Primal: DVD-Based Study By Mark Batterson / Multnomah This DVD has five video segments that are visually stimulating.  Each segment is approximately seven minutes and corresponds with chapters from the book of the same name by the same author.  I have not read the book. I wanted to see if the DVD could stand alone as a Bible Study.  I cannot say that it does.  I can say that it offers a lot to think about.  It does not provide enough scripture that I would consider it a Bible Study.  It is a concept study and a review our response to what Jesus said is the greatest commandment as recorded in Mark 12:29 - 30 The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The L ord our God is the one and only L ord .  And you must love the L ord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength .’ This DVD offers an opportunity to discuss and evaluate our responses to how we love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mi...

King David had made a promise to Jonathan who was David's friend and Saul's son. Later, he made good on that promise. 2 Samuel 9 tells the story of King David asking if anyone still lived who was part of Saul's family. He was told, "yes". So King David had Jonathan's son come to see him. This story is remarkable for a number of reasons. 1) Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth, was crippled. In that culture and time, people who were crippled were a burden on a family and often were beggars, unable to do more. 2) David restored all of Saul's property to Mephibosheth - all of it. He didn't just give Mephibosheth a little house somewhere.  He gave him all the property that King Saul had had. (See verse 7) 3) On top of all that, David had Ziba, formerly one of Saul's servants, and his family farm and take care of the property for Mephibosheth. The Ziba family was not a small one.  There were 15 sons and 20 servants!  This is a lot of people for David to ...

Psalm 119:5 NLT Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! Let me revise this a little: Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect my love and respect of You. I believe this is the same thing, for obeying God's decrees would demonstrate love and respect. I wish I could say that I am consistent in obeying. I am like Paul when he says he wants to do right but does what is wrong.  Of course, this isn't always the case but I do sometimes fail or choose to fail.  Isn't that the awful part?  Sometimes I choose to fail?  But that is really what happens. I go through the thought process and choose to go ahead do whatever it is.....like eating what I shouldn't (gluttony) or not showing up as a volunteer when I think I should or whatever the case may be.  I am not fully devoted to obeying! That is a painful realization!  God, Please forgive me. I pray that You continue to convict me. At some point, I hope that my actions will consistently re...

Ephesians 4:29 : Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  How hard is that to do?  How hard is it to curb your tongue when others are talking harshly about someone or something and you are in complete agreement?  But we are supposed to hold our tongues.  We are supposed to make sure that what we say builds up and does not destroy.  We are supposed to refrain from speaking ill of others and spewing "unwholesome" talk.  "Unwholesome" is a word that we don't hear or use much. Perhaps it is out of style.  Perhaps we don't like what it means.  I looked it up on dictionary.com . Seems it means unhealthy, noxious, morally harmful or depraved.  We need to make sure what comes out of our mouths is not unhealthy, noxious, morally harmful.  Boy, that is a lot of stuff we can't say!  We can't say anything, true ...

I've been preoccupied the last several days.  I started reading a book my dad loaned me.  He is a really big reader of WWII books, especially if they are true stories. This one is called Flyboys: A True Story of Courage by James Bradley.  He is the same author who wrote Flags of Our Fathers , about the guys who raised the flag at Iwo Jima. The author seems to do a really good job of presenting the facts, as ugly as they are. I haven't done any research to verify his sources but he seems to be very balanced in presenting what happened and why in his opinion it did.  He starts by explaining how this book came to be written. This book presents events 150 years prior to WWII and helps to explain the Japanese mindset and how western Christians helped to create that mindset.  Yes, Christians. This book was very difficult to read and difficult to put down at the same time - The idea of not being able to drive past a wreck without straining to see what happened....

Matthew 29:10 ( NIV-1984 ) Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. When someone passes away, especially when it is sudden and unexpected, well meaning people will say something about it being God's will.  I do not believe that in the way it is presented, or the way I think the person means it. Let me sum up my beliefs on this subject: God's will. There are two distinct parts of this concept to me.  1) One part of God's will is what God wants and wills to happen. It is God's will - wish, if you will -  that we come to Him to worship, for healing, for complete surrender. 2) The other part has to do with what God allows to happen, as in the case of Job.  Satan went to God to ask permission to mess with Job's life. It was not God's will (wish) that Satan do this but it was within what God allowed to happen. To elaborate: God does not wish that a person suffer with cancer or some de...

