I needed this!

Remedial Bible Reading… Deuteronomy means ‘Second Law,’ but it is really a repeat of the previous couple of books of the Old Testament. I like repetition with a twist, more details, slightly different perspective as it helps me absorb the material more thoroughly and accurately.

First time through is a bit overwhelming but the second time through I pick up a lot more of the details, situations and perspectives of The Bible and life in those days.

God speaks to us in the Old Testament; Jesus speaks to us in the New Testament but nothing is as it seems because God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit has worked in various ways throughout the Scriptures and continue to do so today.

Life in those days same as today?

Did priests lead armies into battle in those days?

The priest shall stand before the army, and shall speak to the people in this manner: Hear O Israel, You join battle this day against your enemies, let not your heart be dismayed, be not afraid, do not give back, fear ye them not, because the Lord your God is in the midst of you against your enemies, to deliver you from danger.

Saying God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and The Holy Spirit are only with us, is in our midst as we fight the enemy, and will deliver us from danger.

God is only on our side and the Devil is with them so we will win victory for sure?

Is this is Old Testament thinking?

Apply Jesus and the New Testament and address the battle within each of us first…

The enemy is sin and sin comes in all forms some known to us and others hidden in denial, justification, and rationalization in both our conscious and unconscious minds.

We are afraid at times of partial death and misery through sin and ultimately death of our body.

That’s why we deal with the secular world, the physical world including our own body, the Lord’s Temple, a gift for us, yet ascend to a spiritual being while still living on this earth.

What man is there, that hath build a new house, and hath not dedicated it? Let him go and return to the house. Lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

Planted a vineyard and not as yet made it to be common?

Espoused a wife, and not taken her?

What man is there that is fearful, and faint hearted? Let him go, and return to his house, lest he make the hearts of his brethren to fear, as he himself is possessed with fear.

What reward of God is fear preventing you from reaping?

Rules of God’s war to use the Israelites to free them of abominations to other gods:

If at any time thou come to fight against a city, thou shall first offer it peace. If they receive it, and open the gates to thee, all the people that are therein, shall be saved, and shall serve thee paying tribute.

But if they will not make peace, and shall begin war against thee, thou shalt besiege it. And when the Lord thy God shall deliver it into thy hands, thou shalt slay all that are therein of the male sex, with the edge of the sword, excepting women and children, cattle and other things, that are in the city.

So shalt thou do to all cities that are at a great distance from thee, and are not of these cities which thou shalt receive in possession.

But of those cities that shall be given thee, thou shalt suffer none at all to live…. Lest they teach you to do all the abominations which they have done to their gods; and you should sin against the Lord your God.

The last chapter is dark, as dark as the darkest part of the Old Testament.

 

Whether one’s sin is here or there, it is all the same–face the war within and thou shalt take away the evil out of the midst of thee.

Day 65: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Face the War Within and Take Evil Out of the Midst of Thee!

Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Deuteronomy Chapters 17-22

Bible Notes:

This Book is so called Deuteronomy, which means a second law, because it repeats, explains, and expands the Law given on Mount Sinai. It contains three discourses of Moses encouraging the Israelites, who will shortly enter The Promised Land, to observe the Law.

The last four chapters describe the last days and the death of Moses on Mount Nebo in the Land of Moab.

Deuteronomy Chapter 17: Victims must be animals without blemish; Idolaters are to be slain; Settlement of controversies; Selection of a king; Duties of a king.

Wherein there is any blemish or any fault.

And they shall be stoned. By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he die that is to be slain. Let no man be put to death, when only one beareth witness against him.

Which the Lord thy God shall choose

And thou shalt ask of them, and they shall show thee the truth of the judgment.

But he that will be proud, and refuse to obey the commandment of the priest… that man shall die, and thou shalt take away the evil from Israel. And all the people hearing it shall fear, that no one afterwards swell with pride.

Thou mayst not make a man f another nation king, that is not thy brother.

He shall not have many wives, that my allure his mind…

He shall copy out to himself the Deuteronomy of this law in a volume… and he shall have it with him, and shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, and keep his words and ceremonies, that are commanded in the law; and that his heart be not lifted up with pride over his brethren…

Deuteronomy Chapter 18: Support of priests and Levites; Abominations to be avoided; Promise of Christ; The sign of a false prophet.

The priests and Levites… for the Lord himself is their inheritance.

For the Lord thy God hath chosen him (Levites) of all thy tribes, to stand and to minister to the name of the Lord, him and his sons forever.

Neither let there be found among you that consulteth soothsayers, or observeth dreams and omens, any wizard, nor charmer, nor consulteth pythonic spirits or fortune tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead. For the Lord abhorreth all these things, and for these abominations he will destroy them at thy coming.

Promise of Christ—the Lord thy God will raise up to thee a prophet of thy nations and of thy brethren like unto me: him thou shalt hear, as thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the assembly was gathered together, and sadist: Let me not hear any more the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see any more of this exceedingly great fire, lest I die. And the Lord said to me: They have spoken all things well. I will raise them up a prophet out of the midst of their brethren like to thee: and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him. And he that will not hear his words, which he shall speak in my name, I will be the revenger.

Fear of the Israelites (Exodus Chapter 20:18): after Moses received the Ten Commandments up on Mount Sinai (same as Mount Horeb)

And all the people saw the voices and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and being terrified and struck with fear, they stood afar off, saying to Moses: Speak thou to us, lest and we will hear: let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die.

But the prophet, who being corrupted with pride, shall speak in my name things that I did not command him to say, or in the name of strange gods, shall be slain… but the prophet had forged it by the pride of his mind: and therefore thou shalt not fear him.

Deuteronomy Chapter 19: Cities of Refuge; Manslaughter; Premeditated murder; Landmarks; Witnesses; Punishment of false witness.

Thou shalt separate to three cities in the midst of the land

That innocent blood may not be shed in the midst of the land

Thou shalt not take nor remove they neighbor’s landmark…

One witness shall not rise up against any man, whatsoever the sin or wickedness be: but in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand.

They shall find that the false witness hath told a lie against his brother…

That others hearing may fear, and may not dare to do such things. Thou shalt not pity him, but shalt require life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Deuteronomy Chapter 20: Priest’s encouragement in battle; Exceptions from military service; Fate of vanquished cities; Fruitful trees may not be destroyed.

The priest shall stand before the army, and shall speak to the people in this manner: Hear O Israel, You join battle this day against your enemies, let not your heart be dismayed, be not afraid, do not give back, fear ye them not, because the Lord your God is in the midst of you against your enemies, to deliver you from danger.

What man is there, that hath build a new house, and hath not dedicated it? Let him go and return to the house. Lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

Planted a vineyard and not as yet made it to be common?

Espoused a wife, and not taken her?

What man is there that is fearful, and faint hearted? Let him go, and return to his house, lest he make the hearts of his brethren to fear, as he himself is possessed with fear.

If at any time thou come to fight against a city, thou shall first offer it peace. If they receive it, and open the gates to thee, all the people that are therein, shall be saved, and shall serve thee paying tribute.

But if they will not make peace, and shall begin war against thee, thou shalt besiege it. And when the Lord thy God shall deliver it into thy hands, thou shalt slay all that are therein of the male sex, with the edge of the sword, excepting women and children, cattle and other things, that are in the city.

So shalt thou do to all cities that are at a great distance from thee, and are not of these cities which thou shalt receive in possession.

But of those cities that shall be given thee, thou shalt suffer none at all to live…. Lest they teach you to do all the abominations which they have done to their gods; and you should sin against the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy Chapter 21: Purification after a secret murder; Marriage with a captive; Birthright of firstborn to be respected; Punishment of an unruly son; Hanged man to be buried the same day.

The corpse of a man slain, and it is not known who is guilty of the murder…

And the guilt of the blood shall be taken from them, and thou shalt be free from the innocent’s blood, that was shed, when thou shalt have done what the Lord hath commanded thee.

And seest in the number of captive a beautiful woman, and lovest her, and wilt have her to wife, thou shalt bring her into thy house… and after that thou shall go into her, and shalt sleep with her, and she shall be thy wife, Bit if afterwards she please thee not thou shalt let her go free, but thou mayest not sell her for money nor oppress her by might because thou hast humbled her.

If a man have two wives, one beloved, and the other hated…

This our son is rebellious and stubborn, he slighteth hearing our admonitions, he giveth himself to reveling, and to debauchery and banquetings. The  people of the city shall stone him: and he shall die, that you may take away the evil out of the midst of you, and all Israel hearing it may be afraid.

When a man hath committed a crime for which he is to be punished for death, and being condemned to die is hanged on a gibber, his body shall not remain upon the tree, but shall be buried the same day…

Deuteronomy Chapter 22: Charity to neighbors; Neither sex may wear other’s apparel; A bird must not be taken with her young; A wall must be built around a new roof; No mingling of seed, animals, and cloth; Strings to be worn on garments; Punishment for false charges against a wife; Punishment for adultery; Punishment for rape in the city; Punishment for rape in the country; Punishment for deducing the unmarried; Incest forbidden.

A woman shall not be clothed with man’s apparel, neither shall a man use a woman’s apparel: for he that doeth these things is abominable before God.

Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together. Thou shalt not wear a garment that is woven of woolen and linen together.

I took this woman to wife, and going into her, I found her not a virgin… he layeth a charge a very ill name… shall take that man, and beat him, condemning him… but if what he charged her with is true… the men of the city shall stone her to death… done a wicked thing in Israel… to play the whore in her father’s house and thou shalt take away the evil out of the midst of thee.

He alone shall die. The damsel shall suffer nothing, neither is she guilty of death… al also did the damsel suffer, She was alone in the field: she cried, and there was no man to help her.

No Man shall take his father’s wife, not remove his covering.

Jesus said to his Seventy-Two Disciples: “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I say to you, many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and they have not seen it; to hear what you hear, and they have not heard it.”

I often think of how blessed I am to be living out the dreams of my ancestors and especially those of my Mom and Dad who only wanted a better life for their children. They sacrificed and I benefited.

I think it was in the late 1700s when the Reistetter’s left Germany to settle the eastern lands of what is now Slovakia. In the little town of Lipany as a testimony of the German presence, the Reistetter surname is mentioned in the first written church records in 1802.

My ancestors endured there for another hundred years before all four of my grandparents born there came here as relatively young people. And my parents were born American as was I.

So when I hear freedom spoken and see freedom lived, though never perfectly either by opportunity or opportunist, I am blessed. I am truly blessed and need to take notice of the pause between my breaths and the space between my thoughts to let The Holy Spirit fill me completely with peace, joy, and freedom!

 

WOW, Seventy-Two Disciples???

I thought there were only Twelve Disciples?

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them forth two by two before him into every town and place where he was about to come. And he said to them: “The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few… Go. Behold, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves… Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if a son of peace be there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they have; for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house… and cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you…’ He who hears you, hears me; and he who rejects you, rejects me; and he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me.”

Now the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the devils are subject to us in thy name…” but Jesus replied: “But do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; rejoice rather in this, that your names are written in heaven.”

