Red Clay and Smiles

Back now, I look back on the “Warriors Dash” up in Tennessee. My son and his friend enjoyed it. The final obstacle of the five kilometer race was a long, shallow pond filled with lovely red clay. Strung just above the water, spaced about ten feet apart were ten or so “barbed wire” fences–I think perhaps it was plastic, rather than steel, not sharp and dangerous. The boys hit the mud at a run, rolled under the first wire, then crawled and dog paddled to the finish line where they received their medals. Their time was under thirty minutes. The fastest runners completed the course in twenty minutes; the longest times were triple that. And everyone received a medal.

Everyone, all winners, displayed medals proudly slung around mud-covered necks, dripping reddish brown water, slinging chunks of clay off shoes as they walked, smiles on tired faces. Some of the runners wore costumes. No, this was no ordinary marathon. One group of women, moms perhaps, dressed as fairytale characters, and a team of men sporting “super hero” clothing. I saw “Clark Kent” and wondered if at the starting line he turned into “Superman.” There were dozens of “Bat Man” costumes, a few zombies, and other Halloween-type clothing. Most startling to me is the varied ages and athletic appearance of the participants. Young, old, slim, muscled, heavy-set, pot-bellied. It was a microcosm of Hometown, USA.

I didn’t take a poll, but I imagine people’s reasons for coming, for running the “Warrior Dash,” varied as much as their ages. For my son, it was the physical challenge of something very different. For some, it was an opportunity to support the cancer-research efforts of St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, running after collecting donations. For others it was a great way to enjoy a day in the sun, listen to a band, drink beer, and hang out with lots of other people who were just like-minded enough–or crazy enough–to run 3.5 miles and negotiate twelve fun, tough obstacles.

The event organizers utilized volunteers from the surrounding towns to help run the marathon. Even the local fire department got into the act by hosing off runners. Needless to say, the well-stuck red clay was tough to get off. There was a pile of muddy running shoes, left as a donation to a national charity. I can’t imagine those shoes coming clean.

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

Ecclesiastes 9:11

Though I didn’t compete this weekend at the “Warriors Dash,” I did have the opportunity to be around lots of people who were just enjoying themselves. I found myself forgetting the way things are in the metropolitan area in which I reside, people at each others’ throats, so to speak. Strife. Inconsiderate drivers. Pressures of work, family, just trying to live. I’m not a party goer. But I think I can understand why, when the weekend comes, some people just want to party, to forget the week that was, and the week that will be coming.

Oh, I’d like it if all those folks that came on Saturday were “saved,” that the band played southern gospel songs, that the Name of Y’shuaJesus displayed over the field rather than a four-story-tall Miller Light can. I’d like it if Christians could gather together in the unity of the Spirit, could party together like those runners and those attending the “Warrior Dash.” I think perhaps when at last Lord Y’shua (Lord Jesus) returns to conquer, the Wedding Feast will be a great party of united Believers. Maranatha!

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. . .

Matthew 22:2

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Change of Pace or “I thought it was going to be fun.”

This morning I’m in Tennessee. Manchester, Tennessee, to be exact. I’m having complimentary breakfast at a motel. There are 532 people in town this morning for “Warrior Dash.” Here in the dining room, the run/obstacle course is the common topic of most that are sitting at the tables. The conversations extend between tables, between people who don’t know one another. They are all here for one thing: to challenge themselves in the ultimate marathon.

One man, sitting near me, says he ran the course in Georgia last winter. He said it nearly killed him. He’s a runner, but he didn’t train for fifteen foot walls, pools of deep, ice-cold water, and mud holes that had to be negotiated to complete the run. He said he’d get cold, then run and get warm, only to dive in icy water or crawl through cold mud under wire. It takes a warrior to complete this run. One thing stands out to me in hearing the conversations. Old, young, they all seem to be comrades in a common goal. Yes, there are “winners.” Yet they talk of how they work together to just complete the course. They talk as if they will all be winners just to complete the run. Wow!

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

1Corinthians 9:24-27

No, I’m not making the run this year. Perhaps, Lord willing, my knees will one day be in shape enough to try one. It’s my son, and a friend, who will run this event today. They are on the wrestling team in their high school. Their coaches inspired them to try this out. They looked at videos of past events and thought it would be “fun.” That’s what my son said after crashing his tricycle when he was three years ole. I didn’t remind him that through his tears, he’d said, “I thought it was going to be fun!”

