No doubt one of my favorite Bible characters is Phinehas, the priest, grandson of Aaron.  While only mentioned in eleven verses, I believe the glimpse we see of his life gives us a powerful insight into God's zeal and desires.  After a brief mention of his birth, we encounter him in Numbers chapter 25.  Please read the following passage which illustrates his exploits and how he found favor with God.  To give you a bit of context, God was now rebuking the Israelites for taking heathen women and worshipping their gods. "And behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping (because of God's judgment and shame) before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  And when Phinehas . . . saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand . . . and thrust both of t...

I was reading the book of Numbers again today when I came across a passage I had never really noticed before.  Don't you love that?  I know some of you have read the Bible several times through, but each time you find new treasures and receive new revelations.  That's one great difference between the Word of God and every other book.  The Bible is alive; it lives and will live in you.  It can read your heart and speak back to you.  The Bible is God (John 1:1).  So when you are spending time with the Bible, you are spending time with God.  So I suppose God wanted me to notice something new today, maybe because of the particular season of my life, or maybe so I could share it with you.  The passage comes from Numbers 9:15-23.  I really don't want to do long quotes here, but I think I should so you can see the power of this. "And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of tes...

Before reading my thoughts on mission trips, which are below, please see the following list of trip operators, which I update when I learn of new material. Youth With a Mission - Well known ministry with trip opportunities around the world at various times around the year and various projects.    Living Water International - Focuses on drilling clean water wells and teaching hygiene in Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, Uganda, and Honduras.  We have a friend who works for them full time in El Salvador and loves it.  Lots of date options, but it looks like they book up fast. Global Aid Network - The humanitarian arm of Campus Crusade for Christ International.  Trips to various countries, but limited dates.  Various projects to be served, such as orphanages, hospitals, schools and aid to the impoverished. World Servants - Mission trips to various countries, mostly with construction projects. One nice focus of this ministry is that it...