The Work of our Hands

"The people of Israel have done nothing but provoke me with what their hands have made, declares the LORD."

In this verse in Jeremiah, we assume that God is talking about the idols the Israelites have made. But what if it is more? The Israelites surely made lots of things not idol-wise that served to provoke the LORD.

Our pastor recently finished a series on glorifying God. He pointed out that EVERY SINGLE THING we EVER do must be done to glorify God. Obviously, the Israelites weren't even thinking of God with anything they did.

How often do we do the same thing? How often do we do things for the approval of people or just for ourselves? I know with a lot of those normal day-to-day things I don't think about what God would think about this thing I was doing. But I don't want to provoke him with what I do - I want to glorify him!

I don't guess that made a lot of sense to anybody except me:Z

The Lord SPEAKS!?!?!!!!

I have decided that the last thing I would ever want to happen to me is this that happened to Job. He was moaning about how he was clean and God was punishing him for no reason. THEN the LORD SPOKE BACK!!!!!!! That's the last thing I would ever want - to be whining pointlessly and saying some things I probably shouldn't say, then hear God speak through a storm to call me out!

But God basically awed Job with his power, and made some statements like these:

"Who is this that darkens my counsel

with words without knowledge?"

"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?

Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?
On what were its footings set,

or who laid its cornerstone-
while the morning stars sang together

and all the angels shouted for joy?"

"Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea

or walked in the recesses of the deep?
Have the gates of death been shown to you?

Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?

Tell me, if you know all this."

"Can you raise your voice to the clouds

and cover yourself with a flood of water?
Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?

Who endowed the heart with wisdom

or gave understanding to the mind?"

Those are just a few! But you should really read the whole Job 38-39. It is a great reminder of what God can do from his own mouth! And he covers everything - we have an all-powerful God!!!

Poeticness

"Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him."

I know, I've posted about this one lots of times. But reading at Christmas time is perfect (and besides, it's my favorite:P). God does not take away life! He devised a perfect way that we, banished by sin, may not remain estranged from him - sending his son down to take our punishment.

And here is a stolen post from Stone of Help that echoed my thoughts perfectly and was so perfect for the moment...

"God, I am in Love with you. I desire nothing but you. I want to die so I can see you right now face to face. You have my all. Where else can I go? You not only have the words of life, you are the lover of my soul. There is no way I can be taken out of your hand. Hardship may come. Doubt and pain likely lie before me. But come what may, I choose to say blessed be your name. I am yours.

You are faithful... when I am faithless. You are strong... when I am weak. You are impassioned... when I am apathetic. You just ARE. period. And I can't get enough of knowing you.

I pursued you and found you where you were to be seen. But there were places I did not look. Places I thought were out of bounds to you. (Imagine that) That is why I was in awe to find you within me, shaping down to the depths, guiding up from the abyss, and emerging victorious! I was shocked to see you in my own reflection. But I am not shocked anymore. I believe what you have told me. I know who I am. I am yours. I see that it is true! Lord, point me where I am to go.

You patch the broken vessels. You breath life into the dust. You restore that which was fallen. I am living proof.

Don't just be in me, Lord Jesus. Live in me."

Which do we choose?

God has been stressing about choosing him over the past little while. It's the, "well, I know I didn't finish my Bible time yet, but I'll just look at my library books for just a minute first..." kinda stuff.

Today I read about Jesus being handed over to Pilate (that time when Judas chose money over his master). Pilate didn't want to kill Jesus, because he hadn't done anything wrong. So he went to the crowd and asked them who he should release - Jesus, or some dangerous murderer guy named Barabbas. They shouted "Barabbas!!!!!!!"

"Wha...?" said Pilate. He was shocked! The murderer? These people CHOSE the bad guy who had, and would probably hurt them again instead of Jesus, the one who'd been healing their sick and feeding them all out of a lunchbox.

We look at that in the Bible and roll our eyes. "How ridiculous!" But we do that every single day!!!!!!! It needs to stop.

That's what I'm going to be working on. Care to join me anyone?

Evil or Affliction?

"Beware of turning to evil,

which you seem to prefer to affliction."

~ Job 36:21

This verse jumped out of the page at me and said, "HEY! Check it out!" Elihu is saying this sassy bit to Job, but I didn't really think about Job when I read it.

Once our church/homeschool group/friends whatever did a play called THE CATACOMBS. It was about the Christians having to hide out and I don't remember the history right now. The whole time they were hiding they had all kinds of problems - sickness, lack of food, etc. But in the end, the bad guys found them and they were shot one by one for not denying their faith. This is not an uncommon thing in many countries, but in America today were are allowed to worship God if we wish without fear of getting shot about it.

But what if that were to change? Would we turn to evil, preferring it to affliction? Or would we stand for God no matter what happened to us?

To the promised land or bust!

The Israelites are thinking bust. There was no water to drink (in the desert:Z) and they started whining again. They went to Moses and said, "Give us water to drink! Is the LORD among us or not?" Strange question, seeing as he just parted the ocean for them. Moses said, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put God to the test?" But they whined all the more. Moses sighed and went to talk to God. "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me!"

The LORD answered, "Take in your hand the rock with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." Moses did so, and the people drank it.

I was kinda wondering why God waited until they grumbled to give them water, but then I thought... he didn't! It sounds more like he waited until they were uncomfortable to see if they would trust him - and they didn't. God still does that - puts us in uncomfortable positions to see if we fall apart, or if we trust him to see us through.

Uh... DUH!!!!

A few weeks ago I was doing something in the kitchen and the little light on the stove indicated that the burner I needed to use was hot. Now sometimes this thing lies just a bit, and that's what I was expecting that time, as I saw nobody using it before. So I put my hand over it just a weensey too close. And the light wasn't lying. Yow. Since then, whenever I see the "hot surface" light, I all but run to the other end of the room.

All that to say, after I did something stupid I learned from it (yes, yes, thank you, thank you, no autographs please:P). But I read in Exodus today... Pharaoh is finally letting Israel go!

