Salty Zebra

Sometimes life isn't ideal. Let's face it, most of the time it isn't! So, we do what we need to, to make things work. In my "Making It Work" posts, I share life hacks and ideas that have helped me so that, maybe, they can help someone else too. I hope you enjoy!    So, I've officially entered my Fall Risk Era. Yeah, I didn't think I'd hit this for a few more decades either, but God had other plans! As I approached  Radiation Therapy this spring, my vertigo really kicked in. I found the world around me tilting and whirling like I was on a ride at the fair (not Disneyland, Disney wouldn't do this to me!). My husband noticed that I was leaning to the right again (this happened before my brain surgeries as well) and that my path did not proceed on as straight a line as I intended. One Sunday at church, things got really bad! Our sanctuary is very dimly lit during services and the way everyone lines up to receive communion has lines of people going in ...

  Be careful, therefore, to do exactly what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn right or left! Walk just as he has commanded you so that you may live, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land you are going to possess.   Deuteronomy 5:32-33  Today’s verse starts out with a directive. “Do exactly what the LORD your God has commanded you…” It’s not a guideline, not a suggestion. He’s told us exactly what we are to do. Jesus clarified it for us in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” And in Galatians 5:14 it emphasizes, “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” So, what are we to do? Love others. Pure and simple. How are we to love them? What is that to look like? Jesus said that we are to love others in the same way that He lo...

  Moses stretched out his hand toward the sea, and the LORD drove the sea apart by a strong east wind all that night, and he made the sea into dry land, and the water was divided. Exodus 14:21  In this world we will have trouble ( John 16:33 ), but God is with us, He will never leave us nor forsake us ( Deuteronomy 31:6-8 ). When we encounter trouble or temptation, God will remain faithful, and He will make a way out so that we will be able to endure it ( 1 Corinthians 10:13 ).  In today’s passage ( Exodus 14:13-22 ), Israel has encountered a terribly difficult situation. They’ve been hemmed in with the Red Sea on one side of them and the Egyptian army bearing down on them on the other. It seems like they’re done for, like there isn’t any hope to be had. But. God. Before God had shown Moses how He would protect the Israelites, Moses encouraged them, saying, “Do not fear! Stand firm and see the salvation of the LORD that he will provide for you today; for the Egyptians...

  then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshipped. The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.   Exodus 12:27-28  Obeying God is important. Sometimes, it can mean immediate life or death. Today we look back at the story of the first Passover, when the Angel of Death passed over the homes of the Israelites on the way to execute the plague of the firstborn of Egypt. If the Israelites had blown Moses off, thinking he was wild to have them painting blood on their doorposts and eating in haste because their time in Egypt was just about up, they would come to swiftly regret it!   Much of the time, when we receive a command from God, either through His Word or from the Holy Spirit, it is guidance for our life, helping us to draw closer to Him or live out the blessings He has for us. Ever...

  Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them.   Exodus 7:6   Moses had a big job, and it took God 80 years to prepare him for it , but when he was presented with the opportunity, Moses still felt inadequate. He argued with God , listing out all the reasons that he wasn’t suited for the task, wasn’t the right man for the job. It’s not explicitly laid out here, but it seems that Moses was scared. Scared of the task he was being presented with. Scared of going back to Egypt. Scared of what his people would think of him. Scared.   It’s interesting that in back-to-back weeks we are presented with men that responded so differently to the call of God on their lives. Or did they? Abraham heard God’s call and moved out. He had God tell him to sacrifice his son, and he got up the very next morning and obeyed. As I reflect on the story, though, there are a few times where Abraham looks for clarification. In Genesis 15 , the first recorded conversation between Abrah...

  “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”  Genesis 22:12  I learned so many new things about this familiar story this week as I studied this chapter. Old assumptions were corrected. New insights were gained. I can’t wait to share it all with you! Today we consider the story of Abraham being instructed by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac. As a child, this story was frightening. As a parent, horrifying. But looking at it closer, I now see it as reassuring, hopeful, and an exhortation and incitement to trust God and live my life for Him.  At the beginning of Genesis 22 , we read that Got set about to test Abraham. God tells him that he is to take his son, his only son, whom he loves and sacrifice him on Mount Moriah. Yes, Abraham had another son, Ishmael, but at this point in the narrative, Ishmael has been banished, removed from the family, and ...