Good morning all!

Genesis: It sounds like man's knowledge and relationship with God was still very primitive. God introduced Himself as the God of Abraham and Isaac---not "the God you worship." Sounds like religious instruction was taught the children. It makes me wonder how much of their culture was spiritual or religious. Were they primarily pagan? polytheists? atheists? Jacob had heard about this God, and wanted to honor him. But he still threw out a condition---IF you protect me, I will honor you. Why, with all of the information and knowledge available about God today, do we still want to say that? Really appreciated Brittany's sermon on this topic last Saturday.

Matthew: Reading this passage in The Message, I was struck with a funny picture----Jesus had to wade through the crowd of "media" to get to the entrance of the house where the girl had died. It sounds like the information and stories of the day were passed along by the group of folk who flocked to be on the front line of events to wail and moan or rejoice or whatever and then "gossip" the story around. Just thought this amusing. No matter how much time changes, their are some things fundamental to humanity. Curiosity.

Be well. Julie

Julie, I think that's a great point about the 'media'. Just going to these happenings and being apart of "the scene". I see that same thing happening today. Look at all the protests and marches and sit-ins that happen. Yes, some of them truly believe in the 'whatever', but I truly believe that a very large portion of these crowds are there just to be in the scene. How sad is it that people are so desperate for something to believe in, that they will just show up, to anything, just to feel included in some 'happening or movement'.

As many of you know I have been on several mission trips over the last couple of years, and it is so amazing to watch crowds of tens of thousands of people show up for some event. And what is even more amazing is what happens during and after that event. That is the reason I keep going back on these trips, I have been blessed with seeing God work and want to make myself available to help keep His work going. Once you have seen this kind of thing happen, you can't help but be amazed. I can see how, after a few miracles and teachings, crowds of people began to follow Jesus for the rights reasons and not just to be a part of the scene.

The story of the bleeding woman always touches me. It doesn't matter how many times I read it, something inside of me tugs at my faith. I am inspired by her total devotion and belief in the fact that if she only touch the "hem", the fringe, the small tassels, whatever was hanging down from his garment. I picture her in the pressing crowd and straining to get close enough to just grasp some part of His being. Such a powerful image in my mind. I see her getting shoved around and her determination is so strong and NOTHING was going to stop her from that healing being received. The part that isn't mentioned in today's reading compels me. It's where Jesus FELT power (virtue) flowing from Him. He knew someone's faith had drawn from the TRUE SOURCE OF LIFE and I am guessing it felt really good. I wonder if He smiled.
I appreciate His desire to acknowledge her faith as well as use it as a teaching moment/example to those surrounding her. Most villagers had probably known her from the community, so her healing had to be something of a larger testimony than what is being told here. Plus, the bleeding would have made her unclean and not sure what the ramifications were for her in that culture. Was she outside of the camp or in a special hut, away from her family etc?
I want to have such pure faith like this woman. She is my inspiration today. To remember that Jesus is just as real as when He was here in the flesh and His power is still active and accessible to all of His children today!! Hallelujah!

Good morning all. In the OT reading the passage that intrigued me the most was that of Jacob's dream. First, it kind of occurred to me that Jacob wasn't the greatest guy in the world. From what we've read so far he is at best a liar and a deceiver, most likely not the kind of guy you would pick as your best friend. However, God gives him one of the best blessings ever recorded. Hhhmmm.

Second, was the dream itself. Have you ever had a dream so real that it had a profound impact on you? I've had a few. Some kind of normal, some pretty whacked. In either case, they seemed so real that I've often wondered if there was something more to them than just a dream. Jacob obviously felt this way as he was clearly shaken up after the fact.

And finally, the winds up with Jacob saying "this is the gate of heaven." This statement has always fascinated me. As I try to envision what Jacob saw in his dream, I find myself wondering if what he saw was a portal into another dimension of some kind, where angelic beings (who as we learned in the story of Lot, look and act an awful lot like people) were climbing up and down a staircase to earth. I wonder what they were doing, and I really wonder what was at the top of the staircase. Where were they coming and going from? When I looked up heaven in Strong's concordance, it was referring to the sky where the clouds are and at just beyond. Hhhmmm again. Anyway, just my random thoughts.

...rich

As for the NT reading, as usual, I had kind of an odd thought. What must it must have been like, or currently is like to be Christ/God. Anybody ever heard of an impath? An empath is supposedly an individual with some kind of power to feel other people's feelings. It is said that for an empath to function in life, they need to undergo a bunch of training. They need to figure out how to limit the emotional energy they receive because if they are'nt careful, they will go nuts because of being cascaded with wave after wave of the sorrows and cares around them. Now, I do not believe there is such thing as an empath, but we all know how other people's pain can affect us. Who hasn't teared up at a funeral , maybe not so much because we were grieving, but because we saw other people grieving and it just got to us. Or think of how you feel when you watch a news story about young mother who just lost her husband in war. I even feel bad watching 30 seconds of one of those "Christian Children's Fund" commercials about impoverished children. I don't think I could take it emotionally if I had 24-7 access to the whimper of every orphan and every starving child. And then add to that the groans of all the abused children all over the world, wails that gush out of the throats of rape victims, the confused mutterings of Alzheimer's patients, the heart-rending gibberish that streams out of the mouths of people who have been robbed of their senses by strokes or some other mental disease. The death of a child, blindness, deformities, disease and sickness of every kind. It says in vs 36 that he had compassion on them all. What could it possibly be like to feel each and every persons pain, and then be the only person on earth that had the ability to do anything about it. I can't imagine.