Real disciples who Jesus directed to cure the sick and let them know about the kingdom of God.

Aren’t we all destined to be disciples and do good in our lives?

Why do we let pomp and circumstance, organizational structure, positions and assigned, yet not apparent in personal relationships, power somehow tell us we don’t have the power to cure the sick, the power to cure ourselves?

A woman named Martha welcomed Jesus into her house. And she had a sister Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet, and listened to his word.

Martha was busy about much serving: “Lord is it no concern of thine that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her therefore to help me.”

But the Lord answered and said to her: “Martha, Martha, thou art anxious and troubled about many things; and yet only one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the best part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

If we are present, clear and focused on things above versus only things on this earth why don’t we chose the best parts of life that cannot be taken away from us? Why don’t we come from the inside-out in our thoughts, words and actions and disregard the influence, the subtle manipulation, the outright contempt of this secular world we live in?

So we live in a legalistic society of ‘sue or be sued?’

Not according to Jesus and this one lawyer he interacted with:

A certain lawyer: “Master, what must I do to gain eternal life?”

Jesus replied: “What is written in the Law? How dost thou read?”

Lawyer: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength, and with thy whole mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.”

Jesus: “Thou hast answered rightly; do this and thou shalt live.”

Lawyer, wishing to justify himself, said to Jesus: “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus answered with The Good Samaritan Parable: “A certain man was going down to from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell in with robbers, who after both stripping him and beating him went their way, leaving him half-dead… a certain priest was going down the very same way, and when he saw him, he passed by… and likewise a Levite also, when he was near the place and saw him passed by… But a certain Samaritan as he journeyed came upon him, and seeing him, was moved with compassion… and he went up to him and bound up his wounds… he brought him to an inn and took care of him… And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more thou spendest, I, on my way back, will repay thee.”

Jesus to the Lawyer: “Which of these three, in thy opinion, proved himself neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?”

Lawyer: “he who took pity on him.”

Jesus: “Go and do thou also in like manner.”

Disciples are we; blessed are we, so let’s be good to ourselves and our neighbors!

Day 66: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Disciples are We; Blessed are We, so Let’s Be Good to Ourselves and Our Neighbors!

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Gospel of Saint Luke Chapters 10.

Bible Notes:

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

Saint Luke, a pagan by birth and a physician by profession, had never seen our Lord. An early convert, he became a companion and co-worker of Saint Paul.

In the first four verses of his Gospel he explains why he wrote it. Paul’s doctrine that salvation is for all, not for Jesus alone, is the theme of Saint Luke’s Gospel.

 

Luke Chapter 10:  Jesus appoints seventy-two disciples; Instructions for their mission; The impenitent towns; Return of the disciples; Jesus draws men gently to Himself; The great commandment; The good Samaritan; Martha and Mary.

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them forth two by two before him into every town and place where he was about to come. And he said to them: “The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few… Go. Behold, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves… Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if a son (or typo sign?) of peace be there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they have; for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house… and cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you…’ He who hears you, hears me; and he who rejects you, rejects me; and he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me.”

Now the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the devils are subject to us in thy name…” but Jesus replied: “But do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; rejoice rather in this, that your names are written in heaven.”

“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I say to you, many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and they have not seen it; to hear what you hear, and they have not heard it.”

A certain lawyer: “Master, what must I do to gain eternal life?”

Jesus replied: “What is written in the Law? How dost thou read?”

Lawyer: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength, and with thy whole mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.”

Jesus: “Thou hast answered rightly; do this and thou shalt live.”

Lawyer, wishing to justify himself, said to Jesus: “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus answered with The Good Samaritan Parable: “A certain man was going down to from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell in with robbers, who after both stripping him and beating him went their way, leaving him half-dead… a certain priest was going down the very same way, and when he saw him, he passed by… and likewise a Levite also, when he was near the place and saw him passed by… But a certain Samaritan as he journeyed came upon him, and seeing him, was moved with compassion… and he went up to him and bound up his wounds… he brought him to an inn and took care of him… And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more thou spendest, I, on my way back, will repay thee.”

Jesus to the Lawyer: “Which of these three, in thy opinion, proved himself neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?”

Lawyer: “he who took pity on him.”

Jesus: “Go and do thou also in like manner.”

A woman named Martha welcomed Jesus into her house. And she had a sister Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet, and listened to his word.

Martha was busy about much serving: “Lord is it no concern of thine that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her therefore to help me.”

But the Lord answered and said to her: “Martha, Martha, thou art anxious and troubled about many things; and yet only one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the best part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

God in C24: “Going into thy neighbor’s vineyard, thou mayest eat as many grapes as thou pleasest: but must carry none out with thee.”

This, of course brought back memories of picking strawberries and apples as a kid and eating as many as we paid for.

Can we extrapolate grapes to strawberries and apples?

Can we extrapolate grapes to all the good things, the good sins in life?

Not, we are still in the Old Testament of God’s Laws and Wrath yet to be softened and heart filled with the life of Jesus Christ.

There shall be no whore among the daughters of Israel, nor whoremonger among the sons of Israel… because both these are an abomination to the Lord thy God.

There were some common sense advice too. Don’t poop where you will sleep!

Thou shalt have a place without the camp, to which thou mayst go for the necessities of nature… and with the earth that is dug up thou shalt cover that which thou are eased of… and let the camp be holy, and et no uncleanness appear therein, lest he go away from thee.

Some heavy hearted stuff too…

When thou hast made a vow to the Lord thy God, thou shalt not delay to pay it: because the Lord thy God will require it.

What was the last vow you made to God?

If a man take a wife, and have her, and she find not favor in his eyes, for some uncleanness: he shall write a bill of divorce, and shall give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

This Law of Moses was repealed in the New Testament, there is no sinless way to be divorced as I am.

When a man hath lately taken a wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall any public business be enjoined him, but he shall be free at home without fault, that for one year he may rejoice with his wife.

I like this, one step above paternity leave—matrimony leave!

Thou shall not refuse the hire of the needy, and the poor, whether he be thy brother, or a stranger that dwelleth with thee in the land, and is within thy gates.

Help and needy whether you know them personally or not.

The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, not the children for the fathers, but every one shall die for his own sin.

Amen.

And if they see the offender is worthy of stripes: they shall lay him down, and shall cause him to be beaten before them. According to the measure of the sin shall the measure also of the stripes be; yet so, that they exceed not the number of forty: lest thy brother depart shamefully torn before thy eyes.

When brethren dwell together, and one of them dieth without children, the wife of the deceased shall not marry to another; but his brother shall take her, and raise up the seed for his brother…

Moses and the Priests of the race Levi said to all of Israel: Attend and hear, O Israel: This day thou art made the people of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt hear his voice, and do the commandments and justices which I command thee.

Moses: These shall stand upon mount Garizim to bless the people, when you are passed the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Juda, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And over against them shall stand on mount Hebal to curse: Ruben, Gad, and Aser, and Zabulon, Dan and Nephtali.

This confuses me as it excludes the tribes of Ephraim & Manasses, (other half tribe, not son of Joseph).

Back in Numbers C32, land given to Gad, Ruben, and the half tribe of Manasses the son of Joseph?

Includes Gad, Ruben and half tribe of Manasses, the son of Joseph who did not cross the Jordan but inhabited the lands of Jazer and Galaad.

Confused as I am?

The Lord thy God will make thee higher than all the nations that are on the earth. And the Lord shall make thee the head and not the tail: and thou shalt be always above, and not beneath…

The Lord strike thee with the ulcer of Egypt, and the part of thy body, by which dung is cast out, with the scab and with the itch: so that thou canst not be healed

Actually I just learned that an itchy anal, reportedly the ulcer of Egypt, is a sign of colon cancer.

And thy life shall be as it were hanging before thee. Thou shalt fear night and day, neither shalt though trust thy life. In the morning thou shalt say: who will grant me evening? And at evening: Who will grant me morning? For the fearfulness of thy heart…

Day 67: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective;

Walk in God’s Ways with Jesus in Our Hearts & The Holy Spirit Within…

Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Deuteronomy Chapters 23-28

Bible Notes:

This Book is so called Deuteronomy, which means a second law, because it repeats, explains, and expands the Law given on Mount Sinai. It contains three discourses of Moses encouraging the Israelites, who will shortly enter The Promised Land, to observe the Law.

The last four chapters describe the last days and the death of Moses on Mount Nebo in the Land of Moab.

Deuteronomy Chapter 23: Who may not enter the church; Those defiled by dreams shall leave camp; Law of sanitation; Escaped servants; Prostitution forbidden; Usury forbidden; Vows; Law of vineyard and farm.

An eunuch, whose testicles are broken or cut away…

Eunuch—a castrated man, especially one formerly employed by rulers in the Middle East and Asia as a harem guard or palace official.

A mamzer, that is to say, one born of a prostitute, shall not enter the church of the Lord until the tenth generation.

If there be among you any man that is defiled in a dream by night, he shall go forth out of the camp, and shall not return, before he be washed with water in the evening: and after sunset he shall return into the camp.

Thou shalt have a place without the camp, to which thou mayst go for the necessities of nature… and with the earth that is dug up thou shalt cover that which thou are eased of… and let the camp be holy, and et no uncleanness appear therein, lest he go away from thee.

Thou shalt not deliver to his master the servant that I fled to thee… give him no trouble.

There shall be no whore among the daughters of Israel, nor whoremonger among the sons of Israel… because both these are an abomination to the Lord thy God.

Usury—the lending or practice of lending money at an exorbitant interest; Obsolete. interest paid for the use of money.

When thou hast made a vow to the Lord thy God, thou shalt not delay to pay it: because the Lord thy God will require it.

Going into thy neighbor’s vineyard, thou mayest eat as many grapes as thou pleasest: but must carry none out with thee.

Deuteronomy Chapter 24: Divorce, A husband to remain home the first year; Millstones not to be taken to pledge; Kidnaping; Leprosy; Pledges; Payment of Wages; No one to be punished for another’s sin; Justice; Charity.

If a man take a wife, and have her, and she find not favor in his eyes, for some uncleanness: he shall write a bill of divorce, and shall give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

When a man hath lately taken a wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall any public business be enjoined him, but he shall be free at home without fault, that for one year he may rejoice with his wife.

Thou shall not refuse the hire of the needy, and the poor, whether he be thy brother, or a stranger that dwelleth with thee in the land, and is within thy gates.

The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, not the children for the fathers, but every one shall die for his own sin.

Deuteronomy Chapter 25: Stripes not to exceed forty; Ox not to be muzzled when treading corn; Raising children for a brother; The immodest woman; Weights and measures; The Amalecities to be destroyed.

And if they see the offender is worthy of stripes: they shall lay him down, and shall cause him to be beaten before them. According to the measure of the sin shall the measure also of the stripes be; yet so, that they exceed not the number of forty: lest thy brother depart shamefully torn before thy eyes.

