah 3:15-5:13

This is pretty cool. In the past few chapters there has been a consistent mention of "The Remnant" and I think that this is the remaining, surviving Jews from when Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jews were wiped out. Now this remnant is rebuilding the city stone by stone, brick by brick. Talk about humility. The nation whom God chose amongst all nations should have been humble and fearful of God, instead they rejected him and did as they pleased. Now, since their city has been destroyed they are all swallowing their pride and worshiping God faithfully.

1 Corinthians 7:25-40
This kind of sums up what I was thinking last night about Paul's call to avoid marriage if possible:

³²I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs—how he can please the Lord. ³³But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— ³⁴and his interests are divided.[...] ³⁵I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

I wonder if this is where the Catholic church got the idea for the priests not to marry. It's certainly a novel idea, but the practicality of it isn't so great. The other thing that's been mentioned is that one should marry if he or she cannot control their lustful desires for sex, and if they are married that will satisfy those urges. I think this is taken a bit out of context sometimes to say that the only reason anyone should marry is to guard against the sin of lust. If that's true, that completely cheapens the idea of marriage. Looking at it that way is essentially like you're buying a shield - not joining your mate for the rest of your life in a mutually beneficial relationship. My marriage, while difficult at some points, is incredible. We are both strong in different areas of life and faith and we really balance each other out. It's as if God designed only half of me and Jilly is the other part, and I think (at least I hope) she feels the same way about me.

Psalm 32:1-11
You know what's great about this?
¹ Blessed is he
       whose transgressions are forgiven,
       whose sins are covered.
 ² Blessed is the man
       whose sin the LORD does not count against him
       and in whose spirit is no deceit.

After Jesus' sacrifice, this passage includes everyone on earth. 

Proverbs 21:5-7
 ⁵ The plans of the diligent lead to profit
       as surely as haste leads to poverty.
 ⁶ A fortune made by a lying tongue
       is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare. ^[a]
 7 The violence of the wicked will drag them away,
       for they refuse to do what is right.

Word up, yo.