Exodus 10-12:13

     Today’s passage starts off with a change in tone. Up until now, it has read that Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to let the people of Israel go to worship their God. Today’s passage starts with God telling Moses that He has hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh’s officials tell him that he must let the people of Israel go and worship their God. One of the things I have not touched on in these devotions has been that Moses was asking Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to take a three day trip into the desert to offer a sacrifice to God and Pharaoh was categorically refusing. In today’s passage Pharaoh asks Moses who would be going on this religious retreat. Moses’ answer is “all of the Israelite people, men, women and children, and all of their flocks. Pharaoh responds by saying that he would approve a religious retreat of just the men because the only reason for the women and children (and the flocks) to go would be because they were planning on attacking the Egyptians (or some other mischief against the Egyptians).
     God instructed Moses to stretch out his hand over Egypt and summon locust swarms over the entire land. Moses did this and the locusts ate every bit of greenery left on any of the plants in Egypt. Pharaoh begged Moses to pray to God that God remove the locusts from the land. Moses did so and a wind arose and blew the locusts out of the land. However, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart(note that this time Pharaoh did not harden his own heart, God did it for him this time) and he did not let the people go. This was followed by a plague of darkness over the land, after which Pharaoh was willing to let all of the people go as long as they left their flocks. Moses rejected this on the basis that they needed to take something to sacrifice to God and would not know what they needed until they got there. Pharaoh told Moses to get out of his sight and if he ever returned Pharaoh would have him executed.
      Moses accepted Pharaoh’s exile, but before he left Moses told Pharaoh that God was going to bring one more plague against Egypt. God would pass through Egypt and every firstborn son in the land of Egypt would die, from the nobles to the slaves, even including the livestock. However, the people of Israel would be exempted from this plague. God then gave Moses instructions for the people of Israel establishing the Passover meal. They were to eat it in haste, prepared to flee. On the night designated for them to observe this, God would pass through the land striking the firstborn of both people and animals in all of the land of Egypt, except in those households that were marked according to His instruction. Every time I read this, I wonder, how many people who considered themselves Egyptian, and had been considered Egyptian by their neighbors joined in this first Passover celebration? As the plagues came down on Egypt one by one and the Israelites were, for the most part, spared, how many Egyptians circumcised their sons? Probably not many, but there were probably a few who saw the power of God and wanted to join with His people.
     The one point I wanted to make about this was that I don’t want to ever get to the point where God starts hardening my heart as He did to Pharaoh. Pharaoh time after time promised that if God would relieve the misery he was suffering, he would do God’s will, only to renege once the suffering had stopped. Eventually God started hardening Pharaoh’s heart rather than wait for Pharaoh to do so himself.

Matthew 20:1-28

     In today’s parable Jesus tells a story about a man who hires day laborers. He hires some first thing in the morning, agreeing to pay them a standard day’s wages. Later he goes out and hires some more, agreeing to pay them what is “right”. He does this several more times throughout the day, hiring some late in the day shortly before the workers wrapped up for the day. Once the workers were done for the day, he had them line up to be paid, with those hired last going first. He paid these men a full day’s wages. Those who had been hired first thing in the morning expected to be paid more, when he paid them only the agreed upon amount they grumbled. Doesn’t that sound exactly like the way we would react? The employer asked the grumbling workers how he had wronged them? He had paid them the amount that was agreed upon. What business of theirs was it if he chose to pay the others the same amount? It was his money to do with as he chose. He then tells His disciples that the last will be first and the first will be last, continuing the them from yesterday’s passage.
     There are so many lessons in that parable. There are the two obvious ones. The first shall be last and God will reward even those who come to Him late in life with the same reward He offers those who choose Him early in life (although I believe there is also the reward of serving God, which the latter will have more opportunity to do). But there is also the lesson of not begrudging others their good fortune. Why do we feel envious and resentful when others receive good things? Finally there is the idea that the vineyard owner was not obligated to be “fair” in the way he distributed his wealth.
     Jesus predicts His death for at least the third time in today’s passage. Despite the fact that Jesus had predicted His death multiple times, the disciples were still caught off guard when it actually happened. It’s as if they didn’t want to believe He meant what He said about His death. /s How often do we misinterpret something in Scripture because we don’t want to believe what it says? Often times we don’t even realize we are doing it.
     Today’s passage ends with the story of the mother of James and John coming to Jesus and asking Him to promise to seat her two sons on either side of Him when He comes into His kingdom. Jesus asks the brothers if they can face the trials He is about to face. They answer in the affirmative. Jesus tells them that they will indeed face a similar fate, but He cannot promise them those places of honor because those places are reserved for those whom the Father has already chosen. The other disciples were offended that the two brothers had the audacity to get their mother to ask for that honor. Jesus calls them together and gives them a lesson that sums up the points that were being made in the stories over the last several passages. Jesus tells the disciples that the important people of this world lord it over others, giving orders and being served, but that is not how it works in the kingdom of heaven. It is those who serve who are important in the kingdom of heaven. If you want to be someone in the kingdom of heaven, you must do what others tell you and serve their needs. This is a tough lesson for us as humans, even when we get it, we often mess it up. There have been a couple times when I have been part of a Church body where several people were competing to be serve others more than anybody else. We should strive to serve others, but sometimes the way we can best serve others is by letting them serve us.

Noel Santiago Talking About God Doing Something New

Psalm 25:1-15

I strive to follow the example of the psalmist and put my trust in God. If I follow the path that He teaches me, He will not let me be put to shame and will not let my enemies triumph over me. If I humble myself before God and acknowledge that His ways are correct, even when I do not understand why, He will instruct me in the actions I should choose and forgive my many sins. It is very hard to trust God, I so very often think I see an easier way, but I have learned that in the long run it is always better to do things the righteous way (although even knowing better I still all too often choose the wrong way).

Proverbs 6:6-11

In today’s passage the writer recommends that we observe the ways of the ant. The fact that it gathers food and provisions all summer and into the harvest even though it has no ruler should be a lesson to us to prepare for the future when we may no longer be able to supply our needs.

Daily Bible Study

January 29, 2013 Bible Study –The Last Shall Be First

January 28, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Exodus 8-9:35

Seven days after the waters of the Nile had been turned to blood, God sent Moses and Aaron back to Pharaoh. They were to tell Pharaoh that since he had not let God’s people go to worship Him, God was going to bring a plague of frogs on the land. Aaron stretched out his hand and frogs came up out of the Nile and other bodies of water and covered the land. Once again Pharaoh called his magicians who duplicated this feat. What Pharaoh’s magicians could not do was make the frogs go away (or die). So, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and asked them to ask God to take the frogs away. Pharaoh told them that if they did that he would let their people go to worship God. Moses asked Pharaoh to specify a time for the Egyptian households to be rid of the frogs. Pharaoh gave Moses a time and Moses prayed to God. At the appointed time the frogs that were not in the waterways died. Pharaoh however reneged on his promise and did not let the people go. The next plague was gnats. This time Pharaoh’s magicians were unable to duplicate what God had done through Moses and Aaron. Nevertheless Pharaoh would not let them go. The plagues got progressively worse and Pharaoh bargained with Moses, but he never followed through. Repeatedly through today’s passage we are told that Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to follow through on what he had promised.
How often have I been like that? When I have faced troubles I have made deals with God, promising that if just this once more He gets me out of the troubles I got myself into, I will change my ways and do what He commands. Or sometimes I have declared that as soon as things got better I would commit myself to serving Him in a new way. Then when things get better I forget, or make excuses why I won’t do the things I said I would do. The answer is I have done that all too often.

