💥 Podcast: Deborah, one of the judges of Israel, used by God to deliver the children of Israel

 

(This podcast was previously published on, November 1, 2021)  

 

Judges 4  (Deborah)

1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.

2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

3 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

(Deborah was given a message for Barak, the captain of the army of God, who had delayed going to war.)

6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.

8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.

9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. 

And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.

(Here is a connection with friends of God and notice that Heber had "severed himself" from the enemies of God and no longer lived with the Kenites.  So we see that some of this group would not be supportive of Sisera though they did give him some information but that information lured Sisera to his downfall and his eventual death.)

12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.

13 And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.

14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? 

So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

15 And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.

16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.

(God shows all of the enemies of the children of Israel being destroyed.)

17 Howbeit Sisera (the captain of the host of Canaan) fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

18 And Jael (Herber's wife) went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.

(She appears to support Sisera.)

19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.

20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.

21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him (to Sisera), and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

22 And, behold, as Barak (the captain of the army of Israel) pursued Sisera, Jael (Herber's wife) came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. 

And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.

23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.

24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

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Over and over the children of Israel tried to associate with the people of the other nations but they ended up following after the beliefs of the other nations and sinning against God as they did such.

Numbers 33:55  God says:  But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.

Psalm 81:9  There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.

I Kings 11  (God warned Solomon about the "strange women" but Solomon didn't believe the warning.)

1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;

2 Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.

The children of Israel turned from the commandments given by God and did in the ways of the people around them.

And then they could not stand against their enemies and God gave them over to serve their enemies.  And their hearts were turned from the Lord God by these people of other nations and they did not wholly follow the commandments of God.

When the bondage became too severe, then they called upon God for HIS help and God raised up a deliverer to judge the nations with God's judgment.

Proverbs 14:12  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

The children of Israel thought it would be good to mingle with the children of the nations of this world and make friends with them and even to intermarry.  

But God had told them if they would not drive these people out from among them, they would vex the children of Israel and end up being thorns in their sides and pricks in their eyes and they would turn them away from wholly following God.

God's way is often very different from our own reasoning.  We must go in the way that is right in the sight of God.

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I Corinthians 6

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

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James 4:4   Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

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💥 Scriptures shared by members of the body of Christ:

 

1 Corinthians 2:9-10  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

 

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by HIS Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

 

***

 

Colossians 3:17  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by HIM.

 

***

 

Psalm 9:10  And they that know THY name will put their trust in THEE: for THOU, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek THEE.

 

***

 

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12  Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of HIS goodness, and the work of faith with power:

12 That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in HIM, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

***

 

3 John 2  Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

 

 

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💥 Luke 8 (Reading through the Bible)

 

And it came to pass afterward, that He went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with Him,

(The real church is a joyful people because of the Word and their belief in the Word, focused on the Word.)

² And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
³ And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto Him of their substance.

⁴ And when much people were gathered together, and were come to Him out of every city, He spake by a parable:

⁵ A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
⁶ And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
⁷ And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
⁸ And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold.

And when He had said these things, He cried, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

⁹ And His disciples asked Him, saying, What might this parable be?

¹⁰ And He said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

¹¹ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

¹² Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

¹³ They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

¹⁴ And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

¹⁵ But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

¹⁶ No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.

¹⁷ For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

¹⁸ Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

***

¹⁹ Then came to Him His mother and His brethren, and could not come at him for the press.

²⁰ And it was told Him by certain which said, Thy mother and Thy brethren stand without, desiring to see Thee.

²¹ And He answered and said unto them, My mother and My brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

***

²² Now it came to pass on a certain day, that He went into a ship with His disciples: and He said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.

²³ But as they sailed He fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.

²⁴ And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, master, we perish.

Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.

²⁵ And He said unto them, Where is your faith?

And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for He commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey Him.

***

²⁶ And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.

²⁷ And when He went forth to land, there met Him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.

²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech Thee, torment me not.

²⁹ (For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)

³⁰ And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name?

And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.

³¹ And they besought Him that He would not command them to go out into the deep.

³² And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought Him that He would suffer them to enter into them. And He suffered them.

³³ Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.

(Devils cause you to do crazy things.)

³⁴ When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.

³⁵ Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

³⁶ They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.

³⁷ Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought Him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and He went up into the ship, and returned back again.

³⁸ Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought Him that he might be with Him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,
³⁹ Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.

