Choices

In the Book of Esther there is a verse that speaks more loudly to me this morning than any other. It is in the fourth chapter. Slide your finger down to the 14th verse and you will find this:

"And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” - Ruth 4:14

Esther was faced with a decision the day her uncle spoke those words to her. She had to confront the king, which could have led to her immediate death. But she risked it all, made her decision, and ultimately saved her people from annihilation.

My wife and I just got from a quick trip to Michigan. My niece's mother-in-law had died unexpectedly, and the funeral was Tuesday morning.

My niece and her husband have three wonderful children. All handled the open casket pretty well. At one point our niece took her five-year old son up front to say goodbye to "gramma." I watched. After his visit was done, this little guy came over to us and said, "Grandma's cold."

"Grandma needs a blanket," I said.

We sat behind the grandmother's other grandson. During the service the pastor offered an opportunity for others to come forward and offer their remembrances of Grandma." Many did.

The mom in front of us kept encouraging her son to go forward and say something but he continually refused. That decision will haunt him the rest of his life. I know. I made a similar decision about my own grandma and have regretted it ever since.

We all face decisions like that in life. Should we, or shouldn't we? Our daily decisions all have consequences. Some of those decisions have eternal consequences.

During the pastor's message that morning, he offered the chance to make another decision. A decision about Jesus. How we face THAT question truly DOES have eternal consequences.

According to the Christian faith, we all will live forever. There are two options for the location for our foreverness - heaven or hell. The choice is ours.

My niece's mother-in-law chose Christ long ago. He decision effected the lives of many people in her community. One got up and told a story of how "grandma" kept inviting her to church. She eventually relented and went. It changed this person's life.

Have you and I lived lives worthy of our calling? Will our choices be the right ones in God's eyes? Will we be missed as much as this grandmother is? Will we speak to someone about Jesus, even though we're afraid to say something?

It's OUR choice. What will we choose? Self? Or Jesus?

"Blessed be the name of the LORD now and forever." - Psalm 113:2

Count Your Blessings

So, today is my birthday. Birthdays are a time to reflect on one's life - the accomplishments, the memories, and the relationships. It is also a time to be thankful. And THAT is why I am writing this story today.

I couldn't sleep last night. I woke up at one and laid awake until two, trying to get back to sleep. Then I got up and went into the living room and tried to do the same in my chair until three. Not a great night's sleep, but I did sleep.

During my sleepless night I had lots of time to think and to pray. There are so many more things to be thankful for than just being able to sleep. Like being in a warm house for example. There are millions of Ukrainians who don't have a warm place to stay.

As I fix my breakfast, I am thinking about those who will go hungry today. I read in my Bible about people who "had a severe famine in the land" for seven years. And I get cranky if I haven't had my morning breakfast?

Facebook tells me that I have hundreds of friends, but they are really just people I knoww for the most part. I have a handful of really good friends', and of course, family.

Family is a gift that keeps on giving.

Sometimes family or friends die, but the memories we have of them live on, and those memories are with us forever.

"Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children." - Proverbs 17:6

Family is the best gift. I am currently reading through 2nd Chronicles. The first ten chapters are all about family. Good people and bad people to be sure, but the overall concept of family and generations are a big thing in God's eyes. Mine too.

Despite my age and the sounds my body makes every time it tries to move, I am grateful it moves at all.

I can no longer do some of the things I used to do when I was younger but that's probably a good thing.

Remember that old saying, "Don't write checks your body can't cash?" Yeah.

So, what am I thankful for today on my birthday? There is no doubt in my mind. I am thankful for God. Without Him I wouldn't exist, nor would any of my family or friends. God has given my everything and for that I am eternally grateful.

And speaking of things to be thankful for, let me not forget Jesus, who gave is very life for us so that we might live with Him forever. And what a precious gift that is!

So today I count my blessings. Thank you for being a part of my life. And my God bless you as richly as He has blessed me.

In my church we sing a song that goes, "Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God has done." Today, I will do that very thing.

I Forgot

Look closely at this picture. Do you see the reflection in the window next to the child? It is his mother saying goodbye. In Ukraine.

I was watching the news the other night and I heard one of the station's show hosts say, "Vladimir Putin has relinquished his right to live." I thought about that for a minute. Is that true? And who was this tv show personality to decide whether or not someone has the right to live or die/

While it is true that President Putin has done some very nasty things, is it someone else's right to determine whether or not he lives or dies? Or is that God's job?

"Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord." - Romans 12:19

That being said, God can and does use human being to execute His judgments. He has sent entire nations against a people because they have disobeyed His laws and commands. 

