Day 19 - Serving, Comfort and Converts

Today's reading is the book of Philippians, Paul's letter to the city of Philippi.  This is a fairly short letter and I only made 3 notes, so this should be a quick journal.

Serving
It's only recently, over the last year or so, come to my attention that I need to be serving the community more.  Not just the community, but I need to be serving my friends more, too.  This can be a difficult thing for me to do, since I already have so much that I "want" to be doing that to make time for something that I "need" to do is a conflict of sorts.  The following verses takes it a step further.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Philippians 2:3-4

The verse says "in humility value others above yourselves".  The dictionary defines humility as "the quality or condition of being humble".  The dictionary defines humble as "low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc."  So what Paul is telling us is that we must put the interests of others at a higher rank, high importance, than our own interests.  If someone else's interests are of a higher importance than my own, then those things should be what I "want" to do.

My mind set has softened to this over the last couple of years and I've done more serving in that time frame than maybe my whole life, so I can at least see where I am improving in this area.  But there's always more work to be done.

Comfort
I came across four verses in today's reading that I don't think I've ever read before.  These verses are so comforting that I am surprised I haven't heard of them.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

How encouraging and comforting is this!

Converts
In the closing verses of Paul's letter to Philippi, he sends greetings from the fellow believers.

"All the Lord's people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household." Philippians 4:22

I figured that Paul wrote this part to show the people of Philippi that Paul's mission was still successful even though he was confined to prison.  But I wanted to see if there was anything else.  I found one study that gave a little additional information about this verse.  I've included the closing statement/challenge of the study as well.

"It must have been an encouragement for the Philippians to know that through their giving and support of Paul there were converts even in Caesar’s household.  Paul could have meant the Roman Christians in general, but there are documented men who had become Christians in Nero’s court because of Paul and other Christian witnesses in Rome.  John Gill mentions that there was “Torpes, a man in great favor and dignity in Nero’s court, and Evellius his counselor, who both suffered martyrdom under him, according to the Roman martyrology.”Jamieson, Faucett and Brown say that there were “slaves and dependents of Nero who had been probably converted through Paul’s teaching while he was a prisoner in the Praetorian barrack attached to the palace.” 

Paul gives praise to God from prison.  This whole book is a lesson in humility, grace under pressure, contentment, standing firm in the Lord, and Paul’s confidence that the Christians at Philippi would stand with him to the end. The question is--will we stand firm to the end?"

http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/philippiansstudy.html

Wrap it up!

That's all from the book of Philippians.  It's NT40 Day 24 and this journal was for Day 19.  Any day now I'll be all caught up on my journaling, right?

Day 18 - Faith, Not Understanding

Today's reading covers Ephesians and Philemon.  A lot caught my attention during this reading.  For such a short book, I sure made lots of notes.  Once again, Paul gives great insight and instruction to the church.

Faith, Not Understanding
So much bad stuff happens all around us in this world.  How could that be?  Is it God teaching us a lesson?  Is it an attempt by the enemy to further separate us from God?  We burn for this understanding.  But maybe we were not made to understand, but to have faith regardless of these things.

"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory." Eph. 1:11-12

That verse said "everything". Not "everything good", or "everything holy".  "Everything", even the bad.  He will work it all out "with the purpose of his will" so that we can praise Him.  I've witnessed this time and again through deaths and trials.  I don't pretend to understand who makes these things happen or why they happen, but I do choose to believe that God will work it out for His glory, which is rightfully deserved.

The Enemy, aka...
While reading I came across a verse that references a "ruler".  It sounds like Paul is talking about Satan, but I had to underline to make sure I went back and did my research to find out if I was right.

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." Eph. 2:1-2

A few versions of the bible have "devil" in this verse.  Since the devil does have power over this earth, I guess calling him the "ruler of the kingdom of air" isn't too far fetched.  I had just never heard the enemy be called this before, so it caught my eye.

Do Your Part
I came across a verse that made me think "Am I doing my part?" So I'll throw that question out to whoever is reading this, too.  Are you doing your part?

"From him [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." Eph. 4:16

So I thought about what this meant.  Is my part to go to church every Sunday and be a nice person?  I think it's far more than that. I believe my part includes serving, both at the church and outside the church.  Tithing.  Bringing the good news to those who don't know, or have little faith.  Being a good example to my wife and children.  I need to work on ALL of this.  I need to do my part.

Quick
Ok. I'm going to admit to something that I'm am ashamed of myself for. I'm also going to give myself and excuse, which really doesn't hold up at all, but I've been using it for some time.  Over the last couple of years, I have lost a lot of my patience when it comes to my family.  I am quick to snap, quick to put on a mean face, quick to raise my voice, and I really don't like that about me.  I've told myself that the stress of "needy" children over all of these years has just worn me down to where if one thing goes wrong it is just another straw on top of the camels back that has already broken.  This is an area of my life that I have recently acknowledge as a problem area.  What's funny, is that I've never handed this problem over to God.  I've only mildly asked him for help in prayer.  This verse made me think more about this problem and something that Clark had said a couple of weeks ago helped me come to the conclusion that I needed to be asking God for more help in this area.

