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GO

Today is one of those Fridays where I am short of words – struggling with a way to keep the Buffet moving forward today! But I have stumbled on one thought that I am holding on to this morning, the Lord’s words to Moses:

 

12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”   Exodus 4:12 New International Version (NIV)

Why do I think that these words he gave to Moses, he also would say to use.

 

Go, and let him help you speak and teach you what to say!

GO!

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Happy Flag Day

It’s Flag Day, and for some reason its one of my strongest memories of elementary school ( besides messing up the 8’s multiplication table).  It’s probably because I every time I remember doing those Flag Day activities at school, I always stop and think, why were we still in school on June 14! So for me today marks the official day of summer!  There’s no one that should still be in school after today!!!!

 Anyway, it’s flag day – so let’s celebrate the ol’ Stars and Stripes!  But since as Christ followers we are ‘strangers in this here land’, lets not forget the other flag that we live under.  Let us be like Moses and remember the Lord is our banner!

 15 Then Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is my Banner.  Exodus 17:15  New Century Version (NCV)

Wave it Proudly!

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Control and Command

It appears the James Durbin from American Idol must be a DB reader.  Yesterday I wrote about “Don’t Stop Believing” and then last night he goes out on Idol and sings it.  What influence this blog has!  What control!  What command!

Well, of course that’s not true, but it feels good to feel like you are in control.  Being in control and in command of things is something that I think all of us struggle with.  It is so hard to give it over and let others, or the Lord, take over and lead. It seems like it is so against our nature for that to happen, but never the less that is what we are asked to do.

18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:18, New International Version)

It sort of reminds me of the song “Pierce My Ear”, which is a song about willingly giving control over to the Lord, which comes from this story in the book of Exodus

 5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life. (Exodus 21:5-6, New International Version)

So today, spend some time thinking about who or what is in control of your life?

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Elementary, My Dear Watson

There is so much going on this week that I can’t decide what to write about when!  With all the exchanging of flowers and chocolate yesterday, forgot to tune my TV over to Alex Trebek at 7 to see the great IBM Challenge, plus I was watching my dear Mountaineers give the game to Syracuse with bad shooting.

Anyway, last week my favorite IBM employee and account rep, forwarded me the information that this week on Jeopardy the Watson supercomputer is going to take on 2 of the greatest Jeopardy champions of all time in a man vs Artificial Intelligence duel to the death ( or maybe to $1 Million !) And if there are three people I guess that is not technically a duel!  This is really a pretty big deal in the AI industry, as its a real time test of over 4 years of development efforts on this super computer.  It seems last night, Watson got off to an incredible start, but was slowly reeled in my one of the human contestants before the wheel starting spinning at half past the hour.   I have set up my DVR to catch the heart racing action for the next two nights.

It is really amazing that men can build and program a machine to be able to process and answer to quickly.  To be able to replicate in certain ways the workings of our brain is really really amazing.  But I wonder if we will ever be able to really capture all the true intricacies that make us human.  For instance our ability to create and organize and plan and build – those abilities are truly unique among the inhabitants of this world.  Truly unique because they are given from God.

27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.  Genesis 1:27

and then here is an obscure instance of in Exodus

30 Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 32 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 33 to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. 34 And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers. Exodus 35:30-35 (New International Version, ©2010)

So, as we watch things like the Watson supercomputer and marvel at its complexity and let us celebrate the way men are using the gifts God has given them and then lets us use our gifts as well.

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100th Post

Wow!  What an awesome day!  First its a great day to be a Mountaineer with the basketball team going to the Sweet Sixteen.  That’s the only redeeming quality of my March Madness Bracket!

But even better – this is the 100th Post of the Daily Buffet!  That’s worthy of a celebration!  I know that writing and posting all this nonsense has helped me tremendously.  Its my hope that it as also been of some positive benefit to everyone who uses their time to read it.

That sort of makes me want to sing along with Miriam:

Exodus 15

The Song of Moses and Miriam

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD :
“I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea.

2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

3 The LORD is a warrior;
the LORD is his name.

Acknowledge where you strength comes from this day and this weekend, and remember that we are just one week away from the Passover and Easter – and anniversary of the coming of our Savior.