* f you want to see change in your life, you have to change your thinking.
* Romans 12:2 - “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
* One way to renew your mind is by writing Declarations and Commitments.
* You declare who you are and commit to what you will do.
* This becomes a statement of truth - WRITE it, READ it, REPEAT it!
* Writing, Reading, and Repeating trains your subconscious mind what to think.
* In time, you’ll begin to act in alignment with your subconscious mind.
* David shows us what it looks like:
* vs 14 - “I will praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”
* He makes a commitment (I will) on the foundation of a declaration (I am).
* He commits to what he will do on the foundation of declaring who he is.
* If you want complete transformation, you need to DECLARE who you are and COMMIT to what you will do.
* Declaration is about IDENTITY.
* Commitment is about ACTION.
* Declaration gets you thinking right.
* Commitment converts your thinking into action.
* Declaration says “I AM”
* Commitment says “I WILL DO”
* I AM - name of God - whatever follows it has POWER!
* EX: Marriage:
* DECLARATION - I am thankful that God gave Tori to me. Her strengths and weaknesses compliment who I am.
* COMMITMENT - I will pursue Tori and respond to her like I did before we were married. I will be fueled by gratitude.
Amos 7:10-17 (7/24/24)
July 24, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Amos 7:10–17
* For centuries, Christianity has been seen as a threat.
* Why? Because we claim Christ as king.
* If you threaten Satan’s kingdom, he’ll come after you with everything he’s got.
* Case in point - Amos, the prophet, spoke truth to Israel and reprimanded them for their sin.
* And the priest rose up against him!
* The priests and prophets were now in an epic battle.
* Warren Wiersbe compares these two offices:
* The Priest was institutional / The Prophet was radical.
* The priest seeks to conserve the past, while the prophet wants to preserve the future.
* This is why the prophet was seen as a threat to the “present.”
* Look at the heated exchange between these two:
* vs 10 - “Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.”
* The priest had influence with the king.
* He was “in good” with the leader of the nation.
* So he didn’t want anything threatening this.
* EX: preachers with Hitler.
* vs 11 - “For this is what Amos is saying: “ ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’ “
* Amos preached this warning, like all good preachers should.
* vs 12-13 - “Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”
* Amaziah didn’t want Amos messing things up!
* He wanted him to preach a message of peace and love!
* vs 14-15 - “Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”
* Amos - “Yo, I’m just a workplace guy that God gave a message to. So I’m gonna keep preaching it, sucker!”
* Amos wasn’t a butt-kissing “professional minister.”
* He was a workplace dude who loved the Lord and wanted to see Israel serve God.
* vs 16-17 - “Now then, hear the word of the Lord. You say, “ ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’ “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: “ ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’”
* Amos went gangster on Amaziah!
* Today, we need to let the prophets speak!
* And we’re seeing God raising up workplace prophets to do just that!
Amos 4:6-11 (7/17/24)
July 17, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Amos 4:6–11
* A popular mantra in today's Christian world is that God is always pursuing us.
* While there's an element of truth to that, the reality is that God has already pursued us by sending Jesus.
* He's done His part; now, we respond to that pursuit by surrendering to Him.
* He's not running after us begging us to follow Him.
* EX: Christ’s example of the prodigal son.
* Lost sheep - foolishness
* Lost coin - carelessness
* Lost son - rebellion
* God wants us to come to Him.
* So what does that look like?
* What does He do to get us to come back to Him if we’ve left Him?
* He brings pain into our lives (we bring it on ourselves).
* vs 6 - “I gave you empty stomachs, a lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me, declares the Lord.”
* God brought His people pain so they would turn to Him.
* His pursuit looks a lot like pain.
* If you have wandered from the path God has for you, expect pain to meet you.
* It's God's way of saying, "Come back to Me!"
* vs 7 -11- drought, gardens and vineyards destroyed from blight and mildew, locusts devoured fig trees, plagues of Egypt, endless war and battles, people killing each other, etc.
* God also uses pain in our lives when we are on the right path.
* Acts 9:16 - “…I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
* Strength comes through strain.
* Peace comes through pain.
* EX: endorphines release after pain (childbirth).
* When we experience pain it should increase our pursuit.
* This is why Proverbs says, "A man's spirit sustains him in sickness."
* When you love Jesus and you get sick then you pursue Him even more for your healing.
Amos 6:6 (7/17/24)
July 17, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Amos 6:6
* There’s a popular teaching about knowing God’s will for your life by asking yourself, “What breaks my heart?”