They happily trudged along, little dreaming the Egyptians were NOT GETTING their carefully brewed 5 o'clock tea. They squealed and said, "Hey! We just let them go! Now we've got nobody to slave making bricks - and no one to make our tea!!!!" I imagine that if Pharaoh had a phone, it would have been ringing quite a bit. Now they should have not thought this way at all, since they just had to go through all those plagues on account of the Israelites, and now they want them back (did something stupid and DIDN'T learn from it). But, Pharaoh took his army and chased Israel. The chased one screeched! OH NO!!!! THE SEA IS IN THE WAY OF THE ESCAPE ROUTE!!!!!! They wailed that Moses had brought them out there to die - AFTER God had caused zillions of plagues on the bad guys to get them out of there! But we all know this part - God parted the water (yes, the WHOLE SEA) and the Israelites got across, while the Egyptians couldn't get out fast enough. Huzzah!!! After I got over the initial shock and awe, I would have figured that my God was the most powerful in the world and could give me anything I needed. But guess what? A few days later, the Israelites ran across a spring of bitter water. THEN they grumbled that God had brought them out here to die. Gee whiz! Is this the same lot that walked across the ocean floor? Why didn't they think God could give them water? It's just... DUH!!!!

But in my initial heat over these boneheads, I thought, "do I sometimes do the same thing?" Do I worry about things after God has given me everything I need? Most certainly! I was reminded to trust God in everything reading about the boneheads, and to - well, count my blessings! Happy Thanksgiving!:D

Even when the future seems hopeless...

"I remember my affliction and my wandering,

the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,

and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;

therefore I will wait for him."
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,

to the one who seeks him...

For men are not cast off

by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,

so great is his unfailing love.
For he does not willingly bring affliction

or grief to the children of men."

God does not willingly bring trouble on us - he is good to those whose hope is in him. He hasn't left us out to dry... even now.

Psalm 45:10-11

"Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father's house. The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord."

Our church did a ladies' Bible study once that talked about these verses. It talked about God being enthralled by our beauty and calling us to his side. When God calls us, we can run to Him with reckless abandon, leaving our former lives in the dust! It's time to be with God and live a whole new life!

I don't know if I described that well at all, it sounded much better in the study:Z

David Hiding Out

Saul has kept on pursuing David, but again David spared Saul's life when he could've killed him. Saul again said that he would stop chasing David, but this time David knows better than to believe him. He gathered his 600 men and said, "One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand." So they all went to the bad guys' place, and the king was pleased with David and made him his bodyguard. All was well until about the time the Philistines were planning to attack David's homeland. The king said to him, "You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army." David was game, but while they were on their way the king's men said, "No way! Send that guy back! He'll turn on us in the middle of the fight!" So the king reluctantly sent David back - good thing for him he did.

BUT when David and his men returned to the towns they were living in, they found that everything had been raided and all the women and children had been carried off! Da-da-da-DAAAAA! David and the mighty men to the rescue!!! Not only did they bring back all their family, but the plundered the enemy as well!!! Huzzah!

Little did David know that his "new friends" the Philistines were whooping up on Israel - and they killed Saul and David's best friend Jonathan.

Let my people GO already!

The Israelites are still in slavery, but God is taking action. He sent bugs on the Egyptians, killed all the animals, sent hail on them, etc. BUT with these plagues, he made a distinction between his children and their enemies. The Israelites did not suffer any of these plagues! Hence, many Egyptians began to believe Moses and fear the LORD, but Pharaoh was still stubborn. About the time he lost his firstborn son to the angel of the LORD, he changed his mind - and instead of just letting them go a little ways off to worship their God, he wanted them out never to return! But the Israelites had something to do first.

I can't find this anywhere, but I remember reading that God told Abraham or Jacob or somebody like that that their descendants would be in slavery for this amount of time. Then they would plunder their enemies and be free.

So the Israelites knocked on the doors of their Egyptian neighbors (who had all lost family members to the plague of death and were now scared to death of them). I assume the conversation went something like this:

"Um, hi! Uh... we're about to leave ya know? And uh, do you have any gold or money or something I could use?"

"Yes! Yeah of course! We've got plenty, here take this jewelry box. Here's our money. Just GET OUT!!!!!"

So this went on, and the Israelites plundered the Egyptians and were ready to go.

Now for the ultimate moving trip!

Faithful With Little

"If you have raced with men on foot

and they have worn you out,

how can you compete with horses?

If you stumble in safe country,

how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?"

~ Jeremiah 12:5

I never remembered reading this verse before. It reminded me a lot of that verse in the parable that Jesus told in Matthew that goes, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things."

I don't know if yall have done this, but I certainly have. Sometimes we as Christians want to do things like go overseas, start a ministry, or otherwise be used by God - but we never remember to do the dishes after lunch. My friend Cherry not recently enough for me to actually find the post about feeling like God was not using her at all. Her mom reminded her that you can't be all caught up in doing great things for God, unless you're faithful with the little everyday things that he gives you to do.

Make A Joyful Noise ~ Even Now by Foolish Things

Trouble came

Broke your door

Crushed your name

Robbed you poor

You feel He’s gone

Or fast asleep

All’s gone wrong

You’re in too deep

He hasn’t left you out to dry

Even Now

You haven’t left His watching eye

Even Now

So children sing it when you don’t see how

My Father’s worthy of my hope

Even now

The feeling’s gone

You’re wondering

If you heard Him wrong

If he’s listening

The same old fear

The same old haze

Is God not here?

Is His hand raised?

Could this be part of any good plan?

Seems to be you’ve fallen out of His hand

When you’re broken, don’t know how to mend

Even Now

When your tunnel’s still dark at the end

Even Now

His children don’t know why but trust their Father’s at their side

So hold His hand - hold up your hope

Even now

Do these lyrics ring a bell with you? Have you ever felt that you've been left out to dry or that You heard his promises wrong?

We recently were expecting another family member. Everyone was excited, thinking about baby names, and guessing whether it would be a boy or a girl - or twins! But our rejoicing time only lasted weeks, instead of years. We had lost the baby.

I was shocked. Why on earth had this happened? Could this be part of any good plan? I turned on the music in my room, and this song by Foolish Things really hit home to me. It helped me remember that God hadn't left us out to dry and he wasn't asleep.

And guess what? Now, my mom is expecting again.

"So children sing it when you don't see how - my Father's worthy of my hope... Even now."

Awarded!!!

I was awarded by Grace 4 God!!!! Thanks girl!!!! Now I get to award somebody... hmm... I pick... MOM!!!!!!!

