Moses had had it up to here.

The Israelites' continual complaining and rebellion and lack of faith had been a heavy burden. Now they were standing in front of their tents weeping. Why? Because the food they were eating was boring. "We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at" (Numbers 11:5-6).

They wanted to eat meat.

Moses was beside himself. No people had experienced God so near to them or had him provide so directly for them. God had humbled Pharaoh to the ground and walked them all through the Red Sea. His pillar wa…

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At the end of Numbers 15, God commanded Moses to have the people attach tassels on the corner of their garments. These were accessories with a purpose:

And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. (Numbers 15:39-40)

These accessories were not intended to beautify the wearer. They were intended to remind the beholder that they had whoring hearts and eyes and they were not to follow their inclinations, but to follow God’s commands.

When I read …

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Greatly disturbed by the suffering he saw in the world, 29-year-old Prince Gautama Siddhartha (563-483 BC), who was later called the Buddha (enlightened one), left his wife and young child and set out on a search for the meaning of life.

What he observed was the impermanence of the world—nothing lasted. In spite of this, people desired these impermanent things. They desired to hold on to life, health, possessions, and each other. But life, health, possessions and people pass away. Human desires would always ultimately disappoint. This, he reasoned, was the cause of human suffering.

Therefore, he concluded that if he could kill desire, if he could be tranquilly unaffected by either…

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In a post a couple weeks ago we requested prayer for Mary Pearson (the beloved wife of DG Board member, Mitch Pearson) who for the last 15+ months has been battling Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Friday night, May 14th, Mary's body succumbed and at 6:39 PM she entered into the presence of Jesus.

Here is an excerpt from what Mitch wrote on Mary's Caringbridge site:

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. The days ahead will be difficult and we will need to make many adjustments.We are thankful to be the children of God.We have a hope in things to come when we will put on an imperishable body when things like Leukemia will be gone forever. We will have no more tears, no…

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A few days ago Doug Wilson wrote a very interesting post exhorting us not to be truncated Christian Hedonists (CH). Yes, it’s necessary that we pursue God as our treasure (CH 1.0).  And our understanding of God must be explicitly Trinitarian (CH 2.0)—Wilson calls it Nicean hedonism (I love it!).

But then he says, “we … need to move on to Chalcedon, to an incarnational hedonism.” This means enjoying God in all that he has made. Wilson writes,

The world is a sacramental, and everything in it. Grace is everywhere, and gets into everything. Faith can dig it out of anything. The grandeur of God can flame out from anything, like shining from shook foil.”

Amen. Read the…

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Luke included the Emmaus road account (Luke 24:13-35), no doubt, because it was a powerful testimony of the resurrected Jesus by two credible eyewitnesses (Cleopas likely would have been known to many first generation Christians). But there is also something valuable to see in how Jesus chose to reveal himself to these sad, cynical disciples.

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It was Sunday afternoon. Cleopas and his companion exited Jerusalem’s Western Gate, heading toward Emmaus. Even a casual observer could tell that their discussion was intense.

About fifteen minutes into the journey, a man they did not recognize overtook them. “What is this conversation that you are holding with…

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We know that—for the most part. But still, we can be tempted to think that if we just figure out the secret formula—the right mixture of Bible meditation and prayer—we will experience euphoric moments of rapturous communion with the Lord. And if that doesn’t happen, our formula must be wrong.

The danger of this misconception is that it can produce chronic disappointment and discouragement. Cynicism sets in and we give up because devotions don't seem to work for us.

The longing for intimate communion with God is God-given. He will satisfy it fully some day. And the Spirit gives us occasional tastes. But God has other purposes for us in our daily Bible meditation and prayer. Here are…

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Mitch and Mary Pearson are very precious to us. They are long-time members of Bethlehem Baptist, a church they have served in countless ways. And Mitch has served on the DG Board of Directors for the past 10 years.

In January 2009, Mary was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. They have been waging war on the disease ever since with chemo, bone marrow transplants, drugs, and lots and lots of prayer. The battle has gone back and forth. Mary’s medical team doubted she would survive to see 2010. But the Lord sustained her.

The most remarkable thing, though, is how Mitch and Mary have refused to waste this cancer. Their CaringBridge posts in particular have been full of faith…

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No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

“No temptation.” I love that phrase. It covers them all. But the temptations that Paul is talking about specifically in the preceding verses are sexual immorality and grumbling.

These are not grand temptations like jumping off the temple into angel arms or denying Jesus when threatened with torture.

These are “common to man” temptations. These are the temptations you and I will face today. And tomorrow. And the…

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[Post updated.]

I’m thankful for First Corinthians. It reminds me that the early church wasn’t only experiencing Acts 4:32-35.

The church in Corinth was so divided that you might say it was diced. There were divisions over which apostle was superior, sexual morality, lawsuits, marriage, eating meat, headcoverings for women, the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, the resurrection of Jesus, the resurrection of believers, and I’m probably missing some.

Paul, who really wanted these saints to “be united in the same mind and the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10), said something in chapter 11, verse 19 that is important for us to remember:

There must be factions among y…

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