Who's carrying the handbasket?

"The whole world is going to hell in a handbasket!" I can't tell you how many times I heard this expression growing up. It usually came along with a rant about some kind of sin or deviant behavior that was taking over. And in most cases, it was a behavior that the ranter was not (or in some cases like abortion couldn't be) tempted by. I'm always reminded of this expression when I read Romans 1. Take the last verse of that chapter.

And it’s not as if they don’t know better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s face. And they don’t care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!

Yeah! Those [insert pet sin here] are ruining our society. They're destroying the fabric of America. It's time to take this country back for God before all those [insert favorite scapegoat here] take us to hell in a handbasket.

But, if you read Paul's letter the way the original audience would have (rather than stopping at arbitrary chapter markings) then you proceed from this thought right into this one.

Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn’t so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you’ve done.

 Oh, hold up. You mean it's me? I'm carrying a handbasket too? Wait, I thought it was the, ummm, I mean, but that guy, it was those, but what about all those people who. . .

I love the absolute, brutal honesty that Paul uses in his letters. He stands firm and calls a sin a sin, but he also never lets us think for a minute that because we have entered the forgiveness Jesus offers that we can look down on people who are still trying to figure it out.

I love the simple language Peterson uses in his translation of Paul's letter. "It takes one to know one." Why am I so good at identifying sinners? Because I am the chief among them. And only by the grace of God, the resurrection of Jesus, and the filling of the Holy Spirit is that fact not a death sentence for me. The good news is that it doesn't have to be a death sentence for anyone else either.

God does not have a plan for your life

I loved the show Lost. I thought it was exciting, well-written, complex, and thought-provoking. It tackled many subjects in its six year run that caused people to bring the show into conversations about God, faith, fate, and eternity. Oddly, the one thing that made it most relevant to conversations of faith was the same thing that made the most people angry each week. With every answered question, there were ten new and unanswered. The creators and writers of the show had not just a tolerance for uncertainty, but a deep-seated love of it. They understood that life is not simple, that there are not always answers to our questions, that we must figure out how to live, grow, and adapt in the midst of this uncertainty.

This is what it means to live a life of faith. God will not answer all of your questions. God will not give you a five year plan to follow. God will not lay out the path for you before you begin the journey.

At this point, you might be frustrated. You might feel like I used to the title of this post to troll you, as nothing more than a ploy to get you to click the link. Ok, maybe just a little. But, I have intentionally let you dangle for a bit to test your tolerance for uncertainty. Is this guy a heretic? Is he suggesting that God doesn't care about the individual? Surely he's going to offer an explanation, an exemption, a reason that I'm the exception to the rule. Well, not exactly.

I stand by my statement. If you understand God's plan for your life to be one of a micromanager, one where every detail of your existence is predetermined and waiting for you to walk the path, then I respectfully disagree. In that sense, God does not have a plan for your life. Now can we, in hindsight, see God at work in our lives, in the course of events that have led us to the present, in the decisions that we have made? Of course. If we had made completely different choices and led to a different present, could we look back and see God's hands at work? Of course.

You see, God's plan is so much bigger than your life. God's plan is to redeem, reclaim, and restore all of creation. The way in which God does have a plan for your life is this. Since you are part of creation, you are included in the plan. You are individually invited to be an agent of restoration, a participant in the redemption of all things. Isn't that so much cooler than whether or not God wants you to attend school X or school Y? You get to be part of the advance team. You get to be (if you choose to of course) a conduit of love, grace, and mercy.

I encountered this verse in Romans 11 as I was studying today. I'm convinced that this is God's plan for my life. This is from the Message.

In one way or another, God makes sure that we all experience what it means to be outside so that he can personally open the door and welcome us back in.

This is his plan, his master work. He stands before all of creation, a creation that has chosen to live in rebellion, outside in the cold, away from the blessings of its loving creator, and says, "Welcome home. I had big plans for you in the beginning, and your disobedience hasn't changed them one bit. Let's get to work."

