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Judges

I'm going to have to re-read Judges one day! There were too many people! My main take away was that when people sin and disobey God, there are consequences. God, however, forgives and saves us. Sin> Consequences > Deliverance: it was an ever recurring cycle in the time of Judges. And it's recurring theme in our lives today! If only we would learn early on that our lives are much better when we obey God.

Gideon was the most inspiring judge in Judges. He reminded me a bit of Moses when he questioned God about his qualifications to lead the army to defeat the Midianites. Gidean thought he was too weak. Gidean even asked God to give him signs that would convince him of God's intent. Yet, like Moses, once he committed, Gidean did exactly what God asked him to do, and he ended up defeating the Midianites with just 300 army men. Was Gidean perfect? No. For example, why did he take some of the gold that had been plundered from the Midianites and build an altar seemingly to celebrate his success? That was stupid!

But, who am I to judge? I've done stupid things too!

Joshua

Joshua was an easy read. "Be strong and courageous" is the theme! And we can be that way because of God's promise: "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Those two messages are loud and clear in Joshua! Another strong message is to obey God: just as Achan what happens if you don't!

The next time I read Joshua, I'm going to have a map of the promised land in front of me so that I can get a visual of which tribe settled where.

More Running Tips

I just finished a 1-hour 50 minute run and my only regret is to not have started earlier this morning before it was so sunny! It got hot!

Here are a few more tips for a long run:
1) Take 3 or 4 Advil before the run.
2) Take a tablespoon of Kyo-Green mixed with a little apple juice before the run. It'll give you energy.
3) If you're faced with a steep hill, lower your center of gravity and pump your arms like crazy. That'll get you up to the top fast!

(You can read my other tips here: Tips for a Long Run.)

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy was good. Most of it is a big pep talk to this next generation of Israelites telling them, quite clearly, that if you love and obey God, He will bless you and if you don't He will not bless you! It was actually very applicable. In many cases, I felt like Moses was talking directly to me! Like the Israelites, I too am guilty of being  "rebellious and stiff-necked" and "turning to the right and to the left" when I should be going straight.

Deuteronomy was easy to read too. There is lots of repetition, because Moses tells the same things to this next generation that he had told to the previous! We even get the Ten Commandments again in Deuteronomy. I didn't mind at all; in fact it's helpful as some things are worth repeating! In fact, I'd be better off if I read the Ten Commandments daily for the rest of my life!

Actually Moses dying before crossing the Jordan into the land of milk and honey was good timing... not that I had any influence at all in the decision!  Don't you think Moses was ready to go to Heaven! (Old Testament people do go to Heaven, don't they?) He'd worked so hard for way more than 40 years trying to keep the Israelites intact and focused on loving God. He'd put up with whining, stubbornness, and unjustified attacks on himself as their leader. Did he ever get a break or a vacation? Moses was always on call. It was time to share the joy!

My favorite characteristic of Moses was that even though he never would have applied for the job that God gave him... and he even told God that he wasn't cut out for it... Moses ultimately met the challenge and excelled as the great leader of the Israelites. That really hits home for me, not the leadership part, but the challenge that God gives us daily to further his kingdom when we'd rather just remain in the status quo and/or presume that we're not qualified to contribute.

The first few chapters of Deuteronomy

The good thing about the book of Deuteronomy is that Moses gives a nice recount of the Israelites' journey so far, so that in case you've forgotten a thing of two, you get a second chance to hear it again! Moses is talking to the children of the generation who had to wander for forty years because of their disobedience. He's probably telling this next generation so that they'll be hesitant of disobeying God too!

Anyway, the Israelites have finally almost reached the Promised Land! Moses tells them that they'll be going in soon... but it's so sad to me that because Moses was disobedient one time, he wouldn't make it to the
good land. Moses was extremely humble and acceptant of God's decision, however; and not being able to enter the land of milk and honey certainly didn't keep Moses from helping this next generation get there. What a man! 

I've just started Deuteronomy and hope to finish it within the next couple of days. Moses is so far one of my favorite characters in the Bible, and it will be sad (for me) when his journey comes to an end.

Leviticus and Numbers

I was hoping that I wouldn't get to Leviticus and Numbers in my attempt to read through the Bible and come to a screeching halt! Quite the contrary, my reading of these two books began to flow. Apart from learning a whole lot about offerings (grain, burnt, sin,  fellowship, wave, and drink offerings, and there are probably more) - and learning some more about Feasts (the Feast of Weeks, Tabernacle, Trumpets and even whole Year of Jubilee), I did pick up on some very practical messages:
1) God is into the details (Just think of all the offerings!)
2) God is holy and God is Lord. God says several times throughout, "I am the Lord your God."
3) God makes and keeps promises.
4) God expects us to obey, and if we don't, there will be consequences.
5) God forgives us.
6) God protects us.
7) God knows each one of us. (He asked Moses to count his people two times in Numbers.)

