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Throughout the forty years that Moses led God’s people in the desert, it seems that they were rarely happy. In fact, the two words that the Bible most often uses to describe their attitudes are “grumbled” or “complained”. Now notice the word that describes them in the passage below. “Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!" (Verses 2-5). The sad part: The people still had not learned anything about God! For forty years, they complained, cried, and thought that they were going to die. Every time they were in need, God pr...

When the Israelites lived in tents and did not have a land to call their own, the Lord commanded them to build him a special tent called the “Tabernacle”. This was to be God’s dwelling place among his people. When the tabernacle was complete, a cloud filled it as a sign that the Lord’s Spirit was with them. With that background, read this passage and see if you get the point. “On the day the tabernacle, the tent of testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it… and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord's command, the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few da...

As I write this article, it is Monday morning and I am getting ready to go to a funeral. As I think about the day ahead, I am not anticipating a sad day. There will be sadness in it, some tears will be shed for sure, but this will be a day of celebration. For as long as I have known them, and for many years before that, George and his wife Doris have been faithful followers of Christ. Their faith was not just something that they talked about or something that they had in name only. Rather, it was something that influenced how they lived, what they valued and how they saw their entire lives. George was not a very vocal man, but he was influential. His home was always open to anyone who needed a meal or a place to stay. In fact, that is how I first met them. When I was an intern, preaching in the town of Wawota , I stayed with George and Doris. When our Bible camp needed a place to go for a hayride, George and Doris were the first ...

During his time in the desert, Moses had seen many things, but he had never seen anything like this. Off in the distance he could see a fire burning in a bush, but the bush was not being burned up. Moses decided to go and have a closer look and that is when he heard it: the voice of God. “The Lord said, ‘I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt . I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them…’” (Exodus 3:7-8a). That message changed the life of Moses and, if we really listen, it can change our lives too. You see, God is in the rescue business. He saved his people when they were slaves in Egypt and he can save us too. Now, you may be thinking, “Well, that is nice, but I do not need to be saved from anything”, but the Bible would disagree. From God’s point of view, we are as much slaves as God’s people back then were. The only...

While on the internet last night, I came across a review of the new CD by the Christian band “Casting Crowns”, so I decided to have a look. The review was brutal! I have rarely, if ever, seen anyone who has disliked a CD as much as this reviewer did. He did not like the songs, the music, the lead singer’s voice or anything else about it. Interestingly, his main complaint was that the CD was “too preachy”. He thought that the lyrics were too serious, too pointed and too demanding. The album made him think too much. “Casting Crowns” is one of my favorite bands because their lyrics are deep and their songs are challenging. Don’t get me wrong, I like fun, joyful, fluffy songs, but I listen to “Casting Crowns” because their songs say something that is based on the word of God. I guess I should not be surprised by the fact that someone does not want to hear what the Bible has to say. Two thousand years ago, the apostle...

The first chapter of the New Testament letter of First Peter has a very simple outline. The first twelve verses are all about what God, in his mercy and grace, has done for us. Phrases in this section include words like, “mercy… new birth… living hope… inheritance… heaven… God’s power… rejoice… Jesus… salvation” (verses 1-12). The focus in this section of the letter is entirely on what God has done for us. The second section focuses on our response to God. It contains phrases like, “Prepare your minds for action… obedient children… be holy… purified… love one another deeply from the heart” (verses 13-25). It is absolutely essential to get those two sections in the proper order. First, God has given you the gift of salvation, forgiveness and hope through the death of his son Jesus. Then, in response to God’s love, you live a different life. We make a huge mistake when we turn this teaching around and do not honor the ...

They say, “Familiarity breeds contempt”. It is also true that, “Familiarity breeds misunderstanding”. That is especially true of the Bible where we often misinterpret and miss the point of the familiar stories. For example, what is the point of the story of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3)? The common answer is “Disobedience is punished”. They were told not to eat from that tree, they did eat from it and God was not happy. While those details are technically correct, that is not the point of the story! The bottom line of the story is actually “The seriousness of losing your relationship with God”. At one point, they walked and talked with God in the garden. After they disobeyed it says, “The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden… and they hid from the Lord” (Genesis 3:8). Later it says that, “The Lord banished them from the Garden of Eden” (3:23) and placed a guard at the gate to ke...