rebuke x 5

65. Deuteronomy 1

There are a couple interesting things about the first verse of the book of Deuteronomy. First, Moses calls together all of Israel for a nationwide rebuke. He didn't call some or just the heads of the families, he speaks to all Israel. There should be no question as to who Moses is speaking to, it is everyone. Second, Moses alludes to the times when the Israelites had angered God. He names the five places where these things happened. So standing before the entire nation Moses simply mentions the places where these things had happened - no need to expound - they obviously knew the offenses they had committed and would be reminded of them by the mentioning of the places where they had happened. For our benefit here they are...

1.in the desert - he rebuked them for their having angered God in the desert by saying, “If only we had died [by the hand of God]” (Exod. 16:3).
2.opposite the red sea - He rebuked them regarding their rebellion at the Red Sea. When they arrived at the Red Sea, they said, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us to die in the desert?” (Exod. 14:11)
3.between Paran and Tofel and Lavan - he rebuked them because of the foolish things they had said about the manna, which was white, saying “And our soul loathes this light bread” (Num. 21:5), and because of what they had done in the desert of Paran through the spies.
4.at Hazeroth - Concerning the insurrection of Korach which took place in Hazeroth
5.and Di-Zahav - He rebuked them for the calf they had made as a result of their abundance of gold, as it is said: “and I gave her much silver and gold, but they made it for Baal” (Hosea 2:10).

new chapter

It has been a month since I have written anything here and a lot has happened during that time for our family. Probably all six of you who read this blog know that Bonnie and I will be starting a new chapter in our lives starting in August. We have accepted the challenge to plant a church in New Bern, NC. We were not really looking to move to NC, but agreed to pray about the possibility and here we go. After a month of prayer and talking to folks about this idea God challenged us to go. Since we said, "Yes" we have met with many people and told them the news, spent a week in Orlando at the National New Church Conference, and have been trying to get our house on the market to sell. I'm sure it is still going to get worse before it gets better, but at least the ball is rolling.

With this in mind we have a couple prayer requests.

1. Pray for our house to sell in a bad market, and at a good price for us.
2. Pray for our girls as we break the news to them that we are moving.
3. Pray for the kids at Avalon that they would not check out just because we are moving.
4. Pray that God would prepare the people of New Bern to be open to this new church work.

And one request, if you know anyone in that area that might not know God or has fallen away, please send me their contact information.

Thanks!