Observations from the Word by The Barking Fox

Customized Pigsties

How exclusive is God's family? Does He limit membership only to people of proper pedigree, or does He impart that pedigree to anyone who seeks admission on His terms? 
Deuteronomy 29:10-31:30; Isaiah 61:10-63:9; Genesis 3:1-23; Luke 15:1-32; Ephesians 2:11-15; 1 John 3:4
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Customized Pigsties
Music: "Prodigal Son,” Cody Ryan Cribbs, Exodus Road Band, Prodigal Son, Exodus Road Records 2022. This song and others by Exodus Road Band are available at https://www.exodusroadband.com/.
Illustration: The Prodigal Son, by ihave3kids, April 7, 2012, via Flickr.

Risking the Curses

A common question people have is how to be saved, or at least how to God's wrath. Is there anything God won't forgive? Apparently there is. Surprisingly, it may be less about our actions, and more about our interference with God's intent. 
Deuteronomy 26:1-29:9; Isaiah 60:1-22; Zechariah 4:6-10; Matthew 12:22-32; Revelation 11:15
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Risking the Curses
Music: "Cuckoo’s Nest,” Nat Keefe & Hot Buttered Rum, YouTube Audio Library, April 22, 2021. Listen to the complete audio on YouTube at https://youtu.be/H-iI6rEqc5A?si=OC6Ho1pLmQ9p0Odn.
Photo by Ashley Adcox, January 12, 2009, via Flickr.

Agents of Righteous Change

Which is easier: to believe that God does miracles, or to believe that God does miracles through us?
Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9; Isaiah 51:12-53:12; 1 Kings 3:16-28; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 8:1-11
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Agents of Righteous Change
Music: "Future King of Heaven,” Zachariah Hickman, YouTube Audio Library, April 21, 2021. Listen to the complete audio on YouTube at https://youtu.be/bteCg7aqqX0?si=0ToVaXQxcRHbMV1N
Photo by Brett Jordan, London, England, November 6, 2021, via Flickr.

The Best Things in Life

We have God's assurances that He gives us eternal life, but how does that pay the bills in this present life? Maybe the answer to that question is right in front of us, if we have the faith to trust God and trust our neighbors.
Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17; Isaiah 54:11-55:5; John 4:13-14; Titus 2:9-10; Revelation 21:6-7, 22:17
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: The Best Things in Life
Music: "Leaning On the Everlasting Arms,” Zechariah Hickman, YouTube Audio Library, December, 2021. Listen to the complete audio on YouTube at https://youtu.be/XsEfC1mjI8o?si=5dmtgiYL2Ig0pk8j.
Photo by Dr. Matthias Ripp, Lichteneiche, Bavaria, Germany, March 14, 2016. Original photo available on Flickr at https://flic.kr/p/Fr9McG.

Aspiring Martyrs

How do we want to be remembered? If we'd like to be remembered by how we lived for God, then maybe we should ponder what it means to be a martyr.
Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25; Isaiah 49:14-51:3; Psalm 25:1-22; 2 Timothy 2:1-13
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Aspiring Martyrs
Music: "A Baroque Letter,” Aaron Kenny, YouTube Audio Library, April, 2021. Listen to the complete audio on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnABSZNB82I.
Illustration: Sydney Carton going to the guillotine in A Tale of Two Cities. Sketch by Frederick Barnard in Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, by Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, Marion Harland, Ed. (New York: Selmar Hess, 1892), via Flickr.

Reason to Trust and Obey

Do we really believe God is trustworthy? If so, why don't we do as He says? And how exactly are we to know what He says?
Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11; Isaiah 40:1-26; Mark 12:28-31; John 14:15; Revelation 14:6-7 
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Reason to Trust and Obey
Music: "Trust and Obey,” by John H. Sammis and Daniel B. Towner, performed by PaPi Clever & Dorcas, November 13, 2023. Downloaded from CeeNaija.com. Listen to the complete audio at https://www.ceenaija.com/papi-clever-dorcas-trust-and-obey/.
Photo by Carol Walker, Ayn Sokhna, Egypt, April 2, 2003, via Flickr.

More Certain than Death and Taxes

Government happens. That's not a complaint; it's a simple statement of fact. God instituted government when He created order in His universe. We know how human governments operate, and the record isn't very encouraging. That's why we may be apprehensive about God's government in eternity. How should we prepare for it?
Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22; Isaiah 1:1-27, 9:6-7; 65:17-25; Micah 4:1-4; Matthew 19:27-28; John 5:39-47; 1 Corinthians 6:1-11, 15:23-28; Hebrews 11:32-40
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: More Certain than Death and Taxes
Music: "St. Anne’s Reel,” Nat Keefe & Hot Buttered Rum, YouTube Audio Library, February 2020. Listen to the complete audio on Youtube at https://youtu.be/qEGDnhDDV8c?si=L2PkrRDfBY3xK3As.
Photo: Benjamin Franklin sculpture by Hiram Powers, 1844-1860, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC.

Come Heal Your Land

We all want healing and restoration to our nations, so what happens if God doesn't answer our prayers as we expect and our lands remain sick and divided? Maybe we should ask Him if we've missed something in our prayers - such as praying for the healing of His land. 
Numbers 30:2-36:13; Jeremiah 2:4-28, 3:1-16, 29:5-14; Deuteronomy 11:12; Psalm 122:1-9; Romans 8:18-23; 1 Timothy 2:1-7
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Come Heal Your Land
Music: "Across the Savannah,” Aaron Kenny, YouTube Audio Library, October 2020. Listen to the complete audio on Youtube at https://youtu.be/_uQyXCDK8rM?si=rS8DNRN-RQcj0nWI.
Photo: Dead Vlei (Dead Swamp), Namibia. Photo by Giovanni, August 9, 2022, via Flickr.