tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48998264960070623692024-03-13T01:31:43.486-04:00michael dawson onlineMichael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.comBlogger519125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-53422423804001952782022-10-12T09:55:00.015-04:002022-10-12T18:14:11.509-04:00My Response to a Question About My Sermon On Habakkuk From October 9, 2022<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hello, and welcome back (for many, this may be your first time here) to Michael Dawson Online. It has been over 5 years since I have last posted. I am not sure that this is going to be a regular thing, but I did write something yesterday that I wanted a more public place to share it through, so, here it is. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On Monday I received an email concerning the sermon I preached on Sunday. In the email was a questions about a comment I made about Moses being one of the few who was actually able to change the mind of God. The question went along the lines of ... <i>"If our prayers can't change the mind of God, and if we can only pray in His will, then doesn't that make our prayers somewhat pointless." </i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This was a terrific question ... and one I am sure several others may have had. The problem with what I shared Sunday was two fold. First, it was a sermon on prayer in a series on the Minor Prophets. In one sermon on prayer, we are unable to answer or discuss every aspect of prayer. Second, what I said about Moses, was my attempt to correct a problem I saw in my sermon during my rehearsal on Sunday morning. I recognized that one of my points that was printed in the bulletin, and would be on screen, left an area for questions to be asked. What I said about Moses was my attempt on the fly to flesh out a problem I myself saw. Obviously, I didn't have time between the rehearsal and the actual preaching of the sermon to flesh it out more fully. The response you read below is a much better attempt to explain what I was trying to correct on the fly. </span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I think we are in agreement that prayer is a conversation between us and God. I also believe that the type of prayers you are specifically referencing are prayers of intercession, where we are asking God to move and work in a particular situation. And from what you asked, you believe that we are supposed to ask according to His will, but, if everything is already decided, then, are our prayers pointless?<br /><br />It is true that we only get a few instances of God "changing" His mind due to the prayers of man. We see it in Exodus 31:14 when Moses pleads with God, and God relents from ending the Israelites and starting over with Moses. You might say that God changed his mind when he regretted making Saul king in 1 Samuel 15:11. My own question with that is this ... is that a change of mind or an expression of sorrow that the man He made king turned out the way he did? I personally am not sure. I do know this, either way, God does not appear to be content with Saul as king. But, there is a distinction that must be made with these two moments in Scripture ... these are both decisions God has made that He is changing His mind on. God had already decided and announced to Moses that He was going to start over with Moses, so, Moses was able to change His mind. God had already established Saul as king, and as He watched Him, He regretted that decision. I think that is an important distinction to make. Thus, this might be why it is rare that God changes His mind. <br /><br />I would like to flesh out this following thought a little more ... is everything we do, something already predestined to happen, and if so, does that make prayer pointless? My short answer to that is I am convinced that God has not predestined nor has He preordained every detail of how the world works and functions, and that our prayers do matter. In some situations and in some specific moments, I do believe God does preordain how something is going to happen. I think we see that best in Jesus. The world He worked to establish at just the right time (Galatians 4:4) was perfect for the birth of Christ. He determined long before, that Christ would die upon a tree/cross, that He would be virgin born, that He would be born in Bethlehem. Matthew reminds us in his gospel on many occasions that Jesus' actions were fulfilling prophecy. We could argue, and find agreement in both arguments, that God preordained some of the events in the life of Christ, and that God knew, via foreknowledge, of what was going to happen. I would imagine, there was a little of both at work in the life of Christ and the predictive prophecies that came centuries before. However, while God had foreknowledge, I am convinced God did orchestrate the world to be primed for the coming of the Messiah and for the Gospel to spread easily. <br /><br />However, I am of the opinion that the majority of the time God does not operate in complete control of this world and all that happens. What I mean is that God can and does have complete control ... and can intervene any time He wants or chooses to, but the majority of the time He chooses to allow the world to function by the natural laws He established for the world to work. I also believe that He allows us the free will to make good and bad decisions. If God were controlling everything, then that would mean the bad choices, the violence, the rapes, the thefts that we wake up to daily on our news sources, would be happening at the hand of God. While God can intervene anytime He chooses, I am convinced that God allows free will and the natural laws to guide the day to day workings of our world.<br /><br />So, that brings me back to prayer. If God does not preordain and guide and direct everything that happens in our world, then I don't believe He has predestined everything to happen. Thus, His mind on a given situation may not be made up. If that is the case, and I believe it to be true (Although I am not convinced that the words and sentences I have chosen are adequate nor clear enough to express my understanding.), then we have the ability to go to God and earnestly ask Him to work and move in a particular situation, and that our prayers are not pointless. We are given examples in Acts of the church coming together seeking God's direction and involvement in various situations. We find one of these moments in Acts 12:5. Peter had been arrested, so the church came together and earnestly prayed to God for him. They believed that their prayer had power, and had the ability to influence God's involvement in Peter's situation. That night, God acted in favor of the church, sent an angel and miraculously brought Peter out of the jail.<br /><br />Now, the question could be asked ... is this something God was already planning to do, or did He do so in response to the prayers of the church? I don't know, and the text doesn't tell us why God did what He did in respect to the prayers of the people. However, we do have a few occasions in Scripture where God reacted based on the prayers and cries of the people. In Exodus 3:7-10, God tells Moses that He has heard the cries of the Israelites in slavery, and is responding to their suffering, and sending Moses to set them free from Egypt. God heard their cries, and responded to their cries. In 1 Samuel 1:10-11 Hannah prayed in deep anguish for a son, and then in 1:19-20, God remembered Hannah, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Hannah cried out to God in prayer, and God heard her prayers and granted her request. So clearly, we see in Scripture that people prayed to God with requests and God moved. In the case of Peter, we don't know if it was God's will to release Peter, or if was in reaction to the prayers of the church, but with the Israelites and Hannah, we see that God did more than just hear the prayers of His children, He reacted based on the prayers of His children.<br /><br />It is important to note that God's action was within His will. All three examples I shared certainly had the larger picture of God's movement in the world at play ... In Exodus, God was rescuing the nation He had built from slavery, so they could come one step closer to their mission of Jesus. The same could be said of 1 Samuel, Samuel became a prophet and leader of the nation of Israel, leading them to follow God and establish themselves as a nation. Peter was an Apostle and a key figure in the early church. Now, just because these were "important" moments in God's major movements in the world, doesn't mean our prayers and requests are unimportant and His will doesn't matter. It still does.<br /><br />I think the biggest part of praying in His will is our submission to Him. His will may not be our will, and the answer He gives us may not be what we want. That is when we must submit to His will and trust that it is right. I loved the loving father analogy you gave. Sometimes in love, I tell my children no. It's not because I am unloving, it's because I am, and I know things they don't, like running out into the street is not safe. Our willingness to pray in God's will, reveals the heart in which we pray. If we fail to pray in God's will, we begin demanding our wants. When we pray in His will, we are submitting to His authority and leadership in our lives and thus in our requests. <br /><br />So, to sum this up, I do believe we can have influence over God. The moments that Scripture tells us that God changed His mind or had regret, seem to moments where God had already made a decision. I am convinced in many situations God is allowing the world to function by natural law and free will, thus, our prayers of intercession invite Him to work in our lives. Our decision to pray in His will reveals the heart and submission to Him in which we pray. Thus, I would conclude that our prayers are not pointless, but powerful to evoke God's involvement in our lives</span></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;">You can watch the service and the sermon below.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="505" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zAVg2EnBZnk" width="614" youtube-src-id="zAVg2EnBZnk"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"> </span></div></blockquote>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0Lebanon, OH 45036, USA39.445842 -84.206799199999992-38.937706834999773 135.16820080000002 90 56.41820079999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-41771040584759312872017-01-26T15:38:00.001-05:002017-01-26T15:38:30.784-05:00January 26, 2017 – Genesis 41-42 -God protecting His people<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Genesis
41-42. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</span></b></div>
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<ul>
<li>Joseph has been in prison for a
considerable amount of time. He has gone from being his father’s favorite son,
to being sold by his brothers, sold by his cousins, and enslaved in Potiphar’s
house. However, God has been with him. Both Potiphar and the prison warden have
seen God’s hand upon Joseph and elevated his position and responsibilities.