And here's a note... maybe you already knew that today is Veteran's Day. All too often I forget to pray for our troops. Here is a good reminding video:

Bad Stuff in Good Stuff

I am cursed with only seeing the good part of an idea, event, situation, etc. If somebody new waltzes in with an idea, unless this person is under eight years old, I just jump right in. If somebody has something good to offer, I only see the good part of the idea and have no sense of the danger of it. I have decided that this is a BAD thing. It causes a lot of trouble. When people tell me the bad stuff in these things, I am always disappointed that there is always bad stuff in all the good things. It sounds bad when I say I should try to find the bad in things in the good things, but it is probably safer and less disappointing.

Except a lot of the time I know I'm right and I see the good thing in the thing and nobody else does, but I'm right. Sometimes even Biblically right! And then it makes me mad that nobody knows that I'm right - I mean gee whiz, it's in the Bible!:0 Do I tell them it's in the Bible or just let them go against the Bible? ARG! It's so annoying.

What on earth is the DEAL?

Feminine Fancy

Have you been clothes shopping lately? It is getting colder, and I went to the store a few weeks ago for some new threads. I found some cute jeans and shirts that I went to try on - and boy was I surprised! The jeans fit very well around my waist, but they were VERY tight on the rest of me! I gave a huff and put them back. The tops were next - they were long enough... but way too tight! I was thinking, "Ok, this is alright, all I need to do is pick a bigger size." But when I did, the jeans were too sloppy-looking and the shirts were too baggy! What to do! I looked up and said out loud in the dressing room: "Are there NO cute clothes for modest girls anymore?"

Does this ring a bell with you? Are you too feeling overwhelmed because all the stuff that's in style is just not for a modest girl? What on earth can WE wear?

Well, for your information, I did not get the tight "stylish" clothes. Nor did I settle for the ugly and baggy clothes. The simple fact is... WE DO NOT HAVE TO! Some people think that dressing modestly is wearing fat or grandma clothes and being deprived of nice clothing your whole life. Trust me, it is NOT that way!!!

As girls, we like to be beautiful. We just do. Even if you don't like clothes shopping and all that, there is still something inside you that wants to look nice. I'm sure you have read the "Modesty Mode" article of this magazine, and just because we are not dressing to flaunt ourselves, doesn't mean we have to dress unappealingly! Allow me to give you some tips and some fool-proof cute clothes ideas:

Cute Buys:

Skirts - long ones. You can get them in all styles and colors. Try the spring variation on first and make sure that they are not too short. You can say, "Oh, well I don't really like skirts." But the long, flooshy, soft kind are in style and VERY comfy!

Old Navy Jeans - As of right now, there are three different styles and lengths that they have on the market. The kind that are high-waisted are called "The Sweetheart" jeans. You can get them in three different colors, boot-cut, straight-leg, extra-long, slim, and basically mix and match them to fit your personal taste and style! Oh, and did I mention that they are modest?:P

Cap-sleeved tees - If you're wishing you could wear a nice, cool tank-top in the summer, these little things are the shirts for you! The sleeves are short and just cover the shoulder - very cute! Mind, you DO have to try them on to make sure that they are not too tight, short, etc. But these are the cutest tops on the market, and you can get them anywhere!

Whoops! This Won't Work! What to Do:

Low-necked shirts - Can't pass up that V-neck knit that's on sale? Maybe you got one for free, or can't find anything else in that perfect color to match the skirt you got for Christmas. Let me introduce you to your new best friend - the tank top!!! Get yourself whatever kind or color you like, as long as the neck is high enough for you. You can wear them under a V-neck shirt and make yourself a whole new style! I love them so much I wear them under everything! This also works for tops that are too short, but just too cute otherwise! They stick out under and look very modest and pretty! In fact, even the clothes marketing people are noticing this is cute - now they are selling clothes with tanks, or making the clothes to look like there's a tank under it! Whoo-hoo for the modest girls!

Swimsuits - Yup. You want one that is cute, but you DO NOT want the kind they're wearing! Last year I found the solution. You know those summer warm-up shorts that are way too short that you see women jogging in? Pair those with capri-leggings. The leggings hide all that extra leg, and the warm-up shorts don't hug your rear end! As for the top, you can get a swim-bra or maybe if you're lucky, the tank that came with the shorts has one built in. But if your fortune is not to be so good, say this out loud: UNDERARMOUR!!!! You can get them sleeveless, tank-style, or even long-sleeved if you so choose!!! Don't worry girls - come Summer, you can swim like everyone else - except with a clear conscience!

I hope these tips and tricks helped you, or gave you a good idea on how to be beautiful while serving God! Stay modest ladies! It's worth it, and you're not missing out on anything!

Spiritual Gifts in the Church

I read in 1 Corinthians this morning, and it talked about the different spiritual gifts that God strategically placed in the church. Normally I wouldn't put the whole passage, but it is all very important to my point and you can't miss it!

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable... But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

I once listened to a sermon by the ever awesome Dale Thompson talking about this. And it is very true and perfect how God puts people in the church. For instance, in our church we have a great teacher. We have an apostle who can speak different languages. My dad is a good administrator. We have many people that are great at helping others. You can't wish you had someone else's gift, because yours is just as important as the passage says. Just like the song... "Oh-oh we need each other"!

This was perfect timing for me, because today is the rehearsal, if I may, of our first movie night. Please pray for us as a church in this outreach, that each member may each incorporate their gifts and not hold back, and that is successful for the kingdom of God!

Servant of the LORD

The 23rd Psalm is one of the most well-known passages in the Bible. It is very comforting, beautiful, poetic, true. We all know it was written by David, who was known as "the man after God's own heart". I melt whenever I hear this description! How could a human be after God's own heart?

David's story is one of the most interesting you will ever read. Samuel anoints him king when he is a youth, even though there was already a king in Israel. But David was patient. He didn't jump up and try to seize the throne. He waited on God.

Later, before King Saul had even heard of him, he defeats the giant Goliath in perfect faith that God would do a great work in him. He ends up working as a general and harp-player for Saul - still waiting on God. He was very successful in everything he put his hand to, the people all loved him more than Saul, he was best friends with Saul's son, and he married Saul's daughter. But the king was becoming nervous... would the people make David king instead of him? He got it into his head to kill David, so David had to live as an outlaw. Where was God's promise? How could this happen to him? But did he throw in the towel? No! He trusted, prayed, wrote songs, and gathered followers. God did keep his promise, and David became king. God was with him every step of the way, and he went on to defeat many of Israel's enemies. David faced hardships beyond number, but he trusted God every step of the way. He wrote many Psalms and songs - some even prophesying about the coming of Jesus.

