RUMINATIONS OF A REVEREND

 If you are literally hitting a donkey, then please stop now! But I’m quite confident that most people reading this blog don’t own a donkey, and you are wondering why you have even read this far. But please read on. You might not own a literal donkey, but by the end of this blog, you may discover you not only have a donkey, but you have yelled at, kicked, and been quite angry with it. With that in mind, let’s look at Balaam and his talking donkey. Now a talking donkey might evoke images from Shrek for many, but thousands of years before Eddie Murphy put words in a donkey’s mouth, God did in the story of Balaam. You can find the story in Numbers chapters 22-24. The story begins with messengers from a pagan king going to Balaam and asking him to curse the Israelites for a fee. Balaam puts the messengers up for the night and inquires of God about their offer. God clearly informs Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” God’s instructi

 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”                             I Thessalonians 5:18  What are your thoughts when you read that verse? Are you thinking,  Oh, no! Please, not the “give thanks in all circumstances” passage . I get why you might think that. The convulsions of chaos, war, and moral depravity afflicting our world feed fear rather than thanksgiving. Your circumstances may contribute to that as well. Financial stress, physical illness, and relational conflict pose a constant challenge to those words Paul penned to the Thessalonians. Give thanks in ALL circumstances. Really? We might hope the Greek provides some loophole in this exhortation and the ‘all’ doesn’t actually mean all. Sorry, but the Greek language offers no such out. All means all. So how do we obey such a radical and challenging exhortation? We look to Jesus. This morning for my devotions, I read the story of the Last Supper in Luke 22. Now I’ve read thi