God is faithful within Christian community

What an adventure it is to be reading the Bible – isn’t it? And I love that I am not doing it alone, but with you! It is helpful knowing others are reading along with me and the conversations have been delightful.

If you are caught up with the readings this week they sure have been interesting, haven’t they? For instance, I find it interesting that after giving Moses the Ten Commandments God goes on (on on) with a great number of very specific rules and laws. How in the world did Moses remember them all? I found it interesting that God gave such specific instructions for building the temple. And by the way, what is acacia wood anyway?

Beyond what I found interesting, I discovered kindred spirits in the Israelites. I was amazed at how quickly they forgot what it felt like to be oppressed and how quickly they forgot God’s faithfulness in delivering them. That when faced with difficulty and hunger in the midst of the unknown – they wanted to go back to slavery. You’d think after walking through the Red Sea they would know that God could and would take care of them! And yet, I, too, often forget – that just as God has been faithful to me in the past – God will be faithful to me in the unknown of the future (no matter how scary it gets)!

But what touched my heart the most this week – was in Chapter 17 when Israel was fighting Amalek. Remember? As long as Moses held up his hand – the Israelites were winning the battle – but when he lowered his hand, Amalek would begin to win the battle. And when his hands grew tired Aaron and Hur held up his hands until sunset, until the Israelites had victory. What a beautiful image of the Christian community as we love and care for one another! I am grateful for the Aarons and Hurs in my life – that hold me up when I am tired. And I pray that I am a faithful Aaron and Hur to those around me. - Wendy Cordova, pastor of Evangelism and Lay Ministry

Let's Keep Reading

19 days and reading where I am supposed to be! I feel good about that. You know, I have never read through the Bible in a year, either. Just like many of you, I have set out to do it, but something has always gotten in the way. Usually well before day 19! Psychologists say it takes three weeks to create a new habit. I am hoping that I am almost to the habit-forming stage of reading each day. I am looking forward to continuing to see new things about God in the biblical story each week as I practice my new habit of reading through the Bible in a year.

This week, we are finishing Genesis and beginning Exodus. We began in a garden and now find ourselves enslaved in Egypt. Isn’t it interesting that with one sentence, "Now a new king came to power in Egypt who didn’t know Joseph." (Ex. 1:8) a place of refuge and restoration becomes one of oppression and misery? I wonder how many of us have found ourselves in a similar situation? We flee to a place that we believe will provide a safe haven, only to find that we have entrusted our lives to the wrong place and the wrong people. In the case of the Israelites, two generations had lived in Egypt growing and multiplying until their sheer numbers threatened the Pharaoh’s sense of security and power. From there, the story takes a dramatic turn toward continual hardship, cruelty and even mass murder. Not a very hope-filled future for the heirs to God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.

But God hears, remembers and looks down on the Hebrews. And God acts. As is God’s way, it is through the ordinary that something extraordinary happens. Shiphrah, Puah, Miriam, and her mother, the pharaoh’s daughter, even Moses – ordinary people who respond in extraordinary ways - ensure that God’s promises and hopes for the people are not thwarted. This is one of my favorite things about God. I love how God takes the least likely and invites them to play important roles in God’s story. Right from the beginning, God has wanted relationship and partnership with us in the grand plan of creation. I can’t tell you how it feels to know in my heart that God has invited me, even me, to play a part that only I can fill. And God has done the same for you.

So let’s keep reading! Where will the story take us next? Don’t be discouraged if you miss a day, or two. Jump back in. This is an adventure that just gets better and better. - Debby Fox, Pastor of Christian Education and Discipleship.

Read The Bible in a Year

Reading through the Bible is going well for me. So far I’m on schedule. Sharon and I are reading it aloud on most mornings. Occasionally, we are doing it separate due to our schedules. In reading Genesis I’m amazed at God’s grace. There is real ‘misbehavior’ that seems to happen in every day’s reading. There is lying and cheating and conniving. There are power struggles and sexual sin and the sin list seems never ending. And yet God doesn’t give up completely on humanity. Yes, he deals with Noah and the flood but doesn’t give up on the possibility that the human race can head off into a healthier direction. I am amazed at God’s grace from Adam and Eve’s rebellion all the way through to Jacob and Esau’s enormous sibling rivalry. I stand amazed at God’s patience and God’s decision to not give up on humanity.

I am reminded, too, that there will always be some questions that go unanswered for me. Three times husbands pass off their wives as sisters just to save their own skin (Abraham twice—poor Sarah, and Isaac once). I know this is cultural and dated, but I can’t imagine doing such a thing. Noah getting drunk and being naked—what’s up with that? I have an idea but not so sure about that one. Jacob sure was an opportunist against his brother Esau but not without his mother, Rebekah’s conniving. Come on, Rebekah, you know better than that! I was glad when Laban gave Jacob a dose of his own medicine but 20 years' worth seemed a bit much to me. I felt the anger in today’s reading by the brothers when they heard of the rape of Dinah. They devised a pretty good plan of retribution, but I have to agree with Jacob when in essence he conveys the attitude, "Is this any way for God’s people to behave? Be careful how you respond to situations—regardless how bad the behavior has been, because the payback can be long and painful!" Jacob knows this from personal experience.

This story of God and God’s people is certainly full of all kinds of relationships. But overwhelming me is the grace of God. He could have given up on the human project and gone on to other places but God sticks with us—God believes something in us that we’ve yet to see in ourselves. I’ll read on. - Terry Walton, Senior Pastor, GFUMC