Matthew 19:13-30

     Some people brought children to Jesus for Him to pray for them. The disciples tried to discourage them, I assume because they thought it was a waste of Jesus’ time to pray over children that were not sick. Didn’t these people know that Jesus was an important man? However, Jesus intervened and told them to let the children come to Him, that the Kingdom of Heaven belonged to those who were like these children. Jesus laid His hands on the children and went on His way.
     Then a man came up to Jesus and asked Him what good thing he needed to do to get eternal life? Jesus gave a two-part answer. The first part was to question why the man was asking Him about what is good, since only God is good. The second part was to tell the man to keep the commandments. The man then asked specifically which commandments he should keep. Jesus answered this by listing six of the ten commandments. To which the man replied, “Oh, I’ve kept those.” Jesus then told him to go sell all that he had, give the proceeds to the poor and come follow Jesus. The man went away sad because he was unwilling to give up his great wealth.
     Jesus turned to His disciples and told them, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples’ response to this statement by Jesus was that if a rich man would have trouble getting into heaven, what chance did anyone else have? Jesus told them that it was impossible for man to do this, but with God all things are possible. This led Peter to burst out that they had left everything to follow Jesus, what would happen to them? Jesus told them that they would receive their reward and that those who had given up worldly possessions in order would receive a hundred-fold more and eternal life as well. Jesus followed this up by saying that many who were first would be last and many who were last would be first.
     I see a link between these two stories. The rich young man was looking for a shortcut to salvation. He was looking for a way to have both his power and position in this life and in the kingdom of heaven. The children were being brought by their parents, no one thought they were important (except for Jesus). The disciples obstructed the children’s path to Jesus. At the very least they stayed out of the rich young man’s way, if they did not actively clear the way for him to approach Jesus. The rich young man wanted to know what the rules were confident that once he knew the rules he could use his wealth and position to smooth the way for himself. The children just wanted to see Jesus and be touched by Him. Perhaps the most important point of this story is Jesus statement that it is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. There have been many attempts to make this comparison less ridiculous, but let’s look at what came after Jesus said this. The disciples response was, “Well then, how can anyone be saved?” and Jesus followed up by saying that it is impossible for man, but with God all things are possible. It is only through the action of God that I can be saved, I cannot earn salvation. There is nothing I can do to obligate God to let me into heaven.

Psalm 24:1-10

What the psalmist says here is so true. Everything on this earth and in this universe belongs to God. Anything we think that we have is something that belongs to God that He has given us stewardship over. This thought should give us guidance in how we spend our money and our time. How can we spend them in ways that further God’s purpose in this world? When I am considering spending money or doing something with my time I need to examine how that will serve God. I want to plan my life so that everything I do and everything I spend my money on serves God’s will.

First Fire In The Fire Pit In the New Year

Proverbs 6:1-5

Today’s passage from proverbs is a recommendation to avoid standing as security for someone else’s debt (for example, co-signing a loan for them). It is one of the few passages in Proverbs that I do not agree with completely. I would say that one should only offer to secure someone else’s debt if you are able and willing to pay that debt back for them. While you may hope and expect that someone will pay the debt, you should realize that the reason they need someone else to offer to secure the debt is because there is reason to believe that they will fail to do so.

Daily Bible Study

January 28, 2013 Bible Study — How Often Should I Forgive Someone?

January 27, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Exodus 5:22-7:25

     The people complained to Moses about the results of his meeting with Pharaoh. Moses went to God and said, “I did what you asked and not only haven’t your people been freed, but things have gotten worse.” God replied to Moses that He was God Almighty and the Lord of All. God told Moses to tell the Israelites that He would free them from their slavery and demonstrate His power in such a manner that no one would be able to deny that He was supreme over all the earth. When Moses reported this to the Israelites, they did not listen to him because they were discouraged from the hard labor. How often do we do the same things? When things don’t work out the way we expected, we turn to God and say, “I thought this was what You wanted me to do, why are things getting worse?” God does not promise that things will get better right away when we do His will. He promises that He will show His power and those around us will know that we serve God Almighty.
     However, God was not done with Moses. He told Moses to go to Pharaoh once more. Moses argued back, asking why Pharaoh would listen to him since he was so bad at public speaking. God’s answer to Moses was that Moses should just say what God had commanded him to say and Aaron could dress it up for Pharaoh. God told Moses not to worry because Pharaoh was not going to let the people go based on anybody’s fancy argument. Pharaoh was going to let the people go because God was going to demonstrate His power and Pharaoh would be afraid to not let them go. So Moses and Aaron went back to Pharaoh another time.
     Aaron spoke to Pharaoh in the manner which God had commanded completing his presentation by throwing his staff upon the ground, where is became a snake. Pharaoh summoned his wise men and magicians. They also threw down their staffs and they each became a snake. The snake that had been Aaron’s staff, swallowed the snakes that had been the Egyptian magician’s staffs. Nevertheless, Pharaoh was not impressed and refused to listen to Moses’ and Aaron’s request. God instructed Moses to return to Pharaoh in the morning and once more tell him that God was requesting that He let God’s people go into the wilderness to worship Him. As a demonstration of God’s power Aaron was to stretch out his staff over the Nile, when Aaron did this, God would turn all of the water in the Nile to blood. Moses and Aaron did as God commanded and Aaron turned all of the waters of the Nile to blood. However, once more Pharaoh summoned his magicians and they also turned water to blood. And again Pharaoh refused to listen to Moses and Aaron.
     How often do we see this pattern followed in the world around us? Christians call on God for something and God performs a miracle. However, those of the world dismiss the miracle because they can give it a naturalistic explanation. It is tempting to dismiss these miracles as nothing special because they could have happened without divine intervention. Notice however that there are always differences between the divine intervention and the natural event: Aaron’s staff swallowed the staffs of Pharaoh’s magicians; Aaron stretched out his staff and turned all the water in the Nile and its tributaries to blood, Pharoah’s magicians merely changed a smaller amount of water to blood (necessarily, since the Nile and its tributaries were already blood and therefore they needed to work on some water that was not part of that). Moses and Aaron could have given up. They could have said to God, “You aren’t doing anything that these other gods can’t do. Why should we continue to face the hardship of following You?”

