Ezekiel 18
“Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things (though the father has done none of them): “He eats at the mountain shrines.
He defiles his neighbor’s wife.
He oppresses the poor and needy.
He commits robbery.
He does not return what he took in pledge.
He looks to the idols.
He does detestable things.
He lends at usury and takes excessive interest.
Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head.


“But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:




“He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel.
He does not defile his neighbor’s wife.
He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan.
He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked.
He withholds his hand from sin and takes no usury or excessive interest.
He keeps my laws and follows my decrees.
He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live.  But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.


“Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

 I think this is verse is by all means right and it makes a ton of sense. But it seems like it clashes with a verse in exodus that says "for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the father to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. But showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." So God seems to be contradicting himself. But I re-read  it in the ESV version, and it almost sounded like God was just making a new rule.

The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

"Go, shut yourself within your house. And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house."


So far, the book of Ezekiel has been nothing but confusion. It sounds like God is speaking literally, but that can't be right. What was the point of this passage anyway? First God says Ezekiel won't be able to speak, and then He says that he will be able to. Maybe I'm just confused because I'm sick.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.And he said to me, "Son of man stand on your feet, and I will speak with you." And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. And he said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me." Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice  of a great earthquake: "Blessed be the glory of the LORD from its place!" It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake. The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me.

This might be kind of unclear, I used several passages from the first three chapters of Ezekiel to get the piont across. You can read it here. But basically he just saw the full glory of the Lord, God lifts him up, tells him to eat a delicous scroll, speaks to him, takes him to a certain place, and Ezekiel is upset. Why? If that happened to me, that would be the best day of my life! How on earth could he be upset about it?

Branson was TOTALY AWESOME!!! We got to see some CO friends and ride roller coasters and water slides and eat and talk and all that kind of stuff you do at Silver Dollar City. SO FUN!!!
Yesterday I got to go sew with Mrs. Hartsfield. She's sooo sweet. She taught me how to make this adorable little bag, and then she took me out to sonic! Thankyou!!

I'm reading in lamentations, and I think it's really neat that God loves them so much, yet he's willing to nearly completely obliterate them, and them build them back up to serve him, over and over and over.

God Is Love

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

When I say or think God is love, I think he's very loving. but it goes way beyond that. Love made him perfect. Dad told us about a test you can take that came out of book called Crazy Love. He said take the passage above, and replace the word love with your name:

I am patient, I am kind. I do not envy....

He said eventually you'll start to feel like a liar. He's right. Ok, Now fill in all the loves with God's name.

God is patient, God is kind. He does not envy.....

That sounds a lot better.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

God had love. He was perfect in every way.

Ammon, Moab, Philistia, Egypt, and even Babylon, are all gonna get wiped out. And guess who's the messenger? Jeremiah. What I think is pretty cool is that the Israelites are in exile right now, and Jeremiah is an Israelite, but he's still going out to all these places. God really takes care of him.

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
But the LORD said to him, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.


Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
“This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”

Both of the men killed somebody, God punished both of them, but they both respond to the punishment quite differently. Cain says, This punishment is more than I can bear, while David says, I have sinned against God. I really don't think Abel was sorry for what he did at all. But David obviously was. There's a big defference between being sorry for your sin, and being sorry about the punishment.

We watched a video a couple of days ago, it was about creation. I don't even think I watched all of it, but it was really amazing. It had a lot of images of stars and galaxies and stuff like that, and it also talked about things like all of the energy in a tree or a grain of salt. It was a great video, but it really sunk in the next day. I was still thinkin' about it, mostly about the stars and galaxies part, because I love astronomy, and I thought, (I don't know if they put this verse in the video or not,) 'what is man that you think of him, the son of man that you care for him?' I didn't know the verse very well, or where it was found, so I looked it up on biblegateway, and the verse I found was even more appropriate for what I was thinking on:

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpChZxPfa-c I have a video here, it's not the same video as the one we watched a couple days ago, but it's still pretty cool. And when you watch that video and read that verse you just think "Why?" You look through the bible, and filled to the brim with people who messed up. it's not like we have anything to offer God. Thank you God, for minding and caring for us.

