Snow Day

God has a way of slowing us down and grabbing our attention. God has a way of showing us things that need to be addressed and surrendered over. God has a way to slow us down enough to enjoy what he has blessed us with and to give thanks for those things and not long for what we don't have. God has a way of meeting our needs and gives us opportunities to reflect on that instead of the wants we lack. For me, this happened on a snowy day. 

I spend time in daily devotions and reading Gods word. I spend time in gratitude and thanksgiving through prayer and worship. I spend time in fellowship with my Father and I even spend time sharing all this with others. However, life is crazy with two little girls, and a job. I spend all day everyday caring for others, giving myself my time my resources and my energy that I forget to stop and allow God to refuel me. If I'm not getting my fuel from Christ then what overflows from me can't be from Christ. 

I've been stressed lately about life events and running and doing. I have heard Gods voice saying, "slow down Amanda and trust me. Enjoy what I have blessed up with, refuel, and surrender."  I ignored it trying to keep up with life before life swept me under the rug and out the door. Then there was the snow. 

The first snow of 2014 was coming our way. God said clearly, "I'm providing you with an opportunity to rest, refuel and enjoy. Will you join me Amanda?" God was so clear wanting my attention. 

The alarm went off that morning and out of bed I flew ignoring His request. After my shower to wake me up, there was a text message from my boss, "we will be closed today. If you would like to work in one of our other locations you can. If not, rest and enjoy." I thought I can't afford to rest and what can I enjoy with all this stress. I finished getting dressed and out the door I rushed.  I felt God saying, "I wanted to spend time with you and redirect your thoughts and heart and take some of that stress from you. You have a good day and we will talk later."  I worked  and came home. I played with the girls. I fixed dinner. I watched some tv. I talked to a few friends and family members. I tucked my kids into bed and laid down myself. God spoke again, "can I have your attention now?" My reply, "God my heart is so heavy and I'm so exhausted. Confusion clouds my vision and Im running low on energy and so much more. If I can't  give you all of me it's not right to only give you some of me. 

Ouch what a response. If my daughter would have said that to it me it would break my heart into a million pieces. 

I knew I had grieved the Holy Spirit and my father. I slept the best I could. The alarm went off again. I jumped up and began my morning. I looked out the window waiting for my coffee and tucked my head down. Snow everywhere. I grabbed my phone and there was a text from my boss. I believe it was God though who sent it. It read, "we are closed today. Rest and enjoy your girls and day off."  This time there was no option to work. God spoke again, "can we talk?"  My heart broke this morning as I surrender to His request. I engaged in worship and allowed His word and love to mend my heart and refuel my soul. I cried, I laughed, I sang, and bit by bit the shell the covered my heart began to crack. I laid back down and shut my eyes. As my girls woke we listened to music and cooked breakfast together. We cleaned up a little bit and spent time outside tossing snow balls and building small snowmen. We drank hot chocolate and read our devotional together. We were enjoying what God had given us. Each other.  

The day isn't over yet but I am so glad God interviened and brought me to my knees and reminded me where my peace comes from and where my day should start: on my knees not on my feet. I'm so glad He grabbed my heart and gave me a day off to rest and enjoy. I hope you were able to do the same. 

Biblical Narrative (a paper from a class I took at LU)

NARRATIVES:

The most common type of literature in the Bible is narrative.  Over 40% of the Old Testament is narrative.  Genesis, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Jonah, and Haggai are largely or entirely composed of narrative material.  Exodus, Numbers, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Job also contain substantial narrative portions according to our reading in Fee and Stuart.  “Failure to understand both the reason for and the character of Hebrew narrative has caused many Christians in the past the read the Old Testament story very poorly.” (Fee & Stuart, 2003, p.89)  This is a Christian’s spiritual history and is important to understand.  The “calling of God to Israel are your Historical promises and calling.” (Fee & Stuart, 2003, p. 89)   Narratives are stories with the purpose of retelling past event in such a way that they can be understood and applied in the present.  They consist of three parts: a plot, a plot resolution (redemption), and characters.  In traditional literature the characters are the “protagonist” (God), the “antagonist” (Satan) and the “agonist” (God’s people, us) (Fee & Stuart, 2003, p. 90). 

Fee & Stuart attempt to clarify some of the common problems people experiences when interpreting and applying of the genre of Scripture.  They include allegorizing, decontextualizing, selectivity, moralizing, personalizing, misappropriation, false appropriation, false combination, and redefinition. (Fee & Stuart, 2003, pgs. 103-104)  I found myself guilty of many of these.  I was really guilty of decontextualizing (“ignoring the full historical and literary contexts, and often the individual narrative”) (Fee & Stuart, 2003, p. 103) and only concentrating on small units which I thought to be the main theme or “moral.” This surely led me to selectivity and personalizing the story to fit my life or situation.  Narratives are not “allegories or stories filled with hidden meaning” or “are not intended to teach a moral lesson”. (Fee & Stuart, 2003, p.93)  

After identifying some common mistakes Fee and Stuart sum it up by providing some principals for interpreting narratives.  For me personally, I thought principle #3 was important that “narratives record what happened (honestly good and bad) not necessarily what should have happened or what ought to happen every time…” However, I am going to override that thought (due to my past experience with the Bible especially the Old Testament) and go with #4 as critical advice.  Principal #4 states that “what people do in narratives is not necessarily a good example for us.  Frequently it is just the opposite.”  I tend to go to the Bible in “looking for an example” and then “making it mean what I need or want it to mean.”  These principles give us a good mental start and direction to reading the Old Testament scripture.  However, if we still run into confusion we should still pray and seek outside sources for additional support such as commentaries and pastors etc.  (Stuart & Fee, 2003, p.206)

 

Fee, G.D.,& Stuart, D.K. (2003). How to read the Bible for all its worth. (3^rd ed.). Zondervan Publishing Company.

A few summaries from the New Testament

John
The book of John is one of four gospels in the New Testament.  John was a close companion of Jesus.  His purpose for writing this gospel was to proclaim Jesus as the Savior and Redeemer of the world by presenting convincing proofs of His identity as God, man, and Messiah.  John is an evangelistic gospel, persuading people to trust in Christ for salvation.  He emphasizes the word believe, more than any other gospel.  He includes many titles of Jesus such as Son of God, Son of Man, King, and Messiah or Christ.  John demonstrates that Jesus has the attributes of deity, including omniscience, omnipresence and preexistence.  John also provided miracles that Jesus performed to further illustrate His divine identity.  Some highlighted events include: Jesus’ incarnation, Jesus’ public ministry (this includes His miracles and His prediction of His death, believers turning to Him, and even the rejection He was subject to).  John includes Jesus’ private ministry to His disciples, as well as Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. 

 

Acts
The Book of Acts is of narrative and gospel genre.  The book begins with a recount of Jesus’ life right before and right after His crucifixion.  Through prayer, Matthias was chosen to replace Judas as a disciple.  The day of the Pentecost, the Holy Spirit filled the apostles.  Peter addresses the crowd, and they devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles.  Peter heals a crippled beggar and then speaks to the onlookers regarding the God of Abraham.  While speaking, Peter and John were arrested for their disturbance.  Peter and John then went before Sanhedrin and warned not to keep teaching and let them go.  They return to their people and share their stories.  The apostles heal many people, but are persecuted by several other people.  The apostles then chose seven men to help mediate among the Jews.  One of the seven, Stephen was seized and brought before the Sanhedrin.  He was stoned to death which caused the church to scatter.  Peter then started to reach the Gentiles since the Jews refused to hear him.  King Herod arrested Peter, but was able to escape.  There are many chapters on the different locations the apostles traveled and preached as the church spread.  The book ends with Paul preaching in Rome while being held by guards.  The book is really a look at the spread of Christianity and God’s work in the church. 

