Read The Word Again, in 2010

Mark 8: 34-38

adkalliance — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 13:37:53 +0000

Sometimes you can read a section over and over again without incident. Yesterday’s reading was not that way. This passage struck me in a new way. When I read, ”Whoever wants to save his live will lose it”, somehow it was translated to me, “Whoever wants to save face will lose face.” Hmmm…that I can relate to and was convicted. Then this morning I read the following poem in a blog of a friend:

Litany of Humility

Written by Cardinal Merry del Val. He was accustomed to recite this prayer daily after the celebration of Holy Mass.

O Jesus meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I,
That others may be esteemed more than I,
That in the opinion of the world, others may increase, and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. Amen.

John and Jerusalem

adkalliance — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 18:14:09 +0000

I was really impressed by how much John’s Gospel portrays Jesus as ministering in Jerusalem throughout his time of active preaching. When you read the synoptic gospels, you get a picture of Jesus working primarily in Galilee. Yet, when you read John’s account, he seems to be spending most of his time in Jerusalem. The synoptics leave the impression that he only went to Jerusalem for the final Passover celebration, but John fills in a lot of missing details, including all his other trips to the big city.

Some would say that this calls John’s account into question. I just think he knows that everyone is already familiar with the writings of Matthew, Mark and Luke, so he’s filling in a lot of the information that they left out.

- Rich

What About The Other Guys?

adkalliance — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:45:02 +0000

I just started in Daniel the other day and, as usual, was looking forward to the stories about Daniel and his friends in the first few chapters. I jumped in to chapter one and saw something that I had never seen before.

When the king asked for men to be gathered and trained for service to him, he specifically asked that all of them be from the Jews (1:3). Then Daniel and his three friends, in order to remain pure and undefiled (1:8), refused the king’s fancy food. After a bit of negotiation, they were allowed to do so provided they did not suffer physically as a result. You know how it comes out, they turned out to be most favored by the king in spite of their dietary rules.

So the question that comes to my mind is, what about all the other guys? They were ALL Jewish, but only the four mentioned in the story decided to keep kosher. The rest of them were all members of the royal family and nobles, shouldn’t they all have refused the king’s rich food?

I guess there have always been those who compromise with the world for perceived personal comfort. It still happens today. I wonder where I would have come out if I had been there?

- Rich

Where Should I Be Now?

adkalliance — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:05:09 +0000

I thought it might be time for an update to everyone on where we should be on our mutual noble quest. For those of you Reading The Word Again, in 2010; should should be at the end of Psalms or in either Ecclesiastes or starting Song Of Solomon.

I know that’s not a very exact answer, but it is hard at this time of the year for me to give any better accuracy. When we get to the Psalms, I can’t help but read ahead. I just started Song of Solomon yesterday, so that’s where I am, but I know I’m several days ahead of schedule at this point. If you’re at one of the spots mentioned above, you’re in good shape.

A word of warning is worthwhile at this point. If you find yourself on track, good for you. But we’re about to hit the wall. That’s what I call it as we enter into the major prophets. When I’ve done this program before, I’ve always had drop outs at this point. For some reason, people find the major prophets hard to get through, especially Jeremiah. So, a word of caution, don’t get bogged down. Keep moving forward and you’ll be just fine.

Does anyone have any suggestions for the questions that Anita raised in her recent contribution to the Blog?

- Rich

Timing Questions from Anita

adkalliance — Sat, 15 May 2010 12:11:14 +0000

Hannah and I just finished Esther. I’ve had my fill of lists of names and numbers for a while, and was relieved that Esther was mercifully void of these. Because we’re reading aloud, these lists and pronunciations fell to me. I’m sure many a heroic guy got his name butchered by my American accent. As to the reading of Esther, one little thing caught my attention …too bad it wasn’t a great insight because there’s so much potential. The thing that got me was the late at night deal when Xerxes couldn’t sleep. If Xerxes was trying to sleep and couldn’t, I’m guessing the hour was sometime between midnight and dawn. If that was true, then why did Naman go into the court late at night? Was he that obsessed? Would he have woken up the king to ask the question about permission to hang M? And then did he have to wake up Mortecai to parade him around? -just wondering. Anyone have ideas?

