January 24th: Genesis 39-40, Psalm 44 and Matthew 26

Interesting thought from Psalm 44 today.

I should give God praise for the things he has done in my parents and grandparents lives, even if my life is currently in a state of suck. And I should trust that God doesn't change and since He doesn't, I need to wait on Him. And be cool with waiting (but feel free to complain about it). And it seems, this Psalm is saying look to the past for proof.

Here is the breakdown:
vs. 1-3: David recounts the works of God in the past.
vs. 4-8: Victory comes through God
vs. 9-25: "Wow, my life sucks...really, really bad... like for serious. I'm not kidding... at all. It's bad (There were a lot of verses with a lot of points for emphasis)."
vs. 26: No matter how bad it is, I know God doesn't change, so c'mon save me already.

David is a complainer. That's established in like Psalm 7. But the fact of the matter is that he was able to tell God that he didn't agree with the coolness of how things were going down. But Dave knew one thing, God had his back. He wouldn't abandon him. Sometimes, I think we as Christians are told not to complain...be content. And if we have joy, everything is suppose to be OK. And we shouldn't be angry about how life is turning out. But here is David, letting God know exactly what he thinks. David has a heart after God.

I think I need to remember that.

January 23th: Genesis 38, Psalm 41 and Matthew 25

I don't even know where to begin with this passage. What do you say about Judah and Tamar? Again, what do you tell your kid when he asks, "What is Genesis 38:9 about." I know that I'm saying, "ask your mom," but I'm a deflector.

By the way Judah, let this be a valuable lesson for you: NEVER GIVE A PROSTITUTE YOUR SIGNET. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times. And I love his response here. He basically says, "Schucks, my bad, I should have let you have my third son already anyway."

What?!?

Doing this blog has been interesting... outside of messed up family tree that is Genesis. In previous attempts to read through the Bible, I don't think I followed a plan like this. I don't think I read this kind of cross section. I'm learning more than I thought I would. I learning more about God's character contrasted between the judgment of the flood and the love Jesus displays to the poor.

I am going back to school ('bout time, I know). It's been a while since I wrote an entrance essay. Here is what I was asked followed by my response. I don't think I would have come up with this answer had I not started this project. Kinda makes me glad I did...

1. Describe your understanding of the plan of salvation.

It’s nice that Paul summarized the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15. The plan is simple: believe that Christ died for your sins and that he rose from the dead. It’s simple enough for a child to understand. Nothing needs to be added, there is nothing that we could do anyway. But I think that there are more layers that can be understood. There is more beauty in the full understanding.

We can see the tragedy of the broken relationship in the garden. Man on the outside. Separated. Fallen. In need of blood to be shed. And all the while, this loving God pursues fallen man from Abraham to Moses to David through Jesus to now. No matter the horrors, no matter the rejection, He pursues us. Jesus offers his blood. It’s beautiful and inspiring and it takes a lifetime to understand and yet, you’re constantly in awe the whole time. It’s salvation; a change in eternity. But it’s also a relationship; a change in quality of life.

Do you need to understand that to be saved? No. But it helps.


(I hope I get in.)

January 22th: Genesis 34-35, Psalm 39-40 and Matthew 24

You know what the Bible doesn't say? That Joseph's coat was many "striped" colors. That's an evil lie from the flannel board people. OK, I can't back up the "evil lie" part. Seriously though, where does it say vertical stripes? No where! I have a new hypothesis... Joseph's sweet coat of many colors was hypercolor. Think about it. That's a lot of colors. So much so, that you could call it a coat of many colors. See where I'm going with this? Go ahead, mock... you don't know.

I was going to say that it was tie-dyed, but c'mon! Hypercolor? That's so rad it's 1980s rad. No wonder the brothers were jealous. Give that dude some snap bracelets and a pair of British Knights and 4th-grade-me would have been jealous too.

Guess I never thought about it before. I just took Superbook's word for it when it came to the visual (or was it Flying House... which one was Old Testament?).

By the way, look at Genesis 37:2. What's with this random line about the sons of Billah and Zilpah? It says, "And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father." That's it? Is this Asher and Gad? Or is it some random other tribe of Israel? And why is it here? Just as a side note? To point to Joseph being the good son?

Now jump to Matthew 24, who makes up the generationt that Jesus references? Was it the current generation? Cause they passed away and I'm not so sure this happened. Can I get a little help?

January 21th: Genesis 36, Psalm 38 and Matthew 23

Dear Genesis 36,

I opened you today and was so excited to see how I could grow spiritually. And you, Genesis 36, gave me the genealogy of Esau. Why did you do this? What was I supposed to learn from you?

Mr. G-3-6, I really want to know about certain things... things about stem cell research and deepening relationships and Daniel Diets. But you, provided me with "Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz." How, please tell me, does this help?