When Jeremiah finished telling the people all the words of the LORD their God—everything the LORD had sent him to tell them— Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to settle there.’ But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon.”
So Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers and all the people disobeyed the LORD’s command to stay in the land of Judah. Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers led away all the remnant of Judah who had come back to live in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered. They also led away all the men, women and children and the king’s daughters whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the LORD and went as far as Tahpanhes.

If you notice, it said all the arrogant men rebuked Jeremiah, but all of the remnant followed them, not just the arrogant people. It seems people would start believing Jeremiah, because he's been right in everything he says, but that made no difference to the people, they listened to the arrogant men, and only a tiny remnant of people stayed behind.

Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the men of the Recabite family and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’ We have obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab son of Recab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab commanded us. But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the LORD. ‘Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’


Wow. I wonder if the Recabite family were faithful to God too. I think they were a great example to the Israelites. If you can obey your ancestors like that, it should be just as easy to obey God like that.

The great things about Mom

She's patient

She loves us undeservedly. Seriously, it's incredible

She's the perfect christian example.

She gives you hugs when you need them.

She never yells.

She's a great cook.

She's very pretty.

When she works on something, she does it diligently.

She eats vegan.

She has self control

She loves us a ton.

She takes things seriously.

Happy Mother's day Momma! I love you!

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

When I've read or heard this passage, I always imagined the person not departing from it when he was an adult. An old man, a man in his twenties. But yesterday I had an experience that helped me to see it in a new light.

I was brushing my teeth before bed, and I was thinking on how I had slipped out of the habit of brushing my teeth after breakfast. Sometimes I did, but it wasn't just a part of my day, like it used to be. My older brother got a cavity (sort of) at the dentist, and my older sister had gotten one at about that same age. I don't know if they brushed their teeth after breakfast or not, but I didn't want to go down that road, so I decided to put brushing my teeth after breakfast back on the 'part of my day' list. That's when the verse came to me. Hmmmm...... Suddenly I realized, that it didn't just mean when he is old, it meant when he is older. HAHA!!! That does seem to make more sense.

In my school, I'm writing Proverbs 31, and when I got to the wife of noble character, I thought it would be cool to do a kind of study on her find out some of the reasons she is such a rare jewel. So I'm making a list of what she does. These are just a few of the basics:

She and her husband have a good relationship.

She has incredible self control.

She doesn't sleep much.

She does some amount of sewing and spinning.

She isn't lazy.

She has children, and disciplines them well.

She gives to the poor.

That's quite a woman, and that's only a few of them.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God was about to send them into eighty years of captivity, because of what they did, but he gives them a promise, a hope, that they could grasp while they were in exile. He loved them so much, he warned them and pleaded for them to repent for 23 yrs. And now that they're going into exile, he gives them good advice and promises a future and a hope for them despite what they've done.

This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.”

And he took it everywhere.

Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of horror and scorn and cursing, as they are today; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials and all his people, 20 and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (those of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); 21 Edom, Moab and Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea; 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant places[c]; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media; 26 and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach[d] will drink it too.

How on earth did he do that? That must of taken a looooooooooooong time.

CT said yesterday he was studying Revelation, and it made me wanta do it this mornin, so, I found a spot and started reading.
After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
The Crazy love book had referenced this recently, and I had read and dissected most of it. But today I looked at the last sentence. A sea of glass? What is that? The dictionary reference thingy in the back of my bible didn't help much, so I got out the 2 HUGE bible dictionaries and started looking. Not much to say about it in there either. It did give me a reference to 1 Kings 7:23-26. But no. I already knew about the sea of cast metal and the sea of cast bronze that were made in Solomon's temple. But what were those for? Were they just for decoration?

For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the LORD has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. And though the LORD has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the LORD gave to you and your fathers for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not provoke me to anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.” “But you did not listen to me,” declares the LORD, “and you have provoked me with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves. Twenty-three years! That's a long time to be warned. It really shows how much God wanted them to turn from their ways. It seems that if someone has been trying to tell you about something, over and over, nonstop, for twenty-three years, that they would probably know what they're talking about.

