Alright, so I haven't been faithful with blogging as I have with reading...which is not what I was hoping for...but today I was reading Matthew Ch. 10, and decided to delve deeper into it...and realized some interesting things.
First, Bug asked me if Jesus gave the powers to heal and drive out demons and perform miracles to Judas Iscariot. The answer, of course, is yes. Judas didn't join Jesus as a spy, but as a brother; he wasn't planning on betraying him to the Religious leaders from the get-go. No, sin overtook him over time; he may have been skimming off the top of Jesus' funds, and he may have thought that he was getting into the inner circle of the new king for his own benefit, but he was still a student of the master. He loved Jesus and hung on his words for a while, most likely. If that wasn't the case, his betrayal would not be so heinous. Now, it's true that, most likely, from the time Jesus called him, Jesus knew Judas would betray him over...but I doubt Judas did.
Second, when Jesus gives the authority to the Twelve, he doesn't give them, or us, a rosy picture of what's going to happen. He makes it very clear that being a disciple of Christ is going to piss off the people around you. He even says, "...and you will be hated by all for my name's sake." This is after he talks about families betraying one another, hating one another, and warring against one another. He made it clear that to be part of the family of Christ, one would often have to forsake his own family.
Third, If one was going to be a disciple of Christ, he would have to learn to behave impeccably. Jesus called his disciples to be as shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. Why? Doesn't grace cover all sins? Of course. The disciples were not going to be saved by Righteous acts. They were called to make other disciples, and so are we. There are a great number of enemies to the message of Christ, who would blaspheme God and defame his son. If we look like fools, look like the wicked, and give the enemies ammunition with which to slander us and legitimize their persecution of Christ, are we being good messengers? Who will come? True, the Lord uses the foolish things of the World to shame the wise...but if we act according to the wisdom of the world, then we are disobedient...and I know I've been disobedient many times. Lord, forgive me.
Well, that's all for now...if you're interested in more, look up, "Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible." It's in the public domain...and check out Matthew Ch. 10. Or you can read the commentaries on the chapter at www.biblegateway.com.
Later.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
New Idea
So...Bug and I are reading through the four gospels every night. We figure if looking at Jesus is how we're supposed to learn how to be a good husband and a good wife, respectively of course, we might as well dive right in...and, with her blessing, I figured I'd blog about what we read.
The Gospel's are divided by header...so I figured I'd post something I've learned, or that I know to be important, about each header...so without further ado...
The GOSPEL according to Matthew
Overview: Matthew was a Jewish Tax Collector. His basic audience were the Jews, the people who have heard of the coming messiah over and over since they were born. His goal was to show, constantly, how Jesus fulfilled every prophecy concerning the messiah and all righteousness of the law, both spiritual and ritual, proving him to be the long awaited messiah.
Chapter 1: 1-17
This is the genealogy of Jesus, starting with Abraham, the father of the Nation of Israel, proving that, by his father's side, Jesus descended from the Patriarchs, through the Tribe of Judah, through the line of King David, which was not disrupted by the deportation to Babylon.
Odd but Cool (and important) fact: Jesus' blood line was filled with sin. We've got incest (Judah and his daughter, Tamar), Gentile Prostitutes (Rahab from Jericho). and Infidelity and Murder (King David tapping Bathsheba and having her husband killed). We've also got great redemption (Ruth the Moabitess whose husband died and who was redeemed by Boaz)
Chapter 1:18-25
Short version of Jesus' birth. No story of how Mary was met by an angel...only Joseph being told that his wife's pregnancy was of God. Notice that he did not want to shame her, so he wasn't going to tout in the street that she was pregnant. He was going to be kind to her in their "divorce." The first prophecy mentioned in the Gospels is right here: Isaiah 7:14...only getting references...go read them though. Don't take my word for it...that would be stupid.
Chapter 2:1-12
The visit of the Magi is first told here. They go to Jerusalem, the capital of Judea, and ask Herod, the king, where the newborn king is? Sounds logical, right? Ask the current king where the guy who's going to replace him is...really smart, guys. Anywho, instead of being excited, all of Jerusalem was troubled...it troubled them that the Christ was born...the Messiah they were waiting for...and they're troubled...morons. Anywho, they consult the scriptures and find that he was to be born in Bethlehem, the town of David's birth. Herod sends them to find him and come back, under the guise of wanting to worship him. However, God protects his son and, after their great gifts (Gold to crown the king, Frankincense for the priestly duties, and Myrrh to signify his suffering), they split a different way.