"In your anger do not sin" Eph. 4:26

Starting Sunday, I have been praying A LOT about this problem of mine.  It's only been 3 days, but in those 3 days I don't think I have been "quick" with my children at all.  So my plan is to keep praying, keep relying on God, until NOT being quick with my family becomes my new second nature.

More Change
There are two verses in this book that challenged a part of who I've been all of my life.  I've always been a joker.  I like to "kid around" with people. Oh boy, I'm going to be ashamed of myself again.  Depending on who I'm around, some of my humor is questionable.  Not offensive or colorful, but more "inappropriate", I guess.  This is another area of my life that I've been working on over the last couple of months.  Here are the verses:

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Eph. 4:29

"Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." Eph. 5:4

I need to find the right balance between funny and inappropriate.  Like I said above, this is really only a problem when I'm around some people.  The answer might seem to not be around these people, but if I'm not around them, how can I witness to them.  So I believe the answer is for me to change myself.

Love and Respect
"However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." Eph. 5:33

Ev and I just started a class at Journey Church called "Love and Respect" this past week.  Our first class went over how true it is, in most cases, that Men want respect and Women want love.  I just wanted to put this verse in my journal for the day as a reminder of what we are learning in this class.

A Little Scary
It's not often that I look at the Bible as a scary book, but this verse really made me think about the realities of our struggle and just how scary they are.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Eph. 6:10-12

Optimistic Paul
A quick note here.  In Paul's letter to Philemon, he calls himself a "prisoner of Christ Jesus" (Philemon 1:9).  This stood out to me because he didn't say a "Prisoner of Rome" or a "Prisoner of Caesar" or a "Prisoner of Sinners".  Instead, he looks at his imprisonment as Gods will.  He accepts it and he makes the most of it by still spreading the good news to the guards and sending encouragement to the community through his letters.  This should serve as a reminder to me that even in the midst of my "troubles", I need to persist in my faith and continue doing Gods will.

Pushy Paul
In Philemon, I underlined a verse that seemed out of character for Paul.  I wanted to try to understand it better.  In speaking about Philemon accepting his slave Onesimus back as a brother in Christ and to cancel all debt that Onesimus has, Paul seems to be a little pushy, throwing his weight around and being sarcastic about Philemon not owing anything to Paul.  It was this verse that made me feel this way:

"I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self." Philemon 1:19

I looked on-line for some commentaries regarding this verse and at first came across a few that were really no help at all, but then I found this:
 

"The connecting thought may be expressed, “I assume this obligation in order not to insist on your great personal debt to me.” Or there may be a suppressed thought thus, “Accept this pledge that I may not insist on my rights as to your great personal obligation to me.”

George Clarke - Commentary on Philemon (1906) - "Designed for Pastors and Sunday Schools"http://www.archive.org/stream/galatiansephesia09clar#page/489/mode/1up

This book was preserved by scanning the pages of a book from 1906 and putting them on-line.  The scans look really good, but you can see the authenticity and age from them.

I thought this commentary expressed what Paul might have been thinking best.  It was not so much that Paul was being pushy, but that he was saying "I believe that you will have faith enough to do this so I won't get pushy."

The End!
So it's NT40 Day 24.  I'm caught up on my reading, but obviously still behind on my journal.  It is also my birthday!  And I thank God for my life and all of the blessings he has poured out on my from that day 34 years ago to this day, and for all of the blessings he will continue to pour into me going forward.  How great is our God!

Day 17 - Ageless Encouragement

Today's reading is from Colossians, another of Paul's letters.  This book is very short, but I did make a few notes.

Ageless Encouragement
All of Paul's letters are very encouraging.  These two particular verses jumped off the page for me today as Paul speaking these words of encouragement to us believers through the ages:

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Col 2:6-7

The last 8-9 months I've been "overflowing with thankfulness".  God has moved so much in my family's life that it's been just amazing.

Change Your Mind Set
"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Col 3:2

I feel this is always the biggest challenge facing believers, especially me.  I look at my priorities and what comes before what on my list of things to do.  The world has so many temptations to take me away from where I really need to be focusing my attention that it is really scary.  So how do we keep our minds on "things above"?  The first thought that crossed my mind was "Certainly not by just going to church on Sundays."  While that's a start, it's only a few hours of the entire week!  If we're really going to deprogram ourselves and get away from all of these temptations, we're going to need more than an hour every Sunday.  Daily prayer is a good start.  Reading the Bible daily is even better!  Joining a small group is incredibly helpful. Serving the community on the week nights or on Saturdays is a good way to keep that mind set.  And one real easy one that some people miss is to hang out a lot with other believers.  This is very encouraging and helps to stay focused on what's important.  At the very least, it will minimize the amount of temptation you are subjecting yourself to.