There were 42, nay, 43 verses that adorned your chapter. Was there a verse loaded with publishing gems like the Prayer of Jabez? No, no there was not. Simply name after uninspiring name. How will I inspire books with titles followed by "for the kids" (just so you know, I tried writing, Anah Who Found the Hot Spring for the Single Mother in Jersey, but I'm waiting to hear back from Zondervan... keep your finggers crossed!!!).

So I leave you with one simply question. Why Genesis 36? Why are you in the Bible? What value did you hold?


Sincerely, Jon


P.S. Think, Anah Who Found the Hot Spring for the Old Cat Lady at Church Who Always offered Me Gum as a Child and Had a Really Worbbly Vibrato, would be a better bet? Two lines of dialogue and I'm golden.

January 20th: Genesis 34-35, Psalm 37 and Matthew 22

OK. Genesis 34. Right. You can't make this stuff up. That's some serious William Wallace stuff right there. Normally, I'm in the habit of coming up with a hypothetical script that I imagine fills in the missing parts. Not so sure that I can think of anything wilder than what's in there. The only thing I imagine is that the sons of Jacob sang "He had it coming" from the musical Chicago. Seriously though, how am I going to let my kid read the Bible?

"That's a good question, mini-version-of-me, they uhh, um...they cut off part of their uhh... yeah talk to your mom."

Matthew 22. I'm reading through the parable catching all the parallels. God invites the Israelites to "the wedding." Some don't care, others beat the prophets, some straight up kill the messengers. Then God goes to the Gentiles. They come in mass. But one guy shows up in hammer pants and day glow. The original black bar. Why yes, that was a reference to a magazine that I would never read. Anyway, it took me a bit on this part of the parable.

Can you help me here? Is Jesus referring to the fact that our "clothes" need to be washed clean? Is that what he means by this:

"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless."

I'm thinking maybe that the garments here refer to our souls... but how did the man get into heaven? I guess I'm assuming that heaven is the wedding. Or is it simpler than that? Are these verses referring to the fact that he is unprepared for the wedding? That he showed up, but he didn't take the necessary steps? I'm not sure. I could use some help.

January 19th: Genesis 32-33, Psalm 36 and Matthew 21

I only have two observations tonight

A: I wonder what God did to get Jacob to wrestle with him. Take a look in Genesis 32. There's no mention of what started Royal Rumble 1. It just says that Jacob's family went across the stream and that he wrestled with a man he didn't know. I wonder if God insulted his mother or do you think God dropped a 'bow off the tall rock. Either way, I would have loved to have seen it.

B: The parable of the two sons. It's funny how you read over things that you've read a million times. Maybe it's that you don't actually read it or maybe it's that you're not in a place that it matters to you. I had a professor that used to say, "Sin Boldly." The idea was that hidden sins would never be found, so like a cancer, they would grow and poison you till it was too late to cut them out. On the other hand, a bold sin, an open sin could be dealt with. So the logic was if you were going to do something and you weren't going to be dissuaded, do it loudly. I was at a Bible college, so this was pure gold. I followed the advice... except for the boldly part. I still broke the rules sneakily. Ooops.

Since I left school, I've questioned the principle. Never sure if it was wise. But here, seems to be some biblical support. The first son gives pops the middle finger and does his own thing. Later he realizes that he was a "tool" and goes and does what he's suppose to. Meanwhile Captain-Homeschool butters up father dearest only to break his dad's heart when he isn't looking. And what does Jesus say to the religious right?

"I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did."

Sounds pretty similar to "Sin Boldly."

It's unfortunate that all the churches destroyed by sexual sins didn't have pastors and elders that followed this principle.

January 18th: Genesis 31, Psalm 35 and Matthew 20

God has this thing about introducing himself in visions. So if you ever have a vision of God, look for it. Now a lot of times (from what I've heard), the intro goes a little something like this. You're sleeping with a stone for a pillow, your four wives are in their own tent, and God shows up. And He says, "I'm the God of Abraham."

But in Genesis 31, God comes to Jacob in a dream. And He says:

"I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me."

I think this is my new favorite verse. And here's why... God could easily have said so many other things. He could have said, "I'm your father's God." Or, "I'm the God of the Flood." He could've referenced making everything. But He didn't. He said, "I'm the God of your story. I'm still here. I never left you during this mess that you've been through. Jacob, this journey that you're on in life? I'm the God that's authoring it."

I believe that we need to remember the past. We have to, or some cliche about history and repeating will be rubbed in our faces. But we need to look at what is going on around us and refer to God that way. I imagine that the blind guys from Jericho in Matthew 20 refer to God as, "the God that healed their eyes." And I think God loved it.

Sometimes, I forget that the same God that did the stuff in the Bible is the same God that is doing stuff in my life. He's the God of Lincoln, where He brought me.