Podcasts about Beersheba

Garth Heckman The David Alliance TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com    [Verse 1] What have I gotta do to make you love me? What have I gotta do to make you care? What do I do when lightning strikes me And I wake to find that you're not there? [Verse 2] What do I do to make you want me? What have I gotta do to be heard? What do I say when it's all over? And sorry seems to be the hardest word [Chorus] It's sad (So sad), so sad It's a sad, sad situation And it's gettin' more and more absurd It's sad (So sad), so sad Why can't we talk it over? Oh, it seems to me That sorry seems to be the hardest word     The life of Allan The life of Mitch The life of Bill The life of Lief The life of Connor The life of Londa The life of Dane The life of Shane The life of Chris And finally the life of Joash in 2 Chron. 22-24   He was the king of crash and burn… started out right but ran off the tracks in a hurry… Let me catch you up to speed.    Two kingdoms.  Judah   and             Israel Jehoshaphat Ahab and Jezebel Jehoram (reigned 8 yr) Marries Athaliah  Ahaziah - Murdered @ 1 yr Athaliah kills her grandsons and takes the throne   Joash is saved by Jehosheba (Ahaziah's sister) Wife of the priest Jehoiadah    Ahab and Jezebel had a daughter Athaliah She marries Jehoshappaht. Jehoshaphat dies and his son (Jehoram) becomes king (Athaliahs son) Jehoram gets killed So his mother kills all her grandsons and assumes the throne. BUT… one of the grandsons is spared - Joash!       2 Chronicles 24:Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest.     17 But after Jehoiada's death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash and persuaded him to listen to their advice   PERSAUDED HB Shaw-Maw Using the persons appetites and weaknesses they gave him consent to do what would be easiest and best for him.    A young girl or boy has appetites to be liked, to be loved, to be accepted… if you just go with the crowd, if you just give in to sexual urges or peer pressure to do what will make you liked… If you are told your parents don't understand… YOU CAN BE PERSUADED.  All of us have physical appetites/fleshly appetites Lust, sex, greed, apathy, laziness, anger, Gluttony    We have emotional appetites To be needed, feel wanted, accepted, loved, cared for. We also have emotional needs to want to hate, strike back, hurt those who hurt us, to distrust, to be and stay bitter.   There will always be people who will persuade or feed those desires… And if you listen you will cut short your blessings and maybe even your future in heaven.    2 Chron. 24: 20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: Why do you disobey the Lord's commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord, and now he has abandoned you!”

The prophet Amos is famous as a fig-farmer who lived in the southern kingdom of Judah, but prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel. When I think of Amos I am reminded of the problem of place-idolatry, of religious formalism and the placing of our trust in things other than or in addition to the God of Israel. Jenny and I call this "Yahweh-plus," and we think it is definitional of idolatry itself, as in direct conflict with the fundament from which all else follows: Matthew 22:37–38 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. When places (or even structures/temples/cathedrals and churches) become religiously important in their own right idolatry is either looming or already present. Amos 5:4–7: ... thus says the LORD to the house of Israel:   “Seek me and live; but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.”   Seek the LORD and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel, O you who turn justice to wormwood and cast down righteousness to the earth!   As always, getting an overview from a secondary source like this helpful video useful, but should never be a substitute for reading it yourself, allowing God's spirit to instruct you. Perhaps you will find the next great insight in Amos! God's wisdom and instruction in His word is infinitely deep: https://youtu.be/mGgWaPGpGz4?si=NdT60fNResrdLNyd

There Is Still Good Ahead1 Kings 19:3-9 ““Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it, and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once, an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”  He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.”I heard an episode of the Big Life Podcast last week, and it reminded me of the story about the prophet Elijah that I just read to you. As soon as I heard it, I felt the Holy Spirit wanted me to share it with all of you this week.What came to mind when I heard this verse is that it might be helpful to know that Elijah wanted to give up. In case you don't know who Elijah is, let me summarize who he was. Elijah was a prophet of God in the Old Testament, known for his bold faith, miraculous acts, and deep emotional struggles. He lived during the reign of King Ahab in 9th century B.C. Israel, a time when the nation had turned away from God to worship false gods like Baal. Here are some Key Highlights of Elijah's Life:Confronted King Ahab and JezebelElijah boldly declared a drought as God's judgment (1 Kings 17:1) and later challenged the corrupt leadership promoting idolatry.Miracles by God's PowerMultiplied flour and oil for a widow (1 Kings 17:14–16)Raised her son from the dead (1 Kings 17:22)Called down fire from heaven to prove God's power on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:36–38)Ran for His Life and Struggled with DespairAfter his great victory, Queen Jezebel threatened his life. Elijah fled, became discouraged, and asked God to take his life (1 Kings 19:4).God met him in a gentle whisper, showing that God's presence isn't always dramatic—it's personal and close (1 Kings 19:11–13).Taken to HeavenElijah never died—God took him to heaven in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11), making him one of only two people in the Bible (with Enoch) who didn't experience death.Symbol of the ProphetsElijah later appears with Moses during Jesus' Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3), representing the prophets alongside the law (Moses).Elijah did a lot for the Lord. He was close to the Lord, and the Lord used him to do amazing things! He knew how mighty the Lord was, yet he felt he wanted to die. He felt like what the Lord asked him to do was too great. Sometimes, when we feel like giving up, we feel weak. We feel like we have failed or let the Lord down because He trusted us, yet we feel we can't go on anymore. If you feel this, I want you to know that you are not alone. There are several people in the Bible—deeply faithful, even heroic people—who reached a breaking point and felt like they couldn't go on. Some even asked God to take their lives. These moments show that God isn't afraid of our despair—He meets us in it, and He restores. Here are some of those people and where you can find their stories in the Bible in case you want to look them up and read more about them.Throughout Scripture, we see that even God's most faithful servants reached moments where they felt like they couldn't go on. Elijah,1 Kings 19:4 “He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,' he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.'” Elijah, after boldly confronting false prophets, fled in fear and isolation, collapsing under a tree and begging God to take his life. He felt completely alone—yet God met him not with punishment, but with rest, nourishment, and a quiet whisper of presence. Like Elijah, when we are drained and overwhelmed, God offers compassion, not condemnation.Moses, Numbers 11:14–15 “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me…” Moses, exhausted by the emotional and logistical burden of leading a complaining people through the wilderness, cried out to God, saying he'd rather die than continue carrying the weight alone. God didn't take his life—He sent help. For us, this reminds us that we don't have to carry everything ourselves; God provides support in community.Job, Job 3:11 “Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?”Job, who lost everything—his children, health, and livelihood—wished he'd never been born. He poured out bitter questions and deep grief. And yet, God patiently listened, answered with presence and power, and ultimately restored him. Like Job, our suffering doesn't disqualify us from God's love.Jeremiah 20:14, 18 “Cursed be the day I was born! … Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?”Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet, was mocked, beaten, and ignored. He cursed the day of his birth, feeling like his life was wasted. But God never revoked his calling—He reassured Jeremiah that his voice still mattered. When we feel like our lives have no impact, God sees eternal value in our faithfulness.Jonah, Jonah 4:3 “Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” Jonah, bitter that God showed mercy to his enemies, sulked under a plant and asked to die. God responded not with wrath, but with a question, inviting Jonah to see the world through a lens of compassion. This shows us that God works with us even when our attitudes fall short.Finally, Paul, 2 Corinthians 1:8 “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.” Paul confessed that he and his companions were burdened beyond their ability to endure—so much so that they "despaired of life itself." And yet, this deep despair drove Paul to deeper reliance on God. His story reminds us that feeling overwhelmed is not the end—it can be the beginning of a deeper trust. In every story, God meets brokenness not with rejection, but with grace, purpose, and presence, offering the same to us today.The point of the Big Life podcast that I listened to is that there is life after this hard season that you are going through. None of the people listed above stayed in the difficult season forever, even thought it might have felt like they were going to. They had moments when they called out to the Lord saying they couldn't make it any longer, and yet they all made it through the hard time. God showed up for each one of them and showed them how loved they are. He will do the same for you.After their breaking points, each of these men went on to live with renewed purpose, proving that God can bring beauty out of despair. Elijah, after begging God to take his life, was gently restored by God's presence and went on to train Elisha, his prophetic successor, leaving a lasting legacy. He even became one of only two people in Scripture who never died—he was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire.Moses, after pleading for death under the burden of leadership, received help through 70 elders and continued to lead Israel toward the Promised Land. He experienced God's presence in deeper ways, even speaking to Him “face to face,” and was honored at the end of his life for his faithfulness.Job, after cursing his birth, encountered God in a deeply personal way. God didn't just restore what Job had lost—He blessed him with double what he had before and gave him a new chapter of joy, family, and peace.Jeremiah, though weary and rejected, faithfully kept speaking God's truth. His words endured, and we still read his laments and prophecies today—proof that even painful obedience has eternal value.Jonah, despite his anger and desire to give up, still completed his mission. The entire city of Nineveh repented and turned to God, one of the greatest mass revivals in Scripture, even if Jonah struggled to celebrate it. God still used him, flaws and all.Paul, after saying he “despaired of life itself,” continued his missionary journeys, wrote most of the New Testament, and encouraged countless believers, many while in chains. His despair didn't disqualify him—it became the soil on which deeper trust and greater impact grew.These stories remind us that our lowest moments are not the end of the story. God doesn't discard us when we're weak. Instead, He draws near, strengthens us, and leads us into a future still full of purpose, impact, and hope. There is life after the breaking point—and with God, it can be more meaningful than before.Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening. Lord, I ask you to come in a special way to all those who feel like they can't go on. To all those who feel like life is too hard, or what you are calling them to do is too hard. We ask you to send the Holy Spirit to strengthen them and renew their hope. Show them that there is life after this challenging season. Please show them you are there with them and that they can do everything through you. Lift them, Lord, and help them persevere through whatever they are going through until they get to the other side. Help them climb this mountain they are facing. We love you and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus's holy name, Amen!!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. It is that time of year again when I start to mention the retreat I will be holding in October. It is not open for registration yet, but I would like to mention it early so people can start thinking about it. It is always the second weekend in October. This year's theme will be Identity: Who does God say you are? It will be great, and I hope you can join me! More details to follow. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are and so do I! Have a blessed day!Today's Word from the Lord was received in October 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today's Word from the Lord is, “Give yourself to me always. I will renew you each day. You are mine and I love you.”  www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

The prophet Amos is famous as a fig-farmer who lived in the southern kingdom of Judah, but prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel. When I think of Amos I am reminded of the problem of place-idolatry, of religious formalism and the placing of our trust in things other than or in addition to the God of Israel. Jenny and I call this "Yahweh-plus," and we think it is definitional of idolatry itself, as in direct conflict with the fundament from which all else follows: Matthew 22:37–38 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. When places (or even structures/temples/cathedrals and churches) become religiously important in their own right idolatry is either looming or already present. Amos 5:4–7: ... thus says the LORD to the house of Israel:   “Seek me and live; but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.”   Seek the LORD and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel, O you who turn justice to wormwood and cast down righteousness to the earth!   As always, getting an overview from a secondary source like this helpful video useful, but should never be a substitute for reading it yourself, allowing God's spirit to instruct you. Perhaps you will find the next great insight in Amos! God's wisdom and instruction in His word is infinitely deep: https://youtu.be/mGgWaPGpGz4?si=NdT60fNResrdLNyd

Sermon Outline: The Remnant are those who worship to seek God rather than avoid Him Those who embrace injustice should fear the power of God Passover is only for those who turn away from sin towards God Worship to avoid God will not save you from the Day of the Lord The Remnants Rest is in God alone Family Discussion Questions: What bad things did Amos tell Israel they had done? Why did they think that God would not punish them even though they were guilty? Should everyone be happy for Jesus to return? Should everyone be sad for Jesus to return? What did the Israelites say when people mentioned Gods name? Different portions of scripture focus on different sins. What sin is the focus of this passage, and how might we be guilty of the same kinds of sin? Bethel, Gilgal and Beersheba were places of religious comfort for the people. Why? Should they have been? People often take comfort that when others wrong them, they can run to the Lord for protection. Is this always true? How do you explain the fact that God commanded the sacrifices which He now in this passage says are annoying to Him? How might we, in the New Testament, learn from this attitude of worship? How does this passage instruct us about how (and how not) to approach material comforts? What might you tell someone who claims to be seeking Christ, but will not seek holiness? How is the message of the remnant both a warning and an invitation? How does this passage prepare us to understand and share the Gospel?

“From that time on, that place was called Beersheba. That name means water-hole where they made a promise. It was where Abraham and Abimelek made strong promises to each other.”Genesis 21:31 PEV

