Walking Backwards

Walking Backwards

Between the Waters: Part 7
October 26, 2025

Joshua 3:14-4:9

Joshua called for the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one man per tribe.  Joshua said to them, “Cross over into the middle of the Jordan, up to the LORD your God’s chest. Each of you, lift up a stone on his shoulder to match the number of the tribes of the Israelites.  This will be a symbol among you. In the future your children may ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’  Then you will tell them that the water of the Jordan was cut off before the LORD’s covenant chest. When it crossed over the Jordan, the water of the Jordan was cut off. These stones will be an enduring memorial for the Israelites…”

 Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan where the feet of the priests had stood while carrying the covenant chest. They are still there today.

 ~ Joshua 4:4-7, 9

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We often think of ourselves as walking forward into the future, though if we are honest, we cannot really see what is in front of us. The future is unknown, and that can feel like walking blind. The Hebrew people viewed time differently. They saw themselves not as walking forward but as walking backward.    

It sounds strange, but it makes sense. Walking forward into the darkness of the unknown is just as risky as walking backward. At least when walking backward we can see where we have been, and memory gives us wisdom.    

That is why the stones were so important to Joshua. The river had stopped flowing, but for how long? At any moment the priests, along with the Ark of God’s Presence, could have been swept away. Still, Joshua insisted on gathering stones. And not small river rocks, but massive standing stones like the ones that still rise up in places such as Stonehenge.

These “Ebenezer Stones” can still be found across Israel, marking the places where God showed up in mighty ways. Joshua even set some in the middle of the river itself, whether anyone would ever see them or not. He wanted the exact spot where God’s presence held back the waters remembered forever.

Joshua knew the people would need reminders. Fear and uncertainty have a way of clouding our memory, making us forget how far we have already come. The stones were not just about marking the miracle of that day, but about anchoring the people in a story bigger than their fear.

This is the value of walking backward. The future is uncertain either way, but looking back we can see where God has brought us through before. These standing stones remind us that impossible situations have been overcome, and by faith they will be again. It is not nostalgia. It is hope in the God who has carried us and who still leads us into the unknown.

• What stones of remembrance mark God’s presence in your life, and how might they give you courage for the next step?

Just the Facts

Just the Facts

Between the Waters: Part 6
October 19, 2025

Numbers 13:17-14:45

When Moses sent them out to explore the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there into the arid southern plain and into the mountains.  You must inspect the land. What is it like? Are the people who live in it strong or weak, few or many?  Is the land in which they live good or bad? Are the towns in which they live camps or fortresses?  Is the land rich or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous and bring back the land’s fruit.”

~ Numbers 13:17-20

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If you’ve ever watched a press conference, the tragic scene in Numbers 13 and 14 may feel familiar.  The strategy is simple: if you don’t like the question, change it to one you would rather answer. 

Moses asked for a report on the land.  Just the facts.  And the facts were clear: the land was flourishing just as God promised, but it was not without its challenges. Nobody ever said life would be easy.  Presenting both pros and cons was fine.  The problem came when they changed the question.  Instead of, tell us about the land, they asked, can we handle it?  Their answer is a resounding “No!”  “We can’t go up against the people because they are stronger” (Num. 13:31). 

To solidify their opinion, they started rumors.  Exaggerations spread quickly.  “The land devours its people,” they said.  “It’s filled with giants that made us look like grasshoppers.”

They weren’t interested in the facts, or in planning how to navigate the inevitable challenges they would face.  Instead, they went straight to fear, and fear always grows best in the soil of rumors and propaganda.

Only Joshua and Caleb trusted that God would lead them, and in the end, they will be the only two from this generation to inherit God’s promise.  For now, their voices are drowned out by the fear of the mob. 

“If only we had died in Egypt or in the desert.  Let’s go back.”  This well-worn refrain is getting old, but it seems that going back to “the way things used to be,” or at least the way we think things used to be, is the most natural reaction to any difficulty or trouble we may face, in their world and in ours.

God never intended the people to wander for 40 years.  They were to spend a year at Sinai learning how to be God’s people and then move into their new home.  But fear delayed the promise for another generation.

