Joshua

The summer most definitely got away with me this year.  While I've managed to keep up to date with my reading (getting ahead some days, falling short others!), I've not been diligent about keeping this blog up to date.  The chronological Bible I'm reading this year has a somewhat different "schedule" than I followed last year.  I haven't looked in depth to see the differences, but assume (hope!) that most chronological readings are fairly similar - obviously Adam and Eve come before Moses comes before the Kings comes before Jesus.  In any event, I have just finished reading the book of Joshua.  Joshua is one of the Biblical characters that even many non-Christians know (ever sing "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho"?).  They may not know the details of his marches around Jericho or of the fact that only he and Caleb of his generation were permitted to enter the Promised Land, but there is at least some familiarity.  In any event, here is some information about Joshua that you may or may not recall from any reading or lessons you may have had in the past:

• After Moses' death, Joshua was named the leader of the Israelites
• Joshua is the man who allocated the land to the various tribes (see  http://alifelongjourneyadayatatime.blogspot.com/2012/01/12-tribes-of-israel-locations-in-modern.html for a past posting about these)
• The meaning of Joshua is "Yahweh is salvation".  Joshua is translated in Greek as the same name as "Jesus" and is commonly seen as a type of Christ
• The waters of the Jordan River parted for Joshua during the battle for Canaan - reminding the Israelites of the waters parting in the Red Sea for Moses
• God's instructions for conquering Jericho were for the army to march around the city for six days.  On the seventh day they marched seven times, shouted, and the walls fell down allowing them to swarm in
• Key lessons from Joshua's life include the importance of patience, obedience, and dependence on God
• Joshua was the son of Nun from the tribe of Ephraim.  He was born as a slave in Egypt

I'll be moving into Judges and with school starting again, I hope to be more regular in posting.  To finish today's post, why not give a listen to Mahalia Jackson singing "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQo6_GVujHk

here we go again!

So I've started reading through the Bible again in a chronological fashion at the beginning of June.  This particular Bible has a slightly different "schedule" than that our church followed last year, although, as makes sense, Genesis comes first.  As of the 15th of the month, Genesis is completed and we're moving on to Exodus.  The particular Bible I'm using includes information about what else was occurring in the world (based on archeological and other evidence).  I admit that I've never really considered history outside the Bible itself during my readings of it, so this is somewhat interesting.  Our Ladies' Study of Joshua has included some historical information, and I'm thankful for the broadening of my personal thinking.

The book of Genesis contains many of the more widely known history of the Jews.  Even people who never set foot in a church or temple know many of these, although many people do not (unfortunately) consider them to be fact.  Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his sons are all featured prominently.  And who could forget the creation of the world and all it contains?

As for one of my personal favorite images from Genesis, look to 9:8-17.  Until 2 years ago I had missed the symbolism of the rainbow.  Now every time I see one I am reminded of God's covenant with Noah -- never again will there be world-wide flooding and destruction of the earth.  God is still a judging and righteous God, but we are confident we will never again be subjected to world-wide flooding.

Finally, a mind-picture that stuck with me from our VBS.  The children each took a frowny-faced sticker and mentally assigned one of their own sins onto it (lying to mom, failing to do a chore, speaking meanly to a sister/brother).  They then were instructed to place the sticker onto 2 of the three paper crosses attached to the walls.  The central cross represented that on which Jesus was placed, the other two of the 2 thieves with whom He was crucified.  As we know, Jesus was himself without sin (the frowny-faced free cross).  And during the crucifixion he was mocked not only by the crowds but also by one of the thieves.  The other thief, recognized that while he himself "deserved" his punishment that Jesus did not.  In Luke 23:40-43 we read the following -- "Bu the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.' The he said to Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.' And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.'"  To help the children visualize Jesus taking on the sins of the world, the frowny-faces from one of the thieves' crosses were moved to Jesus' -- just as the repentant thief who recognized Jesus' position, when we recognize Him for who He is, all our sin is forgiven.

Enjoy and continue in your reading.  Every time we delve into God's word we are rewarded.

DONE!!!!!

