Author Archives: Cassandra Land

Today’s scheduled reading covered Matthew 16 through 26 but I went ahead and finished the entire book. It’s such a short account of 33.5 years of life, though the Old Testament covers much longer time periods in only a few short chapters. I recently finished reading a Holocaust memoir that only covered several years and it was longer than Matthew’s telling of Christ’s life.

I don’t have any specific thoughts and I didn’t mark any passages while reading. I’m glad that Christ came to live on earth for awhile but disappointed and saddened that He was killed. Why are human beings so threatened by anything different? We tend to live in our own little bubble, only socializing with people who agree with all of our religious and lifestyle beliefs. The Jewish leaders had their ideas of what it meant to be Jewish. Christ threatened their security. And for that they killed Him.

I don’t want to get so zealous about minor issues that I fail to see the big picture. Christ criticized the Jewish leaders because they tithed mint but failed to grasp the ideas of judgment, faith, and mercy (Matthew 23:23). Tithing was and is important, but mercy is more important. It’s important to have lifestyle standards like dress and food but even more important to love people. If your attitudes about what other people are wearing gets in the way of loving them, it’s time to take a step back and analyze your religion. If my beliefs about food are causing me to judge others, I need to look at my priorities. People are more important than anything else and we are called to love.

Today’s reading covered Matthew 5 through 15. What spoke the most to me was this passage in Matthew 15.

Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men
Matthew 15:7-9.

This idea makes me a bit nervous. Christ is telling the scribes and Pharisees that while they think they are doing all the right things, they are actually being hypocrites. They are keeping the commandments, making up all these little rules for themselves that will make commandment keeping easier. But Christ calls their bluff. He tells them they are worshiping in vain because their hearts are not in the right place.

My church, like all churches, teaches that they are a commandment keeping church. They have guidelines that are supposed to keep people on the straight and narrow. Guidelines about jewelry, makeup, worship, music, food, etc. But if my heart isn’t in Christ, my worship will be vain. I pray that God will keep my spirit teachable, that I will love Him and everyone else with the purest of intentions.

Today I finished reading the Old Testament and started the New. Whew! That was a very fast trip through the first half of the Bible.

The chapters today covered Zechariah 11 through Matthew 4. Right away, I marked another Messianic prophecy.

And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.

And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD
Zechariah 11:12-13.

My study Bible has a footnote regarding this verse. Mosaic law dictated that when an ox killed a slave, the ox’s owner was to pay the slave’s owner thirty shekels of silver as a reimbursement for his loss (Exodus 21:32). According to Judas and the chief priests, Christ was worth only the price of a dead slave. How tragic that the King of everything was sold for the price of a dead slave. How could He be so devalued?

I was having problems with everything Google yesterday and that included the ability to log into my blog. Therefore, there was no post.

Between yesterday and today, I read Obadiah through Zechariah 10. Tomorrow I start reading the New Testament!

I marked down several more Messianic prophecies.

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting
Micah 5:2.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass
Zechariah 9:9.

This last passage shows me what is really important to God.

Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Micah 6:6-8.

God doesn’t want thousands of burnt offerings or my first born child sacrificed on an altar to forgive my sins. What does He want? That I do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him. Such simple requirements but so hard to follow. I pray that God will give me a spirit that will want to follow Him.

Today I read Joel and Amos. It’s so cool being able to read multiple books all in one day. I know they are short, but still. It’s an accomplishment.

I am noticing a theme across the Bible. I don’t believe this is the only theme, but I think it’s a major theme of the Bible. What is it? God loves us and keeps calling for us to return to Him. I know I’ve posted at least a few texts about God calling Israel back to Him, pleading with them to give up their stubborn ways and return to the life Giver.

Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil
Joel 2:12-13.

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call
Joel 2:32.

No matter what Israel did, whether it was idolatry, murder, distrust, corrupt kings, sexual perversion… God called Israel back to Him. The people didn’t always listen, but God kept calling. I know it is the same with us today. No matter what we’ve done, God keeps calling us back to Him so that we might have life. I hope we listen.

I missed posting yesterday because I didn’t remember until the evening and then I was so tired I crashed in bed. I did complete the reading, though.

Today I read Daniel 9 through the end of Hosea. This is the first time I’ve read through Hosea since reading Redeeming Love. That book really touched me so I was excited to read through Hosea, the story that inspired Redeeming Love.

It amazes me that God told Hosea to marry a prostitute who was still living in sin. I understand the symbolism. God wanted Israel to understand His love for them and illustrated it through Hosea and his wife. But Hosea’s wife left him and went back to prostitution. God told Hosea to retrieve his wife from prostitution. Hosea paid for her to bring her back into his home (Hosea 3:2). He paid for his own wife to escape prostitution. That’s how important it was to him.

I love the imagery in this verse:

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you
Hosea 10:12.

I want to sow righteousness and reap mercy. It is time to seek the Lord until He comes and rains righteousness upon His people!

Today I completed Ezekiel. The schedule only had me reading through chapter 47, but I decided to read an extra chapter so I could finish the book. I found several texts that I want to study more in depth. Instead of posting them here, I want to discuss them with hubby to see if he can explain them.

I did find one text that reinforces the idea that a heart change comes before behavior modification.

For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them
Ezekiel 36:24-27.

In these verses, God says that He will give us a new heart and His spirit. When that happens, we will walk in God’s statutes, keep His judgments, and do them. That is powerful. It’s not my determination that will cause me to keep God’s commandments. Instead, I need to ask Him for a new heart, for His spirit in me. As a result of that new heart and His spirit, I will want and be able to follow God’s laws out of love to Him and others around me.

Today’s reading covered Ezekiel 24 through 35. The only thought I have is about a text that addresses the character of God.

Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?

Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Ezekiel 33:10-11

So many people think that God is vindictive, that He takes delight in punishing people for their sins. But this text says that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. In fact, God pleads with people to abandon their wicked plans and actions so that they can live. God wants all people to live, not die because of their bad choices. The Bible is very clear in that.

Two thirds complete! Today’s reading covered Ezekiel 12 through 23. Ezekiel 18 had some interesting thoughts about sin. The Jews believed that the sins of the father affected the children. Christ addressed this during His time on Earth, but I didn’t realize it was also discussed in the Old Testament.

God says about a faithful man and his son:

If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,

Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him
Ezekiel 18:10-13.

So, if a father is faithful and has a son who sins, that son will be held accountable for his own sins. BUT –

Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,

That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live
Ezekiel 18:14-17.

So if the father sins and the son learns from those sins and decides not to repeat them, he lives. I find this very comforting, that a person will not be held responsible for the sins of their parents. On the other hand, a person can also not ride on the coattails of their parents and expect to get into heaven. It is all decided on an individual basis.