Always Reforming

Exodus 13:17-22 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” 1 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people     Our passage today is a brief account of the...

My father was never big on holidays.  I wasn't raised in a family that loved to commemorate things, at least not over the top.  One day that we always remembered--but never celebrated--was the anniversary of Roe V Wade.  To my father, this day embodied all that was wrong with our nation.  We disregard life.  We prefer convenience to responsibility.  We only think about the present.  The list goes on.  My parents felt strongly about children and abortion, and they conistently put forth their time and money to help pregnancy services.  I write all of this simply to introduce a set of song lyrics that I jotted down a week or so ago.  With callused fingers, She holds the test, The only solution, Is someone's death, As she walks in the door, She hears a voice, "What about me? Don't I have a choice?" "Mama, don't do it! Don't believe the lies! I can feel the pain! Can you hear my cries? Mama, don't do it! It'll b...

   In Genesis we have the familiar story of the testing of Abraham.  Between Genesis 12 and 21, God had visited Him many times, making a covenant with him and blessing him with a son in his old age.  God had promised Him that Isaac would be the heir of the Promise.  All of God’s promises to Abraham concerning the land of Canaan and a multitude of descendants were to be fulfilled in Isaac, but in Chapter 22, God visits him again and gives him a command that he could hardly believe.  God commands him to take his precious son, Isaac, and to sacrifice him.       How does Abraham respond?  Does he try to reason with God, insisting that sacrificing Isaac would be a step in the wrong direction?  Does he plead for the life of His son?  No, he simply obeys.  He obeys quickly.  He awakes early in the morning and sets out for the mountains.      He gathers the wood and fire, and he retrieves t...

A thought:      Every time we really look into the lives of our heroes, one truth emerges--they are imperfect.  Whether they're athletes, musicians, religious leaders, or even Bible characters, our leaders all share the fact that they are human, and, accordingly, they were flawed (except Jesus, of course).  They all have character weaknesses that went along with their character strengths.  They have sins with which they struggle.      This is actually a good thing.  Mentors and heroes that are perfect are much less useful to us.  We need to have real people to look up to, not illusions of grandeur.      There is a common issue, however, that I've noticed results when we discover our heroes' flaws and sins.  We tend to excuse our own sins.  We see that even great men/women were sinners, and so we allow ourselves to copy their sins.  "It can be that bad,"...

     1 O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. 2 Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. 3 LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? 4 How long  shall they utter  and  speak hard things?  and  all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? 5 They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage. 6 They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. 7 Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard  it . 8 Understand, ye brutish among the people: and  ye  fools, when will ye be wise? 9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see? 10 He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge,  shall not he know ? 11 The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they  are  vanity. ...

"  I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O  LORD .   I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation."     In the first 8 verses of Psalm 40, David is declaring the faithfulness of God.  He is telling the people how God has cared for him.  He is encouraging others to put their trust in God as well.  If you do, you will not be disappointed!     In Verses 9 and 10, David speaks to Yahweh and expresses his love for acting as a witness to the faithfulness of God.  David did not simply recall these events and thank God for them.  He spread the news.     Are we hiding God's deliverance in our heart?  Are we concealing his steadfast love and faithfulness from other brethren and fro...

Psalm 4:1-8     Very briefly, I would like to look through these verses to learn a few lessons about prayer, persecution, and peace.  Beginning with verse 1: Read verse 1.   David begins his psalm with a request.  He asks God to hear his prayer.  He begs God to acknowledge him and to answer him.      David does not take for granted God’s willingness to hear and answer prayer, and yet, he knows that His God will hear and respond.  He knows this from past experience.  “You have given me relief when I was in distress,” he says.  When seeking deliverance and provision from God, David often meditated on previous answers to prayer.  You could even say that he reminded God of them.      Many times towards the end of his psalms he reassures himself that his prayer will be heard and his petitions granted.  Sometimes he thanks God for answering his prayer before he’s even finished praying i...