Grains of Sand

Pixabay Submission is one of those thorny aspects in Scripture that prompt, "But you don't know what I'm dealing with!" In 1 Peter 2:13-17 Peter addresses the issue of submission to authorities. He is writing to those who have been, and are being, persecuted for their faith and who may have wondered why Peter was asking them to respect and honour those who nursed hate in their hearts for all those who followed Jesus and who demanded that they recant or suffer the consequences.  " Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority: whether it be to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will  you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, h...

Pixabay There are lots of things I don't know. Included among those is the hour of my passing into eternity. I was reminded of that this morning when an SUV making a left hand turn while I was in the crosswalk came to a screeching halt just inches from me. That wasn't my place, or time, to go. The driver didn't see me—but God had! That's a pretty major "I don't know." But there are lots of other things—major and minor—that I don't know—but God does! My verse for today reminded me that " No eye has seen, nor ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. " (1 Corinthians 2:9) If the "worst" had happened this morning, it would actually turn out to be the best—I'd be face-to-face with the Lord and that's a very good thing. The semi-worst would be broken bones and ruptured stuff! And many would wonder why God would allow such a thing. It's the famous "Why me?" or ...

Pixabay As followers of Jesus we often refer to ourselves as being servants of the Lord, or as serving Him. We ask other believers about what they are doing in their local churches or in para-church organizations, considering that such activity is service for the Lord. We talk about pastors and missionaries serving the Lord. Sometimes, depending on how long and/or impressive the list, we begin to believe that we must be pretty important in the grand scheme of kingdom-building. Or, on the flip side, we are forced to deal with feelings of envy when others seem to be serving the Lord in better,  bigger, or much appreciated ways than we are. Don't get me wrong, serving the Lord is a fundamental theme in Scripture. In fact, everything in life becomes service when we are reminded of Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 10:31 as he writes: " So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. " Our service lends the practical evidence to our clai...

Pixabay Anyone remember this song? Annie: Anything you can do I can do better ... I can do anything better than you Frank: No, you can't Annie: Yes, I can Frank: No, you can't Annie: Yes, I can Frank: No, you can't Annie: Yes, I can, yes, I can Frank: Anything you can be I can be greater ... Sooner or later I'm greater than you Annie: No, you're not Frank: Yes, I am Annie: No, you're not Frank: Yes, I am Annie: No, you're not Frank: Yes, I am, yes I am I had no idea it had so many verses, (there are many more) but where two people are trying to compete for supremacy, the “I can…no, I can do better” may go on for a long, long time. When we get to Exodus 8 we find ourselves well into the story of the acts of judgment that God brought upon the people of Egypt. Up until now the Hebrews have suffered along with the Egyptians. That is about to change. But something else is about to change as well. As the chapter opens we find ourselves in the midst of frogg...

Pixabay It’s no use trying to fool ourselves: all our idols have clay feet. If ever anyone lived (apart from Jesus Christ) who should be admired and emulated, that someone would be Abraham. His journey with God is one that borders on the exemplary—I say, “borders,” deliberately. Abraham, like any human idol, had his “clay foot” moments. Genesis 20 describes one of those moments. Biblical history overwhelmingly supports Abraham as an example of faith worthy to be followed. But God never minimizes the frailties of even those of His “nearest and dearest.” It’s one of His ways of reminding us that in our weakest moments, His grace is still, and will always be, sufficient. Genesis 20 is a story similar to one recorded for us in Genesis 12:10-12—same problem, different location. Abraham fears for his life while under the eye of Abimelech king of Gerar. Sarah is old by today’s standards, but still beautiful enough to attract the attention of the king. Abraham, fearful that his life is at ...

blog.codinghorror.com (Google Images) Part of my morning routine is to read through our local newspaper. This morning my eye caught an article by Anthony Furey. Recently the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that an adult of sound mind, but suffering from overwhelming pain, can be legally helped to commit suicide. The government has a year to come up with some kind of legislation to that effect. The article, Suicide and the So-Cons , ( http://www.nugget.ca/2015/02/10/suicide-and-the-so-cons ) argues that “social conservatives” need to stop trying to force law-makers to pass legislation to prevent such things as assisted suicide. Instead, they need to work within society to give people better choices and to persuade them to make better decisions. The term “social conservatives” would include most of us who are followers of Christ. And I have to say that Furey makes a good point. We, as Christians, can’t legislate right behaviour, any more than foreign governments can mandate peace in th...

blog.longnow.org (Google Images) In many ways we have too many details when it comes to the story of Esther. If there ever was a series of events that could give rise to a spirit of feminism, this is it. Women subjugated, dehumanized, and brutalized, treated as chattels to be used, abused and then discarded at the whim of the male of the species. That women accepted this role in life without question is a perfect example of the depths to which the curse, placed upon them in Genesis 3:16, had brought them. Even Mordecai could be accused of using his own niece as a pawn to his political ambitions. Unlike Moses’ mother who hid her son in a basket to protect him from the pharaoh, Uncle Mordecai made no attempt to shield her from the slavers disguised as wife-seekers to King Xerxes. However, even man’s abhorrent behaviour is woven into God’s divine design. In the book named after Esther we learn about a plot to kill all the Jews, perpetrated by Haman, an intimate of the king. Mordecai p...

