I love what Joshua said to the Lord the day He gave the Amorites over to Israel.
Joshua 10: 12-13 "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 its enemies.
Joshua 24:15 As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Judges 4 I was struck when Jael violently killed Sisera. What a violent killing.
Judges 6 The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, and said the Lord is with you mighty warrior. The angel of the Lord told Gideon to save Israel out of Midian's hand. Gideon said his clan was the weakest and he was the least in his family. (He was humble) The Lord said He would be with him and together they would strike down the Midianites. In our weakness, He makes us STRONG!~
The people were pleased with Gideon in Judges 8, and asked Gideon to rule over them because they had been saved from the Midians. Gideon told them he would not rule over them, nor would his son, but the Lord would rule over them. Gideon did not take the glory or recognition for his accomplishments but gave the glory to God!
Israel kept forgetting what God had done for them, and they went through many trials because of it. Then when they repented, He restored peace. Just as He does with us. He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and heal our land!!! So thankful for his Grace and forgiveness.
Judges 11 Jephthah made a vow to the Lord that if He gave the Ammonites into his hands, he would sacrifice whatever came out his door, when he returned home, to the Lord. Well, later we see that Mizpah, his daughter, comes out dancing to greet him when he returned home. She was his only child. He was distraught, and tore his clothes, but kept his vow to the Lord. ---How many things or what actions or deeds have you promised God if he would just______________and act on your behalf. Be careful in what you ask for because there may come a time when God is faithful, and you have to give up something to honor your promise. Be mindful of the words that flow from your mouth knowing they give life and death. In Jephthah's case, it was death.
Judges 14 Talks about the spirit of God stirring in Samson, and a roaring lion came toward him on his way to get Timnah, his wife. The spirit of the Lord came upon him in power and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands like he would tear a young goat. He did not tell anyone what he did, not even his parents.
Judges 15 Samson and Delilah. She deceived him time and time again. She tried to find where the secret of his strength came from, and tried to make him tell her. She did this everyday until he was tired to death. He finally told her no razor had ever been used on his head. She sent word to the Philistines. When he woke up, he did not realize God had left him. They had taken him and gouged out his eyes, and took him down to Gaza. They set him to grinding in the prison. The Philistines called him in one day and asked him to perform for them. Samson prayed for God to give him strength one more time for revenge for them taking his eyes, and his strength came back as he pushed the central pillars and pushed them down. The temple came down on all the rulers and the people in it. Samson died, killing more people when he died, than when he lived.
Ruth: Everyone knows the story of Ruth. A story of love, respect, and honor. Who knew a Moabitess woman would be in the lineage of Jesus Christ. It again goes to show that no matter where you come from, where you've been, God loves you and can use you! He can change your circumstances and make you a man or woman of honor.
1 Samuel-- I will begin here tomorrow...lots more to get down. Goodnight all.
It's not mine, but His
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Bible Readings, continued...
Deuteronomy 8:2 God led the Israelites in the desert for 40 years to humble them and test them to find out what was in their heart, and whether or not they would keep His commands. We complain when we are in the desert for a short while, a mere season, and I could not even fathom 40 years. Could you imagine if whatever hardship you were facing lasted 40 years? Most likely that is not ever going to happen. We sit around and grumble and complain to others about how bad we have it, when in fact we should be thankful He puts us to the test. God only tests His children, and my question here is What is in your heart? How do you handle your relationship with God when you are in the desert? And do you honor Him and keep His commands during those times? Sometimes we do not see what He is trying to teach us as we are facing hardships and I think a lot of times He may be leading us down that path to see how we revere Him in the midst of it.
Deuteronomy 8:18-20 The Bible says, "Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant which He swore to your forefathers as it is today." Don't forget He is the one who give you the talent and success at your work, and gives you the ability to work and make a living. Also, as in Job, remember the Lord gives and the Lord can take away. So do not get too proud about how great you do for yourself. It is God working in and through you that gives you the ability to produce wealth.
Deuteronomy 9:4-6 "It is not because of your righteousness of integrity that you are going to take possession of their land." It is not because we are righteous that God gives or blesses us with anything. Romans 3:10 states, There is not one righteous, no not one.
Deuteronomy 10:17-18 What does the Lord ask of you?
