Ron And His Stories

I just read this in the New King James Version (that’s what “NKJV” stands for) and I like how I can give meat to dogs even if I were to travel back in time three thousand years, but that’ll never happen, and it’s not like I can afford to keep a dog at my house long-term. But my friend Josh entrusted me to keep watch over his dog, Buddy, while he and his family are away in Ohio until later this month. (He came over last week, and he’s taking his daughter, Liliana, to meet his wife’s extended relatives.) So I can feed raw steak to him, but I’d rather ask Josh if that’s ok, and if I can buy some at the nearby Safeway or Fry’s. Otherwise, if I don’t, I’ll have to cook and eat it. I would’ve given Buddy some broth from my noodles, but I don’t think Jonathan’s for it, and he actually did the 21st century version of chastening on him. I hope he didn’t mean him any harm… I’ll be super-pissed if he did. Oh, by the way, the statement in the beginning of this paragraph is in the last verse, and there’s 31 in total in this chapter. The people are given great protection from marauders and bandits and trusted adults who become their betrayers and their enemies among the brethren, like in Psalm 55. This chapter is found in pages 44-45 of the NKJV Bible I’m using, page 57 of the NASB Bible I have (Old Testament pages), pages 98-100 of my VOICE copy, and pages 93-95 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.

And speaking of the Amplified Bible (80s version), I just finished reading that translation ten days ago! 😁😁😁😁😁🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 That marks 6 translations I’ve read from front to back since becoming Christian in mid-2009! Good news, huh? But I just realized I shouldn’t read anything for its own sake but because the Lord wants me to, and I’d rather not ignore the Word of Christ in any part of the Scriptures. I do want to find out what the Passion Translation says in the future, though, if they release the full version (I’ll check real quick… sorry, guys, but the translation still isn’t finished, but there are the Psalms, Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, and Isaiah, as well as the whole New Testament, so I’m like, “This is awesome!” — and when I was writing this, the laptop shut down on me; I think I need a new battery so it wouldn’t do that anymore, so do you think I should get one at Best Buy or something? — my technology’s getting old) — hang on, it’s getting windy outside; I pray no freak storm occurs. It would be weird if it did, for I live in Arizona, but I did hear about a hurricane going through Mexico from its southwestern edge today; it’ll hit Texas soon, so I pray against the storm.

One thing I should mention is that I read through verses 22-24 of this chapter and went, “These look familiar…” and then remembered that I had discussed this with some other college kids at ASU CRU one Thursday night in early 2013. I mentioned that night to the small group I was in for the evening that God didn’t want to kill anyone, and they all agreed. Too bad the global Church is often misled by evil leaders who love to take advantage of others, either through false promises or loveless everything. Indeed, much of Christianity sounds like a bait-n-switch to too many people nowadays, especially since Trump helped contribute to the spread of the virus nearly two years ago simply by being the biggest contributor to the funding for the science lab in China… [inserts Jesus facepalm; see below]

It’s no fun trying to battle unreceptive people’s statements 😭😭😭😭😭😭 it would be really nice if politics had been banned in 2014 or so. But sadly, it’s like Jesus Himself is instituting the leaders of the world to do what they want, and people hate Him all over the world because of them. I hope there aren’t that many people in Europe that take God’s Name lightly… and I’d rather not charge interest to those who don’t have much of anything, like anyone making less than $16,000 per year (see this principle in verse 25). But I think I inspired Jonathan to write some Bible notes of his own! I pray God’s anointing in every word he writes! (He went into my room as I was writing this and asked for some paper, and I said, “You can have all of it.” But he only took about 60 pieces of paper; I didn’t look at how big it was.) I hope I don’t confuse anyone who reads this… for it is written, “Justice makes no sense to the evil-minded; those who seek God know it inside and out” (Proverbs 28:5, The Message).

Any prayer requests you want to e-mail me with? Drop them in my e-mail: ron.outland4727@gmail.com! I’ll read each one, write them down, then tape them to my bedroom walls! I hope I see any… but sorry I waited so long to write this down; I guess I needed to take care of some things… don’t worry, it’s all good news from Jesus. I’ll see you in the next one! Later!

