LB

Today in church we went through Jude. Jude talks a lot about what the three letters of John talked about, or at least what we went through in it.

"For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have
secretly slipped in among you."

Whoops. In second John It says don't even let those people in to your house. Later on in Jude, it writes:

"They are clouds without rain,blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without any fruit and uprooted twice-dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame.Wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever."

So, Jude kinda sums up all of John's letters.

Job 11-12

"But ask the animals, and they will teach you;

or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;

or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,

or let the fish of the sea inform you.

Which of these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?

In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."

This was said by Job. It got me thinking. I've always wondered if animals acknowledge God, or if they know who's in charge. Or are they just animals that go about their business? But here the Bible says that they know that God's hand is in the life of every creature. But was this just kind of an illustration by Job, telling that God has control over everything? Or was he stating it as a fact? I think it's probably a fact. If only animals could talk. Here we are with all our evolutionary ideas and Darwin-induced philosophies. But the animals may know how it really happened. YOU might be an atheist - but talk to your DOG now and then.

2 Kings 7

Israel is still under siege by Aram, and they are starving! But Elisha has said, "Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria." Apparently that's a whole lot of food for a cheap price. Maybe God could do that today with gas prices.

But the king said, "Even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" Apparently he doesn't know a whole lot about the floodgates of heaven.

Elisha said, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!" Yikes! What could it mean?

Meanwhile, four lepers were sitting around and said, "Why stay here until we die? Let's go into the camp of the Arameans and surrender." Their reasoning was that there was famine in the city (means they'll die) and if they go into the camp and get taken captive, they live. Or of course, they could be killed by the Arameans, but this way they had a chance. But when they reached the camp, not a single soul was there. God had made them all hear the sound of chariots and horses so they said, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!" So they left the tents and horses and everything and ran for their lives! Well, these lepers were having a good time. They found gold, ate food, and generally partied. Then they remembered that they should tell everybody else, and the gatekeepers shouted the news. The people were overjoyed and they were starving. So they made a run the camp where there was plenty of food. And the king? He got in the way of the starving mob and was trampled. So he did not eat any of the food that sold for dirt cheap. But Israel's land was saved from siege and starvation and they could go out and get food again. And they all lived happily ever after - until next time!

LB

Well, after Joshua gave everyone their inheritance, he summoned the reubenites, Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh and told them in a matter of speaking: "You guys did good, you did all we wanted you to do, you can go, Keep the commandments," that kinda stuff. So he blessed them and sent them away. Just a day after that, guess what? The reubenites, and all them, made an altar that wasn't for God. Now the others were mad. "War! War!" Not good. So the Priest and a few others go over there asking them why they did that. Then everybody else (A.K.A. the reubenites and everybody else that lived on the other side of the Jordan) said in a matter of speaking:"God knows if what we did is good ur bad, we built an altar as a witness that we would never turn from the Lord." Pew! That was close! There was no more talk of war. THEN...... Joshua dies!!! *snifffle*

Oral reports

At our home school group, we're doing Oral reports. If you don't know what they are they're speeches you make in front of the whole place. No one's looking forward to it in our family. I'm doing an Oral report that goes like this. "Hi, my name is Lu and I'm going to recite Psalm 16 'Keep me safe, oh God for in you I take refuge. I said to the Lord, you are my Lord, apart from you I have no good thing. As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom are all my delight. The sorrows of those will increase that run after other Gods. I will not Pour out their libations of blood, or take up their names upon my lips. Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup. you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places, surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord who counsels me, even at night my heart instructs me, I have set the Lord always before me, because am I at your right Hand I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices, my body also will rest secure. Because you have not abandoned me to the grave nor let your holy one see decay.You have made known to me the path of life ,you will fill me with joy in your presence with eternal pleasures at your right hand.' I memorized that.

Judges 1-6

Joshua is now dead. And Israel has been invaded by the Midianites. Every time Israel planted crops, the Midianites came and destroyed them - and every single cow and sheep and animal. The Israelites were starving! And on this certain fine morning, Gideon was threshing wheat in a wipepress (must be hard) to keep it from the Midianites. All of a sudden, there was an angel watching him! It said, "The LORD is with you mighty warrior."

"But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." Little did this guy know that he would LEAD a miracle!

The LORD said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"

WHAT?????????????? That was a little... abrupt. Gideon (let's switch to Gid) probably stared for a little bit, started to laugh then thought better of it, stuttered a little, and stared some more. This is truly what any good writer would write. Just some guy all of a sudden getting hailed as a warrior and told to get out there and save the world. Finally Gid said, "B-but Lord," (lowercase Lord, as in, "sir") "How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manassah, and I am the least in my family." He's basically the runt.