 

1 Corinthians
The Book of 1 Corinthians is one of several of the epistle genres.  Paul writes this letter to the church of Corinth, which was a strategic center in Greece at this time.  He begins with an introduction of greetings of grace and a prayer of thanksgiving.  He then talks about disunity in the church and division.  He encourages them to stop quarrelling and discusses the causes and solutions to the quarrels.  He then talks about immorality, lawsuits among each other and sexual immorality.  He encourages them to stop taking legal action and settle their differences in a Christian matter.  Paul explains to the church what God wants out of a marriage and here he gives his own opinion on marriage.  Paul talks about food sacrificed to idols and gives warnings about Israel’s past.  He addresses worship in the church and Jesus’ resurrection and what that means to be a believer.  He then tells them he will be visiting and ends his letter with personal greetings.     

 

James
The Book of James is another epistle genre.  James is the half-brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church.  James begins his letter by explaining that facing trials develops perseverance.  James talks about a Christian lifestyle.  He explains control of the tongue, submission to God, a right attitude toward money, and patience in the midst of suffering.  He explains that God does not tempt anyone.  James advises that everyone should be quick to listen, and slow to speak.  James addresses his brothers in Christ that favoritism are forbidden and that faith and good deeds go hand and hand.  James warns against boasting and encourages his brothers to be patient and to pray.  In his letter he really address trials and tribulations (no one is exempt) and actively living out your faith and belief no matter what is going on and especially in those times of suffering when prayer and patience is needed the most.

 

Revelation
The Book of Revelation is mainly apocalyptic genre, and is hard to understand.  There has been much debate about the symbolic or literal meanings of the text.  However, John introduces himself and explains his vision.  He addresses seven churches.  Seven is a key number in this book.  John then describes the throne in heaven and gives a description of the sealed scrolls that only the Lamb could break.  John saw the Lamb open the seals one-by-one.  After the sixth seal was broke four angels described the 144,000 that were sealed as servants of God (this is a low number to me as I look at the population counts of today).  The seventh seal opened and seven trumpets start.  Each trumpet represents a catastrophe.  John sees 144,000 sealed with the Father’s name written on their forehead.  He then saw three angels proclaim judgment and then reap the harvest.  Seven angels have seven bowls filled with seven plagues which is God’s wrath.  A lot in the book draws from the OT as well so you should be familiar with the OT visions and prophecies.  Babylon is destroyed and a big celebration happens because the salvation and glory belong to God.  After a thousand years, Satan will wage war and get defeated.  The dead are judged (sad day) and a new heaven, new earth, and a new Jerusalem will exist.  There is no date given as to when this will take place but John ends with a warning that anyone who adds to or takes away from the prophecy will be dealt with.      

 

 

A few summaries from the Old Testament

Exodus
The book of Exodus is a book of the OT Law.  The title of the book came from the Greek word exodus, meaning “a road out of” or “departure.” The principal theme of this book is God’s deliverance of the Jews from Egypt.  The book also documents Israel’s birth as a nation, God’s giving of the law to His people, and the beginnings of Israel’s ritual worship.  It begins with the Jews enslaved in Egypt.  Despite the enslavement of the Jews they continued to grow in numbers and the Pharaoh introduced a harsh policy designed to alleviate fears of a possible Israelite rebellion and consigned the Jews to hard labor.  God then calls Moses (who left after killing an Egyptian for beating a Jew) to be a deliverer of His people.  Moses returned to Egypt, confronts the Pharaoh and a series of 10 plagues sweep through Egypt, the last one being the death of the first born.  The Jews are delivered. The Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his arm after them.  God protected them in events such as the parting on the Red Sea.  God provided food and water to His people while they were in the wilderness.  God then instituted His covenant, which necessitated obedience to the Ten Commandments and to laws governing a variety of civil and religious matters.  The covenant was ratified through blood.  God then gave directions for the tabernacle.  The Israelites broke the law with the construction of a golden calf idol and Moses intercession allowed the people to repent and renew the covenant.  Israel finally obeys God by constructing the tabernacle and brought offerings. 