But, he remains in prison.</li>
<li>Until, Pharaoh himself started
having dreams. Pharaoh had two dreams. The first was seven healthy cows being
swallowed by seven sickly cows. The second dream was seven thick and luscious
grains being devoured by seven scorched grains. These two dreams frightened
Pharaoh, and no one could tell him what they meant. That is when the cupbearer
remembered Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams.</li>
<li>So Joseph is called for and Joseph
tells Pharaoh he cannot do it … but God can. Joseph tells Pharaoh that the two
dreams he had are the same … and they mean there is going to be seven good
years followed by seven bad years … seven years of famine. Joseph recommends
that they prepare for the bad times during the good times. Pharaoh likes this
idea so much that he chooses to put Joseph in charge of preparing for the bad
years.</li>
<li>To prepare, Joseph charges a tax
on all the people … he collects grain. It is during this time that Joseph
marries and has two children of his own, Ephraim and Manasseh.</li>
<li>After the seven good years’
famine begins to spread across the land. This famine wasn’t just in Egypt, it
extended all the way up to Joseph’s homeland and made an impact on his own
family. Desperate and hungry, his brothers, 10 of them, make the trip down to
Egypt to buy grain from the only nation that is prepared.</li>
<li>Unknown to them, the man who is
in charge of this entire system is their brother they sold into slavery some
twenty years before. He immediately recognizes them … and he has to know if
they have changed. So, he accuses them of being spies. But they deny it and
they even reveal who they are to him, indicating that Joseph’s whole brother
Benjamin is still alive. After three days Joseph was ready to send them on
their way.</li>
<li>Before he could do so, he wanted
to make sure he would one day see his brother again … so he forced Simeon to
stay behind and be held in prison. Then he had their sacks filled, their money
put back in, and sent them on their way. On their return trip, they found the
money in their sacks, and when they showed their father, they were all frightened
… frightened because they didn’t know what their future held … they didn’t know
if they would get Simeon back … and frightened that they may lose Benjamin in
the process. With food on their tables, Jacob had a dilemma on his hands … go
back and get Simeon and risk losing Benjamin, or wait it out.</li>
</ul>
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<b>What Does this passage Teach?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<ul>
<li>Our reading today reminds us that
God has a plan and purpose. God had selected Abraham and his descendants to
bring Jesus into our world. He allowed Joseph to be sold into slavery to be the
one to save his family from drought. In this time of drought, they found relief
in their own brother in Egypt. God’s plan is still working out, but so far, the
mission of bringing Jesus into our world is still on. </li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-54041970933451867392017-01-25T14:05:00.003-05:002017-01-25T14:05:59.031-05:00January 25, 2017 – Genesis 38-40 - God's At Work<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Genesis
38-40. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</span></b></div>
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<ul>
<li>This is perhaps one of those
passages of Scripture that remind us the people that God used to tell His story
were flawed. One of Jacob’s sons, Judah, moves out from his family and marries
a Canaanite woman. They had three sons. The oldest marries, but God saw him as
wicked, so he dies without producing offspring. The second one, follows the
customs of the day and marries his brothers widow. He knows that any children
born to him will not be his own, but will be his brothers (odd structure for us
today), so he does not produce children. This displeases God. The third son,
Judah refuses to give to Tamar. So, Tamar dresses as a shrine prostitute,
disguises herself and sleeps with her father-in-law. This affair ends up with
her pregnant, producing two sons, Perez and Zerah. Because of the payment Judah
gives her, she is protected from punishment. This story is a brief interlude
from the story of Joseph.</li>
<li>Now we are back to the story of
Joseph. He is now in the land of Egypt, where he has been sold in to slavery
and purchased by one of Pharaoh’s officials. Potiphar likes Joseph and even
sees that God has blessed him. So, Potiphar trusts Joseph with more and more responsibility,
until he puts him over his entire household. Not only has Potiphar noticed
Joseph, so has his wife. She noticed his physical attributes and desired him
sexually. Joseph was an honest man and true to God. Every advance that she made
he refused. One day, she trapped him, and because of his rejection, she cried
foul, and this forced Joseph to be thrown into prison. I am convinced that
Potiphar knew what kind of woman he was married to, and his anger was more
directed to her than to Joseph. However, his only option was to send Joseph to
prison.</li>
<li>Joseph has now found himself in
prison. A very similar scene plays out in prison as it did in Potiphar’s house.
God is with Joseph, and the guards give him responsibilities, until he is
caring for the entire prison. It is during his rounds he encounters two more of
Pharaoh’s officials … his cupbearer and his baker. They have both been thrown
into prison and both have had bad dreams Joseph reveals that he can interrupt dreams
so both share them with him. Joseph’s dream telling comes true, the baker is
killed and the cupbearer is restored to his position. Sadly, for a time Joseph
is forgotten.</li>
</ul>
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<b>How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?</b></div>
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<li>In the story of Judah and Tamar
two sons are born to this odd couple. Perez and Zerah. Both of these boys are
mentioned in Matthew 1:3. Matthew 1:3 happens to be a portion of the genealogy
of Jesus. That means that one of these two boys (Perez) is a direct ancestor of
Jesus. Jesus is a descendant from this sordid affair. Friends, it is a reminder
… not only is God a God of forgiveness, He can also do some amazing things,
like save the world, though sinful people like you and me. What sin do you hide
in your past? Remember, it isn’t too much for God to not be able to work with. </li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-58561623175391023782017-01-24T10:19:00.001-05:002017-01-24T10:19:07.363-05:00January 24, 2017 – Genesis 35-37 – Catching Up<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Genesis
35-37 . Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as
you read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</span></b></div>
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I want to say thank you to
everyone who has shared condolences with my family after the recent passing of
my uncle. During this time I was unable to write the daily Bible reading
thoughts. I appreciate the understanding during my time away. Thank you. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<ul>
<li>In my time away we have missed a
lot of material. So, let’s do a quick recap. Abraham and Sarah end up having a
child, and as God announced they named him Isaac. When Isaac was around
fourteen years old God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to Him. Perhaps confused,
Abraham is obedient and did just as God asks … and right before he finishes the
task, God provides a ram to replace Isaac. It is on the heels of this that
Sarah passes away.</li>
<li>Following these events, when Isaac
is around forty years old Abraham sends ones of his servant back to his
homeland to find a wife for Isaac. The servant is led by God right to Abraham’s
own people where He selects a young girl named Rebekah for Isaac. The servant
then takes Rebekah back to the promised land to marry Isaac. With this stage of
life complete, Abraham passes away and is buried in the tomb next to his wife
Sarah.</li>
<li>Isaac and Rebekah end up having
two twin boys. These twins are at odds with each other, even in the womb. The
youngest one, Jacob is loved by his mother and the oldest is loved by his
father. Out of weakness, Esau, the oldest, gives up his birthright to the
youngest. Out of trickery, Jacob, the youngest, and his mother trick Isaac into
blessing Jacob instead of Esau.</li>
<li>With this trickery, Jacob is
fearful that Esau will kill him so he flees … where he ends up at his uncle
Laban’s house. It is here he falls in love and commits to working seven years
for his uncle Laban’s youngest daughter, Rachel, hand in marriage. Again,
trickery is at play. When the seven years are up, Laban’s oldest daughter Leah
has not been married, so he tricks Jacob into marring her. Upset and still in
love with Rachel, Jacob agrees to work another seven years for Laban for her
hand in marriage. Now Jacob is married to two sisters, but to only one woman he
actually loves.</li>
<li>While living in his
father-in-law/uncle’s house, Jacob’s two wives compete with each other for
children … but struggling with infertility at times, with both giving their
maidservants to Jacob as surrogates/wives. Through these four women, Jacob
fathers twelve sons and one daughter. These twelve sons will go on to be the
foundations for the twelve tribes of Israel.</li>
<li>During this season of life, Jacob
has bartered a deal with Laban that has made him wealthy, and he knows it is
time to return to the promised land. There is just one problem … how will Esau
greet him. God is obviously at work here, because not only has Esau forgiven
Jacob, he welcomes him with open arms. The restoration of the family is
complete.</li>
<li>Now, in the middle of this
return, as Jacob is preparing to meet up with his brother, Jacob has an odd
encounter with a stranger … and angel of the Lord. This stranger wrestles with
Jacob throughout the night and Jacob holds his own. Because of his wrestling
with God, Jacob earns a new name … Israel, because he had struggled with God
and man and overcome (Genesis 32:28). </li>
<li>For the most part that catches us
up, all be it for a few small stories.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In our reading for today, God
speaks to Jacob/Israel and gives him instructions for where to set up his home.
This spot, Bethel, was the place where Jacob meet God and his flight away from
Esau and where he wrestled with God on his return to the Promised Land. It was
here at Bethel that God established His covenant through Israel like He had
done with Jacob’s grandfather Abraham. Because of what happened, Jacob
worshiped God here.</li>
<li>The rest of chapter thirty-five
and all of thirty-six serve as a transition for us. They reveal to us the
deaths of Rachel and Issacs as well as the family trees of Jacob and Esau.
While this is a lot of names, there is a lot of valuable meat in these names.
