Grains of Sand

Pixabay Complaining was one of the many negative character qualities of the children of Israel. They weren’t that long out of Egypt—accompanied by many HUGE miracles that attested to God’s provision for them—when they were grumbling about the “room service”. Several times food and water were the issues. But though God could have avoided the conflict, He didn’t, preferring to test the faith of His people and to teach them valuable lessons about that faith. He let them go hungry for a reason. In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses speaks these words to the people: “ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord ”. So important was this lesson that Jesus used the latter part of the verse in His contest with Satan in the wilderness. (Matthew 4:4) The children of Israel must have wondered about the application of the les...

designyoutrust.com (Google Images) Someone posted on FACEBOOK this morning a thought that ended like this: “I believe even when God is silent.” That statement echoed through Psalm 42 as I read it. Listen to the writer’s words: “ As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Where can I go to meet with God?…These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng ” (Psalm 42:1, 2, 4). A hunger to meet with God is a good thing. But it appears that the psalmist’s hunger remains unsatisfied, even in the house of the Lord. He used to go up to the temple with anticipation, with joy, at the head of the “pack.” But not anymore. He is “downcast” (vs. 5) or depressed. He apparently isn’t sleeping well at night (vs. 8). He is sad, feels forgotten by God and is troubled by his enemies (vs. 9)....

Google Images It’s amazing how many things we experiment with in our quest to find satisfaction in life. Since I woke up this morning the words of this worship song have been running through my head: KNOWING YOU All I once held dear built my life upon All this world reveres, and wars to own All I once thought gain I have counted loss Spent and worthless now, compared to this (Chorus) Knowing you, Jesus knowing you There is no greater thing You’re my all, you’re the best You’re my joy, my righteousness And I love you, Lord Now my heart’s desire is to know you more To be found in you, and known as yours To possess by faith what I could not earn All surpassing gift of righteousness Oh to know the power of your risen life And to know you in your suffering To become like you in your death, my Lord So with You to live And never die. (Graham Kendrick) By the time Jesus ended His discussion with the crowds that had followed Him, recorded for us in John 6, many people decided that knowing...

Google Images Grassroots . That word has come to mean a movement initiated and sustained by the people, at the lowest level of an organization. Those in the top levels of that organization are often wise to pay attention to what is happening at the grassroots. I was surprised to note that a grassroots movement can be faked. It’s called “astroturfing” and is defined this way: Faking a grassroots movement is known as astroturfing, which, as the name suggests, is named after AstroTurf, the iconic brand of artificial grass. Astroturfing means pretending to be a grassroots movement, when in reality the agenda and strategy are controlled by a hidden, non-grassroots organization. In this manner, a faux show is presented, consisting of robotic individuals pretending to be voicing their own opinions . What John the Baptist and Jesus began was a grassroots movement. It was one of the reasons those in authority were not happy with either of them. John the Baptist is an interesting character. ...