When brethren dwell together, and one of them dieth without children, the wife of the deceased shall not marry to another; but his brother shall take her, and raise up the seed for his brother…

Shall put forth her hand, and take him by secrets, thou shalt cut off her hand, neither shalt thou be moved with any pity in her regard.

Deuteronomy Chapter 26: Rituals for offering firstfruits; Prayer to accompany tithes; God’s covenant with the people.

When thou hast made an end of tithing all thy fruits, in the third year of tithes thou shalt give it to the Levite, and to the stranger, and to the fatherless, and to the widow, that …they may eat within thy gates, and be filled. Look from thy sanctuary, and thy high habitation of heaven…

To be his peculiar people

Deuteronomy Chapter 27: Command to write the law on stones; Exhortation to obedience; The tribes to be divided on two mountains; Levites to pronounce curses for sin.

Moses and the Priests of the race Levi said to all of Israel: Attend and hear, O Israel: This day thou art made the people of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt hear his voice, and do the commandments and justices which I command thee.

Moses: These shall stand upon mount Garizim to bless the people, when you are passed the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Juda, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And over against them shall stand on mount Hebal to curse: Ruben, Gad, and Aser, and Zabulon, Dan and Nephtali.

Note excludes Ephraim & Manasses, (other half tribe, not son of Joseph

Numbers C32: Land given to Gad, Ruben, and the half tribe of Manasses the son of Joseph?

Includes Gad, Ruben and half tribe of Manasses, the son of Joseph who did not cross the Jordan but inhabited the lands of Jazer and Galaad.

Confusion???

Cursed 12 times… some of the Ten Commandments.

Deuteronomy Chapter 28: Blessings for obedience; Curses for disobedience; Frightful affliction of the unfaithful; Captivity and starvation threatened; Ravages of war threatened, Pestilence and slavery threatened.

The Lord thy God will make thee higher than all the nations that are on the earth.

Blessings 8 times… if thou keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways

The Lord will open his excellent treasure, the heaven

And the Lord shall make thee the head and not the tail: and thou shalt be always above, and not beneath…

But if thou wilt not hear the voice of the Lord thy God… all these curses shall overcome thee this day, and overtake thee… Cursed 5 times…

May the Lord afflict thee with miserable want… and pursue thee till thou perish… and let ashes come down from heaven upon thee, till thou be consumed…

The Lord strike thee with the ulcer of Egypt, and the part of thy body, by which dung is cast out, with the scab and with the itch: so that thou canst not be healed.

And thou shall be lost as a proverb and a byword to all people, among whom the Lord shall bring thee in.

Because thou didst not serve the Lord thy God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things…

Nor shall there be any rest for the sole of thy foot

And thy life shall be as it were hanging before thee. Thou shalt fear night and day, neither shalt though trust thy life. In the morning thou shalt say: who will grant me evening? And at evening: Who will grant me morning? For the fearfulness of thy heart…

 

I should simply rewrite these two chapters of Luke as every word seems to be rich in inspiration and guidance from God above.

Jesus: “And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it shall be opened.”

Positive thinking yes, but directing the questions to the right person at the right time even more important!

Jesus: “Therefore, if you, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Good Spirit to those who ask him!”

If you, evil as you are?

Yes, I am evil, as I am Andy Reistetter though I am made in the image of God. I am a child of God. Evil within me. Yes but not in totality. With Jesus in my heart I am not a mistake, I am not evil though I do make mistakes and I do evil things at times.

All this makes me anxious at times yet Jesus is the answer to all those anxieties. Remember positive thinking, yes, but direct your focus to the right person at the right time in your life is thinking positively well done!

Jesus: “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the magistrates and the authorities, do not be anxious how or wherewith you shall defend yourselves, or what you shall say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

I use this bible verse for speaking engagements. While I do prepare, I prepare on spiritual principles and trust that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit will put the right words in my mind to speak at the right time. On the contrary I must challenge my self, pride and silly ego to be silent when God has not filled my mind with thoughts and words to speak.

Jesus” “Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat; not yet for your body, what you shall put on. The life is a greater thing than the food, and the body than the clothing… But which of you by being anxious about it can add to his stature a single cubit? Therefore if you are not able to do even a very little thing, why are you anxious concerning the rest?

Anxiety never helps does it? Have one problem, be anxious, now have two problems.

Illogical, insanity but we all do it from time to time.

Habitual thinking or consider all options and choose the best one?

Sometimes the best option is to remain at peace and in serenity and say and do nothing. No amends to make later!

Jesus: “Be not afraid… sell what you have and give alms… (make) a treasure unfailing in heaven… for where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”

Focus on the important things in life and not the things which the world hypnotizes us into believing are important.

Jesus: “… and you yourselves like men waiting for their master’s return from the wedding…Blessed are those servants whom the master, on his return, shall find watching… And if he comes in the second watch, and if in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants!… You also must be ready, because at an hour that you do not expect, the Son of Man is coming.”

Be ready, on a personal basis, we do not know if today will be our last or of on a worldwide basis, if this is the day the Lord will return.

Jesus: “And for you, do not seek what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; and do not exalt yourselves (for after all these things the nations of the world seek); but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be given you besides.”

First things first, evil as we are, put your relationship with God first, ask, and peace, joy, and freedom—the Ultimate Love—shall be given to you along with all the worldly things as well.

Day 68: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Evil as You are, Ask, and it Shall be Given to You

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Gospel of Saint Luke Chapters 11-12.

Bible Notes:

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

Saint Luke, a pagan by birth and a physician by profession, had never seen our Lord. An early convert, he became a companion and co-worker of Saint Paul.

In the first four verses of his Gospel he explains why he wrote it. Paul’s doctrine that salvation is for all, not for Jesus alone, is the theme of Saint Luke’s Gospel.

 

Luke Chapter 11:  The Lord’s Prayer; The efficacy of prayer; Blasphemy of the Pharisees; Jesus’ answer; The praise of Mary; The sign of Jonas; A lesson from a lamp; Jesus dines with a Pharisee; Jesus denounces the Pharisees; Denunciation of the lawyers; Opposition of the Pharisees and lawyers.

Disciples to Jesus: “Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples.”

Jesus: “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be they name. Thy kingdom come! Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

??? How did John the Baptist teach his disciples to pray??? Nothing specific.

Since John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus who prepares the way for Jesus, there are many similarities between their ministries. John taught his disciples how to pray. Jesus also taught his disciples how to pray. But there is less information on the pattern of the prayer taught by John. If Jesus taught “May your kingdom come”, then John might have taught “Prepare us for your coming kingdom”

Matthew C3: Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the desert of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of through Isaias the prophet, when he said, “The voice of one crying in the desert, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’”

Jesus: “And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it shall be opened.”

Jesus: “Therefore, if you, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Good Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus: “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he roams through waterless places in search of rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house which I left.’ And when he has come to it, he finds the place swept. Then he goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

Certain woman to Jesus: “Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the breasts that nursed thee.”

Jesus to the certain woman: “Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.”

Jesus: “This generation is an evil generation: it demands a sign, and no sign shall be given it but the sign of Jonas. For even as Jonas was a sign to the Ninevites, so will also the Son of Man be to this generation… The men of Nineve will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonas, and behold, a greater than Jonas is here.”

Biblehub.com: Story of Jonas (Jonah): At this time another prophet, named Jonah, was giving the word of the Lord to the Israelites. To Jonah the Lord spoke, saying: “Go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it; for its wickedness rises up before me.”

But Jonah did not wish to preach to the people of Nineveh; for they were the enemies of his land, the land of Israel. He wished Nineveh to die in its sins, and not to turn to God and live. So Jonah tried to go away from the city where God had sent him. He went down to Joppa and took a ship for Tarshish.

But the Lord saw Jonah on the ship; and the Lord sent a great storm upon the sea, so that the ship seemed as though it would go to pieces… At last, when they could do nothing else to save themselves, they threw Jonah into the sea.

And the Lord caused a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was alive within the fish for three days and three nights. In the fish Jonah cried to the Lord; and the Lord caused the great fish to throw up Jonah upon the dry land.

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it what I command you.” So Jonah went to the city of Nineveh; and as he entered into it, he called out to the people:

“Within forty days shall Nineveh be destroyed.” And he walked through the city all day crying out only this: “Within forty days shall Nineveh be destroyed.”

And the people of Nineveh believed the word of the Lord as spoken by Jonah. They turned away from their sins and fasted and sought the Lord, from the greatest of them even to the least.

And God saw that the people of Nineveh were sorry for their wickedness, and he forgave them, and did not destroy their city. But this made Jonah very angry. He did not wish to have Nineveh spared, because it was the enemy of his own land; and also he feared that men would call him a false prophet when his word did not come to pass. And Jonah said to the Lord:

“O Lord, I was sure that it would be thus, that thou wouldest spare the city; and for that reason I tried to flee away; for I know that thou was a gracious God, full of pity, slow to anger, and rich in mercy. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

And should not I have pity on Nineveh, that great city, where are more than a hundred thousand little children, and also many cattle, — all helpless and knowing nothing?”

And Jonah learned that men, and women, and little children, are all precious in the sight of the Lord, even though they know not God. End Biblehub.com: Story of Jonas (Jonah).

Jesus: “The lamp of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be sound, thy whole body will be full of light. But if it be evil, thy body also will be full of darkness. Take care, therefore, that the light that is in thee is not in darkness. If, then, thy whole body is full of light, having no part in darkness, it will all be illuminated, as when a bright lamp illuminates thee.”

Jesus dines with denounces the Pharisee: “…but within you are full of robbery and wickedness… (you) disregard justice and the love of God… woe to you Pharisees! Because you love the front seats in synagogues and greetings in the market place. Woe to you! Because you are like hidden tombs, over which men walk unaware.”

Lawyer to Jesus: “Master, in saying these things, thou insultest us also.”

Jesus denounces the lawyers too: “Woe to you lawyers also! Because you load men with oppressive burdens and you yourselves with one of your fingers do not touch the burdens. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, whereas your fathers killed them… Woe to you lawyers! Because you have taken away the key of knowledge, you have not entered yourselves and those who were entering you have hindered.”

Luke Chapter 12:  The leaven of the Pharisees; Whom to fear; Promise of reward and punishment; A warning against avarice; Parable of the rich man; Trust in God; The lilies in the field; Seek first the kingdom of God; Build up treasure in heaven; The watchful servants; Exhortation to vigilance; The necessity of struggle; Time for reconciliation.

Jesus to the Disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. For what you have said in darkness will be said in the light; and what you have whispered in the inner chambers will be preached on the housetops.

Jesus to my friends: “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? And yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Yes, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not be afraid, you are more value than many sparrows.

Jesus: “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the magistrates and the authorities, do not be anxious how or wherewith you shall defend yourselves, or what you shall say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

One out of the crowd: “Master, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

Jesus: “Man, who has appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you? Take heed ad guard yourselves from all covetousness, for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Rich man: “What shall I do, for I have no rooms to store my crops?… And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast many good things laid up for many years; take thy ease, eat, drink, be merry.

