Carefully Observe

Today’s reading – Deuteronomy 11:1 – 12:32

I’ve been thinking about temptations this week, and have decided there is good news and bad news.  The good news is that there are only two real temptations.   That’s good news because one would think that if the two were identified, all of us could find the strength to overcome.  So … here they are.

1. The temptation to forget God when times are tough.

2. The temptation to forget God when times are good.

The bad news is that means the temptation is there 100 % of the time.  That’s why Moses went to great pains to ensure that this new generation of Israelites knew that they needed to “carefully observe” their relationship with God.  He told them to write it on the door-frames, talk about it to their children, fix them on their hearts and minds, tie them as symbols on their hands and foreheads.  He had them build rough altars, so in future generations when their kids would se them, they would ask about them, and be reminded of the provision of God. 

Why did they need all this “careful observation”?  Because tough times were coming, and in those tough times, there would be the great temptation to think they were on their own, and that God had forsaken them.  And … because good times were coming, and in the good times they would be tempted to forget that they needed God.  They would be tempted to think they had won the battles on their own or that hey had built their fortune on their own. 

It still takes focus to be aware of the presence of God.  What are YOU doing TODAY to carefully observe?

Let the Word speak!

Thurland

Remember, and take courage

Yesterday’s reading – Deuteronomy 7:1 – 8:20

Today’s reading – Deuteronomy 9:1 – 10:22

For Dick and Linda, this is the last one of these notes they will receive for a while.  For the next month, they will be in Halifax as Dick undergoes chemotherapy for a painful cancer, and have no access to computer during that time.  So today, this article is for them.  The rest of you can read and pray!

Deuteronomy is largely a book of remembering.  Since I last wrote (four days ago), the Israelites have been reminded of the way “awesome God” has intervened on their behalf during the 38 year wandering.  They have been reminded of their rebellions in turning away from Him.  And they have been reminded of His faithfulness and mercy in keeping His Word. 

Two phrases popped up at me as I read today: “Be careful”, and “remember.”  When the hard times come, it takes “care” to remember how God has already blessed in our lives.  It takes focus.  Charlie and Dorothy used to keep a prayer journal.  When Charlie was so sick that he could hardly think about God, they would take out that journal and weep with joy as they were reminded how God had blessed them.  In doing so, their spirits were fortified for the present battle.

Dick, Linda – today I remember with you.  I remember some difficult times that are too personal to be recounted here – nights and days of looking for God’s help.  I also remember how God used you and your family to bless me and my family.  The hours upon hours of practical help that Linda gave Lorraine when we moved to the Port.  Dick almost got me hooked on salmon fishing!  And the kids – we cannot say enough about the way that both of you loved our children.  And spiritual victories – especially the night Dick accepted Jesus.  And the way that you, Linda, have made such a deep spiritual impact on the girls, especially Sarah, we remember together and from that remembrance we gain the strength to lean on God for today.  Deut. 9:3 – “Be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes ahead of you.”

Let the Word speak!

Thurland

Is it time?

Today’s reading – Numbers 36:1-13, Deuteronomy 1:1-46

We have a song we used to sing when we want God to step in and do something for us which we probably should have done on own.  It says, “Hey Lord, don’t ya think it’s time? Hey Lord, don’t ya think it’s time?  Don’t ya think it’s time we had another miracle, Lord don’t ya think it’s time.”

In reading Deuteronomy 1, I can imagine that God may have a choir in heaven, and their sung response might be: “Hey man, don’t ya think it’s time? Hey man, don’t ya think it’s time?  Don’t ya think it’s time that you used what I gave to ya? Man don’t ya think it’s time?”

In Deut. 1:6-8, Moses said to the people, “The LORD our God said to us at Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain.  Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates.  See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.’".

With my little understanding of space science, when NASA is getting ready to launch a rocket, there is a limited period of time, a window of opportunity during which the mission can be safely launched.  If the opportunity is missed, the mission is scrapped indefinitely.

As humans we have a lot of things from which God wants to rescue us.  Some are sins, for which we must truly repent.  But others may be better characterized as “the hill country” that he wants us to conquer.  Fears … insecurities … childhood traumas … I can’t believe that He is content to have these control our lives to the degree that this generation is allowing them.  Have your feelings been hurt by someone and you are still wallowing in self-pity?    What else do you allow to control your life, and hold you back?  Is there not a time when God says, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain?  Break camp and advance into the hill country.”

