Well, we are in the book of Numbers this week in our read through the Bible.  And the theme that you will see time and time again is complaining.  Even with the cloud of God’s presence visible night and day and directly directing them, they still did not see God’s provision and presence.  But complaining is something that is in the nature of all of us.  You do not have to look far to see it in our own lives.   So how do you keep yourself from complaining.  Something we learned (indirectly) on Sunday.  Count your blessings.  Blessings are more fun to count than complaints any way!  And best of all you will never run out of blessings to count so you will never have time to complain.

Another week of wisdom.

This week is Valentines Day and it is a special day to show love.  But this Valentines Day is extra special because it is also the start of Lent.  And while I church does not do much to observe Lent, it still is an important event on the church calendar.  Lent is the 40 days before Easter that helps prepare us for the passion of Christ and the celebration of his resurrection.  So this Valentines Day, do not forgot to express your love to the one who first loved you and sent his Son Jesus to die for you.

Proverbs is an interesting book.  It gives us insight into how God works in human experiences.  However, as I said in my sermon, proverbs are not promises.  They were never intended to be.  Proverbs is man’s way of looking at godly things.  Proverbs are a literary form that expresses perceived truth.  It is not intended to be guarantees or work 100% of the time.  They are like metaphors (in fact there are a lot of metaphors in the book) that put together similar things or traits.  Metaphors are not intended to relate to exactness.  And just as you cannot take metaphors (and other analogous language) to extremes or form concrete conclusions, they give you a general picture by using a variety of imagery.  That being said, there are some proverbs that are more true than others.  But this is because those truths are backed up by other scripture.  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart . . .” (Prov 3:5) has the same command/blessing as “Love the Lord with all your heart . . .” (Matt 22:37)  To do so will bring blessing to your life.

We have made it to week five of our read through the Bible.  Genesis told us the importance of the beginning of the Jewish nation and the promise of the Messiah through Abraham’s seed.  Now as we start to read through Exodus we will see the basis for much of the basis for the salvation that God is going to bring.  Should be enlightening, so keep on reading.

I was reading our reading guide for our five day Bible reading program this morning about Joseph and the wisdom that God gave him.  He did not claim credit for the ability to interpret dreams even though he could have and it would have benefited him in the eyes of Pharaoh.  But Joseph gives credit where credit is due and gave all the glory to God.  I think this is one reason why Pharaoh exalted him.  He saw the wisdom in Joseph that could only come from the divine.  If we want true wisdom, as we learned in Sunday’s message, we to need to realize that it only comes from God.

Hope you all are staying warm this week.  It is cold outside and there were not services this week.

It looks like a lot of people from GMC are joining together to read through the whole Bible in one year.  And it is not too late to start.  We are just into week two and those 5 days that already have passed can easily be caught up.  So do not put it off any longer.  Start today!