Reading from Tuesday, October 26

Hey friends. I'm finally back doin ta Bible entry. I'm excited. Let's hit it.

Reading for October 26
Jeremiah 49:23-50:46
So this continues a long list of nations that God will pour out his mighty vengeance on, concluding with the prophecy against Babylon. Within this imagery of death and destruction comes a beautiful picture of how God sees his people.

¹⁷ “Israel is a scattered flock
   that lions have chased away.
The first to devour them
   was the king of Assyria;
the last to crush their bones
   was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”

This image of lost sheep is one that is used almost to the point of monotony in the Bible. Nearly every prophet and wise writer in the Bible uses this analogy at some point, but I don't think that makes it any less important. The main thing I think we should take away from that analogy is that shepherds know each one of their sheep. Jesus tells a quick parable about a shepherd's missing sheep and how he leaves his entire flock to find a single missing sheep. In this way does God see us. Each of us are important and beautiful to him, and whatever threatens God's sheep, he will deal with harshly. In this case it seems that the king of Babylon is on the chopping block. 

Titus 1:1-16
Alright. I have never ever even cracked a page in this book. In fact, if you asked me if there was a book called "Titus" in the Bible, I would probably say no. So here we are - a completely new book. Let's do it.

So this appears to be a letter written from Paul directly to and specifically for a guy named Titus. The opening verses talk about very specific things shared between Paul and Titus. What I want to get into is this verse here. It's another thing I struggle with in terms of my faith.

¹² One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”^{[c] 13} This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith  

In the past, I was a big "rebuker" if you will. I thought being a Christian meant going around and calling people out on the stuff they're doing wrong. Needless to say, these methods weren't super popular. And while I think we are called to make fellow Christian's aware of their faults in a loving and graceful way, I think that many Christians feel that their sole duty as followers of Christ is to chastise others for wrong doing - and that's where I think this idea becomes dangerous. That's what Christians are perceived as nothing more than hypocrites - because remember, we are ALL sinners. No one is innocent. Therefore I believe rebuking should be done in private and done with a gentle tongue. Maybe it's just a poor translation but Paul saying "rebuke them sharply" doesn't seem to fit my interpretation of that aspect of Christianity.

Psalm 97:1-98:9
I always love the images of God and nature:

⁷ Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
   the world, and all who live in it.
⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands,
   let the mountains sing together for joy;
⁹ let them sing before the LORD,
   for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
   and the peoples with equity.

Proverbs 26:13-16
Sluggard? More like Suckard.

 ¹³ A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road,
   a fierce lion roaming the streets!”
¹⁴ As a door turns on its hinges,
   so a sluggard turns on his bed.
¹⁵ A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
   he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
¹⁶ A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
   than seven people who answer discreetly.

As a final note, if you're the praying type, no matter what your deity of choice is, please pray for my family. My mother, uncle and grandmother specifically. It is extremely hard to lose someone, especially a husband and a father. Keep them in your prayers if you can.

Thanks.