 Sports Illustrated was published – and the Gulf of Tomkin incident provoked legislation which escalated our involvement in Viet Nam.
25 years ago today, the Berlin Wall fell – and the massacre at Tienamen Square happened.
10 years ago, Facebook was launched and the first same-sex marriage was performed in Massachussetts – and the CIA released a report stating that there had been no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
It’s important that we recognize turning points in our history – the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. We need to celebrate achievements and grieve losses. Even the most cursory recitation of history helps us remember who we are and how we’ve come to be this way. We need to pay attention to history, but we can’t live there.
This morning, we catch up with the Israelites at a crucial moment – a moment of great triumph. After generations of slavery, after crying out to God, after voicing their pain and suffering for what seemed like an eternity, their generations-long struggle in Egypt and in the wilderness is drawing to a close. The years of frustration and grief, marked by slavery, hunger, internal discord and battle are ending as they begin the process of settling down in the promised land.
They are ready to relax by the home fire, maybe do a little gardening, enjoy their families. They were glad for an end to war and a more balanced approach toward their new neighbors. They were ready for better times. Their hearts and minds were focused on the potential and promise this new land held – a chance for prosperity, peace, and renewal. It was time to rest in the blessings of their chosenness.
Listen up! You’ve lived in the wilderness for a long time. Time and time again, God delivered you. And now you’re about to live in a land that God gave you– a land where somebody else did the back-breaking work to prepare it. You’re moving into cities you did not build. You are eating from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant. This whole thing has been a gift to you. Don’t ever forget this.
This might seem harsh and demanding, but Joshua was no fool. He knew how this people had struggled to meet even the most basic obligations of the covenant. He was with them as they struggled in the wilderness. He heard their yearning to return to their well-fed days in Egypt. Joshua saw them struggle with their faithfulness to God as they hedged their bets and offered a little Baal worship just to make sure. He was also painfully aware of how the people struggled with leadership – first latching on to Moses, then at the first sign of confusion, turning to Aaron. At times, especially when responsibilities, land, and booty were being divvied up, they even killed each other in their quest for power and position.
Serve the Lord with every ounce of your being. Throw away anything that comes between you and God. Choose this day whom you will serve. Choose each and every day whom you will serve.
Centuries later, another Joshua would speak to another band of chose people. (His name was actually Yeshua – Jesus.) His followers were multiplying exponentially. His rock star magnetism drew thousands. A word of mouth campaign went viral and spread from town to town, celebrating his ability to heal, to preach, to renew hope for a brighter future.
Renewal and revitalization was really happening. The lame were walking, the blind could see, the sick were healed. Storms were calmed, the hungry were fed, the powers of oppression found that not only were they unable to match the rhetoric, they were no match for the depth of compassion, the strength of commitment of this bright young man. Those were heady days!
Listen, together we can do some amazing things. But you need to know what it’s going to cost. Don’t expect to rest.
Don’t think you can use family, age, job or any other obligation as an excuse to step back from this work. And above all, don’t listen to those who will tell you that now that I’m here, everything’s gonna be all right. Serve the Lord with every ounce of your being. Throw away anything that comes between you and God. Choose this day whom you will serve. Choose each and every day whom you will serve.
We stand in a long line of chosen people who had to choose.
This week there has been an election. While we can see some signs of hope, symbols of a turning – at least here in Oakland, this election also serves as a wake-up call – shaking us out of our euphoria to face the hard reality that there is still so much work to be done.
Who among us doesn’t feel the daily schizophrenic tug at our psyches as we try to balance the demands of family with the demands of our jobs, our creditors, our community. We all have mortgages or rents due, car payments, kids that outgrow shoes three times a year, college tuition, ailing elderly parents and grocery bills that grow at an inversely proportional rate to the number of bags it takes to get the groceries home.
It is into this reality that Jesus tells us that we can no longer claim our lifestyle as a discipleship-exemption loophole. “Bad timing” is no excuse for turning a deaf ear to God’s call.
It is into this reality that Joshua says: Choose this day whom you will serve.
Like the Israelites, like the hundreds of followers of Jesus, our call is to live each and every day as God’s people. This is not a glory road, but it is a road that leads to glory. This is not a peaceful way, but it is the way that leads to peace. This is not a path where justice comes easy, it’s not a movement that ends with the election of a particular leader or the passing of a particular proposition. This is a movement with one requirement – that each and every day, before we take one step, in the good, the bad, the uglyand the beautiful we choose whom we will serve and then get down to doing the work of serving.
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Find more images on Rachel Sevy's blog by clicking on the links below. Rachel was
chosen as the official SBCC Study Abroad Madrid Fall 2017 program blogger.
SBCC in Madrid: ¡Bienvenidos!
SBCC in Madrid: Our First Week Abroad
SBCC Madrid: A Trip to Barcelona
SBCC Madrid: Mid-Program Reflections* So easy that anybody can make amazing sounding dubstep! * Convenient color organizing for your pads * Super high quality sounds dubstep Mini DUBPAD 2 is your new electronic music mobile toy. Enjoy creating powerful dubstep beats by simply touching the pads; supporting 11 different touches at once. 32 different sounds available; categories include: basslines, drum loops, one shots, sound fx and synths. Enjoy!
Could be better. needs more music, also u could make it were u pick a special song and remix it. Plz,plz,plz!!!!!
It&#39;s a great app, but it needs saving!
Pretty fun and amusing if you like electronic music. Great for passing the time by with the buddies.
The bulk of the app seems to be here but the simple fact I can&#39;t record/save anything makes everything a bit pointless. It is fun to around with what&#39;s there. Also please connect this app with my phone microphone so I can record phrases or versus. 3/5 because I expected more. I would recommend this app because it&#39;s the &#34;first&#34; of its kind.
It&#39;s a really good app. I wish they would make the cubes like button base website. It&#39;s cool tho. You should make edm cubes. I live on music I can&#39;t go without listening or making. Thanks for creating this app.
Please fix this or this could be considered theft or scam.
WHY CANT I RESTORE MY PURCHASED ITEMS AND WHY CANT I UNLOCK THEM ANYMORE!?
Love this just wish there was a way to record what you&#39;ve created.
GREAT! But... Recording?
Simplistic, but very fun!
I&#39;m not going to say this is the best dub step sampler ever. What I will say is that the samples here are well executed and fun to play with. Definitely worth taking for a spin. I have tried many and this is the only one I have kept for more than a day. On my third week of playing with it. Fun to kill time with between my clash of clans attacks. What&#39;s it cost you? Do it, you won&#39;t regret it.
Not bad for a dollar to play around and begin putting together beats and sounds.
The tracks aren&#39;t even the same tempo. Nothing but loops.
Great apps i can play well like a pro dj.
The reason for 4 stars is that I love the beats but the pads are slower than I&#39;d like.
I think this app ROCKS! I do wish there was a way to record your beats, and maybe add more beat pads. THEN ID GIVE THIS APP 3000 stars!!! Remember, there&#39;s always room for improvement, so please improve this app!!!!!!!!!!!!
Paid for the app ads won&#39;t go away keeps defaulting to the unpaid version.
way better than wobble!
This game has its