Chapter 2:13-15
God gives Joseph another dream, telling him to take his family to Egypt because Herod's looking to destroy Jesus. Here's another prophecy: Hosea 11:1...go read it.
Chapter 2:16-18
Herod goes apeshit, killing all boys two-years-old and younger. He doesn't want to risk losing his power...too bad he's too late...well, too good for us. Anywho, another prophecy fulfilled: Jeremiah 31:15 and Genesis 42 (and Lamentations 5:7)
Chapter 2:19-23
Herod dies, God tells Joseph he can go back. However, Herod's son is reigning in his place, so Joseph moves to the town of Nazareth in Galilee...and that fulfills another prophecy: "He shall be called a Nazarene"...no list of cross reference in Bible Gateway. Maybe my dad will help me out on that one.
Chapter 3:1-12
Jesus' cousin, John aka John the Baptist, had a ministry too...his was to prepare the way for Jesus. I'm sure you've all heard the, "Prepare the way of the Lord," speech. John looked like a nutcase...he lived in the desert, he wore camel fur and ate bugs dipped in honey. However, he knew that repentance and turning from sin was necessary for salvation, claiming the promise of the messiah through the seed of Eve and the people of Israel and the line of David...repent and claim God's promises. Anywho, here's another prophecy: Isaiah 40:3...the voice in the desert.
Cool Fact: We hear a lot about Jesus ripping the Pharisees and Scribes new butt holes because they present a fake righteous front, but inside are unrepentant, believing they earn their way into God's favor by ritual. However, this time, it's John the Baptist...go read how John smacks them up. Also, it's very convicting to anyone who is a Christian and believes that their actions play a part in their righteousness...we're all hypocrites, we who call ourselves Christians. We are weak, only empowered to obey by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when we do good, we try and convince others to do good, or we act in a right way, especially around those that see our sin...we look like hypocrites.
Chapter 3:13-17
Jesus comes to John for a baptism. John says that Jesus should baptize him, because John is unworthy, but Jesus says that John must baptize him so that all righteousness should be fulfilled. This is because priests needed to be sprinkled with water in order to become priests (not immersed, as many would say, but baptized by sprinkling in order to allow their words to represent the people of Israel...so the word baptize in the Biblical sense means, in essence, to transmute, such as when the Israelites were transmuted to Moses so that he would speak for them, and the church is transmuted into Christ, so his sacrifice is good for us...or that's the view of Jay Adams (Author: The Meaning and Mode of Baptism...not a bad booklet...thanks, Dad.)). Anywho, when Jesus was baptized, he "came up out of the water", (some say when John drew him out...others say when he walked out...or still others when God lifted him above the water into floaty-airy-man status). The people who were there saw the Holy Spirit descend on Christ like a dove and hear God's voice saying, "This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased." That's a ringing endorsement of who Jesus' is by God.
Now, I'm going to stop here for now, and hopefully re-read chapter 4 and the start of Chapter 5 with Bug tonight...but if not, I'll blog about them and the chapters we read tomorrow.
Now onto some not-so-serious talk: The Phillies dropped a game to the Pirates and 2 to the Red Sox...including two losses from Roy Halliday. Now, I can't expect Doc to be perfect, but something's up...the Phillies aren't giving him Run Support...and this last outing was just...icky...yes, I said icky. It was sad indeed. C'mon, boys...you're going to Citi Field to face the Metrosexuals...win this series...be the team you are.
On a side note...the Rays are 20 games over .500...wow.
The Gospel's are divided by header...so I figured I'd post something I've learned, or that I know to be important, about each header...so without further ado...
The GOSPEL according to Matthew
Overview: Matthew was a Jewish Tax Collector. His basic audience were the Jews, the people who have heard of the coming messiah over and over since they were born. His goal was to show, constantly, how Jesus fulfilled every prophecy concerning the messiah and all righteousness of the law, both spiritual and ritual, proving him to be the long awaited messiah.
Chapter 1: 1-17
This is the genealogy of Jesus, starting with Abraham, the father of the Nation of Israel, proving that, by his father's side, Jesus descended from the Patriarchs, through the Tribe of Judah, through the line of King David, which was not disrupted by the deportation to Babylon.
Odd but Cool (and important) fact: Jesus' blood line was filled with sin. We've got incest (Judah and his daughter, Tamar), Gentile Prostitutes (Rahab from Jericho). and Infidelity and Murder (King David tapping Bathsheba and having her husband killed). We've also got great redemption (Ruth the Moabitess whose husband died and who was redeemed by Boaz)
Chapter 1:18-25
Short version of Jesus' birth. No story of how Mary was met by an angel...only Joseph being told that his wife's pregnancy was of God. Notice that he did not want to shame her, so he wasn't going to tout in the street that she was pregnant. He was going to be kind to her in their "divorce." The first prophecy mentioned in the Gospels is right here: Isaiah 7:14...only getting references...go read them though. Don't take my word for it...that would be stupid.
