Memorize this . . .

But as for me, I will sing about your power.
Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love.
—PSALM 59:16

Memorize this . . .

"You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today . . . "
—1 SAMUEL 24:17

Memorize this . . .

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
—PHILIPPIANS 4:4-8

Memorize this . . .

Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
—EPHESIANS 4:15

Memorize this . . .

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—ROMANS 8:38-39

Memorize this . . .

For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.
—DEUTERONOMY 2:7

Travels through Exodus . . . part four

Exodus 28:3 . . .
"'Instruct all the skilled craftsmen whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom.'"
God moved the hearts and minds of people to be inspired to design. God calls people today to be filled with the desire and skill to design for a greater good.

Colors of the Tabernacle . . .
—gold
—blue
—purple
—scarlet

Exodus 28:15-43 . . .
The priests wore reminders on their shoulders and over their hearts of their commitments to the people. We should all be so good-and bold-to wear reminders of our purpose in life. This clothing was not ceremonial; it was required to be in the Lord's presence.

When did I sign up for this?
It's interesting that the Bible never mentions if anyone ever asks Aaron and his sons if they want to be priests. I wonder what their reactions were to the news that they had been set apart for this job.
It's also interesting that no one ever asks Moses if he wants to continue leading the people. I can imagine him saying, "Didn't I just sign up to help get everyone out of slavery? Why do I have to keep leading this group of complainers?"

Exodus 31:12-18 . . .
"'Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is the sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation.'"
Why do I so easily ignore the Sabbath? Why don't I care about being "cut off from the community"? Actually, I do care or I would if I thought it mattered. So why do I think this command doesn't apply to me? Is it because society ignores this so completely, so I think I can too? What if we started with one day a month? How would our life be different? What would we do?

Exodus 32:21 . . .
Aaron nevers owns up to his part in creating the golden calf. He encouraged the worship of an idol when he knew far better and never defended God to the people. Why was he sparred when others weren't? Was it for redemption and entrance into the priesthood?

Exodus 34:33-35 . . .
Moses' face was "radiant" after speaking with God. How long did this last? Was it just this time or did this happen every time he spoke with God? Wouldn't such a visible reminder of God's awesome power be a comfort to the people? Why were they so afraid of Moses that he felt compelled to wear a veil?

Exodus 35:20 . . .
What an amazing time: A people who saw God's great power in their rescue from slavery and in their ability to eat and drink daily in the desert are punished for their rebellion against God. Now, those "whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved" brought all of their prized posessions, many or most of which were given to them by the Egyptians, as offerings to God. What a journey! It's amazing that the people gave so much that they had to be told to stop giving. What an outpouring of love for God! (Exodus 36:4-6)

Exodus 38:26 . . .
At this time, there were 603,550 Israeli men over the age of 20, which means there must have been more than a million people wandering in the desert. Imagine the number of people that will have to die on a daily basis for all of these men to die in the 40 years before entering the Holy Land: roughly 40 people per day.

Travels through Exodus . . . part three

Exodus 21:12 + 21:23-25 . . .
"'Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.'"
Does this mean God is for the death penalty? Can we murder to administer justice on Earth?
"'But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot. a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.'"
How does this match up with when Jesus says we must "turn the other cheek"?

Exodus 24:15-18 . . .
Moses goes up the Mt. Sinai into a cloud of "consuming fire" and is there for 40 nights. Is it no wonder that the Israelites wondered what happened to Moses? Did they think him dead? Were they afraid because of all this? And how did Moses remember/keep track of all of the instructions he was given? The tablets? A great memory?

Exodus 25:2 . . .
"Accept the contributions from all those whose hearts are moved to offer them."
Duty is not a reason to give; passion is.

Exodus 25:8-9 . . .
"'Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you.'"
God will then speak to Moses from between the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant. (Exodus 25:22)

Leadership principles in action . . .

Exodus 18:21 . . .
delegation of duties to talented people who are placed in positions of authority

Exodus 18:22 . . .
let leaders decide small matters for themselves; this lines up with Todd's A.C.T.S. philosophy

Exodus 35:30-35 . . .
Moses establishes these men as the leaders of the building project, so the people will know whom to listen to and seek advice from.

Complaints against God vs. His beautiful blessings . . .

Exodus 15:22-27 . . .
complaint = water
blessing = wood that made water drinkable

Exodus 16:1-36 . . .
complaint = starvation
blessings = quail at night, manna in the morning

Exodus 17:1-7 . . .
complaint = water
blessing = water from a rock (Moses strikes the rock with his staff)

Travels through Exodus . . . part two

Exodus 12:2 . . .
After all of these plagues, God starts everything anew by beginning a new calendar year. This symbolizes the importance of the Passover. This also reflects the beginning of a new calendar after Jesus died.

