Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Ruth part 1

There was a famine in Israel, and Naomi's family moved to Moab until things got better. Her two sons married two Moabite women named Ruth and Orpah. Happy happy. But things were about to get bad - Naomi's husband and sons died, leaving three women alone.

When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."
But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons, would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has gone out against me!"
At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.
"Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."
But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

So now they are back in Israel, and everything is stirred up because of them. Everybody is sorry for them.
But women didn't work in those days like they do now, so how were they to get food? Ruth decided to go glean wheat. From what I understand, walking behind grain threshers and picking up spare wheat was lawful for widows and orphans, though they were sometimes an annoyance.

She just so happened to go to the field of Boaz, a relative of Naomi's late husband. He said to his workers, "Whose young woman is that?" Heehee! I think that sounds kinda funny!!! But he found that she had followed Naomi and was taking care of her. She found favor in his eyes and he told her that she could glean at this field anytime, and even invited her to eat with his people. Naomi was very pleased.

Tune in next time for Ruth part 2!!!

Monday, September 29, 2008

Genesis 36-39

My Bible reading today was about Joseph. But we all know that story - Joseph was his father's favorite, his brothers got jealous and threw him into a pit, then sold him into slavery. But here is a part I didn't really notice before.

Right after the brothers lied to their father and gave him Joseph's bloody coat, it says, "At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah." He left. Why? Was it guilt? Was it that he couldn't face his father day after day? I thought that was very interesting. Anyway, while he was with this Hirah, he married his daughter. Had two sons that God put to death because they were wicked. Then his wife died. Then he had a baby with his disguised daughter-in-law. Maybe he figured all this bad was coming because of what he had done to his brother, especially because of what he said to disguised Joseph years later. I'll keep you updated on that!

1st Samuel 2 and 3

Then Hannah prayed a thankful prayer to the Lord.
Eli had evil sons. His son's did really, REALLY, bad stuff. But Samuel was ministering before the LORD -a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, "May the LORD give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the LORD." Then they would go home. And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD. One day, an Angel came and said to Eli that his son's were wicked and their going to die on the same day. He also said that all his descendants will die when they're still young. Poor Eli.
So a few days Later, God called Samuel while he was in his bed. So he went to Eli. "Did you call me?"
"No" After this happened a few times, Eli Found out that it was God.So when God called again, Samuel said "Speak, for your servant is listening. God told him that all that was said about Eli would come true soon. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli. But Eli asked him and he told.Then Eli said, "He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes." He takes that so well. But soon it became obvious that Samuel was gonna be the new priest.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Evangelism

I've been thinking a lot on the subject of evangelism. We know what it means, but in the dictionary it's described as "missionary zeal, purpose, or activity". We know some good ones that do seminars and such. But how can we do it? What is it? Sharing Christ with others, of course, but how is it generally done? Most of the evangelists I know of are very smart people, in brain and in the gospel. They know Jesus's response to a lot of problems, and know all the right verses. Of course, I'm learning. But it got me to thinking... then I read these verses in 1 Corinthians:


1 Corinthians 1:17-18
"For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the gospel— not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

I am reminded of a great line in FIREPROOF... "The cross was offensive to me too - until I came to it."

1 Corinthians 2:4-5
"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,
so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."


Wait, NOT with wise and persuasive words? Well, that's good for me - I can't use those kind very well. But what is a demonstration of the Spirit's power? Turn the water to blood? I don't think so. I could be wrong, but the way I see it is that I AM a demonstration of the Spirit's power. After all, if I didn't have the spirit, I wouldn't be the way I am today. So if I show people the light in me, they will see it and want what I have. Hence, another FIREPROOF line: "Something's changed in you. And I want what happened to you to happen to me."

I do NOT think that came out right.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Matthew 23-25

Today, Jesus talked about the Pharisees. I have put here the verses that are most fitting for us as Christians today:

"They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them."

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are."

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."

We all know from the New Testament, that the Pharisees were mostly a no-good bunch. The bad guys. Nobody uses the Pharisees as role models nowadays. Everybody knows that they were hypocrites.

But think about us - are we any better? How do we as Christians look to nonbelievers today? Do we intimidate them by acting all aloof and self-righteous, but really acting the same as them? Are we showing that we're special? Ravi Zecharias said that he heard a man say of Christianity, "I like their Christ. I don't like their Christian." Are we shutting the kingdom's door in people's faces?

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians. Who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny it by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." ~ DC TALK

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Got Darkness?

"Let him who walks in the dark
who has no light,
trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.
But now, all you who light fires
and provide yourselves with flaming torches,
go, walk in the light of your fires
and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:
You will lie down in torment.
~ Isaiah 50:10-11

Can you relate to these verses? Have you ever been at a place where you just didn't know the next step? What did you do?
We are supposed to trust in the LORD when we have no idea what to do... because he can see in the dark! Lazer eyes!!! And what's more - He loves us and wouldn't let us trip over something if we are trusting in him. We were in kind of a situation like this when we were moving to Colorado... and didn't have a house.

BUT sometimes we don't trust God and what do we do? We try to find a way for ourselves. We light torches that honestly don't work very well. If we keep trying to use our homemade torch to see the end - we'll surely trip. While the whole time, God is waiting to give us direction!

It sounds so easy - trust completely in God and he will make everything work out. But why is it so hard to do?

