Weeping, Lamenting, Awaiting restoration

Jeremiah, in His writing of Lamentations (at least most scholars believe he wrote it) lays out in prose form a beautiful and haunting lament for Israel. He starts with mourning the loss of what "beautiful Jerusalem" once was, then moves to reflecting and to some degree crying out for his own pain, his own suffering, but moves quickly to a place of awaiting God's promised restoration. It's an amazing book because it takes you through the emotions of the people of that day who still loved God and wanted to follow Him.

Its a book that shows the consequences of not following the law of God, of ignoring His decrees that were never meant or designed to restrict the people but to give them freedom from the snares of the enemy... both Spiritually and in the nations around them. It boggles my brain to think that even with all of Jeremiah's and (as I'm reading now) Ezekiels warnings and odd behaviours that demonstrated the calamity and captivity that was coming, the people still had the audacity to silence the prophets... Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel... each one dared to go against what all the false prophets were saying... "peace and safety... peace and safety" when the Lord was saying calamity and captivity, famine, war, and disease.

Is it simply man's desire (and by that I count myself as well) to believe that all will be well, and that disaster won't strike me? It might strike others, but not me. Isn't that what so many young people (alas; which I am no longer counted one of) say? I'm invinsible, I won't get hurt...

I think these last three books of the Bible are a wake up call. At least they are for me. Complacency is a killer. Believing that all will be the same from now til our deaths is ignorance. The Bible... especially the old testament... shows a God that is jealous for His people... not OF them but FOR them. It demonstrates a creator who LONGS for relationship with His created ones. He IS love. His judgements ARE loving. His anger NEVER lasts forever, but He WILL judge.

We are kidding ourselves if we believe that the world will remain as it is for the rest of our lives. We are listening to false prophets when they speak of peace and safety for all mankind. It's not what the Lord says in the Bible. It may be the Old Testament, but God is the same yesterday, today and forever. We are compromising everywhere throughout Canada and the USA. We are making laws and decrees that go directly against His Word.

Jeremiah's lament makes so much more sense to me now. today then it ever has. His heart is broken, as I said in an earlier post, because it didn't have to go that way. The people were given so many opportunities to turn and repent and cry out... and He would have relented. But they stubbornly and with ignorance (or was it arrogance?) kept moving away from God, forcing God's judgement to come. And it came. And as Jeremiah describes it in Lamentations, He cast the people to the four winds, scattering them throughout the earth.

But then... Ezekiel. I have noticed already in my first day of reading, (through to chapter 12) of Ezekiel, that this is the book where God explains what is behind the judgement. There is one phrase that keeps popping up "so that they may know that I am the Lord". God's judgement is not an end to itself... an "I told you so" kind of judgement. It's a longing and a desire for His chosen people to remember and recognize that He is God and there is no other and out of LOVE for them, he punishes and forgives once his anger is "spent".

He is a God to be feared, worshiped and honoured with reverance. He is Holy, He is Love, His is Righteous in all he does, and He is GOOD.

Wow.

the weeping prophet part 2

Jeremiah, like Isaiah, is a long book.

I'm in Chapters 33-43 ish (something like that) today and all the prophesies of the earlier chapters are coming true. Babylon has but Jerusalem under siege... the people refuse to surrender as the Lord directed, (actually the king refused) and now many of them are dead, the king has watched the nobles of Israel and his own family slaughtered before him and has now had his eyes gouged out...

Yah, not a happy, feel good book. It's tragic. It's painful to read because it could have turned out so differently.

All day today I have been mulling over these chapters and especially the fate of the King of Israel. His punishment seems so harsh. So many people die because they refuse to turn back to the Lord. My question today, as I was working and making lots of phone calls.... was what area am I that stubborn in? Is there an area in my life that God has told me flat out what will happen if I don't follow His ways, and I do it anyway? OF COURSE there is!! I think all of us have some area that we fight to surrender. WHY is that? HE IS GOD AND THERE IS NO OTHER... what could I possibly have to say in defense of my stubbornness?

Then I thought about Jeremiah... while he is sitting in jail, and even for a time in the bottom of a mud caked cistern for speaking out the word of the Lord against Jerusalem, he doesn't weep for himself, but for the people of God, and their stubbornness and rebellion. His heart remains steadfast in following God's words and commands. I want to be like Jeremiah. I want my heart to break for the judgements that are inevitably coming on our nation. I want to be one who declares truth no matter what the cost... not aim to keep everyone happy.