Team Reports On Trip To Honduras With MAMA Project

Matthew 18:21-19:12

Peter came to Jesus and asked Him how often he should forgive someone who sinned against him. Peter had given this some thought and thought he knew the answer. It seemed to him that since the number of perfection was seven, that would be the number of times to forgive someone. Seven times was being generous in Peter’s mind, and in ours. You know the person Peter was talking about. The person who does the same thing over and over and every time begs for your forgiveness. You just know that if you forgive them this time they will do the same thing to you again. Jesus tells us that we are to go ahead and forgive them, this time and every time, even before they ask us. Jesus illustrated His point by telling a parable. I am not going to retell the parable, follow the link and read it for yourself. The point of the parable is that we have sinned so much against God that the amount that any one person, or even group of people, has sinned against us pales in comparison. Since God has forgiven us so much, why are we even thinking about not forgiving our fellow-man the relatively minor wrong they have done to us? The other good thing about this parable is that it reminds us what it means to forgive. When we forgive someone it means that we are giving up any claim to recompense for what they have done to us. If we have forgiven someone it means that we will not treat them any worse than we would treat a complete stranger. That’s a tough one.
After this Jesus left Galilee and went into Judea. Crowds of people came out to see Him and He healed them. Some Pharisees came to test Him by asking Him what the conditions were for divorce. While I was studying this today I came across something I had been unaware of. There had been a debate between two rabbis on the conditions that justified divorce. The passage that was the core of the debate was Deuteronomy 24:1. The rabbi Hillel argued that if a man’s wife became displeasing to him for any reason, he could divorce her. The rabbi Shammai held that a man could only divorce his wife if she was sexually unfaithful. Jesus basically sided with Shammai, but He took it further. Both Shammai and Hillel based their position on their understanding of the passage in Deuteronomy. Jesus based His position on the Creation account in Genesis. Since a man leaves his parents, is united with his wife and the two become one flesh, it is a violation of God’s desire for them to divorce. Those whom God has joined together no man has the right, or power, to separate. The only grounds for divorce that Jesus accepts are marital unfaithfulness and even then He seems to be saying that remarriage is not an option. The disciples certainly viewed His position this way since they thought His teaching suggested that it was better not to marry. I am not completely sure of how my reading of this passage applies today. However, I am utterly certain that God intended for marriage to be a lifetime commitment with no opt out clauses.

Psalm 23:1-6

Today’s psalm is Psalm 23. Anyone who is familiar with any part of the Bible is familiar with this passage and for good reason. This passage is a source of great comfort for those who love the Lord. The passage tells us that God is our shepherd and He will provide for our needs. There is a little more here than we usually notice. A shepherd provides for the needs of the sheep by driving them to where the things they need are to be had. Sheep often don’t want to go where the shepherd drives them. The shepherd makes it unpleasant for the sheep to not go where he wishes them to go. Despite the fact that we often do not want to go where God drives us, those are the places that we need to go in order for our needs to be met.

Proverbs 5:22-23

Those who do evil become trapped by their actions into doing more evil. Lack of discipline and unwillingness to accept the consequences of one’s actions leads to death. The folly of being unwilling to admit that one has done wrong, leads one to do more wrong.

Daily Bible Study

January 27, 2013 Bible Study — Who Is the Greatest In the Kingdom of Heaven?

January 26, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Exodus 4-5:21

Moses was not done questioning his ability to carry out the task that God had assigned him. God told Moses the throw his staff on the ground, where it immediately became a snake. God then told Moses to grab the snake by its tail. Now, I know that you should never grab a snake by its tail, it will twist around and bite you. I am quite confident that Moses knew this as well, but he reached out and grabbed it anyway. God then gave Moses two more signs to perform to prove that he was sent by God. However, Moses was still not done questioning his fitness for the task. Now that his other objections had been met, he tells God, “But I’m not very good at talking in front of people. I don’t speak well.” God responds by telling Moses that He is the one who gives people the ability to speak and to hear and to see. He will be with Moses and help him speak, teaching him what to say. Moses still asks God to send someone else. God at this point was angry with Moses. God told him that his brother Aaron was a good speaker and at that moment was on his way looking for Moses. God would tell Moses what to say and Moses could tell Aaron, who would speak for him. It is heartening to see that Moses was so much like I am when it comes to responding to God’s call. Now if only I could be more like Moses.
So, Moses returned to Egypt. In the meantime, God appeared to Aaron and inspired him to go into the wilderness to find Moses. When they met, Moses told Aaron all that God had told him and together they returned to Egypt and spoke with the leaders of the Israelites. Once Aaron spoke to them and Moses showed them the miraculous signs they were convinced that God had sent Moses and Aaron. After speaking to the Israelite leaders, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, Pharaoh told them to be quiet and get back to work. Pharaoh then made the job demanded of the Israelites harder. There is an important lesson for us here. When God begins to work to relieve us of the hardship we have cried out to Him about, it often gets worse before it gets better. When the people of Israel cried out for relief from the suffering they were experiencing in Egypt, God sent them Moses. But when Moses arrived, the immediate effect was that Pharaoh increased their workload and things got worse.

Matthew 18:1-20

The disciples came to Jesus to ask who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. The disciples were looking to find out what they had to do to become the bigwigs in the Kingdom. Jesus told them that the ones who truly counted in the Kingdom were those who did not consider themselves anything special. If we want to be important in the Kingdom of Heaven we need to become like a child. For that matter, if we even want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven we need to become like a child. We must learn to trust God the way that a child trusts his parents. I am not sure what all Jesus was telling them when He said this, but at least part of what He was talking about was the naive innocence of childhood, the way when we were children we readily believed what we were told. Jesus then goes on to warn against causing these innocents who believe in Him to stumble. He says that it will happen, but those who cause it would be better off to be tied to a rock and tossed into the sea. Jesus goes on to give us the parable of the 100 sheep where one wanders away. He tells us that the shepherd will expend enormous effort to find the one that wanders away. In the same manner, God will act to bring those who are innocently mislead back to Him.
Jesus then gives us the model for dealing with Church discipline and for how we should confront those who claim to be followers of Jesus who sin. He tells us that if we see someone sin, we should go to them privately and talk about what we observed. If they respond, that is great. If not, take two or three witnesses with you, so that there are independent witnesses to the conversation. If they still do not change, place the matter before the assembly of God’s people. If they refuse to listen to the assembly, treat them as a tax collector or a pagan. I think if we look at this we see a little more to this than what is on the surface. Why should we first go privately? Well, I think there are two reasons. The first is so that we do not embarrass them in front of others. But the second is to give the person an opportunity to explain why they did what we understood to be sin, perhaps we misinterpreted what we saw and the action was not a sin after all. This is also the reason for bringing the witnesses the second time, perhaps other people will hear the person we are confronting differently than we did. At every stage of this process there should be an openness to the possibility that the person being confronted was not sinning. That does not mean that there is debate about what constitutes sin, just that very rarely do we actually witness someone committing a sin unless we are committing the same sin. An example I like to use is this. There is a strip club I used to drive past every day. Now if I drove past and saw the car of someone from my congregation in the parking lot (and perhaps even saw them), it would be my duty as a brother in Christ to speak to them about it. However, it is possible that the reason they were there was because their car broke down and that was the closest place to get it off of the road. When I confront my brother in Christ about a perceived sin, I should be open to the possibility that I misinterpreted what I saw.