Deuteronomy 11:13-15 He is our Provider, we just have to obey His Commands!
Deuteronomy 11:25 No man will be able to stand against you~ Romans 8: 31 also says "If He is for us who can be against us", and in Deuteronomy 20: 3-4, it says when we are up against our enemies: do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory" How awesome is it to know that He is with us and fights for us, as earlier it talked repeatedly about He will fight for you, you need only be still. God tells us over and over He is with us and for us, and who to have better in your corner than God! I am so thankful He is there to fight our battles and that He will never leave us! Find comfort and peace in that!!!!
Deuteronomy 12:30 talks about inquiring about other gods. I find this interesting because in the past I have wanted to study other religions and find out why they believe what they believe. This verse tells me, that we need not inquire, but trust and serve the one true God!
Deuteronomy 14:22 speaks of tithing 1/10
Deuteronomy 15: 10-11 speaks of giving without a grudge and giving generously. We should give expecting nothing in return. I have had to learn this lesson in a different way, and I am thankful for what He has shown me through it. If someone does not pay you back, do not hold a grudge, but know that your heart was in the right place, and He will bless you because of it.
Deuteronomy 18:10-13 speaks of not practicing sorcery, witchcraft, divination, etc... It states that these are detestable practices. We should be very mindful of what we are filling our minds with. A certain movie that practices sorcery comes to mind...it is a big hit with some, and I should also include the vampire movies too, but we should not even take the time to sit and watch them because by watching we are learning from it, and the Word says not to learn to imitate it. Be careful what your children are watching, they are impressionable!
Deuteronomy 20:5 talks about dedicating your new home. We should be grounded in Christ and our foundation built on the rock, the word of Christ. This reminded me of an author I enjoy. She said when they built their home years ago, they put a Bible in the actual foundation of the home, as a reminder that God and His truths are their foundation to build from. I love that, and look forward to building again, when I too, will place a Bible in the foundation as a reminder of what we are grounded in.
Deuteronomy 24:7 "You must purge the evil from amongst you." Enough said.
Deuteronomy 26:18 We are His people, His treasured possession! I love this verse. We are His and a treasure to Him. I tell my children almost daily how special they are to me, and what a treasure they are. I tell them how God picked them out of all the children in the world to be mine, and that is so special! My daughter has a painting of this verse in her room.
Deuteronomy 28 If you fully obey the Lord and carefully follow His commands, He will set you high above the nations on the earth, and blessings will come upon you: You will always be at the top, never at the bottom. If not, curses will come upon you. -- I have to ask myself, is this why we have trouble? I know it is absolutely why we have trouble. We have to be obedient and keep His commands.
Deuteronomy 31:6 "For the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave nor forsake you." I don't know if I have mentioned this in notes past, but I LOVE how it says the Lord YOUR God. He is OUR God, MY God, and not just the Lord God. I love this!!!!
Deuteronomy 32:52 God had Moses view the land of milk and honey from the top of Mount Nebo. He told him he could only view it from a distance, and he would not enter the land because he broke faith with him. Do you feel like you've gone through the desert, made it to the top of the mountain, but cannot get the blessing?
Joshua 1:8 "Do not let the Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night."
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and courageous, Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged; for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Again He shows us He is with us always!!!
**We see in Joshua how he was given wisdom by the Lord, and how God told him that no one would be able to stand up against him all the days of his life. We see lands and kings delivered unto him, and how mighty Joshua was. In Joshua 10 we are given a descriptive scene of Joshua and the Israelites fighting the Amorites. I have to put a plug here for a Pastor I follow. His name is Steven Furtick (Elevation Church) and he wrote a book based on this Chapter of Joshua called, Sun Stand Still. It is an amazing book, one I highly recommend, and talks about asking God for audacious things in prayer. Just as God made the sun stand still and the moon stop, until the nation avenged itself on its enemies-- By believing He can do great miracles and wonders, that book encourages you to get out of your normal way of praying not only believe Him for the small things, but the Great, extraordinary, the impossible. We know that with Him all things are possible, and this book challenges you to serve and believe and have the faith it takes to believe God for the impossible, and see Him work in extraordinary ways in your life. This book has been one of the best books I have read, and I think all Christians should read it.
I will end here right now, but I have so much to still get on the blog. I will try to get more done tonight.