Chapter 2:1-12
The visit of the Magi is first told here. They go to Jerusalem, the capital of Judea, and ask Herod, the king, where the newborn king is? Sounds logical, right? Ask the current king where the guy who's going to replace him is...really smart, guys. Anywho, instead of being excited, all of Jerusalem was troubled...it troubled them that the Christ was born...the Messiah they were waiting for...and they're troubled...morons. Anywho, they consult the scriptures and find that he was to be born in Bethlehem, the town of David's birth. Herod sends them to find him and come back, under the guise of wanting to worship him. However, God protects his son and, after their great gifts (Gold to crown the king, Frankincense for the priestly duties, and Myrrh to signify his suffering), they split a different way.
Chapter 2:13-15
God gives Joseph another dream, telling him to take his family to Egypt because Herod's looking to destroy Jesus. Here's another prophecy: Hosea 11:1...go read it.
Chapter 2:16-18
Herod goes apeshit, killing all boys two-years-old and younger. He doesn't want to risk losing his power...too bad he's too late...well, too good for us. Anywho, another prophecy fulfilled: Jeremiah 31:15 and Genesis 42 (and Lamentations 5:7)
Chapter 2:19-23
Herod dies, God tells Joseph he can go back. However, Herod's son is reigning in his place, so Joseph moves to the town of Nazareth in Galilee...and that fulfills another prophecy: "He shall be called a Nazarene"...no list of cross reference in Bible Gateway. Maybe my dad will help me out on that one.
Chapter 3:1-12
Jesus' cousin, John aka John the Baptist, had a ministry too...his was to prepare the way for Jesus. I'm sure you've all heard the, "Prepare the way of the Lord," speech. John looked like a nutcase...he lived in the desert, he wore camel fur and ate bugs dipped in honey. However, he knew that repentance and turning from sin was necessary for salvation, claiming the promise of the messiah through the seed of Eve and the people of Israel and the line of David...repent and claim God's promises. Anywho, here's another prophecy: Isaiah 40:3...the voice in the desert.
Cool Fact: We hear a lot about Jesus ripping the Pharisees and Scribes new butt holes because they present a fake righteous front, but inside are unrepentant, believing they earn their way into God's favor by ritual. However, this time, it's John the Baptist...go read how John smacks them up. Also, it's very convicting to anyone who is a Christian and believes that their actions play a part in their righteousness...we're all hypocrites, we who call ourselves Christians. We are weak, only empowered to obey by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when we do good, we try and convince others to do good, or we act in a right way, especially around those that see our sin...we look like hypocrites.
Chapter 3:13-17
Jesus comes to John for a baptism. John says that Jesus should baptize him, because John is unworthy, but Jesus says that John must baptize him so that all righteousness should be fulfilled. This is because priests needed to be sprinkled with water in order to become priests (not immersed, as many would say, but baptized by sprinkling in order to allow their words to represent the people of Israel...so the word baptize in the Biblical sense means, in essence, to transmute, such as when the Israelites were transmuted to Moses so that he would speak for them, and the church is transmuted into Christ, so his sacrifice is good for us...or that's the view of Jay Adams (Author: The Meaning and Mode of Baptism...not a bad booklet...thanks, Dad.)). Anywho, when Jesus was baptized, he "came up out of the water", (some say when John drew him out...others say when he walked out...or still others when God lifted him above the water into floaty-airy-man status). The people who were there saw the Holy Spirit descend on Christ like a dove and hear God's voice saying, "This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased." That's a ringing endorsement of who Jesus' is by God.
Now, I'm going to stop here for now, and hopefully re-read chapter 4 and the start of Chapter 5 with Bug tonight...but if not, I'll blog about them and the chapters we read tomorrow.
Now onto some not-so-serious talk: The Phillies dropped a game to the Pirates and 2 to the Red Sox...including two losses from Roy Halliday. Now, I can't expect Doc to be perfect, but something's up...the Phillies aren't giving him Run Support...and this last outing was just...icky...yes, I said icky. It was sad indeed. C'mon, boys...you're going to Citi Field to face the Metrosexuals...win this series...be the team you are.
On a side note...the Rays are 20 games over .500...wow.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Wrestling Night...
