Day 8

5:43 AM wake-up

Exodus 22

Repentance and restitution: I am sure the theologians will have some refinement to my assessment here, but it seems to me that repentance is getting right with God, and restitution is at least part of getting right with people. This chapter gave a number of cases of how to make restitution to people that have been wronged. Seems like we focus on forgiveness in relationships and apologizing - admitting to them we were wrong. I struggle to think of how we 'make it right' when the damages are emotional and so deep. Very different than killing one's ox or a fender-bender. With apologies to the ox, these are actually fairly easy to restore. Hhhmmm - thinking about sins like adultery, the OT says the penalty is death. I guess that is a recognition that restitution is fairly impossible. I was watching a documentary on Napoleon last night - he adored his wife, but once he found out she was unfaithful to him, he seemed shattered. He still adored her, but his life was very different. Like fixing a shattered piece of pottery, some wounds are. Thank God for the Valley of Dry Bones - Ezekiel 37:1-14. God can restore anything He chooses.

220#

Same run pattern, except I actually ran about .2 miles in the last half. I am working to keep my expectations low, but am encouraged by progress.

Day 7

Devotional waited until the evening - was up until 2 AM doing preps for a long day today.

Isaiah 37

14 Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed to the Lord saying, 16 “O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 “Incline Your ear, O Lord , and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord , and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. 18 “Truly, O Lord , the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 20 “Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God.”

I love how Hezekiah laid the offending and terrifying letter out before the Lord and then laid out his life before Him. How our lives would be so enriched by so laying our lives out before Him.

Day 6

4:45 wake-up - back to school for K

Exodus 21

I have always struggled with this passage - it seems to affirm slavery and the rules around it. Maybe that's wrong - it certainly gives rules for ownership and accountability of the owner. It also gives the rules for how a slave is set free, and how one becomes a bond-servant. We must remember that God sets types before us here, so we can understand our relationship with Christ. One thing is for sure - God is not a communist!

Seriously, a couple more observations:

- The Lord uses the practice of case law
- God's Law is immutable and transmutable (probably not the right word) - it doesn't change, the context can change and it still applies. In this case, God doesn't endorse slavery, but provides principles around it that can be applied more broadly
- God first provides statutes to protect the most vulnerable - the slave and women. Protecting the most vulnerable is important to God

222#

I like the course I do here. Three times I get to ramp up this one short hill - very good for heart rate. Ran the last 100m.

Happy day. Still ruminating Ex 21.

Day 5

7:40 AM wake-up as girls go to church to worship practice

Exodus 20

Verse 20: Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.”

This answers the question from yesterday - God certainly makes a big deal of His holiness because He is in fact holy, but also because He wants us to walk rightly. He knows our amazing propensity to sin, and is putting in what today our society mocks as 'the fear of God', or uses as a metaphor. The Lord removes any ambiguity of what is at stake: sin kills. Our society treats sin as a game, approaches sin like the thing to do, and even the church has written off sin, and pooh poohed the impact of ongoing sin in the church, and many churches are well on their way to redefining sin out of the Bible. Woe unto us. God save us. May we learn to treat sin as sin, and may our children honor the Lord at His word.

224#

Will do a mile walk with L this PM as part of our date.

4th Day

Short entry. No workout, read Exodus 19, Isaiah 35. Was struck by how important it was for God to make clear He was holy to the Israelites. Good prayer time. Don't feel fully well, and had a bit of an impromptu day.

3rd Day

7:35 wakeup (Prince Kuhio Day)

Exodus 18

I love this chapter. Verse 1: "Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt." Moses embraces with him, talks story, and shares a meal. Jethro, the priest of Midian, rejoices in the salvation of the Lord. So much here. Moses shares of the Lord with his in-law. A foreign priest rejoices in the salvation of Yahweh. How many times in the church do we respond fearfully or boastfully rather than openly and humbly when given the opportunity to share?

Verses 13-26 are a mentoring lesson to Moses on how to do things better. Ever since I was at USNA with the Navigators we have talked about this passage. So much here - smart delegation, having a mentor and giving him a voice in your life, wise governance. Today, in this election season, what struck me was Jethro's qualifications for his leaders:

- able men - they need to be able to do the job

- who fear God - honoring and glorifying God must be paramount in their lives

- men of truth - in a dispute they will choose what aligns to reality, even in the temptation to 'be political'

- those who hate dishonest gain - such roles have many temptations to increase one's wealth, even in subtle ways

May we see such men and women become leaders this next 9 months in our government.