Navigating Change with God - Genesis 46 In this week's message, Andy shares a relatable anecdote about a mix-up at an airport, using it as a springboard to explore the theme of unexpected change and God's guidance. Drawing from Genesis 46, he unpacks Jacob's journey as a metaphor for the church's own transitions, specifically the shift to multiple Sunday services and the broader mission within the local community. Andy begins by highlighting the human element of the Genesis narrative. Jacob, settled in Canaan, the land promised by God, is suddenly faced with uprooting his entire family to move to Egypt to reunite with Joseph. This move represents a significant upheaval, a departure from familiar territory and perceived divine promises. Andy draws parallels to the experiences of those who have been displaced, acknowledging the pain and trauma associated with such transitions. The core message revolves around the idea that God often leads us through unexpected changes, challenging our preconceived notions of His plans. Just as Jacob had to let go of his understanding of God's promises in Canaan, we too must be open to God's redirection. Andy emphasizes that these shifts, while unsettling, are part of God's larger, unfolding plan. He identifies four key actions within the Genesis passage that provide guidance for navigating change: two human responses and two divine actions. Beersheba: Returning to the Cross (Genesis 46:1) Jacob's act of offering sacrifices at Beersheba, a place of significant spiritual history for his family, symbolizes the importance of returning to a place of worship and surrender. For us, this means consistently returning to the cross of Jesus Christ, especially during times of uncertainty. Andy emphasizes the importance of worship, sacrifice, surrender, prayer, and calling on God during times of change. He links this to the Easter season, highlighting the cross as a place of reconciliation and transformation. Responding to God's Voice (Genesis 46:2) God calls Jacob by name, prompting an immediate and attentive response. Andy stresses the importance of listening to God, of giving Him our undivided attention, and of being personally responsive to His call. In a world filled with distractions, we must actively seek God's voice and be ready to obey. God's Contextual Revelation (Genesis 46:3) God reminds Jacob that He is the God of his fathers, Abraham and Isaac, providing context for the current situation. This highlights that God's plans are far greater than individual circumstances. Andy connects this to God's overarching plan of redemption, emphasizing that our lives are part of a larger narrative. He references Genesis 15, where God foretells the sojourn in Egypt, illustrating that God's promises are being fulfilled. Andy encourages the audience to see their roles within God's grand design. God's Assurances (Genesis 46:3-4) God offers three "I will" statements: "I will make you into a great nation," "I will go down to Egypt with you," and "I will surely bring you back again." These promises provide comfort and assurance in the face of uncertainty. God's plans are not disrupted by geographical changes; He remains faithful to His promises. Andy highlights that God's presence and promises provide stability amidst turmoil. He also speaks about the idea of building for a future that we might not see, echoing the faith of the patriarchs in Hebrews 11. Andy applies these principles to the church's current situation, acknowledging the anxieties and questions surrounding the shift to multiple services and the community outreach projects. He emphasizes that these changes are part of God's plan to reach the local community and expand His kingdom. He encourages the church to embrace these changes with faith, trusting in God's promises and guidance. He closes by emphasising that God is building his church, and we are part of that process, even if we do not see the full outcome of our work. Andy reminds the congregation that their role is to participate in God's long-term plan, to be faithful, and to trust that God will ultimately fulfill His purposes. Bible References: Genesis 15:12-16 Genesis 46:1-4 Hebrews 11 Hebrews 12 Transcript do that great thing you sometimes need to do in airports and sit around and while away the time well while they saw to do a lot and then I noticed from where I was sat that it started boarding at a gate I could see so I went over to it and I queued up and I got to the gate and I showed my passport and boarding ticket and they waved me on and I went on down down the planes one of those planes with three seats either side of one of those really awful narrow aisles you know so you're walking down like this with your bags trying to get and because my seat was right at the back of the plane so I got to the back of the plane no somebody sat in my seat how dare you I've had a long week of work I'm trying to get home what are you doing in my seat and and the lady who sat there gets out her ticket and we compare tickets and it says the same seat number on both tickets yeah and then it slowly dawns I'm on the wrong plane yeah because cuz so my flight had been delayed and I was now standing on what was the next flight to Manchester whereas my original flight was even later alas so so so of course I'm right at the end of the plane with my bags and everybody else is coming down that very narrow aisle so I've now got it excuse me excuse me excuse me go and I get back to work to the gate I come back through the gate and the lady there says oh I'm so glad you've come back I shouldn't have let you on airport security brilliant anyway I tell that story because sometimes we end up in a place where we think we're in the right place and we're not we're actually need to be somewhere else somewhere different and as we get to Genesis 46 this morning I'm very I'm kind of intrigued by the way we've reached this chapter over the day we've announced moving to multiple services because I think and I hope you'll see this with me but there are some things here to help us navigate what's going to happen to us as a church as we move forward from here because we're now into the ending of Joseph the Joseph story all right and we've all enjoyed it for what seems like months I'm sure it was just weeks but we've all enjoyed it and we're now focus is shifting back slightly to Jacob so remember Genesis is about these three main guys Iberha Abraham Abraham his son Isaac and his son Jacob and focus in the Joseph story is now shifting back to Jacob and in one sense as we look as we've seen before we'll look at the human level to the story okay there's what's going on and the characters that are mentioned so so this is the culmination of Joseph's story we've seen how God's worked in him we've seen how he went through the whole thing of being thrown into the system by his brothers being sold into slavery ending up as a slave in Egypt being put in prison falsely being there for a number of years Pharaoh bringing him out so he's coming interpret his dreams and now whoosh he's number two in the land and he's in charge of all the food is in charge of deciding what tariffs to put on it and he's got that much power and he's dishing it out to the people in Egypt and the people from the nation's roundabout he is the guy with the power and we've seen all of that and now the story is coming he's reunited with his brothers and so he sends from Egypt lots of carts and stuff to go and gather his dad Jacob the rest of his brothers the whole family and all their livestock and have them come and move and live with him in Egypt where they can find all the food they're gonna need and they can be reunited as a family and so it's about Joseph sending to Canaan to gather the whole family and bring them back and you just think for a moment you know for Jacob he lived the latter part of his life in Canaan that was that was where he settled that's where his home was and that that was the land he knew that God had promised he would give to his people you know the promises that started off when God spoke to Abraham then Isaac and Jacob himself had heard about his descendants being as numerous as the sand on the seashore and God will give him a promised land to live in the land of Canaan so Jacob thinks I'm here I'm in the promised land of Canaan and now it looks like he's going to be uprooted and moved to Egypt you know and there are a number of you in this room that know what it means to be uprooted from your homeland and move somewhere else and go somewhere else and there's a lot of pain and trauma with that whole thing and it's a massive deal okay for it to happen and so you know for Jacob this is the land where his dad's buried where his granddad's buried where his wives are buried this is the land that he's lived out for the latter part of his life and now he's to leave all of that of course he wants to see Joseph absolutely and that's why he's going but nevertheless he's got to leave the land of promise in order to achieve that in order to get there you know and the story like so many of the chapters we've had today are like those movies with subplots you know all the time there's the big story that's going on but then there's a subplot happening and and what's happening with Joseph and Jacob is like a subplot to the big thing that's going on you know so one of my favorite films I'm sorry Saving Private Ryan is about Saving Private Ryan but it's in the context of a big issue of a war going on right that's the big thing so here there's a big story going on which is God's plan and purposes and God's promises to fulfill those plans and purposes and underneath that as we look at the story it's about Jacob and Joseph but there's this bigger thing going on this is a story so for Jacob this becomes a story about letting go of what you thought God was going to do this is a story about letting go of where you thought God had brought you to I'm in the promised land this is what God had promised yes but hang on a minute now he seems to be saying we need to move but how can we move when this is the place he brought us to and this we know is the promised land and if Jacob maybe for you and definitely for me sometimes we we build up a picture I thought God was like this I thought God was going to do this you know and we build up what we think God is like and what we think he will do and how we think the Holy Spirit will move based on our experience based on our reading a scripture and then every so often God comes along and and all his cards fall down and suddenly we're thinking oh wait a minute have I got that right I got that wrong what's going you know because we settle a bit like Jacob and we think this is it now this is what it's like following God and then just when we think we've got it God throws it all up in the air our assumptions our expectations our security and the and it all starts to land a little bit different you know for Jacob it's time to leave Canaan the land that was promised to him by God and go to Egypt does that mean God has given up on his plans does that mean God has forgotten his promises you know for Jacob does that would do will he start to think well hang on a minute if I haven't got that right maybe I've not got anything about God right ever been there thought like that and you know answer all these questions would come up because like it or not we are creatures of habit we don't like change and yet change is here to stay right but we don't like it and we develop our ideas of what God is like and what he will do and how he will move and then one day whoosh he's like he whips the rug out from under our feet oh you don't do it like that after all I thought you did God yeah I remember when our kids were going up there was sometimes lay the table for us for the meal you know and they read it really neatly and very kind of bizarrely structured you know with the the knife fork spoon salt pepper napkin drinks glass bottle all very neatly and every day it was exactly the same and sometimes I used to lose the love to go to the table and they weren't looking and do all that and it would freak them out you know don't do that don't do that I've laid it all out nice and neatly and you know it is sometimes it's like that we get our senses of this is what God is about we are in the Promised Land now and he loves to come along and just do all this it's like some of those Tommy Cooper jokes if you feel that age and it's hard isn't it it's difficult because you we just we think we've got it and then we realize we haven't and then we have a big challenge as we see Jacob does here and Rob what actually God is doing when that happens is he is leading us into the next part of his plan and our place like that you know it's like you made Jesus at the end of his life he's telling the disciples I'm gonna die I'm gonna go away and it's better for you that I do that and they're like no Peter's like no it's really good Lord that you we're having a great time we can how well we're hanging out together and we're loving it don't don't leave I'd be really bad and Jesus has to explain to them that actually it's better for you that I go because then I will send the Holy Spirit with you and they don't get it until after the resurrection right of course but but it's like that we build an expectation as we walk with Jesus well this is good this is comfortable I get it and then suddenly it changes because he is leading us into the next part of his plan because God does lead us into big changes right you know for Jacob his whole family is relocating the removal trucks have arrived from Egypt and he's piling them full with all his furniture all his livestock not only his but everything to do with the whole 66 people of his family that he's got living there and all they off go and you can imagine is the the removal trucks set off and he looks out the window and he thinks that's Canaan that's the promised land and we're leaving we're driving away what God what what you do what's going on and I just stirred because God is leading us into something new and exciting and big and different for us as a church we will not function like we do today and like we have done for the last 20 years on a Sunday morning anymore from six weeks time as you've heard it right it's gonna be different and if like me that's a bit scary it's a bit unnerving you know what is what do you mean there's no drinks after the first service this is a disaster but how are we gonna do that all possible station how am I gonna stay in touch with my friends across the church if they go to the other service how what's the life group gonna look like if half go to one service and a half go to the other etc etc and we've all got those sort of questions of how is this gonna work we've got a building project a half a million pound building project is gonna kick off later this year in a building over there that God is taking us into the community to develop hollow more stuff but at this point in time we don't see but it's a massive venture it's a huge thing and something we would never have imagined you know looking back down through the years we've been developing new acts of service in the community the hub church is going from strength to strength men and women are encountering Jesus for the first time in their lives and finding their lives being transformed Wow God God is going to take us deeper into the local community far more than anything we have ever seen before and we will find ourselves getting involved with things like gang culture drug culture addiction challenges but at the moment we haven't even scratched the surface because the gospel is there to transform the communities around us and God is going to do that but I tell you it's flipping scary all right and you know and also because we are creatures of comfort and habit we like it here I like my ten o'clock service I can crawl out a bed at half-past nine and roll down the hill and get there that kind of you know I like it I know what's going to happen unless they do that funny thing where you read the Bible in different languages but which is brilliant by the way but but I like it I've got used to it and that is part of the challenge isn't it of getting used to it and so what is happening in this story is that God is leading Jacob into the next part of his plan of God's plan and purpose and and the same I feel for us as a church God is leading us into his plan and the next part of his plan and purpose for us as a church in this community here but the question is what do we do when that happens because we do get scared and we do panic and whatever but in this passage I've just splashed water at me nose that's gonna look good on camera in it right thank you very much in this passage in this passage there's four things that happen two things that Jacob does and two things that God does that help us navigate these big changes when they come along and the challenges that they present to us okay the point number one is Beersheba right okay so in verse 1 we read in chapter 4 apologies I haven't read the whole chapter because we're out of time but there's a big chunk of list of names in the middle which you can read at home but I'm really speaking from the first opening verses verse 1 so Israel set out with all that was his and when he reached Beersheba he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac the first thing we need to do is go to Beersheba and sacrifice what I mean by that and what is happening is Jacob returned to a familiar but significant place in his life and worshiped God and surrendered to God and prayed to his God and called on his name it was it was a physical place for him he went to Beersheba because that was significant in his family it was here that Abraham had made a treaty with the Philistines when they argued over who owned a well that was an important issue for nomadic people looking after animals it was here that Isaac his dad had had come when they dug three wells he'd taken three wells to dig to find water that's another story but that was very relevant to 146 when we were looking at that and God had appeared to Isaac at that place and spoke to him so Isaac had built an altar at Beersheba and called on God and it was from here from Beersheba that Jacob had fled when he stole Esau's birthright and all the family thing exploded so it was a significant place in the life of him and his ancestors and so he worshipped and called on God there but while it was geographical for him as an actual place for you and I we need to come back to the cross in these times and worship and sacrifice and surrender and pray and call on God because you know when we're saying God I don't know what you're doing come back to the cross God I don't understand why is this happening come back to the cross God how is this working out your plan God come back to the cross it's interesting it's Easter week isn't it and that's exactly what we're going to be doing and concentrating through the week culminating in next weekend what an opportunity for us to do that as we grapple with everything that is happening in the world in the church and maybe in your own life let's be men and women this week who take seriously the opportunity to come back to the cross and worship and surrender and sacrifice and call on God together because the cross is the place where God did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all the cross is the place where Jesus lay down his life as a substitute so that God can look on you and I without displeasure and you and I can look on God without fear the cross is the place where Jesus rescued us from the hole that wickedness has on our lives the cross is the place where the sacrifice of Christ changes our standing before this holy God and the cross is the place where God was reconciled to us through the death of his son and we are reconciled to him through our surrender to that son it's the place where we move from lip service to heart service in saying Jesus is Lord and it's the place where God sifts our motives and our desires and see what is gold and what isn't so as we face these challenges together as a church and these new ventures and these big plans that God is moving us into let's learn what it is to be men and women who come back to the cross time and again and worship and call on him and allow him to deal with us and deal with our hearts that's the first thing second thing Jacob responds to God's voice verse 2 and God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said Jacob Jacob here I am he replied and you know God doesn't say Jacob Jacob because he doesn't know where he is you know it's not like Jacob Jacob it's not like he's calling for his cat at night at the back door but he knows where Jacob is right but the point is that Jacob knows he's got to give his attention to God that's why he's calling him right and and Jacob's response it isn't casual it isn't flippant it isn't ignoring God and just saying yeah this is I don't know if this happens in your house but you know and can be talking to me and I go yep yep yep and then after a while she'll say are you listening to me and I'll say yeah yeah okay what did I just say I've got anybody that identifies with that can we get in the corner together afterwards so that isn't what is happening here God is saying Jacob Jacob and Jacob says here I am because Jacob is stopping he's turning his head to God he's focusing on him and giving him his full attention he is listening he is responding personally to God's call to him the beautiful thing is God knows you by name he knows your name Wow he knows your name and he eyeballs you and he calls your name and when he does that we need to give him our attention we need to say I'm here Lord I want to listen I want to hear what it is you've got to say because God is gonna say we're gonna talk about a few things here son and they're very important yeah and so the second point is really allowing God to get our attention we come to the cross number one number two we allow God to get our attention and we listen and we push aside the distractions and the stuff that would normally get in the way that's to that that's number two number three and these last two are what God does so what we do we come to the cross and we give God our attention number three verse three I am God the God of your father he said I am God the God of your father you see this what I believe God is saying it's Jacob what we need to take courage from is that God is speaking context into what is happening in Jacob's life right now as he leaves Canaan and goes off to Egypt and he is pointing out he's reminding him he is that God is the God of his father Isaac and therefore the God of his father Abraham the God of creation the God who has a plan and a purpose that he has promised to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob and that plan that promise is being worked out if that's why when we pray like today for a team going to Zambia it's not just about a two-week trip to Zambia because there's nothing else to do God is working out his plans and his purposes and the guys in the team are figuring out what are their role in God's plans and purposes and it's a it's a context statement I'm the God of your father this isn't just about you Jacob and what is happening to you and to your family you see when God saved you when God rescued you when God plucked you out and pulled you up it wasn't just about you but about drawing you and I into something much bigger than our own lives that he is doing you know and though it may feel like a massive thing to Jacob to uproot his whole family because actually moving house is one of the top three most stressful things that we ever do isn't it I think that's right and he's moving 66 people and all the animals and everything in all his possessions and although that may feel like a massive thing there is something much bigger going on here Jacob than just that the plans and purposes of God are unfolding you see way back in Genesis 15 God spoke to his granddad to Jacob's granddad Abraham and chapter 15 verse 12 was the summer setting Abraham fell into a deep sleep and a thick dreadful darkness came over him then the Lord said to him know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and they will be enslaved and mistreated 400 years but I will punish the nation they serve as slaves and afterwards they will come out with great possessions and what is happening in Jacob and his life at that point in time is the very beginnings of God fulfilling that word that he promised to his grandfather so there is something much bigger happening than just simply Jacob and his family moving and so this is stretching our eyes of faith to see that yes I've called you by name yes I know you personally but I've called you personally to be involved in my plans and purposes that God is working out in his kingdom that's why we often talk about you know if we think about the creation of the world when God spoke and created everything at this end of a line and then at the other end of the line Jesus is going to return for a bride that's made itself ready for the church that is ready for him when he returns and God is going to wrap up history and our life is this bit here that's a context thing that God is in charge that's why we sing we will meet him in the air we will be like him because we will see him as he is you know the suffering that you go through now is a context thing we will see Jesus as he is and we will be like him that's where we're heading towards and Jesus will return when his bride has made itself ready and you and I are part of his bride the church is the bride of Christ and Jesus is making his church ready and he's caught you and I up in his plan for that to happen and so as we look at something like oh but I don't like going to two services I've got lots of questions about it absolutely we need to see that in the context of what Jesus is doing he's preparing his bride ready to come back one day you see this is a reminder to what God has said and done in and through Abraham and Isaac and what Jacob is doing is standing on the shoulders of his ancestors and what you and I are doing are standing on the shoulders of our church ancestors for the last 2,000 years plus in the nations you represent and in this nation today and the state of the church of where it's at the baton is with us the baton is with you and me every single one of us in this room God has given us the baton to lead the charge for his church today and we will hand that on at some point in a minute but but but we have been given that mantle today and we stand on the shoulders of the people that have gone before us and press on I think Eugene Peterson said this really is about a long obedience in the same direction and the trouble for us today is so much of life it is about changing things all the time about sound bites about being instantaneous about being superficial about a fad and the Church of Christ cannot function like that at all because we are called to a long obedience in the same direction and pursue Jesus through these things God is working out his plans and his purposes and they trump the circumstances of our lives they do for Jacob and they do for you and for me and finally the fourth point God speaks it says do not be afraid and he gives three I will statements which we just need to take note of that was a note thank you three I will statements very quickly I will make you into a great nation he reminds Jacob that his promises remain true that what he spoke to Abraham what he spoke to Isaac and what he said to Jacob himself still remains true yes you are leaving Canaan which is the promised land but guess what my promise remains true I will make you into a great nation their promises of God are not affected by a change in geography what I have originally said I would do I will do it is still gonna happen and my plans are not upset by something like this and we need to hear my plans for God's plans for our lives are not affected by these types of things more than that this is how I'm actually going to bring them about Jacob you move into Egypt just doesn't disrupt my plans in fact the very opposite is true you leaving Canaan and going to Egypt is actually me bringing about my plan and purpose there is no plan B but it's not like God takes his plans and puts them on the back burner for 400 years while they go off down to Egypt and all that stuff happens and then when Moses and Joshua bring them back to the promised land he picks it up again and gets going no doesn't happen like that what is happening in your life and my life right now is absolutely wrapped up with God's plans and purposes and we need to begin to see it from that perspective and start to figure that out and work through it as we cope with a sea of change with uncertainty with so many questions yes in the world today yes in the church yes even in our own lives the promises of God remain true they are yes and amen in Christ Jesus he is the anchor second thing God says I will go down to Egypt with you wow that's amazing God is gonna go with you Jacob this same God who has these promises that he's holding on to he's going with you she this is the difference between giving somebody directions and taking them there yourself yeah that has a massive impact on the person you're talking to if you just try and explain particularly if there's a language challenge or or they don't know the area it's a huge difference but God says I'm gonna go with you Jacob that's amazing there's all this upset all this trauma all this effort but God is going with you and as we face uncertain futures and the challenges that that brings the Word of God is that he is going with us and he will bring stability in the midst of the turmoil that is spinning around he is going with us nothing has changed he is still working out his plans and his purposes and thirdly he says I will surely bring you back again I smiled because I thought in the context of two services I don't think that necessarily means God will bring us back but you never know if numbers drop we will come back to one service right but but but I think for Jacob what he's saying is my word will complete what it set out to do you will come back to the Promised Land and again there's up two levels of the story for Jacob he dies and Joseph arranged for his body to be brought back to Canaan to be buried with his dad and his granddad where they were but on the bigger scheme of things God is at work and 400 years later Moses leads the people out of Egypt and Joshua brings them across the River Jordan back in to Canaan and back to the Promised Land God's people will return and the fulfillment of God's plans might not happen in our generation Jacob didn't see any of this in fact the whole nation of Israel that grew up in Egypt and then left Egypt didn't see it they all died in the wilderness and a new generation of the Promised Land and this is a massive thing because this says to us what we're doing here in the church is we're building for a future that we will not see how does that sit with you because it's the complete opposite of where you normally do life right we're very preoccupied with what we can see and rightly so a lot of the time but God is is you is working in our hearts and in our lives and he is building a church and we're working with it and to build something that you and I will not see in our lifetime but maybe our kids will maybe our grandkids will maybe our great-grandkids will who knows and what a challenge that is but when we get that and I think believe Jacob understood that and we'll see why in a minute is that's when the shift happens and the perspective begins to really change in your heart and in my heart because we want to see his name glorified we want to see his plans come to pass and not ours and not mine see in Hebrews 12 no Hebrews 11 a great passage of faith we read about Abraham and Isaac and Jacob all these people were still living by faith when they died they did not receive the things promised they only saw them unwelcome them from a distance and they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth people who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own if they have been thinking of the country they'd left they would have had opportunity to return instead they were longing for a better country a heavenly one therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God hallelujah for he has prepared a city for them so the shift happens and we begin to see God this is about you and I want to shift the priorities in my life and make it more about you Lord because God will surely fulfill his word amen amen you

Many of God's servants have experienced spiritual depression and/or spiritual exhaustion. Today we look at 1 Kings 19 and see that Elijah suffered deep spiritual depression right on the heels of spiritual victory. This will be a challenging study as we look at principles for how to deal with it. DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS: 1.    The opening verses of 1 Kings 19, what does Ahab tell Jezebel? If you were Jezebel and heard about all the Lord had done in 1 Kings 18, how would you have responded? 2.    Instead, what message does Jezebel send to Elijah in verse 2? Given what just happened in 1 Kings 18, how should Elijah have reacted to Jezebel's threats? How does he react in verse 3? Do you find this surprising? Why or why not? 3.    Verse 3 says that Elijah fled to Beersheba. If you can, go find Beersheba on a map of Israel and Judah from this time period. What does Beersheba's location tell you about the depth of Elijah's fear? 4.    Now look at verse 4. What does Elijah then do? What does his prayer consist of? Is this a prayer of faith or fear?  5.    How do we see God's grace in the help that the angel gives to Elijah in verses 5 to 8? 6.    After this, where does Elijah go in verse 8? Historically speaking, what major events have happened already in this place? Why do you think Elijah went there? 7.    In verse 9, why do you think the Lord asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 8.    What was the content and tone of Elijah's answer in verse 10? What does this reflect about his spiritual depression? Where do you think this spiritual depression came from?  9.    What was the Lord's answer to Him in verses 11 – 14? Why do you think He repeats this question? 10.    People sometimes refer to verse 12 as proof that we can hear a “still, small voice” from God. In reading this passage, is the Lord's voice merely quiet or is it completely silent and only something that Elijah can hear? In other words, was there an actual voice? Do you think that verse supports the idea that people can hear audible messages from God? 11.    Going back to 1 Kings 19, what was Elijah's answer in verse 14? Looking at his answer, what was Elijah really focused on? How was this leading to His spiritual depression? 12.    Do you ever experience spiritual depression after a spiritual victory? What principles does this passage give you for how to deal with those kinds of situations? Check out our Bible Study Guide on the Key Chapters of Genesis! Available on Amazon! To see our dedicated podcast website with access to all our episodes and other resources, visit us at: www.keychapters.org. Find us on all major platforms, or use these direct links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6OqbnDRrfuyHRmkpUSyoHv Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/366-key-chapters-in-the-bible/id1493571819 YouTube: Key Chapters of the Bible on YouTube. As always, we are grateful to be included in the "Top 100 Bible Podcasts to Follow" from Feedspot.com. Also for regularly being awarded "Podcast of the Day" from PlayerFM. Special thanks to Joseph McDade for providing our theme music.   

Date: 16- Feb -2025Speaker: CA Richard WesleyVenue: Bethesda Church Hyderabad

Date: 16- Feb -2025Speaker: CA Richard WesleyVenue: Bethesda Church Hyderabad

Jacob's wrestling match; Jacob's sons' rebellion; Intermarriage?; Family lineage; Melchizedek? (Righteous king of Salem); Walking with many souls; Building altars; Binding together by love; Forgiveness; Wedding feast?; Birthright; Shem's long life; Jacob's sight; Jacob -> Israel, Abrahm -> Abraham; Joseph's path; Learning to be Israel; Bondage?; Human resources; Tax exemptions; Jesus' appointed 70; Sanhedrin; "Beersheba"; Corrupt judiciaries; are you in bondage?; Gen 49:1; Last days?; Ex 1:5; The way of Moses; Freewill offerings; Fair shares?; Problems exist over time; Bible about government; Ex 16:3; Fleshpots?; Civil government; Cities of blood; Jacob's warnings to his children; Ruben; Unstable water?; Leban's deals; resh-aleph-hey-beit; Treachery; Biela?; Envy of power; Cities of refuge; Simeon and Levi - instruments of cruelty (Hamas); mem-kuf-resh-resh-tav-hey-mem; Opposing faith; Oppression; Circumcision?; Socialism; "Instrument" - kuf-lamad - "vessel"; NGO?; Temples and daily bread; Oppression/Leaven; Judah - praise; No force allowed; Matt 20:25; Luke: 22:25; Covetous practices; Scattering; Zebulon; Issichar; Burying talent; Dan - judge; Gad; Asher; Naphtali; Joseph - blessed; Benjamin - wolf; Jacob's death and burial; The burial cave; Gen 13:2; Abraham's wealth; Sacrifice of the Red Heifer; Courage; Paying your way; Recompence; Ex 20:23; Ex 32:3 golden calf; What's God's plan for you?; Prov 1:10 One Purse; First fruits; Burning up for God; Levites = living stones of the altar; Social safety net; Charity alone; AOC Speech?; Ignorance; Foolishness; 1 Sam 8; John the Baptist; Exercising authority; Saul's folly; Useful idiots; Doing what Christ said; Bribery; Communist manifesto; False Christians and Jews; Learning righteousness; Seeing God's message; Power of choice; Honor the Lord.

David Keddie reflects on the way the LORD ministers to Elijah when Elijah flees from Jezebel after his triumphant victory against the prophets of Baal. 1 Kings 19"Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there."But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God."There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Understanding inspired scripture; Tree of Life; vs Tree of Knowledge; Hiding from light; Nakedness; Aleph; Jacob's wrestling; Seeing the whole truth; Blame game; Spiritual guidance; Entering bondage; Systems of God vs of the "world"; Abraham's journey; "Beersheba"; Abraham's land; Freewill offerings; Living by faith, hope and charity; Essenes; Blessing those that curse you; What is God teaching you today?; Representative money; Legal title; Agreement with government; Wrath of God; Euphrates river?; Gen 48:1; vav+yod+chet+tav-zayin-kuf?; Jacob vs Israel; Praying for daily bread; Allegories; Income tax?; Bondage of Egypt; Seeing your fault; Brothers of Joseph; Exploring whole truth; Ephriam and Manasseh; Rachel's death; Seeing with God's eyes; Blessing sons; Appetite for benefits; Which son was first?; Israel's blessing; Living by God's righteousness; "Displeased"; Foresight; Right and left hands; Golden calf; Another way of government; Hebrew (written) language; Sword and bow?; Making recompence; Pure republics; Tithing; Caring for others; Moses sword and bow?; Red Sea?; "Altars"; God's social security; Sacrifice by choice; Not to be like the world governments; "Civil law"; Individual responsibilities; Prodigal sons; Consequential choices; Learning lessons; Repentance; Blessing Egypt; Sitting in darkness; Darkness and Light; Bloodlines?; Purpose-driven life?; Making Godly choices; Giving choice to others; "darkness"; Separation; Absence; Gen 3:24; Flaming sword turning every way; Beacon?; Willingness to see and know self; Learning patience; NATO?; Knowing history; Divine spark; Things that obscure our vision and thinking; Curses being blessings; hey-pey-kuf; (hey-mem-tav-hey-pey-kuf-tav); Whirling?; Power of HolySpirit; Christ's kind of sacrifice; "Leaven"; Forced sacrifice; Living stones; Covetousness; Welfare snares; Are you Israel?; Stop sitting in darkness; Repent and seek His kingdom and righteousness.

The Aftermath of Mount Carmel: From Victory to Whirlwind • Sunday Service   To Give: www.ToddCoconato.com/give Website: www.PastorTodd.org   I. The Triumph on Mount Carmel Fire Falls from Heaven   1 Kings 18:36-40 (NKJV)   36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.   37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.   38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.   39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!   40 And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!" So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.   II. The Coming Rain and Elijah's Supernatural Strength     1 Kings 18:36-40 (NKJV)   41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain."   42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,   43 and said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea."   So he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing."   And seven times he said, "Go again."   44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!"   So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.'"   45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.   46 Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.     III. Jezebel's Threat and Elijah's Despair     1 Kings 19:1-4 (NKJV)     1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword.   2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time."   3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.   4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!"     IV. God's Provision and Encouragement     1 Kings 19:5-8 (NKJV)     5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat."   6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.   7 And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you."   8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.     V. The Still Small Voice - God's Answer to Elijah     1 Kings 19:9-13 (NKJV)     9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"   11 Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord."   And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;   12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.   VI. Elijah's Fiery Departure   2 Kings 2:11 (NKJV) 11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Series: Genesis Sermon: Faith, Doubt, and God's Promise (Genesis 28) In this message, we dive into Genesis 28, focusing on the life of Jacob and his transformative journey. We talk through the background context from Genesis 26 and 27, discussing Jacob's departure from Beersheba to Haran and his profound dream of a ladder connecting heaven and earth. By analyzing Jacob's initial partial belief in God's promises and his later full commitment as seen in chapter 35, this message correlates Jacob's experience with our own journey of faith, doubt, and the realization of God's unwavering promises. Join us for an insightful study on how God's faithfulness transcends our doubts and shortcomings.

Review Gen 45; Importance of forgiveness; Pit of bondage; Not killing Joseph; Divine Karma?; Relationship with God; Cauldron; Preserving life; Priests to all nations; Deciding good and evil; Vanity; Manifesting compassion; Wrestling with the message; Esau and Jacob; Nimrod - provider instead of the Lord; Provisions for life; Doing well with what you are given; Understanding principle; "Hate"; Cursing your children with debt; Fleshpots; Getting out of debt?; "Corban"; Greatest destroyers of liberty; Parasites; Gen 45:24; Theory of evolution?; Sophistry; Gen 46:1; Israel's journey; Jesus the king; "Beersheba"; Gen 21:31; Abimelech; Jacob's freewill sacrifice; zayan-biet-chet; Why sacrifice?; Drawing near to God; Making a great nation; Wells with water; Tree of Life; Learning lessons; Sacrificing out of love; Becoming Israel; Sons of Jacob; Generations of Israel; Having more than one wife; Well of satisfaction; Oppressing your brother; Contrary to Israel; Sons of Rachel; Jacob's wrestling; Saving Israelites; tempting Joseph; Righteousness; Oppression; The faithful; Swords necessary?; Biology; Prophesy of names; Doing your part - sacrifice/service; Strengthening others; Overcoming difficulties with righteousness; Learning to trust in the way of God; Denial; Gen 46:31; Hearing the cries of Israel; Coming out of bondage; Gen 49:4; Moral structure to society; Family unit; Innocence?; Beginning of corruption; Legal charity; Caring for one another; Gen 49:5; "Hamas"?; Vessels?; mem-kof-resh-hey; Have faith!