God to the rich man: “Thou fool, this night do they demand thy soul of thee: and the things that thou hast provided, whose will they be?”

Jesus: “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich as regards God.”

Jesus” “Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat; not yet for your body, what you shall put on. The life is a greater thing than the food, and the body than the clothing… But which of you by being anxious about it can add to his stature a single cubit? Therefore if you are not able to do even a very little thing, why are you anxious concerning the rest?

Jesus: “And for you, do not seek what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; and do not exalt yourselves (for after all these things the nations of the world seek); but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be given you besides.”

Jesus: “Be not afraid… sell what you have and give alms… (make) a treasure unfailing in heaven… for where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”

Jesus: “… and you yourselves like men waiting for their master’s return from the wedding…Blessed are those servants whom the master, on his return, shall find watching… And if he comes in the second watch, and if in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants!… You also must be ready, because at an hour that you do not expect, the Son of Man is coming.”

 

 

This Book is so called Deuteronomy, which means a second law, because it repeats, explains, and expands the Law given on Mount Sinai. It contains three discourses of Moses encouraging the Israelites, who will shortly enter The Promised Land, to observe the Law.

The last four chapters describe the last days and the death of Moses on Mount Nebo in the Land of Moab.

Second law is really the second telling of the law, i.e. remedial bible reading for idiots like me!

I pay attention the first time around but really like to pay attention to the details the second time around.

Hey Deuteronomy pretty much follows the narrative of the Book of Numbers. Not only follows it but adds some great detail too and really connected the dots, put the pieces together for me. But it skips over and does not contain Numbers C13 and C14: Twelve spies sent into Chanaan; Josue and Caleb encourage the people; The Lord decrees forty years of wandering. Pretty major sections of the exodus from Egypt and make it to the Promised Land saga!

Choose Life & Good…

Consider that I have set before thee this day life and good, and on the other hand death and evil, that thou mayst love the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways, and keep his commandments and ceremonies and judgments, and thou mayst live…

But if thy heart be turned away, so that thou wilt not hear, and being deceived with error thou adore strange gods, and serve them, I foretell thee this day that thou shalt perish, and shall remain but a short time in the land that thou shalt pass over the Jordan…

That I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose therefore life, that both thou and thy seed may live, and that thou mayst love the Lord thy God, and obey his voice, and adhere to him (for he is thy life, and the length of thy days), that thou mayst dwell in the land, for which the Lord swore to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give it them.

Now when all these things shall be come upon thee, the blessing or the curse, which I have set forth before thee, and thou shalt be touched with repentance of thy heart among all the nations, into which the Lord thy God shall have scattered thee…

The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed: that thou mayst love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, that thou mayst live. And he will turn these curses upon thy enemies, and upon them that hate and persecute thee.

Reject Death & Evil.

Jesus to Moses: Now therefore write you this canticle, and teach the children of Israel: that they may know it by heart, and sing it by mouth…

And when they have eaten, and are full and fat, they will turn away after strange gods, and will serve them: and will despise me, and make void my covenant… for I know their thoughts, and what they are about to do this day… Moses therefore wrote the canticle, and taught it to the children of Israel.

And as the Lord Promised he showed Moses the Promised Land, but did not promise for Moses to enter the Promised Land. At least not the one on the Earth.

The Lord showed him all the land… This is the land for which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: I will give it to thy seed. Thou hast seen it with thy eyes, and shalt not pass over to it.

And Moses the servant of the Lord died there, in the land of Moab, by the commandment of the Lord… and no man hath known of his sepulcher until this present day. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, neither were his teeth moved.

And Josue the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands upon him. And the children of Israel obeyed him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.

And there arose no more a prophet in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face…

Yet a simple choice remains and awaits us day-by-day: choose life and good over death and evil. Do it today asking Lord Jesus into your heart and turn away from your sin. It’s as easy as that!

Day 69: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Simple Choice: Life & Good versus Death & Evil.

Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Deuteronomy Chapters 29-34 (END)

Bible Notes:

This Book is so called Deuteronomy, which means a second law, because it repeats, explains, and expands the Law given on Mount Sinai. It contains three discourses of Moses encouraging the Israelites, who will shortly enter The Promised Land, to observe the Law.

The last four chapters describe the last days and the death of Moses on Mount Nebo in the Land of Moab.

Deuteronomy Chapter 29: God’s favor during the exodus; Confirmation of the covenant; Punishment for following false gods.

These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab: beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb (Ten Commandments).

He hath brought you forty years through the desert…

You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink: that you might know that I am the Lord your God.

And took their land (Hesebon & Og), and delivered it for a possession to Ruben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses.

That he may raise up a people to himself, and he may be thy God as he hath spoken to thee, and as he swore to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

But with all that are present and that are absent…

You have seen their abominations and filth, that is to say, their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which they worshipped.

Deuteronomy Chapter 30: God will be merciful to the repentant; God’s law in the hearts of the people; The choice between life and death.

Now when all these things shall be come upon thee, the blessing or the curse, which I have set forth before thee, and thou shalt be touched with repentance of thy heart among all the nations, into which the Lord thy God shall have scattered thee…

If thou be driven as far as the poles of heaven…

The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed: that thou mayst love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, that thou mayst live. And he will turn these curses upon thy enemies, and upon them that hate and persecute thee.

And the Lord thy God will make thee abound in all the works of thy hands, in the fruit of thy womb…

For the Lord will return to rejoice over thee in all good things, as he rejoiced in thy fathers.

But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayst do it.

Consider that I have set before thee this day life and good, and on the other hand death and evil, that thou mayst love the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways, and keep his commandments and ceremonies and judgments, and thou mayst live…

But if thy heart be turned away, so that thou wilt not hear, and being deceived with error thou adore strange gods, and serve them, I foretell thee this day that thou shalt perish, and shall remain but a short time in the land that thou shalt pass over the Jordan…

That I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose therefore life, that both thou and thy seed may live, and that thou mayst love the Lord thy God, and obey his voice, and adhere to him (for he is thy life, and the length of thy days), that thou mayst dwell in the land, for which the Lord swore to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give it them.

Deuteronomy Chapter 31: Moses announces his approaching death; Moses encourages Josue; Moses gives the written law to the Levites; Moses and Josue appear before the Lord; The Lord foretells the sins of Israel; Moses commanded to write a song; Josue appointed to lead the Israelites; The book of the law to be kept in the ark; Moses speaks to the wise man and elders.

I am this day a hundred and twenty years old, I can no longer go out and come in, especially as the Lord also hath said to me: Thou shalt not pass over this Jordan… and this Josue shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath spoken.

Do manfully and be of good heart: fear not, nor be ye dismayed at their sight: for the Lord thy God he himself is thy leader, and will not leave thee nor forsake thee.

And Moses called Josue, and said to him before all Israel: Take courage, and be valiant: for thou shalt bring this people into the land which the Lord swore he would give to their fathers, and thou shalt divide it by lot. And the Lord who is your leader, he himself will be with thee: he will not leave thee, nor forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

After seven years, in the year of remission… thou shalt read the words of this law before all Israel, in their hearing… that hearing they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and keep, and fulfil all the words of this law, that their children also, who now are ignorant, may hear, and fear the Lord their God, all the days that they live in the land whither you are going over the Jordan to possess it.

The Lord to Moses: Behold the days of thy death are nigh: call Josue, and stand ye in the tabernacle of the testimony, that I may give him a charge…and the Lord appeared there in the pillar of a cloud, which stood in the entry of the tabernacle.

There will they forsake me, and make void the covenant… I will forsake them, and will hide my face from them… all evils and afflictions that shall find them, so that they shall say in that day: In truth it is because God is not with me that these evils have found me. But I will hide, and cover my face in that day, for all the evils which they have done, because they have followed strange gods.

Now therefore write you this canticle, and teach the children of Israel: that they may know it by heart, and sing it by mouth…

And when they have eaten, and are full and fat, they will turn away after strange gods, and will serve them: and will despise me, and make void my covenant… for I know their thoughts, and what they are about to do this day… Moses therefore wrote the canticle, and taught it to the children of Israel.

The Song of Moses in this article relates to the name sometimes given to the poem which appears in Deuteronomy 32:1–43 of the Hebrew Bible, written/orated just prior to Moses’ death on Mount Nebo.

Wiki: The Song is believed by some to have been written down and placed in the Ark of the Covenant at one time, along with Aaron’s staff and the Ten Commandments.

Deuteronomy 32:1-43 contains the text of the Song.

The Song opens with an exordium (verses 1–3) in which heaven and earth are summoned to hear what the poet is to utter. In verses 4–6 the theme is defined: it is the rectitude and faithfulness of YHWH toward His corrupt and faithless people. Verses 7–14 portray the providence which conducted Israel in safety through the wilderness and gave it a rich and fertile land; verses 15–18 are devoted to Israel’s unfaithfulness and lapse into idolatry. This lapse had compelled YHWH to threaten it (verses 19–27) with national disaster and almost with national extinction. Verses 28–43 describe how YHWH has determined to speak to the Israelites through the extremity of their need, to lead them to a better mind, and to grant them victory over their foes.

In a Torah scroll the song is written with a special layout, in two parallel columns.

The four Hebrew letters יהוה‎, commonly transliterated into Latin letters as YHWH. It is one of the names of God used in the Hebrew Bible. The name may be derived from a verb that means “to be”, “to exist”, “to cause to become”, or “to come to pass”. (End Wiki).

Lord to Josue: Take courage and be valiant: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I have promised, and I will be with thee.

Therefore after Moses had wrote the words of this law in a volume, and finished it… Take this book, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God… For I know thy obstinacy, and thy most stiff neck. While I am yet living, and going in with you, you have always been rebellious against the Lord: how much more when I shall be dead?

Moses to the wise men and elders: …and will call heaven and earth to witness against them. For I know that, after my death, you will do wickedly, and will quickly turn aside from the way that I have commanded you: and evils shall come upon you in the latter times….