This is not what God wanted… this happened per request from the Israelites. Be prepared for me to say this A LOT during this section of the Old Testament, but I’m sure you’re already aware of this… and don’t get me wrong, I love Israel, but for some reason, like the other people groups, they had intended to follow something other than Jesus. Weird, huh? But this chapter is found in pages 43-44 of the NKJV Bible I’m using, pages 56-57 of the NASB Bible I have (from the Old Testament; they have new pages for the New Testament for some reason) pages 97-98 of my VOICE copy, and pages 92-93 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.

Slavery is mentioned as being legal, and Moses’ followers wanted sexism to draw others away from God. Yet it was everywhere in the world in those days (thank God the slave trade is gone!) — people still want to control others’ thoughts today, though. It’s obvious, isn’t it? They do this with the media and all sorts of sensual entertainment, not to mention misusing God’s name as if tomorrow didn’t exist. But Jesus quotes verse 17 in Matthew 15 and Mark 7 where He speaks with the Pharisees that had come down from Jerusalem (read from the beginning of either one and until verse 20 in Matthew 15 and verse 23 in Mark 7). I do believe Jesus wants to forgive everyone who does this, though. But sadly, I have nothing else to say here; I’ll just return in chapter 22 in hopefully a few days. Ciao!

I know I’m writing more than one note today, but I thought I’d jump here now, since the Ten Commandments are quite famous today here… but I should mention that verse 20 says God is proving everyone’s faith (or lack thereof) to see if anyone will worship Him. Unfortunately, most of what’s in the next 100+ chapters has laws God never wanted Israel to follow. That’s what Ezekiel 20:25 taught me in late 2012… probably around Christmas time that year. There’s not much good in anything throughout the rest of the Pentateuch, actually… but we’re halfway through Exodus, now… this has 40 chapters, in case you’re getting bored. I don’t want to go on about anything specific from here… I’d rather say God champions others while helping us know how we should honor Him… but this chapter is found in page 43 of my NKJV Bible, pages 55-56 of my NASB Bible, pages 96-97 of my VOICE copy (with its notes), and pages 91-92 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.

I’m sorry that I can’t mention anything for the time being on most of these 100+ chapters between here and the end of Deuteronomy… the Old Testament books are HUGE. And I don’t know why they didn’t make Genesis easier to carry when they later did that for the six books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles… but the Ten Commandments are useful, for I hate idolatry; it’ll ruin everything. You might think this is a radical statement, but God would rather have all of us or nothing at all. I pray Jesus helps me to honor Him like this… but on everything in the Law and the Prophets hinges the love God and others reality (Matthew 22:37-40), just as Jesus said. Unfortunately, I feel I’ll actually lose enough that I’d no longer want to be alive… I especially don’t want to lose my nieces to anything unholy… I’d do anything to see them smile 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💘💗💓👯‍♀️👩‍❤️‍👩👭 but I’ll see you in the second half of Exodus! Later!

To be honest, I can’t say much here, but one verse said not to go near a woman… I think the VOICE says it best for this chapter in the waiting period until the third day that no one was to have sex with their spouse during that time… I think the women can learn here 🧜🏼‍♀️💃🏼🧚🏼‍♀️ anyone can, really. This chapter is found in pages 42-43 of the NKJV Bible, page 55 of the NASB Bible, pages 95-96 of my VOICE copy, and pages 90-91 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.

