(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)
In Torah today we read about Balaam and his donkey. One lesson to be heard is that of expectations. We tend only to see what we expect to see. If we don’t entertain or anticipate the possibility of something unexpected – like, say, an angel of God sitting on the road – then we may never see it. It took a talking donkey to open Balaam’s eyes to the unexpected. What will it take to open our eyes?
Technorati Tags: One Year Bible
(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)
Just want to share this graphic from Andrew Jones: Proverbs 11:11.
Technorati Tags: One Year Bible
(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)
One generation is ending in Torah, and a new telling begins in the Gospels. Luke has always been up my alley. Something about his circumstances: embedded journalist, careful investigator. I don’t recall anything being said about how or when he came to believe; just that he accompanied Paul. I wonder if he believed at the start, or only after travelling and talking with those whom he met?
Technorati Tags: One Year Bible
(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)
Reading through our Torah passage I’m struck by this thought: The elaborate system of sacrifice and division was not what God wanted. It is a concession to sin, to our desire for a boundary between God and us. Why, then, do we model so much of what we do on this system?
Technorati Tags: One Year Bible
OK, this is just a bit of a rant, feel free to skip the post.
I think I’ve mentioned that Kerri & I are very interested in pursuing a home church. We experimented with it last spring, and It’s a big part of the reason we’re at Beavercreek Christian Church now. Dave and Ben, two of the staff, have expressed a desire to transition the life of the church from the Sunday morning thing and into “home groups.” In fact, the three of us are meeting for lunch next week to talk more about this very thing.
Now, some of you might be asking, “Why are you bothering with an existing, Sunday centered church? Why don’t you just start a house church?” Well, the biggest reason is this: There has been enough quarreling and squabbling and such in the church’s history. I don’t want to add that if at all possible. I’m pretty sure Jesus said some important stuff about unity.
So, being committed to a home church and being committed to BCC – in that order – we thought we’d start with the existing “home groups.” Perhaps one of them had enough of what we were looking for. About a month ago, the church had a pot luck “Meet The Home Groups” dinner. We signed up…
… and cancelled at the last minute due to sick kids.
It’s probably not a big loss. From the one group we visited and the second group hostess we spoke with, it seems pretty clear that we weren’t going to find what we were looking for or anything close to it.
So, we thought we’d investigate starting a group, something new within which we could plant all the seeds we wanted to see bloom. This weekend the church is having some new Home Group leader training. We signed up…
… and cancelled at the last minute due to sick kids and adults. (I have been the lone hold out, but I’m headed downhill as I type.)
Perhaps this is an omen (doubtful), perhaps this is a test of commitment (also doubtful). I’m still looking forward to lunch next week.
Until then: SICK SUCKS!
(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)
From our Gospel reading:
Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
I understand the Roman soldiers. I understand the crowds. I understand the chief priests and teachers of the law.
But even the criminals? That’s harsh.
++ Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth. ++
Technorati Tags: One Year Bible
Hey, readers!
Wanted to take a minute and invite you to check out my new blog:
It’s a part of the b5media network, and I’m really excited to be a part of it. They’re a great bunch of guys and gals, and I’m looking forward to working with them. Hopefully, I’ll be popping up on a few more b5 blogs in the not too distant future.
So, I hope you’ll pop over for a visit and leave me a comment. What the heck, go ahead and add me to your RSS feed while you’re at it 
Thanks…
(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)
As I’m reading this portion of today’s Torah:
Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared:
‘The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and
rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the
children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth
generation.’ In
accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just
as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now."The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth,
not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I
performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me
ten times- not one of
them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No
one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.
I hear echos of the New Covenant. As Moses, intercessor for the Israelites, prays, I hear Jesus on the Cross: "Forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing." And as God pronounces his judgement that this generation would wander the desert, I again hear Christ, this time declaring that some of those around him would not die before they saw the Kingdom of God.
I am also struck my Jesus’ silence. To all the lies and false testimony, Jesus gave no response, no answer, no defence, no rebuke, nothing. Perhaps this is insight into the Spirit’s silence in our own lives. If we are being dishonest within ourselves, the Spirit of Jesus remains silent. The Spirit will not respond to our attempts to deceive.
Technorati Tags: One Year Bible
(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)
Interesting how Moses "took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders." I’m contrasting this with Jesus’ words that the Spirit blows where the Spirit wishes. Not so interesting once you get the pronouns and their antecedents matched up properly.
I’ve also been spending a lot of time reflecting on the Last Supper as part of Lent. Though Communion is a very private affair at the Sunday morning gathering we attend, I am determined to make it a bit more corporate. Kerri and I have adopted the custom of "offering" the thimble-and-square elements to each other. We take our portion as the plates are passed, and then, before consuming them, we speak to one another: "Kerri, the Body of Christ, broken for you. The Blood of the New Covenant, shed for the remission of sins. Thanks be to God." It’s a small step, but a step towards participation and community nonetheless.
Technorati Tags: One Year Bible
(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)
A Prayer:
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
++ Lord, have mercy. ++
Technorati Tags: One Year Bible