If my assumptions are correct, you are all rolling your eyes and going, "Yes, yes. I know all this. It's even in the Childrens' Bible I read to my little brother." But I encourage you to re-read and study all David's life in the Samuels - there is something new, interesting, and encouraging to read every time. Once I read a chronological Bible where I read something that happened to David, then I read the Psalm he wrote then. It was amazing, and I gained another reason to admire David - he was a writer through and through, and all of it was to God.

Study David! It will be a great experience - trust me!!!!

Job 27-28

This passage is so neat and... writingful!!!! And fitting for the day as well...

"Where then does wisdom come from?

Where does understanding dwell?
It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,

concealed even from the birds of the air.
Destruction and Death say,

'Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.'
God understands the way to it

and he alone knows where it dwells,
for he views the ends of the earth

and sees everything under the heavens.
When he established the force of the wind

and measured out the waters,
when he made a decree for the rain

and a path for the thunderstorm,
then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;

he confirmed it and tested it.
And he said to man,

'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,

and to shun evil is understanding.' "

So fear the LORD and be wise today as you vote for the president of our country!!!

It Must Be Different Through Your Eyes...

There is this one thing that I pray for more than anything else. It's the thing I want most to happen/am most afraid of NOT happening. I pray for this thing about every day, but one day when I was praying about it, I had a sudden thought. It went sorta like this:

"My sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see." ~ Psalm 40:12

Why should God EVER do ANYTHING for me? I sin way too much, and I can't see this thing will ever happening! I certainly don't do anything for God that would make me deserve this! But he has done so much for me already, that I just hang on to his mercy and trust that he will do his own will. And that's all.

"It must be different through Your eyes

Because You look at me

like its the first time

That You've ever seen my face"

Outward Appearance

"The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

This is what God said to Samuel when he was checking the sons of Jesse out for the new kingship job. I also read a lot of exciting stuff with David and Goliath, Saul throwing spears, Jonathan, etc. But this verse stuck in my head the whole time. I was thinking, "Well, yeah, I don't just look at people's appearance." But then I thought of our debate class. There is a mom that sits in... and all us Taggs are a little afraid of her. She sits there, her face is always glaring and scary, and she never talks to anybody. She never laughs at some joke the teacher cracks or anything funny that happens, and she has a strange habit of sitting in front of smaller kids so they can't see. Soooo... if she walks by any of us, we get a little jittery and intimidated and don't look that way. But when I read that verse I thought, "maybe she's not really scary or grumpy, maybe that's just her natural expression." It's a different situation than Samuel was in, but it's still just focusing on the outward appearance. Hence, I resolved next gym day to smile and say hi to that mom. I'll let you know how it goes:)

Exodus 1-4

Joseph and all his brothers died, but their descendants were numerous, and it made the Egyptians nervous. They thought, "This is not good, if our enemies come to fight us, the Israelites will join with them and overpower us!" So they made the whole nation slaves to them. Sounds like it would be difficult to do, them being... a whole nation and all. But to slow down the population, the midwives were told to kill every baby boy. These gals are in my book of overlooked Bible heroes. It said that they feared God, and did not obey the Pharaoh's orders. BUT he saw that little boys were still running around left and right, so he questioned the midwives as to why they weren't obeying. They said, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive."
Then it says, "So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own." God rewarded them for their fear of him! Those midwives were responsible for the population of Israel growing to what it was. But when Pharaoh figured that the midwife idea wasn't working, he ordered his own people to take care of things and throw the boys in the river.

Of course, Moses was saved in that basket and we all know that part, so let's skip ahead until he's grown up. Moses was walking around one day where the Israelites were working, and he saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite up. The Bible says Moses looked both ways and saw nobody around, so he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. I thought it was kinda interesting... if you're mad enough to kill somebody, I wouldn't guess you'd have the presence of mind to see if anybody's around to see you do it. But apparently he didn't notice that there was a little kid that was out looking for his lost kitty, and that kid went out and told everybody about it. The Pharaoh wanted to kill Moses, so Moses ran away to Midian - where he got married and thought he was gonna live happily ever after... until a burning bush popped up and told him that God had other plans.

Outreach Musings

Our church has been working on many outreach projects lately, but I am quite confused. I guess I just don't get the concept. What I don't understand is this: why is it that when we plan an outreach or some form of church event... we do not expect anything to happen?

Our church has 40 people in attendance on a Sunday service on a good day... and getting smaller by the week. We hire more ministry staff, we send a missionary out, we plan Harvest Festivals, Movie Nights, and other fun stuff hoping to... draw more people into church I guess. But nobody expects anything to happen. There is always a problem with the performance, there is always something that won't go right, nobody's probably gonna be there, etc.

Maybe all that's true. But the way I see it is this:

If God is leading us as a church family to start a weekly movie night or a youth ministry, isn't his job to make sure somebody shows up if he wants somebody to show up? And isn't God capable of getting anything he wants to get done done? When you think about it, (or I guess when I think about it) we don't even have a right to estimate how many people will come! It's whatever God wants to happen. I think we should just prepare to let the fire fall and prepare every seat for however many people God wants to stuff into AHBC!!!

Why do we think nothing will happen if this was God's idea to begin with?

Jesus and the Boogie Man!!!!

Jesus and his disciples were just going innocently across the lake... and landed in a graveyard. James did not get out of the boat. "James? What are you doing?"

"I ain't getting out here!"

John rolled his eyes. "Not that boogie man story again!"

Peter raised a brow. "What boogie man story?"

"Oh, you know. That one they tell little kids to scare them about that guy who's crazy, and nobody can chain him up, and he cuts himself with stones and screams all the time."

James clutched the sides of the boat. "It's true I tell you!!! I've seen him!!!"

John laughed. "Yeah, and you've seen Bigfoot too!"

Peter was squinting off into the distance. "Hey guys, what's that?" They heard a great scream.

"It's HIM!!!!!! It's the BOOGIE MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Jesus was the only one who wasn't freaking out. The disciples jumped into the boat. "Come on Jesus! RUN!!!!!!"

