Deliverance (Christmas Carol of the Week)

Christmas is nearing, and my mind has been swarming with thoughts about the Old Testament Law. I recently read Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in a short period of time, and the precision and perfection God demanded of Israel astounds me. I can't fully explain the severity of his law, but I encourage you to try and read through it in just two or three sittings. The law reveals the magnitude of our separation from God's holiness, and by default also reveals how helpless we are to attain holiness.

It is a sobering thought to realize our peril before such an awesome and holy God.

So, this Christmas I have been meditating on the truth that Christ was born to fulfill the law:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Matthew 5:17

and that his fulfillment of the law brings us deliverance:

"For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh." Romans 8:2-3

And Christmas is a joyful time because a deliverer has finally come.

This Christmas carol reflects this truth beautifully. Be careful to read all the lyrics, they are profound :).

Oh, Come, Oh, Come Emmanuel
Translated: John Neal, 1818-66

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, oh, come, our Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times gave holy law,
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come O Rod of Jesse's stem,
From ev'ry foe deliver them
That trust your mighty pow'r to save;
Bring them in vict'ry through the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, O Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh,
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Oh, bid our sad divisions cease,
And be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Merry Christmas!

Recovery

This week I have been averaging about 10 hours of sleep a night - and I've almost recovered from the semester. It's been a good week, here are some highlights:

Since Saturday we've (me and those who are doing the study with me) read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. I am still processing it - it's been fantastic to read it like a story.

I am also reading Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney. If you are looking for an excellent book to read over Christmas break, I highly recommend it.

Caleb and I bought the first season of Fringe on Monday and have been watching it lots. Good show.

We decorated our apartment for Christmas.

Caleb is teaching me how to play basketball. He has been trying teach me some fancy tricks, but I am just trying to get down switching hands when I dribble. :).

We went to a Christmas party last night at Caleb's boss's house. It was a lot of fun - and there was LOTS of good food.

Right now, I am listening to Bing Crosby and getting ready to bake some peanut butter Hershey kiss cookies. Yum. So far, this break is fantastic. I have a feeling it will only get better :).

The Forty-Four Day Plan

Here is the plan for reading through the whole Bible in 44 days. Enjoy!!

Day 1: Gen. 1-27
Day 2: Gen. 28-Exod. 2
Day 3: Exod. 3-Exod. 28
Day 4: Exod. 29-Lev. 14
Day 5: Lev. 15-Num. 7
Day 6: Num. 8-Num. 31
Day 7: Num. 32-Deut. 20
Day 8: Deut. 21- Josh. 8
Day 9: Josh. 9-Jud. 8
Day 10: Jud. 9-21, 1 Sam. 1-15
Day 11: 1 Sam. 16-2 Sam. 7
Day 12: 2 Sam. 8-1 Kings 4
Day 13: 1 Kings 5-2 Kings 1
Day 14: 2 Kings 2- 25
Day 15: Isaiah 1-29
Day 16: Isaiah 30-55
Day 17: Isaiah 56-Jer. 10
Day 18: Jer. 11-34
Day 19: Jer. 35-52
Day 20: Ezek. 1-27
Day 21: Ezek. 28-48
Day 22: Hosea, Joel, Amos,
             Obadiah
Day 23: Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
             Zeph., Haggai, Zech., Malachi
Day 24: Psalm 1-51
Day 25: Psalm 52-96
Day 26: Psalm 97-150
Day 27: Proverbs
Day 28: Job 1-37
Day 29: Job 38-42, Song of Sol.,
            Ruth, Lamentations
Day 30: Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel
Day 31: Ezra, Nehemiah
Day 32: 1 Chronicles
Day 33: 2 Chronicles
Day 34: Matthew 1-23
Day 35: Matthew 24-Mark 14
Day 36: Mark 15-Luke 14
Day 37: Luke 15-Luke 24
Day 38: John
Day 39: Acts 1-22
Day 40: Acts 23-Romans
Day 41: 1&2 Corinthians
Day 42: Gal, Eph., Philipp., Col.,
            1 & 2 Thes., 1 Tim.
Day 43: 2 Tim., Titus, Philemon,
            Heb., James, 1 & 2 Peter
Day 44: 1, 2 & 3 John, Jude,
            Revelation

Forty-Four Days

My friend Anna have I decided we want to read the whole Bible in 44 days. My mom, sister, two of my brothers, and one of my brothers friends are joining us. So, I thought I would put an invitation out there for anyone else who would be interested.

Some reasons we are doing this:

1. The main reason we are doing this is because its difficult to get a "big picture" perspective of Scripture when only reading one or two chapters a day. Scripture connects with itself all over the place. Chances are, however, if you start reading Genesis in January and don't get to Romans until September you won't remember the details in Genesis very well, much less see how portions in Genesis connect with Romans.

2. From beginning to end, the Bible is a story. A really important story. We would never read a classic by Dickens or the like by flipping to random chapters and reading portions when we feel like. The author wrote the story in a specific order for a reason, and we won't understand the story if we don't read it the way he intended. Obviously the Bible can be studied by books and it should be studied slowly and it detail. That's not a wrong approach, and often the content is so deep that we need to read a little at a time. However, we should aim to study the Bible in a variety of ways, and reading through it quickly - almost as though it was a chapter book - is a good way to study it. And I don't think we do that very often (actually, I have never done it).

It sounds like a lot, but it really isn't. We'd only be reading about 15-20 pages a day (depending on your Bible). Anna and I have written a plan...we are going to read the Old Testament in the Tanakh order (the original order of the Old Testament, it's a little different from our modern Bible) and follow with the New Testament. We have each day planned so that we will be reading approximately the same amount every day.

Anyways, if you are interested, leave a comment and I will post the reading plan tonight. Anna and I are going to start tomorrow because that's when our Christmas break starts. You can start with us (who knows, myabe I will even make a group if there are enough of us so that we can stay accountable) or you can start on your own time. It's a big task...but think of how exciting it would be to read the whole Bible in such a short amount of time! What a privilege it is to have Scripture!