Thoughts From Deuteronomy - Day 2

                                          Deuteronomy 2 & 3

2 Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea,as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.

2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 “You have made your way around this hill country long enough;now turn north. 4 Give the people these orders: ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. 5 Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own. 6 You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”

7 The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.

8 So we went on past our relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned fromthe Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber, and traveled along the desert road of Moab.

9 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession.”

10 (The Emites used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.11 Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites, but the Moabites called them Emites. 12 Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land the Lord gave them as their possession.)

13 And the Lord said, “Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.” So we crossed the valley.

14 Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. 15 The Lord’s hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them from the camp.

16 Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar. 19 When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.”

20 (That too was considered a land of the Rephaites, who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites. 21 They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place. 22 The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day. 23 And as for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorites coming out from Captor destroyed them and settled in their place.)

24 “Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle. 25 This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you.”

26 From the Desert of Kedemoth I sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon offering peaceand saying, 27 “Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left. 28 Sell us food to eat and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot— 29 as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us—until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us.” 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the Lordyour God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done.

31 The Lord said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.”

32 When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz, 33 the Lord our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army.34 At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed them—men, women and children. We left no survivors. 35 But the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves. 36 From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for us. The Lordour God gave us all of them. 37 But in accordance with the command of the Lord our God,you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites, neither the land along the course of the Jabbok nor that around the towns in the hills.

3 Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan with his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei. 2 The Lord said to me, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”

3 So the Lord our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors. 4 At that time we took all his cities. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them—the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom in Bashan. 5 All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages. 6 We completely destroyed them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying every city—men, women and children.7 But all the livestock and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves.

8 So at that time we took from these two kings of the Amorites the territory east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Gorge as far as Mount Hermon. 9 (Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians; the Amorites call it Senir.) 10 We took all the towns on the plateau, and all Gilead, and all Bashan as far as Salekah and Edrei, towns of Og’s kingdom in Bashan. 11 (Og king of Bashan was the last of the Rephaites. His bed was decorated with iron and was more than nine cubits long and four cubits wide. It is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)

12 Of the land that we took over at that time, I gave the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory north of Aroer by the Arnon Gorge, including half the hill country of Gilead, together with its towns. 13 The rest of Gilead and also all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (The whole region of Argob in Bashan used to be known as a land of the Rephaites. 14 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maakathites; it was named after him, so that to this day Bashan is called Havvoth Jair.) 15 And I gave Gilead to Makir. 16 But to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory extending from Gilead down to the Arnon Gorge (the middle of the gorge being the border) and out to the Jabbok River, which is the border of the Ammonites. 17 Its western border was the Jordan in the Arabah, from Kinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea), below the slopes of Pisgah.

18 I commanded you at that time: “The Lord your God has given you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of the other Israelites. 19 However, your wives, your children and your livestock (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you, 20 until the Lord gives rest to your fellow Israelites as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you.”

21 At that time I commanded Joshua: “You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lordyour God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. 22 Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you.”

23 At that time I pleaded with the Lord: 24 “Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do? 25 Let me go over and see the good landbeyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.”

26 But because of you the Lord was angry with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the Lord said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan. 28 But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.

                Why am I so blessed? Why me? I have a great wife, family, grandkids, profession I love and won't be replaced by Amazon or shut down by CoVid19. In fact, I anticipate my business going up in 9 months because of this pandemic. Also, they temporarily suspended elective surgery so I can't tie tubes which will also increase business. Plus I live in an area where there is only one confirmed case in a county of over 60,000. 

               Part of it is deciding to follow Jesus wholeheartedly and the life God designed to work and lead to blessings as outlined in the Bible. When the Psalmist stated "forget not all His benefits", I think that's what he was talking about. This passage reminds me, though, that I may just be reaping the benefits of a Godly dad. My dad, like Abraham, was a first generation follower of God, and like Abraham, he followed God in a life walking in the footsteps of faith. In Deuteronomy 2 and 3 you see that, like the Israelites, the children of Esau and Lot, even though undeserved because of their lack of a life of obedience to God, were blessed because of Abraham. They were guided to their land, defeated giants, and were supernaturally protected from capture. Even Ishmael was prospered by God on account of Abraham, though not mentioned in this passage.

           Dads. Moms. Are you living a life of faith? Are you being a Godly example to your kids and grandkids? If you aren't, not only are you destroying your own life but you are destroying the future blessings to the next generation. It's like being pregnant and smoking. Are you really going to ignore the warnings written down just because you enjoy the pleasures of cigarettes. Okay, be a fool but the incredible selfishness is seen by the way it will effect your child inside. My dad is long gone but I am reaping the blessings of his Godly life as is my wife, my four kids and their spouses, and 6 grandchildren. Thanks Dad!!

Thoughts From Deuteronomy - Day 1

                                        Deuteronomy 1

1 These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—that is, in the Arabah—opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab.2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.)

3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Ogking of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.

5 East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound this law, saying:

6 The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain.7 Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates.8 See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them."

9 At that time I said to you, “You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. 10 The Lordyour God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky. 11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised! 12 But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself? 13 Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.”

14 You answered me, “What you propose to do is good.”

15 So I took the leading men of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them to have authority over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials. 16 And I charged your judges at that time, “Hear the disputes between your people and judge fairly, whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you. 17 Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it.” 18 And at that time I told you everything you were to do.

19 Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful wilderness that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. 20 Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.”

23 The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe.24 They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkol and explored it.25 Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, “It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.”

26 But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God.27 You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’”

29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes,31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”

32 In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

34 When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore: 35 “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Calebson of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.”

37 Because of you the Lord became angry with me also and said, “You shall not enter it, either. 38 But your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to inherit it. 39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. 40 But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.”

41 Then you replied, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, as the Lordour God commanded us.” So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

42 But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’”

43 So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. 44 The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah. 45 You came back and wept before the Lord, but he paid no attention to your weeping and turned a deaf ear to you. 46 And so you stayed in Kadesh many days—all the time you spent there.

     I always like movies where it pits one average man against important powerful people and through wit or skill or dumb luck, the average guy wins. I remember Robert Wagner defeating a mob boss in "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" and his one extraordinary ability was being able to hold his breath a long time. Then there was Robert Redford in "Three Days of the Condor" able to defeat his foes with his wit but only because he was out picking up lunch when everyone in the office got killed by the government agency. Lastly, Mel Gibson, a simple bodyguard, in "Payback" (I know not a classic) moving through the evil, powerful ranks of William Devane, James Coburn, and Kris Kristofferson who before getting killed by Gibson's character all said ,"Do you know who I am?" or "You don't know who you are messing with"!

     I guess the reason I like these is because if I put myself in their places I would be scared to death and have an epic fail. How did they succeed? By not fixing their eyes on the external appearances but trusting what was inside them. In secular movies, what was inside them was self confidence. In the Kingdom of God what is inside us is God confidence. We trust the unseen over the seen. In this passage, two men - Joshua and Caleb - didn't see with physical eyes but spiritual eyes. Because they followed God wholeheartedly, they didn't have confidence in themselves but in God. Those who judged by human eyes saw giants and walled cities that were insurmountable. They were "grasshoppers" in their own eyes.  And when they drummed up enough confidence in their own fighting abilities, they got whooped. Those who saw through the eyes of faith saw "Their protection is gone. Let's go get them!"

      Which one are you? What obstacle stands in your path that "can't be beaten"? Recount what God has already done for you in the past, all the miracles He has performed in your life. Are you seeing with earthly eyes or eyes of faith? God wants to do something "God-sized" in your life but all you are seeing is giants and grasshoppers. Let's trust God and move ahead. As For King and Country would say, "Burn the Ships." I guess that's why the Israelites passed through a parted Jordan River at flood time. God took away their option to retreat and go back.

    