But Jesus didn't move. The Boogie Man ran right up to Jesus and fell to his knees. The disciples, shaking and shivering in the boat heard him beg not to be sent away. "Pssst! James! You seem to know about this guy, what's he talking about?"

But Jesus was asking the Boogie Man what his name was. "My name is Legion!" He said. "For we are many!"

James kicked John. "You SEE!!!!! He IS demon possessed!!!!!"

Before anyone knew what was happening, Jesus said, "Come out!" and hundreds of pigs were making a run for the lake! The pig herders ran off toward the city to tell everybody.

The disciples stole a look back at the Boogie Man. "Hey! Peter! He's in his right mind!"

At this moment, tons of people from the city came to see what the commotion was about. They saw the Boogie Man sitting nicely listening to Jesus! They begged Jesus to leave.

"They're asking us to LEAVE? After what Jesus just did for the Boogie Man? The nerve!"

John shrugged. "Maybe they're mad because the bacon supply just got a whole lot lower."

Jesus was coming back into the boat. The not-so-Boogie Man asked if he could come too, but Jesus said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."

So the Not-So-Boogie Man went all about the countryside, telling amazed people about everything that had happened to him. And he lived happily ever after. The End.

The start of the book of Jeremiah

This is definitely not my favorite book of the Bible - it's quite depressing most of the way. God's pretty much breaking up with his people and you know in the end they're going to get carried away to captivity. Oh well. It's once a week.

I found in today's passage another verse sorta like the one in Isaiah about lighting our own torches instead of looking to God as our light. This one said,

"My people have committed two sins:

They have forsaken me,

the spring of living water,

and have dug their own cisterns,

broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

It's like if you're served up a nice enchilada dinner and you wave it off for a piece of stale bread! Why do we do it? Why do we not embrace what God has for us? Why do we think our way is better?

Why Should God Listen To Me?

Lately I've been thinking about what I do for God - it ain't a lot. I've been thinking, "Why should God ever do anything for me? What have I done? Why should he listen to my prayers? Sometimes I don't even see what he wants for me!"

Then I read these two chapters of Psalms. I will write here the highlights, if you will.

"Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

your justice like the great deep.

O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
How priceless is your unfailing love!

Both high and low among men

find refuge in the shadow of your wings."

"Trust in the LORD and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD

and he will give you the desires of your heart."

"But the meek will inherit the land

and enjoy great peace."

"for the power of the wicked will be broken,

but the LORD upholds the righteous."

"The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,

seeking their very lives;
but the LORD will not leave them in their power

or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
Wait for the LORD

and keep his way.

He will exalt you to inherit the land;

when the wicked are cut off, you will see it."

That first "Third Day" verse really jumped out. His love reaches to the heavens - even when we don't see it, or realize it, or when we sometimes don't even care.

1 Samuel 11-15

Saul has just become king, but there were alot of troublemakers that opposed him, but he did nothing about it.

DU-du-du-dun-da-da, dun-da-da (That was the Darth Vader theme)!!! The evil Ammonite king has come to place Jabesh Gilead under siege!!!! Oh no! Well, the people of the city said, "make a treaty with us and we will be subject to you!"

But the bad guys said, "Neva!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Wait, well - ok. But only if we can put out the right eye of all your men."

The Israelites whispered but this was eventually seen as a bad deal, so they said, "If nobody comes to rescue us in a week, it's a deal!"

When Saul heard of this he was furious (what a hero!!!). He gathered impressed men and stormed the Ammonites and saved the city!!!! Huzzah!!!! Everybody was happy, and they said, "Hey, get those guys that said Saul was no good!!! Let's have us an execution!!!!"

But Saul said, "No, that's alright. God saved us today, so nobody shall be killed."

Samuel threw an arm around Saul and said, "Come, let's go reaffirm the kingship!"

So all Israel partied and was very happy. Saul was a cool guy for like a whole two chapters!!!!!

Genesis 48-50

Well, now Joseph's family is with him in Egypt, and everybody's happy. But now Jacob is about to die, and he is blessing all his sons and grandsons. In chapter 49 he is blessing and kinda telling the future of his sons one by one. I really was interested in Judah's blessing:

"Judah, your brothers will praise you;

your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;

your father's sons will bow down to you.
You are a lion's cub, O Judah;

you return from the prey, my son.

Like a lion he crouches and lies down,

like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

until he comes to whom it belongs

and the obedience of the nations is his.
He will tether his donkey to a vine,

his colt to the choicest branch;

he will wash his garments in wine,

his robes in the blood of grapes."

This sounds to me like a prophecy of Jesus - a descendant of Judah! Imagine... in the earliest times of the Bible there are still clues and hints about the Savior! God knew exactly when he would come, which line he would descend of, and what he would do!!!

AND I imagine if he knew that in Genesis, than he knows exactly when he's coming back for all of us. Not to mention he's probably looking forward to coming for us more than he was looking forward to sending his son to die:)

Sanctity

I first looked up "sanctify" in the dictionary. The meaning is, "to make pure or free from sin or guilt; to make holy, set apart as sacred, consecrate; to make productive of or conducive to spiritual blessing." The last one seems to make sense in relation to the last post. To make conducive to spiritual blessing? But I found that in most cases where the word is used in the Bible, sanctity is given directly by God. So I don't suppose anyone could be freed from sin from anybody but God, but I can see that an unbeliever could be made conducive to spiritual blessing through a believer. Though it still seems like a strange choice of words to me...

1 Corinthians 7-8

Today Paul talked a lot about marriage. Not my area of expertise, but ya know...:P Paul seemed to be a pretty proud single. But this verse REALLY threw me off:

"And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband."

Wha? Salvation is only through Christ, and no other man... I must be missing something. Any thoughts?

Mark 3-4

When I read these chapters, I was mostly thinking from the disciples' point of view.

Chapter 3 started in the temple on the Sabbath, where a man with a shriveled hand was there. The leaders watched him closely, to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus said, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" and he healed the man. That's when the Pharisees started plotting.

After that, the healing began if full swing. Everyone wanted to touch him and be healed. And get this in verse 11: Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." He always rebuked them and told them not to tell who he was, but did you notice the part I noticed? It said they all bowed down. Even though they are evil, they know who's in charge. Satan knows it and he bows down. And guess what? Jesus is still in charge of all of them.

