I like to get up early and enjoy seeing a sunrise.
Here is the sunrise this morning in Manchester, taken from my front porch.
Yesterday I began a short series of thoughts on Numbers 21:4-9.
Today I'm meditating on verse 6:
"Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died."
Did I just read that God sent snakes to bite people?
Yes, I think I just did.
Some might try to excuse this verse, saying, "Well, you know, that's 'Old Testament.' God really isn't like that."
God isn't like that?
Well, then explain to me why Jesus said that he did not come to do away with the Hebrew scriptures, The Torah, the first five books of the Bible, which certainly were Jesus' Bible in his day.
The context of a verse is usually important. Looking at a verse out of its context can be a big mistake.
For every action, there is a reaction, we learn in school.
God sent the snakes to bite the people and many died.
But something happened before that.
Remember, yesterday, we learned that the Israelites were on their merry way to the Promised Land?
Remember how they came up against the Edomites and couldn't pass straight through to their destination?
Remember how the Israelites then grew impatient and complained against Moses?
They complained against God, too.
"Why have you brought us up out of Egypt
to die in the desert?
There is no bread!
There is no water!
And we detest this miserable food!"
Sounds like the Israelites were really "put out," eh?
Did they accept the stumbling block of the Edomites?
Well, they had to.
They had to go around Edom, take a detour, and face a major delay in their getting to the Promised Land.
Did they then become impatient with Moses and God?
Yes.
Did they then bitterly complain against Moses and their God?
Yes, they did.
Were they asking for it?
I don't think they realized what would happen.
Do you?
So the Lord sent venomous snakes to bite the people and many of them died.
For their impatience.
For their complaining.
Should we watch our impatience and keep it in check?
Should we watch our complaining and keep our mouths shut?
It might be a good idea.
Or God might just do another "Numbers" on you!
You don't think it could happen?
I seem to remember Jesus cursing a fig tree and it withered.
I recall Jesus cursing whole towns and villages and pronouncing woes upon them.
I seem to remember Jesus entering the Temple and causing a ruckus at what he found.
If Jesus Christ did not come to do away with the Old Testament,
if He is the same yesterday, today, and forever,
it could happen!
The Israelites traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom.
But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said,
"Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"
--Numbers 21:4-5 NIV
The Israelites were bound for the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey. They couldn't wait to get there.
In the previous chapter of Numbers, the Israelites had run into opposition from the people of Edom, who stood in their way.
"You may not pass through," they told the Israelites.
No one likes to hear that.
Just to show the Israelites they meant business, the Edomites came out against the Israelites with a large and powerful army.
So Israel had to back off and go around Edom.
Life is a journey. We want to get to our destination, safe and sound. We want to get there as quickly as possible, too.
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
A funny thing happened on the way to the Promised Land.
Edom stood in the way.
What's standing in your way?
What do you have to go around to get to where you want to be?
Does waiting for something make you impatient?
Do you speak against others because the original plan must be changed?
Are you full of complaints at the inconveniences of life?
Life is short.
Live it to its fullest.
Accept obstacles you can't overcome.
Go around them, if you must.
Don't pray for patience or God may surely let obstacles be put in your way that require it.
Don't speak against others when a plan must be changed. Some people will never change, try as you might.
Don't complain, because, well, after all, life's too short to waste our breath on complaints, right?
The sooner you do, the sooner you will get to the Promised Land God has in store for you.
Are you okay with that?
In Psalm 19, David uses picturesque language as he describes how nature makes known its Creator.
In verses 1-4, he tells us about the heavens. One need only look up to see a message in them, declaring God's glory, proclaiming the work of God's hands, to the ends of the world.
Then, in verses 4-6, David says:
"In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavillion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
"It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes it circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat."
Notice that David compares the heavens to a tent. The sky is pitched to hold the sun, as it travels across from one end of the horizon to the other each day.
I was in Boy Scouts and we pitched many a tent. I imagine David lived in tents from time to time. It's easy to see his analogy of the sky being like a tent that God has pitched. When we look up, we are under God's tent, the sky, the heavens.
The sky is there for a reason, as a backdrop for the sun to run its course each day.
Then David compares the sun to a bridegroom. He says it reminds him of a bridegroom coming forth from his pavillion.
We've seen the wonderful pavillion in India called the Taj Mahal. I understand that a King in India built it for his bride or wife.
