Day 68 - Everybody Hurts

Ok I was going to catch up today but work has been a mission to get to and from today so we'll do it tomorrow as I'll have the afternoon free. Well, some of it. But if you prayed for me today thank you because praise the Lord I managed to find work and it doesn't suck even though there were many hurdles that Satan threw in my way. Hurrah Jesus! Onto business then,

Today’s readings

Leviticus:19:1-20:27
Mark 14:43-72
Proverbs 6:30-35


So our first chapter is lots of don'ts. But what I like about them is the peppering of "I am your God". It's like God realises how hearing all these don'ts is going to get us down and so He keeps pointing with a why and the why is because we get God instead. Fantastic news! Oh and the sideburns and beard? That's contextual again. It's so that you don't look like some of the crazy cults that were running around at the time. All of these laws in fact are to either protect His people physically or to give them an identity and a sense of belonging that would protect them from other, unholy influences.

The next chapter is more don't but mostly to do with sex again. I think it's interesting to focus not on the punishments of death but instead on how God highlights the victims of the sin. We need to remember that our sin doesn't just upset God but creates victims of other people. And again at the end of the chapter God points out that these laws are designed to make His people seperate from what is around them. We need to realise that we are all special but that our relationship with God means that we are seperate and should be proud to be different from society, not because of laws that we follow but because of love and justice that we spread.

Into the New Testament we flop and first and foremost how epic is verse 51 and 52? Most Biblical scholars believe that this is Mark writing himself a small cameo into the Bible. I love that this has been left in though because the Bible should be enjoyed and I believe that it is a tool to see the whole personality of God, including His sense of humour. That it was left in the middle of such a serious passage shows to me that God wants humanity to always have some joy in their hearts, regardless of how serious a situation gets. Or maybe I'm misreading it entirely. Thoughts?

Then we have Jesus' trial and it's easy to think of Him being all serene and aloof but I'd imagine He was scared at what was to come and yet still measured in His tone and in the truth that He spoke. It's incredible the suffering that He knew awaited Him and yet He chose to go through it for us. There are times that settles on me and just pops my brain. Ridiculous levels of love that I just don't deserve. Wow...

Finally a bit of Proverbs and apologies for Bible Gateway not splitting up the verses properly again. It starts from "Hunger". Again we're getting told not to do things but again we're seeing the why is in the victims that come from the sin. We need to remember that our actions do have consequences. Jesus' arrest saw an awful lot of people acting and the consequences from that were huge. Victims in the shape of Jesus, the guard and even Judas suffering from the guilt of betrayal. But living for God has amazing consequences as Jesus' sacrifice shows and while we're not going to be redeeming humanity any time soon, our choices and consequences can either make victims or do wonderful things!

And that's your lot for today. Yesterday's song is here. Sing along but make sure you've got one hand over your ear! Questions, criticisms and comments welcome as always,

Jon
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