The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."

Now Gideon realizes this is God and not "sir". He said, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away intil I come back and bring my offering and set it before you. The angel agreed, and Gid got some food. On the food side here, he's from the tribe of Manassah, and they live separate from the other Israelites, so I bet they probably weren't AS tight on the chow as some others. The angel touched the meat with his staff and fire came out from the rock and burned it up. Then the angel dissapeared. Gis was afraid and said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"

But God told him that he would not die and gave him his first assignment. "Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God. So Gid set out to do it - in the middle of the night. When morning came, all the people saw that Baal's altar was torn down! But somebody had seen Gideon do it - probably some little kid out in the middle of the night looking for his lost kitty - and snitched on him. So the townsmen waltzed up to Gid's door and said to his father, "Bring out your son! He must die, because he has broken down Baal's altar." These are ISRAELITES remember. Gid's father said, "Are you trying to plead Baal's cause? Are you trying to save him? If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar." Heehee! The crowd thought this was an excellent point, and went off.

Join me next week to hear what happens next with this runty warrior kid!

Genesis 20-23

Guess what? God kept his promise! Sarah had a son named Isaac, meaning, "he laughs". Sarah said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children?" Uh, that would be... GOD?:P

So Isaac grew and was weaned and Abraham threw a great party when that happened (they were probably having a party to rejoice that they'd be able to sleep again). But Ishmael started to pick on Isaac and it made Sarah mad. "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."

Abraham was upset, because, after all Ishmael was his son too. But God told him to listen to Sarah. So the next morning Hagar and Ishmael set off. Their water soon ran out, and Hagar thought they were both going to die. But God told her that he would make Ishmael into a great nation, and he opened her eyes and showed her a well of water. Of course, they both lived. Ishmael grew up, became and archer, got a wife, and is now a great nation.

A while later God said, "Abraham! Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." God probably had to repeat that a couple of times until Abraham knew he wasn't kidding, or really said, "Sacrifice WITH him there." The next morning Abraham got up, packed up the wood and the knife and took Isaac and set off for the mountain. Imagine all the things going through his head! He was probably thinking about God's promise to make Isaac into a great nation, and thinking about what one earth God was up to. Also thinking about how he could really DO this. I don't even know how many animals I could kill, let alone a human being - let alone my own family! When they got to the top, Abraham tied Isaac up and got ready to kill him. But the LORD said, "Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." He looked over and saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket, and they sacrificed it instead. Whew! Abraham passed the test! I dunno if I could've done that, but Abraham was ready to do ANYTHING God asked! God, make me like that.

LB

By the time Joshua defeated all those kings he was old. So God said that he would destroy them himself. Um, I don't get that, does he just send storms and stuff and make them die cuz I don't recall God ever doing that. It's amazing how God blessed Joshua. I mean, he's a hundred and ten and he's still been fighting in wars. Wow. So Joshua starts giving his people their inheritance.

"But to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance

since the offerings made by fire to the Lord , the

God of Isreal, are their inheritance, as he promised them."

Romans 9-10

These chapters talked about how God saved the Gentiles and the Jews were unsaved. Paul quoted Hosea:

" I will call them 'my people' who are not my people;

and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one."

Before Jesus, ONLY the Israelites were God's people. Everybody else was cursed to his disfavor. But when Jesus took their sins, EVERYBODY could be his!!!! Imagine how happy God was. But the Israelites were having a hard time with this Jesus thing ("Crucify him!!!"). They were confused. They were proud of being God's only people. Forget those Gentiles, who do they think THEY are! They were sticklers about the Law. They WERE the only ones who had God's law anyway! Paul said, "What shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works... Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes."

Then later he tells us how we - anybody - can be saved: "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is LORD,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." That's it!!!!

LB

After the Gibeonites deceived Joshua and made themselves wood cutters and water carriers, 5 kings joined together to attack Gibeon. Gibeon sent word to Joshua that they were under attack. And God said to joshua that he could just wipe them out. So Joshua said to the sun:

"O sun, stand still over Gibeon,

O moon over the Valley of

Aijalon." So the sun stood still,

and the moon stopped,till the nation

avenged itself on it's enemy's.

Now the 5 kings ran away to a cave and when Joshua found out they rolled big rocks on the caves entrance and then fought some more. After, the kings were brought to Joshua. He put them to the sword and they were dragged back to the cave where they were hiding. They rolled the stones over the entance again and they are there to this day. After they killed the army that was as numerous as sand on the seashorethey had killed 31 kings.

LB's post

The Israelites fathers were circumcised, but after they died no one was. So they were circumcised.

"Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites.

No one went out and no one came in. Then the Lord said to Joshua,

'See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands along with it's king

and it's fighting men.'"