That is God's plan for you. His plan is to lavish on you his life, love, grace, and mercy. His plan is to invite you into a relationship with him that will make you whole and complete. And he can accomplish this plan whether you are in Washington or Timbuktu. What is essential is to answer his call the same way the ancients like Abram, Samuel and Isaiah did, "Here I am."

In Romans it says. . .

I love Paul's letters and yet am supremely intimidated by them. First, Paul is arguably the single most influential missionary and prolific church planter the world has ever known. On top of that, he has this amazing, logical, highly-educated brain that would have served him well as an attorney in 21st Century America. He has a mastery of the Law of Moses, The Prophets, and the Gospel that would make everyone from Billy Graham to John Wesley to Martin Luther feel like a simpleton.

And yet, Paul is humble. He is compassionate. He is loving. He is graceful. He longs not to demonstrate his mental and theological prowess, but to spread the good news that the salvation Jesus brought is for everyone. In this way, Paul is a very of the people kind of guy.

So, as I study through Romans again, I'm imagining that I live in Rome. I'm imagining that this letter is written directly to me, that it was delivered to my house, that I was the one who broke the seal and unrolled the scroll for the first time. I'm also reading it out loud, the way the original recipient certainly did repeatedly in countless gatherings of disciples. I don't do this nearly enough, especially considering how powerful it is when I do. I'm not sure how long I will be here. I suppose until I figure out how to live out what is written.

This time through I am reading both the NIV and The Message paraphrase. The Message is particularly powerful for me when read out loud because it is put into language that is familiar to my ears. As was read the first five chapters this morning, I was stopped in my tracks by verse 4 in chapter 2. Here is the way it is rendered in the Message.

God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.

For me, that one verse sums up the message of all of Paul's letters. God is not our doting Grandpa who we can manipulate, coerce, and take advantage of. But, neither is he the slave-driving, task-master who is anticipating our failure in order to derive pleasure from punishing us. He is kind and loving and forgiving, but if our encounter with this kindness does not lead us to repentance and radical life-change, then it wasn't his kindness we encountered.

It is also important to note (and Paul hits on it several times just in the first five chapters) that it always happens in this order. Encounter God, lead a changed life. We don't lead a changed life in order to encounter God. We come before him worthless, powerless, filthy, and bankrupt. He welcomes us in our brokenness and fills us with life, meaning, and purpose.

This will be something that I continue to chew on. God is kind, but he is not soft. I hate to admit to how many times I have treated God like he was soft, trying to manipulate and coerce him. I hate how many times I have, not in my words but in my actions, said, "oh, he'll forgive me. it's ok just this once."

God, today I chose to follow you into that radical life-change. I'm so grateful for this gentle strength that you offer me. Today, I embrace life on your terms. Today, I choose to obey, to follow, to acknowledge in my words and actions that you are my King.

And yet. . .

My thoughts are brief today. Isaiah goes on for the first half of chapter 30 about how terrible, rebellious, and devious the people are, how deserving of punishment. And then we get this verse.

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
    therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.

This is the good news. Focusing on God's love and compassion is not watering down the gospel. If anything his love and compassion is stronger and more powerful in the light of a proper understanding of our sin and brokenness. When someone is kind to someone who is kind to them first that's not news, that's Tuesday. But, when someone is kind, loving, gracious, and sacrificial in the face of rebellion, deciet, betrayal, and ridicule, that is strong, powerful love.

It is that kind of love that is lavished on us, and it is that kind of love that we are called to lavish on every single person we encounter. Those are some big shoes to fill.

Isaiah's gone to meddlin'

The further I delve into Isaiah's book this time around, more convinced I become that it's not the historical context and figurative language that keeps people from engaging the prophets. I think they hit too close to home. I think that people understand that Isaiah has (as my family in Texas would say) quit preachin' and gone to meddlin'. He's stepping on toes. He's pointing out our role in God's anger and frustration. He's pointing out the bad choices and outright rebellion that we are guilty of. Take chapter 29 for example.