Deuteronomy 8:18-20 The Bible says, "Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant which He swore to your forefathers as it is today." Don't forget He is the one who give you the talent and success at your work, and gives you the ability to work and make a living. Also, as in Job, remember the Lord gives and the Lord can take away. So do not get too proud about how great you do for yourself. It is God working in and through you that gives you the ability to produce wealth.
Deuteronomy 9:4-6 "It is not because of your righteousness of integrity that you are going to take possession of their land." It is not because we are righteous that God gives or blesses us with anything. Romans 3:10 states, There is not one righteous, no not one.
Deuteronomy 10:17-18 What does the Lord ask of you?
Deuteronomy 11:13-15 He is our Provider, we just have to obey His Commands!
Deuteronomy 11:25 No man will be able to stand against you~ Romans 8: 31 also says "If He is for us who can be against us", and in Deuteronomy 20: 3-4, it says when we are up against our enemies: do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory" How awesome is it to know that He is with us and fights for us, as earlier it talked repeatedly about He will fight for you, you need only be still. God tells us over and over He is with us and for us, and who to have better in your corner than God! I am so thankful He is there to fight our battles and that He will never leave us! Find comfort and peace in that!!!!
Deuteronomy 12:30 talks about inquiring about other gods. I find this interesting because in the past I have wanted to study other religions and find out why they believe what they believe. This verse tells me, that we need not inquire, but trust and serve the one true God!
Deuteronomy 14:22 speaks of tithing 1/10
Deuteronomy 15: 10-11 speaks of giving without a grudge and giving generously. We should give expecting nothing in return. I have had to learn this lesson in a different way, and I am thankful for what He has shown me through it. If someone does not pay you back, do not hold a grudge, but know that your heart was in the right place, and He will bless you because of it.
Deuteronomy 18:10-13 speaks of not practicing sorcery, witchcraft, divination, etc... It states that these are detestable practices. We should be very mindful of what we are filling our minds with. A certain movie that practices sorcery comes to mind...it is a big hit with some, and I should also include the vampire movies too, but we should not even take the time to sit and watch them because by watching we are learning from it, and the Word says not to learn to imitate it. Be careful what your children are watching, they are impressionable!
Deuteronomy 20:5 talks about dedicating your new home. We should be grounded in Christ and our foundation built on the rock, the word of Christ. This reminded me of an author I enjoy. She said when they built their home years ago, they put a Bible in the actual foundation of the home, as a reminder that God and His truths are their foundation to build from. I love that, and look forward to building again, when I too, will place a Bible in the foundation as a reminder of what we are grounded in.
Deuteronomy 24:7 "You must purge the evil from amongst you." Enough said.
Deuteronomy 26:18 We are His people, His treasured possession! I love this verse. We are His and a treasure to Him. I tell my children almost daily how special they are to me, and what a treasure they are. I tell them how God picked them out of all the children in the world to be mine, and that is so special! My daughter has a painting of this verse in her room.
Deuteronomy 28 If you fully obey the Lord and carefully follow His commands, He will set you high above the nations on the earth, and blessings will come upon you: You will always be at the top, never at the bottom. If not, curses will come upon you. -- I have to ask myself, is this why we have trouble? I know it is absolutely why we have trouble. We have to be obedient and keep His commands.
Deuteronomy 31:6 "For the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave nor forsake you." I don't know if I have mentioned this in notes past, but I LOVE how it says the Lord YOUR God. He is OUR God, MY God, and not just the Lord God. I love this!!!!
Deuteronomy 32:52 God had Moses view the land of milk and honey from the top of Mount Nebo. He told him he could only view it from a distance, and he would not enter the land because he broke faith with him. Do you feel like you've gone through the desert, made it to the top of the mountain, but cannot get the blessing?
Joshua 1:8 "Do not let the Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night."
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and courageous, Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged; for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Again He shows us He is with us always!!!
