Musings From A Rolling Eyed Turtle

We love before and after stories.  Whether its weight loss or rags to riches or breaking out of addictions or home makeover episodes on TV, we love to see those big changes.  And the greater the change from the before to the after, the more compelling and thrilling the story is. But some of the most compelling and thrilling before and afters are actually found in the Bible.  Take these for example: Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  (1 Peter 2:10) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  (2 Cor 5:17) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  (Eph 2:13) Did you catch those before and afters?  Allow me to summarize them and use bullet points for clarity: Not a people, now God’s people; Had not received mercy, but now hav...

In the past two years, many have felt restrained and confined while living under this still present dark cloud of COVID.  Perhaps it’s been through the:   ·          Social distancing and the unintended consequences it’s had on relationships;   ·          Shelter at home orders or the lockdowns that ended up isolating people;   ·          Requirements of wearing face coverings that diminished our ability to communicate;   ·          Vaccination mandates that have put some at risk of losing employment.   Restrained and confined, it sounds like and actually fits the definition for the word “prisoner”. This word “prisoner” appears in Zechariah 9:12 (ESV).  Some versions have translated the word as “captives” or “exiles” or even “hostages”.  None particularly sound like so...

Our daughter-in-law’s grandfather recently passed away. He was well loved and will be greatly missed. Family and friends held a memorial service for him. During the memorial, many very honoring things were said about his life, his faith and his service to the Lord. He definitely left a godly heritage. Contrast him with this man (from 2 Chronicles 21):  He took control of his father’s kingdom and became powerful. Then he killed all his brothers, as well as some of the officials of Israel.  He did evil in the eyes of the LORD.  He rejected the LORD God of his ancestors.  He built high places on the hills of Judah and caused the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves.  He led Judah astray. This man was a king. His name was Jehoram. The account says that at the time of his death, he wasn’t honored with a funeral fire as was his predecessors. In fact, he wasn’t even buried in the tomb of kings even though he had been a king. But even more sad is this glimpse into how well the peo...

It’s Valentines Day! Ok, so what does that mean? From one perspective, it’s a commercial celebration of romance and love that includes giving greeting cards and gifts. From a slightly more crass perspective, it is a commercial exploitation of romance and love that includes giving greeting cards and gifts. Perhaps a more gracious perspective is that it’s a day set aside for people to express their affection to one another by giving gifts. Regardless of how you view it, you might tend to agree that love is often misunderstood.  And how could it not be!  After all, we talk about falling in love.  We talk about love at first sight.  We talk about making love.  We talk about how much we love ice cream! So how would you view and understand the word “love” in conjunction with the follow words and phrases?   Be very careful;   Be very diligent;   Take utmost care;   Take good heed;   Take d...

In my last post, I wrote about a city where I would like to be from.  It’s this one: “The circumference of the city will be 6 miles.  The name of the city from that day forward will be: ‘The   Lord   Is There.’”   (Ezekiel 48:35) You might wonder, why would a specific city be named “The Lord is There”?  Does this mean that the city is the only place where the Lord is?  Many theologians believe that the Bible teaches that God is everywhere (omnipresent).  And, based on the following verses, you can see why they have come to that conclusion:   Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.   (Jer 23:24)   But will God indeed dwell on the earth?   Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!   (1 Ki 8:27)   Know therefore toda...

“Where are you from?” Sometimes it’s just a conversational question and sometimes it’s asked with genuine interest.  If you ask me where I’m from, I’m not sure how to answer since I’ve lived in lots of places. I’ve lived in towns near some areas with incredible natural beauty:   Ø   Federal Way , Washington (a short drive to Mount Rainier National Park ) Ø   Flagstaff , Arizona (a short drive to the Grand Canyon )   I’ve lived in some metropolitan areas that have everything you could ever need:   Ø   Kent , Washington ( Seattle area) Ø   Tempe , Arizona ( Phoenix area)   I’ve lived in some towns with unique names:   Ø   Oroville , California Ø   Apace Junction, Arizona Ø   Philomath , Oregon Ø   Dubuque , Iowa   All are nice places to be from.   But there is one city I really want to be from and it’s this one:   “ The circumference of the city will be 6 mil...

“Where are you?” If you are the one asking and you already know the answer, why would you ask? More so, if you were God and you knew everything, why would you be asking? Some context might be helpful to shed some light on this:  there were these two people and they disobeyed God by doing exactly what they were told not to do.  Then, when they heard the sound of God walking in the garden to spend time with them, they hid. That’s when God asked:  “where are you” (Gen 3:9).  But wouldn’t God have known where they were hiding?  Of course He would have!  And the question probably was not just about location, it was likely also about why they were hiding.  From the account, we find the why aspect of the question was there because these two people were experiencing fear and shame.  Neither had experienced these before and their initial response to them was to hide from the One they had disobeyed. While God know all along what the answers were, perhaps He...