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

2 Kings 10

Jehu is still cleaning house. BUT he didn't like to kill in cold blood, so he notified the guardians and elders of Ahab's children and said, "fight for your master's house!" They were terrified because they couldn't stand against him, and told him they'd do anything he wanted. He WANTED them to bring him the heads of his master's sons, and they did it.


As he was moving along, he saw some people and asked them who they were. They answered that they were relatives of the king over for a visit. Jehu killed them too.


Now for all those prophets of Baal... but how was he to get THEM all together? THIS called for some imagination! He made a proclamation, saying, "Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. Now summon all the prophets of Baal, all his ministers and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live." Clever... reminds me of when Rahab lied to save the spies. Anyway, they all came - every single one. Jehu ordered the guards to clean up... and so all the ministers of Baal were gone and Israel worshiped Baal no more!!!


However, there was one thing that kept Jehu from being as great as David (I think). He did not destroy to golden calves that the people had been worshiping, and he even worshiped them himself. I did a bible study once about this - it said that unless we get rid of all the things that tempted us before we were with God (or in Jehu's case, chosen of God) they will keep tempting us and make us fall away.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Whole lotta bad

Why is everything in this world just plain... bad?



You can't do the things that are good and fun anymore because of all that bad that's creeping into everything.



Babies seem to have a hard time coming into the world all of a sudden.



Neither of the presidential candidates are anything good.



The way relationships used to be there and then are turning bad and confusing.



You can't go to a lot of Christian concerts because of the bad people.



There's a war. Right now.



How can heaven be full and complete if your family's not there?



Gas prices are bad too.



"Hey! Let's play another adult commercial on family-friendly Monday Night Football!!!"



50% of marriages end in divorce - wait, it may be more now.



We're running out of good things to think about in this world. Even if you think, "Well, I have a family, we have food, we have a house"... to what end? You have a family, and they'll have to suffer all this bad too. All good food makes you fat (why's that, anyway?) and can't make you happy. You have a house that you have to work your tail off to pay for and spend your Saturdays fixing. No one does anything decent that matters to anybody or that doesn't get overlooked through all the bad. Take a look at the news or the paper - all bad.
The most anyone can accomplish is to keep their faith in a world that's all bad.
Why is it all bad?
What is left that is good and decent?
Who is accomplishing anything?
Why isn't God changing this?

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Judges 19-21

WAR! The Benjaminites have just done a disgraceful thing in raping and killing a man's concubine. The rest of the Israelites are out to do justice. They said, "Surrender those wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel!"
That could have been it, right there. But the Benjaminites rose up to fight, defending the cause of those wicked men with 26,000 soldiers. 700 of those were left-handed special warriors, who could throw a stone at a hair and not miss. Israel didn't want to go to war against themselves, but God said that it must be done. 25,000 Benjaminites died, and after defeating the army, Israel went in and destroyed the city. All that was left of the tribe of Benjamin were 600 soldiers who fled and were hiding.
What do you think the Israelites did after winning the battle? Start celebrating over a fallen foe? Nope! They went to the house of God and offered sacrificed and wailed before God a whole day, saying, "Why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?" It only made matters worse that all the Israelites had sworn not to give their daughters in marriage to any Benjaminite. There was no way the Benjaminites could live on now. What could they do? Well, together they devised a clever plan, saying:
"We can't give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: 'Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.' But look, there is the annual festival of the LORD in Shiloh, to the north of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and to the south of Lebonah."
So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, "Go and hide in the vineyards and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, 'Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.' "
"That might work!" everyone agreed. So that is what they did. Hopefully they told the girls first so they wouldn't be scared out of their minds when a freak jumped out of the bushes and carried them away. They rebuilt the towns and slowly the tribe of Benjamin was rebuilt. A satisfying ending to something that never should've happened in the first place.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

2 Kings 9

Another surprise kingship! Elisha sent a prophet to anoint Jehu, commander of the army, as king. He was supposed to anoint his head with oil, then RUN OUT OF THERE. And that's what he did. He said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anoint you king over the LORD's people Israel. You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the LORD's servants shed by Jezebel. The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free. I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.' " Then he opened the door and ran. Bet it looked a little funny.
When Jehu came out, the rest of his guys raised their eyebrows and asked, "Is everything alright? Why did this madman come to you?"
Jehu rolled his eyes. "You know this man and the sort of things he says."
Now these guys know he's bluffing. "That's not true! Tell us."
Jehu did tell them. "I have been anointed king over Israel."
It probably took about 30 seconds of staring open-mouthed before that sank in. As soon as it did, all the officers took off their cloaks and spread them out. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, "Jehu is king!"
Jehu got right to work against the house of Ahab, starting with his son Joram, the OTHER king of Israel. Fortunately, Ahaziah king of Judah was with him on that day.
When the lookout standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu's troops approaching, he called out, "I see some troops coming."
"Get a horseman," Joram ordered. "Send him to meet them and ask, 'Do you come in peace?' "
The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, "This is what the king says: 'Do you come in peace?' "
"What do you have to do with peace?" Jehu replied. "Fall in behind me."
The lookout reported, "The messenger has reached them, but he isn't coming back."
So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them he said, "This is what the king says: 'Do you come in peace?' "
Jehu replied, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me."
The lookout reported, "He has reached them, but he isn't coming back either. The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi—he drives like a madman." (Hahahahaha!)
"Hitch up my chariot," Joram ordered. And when it was hitched up, Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. When Joram saw Jehu he asked, "Have you come in peace, Jehu?"
"How can there be peace," Jehu replied, "as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?"
Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, "Treachery, Ahaziah!"
Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot. Jehu said to Bidkar, his chariot officer, "Pick him up and throw him on the field that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember how you and I were riding together in chariots behind Ahab his father when the LORD made this prophecy about him: 'Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, declares the LORD, and I will surely make you pay for it on this plot of ground, declares the LORD.' Now then, pick him up and throw him on that plot, in accordance with the word of the LORD."
Now Naboth the Jezreelite's blood has been avenged! But there's still one person to deal with. Jehu was off to Jezreel and Jezebel heard about it. She stuck her head out the window and yelled, "Have you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?"
Jehu looked up, and cried, "Who is on my side? Who?" Some of Jezebel's eunuchs stuck THEIR heads out that window and were on his side. "Throw her down!" Jehu told them. Those poor guys did. Jehu went in and ate and drank, but then told somebody to go bury her - after all she was a queen. But the dogs had eaten her up. And Jehu remembered what the prophet that anointed him had said. Let's go Jehu, Let's go!!!