And another thing-this is from Ken: Nehemiah is inspecting the walls at night. How is that possible? Was it a full moon?

History To Poetry

adkalliance — Fri, 14 May 2010 12:46:20 +0000

Congratulations to all readers who have now completed reading the complete history from the Old Testament. For the next couple of months, it will be poetry instead of unpronounceable names.

If you find yourself running behind in your reading, remember that the Psalms is a great place to get caught up. When you get to Psalms, it is easy to read 10 or 15 chapters at a time. This is the time to get back on track if you find yourself behind on the reading.

When you get a chance, let me know how you’re doing so far. Better yet, pitch in with a blog entry to share your reading experience with the others. – Rich

I’ll Take King’s Names Begining With J or A, Alex

adkalliance — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 18:57:13 +0000

Now that we’re getting towards the end of 2 Kings, sometimes I find my head spinning. The scene is constantly changing from the northern kingdom (Israel) to the southern kingdom (Judah). And there is a constant stream of kings all with names that seem to start with J or A. From Jeroboam (there are 2 by this name), Jehu, Joram, Jehoram, Jehoshaphat, (can I count Jezebel?), Joash, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jotham, Amaziah, Ahaziah, Asa, Ahab, Ahaz, Amon and so on, it is hard to keep track of who you’re reading about and where you are geographically.

I try to stop in between each change of king to get myself oriented. I ask myself where I am, who was the last king and who is the new guy coming in. It helps.

One thing you can be certain of, if the king is from the northern kingdom, he’s a bad king and does not please God. If he’s from the southern kingdom, he might be good or he might be bad, you’ll have to pay attention in the reading to sort that one out.

Today is Sunday, April 11th and I read through 2 Kings 20 today. I think I’m right on track, so this will give you and idea of how you are progressing on this noble quest we are all about. – Rich

Looking for a Savior

adkalliance — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 01:18:34 +0000

The past week with David has been a truly great story, and would have been greater if there hadn’t been the Bathsheeba incident. Everybody seems to rise and then fall. I was looking for someone who would really lead Israel to holiness. And David was doing so well. But then he let me down. Good grief…isn’t there anyone out there who emerges from nothingness, is a genuine hero and manages to keep it together until the end of the story? -Oh, I forgot. Easter’s coming!

Affirmation

adkalliance — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:47:08 +0000

The sermon we heard this past weekend in Philadelphia at Jordan’s church was a great affirmation. The pastor emphasized that all the Bible is God’s Word. He urged us not to skip through the laws and names, but read through them and give God a chance to speak even through these obscure things. The one reference that spoke to me last week was Joshua 21:21. “In the hill country of Ephraim they (as in – the Levites) were given Shechem (a city of refuge for one accused of murder)…” How interesting that the territory where Joseph was put in a well and sold, would become the property of his direct descendants through Ephraim. Not only that, but that it would become a city of refuge, where those accused of wrongdoing could find hope. Our God sure knows how to turn the tables. -Anita

Sad Verse From Judges

adkalliance — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:37:42 +0000

From my reading this week, I once again came to this very sad verse in Judges:

“And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them, who did not know the Lord or the work which he had done for Israel.” – Judges 2:10 (RSV)

And so begins Israels slide into problems with their neighbors because of their problem relationship with God. From here on out it is topsy turvy all the way until the kingdom is wiped out.

It always amazes me that this happened within the time period of a single generation. What were the parents of that time period telling their children? Didn’t they go to Sunday School (or whatever their equivalent was)? It renews in me my strong support for having our children in Sunday School every week. And, it should give all of our parents an incentive to have daily devotions at home.

I think this verse in Judges is one of the saddest verses in all of scripture. – Rich