Doug Van Pelt

The Great Exodus.15

We see a cool song in the 15th chapter of Exodus. I have heard a modern adaptation called "Horse And Rider (Thrown Into The Sea)" ... at least that's what I think they called it. This song is a great example of one (of many) biblical uses for music. You could even say that the Bible "prescribes" music for the following use or ailment:

Helping God's People Remember Their History
It helps God's people remember and know their doctrine, too. But this history is an important thing that God wanted them to remember. He instructed the Israelites to tell their children and their children's children about the things that God did for His people as they left Egypt.

Here are excerpts:

"I will sing to the Lord,
for He is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
He has hurled into the sea..
The Lord is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him,
my father's God, and I will exalt Him.

"Who among the gods is like You,
O Lord?
Who is like You --
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?..."

It's an awesome worship song, and it also reminds God's people so many important details of their history. That's cool. Miriam and all the women danced with tambourines, singing the chorus:

"Sing to the Lord,
for He is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
He has hurled into the sea."

Not long after (I suppose ... sometimes one passage of Scripture to the next can span several hours, days, weeks, months, even years and decades, even though it takes us only seconds to read from one paragraph to another) Moses led them into the Desert of Shur. They travelled for three days and couldn't find water. This is a practical problem. It's easy to judge the people for grumbling, but what are you supposed to do with little children and animals with no water for three days? God provided, with Moses tossing a piece of wood into the bitter water they found, making it good to drink.

God is Jehovah Jireh -- the Lord our Provider.

The Great Exodus.14

Observations:

I had some cash on a recent visit to Waterloo Records, so I bought the new issue of Uncut Magazine. It's a UK publication that I like, because they usually have a lot of long, in-depth interviews. One of the headlines was about one of my current fav bands -- Muse. It said something like: "Muse: on talking to the dead, this, that, and the other." The only problem was that this wasn't a feature-length interview. It was a short interview in the front of the "news" section, and it was like the singer was answering some of those "word association" type questions, with real short and witty answers. Only problem was there was just about four questions asked, and thus the "talking to the dead (1), this (2), that (3) and the other" (4) were the ONLY things talked about in this so-called interview. I felt let down. I felt deceived. At best I felt tricked into buying the $8.99 publication (it did have a free CD with it).

I remember someone writing in once, complaining about a "worthless" piece we did on Stavesacre. That criticism hurt. I wrote that piece, including it in the magazine at the last minute to cover their Bull Takes Fighter indie EP release and using some quotes from an interview I did with Mark Salomon regarding the historical significance of The Crucified. The problem with the criticism -- the reason it hurt -- was because it was true. I didn't put enough effort or "meat" in that one-page feature. It would have almost been better to leave them out altogether than include a large photo, headline and one page with that text. I can probably make myself feel a little bit better if I compare myself to Uncut and realize that I didn't advertise that Stavesacre article on the cover, with subtitles telling about what would be covered in the story. But I still want to feel the sting of the criticism enough to want to improve and not compromise quality journalism like that.

xxx

Okay, on to Exodus chapter 14:
The Lord asked Moses to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. God had a tricky plan in mind. Pharaoh's heart suddenly changed (hmmm, maybe when God said "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart" again, He meant it...), and he said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!"

He took 600 of the best chariots out after the Israelites. You have to remember, they were going after 600,000+ men (over a million people in all, plus animals, etc). They overtook the Israelites and they became terrified and cried out to the Lord. (Then) They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?"

Wow. I thought maybe sarcasm was invented by some drunken Hollywood folks sometime in the 20th century. These Israelites were funny! Even in the midst of real trouble, they were making light of their situation. Wow.

Moses told the people: "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Moses was told to lead the people onward, raising his staff to divide the waters of the Red Sea. "Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long."

Wow. That is one intense action. Isn't it interesting that "the angel of God" was doing this? That's some powerful person/being, there. I wonder if this description ("the angel of God") is simply their limited method of describing God Himself?

Moses then stretched out his hand and all night long the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The Israelites went across on dry ground. That's some kind of wind! Not only did it push back the water and hold it like a dam, but it dried out the soggy, muddy river bottom so that they could walk across it with children, women, animals, and probably carts and whatnot. The Egyptians followed the Israelites into this new cavity, but God released the sea upon them and it killed them all. First He made their chariots break, with their wheels falling off, and then they freaked out and tried to flee, which is when the walls of water came down and swept them away. The Israelites saw their dead bodies the next day and they revered the Lord.

