Meat for the Hungry

  How quickly things change.   Tuesday, we buried my friend, my sister in Christ, my worship ministry partner, a person I greatly loved and admired. And the thing is, everybody felt the same way I did about her. She loved everyone, and everyone loved her. When Kim left this earth, she left a hole in our hearts and a vacancy in our church that only God can fill.   But this morning, as I was reminiscing, praying, and thinking about how to begin August’s newsletter, the LORD gave me a word – PILLAR – and the phrase, “…a pillar in the temple of My God….” [1]   I felt Jesus say to my heart, “Kim is one of My pillars. She shall go out no more. I have written My new name on her and the name of My city – the New Jerusalem.”   Tears escaped and wet my cheeks—tears of happiness for her—and tears of sadness for me and for those who miss her. Kim is seeing our God face to face, something she had longed to do since she met Him. He is keeping her close to His h...

  If you remember, a few months ago, I was feeling like Jonah.  (See Saturday, June 27, 2020, "Occupy Till I Come" blog.) But lately, I’ve been feeling more like  L o t . In the books of Matthew and Luke, Jesus equated end times with the days of Noah. However, in Luke, He makes another comparison. “Likewise, as it was also in the d a y s o f L o t : They ate , they drank , they bought , they sold , they planted , they built , but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:28-29) Wow! They were just going about their daily lives oblivious to the pending judgment when sudden destruction came upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman and as a thief in the night. [1]   But why did angels lead L o t and family out b e f o r e h a n d ? Was it because he was Abraham’s nephew? Maybe, yet I think there’s more to it, so let’s dig.   Genesis 11:26-31 tells us Terah had three sons, A...

It was the third month since Israel had left Egypt. At the foot of Mount Sinai, six hundred thousand plus Israelites set up camp according to tribes and families. They had heard about this mountain since Moses returned to Egypt and now they see it with their own eyes. The topic on everyone's lips must have been Almighty God appearing to Moses in a burning bush on this mountain. Did God live here? What does He look like? Would they see God and hear Him speak? Would this be their permanent home? In the days to follow, all Israel would have their answers.

With Israel’s deliverance secured and their memorials in place, the journey continued. “Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near, for God said, ‘Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt. So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea…” (Ex. 13:17-18a) I’ve heard the walking distance from Egypt to Canaan could have taken only eleven days. If true, Israel might have been in their new home in less than two weeks.  However, God knew war and giants awaited them and they were not ready. So God lead them the best way, the way He wanted them to go.