Thursday, May 31, 2007

Luke 1 Today's Daily Bread - Happy June 1st

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God Bless You Today, Lena B
Introduction
1Most honorable Theophilus: Many people have written accounts about the events that took place F1 among us. 2They used as their source material the reports circulating among us from the early disciples and other eyewitnesses of what God has done in fulfillment of his promises. 3Having carefully investigated all of these accounts from the beginning, I have decided to write a careful summary for you, 4to reassure you of the truth of all you were taught.
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5It all begins with a Jewish priest, Zechariah, who lived when Herod was king of Judea. Zechariah was a member of the priestly order of Abijah. His wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God's eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord's commandments and regulations. 7They had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and now they were both very old.
8One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary and burn incense in the Lord's presence. 10While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.
11Zechariah was in the sanctuary when an angel of the Lord appeared, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12Zechariah was overwhelmed with fear. 13But the angel said, "Don't be afraid, Zechariah! For God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son! And you are to name him John. 14You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice with you at his birth, 15for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or hard liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. F2 16And he will persuade many Israelites to turn to the Lord their God. 17He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah, the prophet of old. He will precede the coming of the Lord, preparing the people for his arrival. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will change disobedient minds to accept godly wisdom." F3
18Zechariah said to the angel, "How can I know this will happen? I'm an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years."
19Then the angel said, "I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20And now, since you didn't believe what I said, you won't be able to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time."
21Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out, wondering why he was taking so long. 22When he finally did come out, he couldn't speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures that he must have seen a vision in the Temple sanctuary.
23He stayed at the Temple until his term of service was over, and then he returned home. 24Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25"How kind the Lord is!" she exclaimed. "He has taken away my disgrace of having no children!"
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you! F4 "
29Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30"Don't be frightened, Mary," the angel told her, "for God has decided to bless you! 31You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus. 32He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33And he will reign over Israel F5 forever; his Kingdom will never end!"
34Mary asked the angel, "But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin."
35The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36What's more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she's already in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God."
38Mary responded, "I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true." And then the angel left.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town 40where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41At the sound of Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, "You are blessed by God above all other women, and your child is blessed. 43What an honor this is, that the mother of my Lord should visit me! 44When you came in and greeted me, my baby jumped for joy the instant I heard your voice! 45You are blessed, because you believed that the Lord would do what he said."
The Magnificat: Mary's Song of Praise
46Mary responded,
"Oh, how I praise the Lord.
47 How I rejoice in God my Savior!
48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and now generation after generation
will call me blessed.
49 For he, the Mighty One, is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
50 His mercy goes on from generation to generation,
to all who fear him.
51 His mighty arm does tremendous things!
How he scatters the proud and haughty ones!
52 He has taken princes from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.
53 He has satisfied the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 And how he has helped his servant Israel!
He has not forgotten his promise to be merciful.
55 For he promised our ancestors—Abraham and his children—
to be merciful to them forever."
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.
The Birth of John the Baptist
57Now it was time for Elizabeth's baby to be born, and it was a boy. 58The word spread quickly to her neighbors and relatives that the Lord had been very kind to her, and everyone rejoiced with her.
59When the baby was eight days old, all the relatives and friends came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60But Elizabeth said, "No! His name is John!"
61"What?" they exclaimed. "There is no one in all your family by that name." 62So they asked the baby's father, communicating to him by making gestures. 63He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone's surprise he wrote, "His name is John!" 64Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.
65Wonder fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. 66Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, "I wonder what this child will turn out to be? For the hand of the Lord is surely upon him in a special way."
Zechariah's Prophecy
67Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:
68 "Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited his people and redeemed them.
69 He has sent us a mighty Savior
from the royal line of his servant David,
70 just as he promised
through his holy prophets long ago.
71 Now we will be saved from our enemies
and from all who hate us.
72 He has been merciful to our ancestors
by remembering his sacred covenant with them,
73 the covenant he gave to our ancestor Abraham.
74 We have been rescued from our enemies,
so we can serve God without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness forever.
76 "And you, my little son,
will be called the prophet of the Most High,
because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
77 You will tell his people how to find salvation
through forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of God's tender mercy,
the light from heaven is about to break upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace."
80John grew up and became strong in spirit. Then he lived out in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.
FOOTNOTES:
F1: Or have been fulfilled.
F2: Or even from birth.
F3: See Mal 4:5-6.
F4: Some manuscripts add Blessed are you among women.
F5: Greek over the house of Jacob.

Lena Journals to Joshua 24 Tonight :-)

Have you come and presented yourself to God? You have been summonsed by the third Personage of God, the Holy Spirit, to bring your life under examination of His righteous eyes?
This summons is a happening for all of us at sometime in our lifetime’s. We will either stand before God now or later on. If we accept that presentation now, later will quite possibly work out more securely.
Ya know, maybe no one in your whole family’s lineage may have ever submitted themselves to stand before God, and to be seen as unrighteous without the saving power of Christ Jesus, and no one before you may have considered their need to make Him their Lord and number one consideration and priority in life. No one may have wanted to be made to become righteous through the power of the blood of God’s Son Jesus Christ. So, you may be the first, an Abraham in your line and for future generations that will be effected by your decisions!
So your family served themselves in life or did their very best with what they knew. God wants to take each of us from the land of our ancestors and give us a new lineage, one of an eternal order. He wants us to have sons and daughters after the spirit. Ones who live life eternally, and ones who are saved from the death grip of eternal darkness.
Please know, being saved is not just for bad people who have messed up royally. Each person, good, bad, or otherwise, must come to know and serve Jesus as Lord. God created the whole universe. Man is a huge part of His creation. Freewill beings must acknowledge their Creator as God, and join Him in His plan. This is our Destiny. This is what we account to God for in life.
So, when we meet Christ, we may be good people, with great intentions and all, but everyone has to stand before His Creator and acknowledge both who they are, in the light of who He is. Remember pride would love to tell us we are god and great and in no need of anyone else. That is an eternal trap for the lost to step into, watch out for it! Salvation boils down to the acknowledgement and following action of created beings knowing their Creator and making Him and His will and love known to all mankind.
Remember satan stepped up and said I wanna be in Your spot- God, and that is not how it works. God sets beings in the spots He wants them in, beings do not set themselves in exalted spots.
This is the battle summation of all creation. Think about it, everything revolves around man getting ahead, making a name, paving a way.
Who is King?
Everything we do, venture out into, and go after, speaks of who we love and who we serve and who we value.
Lordship is about ultimate and eternal value.
Serve the Lord alone.
Honor the Lord, with your life’s actions.
There is a saying with some at our church, “Others may”, we have the liberty even in Christ to do whatever we want and no one needs to tell us what to do ever, “but I may not”, live at liberty to my own whim and ways. I set my life up in such a way to only act on what I know would bring honor to the will of God in any given situation. That kind of person is someone who believes God is.
“Others may, but I may not.”
Why?
It’s all about choice, because I choose not to take that liberty.
We are free to choose our own ways, but we choose to obey and walk in the ways of the Lord.
We never have to do His will, ever, but what an honor to God when someone does not have to do His will, and will do it anyway!
That is the highest level of honor.
You are free to do things as you like, but you don’t take your liberty.
How big is God? The personal question always is - How valuable is He to me?
So honor the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt.
Serve the LORD alone. But if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve.
Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live?
But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD."
This is a decision everyone will make in life. If one does not decide, then they have decided, and for one to decide for the Lordship of Christ, that decision will need to be protected and guarded and kept forever. It is costly to serve the Lord and Him only, especially when others in your family line, or the world you have been raised in, did not make that choice and raise you up that way.
So we, too, will serve the LORD, for he alone is our God."…
How does that happen? Do you think it just happens for the chosen, or the lucky, or the preferred.
No, it happens for those who make it happen, because it is imperative to them and the generations after them that it does. We choose to succeed in working with God, to bring forth new generations of the Lord Jesus Christ! We choose to walk in new life and learn new ways. We choose to forsake all others and cleave only to the principles found for us and written and defined for us in God’s word. We choose to walk in His ways compared to our own.
We choose life everyday, or death comes to us and our generations after us.
This is so where it is at. We make promises to God, because we accept and like His offers for a righteous lifestyle of blessings and we must prove our love and faith true.
Then Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you."
But the people answered Joshua, saying, "No, we are determined to serve the LORD!"
"You are accountable for this decision," Joshua said. "You have chosen to serve the LORD." "Yes," they replied, "we are accountable."
ARE you determined to serve the Lord, HIS way?
If you are not determined, then that is why you are where you are now, either confused, or struggling or defeated.
Accountability, is not just telling someone what you’ve done. It is a willing check in system to say, hey this is the life I now want, does what I now feel I’d like to do fit the definition of my new life? Does it match God’s standard? If I choose it, this is why I’m choosing it right now, and I’m willing for someone else to see what I’ve chosen, and help me see where I am compared to where I’d really like to go, as I grow up in Him.
Our faith has to be proven as genuine, or else it is not true, either to us, or God or others, who should be led by our faith towards God.
Obey God alone…..That is HUGE and a HUGE statement of faith that will be tried and have to be willingly proven, even fought for. How does one know when they say something such as this that they can carry through and do it?
You decide and whatever it takes, Do it!
That is covenant behavior. We keep our word even to our own hurt.
People minimize this a lot.
Watering down the word.
Joshua (Jesus) said “upon this rock, the truth of the word of God, will all of our words stand”. We will give an account and stand before God, for saying what we may wish for, but do not really mean. Our words in Christ can no longer be cheaply spent or given out with no regard.
Do you understand that God wants us to give words and then prove and keep them? Not giving the words will also be a thing to stand for. God will ask us something like, “why did you not trust Me enough to say, and mean, and keep words?”
Keeping words takes faith in God!
All right then," Joshua said, "destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."
24The people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God. We will obey him alone."
25So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to a permanent and binding contract between themselves and the LORD Then Joshua told them…. "This stone has heard everything the LORD said to us. It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to God."

Joshua 24 Today

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God Bless You Today, Lena B
Joshua 24
The LORD's Covenant Renewed
1Then Joshua summoned all the people of Israel to Shechem, along with their elders, leaders, judges, and officers. So they came and presented themselves to God.
2Joshua said to the people, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River, F73 and they worshiped other gods. 3But I took your ancestor Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him into the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants through his son Isaac. 4To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the hill country of Seir, while Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
5"Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I brought terrible plagues on Egypt; and afterward I brought you out as a free people. 6But when your ancestors arrived at the Red Sea, F74 the Egyptians chased after you with chariots and horses. 7When you cried out to the LORD, I put darkness between you and the Egyptians. I brought the sea crashing down on the Egyptians, drowning them. With your very own eyes you saw what I did. Then you lived in the wilderness for many years.
8"Finally, I brought you into the land of the Amorites on the east side of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave you victory over them, and you took possession of their land. 9Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, started a war against Israel. He asked Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10but I would not listen to him. Instead, I made Balaam bless you, and so I rescued you from Balak.
11"When you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho, the men of Jericho fought against you. There were also many others who fought you, including the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I gave you victory over them. 12And I sent hornets ahead of you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites. It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory. 13I gave you land you had not worked for, and I gave you cities you did not build—the cities in which you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them.
14"So honor the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD alone. 15But if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD."
16The people replied, "We would never forsake the LORD and worship other gods. 17For the LORD our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, he preserved us. 18It was the LORD who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the LORD, for he alone is our God."
19Then Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and sins. 20If you forsake the LORD and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you."
21But the people answered Joshua, saying, "No, we are determined to serve the LORD!"
22"You are accountable for this decision," Joshua said. "You have chosen to serve the LORD." "Yes," they replied, "we are accountable."
23"All right then," Joshua said, "destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."
24The people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God. We will obey him alone."
25So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to a permanent and binding contract between themselves and the LORD. 26Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. As a reminder of their agreement, he took a huge stone and rolled it beneath the oak tree beside the Tabernacle of the LORD.
27Joshua said to all the people, "This stone has heard everything the LORD said to us. It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to God."
28Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
Leaders Buried in the Promised Land
29Soon after this, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110. 30They buried him in the land he had inherited, at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the leaders who outlived him—those who had personally experienced all that the LORD had done for Israel.
32The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought along with them when they left Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the parcel of ground Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor for one hundred pieces of silver. F75 This land was located in the territory allotted to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph.
33Eleazar son of Aaron also died. He was buried in the hill country of Ephraim, in the town of Gibeah, which had been given to his son Phinehas.
FOOTNOTES:
F73: Hebrew the river; also in 24:3, 14, 15.
F74: Hebrew sea of reeds.
F75: Hebrew 100 kesitahs; the value or weight of the kesitah is no longer known.

Lena Journals to Joshua 23 (yesterday's passage)

What is life all about? Victory. God gets His through a people who want what He wants, they become one with Him and live for His will everyday of the rest of their lives.
I love how Joshua says, “I am now old…You’ve watched me live my life in “Christ””, all of my days!!!!
That is what life is about. Living everyday for God’s eternal plan. Growing up, and growing old as a person of faith in God. Then still have and leave some things for someone else to do, that you could never even take a whole lifetime of dedication to accomplish. Life is about having enough increase in Christ left after you, enough that you could not do it all, someone else who watched and followed you, just has to go for it, because they see too, what God had shown you, and want to also do His will, as well as, and even better than, you did His will!
To know there is victory for others also, after you, as they have had demonstrated before them a life of faith. A life they want and need to copy.
It’s kind of like WWJD, (What Would Jesus Do), we can also ask, WWWD (What would We – as sons and daughters and more than conquerors through Christ Jesus– Do?) We’ve seen, so we copy, what works. Joshua had worked the work of the ministry, he demonstrated his faith in God with an active life of progression in the spirit and of faith, and others were able to see and copy that if they so desired to. In their day Joshua was their living “savior” their “jesus”. WWJD applied to those who saw his life. Now we have the written word of God and the model of the son of God, who came to earth, we copy Him and others, as they follow Him now, and aim to do it well in our day. Of course if they trip or humanly fall, we don’t run over the embankment with them, we help them out that they may continue in faith once again. A trip or a fall, does not mean they can’t go on where they left off, necessarily.
How does one stay “on track”? Be very careful to follow all the instructions written in the Book
. Do not deviate from them in any way. 7Make sure you do not associate with the other people still remaining in the land Do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or worship them. 8But be faithful to the LORD your God as you have done until now.
These are not nice suggestions. This is the way to walk in to have good success in the spirit, for we walk after the spirit and not after the flesh. These are the answers, not just good opinions to consider.
Association with people who are worldly will influence growth retardation to the spirit man. One who desires to walk in the ways of the spirit, must not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. One who desires to walk in the spirit, must train themselves to obey God.
Bad company corrupts good morals, is not a kind suggestion. It is a statement in the word of God, you can take it or leave it. If you decide to take God’s word you’ll live, if you reject it, you may die in your spiritual growth. Remember blessings upon growth in the spirit are based upon obedience.
We’d like to live as we live now, and just add a little of god or of good into the equation. This is not God’s way. God’s way is to change us from the inside out, but only if we are willing to submit to change. You either buy into the truth of the word of God or you don’t. The minute you consider God’s word a mere good suggestion, you’ve rejected it.
Whenever we hear the word, our posture within a heart of obedience should be, how do I begin to walk towards that and away from what I was doing, that really had no resemblance of that? Wow, I was so not living or thinking that way, I’m so glad I heard today how to live this way now. I really need to change. Thank you Lord for helping me to change.
be very careful to love the LORD your God
One must keep, as a keeper of a treasure, guards and keeps, his love for God. And for that matter, his love for anyone or anything, must be kept! Love is easily lost or given away or grows cold if not warmed by a passionate fire. That fire must be lit because you want it lit, or else it will automatically go out as elements work on the fuel of the fire. One must be careful, meaning count as valuable enough to keep, the love of God!
if you turn away from him and intermarry
what does that mean?
Marriage is a joining of two differences into one unit that works together, lives together, sleeps together, shares income, dreams, goals, eats food, has entertainment, rests, commits, etc….what or who are you intermarried to? Mixed up with? Joined to? Attached to? Committed too?
Just to give ya a heads up, not by option, but by principle. If you choose God’s words and commands as options, or just mere good opinions, this is what comes - the LORD your God will no longer drive them out from your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a pain in your side and a thorn in your eyes, and you will be wiped out from this good land the LORD your God has given you.
Ezekiel 18:20b- 24 Righteous people will be rewarded for their own goodness, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness. 21But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my laws and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die. 22All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done.
23"Do you think, asks the Sovereign LORD, that I like to see wicked people die? Of course not! I only want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. 24However, if righteous people turn to sinful ways and start acting like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their previous goodness will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins.
Our faith must be kept and must grow and never cease. We are not in a trial period of a faith walk to see if God will perform for us, we have given our lives to Him, no matter if He ever blesses us or not, ever.
We stand to lose all ground taken, if we ever let the enemy have a place. Give NO place to the d’evil (god of evil).
Say yes to God, no to the devil, and in this he will have to flee.
Don’t forget the “yes God” part 1st!

