The 100 Year Challenge

The children of Israel were given a great land with wonderful resources. But Moses challenged them to protect their greatest natural resource—their children. He said to them before his death, “Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in [...]

TUESDAY’S NOTES: Blessings & Curses

At first glance, the pronouncement of blessings and curses in Deuteronomy 28 seem to have one purpose—scare the children of Israel into obedience. Moses uses almost four times the space for curses as he does blessings in the text. The threat of punishment is often a greater motivator for obedience than reward. But, is this [...]

TUESDAY’S NOTES: “…the place that the LORD your God will choose…”

It has been months since we had the “Tuesday’s Notes.” I’m hoping to start them back up regularly. Thanks for your patience. –Terry
In our text for the weekly Bible classes here at the East Shelby church, one phrase was repeated numerous times: “…the place that the Lord your God will choose…” The frequency of its [...]

TUESDAY’S NOTES: More Than Enough

Imagine it is next Sunday morning and one of the elders makes the following announcement: “The elders have met and determined that the collection is too much. You have been giving much more than the work needs here. Since there is no way we can scripturally administer all of these funds, we are asking you [...]

TUESDAY NOTES: Do Not Curse Your Leaders

So many laws found in the Old Testament are missed in our readings. Lengthy readings quickly become boring and mundane. Important commands with great applications are missed because they are overlooked by the reader. There is a text in Exodus 22 that seemingly falls into that category:
“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler [...]

TUESDAY NOTES: The Manna Test

And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for [...]

TUESDAY’S NOTES: Excuses, Excuses

Sometimes excuses can be so irrational that they become entertaining. “The dog ate my homework.” “I can’t come to work today because they’re paving my street today and I can’t get out.” “I won’t be there because I stopped at Wal-Mart to get my blood pressure checked and I’m stuck in the machine.” Those are [...]