Let barking dogs both lie and be silent?

Work weeks where a holiday is included always gets me a little off track. I have to check and recheck my calendar to make sure I know what day it is. I'm not sure if that is my internal clock trying to get itself synchronized but it can be a little confusing. However, I did check and I am reporting today to be Wednesday, September 8, 2010. If that doesn't match your calendar then we know one thing for sure: One of us is wrong! But how in the world are you doing, anyway? This has been a really difficult summer with my brother's health crisis and just a myriad of things to deal with. Nothing is more precious than life and God created His human family with this intrinsic value stamped into every life. My brother's situation has brought all the issues involving the sustaining of life into focus. In addition to this crisis we've had to deal with many other piddling issues that while they pale in comparison, they have required time, effort, and resources. Our AC unit failed, $600. My car needed repair, $700. My wife's car needed work, $500. The lawnmower gave up the ghost, $300. And, there were dozens of other unexpected expenses we had to meet. I tell my wife all the time the first thing we can do is to thank God that we can figure out a way to handle these unexpected challenges. Secondly, we can be aware that there will always be these kinds of surprises to take care of, and maybe we can do a better job preparing for them. It just seems that all of these together have made this a summer we are glad to bid our farewell to. I know ending sentences with prepositions is not the best but we're talking here and I am not writing to have my work published. I've tried that a few times over the years and let me tell you one lesson most people learn when they throw their stuff out there, be prepared for REJECTION. That's perhaps why there are so many blogs. They are written by people who were busted when they submitted their stories for consideration. It's a thought.

A couple of things from our current Bible study in our Sunday morning class has jumped out at me. We are working through Exodus verse by verse, having completed Genesis in the same way and it took well over a year to examine that great book. But here in Exodus we have observed how God implemented His promise to set the nation of Israel free from Egyptian bondage. That's a pretty well known story as told in the Ten Commandments movie where Charlton Heston concreted himself as the quintessential Moses. I've often wondered what we will think when we meet the real Moses and he ends up being maybe 5'4" and has no looks that would qualify him for a Hollywood production. When we get near the time when the children of Israel are preparing to leave there are some minute details that really knock my socks off. The Pharaoh had agreed to let some of them go for a short time but Moses continued to demand that he release the entire nation, their families, their herds, everything must go. There's this scene where Pharaoh and Moses are discussing these issues and here's how Moses responded: "not a hoof will be left behind." That struck me as being all inclusive. Then there is the interesting comment by the Lord God of heaven when He tells Moses that as they are leaving, the massive movement of human beings, animals, carts, wagons, supplies, that no Egyptian dog will whimper a bark as they leave. No barking dogs? He said He would do this to show that He was making a distinction between His people and the Egyptians. Think about that. Not one barking dog. You have 600,000 men, plus women and children, plus this massive and loud caravan, but not a single Egyptian dog will bark. Wow! That just knocks me down. Is our God in control of the large, medium, and small things as He executes His plan and purpose? Even down to dealing with the barking dogs my friend! Wow! What a mighty God we serve!

Yeah, I know, some days for me it is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you will get. No. I have never seen the Forest Gump movie but I've heard that quote a few hundred times and I am aware of how it fits the broad variety of issues we all have to deal with each day. You may have had a wonderful summer, one that you will never forget. Mine, as I explained, is not one of those we will etch into the favorite category. Yet, the barking dog account from Exodus tells us that regardless of the big picture and how we view it, our God is at work in the details to accomplish His word and that includes the keeping of every promise He has made. There are still some He has made and will keep pertaining to His chosen people the Jews. There are others where you and I are specifically mentioned as His very own and this gives us hope and a cause for rejoicing as we contemplate His power to do any and all things. I think about the promise Jesus made when He was preparing to leave this world. He said that if He left He would return to get those who were His own, so that they could be with Him in that place He has prepared for them. (John 14) To sum it up we can be assured of His love when we read about the day that one of His very own finishes the life He gives to us here on earth, and we then leave to be in His presence, here's what He has to say about that moment: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." (Psalm 116:15) That sight is no small thing either from an All-Seeing God, one who can command the Egyptian dogs to hold their tongues even when the Israeli dogs are yapping up a storm. He so loves His own that He anticipates our arrival on the other side. Jesus said we should comfort one another with these words. I do pray that you will be comforted as you think about these precious promises, and if you have never surrendered your life to Jesus, He invites you at this very moment to come and His invitation has this as a promise: "Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." It has to come from the heart not just a mouthing of the words, but He is there for any and all who come. Do we serve a great God, or what? Amen. .......More later.