Grains of Sand

Pixabay A couple of weeks ago our small group was working on a study on the life of Moses prior to his decision to flee Egypt after having killed the Egyptian slave master. But much of our discussion revolved around an earlier decision: Moses' choice to not be identified as the son of Pharaoh's daughter but to identify himself with God's people. " By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. " (Hebrews 11:24) We talked about how difficult such a decision might be and the temptation to try to influence change from "inside" rather than distance oneself by identifying with those on the "outside." Yesterday I discovered that an organization I have been volunteering with has openly endorsed a lifestyle choice that I believe violates God's creative design and redemptive purposes. The organization is a great one on many levels and while I applaud their efforts to help the vulnerable in...

Pixabay Should I, or shouldn’t I? Have you ever had a thought pop into your head, a suggestion about something that might be interesting or valuable to do, and then wondered if it was just a thought that wasn’t worthy of being considered at all? We have lots of those—in the dead of winter a vacation in a warmer climate might come to mind, but practicality soon puts that to rest. Other ideas linger. You chew over them, working out the possibilities in your mind. Everything feels good. Everything feels possible, but you still aren’t sure whether your own desires have overruled the voice of the Spirit of God telling you to put this one to bed too. Many years ago, when I was considering what to do with my life, there were some measuring sticks that we had been advised to used when determining whether or not the Spirit of God was leading us in a specific direction. The first of these was the counsel of the Word of God. Certainly God never leads us to do something that defies the instruc...

Google Images The deed had been done.  Jesus had been turned over to the authorities. It is assumed that Judas expected the Lord, when faced with the threat of arrest and execution, to call down those legions of angels, to establish that earthly kingdom. Things didn’t turn out at all as Judas expected them to. Jesus allowed Himself to be taken away and did nothing when the authorities condemned Him to die. Judas was devastated and tried to undo what had been done but it was too late. “‘I have sinned,’ he said, ‘For I have betrayed innocent blood.’ ‘What is that to us?’ they replied. ‘That’s your responsibility’” (Matthew 27:4). A little later, Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. Pilate was reluctant to condemn Jesus, but according to the law he was the only one who could pronounce the death sentence. He tried to evade the responsibility by giving the people a choice: Free Jesus or free Barabbas, a known criminal. By this time the crowds had been so fired ...

Google Images Most of us have a healthy respect for what people think of us. We might not need positive reinforcement from others to maintain our self-esteem, but we’d like to be well-thought of by our peers. For the believer it’s a good thing to have a good reputation. But sometimes taking a stand, no matter what the cost, is a better option than trying to keep everyone happy with us. The Pharisees and religious leaders of Jesus’ day illustrate the problem. Twice in Matthew 21 we find them caught on the horns of a dilemma. In Matthew 21:23 to 27, they question by whose authority Jesus speaks. When He returns the favour by asking them whether or not John’s baptism was heaven-sent or a clever fraud, they don't know how to answer. The Pharisees decide that whichever answer they give would get them into trouble with someone, so they decide to sit on the fence and make no statement at all. At the end of Matthew 21 a similar situation arises. The religious leaders are quite annoyed...

Google Images Today marks the anniversary of the Halifax Explosion in 1917 that killed thousands of people and leveled a good part of the city. ( http://daisiesfrommymeadow.blogspot.ca/2012/11/90435.html ). After the disaster the good people of Boston Mass. sprang to the rescue and rushed supplies and personnel to Halifax to help. Since that time, and in gratitude for what the citizens of Boston did, Halifax sends them a giant tree every year for their Christmas celebrations. Some unwise decisions taken by a sea captain in 1917 brought disaster down on the heads of Haligonians. There are times when the unwise, and sometime nasty, decisions of others cause us a lot of grief too. I was reminded of this truth this morning as I created a new blog for my Spanish-speaking friends. I used a meditation from my book Diseño Divino Para la Vida Diaria , to launch the blog. Today’s reading was from Acts 27 and described Paul’s sea voyage to Rome. God wanted Paul in Rome but the apostle warned ...

He told them to wait and they did. Jesus had returned to His father in heaven (Acts 1:9) and there they were in the upstairs room, waiting. The eleven disciples were there, (1:13) but others were also part of “the wait.” “ They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers ” (1:14). While they waited and prayed, they also conducted the business of choosing a successor for Judas. There were two candidates. To know which one was God’s choice, they prayed together, and then voted (1:24-26). Matthias was the choice—his one and only time mentioned in Scripture. The criteria behind the choice of candidates was simple: It had to be someone who had been with Jesus from the beginning of His ministry (1:21, 22). We never heard about Matthias in any of the stories left for us in the Gospels. We never hear about Matthias again after he was chosen to replace Judas. We didn’t see him, but God did. He was what 2 Timothy 2:2 calls ...

Stock xchng photo " How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him, but if Baal is God, follow him " (1 Kings 18:21, NIV). The silence was deafening (vs. 21). If we were to ask the same question today, substituting for "Baal" whatever gods we cling to in our vain attempts to keep one foot in the world and follow God with the other, the silence would also be deafening. Syncretism is defined as the attempt to merge religions, cultures, thoughts. And we are a syncretistic society. Like a moth tries to get as close to the flame as it can without being burned, we try very hard to assimilate as many of the world's values while claiming to love God. This attitude is nothing new—Elijah accused Israel of the same and challenged them to make up their minds one way or the other. The Apostle John would have likened Israel and the modern church to the church of Laodicea: " I know your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you...

Normally, time dims memory or sharpens it to the point of exaggeration. The inhabitants of Jericho didn't need to exaggerate the stories they had heard about the God of Israel—even forty years after the fact. When news came that Israel was parked on their doorstep, panic set in. In an inn of sorts, perched on the walls of the city, a woman was given the opportunity to make a choice based on what she had heard. She chose to believe the stories. " I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt…When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below " (Joshua 2:9, 10, 11, NIV). The choice whether or not to believe God faces all of us continually. Whether it be ...

Stock.xchng photo You are not supposed to do this, but sometimes it works just to prove that nothing happens by chance. I sat down this morning and let my Bible fall open "on its own" and it fell open at Psalm 78. The passage at the top of the page began with verse 65: " Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a man wakes from the stupor of wine. He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame. Then he rejected the tents of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim; but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved. He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever. He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them " (78:65-72, NIV). A little further along, in Psalm 118, we are reminded that though we hav...

Genesis 24 was a timely reminder this morning. Abraham sent a trusted servant out to find a wife for Isaac from among his own people—another one of the patriarch’s precautions in not having really close dealings with the pagan world that surrounded him (See Genesis 14:21-24; 23:7-16). He wanted a believing woman as wife to his son (24:1-4). The son of the covenant couldn’t have divided loyalties within his own household. The task wasn’t a simple one and the servant was justifiably nervous. But he was also a man of faith. Genesis 24:12 (NIV) tells us, “ Then he prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ’” Then he asked for a specific sign that would tell him which woman was the one God had chosen for Isaac. There is some excellent counsel in this story for those looking for life partners. It is essential that a believer marry a believer. But not just any “warm and breathing” believer will do. God had a specific woma...