Reading 21: Numbers 11 (Yes, I'm a day behind.....)

Moses is struggling under the burden of sole leadership. And asks the Lord to either kill him or send him some help.

As leaders, we've all been there. Sometimes we're there more than once.

Moses has to bring 70 people to recieve the Spirit to be leaders, even the ones who were too busy for the meeting still get the job!

It's interesting how the people of the camp are unsettled by the new leaders. Sometimes people have a hard time not just taking on leadership, but accepting shared leadership.

The Catastrophe Sent By God

Reading 8: Genesis 19

Lot hesitated twice. Twice. And he still ended up in the mountains. He lost a wife, 2 son-in-laws, and who knows how many friends and colleagues.

What a tough moment. Once again, God has become so fed up with a portion of His creation that His choice is to do away with it. To utterly destroy it.

I don't find Lot (or his family) to be the most positive of role models. Lot offered his daughters to be violated, his wife clearly disobeyed the angels, Lot's son in laws don't take the threat seriously, Lot argued with the angels (who argues with angels???), and his daughters decided to empregnate themselves through trickery. Interesting bunch, aren't they?

Yet the poinangt part, for me, is the fact that God kept to His promise. He promised Abraham that He would not destroy Lot, that Lot would be spared this catastrophe of raining sulfur. (Unfortunately, Lot created his own personal catastrophe, even as the angels personally escorted his family to safety)

How often do I hesitate to heed God's protecting command? How often to I shamefully beg for a different decision? Really, am I any better than Lot and his family? Sadly, usually not. But the magnificent part is that God is always the same!

Under Water

Reading 5: Genesis 7

"Build an arky, arky!"

The flood waters came and everything was gone. The "slate" was wiped clean, and we started over.

It's interesting that we don't necessarily associate getting rid of something completely as a "mature" way of dealing with a problem. Yet here, God got rid of everything as the best way to deal with the issue that was happening: man's increasing wickedness.

In ministry, we all too often fight tooth and nail to hold onto something that really should be let go. Perhaps there are moments when we need to let it go, wipe the slate clean, and start fresh? That kind of decision is not made lightly (God didn't just jump to the flood, He tried other things see Genesis 6.) It's not an endorsement to cancel whatever it is you're doing that's not working. It's not an excuse to give up on trying to work things out and make amends. But there must come a point when you realize that it's not working, it's time to start over.

Crouching at the door

Reading 4: Genesis 4

Cain and Abel. The first reported sibling rivalry.

We're never told exactly what was wrong with Cain's offering to God. There aren't any "laws" at this point in the story, so the brothers are choosing to give God an offering. We're merely given the description of the two's offerings. Abel: fat portions from the firstborn of his flock, Cain: fruits of the soil. We are just told that God looked with favor on Abel and not on Cain. But, why?

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.

Maybe Cain knew all along what he was supposed to do? Maybe he knew that his offering was not a real "offering" but a mere duty? He gave while his heart harbored sin. And God does not look lightly on hearts harboring sin.

My offering...what kind of attitude is it given with? Do I do so out of duty, because it's "my job", or do I do so because it's the right thing to do?

Other points that caught my attention:

1. Were there people living outside of the garden? Adam & Eve's first recorded sons are Cain and Abel, so why is Cain afraid of people that will kill him when God sends him away??.....

2. Lamech, o Lamech. It's such a odd, random story. Just a few verses, why is it even in there? I once tried to do some back ground on it, and found relatively nothing. It's just odd to me that he would claim the same "protection" that Cain was granted merely for being family. Perhaps Lamech is included to demonstrate the continuance of ruthlessness and aggression within the family?

The Story Begins

Reading 1: Genesis 1

It's always a struggle to not just skim through relatively familiar passages of Scripture. As I start this 'adventure' of letting God turn my life around, I want to make sure that I don't miss anything. I have to be paying attention if I'm going to see God do His 'brand new thing' (Isaiah 43: 16 - 19).

So, Genesis 1. The story of creation, the story of the beginning. As I continue to read through the rest of the 179 days remaining, why does God start His story this way?

Besides the fact that every story must have a beginning, I think that God is setting up a model of how He works.

Note how God's Spirit was always there. He was hovering above the surface. God is always here. He's always present. We don't have to find Him, we have to pay attention and SEE Him.

Note the order, rather than chaos that He creates. He takes nothing and makes something. I can attest in my own life that He took nothing and created something, something with purpose and direction only given by Him. He brought me out of the chaos.

He also called everything GOOD. In God's eyes, all of His creation is good. ALL of His creation was formed by His hands and His work. And He said it was good.

I also noticed that God typically only worked on one project a 'day'. That could be a major lesson for me. Too often I try to take on lots of various things, and end up frustrated at the end of the day when I've not finished any of them.

As I continue to read, I wonder how these themes will pop up again???