Yikes. Late again. I think weekends are harder to write on because other people are free! Also today's been slightly God overload and so I've not been as quick to reach for my Bible. Bad Jon? Maybe... but I do think it shows that this project is helping me certainly, and maybe you, to realise the power God's word has in effecting us. On to business then,
Today’s readings:
Genesis 25:1-26:35
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2025-26&version=MSG
Matthew 10:1-31
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2010:1-31&version=MSG
Proverbs 1:20-33
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%201:20-33&version=MSG
Genesis today gets really interesting with Issac and Rebekah having two sons, Esau and Jacob. I'm mildly bemused that the Soul Survivor blog focused on all the names that were listed and I'll echo what they said. The lists are there and there are LOTS more to come (seriously, I'm dreading having to blog about Numbers...) and they are very dry and hard to get excited about. But it's important to see that God is present in all generations and that it's not just the big important Bible people who are remembered by God but every descendent and all of the off shoots of their family.
So we get onto the twins. Firstly, I think it's mildly cheeky of Issac to be praying at the age of 60 for God to give him children because his wife is barren. Yeah, Issac. It's Rebekah that's only going to be having problem conceiving! But there's a little lesson here about not being proud before God and just accepting that He knows us and our strengths and weaknesses, no matter how much we try and hide them.
Now I always liked Jacob and Esau's story because the younger brother, albeit younger by a few seconds, won out in the end. And being a little brother myself I was most pleased by this outcome! But look at the text more closely. God doesn't actually say to Rebekah which son will be the dominant one, just that one will be. Esau could easily have been the father of the Jewish nation instead of Jacob but he took his eye of the ball. We've already read how Jesus spoke to people and told them not to worry about food and shelter as God will always provide in one way or another. And here's Esau, who's had a hard day at work, surrendering his entire inheritance for a bit of food. I mean that's like agreeing to let your brother or sister have whatever they want from your room, all of your pocket money, any present our parents might get you and all because they made you a can of soup. Seriously! The Message even says that it's a lentil soup. LENTILS?! Esau clearly didn't take his brithright seriously. He just assumed that it would always be his because that's the way it had been and later on he goes mental when he realises what he's lost. We'll come to that another day though
Then we have Issac proving the old saying that the apple never falls far from the tree. He goes to see Abimelech and does he be honest about who his wife is? Of course not... She's his sister. Now there are two lessons here. Number one, don't lie about who your wife is! If you're going out with someone and you're too shy or ashamed to admit it then you're disrespecting them and God's love of them. Number two, don't be doing the smoochies too much in public. Issac gets spotted because he's having a fun cuddle with Rebekah in the view of Abimelech. Naughty man! We then finish of today's reading in Genesis with a long description of how Issac made a fair bit of wealth thanks to God's blessings, how he founded an awful lot of wells which became towns and how Esau married two women who, cliffhanger alert, are going to be thorny problems for his parents apparently.
Now I will say one thing because I said I wasn't going to ignore the Biblical inconsistencies that crop up and we have one here. The well of Beersheba has been mentioned before in Genesis with it getting its name from a deal Abraham made there. And yet here it appears to be Issac giving it it's name. Confusing stuff. I think that this is a case of the Bible being a book that is culturally important to the people it was written for and letting them know that the places they live in have a history that dates way way back. Warrington is called that because we've had a ton of battles fought here but there is a bit of debate about when it first received the name. I think another possiblity is that Abraham made the well and then as our reading today says, the Philistines filled it in (well with a name like that what do you expect?) and then Issac re-established the well and the name. Thoughts?
Into the New Testament and we see Jesus calling his twelve disciples. Now I believe quite strongly that there weren't the only guys that Jesus hung around with. They arrive as an immediate answer to prayer, which is epic, and Jesus is very quick to equip them with instructions on how to go and minister to people. Now I know that Jesus spent a lot of time with the disciples but I believe that they must have also been out spreading His truth even while He was alive and He has told them to do that right here! As such I don't think that any of us should feel that Jesus picks favourites or only wants certain people to be the best Christians.
Jesus goes on though to really outline how we should be carrying out mission work. This stuff is really important for you to highlight in your Bible as it's the attitudes and motives that you should be carrying with you when you talk about Jesus. Pretty much everything from verse 5 to verse 23 is how we need to be when we look towards reaching out to our community. I'd also like to point out verse 5 specifically. Now I know Emily and Sophie went abroard on missions this year and I think that's fantastic. Does that contradict this verse? I don't think so. In the Message Jesus says, "Don't begin by travelling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers." There are two important phrases here. Firstly begin. I believe that if you feel God is calling you to preach His gospel and tell other's about His love then that's fantastic but you have to get some experience locally so that you can be strong enough in Jesus to go somewhere exotic and preach. Secondly, convert unbelievers. Spreading the gospel is the most important commission we have but most foreign charity trips are about aid work and spreading God's love practically. It can be very dangerous to go and "convert" people in far off lands and then never see them again. There are all sorts of problems with so called Christian churches in Africa that have been tainted by Satan because they have been ignored by the very people who first introduced Jesus to them. If you're going to commit to telling people about Jesus then you have to be ready to support that person and help them grow. And we finish with a fantastic little bit about how God values each of us immensely. Always nice to hear!
That was a big old paragraph! More proverbs to finish. Well not really proverbs yet, we're still in the first chapter and Solomon is setting out how this book should be used. This collection of verses is talking about wisdom and how people can ignore it and think they know best. Proverbs is a fantastic book full of God's wisdom and I think it's important that we look at it remembering that these are God inspired bits of wisdom and not just old wives' tales. Solomon talks about how people were complacent and careless and how they forgot to be in awe and in fear of the power and majesty of God and that can be true of us. We like the loving, caring God and that's fantastic. But we should also remember that we're only saved thanks to His grace and we ought to be daily thankful for such a massive privilege.
That's your lot. I've put some links to the passages for today and will do my best to keep doing that in case any of you don't have your Bible handy. I'll be putting them in the Message translation because that's how I like to read it but you can use to drop down menu to pick another one. I'd recommend either the NIV, which is the Soul Survivor Bible, the NRSV, which is the translation most schools study or the Youth Bible because it's youth innit.
Also, please do feel free to comment even if it's just a hello! I've had three really nice bit of feedback today and they've really helped me keep going knowing that the hit counter isn't lying and that real people, not just Google bots, are looking at this. If you want to comment and don't have a blogspot account then choose the url option and just put your name, leave the url box blank and type me things! Questions, criticisms and comments welcome as always
Jon
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