The Voting is Over, November 2, 2020

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

We are in the week of our election in the United States. Depending on when you’re listening, we are choosing tomorrow, have chosen, or are awaiting news of who garnered the most electoral votes and will sit in the Oval Office on January 20^th. Will it make a difference to the country? I’m not sure.

In the last few decades, we polarized ourselves to such a degree I’m not sure anyone can bring us together unless we, as a people, choose to stand up as a whole and demand change from within. Jesus described our political parties well from his description of the political parties of his day when he said in Matthew 23:

²‘The scribes and Pharisees,’ he said, ‘sit on the seat of Moses. ³So you must do whatever they tell you, and keep it, but don’t do the things they do. You see, they talk but they don’t do. ⁴They tie up heavy bundles which are difficult to carry, and they dump them on people’s shoulders – but they themselves aren’t prepared to lift a little finger to move them!

⁵‘Everything they do is for show, to be seen by people. Yes, they make their prayer-boxes large and their prayer-tassels long, ⁶and they love the chief places at dinners, the main seats in the synagogues, ⁷the greetings in the market-places, and having people call them “Rabbi.” (Matthew 23: 2-7 NTE)

Take a look at what goes on within the political arena in Washington. We’ve had so little happen for the people in the last 20 years unless it brought attention to the bill’s author. We hear about Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act, but if you read the 10,000 pages of its legislation, it’s not much different from the Trump Healthcare plan except for the act’s regulation. They both provide the same care to those who can’t afford it. They both ensure pre-existing conditions are covered. They both try to reduce unpredictable and uncontrollable costs.

The big difference is in the regulation. The Republican Party doesn’t like big government, so gets rid of regulation whenever it can, which means getting rid of government oversight and government jobs. The Democratic Party favors big government and management and adds regulation and government jobs. The two have much more in common than in differences. But we don’t read the 14,000 pages of legal jargon, so we don’t know that. We only hear what each side tells us through their media, and we buy their stories.

I’m thrilled we finally turned out to vote this year and discovered the importance of letting our voices be heard in an election. Maybe we won’t crawl into a hole until the next general election but will instead continue to provide a voice through letters, calls, attendance at local venues with our representatives in the local, state, and federal legislatures to let them know what we think. We have let them run amuck far too long. It’s our fault the right and left have grown so far apart. We have failed as citizens to reign them in and make them sit down at the table and discuss meaningful compromises that will do what we want them to do. They are our representatives, not our kings, our princes, or bosses. They should be giving voice to what we want, not what they want.

How do we make that happen? When they fail to voice our concerns and a more moderate line, which is what I think most Americans would prefer, we should vote them out of office and replace them with someone who will listen to our voice. Recalls can still happen when our representatives fail to follow what we insist they do. Our laws allow us and demand us to take such action for the good of the citizens they represent. But we must stay involved and informed if we plan to do those things.

We can’t blindly take the word of what we have found to be a significantly biased media. Both left and right spin their stories to inflame the other side. Now we see both sides of social media intentionally censor their clientele to ensure only one side gets told on their platform. As Christians, how are we to overcome this divide that plagues our nation?

First, recognize what is happening. As Jesus said, “A house divided cannot stand.” If we continue to allow the media and our politicians to inflame the populace along far-right and far-left ideologies, America will dissolve as a democracy. We cannot continue to survive as a nation under these conditions. Nor can we survive as a far-left or far-right nation. Neither side will meet the needs of the majority. The radical fringe ideologies that both sides propose daily will destroy what we built over the last 244 years. Both extremes are wrong. Both sides lay burdens on the backs of the people they are not willing to carry themselves. Note the exemptions Congress gives itself regarding the laws it enacts for the rest of us concerning taxes, healthcare, banking laws, salary for life after serving just one term, and many other regulations that burden the people but not them.

Second, pray that God will intervene and soften the hearts of the men and women in our elected positions, that they will listen to his voice and act accordingly. Pray that he will hear our prayers and heal our land. Pray that he will bring safety to our country; that he will return a sense of humanity to the hearts of both sides of the aisles in our legislators at all levels of government. Pray that the radical actors burning our cities and committing violence against innocent citizens will stop, repent, and discover God.

Third, find out the facts about what our governments at local, state, and federal levels are doing. Don’t listen to the news outlets, but instead, get involved and read the legislative bodies’ official records. Go to the public documents that record the legislation and the votes of those who represent you. See how they acted, not what they said. It’s often interesting the differences you find in the two. You don’t get prosecuted for lying to the press, but you do when you perjure yourself in court or Congress. So read the official records.

Fourth, vote for the individuals who act according to what you think is right for the community at large. Don’t vote based on what you hear in ad campaigns or what the media splashes across their platform. As we have seen in the campaigns this year, both sides do their best to take one statement, spin it a million different ways, and try to trash their opponent. This has nothing to do with how they will help you or your community. So, vote for the person who acts to do what is right for the community at large. That is what democracy is about—doing the majority’s will while protecting the few’s rights.

Next, get involved. Go to the meetings your representatives hold—Voice your opinions and concerns. Ensure your representatives carry out the will of the people, not their agenda. They represent the majority that put them in office, not some isolated group somewhere, or at least that is how our government is supposed to work. When they fail to meet your expectations, vote them out of office. Don’t let politicians continue to hold offices that fail to carry out the will of the majority. Hold them accountable for their promises.

Finally, force your representatives to sit down at the table and listen to the other side. Find the commonalities between the two. Negotiate a reasonable plan that will satisfy both sides. We don’t need to operate on the far left or far right. In fact, we should probably never find ourselves living in either space. Find a moderate compromise that takes both sides’ best and legislates a sensible plan free of all the add-on amendments that too often cause good bills to fail. Get involved as one not driven by either extreme to let your voice, driven by the King of kings, be heard.

The voting is over. Right now, the country is in turmoil, and it’s our fault as Americans, as silent Christians. We have not played our part as good citizens. It’s time we do what we should and let our voices be heard so that the King of kings can rule this nation along with all the others. It’s time to participate in politics and tell those the country elected to do the right thing and make sure they do. Remember, separation of church and state was always to keep the government out of the church, not keep the church out of government. We need to raise our voice and let God back into the running of our country. It’s our fault as Christians we are where we are today. We can help fix it if we dare.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible-based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Love is Key – Episode 10-44, October 26, 2020

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Join us as we explore God’s ancient wisdom and apply it to our modern lives. His word is as current and relevant today as it was when he inspired its authors more than two and a half millennia ago. The websites where you can reach us are alittlewalkwithgod.com, richardagee.com, or saf.church.