“But...pass not to Beersheba.” (Amos 5:5) Beersheba (well of the “sevens”) became a location of some importance in Israel’s early history. Hagar, the Egyptian bondwoman who bore I... More...

Friday Bible Study (2/21/25) // 2 Kings 12 // Visit our website: https://mbchicago.orgTo support this ministry, you can donate via: Zelle to: info@mbchicago.org Website: https://mbchicago.org/give Venmo: https://venmo.com/mbchurch PayPal: https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_but...2 Kings 12 (ESV)1 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash[a] began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places.Jehoash Repairs the Temple4 Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the holy things that is brought into the house of the Lord, the money for which each man is assessed—the money from the assessment of persons—and the money that a man's heart prompts him to bring into the house of the Lord, 5 let the priests take, each from his donor, and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered.” 6 But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had made no repairs on the house. 7 Therefore King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the house? Now therefore take no more money from your donors, but hand it over for the repair of the house.” 8 So the priests agreed that they should take no more money from the people, and that they should not repair the house.9 Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in the lid of it and set it beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the Lord. And the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. 10 And whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king's secretary and the high priest came up and they bagged and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord. 11 Then they would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord. And they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the Lord, 12 and to the masons and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber and quarried stone for making repairs on the house of the Lord, and for any outlay for the repairs of the house. 13 But there were not made for the house of the Lord basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or any vessels of gold, or of silver, from the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, 14 for that was given to the workmen who were repairing the house of the Lord with it. 15 And they did not ask for an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to pay out to the workmen, for they dealt honestly. 16 The money from the guilt offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the Lord; it belonged to the priests.17 At that time Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath and took it. But when Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem, 18 Jehoash king of Judah took all the sacred gifts that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah his fathers, the kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred gifts, and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king's house, and sent these to Hazael king of Syria. Then Hazael went away from Jerusalem.The Death of Joash19 Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 20 His servants arose and made a conspiracy and struck down Joash in the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla. 21 It was Jozacar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, who struck him down, so that he died. And they buried him with his fathers .., and Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

February 23, 2025

Psalm 122 (Alter)Andrew and Edwin discuss the relationship between desire and decree when it comes to worshiping in the Lord's House.Read the written devo that goes along with this episode by clicking here.    Let us know what you are learning or any questions you have. Email us at TextTalk@ChristiansMeetHere.org.    Join the Facebook community and join the conversation by clicking here. We'd love to meet you. Be a guest among the Christians who meet on Livingston Avenue. Click here to find out more. Michael Eldridge sang all four parts of our theme song. Find more from him by clicking here.   Thanks for talking about the text with us today.________________________________________________If the hyperlinks do not work, copy the following addresses and paste them into the URL bar of your web browser: Daily Written Devo: https://readthebiblemakedisciples.wordpress.com/?p=20475The Christians Who Meet on Livingston Avenue: http://www.christiansmeethere.org/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TalkAboutTheTextFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/texttalkMichael Eldridge: https://acapeldridge.com/ 

-- SUNDAY'S NOTES --1 Kings 19:1Elijah burned the candle on all ends and here we find him:1. Elijah was fearful (emotional unrest)2. Elijah was fatigued (spiritual exhaustion)3. Elijah was famished (physical depletion)Elijah was fearful (emotions)_________________________________________ 1 Kings 19:1Priscilla Shirer - “We give our feelings too much power. Feelings are not the engine, they're the caboose, they'll catch up. All feelings can do is feel. They don't think, they don't have intellect. They're not that smart”THT When we learn to amplify God's words over anxious what-ifs and worries, we gain strength for the journey.Does it feel like too much? Could some of the fear we experience be because we are putting ourselves in too prominent a position?He didn't address every worry - he showed up with who He isJehovah Jireh - ProviderTHT God's provision for fear: perfect love, protection, promise of presenceElijah was fatigued (spiritual exhaustion)___________________________ 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleepTHT We aren't designed to be self-sufficient when suffering and running from God doesn't make you feel rested.An encounter with the Lord can revive your heart when faith is hard to find! 34Psalm 34:17-18A nap is a temporary laying down of responsibility and resting from striving. I believe that's God's will for us tooTHT God's provision for fatigue: rest and perspective on ultimate responsibilityAre you tired? Hear Jesus' words, “Come to me…and I will give you rest.”Elijah was famished (physical depletion)_____________________________________ 1 Kings 18:46When we are physically spent, we are spiritually vulnerableMatthew 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.THT God's provision for hunger: His WordDeuteronomy 8:3: He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.THT If we are always working in our own strength, then we have no need for God 7 TheGod created us body, mind, heartAnd designed it:1. Baseline - we need rest and food/energy2. Supernatural - we need God's spiritual provision to live a life for HimTHT God's provision, His way, is always more fulfilling, holy and humbling that a substitute or self-sufficient plan1 Corinthians 11:24 (Jesus) when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

-- SUNDAY'S NOTES --1 Kings 19:1Elijah burned the candle on all ends and here we find him:1. Elijah was fearful (emotional unrest)2. Elijah was fatigued (spiritual exhaustion)3. Elijah was famished (physical depletion)Elijah was fearful (emotions)_________________________________________ 1 Kings 19:1Priscilla Shirer - “We give our feelings too much power. Feelings are not the engine, they're the caboose, they'll catch up. All feelings can do is feel. They don't think, they don't have intellect. They're not that smart”THT When we learn to amplify God's words over anxious what-ifs and worries, we gain strength for the journey.Does it feel like too much? Could some of the fear we experience be because we are putting ourselves in too prominent a position?He didn't address every worry - he showed up with who He isJehovah Jireh - ProviderTHT God's provision for fear: perfect love, protection, promise of presenceElijah was fatigued (spiritual exhaustion)___________________________ 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleepTHT We aren't designed to be self-sufficient when suffering and running from God doesn't make you feel rested.An encounter with the Lord can revive your heart when faith is hard to find! 34Psalm 34:17-18A nap is a temporary laying down of responsibility and resting from striving. I believe that's God's will for us tooTHT God's provision for fatigue: rest and perspective on ultimate responsibilityAre you tired? Hear Jesus' words, “Come to me…and I will give you rest.”Elijah was famished (physical depletion)_____________________________________ 1 Kings 18:46When we are physically spent, we are spiritually vulnerableMatthew 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.THT God's provision for hunger: His WordDeuteronomy 8:3: He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.THT If we are always working in our own strength, then we have no need for God 7 TheGod created us body, mind, heartAnd designed it:1. Baseline - we need rest and food/energy2. Supernatural - we need God's spiritual provision to live a life for HimTHT God's provision, His way, is always more fulfilling, holy and humbling that a substitute or self-sufficient plan1 Corinthians 11:24 (Jesus) when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Passage: 10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. (Genesis 28:10-19 ESV) Song: My Lighthouse (https://open.spotify.com/track/24qzi3nh0rdJhmM7uHeTPM?si=0fa7c3984af04e89) by Chris Llewellyn and Gareth Gilkeson Lyrics: In my wrestling and in my doubts In my failures You won't walk out Your great love will lead me through You are the peace in my troubled sea whoa oh You are the peace in my troubled sea In the silence You won't let go In the questions Your truth will hold Your great love will lead me through You are the peace in my troubled sea whoa oh You are the peace in my troubled sea My Lighthouse my Lighthouse Shining in the darkness I will follow You oh My Lighthouse my Lighthouse I will trust the promise You will carry me safe to shore Safe to shore safe to shore safe to shore I won't fear what tomorrow brings With each morning I'll rise and sing My God's love will lead me through You are the peace in my troubled sea whoa oh You are the peace in my troubled sea Fire before us You're the brightest You will lead us Through the storms (hey) Prayer: This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen. -The Book of Common Prayer

Theme From Sunday's Sermon: Praying for God's Presence On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell, Jay Rivenbark, and Alyssa Bream discuss the following questions: Most of us are probably not up on our Bible geography. What's the big deal about Beersheba? Does this sound too good to be true? Have you ever saw God about a major decision and yet didn't feel like you had a clear directive? What do you do when you seek God about a major decision but still don't think the answers are clear? The reading for the day is: Genesis 46:1–47:31 Matthew 15:1-28 Psalm 19:1-14 Proverbs 4:14-19

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:Genesis 44-46;Luke 18 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to The Daily Radio Bible with your host, Hunter. Today is January 18th, 2025, and we have a spiritually enriching episode lined up for you. Hunter, our devoted Bible reading coach and brother, will guide us through the insightful passages of Genesis chapters 44 through 46 and Luke chapter 18. As we journey through Genesis, we'll witness the dramatic reunion of Joseph and his brothers, a tale of forgiveness and divine providence that unfolds amidst a severe famine. Joseph's profound revelation and his invitation for his family to join him in Egypt mark pivotal moments in the biblical narrative of salvation and faith. In the book of Luke, Jesus shares powerful parables and teachings, emphasizing persistent prayer, humility, and the true cost of discipleship. These timeless messages challenge us to reflect on our own faith journeys and the things we hold onto or need to let go. Hunter will offer his reflections on the readings, drawing connections between ancient promises and our modern lives. He reminds us that, like Jacob, we must keep praying and never give up, trusting that God is faithfully working out His promises even when we cannot see the full picture. Join us as we dive deep into these sacred texts, pray together, and find strength in God's word. Let's embrace this path of spiritual growth and renewal, anchored by the assurance that we are deeply loved by our Creator. Tune in, read along, and let's engage with Scripture together. Welcome to today's episode! TODAY'S DEVOTION: Never give up. That's a popular sentiment these days. It's used in sports and business. It's found on t-shirts and bumper stickers. Giving up is easy. I've done it way too much in my life. I've given up on goals, hopes, and even relationships. I'm sad to say that I've given up on way too much that I needed to hold on to in this life. And I've also held on to things I should have given up on long ago: resentments, anger, my need to be right, my need for approval. I've held on to these things way too long. Maybe you can relate. The key, it seems, is to give up on the wrong things and never give up on the right things. In Luke 18, Jesus says that we should keep praying and never give up. Prayer appears to be closely connected to our ability to hold on to the right things. Prayer is a two-way conversation. It's relational. We share our hearts, our fears, our failures, and our lives with Him, and He shares His life, His word, His heart, His hopes for us. It's a two-way thing. God is speaking to us in prayer, and we are listening to His voice, His leading. We hear from Him, respond, and worship Him. Without this relationship, giving up is inevitable. It's just way too easy. But when we do pray, we are given the strength to hold on, to endure, to never give up. In today's reading, Jacob listens to God speak to him late at night. He hears a voice from heaven while in Beersheba. The last time God spoke to Jacob in Beersheba was many years before, when he was preparing to leave home and head to the land of Haran, fleeing from his brother. As he was leaving, he laid his head on a rock and fell asleep. While sleeping, he saw a stairway to heaven. At the top of the stairway, he saw the Lord, who told him, "I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I'm giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth. They will spread out in all directions—to the west and east, to the north and south. And all the families of the Earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What's more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised." Jacob wakes up and says, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it." He adds, "What an awesome place this is. It's none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven." That awesome place, that gateway to heaven, is where we see Jacob sleeping right now in our passage today. It's years later, and God comes to him again. Once again, Jacob must leave this land that God had promised him. God is speaking to him, essentially telling him to keep praying and never give up. Jacob's journey didn't look anything like the fulfillment of what God had promised him in Beersheba years ago. God had promised to make Jacob a great nation, that Canaan would be his inheritance, and that his descendants would be a blessing to all the nations of the world. Yet, it looked like God's promise was far from being fulfilled. Jacob was heading in the opposite direction. Jacob would die in a different land altogether without seeing this promise fulfilled. However, far beyond Jacob's sight, God was working to fulfill all He had promised. Jacob needed to keep praying and never give up. He was told that Joseph, his son, would be with him to the very end, that Joseph would close his eyes. God encourages us similarly. He tells us to keep praying and never give up. Although it might seem like we are heading in the opposite direction from what God promised, beyond our sight, God is fulfilling His promises. Someone far better than Joseph is with us—not Jacob's son, but God's Son—who will be with us to the very end. Hebrews 11:13 says, "All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth." So keep praying and never give up. God is faithful; He will fulfill all His promises. By living a life of faith, prayer, and relationship with Him, we gain the strength to persevere. We are the recipients of God's promise to Jacob. Through Christ, we have been included in that blessing. So let's keep praying and never give up. God's Son, Jesus, is with us, and He will be with us to the very end. He will close our eyes, and He will wake us up. Hallelujah. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

On the surface, the account of God calling Abraham to offer Isaac is one of the most difficult passages in the Bible. We can't imagine God actually calling any of His people to do such a thing. But we'll see in today's episode, that when we understand the context of this passage, and what Abraham knew to be true, we'll see that it was an amazing step of faith that actually shows us the kind of faith that God calls us all to. Please join us in this important study in God's Word!   DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS: Genesis 22 1.    Using a Bible atlas or online atlas, locate Beersheba on the map to the right. Also, locate the Wilderness of Moriah on the map. What importance does each of these locations have in Genesis 22? 2.    This chapter contains God's command to Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. While we know how the story ends, this would be an unsettling command for anyone to hear. How does the miraculous origin of Isaac's conception help us understand why Abraham was so calm in his obedience to the Lord? How do the words “we” and “return” in verse 5 give us a window into Abraham's mindset as he obeyed the Lord?  3.    In verse 8, Abraham assures Isaac that the Lord will provide a sacrifice. How has Abraham seen the provision of the Lord in his life before this? How have you seen the Lord provide in your life? How might dwelling upon God's prior provision give us strength in times of present distress? 4.    Think about Isaac's age in this passage. Do you think a 120-year-old man could have physically put Isaac on the altar? What would have had to happen in order for Isaac to get on it? How does this likelihood help us understand Isaac's role in this event? 5.    Isaac was Abraham's only link to something and someone. What and Who was Isaac the link to? What kind of faith did Abraham demonstrate by being willing to break this link, if that was to be the Lord's will? 6.    This passage also gives us a picture of the substitutionary death of Christ. How? What did God's substitute mean for Isaac? What does Christ's substitute mean for us? 7.    Verses 16 to 18 contain one of the most important promises in the Old Testament regarding who the offspring of Abraham are. Who are the “four seeds” suggested in the lesson? Which ones will be in God's Eternal Kingdom? Why? Are you among the believing seed spoken of in these verses? 8.    Genesis 22 shows the kind of faith that this new nation would be founded upon. How would you summarize Abraham's faith and obedience from this event? Where does this kind of faith come from? 9.    Are there any situations in your life where you simply need to trust and obey God as Abraham did here? Are you able to trust and obey Him? Why or why not?  10.    Have you ever sung the children's song, “Father Abraham”? It says that he had many sons. In light of what the lesson has taught about this passage, who are those sons? When the song says, “I am one of them, and so are you,” what does that mean? Is that true of you? Why or why not? Check out our Bible Study Guide on the Key Chapters of Genesis! Available on Amazon! To see our dedicated podcast website with access to all our episodes and other resources, visit us at: www.keychapters.org. Find us on all major platforms, or use these direct links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6OqbnDRrfuyHRmkpUSyoHv Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/366-key-chapters-in-the-bible/id1493571819 YouTube: Key Chapters of the Bible on YouTube. As always, we are grateful to be included in the "Top 100 Bible Podcasts to Follow" from Feedspot.com. Also for regularly being awarded "Podcast of the Day" from PlayerFM. Special thanks to Joseph McDade for providing our theme music.   

