Category Archives: BELIEF

God Gives Moses the Tablets (Exodus 31)

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Bible Summary:

On Mount Sinai, God tells Moses which craftsman from among the people of Israel to use to design and make the Tent of His presence, the Covenant Box, altars, and lampstand. He also commands Moses to tell the people to keep the Sabbath, the day of rest. God gives Moses two stone tablets that He wrote the Ten Commandments on.

My Thoughts:

Skills: We each have our own skills. Some are craftsman, some artists; others have the aptitude for medicine. Each is as unique as a snowflake. Focus on what you are good at, your unique ability. Carve out a niche somewhere in this economy with that skill. There are hundreds of ways to use your talents and make a living. “Try on” different jobs to see if they “fit”. If not, keep looking until you find your bliss. Have faith and you will.

Whatever you do, never let anyone make you feel unimportant because of your career choice. They may make more money and have more material belongings, but if you do what you were meant to do, you will be a thousand times happier. And God will smile.

Day of Rest: Each time I read about God’s command to take a day of rest I think about all the single mothers who work hard, many with two jobs, and then come home to care for their children. How can they take a day of rest? They rarely get an hour of rest.

The commandment has two elements to it: worshiping God and resting your body and soul, both which can help you live longer. If you are one of these moms, ask a friend or family member to watch the kids once a week for an hour or two so you can go and worship God, even if it is just taking time alone with Him in a park communing with nature. It will cleanse your soul and rejuvenate your batteries for another week. God bless!

John the Baptist (Matthew 3: 1-12)

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Bible Summary:

John the Baptist preaches in the desert telling people to turn away from their sins since “the Kingdom of heaven is near.” The people come from all around Jerusalem to confess their sins and be baptized in the Jordan River.

John chastises the Pharisees and Sadducees for coming to be baptized, telling them to act without sin and not hide behind God’s covenant with Abraham.

He later tells people he baptizes them in water as they repent, but another will come to baptize them in the Holy Spirit, one that is much greater such that John is not worth to carry his sandals.

My Thoughts:

Repent Sins: John admonishes everyone to stop doing bad things. You cannot just say you are going to change or hide behind being absolved through confession. You must act without sin.

Proclaim the Coming of Christ: John proclaims someone greater than he is coming. He is a very humble and does not take advantage of his position after drawing an audience.

Baptize with Water and the Holy Spirit: Water is one of the purest things on the earth, the thing that sustains all life. The Holy Spirit is often shown as light coming down on a person. Water can cleanse us from our sins but only if we truly “see” them by the light of the Holy Spirit.

God’s Anointing Oil and Incense (Exodus 30)

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Bible Summary:

God instructs Moses to:

  • Make an altar where Aaron is to burn incense every morning and evening.
  • Collect a tax from every man during census for upkeep of the holy Tent. Each man is to pay the same whether rich or poor.
  • Make a bronze basin for the priests to wash their hands and feet before entering the holy Tent.
  • Mix the spices myrrh, cinnamon, cane, and cassia with olive oil to make sacred oil to anoint the Tent and everything in it.
  • Blend equal parts of the spices stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense to make the holy incense.

My Thoughts:

Taxes: So, basically this chapter of Exodus says God created the first tax!

God or Coincidence: The last bible study topic was about wise men giving baby Jesus gold, frankincense and myrrh and this Exodus story describes what frankincense and myrrh were for. Coincidence or did God have a hand in the timing? When I was younger I would have said this was a coincidence, but now that I have experienced so many of these in my life I know that God is with me.

Follow your instincts: A few chapters back I struggled about jumping ahead to the New Testament. I think I found my answer. Follow your instincts and see where they lead you.

Baby Jesus and Wise Men (Matthew 2)

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Bible Summary:

Jesus is born in Bethlehem. Wise men follow a star to Jerusalem. King Herod learns of Jesus’ birth and plots to have the wise men lead him to the baby. The wise men find baby Jesus and present him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. God warns them about Herod, so they leave by another road.

An angel warns Joseph about Herod, so they escape to Egypt. Herod realizes the wise men tricked him, so he orders the death of all boys two and younger in Bethlehem, which fulfills the prophecy about Rachel weeping for her children.

After King Herod dies, God tells Joseph to return to the land of Israel. Joseph is afraid to learn that Herod’s son has succeeded him, so God guides him to Nazareth in the province of Galilee, fulfilling the prophecy that the Messiah will be a Nazarene.

My Thoughts:

Wise Men: This story conflicts with all the nativity scenes and stories that have the wise men show up right at the birth of Jesus instead of two years later. Must be poetic license.

These Magi came from “the East”, which was likely Mesopotamia where Abraham was from or possibly Persia.

Jesus similar to Moses: Jesus miraculously survives the killing of all the baby boys in Bethlehem like Moses survived the King of Egypt’s edict to kill all the Hebrew babies (see the Israelites Grow Numerous in Egypt  and Moses is Born stories in Exodus).

God Establishes Priesthood (Exodus 26,27,28,29)

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Bible Summary:

God gives Moses detailed instructions on how to build the sacred tent and altar so people can worship Him. God then tells Moses to call and ordain his brother Aaron and sons to become priests to the people of Israel. He also describes the garments the priests are to wear, including a breastplate engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel so God will always remember His people. The people are to give a daily offering to God.