I love how God just melted the peoples of hearts of Jericho for them. God shows favor to his people. I wish I could be like Joshua.

But one day, 2 or 3,000 went up to Ai (how do you pronounce that?) to destroy it and got defeated. Joshua fell on his face and put dust on his head and asked God how and why that happened.

"Israel has sinned"

That was the answer.So God told Joshua who it was and Joshua had him confess it. So that day Achan was stoned along with all his possessions.

Isaiah 26:3-4

"You will keep in perfect peace

him whose mind is steadfast,

because he trusts in you.

Trust in the LORD forever,

for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal."

This verse made me think about perfect peace. What is it? When I think of it, I think of being in those bad times - one of those weeks, one of those years - and not falling apart all the time. Mostly I just freak out when bad things happen (not perfect peace). Sometimes I just don't worry about it even a little and just trust God with it (perfect peace probably). Sometimes I do both - freak out AND trust God with the outcome - and what is that? One time in particular I more shaken up about something than I'd ever been shaken up in my life. And I knew that the outcome of this problem was up to God, but I was still scared about what would happen. Is it alright to be scared about things if we're still trusting in God?

2 Kings 6

The king of Aram was at war with Israel, and kept trying to ambush them. But Elisha sent word to the king of Israel every time he tried to set up camp, saying, "Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there." So the king of Israel wouldn't go that way. This went on many many times, and the king of Aram was frustrated. He called his officers and said, "Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?" So, he's thinking there's a spy in the ranks. The officers replied, "None of us, my lord the king. But Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom."

"Go, find out where he is so I can send men and capture him." Pretty soon, the king found out where he was, and sent a strong force surrounding the city. His servant asked, "What shall we do?"

"Don't be afraid," Elisha said. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then he prayed, "LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servants eyes and what did he see? Chariots and horses of fire all around Elisha!!!!!!!!! But the enemy is charging! So Elisha said, "Strike these people with blindness!!!!!!!!!!!!" It was so. Everybody was blind. Bumping into each other and making a real scene. Elisha waltzed right up and said, "This is not the road, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for." It's almost like, "You don't need to see his identification. These aren't the droids you're looking for.":P Heehee!!!!!! So he marched them to Samaria - where the king of Israel was waiting. Then God opened the Arameans eyes and they saw where they were. Uh-oh. The king of Israel asked, "Shall I kill them?"

"Do not kill them". Said Elisha "Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master." After that, the Arameans stopped raiding Israelite territory.

God was greater than that whole army! I wonder if the chariots and horses of fire are still in vogue in heaven - they certainly were in Elijah and Elisha's time!!!:P And after that, God just got rid of the Arameans! Sent them away! They weren't a problem anymore! If God is on our side, we can defeat whatever comes against us - those who are with us are always greater than those who are with them.

Joshua - lU

I'm in Joshua so that's who I read about. Joshua sent out two spy's, they went to the prostitute Rahab's house, and you know the story. I like how Rahab had feared God, and repented. Plus, she saved her family. If only we could do that. Like, ya know, just have that faith to give your life to a God you've never even seen. That's faith.
Then I read about how god lifted Joshua up by stopping the waters of the Jordan so the people cross. "And they revered him all the days of his life,just as they had revered Moses."

lU-that's sad

I never knew how much I liked Moses until he died. He blessed all the tribes of Israel and God knew they would sin a lot. So, Moses, under Gods instruction, wrote a song against that and had the Israelites memorize it. Then from a mountain top, God showed him all the land that was going to be possessed by the Israelites. Then, Moses died and God himself buried him. Isn't that so sweet? I wold love to be buried by God.

Psalm 13

"How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"

and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing to the LORD,

for he has been good to me."

This Psalm is about those bad times. My friend Toria's family lost their baby, and it was like it happened to us all over again. It was here AGAIN. How long, O LORD are you going to give people babies only to take them away? How long, O LORD, will children die of cancer? How long, O LORD, will there be shootings at schools? How long, O LORD, will 50% of marriages end in divorce?

But this Psalm ends with just the mindset we should have: "I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me."

Joshua 21-24

Remember those Eastern Tribes? The ones that wanted to live on the other side of the Jordan? They had permission, but only after they finished helping Israel do battle. So now they are finished. And Joshua says that they can go back home. When they got there, it says they built an IMPOSING altar. Dictionary.com describes imposing as "very impressive because of great size, stately appearance, dignity, elegance". So it was really cool and big. When the other Israelites heard, they all cried "Oh, no!" and rushed over to see what the deal was.

