Matthew 3-5

Sorry for the lack of posts in the past few days...

I was on vacation with my family in the most delightful,low technology cottage on the planet. I spent the last week, watching old movies, knitting and drinking more chi tea than was good for me!

Nothing interesting happened until today on the drive home when my ridiculous lab puppy escaped from my car in the middle of a busy parking lot. It was a horrendous 7 minutes helplessly watching as a black blur dodged cars and to get as far away from her potential captors as possible. I was certain that the adorable pain in the butt was about to become a memory-when a complete stranger handed her a cookie...and she was caught!

Thank God for the cookie bearing angel in Lapeer, Michigan!

Anyway...Fittingly, for the beginning of a brand new year-tonight brought me to the story of the beginning of Jesus's public ministry.

Here is your clept note version.

Matt. 1-2 Jesus is born, and he grows up.

Matt. 3 Jesus is baptized-which was really cool because of the whole God talking out loud, dove from heaven thing.

Matt. 4 Jesus is lead into the wilderness to fast for 40 days and to be tempted by Satan...no, this wasn't fun!

Next Jesus calls his disciples, and starts the business of healing and teaching.

Matthew 5 Jesus gives his most famous sermon.

Something very relevant to the person reading these passages on the eve of a brand new year is this...Jesus had some incredible moments as he began his ministry, but moments of extreme hunger, stress, and temptation planted themselves in the midst of those triumphs.

From the very start, Jesus first experiences a beautiful moment of being publicly loved by God and then is, immediately, sent to spend more than a month being beat up by his enemy. Please Note: Jesus stood strong in every temptation.

After this---Jesus is ready to do God's work!

As we look forward to a new year, we probably have a lot of hopes and maybe some expectations. We all wish one another a "Happy New Year"..and we would like one for ourselves as well. What we do not want to think about on a day like today is the fact that being trained and used by God means some unhappy days.

It means being pushed to our limits, and it means going without the things that we want sometimes.

Why is this?

It is because God uses those moments to strengthen us so that we-like Jesus-will be better prepared to serve him and he can better bless us when our lives are not lost in a bucket full of sunshine.

Jesus himself put it this way...

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 1-2 "Yes, it's a big deal"

FYI: I had a marvelous Christmas. I really enjoyed getting to spend time with many of my family members. I really enjoyed getting a chance to do a very traditional Christmas morning with my family.

This year, people constantly seemed to point out that this could be the last "Normal" year for my family. Both of my brothers and I are in college now--this is a time of transition and none of us know what the next years will look like.

Fortunately, we had this year...and it was a blessing.

Due to the need for variety in my life, I am going to alternate between blogging books of the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Since yesterday ended Joshua, today starts my first New Testament rotation.

Hello Matthew!

Fitting for the day, I got to read Matthew's version of Christ's birth.

What caught my attention differently tonight was the story of the Magi (Wise men)

Ok...so just to sum up...

This group of astrologers (we don't know how many it could have been 7, 2 or maybe 3)

see a star...a very special star that, for some reason, convinces them that a king is being born. They were convinced that a major player in the story of humanity was about to enter the scene!

So, they do the obvious thing...and set out to meet him.

Problem...the Star seems to have worked a lot like my family's GPS--it gives you a direction to start off with, but the details sometimes need a minute to pull up.

SO, the wise MEN asked for directions...from the wrong person.

Since nature itself was telling them that a king was being born, they assumed that the country's leaders would know as well. So, they talked to king Herod...who used scripture to discover that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.

Herod then asks the Magi to tell him exactly where Jesus is living..."So that he could worship him too"

Secretly, he wanted to get rid of this newborn threat.

Magi continue on...Star GPS kicks in....they find Jesus

Commence with worship and gifts...thus starting several traditions

1) Gifts on Christmas

2) Men instinctively knowing that asking for directions is a bad idea.

What I really love about the Magi is the fact that they prove that Jesus' birth was something that shook the very foundations of the earth.

His birth mattered so much, that non-Jewish stargazers knew that he was something special.

They were so sure that his birth was important that they assumed it to be commonly known and celebrated....but they were wrong.

Instead of finding fellow worshipers, they found people who had ignored the signs, and tried to eliminate the savior of the world.

The wise men remind me to keep my eyes open for the movement of God.

If a group of stargazers recognized the move of God, God's sons and daughters should ABSOLUTELY be able to see them!