**We see in Joshua how he was given wisdom by the Lord, and how God told him that no one would be able to stand up against him all the days of his life. We see lands and kings delivered unto him, and how mighty Joshua was. In Joshua 10 we are given a descriptive scene of Joshua and the Israelites fighting the Amorites. I have to put a plug here for a Pastor I follow. His name is Steven Furtick (Elevation Church) and he wrote a book based on this Chapter of Joshua called, Sun Stand Still. It is an amazing book, one I highly recommend, and talks about asking God for audacious things in prayer. Just as God made the sun stand still and the moon stop, until the nation avenged itself on its enemies-- By believing He can do great miracles and wonders, that book encourages you to get out of your normal way of praying not only believe Him for the small things, but the Great, extraordinary, the impossible. We know that with Him all things are possible, and this book challenges you to serve and believe and have the faith it takes to believe God for the impossible, and see Him work in extraordinary ways in your life. This book has been one of the best books I have read, and I think all Christians should read it.
I will end here right now, but I have so much to still get on the blog. I will try to get more done tonight.
1st Article
Well, I was a little over-ambitious in getting all my posts online in an effective time frame. I have a lot going on, and trying to keep up with my readings and notes,and then transcribing them is just adding to my time. I also have for over a year now felt God speaking to my heart about writing. I submitted my first article, in a huge leap of faith, to be published last week. I will not know anything for 6 weeks or so and in the meantime I am just trying to stay positive and remember that it was my first article written for submission, and that in time, and as God is leading I will get published. It is a great desire of my heart. God is working so much in and on me, and is revealing Himself to me through the reading of His word which is completely transforming my mind, and I could not be more excited about all that is ahead. I trust He will help me prioritize all I want to do, and find focus and the time to get everything done He calls me to. He is slowly molding me into the woman I hope one day to become. Just as Philippians 1:6 says, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." I am so thankful to be His, and that He cares enough about me to complete the work He has begun!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Pardon my absence
Hi everyone. Please forgive me for not updating my blog. I have a lot to share, and have spent the past few weeks all over the map, literally. My children and myself were sick for a 3 week stint, I was blessed to attend the SBTC Women's Ministry Conference, and this past weekend I spent in Canton, Texas, shopping with a good friend. I am excited to get back to blogging, and look forward to hearing any feedback from you, you wish to send. I hope you all have a blessed Spring Break. We are enjoying ours with a fun activity planned each day this week. Treasure the time you have with your children and make each day memorable. New Posts coming soon.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Bible in 90 Days continued
Okay, I am going to do a bit now then I have some housework to complete.
Leviticus 19:12 "Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God."
Leviticus 22:32 "Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Isrealites."
We are not to swear to God. When you swear you are binding yourself by an oath to that statement. You are putting God's holy name on a statement that does not acknowledge Him as holy. We have to be careful of our words that they edify and are spoken sweetly. Nothing should be sworn or done so especially in His holy name! It is vulgar, and God does not honor that type of speech. When He says it more than once you know it is very important to Him. Acknowledge Him in a way that pleases Him, and reveres him as Almighty God.
Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself! Romans 12:14 and Matthew 5:44 also talk about blessing your enemies. Here I know it says your neighbor, but those verses came to mind about your enemies. I think we most likely have an easier time showing love to our "neighbors." Most of us have good neighbors with a few exceptions, but it is important to love your enemies as well as your neighbors...good or bad, Love Them!!!
The year of Jubilee is every 50th year!
Leviticus 26:26 It says "You will eat but you will not be satisfied." This reminds me of being spiritually and physically fit. I believe they are intertwined and as I have lots of work to do with both, I can tell what is out of order in my priorities. When we sin and when we over-eat or eat too much we cannot be satisfied. Something is out of balance. We need to not also eat the bread of idleness as the Bible speaks in Proverbs 31:27. We need to pursue God and seek Him out for wisdom on both so He can fill us up. All the other junk of the world that is temporal will never fill us up and we will never be satisfied. We cannot idle by and expect to be satisfied. Seek Him~
Numbers 9:23 The Isrealites would encamp and set out at God's command. No matter how long they had to stay in one place, they were obedient. How patient are we to wait on God? How long are we willing to wait on God for an answer we are trusting Him with? Do we just give up and do it in our own strength after a day, or week, or month? Do we really trust Him to go when He says go, and stay when He says stay or are we busy doing the things we feel we should do because we think we know better than He? One of my life verses comes from James 1:1-5, in there one of the verses says, and this is always hard for me...."But let patience have its perfect work so you may become perfect and complete, lacking nothing." That is what I desire, and I challenge you to wait on Him no matter how long it takes. He knows better than we, and the reward is much sweeter when we trust Him and His perfect timing.
