When we need to get going on our Saturday errands, time is of the essence to me. Of course, that coffee pot just won't finish brewing. My wife looked great before she got all done up, so why bother? The other drivers on the road all all too slow... except the ones who drive like maniacs, of course. To get $10 of gas into my car takes too long, but not as long as it used to. And just as soon as we're on our way, a small voice comes from the backseat, "I have to go to the bathroom." It can be infuriating!

I still remember a song from an album my parents got for me when I was younger. "Have patience. Don't be in such a hurry. When you get impatient, you always start to worry." That song used to drive me crazy. A little insider information: That song is now used to drive my son crazy.

But what's the big deal? We can be joyful, peaceful and loving, just in a bit of a hurry, right? Well, yes, but if your trust in God is only to the point of meeting those three goals, you have a ways to go. Remember from our reading that everything good happenes in God's time, not man's. Even setbacks such as Joseph's are for a reason. He spent years in dark dungeons, doing essentially nothing, until God decided the time was right for him to rescue the known world from certain starvation.

From the Lord's Prayer, "thy will be done" is big here. It's not just that God's will needs to be done, it also will be done at a time of God's choosing. So have faith, drive the speed limit, and take time from your hectic schedule so God can show you how wonderful it all really is!

Yours in Christ,

---

What a rout! Gideon and his force manhandled the entire army and punished those who had denied his men food. Gideon then made an ephod - a type of idol - which led to his downfall. Let me get this straight. The God of Gideon's forefathers sent a message directly to him, proved that He would be with him, told him to reduce his army to a pitiful level and enter the battle, and fought for him. Then Gideon turned down a kingship saying that God should be the only ruler in Israel. After all of this, he made an idol for himself and the rest of Israel to worship? I don't understand this guy.

Day 2

Abimelech sure was a jerk, wasn't he? It served him right to be felled by a woman and killed by his own armor-bearer. And when he was gone, his army dissolved. The innocent blood he shed was paid for in full by the actions of an innocent woman.
Jephthah was a mighty warrior, but his heritage had worked against him. When the time came that his military skills were needed, though, he was a big enough man to stand up and proclaim the power of God. He was not only a mighty warrior, he was also true to his word. To hold course in his promise, he had to kill his only child, a daughter that would never marry. His faith is refreshing, but the promise he made was not one he wanted to carry out.

Day 3

Now that's what I call revenge. Samson's wife tells the answer to his riddle and he is obliged to produce thirty sets of clothing. Where else would he find clothes but on the backs of his enemies? I'm chuckling right now, actually. And then he sends his new bride away. He may not have realized it, but God's reason for having her in the picture was over, so her "services" were no longer required.

I'm not sure if he truly loved her or if she was just an excuse to kill more Philistines. Whenever Samson needed anything, God provided. The binding on his wrists weren't snapped off from his strength, God caused them to drop off. Strength alone isn't enough to capture 300 foxes alive and keep them all in place long enough to tie them together and attach a torch. Even the jawbone Samson used as a weapon was provided by God.

Day 4

Like so many heroes of the Bible, Samson had a weak side. His was Delilah. Really, he got kind of stupid, if you ask me. He knew that the Philistines wanted him captured and killed, and this woman was asking him how that might be accomplished. Duh. He told her a lie about how it may be done and she tied him up with Philistines in the same room while he slept. What that means is that he had to have found out her deception to him. Why did he return to her?

Eventually he told her the truth of his strength. Keep in mind that this was after she proved to him her un-trustworthiness no less than three times. His lustfulness was his downfall. He was captured and imprisoned, but did get some revenge at the end. Samson is one of the better known characters in the Bible, but I don't think he is one we really want to emulate.

He was one of the judges, though, and the following chapter definately shows why the judges were necessary. They weren't perfect, but the people they watched over were downright pitiful!

Day 5

What a mess! A Levite was seeking his fleeing concubine and found her after some delay. She was later killed by a mob of men who had wanted to perform some disgusting acts with the man. This sparked a war of Israelites against Benjaminites, who were also Israelites if you recall.

God delivered the Benjaminites into the hands of the Israelites and they were nearly wiped out. I did chucle a bit about the way they ended up preserving the line of the defeated Benjaminites, though. Telling them to kidnap a woman and take her for a wife brings up images of cavemen bonking women over their heads and dragging them off by their hair. I'm not saying that it was funny, but it was a bit absurd, in my opinion.

Day 6

Hold on to your hats! We're going to race through Ruth today. Ruth was the daughter-in-law of Elimelech and Naomi, living in Bethlehem with her married family at the beginning of her story. A famine caused them to flee the area, and in that time all of the men in the family had died, which was a pretty sobering situation for three widows in those times. They couldn't go out and work like a man could. They were suddenly cast in the role of beggers, trying to survive as best they could untill they were redeemed - married to someone who would support them and have children with them.

If you notice, Ruth a gentile - not a Jew. She was also just a couple generations removed from David. Jesus was a descendant of David. This is one of two recorded gentile women who were ancestors of Jesus. Ruth was a virtuous woman. She followed the men in the fields without asking them to aid her. She didn't realize it, but Boaz, the owner of the field, had instructed the men to be a bit careless with there harvest, so she could have extra. What a wonderful man!

Another note, Boaz said that she was a good woman. She didn't mention that to Naomi, though. This shows her humble spirit. To be honest, I read this book and wondered what kind of lessons gould be learned from Ruth's experience. Looking back, I see her willingness to reject the false gods she grew up with, her committment to care for her nother-in-law, her dilligence in work, her humbleness. Let's just say that this was a great woman. Nobody was truely worthy to be an ancestor to Jesus, but her virtues make her as good a cantidate that I've seen!

Day 7

Here we have more of the genealogy that is so hard for me to write about. To be honest, I don't know what lessons they have on their own. Of course, they support the rest of the Bible and show lineages that were so important in those times. The birth of the Messiah was to be of the house and lineage of David, Davids ancestry was not always the best, so on and so forth.

But toward the end, we come across the parents of Samuel. His father, Elkanah, had two wives, and their family chemistry was rather acidic, to say the least! Elkanah had children through Peninnah, but not Hannah. Elkanah loved Hannah as much as Peninnah, perhaps more. He gave her a double portion of the meat to her compared to his wife with children. I'm sure Peninnah resented this, because she would mercilessly taunt Hannah about this. More to follow!

Weekly Link http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/top100.html It's coming up! The wackiest "holiday" of the year! April Fools Day! I've never been very good about getting my pranks together beforehand. The good ones always take so much preperation and misdirection. Ideally, you would begin the preparation weeks in advance, but I never think about it until it's too late. Perhaps I'll be able to orchestrate a prank someday that makes it to this list. The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest of 1957 tops the list. I couldn't believe that ever worked! I do remember the The Taco Liberty Bell incident of 1996 also. Taco Bell announced that it had purchased the Liberty Bell and renamed it. Talk about a ruckuss! The Left Handed Burger King Whopper was another masterstroke! Perhaps I'll stay home this Tuesday and watch commercials to see if I can spot the next good one... maybe not.

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Thanks for sharing my goal of reading the Bible in its entirety this year!