Matthew 12

 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Well I don't have a take today.  Just questions.  For some reason the verses around demons or unclean spirits.  Where did they come from?  I did some research and best I can tell the bible doesn't actually say where they came from but certainly suggests they exist. 

I am a little troubled by all the articles people have written on them.  In absence of clarity from the bible people seem to be able to create all sorts of stories and angles or explanations.  Maybe its fun for them to imagine but it also seems a little dangerous.  I read comments from people and they take the words of others without skepticism. 

I find it a little troubling that God wanted to tell us these unclean spirits exist and that they will be taking refuge in people and that this is how it will be with the wicked generation.  God says if the spirit comes back to the empty house it will enter.  So now I will go on my own possibly dangerous view, but by empty house or person's body that could mean one not filled with the Holy Spirit and therefore at risk.  If so anyone who does not believe in Jesus is at risk of unclean spirits looking for refuge.

ok I'll stop babbling now, sorry for the unorganized thoughts.  When I started this chapter I didn't foresee thinking about demons and their role in this world.

knut

Matthew 11

 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

During this past year at our church on our Governing Board we were searching for the vision that God had for our little church in Waukee.  He lead us to a vision of Creating Space for Self and Community to Find Rest in Christ.  The verse above is one of the ones leading us this way.

I initially challenged the vision because I was looking for one that had us doing big things.  This one was not clear to me the action we would take.  It is very counter cultural, in the US we fill every ounce of our time with work, hobbies, kids sporting events and eventually may do the opposite of finding rest in Christ.  We squeeze him out of our calendar.  This past Sunday I watched as a friend of our had to leave during the middle of the service to go to a school concert for their daughter.  Sunday morning at 10am--no time for rest in Christ, really?  Even the public schools.


So if we are successful at Westview perhaps things will look different for our members.  Maybe they will cast aside what society says is important and will find more time to be in relationship with Jesus.  I don't know that that means being less busy, but maybe it is being more busy in the work he would have us do.  Maybe the anxiety of society can be cast aside and a peaceful soul can be found.

knut

Matthew 10

7 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.

He did not mince words.  Here he got 12 guys to follow him and he didn't do it by promising big bucks like a a pyramid scheme or a safe life.  No he said leave your family, leave our money, follow me to share a message.  Oh and when you share that message you'll get locked up and probably beaten some of the time.  sound good?  great let's roll.

But their faith must have been strong and their heart for others big.  He says if you love your own family more than me that's a problem too.  These guys truly put him first, I'm pretty sure I'd struggle making the choices they made and giving up time with their families but I am thankful they did.

knut

Matthew 9

As you said these chapters flows fast and easy, its almost difficult what to pick out to comment on.

5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then the man got up and went home. 

Jesus set them up.  Its funny how he could have gone straight to healing the man and they would not have said a word.  But he says their sins are forgiven and they freak.  it had to be one of those things that make you go hmmm moments.  For those few teachers thinking the evil thoughts I hope they did go hmmm.

knut

Matthew 8

8 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 

Well this chapter is another very familiar that captures many examples of some of the healing Jesus was doing.  I don't have a big take her but was just reflecting on the large crowds following Jesus.  At first I didn't think much about it.  

Of course once someone posted on youtube a couple healing videos people became interested in who Jesus was and started looking for more videos of his works.  Then someone Tweeted, hey Jesus is down by the lake.  Others posted some pics on Facebook and check-in at the location Jesus was at.  So others jumped in their cars and got right down there.

So its easy to see how the crowds got so large right?  But wait they had none of those media tools or transportation yet the crowds were large.  It took some effort to walk to where Jesus was and they had to first find out where he was.  

I'm saying all this to say that the miracles Jesus was doing that are just a few paragraphs here in the bible were big deals.  People were taking note and knew they needed to see him.  2000 years later we read about it on our ipads and chat about it on-line from 800mi apart.

Jesus is real and a big deal, not just 2,000 years ago but now.

knut

Matthew 7

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

This verse is a good reminder for me today.  I live an incredibly blessed life.  I have everything that I need and want.  I very easily slip into thinking like the rest of world.  Thinking that success here on earth is the measure of true success.  It is not.  Sometimes I look at the people with the least.....and find them to have the most joy and peace.  They are reliant of God to fulfill their needs.  I can quickly fall into the trap that tells me I am the filling the needs of my family.  I need to be reminded that the path I'm looking for is narrow.  It's not easy to find, and it's not easy to follow.  But, it is the one worth pursuing.  The narrow path not only leads to a better ending, but it also makes the journey more joyful along the way.....even though it doesn't seem like it will.

I went back to see what we wrote the last time........you picked this same verse.
haha

tp

Matthew 6

There is so much good in this one.  I'm talkin' practical advice for life.  I like the portion on giving and prayer, and how it says to do it in private without anyone having to see it.  Those are things that should be counted between us and God and not between us and other people.
Then, I came to this part.
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
Fantastic!  I would tend to say that I'm not much of a worrier......I don't dwell on the possibilities.  But, the truth is, I do.  I worry in other ways.  I work things through in my head, just so I don't need to worry.  But, that's really the same thing.  If I'm honest, I'm not completely reliant on God for my life.  I should be.  I know that everything I have and do are direct blessings from him.  But, I still hold on.
Something to work on in the new year.

