Luke 2

The thing that I found the most interesting about this passage was the two people Simeon and Anna. They were two people that I haven’t heard about and are forgotten in the story of Jesus’ youth.
What was fascinating was that they knew their purpose was to be in a place that God can use them and they were two of the first people to welcome the Messiah into the world. I find the thing that Simeon said to Mary to be quite telling "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

Luke 1

This is a long chapter with a lot going on.
A few thoughts I had:

• In today's world, I don't know how excited people would be if they found out they were having a child at such an old age.
• Zechariah must have been sared and excited at the same time. How cool it would be to be visited by an angel that was sent from God to deliver a message to you.
• How tough it would be to not be able to speak until after your child is born and is named. I guess it was God's collateral to make sure that they named him John.

Mark 16

How cool is it that Jesus wasn't in the tomb? After years of following Jesus and hearing of his teachings, they see a miracle happen to him. It is just the icing on the cake from his life. After seeing what he did, it is a nice springboard to all of those that he left on earth to go and share his good word.

Mark 15

Boy those chief priests sure do know how to stir up a crowd. I would have liked to see the sales pitch that they gave to the people in the crowd that would make them choose to release a murder over Jesus. I wonder what it would take to convince a crowd today of the same thing? People then were looking at the priests in high regard and probably trusted their words too much. Today in America, there are more people that can be skeptics to a situation and not as easily swayed. I'm sure if you were in the right place today it could happen, but I think people are less willing to follow the words of a few without having to give more reasons.

Mark 14

If some person wanted to annoint my body with that much perfume, I wouldn't want it to happen. Can you imagine how strong Jesus smelled after that? It seems like a couple of sprays are enough to make a person gag, imagine a whole bottle!
Peter's denial is also something good to see. Jesus knew that Peter would fall behind. It is nice to konw that Jesus knows that even the strongest will fail at times. It gives some encouragement to me knowing that I have no where near that faith that Peter did.

Mark 13

Watch and wait for the Lord to come. In verses 7 and 8, it talks about how our world is today. Is Jesus coming soon? That is a question that I don't have an answer to. That happens a lot to me. Especially teaching 4th graders. I hope Jesus comes soon. I also am selfish because I want to see my girls grow up. When I get to Heaven, will I know my girls? Will they be able to talk to me? I can't wait to find out.

Mark 12

I read the parable of the tenants twice. I don't really remember that one at all. I read it in a couple of versions and tried to see if there was any way that there were parts of it that I remembered. The rest of the chapter I remembered. That was the weird part. I remembered

• Give to Ceasar that which is Ceasar's
• The many marriages of the widow
• Love your neighbor as yourself
• The widow giving the two coins

I don't know where or how I missed that story, it is just weird.

Mark 11

That poor fig tree. Figs weren't in season. I think killing it as an example to the disciples was a great illustration of the power of Christ.
I also think about how Jesus went-off in the Temple. Our church is a sacred place. The things that we do in it should be held in a sacred manner. If it is praising God, or having a Men's fellowship group, it needs to be something that honors God.

Mark 10

Looking at verses 17 - 31, the part that talked about giving up all of your possessions to follow Christ, it looks hard. The only thing that I thought of that this would be possible would be in the field of missions. This would be where you would need to uproot yourselves and to relocate with the purpose of ministry. Is this the only way in which you could follow these scriptures to the letter of the law? I'm not going to sell my house, quit my job, and to constantly look for people to share Christ with, I don't think that is what God is asking me to do at this point. Not needing to get into the debate of how literal to take the bible, I was just curious how a guy living in the suburbs with his family could do this. I tithe, I go to church, I know I could do better ministering to those around me, but how can I put these verses to heart?

Mark 9

I think the part from verses 14 - 27. It has some suspense to it. Just imagining Jesus considering how to heal this boy and teaching his father about having faith to be able to be healed. There is the added element in verse 26. It says that Jesus saw a crowd running toward him. I imagine it being like in a television show today with someone in the show waiting for a file to load and running out of the room just in time. It is funny to see that happening in the Bible as well.