***

⁴⁰ And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received Him: for they were all waiting for Him.

⁴¹ And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought Him that He would come into his house:
⁴² For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying.

But as He went the people thronged Him.

⁴³ And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,
⁴⁴ Came behind Him, and touched the border of His garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.

⁴⁵ And Jesus said, Who touched Me?

When all denied, Peter and they that were with Him said, Master, the multitude throng Thee and press Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me?

⁴⁶ And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched Me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me.

⁴⁷ And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before Him, she declared unto Him before all the people for what cause she had touched Him, and how she was healed immediately.

⁴⁸ And He said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

***

⁴⁹ While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.

⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.

⁵¹ And when He came into the house, He suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.

⁵² And all wept, and bewailed her: but He said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.

⁵³ And they laughed Him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.

⁵⁴ And He put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.

⁵⁵ And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and He commanded to give her meat.

⁵⁶ And her parents were astonished: but He charged them that they should tell no man what was done.

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💥 Warned by God of unseen danger

 

Barbara Preston, member of the body of Christ

 

One day recently, for some reason, I found myself thinking about babies and remembered something that happened about 15 years before I was born again.

I had put my infant daughter in her bassinet in the bedroom while I was in the kitchen, starting to work on dinner.

As I was doing this, the following thought kept coming to me ... Go check on Amy ... go check on Amy.

So I stopped what I was doing and went back to where she was and was shocked to see that she had done something that I had never seen her do before. She had grabbed hold of the material covering the bassinet with her little fists and somehow managed to pull it completely over her face.

Of course, it scared me when I saw this and thought that she might have suffocated if I hadn't been warned to go and check on her.

At that time in my life, I had no relationship with God so I wasn't sure why this had occurred, as it had.

But after I was born again, much later in my life, I knew it was the mercy of God, shown to both me and my daughter and I have never forgotten it. 

 

 

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💥 Podcast: The apostle Paul said, "Let your women keep silence in the churches." I asked God about this.

(This podcast was previously published on, October 28, 2021)  

 

I Corinthians 14  (The apostle Paul said)  

34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

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After I was born again in 1975,  I was transported into heaven twice (on two nights, the same week).  I was with God and Christ and the Holy Spirit.  

On both of those nights, I was merged into the body of Jesus, made one with the Word of God, God and Holy Spirit witnessing.  

(I saw no physical type images.  It was an experience in spirit.)

After that, God began teaching me sections of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments.

When God revealed to me that I was called to be a minister, I asked God what about the above scripture concerning women speaking in the church.

I heard:  "Look at what these women were doing."

I reread I Corinthians 14:34-35.

Immediately I noticed these women were disrupting the gathering of the church by asking questions.

It would be out of order for women to do this at the gathering of the church.

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Then God took me to the following scripture:

Acts 21

8 And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.

9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.

Prophesy is for the church.  To prophesy these 4 daughters would have to be able to speak to the church.

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I was convinced by these things that women were free to share the spiritual gifts that God gave them with the gathering of the church.

God also took me to the scripture showing the work Deborah, the prophetess did in the church.

Deborah was not only a prophetess but she was also a "judge".

Judges 4

1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.

2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

3 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.

8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.

9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

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God gave me a spiritual gift of exhortation (Romans 12:8) whereby I was to share certain things as shown me by God with the church.

exhort:  urge earnestly by advice and warning

God also called the following instruction to my attention:

Hebrews 3

13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 10

25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

I have been very diligent to share with the church everything that I believe God showed me, thereby bringing exhortations on various issues to the gathering of the church.

What is the church?

Jesus said:  Matthew 18:20   For where two or three are gathered together in MY name, there am I in the midst of them.

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I attended a church named Word of Faith during the years of approximately 1977-1982.  

The teacher of our Sunday Bible class never failed to say at each class:  "If anyone has a Word from the Lord, please share that Word now."

I often shared words God had given me.

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At the weekly prayer group which I attended, I often shared words which I believed to be from God.

I owned a small business in Dallas, Texas, during those years and I would share words that I believed to be from God with some of the customers who came to my business, exhorting them in the ways of God.

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On January 10, 1980, I was asleep in the night, and was awakened by a very loud trumpet-like voice speaking 3 words into my ear:  "Hartford, Seattle, KWJS"

That same morning, I found KWJS to be a radio station where Christians ministers presented exhortations to the church.

