Having Faith in the Lord

Today’s Reading:
• Matthew 8:1-17
  
• Psalm 9:13-20

Read Bible Passages Online

Matthew 8:1-17
Here we read about the amazing healing powers of Jesus. How could people not believe in a man who could remove sickness and diseases with a touch of a hand? I don’t remember where I heard this, but I have heard that healers were a dime a dozen back then. But surely none came close to the true power Jesus had to heal. It amazes me how people can be faced with the truth and yet turn their eyes away and act like it never happened.

My favorite part of this passage came in chapter 24, where a soldier came up to Jesus and asked him to heal his servant without ever seeing him. He had such faith that Jesus could do that; faith that apparently Jesus had not yet seen in Israel. We take that kind of faith for granted – today we must have faith that the Lord can act without his physical presence. People in the old days got to literally walk next to the Lord. They got to converse with him, they were literally touched by Jesus! Today we have to believe that the Lord can perform these miracles from afar.

 I think it makes it easier for people to deny the Lord's works today, because if they don’t SEE the Lord do it, it can be dismissed as “coincidence.” But it's still heartening that Jesus remarked on the faith the soldier had – faith that Jesus can perform miracles when he’s not right next to someone – faith that we all must have now because we have no other choice if we are to believe.  

Psalm 9:13-20
I read the first part of this Psalm (1:12) a couple days ago.  It consisted of David praising the Lord for overcoming his enemies.  David continues this Psalm by praying for mercy from and vindication to his tormentors.  It then ends with another cry for the Lord to judge the wicked. 

I know that this Psalm is supposed to be a song but it's really hard for me to look at words and imagine them as music -- especially when they don't rhyme!  Yeah, I should know better, but I don't.  I'm sure that if I heard it sung it would be a very powerful hymn. 

The Biblical Power of Blessing; When we Tithe, We are Blessed

Looks like I published the Genesis 25 reading early (part of my posting mix-ups).  Here is a link to that post in case you missed it.  I think the order of the Genesis readings will be fine from here on out. 

Today’s Reading:
• Genesis 26:17-27:46
  
• Proverbs 3:9-10
  

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Genesis 26:17-27:46
Chapter 27 details how Rebekah and Jacob stole Esau’s blessing. This is only a single chapter, however there are so many elements to discuss. My first thought is how did this come about? I know that the Lord told Rebekah that Jacob would serve Esau (Gen. 25:23). My question is this: did the Lord tell Rebekah this so that she would set up the deception and it would become true, OR did the Lord tell her this because He knew what Rebekah was going to do with the blessing? It's kind of a pointless question I guess, but it was the first thing to pop into my mind. 

The topic of blessings is something that greatly interests me. Not God’s blessings – not to say they aren’t incredibly important, but I already have faith in His blessings and know they will come true.  My interest is the power of ordinary people to cast blessings upon others. Not only do they cast these blessings, but they come true! These men offered promises only the Lord could fulfill, and the Lord delivered. There was a lot of power in a blessing. I wonder what kind of power there is in blessing today? Is there anyone alive today to whom God has given that gift to? I don’t mean priests and their blessings of this and that; I mean true “this is exactly how your life will be from here on out” type blessings. I’ll just have to keep my eyes and ears open for more on this topic.  

Proverbs 3:9-10
Verse 3:9 states:

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.

I used to tithe exactly 0% of my income.  I knew that the Lord would provide back to me, but I guess I was just too afraid to let my hard earned money go.  Then one day I rearranged my budget to allow for a small but regular contribution.  I didn't have a church at that time, so I scoured Christian charities and found a few causes I really liked and started contributing to them.  That year I gave .05% of my income.  Sad, I know! But an improvement over 0.0%.

The next year I increased my contributions.  I began to really enjoy finding Godly causes to give away my money to.  It started to feel really good to know that I could be a blessing to others. Meanwhile, my cup was overflowing plenty.  Of course I'm not rich and I don't have a fancy house or a lot of expensive furnishings, and I hardly buy clothes or go out.  But all my needs are completely met, and some of my wants too, and the money does come back at me.  I don't give to get back monetarily, but it's awesome to see the blessings come back this way.  And with everything that comes back, I get to use a portion of that to give away even more money!  It's truly a wonderful feeling to help others.

This year I increased my contributions further.  No, I am not yet at 10%, and I do feel ashamed for that, but I am giving more and more each year.  I also have a church now (just joined Wednesday night!) so I do actually tithe with some of the money, but for the majority of my givings I still have numerous Christian causes that I love to help out.  It's so wonderful to know that my small contributions have helped out people from all over the world.  The money I give does so much better for others than it could ever do for me right now. 

Of course the Lord Himself doesn't need our money.  But he does need to teach us how to let go of this thing that has a stranglehold on so many of us.  If we were walking down the street, and someone said: "Please help me lift this box!" we would probably stop.  If someone said, "Please spare some change! " the majority of us would walk on by.  I know because I see it every single day in my metropolitan work location. I used to be one of those people who walked on by.  I am proud to say that no longer am I one of those people who keeps on walking, for the Lord is helping me realize that when we honor the Lord with our wealth, we are the ones who truly are blessed.

