Graves' This and That

  Reading in Exo 4 this morning and the Lord is showing Moses that HE can use him even though he is "flawed"...not a good speaker, afraid of Pharaoh, and reluctant to trust God. "What is in your hand Moses?" His reply, "A staff" Moses threw it to the ground and it became a snake. Note, He ran from the snake! As I was reading, the staff which was given to protect the sheep by the shepherd, which Moses had been, in time of danger, has become grief in my mind.  God has graciou sly given grief for my physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. His desire is to use grief for good and for fruitfulness rather than my choice hole up in anger and bitterness. I MUST BE WILLING TO TAKE UP GRIEF. Understand death? A resounding NO, but I do understand life better. (I digressed, surprise!)  Having three boys, I did learn, to at least touch a snake, but would have never in all my years considered taking it by the tail as Moses was instructed ...

   I know you will be shocked, but waiting/patience has not been a strong character of mine. The resounding "amens" that you hear rocking the sound waves are the voices of both husbands, PAST AND PRESENT, my sons, and my past students! Ps. 130:1-5 "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are fea red. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope."   I have to know what a word means in the Hebrew or the Greek. The word picture for wait is the extension of a cord from one point to another...GOD-------my heart. Some things on my prayer concern lists, I have waited...not patiently of course, and so the time seems to lengthen, but God is faithful. In HIS Sovereign Purview, He has done what is good for David and good for our family. I will wait for t...

I have encountered this passage before from Psalm 107:16 and Isaiah 45:2, "For HE shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron."  The reference was to the captives of God's people in Babylon.  I quickly moved from a historical reference to my personal reference.  My mind.  My mind has doors which open and receives impressions, makes observations, and then usually has an opinion which may or may not need to be expressed.  Sometimes, an action follows. The doors of bronze could be the thoughts which I may have formulated which are about circumstances that seem to imprison me.  They may or may not be based on  the TRUTH of the Word of God.  They may be based on my default mindset and the responses I have toward the circumstance.  As I practice the default mind set, it can become bronze, stubborn and unhealthy.  Or it could become a healthy mindset which is committed to Truth and be unchanging with the winds of cultures' t...

Lest you think that me-ism is a cultural philosophy of the milennial generation, check out the read in Genesis 11 and the reasoning of the building of the Tower of Babel: "so that we may make a name for ourselves" and then along comes the read from Genesis 12 and Father Abraham.  Abram became fearful going into Egypt and basically handed his wife over to Pharaoh with the words to her, "Say your are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you." What a magnamous attitude of selfish me-ism.   I could even go back to Genesis 4 with Cain taking the life of Abel.  When confronted by God, Cain's concern was what will happen to me?  He had a recalcitrant and calloused heart, with no remorse for taking the life of his brother, Abel.  We have practiced well the sin of me-ism and I am thinking before the Fall, God gave to man these needs: love/affirmation, security, purpose, and worship.  With the Fall each nee...