Matthew 20-22

Read this parable Jesus told.
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went.
"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'
" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.
"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'
"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'
"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'
"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' "

This could mean something different to you than it does to me, but here's how I see it: some of us have given our lives to Christ, and will be with him forever in heaven as our reward. Some of us did it very early in life, and tried hard to live completely for God and please him. BUT then there's this criminal who drinks and swears and kills people and robs banks and does whatever he wants. Then two seconds before he died, he realized he was a sinner and asked God to forgive him. And when you, who have tried to live for God your whole life - get to heaven - HE'S THERE TOO!!!!!!! Not even in some... second class mansion!!!:P He's received as much reward as you and he was a bad person his whole life! He never even had to try, or endure any hardship that comes of being God's servant for those two seconds that he was God's servant on earth! It almost doesn't seem fair. Are we envious that God is generous? He WANTS as many people to be with him as will come! "I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money?" He WANTS to!!! He delights in it! Don't you just love that God wants to do things for us that we don't deserve?

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Isaiah 40-44

What kind of book is Isaiah? It's full of prophecies and judgements, and that's what it's mostly associated with. But in these four chapters, there were a lot of passages about God's love for his people. Here are a few:
" 'For I am the LORD, your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob,
O little Israel,
for I myself will help you,' declares the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
'See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.' "
"Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD's hand
double for all her sins."
"Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
God just showed me today that God loves ME. Me. As a singular person. And that should be good enough for me - what right do I have to complain about anything when the creator of the universe loves ME?

Judges 21

Wives for the Benjamites

The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: "Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite." Smart. The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. "O LORD, the God of Israel," they cried, "why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?" Poor people! That's got to be sad. Now the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites. "Today one tribe is cut off from Israel," they said. "How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?" Then they asked, "Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah?" They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there. So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children. "This is what you are to do," they said. "Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin." They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan. So out of the women that they gave to the Benjamites, there were not enough.

The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a gap in the tribes of Israel. And the elders of the assembly said, "With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left? The Benjamite survivors must have heirs," they said, "so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. We can't give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: 'Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.' But look, there is the annual festival of the LORD in Shiloh, to the north of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and to the south of Lebonah." So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, "Go and hide in the vineyards and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, 'Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.' "

So that is what the Benjamites did. While the girls were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them. That is a funny part. They needed wifes pretty desperatly. :D Now I'm in RUTH!!!!!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

2 Kings 8

"Elisha went to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram was ill. When the king was told, 'The man of God has come all the way up here,' he said to Hazael (the servant), 'Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult the LORD through him; ask him, "Will I recover from this illness?" ' Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a gift forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. He went in and stood before him, and said, 'Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, "Will I recover from this illness?" '
Elisha answered, 'Go and say to him, "You will certainly recover"; but the LORD has revealed to me that he will in fact die.' He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael felt ashamed."
Good picture there. You can just see how this is happening.
"Then the man of God began to weep.
'Why is my lord weeping?' asked Hazael.
'Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites,' he answered. 'You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women.'
Hazael said, 'How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat?' "
So Elisha is naming off all these dreadful things, and Hazael is just grinning and thinks it's wonderful. Israel and Aram ARE enemies after all.
" 'The LORD has shown me that you will become king of Aram,' answered Elisha."
Wow. Just BAM and this guy's gonna be king. He had to have been very excited, and wondering how Ben-Hadad could be got rid of. Moving on...
"Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. When Ben-Hadad asked, 'What did Elisha say to you?' Hazael replied, 'He told me that you would certainly recover.' But the next day he took a thick cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the king's face, so that he died. Then Hazael succeeded him as king."
That's one way to handle business. A lot different than when David found out he was going to be king, if you'll notice.
So that's what's up in the wonderful world of 2 kings!

LB

Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out as one man and assembled before the LORD in Mizpah. The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand soldiers armed with swords. (The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, "Tell us how this awful thing happened." They're still talkin bout' the guy with the murdered wife. So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, "I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died. I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel's inheritance, because they committed this lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. Now, all you Israelites, speak up and give your verdict." What's a verdict? All the people rose as one man, saying, "None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. But now this is what we'll do to Gibeah: We'll go up against it as the lot directs. We'll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeah in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for all this vileness done in Israel." So all the men of Israel got together and united as one man against the city.

The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What about this awful crime that was committed among you? Now surrender those wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel."
But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred chosen men from those living in Gibeah. Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fighting men.

