Salty Zebra

  This displeased Jonah terribly and he became very angry. He prayed to the LORD and said, “Oh, LORD, this is just what I thought would happen when I was in my own country. This is what I tried to prevent by attempting to escape to Tarshish! – because I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgement.  Jonah 4:1-2  There are so many lessons we can learn from the book of Jonah, but today I believe our study’s authors are pointing us to the heart of the matter, Jonah’s heart that is. You see, Jonah was a prophet, someone tasked with bringing the Word of the LORD to the people. He did it all the time. One day, though, he received a Word that he didn’t want to bring. It was a message of destruction he was instructed to bring to the enemies of his people. You’d think this would be right up his alley! Fire and brimstone! Curse the heathens! But no, Jonah knew God better than that. As it sa...

  After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’   Acts 13:22  “Let it be done according to God’s will.” We say it, but do we mean it? When it comes down to the wire, when things don’t look like they are going to turn out the way we hoped, does our tune change? Today we look at two different kings who had two different answers to this question.   Saul, Israel’s first king, had his share of idiosyncrasies. To start with, he was exactly what Israel wanted in a king. He was tall and handsome and strong. He was charismatic and drew people to himself. Shortly after being anointed king, Saul set out to defeat Israel’s enemies that had attacked and shamed his countrymen in Jabesh Gilead ( 1 Samuel 11 ). The country fell in behind him and they saw success because the Spirit of the LORD was upon him ( 1 Samuel 11:6 ). But it didn’t take long b...

  By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.   Hebrews 11:31  Who was Rahab? If you read the NIV version of the Bible, it says that she was a prostitute that ran an inn in Jericho that the spies stayed at. Many of the Jewish theologians argued that she was just an inn keeper and not a prostitute, but the term that was used by Joshua when writing it is used over and over throughout the Old Testament with illicit sexual connotations (Genesis 34:31, Exodus 34:15-16, Leviticus 19:29, etc.). I think that the Jewish scholars just didn’t want to have a prostitute in their genealogy.   Why does it matter? Because I think that Rahab represents so much for us in the Bible, and in order to appreciate that we have to see her for who she was. Rahab was a Canaanite living in Jericho. Her people followed false gods and pagan practices that had made them so abominable in God’s eyes that He was about to wipe them...

  Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.   Deuteronomy 11:18  I see more and more in society where people are seeking to have a long life, to lengthen their days and stay healthy and strong longer. While medical science has found ways to elongate our lives, those extra days and years are not always fruitful or enjoyable. So, how do we set about realistically to live a good, long, healthy, happy life? Thousands of years ago, God told us how in His Word! Walk in obedience to all that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.   Deuteronomy 5:33   The world tells us that living by God’s commands is limiting, that it keeps us from fun or freedom or pleasure, but the truth is the exact opposite. In living God’s way, we can find true peace, enjoyable life, and complete freedom. In fact, it is only in Je...

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...