Mark 8

I don't quite understand when Jesus is talking about the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod. I know that Jesus ends it by saying, "Do you still not understand?"
Unfortunately, I don't quite get it.

Mark 7

The first part of this chapter that sticks out is when Jesus talks about clean and unclean foods. I know that there are plenty of religions now that don't eat certain foods and it is weird to me. I'm glad that Jesus said that all foods were good to eat. We would be missing out on a lot of good things.
The second thing that stood out to me was the part at the end after Jesus had healed the deaf and mute. He told them not to tell anyone. Why? Did I miss something earlier about this? It seems like good marketing to get the word out about what Jesus can do and for people to be able to build their faith believing that Jesus is the Christ that he has said that he is.

Mark 6

I like the part where Jesus says that only in the place where Jesus grew up and was that people really respected him for who and what he did. They were amazed, but giving him a hard time because it was expected that he wouldn't have as much knowledge of the spiritual sides that he had. After doing some reading I now understand why the people were so puzzled with Jesus' knowledge of the Bible and able to teach in the temple. It was the father's duty to teach his son a trade and it was expected that Jesus would have been a carpenter. Any child that did not follow in his father's footsteps was looked at as a failure of the father's responsibilites.
I think about what it is like to have someone famous grow up around you. Someone that you have known for awhile and have gotten used to them in a different sence. People in Jesus' home town had gotten used to Jesus and knew what he was like. Others were shocked at what they saw. I think that is neat.

Mark 5

I love this chapter because it focuses on having faith. The woman who was sick was healed by faith. The little girl who had died was resurrected by Jesus because of the faith of those that loved her. I think about the lady who just wanted to touch Jesus because with her faith, she knew that she would be healed. That is awesome. I want to be that way. I want to have that kind of faith. I have times where I feel my faith is pretty strong, but more often than not, I have times where I know that I am weak. I just want the chance to grow more and see more and do more to be able to grow my faith to know all that God does for me. I need to work on that and to just believe in how much He can really do.

Mark 4

I like the times in the Bible when the disciples don't understand stuff and Jesus "rebukes" them. As a teacher, I think it would neat to watch Jesus call out his "students." Sometimes in my class I know that there is probably a better way to do it. I think it would be neat to just watch him do it and to see the reactions of the faces of the disciples. If I were the disciples, I think I would be both scared about not following his teachings, and awestruck. That would be quite the awesome feeling.

Mark 3

When I think about the apostles, I think about how much of an honor they must have felt having Jesus choose them to be his disciples. I watched a video series by (Tyler help me out, it was from the twenty-somethings group. His name is just not there for me) and he talked about how hard people worked to be a disciple for a rabbi. They had to memorize so much scripture, they had to serve the rabbi, they had to do so much as far as just trynig to impress the rabbi. After many steps, the best of the best were chosen to be the disciples of the rabbi. It took years of terribly hard work to be able to even get to a point of consideration to be a disciple. All this said, how cool it must have been for Jesus' disciples. Jesus saw good in them and knew that they would be able to do his work and spread the gospel. Normal people just plucked out of the crowd.
That's us, just normal people.

Mark 2

The sick need doctors not the ones that are healthy. We talked about it from Matthew, but I still think this is a very important phrase to think about during our daily lives. We do all hang out on weekends and during the week, but we still need to use our time in our workplaces and at other times to try and share our faith with those that we are with each and every day.

Mark 1

I have always found it intriguing on how the gospels of Matthew and Mark differ. Mark is right to the point in the first chapter laying out ground work of Christ coming, John the Baptist, and then right when he started his adult ministry. I think the most interesting thing about this chapter is when Jesus healed many. After healing Simon Peter's mother-in-law, Jesus has many come to his door and ask to be healed and to have demons removed from them. Just the outcry of the sick and needy and Jesus answers the call. It makes me think how quickly news spread of the power of Jesus in a time when communication was not fast spread, and the amount of need in the area.

Matthew 28

How awesome it must have felt to be the disciples up on the mountain to see Jesus after witnessing all that had happened to him days earlier. I can not imagine the grief that they must have felt in the days between his death and resurrection. I can not imagine also how awesome it must have felt for them to have experienced to be with Jesus again for the brief time.

Chapter 27

I have always thought it would be pretty neat to be Simon of Cyrene because he was able to take the cross off of Jesus' back and carry it for him. Although Jesus eventually did die, it would be quite an honor to give him a break from having to carry it for some time.

Ch 26 continued

Oh by the way, can you imagine what this looked like?

"67Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him."

I read that and my stomach dropped a little.

Matthew 26 - It's been awhile

It's been awhile since a post has been put up. I know that we made a commitment to do this fully this year and I am going to try and get us back on track. There will be some catching up to do, but we can do it.
In this chapter, the short section about Judas betraying Jesus stood out to me. I read this section and think of how crazy it was for him to betray Jesus that easily. He only needed 30 silver coins (actual dollar amount based on inflation I don't know) but that is a pretty cheap price to betray someone. Then I thought about how easily I betray Jesus with no monitary reward returned back to me at all. Made me think...

Matthew 25

The parable of the talents makes me think about our group talk that we had the other night. The idea that we need to use what we have to do good and provide for many areas in the church that are in need. We all have talents and abilities, we just need to use them to their best to glorify God. I think that Monday night was a bit overwhelming with so many ideas getting out there, but I think it could be the start of some good service to the church. Hopefully everybody in our group will be able to do plenty of follow-up in the areas we wanted to start serving in.

Matthew 24

This chapter was a tough one to write on. I struggled coming up with anything to write. I did feel motivated though while reading. Thinking about the end times and what it will be like, and being glad that I will not be there, those are tough things to think about. I really think that thinking about the end times is a really big motivator to increase evangelism. How sad it will be for people that we know and see every day to be left behind.

Matthew 23

I would like to have been in the room of the Pharasees after Jesus had said all of what He did in chapter 23. He really laid into them, but I want to know what response they really had. I wonder if any of them had regrets or bad feelings about what they had done, or if they all just got more angry at Jesus. Obviously, we know what happens, but I wonder what it was like in that time when Jesus was calling them out. I know at times when I have been called out, I either get embarassed, defensive, or even. I am sure that after this time, they just decided that they needed to save face and keep their political power and that they needed to take out the "Enemy."

Matthew 22

This chapter has so much in it. First it has one of my favorite parables in it about the Wedding Banquet. I love v. 14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen." Every one is invited to God's banquet, but it is by our choice and obedience that we are chosen to attend. Second we get a small piece of what the resurrection will be like in v. 29-32. I think the most interesting this is what the groups felt after he spoke these words in this chapter. People were astonished and amazed at what he said in response to the Pharisees and Sadducees and after dealing with the questions from the Pharisees and Sadducees, they were scared to ask any more questions because of the answers Jesus gave to what they asked. Awesome.

Matthew 21

So often we think of things upcoming that fill us with excitement, birthdays, anniversaries, kids being born, just to name a few. There is also a flip side to those exciting events. I can't stop thinking about what Jesus was feeling while riding on a donkey down the streets of Jerusalem. He knew what he had to do and seeing all of the faces of the same people who would call for his death a few days latter, make this week even more difficult. I can only imagine the emotions He was feeling.

Matthew 20

The story of the workers in the vineyard is another parable that I forgot about. I think that it is amazing that all you have to do to go to heaven is to accept Jesus as your savor and believe that he died to wash away your sins. Just like it says in verse 16. So the last will be first and the first will be last. A guy that has just accepted Christ 5 minutes ago will go to the same heaven as a lifelong christian who has dedicated his entire life to the lord. Can you imagine if God required us to complete a checklist before we were allowed into heaven?

I also think that it is incredible that God sent his son here to Earth. I also liked verse 28. Jesus did not come to earth to be served but to serve. Anytime I here a verse like that it makes me want to help others. If God can send his only son to serve me then what am I doing to serve others.

Matthew 19

The divorce section is one that I am praying that none of us will ever have to consider.
I really do appreciate all of you guys and the relationships that you share with your wives. I am hoping and praying that continues "until death do us part."

Matthew 18

When reading the part about the unmerciful servant I couldn't help but to be frustrated with they guy and to feel embarassed with how I am like that. So often God takes care of us when we beg him to, but we do not return the same favor to others when they are in a position that they can't help out. It's a tough thing to think about.