Deuteronomy Chapter 32: The canticle of Moses; God’s blessings; Sins of the people; God’s punishment; The foolishness of the sinful Israelites; God will show mercy to them; The Lord will destroy his enemies; Children shall be taught to obey the law; God allows Moses to see Chanaan

The canticle of Moses: Hear, O ye heavens, the things I speak, let the earth give ear to the words of my mouth… Because I will invoke the name of the Lord: give ye magnificence to our God. The works of God are perfect, and all his ways are judgments: God is faithful and without any iniquity, he is just and right… O foolish and senseless people?… Remember the days of old, think upon every generation: ask thy father, and he will declare to thee: thy elders and they will tell thee… But the Lord’s portion is his people: Jacob the lot of his inheritance… and he kept him as the apple of his eye. As the eagle enticing her young to fly, and hovering over them, he spread his wings and hath taken him and carried him on his shoulders. The Lord alone was his leader: and there was no strange god with him… The beloved grew fat, and kicked: he grew fat, and thick and gross, he forsook God who made him, and departed from God his savior… They sacrificed to the devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not: that they were newly come up, whom their fathers worshipped not. Thou hast forsaken the God that begot thee, and hast forgotten the Lord that created thee… for it is a perverse generation, and unfaithful children… and have angered me with their vanities… and will vex them with a foolish nation… and shall burn the foundations of the mountains. I will heap evils upon them, and will spend my arrows among them… Where are they? I will make the memory of them to cease from among men… Our mighty hand, and not the Lord, hath done these things. They are a nation without counsel, and without wisdom… For our God is not as their gods… Revenge is mine, and I will repay them in due time… The Lord will judge their people, and will have mercy on his servants… Where are their gods, in whom they trusted?… Se ye that I alone am, and there is no other God besides me: I will kill and I will make to live: I will strike, and I will heal, and there is none that can deliver out of my hand… I live for ever…

So Moses came and spoke all the words of this canticle in the ears of the people, and Josue, the son of Nun… Set your hearts on all the words, which I testify to you this day: which you shall command your children to observe and to do, and to fulfil all that is written in this law, for they are not commanded you in vain but that every one should live in them, and that doing them you may continue a long time in the land whither you are going over the Jordan to possess it.

God allows Moses to see Canaan: Go up into this mountain Abarim (that is to say, of passages), unto mount Nebo… and see the land of Chanaan, which I will deliver to the children of Israel to possess, and die thou in the mountain… because you trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel, at the waters of contradiction in Cades in the desert of Sin; and you did not sanctify me among the children of Israel. Thou shalt see the land before thee, which I will give to the children of Israel, but thou shalt not enter it.

Deuteronomy Chapter 33: Moses blesses the tribes before his death; Moses blesses Ruben, Juda, Levi, Benjamin, the children of Joseph, Zabulon and Issachar, Gad, Dan, Nephtali, Aser; Moses blesses all of Israel.

Moses blessed the tribes before his death:

Ruben, be small in number…

Juda, his hands shall fight for him, and he shall be his helper against his enemies

Levi, thy perfection, and thy doctrine be to thy holy man… these have kept thy word, and observed thy covenant… and let not them that hate him rise…

Benjamin, the best beloved of the lord shall dwell confidently in him…

Children of Joseph, come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren… as the horns of a rhinoceros… these are the multitudes of Ephraim, and these are the thousands of Manasses.

Zabulon, rejoice in thy going out…

Issachar, in thy tabernacles…

Gad, blesse be in his breadth… and did the justices of the Lord, and his judgment with Israel…

Dan is a young lion, he shall flow plentifully from Basan…

Nephtali, he shall possess the sea and the south…

Aser, blessed with children…

NOTE: No blessing of Simeon who was to go to mount Garizim to bless???

Deuteronomy Chapter 34: Moses sees the Promised Land; Death of Moses; Josue succeeds Moses; Praise of Moses.

… and the Lord showed him all the land… This is the land for which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: I will give it to thy seed. Thou hast seen it with thy eyes, and shalt not pass over to it.

And Moses the servant of the Lord died there, in the land of Moab, by the commandment of the Lord… and no man hath known of his sepulcher until this present day. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, neither were his teeth moved.

And Josue the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands upon him. And the children of Israel obeyed him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.

And there arose no more a prophet in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face…

NOTE: Deuteronomy skips over and does not contain Numbers C13 and C14: Twelve spies sent into Chanaan; Josue and Caleb encourage the people; The Lord decrees forty years of wandering. Pretty major section!

Maybe that is where the saying “there but for the Grace of God goes I” came from?

Jesus: “…Galileans were worse sinners because they suffered such things? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same manner.”

Jesus: “…Eighteen upon who the tower of Siloe fell and killed them; do you think that they were more guilty than all the other dwellers in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same manner.”

Bad things happen to good people… and good things happen to bad people!

Go figure, try to comprehend, but Jesus’ message is clear: repent of your sins now!

Although it seems like a weighty thing to do, in reality, as like a lot of experiences in the Spiritual World, it is a freeing thing to do and leads to a renewing of one’s spirit, one’s mind and eventually one’s body!

“I too, like someone seen to have suffered misfortune, might have suffered a similar fate, but for God’s mercy.”—is the meaning per Phrases.org.UK of the saying “there but for the Grace of God goes I.” Bet there is the deeper meaning of repentance to stay spiritually fit in life.

No need for repentance because evil is not real? Evil is real, Satan binds us for whatever reason.

A woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent over and utterly unable to look upwards. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said to her: “Woman, thou are delivered from thy infirmity.” And he laid his hands upon her, and instantly she was made straight, and glorified God.

Rulers of the synagogue: “There are six days in which one ought to work; on these therefore come and be cured, and not on the Sabbath.”

Jesus: “Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or ass from the manger, and lead it forth to water? And this woman, daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound, lo, for eighteen years, ought she to be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?”

And as he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame; and the entire crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done to him.

And Jesus and our faith in things outside our own self frees us!

For Jesus said “for everyone that exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.”

Jesus also said “if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. And he who does not carry his cross and follow me, cannot be my disciple.”

Old Testament God or New Testament Jesus?

At first I was going to label it Old Testament thinking but then realized that this is Jesus speaking in the New Testament.

How can I hate everyone in my family so that I can be a disciple of Jesus?

And furthermore, if all members of my family want to be disciples of Jesus, then isn’t everyone hating everyone else? Who would be the peacemakers?

Jesus also said “so, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all that he possesses, cannot be my disciple.” This I get, possessions, material things, especially in excess, have distracted me from the Lord from time to time in my life.

Maybe this is just a reminder that we must love our God first and all other things, including family harmony will follow that love of God. With Jesus in my heart I find it difficult to hate anyone, including myself, for more than a momentary and fleeting feeling of hate. Followed by anger which I let go and let God handle in my God Box.

Finally the upshot is that I am not God and can’t think like God. I repent! I have surrendered to His Will and do not have to understand everything. As long and Jesus is in my heart and I lead with that loving heart, all the rest will take care of itself.

If I can be the Splendid Spiritual Self, inspired by Jesus, that God wants me to be then the Ultimate Love of peace, joy and freedom will be present in me and in my life.

God’s TROML Baby am I!

 

Day 70: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Jesus tells You that unless you Repent, You will Perish in the Same Manner…

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Gospel of Saint Luke Chapters 13-14.

Bible Notes:

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

Saint Luke, a pagan by birth and a physician by profession, had never seen our Lord. An early convert, he became a companion and co-worker of Saint Paul.

In the first four verses of his Gospel he explains why he wrote it. Paul’s doctrine that salvation is for all, not for Jesus alone, is the theme of Saint Luke’s Gospel.

 

Luke Chapter 13:  The necessity of repentance; A barren fig tree; A stooped woman cured on the Sabbath; The rulers of the synagogue are indignant; The mustard seed; The leaven; The narrow gate; Jesus and Herod; Lamentation over Jerusalem.

Jesus: “…Galileans were worse sinners because they suffered such things? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same manner.”

Jesus: “…Eighteen upon who the tower of Siloe fell and killed them; do you think that they were more guilty than all the other dwellers in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same manner.”

Per Phrases.org.UK:

The meaning: I too, like someone seen to have suffered misfortune, might have suffered a similar fate, but for God’s mercy.

In recent times, this proverbial saying is often used without the literal belief in the Christian God’s control of all things and is used by believers and nonbelievers alike. It is frequently suggested to have been coined in a more pious and devout era. The story that is widely circulated is that the phrase was first spoken by the English evangelical preacher and martyr, John Bradford (circa 1510–1555). He is said to have uttered the variant of the expression – “There but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford”, when seeing criminals being led to the scaffold. He didn’t enjoy that grace for long, however. He was burned at the stake in 1555, although, by all accounts he remained sanguine about his fate and is said to have suggested to a fellow victim that “We shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night”. End of Phrases.org.UK reference.

A barren fig tree.

A certain man, who had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, to the vine-dresser: ‘Behold for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down, therefore: why does it still encumber the ground?’

Vine-dresser: ‘Sir, let it alone this year too, till I dig around it and manure it. Perhaps it may bear fruit; but if not, then afterwards thou shalt cut it down.’

A woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent over and utterly unable to look upwards. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said to her: “Woman, thou are delivered from thy infirmity.” And he laid his hands upon her, and instantly she was made straight, and glorified God.

Rulers of the synagogue: “There are six days in which one ought to work; on these therefore come and be cured, and not on the Sabbath.”

Jesus: “Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or ass from the manger, and lead it forth to water? And this woman, daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound, lo, for eighteen years, ought she to be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?”

And as he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame; and the entire crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done to him.

Jesus: “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I liken it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and cast into his own garden; and it grew and became a larger tree, and the birds of the air dwelt in its branches.”

Jesus: “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and buried in three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”

Jesus: “Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able to… ‘Lord open for us!’… I do not know where you are from… I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity… but for yourselves cast forth outside… And behold, there are those last who will be first, and there are those first who will be last.”

Pharisees to Jesus” “Depart and be on thy way, for Herod wants to kill thee.”

Jesus: “Nevertheless, I must go my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it cannot be that a prophet perish outside Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou who killest the prophets, and stonest those who are sent to thee!… And I say to you, you shall not see me until the time comes when you shall say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Luke Chapter 14:  A man with dropsy cured on the Sabbath; Taking the first place at table; Poor guests; Parable of a great supper; The guests refuse to come; Other guests are invited; Leaving all to follow Christ; The man who built a tower; The king who went to war; Salt that has lost its strength.

Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees: “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath?”

But they remained silent. And he took and healed him (certain man who had the dropsy) and let him go.

Jesus addressing the lawyers and Pharisees: “Which one of you shall have an ass or an ox fall into a pit, and will not immediately draw him up on the Sabbath?”

And they could give him no answer to these things.

Jesus: “When thou art invited to a wedding feast, do not recline in the first place… lest perhaps one more distinguished than thou have been invited…’Make room for this man’; and then thou begin with shame to take the last place… but when thou are invited. Go and recline in the last place; that when he who invited thee comes in, he may say to thee, ‘Friend go higher!’ Then thou will be honored in the presence of all who are at the table with thee. For everyone that exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.”

Jesus: “But when thou givest a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; and blessed shalt thou be, because they have nothing to repay thee with; for thou shalt be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

One of those at the table with Jesus: “Blessed is he who shall feast in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. And he who does not carry his cross and follow me, cannot be my disciple.”

Jesus: “So, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all that he possesses, cannot be my disciple.

Jesus: “Salt is good; but if even the salt loses its strength, what shall it be seasoned with? It is fit neither for the land nor for the manure heap, but must be thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and now the Book of Josue in the Old Testament!

This Book is so called, because it was written in large part by Josue and is a history of the Jews under his rule. It records the Jewish conquest of the Promised Land, its final distribution, and the last address and death of Josue.

Time is a flying!

We are almost to the Promised Land yet in between is the Jordan River!

