My Noble Knight and His Shining Electric Fence

By Brenda Black

The ability of a raccoon to know that my sweet corn is two days from perfection is uncanny. When I discovered the two ears tested and stripped from their six-foot stalks after the first night of invasion, I was slightly intrigued and a bit frustrated, but not too troubled. I figured a couple of pie tins swinging in the breeze and a bright yellow raincoat on a piece of rebar would keep the burglars at bay. Then came the second morning after a night of their garden dancing and dining near my tin-pan band. And it became WAR! A dozen ears demolished and as many stalks laid low. With ears still clinging, I had all the evidence I needed to call in the cavalry.

My garden this year is one of the most beautiful and fruitful I've ever produced. Every weed, every crumb of earth, every sprig of green pulled, turned or planted by hand – my hands. Blistered and calloused fingers and feet marked with a flip flop tan are proof of the hours spent tending my little patch of wonder.

My husband who has praised my efforts admirably was nearly as troubled as I over the corn field destruction. If I had a trumpet, I would have blown it as that man set out on his noble mission to guard my castle garden and his lady with valiant determination. Three strands of hot wire and an electric charger went up in a couple of hours – not just around the corn, but the whole green kingdom! The following morning I awoke to find all stalks, tassels and ears intact. The garden queen was quite happy.

As I surveyed the grounds, I pondered our two approaches to battle. While I searched for shortcuts for a solution, Alan attacked it with the best wall of protection. His method proved that some things are just worth fighting for. That man does love his corn, and maybe me just a little.

In God's kingdom, we often suffer loss to the one who comes to kill, steal and destroy. We can try silly tricks to outwit the enemy and find ourselves just amusing him and feeding his fury. Satan and sin are real threats that demand determined combat. Instead of taking shortcuts, we must build the fence tall and make it dangerously hot to touch. It's called a hedge in old world vernacular, but it's purpose is timeless: Protect the harvest!

Letters from the apostle John were filled with good advice for building a wall of protection to keep the good fruit in and the thieves out. Through his writings he intended to share the joy of fellowship; to help believers avoid sin; to warn them about deceivers and to assure them of eternal life. He wanted believers to grow in obedience and love and to know that God would protect them from the devil's evil intentions. In the closing words of his first letter, he clearly delineates the boundaries between residents of the kingdom and the great deceiver.

“We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one does not touch him.” (1 John 5:18)

Though I'm married to a noble man who strives to protect me and the things that matter to me, it is my King and Savior who guards eternally. I am so very thankful for two great defenders and an electric fence.  

What the World Needs Now

By Brenda Black

“We've got to consider creating a more non-violent society,” Bernice King, daughter of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, professed during a live interview with CNN. She says her daddy was first and foremost a preacher. He was a pastor and a healing leader says his daughter. King added that she believed our country to be significantly divided and it was essential to find a way to heal this nation.

I agree. We need less violence. We need healing. But no new revelation by the powers that be is going to trump the plan for both to be achieved that was laid out by the King of Kings a long time ago.

Step One: “'...love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.'” (John 13:34-35)

Step Two: “'...come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)

Honestly, it's hard to live separately in a world that glorifies sin and blasphemes my Lord continually. Just recently, we visited with a young man for a matter of minutes about a quite benign topic. In the short course of that conversation, he swore needlessly with every sentence. He was handsome, intelligent, even actually polite, but filth just oozed out of him and all over us. The vulgarities never waned in the company of ladies, they did not cease once he learned that my husband was a pastor. He was totally ignorant to his disrespectful habit of profanity.

Unfortunately, I've encountered a few Christians along the way that are just as flippant with their tongues and condemning to their testimony. As Christians, if we don't look, act, speak, and think differently from the world, how will “all men know?” We can get so covered up with hatefulness and worldliness, we stink as much as those without hope. We can become indifferent to our Savior and King and more transfixed on all things Hollywood. We talk about stuff that doesn't matter when we ought to be seeking the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength! Love isn't just sentimentality. It's action that conveys a sold-out commitment to the Christ and to His family! Is it too much to ask that we come together and worship once a week or that we open the Bible some day other than Sunday? Is it obvious to those we meet that we are redeemed through our words and our deeds? Are we thankful, joyful, patient and kind? Are we loyal, disciplined and faithful? Do we say “no” to the flesh and “yes” to the spirit?