Exodus 12:32 . . .
"'Take your flocks and herds, as you said, and be gone. Go, but bless me as you leave.'"
Amazingly, Pharaoh asks Moses to bless him after all of this destruction he had caused. What gall!! There is no mention is Moses does so.

Exodus 13:9 . . .
"'With a strong hand, the Lord rescued you from Egypt.'"

Exodus 14:10-14 . . .
Already the people begin to panic and complain. Where is their trust in the Lord? He performed multiple miracles and was with them day and night in the pillar of cloud/fire. Where was their belief? Where is mine knowing all they knew—and more?

Exodus 14:15-31 . . .
What must Moses have felt as he obeyed God while knowing that by doing so he was helping to send the Egyptians to their deaths? What must it have felt like to watch God save your people through yet another miracle and then watch your enemies be swallowed by the sea and washed up on shore?

Exodus 15:1-21 . . .
The Hebrews sing a song of celebration about their deliverance from the Egyptians. Does this seem odd to anyone? It's almost amazing that there could be such a celebration after witnessing the downfall of Egypt through the suffering of the plagues and destruction of Pharaoh and his army. Is it wrong to celebrate death and destruction? Or did they celebrate God's righteous judgment, which makes it all right?

The Miracles in Egypt

—staves that turn into snakes
—the Nile into blood
—frogs
—gnats
—flies
—livestock dying
—boils
—hail
—locusts
—darkness
—firstborn sons and animals

The Big 10 . . .

—Love God.
—Don't idolize anything.
—Speak well of God.
—Keep a Sabbath.
—Honor mom and dad.
—Don't murder. / Protect life.
—Don't steal. / Honor people's property.
—Don't lie. / Tell the truth.
—Don't lust for people or things. / Appreciate who + what you have.

Travels through Exodus . . . part one

Exodus 1:8 . . .
"Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done."
There is power in knowing and remembering history. This knowledge could have led to a whole different exodus experience. But God had a plan knowing that Pharaoh would not so easily let the Hebrews go. Pharaoh's fear of the Hebrews turned to hatred and cruelty. Imagine if he had simply talked to and worked with the Hebrews.

Exodus 2:1-10 . . .
God's had was on Moses and his family. Not only did his mom spare his life for a long as possible, she was eventually paid to raise her own son, thus giving him a foundation in his culture that would later lead to his connecting with his own people.

Exodus 3 . . .
God says:
—I hear you.
—I love you.
—I have seen all.
—I will rescue you.
—I will bless you with much.
—I will show you my power.
—I will judge the wicked and punish them.

Exodus 4 . . .
—The Lord promises miracles—even though He knows they will not make a lasting impression.
—Moses is afraid to be "the one," but God does not relent.
—What does God want me to do that I am refusing?

Exodus 4:21 + 10:1-2 + 12:36 . . .
"But I will harden his heart so he will refuse to let the people go."
This harshness of how this is worded always gets me. Is there justice in God's desire to show his power by manipulating the will of a man? And is this what "hardening" really means? I remember hearing a great explanation of this at one point, but I can't recall it now. . . . And if God is willing to change a person's heart for the worse, why won't He change mine to be more disciplined, empathetic, loving?

January has flown by

It's been one month of dedicating myself to reading the Bible every day, and for the most part, I've succeeded. There have been a few days where I skipped a reading and had to catch up or read ahead knowing the next day would be busy. I'm not sure I agree with my "philosophy" about this because shouldn't every day have some time dedicated to reading God's Word and if I keep allowing this to happen, won't it be easy to stop altogether one day? But reality being reality, I am letting this happen for the time being.

Getting beyond the reality for a minute, this experience has been exciting. I have loved spending time reading the Bible. Whether it's first thing in the morning to help me prepare for the day or reading right before going to sleep, I've been excited about it all. It's always been fun to read Genesis, but this time was especially interesting. I found myself asking many questions and discovering parts of the stories that I had forgotten about or simply never knew. I also found it quite interesting to read Job. There are so many intriguing parts of this book, both for what is said and for what isn't said. I'm not sure I like the ending and God's response to Job about everything that's happened to him, but I don't really have a choice, do I? I just have to accept it for what it is and try to figure out what the words can say to me.

Figuring out what God is saying to me through all of this has been interesting. I can't say he's "spoken" to me. In fact, there have been many times this month where I felt farther away from God and simply just overwhelmed by life. But there have been just as many times where I've been excited to read the Bible and question what is said or memorize scripture or look for more details about a specific story or phrase. That's what has me pumped up about this whole process. I'm finding myself wanting to read the Bible versus feeling I have to read the Bible. And that's what I've been searching for . . .