You turn things upside down,
    as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,
    “You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,
    “You know nothing”?

 Isaiah is not saying anything new. Through him, God is pointing out that the disconnect between himself and humanity has not changed since Adam and Eve took the fruit. The disconnect, the thing that breaks our relationship with our creator is our desire to be in charge, to worship ourselves, to suggest that we don't need him and are not in debt to him. But God is not like that kid in 3rd grade who reminded you every five seconds that you owed him a quarter and you need to pay him back because it's his milk money and if he doesn't get it back he won't have any milk today and he really needs his quarter because he really likes milk. That's not who God is. He's not a nag. He doesn't NEED anything from us. He WANTS a relationship with us. He wants to be intimately connected to us. He wants to be known by us in the same way that he already knows us. He wants to redeem and restore us. And none of this is for his benefit. It's all for our benefit because he is incomprehensibly loving and gracious.

Look at how the chapter ends. This is always the goal. Sometimes our rebellion is at a point where his methods must be severe, but this is always the goal of God intervention in the lives of humans.

No longer will Jacob be ashamed;
    no longer will their faces grow pale.
 When they see among them their children,
    the work of my hands,
they will keep my name holy;
    they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob,
    and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
 Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding;
    those who complain will accept instruction.”

Reconciliation. Redemption. Restoration. Salvation. Healing. This is God's relentless pursuit of humanity. He longs to help us understand that to admit our weakness, to admit our dependence on him, to admit our flaws and failures is the only way to be strong, the only way to actually live.

Afraid of the Prophets

I never met Isaiah, Malachi or Jonah in person, but I feel confident saying that they were most likely rather intimidating individuals. When you combine the speaking for God with knowing the scripture by heart, following all the rules of Moses, and often living austerely in the desert, it makes for a powerful impression. I've often allowed this thinking to steer me away from studying the prophets. There is just so much to take into account. There is historical context, translation issues, cultural differences, figurative language and ancient predictions. If you let it, it can all be very intimidating. But then you read it, and you realize that God still speaks through Isaiah and Jeremiah today. You realize that the Gospels have so much more power and significance when they are connected to the generations of faithful who came before.

I've begun a trek through the prophets. I'm currently about halfway through Isaiah. I've come to a place where I'm ok with the fact that there are layers and details that may escape me for the remainder of my life. I will continue to dig, search, and study. I've chosen to focus on the fact that God is faithful to reveal himself even in the face of my ignorance. In fact, the only cure for my ignorance is to listen to his voice and allow him to continue to reveal himself to me.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. The only people who think that God is violent based on the events recorded in the Hebrew scriptures are those who haven't read it for themselves. The image of God revealed by Isaiah is consistent with (and regularly points directly to) the image of God revealed in the person of Jesus. We are met with a God who, in the face of disobedience, rebellion, and complete rejection, still longs to lavish his love, grace, and salvation on humanity. We are met with the one true God who knows us more than we can understand and to be known by us.

Weak and Rebellious

Did I mention that I love Romans? I've been really enjoying it afresh by reading it in the Message and then re-reading it in the NIV. A kinds of fun fireworks are going off in my brain. Check this out.

Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him. 

I don't think that I can hear that too many times. We were weak, and what little strength we had we devoted to rebelling against him, resisting his plan and discounting his authority. And then he sacrificed his son for us. That just doesn't get old. Humanity deserved death, and yet we received life. Then there is that last line. Christ died for us "while we were of no use whatever to him." This was not a strategic move. This was not God building up his resources, adding some valuable assets to his cause. We were worthless to him. This did not improve his portfolio. This was an expenditure, not an investment.

