Podcasts about Hittites

Hi everyone! My friend Dominic at THoE and I are doing a feed-swap this week. It's a great chance to introduce you to his new set of episodes on the pharaoh Ramesses II. More details from Dominic below. Enjoy! - Scott C. In a land famous for its monarchs – the legendary pharaohs – there is no one quite like Ramesses II. He might be the most famous of all, and we know a heck of a lot more about Ramesses than other rulers like Tutankhamun or Cleopatra VII. Now, after twelve years of narrative history, The History of Egypt Podcast is finally beginning the reign of this immortal monarch. The age of Ramesses defines much of what scholars and historians know about ancient Egypt; from the construction of temples and monuments, to the daily life of ordinary citizens… The History of Egypt Podcast is exploring all of it, in as much detail as possible. Along the way, we'll explore tales like the Battle of Kadesh, when Egypt and the Hittites went head-to-head in bloody conflict; or the Biblical Exodus – did it really happen, and what do we know about it? We'll visit monuments like Abu Simbel and the famed Ramesseum, home of the largest statues ever built in Egyptian history. And throughout these tales, we'll meet ordinary folks, in different walks of life, who left their mark on history. The History of Egypt Podcast is available on all podcasting apps, just follow the links below to learn more. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ancientegypthist Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7EK7aL9zF57EV1eZb4X6Qg Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-history-of-egypt-podcast/id626129639 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Sunday morning, our journey through Genesis continued with the death of Sarah. As Abraham begins to make arrangements for the burial, he buys land from the Hittites rather than returning home. This may seem insignificant, but it is a reminder the Lord has called Abraham out of Haran into a better place. We hope this message blesses you in the Lord. Originally May 25th, 2025. Hank Atchison. Covenant Church. Tuscaloosa, AL.

Join Matt & Jake in this enlightening discussion as they explore the biblical "Seed War" from Genesis to Revelation, starting with the powerful prophecy in Genesis 3:15. Dive deep into the enmity between the serpent and the woman's seed, and how this conflict unfolds throughout Scripture. They also unpack the prophecy of Tyre in Ezekiel, offering insight into its significance and prophetic fulfillment. From Genesis 10:15-19 and the lineage of Canaan to the final victory over evil, discover how God's plan of redemption is revealed in history and prophecy. https://itsyahushua.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/seed-war.pdf   Key Topics Discussed: Genesis 3:15 – The First Prophecy of the Messiah & the Seed War The descendants of Canaan in Genesis 10:15-19 and their role in Scripture The Prophecy of Tyre in Ezekiel and its end-time implications The battle between the seed of the woman and the serpent's seed from Genesis to Revelation How God's redemptive plan unfolds in the midst of the conflict between good and evil Scripture References: Genesis 3:15 – The first prophecy of Jesus and the ongoing war between good and evil. Genesis 10:15-19 – The genealogies of the Canaanites and their impact on the biblical narrative. Ezekiel Prophecy – The judgment and future of Tyre, and its significance in prophetic history. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and click the bell icon to stay updated with future discussions on Scripture, prophecy, and biblical insights! #Genesis315 #SeedWar #TyreProphecy #SabbathLounge #BiblicalProphecy #EndTimes #Ezekiel #Genesis #BibleStudy #ChristianFaith #Messiah #EndTimeProphecy #Canaanites #GodsPlan #ChristianPodcastFor more information see www.sabbathlounge.com   Find us on iTunes, Spotify, TikTok, and Podbean. At Sabbath Lounge we are dedicated to eating clean, keeping the Feast, Sabbath, following Torah, and leading as many people out of Babylon as possible.   Find more information below: www.sabbathlounge.com    https://linktr.ee/Sabbathlounge   https://www.britannica.com/place/Tyre   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaan_(son_of_Ham)   https://www.julianspriggs.co.uk/Pages/TableNations   https://genesis6conspiracy.com/   https://knowingscripture.com/articles/giants-in-the-land-a-biblical-theology-of-the-nephilim-anakim-rephaim-and-goliath   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_(son_of_Noah)#Family_tree   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_(son_of_Noah)   https://www.blueletterbible.org/.   https://classic.net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=Archite   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perizzites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaan#Canaanites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jebusites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidon   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girgashites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_biblical_tribes#Sinites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_biblical_tribes#Arvadites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_biblical_tribes#Zemarites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_biblical_tribes#Hamathites   https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Amorites-Amurru-Mesopotamia/dp/3330036745   https://www.blueletterbible.org/   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200528115829.htm#:~:text=The%20people%20who%20lived%20in,biblical%20texts%20as%20the%20Canaanites.   Canva AI Images https://www.biblestudying.net/phoenicians.pdf   https://www.lgic.org/en/phoenicians.php  

  Today Razib talks to Laura Spinney, Paris-based British author of the forthcoming Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. A science journalist, translator and author of both fiction and non-fiction, she has written for Nature, National Geographic, The Economist, New Scientist, and The Guardian. Spinney is the author of two novels, Doctor and The Quick, and a collection of oral history in French from Lausanne entitled Rue Centrale. In 2017, she published Pale Rider, an account of the 1918 flu pandemic. She also translated Swiss writer Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz's novel Derborence into English. Spinney graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Sciences from Durham University and did a journalism residency at Berlin's Planck Institute. First, Razib asks Spinney how difficult it was to integrate archaeology, linguistics and paleogenetics into her narrative in Proto, which traces the rise and proliferation of Indo-European languages from its ancestral proto-Indo-European. She talks about why this was the time to write a book like this for a general audience, as paleogenetics has revolutionized our understanding of recent prehistory, and in particular the questions around the origin of the Indo-Europeans. Razib and Spinney talk about various scenarios that have been bandied about for decades, for example, the arguments between linguistics and archaeologists whether proto-Indo-European was from the steppe or had an Anatolian homeland, and the exact relationship of the Hittites and their language to other Indo-European branches. They also delve into how genetics has helped shed light on deeper connections between some branches, like Balto-Slavic and Indo-Iranian, or Greek and Armenian. Spinney also addresses how writing a book like Proto involves placing fields like historical linguistics and archaeology with charged political associations in their proper historical context

Sarah, the beloved wife of Abraham and matriarch of the covenant, dies at 127 years old. In Genesis 23, Abraham mourns and honors her life—not by returning to Mesopotamia, but by purchasing a burial site in the land of Canaan. His negotiation with the Hittites and acquisition of the cave of Machpelah marks more than a family burial—it's a faithful declaration that this land, promised by God, is truly home. This chapter may seem like a quiet interlude, but it resounds with themes of faith, permanence, and the future hope of resurrection.  The Rev. David Boisclair, senior pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Overland, MO, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Genesis 23.  To learn more about Our Redeemer Lutheran, visit www.ourredeemerstl.org. Genesis isn't just the start of the Bible; it's the foundation of everything. Creation, sin, judgment, grace, covenant, and promise all take root in this remarkable book. The stories are ancient, but their truths are eternal. In this new series from Thy Strong Word, Pastor Phil Booe and his guests walk verse by verse through Genesis, exploring how God reveals Himself as Creator, Judge, and Redeemer. From the grandeur of the cosmos to the struggles of ordinary families, Genesis introduces us to a God who speaks, acts, and keeps His promises. So, whether you've read it a hundred times or are just now cracking it open for a serious look, this series will help you see Genesis with fresh eyes—and a deeper faith. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Wir springen ins 2. Jahrtausend vor unserer Zeitrechnung. Im heftig umkämpften Grenzland zwischen zwei Weltreichen zeichnet sich eine Eskalation ab: Das ägyptische und das hethitische Reich wollen die Vorherrschaft über Syrien, und es wird das Jahr 1274 vdZw sein, in dem der seit Jahrzehnten schwelende Konflikt schließlich eskalieren wird. Wir sprechen in dieser Folge über die Schlacht bei Kadesch, eine der außergewöhnlichsten Schlachten der frühen Antike, die einen ebenso außergewöhnlichen Friedensvertrag hervorbringen wird. //Erwähnte Folgen - GAG462: Die Schlacht an den Thermopylen oder Das erste letzte Gefecht der Geschichte – https://gadg.fm/462 // Literatur - Mark Healy. Qadesh, 1300 BC: Clash of the Warrior Kings. Praeger, 2005. - Boyo Ockinga. Saturday Lecture Series: Battle of Kadesh. 2024 https://australian.museum/blog/at-the-museum/battle-of-kadesh-lecture/. - Robert Ritner & Theo van den Hout | The Battle of Kadesh: A Debate, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1AGe2V0qHo. - Santosuosso, Antonio. „Kadesh Revisited: Reconstructing the Battle Between the Egyptians and the Hittites“. The Journal of Military History 60, Nr. 3 (1996): 423–44. https://doi.org/10.2307/2944519. - Trevor Bryce. The Kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford University Press, 1999. - Witham, Dorothy Natalie. „The Battle of Kadesh : Its Causes and Consequences“, 2020 https://africanstudieslibrary.org/discovery/record/base-ftunivsafrica-oai-uir-unisa-ac-za-10500-27455. Das Folgenbild zeigt eine Illustration eines ägyptischen Streitwagens, basierend auf Reliefs in Theben. //Aus unserer Werbung Du möchtest mehr über unsere Werbepartner erfahren? Hier findest du alle Infos & Rabatte: https://linktr.ee/GeschichtenausderGeschichte //Wir sind jetzt auch bei CampfireFM! Wer direkt in Folgen kommentieren will, Zusatzmaterial und Blicke hinter die Kulissen sehen will: einfach die App installieren und unserer Community beitreten: https://www.joincampfire.fm/podcasts/22 //Wir haben auch ein Buch geschrieben: Wer es erwerben will, es ist überall im Handel, aber auch direkt über den Verlag zu erwerben: https://www.piper.de/buecher/geschichten-aus-der-geschichte-isbn-978-3-492-06363-0 Wer Becher, T-Shirts oder Hoodies erwerben will: Die gibt's unter https://geschichte.shop Wer unsere Folgen lieber ohne Werbung anhören will, kann das über eine kleine Unterstützung auf Steady oder ein Abo des GeschichteFM-Plus Kanals auf Apple Podcasts tun. Wir freuen uns, wenn ihr den Podcast bei Apple Podcasts oder wo auch immer dies möglich ist rezensiert oder bewertet. Wir freuen uns auch immer, wenn ihr euren Freundinnen und Freunden, Kolleginnen und Kollegen oder sogar Nachbarinnen und Nachbarn von uns erzählt! Du möchtest Werbung in diesem Podcast schalten? Dann erfahre hier mehr über die Werbemöglichkeiten bei Seven.One Audio: https://www.seven.one/portfolio/sevenone-audio

A @Christadelphians Video: Description: The history from the times of the patriarchs to the Babylonian exile is outlined. Although the relationships between Jew and Gentile were often hostile, they were not necessarily so. Some Gentiles came to be associated with the promises which God made to Abraham, through their faith. To this day Gentiles can share in these blessings through belief and baptism into the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.# SummaryThe presentation explores the history of the nations surrounding Israel, focusing particularly on the Canaanites during the time of Abraham and Israel's conquest. It details various groups such as the Amorites, Hittites, Hivites, Jebusites, and Perizzites, examining their origins, cultural practices, and interactions with the Israelites. The speaker highlights the significance of these groups in the biblical narrative, discussing their idolatrous practices, the moral implications of Israel's conquest, and the opportunity for the Canaanites to turn to God.

Join Matt & Jake in this enlightening discussion as they explore the biblical "Seed War" from Genesis to Revelation, starting with the powerful prophecy in Genesis 3:15. Dive deep into the enmity between the serpent and the woman's seed, and how this conflict unfolds throughout Scripture. They also unpack the prophecy of Tyre in Ezekiel, offering insight into its significance and prophetic fulfillment. From Genesis 10:15-19 and the lineage of Canaan to the final victory over evil, discover how God's plan of redemption is revealed in history and prophecy. https://itsyahushua.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/seed-war.pdf   Key Topics Discussed: Genesis 3:15 – The First Prophecy of the Messiah & the Seed War The descendants of Canaan in Genesis 10:15-19 and their role in Scripture The Prophecy of Tyre in Ezekiel and its end-time implications The battle between the seed of the woman and the serpent's seed from Genesis to Revelation How God's redemptive plan unfolds in the midst of the conflict between good and evil Scripture References: Genesis 3:15 – The first prophecy of Jesus and the ongoing war between good and evil. Genesis 10:15-19 – The genealogies of the Canaanites and their impact on the biblical narrative. Ezekiel Prophecy – The judgment and future of Tyre, and its significance in prophetic history. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and click the bell icon to stay updated with future discussions on Scripture, prophecy, and biblical insights! #Genesis315 #SeedWar #TyreProphecy #SabbathLounge #BiblicalProphecy #EndTimes #Ezekiel #Genesis #BibleStudy #ChristianFaith #Messiah #EndTimeProphecy #Canaanites #GodsPlan #ChristianPodcastFor more information see www.sabbathlounge.com Find us on iTunes, Spotify, TikTok, and Podbean. At Sabbath Lounge we are dedicated to eating clean, keeping the Feast, Sabbath, following Torah, and leading as many people out of Babylon as possible.   Find more information below: www.sabbathlounge.com    https://linktr.ee/Sabbathlounge   https://www.britannica.com/place/Tyre   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaan_(son_of_Ham)   https://www.julianspriggs.co.uk/Pages/TableNations   https://genesis6conspiracy.com/   https://knowingscripture.com/articles/giants-in-the-land-a-biblical-theology-of-the-nephilim-anakim-rephaim-and-goliath   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_(son_of_Noah)#Family_tree   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_(son_of_Noah)   https://www.blueletterbible.org/.   https://classic.net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=Archite   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perizzites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaan#Canaanites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jebusites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidon   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girgashites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_biblical_tribes#Sinites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_biblical_tribes#Arvadites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_biblical_tribes#Zemarites   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_biblical_tribes#Hamathites   https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Amorites-Amurru-Mesopotamia/dp/3330036745   https://www.blueletterbible.org/   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200528115829.htm#:~:text=The%20people%20who%20lived%20in,biblical%20texts%20as%20the%20Canaanites.   Canva AI Images https://www.biblestudying.net/phoenicians.pdf   https://www.lgic.org/en/phoenicians.php  