Bloom Where You're Planted — Bloom Where You’re Planted

Psalm 22:19-31

Today is the second half of Psalm 22, the psalm which Jesus referred to while on the cross. The first half was a description of despair and suffering. It was a cry to God for deliverance by someone who felt abandoned by God. The second half of the psalm has a completely different feel. Today in the second half we read the account of someone who is confident that God will save them from their trials. Here the psalmist is praising God and extolling the fact that He responds to the needs of those in desperate straits. Despite the desperate situation that Jesus was in on the cross, when He cried out “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” this was not just a cry of despair. It was also a declaration of faith in God because the psalm Jesus was calling upon ends with by saying that future generations will declare that God has done it. Before that the psalm declares that God has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one, but has listened to his cry for help. Jesus, on the cross, was declaring that God had listened to His cry for help. Let us remember that He will listen to our cry for help as well.

Not Sure Why My Wife Took This, but It Looks Neat

Proverbs 5:15-21

The writer emphasizes the importance of staying faithful to your wife. Do not pursue other women.

Daily Bible Study

January 26, 2013 Bible Study — I Am Who I Am

January 25, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Exodus 2:11-3:22

     When Moses became a grown man, he went out to watch his people, the Hebrews, at their labors. While there, Moses saw and Egyptian beating a Hebrew. carefully checking that there were no witnesses, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid his body. The following day, Moses saw one Hebrew man beating another. Moses chided him for hitting his fellow Hebrew. The man replied by asking Moses if he was going to kill him as he had the Egyptian. Moses became fearful that what he had done had become known and indeed it had. Moses fled from those Pharaoh sent to execute him. In a story vaguely reminiscent of the story of how Abraham’s servant found Rebekah to become Isaac’s wife, Moses meets a Midianite priest. After fleeing Egypt, Moses stopped and sat by a well. While he was there the seven daughters of a priest of Midian came to water their sheep. However some other shepherds drove them away from the water. Moses got up, rescued the daughters and watered their sheep. While the story does not make much of this these two accounts (killing the Egyptian and rescuing the priest’s daughters) suggest that Moses was not a good man to cross and that he had a sense of justice. The priest invited Moses to stay with him and in time gave Moses one of his daughters to be his wife.
     Years went by and the Israelites continued in their slavery and suffering. They cried out to God for deliverance and God heard their cries. One day when Moses was tending his father-in-law’s flocks, God appeared to Moses in flames of fire within a bush. When Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but was not consumed by the fire, he approached to investigate. As he approached the bush, God called out his name. Moses responded, “Here I am.” God then identified Himself to Moses as the God of Moses’ father and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This caused Moses to hide his face because he was afraid to look at God. God then tells Moses that He has seen the misery of His people and heard them crying out to Him. Now God was sending Moses to Pharaoh to bring His people out of Egypt.
     Moses’ response to God’s instruction was to question how he could accomplish this task. Moses wanted to know who he was that God thought he could do it? He’d tried once to help the Hebrews in Egypt, failed and been forced to go into exile. He’d built a life for himself outside of Egypt, now God wanted him to go back to the scene of his previous failure. What was going to be different this time? God’s answer was that He would be with Moses this time. To which Moses replied, “Well, when people ask me who You are, what do I tell them?” God answered this question as well, and it is clear (to me anyway) from His answer that Moses was not just asking what he should tell people about the God who had sent him, Moses was asking, “And who are you?” God’s answer was, “I am who I am.” God then instructs Moses to tell the Israelites that he has been sent by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God further instructed Moses to go before Pharaoh and request permission to take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to God. God told Moses that Pharaoh would refuse, but that God would not only compel Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt, the people of Egypt would give much of value so that when they left Egypt it would be as if they had plundered Egypt.
     How often when God directs us to do something do we respond as Moses did? I know that I do. All too often I respond with, “I tried and it didn’t work. Why would it work if I tried a second time?” All too often, I look at a task that God has set before me and say, “I don’t have what it takes.” God’s answer to that is, “I am who I am and I will be with you.” The first step to serving God is doing as Moses did, when God calls we need to answer, “Here I am.” There are still going to be times when we ask God, “How can I do that?” when He tells us what He wants us to do, but He promises that He is not sending us out alone. He will be with us. The one who is “I am who I am” and who is “I will be what I will be” will walk with us when He sends us out to do His will.

Matthew 17:10-27

Yesterday’s passage concluded with the Mount of Transfiguration story, which I did not cover in my devotional. Today begins as Jesus comes down from the mountain and rejoins the bulk of His disciples. When Jesus got to the crowd that was waiting for Him a man approached Him requesting Jesus heal his son, whom he had brought to the disciples but they were unable to heal him. Jesus expressed frustration over the unbelief of those around Him, then He healed the boy. I believe that Jesus’ frustration was directed at His disciples, not the father of the boy or the other people bringing the sick to Him for healing. This seems to be supported by Jesus’ answer when the disciples ask why they could not heal the boy. Jesus tells them that they had too little faith. He goes on to tell them that if they have faith as small as a mustard seed they could say to the mountain, “Move from here to there” and it would move. I believe that part of how that works is that if we truly believe that it is God’s will that the mountain move from one place to another, we will not wait for it to move. We will start moving it, even if we have to take a shovel and start filling a wheelbarrow. I am not saying that the mountain will not be moved by a miracle. I am saying that if we have faith that God’s purpose in this world will be served by that mountain being moved, we won’t wait for the miracle. We will do what we can, starting now, no matter how futile that effort may seem. How often do I frustrate Jesus by my lack of faith? How often do I fail to act because I do not believe I can make a difference? Am I willing to act to accomplish God’s will, even when I know that my efforts are insufficient to the task? The fact is that my efforts are always insufficient to the task, but God does not expect me to accomplish it by my own efforts.

A Splash Of Red Among the Office Greenery

Psalm 22:1-18

This is the psalm Jesus alluded to when He cried out “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” while He was being crucified. There are other references to this psalm in the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion. It is my understanding that when a first century rabbi quoted the first line of a passage, they were referencing the entire passage. So, when Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” from the cross He was, in essence, crying out the entirety of psalm 22.
Today’s portion of the psalm is one of utter despair. The psalmist references being mocked and tortured, suffering pain and humiliation. He tells us that people mocked him for his trust in God. In all of the suffering the psalmist references in today’s passage, he still acknowledges that God made and formed him from his very birth and that he will continue to worship God. Am I prepared to remain dedicated to God in the face of mockery and suffering?

Proverbs 5:7-14

The writer advises us to stay away from adulterous relationships or we will lose our honor and likely all that we have worked for will come to naught. Adulterous relationships make one susceptible to many diseases and one will likely regret them later in life.

Daily Bible Study

January 25, 2013 Bible Study –Who Do You Say That I Am?