I wonder today what it would take for those wandering from the faith (some of which have discarded it) to come back to a "clinging to / trusting in / relying on" type of faith? Maybe they need to see a miracle? Maybe they stopped believing in God because they doubt He's real. Maybe a sign of the supernatural or miraculous will touch their hearts and they will turn once again to the Lord -- the Lover of their souls? Maybe it will take seeing love in action. Maybe the propensity and the current trendiness of causes and people getting involved in improving the world they live in -- maybe that is a yearning of people to sense the divine nature God wants for them. Maybe that is being expressed by people putting love into action and helping others.

Fads are a dangerous thing, because they give followers weird/faulty/wacked motivations for jumping in, but God doesn't always wait until we have the perfect attitude to change us. Even the Prodigal Son didn't really repent and have a wonderful change of heart when he came back home. He had a speech prepared for his father that would just get him a hired hand type job at his dad's place. But his dad restored him fully at that time, giving him the family (credit card) ring, clothing him with a respectful robe and placing him in (above slave status) sandals. King David saw the faithfulness and merciful restoration of God when he repented of his murder/adultery, but even that wasn't preceded by a wonderful change of heart. No, he got "busted" by the prophet Nathan about his hidden crime. Can we not deduce that sometimes God wants us in a certain place and that He doesn't seem to mind about the details that get us there? Perhaps the current "trend" or "fad" of getting involved with a cause is a good thing. Sure, it's got its pitfalls and dangers, but the increased attention unselfish causes are getting now is positive. Maybe people are finding meaning and significance there.

hmmm...

Is anybody out there?

Spinning Cities by Anberlin. What a great album. Keeps getting better. Loving that and still love Mat Kearney's Nothing Left To Lose.

We have picked out some great editorial for the Sep/Oct issue. We're already working on it. I'm also putting the finishing touches on the Jul/Aug issue for the digital/online edition. The word is that it'll be special, "thicker" and bigger than the print version. You heard it here first.

The Great Exodus.13

God asked Moses to consecrate every firstborn mail to Him. He wanted them to celebrate this huge event. They would eat no food with yeast in it. He let them know that the future was going to hold "a land flowing with milk and honey," and that they were to not forget God.

That's not a lot to ask, if you think about it. He delivers us and asks us to remember Him and ... basically, be His friend, walk with Him, and be grateful and thankful for what He's done. God was very practical with this stuff. Many of the monuments He had them build were just simple visual reminders to trigger their memory (and the memories of their children, and children's children, and so on...).

Why do we forget about God?
Why do we take Him for granted?
Why does our devotional life turn into a few prayers each day over the food we eat?
Why does our life become routine, when it could be an adventure?
Why are our hearts prone to wander?
What can be done to prevent a wandering heart?
How do "spiritual disciplines" (like fellowshipping with other believers, reading the Word, and prayer) help us cultivate hearts that stay in tune with and fresh with our love for God?

A couple of significant details are introduced in this chapter of Exodus: God has the Israelites head out of Egypt through the desert path, rather than the quick highway out of town... God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt."

We also see that, "By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people."

That is SOME amazing sign -- and it was ongoing for them. Now, that I would like to have seen!

Lord,
Please keep my heart fresh and alive in You. Please help me do what I can to ward off my wandering ways. May You instill in us a habit of spiritual action and discipline that makes our reputation be one of abiding rather than wandering. May You change us.
Amen.

"PRAY FOR ME, I DRIVE 183"

That's an old bumper sticker you used to see around Austin, TX.

Though, I could use your prayers right now as I meet a couple pastors for lunch. You see, my gas gauge reads MAX LOW scary urgent. Danerously low levels. I really don't want to run out of gas on the 7-mile trip to the gas station on the way to lunch ... so pray for me!

:?)

The Great Exodus.12

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about this last plague. He told them that this time, this month, would be the first month of their calendar year. It was to mark a new beginning for these people. (this was around March/April...) They were to take a lamb for each household (a smaller family who'd east less than one lamb were to share with their larger-sized family next door), taking a year-old male lamb or goat without defect. They were to take care of them until the 14th day of the month, and slaughter it at twilight. They they are to take some of its blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they ate the lambs. Then they were to roast the animal over a fire -- head, legs, and inner parts. They were to not save any until morning. If any was left over, they were to burn it before morning.

"This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord's Passover."

The Lord would passover the houses and see the mark of a cross, basically, over the doorposts of the Israelites, sparing them while the "destroyer" would kill the firstborn of all of Egypt -- men and animals, from the greatest of them, like Pharaoh, to the least, like the prisoner in jail. God wanted this Passover celebrated each year, too, in order for the people to remember what He did for them.

At midnight, this plague happened. All the firstborn in Egypt were struck down. Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron (who were instructed not to leave their houses, but I guess an exception was made for them), where he let the Israelites take off. He also said, "And also bless me." This is interesting. The man whose heart was hardened is now not only asking Moses and Aaron to pray for him, but to bless him.