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Joshua 23 Today's Daily Bread

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena's Journalin' , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.


Joshua 23
Joshua's Final Words to Israel

1The years passed, and the LORD had given the people of Israel rest from all their enemies. Joshua, who was now very old, 2called together all the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel. He said to them, "I am an old man now. 3You have seen everything the LORD your God has done for you during my lifetime. The LORD your God has fought for you against your enemies. 4I have allotted to you as an inheritance all the land of the nations yet unconquered, as well as the land of those we have already conquered—from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea F72 in the west. 5This land will be yours, for the LORD your God will drive out all the people living there now. You will live there instead of them, just as the LORD your God promised you.

6"So be strong! Be very careful to follow all the instructions written in the Book of the Law of Moses. Do not deviate from them in any way. 7Make sure you do not associate with the other people still remaining in the land. Do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or worship them. 8But be faithful to the LORD your God as you have done until now.

9"For the LORD has driven out great and powerful nations for you, and no one has yet been able to defeat you. 10Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the LORD your God fights for you, just as he has promised. 11So be very careful to love the LORD your God.

12"But if you turn away from him and intermarry with the survivors of these nations remaining among you, 13then know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive them out from your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a pain in your side and a thorn in your eyes, and you will be wiped out from this good land the LORD your God has given you.

14"Soon I will die, going the way of all the earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the LORD your God has come true. Not a single one has failed! 15But as surely as the LORD your God has given you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you disobey him. He will completely wipe you out from this good land he has given you. 16If you break the covenant of the LORD your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly be wiped out from the good land he has given you."
FOOTNOTES:
F72: Hebrew the Great Sea.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Lena Journals to Joshua 22 Today

Time lapses are a way the enemy tries to halt bringing God’s kingdom establishment on earth,. Time lapses cause people to tire and quit their journey. We must remember we are eternal beings having an earth experience. Our earth time is only so long, and in this realm life is measured by times such as days, hours, minutes, weeks, months, years, decades and centuries. Our lifetime on earth holds assignments for us, which are only a small piece of a corporate puzzle set to paint an eternal picture in God’s plan for man eternally.
Joshua commends those who endured everything to stay the purposes of God, no matter what came their way.
After you obtain the promises of God, don’t stop there! Continue. To what? Obey God! Take the next step, there’s always a next step, always. There’s always more to take territory of and have for His kingdom, power and glory, Amen! At any given time in this faith walk, one can stop, rest, or go on, it is up to each person.
We must ask, “Do we still have a will to do His good pleasure? If not, why not. If tired, then why not refreshed in His presence and by His spirit? If unmotivated, why not revived? We can do all we decide and want to do through Christ Jesus our Lord.
I’ve heard for years, “We do what we REALLY want to do.” We could be tired, weary, or ill where one occasion is concerned, and yet for another we’ll rise up and overcome tiredness, weariness or illness. It is more evident to others who see from the outside, than it at times, is for us, who are living patterns we’ve lived in for years. We should look at it closely and we’ll find, we do whatever it is we really want to do.
Do we have a will to do His good pleasure? Or do we get stronger and revived for our own pleasures only?
People will say they have no money to give offerings to a godly cause, that their church supports, and yet they’ll have enough for recreation and vacationing. We do really do, what we want to do.
One may feel too tired to go to church, and yet have the energy to stay out on the town on Friday and Saturday nights. We do what we want to do. If we really wanted to go to church, we’d come home earlier and save that energy for the things we really want to do. The evidence is not in the words of our mouths, but in what it is we do.
Do we really have a will to do His good pleasure?
Paul spoke this to the church at Phillippi, Phil 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure
To will and to work for (Do), His good pleasure. What else is life here on earth about, but for the end result which is, eternity. That being the case, one’s mind must be renewed to eternal thought patterns.
We must be oh so guarded against building altars unto ourselves, to allow ourselves to live as we please. One must live for another, other than himself, or else he serves and even gives worship to himself.
The “I need, I need” self centered worldly mindsets, must be broken apart.
He is all we need!
“There shall be NO other gods before Me”, says the Lord.
That command applies to all mankind, forever.
Self service, self satisfaction, self governing, self motivation, are all man centered worship.
We can only find out who we are, by finding out who He is! When we seek Him, we find Him, when we search for Him we will find who He created us to be, in that is all the satisfaction one can ever find elsewhere.
Blessed when we obey, cursed when we go our own way, good, bad, right, wrong, or otherwise. God is God and is to be served and loved by men. Men are on a search, they think to find themselves, but their search is to find themselves wholly in Him. They need to worship, for this is in our inner make up.
There are times we must remember, both the goodness and the severity of God. His wrath should lead us in paths of righteousness. There has to be a way set before each willing heart and mind, as a memorial to stay the course, the God course, and go all the way.
One must be found responsible to stay on the narrow pathway.
Romans 11:22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
Cut off from what? The blessings, the inheritance. Not the love, for His love will forever draw men, as long as they are alive and have the breath of a will to decide. His love remains, yet it draws lines for definition-sake, to lead one home.
We turn from the Lord when we make our own altars. Altars are places for sacrifices made unto God or god. The question would be which one?
What are we sacrificing in life and what are we giving it up for? Self satisfaction, or God satisfaction?
An altar unto ourselves is erected by me, for me.
An altar to the Lord is erected by me, for Him.
I LOVE how these peers made their brethren accountable for their actions.
Do you know God is asking for an account of every action?
What was even more awesome is the brethren being asked of their motivation and actions, gave the account willingly. They wanted to stay in right relationship with God and other spiritually led men.
The key to any growth or true freedom is accountability. It can’t be forced by one asking, but given willingly by the ones who want to stay free and grow up unto the full stature of a son of God. One who gets the inheritance.
A son is not a son, by birth, but by submission. He lays his own will on the altar he himself has erected to do so. He gives of his own life to his father, not because his father made him (though He may have!) His heart has surrendered to sonship, to instruction and correction to be led into promised lands, eternal promised lands, ready to be taken while on earth.

Joshua 22 Today

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God Bless You Today, Lena B
Joshua 22
The Eastern Tribes Return Home
1Then Joshua called together the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 2He told them, "You have done as Moses, the servant of the LORD, commanded you, and you have obeyed every order I have given you. 3You have not deserted the other tribes, even though the campaign has lasted for such a long time. You have been careful to obey the commands of the LORD your God up to the present day. 4And now the LORD your God has given the other tribes rest, as he promised them. So go home now to the land Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave you on the east side of the Jordan River. 5But be very careful to obey all the commands and the law that Moses gave to you. Love the LORD your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, be faithful to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul."
6So Joshua blessed them and sent them home. 7Now Moses had given the land of Bashan to the half-tribe of Manasseh east of the Jordan. The other half of the tribe was given land west of the Jordan. As Joshua sent them away, he blessed them 8and said, "Share with your relatives back home the great wealth you have taken from your enemies. Share with them your large herds of cattle, your silver and gold, your bronze and iron, and your clothing."
9So the men of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the rest of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. They started the journey back to their own land of Gilead, the territory that belonged to them according to the LORD's command through Moses.
The Eastern Tribes Build a Memorial
10But while they were still in Canaan, before they crossed the Jordan River, Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built a very large altar near the Jordan River at a place called Geliloth.
11When the rest of Israel heard they had built the altar at Geliloth west of the Jordan River, in the land of Canaan, 12the whole assembly gathered at Shiloh and prepared to go to war against their brother tribes. 13First, however, they sent a delegation led by Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest. They crossed the river to talk with the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 14In this delegation were ten high officials of Israel, one from each of the ten tribes, and each a leader within the family divisions of Israel.
15When they arrived in the land of Gilead, they said to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 16"The whole community of the LORD demands to know why you are betraying the God of Israel. How could you turn away from the LORD and build an altar in rebellion against him? 17Was our sin at Peor not enough? We are not yet fully cleansed of it, even after the plague that struck the entire assembly of the LORD. 18And yet today you are turning away from following the LORD. If you rebel against the LORD today, he will be angry with all of us tomorrow. 19If you need the altar because your land is defiled, then join us on our side of the river, where the LORD lives among us in his Tabernacle, and we will share our land with you. But do not rebel against the LORD or draw us into your rebellion by building another altar for yourselves. There is only one true altar of the LORD our God. 20Didn't God punish all the people of Israel when Achan, a member of the clan of Zerah, sinned by stealing the things set apart for the LORD F70 ? He was not the only one who died because of that sin."
21Then the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered these high officials: 22"The LORD alone is God! The LORD alone is God! We have not built the altar in rebellion against the LORD. If we have done so, do not spare our lives this day. But the LORD knows, and let all Israel know, too, 23that we have not built an altar for ourselves to turn away from the LORD. Nor will we use it for our burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings. If we have built it for this purpose, may the LORD himself punish us.
24"We have built this altar because we fear that in the future your descendants will say to ours, 'What right do you have to worship the LORD, the God of Israel? 25The LORD has placed the Jordan River as a barrier between our people and your people. You have no claim to the LORD.' And your descendants may make our descendants stop worshiping the LORD. 26So we decided to build the altar, not for burnt sacrifices, 27but as a memorial. It will remind our descendants and your descendants that we, too, have the right to worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings. Then your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no claim to the LORD.' 28If they say this, our descendants can reply, 'Look at this copy of the LORD's altar that our ancestors made. It is not for burnt offerings or sacrifices; it is a reminder of the relationship both of us have with the LORD.' 29Far be it from us to rebel against the LORD or turn away from him by building our own altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices. Only the altar of the LORD our God that stands in front of the Tabernacle may be used for that purpose."
30When Phinehas the priest and the high officials heard this from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, they were satisfied. 31Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, replied to them, "Today we know the LORD is among us because you have not sinned against the LORD as we thought. Instead, you have rescued Israel from being destroyed by the LORD."
32Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the ten high officials left the tribes of Reuben and Gad in Gilead and returned to the land of Canaan to tell the Israelites what had happened. 33And all the Israelites were satisfied and praised God and spoke no more of war against Reuben and Gad. 34The people of Reuben and Gad named the altar "Witness," F71 for they said, "It is a witness between us and them that the LORD is our God, too."

