Joshua 24
Review of Israel’s History
Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem and summoned Israel’s elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves before God.
2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.
3 But I took your father Abraham from the region beyond the Euphrates River, led him throughout the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants. I gave him Isaac,
4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau as a possession, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
5 “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron; I plagued Egypt by what I did there and afterward I brought you out.
6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt and you reached the Red Sea, the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen as far as the sea.
7 Your fathers cried out to the Lord, so He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea over them, engulfing them. Your own eyes saw what I did to Egypt. After that, you lived in the wilderness a long time.
8 “‘Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You possessed their land, and I annihilated them before you.
9 Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,
10 but I would not listen to Balaam. Instead, he repeatedly blessed you, and I delivered you from his hand.
11 “‘You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho—as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites—fought against you, but I handed them over to you.
12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you. It was not by your sword or bow.
13 I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build, though you live in them; you are eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’
The Covenant Renewal
14 “Therefore, fear the Lord and worship Him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship Yahweh.
15 But if it doesn’t please you to worship Yahweh, choose for yourselves today the one you will worship: the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my family, we will worship Yahweh.”
16 The people replied, “We will certainly not abandon the Lord to worship other gods!
17 For the Lord our God brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us all along the way we went and among all the peoples whose lands we traveled through.
18 The Lord drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will worship the Lord, because He is our God.”
19 But Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to worship Yahweh, because He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not remove your transgressions and sins.
20 If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, He will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroy you, after He has been good to you.”
21 “No!” the people answered Joshua. “We will worship the Lord.”
22 Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship Yahweh.” “We are witnesses,” they said.
23 “Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and offer your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 So the people said to Joshua, “We will worship the Lord our God and obey Him.”
25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people at Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them.
26 Joshua recorded these things in the book of the law of God; he also took a large stone and set it up there under the oak next to the sanctuary of the Lord.
27 And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone—it will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the Lord said to us, and it will be a witness against you, so that you will not deny your God.”
28 Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
Burial of Three Leaders
29 After these things, the Lord’s servant, Joshua son of Nun, died at the age of 110.
30 They buried him in his allotted territory at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.
31 Israel worshiped Yahweh throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua and who had experienced all the works Yahweh had done for Israel.
32 Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the parcel of land Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for 100 qesitahs. It was an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.
33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, which had been given to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.
John 14
The Way to the Father
“Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me.
2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you.
3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.
4 You know the way to where I am going.”
5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way?”
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Jesus Reveals the Father
7 “If you know Me, you will also know My Father. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”
8 “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time without your knowing Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on My own. The Father who lives in Me does His works.
11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.
Praying in Jesus’ Name
12 “I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.
13 Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
Another Counselor Promised
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commands.
16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.
17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you.
18 I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
19 “In a little while the world will see Me no longer, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live too.
20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you.
21 The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it You’re going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
24 The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me.
25 “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you.
26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.
Jesus’ Gift of Peace
27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.
28 You have heard Me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.
29 I have told you now before it happens so that when it does happen you may believe.
30 I will not talk with you much longer, because the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over Me.
31 On the contrary, I am going away so that the world may know that I love the Father. Just as the Father commanded Me, so I do. “Get up; let’s leave this place.
Consider a look at this article “Serving Two Masters”
http://biblereasons.com/serving-two-masters/
jcsouthwest 
Today our sermon at the church was about faithfulness until martyrdom or salvation. The one WHO preached IT knew a thing or two about being faithful. He had a heart transplantation and has been at the Gates of death.
He talked about Daniel and his friends refusing to bow before the Golden idol of Nebuchadnezzar and what we would do IF our choice was bow or die? Cares to be played in our mind doesnt IT? Joshuas words says IT all, as for me and MY HOUSEHOLD we will worship the Lord! And one thing is clear Even to a thickheaded finn like me, the Lord wants faithfulness above all else!
Your blog matches fine with our sermon today JC, you been learning finnish lately 🤔🇫🇮💪🏻☝️😄
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Stig, not that familiar with Finnish — here’s a link I found that may help somewhat?
http://www.gofinland.org/tag/finnish-people/
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Prayer request for my sister Linda and my neighbor — both in need of healing.
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Prayers for neighbor added.
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Prayers are with Linda and your neighbor.
Please keep us updated.
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Daily Devotional — 11/28/16
RESPONDING WITH PRAISE
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
The overflow of singing praises amid great difficulties has tremendous spiritual power. Paul and Silas set the biblical pattern in the prison in Philippi (Acts 16).