I hope you will join us every week and be sure to let us know how you enjoy the podcast and let others know about it, too. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. We think we progressed so much over the last centuries, but I’m not so sure. When we think of Jesus’ day and the early Christian church, we too often think of the Middle-ages with its feudal systems and the monks and monasteries. But the first century found itself embroiled in Rome’s politics, and in Israel, the fight between the different factions within the Jewish religion.

We think we have a divide between the Republicans and Democrats here, and we do. In recent years, we managed to tear each other apart until now we have come to the point of both extremist sides protesting anything the other says with violence, riots, burning down innocent victims’ property, shootings, and killings. We have become maniacal in our drive to push our agenda without listening to the other side.

Jesus’ day didn’t appear much different. The Sadducees held the seats of power. They had the honored seat of the priesthood and the powerful reign as chief priest. What the chief priest decreed; the people obeyed at risk of their eternal soul. But problems erupted in the politics of the arrangement.

The Sadducees gained their position through violence when the Maccabees overthrew the Seleucids, and the Hasmonean dynasty began. The Pharisees and Sadducees’ views were about as opposite as the Democrats and Republicans. And they hated each other about as much as the two parties seem to hate each other today.

The Sadducees, considered conservative among Jews because of their strict adherence to the Law of Moses, accepted only the first five books of scripture as authoritative. They believed heartily in an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth punishment. They did not recognize a final resurrection or many other rituals or details of the Law the Pharisees believed because they accepted only the Torah.

Despite their conservative approach to Judaism, their wealth, power, and cooperation with Rome labeled them Hellenistic. The people despised them and looked for ways to overthrow their tight rule over the priesthood. Several sects grew out of the populace, including the more familiar Essenes and Pharisees.

If the Sadducees were the far-right in Jesus’ day, the Pharisees represented the far-left. They wanted to overthrow the current reign of the Sadducees and take control of the priesthood. The Pharisees believed in all the scriptures’ authority in the current Hebrew Bible, which includes the Wisdom Books and the Prophets. They believe in bodily resurrection, after which a final judgment will separate God’s chosen people and proselytes to Israel’s God and reward them in the ‘age to come.’

While appearing pious and godly in public, the Pharisees funded, plotted, and planned several revolts to overthrow the Sadducees and the Roman occupation to rid the nation of both entities. The Pharisees would gladly break their own laws to rid the country of their enemies, no matter who they were.

Politics! Isn’t amazing how we have not changed in 2,000 years—party attacking party. Behind the scenes, action stirring up trouble to do more name-calling and pointing out flaws than announcing what the party stands for and how it will accomplish what it says it will do for the people. Dirt uncovered or made up and splashed across whatever grapevine is handy. Say it enough times, and it must be true, right? Have the right person announce it, and it must be true, right? Put it on the right platform, and it must be true, right? We have become so gullible on both sides; quite frankly, we are pretty pathetic as a nation when it comes to politics.

One difference between the Sadducees and Pharisees and our political parties now is that at least they came together for one purpose – to get rid of Jesus. Here’s one example out of many that didn’t work.

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together,
and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him,” ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
This is the greatest and first commandment.
And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:34-40 NIV)

The Sadducees tried to trapped Jesus with their question about marriage at the resurrection. Jesus confirms the resurrection but blasts their misunderstanding of what the resurrection is like and their misunderstanding about scriptures, declaring God is God of the living, not the dead. The Sadducees slink away defeated. So their enemies, the Pharisees, take up the battle against Jesus at the Temple.

This scene is different to me because I see so little common ground among the people we send to Washington, the politicians. I know it is not true of the neighbors around me, or the people who live across town from me, or the owners of the stores downtown or their workers. I know it’s not true of the average American citizen. I believe deep inside, most of us have a lot more in common than we have against each other.

Like the people in almost every country I’ve visited, I believe most of us want a few things in life. We want a stable economy and standard of living that makes us comfortable, not necessarily rich or wealthy. We want our kids to have a better life than we did. We want to know we can walk the streets at night without the risk of being mugged or killed. We want to sleep at home in safety. We want to worship in the way we choose without ridicule, harassment, or government involvement. We want basic services at a reasonable cost, police, fire, water, sewage, healthcare, and the like. We want honest men and women in elected positions who serve the people instead of growing their bank accounts on the people’s backs.

Christians should live as good citizens of the country where they live, act as the voice for those who cannot speak for themselves, and do something about injustice, poverty, and crime. But Christians must also live as citizens of the Kingdom of God first. That is our true citizenship, and it means we must live by Jesus’ commands. All authority in heaven and earth is placed in him, and his command is given in the verses we just read. Love God and love your neighbor. Elsewhere Jesus tells us you can’t love the invisible God you can’t see; if you don’t love your neighbor, you can see.

Does name-calling fall within the rights of a Kingdom of God citizen? I don’t think so. Does rioting fall within those rights? I don’t think so. Does violence against another meet the criteria? Again, not according to what I see in Jesus. We need to stand up for what is right, but not in the way it happens on Facebook or some of our streets today. Even what we see on C-Span or the news outlets, how interviews, or more like interrogations, are handled, they do not reflect a citizen of the Kingdom spirit. Am I judging? Yes. I think when we see behavior clearly violating the spirit of God’s law, that’s not judging the heart. I can’t see a person’s heart and cannot evaluate a person’s state before God. But I can certainly identify behavior so outlandishly against what Jesus would accept in his Kingdom.

It’s time we stop and think before we act. If we are children of the Kingdom, we need to act like it. We need to share the gospel, not hatred. We need to remind ourselves and others that Jesus was crucified, died, and buried. He was raised from the dead and is alive, sitting as King of the world. Put your faith and hope in him. Pray a lot about this election. Go and vote your conscience. Someone will win, someone will lose in this election, but it doesn’t change the real ruler. That will never change. Jesus is and always will be the King of kings.

One day, ‘every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess, that Jesus is the Lord.’ There is no other.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan

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Love is Key, October 26, 2020

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together,
and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.

One day, ‘every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess, that Jesus is the Lord.’ There is no other.

One Came Back – Episode 10-43, October 19, 2020

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I hope you will join us every week and be sure to let us know how you enjoy the podcast and let others know about it, too. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

Today, we are further from the first-century church than was King David. Life for the shepherd king resembled life for Jesus and his followers more than it does for us. We sometimes find it challenging to remember that because of the way the Renaissance portrayed the first century. We see paintings of the Roman Jesus instead of the Jewish Jesus. We see him peacefully meandering through the hillsides and large crowds welcoming him wherever he goes with no interruption or opposition in those paintings.