More Instruction
Paul provides some more good instruction in this letter to the church in Colossae.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Col 3:12-14

Man! Just reading through this list of virtues I see so many areas I HAVE to work on.  Really, re-reading the five listed above, I have to work on ALL of them!  I know that my initial reactions are sometimes completely opposite of these.  Man, I pray that God will do a work in me.

That's All Folk!
Day 17 wrapped up!  I've noticed that this whole weeks worth of readings are fairly short.  Day 18 is Ephesians and Philemon. Day 19 is Philippians.  Day 20 is 1 Timothy.  All of these are short books.  But you know me! I can ramble, so I'm sure I'll have not shortage of words for my journal on those days!  Until then...

Day 16 - Grafted to the Root

I found this second part of Romans to be full of wisdom.  Almost everything that I underlined could fall under the "Words to live by" category.

Sent to Preach
"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:14-15

When I read this I thought, "this would be a good wall poster."  To me this is encouragement to be the one to spread the good news.  The verses are laid out in reverse chronological order.  God sends us to preach. Those we preach to hear. Those who hear will believe. Then those who believe can call on Jesus.  More and more I feel like one who has been sent to preach.  Maybe not occupational preaching, but at least being a witness for other people, believers and nonbelievers alike.

Grafted to the Root
Romans 11:16-24 relates our relationship with God to that of being branches on an olive tree.  We can be fully supported by the root, or we can be cut off completely.  If we were never a part of the tree, we can be grafted in.  The part that caught my eye was this:

"And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again." Romans 11:23

This was speaking to those who had already been cut off.  I know at some point I had cut myself off of that tree and to know that God can graft me in again is so amazing!

Instructions
Some of my favorite verses are the ones that give you plain instructions on how to act.  Romans 12:9-21 has a ton of this advice.  I linked it there in that last sentence, if you want to open it up.  There is really too much there for me to touch on each verse, so if you haven't read it I encourage you to do so.  Here is the first and last verse from that section:

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." Romans 12:9

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21

To the Weak of Faith
In Romans 14:1-3 and 15:1-4, Paul provides guidance on how to treat those who are weak in faith.

"Accept those whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters." Romans 14:1

"We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. We should all please our neighbors for their good, to build them up." Romans 15:1-2

In today's terms, these people are our "target audience".  These are the people that we need to give some attention to.  These are the people that need to be saved from an eternity separated from God.  These are the people that need us, whether they know it or not.

Wrap it up!
That's all my notes for Day 16.  It's day 18 as I write this.  I am BEHIND in my reading!!  To get caught up, I'm going to have to read and journal for Days 17 & 18 today.  Then read and journal for days 19 & 20 tomorrow.  Not an impossible task, but a hefty one!

Day 15 - Gods Unjust Judgement

Today is Day 18 and I'm just writing my journal for Day 15.  I'm getting SOOO close to being caught up.  I'm behind 1 day on reading now.  So at this point, I have to read Day 17 & 18 and journal for Days 15, 16, 17 & 18.  By the end of day tomorrow, I hope to be all caught up and back on a one day at a time pace.  Today's reading is the first half of Romans, another letter from Paul.

Gods Unjust Judgement
"But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us?" Romans 3:5

When I first read this verse it baffled me, Paul has the tendency to baffle me in some of his writings.  Sometimes it's like he's writing in a HUGE circle with his arguments going from one "if this, then this" to the next "and if this, then this" (see 1 Cor 15:12-19 for a good example of that I mean).  In this verse, I was just confused at how he got to the statement "God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us".  So I underlined this verse to come back to it and figure it out.

After re-reading it a few times, here's the conclusion that I've come to.  It's not saying that as we sin, we are bring glory to God because it brings out His righteousness more clearly.  This makes it sound like it's OK to sin.  I think what Paul was saying here is that sin makes our need for God really stand out.  Which brings me to the next verse I underlined...

The Full Power of Sin
"The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase." Romans 5:20

In yesterdays journal I wrote how the law was our supervisor/guide.  Reading this verse, and many more like it in Romans, brought the understanding that the law also showed us just how sinful we were.  From that knowledge, the law showed us just how much we need Christ. I liked how the Contemporary English Version puts it:

"The Law came, so that the full power of sin could be seen."

Sin vs. Spirit
The last couple of verses I underlined in today's readings were verses that spoke about our sinful nature and living by the Spirit.

