Thursday, November 8, 2018

MY BLOG HAS MOVED . . .

Thanks for reading and following along - some of you for years.

The blog has moved to a new address at:

kevintaylor.online  

When you get there, just click on 'blog' at the top of the page and scroll down for postings.

I hope you will join me there.

And be blessed.



Sunday, November 4, 2018

GRACE

You could run through all 13 letters of Paul in the New Testament - read the beginnings and endings of all of them and here's what they'd say -- Paul begins and ends each of them with a blessing of grace on the reader.  At the beginning of each letter he typically says, 'Grace to you,' and at the end of each he typically says, 'Grace be with you.'  

In all 13.  That seems significant.


It's grace from first to last.

Grace is the only word common to all those blessings.  Some add mercy.  Some add peace.  Some add love.  But all have grace.  Every letter of Paul's.

So if I said, 'Grace to you,' I would mean starting now ... grace.

If I said, 'Grace be with you,' I would mean starting now ... grace.

Not that you haven't known grace in the past, or haven't experienced it up to this moment, but may God go on being gracious to you, starting now.  Grace upon grace.  More and more grace.

That's the grace I'd like to pour out.  How about you?  I know it's the grace we all want to receive, but is it the same grace we purpose to show?

And be blessed.

Saturday, November 3, 2018

EIN GEDI

One of the scheduled stops on our recent Israel tour was Ein Gedi.  Ein Gedi lays nearby the Dead Sea, Masada and Qumran.  Joelene and I had been there before, so I was saddened when we discovered the area had been closed by Israel tourism a few days prior because of a flash flood here that tragically killed several school children.  They had closed it for a period to avoid any other problems.

The 25-minute hike we had planned here would have opened to this waterfall.

The name Ein Gedi means 'fountain of the kid (goat).'  There are several references to it in the Scriptures, one of them being where David hid from King Saul in these strongholds and caves, many accessible only to wild goats.

It is a place of great beauty and rugged landscape - a refuge.  I Samuel 24 says:  'David went up and dwelt in the strongholds of Ein Gedi.'  

I could imagine him here among these caves - up there somewhere hiding from Saul and his forces - all day long reluctant to venture out - maybe when dusk came he would - just for some fresh air - stretch his legs a little without having to look over his shoulder.

God provided the perfect hideout.  It gave shelter and protection.  It was an oasis with water and a natural lookout where he could see for miles around against an approaching enemy.

And as you create that in your mind's eye, ask yourself:  How is this wilderness part of God's plan for this future king?

But wilderness has a great history in the Bible.

Moses wandered in one for 40 years with his people.
John the Baptist lived in one.
Jesus spent time in one.
They were all being tested there.  All of them.  That's what caves are for.

Growing up I never got a great theology of the wilderness.  Wildernesses were places I wanted to avoid.  If you had a friend who was in a spiritual wilderness, you thought:  'Oh boy, HE must have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way to be there now.  God must be punishing him for something.'  

But Jesus' Gospel is a rugged spirituality where you sometimes find yourself in some discomfort.  That happens so you have to rely on Him.  If you're never in trouble, you're never going to sense a need for God.


That's what's happening to David here at Ein Gedi.  He's running for his life - drained - scraping bottom.

Bottom is a rough place to be.  Ever been there?
A foreclosure radically changed your family's living conditions -- you lost a job -- a long-standing relationship blew up or ended -- the letter arrived in the mail and everything changed -- the doctor walked in with that look -- someone you couldn't live without passed.

A lot of people have faced the bottom at one time or another.  Maybe you're there now.

David was.  During his life he lost his job - he lost his wife - he lost his home - he lost a child - he lost his best friend - he lost his counselor - he lost his own self-respect ---- and now he's on the run.  Hunted down - nobody to talk to - no food - no promise of hope - no idea that anything is going to change or improve - alone in a dark cave - away from everything and everybody he loves.

It's in this very condition - from the caves - that David writes Psalm 142.

As you read it, don't hear it as David's prayer, because it's no longer about David.  It's about what God wants to do in you.


'I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to Him for mercy.  I pour out my complaint before Him and tell Him my trouble.  When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who know my way.  In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me.  Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me.  I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.  I cry to You, O Lord; I say, "You are my Refuge, my Portion in the land of the living."

No escape.  Nothing left.  Desolate.  Yet in the middle of all that, the one thing David hasn't lost sight of ... is God.


God is your Refuge.
He is your Portion.
He is your Protector.
He is your Cave.
He is your Way.

Cry out to Him.  He cares for you.

And be blessed.