The Most Useless Asset

PRIDE ~~


Proverbs 6:

16 These six things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:

17 A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,

18 A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,

19 A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.

Proverbs 16:

18 Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.

19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly,
Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Proverbs 29:

23 A man’s pride will bring him low,
But the humble in spirit will retain honor.

The Easiest Thing To Do

FIND FAULT ~~


Numbers 12

Dissension of Aaron and Miriam

1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
2 So they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it.
3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)
4 Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out.
5 Then the LORD came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward.

6 Then He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision;
I speak to him in a dream.

7 Not so with My servant Moses;
He is faithful in all My house.

8 I speak with him face to face,
Even plainly, and not in dark sayings;
And he sees the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant Moses?”

9 So the anger of the LORD was aroused against them, and He departed.
10 And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper.
11 So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned.
12 Please do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!”
13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!”
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again.”
15 So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again.
16 And afterward the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

The Greatest Handicap

FEAR ~~

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,
2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.
3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Greeting the Seven Churches
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Vision of the Son of Man
9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,
11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia:to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;
15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.
18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

The Best Day

TODAY ~~

Psalm 118:24
This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.




The New King James Version.
Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Ps 118:24

TO THINK ABOUT TODAY

The Best Day: TODAY
The Greatest Handicap: FEAR
The Easiest Thing To Do: FIND FAULT
The Most Useless Asset: PRIDE
The Greatest Mistake: GIVING UP
The Saddest Person: THE COMPLAINER
The Greatest Blessing: ENCOURAGEMENT
The Worst Bankruptcy: LOSS OF ENTHUSIASM
The Greatest Gift: FORGIVENESS
The Greatest Need: COMMON SENSE
The Greatest Virtue: LOVE

Can you match each of these to a Scripture verse(s)/passage(s)??

from Pharoah to Judges to Presidents...

Judges 2:
7 So the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD which He had done for Israel.

8 Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died when he was one hundred and ten years old.
9 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.

10 When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel.

Psalm 48:
12 Walk about Zion,
And go all around her.
Count her towers;

13 Mark well her bulwarks;
Consider her palaces;
That you may tell it to the generation following.

14 For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide
Even to death.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

This cycle of forgetfulness seems to be a part of the human condition, our Fall-damaged minds are subject to forgetfulness, as individuals, as we age and also collectively as cultures.

Another Biblical example comes in Exodus.

Exodus 1:
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
9 And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we;
10 come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.”
11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.


This very same cycle of forgetfulness has overtaken our own country. Listening to lectures from the Great Courses of The Teaching Company on American History, American Political Cycles and other courses about our country, I realize with a heavy heart that "there arose a new president over the United States, who does not know Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, the Adamses, Hamilton, Madison or the other founding fathers, nor the founding documents..."

We have rain here today

so I have been spending some time in Bible study & thinking about a post ('bout time, right?!). One of the problems with the side bar, is that after you have added links to it in various categories it gets very long. So after reading a post one often does not scroll down to see what is on the side bar or if there are any new links added. Since I have added two new ones recently, I am going to put those links in this post in order to introduce you to them.

I also have a post in my mind on some of the beginning thoughts in Judges, soon I hope...

The Irish Calvinist ~ http://www.irishcalvinist.com/ ~ and
The Joshua Project ~ http://www.joshuaproject.net/

Enjoy!