They said, "How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the LORD and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now? Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the LORD! (That was the place where they had worshipped a Baal) And are you now turning away from the LORD? If you rebel against the LORD today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel. If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the LORD's land, where the LORD's tabernacle stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the LORD or against us by building an altar for yourselves, other than the altar of the LORD our God. When Achan son of Zerah acted unfaithfully regarding the devoted things, did not wrath come upon the whole community of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin."

Reuben, Gad and Manasseh said, "The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the LORD, do not spare us this day. If we have built out own altar to turn away from the LORD and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the LORD himself call us to account.

No! We did it for fear that someday your descendants might say to ours, 'What do you have to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? (Seeing as they don't even live in the land where the tabernacle is) You have no share in the LORD.' So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the LORD.

That is why we said, 'Let us get ready and build an altar - but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices. On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no share in the LORD.' " So it was like a monument. They were worried that they might get scoffed at later for not being in God's land, so they built an altar as a witness and they called it: A Witness Between Us that the LORD is God.

Wow. Talk about caution and forethought!!! I had never read this part before! Thought it was pretty neat.

Deuteronomy-lU

Moses told the people the review of what happened to them and told them the regulations and things and the blessings and the cursing of what would happen if they did good and what would happen if they did bad. If they obeyed, they would get blessings, but if they didn't, then they would be banished, they would get sores and boils, go crazy and all sorts of things! If we keep up our pride and lies and things then I bet that he's (as in, God) gonna start doing that to us! Lord help us change our ways!!!!!

Genesis 16-19

Abram and Sarai are getting impatient for a child. Sarai had an idea to speed things up a bit (leave it to the ladies). She said, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." And guess what Abram did - he agreed!!!!!!!!!!! Soon Hagar was expecting. Then she began to despise Sarai - one pastor called it "getting uppity." She probably started humming rock-a-bye-baby all the time and redecorating the tent in a na-na-na-na-na kinda way. Didn't take long for Sarai to get mad and jealous. She whined to Abram and he said, "Your servant is in your hands. Do with her whatever you think best." Now he's backing out like he didn't do anything. Sarai mistreated Hagar and she ran away. The angel of the LORD met her and said,

"You are now with child

and you will have a son,

You shall name him Ishmael (meaning "God Hears"),

for the LORD has heard of your misery.

He will be a wild donkey of a man;

his hand will be against everyone

and everyone's hand against him,

and he will live in hostility

toward all his brothers."

Then is says, "She gave a name to the LORD who spoke to her: 'You are the God who sees me.' " I thought it was funny that she "gave God a name"! She WAS Egyptian, and probably didn't know God well.

Ishmael... the father of Iraq and Afghanistan and all those other hostile ones in the Middle East. Everyone's hand is against him, and his hand is against everyone. And why? Because Abram and Sarai did not wait on the LORD to keep his promise. They decided to speed things up - and look what came of it. Trying to fullfill God's plan by ourselves doesn't work.

Carelessness- lU

I didn't read this in my Bible but mom had talked about it. She talked about the many clumsy things that you say that doesn't seem to sound bad but may hurt other people becuz your mad and you don't realize your doing it. Proverbs is all over fools that don't have self-control and can't keep their mouth shut. For example: "Stay away from the foolish man, for you will not find knowledge on his lips" and "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." So, my point? DON'T BE CARELESS!!!!!

Joshua

I read in Joshua. After he defeated 31 kings!!! Whoa, I'm thinking. Our God is an awesome God! even though They (as in God, Joshua, and his men) hadn't defeated everyone, He still started givin out land. Caleb, who had been around as long as Joshua, got some good land too!but now Joshua's old. 110 years old! So I'll have to read more to see what happens next.

Bird Bash

I read some good stuff today, but decided not to post about it. I decided to talk about something that happened yesterday.

Bird is potty-training. She's pretty good at it so far. This time she was playing outside after it rained and she decided she needed to go. So she walks through the kitchen, the dining room, the hall, kicked a baseboard or two, and went into the bathroom making mud prints all over the floor. Guess who has to clean it up? When I saw her I said, "Hey, what are you doing???"

"I'm gonna go pee."

"Look what you did all over the floor!"

She looks. She sees.

I says, "Take your shoes off."

She makes no move for it. She walks around some more tracking more mud where it wasn't messy yet.

"No, sit down and take them off!"

She sits down and starts pitching a fit - and not taking her shoes off. Now I was mad, so I walked off to clean up the mess until she was ready to stop crying, sorta waiting for an adult to come spank her. Nobody came and she quit by the time I was done, took her shoes off and went pee. The whole time I'm giving her a speech about what to do when you come in the house. "Take off your shoes, leave them at the door..." and she's saying, "yes ma'am, yes ma'am, sorry," before I've finished saying anything so I know she's not listening. I go back to whatever I was doing thinking, "When will she pay attention and just listen to what I say without pitching a fit?" A little while later she comes in and says, "Meggy, I didn't mean to put dirt on the floor." That was kinda funny - she's never said anything like that before:P

I said, "I know you didn't mean to Birdie, but you've got to pay attention when you come inside ok?"