If you started reading the Bible chronologically on June 1, 2011, theoretically you finished it yesterday, May 31, 2012.  If you haven't quite gotten there, keep on with it.  If you haven't started, why not today?

I bought myself a new Bible to read thru this year and I'm excited about it.  I ordered it off Amazon and it's a Chronological Study Bible.  It includes "transition" paragraphs from day to day providing some historical context (what else was going on in the world) as well as other information, much as any other study Bible provides.  I've read thru the introduction and look forward to beginning today (I tend to do my reading in the evening, right after dinner).

I'll be keeping up with this blog page (accessible from gcbcrr.org) but, unless you want them, I'll stop with the regular e-mails.  You can follow the blog and receive notifications when there's an update.  If you have any questions for me, please let me know!  In any event, keep your eye and mind in His word.

Revelation

For me, Revelation is definitely the most challenging book in the entire Bible and I believe I'm not alone in this.  The events described therein haven't happened yet and, therefore, are subject to innumerable interpretations by both renowned scholars and "hacks" alike.  I'm also challenged by the various descriptions of the "characters" in this book.  If you google "revelation images" and look at the images that are returned, I think you'll be overwhelmed as I am.  Nonetheless, I'm keeping up with completing this reading, praying that someday it'll all be clear to me.

In the meanwhile, here's some historic context to this book:

• the author of the book is the apostle John who is also credited with the gospel bearing his name and three of the epistles
• it is agreed that this is not only the final book in the Bible but also the final book written
• Revelation portrays the "final" end to God's plan
• John "simply" reports all that is revealed to him
• the number seven is prevalent in the book -- seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven scrolls, seven thunders, etc.   Seven is considered to represent fullness or completion (think way back to Genesis and how God created the world in seven days)

Whether you are passionate about prophecy or extremely hesitant and challenged by it (as I am!), I trust you will at least read through it.  God works in many ways and I hope that each time I read through Revelation I begin to learn and hopefully understand more.

Home Stretch!

For those of us who started reading through the Bible chronologically last June, we're in the home stretch!  Just one more month.  We're into what is perhaps more familiar to you than some of the Old Testament books -- Paul's Epistles.  What I'm finding interesting this time around in reading them is that the problems of the "old" church are so similar to the problems we see in today's church -- different denominations convinced they're doctrine is the "right" one, churches competing for membership, and, unfortunately, even sometimes fighting within a single church building.  It's discouraging to think that as simple as Jesus' command to "love your neighbor" that we're not so good at it.  I am thankful for the promises in the Bible which give me hope for the future -- either here on earth or home in heaven.

I have read through the entire Bible before, Genesis through Revelation.  This is the first time I've read it chronologically according to the "schedule" that was distributed in our church.  I'm planning to read through it again, starting anew in June.  Each time I read the book, something new is made clear to me.  So I'm looking forward another year!

Acts

We're quickly moving through the New Testament, into Acts.  This book is accepted to be authored by Luke (of the Gospel of Luke) and details the earliest history of the church.  Imagine if you will, a church made of of (first) predominately former Jews, many of whom continued observing the laws and customs of that group.  Add into this the newly "christianized" gentiles who were outside the "law" and without a history of its customs.  All led by the 12 original disciples (Judas having been replaced by Matthias early in the book) and then adding other leaders including perhaps the most "famous" one for today's Christians, Paul.  Must have been a bit similar to today's denominational "differences" that often surface when we get so focused on being "right" that we forget that most important command -- love your neighbor as yourself.  Sounds simple in theory, but then as today, it's much more difficult in practice (at least for me!).
So here's some interesting facts/information about Acts (written perhaps around 60AD):
From an historical standpoint, Acts provides us a wonderful description of the early church.  Without it there'd be less of a starting point to understand how it developed.  It also allows the "leaders" to be human -- they have questions, they sin, they are not perfect -- they are just as we are.
A good deal of the book details Paul's ministry -- we see this in our chronological reading in that we switch to/from Paul's epistles to/from Acts.  However, we note that the author did not seem to have access to the letters themselves -- no where are they quoted within Acts.  In the days before copy machines, this makes sense!
Another aspect that I find particularly comforting is the assurance within the book that Jesus came for both Jew and Gentile.  Yes, the Jews are God's chosen people, but our God is so loving that he sent his son for the non-Jew as well.
The Holy Spirit is also a primary focus of the book -- it resides within the believer.  It is a comfort to me to know that the Holy Spirit is with me always both for comfort and as a reminder when I am tempted to fall to sinfulness.
In any event, I hope you continue to journey through the Bible and that what little information I can share will help in a small way!