The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, "Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?"
The LORD replied, "Judah shall go first."
It's cool cuz they can just go "God, who's goin' first?" and God just answered. Either they really knew God's voice, or He just told them.The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. The men of Israel went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. But the men of Israel encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD. They said, "Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?"
The LORD answered, "Go up against them."
Poor people. you might of had a really good friend there that you had to kill.
Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords.

Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD. And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, "Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?"
The LORD responded, "Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands."
Why wouldn't He before? I mean, you tell them to fight and then you let them lose? Was it a test?Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah. They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads—the one leading to Bethel and the other to Gibeah. While the Benjamites were saying, "We are defeating them as before," the Israelites were saying, "Let's retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads."

All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place on the west of Gibeah. Then ten thousand of Israel's finest men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was. The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten.
I love those war tactics. Look at this. Gets even better: Now the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah. The men who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword. The men of Israel had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city, and then the men of Israel would turn in the battle.
The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the men of Israel (about thirty), and they said, "We are defeating them as in the first battle." But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the smoke of the whole city going up into the sky. Then the men of Israel turned on them, and the men of Benjamin were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come upon them. So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the desert, but they could not escape the battle. And the men of Israel who came out of the towns cut them down there. They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters. As they turned and fled toward the desert to the rock of Rimmon, the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjamites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more.

On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. But six hundred men turned and fled into the desert to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire. Oh yeah. Away with the evil Benjamites!

Monday, September 15, 2008

LB

I have a lot of questions in my Bible to day:
Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have that silver with me; I took it."
Then his mother said, "The LORD bless you, my son!"

When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, "I solemnly consecrate my silver to the LORD for my son to make a carved image and a cast idol. I will give it back to you."

So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into the image and the idol. And they were put in Micah's house.

Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some idols and installed one of his sons as his priest. In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.

A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of Judah, left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way he came to Micah's house in the hill country of Ephraim.

Micah asked him, "Where are you from?"
"I'm a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah," he said, "and I'm looking for a place to stay."

Then Micah said to him, "Live with me and be my father and priest, and I'll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food." So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man was to him like one of his sons. Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. And Micah said, "Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest."

Judges 18

In those days Israel had no king.
And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. So the Danites sent five warriors from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. These men represented all their clans. They told them, "Go, explore the land."
The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night. When they were near Micah's house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they turned in there and asked him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?"

He told them what Micah had done for him, and said, "He has hired me and I am his priest."

Then they said to him, "Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful."

The priest answered them, "Go in peace. Your journey has the LORD's approval."

So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, unsuspecting and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else.

When they returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, "How did you find things?"

They answered, "Come on, let's attack them! We have seen that the land is very good. Aren't you going to do something? Don't hesitate to go there and take it over. When you get there, you will find an unsuspecting people and a spacious land that God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing whatever."

Then six hundred men from the clan of the Danites, armed for battle, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. On their way they set up camp near Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is called Mahaneh Dan to this day. From there they went on to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah's house.

Then the five men who had spied out the land of Laish said to their brothers, "Do you know that one of these houses has an ephod, other household gods, a carved image and a cast idol? Now you know what to do." So they turned in there and went to the house of the young Levite at Micah's place and greeted him. The six hundred Danites, armed for battle, stood at the entrance to the gate. The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the carved image, the ephod, the other household gods and the cast idol while the priest and the six hundred armed men stood at the entrance to the gate.

When these men went into Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the other household gods and the cast idol, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"

They answered him, "Be quiet! Don't say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn't it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man's household?" Then the priest was glad. He took the ephod, the other household gods and the carved image and went along with the people. Putting their little children, their livestock and their possessions in front of them, they turned away and left.

When they had gone some distance from Micah's house, the men who lived near Micah were called together and overtook the Danites. As they shouted after them, the Danites turned and said to Micah, "What's the matter with you that you called out your men to fight?"

He replied, "You took the gods I made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you ask, 'What's the matter with you?' "

The Danites answered, "Don't argue with us, or some hot-tempered men will attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives." So the Danites went their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him, turned around and went back home.

Then they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and went on to Laish, against a peaceful and unsuspecting people. They attacked them with the sword and burned down their city. There was no one to rescue them because they lived a long way from Sidon and had no relationship with anyone else. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob.
The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there. They named it Dan after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city used to be called Laish. There the Danites set up for themselves the idols, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land. They continued to use the idols Micah had made, all the time the house of God was in Shiloh.

Judges 19

A Levite and His Concubine
In those days Israel had no king.
Now a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her father's house in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months, her husband went to her to persuade her to return. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She took him into her father's house, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him. His father-in-law, the girl's father, prevailed upon him to stay; so he remained with him three days, eating and drinking, and sleeping there.

On the fourth day they got up early and he prepared to leave, but the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Refresh yourself with something to eat; then you can go." So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Afterward the girl's father said, "Please stay tonight and enjoy yourself." And when the man got up to go, his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night. On the morning of the fifth day, when he rose to go, the girl's father said, "Refresh yourself. Wait till afternoon!" So the two of them ate together.

Then when the man, with his concubine and his servant, got up to leave, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said, "Now look, it's almost evening. Spend the night here; the day is nearly over. Stay and enjoy yourself. Early tomorrow morning you can get up and be on your way home." But, unwilling to stay another night, the man left and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.

When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, "Come, let's stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night."

His master replied, "No. We won't go into an alien city, whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah." He added, "Come, let's try to reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places." So they went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin. There they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them into his home for the night.

That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was living in Gibeah (the men of the place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the fields. When he looked and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, "Where are you going? Where did you come from?"