God let me follow your example. Let me spend my life the way that you did and do. God, I want to pour out the life that you provide without an expectation of a return, without an expectation of some kind of payback. Release me from an investment mentality, and lead me in your extravagant, prodigal (check out Timothy Keller's book Prodigal God if this confuses you) ways. Lead me to sacrifice myself for people while they are still sinners so that your life and power might flow through me and into them. Amen.

In Romans it says. . .

Wow, God knew I was going to need some Romans this morning. I love this letter. It's at the same time high theology and passionate love letter. As I've read through the New Testament this time, I've often switched to the Message paraphrase to give me a fresh take on scripture I've read many times before. I did that this morning and got so wrapped up that I read an extra chapter. I just couldn't stop reading. It's all still marinating a bit, and there is so much good stuff here. I'll just whet your appetite with a small morsel and hopefully you will dive in an read it for yourself.

In chapter 4, Paul gives a great dialogue on Abraham. This is certainly appropriate since he is addressing Jewish readers. Peterson translates verse 17 this way.

We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody.

 I know this. I've know this for a long time. And yet, I'm constantly trying to get God's attention with my good deeds. I'm constantly trying to earn what he's already freely given me. I'm constantly trying to deserve what is only available as a gift of grace.

God, I'm a nobody, but I'm your nobody. I belong to you, not because of my worth, but because of your choice. Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for choosing humanity. Thank you for choosing creation. Today, I choose to live in response to your gift rather than tying to earn your favor. Amen. (Let it be so!)

As he went along

I'm always reminded when I read the gospels that Jesus was never in a hurry. He had a sense of urgency about proclaiming the message of the Kingdom of God, but he was never in a hurry. Whenever he was interrupted, he stopped and dealt kindly with the interruption. Even when he was specifically headed to an appointment, he never hesitated to stop and interact with people along the way.

I'm beginning to think that this is not just a ministry style, but this relaxed pace, this refusal to be in a hurry is a characteristic of God revealed in Christ. During creation, God could have just done it all in one micro-nano-second or less. But instead, he took his time. He was deliberate. He was not in a hurry. This is difficult for me, because I struggle with this. I'm from the digital generation. I want it yesterday. If my computer or phone takes more than one second to do what I tell it, I get frustrated.

God, I want to reflect you in every way, every part, every characteristic. Jesus, let me model this refusal to be in a hurry in the say way that I seek to love, share grace and extend mercy.

Because you say so

There is a moment in Luke 5, when Jesus finishes preaching and gets into Simon Peter's boat and tells him to go to deep water. He then tells him to cast his nets. Peter, the fishing expert, tells Jesus that they just spent all night and caught nothing. He tells Jesus that they worked really hard, used all their expertise and caught nothing. I can hear the fatigue and frustration in Peter's voice. I can sense the anger bubbling under the surface. I can sense the angry stares of his crew, the aching muscles and empty stomachs.

A people prepared for the Lord

My thoughts are brief today. I love this verse.

And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

That was John the Baptist's calling, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. This was a moment to reclaim the place that Israel held by virtue of God's covenant with Abraham. But, this is not about exclusivity. God promised Abraham that all nations, all people, all of humanity would be blessed through his offspring. Israel was prepared for the Lord, but John was called to make them ready to do what God called them to do, to embrace the Messiah, to spread the good news, to tell the nations that there was a way to be reconciled to God where there wasn't before. This isn't about God choosing Israel to enter eternity and everyone else is screwed. This is about how God chose Israel to be his messenger, to be his ambassador, to be his herald, to the his agent of love, hope and restoration in a world full of people disconnected from his salvation.

Now, that's us. We are the children of God. We've been adopted into the family, grafted into the root. We are now God's chosen instrument of grace, peace and love. God, I want to be ready. You chose me. You prepared me. Now make me ready to spread your good news everywhere I go. Help me to use words if I have to. Let my life itself be an offering, a sacrifice to you.

Not what I will

It's worded a bit different in Matthew and Luke, but I'm always convicted and moved by the moment that Jesus prays in Gethsemane.

