Growin' Up Gregory

In Moses' absence, we have seen the Israelites quickly turn away from God and begin to form idols to worship instead of remembering the commands and promises of the one true God.  So what happens next?  What happens once we begin to idolize something and place it over God in our life? In Exodus 32:7-10, as the people are worshipping the golden calf at the base of the mountain, the Lord says to Moses, "Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.  They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them.  They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped and sacrificed to it and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel!' "  The Lord continues, "I have seen this people and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.  Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you." A lot of times, when Thomas is

Think about your favorite athlete, TV personality, or celebrity.  It could be a Super Bowl winning quarterback, a player with an enviable work ethic, or someone with success and popularity beyond our wildest dreams.  Think about what it would be like to hang out with someone like this.  Now ask yourself, "Do I tend to idolize individuals like this or put them on a pedestal?" It's fine and good to have role models and to appreciate someone's talent and work ethic.  But there is a difference between appreciation and worship.  How do these athletes and celebrities compare to God?  Does he value them more because of their name or position?  Remember that God is the only one deserving of our worship and we need to ask Him to remove any idols from our lives.  Most church people would scoff at the notion that they have an idol.  But how does it start?  Where does it go?  And what are the consequences?  Let's see how this played out for the Israelites in Exodus 32.

We've seen God's Ten Commandments that tell us how to live in relationship with him and observe the Sabbath.  Now let's look at what he says about how we are to live in relationship to each other. 5. "Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." - Ex 20:12 This is the first commandment given to us regarding our relationships with others.  Why would God place it first?  Because it shows that the family unit is also part of God's creation.  Honoring our parents is a way of showing that we accept and believe in God's design for the family.  Parents are to raise, support, and disciple their children.  But even if they do not, children are still to respect and honor their authority.  We do this by treating our parents with respect now and also by caring for them when the roles are reversed and they are in need of care in their elderly years.  This is also the only command with a promise of God

A zoning ordinance that would allow a bar or tavern to open on Main Street has been in the news for Union recently.  There has been a significant amount of both strong support and strong opposition to this considered amendment.  I am still attempting myself to figure out and comprehend ALL of the facts but here is what I have come to so far. 1.  It my current understand that the present ordinance ALLOWS a restaurant to open on Main Street and serve alcohol.  This misconception is being passed around that alcohol sales are not permitted at all in the City of Union.  You may open a restaurant (key part first) that is focused on food yet serves alcohol.  You may not open a bar or tavern whose primary purpose is the sale and consumption of alcohol.  I have not read all 80 pages of the City's zoning ordinance book online but based on conversations I have had with people that is what I currently understand to be the law.  If I am wrong in that, several of my points must change as well

We saw that the first three of the Ten Commandments centered on our view and relationship with God.  In His fourth commandment, He gives us instruction that has been preached, debated, practiced, and discussed for centuries. 4.  "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant." - Ex 20:8-10 God established the rhythm of life at creation by working the first six days and then resting on the seventh.  No, God did not need to rest, but He rested in order to show us that is necessary for both functionality and enjoyment.  This day of rest also serves as a reminder for both the people of Israel and for us that we are not sustained by our works, but by the mighty hand of God. The question is often asked, 'Is the Sabbath still a command that God expects of us today?

We have all probably wondered what it would be like to be able to live a life doing anything we wanted with no rules and no consequences.  But the fact of the matter is that the rules and laws that we live under are actually there to protect us, not restrict us from enjoying life.  While they may rule out some things, they actually can lead us to much better.  As we look at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), we will see that rules are good.  And God's rules don't just tell us what to do and not to do, they reveal to us who He is, his character, and they should shape our actions and our worship. In the first couple verses (Ex 20:1-2), God reminds the people of who He is and what He's done for them.  The law was never intended to establish a relationship with God.  God prefaced his law by reminding the people of what He had done for them and showing us that who God is serves as the motivation to follow the law.  And the people of Israel would need multiple reminders thr

For several days now God has provided bread for the Israelites to eat, delivering on His promise to Moses earlier in the week and satisfying their grumblings about hunger.  He has provided for His chosen people in miraculous fashion yet again. In today's verses, Exodus 16:22-26, it is now the sixth day and the people have gathered twice as much food.  So much so that the leaders felt it necessary to report this to Moses.  Moses responded telling the people, "This is what the Lord has said: 'Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord.  Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil, and set aside everything left over to be kept until morning.' "  So the people did as Moses commanded and set the leftover food aside until morning, and it did not stink or have maggots in it.  Then Moses told them, "Eat it today because today is a Sabbath to the Lord.  Today you won't find any in the field.  For six days you will gather it, bu