There may be times later in our reading that a group will pop up … such as the Edomite’s
… and you can know they are the descendants of Esau. Let me challenge you to
not just glaze over reading these names.</li>
<li>Now in chapter thirty-seven we
are introduced to one of the youngest sons of Jacob, the oldest son of Rachel,
and the son that Jacob really loved. The remainder of Genesis revolves around
Joseph’s story. Joseph is well loved by his father and all his older brothers
know it. They are jealous of the special treatment he gets … plus he doesn’t
help family relations much. You see, he has dreams and these dreams depict his
brothers bowing down to him and honoring him. This upsets his brothers. So, one
day, while they are out tending to their father’s sheep, Joseph shows up with
some food and they decide to take action against him. Instead of killing him,
they sell him to some Ishmaelite’s (remember the genealogy listing we just
spoke about, this name should strike a chord, these are cousins, they are the descendants
of their great-grandfather Abraham, through his son Ishmael). These Ishmaelite’s
in return sell Joseph into slavery in Egypt. At the end of the day, Jacob
believes Joseph is dead … something he mourns greatly over. </li>
</ul>
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Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-91282980573802038272017-01-18T09:09:00.003-05:002017-01-18T09:09:30.953-05:00January 18, 2017 – Genesis 19-21<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Genesis
19-21. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</span></b></div>
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<ul>
<li>The story of Sodom and Gomorrah
is a favorite of many Christians. It tells the tale of a righteous God bringing
fast and swift judgement on a wicked people. Sodom and Gomorrah make up two
cities out of five on a plain. They are wicked as evidence when the two
visitors (angels) arrive at Lot’s house. They want to take these men and have
sex with. This wasn’t women showing up but men.</li>
<li>Because of this sin, God is ready
to destroy the city, but because of His conversation with Abraham, He first
sends in these angels to get Lot out. Lot and his family escapes and all would
have gone well if his wife hadn’t looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.
How this was done or what it looked like we are not sure. The sin of the city
did have its influence on Lot and his daughters. Instead of just turning the
men away, he was willing to offer his daughters so they could rape them. His daughter’s
minds were warped enough to sleep with the father to preserve their family
lines.</li>
<li>On the heels of this event,
Abraham picks up and moves his household and herds once again. This is the life
of a nomadic shepherd. The region he moves into is governed by king Abimelech. Like
before, he is worried for his own life because His eighty-nine-year-old wife is
beautiful. So, he tells everyone she is his sister. Abimelech takes her and
marries her as his own wife … think of this more as a political alliance than a
physical marriage.</li>
<li>And remember this … she is
supposed to be with child … Abraham’s child. To preserve the promise and the genealogy
of Jesus, God comes in and saves the day and restores Sarah back to Abraham
with no physical consummation taking place.</li>
<li>With the linage protected, Isaac
is born. But his birth is going to disrupt the family. Ishmael was fourteen
years old when Isaac was born, and possibly seventeen when Isaac was weened.
His attitude and his mocking brought distress to Sarah … so she pleaded with
her husband to send him away. Abraham did not want to do this, but God confirmed
that Ishmael would be blessed and that God had a plan for him. And God did not
forget Ishmael or Hagar, taking care of them as they left the safety of Abraham’s
home.</li>
<li>Our reading concludes with a treaty
of peace and good will being established between Abimelech and Abraham. This foreigner,
was now fully accepted in the land.</li>
</ul>
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Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-62545912112842654002017-01-17T16:23:00.002-05:002017-01-17T16:23:13.933-05:00January 17, 2017 – Genesis 16-18 – Contrasting Redemption and Sin.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Genesis
16-18. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</span></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">After Abram had been in the Land
of Canaan for ten years with no offspring, his aging wife decided she was not
going to be the woman to give birth to the promised son. So, Sarai gave her
maidservant Hagar to Abram. Abram and Hagar conceived and this roused the
jealousy in Sari. This jealousy caused Hagar to flee. It was while fleeing, no
destination in mind, that God appeared to Hagar. This is the first physical manifestation
of God we find in the Bible.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">While this coming son, a
revelation to Hagar in a day and time with no ultrasounds, would not be the
promise, God would bless her and him. To this Hagar responds with obedience by
returning and with praise towards God.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Thirteen years after Ishmael was
born God once again approaches Abram. Perhaps the thirteen years of silence was
God’s discipline for taking matters into his own hands. Perhaps it was just His
timing playing out. Regardless, God comes before Abram and reconfirms the
covenant He made with Abram when He first called him.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">In renewing the covenant God
reminded Abram that this was all conditional based upon his ability to walk
with the Lord be blameless. In confirming the covenant God also gave Abram a
name change … Abram means exalted father … Abraham means father of multitudes.
Abraham was going to be the father of many nations. Not only did Abram receive a
name change, so did his wife Sarai to Sarah.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">That day, God also reminded
Abraham that he would still bear another son … this son would be the child the
promise went through, not thirteen-year-old Ishmael. To mark His covenant God
gave Abraham and all the males in his household the sign of circumcision.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Bible Scholar and Professor James
Smith writes in his commentary, <i>The Pentateuch</i>,
page 140, about circumcision … </li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
That the identifying mark of the Hebrew male
should be on his sex organ is most appropriate. Far from being disreputable,
this was the most sacred part of his while body. Thus if this, the most private
of body parts, was dedicated to God, so must be his whole person. With this
organ man became, in a special sense, a co-worker with God in producing godly
offspring. In circumcision the sexual act was dedicated to God’s glory. When
the wife became one flesh with her husband she too became sexually dedicated to
the glory of God.</blockquote>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">This covenant, marked by circumcision
was an everlasting covenant with the purpose of bringing redemption into the
world though Jesus Christ.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Our reading takes a drastic turn.
Sometime after God’s announcement to Abraham, He appears as three visitors
before him. Even though the visitors arrive at an inopportune time, Abraham is
willing to roll out the red carpet, sending Sarah to bake bread and a servant
to butcher a calf. During this discussion the Angle of the Lord declared Sarah
would have a baby … which she heard from inside the tent … and laughed.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">So far, the conversation is good …
but it is about to turn ugly. As the visitors were about to leave, the Lord
declared His intent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. This scene creates a graphic
contrast … in Abraham God is creating a new nation, a nation that would bring
redemption and holiness into the world, a nation that was to model what walking
with God was supposed to look like … in Sodom and Gomorrah, God was about to destroy
a people who did not exalt God, who did not honor Him in the way they lived,
people whose lives were marked by sin.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">When Abraham hears God’s plan he
pleads for God to change course. He successfully does so, the only problem is,
there were not 10 righteous people living there. But God does allow Abraham to
rescue his nephew lot from the destruction. This is a stark reminder that sin
and righteous cannot co-exist. </li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-5638379860188336192017-01-16T13:10:00.003-05:002017-01-16T13:10:48.388-05:00January 16, 2017 – Genesis 12-15 – The Plan is in Motion<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Genesis
12-15. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>This is perhaps one of the most
pivotal points in the entire Bible. In Genesis 3 we watched as man sinned. In
Genesis 6 the world was so sinful God decided to send a flood. In Genesis 11
the world had tried to be like God and know the things of God so they created a
tower. Sin is nasty part of the human condition. Sin separates us from God. But
here in Genesis 12 God puts into motion his plan to redeem all of mankind.</li>
<li>God calls Abram to follow Him, to
move to a new land … a land God will give to his descendants. If Abram does
this, God promises to bless all people on earth through him (v. 3). Basically,
God is saying to Abram that one day, one of his offspring will be born that
will redeem mankind. As Christians, we know that offspring to be Jesus.</li>
<li>Seventy-five-year-old Abram
listens and follows God to the promised land. But, he doesn’t remain there.
Abram is a shepherd, driving large herds of sheep. Depending on the time of
year and the others shepherds, he had to go where the water and grasses were.
