I love Google Maps for the iPhone.  You just plug in where you want to go and it takes you there.  All you need to know is your current location and you are on your way.  Where you want to go and where you are starting from is so easy. This morning we are looking at John 14:1-6.  The passage is from Jesus’ departing words to the disciples.  While he knows they are not his last words because he knows he will see them again after the resurrection, these are his last words to them in this life. 1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a];…

1. I’m not sure why we have so little recorded about the forty days Jesus had with the disciples between his resurrection and the beginning of Acts.  I cannot imagine what the questions must have been or what it meant to have time with a man who had been dead but was now alive again.  It looks like he would come and go periodically and while he was with them he would speak about the kingdom of God.  I wonder if he continued to use parables or if he was more direct like he was with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus?  Whatever the case, it was clear…

1. These are the final chapters in the story of Nehemiah and the restoration of Jerusalem after the return from Exile.  You’ll remember from the first lesson that Nehemiah heard about the plight of the returned exiles when his brother returned from a trip to Jerusalem.  First, he wept, then he prayed and fasted for days before doing anything.  He evaluated his capacity (cupbearer to the king) and then waited for four months before doing anything at all except pray.  He grew increasingly committed and it became obvious to people around him. After four months he recruited a partner (the king) who had resources.  Then, for five years he prepared…

I met with a ministry this week whose situation reminded me so much of Nehemiah’s challenge.  He was having to rebuild an organization from the ground up with resistance from both the inside and outside.  It was wearing him down.  He was dependent on a single donor.  His board had very little sense of responsibility.  His people were fearful and comfortable with the situation.  The previous leadership had created a culture of entitlement and low standards. In Chapter 1 and 2 of the book we read the story and the response of Nehemiah to the situation in Jerusalem.  When he heard the news about the state of Jerusalem and those…

In the last several weeks we have been in the life of Jacob.  He has stolen a blessing, duped his father-in-law, run from his brother, wrestled with an angel, been crippled, lost his favorite child and , last week, moved to Egypt so his family and tribe could survive.  This week Jacob is dying. Dying was different then.  It was talked about differently.  People talked about being “gathered to my fathers” which meant even in death you were a part of a larger family and you were taught your whole life that even in death you had certain responsibilities toward the family that remained – especially if you were the…

If you could divide your adult life into four stages how would you do that? Marriage, first job, kids, retirement? There are probably any number of ways we mark transitions and it was the same in Jacob’s life ­ except a little more dramatic. His life is marked by four encounters with God at different times in his life. But, they share one thing in common. They all come at a time when he is running from someone or about to be on the move. God never says to him, “Stay where you are and keep doing what you are doing.” The first time in Chapter 28 he is on…

If you visit Elk Lake, Minnesota and the headwaters of the Mississippi you will see a stream that is about 20 feet across and 2 feet deep. It flows about 6 cubic feet per second. Sometimes it is so obscured by reeds that people lose sight of the stream altogether. But if you keep going for 2,300 miles you will end up in New Orleans where the Mississippi is 200 feet deep and 7600 feet wide. The flow has increased from 6 cubic feet per second to 12,000 cubic feet per second. It’s one of the largest rivers in the world that begins from a very unremarkable source. Stories about…

After 70 years in Babylonia, Cyrus, the King of Persia issues a decree that the Jews who wish to return to Judah are free to do so.  While Nebuchadnezzar’s policy was to completely conquer nations and bring people to Babylonia in exile, the Persians allowed conquered nations to become client states or colonies.  The book of Nehemiah is the history of the return and the rebuilding of the city. So we read in Ezra an account of those who returned.  After 70 years, not everyone wanted to return, of course.  People had lived their whole lives there and had no interest in uprooting and rebuilding.  They had no connection to…

While in the Navy I was assigned as a “yeoman”.  That means I was a clerk/typist.  I had a specialty in that I served as a legal typist and part of those duties were compiling Officer Fitness Reports.  OFR’s were a very important part of an officer’s career and while very rarely were negative comments made, the underperforming officers were described in ways that everyone knew they were not getting the best marks.  It was what Shakespeare described as “damning with faint praise.”  You might say things like “Lieutenant Jones has the potential to become a capable officer and pilot.” Abraham Lincoln reportedly asked Thaddeus Stevens about the honesty of Simon…

It’s important to understand the centuries long history between the Midianites and Israel.   Even though Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, was a Midianite there was always tension between the two peoples.  But, the real dispute is recorded in Numbers 25.  Midianite women were seducing Israelite men by inviting them to worship the local gods.  In response, Moses instructs the leaders to kill all the men who have been led away.  Then we read a passage that is eerily like what we read about the terrorists in Paris this week. Numbers 25:6: “Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole…