Month: September 2023

Morning Musing: 1 Thessalonians 4:13

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“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Something a little different this morning. I’ve recently been reminded about how hard loss can be. Saying goodbye to loved ones when they close their eyes on this life is one of the hardest things we will face in this life. It leaves us disoriented and struggling to make sense out of…everything. Tomorrow starts to feel pointless, and hope seems nowhere to be found. And yet, if you are follower of Jesus, there’s this thing Paul said about not grieving like those who have no hope. Why? Let’s talk about it for a bit, and then I’d like to share a song with you that puts the hope Paul is talking about in a way that helps us to grasp it a little better.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 14:1-4

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“Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ‘Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea. Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in. I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.’ So the Israelites did this.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

As I shared with you a few weeks ago, in the last few months I have rewatched or watched for the first time the first six Mission Impossible movies. One of the regularly used tools in Ethan Hunt’s toolkit is to impersonate another character in such a way that he is able to get a third character to reveal vital information to accomplish a mission. I think that happens at least once in all six films including the very first scene of the first one. He’ll create situations that are designed to set up targeted characters to give him the information or perform some action that he wants them to do, but to do so entirely of their own free will. That feels a little like what God is doing to Pharaoh here…which isn’t nearly so entertaining of a thought as when Hunt does it. Let’s talk about what’s going on here, what God’s plans are, and what this all reveals about Him.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 13:19

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“Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, ‘God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

This morning we are going to wrap up Exodus 13. Tomorrow, Lord willing, we will jump into one of the most exciting, but also most challenging, parts of the story we have yet encountered. Verse 19 here isn’t the last verse in the chapter, but it is essentially an editorial note, so I saved it for the end. This one of those notes we find in the Scriptures that seem a bit random and really don’t help to advance the story at all. In spite of that, though, I think there are two quick things worth noting here. Let’s talk about each of them briefly today and that’ll be that.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 13:20-22

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“They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I was once the drummer in a band called Fire by Night. The founder really wanted to have a band like the Christian jam band, Waterdeep, because he was such a big fan of them. I had never heard of them at that point (I grew to be a huge fan over the next couple of years), so it was tough for me to grasp his vision. Also, their drummer, Brandon, was much, much more talented than I was, so I was never going to be able to imitate his style very well. In any event, he cobbled together a few friends, and we gave it a go. I still remember sitting around trying to think up a name for the group. We threw around various ideas until someone (not me) said, “What about ‘Fire by Night’?” Everyone knew immediately that was the right name. I think we played exactly one show at someone’s house party and recorded an incomplete version of one song that I still sometimes find myself singing. I tell you all of that because the whole thing was inspired by this story. Let’s talk about what’s happening here, and why we have something even better today.

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Well Led

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For all of the nuts and bolts of getting being the church right we’ve talked about so far, many of them are dependent on what we are talking about this time. We can have all the big dreams and plans for the church in the world, but if there is not solid leadership in place, we aren’t going to be able to move smoothly or easily toward any of them. This week we are talking about church leadership. Let’s see what the Scriptures have to say and what one important implication of this is for our lives.

Well Led

Have you ever had the pleasure of strolling through a really well-tended garden? When I think about that, something like the Biltmore Estate immediately comes to mind for me. Those gardens are absolutely exquisite. There’s beauty everywhere you look. It is a place of peace and tranquility—even in the winter—and a nice escape from the world. The whole estate is like that, but the gardens up near the mansion are a particularly good place for it. Imagine, though, that you were walking through a forest and came upon a garden like that. Your first thought would not be anywhere in the universe of, “Wow! What a beautiful garden that grew up here like this out in the middle of nowhere all by itself.” No, you’re thinking something along the lines of, “Someone did beautiful work making this garden look like it does.” You might also be thinking, “Uh-oh! Whose land have I accidentally trespassed on? I hope they don’t have a big, vicious dog guarding it.” 

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