Thanksgiving

We always have so much to be thankful for; no matter what the circumstances.

Rebuke

Matthew 9:26 He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves and it was completely calm." NIV

I've been taking my time reading through the Gospel of Matthew, studying it, checking out different things about distances between cities mentioned there, etc.

Today took the time to list the 10 miracles Jesus did listed in Matthew chapters 8/9 (of course he did more than 10 miracles, but listed the ones mentioned in these 2 chapters).

Loved this verse and then wondered how Jesus rebuked the winds and the waves. What he said, how they too submitted themselves to him and obeyed him. Put a smile on my face :) 

 I would have liked to have been there and seen it.

Trust

I think it is really important to memorize scripture that helps us to get through the days, especially scripture that relates to things we are going through.  I know I get fearful at times, I need to always remember God is there for me and He will guide me along my days.  He will never leave me, nor forsake me, and knows what is best for me.  I will trust in you Lord.

Blessed

I think it would be neat to read the Bible and keep a list of all the times it says "Blessed is the man" and the words that follow and then live like that.  A true blessing that would be.

He truly is our refuge.  I think we forget about that when we are going through tough times, but He is ALWAYS there for us.  He never sleeps, he never slumbers.  God knows what is best for us ALL THE TIME.  We just need to trust in him and seek his guidance and is wisdom and cling to him.  He truly is the God of the impossible.  We just need to continually remember that.

Skeletons in God's Closet, Book Review

For BookLookBloggers, I am reviewing The Skeletons in God's Closet by Joshua Ryan Butler. For agreeing to read it in its entirety and posting a review about it on my blog and a commercial site, I was given a complimentary copy of the book.

Here is a description about the book:

How can a loving God send people to hell? Isn’t it arrogant to believe Jesus is the only way to God? What is up with holy war in the Old Testament?

Many of us fear God has some skeletons in the closet. Hell, judgment, and holy war are hot topics for the Christian faith that have a way of igniting fierce debate far and wide. These hard questions leave many wondering whether God is really good and can truly be trusted.

The Skeletons in God's Closet confronts our popular caricatures of these difficult topics with the beauty and power of the real thing. Josh Butler reveals that these subjects are consistent with, rather than contradictory to, the goodness of God. He explores Scripture to reveal the plotlines that make sense of these tough topics in light of God’s goodness. From fresh angles, Josh deals powerfully with such difficult passages as:

• The Lake of Fire
• Lazarus and the Rich Man
• The Slaughter of Canaanites in the Old Testament

Ultimately, The Skeletons in God's Closet uses our toughest questions to provoke paradigm shifts in how we understand our faith as a whole. It pulls the “skeletons out of God’s closet” to reveal they were never really skeletons at all.

My thoughts about the book:

It was really well written and very in depth.  The author used a lot of scripture to back up what he was writing about.  He listed the popular caricatures about the three main subjects in the book, hell, judgment, holy war and then broken the caricatures down extensively and replaced them with what he believed the scriptures were saying about them.

Like I said above, it was well written and very in depth.  I had to re-read sections of it to make sure I understood what he was saying as I had trouble at times comprehending it. I think it is a book that would be more appreciated by someone that had a lot of knowledge about the Bible than someone who would just pick it up curious about the topics he writes about.  

I did enjoy reading it, but felt I needed to read it again to fully get what all he was writing about.  Some of the things he said, especially in reference to holy war, led me to think about and do some more reading about the topic.  

I would recommend it for those curious about these skeletons in God's closet, but who also have a knowledge of the Bible and some of the many characteristics of the God.  Otherwise, I think someone without this type of knowledge might find the book confusing.  

Walk as Jesus walked

1 John 2:6 Whoever claims to live in him, must walk as Jesus did.

How did Jesus walk:

Confidently in the will of his father.
Unconditional love to the brokenhearted, the least, the lost, the last. 
Grace extended to the sinner. 
Wisdom in his actions and words. 
Merciful, compassionate, kind, boldly, purposefully.

Jesus knew exactly who he was.  He knew his father and the greatness and love of his father.

Jesus  didn't worry about money or needs.  Jesus did not care about acquiring possessions.

Jesus did experience heartbreak.  Rejection by family.  Rejection by his very people. Grief over death of loved ones.  Yet he continued to rely and trust on his father.

Jesus knew to spend time with his father, knew the importance of prayer.

I must learn to walk as Jesus did.  I must walk as he did in my life to glorify him and make the father known.