Matthew 17

I can't imagine what it would be like to be Peter, James and John. It must have been incredible to be up on the mountain with Jesus, Moses and Elijah. I am sure after that sight, they never doubted at all the suprimeness of Jesus or his abilities. That must have been awesome!

Matthew 16

Waiting for a sign

I remember when I was young looking out my window and asking God to show me a sign. I would watch for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes. How much I have learned over the years, or so I thought. I feel like I am always asking God for a sign to show me that things will be ok, or that he hears me. I want to see something miraculous. There are tons of times that I want to see proof that God is really working. From this realization, I know that I need to work on my faith and have more trust in the Lord. Jesus said in verse 4, "the wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but it will not be given but through the sign of Jonah." Does that make me a wicked person? Probably. I need to work on my faith and realize that God is in control and that I don't need to see a flash of lightning in the sky to have proof of his existence.

Matthew 15

I liked these verses: "10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' " As the Pharisees were at it again with all the rules and stuff, Jesus just put them in their place. Well we say they were put in their place, I am sure the pharisees were just more frustrated with jesus' blatant disobedience to their laws.

What comes out of our mouths and comes out through our actions are what make us. We "reap what we sow." If we do bad things and say bad things, than that will make us into a person that is centered around actions or things like the bad things that we choose. The same goes for good things.

Editors note: I don't think "Mike and Mike in the morning" is a bad show.

I have stopped listening to Mike and Mike in the morning. I have turned to Christian radio in the morning and have tried to get to know the songs in order to sing along with them when going in to school. I have found that when I get out of the car at school, I am still singing after the car is shut off and I am walking in. It definitely makes for a better day and it motivates me to praise God in a way that I hadn't spent much time doing before.

Matthew 14

Talk about a spoiled kid. She dances and pleases Herod and he says he will give her anything. Her reply, John the Baptist's head. Kids these days say they want video games or other stuff. She wants to kill someone. Now I know that it says that she was prompted by her mother, but still, a girl asking for someone to be killed is quite the request. It is hard to imagine these types of things happening today. Who knows though there are plenty of remote parts of the world that we don't know what goes on at.

The other crazy part of this story is how Herod handled it. He didn't like John, he wanted to kill him, but really didn't because of political reasons as well as John being a prophet had something to do with it. It is crazy how the bible states how it was all settled: 9The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted.

Just because he didn't want to look bad in front of dinner guests? Ouch, when any of you guys come over, I won't mind being embarrassed if a big decision like this comes up.

Matthew 13

As with the parables of the seeds, it is interesting to see how things around us can have such a big influence on our lives. If we surround ourselves with things that are bad and allow those things to enter into our lives, we can be swallowed up by them. While we wtill have a chance to look and appear righteous, we ultimately will still have things that are taking away from our abilities to be fully devoted to God.

Matthew 11 & 12

I have to piggyback off of what you said Eric about chapter 11. This reading of the NT has allowed me to read things much more deeply then I ever had before. I remember Jesus praising John the Baptist (JTB), but not in the detail and the honor that the Son of God did in Matthew 11. Just reading it made me feel so proud of what JTB did and endured to pave the way for Jesus.

I have always wondered about the cities where Jesus performed miracles and their responses to those acts. I was frightened by Jesus’ words about cities that witnessed great things, but did nothing to repent from their ways. The fact that Sodom will be judged easier then these cities is quite a scary thought. As I think about it, would we of heard and believed instantly? I don’t know.

Chapter 12 is full of deceit and anger to me. From the Pharisees trying to trick Jesus from Jesus’ response to it.

I wonder what it would have been like to be Jesus’ sibling? To know that your brother is experiencing these things and performing miracles would motivate me to do more and follow. But Jesus doesn’t just put the family or sibling tag on the people that are related by blood, anyone who “does the will of God” is part of a family of believers in Christ. That is the motivation to love everyone in the body of Christ as part of a family.

