Like Aaron and Hur

“And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.  So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.  And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.” Joshua 17: 9-12

Moses was not a man free of mistakes or imperfections.  He was a murderer and a coward.  He showed moments of lacking faith.  He had problems with delegating his authority. (Jethro helped on that one!)  He stuttered.  He questioned God.

But when he lifted his hands… when he exercised the authority God gave him in an act of both surrender and worship… God brought victory.

Aaron and Hur had one job… to lift up the arms of Moses.  They were there to support him… to reinforce his authority… the position God had given him. 

Your wave is coming

When I was younger… much, much younger… yeah, much younger… I used to enjoy going in the ocean.  That was before “Shark Week” was big and I became more “buoyant.”  If I were to ride a wave in now I think I would dig a trench in the sand with my stomach.

Back then though I could spend hours in the ocean.  And though I didn’t surf (I did try mind you, it just wasn’t one of my “strengths”) I loved having the waves bring me in to shore.  “Body Surfing” was the term that allowed us non-balanced people to maintain our dignity at the beach.

But the same rules applied to us as did the “cool”  kids who had the surf boards.

And they apply to us now.

That is… you and me… and anyone waiting on the promises and plans of God.  These are not necessarily in order… but they all teach us something about living out our faith.

Dual Citizenship

I drive down a particular stretch of highway every morning on my way to work and pass an interestingly named diner… the “Scotchwood Diner.”  I pass it on my way home too… strange how that happens.

But anyway, back to the point.  There is no “Scotchwood” in NJ.  It is not a town or a city.   It’s a dual identity.

The Township of Scotch Plains and the Borough of Fanwood both share a school district and so the area has developed this shared identity because the children ultimately filter into the high school together.

And so, the diner… wanting to belong to both areas… and maybe to save some lettering… crunched the name down to “Scotchwood.”

It’s fine for diners…

But is right for Christians?