Year Review/Preview

Another year in the books for my Christianity themed blog. It was another successful year as well. The blog has doubled in page views, reaching just over 2000.

My main focus this year was creating summaries of each book of the Bible. I just started working through the New Testament, and will continue right through to Revelation. I was able to squeeze in a few collected thoughts as well, just to create some variety. A few movie and book reviews were also included, again to add a different aspect to the blog.

Unfortunately, I did fail to meet some of the goals I set at the start of this year. I didn't do as many posts regarding ethics, apologetics, and just more random thoughts, mainly because my attention was so focused on the books of the Bible review. However, as I near the end of those posts, I'll be able to restart those previous series.

I still have to start up a news story part of the blog, which should be an exciting venture for this upcoming year. I also want to start making sermon videos and post those through this blog and YouTube.

Mainly for this coming year, I want to keep things simple and close to the same. It's really all about generating more reader response, and creating more discussion if possible. I mainly hope to do this by branching out through different content, and sometimes, different means.

Here's to praying that God blesses the blog to minister to others for yet another amazing year.

Reading Matthew

Matthew is the first of the four Gospels, only just in order though. The book was most likely written by the disciple Matthew, who was previously a tax collector before being called by Jesus. The account was most likely written between late 50 A.D. and early 70 A.D, to Greek Jews. Understanding that the original audience was Jewish is key to understanding some of the concepts and the way Matthew phrased certain stories.

The main purpose of Matthew was to depict Jesus as the promised Messiah. That's why so many Old Testament passages are quoted in the book. Matthew is attempting to show how Jesus' life and ministry fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. To take this even farther, Matthew spends time focusing on Jesus being the descendant of David as well to prove his point. 

So what can we take from this specific Gospel to apply to our lives today? Well, it shows us how the Old Testament is connected with the New Testament, and also provides assurance that Jesus was who He claimed to be.

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Happy Holidays

I might ruffle a few feathers here, especially amongst my Christian friends, but I've never understood the huge issue with saying Happy Holidays. Or even vice versa, saying Merry Christmas. Whenever the holiday season rolls around, it seems to be a huge debate over what holiday greetings to use. Non-Christians like to say Happy Holidays, as they might offend people who don't believe in Christ, or the real reason behind Christmas (Jesus' birth). Christians like to say Merry Christmas, and they feel by not saying that greeting, they aren't standing up for their faith.

I get both points. But, seriously, aren't we putting too much weight into titles here? It's a simple greeting, either way. Especially for us Christians, I think we should focus our attentions on changing other things then the way we greet others during the holiday season. Like for example, how we celebrate this season. Instead of focusing on the actual names, we should be focused on removing the materialism and greed that is rampant during this season.

I think causing fights, unnecessary ones or at least ones that can be avoided, is stupid, especially in this time of age. Should we really be fighting over holiday greetings, or fighting against far greater threats?

I understand many will say that succumbing to using a different holiday greeting is part of the bigger battle, over losing the identity of Christianity, but again, I argue that identity should be created and seen in what we do, rather then what we say. We need to build that perspective ourselves (of course with the help of God).

With that being said, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Reading Malachi

Malachi is connected with Nehemiah and Ezra in the fact that his message was structured around condemnation and reform. However, this message was for the people who had been restored to Jerusalem, a Jerusalem that was rebuilt. Even with this restoration, the people were still falling away from God, and turning to worldly pleasures. Some were expecting the Messiah right away, and when He didn't show, they grew discouraged, and anxious. Micah's message was to rebuke the people, and to try to reunite them. He tries to reignite their passion and their love.

The interesting part of Malachi is that he was the last Old Testament prophet. This was the last prophecy that Israel received for 400 years. Of course, the next prophet was John the Baptist, followed by Jesus.

Forest Hill

Reading Zechariah

Zechariah is a book closely tied to Haggai. The two prophets served in similar times, preached similar messages, and formatted their prophecies in similar ways. One difference however is that Zechariah is more finely tuned to Messianic prophecies. His predictions are pointed towards the coming Messiah, with eight visions included with additional visions of the Messianic kingdom.

Zechariah focuses on the rebuilding of the temple firstly. He includes eight visions that all talk about rebuilding the temple. Then he shifts towards visions of the coming kingdom, specifically the coming Messiah. He talks about this Messiah as a King, Shepherd, Leader and above all else, someone who can restore the nation. Interestingly, Jesus fulfills all of these prophecies perfectly. Two books later in this Bible, comes the story of the promised Messiah.

Wikipedia

Reading Haggai

Haggai is a book primed to one specific purpose; to challenge the people. At this time, the people were mixing up their priorities. Instead of focusing on God, and what He wanted, they were turning to immoral actions, and to fear because of opposition. God had called the people to rebuild Jerusalem, and the Temple; however, foreign powers didn't want this to happen, and so they tried to intimidate the Israelites. Haggai challenged the people to stand up, act emboldened, and take on this mission. They are to reprioritize and put God first in every aspect of their life, no matter the opposition.

Again this message applies perfectly to our lives today. Especially in today's society, when everything is so busy, busy, we need to focus on God, instead of the tasks that are continually in front of us. We tend to prioritize work, our social life, TV, technology, pretty much anything in front of God. This causes us to lose focus of our Lord, and what He wants us to do. Instead it becomes what the world wants us to do.

Hooked on the Book

Reading Zephaniah

Zephaniah is another prophet sent to announce God's coming judgement. This time its for the nation of Judah. Mainly, Zephaniah focuses the coming day of the Lord. He assures the people that God will punish everyone, including them if they don't correct their ways. The book also contains God's message to the surrounding nations, messages of judgement again. His mercy will prevail if the people turn to Him.

Again, this message applies to us today. We need to heed this warning, and obey the Lord. If we don't judgement awaits us, just like it does to everyone else in this world. It's also important that we spread this message as much as possible. This possible ending for the world should make us strive to spread the news to everyone that we can.

Hooked on the Book

Reading Habakkuk

Habakkuk is another interesting prophetic book, with some unique ties to external sources. Unlike the other prophetic books, Habakkuk is formatted in a dialogue, instead of an oracle. The book records this talk between Habakkuk and God with both parties actively participating.

Much like many other Old Testament characters, especially the prophets, the book starts with Habakkuk complaining to God. The connection can be drawn vividly to Jonah, and his similar complaint to God, regarding His unjust ways.

However ultimately, God responds, and confirms that He is indeed just. He assures Habakkuk that the destroyer will be destroyed. Habakkuk responds to this in faith, and recommits himself to his Lord. A patient wait is accepted by the prophet, and accepted wholeheartedly.

This should pan over in our lives today. We are surrounded by immoral characters all over, that seem to be receiving blessings instead of punishment. As Habakkuk learns, that shouldn't frustrate us. Instead we should take confidence in our Lord, and look forward to the end times.

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Reading Nahum

Nahum serves as a sequel or follow up to the story contained in Jonah. While many don't realize it, it is really part two of the plot that concerns Nineveh. Jonah left the story off at a good point; Nineveh had listened to the message of repentance, and had seemed to readily accept the concept into their hearts and minds. However, Nahum reveals that this hopeful state only lasted for a short while. The Assyrian capital city fell back into sin, returning to their ways of picking on surrounding countries, continually terrorizing those they had conquered. Nahum serves to remind the Israelites that while God does have great mercy, He also has a just side, and there is a balance between the two.