January 24, 2013 AttilaDimedici

I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
Over the last few days I have observed that someone is working their way through my January Bible Studies. I would appreciate it if you would give me some feedback on what you think of my posts. If you know me personally and would rather not post on the comments, I would be perfectly happy with comments received in another manner (email, facebook, in person, etc). I welcome comments from anyone else who would like to comment. I am striving to improve these in any way that I can that will serve the will of God.

Genesis 50:1-26

When Jacob died, Joseph mourned him fervently. Joseph had his father embalmed according to the Egyptian practice. Joseph requested permission from Pharaoh to take Jacob’s body to the land of Canaan for burial, as Jacob had requested (and made his some swear to do). The Pharaoh granted Joseph permission to do this. Not only did Pharaoh grant Joseph permission but his entire court accompanied Joseph and his brothers on the trip to bury Jacob. Reading the passage and comparing it to Egyptian burial practices suggests that Jacob was buried according to Egyptian burial practices including full mummification. I believe that the way that Joseph and his brothers conducted the burial of Jacob served as a witness to the people of Egypt concerning following the will of God.
After Jacob’s burial Joseph’s brothers were afraid that now that their father had died Joseph would seek revenge on them for what they had done to them. So they sent a message to him claiming that Jacob had left instructions asking that Joseph forgive his brothers the sins and wrongs that they had committed against them. When Joseph received this message he wept. His brothers then came to him in person and threw themselves at his feet begging his forgiveness and offering themselves as his slaves. Joseph responded by telling them that despite their intentions to harm him, God had used their actions to bring about His great plan for the salvation of all of them. Joseph told them that he would not put himself in the position of God and attempt to gain revenge against them. Indeed, he told them, he would provide for them and their children. Joseph spoke kindly to his brothers and reassured them that he carried no grudge from their mistreatment of him as a child.

Exodus 1-2:10

     In time, Joseph and his brothers and those who knew them died. However, the Israelites multiplied and became numerous. A new king arose in Egypt who had no memory of the role Joseph had played in Egypt. This new king viewed the Israelites as a threat. The Pharaoh enslaved the people of Israel and treated them poorly, but they nevertheless thrived and multiplied even faster. The Pharaoh then ordered the midwives of the Hebrews to kill the baby boys when they delivered them, but let the girls live. The midwives refused to do as the Pharaoh commanded. When Pharaoh confronted them about it, they told him that the Hebrew women gave birth before the midwives got there. This led Pharaoh to be more open about it and issue a proclamation telling all of his people to throw any newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile, while allowing the girls to live.
     It was into this that Moses was born. When he was born, his mother saw that he was a strong and fine son. She hid him as long as she could (about three months). When she could no longer hide him she took a papyrus basket and coated it with tar so that it was waterproof. She then placed the babe in it and placed it among the reeds along the Nile. Her daughter, the baby’s sister, watched from a distance to see what happened. Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, along with her attendants. She saw the basket and sent one of her slaves to fetch it. Pharaoh’s daughter opened the basket and saw the baby, which was crying. Pharaoh’s daughter realized at once that this was one of the Hebrew babies, but she felt sorry for him. Moses’ sister approached Pharaoh’s daughter and asked her if she should fetch one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for her. Pharaoh’s daughter told her to do so. Moses’ sister got her mother and brought her to Pharaoh’s daughter. Pharaoh’s daughter instructed Moses’ mother to nurse him for her, paying her for the service. When Moses grew older, his mother took him to Pharaoh’s daughter who raised him as her son and gave him his name.
     Reading this today I noticed something I never saw before. Let’s look at the situation. Pharaoh’s daughter sees a basket in the river and being curious sends a slave to retrieve it. She opens the basket and discovers a crying baby in it, a baby she immediately recognizes as being a Hebrew baby. How did she know it was a Hebrew baby? Well, it is unlikely that at three months of age a Hebrew baby would look much different from an Egyptian baby. So, the most likely reason she knew it was a Hebrew baby is because she knew her father’s order that Hebrew babies be thrown into the Nile. No sooner does she open the basket than a young Hebrew girl approaches and offers to go get a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. Now, what are the chances that there would be a random Hebrew girl close by when she opened the basket? One that not only knew a Hebrew woman who was nursing, and thus could nurse this baby, but was willing to approach Pharaoh’s daughter and offer to find such a woman? None of these things are conclusive, but it seems likely that Pharaoh’s daughter was fully aware that the “wet-nurse” she got for the baby she found was the baby’s actual mother.

Matthew 16:13-17:9

     Jesus asks His disciples who people think that He is. They answer Him that some people think He is John the Baptist reincarnated, others think He is Elijah or one of the other prophets. Then Jesus asks them who they think He is. I can imagine them looking at each other, a little nervous about answering the question, then finally Simon Peter blurting out that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus replied that this was not something Peter was able to figure out based on human knowledge but rather was something revealed to him by God. Jesus then confirms Simon Peter’s nickname as Peter, the rock. It is not clear to me whether Simon was known as Peter before this or if this is the origin of his nickname. The author of this Gospel refers to Simon Peter as such from the very beginning, although the author of the Gospel of Mark says that Jesus gave Simon the name Peter. I am not sure that it makes much difference whether Simon was always called Peter or if he was first called that here. Jesus then goes on to say that He will build His church (or assembly) on this rock. Jesus said that the gates of the kingdom of death would not overcome His assembly. This is an interesting construction. When I was growing up whenever I heard someone speak about this passage, it was used to support the idea that the attacks of evil could never destroy the Church, the Body of Christ. At some point in my late 20s/early 30s I read this passage and realized there was another message here (since then I have heard others teach this same message). Gates are not used to attack. Gates are used to stop people (usually members of an enemy military) from entering some place. That put a different complexion on what Jesus meant here. All of a sudden I saw that Jesus was saying that nothing, not even the gates of the kingdom of death, could stand in the way to prevent His Church (His assembly) from accomplishing the goals which God set for It.
     Jesus went on to say that He was giving “you” the keys to the kingdom of heaven. That whatever “you” bound on earth would be bound in heaven and whatever “you” loose on earth would be loosed in heaven. I do not know Greek. However several sources I found indicated that the “you” used in reference to the keys to heaven is singular and the “you” used in reference to binding and loosing is plural. I believe it was on the basis of this passage that the Jerusalem Council we are told of in Acts 15 decided to tell Gentile believers that they did not need to be circumcised. It was not Peter who crafted this decision, but rather James who spoke up and offered his judgment, which was then adopted by the assembly (or church).
     Starting after Peter’s declaration that Jesus was God’s Anointed One, the saving Messiah for whom the Jewish people were waiting, Jesus began to teach His disciples that He must suffer and die at the hands of the religious leaders. Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him for being negative and depressed, telling Him that this would never happen to Him. I can just picture Peter, thinking that Jesus was suffering from depression due to all of the opposition He was receiving, taking Jesus aside and telling Him, “Buck up! Stop letting these people get you down. They aren’t going to be able to kill you. You’re the Messiah.” Imagine Peter’s surprise when Jesus responded to his pep talk by calling Peter Satan and telling him that he was not paying attention to God’s concerns, but only to human concerns. It was only a few days prior that Jesus had commended Peter for receiving insight from God. Jesus then turned to all of the disciples and told them that they needed to take up their crosses and follow Him. This would have had a very specific meaning to people in the first century. They would all have been familiar with the line of condemned prisoners carrying their crosses to the place of execution. Jesus was not talking about bearing some generic burden. He was talking about carrying the cause of our death. If we try to avoid death we will lose our very souls. On the other hand, if we are willing to sacrifice our lives and our very being in order to be like Christ and serve God, we will find a life that is more joyous and abundant than anything we can imagine.