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Self-Loathing

Perhaps he sat in a fire pit, which during the night provided heat and now was cool as the sun began to bake the desert around him. He says to G-d, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” I am reminded of a phrase from the Anglican burial service, referring to total finality of life, “Ashes to ashes; dust to dust,” which is based upon scriptures “Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return” (Genesis 3:19), and “I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee” (Ezekiel 28:18). Perhaps Job felt he was so totally wrong in his actions that it was time to die. At one point Job’s wife had told him to just end his own physical suffering by cursing G-d and dying. He did not do so. In his self-righteousness, he continued on. Now Job is ready to accept his fate, understanding his sin of presuming to know G-d, of presuming to be righteous on his own accord.

Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

Job 42:1-6 (emphasis added)

Repent. This the Jewish season for repentance. If we follow Job’s example we loath ourselves and repent. If we truly loath ourselves, we will see ourselves as unworthy of saving. In the view of the world, we will have low self-esteem. However, as Job came to understand, we must see ourselves as G-d sees and loath the un-naturalness that is within us. Calvary Chapel’s statement of belief (point number eight) puts it this way: “We believe that all people are sinners by nature and, therefore, are under condemnation; that God regenerates based upon faith by the Holy Spirit, those who repent of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord. (Acts 8:15-17; Titus 3:5)” So it isn’t that we loath the self that G-d created, but the sin nature that is within it. We loath and repent of what we have done, the things we’ve left undone. Sins of commission. Sins of omission.

G-d loves the person that He created us to be. If we want to be that person, we must turn from the person our sin nature wants us to be. We cannot have salvation without repentance. We must acknowledge that we have a nature, we often refer to as the flesh, that is against G-d. We must turn away from this nature. But that isn’t enough. On a television show recently, a man sits across from a police detective after confessing to murdering three people. The murderer says, “I’m really sorry. I really am!” Another man in the room says, “Your sorry. Okay, that makes it all right then. You can go now,” then turns away, shaking his head and walks out of the room.

We can come to know our sin, that we have a sin nature that is capable of all sorts of horrid things. We must understand this fact. And there is no payment we can make, except to forfeit our lives. We must die for our sins, those we committed and those we are capable of committing. Unless there is someone willing to take upon himself the penalty we owe.

That’s what Y’shuaJesus, Son of G-d, Son of Man, did for us. For it is through Y’shuaJesus that the penalty for our sin is paid in full. Thank You, Lord! G-d then seals us with His mark, and sees us as pure through His own Son’s action of dying for us.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon you today and each day as we await the coming of the King to His reign. AMEN.

Rosh Hashahah

Shofar (by Alphonse Lévy) Caption says: "... — Shofar (by Alphonse Lévy) Caption says: “To a good year” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today is Rosh Hashanah. It is the “Head of the Year,” the first day of the Jewish year.

From Chabad.org:
“The festival of Rosh Hashanah—the name means “Head of the Year”—is observed for two days beginning on 1 Tishrei, the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of mankind’s role in G‑d’s world.

Rosh Hashanah thus emphasizes the special relationship between G‑d and humanity: our dependence upon G‑d as our creator and sustainer, and G‑d’s dependence upon us as the ones who make His presence known and felt in His world. Each year on Rosh Hashanah, “all inhabitants of the world pass before G‑d like a flock of sheep,” and it is decreed in the heavenly court “who shall live, and who shall die . . . who shall be impoverished, and who shall be enriched; who shall fall and who shall rise.” But this is also the day we proclaim G‑d King of the Universe. The Kabbalists teach that the continued existence of the universe is dependent upon the renewal of the divine desire for a world when we accept G‑d’s kingship each year on Rosh Hashanah.

“The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram’s horn, which also represents the trumpet blast of a people’s coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance, for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of man’s first sin and his repentance thereof, and serves as the first of the “Ten Days of Repentance” which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. ”

While on a ministry assignment in Israel, I learned that during these days of repentance, people would seek out those they’d offended and ask forgiveness. It is a way to begin a new year with a clean slate, so to speak. It is also a time of introspection. In ten days these days of repentance culminate with Yom Kippur when sins are set aside, set on a scapegoat, and sent away. This is repeated annually.

