Nearly done with the B90

Almost finished with the B90 and its been really awesome!  I have been really having a difficult time zipping through the new testament!  I Highly recommend that Every Christian take the time to read the New Testament, at least the letters, in the Message.  It just makes it all so Relevant to Today!  Not that I am saying, that is your source for Study or whatever, but just as Reading!  Far better, more inspirational than any little devotional book or whatever!  
My plan at this point is to read the New Testament again, hmmm NT90? I found the schedule for that, and I would like to have the chance to spend more time.
Honestly, I wish I could persuade just a few people, just spend a little time reading Romans or Corinthians, or Any of the letters, in the Message... its Fun!!!!  And because its not in the usual, heard-it-a-million-times language, its Fresh!
Ok, enough of my unpaid ad for Message!  I will be doing the NT90 in various versions... hehehe I feel the obsessive need to cross reference Everything!
This has been a wonderful experience for me, but I really don't think I'm going to be going back over Chronicles or Kings on a regular basis, reference and study purposes, but certainly not for the joy of reading!!!!

more Romans

     Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it's God's order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you're irresponsible to the state, then you're irresponsible with God, and God will hold you accountable. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you're trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.

       3-5  Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you'll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you're breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren't there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That's why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it's the right way to live.

        6-7  That's also why you pay taxes—so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders.

Any of the Bible "don't" you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can't go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is Love.

Cultivating Good Relationships

 1 Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.

     If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.  It's God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That's why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.             Forget about deciding what's right for each other. Here's what you need to be concerned about: that you don't get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is. These, remember, are persons for whom Christ died.  So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; don't drag them down by finding fault. Don't eat or say or do things that might interfere with the free exchange of love.                    Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others. You're fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. But if you're not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe—some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them—then you know that you're out of line.

      Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, "How can I help?"  
      May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we'll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!

Jesus in John b90

I have to admit, I skipped ahead and read Revelation.  I didn't want to end on all the doom and gloom... glad its done!  On to John...Wow!

  Some things that really spoke to me.  Throughout John, Jesus says over and over, Look at the Evidence. If you don't believe what I am saying, look at what I have done, look at my Actions, the evidence of what I am saying is right there, in everything I have Done!  He doesn't get into debates, just says, look at the evidence, my actions prove what I am saying!  This is Exactly where We all should be!!!  

     He also repeatedly states that the proof of His truthfulness is that he is not out to lift himself up, not bringing honor or notoriety to Himself, but to God.  Again another proof of where We should be following His example!  

     John 8:14-18   I Love this!  The Message puts it in a cool way
You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don't make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn't make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father. 
     We decide according to the narrow point of view of our own experience and understanding, but God sees the Whole picture and makes His judgement based on His Love and Mercy.  We need to at least Attempt to see it His way before we judge others!

     * 9:41 "If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you're accountable for every fault and failure." Since you claim to see everything so well, you are accountable!  Interesting, if we are ignorant, we aren't accountable, but as soon as we think we know it all, we are Accountable to Obey!

    After Judas leaves to do his thing, Jesus is speaking to those who are closest and who are with him, a private moment with them, the last Important message he has for them, summing up of everything they should have learned up to now!  He Says...^34-35"Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other." 

      I liked the feeling that Jesus was talking with his closest friends, giving them the secret for how to deal with what was going to happen next, seems like an intimate little discussion. He says that others are going to know who you are by the love you have for each other!

I have been studying apologetics lately and I just Love how Jesus addresses the questions of who or what He is ~ just look at the Evidence~ no argument, just look at the Evidence!