Reading Crazy Love. AMAZING! I seriously encourage whoever's reading this right now to get a copy and read it. Thoughts I'm thinking on it:

Amazed that God loves me soooo much.

Amazed at all the stuff He's made.

Amazed at what He did for me.

Wondering why I don't love Him more.

Feeling like I'm a lukewarm Christian.

Geuss what's on my birthday list.....

We're getting out all the spring clothes this week!!! It's a huge mess. We're taking the whole week off school, and we're doing what Mom calls a Work Week. I'm working at a neighbors house today with some siblings, then I'm gonna work on spring clothes. I'm working on learning Korean! I kinda feel like I'm cheating though because Lane's already made flash cards for it and I'm using hers. When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the chief officer in the temple of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the LORD’s temple. The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD’s name for you is not Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib. For this is what the LORD says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. " I would hate to be in that guys shoes. It tells a little further on that he's going to go into exile into Babylon and he and all his family would die there. If I were him I think I'd be terrified on every side too.

“Do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress. Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.

Then the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from my presence! Let them go!

So apparently Jeremiah keeps on praying for mercy. But God knows the people of Israel won't listen to him if he doesn't actually punish them. It was something that needed to be done. I think it's sweet that Jeremiah pray for them like that.

“Why are we sitting here? Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For the LORD our God has doomed us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him. We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there was only terror. The snorting of the enemy’s horses is heard from Dan; at the neighing of their stallions the whole land trembles. They have come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all who live there.” I noticed that they accepted their fate as something that was just bound to happen, not as a punishment. They didn't ask for mercy or repent, they just let the punishment come, and didn't even change their hearts.

But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. LMT told this story on her blog, but it fit so perfectly with what I read, thought I'll add it too :) A couple were out on a boat on the river. The wife got out of the boat too take a swim. Soon she realized the current was too strong and she couldn't get back to the boat. When the husband heard her shouting, he immediately dove in after her, but by the time he heard what was wrong, he was stuck too. The husband was a good swimmer, so he said to the wife 'you save your strength and just drift along, I'll swim after the boat, and when the current dies down, I'll get on the boat and come get you.' So he swam against the current for hours. Finally the current died down and he reached the boat. It took days to find the wife, but they finally found her, she had floated twenty miles downstream! So it goes to show that in your relationship with God, if your drifting, your not just drifting, your going backwards. Swim toward the goal as hard as you can.

“Yet even in those days,” declares the LORD, “I will not destroy you completely."

God is love. He loves us when were good or bad or super horrible. It doesn't mean he's not going to punish us, it means he loves us anyway. And when he punishes, he leaves room to grow, and to learn from our mistakes, thought often times we don't. He's like a parent.

“Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say: ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’ Cry aloud and say: ‘Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities!’ Raise the signal to go to Zion! Flee for safety without delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, even terrible destruction.”
A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to lay waste your land. Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant. So put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.
“In that day,” declares the LORD, “the king and the officials will lose heart, the priests will be horrified, and the prophets will be appalled.”

At first, when I read this, I wondered, why does God tell them this? Then, I realized that God wanted them to know that he was punishing them. He wanted them to know it camefrom him, it wasn't just another thing that happened. It was probably also to show them that his words always come true.

How gladly would I treat you like my children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the LORD.

God is a God of love. and we all know that, but I don't think we'll ever fully understand how much he loves us and how unconditional his love is. It's like a parent's love, they still love you no matter what you do. I love that he loves us like that.

“Why do you bring charges against me? You have all rebelled against me,” declares the LORD. “In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction.

Our God is a merciful God. After they went chasing after other gods, He kept punishing them and bringing them back to Him. He never gave up on them, even when they blamed him for they're being afflicted!

Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.

I wonder what Jeremiah had to say about all this. God didn't give him much of a choice, but when he spoke, it was to state a problem, not to object. Imagine God coming to you, telling you your destiny, and what you'll be doing all your life, and touching you! Must have been a pretty full day for Jeremiah.

The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
“Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”
But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. I think it is so interesting that after God told Jeremiah that he set him apart and knew him before he was formed, Jeremiah still questioned God.
Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Jeremiah wasn't always a super amazing prophet for God. He was just a normal guy who God called. And sometimes we think, " Oh, I can't do that God, I've got these problems with speaking," or "I get nervous around people" Or, "This is too akward" But Jeremiah had a problem too, and just because you have some type of problem, that doesn't stop God.

