Week 12 Bible Reading Review

Week 12  Joshua 22:1 to Judges 15:1

Joshua 22:30  It is good to check out a matter and not jump to conclusions.

Judges 1:10  Only one generation later and the Israelites forgot their Lord.

Judges 2:22 Nations were left as a test for the Israelites, a test they failed.  We likewise are tested in our lives.  How are we doing?

Judges 6:13  The people knew the stories of their history, coming out of Egypt, yet they neglected to obey God.

Gideon had to have much faith to take on the hordes of men with just 300.  It is understandable that he needed the fleece tests to bolster his faith in the face of the physical odds of one Israelite for every 450 Midianites.

Judges 11  Jephthah’s rash vow to sacrifice someone when he returned in victory is another example of not being wise with one's words.  He later regretted his vow but would not go back on his word because he said it to God.  Reading the HCSB commentary gives some insight on why he may have made the vow.  The gods of the people around them were influencing the Israelites behavior.  Chemosh and Molech, the gods of the Moabites and Ammonites, required human burnt offerings as a sign of total dedication.


Samson is like a little kid with a powerful weapon.  Even though Samson was not honorable, God still used him for His purposes.  Just because someone may perform “signs and wonders” does not mean that they should be followed.

---

Next Reading:  Week 13  Judges 15:1 to 1 Samuel 11:1

Messages of Interest

I have previously mentioned a couple ministries of interest in the past weeks and in this post I wanted to pass along some of the messages of interest from those ministries I came across this past week.

The first set of messages is a couple of posts by Jim Staley.  I thought these were excellent and very informative on how to talk about keeping the commands of God in a way that encourages one to want to listen and change their perspective.  This principle can also be applied to other important matters that we may be trying to get across to someone else.  We need to engage their heart, not just their mind.

Here are a couple of links posted this past week:

http://jimstaleyblog.com/2016/03/21/

http://jimstaleyblog.com/2016/03/24/

Another set of messages for you are from Todd White.  The first is called "Being Angry With God".  This message does not come from the perspective that it is OK to be angry with God.  I have heard others say it is OK, but I don’t think it is a healthy perspective to take.  Todd explains the idea that God is in control is not Biblical and explores some ramifications of that perspective.  An important perception shift takes place as we learn to see God’s heart and the true cause of tragedies.  If you find yourself being angry with God, now or in the past, then I recommend giving this message a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1G0FxbQU4Q

The second message by Todd is entitled “I Am a Child of God”.  This message address the idols and addictions in our lives, and how to be free from them for good.  A key point is seeing ourselves as a child of God, not as sinners.  Todd shares from the powerful testimony in his life of getting rid of the “trash” and no longer being a slave to it.  If you struggle with addictions / sin / idols in your life then I recommend giving this message a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaJzytGpG2U

Blessings.

Week 11 Bible Reading Review

Week 11  Joshua 1:1 to Joshua 22:1

Josh 2 Rahab’s words show that God was ensuring victory for Israel as the inhabitants were fearful in their hearts and minds of Israel.

Josh 4 Joshua was humble, God lifted him up before the people and he did not exalt himself but exalted God instead.  Do we try to exalt ourselves or our God?

Josh 7 The story of Achan is a sobering one.  It illustrates how one person’s actions can affect the whole assembly.  Is this the reason God’s church is so ineffective in the world today?  How can this be fixed?  Start with examining ourselves.

Josh 9:14  The lesson here is to not take things at face value but seek the Lord’s council in all things to avoid mistakes.

Josh 11:20  Did God intend to spare the Gibeonites?

Josh 12  A successful bloody campaign, God was with them and granted Israel success in battle.  I wonder what the headcount was…

---

Next Reading:  Week 12  Joshua 22:1 to Judges 15:1

Ministries of Interest: Lifestyle Christianity

On my Revelation Journey there are a few significant people and ministries I have come across that have had an impact on my life.  I am planning to write a series of posts about these different ministries I have encountered.

The ministry I am talking about in this post is Lifestyle Christianity and the man behind it, Todd White.

