Fall Study - Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes

We are bless-ed—Asir and makarios. Being blessed is “a quality of spirituality that is already present” and a “distinctive religious joy which accrues to man from his share in the salvation of the kingdom of  God.” Such a rich and tangible reality that we constantly live in that I have still yet to completely grasp. We are blessed today, yesterday, and tomorrow. It’s not at all conditional. In light of this, the fourth beatitude definitely stuck out to me this week. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, For they shall be filled. With where I am at in school right now, it’s been tough! Classes are hard and extremely demanding of my time and my attention. Going straight from summer into school the last two summers have been rocky transitions for me. Reading through this beatitude definitely opened my eyes to the source of some of this rocky-ness.  I love how Bailey puts it: “ blessed are those who strive for righteousness with the same ea...

BROAD BRUSH Chapters 5 and  6 (Broad Brush) -- I feel like he sets the chapters in the context of a fascinating philosophical bias which is that our appetitive desires can and arguably should be indulged with freedom and unrestraint in our communion with God.  He captures this philosophy with this statement: "You can pig out on righteousness with no negative side effects."  I read a book by John Piper years ago titled "Confessions of a Christian Hedonist."  In this book he basically just paraphrases a bunch of stuff from C.S. Lewis.  In short -- fascinating (and I believe true)  philosophical point on the purpose and function of human desire. (Okay, enough of that big picture mumbo jumbo.) FEW POINTS THAT STUCK OUT A few characteristics of the chapters that I found invigorating and fun...... **Love this honest answer about the Kingdom of God.... “The special feature of . . . makarios . . . in the NT is that it refers overwhelmingly to the distin...

I really liked how Bailey gave Joseph some page time!  So little is directly written about the man that Bailey's attention to detailed shed a new light for me. 1. "Joseph had the courage to withstand the culture of his day as he lived out his life in light of the word he received from the angel."  I believe the Lord speaks to us every time we read His word.  I was challenged by Bailey's words about Joseph - Do I have the courage to live out my life in light of the words I receive from the Lord? 2.  "Joseph was able to reprocess his anger into grace!" Lord help me with this!!!

First of all, Bailey’s retelling of the Christmas story makes the birth of Jesus is mind blowing and far more relatable. It’s a bit unfortunate for my family though considering the number of nativity scenes my mom has collected throughout the years (I think we’re at 18+…?) Similarly to Kyle, I was really struck by the impact of the promise that Joseph was given regarding who Jesus came to save. I have always read the promise that “ he will save the people from their sins” as a comforting affirmation of Mary and Joseph’s unborn son being humanity’s Savior. I have never seen the potential insult (or perceived insult) in this boldness of this statement. The reality check that it must have been for the Jews (and myself) regarding their (our) need for a Savior never connected for me. This puts Jesus’ ministry into perspective and helps to clarify the power of the gospel in our lives today. Bailey writes that “their primary problem is their sin – the Roman occupation is an important c...

I'm stoked for this study. Excited to get my "Middle Eastern Glasses," as DJ would call them, on and to share in the experience with all of you. Three things stood out to me in this section of reading: 1) The importance of recognizing author intention: This is something I so often overlooking when reading the bible--the simple question of "why did the author include these specific details, and what is his purpose for doing so?" Bailey referenced the end of John that talks about not enough room in the world for all the books that would be filled if everything was recorded, and it opened my eyes to how often I overlook little sections or pieces of the bible that actually are essential to the understanding of the passage. 2) "No wars should be fought and no blood spilled over the earthly city, for Luke tells his readers that the glory of God shone, not around the city, but around the child" (55). When we look to the Son, we see the glory of God. No...

"Yes, we must rewrite our Christmas plays, but in rewriting them, the story is enriched, not cheapened."  Bailey's focus on the behaviors of those around Christ being "normal"/typical heightened my awareness that God's glory is perhaps enhanced not lessened by our particirelating without melodramatic situations and heroic displays.  W. Wallace gives a speech about this dynamic in the movie Braveheart. He lets the folks know he's just an ordinary dude who doesn't like for example shoot bolts of lightning out of his arse (or something like that.)  I've been reading Timothy and Titus. Paul I believe hammers this point again and again by writing do not be "quick tempered, given to drunkenness, or violent... be hospitable, love what is good, self-controlled, holy and disciplined....be temperate...show integrity...have soundness of speech....be upright...be godly....encourage. Keep your head in all situations.... be respectable...above repro...

Hey Guys, welcome to our fall study offering - Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes.  Here is the readying Schedule: Sept 4-15 – Chapters 1-4 (Pages 25-62) Sept 18-29 – Chapters 5-6 (Pages 65-87) Oct 2-13 – Chapters 7-10 (Pages 91-131) Oct 16-27 – Chapters 11-13 (Pages 135-185) Oct 30-Nov 10 – Chapters 14-17 (Pages 189-238) Nov 13-24 – Chapters 18-20 (Pages 239-275) Nov 27-Dec 8 – Chapters 21-26 (Pages 280-342) Dec 11-Dec 29 – Chapters 27-32 (Pages 343-426) I am excited to continue the summer journey through the fall and into winter.  May God richly bless our reading and conversation via this blog platform.   -Reid