Joshua 23-24--Your End of the Bargain

For some people, Change is exciting...

It's an adventure--uncharted territory--a quest into the unknown.

For me, change and transition usually mean emptying more than my fare share of Tums bottles and begging God for a preview of the next few months.

Christmas is one of my absolute favorite parts of the year...I love my family, I love the fact that my tree stands in exactly the same spot every year (with ornaments that can basically tell the story of my life), I love the fact that we fondue little tiny pieces of steak one by one every single Christmas Eve--this is something that I live for...

But this year begs the question of where will I be next year... or the year after that, or that...

This is absolutely a transition year for me, and I am not sure that I like that at all.

I don't know where I will be living next year, I don't know if I will be able to use the pots and pans that I am sure that I am getting from my mom tomorrow...I don't know if I will be able to afford to buy Christmas gifts next year...Honestly, I don't know much.

But this I am reminded of...

God fights for me (Joshua 23:10). He is on my side, and he is capable of doing anything that he wants to...and that is comforting.

This also, I am reminded of...God already promised that he would take care of me, as long as I follow his commands and Hold Fast to him (Joshua 23).

This is the biggest point that Joshua wants the Israelites to take hold of before his death--the Idea that God will uphold his end of the bargin (to take care of the Israelites) as long as they are willing to he his.

God never gives us a clear picture of the future...but he does promise to be there for us, as long as we hold fast to him.

Joshua 21-22--Calling It Quits

Ok...Long Long Story...sort of short

1) Israelites are headed to promise land...but that takes a while.

2) Some of the Israelites fall in love with some land just outside of the promised land.

3) God say (paraphrase) "Cool, I will give you this land instead of the Promised Land if that's what you want...but you have to help the other tribes to get their land before you settle down..."

4) Tribes agree and help out...The Promised Land is won, and the tribes finally get to go home.

Enter Joshua!

Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh and said to them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. For a long time now—to this very day—you have not deserted your fellow Israelites but have carried out the mission the LORD your God gave you. Now that the LORD your God has given them rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

This is a send off that would be worth memorizing...

It is a beautiful combination of affirmation and challenge.

The affermation is something that all christians should wish to be said of them...

It is, basically, this..."You have done everything that God asked you to" and "Now, you can rest"

Living up to all of God's commands is something that is worth striving for...because it results in rest and peace.

The second part (the command) is this

"But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

That is a loaded statement...

something that is worth letting sink in...seriously, it is worth memorizing!

Joshua 17-20 Refuge

I am a little bit of a crime drama junkie.

What does this mean?

It means that I could probably watch an entire season of "Bones" or "NCIS" in one season.

There is something addictive about the question of "Who did the crime?" and there is Catharsis in the moment of seeing justice played out across the screen.

That cathartic moment is something that we are drawn to. As human beings, we like to see the bad guy get his punishment, and we like a neat, clean finish to a nice round of drama.

The problem with this desire is in the fact that real life rarely has a tidy answer--and people are very good at creating situations with no right answer.

God was (and is) very aware of that fact--that's why he created the "Cities of Refuge"

What is this?

A city of refuge was a place where a person could go to for safety if they had accidentally taken a life. (it was also the place where people went to until a trial could be held).

The cool thing about these cities was the fact that it was illegal to avenge a death within the city walls. (in Bible times, it was normal for a family member to avenge the death of a relative and it was, apparently, legal).

If the killer was found to be innocent in their intentions, they were required to live with in the city until the death of the current high priest. Depending on the age of that priest this could mean that a man would spend much of his life within a city of refuge--or it could mean a vacation for a few weeks!

Here are some of the things that I take away from this...

1) Once again, human life is valuable-even accidentally killing someone is something that is and needs to be taken incredibly seriously!

2) God understands that we can make mistakes too--over and over again, God emphasizes that the shedding of human blood is matters to him. The concept of someone's blood being on your head is the highest shame. BUT--God also understands that things do not always go according to plan--and that we make mistakes. A city of refuge was one more way that God showed his people the meaning of Grace. Yes, stupid things happen--and yes, life can continue.

Joshua 12-16 Remember Remember

Today, I was blessed with the opportunity to spend some time with old family friends--the kind of people that new me before I knew them. It really was wonderful. Days like these are the ones that really "Make" Christmas break for me--it was wonderful. Tie into that spending a chunk of my evening knitting and drinking tea with a dog sleeping on my feet--and a truly ideal day is created.

