Good morning all! What fascinates me about the Psalms is that I relate so well to the ins and outs of the emotion poured upon the pages David wrote. There are days he is passionate in worship towards God and then there are days he could just die. I feel that way sometimes. I don't want to literally die, but the feeling can sometimes be so deep, the sorrow or hurts of this world, relationships, losses. I think I have prayed this prayer before, soaking my bed with tears and anguish. And I know that God hears our crys and our joy.
Hope you are all doing well in this New Year. It's good to see more comments and faces here! It blesses my heart! Welcome all! :)

Good morning Jacqui! Sorry I missed yesterday, I had to go into work early.

Genesis 11:1 – 13:4
With everyone speaking the same language they would be less likely to separate yet God had something else in mind. The way things are worded here it makes me think God had a reason for mankind not to advance too fast yet today technology is abundant and in place for everyday use. The earth is now saturated with human life and creation seems to be ready for a change.

Proverbs 1:24-28
Cry not for wisdom in your hour of need if you have rejected it thus far. For wisdom does not come only when you need it but it is like a brook running through a meadow and with it’s constant flow it carves out the creek bed so that it’s flow may be continuous. So my son if wisdom is what you desire follow the ways of the Lord in the days of plenty so that when hard times come God’s wisdom will continue to lead you.

Genesis 13:1 – 15:21
Abram knew the Lord’s voice and conversed with Him as a friend. Knowing the Lord in this way is a great gift, yet God has given us all the capacity to know Him in this way. Abram honored the Lord by believing what the Lord told him and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. (Genesis 15:6)

I saw several interesting things in Abram's story. One I didn't know before was when God showed him in a dream that his descendants would be in slavery 400 years, referring to the Egyptian slavery. But God also told him everything would work out afterward. I wonder if Abram passed this vision down through the generations, to give them hope and help them keep their faith in God.

Ken, I had the same thought. I, also, had not noticed that before. I would have to believe that Abram did share the bad and the good news about the slavery, but knowing human nature (my human nature), I would guess that the good news was lost and became more of a wish or dream, or thought of as a myth or urban legend, or the equivalent of the time.

I know for me, news of something to happen in a 400 year time frame would truly motivate me on my everyday life, especially when things are looking a little dark.

I hear you guys. That is such a great thought to ponder. So many times I wish there were little side notes on these stories in the bible. Guess God likes us to be in the question in life~! Love the interaction here. It's awesome!

Over and over Abram/Abraham showed the value and positive results of faith, but nothing demonstrates the extreme value more than God Himself saying that He counted Abram righteous because of his faith demonstrated by simply believing what God said. In the same way today we can be declared righteous by believing that Jesus has already paid the price for our sins. That faith also has the benefit of changing us from the inside out. Thanks be to Jesus!

I like what you said about faith changing us from the inside out, Jim. Proverbs struck a note with me today, especially verse 31. "therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their own way." The Message says it like this "Well, you've made your bed—now lie in it; you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?" As parents of teenagers we think this often. I see God doing the same thing. He has given us an instruction guide, we have been taught His way and yet so many of us make less than favorable choices and have to live with the consequences. My prayer is that I would be more focused on Him and through being in the word, I would make more Christ-centered choices more often.

Hi everyone...

I just signed on today and I'm excited about participating in this study with you. I'm a little bummed I got plugged in this late as you've already covered so much of what I find interesting and have so many questions about. Hopefully you all will do this again next year. I should probably throw out some kind of disclaimer here to start with. I must tell you that I see things a little differently than most or at least notice things that most people do not notice in the bible, and I like to talk about them and discuss them, no matter how whacked they may seem. I can tend to ramble a bit when it comes to something I find particularly interesting as well. I'm also a little blunt at times. I hope I don't offend or bother anyone with my uniquely inquisitive fashion. If I do, you can blame it on Jim Huddart. :)

...rich

One of the things I find interesting in today's OT passage, as well as some of the earlier stuff I missed out on, is the clarity of communication between God and man. I've never experienced this kind of communication with God, nor do I know anyone who has. There are some individuals I know who make this claim, or at least talk like they communicate with God in a conversational way, but I do not believe them. God seemed to communicate directly back then and I don't understand why.

An example of God communicating in our study verses today can be found in Genesis 13:14-17 where God seems to communicate with Abram pretty strait forward...

