Random Thoughts While Reading

 I have been reading through the New Testament and have almost finished. One of the things that stands out to me is that in letters from the apostles, letters from Paul and from the words of Christ that we read in the Gospels, there is nothing said about Christians getting involved in political activity in order to try and form a Christian government or society. There are places where we read the writers speaking out about the evil in the world but there seems to be more about false prophets and wrong actions in the church. Most of what is written seems to be directed to how we should conduct ourselves and how we should treat others. I may have more to say about this later.

 Why is it that people who claim to be Christian feel the need to carry guns in church? Some of them are the same who have stickers on their cars that say, "In God we trust". I believe that if Jesus were to show up in our churches today, as He did in the temple during his lifetime on earth, he would become angry and throw out people and guns for desecrating a place of worship. There are so many reasons why I think it is wrong to carry guns in church. To list a few: 1. Our churches should be a place of peace and worship. Where there are guns, there is no peace. At least there is not the image of peace. And how do we worship an all powerful God while carrying a gun for "protection". 2. What does it say to the world when it sees people who claim to trust God and teach "turn the other cheek", "love one another", "don't kill" carrying guns?  3. With multiple people carrying guns in a place with many people close together, there is danger...

Today I read Matthew 1-2 about the genealogy and birth of Jesus. What stands out to me in these chapters is how Joseph was directed by dreams. 4 times in these two chapters he was given direction in the form of dreams. 4 times he followed what he had heard in the dream as directions. How often do I miss directions from God because I am not open or sensitive to His leading. Too often I follow my own feelings, ideas or desires when deciding what needs to be done. God may still speak to us in dreams if we are sensitive to what we dream and if we keep close to God through Bible reading and prayer.

 Reading Matthew 4 again and about the temptations of Christ. In the last temptation the Satan promises to give Jesus control over the whole world if Jesus will just worship him. In the first place Jesus, as God, already is in control and nothing can be done without His consent. But the example for us is that we are not to be distracted by the promise of power, influence or control, from our primary focus of worshiping God and honoring Him in all we do. Even though I know this story is not directly about political action or for guidance in our choices, it is hard not to apply it to what has been going on in our society today. Many people who claim to be Christians follow Donald Trump fanatically, claiming he has been "chosen by God" and that he will make decisions and laws that reflect Christian values. They almost worship him as someone who can do what they believe is right. I personally do not think it matters who is president of the United States as regards to my Christian...

 Reading Matthew 4:8-10 today. Satan takes Jesus to a high mountain and says that if Jesus will worship Satan, he will give Jesus "all these things". In Luke 4, about the same incident, we are told that Satan claims he has been given the power to do this. I think sometime we believe that certain people have been given power to do things that they actually do not have. And we end up putting our trust and faith in them rather than trusting and maintaining our focus on Jesus. In our world today, for example, many people who claim to be Christians express the belief that President Trump has been chosen by God to bring about positive change in our country. They seem to thing that God has given him power to do things that they think need to be done. They then focus on the president as a person to make things happen in the way they think is right. Actually, only God/Christ has the power to cause change in the hearts and minds of men and we should be focusing our energy, hearts and m...

 I am reading Matthew 4 today about the temptations of Christ in the desert after He was baptized. I verse 3 the "tempter" told him, if you are the Son of God turn these stones into bread". Why was this a temptation? Jesus was hungry and he had the power to turn stones into bread (or anything else), there would be no harm to anyone if he did, so why was it a temptation? What would have been wrong if he had turned stones into bread? And how does it apply to us in our daily life? There seem to be several possible reasons it was a temptation and several ways we can apply it to our lives today. 1. Just because something is not bad or wrong does not mean it is right or best. 2. By getting something to eat when he was supposed to be fasting, he would have been distracted from his task. 3. The devil was the one who commanded him to make the stones into bread and he should not be listening to the devil for instructions. 4. By getting something to eat he would have shown more int...