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In a few words, let me just say - WOW! I loved this book! It took what is an often discussed issue (marriage) and addressed it in a little different light than I have ever heard it taught on or discussed. Mark and Grace Driscoll begin with the premise that marriage starts with a foundation of friendship and is built on that. The intimacy and baggage we bring into our relationship is magnified greatly if we, over time, stop being friends and allow sin and lies to take our hearts away from one another.
Overall, I thought this book was great and a MUST READ for any and all people who are married, planning on being married soon, or interact with people who are. They write in a very REAL way - so be prepared for the curtain to get drawn as they deal with real issues, real questions and present a biblical view of friendship, marriage and sex. The topic that the write on is a difficult one, but the Driscoll's do a great job tearing down walls and opening up lines of communication within marriages. They don't shy away from tough issues, hard questions and make sure to give scriptural evidence for their positions.
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Awakening to the journey...
I know it is a little early for a title and a thought as deep as this one, but bear with me please...
I have been taking my time through the book of Matthew as of late, and the Spirit of God is simply peeling away the scales from my eyes so that I can see the power of the Word, the continuity of the Story of God and the unbelievable person and work of Jesus that is ever-present throughout the Bible.
What on earth am I talking about?
Glad you asked...
This morning, as I am tracking through Matthew, I came to the Sermon on the mount. I have heard it said that it only takes 12 minutes to read through the entire thing, and I thought that it would be good to listen to all that we have recorded of what Jesus said that day - so I simply read through the whole sermon account, and than read it again looking for key words (kingdom of heaven, fulfill, etc) and for Old Testament references (Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience, so the Old Testament passages are extremely significant in this particular Gospel).
After my second reading of the sermon account, I decided to just go verse by verse through it as far as I could get and pray and contemplate through it...
I made it ALMOST through verse 1 :)
Here is Matthew 5:1
"When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him."
What do you read in that verse? If you are like me, you probably saw basic geographic and situational information and nothing more; right. Matthew is just filling in some basic info - so we know kinda the scene for the sermon, right. The good stuff is coming up.
Or, is 2 Timothy 2 3:16 maybe in effect ("All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.")
Think with me a minute, as I am processing through this still as I type...
Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience.
The Old Testament passages and references abound throughout this literary work always for a purpose - to point to Jesus as the fulfillment of and supreme agent throughout the Old Testament. Matthew is writing to point his Jewish readers to the Old Testament and basically say "see, here, this is what we were told, and HERE HE IS!! Messiah Jesus, is here; He's God, and been telling this story for a long time, believe it!!
So, what if, this is more than setting.
What if, Matthew is calling his readers to think back on Exodus 19 and 20 - where God comes DOWN to the mountain and calls Moses up to receive the law and commands for the people.
ONLY as we read through the New Testament (especially Hebrews) we learn that Jesus is the GREATER Moses, and so this time, instead of Jesus coming DOWN to the mountain to reveal to Moses the law --> He goes UP the mountain as fully man, fully God, sits down and waits for the people to draw close, and begins to clarify and fulfill and instruct the Old Testament law that He laid out for Moses.
Did your mind just explode with the majesty and awesomeness (thank you Kung Fu Panda) of our God!!!!
IF not, hold on, because here is where it really gets good....
In Exodus, the priests and the people are instructed by God to NOT come close to the mountain because they are unclean and cannot approach the holiness of God - they will die!
In Matthew, God has come to us, and eagerly awaits his people to draw close to him so he can teach and instruct them in how to love and obey the will of God.
BAM! that just happened.
I love that with the incarnation of Jesus (God became man) we see the line that kept us from God disappears. Not because WE did anything, but because God DID IT ALL. He came to us. Got cozy, walked up a mountain (that he created) and taught the people what He had revealed to Moses!
Like I said, I am still fleshing this out - but I do know this, as I read Matthew 5:1, I was exhilarated by the majesty of God, blown away by the singularity of the message of the Bible (it truly is all about Jesus!) and captivated by the personal relationship that has been made available to me because Jesus came down to earth, to make the unattainable attainable.
I have been taking my time through the book of Matthew as of late, and the Spirit of God is simply peeling away the scales from my eyes so that I can see the power of the Word, the continuity of the Story of God and the unbelievable person and work of Jesus that is ever-present throughout the Bible.
What on earth am I talking about?
Glad you asked...
This morning, as I am tracking through Matthew, I came to the Sermon on the mount. I have heard it said that it only takes 12 minutes to read through the entire thing, and I thought that it would be good to listen to all that we have recorded of what Jesus said that day - so I simply read through the whole sermon account, and than read it again looking for key words (kingdom of heaven, fulfill, etc) and for Old Testament references (Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience, so the Old Testament passages are extremely significant in this particular Gospel).
After my second reading of the sermon account, I decided to just go verse by verse through it as far as I could get and pray and contemplate through it...
I made it ALMOST through verse 1 :)
Here is Matthew 5:1
"When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him."
What do you read in that verse? If you are like me, you probably saw basic geographic and situational information and nothing more; right. Matthew is just filling in some basic info - so we know kinda the scene for the sermon, right. The good stuff is coming up.
Or, is 2 Timothy 2 3:16 maybe in effect ("All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.")
Think with me a minute, as I am processing through this still as I type...
Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience.
The Old Testament passages and references abound throughout this literary work always for a purpose - to point to Jesus as the fulfillment of and supreme agent throughout the Old Testament. Matthew is writing to point his Jewish readers to the Old Testament and basically say "see, here, this is what we were told, and HERE HE IS!! Messiah Jesus, is here; He's God, and been telling this story for a long time, believe it!!
So, what if, this is more than setting.
What if, Matthew is calling his readers to think back on Exodus 19 and 20 - where God comes DOWN to the mountain and calls Moses up to receive the law and commands for the people.
ONLY as we read through the New Testament (especially Hebrews) we learn that Jesus is the GREATER Moses, and so this time, instead of Jesus coming DOWN to the mountain to reveal to Moses the law --> He goes UP the mountain as fully man, fully God, sits down and waits for the people to draw close, and begins to clarify and fulfill and instruct the Old Testament law that He laid out for Moses.
Did your mind just explode with the majesty and awesomeness (thank you Kung Fu Panda) of our God!!!!IF not, hold on, because here is where it really gets good....
In Exodus, the priests and the people are instructed by God to NOT come close to the mountain because they are unclean and cannot approach the holiness of God - they will die!
In Matthew, God has come to us, and eagerly awaits his people to draw close to him so he can teach and instruct them in how to love and obey the will of God.
BAM! that just happened.
I love that with the incarnation of Jesus (God became man) we see the line that kept us from God disappears. Not because WE did anything, but because God DID IT ALL. He came to us. Got cozy, walked up a mountain (that he created) and taught the people what He had revealed to Moses!
Like I said, I am still fleshing this out - but I do know this, as I read Matthew 5:1, I was exhilarated by the majesty of God, blown away by the singularity of the message of the Bible (it truly is all about Jesus!) and captivated by the personal relationship that has been made available to me because Jesus came down to earth, to make the unattainable attainable.
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