I have a long way to go, but I'm praying the Lord continue to soften my heart and to break my heart with the things that break His. I want to be so moved in prayer that tears are my only option. If you know me at all, that is something only Jesus can do in me

The book of Jeremiah has much to ponder. But once again it leads me back to His unfailing love and perfect justice. I think it's chapter 38 or 39 where the Lord says I love them, so I must discipline them... all unto drawing them back to Himself. Once again, He is God and there is no other... who am I to argue?

the weeping prophet

Yes, I am reading Jeremiah. Amazing how many times God tells him directly : DO NOT pray for this nation, I will not hear your prayers. At one point God even says, even if Moses and Elijah (or was it Abraham... have to look that up again) pleaded for the people of Israel, He would not relent.

Why is God so angry? He says it over and over again: It is because Israel and Judah have abandoned Him, turned their backs and worshiped worthless idols. They have sacrificed their children to fire, and have refused to obey His laws. His judgement on them is sending them into exile in Babylon under Nebuchanezar. The amazing thing though is that in His anger there is mercy... He tells them, if you surrender to Babylon, you will live, some of you will even be able to stay and farm your land... and in 70 years return to your homeland. But if you don't surrender... you will be killed.

So why is Jeremiah called the weeping prophet? Repeatedly through the book he cries out to God for mercy, and he weeps when God refuses to relent.

Why is Israel and Judah so stubborn? Because they are being led by FALSE prophets and teachers of the Law. Jeremiah is warning them of the judgement to come, and the false prophets try to kill him and call him a traitor for speaking out against Jerusalem. The false prophets are claiming that God (within two years no less) will break the yoke of Babylon and there will be peace and safety.

So Jeremiah weeps.

My question as I sat down to read Jeremiah over the last couple of days has been, "What does this all have to do with me in 2010?" I know that there are some end time prophesies mixed in with the prophesies of the coming judgement and those are relevant and important, but what is God wanting to say to me???

I think I got the answer to that today. Jeremiah was countercultural. He went against every norm and cultural standard of the day. He spoke judgement when everyone else spoke peace and safety... He like Isaiah who wandered the wilderness nude for three years, did some unusual things, like wore a yoke around his neck to symbolize the yoke of Babylon and the captivity the people were going into.

At one point, and I love this, Jeremiah kind of gets angry at God and says "you tricked me into this," you made me a prophet whose only message is doom and destruction, but even as he tried to stay silent and just let the people do what they were going to do regardless of his warnings from the Lord, "it was like a fire in his bones" He HAD to speak up... HE HAD TO WARN ISRAEL AND JUDAH, hoping against all hope that they would turn and that God would then relent and save His chosen people.

Jeremiah (the book) shows AGAIN, God's justice, His unfailing love, His unfailing promises, and His desire for His people. He promises to raise up a deliverer, He promises to return them to Jerusalem.... but not until they turn to Him out of love and repentance.... His unfailing patience.
I'm learning (or being reminded) that God is constant... He never changes. That brings incredible comfort to me as my whole world changes again tomorrow.

I go back to work... in a new place, but back to work. It's been awhile and I'm nervous, scared, excited and terrified all at once. Someone likened it to bungee jumping... you have every belief that the cord will hold you, but it is still a jump of faith. God is my constant today, tomorrow, forever. What I don't want, is to loose my connection with Him, my pursuit of Him, because of busyness and other priorities. My prayer is that God would grant me a similar heart to Jeremiah... one that will stand up for what God is saying and not back down... where ever he is and in whatever way God asks of Him. As God is constant, I want to be steady... remaining in His word and proclaiming His truth.

"whether in the prayer room or behind a desk" my desire is to bring Glory to the Lord.

fot the sake of HIs name...

Isaiah is a book to be read with a good cup of coffee in your hand... not because it will make you fall asleep, but because over and again he cries out for ALL the peoples of the earth to be alert, for the nations of the world to be aware... and for that you want to be awake!

The last couple of days have been in Isaiah, and I'm making my way through chapters 40- 52 ish today, but I had to stop and comment. The Lord says over and over again through Isaiah that He and He alone is God. He mocks the gods made by human hands and is angered that the heart of His chosen ones are constantly drawn to gods that can do nothing.