I learned about Todd White through another internet post I read linking to a video of his about healing.

Since then I have listened to several videos by him and would describe him as the living model of what normal Christians should look like.  Todd’s transformative testimony is amazing.  He started out as an Atheist into drugs, stealing from family etc., sold out to sin until God got a hold of him and now he is completely transformed and sold out for God.  He reads the Bible in childlike faith and simply believes what it says.

Believing as the Bible says that Yeshua’s (Jesus') disciples should have signs and wonders following them, he started praying for others where ever he went like Walmart.  He would pray for healings for an average of 10 people a day and did this for over 3 months (1000+ people) without seeing any miracles.  He continued despite people telling him he was crazy, his wife not wanting to go in public with him, people yelling at him and such.  This didn’t faze him and he kept persevering.

Then one day he finally started seeing the miraculous more and more, till now he has many testimonies every day.  Some of his testimonies are hilarious, some are scary (not for him though), but all are amazing.  He just kept pressing in, continuing on and believing the Word over his experience.  Todd says we come up with all sorts of nonbiblical excuses of why things don’t work out for us vs the Biblical example, instead of just believing the truth of God’s word.

Todd’s main focus is not the healings, but telling everyone he meets that God loves them.  He travels all over the world to teach in various churches about our identity as believers.  To not equate ourselves with sinners, but as sons and daughters of God.

An important lesson that Todd teaches is our source of value.  It should not be from others, what they say about us, or even the things we do, but from what God placed in us.  Our value is determined by our Creator, and the price He paid to redeem us with His blood, which shows our value to Him.  We shouldn’t let the things of this world mold and shape us, but let God be our potter.

Todd’s example and testimony has encouraged me to pray for others in public, and to not be discouraged if I don’t see results.  I have a long way to go in this area but it is a baby step.

You can learn more about Todd and his ministry from his website found here:  http://lifestylechristianity.com/

There are lots of videos of him on YouTube as well, but I would recommend taking a look at his official YouTube channel found here:  https://www.youtube.com/user/ToddWhiteChannel 

Blessings.

Week 10 Bible Reading Review

Week 10  Deuteronomy 15:1 to Joshua 1:1

Deut 15:1 Debt forgiveness sounds good, let’s get rid of all those mortgages every 7 years.

Deut 16:4 The Passover lamb must only be killed at the designated place, v7 indicates they stayed up all night and went to bed in the morning.

Deut 16:16  This says the children of Israel were to meet where God designated “Jerusalem”.  Those celebrating the feasts of the Lord today can only practice or rehearse because the temple is not available.  Zachariah 14:16 speaks of a future time when the festivals will again resume in Jerusalem when Messiah is ruling from there.

Deut 17:7  The evil was to be purged starting with the witnesses' hands.  This is a far cry from today where in some cases witnesses pass by crimes so as not to attract attention or take time out of their busy day to call the police.

The rules set up for the Israelites were very strict and prescribed death in many cases for various evil and wicked activities.  There was no mercy to be given, this may seem cruel on the individual level, but as a whole, as people had to stone others for such acts it should scare the morality into the people and bring more blessing and peace if followed as prescribed.

Deut 22 God’s commands included many community building rules, including caring for neighbors' property and returning lost goods.

Deut 25 Family lines and bearing offspring was very highly regarded.

Deut 28 Again Moses emphasizes to the people blessing for obedience and progressive harsher curses for disobedience.  Are our curses a result of disobedience?

Deut 29:4 Some insight into why the Israelites struggled so much with obedience.  God did not give them the needed heart to obey. (heart of stone)

Deut 30 God shows mercy and restoration when the people turn from their wicked ways and again obey Him.  Verse 6 Indicates God will give them the needed heart to maintain obedience. (heart of flesh)

---

Next Reading: Week 11  Joshua 1:1 to Joshua 22:1

Ministries of Interest: Passion for Truth

On my Revelation Journey there are a few significant people and ministries I have come across that have had an impact on my life.  I am planning to write a series of posts about these different ministries I have encountered.

