The Highlighter [Joshua 9 - 1 Samuel 5]

I'm combining 2 weeks worth of reading here, so I'm gonna try hard to keep this from getting really long. Let's see how it goes...

Joshua 9:14 The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.

I've always liked this verse. We need to get on our knees and "inquire of the Lord" before (and after) any major decision.

Joshua 14:9 So on that day Moses swore to me, 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.

Here, I guess I just really like that word "wholeheartedly." It also occurs later, in verse 14. We must follow God, wholeheartedly. With all of our hearts. Not just twice on Sundays, and once on Wednesdays. Let's give God ALL of our heart. Not just the leftovers, but all of it. Wholeheartedly. All the time, with all of our hearts.

Joshua 23:8 But you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have until now.

Joshua 24:15b But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

One of the best statements or quotes you could ever put on a wall in your home.

Joshua 24:23 "Now then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.".

I like that phrase, "yield your hearts."

Judges 10:15-16 But the Israelites said to the Lord, "We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now." Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD. And he could bear Israel's misery no longer.

What is easy to notice in the book of Judges is that the Israelites always seemed to forget God when everything was going well. That alone is a lesson by itself, yet the story is not over. Even though he was constantly rejected by his people, God never failed to rescue them. We also constantly reject him when we follow the ways of the world. Yet God rescues us.

Judges 13:25 and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Again, just another phrase I like...the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him.

1 Samuel 2:2
There is no one holy like the LORD;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.


God Bless, CP

The Highlighter combo

This week's highlighter series will be combined with next week's. I will do this for two reasons...

1...Winterfest

2...I'm kind of behind on my reading anyways. Luckily, I have a 8 hour bus ride tomorrow and Sunday to take care of that.

See you next week!

The Highlighter [Deuteronomy 5 - Joshua 8]

Sorry I'm a day late on this. I was slammed yesterday as I was finalizing some "2 weeks before Winterfest" details.

Nonetheless, here's just a few of the many passages that blessed me this week:

Deuteronomy 5:33 Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your dayus in the land that you will possess.

Deuteronomy 6:14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you.

How many times must we be reminded of this? The Israelites needed this reminder before crossing into the promised land. And thousands of years later, I need this reminder before I get out of bed each day. No, I don't have a problem with bowing down to statues or fountains. But even today there is a strong temptation to follow the ways of man. To make money the most important thing in our life. To seek power, to seek fame, to try and make a name for ourselves. Our cars, stereos, computers can all quickly become Gods to us. Let's not follow the God's of men, but the God in heaven.

Deuteronomy 8:5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

The father/son analogy is one of my favorite illustrations to use in describing God's love. God doesn't give us certain commands to pick on us or to be mean. He wants us to be safe and protected. Protected by his love. Through his love we become holy.

Deuteronomy 14:2 for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.

I just really like that phrase treasured possession.

Deuteronomy 20:4 For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.

Why be afraid? The LORD goes with us and fights for us against our enemies? To quote one of my favorite preacher and blogger, "For a Christian, fear is not an option."

Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

My thoughts on this verse will kind of overlap that of the next verse so...

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

Throughout the end of Deuteronomy and the first couple of chapters of Joshua, God continuously promises to be with his people. I believe that is a promise that he continues to keep throughout our days on this earth. Knowing that God is with us brings peace, comfort, and security. He is our ultimate provider, our Abba, Father. God is with us! Let's rejoice because of that.

God Bless!

NOTE: Yes, I'm aware that I left out the Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4ff. While it is a blessing to read, I chose not to include it in this list. Usually when I type these up every week, I just select some of the many passages that have blessed me. But if you'd still like to talk about the Shema, that's great too!

Thought provoking quote...

I just heard a quote that blessed me and thought it might bless you as well. This quote is from Leonard Sweet.

"Our problem is we have rapidly become Jeopardy churches in a Who Wants to be a Millionaire World."

He expands...

"Jeopardy is about getting the right answers. Who Wants to be a Millionaire is about drawing you into the experience of the contestant."

Although you certainly want to get the answer right on Millionaire as well. Still, he might be onto something.

Baseball Mumblings

As the Spring Training inches closer and closer, I can't help but get one question out of my mind:

When will baseball be baseball again?

As most of you know, I'm a huge baseball fan. It is my favorite of the "major" sports. However, since 2003 (many will say it was before that) the word "steroid" (or any synonymous word) has been tossed around turning MLB into a Soap Opera.

And I'm ready to move on. I want to move on.

But it isn't that simple. Things have to be dealt with. What about the players that admitted steroid use and have since come clean and stopped? What about the players that juiced (according to evidence, at least) but won't admit it? What about the "average" players that juiced but nobody cares about?

Today, Deadspin accurately pointed out that everyone is the bad guy. The players, the union, the league, even the fans!

And, of course, there is the fact that an anonymous testing turned out to be not-so-anonymous. I'm glad Arod 'fessed up and told the truth, but somebody really owes ARod and apology.

So, perhaps the wrong question is being asked. Perhaps instead of asking "When can we move on?" we should be asking "Can we move on?"

I'd like to think we can, although I certainly don't have the answers as to how. I guess that's why those that have the answers are getting paid.

