July, 2009 Comments

[Suzanne]

 

Summer is here! We are halfway through the Bible. I am still amazed how little time it takes to do our daily reading. My Kindle has been a Godsend, and this One-Year Bible sure has given me a new & good habit!

June's comments can be accessed here:
http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,9285.0.html

Gods Accuracy

God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of Eggs.
For example:
The eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days;
Those of the canary in 14 days;
Those of the barnyard hen in 21 days.
The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 Days;
Those of the mallard in 35 days.
The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich Hatch in 42 days.
(Notice, they are all divisible by Seven).

God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant.
The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the
Same direction. No other Quadruped is so made. God planned
That this animal would have a huge body, too large to live
On two legs. For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so
That it can rise from the ground easily.

The horse rises from the ground on its two front Legs first.
A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs First.
How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation!

God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of
Sections and segments, as well as in the number of grains.
Each watermelon has an even number of strips on the rind.
Each orange has an even number of segments.
Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an
Even number of bananas, and each row decreases by one, so
That one row has an even number and the next row an odd number.
The waves of the sea roll In on shore twenty-six
To the minute in all kinds of weather.
All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and the Lord
Specified thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold - all even numbers.
God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain
Specified times during the day, so that Linneus, the great
Botanist, once said that if he had a conservatory containing
The right kind of soil, moisture and temperature, he could
Tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were open
And those that were closed!

Thus the Lord in His wonderful grace can arrange the
Life that is entrusted to His care in such a way that it
Will carry out His purpose and plan, and will be fragrant
With His presence.
Only the God-planned life is successful. Only the
Life given to the care of the Lord is safe.

~Author unknown~

[Anju No. 469]

Very nice Suzi - thanks

[Suzanne]

Hmmmmmmmmm . . . I didn't realize that we go through the Psalms twice in one year! That's good!

Does anyone else find it shocking the depths of depravity the Israelites had sunk to? I mean, to have all that pagan stuff right in the Temple!!! Good grief!!! And in today's reading, it just goes on and on about all Josiah had to do to destroy all this pagan stuff. No wonder God was so angry at them. The nation of Israel truly strikes me as a very stiff-necked people and a very ungrateful people at that.

[lynninva]

The nation of Israel truly strikes me as a very stiff-necked people and a very ungrateful people at that.

Unfortunately, I find myself being stiff-necked and ungrateful too often.  What amazes me is God's forgiveness & mercy - both for Israel and for me.

[mwvickers]

Unfortunately, I find myself being stiff-necked and ungrateful too often.  What amazes me is God's forgiveness & mercy - both for Israel and for me.

You beat me to it! 

I was just going to say that we can see a lot of Israel in each of us. 

If our bodies are considered to be the temple of the Holy Spirit, then how many "pagan" (that is, ungodly, sinful, etc.) things do we let in our temples?  How many "idols" do we erect in place of the true God in our own lives?  In many cases, we are just as stiff-necked as Israel. 

But as you said, thank God for the mercy we receive through Jesus Christ.

[Suzanne]

I am still shocked and saddened by their behavior. I find it shocking that they would bring their pagan idols into the Temple. They worshiped these pagan idols right there in God's Temple. What an affront to him.

I find it very sad. Sad for the nation of Israel and sad for God. The nation of Israel will reap the fruitage of their behavior. Yes, God, is loving and merciful. But his mercy has limits. We will see that they will soon be punished for their behavior, and punished severely.

How did this make God feel? He made Israel his covenant nation. When he made the covenant with them he basically said he would put a hedge around them if they were obedient. They would have been safe & prosperous. But they spurned all this. How did God feel when he saw them worshiping these pagan idols in His Temple, basically in front of his face? This must have broke his heart.

Yes, God is merciful. But only when we are sorry for what we have done. Were they sorry?

I just find the whole matter very difficult to read. It saddens me to read of Israel's foolishness. But it simply tears my heart in two thinking what their behavior did to God, how it must have hurt his feelings something awful.

I am not trying to say that I am perfect. I am nowhere near that and I am grateful for God's mercy & grace daily. Maybe because I came from nothing and had very little, I appreciate every little kindness that comes my way, from people & more importantly, from God.

[Elijsha]

^^^as i read that i see America doing the same things.

[Anju No. 469]

^^^as i read that i see America doing the same things.

^^^ I see the world doing the same things.

[mwvickers]

I am still shocked and saddened by their behavior. I find it shocking that they would bring their pagan idols into the Temple. They worshiped these pagan idols right there in God's Temple. What an affront to him.

I find it very sad. Sad for the nation of Israel and sad for God. The nation of Israel will reap the fruitage of their behavior. Yes, God, is loving and merciful. But his mercy has limits. We will see that they will soon be punished for their behavior, and punished severely.

How did this make God feel? He made Israel his covenant nation. When he made the covenant with them he basically said he would put a hedge around them if they were obedient. They would have been safe & prosperous. But they spurned all this. How did God feel when he saw them worshiping these pagan idols in His Temple, basically in front of his face? This must have broke his heart.

Yes, God is merciful. But only when we are sorry for what we have done. Were they sorry?

