Ministering reconciliation...

Exodus 18:17-23 Moses' father-in-law said, "This is no way to go about it. You'll burn out, and the people right along with you. This is way too much for you—you can't do this alone. Now listen to me. Let me tell you how to do this so that God will be in this with you. Be there for the people before God, but let the matters of concern be presented to God. Your job is to teach them the rules and instructions, to show them how to live, what to do. And then you need to keep a sharp eye out for competent men—men who fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible—and appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They'll be responsible for the everyday work of judging among the people. They'll bring the hard cases to you, but in the routine cases they'll be the judges. They will share your load and that will make it easier for you. If you handle the work this way, you'll have the strength to carry...

Exodus 1:1-7 These are the names of the Israelites who went to Egypt with Jacob, each bringing his family members: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. Seventy persons in all generated by Jacob's seed. Joseph was already in Egypt. Then Joseph died, and all his brothers—that whole generation. But the children of Israel kept on reproducing. They were very prolific—a population explosion in their own right—and the land was filled with them. An idea has been stuck in my craw for the last few weeks. It was stated in passing at church by one of our pastors, but in thinking about it, it makes a TON of sense. The idea was presented: "If you look at Nature, it doesn't just sustain, it flourishes." It was used to talk about how God wants us to be blessed and prosper. Now, I am pondering this and I just happened to read this scripture in Exodus 1: 7 "They were prolific-- a ...

There was a man once. This man had some of the hardest things imaginable happen to him. He started out from good enough upbringing. His dad and mom really loved him and tried their best to instill good principles. Sure he'd made some mistakes, but who hadn't? Selah He'd had some brothers that decided one day they'd had enough. They decided to put him into a slave ring. After awhile working for this one guy, the man was falsely accused of sexual misconduct and sent to jail. While in jail, God still blessed the man. It really doesn't matter what happens in life, if God blesses you, he may not change your outcome, but he may use your outcome to change people. Selah While in the jail, the president of the country had a couple of things he just couldn't figure out happen to him. He called all his support network, but no one knew what to do to explain what he experienced. Then, someone who's life was changed by the man told the President about the man....

It's been awhile since I have blogged. In that time, my wife and I had our first child, a son! His name is Jude Daniel. He is adorable and I will post a picture at the end of this blog. You always hear "I learned so much from my kids," the funny part of that statement is that my lesson started the first night we had Jude. As a nurse came in to check on him, she was talking to us about the differences between a mother and father's voice. Mother's voice is a stimulant and father's voice is soothing. When we think of God, we tend to think of Him as a father correct? In fact, Galatians says that because we have a spirit of "sonship" we can call out "Abba father" Abba is a personal term of endearment. It is not used by anyone off the street. Over the last 2 weeks, I have pondered that statement. I have been thinking about the last time I heard God's voice. When I heard it, it soothed and settled me. It also reminded me of a story I hea...

Genesis 26:1-6 & 12-33 The Message Paraphrase 1 There was a famine in the land, as bad as the famine during the time of Abraham. And Isaac went down to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar. 2-5 God appeared to him and said, "Don't go down to Egypt; stay where I tell you. Stay here in this land and I'll be with you and bless you. I'm giving you and your children all these lands, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I'll make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands. All the nations of the Earth will get a blessing for themselves through your descendants. And why? Because Abraham obeyed my summons and kept my charge—my commands, my guidelines, my teachings." 6 So Isaac stayed put in Gerar. ... 12-15 Isaac planted crops in that land and took in a huge harvest. God blessed him. The man got richer and richer by the day until he was very wealthy. He accumulated flocks and herds and many,...

Genesis 24:34-41 The servant said, "I'm the servant of Abraham. God has blessed my master—he's a great man; God has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, servants and maidservants, camels and donkeys. And then to top it off, Sarah, my master's wife, gave him a son in her old age and he has passed everything on to his son. My master made me promise, 'Don't get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live. No, go to my father's home, back to my family, and get a wife for my son there.' I said to my master, 'But what if the woman won't come with me?' He said, 'God before whom I've walked faithfully will send his angel with you and he'll make things work out so that you'll bring back a wife for my son from my family, from the house of my father. Then you'll be free from the oath. If you go to my family and they won't give her to you, you will also be free from the oath.' Take i...

Genesis 29:29-31 Rebekah had a brother named Laban. Laban ran outside to the man at the spring. He had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister and had heard her say, "The man said this and this and this to me." So he went to the man and there he was, still standing with his camels at the spring. Laban welcomed him: "Come on in, blessed of God! Why are you standing out here? I've got the house ready for you; and there's also a place for your camels." Take it deeper... So while continuing to read the book of Genesis, I came upon this scripture that struck me interestingly. This is the story of how Abraham's servant, under the last request of Abraham himself, went out to find a wife for Isaac, the son of the covenant. Abraham wanted his son to marry a woman of the same heritage. She had to be the right person and the possibility that they would find her was slim to none! He finds this young lady that meets the qualifications God tells him...