I remember reading about David being constantly pursued and harassed by King Saul. Several times David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but he didn't. Why? Because God had anointed Saul king over Israel. Time and time again David was heard to say, "I will not strike the Lord's anointed."

This is a tough call. This is the point where I decide that decisions like this are WAY beyond my pay grade and I turn to God in prayer. My default prayer is for God's will to be done. I have NO IDEA what God has planned for us, And although I have an idea from what I r4ead in the Bible, I have NO IDEA how God will execute His will.

When someone asks for help, are we to provide it without first counting the cost? The words of Jesus:

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? - Luke 14:28

Another thing to remember is that NO ONE comes to power without God having ordained it in the first place.

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." - Romans 13:1

As we watch the news, let us be in prayer as the stories unfold and as the Spirit moves us. The children, the pregnant women, the brave soldiers fighting on BOTH sides need our prayers. Even the leaders of our countries. Let it be said of us that we pray!

In closing I would encourage you to listen to the following song by Nicole Nordeman. There is a line in the songs that speaks to the people we have a had time praying for - "I had forgotten that I was staring at the image of mt God."

Wide Eyed - Nicole Nordeman

Feeling Alone

Today we are going to take a little journey through the first couple of chapters of Genesis. I want to show you something good. VERY good.

Do you remember how when God created something the Bible said, "it was good?" It says that after everything He created,

"And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, " - Genesis 1:3-4

The light was good in verse 4, the land and the seas were good in verse 10, the vegetation was good in verse 12, the sun, moon and starts were all good in verse 18, the wild animals were called good in verse. 25. Do you see the pattern here?

Ultimately, when God got to the end of the sixth day, everything actually looked VERY good in His eyes.

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day." - Genesis 2:31

God then created Adam. God was on a roll! But then God noticed something that was NOT good. Do you know what it was? The serpent? No. Chapter 3, Verse 18 . . .

"The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” - Genesis 3:18

It is got good for us to be alone.

King Solomon knew this when he wrote, "Two are better than one."

Are you alone? You don't have to be.

Sadly, we can have family members and friends up the wazoo but still feel like we are all alone. We can be walking down a crowded street and still feel like we're all alone. Why is that? God clearly says it's not good for us to feel that way.

I think it's because we allow ourselves to feel, or become, lonely. The key word in all of this is "feel." We can allow ourselves to "feel" lonely. We need to stop feeling that way. God clearly said it's not good.

So, what should we do when we are feeling alone, and we don't want to be? I honestly think God is the answer. Psalm 37:4 says that If we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will "give us the desires of our hearts."

What remains then is those who WANT to be alone. Ans that's where WE come in. We must be on the lookout for people who are feeling alone. We must "love one another" (John 13:34). That was a COMMAND by Jesus.

Love someone today. Give someone a hug today. Share the love of Christ with someone today. It is not good for man to be alone. Who knows.  By simply loving someone, we just might save a life.

Lead Us!

Did you see President Zelenskyy's speech to Congress last week? It was wonderful. Emotional. It was a speech from a leader. A true leader. In that speech he called out our president. He asked President Biden to do one thing. Lead.

"I’m addressing the President Biden. You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace." - Volodymyr Zelenskyy

When you and I were kids, did you ever se anyone getting beat up on the school play ground? Did you ever experience being bullied in the back of the school bus? What did you hope for when you witnessed those things? A leader! Someone to step up and say, "Stop that!"

That's the kind of leader we need today. Someone to stand up to Putin, and all the rest of the bullies in our world, and put them in their place.

I was reading about King David this morning. Now there was a leader! There are many such leaders in the Bible. Moses, Johua, and of course, Jesus. Our problem today is that not a lot of people are reading God's Word, much less putting its lessons into action.

These Biblical leaders did two things - they consulted God before they did anything. They also asked God what they should do. We need a Biblical leader right now, that's for sure.

Our biggest obstacle to receiving God's help with our world's problems today is that we have largely turned our backs on God. God says that, if we do that, He will not hear our prayers for help. That's not a good position to be in.

"Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.” - Jeremiah 14:12

Does any of that sound like what's happening today? So, what do we do? God's children must pray! We must pray for the redemption of sinners, we must pray for our enemies. We must pray for our forgiveness. And we must pray for God to deliver us from this mess we have made.

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14

God is the answer to the pain the world is in right now. God loves everyone, but look what we are doing to ourselves right now. It is time to return to our King. We need somebody to lead us out of this bondage we have enshackled ourselves with. We need a deliverer! And His name is The Lord God Almighty.