By the time Jesus calmed a storm, all these things that had been happening caused the disciples to say, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

Job 23:10

"But he knows the way that I take;

when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold."

Some pastor... I think it was a guest pastor at Shady Grove ages ago... that talked about the hardships we go through in this way. He likened it to a smith making a wrench. He had to put it in the fire and hammer it, over and over again. But when he was done, he could see his reflection in the wrench.

It is the same when God puts us through hardships. He hammers us and refines us until we reflect our maker. If you're in the middle of a rough time - know at the end that you will reflect God more than ever.

Psalm 33

I woke up this morning thinking about this list of things I had to do today that I didn't want to do. I was also a little dehydrated and woozy - didn't drink my usual water quota yesterday:) I was kinda feeling mopey, then this chapter in Psalms that was quite chipper!

Psalm 33

Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;

it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
Praise the LORD with the harp;

make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song; (Don't just do the same thing all the time... be different and excited! Like you are when you hear or buy a new song!)

play skillfully, and shout for joy.
For the word of the LORD is right and true;

he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,

their starry host by the breath of his mouth. (Watch the BETHLEHEM STAR documentary - this becomes even more amazing!)
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;

he puts the deep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD;

let all the people of the world revere him. (ALL of them.)
For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.
The LORD foils the plans of the nations;

he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,

the purposes of his heart through all generations. (Wouldn't it be nice if our plans stuck forever? If they're the same as God's plans - they should!)
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,

the people he chose for his inheritance.
From heaven the LORD looks down

and sees all mankind;
from his dwelling place he watches

all who live on earth-
he who forms the hearts of all,

who considers everything they do.
No king is saved by the size of his army;

no warrior escapes by his great strength. (God is looking upon every battle - every one goes according to his plan!!! Every bomb that explodes in Iraq, every little brother that's pitching a fit, and every Superbowl!)
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;

despite all its great strength it cannot save. (Maybe to our battles, not a horse, but something else we look to. Like food, or drugs, or people. They cannot save.)
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,

on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death

and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the LORD;

he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,

for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,

even as we put our hope in you.

This Psalm just reminded me that whatever we think is annoying and unbeatable - it's not, because everything that happens is God's plan!!!

1 Samuel 6-10

When I start a novelized story of David, this is where it will begin I think.

Saul is just a normal Benjamite, looking for his father's donkeys with a servant. After three days of futile searching, they decided to go ask the prophet Samuel. I wouldn't have thought to ask him... after all, they're... donkeys:P But they went to his house and Samuel was ready for them, having heard from the LORD that this man was to be Israel's king. Before Saul could say anything, Samuel invited him to dine with him, and told him that his donkeys had been found. To top it all off, he said, "To whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father's family?"

"Wha..." Saul must have been shocked. He said, "But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?"

No time for talking - Samuel took them into the hall, and even gave the servant a place of honor! When it was time for the two to leave, Samuel in private anointed Saul's head with oil and told him that he would be the king of Israel. Saul went home, probably in a daze, but didn't tell his family what Samuel had said.

When the time came for the new king to be chosen, Samuel called Saul! Thunderous applause... but no Saul to come into the spotlight on the stage!!! Whispers flitted across the place. "Where is he?" "WHO is he?" Samuel asked God where Saul was and God blew his cover. "He's hiding in the baggage. The people went and got him ("Wait-how'd you find me so fast?") and yelled "LONG LIVE THE KING!!!!!!"

A Sunday Morning

I dreamed it was a morning,

on a chilly Sunday day.

Our small church doors were open

and nothing stood in the way.

There were throngs of joyful people,

and instead of empty pews

there were rows and rows of brothers,

all eager to hear the Good News.

I stood behind the keyboard

for the worship team, amazed

to see that every seat was filled,

and no one stayed away.

We started to make music

our style and songs the same.

Everyone got to their feet

and praised God's holy name.

They raised their hands, they sang aloud.

All stood straight and tall and proud.

Our performance wasn't perfect,

and the drums did not keep time.

The keyboard chords were not in key

and some songs did not rhyme.

But on this special Sunday,

nobody seemed to mind.

They all just sang their hearts to God,

and to our mistakes were blind.

When I woke up I praised the LORD,

then after remembered the day.

It is just a Tuesday morning

after an empty-pewed Sunday.

Must I go back to church next week

to see more plastic people,

all dressed up with judging eyes

under a plastic steeple?

LORD, save our church and let there be

a crowded place that all can see.

Make us excited, light the fire!

For You can see - our need is dire.

1 Corinthians 5-6

Paul is writing to the Corinthians, who are pretty messed up. Paul is not too happy with them. They are sexually immoral and the church is divided. And here he addresses something I hadn't thought about previously - lawsuits among believers. He says...

"If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and this in front of unbelievers! The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers."

The Christians are suing each other!!! And taking the case before just any old judge. Now I haven't sued anybody before, but everybody gets in fights with their brothers - even literal ones!!!:P The part that grabbed me was, "The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers." Why not rather be wronged than sin by wronging somebody else? Completely defeated? I never thought about it that way before. Really, we have no right to wrong others - we should be willing to be wronged rather than sin against others. Easier said than done!!!!

Isaiah 56-61

"I will make peace your governor

and righteousness your ruler.

No longer will violence be heard in your land,

nor ruin or destruction within your borders,

but you will call your walls Salvation

and your gates Praise.

The sun will no more be your light by day,

nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,

for the LORD will be your everlasting light,

and your God will be your glory.

Your sun will never set again,

and your moon will wane no more;

the LORD will be your everlasting light,

and your days of sorrow will end.

Then will all your people be righteous

and they will possess the land forever.

They are the shoot I have planted,

the work of my hands,

for the display of my splendor.
The least of you will become a thousand,

the smallest a mighty nation.

I am the LORD;

in its time I will do this swiftly."

Lately I've been thinking about why everything is all bad. I posted a post about it here. Why is nothing just right in this world? But here the LORD says that he will deliver his people from... well, the BAD! I like the part that says, "They are the shoot I have planted,
the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor." We're doing a series in church about God's glory, so I have my eye out for those kinds of things. But WHEN will he get rid of the bad? When it is time for it. Man, I hope that's SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!