He answered, "We are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim where I live. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going to the house of the LORD. No one has taken me into his house. We have both straw and fodder for our donkeys and bread and wine for ourselves your servants—me, your maidservant, and the young man with us. We don't need anything."

"You are welcome at my house," the old man said. "Let me supply whatever you need. Only don't spend the night in the square." So he took him into his house and fed his donkeys. After they had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink.

While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, "Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him."

The owner of the house went outside and said to them, "No, my friends, don't be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don't do this disgraceful thing. Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don't do such a disgraceful thing."

But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight.

When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, "Get up; let's go." But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.

When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. Everyone who saw it said, "Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it! Consider it! Tell us what to do!"

It's all weird and confusing!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Psalm 22

And now, a post that has been 2 days in the making. This chapter always makes me stop and think every time. It's a Psalm of David... but sounds like it could have a different author. Here's what I'm talking about. The Psalm is italic, the gospel verse is bold.


"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?"



"About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' "


"All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
'He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.' "


"In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 'He saved others,' they said, 'but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' "



"I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing."


"When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 'Let's not tear it,' they said to one another. 'Let's decide by lot who will get it.' This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, 'They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.' So this is what the soldiers did."



These are just a few of the connections! It makes you think more about David. He was a man after God's own heart. Did he know what he was saying when he wrote this song, or was he just despairing and only God knew who would later come? Either way, the way the Bible fulfills the prophecies in itself is amazing!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Judges 13-16

Say hello to Samson the Nazirite. The specs and qualifications for a Nazirite is as follows:
"If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the LORD as a Nazirite, he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the LORD is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long. Throughout the period of his separation to the LORD he must not go near a dead body. Even if his own father or mother or brother or sister dies, he must not make himself ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of his separation to God is on his head. Throughout the period of his separation he is consecrated to the LORD."
This guy's "period" was his WHOLE LIFE!!!! What else do we know about Samson? Yep! He was the strongest man that ever lived. You can get a full taste of that by watching the Olympic weight lifters and these "Strongest Man on Earth" shows. Whoa. But here are the two words that Samson is all about: "Girls" and "Revenge". Why, you ask? It goes like this...
Samson apparently doesn't think too much of his consecration to God, because he killed a lion with his bare hands (self defense) and then LATER went back to the body and saw that the bees had made a hive in it, so he took some honey (touching the dead body). And he didn't tell anyone. But God can even use a wild man like this. He enticed Samson to marry a Philistine woman, and at the feast he told a riddle that went like this, "Out of the eater, something to eat. Out of the strong, something sweet." If the guys could guess it, he would give them 30 sets of clothes. If they couldn't it was the other way around. The guys asked Samson's wife the answer, and she told them in order to save her skin. The guys guessed it, and Samson got those sets of clothes - by killing 30 Philistines. Later he went to visit his wife, but she had remarried. He got mad again and caught three hundred foxes, tied their tails together with a torch between, lit the torch, and turned them all loose in the Philistine's wheat fields. The Philistines killed his ex-wife and her father for causing that trouble, so Samson got mad again. He just attacked them with a donkey's jawbone. Whoooo.
There's the revenge part. Now for another girl. A pretty Philistine named Delilah. He liked her, and spent a lot of time with her. But the Philistine leaders said to her, "Find out how to subdue Samson and we will each give you 1100 pieces of sliver." And man did she want those. She nagged him and he lied quite a few times. Whenever the Philistines came, he'd just break loose. He was having some fun at the start, but when she kept nagging, he got sick of it and told her about his long hair. Not smart. They cut it, and he was no longer strong. They put out his eyes and put him in prison.
Another girl disaster.
Well, his hair started to grow back. The Philistines were having a big party on two floors, and they called for Samson to amuse them. But here comes that Revenge again. He prayed to God,
"O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes."
He pushed on the two pillars that held the roof up and it collapsed.
So this guy had a sorry life and a lot of weaknesses, but God can STILL use even the stoopidest and most sinful and lazy people to do his will.

LB. Fights. I hate em

Well yes, it happens, Lane and woke up and almost immediately started fighting. Goes like this:

  • I try to pull the switches on the fan to make the light turn on. We didn't turn the fan on last night so that didn't work.
  • Lane, seeing what I'm trying to do says, " No, don't turn on the light."
  • I say, "Yes it'll help us wake up better." It was a really dark for 6:30 and we weren't very awake.
  • I turn on the light.
  • " Or just ignore me." She says
  • I don't quite remember what I said after that but it turned out she says, "Fine. I don't care anymore." And stormes out of the room.

I'm sure you could think of a thousand different ways to take the story and make it right. When she said 'I don't care anymore' all the thoughts come rushing in my head about yesterdays fight. I'm not going to talk about that but I'll just say wev'e had a lot of the same kind of fights. Heres how I think we should of replayed this in two different ways:

  • I try to turn on the light like last time.
  • she says "No, don't turn on the light"
  • I suggest that it would help us wake up better.
  • " No" She says.
  • It ends.

OR....

  • I try to turn on the light like last time.
  • she says nothing.
  • I figure out the right way and turn on the light.
  • It ends

We both have our downfalls. Hers:

She can't stand know one listening or obeying.

My downfall:

I don't want to take orders from people that aren't Mom or Dad.