My Top 50 CCM Songs and "Albums" of 2019

                              Songs - Top 50

 50. Take Me Over - Northwood Worship  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_NFKY4Atv

 49. I Made It - Manafest  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwqtxU9G9Ro

 48. Good News - John Waller  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBQqlcxUzrI

 47. Obsession - Switch  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCwLH1vhTYs

 46. Hunger - Mdsn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWIFKBoAiAs

 45. Signs of Life - David Leonard  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTDdfiA7rAU

 44. Unveil - Jon Egan  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZFiO95-K_8

 43. Friends - For All Seasons  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iysUnnFex-c

 42. Life Giver - Lou Fellingham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOg_HviOl-g

 41. Born For This - Manifest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlTsKpt7oT4

 40. Alive Again - Trinity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM9MMu3-HbM

 39. Never Far - Local Sound https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh6-oJAJ0OQ

 38. Give My All - Free Worship https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BmLh5x7i_8

 37. Legendary - Skillet  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DApP8dCZOdU

 36. Heaven on Earth - Stars Go Dim  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXNeKzN8dEQ

 35. All the Things - Caitie Hurst  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JAGsQIWldU

 34. What You Said - Jon Egan  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIMEe0wOd3w

 33. I Am - Shae Wilbur  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9qIu4LkeSI

 32. The Lord's Prayer - Citizen Way  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqOA3JYDWMs

 31. The Hardest Art - Switchfoot  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O9_ElPTfq4

 30. Never Going Back - Skillet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA2YWOApD6s

 29. Autobiography - Stars Go Dim  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3TasacdTsQ

 28. Soli Deo Gloria - Influence Music  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1IkHfUAmI8

 27. Motivation - Random Hero  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKGXA5kQv8Q

 26. Alive - Big Daddy Weave  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiuw2QX4RpI

 25. Breakthrough is Coming - Thrive Worship  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V-qu1NU93M

 24. Breakthrough - Belonging Co.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9_A-98-ah8

 23. Fire Away - Disciple  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJbIvI9hgCM

 22. Love Lifting Me - Tasha Layton  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaung7vxqU8

 21. Keeper Of My Heart - Lou Fellingham  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3Ra4r1DAVs

 20. Walk - Apollo LTD  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCu-5KD7s_A

 19. White Flag - Random Hero  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cwnrac3eQk

 18. This is the Kingdom - Skillet  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOoZlgJiZmU

 17. Greatness of our God - Newsboys  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf8qQLGZ3o8

 16. Best Thing Ever - Disciple  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9LAGqfB9T8

 15. When You Called My Name - Natasha Owens  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyWGLuf9eSM

 14. Mistakes - Unspoken  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5mhB6qInVk

 13. Man That I Used to Be - Apollo LTD  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUVB7oHu29E

 12. If We Only Knew - Unspoken  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJwtBm52TsA

 11. Miracle - Tauren Wells  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXAVLN-wppg

 10. My Reason - Planetshakers  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO8yNnwcBLY

  9. Way Maker - Leeland  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJCV_2H9xD0

  8. Bright - Northwood Worship  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rFavrOFs8g

  7. On The Way Up - Apollo LTD  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Br94XMBlU0

  6. Finish Line - Skillet  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD0bEMqxYbM

  5. Beautiful Thing - Aaron Bucks  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQJJxJEPoN0

  4. Everybody is Broken - Martin Smith  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNPna9jCAOg&list=RDlNPna9jCAOg&start_radio=1

   3. Outgrown - Random Hero  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B7qp_g1O4E

   2. No One But You - Hillsong Worship  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo5uf4-WCdE

   1. Becoming - Jason Gray  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TUG0cRlRRw


                         Albums/Ep

  1. Hillsong Live - People

  2.Switchfoot - Native Tongue

  3.Skillet - Victorious

  4.Apollo LTD - Out of Body

  5.Random Hero - Tension

Thoughts From Hebrews - Day 43

                                         Hebrews 13:1-3,7

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. ² Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. ³ Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

⁷ Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

            There is a lot said about the three different Greek words for "love" found in the New Testament - Eros, Agape, and Phileo, but most of thr time we discuss Agape love because that is the love that comes from above that we can only experience and give out through the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is the one that we strive for as we want to become more like Christ and the one that the world will see and be drawn to Christ because it is so "un-human". Eros is the one we go to Song of Solomon conferences to learn about, no thanks, but Phileo is sort of the red headed step child of the group. What is Phileo love as mentioned in verse 1? It is loving one another like brothers or sisters.

        I best see Phileo love among my four kids we raised that are now in the early 30's. Two of my kids just got back from London, vacationing with each other and their spouses. My son, according to his sister, due to jet lag, lack of sleep or whatever, began being annoying. His wife didn't say anything but his sister told him to shape up. I'm intrigued by that. Why was his sister  blunt and truthful to him while the one he has given his life to as long as they both shall live, wasn't? Lest I project too much on them, let me give my feelings on the matter. I, personally, don't want my wife telling me I'm annoying. That would hurt me deeply. I want her telling me I'm wonderful, giving me words of affirmation and building my fragile ego up which daily gets torn down in the tough world I live in. Now my sister could tell me that because I would say that she is more annoying. For my daughter to tell her brother that he is being annoying would be received because of their history growing up. They could recount how he annoyed her in 6th grade while she was in 5th and rather than fracturing the relationship, those memories would further cement the relationship.

      Now what does that have to do with Hebrews 13, the body of Christ, and Phileo love? Wouldn't it be nice if the body of Christ, who are now members of God's family and indeed brothers and sisters in a different kingdom, would live in community so much that we build that history and those memories with each other? Wouldn't it be nice to not have to be so careful about the littlest thing you do or say for fear you might cause a rift with someone in your church? Do you want to vacation with people in your church? When someone might be disparaging a member of the body, do you stick up for them like you would your brother or sister? Do you see those as "fighting words"? When you invite people over from your church (showing hospitality) do you feel like everything has to be right so you make a good impression? I guarantee you my kids don't care about impressing their brothers or sisters. When your biological siblings are in trouble - whether it be health, financial, legal, marital - there is a heaviness you carry, too. You reach out to them spontaneously, regularly, not out of obligation but out of phileo love. I have to think that the deacon ministry, like divorce was given "due to the hardness of hearts." Would we need pastoral support committies if we were loving our leaders as brothers and sisters. Would we need to schedule prison visitation, shut-in and widow ministry?

        What I am saying is are you "not forsaking the assembly"? Good! That means you have a body of believers in your life. How about making them a part of your family? I think that is what this passage is saying.