I just find the whole matter very difficult to read. It saddens me to read of Israel's foolishness. But it simply tears my heart in two thinking what their behavior did to God, how it must have hurt his feelings something awful.

I am not trying to say that I am perfect. I am nowhere near that and I am grateful for God's mercy & grace daily. Maybe because I came from nothing and had very little, I appreciate every little kindness that comes my way, from people & more importantly, from God.

Very good points.

[mwvickers]

I didn't really know where to put this, but there is a free Christian book for Kindle right now.  It is mentioned in the free Kindle books thread.

The title of the book is No Little People by Francis Schaeffer.

I've read one of his books, and I really enjoyed it.  I would encourage you all to pick this one up.  After all, it's free!

[Suzanne]

Thanks, Martin. I snagged it. It looks good!

[Suzanne]

Proverbs 18:17 -  The first to speak in court sounds right—
      until the cross-examination begins.

As a court reporter I can attest to this wholeheartedly. I learned early on in my profession that there are always two sides to every story and we should withhold judgment until we hear both sides.

[Anju No. 469]

I am a readin' along, so and so is father of so and so and so and so and so and so - it finally dawned on me, this is where all the begats are LOL, but you have to skim them carefully because every now and then there is some meat in there.

[lynninva]

This isn't related to where we are currently, but I recently found this book on Amazon for $.01:

God is Closer Than You Think

Product Description

People often view God as a harsh and judgmental God. Read the biblical book of Leviticus and you just might agree. Leviticus presents a God who seems distant and unapproachable, someone you would not want to get close to. But, as Mike Darretta points out, "we live in a day where God is no longer distant, but near". But what has changed? What has brought God near to you and me? In God is Closer Than You Think, you will discover why God is near and is someone you would want to have a close, meaningful friendship with.

Since Leviticus was a little tough to get through, I thought this might help.  And for a penny, I didn't have much to lose. 

I just started reading it.  The author says that he will contrast how approachable God is to us through Jesus, compared to the animal sacrifices of Leviticus.

[Suzanne]

Thanks so much! I snagged it!

[Suzanne]

Well, I see myself & my sinful ways in King Asa in today's reading:

2 Chronicles 16
Final Years of Asa’s Reign
 1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa’s territory in Judah.

 2 Asa responded by removing the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace. He sent it to King Ben-hadad of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message:

 3 “Let there be a treaty between you and me like the one between your father and my father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone.”

 4 Ben-hadad agreed to King Asa’s request and sent the commanders of his army to attack the towns of Israel. They conquered the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah,[j] and all the store cities in Naphtali. 5 As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah and stopped all work on it. 6 Then King Asa called out all the men of Judah to carry away the building stones and timbers that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used these materials to fortify the towns of Geba and Mizpah.

7 At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him, “Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the Lord your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram. 8 Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians[k] and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers?[l] At that time you relied on the Lord, and he handed them over to you. 9 The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.”

 10 Asa became so angry with Hanani for saying this that he threw him into prison and put him in stocks. At that time Asa also began to oppress some of his people.

(Italics mine)

This is something I fight everyday!! When in a difficult situation, I should first lean on God. But I'm such an independent & self-sufficient (or so I think, but I am so wrong!) person, that I quite often forget to lean on God.

Daily, when I read the scriptures, I try to learn from other people's mistakes. I see from this reading that God is truly offended when we don't lean completely on Him.

[geoffthomas]

I believe that one of the benefits of reading through the Old and New Testaments at the same time is that we can see how God's plan was laid out.
The Old Testament, made with Abraham was strict and difficult (impossible?) and perhaps meant to demonstrate to the "chosen people" that they (the best of mankind) could not be worthy of God's Love and could not clean themselves of sin. Only the perfect sacrifice could do this.
And the New Testament when God became Man and became the perfect sacrifice to remove our sin.  And all we have to do is accept the gift.  No more trying to be perfect (which man cannot do).  The fulfillment of prophecy and the provision of God's infinite love, for those who accept that they cannot get to heaven on their own (without God at all) and cannot earn their way into heaven (by their works) but only (let me stress ONLY) get there by accepting God's gift - Jesus - God become man.  This is the new covenant and the completion of the old covenant.
It is so simple.
And yet we intellectualize over faith.

Just sayin.....

[Suzanne]

I must have been on the dark side of the moon or something, because it was only after I bought my Kindle that I found out about one-year Bibles. I have been reading the Bible daily for over 35 years now, and this is so much easier. I really like having a section from the OT, NT, Psalms & a proverb or two. And what a wonderful feeling to read the entire Bible in one year!!

One of the scriptures we covered yesterday (I think!) was Rom. 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. " I have the English Standard Version study Bible on my coffee table and looked it up there. The footnote on that scripture was interesting. This is what it said:

Rom. 10:4 End probably includes the idea of both goal and termination. The Mosaic law has reached its goal in Christ (it looked forward to and anticipated him), and the law is no longer binding upon Christians (the old covenant has ended). Since Christ is the goal and end of the law, righteousness belongs to all who trust in Christ.

You are so right that we cannot earn our way into heaven. Eph. 2:8,9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast."