John 16

John 16
I don't have anything to add that would be outside the obvious...

Numbers 1-3

Numbers 1

• The census. I don't have any insights on this just yet... maybe next time.

Numbers 2

• The order of the tribes and how they are to set out. Nothing of a great insight either. Sorry.

Numbers 3

• The counting of the Levites, plus some family information about Aaron and his children.

Matthew 5

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Matthew 5

• Has the 'Beatitudes'
• Rejoice and be glad. I like that attitude.
• I started adding salt to my scrambled eggs due to seeing my wife add salt and pepper to hers. It's good. If salt looses it saltiness, well, it would be useless. Don't waste your saltiness.
• My righteousness has to surpass that of the Pharisee and the teachers of the law. Jesus was rough on the Pharisees. How much harder will he be on those who surpass their righteousness?
• Settle matters quickly and don't let anger fester within yourself.
• Look at people (women) right and not lustfully, otherwise you will be judged. Don't divorce unless your spouse cheated on you. And even then, God hates divorce (per Malachi). Don't break your vows. Just keep a simple yes and no, everything else comes from the evil one.
• Don't resist evil people. If someone slaps me, let them. Be sure to show love to that person, to all people who persecute you. By doing that, you might win some for Christ.
• Be perfect as God is perfect.

Matthew 4

Matthew 4

• Jesus is led to the wilderness and is tempted by the devil.
• Jesus uses scripture to defend against the tempter.
• The tempter uses scripture as well.
• When John was put in prison, Jesus began to preach 'Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'
• Jesus calls James, John, Peter and Andrew to come and follow him.
• Jesus does miraculous signs by healing sick people while preaching the word. Large crowds began to follow him.

Matthew 2-3

I've just started reading this book and so far, it is really interesting. I find it fascinating that the mind can cause so much discomfort. The book focuses on TMS (Tension Myositis Syndrome), what it is and treatment for it. So far, I haven't got to the point where we have treatment.

Matthew 2:

• The story of Jesus as a baby, dealing with Herod, fleeing to Egypt and his return. He really brings to life Jeremiah 29, where it says 'For I know the plans I have for you'.
• There is a lot of fulfilling of prophecy thus showing that Jesus is LORD.

Matthew 3:

• A prophecy about John the Baptist comes from Isaiah 40:3.
• John calls for confession, repentance and good fruit.
• John's baptism is one of repentance and does not have the Holy Spirit.
• Jesus is baptized by John and the Holy Spirit descends down to Jesus in the form of a dove. 

Matthew 1

Matthew 1

• Reading through this chapter, it is fairly easy to glaze over the names of the genealogy. But I took note that was David's grandmother. Rahab was Ruth's mother-in-law, once she married Boaz... interesting.
• There isn't too much in the Bible about Joseph, but here is a bit about him. This passage shows his obedience to God. It does say that he was faithful to the law, so he is a servant of God.

Isaiah 7:13-16

Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

Leviticus 26-27

Leviticus 26

• If you obey the rules, there will be blessings from God, particularly if you obey you will have food in abundance. If you do not obey, then essentially the opposite happens. Others will take the food away. Diseases will come. If that doesn't work to change the heart, then worse things will come, such as no food will grow at all. If that doesn't change the heart... you get the idea. It gets worse. God will punish seven times over at this point. Wild animals take the kids, cattle, and maybe even you. Wow. 

Leviticus 27

• Anyone who makes a special vow to dedicate a person to the LORD by giving the equivalent value pays a set price by the gender and age of the person. They can also vow an animal and that animal becomes holy. You can't dedicate the firstborn, however, as it is already belongs to the LORD. The tithe belongs to the LORD.

Leviticus 25

Leviticus 25

• Interesting. The land is to have a year of rest, without pruning and such. Six years work it, and the seventh year, let it work itself. How about that. I bet God blessed those who honored that...
• Every fifty years a Jubilee. The Jubilee represents some kind of redemption, where things are returned to people, mainly property, but I think it may apply to other things as well. God reminds them over and over that he brought them out of Egypt, that he is giving them the land and that they should listen and obey the commands so that they may prosper.

Leviticus 22-24

Leviticus 22

• Rules of who can eat sacrificial food.

Leviticus 23

• Rules and preparations for feasts

Leviticus 24

• Two things, bread and oil for the priests and a blasphemer put to death. The blasphemer was a teenager who, in his anger with his mom, had a slip of the tongue.

Leviticus 21

Leviticus 21

• God makes us Holy. Nothing else can make me Holy. It is important to understand that God is the one and nothing I say or do can make me Holy. God is the Lord, not me.

Daily Reading

Leviticus 15

• This is a discharge from a man that makes him unclean chapter. It also takes about a woman's period and how that makes her unclean. I think the key verse here is that you can die in your uncleanliness. That's why you have to separate yourself from the things that are unclean. I think this carries over into the new testament where you dispel the immoral person from the church. You have to keep the church clean spiritually as much as you can.

Leviticus 16

• The rules for the scapegoat. It is very interesting how the goat goes free but is carrying the sin of the Israelites with it. The key part is the Israelites have to confess their sin. It doesn't say to whom they confess the sin to, but I am sure it was to someone that was in their life on a regular basis. To confess for the sake of confess to a stranger wouldn't be beneficial.

Leviticus 17

• Some rules on sacrifices... mainly pertaining to eating the blood of the animal and where the animal is to be sacrificed. Violations of these rules would mean that you would be cut off from the people of Israel. And it doesn't give a way of how to be restored back to the people of Israel.

Leviticus 18

• You defile yourself by having sexual relations with family members, members of your extended family or animals, you get cut off from the people of Israel. That is this chapter in a nut shell.

Leviticus 19

• I think probably the most key scripture in the entire Bible is here in verse 2. Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. Does that not just sum up the whole Bible right there? Everything else centers around that whole verse. I could write a book on that verse alone.
• This chapter is full of what not to do and some things of what to do. Another key verse in here says to love your neighbor as yourself, something Jesus would say several times.

Daily Reading

Leviticus 11

• Foods that you can and cannot eat, according to Mosaic Law. The pig, rabbit and badger are unclean. Snakes are out, but most other fish seems to be in and OK to eat. Most insects are out, but a few are OK to eat. There is a long list of the animals you shouldn't eat here...

Leviticus 12

• How a woman becomes clean after giving birth to a son or daughter.

Leviticus 13

• What happens if you have a skin disease... whether it is a rash or something more serious. Also, what to do when there is mildew.

Leviticus 14

• How to clean skin diseases and mildew.

Daily Reading

Leviticus 7

• The Penalty Offering is the most holy. The Fellowship Offering is an offering to show thanks to the Lord. There is a part of the Fellowship Offering that would belong to the Priest. 

Leviticus 8

• Aaron and his sons are appointed as Priests. I like how each paragraph ends with 'as the Lord had commanded him.'

Leviticus 9

• A number of sacrifices are made by Aaron and his sons so that they can see the glory of God.

Leviticus 10

• God destroys Aaron sons, Nadab and Abihu for not doing a sacrifice properly. Eleazer and Ithamar are appointed to replace them. Aaron tells them the rules for how to live.

Daily Reading

Leviticus 1

• Rules for the Burnt Offering. I find it interesting that the goat's death removes the sin from the people. In another it says that blood must atone for sin, so that makes sense for the goat's death, but what is really interesting is that God finds the smell pleasing. 

Leviticus 2

• Rules for the Grain Offering. It says that the Grain Offering is the most holy part of the offerings. I can't help but think of the similarities between communion today and the Grain Offering. And if you consider Leviticus 1 and that the juice represents the blood of Christ, then there is a TON of similarities between communion and these two chapters.

Leviticus 3

• Rules for the Fellowship Offering. It doesn't say why someone would need to make a Fellowship Offering...

Leviticus 4

• Rules for the Sin Offering. God knew that there would be a King someday, as he has rules of what a ruler must do when he sins.If someone sins by accident, then they are guilty.

Leviticus 5

• Rules for Special Types of Accidental Sins. "When anyone is guilty of any of these things, he must tell how he sinned." Confession was something that happened in the Old Testament. We are responsible for our sin. 

Leviticus 6

• Rules for lying, stealing, and other sins. Very interesting stuff. The general response is to return and make amends by paying an additional 1/5 of the value. Then there is the rules for the Whole Burnt Offering, the Grain Offering, and Sin Offering. 

Daily Reading

Exodus 36

• How the craftsmen made the Holy Tent

Exodus 37

• The making of the lampstand and other items.

Exodus 38

• The making of a bronze bowl and altar of burnt offerings. Also the total amount of items used.

Exodus 39

• Clothing for the priests, what they wore and how they were made.

Exodus 40

• Moses finishes the work on the Tent of Meeting. The Cloud of the Lord covers and fills the Holy Tent.

My heart is sad this morning... so hard to get motivated and inspired to read, so I felt to wrap it up at the end of Exodus and start Leviticus tomorrow.

Daily Reading

Exodus 28

• Clothing that the priest's should wear, Aaron and his sons. 

Exodus 29

• Ceremonies for the priests and rule son sacrifices

Exodus 30

• I noticed that a lot of things in the Bible were made from Acacia Wood... so this is what that looks like. Below is the altar for incense.

• Below is a picture of the Ark of the Covenant

Exodus 31

• The Sabbath is a holy day, not to be treating like any other day, but a day of rest. It was a big deal to God. If you didn't obey, you were put to death.

Exodus 32

• God made the tablets with the ten commandments. Moses threw the tablets down in his anger. Aaron makes a golden calf, which the people worship. The people are forced to kill those who sinned against God. Moses asks God to wipe him out if God is going to kill everyone else. God chooses to forgive the people for their sin if they repent.

Exodus 33

• The people take off their jewelry at Mount Sinai due to the "Golden Calf" incident. Moses sees God's glory.

Exodus 34

• God gives warnings as he makes an agreement with Moses. He goes over the Ten Commandments again as they write the tablets a second time. Moses' face shines because he had talked with the Lord.

Exodus 35

• Clothing for the priests that they had to wear on the Sabbath and rules that went with the Sabbath.

Daily Reading

Exodus 20

• The Ten Commandments.

Exodus 21

• Mosaic laws, what to do in certain situations. It is where the 'eye for an eye' saying comes from.

Exodus 22

• More Mosaic laws. These tend to focus more on theft. You had to pay back double and even up to four times what was stolen, depending on the situation.

Exodus 23

• More Mosaic laws. The is also direction on what to do in court cases and the preparation of going into the promised land.

Exodus 24

• A covenant between God and the God's people was made.

Exodus 25

• Instructions on how to make several things, such as the ark, a table and a lampstand.

Exodus 26

• Instructions on how to make the Tabernacle.

Exodus 27

• More instructions regarding the Tabernacle, but indirectly. This chapter focused more on things that went around the tabernacle, such as the courtyard and the Altar, as well as the purity of the oil for the lampstand.

Quiet Time

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. -Psalm 139:23-24 (New International Version)

Ambition

Stay calm; mind your own business; do your own job. You've heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts. -1 Thessalonians 4:11 (The Message)

Nourishment

Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment. -1 Peter 2:2 (New Living Translation)