Four-Calendar Café

Today I will review Acts 6 and point out a few things we can learn from this chapter. 

Square Pegs in Round Holes?

So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.

Acts 6:2 (NIV)

There’s a principle you may have yet to hear of. The 80/20 rule stipulates that 80% of the consequences come from 20% of causes for any specific event. When we apply the 80/20 rule to church, it means that, for the most part, 80% of the same people volunteer, and the same people do not. I’ve seen this rule in the church where 20% of the people do 80% of the work. 

For the director of music. According to sheminith. A psalm of David.

1 Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
2 Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts.
3 May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue—
4 those who say, “By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is Lord over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them.”
6 And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.
7 You, Lord, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked,
8 who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race.

Psalm 12 (NIV)

Psalm 12 fills me with wonder because it could have been written today. That’s because people don’t change. The fact that people don’t change isn’t a negative or pessimistic perspective. Not when it’s true. On the other hand, God doesn’t change either.

The truism that people don’t change falters when we incorporate God into the picture because people who seek the Lord find him, and when they find him, they are changed by Him. Thus, the idea that people don’t change doesn’t refer to individuals as much as it relates to humanity, so perhaps saying “humanity doesn’t change” is more accurate. The reason why humanity doesn’t and can’t change on its own is because of sin. Romans gives us insight into what happened when sin entered the world.

I have some notes on Exodus 17 and 18 to share today.

The Desert of Sin

The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink (emphasis added).

Exodus 17:1 (NIV)

The Desert of Sin also referred to as the Wilderness of Sin, is a geographical region in the southwestern part of the Sinai Peninsula. The desert is dry and sandy. The term “sin” is not related to the English word “sin.” Therefore, there’s no relationship to sin, as we might think, even though the Israelites sinned abundantly against the Lord while wandering in the Desert of Sin.

Hands Up

As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.

Exodus 17:11 (NIV)

After the Amalekites attacked the Israelites, Joshua met them in battle while Moses, Aaron, and Hur looked on from the top of a hill. While on this hill, Moses lifted his hands to the Lord in prayer. Exodus 17:11 shows us how the position of Moses’ hands reflected who was winning. Exodus 17:12 reveals something interesting.