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Ultimately, God wants to display His mercy as often as possible. But when people, such as the Nineveh citizens, spurn this message and continue sinning, God is also just, and His judgement will come. Nahum serves to remind the Israelites of this, and to urge them to be patient, and wait for God's judgement, rather then act out themselves without God's blessing.

This does bring up an interesting discussion regarding the issue of believers who fall away from their faith, and their ultimate destination; heaven or hell. There are many contributing Biblical verses to the discussion, all regarding if believers can lose their salvation. While this book is not entirely clear on the ultimate end of God's judgement, it still does provide another side to the debate.

Reading Micah

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The book of Micah is one that is directed to a specific population of the Israel society. Rather then focus on the whole culture, he chooses to direct his prophecy directly at the powerful leaders of the time. Ultimately, this serves his purpose of concern for those who are in poverty, or in need. While we do know that obviously this was God inspired, it's possible that God specifically chose Micah as the prophet for this message because of his location and family history. Micah came from a poor family background in an agricultural village far from the powerful capital cities. At times, he uses his personal experience to vividly express his message. He predicts the upcoming doom, because of the leader's evil thoughts and actions.

However, like many of the other prophetic books, it isn't all doom and gloom. Micah also provides hope with his prophecy regarding the birth of Jesus Christ. He points to Jesus' eternal nature, and his birthplace. Micah also alludes to the future kingdom of Christ, where peace will reign. Here again is where the contrasting picture of Israel and Judah's current state and the world's future is displayed.

The book serves as a warning and hope for us today. The warning is what happens if we fall away from God, while the hope is seen in what God will provide for those who don't fall away or ignore Him. Even though many of the prophecies of this book have been fulfilled, there are others which we can look to see in the future. God works in wondrous ways, and we will never fully comprehend, especially these prophecies, until the end times.

Reading Jonah

Perhaps this is the most discussed book of the prophetic section of the Old Testament. The discussion centres around the historicity of the content of the book. Many seem to interpret the story as exactly that, just a story. It contains many of the same elements of Jesus' parables, and therefore many people simply believe it is a story with multiple hidden meanings. Others hold to the belief that this is the actual account of the prophet Jonah son of Ammitai.

It's hard to find proof for either interpretation, but either provides some important lessons for Christians. Like much of the rest of the Bible, while it is interesting to discuss the different options, I believe it is preferable to focus on what can be learned and applied to our lives. What is practical from the book?

The parable interpretation points to a prophecy concerning Christ. Ultimately, the story is presenting Jonah as a Christological character. His story points to Jesus, with the death symbolized in the belly of a whale, and resurrection coming while being spit up by the whale.

This tends to be what most people focus on, but there are other lessons in the story, that both the parable and historical interpretations should pick up on. The message of ignoring God is one that jumps out right away. We all read the story and laugh at Jonah's stupidity thinking he could hide from God, but how many times do we try to hide from God, or hide our actions or thoughts? We tend to forget that God is all knowing and all powerful, and that impacts every aspect of our lives.

Another lesson is that ultimately God's plan overrules ours. We can see this twice in Jonah's story. First comes when Jonah tries to run from God. Ultimately, he ends up right where God wants him. Second is regarding the story of Nineveh. Here, Jonah plans to watch the city burn into the ground, but ultimately God's plan of forgiveness wins out, no matter the griping of Jonah.

Perhaps the most important message of the book is regarding God's forgiveness. It is a multi-faceted message; one that is extremely hard to nail down, or describe correctly. We can see that God's forgiveness is for anyone, no matter what state of sin they are in, or where they come from, or how long it takes. As long as the heart condition is right, the response is there, and the people are eager, then God is ready to forgive. 

Comics Bulletin

Reading Obadiah

Obadiah, although being the shortest book of the Bible, is perhaps one of the most precious. Each word is loaded with meaning, carefully selected by this mystery author by the name of Obadiah. The importance and purpose behind each word of the book cannot be missed which leads to a concise, but information filled reading.

The book focuses on the foreign nation of Edom, making Obadiah one of three prophets to direct their messages mainly to a different nation than Israel. Edom was a nation full of people who were very vain. They thought of themselves as amazing people, definitely better than God's people. Because of this, they ended up stealing from, mocking, and harming the Israelites. Obadiah used the Edomites to provide a message warning against pride, and against wrongful treatment of God's people. Ultimately, the message ends with a reminder of God's sovereign power over the whole earth, not just His chosen people.

Ed Underwood

Reading Amos

Amos is a very interesting character, a unique prophet. He continually claims that he was never trained as a prophet, and relies upon his meager backstory as a sheep herder and sycamore fig farmer to back his title as a true prophet. Interestingly, almost all of the prophets who have a book in the Old Testament were untrained in the school of prophecy. They all rely upon their interesting starts to back their claims as God's true prophets. It goes to show that God can call anyone to do anything.

Amos really focuses on the main topic of rituals. At the heart of his prophecy is the issue of the condition of the people's hearts. His argument was two faceted, but ultimately they spearhead his mission to get people to start working on their hearts, and to start purifying their souls.

The first part of Amos' prophecy focuses on forgiveness, or how to react from bad deeds or actions. The people of this time were just relying upon quick rituals, or meaningless prayers as their follow up to a sinful action. Ultimately, they weren't repenting, and would just continue in this cycle of sinning, and quickly praying for forgiveness with no meaning. This showed the horrible nature of the hearts of the people at this time.

Secondly, Amos points out that following rituals means nothing compared to living righteously. Again, it speaks to this first issue. God would rather we attempt to live righteously, mess up once in a while, and actually strive for forgiveness. Repentance is three fold. It's realizing you made a mistake, asking for forgiveness, and then striving to make a change in your life. Rituals don't matter if they are continual. If they are occasional, filled with meaning, and truly dedicated to God, then they fulfill the original intention that they were created for.

Again, it comes down to our hearts. If our hearts are set on the world, then we won't strive to live righteously, even if we claim to be Christians. But if our hearts are set on God, then it will show in our lives, as we strive to be more Christ-like.

Bible Encyclopedia

Reading Joel

Joel is an extremely important prophetic book because of its subject matter; the day of the Lord. The book is really the first to develop and describe the events regarding this day.

Again, this is an amazing example of God's power. Judah had recently been hit with tragedy in the form of a locust plague. They were still reeling at the time Joel wrote this book, and he used that purposefully. Clearly, God had a use for the horrible situation that Judah was mired in. He used it as a message for the bigger picture; the day of judgement. 

And while the description of this horrible day was vivid, especially with the locust plague still fresh in the reader's mind at that time, the message wasn't all downcast. There was also a message of hope, of a call to repentance. 

So how do we bridge the gap and apply this to our lives today? In this case, fairly simply. The message of the day of judgement still applies, as does the message of hope and repentance. The only difference is the connection that we make with tragedy in today's times. Locust plagues aren't as relevant today, but our world is still crippled by other horrible abominations. Open up a newspaper, take a look at your Facebook page, turn on the TV. Constantly, we are hit by horrible sinful acts, destructive nature events, and internal warfare. This book applies directly to us today, whether we like it or not.

