What’s been on my mind lately…

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is be happy for others who get the help they need.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Numbers 1 & 2:  A census is taken, with exception being made for the Levites (priests). The camp is arranged by tribe. 
• Luke 15: Jesus tells three parables that describe the lengths that God will go to for our salvation. He also tells a parable that describes ways in which we can turn our ourselves around and make it easier for God to rescue us.
• Psalms 59: A prayer for help and rescue in a time of trouble and danger.
• Proverbs 28: A portrait of all of the personalities of society: good, bad, predatory, prey…and all of the outcomes of each type of behavior.

You have likely heard of the Pareto Principle, although you’ve more likely heard it called the 80/20 rule. The Pareto Principle states that 80% of effects result from 20% of the causes. When I read Luke 15, I can’t help but notice that (although the percentages are off–more like the 99/1 rule), he’s essentially describing the Pareto Principle.

I’m a public school teacher, and I completely identify with the stories Jesus is telling in Luke 15. Before I became a teacher, I didn’t really get it. However, every teacher knows that there’s always “that one kid” in every class who uses up most of our energy expended in classroom management. The rest of the students generally do what they are supposed to do, the way they are supposed to do it, when they are supposed to do it. But “that one kid” has to be constantly monitored, assisted, redirected, and requires a lot of one-on-one help. Sometimes they even leave to go to the restroom, never come back, and we have to send the principal or the SRO (school resource officer) out to retrieve them and bring them back. If not for “that one kid,” the class would go perfectly smoothly, our lessons and units would always go exactly as planned, and everything would run on schedule.

Additionally, while “that one kid” is doing his thing, the rest of the students continue to to do what they are supposed to do, unaided (usually). This can cause them to feel neglected and resentful. They are doing everything right but getting none of our attention, while “that one kid” sucks all the oxygen out of the room.

Many teachers write “that one kid” off and let the principal handle him, and are relieved when he’s finally out of the classroom so they can get on with their lesson. Most of the rest of us, however, never give up on “that one kid,” and continue to do our best to get him back into the classroom and engaged with the lesson; just like the shepherd in the parable that Jesus told. In the same way that God never gives up on any of us, we never give up on “that one kid.”

Jesus has two intended audiences for these lessons in Luke 15: those of us who are “that one kid” and need to know that no matter how badly we screw up God is never going to give up on us; and those of us who are pretty much doing everything right all the time, and feel we deserve better, or more recognition for our efforts. Jesus tells us in these parables that God will never give up on those of us who are “that one kid,” and that the rest of us should stop being so proud of ourselves. If we are so proud of ourselves that we resent the rescue and restoration of a lost soul, then we are no better than the Pharisees who pat themselves on the back for looking on the outside like they are doing all the right things according to the law while lining their pockets with the contributions of the poor who live lives of which they don’t approve. God judges the latter group far more harshly, apparently.

The lesson here seems to be that we should always maintain the attitude of “there but for the grace of God go I.” Any one of us could find ourselves in a lost state of one kind or another at any given time, with a slight shift in our circumstances.

Psalm 59 could very well be the prayer of “that one kid.” How many of us have strayed from the path set for us by our parents, our teachers, and society, only to discover that there was a very good reason that path was set for us? It was a safer way to travel, and having left it we may have found ourselves in various kinds of danger (financial, literal, or otherwise). What the 80% (or 99) don’t realize when they are feeling resentful of the attention “that one kid” is receiving when he is being rescued is just how desperate “that one kid” is feeling. They may look brash, willful, disrespectful, or whatever, but if they felt safe and whole they never would have left the safety of the flock to begin with. And if they had realized how much danger or trouble they would find themselves in once they were outside the safety of the flock, they probably never would have left at all. They need help, and it’s our job to help them. Psalm 59 is the prayer of someone experiencing that danger, trouble, and desperation.

Proverbs 28 provides an overview of all of the character types in the stories that Jesus is telling today, as well as the actual players of the time. There are those who follow the path God sets before them, as they should. There are those who stray. There are those who take advantage of those who stray, both criminals as well as well-dressed predators (wolves in sheep’s clothing, such as the Pharisees). This chapter of Proverbs paints a portrait of many different personalities and behaviors, as well as the consequences of each.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is I am not the center of the universe. 

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Leviticus 25, 26 & 27:  A review of all we have read in the book of Leviticus, plus the sabbatical year, and the institution of the tithe. 
• Luke 14: Jesus heals another person on the sabbath, and challenges the Pharisees and attendees of the synagogue with parables about being humble, refusing the invitation of God, and renouncing possessions and power.
• Psalms 58: A prayer for justice in the face of injustice; hope against hope in the promises of God, when evil seems to be winning.
• Proverbs 27: “Know your flock’s condition well, take good care of your herds; for riches do not last forever, crowns do not hand themselves on from age to age.”

Here at the end of Leviticus, we get a review of all that has been covered so far in this book, as well as the institution of the sabbatical year and the tithe.