In the book of the Revelation to John, we learn that heaven will come down to earth, dressed like a bride, in the end times. Jesus himself will return, the bridegroom, coming for his church, for all believers on Earth.
Anyway, I like David's image of the sun being like a bridegroom coming forth from his elaborate pavillion on his wedding day.
Perhaps the sun is there, not only to warm us, to give us light, but to remind us that Christ, the bridegroom is coming again, to claim us for his own.
David also says that the sun goes like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
I've never been to a racetrack, but I have seen horses run in races. I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy seeing a horse run a race well. It's a handsome animal, graceful, strong, and quick.
Jesus entered Jerusalem on a lowly donkey, but he will come again, I think, like a rider on a great horse. Perhaps he will have a grand chariot, too. However he returns, we can depend on it that it will be momentous and unforgettable.
A champion rejoices to run his course. Some horses are bred not to work on a farm, but to run races and win! When they gallop, one can see them performing the role they have been bred to do. They seem to rejoice in running.
It's the same way with runners. In "Chariots of Fire," the movie, one runner says that he can feel God's pleasure in him when he runs well.
The sun rejoices to run its course each day, as a reminder that Jesus Christ, the pioneer of our faith, is coming again, and when he runs to Earth, it will be great and fast. We will all rejoice to see Him then.
Nothing is hidden from the heat of the sun as it runs its course.
Nothing will be hidden from our Lord when He comes again.
All our sins and all our righteous acts will be seen by Him.
This makes me pause and consider my words and actions all the more, since I know He is coming again.
"Only one life, t'will soon be past.
Only what's done for Christ will last."
[The first in a series of meditations on Psalm 19.]
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
So begins Psalm 19.
We are told this is a psalm of David.
David was a shepherd boy, who grew up to be king of Israel and of Judah.
Some say he was their greatest king.
But how about this verse which he wrote?
As David tended sheep, no doubt he had many opportunities to just look up at the sky, to look up to the heavens.
As anyone who looks up soon finds out, the skies are always changing.
Sometimes the sky is blue and there's not a cloud.
At other times there are clouds covering the sky, and you can't see the sun, although you would like to.
There are colors to the sky, too.
The colors help us predict the weather.
Blue is what we see when the sun is up and shining brightly and it is fair out.
In Jesus' day, the people said in the evening, "It will be fair weather, for the sky is red."
In the morning, people said, "Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast."
People back then knew how to interpret the appearance of the sky.
They still do today.
Many times I've noticed that the skies are cloudy in the morning, but then it usually "burns off" by mid-morning and is a nice day after all.
But here David says that the heavens tell us something more.
They even declare, he says, the glory of God.
Blue skies, red, orange, or purple.
Cloudy or clear.
God made the heavens.
Look up and see the sky.
The heavens are declaring the glory of God.
The skies are still proclaiming the work of God's hands.
I like that about the skies.
I like that about God, Who made the skies, too.
Our Volunteers in Mission team went to Sunday morning worship at a local Methodist church on February 15, 2009.
Here's the bus we traveled in:
Here's the pastor and the translator as he gave a greeting and welcome to all.
You can also see the District Superintendent, wearing the white shirt and tie.
Here's a better photo of the pastor's wife, at least showing her in profile.
Are there native women pastors in Costa Rica?
I am told there is one in the whole country.
We didn't see one while we were there.
The pastors' wives, from my brief observation, are very active in the churches their husbands serve. This is not always so in the U.S., although my dear wife, Chris, is.
I rise up and call her blessed.
A supportive spouse means everything to a pastor.
Now the keyboardist was pretty good, too. Here he is, busy at work:
If you can't let it be, I am sure you can find the keyboardist in the file of photos on my blog, too. There it will be, open, too, I bet.
Mark spoke on the topic of love, Valentine's Day, reminding of our first love, Jesus Christ, loving and serving Him and our neighbors in His name. Great topic, short, sweet, funny, and Mark did a wonderful job! At least I think so.
Shown with Mark is our other capable translator, Bernie Manker. He's married to Cristina Manker. They share the same last name! How about that!
Here's another shot of Pastor Waddell, holding forth the Word of Life, brilliantly!
We can sing and preach, but God had a Word, too, in the beautiful altar flowers which were laid at the base of the pulpit. What could be more beautiful and speak of God's greater loveliness, who created them, than flowers such as these?
