By Mike Peek

Sunday: I arose at 5:15am and began the day reading Judges 1 – 3. Joshua, the leader that brought Israel into the promised land died, and all that generation died leaving many of the inhabitants of Canaan in the land. The generation that followed did not observe the Lord’s covenant and did what was right in their own eyes; they served the gods of the inhabitants of the land. God used the inhabitants to oppress them, then when they called on the name of the Lord for deliverance, the Lord God would raise up a judge to deliver them. This cycle of fall, oppression, calling on the name of God for deliverance, and the raising up of a judge who delivers them is repeated over and over again. From this point on I will be reciting 1 chapter out of John a day and I began this week by reciting chapter 1. A week ago-today, I closed my social media accounts. I have a blog, the Nurse Theologian on which I began posting these journal entries too in December. Lord knows if anyone will read the thi...

Sunday: I arose at 5:15am and began the day by reading Deuteronomy, chapters 32 – 34; the song of Moses, the conclusion of his sermon to Israel, and his death and burial in Moab. The concluding statement of Deuteronomy: “Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, for all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land, and for all the mighty power and for all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.” [1] I am reminded that Jesus said to the Jews, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.” [2] The Jews accuse Jesus of having a demon for they understood that Abraham and all of the prophets died but Jesus claims that if anyone keeps his word he will never see death. The conversation leads up to Jesus saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” [3] Jesus is better than A...

Sunday: I arose at 5:00am and began the day reading Deuteronomy, chapters 5 – 8; a retelling of the covenant, the Word of the Lord spoken to the Israelites at Horeb and a declaration of what Jesus called the great commandment: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” 1  After this Moses tells them to bind the words that he speaks to them on their hearts, to teach them, to talk about them and to write them in visible places. 2  I find this interesting because this is what Christians should be doing regarding Christ and all that he commanded. After this I recited John, chapter 1. At Sylvania church from 9:00am – 12:00pm: Shane taught on Acts 1-9, Paul at Thessalonica and Phillip preached on Luke 13:18-35. The main idea from Phillip’s sermon: The kingdom of God is expansive and inclusive, but it is narrowly defined and marked by suffering. Darlene and I spent th...

Sunday: This morning I read Numbers, chapters 15-19. There seemed to be much envy going on about the different roles that the Lord assigned the Levites. The Levites, the sons of Kora were jealous of the sons of Aaron and the Israelites were jealous about the Levites. The sons of Aaron receive the first born of the sheep and goats. The fat is sacrificed to the Lord, but the meet is theirs. The Levites receive a tithe from the Israelites as theirs but they give a tithe of the tithe to Aaron and his sons for they have no property and are dependent on their brothers for food. Community, giving and not seeking ones own. I recited John, chapter 11. This morning I posted last week’s journaling to “The Nurse Theologian” and noticed that it happened to be my 500 th blog post. Sylvania church at 10:20. Phillip Dancy sermon: “Repentance & the Sabbath” Text: Luke 13:1-17. Main idea: Repent, be transformed at heart and live because judgment day is coming. Upon returning home Darlene and I ...