It says that God pronounced judgment upon the Gods of Egypt this night. Some commentators have said that all ten plagues represented ten of Egypt's Gods. The plague where the Nile's water was turned to blood could be seen as defiling the god Hopi. The plague of frogs could be seen as mocking the goddess Heqt, who "assisted women in childbirth."

The Bible says that when the Israelites asked for silver and gold and how the Egyptians looked with favor upon these people -- that it was Israel "plundering" the Egyptians. There was 600,000 men marching out of Egypt, and if you average about 1 wife and 1 child for every man, that's almost 2 million people (not to mention all the livestock) parading out of the country on foot. That's a big deal.

Their departure time marked exactly (to the day) 430 years of them living in Egypt as a people. God "kept a vigil" for the people as they left on this night, and He asks them to remember that night by keeping a vigil as well. That's kind of a cool holiday -- staying up all night. God also instructed the people that no foreigner or alien or temporary resident was to celebrate and eat the Passover with them -- unless the males were circumcised. Then, they could celebrate with God's people. That's very inclusive, isn't it? The rules forbid outsiders, but they also provide a way for the outsider to become like an insider.

Maybe that could be factored into the current political debate the US is having about illegal immigrants...?

Moses HOT WITH ANGER

God told Moses that one last plague would do it for the Egyptians, and Pharaoh would let them go after this one. All the first born males of Egypt would die -- including cattle as well. But not even a dog would bark around the Israeli side of town. This would be another sign to show that this was God acting on behalf of His people. God told Moses to tell the people that men and women alike "are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold. The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people."

So, even stuttering ole Moses (the guy who can't talk well) is regarded highly amongst the people. That just shows ya what God can do with a willing vessell -- no matter how ugly, stupid, uncoordinated, or poor in speech.

When Moses was done making his latest pronouncement to Pharaoh, it says: "Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh."

I wonder why Moses was so angry? Maybe it was because it took all these plagues for Pharaoh to listen. That was most likely it. I bet his face was flush with red, as he "boiled" with anger. Wow. This is more like the Charleton Heston character I'd grown up seeing in my mind...

This last plague, though, was going to be a terrible one.

Grief is a sign of love triumphing over death

That was a cool quote used by my pastor at a memorial service last night. It was quote by McManus, who published a new book called Soul Cravings.

Did I mention that Stavesacre's songs were quite edifying?

The Great Exodus.10

In chapter 10 of Exodus, God reveals that it was He Who hardened the hearts of Pharaoh's officials. He also reveals another reason why: "...so that I may perform these miraculous signs of Mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed My signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord."

Pharaoh's officials tried to speak some sense to the president of Egypt after Moses and Aaron delivered the latest threat (locusts everywhere): "HOw long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?"

Then Moses and Aaron were summoned back to Pharaoh. I wonder who did the summoning. Some goofball powernut or some soldiers? Or maybe both. I wonder what Moses and Aaron were thinking as they walked back to where Pharaoh was...

"Go, worship the Lord your God," said Pharaoh. "But just who will be going?"

Moses answered him. (Isn't that different? Moses was doing some talking finally!!) "We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord."

Pharaoh again got religious and told Moses and Aaron that he had sinned against the Lord. "Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me."

These crazy plagues were one of a kind catastrophies that were devestating Egypt. I wonder how other world leaders viewed these circumstances when they heard about them...

The Lord took away the locusts with a strong wind that carried them out and into the Red Sea. But Pharaoh's heart hardened once again. The next plague was darkness -- "darkness that can be felt." What kind of darkness is that? That is the perfect gothic music album title, isn't it? Darkness That Can Be Felt -- the new album by Gothic Undertones available everywhere on May 22.

"No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived." What?! Can you imagine that? Darkness covered the land like a blanket, but there were pockets where light was shining in? That is unreal! I would love to have seen that (from an outside observer's standpoint, of course -- maybe during on of Heaven's "History Nights," where God flattens a cloud and projects a high definition image against it to show us "what really happened" on November 22, 1963, and this night-at-day part of the Exodus, etc).

Pharaoh tells Moses they can go -- women, children, men, but no flocks. Moses said, "You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord." What Moses said was true, but it was also hiding the fact that the Israelites were leaving town ... for good. It shows that telling the truth is not always revealing every single detail. I think I fall into the trap sometimes of "wanting to be real" so much that I share TOO MUCH INFORMATION, and it's not always good. I think the Bible is showing us here (and other places, like when Rahab the harlot lied to her people to save the Israelite spies) that the Law was given to man to help him live, not to force him to die and control him. David and his men ate showbread from the temple. Jesus and His disciples ate grain they picked on the Sabbath. Moses hid the truth from Pharaoh. Sometimes wisdom will have us divide the facts and the outcome is not as simple as the "letter of the law."