Psalm 21:1-13

The psalmist tells us that the king who relies on the Lord and follows His ways will receive his heart’s desire and be victorious in all his battles. This is true not only of kings but also of ordinary people. Those who love the Lord and seek His ways will receive their heart’s desire, while those who oppose the Lord will not succeed.

Hey, Did You Notice I Like Pictures Of the Snow?

Proverbs 5:1-6

The writer warns us against getting involved in sexually immoral relationships. Those who crave adulterous relationships are smooth talkers and speak with honeyed words, but they wander aimlessly through life on a path that leads to death.

Daily Bible Study

January 24, 2013 Bible Study –The Signs Of The Times

January 23, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Genesis 48-49:33

Word came to Joseph that his father had fallen ill. Joseph went to see his father and took his two sons with him. Jacob tells Joseph that Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh will be counted as Jacob’s sons. It gave Jacob great joy that after believing he would never see his son Joseph again he now saw not only Joseph but Joseph’s sons. Jacob then asked Joseph to bring his boys close so that he could bless them. Joseph directed Ephraim, the younger of the two, to Jacob’s left hand and Manasseh, the elder, to Jacob’s right. Jacob, however, crossed his arms to place his right hand on Ephraim and his left on Manasseh. When Joseph “corrected” him by telling him that Ephraim was the younger, Jacob told Joseph that he was aware of which boy was which, but, while Manasseh’s descendants would become a great people, the descendants of Ephraim would be even greater. After this Jacob calls together all of his sons and makes predictions about their futures, and that of their descendants, based on their behaviors. After making these prophecies, Jacob tells his sons that he will soon die. He instructed his sons to bury him in the cave where Abraham had buried Sarah and was himself buried.

Matthew 15:29-16:12

     At one point Jesus was teaching on a mountainside. Great crowds came to Him bringing those suffering from many afflictions and laid them at His feet. Jesus healed them all. The people were amazed and praised God. After three days, Jesus called his disciples to Him and said that He did not want to send the crowds away hungry. The disciples questioned where they could find enough bread to feed that many people in such a remote location. Jesus then asked them how much food they had. They replied that they had seven loaves and a few fish. Jesus had the crowd sit down and then took the loaves and the fish. He blessed the food and broke it up and gave it to the disciples to distribute to the people. Everyone ate and was satisfied. Afterward, the disciples gathered seven baskets of leftovers. The number of those who ate was 4,000 men, plus women and children.
     There are a couple of factors about this story that strike me. The first is that it was not very long before this that Jesus had fed 5,000 men plus women and children from just a few loaves and a few fish, now the disciples once again cannot perceive how they could feed all of these people. The second thing has to do with something I mentioned on Tuesday. The idea that in first century Palestine the relationship between a disciple and a rabbi was one where the disciple strove to learn how to be like the rabbi and do the things the rabbi did, while the rabbi strove to teach the disciple how to accomplish those goals. So, when I read this story I see Jesus offering His disciples the opportunity to do what He had done. In the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus offered the disciples the opportunity to call on the power of God to feed the people, but they did not understand what He was getting at, so He demonstrated what power was theirs to command. I think that He expected them to not understand on that occasion. However, this time I think that Jesus was hoping that the disciples would understand what He was asking of them and that they, or at least one of them, would take the initiative. I think that we often disappoint Jesus in exactly the same way. I know that I do. Do we really believe that we can be like Jesus? And do the things that He did (and does)? I believe that God will perform miracles through me, but I do not have faith that God will perform miracles through me. I fervently pray to God that He help my unbelief.
     At some point the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to Jesus and asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. Jesus replied to them that they knew how to interpret the signs of the weather, but were unable to read the signs of the times. He then calls them a wicked and adulterous generation and tells them that the only sign they will be given is the sign of Jonah. He then left them and went away. As they were crossing the lake the disciples had forgotten to bring bread with them. Jesus warned the disciples to be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The disciples thought He said that because they forgot to bring bread. Jesus berated them for being caught up in worry about forgetting to bring bread. He reminded them of feeding the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and feeding the 4,000 with seven loaves of bread and how in both cases there was more left over than what they started with. It was only then that they realized that He was not talking about bread when He warned against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. This is a reminder how a seemingly minor error can spread through our whole belief system to corrupt the entire thing. It is also interesting that Jesus referred to the yeast of both the Pharisees (who were the legalistic religious conservatives) and of the Sadducees (who were the tolerant religious liberals) as the same thing.

Psalm 20:1-9

I will echo the psalmist’s heartfelt wish that God rescue you in your times of distress. I pray that God will send you help and grant you the desires of your heart. I will celebrate your victory with you. I love the way NIV words the beginning of verse 6, “Now this I know”. Such an emphatic statement. There are things I hope for and that I think are true. But, this I know. God does give victory to those He has chosen, who follow His ways. Some may trust in strength, weapons and training, but I will trust in the name of God.

Snow--Hey You Try Coming Up With Four Captions A Day — Snow–Hey You Try Coming Up With Four Captions A Day

Proverbs 4:20-27

The writer warns us to be careful what we allow into our hearts, because everything we do flows from what we value. Further we should watch our language because how we choose to express our thoughts shapes the way we think. Plan our actions carefully so as not to succumb to the temptation to deal with obstacles by doing wrong and thus be sidetracked off of the path of righteousness.

Daily Bible Study

January 23, 2013 Bible Study — The Blind Leading The Blind

January 22, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Genesis 46-47:31

When Jacob and his entire household, including the households of his sons, arrived in Egypt Joseph went to meet them in the region of Goshen. Jacob was overjoyed to be reunited with Joseph and expressed that now that he had seen Joseph once more he was ready to die. Joseph instructed his brothers that when they went in to see Pharaoh they should tell him that they were shepherds because the people of Egypt detested shepherds. Joseph’s brothers followed Joseph’s advice and the Pharaoh allowed/encouraged them to settle in the land of Goshen (depending on how one reads the passage and understand the political situation in Egypt, this could be seen as anything from giving them permission to settle there to an order to settle there and nowhere else). When the Pharaoh asked Jacob how old he was Jacob told Pharaoh that he was 130 years old and gave Pharaoh a blessing.
The passage tells us that the famine continued after this. When the people of Egypt ran out of money they approached Joseph and asked him to give them food so that they would not die. Joseph replied by telling them that he would give them food in exchange for their livestock. Joseph supplied them with enough food for a year in exchange for all of their livestock. The following year the people again approached Joseph for food. This time they offered themselves and their land in exchange for food. Joseph agreed to this and supplied them with food. Joseph bought all of the land and people of Egypt for Pharaoh, except for the priests, who received a stipend from Pharaoh (in other words, they were government employees). The passage tells us that Joseph reduced the people of Egypt to servitude. Once Joseph has done this he gave them grain to plant what had been their fields. In return he required them to surrender one fifth of what they produced to Pharaoh. So, Joseph arranged for the people of Egypt to sell themselves into servitude to the government of Egypt and as a result of the people and everything they had belonging to Pharaoh he imposed a 20% tax in exchange for allowing them to make use of those things.

Matthew 15:1-28

Some Pharisees and religious teachers arrived from Jerusalem to ask Jesus why He did not teach His disciples to follow the traditions of the elders, such as ceremonial hand-washing before eating. Jesus replied by asking them why they followed traditions that allowed them to break direct commandments from God. He gave the example of a tradition that allowed an adult child to dedicate their possessions to God and not use them to help their parents thus violating the command to “Honor your father and mother.” Jesus called them hypocrites for putting their own teachings above the commands of God. He quotes Isaiah as saying that they honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from God. They worship God in vain because they follow mere human teachings rather than the commands of God. Jesus then explains that one is not defiled by what one eats, but rather by what one says. Jesus’ disciples asked Him if He realized that the Pharisees were offended by what He had said. Jesus told them not to worry about the opinions of those who did not faithfully teach God’s word. He told them that the Pharisees were blind guides. If a blind man allows a blind man to be his guide, both will fall into a pit. The disciples then asked Jesus to explain the parable. Jesus explained that what we eat goes into our mouth through our stomach and out of our bodies, while what we say reflects what we think and who we are. From our inner being come evil thoughts and it is those thoughts which defile us.
Jesus left that area and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. While He was there a Canaanite from that region came to Him and cried out asking Him to heal her daughter. Jesus initially ignored her. Finally, His disciples asked Him to send her away. Jesus replied that He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. The woman came right up to Him and knelt at His feet. From this position she begged for His help. He responded that it was not right to take the children’s food and toss it to the dogs. She answered that even the dogs are allowed to eat the food that falls from the table. Jesus replied to this commending her faith and telling her that her request was granted. Her daughter was healed at that moment. Jesus’ reply to the woman was a strong insult. The woman accepted Jesus’ insult and acknowledged that she was not deserving of His care. She knew that she had no right to His healing, but threw herself on His mercy and love. There are three reasons this woman received from God what she sought. She was persistent even when Jesus appeared to ignore her. She had faith that Jesus could give her what she desired. She recognized that she was no deserving of this gift.

Psalm 19:1-14

The psalmist tells us that if we look to the skies we will see the glory of God. Whether we look during the day or during the night, we cannot help but feel the majesty of God. The law of God is perfect. His commands are trustworthy and right, following them will teach us wisdom and bring us joy. God’s word is more valuable than anything we can own. I will not allow sin to rule over me by choosing actions which I know to be sin and I will beg God to forgive me for those sins I do not realize I have committed.

Proverbs 4:14-19

Do not follow the paths that the wicked walk. They walk in darkness and stumble over obstacles that they never see. Those who choose wickedness never see the obstacles between them and their goals until they bump into them. The righteous are like someone who walks in the light, they are able to see the things between them and their goals and navigate around them.

Daily Bible Study

January 22, 2013 Bible Study — Getting Out of the Boat

January 21, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Genesis 44-45:28

     When Joseph’s brothers were preparing to leave, Joseph ordered that once again the silver with which they paid for the grain be put in their sacks with the grain. However, this time he also ordered that his silver cup be placed in Benjamin’s sack along with the silver he paid for the grain. As soon as his brothers had left the city Joseph sent his steward after them to accuse them of stealing his silver cup. The brothers deny stealing anything and agree to having their possessions searched. When the cup is found in Benjamin’s sack his brothers tore their clothes and returned to the city. Upon returning to the city, Judah spoke for the brothers and begged Joseph to make him, Judah, a slave and allow Benjamin to return to his father.
     Joseph was overwhelmed with emotion by Judah’s impassioned defense of his brother and could no longer contain himself. He revealed himself to his brothers. Joseph tells his brothers that they should no longer be angry with themselves for selling him into slavery because God had sent him into Egypt ahead of them in order to keep their families alive. Joseph then tells them to return to Jacob and bring him and their families back to Egypt where Joseph can help take care of them for the remaining five years of famine. When Pharaoh heard that Joseph’s brothers had come he sent orders that they should take carts from Egypt to go and load their families into to bring them all to Egypt. Joseph sent his brothers on the way with plentiful supplies and gifts for his father. As they left he called after them asking them not to quarrel on the way. When they got back to Jacob and told him that Joseph was alive and running things in Egypt, Jacob did not at first believe them. However, once Jacob saw the gifts Joseph had sent, he changed his mind and wanted to go to Egypt to see his son Joseph before he died.
     One of the important parts of this passage for us to pay attention to is what Joseph said to his brothers when he revealed himself. He tells them not to be angry at themselves for what they did to him because it fulfilled God’s will. We should both follow Joseph’s example and his advice. We should follow his example and forgive those who have done wrong to us, recognizing that God has, or will, bring good to us out of those wrongs we have suffered. But we should also forgive ourselves for the wrongs we have done. Before we can do that we need to do as Joseph’s brothers had done and change so that we are not the sort of people to repeat those wrongs. This story contains a microcosm of how we as Christians should deal with our bad choices. We need to repent and change our behaviors so that we do not make the same mistake again. Then we need to forgive those who have done wrong to us. Finally, we need to forgive ourselves for the wrongs we have committed, determining not to repeat those wrongs.