houghts on the readings for January 14th (Genesis 25 and 26 Psalm 31 and Matthew 16) Genesis 25 tells that Abraham took another wife, called Keturah. We are not sure at what time Keturah became Abraham's wife; but, she bare him 6 sons. These sons became the progenitors of many of the Arab nations – already we see Abraham has becoming the “father of a multitude (or “many nations”)”. They were sent eastward enriched with gifts from the great patriarch. Abraham died at the age of 175 and was buried in the cave of Machpelah by his sons Isaac and Ishmael. From verses 12-18 we have the genealogy of Ishmael from whom descended 12 princes. From verses 19-28 of Genesis 25 we are told that Rebekah had great problems in conception and once pregnant she experienced a trying time. Rebekah enquired of Yahweh (probably through the priest) about the wrestlings within her; and was told she would give birth to twins, who would be very different and, that the elder twin would serve the younger. Esau was born hairy, or fully developed. He was red haired and so called Esau, which means red. The younger twin was born grasping the heel of his twin. He was named Jacob meaning heel grabber. The difference between them was evident from their early days with Jacob being “a plain (upright) man dwelling in tents (a sojourner like his fathers)”; whilst Esau was an energetic, active man – a man's man; an athletic hunter. Rebekah favoured Jacob (her son); whilst Isaac loved Esau – who he perhaps envied, as Esau was everything that Isaac was not. After returning from his hunting without any prey Esau, claiming to be starving, sold his birthright to his spiritually ambitious brother, Jacob for a bowl of red lentils. This story indicated Esau had no love of the promises and not a skerrick of spirituality (see the comments in Hebrews 12 verses 14 to17). In Genesis 26 God repeats the Abrahamic promise to Isaac. There was a famine in the Land and Isaac was told to sojourn and trust in the Almighty to provide. From verse 6 we see Isaac journeying to the land of the Philistines, where he like his father (Abraham) lied about his wife; because of fear for his own life. But after being seen acting as a husband, Isaac is rebuked by the Philistine king Abimelech. How incredible that great men of faith should so fail – but as James tells us, they were of like passions (and weaknesses) to ourselves. Abimelech charged his people to act honourably to Rebekah. Isaac sowed in that country and reaped an abundant harvest. Isaac, like Abraham, became rich and powerful; and was envied by the Philistines. All the wells that had been dug by Abraham were filled with earth by these lazy and envious men. Isaac was instructed to move away and he relocated to Gerar. There Isaac again dug his father's well and the Philistines quarrelled over the water. The well was named Esek, meaning “contention”. So Isaac moved on and dug another well, named Sitnah (meaning“a quarrel”), as this again was the consequence of finding water. He moved once more and dug for and found water at Rehoboth (meaning “room”). This water was uncontested. Finally he moved to Beersheba (“the well of the covenant”), where Yahweh repeated to Isaac the promise to Abraham in verse 24. The chapter finishes with a covenant being made between Isaac and Phicol, captain of the Philistine army. After a feast in which the Philistines acknowledge Isaac to be “blessed of Yahweh”, there is an exchange of oaths Isaac settled in Beersheba and dwelt there with the well of the covenant providing their needs as had their Sustainer and Protector. Cont reading here https://christadelphianvideo.org/thoughts-on-the-readings-for-january-14th-genesis-25-and-26-psalm-31-and-matthew-16/

Genesis 22 is one of the most monumental in the life of the father of the "father bof the faithful", Abraham. We are amazed by the number of high points in this great man's journey in faith; but there is none greater than in this 22nd chapter (cited by Paul in Hebrews 11:17-19; which tells us that the incident speaks of resurrection - and typically of the beloved, only begotten son of promise; our Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham is afforded a great privilege in this incident in being able to understand to a small extent how the Father felt when He gave His only begotten Son, because "God so loved the world" (John 3:16-19). The chapter in Genesis emphasises the oneness that existed between Father and Son (verses 3, 5, 7-9, 16-17, 19) emblematic of the unity of purpose in our redemption that was between our Sovereign and His incomparable Son. The chapter indicated that this was a trial, or testing of Abraham; because of the preciousness of a faith that has overcome. Abraham could have rationalised the Almighty does not mean what He has asked of men, since the fulfilment of the promise is to be through Isaac. Or alternatively, he said I don't know why God has asked me to offer my son; but I trust Him, Who cannot fail those whose trust is in Him. But the trauma and the wrestling with his thoughts, all night long that is why Abraham, with steely resolve, rose early in the morning. This expression in the Bible speaks of determination - sometimes for good, as here and, in Yahweh's sending of the prophets to aid His people; or, for evil as in the episode of the golden calf. Everything was prepared beforehand in readiness by Abraham, who was most likely numbed by the daunting task ahead of him. Though he knew not how it would be, yet Abraham was confident that both he and Isaac would come back to the place where they left their companions (Hebrews telling us Abraham's expectation was that Isaac would be raised from the dead). Note that the journey to the place of sacrifice was of 3 days; representing the 3 year ministry that would see our Lord undertake, with His Father's help, to Calvary. It also no doubt relates to the death of Isaac and is symbolic of Jesus being in the grave for three days. We see the cooperation between father and son. Isaac was totally compliant with his father's will; which as a man of about 30 years of age (and a father who was 130 years old); it was because the son understood the need that the father's will be done - we can hear God's Son in Gethsemane, "Not as I will, but Thy will be done". The place of Isaac's "offering" has two names in this chapter: 1) Moriah (meaning Yahweh will provide); and, 2) Yahweh Yireh (meaning Yahweh will be seen - teaching us that in the redemptive act symbolised by Abraham requiring Isaac's submission to the Father's will. As Abraham raised the knife to slay his son he was stopped by the voice of the angel preventing the sacrifice, as verses 11-12 tell us. Though Abraham was allowed to spare his only beloved son, Yahweh did not spare His own Sonslowly read aloud Romans 8:31-39. Reflect deeply on what these words are teaching us about the love of our Sovereign and His Son towards us. God has already vastly exceeded any gift He has given believers. The greatest work has already been done in providing a basis for our forgiveness and the extension of divine grace. We may be assured that if the Father has given His Son then, what remains to bring us into His Kingdom is comparatively incidental). Yahweh now sealed an on oath on His own existence that Abraham's promise is immutable(Hebrews 6:13-20). Abraham's seed would "possess the gate of his enemies"; indicating, firstly, Christ's victory over sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:12-28); and, secondly, the subjugation of all nations to his rule in the coming kingdom. The chapter concludes with details of children being born to Nahor, Abraham's brother, in Haran. Chapter 23 of Genesis tells of Sarah's death and burial in the cave of Machpelah (meaning enfolded - the burial place of 3 generations of the faithful patriarchal family - Sarah and Abraham; Isaac and Rebekah; Jacob and Leah) in Beersheba ("the well of the covenant"). The irony being that Abraham, who by promise owned the land of Israel, had to buy a burial place for his wife (see Acts 7:4-5).Psalm 26 tells us David's love for his God. The Psalmist delights in every opportunity to extol the virtues of his Sovereign. David also tells of his detesting of the ways of the wicked. Psalm 27 speaks of the LORD being the light (revealer of what is right and honourable) and salvation (the process of saving and bringing to His kingdom of the faithful believers). The writer tells of the Almighty's capacity to defend the upright. He speaks of his Creator's pull on the writer's heart to seek fellowship with his God. And the Psalm concludes with a love and loyalty to his God which exceeds that of any human bond. David encourages himself in the assurance that his God will not see him abandoned into the hand of his foes. Wait he says on Yahweh; you will never be disappointed by taking this course. Psalm 28 says that, "Yahweh is the strength and shield" of the psalmist. The thoughts are similar to God's consoling promise to Abraham at the start of Genesis 15. The confidence of knowing God is always with, and surrounding His children with His all powerful arms. Yahweh will repay both the wicked and the righteous according to their works (Romans 2:5-11). The response that such understanding generates in God's people is outlined in verses 6-9. Slowly read aloud; and pause and ponder.In chapter 14 of Matthew Herod is struck with terror on hearing of the miracles of Jesus. Herod Antipas, a convert of the Sadducees (and therefore a non believer in the resurrection of the dead) was convinced that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead. Our Lord is told of John's brutal decapitation and in response responds by seeking solitude to reflect. This is interrupted by a multitude seeking him out and he compassionately responds to their need of a shepherd to teach them. He feeds 5,000 of them and heals  many. John 6 tells us that their desire was to take him by force and make him their king. Jesus summarily dispersed the crowd and went into a mountain to pray. He sent the Apostles by boat to the other side of the lake. When the storm arose he came to them walking on the water. Peter alone showed the faith and courage to briefly do likewise. He was rescued by his Master. Finally upon reaching the other side of the lake Jesus healed many at Gennesaret.

The beloved son Joseph sends for his father Israel to bring the whole family down to Egypt. This is a weighty moment for many reasons. So before he leaves the Promises Land, Israel goes to a place of deep spiritual significance - that he might meet with the Lord. And the Lord speaks. 

The beloved son Joseph sends for his father Israel to bring the whole family down to Egypt. This is a weighty moment for many reasons. So before he leaves the Promises Land, Israel goes to a place of deep spiritual significance - that he might meet with the Lord. And the Lord speaks. 

Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com_______________Opening Words:The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.John 1:14 Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia. Jubilate (Psalm 100)Alleluia. To us a child is born: O come, let us adore him. Alleluia.Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *serve the Lord with gladnessand come before his presence with a song.Know this: The Lord himself is God; *he himself has made us, and we are his;we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.Enter his gates with thanksgiving;go into his courts with praise; *give thanks to him and call upon his Name.For the Lord is good;his mercy is everlasting; *and his faithfulness endures from age to age.Alleluia. To us a child is born: O come, let us adore him. Alleluia. The PsalterPsalm 68:1-191Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; *let those who hate him flee before him.2Let them vanish like smoke when the wind drives it away; *as the wax melts at the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.3But let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; *let them also be merry and joyful.4Sing to God, sing praises to his Name;exalt him who rides upon the heavens; *Yhwh is his Name, rejoice before him!5Father of orphans, defender of widows, *God in his holy habitation!6God gives the solitary a home and brings forth prisoners into freedom; *but the rebels shall live in dry places.7O God, when you went forth before your people, *when you marched through the wilderness,8The earth shook, and the skies poured down rain,at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, *at the presence of God, the God of Israel.9You sent a gracious rain, O God, upon your inheritance; *you refreshed the land when it was weary.10Your people found their home in it; *in your goodness, O God, you have made provision for the poor.11The Lord gave the word; *great was the company of women who bore the tidings:12“Kings with their armies are fleeing away; *the women at home are dividing the spoils.”13Though you lingered among the sheepfolds, *you shall be like a dove whose wings are covered with silver,whose feathers are like green gold.14When the Almighty scattered kings, *it was like snow falling in Zalmon.15O mighty mountain, O hill of Bashan! *O rugged mountain, O hill of Bashan!16Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountain,at the hill which God chose for his resting place? *truly, the Lord will dwell there for ever.17The chariots of God are twenty thousand,even thousands of thousands; *the Lord comes in holiness from Sinai.18You have gone up on high and led captivity captive;you have received gifts even from your enemies, *that the Lord God might dwell among them.19Blessed be the Lord day by day, *the God of our salvation, who bears our burdens. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. LessonsGen. 28:10-22A Reading from the Book of Genesis.Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Te Deum laudamusYou are God: we praise you;You are the Lord: we acclaim you;You are the eternal Father:All creation worships you.To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,heaven and earth are full of your glory.The glorious company of apostles praise you.The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.The white-robed army of martyrs praise you. Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;Father, of majesty unbounded,your true and only Son, worthy of all worship, and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.You, Christ, are the king of glory, the eternal Son of the Father.When you became man to set us free you did not shun the Virgin's womb. You overcame the sting of deathand opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. You are seated at God's right hand in glory.We believe that you will come and be our judge.Come then, Lord, and help your people, bought with the price of your own blood, and bring us with your saintsto glory everlasting. Heb. 11:13-22A Reading from the Book of Hebrews.These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. John 10:7-17A Reading from the Gospel According to John.So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Benedictus Dominus DeusBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; * he has come to his people and set them free.He has raised up for us a mighty savior, * born of the house of his servant David.Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, * from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers * and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, * to set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship him without fear, * holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins.In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersThe Lord be with you.And also with you.Let us pray.Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Suffrages AV. Show us your mercy, O Lord;R. And grant us your salvation.V. Clothe your ministers with righteousness; R. Let your people sing with joy.V. Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;R. For only in you can we live in safety. V. Lord, keep this nation under your care;R. And guide us in the way of justice and truth.V. Let your way be known upon earth;R. Your saving health among all nations.V. Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;R. Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.V. Create in us clean hearts, O God;R. And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.   The CollectsCollect of the DayAlmighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. Collect of Saint BasilO Christ God, Who art worshipped and glorified at every place and time; Who art long-suffering, most merciful and compassionate; Who lovest the righteous and art merciful to sinners; Who callest all to salvation with the promise of good things to come: receive, Lord, the prayers we now offer, and direct our lives in the way of Thy commandments. Sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, purify our minds and deliver us from all affliction, evil and illness. Surround us with Thy holy angels, that guarded and instructed by their forces, we may reach unity of faith and the understanding of Thine unapproachable glory: for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

SHOW NOTES:   In Podcast Episode 303, “Act in Fear of the Lord, with Faithfulness and an Undivided Heart,” Kim discusses King Jehoshaphat's instructions to the judges who would deal with matters of faith and how those same instructions can challenge each of us. We should also be challenged by a king's commitment to seeking God and encouraging the people to do the same. How would the world be changed if we had leaders wholly committed to the Lord?   Our focal passage for this episode is 2 Chronicles 19:1-11 with 4 and 9 as the focal verses:   4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, but he went out among the people, traveling from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, encouraging the people to return to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.   These were his instructions to them: “You must always act in the fear of the Lord, with faithfulness and an undivided heart.     WEEKLY ENGAGEMENT FEATURE:   Prayerfully rate yourself in these three areas: (1) Acting in the fear of the Lord; (2) Faithfulness; (3) Undivided Heart.   Additional Resources and Scriptures:   Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. (Proverbs 1:7) 24 But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. (1 Samuel 12:24) If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. (Jeremiah 29:13) 11 Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. 12 With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, (Ps. 86:11-12) EMAIL — encouragingothersinlovingjesus@gmail.com TWITTER - https://twitter.com/EOinLovingJesus INSTAGRAM -  https://www.instagram.com/encouragingothersinlovingjesus/ “Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus” YouTube Channel: Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/@EncouragingOthersInLovingJesus     I WANT TO BEGIN A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST.   RESOURCES USED FOR BOOK OF 1 & 2 Kings PODCASTS: “The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete Old Testament OT in One Volume” “Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings” by Tony Merida “The Tony Evans Bible Commentary: Advancing God's Kingdom Agenda” “Life Application Study Bible” “The Swindoll Study Bible: NLT” by Charles R. Swindoll Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary “The Baker Illustrated Bible Background Commentary” by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays (Editors) Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): Old Testament, 2004, by Kenneth L. Barker, John R. Kohlenberger, III.     "Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus" Facebook Group:   Our Facebook Group is devoted to providing a place for us to encourage each other through all the seasons of life. Follow the provided link to request admittance into “Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus”—https://www.facebook.com/groups/encouragingothersinlovingjesus/ Feel free to invite others who will be good encouragers and/or need encouragement to follow Jesus.   This podcast is hosted by Kim Smith, a small town Country Girl who left her comfort zone to follow Jesus in a big City World. Now, she wants to use God's Word and lessons from her faith journey to encourage others in loving Jesus.   In each episode, Kim will share insights regarding a portion of God's Word and challenge listeners to apply the lessons to their daily lives.   If you want to grow in your faith and learn how to encourage others in loving Jesus, subscribe and commit to prayerfully listening each week.   Remember, “It's Always a Trust & Obey Kinda Day!”   If you have questions or comments or would like to learn more about how to follow Jesus, please email Kim at EncouragingOthersinLovingJesus@gmail.com.     National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline   988   https://988lifeline.org/   Reference: Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.   Podcast recorded through Cleanfeed and edited through GarageBand. The soundtrack, entitled “Outlaw John McShane” was obtained from Pixabay.       The HIDDEN Episodes:  If you can't access episodes 1-50 on your podcast app (the podcast was then entitled "A Country Girl in a City World - Loving Jesus"), you can get all the content at my Podbean site at https://acountrygirlinacityworldlovingjesus.podbean.com/  

