Route 66

This weeks readings are Genesis 48:1-Exodus 12:13, Matthew 15:29-20:28, Psalm 20:1-25:15, Proverbs 4:20-6:11. Feel free to post any thoughts, comments, questions, etc. about these readings as a comment to this post.

This weeks readings are Genesis 35:1-47:31, Matthew 12:1-15:28, Psalm 15:1-19:14, Proverbs 3:21-4:19. Feel free to post any thoughts, comments, questions, etc. about these readings as a comment to this post.

This weeks readings are Genesis 23:1-34:31, Matthew 8:1-11:30, Psalm 9:13-14:7, Proverbs 3:1-20. Feel free to post any thoughts, comments, questions, etc. about these readings as a comment to this post.

God’s blessing. Who among us doesn’t want THAT? To be blessed by the Almighty. To be graced by the Lord. To experience His limitless favor.

In today’s reading, Abram (later known as Abraham) is chosen by God to receive unbelievable blessings. But notice that God not only promises “I will bless you,” He then quickly adds “and you will BE a blessing” (Gen. 12:2, emphasis added).

It’s important for us to remember that simple truth. We are to be conduits of divine favor. God graces us so that we can share His grace with others. With divine blessing comes great responsibility to those around us.

Jesus says essentially the same thing in today’s New Testament reading, when he commands His followers (that’s US!): “You are the light of the world….let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14, 16).

It’s a good challenge for all of us at CCC today: to take the resources God has given us, and use them for eternal kingdom purposes.

What do you have from God that you can share with others?

This question is specific to today’s Genesis reading, but feel free to comment here also on any of the other readings throughout the week.

Psalm 1:2 speaks today of the blessing to be found in “meditating” on God’s law day and night.

“Meditation”? Isn’t that some kind of weird, mind-emptying New Age practice?

Not the way the Bible uses the word. The various Hebrew verbs translated “meditate” in the Old Testament mean: “to mutter and groan,” “to inquire,” and “to ponder.”

Essentially, Biblical meditation is actively rolling God’s Word around in our minds. Focusing on it from multiple angles. Picture a cow chewing its cud. Think of it as marinating your minds in Scripture until God’s eternal truths permeate the way you think and evaluate and respond.

If you know how to worry, then you have already what it takes to be an expert meditator. That’s all worry is–meditating on a possible, negative outcome (and becoming anxious).

Instead, let’s turn our minds and set our attention on what God says is true. That’s Biblical meditation, and that is how we become fruitful, even in the harsh, dry times of life.

As we dive into Genesis remember Hanz Finzel’s principles for interpreting narratives:

1. An Old Testament narrative (i.e. story) usually does not directly teach a doctrine.
2. An Old Testament narrative usually illustrates a doctrine or doctrines taught propositionally elsewhere.
3. Narratives record what happened-not necessarily what should have happened or what ought to happen every time. Therefore, not every narrative has an individual identifiable moral of the story.
4. What people do in narratives is not necessarily a good example for us. Frequently, it is just the opposite.
5. Most of the characters in the Old Testament narratives are far from perfect and their actions are too.
6. We are not always told at the end of a narrative whether what happened was good or bad. We are expected to be able to judge that on the basis of what God has taught us directly and categorically already in the Scripture.
7. All narratives are selective and incomplete. Not all the relevant details are always given (cf. John 21:25). What does appear in the narrative is everything that the inspired author thought important for us to know.
8. Narratives are not written to answer all our theological questions. They have particular, specific limited purposes and deal with certain issues, leaving others to be dealt with elsewhere, in other ways.
9. Narratives may teach either explicitly (by clearly stating something) or implicitly (by clearly implying something without actually stating it).
10. In the final analysis, God is the hero of all biblical narratives.

Opening the Book, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1987), pp. 60-61

Hey, we’re glad you’re launching out with us on our year-long trip through the Bible.

Over the next 365 days (in just 15-20 minutes per day), we’ll make our way TOGETHER from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. Though the Bible is actually comprised of 66 different books, written by some 40 authors over a 1,500 year period, it really is a single story: the story of God.

No doubt the quirky characters, strange customs, obscure passages, and wild plot twists we encounter along the way will raise eyebrows, questions, and maybe even heart rates. In this blog, we’ll at least have a forum to discuss, ponder, ruminate, and bounce thoughts back and forth.