Focus on Eternity

     In the past few days, I’ve been reading the account of God speaking to Moses about an assignment that God wanted him to do.   Yesterday I took notice of the many excuses that Moses made telling God why he could not serve him in this way.   See below: ·        Exodus 3:11 (ESV) - But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”  ·        Exodus 4:1 (ESV) - Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’  ·        Exodus 4:10 (ESV) - But Moses said to the Lord , “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”  ·        Exodus 4:13 (ESV) - But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”  Moses all but begged God to reconsider the assignment.   God did not.      Today as I continue to read this account in Exodus, I see Moses persist

      People have always thought well of you.  You have much to be thankful for, your possession plentiful, and you have a close-knit family.  You are a devoted believer; you place God first in your life.  As you age, you find yourself worrying more about the welfare of your kids.  You wonder, will they remain faithful to God?  You acknowledge God for all the blessings He has bestowed upon your life.  But then, unexpected news arrives, and life unravels.       Now, looking back on this, you realize that there is no way to describe how blindsided you felt, the day all of your children perished in a house fire.  They had been celebrating a birthday in the house of your eldest.  You probably would have been there too, but you had second-thoughts knowing that alcohol was flowing freely.  You preferred not to see your children’s behavior compromised.  Sometimes things got out of hand.  You prayed for your children often, hoping this phase would pass quickly.  Little did you know that

Evaluating Priorities         It is a New Year, and often people select a theme, a direction, or an idea of what will drive their intentions for the year.  Choosing to focus on something meaningful or engaging isn’t a bad thing.  Recently my focus has been drawn to the word ‘Invite.’  This morning my study brought more clarity on this subject.  In the Parable, The Great Banquet, an invitation has been extended to several guests.  Each invitee has decided to decline the offer.   I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I have bought five 'yoke of oxen,' and I must go examine them, and I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. When reading this parable (Luke 14:17-24), I find it very easy to judge these responses and call them excuses.  I must; however, keep in mind that I’ve received eyes to see and ears that hear.  The respondent has not yet acquired the same insight.  They do not understand the significance of the invitation.

  Introduction        Would you agree, it is one thing to live a story, another to tell a story, and yet another to comprehend the meaning behind a story that you have neither lived nor told?  I was listening to one of my daughters and her friend discuss how a teacher would pull out the craziest metaphors from a book they were required to read and discuss.  They giggled about several examples like the 'blue' curtains and the 'yellow' bird and how their teacher expected them to understand that theses colors represented more than just a palette.  I found it fascinating and quite entertaining to listen to their perspectives.  Bear with me today as I attempt to do the same with the repeating story of “She’s My Sister.”    Although we do not come from the patriarchal period, nor are we all that familiar with Middle Eastern culture, I believe we can be confident that God included this story in history to be relatable and informative.  Within this story, we learn of an ar