rickhiggins.org (Google Images) “ Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me, I took courage… ” —Ezra 7:28. It only takes a few words to say a lot. Ezra the priest, teacher of the Law of Moses, was one of the exiles serving out the Hebrew nation’s time in captivity. He has been sent back to Jerusalem with the task of rebuilding the temple. He has the imperial stamp of approval and support of the king of Persia whose favour was divinely inspired (Ezra 7:6). But even with the support of the king and with the help of all those who journeyed with him, Ezra’s task is huge. The invasions of Israel’s enemies has left behind nothing but ruins and a hostile population of foreigners who have been been exiled to Israel to keep the weeds from overrunning the place. Ezra, as a teacher and a priest, is likely given to quieter and more solitary pursuits. But here he is. And as he faces the challenge he senses again the presence of the Lord. He remembers how God has already moved to make all th...

lovelinesfromgod (Google Images) There is something to be said for actually being party to a conversation in order to understand what the speakers are really trying to convey. Take this example from 1 Chronicles 19. David is busy defeating Israel’s enemies. In this case he is faced with both the Ammonites and their allies, the Arameans. He splits his forces, sending Joab off to deal with the Arameans and Abishai to rout the Ammonites. The deal is that if Joab is in trouble Abishai will come to his rescue and if Abishai has problems Joab will come and lend a hand. Joab then makes this interesting statement: “ Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight ” (1 Chronicles 19:13). This is where it might be important to be present, not simply to hear what Joab is saying, but to read his body language. Skeptics could say that Joab’s language suggests a kind of fatalism, something like “ what will be, will be .” Oth...

Google Images The story of Samson is one of the most mysterious, inexplicable tales of God’s actions in the lives of men found in the Scriptures. It doesn’t take long before we understand that none of those in and through whom God chose to work, was perfect. And oftentimes we forget that the stories we ready of His actions are as much about those upon whom God’s judgment was to fall as they are about the instruments God used to deliver that judgment. Samson, who had been dedicated to the service of the Lord before his birth (Judges 13:7, 14), was God’s man to punish the Philistines for their acts of oppression against Israel: “ The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol ” (13:24, 25). We are hard put to understand some of the seemingly wrong things that Samson did. He was arrogant and disobedient. But the Lord did not leave him until the vow...

Google Images The journey has begun. The Israelites are on their way. But their trip would not be easy. The first test came when God purposely used them to lead Pharaoh into a trap. The Lord told Moses what He was going to do (Exodus 14:1-4) and why. He would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that Egypt’s ruler would pursue his ex-slave workforce and end up providing the centrepiece of a demonstration of the power of God. We are not told if Moses shared this information with the others—certainly when the Israelites saw the chariots moving toward them with deadly intent, they panicked (Exodus 14:10-12). The sea was in front of them and their enemy was behind them. There was no place to go. But then, they weren’t supposed to go anyplace anyway. Moses told them: “ Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still ” (Exodus 14:13, 14). Througho...

Google Images If it were anyone else but God, we’d suspect him of being self-absorbed. As we begin Exodus 6, God speaks to Moses and makes a series of claims and promises that ought to have silenced the self-doubt of our not-so-intrepid leader of the fledgling nation of Israel. If you read Exodus 6:1-8, God uses the “I” eighteen times (depending on the version you are reading). “ I am the Lord ” He says, and then goes on to tell Moses what He is going to do. Now Moses has been in a funk because Pharaoh won’t listen to him, and the Israelites are angry with him because their work load has increased due to his “intervention” with the Pharaoh on their behalf. But notice that Moses himself doesn’t listen too well—or should we say that he may be listening but he is not hearing. After all God claims and promises, what is Moses’ focus? “ But Moses said to the Lord, ‘If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips '” (6:12). Th...

Google Images We don’t always see God’s sovereignty in action. We don’t always choose to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in our lives. We rail at Him when we think He has done nothing when, in fact, He has acted, though we are not always happy with how He has answered. The dictionary definition of “sovereign” is: supreme, absolute, unlimited, unrestricted, boundless, ultimate, total, unconditional, full; principal, chief, dominant, predominant, ruling; royal, regal, monarchical. As Jesus stands before him in John 19, Pilate, the governor of Israel, representative of the Caesar in Rome, considers himself to be just about sovereign when he says: “‘ Do you refuse to speak to me?’ Pilate said. ‘Don’t you realize I have the power to either free you or to crucify you?’ ” (vs. 10). Our lives often seem to be lived at the mercy of others. The authorities over us; our employers, our government, our spiritual leaders, all seem to have the right to tell us what to do, when to do it, and what it...

