EXODUS 8-9, MATTHEW 19

 Here's what I don't like about Pharaoh - he put himself in front of others.  Did he ever think that maybe the people in his land didn't like the frogs or the gnats?  Did he even stop to think about all the people who were going to lose their cattle?  What about the hail - the loss of lives and property damage, did he think about any of that?

If you want to be "tough" and are willing to accept things - good on you.  But, when you have been put into a position of authority, there are others you have to think about.  It can not be about you.  It has to be about what is best for the people you are put in authority over.  

Great leaders are not people who get things done or force others to do what they want.  Great leaders think about what is good for the people they have been put in charge of, make the tough decisions to help that happen and always sacrifice their comfort for the comfort of others.  

I don't know a lot about politics or current events - not the kingdom I'm focusing on.  But, the one thing I do know is this.  These people are not in charge, and the one leader who is does all these things.  That's my kind of leader.

EXODUS 4-5, MATTHEW 18

​No offense, but I think whoever wrote Exodus was a bad writer.

Dang it!  Something Jesus said really inspired me….oh wait.

Conflict - I’m not good at it!  He talks about how if you see a person sinning you should talk to them privately.  Then, if they don’t listen bring two or three people.  What’s wrong with just ignoring it and focusing on fantasy sports?  That’s seemed to work for 54 years.

Or has it?  I guess I struggle with confronting someone about their sin when I’ve got a lot of work to do on my own.  And who am I to judge them anyway.  Maybe a family member, but I feel like I’d have to be pretty close to someone to talk to them about their sin.  Or it would have to be a really big sin.

That could be it.  One, Jesus may just expect us to have close relationships with other followers.  And two, He is probably not talking about little white lies here.

Instead of focusing on the conversations, maybe I should focus on building relationships for when the conversations are needed.

GENESIS 50, EXODUS 1-2, MATTHEW 16-17

​Do you ever feel like God is trying to give you a message?  Yesterday, in our Chosen Bible Plan, it showed the clip of this verse.  Today, same passage - in words.

So, is He asking me, “Who do you say I am?” Or telling me that I am part of the foundation of the church?  

For the first one, easy.  I’m with Peter - You are the Christ (and my best friend).  If it’s the second one, I’m ready.

My brother just texted me yesterday, “Do you disciple anyone?”  I thought about it, and I used to think about who I could do that for, but that thought isn’t crossed my mind for ten years.  

Maybe it just did again.

GENESIS 48-49, MATTHEW 15-16

 I want to give my kids a fortune telling right before I die.  How did he know though?  Did God tell him what was going to happen to his kids or did he just take a shot?  I really would like to know what happens when Jesus or Jacob or anyone knows what is going to happen.  Does God show them in a vision or tell them while they are talking to the person?  Is it almost an out of body experience where God just kind of takes over?  That would be interesting to find out.

OK, moving on.  What about the yeast of the Pharisees, huh?  Loud and clear.  We really have to pay attention to who we listen to.  But, don't you kind of feel for the Jews at that time?  These were the religious leaders - the ones who were supposed to advise them about spiritual matters.  And they were way off!  

Makes me kind of think I've been doing it right all along.  I have never done something just because a pastor or preacher told me to (OK, maybe not never, but not a lot).  I've always kind of done my own thing - which I hope was actually doing what God told me to do.  In fact, a lot of my beliefs wouldn't line up with any theology, but they just make sense to me.

I know that can get a person in trouble, but it seems like you get in a lot more trouble following a "religious leader" just because they are a religious leader.

GENESIS AND MATTHEW SOMETHING

I have this bad habit.  Maybe it's not a habit - a character flaw.  Something wrong with me.  When I face conflict, I can't stop thinking about it, but I never do anything about it.  I think about what I should say and I go over in my mind how to respond (usually negatively - like how can I punish them), but I never actually do any of the things that come up (maybe because I know they would not be productive).

Literally, as I'm typing this, I'm thinking about what I should do.  It kind of consumes me and I fear facing it.  It affects my actions, my thoughts - but hey, I'm starting to think of productive things to do at least.  

Why is that?  Maybe it is because I have never actually stood up for myself, like maybe in my life.  Maybe it is because I don't want to look at what I did wrong.  Maybe it is because I am afraid of having a conversation, or think I already know how that conversation would go.  Maybe it's because I don't trust God - didn't You say You would give us the words for our adversaries?  Does that mean in general life too?

That's true.  Maybe my worries and fears about facing the people come from two things.  One, I forget that God can tell me what to say when I need it.  Two, it's not always my fault.  I don't have to take the blame. 

GENESIS 42-43, MATTHEW 13-14

 I have the same problem that Joseph's brother's had.  I always think the worst is going to happen.

Bad, worse worst.  Never let it burst, till the bad gets worse and the worse gets worst!

They thought they put the silver in there to trap them.  They thought he was inviting them in to do something horrible to them.  They thought that he would kill their little brother.  

I remember one of my trips to the Cincinnati Open.  I was driving on the.way to the tourney and started to think about all of the bad things that could happen.  What if I got a flat tire?  What if the car broke down?  What if? What if? What if?  I do this all the time.  I wake up and immediately start thinking about what could go wrong.

But, as I pulled into Speedway - God's holiest of holies, I seemed to hear God remind me, "I am not out to get you."  In fact I even felt like God was telling me, "I am here to help you.  I want good things."  

Even though I have a life of good things stacked up in God's favor, even though I can look to where I am today and see how God has always been for me, even though I have read about a good God for like 40 years at this point - still to this day, it's hard for me to even write the above.  

But, God is for us.  God wants what is best for everyone.  God is on our side.  Sorry I forget that A LOT!

GENEIS 41-42, MATTHEW 13

​Do you ever wish Jesus would come back just for the parables?  I mean, I get the ones he told, but I bet they would have hit a lot harder (like the kids say) back then.  

Like the wheat and the weeds - I bet, for a farmer who made his living on wheat, that would have meant a lot more.  What if Jesus told some parables with cell phones or WiFi or Netflix or the Australian Open?  (OK, nobody would get the Australian Open one!)

Oooh, I just had a thought. What if we are the ones who are supposed to tell those parables?