Matthew 14:13-36

      This passage starts with something I have never noticed before. When Jesus learned that John the Baptist had been beheaded, He withdrew by boat to a solitary place, presumably to be alone with His thoughts. When Jesus did this, the people of the surrounding towns followed Him on foot. When Jesus saw the large crowd that had gathered, He had compassion and began healing their sick. When it got late in the day, His disciples came to Jesus and suggested He send the crowds away so that they, the crowds, could go and get themselves something to eat. Jesus’ response was for the disciples to feed the crowd themselves. The disciples replied that they only had five loaves of bread and two fish, not by any stretch of the imagination enough to feed a crowd of this size. Nevertheless Jesus told His disciples to bring the food they have to Him. He then took the food, blessed it, broke it into pieces and gave it to His disciples to distribute to the crowd. The disciples filled twelve baskets with the leftovers they gathered up after everyone had eaten and was satisfied.
     When they had finished, Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side of the lake. He then dismissed the crowd and went up on the mountainside to pray. Shortly before dawn, Jesus headed out to the boat walking on the lake. The boat was well out from shore by this time, although not as far as it might have been because the wind was against it. When the disciples first saw Jesus they thought He was a ghost and were frightened. Jesus spoke to them and told them not to be afraid. Peter asked Jesus to confirm that He was who He said He was by telling Peter to come to Him. Jesus does so. Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus. However, when Peter noticed how rough the wind was making the water he became frightened and began to sink. Peter cried out to Jesus. Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. Together they climbed into the boat.
     This second story highlights something that was pointed out in our Sunday worship service this week. In First Century Palestine, a disciple was someone who strove to become just like his teacher. Someone strove to become the disciple of a particular rabbi because they wanted to be like them, because they wanted to do the things that that rabbi did. That is why Peter wanted to walk on the water to Jesus, he wanted to be like Jesus and to do the things that Jesus did. When we look at this story, I think we see that the disciples were beginning to realize that Jesus was more than a man. Peter here asked Jesus to tell him to come to Him on the water because Peter was not sure that this was something it was possible for him to ever be like Jesus in. That is, Peter, along with the rest of the disciples, was beginning to believe that they were unable to realize their goal of being completely like Jesus. When Peter asked Jesus to tell him to come to Him on the water, Peter was asking if this was something that they could aspire to. Jesus’ answer to Peter, and to us, was that yes, everything He did is something that we can learn to do if we follow Him. Jesus calls us to be His disciples, to strive to become just like Him and to do the things that He did. We too can feed the five thousand and walk on water. However, in order to do it, we need to be willing to get out of the perceived safety of the boat and put ourselves at risk. All too often that is my problem, I am afraid to get our of the boat and walk to where Jesus is waiting for me to join Him. At least Peter got out of the boat even though his faith failed him before he got to where Jesus was waiting. I am afraid that my faith will fail me before I get to where Jesus is waiting and thus I do not even get out of the boat.

Psalm 18:37-50

The psalmist tells us that he pursued his enemies until they were destroyed. However, he tells us that they turned and fled from him not because of anything he did, but because God caused them to do so. Let us praise and exalt God because He will cause our enemies to turn from us and flee. The Lord lives and He will be our rock and our savior. He will avenge us and save us from our enemies. We need not fear pursuing the goals that God sets for us, for He will cause those who oppose us to turn and flee.

Proverbs 4:11-13

We can recognize the path of wisdom because it is straight and clear. If we follow the path of the wise ours steps will not be hampered and we will not stumble when we run. If we hold onto wise instruction it will provide us with life.

Daily Bible Study

January 21, 2013 Bible Study — The Starting Point of Wisdom

January 20, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Solving The World's Problems — Solving The World’s Problems

Genesis 42:18-43:34

     After imprisoning his brothers for three days, Joseph spoke to them and said that he would send them on their way, but he would keep one of them imprisoned as a hostage for their good behavior. Joseph told them if they were to bring their youngest brother Benjamin to him and then he would know that they were honest men. The brothers discussed among themselves that this must be God’s punishment against them for sending Joseph to his death (what they thought was his death). They were unaware that Joseph could understand them because he had used an interpreter to talk with them. Joseph gave orders that they be given the grain which they had come to buy. In addition, he gave secret orders that the silver they had used to buy the grain be placed in the sacks with the grain. Joseph selected Simeon as the hostage and had him bound in front of his brothers. Joseph then sent them on their way.
     After departing Egypt the brothers discovered that the silver had been returned to them and were terrified. When they told Jacob what Joseph had demanded of them (they did not know that it was Joseph), he refused categorically to allow Benjamin to go even though Reuben offered his own sons as hostages for Benjamin’s safety. After some time, Jacob told his sons to go back to Egypt to buy more grain. They responded that they could not go unless they took Benjamin with them. Judah promised to look after Benjamin and told Jacob to hold him personally accountable for Benjamin’s safety. Jacob agrees and sends them for gifts for Joseph (not knowing that it was Joseph) and telling them to take double the amount of silver as the previous time so that they could return the silver that was in the sacks when they got home the last time.
     When the brothers presented themselves to Joseph, he saw Benjamin with them. He gave orders that they be taken to his house and a feast be prepared. When the brothers were taken to Joseph’s house they were frightened, convinced that they were to be enslaved because of the silver that was returned to them. So they approached the steward of the house and explained that they had brought the silver back with them, plus additional silver to buy more food. The steward told them not to worry, it must have been God, the God of their father, who gave them the silver because he had received their silver on the last occasion and that grain was paid for. When Joseph came home for the meal, the brothers presented the gifts they had brought him and introduced him to Benjamin. When Joseph saw his brother Benjamin he was moved to tears. He left his brothers’ presence and composed himself. When he returned he ordered the food to be served. Joseph ate separate from his brothers. The brothers were amazed because they were seated in order of their ages, from eldest to youngest.

Matthew 13:47-14:12

Today’s passage begins with a final parable about the Kingdom of Heaven from the series that was in yesterday’s passage. In this parable Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a net let down into the lake to catch fish. The net will catch all kinds of fish, some good and some bad. When the net is full the fishermen pull it onto the shore and collect the good fish and throw away the bad fish. Jesus tells us that at the end of the age God’s messengers will separate the wicked from the righteous and throw the wicked into the blazing furnace. This is a warning that it is not enough to be caught up in the net, to be part of a church body, we need to serve God with all of our hearts as well.
Soon after this Jesus returned to his home town. Initially, the people were amazed, but then they started to question why they should listen to Him and where He got the power to perform miracles. They recounted how they knew His family and they were not anything special. Jesus told His disciples that a prophet is not without honor except in his home town. This is a warning to us that we should not dismiss the word of God just because we are familiar with the background of the one who is speaking it. There is a human tendency to attempt to bring down those who rise above the common lot, especially when they are from those we know.

Psalm 18:16-36

God has reached down and rescued me when I was in over my head. With God’s help I can charge through any barrier, scale any wall. When I am doing the Lord’s will nothing will block my path. I will not turn away from His commands because God’s way is the perfect way. God’s word is flawless and He will shield me. I will not turn from my God. Those who are devious will discover that God is even more savvy and canny than themselves, but those who are pure and faithful will discover that God is also pure and faithful. As long as I walk along the path that God has chosen for me, I will walk in the light.

Proverbs 4:7-10

The starting point to being wise is valuing wisdom above all else. Those who risk all that they have for wisdom will be honored.

Fact and Fantasy

January 30, 2013 Bible Study — To Be A Leader, Be A Servant

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January 29, 2013 Bible Study –The Last Shall Be First

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January 28, 2013 Bible Study — How Often Should I Forgive Someone?

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January 27, 2013 Bible Study — Who Is the Greatest In the Kingdom of Heaven?

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January 26, 2013 Bible Study — I Am Who I Am

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January 25, 2013 Bible Study –Who Do You Say That I Am?

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January 24, 2013 Bible Study –The Signs Of The Times

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January 23, 2013 Bible Study — The Blind Leading The Blind

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January 22, 2013 Bible Study — Getting Out of the Boat

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January 21, 2013 Bible Study — The Starting Point of Wisdom

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