Let the Word speak!

Thurland

Wilderness Wandering, or Journey with a Purpose?

Today’s reading – Numbers 33:40 – 35:34

Day after day, morning after morning after morning, afternoon after afternoon … he walked.  He left his apartment, walked past my house, and 10 to 15 minutes later he walked back.  An hour or two later, it happened all over again … leave the apartment, walk down Main Street, turn around and walk back.  He left, he walked, he returned.  He left, he walked he returned.  Several times a day, day after interminable day, he left, he walked, he returned.  From my perspective, it seemed as if his whole life consisted of leaving, walking and returning.

Chapter 33 of Numbers tells much the same story about the Israelites. They left, they walked, and they camped … they left, they walked and they camped. I became tired as I read it … tired for them … 38 years in the wilderness leaving, walking, and camping … but never going anywhere.

However, at verse 40, it seems to me that something changes.  It may be just my imagination, but until verse 40, they were merely walking “around”, while after verse 40 they were walking “toward.”  The King of Arad heard that they were coming.  Every step now led them toward their revived goal. 

There are probably times in each of our spiritual walks when we wander, maybe even for 38 years.  Good news from Chapter 33.  The tiresome, wilderness wanderings can become a journey with a meaning. 

It’s your life, don’t waste it wandering.  Let the Word Speak

Thurland

Sowing Seeds of Discontent

Today’s reading – Numbers 32:1 – 33:39

            It was a cold winter day and the sliding hill was perfect – just the right mixture of loose snow on crusty snow so the Flexible Flyer would glide forever.  We had had a wonderful morning, and now after grabbing a quick bite of lunch we were heading back outside.  Little did we know of the rude surprise that awaited us outside.  We had one playmate that for some reason just couldn’t stand to see anyone have a good time. So while we ate our dinner, he was busy spreading sand.  The hill was useless, the fun was gone, and he was satisfied.

            It’s a terrible thing to be a sewer of discontent.  In the first part of today’s lesson, two and one half of Israel’s tribes asked permission of Moses to settle where they were camping and not cross the Jordan River.  His response was (32:7-9), “Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the land the LORD has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land. After they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the LORD had given them.”

            It seems that their sin was not just a lack of faith, but that they were vocal in that lack of faith, and used it to discourage everyone else.  Do you have words or phrases that you use that put barriers in front of others?  Do you consider yourself to be a “realist”, when you are actually a pessimist, a sewer of gloom and doom?  When you walk into a room, does the temperature go down?  Do you spread sand over the sliding hill?

            Moses said to these people, “Why do you discourage the Israelites?”

Let the Word Speak

Thurland

How much is your word worth?

Today’s reading – Numbers 30:1 – 31:54

To say that Jerry is not a rich man would be a gross understatement. In fact, the level of his income as a traveling children’s worker is undoubtedly less than most of us would ever want to try to live on.  In the instance I want to tell you about, no papers had been signed.  In the eyes of the law, no deal had been made, and nothing would be required of him.  The story in a nutshell is this:  While looking for a used van, Jerry had made statements to one dealer that the dealer had taken as a verbal agreement to purchase.  Jerry looked around a bit more and found a better deal.  When he told this to the first dealer, he was told, “But we had a deal.”  At a good amount of personal expense to himself, Jerry made good on the first agreement.

Many people would say, “That was silly.”  Many would probably have held to the letter of the law, and insisted that since nothing was signed, nothing could be required.  But Jerry, ever conscious of the value of his word and of the detrimental effects of a sullied testimony, never thought twice about his decision.  To him, his word was worth more than any money he may save.

Numbers 30:1 says, “This is what the LORD commands: 2 When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.”

Let the Word Speak

Thurland

The Sorrow of Wasted Lives

Today’s reading – Numbers 26:1 - 51

The clip will probably never be nominated for an Oscar Award, but I have to tell you that this morning, 3 year old Isaac called to tell Grandfather that his picture was on TV in Halifax, and if I hurried they may replay it on the Ottawa station.  I did hurry, and sure enough, right between Lunar Jim and Clifford the Big Red Dog, near the end of a long list of other kids of celebration … was his picture.  Not the most interesting TV in the world … unless Isaac happened to be your grandson.