“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Help me with my unbelief!

I love Mark's gospel because it is so straightforward. Mark is the Hemingway of gospel writers. Simple sentences. No extra words. Straight to the point. As I read today, I found two verses from two different passages that seem completely unrelated and yet God made a connection for me today. Take a look at them. 

 ²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 

¹⁵ I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

The Kingdom of God is near

The message of Mark's gospel is quite simple. Through all the stories and parables, one theme pervades. The kingdom of God is near, and the only proper response to this fact is to repent.  It is that beautifully simple. As I read the first seven chapters this time, I noticed something else. The more deeply someone is connected to the law, the more deeply religious a person is, the more devoutly Jewish a person is, the less likely they are to hear, understand and respond to Jesus' message. The Pharisees respond to Jesus' teaching by looking for a way to kill him. The disciples follow him, but are repeatedly confused by and frustrated with Jesus. And then there is everyone else, the crowds, the hoi polloi, the commoners, the sick, the broken, the sinners. These people flock to Jesus. Their simple trust in him, their faith in his authority is always rewarded. They always come away changed.

Jesus, I come before you today with nothing more than the knowledge that you are the hope of the world. Today, I set aside everything that is me so that I might have more of you. Fill me so that I might empty myself for the sake of others.

What are we living for?

These few chapters are HUGE! I actually feel overwhelmed at the task of picking a few moments that stood out to me, or even trying to summarize it. We have our first experience with communion, the betrayal of Christ, the crucifixion and then finally the resurrection. It doesn’t matter how many times I read this, I am still overcome by God’s willingness and Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Even more specifically God’s willingness and Jesus’ sacrifice for me.

I think it’s important to personalize this experience. I’ve come to the conclusion over time that believing that a man died on a cross for the sins of the world isn’t that hard to believe. The hard part, and the part that requires faith, is believing it is good enough for you. I assure you it is! Jesus, fully God and fully man came to earth and died a tragic death on the cross for you and for me, as atonement for our sins, to provide a way for us to heaven.

The choice we have is whether to accept this as truth and move forward in Christ or not. The beginning of Chapter 25 Jesus tells a story about this choice. We do not want to be caught off guard in our last moment on earth but rather be ready, vigilant and waiting. It is easy to assume that life keeps going, that life will end one day when you’re old and ready. I can also assure you that this is not always the case. Sometimes your whole life changes in a second. If you’re lucky your alive and you have the chance to do it right. I thank God everyday that he gave me that chance. I also thank God everyday that since Nathan didn’t have a second chance that he was wise enough to use his first one right.

Everyday we are choosing to live for something. I propose we live for Christ and see the way that affects our lives and the lives of everyone around us for good.

If you didn’t notice, there are no verses in this post. Therefore it does not count as reading the bible. Duh! I encourage you to go read Matthew Chapters 25-28 with fresh perspective and an open heart.

Forgetting who we are

I've read, heard, seen the story of the trial, execution and resurrection of Jesus hundreds of times, and yet it never ceases to hit me like a hammer. Each time something different makes the heaviest impact, but the weight of the sacrifice, the intensity of the love, the honesty of Jesus' relationship to the Father, it is always intensely moving for me. This time around, it was Jesus predicting Peter's denial that spoke to me. Take a look.

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

The Least of These

These two chapters (Mt 24-25) are full of some tough teaching. Jesus lays out the eternal consequences of remaining in our rebellion and refusing his grace and mercy. There is prophesy, references to prophesy (Daniel 9) and lots of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Much of what Jesus talks about in these two chapters is beyond our influence and control. But at the end of chapter 25, we get this reminder.

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Love!

