Author Archives: WhittleThinker

God Establishes First Synagogue (Exodus 25)

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Bible Summary:

God tells Moses to have the Israelites make him an offering of gold, silver and many other items. He is to accept whatever each person gives. The items are to be used to create a sacred tent for God to be with the people, a covenant box to house the Ten Commandment tablets, a table to offer bread to God, and a lampstand.

My Thoughts:

Most Important Chapter: Amazing! In one chapter of the book of Exodus we are given the beginning of the Priesthood, the first synagogue (the tent), the Ark of the Covenant (the box), and the detailed design of the menorah (the lampstand).

Be Gracious: God tells Moses to accept whatever each person can give. I think He was telling Moses they should he gracious for each gift because a small gift to them may be enormous to the giver.  Let’s take this to heart this Christmas and be grateful for each gift we receive no matter the size or how much we like it.

Holiday parties picking up

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After a few years of decline, Holiday parties are beginning to pick up this year.  It is a good sign for businesses and will likely boost morale.  I recommend ALL businesses do something for your employees for the Holiday, even if just sharing a bag of Hershey Kisses!  It is the thought that counts.  See Holiday parties making comeback story at The Columbus Dispatch.

Astronomers find potential Earth-like planet

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Astronomers using NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope have discovered the most earth-like planet yet circling a star 600 light years away.  The planet is the right distance from its sun, but 2.4 times larger than Earth so the astronomers do not know yet if it is rocky or gaseous.  Read more in the Reuter’s story Planet found orbiting habitable zone of sun-like star.

It will be a long time before we can visit though.  Even at the cruising speed of 38,000 miles per hour (61,155 K/hr) of Voyager 1 (per Wikipedia), our farthest space satellite from Earth, it would take 10.8 million years to travel 600 light years.

God’s Covenant is Sealed (Exodus 24)

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Bible Summary:

God calls Moses up to the mountain. Moses reads the book of the covenant to the Israelites and they all agree to obey the commandments. Moses sacrifices animals and consecrates the people with the blood to seal God’s covenant. God calls Moses up Mount Sinai again to give him two stone tablets of all the laws for the people of Israel. Moses stays on the mountain for forty days and nights.

My Thoughts:

Book of the Covenant: According to this chapter of Exodus, Moses and the leaders had written a book of God’s laws – “the book of the covenant, in which the Lord’s commands were written.” This is the first reference in the Bible of writing in book form to pass on laws and knowledge.  This book likely included parts, if not all, of the books of Genesis and Exodus.

Stone Tablets: God would have known about the impermanence of the book, likely written on papyrus, so he created the stone tablets so the Israelites would remember his commandments for a long time.

Powerball winners fulfill philanthropy promise

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Three Connecticut men who claimed a $254 million Powerball lottery on November 28th announced $200,000 donations to five separate charities less than a week later.  See full Money Managers Make Good on Promise of Philanthropy story at Reuters.

What would you do with such a windfall? Would you invest it to make more money? Would you spend it? Would you give some, most or all of it away?  If you do win, I challenge you to “invest” at least half the money in perpetual giving by creating social businesses that will employ others and support community efforts for centuries to come.  Read more about Social Business at the Yunus Center.

Good Laws to Live By (Exodus 23)

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Bible Summary:

God provides additional laws and guidelines to live by to Moses and the Israelites:

  • Do not spread false rumors or help a guilty man by giving false testimony.
  • Do not do wrong or injustice even if the majority of people do.
  • If you see your enemy’s animal run loose, take it back to him, do not just walk off.
  • Do not put an innocent person to death. God will condemn anyone who does such evil.
  • Do not accept bribes since they make people blind to what is right.
  • Do not mistreat foreigners.
  • Plant your land for six years and rest it on the seventh.
  • Celebrate three festivals each year: the Festival of Unleavened Bread to celebrate leaving Egypt, the Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Shelter when fruit is gathered.

God also tells Moses He will send an angel ahead of the Israelites to protect them, but they must obey him. He will drive their enemies out little by little until there are enough Israelites to take possession of the land.

My Thoughts:

Immoral Majority: I think God was talking to teenagers when he said not to follow the majority if they do wrong.  It is really hard, but stick up for yourself and others of the minority.

Help your enemies: God tells us to help our enemies so that one day they may become our friends.

Celebrate: Be sure to celebrate your and others successes, no matter how small.

Global warming conversation timeline

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The conversation about the effects of global warming dates back to 300 BC by Theophrastus, a student of Aristotle. In 1988, the United Nations set up an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to access the scientific evidence. The Timeline: How the world discovered global warming story at Reuters tells how the world has been squabbling about this issue for the last 23-years.

I think everyone agrees the world is getting warmer, but no one really knows what it means. People in cold parts of the world think it would be a great for things to warm up a little. Others fear more cataclysmic scenarios like drought induced famine, severe hurricanes, or even a new Ice Age as dramatized in The Day After Tomorrow film.

I believe we should be cautious. Per the old English proverb, “Better safe than sorry.”

The Birth of Jesus (Matthew 1)

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Bible Summary:

Matthew’s story of Jesus begins with a list of all ancestors from Abraham to King David and finally Joseph. He then tells the story of how Mary and Joseph get married. Mary is engaged to Joseph when she discovers she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph finds out and plans to break off the engagement in private. An angel appears to him in a dream, explains that she conceived by the Holy Spirit, tells him to marry her and to name the boy Jesus because he will save people from their sins. This happens as God foretold through the prophets that a virgin would give birth to a son called Immanuel, which means God is with us. Joseph marries Mary and names their son Jesus.

My Thoughts:

Ancestors: Lineage is very important to the Jews, so they show Jesus’ all the way back to King David, Abraham and ultimately Adam and Eve (see list below).

Faith of Joseph: I am sure most people concentrate on the immaculate conception of Mary, birth of Jesus, the Holy Spirit or even Angel Gabriel, but I decided to focus on Joseph this time. Joseph basically thinks Mary has been unfaithful and he plans to break off their engagement until an angel appears to him in a dream. Joseph has faith that God has a plan for Mary’s son and wants Joseph to be a part of that plan. He could easily have left her to deal with the shame that would have come from becoming pregnant out of wedlock, but instead takes on the role of essentially becoming Jesus’ step-father. God asked a big favor and Joseph came through.

Ancestors of Jesus:

  • Adam & Eve, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah
  • Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse
  • King David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon
  • Josiah, Jehoiachin, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, Joseph & Mary, Jesus

Mayans never predicted end of the world

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According to Mayan experts 12/12/2012 is just the end of a 5,126 year cycle of their calendar, not the end of the world. See full Mayans never predicted world to end in 2012: experts story at Reuters.

Do not be afraid. Fear is the most harmful condition on the planet. False rumors like the end of the world only incite anxiety and panic and may even cause bad things to happen. Terrorist and the evening news thrive on fear. The next time you watch the news, listen closely to *where* the incident happened. Most of the time it occurred somewhere else in the state or even across the country, but they make you feel like it happened next door. If you are afraid, take a 30-day “media break”, no watching or reading the news. Use the time to help your neighbors or a local shelter. You will be surprised how your outlook will change.

Note: I try to post only positive news on Whittle Love.

The Road Not Taken

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Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

– Robert Frost