God is with us

The second evening of "The Bible" presented by The History Channel was just as exciting as the first.  I have heard many reports that the series has caught the attention of a vast segment of the country including young people and families.  People are being exposed to the biblical stories as never before.  Anticipation for each new segment keeps growing and people are talking about... The Bible!  I have it on good authority that it just gets better from here.  I believe the birth of Jesus comes next week!

The running theme from the second night of "The Bible" must have been "God is with us." Joshua made the statement most clearly but it was mentioned again by Samuel.  Samson started straying from the theme and his mother reminded him, "For God, not for yourself."  David seemed to lose himself in the power of being king and changed the theme to, "God is with me."  The consequences of his misdirection were grave.  Later, he slipped while talking with Nathan calling his little temple model, "My temple", to which Nathan quickly corrected, "God's temple."

Isn't that the way it is with all of us.  We get lost in the details of our own lives and centered on how I feel and what I think and before you know it we have taken our eyes off God and made ME the focus of our little world.  It is encouraging to note that Nathan called David, "A man after God's heart."  He also told David, "Even though you are weak, God loves you."  Therein lies our hope.  In our weakness we are made strong (2 Corinthians 12:9)  because this story is ultimately about God.  Our story is ultimately about God.

I actually seem to be enjoying the game of figuring out what the producers chose to leave out and how they squeezed some portion of several stories together to get what they showed on screen.  For the most part, I think they have done an excellent job of moving the action along without compromising the integrity of scripture.  In my house, we missed Ruth and Deborah.  Were there any stories you missed?

"Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."  Joshua 1:9

Pastor Paul