A Time to Be Silent, Maybe

I’m still ruminating on this verse from last week’s post: The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:14). And then there’s this: There is a time for everything…a time to be silent and a time to speak (Ecclesiastes 3:1a, 7b).

Consider this situation…

Luke 22:47-23:12.

The temple guards seized Jesus on the Mount of Olives and took him to the high priest’s house. After the guards mocked and beat him through the night, the religious leadership in Jerusalem interrogated Him briefly then took Him to stand before Pilate, the Roman governor of the region.

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Moses Didn’t Part the Red Sea

Moses stood on an outcropping of rock beside the Red Sea.* Below him, the Israelites paced, wrung their hands, and threw glances up at him. Pharaoh’s army was closing in behind them, and there were no boats to ferry more than a million people (Exodus 12:37-38) plus all their animals across this deep body of water. As evening approached, Moses lifted his hand out toward the sea and a strong east wind blew across the waters. Within a few hours, the water was gone, and the Israelites walked across the sea bed like it was an empty Wal-mart parking lot.

All the pictures, all the movies, and all the Bible storybooks—even the way we tell the story—would have us think Moses parted the Red Sea, but it wasn’t him.

Stay in Your Lane!

Shortly after I turned fifteen, my Dad sat me behind the wheel of his big Ford truck, with its manual transmission and this lowest gear he called “bulldog gear.” It was almost impossible to kill the engine on that thing. Even though I’d driven a go-cart for years and the riding lawnmower for even longer (that’s another story altogether), nothing had prepared me for the frightening power of this truck. It took me a long time to learn how to control the truck rather than the truck controlling me.

One problem in driving plagued me for months, a problem unique to drivers of manual transmissions.

Summer Review: Peter

We’re moving this week, and I just can’t settle my mind enough to write. I keep thinking of what to pack next or what needs cleaned at our new place. Plus, last week’s post about Peter is still on my mind. So I’ve gone back in the archives and cleaned up a few other posts about Peter to share with you today. I hope you find something you haven’t read previously or something the Lord wants to use in your life right now. Choose one–or all!–to read.

Watching and Waiting

The guard stands in the tower, eyes cast downward, searching through the thick night for any change, ears tuned for any out-of-the-ordinary noise. He raises his eyes to the distant mountains, their peaks muted by the sameness of the sky. He leans against the edge of the window for a moment, but he cannot relax. He will not descend until the sun ascends.

watchmen’s tower in the Middle East (c) Carole Sparks

Even in the deepest, loneliest part of the night, the guard never doubts the rising of the sun. With absolute confidence, he glances to the east for a moment, eager to catch the first graying of the dark sky, the first dimming of the stars.

Escaping Stereotypes

I can’t speak for everyone, but in my experience, our brains automatically stereotype based on personal observation and experience. What image comes to mind with each of these?

• professional basketball player
• soccer mom
• construction worker
• woman missionary
• minister’s or pastor’s wife

If I asked for an image of a “dogwood flower,” you probably think of the white flower above (calm, pure, little tinge of pink on the edges), but the riotously-fuchsia flower on the left is just as much a dogwood as the white one!

Growing up, I had a really strong image of what a minister’s wife was “supposed” to do and look like. Because my own life and personality were so far removed from that stereotype, I struggled when that role became mine.

This month on Pastor’s Wives, I talk about it. Catch the post here, then leave a comment over there or come back and talk to me here. I’d love to hear what you think. Am I right in my advice? What would you add or take away?

God always knew you would be a #pastorswife, and yet He made you this way anyway! (click to tweet)

It’s in the Transitions…

Mark 1.

As John pulled Jesus up out of the water at His baptism, the Spirit of God came down on Him and a voice—the voice of God!!—said, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). God was happy with the adult Jesus, with Who He had become in the thirty years of His life on earth.

Here’s a picture-perfect moment: Jesus dripping wet and blinking a little to clear the water from His eyes, the clouds parting and the sun shining through