7/2/12

And that is the rest of the story....



Sex; every one of us has had questions about it one time or another.  There are many ways of learning about it, some refined and others, well, crude to say the least.  "How did I get here"?(or the equivalent) is one question we all ask as we begin to comprehend the world around us.  I like the explanation above because it couches "an explanation" in modern technological terms that kids from the very tenderest of years can relate to.  But, what about Jesus? Here are a couple of different descriptions....

Matthew, Chapter 1
 1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.  2 Abraham became the father of Isaac. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron. Hezron became the father of Ram.  4 Ram became the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon. Nahshon became the father of Salmon.  5 Salmon became the father of Boaz by Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse.  6 Jesse became the father of King David. David became the father of Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon became the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam became the father of Abijah. Abijah became the father of Asa.  8 Asa became the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat became the father of Joram. Joram became the father of Uzziah.  9 Uzziah became the father of Jotham. Jotham became the father of Ahaz. Ahaz became the father of Hezekiah.  10 Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh. Manasseh became the father of Amon. Amon became the father of Josiah. 11 Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the exile to Babylon.  12 After the exile to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel.  13 Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim. Eliakim became the father of Azor.  14 Azor became the father of Sadoc. Sadoc became the father of Achim. Achim became the father of Eliud.  15 Eliud became the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan. Matthan became the father of Jacob.  16 Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.  17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the exile to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon to the Christ, fourteen generations.



  18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this; for after his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  19 Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly.  20 But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  21 She shall bring forth a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”



  22 Now all this has happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,



  23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child,

and shall bring forth a son.





They shall call his name Immanuel;”

which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”





  24 Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself;

  24 Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself;  25 and didn’t know her sexually until she had brought forth her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.

Luke, chapter 3
  23 Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,  24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,  25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,  26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,  28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er,  29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,  30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim,  31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,  32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Aram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,  34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,  35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,  36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,  37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,  38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

 The Jews saw their lives in terms of 1. The patriarchs (Abraham to David) 2. The Captivity in Babylon and 3. The return from the promised land until the time of the Christ (see verse 17 above).  They needed to know the propriety of his lineage and the supernatural nature of his creation.  They didn't need to know the "how to", for that wouldn't be proper to discuss. The Gentiles however (see the Lucan passage above) just needed to know his line of descent.  Again, no lurid descriptions.  Why?  Because most of the people of ancient times were agrarian by occupation and learned the "how to's" at a very young age.  Anyway, how you got here is not as important as what you will do here.  As for Jesus, he did exactly what "The Christ" was supposed to do; provide a way for humans to deal with their sin problem.  And that, as they say, is the rest of the story....






July 2 1 Kings 13-15


July 2
1 Kings 13-15

1Ki 13:1 Behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of Yahweh to Beth El: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.
1Ki 13:2 He cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh, and said, altar, altar, thus says Yahweh: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men's bones shall they burn on you.
1Ki 13:3 He gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which Yahweh has spoken: Behold, the altar shall be torn, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.
1Ki 13:4 It happened, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. His hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to him.
1Ki 13:5 The altar also was torn, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of Yahweh.
1Ki 13:6 The king answered the man of God, Entreat now the favor of Yahweh your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. The man of God entreated Yahweh, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
1Ki 13:7 The king said to the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.
1Ki 13:8 The man of God said to the king, If you will give me half your house, I will not go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place;
1Ki 13:9 for so was it commanded me by the word of Yahweh, saying, You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that you came.
1Ki 13:10 So he went another way, and didn't return by the way that he came to Bethel.
1Ki 13:11 Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken to the king, them also they told to their father.
1Ki 13:12 Their father said to them, Which way did he go? Now his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah.
1Ki 13:13 He said to his sons, Saddle me the donkey. So they saddled him the donkey; and he rode thereon.
1Ki 13:14 He went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak; and he said to him, Are you the man of God who came from Judah? He said, I am.
1Ki 13:15 Then he said to him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
1Ki 13:16 He said, I may not return with you, nor go in with you; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place:
1Ki 13:17 for it was said to me by the word of Yahweh, You shall eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that you came.
1Ki 13:18 He said to him, I also am a prophet as you are; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Yahweh, saying, Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied to him.
1Ki 13:19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.
1Ki 13:20 It happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of Yahweh came to the prophet who brought him back;
1Ki 13:21 and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, Thus says Yahweh, Because you have been disobedient to the mouth of Yahweh, and have not kept the commandment which Yahweh your God commanded you,
1Ki 13:22 but came back, and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, Eat no bread, and drink no water; your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.
1Ki 13:23 It happened, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the donkey, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
1Ki 13:24 When he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and killed him: and his body was cast in the way, and the donkey stood by it; the lion also stood by the body.
1Ki 13:25 Behold, men passed by, and saw the body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.
1Ki 13:26 When the prophet who brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient to the mouth of Yahweh: therefore Yahweh has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him, and slain him, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke to him.
1Ki 13:27 He spoke to his sons, saying, Saddle me the donkey. They saddled it.
1Ki 13:28 He went and found his body cast in the way, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body: the lion had not eaten the body, nor torn the donkey.
1Ki 13:29 The prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it on the donkey, and brought it back; and he came to the city of the old prophet, to mourn, and to bury him.
1Ki 13:30 He laid his body in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
1Ki 13:31 It happened, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
1Ki 13:32 For the saying which he cried by the word of Yahweh against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely happen.
1Ki 13:33 After this thing Jeroboam didn't return from his evil way, but made again from among all the people priests of the high places: whoever would, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places.
1Ki 13:34 This thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the surface of the earth.
1Ki 14:1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
1Ki 14:2 Jeroboam said to his wife, Please get up and disguise yourself, that you not be known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and go to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who spoke concerning me that I should be king over this people.
1Ki 14:3 Take with you ten loaves, and cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him: he will tell you what shall become of the child.
1Ki 14:4 Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
1Ki 14:5 Yahweh said to Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam comes to inquire of you concerning her son; for he is sick: thus and thus you shall tell her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will feign herself to be another woman.
1Ki 14:6 It was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, you wife of Jeroboam; why do you pretend to be another? for I am sent to you with heavy news.
1Ki 14:7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you prince over my people Israel,
1Ki 14:8 and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it you; and yet you have not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in my eyes,
1Ki 14:9 but have done evil above all who were before you, and have gone and made you other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and have cast me behind your back:
1Ki 14:10 therefore, behold, I will bring evil on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam everyone who urinates on a wall, him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweeps away dung, until it be all gone.
1Ki 14:11 Him who dies of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him who dies in the field shall the birds of the sky eat: for Yahweh has spoken it.
1Ki 14:12 Arise therefore, go to your house: and when your feet enter into the city, the child shall die.
1Ki 14:13 All Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward Yahweh, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.
1Ki 14:14 Moreover Yahweh will raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
1Ki 14:15 For Yahweh will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking Yahweh to anger.
1Ki 14:16 He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he has sinned, and with which he has made Israel to sin.
1Ki 14:17 Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.
1Ki 14:18 All Israel buried him, and mourned for him, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.
1Ki 14:19 The rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
1Ki 14:20 The days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.
1Ki 14:21 Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which Yahweh had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess.
1Ki 14:22 Judah did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, above all that their fathers had done.
1Ki 14:23 For they also built them high places, and pillars, and Asherim, on every high hill, and under every green tree;
1Ki 14:24 and there were also sodomites in the land: they did according to all the abominations of the nations which Yahweh drove out before the children of Israel.
1Ki 14:25 It happened in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem;
1Ki 14:26 and he took away the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
1Ki 14:27 King Rehoboam made in their place shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house.
1Ki 14:28 It was so, that as often as the king went into the house of Yahweh, the guard bore them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
1Ki 14:29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
1Ki 14:30 There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
1Ki 14:31 Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. Abijam his son reigned in his place.
1Ki 15:1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat began Abijam to reign over Judah.
1Ki 15:2 Three years reigned he in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
1Ki 15:3 He walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; and his heart was not perfect with Yahweh his God, as the heart of David his father.
1Ki 15:4 Nevertheless for David's sake did Yahweh his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem;
1Ki 15:5 because David did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, and didn't turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
1Ki 15:6 Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.
1Ki 15:7 The rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
1Ki 15:8 Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his place.
1Ki 15:9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Asa to reign over Judah.
1Ki 15:10 Forty-one years reigned he in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
1Ki 15:11 Asa did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, as did David his father.
1Ki 15:12 He put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
1Ki 15:13 Also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
1Ki 15:14 But the high places were not taken away: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with Yahweh all his days.
1Ki 15:15 He brought into the house of Yahweh the things that his father had dedicated, and the things that himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.
1Ki 15:16 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
1Ki 15:17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
1Ki 15:18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants; and king Asa sent them to Ben Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,
1Ki 15:19 There is a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father: behold, I have sent to you a present of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.
1Ki 15:20 Ben Hadad listened to king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
1Ki 15:21 It happened, when Baasha heard of it, that he left off building Ramah, and lived in Tirzah.
1Ki 15:22 Then king Asa made a proclamation to all Judah; none was exempted: and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and its timber, with which Baasha had built; and king Asa built therewith Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
1Ki 15:23 Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.
1Ki 15:24 Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.
1Ki 15:25 Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah; and he reigned over Israel two years.
1Ki 15:26 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.
1Ki 15:27 Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha struck him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.
1Ki 15:28 Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha kill him, and reigned in his place.
1Ki 15:29 It happened that, as soon as he was king, he struck all the house of Jeroboam: he didn't leave to Jeroboam any who breathed, until he had destroyed him; according to the saying of Yahweh, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite;
1Ki 15:30 for the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and with which he made Israel to sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger.
1Ki 15:31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
1Ki 15:32 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
1Ki 15:33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, and reigned twenty-four years.
1Ki 15:34 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.

Jul. 2, 3 Acts 4


Jul. 2, 3
Acts 4

Act 4:1 As they spoke to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came to them,
Act 4:2 being upset because they taught the people and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
Act 4:3 They laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was now evening.
Act 4:4 But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
Act 4:5 It happened in the morning, that their rulers, elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem.
Act 4:6 Annas the high priest was there, with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and as many as were relatives of the high priest.
Act 4:7 When they had stood them in the middle of them, they inquired, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"
Act 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "You rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
Act 4:9 if we are examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,
Act 4:10 be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, in him does this man stand here before you whole.
Act 4:11 He is 'the stone which was regarded as worthless by you, the builders, which has become the head of the corner.'
Act 4:12 There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved!"
Act 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. They recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Act 4:14 Seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
Act 4:15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
Act 4:16 saying, "What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we can't deny it.
Act 4:17 But so that this spreads no further among the people, let's threaten them, that from now on they don't speak to anyone in this name."
Act 4:18 They called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
Act 4:19 But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves,
Act 4:20 for we can't help telling the things which we saw and heard."
Act 4:21 When they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for everyone glorified God for that which was done.
Act 4:22 For the man on whom this miracle of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
Act 4:23 Being let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
Act 4:24 When they heard it, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, "O Lord, you are God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them;
Act 4:25 who by the mouth of your servant, David, said, 'Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
Act 4:26 The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take council together, against the Lord, and against his Christ.'
Act 4:27 "For truly, in this city against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
Act 4:28 to do whatever your hand and your council foreordained to happen.
Act 4:29 Now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness,
Act 4:30 while you stretch out your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy Servant Jesus."
Act 4:31 When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Act 4:32 The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul. Not one of them claimed that anything of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
Act 4:33 With great power, the apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Great grace was on them all.
Act 4:34 For neither was there among them any who lacked, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,
Act 4:35 and laid them at the apostles' feet, and distribution was made to each, according as anyone had need.
Act 4:36 Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of Encouragement), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race,
Act 4:37 having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.