^"5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind controlled by the sinful nature is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The sinful mind is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God." Romans 8:5-8

^"13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." Romans 8:13

^"14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:14-17

I liked how these verses contrasted each other, giving us examples of what it looks like to live in sin versus what is looks like to live by the Spirit.  I also love the thought of being a "co-heir with Christ".  I looked on-line, but found very little that explained what this meant exactly.  Here is a snippet from one resource:

"What does this imply? According to the most mainstream interpretations of the Bible, it implies two things. First, it implies suffering. Many believers would not like to acknowledge this fact, but the New Testament says that if Christ was persecuted, Christians will also be persecuted because they believe. However, if one can keep their faith strong and endure, he or she will see the second part of that promise.

The Bible suggests to many that if a believer suffers with Christ, he or she will also one day reign and share in the glory of Christ as well. An example of this promise can be found in James 1:12 which says “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him” (NIV)."

http://biblestudies.suite101.com/article.cfm/christian_indentity

That's it For Now
Sort of short, but sweet for today.  Tomorrow I finish up Romans.  Looking ahead I made 5 notes in my bible on that days reading.  We'll see just how much I can write about those!

Day 14 - When I Don't Want to do NT40

In today's reading we go through the entire book of Galatians.  Another letter written by Paul.  This letter dealt mostly with the Old Testament law and it's place now that Jesus has come.

Old Testament Supervisor
I always looked at the Old Testament law as being something that the people were bound to.  They were "under" the law.  They were "limited" by the law.  They were "restricted" by the law.  But I like the way that Paul puts in chapter 3.  Here's a snippet of my favorite three verses from chapter 3:

"Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was put in charge of us until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law." Gal. 3:23-25

I never thought of the law as being "in charge", or being a "supervisor" of the people, but it makes sense. The law was there to not only restrict us (which has a negative connotation to it), but to guide is (which sounds a lot nicer!).

OT Salvation
While reading this book, I started to wonder if the people who had died before Jesus died for our sins were going to Heaven or not.  What if they followed the law perfectly (including sacrificing for sins)? What if they tried, but failed?  What if they didn't even try?  Will any of these people to to Heaven?

This seems to be a great debate.  Some believe that if the person believed in God and had faith that God would send a messiah and followed the law (observing the various festivals and performing the various sacrifices), then those people will go to Heaven.  I don't think this is one of those questions that can be firmly answered though.

Here are a couple of links to some resources (the Yahoo! answers one is funny/interesting):

http://www.biblebell.org/otsaints.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060822060219AANQm3t


When I Don't Want to do NT40
I found a passage from Galatians that explains what's going on inside me when I want to watch TV or play a game or go to bed or not wake up early, instead of do my NT40 reading and journaling:

"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. " Gal 5:16-17

I don't know that it explains it, per se, but it relates to that struggle a little.  "Should I do what I want? Or should I go do my Bible study?"  I'm not saying that I don't always want to do my Bible study, but I do have my days.  That's how I got so far behind on my journaling in the first place.

Helping the Sinner
Paul writes some more about helping people caught in sin.  This time, Paul is saying to help, but with a word of warning.

"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted." Gal 6:1

Wrap it up!
That's it for Day 14 and Galatians.  The next two days worth of reading is from Romans.  I am almost caught up.  It is Day 17 and I haven't done my reading or journaling for today, but I can do that tonight.  I only have Day 15 and 16 (Romans) to journal and I'll be all caught up!

Day 13 - Our Mission

Getting closer to being caught up in my journal entries!  Today is actually day 17.  I haven't done the reading yet, but I will tonight.  And here I am writing my journal for Day 13.  Just a little behind, so lets get started.

The Letter Kills?
In 2 Cor chapter 3, Paul talks about living by the Spirit and not by the letter.  I understood "letter" to mean the law that they have been following for so long, which was impossible for us mere humans to follow.  I underlined this part of verse 6:

"...for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

I underlined this part of the verse to remind myself to go back and research this to see if I was interpreting it correctly.  What I found is that I was right in my interpretation, but that also, sometimes people interpret "the letter" to mean the literal meaning of scripture in it's entirety.  The author of the site I read this from believes that this is the incorrect, but that "the letter" is referring to the Old Testament law.

http://www.bible-truths-revealed.com/2Corinthians.html

Our Mission
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." 2 Cor 5:17-20

I really enjoy the verses that give us explicit instructions on how to behave as well as what we are supposed to do while we're here on earth.  This one spoke to me as our Mission Statement.  Our ministry is to be ambassadors of Christs message of reconciliation to help people become reconciled to God.

Unbelievers
I big topic for me is what do we, as Christians, do with/for unbelievers.  This topic is addressed in 2 Cor 6:14-16:

^"14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?¹⁵ What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

       "I will live with them
       and walk among them,
       and I will be their God,
       and they will be my people."