 

Job

The book of Job is largely narrative material.  This book deals with a huge question of: If God is good and just and powerful, why do good people suffer?  Job was an upright and faithful man who had done nothing wrong, and yet catastrophe overwhelmed him.  Satan was behind the scenes trying to get Job to loose faith in God.  Although Job had questions and suffered he remained faithful.  The book begins with Job as a wealthy, righteous, and respected man.  Satan accuses Job before God.  God permits Satan to inflict suffering upon Job.  Job then lost his sons and daughters, his sheep and herds, his servants, and his health.  Even through this he remained faithful.  Job breaks a little and wishes he was never born.  His friends believed he was suffering because he had sinned.  Job defends his innocence.  Elihu explains that this is not a punishment that it may be due to his self-centeredness he had fallen into.  The Lord finally speaks to Job and asked him several questions to demonstrate Job’s finitude and ignorance to his why.  Job then repents and is delivered and God gives him twice as many worldly goods as he had in the beginning and restores his family.     

 

Ecclesiastes

The genre of this book is wisdom and is written by King Solomon.  This book highlights two contrasting ways of looking at humanity’s plight in the world.  One is the secular, humanistic, materialistic viewpoint that sees life as futile, meaningless, and purposeless.  The other viewpoint is the godly or spiritual perspective.  The book begins to bring to light the futility of human endeavors.  Everything seems to run in cycles, sun rises and sets, people are born and people die, the wind blows and there is little satisfaction in life.  Solomon then investigates the possibility of finding meaning in things such as knowledge, wisdom, laughter, pleasure, wine, good works, wealth, music, women, and other worldly pleasures.  He found that none of this brings satisfaction.  He adds that we should be content and rejoice in the blessings God has provided us.  He then goes into the limitations of human knowledge and wisdom.  His advice here is to choose to enjoy life despite life’s enigmas and mysteries.  Work hard and enjoy life for death awaits us all.  He encourages us to live joyfully, live responsibly and fear God and keep His commandments.  Live in this world but not of this world. 

 

Song of Songs

The genre of this book is poetic and is also written by King Solomon.  This book illustrates the greatness of sexual love between husband and wife through songs.  This book reflects the joy and pain of relations and the boundaries for experiencing that joy and pain.  He outlines the courtship and the process of falling in love.  He sings of a beautiful girl longing for her lover to be with her.  One day, her beloved appeared and a wedding procession was grand.  They rejoiced with each other and dined in the garden with their guest.  The wedding was consummated and joy was abundant.  Marital problems hit and the husband withdrew.  They renewed their love and reconciled with each other.  The marriage deepened and their relationship matured.  They took a trip together and people were amazed at her beauty and their love for each other and the bride exulted, “Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.”  This really sheds light on what deep meaningful relationships are about and the meaning of marriage as it was intended to be with a man and woman. 

 

Habakkuk

The genre of this book is prophecy.  Habakkuk was a prophet and wrestles with the question of why innocent people suffer while evil people so often seem to prosper.  God responded to him with the fact that His people must trust Him and the wicked will be judged.  Habakkuk is talking with God about the wickedness of Judah and asked God how long He would be silent about this matter.  God replies that He has a plan to use the Babylonians as His whipping rod against the people of Judah.  This judgment would be swift and violent.  Habakkuk then asked God why a righteous and holy God would use an evil nation like the Babylonians to bring judgment on Judah.  God replies that He is fully aware of the transgressions of the Babylonians.  However, Judah is also guilty.  God explains that both Judah and the Babylonians were under condemnation.  Habakkuk is enlightened and ends this book with a psalm of praise to God.  He celebrates God’s power.  Habakkuk came to see that God’s knows best and with this knowledge he gained confidence and expressed joy before the Lord.