How Come

How come the only jeans that can fit your waist hug your butt? How come there are no shirts in 4 isles of 367 shirts per row that I would ever be allowed to wear? How come things work so wrong?

Hannah

It is a popular name, but what else? She was one of the two wives of Elkanah - and had no children. The other wife did, and was proud of it. She teased Hannah all the time - not a nice atmosphere for Elkanah I guess, two wives fighting all the time. But Hannah wanted children very bad, and once at the temple, she got teased by the other wife so much she started crying and did not eat any dinner, even though Elkanah gave her a double portion of food because he loved her better.

She went to pray to the LORD, and said, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." (Spoiler alert:P - we don't often think of Samuel as a shaggy character huh?:P)

She was praying silently, but her lips were moving. Eli the priest sitting nearby, thought she was drunk and said, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."

"Huh? Wha-" Hannah must have looked behind her a couple times before she realized he was talking to her. "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."

Eli replied, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." Now Hannah felt better, and she went to eat.

A guess what? God gave her a son that she named Samuel. And as soon as he was weaned, she kept her promise and took him to the temple. I would have said, "Well, heheh. I'm sure God wouldn't really mind if I kept him until he's, like, 19. Then he can go to the temple." But she was faithful to her word. And as a reward, God gave her more children. This is a good lesson about keeping promises - not just asking the LORD for what you want.

Genesis 40-43

Joseph is now in prison for no reason:( He meets a cupbearer and a baker that both had dreams, and he could interpret them - the cupbearer gets his job back, and the baker gets hung. Of course they came true, and Joseph told the cupbearer to tell the Pharaoh about him and get him out of the prison, but the cupbearer forgot about him. UNTIL Pharaoh had nightmares and no one could interpret them. Then Joseph was brought to Pharaoh and told thus:

"In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up. In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none could explain it to me."
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine."

Oh no! What to do? Joseph recommended to the king that he should find a wise man to oversee storing food during the good years, and guess what? He got the job. Things went great for the seven years of plenty, and during the bad years people came to buy food. So lah-dee-dah, business is good, then guess who shows up - Joseph's brothers. They don't recognize him, so he decides to have a little fun. "Where do you come from?"

"From the land of Canaan," they replied, "to buy food."
Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected."
"No, my lord," they answered. "Your servants have come to buy food. We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies."
"No!" he said to them. "You have come to see where our land is unprotected."
But they replied, "Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more."
Joseph said to them, "It is just as I told you: You are spies! And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!"

But it turns out he just kept one in custody, and the rest went home for Benjamin. Jacob had a hard time letting Benny go to Egypt, but they needed the food. This time Joseph welcomed them, and held a feast - but Benjamin got 5 times as much food as everybody else.

1 Corinthians 3-4

"Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the LORD comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God." ~ 1 Cor 4:5

I found this verse a while back and I've loved it ever since. I wrote an article about this subject before I ever found the verse, and have been working on not judging anybody about anything since. Whenever I am tempted to, I try to shove it out of my mind. I was surprised how I felt NOT judging people - it is freeing!!! I didn't have to worry about looking down on folks! I can just enjoy and have a good time with everybody!

And notice that last part - it says, "each will receive his praise from God." I expected, "and each will be judged by God and told what they did wrong" I guess. God is ready to praise us!

"One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand." ~ Romans 14:2-4

Job 19-20

Job is in the middle of his sufferings, and his friends are telling him all the things he's probably done wrong. Job says,

"Have pity on me, my friends, have pity,

for the hand of God has struck me.

Why do you pursue me as God does?

Will you never get enough of my flesh?

I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that in the end he will stand upon the earth."

I love that last verse!!!! In the end, he will stand upon the earth... could he mean Jesus? This is arguably the oldest book in the Bible... could they have known this already?

I've kept singing this song since I read this...

Ruth part 2

Ruth has been living with Naomi, gleaning from Boaz's fields, and learning to live without a man around. But one day Naomi said to Ruth, "My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for? Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours?" Well, yes. Ruth agreed to do whatever her mother-in-law asked. She submitted without a fuss, even though it might have been tough - being recently widowed and all. This part interests me...

When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet.
"Who are you?" he asked."I am your servant Ruth," she said. "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer."
"The LORD bless you, my daughter," he replied. "This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. Although it is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I. Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning."

I think a kinsman redeemer is someone who will take care of your family when disaster strikes. And here's why -

Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down.
Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, "Sit here," and they did so. Then he said to the kinsman-redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line."

"I will redeem it," he said.
Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the land from Naomi and from Ruth the Moabitess, you acquire the dead man's widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property."
At this, the kinsman-redeemer said, "Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it."
(Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)
So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself." And he removed his sandal.
Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon's widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!"
Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah."

And guess what? They had a son named Obed who was the grandfather of KING DAVID!!! And who was he the forefather of? Yep! Jesus himself!!! Isn't amazing how God didn't just use Israelites in the family line of his son? Think about Rahab - she was from Jericho! Ruth was from Moab, I mean WOW!!!

Ruth part 1

There was a famine in Israel, and Naomi's family moved to Moab until things got better. Her two sons married two Moabite women named Ruth and Orpah. Happy happy. But things were about to get bad - Naomi's husband and sons died, leaving three women alone.

When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."
But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons, would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has gone out against me!"
At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.
"Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."
But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

So now they are back in Israel, and everything is stirred up because of them. Everybody is sorry for them.

But women didn't work in those days like they do now, so how were they to get food? Ruth decided to go glean wheat. From what I understand, walking behind grain threshers and picking up spare wheat was lawful for widows and orphans, though they were sometimes an annoyance.

She just so happened to go to the field of Boaz, a relative of Naomi's late husband. He said to his workers, "Whose young woman is that?" Heehee! I think that sounds kinda funny!!! But he found that she had followed Naomi and was taking care of her. She found favor in his eyes and he told her that she could glean at this field anytime, and even invited her to eat with his people. Naomi was very pleased.

Tune in next time for Ruth part 2!!!

Genesis 36-39

My Bible reading today was about Joseph. But we all know that story - Joseph was his father's favorite, his brothers got jealous and threw him into a pit, then sold him into slavery. But here is a part I didn't really notice before.