* This is a great question to ask, but it’s not the ONLY question!
* Here in Amos, we see God calling out the Israelites for another question they should’ve been asking.
* What doesn’t break your heart that should?
* vs 4-6 - “You lie on beds adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.”
* They were living in the lap of luxury - inhabiting houses they didn't build and eating food they didn't plant.
* In time, their hearts turned away from God to the blessings He gave.
* They began to care more for their own comfort than for God's reputation.
* As a result, "they were a stench in God's nostrils." (Amos 5)
* And God destroyed them.
* When we enjoy God’s blessings more than God’s boundaries we’re no different than these Israelites.
* If we do not grieve over wickedness in culture, it blunts our feelings.
* Zephaniah 3:18 - “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts…”
* This is a promise from God to those who stand strong for Him.
* Question - “What doesn’t break my heart that should?”
Hosea 12:1-5 (7/10/24)
July 10, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Hosea 12:1–5
- Ambition is a great follower but a terrible leader.
- It’s meant to stay in the passenger’s seat, not the driver’s seat.
- But it will always vie for position!
- Israel was in constant pursuit of its own thing - ruled by ambition.
- God delivered a message through Hosea.
- Read Hosea 12:1-5.
- vs 1a - “Ephraim feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day…”
- The phrase “chasing the wind” is about unbridled ambition that gets you nowhere.
- Mark 14:50 - “What does it profit a man…”
- vs 1b - “…and multiplies lies and violence…”
- Blind ambition blunts empathy and logic.
- You end up hurting people to get what you want.
- vs 1c - “…He makes a treaty with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.”
- Blind ambition leads to bad partnerships.
- You’ll look to others for help that should not be in your life.
- vs 2 - “The Lord has a charge to bring against Judah; He will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.”
- Ambition makes God your opponent, not your partner.
- Like a good parent, God wants to bless, not punish.
- vs 3a - “In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel…”
- Jacob was born with an ambitious temperament.
- But we aren’t to operate according to personality or temperament.
- We are to operate by the leading of the Spirit.
- Faith is “living without scheming.”
- vs 3b - “…as a man he struggled with God.”
- Jacob’s struggles with others revealed his struggle with God.
- He had a God problem.
- He needed an encounter with the Lord.
- vs 4a - “He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor…”
- Many people want the blessings of God more than God Himself.
- vs 4b-5 - “…He found (God) at Bethel and talked with Him there - the Lord God Almighty, the Lord is His name.”
- Bethel = sacred place, sanctuary, holy place, hallowed spot.
- Once he met God, truly met Him and experienced His presence, he ceased striving!
- He stopped fighting.
- He fully surrendered.
- God did two things:
- He convicted him - “What is your name?”
- He touched him - Jacob was never the same, he led with a limp.
- Where was your Bethel?
- A place where you met God?
- Do you have a current Bethel?
- A sacred place to meet with God?
- https://http://www.dropbox.com/home/podcasts%20-%202024?di=left_nav_browse&preview=7.10.24+hosea+12+-+striving.mp3
Hosea 13:6 - Remember to Reconnect
- God wants us to stay connected to Him and others.
- The way to do that is through gratitude.
- If we don’t show gratitude it causes a relational break.
- Israel shows us what this looks like.
- Hosea delivered the message from God:
- vs 6 - “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.”
- They had a need and God met it.
- But they did not thank God for meeting these needs.
- They got what they wanted and no longer needed Him.
- They became proud, which led to them forgetting God.
- So how did God respond?
- He turned from partner to opponent.
- vs 7-8 - “So I will be like a lion to them, like a leopard I will lurk by the path. Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open; like a lion I will devour them— a wild animal will tear them apart.”
- What God becomes to us is up to us.
- He can be a God of grace and mercy or a God of wrath.
- Hosea prophesied just after Solomon reigned.
- He watched how Israel was at its height of power during Solomon's time as king, but the devastation that resulted when he forgot God.
- So God tore the kingdom into two and they ended up losing everything.
- The same is true with us.
- Ingratitude pulls us away from those we were meant to be close to.
- It robs us of our memory - we forget those who were instrumental in getting us to where we are.
- Romans 1:21 - “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
- The path to destruction begins with ingratitude that leads to pride.
- When we forget God we disconnect from Him.
- To remember is to reconnect.
- If my finger gets dismembered from my hand, I have to “re-member” it.
- So remembering what God has done is the secret to staying connected to Him (and others).
Hosea 13:6 (7/10/24)
July 10, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Hosea 13:6
- God wants us to stay connected to Him and others.
- The way to do that is through gratitude.
- If we don’t show gratitude it causes a relational break.
- Israel shows us what this looks like.
- Hosea delivered the message from God:
- vs 6 - “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.”
- They had a need and God met it.
- But they did not thank God for meeting these needs.
- They got what they wanted and no longer needed Him.
- They became proud, which led to them forgetting God.
- So how did God respond?
- He turned from partner to opponent.
- vs 7-8 - “So I will be like a lion to them, like a leopard I will lurk by the path. Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open; like a lion I will devour them— a wild animal will tear them apart.”
- What God becomes to us is up to us.
- He can be a God of grace and mercy or a God of wrath.
- Hosea prophesied just after Solomon reigned.
- He watched how Israel was at its height of power during Solomon's time as king, but the devastation that resulted when he forgot God.
- So God tore the kingdom into two and they ended up losing everything.
- The same is true with us.
- Ingratitude pulls us away from those we were meant to be close to.
- It robs us of our memory - we forget those who were instrumental in getting us to where we are.
- Romans 1:21 - “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
- The path to destruction begins with ingratitude that leads to pride.
- When we forget God we disconnect from Him.
- To remember is to reconnect.
- If my finger gets dismembered from my hand, I have to “re-member” it.
- So remembering what God has done is the secret to staying connected to Him (and others).
Daniel 3:1-30 (7/3/24)
July 3, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Daniel 3
* Daniel and his buddies had:
* Conviction that transformed their hearts.
* Commitments that transformed their lifestyles.
* Courage that transformed their world.
* God orchestrates circumstances so we have our moment to stand strong.
* This is what happened when King Neb setup a statue for all to worship.
* But Shadrach, Meshac, and Abednego refused to bow.
* vs 12 - “There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
* Their reward? The fiery furnace?
* How did that turn out?
* God rescued them miraculously …
* …and King Neb had an encounter with God.
* Warren Wiersbe notes that this event involves three kinds of people, all of whom are still in our world:
* Conformers (1–7). The people were happy to conform to the king’s desires as long as he spared their lives and gave them what they needed.
* Christianity has always been viewed as a threat.
* We should not run from it.
* Romans 12:1 - “Do NOT conform…”
* Informers (8–12). The people who ratted the guys out were some of the Chaldeans whose lives Daniel and his friends had saved.
* These men wanted only to win the king’s favor.
* They also wanted the offices the king had given to the three Jews.
* Today, people want to tell on you!
* EX: GLAAD
* Transformers (13–30; Rom. 12:1–2). The three men did not know for sure that God would deliver them.
* But even if He didn’t, they would obey the Lord and not worship the king and his idol.
* Courage is what makes you a transformer.
* The fire brought them two blessings:
* 1) The Lord came and walked with them.
* vs 25 - “He said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!”
* 2) They were set free from their bonds.
* Freedom comes when you choose to transform, not conform.
Daniel 3:19 (7/3/24)
July 3, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Daniel 3:19
* Nothing in the Bible is in there by coincidence.
* It’s in there on purpose, guided by God so we can see His hand at work in our lives.
* The number “7” in the Scripture is key - it’s God’s number, the number of perfection.
* When you see the number 7 you’re basically seeing God’s fingerprint on whatever you are reading.
* In this story, the furnace was turned UP seven times hotter than normal.
* vs 19 - “Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated.”
* Do you know what this means?
* God wanted the heat turned up! Why?
* Because He knew He was going to rescue His boys out of this situation, He didn’t want anything to keep the king from seeing God’s miracle-working power!
* Has the heat turned up in your life?
* If so, trust that God is in it and He’ll show Himself powerful through you!
Ezekiel 44:21 (6/26/24)
June 26, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Ezekiel 44:21
- God did not forbid the drinking of wine.
- He forbid the excessive drinking of it that leads to drunkeness.
- But there’s a twist!
- In the OT, the office of king and priest were two separate offices.
- In the NT, we are all kings and priests.
- As priests, we operate in God’s presence.
- As kings, we operate in God’s power.
- Look at two passages in the OT concerning these offices and strong drink:
- Ezekiel 44:21 - “No priest is to drink wine when he enters the inner court.”
- They had to be of sober mind and heart if they wanted the presence of God.
- Proverbs 31:4 - “It’s not for kings to desire strong drink…”
- A king is someone in a position of power who is there to help others.
- Alcohol could blur his judgment.
- vs 31:5 - “lest they drink and forget what has been decreed, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.”
- Let’s not let any potential intoxicants into our lives that could hinder God’s presence and God’s power in our lives.
- 1 Corinthians 6:12 - “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.”
Daniel 2:1-12 (6/26/24)
June 26, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Daniel 2:1–12
- If you go to the orchestra and watch the conductor, he’s the one who’s making things happen.
- The musicians play their instruments, but without him, it would be nothing but noise.
- Each musician has their eyes on the conductor.
- In life, it’s the same - God is the orchestrator.
- As we keep our eyes on him, we play the right note at the right time.
- He changes things and people to get us where He wants us to go.
- Look at this story with Daniel.
- God wanted Daniel promoted, but how would He do it?
- He visited a pagan king in his sleep!
- Just like He did with Pharoah to promote Joseph and Xerxes with Mordecai!
- vs 1-12
- God orchestrated an impossible situation so that one of his boys would rise to the challenge.
- The outlook was bleak for the wise men of Babylon, but Daniel stepped up to the plate.
- God orchestrates situations so He can get the glory through our faithfulness.
- Our job is to keep our eye on God and BE READY.
Ezekiel 41:5 (6/19/24)
June 19, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Ezekiel 41:5
* Ezekiel’s vision of the Temple carried a two-fold purpose:
* Encourage people that the temple would be restored one day (when Christ comes back).
* Encourage NT believers about our own newly formed temples - our bodies.
* The temple is what housed God’s presence.
* So it was to be constructed “exactly” according to the design.
* When Ezekiel got to the walls, check out how thick they were:
* vs 5 - “Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick, and the breadth of the side chambers, four cubits, all around the temple.”
* The walls of the temple were 10.5 feet thick!
* There are rooms in houses that are 9 feet wide, and this temple wall was that thick!
* I think it shows us four things:
* 1) Beauty - the walls were made of stone, which was really pretty.
* But this is just the outward appearance.
* 2) Strength - you couldn’t penetrate these walls if you’re an enemy, no matter what you did.
* They were just too thick.
* If you don’t feel strong, “consider” yourself strong.
* 3) Security - if you were inside the temple you were safe - nobody was getting to you.
* Our core human need is trust.
* You may experience hurt, but not harm.
* 4) Stability - they were built to last!
* They would last the test of time.
* This will help you overcome anxiety - projecting fear into the future.
* Now, we are the temple.
* As we come together in God’s name we have beauty, strength, security, and stability.
* If we separate from others, we lose all of these things.
Ezekiel 43:3 (6/19/24)
June 19, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Ezekiel 43:3–27
* God had to inspect the Temple to approve the Temple before He filled the Temple.
* Today, we are the temple.
* We pass inspection through purity.
* If we’re pure, He fills our temple.
* Ezekiel had a vision of God showing him everything about the temple.
* Then he showed him that one day He would come and fill the temple.
* vs 3a - “And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city…”
* Notice that Ezekiel saw the same God who came to destroy the city (chap 9) now coming to fill His temple.
* God is a God of wrath as well as a God of mercy.
* Knowing this will foster reverent fear in us.
* It's up to us as to which God we will see.
* If our temples are clean and we honor Him, then we receive the God who fills us with His mercy.
* But if it's not and we've allowed competing affections in our lives then we will see the God of wrath.
* Fortunately, when Christ comes back He will fill His temple!
* vs 4 - “As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, 5 the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.”
* The question for us today is, “which God do we see?”
* He wants to be a God of mercy, to fill our temples.
* But it will require sacrifice on our parts.
* vs 27 - “And when they have completed these days, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, and I will accept you, declares the Lord God.”
* After they had completed all the sacrifices, God accepted them and made His home in the temple.
* The same is true with us.
* We rely on Christ’s sacrifice.
* Then we live in purity, repenting when we’ve sinned.
* This will make sure we experience the God of mercy, not the God of wrath.
Ezekiel 22:30 (6/12/24)
June 12, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Ezekiel 22:30
* There is a gap that exists between mankind and God.
* Spiritually, that gap has been bridged by Jesus.
* But we can bridge that gap as we represent Jesus to others.
* We are called to “stand in the gap” for people and nations.
* Job’s fortunes were restored “when he prayed for his friends.”
* He interceded for them - stood in the gap.