John 10:19 ( NLT ) When he [Jesus] said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him.  The footnote to this indicates that "the people" were the Jewish people who listened to Jesus. As I read this verse today as part of my daily Bible reading, I think that it is still the same today.  People, and not just Jewish people, are divided in our opinions of Jesus and His teachings. We fight and argue amongst ourselves demanding that our opinions and interpretations of the Bible are the only correct ones, that somehow we each individually have the inside scoop when it comes to understanding God and His word.   Now I've said before that I believe we each individually have or can have a relationship with God.  I believe each relationship with God is unique and not like any other.  I also believe that one passage touches a different nerve than another passage.  However, I don't believe that my understanding of a passage is the only right...

I was reading in John today about the man born blind. The discussion was about who was responsible for his blindness, specifically who had sinned, his parents or him. For some reason the reading today made me wonder about other examples when the blind received their sight. I've done some keyword searches using BibleGateway.com . Without doing a lot of study, I believe that Jesus is the only one recorded in the Bible who restored sight to the blind. Other prophets returned people back to life.  Other prophets multiplied meager rations to feed people. Other prophets brought healing and addressed suffering of the poor and widowed. If I am right about no others restoring sight to the blind, why isn't this a huge red flag to the religious establishment of Jesus' day?  They might not have been surprised by the healing, restoring life, feeding thousands but why weren't they impressed by restoration of sight? Since others hadn't done this in the past, you would think tha...

Mark 5:28-30 NLT For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.   30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” Which part of this story stirs you? I don't know what surprises me the most. Is it that the woman knew just a touch of Jesus' robe would heal her? Is it that Jesus " realized at once that healing power had gone out from him "? I think perhaps it is that the woman knew that power flowed through Jesus.  Do you remember playing the game as a child where one person could be "on base" or "touching base" and everyone else would be considered "on base" if they just touched a person who was touching a person who was "on base"?  We said that "we had electricity" even if we st...

I've picked up my One Year Bible again.  I read it completely through a couple of years ago.  I've been reading some devotionals but haven't felt like I've been getting enough scripture so I started The One Year Bible again. NLT One Year Bible Softcover   By Tyndale House The One Year Bible, which helps people read the entire Bible in as little as 15 minutes a day, guides readers through God's Word with daily readings from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. New Living Translation. I enjoy this because it is a lot of scripture each day and because it is a translation I do not normally read. Everyday I get the Old Testament, the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. So, I am enjoying reading more of the Bible again.  There is an online blog that goes with this each day but I haven't started using it yet. Here is a link to it if you are interested. When I picked up the Bible, I started on the date that it was.  So, I started very late...

Have I told you that I LOVE Bible study? It doesn't really matter if it is from a Bible study book, or a discussion led by the pastor, or reading through devotionals plus all the footnotes. I just enjoy all the possibilities.  Last night we were looking at the beginnings of the church by looking at the transformations of the apostles in Acts 2. The verse that we spent some time on, and that sparked an interesting thought for me, is verse 36: “ Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. ”  According to the discussion led by our pastor, this statement is a slam to the Roman rulers and the Jewish religious authorities. "Lord" is the term the Romans used for Caesar and of course, "Messiah" or "Christ" is the long awaited savior of the Jewish people.  The Jewish people were under the impression that their savior would be someone like David, King David, the same David who slew Goliath an...

RECOMMENDED! Lazarus Awakening: Finding Your Place in the Heart of God By Joanna Weaver / WaterBrook Press Are you bound in a tomb of regret, fear, or self-condemnation? Jesus is calling you to come forth and step into a full, vibrant life! Combining real-world illustrations with profound biblical insights, Weaver helps you shed the past, embrace God's unconditional love, and experience resurrection and renewal. Includes a 10-week Bible study and discussion guide. 256 pages, hardcover from Waterbrook. I have not read the other books by Joanna Weaver on the same Biblical family.  I’ve read the Biblical accounts of Martha, Mary and Lazarus many times.  I’ve even written blog posts.  (See Mary and Martha - Luke 10:38-42 at http://thoughtsmeditationsofgod.blogspot.com/2010/05/mary-and-martha-luke-1038-42.html and It was Intended http://thoughtsmeditationsofgod.blogspot.com/2011/03/it-was-intended.html ) I just didn’t think there was a lot left to say or think abou...

1 Corinthians 2:9b  “What no eye has seen,    what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”—    the things God has prepared for those who love him—  As I think about friends who are living with the flood damage, and the aftermath of the death of Usama bin Laden , and devastating illnesses of people I know, I wonder about God's imagination. I just watched a few minutes of a show about a photographer taking pictures of the Mohave Desert. It is a barren landscape with a lot of texture and shadows and sand. At first glimpse, all one sees is the same color of sand piled into various shapes, but still very bland. What about God's imagination here?  Think of the creation story of Genesis and the escape store in Exodus. Think of the grand miracles (calling dead Lazarus from his 4 day old tomb) and the "small" miracles (See 2 Kings 13:21 Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they t...