On the surface of things, it can look like the institution of the tithe was a brilliant way to enrich the synagogue and then the church. However, God doesn’t live on the surface of things, and the Bible provides us with a rich background of reasons for all of our instituted traditions. The practical purpose of the tithe is twofold: to support the community church (synagogue) and to also provide those who run it (the priests) and the services that serve the community with a living wage. Paul talks about the practical aspects of supporting the church and pastors financially in I Corinthians 9:9 when he says, “For it is written in the Law of Moses: ‘Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.’ Is it about oxen that God is concerned?”

When you look at the mega churches of our time, and the pastors who lead them, it’s easy to take the view that the institution of the tithe was a way to bilk the flock of all of its money to enrich a shyster. But contrast that with all the multitudes of priests who live lives of poverty, and only receive a small salary no matter how much their church brings in, or small independent churches where the pastors work full time jobs to support themselves while also caring for their congregations. Not everyone takes advantage of the tithe as an opportunity to enrich themselves.

The tithe is a reminder to us that everything we have is a gift from God to begin with. We are products of the Earth, as are all the raw materials we use to generate our livelihoods. Giving back 10% of the surplus is just a very small way of reminding ourselves that we should be grateful for all that we have, and understand that it is our responsibility to contribute to our community.

The passage in Luke seemed particularly apt for me today. I have been sick for two weeks. I had to cancel some work I had scheduled that was worth $500 in revenue over one weekend, and which I really needed. When I read about the nitpicking of the Pharisees over healing on the Sabbath, it really rubs me the wrong way. If I could have Jesus here right now, willing to heal me of this dreadful illness that has been knocking me down for two weeks (and which I am told will continue to linger for another three to four weeks), I would receive his healing with extreme gratitude, and ask for forgiveness later for violating the Sabbath. The Pharisees were seriously hardboiled legalists with little regard for the needs of the people and devoid of compassion or kindness.

Apparently, their behavior rubbed Jesus the wrong way, too. In response to their behavior, he tells them a parable designed to point out their focus on self-importance and lack of humility. He follows it up with another one designed to illustrate the consequences of being too important to accept God’s invitation. He completes the lesson with instruction about renouncing all the things that make us self-important in order to follow him. He finishes by pointing out that Israel, and these Pharisees in particular, had lost any usefulness God had in mind for them by focusing on the wrong things.

When I first started reading the Bible, I thought these were all separate parables with no relationship to each other. The more I read the Bible, however, the more obvious it becomes that Jesus chose these stories very carefully, and strung them together in this way for a purpose. They come right after the healing on the Sabbath because Jesus is pointing out that if the synagogue and the Pharisees only exist to uphold their status and importance, rather than serving as a way to come to God for those who really need him, then they have become absolutely useless. As he said in an earlier chapter, the Sabbath is for the people, not the people for the Sabbath.

Today’s Psalm, a prayer for justice in the face of injustice, provides me with the perfect prayer for my situation right now. After having worked hard for MONTHS to prepare for the activities I had planned that would have brought me $500 in much needed extra revenue, I suddenly contracted the mystery crud du jour that has been going around my school, and was struck down, too sick to teach art classes, and too sick to travel to where I needed to teach them. It seems so unfair. Later on, we’ll read Job (that’s a fun book–that statement is steeped in sarcasm), in which chapter 1 verse 21 tells us:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”

The book of Job is all about how life isn’t fair, and doesn’t have to be, because everything we have in life was given to us by God in the first place.

Having read the entire rest of the Bible, and knowing that Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,” it is hard to reconcile that with the book of Job. But the book of Job is the best answer to the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” that we’ll ever have: God gave everything we have to us, and he can take it away if he wants to.

We simply have to trust that (as I mentioned in a previous post) anything that happens in life–good or bad–is all part of God’s plan, and (as it says in Romans 8:28), “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” It will all work out to our benefit, and everyone else’s, in the end. On the same weekend that I was too sick to teach that art class, there was also a winter storm on the route I had to travel to teach the class. Perhaps being stuck at home, sick, saved me from being in a car accident. Who knows? Only God. I’ll just have to trust that it will all work out for my benefit in the end and remember that God is not the cosmic killjoy.

It’s also important to remember, when things aren’t going my way, and my plans are ruined, that I am not the center of the universe and this, too, shall pass. That’s a lesson designed to remind me that when I feel like it is the end of the world because something I planned didn’t work out, I am just a little like the Pharisees in the self-importance department. There is nothing going on in my life that can’t be redeemed if it doesn’t go as planned. Putting too much emphasis on the failure says that my failures are too big for God to fix. That makes me awfully powerful and diminishes God’s power (as if).

Today’s Proverb is a reminder that it’s always good to stay on top of the details of my life. While I was too sick to go to work or to teach my extra art classes, I was able to hunker down and pay attention to my finances and take care of some paperwork.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is “In the shadow of your wings I take refuge.”

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Leviticus 23 & 24: The institution of annual feasts, the lighting of the perpetual flame, and the punishment for blasphemy. 
• Luke 13: Jesus heals a woman on the Sabbath.
• Psalms 57: “In the shadow of your wings I take refuge.”
• Proverbs 26: “Whoever digs a pit falls into it, the stone comes back on him that rolls it.”