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

Matthew 22:37-39 (KJV)

Makes it seem so easy. I think it really is that easy. God is waiting every second of everyday for us to choose life – to choose Him. If we begin to give thought to our relationship with the Lord and then choose to grow this bond by being in the word, in prayer and worshiping with other believers, we will know no other feeling but love for the Lord. As that love grows, so naturally will our love for others. I find that if I just focus on Jesus than He works the rest out. That is not to insinuate that the other facets of my life do not require work and attention but through the grace of Jesus Christ, the other pieces of my life fall perfectly in to place one at a time. Not always immediately and not always the way I thought, but perfect.

Go show Jesus you love Him by reading Matthew chapters 21-24 and then go love someone else!

Broken or Crushed?

In Matthew 21, Jesus references Psalm 118. He tells the Pharisees that he is the capstone, and that they are the ones who are rejecting it. Then he says this.

"He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

 Without lots of pomp and circumstance, without super theological discussion, without digging into the original language, I see humanity's choice in this verse. We can choose to fall on Jesus and be broken, humbled and ultimately restored into right relationship with God, or we can refuse, remain in our pride, try to do it our own way and be crushed by the very one who offers us salvation.

Jesus, I choose to fall on you, to allow you to break me, allow you to mold me, allow you to restore me.

Eternal Words, The Rich & The Call

“Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”

Matthew 18:18-20 (Message)

It is so easy to assume that God can only here us when we are praying. It is rather sobering to think of our words echoing in eternity. I think about how my words echo in the hearts of my children. I know I am rather cavalier so often with my words and I am convicted to be more intentional with every sound that leaves my lips.

What kind of soil are you?

If you have ears, hear:

“What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.”

Matthew13:3-8 (Message)

Although I have read this many times, I am always challenged by the soil my heart is made of. The soil we prepare for the Lord in our hearts is a daily preparation. I don’t think much else needs to be said here.

People are more important

I know I sound like a broken record, but there is so much great stuff in today's reading. There is a theme that I noticed. In several different ways, Jesus takes the time to teach the religious leaders, his disciples and the crowds who just want a miracle that people are always more important than rules and traditions. No matter how noble our intentions, if we choose rules or traditions over people, we've made the wrong choice. This is not at all to suggest that we become foundation-less relativists. Truth is truth, but the truth of Jesus is always expressed in love. Always. No, seriously, always. This means that anything short of sin is fair game when it comes to sharing the good news with people who need to hear it.

Inspired at every turn...

Matthew continues to blow my mind chapter after chapter! I chose to write a little less tonight and really focus on a few things that hit me hard. Before that, I have to again say that I am encouraged and baffled by the unending faith of the multiple individuals in these chapters. I read a blog post of some friends of ours today and their journey and the faith with which they have pressed forward mirrors the men and women found in Matthew! I am inspired by the real life example I have of radical faith! Thank you Jason & Kameron for allowing the Lord to use you. Your story will continue long after you done writing it.

~

“Healthy people don’t need a doctor, sick people do!”

Matthew 9:12 (NLT)

Big Gulps

I love scripture reading plans. They keep me focused and motivated. But, the downside is that it forces me to take big gulps of truth, and sometimes that causes me to miss some of the subtle details and textures. There are all kinds of amazing things in today's reading. But, I want to zoom in on just one verse that stopped me in my tracks.

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Overload...

It is impossible to summarize the happenings of chapters 5-8. I will declare that it is far better to just read them. However I have included some verses that stood out, but more importantly, challenged me in my reading.

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If YOU lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?”

Matthew 5:13 (Message)

What a simple response to the question of life. I submit that the times in our lives when we feel empty, depressed and directionless are the times that we have lost our saltiness. When we are out of relationship with Christ we feel it to our very core. Our purpose is to be the salt. When we’ve lost our saltiness, we’ve lost our purpose. I can’t helped but be convicted by how many lives I have failed to sprinkle with a dash of Jesus Brand Salt because of my own lack of saltiness.

