“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”
― Maya Angelou
“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”
― Maya Angelou
― Maya Angelou
NUMBERS 11-13
26They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
30Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
31But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”(13:26-33)
26They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
30Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
31But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”(13:26-33)
MARK 5:21-43
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
JOURNAL
Sitting here in 2020 it's easy for me to judge the Israelites for their lack of faith and for their ungratefulness. Back in chapter 10 they are griping and complaining about the manna in the desert...stating it would have been better off for them to have been slaves in Egypt. Then here they are doubting that God can deliver them into the promised land. They are so ridiculously ungrateful and selfish. They want to just walk in and have the land without a fight, without adversity. They want rich food in the desert and and an easy way to victory.
No wonder God disciplines them...and yet I can say the same of myself. Too often I want the easy path to victory and am ungrateful for the blessings of today. Too often I feel that life is unfair and I should have more than what I do. That spirit of rebellion is alive and well. Father I desire the spirit of Caleb, of the bleeding woman. For nothing is too great for you...you are God and whatever situation or circumstance you give me...I am to conquer it with joy and gratitude.
12Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
Sitting here in 2020 it's easy for me to judge the Israelites for their lack of faith and for their ungratefulness. Back in chapter 10 they are griping and complaining about the manna in the desert...stating it would have been better off for them to have been slaves in Egypt. Then here they are doubting that God can deliver them into the promised land. They are so ridiculously ungrateful and selfish. They want to just walk in and have the land without a fight, without adversity. They want rich food in the desert and and an easy way to victory.
No wonder God disciplines them...and yet I can say the same of myself. Too often I want the easy path to victory and am ungrateful for the blessings of today. Too often I feel that life is unfair and I should have more than what I do. That spirit of rebellion is alive and well. Father I desire the spirit of Caleb, of the bleeding woman. For nothing is too great for you...you are God and whatever situation or circumstance you give me...I am to conquer it with joy and gratitude.
No wonder God disciplines them...and yet I can say the same of myself. Too often I want the easy path to victory and am ungrateful for the blessings of today. Too often I feel that life is unfair and I should have more than what I do. That spirit of rebellion is alive and well. Father I desire the spirit of Caleb, of the bleeding woman. For nothing is too great for you...you are God and whatever situation or circumstance you give me...I am to conquer it with joy and gratitude.
12Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:12-18
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