Sermon Summary: Genesis 49 Andy's sermon focused on Genesis 49, the chapter where Jacob, nearing the end of his life at 147 years old, blesses his sons and prophesies about the future of their tribes. The sermon explored the themes of God's grace in using flawed individuals, the importance of looking to God for deliverance, and the significance of waiting patiently for God's timing. Andy began by reflecting on how words spoken to us, especially in our youth, can profoundly shape our lives. He connected this to the Genesis passage, where Jacob's words to his sons would define their destinies. He noted that while some blessings were influenced by past actions (Reuben, Simeon, and Levi), others, like Judah, contained prophetic statements about the coming Messiah. The sermon highlighted the contrast between the initial blessings, which were shaped by past negative actions, and the later ones, which contained prophetic hope. Andy pointed out the prophetic statement about Judah: "The scepter will not depart from Judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his." He explained that this refers to Jesus and the future day when all nations will bow down to Him. He also noted the extensive blessings heaped upon Joseph, pondering if this indicated continued favoritism or recognition of Joseph's role in saving God's people. A central theme of the sermon emerged from Genesis 49:18: "I look for your deliverance, O Lord." Andy described this as a pivotal moment in the chapter, a prayer for times of desperation. He likened it to the simple, heartfelt prayer, "Oh God, oh God, oh God, help," emphasizing that such prayers are valid and necessary, especially when facing challenges and uncertainties. He stressed that Jacob, even while giving these grand pronouncements, recognized the future challenges and weaknesses of his descendants, and the need for God's intervention. Andy then elaborated on four key aspects of this phrase: A Prayer for Times of Desperation: Andy emphasized that this prayer is relevant to our current times. He encouraged the congregation to cry out to God for help, whether for personal struggles, the future of the church, or the well-being of their children and grandchildren. He reiterated that Christians are not "goody-goodies" but flawed individuals whom God uses. He stressed that the good news of Jesus is that God loves to use people who are "messed up" and "screw up". He stated that God has come to us, taking the initiative through Jesus' death and resurrection, and that our response is to acknowledge and rely on Him. A Foundation: Andy described this phrase as a bedrock statement that should undergird everything we do. He drew a parallel to Jesus' parable of the wise man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24-27), emphasizing the importance of putting God's words into practice. He urged the congregation to make "I look for your deliverance, O Lord" a central part of their lives, a constant reminder of their dependence on God, regardless of whether things are going well or poorly. He asked the congregation to consider what their driving force in life is, and to place this phrase at the center of their lives. Looking and Waiting: Andy acknowledged the difficulty of waiting, contrasting it with the instant gratification promoted by modern society. He reminded the congregation that God's timing is different from ours, referencing the story of Abraham and the long wait for his descendants. He challenged them to consider investing in things they might not see come to fruition in their lifetime, echoing Jacob's prophetic words about the Messiah, which he would not witness. He quoted several Psalms and a passage from Romans about waiting patiently for the Lord: Psalm 37:7 ("Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him"), Psalm 40:1 ("I waited patiently for the Lord"), and Romans 8:25 ("But if we hope for what we don't have, we wait for it patiently."). He warned against the pitfalls of trying to force things to happen or becoming discouraged and abandoning faith. He used the analogy of police horse training, where the horse is trained to stay focused and not be distracted, to illustrate the importance of building practices into our lives that keep us focused on God. He referenced Hebrews 12:2 ("Fix your eyes on Jesus"). All Points to Jesus: Andy concluded by emphasizing that Jesus is the ultimate source of deliverance and salvation. He reiterated that humanity is cut off from God due to sin, but Jesus came to pay the price and reconcile us to God. He stressed that Jesus delivers us not only from the consequences of our rebellion but also from the pain, hurt, trauma, and negative reactions that result from it. He called on those exploring Christianity to recognize Jesus' central role in salvation. In his closing prayer, Andy led the congregation in a time of reflection and confession. He invited them to consider areas in their lives where they needed God's deliverance, including healing, the effects of negative words, destructive behaviors, a lack of focus on God, and a desire for immediate results. He also prayed for those considering making a first-time commitment to Jesus. He concluded by asking God to "come and have your way" in their lives. Bible References: Genesis 49 Hebrews 11 Matthew 7:24-27 Psalm 37:7 Psalm 40:1 Romans 8:25 Hebrews 12:2 Transcript Freedom, freedom. Good morning everybody. Good morning. Good morning guys, 146. If you've got a Bible, if you want to turn to me to Genesis chapter 49, we've almost made it. Yay! 18 months now of working through Genesis and we've almost made it. I was chatting to Sheila on Thursday, Sheila Wingrove. So if you don't know, Sheila Wingrove has produced this amazing display in the foyer, right? I know we all rush into church because we want to be here, so we rush past it. But please take your time to study that and be amazed. It's a fantastic piece of work and we need to figure out how we keep it for posterity because it's such a beautiful thing. She was chatting to me on Thursday saying she's got no room left, so I'm not allowed to say anything this morning. Because there's no space to put anything. Good gospel here. But amazing, you know. So just two weeks left and then we're all itching to see how we're going to do services that only last an hour and a half. Two on a Sunday. I don't know how we're going to do that, but we'll see. Easy. Easy. So Genesis 49, I don't know about you, can you remember stuff that perhaps your mum or your dad said to you when you were younger? Anybody remember things they used to say? Good things? No hands. Bad things? A few hands. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We remember, don't we? I can remember. Is this me? Do I need to stand still? That would be good. I'll try and stand still. I can remember mum used to say, you know, when I was a lot younger, wait till your father gets home. Anybody have that? We're a generation, aren't we? My dad always used to say when I'd done something well, he'd always say, nine out of ten, because there's always room for improvement. And things like that. But perhaps a teacher, you know, you remember what your teachers used to say to you, you know, must try harder. Could do better. And things like that. And those words can kind of stick, can't they? Yeah, sorry about that. So those words stick with us, don't they? And they kind of can shape our lives. But, you know, most of us have had things spoken to us that did that type of thing. In fact, we had that fantastic Good Friday service that those guys did standing up here. And they talked about some of those things that had affected their lives. And they talked about, remember, they flipped those cards over and they talked about how Jesus was dealing with those things. In exactly the same way we've heard Evie describe the same thing this morning. In exactly the same way I responded to some of the stuff that my parents had said. You know, we don't want to be men and women who let those things restrict what God has in store for you and for me. And so here we are, we're reaching the end of Jacob's life. And as we've seen throughout Genesis, it's a significant moment when someone dies and they pass on this blessing to their children. We've seen it from Abraham to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob and Esau, remember all of that. And now here we are with Jacob himself doing it. And Cornelius taught us last week how he did it to his grandchildren first, Joseph's kids. And then we come to this chapter and he does it to the rest of his sons. So I'm just going to read it, if that's okay. I might read quite quickly because it is quite long. But I think it's good to read the Word of God at times. So Genesis 49. Then Jacob called for his sons and said, gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. Imagine your dad saying that to you. That would be an amazing moment. Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob, listen to your father Israel. Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength. Excelling in honor, excelling in power, turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel. For you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it. Simeon and Levi are brothers, their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly. For they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger so fierce and their fury so cruel. I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel. Wow. Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down to you. You are a lion's cub, O Judah. You return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness. Who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine and his teeth whiter than milk. I'm not quite sure what that means. Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships. His border will extend towards Sidon. Issachar is a royal bone donkey lying down between two saddlebags. When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor. Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path. It bites the horse's heels so its riders tumble backwards and look for your deliverance, oh Lord. Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. Asher's food will be rich, he will provide delicacies fit for a king. Naftali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness, archers attacked him. They shot at him with hostility, but his bow remained steady. His strong arms stayed limber because of the hand of the mighty one of Jacob, because of the shepherd, the rock of Israel, because of your Father's God who helps you, because of the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and the womb. Your Father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-hold hills. Let all of these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning, he devours the prey. In the evening, he divides the plunder. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him. Then he gave them these instructions. I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave of the field of Ephron the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite along with the field. There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave in it were brought from the Hittites. When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. That is the way to go. That's what I want to do. Definitely. Jacob at this point is 147 years old, and as we've seen over the last weeks and months, what a life. You know, struggling at birth with his brother, grasping his ankle as they're born, wheedling Esau out of his birthright and deceiving his dad to obtain the blessing, having to flee the family home, having to work for his uncle for 14 years so he could marry the woman of his dreams, being tricked into marrying a different woman in the meantime, and all that kind of stuff, and then his uncle deceiving him back as well and having to flee his uncle because of what happened, the meeting with Esau to try and patch things up and then never seeing Esau again, and then outliving his wives. This really bad family example we saw of having favourites amongst his kids, not a good idea, and thinking Joseph was then dead all of these years to finally be deceived by his own sons, and then having to leave the land of God's promise and come to Egypt. What a life. What a life. But at the same time, what we have also seen is God at work in this man's life, and God in his grace, choosing to fulfil his own plans and purposes through the life of Jacob. And that is a weird one for us, isn't it? Because what it says is that God is about using people that are messed up, that screw up. The Bible calls it sin. We might have other language. But he loves to take those people and use them for his glory and for his purposes. And that's such a repeat theme through this whole book, and I know I said it probably the last five times I've spoken, but it is such an important theme that we grasp that because we have to help people understand that people who are Christians are not goody-goodies. They're bady-baddies, right? We are bady-baddies, right? You know, we screw up. We mess up. We don't like to talk about it, and we don't own up. But we develop masks and other approaches to hide that. But we are screwed up, and we're shafted, if we're brutally honest. And the reality is God has come, and he loves to use people that are exactly like that. And that's the good news of Jesus. So it's so important that we grasp that. And so, yeah, here we are at the end of Jacob's life. He's speaking about the future and about defining his sons, what their families will become and what the tribes that come from those families will become. And it's interesting, and we're not going to go into all of them because time does not permit, and I'm not quite sure what I say about some of them, but it's interesting because those opening ones, that Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, their blessing is dictated by what they have done in their lives. That's how Jacob speaks to them. What they have done, the bad things that they have done in their lives, has an immediate repercussion on the so-called blessing that he gives them that's going to shape how they will be. Interesting. Then we get to Judah, and it's completely different. We begin to see in what he says about Judah the prophetic statements about a Messiah coming. We're in Genesis. We're in the beginning. And we still see, we begin to see here, there's an inkling in his eye. There's a twinkling in the distance. There is something happening that is going to happen. And we read this beautiful statement that the scepter, the government, if you like, will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler star from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. He's talking about Jesus. And the obedience of the nations will be his. There is coming a day when the obedience of the nations will belong to Jesus, and all nations will bow down to him. There is coming a day. And Jacob, right here in Genesis, he doesn't understand it, as Hebrews 11 tells us. He doesn't get it, but he's prophesying it. He's speaking it out in faith. He's certainly not going to see it in his few hours he's got left. But he's speaking out in faith because he sees that happening. And so there's this amazing prophetic statement in Judah. And then there's the one about Joseph near the end. There is so much blessing that he oodles on Joseph. He makes you think, is he still thinking that Joseph is his favorite here? Is that what's going on? Because he's really ladling on thick the blessings on Joseph. Or is it perhaps because actually Joseph is the one out of all those brothers that has rescued them and actually is part and parcel of the purposes of God to help God's people survive through this period of famine and obviously we saw through the whole story of Joseph how God used him. I don't know which it is. But it's interesting he calls him prince amongst his brothers. But what I want to do just briefly is hoe him. There's a little verse I read in the middle which kind of leaps out because it's out of context of everything else that's going on. He's giving his blessings to his people, to his kids, and he's telling them what's going to happen. And right in the middle in verse 18 we get this little phrase, I look for your deliverance, O Lord. That's a bit weird, isn't it? You think he's on a roll. He's on a train. I've got 12 sons to get through. He's 147. Can't I remember all their names? I forgot the right one with the right name. And all that sort of stuff. You think he'd be concentrating on getting all of that out. And then right in the middle, I look for your deliverance, O Lord. Or a different translation says, I wait for your salvation, O Lord. And why does he do that? It's almost like as he thinks about the future and as he thinks about the children of God and the people of God, that maybe God is showing him something about the challenges that lie ahead. And that he himself is aware of the struggles and the challenges they'll face and the hardship of God's people being true to him and not being overwhelmed by their enemies, not being led astray by other nations or other societies, or not having their faith and their trust in God diluted by what is going on around them. And he cries out in the middle, God, I look for your deliverance, Lord. Unless you do this, Lord, it isn't going to happen. Unless the Lord builds the house, it's builder's labor in vain. God, unless salvation comes from you, there's no hope, no matter what we say. And so four things quickly. Number one, this is a prayer for times of desperation. And there's no time like now for a time of desperation. Right in the middle of blessing his kids, he cries out. It reminds me many, many, many years ago of listening to John Wimber talk about when you're going to pray for someone for healing and you've not seen it before and you're not used to it and you have no idea what's going to happen and you want to pray for it and you're going to step out. We go in a room and we pray, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, help. That's all you need to do. If you're struggling with praying, I want to encourage you. You haven't got to pray great long prayers and quote loads of scripture and shout to the ceiling, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, help. It's right where it starts. And that is what is happening here. That's what Jacob's doing. He's explaining that out and it's like as he blesses his children and he thinks about their future and the future of the tribes of Israel that despite such big statements he's making over their lives, he sees something of the challenges. He sees their weaknesses. He sees the likelihood of them being influenced by society around them. He sees the frailties of their own heart. And so he cries out, God, you have got to come if this is going to work. Lord, if you are going to have a people that are yours, if your Messiah is going to come through Judah as he's just prophesied, then God, you have got to come and do this. Maybe even he's reflecting on his own life, his own awareness of mucking things up. And perhaps after all these years, he could now stand with a little bit of integrity and understand he's only where he is because of God delivering him and the salvation of God coming to him. So as you think about your future, whatever age you are this morning, as you think about your future, let's get a hold of this as a phrase to say, God, we need your deliverance. God, I need your deliverance and your salvation. As we think about the future of the church here, and yeah, we might get excited, at least for a little bit, while we do two services and a major building project and see people saved and more people getting baptized and people saved and added and more groups starting in the church and the impact on the community growing and growing and growing. We need to come back to, oh God, we need your deliverance. It is you, Lord. It is you. As we think about our children, our grandchildren, oh Lord, I look to you for your deliverance, Lord. I look to you for your salvation. It's a great prayer in times of desperation because for his kids it's not their skills, it's not their character, it's not their efforts, it's not even the prophetic word that he brings, but it is God who is the deliverer. It is God who is the bringer of salvation. And that is what is so special and unique about Christianity. And you might not be a Christian this morning, you're just exploring it and trying to understand it, and you might be chatting to some of your friends, but what does it really mean and what is it like? And you come along because you're just dipping a toe in the water. And I want to just labor the point that the uniqueness of it is that God has come to us, not the other way around. You can look at what goes on here this morning and I think our singing and the rest of it is kind of us trying to make ourselves right before God. Because it can look like that, and it does look like that, but that isn't what's going on. What has happened is Jesus has taken the initiative and he has come 2,000 years ago. He died on a cross for the sins of the world, including your sins and my sins, to put us right with God and he has taken that initiative, and three days later God has raised him from the dead. And now death is no longer the finality that it once was in our thinking because Jesus has broken that. He has taken the initiative and come to us, and what we do in a meeting like this, I hope in the morning, is we are responding to that. We are not trying to make our way to God, but we are responding to what he has done to us and for us and his love for us. So number one, it's a prayer in times of desperation. Number two, I look for your deliverance, O Lord. It's a foundation. It's like a bedrock statement that undergirds everything that we do. Jesus told that parable, didn't he, that the wise man built his house upon the rock. And he told us that not so that we could learn a little song, but he taught us that because he says, what, the wise man is what? The one who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice. Exactly. He puts them into practice. And so this statement is exactly like that. We need to figure out how do we put this into practice that we look to God for your deliverance, that we wait for your salvation. It's like a statement that needs to be brought front and center to our lives, whether we are struggling with things, whether things are going well as the church moves forward and as we make changes about what's happening, as we make greater inroads with the gospel in the life of the community here, and perhaps as we even think, dare to think, oh, this is going quite well, or whatever. It's a reminder not to get smug, not to get complacent, but to come back and say, you know what? I look for your deliverance, Lord. I wait for your salvation. And we need to bring that front and center of our lives and not let it compete with other statements and other things. You know, what is it that ultimately drives you forward and drives me forward? What makes you tick? If you could have one sentence over your life, what would it be? And whereabouts would this fit in that context? What is it that, despite everything, we need to return to time and time again? What is it we wait for? Is it our paycheck? Is it our benefits landing? Is it the next holiday? Is it the next thing? Or do we wait for your salvation, Lord? Do we look for your deliverance? You see, Jacob can prophesy amazing things, but what is it he puts right in the middle, like the pivot of which all of these things are commenting on? Things can go well. What does he return to? Some of those blessings are good things, but what does he come back to? Things can go pear-shaped. What does he come back to? We can make all the changes we want as a church, but what do we return to? We look out for your deliverance, O Lord. And we need to be men and women grappling with getting that in the front and centre of our lives. And as we think about Jordan thought and Baitmore and the edges and the surrounding area, God, we look for your deliverance. We wait for your salvation. We can try all the programmes, all the groups, whatever we want to, but unless God moves, there is nothing there. It is not going to happen. And because we are caught up with the plans and purposes of God, we've got to come back to this. Lord, it is your deliverance we are looking for. Turn your eyes towards Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow straight deep in, in the light of his glory and grace. Absolutely. Hope you knew that in 146 as well. It's so true, you know, and we need, the more we can come back to that, I think the better place we will be. The third thing about this statement is, you know, it's about looking and it's about waiting. Anybody enjoy waiting? There's no hands here. We don't do it, do we? You know, try telling a toddler to wait. We went to Yorkshire Wildlife yesterday and our granddaughter was with us and, you know, I want a biscuit now, now, now. I want a drink now, now. I want this now. You know, try telling a toddler to wait. It just doesn't work, does it? But then, actually, I'm not sure how much better it gets as we get older. Because we want the result, don't we? We don't want the waiting bit. We want the result at the end. That is what we're looking for. The whole of the advertising industry that we are all succumbing to is geared on giving you a result as fast as possible. Have this and it will change your life. Have this and it will make your life better. Instant success, instant access, et cetera, et cetera. Whole of technology, you know, on our phones, on our watches. It's all about instantaneous stuff all the time. And so the idea of waiting is kind of drifting away from life in general and the stuff that we have to wait for becomes a real pain. Well, if we get ourselves in a position where we say, waiting for your salvation of God is a real pain, then we've lost the plot along the way. Because God wants to work in our hearts and sift our hearts to cause us to become many women who learn what it is to wait for Him. Another thing Genesis teaches us is that God's time and timing is not ours. Remember when God first spoke to Abraham, however many months ago it was, and gave him the promises that your descendants will be as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Here we are, 232 years later, and his descendants are 66 that have gone to Egypt. 232 years. That should cause us to think a little bit about, we want to see God at work, we absolutely look for God's deliverance and salvation, and we want to pray and play our part in that, but maybe the great things that God is going to do are going to be after we've gone and been with Him, after we've hooked our legs onto the bed and gone to be with our fathers. Maybe that's when it's going to happen. That speaks, that's a challenge to me, because I think, what do I want to invest in and put my time in that I actually won't see? It's a challenge, isn't it? But he teaches, here's Jacob prophesying about the coming Messiah thousands of years later that he isn't going to see. Psalm 37 verse 7 says, Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret when people succeed in their ways. That's a good statement, that's a good one to put over our doorways, isn't it? Do not fret when people succeed. Psalm 40 verse 1, I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. Well, Paul writes to the church in Rome in chapter 8 verse 25 says, But if we hope for what we don't have, we wait for it patiently. Waiting and patience is a fundamental part of following Jesus. Hope, you know, we have to get a hold of that. And the impact of the world around us on that is that we don't like doing that. And so we need to bring that front and centre. And I guess there's two pitfalls, you know, one is we try and make it happen because we don't like waiting. So we end up a bit like Abraham having Ishmael, we've done it ourselves but it wasn't the right thing. Or we get so bored waiting we forget about it and go off and do something else. I remember when I was a child, I went to what is now called Urban Saints, had a less politically correct name in those days. But we went to see the police horse training centre in Manchester, because that's where I lived at the time. And it was interesting because you imagine a group of like 11 and 12 year olds, spotty 11 and 12 year olds, and we were all given flags way bigger than this and whistles to blow, whistles to blow, big flags to wave like this. And there's two lines of kids down like that. And then this guy, policeman comes along on the horse and the horse just, we're all looking, blowing the whistles and all that. And the horse just calmly straight down because he'd been trained to do that, because they used them in riots and football crowds at the time and all that kind of stuff. And it was fascinating to see, although it's still etched in my brain. But that is what it is, it's a little bit like, we've got to build things into our lives that stop us being distracted from this call of God to wait on him patiently and to pursue him patiently. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Otherwise these distractions will come in. And finally, fourthly, this all points to, this is all about Jesus. He is the one who brings deliverance. He is the one who brings salvation. So we wait for him and he brings that deliverance. If you're not a Christian this morning, then again I want to say, we're cut off from God, that's our starting place. Our sins have cut us off from God and we ignore him and we act as if there is no God and we act as if, you know, he's certainly not going to be angry with us when we do things that are wrong and that we're under his judgment and we're only of his anger. And yet Jesus has come and paid that price for you and for me, the ultimate cost and that great exchange has taken place and what we deserve he gets and what we don't deserve we get has taken place. He's paid that price for you and for me and to unpack that. Therefore Jesus is not only the one that does that, he is the one who brings deliverance or salvation from the effects of that rebellion against God in our lives. The pain, the hurt, the trauma, the rejection, the impact of all of that on our character and our lives, he is the one. So we look to him for deliverance, for salvation. You know, as Evie beautifully explained this morning, that's what she was describing, how Jesus and the Word of God has brought about a change in our life, things he used to listen to. Actually, she's bringing the Word of God to apply to trump that because that's what it does. The love of God trumps that and we need to be men and women that are constantly coming back to that. So Jesus is the one who brings deliverance to those things but he also brings deliverance from the reaction we have of those things that have affected us, those negative things that lead us to turning in on ourselves, to shutting others out, to putting on masks, to taking addictive substances, to abuse that we do or that is done to us. And so he is the one that we look to for deliverance and for salvation this morning. And so just by way of response, as I finish, in Hebrews 11, the writer of the Hebrews says this, he says, by faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons and worshipped as he leaned on the top of the staff. And talks about how Jacob, along with all those other old patriarchs of the faith, as they're called in Hebrews 11, were looking for God's deliverance, for God's salvation. They didn't see it in their lifetime but they were looking for it and its completion is found in Jesus. I wonder if I could stand please, I'd just like to pray. I'm not sure how well I've done this but I mean, the chapter is about a blessing on 12 guys but right in the middle is this key pivot point that actually it is God we need to look to for our deliverance and for salvation. And as I think about it, I just want to be really practical here and I just want us to pray together. I thought of a few things where we need to perhaps be applying that to our own lives. One of these might be relevant for you. I just want you to be honest as we stand here before God. Maybe it's healing. Jesus commands us to pray for the sick. He doesn't command us to heal the sick. That's his business whether he does it or not. He asks us to pray for the sick. And there can be a tendency for us as God's people to wane from praying for the sick for various reasons. So maybe you're here this morning and maybe there's something physical, something mental, something emotional that you are healing for. We look to you for deliverance, Lord. This chapter is about the prophetic words that Jacob speaks over his sons that then describes how their lives and their families' lives would pan out. For some of us this morning, negative words have been spoken to us that we still carry, that still shape us and still prevent us from entering into all the goodness that God has for us. We look to your deliverance, Lord. For some of us, those words have shaped our identity. There was a food bank visit over the road from here and while I was just talking to the lady, I chatted to the girl who was about 8 or 9 years old. We were talking about school and she said, I'm no good at school because my mum says I'm stupid. Yeah, exactly. But for some of us here this morning, words like that have impacted us deeply and are keeping us away from the good things that God has in store. We look to you for your deliverance, Lord. For some of us, our reaction to those bad things that have happened in our lives is that we have ourselves embraced destructive and negative patterns of behaviour or addictions or other things that have harmed us or harmed others. We look for your deliverance, Lord. For some of us, perhaps the thing that God is highlighting is that you've stopped looking at God as the thing that needs to be front and centre. You've stopped looking at God as the thing that needs to be front and centre in your life and you've allowed other things to creep in and nudge that off centre. And this morning God is saying, hey, what about bringing me back? Bringing me back front and centre. We look for your deliverance, Lord. Maybe for the first time, maybe you've been coming along for a while and you've never made that decision to say, yeah, I want to submit to Jesus and I want to go for it with him and I want to invite him into my life. We wait for your salvation, Lord. And for some, the desire in our hearts, if we're honest, is still for immediate results, even in the church, even in our Christianity. We want the next thing, the next thing and the next thing. And today God wants to do a work in your heart. We look for your deliverance, Lord. We wait for your salvation, Lord. Father, we want to pray, Lord. We want to thank you, you treat us so gently, with such love and such care. And Father, as we stand before you this morning, you know the state of our hearts, you know the issues, you know the things that are going on, you see it all. And Lord, we stand here honestly before you and just pray, Father, come and have your way. Come and have your way in our lives, Lord. Lord, we'll do a work in our hearts as we stand here this morning. We want to say, Father, we look for your deliverance, Lord. We look to you. We don't want to look to other things. And we want to say, Father, we wait for your salvation. We don't want to try anything ourselves. But we call on you today, Lord. We call on you, Father, for your salvation in our own lives, in the lives of our families, in the lives of our children, in the lives of our grandchildren, Lord, in the lives of our neighbors, in the lives of the homes around here. Father, we call on you for your salvation. We call on you, Lord, for the lives of the people that are in the schools in this area. And Father, we pray, God, Lord, help us to keep our eyes fixed on you. And Father, we wait for you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Andy. Thank you, Andy. Thank you, Andy. Let's, I just feel in the four instances...