I don’t think that’s what life was like for Jesus and the Jews of his day. We forget Israel and Jerusalem, in particular, found itself an occupied nation filled with Roman soldiers. Jerusalem’s priests continually worked to quell revolts among the people so they could keep their tenuous line of authority with Herod and Caesar. Revolutionaries popped up among the populace often enough that crucifixes were not an uncommon sight along the Judean and Galilean roads as examples of what would happen to those who sought to overthrow their Roman yoke.

The Jews didn’t like the Romans. They didn’t like their taxes. They didn’t like the fact that taxes must be paid with Roman coins with Caesar’s depiction stamped on one side and the pronouncement’ son of god’ on the other. The blasphemous thought grated at them every time they even saw one of those coins. That’s part of the hypocrisy of their question to Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees should have shuddered at producing a coin, much less had one within the Temple grounds.

Jesus spent most of his ministry outside Jerusalem to the very end, mostly, I think, to avoid what he knew would result when he spoke of the kingdom of God within the city. The priests would protect their positions with Rome. Rome would swiftly end anything they saw as a threat to their empire. Any talk of a new king constituted a threat to Caesar. How could Rome not execute another proclaimed Messiah, King of the Jews? Jesus was not the first to hang on their crosses, and he would not be the last. But he would be the only one the grave could not hold.

So, let’s take a different picture of what Israel might look like in those three years of Jesus’ ministry. Instead of the serene country hillsides and quiet fishing villages, let’s move the scene forward into what it might have looked like in our modern world. Picture Chicago, Seattle, Portland, New York, and other major cities protesting the police’s overreach in some of those cases. Riots spring up, rocks thrown, torches lit, crowds gather around public buildings.

But there is one huge difference. In our cities, those protests and riots run their course. Buildings burned. Some innocents and guilty were injured. Some arrested. But imagine living in a police state like Rome or China. That first night of protest, the army comes out in full force. The protesters find themselves surrounded. Gunshots begin to ring out. Within a few minutes, it’s over. The protesters no longer stand shouting with fists raised, ready to let the government know their grievances. They lay dead in the streets.

That’s Jerusalem in Jesus’ day. Centurions kept peace with their companies of soldiers. When rocks were thrown, they retaliated with swords and spears. The Romans showed no mercy. They conquered wherever they went because everyone knew their reputation and most often surrendered before forced to fight. Paying taxes seemed better than lying in a grave.

Did Jesus hide? I don’t think he hid from authorities, but as he often mentioned, he lived on a timetable. Jesus marched toward a specific destiny at one particular time. He would be the Passover Lamb and did not want to find himself in the hands of the authorities at the wrong time. Consequently, we find most of his teaching outside Jerusalem in Judea and Galilea’s hills, and sometimes in Samaria.

Why all that background? It’s to introduce us to a story that hits too close to home for the church today. It comes from an event recorded by Luke in the seventeenth chapter:

11 As Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he passed along the borderlands between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into one particular village he was met by ten men with virulent skin diseases who stayed at some distance from him.

13 ‘Jesus, Master!’ they called out loudly. ‘Have pity on us!’

14 When Jesus saw them he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were healed.

15 One of them, seeing that he had been healed, turned back and gave glory to God at the top of his voice. 16 He fell on his face in front of Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.

17 ‘There were ten of you healed, weren’t there?’ responded Jesus. ‘Where are the nine? 18 Is it really the case that the only one who had the decency to give God the glory was this foreigner?

19 ‘Get up, and be on your way,’ he said to him. ‘Your faith has saved you.’ Luke 17:11-19 NTE)

Jesus continued his ministry, mostly in small villages outside the major metropolitan areas of Israel. Herod had already arrested and killed his cousin, John, because of his ministry. Jesus’ message was more inflammatory and revolutionary than John’s. His disciples declared him Messiah. Herod knew from the prophecies that meant one thing. He would reign over all the Jews and all the nations. Jesus was a threat to Herod and Caesar.

Still, Jesus spread his message. Repent! The kingdom of God is near. His kingdom is at hand. But Jesus’ kingdom didn’t bring speak of violent overthrow of an oppressive government. He didn’t expect to use armed soldiers to fight against another army. Jesus spoke of fighting with peace, love, mercy, forgiveness, grace. Characteristics that describe the loving Father he knew created all things and allowed the kings of the world to hold their positions to bring some order into the chaos that would otherwise run rampant throughout his world.

We saw how the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone or Capitol Hill Organized Protest turned out. It didn’t take very long until what was supposed to be a peaceful, everyone equal, no racism, no police area of Seattle included burned-out buildings, businesses looted, and owners threatened, robberies, rapes, and murders with a small group of armed men deciding they were in charge. Autonomy turned into anarchy in the small area. Peace and love turned to violence and fear. God’s word says he puts authorities in place to keep us in line because we can’t do it ourselves. We are broken people because of sin. We cave to our misdirected desires and satisfy them in ways that break the communities in which we live.

Still, Jesus spread his message. He knew our hearts. He knew most would reject him. Only one of the ten men healed of their dreadful disease returned to thank him and give praise to God. Did the other nine return after they went to the priest? We don’t know, but based on the story, I doubt it. Did they run to their families to share the good news first and then come back? Probably not, according to the tone of Jesus’ words.

We haven’t changed much across the millennia of our existence. We think we become smarter with more information at our disposal. We think we know more than our ancestors. We think we possess advanced intelligence. But I think we may digress in wisdom as we look at the plight of humanity. We have all this information at our fingertips, but what do we do with it to help each other? Instead, we try to line our pockets with more. We build bigger barns, drive faster cars, get the corner office with bigger windows.

But do we give credit to the One who enables us to do any of those things? And do we share the surplus as God asks? Do we take care of the widows and orphans, the definition of those who could not take care of themselves in his day? Do we share the message that Jesus came to fulfill Abraham’s side of the covenant, to finally share the blessings of God with all the nations of the world – to rescue them from themselves?

Jesus came to rescue us – from sin, death, sickness, economic woes, environmental problems, societal strife, all the things that plague humanity since Adam and Eve first broke their covenant with God and ate the fruit he forbade them to eat. Jesus began that work through his message. He fulfilled that work in his resurrection. He begins to make it available to all who believe in him as Messiah, the son of the living God.