He reminds them of where He has taken them from, the mighty miracles He preformed for them in Egypt and in the wilderness, how He has called them by name, Jacob, His servant, Israel His chosen ones, Abraham, His friend. And He reminds them of what He has promised to do... to bless them if they follow His ways AND to curse them if the refuse. He has told them ahead of time what will come because He knew they wouldn't follow and he knew He would have to use that same mighty arm that saved them to discipline them.

He does it out of His love for them and as is said repeatedly in Isaiah for two other reasons as well, that the world may know that He is the Lord and that His name would be honoured and glorified throughout the earth. He's not making empty promises, and throughout He calls His people back to Him, and tells them to simply turn and repent and He will relent and heal them and gather them again into His arms. But His judgement is hard and strong when they turn from Him.

I'm listening to IHOP as I am reading (ihop.org... you can listen to the prayer room for free!) and they were singing "For the Glory of Your name" over and over as they prayed for the young people coming to a conference there. It just made me think... how does my life reflect that desire to bring Glory to His name... for the sake of His name... for His reputation.

I remember hearing somewhere that a father said to his son, "remember whose name you carry" essentially saying what you do reflects on me. God is saying the same thing to Israel and to all the nations of the world... He is calling all to Himself and to follow His ways, and those that do reflect His name.

I caught a snipit of a tv show yesterday where a comedian was giving his take on the life of Christians. He said that the church had so made things about the rewards in heaven that Christians don't think they have to do good on earth. And in incredible mockery, he said it's a doctrine that encourages suicide. I was horrified by his statement, but then realized what message to the masses do many of us give by the way we live under the label of "Christian".

Isaiah addresses that with the Israelites as well as in one of his prophesies, God says to them, you call yourself mine, you worship me. you sacrifice to me but your heart is far from me. He is longing for them to turn and to love Him for real. And as I read through Isaiah, He is saying the same thing to me.

100% Joyska, I want all of you... all the time. Not only for Joyska's sake, but for the GLORY of HIS NAME. Everything good thing in my life is from Him. Every struggle He uses to strengthen His child. I'm in God, I'm in.

My first car...ever... Unto the glory of God!!!! :)

God is amazing. In the last week, I've gotten a job that allows me to work towards my Masters, and a car... for free. This beautiful little 1998 Dodge Neon R/T two door standard, was a gift to the church who then gifted it to me. It drives beautifully and I am zipping around learning standard... stalling occasionally, grinding gears rarely... but whipping around corners and having fun! What an incredible God we serve!

I will be 39 in two weeks from today... and this is my first car that is in my name! It's really mine, it's not borrowed, it's not a company car... it's mine, and I didn't pay a cent for it! I of course now will be paying gas and insurance, but it's mine! I've never owned anything more expensive than my computer or my guitar (oh, and now my keyboard), and have always been so good with that,,, by that I mean happy. This owning a car thing is great! But I must say it's forcing me to say... well, I guess its time to grow up! haha... about time eh?

What I am most excited about though is that it is a gift from God. This job is from God, moving here to Steinbach was God's idea... He placed me in Southland and has changed my life in so many ways! This post is to say Thank you Jesus and to YOU be the glory!!!

Quick Update on "negotiations"

For those of you who don't follow facebook, I GOT THE JOB!!! I am now the development assistant at Providence College and Seminary. Part of the negotiation process was asking to be able to take more courses than originally offered per semester in order to finish my masters degree in a shorter amount of time. I wasn't sure if that was even going to be possible given the policies in place for staff. However, as I presented my perspective and that the masters program was part of what drew me to the position, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my request was more than granted. Lots of details, but essentially, come January I will be taking courses towards my masters in counselling and working full time in development. I am thrilled. And I start in less than a week! (July 26)... If you know where I was at a year ago... you know the miracle that has taken place in all of this! WOO HOO!!

prophets and "thus saith the Lord"

Isaiah.... need I say more?

I'm about half way through the book and as I'm reading, I'm seeing two sides of God... Isaiah, in his many "thus sayeth the Lord" moments or (NLT) "Listen to the word of the Lord" speaks of God's judgement on Israel, and His redemption of Israel. He speaks of the terrible and glorious day of the Lord in one breath. He talks about "In that day" referring to the at hand judgements AND the last days judgements. But no matter what He speaks, again the thread is God's Justice, Holiness, Unfailing Love, and Unfailing promises.