“We want to make it hard for people to go to hell by making it easy for them to go to church so they can experience, know and follow Jesus.”Joshua 1:2-6 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am givingthem. I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you—from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanonmountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.' No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I willnot fail you or abandon you. “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would givethem.Joshua 1:2a “Moses my servant is dead…1. THINK about the PAST.Joshua 1:2 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you tolead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am givingthem. 2. Take ACTION TODAY.Isaiah 43:19 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT) I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past andlooking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race andreceive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.BIG moves of God are almost always preceded by obedience to him in SMALL things.“If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you willprobably be unhappy all the days of your life.”—Abraham MaslovThe greatest ENEMY to your calling is your COMFORT.ACTION is the preparation for the FUTURE PROMISE that God has for you.3. TRUST God for the FUTURE.Joshua 1:3-6 I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you—from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.' No one willbe able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I waswith Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to theirancestors I would give them. What seems IMPOSSIBLE to me, is not remotely DIFFICULT with God.Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory inthe church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Numbers 13:29-33 KJV - The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. 30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

Jesus Ministries, Joan Boney  ...    I Kings 11:1-11   1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites:    2 Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.    3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.    4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.    5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.    6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.    7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.    8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.    9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,    10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.    11 Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept MY covenant and MY statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.   

RSV 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphra′tes, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.  

736 I Will Not Leave You Or Forsake You, A Guided Christian Meditation on Joshua 1:4-6 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect wi h the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving jor anything tensing or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Joshua 1 ESV 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. RSV 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphra′tes, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Meditation on Scripture: This time of this scripture was a great transition for Joshua, who was to lead the Israelites into the promised land after Moses. It is interesting how different the demands on these two leaders was. Moses was predominantly responsible for leading the Israelites through the desert. Joshua was a warrior leader. Each had a very different mission. God used their different perspectives, temperaments and strengths do do His important work. Humans dont know what is required to do what God needs but God does. God guided Moses just enough for him to be able to do what was needed. There were many times when Moses didnt know exactly what to do but worked it out. Sometimes he failed but God helped him resolve the problems. Similarly Joshua received the support he needed to do what God called him to. Whatever God calls us to, He prepares us for. This is what gave Joshua courage. God was fulfilling his promises through Joshua. God would not allow Joshua to fail because He had called him. God will not allow you to fail if you are accomplishing God's purposes. This is why discernment is so important. When we do our own will we can fail.  Each one of us has things we are called to. Similar to Moses and Joshua, we don't know or understand what those things are until it comes, or even later than that. Also similarly, with God's help you can accomplish all that God truely calls you to. Have trust and confidence in the Lord. God will never fail or forsake you.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod  

Joshua 9The Gibeonite Deception1As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, 2they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.3But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 4they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, 5with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. 6And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” 7But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?” 8They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” 9They said to him, “From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 11So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.”' 12Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 13These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” 14So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. 15And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.16At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and that they lived among them. 17And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18But the people of Israel did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders. 19But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them. 20This we will do to them: let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath that we swore to them.” 21And the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became cutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders had said of them.22Joshua summoned them, and he said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,' when you dwell among us? 23Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, cutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.” 24They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you—so we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. 25And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.” 26So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. 27But Joshua made them that day cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation

For today’s installment of our 40 Days Meditation series, our brother Martin Steinbereithner provides commentary on Num 12:16-13:33. Listen below, download here, or search for Words from the Brothers on your favourite podcasting app. After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi; from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua. Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there. At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” Num 12:16-13:33

(Psalm 119:89) A person's character is only as good as their word. God's good name is connected to the innerancy of His Word. In this study we learn the principle of divine preservation and deepen our conviction in the trustworthiness of the Bible. (0976250327) ----more----  How Can I Know the Bible Is Right? Psalm 119 is the Psalm of the Scriptures. In fact, of the 176 verses in Psalm 119, all but two make a definite reference to the word of God in some way. It is a powerful Psalm, and right in the middle of it, we read these words: Psalm 119:89 says, "Forever, oh Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." What does it mean? It means the word of God never changes. So the question is, "Can I trust the Bible?" We've been talking about the fact that God gave His word, He revealed Himself in Scripture, and he inspired the very words of Scripture to be written down by men. He used men to convey his truth to men, but he did it in such a way that we hold in our hands the perfect word of the living God. Can you trust it? There are so many proofs that the word of God can be trusted.  Historical and Scientific Proofs of the Bible For example, there's historical proof. Think of all the fulfilled prophecy in scripture. Did you know that about 30% of your Bible is prophecy? Think of that. There's no real prophecy in any of the other what are referred to as holy books outside the Bible. All of these religions have their holy books, but read them carefully, and you'll find that one of the vastween them and scripture is that the word of the living God is full of very exact differences bet prophecies. Andcies have already been fulfilled exactly as scores of those specific prophe God said. It's an accurate book. The Bible lines up perfectly with proven historical records. As a matter of fact, even archeology has begun to prove the Bible's claims. For years, historians said there was no such group as the Hittites, for example, no such group as the Hittites that was given in scripture. That was a myth. And yet archeology has now proven the Bible's claims of a group known as the Hittite. It's proven the historical existence of David and a united kingdom (Israel). 100% of the time, after all the evidence was in the Bible, it was vindicated. Now, I'm not saying that to say that we vindicate the Bible with external things. Remember that we accept the word of God by faith. We come to God by faith that he can be trusted. I'm simply saying that the word of God is accurate in every way. Scientifically, for example, the Bible revealed truth beyond its years. Leviticus 17:11 talks about the life of the flesh being in the blood. We've only really discovered that in the last few hundred years - this use of blood. Job 26:7 tells us that the earth is suspended in space. Isaiah 40:22 that tells us the Earth is round. Luke 17 tells us that the earth revolves on its axis. Genesis 22:17 tells us that the stars are more than can be counted. Genesis 1 tells us that plants and animals reproduce after their own kind or species. Hebrews 1:2 tells us that there are other worlds or planets. Job 28 25 tells us the air has weight. Psalm 8:8 tells us the ocean has currents. I'm saying to you that the God of all truth can be trusted.  What is the Preservation of Scripture? And so we've come today to another thing that must be discussed when you're studying what the Bible says about the word of God. We've talked about revelation, we've talked about inspiration. Let's talk today about preservation. What does preservation mean? It literally means that God Almighty, who was powerful enough to give his word, is powerful enough to preserve his word to every generation. Now I wanna give you a number of scriptures that may help with this in your own mind.  Scriptural Evidence of Preservation Listen to the words of Psalm 12:6-7. "The words of the Lord are pure words as silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times." Now listen to this. "Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever." I hear people say I believe God may have given his word perfectly the first time, but after all of these years. Certainly it's been tainted by man, wait a minute. The same God who gave his word is powerful enough to preserve His word to every generation. That includes our generation. How about Psalm 33:11, "The council of the Lord standeth forever. The thoughts of his heart to all generations." We're in the all generations. How about Psalm 100:5? And by the way, for every verse I'm showing you today there are a dozen more just like it. I'm just giving you a little sample here. Psalm 100:5 says, "For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations." I want to remind you that the character of the word is tied to the character of the God of the Word. So if you want to agree that the Lord is good, if you want to agree that His mercy is everlasting, then you must agree that His truth endured to all generations. Psalm 105:8 says this, "He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations."  In other words, it's hyperbole. There's no end to God's truth. There's no end to his word to us.  God's Word Is Eternal I go back to Psalm 119, this great psalm of the scriptures. I told you it's full of the word of God. Listen to Psalm 119:152, "Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou has founded them," and here's the word that just keeps popping up over and over again, "forever." We believe that our God is the eternal God, and because of that, we believe that His word is the eternal word. Nothing and no one will ever change that. I remember reading the story years ago of a man who hated the word of God, and he made it his mission to stamp out as many copies of the scripture in his lifetime in his country as he possibly could. And so he spent great sums of money gathering copies of the word of God and burning them and destroying them. When he died, one of the Bible societies purchased his home and made it a center for Bible distribution in that part of the world. Don't tell me that God doesn't have a sense of humor. Men are gonna pass away. The ideas of men are going to pass away. The word the Lord stands forever. How about Isaiah 40:8, "The grass withereth. The flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand." You know the word forever. He is a forever God. Let's let the Lord Jesus speak to this. Go to the New Testament, Matthew 24:35. Listen to the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." If you come to the end of the New Testament and let Peter, one of the first disciples testify. He says in 1 Peter 1:23, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." All through scripture, you see the word of God being preserved. Examples of Preservation in Scripture For example, in Deuteronomy, the scroll of Moses was placed inside the Ark of the Covenant under the cherub's wings. What a beautiful picture In Joshua 24:26 Joshua's written additions to what God gave him to write down were placed in a safeguarded place. First Samuel 10:25, the words of Samuel were placed in the Holy of Holies. The Lord made sure that Moses had a handwritten copy of the scriptures given a second time. You remember that the priest were given the responsibility in Deuteronomy 17:18 to make copies of the scriptures, and later scribes were appointed for that job. That's what Ezra was with a scribe. Why would God take such care of preserving his word? Because he wanted us to have it Preservation. Is God extending his truth perfectly to every generation? We believe that those scribes took care of the Old Testament Scriptures. The apostles took care of the New Testament scriptures, but God took care of it all. And here's the amazing thing, did you know the Bible speaks more of preservation than it does inspiration? It's not a lesser doctrine. So if you're gonna believe that God gave his word, you have to also believe that God has preserved his word to every generation. Would you stop today and just thank God that you have the preserved word of the living God, perfectly given to us in our generation, just as God gave it and rejoice today that you're serving the God of eternal truth? Outro and Resources Repeating what other people have said about the Bible is not enough. We must know the biblical reason behind what we believe. We hope you will visit us at etj.bible to access our Library of Bible teaching resources, including book-by-book studies of Scripture. You'll also find studies to watch, listen to, or read. We are so grateful for those who pray for us, who share the biblical content, and for those who invest to help us advance this ministry worldwide. Again, thank you for listening and we hope you'll join us next time on Enjoying the Journey. 

