Week 16 Days 4 and 5 Slow Fade

Introduction and Judges 1-2:5

I apologize for the time lapse in posts. I will not lie. This part of the OT is just not my favorite part. I know it is God inspired. It is important to read. But it is not easy for me. Wars. Taking over cities. Ick. Still makes my stomach turn.

However, it wasn't the many battles that caught my attention in today's reading.

It was the disobedience.

I guess I can relate.

God was very clear with the Israelites.

They were to go in, take over the land (their Promised Land), and told to NOT make agreements with the people in those lands.

I know it sounds harsh.

But I think we all know.

Compromise.

It can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing.

And this case, it was the bad thing.

One of my favorite Christian contemporary songs is "Slow Fade".



Ignore the advertisement at the beginning.

Anyway, that is how so much sin is.

We don't get up each morning thinking, "Let's sin today".

Instead we compromise.

We give in just a little.

The next day a little more.

And the next thing we know we are sinning. Completely.

Kind of reminds me of that analogy of boiling a frog.

You put a frog in a pot of water and turn the temperature up just a little bit at a time. It will get used to it, so you do it some more. Before long, you have a boiled frog. I don't know why you would want a boiled frog but it is one of the things I remember from youth group MANY years ago.

Anyway, this all is related to the Israelites.

I doubt they thought, "Let's sin today."

I think they thought, "Let's compromise. We can let these people live here too. We don't have to completely rid the land of this group...it is just a few people."

Whether or not we understand, it was against what God commanded. And there would be consequences for that.

It was a slow fade.

They gave their heart away.

Black and white turned to gray.

It was a slow fade.

Tomorrow's reading: Judges 2:6-3:6

Reba

Week 16 Day 3 Famous Last Words

Joshua 23-24

110.

That is how old Joshua is now.

110.

That is a lot of years lived. A lot of ups and downs. A lot of adventures. A lot of heartbreaks.

And now the end is near.

He knows it.

We don't know how he does, but he does.

He brings the elders, the heads of families, the judges, the officers of Israel together.

He reminds them. He reminds them of God's faithfulness. He reminds them that God keeps his promises. He also reminds them that they have to do their part. They have to love Him and keep His commands. No ifs, ands, or buts.

And the people agreed.

One of my favorite verses is in this passage.

He is talking about serving God. He reminds the people that they need to serve God. If they don't, they need to decide who they will serve.

Then he utters, "As for me and my family, we will serve the LORD."

Not long after, Joshua died.

And though he no longer remained, his words have. For years.

I find myself thinking the same thing.

As for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.

'Nuff said.

Tomorrow's reading:
Judges 1-2:5

Reba

Week 16 Day 2 Altar Call

Joshua 22

I have finally settled one of my reasons I haven't posted much. My Bible has a schedule in it that I follow. But when I actually read, I usually read that version (New Century Version) on a computer Bible page. That page doesn't have the schedule. Most of the time when I post, it is late at night and the lights are off. Then I can't see the schedule in the Bible. So I just do other things. Lame, I know. But I am trying to fix it. I have put a two week schedule ON MY COMPUTER. So I have no excuses. At least for two weeks. :)

More than you ever wanted to know...

Anyway, today's reading.

It is about the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and East Manasseh.

They were ready to go home. Their home. The land they had been given by Moses years before.

It was time.

So Joshua gave them their blessing, reminded them to obey God's commands.

So those tribes went home.

And once they were settled in, they built a beautiful altar.

Which made the other Israelites angry. Angry enough to be ready to fight them.

Before things came to blows, Phineas (I cannot help but think of the cartoon Phineas and Ferb or however it is spelled) was sent to talk to the "wayward" tribes. An ambassador of sorts.

You see, the other Israelites felt like the altar was built for false gods. That the 3 tribes had already turned against God.

Phineas asked the 3 tribes to explain themselves.

They were surprised. I guess it never occurred to them that their actions would be misconstrued. They explained that it was an altar for God and God alone.

Phineas was satisfied, and in the end, the other Israelites were satisfied too

I wish life were like this.

That we had ambassadors who would find out the perspective of others before we (in the general sense "we") declared "war".

Because sometimes it is a misunderstanding.

Sometimes, most of the times, we need to listen before we act.