Numbers 26 will probably never an award for being the most interesting chapter in the Bible.  But it marks a turning point in the life of the Chosen People.  In that it is another list of clans, it is much like chapter one.  The size of the clans has changed somewhat since then – some have grown, some are smaller – but the overall size of the nation is practically the same.  The big difference is that with the exception of two people (Joshua and Caleb) none of the people being numbered now were old enough to be included in the first census. 

In itself, that is not a problem, but here’s the significance. It means that this whole generation had not measured up to their potential.  God had purposed to rescue this people from Egypt and deliver them to the Promised Land.  The rescue was amazing, but then they settled in the wilderness and never saw what God had promised them.  Because of a lack of trust, because of complaints, because of listening to unfaithful reports, they had met many unnecessary hardships.  And they all died, falling short of the victory that God had wanted for them.

Where are you in your walk with God?  It's not too late to get on track, and begin rectifying the bad habits of early life.  Not too late for you.  And not too late to have a positive effect in the generations which follow.

Let the Word Speak

Thurland

Balaam’s Progress

Today’s reading – Numbers 24:1 – 25:18

Yesterday we referred to Balaam in a somewhat derogatory term (Jackass), but he wasn’t dimwitted enough to ignore this experience and refuse to grow.  As I look at the two men in the story – Balaam the (false) prophet, and Balak the King, I am struck by the differences in them.

Balak the King had hired Balaam the (false) prophet to curse the people of God.  Every step along the way, (at least 5 times) he was told “I cannot curse them.  I will come, but I cannot curse those that God has blessed.”  At the end of the story Balak was exactly the same person as at the beginning – fighting in direct opposition to God, trying to curse the people God had chosen.

On the other hand, I see Balaam as a work in progress.  I am attaching to this email this morning a Word 97 file in which I have taken the oracles of Balaam and put them in columns beside each other.  If you are interested, it is a very easy thing for you to scan down through these oracles, and see how Balaam grew after each encounter with God.

For example, after the first one, he simply said “I cannot curse the ones God has blessed”.  Balak sent him back for another word, and this time he said, “I must bless those God has blessed”.  By the time he was done, he was seeing God with his eyes, hearing with ears, understanding with head, and more.   

The Christian life is not about standing still.  It is about growth.  Don’t allow yourself to come out of encounters with God, and not be changed.

Let the Word Speak

Thurland

What can a Donkey Teach a Jackass?

Today’s reading – Numbers 22:21 – 23:30

Excuse the title this morning, but the story of Balaam and his talking donkey provided a pun that was too good to pass up.

You know you’re having a bad day when:

-You’re behind a biker gang on the highway … and your horn sticks
- The worst player on the golf course wants to play you for money

- Your twin forgets your birthday

- You realize that you just sprayed spot remover instead of deodorant.

Balaam knew he was having a bad day, because he had just had a conversation with his donkey … and the donkey won the debate!

Balaam was a false prophet, a prophet for hire, and he had just been employed by one of Israel’s enemies to bring a curse upon them.  The night before, he had a long “debate” with God which he thought he had won, because God finally allowed him to go with the envoys that had come to hire him.  However, that did not mean that he was doing the will of God, and on this particular day, this diviner of spirits was out-divined by his donkey. 

Here’s a principle worth remembering:  God does not bless everything He allows.

The fact that you appear to have “gotten away” with something does not mean you have God’s blessing.  It appears to me that in the Old Testament, God “allowed” polygamy.  But have you noticed in every polygamous situation recorded, the outcome is filled with strife.  Abraham had his wife Sarah, and her servant Hagar.  God allowed them to “get away with this.”  He did not cut them off from his blessing.  But the end result of doing what God “allowed”, as opposed to what God “wanted”, has been thousands of years of struggle between the family members.

In this lesson, God allowed Balaam to go with these emissaries, but he was not going to bless the journey.

Do you have struggles in your life?  Could it be because you are doing what God allows, rather than seeking to do what he blesses?  Try this on for your new prayer.  Instead of praying, “God bless what I do today”, try praying “God, help me to do what you bless.”

