Todays' TRC DB w/ Lena's Journalin to Joel 2

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.

Joel 2:1-32
Locusts Invade like an Army
1Blow the trumpet in Jerusalem F3 ! Sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the LORD is upon us. 2It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of thick clouds and deep blackness. Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains, a mighty army appears! How great and powerful they are! The likes of them have not been seen before and never will be seen again.
3Fire burns in front of them and follows them in every direction! Ahead of them the land lies as fair as the Garden of Eden in all its beauty. Behind them is nothing but desolation; not one thing escapes. 4They look like tiny horses, and they run as fast. 5Look at them as they leap along the mountaintops! Listen to the noise they make—like the rumbling of chariots, like the roar of a fire sweeping across a field, or like a mighty army moving into battle.
6Fear grips all the people; every face grows pale with fright. 7The attackers march like warriors and scale city walls like trained soldiers. Straight forward they march, never breaking rank. 8They never jostle each other; each moves in exactly the right place. They lunge through the gaps, and no weapon can stop them. 9They swarm over the city and run along its walls. They enter all the houses, climbing like thieves through the windows.
10The earth quakes as they advance, and the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine. 11The LORD leads them with a shout! This is his mighty army, and they follow his orders. The day of the LORD is an awesome, terrible thing. Who can endure it?
A Call to Repentance
12That is why the LORD says, "Turn to me now, while there is time! Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. 13Don't tear your clothing in your grief; instead, tear your hearts." Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful. He is not easily angered. He is filled with kindness and is eager not to punish you. 14Who knows? Perhaps even yet he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this terrible curse. Perhaps he will give you so much that you will be able to offer grain and wine to the LORD your God as before!
15Blow the trumpet in Jerusalem! Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting. 16Bring everyone—the elders, the children, and even the babies. Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her private room. 17The priests, who minister in the LORD's presence, will stand between the people and the altar, weeping. Let them pray, "Spare your people, LORD! They belong to you, so don't let them become an object of mockery. Don't let their name become a proverb of unbelieving foreigners who say, 'Where is the God of Israel? He must be helpless!'"
The LORD's Promise of Restoration
18Then the LORD will pity his people and be indignant for the honor of his land! 19He will reply, "Look! I am sending you grain and wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy your needs. You will no longer be an object of mockery among the surrounding nations. 20I will remove these armies from the north and send them far away. I will drive them back into the parched wastelands, where they will die. Those in the rear will go into the Dead Sea; those at the front will go into the Mediterranean. F4 The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land." Surely the LORD has done great things! 21Don't be afraid, my people! Be glad now and rejoice because the LORD has done great things. 22Don't be afraid, you animals of the field! The pastures will soon be green. The trees will again be filled with luscious fruit; fig trees and grapevines will flourish once more. 23Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem! Rejoice in the LORD your God! For the rains he sends are an expression of his grace. Once more the autumn rains will come, as well as the rains of spring. 24The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain, and the presses will overflow with wine and olive oil.
25The LORD says, "I will give you back what you lost to the stripping locusts, the cutting locusts, the swarming locusts, and the hopping locusts. F5 It was I who sent this great destroying army against you. 26Once again you will have all the food you want, and you will praise the LORD your God, who does these miracles for you. Never again will my people be disgraced like this. 27Then you will know that I am here among my people of Israel and that I alone am the LORD your God. My people will never again be disgraced like this.
The LORD's Promise of His Spirit
28"Then after I have poured out my rains again, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. 29In those days, I will pour out my Spirit even on servants, men and women alike.
30"I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon will turn bloodred before that great and terrible day of the LORD arrives. 32And anyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. There will be people on Mount Zion in Jerusalem who escape, just as the LORD has said. These will be among the survivors whom the LORD has called.
FOOTNOTES:F3: Hebrew Zion; also in 2:15, 23. F4: Hebrew the eastern sea; . . . the western sea. F5: The precise identification of the four kinds of locusts mentioned here is uncertain.


Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

~Lena’s Journalin’ ~
Blow the trumpet in Zion. Who or what is Zion? Once again, it is God’s church. Did you realize that most of the warnings of the Bible are to the “saved” people, the church? If we read it as though we are the ones personally warned and commissioned, we may read it differently. Notice the theme we are presently on is one of waking up, and of answering a call given, as though it is very imperative to move forward in growth and progression.
The Lord is assembling a mighty army in the earth, His living breathing body is being assembled in demonstration of His power and great love. The times are serious times, the earth groans and travails for this manifestation of the SONS of God, not the babies of God, nor the children of God, but those who will rise up in the supernatural strength of His power in spite of their own weakness, they serve His purposes in earth, they assemble for what He sees. They intercede, they stand in gaps for others that someone, anyone would be saved, that He would be glorified.
Who will hear the call, the alarm, the cry, the trumpet, the voice? The army will, the assembled ones, who assemble unto Him for battle against His enemy, those who are enlisted, those who serve Him, in allegiance with Him, in Holy covenant with Him. Whom, but those who hear His voice, who know His joyful and beautiful sound. These will waken, will hearken, will move, will advance, will listen and do.
What is an alarm? It is a signal, a warning given to act upon quickly. So those who act quickly on His words will assemble unto Him.
Do you hear warnings from God now, in our day? This is training time, this is preparation time, not casual “if I want to or if I feel like it today” preparation, but” I’m going to war” preparation.
Soldiers hear warnings and prepare. Are you engaged? Arrayed for battle? Been assigned yet? In training? Under discipline? Under command? Under authority? Adorned? If not, watch your head. If not you are alone. The covered are engaged. The protected are involved.
Recently a minister visited our fellowship and told us a story of Alexander the Great who was engaged in a battle, a young soldier was scared and began to run away from the fight, he was going “home”. Alexander saw him running away and left the battle to go after Him. As they met, the warrior leader asked the youth’s name. The youth responded, “My name is Alexander”. The warrior said to him, “Soldier, either change your direction or change your name!”. What are you calling yourself these days? Christian? Believer? Be-liver?
Change is the order of God’s Day. Today is the day, now is the time of salvation. There’s no time to waste. God is telling us something very important if we are listening for His voice we will hear it.
It says here, this is what a Mighty army comprises of, those who follow His orders. Orders? Yes, orders. No one who has any seed of rebellion in them likes to take orders, right? Don’t tell me what to do, don’t correct me, don’t give me any suggestions, I’m big enough to take care of myself, right?
When “The Day of the Lord” is in its full manifestation, I would not prefer to stand all by myself, yet if I do not engage now in being told what to do, I will stand alone without His help. We want independence, we’ve been taught it all of our lives, we live in the good ol’ USA, the land of the free, home of the brave, an unassembled army of individuals who will not be told what to do.
What good will all of that do us, when it is time for battle? The enemy has come to us within, is dividing us and will conquer us, if we are only an American. But, if we are a Christian in word and deed, submitted to God and others in the fear of the Lord, taking orders of our heavenly King, we cannot be separated from His great love.
OK, so you and I find ourselves undisciplined, deaf to His voice, independent in spirit, what now? Change. Change who we were, to who we are. Leave the past behind, become as He is, answer His call, lay down the old rebellious natured man, who refused God, who refused instruction and correction, who butted against truth. Repentance means change direction, turn around and walk another way. REPENT.
When we change, we turn around, He removes the stench that those who’ve called themselves His bride have brought in the earth and he also takes away the shame. Repentance opens up windows and doors that were glued shut. The very windows that withheld blessings and provision. We wondered where it all was, it was being held up until we took obedience keys and opened it up. What we ourselves cried out for and looked for and asked for was there all of the time, it was a matter of letting it go.
The restoration becomes evident to us in repentance. It was there all the time, only a turn away, a right turn away.
When a person dreams and sees visions, that person is healed by God’s love. Love obeys God. Love sees, love hears, love dreams again.
One cannot prophecy unless influenced by God’s spirit. There are many influences in life, which are we influenced by? Why do we desire any other influences except His? Why would we be in the practice of following any others? If we do not weed out the other voices in life, we may not hear the call of the day, we may not assemble and I can tell you for a fact, we will regret that day, we will wish we had done all we were asked. This is a day of grace, why not turn around and come under His influence?
Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will escape destruction of the eternal nature. Those delivered will be found inside of Zion, not outside of Zion. Do you name the name of Christ? Are you running away to find an escape from the battle of the Lord? Change your direction or change your name! Those who bear His name will not only escape the doom of battle, but the doom of hell’s fire for eternity and most of all, they will dwell in His presence forever!

Daily Repetitive Verses:

John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.