How many generations today will have to pass away in the wilderness before we finally say enough is enough?  We will not give into fear.  We will not keep wandering.  God has already laid the path before us.  This is the way, let us walk in it. 

•  Where in your life do you find yourself changing the hard questions into easier ones?

•  How might you trust God to move forward instead of looking back?

Out of the Melting Pot

Out of the Melting Pot

Between the Waters: Part 4
October 5, 2025

Exodus 32:1-10

The people saw that Moses was taking a long time to come down from the mountain. They gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come on! Make us gods who can lead us. As for this man Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t have a clue what has happened to him.”

Aaron said to them, “All right, take out the gold rings from the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So, all the people took out the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. He collected them and tied them up in a cloth. Then he made a metal image of a bull calf, and the people declared, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”

 ~ Exodus 32:1-4 (CEB)

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What are we willing to give up for a sense of security?

Moses had been on the mountain for quite some time, amid the fire and smoke, and the people panicked.

If Moses didn’t return, or if this God who led them through the Red Sea changed his mind, they were in trouble.  So, they cried out, “Make us gods who can lead us.”  They couldn’t turn back to the gods of Egypt, and they barely knew this new God who only goes by “I AM.”  They wanted protection and security on their terms.

We like to think we only have one God, but the truth is that we have as many, if not more, gods today than they did in the Ancient Near East.  They don’t have names like Baal, El, or Astarte, but we still make tremendous sacrifices upon their altars.  We bow to the gods of money, technology, sports, entertainment, fame, political power, image & appearance, relationships, national security, guns, comfort, news media, and the list goes on. 

Howard Snyder offers a few questions to help us examen what might be serving as an idol in our own lives:

1. How much time, devotion & unquestioned loyalty do I give this “diversion”?

2. Am I willing to question or evaluate my loyalty?

3. What public symbols or displays show my devotion (social media, clothing, flags etc.)?

4. How does the time, money and energy I spend compare to the intensity of attention to God?

5. How does it affect my values, attitudes and behavior toward others?

The people of Israel poured all their gold into the melting pot, and as Aaron said, “out came this bull calf,” as if by magic (Exodus 32:24).  That’s the thing about idols: they consume everything we have.  They shift our priorities and our core values.  They capture our constant attention.  They keep us fixated on them above all else. 

We are out of control, and we are literally killing ourselves and each other at the whims of our idols.  These idols are merely tools of the rich and powerful, keeping us enslaved. 

They cannot save us. They do not bring freedom; they blind us to what is good and true.

Lord, have mercy. Set us free.

What is one idol in my life that keeps me from God’s freedom?

The Isolation Story: Us Away From Them

The Isolation Story: Us Away From Them

January 26, 2025
Proverbs 18:1-2 (NRSV), Matthew 5:13-16

Series based on The Seventh Story, by Brian McLaren & Gareth Higgins

Then the Lord God said, “It’s not good that the human is alone. I will make him a helper that is perfect for him.” 

Genesis 2:18

You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

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The Isolation Story is one of separation, often driven by the belief that the world is too corrupt to engage with.  It is a form of escapism, where we simply want to disconnect from the evils of the world and isolate ourselves in a perfect little “Christian” community.

The Essenes were a Jewish sect in the first century who embodied this story, retreating from society to form isolated communities in the wilderness.  John the Baptizer is among the most well known of this group.  They believed that the world had become so impure that the only way to maintain faithfulness was through complete withdrawal.

Jesus, however, rejected this path of isolation. He declared, "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden... let your light shine before others”. Rather than retreating from the world, Jesus calls His followers to transform it through their presence. He modeled a life of engagement, healing, and teaching, calling His disciples to be agents of change in the world, not isolated from it.

Our times are filled with escapist theology that treats the earth as dispensable because we are just biding our time until we get to some other worldly heaven. While we await this final destination somewhere else, many seek to live out the Isolation Story by creating “Christian” subcultures that choose separation from the world in the name of purity or faithfulness.  We want our own music, our own movies, our own coffee shops, our own schools, our own neighborhoods, and on and on it goes.  It’s ironic that we seem to want all the things the world offers, but just in a uniquely “Christian” version so we can pretend we are separate from it all. 