I said to God, "Are YOU showing me to go on radio?  I wouldn't know how to do that."

Immediately I had this brought to my mind by the Holy Spirit.  "Call the radio station manager."

I did that this same morning.  I told the station manager that God might be showing me to go on radio.  I asked, "How would you do that?"

The station manger said to make an audition tape 29-1/2 minutes long and send it to him and if my exhortation fit their broadcasting they would offer me a contract.

I recorded an exhortation that same morning and put it into the mail that same day.

Within 5 days, I was broadcasting exhortations to the church on radio station KWJS.

In approximately 1 year, I was on radio from Hartford to Seattle, as I was told by the loud trumpet-like voice on the night of January 10, 1980.  I believe this was an instruction from an angel of God.

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During those years from 1975 to 1980, I never told anyone that I was called by God to be a minister.

I just kept presenting words of exhortation and gifts of the Holy Spirit as appropriate in those places where I went.

When I did that, individuals would often say, "We know the hand of God is upon you."

One Sunday morning at Word of Faith, the pastor, Robert Tilton, said to all the congregation, "Joan is not called to be a teacher.  She is a prophetess."

I had certainly never told that to anyone although I knew God was training me to do the work of a prophet.

At the time Bob announced this to the church, I was already exhorting the church on radio station KWJS.

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On March 27, 2012, God gave me the following dream:  A woman was singing to a group of people.  I said, "She has a little voice but it is a nice little voice."  She continued singing.  Then in the dream, I realized it was somehow a blog and it was a way to communicate with people in the church."

Pam Padgett had been a computer programmer with FedEx in Colorado Springs.  I called Pam and asked her if she could set up a blog for Jesus Ministries.  Pam said she didn't know anything about blogs, but she probably could.  She began praying and God showed her to keep this simple.  In a day or two Pam had set up a blog for us and we were publishing by approximately March 30, 2012.  We publish daily and have done such since we began the blog.

In 2015 we began writing ministry books on Amazon in both e-book and paperback format.  Amazon has a free book program whereby people can get e-books without charge and we especially like this program.  To date, we have published approximately 35 ministry books on Amazon.

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The first week of February, 2020, God gave me a dream showing me kittens waiting outside the front door of my house.  There were many kittens.  They were waiting to be fed.  Some of the kittens were at the point of death.  When I went into my garage, there were also many kittens who were starving, waiting for me to feed them.

I asked God what this dream meant.  "How could I feed all these starving kittens?"

Immediately the word, "Podcast", came into my mind.

Within two or three days, we had purchased recording equipment and had set up a Podcast host and had begun publishing Podcasts to exhort the church daily in scriptures and concepts of following God  by HIS Spirit,  Since beginning that first week in February 2020, we have published daily fresh exhortations on various subjects from the Old and New Testaments.  These are available on Internet all over the world.

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The important thing for each of us to consider when we do a work is this:

"Did God tell me to do this work?" 

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💥 Scriptures shared by members of the body of Christ:

 

Malachi 3:16  Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before HIM for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon HIS name.

 

***

 

Isaiah 57:15  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, WHOSE name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

 

***

 

Isaiah 40:8  The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

 

***

 

Ephesians 1:3-6  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

 

4 According as HE hath chosen us in HIM before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before HIM in love:

 

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to HIMSELF according to the good pleasure of HIS will, 

 

6 To the praise of the glory of HIS grace, wherein HE hath made us accepted in the beloved.
 

 

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💥 Luke 7 (Reading through the Bible)

 

Now when He had ended all His sayings in the audience of the people, He entered into Capernaum.

² And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.
³ And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto Him the elders of the Jews, beseeching Him that He would come and heal his servant.

⁴ And when they came to Jesus, they besought Him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom He should do this:  ⁵ For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.

⁶ Then Jesus went with them. And when He was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying unto Him, Lord, trouble not Thyself: for I am not worthy that Thou shouldest enter under my roof: 

⁷ Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto Thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

⁸ For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

⁹ When Jesus heard these things, He marvelled at him, and turned Him about, and said unto the people that followed Him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

¹⁰ And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.

¹¹ And it came to pass the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and much people.

¹² Now when He came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.

¹³ And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.

¹⁴ And He came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And He said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

¹⁵ And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And He delivered him to his mother.