HookedontheBook

Reading Hosea

God loves to make things difficult (in a sense). He tries to not make things super clear, or easy to understand, in order to see who will make an effort to try to learn from His words. Jesus' ministry was trademarked by parables and stories. Much of Israel's history is told through prophecies. Through all of these recordings, much research, interpretation and exegesis has to be poured into the Bible in order to fully grasp what is being said. I believe there are two reasons for this. First, it helps us remember the lessons more so. Second, it helps show where our passion levels are at, or what our dedication to God truly is like.

Hosea is the first minor prophetic book that requires some interpretation right off the bat. Interestingly, the book is much like an autobiography. It tells the story of the author Hosea. While the ending does include some prophecies regarding the future of the nation of Israel, it really focuses on a narrative involving Hosea and his wife.

Hosea's wife was actually a prostitute. He married her on the command of God, and when she left him to continue being a prostitute, he remarried her. This is incredibly symbolical, of the nation Israel and God. Every time God's people return to their sinful ways, He seeks them out to bring them back into a right relationship.

Hosea also had two kids with his wife, Gomer. The first son Jezreel symbolizes the valley where much blood would be shed, especially by the Northern Kingdom. The daughter Lo-ruhamah symbolizes that God will have pity on the Southern Kingdom, but not on the Northern Kingdom.

Now, another kid is mentioned, but the father is not mentioned. It is believed that this is Gomer's kid, which she had with another lover. This child is named Lo-ammi, symbolizing the shame of the Northern Kingdom.

Now this is only scratching the surface of the symbolism in this book, let alone the whole series of prophetic books. You can't just read these books without pouring some research in. Even with a small commentary, everything can become so much clearer. Learning more about the author, the context, the symbolism, can really change how you interpret the writings, and therefore how you apply them to your life. To take it even a step farther, investing in a course in biblical interpretation can reap dividends. It's definitely worth the cost.

God's Not Dead Movie Review

Rating: 6.9/10
Website: http://godsnotdeadthemovie.com/
Purchase: http://godsnotdeadthemovie.com/buydvd

Another Christian production, another step in the right direction, but yet another movie that misses the mark. God's Not Dead is an excellent idea, with the potential to develop into a great plot. With this being another movie from Christian producers, the progression for this growing industry is clearly evident. However, God's Not Dead still has not hit the mark in the Christian venture into movie making.

The idea behind this movie is extremely solid, a needed discussion on an issue that is extremely prevalent today. The movie focuses on a college student who takes a stand against a professor who swears that God is dead. They embark on a series of debates with this student trying to prove that God is indeed still alive.

Multiple side stories are also going on throughout the movie, making it semi confusing at times, until everything ties in at the end. First, the student who takes the stand for God also falls into trouble outside of school as well. His girlfriend breaks up with him because he won't drop the whole issue of fighting the professor. Meanwhile, the professor is also dealing with issues at home, as his girlfriend begins to believe in God, and he can't deal with that. There is also a story about a pastor and his friend trying to get to a certain destination because his friend is a missionary and this will be their only chance to go. They too run into issues, and have to rely upon God to help them.

Ultimately, the argument presented in favour of God is really strong. However, my issue with the movie is that it is very one sided. In fact, I find this issue encompasses many Christian companies, magazines, e.t.c. They all tend to say that you have to be stupid not to believe in God. I don't think that's true. I don't think we can say in every argument, that all the facts point to God. If that was the case, then everyone would be Christians. See, I don't think we can say that all the facts point to God for a few reasons. First, we don't have all the facts yet. We keep discovering new evidence every day regarding different theories. Second, faith plays a big role in our relationship. We can't have all the answers, and that's why we need to rely upon faith. I do strongly believe that when all is said and done, God will reveal that all the facts do indeed point to Him, but at times, with our worldly perspective, we just need to leave that up to Him. I also believe that there will never be any evidence disproving God's existence. It may be spun in that light, and we may not be able to directly refute the evidence, but eventually, as time plays on, God will reveal that evidence in its true light, revealing His glory.

There are some really smart people out there who do argue against God. Sure, they may be questioning it themselves, or just purely being stubborn, but at that point, they're not stupid. They have a side of the argument as well, and their case isn't as weak as this movie portrays it to be. If you are going to make a movie about this debate, great, but make sure that both sides are portrayed as accurately as possible.

IMDb

Reading Daniel

The Book of Daniel is one of the most interesting in the Bible, mainly for it's combinations of genres. At points, it reads as a narrative, and others as a prophetical book. It flits continually from past to present to future, without much notice at times. But with this, the book provides a rich, vast expanse of lessons for all ages at all times.

The main focus that I took away from the book was the prophecies regarding the end times. This is mainly because I just finished an university course in Revelation, with the Old Testament connection continually being drawn to Daniel. The two tend to touch on many similar prophecies regarding events, or persons/creatures, of the end times.

For example, both books describe a Beast. This similar beast is the first of two in Revelation 13, and the last of four in Daniel 7.

"Then in my vision that night, I saw a fourth beast - terrifying, dreadful, and very strong. It devoured and crushed its victims with huge iron teeth and trampled their remains beneath its feet. It was different from any of the other beasts, and it had ten horns. As I was looking at the horns, suddenly another small horn appeared among them. Three of the first horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. This little horn had eyes like human eyes and a mouth that was boasting arrogantly." Daniel 7:7-8

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy." Revelation 13:1

Both beasts speak great words against God, making war against the saints, gaining more and more power, and then ruling over the nations for 42 months.

The symbolism is massive in these two verses. In Daniel 7, the ten horns on the beast refer to ten Gentile world powers who follow in Satan's footsteps to conquer the world. Three will eventually fall, before the Antichrist, or the little horn, arrives on the scene.

The beast in Revelation is specifically referring to the Antichrist who arrives from the sea of Gentile rulers. He sides with the seven powers who are conquering the world, and continues Satan's mission to overthrow Israel and God.

The good news is that this beast, or the Antichrist, will be destroyed eternally in the lake of fire, or hell. God will remain triumphant through Jesus Christ, and the saints.

HookedontheBook

Reading Ezekiel

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Ezekiel and Isaiah and Jeremiah are all part of a package deal in prophecy. Together they form the major part of prophecy in the Old Testament. Ezekiel is the lesser known book, because it is a harsher form of prophecy, and slightly less organized. Still, it is a highly intellectual, bold, vision like prophetic book.

Just like Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel first receives a call. In my opinion, if you are listening, everyone receives a call in their life. This call can be for a multitude of things (career, relationships, missions, church involvement), and can come in a multitude of different ways, but my belief is that God has a specific call for every one of His children. Ezekiel's call was to be a prophet.

His focus was on the future of Israel. Again, he seems to bounce back and forth with his prophecies from present day to near future to far future. Still, he remains focused on the future of Israel, and specifically the holy city Jerusalem. He first predicts the destruction of the city, and cites the sins of the people as the major reason. He then moves on to prophecies regarding foreign nations and cities. Again, even though he's not talking directly about Israel here, the two are inexplicably linked. Israel isn't secluded at all. In fact, after a study in the book of Revelation, the relationship between the Israelites and Gentiles could not be more intertwined. Finally, Ezekiel ends the book on a high note, regarding the restoration of the nation. Again, the differing timeframes can be seen here. On one hand, he was talking about the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. But, a lot of what he said could be taken for the end times.