Helen Berhane spent almost three years in the shipping container prisons of Eritrea. In her book Song of the Nightingale, she shares about the first time she and other women were put in an old metal shipping container that was very hot and filled with fleas and lice:
Everyone was very despondent, and many of the women were angry. They asked me what we should do and I knew they were expecting me to say that we should shout or bang the container, to let our captors know that we were not going to tolerate this treatment. But I remembered… [reading] about how Christians, like nightingales, could not be prevented from singing even in captivity, and I suggested that we sing: “We should praise God in spite of the fleas, in spite of the lice, in spite of the heat. We should thank God despite our circumstances.” So I began to sing with them, and pray, and share the Word of God from memory.[1]
Pastor Ung Sophal sat in a filthy Cambodian prison badly beaten. His hands and feet were chained for five months. “Only my mouth was unchained,” he said.
“…So I sang to God in prison all the time. Another prisoner heard me singing through a small hole in the wall, so I taught him the song—a bit at a time. He passed it on and soon eight of us were singing.”
Archbishop Dominic Tang spent twenty-two years in prison in China for his faith. He reports:
“Besides my prayer and meditation, every day I sang some hymns in a soft voice: ‘Jesus I live for you; Jesus I die for you; Jesus I belong to you. Whether alive or dead I am for Jesus!’ This hymn was taught to me by a Protestant prisoner who lived in my cell.”[2]
RESPONSE: Today I will respond to all the challenges of life I face with praise and thankfulness.
PRAYER: Pray that all Christian prisoners around the world will also respond to their circumstances as those documented above.
1. Helen Berhane, Song of the Nightingale, ( Colorado Springs: Authentic Media, 2009), pp. 36-37.
2. Tony Lambert, The Resurrection of the Chinese Church (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1991), p 179.
Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.
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Scripture — 11/28/16
1 Chronicles 16:7-43
7 On that day David decreed for the first time that thanks be given to the Lord by Asaph and his relatives:
8 Give thanks to Yahweh; call on His name; proclaim His deeds among the peoples.
9 Sing to Him; sing praise to Him; tell about all His wonderful works!
10 Honor His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.
11 Search for the Lord and for His strength; seek His face always.
12 Remember the wonderful works He has done,
His wonders, and the judgments He has pronounced,
13 you offspring of Israel His servant, Jacob’s descendants—His chosen ones.
14 He is the Lord our God; His judgments govern the whole earth.
15 Remember His covenant forever—
the promise He ordained for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant He made with Abraham, swore to Isaac,
17 and confirmed to Jacob as a decree, and to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
18 “I will give the land of Canaan to you as your inherited portion.”
19 When they were few in number, very few indeed, and temporary residents in Canaan
20 wandering from nation to nation and from one kingdom to another,
21 He allowed no one to oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf:
22 “Do not touch My anointed ones or harm My prophets.”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Proclaim His salvation from day to day.
24 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful works among all peoples.
25 For the Lord is great and highly praised; He is feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His place.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
29 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name; bring an offering and come before Him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness;
30 tremble before Him, all the earth. The world is firmly established;
it cannot be shaken.
31 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, “The Lord is King!”
32 Let the sea and everything in it resound; let the fields and all that is in them exult.
33 Then the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the Lord,
for He is coming to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.
35 And say: “Save us, God of our salvation; gather us and rescue us from the nations so that we may give thanks to Your holy name
and rejoice in Your praise.
36 May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised from everlasting to everlasting.” Then all the people said, “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”
37 So David left Asaph and his relatives there before the ark of the Lord’s covenant to minister regularly before the ark according to the daily requirements.
38 He assigned Obed-edom and his 68 relatives. Obed-edom son of Jeduthun and Hosah were to be gatekeepers.
39 David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon
40 to offer burnt offerings regularly, morning and evening, to the Lord on the altar of burnt offerings and to do everything that was written in the law of the Lord, which He had commanded Israel to keep.
41 With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord—for His faithful love endures forever.
42 Heman and Jeduthun had with them trumpets and cymbals to play and musical instruments of God. Jeduthun’s sons were at the gate.
43 Then all the people left for their homes, and David returned home to bless his household.
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“Awesome God by Michael W. Smith”
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New Post From Glynda — 11/28/16
http://wingsofprophecy.blogspot.com/2016/11/complaining.html
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