Right after the brothers lied to their father and gave him Joseph's bloody coat, it says, "At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah." He left. Why? Was it guilt? Was it that he couldn't face his father day after day? I thought that was very interesting. Anyway, while he was with this Hirah, he married his daughter. Had two sons that God put to death because they were wicked. Then his wife died. Then he had a baby with his disguised daughter-in-law. Maybe he figured all this bad was coming because of what he had done to his brother, especially because of what he said to disguised Joseph years later. I'll keep you updated on that!

1st Samuel 2 and 3

Then Hannah prayed a thankful prayer to the Lord.
Eli had evil sons. His son's did really, REALLY, bad stuff. But Samuel was ministering before the LORD -a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, "May the LORD give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the LORD." Then they would go home. And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD. One day, an Angel came and said to Eli that his son's were wicked and their going to die on the same day. He also said that all his descendants will die when they're still young. Poor Eli.
So a few days Later, God called Samuel while he was in his bed. So he went to Eli. "Did you call me?"
"No" After this happened a few times, Eli Found out that it was God.So when God called again, Samuel said "Speak, for your servant is listening. God told him that all that was said about Eli would come true soon. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli. But Eli asked him and he told.Then Eli said, "He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes." He takes that so well. But soon it became obvious that Samuel was gonna be the new priest.

Evangelism

I've been thinking a lot on the subject of evangelism. We know what it means, but in the dictionary it's described as "missionary zeal, purpose, or activity". We know some good ones that do seminars and such. But how can we do it? What is it? Sharing Christ with others, of course, but how is it generally done? Most of the evangelists I know of are very smart people, in brain and in the gospel. They know Jesus's response to a lot of problems, and know all the right verses. Of course, I'm learning. But it got me to thinking... then I read these verses in 1 Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 1:17-18

"For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the gospel— not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

I am reminded of a great line in FIREPROOF... "The cross was offensive to me too - until I came to it."

1 Corinthians 2:4-5
"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,

so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

Wait, NOT with wise and persuasive words? Well, that's good for me - I can't use those kind very well. But what is a demonstration of the Spirit's power? Turn the water to blood? I don't think so. I could be wrong, but the way I see it is that I AM a demonstration of the Spirit's power. After all, if I didn't have the spirit, I wouldn't be the way I am today. So if I show people the light in me, they will see it and want what I have. Hence, another FIREPROOF line: "Something's changed in you. And I want what happened to you to happen to me."

I do NOT think that came out right.

Matthew 23-25

Today, Jesus talked about the Pharisees. I have put here the verses that are most fitting for us as Christians today:

"They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them."

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are."

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."

We all know from the New Testament, that the Pharisees were mostly a no-good bunch. The bad guys. Nobody uses the Pharisees as role models nowadays. Everybody knows that they were hypocrites.

But think about us - are we any better? How do we as Christians look to nonbelievers today? Do we intimidate them by acting all aloof and self-righteous, but really acting the same as them? Are we showing that we're special? Ravi Zecharias said that he heard a man say of Christianity, "I like their Christ. I don't like their Christian." Are we shutting the kingdom's door in people's faces?

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians. Who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny it by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." ~ DC TALK

Got Darkness?

"Let him who walks in the dark

who has no light,

trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

But now, all you who light fires

and provide yourselves with flaming torches,

go, walk in the light of your fires

and of the torches you have set ablaze.

This is what you shall receive from my hand:

You will lie down in torment.

~ Isaiah 50:10-11

Can you relate to these verses? Have you ever been at a place where you just didn't know the next step? What did you do?

We are supposed to trust in the LORD when we have no idea what to do... because he can see in the dark! Lazer eyes!!! And what's more - He loves us and wouldn't let us trip over something if we are trusting in him. We were in kind of a situation like this when we were moving to Colorado... and didn't have a house.

BUT sometimes we don't trust God and what do we do? We try to find a way for ourselves. We light torches that honestly don't work very well. If we keep trying to use our homemade torch to see the end - we'll surely trip. While the whole time, God is waiting to give us direction!

It sounds so easy - trust completely in God and he will make everything work out. But why is it so hard to do?

2 Kings 10

Jehu is still cleaning house. BUT he didn't like to kill in cold blood, so he notified the guardians and elders of Ahab's children and said, "fight for your master's house!" They were terrified because they couldn't stand against him, and told him they'd do anything he wanted. He WANTED them to bring him the heads of his master's sons, and they did it.

As he was moving along, he saw some people and asked them who they were. They answered that they were relatives of the king over for a visit. Jehu killed them too.

Now for all those prophets of Baal... but how was he to get THEM all together? THIS called for some imagination! He made a proclamation, saying, "Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. Now summon all the prophets of Baal, all his ministers and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live." Clever... reminds me of when Rahab lied to save the spies. Anyway, they all came - every single one. Jehu ordered the guards to clean up... and so all the ministers of Baal were gone and Israel worshiped Baal no more!!!

However, there was one thing that kept Jehu from being as great as David (I think). He did not destroy to golden calves that the people had been worshiping, and he even worshiped them himself. I did a bible study once about this - it said that unless we get rid of all the things that tempted us before we were with God (or in Jehu's case, chosen of God) they will keep tempting us and make us fall away.

Whole lotta bad

Why is everything in this world just plain... bad?

You can't do the things that are good and fun anymore because of all that bad that's creeping into everything.

Babies seem to have a hard time coming into the world all of a sudden.

Neither of the presidential candidates are anything good.

The way relationships used to be there and then are turning bad and confusing.

You can't go to a lot of Christian concerts because of the bad people.

There's a war. Right now.

How can heaven be full and complete if your family's not there?

Gas prices are bad too.

"Hey! Let's play another adult commercial on family-friendly Monday Night Football!!!"

50% of marriages end in divorce - wait, it may be more now.

We're running out of good things to think about in this world. Even if you think, "Well, I have a family, we have food, we have a house"... to what end? You have a family, and they'll have to suffer all this bad too. All good food makes you fat (why's that, anyway?) and can't make you happy. You have a house that you have to work your tail off to pay for and spend your Saturdays fixing. No one does anything decent that matters to anybody or that doesn't get overlooked through all the bad. Take a look at the news or the paper - all bad.

The most anyone can accomplish is to keep their faith in a world that's all bad.

Why is it all bad?

What is left that is good and decent?

Who is accomplishing anything?

Why isn't God changing this?