Let’s talk about blasphemy, because that’s a term that gets thrown around a lot, but most people don’t even know what it means. It literally means to curse God, or to call good evil, and to call evil good. It means that you attribute something good to something that is actually evil, or you attribute something evil to something that is actually good. In Leviticus 24 we see that a man curses the Name (meaning the name of God, which no one even knows). The punishment for that during the time of Moses was death by stoning.

A few chapters back in Luke 11, we read the story of Jesus casting demons out of people and healing them, and some of the people saying that he had done that through the power of Beelzebul, “the prince of devils.” THAT is blasphemy. Jesus was healing people through the goodness and power of God, but those who felt challenged by Jesus and the authority that he seemed to possess could only see a threat to their own positions of power and authority; so they chose to defame him and say that his power came from an evil source. That is the very definition of blasphemy.

If we look around us today, we can find many examples of actual blasphemy in our political sphere. There are those who want to provide for the health and welfare of the most vulnerable people in our society (which is what Jesus directed us to do); and then there are those who want to take away and prevent those provisions so they can line their own pockets and make the wealthy even wealthier in doing so, all the while claiming to do so in the name of God. Anyone ignoring the plight of the poor in the name of God to line their own pockets, all while accusing those who do attempt to provide for the neediest in our society of being evil, is committing blasphemy.

If you recall, back in Mark 3:28-29, Jesus told us there is only one unforgivable sin, and that is the sin of blasphemy:

“I promise you that any of the sinful things you say or do can be forgiven, no matter how terrible those things are.  But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven. That sin will be held against you forever.”

It can be difficult sometimes to tell when someone in politics is sincere or trying to deceive us, because some politicians are very good at manipulating people. We also don’t have to go as far out as the political sphere to find this situation. We can find it where we work, in our churches, and unfortunately for many of is, we can find it in our families.

This is why Jesus tells us in Mark 10:16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as wise as snakes and as innocent as doves.” When we are not sure what to believe we can always pray about it and ask God for wisdom and discernment. We can also read the Bible–especially the new testament–to compare what we are hearing with what Jesus taught. When they don’t line up, we know who we should be listening to. We also need to be careful to take the entire message of Jesus into account when considering such things, and not pick and choose the verses that justify a morally questionable position.

In today’s reading in Luke, Jesus heals a woman on the Sabbath. Today in Leviticus we read about the institution of the Sabbath. The Jews took (and still do take) the Sabbath very seriously. No work is done at all on the Sabbath in orthodox households. To the Jews of Jesus’ time, healing was considered work. In Luke 13:14 we read that the president of the synagogue becomes “indignant” over Jesus healing a woman on the Sabbath. Jesus points out that there are all manner of exceptions to this rule when it comes to not losing money through the death of livestock. He calls them hypocrites and shames them for choosing the lives of their livestock over the healing of their neighbor who has been suffering her entire life.

Back in Mark 2:27, when Jesus and his disciples were eating corn from the fields that had been left after the harvest, the Pharisees rebuked them for violating the Sabbath. Jesus responded by saying, “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.” The situation is the same here in Luke 13 concerning healing on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were wrapped up so tightly in following the letter of the law that they no longer had any idea of the spirit of the law.

The Sabbath was a day created to commemorate God resting after six “days” of creation, and also to give US rest after six days of hard work in our daily lives. The Sabbath isn’t merely a holy day, it’s also a day of rest and recuperation for ourselves.

Psalms 57 and Proverbs 26 today are all about what happens to those who twist the law (or straight out lie about it) in the name of God. We may find it tempting to argue with those people and attempt to set them straight, but that would be futile. They have revealed who they are and what they’re about when they make blasphemous claims in the name of God. The only correct response is to wish them well, walk away, and pray for them and ourselves.

Whenever there’s a lot going on in the reading, as there is today, I like to remember Psalms 57 verse 1: “In the shadow of your wings I take refuge.” No matter what is going on, whether it’s someone calling good evil and evil good, or someone hoping to do me ill, or just confusion over how to respond to a situation, I take refuge in that knowledge and pray.

Psalms 57:5-6 provides us with the perfect prayer in this situation:

“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

They spread a net for my feet—
I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path—
but they have fallen into it themselves.”

We don’t have to do anything in response to such people except give it to God and trust him to sort it out.

Proverbs 26 tells us that “Whoever digs a pit falls into it, the stone comes back on him that rolls it.” People who put forth a lie as the truth, and the truth as a lie, have set themselves on a path of ultimate doom.

These verses provide us a with perfect portrait of karma. God will take care of it. To entangle ourselves in the folly of others by engaging and arguing with them just involves us in the fate that is coming to them.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is when I am afraid or worried, I put my trust in God.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Leviticus 21 & 22:  The holiness of the priesthood, impediments to the priesthood, and who gets to consume the sacred food offered on the alter. 
• Luke 12: Do not worry!
• Psalms 56: When I am afraid or worried, I put my trust in God.
• Proverbs 25: When you are confronted with the wickedness of evil people, stand strong and remember that you belong to God–there’s nothing they can do to harm you.

