Ok, let’s admit it: rules do not usually make for exciting reading. On the other hand, rules are important for society. If we had no rules, everything would be chaos. Some rules are necessary and helpful. And that’s why God gave the Hebrew people The Law. Technically these whole first five books of the Bible [...]
Archive for February, 2012
Rules to live by
Posted: February 29, 2012 in Orange, YellowTags: holiness, law, Leviticus, love, neighbor
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What makes you special?
Posted: February 27, 2012 in Orange, YellowTags: image of God, Moses, presence of God, special
Each of us wants to be special. Most of us spend time thinking about what it is that makes us special. We even spend time as groups thinking about what makes us different from other people. Are we special because we are good at certain things? Are we special because of who we know or [...]
Gold dust and swords
Posted: February 26, 2012 in Orange, YellowTags: Aaron, death, golden calf, Moses, punishment, Sinai
In my children’s Bible, when Moses comes down the mountain, he gets angry, grinds up the golden calf and makes the people drink the gold dust. They are punished by losing all their gold stuff and having to drink dust. Then Moses goes up the mountain to ask God to forgive them. So I am [...]
Fifteen – no, ten! Ten Commandments!
Posted: February 25, 2012 in Orange, YellowTags: commandment, covenant, exodus, Mel Brooks, Simpsons
There is an old movie called History of the World Part I where comedian Mel Brooks boils human history down to its basic points, as he sees them. It’s a parody, so it’s meant to be funny, but also meant to be kind of pointful. Here’s the scene where Moses meets God on the mountain [...]
We have arrived at Mount Sinai. No one is really sure where Mount Sinai is, or what it looks like, or anything like that. What we do know is that when the Bible tells us that we are at, on, or around Mount Sinai, we are probably in for something big and holy and important. [...]
OVER HERE! ME! LOOK AT ME!
Posted: February 23, 2012 in Orange, YellowTags: Exodus 18, help, Jethro, leadership, Moses, responsibility, sharing
If you are reading this, you are probably a leader, whether you think of yourself that way or not. How do I know? Because you are taking it upon yourself to read the Bible and think about it, to let God work on you and shape you. That means that you are setting a good [...]
It will change your life!
Posted: February 22, 2012 in Orange, YellowTags: commercialism, Moses, power, providence, water
Problem. Cry for help. Intervention. Happiness. This is the pattern of just about every TV commercial you will ever see. Arnold has bad credit/bad breath/bad clothes. Arnold asks the sky/his wife/his friend for help. The celebrity endorser/his wife/his friend says “Here! This product will solve all your problems!” Arnold not only now has good credit/good [...]
What have you done for me lately?
Posted: February 21, 2012 in Orange, YellowTags: Aaron, food, gratitude, manna, Moses, politics, remember
In politics, if you want someone’s vote or support or money, you often have to make them promises. It doesn’t matter what you’ve already done for them – they want to know what you’re about to do for them. And certainly if you haven done anything for them for a little while, it doesn’t matter [...]
THE Exodus
Posted: February 20, 2012 in Orange, YellowTags: community, exodus, faith, freedom, story
It’s finally here – the exodus itself, the journey away from what the Israelites had always known and toward a future they couldn’t quite even imagine yet. This is one of the most important stories we have – the story of how God led the Israelites out from slavery to freedom (and conquered a mighty [...]
It sounds like Pharaoh is finally ready to let the people go. His heart has been changed, right? Well, maybe, but take a look at what Pharaoh says and does as opposed to what the other Egyptians say and do. The Egyptians are grieving, they say “We are all dead men”, and they load up [...]