I looked at how other versions of the Bible worded verse 14.  Some examples are to not be "bound", not "become partners with", "you are not the same as" and not to "team up with" unbelievers.  Still, most say to not be "unequally yoked" with unbelievers (and I found one that said to "stay away from unbelievers").

Surprisingly, I found an article that deeply investigates these verses.  In the article, the author describes how the term "unequally yoked" has been known to referred to mating different breeds of animals.  So some scholars think Paul is talking about marriage in these verses; that believers should not marry unbelievers.  Others believe that the qualifier "unequal" leads the verse to be interpreted that some form of association with believers is OK as long as it is not deemed "unequally yoked".  Still other believe that these verse simply mean to not associate with nonbelievers at all, which I find kind of hard to believe.  How else would be spread the good news?

http://www.inplainsite.org/html/unequally_yoked.html

Gossip

When reading 2 Cor 10:1, I couldn't help but wonder if the words "timid" and "bold" were used by someone in Corinth behind Paul's back, or possibly in a letter to him.  The words are in quotes in verse 1, as if he is saying that these were words someone used to described him, maybe while gossipping/complaining about Paul.

I found a lengthy article (actually, it looks like a college course guide) that goes through all of 2 Cor.  It talks about the tone in Paul's 2nd letter to the Corinthians changing starting with 10:1 because Paul "defends himself against criticism" from the "super-apostles", as the introduction to 2 Corinthians puts it in the Today's New International Version that I am reading.

http://www.abu.nb.ca/courses/NTIntro/PDF/18_2Cor.pdf

Another article I found on-line puts it like this:

"He had learned that he was under relentless and merciless attack there by false teachers who were wanting to ruin his reputation and ministry and destroy the people's confidence in him."

http://www.lakelandbiblechurch.org/Sermons/2Corinthians/WagingWarfare.htm

So I wasn't too far off.  It was more slander than gossip.

Day 13 Journal... Finis
That's it for 2 Corinthians.  Not as short as I had anticipated, but I hit all of the notes that I made in my Bible.  Next up... Galatians!!

Day 12 - What's Wrong With the Good Ol' Internet Machine?

Today's reading finishes off 1 Corinthians.  I have a lot of notes on this reading too, so let's jump in!

Parts of the Whole
Chapter 12 of 1 Cor talks about the body of Christ.  How we are all made unique, but that uniqueness is crafted by God.  What I like about this chapter is that it reaffirms Gods love for us no matter how imperfect we are.  It's just another reason why we should love Him back even more.  Verse 18 reads:

"But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be."

This chapter not only address Gods love for us as we are, but it also touches on the love that we should have for each other in our own uniqueness.  Verses 24 -25 read:

"...But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other."

This chapter is a reminder that:

1. I'm not perfect.
2. Others are not perfect.
3. That God made is this way.
4. That God intended us to work as whole (one body) to bring Him glory.

Love is...
Can I really journal about today's reading without including this?  This was read by my dad as he did our wedding ceremony, and with good cause.  This should be part of my daily mantra as I wake up and go to bed.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Cor 13:4-7

A Contradiction?
"²²Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. ²³ So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? ²⁴ But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, ²⁵ as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"" 1 Cor 14:22-25

I'm confused here.  IF Tongues are a sign for the unbelievers (verse 22), then why would it make an unbeliever tell the church that they are "out of your mind" when they hear it (verse 23)?  Conversely, if prophecy is not for unbelievers (verse 22), then why would it make an unbeliever "fall down and worship God" (verse 25)?

It seems that verse 22 is backwards.  Am I reading this wrong?  I wasn't able to find a resource on-line that could help me with this one.

The Trinity Hierarchy
"When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all." 1 Cor 15:28

What does this mean?  Is Christ not subject to God right now?  What about the Holy Spirit?  I looked on-line for a little help with this one, but couldn't find anything.  Boy! The good ol' Internet machine must be broken today!!

The Second and Last
I had heard this term before, but never really looked into the meaning of it.  But reading it in 1 Cor 15:45 gave me pause. So I underlined it and did a little research on-line.  I found this summary:

"It is the first epistle to the Corinthians alone, and in the same passage, which gives us the two important terms, so closely related as they are to one another, of “Second Man” and “Last Adam” (15:45, 47). The one looks backward; the other forward. The “Second Man” implies that before Him we have only the firstman, repeated and multiplied, in his descendants; now a new type has appeared; and that this, which is the full and final thought of man, may become the true heir of the inheritance, the “Second Man” is the “Last Adam.” He is the “last” not “second,” because plainly there is no other to succeed Him."

http://www.biblecentre.org/topics/fwg_crowned_christ_7_last_adam.htm

Persevere
A reminder:

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Cor 15:58

Personal Touch
At the end of this letter Paul writes his own greeting.  After reading through the entire letter in two sittings, this personal touch at the end really shows Paul's love for these people.