* NOTE - God allows conflict so you can intercede for others (not get bitter toward them).
* Ezekiel stood in the gap for his nation.
* Many of our Biblical heroes did the same.
* vs 30 - “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.”
* God is looking for gap-standers today.
* Those who will stand for others and bridge the gap as an intercessor.
* When we do, we become something special.
* EX: Linchpin (hitch-pin)
* Farm Equipment
* Lawn Mower
* The linchpin is small and insignificant on its own but strong and indispensable the moment it is placed in the gap for which it was designed.
* God has designed each of us to fill a gap in culture so that we can connect God with those who are disconnected from Him.
* On our own, we’re small and insignificant.
* Filling the gap God has called us to fill, we are strong and indispensable.
* God is looking for linchpins. Will you be one?
Ezekiel 35:5 (6/12/24)
June 12, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Ezekiel 35:5–6
* When you experience conflict with another person, God is showing you how to intercede for them.
* Jacob and Esau experienced intense conflict with each other.
* Esau forgave Jacob in his heart.
* But his kids never let it go.
* Generations later, God had to punish the Edomites for nursing a grudge against the Israelites.
* vs 5-6 - “‘Because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their calamity, the time their punishment reached its climax, 6 therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you...”
* Warren Wiersbe - “Some people nurse a grudge the way a mother nurses a child: they love it, cherish it, and cannot live without it. But they forget that the child is growing and may one day turn on them and destroy them. A grudge against an enemy is a very expensive thing, no matter how much enjoyment you may get nursing it.”
* To cherish something is to “to hold dear, to feel or show affection, to entertain or harbor in the mind deeply and resolutely.”
* When someone does us wrong, we have two ways of dealing with it:
* The good path: Anger - Resolve - Forgiveness - Restoration (Biblical Love).
* The bad path: Anger - Grudge - Bitterness - Hatred.
* Notice they both start with anger.
* Anger is an emotion with a purpose, and the purpose is to see justice done.
* You can either move toward forgiveness (and give the situation to God) or unforgiveness where you hold them hostage in your heart.
* Unforgiveness is our desire for control, and it’s straight from the devil.
* Ultimately, you’re bitter and hateful and you become an absolute nuisance of a human being.
* You know you have a GRUDGE when the person's name is mentioned and it illicits an emotion.
* You think something bad about them and then in time you begin to verbalize it.
* You know you have BITTERNESS when you have no desire to reconcile at all.
* You hold them hostage in your heart so you always know where they are and can control what they do to you and the way you feel toward them.
* A bitter heart attracts other bitterness - you will end up being bitter toward lots of things.
* You know you have HATRED in your heart when you want them out of your life, no matter what.
* This is when consequences don't matter anymore, and leads people to murder (in their hearts first and then in actions).
* In the Psalms we see David feeling anger but resolving to not let it get the best of him.
* We should do the same.
Psalms 88:8 (6/5/24)
June 5, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Psalm 88:8
- We are hardwired for connection.
- In the Garden, it was not good for man to be alone.
- God + Adam = not good.
- God is not all you need - you need others!
- When we’re not connected to others, we die!
- Isolation destroys what makes us human without killing the body.
- This is why prison camps employ isolation for severe psychological punishment.
- We are socially dependent creatures.
- According to the biblical worldview, we exist only in communal relationship—with spouse, with children, with tribe, with God.
- Remove our connections—remove our humanity.
- David experienced this:
- vs 8 - “You have removed my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an object of loathing to them; I am shut up and cannot go out.”
- “An object of loathing” is the Hebrew tôʿēbot.
- The word doesn’t mean just “separated” - It means, “to be made an abomination.”
- Abhorrent! Detestable! Something to run from, to avoid at all costs, to be ritually and culturally impure.
- Sort of like the current attempt to vilify all those who have not been vaccinated as the pariahs of society.
- “Be afraid of them! Stay away! They are evil.
- Satan wants us isolated and operating in fear so he can wreak havoc on society.
- He wants to stir up fear and keep you from others.
- Satan doesn’t want you to be in covenant with others.
- Why? Because he can’t defeat the “church.”
- Church is where two or more are gathered in God’s name.
- Jeremiah 17:5-6 - “Cursed is the one who trusts in man…whose heart turns away from the Lord…they will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.”
- “Cursed is the man” means “isolated from God.”
- Tony Evans says community brings special rewards from God.
- Like the HOV Lane - when you go with someone else, you get special privileges