Lord, please end this fighting.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Genesis 28-31

Esau was very angry at Jacob for stealing his blessing, and his father told him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman. Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham." Basically, if you're gonna run away from your brother, might as well make it productive right? So Jacob left.
Esau did a strange thing here. He was married to two Hittite women that his parents hated. When he heard that Isaac had told Jacob not to marry them, he went and found himself a Canaanite woman in addition to the ones he already had. Not sure that solved the problem, but...
Then of course, Jacob had his famous ladder dream, in which God said, "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." It would be so amazing to have a dream like that.
He traveled on until he found Laban's household, and saw his daughter Rachel watching the sheep. His eyeballs turned heart-shaped immediately. He watered her flock for her then kissed her and began to weep aloud. Poor girl must have been just a bit freaked out. We were watching a movie on this in which this part was pretty accurate. My sister said, "Wow. That was... abrupt." My mom said, "Well, that's Hollywood for ya." We read that passage and sure enough, Hollywood couldn't have asked for anything better!:P Laban was delighted to have his nephew, and agreed to let him work seven years for Rachel. Then we all know what happened - he married her, but too late he found out that it was the other sister!!!! So he worked seven more years for Rachel.
So both of the two women had children with Jacob. After he had quite a few flocks and herds and children, he moved away from Laban to his own land... where his brother was waiting for him.
Tune in next week for another exciting episode of Jacob and Esau and their numerous relations!

LB

Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, "I'm going to my wife's room." But her father would not let him go in.

"I was so sure you thoroughly hated her," he said, "that I gave her to your friend. Isn't her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead."

Samson said to them, "This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them." Well, ya know, we don't have a right to do anything. But I still would be fumin' too. I like this part: So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves. That must of been hard. But THEN..... When the Philistines asked, "Who did this?" they were told, "Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, because his wife was given to his friend."
So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death. Samson said to them, "Since you've acted like this, I won't stop until I get my revenge on you." He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.
How does anybody know? I mean, It's not like they're out in the open or anything. Is killing for revenge exactly Murder?

The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. The men of Judah asked, "Why have you come to fight us?"
"We have come to take Samson prisoner," they answered, "to do to him as he did to us."

Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?"
He answered, "I merely did to them what they did to me."

They said to him, "We've come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines."
Samson said, "Swear to me that you won't kill me yourselves."

"Agreed," they answered. "We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men. Does that mean he found a bone and killed em' with it?

Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" 19 Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi. WOW!!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Romans 13-14

The title of this passage was, "Love, for the Day is near".
Verse 11 says:
"The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light... Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
Here is an excellent video that goes well with these verses.



Love one another.

LB

Sammy went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he said to his father and mother, "I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife."

His father and mother replied, "Isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?" STOP!!! First of all, the father is supposed to go get a wife for him. Lucky thing this was from the LORD. But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me." Snooty kid. By the way, the philistines were ruling over Israel. So he wanted a wife from his ENEMIES!!!!
Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. Noooooooo! Naughty! He's got the wrong idea. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her. HE... Why doesn't he think? At least the woman he married was from God. Then, he took honey from the bee hive in the lion's carcass with his hands, ate some, and gave some to his parents! So anyway, he had a wedding feast and told thirty people a riddle saying if they guessed it than he would give them each a garment. But if they didn't guess it than they would give him a garment each. Well after a while, they got Sammy's wife to push for him to tell it, but he wouldn't. Eventually, he got so tired of her pushing he told her, and she told the men. So Sam was mad and he went out and killed thirty Philistines, which is murder, and gave their clothes to the men. Yikes!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Matthew 17-20

Apparently Peter had just been mistreated by someone who just kept on bugging him, because he came to Jesus and said, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
Jesus said, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." He then told a parable about a king who wanted to settle accounts. "As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed."
Yikes. And listen to how Jesus ties all this up:
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Whenever I read that passage I think about the servant who got forgiven, but didn't forgive his fellow servant - "what a dork!" But this time in particular it jumped out at me - God has forgiven us for everything we ever did against him when we asked him to. But then when our brother sins against us just a little, we pitch fits. We have no right to not forgive each other when God has forgiven more than we even know about! By the way, a talent is a WHOLE LOT more than a denarius.

LB

Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines." Hmm.. Strange, all of a sudden this cool guy appears out of know were and tells you that you're gonna have a son. So she told her husband what happened. Then Manoah prayed to the LORD : "O LORD, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born."


God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. The woman hurried to tell her husband, "He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day!"

Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?"
"I am," he said.

So Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?"

The angel of the LORD answered, "Your wife must do all that I have told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her." So Manoah asks the guy( He still doesn't know it's an angel) if he wants to stay awhile and have dinner. Nope. So they ended up making a burnt offering instead. Then the angel of the Lord acended into the fire and they realized it was an angel.

"We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen God!"

But his wife answered, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this."

The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him, and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Whait till tomorrow to see what happens next with them. Or you could say, him.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Isaiah 34-39

This passage made me think about death for the redeemed. I've always wondered what it would be like right after we die and leave the world. This chapter is every writer's dream - a visual picture.
"The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
In that part I can imagine a desert turning into to a green valley.

Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
'Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.'
"Your God will come". He says He will - we just have to wait.

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
and the ransomed of the LORD will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away."
That was a description of heaven! Gladness and joy will overtake us - no bad ever... at all. No ferocious beasts. And that highway is just for God's people - just for us.

LB

Jephthah was the son of Gilead and his mother was a prostitute. Once Gilead's real wife had sons, they kicked Jephthah out of the house saying "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family because you're the son of another woman." So Jephthah fled to Tob.

Some time later, when the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. "Come," they said, "be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites."

Jephthah said to them, "Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house? Why do you come to me now, when you're in trouble?"

The elders of Gilead said to him, "Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be our head over all who live in Gilead."

Jephthah answered, "Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me—will I really be your head?"

The elders of Gilead replied, "The LORD is our witness; we will certainly do as you say." So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the LORD in Mizpah. It said in the very beginning of the chapter that Jephthah was a mighty warrior. So the Elders of Gilead were scared an called on him. So he tried to negotiate , but that did'nt work. Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD : "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering." So the Lord gave him victory, and he came back to his house. Who should come out to meet him but his daughter! Did I mention it was his only child daughter? So he gave her two weeks to mourn with her freinds and then he sacrificed her. Poor guy. Think about it. I mean, he won a battle single handed, and then to come back home and sacrifice his only child.The men of Ephraim called out their forces, crossed over to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We're going to burn down your house over your head." Jephthah answered, "I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn't save me out of their hands. 3 When I saw that you wouldn't help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?" So they fought and Jephthah's people won. They took over some springs and if anyone wanted to cross They would ask "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he replied, "No," 6 they said, "All right, say 'Shibboleth.' " He said, "Sibboleth," because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time. Strange.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Praise AND Worship

I read Psalms today, which was extremely appropriate. Here's why:
I had the loveliest dream last night. I was lying on the green grass by the swing in our previous backyard (?) and the sky was blue and there were no gnats, and everything was just beautimous. And I was singing a song. Or it was just playing in my head. Or maybe both, I don't properly remember. I don't even remember the song - I don't think it really WAS one. I think it was one of those times where I mix up a whole lot of songs I like, but it was very smooth and pretty music. And I was singing and praising God like nobody's business. They say praising is a decision, and I can perfectly agree and I do it that way often - but it feels better and more real when it's a feeling. So that was it. That was the whole dream. Just the music and God in my head. When I woke up - or, for about 30 seconds where you're not really awake ya know? The song was still going. At that moment it was Eloquent by Sanctus Real. The chorus part. All that to say, that's why Psalms was appropriate today.
So here are the two good verses on praise I found in these chapters:
18:46 - The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!
18:49 - Therefore I will praise you among the nation, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name.
Cool. And all with the word "praise". And that last one is a common type of little verse - as in, there's a lot of those that say the same thing. Let's think about the word "Praise". Dictionary.com defines it as: "to express approval or admiration of; commend; extol". Pretty accurate. And we use that word for people. Praising somebody would be to tell them dinner was great, or tell them that was an awesome kick, or commending their taste on where to hang pictures. We use that word. We do it to people. And in the Bible, when they use the word "praise" it's usually: "I WILL praise the LORD." It's a choice - just like praising a person. And that's good - God is worthy of praise. I WILL do it. I CHOOSE to do it, because you deserve it.
Now let's talk about the word, "Worship". Dictionary.com says it is: "adoring reverence or regard" and this one's interesting: "to feel an adoring reverence or regard for (any person or thing)". In this case, God. To feel an adoring reverence or regard. To feel. We don't usually use the word "worship" for anything except God, I mean, We don't worship Lane for making good pizza. We can praise her for making good pizza. When angels appeared before people in the Bible, it generally says that they "Fell down and worshipped". Never once that I remember does it use the word "praise". When you look at these things as words, and understand the meaning of the words, and not just associate them with what we do before the pastor preaches, they are totally different. In fact, I looked at the whole list for "worship" on Dictionary.com and never once did the word "praise" come up the the descriptions - or even the synonyms. Notice we call the bands at church the "Praise AND Worship Team"?
I see worship (and I may be wrong) in these simple steps:
1 - You choose to praise God
2 - God gets a hold of your heart and you forget everything else.
3 - You seem to feel him closer than ever and are reminded of the fantastical attributes and being of God.
4 - You are wrapped in emotion and have absolutely no choice in the world but to... WORSHIP.
I think worshipping is what I was doing in my dream. I couldn't have just snapped out of it. It's God, or a sudden realization of God that totally brings you low and you know. Worship is a God-induced term.
Praise is what we do on Sunday morning, when we feel like it. Lots of times we're thinking about something else, but when we do sing and mean it, we're praising God. You're thinking about the words to the song, and telling God, "this is what you are, this is what you've done, you are awesome and amazing". You can really mean it with your heart too, but it doesn't feel the same as worship.
I'm not saying either praise or worship are bad - I'm just saying they're different. We need to DO both of them. We need to choose to praise God, and after that, when he enters in and shows you his glory in your heart - well, it's all up to him what you do from there!
So why is there whining about the music in church? Well, true Christians should love to worship. Those moments where there seems to be nothing between you and God should be precious and remembered. We do want to feel that feeling. For a lot of people, FEELING is all there is. And in order to feel it, we must choose to praise. And there are different WAYS that people like to CHOOSE to praise.
For instance, I like a well-performed song, or a piece of magnificence like the ocean or mountains. I choose to praise God when I get these things. These things vary with different people. When it's anything less and doesn't meet my terms - forget it. I just think, "Oh, I can't get into this, I can't worship to this" and I forget that the first step to worship is the choice. There shouldn't be these "preferences". Sure, it can help make the choice to praise God a little easier by happening the way we like it, but we should praise God in ALL circumstances. Whether it's a hymn or a rock song. A ocean or a drizzly rainfall. And we don't. If it's not the way we like it, we shut out. Refuse to sing, or fall asleep while singing. This is a huge heart issue. Worship will come - if we're open to it.