And when he has made an end of atoning for The Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat; and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities upon him to a solitary land; and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.

Leviticus 16:20-22 RSV

For those of us who have accepted Y’shuaJesus as Messiah, our sins have been set aside once and forevermore. Y’shuaJesus is the scapegoat that took our sins away. Wayne Blank, of Keyway.ca wrote: “The blood of the sacrificed goat was taken by the high priest Aaron and sprinkled on the atonement cover, or mercy seat, of The Ark Of The Covenant inside The Most Holy Place of The Tabernacle In The Wilderness once per year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:15-17). This depicts the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our “High Priest” (Hebrews 8:1) entering The Throne Room of God to make atonement for humanity once for all time (Hebrews 9:23-28).”

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Remembrance in Prayer

For the last few days I’ve been reading Paul’s second letter to Timothy (2 Timothy). It is said to be Paul’s last letter, which was done from his second imprisonment in Rome. He’d previously been transported to Rome, and imprisoned, but released only to be captured and imprisoned again. Eventually Paul was executed.

Like so much of Paul’s writing, there’s a whole meal in a few words. For instance, in the first sentence of the second letter to Timothy, Paul refers to himself as “an apostle by the will of God,” upon which Matthew Henry comments that Paul is such “merely by the good pleasure of God, and by his [G-d’s] grace, which he [Paul] professes himself unworthy of. According to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, or according to the gospel. The gospel is the promise of life in Christ Jesus; life is the end, and Christ the way, Joh_14:6. The life is put into the promise, and both are sure in Christ Jesus the faithful witness; for all the promises of God in Christ Jesus are yea, and all amen, 2Co_1:20. He calls Timothy his beloved son. Paul felt the warmest affection for him both because he had been an instrument of his conversion and because as a son with his father he had served with him in the gospel. Observe, 1. Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God; as he did not receive the gospel of man, nor was taught it, but had it by the revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal_1:12), so his commission to be an apostle was not by the will of man, but of God: in the former epistle he says it was by the commandment of God our Saviour, and here by the will of God. God called him to be an apostle.”

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

2 Timothy 1:1-6

When I came to “that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers. . .,” I gave pause. And I’ve been thinking quite a bit about it. I’ve been thinking about my own remembrance of people who’ve crossed paths with me. For some, it was truly a crossing of paths, while others have been in and out of contact for quite some time. Sometimes my remembrance of some people isn’t a joyful one. Not every person with whom I’ve had contact has been kind to me, or a friend to me. For those people I’ve had to work to not only get over my own disdain, stop complaining about them, but to begin to remember them to G-d in a more positive manner, for their own good, and G-d’s mercy and grace upon them.

There have been people, too, that I’ve hurt. To some I’ve apologized. But not all, I’m sure. I work hard to get over the my own guilt at my remembrance of them. Some times I think about what might have been, or what could have been, if some such thing had not occurred between us as friends. This, too, is futile thought. For perhaps the path a person takes in response to a hurt following my acquaintance is truly G-d’s will for that person. And in parting we each must take responsibility for the way in which we walk. With recognition of fault, of error, with understanding G-d’s forgiveness, can enable me grow and not repeat mistakes, sins.

Paul said, “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers. . .” There have been times in the past that a particular person has entered my thoughts in a strangely burdened way. I’ve known, too, that these people have entered my head through G-d’s will. It happened this way several years ago while I was driving truck. I had not seen nor heard of this person for many years, though had thought joyfully of the times we’d shared together, having been more than friends. For several days, I couldn’t get the person out of my mind. I just had to pray! I didn’t know what to pray. The Spirit of G-d did provide words and prayers. And I remember reaching out in my mind’s eye to the Heaven’s. I remember feeling as if angels were being dispatched to this friend. I never found out what it was about. I did learn that she had been involved in medical missions in the Philippines, in an area particularly hostel to the Gospel of Y’shuaJesus.

There are also times, especially the past few years as I’ve grown older [or grown old, as my kids say] that I remember events and people and just think about them. I believe this, too, is in G-d’s presence. Thinking isn’t what I’d have called prayer a few years ago. A sight, or sound, or smell, reminds me of someone. And I feel myself in G-d’s presence while I’m reminiscing about events that we’d shared in the past–like I’m talking with the Lord saying “Remember when. . .” Occasionally I do actually say it that way! It’s in those times, too, that I feel the joy of those that I’ve known, and convey my gratitude to the Lord for their acquaintance.