Let the Word Speak

Thurland

I don’t want to be a whiner

Today’s reading – Numbers 21:1 – 22:20

One of our girl’s friends was baby-sitting a six year old “whiner”.  Everything word out of this little girl’s mouth was in that awful, high-pitched voice, with  syllable stretched into at least triple length.  In exasperation, Tracy finally snapped at her, “Stop whining!”  There’s no way I know of to use the printed word to describe the sound of the reply, but in that same annoying tone of voice, the little girl said, “I don’t want to be a whiner!”  (I think it’s the same tone of voice I remember my elementary school teachers used to reprimand me for, but that’s a whole other story)

The Israelites were at it again.  Numbers 21:4 says, “They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"   (Sounds like a group of 1972 Bethany Bible College students)

In thinking of their complaints this week, it seems to me that most of the complaining occurred when they had lost their focus on following God’s direction.  He had rescued them from Egypt, and pointed them to the Promised Land – a journey that some say could have been completed in 11 days.   They went off track, murmured about the off-track problems, and quickly lost their fervor for following God. 

That would never happen to us, would it?  Come to think of it, most of our complaining also happens when we are purposefully off track, and we lose our sense focus.  The choir was off key today.  The preacher was boring today.  The SS kids left dirt in the washrooms today.  The visitor left a cigarette butt on the sidewalk today.  Don’t want to be a whiner?  Get on track.  God does have a purpose for you, and walking in that purpose is the only way to the abundant life of John 10:10.

Let the Word Speak

Thurland

Which Truth Do You Tell?

Weekend Readings – Numbers 15:17 – 18:32

Today’s reading – Numbers 19:1 – 20:29

If you are interested in how a color blind person sees things, click on this link - http://spaces.msn.com/thurland/blog/cns!BC3275F49EA6F989!460.entry – and then view the picture at the bottom.  When I was a boy, we used to go pick wild strawberries with the neighbors.  They would come home with a good quart, and I would come home with the bottom of a cup barely covered.  It was not until I was a young adult that I realized why.  Lorraine and I were walking briskly along the side of the road, when suddenly she stopped and said. “Look at the strawberries.”  Wow, was I surprised.  I thought that to see strawberries, you had to have your face shoved in the ground, looking up from underneath the leaves.  Now that I know, it is impossible for a person with a red-green deficiency to see red strawberries from more than six inches away, I no longer worry about it.

In the weekend’s readings, there seems to be a vision deficiency, a short-sightedness that affected a large group of people.  Moses sent 12 spies into the Promised Land, and they all came back telling the truth.  Ten of them returned with news that the land was good (better than they expected) but the enemy was large.  In fact they said, “We can’t attack these people …  The land we explored devours those living in it … All the people we saw there are of great size … We seemed like grasshoppers.”  (Numbers 13)  Everything they said was true.

Joshua and Caleb saw exactly the same thing, and yet their report was totally different.  They said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it … The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.”

What was the difference in the two reports?  The ten saw reality, and told the truth.  Joshua and Caleb saw the same reality, but they also saw the power and the presence of God.  Their report and their life after the report included the promises of God.

I realize this article has more to do with a previous chapter, but I wanted to remind us all that there is a reality that exceeds what we see with our physical eyes.  There is a reality fueled by faith, a reality that includes the promises and the presence of God.  That is the reality by which we are to live.

Let the Word Speak

Thurland

Listening to the rabble

Yesterday’s reading – Numbers 11:24 – 13:33

Today’s reading – Numbers 14:1 – 15:16

About six months after I moved back to Winchester in 1995, on of the elderly ladies of the church said to me, “I appreciate some of the changes you have made, and the funny thing is, I didn’t even know we needed changes.”  I liked that.  She wasn’t in a mood of rebellion against my predecessor.  In fact, she loved him as pastor, and liked the way he did things.  But she appreciated the changes. 

The seven last words of a dying church are said to be: “We’ve never done it that way before”.  Whining when change occurs

It’s amazing to me how quickly the attitude change occurred.  For most of the last book and a half of the Old Testament, we have read over and over again, “They did just as the Lord commanded.”  But almost immediately after they left Sinai, and began to move to the Promised Land, the complaints began.

Chapter 11 – tired of the menu - they began to listen to (notice this phrase) “the rabble among them”.