If God descended from Heaven like this today, I’d probably melt in fear of what I’d see. Even Moses had said he was afraid and trembling (Hebrews 12:21). I just hope there’s clarity for everyone if that happens… it’s unlikely it will but thankfully, Jesus is considerate of others, even though He gets to do what He wants and that we shouldn’t question it, thankfully. I hope I’m a people person for life… oh, back to what I said earlier: I think every Bible should have notes like what I’m writing here this Sunday morning (I have work later, but I wanted to go to church today but I just slept too late, so Jesus is having me write this instead even though this chapter doesn’t have a lot worth mentioning, but maybe it does, I dunno) — people think God’s too chauvinistic (male-centered… what?!) — they’re also printing Bibles in a fashion that ignores women’s rights often, but thankfully, there’s women’s devotionals, which I’d get for Sarah and Marcela, but I not only don’t see them often as of late, but also, I never have any extra cash… maybe they can read this, though. (Sorry for the run-on sentence 😂😂😂😂😂 I shouldn’t do this…) again, this chapter doesn’t have much I can think of, and I’ve already mentioned a lot in these notes that church is often done unfairly, and that’s not who Jesus is. I’m also starting to feel like maybe no one will send me an e-mail about if they need prayer for anything… sorry… but the next chapter (spoiler alert) has the first rendition of the Ten Commandments, which I’m already going to say, isn’t as important as loving your neighbor (Matthew 22:39, Leviticus 19:18). Still, I can’t imagine what it’s like for the ladies who don’t have much freedom in countries like Iraq 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔 I pray love for all of them 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💝💝💝💝💝❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍 I also don’t want to feel numb to anything like this… I do hate experiencing pain, though… working a lot has a way of discouraging everything, I guess… I don’t know, I want to say hope still exists…

When Moses runs into Jethro (it’s actually a popular name nowadays), he is happy to hear what God had done for Israel just weeks earlier. It’s funny how they soon forgot Him, but I won’t talk about it today. This chapter is found in page 42 of the NKJV Bible I’m using, page 54 of the NASB Bible I have, pages 93-94 of my VOICE copy (there’s a note about this on the top of page 95), and pages 89-90 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.

I want to remember what God has done for me, and to believe it’ll continue for all my days… I just heard a message about Psalm 23 and I actually love what Tim said in it. I even told him over the phone that when he spoke on vacations, you’d find me California dreaming often 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🌅🏖 But this is what the Lord Jesus is like; He gives peace to all who love Him (see Isaiah 26:3). I hate how many of my friends from college don’t follow Jesus that well or don’t even bother nowadays, even though we’ve had fellowship in the past 😭😭😭😭😭😭 I miss the powerful anointing of Christ on our lives… but maybe Jethro getting Moses to appoint judges for easier situations was the real deal, even though Christ could’ve done it with His angels… I don’t know what Jethro was thinking. I prefer no human governments myself… that’s what God wanted, but it’s everywhere instead… suuuuuuckkkkssssssss… I pray peace between now and the next time I show up at church, even through the retreat next month…

Anything you want to pray about? It can be anything… just write me an e-mail at ron.outland4727@gmail.com! I’ll read each letter, write them down, then tape them to my bedroom walls! I still have nothing on them, except for some posters and a calendar, along with a license plate from Hobby Lobby (this I got in 2017). Oh, Jonathan had also hung a smaller wooden cross for me to think of Jesus about… or whomever was to sleep in the room I now have ✝ = 💘 And yes, I’d talk about Him like a teenage girl about her boyfriend 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 and I’d be open about it… in detail. But anyway, I’ll see you in chapter 19! Later!

I find it unfortunate that the descendants of Amalek may never have a lot of Christians today, seeing that Esau and ALL OF HIS OFFSPRING decided to wage war against Jesus (but Jesus later said every tribe, tongue, and nation will have followers of Jesus in Matthew 24:14). Still, we see in Obadiah that God promised Esau no future, as well as the end of his family line despite having established them long ago. There are very few descendants alive today. This passage is found in page 42 of the NKJV Bible I have, page 54 of the NASB Bible (Old Testament) I bought from a Christian bookstore c. 2017, page 93 of my VOICE copy, and page 89 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.

I pray revival in this generation of every nation, and that I’m a good example to them (I turn 31 in less than 150 days), so that it would not be said… well, actually, even though I believe God for more disciples for Gen Z now than it was for us ten years ago, I’m not convinced the reprobate will ever lose ground as long as the U.S. exists. There’s just too many people taking God’s Name lightly. But more of that later. For now, I think it’s best to say that while the Lord Jesus is the Church’s banner today (or rather, it should be), it’s not right that verses 14-16 are used to promote hate anywhere. I think that’s what’s happening in many circles nowadays… e.g., the vast majority of U.S. born men and women today seem to think they are superior to people like the one who gave birth to my nieces! My grandmother is one of them, and I don’t support that even a little. I don’t want to speak with anyone like this. Also, I found out a few days ago Shane Claiborne had gotten arrested for being good news to the poor by feeding them and such. This happened here in the U.S.! It was in Pennsylvania, probably Philadelphia. And the Greek for that is “brotherly love.” Weird, huh? He’s pretty prolific, too, so I pray for his release ASAP, for it’s not right to arrest someone for giving life-saving aid! This has happened a few years ago when the Trump administration persecuted the believers here in Arizona for giving water and food to immigrants. They need a better life here, but now I’m not so convinced you can really find solace here, or in ANY nation, for that matter, for the leaders don’t care about us… still, the Lord Jesus can provide refuge for anyone who needs it and doesn’t want to offend Him. I know I don’t want to disturb His peace…