Thank You, Lord, for remembrance of all those I’ve met while on this journey with You. Thank You for those that read what has been given to me to write. Have mercy and extend grace to Your people. AMEN.

Memories. . .

Can’t you hear the soulful echoes of Barbara Streisand singing Memory?

Memory – all alone in the moonlight. I can dream of the old days.
Life was beautiful then.
I remember the time I knew what happiness was.
Let the memory live again.
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/barbara_streisand/memory.html ]

A few days ago, my family celebrated the birthday of our son. Yesterday my wife and I celebrated the anniversary of our wedding. Lots of memories this week.

Today, though, we do not celebrate. But we do remember. We remember the senseless loss of life that occurred eleven years ago. We recall the passengers and crew of four aircraft that were hijacked and intentionally crashed. We remember the thousands of people that died on the ground at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. We remember.

What will we do with the memory?

For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.

Psalm 90:7

Moses, says Matthew Henry, “taught the people of Israel to acknowledge the wrath of G-d to be the cause of all their miseries.”

With such acknowledgement, the Psalmist turns to G-d asking Him to be reconciled to His people (v.13) and finally:

And let the beauty of the Lord our G-d be upon us, and establish thou the work of our hands upon us. . .

v.17

The prerequisite for the blessing of the Lord is acknowledgment of our own unrighteousness before Him. Country/Bluegrass singer Charlie Daniels wrote in his blog that America will come to its knees, either in prayer or in ruin. Today, as we remember the loss of American lives at the hands of a foreign enemy, we must also acknowledge our responsibility to turn from our own unrighteousness and seek the righteousness of G-d through Y’shuaJesus.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Being Still

Tired I am. It’s been a long couple weeks. After beginning a remodel job, things got hectic.

It’s slower this week, though. In my head I had somethings to say about America’s Labor Day, which was last Monday. I didn’t take the time to sit down and put it onto this electronic paper. So, Labor Day is over and done with and I’ve missed an opportunity to make some timely comments.

Oh, well. , ,

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10

Even during these hectic times, it is nice to sit for some moments, being very still. It’s not Eastern meditation. It’s not yoga or any mystical exercise. It’s simply being still. Prayer. Sure, thats good and often either proceeds or follow moments of stillness. It’s letting go of every thing and really knowing that the Lord IS G-d.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine . . .

Shaking my head and wondering if I’ll ever learn

Left knee-joint from behind, showing interior ... — Left knee-joint from behind, showing interior ligaments. (Lateral meniscus and medial meniscus are cartilage.) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lately my knees have been bothering me quite a bit. Arthritis, or something. I’ve had trouble with my feet on and off since I was a kid, too. There was a time, in the mid-70s that a doctor wanted to take apart my foot and sand the bones. I politely declined his invitation.

Despite the problems, up until a few years ago I was in fairly good shape, running and riding a touring bicycle that I’d built.

Needless to say, but with my knee joint issues, I’m no longer running, and rarely ride my bike. This week I’ve been doing a lot of odd jobs, and going up and down stairs is a real strain. At any rate, I dropped my two high schoolers off at their school, and stopped afterward at a grocery store. Waiting at the cashier to checkout, a fellow came up behind me. He may have been sixty years old, or so. His face sported a nice tan. He kept his white hair short and neatly trimmed. I noticed his running shoes, short running pants, and nice white shirt. He looked like he could be headed out to run or maybe play tennis. I thought of my aching knees and got to feeling pretty old. Then I noticed his arm. He had a towel draped over his left arm, and a large bag of ice on top of it. The cashier asked him what happened to his arm. He didn’t say at first, saying it was a bit of a story. She said something nice to him about hoping it would get well. It was then that the fellow confessed that he had had some problems at his morning dialysis appointment. The women said that in her “past life before the grocery store,” she had been a nurse and knew about things, but didn’t want to go back, liking the grocery store better. She was very compassionate, though, in her tone. The fellow said, “In my past life I was healthy, and I’d go back to it right away.”

My attitude reminded me of an old Joan Bias song about being angry for not having shoes, then seeing a man with no legs. I regretted my discontent at my aching knees, and my envy at his apparent athletic abilities. Compared to that fellow, I’m in terrific health, terrific shape.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

Philippians 4:11

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine . . .

Bad Mood Rising

John Fogerty reportedly wrote “Bad Moon Rising” after watching The Devil and Daniel Webster. Inspired by a scene in the film involving a hurricane, Fogerty claims the song is about “the apocalypse that was going to be visited upon us.” It was performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969. I was in basic infantry training at Fort Ord, California, at the time. On Saturday nights we would go to Stillwell Hall. A large country club-like building sitting on the beach, it served beer to troops–legally. We couldn’t vote. We couldn’t buy alcoholic beverages off post. But we could go to war. We could defend the hard-won liberties of America. And some of us did. Of those who went, many came home. All who came home were changed, forever changed.

Irritated I am this morning. Well, I am not irritated–it’s just how I feel. There’s a difference. Irritated isn’t the real me.

Funny. That last, short paragraph was rolling around in my head as I headed to J. Christofer’s to grab a bit to eat and write. I’m behind again. I’m sorta over my head in odd jobs that I’ve got going on this week. There’s other things stessin’ me out, too. But I needed to get away to write something this morning. So I sat down to a cup of dark roast coffee and opened my MacBook Air and began a new post with the title, which I most often do not do. I wrote “Bad Mood” then “Rising” seemed to naturally flow from it. It reminded me of a song from the 60s. With internet access at the cafe, I went to Wikipedia. Ah, Credence. . . Memories came like high tide washing over me. I could see myself at Stillwell Hall wearing Army green and newly earned strips, drinking a beer, drinking too many beers. The band played “Bad Moon Rising” and played on and on and the crowd joined in when they sang “We gotta get outta this place, If it’s the last thing we do. . .”

A waitress–sorry, to be politically correct these days I should say “server”–dropped off a nice plate of food and asked how I liked my Mac, saying she was deciding between the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air. It was a short, friendly conversation. Irritation slipped away making room for feelings of usefulness. I enjoy kind conversation. I like friendly people, willing to talk, willing to be. . . real.

Kind conversation isn’t random. Real people, with real problems, are so often kind despite their feelings [even me, I suppose, when I push away the cloud that gathers over me]. But that isn’t what is portrayed on the television, on “reality” shows, on evening television shows. For in the world of the media, people are combative, accusatory, adversarial. People are crazy, they say, they show us. The American Media and Hollywood misses the pulse of the real America. Too many crime shows, making us suspicious and scared, are dictating our view of people. Too many shows teach that casual sexual relations, both heterosexual and homosexual, are appropriate and expected of us. Too many shows press us to believe in murdering the unborn if they are inconvenient. America’s current president believes that, too, and accuses his opponents of being–what? wrong, evil, non-progressive?–for not supporting such measures.

It seems to me we stand upon the edge of an abyss. Like the half glass of water we see as have empty or half full, we sense America as either half gone mad, being evil and heinous, or half just real people doing the best they can, being as kind as they are able. I suppose it’s our choice.

Back to Credence, the refrain in the chorus, “there’s a bad moon on the rise,” is commonly misheard as “there’s a bathroom on the right”. Fogerty has parodied the mishearing in live performances of the song.

It’s all in how we hear it, see it. Perspective.

Lord give us Your perspective of those to whom You send us. AMEN.

Random Acts. . .

And what exactly was Lot doing in Sodom, anyway? Was he persevering with Random Acts of Kindness? Did he try to organize various community service projects? Lot, along with his immediate family, were the only ones found worth salvaging out of the slime pit of iniquity that had become Sodom. It was so bad there that when strangers came to visit, the town folk wanted to show them a little Sodom Hospitality–from which we take the modern word sodomize. Oh, sure, not everyone wanted to have sex with the Lord’s Search and Rescue Patrol. Those that didn’t probably encouraged them though. With things so bad, couldn’t Lot have seen the handwriting on the wall, so to speak?

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Matthew 24:9-22

Lot didn’t flee Sodom. Perhaps he didn’t know things were that bad. Perhaps he thought he still could do good in Sodom, that it was still daylight there for him to serve G-d. Obviously it was night in Sodom. But G-d, being faithful to His, rescued Lot, pulling Lot’s head buried in the desert sand where he’d simply ignored the signs of the times. [Too many tired cliches–sorry-O.]

To stay; to flee. Which is most noble? Does it make a difference? Think about it, please. [Selah]

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .