Hiatus

We are are on a week long break from the e100 due to our yearly standardized testing. 

Matthew 3:13 - 4:17

Nine: Jesus rebuked Satan with all those Bible verses. God showed His power when Jesus was baptised. He spoke and told the people that Jesus was His son and He was very pleased with Jesus.

Twelve: This is the beginning of Jesus' ministry. He defeats the devil by using Bible verses against him. Whenever the devil tempts us, we should tell him he is wrong and look in our Bible to prove him wrong. God will help us.

Forty-seven: My oldest has the right idea. We should fight our temptation by studying the Bible so that we know what it is that God wants from us as His children. Further, we are to rely on the Holy Spirit which lives in us to help us in this. 

Luke 3:1 - 20

Nine: John was right about all the things he said to the people. I should obey the words of John and do what is right.

Twelve: John was the forerunner of Jesus. He told the people to repent and prepare for the messiah. We should be ready for Jesus to come. He can come any day. 

Forty-seven: John certainly didn't pull any punches. In our world today he'd be thought of as being judgemental and politically incorrect. Yet, still people came out into the wilderness to hear him. Today we have that same need for repentance, but we have Jesus to turn to instead. 

Luke 2:1 - 40

Nine: I thought it was amazing that God let those shepherds know that Christ was born. They were the humblest of people. I kind of see why He did that because Jesus is the good shepherd.

Twelve: God had everything planned hundred of years in advance. Having the prophets at the temple amazed Joseph and Mary and showed them they had a very special child. 

Forty-seven: How wonderful that the humblest were told first! How wonderful to know that no matter how sinful I am that I am welcome in God's house because His son came for me. How wonderful to know that God had it all planned in advance. 

Luke 1:1 - 80

Nine: It was amazing that God made Elizabeth be able to have a baby when she was so old. It was amazing God mad a virgin pregnant.

Twelve: It was great that God paved the way for Jesus. It was good that Mary trusted in God even though it wasn't the best circumstances.

Forty-seven: For me the choice seems to be am I Mary or Zechariah? I wish I could say that I always respond like Mary, but I expect if Gabriel was around all the time, I'd be spending a lot of time not talking. 

John 1:1 - 18

Nine: God's son came to sacrifice Himself to save us. John made the path for Jesus.

Twelve: God sent His son to us that we should know about Him. He is the word. He is the light.

Forty-seven: I love this passage. It's one of those moments when we catch just a glimpse of God's mystery at work. We can't really hold the moment, but just watch it go by and marvel. 

Fifty Posts

We have made it on schedule. There's been a few days where I didn't get things posted as quickly as I should but for the most part it's happened.

I continue to be amazed by my boys' reaction to the passages. I certainly understand why Jesus exhorted us to have the faith of little children. 

Malachi 1:1 - 4:6

Nine: I heard that you better obey the Lord or bad things will happen. We shouldn't commit adultery. We should give the best of our things to the Lord. We should worship Him and not other Gods.

Twelve: We should honor God and not defile His holy places like church. We shouldn't divorce. We should honor God in all ways.

Forty-seven: What a wonderful finish to the Old Testament. "Who can stand the day of His coming?" The answer is no one, but we are given His gift of His son that we may be brought close to Him and saved from our sins.

Jonah 1:1 - 4:11

Nine: It was amazing that God sent that big whale shark to eat Jonah, then vomit him out in three days. We should obey God or something bad will happen.

Twelve: God punished Jonah by putting him in the whale for not obeying God. Everything worked out in the end. We should obey God or there will be consequences.

Forty-seven: I was pretty intrigued by the word "hurled" about God sending the storm at the ship Jonah was on, but maybe I just live with too many baseball players. My guys argued about exactly what the "fish" was. My youngest is my animal scientist and won't accept whale as a fish so instead he chooses the whale shark which is the largest fish in the ocean. 

It's easy to be like Jonah and want God to do what we want Him to do instead of what He will do. Yet we never succeed in that desire. 

Daniel 6:1 - 28

Nine: Why didn't God help the wives and children of the bad men? It was amazing that God didn't let the lions hurt Daniel, but He let them kill those people before they hit the bottom.

Twelve: Daniel trusted in God and prayed to Him even when it was against the law because the law was wrong. It shows that we should stand up for what is right.

Forty-seven: I wish I could be Daniel but I find that usually the person who's set up the wrong law is me, hoist by my own petard. Seems like I should stop building siege engines and spend more time at my east window. 

Jeremiah 1:1 - 3:5

Nine: We shouldn't go after the ways of evil. We shouldn't worship other gods. I get distracted by things and things to do.

