Grains of Sand

Horeasabau's Blog Google Images David’s efforts to avoid Saul took him to some unlikely places. By the time we come to the end of 1 Samuel, David is living among the Philistines. Hardly a comfortable spot to be in considering that he had been responsible for their defeat against Israel when he killed Goliath. The relations between the Israelites and the Philistines had never been cordial and many among the Philistine leaders would have been happy to put David’s head on the end of a pole and display it from the walls of Gath. However, this was where the Lord sent David and it was here that God protected David from Saul’s plots to kill him. When we get to 1 Samuel 29 we find David faced with a case of conflicted loyalties. Achish and the Philistines are preparing to go into battle against the Israelites. David, as a subject of Achish, would be expected to support the Philistine king in this effort. But some of Achish’s key men were not happy about the prospects, feeling that Da...

Google Images The last two chapters of Galatians are rich with teaching. The issue throughout the book has been the problems that were being caused by the “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who had infiltrated the church and were trying to teach, as Paul puts it, “ a different gospel ” (1:6). As wolves are prone to do, they divided the flock of God. “Divide and conquer” is an effective strategy for getting what you want—every kid knows how to play off one parent against another. In these final words, Paul urges the Galatians not to give in, to “ stand firm ” (5:1), to continue to run “ a good race ” (5:7). He reminds them that it is important not to tolerate the untruth because “ A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough ” (5:9). Instead Paul urges the believers to walk in the Spirit and not fall into the trap of wolfish behaviour. “ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love...

Reading: Ezekiel 20-22; 1 John 1 The latter part of Ezekiel 22 always hits me hard. It’s not as though the message that the prophet delivers is any different from what he has said so many times before. It’s the statement at the end of the chapter that is so condemning. From verse 23 on, the word of the Lord that came to Ezekiel laid a heavy on the leaders of that time, and ours. The political leaders, the spiritual leaders, the public servants, all came in for their fair share of criticism. Nor did the common man-on-the-street escape being pointed out. Again the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has had no rain or showers in the day of wrath. There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her’” (22:23-25, NIV). Who makes the decision to go to war and who does the fighting and dying? ‘Her priests d...

Reading: Jeremiah 36-39, James 5 This is another one of those times when the Old and New Testament readings assigned for today has curiously parallel thoughts. James carries the brunt of the message this morning. At the beginning of James 5, the writer warns his audience that taking advantage of poor, or of those over whom the rich have power, will not be tolerated. The consequences will be harsh. James writes: “ Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you ” (James 1:1, NIV). All that has been accumulated will be destroyed. It’s not because God doesn’t approve of people having money. It’s the injustice and inequality that bothers God to the extent that He uses harsh words and even harsher judgment against those who ignore what is right and just when it comes to the distribution of wealth. “ Look! The wages you have failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters h...

“ I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal in the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine ” —Psalm 50:9-11, NIV. These verses come in the middle of a psalm by Asaph. He writes as though the parties were being called to court to stand before the Judge of the universe to give account of how they have carried out the covenant that they made with the Lord, a covenant they renew constantly through their sacrifices (vss. 4-6). As the accused stand before the court, the Lord reminds them that the issue is not their sacrifices (vss. 7, 8). The Almighty, through Asaph, reminds those who stand in the dock that they are not doing him a favour by making those sacrifices. He doesn’t need their bulls or goats since everything in creation belongs to him (vss. 9-13). He reminds His people that it is important that they keep the vows they have made to follow the ...

The Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada is about to launch a new service to its members. I'm not sure if we've landed on a "real" name yet, but right now we are called Fellowship Authors . The task of Fellowship Authors is to encourage those within our Fellowship who write by providing some added exposure for their work through the Fellowship website, Fellowship publications and Fellowship 48, our National Convention. At the moment, the members of the committee are working through a list of criteria but I know for certain that Eric Wright's recent novel, Captives of Minara , certainly meets them. Eric recently won a Word Guild award for his book, published by Word Alive Press. So check it out. It must have been my devotional reading this morning that inspired the thought to include Eric's book in this post. The book of Isaiah is full of grim warnings about what was awaiting God's people because of their rebellion against him. Captiv...