I pray the Church no longer works for the devil, but if that doesn’t happen, Jesus’ kingdom will come to an end. That God that’ll never happen, though 😇😇😇😇😇🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 — it’s bad enough that many churches around the world are hypocritical and unwilling to provide life-saving aid to many others, but nationalism dressed up as Christianity is too much for me. I don’t want to bear their sins, since they’d rather be like the Pharisees in the Gospels. And to make matters worse, when you read this, people will say (or the devil will say it) that Satan is inspiring me to write this down. What?! Will these people never learn? For violence is never acceptable, but it’s gaining traction, and even here in Gilbert, I’m likely to be done in by some of those people. I think I’m still ashamed to be American, actually… this is giving us a black mark in the history books 🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️ Jesus shouldn’t be associated with such hateful humans. It’s a whole another religion! Where is the Christian church, anyway? People have walked away from Jesus because of this. Also, when my mom and other family members decide to give Bee or Ana a hard time, the five of us — me, my brother, his fianceé (they really should get married), and the girls shall never speak to them again, and will promote inclusion forever. If anyone begins to sow discord among us, we’re doomed.

I know the Lord Jesus is our banner, but He also said that the gospel will be preached to every nation in Matthew 24:14, and it says in Revelation 7:9 that there will be a huge crowd in Heaven from every tribe, tongue, and nation. I can’t make this any clearer; the Bible is quite explicit: exclusion is never ok. I understand that divisive people and abusers deserve to be avoided, but I think it’s stupid to accuse someone of this lightly. But if you do see someone being like this on the first day you know them, give them a wide berth. There’s too many people like this in the churches across the world, so that’s easier said than done, for the unhypocritical believers are few, just as Jesus said in Matthew 9:37, so we should pray for laborers for the harvest (Matthew 9:38). I pray I get to preach the Gospel across the earth, even from here.

Any prayer requests you want to write to me? You can do that in my e-mail: ron.outland4727@gmail.com! I’ll read each message, write them down, then tape them to my bedroom walls! I’ll see you in Exodus 18 where we talk about assistance for Moses! See ya!

I have no words for what the Israelites said in this short passage… just exasperation, I guess. This passage is found in pages 41-42 of my NKJV Bible, pages 53-54 of my NASB Bible, pages 92-93 of my VOICE copy, and pages 88-89 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.

Ok, maybe I can say something here: why did the Israelites question God’s goodness here? Like, I don’t understand… I guess they forgot about what He had just done for them the last several weeks… this is not good. It doesn’t help that God has been angry before and it puts ACTUAL understanding at risk, not to mention that He’s not only refusing to be a people-pleaser, but that also, goodness seems to be His last resort… idk. I thank God I can visit Santa Monica again, but I haven’t been out of state since I went there last time. But it doesn’t matter since the cost of living isn’t very good in a lot of places, and I’d rather not leave Gilbert since it’s a good home for me. But God’s main concern is people, so that’s really good 😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇

I’ll post something about the military threat in the rest of this chapter… this definitely doesn’t look good, but it’s not the Israelites’ fault someone’s trying to annihilate them.

The Israelites were hungry, but they cried out to Jesus as soon as they left Elim (the coastal town where they stopped for fresh water; see Exodus 15:27). But here’s something I didn’t see coming: God Himself said the Israelites were complaining against Him (verses 28-29) — this can’t be the cry of someone narcissistic, right? Fair warning, for those who’ve never read Exodus before, you might think God’s like this. Indeed, I definitely find it difficult to believe He’s not easily offended here 😓😓😓😓😓 I’m glad Jesus was eventually born in Bethlehem to display God’s love to everyone from the country. Too bad the people hated Him there and nailed Him to a cross. And Jesus said, “He who hates Me hates My Father” (John 15:23). This chapter is found in page 41 of my NKJV Bible, pages 52-53 of my NASB Bible, pages 90-92 of my VOICE copy (with its notes), and pages 87-88 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.

Also, didn’t God rescue His people from Egypt just weeks prior to this? I’ll need some time to process what just happened… also, I’m writing more than one post today because the previous passage wasn’t very long, and there wasn’t much to say, so I wasn’t done writing for the day yet. But the bread and meat the Israelites ate here was great, they didn’t have any strange cravings yet even though eating the food is nonetheless good in any season, for the most part (but see Numbers 11) — it definitely got weird there. I don’t think I can read this part of the book very well… I need some New Testament verses. I don’t know how else to interpret this in the light of Jesus…

One thing I just remembered is Jesus’ words in John 6:22-59 about bread and wine from Heaven, and how He’s the bread and wine, now. Unfortunately, though, many have used that passage as a pretext for heresies like T.U.L.I.P. and false ideas about predestination and stuff. How evil is that?! I’m like, 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡🤬🤬🤬🤬 — this turns away too many people from Jesus, and I want His love to be no longer said to be selective, for Jesus loves everyone. Too bad an atheist can erase everything the Lord Jesus has done for anyone once they decide to make a point. No one can really be safe once they decide to strike.

The Bible definitely does have a lot of difficult passages, and it’s hard for me to read most of it nowadays, since God’s goodness isn’t preached much. I wish I could rest in Him more often; I have work in less than three and a half hours, and I think miracles are still under attack. I love Bible preaching, but there needs to be tactfulness in the messages. Otherwise, it’s not anointed stuff.

First off, why did they go three days without water, the Israelites? Hmmm… I guess they didn’t know where to find any… but this passage is found in page 41 of my NKJV Bible, page 52 of my NASB Bible, page 90 of my VOICE copy, and pages 86-87 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy. But even so, this happened many years ago… I don’t know what they were thinking. I say this is in Arabia because Mt. Sinai is there (Galatians 4:25), and the Israelites come there just a few chapters later. But despite the terrifying sounds that happened on the mountain (chapter 19), we have a better estimate now (Hebrews 12:18-24), so it’s best we listen to God’s voice who speaks to us, for is they turned away from what happened here and they were annihilated, how much worse will it be in Heaven for those who turn away today (see Hebrews 10:28-29, 12:25)! For with great power comes great responsibility (this is akin to Luke 12:48).

In Numbers 14, we see that the Israelites tested God about ten times… I think this began here, since the Lord God spoke the words in verse 26 here. I think they could’ve just bought some good stuff with their wealth — I forget the verses that say they had a lot. But what I don’t understand is why the Israelites would do this when they could trust God and everything would be ok… they must’ve had Egypt in them to a huge extent, and, spoiler alert, this won’t be the last time I speak of this in this section of the Bible. They must’ve known the words that would later become Scripture (see everything from Leviticus onwards, even though they don’t have all the verses yet). But I don’t want to overanalyze anything… I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like to go through the desert with long periods of having nothing to eat or drink. But thankfully, their clothes didn’t get worn out, as it says somewhere in Deuteronomy, I think. I’ll have to double-check…

Any prayer requests? You can leave one in my e-mail: ron.outland4727@gmail.com! I’ll read each one, write them down, then tape them to my bedroom walls! I’ll see you in the next post where we’re at chapter 16!

