Days 15-17

Whew! A lot of killing, and land disbursements. There are some awesome key verses throughout the storyline that really hit me. Some are pretty well known, Deut 29:29 (The secret things belong to God, but the things that He has revealed to us belong to us and to our children), Joshua 24:15 (Choose ye this day whom ye shall serve...as for me and my house we shall serve the Lord) or Joshua 5:13-15 (And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so).

One that I hadn't noticed before that was a wow moment for me was Joshua 5:9, 'And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Sounds a bit familiar!! Matt 28:2 'And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat upon it.' When Jesus came out of that tomb, when the stone was rolled away, He removed the reproach of sin and the world from all who would believe. I just love seeing the shadows of Jesus in the OT. ~*~

Days 8-14

Whew! Sorry guys, its been a tough week! School tests, etc etc. Anyway, I'm all caught up again, and am looking forward to moving out of the law books! It definitely hit home how impossible it is to keep the law, and to please God without Jesus. I'm so thankful that He has saved me! Sorry this is short, but just wanted to let you guys know I'm still here, and still in it with ya!

Days 5-7

Well, exodus was quite a beating! lol So many laws and rules, about everything! Sorry I haven't been writing much, have been taking college exams and studying, etc. I have been doing the readings though. I don't really have a lot to say about the past few readings, other than a few key verses of interest to me. Way back in chapter 16:1, the wilderness they traveled through was actually named the Wilderness of Sin, and gave its location. I had previously thought that was just a metaphorical name, but it was really what it was called, as well as being prophetic (sinning in the wilderness). The water from the rock at Horeb in 17:6 is cool. A man named Ron Wyatt and his team claimed to have discovered the entire area of Mt. Sinai and several of the areas, including the rock the water came out of. From what I've read, I believe he was right on in his geography. You can check it out at http://wyattmuseum.com/mount-sinai-09.htm...that's specifically the link to the Horeb rock, but look around the site. The top of the mountain he says is Mt. Sinai from following literal Biblical directions is still scorched at the top, just like it would be according to Ex. 19:18-20. Pretty cool! Also really neat was 23:20-23...talking about the Angel of the Lord. Of course, this is a pre-human Jesus, and its pretty powerful that we have the same promise as what God says in this scripture, vs 22 'But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.' Lastly, I absolutely loved 33:11, ' And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.' Wow. And someday, in Heaven we will have that. Makes me think of that song by Mercy Me, I can only Imagine.

"I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by Your side...
I can only imagine, what my eyes will see, when Your Face is before me!
I can only imagine. I can only imagine.

Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine! I can only imagine!

I can only imagine, when that day comes, when I find myself standing in the Son!
I can only imagine, when all I will do, is forever, forever worship You!
I can only imagine! I can only imagine!

Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine! Yeah! I can only imagine!

Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine! Yeah! I can only imagine!

I can only imagine! Yeah! I can only imagine!! Only imagine!!!
I can only imagine.

I can only imagine, when all I do is forever, forever worship You!
I can only imagine."

B90 Day 5 Exodus..a type of Revelation

As I began reading Exodus, I immediately thought of Revelation. Must seem like a bit of a jump, going from the start to the finish, but think about it. Plagues, God's redemption...could it be a foretelling of the Revelation of John, and a key to understanding end time prophecy? I wouldn't be surprised. Every time I read through the story, I think to myself, oooh, I want to really look into that! Of course, since we are reading and not delving into study, I can't do that now. But, I did a quick search and I found a book by someone who did do a study on it! And yes, I'm ordering the book, lol. But just off the top of my head, lets look at some quick parallelisms:

EXODUS	REVELATION
Moses saved from death as a baby	Jesus saved from death as a baby
Spent time in Egypt as a child	Spent time in Egypt as a child
Man chosen to redeem Israel from Egypt	Man/God redeemed all who believe in Him
Plagues	Plagues
Lead to Mt. Sinai	New Jerusalem on Mt. Zion

When you think about it, Noah could also be an even earlier picture that fits the pattern:

FLOOD	EXODUS	REVELATION
Noah	Moses	Jesus
Redeem Family	Redeem Israel	Redeem all believers
Flood	Plagues	Plagues
Mt. Ararat	Mt. Sinai	Mt. Zion

Well, we know God likes the number 3! He's the same yesterday, today, and forever! Yep, I'm definitely going to have to come back to this one! :)

B90 Days 3-4

Such interesting lives the people of Genesis had! Of course, I know its just the highlights, but even so. Makes me wonder what the highlights of my life might be. Or more importantly, the 'lowlights.' Throughout Joseph's hard times, he never stopped giving God the praise, never stopped trusting in Him. And it says that he and the house for which he worked was blessed, whether Potiphar's house, the Guard at the prison, or Pharaoh, because God was with him.