We are to be in the world, not of it.  Too often, however, we live as people of the world, but not in it.  Studies show that the everyday lives of self-proclaimed Christians don’t look that much different than any other group, but our determination to separate ourselves allows us to turn a blind eye to the needs around us.  Jesus' call challenges us to step into the world, bringing His light into even the darkest corners.  Our light does no good in a well lit isolated room.  If we are to be agents of transformation, bringing God’s kingdom to earth, we must be fully engaged in this broken world God so dearly loves.

•  Are there areas of your life where you withdraw from the world to maintain purity?

• How can you engage more fully with your community, bringing God’s light into dark places?

#BeUMC - From Fear to Freedom

From Fear to Grace

#BeUMC - Part 2

Sunday, July 2, 2023
Romans 8:1-17

You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “Abba, Father.” 

Romans 8:15 (CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

The sound of crashing metal echoed through the dark cavernous sanctuary as a stream of light flickered on a small collapsible screen. A reel-to-reel whirred from the back of the room projecting gruesome images of human flesh run through with huge rusty spikes. Screams of agony drowned out the film reels and the clanging hammer, followed by a few guttural words in some foreign language I would later come to know as Aramaic.

 “Father, forgive them,” the dying man cried as he was hoisted up on a cross. “They know not what they do.”

In all honesty I don’t remember the words first hand; only the graphic sounds and images flooding the consciousness of my seven or eight-year-old mind. It wasn’t until middle school that I even began putting the pieces together, but the jumbled nightmarish images haunted me for years with little to no real meaning.

My childhood experience in the Catholic church left me with the confusion of mixed moral messages and a general fear of God and religion.  Looking back, I can appreciate many things about the Catholic faith, especially its positive influence in my grandmother’s life as one of the most devout prayer warriors I know.  Attending an occasional mass or Catholic funeral as an adult, I am struck by their rich heritage and their overwhelming reverence for the Scriptures. I am even moved on occasion to go and light a candle for friends who are grieving the loss of loved ones. But in elementary school, I did not have the wisdom or discernment to separate the anxiety of my personal experience from the whole of the Catholic church or even the whole of Christianity. 

The film we watched on the death of Jesus did not even come close to the graphic depictions of Mel Gibson’s, “The Passion of the Christ”, but at the time I felt as if I were actually there in Jerusalem, cowering away so the blood would not splatter on my face.  Like Peter, I would likely be huddling by a fire in the courtyard, unwilling to admit that I even knew the unrecognizable man on the cross.

I made straight A’s in school. My intelligence and imagination always ran high. Yet no matter how hard I tried, I could not wrap my brain around why this man would have to suffer the way I saw that night. I couldn’t rationalize how anyone could inflict such a horrifying punishment on anyone, not even a mass murderer. 

Still reeling from the shock of it all, I heard the nun explain that Jesus died because of my sin.  The horror I had just witnessed was all my fault. OK, maybe not ALL mine, but I couldn’t stomach the idea that I needed forgiveness as much as the ones who nailed him to that cross. I never even had a poor conduct mark in school.  How could my wrongdoing cause this man to die nearly 2,000 years before I was even born? 

I don’t remember hearing anything about resurrection or the hope of eternal life. Maybe they taught it later on, but after that night, I was too scared to hear anything else.  Being a good kid would never be good enough anymore. I had to be perfect. I couldn’t live with his blood on my conscience but I didn’t understand how to remove the stain. I couldn’t even figure out how I ended up being responsible in the first place…

… and so begins my journey from fear to freedom...

For the rest of the story, listen to this week’s sermon here.

Also be sure to check out Rev. Tangela Cameron’s UMC story as shared at Shiloh on June 25th to kick off this series. You can see the video here.