Matthew 12

Does anyone else want to just beat-up the Pharasees? All they care about is following the laws so closely and nothing else. I don't think that I would be motivated to follow someone like that. I compare them to the people you hear about in neighborhood associations that go around and check to see if your house meets the neighborhood bylaws. They go around checking to make sure that your mail box is at the appropriate height, they see that your lawn is cut and your bushes are trimmed. They make sure that your house looks good and if not you end up getting a letter saying that your house is not up to code. I think of these people as ones that need a life. I say that is right in line with how the Pharasees were. They were just waiting for Jesus to make a mistake so that they would have a reason to arrest Him and to eventually try to kill Him.

Imagine if the Pharasees really did listen to Jesus' teachings. The Jewish religion would look much different. As would so many other things in this world (WWII). It would be interesting to see our world today if they had paid more attention to Jesus and accepted what he was saying.

Matthew 11

Can you imagine being John the Baptist? You serve your live being a follower of God and are so excited about the arival of the Savior and you find out from Him that you were a chosen one that was sent out before Him. What a moral booster. Unfortunately, he was in jail when he found this out, but it definitely must have lifted his spirits!

Matthew 10

Following up on Chapter 9, we looked there at the need to address the lost and the unsaved. We are now in chapter 10 looking at going out and sharing Jesus' message. Boy would that have been tough for the disciples to do. Jesus also didn't make it into something that looked like it was going to be a cakewalk either. The phrase, "22All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved," is one that is encouraging, but tough to hear. "All men will hate you" is not a term that anyone wants to hear. The reassurance though that God is the one that is in control of all that happens is what makes that phrase be much more bearable. It is nice to konw that when you have God on your side, no one can defeat you.
All this said, it is much easier to say than to actually carry out these actions. It takes being deliberate in your actions and conviction of what you are doing. These are both things that I know I need plenty of work on.

Matthew 9

Has anyone in this group ever fasted? I have never really done it and was wondering the thoughts of everyone else in the group. I remember guys in college doing it and spending the time they would be eating in prayer, but I didn't really ask them about their experience afterward.

Matthew 8

Wouldn't it be cool to have faith as strong as the centurian had. To just ask and know that God will take care of it and to be free of worry. So often we need to get confirmatino to amke sure something actually happened before we believe. It would be awesome to be that sure that something would happen.

Matthew 7

I am confused by verse 6. What is it getting at?

v. 6 "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."

As I was reading it just didn't seem to fit.

Matthew 6

The biggest thing that I got out of this chapter was just the point of making sure to do things for the glory of God, not for others to see. In doing so God is happy which makes us happy. I remember one of my elementary teachers challenge us to do a good thing for someone that didn't know it happened. She used this bible verse to teach us this lesson and I have never forgotten it. I like doing things for people when they do not know that it is happening. I know that we can not always do this, but it brings joy to do something for someone and expect absolutely nothing in return.

Matthew 5

Wow, reading this passage closely really got me to thinking. I have read the sermon on the mount many times and can recite it back pretty closely to how it is written. I haven't spent as much time reading chapter 5 beyond that. There really are a lot of things in there that are convicting and things that I have known that I need to work on. Melissa and I have talked about how going through the Bible will be a challenge and how it will really bring on a lot of convictions. This chapter did it for me.

The chapter for me is broken down into quite a few different sections, I will go through with my individual thoughts for each of those sections.

Salt and light -
I sing "This little light of mine" with the girls a few times each week. I like holding their hands up when I sing it as if they are actually holding their lights up. They love it and I love watching their faces while I am playing with them. These words go beyond just the singing of the song and saying that we have a light. Verse 16 "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven," is one that shows ultimately let your light of how you praise God and what you do for Him be seen by all others. I always like to do things for people to help them out. I like to be a positive roll model. I like to make decisions that make others think that I am a good guy. I want to always make these decisions so that people see that I am a Christian and that the life they see is one that they would want to emulate and be more like because of knowing that it is my commitment to Christ that makes me do what I do. Unfortunately, I do these things selfishly at times. Not always, but plenty of times. I want people to really think that I am a good guy because I want the recognition for personal gain. This has been a struggle in the past and will continue to be one. I know this is something I need to work on.

