Reading Luke

Probably my favourite gospel account, Luke is one of the most descriptive books of the New Testament. It was written by Luke, as a part one of the two part series (with Acts being part two). Luke was closely partnered with Paul in his missionary journeys, serving as a doctor, and as a worker with the Gentiles, specifically the Greek believers. This two part series was written to a specific person, Theophilus, who was probably someone in a high political position who had great wealth. This Theophilus was also most likely Luke's patron. Past that, not much is known about the intended audience of Luke's two part series.

Luke was definitely a scholar, and that shines through in his Gospel. His usage of the Greek language is extremely sophisticated, and the detail included is rich with information.

The focus of Luke's Gospel is on the power of salvation. Everything is focused on the power of the spirit, and how God orchestrated everything to provide the gift of salvation. Luke emphasizes that this gift is provided through the power of God, universally to all people. 

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Reading Mark

While Mark is the shortest Gospel account of the four, it is most likely the earliest written, and earliest accepted account. The book is believed to have been written by John Mark, who actually has an interesting story that is woven throughout the New Testament. His mother's house in Jerusalem served as a meeting place for believers, where Mark first met Paul and Barnabas, and joined them on part of their first missionary journey. He did desert the two part way through the voyage, but was accepted back by Barnabas to Cyprus. Paul meanwhile did not accept Mark back, at least not right away. By the end of Paul's life, he did indeed welcome Mark back into the ministry, and actually praised him for his work. 

It is believed that the Gospel of Mark was actually the first written account of Jesus' ministry, most likely around late 50 or early 60 AD. This would mean that the first account of all of Jesus' miracles, sermons, and actions would have been a mere 20 years after His death and resurrection. It is also believed that Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels using Mark as a major source.

Because Mark was merely intending to write down a quick account that would serve as a refresher of Jesus' life, his aim was more on short episodes focusing on what Jesus did rather then say. However, with this focus, Mark also seems to draw a lot on the theme of suffering and persecution. 

With that in mind, a picture clearly painted throughout the book is regarding the gift of God. This certain account was written to encourage believers, and remind them what they are suffering for, which is indeed a gift from God; Jesus and the gift of salvation. The sacrifice of Jesus, the new covenant, and the chance to be redeemed in His sight is all a gift of God to His people. We didn't do anything to deserve this gift, anything to merit the present, instead it came from the grace of God, because of His undying love for us. 

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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.

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