Overdue

This post is long overdue. Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to say a lot of the things that I really want to say. I've been having bloggy thoughts for a couple of weeks now, and I just haven't taken the time to transfer them here. And now I'm not here for that. I'm sitting in Cafe Co trying to catch up on my Bible readings for the past two weeks. Needless to say, I've been kind of scatterbrained and aimless for the past few weeks. I'm trying to get caught up on all of these things. It is quite an undertaking.

Anyway, I just wanted to have a place to jot down thoughts on the things I'm reading this afternoon, so that's all this will be. It may or may not be interesting for the general public, but I hope that I will gain some sort of insight that will also be beneficial for whoever is reading this.

I love learning more about God's character through scripture. He is so infinitely complex, and I don't think I can ever fully know everything there is to know about him, but I love seeing new glimpses of his beauty and wonder as I read the word.

"And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, 'Jacob, Jacob.' And he said, 'Here am I.' Then he said, 'I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again..." --Genesis 46: 2-4

I see a personal God, a God of comfort and peace. A God of guidance and direction.

"'...it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person....Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.'" --Matthew 15:11,17-20

I always enjoy the story and character of Joseph. Admittedly, I think I first heard the story through the musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, but it has always stuck with me, and I enjoy discovering more about Joseph with each reading of Genesis. I especially love Joseph's interactions with his father and brothers.

"When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, 'It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.' So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, 'Your father gave this command before he died, "Say to Joseph, Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you." And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.' Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, 'Behold, we are your servants.' But Joseph said to them, 'Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.' Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them." --Genesis 50:15-21

Isn't this an awesome picture of God's mercy? Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, yet he offered love and mercy in place of the anticipated punishment and revenge.

Sometimes I am grateful that I did not grow up in a church, hearing these "classic" Bible stories in the context of Sunday school, by means of cheesy children's books and puppets and such. Of course, I would be grateful if that were my childhood as well. But I love being able to look at the word with fresh eyes. Yes, now that I've been following Christ for several years and reading the word fairly regularly, these stories are gradually becoming more and more familiar. But there is still something new and exciting about reading these stories and putting new pieces together each time. I love it. I just finished Genesis and am starting into Exodus, which is really one of my favorite books of the Bible. I just got giddy again reading about the birth and childhood of Moses! His sister and the Pharaoh's daughter (not to mention the Hebrew midwives) are awesome examples of women who feared God and lived lives marked by compassion and justice.

"...She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, 'This is one of the Hebrews' children.' Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, 'Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?' And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Go.' So the girl went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.' So the woman took the child and nursed him. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, 'Because,' she said, 'I drew him out of the water.'" --Exodus 2:3-10