Ok...I DVRed both TNA and WWE Wrestling...and it's so sad to see TNA waste the talents of Nigel "Desmond Wolfe" McGuinness. I liked the Monster's Ball match with AJ and Abyss...and the triple-threat tag match wasn't too bad, even though the finish was Fat Fonzie and Nash coming in...and then Eric Young siding with them. Also, the knockouts match. Ink Inc. was pretty cool...but they need a mouthpiece...maybe it'll be Raven; that'd be cool, especially if they let Raven win the TNA Championship...or at least the Global Championship...I don't know. TNA could be a true meritocracy, as...well, it was either Justin LaBarr or Michael Madden who said it...but you all don't care.
I'm wondering if WWE will ever give Bryan Danielson...aka Daniel Bryan a victory...will they ever let him be a star. WWE took Chris Jericho and utilized him to become one of their top five greatest assets of the "aught era" (00-09). I hope Bryan can be half as successful...he's not as good on the mic as Jericho, but neither was Benoit. Granted, He's not as cut as Benoit...but his aggression is similar.
Anywho, the Phillies Lost 6-3 to the cardinals... Sad face.
More info on Amway later...gotta get my computer actually...charging...so lame...
I love you, Bug!
I'm wondering if WWE will ever give Bryan Danielson...aka Daniel Bryan a victory...will they ever let him be a star. WWE took Chris Jericho and utilized him to become one of their top five greatest assets of the "aught era" (00-09). I hope Bryan can be half as successful...he's not as good on the mic as Jericho, but neither was Benoit. Granted, He's not as cut as Benoit...but his aggression is similar.
Anywho, the Phillies Lost 6-3 to the cardinals... Sad face.
More info on Amway later...gotta get my computer actually...charging...so lame...
I love you, Bug!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Spiritually Refreshing
Wowzer...so friday night, my wife and I decide that she's going to Iowa for a funeral. We had some extra money, and we decided she would go. It was an easy sacrifice to make. After all, she is a wonderful woman, who I admire. I appreciate how much she speaks highly of me, both to my face and to others. She uses her words to lift me up, not to tear me down. She is a great cleaner, in spite of my slovenliness. So, we drove out to Iowa, all three of us, dropping me off at Moline Airport, and I flew back.
However, this morning, I slept through my alarm and two phone calls from my bug, and did not go to church. This worried her, since I am a sinner in need of almost constant spiritual refreshment. I wanted to go to Night Service, but I worked through. Therefore, I listened to my father's past two sermons, both of which are on marriage.
I encourage everyone who reads this to go to www.northshorecommunitychurch.com and click on the sermons tab. I've never had the best relationship with my father, but we've definitely rebuilt it in recent years. However, I will never denounce him as a preacher. God has given him an amazing gift, and God uses his words to display his gospel and teach Christians how to apply it.
The sermons were on Ephesians 5: 22-33; the passages are on marriage. I encourage couples to listen to them, first separately, and then together. I hope to apply these two sermons to my own marriage...probably listen to them both at least once a month...because they're so insightful. I plan to pray with my wife, daily, to have family devotions with her, and "pump up the tire," as he said. I want the pressure in the, "tire," of our marriage not to be constantly refilled, because there is a lot that's letting the tire go flat.
Thank you, dad.
Gonna watch the rest of the Phillies game now...rubber match between Phillies and Mets...set the DVR to record it so I can fast-forward through commercials...damn, I'm becoming my dad.
However, this morning, I slept through my alarm and two phone calls from my bug, and did not go to church. This worried her, since I am a sinner in need of almost constant spiritual refreshment. I wanted to go to Night Service, but I worked through. Therefore, I listened to my father's past two sermons, both of which are on marriage.
I encourage everyone who reads this to go to www.northshorecommunitychurch.com and click on the sermons tab. I've never had the best relationship with my father, but we've definitely rebuilt it in recent years. However, I will never denounce him as a preacher. God has given him an amazing gift, and God uses his words to display his gospel and teach Christians how to apply it.
The sermons were on Ephesians 5: 22-33; the passages are on marriage. I encourage couples to listen to them, first separately, and then together. I hope to apply these two sermons to my own marriage...probably listen to them both at least once a month...because they're so insightful. I plan to pray with my wife, daily, to have family devotions with her, and "pump up the tire," as he said. I want the pressure in the, "tire," of our marriage not to be constantly refilled, because there is a lot that's letting the tire go flat.
Thank you, dad.
Gonna watch the rest of the Phillies game now...rubber match between Phillies and Mets...set the DVR to record it so I can fast-forward through commercials...damn, I'm becoming my dad.
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