Long story short, this starts with a few episodes of complaints from Israel because of what they’re seeing and it ends with Moses getting on Mount Sinai having fellowship with Jesus. To be honest, I really don’t know how else to summarize it, since God never liked the Mosaic Law (read from Exodus 20:20) — and I actually need to let you know some very important information, so listen up! I believe the Lord Jesus told me just now that even though the Ten Commandments are useful for life (the idolatry part I want to avoid, since I’d only worship Jesus), the movie Ten Commandments may have only been made to promote unforgiveness, as if Jesus’ words on the Sermon On The Mount (Matthew 5-7) didn’t matter. Loving your enemies is definitely useful, too, and probably more effective! Also, you know how the Church has fawned over right-wing stuff for a long time? They’ve twisted the Scriptures for many years, especially here in the U.S., so that one day, nationalism would arise and takes us all out, not just here, but across the world. The U.S. is now the leading force behind the world’s cult-like mentality while promoting all sorts of good things, after rejecting it for so long. I don’t like how China runs things, but here, receptivity to the Holy Spirit is just too low 😭😭😭😭😭 I get the feeling this is happening across the world, actually… it didn’t start out this way. Maybe when the U.S. broke apart from Britain in the late 18th century, someone thought it’d be a smart idea to follow the same pattern the Israelites did here, eventually banning themselves from Canaan for 40 years! Thankfully, the generation after them wasn’t so bad, but spoilers, they didn’t teach their children the nature of Jesus, either (see Joshua 23:15-16). This eventually got them kicked out, after having been divided into two separate nations (read 1 Kings 12 and 2 Kings 17/25). And sadly, Moses had prophesied this would happen (Deuteronomy 31:16-21). I don’t want to meditate on bad news, but it doesn’t look like they wanted to have Jesus forgive others. Weird, huh? But this section of Exodus is found in pages 41-46 of my NKJV Bible, pages 52-59 of my NASB Bible, pages 90-103 of my VOICE copy, and pages 86-97 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.

I don’t think Moses or Joshua enjoyed delivering bad news to the Israelites, since God wanted them to enjoy freedom in Him, especially in Jesus’ new life He offers everyone today. I’m not looking forward to seeing the many episodes of unfaithfulness from the Israelites, actually… I think they had adopted a lot of Egypt mechanics before they left, and weren’t sure what to do with the new life they now had. And I’m actually thinking that sometimes, we don’t know what to do with the new life Jesus gives us. I do want to spend a month at Bora Bora 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🛫🛬🏖🌅😌😌😌😌😌 but I don’t think Jesus wants me to do that right now, so I think that’s great; I do know He wants me to enjoy His creation, though. There’s more stuff to do than a month-long getaway, and vacations might soon be gone anyway, so I’m looking forward to Jesus most of all. And boy, do I need to get another copy of All Things New, for I gave my other copy to my roommate’s cousin even though he’s crazy. Thankfully, though, I’m sharing the Gospel with him, and Jonathan told me God will honor that 😇😇😇😇😇😇 I do pray increased receptivity to the Holy Spirit across the earth, though, for nationalism and communism are trying to tear it down for good. The book’s by John Eldridge; it’s a must-read. Literally.

I pray love for the Polynesians, too, since I don’t know much about them… but if I see fire-dancing somewhere, I’ll be blown away 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥➡💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯 I hope you don’t get the impression I’m too ditzy to actually be professional, though… maybe I’ll be a college kid at heart forever 😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣 but even so, you don’t see very many promising things in most Bible books, do you? Maybe I’m just uneducated still, but I feel like I can’t find many promises right now that I can take heart for, since I can’t find my Bible Promises book; it’s buried underneath my letters, and I want to believe God for better things ahead, but I want to do the same for my nieces, too! I hope they find Him one day… I miss them terribly 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭👯‍♀️👩‍❤️‍👩👩🏽‍🤝‍👩🏽 it’s great I’ve had some amazing things happen to me in the recent past, but I want absolutely no one to reject miracles. I love college more than high school by a longshot anyway.

One last thing: Moses says that everything that follows Exodus 20:20 is so that the Israelites can see which is better: Law or Gospel? I think it’s the latter. And boy, am I going to have a hard time with the next 100+ chapters… I don’t want to read those parts of the Bible only. I think the only thing we can learn from this is that the letter kills (2 Corinthians 3:6), and I’d rather look forward to what the Lord Jesus is going to do in the future. Thankfully, He’s always been good, and He never changes (Hebrews 13:8). That’s what I’ll leave you with, since I never get e-mails about what anyone needs prayer for directly into my inbox if it’s not with some charity… but I’ll see you in the latter end of Exodus 15! Ciao!