Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
Genesis 34 ... 1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
When I read this, I thought, "O, Oh ..."
This is going to put Dinah in the path of trouble ...
Sure enough ...
2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
All this resulted in Dinah's two brothers killing Shechem and Hamor and all the men of the land. And Jacob was shamed because they had made a covenant with the men of the land and had deceitfully entered into this covenant by demanding that the men of the land be circumcised in order to marry their daughters and to deal in business with them. Then the two sons of Leah go in and kill all the men after they have been circumcised are are sore from the circumcision. Gen. 34 ... 30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites:and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. 31 And they said, Should he (Shechem) deal with our sister as with an harlot?
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Psalm 1 ...
Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Blessed: divinely favored and protected
Blessed is the man that "standeth not" in the path where the sinners walk.
A few days ago, I was at Costco store and I had purchased a sandwich and drink and had stopped at a table where I could set down my drink and was eating my sandwich.
A man passed by and stopped and began talking with me and told a secular joke. Later I wished I had not heard his joke. Though it was not lewd, it was definitely opposite from the way of God.
After the man told his joke, he walked on, content in his own glory for his wisdom and cleverness in his joke.
But I was left with the joke. I'm still praying for God to remove this from me.
I thought of how we pause in their path, even minding our own business, and bad things happen.
They can't rest until they do evil.
So whenever possible it is best not to put ourselves into their paths.
Psalm 1 ... Blessed ... is the man who walketh not in the way of sinners. (the path of sinners)
I've really been focusing on the instructions given in the first verses of Psalm 1. I've been keeping these verses before me. I know they will rise up in me and help me to see things to avoid as I go about.
Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
I Cor. 15 ... 33 Be not deceived:evil communications corrupt good manners.
I do not want to be corrupted from the way of God and the word of God. So I am choosing to think in what it is saying in Psalm 1 ...
So much ungodliness comes from TV and TV commercials. I find I am often turning away from the show I am trying to watch on TV and almost always muting commercials. Even the old shows from the 1970 era have become unwatchable to me. I've had to turn off the last three episodes of the old show Columbo on Halmark channel. The themes of these shows have been so distasteful to me that I just turned each of them off. (I keep seeing ungodly ways glorified by these shows.)
The more you are reading Bible and thinking on things of God the more distasteful this world becomes. When Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights separated to God and then came back to the people and saw them worshiping that golden calf, it must have been incredibly upsetting. To think of the purity of being with God all those days and nights and then returning to the people would be overwhelming.
When we put ourselves with God and then see and hear the people on this earth we are often very shocked. The light in us gets so bright that the darkness becomes even darker.
I want even stronger light in me for it will separate me from the darkness and show me where to walk that I not stumble.
Proverb 3 ...
21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes:
keep sound wisdom and discretion:
22 So shall they be life unto thy soul,
and grace to thy neck.
23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely,
and thy foot shall not stumble.
24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid:
yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
I've been spending much more time in Bible the last few weeks as I put many examples of OT on the blog. I have noticed when I awaken in mornings I am much more settled. A difference is happening inside me.
And in the night, if I awaken, I often turn on my e-reader and read a little from Bible and fall back asleep.
All this is so helpful to me.
And each morning, I begin with blog. I make myself settle down and really think on that which God is saying through these scriptures. Our flesh often wants to rush ahead. It is up to us to make the flesh back off and calm ourselves and patiently read and think on the word of God.
I want more light from God. I am very greedy for light.
Jesus said ...
Mt. 5 ... 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:for they shall be filled.
Proverbs 4...
10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;
and the years of thy life shall be many.
11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom;
I have led thee in right paths.
12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened;
and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go:
keep her; for she is thy life.
14 Enter not into the path of the wicked,
and go not in the way of evil.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it,
and pass away.
16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief;
and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness,
and drink the wine of violence.
(God defined to me violence as acts performed or words spoken without thinking of the harm those acts or words can do to others. Basically it is humans just considering what they want without thinking of what it will do to others and humans glorifying themselves in what they want without thinking of what it will do to other people.)
18 But the path of the just is as the shining light,
that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is as darkness:
they know not at what they stumble.