My Thoughts:

Priesthood: God established the priesthood to help people remember to worship Him. Some people say man created the priesthood to control people and collect “offerings” that benefit themselves. Sure, there have been periods of control, like the Inquisition, and some cases of individuals taking advantage of their role, but I believe the religious establishment does well at educating the people to act kindly towards each other and truly be a community. They also help us grieve, support the poor, and give us hope. I would like to thank all the religious leaders around the globe for all they do. Thank you!

Paralympian cured, eyes Olympics

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What an amazing story! Monique van der Vorst was paralyzed at age 13 and went on to win two silver medals in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics at age 24.  But, that is just the beginning of this incredible story. In a freak accident last year, Monique was struck by a bicycle while training for the 2012 Paralympics and miraculously regained feeling in her feet.  Seventeen months later, she just signed on with the Rabobank women’s professional cycling team with the goal of cycling in the 2016 Rio Olympics.  Read the full Paralympian eyes Olympic glory after “miracle” crash story at Reuters.

God Establishes First Synagogue (Exodus 25)

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Bible Summary:

God tells Moses to have the Israelites make him an offering of gold, silver and many other items. He is to accept whatever each person gives. The items are to be used to create a sacred tent for God to be with the people, a covenant box to house the Ten Commandment tablets, a table to offer bread to God, and a lampstand.

My Thoughts:

Most Important Chapter: Amazing! In one chapter of the book of Exodus we are given the beginning of the Priesthood, the first synagogue (the tent), the Ark of the Covenant (the box), and the detailed design of the menorah (the lampstand).

Be Gracious: God tells Moses to accept whatever each person can give. I think He was telling Moses they should he gracious for each gift because a small gift to them may be enormous to the giver.  Let’s take this to heart this Christmas and be grateful for each gift we receive no matter the size or how much we like it.

God’s Covenant is Sealed (Exodus 24)

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Bible Summary:

God calls Moses up to the mountain. Moses reads the book of the covenant to the Israelites and they all agree to obey the commandments. Moses sacrifices animals and consecrates the people with the blood to seal God’s covenant. God calls Moses up Mount Sinai again to give him two stone tablets of all the laws for the people of Israel. Moses stays on the mountain for forty days and nights.

My Thoughts:

Book of the Covenant: According to this chapter of Exodus, Moses and the leaders had written a book of God’s laws – “the book of the covenant, in which the Lord’s commands were written.” This is the first reference in the Bible of writing in book form to pass on laws and knowledge.  This book likely included parts, if not all, of the books of Genesis and Exodus.

Stone Tablets: God would have known about the impermanence of the book, likely written on papyrus, so he created the stone tablets so the Israelites would remember his commandments for a long time.

Good Laws to Live By (Exodus 23)

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Bible Summary:

God provides additional laws and guidelines to live by to Moses and the Israelites:

  • Do not spread false rumors or help a guilty man by giving false testimony.
  • Do not do wrong or injustice even if the majority of people do.
  • If you see your enemy’s animal run loose, take it back to him, do not just walk off.
  • Do not put an innocent person to death. God will condemn anyone who does such evil.
  • Do not accept bribes since they make people blind to what is right.
  • Do not mistreat foreigners.
  • Plant your land for six years and rest it on the seventh.
  • Celebrate three festivals each year: the Festival of Unleavened Bread to celebrate leaving Egypt, the Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Shelter when fruit is gathered.

God also tells Moses He will send an angel ahead of the Israelites to protect them, but they must obey him. He will drive their enemies out little by little until there are enough Israelites to take possession of the land.

My Thoughts:

Immoral Majority: I think God was talking to teenagers when he said not to follow the majority if they do wrong.  It is really hard, but stick up for yourself and others of the minority.

Help your enemies: God tells us to help our enemies so that one day they may become our friends.

Celebrate: Be sure to celebrate your and others successes, no matter how small.

The Birth of Jesus (Matthew 1)

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Bible Summary:

Matthew’s story of Jesus begins with a list of all ancestors from Abraham to King David and finally Joseph. He then tells the story of how Mary and Joseph get married. Mary is engaged to Joseph when she discovers she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph finds out and plans to break off the engagement in private. An angel appears to him in a dream, explains that she conceived by the Holy Spirit, tells him to marry her and to name the boy Jesus because he will save people from their sins. This happens as God foretold through the prophets that a virgin would give birth to a son called Immanuel, which means God is with us. Joseph marries Mary and names their son Jesus.

My Thoughts:

Ancestors: Lineage is very important to the Jews, so they show Jesus’ all the way back to King David, Abraham and ultimately Adam and Eve (see list below).

Faith of Joseph: I am sure most people concentrate on the immaculate conception of Mary, birth of Jesus, the Holy Spirit or even Angel Gabriel, but I decided to focus on Joseph this time. Joseph basically thinks Mary has been unfaithful and he plans to break off their engagement until an angel appears to him in a dream. Joseph has faith that God has a plan for Mary’s son and wants Joseph to be a part of that plan. He could easily have left her to deal with the shame that would have come from becoming pregnant out of wedlock, but instead takes on the role of essentially becoming Jesus’ step-father. God asked a big favor and Joseph came through.

Ancestors of Jesus:

  • Adam & Eve, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah
  • Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse
  • King David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon
  • Josiah, Jehoiachin, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, Joseph & Mary, Jesus