Jan 8: Gen. 8, Matt. 8, Ezra 8, Acts 8

Genesis 8
The flood ends.  The ark lands in the mountains of Ararat.  The waters are dried.  The ark is opened and all the animals released.  Noah builds an altar and makes offering.  God pledges to never curse the ground because of man or to strike down all living creatures again.

Matthew 8
Jesus heals a leper who asks for healing.  He tells him not to tell anyone but to go show himself to a priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded.

• What is that gift?

A Roman centurion asks Jesus to heal his sick servant.  Jesus agrees, but the centurion has such faith that he believes that Jesus can heal remotely by his word.  Jesus responds that "with no one in Israel have I found such faith."  The healing is done as the centurion believes.  Jesus then proceeds to heal Peter's mother-in-law as well as a number of people oppressed by demons.
People say they will follow him but he warns one about the uncomfortable nature of his calling ("the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head".  Another he tells to come immediately ("leave the dead to bury their own dead").
Jesus is out with his disciples on the water in a storm.   They are scared but he calms the storm with words.
Two men come to him possessed with demons and they call him "Son of God".  The demons ask to be cast into a herd of pigs.  He does it and the pigs run and drown themselves in the river.  The men go into town and tell everyone, and the people of the city ask Jesus to leave town.

• The centurion is the first reference to salvation for Gentiles and to the notion that being Jewish doesn't mean you will be saved.   
• I've heard Mormons refer to the "outer darkness".  What is that exactly and from what tradition does it come?
• Why did the demons want to be cast into a herd of pigs?

Ezra 8
The genealogy of Ezra's entourage is laid out.  He sends for Levites for the journey (I believe Levites are the priests).  They fast at the river Ahava and pray for protection, because Ezra doesn't want to ask for physical protection since it seems to be a demonstration of lack of faith in God's protection.   He appoints priests to guard the treasure they're carrying, and they set off.  They get to Jerusalem without incident and make burnt offerings to God.  They then deliver the funds from the king to the king's officials in the region.

Acts 8
Saul persecutes the Christians, arresting as many as possible.  Philip preaches in Samaria, healing and casting out unclean spirits.  A magician named Simon in Samaria, highly regarded as given power by God, was converted by Philip.  Peter and John go to Samaria to try to help deliver the Holy Spirit to the city.  Simon thinks that the Spirit is conveyed by laying of hands, so asks if he can buy the power from them.  He's rebuked by Peter, who repents.
Philip is on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza when he comes across a eunuch of the Ethiopian court who is reading Isaiah.  Philip instructs the eunuch in the prophecy that Isaiah describes, stating that he's talking about Jesus.  The eunuch asks to be baptized right away.  Philip goes on spreading the gospel to Caesarea.