Observations from the Word by The Barking Fox

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.

Take the Old King Off Life Support

We want the Lord to move and make things right, but often we ourselves are the reason He is holding back. Maybe instead of hoping He will fix the old things, we should ask how we can help Him usher in something new and better.
Leviticus 12:1-15:33; Numbers 12:1-15; 2 Chronicles 26:1-23; Isaiah 6:1-13; Luke 7:18-23; 2 Timothy 3:1-17
"Uzziah Smitten with Leprosy - 2 Chronicles 26:9." London, Cassell & Company Ltd, c.1860 (via Blue Letter Bible). 
Music: "I See The Lord," Paul Baloche, performed by Promise Keepers, Turn the Tide 2001, Maranatha, 2002.
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Take the King Off Life Support.pdf

Heroic, Hopeful, or Wishful Thinking?

It's easy to be optimistic in the good times, or even in the moderately bad times, but what about when the world as we know it is coming to an end? 
Judges 7:19-22, 8:10; Job 1:21, 13:14-16; John 6:66-69
King Leonidas of Sparta, hero of the Battle of Thermopylae. (Photo by Dan McLean, June 4, 2005, www.flickr.com.)
Music: "Ben Hur," Marc Reift, Philharmonic Wind Orchestra & Marc Reift Orchestra, 87 Greatest Hits for Concert Band, Marcophone, 2014.
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Heroic Hopeful or Wishful Thinking.pdf

Just Let Me Go Home

Sometimes life can get so hard that we're ready for our Creator to take us home. But what do we really mean by that? And what does He hear when we cry out that way? 
Psalm 1:1-6; Jeremiah 17: 5-10; Luke 13:6-9; Galatians 5:16-23; James 3:13-18
A U.S. Coast Guard Cadet glances down while climbing a mast of the CGC Eagle during the ship's 2019 summer cruise. (USCG photo posted August 13, 2019, United States Coast Guard Barque EAGLE Official Facebook page.)
Music: "Sloop John B," The Beach Boys, Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys, Capitol Records, 1993. The full song can be heard at https://americansongwriter.com/beach-boys-sloop-john-b-behind-the-song/.
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Just Let Me Go Home.pdf