I regret that I allow all too often my heart and mind to be tarnished by the junk of the world instead of being polished by the Word. I fall into the trap of anger, bitterness and hopelessness sometimes – especially after I read the news. And I, too, fall entirely short of God's glory in a multitude of ways every day. I am, therefore, overwhelmingly grateful for God's grace! I'm also glad that I tend to become highly convicted when I go astray and genuinely desire to live a life of integrity. I know that God honors repentance and blesses such longings.

“Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.” (Psalm 97:10-12)

I want to be righteous and it is definitely a work in progress. How about you? Only God can make any one of us less violent and more loving. Only God can bring the healing. It begins with every individual before it can sweep across a nation.

The Cycle of Sin

By Brenda Black

Lance Armstrong -- the very name elicits images of strength and athletic heroics. It used to, that is. Now the famous cyclist's name is mud and it's being dragged through the media with a vengeance.

The final verdict from the powers that be in the professional cycling world condemns Armstrong of “masterminding a doping strategy that involved prohibited drugs, blood transfusions and elaborate schemes to fool testing authorities,” writes reporter Martin Rogers.

The iconic athlete was stripped of each of his seven Tour de France titles. His reputation now morphs from stellar to stupid, while million-dollar endorsements disappear into the dust. The saddest indictments are how self-deceived this man and how many suffer because of his sin.

With any fallen hero, a fan base comprised of young and old, trusting and loyal people, is left in the wake. The winners that should have been, instead had their moment of glory and fame stolen selfishly and deceitfully from them, never to be regained. In fact the history books will just declare no winner at all for those seven prestigious titles. Shameful, costly, and so disappointing.

Is it pride, greed, selfishness, or arrogance that leads a man to believe he is above accountability? Does he think he is more deserving or afraid that he is not? How can he lie for so long that he believes the lies to be truth?

As long as sin is given rein to go unbridled and as long as others will turn the other way or empower such destructive choices, the sinner certainly loses more than he ever gains. And every life he impacts loses as well.

Most of us will never compete for world titles and our faces won't grace giant billboards or cereal boxes. We may never dream of experimenting with drugs and wouldn't dare consider cheating. Still, we are sinners just the same. I don't say that to excuse Armstrong's gargantuan assault on athletic integrity. It's just the truth.

“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12)

From blatant hypocrisy to subtle deceit, we sin. We lie, we gossip, we offend without cause and live far from holy lives, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...” (Rom. 3:23)

Amazingly, that holy God will forgive in an instant if we just repent. IF we repent.

“...this [Armstrong] story is close to having run its course,” writes Rogers. “a defining step at the end of a tale that has unraveled to expose extraordinary details of wrongdoing behind what was once considered an extraordinary tale of human achievement.

“All that is left is for Armstrong now is to reveal all, to tell the world what, how and why he fooled so many for so long. But for an athlete for whom denial and deceit has seemingly become second nature, such a reversal must be considered unlikely.”

courtesy of http://www.nydailynews.com/

The death trap is set. Either he can come clean and confess and seek forgiveness or he stands to lose more than just a few worldly titles. He risks heaven itself. The Apostle Paul once wrote to the Church in Rome warning them of the deadly consequences of sin compared to the life-giving results of righteousness. “...do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life, and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:12-14)

The real battle for Armstrong, and for each of us, is not a competition for our reputation in and of itself. It is a race for grace. God waits with open arms. He wipes our record clean, not of trophies undeserved, but of sin unchecked. He replaces the exposed crimes with His mercy and sees us as winners again. “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (Rom. 3:22) In this perfect cycle, God takes our ruination and makes us right again.

We can't undo history or unhurt people injured by our own selfish sins. But we can live differently each day ahead when we count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

What's a Word Worth

Brenda Black

In a dog-eat-dog world, one misspoken word is like fresh meat to a starving stray. And that one word, from one sentence at one moment in time can mean ruination to the person behind the lips that uttered it. Even if explained, retracted or clarified, a loosed word is not easily tamed.

The whole process is not entirely fair, for none of us is perfect. We each often speak before we think. It's just that most of us don't have 50 microphones shoved in our faces recording it, then playing it over and over again. So tell me, how do you think you would fare if every time you opened your mouth, someone was waiting to pounce and devour your reputation or your career? I know I would panic and prefer being a mute than being that fresh meat for the media.