Monday, May 28, 2007

Lena Journals to Joshua 21 Today

How is one given land of the Lord? How is it that enemies are conquered for us through the power of God? How does one enter into the rest of God? How do promises appear and become fulfilled for one compared to another?
Number one way, being a part of God’s family, causes each of us to be considered as a promiseer.
The next way is growth into being a son of God. Children usually do not receive inheritances (promises). They would not know what to do with their inheritances, except spend it on whatever it is they want that day. If that happened, then it would not be generational, it would be spent. With God it is imperative that generational inheritances are passed along. The heir must be made into a matured son, one who would do the will of their father and pass on and increase the inheritance
So that means, one should be found to be responsible. Responsibility places one in line for promise fulfillment.
Then of course, there’s proving of faithfulness.
If a man is found faithful, he’ll have increase.
If he is shown to want what the father wants and is willing to see what the father sees, then he is also in line for seeing promises fulfilled.
He fights for what is important to his father. His father’s enemies are also his enemies and he does not fight with or against his father, but alongside of and for him and what is truly important to him.
These sons are warriors, trained to do battle, in order to engage and win.
He believes in what his father believes in, and this empowers him to do his father’s will.
They are one in the same.
Children are not yet this way.
It takes a lot of growth and willing purposeful training for a child to become a son.
To enter rest one must labor first. To rest without labor is cheating. One must become a worker, a laborer in his father’s work as part of the training. A child could be in the same places as his father and never ever do any of his father’s work, yet the one who does the work, will receive the inheritance for he is found responsible and faithful in another man’s business.
Promises appear to those who see, follow willingly, are teachable, responsible, have prioritized as their father does, and have done the work.
They are yes and amen to the glory of another, the glory of God our Father. If we are sons then He is our Father and can ask us anything knowing we’ll do the will. What’s His becomes ours, and what’s ours, becomes His through inner worked covenant relationship.

Lena's Commentary to Joshua 20

Have you ever found that something you did was sin or it was found out to be offensive to someone else, and now you find yourself standing under the wrath of their flesh nature without invitation? In other words, either you did not know what you did was offensive or you just made a mistake?
You desire mercy, and running to God is the best bet for finding undeserved mercy to give you.
What do you mean undeserved? I did not “mean” to!
Well that is mostly likely the truth or your present truth and perception of the deal, but you do realize whether we meant to or not our sins offended God and if we never receive Jesus, our sin will keep us eternally separated from God whether we want to or not. You do realize that we are not being held guiltless by the mere intent of our hearts? Our follow up actions are speaking to others and to God and hopefully will speak to us of what is deep in our hearts. Even man cannot know the deceptiveness of his own heart at times, actions do speak louder than words.
Ever desire that others show you mercy? Of course we do.
Remember the scriptural precedent of sowing and reaping? Do you realize the whole earth is revolving around this very principle, and the world we all are now living in or are experiencing is of the effect from what we’ve sown that we are now reaping? We are seeing either a blessing of say, mercy or a cursing say of judgments sown.
Are we more judges or more merciful towards others? If judges, then we can expect judgments of others. If merciful, then we can expect mercy to be shown us.
One may say I do give mercy.
Well let me ask you to look deeply into truth, for God set the universe up in such as way that one action has an equal corresponding action.
If you are not receiving mercy, then believe the signs, the effects of the sowing and reaping principle set up by God in the earth, and be willing to look deeper rather than justifying the present definition you hold for mercy. Allow this gage to open your eyes to the willingness to extend mercy further or to increase the depth, of or make the definition clearer.
This reminds me of one of my sons, who in a specific instance, was acting very discontented and unthankful. I wanted to teach him to see what thankfulness looked like compared to discontent. I identified the behavior through the action following, for teaching sake. His reply was to self justify and say,” Mom, I AM thankful!”
Ok, now let’s be honest, if this is the case, then the corresponding actions will show forth thankfulness, if the actions show something else, then guess what? We need a redefinition for correction sake that the proper actions would truly reflect the attitude we desire displayed. So I said, this is what it would look more like when you are truly thankful… Sometimes we need to be taught behavioral reflections, for we’ve not understood properly how to display, or express, what we do feel is at least a seed in our hearts. Being open to instruction and correction will cause truth in righteousness to shine through us! Amen.
Who’s definition do we live by anyway, God’s or ours? See we’ve lived by our own for all of the days we are alive up to now. God in His great grace has given us His word and the wisdom of the spirit to redefine for us wrong thinking and improper to Godliness, actions.
So, if one has truly received mercy, understanding that their own sin would have eternally separated them from the Father and Creator of All Spirits, if they do realize that if they do not humbly believe they are unworthy without Jesus and completely worthy with Him according to God’s standard, and begin to redefine life’s actions raising for themselves personally the standard of God’s word, then they will willingly also sow mercy towards others who may be undeserving as they also realize they are.
See if we feel we are fine as we are, why would we ever change? If we feel we know well, why would we ever give another mercy? The one forgiven much that one, who knows this, easily forgives. (He is able through the strength given him through the revelation and realization of the depth of our offense to God, and of the great mercy God has shown us )
I did not say our sin was the worst sin, for some sin has a greater effect on society than others do. Where sin is sin is, it eternally separates man from God, and one who knows this also knows that unless that man receives the sacrifice of Jesus, and lives a renewed life as evidence of that revelation by faith, before God, He is doomed to darkness and death eternally.
So, are you, the temple of God’s spirit, the new Jerusalem, the place of peace, the church and body of the Lord Jesus Christ, a place of refuge for the undeserving? Could they run to you to receive mercy and forgiveness in time of need? Deserving or undeserving?
Remember repentance is NOT just saying, “Oh I’m so sorry”, nor is it saying a mere prayer and staying with the same offensive actions afterwards. Even God extends mercy to those who have full willingness to change. The wrath of God comes on those who will not change, even when shown where or how to. Grace is for the pursuers of God. Much of what God asks of us is not easy to accomplish as we are, we need His grace while we change. We do not always deserve His blessings, we need mercy to get from identification of offense to changed person. He does not give these to those who have no desire for them. They are not and excuse, or a pardon to go on sinning.
To those moldable, teachable, repentant, instructable; grace and mercy are for the taking, and are in abundant supply.
Those who sow will also reap.
Need grace to change, give it whole you watch someone else walk this road.
Need mercy and forgiveness? Give it to those who ask it, those who see and now desire to live differently. Don’t hold them to a past life as they begin to walk the new.
Do to others in the exact proportion you’d like them to also do to you.
Don’t think irresponsibly, asking mercy with no intent on change. Expecting grace with no repentance. This is not how the principles benefit us.

Joshua 20 & 21 Sunday & Monday - Happy Memorial Day TODAY!

