Infectious Skin Diseases, Wild Birds, and House-Invading Mildew. This PSA brought to you by Leviticus

So, my husband has been super excited about our church doing a "read through the Bible in a Year" program. You know the one I'm talking about, right? It gives you so many chapters to read each day so by the end of the year you will hopefully be finishing up Revelation. We have our little bookmarks so we don't get off track- we're ready to go. Thank goodness that we're doing a blended program where we skip around and not going straight through the Old Testament. As gung-ho as I am at the beginning of the year, I always run out of gas right around Leviticus chapter fourteen.

No offense, Leviticus. It's just that I'm not a priest and all, and while contagious skin diseases sound like they would be fun to read about, they're not. (I lied. They actually are. I just read Leviticus 14 as a reference point and I couldn't put it down. Bible 1, Elizabeth 0.) All I'm saying is I'm glad that today's pastors don't exactly follow the same priestly guidelines as the Old Testament. If someone had a contagious skin disease, I don't want to be the one to check to make sure it's all healed up. Paging Dr. Oz. You see this dude's skin rash? Yeah, that's your territory Doc. Want to know what I'm talking about? Go ahead and read Leviticus fourteen. It also broaches the subject of infectious mildew in the home. Let me just say the cleansing process includes the blood of wild birds. It's a real page turner.

"Through the Bible in a Year" programs always makes me think of my days in Bible college. I look back at my time in Bible college fondly. For the most part. The Bible reading program wasn't one of my strong points. It's not that I have anything against the Bible (obviously), I just wasn't fantastic at reading it according to a schedule for a grade. (Or a mark, for all of you Canadians.) It would be two days before the end of the semester and I would be in Psalms. What? I was supposed to be done with Jeremiah by now? Great. I guess we're going with the Bible on CD while I'm sleeping.

I still remember that week in June like it was yesterday. I had a horrible cold. Bad. Bad Cold. I drank a gallon of Neo-Citran (thera-flu for all you Americans). Canadians have crazy cold medicine. It makes you all loopy and you start thinking everything is funny. We took a break from our studies and headed out for Slurpees/Frosters (whatever you want to call the disgusting partially frozen beverages only teenagers buy) from our local gas station. While we were there I thought it would be funny to buy a hair net. Not that funny. But it is when you take Neo-Citran. And since I was at a gas station, I paid like, 5 times what I should have paid for it. Like laundry soap, some things you don't buy at gas stations. Actually, most things you don't buy at gas stations. Like, basically everything. Just don't shop at gas stations.

As I headed back to the dorm I donned my new purchase and vowed to finish Isaiah by daybreak. I asked a friend of mine to play some music on her computer while we were studying, but she didn't have any, so we ended up listening to those free songs that come with your computer. You know what I'm talking about, right? If you open up Media Player there's Beethoven's fifth, some Celtic song, and a few other choice picks. A song that sounded like an ancient Chinese ballad started playing, and I felt inspired to start quoting the Psalms I was reading. It went something like this:

(Cue dark, dissonant chord strummed on a traditional Chinese instrument, perhaps a Pipa or Ruan-)

Me, in my most dramatic voice:
O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your rage.
Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak.
Heal me, Lord, for my body is in agony.
(Another dramatic chord on the instruments)

Me, sobbing:
I am worn out from sobbing.
Every night tears drench my bed;
my pillow is wet from weeping.
My vision is blurred by grief;
my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.
(Brief musical interlude)

Me, shaking my fist in the air at the unnamed evil ones:
Go away, all you who do evil,
for the Lord has heard my crying.
The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord will answer my prayer.
May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified.
May they suddenly turn back in shame.
Psalm 6

I'm pretty sure I passed out somewhere around this point and woke up at 8 the next morning sleeping on an old couch in the basement of the girls' dorm with my Bible on the floor by my side and a hairnet over my eyes. Where did this hairnet come from?

Not my finest moment. Needless to say, I'm still working through a little PTSD from past Bible Reading programs. But this time will be different. I will succeed! Because I have a blog! And I can kill two birds with one stone (no pun intended, see previous mention of Leviticus 14), and share some of my insights from my daily Bible reading with you right here.

Right now we're reading through Genesis and Romans. Romans is one of my favorite books. More like the second half, but today I've gained more appreciation for the first few chapters. I decided to read the Bible in New Living Translation this time, because it's helped open my eyes to see scriptures that I am familiar with in a different way. I really love how the NLT translates Paul's epistles. I think it really captures the spirit of what Paul is teaching.

So Paul starts Romans off with a bang talking about how God hates sin, and that even those who haven't heard the truth of who God is naturally knows when they are doing wrong. We were created that way. He's listed different ways people live in their sin because they have refused the truth of the message of Jesus Christ. Now, the recipients of this message are the Jewish Christians living in Rome. You can just see the people, the "church" who has received this message being like, "mmhmm. Those sinners are so messed up. I'm so glad that we aren't like them. We have got our act together. For real."

Then Paul pulls out the big guns at the beginning of chapter two:

You may be saying, "What terrible people you have been talking about!" But you are just as bad, and you have no excuse!
Romans 2:1

Oh, snap. He called them out.

When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you do these very same things. And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things.
Romans 2:1-2

When I read this, I started thinking about myself. I started thinking about the church. Paul caught my attention on this one. We're so focused on the sin of those in the world, yet we're wallowing in our own filthy sin here as well. How many times have we heard "The world is just so sinful nowadays. Look how people dress. Look how people act. They're just full of sin." What about you? How's your heart? Full of judgment? Bitterness? They have some inkling that what they are doing is wrong, but we KNOW for sure that we are wrong. We have God's word to tell us. We have the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts correcting us.

In my last post I talked about the correction of God. He will speak to us about things we need to change. He will offer us correction and guidance. But we must react to that. He expects us to. He patiently guides us and works with us in our weakness, but He expects change. He expects growth. He doesn't expect us to stay in our sin.

Don't you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don't you care? Can't you see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin?
Romans 2:4

God has shown us His kindness and mercy through his gentle correction. How will you respond? Will you ignore his voice and turn away from his discipline? Or will you allow Him to create in you a clean heart, one that is pleasing to Him?

Only a fool despises a parent's discipline; whoever learns from correction is wise.
Proverbs 15:5