Will all believe? I don’t think so. Will all be rescued? Again, I don’t think so. When drowning, you must grab the life ring before it can save you. While it just floats beside you and you refuse to grab it, the life ring can do nothing for you. God gives us every opportunity to grab on to his message, to believe in him, to experience his forgiving mercy and grace. But we must also take that step of faith and reach out to him as well. He reaches far past the middle, but we must also reach out to him. He wants believers in his kingdom, not puppets. It is always my choice and yours.

Ten were told to show themselves to the priest. One returned to praise God. One received the words from Jesus, “Your faith has saved you, healed you, rescued you.” The other nine? We don’t know their fate for sure. I only know I want to stand with that one and know for sure I’m in that small crowd who falls at Jesus’ feet and praises him for his saving grace. How about you?

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One Came Back, October 19, 2020

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Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

Why all that background? It’s to introduce us to a story that hits too close to home for the church today. It comes from an event recorded by Luke in the seventeenth chapter:

¹¹As Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he passed along the borderlands between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²As he was going into one particular village he was met by ten men with virulent skin diseases who stayed at some distance from him.

¹³‘Jesus, Master!’ they called out loudly. ‘Have pity on us!’

¹⁴When Jesus saw them he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were healed.

¹⁵One of them, seeing that he had been healed, turned back and gave glory to God at the top of his voice. ¹⁶He fell on his face in front of Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.

¹⁷‘There were ten of you healed, weren’t there?’ responded Jesus. ‘Where are the nine? ¹⁸Is it really the case that the only one who had the decency to give God the glory was this foreigner?

¹⁹‘Get up, and be on your way,’ he said to him. ‘Your faith has saved you.’ Luke 17:11-19 NTE)

A Trilogy from Paul, October 12, 2020

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

From the Philippians’ lectionary readings yesterday, three things jumped out at me that I wanted to share with you today. First, let me read the passage from Paul’s letter, then we will discuss each of them in reverse in the message and why I think we must address them as individuals and as the church, the body of Christ, today.

4 Always be glad for what the Lord has done, I will say it again, be glad.

5 Let everyone know that you think kindly of others before yourselves. The Lord is near.

6 Do not worry about anything. Talk to God about everything. Thank him for what you have. Ask him for what you need.

7 Then God will give you peace, a peace which is too wonderful to understand. That peace will keep your hearts and minds safe as you trust in Christ Jesus.

8 Here, my brothers, are some things I want you to think about. Think about things that are true, honest, right, clean and pure, things that are lovely, and things that are good to talk about. If they are good, and if they bring praise to God, think about these things.

9 I taught you, and you learned things from me. You heard the things I said, and you saw the things I did. Do these same things yourselves. Then God who gives peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9 WE)

The topic that I’ll mention first comes from Paul’s last bold statement. Pattern your life after mine, and God will give you the peace he gives me. How many of us tell those coming behind us those words today? Too often, what we hear is my private life is private. Don’t peek into the closet; it’s none of your business what I do behind closed doors. You only need to know what I do in my business, my public life, that’s why you pay me.

Not Paul. He says, follow me around, watch me every moment of every day and do what I do. Use me as an example of holy living. Let me show you what it means to follow Jesus and his teachings. If you do the things I do, you will be okay when you stand before Him at the judgment.

We might call that overconfident. We might call Paul conceited. We might think him arrogant. Paul lived none of those characteristics. He just knew that if he followed Christ in all his practices, public and private, others could follow him and find their way to Jesus the same way he did. And when Paul discovered him, Jesus turned his world upside down, or should I say, he finally turned Paul’s world right-side up. That’s what Jesus came to do, after all, to make all things right again.

So, the first point in Paul’s words yesterday, can I say like Paul, follow in my footsteps, and you will be following Jesus? Am I walking so much in the light of God’s word and by the guidance of his spirit, that I can honestly make that statement to others? If not, why not, and what am I going to do about it?

Second is Paul’s admonition to watch with what we fill our cranial space. God created magnificent computer storage spaces when he created our brains. They operate in ways science and medicine still haven’t figured out. Somehow, memories get stored in the electrical impulses that happened between the cells in our brain, but how and what mechanism recall the right bit of those chemical and electrical impulses to bring back those memories decades later? We still have no clue.

What we have learned, though, is that everything that goes into the brain is there. Unless some injury or illness destroys some part of the brain, memories find their way in and remain. I might not be able to call them up at a moments’ notice, but they reside somewhere in that mass of tissue, and the right stimulus can bring them to the surface. So Paul says, if that’s true, just like a compute, our brains work on the principle of garbage in, garbage out. If you fill your mind with smut, violence, evil, things contradictory to God’s goodness, that’s what spills out. When you fill your mind with good things, that’s what comes out.

What does that mean for us practically? The older I get, the more I understand Paul’s words. Think about things that are true, honest, right, clean and pure, things that are lovely, and things that are good to talk about. If they are good, and if they bring praise to God, think about these things. I must admit, I’ve quit watching the news almost entirely. When is the last time you heard any news outlet talk about anything with these qualities? It’s been a long time. Bad news sells. In our broken state, we want to hear the dirt, the lies, the filth, the ugly. We want to know the worst of society to feel just a little better about ourselves in our minds.

Filling our mind with the worst of society doesn’t let God shine his light on the things in us he wants to change, though. Thinking on the goodness of creation, the goodness of humanity made in God’s image, the goodness of God’s love and mercy, the beauty of the things around us, pulls us out of the world and, for those moments, lets us get just a little closer to the joining of heaven and earth – God walking in the garden with us.

Yesterday’s scripture reminds us to keep our minds on things that focus on the best of this world. Paul tells us:

Think about things that are true, honest, right, clean and pure, things that are lovely, and things that are good to talk about. If they are good, and if they bring praise to God, think about these things.

Finally, the last thing I wanted to share with you from yesterday’s reading is just a four-word sentence from verse 5. “The Lord is near.” What makes that so important, and why did I want to share it with you today.

Allowing me to read more resulted in a pandemic’s positive effect as it seems the second wave begins to hit many areas of the world. As I’ve read much larger chunks of the Old and New Testaments at one sitting, often several books at a time, I’ve begun to notice things I never saw before.