14 The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."

Anyone have any idea why that kind of communication went on back then, but not now? I mean even if you heard a clear voice in your head that told you to go do something like build a huge boat and put two of everything in it, would you seriously do it? What would it take for you to believe something came from God vs your own thoughts. Sometimes the fact that there is biblical documentation of God communicating in such a way with his people, and the fact that I can't seem to accomplish this, well, it makes me wonder if I'm missing something really big and it bothers me.

I find the new testament passages somewhat unnerving as well. There are basically 5 topics covered....

Adultery. As a single, middle aged man I certainly struggle with this, especially as Jesus redefines it. I know this is going to sound stupid, but I'm actually very serious. Should a person truly consider shall we say, surgical modifications, to control ones desires? For the bulk of my life I've been trying to figure out how to not sin in this area, but I've never been able to. Cripes, I've even had a naughty thought about a woman standing in front of me during communion once. I suppose it was easier when I was married, but it was still a far cry from perfection. I don't know if I've even ever had on single day go by without an impure thought by biblical standards. Yup, I'm actually pretty sure about it. So should a single guy like me just say goodbye to "the boys" and head to a surgeon? Or does one just continue to try to not sin or try to figure out how to walk in the spirit (whatever that means) and hope God changes you or just forgives you?

Divorce. Geeze, I don't even want to go here, but suffice it to say I haven't been all that good at staying married. I really struggle with getting married again and probably wont. However, that brings me back to the first topic.

Oaths. I've broke them, although this one isn't as big of a struggle. It's probably because I'm not sure what's truly going on here though.

An eye for an eye. I don't know anyone, Christian or otherwise, who really practices the whole turn the other cheek thing, me included. I had a guy steal my car once (actually twice, but I'll spare you the details), and he was caught. I didn't give him the car or even offer to help hijm with his transportation needs. I helped prosecute him and he ended up in jail. Oddly enough, I don't think I've ever seen this topic actually implemented.

Love you enemies. OK, I feel like I at least make an effort here in some respects. My prayer life is a little sucky at the moment, but when I do take the time to pray alone, I have prayed for those I feel who persecute me on a personal level, although they are few. I have to admit though, I've never prayed for terrorists or other obvious enemies, nor have I ever heard anyone pray those kind of prayers. The closing line is the killer in this section for me though. I'm so far from perfection it isn't even funny.

So... How does one live a truly pure, loving and giving life? I'm like so screwed if this stuff is suppose to be attainable somehow.

OK. I better pass on the Psalms and Proverbs as I've already used up more than my allotment here.

Rich, welcome and thank you for sharing your thoughts and questions. I think all of us want to understand things better, just like you. I also believe this group would be thrilled if God still spoke so clearly as He did back in the day.
Good to have you here! This year is starting out with some great dialogue and I wish I had your answers! Wish I had some answers for myself.
Just wanted to say hey and welcome to the wiki!

Hey Rich, welcome to this little tribe! Glad to have you on board. Feel free to be yourself, and know that it's a safe place to ask questions, express your thoughts, whatever. One disclaimer we put out from time to time based on our experience of doing this for three years, is this: remember that tone of voice is missing in these little comments. I've more than once hurt people's feelings when I didn't mean to because of the limitations of the medium. We've been able to work it out, and this will be no different. Just keep it mind. ;-)

This is a great question. I wonder about it too. There are certainly days when I would really appreciate this kind of direct communication from God.

Heh... Rich, you've already made me laugh out loud! Please don't sign up for surgery just yet. I think on this point Jesus is working hard to make sure we get the gravity of the situation. It's really important for us to not just allow ourselves to be led away by our base desires. In some ways this is an illustration of the opposite of love. When I have lustful thoughts about a woman and then choose to entertain and engage those thoughts, I'm sort of taking her as an object for my gratification in my mind. It might seem like that's a safe place with no consequences - but there are. I am changed in the process. It becomes all the easier for me to do the same again, and even easier to it in action. Jesus' heart for us is to keep on growing in love. Love always acts in the other person's best interest. Lust is all about me. Love is all about them. Anything that gets me caught up in the me side of the equation needs to be dealt with.

There is great forgiveness for all of us. And we are promised the Holy Spirit to walk with us as we do the day-to-day. And we are called to participate in God's transformation of us by "leaning into" good choices and thoughts, and away from those that are not really rooted in love. But I suspect there will always be a tension in this area for men - I mean, as long as God keeps on creating beautiful women.

Great thoughts and questions, everyone! Keep coming back and see what happens as God works in the weave of scripture and our interchanges over the course of time! Glad to have you all in the mix.