The Mind Wars – Pleading When Praise Will Do!
Joshua and the Battle of Jericho, what a complete misrepresentation of the actual events of a story found in Joshua 1-6. There was no battle, except for maybe an unseen one in the heads of the Israelites. After watching their ancestors disobey and wander for 40 years would they now trust that God would do what He said He would do through Moses and now Joshua?
I’m sure that they said that they believed, but in practice would they be obedient? I think God wondered the same thing, which is why He doesn’t tell them where the weak point was in the defense, nor does He give them a secret weapon. Instead God has them do something completely ridiculous. (I think Veggie Tales got this one right!) Just march around the city seven times and blow your horns. Prior to the “battle”, it is recorded, “Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.”
I wonder how often we refuse to hear or see the victory, the healing, the miracle, the impossible made possible because we just can’t admit we don’t believe it. It’s like a great golfer or gymnast who before attempting a difficult shot or routine fails to visualize the success. In despair we continue to plead with God when praise is required to give us new eyes and ears.
I found this little video as I began trying to de-clutter my Google Reader after a Lenten Fast from reading blogs. I find great encouragement as we wait for the opportunity to double the size of our family, and as we wait for the cancer in mom’s lungs and the rest of her to miraculously disappear.
Mom and Dad, Kristi, Shelbi, Baili, Mallori, Kamri, Lucas, Lilli this is for you. Be encouraged Our God has delivered us!
Your Adoption Story – The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
All of us, who have been regenerated through Jesus, have been adopted. Paul explains to the Romans, “15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.s Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”" We were chosen not because we deserved to be objects of God’s love but while we were wicked, disobedient, rebellious, and ungrateful brats. Abba chose us by choosing to send his Son…His glorious, wonderful, powerful, humble, gentle, wise, perfect, holy…Son.
The Birth of Jesus
1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census.4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
The Shepherds and Angels
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished,19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
Last Day of Advent
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee,27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!s”
29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.33 And he will reign over Israels forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month.37 For nothing is impossible with God.s”
38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.