I want to make a comment about miracles. I'm reading a book called " The Top 100 Miracles of the Bible " by Pamela McQuade.  I'm using it like a devotional - reading a miracle or two a day.  The miracles are noted in Biblical order, not ranking them by the least to the best, or most important. Looking at it this way, I'm seeing a lot of miracles that I have only skimmed over in past readings.  The Top 100 Miracles of the Bible   By Pamela McQuade / Barbour Publishing What's your favorite miracle in the Bible? You'll find it here in these brief, easy-to-understand devotions. Readings feature entertaining and thought-provoking sketches with insights and applications for 21st-century believers. From creation to the exorcism of "Legion," from an unending oil supply to an overabundance of loaves and fishes---you'll witness God's intervention and glory ! 192 pages, softcover from Barbour. Some of the ones I've skimmed or not tak...

John 4 :34: Jesus said, “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me and from finishing His work.” Jesus is in Samaria, a very strange place for Jesus to be. No self-respecting Jew would have anything do with Samaria or the residents there.   But that is Jesus, isn’t it?   He’s always going places he shouldn’t, talking to people he shouldn’t, showing compassion to those who don’t deserve it, talking with “outcasts”.  In general, everything he does is "wrong" according to the norms of the times and area. The verse above tells us a little of the reason why he lives this way and does these things. Jesus said, “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me and from finishing His work. His very life depended on his need to do God's will. He was filled, nourished, sustained only by doing the will of God and by finishing that work that God gives Him to do. From that we have to conclude that God wants Jesus to reach out of those who don't ...

John 9:3b   "....said Jesus, “ but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him . " It is so difficult to understand hardship, especially for "good church people" and those we feel exude Christ's image. Why do they go through hardship? Why do bad things happen to good people? The eternal, unanswered question. Ah, but it has been answered, by Jesus Himself. "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." In this case it was a man who'd been born blind but it could be any difficulty, injustice, pain, etc. While this isn't the answer that people want - it isn't satisfying, is it? - it is the answer. We suffer for any number of reasons but in all of them the most appropriate answer is so "that the works of God might be displayed". I am not dealing with any particular difficulties, other than being unemployed, so this answer is easy for me. Some would say that I haven't had anything...

Matthew 18: 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. This verse is one of those that I overlook. I'm not particularly good with little children. It's nice that Jesus is. Because I'm not, I don't tend to look at becoming like little children a good thing. But, since Jesus says that " unless you change and become like little children", I better pay attention. Let me look at it this way so I understand: What are the attributes of little children ? 1) They ask a LOT of questions.  I love (and am great with) my toddler grandson. He constantly asks "huh?" - he can't ask WHY yet. You ask him a question and he answers with "huh?" about as often as he answers the question. So, maybe we should ask a lot of questions, examine scripture to get the whole story as presented there, question "authorities" to keep them accountable and to see if they a...

These are the words of the Samaritan woman at the well. I'm sure you've heard the story told in John 4 . The woman was by herself in the middle of the day, presumably to be away from the spiteful, sniping gossips of her day. While she was there, Jesus came upon her asking for a drink. There was some discussion about the well, living water, how many times she'd been married and her current living arrangements. Jesus was neither judgmental nor harsh. His tone and demeanor didn't threaten or pain her. She didn't rush off but listened to what He had to tell her. As a result many came to believe in Jesus. They even came to listen, at least this one time, to this woman and the story she had to tell. This may have been a turning point in her life beyond the living water Jesus spoke of. Perhaps the townspeople treated her somewhat better after she brought them into the light of Jesus words. An idea strikes me today as I read this passage (with the help of an unlikely book...

Well, Jesus wasn't only human but he was human too.  If you want to see part of that, read the story of the first miracle at the wedding at Cana. The one I'm reading today is John 2:1-25 .  I love this story. It is a wedding celebration, much different from now. The feast could last a long time, days instead of hours. I wonder if the "better" ones lasted the longest. If that's the case, we don't want to run out of food or drink.  That is just like our wedding celebrations - (receptions).  We don't want to run out of anything until we want people to go home. Plenty of food, drinks, music, etc. ....until it is over, or the hosts want it over. Anyway, as we read the story, we are at the wedding feast. Jesus is there. His mother is there We don't know if any other family members are there.  We also don't know whose wedding it is. The disciples are there. We don't know how many but this is the day after Jesus called Andrew, Peter, Nathanael, and...