Chapter 12 – Even Aaron and Miriam speak against the Lord

Chapter 13 – Ten of the 12 tribe’s leaders bring back a report filled with doubts

Chapter 14 – The people talk about “choosing a leader to go back”

What happened that caused them to go from “doing it just as the Lord commanded”, to complaining against the Lord’s commands.  Numbers 10:11 tells us “On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle of the Testimony. 12 Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place.”

In the place of comfort, it is easy to do “just as the Lord commands.”  But be careful when the journey starts.  Be careful when the ministry begins.  It won’t always be easy, and there will be rabble among you who wish for the good old days.  There will be a leader amongst the rabble who will want to rise up and take you back to Egypt. 

Be careful – Be a Caleb.  Be a Joshua.  Give faithful, faith-filled reports, trust in God, and on with the work at hand.

Let the Word Speak

Thurland

In the land before time (well, at least before internet)

Today’s reading – Numbers 10:1 – 11:23

I know we all think that we live in great hardship, but try to imagine this if you can.  ONE OF OUR DAUGHTERS (whose 9^th Anniversary it happens to be today – happy anniversary Krista and Matt) lives in a spot where High Speed Internet is not yet accessible.  It’s hard for the rest if us to understand the deprivation she must endure.  Ah, the difficulties of communication. 

Today’s lesson predates High Speed internet, even low speed dial-up.  It is set far before one touch dialing, or even the old party-lines.  No Marconi wireless with its Morse code.  And yet the Lord derived a system of communication through which his instructions could be delivered to the tribes surrounding the tabernacle.  Two Silver trumpets.  That’s all there was.  Both trumpets sounding means to gather at the tabernacle.  One trumpet means for the leaders to gather.  Different signals for different activities.

My point this morning is rather an elementary one, but here it is anyway.  God has always had a way of communicating with his people.  If we will listen, God is speaking. 

One of the intents of the season of Lent in the Christian calendar is to listen to God – listen in a more focused way than normal. 

Are you listening?  Let the Word Speak

Thurland

Welcome to Capt’n Homard’s

Today’s reading – Numbers 8:1 – 9:23

Some things are meant to be noticed.  When traveling east on Hwy. 20, somewhere east of Quebec City there is a huge sign that says “Capt’n Homard’s Restaurant – 200 km”.  (“Homard” is French for “lobster”.)   A short while later there is another sign saying something like “Only 150 km. to Capt’n Homard’s.”  It repeats again at 100, then again at 50, and finally just before you arrive at Mount Joli, there is a reminder that you have arrived!  It’s a nice restaurant, sitting on the northern shore of the Gaspe Peninsula (make sure you take your wallet when you go) and the owners have done a good job in ensuring that travelers know where it is.   

In the first part of the book of Numbers, there is a phrase that is meant to be noticed.  It was in the early chapters, and is repeated several times in Chapter 8 and 9.  It is obviously meant to be noticed.  In fact, this phrase has been following us through the books of Exodus and Leviticus.  It just will not let go.  It appears at least 28 times in Exodus, 11 times in Leviticus, and 11 more times in the first 8 chapters of Numbers.  (In fact, I’ve peeked ahead, and it is going to show up at least 15 more times before we end Numbers.)

Capt’n Homard’s sign got my attention, and in the summer of 2003, Lorraine and I had a delicious meal there.  This “sign” of which I speak in the early Old Testament is there like a neon light, flashing, flashing, flashing … trying to get our attention.  It seems to me that the phrase may have something to do with the early success of the people of Israel. 

Here it is: The people did “just as the Lord commanded.”  They built the tabernacle, they clothed the priests, they presented their offerings, they set up their camp and they picked their leaders “just as the Lord commanded”.

Is it important to you to do “just as the Lord commands?”  Let the Word Speak

Thurland

Counting the children

Today’s reading – Numbers 6:1 – 7:89

The thought for today comes from a combination of all of the first chapters of the book of Numbers, as well as a couple of conversations I had last week.  Together these have turned my mind to the following poem that someone once read at a John and Lois Brown (my grandparents) family reunion. 

First - The readings in the first part of Numbers do a lot of counting – numbering of the members of the tribes.  There are probably several reasons for this, but one major reason is to make themselves aware that each tribe consists of a number of individuals, and to remind themselves of the responsibility to look out for the others.