This causes him to end up in northern Egypt. It is here in Egypt that Abram
makes his first mistake in this life of following God.</li>
<li>Abram’s wife, Sarai, also his
half-sister (different mothers, this is something unheard of in our society,
but not uncommon in theirs), was beautiful. Abram knew that sixty-five-year-old
Sarai was desirable and men have killed other men to claim their wives. So, he
lies. Just as he predicted the king takes her as his wife. But God protects
Abram and saves the day and all is restored.</li>
<li>When Abram left his homeland, he
took his nephew Lot with him. Because Abram had a large herd of sheep and Lot
had a large herd of sheep the two separate. Lot took the better land and
settled in the region of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was during this time that Lot
got caught up in raid and was taken captive by the raiders.</li>
<li>It is here that uncle Abram comes
in and saves the day. Not only does he and the large number of men born into
his household (a good reminder to us that Abram was wealthy) save Lot, but they
also save the day for the cities on the plain, returning all that was lost.</li>
<li>When Abram returns everything, he
meets a king and priest of the one true God. In response to what God had done
through him, Abram offers the first recording of a tithe given in the Bible.</li>
<li>Because of his faith, God comes
to Abram and builds on the covenant. It is here that we are introduced to the
protection God is going to give His people. It is here that circumcision is
introduced. Its is here that promises to bless this childless couple with
multitudes of offspring.</li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What is This Passage Teaching?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>There are a lot of themes in
these four chapters. But one stands out to me … God promised to world saving
work through Abram … and no matter what ways he messed it up … God protected
His promise.</li>
</ul>
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<b>How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>We serve a powerful God. God is a
God who protects those He loves. Sometimes we may struggle with this. Sometimes
we may wander does God even love me or care about me. Does God get upset with
me. Is God ready to write me off. And the answer is no. One theme we are going
to see as we keep reading through the Bible is that the people God uses in some
amazing ways are really messed up and flawed people. If God could use them, and
allow them to tell the story of His Word, then what will He be willing to do
through your life. You are never beyond redemption. God loves you and will
protect you as often as you need. </li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-12306352152049107072017-01-12T10:00:00.002-05:002017-01-12T10:00:30.518-05:00January 12, 2017 – Job 32-34 – Wisdom with Age?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job
32-34. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</span></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>This is perhaps one of the
sections in Job that I struggle with the most. There is some argument as to whether
Elihu’s speech is even an original inclusion into the narrative of Job (Some
argue it was added at a later time). Scholars still do not agree on this.
However, it is in the book and we will treat it as original.</li>
<li>Elihu has been sitting here
listening all along. He has not spoken because he believes youth should take a
back seat to the wisdom of age. However, the three friends accuse Job without
offering him aid and Job seems to have self-pride before God. This angers
Elihu. No longer can he bottle up his words. So he begins to speak, astounded
that Job would stand before God the way he believes Job has.</li>
<li>Elihu takes two of Job’s
arguments into consideration … That Job is innocent and that God is Job’s
enemy. While Elihu complains about the three friends and their words … in reality
he ends up saying nothing too different than they have already said. While what
he says may have some truth, again this is not overly helpful to Job in his suffering.</li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>In the opening words of Elihu we
find that he was willing to yield to the wisdom that often comes with age. When
he hears things that don’t make sense, or he even believes is wrong, he can
keep quiet no longer. There is wisdom that comes with age. I know today I am
much wiser than I was 15 years ago, why? Because I have more life experience and
I have learned more over the years. I also know that there are things that I
know that some older and yet wiser than me do not know. Yes, there is wisdom in
age, but that doesn’t mean youth does not allow for any wisdom. What we must do
is always share wisdom, whether older or younger, with gentleness and respect. </li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-60322932671441751942017-01-12T09:40:00.002-05:002017-01-12T09:40:21.033-05:00January 11, 2017 – Job 29-31 – Job Rests His Case<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job
29-31. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</span></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<ul>
<li>Job is now done debating with his
three friends. You can almost sense a shift in tone as he begins to think about
life before the calamities struck. Life was good. God had blessed. Men honored
him. You can almost sense that Job is happy, if for just a brief moment in
time. Job knew and understood that he was a good man. Notice, recognition is
not the same thing as arrogance.</li>
<li>But Job moves on, just as life
continues to move on. And now, the people he treated so kindly, those whom he
had helped time and again, are nowhere to be found. Instead of helping Job in
his time of need, they mock him. Not only does he suffer the mocking of those
around him, but God is silent. Job hurts and yet Job doesn’t even hear from
God. At best this perplexes Job.</li>
<li>As Job concludes this final
speech he turns to the way he has lived his life. His friends have accused him
of sin, but Job knows that is not the case. Sure, there have been moments of
sin, after all Job is human. But his desire has never been to sin. He has
worked hard to live a life that honors God. He knows that God could weigh his
sin and Job would come out victorious. Job says all this to silence his
critics. He knows he stands righteous before God. With this Job stops talking.</li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What is This Passage Teaching?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>When you are suffering, where do
you turn? What does your focus become? After talking and listening Job has come
to a very good place. He has looked back on the blessings and he has looked at
his current situation. He knows he stands before God righteous. He knows he
stands before God as a faultless man (as much as one can be). This is where we
should all strive to be. Will there be sin in our lives? Absolutely. Will there
be moments we don’t always live up to be the people we want to be? Yes. Will
there be times in life we look back and see how life was better? I am
confident. Will there be season of life where people mock us and look down on
us? Perhaps. What we must do is continue to look forward and try our best,
while we may not always understand, to stand righteous before God. </li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-49921280512517595212017-01-10T15:22:00.000-05:002017-01-10T15:22:08.669-05:00January 10, 2017 – Job 24-28 – Who is God?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job
24-28. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>Here in chapter twenty-four Job responds
to Eliphaz. Remember from our reading yesterday, Eliphaz had a misconception
about God … Job’s sin, whether public or private was the cause of Job’s
hardship. Job continues reminding Eliphaz that perhaps this is not how God
works. Sometimes in life, God allows the one who moves the boundary stone to
prosper. Sometimes in life, God allows the hungry to remain hungry. Is it fair?
Not at all. What Job is doing here is asking God why. Eliphaz blames it on sin.
Job isn’t convinced, so He asks God why. Job understands why when sin is involved,
not necessarily when sin isn’t.</li>
<li>Once again Bildad speaks. This
time his speech is silent and his speech is poor. While what he says may be
true on some level, it does in no way help comfort Job in his misery and with
his questions. In fact, many scholars believe Bildad’s understanding of God
falls in line with many Islamic beliefs and teaching about God.</li>
<li>Job then responds for the eighth
time … this time, like the others, is lengthy. This speech is full of sarcasm
directed towards his friends who have failed to bring him God’s comfort in his
time of need. In doing so, Job speaks from a hurting heart, some great insights
into the greatness and the grandeur of God.</li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What is This Passage Teaching?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>This section of our reading
reminds us to keep our eyes focused on God through the hard times. However,
what is important is to keep our hearts and minds correctly focused on God. Our
moments of hurt and struggle are not a time to be tossed back and forth by
every different concept of who God is. What we must do is focus on the one true
God, the God we learn about in His World. Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad were
misinformed about who God is, and because of this they offered no real comfort.
True comfort comes from knowing the one true God.</li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Ask yourself, “Who is it that I
cry out to? What do I know about God? Is what I know really who God is?” This
is incredibly important. Having a clear picture of who God is will help you
understand the comfort and care He is going to provide in your life. </li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-67552628855343455212017-01-09T10:38:00.003-05:002017-01-09T10:38:51.503-05:00January 9, 2017 – Job 21-23 – In the Beginning<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job
21-23. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</span></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>In our reading today, Job is
astounded that his friends continue to blame him and offer no comfort in his
time of need. All along Job has held true to be a man who did everything he
could to honor God. However, his friends, especially Eliphaz, believe that all
that has happened to Job is a direct result of his sins.</li>
<li>That is precisely where Eliphaz
goes here. Job has defended his life … but Eliphaz does not believe him. If it
isn’t a sin that we can all see, then it must be a hidden sin. A sin that Job
has kept out of sight in the privacy of his own home and his own life.</li>
<li>Eliphaz believes this because he
has a preconceived notion about who God is and why God allows bad things to
happen to good people. He believes God’s punishment is because God is judging
us for our sins. If Job does not have public sin, then he must at the very
least have private sin.</li>
<li>Job, is bitter, Job is hurting,
Job is confused by what God has allowed to happen, but he knows his heart, he
knows that he hides no sin, that he stands before God admitting his sins and
seeking forgiveness for them. While Job may hurt, he remains faithful to God.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What is This Passage Teaching?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>This passage, along with the book
of Job is a good reminder that we all come to God with preconceived ideas about
who He is. To some God is a bully on an ant hill with a magnifying glass
waiting to smite those who step out of line. To others God is love without
justice, and there is no way a loving God would send someone to Hell because of
sin. To some we have an incomplete picture, because we have failed to read the
whole of Scripture and failed to connect all the dots. This is where Eliphaz is
at and it puts him in a very dangerous position.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Take a few moments to pray and
seek God’s wisdom in your heart and mind about the preconceived ideas you have
about God. Perhaps a simple activity would be to make a list of the attributes
and characteristics of God you believe are true. Ask God to help you remove the
misconceptions and to see Him for who He truly is. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-10510972389887565622017-01-08T07:13:00.001-05:002017-01-08T07:13:15.895-05:00January 8, 2017 – Job 17-20 – In the Beginning<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job
17-20. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Job is a man with a broken and
crushed spirit. He is hurting. He is crying out to God asking for the promises
of God, but at the same time revealing to his counselors why he feels and
responds the way he does. He is hurting. He is feeling immense pain and he isn’t
sure how to fully cope with it … other than to turn to God.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Bildad responds. Perhaps what
Bildad says is accurate about God and about the wicked. We know in eternity
much of what he says does play out. But again, while it sounds good, I know God’s
response later on, and I am not fully sure what to do with it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Job knows that he is hurting, and
he knows he has had questions for God and about God, but he also knows he has
not arrogantly blamed God. He does not get why his friends wont sympathize with
him. Instead they keep reproaching him. Again, Job does not find this helpful.