Shaking things up

First, how in the world do you discuss the entire Sermon on the Mount in one blog post? I don't think it can be done, so I'm not going to try. I began reading this morning in the NIV, my go to translation. But, I've read these chapters so many times before that I found myself in a rut, seeing the same things, looking at the sections I've underlined or highlighted in the past. So, to shake it up, I read these chapters in the Message paraphrase. I would recommend this (not necessarily the Message, but switching translations now and then) tactic to help shake up your study time. When you read in a different translation it forces you to see it fresh, to focus on different things, to allow God to speak to you anew. /soapbox.

Matthew Chapters 1-4 ~ by Joel

I always forget how awesome the gospels are! 

The first half of chapter 1 lays out in detail the lineage that Christ came from. While usually I would probably skip over this, this time I read with great curiosity! And to my surprise, reading it allowed me to learn some new stuff. For instance, there are exactly 14 generations between Abraham and David, 14 generations between David and the Babylonian Exile and 14 generations between the Exile to Jesus! If you are reading this blog, I challenge to comment on this post as to what the significance of that is before I do! I don't know yet, but I will be finding out!!! After this prologue of sorts, Matthew jumps right into the short version of Jesus' conception, Joseph's chat with an angel and Jesus' birth.

. . .from the mouth of God

I love the Temptation Narrative of Jesus. I love that immediately after Jesus is baptized, right after God confirms that this is his one and only son, the Spirit leads him into the desert to be tempted. We like to think of faith as a bubble that insulates us from hardship, but often faith leads up into hardship. Anyway, that isn't what jumped off the page for me today.

In Mt 4:4, Jesus responds to the first temptation by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3.  He echoes Moses' reminder that what sustains humanity is not food, but the word of God. But, I noticed something new this time. Look at the exact words Jesus says.

The Reading Plan

Here's the reading plan if you'd like to join in the fun.

February (and the first two days of January)

30 Matthew 1-4

31 Matthew 5-7

1 Matthew 8-11

2 Matthew 12-15

3 Matthew 16-19

4 Matthew 20-23

5

6 Matthew 24-25

7 Matthew 26-28

8 Mark 1-3

9 Mark 4-7

10 Mark 8-10

11 Mark 11-13

12

13 Mark 14-16

14 Luke 1-2

15 Luke 3-6

16 Luke 7-9

17 Luke 10-12

18 Luke 13-15

19

20 Luke 16-18

21 Luke 19-21

22 Luke 22-24

23 John 1-2

24 John 3-5

25 John 6-8

26

27 John 9-12

28 John 13-17

29 John 18-21

March

1 Acts 1-4

2 Acts 5-7

3 Acts 8-9

4 Acts 10-12

5 Acts 13-15

6 Acts 16-18

7

8 Acts 19-20

9 Acts 21-23

10 Acts 24-26

11 Acts 27-28

12 Romans 1-3

13 Romans 4-5

14

15 Romans 6-8

16 Romans 9-11

17 Romans 12-16

18 1 Corinthians 1-6

19 1 Corinthians 7-10

20 1 Corinthians 11-14

21

22 1 Corinthians 15-16

23 2 Corinthians 1-5

24 2 Corinthians 6-9

25 2 Corinthians 10-13

26 Galatians 1-6

27 Ephesians 1-6

28

29 Philippians 1-4

30 Colossians 1-4

31 1 Thessalonians 1-5

April

1 2 Thessalonians 1-3

2 1 Timothy 1-3

3 1 Timothy 4-6

4 2 Timothy 1-4

5 Titus 1-3

6

7 Philemon

8 Hebrews 1-2

9 Hebrews 3-4

10 Hebrews 5-7

11 Hebrews 8-10

12 Hebrews 11-13

13

14 James 1-5

15 1 Peter 1-5

16 2 Peter 1-3

17 1 John 1-5

18 2 John

19 3 John

20

21 Jude

22 Revelation 1-3

23 Revelation 4-5

24 Revelation 6-7

25 Revelation 8-9

26 Revelation 10-13

27

28 Revelation 14-16

29 Revelation 17-19

30 Revelation 20-22