The Word


25
Jul 11

To be a people of his own inheritance

“But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance.” – Deut 4:20

God has taken the people of Israel out of Egypt where they were enslaved and after much wandering and waiting they are soon going to arrive at the promise land.  But before entering the land, Moses recounts their journey to them and reminds them of all God has done to deliver them from their enemies.  In the midst of this reminder, Moses summarizes powerfully saying, “The Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance,” (Deut 4:20).  There are a number of things worth reflecting on here.

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17
Jun 11

Dads, There Are No Private Sins

As Father’s Day approaches, I just happened across a few verses and thoughts that pertain to this great day.  I think we ought to honor our father’s (Honor thy mother and thy father…) but many may not have great father’s–or families for that matter.  And, I think father’s ought to be honored to the degree to which their lives have been honorable.  On these holidays, people often resort to this surface level honoring that merely glazes over hurts and hard family situations.  I don’t think we ought to make Father’s day into a day that we drudge up all the bad and evil that exists in our relationships with our Fathers.  Rather, I do think father’s day ought to be a day of gratitude and praise that, while we acknowledge the difficulties of our relationships, we set aside or look past those things and celebrate what we can, to the degree to which is proper.  And, if there is very little to praise or be thankful for, we may mourn but we are not left without our Father in Heaven, whom we are told cares deeply for his children (Matt. 7:7-11, Luke 11:11-14, James 1:16-17, John 3:14-17).

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4
Jun 11

The Great Comforter…for what?

This is a sound bite and should be kept in balance with all of scripture but challenging nonetheless.  We should not forget however, Paul’s admonishment that we should pray that we might enjoy peaceful lives and that this is pleasing to God.  All things must be held in tension. (1 Tim 2:1-4)


28
May 11

The Fate of Every Human Being