The section on adultery was pretty convicting as well. In college, my small group looked at this section specifically and talked about how in our day and age it is difficult to get by this one without additional help. I will say that I have improved since looking at this passage and seeing the world with different eyes. I try to divert my eyes during racey commericals and while checking out at the store, but I still find myself catching a glance at some of these images. I am constantly in prayer over this issue because it is not a safe or comfortable thing for me to go through each day. I struggle and know that these images will always be around. I know that God will deliver me from these problems and help me to get by eventually. I know I can't ask God to just fix it. I need to work toward fixing myself as well.

The last section that really stood out to me is the one that dealt with how to treat enemies. I know that there is the love your neighbor, that is easy, but the people I don't like is so much harder. I am glad that we had the section in Bill Hybel's book that talked about how to pray for these people. I need to remember that often it is my problem that I need to get by. Without a real change in my outlook, things can not be changed.

Ultimately, I would like to continue to have convicting passages like this each day because without really looking at the problems in my life I will not have the changes in my life that I would like to experience.

Matthew 4

As my first post, I just wanted to say that I am looking forward to growing in my spiritual life though the readings and this blog…now on to the chapter.

This chapter has always impacted to me, specifically v. 1-11 and v. 18-22.

The same being that tempts us to sin tempts Jesus. Satan attempts to convince Jesus to sin against God by using his supernatural powers, gaining followers by using his power, and bowing to Satan. The amazing this is that Jesus denied him. Jesus had no inclination to take the worldly things over his ultimate purpose. But it’s not just that he denied him, but how. Jesus uses scripture to deny the temptations that Satan bring him. I think that this is something that we should take hold of. By knowing the word will equip us with the wisdom and faith to deny sin.

The second thing I can take from this chapter is when Jesus called out to his first disciples. What courage of these men, who literally dropped their nets to follow a man that they didn’t know, but felt a calling to follow. Amazing.

Matthew 3

The story of John the Baptist is really neat. How crazy it was that he just waited out in the desert for God to call him into service and to tell him what to do with his life. John was the original "Jesus Freak" and he did everything in his life to live that way. There was no mistaking that John the Baptist believed in what he was doing and devoted his life toward God. It would be interesting to see how that type of lifestyle would be accepted in today's world. I would like to see myself be more devoted toward God and to live my life that way so that people all around me know where I stand. I know that people around me know that I am a good guy, but my faith is a big part to what made me into the person that I am.
The way John preached was not one that is really accepted well in our day. From the way that it was described in the Bible, I would compare some of his tactics to those that stand on the corner and say "Repent or go to Hell." I am sure that there were a bunch of people back then that responded undesirably as they do now, but John was doing what he thought best for his ministry.
I would say there needs to be a balance between telling people they need to repent and being able to reach them on a personal level. People today just don't listen and respond to the same things that they did in the past. If they did, it would make some things much easier.

Matthew 2

I never knew that the Magi went to see King Herod before they saw Jesus. There could not have been very many people on the earth at that time. I think that it is a miracle in itself that Herod wasn't able to locate Jesus. I wonder how long they lived in Egypt?

Matthew 1

I didn't get a whole lot out of this chapter. Obviously, there is the genealogy to take in. None of those people really brought too much to mind. The one thing that is always interesting to me is that the line goes through Joseph. I think it is weird just because Joseph wasn't really the dad. He was the step-dad. I don't know. Maybe some day I will get more insight into this.

The other thing that came to mind was how incredible it was that Mary conceived through God. What would happen today if God decided to do that again? The whole world would laugh and not accept that God was involved. I am sure that the Inquirer would do a whole lot of stuff with it. I am sure that it took a ton for Mary to accept her pregnancy. The amount of pressure you would feel would be very intense, especially knowing that there would be a great deal of "shunning" going on because of her not being married. How tough. I guess it was just the start for this family for the amount of persecution that they would experience.

The greatest basement ever.

Ah, there is nothing like watching the Superbowl on a 2200 inch screen.

Maiden Voyage

Wow, I have just created a blog. See Cubs fans, this is what happens when you put me in charge. I am looking forward to reading the new testament this year with you. I think that this is going to be a great experience. Now can we count on Ryan to get the spreadsheet together?