"Ok. I'm sorry." She came and sat in my lap and I told her exactly what she was supposed to do next time, then she repeated it perfectly. So everything was happy and I wasn't mad and she wasn't mad and we all lived happily ever after.

It made me start thinking about working things out. She knew I was mad at what she had done and she came to set it right. Pretty smart for a two foot tall potty-trainer. She said she was sorry and she knows what to do to avoid disaster next time because of it. And I know that she was really listening. I bet bigger kids and grown-ups could still do that successfully and make things work out a lot better.

lU

Today, (as in, Sunday) our pastor talked about Antichrists. In second john it orders that we don't even say "hello" much less even enter your house!!! It's not just say hello and be polite and then they leave. No it says don't even say hello lest they not only stop your relationship with the Lord, but also try to throw it away! Yikes! Stay away! This is serous!

Matthew 8-11

Saturday = Gospel day!!!

Jesus did something miraculous every 4 verses in these chapters, so I'm going to pick out my 2 favorites to talk about.

Right after Jesus had calmed the storm and they landed on the other side, two demon-possessed men came up from the tombs. They were always there, and nobody ever passed that way because they were so violent. That would be pretty scary - 2 crazy guys in the graveyard making a scene. When I was little I listened to this dramatized audio tape on this part, and the disciples were freaking out saying, "It's not safe to land here! We better go another way!" That's probably the way it was! Anyway, these two freaky guys came up and recognized Jesus without a second glance. They yelled, "What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" Those demons will be tortured - they will be defeated and thrown into the abyss. There was a herd a pigs quite a ways away, and the demons begged not to be tortured, but to go into the pigs instead. Jesus said, "Go!" And man they went. Now we have a whole herd of demon possessed pigs - but not for long! They all ran into the lake and died. The people watching the pigs (what do you call them? Pigherds?) ran to the town and told everybody what had happened. The people of the town came out to Jesus and what did they do? Beg him to leave. Stop wreaking havoc. Gee whiz.

Here's another cool thing. This is what Jesus said about John the Baptist:

"I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come."

Wow!!! Wouldn't it be cool if Jesus praised you like that?

lU

I read about Noah today in my bible reading. He was very trustworthy. But they probably wern't sea sick cuz they never were at sea before. I like how he let out the dove. I'm glad God gave it the brains to know how to do what Noah wanted. It's funny how the Bible knows so much about clans. Strange. It knew the clans and tribes all the wayup to Abram

2 Kings 5

We've all read about Naaman in our children's Bibles. But it is so much cooler to read the real thing!

Naaman wasn't even an Israelite - he was commander of the Aramean army. But tragedy struck him - he got leprosy. But an Israelite girl was his wife's servant, and she said, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." Quick side note: I think it's neat that this girl is keeping her same faith in a foreign land. She doesn't get enough credit in the story! Anyway, Naaman went to the king of Aram and told him what the girl had said.

"By all means, go," the king said. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman went, taking ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. THAT'S the part I want you to remember he has right now. But it's amusing what the letter to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy." Whoa. Talk about confused sources! The king tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!" I can see how that's valid!:P

But Elisha heard that the king had torn his robes and said to him, "Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman went to Elisha and Elisha SENT A SERVANT to say, "Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored."

But Naaman was mad. He wanted it done right then! He wanted a hand wave and it be done! Not some weird directions for cleansing that probably wouldn't work anyway! He wouldn't do it. But his servants said, "If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!"

"Touche." said Naaman. He dove into the Jordan seven times and - shock and wonder! - he was healed! Naaman went back to the man of God and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant." Remember all those riches he had brought? But Elisha didn't accept a thing.

Here's some straight text:

"If you will not," said Naaman, "please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for you servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD."

Hold it - why dirt? Why did he ask for dirt? My guess is this: He said earlier, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel". IN Israel. This guy is used to having gods that you can see and bow down to IN his own land. So he figured these people must have their God only in their land, and he wanted to take God with him. He's a trifle confused, but no doubt his intentions are splendid.

Then he said, "But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also - when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this."

"Go in peace." Elisha said. Wow.

BUT after Naaman had gone, Elisha's servant Gehazi thought, "My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. I will run after him and get something from him." Uh-oh. And guess what he said to Naaman when he caught up? "My master sent me to say, 'Two young men from the company of prophets have just come to me. Please give them and talent of silver and two sets of clothing.' "

Naaman was delighted, and gave him what he asked for. Gehazi hid them in his house and then went to Elisha. Elisha asked, "Where have you been?"