Twelve: God is telling Jeremiah that the Israelites have sinned against Him and worshipped other Gods. We now days should not go after things in the world.

Forty-seven: Those sneaky modern idols that don't look like statues but take us from worshipping God that are each hill of my life! How hard to rid myself of them. One is discarded only to find another sprung up.

Isaiah 51:1 - 53:12

Nine: Isaiah's writing to tell us that Jesus will be despised and crucified on the cross so our sins may be forgiven.

Twelve: It tells Israel that some day they will rise again. BUT they will despise Jesus. He let people slaughter Him without a fight. He bore our sin for us.

Twelve: It's both hard and glorious to know that Jesus had to die for me and my sin. 

Proverbs 16:1 - 18:24

Nine: The Lord gives us all these warnings in the Bible that tells us what to do. You should not walk in the way of the foolish. Be careful what you say; it could get you in trouble.

Twelve: It compares how a foolish man and a wise man are. It shows wise men are a lot better off. You should look for wisdom and discerning. Fools talk too much, go down foolish paths, and don't listen to wise men's words.

Forty-seven: How often does my mouth run without thinking? How often does it say things it shouldn't that aren't God honoring or I wouldn't want said of me? I pray to be the wise person who listens, who accepts correction with a humble spirit. 

Proverbs 1:1 - 4:27

Nine: Listen to the Lord; don't walk in the path of evil doers. I should listen to the Lord and do what he says. I shouldn't let people tempt me in the ways of evil. Doing school teaches us wisdom.

Twelve: Listen to wise people, read the bible, don't go with the wicked, and don't listen to them either. Find wisdom, look for it. Read the Bible. Read stuff.

Forty-seven: How hard it is to seek always for wisdom. It seems so much easier to be careless and follow in the easy paths which are not righteous. 

Psalm 103

Nine: It is amazing how good the Lord is to us. His anger subsidies quickly. He is the all powerful, all righteous God. We should worship Him.

Twelve: It shows that God will forgive our sins. We should take from this passage that God will forgive us no matter what we do.

Forty-seven: I can't think of how I could say what this Psalm says any better than how it is already written. I am amazed and thankful that we worship such a wonderful God. 

Psalm 51

Nine: David doesn't deserve to be forgiven of his sins, but God will forgive him because God is an all merciful God. I shall confess my sins and God will forgive me.

Twelve: David is rejoicing to God that God has forgiven him even though he didn't deserve it. You should admit your sins to God and He will forgive you.

Forty-seven: Yes Lord! Purge me with hyssop and wash me whiter than snow. 

Psalm 23

Nine: The writer was right. God will not let any evil take us. He will deliver us from evil.

Twelve: God loves us and He will protect us Satan. We may die but we go to heaven if we believe in Him.

Forty-seven: We are assured that bad things will happen to us, but we are also assured that God is with us no matter what. AMEN!

II Kings 25:1 - 30

Nine: They should have listened when they were warned to surrender. It wasn't very nice to kill that guy's sons and put out his eyes. I should listen to someone who speaks God's word.

Twelve: The people of Israel have sinned and God has abandoned them because they abandoned His teachings. They should have listened to the prophets and surrendered when told to.

Forty-seven: This passage makes me want to stay in God's word more and more so I can avoid the turning away that the people of Israel and Judah did. 

I Kings 8:1 - 9:9

Nine: I think God's promise is completely fair: if they obey God and follow His law, they will be blessed, but if they worship other gods, they will be destroyed. I should apply this to my life so none of this stuff happens to me and my descendants.

Twelve: God is giving Solomon a warning to obey him. If he disobeys his descendants won't be kinds of all Israel.

Forty-seven: I'm still chuckling over my youngest's concern over his descendants. I'm glad to know he is planning to have them. Hopefully at a young enough age for me to see them, but maybe not just yet. 

I Kings 2:1 - 3:28

Nine: It was wise of Solomon to do that trick. Ask for wisdom from the Lord.

Twelve: You shouldn't rise against your king. You shouldn't fight against your leaders and you should respect their decisions. 

Forty-seven: Solomon must have felt so overwhelmed by the number of his father's advisers who opposed his becoming king. It would have been easy to have wanted power or revenge, but instead he asks for wisdom so he can govern better, what a humble spirit. 

II Samuel 11:1 - 12:25

Nine: David got his just desserts for killing that guy. I shouldn't try to get things by doing something wrong to another person.

Twelve: David sinned very badly by killing this guy for his wife. There are consequences for doing wrong. You can repent and God will forgive you.

Forty-seven: How often do I want to duck the consequences of my sin? Much like David I learn that I am not the only who the consequences hit.