I'm glad we have guys like Jason Giambi, Andy Pettite, and now, Alex Rodriguez, who admit they have made a mistake and are willing to move on.

But then there is the other side, a side that knows/thinks (choose which ever you believe) that the art of escaping is with words.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. That speaks volumes considering that just one word can keep you out of jail. What word keeps you out of jail, you ask? The word, "knowingly".

We know Bonds said something that wasn't the truth while under oath. But was in an "accident?" Throughout all this Bonds drama, the question isn't if he took steroids. The question is if he knowingly took steroids. All this fuss is over that one word.

And of course I haven't even talked about this Clemens/McNamee situation.

Obviously we are learning a lesson throughout all this. One of the major reasons why the steroids era is dragging out so much is because of all the lies.

Which then leads me to a question that I'll end on. I'd also like to hear some of your thoughts on this.

Pete Rose is guilty of 2 major no-nos: Obviously there is the first one, he gambled. But then there is his second major no-no, he lied about it for over a decade.

So...we have something similar happening here with Clemens and Bonds. I'd like your thoughts on this...

Which bugs you more...Players using steroids or players lying about their steroid use? This question, of course, assumes that these players are guilty...which I suppose is another discussion.

I'll start. It bugs me more when they lie about it.

The Highlighter [Numbers 7-Deuteronomy 4]

This week I read Numbers 7 through Deuteronomy 4. Here is what God put on my heart:

Numbers 7:9 But Moses did not give any to the Kohathites, because they were to carry on their shoulders the holy things, for which they were responsible.

Numbers 9:23 At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses.

I hate to seem like a broken record. I know I've touched on this idea the past couple of weeks. But I really don't think obedience is to be taken lightly. If there is one thing we've learned about God thus far, it's that he means what he says. "Good news" or "bad news" he is serious.

Numbers 11:10-12 Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. He asked the LORD, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers?

To me, this is one of those comparative lessons. I didn't type out verse 1, but verse 1 says Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. Ouch! The people complain and God sends a fire!

Yet, compare that to what happened to Moses a few paragraphs later. He was troubled...but God didn't send one of his flaming special deliveries to Moses. What's the difference? He took his burdens to the LORD. He "asked the LORD" as the text reads.

That comparison teaches me a lot. I hope it blesses you the same way it blesses me.

Numbers 14:18 The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.

Numbers 15:30-31 But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the LORD, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the LORD's word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.

It is important to note that those who sinned defiantly and deliberately received a harsher punishment. They were to be cut off. There is a temptation to justify our sin by saying "It will be ok, I can do this. God will forgive me". Well, we can see what happened to the Israelites when they intentionally sinned.

Paul addresses that particular justification in Romans 6:1-2 as well. Whichever verse you use, I think the point is that we aren't to take sin so lightly.

Numbers 20:12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."

What jumps out at me here is that phrase "you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy". He didn't say "you disobeyed me", even though Moses clearly disobeyed. He didn't say "you lost your temper" even though that is what happened. Instead, the LORD used the phrase "you did not trust me".

My Hebrew knowledge is limited (one semester's worth). Someone smarter than me is going to have to handle that part.

Anyways, I find that phrasing interesting. I have a few thoughts about it, but I'd love to hear yours as well.

Numbers 33:52 drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places.

I love how there is to be a high priority in getting rid of the idols before they move into the promised land.

Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.

There is a passage similar to this in Jeremiah that is a bit more well known. The context in this one is a bit different though. However, they both have one thing in common: look for him, seek him with all our heart.

I don't think we can emphasize enough what that phrase "all your heart" really means. All of our heart! What would it be like if we looked for God with half of our heart? Can we seek God with half our our heart while the other half follows the ways of the world? (Revelation 3 refers to that as "lukewarm")

God Bless!

The PAPA Prayer

I don't do a lot of book reviews. And at that, I wouldn't call them "book reviews" as you'll hear a dictionary or a college professor call them.

Even though I've labeled this post as a "Book Review", I'd call this something like a "book recommendation" or perhaps even "Here's a few brief thoughts this book gave me."

Whatever you want to call it, there is a book I just completed that I'm very anxious to share with you. It is Larry Crabb's, The PAPA Prayer

I was given this book for free. I'm so thankful for the individual who gave me this book. I probably would not have purchased it at a store. I would have passed by it thinking, "No thanks. I've already read Yancey's and Foster's book on prayer. How could this one be any different or better?"



This book views prayer from more of a relational side than Yancey and Foster...although Yancey and Foster do touch on it.

I'll be honest...I don't say things like this much. But if you struggle with your prayer life then you need to read this book. It's awesome.

I don't want to give away any of his content...he communicates it better than I ever could. I'd probably lessen the power that his truths reveal.

Please read this book! You'll see your relationship with God soar to new levels. I've recently seen this book at a used bookstore in Lake Park for $3.00. This can be the best $3.00 you've ever spent. If the money is still an issue even after the discounted price, I'll let you borrow mine.

This is an incredible book. I'll end with one of my favorite phrases from this book.

"When we mature enough to want from God what He's ready to give us, incredible things happen-sometimes around us, always in us. He may use His power to change our circumstances to our liking. He will use His power to change our hearts to His liking."