"I didn't go anywhere."

But Elisha knew. And he cursed Gehazi and his descendants with leprosy forever. And Gehazi left Elisha.

2 Kings 4

From all appearances, Elisha has received a double portion of Elijah's spirit!!! He's been working all kinds of miracles.

The wife of a prophet who had died came to him and said, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."

Elisha asked, "What do you have in your house?"

She said, "Your servant has nothing at all except a little oil." If he was asking me what I had in my house, I wouldn't think to say "oil", but that's just me:P

Elisha told her to go borrow lots of jars from all her neighbors - and not just a few. Then to fill them with oil. She was a prophet's wife for sure - she went without question.

I think it would be quite awkward to go around asking my neighbors for NOT JUST A FEW jars.

"Hi, can I borrow your mason jars?"

"Why sure. How many do you need?"

"Alot. Not just a few."

"Uh, ok."

After that probably less than pleasant part was over, her two boys handed her the jars one by one and she filled them with oil that miraculously flowed. Elisha told her to sell them and pay their debts.

Elisha brought a boy to life and fed a hundred men in this chapter, and also did something I think is kinda funny. Well, at least this part is funny. Goes like this:

There was a famine in Gilgal and the prophets were having a meeting. Elisha told them to make some stew. One guy went out into the woods and found a wild vine. He took it and cut it up in the stew - and this part is funny - THOUGH NO ONE KNEW WHAT IT WAS. Let this be a lesson - DON'T EAT IT IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because as soon as they started eating, they screeched, "There's death in the pot!!!!!!!!!!"

Fortunately Elisha knew what to do about death in pots. Just kidding, it was all God. He added some flour to it and it was safe to eat. Moral of the story: God is all-powerful and don't eat things that probably aren't supposed to be eaten.

lU

Today, I read in Romans. Something that it said was a thought that I had never really payed attention to. "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." I think that was talking about the law. Because it says this right after the thing I just said: "But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known to which the law and the Prophets testify. this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe"so you can be righteous by faith even though you've broken the law.

Psalms 11

Today was Psalms day in my daily Bible reading!!! There was one in particular that stuck out at me. It goes like this:

"In the LORD I take refuge.

How then can you say to me:

'Flee like a bird to your mountain.

For look, the wicked bend their bows;

they set their arrows against the strings

to shoot from the shadows

at the upright in heart.

When the foundations are being destroyed,

what can the righteous do?' "

This visual picture that came to mind for this part is in FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING when they were in Moria and everything was crumbling down, and those orcs were shooting arrows at them from the darkness. Anyway... let's continue:P

"The LORD is in his holy temple;

the LORD is on his heavenly throne.

He observes the sons of men;

his eyes examine them.

The LORD examines the righteous,

but the wicked and those who love violence

his soul hates.

On the wicked he will rain

fiery coals and burning sulfur;

a scorching wind will be their lot.

For the LORD is righteous,

he loves justice;

upright men will see his face."

That part sounds very protective. It's like, if you feel like Frodo in Moria and the bad guys are shooting at you (whoever they are, and however they might be shooting at you) you know that God loves justice and he will defend you! He will rain fiery coals on your enemies!!!

2 Kings 3

This chapter was slightly reminiscent of 1 Kings 22! Except now Ahab's son Joram (not the most upright fella, but not as bad as his mom and dad) is wanting to defeat the rebels of Moab. So he calls Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom to help him. But after a long march, the army was out of water. So Jehoshaphat said just like last time, "Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD through him?"

An officer replied, "Elisha is here. He was Elijah's personal servant."

So these three kings (couldn't resist:P) went to Elisha. Elisha said to Joram, "What do we have to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and mother!" He was basically saying, "God's not your God, go to your own god!"

But Joram said,"No, because it was the LORD who called us three kings together to hand us over to Moab." Sure. Sure.

Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you." Heehee! I can just see Joram shrugging and sticking his nose in the air. But Elisha said, "This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the LORD says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; he will also hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones."

Then it says, "The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was - water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water." Whoa!

The Moabites looked down into the valley early in the morning, and the sun shining on the water (that wasn't supposed to be there) looked red. "That's blood!" they all said. "Those kings must have fought and slaughtered each other. Now to the plunder, Moab!" But when they came down, Israel pounced on them and destroyed the towns, and threw rocks on the fields, and cut down trees, and did everything Elisha said they would. It's amazing how God comes through for us. He even gave success to a wicked man for the sake of a good one. I love that about God.