Who Nelly!

The Great Exodus.9

The Lord threatened and followed-up on His threat to kill all the livestock of Egypt that was out in the field. He would spare the livestock of the Israelites. Sure enough, it happened, and Pharaoh sent men out to investigate and it was just as Moses had told Pharaoh. Pharaoh still hardened his heart, even though he lost tons of money on that livestock.

Then the Lord told Moses and Aaron to take some soot and throw it up in the air in front of Pharaoh. It would become fine dust over the land and festering boils would break out on men and animals throughout the land. Moses did this tossing, and I suppose Aaron narrated to Pharaoh what was happening. "Moses, you see, is going to toss this soot in the air, and the Lord says it will turn into fine dust that will settle over the whole land of Egypt. And festering boils will break out on men and animals throughout the land."

I imagine the teenagers didn't even have enough Clearasil to mask the boils on their faces.

The Lord told Moses, "Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship Me, for this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you mayknow that there is no one like Me in all the earth. For by now I could have stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you My power and that My Name might be proclaimed in all the earth. You still set yourself against My people and will not let them go. Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every man and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.'"

Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the Word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. But those who ignored the Word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.

It's interesting that God was nice enough to warn them and give them instructions on how to avoid His wrath. Some of the men did heed this warning and thus saved their livestock and slaves. I wonder if these were Hebrew slaves or other slaves? Slavery is an incredibly bad idea. I'm glad that it's been abolished in most of the world.

It's interesting that it doesn't explain that Aaron was the one who spoke this message to Pharaoh and his officials. Maybe Aaron did, or maybe Moses had built up enough courage and speaking skills to pull it off himself.

After the hail struck everything down, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. Why Pharaoh didn't just kill these two trouble makers, I do not know. Perhaps he feared God's retribution or maybe public opinion. Who knows? Pharaoh told them, "This time I have sinned. The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don't have to stay any longer."

Perhaps the idea was getting through to Pharaoh that the Israelites were going to leave -- and leave for good. It's amazing that he was confessing sin. Yet it is sad that he doesn't say, "Teach me how to pray to the Lord, that I might ask forgiveness and find mercy." Instead he beseeches Moses to do his "dirty work." Maybe he didn't really believe and he was just placating Moses and Aaron. When Moses did his praying and God pulled back the rain and hail, it says that Pharaoh and his officials hardened their heart.

Now it becomes apparent that one man's example and leading influences the hearts of his men. How true it is that people follow other people -- friends, cool kids, parents, teachers, rock stars, athletes, older brothers and sisters... It should teach us to watch ourselves, out of respect for the example we're setting.

I read it in HM Magazine, oh oh, Bennie and the Jets...

(sing with me)
Bennie!
Bennie!
Bennie and the Jetsssss.

You know, she's got "electric boots" and a "mohair suit?"

Wow.

God waited a week (after the plague where the Nile River turned to blood, stinking to "high heavens." He told Moses to go tell Pharaoh that the frogs were coming.

I wonder if P.O.D. ever thought about re-doing "Breathe Babylon" and replace the line about "the plagues are coming..." with references to the individual plagues, like "the frogs are coming, the frogs are coming..." I dunno, just a thought.

God told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch out his hand over the streams and canals and ponds, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt. He did as he was told and the frogs came, but Pharaoh's magicians did the same trick. Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, though, and told them to pray to the Lord to take the frogs away, promising that if that happened, his people could go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.

Interesting thing here: Pharaoh thought this was all about a 3 or 4 day vacation -- maybe longer -- and then he'd have his slaves back. In his mind, I guess, he was negotiating for a simple amount of leave time. In reality, however, God and Moses and Aaron had another goal in mind -- total deliverance and "good riddance."

Moses prayed, asking God ... crying out to God, actually, about the frogs. Exodus 8:13 says: "And the Lord did what Moses asked." That is an amazing verse. If I was an excitable preacher, I'd stop right there and talk about that, repeating the phrase, turning it over to drive the point home that God listens to His people, that He will sometimes do what they ask. That is amazing and wonderful. God is God and He is in control, yet He still interacts with His people and answers their prayers.

The frogs died by the droves. They were piled into heaps and the "land reeked of them." Did you know that the Bible has the verb "reeked" in it?

"But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief to his problem, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said."

Isn't that just like as people? We cry and moan when things are going bad; we even make bold promises to God. But when the promise comes or the problem subsides, we get back to our routines, often times forgetting about our bold promises to God. How foolish of us! We should remember what God has done for us and thank Him.

