Those Who Don't Learn from History

The sad lesson of the book of Judges is repeated over and over, "the Israelites once again div evil in the eyes of the LORD." This phrase invariably follows after the death of the latest Judge who saves Israel from oppression and leads the people during the rest of his/her lifetime. When that judge dies, however, the people forget the lesson of being true to God and stray once again into rebellion and sin. Their sin leads to God allowing oppression (because they aren't keeping the Covenant), the people cry out to God in their misery, God raises up a judge to deliver them which he does, and the people have peace until that judge dies. The process repeats itself so many times in Judges that it the lesson we should be learning from this bit of history is inescapable. IF we do not learn from what God has done already, we will be doomed to make the same mistakes as those who came before us. Most of us are confident enough that we don't think that we'll make such mistakes, but we should ask ourselves, do we even KNOW what God has done in the lives of our family before we came along; what did our parents learn about God that we should know, what about our grandparents? What did my church learn in the past that I don't know about? Take the time to have those conversations with those who have LIVED through the ups and downs of life; whatever else, you won't be wasting your time.

Hear Us From Heaven

We sang the iworship song, "Hear Us From Heaven" in church this morning; as I was thinking about the song (and getting the a/v equipment ready to start it), I shared this thought with the congregation, "What do we want God to HEAR from us? What is it that we really want God to know about?" It's the kind of thing that we don't stop to think about very often. Sure, we pray, we talk to God, but how often to we stop to examine what it is that we're saying to God, and what we hope to hear in return? The next time you pray, take a moment to consider what it is that you're hoping God will hear from you (obviously, I know that God knows and hears everything; but the point of praying is for us to speak to God {ultimately, for our benefit, to learn obedience and trust, and also because we're in a relationship with God (as opposed to a cosmic ATM, God is a PERSON)}...If God is going to Hear Us From Heaven (and he will), what are we saying??

Psalm 23, "The LORD is my shepherd"

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want." That pretty much says it all doesn't it?

Back up and running

After two and a half days, and countless hours of fussing, my computer is back up and running. I ended up having to reinstall Windows (wiping the hardrive, which I had back-up of course). If only it were that "easy" to wipe clean the mistakes that we've made, that easy to undue the wrongs that we've done. It took Christ on the cross to erase those sins, and even though I'll have to keep working to prevent further computer malfunctions, and eventually have to replace this machine; our savior died once for all, the ultimate clean slate.

Joshua 21:45 "Not one of all the LORD's good promises..."

This verse struck me the other day as I read it; "Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled." If only you or I could say that about anyone or anything else. Even when we fully intend to keep our promises, to fulfill our obligations, we don't always have the ability to do it. When I think over the past eight years of my marriage to Nicole, the times that I wasn't able to do what she needed (even though I wanted to), have been the things that have caused me the most grief. If only I could do everything that I need to do. Thanks be to God that we worship a God who does keep his promises. And not just typical promises, but "good promises"; promises to be our Protector, Comforter, Guide. When God promises to do something, we don't have to worry about whether or not he can, and because he is God, we don't have to worry about whether or not he will. The next time somebody or something in your life lets you down, take a moment to consider that God has never broken a promise to you.