The interesting thing with prophecy is that every vision, every idea, every prediction comes from the Lord. How the author describes that vision, idea, or prediction is up to the author, but still his words are divinely inspired. The dual process is one of the most amazing things about the Bible.

Noah Movie Review

Rating: 6.8/10
Website: https://www.facebook.com/Noah
Purchase: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/movie/noah/id834786516

Last year, this was the huge movie in Christian circles. The anticipation was great, but the resulting reaction was one of huge disappointment. The movie was built up in secular and Christian circles alike, with big name actors, a big budget, and a cinematically exciting trailer. Surprisingly, the movie was backed by many popular Christian associations, including Focus on the Family.

In reality, secularly, this movie was a huge success. As a cinematic experience, this was a great movie. Strip away the Biblical background, the origin or source of this story, and the movie and plot was actually surprisingly good. However, the issue is that the movie is based on a Biblical story, and therefore it has to be a strong interpretation of the original material, which is wasn't. Especially for someone who knows the Biblical story of Noah, the differences in this movie were shockingly huge.

There are multiple twists in this version of the Noah story. First, the fallen angels. In this film they are depicted as being punished by God for helping humankind too much, being sentenced to rock bodies for eternity. These fallen angels are called Watchers. Now this is the movie's first un-Christian spin. There are no mention of Watchers in the Bible, and although there are mention of fallen angels, there is no mention of punishment for any specific reason in the actual story. Later on in the Bible, the fallen angels are mentioned as followers of Satan, which would offer a reasonable explanation as to why they were cast out of heaven. God would never punish someone for helping humankind.

The second interesting spin that dominates throughout the entire film is an interesting ritual where a snakeskin is wrapped around the forearm. This is by no means a Christian act. Instead, it is an ancient ritual, something called tefillin. It actually bears strong Satanism symbolism.

The character of Noah is also horribly twisted. The movie pictures him as violent, destructive, and no different then the men of the earth. This is possibly the farthest from the truth. The Bible states that Noah was a righteous man, one after God's own heart. He's the only one from the whole Earth who is worthy of being saved. He is peaceful, a caretaker, a nurturer.

Finally, perhaps the biggest mistake of the movie is the depiction of God. God is pictured as distant, cruel, violent, and definitely not like our Christian God. Throughout the movie He is never called by name, instead referred to as the Creator. He never talks to His people, staying silent and letting them suffer. He curses His angels and then never helps them. He loves violence, and enforces Noah killing everyone without mercy, including newborn babies. That is not the true God. Reading the Biblical story gives a completely different picture of God. God loves His people and does everything He can to save them, through Noah. He guides Noah's every step, protects him and his family, and even promises after the flood never to destroy the world through a global flood.

This movie does help to open the mind to a new perspective regarding the story of Noah. It helps the viewer to think about what Noah would have actually gone through, and the world at that time. Take our world and triple its wickedness. It's hard to imagine. The ark would have been magnificent as well, throughout the building and flood phase.

So while it is a "Christian" movie, it is not one Christians should support, even if it does introduce non-believers to the concept of God. It actually introduces them to the wrong concept of God, and warps everyone's preconceptions about our relationship with Him.

ChristianToday

Reading Jeremiah

For many, Jeremiah can be seen as a very depressing book. In fact, for the prophet himself, he didn't want to write down God's words they were so downcast. The book is filled with prophecies of upcoming doom, of horrors in the future. And much like Israel in the past, the present people completely ignored the words of the Lord, and continued down the wrong path of sin. When what the Lord had promised actually happened, only a handle of people were actually prepared, possibly only Jeremiah and Baruch.

King James Bible Online

However, Jeremiah is an extremely helpful prophetic book as well. Obviously, it joins the long list of books in the Bible of wildly straightforward warning or caution signs. Over and over again, there are stories and stories of God warning the Israelites not to turn away from Him or trouble will come on them. But over and over, the Israelites ignored God completely, and ended up in despair. Jeremiah is no different.

We need to learn from the Israelite's mistakes, and take God's Words to heart. We can't be like the Israelites, and ignore God, especially when we have all of history, the whole picture to look at and learn from. We need to follow God with all of our hearts, and without turning to evil, or evil will overtake us.

Jeremiah also serves another purpose in my opinion. The book shows that at every single moment, God is in control. Through the good and through the bad, God remains all powerful, all knowing, and everywhere. Sometimes, we may not notice that God is in control, and we lose sight of exactly what our God can do, and what He does. That's what happened with these Israelites, and we have to use this story as a warning sign for us. We cannot lose sight of the almighty power of our God, and we must always trust and believe that everything happens for a reason. 

Wanting to Do Something Great

I've always had high aspirations, high goals for myself, sometimes ones that are nearly impossible, or highly unattainable. Everything I do, I strive to be the best at. Now this can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing.

Obviously, being the best at everything you do can be a great thing! Especially as Christians, one of the ways we can be great witnesses is through serving by example. The way that we live our lives should have people questioning what makes us so different. Whether it's being the best employee an employer could ask for, the best employer an employee could ask for, the best friend anyone could ask for, the best teammate, the most determined, the most humble, e.t.c., when we utilize our gifts to their maximum potential, people begin to take notice. When they take notice of the success of Christians (and not necessarily success in worldly terms, but that does definitely take a part of the equation), they begin to question what they don't have. That opens up the perfect door of opportunity to evangelize.

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However, we can get caught up in being the best too much. I think there are two ways this can happen. First, in striving to be the best, or the most successful, we could begin to judge ourselves on worldly terms, such as what accomplishments we have, what trophies, medals, awards we have accumulated. That is not successful in God's eyes. Secondly, we can get sidetracked by our mission to become the best. In fact, when we are so occupied at being the best, it can almost become a religion. It occupies our every thought, it's the reason we are living, it becomes our everything.

One of my favourite autobiographies is Me, Myself and Bob, the story of Phil Vischer's life (creator of VeggieTales). Not only is this an amazing story of perseverance, dedication, and extreme vision, but also of extreme devotion to God. Perhaps one of the most insightful statements that Phil Vischer makes is "I am growing increasingly convinced that if every one of these kids burning with passion to write that hit Christian song or make that hit Christian movie or start that hit Christian ministry to change the world would instead focus their passion on walking with God on a daily basis, then the world would change. What is 'walking with God?' Simple. Doing what He asks you to do each and every day. Living in active relationship with Him. Filling your mind with His word, and letting that word penetrate every waking moment. Because the world learns about God not by watching Christian movies, but by watching Christians." 

I'm not sure what I can add to that; it sums up everything perfectly. Are we focused on our own dreams, or on God's dream? Sure, God's dream might be that one day we do happen to have a hit something, or win a gold medal, or achieve our wildest ambitions, but first and foremost His dream is that we are working on our relationship with Him. His biggest desire is that we are walking with Him. Everything else doesn't matter.

As a sidenote, Me, Myself and Bob is an incredible book. I strongly encourage everyone to read it. Phil Vischer is blessed with vision, and a piercing clarity. His knack for putting that down into clear, concise words is also perfect. His amazing testimony has been a true blessing to my life.

Reading Isaiah

Isaiah is perhaps the most profound book of the Old Testament when it comes to revelation about Christ. Actually, much of the Old Testament contains prophecy or typology (types of people, institutions, sacrifices, e.t.c. that symbolized Jesus) regarding Christ, as the Messiah. The New Testament prophecy after Christ's ascension moves to revelation regarding Christ as a King, but that's a topic for a different post.