The Lord instructed Moses to tell Aaron to stretch out his staff and strike the dust of the ground, and it became gnats, swarming everywhere. Pharaoh's magicians tried doing this, but couldn't. They said, "This is the finger of God." Pharaoh didn't budge, though. The Lord then instructed Moses to go meet Pharaoh in the morning when he went to the water. I bet Pharaoh bathed in a river or something. The Lord said that He'd bring flies like never before -- only they would not swarm in the land of Goshen, where His people were. He made a clear distinction, so Pharaoh would know ... "that I, the Lord, am in this land." What a great declaration to hear and believe. After the flies came, Pharaoh told Moses his people could go sacrifice to their God ... but "here in the land." Moses didn't budge. "We must take a three-day journey into the desert," he said. Pharaoh said okay, "but not very far." Then he said, "Now pray for me."

What a great command, but what selfish motives. It's like he wanted Moses to talk to his God, not address the Lord himself. Still, it's progress in the evangelization of the Pharaoh. How would you like to witness and share and work towards the salvation of someone whom God was hardening their heart? Ha ha, it would be kind of frustrating, wouldn't it?

Moses prayed to the Lord to take the flies away. He did. And guess what? Pharaoh hardened his heart again!

Deadline Approaches

It's now 2 days, 10 hours, 54 minutes and 14 seconds away.

whoo-hoo!

The Great Exodus.7

"Oh, Mary don't you weep!" (listening to Mike Farris' Salvation In Lights album).

Someone once said, "God's ways are not our ways" or vice-versa. This is apparent in the Exodus story. God tells Moses what to do, but doesn't share more details until later. The other details include the prediction that Pharaoh will not let the people go right away. God will harden his heart. This had to be frustrating for Moses and the Israelites.

We obviously want God's help, but we want it now most of the time. It's cool, though, that God shares more of this information to Moses as things unfold.

"See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, My people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it."

Wow, it's apparent that even this plan to rescue "God's people" that He is interested in the Egyptians, too. God's plan of turning the world to Himself is seen all throughout Scripture. I wonder how many Egyptians turned to God after the Exodus took place. I wonder if their generations still follow Him today.

Moses was 80 years old and Aaron 83 when they spoke to Pharaoh. That's interesting, as I would've guessed Aaron to be Moses' junior. Not the case.

Moses and Aaron obeyed God and saw two of His signs take place: the staff turned into a serpent and back; and the Nile turning to blood, killing all the fish and making a terrible stink. Pharaoh's magicians pulled off the same tricks (though the serpent from Aaron's staff ate all their snakes) and thus Pharaoh the unbeliever seemingly had reason to doubt. This is scary stuff. If God speaks and we don't believe it, we may trust in our reason and thus miss God. It's cool that God's persistent. He reached out to Pharaoh through Moses and Aaron several times before He brought his most terrible judgment upon him.

The Great Conspiracy

Almost everyone I know is dealing with "stuff."

A friend of ours took his own life this past Thursday night. He and his wife had been an active part of a marriage ministry class we taught at our house in recent years. He had decided to split up with his wife and two recently adopted kids. A female friend at work had told him last summer, "I've always liked you, George." (named changed, of course) This thought stayed with him and then he was convinced his wife wouldn't change her ways and never stop being disappointed in him. I told him right after it was announced to his wife that he was messing up his life and urged him to stop this course and stick it out. He didn't. He seemed very aware of what he was doing, the cost it was taking, and he acknowledged that his wife had every reason to be furiously mad with him. I asked him a couple weeks ago if he thought there was a chance to reconcile with his wife, who had moved to another state with the boys. He said no, but apparently was talking about plans to sell the house here and move up there. And then this. What a shock. I can only imagine what kept him from seeing any hope. This is a supremely sad situation.

I have another friend whose large family is experiencing very trying circumstances. They're going through an ugly divorce and many of the adult children are making very questionable choices.

Two friends last week or so told me on the same day that they were going through a divorce.

A friend in the music industry is adapting to life in a changing environment. His former method of income has been gone for almost a year now.

Another friend has been looking for a job to support him and his family for five months now.

HM has been struggling with a shrinking cashflow due to lower ad sales, which is normally the chief source of income for a magazine.

This is only a partial list of things I pray for/about in recent times. It seems like everyone I know is dealing with some struggle. I don't necessarily think this is all the work of the devil; but then again, isn't that his modus operandi? Doesn't he sow discord and wreak havoc whenever he can? The key lesson from Job (or one of them) is certainly that satan is a very finite being that can only do what he's been given permission to do. God allowed him to take everything from Job but his life. The fallen angel certainly utilized his area of destruction, taking out Job's crops, livestock and children in one day.

