A Different Side Of Jesus

The past week we completed the historical Old Testament books and the prophets, as well as finishing the New Testament by studying Matthew. We left Matthew until we had completed those Old Testament books because Matthew was writing to a Jewish audience that would have known their Old Testament. I really enjoyed going through the gospel of Matthew after we had completed the majority of the Old Testament because it really brought to life who these people were that he was talking to. I was able to understand what they were thinking when it came to their religious ideas and also their ideas of what the Messiah was suppose to be like.

From the very beginning til the end of Matthew I saw a different side of Jesus that I was not really expecting or actually one that is talked about. I saw Jesus be intentional in his confrontations with the crowds that gathered around him. I saw him intentionally ask questions to the Pharisees and Sadducees (The religious leaders) that challenged their beliefs and what they found their hope and security in. This interaction between the religious leaders and Jesus is one that I found fascinating because the prophets prophesied that when the Messiah came things were not going to go well for those who were in leadership positions. Time and time again in the prophets, they state how the leaders of the temple and of Israel are going to be judged; which when you think about it makes complete sense as to why they watch Jesus, who is calling himself the Messiah, so closely. Jesus just came at these guys and went right at their hearts and really challenged them to do someone with who he is and what he is saying about himself. My view of this interaction would be described as: Jesus pissed these guys off with so much truth and challenged them to change things that they believed with their whole life and things that their lives were centered in to the point as to where the only option they had was to accept what he was saying or to kill him.

Seeing how intentional Jesus was with his teaching and his life really impacted me. During lecture Mark Masucci laid out how Jesus’ life retells the story of Israel and how Jesus is the perfect Israel. Jesus’ life was intentional so that the first century Jews would be able to see what he is doing and understand that he is perfecting things that went wrong in their history. I love his intention and how purposeful he was to really challenge people to deal with him. It has really inspired me to be intentional with how I live. I want to be someone who is intentionally living for God and whose actions reflect what I believe. I am someone who usually backs down from confrontation because I don’t want to ruffle anyone’s feathers, but this is the complete opposite of how Jesus was. I want to be someone that challenges others with the way that I live and the way that I speak because Jesus is the model for our lives. I want to lead by example and let the light of Christ in my life shine into the world.

Finishing The Prophets

So I feel like we have made it past another monumental step in our blogging relationship: Blog #2! I just want to take a moment and say that I am extremely proud of what I have accomplished here today (Yes, that was suppose to make you think of this Donald Trump) and that would be I have actually followed through and committed to this thing!

Today we finally handed in our last assignment for the prophets. We went book by book from the earliest prophet (Amos) all the way to the latest prophet (Malachi). The words that Malachi spoke were the last ones to Israel for 450 years and I think that are very practical to us today as well. The people that Malachi spoke to were Israelites that had returned from their exile in Babylon and had crushed expectations of what Jerusalem was suppose to be like; so they just blamed God for everything, even though they didn't even take the time to get to know him. They were people with the attitude that at least I'm giving God something ... he should at least be happy with that! As I am writing I have come to the conclusion that Malachi is my favorite prophet because he is addressing these people and these people sound pretty familiar to me. Think about it for a second ... Doesn't that sound pretty similar to the American Church at times? I'm not saying everyone, but there is a group of people that blame God because they are following him and their expectations are shattered. So they just kind of go through the motions and throw him a bone every now and then, and finally when he stands up to say something about it we respond with "Hey God! I have no idea what your talking about! I haven't wronged you at all!"

I just really like Malachi because to me it seems like a very practical book and it really spoke into where I am in life right now. The book really encouraged me because it showed the importance of what we are doing here at Emmaus School of Biblical Studies. It speaks into a time where the people don’t know who God is and what his character is like and because of this their worldview and view of God is totally misdirected. For me at least, this shows how important this school is because it increases our knowledge of those two things. This year my worldview has been rocked because of the increase of the knowledge of who really God is and what his character really looks like. It has really helped me see the way that God has made this world to work.

There are section in the book that really made me think and had a great impact on my thinking was where is said, the people who respected God came together and the Lord took note of it and listened (Malachi 3:16). This really impacted me because it showed me that God does notice when we come together to talk about him, to worship him and when we meditate on his word. It shows that he is listening to what we are saying because he cares. He cares about if our hearts are engaged in our worship of him or if it just a religious practice. This really made me stop and think because there are times when I will be doing one of those things and I will just start thinking if God is hearing what I am saying. This answers that question for me and not one does it answer it, but it shows that he is taking note and he claims me for himself (Malachi 3:17). This is something that I really struggle with and I am pumped to find out that God does listen when we gather and I want to be more confident in the truth that he hears me.

I just want to encourage you to read Malachi as well and just take the time to let God speak to you through what Malachi is saying. I know that you probably aren't in the same situation as some of these people, but there are principles that he gives that can change us if we let him. (If you do want to read Malachi and want some background info on what is going on, please email me @ todd.d.livingston@gmail.com and I'll send you some stuff ... seriously I will!)

Let's Get It Started!

So hello everyone! I just wanted to start this blog thing off by saying thank you, all of my family and friends, for all of your prayers and support as I made the intense grind through the Bible this past year. I honestly couldn't do it without your encouragement!

I have started this thing as a continuation of my "Mountain Man Monthly" I thought that it would be an easier way for me to show you what is going on up here in Lake Lure or what is happening at school; plus I love to keep with the alliteration. I don't have a big overall vision for this thing yet, but I know that I will probably come on here as I prepare for my teaching assignments and just talk about what I am learning as I study. I think that it would be a cool way for me to communicate really what kind of change is happening in my life through my studies of the Bible. I will also probably write about some interesting moments that we are bound to have over the next couple of years. <-- I plan on teaching for a while ... or at least until God tells me it is time to move on to a new adventure!

I just wanted to say thank you for anyone who has read this far on this blog and I hope that we can continue this wonderful blog relationship!