The Journey

Toddlers are unpredictable. One day they love the food you make and the next they refuse it- and keep refusing it every day after that. As annoying as this trait is, I find myself begrudgingly admitting that I can identify all too well with this attitude. It's amazing how, even as adults, we can find ourselves going from loving something that is good for us to hating it. Whether it's exercise, healthy food, or someone's personality, we all walk away from things that are good. I have noticed myself doing this with the Bible. Deep down I find myself yearning for it, but there's also a part of me that finds the more I get into it, the more I want to pull back. It's frustrating. And annoying. It makes me want to pull out my hair. It turns something that should be a joy into a fight. A fight that I don't always win. I think I know why, though. Hebrews 4:12-13 says: For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as...

Have you ever noticed that I Samuel's account of David in exile sounds a lot like the character of Robin Hood? Take a look at the following passages. First, he goes into exile. Then a crowd of men begin to gather about him: David departed from there and escaped to  the cave of  Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him.   2  And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, [ a ]  gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him  about four hundred men. I Samuel 22:1-2  Sounds an awful lot like he's accumulated his "merry men". And then he gains a "friar Tuck": 20  But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named  Abiathar, escaped and fled after David.   22  And David said to Abiathar...,  23 " Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you sha...

For years Facebook has had a rather nonsensical approach to posts and pages. Many of them that should  be taken down, never are. But harmless, although contradictory, Christian memes are removed because enough people decided they were "offensive". (I'd like to see how many non-religious posts they find offensive but don't bother to notify Facebook about, but that's for another discussion.) Well, ladies and gentlemen, Facebook has decided it's time to clean house. Recently my sister's work place sued a past employee for misconduct and slander. The person had been making their lives miserable by keeping control of the company's Facebook page (among other things), so out of a desire to keep their company's reputation intact, they asked Facebook for help. When FB did nothing, they reluctantly started a new page. It did well for a while and things seemed to be alright, aside from occasional harassment from the ex-employee. But then things went terrib...

Tick, tick, tick, tick.... Have you ever heard the story of the Clockwork Heart ? No? It's the story of a couple who were very much in love, so much so that their favorite past time was to dance the hours away, gazing into one another's eyes. One day, a tragedy struck, taking the wife. The husband because of his grief over the loss of his "heart", decided to remake her out of cogs and springs. For months, maybe even years, he worked, trying to bring her back. In the end, there she stood before him, a nearly perfect copy. But all he could see was a creation of his own hands: a clockwork heart. Tick, tick, tick, tick.... For the past few months I've been studying the life of Moses. He had it rough. I mean, if anyone deserved a vacation, he did. What a fickle people he led! How childish they were! How exhausting was their complaining. It seemed like no matter what happened, how faithful and selfless he was and how merciful God was, they always rebelled. ...

Do you ever find yourself reading the Old Testament and thinking, “Wow, how dumb can the people of Israel get?” Now, come on. Be honest. It’s amazing, isn’t it, how the Israelites could be saved by God working through Moses and yet they grumble about not having food. I mean, they don’t even ask for it, for goodness’ sake! They just whine to Moses. Or how they could make a covenant with God, promising to do “all that He has commanded”, and then as soon as Moses’ back is turned break the first and second commandments to create a calf out of gold. It’s no wonder God tells them in Exodus chapter 33 verse 3 that He’s no longer going to be with them. I guess, in a way I can understand them. For 400 years they lived as slaves, not making their own decisions, feeling like the God of their fathers has abandoned them, and being treated almost like cattle. Then along comes a man named Moses who was adopted into the kind of privilege they can only dream of with some “magical” powers t...

We've all had those days when it seems like life beats you down at every turn. Like nothing is going right and no matter what we try, we can't seem to come out on top. Like we're drowning, the air pressing in on us, our chests constricting under the weight of our problems. Maybe for you it's been more than a day. It's been a month. A year. Ten years. And you just can't see what good could possibly come of your suffering. All you can think is:  "God, what are you doing?!" No, wait, don't go. It's okay. You can admit it. Remember the first words I wrote up there? We've all had those days. All. Every single one of us, whether we admit it or not. Whether we choose to remember or not. See, that's part of the problem: remembering. We are such fickle, short-sighted people. During a trial, we can't see past our problems. Afterwards, we immediately forget what we went through. It's like... a mirror. When we stare our proble...