school is over!!

Finished school. woot


Reading through Exodus right now. I came across some stuff that was rather interesting.


21 "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.
22 "Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
25 "If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest. [a] 26 If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, 27 because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
Exodus 22:21-27

OK so... based upon this, God's a big fan of the poor and expects us to be as well. This is a point that continually comes up in Jesus' life--in his teaching and in his actions

Another point...Jews didn't keep very many clothes. If I'm reading this right, they had one set. Even if they didn't, and there's more to their wardrobe than what this passages suggests, I still was left to consider some stuff.

Ok, first off, I was upset with my closet and the general lack of consideration I have for the poor made evident by at least enough tshirts to last me a month. I mean really...

Second off, what was the "neighbor" wearing while the cloak was being loaned? Did he just hang out naked? Were people cool with that? what a weird "pledge"...


Hey in other news. found out last week that my 23 year old sister Maggie who has been living in Argentina this year, has cancer. She's in Buenos Aires and will be starting 6 months of chemotherapy today. I found out today that my mother(who traveled to see maggie on monday) and her will not be able to come back to the states until the 30th at the earliest. Please pray for Maggie and for my family during this time. Praise God as well for the many ways He is making Himself known through this situation. This situation is bringing our family together as we pray together and encourage each other. Also, my mother was already planning on flying up on Monday and had saved up over a long period of time to make the trip. A trip that was originally supposed to be sightseeing turned into a trip of necessity. Another cool thing--the insurance Maggie had through her job in Argentina is an international sort of insurance, and the world renowned Mayo clinic (located in Rochester MINNESOTA) is one of the select places in the states that Maggie can go for treatment. Furthermore, the people in Argentina have been so supportive of my family and have done so much to help my sister and mother. Amazing.

ok i guess along the same lines, right now I'm learning about prayers of faith. It's easy to throw up a prayer and in the midst of it, forget that Jesus Christ is not only our Love, our Savior, Prince of Peace and King but also Lord over everything in heaven and earth. Jesus is healing my soul and will come in the end to completely restore everything. And He is Lord over the physical world and has conquered even death. He can heal my sister if He is willing and I pray that if He is willing, as He was with the leper and the centurion, that he would.

Matthew 8
1When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2A man with leprosy[a] came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."
3Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured[b] of his leprosy. 4Then Jesus said to him, "See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6"Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."
7Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."
8The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
10When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
13Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.
Matthew 8:1-13

It has been a great semester. God is good all the time and is making His love known in so many ways. This is true during any present circumstance.

have an awesome break!!!
-dave