Second – the conversation was with another pastor, and centered around his heart felt prayer that all of the children of “covenant believers” be saved, that none be lost.

Thirdly – the poem, aptly entitled “Are All the Children in” (author unknown)

I think ofttimes as the night draws nigh
Of an old house on the hill,
Of a yard all wide and blossom starred
Where the children played at will.
And when the night at last came down,
Hushing the merry din,
Mother would look around and ask,
ARE ALL THE CHILDREN IN ?

"Tis many and many a year since then,
And the old house on the hill
No longer echoes to childish feet,
And the yard is still,so still,.
But I see it all, as the shadows creep,
And though many the years have been
Since then, I can hear my mother ask,
ARE ALL THE CHILDREN IN ?

I wonder if when the shadows fall
On the last short, earthly day,
When we say good-by to the world outside,
All tired with our childish play,
When we step out into that other land,
Where Mother so long has been,
Will we hear her ask, just as of old,
ARE ALL THE CHILDREN IN ?

Let the Word Speak

Thurland

Dedicated to God

Today's readings = Leviticus 27:14 -  Numbers 1:54

His name was Charlie, and he hardly ever came to church.  But, in the fall of 1975, he and his wife called Lorraine and I to come to his house.  He took us out back to a rather large garden, and informed us that very year when he planted he dedicated a section to the Lord.  When the harvest was in, all of the produce of that section was given to a preacher.  That year we were the recipients of this dedicated produce.

I know one lobster fisherman who marked a few of his traps (“pots” if you live in NS).  All the lobsters caught in these traps would be used to support the mission projects of the church.

This last chapter in Leviticus gives individuals the option of dedicating some things to the Lord – a dedication that was not required in the other offerings. Now there’s a thought!  Give God more than He requires!!

Let the Word Speak

Thurland

“IF”

Today's readings = Leviticus 25:47 – 27:13

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise

This is the first verse of one of my favorite school-year poems.  Written by Rudyard Kipling, it is simply entitled “IF”.  (Click here to read the complete masterpiece)

Someone has described “if” as the biggest little word in the English language.  In the temptations of Jesus, I often refer to the “if” as the fourth temptation.  (Each time Satan tempted Jesus, he first of all tempted him to doubt his relationship to God the Father by saying, “IF you are the Son of God …”)

In today’s lesson, the word “if”, and its counterpart “if not” stand front and center. 

In Lev. 26:3-13, the phrase “If you follow my decrees” is followed by a list of blessings that will come upon the nation of Israel.

That is followed immediately by several levels of punishments or curses that would come against them if they do not listen.  (se verse 14, 18, 21, 23 and 27)  Frightening things that the Lord promises will happen if they reject the decrees, and remain hostile toward him. 

To you as an individual, I would say this:  These things do not happen quickly.  They are not the result of a slip of the tongue, or a momentary lapse of judgment on your behalf.  And note that at the beginning stages, they are sent not to harm us, but to bring us back to God.  However, as our disobedience increases, so does the intensity of God’s language against us.

Be careful of remaining hostile towards God.

Let the Word Speak

Thurland

Hold it loosely

Today's readings = Leviticus 24:1 – 25:46

“It’s mine!  Give it to me!  I’m telling Mom!”  Familiar refrains from childhood years whenever someone took something that supposedly belonged to you.

“It’s mine! Give it back!  You’ll be talking to my lawyer!”  Familiar refrains from adults.

The lesson from Leviticus (while set in a different judicial system) has an important lesson for us.  “It” (whatever “it” is) is not really mine at all.  God has allowed me the privilege of holding it, enjoying it – perhaps even controlling it – but “it” is not mine. 

A few years ago, my predecessor in Winchester, Rev. Eldon LeRoy, came back for an anniversary service.  Part of his message that day was on our attitude towards our so-called possessions.  I don’t remember the details, but his bottom line was that we are to “hold them loosely”.   The reason is that when we hold them too tightly, we no longer own them, they own us.  We no longer enjoy them, they control us..

Last night in our midweek, we looked at a powerful verse in Philippians 4.  Paul said. I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation ..."

The secret of contentment – maybe it is in Rev. LeRoy’s admonition – “Hold it loosely.”

Let the Word Speak