Like God did for Moses and the children of Israel with the parting of the Red Sea so too did he perform a mind boggling miracle for Josue and the children of Israel so that they could cross the Jordan River at high flow during harvest time.

What mean these stones? You shall teach them and say: Israel passed over this Jordan through the dry channel. The Lord your God drying up the waters thereof in your sight, until you passed over, as he had done before in the Red Sea, which he dried up till be passed through, that all the people of the earth may learn the most mighty hand of the Lord, that you also may fear the Lord your God for ever.

And the Lord said to Josue: This day will I begin to exalt thee before Israel: that they may know that as I was with Moses, So I am with thee also…

By this you shall know that the Lord the living God is in the midst of you…Behold the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth shall go before you into the Jordan. Prepare ye twelve men of the tribes of Israel, one of every tribe…

The waters that came down from above stood in one place, and swelling up like a mountain… those that were beneath, ran down into the sea of wilderness (which is now called the Dead Sea) until they wholly failed…

And the people marched over against Jericho: and the priests that carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, stood girded upon the dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all the people passed over through the channel that was dried up.

One out of every tribe…to the midst of the Jordan, and carry from thence every man a stone…

And Josue put other twelve stones in the midst of the channel of the Jordan, where the priests stood that carried the Ark of the Covenant: and they are there until this present day.

And the people made haste and passed over…

And forty thousand fighting men by their troops, and bands, marched through the plains and fields of the city of Jericho…

In that day the Lord magnified Josue in the sight of all Israel, that they should fear him, as they had feared Moses, while he lived.

The waters returned into the channel, and ran as they were wont before…

 

What a glorious way to enter the Promised Land!

Let us magnify Jesus in our hearts so that we may fully embrace love and life!

I have witnessed the “Twelve Apostles,” a group of small mountain peaks that run along the coast of Capetown in South Africa.

I have yet to see the “Twelve Stones” where the Ark of the Covenant led us through the Jordan River…

Day 71: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Twelve Stones Where the Ark of the Covenant Led Us through the Jordan River.

Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Josue Chapters 1-4

Bible Notes:

This Book is so called, because it was written in large part by Josue and is a history of the Jews under his rule. It records the Jewish conquest of the Promised Land, its final distribution, and the last address and death of Josue.

Josue Chapter 1: The Lord encourages Josue; Josue prepares to cross the Jordan; The Rubenites and Gadites agree to help.

Now it came to pass after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Josue the son of Nun, the minister of Moses and said to him…

Toward the going down of the sun

No man shall be able to resist you all the days of thy life: as I have been with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not leave thee or forsake thee. Take courage, and be strong: for thou shall divide by lot to this people the land… Take courage therefore, and be very vigilant: that thou mayst observe and do all the law… turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayst understand all things which thou dost… but thou shall meditate on it day and night… the Lord thy God is with thee in all things whatsoever thou shalt go to.

Prepare your victuals: for after the third day you shall pass over the Jordan and shall go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God will give you.

Victuals—victuals, food supplies; provisions.

And he said to the Rubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasses… remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan… until the Lord give rest to your brethren as he hath given you… beyond the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun… as we obeyed Moses in all things, so will we obey thee also: only be the Lord thy God with thee, as he was with Moses.

Josue Chapter 2: Rahab receives and conceals two spies; Covenant between Rahab and the spies; The spies escape; The scarlet cord; The spies report to Josue.

Josue sent from Setin two men, to spy secretly… Go and view the land and the city of Jericho. They went and entered into the house of a woman that was a harlot named Raha, and lodged with her… the king of Jericho… and the woman taking the men hid them.

Rahah: I know that the Lord hath given this land to you: for the dread of you is fallen upon us, and all the inhabitants of the land have lost all strength… and hearing these things we were afrightened, and our heart fainted away, neither did there remain any spirit in us at your coming in: for the Lord your God is God in heaven above, and in the earth beneath.

Rahah: I have shown mercy to you, so you also will show mercy to my father’s house: and give me a true token…

Two Spies to Rahah: Be our lives for you unto death, only if thou betray us not. And when the Lord shall have delivered us the land, we will show thee mercy and truth.

This scarlet cord be a sign… as you have spoken, so be it done. And sending them on their way, she hung the scarlet cord in the window…

Two Spies to Josue: The Lord hath delivered all this land into our hands, and all the inhabitants thereof are overthrown with fear.

Josue Chapter 3: The Israelites come to the Jordan; The Lord instructs Josue; Josue instructs the people; The Jordan dried up for their crossing.

And the Lord said to Josue: This day will I begin to exalt thee before Israel: that they may know that as I was with Moses, So I am with thee also…

By this you shall know that the Lord the living God is in the midst of you…Behold the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth shall go before you into the Jordan. Prepare ye twelve men of the tribes of Israel, one of every tribe…

The waters that came down from above stood in one place, and swelling up like a mountain… those that were beneath, ran down into the sea of wilderness (which is now called the Dead Sea) until they wholly failed…

And the people marched over against Jericho: and the priests that carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, stood girded upon the dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all the people passed over through the channel that was dried up.

Josue Chapter 4: Monument commemorating the crossing; Twelve stones put in river bed; Forty thousand men march on Jericho; God magnifies Josue; The Monument in Galgal.

One out of every tribe…to the midst of the Jordan, and carry from thence every man a stone…

And Josue put other twelve stones in the midst of the channel of the Jordan, where the priests stood that carried the Ark of the Covenant: and they are there until this present day.

And the people made haste and passed over…

And forty thousand fighting men by their troops, and bands, marched through the plains and fields of the city of Jericho…

In that day the Lord magnified Josue in the sight of all Israel, that they should fear him, as they had feared Moses, while he lived.

The waters returned into the channel, and ran as they were wont before…

What mean these stones? You shall teach them and say: Israel passed over this Jordan through the dry channel. The Lord your God drying up the waters thereof in your sight, until you passed over, as he had done before in the Red Sea, which he dried up till be passed through, that all the people of the earth may learn the most mighty hand of the Lord, that you also may fear the Lord your God for ever.

Two very interesting and rich chapters in Luke. Pardon the pun if you are a poor person. Actually the joke is on the rich as the bible says it is harder for a rich person to find heaven than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. No reference as I have not gotten that far yet. By the way we are not talking money or riches in terms of worldly wealth here, right? We are talking about having Jesus in your heart, the Holy Spirit of God within you and not just thinking or touting you are with God, right? Remember two wrongs don’t make a right but four wrong left turns may keep you on the same right journey in life!

Interesting chapters because we all get lost to some degree in life. And when we do, who do we turn to for comfort, for redirection? And what if we don’t? Hell isn’t really real, right?

Jesus talking one lost sheep that is found: “What man of you having a hundred sheep, and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which is lost, until he finds it?… Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost. I say to you that, even so, there will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety-nine just who have no need of repentance.”

Jesus talking one lost coin that is found: ”Or what woman, having ten drachmas, if she loses one drachmas, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?… Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachmas that I had lost. Even so, I say to you, there will be joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Jesus in the Parable of the Prodigal Son talking one lost soul that is found: “(The son’s father was) moved with compassion… because this my son was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and is found… (and the father said to the other angry and jealous son)…  “Son, thou art always with me, and all that is mine is thine: but we were bound to make merry and rejoice, for this thy brother was dead, and has come to life; he was lost, and is found.”

How many times have you been lost and hopefully found in your life?

I count at least three in my lifetime so far—once in childhood; once in career; once in divorce; and once in my wandering, searching, and seeking inspiration years that I am emerging from now. I guess I can’t count, that’s four!

By the way that is the marvel and miracle of journaling, or writing something down on paper or in an electronic format. Why? Because you have to think and formulate thoughts, and evaluate choices and make a decision on what to write. All inspired by a relationship with God, having Jesus in your heart and being immersed in the Holy Spirit.

 

One more preachy suggestion. Don’t rationalize by saying I can’t do a journal, somebody may find it and read it. What you are really saying is that I don’t want to be introspective because I fear the pain of self-judgment. Well subconsciously that is already going on and you know what? You are very likely being much harder on your self than need be. Plus, who better to learn from that ourselves, as long as we come out of denial, rationalization, and justification. TROML Baby, find your own Splendid Spiritual Self!

Never look back and hopefully never be lost in life again.

The story of the unjust steward in C16 Matthew surprised me a bit in that it seems the message is that the master commends the servant for being prudent, though dishonest, in further, should I say, misappropriation of funds?

Rich man to Steward: “What is this I hear of thee? Make an accounting of thy stewardship, for thee canst be steward no longer.”

Steward: “To dig I am not able; to beg I am ashamed… they may receive me into their houses… each of his master’s debtors… Take thy bond and sit down at once and write fifty (versus 100 jars of oil)… Take thy bond and write eighty (versus 100 kors of wheat)…

“And the master commended the unjust steward, in that he acted prudently; for the children of this world, in relation to their own generation, are more prudent than the children of the light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves with the mammon of wickedness, so that when you fail they may receive you into the everlasting dwellings.”

Prudent—wise or judicious in practical affairs; sagacious; discreet or circumspect; sober; careful in providing for the future; provident: a prudent decision.

Yes, the dishonest servant was being very practical in providing for his future at the expense of his master. I wonder if the master really let the servant get away with it?

Our Master, Christ the Spirited God, will not let us get away with it, that is for sure as Jesus continues…

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in a very little thing is unjust also in much… who will entrust to you what is true?… who will give you what is your own?… No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will stand by the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Mammon—New Testament. Riches or material wealth. Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:9,11,13; (often initial capital letter) a personification of riches as an evil spirit or deity.

Mammon is not a good master as we learn from the Pharisees, who were fond of money…

Jesus to the Pharisees: “You are they who declare yourselves just in the sight of men, but God knows your heart; for that which is exalted in the sight of men is an abomination before God… Yet it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the Law to fail.”

Jesus: “Everyone who puts away his wife and marries another commits adultery; and he who marries a woman who has been put away from her husband commits adultery.”

Yes, I am guilty and redeemed of this. I was lost and now am found.

Certain rich man… feasted every day in splendid fashion… a certain poor man named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table…

The poor man died and was borne away by the angels into Abraham’s bosom; but the rich man also died and was buried in hell.

Rich Man: “Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger on water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.”

Abraham to rich man buried in hell: “son, remember that thou in thy lifetime hast received good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now here he is comforted whereas thou art tormented. And besides all that, between us and you a great gulf is fixed, so that they who wish to pass over from this side to you cannot, and they cannot cross from your side to us.”

Rich Man to Abraham: Then, father, I beseech thee to send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they too come into this place of torment.”

Abraham: “They have Moses and the Prophets, let them hearken to them… If they do not hearken to Moses and the Prophets, they will not believe even if someone rises from the dead.”

Hearken, please hearken!

Lost sheep, coin and son am I. I am lost and now found! Hopefully, no torment in Hell!

Day 72: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Lost Sheep, Coin & Son; I am Lost and Now Found! No torment in Hell!

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Gospel of Saint Luke Chapters 15-16.