Isaiah is mainly a prophetic book that focuses on Christ's coming as the Messiah, but also the deliverance of Israel from slavery. The main idea is that the Messiah would release Israel from the bonds of sin, through salvation. In fact, the name Isaiah means Yahweh is Salvation. The book contains the word salvation 26 times, compared to 6 times in all the other prophetic books combined.

The book is also used to support the Substitutionary Atonement theory of salvation. Substitutionary Atonement states that Christ died as a substitute for others, instead of the people dying themselves. With the penalty of sin being death, Christ acted as our substitute and bore all of our sins, so that we wouldn't have to be punished. Isaiah tends to focus on the suffering of Christ in this act. His symbolism and imagery is piercing, and is commonly used in many Christology studies.

Interestingly, the book of Isaiah is structured much like the whole Bible is. The first 39 chapters can be compared with the first 39 books of the Bible, more commonly referred to as the Old Testament. Just like the Old Testament focused on judgement, so do these first 39 chapters, with judgement on immoral men the chosen focus. The next 27 chapters can be connected with the 27 books of the New Testament, which focus on a message of hope. Of course, that hope is Christ, our Messiah and King.

Royal Doors

Reading Song of Solomon

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For some reason, this book of the Bible is commonly tossed under the rug by Christians. The topic and descriptions included seem to embarrass or even shame many believers. Of course, considering the so called taboo topic of relationships, it seems like Christians want to entirely avoid discussing love. To be honest, it almost seems like we act like school kids when it comes to the topic, running away so we don't have to deal with it.

However, if we accept that the Bible is the Word of God, that means everything included comes from God. Anything that comes from God is important, including the book, and talk about relationships.

Our world today heavily relies upon relationships, especially of the romantic variety. It seems likes our lives are based on finding that perfect someone. Even if it isn't finding that one special relationship, we all seem to find fulfillment in who we are connected with. Society has picked up on that, and it seems like every major movie, book, TV Show, and even advertisements describe who the perfect person is, what they look like and how they act. Popular culture has also defined what the perfect relationship is, what is involved, including roles, emotions, actions, e.t.c. But popular culture has ruined what God designed relationships for.

If anything, we should be looking to the Bible to find out how God designed relationships to be like. Throughout His word, He lists ways we should interact with the opposite sex. Song of Solomon is just like the tip of the iceberg. In God's perfect world, He had one man and one woman together. Throughout history, men were either built up or destroyed in regards to how they participated in their relationships. Many of Paul's letters also contained helpful information regarding relationships.

Clearly, it is important to God that we have biblically defined relationships. In fact, that's the only way to have a successful relationship in Christian terms.

Reading Ecclesiates

PK Online

I think Ecclesiastes is perhaps the most relatable book in the Bible. No matter if you are a Christian or not, you can find something within this book that directly applies to your life.

It is believed that King Solomon wrote this wisdom book, and with him being one of the smartest people on Earth, clearly something important is included here. I believe that the key message of the book is something important that everyone will come to realize at some point in their life. Simply put, that is; everything is meaningless without God in the picture.

King Solomon, with all of his wealth, all of his wisdom, all of the freedom laid out before him, he found it all pointless. That begs the question why? Especially in a society today, when we are driven by getting more and more possessions, travelling farther and farther, monopolizing everything we can, we have to ask why? Why do we feel and act in such a way, especially if in the pinnacle of it all, we'll only wake up and find that everything is pointless.

Some people may disagree, but I think everyone sets their lives up in a certain way. They try to dull their senses, dull the nagging feeling within themselves that there is indeed something more to life in general, by surrounding themselves with emotions, and possessions. Everyone at some point in their life enters a critical stage, a stage of realization. They realize that there has to be something else to this life. They realize that they are missing something; the classically termed "hole in the heart".

And no matter what you have bought into, whatever the world invents to try to satisfy that questioning, it won't be enough. Solomon at the point where he could not get anymore of everything, he realized that his whole life had been a waste. Ultimately, when it is all said and done, everything that the world has to offer ends up coming close, but not close enough, falling short of its supposed result. Possessions can easily be broken or lost, power stripped away, everything levelled to the ground. The only thing that will constantly remain is God, and His amazing, patient, almighty, perfect love.

Start your moment of realization now. Begin your journey for answers. Is everything meaningless in your life? Or are you actually living for something worthwhile?

Reading Proverbs

Sarah Elizabeth Writes

Proverbs is a book all about wisdom. Written by many wise men of history, the book is a collection of knowledge that can easily be applied to anyone's life. Drawing from the wisdom of Solomon (the smartest man in history), Agur (unknown historically), Lemuel (unknown historically), and a few other authors labelled as "the wise", these proverbs, or quotes of useful information, apply to past, present and future.

In my opinion you can never achieve enough wisdom. The search for more and more knowledge never ends. However, much like our faith, we can have as much as knowledge as we want, but without action, that knowledge is meaningless. In the same way as our relationship with Christ, we can know all about Him, know all that He has done, and will do, but without acting on that knowledge, without putting that information to use, it just wastes away! Ultimately, the smartest person in the world isn't the person who knows the most, its the person who with the greatest efficiency puts their knowledge to use.

Reading Psalms

Crosswalk

Psalms is definitely one of my favourite books of the Bible, mainly because of its focus on worshipping God. Over and over again, through the use of multiple authors, the poems and songs included in the book remind us that there are multiple ways to worship God, and multiple reasons as to why we should worship God.

It is true that Psalms is composed of mainly songs, but there are multiple poems also in the book that focus on worship. The poems and songs themselves also reference ways to worship God. The main one would be through song, or music, with Psalms alluding to tambourines, using voices, lyres, and other instruments to make joyful noises for the Lord. A huge aspect of our Sunday morning services is this form of worship, yet the music presented can also be used for personal worship time. That's one of the joys of the expanding worship industry, with artists such as Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, and many more providing instant worship through the terms of music.

Worship can also come in other forms. The multitude of poems shows that spoken and written word is on the same level as music. In fact, any form of art can be an amazing way to worship God. Whether it be painting, poetry, photography, drawing, or music, anything that is used to glorify God can be classified as worship.

Expanding this even farther, worship doesn't have to be about art. Worship is a way of living your life, a certain perspective, a way of defining each action. Every decision you make, every step you take, when you make it for God, that's worship! Psalms is filled with words, beautiful words, about almost every situation in life possible, and it always ends with coming back to worship.

Worship is the willful choice to put your hope IN & fix your eyes ON Jesus - Chris Tomlin
Worship isn't a chore or a duty; it's the natural response of a devoted heart. - Chris Tomlin
Worship isn't a feeling you wait for, it's a choice you make. - Chris Tomlin

Reading Job

This book is perhaps the most puzzling for me. In fact, I find all the prophecy books hard to get through, or hard to understand. The reason is you can't pick up the meaning of the book simply by reading it; you have to really research the content as well. Without that research, gleaning a complete understanding of the book is nearly impossible.

The biggest area that I focused my research on this time around was what each friend of Job was trying to say, or what the purposes of their speeches were. Bad things do happen to people, even to the best of people, and I think it is interesting to read what reasons these three gave for Job's situation. When bad things do happen, we do tend to search for answers. These three provide some common answers, but as we see from a fourth bystander and the Lord Himself, they are false.

