Ok, deal is, I'm tired of opening my Bible, reading it, closing it and never thinking about what I read again. I'm sick of it, and though I've been in this spot many, many times before, I'm trying something different to see if it'll work.
I want God's word to have impact in my life. To matter, and change and speak and influence, and I can't seem to make that happen. I recognize the importance of it, God speaking to us through the Bible and everything, I just always leave without anything.
James 1:23-24
23 Those who listen to the word but do not do what it says are like people who look at their faces in a mirror 24 and, after looking at themselves, go away and immediately forget what they look like.
Alright, let's try this out.
I got a book on Matthew, asking discussion questions and stuff. That's where I'm gonna start.
* We forget what we read, but we remember what we ponder.
What's with the geneaology?
Maybe Matthew put it in there cuz it makes it seem more real. When there are names and records of real people that you could physically trace down to Jesus, it just affirms his humanity and reality. Apparently Jewish people kept extensive records of genealogies. He also emphasizes Jesus' descent from King David, as a fulfill to Old Testament prophesies.
Why did he mention the Gentile women?
Cuz they were women, and Gentiles. Both things Jesus reached through to, broke barriers for. Also, as they are mentioned earlier in the Bible, it shows that Jesus didn't come from a line of "good" people, necessarily. They were sinning men and women.
From Abraham to David was 14 generations, and David to Jesus was 14. Double 7, which is a huge Biblical number. God is such a symmetrical, structured mathematician!
We're setting up for the arrival of Jesus. Ironic that it's after Christmas to be reading about it, haha. But I don't think historically Jesus was born in December anyway. It's a pagan holiday or something like that. I only half know what that means anyway.
What am I going to do about this..
1) Be reminded that Jesus was a real man, with humanly inherited characteristics from his family and his ancestors.
WOAH - Question:
Matt 1:16, why does the blood line go to Joseph and not Mary? If it was on the way down from King David all the way to Joseph, Joseph has no blood claim to Jesus? I don't get it.
Google.
Google says that it is just cuz Joseph was his legal father. I'm not really cool with that answer..
Apparently both Mary and Joseph are descendants of King David, I can't find Biblical proof for that yet though.
To be continued..
That James verse comes with another cool idea.
ReplyDeleteAs sons and daughters of God we carry our fathers image. In the mirror, in a place of self reflection we can see it, God is in our smile, Hes in our eyes. But we walk away and forget exactly what it is were reflecting.
Like a silver smith working to refine silver until his reflection is shown, So is God working to purify us til' we entirely bare his image.