Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. -Deuteronomy 4:39, NIV
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Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” -Mark 4:38, NIV Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners. -Ezekiel 24: 15b-17, NIV Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. -Genesis 1:2, NIV, emphasis mine David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him. -1 Samuel 22:1 & 2, NIV Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornate robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went...And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman. -2 Samuel 13:20, NIV I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. -1 Kings 2:2, NLT My son, I will die: I have to, I cannot cheat the circle of life. Where I will go, you will meet me soon –but please, heed my words. What God has given me is a monumental favor. I do not deserve this, I do not own this, neither do you. You are a servant, an administrator accountable to the people's whims. And no, please don't look at me with that face. I believe in you, I trust in you –only you can finish the job God started in me. Trust me, you are the perfect person...but I cannot let you stray away, not by any chance. Please, remember me. Remember my victories. Remember my failures. Remember my hardships. Remember I was born running, and I will die running –and so you will, too. Remember I was born leading, and I will die leading –and so you will, too. But I must beg of you: learn, grow, improve, do better than what I did, exceed the expectations, go far above and beyond, soar and fly higher than I did. You have your youth; I have my sagging flesh and skin. Be careful when you walk along the halls. The walls have ears, and they will hear even your last breath. Be careful what you do in secret— I have learned this the hard way. Be careful when you make treaties with foreigners or when you run off meeting your future bride; treat everyone with respect, everywhere you go. I see your tears. Don't hold them back. After all the years I had to suck my tears dry in front of the Lord, I can't ask you to be more a human than to be yourself. I've seen you grow up into a strong man, so curious and unafraid of the world. Don't lose the fear I won back on my deathbed. Please, don't lose that sparkle of hope in your eyes...yet don't fall prey to the stupidities you'll face in these horrible days. They will only grow from bad to worse, but that's where you come in. Where God has placed you, that's where He wants you: and only through Him, you'll grow even higher and higher. Tell your children...Oh, they're right here...I love you all very so much. Tell your wife...Oh, she's also there...I am honored to be your second father. Tell your workers and friends...Thank you for the music. And I will say to myself...Thank GOD I am leaving this place! But enough is enough: I have said what I have to say. I will go in peace, I will go in silence. Remember all my advice, and make it your own. And when you make it your own and your children stand before you, you will see your lips move with the Lord's majestic voice. Be a man. Be brave. Be majestic. Be a father. Be a man.
Felicidades. The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you. He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind. -1 Samuel 15: 28b & 29, NIV “...Oh, no, he didn't!” “Um...Yes, he did.” The farmer pointed his way to the hoarde of animals that crossed in front of his noses. Horse scat mixed with cow scat. A couple of royal soldiers cooking in a stew. “Moohs” and “Baahs” running around the village —and no, the place is not fertile enough to feed all of them. Samuel scratched his head. It was impossible! How could he!? Was he blind? Was he damp? Was he dumb —okay, perhaps he was that dumb. Dumb enough to almost kill his own son by a dumb vow. Dumb enough to make alliances to people he already knew were off-limits. Maybe he was horribly dumb. Samuel saw him on top of the hill, graciously touching his belly, looking haughtily at the plunder he accumulated by waging holy war. Samuel, of course, was upset. “Saul!”, he screamed in fury, “What is this!?” “Samuel!”, he emphatically said, “I have done the Lord's work!” “Well, then, why do I hear bleating sheep and mooing cows?” “Um...Um...Uh...” Saul stuttered. If he were gago...but he wasn't! “I am sorry, but I can't stand for this. He called you being small in your own eyes to lead a stubborn nation. And you trample ME!?!?” “Uh...Eh...I'm sorry, I didn't meant--” “Stop talking, it's God's turn!” Samuel looked at his surroundings, and he saw the priestly guards sacrificing the unknown anathema. The Lord whispered, “Say this: Do I want sacrifices from disobedience, or answers from idolatry? Because you have rejected me, I will reject you!” Samuel's heart sunk. What little conscience faded away from Saul's soul returned. He felt sorry, genuinely sorry. Sorry that the transition's not going to be pretty. Sorry that he won't have power anymore. Sorry that he will lose his prime seats on High Holy Days. “But, Samuel, wait!”, he begged. “Please, stay and worship with me! Please, stay--” Rip! Rip! Samuel's robe was torn. “The Lord's words are irreversible: He shan't change His mind like we do. Your kingdom has been torn from your hands; leave from this place, that God has already chosen someone with His own heart.” In shame, Saul ran with streaming tears in his face. At the end of a hill, an evil spirit was waiting for him. In another end, Samuel asked for his sackcloth and shut the door of the holy temple. And in the heavens, God already had the name of the next person in the palm of His hand. My mother is cinnamon-skinned, and my father is a kind of dirty French vanilla. My sister is a café espresso, while I am something called a jabao'. No, don get it wrong; for us, these aren't derogatory ways that people think we use about race—not that I would know. In fact, they are mostly terms of endearment—at least for me. I may have a light skin, but it's still slightly burned. I may speak fluent English like the next guy, but my Spanish is still peppered with that delightful mixture of Andalusian and Canarian delights people dismiss as vulgar and confusing. Nevertheless, I never admit I'm white: there's still something about the nappy hair and the big nose that throws the illusion away. People may say I'm black or that I speak like a Dominican, but I don't care: God made me like this, and to Him I am indebted.
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