For today’s installment of our 40 Days Meditation series, our brother Miguel Vargas provides commentary on Ex 34:10-28. Listen below, download here, or search for Words from the Brothers on your favourite podcasting app. And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. “Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods. “You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal. “You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. All that open the womb are mine, all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty-handed. “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end. Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year. “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover remain until the morning. The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. Ex 34:10-28

Third Sunday in Lent Old Testament Exodus 3:1-15 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain." But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I am has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.” The Psalm Psalm 63:1-8 Deus, Deus meus 1 O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; * my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a barren and dry land where there is no water. 2 Therefore I have gazed upon you in your holy place, * that I might behold your power and your glory. 3 For your loving-kindness is better than life itself; * my lips shall give you praise. 4 So will I bless you as long as I live * and lift up my hands in your Name. 5 My soul is content, as with marrow and fatness, * and my mouth praises you with joyful lips, 6 When I remember you upon my bed, * and meditate on you in the night watches. 7 For you have been my helper, * and under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice. 8 My soul clings to you; * your right hand holds me fast. The Epistle 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play." We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. The Gospel Luke 13:1-9 At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did." Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

16 But in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, 17 but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord…

Sometimes, we can be walking in the promises of God, and things start getting tough.  Opposition.  Battles.  What's going on?  Is it time to give up? What happened to all those promises?   THE SPIRITUAL BATTLEFIELD Well over these last weeks on the program we've been looking at the fact that it's time to take the Promised Land. God makes so many promises of peace and of joy and His protection and forgiveness and eternal life, the list goes on and on and you know you and I can come up with so many excuses in our lives as to why those promises couldn't possibly ever be for us. It's true, we do. In a sense those excuses are completely natural and understandable. There was a young woman who wrote recently in response to a program, I want to share with you what she wrote because it's kind of a road we all travel sometimes, this is what she said: For a while now I've been getting negative thoughts and saying negative things, I know the devil's doing it and not God but it won't stop. I want so much to do Gods will and to walk in His ways, am I going mad? Will this wreck my relationship with God? I so much want to do His will for His glory and not mine. I want to be a serving and faithful servant for Him. I have all these problems; I say bad and negative things. I can say things without thinking, I tell lies and other unchristian things, what does it mean for me? Is it going to ruin my relationship with God? See this young woman is struggling with the realities of life. She wants to live in that Promised Land but somehow she's just, she just can't see how it's for her, she just can't seem to get there. We all struggle with these things, we struggle with doubt, we struggle with our failings, will this wreck everything with God? We go over that over and over again. Listen to me, it is time to take the Promised land. Over the last three weeks on the program we've been looking at Israel. God promised to Abraham, the father of Israel, this land of the Canaanites, the Promised Land. And centuries later, centuries, after Israel had grown into a large and mighty nation in slavery in Egypt God brought Moses and through a series of miracles he brought the nation of Israel, His chosen people, out of Egypt, through the Red Sea and they wandered in the desert for forty years as God purified them. And then one day under the leadership of Joshua because Moses had just died, they're standing on the banks of the Jordan River and finally ready to cross into the Promised Land. And what they discover is that there's already a whole bunch of other people living there, the Canaanites and the Jebusites and the Amorites and all those other little vegemites were already there. And even though this was Gods Promised Land it wasn't going to be delivered to them on a platter like a pizza, they had to go out and take it, they were on a war footing. They had to fight battle after battle beginning with Jericho, they went through a lot of battles to take the Promised Land. You know something, it's the same with you and with me and with that young woman, we live on a spiritual battlefield. That is the reality of life. And the moment we step out and we believe in Jesus, the moment we step out and say, "Lord, I'm going to follow you in your promises", we step onto that spiritual battlefield. John Eldridge in his book Waking The Dead makes this powerful statement, he says: Things are not what they seem, this is a world at war. And then he goes on to explain what he means, he writes this: The world in which we live is a combat zone. A violent clash of kingdoms, a bitter struggle unto the death. You were born into a world at war and you will live all your days in the midst of a great battle involving all the forces of heaven and hell and played out here on earth. Until we come to terms with that war as the context of our days, we simply will not understand life. See this is why over the last few weeks we've been working our way through this series in the Book of Joshua called, "It's Time To Take The Promised Land" because the context is war. The devil is not going to hand us God's promises on a silver platter. In fact, he is going to try to rob us of Gods promises at every turn. We'd like to think, particularly those of us who live in the affluent west that being a Christian means living in the blessings of God and having a comfortable life and having plenty of money and taking it easy. Well I don't know if you've noticed but life is not like that especially when we step onto the spiritual battlefield by giving our lives to Jesus Christ. The moment we do that all the forces of hell are unleashed against us. That's the reality, we shouldn't be surprised. I think that the surprise element is what makes it worse. We have these expectations of an easy and comfortable life and when satan unleashes all his devils against us, of temptation, of doubt, failure and opposition and trials and on and on and on, over and over and over, we start thinking 'wow there must be something wrong with me'. Au contraire! Inevitably when we decide to take hold of the promises of God in our lives there will be a battle involved. Don't be surprised by this, it's in the Bible. C S Lewis in his book Mere Christianity put it like this: One of the things that surprised me when I first read the New Testament, seriously, was that it talked so much about a dark power in the universe. A mighty evil spirit who was held to be the power behind death and disease and sin. This universe (writes Lewis) is at war. Wake up! The world is at war. The context of our lives following after Jesus Christ is a spiritual battlefield. See Israel was promised this land through Abraham centuries before they even got there. Do you think when God made that beautiful promise to Abraham that he expected battles and wars and stuff? Listen again just briefly to this beautiful promise to an old man, this impossible promise in Genesis chapter 15. The word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision. He said 'don't be afraid, I'm your shield and your very great reward'. But Abraham said, 'O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus.' Abraham said, 'you have given me no children so a servant in my household will become my heir. And then the word of the Lord came to Abraham, 'this man will not be your heir but a son who comes from your own body will be your heir' and God took Abraham outside of the tent and said, 'look up at the heavens and count the stars if indeed you can count them' and then He said , 'so shall your offspring be. And Abraham believed the Lord and God credited it to him as righteousness. And God also said to him, 'I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.' But Abraham said, 'O Sovereign Lord how can I know that I will gain possession of it? So the Lord said to him, 'bring me a heifer and a goat and a ram, each three years old along with a dove and a young pigeon'. Abraham did that he brought all of those things and cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other. The birds however he did not cut in half. And then the birds of prey came down on the carcasses but Abraham drove them away and as the sun was setting Abraham fell into a deep sleep and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him and 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 for four hundred years but I will punish the nation they serve as slaves and afterwards they will come out with great possessions. You however will go to your father's in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. And when the sun had set and the darkness had fallen, the smoking fire pot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham and said, "To your descendants I give this land. From the river of Egypt to the river of the Euphrates. The land of the Kenites and the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites and the Rephaites and Amorites and Canaanites and the Girgashites and the Jebushites. This was a serious promise, who would have ever had expected that is would involve battle after battle after battle after battle.   IT'S TIME So let's go from that promise of God to Abraham centuries before into the midst of the taking of the Promised Land. Israel, under the leadership of Joshua, crossed over, they fought battle after battle, they'd taken Jericho and city after city has fallen before them. Why? Because that's what God promised and we're going to pick up the story in Joshua chapter 18, they're not quite half way through taking this Promised Land. There are twelve tribes in Israel, five tribes have their land and seven are left to go, seven have yet to get their Promised Land. It must have seemed like an eternity. You know when you face battle after battle, we're tempted to pull over and stop, to take a breather that kind of turns into a lunch break that turns into a holiday that turns into long service leave and before you know it we haven't got what it takes to keep going again. I tell you, in my life in this ministry Christianityworks, I've been involved now for just on three years and the call on my heart as I took over to start producing radio programs again we weren't on any stations three years ago and today we're on over seven hundred stations in eighty countries around the world. I have to tell you it was hard work, battle after battle after battle. Sometimes there were not enough funds and people said they'd help but then they realised how hard it was to do this work and they just didn't deliver and they fell by the wayside. And people criticised and people didn't understand, you know what I'm talking about and you get tired, you get exhausted. It would have been so easy just to pull up, to slow down, to give up, what a temptation. And yet there was this promise of God in my heart that He'd called me to do this. But we're all tempted to give up half way. You know the only reason I haven't is because along the way I've had some great teaching on this subject from a wonderful teacher called Joyce Meyer and there was just one message and God wrote this stuff on my heart, 'to keep going' and that's my prayer for you today, just this one message that in these few moments we spend together that He will write His word on your heart to keep on pressing forward into the promises of God. Whether we're struggling with fear or sin or addiction or a tough relationship and we hear about Gods promises so we set out on that journey of faith but after a while, oh it's hard work and there is opposition and there are battles and we want to give up, you know what I mean. In fact my hunch is you know exactly what I mean. And it was the same with Israel, they were almost half way into taking the Promised Land, if you've got a Bible open it up, lets listen to Joshua chapter 18. The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up there the Tent of the Meeting. The country was subdued before them but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance. So Joshua said to the Israelites, 'how long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers has given you. Appoint three men from each tribe, I will send them out to make a survey of the land to write a description of it according to the inheritance of each then you will return to me. You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south and the House of Joseph in it's territory on the north. After you have written the descriptions of the seven parts of the land bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the Lord. The Levites however do not get a portion among you because the priestly service of the Lord is their inheritance and Gad and Rueben and the half tribe of Manassah have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan, Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to them. As the men started on their way to map out the land Joshua instructed them, 'go and make a survey of the land, write a description of it then return to me and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the presence of the Lord'. So the men left, they went through the land, they wrote its description on a scroll, town by town, in seven parts and returned to Joshua in the camp of Shiloh. Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh in the presence of the Lord and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions. I love this passage because they're almost half way through and it begins by saying, "the whole land, the whole country was subdued before them". See so much of the work had already been done , God had done so many things, they were so far down the track and sometimes when we're tired of the battle after battle we lose sight of how far we've come. We look back and then, then we see the mighty hand of God at work in the victories. Isn't it the same in our lives? You get tired and you think, "argh Lord this is too hard". It's time to just take a quick look back and see all the mighty things that God has done in our lives. I get such great courage from just looking back, even over these last three years in the ministry of Christianityworks and I think, "man, look at what God has done." And once they've looked back Joshua asks the sixty four million dollar question. Joshua said to the Israelites: How long will you wait before you take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers has already given you? How long will you wait? See you're almost half way there. You take a breather, you pull over, you stop, you get set in your ways, you can't go any further, you lose heart, what are you people doing, how long will you wait? What came next? There was work to be done. They sent the men out, they looked forward, they divided up the land into seven portions. See God always, ALWAYS involves us in what's going on, He never lets us become spiritual couch potatoes, He sent three men from each tribe out to survey the land, to record the land and to choose the seven divisions. And next they came back to Joshua and in the presence of the Lord Joshua cast lots. Really what Joshua was saying there is, "we're going to leave this up to God, we've got some work to do but God is in charge. We're going to cast lots for this land between the seven tribes in front of God and we will let God choose through the lots who gets what land." See there's a message for us here. If we're a people thats pressing forward into the promises of God don't stop, don't pull over, don't give up. If it's a tough relationship that you've been praying over and the Lords has been leading you to do good things, to serve and to support, to humble yourself and you're tired and you want to take a breather and you think, "augh, it's just not going to happen" and get to thinking, "this isn't working, it's not going anywhere, it's time to give up". Or God's called you to something, a ministry or a job or whatever it is that somehow, as you look back you can see all the good things He's done. But the promises seem like such a long way off. Whatever the situation, how long will you hang around here before you take the land that God has already given to you. Come on! Get up and do the things you know you have to do, do them under God and, and what? Do you think God is going to fail you? Do you think God is just leading you up the garden path? Do you think that God has put you up the creek in a barbed wire canoe without a paddle? Are His promises faithful, are they worth following, are they worth it?   THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD Well are the promises of God real? In a sense in theory we can all answer, "sure, I mean if God is God and He makes a promise then it has to be real". But you know something, the theory and the reality can be two different things. I shared a little before about the battles over the last three years that I've travelled through in taking this ministry from, I guess, pretty much nothing to reaching millions of people each week. Now I don't want any of that to seem remarkable because it's nothing that we did, God opened door after door and performed miracle after miracle to do that and it's what God's called me to do, He's called you to something different. So let's not compare as I share my story, hear what God is saying to you today about your story. Now I'm someone who knows the theory of God's promises as well as anyone. I mean a big part of my job is to study God's Word to put together these programs. So I'm "in the theory" if you like all the time but the reality has been that it's been lots of hard work and there have been disappointments and setbacks. And one of the hardest things has been often the people closest to us, people in our own Church, who haven't understood what we do or supported us or encouraged us, there's so many times the finances looked critical. It's still something that happens now and I find myself thinking, "why is it that the people in our own Church don't even support us?" Or one station where we've had a huge audience for a number of years was talking about taking our program off air and we've had to pray and pray and pray and then finally see God's victory. And sometimes I think, "God why can't it be easier than this? God why does there have to be so many battles along the way?" And you know what Gods answer has been to me, so that you my child would discover my faithfulness for yourself. See God wants us to experience his faithfulness, not in theory but in practice and you know something, I know so much more today about the faithfulness of God than ever have simply by travelling through battle after battle and seeing the victories that God has brought along the way. And there is such an intense satisfaction as I look back on that and I can truly say, "yes Lord, it's been hard work but all the glory goes to you and not to me because I could never have done this". The Book of Joshua that we've been travelling through these last weeks is about Israel's battles on the journey of taking the Promised Land. And when finally all the land is taken and allocated to all the tribes have a listen to what God's Word says, if you've got a Bible open it at Joshua chapter 21 beginning at verse 43. So the Lord gave Israel all the land that He had sworn to give their forefathers and they took possession of it and settled there and the Lord gave them rest on every side just as He had sworn to their forefathers, not one of their enemies withstood them, the Lord handed all their enemies over to them, not one of all the Lord's good promises to the House of Israel failed, every one was fulfilled. WOW! Let's just let that sink in for a minute. Not one of all the Lords good promises to the House of Israel failed, every one was fulfilled. When God makes a promise he never ever fails to deliver. When Jesus promised that He came that we would have life in all its abundance, that is a promise of God and it's a promise He intends to keep in your life and in mine. And as we travel through battle after battle and hang close to Him and just let those promises of God glow in our hearts and we hang on to them through this spiritual battlefield the devil comes after you with a meat cleaver and you fail some days and you stumble and you remember Jesus on that cross, you remember He purchased that life for you, we can know in our hearts that now, now it's time to take the Promised Land. And not one of all the Lord's good promises to you or to me will fail; every one of them will be fulfilled. It is time to take the Promised Land.