Bible Notes:

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

Saint Luke, a pagan by birth and a physician by profession, had never seen our Lord. An early convert, he became a companion and co-worker of Saint Paul.

In the first four verses of his Gospel he explains why he wrote it. Paul’s doctrine that salvation is for all, not for Jesus alone, is the theme of Saint Luke’s Gospel.

 

Luke Chapter 15:  Pharisees and Scribes murmur; Parable of the lost sheep; The lost coin; The prodigal son takes his inheritance; His loose living; his want; His repentance and return; His father’s reception of him; Anger of his older brother; The father explains.

The publicans and sinners were drawing near to him…

The Pharisees and Scribes murmured saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Jesus: “What man of you having a hundred sheep, and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which is lost, until he finds it?… Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost. I say to you that, even so, there will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety-nine just who have no need of repentance.”

Jesus: ”Or what woman, having ten drachmas, if she loses one drachmas, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?… Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachmas that I had lost. Even so, I say to you, there will be joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Prodigal Son: “Father, give me the share of the property that falls to me.” And not many days later, the younger son gathered up all his wealth, and took his journey into a far country and there he squandered his fortune in loose living… But when he came to himself, he said, “How many hired men in my father’s house have bread in abundance while I am perishing here with hunger! I will go up and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. I am no longer worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired men.’

Father: … moved with compassion… because this my son was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and is found.

Older Brother: But he was angered and would not go in… “Behold these many years I have been serving thee, and have never transgressed one of thy commands; and yet thou has never given me a kid that I night make merry with my friends. But when this thy son comes, who has devoured his means with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fattened calf.”

Father: “Son, thou art always with me, and all that is mine is thine: but we were bound to make merry and rejoice, for this thy brother was dead, and has come to life; he was lost, and is found.”

Luke Chapter 16:  The unjust steward; His dilemma; his solution; The wisdom of the steward is commended; Impossible to serve two masters; Pretenses of the Pharisees; Divorce; The rich man and Lazarus; The judgment at death is final; Dives pleads for his brothers.

Rich man to Steward: “What is this I hear of thee? Make an accounting of thy stewardship, for thee canst be steward no longer.”

Steward: “To dig I am not able; to beg I am ashamed… they may receive me into their houses… each of his master’s debtors… Take thy bond and sit down at once and write fifty (versus 100 jars of oil)… Take thy bond and write eighty (versus 100 kors of wheat)…

“And the master commended the unjust steward, in that he acted prudently; for the children of this world, in relation to their own generation, are more prudent than the children of the light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves with the mammon of wickedness, so that when you fail they may receive you into the everlasting dwellings.”

Prudent—wise or judicious in practical affairs; sagacious; discreet or circumspect; sober; careful in providing for the future; provident: a prudent decision.

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in a very little thing is unjust also in much… who will entrust to you what is true?… who will give you what is your own?… No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will stand by the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Mammon—New Testament. Riches or material wealth. Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:9,11,13; (often initial capital letter) a personification of riches as an evil spirit or deity.

Now the Pharisees, who were fond of money…

Jesus to the Pharisees: “You are they who declare yourselves just in the sight of men, but God knows your heart; for that which is exalted in the sight of men is an abomination before God… Yet it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the Law to fail.”

Jesus: “Everyone who puts away his wife and marries another commits adultery; and he who marries a woman who has been put away from her husband commits adultery.”

Certain rich man… feasted every day in splendid fashion… a certain poor man named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table…

The poor man died and was borne away by the angels into Abraham’s bosom; but the rich man also died and was buried in hell.

Rich Man: “Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger on water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.”

Abraham to rich man buried in hell: “son, remember that thou in thy lifetime hast received good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now here he is comforted whereas thou art tormented. And besides all that, between us and you a great gulf is fixed, so that they who wish to pass over from this side to you cannot, and they cannot cross from your side to us.”

Rich Man to Abraham: Then, father, I beseech thee to send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they too come into this place of torment.”

Abraham: “They have Moses and the Prophets, let them hearken to them… If they do not hearken to Moses and the Prophets, they will not believe even if someone rises from the dead.”

 

In golf we look at new inventions and say ‘Wow,’ but then we look at golf history and see those same things from back a hundred years ago. Things like metal woods were produced back then but when metal technology developed they took off in the 1980s and 1990s.

Can the same be said for The Bible?

Absolutely, our personal and worldly pain and suffering is nothing new. The causes are nothing new and have been experienced by all ten billion people who lived on this planet before us except for one person—Jesus Christ!

But did Seinfeld steal something from the Old Testament in the Bible?

Was ‘Yada Yada’ portrayed as ‘Thus and Thus’ back in biblical days?  

But the children of Israel transgressed the commandment, and took to their own use of the anathema… and the Lord was angry against the children of Israel.

And were defeated by the men of the city of Hai, and there fell of them six hundred and thirty men… and they slew them as they fled by descent: and the heart of the people was struck with fear, and melted like water.

Lord to Josue: Israel hath sinned, and transgressed my covenant: and have taken of the anathema… I will be no more with you, till you destroy him that is guilty of this wickedness… he shall be burnt with fire with all his substance, because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and hath done wickedness in Israel.

Josue made Israel come by tribes… which being brought by its families… bringing that also by houses… and bringing it man by man, he found Achan… confess, and tell me what thou hast done, hide it not… indeed O have sinned against the Lord the God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done.. I coveted them

There you have it Achan or Josue who wrote this book ‘Yada Yada’ his sin.

 

Trickery, Cunning, & Devise is present in the Book of Josue in terms of the ambush and the Gabaonites

Josue sent thirty thousand chosen valiant men in the night, and commanded them, saying: Lay an ambush behind the city: and go not very far from it: and be ye all ready. But I and the rest of the multitude will approach on the contrary side against the city. And when they shall come out against us, we will flee, and turn our backs as we did before, till they pursuing us be drawn further from the city: for they will think that we flee as before. And whist we are fleeing, and they pursuing, you shall arise out of the ambush, and shall destroy the city: and the Lord your God will deliver it into our hands.

Trick them like you are running like chickens and they will pursue you to their own detriment. The thrill of victory is sometimes the ego of defeat.

As for the cunningly devisingly Gabaonites…

All the kings beyond the Jordan… gathered themselves together, to fight against Josue and Israel with one mind, and one resolution.

But they that dwelt in Gabaon… cunningly devisingly… and they went to Josue in the camp at Galgal… we come from a far country, desiring to make peace with you… thy servants are come in the name of the Lord thy God… by reason of this very long journey are worn out, and almost consumed… and Josue made peace with them, and entering into a league promised that they should not be slain…

Josue: Perhaps you dwell in the land which falls to out lot; if so, we can make no league with you… now three days after the league was made, they heard that they dwelt nigh, and they should be among them… but so let them live, as to serve the whole magnitude in hewing wood, and bringing in water… therefore you should be under a curse, and your race will always be hewers of wood, and carriers of water unto the house of my God.

Make it look like you came from a thousand miles away instead of next door.

Modern terminology: Deceitfulness.

After all that, Josue, like Moses was true in heart to God and God led him to lead the children of Israel to Him.

Josue built an altar and he wrote upon stones the Deuteronomy of the Law of Moses, which he had ordered before the children of Israel.

After that he read all the words of the blessing and the cursing, and all things that were written in the book of law.

Take heed, don’t be ‘Yada Yada’ your sin or your ‘Thus and Thus’ fate might be like Achan’s.

And oh by the way, ‘Thus and Thus” and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down…

Lord to Josue: Go round about the city, all ye fighting men, once a day: so shall ye do for six days. And on the seventh day the priests shall take the seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee, and shall go before the ark of the covenant: and you shall go about the city seven times, and the priests shall sound the trumpets… all the people shall shout together with a very great shout, and the walls of the city shall fall to the ground, and they shall enter in every one at the place against which they shall stand.

Josue to Israel: Shout: for the Lord hath delivered the city to you, and let this city be an anathema, and all things that are in it, to the Lord. Let only Rehab the harlot live, and all that are with her in the house: for she hid the messengers whom we sent.

Day 73: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Seinfeld’s ‘Yada Yada’ was Achan’s ‘Thus and Thus’ in The Bible.

Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Josue Chapters 5-9

Bible Notes:

This Book is so called, because it was written in large part by Josue and is a history of the Jews under his rule. It records the Jewish conquest of the Promised Land, its final distribution, and the last address and death of Josue.

Josue Chapter 5: Amorrhites and Chanaanites fear Israel; Rite of circumcision restored; Passover at Galgal; Manna ceases; Josue talks with an angel.

Their heart failed them, and there remained no spirit in them, fearing the coming in of the children of Israel.

Josue did as the Lord commanded, and he circumcised the children of Israel in the hill of the foreskins… They remained in the same place of the camp, until they were healed.

And they ate of the next day unleavened bread of the corn of the land, and frumenty of the same year. And the manna ceased after they ate the corn of the land…

Angel to Josue: I am the prince of the host of the Lord, and now I am come… Loose they shoes off thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. And Josue did as he was commanded.

Josue Chapter 6: God’s instructions for taking Jericho; Josue orders the siege; Jericho is compassed each day for six days; The walls of Jericho fall; Rahah and her family are saved; Destruction of Jericho; Josue curses him who will rebuild Jericho.

Now Jericho was close shut up and fenced, for fear of the children of Israel, and no man durst go out or come in.

Lord to Josue: Go round about the city, all ye fighting men, once a day: so shall ye do for six days. And on the seventh day the priests shall take the seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee, and shall go before the ark of the covenant: and you shall go about the city seven times, and the priests shall sound the trumpets… all the people shall shout together with a very great shout, and the walls of the city shall fall to the ground, and they shall enter in every one at the place against which they shall stand.

Josue to Israel: Shout: for the Lord hath delivered the city to you, and let this city be an anathema, and all things that are in it, to the Lord. Let only Rehab the harlot live, and all that are with her in the house: for she hid the messengers whom we sent.

Anathema—anything laid up or suspended; hence anything laid up in a temple or set apart as sacred.

They burned the city… except the gold and silver, and vessels of brass and iron, which they consecrated into the treasury for the Lord.

And the Lord was with Josue, and his name was noised throughout all the land.

Josue Chapter 7: The sin of Achan; The Israelites are defeated at Hai; Josue’s distress; The Lord speaks to Josue; Achan’s sin is discovered; Destruction of Achan and his family.

But the children of Israel transgressed the commandment, and took to their own use of the anathema… and the Lord was angry against the children of Israel.

And were defeated by the men of the city of Hai, and there fell of them six hundred and thirty men… and they slew them as they fled by descent: and the heart of the people was struck with fear, and melted like water.

Lord to Josue: Israel hath sinned, and transgressed my covenant: and have taken of the anathema… I will be no more with you, till you destroy him that is guilty of this wickedness… he shall be burnt with fire with all his substance, because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and hath done wickedness in Israel.

