Meditation

I am returning to my blog, somewhat impaired, for I have been off undergoing surgery on both of my eyes, to be able to see without eyeglasses for the first time in 60 years, so bear with me please. My doctor is new to me or I would have probably tried to put this off a bit, but instead she had me scheduled before I could say a word. It’s not that I don’t appreciate her decision and my newfound “look on life,” but I wanted to thanks to those who sought me out as to my whereabouts and just wanted to thank all for the prayers for me during this time. May God please all and I hope to have no more interruptions for awhile.

12/01/2022

“Then Moses said, ‘This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: If all these men die a actual death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, they they go down alive into the great, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt. As soon as he finished saying all these this, the ground under them splint apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah’s men and all their possessions. As soon as he finished saying all of this, the ground under them split apart and the each opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah’s men an all their possessions. They wend down alive into the graves with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting: ‘The earth is going to swallow us too!’ And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.” (Numbers 16:28-35- God’s will be revealed in History)

God’s will in a situation may be revealed through His historical acts. In punishing the revels against Moses and Aaron, God revealed His will to work through Moses and Aaron as His chosen leaders.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Dear Abba, in this short story, but rather overwhelmingly effective story, revealed that Aaron and Moses were His chosen leaders and that when they spoke, they spoke for God Himself. In our very recent times, the site of Sodom and Gomorrah has been located, though to date, only charred rocks have been located, for all else was consumed. Today we have entered the Advent Season of the year, we move closer to the birth story of our Lord and Savior and we will turn our eyes and hearts to that time when God entered this world. In the meantime continue to pray our troops serving in faraway lands and those in the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, that a peaceful solution might be found and let the fighting be silenced. We also pray for those who are suffering in body, mind, and/or spirit, with friends, family, and for those we don’t know. Amen

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“The bridge you burn now may be the one you later have to cross.”

KNOWING GOD:

“Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both of Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country; what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the water of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. It was not your children who saw what he did for you to the desert until you arrived at this place and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. But is was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.” (Deuteronomy 11:2-7 – God’s will be revealed in History)

God lets us see evidence of His power in history to lead us to love and obedience to Him.

I AM:

“A barren woman from Zorah was married to a man named Manoah. The woman encountered the angel of the Lord and was instructed to take no fermented drinks and only clean foods, for her son would be born and he would become Nazirite and was to be raised as one and that his hair was not to be cut for any reason. Manoah was told by his wife of the encounter, and the angel of the Lord came up to them. Manoah took a young goat together with the grain offering , and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched. As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord. ‘We are doomed to die!’ he said to his wife. ‘We have seen God!’ But his wife answered, ‘If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would have not accepted a bunt offering and grain offering offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.’ The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him when he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Estaol.” (Judges 13:8-10, 26-27 – God’s will be revealed in History )

The young couple they had been favored by God, to bless them with a child and they were given instructions as to how he would be raised and how he was to do all that the instructions given them were to be followed. God entered history to select the couple that honored Him in their lives and would do has He instructed them to do concerning the boy, and he name was to be Samson.

SECOND THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Just as I had determined to bring disaster upon you and showed no pity when your fathers angered me,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘so not I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid.’ These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment tin you courts; do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely, I hat all this,’ declares the Lord.” (Zechariah 8:14-15 – God’s will be revealed in History )

History reveals God’s freedom to act in response to His people and in accord with His purposes. Neither judgment nor deliverance totally characterizes God’s relation to His people and their history. Once God judged a faithless nation without pity. Then He chose to achieve His purposes by doing good for His people. Wrath is God’s temporary work so He can perform His permanent work of grace. Just as creation was a good work of God, so He wants His work in history to create a people that is good!

Justice is not confined to prophetic judgment sermons. Announcements of hope and renewal echo the call for truth, sound judgments, concern for neighbors, and honest testimony. Every society, whateveer its economic and political situation, must strive to encourage these qualities in its citizens. God’s people should form the vanguard, if you will, in the efforts for justice!