Escaping Apostate Church Judgments (4) (Audio) David Eells 11/27/24 I'm going to pick up where we left off in part 3. This is important for the people of God to know because time is very short now. Let's go to Zec.11:17 Woe unto the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm…. The arm represents your strength by which you do your works with your hands. Isa.53:1 … And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Our strength is Jesus Christ, “the arm of the Lord”, and we do our works through His power. This next verse we will share speaks about the leadership of apostate shepherds that God said He would raise up. Zec.11:17 Woe unto the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, (I.e. he will not have the strength of the Lord to do His works.) and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened. The sword shall be upon his right eye, means his spiritual discernment, his ability to see in the spirit, his ability to discern and understand the Word of God, and so on “shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.” This very much describes the leadership in most of the Church today. This sounds very much like a verse in Micah: Mic.3:6 Therefore, it shall be night unto you, that ye shall have no vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them. We're coming to a day when people who have called themselves prophets and spiritual leaders, pastors, and so on, if they have not followed the Lord in putting to death the old man of their flesh, and submitted to the Word of God, they're going to become more and more blind. God is taking away their discernment. Even now, He's taking away their spiritual discernment and they're not even understanding that it's happening. Mic.3:1 And I said, Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not for you to know justice? 2 ye who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; 3 who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them…. What do you think it means to take their skin off of them? Our skin separates us from the world. It also is a protection against the attack of the enemy, isn't it? Our skin protects us against germs and things like that. It's kind of a first line of defense, isn't it? So, again, why are so many of the people of God plundered by these curses? Because they are not trained with the true Word of God! The Word of God is our defense, it's our shield, it's our high tower and there's no protection unless we are trained in it. So Mic.3:3 … they flay their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the cauldron. Your bones are where your life comes from. Also we see that the apostate shepherds will devour and get fat off of the flesh of the sheep. People who are not fleshly can't stand these apostate ministers, but the people of God who are fleshly cannot discern them. Even the world can look at the apostate ministers and see that they are plundering the flock, but these poor people have fallen under their spell. They're going to sleep listening to their teachings and so they cannot rightly discern. Mic.3:4 Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not answer them; yea, he will hide his face from them at that time, according as they have wrought evil in their doings. Well, it was the same in Jesus' day. Jesus spoke to them in parables so that they would not perceive and would not understand and repent, and God would heal them according to Matthew 13:15. We know that the same thing is happening in our day. God is not going to grant most of them repentance. They have done evil in plundering God's people and very few of them are going to escape. Mic.3:5 Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people to err; that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and whoso putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. In other words, anybody who doesn't flatter their ego, well, they're going to make war against them, right? Anybody who doesn't feed their pocketbook or their ego, they're going to make war against them. Mic.3:6 Therefore it shall be night unto you, that ye shall have no vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets and the day shall be black over them. 7 And the seers shall be put to shame, and the diviners confounded; yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God. Remember how when Saul was in a war with the enemy and he was losing the war, he tried to get an answer from God and God would not answer him? And so what did Saul end up doing? Going to the demons. Do you think it's any different today? I don't think so. Mic.3:8 But as for me, I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord…. “Micah” means “Who is like God.” Micah, who is like God, says, But as for me, I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. Again we've found another Man-child here who is being accosted by the Eli, Saul and Pharisee ministries, right? Mic.3:9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, that abhor justice, and pervert all equity (which basically means “uprightness,” “pervert all uprightness”). 10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. 11 The heads thereof judge for reward (They are hirelings like the Eli ministry.), and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us. 12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest. So judgment came on Jerusalem, the apostate leadership, because, God's people have followed a Saul ministry, a Pharisee ministry, and so judgment came. And we see once again why this Tribulation is coming upon the world. It's for the same reason. God's people have not represented Him to this world and it has to be done. We're coming to the end. God is merciful in bringing these judgments. It has to be done. So returning to our text in 1 Samuel, we see that even though Samuel had showed up as a child and was not yet matured, and he had not yet come into his position of authority, God was training him. However, during this whole time, Eli was becoming darker and darker in his understanding and dimmer and dimmer in his sight, but the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was laid down [to sleep,] in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was (1Sa.3:3); (Samuel slept in the presence of God, didn't he? He rested in the presence of God.); that the Lord called Samuel…. Now, to make a long story short, the Lord called Samuel while he was in Eli's house. 1Sa.3:11 And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone that heareth it shall tingle. 12 In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even unto the end. Wow! That sounds like it comes all the way down to us, doesn't it? If God is prophesying that He's going to judge Eli's house all the way to the end, He must be talking about the end-time here. We know that there are people in Eli's house today because, if you walk in the steps of someone, you're a part of their house; you're a part of their heritage. In the New Testament, we've learned that you pass on your heritage by words and by nature, not by flesh. We are Christians because we have taken on His Name, meaning in Greek, His nature, character and authority – all those attributes. And, of course, you'd be in Eli's house for the same reasons – that you had been taking on his nature, character and authority. That's how you would be in his house in the end times. Well, God says that the days are coming when everything that He's spoken about Eli is going to be fulfilled and I tell you, that's happening in our days, folks. 1Sa.3:13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons did bring a curse upon themselves, and he restrained them not. 14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated (“purged”) with sacrifice nor offering forever. Have we ever read in the Scriptures where God would not forgive and cleanse and purge a man's sins, a man who is a child of God? Yes, we have. The Bible tells us this very plainly in Heb.10:26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins. What brings responsibility is the knowledge someone has. Jesus came on the scene so that those who said they saw would become blind and those who didn't see would see. When Jesus came, He brought the knowledge that made people responsible. And He said, If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no excuse for their sin (Joh.15:22). His knowledge of the Word of God that He gave them made them responsible. In this situation, Eli is being prophesied to through Samuel. God spoke to Samuel to give this revelation to Eli, which Samuel did. God essentially said that Eli's house would not be purged by sacrifice; meaning God wasn't going to forgive him for this. Some of you think God will forgive you for anything if you repent, but I'll tell you what, they weren't going to repent. And did you know, God grants repentance? The Bible says God has to grant repentance. He doesn't do that for everybody. He didn't grant the Pharisees repentance; He didn't grant Saul repentance; He didn't grant Eli and his house repentance; and it was because they all continued to walk in willful disobedience. Heb.10:26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. You see, there is a place where God will not grant, where the sacrifice of Jesus will not grant a person repentance because they continued to walk in willful disobedience. Back to 1Sa.3:19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. Oh, praise God! Have you ever heard the old saying that the heavens were brass? People prayed and they didn't feel like their prayers were getting into the heavens, but instead, they were bouncing and coming back. Well, none of Samuel's prayers bounced, folks. His name means “heard of God.” In other words, God heard him and when Samuel made a pronouncement it came to pass, and when he prophesied it was the truth. So be happy that we have a ministry like that coming down the road. 1Sa.3:20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord (Note that this is even though he was a child at this time). 21 And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh (which was the house of God); for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. He revealed himself to Samuel in the house of God by the word of the Lord. 1Sa.4:1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. There it is, “to all Israel.” Samuel was sending this word forth to all of Israel while the Eli ministry was still in official authority here and so the rest of this chapter is about what happens to those who follow the Eli ministry. As the Word of the Lord was coming to them and making them responsible, it was making them more and more blind and more and more apostate. God was taking grace away. Every time they would reject the true Word of God, they'd lose more grace. Today we see them stumbling around, very foolishly, with false doctrines and bad spirits. Why? They're becoming more and more blind and their grace is being taken away. 1Sa.4:1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. So once again, those who are under the Eli ministry are going up against the Philistines. As you remember, this happened with Saul. His battle against the Philistines was lost and God said the reason for that was that Saul didn't put to death the old man when God sent them out to do that. So now the Philistines were coming back to conquer them and Israel, under the leadership of the Eli ministry, was going forth to battle with the Philistines. 1Sa.4:2 And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines…. We see the same thing that happened to Saul. The apostate ministry brought destruction at the hands of the old man and the people who followed that apostate ministry died at the hands of the old man, the Philistine. 1Sa.4:2 … And they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. Notice that responsibility brings judgment. Responsibility came because Samuel sent forth the Word to all Israel and, here, all of a sudden, judgment comes upon the apostate ministry and the people who follow them. 1Sa.4:3 And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to-day before the Philistines? They didn't understand why they were losing the battle with the Philistines. These are the elders. These are the elders of the church in our day. Why did God smite us? What can we do about this? They did not understand. Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that it may come among us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies. 4 So the people sent to Shiloh; and they brought from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who sitteth [above] the cherubim: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. This is false leadership. They had taken possession of the ark of God. Now, let me ask you a question here. You are a child of God because you have the Presence of the Lord in your Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant was a part of the Temple. It was the presence of God in the Holy of Holies. So we together, the corporate body of Christ, we are that temple and our spirits are the Ark of the Covenant because God dwells in our spirits. So, because you have the Spirit of God, does that save you? I mean, here they sent to the House of God, they took out the Ark of the Covenant, they brought it with them and they put it in their midst because they thought this would save them. They thought the Ark would save them, but is that really true? Remember what we read in Mic.3:4 Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not answer them; yea, he will hide his face from them at that time, according as they have wrought evil in their doings. So they've plundered the people of God, as the first text tells us, and now God won't listen to them anymore. This is the same thing that happened with Saul. God would answer him neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets (1Sa.28:6), so Saul turned to familiar spirits and God turned him over to demon spirits. Mic.3:11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money (of course, the sons of Eli were doing all these things): yet they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us. 12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field…. You see, the presence of the Lord didn't save them. How is it that they could have the presence of the Lord in their midst and still not be saved from the Philistines? How is this possible? Well, the Bible tells us in Rom.8:12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh: 13 for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die…. How is it, if we live after the flesh, we must die? Because if you submit to the flesh, if you let the flesh rule, then it's going to put to death your spiritual man; you're going to spiritually die. You may still be living, but you'll be dead on your feet. You'll be walking in death and you'll have no victory over the Philistine whatsoever. Rom.8:13 … but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body (in other words, if you are putting to death the old Philistine, the old man, he says), ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Now, I ask you, could the people who are following the Saul ministry, the Eli ministry, and the Pharisee ministry, could they be righteous? Could they be sons of God? And could they be following the Spirit of God? No, they couldn't because they couldn't see and perceive that these men were evil. They weren't following the Spirit of God; they were following these men who were not following the Spirit of God themselves. So we see that you can have the presence of God and not be spared. Listen, some people think you're going to be saved because you have the Holy Spirit. That's not so. You're not going to be saved unless you follow the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit will just condemn you because you are capable, and you're able to partake of the inheritance in the saints. Somebody who has the Holy Spirit can do this, but if you're not doing it, then your gift is just condemning you that much more. The presence of the Lord was in their midst, but it wasn't saving them and they lost the next battle. 1Sa.4:5 And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. 6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. 7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. Think about this. The old man fears God. The old man will not submit to Him, but he does fear God. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. 8 Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? Actually, that word gods is the word Elohim. It's the same word we just read: “God is come into the camp.” It's talking about our God and they translated it “gods” because they knew it was coming out of the mouth of Philistines, but 2700 times in the Bible this was translated elohim because elohim is plural. God is plural. “Y-H-W-H is Elohim”, the Scripture tells us. The name of the true God is plural. God is One God, but He's One in unity, not in essence. So it should be read here just the way it's translated everywhere else, as 1Sa.4:8 who shall deliver us out of the hands of this mighty God? this is the God that smote the Egyptians with all manner of plagues in the wilderness. 1Sa.4:9 Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Notice “that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews.” God's plan is that the old man is a servant to the spiritual man. They were afraid they were going to lose their position of authority over the spiritual man, so they said, “Let's fight extra hard here; we don't want to serve the spirit man. We don't want to serve the Hebrews.” And you know the flesh hates the spirit; the flesh dies when the spirit man's in control. 1Sa.4:9 … That ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight. 10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten…. Even though the presence of the Lord was in their midst, the Israelites were conquered by the old man who lives in the land. They were conquered. It was because they wouldn't follow the Spirit of God. They were following the Eli ministry and so they were conquered by the old man. We saw the same thing with the Saul ministry. Those who followed Saul died at the hands of the Philistines. Here they followed the Eli ministry and what happened? They were dying at the hands of the Philistines. It made no difference that they were what we loosely call “children of God”; it made no difference that they had God in their midst; they still died. It's what Jude calls twice dead, plucked up by the roots (Jud.12). And there's another reason. Psa.78:56 Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God, And kept not his testimonies; 57 But turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers: They were turned aside like a deceitful bow. 58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places…. They had the high places of the altar of Baal and the Ashtaroth in the time of Eli, but Samuel put all that away. 58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, And moved him to jealousy with their graven images. This is what Ezekiel called the abomination in chapters seven and nine. The abomination. Here's an abomination. You know what abominations do? The abominations make one desolate. Well, what happens when you're desolate? God leaves your temple. Psa.78:59 When God heard [this,] he was wroth, And greatly abhorred Israel; 60 So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh (Aha! That's “an abomination that maketh desolate”.), The tent which he placed among men; 61 And delivered his strength (that was the Ark that came out of the Temple) into captivity, and his glory into the adversary's hand. And we know that when the Israelites were conquered, then the Philistines took possession of the Ark of God. The Israelites had brought it there with their own hands. They brought the Ark out of the Temple of God, out of the House of God, with their own hands. They thought it would save them but, instead, the Philistines captured the Ark. 1Sa.4:10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man to his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. 11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. When the Ark of God is taken possession of by the Philistines, it means that you, as the temple of God's Presence, are being ruled by the old man. It means that the old man is taking the presence of God where he wants to go. He has taken possession now, you see, and that brings death every time. Rom.8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye must die…. It's death every time. You see, God's presence comes into you so that you, by His Spirit, would be led by your spiritual man. But in this case, they lost their battle with the old man and the old man had taken possession of the Spirit of the Temple of God. Psa.78:61 And delivered his strength into captivity, And his glory into the adversary's hand. 62 He gave his people over also unto the sword (in other words, the death of the Saul, the Eli, the Pharisee ministry), And was wroth with his inheritance. 63 Fire devoured their young men; And their virgins had no marriage song. 64 Their priests fell by the sword (Hophni and Phinehas fell by the sword); And their widows made no lamentation. Now, I'm going to share a revelation with you.     Not My Father's House Care Sebourn - 06/27/2008 (David's notes in red) The dream starts with Mick and I going through a door of a rental house. (The house that is merchandised, Babylonish religion.) I am carrying a baby boy, he is bald and has huge blue eyes. (The fruit of Christ with heavenly insight and bald in this case, means no submission to Babylon.) As we enter I stop in the first room and look around. I noticed the place is filthy and torn up. (The apostate house of God's people has been trashed.) I can see the kitchen from the room we are standing in and there are stacks and stacks of dirty, gross dishes with food stuck on them. (Their table is unclean.) Mick and I are disgusted and wonder why we would rent such a place. I notice my three children (the ones that still live at home) working like dogs, trying to clean the place up. I tell them to stop and that it is useless to try because it will never clean up. My kids are relieved and almost grateful that I saw it was useless. (It is time to give up trying to clean up Babylon and call the people out. Jer.51:9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country.) Then they drag out a huge box that is covered in dirt. They want Mick and I to see what's inside, so they open it for us. Inside is a guitar covered in dirt, rocks, etc. (Unveiling the hidden corruption in their music and word.) In an instant the room becomes bigger and is filled with furniture and people. Across the room Mick and I spot this man that is sitting at a dining room table. Right away I realize that he is the owner of the house. Mick takes the baby from me and we make our way towards him. As I am walking toward him I run into a thrashed overstuffed chair and couch. I look down and notice the terrible condition of the carpet. Then I move the chair and notice huge rips and tears in the carpet. I then commented to Mick that they tried to cover the holes with furniture. (“There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed”.) How deceiving. Mick agreed with me. He is still holding the baby. I look up and notice the owner is still seated across the room. As we resume our journey towards him I realize that he and many of his “friends” are having a Christmas party. (Babylon's roots are from Babel of the false Jesus and Mary.) We hear someone call the owner “Sal”. (Short for Salvatore, meaning Savior; teachers of false salvation.) These friends of his are smoking (which is partaking of unclean breath or spirits), drinking (out of touch with reality) and partying it up (overindulging in the world). They were eating from huge tables of elegant and rich food as they laughed and socialized. As we continue our way to “Sal”, many of these people stop us and try to engage us in conversation. They offer us food and we turn it down. (Refusing Babylon's spiritual food as did the three Hebrews.) I feel as though they are trying to stop us from getting to Sal. Mick and I join hands (we still have the baby) and we begin to try and maneuver around the people. One by one some of them step in front of us and begin talking to us. All of them are so sweet and friendly. One woman was right in our face smoking a cigarette; she was terribly overly made-up with hideous make-up. (The harlot hinders “the way” of the righteous and protects their leadership.) The room was crowded and smelled nasty. The strange thing was that none of these people noticed the filth or the smell. (They are spiritually assimilated into the harlot and do not recognize holiness.) As we reached the other side of the room, Sal was in the corner. He looked up and saw us walking toward him and got really nervous. (These sons of perdition feel cornered and threatened by the righteous.) He gave us a fake smile and said, “Hello”. I noticed he had a New York (Little Babylon) accent and had the characteristics of a used car salesman. (They are slick con men.) I looked him straight in the eye and told him that he lied to us; this house was torn up and filthy and I wanted all of my money back. (Stop pouring God's money down a rat hole, Church!) Sal dropped his eyes to the ground and ignored me. I repeated my request for the money back. He continued to ignore me. I was aware that people were still partying and going about their business and I could still hear Christmas music (Babylon's false Jesus worship). I stepped away and took the baby out of Mickey's arms and stepped into the other corner where I felt he would be safe. I observed Mick and Sal in an intense discussion and after a long period of time, Sal took out his checkbook, wrote a check and handed it to Mick. Then Mick made his way back to me in the corner, still having to dodge Sal's friends. When he reached the baby and me, I noticed he was disappointed. The check was for $78 and I became angry because I knew that I had given Sal over $2000. (The apostates have stolen 2000 years from the Church and all they want to offer is 78, which means ignorance and idolatry, which I'll explain below.) I handed the baby back to Mick and took the check from his hand. I marched across the room towards Sal, and this time his friends didn't try to detour me or block my way. As I walked, they created a path for me to get to Sal and there was fear in their eyes. When I reached him, I could tell that Sal was not happy that I was back and he began to slowly retreat into the corner as I yelled at him, “This is unacceptable and I will not accept this $78. (Don't accept 78.) I gave you over $2000 and all I got was this filthy house. (The Church has nothing to show for 2000 years of self-effort.) Take back your house and give me back my money”. Sal retreated further back into the corner and the room became dead quiet. Again I repeated my request and told him I did not want the house; I wanted him to refund the money. He ignored me and so I repeated it again. He dropped his eyes to the ground and became despondent, as though he were wishing me away, but I persisted, and again I demanded that he return my money as I held my hand out in front of his face. Reluctantly, he again pulled out the same checkbook, looked me dead in the eyes, and said nothing. I then noticed that Mick and the baby were standing directly behind me. Then I repeated to Sal that I wanted all of my money back. He slithered down into a chair and began to write a check. As he was writing the check, I noticed that he became angrier and angrier. He violently removed the check from the checkbook and slapped it into my hand. When he put it in my hand, I looked down at the check and noticed it was for over $2000. (God is going to restore through the latter rain all that the thieves have taken from His people for the last 2000 years as in Joel 2:25.) I snatched up the check and Mick and I began to exit the house hand in hand. Once we were outside, I noticed it was nighttime. I gave Mick the check and I told him that Sal could not be trusted; we must go now and immediately deposit the check. Then I woke up. This dream represents the ministry of bringing the fruit of Christ to the apostate church in correction. It is full of sin and worldliness. This church is likened unto a rental house because it is merchandised. Jesus told the Pharisees, “Make not my Father's house a house of merchandise”. Their table (food) is unclean. Their leader and owner is Sal, which is short for Salvatore, meaning Savior. Many have trusted in these Pharisees and their word instead of the real Savior and His Word. Sal's friends are a hindrance in the way of the real Church. They have destroyed and corrupted (trashed) the Father's house. As Jesus said, their house is being left unto them desolate. All attempts to revive the system are over and the real Church is moving on. Everything their leaders have stolen for 2000 years will be demanded of them. As in Luke 16, they will have to give account of their stewardship before they are thrown out of office. All they offer the Church in return is 78. I asked the Lord what the ‘78' that the false leaders were offering represented. He gave me the 7th book and 8th chapter of the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 8, which speaks of false knowledge, sacrificing to idols, (which are demons in 10:20), preachers and religious systems, idols and idols temples, defiling the conscience, leading God's people astray, etc. This is what the apostate leaders offer in exchange for their leadership for the last 2000 years. But a great revival and restoration of all things is coming now. PTL!