Numbers 11:4-35 Here the people complained about the manna and wanted meat. They were not satisfied...They asked why they were freed from Egypt, and went on complaining and grumbling. The Lord burned with anger, and sent them quail. LOTS of quail. Then He plagued them, and those who were not satisfied with God's provision for them and craved other food died! I am getting ready to start a Bible study called Made to Crave and when I saw this it made me perk up. Crave God and He will fill our needs like I just spoke of. Rely on Him to meet your needs. He knows what is best for us.
Numbers 16There is a lot of background here with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Korah had rose up against Moses. He said Moses and Aaron set themselves above everyone else and they were holy. Moses told them it was against God that all of their followers had banded together, and they were seeking priesthood. Moses asked the Lord to not accept their offering, and when they had gathered and God's glory appeared to all of them, God told Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from these people, so he could put an end to them. Needless to say they had many followers. Some of which did not seperate. The ground under Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, split open and swallowed them up. Moses told them this would happen and that from that they would know it was not his idea to do all the things he had but Gods. The Israelites continued their grumblings, and God's wrath plagued them. Moses told Aaron to go make atonement for them, but by the time he was able to get everything together and make atonement for them 14,700 of them had died plus those because of Korah. Once he made atonement the plague stopped.
--so this asks the question Who are what are you following? Are you following God, keeping your eye on Him, or are you following others and suffering for their sins. Be careful of the company you keep, who you align yourself with. You can go down with them or set yourself apart.
Numbers 22:21-41 Read this story so you see where I am going. Here we see Balaam beat his donkey 3x and then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth and the donkey spoke to Balaam asking him had he normally been in the habit of behaving that way with Balaam. Then the angel of the Lord said to him, "I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me." What is God putting in your path to keep you from being reckless? Are you recognizing this or do you just keep on "beating the donkey" or pressing your way through when you feel opposition. Again, He knows what is best for us, and may put obstacles in our way to prevent us from being reckless or encountering harm. An example I am thinking of is when you are in a hurry, and everything is slowing you down...then up ahead down the road you see a wreck. Those obstacles preventing you from getting where you want to be may have prevented something much worse than a loss of time. When you recognize those obstacles make sure and thank Him for them!
Numbers 22:38 Balaam says to the princes of Balak, "I must speak only what God puts in my mouth." How many times have we misspoke or given our opinion or thoughts or words instead of speaking or saying what God has put in our mouth? James 1:19 "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry," Hear what God is speaking to you, and if you need not speak, don't. I struggle with this sometimes when a friend is complaining to me or seeking guidance. I want to make sure and give them a word from God, not a word from Me.
Numbers 32:23 "But if you do this, you will be sinning against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out." --your sin will find you out! You may think no one knows, but God knows! It always has a way of coming out.
Deutoronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:7-9: Impress them (His commandments) upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. This is my prayer that I teach them everyday about Jesus. I fail a lot and always want to do more for them, teaching them and training them up. We have verses on home decor all over our home, in our flower beds, and I encourage you to put them in and around your home. What a sweet reminder His truths are! Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old; he will not depart from it.
Deutoronomy 6:10-12 When things are going great, and you are doing well, be careful not to forget the Lord, who brought you there and out of all the junk to get you to the blessing.
Deutoronomy 6:18 Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight.
Ok, that is it for today, much left to do. I hope you all have a blessed week, and weekend. More next week. If you have any questions feel free to message or post. I would love to hear from you.
Leviticus 19:12 "Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God."
Leviticus 22:32 "Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Isrealites."
We are not to swear to God. When you swear you are binding yourself by an oath to that statement. You are putting God's holy name on a statement that does not acknowledge Him as holy. We have to be careful of our words that they edify and are spoken sweetly. Nothing should be sworn or done so especially in His holy name! It is vulgar, and God does not honor that type of speech. When He says it more than once you know it is very important to Him. Acknowledge Him in a way that pleases Him, and reveres him as Almighty God.
Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself! Romans 12:14 and Matthew 5:44 also talk about blessing your enemies. Here I know it says your neighbor, but those verses came to mind about your enemies. I think we most likely have an easier time showing love to our "neighbors." Most of us have good neighbors with a few exceptions, but it is important to love your enemies as well as your neighbors...good or bad, Love Them!!!