Wrapping it up now!

Day 11 - Unrealistic?

Wow! Lot’s of notes in my Bible for today’s reading.  Paul jam packed this letter to the Corinthians!

Foolishness

One of the things that Paul talks about in his letter is the power of Christ. In Chapter 1 verse 18 he says:

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

I remember when I fell to the dark side there was a part of me that thought believing in the Bible was silly and not logical at all.  In essence, although I don’t think I ever actually said this, I thought that Christians were foolish for being believers.  Now that I’ve been won over by the Love of God I can understand this verse all too well.

Mere Human Beings

In chapter 3 verse 3, Paul says to the Corinthians:

“Are you not acting like mere human beings?”

Now I get that we are born into sin and that the only way we can become blameless in the sight of God is through Jesus, so I understand that when he says “mere” he is meaning humans in their base, sinful nature, but my question when I read this was “What else is there to act like?”  I know the answer is bigger than anything I can type here.  The answer is to live out what the Bible says about how we should act, and that makes us more than mere human beings.  But what do we call that?  "Christians"?

The Holman Christian Standard Bible words the verse this way:

"Are you not fleshy and living like ordinary people?"

Reading this version gave me the idea that instead of behaving like ordinary people, we should behave like extraordinary people.  Who wouldn't want to get on board with that?

Give Him to Satan To Save Him?

I'm just a little confused about Chapter 5 verse 5:

"...hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the sinful nature so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord."

I get the need to destroy his sinful nature so that his spirit may be saved, but how do you accomplish this by handing him over to Satan?  That seems to be the opposite of what you should do.

I read a little about this on-line and it turns out my tendency to read too literally is to blame for this confusion again.  By handing him over to Satan, Paul meant to not associate with him anymore.  If this man wants to sin, then let him sin and he can leave alone the people striving to be good.  Also, towards the end of this chapter Paul drives the point home when he says:

"...Expel the wicked person from among you." 1 Cor 5:13

This clears up my confusion about this verse, but then it blurs the line on whether we should associate and witness to sinners or leave them alone.

Judging Angels

Regarding 1 Cor. 6:3:

"Do you not know that we will judge angels?"

I wasn't able to find anything on-line that gave me a good answer for what this verse really meant, but I found a lot of references to Angels in general and how they have a "lower rank in the order of creation" than us humans.

"Angels then are not only inferior in relation to Christ (Hebr. 1:4ff) but even in relation to believers. Angels do not know the content of redemption. (1 Pet. 1:12) They do not know what it means experientially to have Jesus Christ give His life for the salvation of sinners. They are not the adopted children of the heavenly Father. In Jesus Christ we become the children of the heavenly Father; the angels remain His servants (cf. John 15:15f. ) Believers are to be crowned with glory and honour (Ps. 8:6), and share in Christ's exaltation which exceeds the dignity of angels. And not the angels will judge us but we will judge them. Paul makes this remarkable statement: "Do you not know that we will judge angels?" (1 Cor. 6:3) Calvin opines that Paul refers to the judging of fallen angels."

http://www.reformedreflections.ca/studies/5-reality-of-angels.html

Anyways, I got caught up on the Internet for a while there reading about Angels.  My favorite thing that I found just now was Heb. 13:2:

"Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."

Unrealistic?
There is a section of today's reading that I question whether or not Paul is being realistic.

"What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who are married should live as if they were not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away." 1 Cor 7:29-31

I understand the concept that what matters in this world is that we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and spread the good news, being a light to bring everyone to Him, but the way Paul puts it here it is as if he wants us to live like robots.  Live like your not married? Don't mourn or be happy?  I can agree to the part about not being "engrossed" in the things of this world.  I know I'm guilty of that 100%, and it's an area of my life that I'm working on.

Looking into this a little on-line has cleared things up a bit.  There are two views on the meaning of these verses.  The first brings to point that Paul is saying this 10 years before Christians go through some severe persecution.  The resource I read on-line said there was a prediction about these hard times and Paul was just giving advice on how to make it easier for a Christ follower to get by during these times.  The second view is that Paul was making these statements for Christians to follow until Christ's return.  The author of the article I read agrees more with the first view than the second.

"I favor the first view because this advice Paul gives in this verse, including being as those who do not weep or rejoice, would be both for that time and other times of persecution. The second view would make Paul’s advice for that time and all times forward until Christ returns."

http://inerrancy.org/1cor.htm

I agree!

Selfishness
I underlined 1 Cor 10:24:

"No one should seek their own good, but the good of others."