Josue made Israel come by tribes… which being brought by its families… bringing that also by houses… and bringing it man by man, he found Achan… confess, and tell me what thou hast done, hide it not… indeed O have sinned against the Lord the God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done.. I coveted them

Josue Chapter 8: God commands Josue to capture Hai; The plan for capturing Hai; The ambush; The capture of Hai; Destruction of Hai and its people; Josue builds as altar and writes the Law; The Law is read to the people.

Josue sent thirty thousand chosen valiant men in the night, and commanded them, saying: Lay an ambush behind the city: and go not very far from it: and be ye all ready. But I and the rest of the multitude will approach on the contrary side against the city. And when they shall come out against us, we will flee, and turn our backs as we did before, till they pursuing us be drawn further from the city: for they will think that we flee as before. And whist we are fleeing, and they pursuing, you shall arise out of the ambush, and shall destroy the city: and the Lord your God will deliver it into our hands.

Lord to Josue: Lift up the shield that is in thy hand, towards the city of Hai, for I will deliver it to thee.

Till all the inhabitants of Hai were slain… and he hung the king thereof on a gibbet until the evening and the going down of the sun… heaping upon it (the carcass) a great heap of stones, which remaineth until this present day.

Josue built an altar and he wrote upon stones the Deuteronomy of the Law of Moses, which he had ordered before the children of Israel.

After that he read all the words of the blessing and the cursing, and all things that were written in the book of law.

Josue Chapter 9: The alliance against Josue; Deceit of the Gabaonites; The Gabaonites reduced to bondage.

All the kings beyond the Jordan… gathered themselves together, to fight against Josue and Israel with one mind, and one resolution.

But they that dwelt in Gabaon… cunningly devisingly… and they went to Josue in the camp at Galgal… we come from a far country, desiring to make peace with you… thy servants are come in the name of the Lord thy God… by reason of this very long journey are worn out, and almost consumed… and Josue made peace with them, and entering into a league promised that they should not be slain…

Josue: Perhaps you dwell in the land which falls to out lot; if so, we can make no league with you… now three days after the league was made, they heard that they dwelt nigh, and they should be among them… but so let them live, as to serve the whole magnitude in hewing wood, and bringing in water… therefore you should be under a curse, and your race will always be hewers of wood, and carriers of water unto the house of my God.

We are each made in the image of God as was Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis.

But do you believe that God is within you and that, for His Glory, you can be Godlike?

Pharisees asking Jesus: “When is the kingdom of God coming?”

Jesus answered: “The kingdom of God comes unawares. Neither will they say. ‘Behold, here it is,’ or ‘Behold, there it is.’ For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Jesus’s resurrection is within each of us. The opportunity, the possibility is innate within each one of us.

Jesus to his disciples: “The days will come when you will long to see one day of the Son of Man, and will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Behold, here he is; behold, there he is.’ Do not go, nor follow after them. For as the lightning when it lightens flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”

Don’t be fooled with worldly remedies of salvation and don’t let fools fool you into believing only they know the way for the way may be different for each of us. Develop a personal relationship with God, have His Son, our Personal Savior Jesus in your heart and be open-hearted and open-minded as to what the Holy Spirit can inspire you to do with your life.

Jesus: “Does he (the master) thank that servant for doing what he commanded him? I do not think so. Even so you also, when you have done everything that was commanded you, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what it was our duty to do.’”

We are all God’s servant, foreigners to one another no more. We are all children of one God!

Ten lepers to Jesus: “Jesus, master have pity on us.”

Jesus” “Go show yourselves to the priests.”

One of them, seeing that he was made clean, returned with a loud voice glorifying God,,, he was a Samaritan.

Jesus to the Samaritan: “Were not the ten made clean? But where are the nine? Has no one been found to return and give glory to God except this foreigner?”

Jesus to the foreigner: “Arise, go thy way, for thy faith has saved thee.”

One American, I believe was inspired by God, to change our terminology of each other the same way Jesus did when he said the kingdom of God was within us.

I remember Ted Turner in the early 1990s raising the question and recommending that we utilize the term “international” instead of foreigners. All are nations are connected to one another on our one home planet. Sure there might have been a business angle to it—Turner owned a group of TV networks, including “CNN.” He mandated that his cable news groups rather than use the word “foreign,” begin to use the word “International.” Phrases like “Foreign Affairs,” became “International Affairs” and “Foreign Leaders” became “International Leaders.” No more foreigners, only one inclusive human race.

Forgiveness and Faith follow identifying with all our international brothers and sisters.

Jesus: “Take heed to yourselves. If thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if seven times in the day he sin against thee, and seven times in the day turn back to thee, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Show us how to forgive and have more faith for this I pray to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Apostles to the Lord: “Increase our faith.”

The Lord answered: “If you have faith even like a mustard seed, you will say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

And remember sometimes it takes persistence as with the widow in the Parable of the Godless Judge…

And he (Jesus) also told them a parable that they must always pray and not lose heart—saying. “There was a judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect man. Mow there was a certain widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Do me justice against my adversary.’ And he would not for a long time. But afterwards he said within himself, ‘Although I do not fear God, nor even respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will do her justice, lest by her continual coming she finally wear me out.”

And the Lord said: ”Hear what the unjust judge says; and will not God avenge his elect, who cry to him day and night? And will he be slow to act in their case? I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Yet when the Son of Man comes, will he find, do you think, faith on the earth?

God within me, foreigners no more, forgiveness and faith is the way… with persistence as needed! TROML Baby!

Will he find me a faithful servant?

Day 74: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; God Within Me, Foreigners No More, Forgiveness & Faith is the Way…

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Gospel of Saint Luke Chapters 17-18.

Bible Notes:

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

Saint Luke, a pagan by birth and a physician by profession, had never seen our Lord. An early convert, he became a companion and co-worker of Saint Paul.

In the first four verses of his Gospel he explains why he wrote it. Paul’s doctrine that salvation is for all, not for Jesus alone, is the theme of Saint Luke’s Gospel.

 

Luke Chapter 17:  Avoiding scandal; Forgiveness of injuries; Efficacy of faith; The unprofitable servant; Ten lepers; The kingdom of God is in your midst; The coming of the Son of Man; The days of Noe and of Lot.

Jesus: “It is impossible that scandals should not come; but woe to him through whom they come! It were better for him if a millstone were hung about his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.”

Jesus: “Take heed to yourselves. If thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if seven times in the day he sin against thee, and seven times in the day turn back to thee, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Apostles to the Lord: “Increase our faith.”

The Lord answered: “If you have faith even like a mustard seed, you will say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

Jesus: “Does he (the master) thank that servant for doing what he commanded him? I do not think so. Even so you also, when you have done everything that was commanded you, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what it was our duty to do.’”

Ten lepers to Jesus: “Jesus, master have pity on us.”

Jesus” “Go show yourselves to the priests.”

One of them, seeing that he was made clean, returned with a loud voice glorifying God,,, he was a Samaritan.

Jesus to the Samaritan: “Were not the ten made clean? But where are the nine? Has no one been found to return and give glory to God except this foreigner?”

Jesus to the foreigner: “Arise, go thy way, for thy faith has saved thee.”

www.Reddit.com (Early 1990s):

Ted Turner, one might recall, owned more than just a wrestling company. He owned a group of TV networks, including “CNN.” Turner sent out a message to his cable news groups that rather than “Foreign,” the word “International” would have to be used. This was, of course, not referring to a “Foreign Object,” but instead things like “Foreign Affairs,” vs “International Affairs.” “Foreign Leaders” vs “International Leaders.” The idea being to avoid what we might call ‘Othering,’ by raising the specter of some outside group.

Pharisees asking Jesus: “When is the kingdom of God coming?”

Jesus answered: “The kingdom of God comes unawares. Neither will they say. ‘Behold, here it is,’ or ‘Behold, there it is.’ For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Jesus to his disciples: “The days will come when you will long to see one day of the Son of Man, and will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Behold, here he is; behold, there he is.’ Do not go, nor follow after them. For as the lightning when it lightens flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”

Jesus to his disciples: “And as it came to pass in the days of Noe, even so will it be in the days of the Son of Man… Or as it came to pass in the days of Lot…. In the same wise will it be on the day that the Son of Man is revealed… Whoever tries to save his life will lose it; and whoever loses it will preserve it. I say to you, on that night there will be two on one bed; one will be taken, and the other will be left. Two woman will be grinding together; one will be taken, and the other will be left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken, and the other will be left.”

Disciples to Jesus: “Where, Lord?”

Jesus to the disciples: “Wherever the body is, there will eagles be gathered together.”

Luke Chapter 18:  The godless judge; God’s just punishment; The Pharisee and the publican; Jesus blesses the children; The rich man’s question; The danger of riches; Reward for leaving all things; The third prediction of the Passion; A blind man at Jericho.

And he (Jesus) also told them a parable that they must always pray and not lose heart—saying. “There was a judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect man. Mow there was a certain widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Do me justice against my adversary.’ And he would not for a long time. But afterwards he said within himself, ‘Although I do not fear God, nor even respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will do her justice, lest by her continual coming she finally wear me out.”

And the Lord said, ”Hear what the unjust judge says; and will not God avenge his elect, who cry to him day and night? And will he be slow to act in their case? I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Yet when the Son of Man comes, will he find, do you think, faith on the earth?

Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican

Jesus: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and began to pray thus within himself: ‘O God, I thank thee that I am not like the rest of men, robbers, dishonest, adulterers, or even like this publican. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all I possess.’ But the publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his breast, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went back home justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.”

Jesus to the disciples: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for of such is the kingdom of God. Amen I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter into it.”

Certain ruler/Rich man to Jesus: “Good Master, what shall I do to gain eternal life?”

Jesus said to him: “Why dost thou call me good? No one is good but only God. Thou knowest the commandments: Thou shalt not kill. Thou shall not commit adultery. Thou shall not steal. Thou shall not bear false witness. Honor thy father and mother.”

Certain ruler/rich man: “All these I have kept ever since I was a child.”

Jesus said to him: “One thing is still lacking to thee; sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

When he heard these things, he was much grieved, for he was very rich.

But Jesus, seeing him become sad, said” “With what difficulty will they who have riches enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

And they who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus said to them: “Things that are impossible with men are possible with God.”

And Peter said: “Behold, we have left all and followed thee.”

Jesus: “Amen I say to you, there is no one who has left house, or parents, or brothers, or wife, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive much more in the present time, and in the age to come life everlasting.”

Jesus to the Twelve: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that have been written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be delivered to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and scourged and spit upon; and after they have scourged him, they will put him to death; and on the third day he will rise again.”

And they (the Twelve) understood none of these things and this saying was hidden from them, neither did they get to know the things that were being said.

As he drew near to Jericho, a certain blind man was sitting by the wayside…

Blind man: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

Blind man: “Son of David, have mercy on me.”

Jesus: “What wouldst thou have me do for thee?”

Blind man: “Lord that I may see.”

Jesus: “Receive thy sight, thy faith has saved thee.”

And at once he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people upon seeing it gave praise to God.