In reading tonight, I came across a lot of very skimmable passages....meaningful, yes...meaningful to me...not so much.

The book of Joshua contains a lot f names-names for cities, and for defeated kings, and names for barriers between lands--lots of names that are difficult for me to really attach meaning to because I was not with Israel when they defeated a king named Sihon...and I will never remember the name of the stream that marked the edge of Caleb's land...but these passages still contain vast meaning for a reader in the 21st century.

These passages remind us of the importance of keeping a record...of remembering the faithfulness of God.

No, these passages do not hold personal meaning for me...but the people who wrote them knew the strength of the defeated king--and they used this passage as a method for holding onto the reality of God's action in their lives. That is important.

This passage is a reminder to give God credit--and to keep personal records of the things that he does in our lives--so that we never forget the mark that he has made on our lives.

No, the memories that we record do not have to carry meaning for all of mankind--they simply need to remind us to continue to trust in the God that has brought us this far!

Joshua 9-11 Stacked Deck!

OK...so, life in this fragile, broken world is, essentially, terrifying. Ok, seriously, think about it. Simply getting though the day takes a lot of effort...we somehow need to eat, to sleep, to maintain health and life--and that, in itself, is an accomplishment.

Stack on top of that the fact that God has asked us to live meaningful lives...to take care of people, to follow the eight million commands that he has given us in the bible, and to somehow decipher the individual plans that he has uniquely given for us.

This is a lot of work!...Sometimes it all seems like too much. There is absolutely no way to handle everything that life places on our daily To Do Lists.

The weight of all of this, and the fear that we will completely fail continually eats at us and leaves us feeling completely overwhelmed, until we remember on thing...

God fights for us!

In these chapters, God makes two things very clear...

1) He is on Israel's side--Over and over again, God reminds Israel of this...he makes it clear that he is absolutely fighting for them and not for their enemies.

2) God has all of the resources in heaven and on earth...and and he can even bend the laws of nature if he wants to!

In chapter 10, God literally stops the sun (Or the rotation of the earth) so that Israel will have time to defeat an enemy (he also throws hail stones at the same enemy--but that is not talked about as often)

We often forget that there is nothing that can stand in the way of our God--he can do anything that he wants--and he wants our best. He wants us to win the battles that he sends us into--and yes, he can help us in ways that we cannot even imagine.

Once again--God is the greatest power in the universe and he is on your side!

Joshua 5--Battles

Back on the horse!
Alrighty, well...I began this year (2010) with the well-intentioned new year's resolution of writing a devotional blog every single day. This went very well until a fateful day in February when a can of cream soda became acquainted with my keyboard...this broke the habit-and therefore the resolution failed!
For 2011, I want to try again, because I felt that I learned more about the Bible during the first part if last year than the entire rest of it put together! I really do want to make this happen again, especially because I am getting the impression that 2011 is going to be a very scary year for me-the kind of year where God will be teaching me a lot!

Ok...Here's what I found tonight...

Within these two chapters, there are two battles...

Battle Number One (we will call this the "What The Heck?" initiative)
This would be the battle of Jericho. This fight involves all of Israel(This includes everyone from your four year old cousin to your grandma) walking around a gigantic city over and over again (13 times total) and then shouting at the top of their lungs...and expecting something incredible to happen.
Preparation for this battle included...eating ritualistic food, and circumcising all of the men. I wouldn't claim to know this, but I am guessing that neither of those are currently practiced by any successful army in the world.

Every aspect of this battle seems insane!

Battle Number Two: This battle was logical. Israel was a big army surprise attacking a small one...this was textbook-simple. There should not have been anything to worry about here.

Shocker: The "What the Heck?" Initiative was successful and the textbook simple one was a complete failure.

There are lots of details and reasons for this, but the simple reasoning is that the insane plan was written by God for Israel, and the other was doomed by the fact that someone in Israel was not right with God.

With God all things are possible, apart from him we can do nothing!

Right now, most of my friends and I are looking forward to a 2011 that is as full of questions as answers. Our lives will be filled with transition and change...and I know that I, for one, have been obsessed with being prepared for everything that could be coming up--I want to be ready for whatever battles I face!

This passage reminds me, that no amount of preparation means anything apart from the blessing of God. I can be completely prepared for my part and fall flat on my face without the blessing of God. With his blessing, Nothing in the world can stand against me!