1 Kings 19:1-21 NIV Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.” “Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?” So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.

1 Kings 19:1-21 NIV Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.” “Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?” So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.

Joseph Brings His Family to Egypt 46 So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. […]

Tuesday, 5 November 2024   Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. Matthew 4:25   “And great throngs, they followed Him from the Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and beyond the Jordan” (CG).   In the previous verse, people brought the sick from all the areas of Syria, and Jesus healed them. Next, Matthew records, “And great throngs.”   It is the first use of ochlos, a throng, in the New Testament. It is a word that can indicate a crowd, mob, the common people in general, etc. In this case, because of the masses of humanity around Jesus, intensified by the word “great,” and because it is plural, the word throng gives a good sense. The people were not just a crowd, as if from the local village, but from all over, as Matthew next says, beginning with the words, “they followed Him from the Galilee.”   As previously noted, the Galilee is not merely referring to the sea and its immediate surroundings. Rather, it is an entire circular region with many cities that extend well beyond the sea itself. Next, it says, “and Decapolis.”   The word is a transliteration from the Greek Dekapolis. It is derived from deka, ten, and polis, city. Albert Barnes says –   “Decapolis was the name of a region of country in the bounds of the half-tribe of Manasseh, mainly on the east of Jordan. It was so called because it included 10 cities - the meaning of the word Decapolis in Greek. Geographers generally agree that Scythopolis was the chief of these cities, and was the only one of them west of the Jordan; that Hippo (Hippos), Gadara, Dion (or Dios), Pelea (or Pella), Gerasa (or Gergesa), Philadelphia, and Raphana (or Raphanae), were seven of the remaining nine, and the other two were either Kanatha and Capitolias, or Damascus and Otopos. These cities were inhabited chiefly by foreigners (Greeks) in the days of our Saviour, and not by Jews.”   Next Matthew notes, “and Jerusalem.”   Depending on the route traveled, the distance from Capernaum to Jerusalem is about one hundred and twenty miles. This is a long way to walk, but people traversed the country in order to see the One they had heard about. If there were lame or sick among them, they would either be carried or placed on a donkey. Thus, it would have been a tiring journey for those involved. After this, it next says, “and Judea.”   This includes the entire region in the south of Israel. It extended from Samaria to the north to Beersheba in the south. It also covered the area from the Jordan and Dead Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. It is an expansive area, filled with cities. Lastly, the words end with, “and beyond the Jordan.”   The meaning is anything east of the Jordan not already covered by the term Decapolis. The area at the time was known as Peraea, the name of which is probably derived from the words “beyond Jordan.” The word translated as “beyond” is peran. In other words, anywhere that Jews lived that was beyond the Jordan is included. Today, this area is mostly encompassed by the nation of Jordan.   Due to the great amount of land included in the description, and the large number of cities found throughout it, the word “throngs” is an excellent descriptor of the situation. These words close out Chapter 4, but in Chapter 5, the gathering of these throngs will lead to the great Sermon on the Mount delivered by the Lord.   Life application: The word of Jesus spread throughout all the areas where the Jews were staying in the immediate region of Israel. His ministry was directed to these people first. It was a ministry conducted under the Law of Moses but which anticipated a time that extended beyond the Law.   The reason for this, as He will say in Chapter 5, was that He and His ministry came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. In other words, Jesus Himself was not setting aside the law merely by His coming, but through His time of having come. He voluntarily placed Himself under the law. Within that state, He then lived out the precepts of the law perfectly, having never violated its precepts.   In fulfilling the law, it was then set aside for all who come to Him through faith. When Jesus was conducting His ministry, the people of Israel had no idea that His work would later be inclusive of the Gentiles, people who were never under the law. Thus, when we read His words, and those of the writers of the synoptic gospels in particular, we need to understand the context of what He is saying.   Because the words of His ministry really start to take shape in Chapter 5, keep this in mind. If you are a Gentile, or a Jew who has already received Jesus, don't shove yourself into the words. Determine the context and then ask yourself, is this section referring to me too, or is it only to those who have not yet received Jesus? At times, they will speak of one or the other, but the majority of what is said is directed to Jews who are under the law and their need to come to Jesus to be freed from its heavy yoke.   Heavenly Father, thank You for Chapter 4 of Matthew. It has been a great experience and a joy to consider. We look forward to the next chapter. Help us to keep things in context and to remember the rules of biblical interpretation as we go. Be with us in this time of discovery. Amen.  

Jacob's Dream 10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

1 Kings 19:1-21 NIV Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.” “Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?” So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.

God's Promise to Isaac 26.1 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Isaac and Abimelech 6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance. 8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife. 9 So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister'?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.'” 10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” 12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.” 17 So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. 19 But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” 23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well.

Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com_______________Opening Words:“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”Psalm 19:14 (ESV) Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Venite (Psalm 95:1-7)Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. Come, let us sing to the Lord; * let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving * and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.For the Lord is a great God, * and a great King above all gods.In his hand are the caverns of the earth, * and the heights of the hills are his also.The sea is his, for he made it, * and his hands have molded the dry land.Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice! Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. The PsalterPsalm 131Domine, non est1O Lord, I am not proud; *I have no haughty looks.2I do not occupy myself with great matters, *or with things that are too hard for me.3But I still my soul and make it quiet,like a child upon its mother's breast; *my soul is quieted within me.4O Israel, wait upon the Lord, *from this time forth for evermore.Psalm 132Memento, Domine1Lord, remember David, *and all the hardships he endured;2How he swore an oath to the Lord *and vowed a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:3“I will not come under the roof of my house,” *nor climb up into my bed;4I will not allow my eyes to sleep, *nor let my eyelids slumber;5Until I find a place for the Lord, *a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”6“The ark! We heard it was in Ephratah; *we found it in the fields of Jearim.7Let us go to God's dwelling place; *let us fall upon our knees before his footstool.”8Arise, O Lord, into your resting-place, *you and the ark of your strength.9Let your priests be clothed with righteousness; *let your faithful people sing with joy.10For your servant David's sake, *do not turn away the face of your Anointed.11The Lord has sworn an oath to David; *in truth, he will not break it:12“A son, the fruit of your body *will I set upon your throne.13If your children keep my covenantand my testimonies that I shall teach them, *their children will sit upon your throne for evermore.”14For the Lord has chosen Zion; *he has desired her for his habitation:15“This shall be my resting-place for ever; *here will I dwell, for I delight in her.16I will surely bless her provisions, *and satisfy her poor with bread.17I will clothe her priests with salvation, *and her faithful people will rejoice and sing.18There will I make the horn of David flourish; *I have prepared a lamp for my Anointed.19As for his enemies, I will clothe them with shame; *but as for him, his crown will shine.” Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Lessons2 Kings 23:4-25English Standard Version4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city. 9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech. 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned, reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. 16 And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. 17 Then he said, “What is that monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.” 18 And he said, “Let him be; let no man move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. 19 And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. 20 And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.21 And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.1 Corinthians 12:1-11English Standard Version12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; * he has come to his people and set them free.He has raised up for us a mighty savior, * born of the house of his servant David.Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, * from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers * and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, * to set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship him without fear, * holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins.In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersLord, have mercy.Christ, have mercyLord, have mercyOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. The SuffragesO Lord, show your mercy upon us;And grant us your salvation.O Lord, guide those who govern usAnd lead us in the way of justice and truth.Clothe your ministers with righteousnessAnd let your people sing with joy.O Lord, save your peopleAnd bless your inheritance.Give peace in our time, O LordAnd defend us by your mighty power.Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgottenNor the hope of the poor be taken away.Create in us clean hearts, O GodAnd take not your Holy Spirit from us. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. The CollectsProper 22Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Collect of Saint BasilO Christ God, Who art worshipped and glorified at every place and time; Who art long-suffering, most merciful and compassionate; Who lovest the righteous and art merciful to sinners; Who callest all to salvation with the promise of good things to come: receive, Lord, the prayers we now offer, and direct our lives in the way of Thy commandments. Sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, purify our minds and deliver us from all affliction, evil and illness. Surround us with Thy holy angels, that guarded and instructed by their forces, we may reach unity of faith and the understanding of Thine unapproachable glory: for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen. General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God!Alleluia, Alleluia! BenedictionThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. Incoming rocket sirens sounded in central Israel following rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. The alerts are activated in some areas of Tel Aviv, as well as Holon, Rishon Lezion, Bat Yam, and other central towns. At the same time, the IDF said it thwarted a large barrage of rockets Hamas planned to launch at Israel this morning on the anniversary of the October 7 massacre. We hear what came out of the Strip this morning. Yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces said that troops had encircled Jabaliya amid a new ground operation targeting efforts by Hamas to reestablish itself in northern Gaza. Fabian speaks of other new developments in the Strip. Five people were wounded in Haifa on Sunday when Israel's air defenses failed to intercept a barrage of five rockets launched from Lebanon, allowing at least one rocket to strike a busy urban area. What do we know about the air defense failure? The IDF announced that its 91st “Galilee” Regional Division began ground operations last night in southern Lebanon, joining two other divisions already operating there against Hezbollah. We hear about the ground operation and the airstrikes being conducted in tandem. A Border Police officer was killed and at least 10 others were wounded when a terrorist opened fire in the Beersheba bus station on Sunday afternoon. The victim was identified as Sgt. Shira Suslik, 19, a Border Police officer from Beersheba. Fabian talks about the site of the attack and its history. As the country marked one year since the onset of the war on October 7, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces on Monday published new data on its operations in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Lebanon, from the number of rockets fired at Israel to the number of sites struck by the Israeli Air Force. Fabian brings highlights. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: IDF launches new ground op in north Gaza's Jabaliya to foil Hamas efforts to regroup IDF preparing for possible long-range rocket attacks from Gaza on Oct. 7 anniversary Five injured in Haifa after air defenses fail to intercept Hezbollah rocket barrage Border cop killed, 10 wounded in terror shooting attack at Beersheba central bus station IDF says hostage Idan Shtivi was declared dead based on new intelligence A year of war: IDF data shows 728 troops killed, over 26,000 rockets fired at Israel Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick. IMAGE: Israelis hold hands at Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv, next to photographs of Israelis killed in the October 7 massacre, on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack, October 7, 2024. (Tomer Neubergi/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com_______________Opening Words:“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”Psalm 19:14 (ESV) Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Venite (Psalm 95:1-7)Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. Come, let us sing to the Lord; * let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving * and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.For the Lord is a great God, * and a great King above all gods.In his hand are the caverns of the earth, * and the heights of the hills are his also.The sea is his, for he made it, * and his hands have molded the dry land.Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice! Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. The PsalterPsalm 97Dominus regnavit1The Lord is King;let the earth rejoice; *let the multitude of the isles be glad.2Clouds and darkness are round about him, *righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne.3A fire goes before him *and burns up his enemies on every side.4His lightnings light up the world; *the earth sees it and is afraid.5The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, *at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.6The heavens declare his righteousness, *and all the peoples see his glory.7Confounded be all who worship carved imagesand delight in false gods! *Bow down before him, all you gods.8Zion hears and is glad, and the cities of Judah rejoice, *because of your judgments, O Lord.9For you are the Lord,most high over all the earth; *you are exalted far above all gods.10The Lord loves those who hate evil; *he preserves the lives of his saintsand delivers them from the hand of the wicked.11Light has sprung up for the righteous, *and joyful gladness for those who are truehearted.12Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, *and give thanks to his holy Name.Psalm 99Dominus regnavit1The Lord is King;let the people tremble; *he is enthroned upon the cherubim;let the earth shake.2The Lord is great in Zion; *he is high above all peoples.3Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; *he is the Holy One.4“O mighty King, lover of justice,you have established equity; *you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”5Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our Godand fall down before his footstool; *he is the Holy One.6Moses and Aaron among his priests,and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *they called upon the Lord, and he answered them.7He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.8“O Lord our God, you answered them indeed; *you were a God who forgave them,yet punished them for their evil deeds.”9Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our Godand worship him upon his holy hill; *for the Lord our God is the Holy One.Psalm 100Jubilate Deo1Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *serve the Lord with gladnessand come before his presence with a song.2Know this: The Lord himself is God; *he himself has made us, and we are his;we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.3Enter his gates with thanksgiving;go into his courts with praise; *give thanks to him and call upon his Name.4For the Lord is good;his mercy is everlasting; *and his faithfulness endures from age to age. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Lessons2 Chronicles 29:1-3English Standard Version29 Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.2 Chronicles 30English Standard Version30 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. 2 For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month— 3 for they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem— 4 and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. 5 So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. 6 So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. 8 Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”10 So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. 11 However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.13 And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly. 14 They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the brook Kidron. 15 And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. 16 They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. 18 For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone 19 who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.” 20 And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 21 And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might to the Lord. 22 And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.23 Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests consecrated themselves in great numbers. 25 The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven.1 Corinthians 7:32-40English Standard Version32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.36 If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. 37 But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. 38 So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better.39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God. The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; * he has come to his people and set them free.He has raised up for us a mighty savior, * born of the house of his servant David.Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, * from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers * and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, * to set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship him without fear, * holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins.In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersLord, have mercy.Christ, have mercyLord, have mercyOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. The SuffragesO Lord, show your mercy upon us;And grant us your salvation.O Lord, guide those who govern usAnd lead us in the way of justice and truth.Clothe your ministers with righteousnessAnd let your people sing with joy.O Lord, save your peopleAnd bless your inheritance.Give peace in our time, O LordAnd defend us by your mighty power.Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgottenNor the hope of the poor be taken away.Create in us clean hearts, O GodAnd take not your Holy Spirit from us. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. The CollectsProper 21O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Collect of Saint BasilO Christ God, Who art worshipped and glorified at every place and time; Who art long-suffering, most merciful and compassionate; Who lovest the righteous and art merciful to sinners; Who callest all to salvation with the promise of good things to come: receive, Lord, the prayers we now offer, and direct our lives in the way of Thy commandments. Sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, purify our minds and deliver us from all affliction, evil and illness. Surround us with Thy holy angels, that guarded and instructed by their forces, we may reach unity of faith and the understanding of Thine unapproachable glory: for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen. General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God!Alleluia, Alleluia! BenedictionThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Audio Recording Sermon OutlineSpeaker: Rev. Scott StrickmanSermon Series: SabbathAmos 8:1-14 (ESV)1 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me,“The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them.3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,”declares the Lord God.“So many dead bodies!”“They are thrown everywhere!”“Silence!”4 Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end,5 saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain?And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale,that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances,6 that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?”7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:“Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.8 Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who dwells in it,and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?”9 “And on that day,” declares the Lord God, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.10 I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation;I will bring sackcloth on every waist and baldness on every head;I will make it like the mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.11 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east;they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.13 “In that day the lovely virgins and the young men shall faint for thirst.14 Those who swear by the Guilt of Samaria, and say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan,'and, ‘As the Way of Beersheba lives,' they shall fall, and never rise again.”Sermon OutlineIs sabbath an opportunity or is it limiting? 1. End of Relationshipvv1-2 “a basket of summer fruit” “the end has come…”v5 “when will the sabbath be over?”v3 “the songs of the temple... wailing”v2 “never again pass by them” v11 “famine of the word of God” 2. End of Corruptionv5 “make the ephah small and shekel great, deal deceitfully with false balances”v4 “bring the poor to an end” (v6 “buy the poor”)3. End of Miseryv12 “seek and not find” v9 “I will make the sun go down at noon”v10 “…make it like the mourning for an only son” v13 “young men… faint for thirst” v14 “your god… shall fall… and never rise”Prayer of ConfessionOur Father, like children we depend on you for all things. We admit our sin. We have looked to you for what you can give us, failing to appreciate you, the giver. We have looked to the world thinking it can give us something better. We have experienced your ways as burdensome; we have resented your protective restraints. In greed, we have crossed lines for personal gain, causing damage and dishonoring others. We have ignored your word. We have misunderstood your patience. Through Christ, cleanse us from all sin. Open our ears to hear your gospel of grace so that everything in our lives is renewed and aligned with you. Amen.Questions for ReflectionDo you look forward to Sunday? What is your favorite part of the day?What kinds of things will you miss church for? How do you decide (what priorities do you have and how do you weigh them)?Are you eager for your work week to end (most weeks)? Why? Do you have a time you are committed to each week where you will not do any work?What would be your response to a prophet announcing a “famine of God's word”? How would this effect you? What would you be concerned about? Where do you see greed at work in your life? How does greed effect you?Why does greed within us prohibit connecting deeply with God?Is there any area of your life where you are cheating, manipulating, fudging the truth or taking advantage of others? Why? What are you gaining?How can God's generosity change your heart? What is so striking about Jesus giving himself so sacrificially for us?Since you can now seek and find, what are you doing to seek God?How can you make the most of a day for worship? What things can you do? What should you not do on that one day?How can a day of worship refresh you for the work of the other 6 days?

It is OKAY to not be OKAY. “We were never designed for the sedentary, indoor, socially isolated, fast-food laden, sleep deprived, frenzied pace of modern life.”—Stephen Ilardi-The Depression Cure Lamentations 3:17-20 NIV I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.   So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”   I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.   I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 2 Corinthians 1:8 NIV We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. I Kings 19:1-4 NLT When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal.   So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”   Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” FAULTY THINKING Philippians 4:8-9 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. ISOLATION Ecclesiastes 4:12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. Led by FEELINGS John 8:32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” COMPARISON Galatians 1:10 Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant. Kings 19:5-9 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.   Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God.   There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Some practical things for us to learn today about God is saying: 1. Get healthy PHYSICALLY. 2. Pour my HEART out to God. Matthew 11:28-29 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 3. Experience the POWER and PRESENCE of God. Psalm 46:10a “Be still, and know that I am God! 4. Let God give me a NEW PURPOSE and DIRECTION for my life. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Welcome to Day 2451 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom – Theology Thursday – 1003 bc - Who Authorized It - God or Satan – I Dare You Not To Bore Me With The Bible. Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2451 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2451 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today is the twentieth lesson in our segment, Theology Thursday. Utilizing excerpts from a book titled: I Dare You Not To Bore Me With The Bible written by Hebrew Bible scholar and professor the late Dr. Michael S Heiser, we will invest a couple of years going through the entire Bible, exploring short Biblical lessons that you may not have received in Bible classes or Church. The Bible is a wonderful book. Its pages reveal the epic story of God's redemption of humankind and the long, bitter conflict against evil. Yet it's also a book that seems strange to us. While God's Word was written for us, it wasn't written to us. Today, our lesson is: 1003 bc Census – Who Authorized It – God or Satan. One of the more vexing problems in the Old Testament is how to parse the parallel accounts of 1 Chronicles 21:1-17 and 2 Samuel 24:1-25. 1 Chronicles 21:1-2 2 Samuel 24:1-2 Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the people of Israel—from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north—and bring me a report so I may know how many there are.” Once again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the Lord told him. 2 So the king said to Joab and the commanders[a] of the army, “Take a census of all the tribes of Israel—from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south—so I may know how many people there are.” The two accounts are nearly identical, save for one glaring disparity: The Chronicler's version has Satan as David's instigator, while 2 Samuel names Yahweh, the God of Israel, as the provocateur. The Chronicler's account notes that David's act “was evil in the sight of God,' but this line is omitted in 2 Samuel. Both accounts have God posing three punishments before David, but David leaves the decision to the Lord. The Angel of Yahweh executes a plague on the land in both versions. The two accounts are contradictory. The options for resolution are all somewhat disconcerting. If we want to blame Satan, we must identify Yahweh as Satan. The reverse strategy requires that we identify Satan with the sovereign Yahweh. If Satan can somehow be removed from the picture, then we are faced with the fact that Yahweh incited David to do something, and then punished him for doing so. Is there any way out of this mess? The solution is surprisingly straightforward. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word satan (|OW) is not a proper personal name. This is because the definite

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Arab affairs correspondent Gianluca Pacchiani and political reporter Sam Sokol join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode. Pacchiani discusses the Bedouin background of rescued hostage Farhan al-Qadi, and the little known about his family, who didn't speak to the press over the last eleven months of his captivity, preferring their privacy and given concerns about how Hamas would treat a Bedouin hostage. He also speaks about his recent analysis of the Hamas propaganda machine, and the psychology behind their extensive advertising and public relations, which always aligns with one message. Sokol talks about the latest brouhaha with Transportation Minister Miri Regev who was tapped to handle the government's official October 7 ceremony but is seen as the wrong person for the job because of her political leanings. Sokol also expands on the interview he and founding ToI editor David Horovitz conducted with opposition leader Yair Lapid, and Lapid's thoughts about how and when the Netanyahu government will come to an end. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Better than a baby: ‘Surprise' hostage rescue gives way to joy as family reunites In Rahat, a Bedouin community mourns its October 7 losses away from the public eye Terrorize Israelis while eliciting sympathy abroad: Inside Hamas's propaganda strategy Huge alternative Oct. 7 memorial ceremony to be held in Tel Aviv; state event in Ofakim ‘He lost his soul': Lapid sees ‘sacred cause' in toppling Netanyahu's government Lapid: Netanyahu was briefed on dangers ahead of Oct. 7, ignored ‘all red flags,' must go Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick. IMAGE: Rescued hostage Farhan al-Qadi at Beersheba's Soroka Hospital on August 27, 2024 (Courtesy Yossi Ifergan/GPO)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. US bureau chief Jacob Magid and Olympics correspondent Amy Spiro join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in our Jerusalem offices on today's episode. Far-right activists on Monday evening broke into a military base where soldiers detained on suspicion of abusing a Palestinian detainee were taken for questioning, hours after a separate base was stormed by a right-wing mob fuming over the arrests. Magid discusses who were among the mob and its affects on the IDF. Yesterday, a diplomatic Israeli source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that “the estimation is that the response will not lead to an all-out war… That would not be in our interest at this point.” We hear what the US is doing to try to clamp down a regional war. Hamas accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday of preventing a ceasefire in Gaza by adding new conditions and demands to a US-backed Israeli truce proposal, charges the prime minister later denied. Magid weighs in. Yesterday, the third day of sporting competitions at the Paris Olympics, saw weather-related frustrations for Israel's windsurfers, a disappointment in swimming, and an achievement in surfing thousands of miles away in Tahiti. Spiro dives in on this and other sports that Team Israel is competing in and shares what we should look out for in the near future. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: ‘Bordering on anarchy': IDF chief sounds alarm after right-wing mob overruns 2nd base Military Police raid IDF detention facility, 9 held, over ‘serious abuse of a detainee' As diplomats scramble, Israel says response to Hezbollah to be ‘harsh' but contained Hamas, Israel accuse each other of stalling hostage deal with new demands Sailing frustrations, surfing triumphs and tough judo battles for Israel in Paris In the pool, on the mat and in the river, Israeli Olympians seek gold and national pride Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.  IMAGE: Far-right activists protest against the detention of nine Israeli reserve soldiers suspected of assaulting a Hamas terrorist, at the Sde Teiman military base near Beersheba, July 29, 2024. (Dudu Greenspan/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#GAZA:Major combat at an end. Jonathan Schanzer, FDD https://www.timesofisrael.com/report-says-idf-brass-backing-truce-even-if-it-leaves-hamas-in-power-pm-wont-happen/ 1950 Beersheba

2/2: #Israel: #GAZA: Diplomacy  after Gaza. Peter Berkowitz, Hoover Institution. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/05/19/israel_and_the_united_states_must_upgrade_their_diplomacy_150967.html 1950 Beersheba