Observations from the Word by The Barking Fox

Learning Through Offenses

Truth is absolute, but our perspective of truth is relative. Once we understand that, we move a long way toward the place where love covers a multitude of offenses. 
Proverbs 10:12; Isaiah 55:1-13; John 6:53-71; 1 Corinthians 13:9-12
Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) receives his father's lightsaber from Obi Wan Kenobi (Sir Alec Guinness) in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Image via Stack Exchange SciFi & Fantasy Community. 
Music: "Binary Sunset (The Force Theme)," John Williams, performed by John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Universal Music Group, 1977.
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Learning Through Offenses.pdf

How To Be Ready

The Bible tells us to watch and pray and be ready, but does it tell us how, and for what? 
Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11; Isaiah 40:1-26; Proverbs 15:22; Matthew 24:42-44, 26:41; 2 Timothy 2:3-4, 3:16-17  
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: How to Be Ready
Music: "Army Blue," U.S. Army Ceremonial Band, American Spirit, Altissimo 2009. 
Illustration: Soldiers Getting the Word, Theodore J. Abraham. This illustration from the Vietnam War applies to all soldiers at any time and any place. (U.S. Army Center of Military History, August 1999.)

The Time Of Our Visitation

It's possible to live through earth-shaking times and miss the really important things. That's why it's good to remember that God's redemptive plan hinges on Israel and Israel's Messiah.
Psalm 121:1-8; Esther 8:13-14; Zechariah 12:3; Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 19:41-44; Romans 11:25-27; 2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Left: Revelers at the “Fantasy Fair” in Mill Valley, California during the Summer of Love (Photo by Elaine Mayes, California Historical Society, “On the Road to the Summer of Love Exhibition," via History.com). Right: Israeli paratroopers sits along the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on June 7, 1967 (Israeli Defense Ministry IDF Archive, via Jewish Virtual Library.) 
Music:"Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” The Beatles, The Beatles, 1967-1970 Disc 1, Capitol Records 1970; "Chorus: He, Watching Over Israel," Felix Mendelssohn, performed by Gabrieli Consort & Players, Paul McCreesh, Mendelssohn: Elijah, 1846, Signum Records 2012.
Click here to watch the video: The Time of Our Visitation
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: The Time of Our Visitation.pdf
 

Grazing Safely

We know that our Redeemer promises to gather his scattered sheep. What we do not know very well is what those sheep should do once gathered. 
Ezekiel 34:1-24; John 10:1-16
"Stray Lamb," Richard Ansdell, courtesy of The Border Collie Museum, used by permission."The Good Shepherd - John 10:1-16," Jesus Mafa, Cameroon, 1973, Vanderbilt Divinity Library.
Music: "Sheep May Safely Graze,” J.S. Bach, U.S. Air Force Concert Band, Legacy: The Music of Chief Master SGT. Lawrence Odom, United States Air Force Band, 2020.
Special thanks to Sarah Kellam for preserving and promoting the artwork of her great-great-grandfather, Richard Ansdell RA, at http://www.richardansdell.co.uk.
Special thanks also to Carole Presburg of the Border Collie Museum (http://www.bordercolliemuseum.org/) for permission to use Richard Ansdell’s painting, “Stray Lamb,” and for inspiring the opening line to this podcast.
Click here to download the transcript this podcast: Grazing Safely.pdf

Climbing Up the Mountain

A crisis of faith happens when situations confront us that demand we follow through with what we say we believe, or back away from it. It's really that simple, until we're in the crisis - and unless we have walked out our faith day by day, it's uncomfortably possible that we might not come through with our faith intact. 
2 Kings 4:8-37; Mark 9:14-29; John 11:17-27
Rappelling at Yonah Mountain, Georgia, with Florida State University Reserve Officer Training Corps. (Albert J. McCarn, May 4, 1980.)
Music: "Climbing Up the Mountain,” Morris Brown Quartet, Tell the World, Suncoast Music, 2015 (originally recorded 1939).
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Climbing Up the Mountain.pdf

One More River to Cross

There is some comfort in knowing that our Creator expects us to fail. It's part of the lengthy training process He has overseen for millennia to prepare a redeemed people for His eternal purposes. 
Exodus 4:22; Leviticus 25:1-27:34; John 10:29; Galatians 3;26-29; 1 Peter 2:9
Woodrow Wilson Bridge, looking northwest over the Potomac River toward Alexandria, Virginia. Traffic flows freely in this photo taken in December 2008, but several months earlier, the final stages of construction on the new bridge severely constricted traffic in both direction. (Virginia Department of Transportation, December 14, 2008, via Flickr,com).
Music: "One More River to Cross," The Hinsons, The Lighthouse, Calvary Records 1971.
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: One More River To Cross.pdf

A Man of Righteous Sorrow

Why do bad things happen to good people? Maybe it's because they are far better able to handle adversity than those whose connection to the Creator is tenuous. Maybe the righteous suffer not only because they can endure the trials, but because their Redeemer wants to refine them for something eternal. 
Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Matthew 25:14-30; Hebrews 12:4-11
Football: a Southern rite of passage. This photo by David Clow is from the game between Kent Island and North Caroline high schools in Stevensville, Maryland, on November 14, 2009. (Photo via Flickr.com).
Music: "I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow," Carter Stanley, performed by The Soggy Bottom Boys, O Brother Where Art Thou, Sony BMG, 2000.
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: A Man of Righteous Sorrow.pdf

The Disappearing Railroad Blues

Our finite human nature often has difficulty appreciating the past and the future while simultaneously living in the present. Old and new tend to clash, with one or the other taking primacy of place. Which we choose depends on our age and point of view. But we serve an Eternal God Who exists outside of time. Is there some way, as His disciples, that we can reconcile old and new in our daily lives? 
Isaiah 65:17-19; Matthew 13:52; Luke 5:36-39; Revelation 21:1-4
The Illinois Central's City of New Orleans at Kankakee, Illinois, August 1964. Photo by Lawrence and David Barera, via Flickr.com.
Music: "The City of New Orleans,” Steve Goodman, performed by Arlo Guthrie, Hobo’s Lullaby, Reprise Records, 1972. The full song can be heard at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF1lqEQFVUo.