The Daily Walk is not a Race

I really must say it has been a huge blessing to my own heart!  I did go through a similar programme when I came to Christ some 30 odd years ago.  It was a blessing then, and it has been this time too.  I am just thrilled to see how God uses such a mixed bag of very ordinary and very human people to accomplish His will.  It just makes me aware that as we yield to Him He can uses us in amazing ways.  I was also challengeed by the recent commentary on David that often a single sin can lead to a cascade of ever escalating sins.....so we need to be vigilant. 

 

Can I really encourage people if the are behind.......do not get so caught up with trying to catch up......that will cause you to rush through the passages just for the sake of catching up.  I believe that is dishonoring to His Word.  Just go through the day's reading and really be blessed by that.  We should not see it as a race!  We need to take time over it, read it slowly so we can meditate upon it and benefit from it......and enjoy it!   An illustration:  I often do my exercise by doing my two bridge walk (walking from Canning bridge to Mt Henry Bridge as a circuit).  sometimes I do the walk slowly and really enjoy it, take in the beauty of it.  However most times I am cranking up the pace and walk as fast as i can.....good exercise but there is no taking in of the scenery......no enjoyment of the surroundings.....just pushing through the pain.  

 

So wherever you are in the reading, just keep doing it.  After all the purpose of the plan is to encourage us to read His Word.....not a demand that we have to fulfil every part of the program!  We need to keep that in focus.   Do not be discouraged by what you have NOT read but be uplifted, challenged and blessed by what you HAVE read.

 

Let us keep walking! And let us take it slowly so we can enjoy and benefit from the journey!

God Bless, 

Mark

Onto Deuteronomy - Moses' summary of the wilderness wanderings

I've found it very interesting to read the sermons by Moses in the first 12 or so chapters of Deuteronomy. There are many things that we can learn from this sermon, especially to remind ourselves of God's presence in everything that happens to us. We should never think that we got anything by our own ability or strength and we should always walk with God through all that we do. Maybe a summary of the sermons would be "If God is not in it, don't do it".

Or as Paul put it the New Testament, "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen." (Romans 11:36)

God hardened Pharaoh's heart

Quite often we take issue with this line as if to say that it was not Pharaoh's fault for going against the Israelites because it was God who hardened his heart - he was just a tool of God. When we think about it, we usually will come to conclude correctly that Pharaoh did act out of his own volition. He couldn't blame God for it.
But think about what this says about God. Even when pharaoh tries to act out of his own will - it works perfectly according to God's plan. How can a person fight against God and expect to win? God hardening Pharaoh's heart should mainly remind us that even your enemy's actions are permitted by all all knowing, ever loving, unchanging God. People's hearts may be against you but God still calls their shots. Rest in that assurance and let that peace enable you to love your enemies.

hidden Bible books - something fun

There are 30 books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you find them? This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu. Keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the book in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new sales record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, the books are all right there in plain view hidden from sight. Those able to find all of them will hear lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind that punctuation and spacers in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in the paragraph waiting to be found.