Memorize this . . .

If you do not stand firm in your faith,
you will not stand at all.
—ISAIAH 7:9 niv

Memorize this . . .

For the Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
—JOB 33:4

Memorize this . . .

Honest words can be painful,
but what do your criticisms amount to?
—JOB 6:25

Memorize this . . .

He will rescue the poor when they cry to him;
he will help the oppressed,
who have no one to defend them.
He feels pity for the weak and the needy,
and he will rescue them.
He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious to him.
—PSALM 73:12-14

What goes around . . .

Jacob's deceptions come back to haunt him when he goes to look for a wife. First off, his uncle requires him to work for 7 years for the right to marry Laban's youngest daughter Rachel. Then when the wedding night comes, Laban tricks Jacob into sleeping with his oldest daughter, Leah. This leads to Jacob working another 7 years for the right to marry Rachel. You could say Jacob is paying for his earlier deceptive behavior or you could say this group of people just had a knack for deceiving others or you could wonder (again) how such flawed people became the founders of our faith.

Regardless, they had to know this situation was not going to be good.

These deceptions led to an unloving marriage between Jacob and Leah ("the Lord saw that Leah was unloved" Genesis 29:31).

These deceptions led to Leah attempting to earn Jacob's love through bearing him children ("The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me" Genesis: 29:32).

These deceptions led to jealousy between sisters because Rachel could not have children.

These deceptions led to servants becoming wives ("So Rachel gave servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her." Genesis 30:4).

These deceptions led to the selling of sexual rights between Rachel and Leah over a handful of mandrakes.

These deceptions led to the Jacob having 12 sons between two wives and two servant wives.

And these deceptions led to the creation of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Once again, this is an amazing story of how the actions of flawed humans can be used for a greater good—God's plan.

The making of a "founder of our faith"

It's amazing what God can do in our sinfulness—but the stories sure looks odd in print. As I read through Genesis, I'm struck by the brokenness of those God choses to use. Starting with Adam and Eve and going through Abram to Jacob, there is brokenness and sin at every turn. God chooses to use these people despite their actions for His ultimate plan. One of these people is Jacob.

With a name that means "deceiver," it should come as no surprise to us that Jacob is known for manipulation and deception. He starts off by trading food for his older brother's birthrights. Then he colludes with his mom to steal his father's blessings that should have gone to his older brother, Esau. In all of this, Jacob ends up with the blessings that God had given to his father, Isaac, and his grandfather Abraham: "Your descendants will be numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendents." (Genesis 28:14) Wow! This isn't some small blessing given down from father to son; this is one of the greatest of blessings God will ever give out.

A couple of questions come to mind: One, if Jacob hadn't manipulated and deceived his father, would Esau have been the son who was so beautifully blessed? There doesn't seem to be any indication that this would have happened, but Esau was no more sinful than Jacob and thus could have been the chosen one. Or did God plan to bless Jacob from the beginning and thus would have found another way to bless him with this covenant? Jacob and his mom tried to forced the blessing upon Jacob, but they paid a heavy price: a divide was created among all of the family members, Esau was so angry he wanted to kill Jacob, Jacob had to leave the country (and his family) to be safe, and there's is no indication Jacob and his mom ever saw each other again. Lies, deception, manipulation—they forever changed the course of this family, and yet still the covenant lives on through all of this. God honored the blessing Isaac had bestowed upon Jacob.

All of this serves to raise yet another question: Why does God bless a liar and thief? Honestly, I can't say. All I can do is trust in God's ultimate plan and trust in His ability to use people regardless of their actions. How it plays out is often outlandish, staggering, and hopeful all at the same time. After all, if God loved these "founders of our faith" and worked through these sinful people, God can love me and work through me as well. God, use me.

The faith of Abram

From the beginning of Abram's story, we see God's call for him: "I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others." (Genesis 12:2) To receive these blessings, Abram was asked to believe preposterous claims; leave his home country, which was virtually unheard of at the time; wait 25 years for the first sign (a son) of the great nation he was to father; and circumcise himself and his household as a sign of his belief. A lot was asked of Abram, so it's no wonder his faith wavered at times. He didn't believe God would protect him when he went to Egypt, so he pretended Sarai was his sister to avoid any conflict with the Egyptians. Of course, some times what you work so hard to avoid, you find. Abram and Sarai's deception led to God taking out his anger on Pharoah (Genesis 12:10-20) and causing the conflict they sought to avoid. Did Abram learn from this about the value of trusting in God? He was human, and thus prone to repeating his mistakes. He used the same deception with King Abimelech of Gerer years later (Genesis 20:1-18). God himself intervened that time to stop the deception.