Tomorrow's reading: Joshua 23 and 24

Peace on Earth Week 16 Day 1

Joshua 20-21

I know, I know. I am like on the 3 or 4 or maybe even 5 year plan.

It isn't that I don't enjoy reading the Bible.

I do.

It is just that I am not particularly enjoying THIS part of it.

Just because it is a lot of city names I cannot pronounce.

That and I am pretty sure nobody reads this so I have nobody prompting me with "Are you keeping up with your reading?" But I need to do it anyway. I need to dig in every day. And when I don't, I need to just pick myself up and do it again rather than give up.

Both chapters today involved cities/twons. One was about the "safe cities" where the Israelites could go for safety if they accidentally killed someone. As long as it was truly an accident, the family of the victim could not seek retaliation.

The other is about the Levites' request for towns with pastures in which to live since they had no designated "land".

That is when a long list of towns I cannot pronounce began.

My favorite part of this passage was the end. No, not because it was the end. Because it was just another example of God keeping His promises. The Israelites lived in peace. Peace all around them.

I yearn for peace in our not peaceful world.

It won't happen again for a while.

But God does keep His promises.

It will.

What a glorious day that will be!

Reba

Week 15 Day 7 Home Sweet Home

Joshua 18 and 19

Seven tribes of Israel still had not selected their land. So Joshua sent representatives out to scope out the cities and take notes. They then brought their notes back and then cast lots for the land, Each tribe received land based upon the lots.

Most of the chapters consisted of city names I cannot pronounce.

One thing I did think about was how exciting this must have been. After wandering for so long, I bet the people were beyond thrilled to find out which "land" was their land. Finally, the people had a home.

Home sweet home.

Tomorrow's reading: Joshua 20-21

Reba

Week 15 Day 6 A Land Divided

Joshua 13-17

I really didn't abandon this blog last night. I had every intention of writing in here. But I fell asleep early. Didn't update one of the blogs. Ask my school 'team"...it has been a really busy week!

Okay, these were not the most exciting chapters. It basically talked about how God (through Joshua) divided the Promised Land among the tribes. So it used a LOT of words and places and names that I cannot pronounce and really have NO idea where or who they are.

But my favorite part was actually in Joshua 13.

If you ever have a chance, read Joshua 13:21.

See if you can figure out why I like it so much. :)

The other part I loved was in Joshua 14. The last verse.

"After this there was peace in the land."

You know how I feel about war and conflict. What a complete dream it would be to have peace.

That is all I want for Christmas.

Peace.

Peace among my children. Among my students. In my town. In my state. In our country. In our world.

One day.

One day the Prince of Peace will bring that to us.

I can hardly wait!

Tomorrow's reading: Joshua 18 and 19.

Reba

Week 15 Day 5 Grains of Sand

Joshua 11 and 12

I don't know why I am having such a hard time staying with this. I started off so well. Then life got busy. (I am not sure why this would make a difference but I have noticed that since bringing the puppy home, I am more sporadic than ever!)

I want to.

I really do.

I want to dig into the Word every single day. I want to find a nugget of what God is sharing with me. I want to be committed.

I am not sure if it is where I am.

Wars.

That is what these chapters are about.

God's kingdom was being established through the Israelites.

But that involved a whole lot of wars. And killing. And other things that truly do turn my stomach over.

I am not a war person.

I am more of a peace person.

I don't like conflict.

One of my favorite things in Washington DC were the rocks at the FDR Memorial that had the words "I Hate War" on them.

Not that I don't support our troops and soldiers.

I do.

I know that war has been a part of human history for years.

And sometimes (like the Civil War), it is a necessity.

But it still makes my stomach turn.

Today's reading was no exception because guess what both chapters were about?

War.

Several kings and nations started getting nervous about the Israelites.

So they gathered together.

When they did, they numbered "more than the grains of sand on the seashore".

I LOVE going to the beach. I love stepping into the warm sand with my bare feet.

Though I have only been to a few beaches in my life, I have to say, there is a LOT of sand on the beach.

So to have that many people gathered together to defeat the Israelites...that just hurts my head thinking about it.

Yet again, God proves victorious.

All those people, all those "grains of sand", were defeated.

That is about all I have to say about that.

I do plan on coming back. Hopefully tomorrow night. :)

Reba