Genesis 12-15

Say hello to Abram!!!!! The LORD just barged into his life one day and said, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." Wow, uh... well, OK! So he, his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot set out with all their stuff not knowing where they were going. We've done THAT:P When they got to the Negev, Abram and Lot's herdsman started fighting with each other over pastureland, because each had so many possessions they couldn't stay together. So Abram said to Lot, "Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left. Lot looked out at Sodom and Gomorrah. Everything was green and nice and had a lot of lakes and such. He figured it would be perfect for all his sheep and stuff, so he picked the best land and moved there. But what he didn't check out before he went there was the occupants of the land - they were a bad lot.

But God said to Abram, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make you offspring like the dust of the earth. God, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you." Then God told him that his number of his offspring would be as great as the stars, even though he was an old man. It says, "Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Wow, that's pretty self-explanatory. God told him that he would take over the land, and told Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached it's full measure." God was telling him - years before it actually happened - that the Israelites would be in slavery! And they did come out with great possessions when they plundered the Egyptians! And they fought the Amorites when they were worshiping other gods and sacrificing their children! God always knows what will happen and he doesn't forget when he's supposed to fulfill his promises and how.

Isaiah 12-15

I read today in Isaiah and I think this passage is pretty self-explanatory:

"I will praise you, O LORD.

Although you were angry with me,

your anger has turned away

and you have comforted me.

Surely God is my salvation;

I will trust and not be afraid.

The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation."

With joy you will draw water

from the wells of salvation.

In that day you will say:

"Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;

make known among the nations what he has done,

and proclaim that his name is exalted.

Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things;

let this be known to all the world.

Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,

for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

Wow.

2 Kings 1-2

Say hello to 2 Kings! Elijah and his apprentice Elisha were walking along and they stopped at 3 different places. At each one, a group of prophets said to Elisha, "do you know the the LORD is going to take your master from you today?"

He replied, "Yes, I know, but do not speak of it."

At the last stop, Jericho, 50 prophets stood and watched the two "Eli"s from afar. Elijah took off his cloak and smacked the Jordan river with it and it split in two. When I read this this time, it clicked that this was the same place that Israel had crossed the Jordan when they entered the promised land - and in the same way. Elijah asked Elisha, "What can I do for you before I am taken from you?"

"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.

"You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours - otherwise not."

I wonder if Elijah knew how he was going to "be taken". I wonder if God told him. I wonder if he was waiting to just die, like Moses did when God told him he would be taken. But he didn't die - God sent his express chariot to pick him up and take him to heaven in a whirlwind! Wouldn't it be cool to go that way?

1 Kings 22

Today was a interesting day in Kings!!! Ahab talked with Jehoshaphat the king of Judah (a good guy) and the two decided to go take Ramoth Gilead. But Jehoshaphat said, "First seek the council of the LORD." So Ahab shrugged and asked 400 prophets if they should go. The prophets all said, Go, for the Lord will give it into the king's hand."

In my Bible, when they are talking about the one true God, they use the name "LORD" in all caps. When the prophets said this, it said, "Lord" just like that. I looked in a different Bible, to see if maybe it was some sort of typo in my copy. But it was the same. Interesting I thought! What's even more interesting is that, looking around at all 400 of these prophets, Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here, whom we can inquire of?" And he said "LORD" with all caps. There is a difference!

Ahab replied, There is still one man through we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah."

"The king should not say that!" Jehoshaphat said, and called for Micaiah. But all these other prophets were still prophesying. One called Zedekiah made iron horns and declared, "This is what the LORD says: 'With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.'" Everybody else was saying the same thing. The messenger who was bringing Micaiah said to him, "Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs and speak favorably." When he got there, Ahab said, "Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?"

Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the LORD said, 'These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.' " If I were king, I'd see that as a pretty juicy insult. And Ahab did, because he rolled his eyes and said to Jehoshaphat, "Didn't I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?"

Micaiah continued, "I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?'

"One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.'

" 'By what means?' the LORD asked.

" 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said.

" 'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the LORD. 'Go and do it.'

"So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you."

The Zedekiah, the loudest one that had predicted success, slapped Micaiah and said, "Which way did the spirit from the LORD go when he went from me to speak to you?" That sounds like a jeer.

Micaiah said, "You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room." Whoa. I'll keep you updated on THAT one!!!!

Micaiah was thrown in prison, and Ahab rode out to war. I would've played it safe I think. Because guess what? God was right. Somebody randomly shot and arrow and killed Ahab. And the dogs licked up his blood, just like God had said.

Joshua 11-15

Whelp! It's Tuesday - which means Joshua day!!!! The Israelites are cleaning house, so they can go to the land that God promised them. Jabin, king of Hazor even showed up one day with an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. But God told Joshua that He would hand them over to the Israelites. Sure enough, the Israelites surprised them and drove them out and no survivors were left!!! It's amazing how God can do things like that (BTW, does anyone know what it means to hamstring a horse?). In all they defeated 31 countries along with 31 kings. Whoa.