The first friend Eliphaz states that Job brought this upon himself. He believes that Job knowingly committed some evil. Eliphaz states that Job's sin equals instant punishment. Essentially God gets mad with the person's sin and right away acts.

The second friend Bildad backs that theory up. He also states that Job must be punished because of his sin. Bildad assumes that everything bad that happens is a direct result of sin. The difference with Bildad is that he doesn't claim Job had to intentionally commit evil.

The third friend Zophar correctly states that people can repent, and they need to repent. However, he makes a mistake in assuming that Job needed to repent. He denies that Job could possibly be innocent.

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What the three friends should have done is mourn with Job. We are to mourn with those that mourn, be sad with those who are sad, and be merry with those who are merry. As friends, these three should have recognized what Job needed most in that situation, which was support and not criticism. Job needed love, understanding, and teaching, not rebuking, questioning, and harsh words.

Reading Esther

Esther is a refreshing story stuck in between two similar accounts of hurt, Nehemiah and Job. Esther tends to veer slightly away from the writing style of Nehemiah and Job, which includes multiple parallels, and other poetry, or lists. Instead, Esther reads as almost a storybook. In fact, the story of Esther is perhaps the most famous regarding a female in the Bible.

A lot of people like to focus on the Israelites thriving in a foreign kingdom aspect of the story. In truth, this is a great story to set an example for that, especially if we base our lives off of Esther or Mordecai's. Esther and Mordecai together were able to create an environment that was supportive of the Israelites and their religion. Their determination was perhaps the greatest contribution to that success.

However, while reading, I focused on a different lesson. It also tends to be a popular lesson taken from the story, which is that God always provides. That truth could not be more evident in this narrative.

The truth is, not much background is given regarding Esther's history. But she is placed within the king's household to her benefit, and to her people's. God is clearly provided for both in this story, by increasing Esther's standard of living, and at the same time, keeping his people safe. Not only does God keep his people safe through Esther, He also provides a new lifestyle where they don't have to be afraid and are almost treated like equals.

Yet, not only does God provide, but He also provides using unique methods, through people that no one would expect He would use. He uses a woman which is extremely unique considering the time and culture. He uses an Israelite in a foreign country that looked down on those people. And in a way, He also uses a foreign king to serve His purpose.

Lemonville United Church

Reading Nehemiah

The next book in the Bible is closely connected with the previous one, Ezra. Nehemiah talks about the same period of time, with many of the same events, just with a different perspective. In fact, Ezra and Nehemiah are so similar, in the Hebrew Bible, they are combined to form one book. However, other then the different perspective, there are other differences. One would be that Ezra focuses on the rebuilding of the temple, whereas Nehemiah focuses on the rebuilding of the wall. Author and Speaker Ray Stedman states that Ezra focuses on making the first step to reconnecting with God, while Nehemiah focuses of fulfilling the need for strength and security. Nehemiah tends to also highlight the powers up against his work, especially from foreign enemies that were frightened. His account is primarily first hand perspective, whereas sometimes in Ezra, it is third person, or an outside perspective.

However, once again, to be highlighted is the attitude and character of Nehemiah. He is another character who I feel does not get recognized enough. Again, I feel we should be studying Nehemiah for many of the same reasons as Ezra. Nehemiah was in a foreign situation, where the situation was extremely bleak. However, Nehemiah never lost sight of God, and dedicated his every action to the Lord. Nothing could distract him, nothing would prevent him from working for God. His passion and commitment were perhaps his most defining qualities.

There are a few special qualities that I think can be derived from Nehemiah's story that are slightly different than Ezra's. First, this project was very much a team project. The book of Nehemiah highlights the different roles that each person played in this rebuilding effort. Even more interesting to me is how the book highlights the two major leaders in the project; Ezra and Nehemiah. Together, they are working towards the same end result, yet each plays a different role in getting to that finish line. Two leaders, working together, using different methods, but simultaneously towards the same result. Rather than have one person shoulder all the responsibility, the project is shared between two capable men, who compliment each other with their contrasting styles and abilities.

I also noticed that Nehemiah immersed himself in prayer. Before the beginning of this grand adventure, Nehemiah immediately looked to the Lord for advice and for help. Throughout the journey, whenever an obstacle presented itself, Nehemiah again, looked to the Lord. Constantly, he was praying and praising, thanking and asking for help. His communication with God never ended. This perhaps could be the defining reason as to why he was so successful in his mission.

The Importance of Youth

A gripping issue in the church today, one that could prove detrimental to the survival of our faith, is the importance of youth. Too many times there are situations were youth are pushed to the side, ignored, or forgotten. Within the church, this absolutely can't happen.

The reasons why are quite simple actually. The difficult part is implementing action. But first, let's discuss why youth are important.

First, it clearly states in the Bible that all young people are especially important to Jesus. Matthew 19:14 includes a statement from Jesus to his disciples regarding them trying to hold back children from coming to see the "Teacher." They concluded that Jesus had much better things to do with His time then babysit children. Jesus responded, "Let the little children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children." (NLT) Once when my mother used to teach Bible devotions as part of our homeschooling classes, she taught about this very verse. The key component of the verse is "those who are like these children." How can adults be like children or youth? The answer lies in the character of youth. Unlike adults, who are consumed with worry of trivial matters in life, the passion that consumes youth for even the smallest things is a huge contrast. Jesus is stating that those who pose a character, a passion like that of a child or youth is worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Secondly, youth also fall under the category of "all people". By all people, I'm referring to the Great Commission. It is a Christian's duty to evangelize to all people, no matter their age. But it shouldn't just be a duty. It should also be something we long to do. It should be something that is ever present on our minds, and in our hearts. Again, age shouldn't matter. We should be looking at the youth of this generation, and genuinely feel broken at their current state. Youth of today are lost, mired in horrible influences that are completely destroying their future without the church.

Lastly, for a more practical purpose, the youth are the future church. If the church hopes to survive, it needs to recruit members now, and preferably at a young age. This does sound a bit like a regiment, but again, it should be because the church is worried about the world in the future. The best way to ensure that the mission is continued on is by helping youth now, so they are prepared for the future.

Now for the action. How does the church show that it values youth? I think the answer is actually more simple then some would believe. At times, youth need to be put first. Their needs and wants, their ideas, their leadership should be valued equally with others for certain, but at times, decisions need to be made in order to favour youth. Currently, the debate ranges from the style of music to the style of preaching to the dress code. Of course, traditionally, things are set in stone. Many tend to disagree with change. But, inevitably, change will happen whether people like it or not. So, will the church be dragged along in this change screaming and fighting, or will they act boldly, and take the first step to welcome youth to a new generation of the faith?

Reading Ezra

The book of Ezra was written by perhaps the most overlooked author of the Bible, who also comes from an overlooked period of history for the Israelites. Of course, I'm talking about the man Ezra himself! Most times, not a single non-Christian has a clue who Ezra is, and the same can be said for many Christians as well. This specific book also depicts a period of history for the Israelites that many can say that they have only briefly heard of. The time of the rebuilding of Jerusalem is a short, quick period, that many only skim over in their readings.

