January 24th

wow what a verse! To be like our God!
All I have to say is we can use our God as a roll model!

I John 2:6 "Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did". The ODB author reminds us that part of fulfilling that is to have a sensitive heart filled with love and power. When you think of the life of Jesus that describes him very accurately. I agree with Haley Wow! We do have a great roll model. Now, through prayer making it a priority to live more like that.

Eric has gone to bed but in our discussion today he commented that he liked that the Bible is not just a rule book.

Sometimes we make the mistake of viewing the Bible as a list of rules.

This statement rang true for me in today's reading. I remember making notes as I progressed through the Daily Bible some years ago, but they really turned out to be analogies that I converted into rules to live by. Difficult to say the least.

This reminds me that I need to be abiding in Him and I feel convicted of doing things that do not allow me to abide. There is a show I like to watch that is so funny and yet every time I watch it I am so convicted that the language and topics are not things that help me dwell with Christ. These topics maybe more because of who I am and my personality do not promote a healthier relationship. Thomas Kelly , a Quaker said, " On one level we may be...meeting all the demands of the external affairs. But deep within, behind the scenes, at a profounder level, one may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship, and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings." I don't think I am at the "profounder level" while watching this show....

When I think back to Christian history as it pertains to rules I can't help but think how man alters God's plans to fit his owns rules. Jews disobeyed God, so God sent rules to help them. They continue to be disobedient so God sent an example in Jesus to model appropriate living. Of course man crucified Him. As we study God's word we continue to personify God and make rules that are insignificant to Him but advantageous to our thinking. God's rules are simple. Love Him and show your adoration by loving his creation, mankind. You would think that after a few thousand years we would understand

The Bible certainly is not a list of rules - just look at all the so-called Heros of the Bible - they are a bunch of surely characters. Moses was a a cowardly murderer, Jacob was a coniving mamma's boy, Jerimiah was a whiny sniveling teen. I don't say that to denegrate them, but to point out that they are just as genuinly flawed as we are, just as in need of a Savior as we are. The Bible might be one of the best collections of examples of how NOT to live - which is practical and more helpful many times because we can see ourselves in those characters, and in the end we can see how much God still loved them. We can see that he loved them enough to step down into human history, humbling himself, even to an unjust death. It's a tremendous story. One that gives me Joy to be a part of. A story that makes the rest of life makes sense and have worth. It is certainly more than a list of rules.