I knew Jesus is the Messiah prophesied throughout the Old Testament. Still, I never saw how Jesus became the embodiment of the Israelites exile once again so he could go through it and overcome it. Abraham was exiled in a sense from Ur but failed to bless the nations. God rescued the fledgling tribe through Joseph, but they failed to show God to the Egyptians how they saw Yahweh as the only God of the heavens. God rescued the Israelites through Moses, but they turned back to their idolatry in the land he gave them. Now, after returning from Babylon, still scattered around the world, the Temple rebuilt, Jesus comes to rescue the Israelites and show them what God wants of his chosen people as lights of the world to bring the nations to him. The Pharisees and Sadducees work together to plot to kill him. Use trumped-up charges, break their laws to entice Pilate to execute Jesus for doing good on the Sabbath, and rid Jerusalem of another revolutionary leader – they thought.

Jesus’ resurrection brought heaven and earth together. Throughout his ministry, his message was clear. Repent, heaven is near. Some will think me crazy, I’m sure. Some will not want to hear the Lord is near. But as we discover the probability of multiple dimensions, I believe that’s where heaven might be. I think heaven is here, just out of sight. Jesus’ resurrected body could pass from one side to the other. Perhaps he could multiply the bread and fish by reaching from one side to the other. Maybe angels can do God’s bidding by passing from one side to the other.

We don’t understand what physical properties other dimensions might hold because we’ve never seen them or been there. Scientists only assume their probability through mathematical formulas. But suppose it is true and the Lord is just beside you and in this other dimension can be just beside any of us in the blink of an eye where time and space don’t operate the way it does in our dimension. What if Jesus, the son of God, who conquered death and showed his disciples his new resurrected body that comes and goes behind locked doors is right here, now, just waiting for God to say, “Open the curtain.”

It means in the blink of an eye; all could change. The new heaven and new earth could appear without notice, and suddenly we would be face to face with our Lord as a new dimension, a new earth, a new heaven, a new creation unfolds around us. “Heaven is near,” Jesus said. “The kingdom is at hand,” he proclaimed. Paul tells us, “The Lord is near.” Perhaps he’s even here. How does that change what you do and how you act today.

There they are: The Lord is near. Think about good things. Follow in my footsteps to follow in his. Three messages that will shake us and awaken us as we contemplate the days in which we live.

Scriptures marked WE are taken from THE JESUS BOOK – The Bible in Worldwide English (WE). Scriptures are taken from THE JESUS BOOK – The Bible in Worldwide English, Copyright © 1969, 1971, 1996, 1998 by SOON Educational Publications, Derby, DE65 6BN, UK. Used by permission.

Fear Not, October 5, 2020

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¹⁸The people trembled with fear when they heard the thunder and the trumpet and saw the lightning and the smoke coming from the mountain. They stood a long way off ¹⁹and said to Moses, “If you speak to us, we will listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we will die!”

²⁰“Don’t be afraid!” Moses replied. “God has come only to test you, so that by obeying him you won’t sin.” ²¹But when Moses went near the thick cloud where God was, the people stayed a long way off. (Exodus 20:18-20 CEV)

What is it about us? We mock God in so many ways, but when he shows up, we tremble with fear. It happened with Adam and Eve when they recognized their disobedience. The Israelites trembled at the foot of Mount Sinai, where God gave his direction for living in harmony. It happens today when he shows up in extraordinary ways.

God invited his people to witness the giving of the law, but they wanted to listen only to Moses’ voice, not to the voice of God. “Let God speak to Moses and tell us what he said, but don’t let us hear the voice of God, or we’ll die!” How sad that we fail to accept God’s invitation to come into his presence and learn at his feet.

Of course, when we do, we risk everything. We learn that we indeed live in sin. We discover our shortcomings and how far we fall from the perfection of a holy God. We find ourselves falling on our face as Isaiah or Peter or John and declaring our sin to him. The sin he already knows, but we see fully uncovered in the light of His holiness. But isn’t that what we want? Shouldn’t we prefer those faults exposed so God can take care of them instead of them dragging us down? Shouldn’t our greatest desire be God’s intervention in our lives to rid us of those things that oppose him so that we can stand blameless in his presence?

I sometimes think the Israelites failure to accept God’s initial invitation to climb the mountain with Moses and find themselves from that point prohibited from even touching the mountain started their path to exile and destruction. I wonder what would have happened if they had gone up the trail and listen to God’s instructions. I wonder how they would have reacted to his commands differently if, instead of listening to God’s words through Moses, they heard those commands from God’s voice.

Perhaps the thunderous voice, the fire, and smoke accompanying God’s presence as he spoke might have made the impact necessary for them to follow his guidance. Perhaps, if the people experienced God’s presence the way Moses did, they would recognize the incredible privilege of hearing him speak to them and the risk they took in not following him. Perhaps, the Israelites would have fulfilled their mission as God’s light to the world and blessed the rest of the nations as he had desired from the beginning.

Then Jesus came and again invited us into his presence. After his resurrection, he appeared to many with the command repeated more often than any other throughout God’s word, “Don’t be afraid.” He wants us to come near to him. He wants us to enjoy an intimate relationship with God. Jesus knows that entering the presence of God can cause fear when we recognize our sin, but he gave his life as the atonement for our sin. We do not need to fear his presence. He is a God of love and mercy, demonstrated through his actions as Messiah.

Our problem today, we fail to get close enough to God to see through the smoke and get past the thunderous voice and know the intimacy of the Father. We stand off at a distance, as did the Israelites, instead of drawing near to him. When we do, we find the gentle hand of a loving God, ready to save us from ourselves. We see him ready to help us in our time of need. We find the Abba, Father side of God, instead of the wrathful, lightning bolt side.

How do we come near to God today, though? We don’t see the Old Testament’s dramatic events in which he covered the mountain tops with thunder and fire. We don’t see him in a pillar of cloud and fire, leading the way ahead. So how do we find him?

The answer lies in prayerfully reading his word. Let the words of the scripture, especially those of Jesus, show you who God is. The Old Testament points to the coming Messiah. The Gospels show Jesus fulfills that role. The Acts and the Epistles show what happens when people follow Jesus’ teachings and let his spirit guide their lives. His word is fresh every day. He gives new insights to life and what he wants to do in and through you as you study and examine his word.

Then exercise just a modicum of faith in Jesus, believing him to be Messiah, God’s Son, the one who gave himself for your sin. Ask him to forgive you for your disobedience toward him and ask him into your life. Allow him to be master of your life. Open your heart and mind to him, and he will direct you as you journey through life. He will let you know him. He will not be a stranger to you. But it does take that first step of faith believing he is who he says he is.

Awe replaces fear. A desire to know more of him grows in you. You begin to see others how God sees them for who they can become rather who they are now. Your love for others expands as you recognize God’s love for you and them. You recognize the image of God in all humanity, not just in what used to be your favorite parts of the world. Jesus will lead you on the most exciting journey you can imagine.