You know something – you and I can read about and listen to the promises of God until the cows come home.  But eventually, eventually the day comes when we have to cross over into the promised land. Eventually the day comes for us to lay hold of God's promises and live in them.   Sending Spies into the Land We've been talking the last couple of weeks about taking hold of God's wonderful and outrageous promises in our lives. It's not easy sometimes; it seems that we face uphill battle after uphill battle. And we're left wondering is this really what God's promises are all about? But my hunch is that when God makes promises he means us to believe them and to press through those battles like we believe them. A bit like Joshua: when he was about to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land after centuries of slavery in Egypt and 40 years wondering through the desert, he was standing on the banks of the Jordan river, ready to cross over into that promised land. As we've seen over the last couple of weeks, God told Joshua that there would be lots and lots of battles. But he also reminded Joshua that this was the Promised Land and then, then Joshua did something that's bothered me for a long time. He sent some spies across the Jordan to check out this so called Promised Land. And you see here's the dilemma for me: on the one hand we're supposed to trust God. Without faith it's impossible to please God, right? And look at what God said to Joshua about the battles that they were going to face when they headed into the Promised Land. You can read this: grab a Bible and open it up, Joshua chapter 1, beginning of verse 5 this is what God says, he says: No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you or forsake you so be strong and courageous because you will lead these people to inherit the land that I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and courageous, don't be terrified, don't be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.  Isn't that just the most awesome promise from God? And when you get a promise from God like that, that's serious stuff. God is calling Joshua into a difficult place but encouraging him with his promises. And Joshua had a decision to make: to step across the Jordan, to head down the path that God had called him to and encounter battles one after the other, trusting in God, battling his way through to keep going. And it's exactly the same for us. When we step forward into the promises of God we're going to encounter battles. So Joshua gets this amazing promise from God but look at what he does. He hears the promises of God but before he heads off, before he crosses the Jordan to go into the Promised Land, he sends some spies across to check it all out. To go to the very first city that they were going to have a battle with which was the city of Jericho. Read it: in Joshua chapter 2, beginning of verse 1: Then Joshua secretly sent two spies into the land telling them: go and look over the land, especially in Jericho. So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.  Can I ask you a question? Is that really trusting God? God promises you the land, he promises you that he's going to be with you, he promises you that no one will be able to stand against you. And then, it's almost like Joshua doesn't trust him: he sends out spies into the land and they go and stay with a prostitute. Now the rest of the story is, we're not going to read it now, is that they check out the land. The king finds out and comes to try and kill them and Rahab the prostitute helps them to flee and they promise to keep her and her family safe when they come against Jericho. And when they came back to Joshua on the other side of the Jordan this is what they said, "The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands. All the people are melting in fear because of us." Now this has bothered me for a long time. Why did Joshua do that? Why didn't he just trust in God and go and take what God had promised him? And why is it that God didn't get upset with Joshua for sending the spies and checking it out for himself? Well they're all good questions and the answer came to me one day when I was reading a story centuries later in the New Testament. It was when the apostle Peter was in jail and the angel came and sprung him out of jail. The angel woke Peter up in the middle of the night and said, "Get up quickly", and the chains fell off. And the angel said to him, "Fasten your belt, put on your sandals", and Peter did. "Wrap your cloak around you' said the angel, "and follow me." And Peter did that and the gates swung open. You can read about it in Acts chapter 12, beginning over verse 6. Do you notice something about that? The angel didn't dress Peter because he could do that for himself. The angel didn't put his sandals or his belt or his cloak on, the angel didn't get him to stand up; Peter did those things for himself because he could. What the angel did were the miracles that Peter himself couldn't do. The angel did the miracle of causing the chains to fall off him; the angel did the miracle of flinging the gates open. Now for me, I'm a doer: I plan and execute and achieve. I've been like that all my life. I go and get it. I'm a Type A personality. And the struggle for me is when God comes along and promises me all these things that for my whole life have eluded me: relationships and peace and joy and a quiet, calm delight. The promised land of God. I've a choice either to try and do this in my own strength, well that would never work, or I let God have the driver's seat and let him be in control and follow after him in faith. It's obviously the latter but you know something? We can say I'm not going to do anything and we become spiritual couch potatoes doing that. But God calls us to do our bit too. Joshua receives the promises of God and then he sends spies ahead into the land. Why? Because any good military operation always does its forward reconnaissance to see what's out there to plan ahead. And there's an important principle here: Joshua receives the promises of God. He had to cross over into that land to do the things that he could do and should do to plan and to look ahead and to organise the people and the armies and to get them through and then rely on the miracles that God could only do. Jericho was a fortified city, Jericho was impregnable but when they crossed over into the land God said to them march around for seven days blowing your horns and the walls will fall down. And sure enough, that's what they did; that's exactly what happened. God did the miracle. The problem with us is we receive the promises of God and then we kind of expect it all to go smoothly. We expect God to put everything on autopilot and we never want to think ahead or do the forward reconnaissance to look at what's likely to happen. There are obstacles, there are battles and you know as we follow after the promises of God the enemy and the world are going to come against us. And we need to get our minds around those things, in a sense we need to think forward and look forward and plan to know what to expect. To use the brains that God has given us and then to rely on the miracles that he is going to do along the way to do the things that we can't do to get us into that Promised Land.     My Way or the Highway Now most of us like to be in control of our lives but at the same time we like to experience the promises of God. Problem is, those two don't always go together. It turns out that there's only one way into God's Promised Land. Joshua sent those spies and they came back with a good report. I want to have a look now at how Joshua led his people through the Jordan and crossed over into the Promised Land. See, we have to take the Promised Land just like Joshua and the Israelites. God doesn't deliver it like a pizza; it's there to be taken. Now I have a confession to make: I used to be a very much my way or the high way kind of guy. And every now and then that attitude still raises its ugly head. So it was a major thing for me to hand my life over to God. Not just kind of to believe in Jesus from a distance but to live my life for him, to truly call him the Lord of my life. There's a big difference and what I've discovered is that on the one hand you have to give up some things if you want Jesus to be the Lord of your life but on the other I can do so much more because instead of having to do everything in my own strength. He shows up and does miracle and after miracle in every department of my life and I look back on that journey and think wow I could never have done those things. But our natural instinct is to do things our way, to be in charge and in control and that problem is that that job belongs to God. And anyway, it's hard work. So what is it? What do we have to do to make Jesus the Lord of our lives? We've been looking at these last few weeks at taking hold of the promises of God, taking the Promised Land. Joshua leading Israel into the Promised Land after centuries of slavery in Egypt and 40 years wondering through the desert on the exodus. And this book of Joshua recalls the history. You go back to the promises of God and God promises to Abraham that he would give the descendents of Abraham this Promised Land. And God comes to Joshua when he's about to lead Abraham's descendents into the Promised Land and he says, "Everywhere where your foot will tread, I have already given to you." So Joshua, as we saw before the break, sent some spies across to check it out. He did the normal military thing that you'd expect any commander to do. Now, now comes time to cross over the Jordan River. They're going to have so many battles when they get there. Cities and nations who don't want them to have the Promised Lands. So it was so easy for Joshua to say, "Well, I'm in charge here, it's my way or this high way." But what Joshua did next, well there are some pretty amazing things that he did, four things in all. And it tells us who Joshua thought was really in charge. The first is he sent his officers through the camp to tell his people this, "When you see the arc of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it so that you may know where you should go for you have not passed this way before." You can read that in Joshua chapter 3, beginning of verse 3. See, this whole nation of Israel was about to cross over into the Promised Land, who did Joshua put at the head of the nation? Was it Joshua? It was the arc of the covenant, the symbol of their relationship with God, the place where the presence of God rested. For Joshua God was at the head of the nation. And then there was another thing they did. You can go to Joshua chapter 4, beginning of verse 4. So Joshua called together the 12 men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each of the twelve tribes. And he said to them, ‘Go before the arc of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder according to the number of tribes of the Israelites. To serve as a sign among you. In the future when your children ask "What do these stones mean?" Tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the arc of the covenant of the Lord. See, Joshua got them to pick up these stones and on the other side of the Jordan River they built a monument honouring God. And what that monument was all about was saying: he did this, God did this, God achieved this. This is about recognising God's goodness for generations to come. It's about honouring God first. And then you think right, we must definitely be ready now to cross over into the Promised Land. Now this next bit is going to seem bizarre to us and even in their context it must have been a big call. Joshua decided to circumcise all the men in the nation because circumcision was a sign, an outward sign, of the covenant relationship between God and his people. Abraham did it to all his household and all Israelite males under the law of the Jews should be circumcised on the eighth day, it's part of their law. It's a symbol of the relationship between God and Israel and on the exodus in the desert between Egypt and the Promised Land for 40 years they hadn't been doing that. So it was time to set things right between God and his people. God said make flint knives and circumcise them. Makes me wince, my eyes water. They're ready to go, they're ready to cross over into the Promised Land. They must all have been there with such anticipation and Joshua says, "Woah, stop! Got a great idea! We're going to have a circumcision. All the males"' And not only did they circumcise all the males, they then had to wait there for several days for them all to heal. This was about getting the nation of Israel right before God in their relationship. And fourthly, before they went. Can you imagine this huge logistical operation of crossing over into the Promised Land? It was the time of the Passover, the time when they remembered back 40 years to when God had taken them out of slavery in Egypt. To the time when the angel of death passed over and killed all of the first born in the land of Egypt except for the Israelites because they killed the lamb and put the blood on the top of their doors and the angel of death passed over them. It was time to celebrate the Passover, to remember how 40 years before God had taken them out of Egypt. To look back and remember God's goodness. And see the four things that Joshua did? He put God at the head of the procession. He built an alter, a monument to God that would be remembered for generations. He got the nation right before God by circumcising all the males and then he celebrated the Passover to honour God. Sure, we want to cross over in the Promised Land just like the Israelites did but what this is saying to us is that God comes first. The arc goes first, we follow him, we take his lead. We put a marker here in faith to remember for generations to come what God's done. We get right before God, we honour God for what he's done. See here's the crunch: there's this huge promise ahead of them but they were going to take hold of that promise not in their own strength but honouring God first. It's not my way or the high way, it's God's way. Whatever the circumstances, whatever the outcome, his way and it's the same for us today. So many people believe in Jesus and they want to lay hold of the promises of God for their lives but they want to do it their own way. Jesus is Lord, we sing. Really? Then let's do it his way. No little compromises, no little shortcuts, no "I'll forget about him and not pray today", no "Oh well, I don't have to read his word the Bible today." Wake up! God's promises only happen one way, his way and Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." This radical, edgy saviour. Not into pampering himself; he was into going out there and following God.       The Promises of God I truly believe that the promises of God are for each one of us. Now let me share a part of my story with you because I'm sharing this not from a textbook but from a changed life. Twelve years ago my life was an incredible mess, I can't tell you the dysfunction and pain. Now that stuff happens to us. I'm not some kind of loser; I was a competent, successful businessman with all the trappings of wealth and success but inside, inside I was an incredible mess. And when you're in that place the promises of God seem to be, well, so difficult to accept. When God records in John chapter 10, verse 10 what Jesus said: The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy but I have come that you may have life and have it in all of its abundance.  Literally superabundantly. Boy that can be hard to take when you feel down and out. When you think of Joshua there on the banks of Jordan, he really was on the threshold of a promise made to Abraham centuries before. And from Abraham the nation of Israel grew and they were in slavery and they were part of God's miraculous escape plan as Moses led them through the red sea and then 40 years in the desert. And now, here they are and Moses has just died. How impossible must it have seemed to Joshua when God spoke to him on the banks of the Jordan and said, "I have given you every place where you will set your foot as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to the Lebanon and from the great river Euphrates through all the Hittites country to the great see of the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life because as I was with Moses so I will be with you. I will never leave you or forsake you." You know what our problem is? Sometimes when we look at God's promises and then we look at our circumstances, in our hearts we let our circumstances win every time. Because that's what we can see and it's the circumstances and the difficulties and the obstacles that fill our vision. Today I just want to say that God wants to remind us of what Joshua did. It was a step of faith against impossible odds. Moses was dead, all those people and nations and kings and armies were in this so called Promised Land. Jericho was fortified and Joshua sent some spies in the land to check it out. And they came back with a rosy report despite the fortifications around Jericho and he mobilised his people and he crossed over. But not only his own strength but by honouring God, by putting God first. You know something? I think it's time for us to do the same. No matter what circumstances we face, no matter how big the obstacles, no matter how big the fortifications of our enemies or how powerful they appear, I believe with all that I am that Jesus died so that we could live in the Promised Land, the kingdom of God, in a dynamic and vital relationship with him. And it's time to count the cost, to look at what that means, to send a spine to that land in a sense by opening up God's word and reading those promises for ourselves. Because there is a cost, we need to read about that cost. The things that we might have to give up, the sin in our lives that we have to lay down in order to realise the promises of God and then stepping out in faith. Just start honouring God, even when it's a mess, even when things aren't going well, even when it all looks impossible. Just as Joshua and the nation of Israel did, to start honouring God. Put him first in everything, draw close to him in prayer, in Bible reading, in the way that we live our lives. Come on, honouring him with all that we are and all that we have and with every hope and with every dream just laying that down before him. Just believing in faith that his kingdom will come and that as we simply walk in faith, putting him first, he'll step into those battles for us and with us and win them for us. And before we know it, before we know it, we'll look back and say, "Wow, look at what God's done, I really am in the Promised Land." What do you think? Where are you in your life? What are the battles that lay before you? Is it time to take your eyes off the battles and set them firmly on God and believe his promises and honour him and step forward in faith into his Promised Land?  

For today’s installment of our 40 Days Meditation series, our brother John Yocum provides commentary on Ex 2:23-3:20. Listen below, download here, or search for Words from the Brothers on your favourite podcasting app. During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel-and God knew. Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.'” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. Ex 2:23-3:20

Daily Dose of Hope March 3, 2025 Day 2 of Week 49     Scripture:  Ezra 7-10; Psalm 97; Revelation 4   Welcome back, friends, to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily Bible reading plan.   For our Old Testament Scripture, we head back to the book of Ezra.  In chapters 7 and 8, we read about Ezra returning to Jerusalem.  The king of Persia has given him and any Jews who want to return permission to do so.  But it's quite a journey.  Ezra records all that come with him.    One interesting thing about Ezra is that he was a leader who invested in his people. He didn't just tell the people what to do, he actually taught the people Scripture and how to interpret it. Thus, as we move into chapters 9 and 10, the people are now recognizing that what is going on among them is wrong. They see how the Jewish people are out of alignment with God's law and they decide to bring their concerns to Ezra.   What's the issue? Well, the people of God have been intermarrying with all the pagan nations and cultures around them. They have given their daughters in marriage to Canaanites and Hittites. They have accepted Moabite and Amorite men as husbands for their daughters. God asked them to be a holy, set-apart people and they have done anything but. There are certainly instances in the Old Testament when Jewish people have married foreigners(think Ruth the Moabite) and things have turned out well. But in those cases, the foreign spouse became dedicated to the one true God. In other instances, when things didn't turn out so well (think Solomon and all his wives), it was because the spouses remained pagan and brought their pagan gods into the home. It is hard to be holy and set apart when Pagan influences are at your kitchen table and in your bedroom.   As believers in Jesus, we are also to be set apart people. That doesn't mean we isolate ourselves from the world, but rather we live differently. Our values are different than the world's values. Our lifestyle should be different from the world's lifestyle. When it comes to marriage, the New Testament also implores believers to marry other believers. It isn't a command but it makes sense. When a person of one worldview covenants with the person of a totally different worldview, it can be really, really hard. When one spouse is committed to Jesus and the other isn't, there will be value clashes.   Think about your own relationships, maybe your marriage. How might your pray for those closest to you in regard to faith? We know that God isn't done with anyone yet. What relationship is heavy on your heart right now? Take a moment and pray.   Back to the Scripture - the people truly loved and respected Ezra and when they see how distraught he is, they also become distraught. Ezra really doesn't have to force the people to acknowledge their wrongdoing. They know their guilt before God is significant. They have intermarried with people who worship other gods. They have broken God's law and they know it. Now what is to be done?   Ezra as the leader guides the people but doesn't force them into any specific solution. It is the people themselves who decide that the foreign wives and their children should be banned from their fellowship. This is a hard one for me. Presumably, some of these are innocents. It wasn't their fault that their father decided to marry a foreign woman. And yet, they would be sent away. Sin always has consequences.   I think that is a hard lesson for us. Sin always has consequences. Sometimes, the consequences are more severe than others. In our case, we can receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ and be reconciled to God but that doesn't remove the consequences for ourselves and others. Sin always has consequences.   Now we head to our New Testament reading in Revelation. We've moved from the concerns of the churches to the heavenly realm in chapter 4. John describes heaven's throne room with God on the throne. Human words fail John at this moment and he can only describe God as having the appearance of jasper and ruby. I've tried to envision this. Jasper is a beautiful stone that can be either a deep red or dark green. Ruby is obviously a brilliant red. So God, in John's vision, includes the flashing radiance of reds and greens. Take a moment, close your eyes, and try to imagine what John is seeing.   The main throne is surrounded by twenty-four other thrones occupied by twenty-four elders. Scholars have debated for years as to who these elders might be but it probably isn't all that relevant. What is relevant is the majesty of it all. From that central throne, there are flashes of lightning and the sounds of thunder. There are seven blazing lamps around the throne, symbolizing the Holy Spirit. What is most interesting to me are the four creatures who surround the throne. They seem to serve as guardians of some kind. They are covered with eyes and they each have six wings. They are similar to the fantastic beings described in Ezekiel (chapters 1 and 10). And these beings never stop praising God. All the time, never-ending praise: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come.”   When the four creatures give praise, the twenty-four elders do as well, falling down and worshiping God. Think of it–praise to God all the time; continuous, nonstop worship and praise. In heaven, God is being worshiped constantly without breaks or pauses. Why? Because he is God. Because he is creator, because he is sustainer, because he is Savior and Lord of all. Ceaseless praise.   How much time do we spend praising God in our lives on earth? Be honest. What's your praise level? How might we begin to worship and praise God on a continuous (or at least daily) basis? How might this change how we view God? How might this change how we view the world?   Blessings, Pastor Vicki

The Reluctant ProphetExodus 3:7-4:17 [ESV]7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is his name?' what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.'” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”' 18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.' 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”1 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.'” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5 “tCONNECT WITH USIf you have any questions or would like to get to know us further, head over to https://www.triumphlbc.org/connect and fill out our online connection card.ABOUT TRIUMPHTriumph wants to see the life and message of Jesus transform your heart, home, and city. To learn more visit https://www.triumphlbc.org/

Send Someone ElseExodus 3:9-4:17 [ESV]9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is his name?' what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.'” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”' 18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.' 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”1 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.'” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5 “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6 Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous[e] like snow. 7 Then God said, “Put yoCONNECT WITH USIf you have any questions or would like to get to know us further, head over to https://www.triumphlbc.org/connect and fill out our online connection card.ABOUT TRIUMPHTriumph wants to see the life and message of Jesus transform your heart, home, and city. To learn more visit https://www.triumphlbc.org/

  “The Angel of the Lord”  - there are 52 occurrences of the phrase "the angel of the Lord" in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament.  You can see the verses starting in Genesis to Exodus 3 below.  Also, check out the links to two previous Bible studies that dealt with the Angel of the Lord.  Link – Gen. 15-16 – How to See God and Not Die - https://lightofmenorah.podbean.com/e/the-gospel-according-to-moses-genesis-gen-15-16/ Link – Exod. 3 – Who is that in the Burning Bush? - https://lightofmenorah.podbean.com/e/the-gospel-according-to-moses-exodus-lesson-7-part-1-xod-31-8-the-angel-of-the-lord/ Below are the verses with the phrase THE ANGEL OF THE LORD. Gen_16:7  Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. Gen_16:9  Then the angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority." Gen_16:10  Moreover, the angel of the LORD said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count." Gen_16:11  The angel of the LORD said to her further, "Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. Gen_22:11  But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." Gen_22:15  Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, Gen_24:7  "The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants I will give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. Exo_3:2  The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. Who is the Angel of the Lord?  What is it?  What do the rabbis say?  Some Christian scholars say it is Jesus!  However, they never ever give backup to support their view that it is Jesus.  They just say it.  This is so frustrating.  How can that be if one studies and asks the question what does the Bible say?  The question is does the Bible hint at the fact that the angel is Jesus?  If so this would be related to John 5:39 and Jesus teaching us that scripture testifies of Him.  How?  How does the Bible hint that the Angel of the Lord is a manifestation of Yeshua?   In this podcast we will get at this in detail. Once again we need to BRING OUR BRAIN to the Bible.  We all agree this is the inspired word of God.  In short we say the Bible is God's word.  If so and God never said the angel of the Lord is Jesus, then how do some of our Christian scholars say it is Jesus?  It is dangerous to put words in the Bible that are not there.  I would rather it be taught with words like "is it possible" that the angel of the Lord might be a manifestation of Jesus.  Perhaps some Bible verses suggest this might be true.  But there are many that seem to say they know the answer and it is their way or the highway.  Not a good way to teach God's word. An excellent article on this topic can be found at this link.  Link - https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/who-is-the-angel-of-the-lord.html I mentioned Rabbi Jonathan Cahn's book entitled, “The Return of the Gods.”  This is a must read to see what is happening in our day.  To know it is to understand a mystery – the mystery is that Yahvay, the Lord, God, is helping us SEE the return of the gods from ancient days.  The book is an awesome study that shows us the evil in our day was the evil in the ancient Middle East under the pagan nations and their gods which are only demons.  Here's the link - https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+return+of+the+gods+jonathan&hvadid=701821827340&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9019560&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14598189095742890310&hvtargid=kwd-2314157865763&hydadcr=8292_13544362&mcid=c8af577108d6391eb2f402d3d4271cae&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_4wmyc557fa_e Another interesting topic studied in this lesson is what is are boundaries of the Promised Land.   What did God say regarding the borders of the land He promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all Israel?  Check out the list of Bible verses at the link below.  It is a very comprehensive list that will give you a good understanding of the borders of the Promised Land. It goes way beyond the current borders of Israel today. LINK – Open Bible – the exact boundaries of the land - https://www.openbible.info/topics/promised_land_boundaries Below is a free download of what is likely the actual Promised Land as outlined in the Bible by the ord.  You'll notice it encompasses much more than the present land of Israel. Yahvay, the Lord, God, will bring back His people.  He'll do it in the true RAPTURE – the Jewish Rapture.  Check out the video series entitled “The Rapture Restored” –   https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvcIXun2BQDIjNNTBWSQ_23MIODTFzknn It is known as the Day of the Lord when He gathers His people to the land.  Check out the verses below.  Gen 15:18  On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: Gen 35:12  "The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, And I will give the land to your descendants after you." Gen 26:3  "Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. Deu_11:24  "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours; your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea. Jos 1:3  "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. Jos 1:4  "From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. Jeremiah 16:15: "For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers." Isaiah 11:11: "He will raise a banner for the nations and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." Ezekiel 37:21: "Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land.'" Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?  What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link -  https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8qth6w4e56oub9js1w1gu/BackgrndTeacher-mar-25-2020.pdf?rlkey=f14fr2wmde5fezjmnrny8cycl&st=8dy5sa2s&dl=0

Moses Meets GodExodus 3:1-15 [ESV]1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is his name?' what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.'” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.CONNECT WITH USIf you have any questions or would like to get to know us further, head over to https://www.triumphlbc.org/connect and fill out our online connection card.ABOUT TRIUMPHTriumph wants to see the life and message of Jesus transform your heart, home, and city. To learn more visit https://www.triumphlbc.org/

Moses, Meet God.Exodus 3:1-10 [ESV]1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”CONNECT WITH USIf you have any questions or would like to get to know us further, head over to https://www.triumphlbc.org/connect and fill out our online connection card.ABOUT TRIUMPHTriumph wants to see the life and message of Jesus transform your heart, home, and city. To learn more visit https://www.triumphlbc.org/

There are all sorts of things in this world that cause us stress. And I've heard so many ridiculous ways of relieving it – have a cup of tea. Take a hot shower. Okay – so they might relieve the symptoms for a short while. But what we need are some powerful solutions to the root cause of our stress.   Trust in the LORD When you Google stress relief, mostly what you discover is relaxation techniques. Take a hot bath. Watch some television to get your mind off things. Spend more time with friends. Some will even tell you to go and practise yoga and meditation. Play stress relief games. Identify your stress responses and manage them. Well, it all sounds great, but here's the problem I have with all of those things. They're a bit like taking an aspirin for a headache. They may alleviate the symptoms for a short while, but they don't solve the problem by treating the cause. If your headache is caused by a brain tumour, hey; aspirin just ain't going to do it. You need something that goes to the root cause. The same is true with stress and anxiety. You know, a mistake we make when we think about the root cause of our stress is we imagine that the root cause is that thing out there somewhere that's causing us stress. It's that difficult person; it's that difficult relationship; it's the fact that I'm struggling with my finances or I've had a bad medical diagnosis from the doctor. It's that thing out there that's causing me the stress. If I can get rid of that, then I won't have any more stress in my life. That's our rationale. That's what we think, but stress is our response to a situation. Stress is something we do to ourselves. Of course, sometimes scary things happen. Someone we love dies, and the process of grieving is stressful. We lose our job, and the process of dealing with our finances can be stressful, but a lot of what we stress out about is totally manageable, except for the fact that we're stressing out over it. Stress, anxiety, fear ... Those things immobilise us. They stop us from doing the things we need to do to deal with the situation, so when I'm talking about dealing with the root cause of stress, I'm actually talking about dealing with whatever's going on inside you that's causing the stress response, because each and every day of your life and mine pretty much is going to bring along circumstances and situations and people and stuff that have the potential to cause us stress. It's one thing to have an initial response of fear or shock when something potentially stressful comes our way; it's another thing entirely to spend the rest of the week, the rest of the year, the rest of your life, stressing out about it. So let me share my number one, numero uno, stress buster with you right now. Trust in the LORD your God. I know it sounds like a cop-out; it sounds like a platitude, but in a moment, I'm going to tell you why it's the one solution that decisively deals with stress. Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. The thing that causes us stress by and large is when something that has the potential to negatively impact our lives is completely outside our control. Would you agree? The doctor tells you that she's detected a tumour on your scan, but she doesn't know yet whether it's malignant or benign, or whether they're going to be able to operate on it and get it all out. So much is out of your control in that scenario, and your very life hangs in the balance. Stress! Now bring God into the picture. There are three key facts that I want you to note about God in this stressful scenario: Here's the first one. He loves you beyond measure. In fact, He loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die and to pay for your sins, to give you eternal life, so there's absolutely no question about how much He loves you. Secondly, nothing escapes Him. He never fails to notice what you're going through. If He knows exactly how many hairs you have on your head, and He does because the Bible tells us that, then He surely knows what you're going through, and the third thing is that nothing is outside His control. If He created the universe, friend, He has the power to deal with anything and everything that's going on in your life. Now, you put those three facts together and what you have is a compassionate, loving God who completely understands, and who has just the right plan for your life. He knows what to do, when to do it, and how to get it done, and He will do it. The Bible has a name for that: It's called faithfulness. The writer of the book of Lamentations was looking over the destruction and the devastation after the Babylonians had completely and utterly destroyed Jerusalem, and taken God's chosen people into captivity as slaves. He pours his heart out, which is why the book is called Lamentations, but then despite what he sees, despite the devastation and the pain and the stress that he feels in his heart, he comes to this conclusion. Lamentations 3:22-24: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. The LORD is my Portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in Him. My friend, no matter what you're going through at the moment, no matter what lies ahead, no matter what the devastation and the ruin that your eye can see, your God is faithful; and when you put your trust in Him, all of a sudden, the stress goes away because He can and will act to make sure that His steadfast love plays itself out in your life. Look. Each one of us is going to die sooner or later, and along the way, each one of us is going to have financial problems, health problems, relationship problems, inadequacies, insecurities ... There are more than enough in each week to get you and me to stress ourselves into an early grave. Listen. Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. Let me tell you, no amount of relaxation techniques – yoga, TV, dinner with friends, hot showers, hot cups of tea – none of that stuff is going to come anywhere close to the impact of trusting your God with all your heart. He knows what to do; He has the power to do it; He loves you so much. Ok, we are going to die one day. That's part of His plan, but in the meantime, friend, He loves you so much. Whatever you're going through, He's in that place with you, and He is worthy of your trust.   Develop a Quiet Confidence We kind of stress out about our kids and our jobs and how we look and what other people think. We stress out about tomorrow. What will that bring? We stress out about ... Well, we stress out about just about anything or everything. Let me ask you this. What are you stressed over right now? What's the thorn in your side that keeps on making you worry about this or that? Pretty much everybody can name at least two or three things that are causing them to stress out right at the moment. Jesus hit the nail on the head when He asked this rhetorical question. Luke 6:27: Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to the span of your life? Well, that's pretty much it. That right there just shows us how utterly useless worry and stress are. They don't achieve anything positive. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Stress and worry often immobilise us from doing the things that we can and need to do to deal with that situation that's causing us the pressure and the stress in the first place. We just kind of sit there on the sofa worrying about it, when getting up and doing A or B would actually reduce the risk or fix the problem altogether. Now you can call me crazy; plenty of people do ... Call me crazy, but let me throw this out there for you to think about. This is absolutely no way for you to live your life, or for me to live my life. Would you agree? I mean, being stressed all the time is totally nuts. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't achieve anything good, and yet countless people are caught up in chronic, repetitive, day-after-day, lifelong stress, and for what? So let me ask you, what if you could replace that with a quiet confidence? Not some false bravado; just a quiet sense of confidence on the inside that you know it's going to be fine. What if that were the overriding mind-set in your life, in place of the person who worries and stresses about everything? Would it be a worthwhile thing to achieve? Well, that's what I'm aiming for in your life today, not because I happen to be particularly smart or insightful or brilliant; I'm none of those things, but because the Word of God has the power to transform your life completely and utterly. If only you will receive this mighty, powerful Word of God in your heart today, your life can be utterly transformed. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. ‘This guy hasn't a clue what I'm going through. How can he possibly say that?' And in part you are right; I absolutely don't have a clue, but God does. I don't have the wisdom, but God does. I don't have the power to transform your heart and your mind and your thoughts and your emotions or your life, but God does. Have a listen to this. It's about a guy called Joshua. For the last forty or so years, he's been playing second fiddle to a guy called Moses, leading God's people (probably over a million of them) through the wilderness: Relying on God for food, and for water, and for protection every step of the way. Moses (the leader) has just died, just at the point when they're about to cross over the Jordan river into the land that God's promised them; just at the point where they have to gear up for battle after battle because the promised land is full of other tribes and nations, and they're going to have to take it by force. Just at that point Moses, the proven, trusted, experienced, wise leader ups and dies, and Joshua is put in charge. Stress? Absolutely! Stress with a capital ‘S”. This is life and death stress. If you put yourself in Joshua's shoes, man, you'd really be stressing. Right? Well he must have been, because this is what God says to Joshua right at this point in his life. Joshua 1:1: After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying, ‘My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I'm giving to them – to the Israelites. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness of Lebanon as far as the Great River, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites and to the Great Sea in the west shall be your territory. No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them; only be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with the Law that my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it, for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful. I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.' No less than three times, God says to Joshua: ‘Be strong and courageous', and one of those times he says, ‘Be strong and very courageous'. Why? Because God has a plan. God is in this, and God will see His plan through, despite the overwhelming odds, despite the impossibility of the task. It's about God and who He is, not the enemy and who they are. Let me say it again: It's about God and who He is, not the enemy and who they are, and the foundation of Joshua's confidence is to be what? God's Word. "Stay in My Word; think about it; meditate on it day and night, so that it doesn't depart from you." As you read on through this book of Joshua, you see that under his leadership, Israel faced many, many life and death, stressful situations, but God called him to do it with confidence. You know, sometimes, our confidence is misplaced. We put our confidence in our strengths and abilities; we put our confidence in money or other people, but won't place our confidence in God. When He's the One we look to and we trust, lean on and co-operate with, then that confidence – my friend, it's never misplaced. Hey, listen. Without faith it's impossible to please God. God wants us to put our trust in Him during those difficult, stressful, dangerous, scary situations. That's the whole point! We develop this quiet confidence as we experience His faithfulness, and that's what carries us through.   Pray the Prayer of Peace Listen. You and I are going to find ourselves in stressful situations from time to time; we just are. It's par for the course. In a very real sense, it's kind of what's meant to happen, and for anyone in a stressful situation right now, my prayer is that just knowing that gives you some comfort. We all end up there from time to time. The question now is, what do we do about it? How are we going to respond in this moment of crisis? Well, if you're anything like me, you've been taught that the right thing to do is to put your faith in God. That's exactly what we've been chatting about on the program so far in this series of messages. Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. And the other one that we looked at earlier, Lamentations 3:22-24: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. The LORD is my Portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in Him. And what did He say to Joshua? Joshua 1:5-7: As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you. Be strong; be courageous, for you shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them. Only be strong and very courageous. You see, each of those Scriptures that we've been looking at point us in absolutely the right direction, without a doubt, but anybody who's been in a deeply stressful situation, and particularly anyone who's there right now in that stressful situation, is sitting there thinking: ‘Well, look, that's all fantastic and nice, Berni. I know those Scriptures too, but how do I do that? How do I put my trust in God? How can I be strong and courageous when I feel so weak and helpless?' And unless you get the answers to those questions, then the Scriptures we just read and plenty more of them to boot, they're just going to make you feel more and more condemned – more and more like you're failing God, because you can't conjure up that trust and that faith and that strength. Am I right? So right now, we're going to get the answers to those questions and not from me, but from God because He always has the answers. God knows how you and I can lay hold of that courage and confidence in God, because He loves us. He tells us very clearly, very plainly in His Word how to do that, and to be honest, in my walk with the Lord over the past ... mmm ... almost twenty years, this has probably been the most important how-to that I have ever learnt. Are you ready? Here we go. Stress buster number three. It comes from Philippians 4:6-7: Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. This is a very plain piece of Scripture. There are not a lot of hidden meanings there, but you'd be amazed, amazed at how easily we skate over the surface of it and completely miss the point. I think I may have told this story once before on the program a few years back, so if you've heard it, just get over it (I'm just kidding). I was sitting in a Bible-study with a bunch of people who'd been Christians for many years, much longer than I had. We were studying this particular passage in Philippians 4. It was interesting; people hedged around – this, that; yeah, we all worry ... The discussion went on for ten or fifteen minutes and at the end of it, the Bible-study group-leader summarised it along these lines: ‘Well, yeah. God wants us to have peace but still, we're just going to worry, aren't we?' The crazy thing was that everyone seemed to nod in agreement with him and we were about to move on. Well, I don't know; I was only the new kid on the block, but I couldn't help myself. I kind of let out this loud, agitated, ‘No!' I don't think anyone had ever heard that before because there was stunned silence and all the eyeballs were on me, and I think my wife wished that the floor would swallow us both up, so I went at it with both barrels. I said, ‘Look at what this says. It's a promise from God through the apostle Paul, who (by the way) was sitting on death row in a dungeon when he wrote this thing.' God's saying, ‘Look. Instead of worrying, pray. The time that you would have spent worrying and stressing out about this stuff, take that time and spend it differently. Take that time that you would have spent stressing, and pray instead'. Thank God. Let Him know your problems and your needs and your requests, right there in the stressful situation that you find yourself in, and when you do that, says God through Paul, here's the promise bit: The peace of God which surpasses all understanding. There's this peace that in this situation, in this circumstance, simply doesn't make any worldly sense. That peace will not just fill your heart; it'll guard your heart and your mind in Christ. Now, think of the power of that. When worry comes along, when stress comes along and hits you, when it attacks you, when it knocks on the door of your heart and your mind, God's peace in Christ Jesus will be standing as a mighty, powerful, God-given sentinel to the door of your heart and mind. God's peace in Christ will guard your heart and your mind, and the impact of that: Think of a fortress being guarded by a mighty army. The opposing army simply can't get in, and so in this case, the worry and the stress just won't be able to get in because God's peace will keep it out. Hey, that's God's promise here, so let me ask you this: Do you believe God's Word or not? Do you believe that this is God's promise to you, or not? It's one way or the other. I don't know if they got it, these people in this home group that we were talking about, but I'm praying that you get it. The way that we appropriate the peace of God, the way that we lay hold of it, the way that we grab it with both hands and hang onto it, is by praying to God with a thankful heart, and pouring out our feelings and our needs on God. Let me tell you something. If you're in a stressful situation and you take this one promise, just this one Scripture (two verses) and start living it out by making it a habit to get away alone with God and pray and spend time with Him and pour your heart out and give Him thanks, I guarantee you that the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will become the sentinel of your heart and your mind and your life. There's your stress buster. There's your peace, and remember, it's a peace that given your circumstances, you really shouldn't be able to feel. You shouldn't be able to have. It's a peace that in the face of this stressful situation simply doesn't make sense. That's why Paul calls it the peace which surpasses all understanding, but you know what? It doesn't have to make sense, because peace is peace, and God's peace is God's peace, and I will take that in place of the world's stress any day. How about you?

Shownotes Do you ever feel unequipped to handle life and all it throws you? Sometimes walking in grief means being brave enough to move forward even when you don't feel prepared. Today's episode navigates through the bible passages of Joshua 1:1-9. Andrea looks at the story of Joshua after the death of Moses. This story reminds us that God equips us even in the midst of our grief and even goes before us to prepare the way. Listen in and explore this beautiful scripture that gives hope even in our moments of darkness.  Scripture  Joshua 1:1-9 Divine Promise of Assistance. 1  After Moses, the servant of the LORD, had died, the LORD said to Moses' aide Joshua, son of Nun: 2  * Moses my servant is dead. So now, you and the whole people with you, prepare to cross the Jordan to the land that I will give the Israelites. 3  a Every place where you set foot I have given you, as I promised Moses. 4  * All the land of the Hittites, from the wilderness and the Lebanon east to the great river Euphrates and west to the Great Sea, will be your territory.b 5  No one can withstand you as long as you live. As I was with Moses, I will be with you:c I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6  Be strong and steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land I swore to their ancestors that I would give them. 7  d Only be strong and steadfast, being careful to observe the entire law which Moses my servant enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go. 8  Do not let this book of the law depart from your lips. Recite it by day and by night,e that you may carefully observe all that is written in it; then you will attain your goal; then you will succeed. 9  I command you: be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD, your God, is with you wherever you go. Journaling Questions 1. Why does grief sometimes feel like a burden to take on responsibilities? How does Joshua 1:1-9 remind us that God is with us?  2. God reminds us he will never abandon us. He also provides people in our lives to help us in loss.  Who in your life can be a source of comfort in times you feel all alone?  3. Do you ever feel overwhelmed in grief at the responsibilities that lay out before you? How can you rely on God to know he is ahead of you on the journey?  4. How can reading the scriptures be a place of comfort?  5. What reminder does Andrea share about the relationship of the Father and Son role in grief?  6. Even in times of hard times, these are the times of thanksgiving. Find something(someone) you are grateful for right now. How has this been a gift to you?  7. In Joshua 1:6 Andrea points out suffering produces greatness. How can you see your suffering as a way of preparing you for something greater?  8. What are ways God helps you when you can't help yourself?  9. What do you think it means to be steadfast? How can you be steadfast as you endure grief?  10. Meditate on Joshua 1:1-9. Read through this several times. Record your thoughts or feelings and listen to his words.  Let God speak to you. What do you hear in the scripture?  11. What is your mourning glory? Be sure to check out our website, www.mourningglorypodcast.com. There you will find links to all of our episodes as well as resources to help you on your journey.

The book of Hosea is especially apropos at this time (October 2024) as we are currently drafting our second Christian Atheist series on malaki (the Hebrew word explicitly this time), which first occurs in Exodus 23:20–24: “Behold, I send an angel [malak - "a messenger"] before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. “When my angel [malaki - "my messenger"] goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. (ESV) The Hebrews described by Hosea are the same as those described by Moses in the Pentateuch and, by extension, the Christian church of today. We are all unfaithful spouses of our Lord. By right, God's holiness should "break out" against us, and we should be consumed. His faithfulness, however, is new every morning. But we should never forget that we serve a holy God, and we live by His grace: Malachi 3:6 [6] “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." (ESV) Join Jenny and me in this faithless and compromising generation in cleansing our lives from all elements of unfaithfulness, unbelief and disobedience to our LORD's revealed word. Farther up, and farther in to God's infinite wisdom, love and knowledge! We highly recommend this excellent summary of Hosea: https://youtu.be/kE6SZ1ogOVU?si=xmg5ZhYVRTILGC6y Malachi 3:7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. (ESV)

We welcome back Professor Michael York to discuss Canaanite Gods. This includes the Israelites, Akkadians, Babylonians, and others. Due to proximity, we venture a bit into Sumeria, Egypt, Vedic India and beyond. We even touch upon Hittites, Minoans and Sea Peoples. But it's mostly Yahweh versus Ba'al with a dash of Inanna and Ashura, and other easy to pronounce names. Along the way we discuss soime recurring themes like evil baby eating Gods to matriarchal godheads versus patriarchal godheads. Somewhere along the line, Margorie Taylor Green came up. Oh my! Anyway, you don't want to miss this regional Gods discussion, which had earlier roots and ramifications that continue today.And I wasn't crazy about AI and translation. The Professor found this afterwards  https://www.hellenic.org.au/post/the-babylonian-engine#:~:text=The%20AI%20model%20was%20trained,and%20from%20cuneiform%20symbols%20directly.

The book of Hosea is especially apropos at this time (October 2024) as we are currently drafting our second Christian Atheist series on malaki (the Hebrew word explicitly this time), which first occurs in Exodus 23:20–24: “Behold, I send an angel [malak - "a messenger"] before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. “When my angel [malaki - "my messenger"] goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. (ESV) The Hebrews described by Hosea are the same as those described by Moses in the Pentateuch and, by extension, the Christian church of today. We are all unfaithful spouses of our Lord. By right, God's holiness should "break out" against us, and we should be consumed. His faithfulness, however, is new every morning. But we should never forget that we serve a holy God, and we live by His grace: Malachi 3:6 [6] “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." (ESV) Join Jenny and me in this faithless and compromising generation in cleansing our lives from all elements of unfaithfulness, unbelief and disobedience to our LORD's revealed word. Farther up, and farther in to God's infinite wisdom, love and knowledge! We highly recommend this excellent summary of Hosea: https://youtu.be/kE6SZ1ogOVU?si=xmg5ZhYVRTILGC6y Malachi 3:7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. (ESV)

In this episode of History 102, 'WhatIfAltHist' creator Rudyard Lynch and co-host Austin Padgett explore how an interconnected world of chariot-riding elites, complex trade networks, and temple bureaucracies imploded within a single generation. From mysterious Sea Peoples to the rise of iron weapons, they unpack how this collapse birthed a new heroic age that gave us the Greeks, Jews, and Persians. --

Passage: 1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. 7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” 17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:1-21 ESV) Song: Promises (https://open.spotify.com/track/1l4XUxfkBwv43NMRzDe4Mj?si=db82e92dbb3d4bcc) by Jonny Robinson, Matt Boswell, Matt Papa, and Rich Thompson Lyrics: I can always call you father You chose me as your child And your word is always faithful You will not turn aside Now I live in full assurance For my savior paid that price Every promise that you made me Is yes in Jesus Christ You are faithful to your promises We will trust in what the cross has said Through the ages hallelujah you are Faithful to your promises Are you with us in the fire Will you keep us in the storm Are you still the light that guides us When the darkness overwhelms Through the doubts and through the valleys Through the passing years we find Every promise you have spoken Is yes in Jesus Christ You will be our God We will be your people You will be with us Keep us from all evil Every promise made Is a promise kept You are faithful to your promises You began this work within us You will bring it to the end You're the one who goes before us You will have the last Amen So we set our hope upon this An on this we build our lives All your promises forever Are yes in Jesus Christ Prayer: Most loving Father, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on you who care for us: Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. -The Book of Common Prayer

Exodus 33: An Overview and Reflection Exodus 33 is a powerful and pivotal chapter in the story of the Israelites' journey through the wilderness. It emphasizes God's presence, Moses' intercession, and the profound relationship between God and His chosen people. Below is a breakdown of the key themes and reflections: 1. God's Command to Depart (Verses 1–6) After the Israelites' sin with the golden calf in Exodus 32, God commands them to leave Mount Sinai and continue toward the Promised Land. He assures them of His promise to send an angel ahead to drive out their enemies (the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites). However, God declares He will not go with them directly, warning that their stubbornness might lead to their destruction. Reflection: This section shows God's holiness and justice. Despite their sin, God remains faithful to His promises but highlights the consequences of disobedience. It challenges readers to consider the importance of repentance and God's mercy even when discipline is required. 2. The Israelites' Mourning (Verses 7–11) When the people hear that God will not go with them, they mourn deeply. Moses sets up a tent outside the camp called the “tent of meeting,” where he meets with God. This tent becomes a symbol of God's presence and guidance, with the pillar of cloud signifying God's glory. The text highlights the unique relationship between Moses and God, describing it as a face-to-face friendship. Reflection: The Israelites' mourning demonstrates the deep desire for God's presence, reminding us that material blessings (like the Promised Land) are meaningless without the spiritual blessing of God's closeness. Moses' relationship with God encourages us to pursue intimacy with Him through prayer and trust. 3. Moses' Intercession (Verses 12–17) Moses intercedes on behalf of the Israelites, pleading with God to accompany them on their journey. He argues that it is only God's presence that sets Israel apart from other nations. In response to Moses' faith and persistence, God relents, promising that His presence will go with them and give them rest. Reflection: This dialogue highlights the power of intercessory prayer. Moses' boldness in asking God to remain with His people is an example of deep faith and leadership. It also underscores God's compassion and willingness to listen to His people. 4. Moses' Request to See God's Glory (Verses 18–23) Moses makes an extraordinary request: to see God's glory. God agrees to reveal His goodness and proclaim His name but explains that no one can see His face and live. Instead, God places Moses in a cleft of the rock, covering him with His hand as His glory passes by. Moses is allowed to see God's back, a partial but profound revelation of His majesty. Reflection: This section reminds us of God's transcendence and holiness. Even Moses, who had a unique relationship with God, could not fully behold His glory. At the same time, it reveals God's graciousness in allowing humans to experience His presence in ways they can handle. It invites us to seek God's glory in our lives while respecting His awe-inspiring holiness. Key Lessons from Exodus 33 1.The Value of God's Presence: The chapter repeatedly emphasizes that God's presence is more important than any physical blessing or achievement. Like Moses, we should desire God above all else. 2.The Power of Intercession: Moses' role as an intercessor foreshadows Christ's role as our mediator. It teaches us the importance of praying for others and standing in the gap for those in need. 3.God's Faithfulness and Holiness: Despite Israel's unfaithfulness, God remains true to His promises. Yet His holiness demands respect and repentance, reminding us of the balance between God's love and justice. 4.The Pursuit of God's Glory: Moses' bold request to see God's glory challenges us to seek a deeper relationship with Him. While we cannot fully comprehend His majesty, we can experience His presence through worship, prayer, and His Word. Final Reflection Exodus 33 invites us into a deeper understanding of God's character—His holiness, faithfulness, and relational nature. It encourages us to prioritize God's presence in our lives, seek intimacy with Him, and intercede for others. Like Moses, we can boldly approach God, trusting in His grace and goodness as we navigate our own spiritual journeys.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sendme-radio--732966/support.

The book of Hosea is especially apropos at this time (October 2024) as we are currently drafting our second Christian Atheist series on malaki (the Hebrew word explicitly this time), which first occurs in Exodus 23:20–24: “Behold, I send an angel [malak - "a messenger"] before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. “When my angel [malaki - "my messenger"] goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. (ESV) The Hebrews described by Hosea are the same as those described by Moses in the Pentateuch and, by extension, the Christian church of today. We are all unfaithful spouses of our Lord. By right, God's holiness should "break out" against us, and we should be consumed. His faithfulness, however, is new every morning. But we should never forget that we serve a holy God, and we live by His grace: Malachi 3:6 [6] “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." (ESV) Join Jenny and me in this faithless and compromising generation in cleansing our lives from all elements of unfaithfulness, unbelief and disobedience to our LORD's revealed word. Farther up, and farther in to God's infinite wisdom, love and knowledge! We highly recommend this excellent summary of Hosea: https://youtu.be/kE6SZ1ogOVU?si=xmg5ZhYVRTILGC6y Malachi 3:7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. (ESV)

THE OLD GODS of the Greeks and Romans, the Titans, were a violent bunch. According to the story, they were defeated by Zeus/Jupiter and the Olympian gods and banished to Tartarus.That tale echoes older accounts of the “former gods” of the Hittites and Hurrians and the Anunnaki of Mesopotamia, who, like the Titans, had once ruled the cosmos but had been supplanted by a younger generation of gods and confined to the netherworld.That's the fake news version of the rebellion described in Genesis 6:1–4, fleshed out in 1 Enoch 6–36 and Jubilees 5:1–10, wherein the “sons of God” saw that women were attractive and commingled with them, producing monstrous, giant hybrid children. In short, the Titans were the Watchers of 1 Enoch, who were the “sons of God” from Genesis 6.You may not have noticed, but Hollywood has been running a PR campaign to rebrand the Titans in recent years, most obviously through the Monsterverse series of Godzilla movies. This week, we discuss the 2019 entry in the series, Godzilla: King of Monsters.As we note during the program, we don't look to pop culture for spiritual truth, but we can discern messaging from the fallen realm. We think the movie depicts Godzilla as a sort of Saturn or Kronos, king of the Titans, rising from his lair in the abyss—making him the angel of the bottomless pit, like Abaddon/Apollyon in Revelation 9—to battle King Ghidorah, a multi-headed dragon with the power to manipulate the weather, just like the storm-god Baal/Zeus/Jupiter, who Jesus identified as Satan (Matt. 12:22–26; Rev. 2:13).In other words, while this may be nothing more than Hollywood mining the ancient religions of the world to create a blockbuster about giant monsters, the religious messaging of King of Monsters is very in-your-face—and it portrays the sinful angels of Genesis 6, the Titans, as “the original and rightful rulers of Earth.”We think this is an example of the fallen realm preparing an unbelieving world for the end times.

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 851You have been gracious to your land, O Lord, *you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.2You have forgiven the iniquity of your people *and blotted out all their sins.3You have withdrawn all your fury *and turned yourself from your wrathful indignation.4Restore us then, O God our Savior; *let your anger depart from us.5Will you be displeased with us for ever? *will you prolong your anger from age to age?6Will you not give us life again, *that your people may rejoice in you?7Show us your mercy, O Lord, *and grant us your salvation.8I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, *for he is speaking peace to his faithful peopleand to those who turn their hearts to him.9Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *that his glory may dwell in our land.10Mercy and truth have met together; *righteousness and peace have kissed each other.11Truth shall spring up from the earth, *and righteousness shall look down from heaven.12The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, *and our land will yield its increase.13Righteousness shall go before him, *and peace shall be a pathway for his feet. Psalm 871On the holy mountain stands the city he has founded; *the Lord loves the gates of Zionmore than all the dwellings of Jacob.2Glorious things are spoken of you, *O city of our God.3I count Egypt and Babylon among those who know me; *behold Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia:in Zion were they born.4Of Zion it shall be said, “Everyone was born in her, *and the Most High himself shall sustain her.”5The Lord will record as he enrolls the peoples, *“These also were born there.”6The singers and the dancers will say, *“All my fresh springs are in you.” 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. LessonsExod. 3:1-12A Reading from the Book of Exodus.Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.  Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” 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. 11:23-31A Reading from the Book of Hebrews.By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.  By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. John 14:6-14A Reading from the Gospel According to John.Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”  Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.  “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.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

The book of Hosea is especially apropos at this time (October 2024) as we are currently drafting our second Christian Atheist series on malaki (the Hebrew word explicitly this time), which first occurs in Exodus 23:20–24: “Behold, I send an angel [malak - "a messenger"] before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. “When my angel [malaki - "my messenger"] goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. (ESV) The Hebrews described by Hosea are the same as those described by Moses in the Pentateuch and, by extension, the Christian church of today. We are all unfaithful spouses of our Lord. By right, God's holiness should "break out" against us, and we should be consumed. His faithfulness, however, is new every morning. But we should never forget that we serve a holy God, and we live by His grace: Malachi 3:6 [6] “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." (ESV) Join Jenny and me in this faithless and compromising generation in cleansing our lives from all elements of unfaithfulness, unbelief and disobedience to our LORD's revealed word. Farther up, and farther in to God's infinite wisdom, love and knowledge! We highly recommend this excellent summary of Hosea: https://youtu.be/kE6SZ1ogOVU?si=xmg5ZhYVRTILGC6y Malachi 3:7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. (ESV)

Friday Bible Study (12/20/24) // 2 Kings 7 // Visit our website: https://mbchicago.org Follow us to remain connected: Facebook:   / mbc.chicago   Instagram:   / mbc.chicago   TikTok:   / mbc.chicago   Podcasts: Listen on Apple, Spotify & others To 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... #2Kings | #BibleStudy | #DanielBatarseh | #mbchicago | #mbcchicago | #Bible | #livechurch | #churchlive | #chicagochurch | #chicagochurches | #versebyverse | #church | #chicago | #sermon | #bibleexplained | #bibleproject | #bibleverse 2 Kings 7 (ESV) Elisha Promises Food 7 But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah[a] of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel,[b] and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” 2 Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” The Syrians Flee 3 Now there were four men who were lepers[c] at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,' the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.” 5 So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there. 6 For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.” 7 So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives. 8 And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried off things from it and went and hid them. 9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king's household.” 10 So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city and told them, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied and the donkeys tied and the tents as they were.” 11 Then the gatekeepers called out, and it was told within the king's household. 12 And the king rose in the night and said to his servants, “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. Therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive and get into the city.'” 13 And one of his servants said, “Let some men take five of the remaining horses, seeing that those who are left here will fare like the whole multitude of Israel who have already perished. Let us send and see.” 14 So they took two horsemen, and the king sent them after the army of the Syrians, saying, “Go and see.” 15 Footnotes a. 2 Kings 7:1 A seah was about 7 quarts or 7.3 liters b. 2 Kings 7:1 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams c. 2 Kings 7:3 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13

The book of Hosea is especially apropos at this time (October 2024) as we are currently drafting our second Christian Atheist series on malaki (the Hebrew word explicitly this time), which first occurs in Exodus 23:20–24: “Behold, I send an angel [malak - "a messenger"] before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. “When my angel [malaki - "my messenger"] goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. (ESV) The Hebrews described by Hosea are the same as those described by Moses in the Pentateuch and, by extension, the Christian church of today. We are all unfaithful spouses of our Lord. By right, God's holiness should "break out" against us, and we should be consumed. His faithfulness, however, is new every morning. But we should never forget that we serve a holy God, and we live by His grace: Malachi 3:6 [6] “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." (ESV) Join Jenny and me in this faithless and compromising generation in cleansing our lives from all elements of unfaithfulness, unbelief and disobedience to our LORD's revealed word. Farther up, and farther in to God's infinite wisdom, love and knowledge! We highly recommend this excellent summary of Hosea: https://youtu.be/kE6SZ1ogOVU?si=xmg5ZhYVRTILGC6y Malachi 3:7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. (ESV)

The book of Hosea is especially apropos at this time (October 2024) as we are currently drafting our second Christian Atheist series on malaki (the Hebrew word explicitly this time), which first occurs in Exodus 23:20–24: “Behold, I send an angel [malak - "a messenger"] before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. “When my angel [malaki - "my messenger"] goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. (ESV) The Hebrews described by Hosea are the same as those described by Moses in the Pentateuch and, by extension, the Christian church of today. We are all unfaithful spouses of our Lord. By right, God's holiness should "break out" against us, and we should be consumed. His faithfulness, however, is new every morning. But we should never forget that we serve a holy God, and we live by His grace: Malachi 3:6 [6] “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." (ESV) Join Jenny and me in this faithless and compromising generation in cleansing our lives from all elements of unfaithfulness, unbelief and disobedience to our LORD's revealed word. Farther up, and farther in to God's infinite wisdom, love and knowledge! We highly recommend this excellent summary of Hosea: https://youtu.be/kE6SZ1ogOVU?si=xmg5ZhYVRTILGC6y Malachi 3:7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. (ESV)

Wednesday, 18 December 2024   “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' Matthew 5:43   “You heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and you shall hate your enemy.'” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus spoke of giving to all who ask of you and to not turn away those wanting to borrow. Now, He says, “You heard that it was said.”   Jesus will again cite precepts from the law of Moses. The first clause is very close to a direct quote from the law. However, the second clause is something that is more to be inferred. It may be that rabbinic commentaries went further in their analysis than the law, but what Jesus says can be rightly inferred from various portions of the law. They are not far from what Moses said in some ways. And so, He begins with, “You shall love your neighbor.”   The words are formed from a greater precept found in Leviticus 19:18 –   “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”   Jesus cites this to His disciples to begin the instruction which follows. Before He gets to that, He next cites the contrary precept saying, “and you shall hate your enemy.”   This precept could be found in the law. For example –   “When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, 2 and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. 3 Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. 4 For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. 5 But thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire.” Deuteronomy 7:1-5   Likewise, this was instructed in Exodus 17 –   “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.' 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner; 16 for he said, ‘Because the Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.'” Exodus 17:14-16   Moses then repeated the precept in Deuteronomy –   “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, 18 how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.” Deuteronomy 25:17-19   As these words are found in the law, Jesus cannot be said to be citing only rabbinic commentaries. Anyone who reads these instructions could only conclude that these particular enemies were to be hated and destroyed.   Life application: A large majority of the commentaries on Jesus' words in this verse say that He is citing the law in the first clause and only citing rabbinic commentaries in the second. As seen, this is not necessarily correct. If God said to utterly destroy particular people groups, it means that they were not to be associated with. They were to be hated and abhorred.   A problem arises, however, when the term “enemy” is abused. The law notes that when Israel is attacking an “enemy,” if they accept the terms of peace set forth by Israel, they are to be given leniency (see Deuteronomy 20:10-15).   If the rabbis were saying that all “enemies” of Israel were to be hated, it would be contrary to the tenor of Scripture concerning the guidelines for warfare in Deuteronomy 20 as well as other places where enemies become allies.   As such, we need to be attentive to not accept commentaries on Scripture, Christian or otherwise, without checking to see if what those commentaries say aligns with Scripture. But we cannot actually do that unless we are familiar with Scripture already. Putting your trust in what other people say without checking is not a good way to run your life. How much more when it involves spiritual matters that can affect one's eternal destiny?   Be sure to read your Bible daily. Take in what it says and store it away as the finest of treasures. When it is time, take it out and enjoy it again as you carefully consider each word.   Heavenly Father, Your word is wonderful. It is without contradiction, but it has to be considered in light of the context You provide in each passage. Help us to maintain the proper context and carefully consider what You are telling us. In this, we will have a more perfect understanding of Your will and intent for us. Thank You, O God. Amen.

The book of Hosea is especially apropos at this time (October 2024) as we are currently drafting our second Christian Atheist series on malaki (the Hebrew word explicitly this time), which first occurs in Exodus 23:20–24: “Behold, I send an angel [malak - "a messenger"] before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. “When my angel [malaki - "my messenger"] goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. (ESV) The Hebrews described by Hosea are the same as those described by Moses in the Pentateuch and, by extension, the Christian church of today. We are all unfaithful spouses of our Lord. By right, God's holiness should "break out" against us, and we should be consumed. His faithfulness, however, is new every morning. But we should never forget that we serve a holy God, and we live by His grace: Malachi 3:6 [6] “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." (ESV) Join Jenny and me in this faithless and compromising generation in cleansing our lives from all elements of unfaithfulness, unbelief and disobedience to our LORD's revealed word. Farther up, and farther in to God's infinite wisdom, love and knowledge! We highly recommend this excellent summary of Hosea: https://youtu.be/kE6SZ1ogOVU?si=xmg5ZhYVRTILGC6y Malachi 3:7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. (ESV)

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 75Confitebimur tibi1We give you thanks, O God, we give you thanks, *calling upon your Name and declaring all your wonderful deeds.2“I will appoint a time,” says God; *“I will judge with equity.3Though the earth and all its inhabitants are quaking, *I will make its pillars fast.4I will say to the boasters, ‘Boast no more,' *and to the wicked, ‘Do not toss your horns;5Do not toss your horns so high, *nor speak with a proud neck.' ”6For judgment is neither from the east nor from the west, *nor yet from the wilderness or the mountains.7It is God who judges; *he puts down one and lifts up another.8For in the Lord's hand there is a cup,full of spiced and foaming wine, which he pours out, *and all the wicked of the earth shall drink and drain the dregs.9But I will rejoice for ever; *I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.10He shall break off all the horns of the wicked; *but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.Psalm 76Notus in Judæa1In Judah is God known; *his Name is great in Israel.2At Salem is his tabernacle, *and his dwelling is in Zion.3There he broke the flashing arrows, *the shield, the sword, and the weapons of battle.4How glorious you are! *more splendid than the everlasting mountains!5The strong of heart have been despoiled;they sink into sleep; *none of the warriors can lift a hand.6At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, *both horse and rider lie stunned.7What terror you inspire! *who can stand before you when you are angry?8From heaven you pronounced judgment; *the earth was afraid and was still;9When God rose up to judgment *and to save all the oppressed of the earth.10Truly, wrathful Edom will give you thanks, *and the remnant of Hamath will keep your feasts.11Make a vow to the Lord your God and keep it; *let all around him bring gifts to him who is worthy to be feared.12He breaks the spirit of princes, *and strikes terror in the kings of the earth. 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. LessonsEzra 9English Standard Version9 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” 3 As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 saying:“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.' 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.”Revelation 17:1-14English Standard Version17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.” 6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. 9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” 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 26Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and 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.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

JESUS is not the lord of the Abyss.  That seems obvious, but a teacher on YouTube claims Jesus is the Mesopotamian god Enki, whose temple was the E-abzu—“House of the Abyss.”  Not only is there no textual evidence connecting Enki to Jesus, the evidence plainly suggests otherwise. Mesopotamian texts describe Enki sending forth the apkallu, which scholars have identified as the rebellious Watchers of the Book of 1 Enoch, to bring the gifts of civilization to humanity. The apkallu, like the Watchers, the sons of God from Genesis 6, the Titans of Greece and Rome, and the “former gods” of the Hittites and Hurrians, were banished to the abyss.  In short, Jesus, who explicitly identified himself as the Father, Yahweh (John 8:58, 10:30, 14:9), put a stop to a building project that archaeological evidence suggests was an attempt to to build an “abode of the gods” directly above the abzu—the abyss.  We also touch again on why Yahweh is not Enlil, who some identify as Satan: Enlil was also as Dagon (Amorites, Philistines), El (Canaanites), and Milcom/Molech (Ammonites), was condemned by Yahweh under all of those names. For a deep dive, see my book The Second Coming of Saturn (which you can read at my website). Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! Follow us! • X: @viewfrombunker | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation• Facebook.com/viewfromthebunker Sharon's novels Winds of Evil and The Armageddon Strain are available now in paperback, ebook (Kindle), and audiobook (Audible) formats! Get signed copies of the first two books of The Laodicea Chronicles now at GilbertHouse.org/store! Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! The building has HVAC, a new floor, windows, insulation, ceiling fans, and an upgraded electrical system! We're in the process of moving our studios and book/DVD warehouse and shipping office out of our home and across the yard into the Barn. If you are so led, you can help out at www.GilbertHouse.org/donate. —— Download our free app! This brings all of our content directly to your smartphone or tablet. Best of all, we'll never get canceled from our own app! Links to the app stores for iOS, iPadOS, Android, and Amazon Kindle Fire devices are at www.GilbertHouse.org/app. Please join us each Sunday for the Gilbert House Fellowship, our weekly Bible study podcast. Log on to www.GilbertHouse.org for more details. Check out our weekly video program Unraveling Revelation (unravelingrevelation.tv), and subscribe to the YouTube channel: YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation. —— Special offers on our books and DVDs: www.gilberthouse.org/store. —— JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. PLEASE NOTE: Due to security concerns in the Middle East, we have decided to cancel our planned Solidarity Mission to Israel in November. Discuss these topics at the VFTB Facebook page (facebook.com/viewfromthebunker) and check out the great podcasters at the Fringe Radio Network (Spreaker.com/show/fringe-radio-network)!

PREVIEW: The Neo-Assyrians vs. the Neo-Hittites vs. the Israelites vs. the Lords of Carchemish -- from a conversation with archaeologist Eric Cline, AFTER 1177 BCE, regarding the collapse and reawakening of competing kingships in the Eastern Mediterranean -- much like today and their descendants. More later. 1543 Persia

The Hittites were one of the most powerful civilisations in the Near East, building a vast empire that encompassed much of modern-day Turkey. But aside from a few vague references in ancient texts, proof of their existence was not established until the 20th century, when the discovery of more than 10,000 clay tablets laid bare the story of the Hittite kingdom and its rulers. Historian Mark Weeden talks to Jon Bauckham about the rise and fall of this elusive people, and reveals what we can glean from the surviving physical evidence. Listen to our episode with Zainab Bahrani, where she tackles listener questions about the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon: https://link.chtbl.com/9xMgWiPX The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices