Have You Ever Thought About . . .

I'm wondering if you have ever thought about the time after God created humans and before we rebelled and got kicked out of our first residence.

I wonder how long that period of time was? We know time existed because Genesis talks about God creating the universe in six days. But how long did humans reside in peace and harmony with the universe and God? Six months? Six years? Six hundred years?

Solsbury Hill

(To my brother, on his birthday,  who doesn't like this song. Ha!)

Climbing up on Solsbury Hill

I could see the city light

Wind was blowing, time stood still

Eagle flew out of the night

He was something to observe

Lesson From The Judges

The book of Judges is not a great bedtime read. If you're looking for a book that will leave you feeling filled with optimism than I suggest the Book of Ruth. (Which conveniently follows the Book of Judges in God's eternal grace) But if you want a stark reminder of  the effect that our stubborn and rebellious nature will produce than this is the book for you.

Starting in the first chapter we hear the story of the failure that Israel exhibited over and over. (Literally over eight times we see the phrase, "but they did not drive them out") Charged with the task of driving out the people from the land that God had given them they found occasion after occasion to disregard His instructions. The price of their disobedience haunts the nation of Israel to this day. Sin always has a price and that behavior left unchecked impacts not only us but our loved ones as well. Check out chapter two for these sad words, ". . . and another generation grew up after them who did not know the Lord or the work that He had done for Israel. Then the Israelite's did what was evil in the sight of the Lord . . . and they abandoned the Lord."

Remember . . .

When Jesus gives us a command we would be wise to not only obey, but to examine all of the context surrounding His request. For instance, in the book of Luke 17:32 we see that Jesus instructs us to "Remember Lot's wife". So who was Lot's wife and why should we remember her?

Chapter 17 of Luke starts off with Jesus talking about the tug of sin on our lives. He segues into forgiveness and faith (He is teaching His disciples during this part of the chapter) and then as they are traveling to Jerusalem they encounter ten men infected with leprosy. The ten men stood at a distance (as required by law) and called out to Jesus to have pity on them. Jesus instructed them to report to their priests and as they went they were healed! (Another reminder that almost every time Jesus healed someone in the Bible he required a faith action before they were healed)