Day 3

Kayla-

So one thing that really stuck out to me and I don't think I ever paid much attention to was that Noah had a son named Ham. Interesting... :) Derrick you should add the name Ham to your list of names :) haha JUST KIDDING!

So my Dad and I always talk about how he believes in an eye for an eye and so forth because it "says" it in the Bible. And it does say that. But today in the book of Luke 6 it states this, "But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful"

The verse my Dad is referring to comes from the book of Exodus, and Im not going to dive deep into it because we aren't there yet, but it is not saying the same thing, if you read it in context it is referring to the a system of laws that had initially been put into place. I feel like so many people read this passage in Luke that tells us what love is and how we should be the sons and daughters of God and LOVE His people, and they are uncomfortable with it, because of pride or sin or whatever reason, so they find excuses, even try to have the bible fit into what they are comfortable with. And you know what. It's not easy to love people in this way all the time. Sometimes we get hurt really bad and it's hard to forgive that person and it's hard to love them, it's very uncomfortable. And sometimes the last thing we want to do is to give that person any part of anything good. But we aren't called to be comfortable. And the forgiveness we have through Christ is as much for me as it is for the person who may have treated me wrongly. How could I possibly think that I am better or deserve more than this so called "person" who has wronged me? We have all wronged God. And as Christians we no longer live as sinners, we live as sons & daughters. I think what Christ is calling us to is to not stand in front of the person who may have wronged us, or the person who borrowed and didn't return, the thief, the beggar, but to stand beside them as equals, because we are/or have been, (just as Christ did for us), and to show them the same grace that we know through Christ, that they might come to know His grace also. 

Blessing. <3

Derrick

So I have 10 minutes to blog before work, so here goes,
There is so much awesomeness in today's passages, I could talk about all three passages and would love to expound on each, first was the story of the flood

It classified every kind, all beasts, birds, swarming things, and then it said mankind, showing that we are not just another evolutionary step above monkeys, we are our own "kind"

I coil write a 10 page paper on that word kind. But I'm leaving it here for now...



I really liked the verse psalm 3:8 Salation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! Selah



And in Luke it was a deep passage, Kayla expounded on it so for now I'm letting it be, maybe over the weekend I'll edit this and add my thoughts...

Done in 6 minutes on my phone... Nice

Day 2

Derrick

Today, in Genesis, I read through the family of Adam. Enoch (father of Methuselah)  is one of my favorite people in the Bible, the first reason being he has an awesome name, and the second reason is because he never died, he had such an awesome personal relationship with God, that God just ushered him into heaven instead of Enoch suffering death...


I want my spiritual life to be like this, I want to have that beautiful personal relationship with God, I want to strive to be who God wants me to be. And all that starts here, starts in God's word, and personal quiet time including prayer, while I'm really excited about this blog, and reading  through God's word in entirety for the first time in my life, I need your prayers that i would do this not to fulfill this promise or goal, that i would delight in God's word..... i want to go from duty (have to) to delight (want to)...


PS. one of my kids will have the name Enoch, (probably as a middle name)




Kayla-


What stood out most for me today in the reading was also in Genesis. After Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil, they knew their nakedness, etc. They hid from God when He came to the garden. The part that stood out to me is that God called for Adam. They hid from God because of their sin, and it makes me remember how many times we "run" or "hide" from God because of the sin in our lives. But God WANTS us. I think that love was greatly shown when He called out for Adam. 


Also what stuck out to me was in Genesis 4:7, when God talks to Cain about sin and offering the first fruits of his labor, He speaks with him about sin. Saying, "...sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."


I think this is very relevant in every one of our lives. Sin is all around us, and no matter what we think, we choose if we rule over it or not. We have to rule over it.

Blessings.

Luke 5:27-39; Genesis 1-2; Psalm 1

Day One

Derrick

I realized today that I have never read through Genesis, in the first 2 chapters I couldn't even remember reading some of it, this strikes me as disappointing, because I grew up in a Christian home. Genesis Is the beginning of the Bible which we base our faith on. It should hold more ground than people give it.

What stood out to me the most was in Genesis 1:27 God states that he created man 3 times in the same verse.

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (ESV)

            

We are created in God’s image; we are a mirror of God Himself. Both male and female are Gods Creation. It’s a beautiful thing and I'm looking forward to getting deeper into God's Word.

Kayla-

I'm always reminded how differently males and females approach things sometimes. My friend Liz and I talk about how the men we know tend to approach things logic based and how we feel like we tend to approach things more with an emotional base and sometimes miss out on the logic/details etc of Scripture, so I am hoping to not just read and learn more scripture but to know and understand it as much as possible from many perspectives.


Something stood out to me today in the first chapter of Genesis, that isn't necessarily forth right or "clear cut" and I could totally be missing the mark. I was reading through it, and the thing that stuck out most to me was the time God was taking to create everything (even though it was only days). I feel like God took His time. I mean He is God! He could have snapped His fingers and said let it be done and it would have been. But he didn't. He gave it thought and time. He watched it take form and I think that gives a lot of meaning to it. In saying "it's good" it makes me feel like God was really enjoying creating and that it was valuable to Him. He could have done it in the blink of an eye and he didn't. 


It's a good reminder that in things that are valuable to us, things that are "good", things we care about, should be approached with dedication, love, and patience; not on a time line. We live in a world that says, I want it and I want it now, but God has set a great example for us from the very beginning, not to just rush things, but to work at them and make them "good". 


(I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk about this or the not eating from the tree of good and evil...I'm sure I will get another chance to haha :) ). 


Blessings.