Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You

Today’s Reading:

• Matthew 6:25-7:14
  
• Psalm 8:1-9

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Matthew 6:25-7:14
This passage began with a warning not to worry about having food, money and clothes, for the Lord will provide. I have mixed feelings about this. I feel that the Lord is providing for me already – I have a good job, and this job allows me to pay my bills, buy a house, save for college and retirement. I’m thinking of the future, but using the resources God gave me to fund it.

I know people, on the other hand, who will spend every dime he or she has, often before paying the bills. Then those people will cry that “God will provide.” But isn’t He already providing them with the means to live? If I squandered all the resources I’m given to provide for myself and my family, I wouldn’t expect God to bail me out later.  Now, if I had nothing, if something happened and I became broke, I would trust God to provide. But God is already providing me, isn’t he?

The second part of the reading contains the all-important verse 7:12:

 “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 

 Isn’t that a fabulous verse, I mean really? How can you expect forgiveness from your sins if you don’t forgive others for theirs? And these passages say exactly that!

 “The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged (7:2).

 Now I’m awfully critical of people, and I know I need work there to avoid “judging” people. But I don’t judge people for their sins. Who am I to say what they did is right or wrong? Who are they to say the same of me? It is God’s job to judge our sins. And I do try -- truly -- to forgive those who wrong me. I know it does no good to hold a grudge. Sometimes it takes a while for me to let go, and it surely isn’t easy, but I do try my best.

My problem is I sometimes think back, and thinking about it causes angry emotions to arise. Even though I’ve long gotten over it, quit “punishing” the offending party for whatever it was, it can still cause me to be privately upset. I don’t know what to do about it. Am I truly forgiving the person then? How can I just make those emotions disappear? Do I just refuse to think about it, would that be good enough? Or must I feel peace in my heart when I think on the situation?  

Psalm 8:1-9
This psalm brings up a strong point: that we humans are but “mere mortals” (8:4), yet the Lord made us in his own image, and put us in charge of everything he created. Isn’t that an awesome, spectacular privilege?  I only hope that someday I can be worthy of the honor bestowed upon me as a human who has been put on this earth by God.

Will Wisdom be There for You When Disaster Strikes?

Today’s Reading:
• Genesis 11:1-13:4
• Proverbs 1:24-28

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Genesis 11:1-13:4
The first part of chapter 11 is the story of Babel. It occurred just as I was always taught, however I’m a bit confused by the language. My bible, an NLT version, gives verse 11:7 as: “Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages.” What confuses me here is the word “let’s.” I even looked this verse up the King James, and it says the same thing. So my question is, who is the Lord talking to in this verse?

The rest of my reading introduced me to Abram and his wife, Sarai. The Lord calls to Abram, promising future blessings throughout the generations, and Abram answers and moves his family on. I am intrigued by the stop in Egypt. I would have liked to see Sarai, someone so beautiful that even the pharaoh is notified of her beauty. She must have been breathtaking to behold! But I can’t believe that Abram let the pharaoh take her as his wife. I wonder how long she played the part of his wife before she was sent back to Abram? Can you imagine being taken away from your husband and given to someone else? And having to play as if nothing was wrong? I think if I were Abram I would have asked the Lord to protect me and my wife and trusted in the Lord, instead of my own devices.

Proverbs 1:24-28
This passage contained a strong warning from wisdom. It says that wisdom tried to reach the people, tried to tell and show them the warnings, but they did not heed them and therefore wisdom will not be there to help when disaster strikes. Wisdom will answer no cries of help. There’s not much that can be done for that, is there? When you tell someone “if you do this, the following will happen” and they don’t listen, and then they do it anyway. There’s nothing that can be done at that point. We can’t run the live of others. All we can do is hope that they listen to wisdom.

The Phenomenal Power of Jesus Christ

Today’s Reading:
• Matthew 4:12-25
• Psalms 4:1-8

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Matthew 4:12-25

Yesterday I read about the baptism and temptation of Jesus Christ, and today I read about the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. Matthew talks of the first four disciples – Simon (Peter), Andrew, James and John, and how they dropped everything immediately and followed him.