LB - Judges 9

I read about Gid's son Abimelech. Now, Apparently he wasn't a very good guy and he killed all his seventy brothers with a stone. God put an evil spirit between him and his people and they were mad at each other and Abimelech fought against them or something. Dad, can you help me understand this chapter? It's confusing. But it turned out that a lady had dropped somthing metal on his head and cracked his scull and he told his servant to stab him so that a lady wouldn't of killed him. Weird, huh?

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Judges 7-11

Gideon is ready to fight the Midianites with 32,000 guys. That's a lot. But the LORD said, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave.' " So get this: 22,000 men left!!!!! That's more than twice as many as the Uruk-Kai that marched on Helm's Deep!!! In that Israelite army, there were twice as many cowards as brave men. Of course I'm a girl, and I'm not required to fight Midianites, but I like to think I would have kept my honor and stayed with my army. We had a debate about this in a meeting one time and Mom said that if it were Dad, we'd want him to come back. That may be true, but I'd still hope he'd want to stay and not be "trembling with fear" to fight in God's army. If God is fighting for us, who can be against us?
Anyway, there were still too many, so God eliminated a few more until there were only 300 in all. Whoa-kay. And with only some trumpets, torches, and jars they scared the Midianites into killing each other! Now let me tell you - that wouldn't have worked if just some guys had tried it. It's not exactly a common tactic. It was all God.
After that, the Israelites pursued the two Midianite kings who escaped. The Israelites were overjoyed, and wanted Gideon to be their king. He said, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you." Amen! Good choice buddy! It's been pretty cool to read about some guy who was nothing at all - then turned out to be the general that drove out the ocean of enemies.

LB

I read about the Gideon to day. It was the time when the Israelites were being oppressed by the Midainites becuz they turned from God again. So Gid is grinding wheat in a wine press so the Midians won't see. Then all of a sudden an angel appears and tells Gid Gods with him. The reply is: No way! If Gods been oppressing us all this time then apparently he's not gonna help now.(I guess he wasn't freaked out about an angel appearing out of nowhere telling him God's with him.) The Lord says, Go save Israel. Gid says, how can I save Israel? The Lord says, I'll be with you.
So after all the rest of the conversation and the tests, (Do you think it was wrong to test God?) and knocking down the idols and stuff, he got rid of his soldiers until there were only 300 left. I think that was brave. There's like, millions of guys of the midianites and their camels alone are as countless as the sand on the sea shore. Lord, help me have faith like that. So the Israelites surrounded the Midianite camp, broke their pitchers against a rock,doing the same with the jars. Then they blew a horn and shouted" The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!" Holding a torch. It was enough to wake up the Midianites and confused with sleep, they thought there was a huge army. Panicking, they turned on their own guys. Go God!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Genesis 24-27

We all know about Isaac and Rebekah. It's an interesting story. Abraham sent his servant to the land he came from to get Isaac a wife. The servant said to the LORD, "See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too' - let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac." Sure enough, a purty girl came by and did just that. This was quite effective - knowing that God had chosen this girl, AND the servant saved himself some camel-watering time! He gave her a gold nose ring and two gold bracelets, and told her what the deal was. She ran home and told her family, and her brother Laban came to meet the servant, and brought him home. The servant told the story to the whole family, and asked what they thought about it. They said, "This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has directed." And that was it. They wanted them to stay ten days more, but the servant was in a hurry to get going. This part must have been pretty hectic for Rebekah. I mean, she had to pack up and go to some faraway land that she'd never heard of to marry a guy she'd never even seen! I wouldn't be such a fan of this idea. But she was willing, and they were soon on their way.
A while later, Isaac went out to meditate and saw camels approaching. Rebekah also saw Isaac. The servant had probably spent a good amount of the journey describing the family, especially him. She asked who he was, and the servant told her it was HIM. She covered herself with her veil. She must have felt either really excited, or very nervous, or really dreading this, or all of the above. The rest is history. Isaac loved her and they got married. That is one special love story.

LB

Turned out that sure enough, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. So he had sold them into slavery. Then after a long time, they remembered God and cried out to him. God sent a deliverer named Othniel. He helped them do right and they took out a few cities before he died. But once again they did evil in the eyes of the Lord and once again he sold them into slavery and once again they remembered God and cried out to him. So once again he gave them a deliverer named Ehud. He was left handed and he made a double edge sword and went to the king of Moab saying he had an important message so the gaurds cheked the left side of him for a sword. But for some reason they didn't see anything.>:P Any way, he went into the kings room and said again he had an important message. So the king sent the guards away and Ehud got really close to the king as if he were going to tell him a secret. Instead he plunged the sword into the king's belly. The king was sooo fat that his fat closed in the sword. *shudder* And Ehud got away while the guards were thinking that their king was "in the inner room refreshing himself ". Then Ehud said to the Israelites to follow him. And they destroyed the Moabites. Then after Ehud died they did the same thing that they did before in the same order until they remembered God and he gave them a woman named Deborah. She told army commander to go fight against their oppressors with the iron chariots. But Barak said that she had to go to, or he wouldn't.Wow. I can't believe he's afraid. So she said she would go but he wouldn't have credit for the victory. Poor guy.Turned out, once that evil king found out they were losing, he fled to a womans house. He told her to gaurd the door until he was done resting then he fell asleep. While he was sleeping, she took a tent peg and stabbed his head. Go girl!