The Ultimate Question

I have two questions for you this morning. The first one is easy. Are you a Christian? That's one of those 'yes' or 'no' answer questions. You either are or you aren't, right? The second question is a bit harder.

Why?

The people who are not Christians usually have answers ready to give. The Christians, however, always seem to struggle with the 'why' question.

"Well, I, uh, I've ALWAYS been a Christian. I never really thought about it."

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." - 1 Peter 3:15

I like to answer the why question with another question: How do you define "Christian?" Depending upon who you ask, you will likely get a wide variety of answers. Until the "What is a Christian" question gets answered, it's hard to know if you are one or not.

So, what IS a Christian? This is from GotQuestions.org

The word "Christian" literally means, "belonging to the party of Christ" or a "follower of Christ." Unfortunately, over time, the word "Christian" has lost a great deal of its significance and is often used of someone who is religious or has high moral values but who may or may not be a true follower of Jesus Christ.

That would be a good answer to the "Are you a Christian?" question.

"I am a follower of Jesus Christ."

On second thought, that's still not specific enough. Mormons follow a "Jesus Christ" and he is WAY different from the God of The Bible.

Perhaps we should answer the "are you a Christian" question like this:

"I am a follower of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The first and the last, beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega, All things were made through Him and for Him. He never changes and always loves. He is The Way, The Truth and The Life. Whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life.

That's not a 'yes' or 'no' answer but it is an accurate answer. Is that the Jesus you believe in?

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." - John 1:1-5

Gentle Reminders

Do you ever get frustrated? Well, let me tell you about MY day. Lol!

In the morning I was hanging a new light fixture in one of our bedrooms. It wasn't going well. Just when I thought I was all done, I stepped back to look at it and it was crooked. Now I have to do my work all over again. Frustrating.

Then, I went into town to run some errands. On my way there I stopped at McDonalds for lunch. I was still frustrated from my morning's electrical work. The lady in the car in front of me didn't help much.

She ordered her food and then pulled ahead, but she only moved ahead about half a car length. I couldn't move up to place my order. And there was a half car length gap in front of her yet.

"You know, if you would just move ahead a little, I could order." I said to myself. But I did say it out loud.

This pattern continued at the pay window as well. The lady paid but then didn't pull ahead far enough so that I could do the same. Ugh!

"There's plenty of room. You can do it!" Still, she never closed the gap to the car in front of her. A depth perception problem? Frustrating!

I finally made it to the window to pay and handed the lady my money. She gave me my change and then said something that changed my frustrating day completely.

"I like your bracelet," she said with a smile.

Bracelet? What? What bracelet? Oh! My I . . . Am . . . Second bracelet?

God is so amazing sometimes. Well, He's amazing ALL of the time! But He actually takes the time to give us gentle reminders when we really need them. I needed one and was blessed because of it.

"You know who's First?" I replied to the young lady's comment.

"Jesus!" she said with a smile.

That's all it took to make my day. To turn my frown upside down. The rest of the day was spent praising Him in the things I said and did.

Today I get to redo my electrical work, but I will do it with a smile on my face. And if for some reason I should get frustrated again, I am going to McDonald's! NO!! But I WILL think about my smiling young friend who reminded me that God is above ALL things.

"The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all." - John 3:31

Now The Serpent

Back when it all began, Adam and Eve had it pretty good. But then Eve did something that changed everything. And it had nothing to do with the apple. Some background first.

God was giving Adam some basic instructions about the garden that He wanted Adam to take care of.

"And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” - Genesis 2:16-17

Then God created Eve later in the very same chapter. All was going okay for them, until chapter three - The Fall.

The very first words of chapter three tell us everything we need to know about what happened next - "Now the serpent . . ." Satan tried to get Eve to question God's Word. “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

"The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” - Genesis 3:2-3

She got it correct, right? No, she did not! She added something! "And you must not touch it."

Is that really a big deal? I mean it's a couple of words!

What does God say about adding or subtracting from His word?

"Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you." - Deuteronomy 4:1-2

Lots of people think it was the eating of the apple that was the first sin. Nope. It was adding to and changing God's Command. Why did Eve do that? Because she didn't really KNOW God's commands.

We humans like to change God's Word a lot. Have you ever seen The Ten Commandments, The Bible television series, Noah, or The Chosen? All of them have taken God's Word and changed it for the sake of making it "a better story."

"Well," people might say, "that was the Old Testament GOD. Things changed when Jesus came on the scene. He's not as strict as God the Father."

Really?