So, what will it be? Stand in fear at the bottom of the mountain? Or join the crowds who have gone before you following the one who takes away all fear? It’s your choice. He gives us the free will to make it. He’s ready and willing to have you join his kingdom if you are willing.

Quail and Manna, September 21, 2020

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About five years ago, I thought extending our porch into a patio and covering it with a cedar pergola a great idea. Although I hadn’t meant to start the project in the middle of July in San Antonio, my brother-in-law came to visit and cut down a couple of trees that were in the way of the patio my wife and I envisioned someday. Then he built a frame for the concrete.

Only one problem. He left. The form wasn’t strong enough to hold the fill dirt and ten yards of concrete needed, and it was still July in San Antonio.

For anyone who hasn’t been to San Antonio in July, let me share that July and August are our hottest months, with most of those days in triple digits. Unlike West Texas, San Antonio humidity stays relatively high compared to all but the east and coastal regions. We don’t have that much rain but have many streams and rivers that converge in the city to keep the humidity enough to make outside feel like a sauna.

So, at the end of July and through August, I started extending the patio and building my cedar pergola. After shoveling twenty yards of fill (that’s four dump trucks of dirt and gravel) into the forms I had to rebuild, I did get smart and hired experts to pour the concrete and set the twelve-foot tall, six-inch thick cedar posts in place that would support the pergola. What I wasn’t smart enough to do was hire someone to build the rest of it.

Because I wanted to get it done and out of the way and most of my friends worked full-time jobs, I figured I could tackle the job on my own. It sounded simple enough. Attach the frame to the house and the upright posts embedded in the porch, then attach the slats on the frame, and it’s done. Only I didn’t consider the weight of those six by two by twelve- and fourteen-foot pieces of cedar. I didn’t think about what a chore it was to lift them into position in the first place, then hold them there steady enough to attach them to the frame.

I’m not sure how many times I screamed out to myself, “Why did I start this? This is stupid! I’m going to kill myself or at least break something trying to put this stupid thing together, and it’s so hot out here, no one will use it anyway! What was wrong with the way it was in the first place?”

My wife, Carole, would come out occasionally and encourage me, telling me what a good job I was doing. Maybe I should wait and call someone to help. But I ignored her advice, and I carried on, grumbling all the while.

I started sounding a lot like the Israelites in Exodus. We hear them complaining to Moses and Aaron again in chapter 16:

²There in the desert they all complained to Moses and Aaron ³and said to them, “We wish that the Lord had killed us in Egypt. There we could at least sit down and eat meat and as much other food as we wanted. But you have brought us out into this desert to starve us all to death.”

⁴The Lord said to Moses, “Now I am going to cause food to rain down from the sky for all of you. The people must go out every day and gather enough for that day. In this way I can test them to find out if they will follow my instructions. ⁵On the sixth day they are to bring in twice as much as usual and prepare it.”

⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt. ⁷In the morning you will see the dazzling light of the Lord’s presence. He has heard your complaints against him—yes, against him, because we are only carrying out his instructions.” ⁸Then Moses said, “It is the Lord who will give you meat to eat in the evening and as much bread as you want in the morning, because he has heard how much you have complained against him. When you complain against us, you are really complaining against the Lord.”

⁹Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community to come and stand before the Lord, because he has heard their complaints.” ¹⁰As Aaron spoke to the whole community, they turned toward the desert, and suddenly the dazzling light of the Lord appeared in a cloud. (Exodus 16:2-10 GNT)

The Israelites met Moses and Aaron and complained about everything. No water, no meat, no bread, no house, no bed. You name it, they complained about it. Moses led them out of slavery, but that wasn’t enough. They wanted him to provide all their needs. Give me, give me, give me. And if you don’t, expect to hear about it.

Ouch. That gets too close to home for too many of us when we think about how we approach God. Hey, God, give me the job I want. Hey, God, fix my finances after I’ve ruined them with my poor money management. Hey, God, heal me after I’ve failed to do the things that I should have done to take care of my body. Hey, God, do something with that boss that doesn’t seem to like me. Hey, God,…

We come to him with our complaints, our want list, our petitions of what we expect him to do for us, without thinking about who we’re talking to. Could you imagine walking up to the President and saying those things? Well, maybe in this country, since we failed to teach each other to respect authority over the last few generations. But if you did that in North Korea or Russia or China or most other countries around the world, you would at least find yourself in prison if not six feet underground in your permanent resting place.

But we do that with the maker of the universe and think nothing of it because we forget who he is. We don’t stop to consider the creator of all things allows us into his presence, and cares enough about us to hear our prayers and act on them. Sometimes he doesn’t answer the way we would like, but he answers in the way that best fulfills his plans. And that is always best for us in the end, too. We may not see it now. We may not see it in this life, but I can assure you that God has our best in mind when he answers our prayers. We just need to consider who we ask those questions when we pray. It would make a huge difference in how we pray, I think.

So what happened to the complaining Israelites?

11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them that at twilight they will have meat to eat, and in the morning they will have all the bread they want. Then they will know that I, the Lord, am their God.” (Exodus 16:11-12 GNT)

God answered their prayer. In fact, he answered it the way they asked, which is sometimes dangerous. God gave them quail that night for supper. And the next night. And the next night. And the next night. Until it was coming through their teeth is how later verses describe it. If you think about that a minute, the only way quail comes back through your teeth is in liquid form, already chewed and mostly digested. I’ll let you figure out how that quail returned through their teeth, then. Exodus tells us many died with the quail between their teeth.

The morning after God answered their prayers; they received manna for the first time. They could use it in a lot of different ways. They could make bread with it. They could boil it and make a kind of mush. They could mold it and roast it, I guess, but it all tasted like manna. It looked like coriander seed and tasted like honey. I don’t know about you, but after a couple of tablespoons of honey, I’m done. The overwhelmingly sweet taste means I can’t handle much more than that. But the Israelites got to enjoy manna from heaven every day, at every meal, for the next forty years.

Sometimes it’s better to let God figure out what’s best for us instead of telling him what we need, don’t you think? You might just get what you asked for like the Israelites did. God provided, just like they asked. Many died eating the quail, and I’m sure many would like to die on a steady diet of manna. I wonder what kind of cookbook was passed to the next generation after eating manna for forty years.

In case you’re interested, the pergola turned out well. Days of hard work and fewer complaints let me finish, and we get to enjoy the extended patio during the months with an “R” in them. The rest are still too hot to handle until just before the sun comes up.

