Creating, collecting, and sharing thoughts and ideas. And learning along the way.
Goodbye 2016!
GENESIS 8:1-10:32 | MATTHEW 4:12-25 | PSALM 4:1-8 | PROVERBS 1:20-23
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The story of Noah’s ark continues. This cataclysmic event wipes out all life on earth except for Noah, his family, and the creatures on board his ship. Ararat is a mountain somewhere in modern Turkey– that is where Noah’s ark comes to stop on land.
God’s wrath is satisfied and this is what he says: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
Furthermore, there is a special sign that is offered as a token and remembrance of this covenant. God says: 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
The account of the rest of Noah’s days — and he certainly lived to a ripe old age of 950 years — is somewhat puzzling. The rest of the chapter provides an accounting of the descendants of Noah that populated the earth and formed the nations, many of which are alive and well to this day.
Next, our reading in the book of Matthew opens with an account of Jesus’ preaching throughout the area, and in particular, in the town of Galilee. Jesus calls his first four disciples: Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Ordinary fishermen: that’s all they were. Not scholars or important townsfolk, but ordinary fishermen who were at work when Jesus approached them and asked if they would like to be fishers of men.
What a calling!
Jesus continues his ministry of preaching and teaching, and most of all, healing. He was the Great Physician that the world has since never seen the likes of. He cared about the physical ills and pains that beset the body, and with his touch, he healed the people of their infirmities. What miracles the people in that day would have witnessed, and what stories must have spread about this godman who went about healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, and making the lame to walk!
The Psalm for the day is one that was probably written by David at a time when he must have been beset with doubt and fears. David is direct and honest in his plea to God when he says:
1 Answer me when I call to you,
my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
May it be that we have the same degree of confidence in taking our petitions to God.
Finally, in the Book of Proverbs, we find a very arresting set of verses. It is Wisdom’s rebuke to you and me. She says:
22 “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?
23 Repent at my rebuke!
Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make known to you my teachings.
May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word. Amen.
Khichdi on a Cold Winter’s Night: Dahi and Achaar are Happy to Oblige
What’s on Your Bookshelf?
GENESIS 5:1-7:24 | MATTHEW 3:7-4:11 | PSALM 3:1-8 | PROVERBS 1:10-19
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Genesis 5 starts out with an account of the generations of Adam. The longevity of the people in that day is nothing short of remarkable. For the Bible trivia buffs: Methuselah is the longest living person recorded at age 969, and Enoch is one of only two people who does not have a death recorded. He “walked with God” is all we know about him. I find that quite fascinating, and wish there was a longer account of this extraordinary person who did not ever experience death.
Such longevity, however, did not last too long, and it is soon recorded that God determined the average human life span to be 120 years. That’s all we get, people!
Chapter 6 continues the account of this planet becoming populated, and the increasing wickedness in the world. So much so, that God decided to fold up this little project called ‘Human Beings on Planet Earth’ and so, enter Noah and family! As instructed by God, Noah builds an ark, gathers together his entire family, as well as one pair of each living creature, and enters the ark to watch the rains come down. The rains do come, and when they do, they do not let up for 150 days.
Next, we continue in our reading in Matthew, and find that this chapter starts out with an account of John the Baptist telling it like it is to the Pharisees and Sadducees– the priests and other good folks– of the day. Jesus comes to John to receive the baptism that John has been offering to all and sundry– a simple act of being immersed in the River Jordan to symbolize a repentance and turning of ways. John rightfully recognizes that this is one person who is not in need of this ritual, and yet, Jesus insists on subjecting himself to this act as well.
This is God incarnate, and in his bodily form, he has taken every quality that makes one human, and in line with this, chooses to also engage in this very human act of seeking divine forgiveness and public repentance. Upon Jesus’ insistence, John obliges, but this is certainly no ordinary baptism as John and everyone present there at the time of Jesus’ baptism soon finds out. A supernatural act of the heavens opening up, and God’s voice stating that this is His son ought to have made a believer out of any one present there at the time!
The next account in the chapter continues with the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. It is from this reply to Satan that I have chosen the name of this devotional, i.e., More Than Bread. When Jesus is dared by Satan to just take the stone and turn them into bread, Jesus says, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
More than bread is what we need to survive. We need the word of God.
Turning next to our reading of the Psalms, we find David stating with full confidence:
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”
3 But you, LORD, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
Finally, a few verses from the book of Proverbs, in which Solomon, the wise king of Israel, is offering this instruction, referring to evil ways that a young person is often enticed into. He says:
15 my son, do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;
16 for their feet rush into evil,
they are swift to shed blood.
May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word. Amen.
The Quarter Bistro on a Monday: New Year Festivities Continue
When You Must Be Strategic in Cutting Up a Large Papaya
GENESIS 3:1-4:26 | MATTHEW 2:13-3:6 | PSALM 2:1-2:12 | PROVERBS 1:7-1:9
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The creation story gives way to the story of Adam and Eve, their disobedience to God, and finally, their expulsion from Eden. The record tells us that they go on to bear children, and then there is the story of the first two brothers, Cain and Abel. Cain’s famous question of “Am I my brother’s keeper?” is clearly answered by God’s wrath that essentially defines the nature of mankind.
Turning next to our reading in the Gospel of Matthew, we find that the second chapter recounts Mary and Joseph’s flight into Egypt, owing to the terror caused by Herod’s decree to have all the male children in the land killed for Herod’s fear that a new king had been born and might usurp his throne.
The return to Israel in the small town of Nazareth some years later causes Jesus to be known for posterity as Jesus of Nazareth. Matthew continues his account by introducing John the Baptist, Jesus’ forerunner. This was a wild man in the wilderness who went about preaching of “one who is to come.” I wonder how the act of baptism was originated — it is no more an act practiced by the Jews in modern times.
Our Psalm for the day is one in which David, the Psalmist makes this proclamation:
7 I will proclaim the LORD’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.
8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
Today’s verses from the Book of Proverbs are well-known ones that are worthy of repeating. Solomon, the wise king of Israel, says:
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
9 They are a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.
May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word. Amen.