Job knows who God is, he calls Him his redeemer, and he puts full trust in him.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Our reading today ends with
Zophar responding once again. Again Zophar puts much of the blame on Job for
his accusatory approach to God. Unfortunately, Job’s three friends are missing
Job’s heart in his words. <o:p></o:p></div>
Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-75637057556754459222017-01-07T07:28:00.000-05:002017-01-07T07:28:02.073-05:00January 7, 2017 – Job 14-16 – In the Beginning<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job
14-16. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ol>
<li>Here in chapter 14 Job is being
honest about life. He realizes that man’s life is short. He realizes the
realities of life, how it begins in the womb and ends in death. Other than his
legacy and his children, when he is gone he is gone. Unlike the tree which can
be cut down, as long as life is left in it, it will regrow into another tree. Plus
… even when it is cut down, it can be usefully used in new construction. Job
ends with depressing words … because he is severely depressed.</li>
<li>Again, Eliphaz joins back into
the conversation. Again, he is not helpful. He is accusatory of Job. He doesn’t
think Job should be speaking the way he is speaking. So, in many ways he criticizes
him. He also believes Job is speaking worthless and empty words. Again, what to
do fully do with this discussion by Eliphaz I am not sure.</li>
<li>Job words end our reading again
today. Job doesn’t understand why his friends are speaking to him the way they
are. Instead of giving comfort, they give long winded speeches. That is not
what he needs in this moment.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What is This Passage Teaching?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>As we have said in a previous
post on our Job readings, there is balance to be had when asking God why.
Sometimes we work through things by asking questions, by running through
scenarios. I believe God understands this. When we approach God in anger … or
when we lack reverence before God we find ourselves in sin. But when we are
working through something, asking challenging questions, trying to understand
is a good part of the process.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Examine your approach. How do you
respond when someone you love needs comfort? When you don’t understand what is
going on in life, what kind of questions do you ask? What tone do you ask those
questions with? Where do you turn when life is rough? Do you turn to worldly
resources, or do you turn to God? I am confident that God is the right one to
ask the tough questions to!</li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-34071751865647864812017-01-06T09:10:00.003-05:002017-01-06T09:10:55.825-05:00January 6, 2017 – Job 10-13 – In the Beginning<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job
10-13. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>We return to Job’s own words.
Here is crying out to God. He is asking God why. And he is struggling with his
own feelings about his life and himself. But He is struggling with why God
would allow so much to happen to him and effect his life.</li>
<li>Now his third friend, Zophar
speaks. Zophar is taken aback at the words that Job is speaking. He cannot
believe that Job is blaming God … at least that is what he is hearing. Instead
of comforting Job he accuses Job and calls him to task for speaking this way to
and about God.</li>
<li>Job then replies and Job can hold
his ground. His three friends are not good at comforting nor are they good at
compassion. That is really what Job needs. So he reminds them of this truth and
need. Job holds his ground.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What is This Passage Teaching?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>There is a balance we must strike
when we are asking God why. There is nothing wrong with asking God why things
are happening, why He would allow it, or why you have to endure it, but the
tone in which we ask is massively important. Job asks God why. His words are
direct … because his hurt is real. Pain causes us to loose our soft touch. That’s
ok. What we must make sure not to do is sin against God when asking why.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Job is met with three friends and
these three are there to offer comfort and support. But when they speak they do
not do so. When you have a friend who is hurting, how do you respond to them.
Do you do so with love and grace, or do you do so like Job’s three friends?
Watch in your response how you respond and see where you can improve your help. </li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-41314549607103982102017-01-05T06:00:00.000-05:002017-01-05T06:00:28.087-05:00January 5, 2017 – Job 6-9 – The Conversation Continues<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: blue;">Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job
6-9. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Again we find Job speaking. He is
sharing the deep pains of his heart. We can certainly understand how much he is
hurting. How would you feel if you lost everything, your health, your children
(all 10 of them?), your wealth, and your servants?</li>
<li>We also see Job say something
along these lines … “Yes, I am questioning God, yes, I am attributing these
hardships to God’s will, but never am I accusing God … <b><span style="color: #0b5394;">“Despite the pain, I
have not denied the words of the Holy One”</span></b>(Job 6:10 NLT).”</li>
<li>In addition, Job looks back to
his friend and acknowledges that his help, his advice that we read about in Job
4 & 5 wasn’t really all that helpful … in fact it was a little accusatory.</li>
<li>After addressing his pain, his
heart, and his friend’s response, Job turns to God. Job cries out and pours out
his hurt and his heart to God. Job is very raw in his honesty before God.</li>
<li>Next speaks Bildad, another one
of the three who came to comfort Job. Again this is a discussion I struggle
with. I have read the end of the book, and I know what God says to these three friends
of Jobs. I have also read what they say. And what they say sounds good in
places, but then God speaks harshly to them. This leaves me confused. I know
this, like Eliphaz, Bildad is not as helpful to Job in his hour of need as a
good friend should be.</li>
<li>Job responds to Bildad with a beautiful
proclamation of who God is. Job, while hurting, has a great understanding of
the almighty.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What is This Passage Teaching?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>This passage is laying out for us
the discussion between Job and his friends. This discussion sets up a response
from God that causes God to proclaim fully who He is. That will come in time.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>When a friend is hurting, how do
you respond? Are you helpful, or are you accusatory. Do you comfort first and
then try and help them work through the why questions so they don’t have to
repeat it. Sometimes the first and best thing to do is to simply be there for
them instead of solving their problems. Sometimes comfort trumps the need for
fixing. </li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-16038320658199984482017-01-04T09:42:00.002-05:002017-01-04T09:42:49.217-05:00January 4, 2017 – Job 1-5 – Making it through the pain<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job
1-5. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan</b>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>We take a pause from our Genesis
reading to dive into the book of Job. We do so because many scholars believe
this is the proper time in our chronological reading to place the events of Job’s
life. There are a few reasons for this … 1) the Patriarchy society matches that
of Abraham and 2) the sacrificial system, of Job offering his own sacrifice is
certainly pre-mosaic covenant, and resembles again the society of Abraham.</li>
<li>Job is a wealthy man. He had
seven sons and three daughters, a large number of livestock, and a large number
of servants. Not only was Job wealthy, he was also a righteous man. His righteousness
went so far that he sought God’s forgiveness for any sins his children may have
committed.</li>
<li>Job’s righteousness doesn’t go
unnoticed. Satan, who was given freedom by God to roam the earth, notices Job’s
faithfulness to God, and seeks permission to tempt him away from God. God
grants Satan’s request and Job’s life is inflicted. In the first wave of attack
he losses everything except his life and his wife. In the second wave of attack
his health is inflicted. In all this, Job does not sin against God.</li>
<li>Beginning at the end of Job 2, we
meet three of Job’s friends who come to sit with and comfort him. To be honest,
what transpires in the rest of this book confuses me.</li>
<li>First Job speaks and he curses
the day of his birth, throws himself a pity party, and it is understandable.