Scriptures marked GNT are taken from the Good News Translation®: Scriptures taken from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) Copyright © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.

God’s Envoys, September 14, 2020

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¹⁹Next, the angel of God, who was going ahead of the camp of Isra’el, moved away and went behind them; and the column of cloud moved away from in front of them and stood behind them. ²⁰It stationed itself between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Isra’el — there was cloud and darkness here, but light by night there; so that the one did not come near the other all night long.

²¹Moshe reached his hand out over the sea, and Adonai caused the sea to go back before a strong east wind all night. He made the sea become dry land, and its water was divided in two. ²²Then the people of Isra’el went into the sea on the dry ground, with the water walled up for them on their right and on their left.

²³The Egyptians continued their pursuit, going after them into the sea — all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and cavalry. ²⁴Just before dawn, Adonai looked out on the Egyptian army through the column of fire and cloud and threw them into a panic. ²⁵He caused the wheels of their chariots to break off, so that they could move only with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Adonai is fighting for Isra’el against the Egyptians! Let’s get away from them!”

²⁶Adonai said to Moshe, “Reach your hand out over the sea, and the water will return and cover the Egyptians with their chariots and cavalry.” ²⁷Moshe reached his hand out over the sea, and by dawn the sea had returned to its former depth. The Egyptians tried to flee, but Adonai swept them into the sea. ²⁸The water came back and covered all the chariots and cavalry of Pharaoh’s army who had followed them into the sea — not even one of them was left. ²⁹But the people of Isra’el walked on dry ground in the sea, with the water walled up for them on their right and on their left.

³⁰On that day, Adonai saved Isra’el from the Egyptians; Isra’el saw the Egyptians dead on the shore. ³¹When Isra’el saw the mighty deed that Adonai had performed against the Egyptians, the people feared Adonai, and they believed in Adonai and in his servant Moshe. (Exodus 14:19-31 Complete Jewish Bible)

God’s angels are an interesting study. They appear periodically in scripture, sometimes to share a message from God, sometimes to guard or protect, sometimes to destroy. These created beings perform tasks at God’s bidding and their power, through God, always amazes me.

In this instance, God’s messenger acted as both guide and protector for the young Israelite nation. Around him stood a cloud by day and a fire by night, visible to the entire encampment who fled Egypt. Also visible to any who happened to be anywhere near the Israelites. I expect the vision of the cloud and fire surrounding God’s angel must have looked like an isolated storm cloud rising from the ground instead of falling from the sky. We’ll come back to that in a moment.

Other instances of God’s envoys include the two men who visited Abram and told him about their mission to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. God gave them the task of destroying the wicked cities and the plains in which they were located. Their mission, rain down the fire and brimstone we hear about and ensure God’s plan happened.

Later, Jacob wrestled with one of God’s messengers who obviously took it pretty easy on him by only touching his hip at the end of a long night of Jacob struggling with him. Just a single touch and Jacob limped the rest of his life, while Jacob wore himself out trying to overcome this angelic being.

One of God’s warriors went through all of Egypt and killed all the firstborn in every household without the Passover blood painted on the doorpost. One of God’s warriors went through the Amalekite camp, killing many, and creating such chaos among the rest that they killed each other. Another of his warriors killed 185,000 Assyrians laying siege at the walls of Jerusalem as Hezekiah prayed to God for deliverance. Gabriel brought the message of Jesus’ coming birth to Mary and Joseph. Michael fought Satan’s warriors before delivering God’s answer to Daniel’s prayer.

Angels sat atop the stone at Jesus’ resurrection and caused an earthquake as they touched ground, frightening the tomb guards to a state of unconsciousness. A legion of angels stood by ready to rescue Jesus from the cross should he give the word. Angels transported Lazarus to Abraham’s bosom in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The only story Jesus told with names instead of using terms like “there was a man, or there were certain men, or there was one.” Perhaps not a parable after all, but scene he saw before his incarnation.

So, let’s go back to the angelic guide God sent to the Israelites to protect them from the Egyptians right after their escape. Pharaoh changed his mind, as God knew he would. Cheap labor (just the cost of enough food, clothing, and lodging to help them survive) was as important in Pharaoh’s day as it seems to be in ours. After they left the country, he realized his cheap labor disappeared and it would take conquering another country to enlist more slaves, something he was not ready or willing to do.

Probably few besides Moses had left Egypt and knew anything about the wilderness they traveled. They needed a guide to get them to the place God promised their ancestors those centuries earlier. The tornado of a cloud in front of them, provided that compass. Then the chariots came. Horses move significantly faster than children on foot. The angel became more than a guide, he became a fence.

I can picture the scene as the Egyptians see their prey just ahead and then this wall lifts from in front of the Israelites and lands yards in front of them. It looks like a cloud but is impenetrable. Scouts try to push through the fog in front of them and as soon as they enter, they seem to lose all sense of direction and come out exactly where they went in. They try other means to get through before darkness overshadows them, but to no avail. Every time they try to go through the cloud, they find themselves right back where they started. They can’t get through.

Darkness falls. On the Egyptian side of the cloud, it’s the darkest night they’ve seen since the plague of darkness that struck the country weeks ago. They can’t see anything, even when they try to light a candle, the light seems swallowed by the unusual blackness. On the other side of the cloud, the Israelites face light as bright as daylight coming from the same wall. God’s envoy provides darkness and a wall to the Egyptians and light for the Israelites. Moses tells them to head toward the Reed Sea to continue their escape. The people look dumbfounded. There are probably not enough boats in all of Egypt to carry them and their cattle across the sea.

Then Moses holds out his rod and the east wind picks up speed. It’s hard to stand in the tumult. It’s not just a breeze, but one of the strongest winds they’ve ever seen blazing across the sea. Moses gives the order to march. The first of those reaching what should be the shore start to yell, praising God for his great power. The nation crosses on dry land. But the Egyptians follow.

The cloud has once more moved in front of the Israelites leading them across the sea and into the wilderness toward their promised future, but perhaps the angel leaves the cloud for a moment to break those chariot wheels, add a little water to the sea basin creating a little mud for the chariots and horses. Maybe he cut a few reins and loosened a few shafts. Whatever happened, the Egyptians didn’t fare well when they crossed the sea and suddenly, they faced the onslaught of the rushing water pouring over their armor-clad bodies.

Why all this talk about angels? To remind us that as we walk through the days ahead, God remains in charge. One of his names is God of Heavens Armies. Note that it’s not just one army at his disposal, but armies as in many. If one angel can create the kind of protection we see for the Israelites, or Elijah, or Jesus, imagine what an army of angels could do. And God has armies of angels at his disposal to do whatever he wants done.

Should we worry about the state of the world? No. God has it under control. He gave us a mission to take care of it for him. We haven’t done a very good job of it. He takes care of his children. We don’t do a very good job of that based on the headlines around the world. But God can at any moment intervene to guide and protect those who follow him. Will he take us out of the predicament we face? Not always.

Sometimes we get into them by the choices we make and so suffer the natural consequences of those choices. Sometimes we suffer at the hands of others. Why? I don’t know. I don’t understand, except that we live in a fallen, broken world, far from the one God created when he said all he made was good. We’ve kind of messed it up. But God is still God and just like with Moses and the Israelites, just like with Jacob and Mary, and Daniel. God can and does make his plans known and executes them with or without us through the agents of his creation, human or angelic.

Maybe knowing God has a plan for you and has incredible resources to put at your disposal when you need them will help you get through whatever you face today. He will never let you face more than you can handle when you follow him. He knows us better than we know ourselves and we can’t see around the bend in the road to know how he will use what we face today to help us or someone else tomorrow. Trust him to do what is best for his people.

Scriptures marked CJB are taken from the COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE (CJB): Scripture taken from the COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE, copyright© 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. www.messianicjewish.net/ jntp. Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources Int’l. www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The Beginning, September 7, 2020

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God said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “Mark this month as the first of all months for you – the first month of your year.” (Exodus 12:1‑2 The Voice)

When I read those words from the lectionary this week, it started me thinking. That’s always a little dangerous, but I began to think about those moments in my life in which the dates permanently fixed themselves in my mind. Things like my birthday. I don’t remember the first one, but I’m told I was there on June 22^nd more than a few years ago.

I remember my wedding day, December 4^th, 1976. This year my wife and I will celebrate forty-four years together in December. Not many can say that in a country with a divorce rate over 50%, and that among the Christian populace because many of those outside of religious institutions just live together instead of getting married.

I remember my kids’ birthdays. Even though the Army only let Carole and me enjoy nine of 30 anniversaries together during my career, I was there for both my daughter’s and son’s births. Those two days and the hours before that special time will stick in my memory forever.

I also remember the day we began the ground campaign in Desert Storm. The Air Force finished its bombardment of Iraqi fighting positions after almost a month of daily raids, and the Army crossed the border into Iraq on my wife’s birthday in 1991. I called her to wish her a happy birthday. She knew something was about to happen because my voice sounded different than at other times. A few hours later, the ground war began. That day pressed itself into my memory.

I also remember the day I finally told God I would obey his call on my life to pursue ministry for him. It was Sunday night, August 5, 1979. God and I had a long discussion all day about my future, and I finally figured out God knew a lot more than I did. I need to follow his direction in my life if I planned to succeed at anything. That’s the night I said yes to his call. It didn’t surprise my wife or very many people who knew me. I think it surprised me more than anyone else. The journey keeps getting more exciting and more interesting as time goes on. God gave me several occupations to put food on the table, the Army being the primary source for thirty years. But I’ve had the same vocation since that time, paid by his grace and the knowledge I’m doing as he asks.

Big days. Important milestones. I could name many more that stand out as monument moments that press themselves into life never to be forgotten. No doubt, you can do the same. Normally, life doesn’t flow past uninterrupted with no bumps or ripples. In the stream of life, we find a few calm peaceful places where we relax and enjoy the time we spend there. But we also find rapids and waterfalls and places where the water runs so much faster than we think it should.

Life is like that. Always different around the next bend in the river. Never really knowing what to expect. We can prepare for some of it. Sometimes it just hits full force and we hang on hoping the turbulence ends before it dashes us against the rocks.

God came to Moses and Aaron with the command to mark their deliverance as the first month of the year. He told them what would happen that night, but I’m not sure they really grasped the significance of his words. The Israelites obeyed, sacrificed a lamb, ate it in their family or with a neighbor, smeared its blood on the doorpost, and watched through the night. Most probably didn’t realize the vast reach God had across Pharaoh’s domain and the might he would display in that night. All the firstborn dead by morning. With only those spared housed behind the mark of the blood on the doorposts.

It sounds unbelievable. Almost silly. That God could distinguish between believers and non-believers by the act of putting blood on the door. And that the warrior angels he sent could even see the blood in the dark of the night and know which homes to spare and which to enter to kill the firstborn children and animals. But God created everything. From nothing, he spoke everything into place. How he did it is up for debate. Whether you believe he accomplished that task in six 24-hour days, or in six periods of time that correspond with eras to create light, elements for life, then life itself, doesn’t matter to me. What matters is acknowledging someone put it all together from nothing in that first moment of time. He is the great creator of all things.

If God can create a universe as remarkable and almost unbelievable as we can see through our most powerful telescopes, certainly he can send his envoys to distinguish which homes to pass over, and which to enter and do his bidding, in judgment against them. He is God. I have seen things man cannot explain. Will they one day? I don’t know. I’m not sure. God seems to defy the natural laws he created on occasion. Those are difficult to explain away. You can call them fairy tales unless they happen to you. You can call them coincidence until you see them firsthand. You can wish them away and think they never happen, but too many people witness them to say they don’t.

So, what should we do with those monumental moments? How should we handle those times and dates that stick in our mind that never go away? Some of those dates bring incredible joy. Some bring sorrow or terror or other extremely negative emotions. How do we address those times? For the Israelites, their deliverance became the first month of the beginning of all months. In essence, God said, this is the beginning of new life for you. This is the birth of a new nation, a new age. This is such a monumental, God only kind of deliverance that can only come from me, that you will need to start over from this point.

That’s how it is when he remakes us through his forgiveness. That’s how he can use those monumental moments in our lives. That’s how, as I look back on them, every one of those dates that stick in my mind, changed me in ways I would never imagine. God used each of them to mold me into the person I have become today. I would like to forget some of those days, but I also know they were important in shaping my character and helping me discover things about myself and my relationship with God and others than I could not have discovered otherwise.

Like Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites, remember those moments. Use the monumental things in your life to understand how God shapes you to be the person he wants you to become. Who knows, there may be a date that you mark as the beginning of new life for you. Not just making new resolutions or turning over a new leaf, but the month to begin all months. A new start. A fresh beginning. A new creation because of his work in your life. God does God-sized things when we let him. Try it out. He will amaze you at times. That’s just the way he works.