These for the most part are not Isaiah's words... they are God's. They are words spoken through the prophet to the people of Israel, who for the most part ignore Him and go their merry way... ignoring the judgement that is coming. Some of it is super specific... "within 65 years" and it's like it falls on deaf ears... and history shows the word to be true...

Some of it is specifically about the coming of the Messiah and are familiar verses to many of us... "unto you a child is born, unto you a son is given...and the government will be on his shoulders and he shall be called wonderful, counsellor, prince of peace" To those of us who follow Jesus, of course these words are about Him, it's so obvious, so clear... but to the people of that day and modern Jews, it speaks of a Messiah who will free them from earthly oppression. And they still await the Messiah.

I read these words and my heart quickens and is excited, because I know it is about the Lord Jesus Christ and that His suffering brought me to salvation. His life and death made it possible for me to connect again with God with Christ as mediator and intercessor. My heart is filled with awe and wonder at such a plan and am astounded by the grace and love behind it all... for His people... all who fear Him... but especially for HIS chosen people. Isaiah speaks often that the Lord has not forgotten Jerusalem, has not forgotten Israel and that a remnant will worship Him.

I am grafted in to the family of God. I am His and He is mine because He loved me first and sent Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice. But He came first for the Jews and then the gentiles. His heart does not change. His heart is still for Israel. I know that... have known that for years, but it struck me today as I was reading through the first half of the book. The day of judgement and fury and the day of glory and might are coming. The story for us and for Israel has not yet unfolded. I'm fascinated by this God who cannot break His promises to His people and who continually draws them to Himself and how we now are part of that body... through HIS grace and mercy.

Wow. What are the prophets saying to us today? What is His word saying to us? Have I hardened my heart against the word of the Lord as to his return? Isaiah talks about that day too. My prayer continues to be "Holy Spirit, teach and guide me as I read your word... don't let my heart be hardened... open the eyes of my heart, that I may know your ways!"

Sobering reading, but oh so exciting!

Promises, Promises...

I just finished reading through Psalms and am well on my way through Proverbs. What an amazing and fascinating journey. Psalms always capture my emotions because I can relate to some of the seemingly emotional ups and downs that David and the other writers of the Psalms go through. One minute it's "God where are you, don't abandon me to my enemies" and with good reason as David finds himself on the run from Saul, from his own son, and at different times from other nations. But almost every Psalm that starts out that way ends with "Yet I will praise Him" or "I will remember His promises and the marvelous things He has done"

My journey as I've been reading has included asking God to show me a common thread that goes through all scripture. He's shown me many actually. One I talked about in an earlier post about God's UNFAILING love. That is a HUGE thread running through every page. Another one though, that I picked up on today is God's promises and that they too are UNFAILING. Proverbs is all about wisdom and a father speaking to his children to not despise discipline but to regard it as a gift, keeping them on the path of the righteous. But Solomon also reminds them of God's promises to Israel and all who fear the Lord. He talks about the wicked being swept away, and the righteous being justified, and avenged. His wisdom comes directly from the Lord (because He asked for it!... whole other post) and He focuses on discipline and the coming fulfillment of the promises of the Lord.

So what's my point?

Well... for me, I'm discovering that God is safe. He is not tame ( as Mr. Tumnis and Lucy discuss in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe) but He is good. Safety is important to me as I've lived most of my life in "survival" mode.

For God to be safe, meaning, loving and consistant, just and holy (see previous post) means I can let my defenses down and let HIM be my protector and champion. No small thing when I've taken on that role myself for the last 35 + years (and not done so well at it either... )

I've read through the Bible before, and at IHOP (prayer not pancakes) even did it once in 30 days, but I have never felt the impact of the words UNFAILING LOVE and UNFAILING PROMISES like I have this time through. I'm only a day past half way through the 90 day reading plan, but I am in awe of the power of His word in my life right now.

To end as David so often does "Praise the LORD"

Justice and Holiness.... One in the same?

In the 90 day reading through the Bible Campaign, I am smack dab in the middle.

Last night I read through many of the Psalms and was really pondering some of the truths presented there. Many of them are "worship the Lord" and just as many if not more are "O God, listen to my cry!" But Psalm 99 - 103 really got my brain turning.

I have this thing about Justice. I hate it when I see unjust things happen to people, I want justice done, I want to see that those responsible for injustice are held accountable. People should have to be held accountable for wrong doings right? My problem is that I want to see Justice done in my way..... That is where the problem comes in.

Psalm 99 starts with : "The Lord is King! Let the nations tremble" and vs 3-4 says " Let them praise your great and awesome name. Your name is Holy! Mighty King, lover of justice, You have established fairness, You have acted with Justice throughout Israel."

Most of my life, I have worked in the inner city in some form, whether with children, teens, or homeless men and women. I have loved interacting and have been honoured to be allowed to hear their stories... but many of them DAILY face injustice from currupted systems, greedy people, and heartless programs that started out with good intentions, but became monsters unto themselves. Where is the Justice in those situations? Where do these precious, though wounded and jaded ones find relief?

Even as I look at the current issues of abuse of 1 in 3 women reported and 1 in 5 boys... or at the staggering rates of human trafficking and slavery, again I want to cry out, God where is your Justice for THESE ones? Why stay your hand? Your arm is mighty to save,,, you have compassion for the poor and the fatherless, for the widows... where is their help?

But then I realize again, my focus is temperal. His is eternal. Will He reign on the earth? Will He bring justcice to the nations? Yes... because He IS HOLY and he IS JUST. The Lord sees. The Lord knows, and he holds his judgement back out of mercy, that some may still turn to Him. God will not hold His anger back forever, there will be a day of account, but He is also a God who is compassionate and loving and will not force anyone to do what is right.

I've had to come to grips with this over and over in my life, for my own circumstances and as I have had the privilege of being part of so many hurting lives. I want justice now. But I have to realize that if He comes in full judgement now, there is no hope left for these ones who oppress and harm others. Yes, I want people to be held accountable, but I'm not ready to stand in judgement and say they deserve Hell. So by holding back His Judgement He is showing Mercy... and in His mercy is Holiness. One in the same? I don't know, but you can't desire one and not experience the other along with it.

Knowing He is a JUST God, allows me to feel safe. Knowing He is a HOLY God, forces me to trust His judgements and pray for those who have yet to find Him.

Unfailing Love

God has had me on a quest of sorts for quite some time. The quest has been to "redifine" Love. The word "love" for me has been well, shall we say, a little jaded, and has caused my heart to grow on many occasions cold. Not always, and not to everyone, but moments of sarcastic roles of the eye and gestures of "gagging" have been known to be part of my response to the idea, the word, the concept of LOVE.

Since beginning this quest the Lord has taken me to some interesting stories in Scripture. I expected and planned on beginning my quest in the "LOVE CHAPTER" otherwise known as I Corinthians 13. But He hasn't taken me there at all... not even near it. He's taken me on a journey of looking at Hosea and Gomer, David and Bathsheba, Abram and Hagar, God and the Israelites, Jacob and Leah... not Rebecca, but Leah. He's taken me to stories of great tragedy like Noah's day and the destruction of the entire earth save Noah's family. (did you know that the Bible says that the waters rose 28 FEET above the HIGHEST MOUNTAIN PEAK!!! Sorry little side note there)... Then to Mary Magdelene and Jesus... and 1 John. Every story... every chapter He has led me to shows love as UNFAILING. There are many other things descriptions and definitions He's given me along the way, but unfailing is the one that keeps coming back.

I come from a loving family. My parents, siblings, we all love each other... I am far away from them and therefore have less contact than maybe is desired on both sides, but I know that I am loved. And mom and dad, if you are reading this... thank you for that. But lets face it... human love fails. Even the best relationships fail in some way. I think that is part of what God is teaching me... human love will fail. His love does not.

This weekend our pastor is speaking on Love as a character trait, not an action, not a choice, but as part of who we are... who we are defined as. "put on love" "without love we are a clanging gong"... That the plumbline or measuring stick that God will use with us in not how many times have you read through the Scripture, or how many people did you "save", but rather "What did you do with the love I gave you... did you accept it, and did you give it away?" I've always been bothered by that, because Love was such a weird word for me and I didn't know how to accept it or give it away for real.

We all have our "love ya" and "praying for you" kind of love that we throw out there quite randomly and sometimes carelessly, but to truly love, sacrificially and unconditionally and without fail... now that is a whole other kind of love.

I'm in the book of Psalms in my 90 day through the Bible campaign, and "unfailing love" comes up again and again and again. I'm reading the NLT this time around, and it's everywhere. When God spoke to the Israelites from Genesis right through to the end of 2 Kings he refers to his love for them as Unfailing... Job calls His love unfailing... JOB! David understood it too. You see it in the narrative of his life as he quietly took care of his sheep and worshipped the Lord on the hillside, to when he was anointed King and waited years before that came to be truth, how he refused to harm the Lord's anointed while fleeing from the same man, how he ruled and worshipped before the Lord with humility and recognition that he was nothing without God, and how somehow he knew that even in the gravest of his sin, adultery and murder, he could throw himself on God's mercy because he knew that God delighted in him and His love would not fail him.

Acts 2:25 says "And David said of the Lord, He is always in my presence and is at my right side so that I may not be shaken" David knew God's love to be unfailing.

Last Sunday, God ministered this truth to my heart through the words of a song... " I believe that You're my healer, I believe You are all I need. I believe that You're my portion, I believe You're more than enough for me... Jesus You're all I need" What he spoke in those words was unfailing love. He showed me I am not too much for Him, and He is MORE than enough for me.... Unfailing Love.

The beauty of this quest to "redefine" love is that God is showing me His love is "redefining" me.

step by step

I walked around my block today. It's a big block... a little over a mile... I think... but I walked it and made it home without feeling like I was about to have a heart attack or pass out.

I'm sorry to say that over this past year I have not kept my weight at a place I wanted it to be, and have somehow allowed it to creep up to an alarming number. I realize its just a number, but its something different when it effects your health and your day to day existance.

This has been a tough year, no doubt, and the Lord has answered my prayer of "I am yours, save me", but it hasn't been without its scars and bruises along the way. Somehow controlling my weight was far from top priority.

But today I walked around my block. Weight loss is not rocket science or "rocket surgery" as a dear friend of mine would say... but it does take a desire to change your life style. My doc who probably weighs 90 lbs soaking weight tells me "you need to loose 140 lbs" I want to spit back... YOU loose 140 lbs and then tell me how. But I know he's right... but it can't be done with numbers like that.

So... step by step... I'm taking it in 25 lb increments. 25 lbs in however long it takes. So I'm walking around my block, I'm biking to church (sometimes), and I'm eating less of some things and more of others... and we will see what happens.

So if you are the praying type... pray that the desire to be "well" out weighs (no pun intended) old habits and lack of motivation.

Step by step...

Negotiations

I am in the midst of a very new experience. Every job I've ever worked or applied for I just accepted the terms offered. Part of that is I just assumed it was what you do, and you work your way up once you are there and can prove yourself. That's not a bad thing, infact when you are starting out it is exactly how it should be.

But what if you are almost 39 and you know that you are capable of doing the job offered, and more, and the rate of pay and benefits aren't necessarily where you want to be. Enter negotiations.

This has been an interesting day as I have gone back and forth via email with a potential employer. For the first time in my life, I feel like I have the opportunity to ask for what I want. Most of my life, I haven't felt I had that right.

But God is changing my perspective of who I am. It feels a bit like arrogance, but I am realizing that really it's not arrogance or pride, but it's more recognition of what I am capable of and what I can offer. I think that is actually a step of growth for me. I guess we will see what the employer thinks :)

Happy Canada Day

So how did you spend your Canada day?
I stayed in bed til 1:00, got up and have been watching movies ALL day long! haha
TCM (turner classic movies) has been playing movies like "rebel without a cause" and "blackboard jungle" great classics about young people getting into trouble.

Interesting how different the outlook on teenagars was in the fifties. They were seen as trouble makers, but not "lost causes". The schools were rough and fights were common, but people could see through to the soft side of kids.

It's made me wonder about the condition of schools today and the things that are happening to kids in 2010. I caught a part of an episode of "the secret life of a teenager" the other day and it saddened me. There is so much going on in the lives of kids today, so much that weighs on them and that they have to choose everyday. The culture screams the opposite of what we want for so many of them.

Reading through the 1st Chronicles, and again seeing the laws and commandments that God laid out and how the Israelites were tripped up by the culture of the people who stayed behind. The way they quickly turned from the Almighty to the gods of the day. Are we any different?

Just some questions that are rattling in my head... and some things I feel compelled to pray about.