Matthew 5

I liked reading thru the beatitudes.  They remind me of how we should be acting towards each other.  What's written here, it completely foreign to how the world thinks now-adays.

13 “You are the salt of the earth.
14 “You are the light of the world.
BOOM!
We have a responsibility in this world.  He has given us this charge.  If we don't fulfill it, we are no good....just like the salt that has lost it's saltiness.


I've always had a hard time with the concept talked about in the second half of the chapter.

28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

The idea that if you think it, you've already committed it in your heart.  Whether it be adultery, or coveting, or whatever......I guess this has always tripped me up....cause then I think....."well, how the heck can I win?"  If I think it, and DON'T do it, shouldn't I be rewarded for making the right decision?
Answer clearly spelled out here!  NO!  If you think it, you are broken and sinful in nature and therefore need God's grace and Jesus' sacrifice.

THANK YOU JESUS!

Matthew 4

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[s]”
I feel this way sometimes.

16 16 the people living in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
    a light has dawned.”[t]

I like the following lines.  Its a very "hopeful" last sentence.  For those stumbling around in the darkness.......a light has just started to shine, and will illuminate the path, from now to the end of time.

Again, there's so much that is happening in these chapters.  I don't remember that from last time.  I should go back and read what our response was last time. It's pretty exciting to think about this time in history.  It's ALL about to change! God is about to fulfill a promise and give us a way to get to be with him.  He must be amped up.

tp 

Pepper

Tough night here, we lost our kitty Pepper.  He was 20, a great cat and part of our family.   We've had him since the first house we bought.  Through each move to a new house and city.  Luke and Katelyn have never known our home without him.

It hurts, I know you guys can relate.  Say a little prayer for us.
knut

Matthew 3

I'm struck by how fast this book moves.  We are only 3 chapters in and we have already gone from Abraham......to Jesus' birth......to his baptism.  Not a lot of details here.  But, some very important ones.
I found this in reference to what I was thinking:

The divine nature of Jesus was a major issue for the Matthaean community, the crucial element marking them from their Jewish neighbors; while Mark begins with baptism and transfiguration, Matthew goes back further still, showing Jesus as the Son of Godfrom his birth, the fulfillment of Old Testament messianic prophecies.^[7] The title Son of David identifies Jesus as the healing and miracle-working Messiah of Israel (it is used exclusively in relation to miracles), sent to Israel alone.^[8] As Son of Man he will return to judge the world, a fact his disciples recognise but of which his enemies are unaware.^[9] As Son of God he is God revealing himself through his son, and Jesus proving his sonship through his obedience and example.^[10]

tp

Matthew 2

I have more questions than answers today.  I find myself wondering about the star that guided the Magi to Jesus.  What was it?  Was it literally a star that led them to where Christ was?  My logical, visual mind sometimes won't let me get past things like this.  I think we read over it so many times that we lose track of how crazy it is.  I wonder if God was moving a celestial star?.....or was it an angel in the sky that looked similar to the other stars, just due to the perspective and proximity?  I don't know.  I do believe that God can do anything he wants, and whatever his method was here.....I don't doubt it.  I just wonder how he did it. It reads as if the star stopped over the specific location.....so it must have been close to the ground and not in the heavens.

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

Matthew 1

Well I'm back up in the morning for the first time since I returned from Australia.  Sorry for the long break, between Thanksgiving and returning to the CST timezone I just have not got rolling like normal.

So I thought for the Christmas season we could start our new journey following completing the bible for the first time in my life in the New Testament.

17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

Funny how after reading the entire bible I found even the first 16 verses listing the genealogy of Jesus interesting--I probably blew through this in the past.  But now I read the names and while I don't recall all the stories I know that we have read about many of these people and it gives depth to the importance of this section.  I love how thoroughly interconnected God's word is from one end to the other.

So I didn't pick the sexist verse, it just caught my eye because of the symmetry of the years and made me wonder--so I Googled it an of course others before me have wondered as well.  So below is the first thing I clicked on--

How long is a generation and is this the final generation?

We are told, in Matthew, that there are 14 generations between Abraham and David, between David and captivity to Babylon, and between Babylon and Christ. This equals 42 generations between Abraham and Christ. It is suggested that there are about 2,160 years between Abraham and Christ. 2,160 divided by 42 equals 51.4 years per generation.

Other speculations about the length of a generation include 70 years, 100 years or even 40 years because that is how long the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. Some say the "final generation" began when Israel became a nation. Others contend that, while Israel becoming a nation was extremely important, it wasn't until 1967, when it reclaimed Jerusalem, that it could be considered to have "bloomed." It is clear that we cannot know for sure the timing of the Lord's return. But it is obvious that we are close--close enough to count the days!

I don't get into trying to predict the final day, and I like that this site isn't trying to do that either but as it points out it sure seems like we could be in a period where it won't be long.  Maybe not during out earthly lifetime but still it seems relatively near.

There is certainly more important lessons in this chapter like how Joseph behaved after getting startling news from an Angel but today my attention was captured but other details God chose to share.

sorry for the rambling, getting back on the horse--

knut