¹⁶ And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited His people.

¹⁷ And this rumour of Him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.

¹⁸ And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things.

¹⁹ And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou He that should come? or look we for another?

²⁰ When the men were come unto Him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto Thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

²¹ And in that same hour He cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind He gave sight.

²² Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.

(By their fruits you will know them.)  Is that minister of God?  Is that person of God?  Does he speak of God and tell what God says to him?

²³ And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in ME.

²⁴ And when the messengers of John were departed, He began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
²⁵ But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.

²⁶ But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
²⁷ This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee.
²⁸ For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

²⁹ And all the people that heard Him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
³⁰ But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of HIM.

³¹ And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?

³² They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.

(They always react in an inappropriate way.)

³³ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.

³⁴ The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!

³⁵ But wisdom is justified of all her children.

³⁶ And one of the Pharisees desired Him that He would eat with him. And He went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
³⁷ And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
³⁸ And stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

³⁹ Now when the Pharisee which had bidden Him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.

And he saith, Master, say on.

⁴¹ There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
⁴² And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

⁴³ Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most.

And He said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

⁴⁴ And He turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest Me no water for My feet: but she hath washed My feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. (Making Jesus, the Word, very personal to her.)

⁴⁵ Thou gavest Me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss My feet.

⁴⁶ My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed My feet with ointment.

⁴⁷ Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

⁴⁸ And He said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

⁴⁹ And they that sat at meat with Him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

⁵⁰ And He said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

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💥 Podcast: The judges appointed by God are used by God to deliver the children of Israel from the nations of this world

 

(This podcast was previously published on, October 31, 2021)  

 

The judges in the Old Testament who were raised up by God, administered justice in the sight of God, destroying the enemies of the children of God of the nation of Israel, and delivering the children of Israel from various bondages.

In the Bible, the book of Judges tells us of the work of those judges appointed by God.

We see many Judges named in the book of Judges.  

And the following pattern recurs through those decades. 

The children of Israel did evil in the sight of God.  God would then turn them over to the nations of men to rule over them with hard bondages, often for many years. 

The children of Israel went into evil because they would not fully obey God.

Judges 2

1 And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break MY covenant with you.

2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed MY voice: why have ye done this?

3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

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Judges 2

11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:

12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and HE delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and HE sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

16 Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

18 And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

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Then after years in service to the nations of men and after they suffered hard bondages, they would turn to God and cry out to God for help and God would raise up a judge to deliver them and often to destroy the enemy.

Judges 3

5 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:

6 And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.

9 And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

10 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.

11 And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

12 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.

13 And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.

14 So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

15 But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.

16 But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

17 And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man.

18 And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.

19 But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.

20 And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he (the king) arose out of his seat.

21 And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:

22 And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.

23 Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.

24 When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.

25 And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

26 And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.

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27 And it came to pass, when he (Ehud) was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.

(A trumpet is a call to arms or attention.)

28 And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.

29 And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.

(God did not allow the children of Israel to mingle with the people of other nations, for God said they would end up pulling them away to "their gods".  

Numbers 33

50 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,

51 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan;

52 Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:

(These nations had set up idols whereby they worshipped their gods and God had HIS people pull down these idols and destroy that which the nations worshipped.)

53 And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.

54 And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man's inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit.

55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.

56 Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.

They would not listen to God.  They tried to "be friends" with the nations of men.  They intermarried with these nations.  And these nations influenced the children of Israel in worldly ways and they did not wholly follow God when that happened.  And they could no longer stand against their enemies and went into various sins and bondages of those nations around them.

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Judges 3

30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years. (80-years)

31 And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

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Many times we see the children of Israel disobey God and do that which is evil in the sight of God and turn from the God of Israel.

When they do evil in the sight of God, they can no longer overcome their enemies.

Revelation 3:5  Jesus says:  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

When a person of God tries to be friends and associates with the nations of this world, he does what he thinks to be good, but in the sight of God he does evil because he will end up weakening the word of God in order to keep the association.

The world goes one way and the person of God is completely opposite from the world.  

The people who are not of God will end up tormenting the person of God.  The world will be like a thorn in his flesh and pricks in his eyes and the world will vex the person of God continually.

Light and darkness cannot co-exist.

So God tell us the following in the New Testament church:

2 Corinthians 6

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be MY people.

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean; and I will receive you,

18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

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James 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

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