Job is a man. He has a human heart. His health, and his children, and his
wealth, and his servants, have all be ripped from him. No matter how faithful
one may be, it is hard to see past the hurt and pain in life … especially when
you are still in the midst of that pain. Job’s final first words sum up his
hurt pretty well … <span style="color: #073763;"><b>“I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only
turmoil.”</b></span> (Job 3:26)</li>
<li>After Job speaks, his friend
Eliphaz speaks. This is where I begin to be really confused. What Eliphaz says
at times sounds great. But at other times, his words (along with the other two)
are not really that comforting. It is strange. My encouragement to you is to
read it, soak it up, pray about it, and see what God has to say to you.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What is This Passage Teaching?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>God has allowed us free will. He
wants us to choose Him and to follow Him not because we have to but because we
want to. That is wonderful. But there is also a down side to it. To truly have
free will, Satan must exist and Satan does not like when we honor God. If a
truly righteous man like Job still faced the temptation and attacks of Satan,
then we too can be prepared to face the attacks of Satan. They may not come in
the same forms that Job experienced them, but Satan will attack.</li>
<li>How we respond is crucial. As we
will see as we continue reading the book of Job, in all the hurt that Job
experiences, in all the critical words that Job speaks, in none of that does
Job sin against God. Sure, he may not fully understand, but he does not sin
against God. While we may be angry with God, while we may have questions for
God, while we may not understand what He is up to, we too must be careful to
not sin against God.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>When things go wrong in your life
what is your response? Do you get bent out of shape towards God? Do you curse
God? Do you blame God? Or do you respond with grace and humility, turning to
God for strength, guidance, and support? Sometimes, God may just use the pains
in our life to make us stronger … something we may not see until we are removed
from the pain. </li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-30293182990837191002017-01-03T14:58:00.003-05:002017-01-03T14:58:34.548-05:00January 3, 2017 – Genesis 8-11 – The God of Mercy and Grace<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Genesis
1-3. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Genesis 8-9 concludes the story
of Noah. God remembered Noah and his family while they were shut inside the
ark. Over time the water receded and Noah and his family began making a new
life for them in the cleansed world. God also made a covenant with Noah, and
all of mankind, to never again flood the earth like He did here. He marked this
covenant with a rainbow in the sky, a symbol that reminds us today of God’s
promise.</li>
<li>Genesis 10-11 begins to show us
how mankind began to multiply on the earth. Sadly, mankind continues to be
sinful, and wanted to reach God. So, they built a tower. This action displeased
God. But instead of wiping mankind off the earth, God simply gave a punishment,
mixing up language.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What is This Passage Teaching?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>In these chapters we see that God
is a God of mercy and grace. In providing the covenant to Noah, He promised
never to destroy mankind again like He did in the flood. In a few generations,
mankind has fallen into sin once again. Instead of destroying mankind, God
scrambled their language.</li>
<li>Chapter 11 ends by showing us the
family tree of Shem, one of Noah’s son. At the very end of that family tree we
meet Abram. Abram is the very man God will select to begin His plan of
salvation and redemption. God is a God of salvation.</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>God loves you. No matter how many
times you may mess up, God still loves you. In our reading we watched God
cleanse the earth, make a covenant with Noah, and just a few generations later,
and only two chapters later, mankind is up to our old sinful tricks again. But
instead of wiping out mankind, God simply punished us. While we may face the
consequences of our sin, God still loves us. God is still about mercy and grace.
In your moments of weakness remember, God loves you!</li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-58555007923352430782017-01-03T14:44:00.002-05:002017-01-03T14:44:44.636-05:00January 2, 2017 – Genesis 4-7 – What Went So Wrong?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The New Year has gotten off to a start
I did not intend. When doing a daily blog there is a lot of discipline that
goes into this. This is only day two and I have already missed the mark. There
is a part of me that wants to work far in advance to elevate any misses on the
daily reading. There is also a part of me that wants to be timely and weave the
daily readings into current events when possible. So right now the plan is to
only be a day or two ahead.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
But then life happens. Last week when
my family and I were on vacation in Florida, when I planned to start my daily
writings for the Bible reading, we were involved in car wreck. Working with
insurance, replacing car seats, getting a rental vehicle and slightly changing
our travel plans, messed this up. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So, today’s reading, is unfortunately
a day behind. But we will adjust this, get caught up and work to do better as
we press on into 2017. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Genesis
4-7. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What Does This Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Genesis 4 takes us to the next
development in the story of humanity. Man has already sinned, but this sin was
solely a disobedience to God. Now, we see sin take a wrong turn where one man
commits a sin against another human. Because God looked more favorably on
Abel’s sin Cain killed his brother. As far as we know, this is the first sin
committed against another human.</li>
<li>Genesis 4 and 5 then begins to
outline the progression of man creating a family tree from Adam to Noah.</li>
<li>Genesis 6 & 7 begin to tell
the story of Noah. Once mankind had sinned, disobedience to God spiraled out of
control. The beautiful relationship God had with man was all but gone. In fact,
things got so bad, God looked at mankind and decided to wipe us off the earth …
except for one family … Noah and his three sons. This family was righteous and
honored God. So, God commanded Noah to build and ark and take every species
upon it, one male and one female. When all was done (100 years later) God sent
flood waters over the earth.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What is This Passage Teaching?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>If we were to try and give our
reading today a theme we might be wise to ask the question, “What went wrong.”
In chapters 1-3 we see God very pleased with His creation, especially mankind.
But then we see sin enter the picture. From their sin sparks anger and jealousy
where Cain murders his own brother. Then we witnessed sin grow so bad that God
is fed up with mankind that He wipes out the entire human race … except for one
family.</li>
<li>But what is amazing, even though
sin separated us from God, even though God decided to start over with mankind
through Noah, God still left a glimmer of hope. Just as He did when He was
announcing the consequences of mankind’s sin in Genesis 3:15, God gave hope …
through Noah and his family, mankind would find salvation and ultimately
restoration. God is not willing to let sin fully separate us from Him. Like the
old chorus says … “He will make a way, where there seems to be no way.”</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>I don’t know what afflicts your
life. I don’t know how often you look at your sin and your mistakes and think
there is no way God can love you or even have a purpose for you. But that is
not how God looks at you. Even though He detested man’s sin, He still protected
Cain, and He still saved mankind through Noah. He loves you so much that He has
a plan and desire for your life, we just have to remind ourselves of that each
day.</li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-72401384231058099202017-01-01T05:00:00.000-05:002017-01-01T05:00:14.552-05:00January 1, 2017 – Genesis 1-3 – In the Beginning<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Genesis
1-3. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read His Word.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What Does This Passage Say?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Genesis 1 gives us the creation story. It tells
us how God, who has always existed, created everything we know, from the stars
in the sky to the fish in the sea, in six days.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Genesis 2 starts with God finishing His work of
creation and on the seventh day resting. Chapter 2 then goes on to give an
intimate detail of the creation of mankind. This passage is a retelling of
chapter 1, this time focusing on the creation account of man. God created the
first man, named Adam, from the dust of the earth and placed him in a garden
created just for him. One of the first tasks God gave mankind was to name all
the animals. The animals came to Adam, both male and female. But none came to
him like himself, so God put the man to sleep and formed woman out of the man.
This chapter ends with the man and the woman joined in one flesh marriage
relationship, naked, with no shame.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Genesis 3 established the conflict for the
entire Bible. Satan is given reign on the earth and appears to the woman.
Through deceitful language he is able to convince the woman to eat the
forbidden fruit, which she gives to her husband. For the first time, man has
sinned. This sin has made man feel shameful. The chapter ends with God establishing
the discipline for man’s sin.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p> </o:p><b>What is This Passage Teaching?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Genesis 1-3 introduces us to the characters and
the conflict of the Bible. The characters are God, the creator, mankind (Adam and
Eve), and Satan the protagonist. The conflict of the story is man’s sin,
causing a separation from God. Because of sin, God and mankind can no longer
walk together in the cool of the garden.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">In addition to this main teaching point, we
learn a few things about God and mankind.</span></li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">God is a creator … He created everything on
this earth.</li>
<li><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">Mankind is created in the image of God. That
means in many ways we are created like Him. Just like He creates, we can
create. Now we cannot create from nothing like God does, but we can take the
raw materials that He has created and turn them into objects.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">In God’s
design for life, there is no shame, there is no guilt, because there is no sin.
Sin ruined all of that.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">God is torn and heartbroken over man’s sin.</span></li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">In Chapter 2 we see God’s design for marriage … “a
man will leave his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become
on flesh.” Genesis 2:24 NIV. God designed marriage, and sexual relationships,
to be both for life and between one man and one woman. Anything outside of that
is beyond God’s design and is essentially sin.</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>How often do you look at your life and wonder … “How
in the world can the God who created the universe love me? How can God have a
desire to be a part of my life?” The answer to that question is remember that
God created you … and He created you in His image. He loves you. No matter who
you are, no matter what you have done, God loves you and cares deeply for you.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-60433808707856169022014-08-14T10:48:00.000-04:002014-08-14T10:58:59.947-04:00What My Broken Heart Has Taught Me<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Jesus said, <b><span style="color: red;">“Ask and it will be
given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the
door will opened.” </span></b>(Matthew 7:7-8 NIV) There is a lesson in this instruction
from Jesus Sermon on the Mount that God has been teaching me this year. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/21323620@N05/4766903433/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://static.flickr.com/4094/4766903433_446e81262b.jpg" width="310" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/21323620@N05/4766903433/" target="_blank">© Ananya Rubayant</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have an area of my life that I
am not thrilled with. To be honest, it is an area that I find very little
satisfaction at all. I have my desires and I have found over the years that my
desires have not been met. My heart is broken over this. I had dreamed for
years of these desires being lived out … but when the opportunity for them has
presented itself … I have found my heart crushed and have felt no real hope for
fulfillment. And what makes it even worse, I have had little indulgences in
these desires, and I know they are not just desires and hopes, but if lived out
would provide a bit of good satisfaction to my life. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So in my despair, I decided I was
going to pray about this area of my life. This has been an immense blessing.
