Author: Dave Dishman (Page 370 of 459)

The first to reach the oasis spat out the water – too bitter to drink. A million thirsty people and countless animals waited in the dust and heat. Desperate prayers sounded all around.

The Lord showed Moses a piece of wood. Moses tossed it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. A miracle I tend to overlook as I read through a succession of miracles.

What was in that log?

The scientist part of me wants to know (I do have a biology degree). I notice the Lord often used natural resources to produce miraculous results. Gnats, flies, locusts, hail, five loaves and two fish.

So, how did the wood work? Did the waters froth and boil? What compounds neutralize the bitterness of the water? Did this specific chemical process act in minutes, or hours, or even days?

Too much for me to figure out, but the story makes me grateful for the sweet Colorado water I enjoy from my tap whenever I’m thirsty.

Exodus 15 in week five of reading the Bible cover to cover

In him (Jesus Christ) and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12).

Astounding. With Jesus alongside, we may approach God, the creator and sustainer of the universe.

In no way do I truly understand my good fortune.

I think the first line of an old Scottish hymn: Immortal, invisible God only wise, in light inaccessible hid from our eyes…

What was once off-limits, verboten, do not touch – now opens to you and me, with confidence and freedom, through faith in Jesus Christ.

Week five of reading the Bible cover to cover

(Here’s the hymn sung at a British church)

Pharaoh spent his last night engulfed by an impenetrable darkness, the latest in a series of extraordinary events aimed specifically at him.

Plagues, the death of his first-born, and now a path through the sea. Unconvinced by even the miraculous, the king refused to believe in this Hebrew god. At first light, Pharaoh spurred forward to destruction.

In Pharaoh’s universe, no GOD existed, only gods. The gods existed for him to manipulate and bend to his will. Besides, wasn’t he a god himself? Pharaoh knew how to handle the gods.

Pharaoh never understood. There exists only one GOD, and it’s not Pharaoh or me or you or any other being under the sun. Occasionally our Lord reminds us of this.

And I need these reminders, whether through stories like this one or personal experience, as I’m often tempted to believe the gods work for me.

Exodus 15 in week five of reading the Bible cover to cover.

For me – frogs. Frogs in my kitchen. Frogs in my food. Frogs in my mixing bowls. Frogs floating in my milk when I fix my Cheerios.

I imagine leaping out of bed after a frog glides across my face, landing awkwardly on another, hearing that one squish under my foot, and falling on top of a mound of their cousins. There I am, lying stunned on the floor, surrounded by slimy peepers. I’m surprised Alfred Hitchcock didn’t do a film featuring frogs.

Without argument, the death of the firstborn remains the most devastating plague. I’m thinking of only the first nine when considering my worst.

God’s creativity knows no bounds. When he wants our attention he finds infinite ways to shake us. I so hope the Lord doesn’t turn to frogs the next time I need awakened.

Exodus in week five of reading the Bible cover to cover.