By far, the most important thing I got out of the reading today was the directive to stop worrying. Jesus has a lot of things to say in this chapter of Luke, but the one that always stands out to me, and seems to be the most important, is when he says:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” (NIV version, Luke 12:22-31)

I have done a lot of worrying in my life. Every time I read this verse it both admonishes me and gives me comfort. It admonishes me because it confronts me with the fact that I sometimes lack faith and am fearful that my basic needs will not be met. It comforts me because it reminds me that my basic needs WILL be met, so I should stop worrying. It is a reminder that God is ever mindful of my needs, and that what I should be doing instead of worrying is to pray. When I turn to prayer, my heart and my mind are calmed and I am recentered.

Psalms 56 seems perfectly paired with this passage in Luke 12:

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you,
in God, whose word I praise,
in God I put my trust and have no fear,
what can mortal man do to me?

…You yourself have counted up my sorrows,
collect my tears in your wineskin…

This I know, that God is on my side.
In God whose word I praise,
In God I put my trust and have no fear;
what can mortal man do to me?”

The Psalms are full of readymade prayers for every occasion, and Psalms 56 provides the perfect prayer to pair with what Jesus tells us in Luke 12. If I find myself feeling afraid, I can read Luke 12 and then Psalms 56 to remind me of who I am and, more importantly, who God is.

Proverbs 25 is full of various snippets of wisdom, but when paired with Luke 12 and Psalms 56, the one that stands out the most to me is verse 26: “A churned-up spring, a fountain fouled; such is the upright person trembling before the wicked.”

When we find ourselves confronted with the wickedness of evil people who mean to do us harm, it is easy to resort to fear and worry. However, to give in to fear and worry not only undermines our own courage, but it provides a poor example for anyone who may need some courage and might be watching us to see how we respond. If we claim to have faith in God and collapse under pressure, what kind of example does that set? It’s okay to feel it, but we should remember to center ourselves, pray, and put our faith in God in such a situation.

In today’s reading in Luke 12, Jesus also says: “When they take you before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”

I won’t pretend that I have always behaved perfectly in stressful situations where I was confronted with relatives or coworkers who behaved badly towards me or who had evil intentions, but it always went better when I remembered to call on God in those moments, prayed, remembered who I am and who God is, and asked for the perfect words to handle the situation. When I did that, the perfect words always came to me, I kept my calm, and set a good example.

Today’s combination of readings reminds us that when things seem to be going in a bad direction, we can always regroup, recenter, and pray. Every day is a new day, and every moment is the right one to call on God for help, so there’s no need to worry about anything. God is in control.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is to pray persistently and to ask, seek, find, and receive.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Leviticus 19 & 20:  A punishment of death for every offense listed in chapter 19, reminders to not eat unclean food, and prohibitions to the priesthood in chapter 20.  
• Luke 11: “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; everyone who searches finds; everyone who knocks will have the door opened.”
• Psalms 55: “Unload your burden onto Yahweh and he will sustain you; never will he allow the upright to stumble.”
• Proverbs 24:The best thing we can do when we are confronted with the ignorance and evil of others is to walk away, pray for them, pray for ourselves, and mind our own business.

Today in Leviticus we see a reiteration of the prohibitions on many things, accompanied by one punishment for all: death. This is basically a review of what we read in back in chapters 17 and 18, but this time accompanied by the punishment. Death as a punishment for every offense may seem harsh, but in this chapter of Leviticus we also read that some of the Israelites had taken up the Canaanite practice of sacrificing their children to the “god” Molech. If they were doing that, then we can also assume that the repeated instructions about not having sex with your relatives were not given as a “what if” scenario, but rather because people were probably doing those things, too. There was a lot wrong in the camp of the Israelites at that time. Again, the punishment they chose for these crimes was consistent with the cultural concerns and practices of that time, around 3000 years ago.

In Luke, Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray, and also tells them that effective prayer is regular, persistent prayer. He provides a parable to illustrate the point, and then goes on to tell us that to receive we must ask, and the way we ask is in prayer; that asking is prayer.

The rest of this chapter of Luke is an admonition against sitting on the fence in one’s beliefs and behavior. After having driven a demon out of someone who had been mute until Jesus did this, many of the people who observed this were amazed, but some of them (not being able to deny the miracle he had just performed) tried to attribute his supernatural powers to the devil. Jesus had just done a good thing for this man who had been mute but could now speak, but those who didn’t like his message, attributed his good deed to evil sorcery. Others, doubters who would likely never be convinced no matter how many miracles he performed, asked for yet more signs and wonders to prove he was the Messiah.

Jesus responds by saying, “Anyone who is not with me is against me.” This may seem like the opposite of what he said in Matthew 9:40 (“Whoever is not against us is for us”), but it’s not. In this context, the people attributing his good works to evil, and those who will doubt anything no matter how concrete the evidence, are actively working against Jesus and his message. In Matthew 9:40, the people he is speaking of are doing good deeds in the name of Jesus and are helping people. There is a great difference between these two things.