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God Bless You Today, Lena B

Joshua 20
The Cities of Refuge
1The LORD said to Joshua, 2"Now tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed Moses. 3Anyone who kills another person unintentionally can run to one of these cities and be protected from the relatives of the one who was killed, for the relatives may seek to avenge the killing.
4"Upon reaching one of these cities, the one who caused the accidental death will appear before the leaders at the city gate and explain what happened. They must allow the accused to enter the city and live there among them. 5If the relatives of the victim come to avenge the killing, the leaders must not release the accused to them, for the death was accidental. 6But the person who caused the death must stay in that city and be tried by the community and found innocent. Then the one declared innocent because the death was accidental must continue to live in that city until the death of the high priest who was in office at the time of the accident. After that, the one found innocent is free to return home."
7The following cities were designated as cities of refuge: Kedesh of Galilee, in the hill country of Naphtali; Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim; and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), in the hill country of Judah. 8On the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho, the following cities were designated as cities of refuge: Bezer, in the wilderness plain of the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead, in the territory of the tribe of Gad; and Golan in Bashan, in the land of the tribe of Manasseh. 9These cities were set apart for Israelites as well as the foreigners living among them. Anyone who accidentally killed another person could take refuge in one of these cities. In this way, they could escape being killed in revenge prior to standing trial before the community.
Joshua 21
The Towns Given to the Levites
1Then the leaders of the tribe of Levi came to consult with Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the other tribes of Israel. 2They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, "The LORD instructed Moses to give us towns to live in and pasturelands for our cattle." 3So by the command of the LORD the Levites were given as their inheritance the following towns with their pasturelands.
4The descendants of Aaron, who were members of the Kohathite clan within the tribe of Levi, were given thirteen towns that were originally assigned to the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5The other families of the Kohathite clan were allotted ten towns from the territories of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
6The clan of Gershon received thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7The clan of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
8So the Israelites obeyed the LORD's command to Moses and assigned these towns and pasturelands to the Levites by casting sacred lots.
9The Israelites gave the following towns from the tribes of Judah and Simeon 10to the descendants of Aaron, who were members of the Kohathite clan within the tribe of Levi, since the sacred lot fell to them first: 11Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, along with its surrounding pasturelands. (Arba was an ancestor of Anak.) 12But the fields beyond the city and the surrounding villages were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh.
13The following towns with their pasturelands were given to the descendants of Aaron the priest: Hebron (a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Libnah, 14Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15Holon, Debir, 16Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine towns from these two tribes.
17From the tribe of Benjamin the priests were given the following towns with their surrounding pasturelands: Gibeon, Geba, 18Anathoth, and Almon—four towns. 19So thirteen towns were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
20The rest of the Kohathite clan from the tribe of Levi was allotted these towns and pasturelands from the tribe of Ephraim: 21Shechem (a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Gezer, 22Kibzaim, and Beth-horon—four towns.
23The following towns and pasturelands were allotted to the priests from the tribe of Dan: Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon—four towns.
25The half-tribe of Manasseh allotted the following towns with their pasturelands to the priests: Taanach and Gath-rimmon—two towns. 26So ten towns with their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clan.
27The descendants of Gershon, another clan within the tribe of Levi, received two towns with their pasturelands from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge) and Be-eshterah.
28From the tribe of Issachar they received Kishion, Daberath, 29Jarmuth, and En-gannim—four towns with their pasturelands.
30From the tribe of Asher they received Mishal, Abdon, 31Helkath, and Rehob—four towns and their pasturelands.
32From the tribe of Naphtali they received Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan—three towns with their pasturelands.
33So thirteen towns and their pasturelands were allotted to the clan of Gershon.
34The rest of the Levites—the Merari clan—were given the following towns from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, 35Dimnah, and Nahalal—four towns with their pasturelands.
36From the tribe of Reuben they received Bezer, Jahaz, F69 37Kedemoth, and Mephaath—four towns with their pasturelands.
38From the tribe of Gad they received Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge), Mahanaim, 39Heshbon, and Jazer—four towns with their pasturelands. 40So twelve towns were allotted to the clan of Merari.
41The total number of towns and pasturelands within Israelite territory given to the Levites came to forty-eight. 42Every one of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it.
43So the LORD gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they conquered it and settled there. 44And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD helped them conquer all their enemies. 45All of the good promises that the LORD had given Israel came true.
FOOTNOTES:
F69: Hebrew Jahzah, a variant name for Jahaz.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Lena Journals to Joshua 19 Today ( Saturday )

Dear Ones,
Sunday we may not write or post, so go and on and read Joshua (Sunday 20, Monday 21, etc...)chapter by chapter, we'll catch ya when we return!
Many Blessings to you!
So just asking.....
What is your family’s inheritance?
What are you leaving behind for them?
What have you built for them that is of eternal value?
Is it too big for you alone?
Should be, for that is God’s design.
Isn’t He too great for us to contain?
Should be
Oh magnify the LORD WITH ME, Let us exalt His name all together now!
God Bless you and yours this Holy Day weekend as the Britt’s would say…

Joshua 19 for 5-26-07 Happy Memorial Day Weekend to You!

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God Bless You Today, Lena B
Joshua 19
The Land Given to Simeon
1The second allotment of land went to the families of the tribe of Simeon. Their inheritance was surrounded by Judah's territory.
2Simeon's inheritance included Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, 3Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, 4Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, 6Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen towns with their villages. 7It also included Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four towns with their villages, 8including all the villages as far south as Baalath-beer (also known as Ramah of the Negev).
This was the inheritance of the families of the tribe of Simeon. 9Their inheritance came from part of what had been given to Judah because Judah's territory was too large for them. So the tribe of Simeon received an inheritance within the territory of Judah.
The Land Given to Zebulun
10The third allotment of land went to the families of the tribe of Zebulun.
The boundary of Zebulun's inheritance started at Sarid. 11From there it went west, going past Maralah, touching Dabbesheth, and proceeding to the brook east of Jokneam. 12In the other direction, the boundary line went east from Sarid to the border of Kisloth-tabor, and from there to Daberath and up to Japhia. 13Then it continued east to Gath-hepher, Eth-kazin, and Rimmon and turned toward Neah. 14The northern boundary of Zebulun passed Hannathon and ended at the valley of Iphtah-el. 15The towns in these areas included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve towns with their surrounding villages.
16This was the inheritance of the families of the tribe of Zebulun.
The Land Given to Issachar
17The fourth allotment of land went to the families of the tribe of Issachar.
18Its boundaries included the following towns: Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, 19Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez. 22The boundary also touched Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, ending at the Jordan River—sixteen towns with their surrounding villages.
23This was the inheritance of the families of the tribe of Issachar.
The Land Given to Asher
24The fifth allotment of land went to the families of the tribe of Asher.
25Its boundaries included these towns: Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, 26Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. The boundary on the west went from Carmel to Shihor-libnath, 27turned east toward Beth-dagon, and ran as far as Zebulun in the valley of Iphtah-el, running north to Beth-emek and Neiel. It then continued north to Cabul, 28Abdon, F64 Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, and as far as Greater Sidon. 29Then the boundary turned toward Ramah and the fortified city of Tyre and came to the Mediterranean Sea F65 at Hosah. The territory also included Mehebel, Aczib, 30Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob—twenty-two towns with their surrounding villages.
31This was the inheritance of the families of the tribe of Asher.
The Land Given to Naphtali
32The sixth allotment of land went to the families of the tribe of Naphtali.
33Its boundary ran from Heleph, from the oak at Zaanannim, and extended across to Adami-nekeb, Jabneel, and as far as Lakkum, ending at the Jordan River. 34The western boundary ran past Aznoth-tabor, then to Hukkok, and touched the boundary of Zebulun in the south, the boundary of Asher on the west, and the Jordan River F66 on the east. 35The fortified cities included in this territory were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, 36Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, 38Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh—nineteen cities with their surrounding villages.
39This was the inheritance of the families of the tribe of Naphtali.
The Land Given to Dan
40The seventh and last allotment of land went to the families of the tribe of Dan.
41The towns within Dan's inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, 42Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, 46and Me-jarkon, also Rakkon along with the territory across from Joppa.
47But the tribe of Dan had trouble taking possession of their land, so they fought against the town of Laish. F67 They captured it, slaughtered its people, and settled there. They renamed the city Dan after their ancestor.
48This was the inheritance of the families of the tribe of Dan—these towns with their villages.
The Land Given to Joshua
49After all the land was divided among the tribes, the Israelites gave a special piece of land to Joshua as his inheritance. 50For the LORD had said he could have any town he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the town and lived there.
51These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the tribal leaders gave as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel by casting sacred lots in the presence of the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle F68 at Shiloh. So the division of the land was completed.
FOOTNOTES:
F64: As in some Hebrew manuscripts (see also 21:30); most Hebrew manuscripts read Ebron.
F65: Hebrew the sea.
F66: Hebrew and Judah at the Jordan River.
F67: Hebrew Leshem, another name for Laish.
F68: Hebrew Tent of Meeting.

