Go Forward!

There is no incident in the life of Moses which I consider more epochal than this one; the encounter with the Red Sea. Here was a man who was faced with a great dilemma. He was on his way from Egypt to Canaan. He had received instructions from God to take the journey and he was following orders. He had been chosen to lead a group of oppressed and downtrodden people to the Promised Land. The journey had been successful to this point. Two great pillars had formed in the sky to lead them: a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. It was a wilderness journey.

It was a wilderness journey because God led them not by way of the land of the Philistines, which geographically would have been closer to the Promised Land, but rather, God led them through the wilderness of the Red Sea, the longest and most difficult route. This seems to suggest that when God gets ready to build the strength of a people, He uses His own strategy. He does not do what we think He might have done or should have done, He does what is best. No man can tell God what to do or how to do. He led them through the way of the wilderness and the Red Sea and crossing it gave Israel a history as long as the ages. This one incident stamped eternity upon the people of God.

Well, it has been said, and I believe, that the easy way out in life is never ultimately profitable ? even though it may appear to be. The short and easy way only leads to a fools' haven; a place where we feel we have arrived only to discover we have missed the mark in life. We cannot understand or face life until we have walked the rough and rugged paths; when we have tasted the bitter cup of oppression and persecution. We cannot understand life until we have been confronted by trials and tribulations, heartbreaks and desperation. We can never grasp what life is really about until we have walked through the wilderness and crossed the high waters of troubles. Great nations and great individuals have been burned out of struggle and bloodshed.

God led His people through the wilderness - not to punish them, not to get even with them for their disobedience, but to equip them to handle the difficulties that were ahead of them. God is like that. Sometimes He will lead us through the wilderness to prepare us for some obstacle that lies ahead. He prepares us for victory over major trials. And I kind of like the way God does business because every now and then in my personal history, major events come my way and when these especially difficult challenges come, I want to be able to stand.

God never leads an individual around opposition but through it ? straight through. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, we find God leading His children through and not around opposition. When these Hebrew children looked to the east, they saw the Red Sea; when they looked to the west and south, they saw huge mountains, and to the north of them was Pharaoh's army in host pursuit. You remember the story. God told Moses to tell the Israelites to "Go Forward" and He provided a way for them through the Red Sea. God never leads us into a wilderness and leaves us. If He takes us in, He will bring us out if we trust Him.

God never tells an individual to quit. He has one command, Go Forward. It is the only means of getting ahead. Canaan is always out in front of us. It is more that a place, it is God's destiny for men.

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available in July.

You are welcome to visit amen ministries: your soul's service station for spiritual refreshing, soul edification or to browse our newly expanded mini shopping mall.

Blessings to all!

whole house cleaning Morton Grove ...

In The News:

Lyft rolled out safety upgrades with a new Safety Hub, driver blocking capability and a favorite driver option to give riders more control over their experience.

New research shows Americans increasingly trust AI for wellness guidance over social media, with 63% finding artificial intelligence reliable for health.

Luxury fashion brand Dior experienced a January 2025 data breach affecting customer personal information, and notifications were sent months after the discovery.

The commercial Unitree H1 humanoid robot weighs 104 pounds with 365 pound-feet torque per joint and demonstrates dangerous potential when software glitches occur.

Americans average 10-plus hours online daily, according to recent survey, splitting time between streaming shows on TV and browsing websites on multiple devices.

Boost your smartphone privacy instantly with these security tweaks for iPhone and Android that limit ad tracking, hide notifications and prevent unauthorized access.

Platforms like Hoax Tech and JS Click Cloaker help cybercriminals bypass detection systems using machine learning to selectively display scam content to victims.

A new battery recycling technique transforms old lithium-ion batteries into high-performance components that retain 88% capacity after 500 cycles with minimal waste.

Google's Android operating system can warn users about earthquakes before the shaking even begins – and there are ways to do it on your iPhone, too.

Meta's new gesture control wristband might just be the most seamless way to control a computer yet. And no, it doesn't require surgery, a camera, or even a touchscreen. All it needs is your wrist.

Long-haul trucks are now being upgraded with a surprising twist, thanks to California-based startup Revoy. Their electric boost doesn't replace diesel but works alongside it to cut emissions and fuel costs without major disruption.

PayPal and Venmo just rolled out something big: AI-powered scam alerts for Friends and Family payments.

As data centers multiply across the United States, energy demand is increasing at a rapid pace. This has not escaped the notice of large investment firms from Wall Street.

The Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit organization that maintains the Unicode Standard to ensure emojis work across devices, has announced Unicode 17.0, which includes nine new emojis slated for release this fall, in September 2025.

OpenAI is one of the world's leading AI research labs. Founded in 2015, it's behind some of today's most talked-about tools, including GPT, DALL·E, and ChatGPT.

Ever catch your dog staring at the screen during movie night and wonder if they're actually watching? Turns out, they might be. A new scientific study from Auburn University found that many dogs really do engage with television, and not all pups react the same way.

Stop the scammers from making contact in the first place. They're getting your parents' contact information and much more personal data besides, from somewhere.

The Walker S2 robot from UBTech autonomously exchanges its batteries in just three minutes, allowing continuous operation in car factories operated by BYD, Nio and Zeekr.

The FX Super One electric MPV from Faraday Future offers flexible seating, zero-gravity recliners and an AI system that creates a personal connection between driver and vehicle.

Practical solutions for reducing unwanted charity mail, political texts and email spam by opting out of shared lists, replying "STOP" and using data removal services.

Delta's new AI pricing system eliminates static airfares for personalized rates based on individual data, raising questions about fairness while promising optimized revenue.

AI data centers are straining the power grid across 13 states, contributing to a $9 billion increase in electricity costs, and PJM customers face monthly bill increases of $25 or more.

Artificial intelligence is transforming the music industry as AI-generated bands like The Velvet Sundown earn substantial streaming revenue, prompting lawsuits from major record labels.

Microsoft phishing scams use fake security alerts and links that redirect to credential-stealing pages with warning signs, including urgent language and unusual senders.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Go Forward!

Spirituality