This past week made me think about some of my own verbal blunders. A slip of the tongue has left me looking insensitive, stupid, arrogant, indifferent, sassy or unkind. I've jumped to conclusions. I've ignored obvious clues that would guide me through a set of circumstances. There have been times when I wish I could erase certain words and start all over again. Yes, words -- I've had to eat them.

Ever been there? Said one thing, meant another? Have you spoken and then freaked because you were terribly misinterpreted? I've lost friends and gained enemies over seemingly insignificant, ill-spoken words! At times, I've tried desperately to set the record straight – to no avail. More words meant to mend just splintered the boards I was trying to nail back in the fence.

There is power in the tongue – the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21). Words aptly spoken are sweet (Prov. 25:11) and words misspoken, like poison (Prov. 15:1-4). And since none of us has mastered the golden lips and silver tongue of no mistakes when it comes to loquacious expressions, perhaps there's room for grace when someone else steps on his tongue. Remember how we should pray:

“'Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:12-15)

Instead of assuming the worst, how about extending a second chance. Rewind! Do-over! Please, explain yourself! I'll listen to you, if you'll do the same for me.

In addition to praying to forgive, Jesus instructed that we should be very careful when we condemn others without taking a hard look at ourselves.

“'Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“'Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.'” (Matthew 7:1-5)

Whether it's a plank in the eye or fumbling lips, it's more important that we help a brother or sister out of sin, than condemn them.

It's sure to happen again. Some slip of the tongue will send the pack circling and salivating. When it happens, how will you react? With patience, forgiveness, or consideration? Will you check the facts, understand the pressure, or assume the worst of the person? Are you going to treat the vocal fumbler as you'd want to be treated?

I'm trying to learn and practice respect in a land of hyper assumption where always the worst is assumed, and often fabricated. God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason -- so we'd listen more and talk less. He must have known how much trouble we'd get ourselves into with teeth and tongue and lips. But He also gave us heads to think and hearts to forgive. How about we put those to work as much or more the next time somebody says something he or she regrets.

Joyful Noise Should be Heard, Not Seen

By Brenda Black

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100)

Obviously, Hollywood's version of Christianity is again skewed and condemning. What could have been a wonderful story of transformation in a teen boy's life was reduced to stupidity and crude comedy. Oh, there were a few redeeming moments in the newly released movie, Joyful Noise, starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Pardon. But they were far between and few.
Let me break it down for you. The reviewers on cnn.com call it “a squeaky clean pop-gospel fairy tale” and metacritic touts it as a “funny and inspirational story of music, hope, love and renewal.” I was more offended than inspired. I heard more cursing than gospel in this movie and was terribly disappointed by the hollow performances of nearly every actor.

Crosswalk.com professional movie critics agree. They say “Joyful Noise is a missed opportunity. Despite a decent performance from Queen Latifah—the most sympathetic character in the story, and the one who seems most earnest about her faith—the movie is too often flat, even offensive, when it should have been soaring and uplifting.” (http://www.crosswalk.com/culture/movies/sound-the-gong-for-i-joyful-noise-i.html?p=2 )

I don't normally write reviews, but there are some disturbing assumptions crammed down the audience's collective throat that I'd like to address. Jjust in case you think this movie hilarious, it is never funny to use the Lord's name in vain, to have sex outside of marriage, to manipulate, cat fight, gossip, dishonor, lie, cheat, disrespect or buy your power in the church. Oh, yes, these are the qualities personified in the “spirit-filled” Divinity Church Choir of fictitious Pacashau, GA. And these attributes are assumed normal and representative of all believers. The pastor is portrayed as weak and legalistic. The women are petty and power hungry. There were weird sexual scenarios in odd places and strange side stories that seemed to be just thrown in for shock value.

Only a couple of scenes actually evoked genuine emotion and delivered a morsel of truth. Latifah pulled them both off with believable sentiment when esteeming her autistic son and squaring shoulders with a daughter testing the boundaries. In those brief moments, she taught about a God who makes no mistakes and parents who do their best to live out faith. She also is the one who sings a soulful song of prayer with words “Jesus, fix me,” while the rest of the cast justifies their every sinful move.