Not only in prayer did I get the dissatisfaction off of my proverbial chest but
I also learned a little bit more about myself. Prayer forces us to be
introspective about ourselves. When we pray the correct way, we come before the
throne of God humble, honest, and looking at our motives for our petitions. The
process of prayer broke me. I asked the question of am I being selfish? Am I
wrong in my desires? Are my desires His intention for this gift? Is this what’s
best for everyone involved? Is this something that honors God? In my
introspection God opened the eyes of my heart.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
And then God showed me some areas
of improvement in my heartache. For that I thanked God. I was thrilled. I
celebrated. I was joyous because I was seeing improvement. And that is where I
made a mistake. My mistake was not in thanking God for His answer to my
prayers. That was an essential ingredient in the process. I do not think we can
ever ask God for his work and movement and ignore that blessing. How arrogant
we are if we fail to thank God! My mistake was I stopped praying for His
continued work.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I saw improvement, I thanked God,
and then I left it alone. And with that, I stopped working on myself, I stopped
making the improvements I needed to, and I stopped being introspective,
learning all the things that prayer was teaching me. Now, my heart is crushed
again, and I have found myself back almost where I started. I am unhappy. I am
feeling a state of depression. It is affecting my relationships with those that
I love. I am not proud of who I am right now. I am not driven. I am lazy. I am
mad at myself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Jesus told us to ask, seek, and
knock. This is a continual process. God already knows who we are and what we
need before we ever ask Him. He only wants what’s best for us. But sometimes He
waits until we are ready to come to Him, because in prayer, in our broken state
He wants to teach us, He wants to mold us, He wants to shape us into His
masterpiece. And when I saw improvement, I stopped God’s work, thinking He was
done. God was not ready to stop working, but I had selfishly decided God was
done. I am only sorry it took more heartbreak to learn this lesson. From now on
I will ask, seek, and knock until God shows me that His work is complete. <o:p></o:p></div>
Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-48919789191885388682014-03-20T15:00:00.000-04:002014-03-20T15:00:06.072-04:00March 20, 2014 – James 1 – Consider it Joy<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><b>Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Before reading I invite you to
pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs
is a link to the Bible reading plan.</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I want to thank you for returning to
the blog. Doing a daily blog is a challenge and sometimes it feels like a
chore. Sometimes I struggle to bring fresh content. I get into a rhythm of receptiveness
that is often hard to break. I have found the best way to do so is to suspend
the blog for a while and then return. With our reading through Acts it was hard
to break back in in the middle of the book. Please forgive me for my absence. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What Does this Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The book of James was written to Christians
who had a Jewish heritage living throughout the Roman Empire. The book is often
sited as a perfect road map for new Christians helping them understand a little
about what following God looks like.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>James begins his writing reminding the
Christian that trials, temptations, maybe even persecutions are going to come
their way. It is how we respond that determines whether these are helpful or
hurtful. James challenges us to consider it joy when we face trials. This is a
strange concept. But if we learn to consider it joy we will be quicker to see God
at work. Trials make us stronger, and they lead us to victory in God.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>He also reminds us that it is not God that
tempts us, but Satan. We are tempted when we let our evil desire overcome us.
This choice on our part begins a downward spiral that if not overcome can lead
to death; separation from God.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>James then goes on to encourage people
to check their lives. If we want to overcome temptation and champion over the
trials, then we must examine our heart and mind. James uses an analogy of
looking in the mirror and forgetting what you look like as foolishness. As
people living today we have the word of God. In His word is instruction on how
to live a life that honors the grace and salvation He is given us. Reading the
word and failing to live it out is foolishness. If we want to overcome the
trials, temptations, and event the persecutions then we must put into practice
what God’s word teaches.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">What is this passage teaching?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>This passage reminds us that life,
even as a Christian, is not always going to be easy. Temptation will always be
present and something we must keep our eyes open to. Trails will present themselves
from time to time. How we handle that determines how our faith blossoms and
matures. God allows us to experience trials and temptations to mold, shape, and
chisel us into the beautiful creation He has in mind.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">How can I apply this passage to my life?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Take to heart James first challenge … <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">“Consider
it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”</span></i></b> Look for the
ways that God might be using this to develop you into the person He is creating
you to be. </li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-11826554714150319302014-02-10T15:16:00.002-05:002014-02-10T15:16:53.049-05:00February 10, 2014 – Acts 1 – Evangelism<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><b>Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Before reading I invite you to
pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs
is a link to the Bible reading plan.</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What Does this Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Today we begin the book of Acts. Acts
was the second book written by Dr. Luke. Luke’s first work was the gospel named
after him. Many scholars believe Luke wrote both Luke and Acts for the purpose
of the Apostle Paul’s trial before the Roman Emperor. These two works would
possibly serve as a foundation for the Emperor for who Paul was and what Christianity
is. The way this book ends gives some credence to this theory as it all the
sudden stops with Paul in Rome.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-align: justify;">In our reading we have not yet read
Luke’s first work; his gospel. Luke’s gospel was about the life of Jesus. The
book of Acts is about the early life of the church. It picks up where his
gospel leaves off. It gives us a glimpse into Jesus final day and His final
teaching before being called up to Heaven.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-align: justify;">Through Acts we learn that Jesus spent
forty more days on the earth after His resurrection. During this time He taught
His disciples all they would need to know and do to prove to the world who He
was. In the beginning pages of Acts Jesus gives us His mission strategy; Jerusalem,
Judea, Samaria, and all ends of the earth. Basically Jesus taught them start at
home and move on from there. After all His teaching was done Jesus was called
up to Heaven.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-align: justify;">These disciples have a huge task
before them. For ten days they will be without the power of the Holy Spirit.
There used to be twelve in their inner circle of Jesus followers, but now,
after Judas decision, there are only eleven. They felt it necessary that there
be twelve men. Maybe they thought because Jesus choose twelve they must continue
with twelve. Maybe they thought the number twelve represented the twelve tribes
of Israel. For whatever reason they choose a twelfth man by drawing straws:
that twelfth man was Mathias, a man who saw Jesus entire ministry from baptism
to death to ascension</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">What is this passage teaching?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Jesus had a specific purpose for the
men He chose to be a part of His inner circle. These men had the responsibility
of bringing the Kingdom of Heaven into existence upon the earth. The work would
not be easy, but Jesus would give these men all the preparation they needed,
including an evangelism strategy. The work was not easy, so they disciples
found it necessary to include all the men they could into their inner circle. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">How can I apply this passage to my life?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The book of Acts opens strongly with
the hint that evangelism is going to be a key virtue of the Kingdom of Heaven.
How are you doing at living a life of evangelism? How are you doing at sharing
your faith? Join us as we learn some practical lessons in Acts in ways to share
our faith. </li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-70602478264068096772014-02-08T08:16:00.003-05:002014-02-08T08:16:54.501-05:00February 8, 2014 – Proverbs 4 – Light in the Darkness<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><b>Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Before reading I invite you to
pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs
is a link to the Bible reading plan.</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><b>As we venture through the Psalms and
Proverbs portion of our reading it will take on more of a devotional thought
and less of the passage teaching of the New Testament study. </b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I love contrast. Sometimes we can only
see the full beauty and complexity of something when it is contrasted against
something else. The writer of Proverbs does that today with righteousness and wickedness.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
He describes wickedness as darkness.
Have you have ever been in complete darkness? That is a hard thing to come by.
When I was in high school my youth group went to Summer in the Son at Kentucky
Christian University. One day during our free time we went caving in nearby
caverns. We found a spot where we could turn off the flash lights and spend
some time worshiping in the dark. It was an awesome experience, but a little
unsettling as well. It was completely dark and the darkest environment I have
ever encountered. It was a fun experience, but not one I would want to live in
for any amount of time. This darkens though is what the writer says wickedness
is consumed with. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
On the other side he compares righteousness
to light … <b><span style="color: #0b5394;">“The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining
ever brighter till the full light of day.” </span></b>Proverbs 4:18 NIV. Have you ever
watched the sun rise? My favorite place to do it is at the beach. I love to go
out before the sun even thinks of rising. It is fun to watch the day get progressively
brighter. What an awesome picture of righteousness the author paints for us.