The year of Jubilee is every 50th year!
Leviticus 26:26 It says "You will eat but you will not be satisfied." This reminds me of being spiritually and physically fit. I believe they are intertwined and as I have lots of work to do with both, I can tell what is out of order in my priorities. When we sin and when we over-eat or eat too much we cannot be satisfied. Something is out of balance. We need to not also eat the bread of idleness as the Bible speaks in Proverbs 31:27. We need to pursue God and seek Him out for wisdom on both so He can fill us up. All the other junk of the world that is temporal will never fill us up and we will never be satisfied. We cannot idle by and expect to be satisfied. Seek Him~
Numbers 9:23 The Isrealites would encamp and set out at God's command. No matter how long they had to stay in one place, they were obedient. How patient are we to wait on God? How long are we willing to wait on God for an answer we are trusting Him with? Do we just give up and do it in our own strength after a day, or week, or month? Do we really trust Him to go when He says go, and stay when He says stay or are we busy doing the things we feel we should do because we think we know better than He? One of my life verses comes from James 1:1-5, in there one of the verses says, and this is always hard for me...."But let patience have its perfect work so you may become perfect and complete, lacking nothing." That is what I desire, and I challenge you to wait on Him no matter how long it takes. He knows better than we, and the reward is much sweeter when we trust Him and His perfect timing.
Numbers 11:4-35 Here the people complained about the manna and wanted meat. They were not satisfied...They asked why they were freed from Egypt, and went on complaining and grumbling. The Lord burned with anger, and sent them quail. LOTS of quail. Then He plagued them, and those who were not satisfied with God's provision for them and craved other food died! I am getting ready to start a Bible study called Made to Crave and when I saw this it made me perk up. Crave God and He will fill our needs like I just spoke of. Rely on Him to meet your needs. He knows what is best for us.
Numbers 16There is a lot of background here with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Korah had rose up against Moses. He said Moses and Aaron set themselves above everyone else and they were holy. Moses told them it was against God that all of their followers had banded together, and they were seeking priesthood. Moses asked the Lord to not accept their offering, and when they had gathered and God's glory appeared to all of them, God told Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from these people, so he could put an end to them. Needless to say they had many followers. Some of which did not seperate. The ground under Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, split open and swallowed them up. Moses told them this would happen and that from that they would know it was not his idea to do all the things he had but Gods. The Israelites continued their grumblings, and God's wrath plagued them. Moses told Aaron to go make atonement for them, but by the time he was able to get everything together and make atonement for them 14,700 of them had died plus those because of Korah. Once he made atonement the plague stopped.
--so this asks the question Who are what are you following? Are you following God, keeping your eye on Him, or are you following others and suffering for their sins. Be careful of the company you keep, who you align yourself with. You can go down with them or set yourself apart.
Numbers 22:21-41 Read this story so you see where I am going. Here we see Balaam beat his donkey 3x and then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth and the donkey spoke to Balaam asking him had he normally been in the habit of behaving that way with Balaam. Then the angel of the Lord said to him, "I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me." What is God putting in your path to keep you from being reckless? Are you recognizing this or do you just keep on "beating the donkey" or pressing your way through when you feel opposition. Again, He knows what is best for us, and may put obstacles in our way to prevent us from being reckless or encountering harm. An example I am thinking of is when you are in a hurry, and everything is slowing you down...then up ahead down the road you see a wreck. Those obstacles preventing you from getting where you want to be may have prevented something much worse than a loss of time. When you recognize those obstacles make sure and thank Him for them!
Numbers 22:38 Balaam says to the princes of Balak, "I must speak only what God puts in my mouth." How many times have we misspoke or given our opinion or thoughts or words instead of speaking or saying what God has put in our mouth? James 1:19 "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry," Hear what God is speaking to you, and if you need not speak, don't. I struggle with this sometimes when a friend is complaining to me or seeking guidance. I want to make sure and give them a word from God, not a word from Me.
Numbers 32:23 "But if you do this, you will be sinning against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out." --your sin will find you out! You may think no one knows, but God knows! It always has a way of coming out.
Deutoronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:7-9: Impress them (His commandments) upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. This is my prayer that I teach them everyday about Jesus. I fail a lot and always want to do more for them, teaching them and training them up. We have verses on home decor all over our home, in our flower beds, and I encourage you to put them in and around your home. What a sweet reminder His truths are! Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old; he will not depart from it.