221#

Today was different in a bunch of ways:

- It was a holiday

- I read the youversion.com Scripture on my phone instead of my laptop - didn't even roll out of bed, but got into God's Word even before sitting up! Funny, but I have had a hard time doing this with youversion.com, but it was seamless today.

- I normally walk/run in bicycle shorts (more comfortable), but this morning ran in khaki shorts

- wasn't dark when I ran/walked

- last two days have listened to radio or nothing - this morning listened to "Give Me Your Eyes" and "Voice of Truth" on the phone

Great morning, even though the boss called me on the final stretch and had to catch up on 3 days of excitement. Actual cycle took less than an hour. Good news is that in the midst of change - met with the Lord, exercised!

2nd Day

5:15 wakeup (before alarm)

Exodus 17

Verse 6: "thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink". The Lord sure had presence of mind. Actually, I think His mind was constantly on the idea of how He demonstrated salvation through His Son. This was a parable within a parable - the entire escape from Egypt told of salvation and redemption. 1 Cor 10:4 says the Rock was Christ, so there is no doubt. So the Rock of Salvation was struck with the Law (Moses), and from Him sustenance for all. And yet Israel doubts.

Over the last couple months, I have had a fascination with history. I have listened to a lecture series on Western Civilization, read numerous articles, and wrestled with the advent of modern man. It can envelope your mind. I cannot say I doubted the Lord, but did sense the nihilism of modern western thought pressure me. That is to say, as I reviewed the progression of thought of the late 1800s, culminating in the most terrible war in history up to that date, I can see how Europe lost hope and abandoned God, and how even to this day they are mostly lost. Is that the same as Israel? Hhmmm, probably not. But in both cases and beyond, I can see that keeping in step with the Lord is an active pursuit, not one of being in the fold and passively going along. In a way, I commend Israel for striving (Moses named the place Meribah, which means contention). The Lord is faithful, even when we are faithless, for He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). This is so reassuring - the reality of Him in me carries me.

223#

75 minutes, same pattern. Swim will need to wait to get incorporated. Our pool isn't heated anyway - perhaps summer, perhaps once I get locked in on doing this.

1st Day

5:30 wakeup

Exodus 16

I find it amazing that Israel found death preferable to being led by a pillar of smoke in the day and a pillar of fire at night. What a great example of an ungrateful attitude. Of course, they were suffering in ways I cannot really identify with. Having said that, during my early years I suffered to the point of despairing of life as well while walking in the place God had for me...perhaps I need to cut them more slack.

So in verse 3 they despair of life; God responds with quail and manna. The question I will ponder on my walk is, why did it take them despairing for God to provide quail and manna?

So, multiple places in the NT show how God answers those who ask. Did the Israelites ask in Ex 16? I don't know. He certainly knows our needs before we ask. Perhaps He was bringing them to a place of being broken. The books and chapters ahead show they didn't make the transition.

Point for prayer - may I be broken completely, and not resurrect my foolish independence to my own destruction.

Walked 1 mile (2 long laps, 1 short lap), ran the last 200 yards.

225#

Whole cycle took 78 minutes, lengthened by an attempt to load a podcast reader on the phone. Didn't get any upper body work done - need to figure out how to get that in. A start.

A following thought: how is it that when Israel complains God meets their needs? When my daughters complain, I rebuke them for complaining! Is it that God had a lot at stake with Israel? Perhaps I need to reconsider Micah 6:8 - acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly. I can see these in God's response in Ex 16. Maybe my rebukes need curtailing.

The Plan

OK, so this is the thing: I need to insert some discipline into my life, in my walk with the Lord and in my physical life. In SPAM tonight, M shared (actually Pastor shared for him) how he was waking early to meet with God. Watching K my daughter at 13 run the 3000 meters and doing so well at it, and seeing a longtime friend this Sunday so well slimmed down, and frustrated with my inability to get through the Bible in a year, not even to say the Old Testament in two years...well, time to be committed. I am not posting here for anyone expect perhaps M and my wife L to give me accountability. If you want to cheer me on, or gratuitously watch, or lurk, or provide thoughts, either for my log of my devotionals or my log of weight and workout - knock yourself out. I care not. M & L, thanks in advance for your encouragement and accountability. May the Lord be blessed by a newfound consistency in my life, which has always eluded me.

So, my initial plan is a 4:30 AM wakeup, with 5 minutes clear the cobwebs, then 15 minutes for my youversion.com reading to get out the door and walk around the neighborhood for 15 minutes (walk/jog) while ruminating, meditating, and praying, then if I am brave I will swim 5 laps in 15 minutes, then back in the house to shower. Should be ready for the day by 5:40. We'll see.