Observations from the Word by The Barking Fox

Navigating Our Shenandoah Moment

Do we always have to choose a side? Yes, and no. It's important for God's people to be on His side. The problem is, He often has His people on different sides of an issue or a conflict. That's the problem of living in exile in a fallen world. Until His Kingdom is fully established, we have to navigate impossible situations created by the endless jostling of the world's kingdoms against one another and against the Kingdom of our God. 
Exodus 1:1-6:1; Isaiah 27:6-28:13, 29:22-23; Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; Romans 12:14-13:15; Ephesians 6:10-19
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Navigating Our Shenandoah Moment
Music: "American Frontiers,” Aaron Kenny, YouTube Audio Library, December, 2018. Listen to the complete audio on Youtube at https://youtu.be/54f6wPtm0wg?si=elR4oehV4VfCzU6m.
Photo: Statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC. (Photo: National Park Service/Terry Adams.)

It’s All In The Story

Everyone enjoys a good story. Some of the best stories are in the Bible. In fact, the stories of the Bible, most of which are historical accounts, contain much of the truths by which God wants His people to live. Why, then, are we more eager to pay attention to stories from other sources instead of God's stories? 
Genesis 41:1-44:17; 1 Kings 3:15-4:1; Psalm 22:1-4; Jeremiah 22:24-30; Haggai 2:20-23; Matthew 1:1-17; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; Philippians 2:5-11; Revelation 19:11-13
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: It's All In The Story
Music: "In The Temple Garden,” Aaron Kenny, YouTube Audio Library, February 24, 2021. Listen to the complete audio on Youtube at https://youtu.be/CPzdtCFmjc0?si=91kU4_H2xaMB-upd.
Photo by Kat Rowland, March 16, 2009, via Flickr.

Becoming Indispensable

Some people seem to have a gift for making things happen. They are the dependable people who get the job done, which is why they are given responsibility - although they are not always given the recognition and authority that should go along with responsibility. Why is that?  
Genesis 37:1-40:23; Amos 2:6-3:8; Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 10:1-6; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 11:24-26
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Becoming Indispensable
Music: "Limousines,” TrackTribe, YouTube Audio Library, November 29, 2023. Listen to the complete audio on Youtube at https://youtu.be/UXprOhkF3cA?si=CAaMnpKLPDYM1LnN.
Photo: Quarterback, by Eric Hamiter, February 14, 2010, via Flickr.

Godly Rational Actors

Sometimes it's hard to distinguish genuine people of God from the rest of the world. That's often the case when we see the godly and the ungodly using the same means to achieve their goals. So is it right for God's people to take up arms, or do other things we might consider violations of scriptural principles? Before we answer that question, we might want to look again at what the scripture actually says. 
Genesis 32:3-36:43; Obadiah 1; Proverbs 25:4-5; Matthew 26:52-55; Luke 14:31-33, 22:36-37; Romans 12:14-21; Galatians 1:6-10
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Godly Rational Actors
Music: "Desert Caravan,” Aaron Kenny, YouTube Audio Library, January 2018. Listen to the complete audio on Youtube at https://youtu.be/30sCS6_2CL4?si=RNoaDkcogHFfyAPw.
Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt and his Big Stick in the Caribbean. Political cartoon by William Allen Rogers, 1904, via Wikimedia Commons. 

Fulfilling the New Covenant

What does it mean to "hear from God"? Is it just something people make up to sound holy, or to keep others from questioning them? If people really do hear from God, how does it happen, and for what purpose?  
Genesis 28:10-32:2; Hosea 12:12-14:9; Isaiah 40:1-31; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Romans 8:18-23; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16; Hebrews 8:8-12
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Fulfilling the New Covenant
Music: "Virtutes Instrumenti,” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Kevin MacLeod’s music is available at https://incompetech.com/.
Photo: West façade of Bath Abbey, England, depicting Jacob's Ladder, with angels ascending and descending, from Genesis 28:10-22. Photo by Granboca, May 2, 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Real Deal

What do we do when the people and institutions we have trusted all our lives prove themselves to be untrustworthy? It's bad enough when the wicked do wicked things, but what are we to do when the righteous act wickedly? What if those "wicked righteous" are the people we see in the mirror?  
Genesis 25:19-28:9; Malachi 1:1-2:7; 2 Samuel 11:1-27; Jeremiah 9:23-26; Matthew 23:1-7, 23; John 8:39; Romans 9:10-13; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: The Real Deal
Music: "Canon in D for Two Harps,” Johann Pachelbel, arranged and performed by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Kevin MacLeod’s music is available at https://incompetech.com/.
Photo: Pentagon Memorial Chapel, September 2013 (US Army Photo).

Maternal Advocacy

Could a mother's love be a component of End Times prophecy? Maybe - or maybe it's the lack of maternal love that is the true indicator. 
Genesis 16:7-14, 23:1-25:18; 1 Kings 1:1-31, 3:16-28; 2 Samuel 11:1-27; Proverbs 31:1-31; Isaiah 49:14-15; Matthew 24:9-14
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Maternal Advocacy
Music: "Across the Savannah,” Aaron Kenny, YouTube Audio Library, August 2020. Listen to the complete audio on YouTube at https://youtu.be/_uQyXCDK8rM?si=QnWh8uD4vFD3dAVu. 
Photo: Serkalem Ayele, 30, holds her 7 days old daughter Kidist Belete inside Assosa General Hospital. Assosa, Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Western Ethiopia. Photo by Meklit Mersha, UNICEF Ethiopia, March 2, 2017, via Flickr.

Relative Judgment

How do we define right and wrong if there is no absolute truth? We complain about moral relativism, but only until we realize that the existence of absolute truth means there is a standard by which we all can be judged as right or wrong, good or evil, righteous or wicked. Do we really want such a definition, or do we want it only when we can use it to justify ourselves as we point out the wrongness of others?
Genesis 18:1-22:24; 2 Kings 4:1-37; Ezekiel 16:48-52; John 18:37-38; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Relative Judgment
Music: "Hashivenu (Turn Us Back),” Samuel and Benjamin Wearp, 2023. The full recording is available at https://youtu.be/rlFi8yNEc-U?si=zcqHh5jQIoYkSgLC.
Photo by Daryl Cheng, March 6, 2008, via Flickr.