Deutoronomy 6:10-12 When things are going great, and you are doing well, be careful not to forget the Lord, who brought you there and out of all the junk to get you to the blessing.
Deutoronomy 6:18 Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight.
Ok, that is it for today, much left to do. I hope you all have a blessed week, and weekend. More next week. If you have any questions feel free to message or post. I would love to hear from you.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Bible in 90 Days 2nd Post
I am trying to keep up with everything going on, including Bible study, and reading the Bible so I apologize for slacking on blogging. I will continue to list verses that speak to me, and some of what I hear God speaking to me. Here we go:
Exodus 14:14- "The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still." Oh, if we could only be still.
Exodus 20:20- Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." If we could remember in our trials and times of distress that God may just want us to fear Him. Maybe that is the lesson. Maybe there is nothing else at that time He is trying to teach us but to fear Him, how Great and powerful He is. He has performed great wonders and miracles, and if we could just stand in awe of Him. Did you know that a definition of fear is also reverential awe? We should be deeply respectul and overwhelmingly in awe of him. I found that educational. I never knew that was a definition of fear.
In Exodus 34:29-35, it talks of Moses radiant face. His face was radiant because he spoke with the Lord. Radiant is defined as shining or bright. Also, bright with joy, hope, etc...Moses face showed radiance only during this time or from what we infer only this time when He was speaking with God. He was totally surrendered to God and completely devoted to Him. He was in awe of Him, and that love he had for God shown through in Moses' face. So many Christians walk around today sour and not exuding joy and contentment and love. I pray I will have that radiance and His love and glory will shine in and through me to others. Replace the red face with a radiant one!!!
Leviticus 4: speaks about the sin offering. If the people sinned unintentionally, they were guilty. When they became aware of their sin they had to give a sin offering to make atonement for that sin so they would be forgiven. Our sin is now covered by the blood of Christ, thank you Jesus! I pray too for God to forgive all my sin, and I confess them, knowing He knows what they are and He knew I would sin before I ever did, but in my prayers I also ask that if there is unconfessed sin in my life, that He would bring that to my mind that I might confess it and repent as well.
Leviticus 12: When anyone had an infectious disease, they had to be brought to Aaron or the priests to be examined. This would determine if the person was clean or unclean. When an unclean person's sores turned white, they were pronounced clean. I see this also as referring to when God forgives our sins and washes them white as snow. (Isaiah 1:18- “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD.“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." )
I found interesting its the aroma that was to be pleasing to the Lord, in the sacrifices to Him.
More in the morning! Its 12:15 am and I need to get to bed. I have lots more I need to get down here or I will be really behind. Goodnight~
Exodus 14:14- "The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still." Oh, if we could only be still.
Exodus 20:20- Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." If we could remember in our trials and times of distress that God may just want us to fear Him. Maybe that is the lesson. Maybe there is nothing else at that time He is trying to teach us but to fear Him, how Great and powerful He is. He has performed great wonders and miracles, and if we could just stand in awe of Him. Did you know that a definition of fear is also reverential awe? We should be deeply respectul and overwhelmingly in awe of him. I found that educational. I never knew that was a definition of fear.
In Exodus 34:29-35, it talks of Moses radiant face. His face was radiant because he spoke with the Lord. Radiant is defined as shining or bright. Also, bright with joy, hope, etc...Moses face showed radiance only during this time or from what we infer only this time when He was speaking with God. He was totally surrendered to God and completely devoted to Him. He was in awe of Him, and that love he had for God shown through in Moses' face. So many Christians walk around today sour and not exuding joy and contentment and love. I pray I will have that radiance and His love and glory will shine in and through me to others. Replace the red face with a radiant one!!!
Leviticus 4: speaks about the sin offering. If the people sinned unintentionally, they were guilty. When they became aware of their sin they had to give a sin offering to make atonement for that sin so they would be forgiven. Our sin is now covered by the blood of Christ, thank you Jesus! I pray too for God to forgive all my sin, and I confess them, knowing He knows what they are and He knew I would sin before I ever did, but in my prayers I also ask that if there is unconfessed sin in my life, that He would bring that to my mind that I might confess it and repent as well.