Lena Journals to Joshua 18 Today

When our own personal land is taken and our family and neighbor’s personal land is taken, we can assemble together to bless the Lord in a consecrated and a concentrated way.
This is where God receives the highest praise, among a willingly unified people. This is when His spirit comes in abundance. The reason He does not come as strong with individuals is He does not intend for a man to be contented left to himself, even his own worship meeting, He wants that man to know there is much more!.
We need more and more territories taken for the kingdom of God on earth. His plan is for His kingdom to come and will to be done all over the whole face of the whole earth. That starts personally and is reproduced through two and more people who agree with God about His Divine plan and change their lives to live for that plan.
There remained 7 who had not been allotted their inheritances. Why had they not yet been given them?
Now let me ask what Joshua asked them?
Why had they not taken what was theirs? It is just like this all through Christianity. We’ve thought if God dropped it on us, we’d have it.
Well He wants to know when we are going to count it important enough to come or go get it? We go after a lot of pursuits, what about going after what God is after?
How long will you wait till taking possession of the remaining land the Lord has given your family and you?
For example, my family generational line has struggled with addictions. That is a land I (and each and everyone of my family members who would consider the offer given us by God) was allotted by God to take possession of; to move our enemies out and invite the Holy Spirit in. Then to pass generational blessings down to my generations after me the inheritance of deliverance from addictions!
Joshua says to God’s people, “How long will you wait?”
Not another day, there is a generation at stake and through Christ we are well able to go up and possess that very land!
It is Not worth dawdling around with.
I’ve written this before, what is mild to me in my day, in the area of sin that I do not deal with, will not necessarily be passed down as mildly to other generations. We have no guarantee., this is a huge deception of the enemy against families, as long as my sin is hidden or under control, I can feel I am fine in my day.
Well let me tell/remind you of a truth the enemy knows very well and so hopes he can keep us in the dark over. Passed down, undealt with, sin, can be 10 times worse for the future generation!
It might we fine w/ you and good in your day, but it is so not about your own day being fine, as it is about saving a generation and possessing and land for the new generations of the Lord Jesus Christ and about His kingdom establishment.
Can I ask a silly question?
How much addiction will be tolerated in heaven?
We pray – “Thy kingdom come and Thy will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven!”
How much cursing do you imagine is in heaven? How about abuse?
Again we pray, “Thy kingdom come and Thy will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven!”
How much dissention, backbiting, carousing, violence etc, is found in heaven?
Why do we tolerate any here?
Unless someone stands for this heavenly standard of living in homes all over the earth now, why would His kingdom come?
Why even pray this prayer if there is no intent on holiness?
You are right, there is no condemnation in Christ and for those who walk continually in Christ. That actually means if one makes a mistake there is such grace, but if one chooses to stay the same, when they can change through the power of Christ, the grace of God does not strive with man but for a time, enough time for change.
God says to every human, is there a man who will stand for My kingdom, power, and glory even above his own? Are there any families, any communities, cities, towns, counties, states, and nations of peoples who will live differently in their generation?
Will anyone at least look from a God ordained perspective, on what one was trying to fight alone and will you consider joining forces with others to annihilate your family’s enemies through obedient actions to specific instructions given, from other men by God to save your family’s souls?
Will you even consider another way than the way you have previously walked in?
If you have a problem and you go to a person of faith to ask an answer to the problem you’ve been dealing with on your own already, and he speaks with the wisdom given him by God, into your situation with specific instructions, are you willing to do what has been said? Or are you one that will listen only with a screening ear(or rather what you are now regarding as an optional opinion of this person of faith) to see if you agree with the instructions before considering moving on them, as though what you’ve done and considered yourself in the past, has gotten you anywhere else other than where you are presently?
I was explaining this to a friend the other day like this…
An alcoholic comes into a treatment center hoping for help. He says, “Man, I really need and want help”.
The treatment center people are so glad he has arrived with the desire for help and he has asked for it, for they know how to help people, this is what they do.
They gladly say, “We’d love to help you, we have wisdom to do so here, this is what we do.”
“Ok now lets’ start by telling you there is a program to follow that we have found works to those who go through all of the steps of the program. Going through all of the steps of the program show that you really do want not only help, but also it teaches you how to start a new life, and a successful recovery”
He says, “ Eh wait justa minute…Hold on right there, 12 steps! Did I hear you say 12?” “Yes, we did, we said 12”.
“Ok, well what are they?”… After listening to the breakdown of the 12 steps without details, he considers what he perceives to be their opinions on the matter and he replies this way.
“Ok then, I’d like to do steps 5, 8 & 11”.
“Well sir, we are so pleased that you’d consider getting help, and we are here to help you, when ever you are ready to do steps 1-12. When you are ready for this, you can return to this same facility and go through all of the steps! Have a really great day.”
He yells at them, “Hey, Wait a minute! I want help today.”
“Really? How badly do you want help?”
“Really bad?”
“Well then, let us know, because it will cost you, so when you want the whole kit and caboodle, come on back, we’ll be here for ya”.
Why would they respond this way? Isn’t this merciless?
Why not?
You can’t have all without giving all. Or has the enemy cheated you and lied and told you, that you can?
We act the same way with God, we want all He has, but without changing or giving anything up. That man was gonna have to give up an old lifestyle that is actually killing him and his family and his past present and future relationships. The question to him would be, is it worth making the change for?
Can’t have your cake and eat it too, as “they” say.
You can’t shout in a worship time in church., “Whhooo Hooo, Lets go up and take the land” and not go home willing to listen, obey and change.
Obedience to change is where taking the land is at.
The person was asking me, why do leaders always tell people they should do so much where church service attendance or prayer or the reading of God’s word is concerned? Maybe you’ve wondered why also, or have felt leaders are so pushy where the things of the kingdom are concerned.
That’s like saying, “Why would a leader council me to push other ungodly things out of my life and open up to more of God? Why would they tell me to fill my life with other pursuits than I’ve been pursing, and change the ways I’ve thought and lived?”
How can one be transformed and renewed in the mind while living the same old life?
One can’t, it is impossible, even the world tells us it is insanity to expect different results while still living the same ways.
God is not a Magician, He is a Father and Teacher and Shepard -Leader! He teaches us His ways that we can desire them and know truth to walk in it. It’s all about choices.
Don’t EVER stop changing in Christ!
Your family, your inheritance, the whole world, depends upon it!

Lena Journals to Joshua 17 from Yesterday

One huge responsibility in life is always having and raising children. God’s perspective of life here has to do with reproduction and inheritance. What inheritance we leave for others is important to God. He is all about passing on, not just away, but on.
What is being passed on by our lives is imperative to our accountability to God.
The book of Joshua starts with men, who become fathers, who have and raise children, who have and raise children and of the fathers being responsible as grandparents also.
God tells the man, “take the land”, but He never expects the man to be able to take any land alone, ever. His design and plan is to take that man and make him larger. Not elevated in himself, but increased, especially in the area of influence. Remember it is not good, by the design of God, that a man should be alone.
If man were alone or of the same species, he’d stop and never continue, but God made man to increase and to pass along that increase till the whole earth is filled with what man has been given by God to carry and carry on, His glory, honor and powerful workings.
What prevents increase or causes decrease? Division and disunity does, a man or a group of men who divide and disagree does. This is where tragic turns occur. This is why one must fight to agree, to unify, and to work together with one another.
If one succumbs to divisiveness and the trickery of the enemy to separate us or cause us to dwell alone, we will be defeated in the fulfillment of our purposes in Christ and in God’s. In order for God to have His will accomplished, we must decide to do His will according to His ways.
His ways are: unity and agreement with other people!
Ouch, that is not always easy. True, but it is worth the eternal benefits.
It is worth preserving an inheritance of the Lord, for generations to come.
We can really get what we want.
We can have what we press in for, especially if it is along with the desired will of God. What God says is ours is not just open to us and falls from the sky into our laps. No, we must prove we want it and will pay with our lives to have what is truly important to us.
The ladies, who were not sons, and knew the inheritance being passed along was up to them. They had to show it was important to them, by saying so, or else it would have been lost. Do you speak in your family for the inheritance due them? Think about intercession and the saving of their souls. THAT is our inheritance that our families will be eternally saved and will in the here and now, walk in truth.
Have you spoken up in prayer about that, or will it be lost?
Do you ever remind God that you have only to rely on His miracle working power in order to accomplish what He desires you to do in the saving of your household? Have you found His word on the matters of your family and reminded God of them? Not arrogantly, not angrily, but in an agreeable sort of way?
What if one of your family members is saved, but there are 50 more still to be? Do you want it bad enough, as much as God does? Enough to even stop speaking ill of them and keep bringing up the ways they are so off, or how they are so unbelieving?
Who do we think will inherit what we have? Strangers? No, if it depended upon our own family members, what would we change in our perspectives or outlooks and actions to save some?
So we ask for more “land” to accommodate our families, and guess what God’s response is? YOU GO clear the brush away, you cut down trees; YOU fight the inhabitants!!!
“Huh? I thought You would, Lord, if only I ask of You”?
The Lord says, “I DID the work already, I unleashed and made available all of the power needed for those who really want to start to do the work on earth now! The ONLY hindrance is faith in the power already given to men”.
Wow, so I have to want it enough to change my whole lifestyle and stop being so worldly minded and stop being religious and really, truly, by example, love and serve my family?
How else will the enemies get out?
Jesus said don’t hit your enemy back, love him and forgive him. (No, I did not say, love the devil, love who he is constantly using and who is allowing him to use them)
That’s a whole new way to “fight”. This is not a fight with people, but for them. It is not a fight with souls, but against principalities and powers to let the specific souls go.
Wow! It’s much easier to debate and fight the soul isn’t it?
Why is it, to a man who has much, even more keeps being given him? He has been found faithful and responsible. He took the baton and ran the rest of the race up to this point. I hope there is someone responsible and faithful for him to pass it on to, don’t you?
This is how God talks to those who ask of Him and want what He wants - Clear as much of the land as you wish and live there. And I am sure you can drive out the Canaanites from the valleys, too, even though they are strong and have iron chariots."
What is worth something, should cost a price. Through the strength of Christ we can do all things!

Joshua 17 & 18 Yesterday & Today

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God Bless You Today, Lena B

For 5-23-07
Joshua 17
1 The next allotment of land was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph's older son. Gilead and Bashan on the east side of the Jordan had already been given to the family of Makir because he was a great warrior. (Makir was Manasseh's oldest son and was the father of Gilead.) 2 Land on the west side of the Jordan was allotted to the remaining families within the tribe of Manasseh: Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. 3 However, Zelophehad son of Hepher, who was a descendant of Manasseh,
Makir, and Gilead, had no sons. Instead, he had five daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 These women came to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the Israelite leaders and said, "The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with the men of our tribe.
"So Joshua gave them an inheritance along with their uncles, as the LORD had commanded. 5 As a result, Manasseh's inheritance came to ten parcels of land, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan across the Jordan River, 6 because the female descendants of Manasseh received an inheritance along with the male descendants.

(The land of Gilead was given to the rest of the male descendants of Manasseh.)

7 The boundary of the tribe of Manasseh extended from the border of Asher to Micmethath, which is east of Shechem. Then the boundary went south from Micmethath to the people living near the spring of Tappuah. 8 (The land surrounding Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah, on the border of Manasseh's territory, belonged to the tribe of Ephraim.) 9 From the spring of Tappuah, the border of Manasseh followed the northern side of the Kanah Ravine to the Mediterranean Sea. F55 (Several towns in Manasseh's territory belonged to the tribe of Ephraim.) 10 The land south of the ravine belonged to Ephraim, and the land north of the ravine belonged to Manasseh, with the Mediterranean Sea forming Manasseh's western border. North of Manasseh was the territory of Asher, and to the east was the territory of Issachar. 11 The following towns within the territory of Issachar and Asher were given to Manasseh: Beth-shan, F56 Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphoth-dor), F57 Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, with their respective villages. 12 But the descendants of Manasseh were unable to occupy these towns. They could not drive out the Canaanites who continued to live there. 13 Later on, however, when the Israelites became strong enough, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves. But they did not drive them out of the land.
14 The descendants of Joseph came to Joshua and asked, "Why have you given us only one portion of land when the LORD has given us so many people?" 15 Joshua replied, "If the hill country of Ephraim is not large enough for you, clear out land for yourselves in the forest where the Perizzites and Rephaites live." 16 They said, "The hill country is not enough for us, and the Canaanites in the lowlands around Beth-shan and the valley of Jezreel have iron chariots – they are too strong for us." 17 Then Joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph, "Since you are so large and strong, you will be given more than one portion. 18 The forests of the hill country will be yours as well. Clear as much of the land as you wish and live there. And I am sure you can drive out the Canaanites from the valleys, too, even though they are strong and have iron chariots."

For 5-24-07
Joshua 18
1 Now that the land was under Israelite control, the entire Israelite assembly gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tabernacle. F58
2 But there remained seven tribes who had not yet been allotted their inheritance. 3 Then Joshua asked them, "How long are you going to wait before taking possession of the remaining land the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given to you? 4 Select three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to survey the unconquered territory. They will return to me with a written report of their proposed divisions of the inheritance. 5 The scouts will map the land into seven sections, excluding Judah's territory in the south and Joseph's territory in the north. 6 Then I will cast sacred lots in the presence of the LORD our God to decide which section will be assigned to each tribe. 7 However, the Levites will not receive any land. Their role as priests of the LORD is their inheritance. And the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh won't receive any more land, for they have already received their inheritance, which Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave them on the east side of the Jordan River." 8 As the men who were mapping out the land started on their way, Joshua commanded them, "Go and survey the land. Then return to me with your written report, and I will assign the land to the tribes by casting sacred lots in the presence of the LORD here at Shiloh." 9 The men did as they were told and mapped the entire territory into seven sections, listing the towns in each section. Then they returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. 10 There at Shiloh, Joshua cast sacred lots in the presence of the LORD to determine which tribe should have each section.
11 The first allotment of land went to the families of the tribe of Benjamin. It lay between the territory previously assigned to the tribes of Judah and Joseph. 12 The northern boundary began at the Jordan River, went north of the slope of Jericho, then west through the hill country and the wilderness of Beth-aven. 13 From there the boundary went south to Luz (that is, Bethel) and proceeded down to Ataroth-addar to the top of the hill south of Lower Beth-horon. 14 The boundary then ran south along the western edge of the hill facing Beth-horon, ending at the village of Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), one of the towns belonging to the tribe of Judah. This was the western boundary. 15 The southern boundary began at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. From there it ran westward F59 to the spring at the waters of Nephtoah, F60 16 and down to the base of the mountain beside the valley of the son of Hinnom, at the northern end of the valley of Rephaim. From there it went down the valley of Hinnom, crossing south of the slope where the Jebusites lived, and continued down to En-rogel. 17 From En-rogel the boundary proceeded northeast to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth (which is across from the slopes of Adummim). Then it went down to the stone of Bohan. (Bohan was Reuben's son.) 18 From there it passed along the north side of the slope overlooking the Jordan Valley. F61 The border then went down into the valley, 19 ran past the north slope of Beth-hoglah, and ended at the north bay of the Dead Sea, F62 which is the southern end of the Jordan River. 20 The eastern boundary was the Jordan River. This was the inheritance for the families of the tribe of Benjamin. 21 These were the towns given to the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Kephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba – twelve towns with their villages. 25 Also Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Kephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim F63 – fourteen towns with their villages. This was the inheritance given to the families of the tribe of Benjamin.
FOOTNOTES:
F55 Hebrew the sea; also in 17:10.
F56 Hebrew Beth-shean, a variant name for Beth-shan; also in 17:16.
F57 The meaning of the Hebrew here is uncertain.
F58 Hebrew Tent of Meeting.
F59 Or it went to Ephron, and. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
F60 Or the spring at Me-nephtoah.
F61 Hebrew the Arabah.
F62 Hebrew Salt Sea.
F63 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads Kiriath.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Lena's Journalin to Joshua 16 Today

What is the inheritance exactly?
It is when God has His dream come true, through the Destined plan He set up to be fulfilled.
It is when people, any people, agree with Him and do His will.
We think we get something, and we do, but the main point is, God gets His!
Every word of God is inspired by God…every word.
Ephraim means the “place where fruit comes forth, to bring forth, increase, flourishes.”
One MUST be planted, and planted deep, for any fruit to grow, let alone be eatable. That means if we are speaking of a tree, we are speaking of a tree that has stayed put for awhile and has gone through some stuff!
Manasseh means “causing to forget.”
Our old life before Christ has passed away, all things are now of God, all things are made new in Christ. Forgiveness is huge to going on. HUGE!
The life of Christ is ALL about forgiveness.
Letting go and going on.
This passage though only 10 verse,s is packed full of a story of everyone of our journey’s in Christ.
It could easily be read to us this way, “So it was decided that those who stay through thick and thin, and endure to the end, and live a new life full of forgiveness, increased, they prospered, were given more responsibility!
This started in the Egyptian exodus.
Coming out of darkness and eternal slavery, then they went through being led through wilderness wanderings, and learning to trust God for everything. Next to the Jordan. That is the place where God is right, no matter what my opinion is on any given matter, and I’m humble enough to lay down my own thoughts to take His and go wherever it is He wants me to go.
It’s like joining a spiritual army of kingdom of God on earth seekers who are willing to engage in a fight and kill a few personal giants and slay some kings and take some kingdoms.
Now On to Jericho, where I do not live for my own goals or own enjoyment, but I believe and live as though I reflect Him, and represent Him as a kingdom of God on earth ambassador!
And to also Bethel, the establishing of God’s house in my house!
Luz again means more fruit,
Ataroth – longevity (of a genuine faith and faithfulness),
Arkites – those who wear glory crowns.
Crowned ones rule, which is accordance with the original Genesis mandate. Remember?
Be fruitful (Ephraim, Luz)
Multilpy (Ephraim, Joseph)
Replenish (Manasseh - going on to other purposes)
Fill Full (Bethel)
Rule (Arkites)

Are you yet reaching out to help someone else journey?
Look at these-
Japheleti – lets him escape, let him go!
Beth-horon – house of hallowness, that’s a life of holiness and purity, because we decided to live this way. A consecrated life!

Gezer - portion.
WHAT IS your portion in this life?
It is ALL of the above!

So, we ask, what has God got for me?

Well, let me ask you, what do you have for Him?
What have you given Him? How much of your life is reserved for the taking over of His kingdom instead of yours in the earth?

As much as we give, is as much as we get.
For God is not mocked; What we sow, we shall also reap.
This is where the rest of God comes into play.

We don’t truly rest until He gets His? Not really.
Now, we can take a break, but that is not true rest.

True rest, is when we do His will and He gets His will done, then we both rest, even when we work at it, really.

So rest while working? Yes, exactly. You got it! What a life, huh?

THAT is the blessing of God. We will struggle in our own blood, as long as we try to have our own blood sustain us, seriously.
The main struggle most of us have in our Christian walk is trying to get our ways blessed by God or working out what we think is His stuff, our own way.
The promised land is us working it His way.
There is rest in that, a ceasing from our own labors, yet getting so much work accomplished.
The difference between a servant and a slave?
Attitude, mindset, willingness vs. unwillingness.
The people of Gezer live as slaves among the Canaanites to this day.
Slaves can be freed and still be slaves in their mentality.
What about you?
Are you willing to do God’s will His way, or yours and then ask His blessing on it?
This may be the difference in the totality of your freedom walked in.
Yoke is easy, burden light…

Joshua 10 Today

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God Bless You Today, Lena B
Joshua 16
The Inheritance of Ephraim and West Manasseh
The allotment to the descendants of Joseph extended from the Jordan River near Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, through the wilderness and into the hill country of Bethel. 2From Bethel (that is, Luz) F53 it ran over to Ataroth in the territory of the Arkites. 3Then it descended westward to the territory of the Japhletites as far as Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer and on over to the Mediterranean Sea. F54
The Land Given to Ephraim
14The families of Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.
5The following territory was given to the families of the tribe of Ephraim as their inheritance.
The eastern boundary of their inheritance began at Ataroth-addar. From there it ran to Upper Beth-horon, 6then on to the Mediterranean Sea. The northern boundary began at the Mediterranean, ran east past Micmethath, then curved eastward past Taanath-shiloh to the east of Janoah. 7From Janoah it turned southward to Ataroth and Naarah, touched Jericho, and ended at the Jordan River. 8From Tappuah the border extended westward, following the Kanah Ravine to the Mediterranean Sea. This is the inheritance given to the families of the tribe of Ephraim.
9Ephraim was also given some towns with surrounding villages in the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh. 10They did not drive the Canaanites out of Gezer, however, so the people of Gezer live as slaves among the people of Ephraim to this day.
FOOTNOTES:
F53: As in Greek version (also see 18:13); Hebrew reads From Bethel to Luz.
F54: Hebrew the sea; also in 16:6, 8.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Lena Journals to Joshua 15 Today

God has a vision and a plan for each person, family, neighborhood, city, county, state, country, continent and the world.
Jesus said go into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost places of the earth and be who I Am, show who I Am, preach with living proofs, be the demonstration of God inside of a human being, show who I still Am today, the same as yesterday and forever. Be My image and likeness in the earth.
Why so much land, why so many family and city names, why is God so specific in all of this?
How much do we need Him?
How much do we need freed out of an eternal death grip?
How much do we want God’s enemy to have of our lives and that of our families’ lives?
It is important to Our Father that we not settle and give in to the enemy having any way with us or our continued generations.
Has righteous indignation ever risen in you for others souls?
Jesus rescued us out of the mouth of the loin, tore the fangs of the enemy, out of his death grip jaw and pried us out. Do we appreciate that at all? Do we understand the enemy may be doing that with some of our family members? Will we stand for it? Or will we be like David was and take a sling and a stone and take out the lion and the bear for others in intercessory prayer and declaration of Gods promised words for us and our holy seed?
The sling is our mouths and the stone God’s word on the matter.
WHAT is coming out of your mouth about your family, your boss, your job, your circumstances, your neighbors, your church leaders, your community and governments? Who do you agree with on matters? God and His word, even when you do not see it enough to label it? We’re not speaking of telling someone what we see, no, we are speaking about agreeing with God by faith for what it is He wants us to see, but what we may never see if we do not call a dead thing alive as he did Lazarus. With His power-filled God spoken words a dead man came walking out of a grave in death rags!
There is power in unity and agreement. Who and what are we unifying with?
Are you a news reporter, only saying what you see, declaring what is, no matter how bad it is?
Or are you a creative being, who is not subjected to the seen world only, but are inventive and vision minded, seeing beyond sight (Right, Leuwynda?)
There’s a land we each must take. That is the land of me. I have to take possession of it for Jesus, for His work. I must be arrested, and willfully submitted to His own will and the ability to execute it at any whim. I, as a Christian, become one with Jesus, with a desire and follow up action to do His will above my own will and innate desires.
Only after I live this way, do I really have anything to preach. My life preaches, of His life at work actively in me. That validates His words, when I live them.
My children and grandchildren need to see this. They need someone to show them the way God prepared for them to walk in. Yes, we can learn from other’s mistakes, they can learn from me if I never do anything right, but it’d be way better, if I truly show them the way in demonstration, in living breathing demonstration of fruit that shows Christ IS alive in me today, He’s still alive today.
Should the fruits of God’s spirit alive in us be acted out? No, it needs to grow and develop. Should it only be developed and demonstrated at church? No, church is merely the training ground for the fruit to grow from the proper place, rooted and grounded in a loving environment. There should be people around us regularly enough and that are allowed to get close enough to us to tell us where we might embarrass ourselves and poorly represent God and His body so that we see our way clearer can practice and perfect that and take it to a needy world. The world needs to know someone can change and be changed forever. They need to know that they too can come in one way and go out another. They need to know that there is a field, that is a seed bed of intimacy for growth. Intimacy does not mean I’m loved as I am and am just left the same, it means something is able to be planted in me that makes a huge change in me, causes me to become another way, and give something to the world I was not able to give before, whether it is another person, a new life, or food for the hungry.
The field is the Lord’s if one gives it to Him to plant, water, and bring forth increase.
How dare the enemy be allowed by us, to inhabit any land we can access!
Lord, help stir me up to do that which purposely increases my faith by stretching me beyond my own measure today. Let’s not wait to grow. Let’s grow up in Him unto the full stature of the measure of Christ. The world is awaiting little Christ’s, grown Christ’s and big giant fully developed Christ’s!
Generations and generations of Christs.
Generations have been lost to compromise and to hypocrisy. It is time for the real Christ in us to arise, take the risk of dying to self centered existence and be the demonstration of Him in the earth now in our day. We cannot allow further loss of spirit life, eternal life. That is what is at stake, unbelieving nations and generations. Can we let that stand?
How can one be a part of the victorious ending?
Start at home, start at work, start in your neighborhood and community. Go outside of yourself and your mind and emanate Him, by doing His will. Remove the religious thoughts of preachers being the ones hired to be the only ones who live this way.
No, it is also believers and Christians live this way.
Onward Christian Soldier. Onward.