The note I made simply said, "Instruction to be selfless."  But I got to thinking about this verse a little more.  How different would everything be if we followed this rule?  Is this (selfishness) the reason for a lot of our troubles? Is my problem with patience a result of my selfishness?  Are some of my problems at home and at work a result of my selfishness?  In a sense, I think they are.

The End... Finally!

Like I said at the beginning of this post, 1 Cor has so much in it.  Paul covers a lot.  I couldn't help but make a lot of notes.  And when it comes time for me to journal, I feel that if I leave some of my notes out that I'm short changing myself in the process.  This is my journal, for me to log my thoughts.  I did leave a few notes out, but they were minor observations.  But boy!  This was a long one!  Looking ahead at my notes, I think the journal for tomorrow is going to be long too!

Day 10 - A Powerful Delusion

Still getting caught up, while trying not to fall behind!  Today we read through all of 1^st and 2^nd Thessalonians.

There were two verses in 1^st Thessalonians that struck me in this reading.

So Forgiving

The first one was chapter 4 verses 7 and 8:

“For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.  Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.”

I know that when I do something wrong, I 1. Know it’s wrong, 2. Know that God witnessed me doing wrong and 3. I feel really terrible about it.  So I usually pray for forgiveness and strength to do better next time and I thank Him for His Mercy and Grace.  When I read that verse it reminded of how I feel when I do something wrong and it made me love God even more for being so forgiving.

So Patient

The second one was chapter 5 verse 14.  Specifically the end of that verse that reads:

“…be patient with everyone.”

I need to work on being patient in every area of my life.  With my family, at work, when with friends, etc.  Maybe my small group could do a study on patience! ;)

Payback

Looking at my notes, I also underlined the beginning of chapter 5 verse 15, which says:

“Make sure that nobody pays  back wrong for wrong…”

It is so easy for me to want to ignore someone when they’ve done something wrong to me.  Or to be short or rude to someone who is that way to me.  But I know that’s not how I should be. I should always show love and respect to everyone.  Wow! Doesn’t that sound impossible.  But that’s what we should do, right?

I also underlined two areas in 2^nd Thessalonians.

A Powerful Delusion

The first was in chapter 2 verse 11 and 12:

“For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”

I understand that you reap what you sow.  That unbelievers will spend the rest of eternity in Hell after Jesus returns, but this verse almost makes it sound like God is actively helping unbelievers to get there.

I was surprised to find my on-line help with this verse came from Yahoo! Answers, of all places.  This question was posed there  a year ago and has 8 answers.  Most of them point to the fact that this verse is not saying that God will help unbelievers stay unbelievers by sending them a powerful delusion, but rather that at the time of judgement God will hand these people over to Satan as a result of their unbelief.  Here’s the link if anyones interested:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081129164843AAStomC

Fellow Believers

The last area that I underlined in todays readings was in chapter 3 verse 14 and 15.  I think these verses stood out to me because of some problems that Evalena is having with a friend right now.  What do you do when a fellow believer is behaving in a way that is consistent with the teachings of the Bible?

“Take special note of those who do not obey our instruction in this letter.  Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed.  Yet do not regard them as enemies, but warn them as fellow believers.”

The End

…of week 2!!  Next week we tackle 4 whole books of the New Testatment!!  We are on a roll with this NT40 challenge!! To everyone keeping up with it, Good job!!  To those that aren’t, your NT40 journey can start on any day in any month!

Day 9 – The Goads?

Still getting caught up on my journaling.  But it’s good to put all of these thoughts down on paper and flush them out.  It also gives me a chance to research anything that I didn’t understand. Which is what this NT40 journey is all about anyways, right?  Reading Gods word, but not just to say that we read it, but to learn from it.  So let the learning commence!

Don’t Fall Asleep in Church

Before you continue reading this, I wonder if you can tell by the heading what story in Acts this is going to be about?  This is about the story of Eutychus in Troas who fell asleep while listening to Paul speak late at night and proceeded to fall out of the window to his death.  Remember this one? Paul brought him back to life.  Is the lesson here to not fall asleep in church?  There was a little on-line about this story, but most of it to the point of this being a good children’s "resurrection" story.  Here it is if you want to read it to your kids:

http://www.pbv.thunder-bay.on.ca/NetSermons/Acts20str.html

Paul was Warned

An observation here… I didn’t know that the Holy Spirit had revealed to Paul that he would be facing so much hardship.  In Acts 20:23, Paul says:

“I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.”

Prior to reading this, I hadn’t given it much thought whether Paul looked forward to a hopeful, peaceful future or the future that we read about; full of difficulties.  Knowing that he had a sense for how difficult his life would be, it tells me of Pauls conviction and zeal to fulfill the task Jesus had given him of spreading the good news.