Maybe the majority or all of this stuff is the result of a spiritual enemy attacking. It certainly seems like he had it in for my friend George. I don't know. Perhaps there is a good work on the horizon that he is trying to thwart. Maybe the return of Christ is imminent. Maybe a revival is a few days away. Maybe it's just random fallen-ness hitting close to home. I can't explain it. I can only wonder.

But I don't wonder too long. There's not much that can be accomplished with complaining. It's okay to vent. We are people. Sometimes we need that. But dwelling in the place of complaint is a trap.

The Great Bob Marley Album.6

God told Moses that he would now see what God would do to Pharaoh. It's interesting that, even though God was telling Moses what would happen, there were expected "road blocks" in the way, where Pharaoh's heart would be hardened and it would take ten plagues to get him to relinquish control over the Israelites and let them go.

I'm sure there are plenty of times in our life where God makes a way for us and we may feel like it's an "instant deliverance," but it actually takes days, weeks, months, or years to happen. What if our answer to prayer took decades? Could we handle that? That's a tough one -- especially with our mentality. We've seen so much progress in the last 50-60 years that a year seems like a long, long time. We're an impatient generation -- all of us. I know I am.

There are seven days, zero hours, forty-eight minutes and 22 seconds left 'til deadline.

The Great Exodus.5

Pharaoh gave some good advice:
"Pay no attention to lies."

The problem was what else he was saying. He told his men in charge (they called them "slave drivers") to force the Israelites to keep the same quote for making bricks, but without providing the hay for which to do it with -- adding more time to their task (obtaining hay/straw). Pharaoh thought that the Israelites wanted to leave for a few days to get out of their work, not to worship their God. He though they were lazy.

When the Israelite foremen appealed to Pharaoh and lost, they met Moses and Aaron afterwards. "May the Lord look upon you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us." They were not happy at Pharaoh's reaction to the word Aaron and Moses had spoken to him. Moses returned to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why have You brought trouble upon this people? Is this why You sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your Name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and You have not rescued Your people at all."

That's a pretty brazen thing to say to God, but He was seemingly not put off by it. He can apparently handle our honesty before Him. This is a good thing to remember. Sometimes our hearts need to speak to Him what we are feeling. Composing "proper" words might fall far short of what we really want to tell Him. He is our God and He has given us an advocate in Jesus His Son. We are like His favorite children now, so our complaints and prayers should not offend Him.

I would do well to remember this now as I pray. I need His help with HM Magazine.

The Great Exodus.4

"What if they don't believe me?" asked Moses.
This question really surprised God, so He left and said, "I'll have to get back to you on that one, Moe."

Not exactly. God was ready for the question. He asked Moses, "What's that in your hand?" For the Lord had never seen one of those before (oops, again, another fallacy). "A staff," he replied. "Throw it on the ground." He did and the staff turned into a snake. That makes the previous question like a trick question: "What's that?" He asks. "Oh, a staff," Moses replies. "No it's not," the Lord says, "it's a snake." What a funny conversation, huh?

God showed him this magic trick, as well as the "stick your hand in your cloak and out it comes leprous; in again and it's not" trick. "If these two don't work, pour some Nile water on the ground and it'll turn into blood." Moses said to the Lord, "Pardon Your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." He was so focused on his own inabilities that he was missing the point that God was showing -- that He'd equip Moses for the job. The Lord said to him, "Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

But Moses said, "Pardon Your servant, Lord. Please send someone else." Then the Lord's anger burned against Moses (hmm, you can't imagine why!) and He said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it."

Wow, God met Moses at his weakness and provided yet again. It's like He provided everything he needed and answered all of his questions and doubts. That's pretty gracious.

I think our generations have been ripped off. Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandmants, with Charlton Heston as Moses certainly didn't put a stuttering, stammering, quiet old goon in my mind when I think of this biblical character. I think of the bronzed skin, broad shoulders and commanding voice of Charlton Heston.

It is odd, though, that at a lodging place on the way back to Egypt, that God was about to kill Moses. Maybe He was having second thoughts? That is very strange. Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it. "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me," she said. So the Lord let him alone. The Lord told Aaron to go meet Moses in the wilderness. Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform.

How much do you wanna bet that Moses had practiced some of these tricks on his own as he was waiting out there?

Moses and Aaron gathered the elders of Israel and Aaron spoke to them, explaining the situation. Moses did the sign tricks and they all believed. When they heard that God had heard their cries, something in their hearts broke and they bowed down and worshiped in gratitude. That is so cool.

Wow ... do I love music!!!

Sometimes it's hard to listen to and review music. Like American Idol, sometimes ya got not much you can enjoy ... but ya gotta listen to a little bit just to make sure. And sometimes it's not that way at all. Sometimes you play something that spins your world.
Whoo-wee! Sometimes the music we get from unsigned, independent bands is just ... SUPER!