While most of the songs are pop-turned-church music and easily get you groovin' in the theater seat, the would-be, take-away message and the beauty of their performance is lost in the shallowness of those singing. It's all twisted - a winning choir singing that it's all about Jesus, features a screaming lead singer who jerks around on the platform like a chicken with worms. That “praise team” is disqualified for hiring professional entertainers. Another contender is comprised of a group of uniformed children and their snappy little lead singer screams out lyrics about humility while he flaunts himself all over the stage like Justin Bieber. Instead of the competition being about praising God, it is about WINNING at all costs!

Just when I thought the choir director might rally her troops into an awe-inspiring moment by turning their hearts toward the real reason for singing – Jesus -- she keeps the movie consistently and ashamedly humanistic and just challenges her choir to kick the butt of the competition because “We deserve this!” Pathetic!

Look, I am quite aware the church is full of sinners. That's why I'm there. I need a Savior. But this movie's baseless assault on Christianity blatantly smacks of another attempt to make Christians look stupid and worldly. If we get nothing else out of it, I pray it compels us to take a hard look at our own behavior. I pray that we remember that it is Christ whose name we bear as we sing or stomp or kick and scream our way in this world. We live for His glory, not our own. Sing for Him and to His beat and don't bother with this movie.

If It Weren't for that Woman

By Brenda Black

Eve – She was fashioned by intentional thought and loving consideration from the heart of God and the side of man. Her name means life-giver and she was designed to bear the seed that would populate the earth. One would think such a woman so notable would be talked about over and over in the Holy Bible, yet her name is spoken only a handful of times in all of Scripture.

Though referenced in Gen. 3:1-19, she is identified as “the woman” and “his wife,” but never called Eve until the twentieth verse when Adam names her because “she would be the mother of all the living.” He only learns that bit of information when God pronounces the curse. “I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children in anguish. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you.” (Gen. 3:16)

Again she was called by name in Gen. 4:1 when the conception of a child is discussed. And this woman acknowledged that Cain was delivered “with the Lord's help.”

Eve is called by name again in the New Testament, but unfortunately only when temptation is mentioned. Paul says it this way: “But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a complete and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Cor. 11:3). And sadly, she is tied again to the dangers and consequence of weak resistance in one final mention in a letter to Timothy. Eve's sins are immortalized; the fall emphasized.

She barely existed before she blundered and the rest of history remembers only her folly. Did she do anything right? Did God not call her good the moment He laid eyes on her? Adam said of this gift from God, “This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called 'woman,' for she was taken from man.” (Gen. 2:23) And remember: “Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.” (vs.25)

It started out GREAT! And then it went South! And Eve fell from perfection to the butt of bad jokes passed down for generations. She exchanged her innocence for cruel insolence directed at her name and every daughter of Eve since that time. All because of her own weak will and a deceptive enemy, who was a crafty liar and evil destroyer.

Oh sure, I've been mad at Eve myself – especially during child birth! But I've also grieved for the first woman who made one terrible mistake and went down in history as a failure. We have to remember, God is in the business of redemption. That didn't begin at Calvary, it began in the Garden. God covered the shame of both man and woman. In his punishment, He also protected. And though we never hear how old she was or when she died, I have to believe that Eve was loved – by God, by Adam, by her children and friends she knew and lives she touched. We'll never know her whole story. But I do know, God blessed her from the beginning. He saved her from her sin. I'll get the rest of the story when I see her in heaven.

None of us are perfect. We all give in to temptations through far less threats than coming face to face with that serpent of old. If our names were written for all the world to read, how many times would we be mentioned in shameful terms? How many times would our sins be documented as bad examples? Before we cast the first stone at any other, we should look first to our own blunders that need God-covers.

A Conflict of Conscience

A Conflict of Conscience
By Brenda Black

Visions of Tweety Bird's Grandmother beating off Sylvester popped into my mind when I scanned a recent headline: “Thief Mugs 90-Year-Old, Gives Back Purse.” In the movie Madagascar, Granny's contemporary cartoon cousin just as fiercely wallops Alex the Lion in the middle of Grand Central Station. Though the two animated nanas slung their purses and wielded their canes, this real-life 90-year-old Kansan wisely called for back-up when a man grabbed her purse and ran.

The woman called a neighbor and told him what happened. They returned near the scene of the crime and spied the robber going through her purse. The neighbor called police, then started honking his horn at the man. The mugger walked over to the car and after a brief conversation, handed over some of the victim's personal items before running. Police said all of the 90-year-old's personal property was recovered and she was not hurt, but the criminal has not been caught.