Jesus expounds on this by going on to compare what he is doing among the people with what Jonah did when he was sent to Ninevah (see the book of Jonah–it’s only three very short chapters, and just a few pages long). In the case of Jonah, the people of Ninevah repented when Jonah delivered his message. However, in the case of Jesus, most of the people for whom his message was primarily intended (the Hebrews) rejected his message, and ultimately killed him for it. He is especially hard on the leaders of the people, the Pharisees and the lawyers, and accuses them of blocking access to the message of God. He accuses them of looking good on the outside while being evil and wicked on the inside. He accuses them of glorifying the prophets that came before him with beautiful tombs when it was their own ancestors, people just like them, who killed them. Jesus does not mince words, and his arrow hits the mark, leading to his crucifixion later on. They didn’t like the truth he told about them, so they began to plot to kill him.

If it hadn’t been written about a thousand years before Jesus’ time, today’s Psalm could have been prayed by Jesus himself over the situation in which we find him in Luke 11. Coincidentally for today’s reading, this Psalm simultaneously teaches us how to pray when we are going through difficult times in which we are persecuted, harassed, harried, or misunderstood. The Psalmist knew that God can handle our complaints, and does not hold back his distress. He also prays with the fervent belief that God will come to his rescue. That is why I always say that Psalms teach us how to pray, and Proverbs teach us how to live.

In today’s Proverb we receive advice about how to handle the situation Jesus was in with the Pharisees and the lawyers. Jesus could have smitten them or something, but he didn’t. Instead, he provides us with an example. He tells them the unvarnished truth about themselves and then walks away. Proverbs 24 tells us what to do after we walk away. Instead of continuing to run the scenario over in our minds, or being angry that the wicked prosper, we are instructed to not be envious of them and trust God to sort it out.

Many might be tempted to try to persuade them to see the error of their ways, but Proverbs 24 warns us away from that. It describes all the ways in which God will sort it out while also protecting us from the fallout of their behavior. It also gives us all the reasons why such an effort would be entirely futile, as well as how dangerous people are, who are intent on doing evil.

Proverbs 24 ends with a little story about what happens when a lazy person ignores their work. I’ve always read this as the final word on what to do when we are outraged by the evil deeds of others, and hearken back to that verse about not taking a stray dog by the ears. The best thing we can do when we are confronted with the ignorance and evil of others is to walk away, pray for them, pray for ourselves, and mind our own business.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is always err on the side of love and acceptance.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Leviticus 17 & 18: The prohibition of consuming the blood of animals, and a long list of sexual prohibitions. 
• Luke 10: The parable of the Good Samaritan: a demonstration of Jesus’ instruction to love my neighbor as myself. When in doubt in any situation, always err on the side of love and acceptance.
• Psalms 54: An appeal to God, who is just, and thanksgiving for rescue.
• Proverbs 23: “Apply your heart to discipline and your ears to instructive sayings.”

Today’s chapter in Leviticus reminds me that this book provides us with around 600 ways to not break the ten commandments, in the time of the people this book was written for. There’s a lot of micromanaging going on in  Leviticus. Sometimes the rules are practical and serve to protect the health of the people in a time when they didn’t have any idea about micro organisms, germs, and how diseases were spread. But some of them are just micromanaging. I think it is pretty widely understood that having sex with your closest relatives is a really bad idea for a variety of reasons (sexual abuse of children creates trauma that many never recover from; producing children resulting from sex with siblings concentrates abnormalities in the gene pool and can cause genetic disorders, both mental and physical; and sex with relatives slightly farther removed from siblings can cause serious family dysfunction and negative drama). They were definitely on to something with those laws, even if they were merely social taboos without any scientific understanding behind them.

However, the rule against men having sex with other men seems to have been a purely social taboo among the Israelites, while same-sex relationships were fairly common among other peoples throughout the world at that time. There are literally no reproductive concerns with homosexuality, and the health concerns (sexually transmitted diseases) are no different than those associated with heterosexuality, unless there is promiscuity involved. Homosexuality is still a controversial topic in the church today. However, in December of 2023 “Pope Francis formally approved letting Catholic priests bless same-sex couples, … a radical shift in policy that aimed at making the church more inclusive while maintaining its strict ban on gay marriage.” (AP News, December 19, 2023) This was a result of same-sex unions and same-sex marriage being legalized in the United States and in nearly half of all European countries. Many of the people in same-sex unions and marriages are Catholic. It becomes difficult to reconcile Leviticus 18:22 with modern sensibilities, especially when the divorce rate among male same-sex couples is half that of heterosexual couples. I predict that the Catholic church will eventually sanction even same-sex marriages, but not for a long time, due to its slow, plodding approach to significant change.

Verses like Leviticus 18:22 are the reason Jesus came to us. When asked what the greatest commandment was, “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Luke 10:27-28) The lesson in this is that when we find ourselves with what may seem to be contradictory instructions, we should always err on the side of love and acceptance, loving our neighbor as ourselves. The Pope preaches this with great regularity, and has proven himself to be expert at reconciling issues as controversial as this one with Jesus’ instruction to “love thy neighbor.”