I finished Isaiah today and it really left me clueless. Not the whole thing, just most of the last chapter. You can read it here, or if you had your bible, that would be even better. I can understand most of it, but I really don't get verses 17-24. So if you have any insight, please share.

No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah,[a] and your land Beulah[b]...

Hephzibah means my delight is in her and Beulah means married. When I read this in my bible I was dying to know what those words meant, so I looked on the dictionary and all that really hard stuff for the first word, and then I went to bible gateway, and there were footnotes that told you exactly what it meant. Sigh. I really can't wait for those days, when God delight is in us like we're a bride. That's gonna be so cool.

Okay, I've got a problem. I can't get up in the morning. It's just too hard. I'll wake up a little when the alarm goes off, Lane will push snooze, then I'll either immediately go back to sleep, or I'll start that argument with myself that I usually have every morning in my head. Should I just go back to sleep? Should I wait for Lane to get up first? Will she be mad at me if I get up first?(Like she would get mad) is it a sin if I don't get up right now? It's ridiculous! I went to bed on time last night, and it's not like I'm tired all day, after I put in my contacts I'm not tired at all. It started happening about two weeks ago and it's getting crazy wierd. Any suggestions?

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.


Iv'e been doubting God a lot in the past few weeks and I know I shouldn't. God has planned my life, and I have no reason to doubt him. When we moved to CO, and then moved back in just two years, God had changed us beyond belief. As Mom said, we wouldn't be at the church we're at now, and we would of had nothing to do with IBC. God is at work in my life now, as he has been since I was born, so I have no reason to doubt him.

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!"

So I think God's kinda got the attitude of, ' Sheesh! Are you serious? Come on!' Cause, he made a promise to them specifically that they were his chosen people, that he would never leave them or forsake them, and he showers them with blessings, and then they turn right around at the first little hard-ship and say, 'oh, God, have you forgotten us?' But I like God's reply. He says: "Does a mother forget the baby at her breast? Though she may, just possibly, forget, I'm God, I'm not gonna forget.

I got up thinking about revelation this morning, so I found in my bible revelation 13:18

This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.

So I keyword searched that number on bible gateway to see if there were any parallels or anything. It had three results. One was a genealogy and the other two were the same.

Ezra 2:13 13

of Adonikam 666

1 Kings 10:14

The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents...

That didn't seem to help much, so I turned to wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. My bros. and sissys tell me this place doesn't really know anything, but right now, neither do I, so maybe they have knowledge I don't. They didn't have much either, a few mathematical terms, but that's about it. http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/666_(number)#The_Number_of_the_Beast One I found really interesting was:

The golden ratio is exactly representable by -2 sin 666 degrees. So, kinda clueless....

Remember this, keep it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.

It seems God is really trying to nail it in to their skulls that He's God. He says: 'Listen to me... Remember this... With whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?' He's basically challenging them, trying to knock some sense into them. It's amazing that they're always going back to idols, no matter how many times God tells them. But if you think about it, we act no better.

God is...

God is a consuming fire

God is a merciful God

God is God of gods and Lord of lords

God is your refuge

God is my rock

God is greater than all other gods

God is with us

God is gracious and compassionate

God is greater than man

God is mighty

God is a righteous judge

God is our refuge and strength

God is the King of all the earth

God is our God for ever and ever

God is my help

God is a sun and shield

God is holy

God is flawless

God is truthful

God is faithful

God is just

God is light

God is love

God is coming

Great is our Lord, and mighty in power, his understanding has no limits.

I am the LORD, and there is no other;

apart from me there is no God.

It seems like the people of Israel are having a hard time not turning away from God. They're making idols, And God is continually telling them that he is God. He said:

“This is what the LORD says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come— yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Trust

Exodus 14:31

when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Psalm 4:5

Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding

Isaiah 26:4

Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.

Jeremiah 39:18

I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD.

Zephaniah 3:12

But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the name of the LORD.

John 14:1

[ Jesus Comforts His Disciples ] “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me."

