Digging in Deeper: Genesis 2:18

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“Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I have been eagerly watching the latest season of Disney’s Loki series. The latest installment of the misadventures of the fan-favorite villain-turned-hero has, in my opinion, been even better than the last season. Reportedly, its viewership is down some from last season, but Disney viewership in general is down because the company keeps doing things and producing media to trumpet their woke bonafides which just keeps pushing more and more people away. That’s a conversation for another time. So is a full review of the latest (and, honestly, probably last) Loki season as I haven’t yet watched the finale. But a bit of dialogue in the penultimate episode did reveal what has been driving Loki and point to what will probably be the big theme of the season, and possibly Loki’s entire character arc. He’s trying to save the world because he’s lonely. That seems pretty basic as far as motivations go, but it struck me as a whole lot more significant than people might think. Let’s talk about why.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 16:17-20

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“So the Israelites did this. Some gathered a lot, some a little. When they measured it by quarts, the person who gathered a lot had no surplus, and the person who gathered a little had no shortage. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat. Moses said to them, ‘No one is to let any of it remain until morning.’ But they didn’t listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. Therefore Moses was angry with them.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever proven yourself to someone only to have them doubt you anyway? That’s an enormously frustrating situation. One of the major themes of the Exodus journey is Israel’s persistent lack of faith in God. This story fits squarely within this theme. Let’s talk about how God provides, why Israel didn’t trust, and what all of this might mean for us.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 16:13-16

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So at evening quail came and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. When the layer of dew evaporated, there were fine flakes on the desert surface, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, ‘What is it?’ because they didn’t know what it was. Moses told them, ‘It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: “Gather as much of it as each person needs to eat. You may take two quarts per individual, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.”‘” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever seen or experienced something that went beyond your ability to describe it? We did a fire in our fire pit the other night. Over the last several months we had collected a ton of sticks and small limbs from around our yard and burned all of them. It didn’t take long because they were so dry. By the time we were finished, there was an incredible base of glowing embers in the bottom of the pit. At one point, I spread it all out, and the entire bottom of our fire pit was covered by them. They were all glowing with different shades of orange and red that were constantly swirling and changing. It was amazing to look at. I don’t have words to fully describe what it looked like. The first morning after God announced the provision of manna for Israel, the people walked out and found it there. What we have here is their attempt to describe it. Let’s talk about what we see.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 16:4, 12

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“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. . . .I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them: At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Maybe it’s because I grew up in Missouri, the “Show Me State,” but I remember growing up that it was not at all uncommon when someone in a group of friends made a claim that seemed particularly outlandish, the rest of the group responded with two words: prove it. When Israel complained that Moses had dragged them out into the desert to starve them to death, while food was the direct object of their whining, it wasn’t the real issue. The real issue was that they were essentially telling God to prove (yet again) that He really was God. So he did, and in a way that has shaped the cultural memory of the entire world ever since. Let’s talk about what’s going on here.

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Why Do We Suffer?

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This week we are in the third part of our teaching series, Confident in the Face of Hard Questions. This will be the most emotionally challenging stop on our journey. This week we are going to tackle the question of why there is suffering in the world created by a supposedly good God. This is a deeply emotional question with intensely personal elements to it. You have perhaps asked this question yourself. You certainly know people who have even if you didn’t know that about them. The answers to this question won’t be easy, but they are good. Let’s dive in together to see what the Scriptures have to say about it.

Why Do We Suffer?

There is a humanitarian crisis unfolding right now in Gaza. There’s an ongoing one in Ukraine. China is still keeping millions of Uyghur Muslims in concentration camps in the Xinjiang Province even though that has dropped out of the news. That is in addition to that nation’s ongoing and vigorous persecution of Christians…who make up a larger percentage of the population than Chinese Communist Party members. Azerbaijan has launched a genocidal effort to exterminate or otherwise forcibly relocate all of the Armenian Christians in a disputed border region between the nations, leading to massive suffering on the part of tens of thousands. Muslims in Pakistan are becoming more and more aggressive in their persecution of Christians in the nation. So are Hindus in India. The two nations don’t like each other, but they both agree that they hate Christians more. A category five Hurricane hit the Pacific coast of Mexico last week from which the recovery efforts have only just begun. A shooter in Maine just last week murdered 18 and injured another 13, some critically. Several people in our own community have had their lives disrupted just recently by unexpected, unwelcome, and scary news that bodes for a very difficult road stretching out in their near future. 

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