Cave of Machpelah; Answered Prayers

Today’s Reading:
• Genesis 23:1-24:51
  
• Proverbs 3:1-6
  

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Genesis 23:1-24:51
At the beginning of chapter 23 we are informed of Sarah’s death and burial. Because the cave Abraham bought was so well described, I wondered if it had ever been found, so I did some research and found out about the Cave of Machpelah. I didn’t do a whole lot of research into it, but it appears as though this finding was recent, and that it is fairly well accepted as the burial place of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah. I love it when events and places listed in the bible can be found in present times. Follow the link above for more information.

Abraham’s servant finds a wife for Isaac. I think it’s so awesome how the servant prayed for specific sign and it shows up before he can even finish praying. Has that ever happened to you? I’m not sure it’s happened to me instantaneously, but it sure has happened to me. That’s one of the reasons I have so much faith in prayer, because I know God listens to me. I just try to remember that no matter how much I want (or think I want) something, God knows best and I have to leave it up to his judgment as to whether or not he will answer me. 

Proverbs 3:1-6
These verses tell us to hold dear to God’s commandments and always be kind and loyal. Following these instructions will give us a long life characterized with a good reputation and favor from God. Such simple commandments – follow God’s word and be kind and loyal. It sounds so easy, but these things can be really hard to follow because of our sinful nature.

I’d also like to comment on verses 3:5-6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

This hits exactly with what I was talking about earlier (written before I even read this passage) about Abraham’s servant and his quest for a wife for Isaac. There I remarked on how prayer works, I know it does, and how I just have to trust the Lord to decide for me his will because He knows best, not I. I just like how I received the same message twice in one day.  

Conclusion
I think this has been a very productive and thoughtful reading. Each day I read, I want to know more! I’m so glad I did this. I’ve attempted to read through the bible many times, but this time I feel so much more productive about it. Writing really helps me catalog and examine my own thoughts and feelings about this. I also think it helps greatly helps retention. I’m very excited to continue forward from here.

Making A Conscious Decision to Sin

I realized today that I have published some of my posts out of order.  I read them all in order but obviously mixed something up!  Here's a missed reading from Matthew and Psalms and I will figure out the rest of the missing posts over the course of the next few days.

Today’s Reading:
• Matthew 5:1-26
• Psalm 5:1-12

Read Bible Passages Online 

Matthew 5:1-26

This passage is really powerful. It starts off by naming conditions for all kinds of blessings – blessings for the persecuted, the mocked, the giving, the merciful, the pure, and more. I just can’t help but wonder, do I fall into any of those categories? I don’t think I do, and that’s not something that I’m proud of.

Jesus goes on to say that all of God’s laws and commandments must be followed. The presence of Jesus does not excuse one for breaking God’s laws. This is a point that hits home to me. I can have all the faith in the world, but none of that matters if I keep sinning and don’t actually change my life. Even though I do believe, I don’t show it if I follow the rules and commandments of my Lord. How can I be forgiven, if I make a conscious decision to sin? I have a lot to work left to do on in my life.

This part of the reading finished with notes on anger, in relation to how people handle it. I think what it boils down to is that everyone is a child of God, and everyone is loved by God. I think anger at other humans inhibit us from closeness with God. I try really hard not to hold grudges against others, but I really need to work on my day to day interactions, from the coworker who sits next to me to those driving around me on my daily commute to and from work.

Psalm 5:1-12

This Psalm was a cry for help from David against his enemies. In it he praises the Lord and prays for vengeance against his sinful enemies. He also prays that God bring together those who take refuge in the Lord and rejoice in Him. I don’t really know too much about the story of David, except that he was a great king. But all the Psalms I’ve read this far have been from David requesting aid against his enemies. How great were his battles? How many enemies did he overcome? I look forward to learning his full story as I continue to read.

Conclusion

These passages have been hard to read and get through, mainly because of the cold, hard truths they force me to see. No longer can I hide behind the excuse that I haven’t read it, therefore I am not accountable for it. It’s time to hold myself accountable.

Not Everyone Will Enter the Kingdom of God

Today’s Reading:

• Matthew 7:15-29
  
• Psalm 9:1-12

Matthew 7:15-29
I love verses 15-20, which talk about good and bad fruit in relation to good and bad people. Just as you can tell if a tree is bad by it’s fruit, so you can tell if a person is bad by their actions. This is very true, isn’t it?

Verses 21-23 are quite scary versus for me, because I know it speaks truth. Here we are told that not everyone will enter the Kingdom of Heaven – all those people who call on the Lord but do not obey his laws will be turned away. We are given the example of those who do things in the Lord’s name. A good example these days would be a preacher who does work in Jesus’ name, but never actually knew the Lord.

I know I lack now in following God’s laws. I try to be good, but there are still things I do over and over again that need to stop. Passages like these make me scared – will I ever truly be good enough to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?  What is important is my salvation in Jesus Christ, and with him I can enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but I still have to do my part and live a godly life.


Psalm 9:1-12
Here David praises the Lord, thanking him for helping him to overcome his enemies. The Lord judged fairly, with vengeance, and David came out triumphant, for the Lord “does not ignore the cries of those who suffer.” (9:12) 


Conclusion Again I am left with more reflections on my life and what I can do to improve it. It’s hard to read these passages because I see so much need for improvement, but I’m also happy that I’m forcing myself to open my eyes and take notice. Ignorance is no long an option or a refuge -- ignorance kills.