Leviticus 12: When anyone had an infectious disease, they had to be brought to Aaron or the priests to be examined. This would determine if the person was clean or unclean. When an unclean person's sores turned white, they were pronounced clean. I see this also as referring to when God forgives our sins and washes them white as snow. (Isaiah 1:18- “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD.“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." )
I found interesting its the aroma that was to be pleasing to the Lord, in the sacrifices to Him.
More in the morning! Its 12:15 am and I need to get to bed. I have lots more I need to get down here or I will be really behind. Goodnight~
Conviction
Conviction! What is conviction? Webster's defines it as the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth b : the state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth, and 3a : a strong persuasion or belief.
Every believer knows the power of conviction and regardless of if you feel convicted in your beliefs or convicted of sin, its the Holy Spirit at work in your life. (John 16:7-8, Jesus says, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (The Holy Spirit)will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:") Conviction is more than your emotions, and feelings. I cannot help but cry out my sins when I am convicted. I feel like even though God knows what wrong I have done, I have to tell Him. I then ask His forgiveness, and try my absolute best to not fail in that area again, seek out what His word says, and wisdom for the situation. Conviction of sin is differnt that conviction in your beliefs.
Alot of us feel convicted to not watch certain movies or programs that God would not consider honorable. This is just one instance, but we all have so many different beliefs. We are convicted of what the Holy Spirit brings to light and shows us. For example, there is a store in town I just loved. I say love, but its really nice, and we do not have too many great stores in town. I liked shopping there, and one day I dropped by, purchased a couple items, and they threw in a free t-shirt. Everyone can use a free tee, right? That's what I was thinking. Well, after I got home with the free shirt, I could not help but get the store's name and tagline out of my head. All of a sudden I felt completely convicted for shopping at this store. I never paid attention to the name, thought the store was fab, and had been oblivious to the signage. The name speaks everything I am against. The tagline of my blog, and life has always been, It's not mine, but His, meaning its all His and on loan to me for right now, everything!!! It's not about me, but Him and His work in me. This store was completely opposite of what I believe. Our society is filled with companies that want us to believe lies and that we are the most important thing around. I was strangely convicted to not spend my money there where they promote something other than I believe. I would much rather give my money to a better cause. I was convicted in my beliefs.
So whether you are convicted of sin or convicted in your beliefs, know it is from the Holy Spirit, and not just your emotions or a feeling of error in judgement. It is so much more than that, and conviction ultimately requires an action.
James 5:20 Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Every believer knows the power of conviction and regardless of if you feel convicted in your beliefs or convicted of sin, its the Holy Spirit at work in your life. (John 16:7-8, Jesus says, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (The Holy Spirit)will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:") Conviction is more than your emotions, and feelings. I cannot help but cry out my sins when I am convicted. I feel like even though God knows what wrong I have done, I have to tell Him. I then ask His forgiveness, and try my absolute best to not fail in that area again, seek out what His word says, and wisdom for the situation. Conviction of sin is differnt that conviction in your beliefs.
Alot of us feel convicted to not watch certain movies or programs that God would not consider honorable. This is just one instance, but we all have so many different beliefs. We are convicted of what the Holy Spirit brings to light and shows us. For example, there is a store in town I just loved. I say love, but its really nice, and we do not have too many great stores in town. I liked shopping there, and one day I dropped by, purchased a couple items, and they threw in a free t-shirt. Everyone can use a free tee, right? That's what I was thinking. Well, after I got home with the free shirt, I could not help but get the store's name and tagline out of my head. All of a sudden I felt completely convicted for shopping at this store. I never paid attention to the name, thought the store was fab, and had been oblivious to the signage. The name speaks everything I am against. The tagline of my blog, and life has always been, It's not mine, but His, meaning its all His and on loan to me for right now, everything!!! It's not about me, but Him and His work in me. This store was completely opposite of what I believe. Our society is filled with companies that want us to believe lies and that we are the most important thing around. I was strangely convicted to not spend my money there where they promote something other than I believe. I would much rather give my money to a better cause. I was convicted in my beliefs.
So whether you are convicted of sin or convicted in your beliefs, know it is from the Holy Spirit, and not just your emotions or a feeling of error in judgement. It is so much more than that, and conviction ultimately requires an action.
James 5:20 Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
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