I know we all know Caleb. Good guy, and he's still alive through all this to see the Promised Land, just like God told him. One day he came to Joshua and reminded him of God's promise to them when they stood up for God after spying out the land. "Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day." Joshua agreed, and Caleb, after years of wandering around and getting old with nothing but a promise to go off of, was finally settled in his land. The Israelites started to divide land, and this whole process reminds me a lot of moving in!

1 Kings 20-21

Ben-Hadad, king of Aram went up and besieged Samaria! Oh no! Then he sent a message to bargain with King Ahab. He said, "Your sliver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine." King Ahab readily agreed to the terms. Either Ben-Hadad was surprised that he agreed so quickly and thought maybe he hadn't charged enough, or he thought that Ahab was a sucker:P So he said, "I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything you value and carry it away."

So Ahab talked with the elders. They said, "Don't listen to him or agree to his demands." So Ahab refused Ben-Hadad. The king was then very angry and said, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful."

Ahab replied, "One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off." Heehee! He was basically saying don't count your chickens before they hatch!!! So Ben-Hadad prepared his men to attack. But God told Ahab that he would deliver Israel - then he would know that the LORD is God. The Israelites routed the Arameans the first time. They said to each other, "Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they." Well! Problem solved!! Heehee that cracks me up!!! But God is a God of the plains as well, and the vast army was delivered into Israel's hand.

Some time later, Ahab got a real hankering to plant a vegetable garden. He just had to have some fresh tomatoes. So he went to a man named Naboth, who had land nearby that was just perfect to grow some cucumbers. When he asked to buy the land, Naboth said he wouldn't sell it, because it was the inheritance of his fathers. Ahab couldn't believe it. He sulked home and sucked his thumb and threw himself a pity party. His devil woman Jezebel said, "Oh, it's ok sweetie. I'll get you that land." She proclaimed a day of fasting (probably to "find out who had sinned against the LORD" sort of like they did with Achan.) and she told some scoundrels to say that Naboth cursed God and the king. They did so, and Naboth was stoned. Ahab giggled and got up to plant the seeds for those tomatoes. This whole situation sounds a lot like what David did with Bathsheeba - get rid of the opposition and get what you want. Who showed up in the David story next? Nathan. Who shows up this time? Elijah. He said to Ahab, "Have you not murdered a man and seized his property? This is what the LORD says: 'In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood - yes, yours!' " God also said that he would make his house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat (remember that sentence?) and that dogs would devour Jezebel. Then it said that "There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel." But when Ahab heard the prophecy, he put on sackcloth and fasted. Then God said to Elijah, "Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son." What? After all the bad things Ahab did? And God is sparing him? Elijah was probably a tad disappointed. It seems like Ahab did too many bad things to just get cleared like that. It just goes to show that God is merciful beyond all we could ever imagine!!!

Romans 3-4

I really like Romans. Paul will really just tell you like it is, and cover a lot of ground. Today it talked a lot about faith. In chapter 3 it says: "What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar." I like that one. It's saying that even if we don't believe and expect that God can do the unthinkable, it doesn't change God's mind or immobilize Him in any way. Then it goes on: "But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument." Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?" Why not say - as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say - "Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved." That's pretty self explanatory! We are NOT just cleared to sin.

A little bit later it started talking about Abraham. In Genesis 15:6 it says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Paul addressed that, saying, "When a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness." Later is says, "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Unlike, say, Zechariah who was mute for not believing when the angel told him he would have a son named John. God's hand is not too short to save - and it's up to us to believe.

Isaiah 7-11

Today in my daily Bible reading, Aram and the king of Israel allied, and marched out to fight against Jerusalem, with King Ahaz of Judah defending it. Isaiah took the word of the LORD to Ahaz and said that Jerusalem would not be taken by it's enemies. He also said, "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." So cool and so true! Then God told Ahaz to ask for a sign, and Ahaz refused. Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Whoa!!! I believe this is the first time Isaiah had told anyone of this wonder. And from here everything hops and jumps subjects every few verses, so I'm going to list all the neat verses I found:

8:12 ~ Do not call conspiracy

everything that these people call conspiracy;

do not fear what they fear,

and do not dread it.

9:2 ~ The people walking in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow

of death

a light has dawned.

9:6-7 ~ For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.

He will reign on David's throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the LORD Almighty

will accomplish this.

One little thing about that set of verses that I'd never thought about before is that "He will reign on David's throne forever". God had told David of this - but not directly. In sending Jesus, God was also keeping a promise to David!!!! God never forgets!!!