Abram's faith also wavered as he waited for his great nation to begin. After ten years of trying to have a baby with Sarai, they hatched a plan to circumvent God's plan by having Abram get Sarai's servant Hagar pregnant (Genesis 16). And who could blame them for trying? Taking a slave as a wife was common at the time, and they both were getting older by the day, too old for children (or so they thought). But God delivers on His promises. We just often have a hard time waiting as long we need to for the promises to happen. Abram and Sarai's attempts at creating their own future led to jealousy, disobedience, blame, cruelty, hate, and ultimately to the creation of a nation that would forever live in conflict with Abram's great nation.

And through all of this and more, God stands by Abram and Sarai. He blesses them with new names, a son to start the great nation, and patience through all of their travails. I have no idea why God didn't get angry with Abram and Sarai for their unbelief and disobedient actions, but I'm thankful that the same God who showed patience with them shows patience with me today. I need every once of mercy and grace that I can get. Thank you, Lord, for your patience with me.

How great is our God . . .

God's blessings come in many different ways, from big to small, from seen to unseen. This weekend, I've seen those blessings come in various ways, including:

a start of a family devotional time. We've started to use the book One Year of Dinner Table Devotions to have some family time focused on God, the Bible, and God's plan for us. This is the start of something, and we'll see where it takes us.

a house that still stands. We came home one night to find our outside Christmas lights weren't working. I didn't know why until I took them down yesterday: One of the strands had shorted out and started a small fire that melted the ends of the light strand and the extension cord. Thankfully, the fire didn't spread, and God kept ourselves and our house safe. That is a blessing we didn't see.

the boys got ready this morning without being asked. I know this sounds like hardly a blessing (if one at all), but parents know that some times it's the small things that make the difference. No asking, no pleading, no demanding to get ready all led to a great start to our Sunday.

a weekend of family fun. We've celebrated the beginning of 2009 with lots of fun and work during these four days. Often our attempts at mixing fun and work end in frustration, but not this weekend. We've blessed each other with love and sharing and kindness (for the most part) all weekend. Thank you, God!

Now observations . . .

+ One of Adam's jobs was to name the animals. It's interesting that God already released some control of His creation and gave Adam free reign to do a job as he wished. (Genesis 2:18-20)

+ Men are passive from the beginning as Adam watched Eve interact with the serpent and eat the fruit. (Genesis 3:6)

+ "And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife." (Genesis 3:21) God loved Adam and Eve and cared for them even as he disciplined them.

+ Because man was so sinful, God shortened our lifespans so we would sin less by living less. "My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years." (Genesis 6:3)

+ I can't begin to imagine how Noah and his family felt with the knowledge that: a) the world as they knew it was going to end; b) they were chosen to live and carry on humanity; and c) their friends were all going to die. (Genesis 6–8)

+ Who was Nimrod and what made him so heroic? What did people do in those days to be heroic? He was obviously a hunter, but also a conqueror. Did he conquer other people or just lands? (Genesis 10:8-12)

+ Noah's family populated the earth with people. Abraham's family would populate the earth with believers. (Genesis 10:32)

First questions . . .

I have read Genesis many times throughout my life and know the stories found within pretty well. But apparently, I don't know Genesis as well as I thought. Reading through the beginning of Genesis this week, I find myself asking question after question that I have no answers to. Questions such as:

+ Does the phrase, "God saw that it was good" mean God was pleased with what He had created or does it mean the things He created were inherently good? (Genesis 1)

+ Why did God decide to "separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens"? (Genesis 1:7) "Why not keep everything united and avoid the pain and suffering that lasts until this day?

+ Did all animals have speech and free will as the serpent did (Genesis 3:1) or did satan dwell inside the serpent?

+ Who is "us" in Genesis 3:22 ("Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil.)?

+ Why would it be bad if we lived forever as referred to in Genesis 3:22 ("What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!") Aren't we going to live forever in eternity anyway?

+ Where are Adam and Eve when the Cain kills Abel and God confronts Cain? They seem to be missing. (Genesis 4:9-16)

+ Who was Cain's wife? Was she a sister because only Adam and Eve existed to make children at the time? (Genesis 4:17)

+ What did Enoch do—and how did he live—to have "close fellowship with God" (Genesis 5:22)? What role did God play in their lives at this time? Noah is described in the same way (Genesis 6:9).

+ What is in the world is happening in Genesis 6:4 with the Nephilites?

+ What was the sin that Ham did to Noah by seeing him naked that deserved so dreadful a punishment? (Genesis 9:21-27)

So a lot of questions, but also a lot of concentration on God's Word. This is exactly what I want—time spent reading and thinking about God's words to me. Yes!

Memorize this . . .

"Why are you so angry?" the Lord asked Cain. "Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at your door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master."
—GENESIS 4:6-7