The best part about reading the Bible is putting the short snippets of verses and stories that you've heard all your life in the right  context. For example, "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord makes his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the Lord turn his fact toward you and give you peace." (Numbers 6:24-26) is actually the blessing that God commanded the priests to give to the Israelites.

And, you can't talk about Numbers without mentioning the story of Balaam and his talking donkey. And I thought Francis the Talking  Mule was the first animal to talk!

No Country For Old Men

We rented No Country For Old Men last night and watched. It's the type of violent movie that you glues you to it from the first blatantly-bloody scene not 3 minutes into the movie to the last murder which left a lot to your imagination. (I guess they'd run out of ketchup by that last killing!)  Let me just say that the movie could have just as well been entitled There Will be Blood, because there was enough blood shed in No Country to stock a local Red Cross agency. Would I recommend it? Yeah... there was a lot of good acting and to know that in real life the actor who plays the evil murderer is a sweety-pie from somewhere in Spain does sort of redeem him!

A new way of reading the Bible

At a Women's Retreat about two weeks ago, we heard the miracle story of how Judy Reamer, a Jewish lady found the Lord, or, rather how He found and chased after her her. You can read about it at JudyReamer.com. Hearing this miraculous and entertaining account would have been worth the price of the retreat... but there was more.

At the next morning's session, Judy spoke about how after she was saved, she couldn't get into reading the Bible and reached a low point in her ministry. She cried out to God, asking him to show her how to read the Bible or she couldn't go on. That very same day, one of her sons came home from school and mentioned that they'd had a speaker that day at school who'd read the Bible several thousand times! By a fluke, she ended up meeting this fellow who gave her a lot of good tips on reading the Bible. Judy has since built up a "Divide and Conquer" ministry that shows you how to read the Bible quite easily three times a year! The Divide part is to cut a large-print Bible into four parts. (Yes, that's right: you'll need an Exacto knife, some Elmer's glue, four file folders for each section's cover, and some clear packing tape to protect the edges.) For most people, me included, a 1700 page book is a little terrifying. But, a book that is a fourth that size is, well, that's not so bad at all.

Judy's method is quite simple after that:
1) Get the recommended large-print Bible with no commentary, and read about 15 pages a day.
2) Don't worry if you don't pick up every detail because you'll come back to it within a few months anyway, and can catch it then.
3) Don't make any notes in the margins as this is not a study Bible, but a reading Bible.
4)The first time around, don't read anything else. Be totally devoted to getting it done. Judy emphasized that we lose our taste for the Bible because we "snack" on so many other books, including devotionals, Christian fiction, and even Christian "how-to" books. This hit home for me! 

I returned home energized and ready to get out the knife! I've since divided a Bible and have gotten through Numbers. It's amazing how much sense the Bible makes when you read it in order! I'll talk about Leviticus and Numbers in an upcoming blog because they have the reputation for bogging you down, but for now, let me just say that Judy has changed my life because like so many other Christians, I had put off truly "reading" the Bible for way too many years.

By the way, Judy's site gives you much more detail about reading the Bible and includes specific instructions on cutting the Bible such that it's in 4 pieces and not in shreds!

Tips for a Long Run

I ran for an hour and 45 minutes yesterday in prep for the ING Half Marathon two weeks from now. It wasn't that bad! However, I'm not used to running that long, in fact my usual regime is about 4 miles 3 times during the week, with a long run or two on the weekend.

If you're in my boat, here are some tips to "get through" a Long Run:
1) Music! If I didn't have my Shuffle with lots of peppy songs, I wouldn't even attempt to run.
2) Propel! I place a bottle of Propel in a strategic spot of the run. That sacred bottle is a life saver! In fact, next week, I'm going to put out two bottles.
3) Out and Back! I make sure the majority of the course is an out and back. That way, there's less chance to skip a leg of of the course or cut it short.
4) No clock watching! I avoid looking at my watch (which is tucked away in my Amphipod) until I'm sure it's been at least an hour. It's too depressing otherwise!

Yep... Like most other things in life, most of a long run is mental!

The Bank Job

We saw The Bank Job yesterday, a movie based on a true story from the early 70's of a hand full of amateur bank robbers who actually drill their way into a British bank's safe and steal a bunch of stuff, including photographs of some very telling escapades of British royalty. And that's not the half of it: there was a lot more sin in them-thar safety deposit boxes! In fact, the trailer says that the thieves were among the most innocent people involved.  The Bank Job is suspenseful, comical, complex. I can't say that I caught every sub-plot detail or even main-plot one for that matter... but if you like the combination of British humor, non-professional thieves, 1970's fashion, and the demise of a an evil blackmailer, then go see The Bank Job, or at least catch it when it comes out on Comcast on Demand.