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him...

Trust in the Lord. It's all throughout the bible. People telling others to trust in the Lord, stories about how they trusted in the Lord, how much you should trust in the Lord, it's all there. Right now, I feel like I am extremely lacking in trust for the Lord. but it seems like according to the bible, if you pray, and you really trust and believe He'll do it, He will, and that's not always true. But I'm trying to have more trust.

The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses. He shapes it in human form, human form in all its glory, that it may dwell in a shrine. He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow. It is used as fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.” From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, “Save me! You are my god!” They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, “Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?” Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

It is funny how they can think that something they made is a god. They seem to have a big misunderstanding of what God is. You can't just make a god. You can't just say, "hey, check out this god I made, I named him timmy." there's been a God since the beginning. why can't people be content with one God, one that's amazing, invisible, almighty and king!?

For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

That verse, is such a comfort. Imagine God taking a hold of your right hand, and helping you along, and telling you not to worry. just knowing that He's helping you, out of all other things, taking your hand, telling you not to worry - that's an overwhelming thought!

Right now I'm struggling with a really hard time in life for me. I don't understand why God suddenly made it happen, and I'm kinda mad at him for it. Mom says It's one of God's ways to get our attention and draw us closer, and he's got my attention, all right, but I don't think I'm drawing closer to him.

Deuteronomy 26: 7-8

Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders.

So now God heard Hezekiah's prayer, and he sends a message to Sennacherib saying,

Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! By your messengers you have ridiculed the Lord. And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of its junipers. I have reached its remotest heights, the finest of its forests. I have dug wells in foreign lands and drunk the water there. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.’
“Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone. Their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame. They are like plants in the field, like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on the roof, scorched before it grows up.
“But I know where you are and when you come and go and how you rage against me. Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came.

That whole speech is pretty humbling. I'm surprised Sennacherib still tried to attack.But even after the 185,000 died and he went home, he still worshiped other gods. It says:

One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.

He's finally dead. But it's hard to believe his own sons killed him. He must have been a pretty horrible guy.

Sennacherib is attacking Jerusalem. He keeps sending these prideful messages and says things like “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Harran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?” So obviously, this guy is pretty powerful, he's defeated a lot of places, he's a pretty scary guy, and he's about to attack you. I'd be freaking out. But that's not what Hezekiah did. And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: “LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, LORD, and hear; open your eyes, LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.
“It is true, LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, LORD, are the only God.”
That is amazing! Honestly, if this were happening to me, praise would be just about the last thing on my mind. But Hezekiah started out his prayer with words of praise. That's just incredible. It lines up with the way book Lord Teach Me To Pray that Mom's reading out loud to us teaches about how to begin your prayer. But, man, that guys faith in God, is amazing.

“Now will I arise,” says the LORD. “Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up."

Some people might think when God said this that it's a sin, wanting all the glory for yourself like that. The pastor in Colorado talked about that once, and it always stuck with me. He said that what is sin for us, isn't always sin for God. Since he's God, it's okay for him to say, ' Now I'm gonna be lifted up, now I'm gonna be praised.' That's okay for God to say simply because he's God.

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD. Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words. He will rise up against that wicked nation, against those who help evildoers. But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, those who help will stumble, those who are helped will fall; all will perish together.

So God's sayin here, ' You're relying on things that aren't me and that's bad. Those guys could be good guys. They could be wise and just and good and powerful. But they aren't God. God is always the one to turn to, no matter what.

O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago. You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you. You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

God told Jeremiah to write this, to show the Israelites how to praise him. even inthe mist of sorrow and destruction, God still wants to be praised just as much, he's still God.

See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants— it will be the same

for priest as for people,

for the master as for his servant,

for the mistress as for her servant,

for seller as for buyer,

for borrower as for lender,

for debtor as for creditor. The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word.
The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws...

God was destroying the earth for a reason - because the people were sinful. Were not much better today. We need to be careful to do good lest we encounter God's wrath.

Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

I love how Isaiah is so confident about God being with them. He's not doubtful, he's putting his complete faith in God.

And if our God is for us then who could ever stop us, And if our God is with us then what could stand against?