The Lord Stood Near Paul

I’m the kind of guy that reads into the literal meaning of things more than the figurative meaning.  So when I read Acts 23:11 I underlined it and thought, “Really?”  Acts 23:11 reads:

“The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

Is this possible?  Does Jesus come back to earth after he returns to the Father but before the End Times?  I looked online for some help, but couldn’t find any.

The Goads?

The account of Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus is a little different between Acts 9 and Acts 26.  In Acts 9 Jesus says “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”, but in Acts 26 it adds “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”  When I read this I thought, “What??”  Soooo, a little search on the good ol’ internet box found this:

"A large percentage of people in the first century were tillers of the soil. Oxen were used to work the soil. The prick or goad was a necessary devise. The prick was usually a wooden shaft with a pointed spike (prick) at one end. The man working the ox would position the goad in such a way as to exert influence and control over the ox. You see, if the ox refused the command indicated by the farmer, the goad would be used to jab or prick the ox. Sometimes the ox would refuse this incentive by kicking out at the prick. As result, the prick would be driven deeper into the flesh of the rebellious animal. The more the animal rebelled, the more the animal suffered. Hence, the statement to Saul: "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." (Saul was rebelling against God.)"

http://www.biblequestions.org/Archives/BQAR075.htm

Makes sense, right?  I think this is also the root of the word as it is used today (e.g. We used money to goad him into making a decision).

A Little FYI

I’m not sure if this caught anyone else’s attention, but in Acts 28 it mentions that Paul put out on an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.  I was wondering who these guys were and if they had any literary importance to the story.  Turns out, I could only find out who these guys were and the fact that they were in the Bible, but not any additional information as to why they were in the Bible.  Here’s an outtake from Wikipedia:

“In the myth the twins shared the same mother but had different fathers which meant that Pollux was immortal and Castor was mortal. When Castor died, Pollux asked Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together and they were transformed into the Gemini constellation”

That’s it!!!

Day 9 in the books!  Acts, in the books!! Day 10 is both 1^st and 2^nd Thessalonians, both very short books, but good reading.

Day 8 - You Want me to do What??

The good news is that I’m on track with my reading.  The bad news is that I’m behind on my journaling by about 5 days.  So I’m picking up where I left off with my journaling (Day 8) and I’m going back through my Bible, looking at the notes I made in the margins and writing my journal entries to get caught up.  To keep consistent, I’m going to write my journal for each individual day.  I didn’t actually make many notes for Day 8’s reading, so it should be fairly short.  Anways, here we go, Day 8…

You Want me to do What??

In today’s reading we see the dispute between members of the church on whether the Gentiles need to be circumcised or not.  We see the church come to an agreement that they do not need to be circumcised and they send a letter with Paul to the believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia to state as such.

Paul meets Timothy and wants to bring him along on their journeys, so he circumcises Timothy.  It says he did this “…because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.”  I know that the decision by the church was that they didn’t HAVE to be circumcised, not that they couldn’t be if they wanted to be, but I’m trying to understand why Paul would have wanted Timothy to go through this.

I looked into this a little on-line and found the same explanation at a few different sites.  This one site called gracethrufaith.com most succinctly put it like this:

“In 1 Cor. 9:19-22 Paul said that when he was among Jews he acted  like a Jew and when among gentiles he was like them.  He said he was all things to all men so as to save some. Since Timothy was a young man whose mother was Jewish, and since they were going among the Jews, he circumcised him to help him be accepted by the Jews.”

I wonder if Timothy was like, “You want to do what? I thought you just told me we didn’t have to do that!”

Pronoun Confusion 

Between Acts 16:8 and 16:10, the wording of the writing changes from “they” to “we”.  Then we don’t see the story teller referring to  “we” again in Chapter 16, or in any of the rest of the days reading, after verse 16:16.  I was able to fairly quickly find a great resource on-line that cleared up my confusion.  Here is what the site preceptaustin.org has to say on the matter:

“The first use here of we in the narrative, instead of "they," seems to indicate that Luke, the author of the book of Acts, joined the missionary party at Troas.  Then after Paul and Silas and Timothy left Philippi, Luke changed the pronoun from we to they in Acts 17:1, which suggests that he remained behind in Philippi to watch over the infant church after Paul left.

God wanted Paul and his team to go to Troas and pick up a doctor named Luke. If God wouldn't have said "no" to Paul two times, we might not have a gospel and a Book of Acts written by Luke!

It was some six to seven years later when Luke  rejoined Paul...

But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. (Acts 20:5 )

Finally, in the third we section, Luke is with Paul has they sail for Italy ...

And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius. (Acts 27:1)"

So that all makes sense.  It's just weird that Luke doesn't specify when he joins them, he just changes the pronouns used to show that he was there.

Wrapping it Up

That’s pretty much it for Day 8.  One more day of reading Acts and then we dive into and complete 1 & 2 Thessalonians in ONE DAY!