“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division." - Luke 12:49-51

Disobedience Example #1: Why are there so many LGBTQ+ friendly churches? Here's why. We are pleasers of men rather than pleasers of God.

"He created them male and female." - Genesis 5:2

Disobedience Example #2: Why is abortion even a thing in this world? It's against God's will.

"There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood . . ." - Proverbs 6:16-17

According to the Gospel News Network, "A heartbreaking reminder about the prevalence of abortion, statistics compiled by Worldometers indicate that there were over 42.6 million abortions world-wide in 2021.

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?" - Luke 6:46

There are many more examples but this story is already long enough.

Repentance seems to be the number one thing this world needs right now. God is patient, but He is NOT tolerant. Something has to change, and I think it's has to be us.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." - Hebrews 13:8

The Parable of The Cookie Jar

There once was an obstinate little child. His name was . . . Vladmir. Vlad wanted a cookie. The problem was that "mom" was in the next room reading a book and the cookie jar made lots of noise when it was opened.

Vlad tried to be sneaky. He waited as long as he could by the edge of the counter, but temptation proved far too great for young Vlad, and he reached for the jar.

The jar proved to be heavier than Vlad had anticipated. With one last pull, the jar came crashing to the floor and was shattered at Vlad's feet. Broken cookies and glass were everywhere. It looked like a bomb went off in the kitchen! Now Vlad couldn't eat any of his cookies. They were all ruined. Vlad was sad.

"Where was mom?" Vlad thought. He had expected mom to come running and yelling into the kitchen, but she said and did nothing. So, Vlad just sat there in the midst of all the cookie crumbs and broken glass, wondering if there might be something else to eat in the kitchen.

Poor Vlad. What a young, foolish little boy. He should have been more like his neighbor; Uni. Uni was a smarter and stealthier kid. He fixed His mom's cookie jar so that it didn't squeak, and he had all the cookies and candy he wanted whenever he wanted them. Uni was a fat, happy child.

This of course, is a real-life story. Vlad is Vladimir Putin. The cookie jar is Ukraine. The United Nations is Vlad's "mom" - too distracted by other priorities to take any action.

All this "drama" occupies every minute of our nightly newscasts. NO one is reporting on the REAL villain at work in the world; Satan.

Putin, the "United" Nations, The World Economic Forum, all are simply players orchestrated by The Devil himself. All organized and planed, but NOTHING happens without the say-so of Almighty God.

The world is not falling apart. Things are falling into place, according to God's will.

You might ask, "How could God allow all of this to happen?" Simple. This is all part of a bigger, overarching plan. Read the Bible. It's all in there.

"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains." - Matthew 24:6-8

We must share the love of Jesus with the entire world. We see that absence of Christ in Putin. We see God's presence in the hearts of the Ukrainian people, helping and caring for one another. Perhaps, if little Vlad had Jesus in his heart instead of Satan, he never would have disobeyed and reached for the cookie jar.

Either way, no worries. Vlad's Father will be coming home from work soon, and there will literally be hell to pay.

"Whoever has ears, let them hear." - Matthew 11:15

UN 2030 Agenda

Expunged

Wouldn't it be nice if we could just start over? How many times have we wished we could just push the rewind button in our lives and start over again?

When we are young, 'juveniles' as the courts call it, and we commit a crime, the courts can take our criminal records and wipe them out when we become adults. They call it having ours records 'expunged.'

We tend not to think about the consequences of our decisions BEFORE we take action. That can lead to problems. That can lead to jail time.

I have a young friend who got into trouble with the law as a juvenile. She spent time in 'juvie' for some of her 'best' life decisions. Later, she had her juvenile court records expunged. She felt good about that, as well she should have.

But if she continues to make bad decisions as an adult, the consequences become more severe. There will be no more expunging of court records.

There is no escaping SIN in this life. We are all guilty and fall short.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," - Romans 3:23

However, there is still hope. There is a judge I have heard of who forgives our sins. He has promised to expunge OUR record because the sentence He was going to give us has already been served . . . by He Himself.

"He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west." - Psalm 13:12

It feels good to have all of the wrongs we have ever done forgotten by our just and righteous Judge. It's almost like we owe the Judge and debt of gratitude. But you know what the Judge says to that?

"Go and sin no more." - John 8:11

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." - Ephesians 2:8

Do you have a criminal record in the eyes of God? Why don't you get it expunged today by confessing those sins to God? He has promised to wipe the slate clean!

Big Blue Marble

I was thinking about our insignificance this morning. That, and the absolute awesomeness of our God.