Am digging the exploits of:
Of Asaph
INTOHIMO
The David Ramirez Band
Philmont
Manchester Orchestra

wow. cool tunes.
:?)

The Great Exodus.3

In the third chapter of Exodus, Moses sees a burning bush that doesn't consume the bush itself. 'I'm going to check this out,' he thinks to himself. As he gets closer, the Lord calls out to him. "Do not come any closer, the place you are standing is holy ground..."

This is interesting, huh? What is "holy ground?" This is the first time I figure that God brings this up in the Bible (at least as it's laid out currently. Many bible scholars say that Job was written before the first five books in our Old Testament). Up to this point, God has spoken with people, walked in the Garden with them, and even wrestled with man. But this is the first time he tells someone to "take their shoes off because they're standing on holy ground." Why did He make this declaration about this spot of ground? That's pretty fascinating, if you ask me.

God tells Moses that He's heard the cries of misery from His people. He tells Moses that he's going to lead his people out of Egypt. He promises that a sign of his sending will be that he will worship God on this mountain (Horeb). Moses asks for a reference. "Who do I tell them sent me?" God's answer is ominous: "I Am Who I Am." That is a powerful Name. So is: "The Lord, the God of your fathers -- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob."

He promised to "make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed." Isn't it cool that God plans ahead and manages every little detail? He not only helped them escape, He provided for them with abundance. The Bible will show a consistent example of this kind of provision.

The Great Exodus.2

After Pharaoh gave his order to have all boys born killed, a Levite woman had a son. She hid him for three months, but could no longer make the ruse work. She made a basket out of papyrus, coated with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. Pharaoh's daughter found him and immediately knew that it was a Hebrew baby. Moses' sister asked if she "should go get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby." This way Moses was actually raised by both his real mother and his new adopted one.

Moses means "I drew him out of the water." That's interesting. My name, Douglas, supposedly means "out of the dark waters." Hmmm.

After Moses grew up he went out to where his own people were slaving away. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, who he knew to be one of his own people (I guess his mom or moms had clued him in to his heritage), and he looked around to see if he'd be caught (that's the moment to stop doing what you're about to do, by the way), and he killed that Egyptian and hid his dead body in the sand.

The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He questioned them and one of them said, "Who made you the boss? Are you going to kill me like you did the Egyptian?" At that moment Moses knew he was busted. Pharaoh found out about this and tried to kill his own grandson, but Moses fled into Midian. While there Moses rescued a family's flock and was rewarded with a job, a place to stay and a wife.

Later on the king of Egypt died and the Israelites groaned and cried out to God about their conditions.

God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

Thus His plan was about to be speeded up (for it had already been set in motion with the birth of Moses).

Mr. Biscuit's Wild Ride

I just went out for my 30 minutes of cariovascular exercise (I've lost 20 pounds on the Charlotta diet in 3.5 weeks ... and I'm not done), and my dog Biscuit went with me. I needed to ride on the solid paved roads since it's so muddy here and I made an exception to his training (to stay inside our fenced property) and let him run alongside me on the roads. He was super fast, galloping ahead of me when I was in high gear (I guess 12th speed going downhill). What an amazing and fast animal. After going about 2 miles in one direction (including a break where he bolted into a field to face off a bull -- uh oh, look out, Biscuit!) we turned around to come back. He was barely trotting along, so I offered him a ride. I picked him up and pedaled along. At one point, after bouncing with each pedal thrust, he positioned his left rear paw on my left handlebar to give his body some balance. What a dog! I wish I had a photo of that. After going down another road (facing West), the same thing happened. On the way back I gave him a lift. Only this time someone drove by in a pickup. I bet they were surprised by what they saw. Biscuit is a full-grown Shelty and not exactly a small dog, yet stocky enough to hold with one arm around him. So funny.
:?)

The Great Exodus.1

Well, I guess it's time to get back to plowing through the Bible as a devotion. So, here goes the first chapter of Exodus!

Like many of the historical books in the Old Testament, where the Law is given and the history of God's people is told, this one starts with the death of people that preceded it. The last part of Genesis told the wonderfully dramatic and dynamic story of Jacob, who turned into Israel, who had many sons, one of which was named Joseph. The first six verses in Exodus 1 tell us that Joseph and all his brothers and that generation died. Their lives were good. Things were redeemed and restored for the latter part of their lives. But their time did come to an end.

The next verse (7) tells us that "the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them." The 12 sons of Jacob/Israel became the 12 tribes of Israel. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all.