In Over Our Heads

THIS MESSY LIFE: CHILDHOOD - PART 3

In Over Our Heads
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Exodus 1:8-14

Now a new king came to power in Egypt who didn’t know Joseph

Exodus 1:8

It’s easy to look at Israel’s slavery in Egypt and see ourselves through the eyes of their eyes as victims of oppression. We too are “God’s people” and so we have a long history of seeing ourselves as the oppressed rather than the oppressor. Societies and governments do not typically bend toward a “Christian worldview” and in most places throughout history, God’s people have found themselves in the minority.

Over the last century in America, however, we have been living in what Gil Rendle calls “an aberrant time” (Rendle, Quietly Courageous). This period of Christian prosperity was not typical in light of the overall history of God’s people. Though that time is rapidly ending, most people over the age of 30 at least have a strong memory of a time when what we considered “Christian moral values” ruled the day. God’s people were thriving, until they were not.

And so it was with the people of God in Joseph’s day. Joseph held the second highest office in the land and as a result, his brothers flourished under Pharaoh and increased in number as the twelve tribes of Israel expanded. By the time we get to Exodus, however, we find a new King in power who did not know Joseph.

“The Israelite people are now larger in number and stronger than we are. Come on, let’s be smart and deal with them. Otherwise, they will only grow in number. And if ware breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and then escape from the land.”

- Exodus 1:8-10

It seems from this introduction that the enslaved Israelites are not the only ones “in over their heads.” In fact, the only reason they were enslaved to begin with is because the Egyptians felt threatened by the presence of so many foreigners in their land. The new Pharaoh inherited what he considered to be a serious immigration problem. His solution, put them in slavery for Egypt’s benefit and discard (i.e. kill) those who are no longer useful to us. What empires may view as a sign of political strength, scripture interprets as Pharaoh’s weakness and eventual downfall. Egypt was in over their heads in how to deal with the Israelites, not because God’s people posed a genuine threat, but because they were overwhelmed by fear of “the other.”

Yes, we must always empathize with those who like Israel, find themselves oppressed and enslaved. We must always stand with Moses who, by God’s guidance and strength, leads the people out of slavery to a land of promise.

Yet we must also be very careful, for history has a way not only of repeating itself, but also turning things on their heads. The oppressed, if not careful, may themselves become the oppressors. Later in Israel’s history we will see how they build armies of chariots, marry for the sake of political alliances, worship idols, and even enslave others. They would become the very people they once despised, and the consequences would be detrimental.

No matter how much we may want to see ourselves as the victim in need of God’s salvation through a religious and political hero like Moses, perhaps we must first consider why we feel that we are in over our heads. Are we truly being oppressed, or are we perhaps more like Pharaoh, overwhelmed by how much everything is changing around us and afraid of those who are different? If this is the case, perhaps our call is not to vengeance and war, but to humility and peace, lest we too inflict harm against the “sheep of other flocks” (John 10:16) whom God loves and ourselves become enemies of the very God we claim to love.

May we not become so arrogant in identifying ourselves among God’s chosen that we forget God’s promise to Israel’s enemies… to Egypt and to Assyria:

On that Day, there will be a place of worship to God in the center of Egypt and a monument to God at its border. It will show how the God-of-the-Angel-Armies has helped the Egyptians. When they cry out in prayer to God because of oppressors, he’ll send them help, a savior who will keep them safe and take care of them. God will openly show himself to the Egyptians and they’ll get to know him on that Day. They’ll worship him seriously with sacrifices and burnt offerings. They’ll make vows and keep them. God will wound Egypt, first hit and then heal. Egypt will come back to God, and God will listen to their prayers and heal them, heal them from head to toe.

On that Day, there will be a highway all the way from Egypt to Assyria: Assyrians will have free range in Egypt and Egyptians in Assyria. No longer rivals, they’ll worship together, Egyptians and Assyrians!

On that Day, Israel will take its place alongside Egypt and Assyria, sharing the blessing from the center. God-of-the-Angel-Armies, who blessed Israel, will generously bless them all: “Blessed be Egypt, my people! . . . Blessed be Assyria, work of my hands! . . . Blessed be Israel, my heritage!”

Isaiah 19:19-25 (The Message)

Click here to listen to entire sermon series - “THIS MESSY LIFE: CHILDHOOD”