Wouldn't you love to know what was said through that car window. What compels a man to wrangle a purse from a little old woman? Is it depravity or cowardice. And what drives him to undo the damage? Conscience or bravery. Did he apologize. Did he tell her of his dire needs and plead for mercy. I'd sure like to know.

Our times are desperate for many people. Even the good can go bad when they reach a point of fearful frustration. But there is a moral compass. No matter what new age religiosity or faith of the day teaches, mankind is accountable and created to know the difference between right and wrong. Those standards are not based on personal gain. They are not established in philosophy think tanks. The fundamental absolutes are mandated by God himself. He is truth.

Somewhere in the conscience and heart of this criminal, that compass spun out of control. After vibrating nervously between poles, the magnetic force of good pulled him due north. Hopefully he will not waiver again. Hopefully he will see his mishap as motivation to stay the course with good moral judgment. Hopefully, the reason for his desperation will be met with provision by honest means. And hopefully he will seek Christ Jesus for forgiveness.

We are all susceptible to wavering from what we know is right. In an instance, we can go against our best moral judgment. In a moment of frustration, we too can react improperly. After stewing and brewing over mistreatment, we can retaliate on an innocent bystander, taking from them what we have had stolen from us. We would all be depraved and desperate without God's divine moral compass, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23)

Our hope for honest living comes by submitting to God's rules. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
(1 Corinthians 10:13)

Sure, this robber was caught in the act. In the glare of a car's headlights his sins were revealed. The blaring of a horn announced to the world his dastardly behavior. But he faced the light and walked to the car and laid his sin in the lap of the lady.

“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” (Rom. 6:11-14)

If you want a clear conscience, “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5b)

A Hot Place to Find Humility

By Brenda Black

Puberty punctuates immaturity as much as it ushers in adulthood. And impertinence is all the more exaggerated when there is an audience. Tough teen Ishmael counted it entertainment to tease and mock his baby step-brother Isaac during his big “coming-out” party. Not his wisest decision.

“The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, 'Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.'” (Genesis 21:8-10)

One too many caddy remarks can land you smack dab in the middle of a social desert. And a smart alec kid will drag his parents right along the barren, sandy slide if they don't put a stop to it. Nobody likes rudeness, especially in the form of disrespect. Sometimes, it takes a swift kick in the pants to temper a sarcastic tongue or at least a few minutes in a time out, away from all the attention, for humility to have a fighting chance.

And that's where we find Ishmael and his mother Hagar – out in the desert, humbled and scared.

“Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.

“When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, 'I cannot watch the boy die.' And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob.

“God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, 'What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.

“Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

“God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer...” (14-20)

Ishmael was a teenager, 14 years old, and we find him reduced to the ways of the baby he mocked days before. Hagar herself despised her mistress and now weeps alone in the desert, longing for her companionship. On that hot desert, they found humility in the midst of harsh reality.

No matter how far we move away from God, he is able to find us. Under a tree, dying. A bowshot away, weeping. He meets us in our gravest situation, not with judgement, but compassion. He lifts us from our sinfulness and sorrow and shame. He opens our eyes and restores our dignity. Some will accept such grace and walk onward full of faith. Others will never comprehend the love they could have within and the joy they could bring if they would humble themselves and stop living in slavery to sin. Ishmael's legacy leaves no doubt that he disdained the Lord's rescue. He did not receive the inheritance and “his descendants...lived in hostility toward all their brothers.” (Gen. 25:18)

I don't know what became of Hagar, but Galations 4:25 says “Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.”

Did she go the way of her wild, rebellious son or was it her own example that taught him the kind of sarcasm that would cast them away from everyone. All of her history and the uncertainty of her destiny teaches us one sure truth. If we don't accept God's salvation when he offers a living drink, we are in just as much danger as this woman and child lost in the desert. Worse yet, we're lost forever. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible clarifies the difference between sin slavery and salvation. “There is a well of water near them in the covenant of grace, but they are not aware of it, till the same God that opened their eyes to see their wound, opens them to see their remedy. Paran was a wild place, fit for a wild man; such as Ishmael. Those who are born after the flesh, take up with the wilderness of this world, while the children of the promise aim at the heavenly Canaan.”

Don't wait until you are humbled in the heat of a desert. Choose today to live as a child of promise rather than a slave to sin.