A new king that did not know of Joseph came into power in Egypt. Out of fear, he made the numerous Israelites slaves.

"...the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country."

What a lame decision. But God apparently knew it was going to happen way before this king was even born, much less hatched his new idea. And God had a plan. The book of Exodus will see that plan unfold. It's like a messianic plan, too. It's like a fore-shadowing of a messiah that would come and deliver His people much later.

The Egyptians oppressed the Israelites, "but the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly."

Man, that sounds hauntingly like the stupid foolish plan that some white European settlers hatched for a bunch of Africans they forced into slavery. What a brutal and evil way to treat your fellow man. It's amazing that our country hasn't paid a deeper price for that sin. I'm reminded of something the great Alan Keyes said. He proposed that what America should have done in the sixties (and even better -- way before then) was to give all African Americans seven years of tax abatement. They would have to pay no taxes for seven whole years. They could earn money (hopefully) and use the part ordinarily apportioned for federal and state taxes to better their own lives. It would be a minor and symbolic yet practical way for the white men to repent of the sins of their ancestors. It would have reinforced the idea that man -- regardless of the color of his skin or what country he immigrated from -- was created in God's own image and capable of doing great things, earning a living for his family and reaping the benefits of his own hard work. Instead we hatched a well-intentioned but probably miserable failure of a system called welfare. Keyes says that welfare has "emaciated" the black man, reinforcing the stupid notion that he can't do anything on his own, stripping him of his God-given dignity. (Of course, by man, in the classic sense, speaks of humanity, not necessarily gender-specific). Boy, I wish that plan had taken place here instead of welfare...but what do I know?

The Egyptians made the Israelites lives a bitter existence. It got so bad that the King of Egypt told all the midwives in the country, "When you assist the Hebrew women giving birth, if they are male, kill them. If it is a girl, let her live. "The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, 'Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?' The midwives (God bless 'em) answered Pharaoh, 'Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.'"

I love it! A principle (that life is sacred) was more important than another principle (telling the truth always); and God honored this behavior -- this deceit, these lies. This is likened to the fact that Rahab was a prostitute who told a lie to her countrymen to safeguard the Israelite spies when they were about to destroy that city. And Rahab is listed in the lineage of Jesus the Messiah! That is a place of honor -- lies and all. If I was an impartial guy with no stake in the matter, I would like and respect God for that alone. He seemed to reward these midwives for their deeds, too. He gave them families of their own. That's cool.

The Great Divorce.14

Well, it's finally come down to the last chapter in The Great Divorce. My question is: Will it explain what's been going on? It's not likely to define metaphors or anything, but if our main character has understanding and makes the right choice, it'll bring resolution to all the problems he saw.

It seems to me that this guy's observations have all had a common denominator: all the people that he overheard conversing with Bright People were unwilling to submit or bend their wills to God. They were unwilling to (here comes a "religious" word) repent. They resisted and fought, holding on to their choice with all they had. Many times they were out-argued by the Bright Person they were talking to, but angrily or stubbornly refusing to budge an inch. Off they went to Hell as a result. It was as if God was turning a phrase in the Lord's Prayer back to the person: "Not My will, but yours be done. The people were choosing their way over God's.

I'm not permanently over it nor permanently there or "all that," by any means, but I do remember my own personal World War III with God. James 4:4 was telling me explicitly that "my way" was emnity towards God. I quickly gave up that position in favor of what I knew was on the other side -- His mercy, love and joy.

Like any man, bitterness and anger could turn my heart into a destructive direction, but I do have the memory and my signed "peace treaty" with God to look back on. That joyous ocassion where I said, "Let Your will be done." This is something I can say over and over again each and every day, for our journey doesn't cease to offer us choices.

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Ahhh, warm coffee. It's raining here. The lightning is rather close, judging by the timing of the loud thunder following. My internet connection was not operating very well during the downpour. But now it's back up. Let's see what chapter 14 offers...

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Whew!
Sigh...

Our man saw a silver chess board, with tiny figures moving about as they made choices. He asked his teacher to explain if that's all he had been seeing, infering, I think, that man had no choices to make, but was a mere puppet. The teacher told him, "Do not ask of a vision in a dream more than a vision in a dream can give."

So, it seems to boil down to a picture, a vision, a story that Lewis has penned to make us think. To make us weigh our decisions and how they might affect the outcome of our lives and our relationships. With a keen sense of human nature, he pegged our 21st century bents and habits.

I can see why people would read this book over and over. It's a pretty delightful picture of people and their habits -- in and of our relationship to God and the abundant life and joy that is ours to choose. It sounds so cliche (and New Age-ish) that we could choose to have joy, but there is much evidence that seeking God and His perspective on life and circumstances can turn our attitudes to a brighter side.