Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a woman, a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there. Joshua 2:1 Rahab was a harlot or, in other words, a prostitute. She grew up in a pagan Canaanite culture of Jericho. This culture worshipped Baal and other idols. Joshua was the new leader when we first hear about Rahab. How and why did the spies meet Rahab? Read Joshua 2:2-7. What do we learn from this passage? The king of Jericho learned that spies of Israel were there. He…
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Eve: Part 2
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:16 We don’t take warnings or truth very well. In fact, seldom do I meet a person who handles truth and warnings very well. We don’t stop to really think about the consequences. Our choices will affect others. Whether it is good or bad, it affects others. Being affected by other choices can be directly or indirectly. Through Eve, we learn that talking to Satan and walking with God do not go hand in…
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Eve
For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it—in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. Romans 8:20-22 The first woman created- Eve. She will forever be the woman first to sin, who ate the forbidden fruit. Eve was the final part of creation. Then God rested. Eve was made for Adam to be a companion. A helpmate. They were meant to complement one another where the other was weak. Their strengths…
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Advent: Day Twenty-Five
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 1 John 5:11 . Christ is Born. Immanuel – God with us. It is time to yell, “Merry Christmas.” To be of good cheer. Have excitement. We are busy with opening presents, getting the dinner prepared. Do you make time for God on this Day? We use the day as a reminder that He did come here to earth to be with us. Yet, have we put him off to the side of all our business? Even though the Jews didn’t have the whole picture of God’s plan in the Bible times,…
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Advent Day: Twenty – Four
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 This Christmas, what are you expecting? What do you want out of Christmas this year? Of this past year, what is one thing you have learned? One thing I have learned is to love and love with the overflow of God’s love. Matthew 22:35-44 says this, “And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test Him: “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with…
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Advent Day: Twenty-Three
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 Can we get serious for a moment and ask some hard questions? What are your beliefs based on? Truth or lies? Where do you base these truths on? Where do they come from? The Bible, the world, or our enemy, the father of lies? Read the following verses: John 8:44, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding…
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Advent: Day Twenty – Two
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worship him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Matthew 2:10-12 Christmas!!! The feels of Christmas can be different for everyone. There is excitement, happiness, stress, sadness, and fear. Gifts can add to these feelings. The discontent of “This isn’t what I wanted.” “How are we/I going to pay for all this?” “Where do I…
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Advent: Day Twenty -One
When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born, “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'” Matthew 2:4-6 By the time Jesus is born, the Jewish people are desperate for a political revolutionary. Yet, the way we think and how God goes about his business is different. If we expect Jesus to fit into our…
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Advent: Day Twenty
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, an all Jerusalem with him. Matthew 2:1-3 Everything about Jesus’ birth was unusual. He is King. He is the Messiah. His humble birth challenged the status quo. We, as humans, make a lot of assumptions. What does God do? He shakes it up. He throws a twist to how we think things should or…
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Advent: Nineteen
And all who heard it were amazed a what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorified and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2:18-20 Mary is a good role model for us. When everything was said and done, and everyone moved on, Mary stored up these treasures in her heart and pondered on them. She treasured God’s word. What was required of Mary being the mother of the Messiah? She had courage. If we are to walk in our calling, we…