The Israelites, now free, still managed to find something to complain about to God, their hunger in the wilderness.  But God doing what He does, provided for them.  In Exodus 16:11-16, we see how God chooses to respond to these rather ungrateful people.  The Lord tells Moses, "I have heard the complaints of the Israelites.  Tell them: At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full.  Then you will know that I am the Lord your God."  In the evening, quail came and covered the camp.  And in the morning, a layer of dew surrounded the camp.  When the dew evaporated, there was a fine flake-like thing on the ground.  When the Israelites saw it, they asked, "What is it?" because they didn't know what it was.  And Moses answered them, "It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.  This is what the Lord has commanded - 'Gather as much of it as each person needs to eat.  You may take a couple quarts per individual, acco

How do you tend to respond to complainers?  Or when people complain about you, how do you tend to respond?  Are we quick to help someone who's complained about us, or not so much?  Let's be honest, no one likes a complainer.  And we have all have our limits of how much complaining we can take before we lose our patience (and most likely our temper) with someone complaining about us.  If you're like me and someone complains about how I do something, I have no problem simply not doing it at all and allowing them to handle it themselves.   Leading up to this story in Exodus 16, God has protected, provided for, and guided the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.  And yet somehow through all of that, they begin to complain.  Thankfully, God is not like us and He did not give up on His people.  He is patient, kind, and slow to anger (Psalm 145:8).  A month and half departed from Egypt, the Israelites find themselves between Elim and Sinai in the wilderness of Sin.  In the wilder

One of the website writers, Thomas Casale, that I read on fantasy football shared these thoughts this past week...pretty spot on. Everyone is protesting something. I got a text from someone I know telling me we need to protest against ESPN because they didn’t fire a particular host. Here’s the thing: I don’t care. I’m too d@#! old. I’m just trying to survive the week. I’ve had Type I diabetes for 34 years. I have two kids. I just want to make it to the weekend. I’m not going to protest against ESPN. I’m not going to protest against the NFL. I’m not going to protest against Obama. I’m not going to protest against Trump. You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to try to keep my blood sugar under control. I’m going to try to raise my kids the best I can. I’m going to wonder why Jerry Jones can win three playoff games in 20 years and not face more criticism for being the worst GM in the history of the NFL. I’m going to work my butt off. I’m going to root against the New York Y

The Israelites have had a difficult time.  They were oppressed for many years in slavery, finally set free, only to be chased by the Egyptian army and cornered at the Red Sea.  They questioned Moses and God.  But God, doing as He always does, responded to their fears and rescued them. The Israelites have cried, complained, and grumbled to God.  They have faced difficult circumstances and at times even lost hope.  But God has delivered yet again.  In the midst of the people's feat and questioning, God provides an escape.  In Exodus 14:29, "The people of Israel walk on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left."  The Lord saved the Israelites that day and the people saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore as God brought the waters back together through Moses (Ex 14:26-28). God has once again set his people apart.  "By saving His people and judging their enemies, God demonstrated that He can be trusted."  G

We have now seen the Israelites trapped between the Red Sea on one side and the pursuing Egyptian army on the other.  They began to become filled with fear and think irrationally and responded by questioning their leader Moses, and even God himself.  Let's look at how God responded to their fear, and how he responds to our fear today. God's response to the troubled Israelites was not one that we imagine of the typical loving and king Father.  However, his response was quite fair and just.  The Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me?  Tell the people of Israel to go forward" (Ex 14:15).  God was not ignoring the cry of his people, nor was He turning his back on them.  God had already promised to deliver them and He had shown them his power over nature, Pharaoh, and all the false gods of Egypt.  The cry of the Israelites at this juncture demonstrated their lack of faith.  This is the same God who in Exodus 2:23-24 heard the cries of the people groaning because of t

In the previous post, we saw where Moses and the Israelites we seemingly trapped.  They had the Red Sea on one side and were being pursued by the Egyptian army with all its horses and chariots on the other.  The people were fearful, and one could argue rightly so given their circumstances.  But they fear revealed a deeper problem, a lack of faith in God, their deliverer. As the people cried out to Moses saying that it would have been better to live in slavery in Egypt than to die in the wilderness (Ex 14:12), Moses was once again looked upon to lead.  How would he respond in these desperate times?  Moses did what we need more leaders to do today, he pointed them back towards God.  In Exodus 14:13, Moses said, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today."  Moses reminded the people of God's pending deliverance.  God had not brought the people this far from slavery in Egypt and now heading towards freedom to let them down now

Have you ever found yourself in a dilemma that seemed to have no way out?  Every way you looked had signs of danger.  Any choice you considered risked hurting someone you care about and had great risk with no reward in sight.  Many of us have found ourselves in this sort of pickle, trapped between a rock and a hard place. In Exodus 14, the Israelites found themselves in such a situation.  They were fleeing Egypt on foot in pursuit of freedom after Pharaoh had set them free.  But God hardened Pharaoh's heart (Ex 14:4) and he began to pursue the people with his army of horses, chariots, and horsemen.  The Egyptians caught up with the Israelites between Migdol and the Red Sea.  When the Israelites saw the army coming, they cried out to the Lord and questioned Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?"  (Ex 14:10-11). The Israelites had just witnessed God's infinite power by inflicting ten plagues (Ex 7-12