Week 4: Grumble, Grumble

I, admittedly, struggled with the continued reading of Job this week. The back and forth between him and his friends was a bit lost on me most days. What I did think about was: "Am I a grumbler?" Am I grumbling about my circumstance when I should be offering up praise instead? I know that I have a tendency to continue to think and process situations in my life, and then offer up prayers of, "why?" and "why not such and such". Some days its hard to remember that the plan is bigger than just me, and that my time is not God's time. Job and his friends had a lot to say about God, His love, His power and His plan. A couple of the verses that stuck out to me over the week included:

• "Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you. Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart." Job 22:21-22. Advice that I know I have to remind myself of every morning.
• "...Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?" Job 26:14. I liked the phrase, "...the thunder of his power". Two things I don't really understand, and fear, thunder and the power of God. Beautiful imagery.
• "For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it." Job 33:14. We are being sought after, we just have to be willing to listen with more than just our ears.

There is so much I don't understand why it happens, but I need to trust that God is bigger than any earthly struggles I (we) face. My hope for the week: "But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself." Job 19: 25-27. (As a side note, it never occurred to me that these words came in the Old Testament. What promises we are given! And when we least expect it.)

The Dream Whisperer

Not going to lie, I'm not enjoying reading about Job. So let's not talk about that right now :)

While reading about Joseph's life, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat kept floating through my mind. (Donny Osmond was a good Joseph in his little loincloth). Wouldn't it be nice to interpret dreams? Of course, then you'd also have to interpret the not so pleasant ones also. While Joseph was in prison he explained to Pharaoh's chief baker and chief cup holder what their dreams meant. The chief cup holder was restored to his position, but the chief baker had a really bad day. Can you imagine being told your body was going to be impaled on a pole? And in three days nonetheless!(Gen 40:19).

One of the things that stood out to me in Joseph's story was when his brothers were eating with him before they knew his true identity. Specific mention was made that the brothers were sitting at a separate table because Egyptians wouldn't eat with Hebrews because they despised them. Yet here is Joseph, a Hebrew man with more power than any man in Egypt aside from Pharaoh himself. In fact, once Pharaoh found out Joseph's brothers were in town, he instructed Joseph to invite them and their households to move to Egypt. Not only that, they were offered their pick of  the best land in Egypt! God's hand in these events become very clear with this knowledge.

Another verse that stood out to me was Gen. 49:10 "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor." This popped off the page because it is our first prophetic verse regarding the coming of Christ. Even this early in history, God's plan of redemption was in place and slowly being revealed to man.

Week 3: Blessings and Adversity

This was an interesting week of reading. The week started with the conclusion to the story of Joseph and the incredible blessings poured out on him and his family as they were reconnected, and the week ended with the start of the story of Job and his many trials he faced. It seems to be telling of life, in that, there are ups and downs, but through it all we can rely on God and his plan that he has for us. There were several verses that jumped out at me over the week, here is a quick run down of what they are, and why I think they spoke to me:

• "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good." Genesis 50: 20. I liked this verse because it shows Joseph's faith in God, and it reminded me that God's plan is bigger than my plan, or your plan, or the other guy's plan.
• "...The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!" Job 1:21. This is part of Job's cry after he learns that he has lost everything, and in spite of his great loss he lifts a word of praise to the Lord. I think about all of the times I grumble and complain over the littlest things, and this verse is a good reminder that everything is God's and I should praise him for what he has given me because I am really very blessed. If Job can lose everything and in response praise the Lord, I can definitely try harder to offer up more praise in my daily life.
• "What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often? For you examine us every morning and test us every moment." Job 7:17. This verse made me think of God's amazing love for us and what a gift it is that He thinks of us, and loves us enough to examine us and test us so that we may grow in His love. This love He has for us constantly boggles my mind, but I know I would be nothing without it.

As we go through this new week, I pray that we may experience God's love in ways we didn't expect.

Week 2: A Great Nation Begins

The genealogies in the Old Testament baffle me, long lists of sons of sons with the occasional daughter, and almost all with names I cannot pronounce. Why all the lists? I have been thinking about this and googling the topic a bit. What I found is that the lists are a written down version of an oral tradition, and that they tie into the genealogy of Jesus. I thought about this and it seems that maybe God wanted to show a definitive path from Eve, one of the first humans he made to his begotten son, Jesus. This path shows us that God uses the unexpected people (this week we read about Tamar and Judah and how he failed to keep his promise to her, so she tricked him into getting her pregnant  - Genesis 38:1-30), to be part of his grand plan for our salvation. For me this is reminder that God's plan might not make sense to us in the moment, but in the big picture it fits in beautifully to the ballet of life around us.

This week was also included reminders of God's promises and his fulfillment of them. In Genesis 28:10-22, God promises Jacob that he is with him and will bring him back to his land. Verse 15 says this, "What's more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you." Later Jacob does return with his family to his homeland and is forgiven by his brother, Esau.

The verse that stuck out to me this week comes from the story of Joseph. Genesis 39:23 says this, "...The Lord was with his and caused everything he did to succeed." I liked this verse in the context of the story of Joseph.  Joseph's brothers were jealous of him so they sold him into slavery, then he was thrown into prison; only to eventually become the ruler of Egypt under the Pharaoh. I guessing his brothers did not think that Joseph's elevation to a position of power was possible when they sold him into slavery. Even though Joseph encountered a series of unfortunate events, God was with him and used him at the right time in God's plan. I pray that I have the patience and strength to wait on God's plans for my life.

God created, regretted, forgave.....

I've made attempts through the years to read THE BOOK from cover to cover armed with my trusty pocket schedule from church. More time was probably spent flipping through the pages to read chronologically then understanding what was truly being said.
The Old Testament has always been difficult for me with all of the genealogies and what not, not to mention the modern day application to our lives. The New Testament, now that's a different story :)
What surprised me the most in beginning this challenge with my dear friend, was how analytical/scrutinizing my thoughts were. Over the years I've grown to love theology and apologetics. A dream of mine is to one day go to seminary just for the pure fun of it:)
The main problem for me was all of these men of God who took multiple wives who, in turn, gave their servants to their husbands in order to assure children. Not to mention the concubines. In doing slight research on this topic it is interesting and slightly humorous that men are doing most of the talking. One good point I read was that in this particular era, women were completely dependent on the men, whether it be their father, brother, brother-in-law, or husband. The point made was, is it possible that God tolerated polygamy (much like he tolerates divorce)in order to make sure women were protected and taken care of? However, in the beginning God created Adam and saw fit to give him A help mate, Eve. One man, one woman. Did you notice that in creating Eve God was the very first anesthesiologist and performed the first surgery, donor surgery at that!
While we're talking about Adam and Eve, here's a thought on that "shrewd serpent" (my description would not be so nice): Evolutionists point to the fact that snakes have hip bones to prove their position. The Bible states that because of the serpent's deception, God's punishment was, "You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live." Genesis 3:14 Hmmm, seems to me snakes have hip bones because God took away their legs. If evolution were correct, because snakes no longer have a need for hip bones why do they still have them?
Another recurring event that drew my attention was that even after the Garden, God walked among humanity. Can you imagine looking up and there's God waiting to have dinner with you?! That's what happened to Abraham in Genesis 18. Wonder why that doesn't happen any more? In Genesis 6, God regretted creating humanity and decided to destroy not only humanity but every living creature. Did you catch that it also said the extent of human wickedness, not just deeds but thoughts and things imagined, broke God's heart?! Luckily Noah found favor with God and saved our behinds! After the flood God continued to pay visits to man (as mentioned above with Abraham and various other places)but at some point he stopped. If God's heart was broken back in early creation due to our wickedness in deed, thought, and imagination; can you imagine his heart looking at his beloved creation now? How lucky we are that God made a covenant with Noah to never again destroy all living things (Gen. 8:21).
Which of course speaks to God's amazing love for us, just like Kristi talked about. The very same verse that caught her attention caught mine: "you are the God that sees me." Hagar wasn't even Abraham's wife, just Sarah's servant that she gave to him in order to bear children. I'm so thankful that we have a God that sees us, regardless of our situation or lot in life! My hope in this challenge is to discover my creator anew and get to know him more intimately, just as he knows me.

Week 1 - In the beginning...

In re-reading the creation story and then to story of Noah in the flood, it God's mercy and compassion for the humans amazed me. He could have (and still could) started over. When Adam and Eve sinned, God punished them by turning them out of the garden, but he was still with them. Then later God decided that humanity had become too wicked, instead of wiping us all out he saved Noah and his family. He entrusted them to give us another chance. God's love is just amazing.

The verse that stood out to me the most this week was Genesis 16:13, "Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, "You are the God who sees me." She also said, "Have I truly seen the One who sees me?"
What I liked about this verse was her name for God, "You are the God who sees me". I know many times I feel very alone and wonder if anyone, even God, remembers or sees me, and this reminds me that he does - that each one of us is dear and important to him. He is the God who sees me - even when I cannot seem to "see" him.