As Christians, we have God with us, in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, the knowledge of His Son Jesus and the salvation that He provided. In the lowlights of my life, do I give the God of Israel, my Savior, all the glory and trust in Him fully? Or do I concentrate on the circumstances? If you'd asked me this a few days ago, I would have said, oh yes, I absolutely trust in Him and glorify Him in the hard times as well as the good. With eyes open, spiritual scales removed, I can see now that has not always been the case. Oh, if you'd have asked me, I'd have said the right things. But if you'd looked in my heart, you would have seen me feeling sorry for myself, focusing on the situation or the negative feelings, blaming others, even blaming God. Praise the Name of Jesus that He reveals the truth, over and over. Praise His Name that He is patient, loving His children wherever they are on their personal pilgrim's progress. Keep scraping the ugly out of me Father. Make me into the creation You want me to be.

The lowlights of Joseph's life are highlights because of his response to God in them. That's what God wants for my life, for everyone's life. Forgive me Father, and make my heart clean, that the lowlights and the highlights of my life shine the Light of Jesus. Let me live beyond circumstances, good or bad, praising You, filled with Your Love. Let my cup run over that I might share that Love with those around me, that believers and unbelievers alike would proclaim praise to You.

Psalm 51:1-17
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Day 2 of B90

Some of my favorite stories are in Genesis, so I'm really having a blast! After finishing Abraham's story, Isaac & Rebekah, and Jacob, Leah, & Rachel's is well underway, I guess the overall theme for me on this is that God is in control, that He has plans for His people, even in the specifics of who their spouse would be. One of the scriptures from today's reading that struck me was what Abraham said to Isaac when going up to perform the sacrifice. Gen 22:7-8 'And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father...behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?' vs 8 'And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering...'. God will provide himself...which is exactly what this story foretells. God provided Himself, in His only begotten son Jesus, as the Lamb, for the ultimate sacrifice. Now, I know that this is KJV speech, and what is really being said is that God will provide...as in verse 14, Jehovah Jireh, God provides. But, when I looked up Jehovah Jireh in the Strong's, it says:

Definition

Jehovah-jireh = "Jehovah sees" symbolic name given by Abraham to Mount Moriah in commemoration of the interposition of the angel of Jehovah who prevented the sacrifice of Isaac and provided a substitute

Provided a substitute. Just what Jesus did for us, provided the ultimate substitute for what our sins deserve. So, since I also believe what 2 Timothy 3:16 says, 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,' I have to say when I saw the words 'God will provide himself a lamb' the Spirit within me shouted 'YES HE DID!!!' Praise be to the Father for His Ultimate Love!

Thank you Jesus, for providing Yourself as a Lamb in my place, for taking upon Your Perfect Self my sins, dying when it should have been me. And thank You for rising again, the Work complete, that I may live with You for eternity...that I may see all things fully, and be with the loved ones that went on before me. It's Amazing Grace. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Day 1 of B90!

Read today's chapters this morning while the kids ate breakfast, and waiting for the bus to come for Jordan. Great truths about Creation, the Flood, and just beginning to get into the story of Abraham and Sarah, one of my favorite stories. Something I thought was pretty powerful was in Gen 15:8-21. In the custom of the time, some covenants were made by splitting a sacrificial animal in half and walking through it (also in Jeremiah 34:18). Typically, this was carried out by both parties making the covenant. In the covenant God made with Abraham, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp, representing God, passed through the pieces. Abraham did not. This is significant, because this covenant is essentially God making a promise to Abraham. He is the one who binds Himself. Also, I didn't remember that God had also told Abram(Abraham) about the 400 years of affliction and bondage his descendants would experience in Egypt, culminating in the Exodus (Gen 15:13-14). So very awesome reading! I'm praying that my reading partners have a great day and enjoy their readings today! ~*~