Divine Expectation Management

BFB220702 Death of Korah Dathan & Abiram
Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their families are swallowed up by the earth, Gilliam van der Gouwen, after Gerard Hoet, 1728, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Life is an endless series of negotiations. Children and parents negotiate their relationships and boundaries, business partners negotiate contracts, social organizations negotiate bylaws, and nations negotiate treaties. It’s really a matter of reaching agreement about what each party contributes and what each will receive. We know by experience the problems that arise when one or both parties fail to live up to their obligations, but what happens if one of those parties is our Creator?

Numbers 16:1-18:32; 1 Samuel 11:14-12:22; Jeremiah 7:21-25; John 6:67-69; Hebrews 11:23-29

Click here to listen to the podcast: Divine Expectation Management

Click here to download the transcript: Divine Expectation Management.pdf

Music: “Trust & Believe,” Exodus Road Band, Hard Rain, Exodus Road Band 2018. This song and others by Exodus Road Band are available at https://www.exodusroadband.com/. 

Weekly Bible Reading for July 3-9: Chukat (Ordinance Of)

This coming week, July 3-9 (4-10 Tammuz 5782), the Bible reading plan covers the portion Chukat (Ordinance Of).

03 Jul Numbers 19:1-17 Jeremiah 26:1-27:22 1 Cor 9:1-27 Eccl 1:1-18
04 Jul Numbers 19:18-20:6 Jeremiah 28:1-29:32 1 Cor 10:1-23 Eccl 2:1-13
05 Jul Numbers 20:7-13 Jeremiah 30:1-31:14 1 Cor 10:24-11:16 Eccl 2:14-26
06 Jul Numbers 20:14-21 Jeremiah 31:15-40 1 Cor 11:17-34 Eccl 3:1-15
07 Jul Numbers 20:22-21:9 Jeremiah 32:1-44 1 Cor 12:1-28 Eccl 3:16-22
08 Jul Numbers 21:10-20 Jeremiah 33:1-34:22 1 Cor 12:29-13:13 Psalm 102:1-15
09 Jul Numbers 21:21-22:1 Judges 11:1-33 1 Cor 14:1-19 Psalm 102:16-28

The complete annual Bible reading plan for 2021-22 (Hebrew year 5782) is available at this link:

Reunion Roadmap 6/25/2022 – Learning to Be A Kingdom Kid: Kennedy Rios & Susie Boyle, part 2

Everyone is a statistic. It would be best if we were all “good” statistics, meaning law-abiding, God-fearing citizens contributing to their families and communities in positive ways. However, we all fall into the category of “bad” statistics at some point in our lives, and some people never leave that category. Why is that?

In this concluding segment of our visit with Kennedy Rios and Susie Boyle, we probe into that question. Kennedy is working hard to achieve the dreams she has found for her life, but that’s not always the case for people who have come through the challenges she and her siblings have faced. What has made the difference? Kennedy offers some observations from her experience that shed light on that question.

The music of Jimmie Black and Rut Banks powerfully illustrates the life lessons we hear from Kennedy, and from Barry Phillips and David Jones. They examine the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives in a midrash they call “Let the Wind Blow Gideon.” 

How God Sorts Out His Own

BFB220625 Rescuer Port-au-Prince
Rescuer holds a hand of a student survivor of the collapse of La Promesse College, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. UN Photo/Marco Dormino, November 7, 2008, via Flickr.

It’s easy – too easy – to write people off as lost causes when it seems that God is judging them. If it is judgment, then it may be such people are simply suffering the natural consequences of poor choices. But what if the people suffering the most are not the ones who made those choices? And what if those natural consequences doom them to make those same choices and perpetuate the cycle? Do we let them perish, or do we break into their suffering somehow, at least to ease their pain, even if they never find the path to redemption?

Numbers 13:1-15:41; Joshua 2:1-24, 6:22-25; Deuteronomy 7:1-6; Matthew 1:1-6; 2 Timothy 1:3-7 

Click here to listen to the podcast: How God Sorts Out His Own

Click here to download the transcript: How God Sorts Out His Own.pdf

Music: “Forgiveness,” Mason Clover, Perception, Abiron Records 2019. Mason Clover’s music is available at https://www.masonclover.com/. 

Weekly Bible Reading for June 26-July 2: Korach (Korah)

This coming week, June 26-July 2 (27 Sivan-3 Tammuz 5782), the Bible reading plan covers the portion Korach (Korah).

26 Jun Numbers 16:1-13 Jeremiah 15:1-16:21 1 Cor 3:1-23 Psalm 99:1-9
27 Jun Numbers 16:14-19 Jeremiah 17:1-18:23 1 Cor 4:1-21 Proverbs 30:1-9
28 Jun Numbers 16:20-43 Jeremiah 19:1-21:14 1 Cor 5:1-13 Proverbs 30:10-17
29 Jun Numbers 16:44-50 Jeremiah 22:1-23:8 1 Cor 6:1-20 Proverbs 30:18-23
30 Jun Numbers 17:1-9 Jeremiah 23:9-24:10 1 Cor 7:1-24 Proverbs 30:24-33
01 Jul Numbers 17:10-18:20 Jeremiah 25:1-38 1 Cor 7:24-40 Psalm 100:1-5
02 Jul Numbers 18:21-32 1 Samuel 11:14-12:22 1 Cor 8:1-13 Psalm 101:1-8

The complete annual Bible reading plan for 2021-22 (Hebrew year 5782) is available at this link:

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