It's All Coming Together

I've been awfully quiet for the past little bit, since offering some information on the authors of the 4 Gospels. This part of the Bible reading has been particularly humbling to me and I've shied away from sharing my reflections with you.  In addition to this reading, my Wednesday Bible study group is studying Matthew this year in depth, and thus Matthew will be the main focus of this installment.  As one of the books we are currently reading it's helping me with any of my naive interpretations of the other 3.  Be that as it may, here goes nothing.
What I'm finding personally difficult is the chastising I'm feeling along with the overwhelming love of God.  Reading Jesus's teachings to the crowds and the disciples is both loving and chastising to me at the same time.  The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) includes both of these traits, at least for me.  Jesus starts with the beatitudes -- blessed are the meek, blessed are the humble, etc.  While I am no where near able to claim that I am overwhelmingly meek or humble, at times I do see myself this way.  Further on in this sermon Jesus starts talking about murder.  I've never physically murdered a person, nor have I truly felt that I even wanted to murder anyone.  But I'm certainly convicted of being anger and holding grudges which Jesus equates with murder.  He continues to talk about adultery and divorce.  Guilty.  In Matthew 6 Jesus continues with boasting of our righteousness.  Making a big deal out of fasting or tithing or giving thanks before a meal when I can simply accept that God knows my actions and I should not care what the world sees/thinks of me.  Jesus continues with talking about our earthly "treasures" and their worthlessness in terms of eternity.  I admit that I like nice "stuff" -- I want to have it, I'll save money to buy it, or I'll love getting it as a gift.  And I also love having things that were my grandparents' at one time -- again, it's just "stuff" but I cherish it.  We live in an area where hurricane evacuations are relatively common -- what do you take with you?  When Katrina hit, I brought my jewelry box.  More "stuff".  In Matthew 7 Jesus continues to talk about judging others.  I know I do this and I believe it's endemic in our culture -- we compare ourselves to others -- is his salary higher than mine?  is her dress nicer?  are their children better/worse behaved than mine.  We so want to "fit in" when our model, Jesus, was one who so drastically "stuck out" during his time of ministry.  Jumping ahead to Matthew 23 Jesus goes full out on the Pharisees.  He talks about hypocrisy -- I know that I am often guilty of this -- I teach my children what they should do but often don't follow that advice myself.  I succumb to gossip even though in my mind I don't like it.  I rationalize these behaviors -- I'm only spreading "good" news, she wanted me to share her story, whatever.  So I am justly convicted of my sin.
But I am so thankful for forgiveness!  It is not easy to follow Jesus, despite the "my yoke is easy and my burden is light" Jesus teaches in 11:30.  And he challenges the Pharisess (and my!) self-righteousness.  One of the homework assignments for our Saturday Ladies' Bible Study asked a question that brought this home to me.  This study is on Daniel, but I find that the lesson here was similar to that of the ones in Matthew (and the other gospels).  The question was around the topic of have you (the student) ever found yourself turning something "good" into something "bad" -- such as how the Pharisees would fast (a "good" thing) but "parade" around the villages as though they were suffering so woefully, anticipating attention from others (the "bad" part).  Like the Pharisees, I become "self-righteous" in my own behavior -- in particular, for me, it's self-discipline.  Our "world" sees this as a good trait and, as with many things, I take it to the extreme.  Just ask my family!  And I often wonder why others don't just live this way -- for me it's easier and simpler this way and gives me comfort.  Yet I know I become prideful and selfish within this trait.  Sigh.  It truly is a lifelong journey, one day at a time, no?  Let's be thankful that we are able to come to God, repent of our sin, and be forgiven.