Just For Today, Lord

I will live through the next 12 hour and not try and tackle all of life's problems at once.

I will improve my mind. I will learn something useful. I will learn something that requires effort, thought and concentration.

I will be agreeable. I will look my best, speak in a wellmodulated voice, be courteous and considerate.

I will not find fault with friend, relative, or colleague. I will not try to change or improve anyone but myself.

I will have a program. I might not follow it exactly, but I will have it. I will save myself from two enemies-- hurry and indecision.

I will do a good turn and keep it a secret. If anyone finds out, it won't count.

I will do two things I don't want to do, just for the exercise.

I will believe in myself. I will give my best to the world and feel confidnet that the world will give its best to me.

--Author Unknown

I came across this today on a bookmark that was in a book purchased at my local used book sale. I hope that I can inspire you to live even a few moments or possibly your while life a little different.


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New GiveAway

Who doesn't like free stuff?! So we are going to give away a copy of Matthew Henry's Commentary on the whole Bible once we reach 100 followers. I think we can do it! The Lord has shown himself strong in just two day on Facebook we have gone from 70 likes to over 900!! Praise the Lord, so lets see some of that action here.

Life is Hard, but Christ is Good!
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Advantages and Disadvantages of having four Gospels

          Well just like with any story there is often more than one point of view and these for men inspired by God prove it. When you dive deeper into the history of each Gospel and learn who they were written by, where they were composed and understand the place they were meant to be received that changes a lot of things. For instance, Matthew has a lot of Jewish references so most scholars think he was writing to a predominately Jewish audience. We know for a fact that Luke was writing his book to Theophilus, who was either a gentile ruler or a group of gentiles, so the way he wrote did not focus as much on Israelite Law, but more on the humanity of Jesus. Now, when John wrote his account he was writing to the whole world, in an effort to explain that Jesus was the eternal God of the universe that chose to put on human flesh in order to restore our ability to have a right relationship with Himself. The disadvantages of having four Gospels and especially three of them that read in a rather similar manner, is that at times they can seem contradictory to a casual reader; while making it harder to accept the truths of Scripture. It can also be difficult to understand why one author chose to emphasize one thing over another, or where the material even came from. Take for instance Luke 15, he is the only Gospel writer to contain these stories; why doesn’t Mark or Matthew mention the prodigal son?

            The best answer that I would be able to provide to a friend who is looking to make that distinction is to ask “Do you believe God to be in ultimate control?” If the answer is yes than I would refer them to 2 Timothy 3:16 which says “All Scripture is God breathed…” Once you have settled in your heart that the Lord has guided these men to write the original transcripts, then trust that what we have is the closest thing we can to the original words God intended for us to live by. Yes over the years there may have been some redaction by copyist, but we still must believe that the Lord has corrected any errors that could have possibly been made in transcription or supposed correction.

Jesus' birth and childhood according to Matthew and Luke

           What we can come to understand surrounding the birth of Jesus is very surprising. If we do not take the time to clearly read the Gospels we will miss the fact that John the Baptist is not merely the forerunner of Jesus, he is also his cousin. Elizabeth was six months pregnant at the time Mary conceived Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was a major connection between the two of them while still in the womb John leapt for joy (Luke 1:40). In Matthews account of the birth of Jesus was told to Joseph in a dream by the angel of the Lord (Matt. 1:20) While in Luke’s account the angel Gabriel came and spoke with her informing her that she would be with child (Luke 1:31).

            After the birth of Jesus his life would be at risk from King Herod who felt he was the ultimate king of the Jews. Herod would hear of Jesus birth from the wise men (found in Matthew), while in Luke’s account shepherds would come to visit the infant king. Luke does mention that after Jesus’ birth he was taken to the temple where he is dedicated by Simeon and also comes into contact with the prophetess Anna, which is something that Matthew leaves completely out. However, Matthew tells us about the slaughter of males under the age of two due to the jealousy of Herod, which is when Joseph, Mary and Jesus flee to Egypt. After the death of Herod which is recorded in Matthew 2:19-23 Jesus’ family returns to Nazareth. There is only one other account from Jesus’ childhood and that is the trip to the temple when he we twelve years old. Luke is the only author again who records this event (Luke 2:41-52).

            Now areas that can often be a source of contention are the genealogies that first take place in the beginning of Matthew and Luke’s Gospels. As you read through the both of them you automatically notice several differences first Matthew starts his with Abraham, while Luke begins with Joseph. Matthew traced Jesus’ genealogy from Abraham with forty-one links to Joseph arranged in three sets of fourteen generations.[1] Also, in verse eight Matthew omitted three generations of kings Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah; while he used the term begat (KJV) it doesn’t mean father-son but more a line of descent.[2] Luke however worked backwards starting with Joseph, and the lineages are very similar from Abraham until David; but once it moves from David to Joseph things change dramatically.[3] In Lea and Black on page 174 there are several options offered about the best ways to reconcile these differences. I would suggest you read them over and be the judge.

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[1] Thomas D.Lea, and David Alan Black. The New Testament: Its Background and Message. (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2003)173.

[2] Ibid., 173.

[3] Ibid., 174.

Quick look at the Benedictine Way of LIfe

            In short there are a few main elements to St. Benedict’s Rule. He required that life kept in a certain manner unlike Basil; he provided his monks detailed instructions about what to do and when it needed to be done.[1] Some of these things included that his monks would eat two meals a day with two cooked dishes along with fruits and vegetables, along with a moderate amount of wine.[2]Also, each monk would have a bed that included a cover and pillow, but if times were hard the monks should be happy with what they had.[3]

            Benedict also felt that there should be physical labor on the part of everyone, except in severe cases of illness or unique giftedness; everyone was to take turns in every task.[4] He also felt that prayer was an extremely important part of the monastic lifestyle.[5] Order ruled everything that Benedict did or chose to establish. According to Ferguson, “It introduced stability into monastic life in contrast to wandering monks or the small groups that had no discipline. The life of Benedictine monks was to be a balanced regimen of divine praise, spiritual reading, and physical work.”[6]

            There are many things that modern evangelical Christians can take away from monasticism. For the most part I believe we do not practice discipline as much as we should. I do not mean physical discipline but the spiritual kind where we read Scripture often or other works that would help us to edify the body; or as I am guilty no praying as often as we feel lead to. Or practicing the presence of God, how often we enter into a place of praise to God outside of the “sanctuary” of the church. If we are the church then everywhere we go should be a sanctuary unto the Lord.  Something many of us do not realize that work is a great thing and can ALWAYS be used to the glory of God. John Piper has an article about glorifying God at work that may be found as an encouragement. I will struggle with this because I suffer from fibromyalgia and have a hard time doing most things anymore; my ultimate goal no matter what should be to glorify God in all things. I hope these principles help you grow closer to Jesus each day.

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[1] Everett Ferguson, Church History Vol One: From Christ to Pre-Reformation. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005)317.

[2] Justo L.Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity Vol One: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. (New York: Harper Collins, 2010)278.

[3] Ibid., 278.

[4] Ibid., 279.

[5] Ibid., 280

[6] Ferguson, Church History, 318.