The Bible is full of old books that began as oral traditions and were eventually set down in writing, over thousands of years. While God is timeless, the social traditions and taboos started by the Israelites around 3,200 years ago are not. If the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart,” (Hebrews 4:12), then it is able to help us adapt our sensibilities as the human brain evolves over time to understand the mysteries of the Universe through science and advanced social development. We have evolved beyond the vast majority of archaic practices of the bronze age, during which the books of the old testament were written. The archaic practices we continue to hold onto are usually those like the ban on same-sex relationships in Leviticus 18:22, for no better reason than it was written down in the 700s BCE. However, the word of God–the spirit of God–is alive and active, and way ahead of our slow, plodding human development.

When we feel the need to judge others for who they choose to love, we should STOP and remember what Jesus told us to do in Luke 10:27-28, and err on the side of love and acceptance. Who someone else chooses to love is not hurting us. What we should take away from that is that they chose to love. That’s what Jesus told us to do: choose to love.

That is what Jesus teaches in this chapter of Luke when he tells the parable of the good Samaritan. He presents a scenario in which a dying man on the side of the road is the mortal enemy of the man walking by who ultimately rescues him. That is an example we are all to follow. Our neighbor is anyone in need. In the United States, we take this directive so seriously that in all fifty states we have what is known as a Good Samaritan law. In Montana (my state of residence), the law states that “Any person licensed as a physician and surgeon under the laws of the state of Montana, any volunteer firefighter or officer of any nonprofit volunteer fire company, any search and rescue volunteer, or any other person who in good faith renders emergency care or assistance without compensation except as provided in subsection (2) at the scene of an emergency or accident is not liable for any civil damages for acts or omissions other than damages occasioned by gross negligence or by willful or wanton acts or omissions by the person in rendering the emergency care or assistance.” (Montana Code Annotated 2023)

What a wonderful world it would be if every last one of us felt the same urgency about being a good Samaritan in all situations in which a person is in need, not just the immediately life-threatening ones.

Coincidentally, Psalms 54 reminds us that when we are the ones in need of help, God often sends that help to us through strangers: “But now God is coming to my help, the Lord, among those who sustain me.” (verse 4) Conversely, we are often the help that God sends when strangers pray for help. We should be ever mindful of opportunities to help others, whether in a life-threatening situation, or in a non-life-threatening desperate situation, or simply as someone who provides comfort and uplifts others who are down. Sometimes we need the help; sometimes we are the help.

In Proverbs today, we get some good, specific recommendations throughout the chapter for how to “Apply your heart to discipline and your ears to instructive sayings.” (verse 12)

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is shake the dust off your feet, and live and let live.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Leviticus 15 & 16: The origin of the term “scapegoat.”
• Luke 9: Shake the dust off of your feet, and live and let live.
• Psalms 53: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.'”
• Proverbs 22: More tidbits of wisdom for living a good and productive life.

The concept of the “scapegoat” is an idiom that is so embedded in our culture that nearly everyone uses the term but hardly anyone thinks about why. As we use it, a scapegoat is when all the blame for something is heaped on one person even though he isn’t the only one to blame in a situation. Everyone else who is to blame escapes any kind of punishment or consequences because the scapegoat takes the brunt of that for all involved. Chapter 16 of Leviticus is literally where that concept comes from.

However, that’s about the only thing in these chapters that is instructional, because once again we see that chapters like these have little to no relevance in terms of practical application for our lives today. They recount outdated ritualistic cultural practices that have long ago passed out of practice, and that’s a good thing. When I think of all the animals that died for the sins of Israel, I wonder how they didn’t go extinct. These chapters do continue to foreshadow the ultimate sacrifice made by Jesus so that animal sacrifice could become a thing of the past.

In Luke, Jesus gives the twelve disciples authority to perform the same miracles that he has been performing himself: healing the sick and casting out demons. He sends them out “to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.” He also gives them instructions to not take any rejections of them or their message personally, and says “when you leave their town shake the dust from your feet as evidence against them.”

I like to remember this verse in situations where I have important things to say to people and it falls on deaf ears, or when anything important and meaningful I am doing is rejected. Shaking the dust off of my feet is the equivalent of just moving on and doing what I am supposed to be doing without being concerned about why I was rejected, or trying to convince those who rejected me or my message that I am right. Many people get invested in convincing others that they are right, but there is no benefit to that for either the the person who persists in trying to convince or the people that can’t be convinced. It’s a waste of time and energy. Later in the year we’ll read this in Isaiah chapter 55 verse 11: “So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void (useless, without result), Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” Anything we do or say that is inspired will never be for nothing. The only thing that is important is that we put it out there. It will be received by the people it was meant for, and if other people reject it, well that’s on them. Shake the dust off your feet and move on.

Also in this chapter of Luke, Jesus gives his disciples (and us) further clarity on this issue of trying to convince other people that we’re right and they’re wrong, and rebuking those we think are wrong. In verses 49 and 50, John becomes concerned because he sees people that they don’t know driving out devils in Jesus’ name. Apparently, they didn’t get the official training, but they had either seen or heard of Jesus and the disciples doing this, so they started doing it too. John says he tried to stop them, but Jesus says to stop trying to stop them, because, “anyone who is not against you is for you.” This is a powerful message of acceptance and a “live and let live attitude” on the part of Jesus. If someone is doing good things that help other people, let them do it. It is not necessary for them to get the official training or the advanced diploma. They are doing good in the world and alleviating the suffering of others, so leave them alone and let them do it. There is an unattributed Chinese proverb that floats around the Internet that says, “The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.” That seems to be what Jesus was saying.

