Scripture: Exodus 3:7-8
Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”
Thought for the Day: Donna and I have been working with Zach on his Texas History Project. As one who does not know Texas history, there have been numerous learning moments for me in this process. Just yesterday, I was introduced to the XIT Ranch. This 3,000,000 acre ranch was developed as a way of financing the new state capital in 1888. The land was in the panhandle of Texas, along the New Mexico border. In reading different stories about the ranch, it gave me a new appreciation of the importance of land. As a city boy, I don’t have the respect I should for the value and importance of land. I enjoy my home and the little land it sits on, but I do not raise crops or livestock on it. It is not the source of my livelihood or existence. For the ancient Israelites (and others at that time), land was everything. It defined a person in practically every way a person could be defined, and even religions and gods were confined by national borders. In the story of the Exodus, the Lord (Yahweh) rescues an enslaved people who had no place to call their own. The Lord provided them an identity, in part, through a land flowing with milk and honey. In so many places around the globe, there is conflict over land – different people making a historic or religious claim on some parcel of land. In many cases, it is less about the land and more about seeking identity, value and security. How can Christianity help others find their identity apart from a specific plot of land to which two or three or more groups may lay claim? How do you identify yourself? Is it simply by the land you own, the state or country you live in, or does your true identity and value as a human being come from somewhere else or someone else?
Prayer: Lord God, help me to better understand who I am and the value I have as one of your beloved children. Help me to fully embrace this joyous gift, and then to help others find their identity and value, while also finding them a place where they can live secure. Amen.
STUDY: The Shadow of a Doubt
Today at 7pm
The Tuesday Group
Session 2
Tomorrow at Noon & 6:30pm
The Wednesday Groups
Session 3
