unexpected

God is provocative.

God is provocative.

Ezekiel 5

Okay, this is the second chapter in a row where God has asked Ezekiel to do something that, as a priest, he “shouldn’t” do: “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind.” (vs 1-2)

God loves multiplication.

God loves multiplication.

Isaiah 60

I have seen many stories of late about the declining number of Christians in North America. In recent years, many denominations have been faced with the problem of how to “keep” the members they have, let alone trying to find ways to attract new ones. And now, this year, with all the Covid shutdowns, some churches are in worse shape than ever before!

God makes us complete.

God makes us complete.

Psalm 18

Have you seen the 1996 film Jerry Maguire? There’s a scene from that film that had most women swooning and most men rolling their eyes. It’s where the character played by Tom Cruise looks at his estranged wife, played by Renee Zellweger, and tearfully says, “You…complete…me.” That’s what I thought about when I read today’s psalm in The Message. It rendered verse 20 this way: “God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him.”

God is in the storm.

God is in the storm.

Job 37

It’s interesting, isn’t it, that Elihu spends the last part of chapter 36 and all of this chapter describing a storm. I think he must have been describing an actual storm that was approaching, because in the very next chapter, God speaks to Job out of the storm. In my mind, I could just imagine this grand, glorious storm sweeping across the plain, becoming the backdrop for the next part of Elihu’s speech—the terrible majesty of God. I bet Elihu never expected God to be in the storm.

God specializes in the unexpected.

God specializes in the unexpected.

Job 30

Job is starting to get desperate. He knows his friends are wrong about his condition, but he is growing increasingly frustrated and miserable that God won’t talk to him. He feels abandoned: "I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me." (vs 20)

God reverses fortunes.

God reverses fortunes.

Esther 6

No wonder King Solomon wrote: "Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud." (Prov 16:18-19) This chapter begins the demise of Haman, which has to be one of the most ironic stories in the Bible—perhaps in all of literature! By this time, Haman is so blinded by his own pride that he is completely taken in by its trap and, unfortunately for him, will not escape.

God always has a but.

God always has a but.

Nehemiah 9

Yes, before you get too worked up, observe the spelling of the word "but" in the title. It’s a part of speech, not a part of the body! And it illustrates something wonderful about God—that He is always eager to give us another chance and that He is always willing to forgive, forget, and move on.

In this chapter, as the Israelite exiles recounted the history of God and their nation, there were a lot of buts flying around:

God doesn't always protect us.

God doesn't always protect us.

2 Chronicles 24

I heard a very good sermon recently about how God sometimes protects us in an ultimate, eternal sense by not protecting us physically in the here and now. This, of course, can be a very difficult concept for us to understand and grasp. We tend to want that "instant gratification" sort of protection, and quite often, we’re shocked and grieved when we don’t get it.

God delivers the impossible.

God delivers the impossible.

2 Kings 19

Well, this is certainly a drama-filled chapter in the Bible! Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, has gone around the region, conquering everyone and everything in sight (including Israel!), and now, he was sitting on Jerusalem’s doorstep with 185,000 soldiers, ready to capture Judah as well.

God can restore everything.

God can restore everything.

2 Kings 8

Since I didn’t end up commenting on her in chapter 4, I’m glad the Shunammite woman is back again. You remember her: She was the gal who (along with her husband) built a room in their home for the prophet Elijah. And, in order to repay their kindness, Elijah told the childless couple that they would have a son. This obviously delighted the woman, but it was clear that she didn’t want to get her hopes up. What I really loved about her, though, was what she did when her son died of a head injury several years later. The woman went immediately to Elijah and said, "Did I ask you for a son, my lord? Didn’t I tell you, 'Don’t raise my hopes?'" (2 Kings 4:28)

God changes fortunes in a heartbeat.

God changes fortunes in a heartbeat.

2 Kings 7

A few years ago, our water heater unexpectedly broke, and after some consultation with a plumber, we realized that we would not only have to get a new water heater, but a water softener as well. I just hate it when that happens! If you don’t have money in savings, unexpected expenses like that can really get you down.

God thinks differently than we do.

God thinks differently than we do.

2 Kings 4

Well, this whole chapter was about how God worked miracles through His prophet Elisha. The one that really stuck out to me, though, was the very first story about the widow, her two sons, and the olive oil. Just before creditors were going to come and take her boys into slavery because of their debts, Elisha told her, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side." (vs 3-4)

God is a deliverer.

God is a deliverer.

2 Kings 3

After the death of King Ahab, Mesha king of Moab decided to rebel against Israel. So Jehoram (the new king of Israel), Jehoshaphat (king of Judah), and the king of Edom set out to attack Moab and put down the rebellion. On the way to battle, they ran into quite a problem: "After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them." (vs 9)

God is pure awesomeness.

God is pure awesomeness.

1 Kings 18

At the risk of sounding like a bad flashback from the 80s or 90s, I couldn’t pass this up as the title of today’s blog. This has got to be one of my all-time favorite chapters in the Bible. It seems like I’ve been hearing this story ever since I was a little girl, and it never ceases to amaze me. So, this was a great excuse to sit back and just marvel at God.

Underdogs {gn48}

Photo © Unsplash/Matthew Henry

Photo © Unsplash/Matthew Henry

The last shall be first,
and the first, last.

If Jesus was praised by any
for uttering such
revolutionary ideas,
they unwittingly
exposed
their own ignorance
of Scripture.

The dance of the
last and the first
didn't begin in the Gospels.
It began in Genesis with
the subtle passing over
of the older for the younger,
the giving way
of the greater to the lesser.

Isaac and Ishmael.
Jacob and Esau.
Joseph and his older brothers.
Ephraim and Manasseh.

God must love
a good heel turn.
Blessed are the underdogs,
for they shall
have the last bark.

 

Master Maker {gn39:2}

Photo © Unsplash/Zulmaury Saavedra

Photo © Unsplash/Zulmaury Saavedra

The recurring theme of the Bible is
how the
Lord sticks His divine nose into our
business and turns what
was expected into something
surprising
with no prior warning.
Joseph had been sold as a slave,
so he expected to be treated like
one, but
he didn't act like one. Instead he
succeeded in all he did, because he
determined
in his heart to do
everything he did like a boss. He
decided
he would be the very best slave
those Egyptians ever
did see, and
as he committed all
he did as a slave to the Lord, he
unwittingly
served them as God serves all His
creation. And
in serving even his enemies in this
way, Joseph
the slave became a free man, ruling
over the
house of Potiphar and revealing that
the true Master
of his heart is in no way deficient in
his power, even to this day, to turn
Egyptian oppressors into admirers,
as the slave becomes the
master.