hey everybody, i was just reading, and had some things running through my head
- if you know God, do you think about how lucky you are to have been called by Him, to Him? without Him initiating this loving relationship and calling you at one point or another, you would still be out there, lost, and searching.
- are you like me? do you wish sometimes you could just say, "hey God run my life." or at least have the strength/focus/intelligence to rely on God 24/7?
- i was reading in 2 Samuel about the amazing friendship between david and jonathan. i was wondering why this isn't brought up more when people are looking at how to deal with relationships. especially when people aren't sure of what to aim for in a friendship. this is an amazing example of genuine love, care, and self sacrifice for a true friend. go check it out.
- one of my prayer requests is that i can find where God is at work up here. where he is really present and growing a community of Christians. i want to find that place and join them.
- sometimes i can beat myself up over past mistakes, feeling distant to God, feeling like i don't pray enough, read my Bible enough, and the like. but what i have to remind myself is that God doesn't love me any less because of these things. His love for me can not change, and that it is always a joyous occasion when i go to Him. He knows i am imperfect, but still He has given everything to me in our relationship. He knows i deserve nothing but through his amazing grace i have everything. i think if i could fully grasp that. how much God has given me, how much He has done for me, how much He loves me, i would be closer to Him than ever imaginable. i encourage everyone out there to stop thinking that is impossible. go try and attain that. focus on His love, His grace, His eternal giving. and when you think you've thought about it too much, think about it more. there is no way it won't have a positive impact on you.
anyways... that's what's going on in my head.
judas iscariot's death
here's something cool i learned about recently. i had a question regarding exactly how judas iscariot (the dude who betrayed Jesus) died. in the book of matthew it says he hung himself, in acts it said his guts spilled out. so i took the question to my cousin who just graduated seminary. here is his answer:
Luke's account of Peter's speech in Acts should be seen as supplementary to Matthew's account and not contradictory. As you have noted, Matthew records that Judas returned the money to the chief priests and then went and hung himself. In Acts, Luke records Peter's message with Judas as the buyer of the field. Remember in Matthew that the chief priests would not accept the money and put it in the temple, so the money still belonged in Judas's name. They used Judas' money to buy the field, so indirectly Judas is the buyer of the field.
Luke leaves out the phrase that he hung himself and only mentions that he fell headlong and burst open in the middle and his intestines spilled out. We deduce from what we know in Matthew (that he hung himself) that the falling headlong was a result of being hung - either the rope broke from the weight of the hanging or someone cut it down. Also deduced is that Judas died on the field that the chief priests brought, and the people hearing about Judas gross death referred to it as field of blood (according to Luke's account). From Matthew's perspective, it was called field of blood because it was purchased with blood money.
Conclusion: Matthew's and Luke's account are not contradictory, but rather supplementary - we get a fuller picture when both are placed side by side.
cb
i thought that was a convincing answer. plus, hes a pretty smart guy.
Luke's account of Peter's speech in Acts should be seen as supplementary to Matthew's account and not contradictory. As you have noted, Matthew records that Judas returned the money to the chief priests and then went and hung himself. In Acts, Luke records Peter's message with Judas as the buyer of the field. Remember in Matthew that the chief priests would not accept the money and put it in the temple, so the money still belonged in Judas's name. They used Judas' money to buy the field, so indirectly Judas is the buyer of the field.
Luke leaves out the phrase that he hung himself and only mentions that he fell headlong and burst open in the middle and his intestines spilled out. We deduce from what we know in Matthew (that he hung himself) that the falling headlong was a result of being hung - either the rope broke from the weight of the hanging or someone cut it down. Also deduced is that Judas died on the field that the chief priests brought, and the people hearing about Judas gross death referred to it as field of blood (according to Luke's account). From Matthew's perspective, it was called field of blood because it was purchased with blood money.
Conclusion: Matthew's and Luke's account are not contradictory, but rather supplementary - we get a fuller picture when both are placed side by side.
cb
i thought that was a convincing answer. plus, hes a pretty smart guy.
veterans day
hey everybody, sorry i haven't updated in quite a while. i guess i could tell you all i've been busy with other stuff, or just haven't found the time. but to be honest, nothing that interesting has happened to me. i've spent the last month up in gainesville, and haven't seen shannon in that span. most of my time up here goes to class, homework, the gym, then doing a whole lot of nothing. school stuff is good though, i was able to get ahead since i didn't have anything to distract me, and i'm pulling pretty good grades, so that's the plus. my pitiful loneliness is the downside. i'm just kidding, its not that bad.
anyway, to the better. with veteran's day and my awesome schedule, i ended up with a 6 day weekend. i used this to travel. i went home and visited with the family. the babies are getting bigger everyday, they make a lot more noise and laugh a lot more so that's cool. my sister is in the process for some big positive transitions, so thats good. and my parents are the same as they've been for the past 30 years.
i also got the chance to go see shannon, which is always a blast. long distance relationships are hard. but i have learned to really enjoy my time with her because of our situation. we did a whole lot of nothing this weekend. we hung out, watched tv, she did some homework, we went to church, and just relaxed. it was great to recharge and just be with her. i love her company and miss her as a friend, and as my girlfriend. but God has a bigger plan in the end, and this is just a step.
so that's whats been going on in my life if you were wondering, i'll try to put something deep up in a little bit.
thanks for reading.
anyway, to the better. with veteran's day and my awesome schedule, i ended up with a 6 day weekend. i used this to travel. i went home and visited with the family. the babies are getting bigger everyday, they make a lot more noise and laugh a lot more so that's cool. my sister is in the process for some big positive transitions, so thats good. and my parents are the same as they've been for the past 30 years.
i also got the chance to go see shannon, which is always a blast. long distance relationships are hard. but i have learned to really enjoy my time with her because of our situation. we did a whole lot of nothing this weekend. we hung out, watched tv, she did some homework, we went to church, and just relaxed. it was great to recharge and just be with her. i love her company and miss her as a friend, and as my girlfriend. but God has a bigger plan in the end, and this is just a step.
so that's whats been going on in my life if you were wondering, i'll try to put something deep up in a little bit.
thanks for reading.