The ministry I am talking about in this post is Passion for Truth (PFT) and the man behind it, Jim Staley.

PFT started out as a small Bible study group in 2007 and has grown in to a full congregation with a large online following.  There teachings have elements of Messianic, Hebraic, and Pentecostal and include in-depth study into the Greek and Hebrew text of the Bible.  Their goal is to worship the Father in Spirit and Truth.  You can find out more about PFT at their website found here:  http://passionfortruth.com/

They have lots of free teaching available on their website as well as on their YouTube channel found here:  https://www.youtube.com/user/PassionForTruthVideo

I have watched several of their online Shabbat messages as well as purchased some of their teachings.  I like Jim's teaching style and enthusiasm.  Some of you may already know that Jim Staley, the main presenter, was imprisoned last year in 2015.  Jim was sentenced to 7 years for financial wire fraud to clients when he worked as a financial advisor before he became the PFT Pastor full time.  I can image that this was a big blow to the group and caused many to malign Jim and PFT as well as causing a significant drop in donations among other things.

I didn't unsubscribe from their emails and have been following this "soap opera" of sorts to see what was unfolding.  PFT has continued to function and stream their weekly messages online as two other speakers have stepped up to fill the gap when Jim no longer could.  After a few months PFT sent out an email announcing that Jim was starting a new blog while in prison that people could sign up for.  I decided to sign up and I am glad I did.  Jim continues to teach through his blog and discuss what God has been teaching him through all of this.  Despite being imprisoned for doing something that he didn't realize he had done, (Jim stated in one of his posts that he did not intentionally defraud anyone) Jim learned that it was the best thing for him and PFT.  God wanted to teach Jim some important lessons he needed to know, which Jim has been sharing with the rest of us through his blog.  One of Jim's inmates has been gifted with visions from God which is also an interesting subject of many of his blogs.  Jim's focus has been primarily on the word of Truth and it was time to learn more of the Spirit side of the true Spirit and Truth worshiper.  If you would like to follow along with what God is teaching Jim on his revelation journey too I encourage you to sign up for his blog emails.  You might want to start from the beginning to get the full picture.  I look forward to reading his new posts as I find it helpful to learn more about the Spirit side of the "coin".

http://jimstaleyblog.com/

Blessings.

Week 9 Bible Reading Review

Week 9  Numbers 33:1 to Deuteronomy 15:1

Num 35:24 The assembly was to judge a slayer’s intent.  Who can rightly judge a man’s heart but God?

The avenger of blood had an important task…  Better than gun control.

A murderer being executed requires more than one witness.  V30

Num 35:32 Bloodshed defiles the land and only the death the murderer can atone for it.  Our country is completely defiled by abortions.

Deut 1:42  If God is with us we have victory, otherwise we are assured defeat.

Deut 2  God establishes and removes the people groups of the earth.

Deut 3:26  There is a limit to God’s patience and mercy.  Moses was refused entry to the land.

Deut 4 Moses’ parting message gives an accurate prophecy of Israel’s future.  Even knowing this they still fulfilled it.

Deut 7:10-11  Hating God is equated with not obeying Him.  (John 14:15 If you love me, keep my commandments)  Obedience brings prosperity (v12-15)

Deut 7:16 No pity on those they were to destroy.  This seems evil, but the people had judgement passed on them already and they were to be destroyed. (Rom 6:23 Wages of sin is death...)

Deut 7:26  This verse bears attention.  Is there anything we allow abhorrent in our house?  Get it out!

Deut 11-14 Don’t forget to obey God at all times lest pride comes from abundance.

Deut 9:4-6 The other nation’s wickedness was the cause for their removal, not Israel’s righteousness.

Moses instructs Israel repeatedly in his “farewell address” to remember and teach their children God’s commands. Anyone following after other gods was to be destroyed. (Deut 13)  Be wary of the modern “Coexist” movement.  God is a jealous god and does not tolerate worship of others.

---

Next Reading:  Week 10 Deuteronomy 15:1 to Joshua 1:1