Here are a few thoughts that I had

In reading Luke 4 I felt like the theme of the chapter could be described as an unveiling of Jesus's ministry. We see his temptation and interaction with the devil, people rejecting him in his home town, healing and casting out of demons, and Jesus moving from town to town with his message.

So, how tempted was Jesus? This question ties well into the discussion we had on how human was Jesus. The temptation that struck me the most was the second. To me, it would seem that this would be the most difficult out of all the temptations. If Jesus were to accept, his ministry would be over and he would have gained all the wonders of the Devil's kingdom, but he would have lost his father. More than being tempted to gain what the devil had to offer, there was the temptation of an easy way out. In many ways the temptation of Jesus dealt with his identity. Jesus responded in ways that show who he is because the temptations struck at who Jesus is.

This chapter is good to talk about the responses that people and demons had to Jesus. We see demons stating who Jesus is, the son of God, home towners rejecting and even wanting to kill him, people being amazed at Jesus casting out, people trying to keep him from going on, Simon's mother in law serving Jesus after being healed. Why so many responses and why so vast? How does this relate to how we can respond to Jesus?

See you tomorrow.

Week 3...i think

Good to hear from you Billy! Sad to hear you are not going to be there this week, but i hope you have fun in Dallas.

I think Luke 4 would be enough to talk about this week, so thats what i am going to write about.

1) I was reading the temptation of Jesus and wondering how this fits with James 4:7, "resist the Devil, and he will flee from you"...or at least how does this fit with how we interpret it? It seems we yell at Satan a lot and tell him to go away, and we expect him to tuck tail and run away scared... Jesus seems to just stand firm on truth, not letting Satan choose the battle. And Satan doesn't seem to run away, but rather he waits "for a more opportune time". Do we have our ideas of how authority and submission work in terms of "resisting the devil"? Jesus' way seems much simpler and less draining...just stand on truth, and Satan cant move you.

2) I find it interesting that Satan starts 2 of his temptations with "If you are the Son of God...", like what he was really attacking was Christ's identity, or his confidence in his identity. I wonder how often he tries to get us insecure enough to "prove" our identity or God's power.

Jesus just seems so solid, and i wonder sometimes if we are so adamant and loud in our "rebuking" of spirits, our declaration of who we are, etc. because we are trying to convince ourselves.

That's what i got for now...i might post more later in the week.

Back in Body - Soon to be in Mind

Hey guys, sorry to use this to drop a line, but thought I'd give you an update. My trip was great, but could not get the time to sit down and add to the blog. I planned on being there this morning until our flight was bumped in Newark another 4 hours. We got in at 2:30am. Next Friday, I'm in Dallas for a conference - so I feel a bit like the ghost participant. I'll hit up the blog soon on my deep and profound thoughts.

In Grace.
>BH

What does Fisher think?

My thoughts are focused a little more on chapter 3 and the end of 2, rather than the birth of Jesus. I think the "child Jesus" stories are very interesting. And John the Baptist is just a fascinating person.

my questions:
1) What was the general attitude of Jews in this day and age about the Messiah? Were they all waiting like Simeon and Anna? Or had they "moved on" or "given up"? This just makes me think a lot about patience and waiting on the Lord

2) I want to talk about child Jesus and how being God/Man affected him maturing ad "growing in wisdom and favor"...that seems like an odd concept to me

3) John the Baptist...came preaching a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins. What was this based on... It seems to separate repentance and forgiveness from belief in Jesus, or is it just preemptive? Someone who was repentant in their baptism by John, what was the state of their soul before God...forgiven?

Week 2

Ok, lets do Chapters 2 and/or 3 this week. See yall friday! Also, i think Billy is back this week, so lets to Austin Java again