...rich

Hey Rich...I can relate to some of what you are saying above. I have a "gift" or whatever you want to call it, of discernment as well as "sensing" what's going on with people. It can be disturbing at times and comes out of nowhere so it isn't something I put in action. I believe it is the Holy Spirit quickening me to something going on that either needs prayer or maybe conversation with that person. Alot of times it's a picture or words or just a knowing about their struggle. I can't tell you how many times I have experienced this and people respond with a, "How did you know that?" kind of response. I just say it's not me, it's the Spirit working within. :)
Feeling others' pain can be quite overwhelming and I believe there are people on earth that have the capacity to sense hurts and a tendency to take them on, if they're not careful. I can only speak from my own experience though. In traveling to Africa last year, I was amazed at the peace that most people conveyed. They live day to day and have joy that is coming from a place very deep inside. They have nothing to compare their lives to, for the most part. So they know what they know and they are content with that knowledge. I was extremely encouraged and blessed by the amount of faith and peace these people had in the midst of daily deaths and hunger and poverty. It is grievous to witness and yet God loves them and is at work. It might not look like we think it should, yet they have so much that we don't in our comfortable world here.

I am with you on the amount of suffering taking place on earth. Whether it's the single mom, working two jobs to care for her family and meet the monthly needs or the children being molested and abused daily, maybe by their loved ones. Or the man who is struggling with addictions and loss so great that he wants to die. Babies crying out for food to parents that have nothing to fill their bellies with. All of it is enormous and painful and overwhelming.
How God's heart must ache so deeply.
And yet I believe He knows that all of this is just a vapor and things will be made right. That gives me courage to face dark days on this earth. It is a matter of time and we are going to be with Him and all of this pain will be far from us.

Hello Friends,

Here we go - it's my third year of trying to start doing this, hopefully it has the charm!

I don't know all of you, so a quick introduction of myself - My name is Brittany Ouchida-Walsh. I work at Bridge City and spend many of my days around here with this community. I'm going to seminary part time, teach chemistry, live with my grandparents. I'm married, I like board games, Guitar Hero, good coffee, watching Bones... And I really need to get into a rhythm of reading the Bible and journaling. So, I'm here to have some structure, accountability, and friendship along the way.

The Genesis reading is just so fascinating to me. Like Julie mentioned above, I was struck by Jacobs response to God. God has been promising to bless Abraham and his descendants and he has been do so on an extravagant cartoon-like scale, even when they mess up over and over. And Jacob gets one minute alone with God and tries to make a deal. It's a touching but sad story, of Gods continual, unconditional blessing, and humanity's sporadic, conditional, graspy following. Why are we so quick to try to make sure we know what's in it for us?

And with Rachel, Leah, Zilpah and Bilhah - how amazing. They start out in the story as assets and are used and manipulated by the guys. I love how God loved Leah because she was unloved. If that's the not the gospel right there I don't know what is. But then, these women Rachel and Leah whose main function in the story has been as sex objects, they immediately turn around and use the power they have to use Zilpah and Bilhah the same way - exactly what happened with Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar. Round and round in circles, the brokenness cycles through all levels of power, one generation after the next.

One thought here on the New Testament reading. I like how Jesus let his press-conference be interrupted by someone in need.

Welcome aboard Brittany! I'll be rooting for you to hang in. :-)

Great and interesting comments today everyone. The thought of carrying the burdens and pain of everyone is too much for me, but that is exactly what Jesus experienced (plus the guilt of every sin) starting in Gethsemane and lasting clear up until He died on the cross! Incomprehensible!!!

Maybe the communication with God had to be audible back then or at the very least, more direct and simple as in a dream or vision (which I think He still does for some) because everything was recorded and passed on verbally? Today we have a much more complete written history and picture of God's character. Also, pretty much every answer to every reasonable question is in the bible if we have the faith to believe it to be the inspired word of God. Unfortunately - no make that fortunately - it sometimes takes a significant amount of prayer and study to hear the answers. That's why I like this study so much. It cleans a little of the wax (aka things of the world) out of my ears which helps me hear a little more clearly those things I believe God wants to communicate to me. Thank you Father!

Blessings to you all!

Hi Brittany and everyone, It's Alicia Birchell of Freedom Road Church in Spokane.

I am so thankful and blessed to be part of this community of Jesus freaks. I have tried to read the bible all the way through many times only to be distracted with the business of life. It's great to have a support group to lean on and bounce around thought's and insights. I am really liking discover new things about the bible I never knew before. So yeay for new discoveries. My quote of the day... "Now with Gods help, I shall become myself"

Blessings to you all too,
Alicia Birchell

Hello Everyone:
I am checking in... have been reading but short on time to comment. There's a lot more reading that takes more time with this year. Blessings! LuDell

Hey Rich, I've thought about that a lot. I think there must be a part of God's heart that is constantly in unimaginable grief. In some ways I suspect that the grief Jesus felt on the cross was a shard of that. Not only does God have complete access to all that emotional pain, but God alone can see the potentials of really could have been for each of those people. I think that's really got to be a kind of pain that would crush a normal person.

Hey Alicia, great to see you show up here. I hope you feel comfortable jumping into the conversation. I'll look forward to seeing you more.

Hi Alicia...Welcome to this space. I am very excited for this fresh, new year of reading! As a friend said to me the other day, Aslan is on the move!
God has amazing opportunities for growth in all of our lives this year and I am fired up to embrace them on the journey with all of you!

Alicia, if you want to get to know us better...we all shared a bit about ourselves last week. I will look to see which day it was and post it so you can see who you are commenting to and with! :)