Ezra was a scribe and scholar. Because of this, he is commonly labelled as the author of Ezra, and First and Second Chronicles. His style was extremely factual, yet also sentimental in a way. It is clear Ezra clearly cared about his material, and presenting the exact happenings in a nearly perfect manner. We also know that Ezra was a descendant of Aaron the chief priest, and if this book tells us anything, Ezra took on many of the chief priest's roles and responsibilities admirably. His zeal for God and the people is evident in almost every action. We can also look at Nehemiah for another identical picture of Ezra and his passion for his work.

This book contains an important part of history for the Israelites. In fact, it almost acts as a connecting puzzle piece between the period of reign, and the period of slavery/being captured by foreign powers. Ezra depicts how the Israelites were able to return to their home country and begin to rebuild for the future. Ezra serves as the next step before the New Testament, as many of the other books that follow don't mention the next parts of Israel's history, from the rebuild to the domination of the actual city of Jerusalem by foreign powers such as the Romans.

While the book does focus on actual history, again there are many lessons that can be gleaned. Again, highlighted from this short book is the character of Ezra. His zeal and passion are something missing from churches today. Even though we may not be in as drastic of a situation, we can still mimic that love for God and His work. In fact, we need to, in order to change the way the church does things today. Our perception in society, our work, our future is extremely shady. Renewing our vigour will certainly change that, and we could use a page from Ezra's book in order to do so.

Reading Second Chronicles

When it comes to First and Second Kings, and First and Second Chronicles, the similarities are striking. Especially with Second Chronicles, the stories are almost identical to First and Second Kings. And while First Chronicles really focuses on genealogies, there are similarities in that book as well.

Because the books are so similar, the question that arises is why we have books in the Bible that are almost identical. Essentially, the same story and same history is repeated. Overlap is created, and a strong relationship is built. But the question arises is why? What is the purpose of having two books that include much of the same material?

I believe there are at least a few reasonable answers to that question. The first would be for historical proof. These books were clearly written by different authors and most likely at different times as well. The traditional belief is that Ezra wrote both books of Chronicles after the Babylonian Captivity of Jerusalem, and Jeremiah wrote both books of Kings before the Babylonian Captivity. Basically, the fact that two people could write two different accounts of the same period of history and have all the facts match up so closely is amazing. Just like in a law court when two eyewitnesses will condemn someone, to have two people write accounts of the same events builds a stronger case for that historical event.

The second reason for having two books with almost the same material is that each serves a different purpose. Each author wrote their separate book with a certain purpose in mind. Kings seems to set out to provide a more comprehensive picture of history, while Chronicles is selective. Therefore, while the picture of the same events is similar, they come from a different perspective.

I've always found this useful, especially with the four gospels. Having four different accounts of many of the same stories could prove to be boring, but with the unique flair that each author adds, a more well rounded picture of the story is presented.

This does bring up the interesting doctrine of inspiration as well. So far in school, I've taken two theology courses, that have really helped to clarify this issue. Inspiration states that God divinely inspired each human author to write their books that are included in the Bible. It does not mean that God forced each word out of the human vessel. Rather, the author was able to put their own style into their writings, making it a partnership work between God and man.

Reading First Chronicles

Essentially, First Chronicles takes a step away from the narrative genre that the previous few books have led us through. Deviating away from the storybook kind of feel, First Chronicles focuses on facts, and historical evidence, through the form of lists of genealogies. This makes for a more difficult read, like much of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. However, much like I did with those books, I've found one cool aspect of these lists to hold onto, to make the read slightly easier.

Much like focusing on how the characters described in each book were real people that really walked this Earth, and committed the exact acts described in the Bible, I've found that recognizing that these lists describe our history opens up a wild thought process. These lists contain real people from history, and not just any random people, but people that come from our history. These people are our family from the past! This isn't just the genealogy of fictional characters, but the genealogy of our historic roots!

If anything, these lists of people after people could be the most interesting thing in the Bible! First of all, they can be used as proof for many of the characters in the Bible. By using other Ancient Near Eastern documents that also contain certain character names, we can validate certain people from the genealogies. The description of the character in the other documents could also contain information about family members, which almost always will parallel what has been recorded in the Bible. The genealogies are also a symbol of the eye for detail, or attentiveness to being correct for many of the authors. However, it should be noted that in some genealogies, the pattern isn't as we would expect. In today's time, we include every generation in a list. However, in the past, sometimes they would leave out certain generations due to length of life, or importance, e.t.c. This should not be used as proof that the lists aren't historically accurate.

Finally, these genealogies can also be tangible evidence that our religion does exist in the past, present, and future. We can look at these lists, and see God at work. These genealogies can be used as assurance that God truly has a plan, and is actively at work through the human race.

Bear Much Fruit

Reading Second Kings

The Old Testament is filled with cycle after cycle. Second Kings continues the cycle started in the First instalment of the two book series. Israel, and now Judah as well, go through bad king after bad king, with a few good ones interspersed in there.

After partaking in a Genesis class this past semester, one of the things that has been talked about the most is how dysfunctional of a family our ancestors were. It started with Adam and Eve, and their disobedience, and continued through the story of the Kings of the Southern and Northern Kingdom.

King James Bible Online

Second Kings highlights the division of Israel even more. The United Kingdom of Israel lasted for 120 years, from 1053 to 933 B.C. After the division of the kingdom, the Northern part lasted for 210 years, from 931 to 721 B.C. before being captured by the Assyrians. The Southern part of the kingdom was called Judah, lasting 345 years from 931 to 586 B.C. before being captured by the Babylonians.

All in all, the history highlights how David's kingdom crumbled focussing on the disunity of this royal family, and really the family of Israel. Dividing into two separate kingdoms that were constantly warring against each other, we could state that this is how the once mighty nation of Israel was crippled into a faint name in history.

This for me brings up two lessons. The first is regarding unity. We must make every effort to remain unified in everything we do. Especially as a Christian community that is constantly under public scrutiny, we need to truly act like the body of Christ. We can't have strong disagreement amongst us, so strong that it divides us up. Together we are strong, because God is on our side.

Secondly, God works through every situation. That perhaps has been the most important lesson I've learned from my Genesis class. No matter the dysfunction, the turmoil, the pain or the stress, when we turn to God, He can always get a result. His plan triumphs through all the possible hiccups, all the barriers we may put in place. And while we may not always expect, or even want, the result that God fashions, ultimately His way is always the best way.

Reading First Kings

This book is once again another story of the tragedy of perhaps the most convoluted family in history. The book goes from good to bad over and over again. The cycle is almost enough to make your head spin like a record. One minute the people are loving God, and obeying Him with all of their heart, and the next, they are loving idols, and disobeying God, turning their backs on Him.

The book's central character is Solomon. His story is hilarious, and yet extremely saddening. It shows that God has a keen sense of ironic humour.

Solomon was David's youngest son, yet once again defying the traditional laws (much like David's anointment as king), Solomon is crowned the next king of Israel. His reign begins on a high note, with God continuing the same relationship that he originally had with David. He grants Solomon one thing, and Solomon being a smart, mature, leadership qualified man, chooses wisdom, in order to help govern his people in the best way possible.

But with all the wisdom in the world, after continually making amazing choices in regards to ruling over his people, Solomon messes up grandly in two ways. First, he gets distracted, and secondly, he falls away from God.