And as a side note, what is light supposed to do? Illuminate the darkness. That
means, as people striving for righteousness, it should be our desire to remove
as much wickedness from our world as we can. <o:p></o:p></div>
Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-52199680833378249202014-02-05T13:26:00.000-05:002014-02-05T13:26:36.150-05:00February 5, 2014 – Matthew 26 – Never Give Up<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;">Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Before reading I invite you to
pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs
is a link to the Bible reading plan.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What Does this Passage Say?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>It feels sort of like decision day.
Jesus knows that the hour is closing in that He will be killed. Jesus has
predicted His death before, but what a shocking statement this is when He includes
the mode of death. All that Jesus has said these last few day has become the final
nail in the coffin. There is now real activity in the planning of Jesus death.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>For the past week Jesus has been
staying in Bethany, a small town outside the city of Jerusalem. From other
accounts we know He is staying with Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha.
It is in this home that a woman pours out an expensive perfume all over Jesus.
This woman does a beautiful thing, but the disciples, possibly lead by Judas,
rebuke her … there might be a mix of motives here, maybe they have learned from
Jesus and their hearts are really for the poor or maybe they are covering up
evil intentions … i.e. Judas whose betrayal to the religious leaders is immediately
shared. Jesus reminds them that His presence is only temporary and the time
stamp is almost up.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>On Thursday night Jesus sends the
disciples ahead to prepare the Passover feast. He has arranged a room for this
to happen and they go and secure it. During the traditional Passover meal,
Jesus shares that one will betray Him and another will deny Him. He presents
them both, and tells Judas to go do what he has set in his mind to do.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>It is during this meal that Jesus
establishes the Lord’s Supper, a meal Christians partake of each and every
week. This meal reminds us that Jesus body was given up for our life. This meal
reminds that it is the shed blood that saves man from sin. The elements of
bread and fruit of the vine represent this sacrifice!</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>After the meal, Jesus and His
disciples return to the Mount of Olives. Here on the Mount is a private garden
named Gethsemane that Jesus probably has an open invitation to visit. More than
likely from this spot Jesus can see all of Jerusalem, especially the Temple
mount. The week has been long. The week has been exciting … remember how it
began; people lining the streets, Jesus riding in on a donkey to the shouts of
praise? Jesus has taught and strongly confronted the Pharisees. Whatever Jesus
is getting ready for the anticipation must be at a boiling point. But along with
this long week comes exhaustion. As Jesus heart feels overwhelmed and as He
goes to pray, He asks His disciples to keep watch and to pray, but they are not
able; they fall asleep.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Jesus returns to His disciples in
between prayers, prayers where He asks God to take the cup of wrath that is
coming, understanding that is not God’s will, and finds them asleep. While
talking with them, the one, Judas, who has betrayed Jesus, arrives with a crowd
of guards sent by the High Priest. Judas kissed Jesus signaling that He was the
one, causing Jesus to be arrested.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>It is here that Jesus is brought in
for His first series of trails before the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was made up
of both Pharisees and Sadducees. They were the ruling body in the legislative
branch of Judaism. Here Jesus is
presented His charge … blaspheme. It is during this first trial that Peter
denies any relationship with Jesus to the crowds standing on the outside
watching. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">What is this passage teaching?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Jesus has had a remarkable week. It is
all coming to a crashing end. The last few hours of Jesus life is consumed with
Jesus pouring into His disciples. All the way until the end He is teaching them
and guiding them and building them up. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">How can I apply this passage to my life?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Do you have someone you are investing
into? Do you get frustrated with their slow growth? Do you feel like they just don’t
get it? Jesus had to feel that way from time to time. But He never gave up.
Until the very end He was pouring into them; at Lazarus home, at the Last
Supper, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and after Peter cuts the ear the servant. Do
not give up. Find patience, Continuing pouring into and investing in those you
love and care for. Who knows but God when the seed will begin to grow.</li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p>Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4899826496007062369.post-32373312312984738422014-02-05T07:12:00.000-05:002014-02-05T07:12:01.742-05:00My response to the Ken Ham and Bill Nye debate<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">I applaud both men for striving
to have a civil honest discussion about their disagreements. If more people
especially our government would take their civil approach our nation and our
churches would be much better off. These two men were both very passionate about
their stated stance and both articulated without destroying the other in a
humiliating and nonsensical manner.</span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFG0vwD8YtV4BI1bBBxinjBS0x27nYRUdd4odboeo7777UoWeVVAT3GL8CVnmKz3ofXP59pmWLmU0YVOMdGhzkRqSY5M7LTqX4WDwevqr2cSK7wbByZSJALMa_MUQJKrJYWzaV4EH-XRQ/s1600/bill-nye-ken-ham-watch-online.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFG0vwD8YtV4BI1bBBxinjBS0x27nYRUdd4odboeo7777UoWeVVAT3GL8CVnmKz3ofXP59pmWLmU0YVOMdGhzkRqSY5M7LTqX4WDwevqr2cSK7wbByZSJALMa_MUQJKrJYWzaV4EH-XRQ/s1600/bill-nye-ken-ham-watch-online.jpg" height="188" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="http://answersingenesis.org/">Answersingenesis.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-align: justify;">It was very evident that Ken Ham
was much more prepared for this debate. That isn’t an attack on Bill Nye. Ham
has devoted his life’s work to promoting a Biblical explanation for the theory of
origins. He has spent a considerable many hours researching and understanding
the evolutionist theories, teachings, and process. A simple walk through the
Creation Museum indicates that Answers in Genesis knows and understands
evolution.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bill Nye wasn’t underprepared for
the debate, he simply lacked the storerooms of knowledge that Ham has ready. He
did say he learned something for Ham’s thirty minute presentation. I would love
to have known what that lesson was. Was it a better understanding of what Ham
believes? What it a better understanding of the process of creation scientist?
Was it something else? Nye did an excellent job but it was evident he isn’t
complete in his knowledge of the whole of creation science. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I found the debate format a
little troubling. Nye asked Ham several questions that I just don’t believe the
format gave Ham the proper ability to respond to. I would have liked to have
seen the debaters be allowed to ask each other questions and then responses
given to the others questions. The Q&A portion was fine, but real questions
were raised without a time to have a dialogue before the next question was
presented. Maybe this was done to ensure the civility of the debate, but it
would have provided answers and real debate. <o:p></o:p></div>
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What I found that was lacking
from the debate was belief. Ken Ham reminded everyone several times that his
starting point is the Bible. He admits that and doesn’t back down. What I would
have loved to see Ham do was remind that because we cannot observe the world that
we are looking back to, the evidence we see takes some level of faith to
believe in. At the very least, if I have to have faith to believe one of the
systems, I like the one that gives me hope and purpose and doesn’t say I am
here by accident. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Bill Nye was trouble by Ken Ham’s
lack of being able to predict an outcome. I failed to follow his logic on this one.
The debate was centered on the question, “Is creation a viable model of origins
in today’s modern scientific era?” What Nye was troubled by was not a part of
the debate. Was Nye implying because Ham was working through the debate to
support Biblical Creation to look at origins, that creation scientist could not
predict outcomes and invent technology? If so Ham did answer that question by
presenting the scientist who invented the MRI that is a creationist. Nye was troubled by Ham looking back but wasn’t
that the point of the debate?<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was troubled by Nye when he
kept promoting education and scientific exploration for America’s (specifically
Kentucky’s) youth. His promotion didn’t trouble me, but his undermining idea
that a creation scientist would find no success did. That I believe is the fallacy
of his and other evolutionist’s problem. They see creation scientist as people
who are faith based and not intelligent. Nye reinforced the notion that
creationists are not given proper academic accolades simply because they have
faith. Nye really showed this when he misrepresented the Bible. While he
claimed to not be a theologian, he didn’t have to, it was evident that he doesn’t
understand the words contained in the Bible and the narrative it tells. He
doesn’t understand the knowledge that it takes to understand the Bible whether
that is through an academic institutions or from simple years of studying
scripture. This notion that intelligence is not present in the Biblical
Creation community was amplified in Nye’s poor understanding of scripture and
his promotion of science education for the future. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I understand that I am biased.
There were questions Nye raised last night that I cannot answer. There were
questions asked to both men that Nye could not answer. But my faith … I
understand to those outside the church find it silly … answers those questions.
My faith reminds me that I serve the creator of the universe. My faith tells me
He can do in Nye’s 4,000 years what might take billions in Nye’s view to
accomplish. I understand that faith is the foundation for me, but I am ok with
that. What I love is that when given the evidence, even with the pieces we are
missing, God still shows himself through the scientific evidence. My faith isn’t
blind. <o:p></o:p></div>
Michael Dawsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761295232498264717noreply@blogger.com0