Buy Human Growth Hormone From Thailand Basics Hoodia Viagra Money Lexapro Use While Breastfeeding How Hgh Works Diflucan Suspension Actos Tacata Pharm Lisinopril Blood Tests Liver Chelated Coral Calcium Pictures Zoloft Generic Style Brite Vinyl Flooring Effexor Nightquill Prednisone Body Changes How To Stop Taking Prevacid Prozac Causing Anxiet Cytotec For Induction Of Labor Cymbalta Increases Seratonin Allegra D Information Tramadol With Flexeril Success With Celexa Human Growth Hormone Stimulant Buy Bulk Cla Oil Prozac Intoxication Induced Parkinsonism Geodon Withdrawals Half Life Of Lexapro What Is Maximum Dose For Viagra Cla Fat Loss Prednisone Hydrocortisone Equivalents Clas Dv Exquisite Corpse Poppy Z Brite Cephalexin Sun Reactions Oh Hoodia Gordonii Shelf Life Of Omnicef Exelon Generating Facility Limerick Pa Scotch Toilet Bowl Cleaner Brite Zyrtec And Pediatric Femcare Asheville Zantac Muscle Side Effects Slipknot Pain Prozac Use Cipro For Chlamydia Buy Ultram From Discount Store Kyo Soma Slash Nc17 Non-con Ulcer Alcohol Coumadin Premarin And Heartburn Natural Appetite Suppressants Hoodia Or Credit Aciphex Website Who Takes Prozac Teva Pharmaceuticals Genric Effexor Ir Stronger Than Viagra Drug Information Lasix

Yes I am behind! But I am going to catch up. My advice, read no more than five chapters a day. It’s better to spend the time reflecting than just to skim the text and not understand what you’re reading. You would not do that for your classes, would you?

Here are some of my thoughts about some of the verses that caught my eye:

Matthew 3:16-17

16And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved,* with whom I am well pleased.’

The trinity is not not overtly mentioned in scripture, however, there are a few stories that theologians point to give a basis for how the trinity is explained. This verse is one of them — the mention in one phrase of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  I’m not going to pretend to understand anything more than this — God in Three Persons is a mystery, a voice from heaven saying this is my Son in whom I am well pleased is is also a mystery. However,  must admit, as a child growing up in Christian school, every time I heard this verse, I thought briefly about the Trinity, but what I really thought, especially as a junior student was, did the dove do anything, you know, rude, you know, the sort of thing that comes from the digestive process? If the dove did nothing, I thought as a kid, it truly had to be the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:11, 13-14

11 ‘I baptize you with* water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals.

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ 15But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented.

John seemed very surprised that he would be part of his own prophesy. John was an intense dude, camel’s hair coat, always screaming and shouting. To see John surprised at anything is part of the mystery of the moment.

Matthew 4:1-11

The wilderness is the place people have gone for centuries to get away from the distractions of life. In the early fourth century, Christians were being persecuted for their faith. They were being thrown to the lions, chased down by soldiers, betrayed by family members and friends, all for believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Then, the emperor Constantine became a Christian and he made Christianity legal.

Now, you would think this would make Christians happy. They no longer needed to fear for their lives. They now  could worship in public rather than in secret churches within homes. This probably seemed great at first, then the Christians began to notice that they were getting lax in their faith. So many of the Christians were growing strong in their faith in Christ because they were having to make a faith commitment that could cost their lives. Now, it seemed that their Christian life did not cost anything. Some Christians began to look for a way of making life hard again so that their faith could grow deeper and richer than those who lived out their Christianity in comfort. In the mid to late fourth century, people began moving out to the desert — in search of the wilderness that lacked distractions of comfort and pleasure. These people were called the desert fathers and mothers and they started a tradition we now call monasticism.

In Matthew 4, we see Jesus going to the wilderness where he faced temptations. These temptations could be viewed as distractions from his focus on God. The distractions came in the form of Bread, Power and Extreme Sports.

After reading this text, I was inspired to reflect on it more as part of my preparation for my sermon on St. Francis, so check the sermon section in a few weeks for more.

Matthew 5:20-32
Jesus is giving commentary on the Ten Commandments and other commandments that God gave Israel in the wilderness.  For example, 5:21 is commentary on “you should not murder” (Ex 20:13) and “5:27-31 is  commentary on “you shall not commit adultery” (Ex 20:14)

Matthew 6:9-13

The Lord’s Prayer

Matthew 6:25-34

Guidelines for a worry free life. I love the verse, Consider the lilies. The call to no-worries is not an anxiety ridden reminder about heart disease, it is a call to look at the fields and the flowers, to see how they are stirring in the breeze and how in some way our lives should be as carefree. It’s something to aspire to.