Solomon gets distracted by things of the world. Initially he starts off by committing his wisdom to use for God. He makes decisions that are meant to further God's kingdom, and dedicates himself to building a temple. But soon, Solomon attempts to build himself a kingdom. He starts by accumulating wealth and riches past that which was required for the temple. He also stockpiles women and wives, ending up with 700 wives. All of this distracted him for his real mission, and led him astray.

All of these distractions add up to Solomon falling away from God. In almost a mind-blowing fashion, Solomon loses his commitment to God. While the Bible does not explicitly state that Solomon loses his faith, there are references to his disobedience in later years. The story of Solomon ends rather abruptly turning to his descendants. The Bible does make mention of the fact that Solomon never fully turned away from God, but he also never fully committed himself to God.

This can remind us of the warning in Revelations 3:14-22, regarding being lukewarm. According to this passage, God spits out those who are lukewarm. He wants us to be fully committed, raring to go.

So with all the wisdom anyone could ever imagine, Solomon still made the wrong decision and chose the world over God. His legacy took a major hit because of that. This should serve as a warning sign for us. Rather then seek out wisdom, we should be seeking out God. Many fall under the false impression that wisdom will grant all the answers; only God could ever do that. Even with all the answers in the world, we will still mess up unless we act as servants for God, as partners with Him.

Wikipedia

Reading Second Samuel

Second Samuel is another interesting picture of perhaps the second most heralded character in Israel's history; King David. There are really three contrasting portraits painted of the man throughout the book, and throughout the rest of Deuteronomistic History.

First, David as the young, courageous shepherd. This part of the story painted David in an extremely positive light. He was labelled as the obedient son, doing the dirty work for his father and his brothers multiple times. He was the one left to watch the sheep while his brothers participated in a special meal. He was the one who was left to watch his father (and the sheep again) while his brothers gained respect by fighting in the king's army. Yet, you never read about any complaints from David. In fact, he keeps mainly to himself, supposedly writing psalms after psalms during his time as a shepherd. When he does get a chance to be thrust into the light, he immediately takes it, eager to prove himself, not to his brothers who get mad at him, or even the king who watches him closely, but rather to the one thing that he finds hope in; God.

Even in David's teenage years, he remains quiet, yet extremely confident and courageous. He is thrust under the wings of an extreme insane king, Saul, and his life is threatened multiple times. He doesn't run and hide, but rather chooses to remain, and wait for God's command.

Second, David is the masterful, self-confident strong leader, making himself a famous king never to be forgotten. The people adore him, idolize him, and even worship him. His enemies were continually frightened by him, scared to even think about standing up against him. In a way, David was the greatest human king Israel would ever have. In fact, he can even be considered one of the greatest leaders ever to grace this planet, as a political and military conqueror.

Goodness of God Ministries

Yet, through all of that good, there still remained an evil in David. David was initially very controlled with his war actions. He showed amazing restraint in his campaign in defence from Saul. Yet, at some point, he lost that restraint and turned into a ruthless man, showing no conscience over ordering an innocent man's death. He also lost all morals and consideration for God, and turned to multiple worldly sins to satisfy his own craving for power. He turned to adultery, to worldly fortune, to anything but God. And ultimately, that led to David's downfall.

Rick Warren's A Life of Purpose Review

Rating: 9.2/10
Website: http://rickwarren.org

This is perhaps my favourite sermon. It has impacted my life the most thus far. I'm the person who likes to plan huge lofty goals, and hopes to one day to make it far in multiple industries. This sermon gives me a slight reality check, provides me with hope, and reminds me exactly what my life is all about.

The talk is a Ted Talk labelled as A Life of Purpose. Essentially, Warren is talking about the success of his book, A Purpose Driven Life. Surprisingly, this book, although very Christian in nature, averaged up to a million copies sold each month in 2006. Warren states that he thinks the reason for this is spiritual emptiness. Spiritual emptiness brings a life with no purpose. The issue of no purpose is not a religious problem, but a human problem.

A major part of this speech is Warren's testimony about his trials as a successful author. Warren states that he struggled to find the purpose behind the success of his book. Two things happened as a result of the book to Warren; a huge amount of money flooded into his household, and he garnered international attention. Now according to his worldview, which is what he describes is what he is betting his life on (that Jesus is who He claimed to be), this attention and money had to be put to a certain use.

So Rick Warren made decisions regarding the money, such as not using it for himself, giving it back to the church, and finally setting up charitable organizations. Warren concludes that the testament of a good life is not about feeling good, but rather being good, and doing good things.

Finally, Warren also had to deal with the attention, which he said was even more difficult then dealing with the money. Attention has everything to deal with influence Warren argues. The purpose of that influence is to speak for those who have no influence.

Perhaps the highlight of this speech, is Rick Warren's interpretation of the story of Moses, especially concerning the episode with the burning bush. Through this burning bush, God is talking to Moses. One of the questions God asks is, "What's in your hand?" As Warren explains, this may be the most important question you are ever asked. Moses replies a shepherd staff. God tells him to throw it down, and it turns into a snake. God then commands Moses to pick that snake up, and it returns to its original form as a staff. Key to this story is the shepherd staff in Moses' hand. It represented his identity as a shepherd, it was a symbol of his income, and finally it was a symbol of his influence. God asked him to lay that all down at His feet, and He made it come alive.

So what's in your hand? What has God given you to use? What can you do to make the world a better place? What is your life wired to be like?

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Reading First Samuel

Especially in the Old Testament, I love reading about the characters of history. Just like I mentioned in Numbers, it's amazing to think that these events actually happened, and these people actually walked on this planet. I've really been focusing on certain characters from each book, and trying to see if their lessons learned apply to my life.

The character that jumped out at me from First Samuel is Saul. An interesting exercise that I like to participate it when reading historical narratives in the Bible, and focusing on these characters, is to select certain qualities that are similar in myself. I also like to search for qualities that I don't have, but would like to work on.

Saul is an interesting character, and a lot can be highlighted from his very eventful life. I want to highlight two specific things though, one negative and one positive.

Starting with the negative, Saul was very power hungry. I think this was the root of almost all of his problems. He was continually searching for more power, or to maintain his control or grip over the power he already had obtained. Ultimately, this consumed his life, and flooded over into his decisions and actions, which in turn changed Saul's character. He went from a shy, mild mannered man, to a angry, self-conscious, wary, short-fused king. He spent much of his life searching for David, to kill him to maintain his own hold on the throne. He snapped multiple times in the quest of control over the throne, throwing spears at multiple people. He decided to disobey God, just to get the favor of the people to keep his power. He even went ahead and offered sacrifices to God without the priest (Samuel) just to make sure the people didn't leave him. All of Saul's actions were drastic measures to keep the power or gain more.

However, Saul wasn't always this way. Before he was anointed as king, Saul was the obedient, meek son. He jumped at the opportunity to help his father, and was well respected in the community. It was only after he tasted power for the first time that his character changed.

I feel a slight connection with Saul. I have the same issue where power can become an overtaking search in my life. I believe there are many Christians who have the same problem. For some, it is a matter of staying away from those leadership positions that offer power. But we all can't do that, and sometimes it is better to have Christians in those leadership positions.

The best tip that I have found that works, is rather then make that leadership position about you, and your decisions or successes, make it about God. Turn everything back to the Lord. If Saul would have done that as king, he would have been recognized as a success instead of a failure, a madman. Same as every leader in the world!