This chapter is packed with other important things that Jesus said. He speaks of the difficulties and hardships of a life dedicated to God and the work he gave his disciples. The story of the transfiguration is in this chapter, also–Jesus have a face-to-face encounter with Elijah and Moses. If I had any idea what that really meant I would speak to it, but I don’t think anyone can really understand what happened there, beyond the idea that Jesus had a supernatural experience that transcended time and space.

Psalms 53 begins with “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God'” and goes on to describe the plight of those who live their lives without any faith in anything higher than themselves. If there is any direct message in the story of Jesus’ transfiguration, I believe it is what Psalms 53 is telling us: there is something greater than ourselves, and more going on in the Universe than we can possibly imagine. As Hamlet said in the Shakespeare play of the same name, “There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Anyone who says with absolute certainty that there is no God, and there is nothing beyond what we can experience with our five senses, is speaking from sheer hubris. If modern science teaches us anything, it is that we still don’t know all that we don’t know.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is prayer and right living are how I cultivate fertile soil for good things to grow in.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Leviticus 13 & 14:  Details about dealing with skin diseases, as well as purification; and also details about how to deal with houses of infected people.
• Luke 8: It is our faith that saves us. Our level of faith grows depending on the spiritual soil we cultivate within ourselves.
• Psalms 52: Those who place their trust in God flourish, while those who are lawless do not.
• Proverbs 21: “Fit out the cavalry for the day of battle, but the victory is Yahweh’s.”

In Luke 8, Jesus continues healing people, casting out demons, and performing miracles. The chapter begins with him telling the parable of the sower, which describes how faith grows in the hearts of people (or doesn’t). The chapter ends with him healing a woman who has been suffering from a permanent menstrual flow for twelve years. As we read in Leviticus a few chapters back, women who were menstruating were considered unclean, had to live separate from everyone else, and were forbidden to enter the synagogue. This woman had been ostracized for twelve years. She was desperate. Like the centurion we read about a few chapters ago, she had faith that did not require Jesus’ direct attention. She believed that if she could just touch his garment she would be healed, and she was. Jesus detects power going out of him in the thronging crowd and tells her that her faith has healed her.

Prior to that, he calms a storm that has his disciples cowering in terror, and asks them, “Where is your faith?”

It’s our faith that heals us and makes us whole.

When we find ourselves cowering in fear, or suffering needlessly, it is usually because we are focused on the problem instead of focusing on God. We may have a problem, but God is the Creator of the Universe and the master of time and space. There is no problem too big for God. In difficult, dark times, we should remember that and pray. We may not get the answer we are looking for, or we might. Regardless of what the response to our prayer is, we will find peace in prayer and surrendering our situation to something bigger than ourselves.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus gives us various scenarios in which our faith can dry up or be squeezed out of us, and one in which it flourishes (the fertile soil). Prayer is how we nourish that fertile soul. In my own case, reading the Bible also nourishes that fertile soil (as it does for countless many others as well). I used to read that passage and think the point was to figure out which scenario is the one we’re in and correct it. However, now I understand that all of us can experience every scenario at different times in our lives, depending on the situation we’re in. The point of the passage is to always strive for fertile soil, and if we find we’re in one of the other situations to do what we can to correct it and cultivate fertile soil. Prayer is the way to do that.

In Psalms 52 we see another metaphor for fertile soil versus withering conditions. The psalmist compares himself to a flourishing olive tree, while comparing those who live wicked, villainous lives as being snatched up from the root by God. The difference between the two is prayer and faithfulness to God and goodness or placing faith in oneself and one’s own efforts and plans (which in the case of those being described in this Psalm are apparently lawless).

Proverbs 21: 31 is one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible: “Fit out the cavalry for the day of battle, but the victory is Yahweh’s.” Another translation says, “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.” I love this verse because it reminds me that outcomes are not my business. Preparation is my business. I can hope and pray for certain outcomes, but those outcomes are up to God. I have no way of knowing what my little part in the larger tapestry of life is. I can only do my best to play out my part with integrity, honesty, faithfulness, and trust that in doing so everything will turn out for the best and as it should. Prayer and right living are how I prepare the horses for the day of battle; they are how I cultivate fertile soil for good things to happen.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is love supersedes all else.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Leviticus 11 & 12:  Rules governing what is clean and unclean, and the purification of women after childbirth. 
• Luke 7: Jesus offers healing and salvation to all who are open to receiving it, regardless of race, creed, or social status.
• Psalms 51: Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit and a contrite heart.
• Proverbs 20: “Who can say, ‘I have cleansed my heart, I am purified of sin?”

Now we are getting into the parts of Leviticus that remove all doubt that it is not a book that should be followed as a guide for daily living. These chapters are about exclusion. In the time they were written, before medical science was common knowledge and when superstitious beliefs were attached to any ailment or infirmity, and people didn’t really understand the cause and effect of certain illnesses, or properly prepare their food, or understand the existence of microscopic organisms or germs…all of what they are saying here made sense. The primary purpose of the chapters on what is clean or unclean was to keep people healthy and safe and prevent the spread of disease. Without the benefits of modern medicine, their only working strategy was to avoid certain foods and keep people with illnesses isolated from the camp.

The same was true for the isolation of women during their menstrual periods and after having given birth. Those practices were designed for the health and safety of the women, who at that time were considered property and had no rights. There was no “me too” movement–women could not say “no.” So, they were given their own tent to stay in with other women in the same situation, until the bleeding had subsided. This gave them time alone with their babies, and also time with other women who could help each other during this time. Today, women just get on with things while they are menstruating or not long after having a baby, and many would find being relegated to a week of downtime, alone, every month, and being required to take maternity leave, to be limiting. However, in a country that has the shortest maternity leave in the developed world, I know there are many women who might welcome the way Leviticus prescribes the time after childbirth. It was primarily a time of rest and recuperation, although a forced one.

In Luke we read of the centurion who had such great faith he believed Jesus could heal his servant with a word, without even being present. We also read about Jesus healing a widow’s son.

We also read that John the Baptist, whose sole mission in life was to proclaim the coming of Jesus, sends messengers to ask Jesus if he is the one that they’ve been waiting for. The way he asks the question suggests that perhaps John is discouraged and doubting. He, and everyone else, thought the coming of the messiah meant that the Roman empire would be overthrown and the Hebrew people would be free again. Jesus does not answer directly by saying, “Yes, I am he.” Rather, he tells John’s messengers to tell him what they have seen: Jesus has restored sight to the blind, healed the sick and afflicted, and driven out evil spirits. He was reminding John that what he had done was fulfillment of all the prophecies about the messiah.

Jesus also rebukes those who, despite having seen many “signs and wonders” performed by him (healing the sick and afflicted, driving out evil spirits) continue to ask for proof of who he is. He quotes a psalm that essentially means that no matter what he does for them they will never recognize him as who he is.

In the final scene of this chapter of Luke, Jesus is presented with an opportunity to illustrate acceptance and forgiveness for the Pharisee with whom he is having dinner. Again, we see class and societal divisions that Jesus ignores. A woman of ill repute washes Jesus’ feet with her tears, dries them with her hair, and anoints his feet with oil. Jesus allows her to do this for him and forgives her of her sins and sends her on her way in peace, saying her faith has saved her. But he rebukes the Pharisee who invited him to dinner, because he judged the woman, and also didn’t offer Jesus the most basic customary hospitality. Jesus once again demonstrates the ways in which the first shall be last and the last shall be first. The Pharisee felt secure in his status and did not offer hospitality nor acknowledge or ask for the forgiveness of his sins, so he did not receive it.

Today’s Psalm seems (coincidentally) to be all about the woman who washed Jesus’ feet, but it’s really about all of us. It’s also about what the Pharisee in today’s reading in Luke did not do. It’s also about what we read a few chapters back in Leviticus about sacrifice and offerings. All of the rituals of the sanctuary, the burnt offerings, the sacrifice of first fruits, were merely symbolic. The sacrifice God really wants from us is the one that the woman who washed Jesus’ feet performed. “Sacrifice gives you no pleasure, burnt offerings you do not desire, Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a broken, contrite heart you never scorn.” (verses 16-17)

In today’s Proverb we read, “Who can say, ‘I have cleansed my heart, I am purified of sin?’,” and “The human spirit is the lamp of Yahweh–searching the deepest self.” In today’s reading in Luke, the Pharisee did not speak out loud against the woman washing Jesus’ feet, but Jesus knew his thoughts, anyway. We should always remember that there is no fooling God. When we pretend we are righteous when we are not, we are just fooling ourselves. God knows what is in our hearts. Jesus knew what was in the hearts of both the woman washing his feet and the Pharisee. She asked for forgiveness, but the Pharisee didn’t. She received it but the Pharisee didn’t; partly because he didn’t ask, but also partly because he judged the woman, and in a previous chapter Jesus reminded us that we will be judged by the same measure we use to judge others. Our only hope is to be honest with ourselves, offer God our contrite and broken spirit, ask for forgiveness, and offer others the grace and mercy that was given to us.

Finally, Leviticus and Luke both deal with the second-class citizenship of women during that time. Leviticus outlines the law regarding the segregation of women, and Jesus elevates a woman above a Pharisee. Once again we see the love of Jesus demonstrating the way in which the one commandment that he says is higher than all the others–to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself–supersedes any of the old laws. Jesus illustrates in Luke what Ziggy Marley sang about: “Love is my religion.”

God was winking at us frequently and hard today, with the juxtaposition of these passages.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

To participate in a discussion about the posts, please join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day.

If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us!

Learn more about why I read the Bible all the way through every year, and feel free to share with anyone you think could benefit. 

This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.