Can you imagine just dropping everything you know in a very instant to follow someone, to devote your life to them, to change everything you know? That’s the awesome power Jesus Christ has! We then got to read about how Jesus cured everything … everything! Diseases, demon possession, blindness – you name it, he cured it. The power there is just phenomenally awesome. No wonder he had huge crowds following him wherever he went – I would have been in those crowds, too.

Psalms 4:1-8

There is much good advice in this Psalm. It talks about how sin occurs when you let anger control you, which is so very true. How often do you say and do things that you shouldn’t, just because you were angry? My favorite part of the Psalm, however, is this verse 4:7

“You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvest of grain and new wine”

It is always joyful knowing that you have the Lord with you, no matter what the situation or what you’re going through, and that he always have a plan for you, as long as you “trust the Lord” (4:5).

What the Bible Says About the Death Penalty

Today’s Reading:
• Genesis 8:1-10:32
• Proverbs 1:20-23

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Genesis 8:1-10:32
It’s amazing how 3 short chapters can supply such a diverse range of topics – from the recession of the flood waters, to punishment of murderers, followed by the curse of Canaan, and finally ending with the re-population of all the nations and the people of the earth. It’s hard to imagine being stuck in a boat (even a large one) for over a year. I mean, they had faith, we know that. They were shown first hand. But it still has to be a bit testy to sit in that boat day after day; night after night. I know they had faith … but they also had to have doubts some of those times, don’t you think?

I no longer have any doubt of the righteousness of the death penalty after reading 9:5-6. God specifically told us that anyone who takes another person’s life will (and should) have their own life taken by human hands. He also says that any animals who kill a person must be killed. So for all those dogs, alligators, bears, whatever – if they kill a person, let the hunt begin. And for those of you who deliberately murder -- an eye for an eye. I don’t say I get enjoyment from finding this to be the case, and I’ve always kept a neutral opinion on the subject, until now. But wow! Two short verses can make my mind up on such a debated subject!

Isn’t the bible just chalked full of the most powerful information? Why haven’t I read it before? I love the lineage lines, and how everything is tracked, down to the nationality of the people. I think I need to be much more of a scholar to truly appreciate and track the lineage. I can certainly see how one can spend their entire life studying the bible, yet still learn new things all the time!

Proverbs 1:20-23
These verses refers to people who refuse wisdom and knowledge as simpleminded fools. Isn’t that the truth? There is an overflow of knowledge in this world, and unfortunately misinformation also runs rampant. I don’t care if a person has a strong opinion, as long as they base it on fact and knowledge, and not on what other people tell them. It kills me to see what people believe because they are too lazy to look up the information themselves and make an informed decision. Make up your own mind. Pursue wisdom. Don’t become a simpleminded fool.

Conclusion
I'm only a few days into my studies and already I’m so interested that I keep thinking about how I’m going to study the bible in a different way as soon as I'm done reading it through this way. I think I’ve discovered a new life passion, one that will never leave me -- and that is to study the bible. There are so many depths to it that I don’t think I can ever view it enough different ways. I think there will always be new, interesting angles to pursue.

The Temptation of Christ

Today’s Reading:

• Matthew 3:7-4:11
• Psalm 3:1-8

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Matthew 3:7-4:11

This reading covered the baptism and temptation of Jesus Christ. I have heard the baptism story in its entirety, and therefore didn’t learn much new from it, but I didn't really know what the temptation of Christ actually involved.

Fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus passed a series of tests brought on by the devil. In each test, he held strongly onto his beliefs. Now that’s some strong faith! I think I would be about delirious after a week. I don’t know how I could hold on so strongly for 10 weeks. But he, of course, did.

My favorite part was contained in versus 7:5 – 7, where the devil told Jesus to jump off the highest point, and let God save him, to which Jesus replied that you “must not test the Lord your God” (7:7). I am appalled by the thought of those who dare test the Lord. These are the type of people who say “do this for me and I’ll believe,” or, “show me that, and I’ll believe” and so forth and so forth, yet it is never enough for them, because in the end they plain don’t believe. Now, of course there are exceptions, but I just can’t imagine someone taking it upon themselves to call out the Lord like that.

Psalms 3:1-8

Even though I don’t see it in the scripture, my bible credits this Psalm to David. I think it’s wonderful. I love the complete and absolute praise of the Lord, David’s faith that he will prevail through the Lord. It’s no wonder David so completely had the Lord on his side and was such an astounding, prosperous leader.