The Chosen Season 4 is live on YouTube and the Chosen app

 The Chosen Season 4 is now available online. You can go to YouTube or the Chosen app and watch it. They will be streaming two episodes a week; on Sunday and Thursdays. 

I saw Season 4 in the theaters and loved it, but I like watching it at home so if I wanted to cry I can. I just feel more comfortable crying alone where I live than in public. If you are following the series, you know we are marching towards Holy Week. We are not there yet, but Season 4 is the buildup of Christ going to Jerusalem and the writers seem to be preparing the viewers for the emotional journey that Holy Week will bring.

I'm not sure how long they will leave the Livestream up on YouTube, so watch it now if that is your preferred way of watching the show. The Livestream has the After Show which is also on the app, and it's fun to watch because they interview the actors and/or writers of the show.

Day 153 Bible Readings - Psalm 84: 10-11 (ESV)

2 Samuel 2: 8-32, 2 Samuel 3: 1-21, John 21, Psalm 84: 8-12

Psalm 84: 10-11 (ESV)

“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

I love verses 10 and 11 from Psalm 84. The psalmist loves God so much that he would rather spend a day in the court of God than a thousand days away from God. The psalmist would rather humbly serve in the house of God, than to live a luxurious life in “tents of wickedness.” The bible commentaries I read said that the doorkeeper in the lowliest position in a house, because the doorkeeper is first in and last out of a house. The psalmist then says God is a source of blessing like the sun and a defense as well. The psalmist says God had made a promise to not withhold blessings from those who love and follow him.

When I read these verses, it makes me wonder if I have the same kind of love for God that the Psalmist says he does. I know I would love to be in God’s house, but I don’t know about the most humblest position part. I’ve been in the role before where I had the lowliest jobs in a department, and I didn’t like it very much. I loved the group of people I worked with, but I did not like having the lowliest position. Some people can do that with a glad heart, but when I did it I had a very hard time. I’m thinking it would be different in the house of God, but I honestly don’t know if my feelings would still be the same. I would have to give up a lot of pride to serve in the most lowliest position, and would need God’s grace daily to do it.

Day 152 Bible Readings - John 20: 24-25 (ESV)

2 Samuel 1, 2 Samuel 2: 1-7, John 20, Psalm 84: 1-7

John 20: 24-25 (ESV)

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Verses 24 and 25 from John 25 describes Doubting Thomas’ reaction upon hearing of the resurrection of Christ. Doubting Thomas has always been the disciple I most related to in the Bible. I related to him as a kid and an adult, I still find myself relating to him so much. Thomas loved Christ and followed him, but the shock of his death was too much for him. He was going to believe it until he had physical proof himself.

I believe in Christ, but there is a part of me that constantly questions this belief and demands the physical proof of constant miracles in my life. It is no doubt my sinful nature that keeps whispering in my ear that Christ may not be real. That belief in Christ may be a delusion. That I am crazy to believe in God after everything bad that has happened in my life. The voice is small but persistent. But I constantly have to tell that voice that God is real because I have a lifetime of proof in my life of all the ways God has done miracles in my life. That if I am delusional, I am happy to be part of the billion other delusional people in the world who think Jesus Christ is real. That God loves me so much even though I doubt him so, so much. Will I ever silence the voice? Probably not unless I can figure out how to get rid of my sinful nature. But that voice may be the best thing that I have going in my life because it constantly reminds me to think of all the ways God is real in life. To think of all the miracles I see daily in my life. And last but not least to remember how much God loves me every day of my life.

Day 151 Bible Readings - John 19: 28-30 (ESV)

1 Samuel 29-31, John 19: 28-42, Psalm 83

John 19: 28-30 (ESV)

“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Verses 28 through 30 describe the final minutes of Jesus’ life on the cross. I love that even though Christ must have been in obvious physical pain from his crucifixion, he said “I thirst” to fulfill what was written in the scripture. He was so conscious of his role in God’s plan and of all the predictions made about in earlier scripture. Bible commentaries have said that Christ could have asked for pain-numbing drink before his crucifixion, but he did not. He instead was asking for sour wine so he could say one final thing before he died.

The final words of Jesus before he died were “It is finished.” He knew his job was over, and that everything he and his father wanted was accomplished. Bible commentaries I read said that these final words of Jesus were the words of a conqueror, of a victor. He was not defeated, he was not in despair. He said these words because he knew the job he came to do on earth was done and it was successful. Christ bowed his head peacefully and he gave up his spirit. No one took Christ’s life from him. He willed himself to die in surrender to the will of his father. I think Jesus provides a great model for how to accept death, especially if you have spent your life in service to God to best of your ability. I pray that when my time comes, I can mirror how Jesus died and that I will leave this life knowing that I tried my best to do God’s will on earth.