Google Images It’s never what you expect. The women went to the tomb early that morning. The body of Jesus had been hurriedly, though lovingly, placed there. Joseph and Nicodemus hadn’t had a lot of time to plan a funeral since the Sabbath was approaching when Jesus died and they had to get the work done quickly so that they would not be in violation of Jewish law. The women hoped to be able to add more spices to the grave clothes, though they wondered how they could do that with the stone rolled over the entrance. Perhaps the guards would take pity on them and help them with that task. But by the time they got there, everything had changed. The stone was moved. The body was gone. An angel stood guard. “ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said ” (Matthew 28:6a). They were instructed to go and tell the disciples what they had witnessed and heard and then to go to Galilee to see Him. According to both Mark and Luke the disciples didn’t believe them even though Jesus...

Google Images Asa learned to seek God eagerly, be strong in the Lord and not give up (2 Chronicles 14-16). His son, Jehoshaphat, added to those principles. His story is condensed in 2 Chronicles 17 through 21:1. In Chapter 20, Jehoshaphat is facing a combined army made up of Moabites and Ammonites as well as a few other add-ons (20:1). So he does what is always wise when we are facing challenges in life; he went to the Lord for help. Principle #1: Admit you can't handle the situation and throw yourself on God's mercy. " For we have no power to face this vast army that s attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you " (20:12, NIV). Principle #2: Remember who the battle, and the victory, belongs to. " Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's " (20:15, NIV). And in case we might think that these principles give us permission to stay in our sleeping bags and sleep through the b...

“ The Lord brought me here. The Lord brought me here. The Lord brought me here. The Lord… ” I wonder if Joseph repeated that phrase in the dry well, on the long journey to Egypt, in Potiphar’s house, in prison? If he did, I wonder how many times he repeated it? Did it become like a mantra, a constantly remembered reassurance that even in the darkest circumstances, in the moments of despair and disappointment, God had some plan in mind? If he was anything like the rest of us, and I suspect he was, he had many moments when he wondered what good could possibly come out of any of his circumstances. We are left to speculate about that question. In Genesis 45, Joseph finally revealed himself to his brothers. Three times in three verses he used phrases that were meant to reassure his brothers. These same phrases tell us what Joseph believed about his incredible journey. “… God sent me ahead of you ” (45:5, NIV). “… God sent me ahead of you ” (45:7, NIV). “ …it was not you who sent me ...

Oddly enough the story of Joseph seems like a deviation from the path that takes us from God’s promise of salvation in Genesis 3:15 to the coming of the Saviour in the Gospels. Joseph isn’t in the kingly or the priestly line that leads us to Christ. His brother, Judah, is the man we should be watching for that part of the story. But then again, there are lots of stories told in the Scriptures that, while they don’t have to do with the main story about which Scripture is written, do contribute significantly to the story. And Joseph is one of those. Joseph was a younger son, the son of Israel’s favourite wife. Because of who his mother was, Joseph became a favourite son. His brothers despised him for it. Joseph also had dreams. I have dreams too, but so far none of them have gotten me into the difficulty that Joseph’s did. By the end of Genesis 37, Joseph goes from pampered favourite son to a lowly slave nobody in Egypt, courtesy of his jealous brothers. But there are two other c...

“ He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him ” —Daniel 2:21, 22 NIV. Think about it. This Spring didn’t come according to any calendar except God’s. The results of the election recently held here in Canada was no accident. Smart guys are only smart because He ordains it. Understanding isn’t simply the product of a superior intellect. Doctors and scientists don’t make discoveries “out of the blue.” Evil can’t hide from him. He brings light into our lives because He is a light brighter than the sun He sustains. “ In him was life, and that life was the light of men ” —John 1:4, NIV. Can you feel yourself relax, knowing that God is not only paying attention, He’s totally involved? The world came into being at the sound of His voice. Flames couldn’t even singe His servants because He willed it so. Thousands...

“ I am the Lord, the God of all mankind, is anything too hard for me? ” —Jeremiah 32:27, NIV Jerusalem is under siege. Its end is near, an end that the prophet had long known was coming. He had warned the nation repeatedly that judgment would come upon them at the hand of the Babylonians and here it was. Death, destruction, exile was all that was left. Then God did a surprising thing. He instructed Jeremiah to buy a piece of land. Who in their right mind would buy property when the enemy who would claim it was sitting outside the walls of the city? In verse 17, Jeremiah began a beautiful prayer that rose out of his astonishment at God’s instructions. He begins with praise: “ Oh, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. You show love to thousands but bring punishment for the father’s sins into the laps of their children after them. O great and powerful God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, gre...

“ No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges. He brings one down, he exalts another ” —Psalm 75:6, 7, NIV. In recent weeks the world attention has focused on the Middle East. Suddenly and definitively, the Egyptian people found their voice and used it. Neigbouring states living under repressive regimes, followed Egypt’s example.   Now the world watches Libya. Here freedom will be harder to gain. My mind goes to Cuba, to Venezuela, to Ecuador and other places, wondering if the fire will catch in these countries where freedom has more than just a few limitations. The period of the Judges in Israel are a reminder that there is so much more happening than any of us could possibly be aware of. The God of the nations, whether or not those nations acknowledge Him, is at work carrying out His plans and purposes. In one of Israel’s darkest periods of history, pagan and repressive regimes became God’s instruments to punish sin, to ...