"What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?" - Psalm 8:4

I have a challenge for you today. I'd like you to think about the earth, from a heavenly perspective. Big, blue, floating quietly in space.

The earth is the absolute perfect distance from the sun. Sometimes we get hot or cold but on average the temperature is perfect.

We have day and night, and four different seasons. We have an atmosphere that surrounds our plant. The amount of gravity we have seems perfect. We can walk around without too much difficulty, and we don't go floating off into space either. It's perfect.

There are lots of other planets out there, yet there is only one planet that is perfect for us. It's almost like it was created specifically FOR us.

"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." - Colossians 1:15-17

There is WAY more going on in those few verses that I can possibly even understand. In Him, in Jesus, all things were created. ALL things. Planets, suns, moons, stars . . . ALL things. That means us too. We were created FOR Jesus.

Think about that. We are His. Whether we believe in Him or not, we belong to Him. Now, Jesus has said that He is the vine, and we are the branches.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes a so that it will be even more fruitful." - John 15:1-2

Are we bearing fruit? From what Jesus just said here, I hope so. If not, God will cut us off. Hmm.

Look at our big, blue marble called earth. It's hard to see the unproductive branches from space. The non-believing people of the earth. But they are with us, and God knows who they are.

Jesus told us that there is coming a new heaven and a new earth. Will it be more beautiful than the one we have right now? I'm guessing here, but I believe it will be. Would you like to see it? Me too!!

Then place your faith and trust in Jesus. Repent of your sins and follow Him. Following Him should be easy if we're attached to Him. We are the branches. He is the vine. Remember?

Strong and Courageous

What does the face of courage look like? We have seen the look of it on the faces of every Ukrainian we see. Some are crying, some looked worried, others look scared. I think it is possible to be all of those things and still be courageous.

The guy in the foreground of this picture is the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. You all know that. Look at his face.

If the Russins captured Zelensky, what do you think they would do to him? I think he and his buddies here would be executed. Dead men tell know tales.

Now let me ask you another question. What expression do you think Jesus had on His face before He was crucified? I bet it would have been similar. One definition of courage is knowing something bad is going to happen but going through with it anyway because you know it is this right thing to do.

Jesus didn't want to go to the cross, but He did it anyway. Why? Because something greater was about to happen. It was all part of God's plan. Jesus gave up His earthly life so that God's will for the rest of us could be completed.

Have you ever read the first chapter of Joshua? There is a link at the bottom of the page. In one short chapter, God tells Johua to do something FOUR times! What do you think it was?

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

7 “Be strong and very courageous." - Joshua 1:6-7

Why did God want Joshua to be "strong and courageous?" Because Joshua was about to lead his people into multiple wars, all so God's will could be accomplished. Did you know that Josuah and Jesus (pronounced Yeshua in Hebrew) share the same name?

And what is God's will regarding the Ukranian people? I don't know the answer to that. But I think that being strong and courageous is playing a part in it. Is Zelensky a Christian? I don't know that either. But he sure is acting like one. He is willing to sacrifice his life to lead his people. Wasn't Johua willing to do the same thing?

That brings me to this question. How are we as Christians to act as we watch the ravages of war on our safe little television screens? Are WE being strong and courageous? And what about our government? Zelensky has asked for help several times. What have we given the Ukrainian people? Has our president been strong and courageous?

We need to be praying for all of the above. Zelensky, Putin, Biden, they ALL need our prayers. Let us be strong and courageous as we approach God's throne in prayer.

Joshua 1

Capital A

If you have seen the movie The Ten Commandments, then this is probably a familiar scene to you. Moses with his staff held high, a pillar of fire in the distance and Egyptians on chariots on the hill beyond. The Israelites are trapped against the Red Sea.

I'd like to show you some text from the Book of Exodus to see if you notice the same thing I did.

"And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them." - Exodus 14:19

Notice that the word "Angel" is capitalized in the NKJV that I am using. Just about every other translation uses a small "a" in the word angel. Why? DO the New King James translators know something the others don't?

Usually in the Bible when other words for 'God' and 'Jesus' are used they are always capitalized. A 'He' or 'Me' is always capitalized when the e=text refers to God Himself. Is the pillar of fire actually God? I don't think so. The verse refers to The Angel OF God. Is it Jesus then?

Think about it. What was the pillar of fire for? Let the Bible tell us.

"By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night." - Exodus 13:21

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” - John 8:12

One final thing. The word LORD, all capital letters, is the Old Testament Hebrew way of not pronouncing the name of God. The Hebrew word is YHWH or Yahweh.

I think the pillar of fire was a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus. What do YOU think?