Well first things first, England 4 Bulgaria 0 :o) I was really impressed with the way we played. The side seemed hungry and disciplined for the first time in years and I can only think that John "most over rated player in the world" Terry being absent from the starting line up helped that! James Milner still doesn't deserve a starting place and I would think we should be putting our faith in Lennon and Walcott with Johnson being an impact sub.
And that's all the football talk out of the way. Panic over Craig ;o)
On to business,
Today’s readings:
Genesis 7:1-9:17
Matthew 4:1-22
Proverbs 1:1-7
So today we wrap up Noah, see Jesus start his ministry and begin the book of Proverbs. I've not been doing much today beyond sleeping in (it's allowed on the weekend!) and planning Connect 2 for tomorrow. Oh and I've also been planning out my next role play campaign but I'm only saying that to make up to Craig for talking about football! It's a challenging session that I've got for tomorrow, revolving around seeig the truth that is in God's word. Now I've been talking a lot so far about concentrating on what the truth really means when it comes to the text and really that's quite a tricky idea. What do I mean by truth? Is it as simple as believing everything that is written on face value? Is there a hidden meaning that comes to you if you meditate and pray on the text enough? Is it something that will only be revealed if God deems you worthy?
I think today's passages go a long way in showing us how God's word, the Bible, can be seen as truth and be believed as truth. Genesis finishes off Noah's story as God keeps Noah safe over the six months or so that he was at sea. On landing Noah's first thought is to thank God for his mercy and love in chapter 8 verse 20. Noah was chosen to be saved because he was worthy among all men. Now nowhere does it tell us of the things Noah did before he built his ark. So why should we believe he was worthy? What qualities does he exhibit that show his worth in the eyes of God? Well Noah trusts God, though I can't imagine that's too hard when you hear the booming voice from heaven! But more than that I think. Noah doesn't just trust God will look after him but he goes out of his way to follow God's word to the letter. His ark is exactly the right size, he takes the right amount of animals; even after God tells him to get 2's and then later extras of some of them, he stays in the ark until he's told to get out and straight away he thanks God. Noah was picked because he realised that the truth, the true way of living, was living according to God's words.
Then we have Jesus being tempted. Now Jesus is obviously a slightly impressive human being but it's important to remember that He was a human being and especially at this point as He hadn't even started His ministry yet nor had He performed any miracles. To me, Jesus was at His most vulnerable and, being human, was fully capable of sinning. Why else would Satan choose this moment to test him. But how does Jesus overcome these tests? Is it because He's God and has a bucket load of wisdom and grace? Or is it because He's fully human and so realises that He must rely on God's word. Jesus counters Satan's temptations, one of which involves using scripture in a non truthful way, with the truth of God's word.
And then Proverbs. We only get one proverb in this section in verse 7 but it's a cracking one. The Message translation is "Start with God - the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning." Why are we bothering to read the Bible this year? To prove we can do it? Maybe but also because we want to understand God more. We desire knowledge. And knowledge comes not from Wikipedia but from respecting God and his truth. Relying on the scripture and applying it to our lives.
So if you are doing this reading with me I think today's message is simple. There's a reason we're doing this and it's a fantastic one. By understanding and studying scripture we can be better equipped to live the life that God wants for us. To acheive our highest potential and avoid the wrong path we have to make sure we submerge ourselves in the Bible :o)
And that's your lot. Any questions, criticisms or comments are welcome!
Jon
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