We Volunteers made our own special contribution to the worship service. We literally filled the chancel as we stood and shared a song for the congregation. I think we sang "Shine, Jesus, Shine" and maybe one other. I don't know. Does anyone who was there remember what we sang?
Anyway, if you look closely, you can see me in the group.
I am smiling at the fellow who is taking the picture for me. He was a fellow from the local church who sat next to me. When we were done, we sat down and he gave me my Canon camera back, which made me real glad, so I told him, "Gracias!" That means "Thanks!" in Spanish. But you probably already knew that, didn't you?
Last but not least, the District Superintendent was there, so, you know what, he just had to speak, too. So we got another sermon.
And guess what? It, too, was about love and keeping your first love and Valentine's Day. The Superintendent's message wasn't any longer than Mark's and was just as good, only, he spoke in Spanish, too, which I found to be the case with nearly everyone who lives in Costa Rica. So we had our translator up there, translating every word.
I was glad he didn't have anything to say about apportionments. I guess this congregation has already paid theirs, or is up to date.
Okay, he's the older guy, who is the Superintendent.
It looks pretty cool if you ask me.
And cool is good in Costa Rica, if you ask me.
Which I know you won't.
Heh heh.
PS--Next time I will tell you more about that Superintendent, who can cut sugar cane and make sugar water. I have pictures to prove it!
He's the first Superintendent I've ever met who could handle a machete' really well.
At least I thought so.
Well, what are you still reading this for?
I'm outta here.
We came to Costa Rica to work.
After arriving on Friday night and enjoying the weekend in worship and sightseeing, we were ready to work on Monday, February 16.
Before breakfast I saw the light of dawn illuminate the cross in our dining hall. I quickly went inside to snap this picture:
We traveled to nearby El Mirador, a village not far from our mission compound.
We got right to work, under the direction of the local Methodist pastor, the Rev. Mr. Liver Ramirez Galan.
We mixed concrete, mortar, and laid block of a Feed the Children Center next to the El Mirador Methodist Church.
On the other side of the Feeding Center some of us worked hard building a wall to expand the Center. Here's Dave, who hails from Chevy Chase, MD:
Like a Tom Sawyer story, we had a little helper by the name of Ricardo who liked to come by and see what we were doing. We let Ricardo join in our work, as long as he was willing, which, most of the time, he was.
Lest you think all I did was take pictures of the work, I'll have you know that Pastor Galan had me doing very hard work that day, breaking up some old concrete with a long metal pole. It was the hardest I had physically worked in years, I must admit.
Was Pastor Galan giving me a test? He knew I was a pastor. It may have been his way of initiating a rube pastor! Anyway, I must have passed the test, because I survived and the old concrete, bit by bit, disappeared under my massive masculine powers (well, that was an exaggeration, but it did disappear).
Here's the whole row where we labored that day, building a wall:
We three men working on the wall that day were like the three amigos, getting to know one another. Actually, I was the new kid.
I gotta tell you, when I first saw the old concrete I had to chip away, I was intimidated by it. I thought I'd never get it done, not in this lifetime.
But I was wrong. Bit by bit, blow by blow, it yielded and fell apart.
I was pretty sore that night and took a couple of aspirin to assuage my aching shoulders and arms.
I slept like a baby, of course.
Not literally, because babies wake up a lot during the night, cry, need changing, and are hungry through the night.
I guess I didn't sleep like a baby.
Oh, you know what I mean!
Maybe Punxy Phil, the groundhog, was right, after all.
We are having a mini-blizzard here in northern Carroll County, MD.
Here are a few pix I took.
First of all, today's post is dedicated to my wife, Chris, who is a real winter and snow lover.
She was born in Bangor, Maine, just five days after I made my debut ("Look out below!") in Baltimore City, Maryland.
A year later, as Providence had it, her family moved to Annapolis, MD.
Okay, enough of the family tree stuff, let's see some pix!
I asked her what part she liked best. She said it was when the high school basketball coach, played by Gene Hackman, walked with the high school teacher, played by Barbara Hershey, in the woods and they kissed!
Alright, don't get me started talking about movies or I'll never stop, so here's another photo to warm even the coldest heart:
So, getting back to my dear wife, Chris, here she is out shoveling snow around our mailbox so we can get a pickup and delivery today:
All this reminiscing makes me want to show you the next snow scene, out our backyard, in this sepia tone effect:
I took a few more snow scenes around town when I went out on a couple of errands, but I think I will save them for another time.
What's the weather today where you live?
